34. CHIPPING BARNET.
(O.S. 6 in. xlv. N.E.)
Ecclesiastical
(1). Parish Church of St. John the
Baptist, stands on a hill near the middle of the
town. The walls are of flint with stone dressings; the roofs are covered with slate and lead.
The church was much altered and enlarged in
1875, when the Chancel was pulled down and an
Organ Chamber built on the site, the plan of the
chancel being preserved: the Nave, retaining its
own North Aisle, was converted into the N. aisle
of the present nave: and all the early work was
restored. Part of the old West Tower also
remains, and is of early 15th-century date; the
nave arcades and clearstorey were re-built by
John Beauchamp, who died in 1453, the width
of the nave being increased at the E. end to that
of the chancel, which had been re-built probably
c. 1450.
Architectural Description—The old Nave
(63½ ft. by 19 ft. at the E. end, tapering to 16 ft.
at the W. end) has 15th-century N. and S.
arcades of five bays with moulded arches of two
orders, slender clustered columns, and moulded
half-octagonal capitals. In one of the spandrels
of the S. arcade is a contemporary tablet inscribed "Ora[te p aīa] Johīs beuchamp
fudatoris hui' operis." The clearstorey windows are of three cinque-foiled lights, with
modern tracery; those on the S. are unglazed,
and open into the present nave. The Organ
Chamber has, set in the E. wall, the 15th-century
S. doorway from the old chancel, with an embattled string course over it. The old North
Aisle (11 ft. wide) has a window in the E. wall,
two in the N. wall, and a doorway, all modern.
The old West Tower (12 ft. square) retains only
the side walls of the ground stage, with arches
of hollow-chamfered orders opening N. and S.;
most of the stones have masons' marks, which
are unusually conspicuous for work of early
15th-century date; the W. wall is modern and
a new tower has been built on the S.W. The
Roofs are modern, but that of the old
nave rests on 15th-century corbels carved
with the Arms of the see of Canterbury, St.
Albans, France and England quarterly, and a
cheveron between three roses.
Fittings—Brass: on N. wall of N. aisle, to
Elinor Palmer, 1558, inscription. Chest; in
N. aisle, large, iron bound, probably 17th-century. Door: at E. end of organ chamber, with
traceried panels, 15th-century, restored; lock
and iron handle original. Font: modern; the
old font, of c. 1452, has been removed to the
Mission Church of St. Stephen, a modern
building. Monuments and Floor Slabs: in
S.E. chapel, large canopied altar tomb with
effigy of Thomas Ravenscroft, ob. 1630, shields
bearing his arms and those of his two
wives, and six scrolls commemorating his
children: in N. aisle, large slab to George
Ravenscroft, 1683. Niches: in side walls of
modern tower, two, with canopies, 15th-century, defaced. Piscinae: in E. wall of old
chancel, 15th-century, restored head: in N.E.
angle of N. aisle, without basin. Plate: includes small cup, 1679.
Condition—Good; all old work much
restored.
Secular
Wood Street
(3). Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School,
opposite the church, now used as a dining hall
for the modern school, is a rectangular, 16th-century building of brick, with octagonal stairturrets at the N.E. and S.E. angles; the E. wall
was re-built in the 19th century; the roof is
tiled. The N. windows have moulded wood
frames with mullions and transoms. An oak
post which supports the roof is the only original
feature inside the building.
Condition—Good, but with much ivy on the
N. wall.
(4). The Jesus Hospital or Ravenscroft
Almshouses, on the N. side of the street, about
¼ mile W. of the church, forms a long rectangular
building of one storey; the walls are of red
brick; the roof is tiled. The central porch
has a pediment, and over the doorway is a stone
with an inscription recording that the almshouses were built, and endowed by James
Ravenscroft in 1672, but little detail of that
date remains. All the windows and the roof
are of the 19th century. In the modern gate
posts are two old stones carved with a crest, the
initials J.R. and the date 1679.
Condition—Good.