Church of St John the Baptist, Little Maplestead (EHER 9410)

Originally built about 1340 as the church of a Commandery of the Knights Hospitallers, on the circular pattern of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. It is one of only 5 in the country to survive into modern times. It was extensively restored by Carpenter in 1850, together with the apsidal chancel. The circular building consists of an hexagonal nave with a surrounding circular aisle. Few of the earlier fittings survive apart from a roughly cut font which is probably 11th century.

Monument description derived from merging EHER 9410, 9411, 32912, and 49297. Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: Church (NAT). <1> A preceptory of Knights Hospitallers at Little Maplestead was probably founded by 1186. All that remains is the church which was rebuilt by the Knights Hospitallers in 1340 and heavily restored in 1849-50 but still retains the circular nave, only five of which remain in England. <2> - <4> Walls are flint and pebble rubble with limestone dressings and tiled roofs. Built as the church of a commandry of the Knights Hospitallers about 1340, and consisted of a chancel and hexagonal nave with a circular aisle. It became ruinous in the 19th century and was largely rebuilt in 1849-50. RCHM has plate of interior. The font is probably 11th century. The chancel has a semi-circular apse with traces of the blocking of a former east window. Site Assessment: Though practically rebuilt it is of great interest on account of the plan. It has one of the five remaining circular or polygonal naves in England. South vestry and west porch are 'modern'. <5> Built as late as about 1345. Site Assessment: The latest of the five. <6> Parish Church of St John the Baptist. Originally built about 1340 as the church of a Commandery of the Knights Hospitallers, on the circular pattern of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. It is one of only 5 in the country to survive into modern times. It was extensively restored by Carpenter in 1850, together with the apsidal chancel. The circular building consists of an hexagonal nave with a surrounding circular aisle. Few of the earlier fittings survive apart from a roughly cut font which is probably 11th century. <7> <8> There has been much controversy over the subject of the first church. Presumably there was one in late Saxon times - a priest is mentioned in Domesday. It has been suggested that the original church lay about 1 mile to the south-east. No documentary evidence and no archaeological evidence for the site of the other church either: needs elucidating. The present church is probably on the site of the original Hospitallers church but whether upstanding fabric is 12th century is problematical. Rodwell suggests that the date of about 1335 is too late for a round nave and apsidal chancel and suggests that the arcade and windows were added then. A Norman window high in the apse is shown in one of Wallen's engravings and on his longitudinal section of the church. Graded CIc by Rodwell. <9> <10> Church of St John the Baptist. Parish Church, originally a chapel of The Knights of St John of Jerusalem - Knights Hospitallers. About 1340. West doorway possibly 14th century, restored 19th century. Largely rebuilt 1849-55. 19th century windows, stained glass, bell turret with pyramidal roof, west porch. Largely rebuilt 1849-55. RCHM 1. Grade II*. <11> This source suggests the round church is 14th century, from the lack of signs of earlier work. The plan may have been influenced by an earlier round church but no foundations of such a building were found during the 19th century restoration when the walls were underpinned. A frame hanging in the aisle contains two engravings and a plan, dated 1765, showing the original layout including the screens that originally shut off the chancel. The apse was also screened off. One of the 1765 engravings shows a timber-framed porch against the west doorway. The Minute Book of the Restoration Committee records the discovery of a piscina and sedilia when the chancel walls were stripped but no trace is now visible. The west doorway is largely 14th century according to the guide book font probably about 1080 - the bowl was originally square but was converted to an octagon, perhaps in the 15th century. The church has, hanging in the nave aisle, a frame containing two engravings and a plan, dated 1765, showing the church as it then was. Sometime before 1836 the western porch had been converted to a school. The church was restored from 1851-7. The minute book of the Restoration Committee survives. There are no ancient memorials in the church. <12> - <15> St John the Baptist, it is now far from clear as to how much pre-dates 1851-57, in Coller we read, 'a recent writer implies that as the fine relic was levelled to its foundations in 1857 and re-erected in precisely its ancient form it was, after all, an imitation and a counterfeit. Of little architectural importance, as the church has been extensively 'restored', but archaeologically the church and site must still be regarded as important. Site Assessment = Church is largely a Victorian structure as it suffered one of the most brutal 'restorations' perpetrated in the Diocese. Graveyard has suffered partial clearance and 'tidying'. <16> July 1976. Field visit. The church is further described and illustrated in the guide. According to the owner of Maplestead Hall no trace of the preceptory domestic building have been discovered in the area (the hall itself is probably 16th century, but with a Victorian frontage). Published 1:2500 survey correct. <17> 2013. Watching brief. The ground in the northwest corner of the graveyard proved to be completely undisturbed. It can be assumed that historically the northern boundary of the churchyard corresponds roughly with the existing one on the roadside where there is a ditch which is gradually being filled in. This part of the churchyard has never been used for burials. This can most simply be seen as a reflection of the preference for burial on the south side of the church, although it is not unknown to find old burials on the north side. <18> Four photos. <19> See also: <20> - <23>