St John the Baptist's Church is the parish church of Cayton, a village in North Yorkshire, in England.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/St_John_the_Baptist_Church%2C_Cayton_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3803080.jpg/220px-St_John_the_Baptist_Church%2C_Cayton_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3803080.jpg)
The church was constructed in the 12th century, from which period the chancel, north aisle, and part of the nave date. In the 15th century, the nave was extended, and a tower and north chapel were added.[1][2] There was at one time a vault, which has since been filled in. In 1947, a clock was installed on the tower, celebrating that it was believed to be one of the doubly Thankful Villages.[3] The church was Grade I listed in 1967.[2]
The church is built of sandstone with a Welsh slate roof, and consists of a nave, a north aisle, a south porch, a chancel with a north chapel and vestry, and a west tower. The tower has three stages, diagonal buttresses, two-light flat-topped bell openings, and an embattled parapet with corner pinnacles. The gabled porch contains a round-arched Norman doorway that has two orders of shafts with scalloped capitals, and the arch with chevron decoration.[2][4]
Inside the church is a slightly pointed 12th-century arcade, and a 12th-century font on a 19th-century base. The wooden door and doorframe to the tower date from 1678. There is a slab on the chancel floor with a brass inscription dating from 1452, and there are also some 18th-century monuments. There is an 18th-century charity board, and the oak communion table is 17th century.[1][2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2. London: Victoria County History. 1923. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ a b c d Historic England. "Church of Saint John the Baptist (1148133)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "History". St John the Baptist, Cayton. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ Grenville, Jane; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2023) [1966]. Yorkshire: The North Riding. The Buildings of England. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-25903-2.