St. John's Church in Royston - Part 2

 

A view east along the nave to the chancel

Entering the porch of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Royston, Barnsley, having had a quick walk around its exterior, I was able to get a better appreciation of the physical characteristics of the coarse grained sandstone that has been used in its construction. 

 

The south door

 

Being sheltered from the elements, the sandstone has not developed a patina and the clean relatively fresh surface exhibits a pale brown/grey colour with pronounced orange staining that reflects quite a high iron content. 

 

The west internal wall of the porch

 

The well developed cross-bedding, with dark brown/purplish beds also gives it a striped appearance, which I have become familiar with in very many historic buildings around Wakefield and Barnsley, where I have thought that Woolley Edge Rock has probably been used for these. 

 

A coffin lid

 

To the left of the door is a stone coffin lid that was apparently re-discovered when new drains were laid c.1843 and is thought to date to the C12 or C13. I didn’t examine this closely, but it looks like it is made of dolomitic limestone from the Permian Cadeby Formation. 

 

The west bay of the north arcade

 

Entering the south door, my first view was of a tall arch at the westernmost end of the north arcade which, as I have since learned from the National Churches Trust (NCT) – whose description is based on the history published in the Church Near You webpage - is where the original tower was located, before it was rebuilt in c.1480. 

 

Stonework at the west end of the south aisle

 

As usual with my church visits, I just set about taking a systematic general photographic record of the principal elements - the aisles arcades, nave, chancel, chapels and the tower – and was more interested in another example of stripy iron rich sandstone in the section of walling at the west end of the south arcade. 

 

A view of the north arcade

 

Moving into the nave and looking along the north arcade, I noted that the three bays to the east are composed of very tall, wide four centred arches, which I immediately thought of as being Tudor in style, but the NCT states that the arcades date to c.1413-18. 

 

The south arcade

 

Viewing my photos 16 months later, I can clearly see that for the most part there is no toothing of the masonry between the two phases of the C15 construction, which show differences in course heights either side of the butted joints - a detail that I only recall having seen on the exterior of mediaeval churches, where porches, aisles etc. have been added to the original structure. 

 

An extract from Pevsner's decription of St. John's church

 

Pevsner found the arcade to be very curious and, for some very strange reason, describes the arch as having been cut out of solid wall and this is just repeated, without question, in the Historic England description, but this doesn’t seem to fit in with the evidence provided by the masonry. 

 

The clerestory above the north arcade

 

With the words “Is it?”, he goes on to query the antiquarian J.E. Morris in his description of the earlier three bays of the arcades as being Decorated Gothic, without giving an opinion on the date, before mentioning the “Tall Perp clerestory with two-light windows”. 

 

The clerestory above the south arcade

 

I have no formal training in architectural history and have relied mainly on Pevsner, Historic England, church guides and various online resources to help me distinguish between the various English Gothic styles; however, I can’t see any obvious difference in the stonework between the arcades and the clerestory above, which is usually seen when there are two phases of building.

 

The arch to the Lady Chapel

Looking east down the north aisle, the arch to the Lady Chapel, which the church guide says was enlarged c.1430-40, is very low and four centred with a similar shape to those seen in the eastern three bays of the arcades, but it is simple and without mouldings. 

 

Stairs to the rood loft

 

Walking down to have a closer look at this, another unusual feature is the stairs to the rood loft, which are built into the north wall – as also seen at All Saints church in Darton which, according to their website, along with St. John’s in Royston is one of five sister churches that have the same architectural design. 

 

The chancel

Quite unexpectedly, because it is alarmed, I could not obtain access to the chancel, which is thought to be the oldest part of the church, or the Lady Chapel and south chapel, where the arcades are in a more typical style, with octagonal columns and capitals and pointed arches. 

 

The north side of the chancel

 

From the altar rail, I could see that there are variations in the style of the masonry in the north wall that separates the chancel from the vestry, which is accessed through a doorway with an ogee arch that is considered by Pevsner to be probably Decorated Gothic. 

 

The monument to Henry Broadhead

 

Frustratingly, before I started my exploration of the church, I had briefly met the vicar who I am sure would have turned off the alarm for me if I had known that this was in place, but accepting that I would have to make another visit, I just took photos of the monument to Henry Broadhead (1747) and the C15 font, before beginning my walk to St. Peter’s church in Felkirk.

 

The font