---
title: "St John the Baptist, Penshurst"
description: "Located in Penshurst, Kent. Built C13 north arcade; early C14 south arcade; C15 west tower; south aisle and porch rebuilt 1631; Sidney chapel 1820; restored 1864–65. Diocese of Rochester. Grade I. Medieval Gothic, with later restorations style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Church of England","Kent","Penshurst","Grade I","Medieval","Sidney","George Gilbert Scott"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/st-john-baptist-penshurst"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T02:29:48.710Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-07T17:50:18.415Z"
location: "Penshurst, Kent"
country: "England"
county: "Kent"
town: "Penshurst"
address: "High Street, Penshurst, Kent, TN11 8BN"
postcode: "TN11 8BN"
built: "C13 north arcade; early C14 south arcade; C15 west tower; south aisle and porch rebuilt 1631; Sidney chapel 1820; restored 1864–65"
architect: "John Biagio Rebecca (Sidney chapel, 1820); Sir George Gilbert Scott (1864–65); Bodley and Garner (chancel screen, 1895)"
denomination: "Church of England"
dedications: ["John the Baptist"]
diocese: "Rochester"
grade: "I"
style: "Medieval Gothic, with later restorations"
materials: "Coursed sandstone"
website: "http://www.penshurstchurch.org/"
openingHours: "Dawn to dusk every day of the year."
parish: "Penshurst"
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1243204"
gridReference: "TQ 527 438"
accessNotes: "Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby"
---

# St John the Baptist, Penshurst

St John the Baptist is a Grade I Church of England parish church on the High Street at Penshurst, Kent, beside Penshurst Place, in the Diocese of Rochester.

## Overview

Historic England lists the church at Grade I (NHLE 1243204, listed 10 September 1954). Kent’s historic environment record, quoting the list, describes nave and aisles, chancel and aisles, west tower and south porch in coursed sandstone: a thirteenth-century north aisle arcade, an early fourteenth-century south arcade running into the south chapel, a later fourteenth-century north chapel, a Perpendicular clerestory and a battlemented Perpendicular west tower with corner turrets. The south aisle and south porch were rebuilt in 1631. John Biagio Rebecca reworked the south (Sidney) chapel in 1820. Sir George Gilbert Scott restored and partly rebuilt the church in 1864–65, including the south windows and north aisle. The chancel screen is by Bodley and Garner, 1895. The church holds a long series of medieval and later monuments, many to the Sidney family of Penshurst Place.

## Further Information

- [Penshurst Church](http://www.penshurstchurch.org/)
- [Historic England list entry 1243204](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1243204)