Description

COLERNE MARKET PLACE
ST 8271
( east side )
8/259 Church of St. John the Baptist
20.12.50
GV I

Anglican parish church, c1200, c13, much rebuilt c1450 and heavily
restored c1854 and in 1877 by Wilson, Willcox and Wilson of Bath.
Ashlar and rubble stone with stone tile and slate roofs with coped
gables. C15 West tower, c1200 nave with later C13 clerestorey, C13
chancel much altered, later C13 north east chapel and C15 aisles
and porch, probably incorporating earlier work. Fine ashlar tall
west tower, 3 stages with set-back buttresses and north east stair
turret. Heavy moulded plinth and string courses. Lower stage
with large 4-light window over small arched door to west front and
similar 4-light blank panels to sides. Second stage with 5 long
cusped head panels with statue niche to each face and top stage
with paired cusped bell-openings continued as blank panels below
transom, pierced stonework to bell-openings. Moulded coved
cornice and trefoil pierced parapet with corner pinnacles and stone
spirelet to stair tower. One-handed clock on west face. South
aisle has low roof with parapet, 2 flat-headed 2-light windows
flanking much restored porch with sloping buttresses and statue
niche, to right a restored Perpendicular 4-light arched window with
hood. Clerestorey rebuilt in C19 with moulded eaves and 3
windows. Chancel with slate roof and rebuilt south wall with
moulded eaves and 2 C19 flat-head Perpendicular style 3-light
windows (outlines of lancets were visible' 1855). East C19
decorated style 3-light window. North chapel has slate roof and
east end in line with chancel east end. 3-light restored Decorated
east window with sexfoil head. corbelled eaves to north side, Cl9
blocked door and restored 2-light window. Attached is 1877
vestry, High Victorian Gothic with large truncated east end stack
over octofoil light. North aisle has parapet, carved gargoyles,
buttresses and moulded plinth. 3 renewed Perpendicular style north
windows, 3-light with pointed heads and large 4-light Perpendicular
style west window.
Interior: tierceron star vault with octagon bell-rope opening to
tower. Screen part of C15 chancel screen. 4 bay nave with heavily
restored circular piers and trumpet capitals with square abaci to
south side, north side has 2 stiff leaf capitals and octagonal
abaci. Pointed arcade with one step soffits to earlier south side
and double chamfer to later north side. West arches are C15. Cl9
collar-rafter roof with pierced spandrels to straight braces.
South aisle has C19 south door and C19 roof. At east end effigy of
R. Walmsley (d.1893) signed H.H. Armstead. North aisle has fine
carved corbel heads and C19 roof. Inset fragment of C9 cross and
c1200 figure of saint. 2nd window has glass of 1881, 3rd fragments
of medieval glass. Chancel heavily restored, east window c1854
with faded glass by Bell of Bristol, stone reredos 1905. On south
wall C13 style sedilia and piscina, C19, but piscina part original,
and C14 style ogee arched tomb-recess. On north wall elaborate C15
style triple sedilia, originally on south wall next to piscina, but
moved and almost entirely remade 1877. C19 roof. 2 heavily
restored arches to north east chapel, similar to nave north arcade.
North east chapel has Cl9 roof and original carved heads to east
window. Tomb recess of c1300 in north wall. Numerous C17 to C19
wall plaques colledted in north east chapel. In north aisle plaque
to E. Teyly dated 1627 with Ionic,pilasters.
[E.W. Godwin: Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine 3 1857 358-366.

Listing NGR: ST8209471148

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17529248

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

• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)