Church of St John the Baptist, Aldbury

Heritage listing

Details ALDBURY STATION ROAD SP 9612 (North side) 12/4 Church of St. John 30.11.66 the Baptist (C of E) GV I Parish Church. Nave probably represents the tall nave and aisled chancel of a Romanesque church, pierced by early C14 arcades but with a structural change before the 2 easternmost bays, early C13 chancel subsequent to William de Brocland granting the church to the Canons of the Priory of St. Mary, Missenden in 1203, N chancel chapel and N aisle early C14, widening at E part of N aisle for chantry founded 1335, W tower and S aisle later C14, S porch and top stage of tower C15, Pendley Chapel formed in E bay of S aisle in 1575 when Whittingham tomb of 1471 and stone screen brought from dissolved monastry of Ashridge. Restoration 1866 by W.Browing removed 2 plain Romanesque arches from E end of N arcade of nave and built N vestry. S porch has parvise restored 1871, repaired 1905 along with tower. Flint rubble with coursed flint facing to nave, tower and aisle: uncoursed to chancel, porch and NE vestry. Totternhoe Stone dressing and plinth much replaced by Bath Stone in C19 restoration. Metal roofs of low pitch slate to vestry. A parish church with low chancel, N chapel, clerestoreyed nave, N and S aisles, S porch and a tall slender W tower in contrast to the horizontal lines of the rest. Early dating of nave based on tall narrow proportions, and evidence of C19 painting (photo in NMR) showing the Romanesque 2-bay arcade on N side, removed in restoration, and external Buckler drawing (HRO) showing wide semi-circular arch in E wall above level of chancel where now is a pointed niche with hood mould. There is a doorway and stair high up on W end wall of the nave of uncertain date. Square ended chancel has corner buttresses as does N aisle. S aisle and tower have diagon

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.