St John the Baptist
Granborough, Buckinghamshire
A warm and welcoming church with over 700 years of history at the centre of this north Buckinghamshire village.
Firstly as a result of the income derived from the shrine of John Schorne and latterly from the generosity of Queen Victoria. This church is a hidden gem set in a quiet village in north Buckinghamshire.
From its humble beginnings in the early 12th century, the church became immensely popular and wealthy as the third most popular place of pilgrimage in England, visited twice by King Henry VIII. The attraction was the shrine and holy well associated with John Schorne, rector at the church from 1282 to 1314, who is alleged to have discovered a spring during a period of great drought by striking the ground with his staff. The spring water became a holy well and the water was claimed to have great healing powers for many conditions, including gout. The income from pilgrims’ votive offerings helped to pay for the enlargement of the church and its adornment with a considerable number of stone carvings, inside and out. It also left the legacy of a stone built 'watching chamber' to guard the shrine, and a small boot shrine where gout sufferers could place an afflicted foot for a cure from this painful condition.
Over five centuries later, a wealthy local landowner left his entire fortune to Queen Victoria. In thanks, the Queen commissioned a leading architect to refurbish the chancel and commissioned an impressive east window and reredos, both of which are of notable quality.
Outside, there are a number of medieval 'mass dials' and a corbel table of carved heads, human and grotesque, which encircles the church.