St John, Keynsham
St John, Keynsham
St John the Baptist is a Grade II* parish church on High Street, Keynsham, in the Diocese of Bath and Wells and the Parish of Keynsham.
- Location
- Keynsham, City of Bristol
- Country
- England
- County
- City of Bristol
- City / town
- Keynsham
- Address
- The Park, Keynsham, City of Bristol, BS31 2BL
- Postcode
- BS31 2BL
- Built
- c.1250–70; south aisle 1390; south porch and chancel 1470; west tower 1634–55; restored 1861–63
- Architect
- Benjamin Ferrey (restoration 1861–63)
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- John
- Diocese
- Bath and Wells
- Parish
- Keynsham
- Grade
- II*
- Style
- Decorated and Perpendicular Gothic
- Materials
- Coursed and squared rubble with banded ashlar to the tower, ashlar dressings; clay-tile chancel roof and slate nave roof
- Grid reference
- ST 654 688
- Opening hours
- Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 12noon.
- Access
- Level access to the main areas
Overview
Historic England records an Anglican parish church originally dating to around 1250–70. The south aisle was added in 1390; the south porch and chancel were rebuilt in 1470. After the collapse of the tower and storm damage, restoration between 1634 and 1655 included construction of the west tower. A further restoration took place in 1861–63; the roof was restored in 1951–57 and the outer walls in 1962–65. The fabric is coursed and squared rubble with banded ashlar to the tower, ashlar dressings and copings, a plain clay-tile chancel roof and a slate nave roof. The plan is an eight-bay nave with north and south aisles, chancel, west tower, south porch and south-east vestry, in Decorated and Perpendicular Gothic.
The listing notes a mid-fifteenth-century wooden rood screen (moved to the south aisle after the 1632 tower fall), a pulpit of about 1655, brass chandeliers of 1717–21 given by Ann Tilly, and a baluster font of 1725. Wikipedia records a minster at Keynsham by the ninth century and a close association with Keynsham Abbey until the Dissolution; the 1861–63 campaign was led by Benjamin Ferrey under vicar George Robinson. The church is one of several in the Parish of Keynsham.