Church of St. John the Baptist Yeovil

Church of St. John the Baptist, Yeovil

UK Churches: Church of St. John the Baptist, Yeovil, Somerset

The Church of St. John the Baptist is the main attraction in Yeovil, Somerset. Built between 1380 and 1405 and renovated in the mid-19th century, the Anglican church is known for its 28-meter tall tower added around 1480. The present Norman church in the perpendicular style replaced an earlier Saxon place of worship. It is a Grade I listed building.

The first school in Yeovil. — The first school in Yeovil

History

The earliest church in Yeovil was a Saxon minster church around which the town subsequently grew. It was surrounded by a large burial site.

In 1360 the rector Robert de Sambourne began work on a new church. The influential stonemason William Wynford is believed to have worked on the church. Wynford along with William of Wykeham worked on several buildings together including Windsor Castle, Corfe Castle, Winchester Cathedral, New College, Oxford as well as other churches in Somerset.

The building dates from the late 14th and early 15th centuries. — The building dates from the late 14th and early 15th centuries and is known as 'The Lantern of the West'

Architecture

Built in the Perpendicular style, the church tower contains a ring of twelve bells. There are 130 steps to the top. The interior is noted for one unusual stained glass window showing Judas Iscariot with a black halo and the font which dates back to the earliest origins of the church.

A glass case in the church contains an original James I Bible dating from 1617 that was donated to the church by Elizabeth Prowse in 1628.

The building is surrounded by a pleasant green. — The building is surrounded by a pleasant green

School

Opposite the church is the building that once housed a school - Yeovil's first.

The school was originally a choir school and dated from the earliest beginnings of the church. It moved to the former Chantry Chapel on Church Street in 1864 when it was converted into a grammar school, which opened the following year.

Access - Getting to St John's Church

Yeovil, BA20 1HE
Tel: 01935 427745
www: sjyeovil.org.uk

Services take place at 9.30 am and 10.30 am on Sundays.

The 10.30 am service is the biggest congregation and is suitable for all ages. The service usually lasts for an hour.

The church plays host to various events throughout the year. Please check the website above for further details.

Admission

Free

Nearby Attractions

Things to see in Yeovil include the pleasant Yeovil Country Park and the nearby Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton.

Cineworld in Yeo Leisure Park, where the old Yeovil Town Station once stood, is a multiplex with the latest movies. Hollywood Bowl also at Yeo Leisure Park has ten-pin bowling and an American-themed diner.

Westlands Yeovil is a recent conference/leisure center close to Yeovil/Westland Airport presenting theatre screenings, comedy, musicals, pantomime and other events.

Access - Getting To Yeovil

The town is located south of Bath, Bradford on Avon and Frome. Nowadays Yeovil has two railway stations down from four. These are Yeovil Junction and Yeovil Pen Mill.

Yeovil Pen Mill is operated by Great Western Railways (GWR) with connections to destinations across the South West. There are regular services throughout the day to Bristol Temple Meads, stopping at such stations as Castle Cary, Frome, Westbury, and Bath Spa.

The quickest trains from Bristol Temple Meads Station in Bristol to Yeovil Pen Mill Station take about one hour, 30 minutes with a change in Westbury.

South Western Railway operate a few services between London Waterloo and Pen Mill. Some are via Yeovil Junction and others via Westbury.

Yeovil Junction is operated by South Western Railway (SWR). There is one service an hour to and from London Waterloo and Exeter St David’s. Altogether here are stops in Woking, Andover, Salisbury, Tisbury, Sherbourne, Axminster, and also Exeter Central among other stations from Waterloo to Exeter. There is a bus service and taxis to take passengers into Yeovil from Yeovil Junction.

The Yeovil Railway Centre is a small railway museum at the station. Demonstration trains run on the approximately ¼ mile of track along the Clifton Maybank spur.

Yeovil is about an hour's car journey from Bath on the A303 or A367/A37.

London is around a two hour to three hour drive on the A303.