ST JOHN THE BAPTIST,
Stanton St John
CHURCHES
HISTORY OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST
For eight hundred years this church has catered for, and nurtured, the spiritual needs and development of the inhabitants of Stanton St. John. Just as building styles have changed over this period, so has the manner of worship, and some of these changes can be traced in the fabric and furniture of the church. If, like Thomas Hearne who visited it in 1716, you are looking for monuments then you too may consider that there is 'nothing of antiquity' in it, but the finest wall monuments have been erected since Hearne's visit, and Pevsner considers that the splendid Chancel of about 1300 is one of the finest examples in the county of the transition from Early English to Decorated, and that the design of the East Window may be unique.
There has certainly been a church on this spot since the 11th century. The earliest part of the present church, the north arcade, dates from about 1200. The Chancel was built about a hundred years later and the Aisles most likely in the late 14th century, though with the exception of one window in the north-west, new windows were given to the North Aisle in the 15th century. The Tower was also built in that period, c 1450.
From late medieval times until last century little alteration seems to have been made to the structure, and such restoration as it underwent appears to have been of a limited and conservative kind. Repairs to the Chancel were undertaken in 1809 and others between 1827-8. From the description given in Parker the Church was not in a good condition in the 1840's and the very extensive restoration took place from 1867 to 1870 under the leadership and inspiration of the Rector, the Rev. John Murray Holland.