St John the Baptist's Church, Avon Dassett
Encyclopedia
St John the Baptist's Church, Avon Dassett, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Avon Dassett
, Warwickshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
.
. The church was declared redundant on 11 May 1983, and was vested
in the Churches Conservation Trust. It is still used occasionally for concerts or community events. Between May 2007 and September 2008 work was carried out on the spire at a cost of about £700,000, with the result that the church bells were rung on 21 February 2009, the first time for some decades.
sandstone
with tiled roofs. Its plan consists of a three-bay
nave
with a north aisle
and a south porch, a three-bay chancel
with a north organ chamber, and a west tower with a spire. The architectural style of the church, other than the north arcade
, is Gothic Revival
, in the style of the early 14th century. Most of the fabric used was new, although a small amount of fabric from the earlier church was incorporated, including fragments from the 12th century. The tower is in three stages, with angle buttress
es, and a stair turret
at the southeast angle. The lowest stage has a west window of four lights, which was formerly the east window of the earlier church. In the middle stage is single-light window, and in the upper stage the bell openings have two lights. The tower is surmounted by a tall octagonal spire. The nave measures 44 feet (13.4 m) by 17 feet (5.2 m). In its south wall is a porch and three windows, one with a single light, and the others with two lights. The north aisle is 10 feet (3 m) wide, and has three two-light windows. The chancel measures about 34 feet (10.4 m) by 16 feet (4.9 m). Its east window has three lights. The other windows have two lights, two on the north side and three on the south.
style, carried on round pillars. In the north wall of the chancel is a recess containing a 13th-century stone coffin with a lid. The lid is carved in high relief with the effigy
of a deacon
with a tonsure
. He is dressed in vestment
s, including a cassock
, an alb
, a dalmatic
, a maniple
, and a stole. It is thought that this is the coffin of Hugh (or Hugo), rector of the church, who died in about 1240. All the furniture of the church dates from the building of the present church, including the font
, which is made of grey marble
. In the sanctuary
are an oak altar and choirstalls, a stone triple sedilia
, and a reredos
in grey Purbeck marble
with a cross in its centre. In the church are memorials dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. The west window contains a few fragments of 15th-century glass. The ring
consists of five bells that were cast by William Blews of Birmingham
. Since the church was declared redundant, work has been carried out to improve their condition. The parish register
s date from 1559.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in the village of Avon Dassett
Avon Dassett
Avon Dassett is a village and civil parish in the Stratford district of Warwickshire, England, nestling among the Burton Dassett Hills about four miles east of Kineton and seven miles north of Banbury in Oxfordshire...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
.
History
The present church was built in 1868 on the site of an earlier church dating from the Norman era. The architect was Charles BuckeridgeCharles Buckeridge
Charles Buckeridge was a British Gothic Revival architect who trained as a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott. He practiced in Oxford 1856–68 and in London from 1869. He was made an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1861.-Work:Much of Buckeridge's work was for parish...
. The church was declared redundant on 11 May 1983, and was vested
Vesting
In law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment. One has a vested right to an asset that cannot be taken away by any third party, even though one may not yet possess the asset. When the right, interest or title to the present or future possession of a legal...
in the Churches Conservation Trust. It is still used occasionally for concerts or community events. Between May 2007 and September 2008 work was carried out on the spire at a cost of about £700,000, with the result that the church bells were rung on 21 February 2009, the first time for some decades.
Exterior
The church is constructed in HorntonHornton
Hornton is a village and civil parish about northwest of Banbury in Oxfordshire.-Churches:The oldest parts of the Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist are the nave and the arcade of the north aisle, both of which were built late in the 12th century. They are in the...
sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
with tiled roofs. Its plan consists of a three-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with a north aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
and a south porch, a three-bay chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
with a north organ chamber, and a west tower with a spire. The architectural style of the church, other than the north arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
, is Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
, in the style of the early 14th century. Most of the fabric used was new, although a small amount of fabric from the earlier church was incorporated, including fragments from the 12th century. The tower is in three stages, with angle buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es, and a stair turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
at the southeast angle. The lowest stage has a west window of four lights, which was formerly the east window of the earlier church. In the middle stage is single-light window, and in the upper stage the bell openings have two lights. The tower is surmounted by a tall octagonal spire. The nave measures 44 feet (13.4 m) by 17 feet (5.2 m). In its south wall is a porch and three windows, one with a single light, and the others with two lights. The north aisle is 10 feet (3 m) wide, and has three two-light windows. The chancel measures about 34 feet (10.4 m) by 16 feet (4.9 m). Its east window has three lights. The other windows have two lights, two on the north side and three on the south.
Interior
The three-bay north arcade is in NormanNorman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
style, carried on round pillars. In the north wall of the chancel is a recess containing a 13th-century stone coffin with a lid. The lid is carved in high relief with the effigy
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
of a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
with a tonsure
Tonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...
. He is dressed in vestment
Vestment
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially among Latin Rite and other Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans...
s, including a cassock
Cassock
The cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...
, an alb
Alb
The alb , one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican and many Protestant churches, is an ample white garment coming down to the ankles and usually girdled with a cincture. It is simply the long linen tunic used by the Romans...
, a dalmatic
Dalmatic
The dalmatic is a long wide-sleeved tunic, which serves as a liturgical vestment in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and United Methodist Churches, which is sometimes worn by a deacon at the Mass or other services. Although infrequent, it may also be worn by bishops above the alb and below...
, a maniple
Maniple (vestment)
The maniple is a liturgical vestment used primarily within the Catholic Church, and occasionally used by some Anglo-Catholic and Lutheran clergy. It is an embroidered band of silk or similar fabric that when worn hangs from the left arm...
, and a stole. It is thought that this is the coffin of Hugh (or Hugo), rector of the church, who died in about 1240. All the furniture of the church dates from the building of the present church, including the font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
, which is made of grey marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
. In the sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
are an oak altar and choirstalls, a stone triple sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
, and a reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
in grey Purbeck marble
Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England.It is one of many kinds of Purbeck Limestone, deposited in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods....
with a cross in its centre. In the church are memorials dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. The west window contains a few fragments of 15th-century glass. The ring
Ring of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
consists of five bells that were cast by William Blews of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. Since the church was declared redundant, work has been carried out to improve their condition. The parish register
Parish register
A parish register is a handwritten volume, normally kept in a parish church or deposited within a county record office or alternative archive repository, in which details of baptisms, marriages and burials are recorded.-History:...
s date from 1559.