Description

WHITTINGTON C.P. CHURCH STREET (east side) SJ 3231-3331 11/121 Church of St. John the Baptist 8.10.59 GV II

Parish church. On medieval site with west tower of 1747; nave 1805-6 by Thomas Harrison of Chester; chancel with north aisle and south vestry 1861; latter extended 1894 when whole church was restored by Eustace Frere. Red brick with sandstone dressings; plain tile, machine tile and slate roofs. Classical style Gothicized by Frere in 1894. Nave; chancel; west tower with flanking porches; north chancel aisle and south vestry. Tower: in 4 stages with stepped corner pilasters and string courses; pyramidal roof (1894) with dentilled stone cornice and wide sprocketed eaves surmounted by brass weathercock. Louvred round-headed windows to belfry have projecting keybricks and imposts; roundel with projecting keybricks to third stage on west. Round-headed moulded stone window to second stage on west has fluted Roman Doric columns (probably 1805- 6); round-headed doorway beneath with alternating bands of rustication and panelled double doors by Frere. Lean-to hip-roofed porches to left and right by Harrison have modillioned eaves cornices and round-headed doorways with contemporary panelled doors and semi-circular fanlights divided by turned baluster- like bars. Left porch has window of 1894 projecting through roof. Nave: in 3 recessed bays divided by broad pilaster strips with continuous brick impost band; moulded brick eaves cornice and low-pitched pedimented gable ends. Round-headed windows of 1805-6 with projecting keybricks have inserted Venetian Qua ttrocento-style tracery. Blind wide rectangular openings above with slightly cambered heads, those on south side formerly with painted texts. 2 similar openings to east wall. Chancel: possibly incorporating some late C18 brick- work to east wall has east window of 3 round-headed lights within single larger semi-circular arch; similar windows to north aisle and vestry, those to latter slightly more pointed with pointed doorway to west. Interior. Coffered roof (1894) in single span to nave; contemporary elliptical wooden chancel arch with Corinthian columns from tie beam, fluted banded rustication to piers and modillioned eaves cornice; arch-braced roof in 2 bays to chancel. North chancel aisle,separated from chancel by 2-bay round-arched arcade with Transitional- style foliage decoration to capital of central circular pier. Early C20 round- headed arch to west with C18-style turned balusters to gates; black and white marble floor. Encaustic tiles to chancel. Font 1852; reading desk and lectern 1854; pews 1871. Jacobean chairs flanking high altar and to west end of nave, which has C17 chest in north-east corner. Late C19 stained glass to north chancel chapel and dated 1894 to nave north side. Tree of Jesse east window by F.C. Eden commemorates Edward Pell Edwards, Rector (died 1934). Monuments. Late C18 and early C19 wall tablets to members of Lovett family (nave, north side) and other memorials in chancel. Series of C19 brass plates to nave north side. B.o.E. pp. 316-17; D.H.S. Cranage, The Churches of Shropshire. Part 9 (1908) pp. 836-7.

Listing NGR: SJ3261031268

External Links

• Wikidata Q26648884

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Recommended Books

• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
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  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)