Stunning Church nestled in one of the prettiest villages I’ve seen in awhile; was a welcome break from travelling and the gravestones were just beautiful, Hats off to the Memorial Mason back then!
https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/visit/church-listing/st-john-avon-dassett.htmlA masterpiece of the Gothic Revival
This Victorian church, with its soaring spire, is a masterpiece built in fourteenth-century Gothic style and is set amongst trees in the Avon Dassett hills – a lovely place for a walk.
Charles Buckeridge built it in golden Hornton sandstone in 1869 to replace a medieval church, which east window he reset in the west wall of the tower.
The high-ceilinged interior is inspiring and the style throughout is largely fourteenth century. The chancel remains a good example of a properly furnished sanctuary of the period, with oak altar and choirstalls, three stone seldilia and a grey Purbeck marble reredos with a cross at the centre. A recess in the north wall of the chancel contains the fine tomb of a deacon, thought to be Hugo who died in c.1240.
In 2009, as part of our 40th birthday celebration, we released a special recording of the 110-year-old bells from this church. The bells were able to ring again on 21 February, for the first time in 30 years, thanks to the restored bell tower, completed via a £700,000 restoration project.