The Church of St John the Baptist, Barnack is a

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

in the village of Barnack, now in the

City of Peterborough The City of Peterborough, is a district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The district is named after its largest settlement, Peterborough, but also covers a wider area of o ...

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

area of the ceremonial county of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

, England. Barnack was part of the Soke of Peterborough, an historic area that was traditionally part of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. Barnack is south-east of Stamford in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. The church is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The church, dedicated to

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

, is noted in particular for its

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

tower to which was added a spire of circa 1200, possibly one of the earliest spires in England. In the north aisle is a large Romanesque sculpture of a seated Christ in Majesty that was discovered under the floor in 1931. Estimates of the date of the Christ vary widely, from the latter part of the 10th century to circa 1200; the Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland settles on the late 12th century. Simon Jenkins gives the church four stars in his ''England's Thousand Best Churches'' (1999) and highlights as features the tower, the stiff-leaf font and the Christ in Majesty. The height of the surviving Anglo-Saxon work in the tower is 55 feet (17 metres), topped by an octagon and spire of 59 feet high (18 metres), giving a total height to the base of the weathervane of 114 feet (35 metres). Flannery, Julian (2016). ''Fifty English Steeples: The Finest Medieval Parish Church Towers and Spires in England''.

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, New York, United States: Thames and Hudson. pp. 64–69. .

Gallery

File:St.John the Baptist's church, Barnack - geograph.org.uk - 204111.jpg, St John from the southeast showing the Lady Chapel at left File:A thousand years old - geograph.org.uk - 204116.jpg, The square Anglo-Saxon tower; the top is later File:Saxon doorway - geograph.org.uk - 204121.jpg, Anglo-Saxon south doorway in the tower File:Barnack Churchyard - geograph.org.uk - 204123.jpg, Gravestones in the Churchyard File:Barnack - geograph.org.uk - 204124.jpg, Distant view from the north File:Barnack - KMB - 16001000154286.jpg, Porch and south aisle, photographed in 1926 by Berit Wallenberg

References

External links

Church services information

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnack, John the Baptist 11th-century church buildings in England Churches in Peterborough Church of England church buildings in Cambridgeshire Grade I listed churches in Cambridgeshire Standing Anglo-Saxon churches