St John the Baptist Church, Avon Dassett
This Victorian church, with its soaring spire, is a masterpiece, built in 14th-century Gothic style. It is set amongst trees in the Avon Dassett hills.
Charles Buckeridge built it in golden Hornton sandstone in 1869 to replace a medieval church. He reused the medieval east window and reset it in the west wall of the tower.
The high-ceilinged interior is inspiring and the style used throughout is largely 14th century. The chancel remains a good example of a properly furnished sanctuary of the period, with oak altar and choir stalls, three stone seldilia and a grey Purbeck marble reredos with a cross at the centre. A recess in the north wall of the chancel contains the fine tomb of a deacon, thought to be Hugo who died in c.1240.
The bell tower was restored in 2009, allowing the 110-year-old bells to ring again.
