Description

LEA MARSTON
SP29SW
5/66 Church of St. John the Baptist
08/09/61 (Formerly listed as Church of
St John)
GV II
Church. Early C14 nave extended and provided with a porch in the C15, restored,
partially rebuilt, and added to in 1876-7. Medieval dressed freestone blocks and
C19 random rubble and ashlar; plain tile roofs with stone coped ranges.
North-west tower with diagonal buttresses, 2-bay nave and 2-bay chancel.
North-west tower: 1876-7. 3 stages with scroll-moulded strings and crenellated
parapet with continuous moulded coping around merlons and embrasures. Pointed
west window of 2 trefoil-headed lights with Geometrical style tracery and a
scroll-moulded dripstone with stops carved as heads. Single trefoil-headed upper
and lower lights and a quarterfoil in the spandrel. Nave: early C14 but heavily
restored in the C19. 2 C14 buttresses to the south side both of 2 stages with
gables. Also on this side are two pointed windows with deeply wave-moulded
surrounds and C19 reticulated tracery. The nave was extended to the west in the
C15 and the gabled south porch is of this date. This has a pointed and
hollow-moulded entrance arch, and a pair of trefoil headed loops to each side.
C14 pointed south door of 2 moulded orders with a returned hood mould. 2 north
windows with C19 tracery of early to mid-C14 character. Chancel: 1876-7. Pointed
windows with Geometrical style tracery and scroll-moulded dripstones terminating
in bunches of naturalistic foliage. Interior: King-post roof over the nave,
probably mostly C17. C19 pointed chancel arch with roll and fillet moulding
springing from short corbelled shafts with moulded capitals and bands. The nave
windows to the south have pointed rear-arches and stepped surrounds. Barrel roof
over the chancel. Fittings: C19 octagonal font with traceried panels. Full set
of C19 pine benches. Elaborate C19 pulpit with extravagantly carved panels. C19
stalls with carved poppyheads. C19 wooden reredos, panelled and traceried with
patterned wall tiles to each side. Wooden chest inscribed: "Joseph Spink/Church
Mardin/AND FECIT 1724". Monuments: on the floor of the chancel is a heavily
eroded incised slab, probably medieval. Sir Charles Adderley, died 1682: tablet
with scrolled pediment containing a coat of arms. Julia Anna-Eliza Adderley,
died 1820 in a similar style. Bowyer Adderley, died 1747: tablet with broken
segmental pediment containing coat of arms. Charles Adderley, died 1746: in a
similar style. Mrs. Adderley, died 1784: Coadestone with a roundel containing a
seated woman, and an urn on top. A pair of grave slabs on the chancel floor:
Mary Adderley, died 1707 and Arden Adderley, died 1727, both with carved skulls.
(Buildings of England: Warwickshire: p332; VCH: Warwickshire: Vol IV, (1965),
ppll5-116)

Listing NGR: SP2045892713

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26481094

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)