The church of ST. JOHN BAPTIST consists of a chancel 38½ ft. by 19½ ft., a modern north vestry and south organ chamber, nave 57 ft. by 20 ft., north aisle 9 ft. and south aisle 8½ ft. in width, south porch and a western tower 12½ ft. wide and 13½ ft. deep; all the measurements are internal.

A church stood here in the 12th century, but of this building only the tower remains, the three lower stages dating from that period; it was probably attached to an aisleless nave and chancel. About the year 1340 the whole of the pre-existing structure (except the tower) was swept away to make room for the new work. The present nave with both its aisles, and the chancel with a vestry to the north-east of it (which has now disappeared), were then erected, the clearstory being added immediately afterwards. The south porch was built with the south aisle, but it was refaced some time in the 17th century, and since that period has undergone restoration. A board in the ringing-chamber records that the steeple (fn. 225) was taken down and the parapet to the tower built in 1752, and that galleries were added in 1783 and 1824. Much restoration work has been carried out in modern times, chiefly in 1865 and 1871. The east and south walls of the chancel, the vestry and the organ chamber are all of recent date, as are also several of the windows and doorways and other parts specifically mentioned below. The present four-light east window replaced a seven-light one, probably itself of no great age; the gable wall over is pierced by a small quatrefoil opening. In the south wall is a modern double piscina in 14th-century style and a sedile formed by the window-ledge; the two windows in this wall, both modern, have each two lights with cusped piercings over in a pointed arch. There is also a small priest's doorway with a pointed head. On the north side is a 14th-century window of two lights with a cusped opening over in a pointed head. The doorway into the vestry appears to be of 14th-century workmanship, but has probably been reset, and has two continuous moulded orders. To the east of the vestry, outside, in the north wall of the chancel is an original 14th-century piscina, the basin of which has been removed. The chancel arch and the arch opening into the organ chamber are both modern.

The 14th-century nave arcades consist of four bays, the first three of each being of equal span and the fourth pair narrower. The arches are of two pointed chamfered orders, and the columns are octagonal with moulded bases and bell capitals; there are no respond shafts, the inner order springing from moulded corbels except at the north-west, where it dies on to the wall of the tower stair turret. The two eastern corbels are modern. The original doorway into the tower stair turret opens towards the east into the nave, but a modern one has been inserted in the west aisle wall outside. The tower arch has three continuous chamfered orders, and over it is a wide opening into the ringing chamber with a pointed segmental arch, which is evidently modern, as above it a similar arch is visible, now filled in. The clearstory has four windows on either side, of two lights each, with square heads; the westernmost pair are modern, the others original.

The three-light east and west windows of the north aisle are modern, as is the westernmost of the four two-light north windows, the other three being of late 14th-century date.

In the south wall of the south aisle next the arch opening into the modern organ chamber is a small locker with rebated edges, and west of it are the remains of a piscina with a concave back and pointed head. The two south windows of the aisle are both in part old, each with two lights in a square head. The south doorway has been completely modernized, and to the east of it is a small square blocked doorway, which evidently once opened to a stair leading to a room over the porch. The jambs only of the west window are old, and above it externally is a string-course, all modern except the piece at the south-west corner, carved with the head and shoulders of an angel. Above the string-course are remains of a blocked opening, probably connected with an 18th-century gallery. The south porch, although much repaired, is of the same date as the aisle and has a ribbed vault, springing from corner shafts with moulded bases and capitals. In the east wall is a window of two small lancets and in the west a quatrefoil window, both partly renewed. The outer archway appears to be an 18th-century rebuilding, and this again has been repaired in modern times. Over the doorway is a circular traceried piercing with a square moulded label. The front wall of the porch is finished with a curved pediment, capped by a pedestal sundial.

The tower is of four stages, the lowest being strengthened by shallow clasping and intermediate buttresses, the latter pierced by small round-headed lights, surrounded internally by large shallow recesses with pointed arches. The next two stages are both pierced by narrow rectangular lights, and on the west face of the third stage is a clock. Here the outlines of the former belfry windows can still be traced; these were evidently filled in when the tower was heightened. The top stage or bell-chamber is lit by a two-light window in each wall with a plain spandrel in a pointed arch. The parapet is embattled with a continuous coping, the lower part being panelled and the merlons pierced with trefoiled openings. At the angles are square panelled pinnacles with smaller ones in the centre of each face. The walling of the church is mainly of rubble, but the tower is ashlar faced and the clearstories, above the windows, are built of red brick.

The buttresses of the north aisle wall are original, but most of the others are modern. The roofs are also modern, the chancel and nave having low-pitched gables; the roof of the latter is ceiled. The aisle roofs are flat, lead covered, and plastered internally. All the roofs have eaves with stone cornices.

The altar table, marble reredos, stone pulpit and font are all of recent date.

Under the tower is a large altar tomb of grey marble to John Throckmorton, who died in 1445, Eleanor his wife, and Thomas his son. It was moved from its former position in the chancel at the last restoration of the church. The sides of the tomb are panelled and the moulded plinth contains a band of quatrefoils. In the slab are the brass figures of a man in armour and a lady with five shields, one of which is missing; the other four have the arms of Throckmorton impaling Azure a fesse or with three pheons thereon. In the chancel floor is a slab with the half figure of a coped priest in brass and an inscription below to Thomas Mordon, Bachelor of Law and Treasurer of St. Paul's, London, a former rector of this church, who died in 1458. The arms in the shields over are a cheveron between two molets in the chief and a lion in the foot.

A second brass has a Latin inscription to William Plewine, M.A., rector, who died in 1504, whose figure is represented in mass vestments; and a brass inscription commemorates Olive wife successively of Edward Harris and John Talbot, who died in 1647.

At the west end of the nave is a brass to Edward Peyton, in armour, the figures of the wife and children with three shields being missing. Another undated Latin inscription is to Godytha (Bosom) wife of Robert Olney (her daughter Margaret married Thomas Throckmorton) surrounded by three reversed shields. The other monuments include one, in the vestry, to Bishop William Lloyd, 1707, and another in the south aisle to John Darby, 1609.

In the north-west window of the chancel are six shields of 14th-century glass, of the arms of Beauchamp, Mountford, Moigne, Mortimer, Montfort, and Despenser. They were removed from the east window to make way for the present stained-glass window, and are said to have come from the abbey of Evesham at the Dissolution. They are mentioned in Symond's Diary in 1644. (fn. 226)

There were a number of encaustic tiles about the church; most of them have been collected and placed in the north doorway, now blocked.

In the churchyard is a fine row of yew trees with a pathway between it and the old brick boundary wall.

There is a ring of six bells, all cast by Mears in 1807, and in addition a small sanctus bell hung in the south window with a black letter inscription, 'Sancta Katerina Ora pro me Edwardo Gregion.'

The old communion plate was in 1801 removed to the chapels of Throckmorton and Wyre Piddle. (fn. 227)

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