St. John the Baptist, Windsor, Berkshire
Description
The parish church of St. John the Baptist, in the High street, was rebuilt in 1822 at an expense of £14,040 17s. 3d. of which £1,005 was subscribed by the King and Royal Family, and is an edifice of freestone in a nondescript style of modern Gothic, 90 feet in length by 60 feet wide, with later additions at the east end in much better style, and consists of apsidal chancel, nave of six bays, aisles and a western embattled tower with pinnacles containing 8 bells, two of which were presented by Samuel, 1st Baron Masham, cofferer to Queen Anne, in 1707; the rest are said to be Elizabethan: within, the church has a generally fine appearance, although, from being surrounded by galleries on three sides, the effect is somewhat heavy: the chancel is decorated with mosaics by Salviati, representing angels and objects symbolical of the Crucifixion: the windows of the apse are stained, that in the centre being a memorial to the late Mrs. Ellison: on the south side is a kind of chapel, forming a royal pew attached to Frogmore House; it has a separate entrance from the churchyard, and is chiefly remarkable for its fine carved screen of oak, the work of Grinling Gibbons, formerly in St. George's chapel: the chairs formerly in the Frogmore pew, but now at the end of the stalls, were presented to the church by H.R.H. the Princess Augusta: on the wall of the north-west vestibule are two ancient black-letter inscriptions, almost illegible, one of which, dated 1509, commemorates William Canon, mayor of Windsor, and Elizabeth his wife: here is also the monument of Sir Thomas Reeve, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, who resided at Windsor and died in 1736; it consists of a sarcophagus and pyramid of veined marble, with bust of himself and his wife, by Scheemaker, and was erected at the cost of Dr. Mead; in the north aisle is a quaint undated monument of the 16th century, inscribed to Edward Jobson, Elynor, his wife, and their family, with kneeling effigies of all, and above, a shield of arms: there are also other memorials to Sir Thomas Reeve of Holyport, ob. 1777; Topham Foot esq. ob. 1712, with a bust by Scheemaker; John, son of Sir William Dugdale, ob. 1570; William Heberden M.D. d. 17th of May, 1801, and to the families of Braham, Starkey, Hale, Topham and Litton: in the west gallery is a large picture of the Last Supper, discovered in 1707 behind the wainscot of one of the chantries in St. George's chapel and used as the altar-piece there till 1788, when it was presented by George III. to the parish church, together with the organ: the windows of the apse and two others are stained: an oak screen, from designs by the late Sir Arthur Blomfield A.R.A. was erected in 1898, at a cost of £300, to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, and in 1906 extensive alterations were made at a cost of about £2,300: a large organ was also erected at a cost of £1,450; a new system of warming and ventilation introduced, a choir vestry built and much of the gallery reseated: there are 1,200 sittings.
Church Records
The register of St. John the Baptist dates from the year 1559.