Church of St John the Baptist, Main Street, South Croxton (Grade II*)

Parish church, mostly C14, and late decorated in style. Ironstone rubble with ashlar dressings throughout. West tower with spire, nave and south aisle, chancel. Tower of large and squared rubble, 3 stages and buttressed, on an ashlar plinth. West window, ogee arched with fleuron, and two mutilated outer shafts and a central shaft between the two trefoiled lights. In the second stage, to the west three trefoiled lights with linking hoodmould, the outer ones blind. Large double tiered light to bell chamber with triple shafts and hoodmould, the lower pair of lights ogee arched, the upper trefoiled, with a decorated lozenge over them. Embattled parapet with cornice frieze partially renewed, and gargoyles. Small recessed spire with two tiers of lucarnes. South door in porch, the lower part of which is probably C14, but rebuilt in C19. The south doorway has a hollow moulded archway with no capitals. Aisle windows are of three trefoiled lights set within simpler intersecting tracery. West window similar but blocked. One large and oddly placed gargoyle in the west wall, and another to east. Buttresses and 2 string courses. Fabric of chancel may be earlier: one round arched priests door with voussoirs and simple intersecting traceried windows. Sill course forms hoodmould of doorway. East window of three lights with intersecting tracery. One single lancet, and two trefoiled lights in square headed opening to north. Coped east gable with cross. North wall of nave is of coursed squared rubble, very tall, and buttressed. Windows set very high, fine reticulated decorated tracery. Blocked north doorway with hoodmould and corbel heads. Inside, nave of 4 bays: the south arcade is late decorated, double chamfered arches with hoodmoulds on slender octagonal columns. West tower arch seems to be earlier: It is very wide, with 4 chamfers, the inner one rising from a shaft, the others from a chamfered respond with linear carved capital. One buttress to its south and fragment of stone rib to north: part of former roof, the steeper pitch of which is visible against the tower wall externally. Nave roof possibly C15: moulded trusses with braces supported on C19 carved wooden angels, and with bosses. Ogee arched piscina with flamelike fleurons and finial, and two aumbreys in south aisle. The chancel arch is very wide, double chamfered on slender shafted responds. Fragment of wall painting to south west. In the chancel, simply turned C17 altar rails, two fragments of old stained glass in east window and a figure of St. John the Baptist, by Kempe, 1896. Norman font, a small round tub with interlaced arcading beneath interlocking circles, on an octagonal base.