Saint John the Baptist's Head, Trimingham

The church of Saint John the Baptist's Head is the Parish church of the coastal village and parish of Trimingham in the English county of Norfolk, England, United Kingdom.[1] The building is a Grade II* listed building.[2] The church is within the Church of England Diocese of Norwich, Norfolk, England.

Saint John the Baptist's Head
South facing elevation
Saint John the Baptist's Head, Trimingham is located in Norfolk
Saint John the Baptist's Head, Trimingham
Location within Norfolk
General information
Town or cityTrimingham
CountryEngland
Coordinates52.897912°N 1.387466°E / 52.897912; 1.387466
Completed13th century

Dedication

The church gets its unusual dedication from the fact that in the medieval period there was a life size alabaster head modelled from the relic which was believed to be the real head of John the Baptist[3] which was kept at Amiens Cathedral. The head was kept on a shrine altar and during his time period the church became a place of pilgrimage for people all over the country to see the head rather than travel to Amiens.

Description

This small flint church stands on the coast road in the centre of the village of Trimingham. The main gateway into the churchyard is through a thatched lychgate[4] on church street. The roof is slate and tiles[2] with leadwork. The greater part of the church is built in the Perpendicular style[5] and has a rather short squat west bell tower[2] which was built around 1300 and has no parapet.[5] A prominent feature of the churches bell tower are the large solid stone dressed flint buttress[4] on the corners of the tower. The buttress to the north west corner has a bench mark[6] carved into the masonry at its base.

  • South Elevation
    South Elevation
  • North Elevation
    North Elevation
  • Lychgate
    Lychgate
  • Churchyard
    Churchyard
  • Benchmark at the base of the bell tower
    Benchmark at the base of the bell tower
  • Apex cross
    Apex cross
  • Porch
    Porch

References
  1. Ordnance Survey, Explorer Sheet 252, Norfolk Coast East, ISBN 978-0-319-46726-8
  2. "Church of St John the Baptist, Trimingham, Norfolk". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  3. The Popular Guide to Norfolk Churches,1:North-East Norfolk, By D.P. Mortlock & C.V. Roberts, 1981, Pub:Acorn Editions, Page 96 Trimingham, ISBN 0 906554 04 7
  4. The King’s England series, NORFOLK, by Arthur Mee,Pub:Hodder and Stoughton,1972, page 316 Trimingham, ISBN 0 340 15061 0
  5. Pevsner, Nikolause (1962). Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East. p. 333. ISBN 9780903101622. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. OS list of benchmarks - retrieved 09 December 2018
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