St John the Baptist's Church is in the town of
Knutsford, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the
National Heritage List for England
The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...
as a designated Grade II*
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 ...
.
It is an active
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
in the
diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Knutsford. Its
benefice
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
is combined with that of St John the Evangelist, Toft.
History
Knutsford was a
chapel of ease
A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...
in the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of
St Mary's Church, Rostherne, until the 18th century. In 1741 an
Act of Parliament was obtained for it to become a distinct parish.
The church was built between 1741 and 1744 at a cost of £4,000 (), the architect being J. Garlive. In 1879 the
apsidal
In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In Byzant ...
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
was extended and reordered by
Alfred Darbyshire.
St John's is within the
Conservative Evangelical tradition
A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...
of the Church of England, and it has passed resolutions to uphold the teaching of Scripture and Catholic Order with regard to the ordained ministry. St Johns stands within the mainstream of Christian thinking as it has been understood from the beginning.
Architecture
Exterior
The church is built in
neoclassical style in brick with stone dressings and a
slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
roof. The plan of the church consists of a west tower, a two-storey
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and a shallow chancel. The tower is in four stages with a west doorway over which is a round-arched window, a clock and round-arched
belfry
The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...
windows. The top of the tower has a
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
with modillion brackets swept between urns. The parapet of the nave has alternating solid and
balustrade
A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...
d panels. At the southwest is a doorway in a
pediment
Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
ed case with a
rusticated architrave
In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns.
The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...
and a round-arched inner door. There is a similar doorway at the northwest.
Interior
The nave has a classical
arcade of four
bays with
Tuscan columns on high bases carrying semicircular arches. Galleries are on the north, west and south sides.
There are two
font
In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design.
For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...
s.
[ One is made of ]marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
and has an oak cover. It dates from the time of building of the church but spent some time in the garden of a private house. The other dates from 1865 and is in High Victorian style.[ An old parish chest is in the tower and in the church is a two-tier brass candelabrum donated in 1768. On the north wall is a pyramidal memorial to Ralph Leycester of Toft who died in 1776.] Also in the church is a memorial to Elizabeth Leigh who died in 1823 which is signed by Richard Westmacott. The stained glass is by Heaton, Butler and Bayne.[ Two memorial boards are in the church which are believed to have been painted by members of the Randle Holme family of ]Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
. The three- manual organ was built in 1882 by Alex Young and Sons. There is a ring
(The) Ring(s) may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV
* ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...
of six bells. Four of these were cast in 1748–49 by Rudhall of Gloucester: the other two were cast by John Taylor Ltd in 1996. The parish registers begin in 1581.
In 2014 reordering works to the interior were completed, designed by architects Graham Holland Associates. This involved the removal of the late-Victorian pews, and the installation of an oak floor, and glazed screens between the narthex and nave and at the three external doors. Four of the Victorian stained glass windows were relocated onto the Church Hill facade, while the two rows of windows in the aisles were replaced in a clear leaded Georgian design.
External features
In the churchyard is a stone sundial
A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...
probably dating from the late 18th century. It consists of a baluster
A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...
-like pedestal
A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...
on circular plinth. It is listed at Grade II.
See also
* Grade II* listed buildings in Cheshire East
* Listed buildings in Knutsford
References
External links
Photographs by Craig Thornber
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knutsford, Saint John the Baptists Church
Church of England church buildings in Cheshire
Grade II* listed churches in Cheshire
Neoclassical architecture in Cheshire
Churches completed in 1744
Diocese of Chester
Knutsford
1744 establishments in England
Conservative evangelical Anglican churches in England
Neoclassical church buildings in England
Churches dedicated to John the Baptist in England
Anglican churches dedicated to John the Baptist