Church of St John the Baptist
CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, SOUTHOVER HIGH STREET
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1353095
- Date first listed:
- 25-Feb-1952
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St John the Baptist
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, SOUTHOVER HIGH STREET
Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2005-06-01
- Reference:
- IOE01/13901/03
- Rights:
- © Mr Duncan Noel-Paton. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1353095
- Date first listed:
- 25-Feb-1952
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St John the Baptist
- Statutory Address 1:
- CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, SOUTHOVER HIGH STREET
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, SOUTHOVER HIGH STREET
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- East Sussex
- District:
- Lewes (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Lewes
- National Park:
- South Downs
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ 41263 09649
Details
TQ 4109 NW LEWES SOUTHOVER HIGH STREET 14/373 (south side) Southover 25.2.52 Church of St John the Baptist
GV I
Hospitium, now church. Late C11 or early C12, C14, 1714-38, 1847, 1885. Flint walling on nave to north with stone dressings and buttresses, chequer stone and flint to south, as is north side of chancel. Red and blue brick chequer to lower stage of tower with red brick above and chequer battlements. Rubble stone diagonal buttresses with dressed stone dressings. Plain tiled roofs. Octagonal cupola to tower with dome, finial and shark weathervane. Nave of five bays to north with four bay aisle to south. North windows C14, much renewed in 1885; south aisle windows C15, also renewed. Interior: Tower arch, probably C14. South aisle arcade of four piers. late Cll or early C12. Drum-piers with unmoulded arches, probably renewed. Crown-post collar-purlin nave roof of C15 with downward braces from crown-posts to tie-beams. Also ashlar-pieces and braces from rafters to collars. Chancel of two bays, that to west C15, much rebuilt, that to east 1885, an identical copy. Curvilinear east window with C20 stained glass. Two-bay wagon roof with cranked principals. Chapel of William de Warenne and Gundrada, his wife, at east end of south aisle. 1845 by J.L. Parsons of Lewes in Neo-Norman style, advised by Benjamin Ferrey. Groin-vaulted with giant order in corners of chapel. Interlaced side wall arcading with dog- tooth string-course over. Round-arched windows with chevron ornament and order of columns with decorated capitals. Pair of similar wall openings to south with the two lead cists of William and Gundrada. Central slab to Gundrada, possibly of Tourmi marble with palmettes either side of a middle staff. Stained glass: north windows by Kempe, 1882-91. Organ: 1904 with stone substructure in early Perpendicular style.
W.H. Godfrey, The Official Guide to Lewes, 1933, revised 1977, 43-44. B.O.E., Sussex, 1965, 552-553.
Listing NGR: TQ4126409649
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 293363
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Nairn, I, The Buildings of England: Sussex, (1965), 552-553
Godfrey, W H, The Official Guide to Lewes, (1933)
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 27-Jun-2026 at 08:59:20.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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