St John the Baptist's Church, Yarburgh

St John the Baptist’s Church stands in the quiet village of Yarburgh, eight kilometres north-east of Louth in Lincolnshire. Built largely of ironstone and chalk rubble, the church has a west tower of three stages, a north aisle, a south porch and a 19th-century vestry. Its roofs are covered with lead and fishscale-patterned tiles, and the west doorway is carved with leaves, fruit and a pelican. The tower’s battlemented parapet rises above stepped buttresses, while inside the nave a four-bay arcade rests on octagonal piers. The church is worth visiting for its long history and fine craftsmanship. Dating originally from the 14th century, it was rebuilt after a fire in 1405 and restored in 1854–55 by James Fowler of Louth. The west doorway’s spandrels show Adam and Eve with the serpent and a Paschal Lamb, and the oldest bell in the tower was cast around 1370. Three bells hang in the tower, with the third added in 1831 by James Harrison III. Inside, the 14th-century font stands plain and octagonal, and the north aisle holds a 14th-century piscina with a crocketted ogee head. The four-bay north arcade is 15th-century, and the tower screen dates from the same period. The east window of the chancel is 19th-century, and the vestry’s two-light window copies 15th-century style. Outside, the blocked 14th-century arcade on the south side still shows signs of fire damage.