St John the Baptist's Church, Strensham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St John the Baptist's Church, Strensham |
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St John the Baptist's Church, Strensham, from the south
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| OS grid reference | SO 910 406 |
| Location | Strensham, Worcestershire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 11 February 1965 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Chancel brick, otherwise grey lias rubble, all rendered, roofs tiled |
St John the Baptist's Church is an old Anglican church in the village of Strensham, England. It is no longer used for regular church services. This church is a very important building. It is listed as a Grade I building, which means it is extra special and protected. The Churches Conservation Trust now looks after it.
Contents
A Look Back in Time
This church has been around for a long time! Parts of it, like the main hall (called the nave) and the area near the altar (called the chancel), were built way back in the 1300s. The tall tower was added a bit later, in the late 1300s or 1400s. In the 1400s, the windows in the nave were changed. Later, in the early 1800s, a small room called the vestry was built. Since 1991, the Churches Conservation Trust has been taking care of this historic church.
Church Design and Features
What the Church Looks Like Outside
The church is mostly made of grey stone called lias rubble. The vestry, a small room, is made of brick. The whole outside is covered in a smooth plaster, and the roofs have tiles. The church has a main hall (nave), a smaller chancel, a porch on the south side, a vestry on the north side, and a tall tower on the west side.
The tower has three main parts, or stages. It has strong supports called buttresses on its west corners. There is also a small stair turret on the southeast side. At the bottom of the tower is a doorway. Above this door is a large window with three sections. The middle part of the tower has a single window on the west side. The top part of the tower has two-section windows for the bells on each side. At the very top of the tower is a wall with square shapes, like a castle wall. This is called an embattled parapet.
In the chancel, the east window has three sections. The south wall has a door for the priest and a two-section window. The north wall has a single-section window. The vestry also has an embattled parapet. Both the north and south walls of the nave have a doorway. They also have one single-section window and two two-section windows. Above the south doorway, you can see an old sundial.
What the Church Looks Like Inside
The walls and ceilings inside the church are covered in plaster. Both the nave and the chancel have rounded ceilings, like the inside of a barrel. The floor of the nave has tiles from the 1400s and bricks at the west end. The chancel floor is made of stone.
At the west end of the church, there is a gallery. This gallery was rebuilt using parts of a very old wooden screen from the 1400s or 1500s. It has beautiful carvings. On the front of the gallery, there are 23 painted pictures. The middle picture shows Jesus, and the others show apostles, saints, and other important church figures.
The font, where baptisms take place, is from the 1800s. It is made in an old style called Norman. The pulpit, where the priest gives sermons, and its attached reading desk are from around 1700. The benches are even older, from the mid-1500s. There is also a large, enclosed seating area called a box pew at the east end of the nave.
Above the arch leading to the chancel, you can see the Royal arms of King George III. There are also two special painted boards called hatchments, which remember people who have died. On the west wall of the nave, there are boards with the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles' Creed written on them.
In the chancel, there are several monuments to the Russell family. The oldest one is from the late 1300s. There are also several metal plaques called brasses. The oldest brass is for Sir Robert Russell, who died in 1390. A large monument from the 1600s, possibly made by Samuel Baldwin, remembers Sir Thomas Russell (died 1632) and his wife (died 1618). It has painted and gilded statues of them under an arch. Another monument, from the 1700s, is for Sir Francis Russell (died 1705) and his wife. This one was made by Edward Stanton.
There is also a monument for Samuel Butler, a famous poet who was born in this area and died in 1680. The church has beautiful stained glass windows. The east window from 1890 shows the Good Shepherd. A south chancel window from 1917 shows the Good Samaritan. A window in the nave from 1903 shows the Ascension. The simple organ in the west gallery was made by the Positive Organ Company. The church has a set of eight bells. Three of these bells were made in 1704–05 by Abraham Rudhall I. The others were made in 1911 and 1979 by John Taylor & Co.
Churchyard Features
In the churchyard, there is the base of a medieval cross. This cross base is also a protected building, listed as Grade II.
See also
