Unlike the rest of St. John the Baptist’s medieval church, the south aisle is entirely Victorian. Built during Henry Ward’s rebuilding of the 1840s, it was carefully designed to harmonise with the Romanesque character of the older church. This article explores how Norman-inspired architecture, the remarkable south doorway and later additions combined to create one of the most successful parts of the rebuilding.
Tag: Gothic
A closer look at the chancel
The chancel of St. John the Baptist reveals a different chapter in the church’s history. Contrasting with the heavy Romanesque nave, it preserves the character of a later medieval Gothic rebuilding that was carefully reinterpreted during the Victorian restoration. Drawing on architectural evidence, early drawings and contemporary descriptions, this article explores how centuries of rebuilding, patronage and worship shaped the church’s most sacred space.
A House of Two Gothics: Hawkesyard Explained
Hawkesyard did not arrive fully formed. It grew by addition and adaptation, shaped by changing taste, belief, and circumstance. From Lister’s ordered Georgian Gothick to Spode’s confident Victorian Gothic, the house records how architecture, like family history, is built in layers rather than moments, across generations and acts of ambition