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Parish Church of St John The Baptist, Cirencester, Gloucestershire

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Details

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Brief description

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._John_the_Baptist,_Cirencester

"The Church of St. John Baptist, Cirencester is a parish church in the Church of England in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.[1]

The building reflects architectural styles since the 12th century. The chancel and attached chapel represent the oldest part with the nave having been rebuilt twice and the tower added in the 15th century. The south porch was built by Cirencester Abbey around 1480 and only connected to the church in the 18th century.

It is built of Cotswold stone and is one of the "largest parish churches in England". It contains various tombs and monuments with some fragments of medieval stained glass and wall paintings.

The church is medieval.[2] It is renowned for its perpendicular porch, fan vaults and merchants' tombs.

The chancel is the oldest part of the structure,[3] and construction of the current church started in the 12th century on the site of an earlier Saxon one.[4] It was widened in about 1180. Around 1240 the nave was completely rebuilt.[2] The east window dates from around 1300. The original stained glass of the east window has long since disappeared and it is now filled with fifteenth century glass from other parts of the church.

To the north of the chancel is St. Catherine's Chapel which dates from around 1150. It contains a wall painting of St. Christopher carrying the Christ Child, and vaulting given by Abbot John Hakebourne in 1508 when major reconstruction took place funded by the wool trade making it an example of a Wool church.[3][5] To the north of St. Catherine's Chapel is the Lady Chapel, first built in 1240 and extended in the 15th century.[6][7] The tower was built and supported by buttresses around 1400.[7]

The Trinity Chapel dates from 1430 to 1460 and was endowed for a priest of the nearby Abbey to say masses for the souls of Kings and Queens.[7] It contains a squint which enabled the priest to synchronise the celebration of mass with that at the high altar.[8] The nave was completely rebuilt between 1515 and 1530 and is a remarkable example of late Perpendicular Gothic architecture.[9][6] The tower is fifteenth century and remarkable for the large buttresses which shore it up at its junction with the nave.[10] The great south porch which adjoins the market place was built around 1500 at the expense of Alice Avening.[11] It is elaborately decorated. It was built by Cirencester Abbey around 1480, as an administrative centre and only connected to the church in the 18th century. Between the dissolution of the monasteries and its connection to the church it was used as the town hall.[4][3] The nave was again rebuilt between 1516 and 1530.[2]

In 1642 the church was used to imprison local citizens overnight after the skirmishes in the town during the English Civil War.[6]

During the 1860s George Gilbert Scott lead a team undertaing a Victorian restoration to strengthen the church, which included moving many of the bodies interred under the nave to the Lady Chapel.[5] This reduced the level of the floor and introduced sub floor voids. These were investigated during alterations carried out in 2008 and 2009, which discovered evidence of the various periods of the church's construction.[12]

In 2019 a design competition was started to commission statues for niches on the church wall, to replace those removed and lost in 1963.[13][14]"

"We also have paper leaflets in a variety of languages to help you appreciate the many beautiful and interesting features of the church, including the Ann Boleyn cup (pictured). Just ask a steward for the one that suits you best."

Address

5 Market Place, Cirencester GL7 2NX

Email

office@cirenparish.co.uk

Phone

The Parish Office: Tel: 01285 659317

Website

https://cirenparish.co.uk/visit-the-parish/the-parish-church-of-st-john-baptist/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._John_the_Baptist,_Cirencester

Directions

In the centre of Cirencester

Opening Times

Always check with the venue directly for up-to-date information including opening times and admission charges as they may be subject to change

2022: "It is open daily from 10 am to 4 or 5 pm and visitors are always welcome.

From mid – March until end of October there are six weekly guide led church tours at 10.45 am or 2.30 pm. Booking is not required and there is no charge, but donations are requested. Tours are advertised monthly around the town but have now finished for this year."

Transport

Amenities

Travel Information

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