Building record MDR4828 - St John The Baptist's Church, Dethick, Dethick, Lea and Holloway

SK 3271 5797. St. John the Baptist's Church. (1) The chapel of Dethick, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was founded in 1279. The tower dates from 1532 when the building was thoroughly restored. (2) In normal use for once monthly services. (3) The Church of St John the Baptist is a Grade II* Anglican church. The tower is dated 1530, the remainder of the church is 13th century with later additions and refashioning. It is constructed from ashlar and coursed rubble gritstone with a shallow pitched leaded roof. The church consists of a west tower, nave and chancel with clerestory, a single roof covering the body of the church, without visible differentiation between nave and chancel. A deep decorated frieze band below the bell stage of the tower carries carved heraldic shields of the Babingtons and related families, the tower having been erected by Sir Anthony Babington. (4) A well-preserved example of a medieval church on a prominent position on a hill close to the old manor site. Originally the private chapel to Dethick/Babington Manor House. It was built in 1225 and dedicated in 1279. The tower was added by Sir Anthony Babington in 1530 and has diagonal buttresses and a tall polygonal stair lantern turret. A frieze around the tower shows shields of the families which were intermarried with the Babingtons. It has a simple nave and chancel in one. The lancet windows, doorways and niches are of the original building. The clerestory windows have stained glass dedicated to the Wass family of nearby Lea Green, owners of the now dismantled local lead works. These windows and the added height date from the alterations which included the construction of the tower in 1530. There are no burials. It was declared a parish church by the Ecclesiastical Commission when the parish boundaries changed in 1900 but was not used as such because of the dedication of Christ Church, Holloway, in 1901. It is used for services once a month and for baptisms and marriages. (6)