Church of St John the Evangelist (EHER 5966)

Aisleless nave and chancel in one. South porch, North vestry and small West spirelet. The nave was built in the early 12th century, and the chancel was added or rebuilt in the 13th century. It was restored in 1895 by A Y Nutt, who rebuilt the East wall and the South porch and added the North vestry. Flint rubble, coursed in the 12th century work, uncoursed in the 13th century work. Limestone and clunch dressings. Tiled roofs and shingled spirelet. Weather boarded West belfry.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. A 12th century window in the nave has internal splays and rear-arch of bricks, possibly Roman. The church's walls are of flint rubble, coursed in the 12th century work, the 13th century work is uncoursed. The dressings are of limestone and clunch, the roofs are tile-covered. The nave was built in the first half of the 12th century and the chancel was rebuilt in the 13th century. The chancel and nave are undivided structurally. Features and fittings include: windows and window details of the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries, two 13th century doorways (north and south nave doorways with early 13th century door in the latter), old tie beams in the chancel roof, the trussed rafter nave roof is 14th century-it has 2 tie beams, the one at the west under the bell turret has queen and subsidiary posts, 13th century coffin-lids in the churchyard, 14th century font, a mid 14th century monument with an oak effigy of a priest, a 13th century niche, early 16th century seating in the nave. The church was restored in the 19th century and has a 'modern' bell tower with shingled spirelet. The north vestry and south porch were added then. Features and fittings include: bell of 1675, a late 17th century chair, late 17th or early 18th century chest, late 16th and late 17th century panelling, the plate includes a cup and paten of 1706 and a pewter flagon, possibly late 17th or early 18th century, 16th and early 17th century panelling reused in the 'modern' pulpit. <1> Church of St John the Evangelist. A small simple building of 12th century origin with a 13th century chancel. Nave and chancel are not divided structurally. The walls are of flint rubble, coursed in the 12th century part. There is a small wooden belfry with a shingled spire. There are 2 round-headed 12th century windows in the nave. The south doorway and the door itself are 13th century in date. There is a fine 14th century tomb recess 'with crocketed and cusped ogee arch and oak effigy of a priest in full vestments'. The carved font is 14th century and there are 10 early 16th century pews Much 19th century restoration, the vestry and south porch are 19th century. <2> Roman tile in fabric of church, in north chancel quoin and a buttress on the north side <3> <4> Site visit, 1975 The tile fragments are very thin and do not seem to be Roman. They are to be found in the NW quoin of the nave, and in both corners of a wide pilaster buttress on the N wall of the chancel. A few more pieces occur throughout the fabric of the church. <5> Archaeological trial trenching was carried out at the Church of St John, Little Leighs in advance of the construction of new Parish Rooms. A single T-shaped trench, totalling 21m in length, was excavated across the c.150 sq. m site. Although there is cropmark evidence for archaeological remains of probable prehistoric date to the north-west and south-east of the church no remains of this date were identified, nor were any pre-dating the construction of the church in the 12th century. Numerous cut features, all on the same north-east/south-west alignment as the church, are believed to represent a series of intercutting graves. The earliest dated graves were two brick lined graves of probable 17th century date and the most recent, dating to the 19th century, were identified by the presence of in-situ coffin nails and a coffin handle. Five dark filled and regularly spaced graves at the south-east end of the trench may constitute a line of broadly contemporary burials of a probable modern (19th/20th century) date. Several burials were of un-determined post-medieval date and it is possible that a few may be of medieval date. The recovery of a small number of unstratified medieval and late medieval finds supports this theory and suggests the likelihood of medieval activity taking place within the near vicinity of the churchyard. <6> June to July 2023. Watching brief. The archaeological watching brief identified and recorded a single, partially visible, articulated human burial located close to the north Vestry at the base of a utility trench. The partially uncovered articulated human remains, consisting of leg bones that were oriented east-west, were recorded, left in situ, and covered prior to the backfilling of the trench. Nineteenth-century footings at the base of the west wall were exposed during groundworks. The masonry stood on three courses of red brick, stepped out, with stone foundation rubble below. <7> Aerial photographs <8> - <12> Photograph <13> Additional reference <14> <15> St. John's Church (NAT) <16>