Denomination Church of England Website www.sjfrome.co.uk Archdeaconry Wells Diocese Diocese of Bath and Wells | Churchmanship Broad Church Dedication St John the Baptist Parish Frome | |
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Heritage designation Grade II* listed building Address Church St, Frome BA11 1PL, UK Similar Church of St Lawrence, Orchardleigh Estate, Blue House - Frome, Church of St John the Baptist - G, Church of All Saints - Nunney | ||
The Church of St John the Baptist, Frome is a parish church in the Church of England located at Frome within the English county of Somerset. It is a Grade II* listed building.
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The first church on the site was built by Aldhelm in the late 7th century. Major building work was undertaken in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries with little remaining of the Norman and Saxon structures. In 1852 the controversial priest William James Early Bennett was appointed as the vicar and undertook major changes both in the organisation of the parish and the fabric of the church.
The restoration by C. E. Giles included stained glass by Charles Eamer Kempe and statuary by James Forsyth. The entrance to the church passes a holy well and stone-sculptured Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) depicting seven scenes from the Stations of the Cross. It is unique in the Anglican church in England.
History
The parish church of St John the Baptist, with its tower and spire, was built between the late 12th century and early 15th century replacing a Saxon building that had stood since 685 AD. The first church had been established when Aldhelm obtained a grant from Pope Sergius I to establish a foundation of mission priests to spread the faith in Selwood Forest. By the second half of the 11th century the church was under the control of Regenbald. Nothing remains of the original church apart from some fragments of masonry. The fabric of the current church was built in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries but largely rebuilt in the 19th.
Around 1418 William Starke was the vicar. In the 1540s separate chantry chapels to St Andrew, St Nicholas and Our Lady were established.
The controversial priest William James Early Bennett was appointed as the vicar in 1852. Bennett is celebrated for having provoked the decision that the doctrine of the Real Presence is a dogma not inconsistent with the creed of the Church of England. As a leading member of the Oxford Movement he had served as vicar to various churches in London but resigned in 1851, following doctrinal complaints and a theological dispute with his bishop, Charles Blomfield - after being accused of ritualism. His publication The Old Church Porch (1854–1862), issued at Frome, is sometimes cited as being in effect the first parish magazine, although this claim has been disputed.
Within a few years of Bennett's arrival the system of pew privilege, by which the wealthy bought their pews was abandoned and many of the pews and the galleries were removed. He also divided the parish into 12 districts and established schools, classes, a dispensary and other charities for the population. He set up a choir school for 12 boys and creches for the children of the town's factory workers. He bought some of the properties surround the church of the school which is now used as the church hall and known as the Bennett Centre.
The chancel was restored in 1844 and further restored in the 1850s and 1860s by C. E. Giles, which entailed almost total rebuilding. Bennett employed the sculptor James Forsyth to carve statues of saints, the reredos and 18 medallions. Forsyth was also responsible for the carving of the Via Crucis alongside the steps on the north side of the church.
It was designated as a Grade II* listed building in 1983.
The parish and benefice of Frome (St John the Baptist) is within the archdeaconry of Wells and the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
Architecture
The church contains a chancel, Lady chapel and baptistery and has a 7 or 8 bay nave. Fragments of Norman work are left including carved stones at the base of the tower and parts of the arch into the Lady Chapel.
The interior is elaborately adorned with sculptures and stained glass, most of which is by Charles Eamer Kempe. The font was moved from St Andrew's Chapel to the Chapel of St Nicholas which became the baptistry. It is surrounded by a pavement showing the seven virtues and seven deadly sins.
Outside the east end of the church is the tomb of Thomas Ken (July 1637 – 19 March 1711) who was an English cleric who was considered the most eminent of the English non-juring bishops, and one of the fathers of modern English hymnology. He is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on 8 June. Ken is honoured with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on 20 March.
The Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) is unique and stone-sculptured. It was added in the 1860s, when several buildings were demolished to make way for it. The carvings by James Forsyth depict seven scenes from the Stations of the Cross. The first shows Christ being condemned by Pontius Pilate, while the second is Christ carrying his cross. The third scu;pture illustrates Christ falling under his cross, supported by Simon of Cyrene. The next tableau is of Christ meeting his mother and then having his clothing removed. The final representations as you climb the steps towards the church are of Christ being nailed to the cross and then his death, which is displayed on the gable of the north proch.
In the southwestern corner of the churchyard a well rises. This is used as a site for well dressing each year in May.
The screen and gates at the entrance to the forecourt of the church was built in 1814 by Jeffrey Wyatt.
Organ
The church has a large three manual pipe organ. The earliest parts of the organ date from ca. 1680 by Renatus Harris, but there is later work by Young, Richard Seede and Vowles. In 1923 the organ was rebuilt by William Hill & Sons and Norman and Beard.