St John the Baptist Church, Clarborough: A 13th-Century Parish Church
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.7
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- English
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page6 sections
History
St John the Baptist Church, Clarborough, is a 13th-century Church of England parish church in the United Kingdom, dedicated to John the Baptist, the Jewish preacher described in the New Testament as baptizing Jesus. It belongs to the Province of York, the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, the Archdeaconry of Newark, and the Deanery of Bassetlaw and Bawtry.
Early Ecclesiastical History
Clarborough is not named in the Domesday Book, the landholding survey commissioned by William the Conqueror and completed in 1086, in connection with a church. Evidence indicates that a church had been established by 1103, when the medieval landholder William de Lovetot donated half of its income.
Foundation and Medieval Development
Construction of the original building began in 1258 after Sewal de Bovil, Archbishop of York, set out the income and land that should support the vicar, the parish priest serving under a bishop. These provisions included the altarage, income associated with serving an altar, a toft and croft beside the churchyard, meaning a house plot with its adjoining garden or smallholding, and tithes from the town’s enclosed crofts. The parish church was founded in 1260, and together with Manor Farm near the church it became a focus of the village.
Restoration and Protection
James Fowler of Louth restored the church in 1874. Fowler was a nineteenth-century architect associated with church restoration in and around Louth. St John the Baptist Church is a Grade I listed building, a designation reserved in England for buildings of exceptional interest and the highest category of listed-building protection.
Remains
Church and Churchyard
The surviving church is a 13th-century building, representing the medieval parish foundation begun in 1258 and established in 1260. Its physical setting includes the churchyard, where a yew tree is possibly more than 1,000 years old. The church and its churchyard form part of the historic group that developed with Manor Farm as the focus of Clarborough.
