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St John the Baptist church, Cirencester
Photos of St John
the Baptist, Cirencester >>
Summary
Often called the 'Cathedral of the Cotswolds', St John the Baptist,
Cirencester, is one of the largest and most elegant
medieval churches in the county, if not the entire country.
Cirencester was a regional capital at the time of the Roman occupation
of Britain. The Romans built the first known church here, though
we cannot be certain of its location. The Roman church was destroyed
by the Saxons when they gained control of the area after the Battle
of Dyrham in 577 AD.
The Saxons built a church in this location,
which stood for over 400 years. Then, in 1117 AD King Henry I founded
an abbey and parish church to replace the old Saxon church. The abbey
is gone now, though remnants can be seen in the Abbey Grounds beside
the current church building.
King Henry's church was rebuilt around
1240, and again in Perpendicular Gothic style around 1520. It is
largely this church that we see today.
Chapels
St John the Baptist is notable for its numerous medieval chapels. Chief
among these is the Trinity Chapel, which was founded by Richard Dixton
(d. 1438) and William Prelatte (d.1462), both knights under Richard,
Duke of York. Here you can view quite a number of funerary brasses
collected from other parts of the church by Sir George Gilbert Scott
when he was commissioned to remodel the church in the late 19th century.
Scott placed these brasses before the altar piece donated by Queen
Anne of Bohemia. The Trinity Chapel is the largest, but the Lady
Chapel has the most elaborate tomb, that of Humfrey Bridges (d.198)
and his wife (d.1620). The recumbent effigies, which were sculpted
by local craftsman Samuel Baldwin, lie beneath a fanciful coffered
canopy.
The pulpit
One of the most notable features of the interior - and there are
quite a few - is the ornate 15th century 'wine-glass' pulpit. Many
similar pulpits were defaced or destroyed completely during the
Reformation period, but not so here. It is probably that the lack
of overt religious symbolism on the pulpit caused it to be spared
from the Reformer's zealous destruction of icons.
| Heritage Highlights |
Anne Boleyn cup
15th c wine-glass pulpit
medieval chapels
South porch
vaulting
15th c rood screen
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| PHOTO GALLERIES |
Church
photos
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| Accommodation |
Self catering
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Anne Boleyn Cup
In a small recess at the east end of the south aisle is a silver goblet.
This is the Anne Boleyn cup, so named because it was given by Queen
Anne Boleyn to Dr Richard Masters, physician, in thanks for his care
of Anne's daughter, the future Elizabeth I. It was presented by Dr
Masters to the church in 1561. The cup is gilt silver.
The
South porch
One of the most elaborately decorated porches in an English parish
church, the south porch gives access to the church from the busy market
place. It was built around the year 1490 by the abbey, not as a part
of the church at all. It was only joined to the church building in
the 18th century, long after the abbey had disappeared.
The exterior
The most interesting place to view St John the Baptist from an architectural
standpoint is the south west corner, just off the market place. Here
you can clearly see the line of the flying buttresses stretching
in an arc from high on the tower down to the ground.
The function
of the flying buttress was simply to support the great weight of
the tower walls and transfer the outward thrust of the wall mass
to the firm ground below. What is fascinating about this particular
case is that you can see how the space between the buttress and the
church wall was later filled in with new walling as the church was
expanded. In essence the later medieval builders took the skeleton
of the earlier church and fleshed it out with new walls, making for
a greatly expanded interior space, and allowing plenty of light and
height in the remodeled building.
The tower itself is of interest;
it was built between 1400-1420 with funds donated by King Henry IV
as thanks to the citizens of Cirencester for their support during the
1399 rebellion of the Earls. This explains the royal coat of arms on
the west door.
Visiting
A public car park is located a mere hundred yards or so from the north
side of the church, making access quite simple. There are informational
leaflets available for visitors, and some very helpful signposting
throughout the church to indicate features of especial interest.
What's
it like to visit?
Photos of St John
the Baptist, Cirencester 
Details
Cirencester, St John the Baptist
Parish Office
1 Coxwell Street
Cirencester
Cotswolds
Gloucestershire
England
GL7 2BQ
Location: On the market place in the centre of Cirencester
Website: Cirencester, St John the Baptist
Email: parishoffice@acinc.org.uk
Phone: 01285 659317
map
OS SP023020
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