2012

TF0924 : Font Detail, St John the Baptist church, Morton

taken 12 years ago, near to Morton, Lincolnshire, England

Font Detail, St John the Baptist church, Morton
Font Detail, St John the Baptist church, Morton
15th Century pliers.
St John the Baptist church, Morton

Grade I listed.

Unlike most churches in the area there is no evidence of Saxon or Norman building. The little priest’s door in the south wall of the chancel may be of late 12th century origin, so part of the chancel may belong to an earlier church than the existing one.

Probably in the 14th century a scheme for rebuilding on the noble plan of the present church was embarked upon, and work was commenced with the chancel, or possibly the south transept. It seems that from this time until well on in the 15th century building proceeded, perhaps with interruptions, but without change of plan (possibly work was held up round 1350 when the Black Death swept through the country and a third of the population perished), and new fashions were adopted in the late sections of work.
The south arcade must have been built separately and perhaps a little before the north one. The chancel has some graceful windows the tracery of which, with its flowing lines, is typical of mid-14th century design and contrasts strongly with the straight lines of the “Perpendicular” window which was later inserted in the east end.

The sedilia are a good example. The piscina is a little small and plain for this period. The great central tower with its fine stone vault was commenced about the same time as the nave, though its upper stages are later in character. It was intended to have a spire as is proved by the squinch arches in the bell chamber which would have carried the weight of the eight-sided spire across the corners of the tower.

The aisles were completed in the “Perpendicular” style of the 15th century, and the latest additions were the beautiful western porch, a most unusual feature, and the windows which were inserted in the transepts. The octagonal font is a rich example of 15th century work with emblems of the Passion on shields in canopied niches.


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Geographical Context: Religious sites Church: St John the Baptist Place: Morton other tags: Church Font Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · St John the Baptist [31] · Font [4] ·
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TF0924, 77 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
J.Hannan-Briggs   (more nearby)
Contributed by
Julian P Guffogg   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 16 September, 2012   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 24 September, 2012
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TF 0983 2400 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:48.1431N 0:22.3381W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TF 0982 2400
View Direction
EAST (about 90 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Supplemental image
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