As St. John the Baptist church was largely rebuilt in the 1840s, and little documentary evidence survives from before that time, it is necessary to turn to alternative sources to reconstruct the form and chronology of the earlier building. Stebbing Shaw, writing in the 1790s, provides a detailed and informative description of the church, including most of its dimensions and his interpretation of its development. By the 1840s, the nave and north aisle required rebuilding, and an increase in the congregation led to the addition of a south aisle. The architect Henry Ward was instructed to replicate the Romanesque character of the original structure, although such work should be understood as interpretative rather than archaeologically exact in its accuracy, offering a useful if imperfect guide to its original appearance. During the works, the chancel was found to be structurally unsound and was consequently rebuilt, its earlier style again being retained. A series of drawings from the first half of the 19th century—produced before, during, and after the rebuilding—serve to corroborate and refine the evidence provided by these written accounts.
The origins of the church at Armitage may lie in the wider reorganisation of the diocese under Roger de Clinton, who is known to have encouraged the consolidation of parishes and the building of local churches during the mid-12th century. Such foundations are often understood as part of a shift toward more clearly defined parish churches, which increasingly served wider lay communities alongside, rather than necessarily replacing, worship centred on the lord of the manor and his family. At that time, the manor of Handsacre was held by Hubert de Handsacre, a figure closely connected with contemporary religious patronage. His family were involved in the foundation of Ranton Abbey in 1150, with Hubert and his son Robert recorded as witnesses to its foundation charter. This pattern of involvement makes investment in a local church at Armitage entirely consistent with contemporary expressions of lordly status and piety.
In this context, it is plausible that St. John the Baptist was established in the mid-12th century, perhaps under Hubert’s patronage, although direct evidence for this is lacking. Tradition holds that it was built on or near the site of a hermit’s cell, situated on a rocky eminence overlooking the River Trent—an evocative setting that may preserve memory of an earlier focus of Christian activity.
Against this historical background, the surviving architectural evidence—though fragmentary—offers further clues to the development of the church. Both the nave and the North aisle were built in the Romanesque style. While aisles in parish churches are often later additions to an originally aisleless nave, the circumstances at Armitage complicate this interpretation. The continued use of the manorial church at Handsacre into the later Middle Ages suggests that the north aisle cannot be explained simply as a response to population growth. Two possibilities therefore arise: either the aisle represents a later addition motivated by factors other than expansion—such as status or liturgical arrangement—or, more plausibly, the nave and north aisle were conceived together as part of a single mid-12th-century campaign, reflecting the ambitions of the patron rather than subsequent growth.
Stebbing Shaw’s observation however that the round arches of the arcade between the nave and the North aisle may not have been “coeval with the pillars” suggests that the relationship between nave and north aisle was more complex than a single building phase. While the massive cylindrical piers are consistent with a 12th-century origin, the arches they supported in the 1790s may represent a later alteration, indicating that the arcade was modified after its initial construction. If this is the case, it would align with known patterns of medieval rebuilding, in which earlier structural elements such as piers were retained while arches were reshaped or heightened to reflect changing architectural tastes. This raises the possibility that even if the aisle existed at an early date, its architectural form was subsequently reworked, complicating any straightforward interpretation of a single or dual-phase build.
The south doorway, opening directly into the nave, provides particularly important evidence. As described by Shaw, its sculptural richness—zig-zag mouldings, carved shafts, and figural ornament—places it firmly within the developed Romanesque tradition of the mid-12th century. Such work implies access to skilled craftsmen and a level of patronage consistent with the establishment of a fully functioning parish church. In this light, the building at Armitage appears less as a subordinate chapel to the manorial centre at Handsacre and more as a deliberate foundation intended to serve a wider community.
Shaw’s description also makes clear that the nave had a handsome zig-zag arch, about fourteen feet high by thirteen, supported by four plain, round pillars, two on each side. As a clearly Romanesque chancel arch, this strongly suggests that the 12th-century church was built with a defined chancel from the outset. This early chancel was probably square-ended, in keeping with mid-12th-century parish practice,
Taken together, the documentary record, place-name evidence, and surviving architectural features point toward a coherent interpretation. The church at Armitage was most likely conceived in the mid-12th century as a planned Romanesque parish foundation of some status, possibly associated with the patronage of Hubert de Handsacre and the wider diocesan reforms of the period. While later alterations—particularly to the arcade—complicate the structural history, the overall consistency of the Romanesque evidence allows the nave, chancel and perhaps the north aisle to be interpreted as belonging to a single, or closely related, phase of construction.
The site itself, shaped by earlier religious associations and chosen for its prominence, reinforces the impression of a deliberate and symbolically charged foundation rather than an incremental or purely functional development.
Stebbing Shaw’s account and the 19th C drawings show that the chancel was modified or rebuilt at least twice before the 19th C complete rebuild. The East windows of the chancel were in the Decorated Gothic style dating them to 1290 – 1375. Given that Stebbing found the initials of Simon Rugeley (d 1349) in these windows it is likely that he is responsible for one of those phases. The East window though, in the Perpendicular Gothic style, was considerably later.
It is uncertain whether a tower formed part of the original 12th-century church or was introduced at a later stage. In many comparable parish churches, towers represent a secondary phase, added once the initial nave and chancel were established and the resources or need for bells had increased. If this was the case at Armitage, the earlier tower was likely a relatively modest structure—square in plan, with simple openings and little ornament—quite unlike the more substantial building that replaced it in 1632. However, the extensive rebuilding of the 19th century has removed any structural evidence that might confirm this sequence, and the question must therefore remain open.
Until the 19th C rebuilding then the church consisted of the nave, the chancel, the north aisle and the tower. This plan reflects a largely medieval arrangement that endured, despite modification, into the modern period. When it was rebuilt, between 1844 and 1847 the south aisle was added in the same Romanesque style as the nave and the North aisle. In 1852 the church was further extended at the expense of Josiah Spode IV with a vestry and organ chapel on the North side of the chancel.
Further reading
- From hermit’s haven to parish landmark – a 1790 tour of the ancient church of Armitage
- Ringing through the centuries – the story of the church bells
- The oldest item in the village – the church font
- From fiddles to pipes – the musical history of the church
- Assault and battery in the church