St John the Baptist
Wales, Yorkshire
This lovely church, has been a place where worship has been offered to God for over 1000 years, with the original Norman church constructed during the reign of Henry I (d 1135).
At the time of the Norman Conquest there was a church on this site which had its own priest. That church is mentioned in the Domesday Book and there are traces of it beneath the stone building now here.
A collection of weather beaten gargoyles keep watch on the outside of the building and the porch dates from 1330. On the either side of the doorway are carvings thought to represent King Edward III and Queen Philippa. The nave contains pillars of both Norman and early Gothic styles. It is thought that the altar may be Saxon.
The font dates from about 1400. It has a wonderful carved figure at the base, thought to represent King Herod holding a dagger.
The church also contains some fine memorials, including effigies of the Good Sir John Darcy and his three wives. The memorials on the south wall are of Rector William Mason and his friend Thomas Gray who wrote Elegy in a Country Churchyard. At the east end of the north aisle was the large tomb of the Meltons set in the floor of the chancel.
The church boasts a window of medieval glass which was rescued from the home of the Darcy family (now Aston Hall) when it was burnt down. On the north wall can be seen two passages of scripture uncovered when plaster was removed. After the Reformation in 1548 paintings were forbidden, only scripture was allowed on the walls. On the north wall is a marble bas relief of the Virgin and Child attributed to Giovanni Bastianini, carved about 1855.