St John the Baptist, Corby, Northamptonshire

I Location

Site Location: Corby
National Grid Reference: SP 899 888
County: traditional: Northamptonshire
now: Northamptonshire
Diocese: medieval: Lincoln
now: Peterborough from 1539
Dedication: medieval: St John 1520
now (or name of monument): St John the Baptist
Type of building/monument: Parish church

II General Description

: Exterior from SW.

: Exterior from E.

: Interior to E.

St John's has an aisled and clerestoreyed nave with three-bay arcades, the two E bays of the S arcade are13thc. with stiff-leaf capitals, the W bay is of c.1300. The N arcade is 19thc. The chancel has 14thc. sedilia and a N vestry. The W tower is 14thc. with a quatrefoil frieze below the broach spire. The font is recorded here, although it is almost certainly 13thc.

V Furnishings

1. Fonts

(i)

: Font from NE.

In S aisle to W of S doorway. The bowl is cylindrical with six pointed arches around the lower part, each decorated with a row of dogtooth. It stands on a cylindrical stem with a chamfered base from which rise six en-delit shafts, positioned at the springing of the arches but without capitals. The ensemble stands on a broad, low modern step. The bowl is lined with lead.

Dimensions

overall h. (without step)	0.99 m
h. of bowl	0.38 m
ext. diam. of bowl	0.80 m
int. diam. of bowl	0.54 m

VII History

Corby was a royal manor of 11/2 hides in 1086. A priest was recorded, and it was noted too that there had been ironworks in the time of King Edward.

Benefice of Epiphany and St John the Baptist, Corby.

VIII Comments/Opinions

Fonts decorated with dogtooth are also found in the county at Magdalen College Brackley and at Hinton-in-the-Hedges, but both of these are more elaborately decorated with foliage as well as dogtooth.

IX Bibliography

N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, Harmondsworth, 1961, rev. by B. Cherry, 1973, 155.