The Church of St John of Beverley, Whatton is a parish church in the Church of England in Whatton-in-the-Vale, Nottinghamshire, dedicated to

St John of Beverley John of Beverley (died 7 May 721) was an English bishop active in the kingdom of Northumbria. He was the bishop of Hexham and then the bishop of York, which was the most important religious designation in the area. He went on to found the town ...

. The church is

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Building

The church is medieval, dating from the 14th century, but little of the original survived the restorations of 1846, 1866–1867 and 1870. It consists now of a chancel rebuilt in 1846, a central tower and steeple rebuilt in 1870, and a nave with north and south aisles and north and south porches. The only remaining Romanesque work is the former south transept arch of the tower, which was moved to the north side during the 19th-century restoration. The nave is in Early English style. There is also a chapel dedicated to the memory of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, who was born and raised in Aslockton, which was a

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...

of Whatton at that time. The two corbel heads in the chapel date from about 1300 and depict King David and an angel.''A Short Guide to the Parish Churches of the Bingham Rural Deanery'', ed. J. Pickworth-Hutchinson (Bingham: Bingham Deanery Chapter, 1963).

Effigies and features

Apart from interesting architectural detail (the lower part of a now redundant newel staircase, the Decorated recess containing a statue of a former incumbent 304–10 and a double piscina), there is a late 14th-century effigy of a Knight Templar in armour and another of a cross-legged knight of the early 14th century, and a tablet in memory of Thomas Cranmer, father of the archbishop, who was born in Aslockton in 1489. The font dates from 1662. One of the 19th-century stained-glass windows, depicting SS. Peter and John with Jesus, was designed by the Pre-Raphaelite Edward Burne-Jones. There is a peal of eight bells, of which five bells were cast by Henry Oldfield of Nottingham in 1590 and 1618. An early clock was installed in 1683 by Richard Roe. This was replaced in 1910.

Parish status

The church belongs to the Cranmer Group of parishes, which consists of: *

St Thomas's Church, Aslockton St. Thomas' Church, Aslockton is a late 19th-century Church of England parish church in the village of Aslockton, Nottinghamshire. The church is Grade II listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as a building of special ...

* Church of St Mary and All Saints, Hawksworth * Church of St John of Beverley, Scarrington *

St Helena's Church, Thoroton St Helena's Church, Thoroton is the Church of England parish church of Thoroton, Nottinghamshire, England. The building is Grade I listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as of outstanding architectural interest. Herita ...

*Church of St John of Beverley, Whatton *St Mary's Church, Orston

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whatton, Church Of St John Of Beverley Church of England church buildings in Nottinghamshire Grade II* listed churches in Nottinghamshire