Monument record 11033 - Collegiate Church of St John the Baptist

The church building of the Collegiate Church of St John the Baptist once consisted of a nave and choir with side aisles, two transepts, a central tower and possibly two west towers. The nave is of an early Norman date and was separated from the side aisles by eight semi-circular arches on each side (only four remain today), resting on large piers. Four piers at the east end of the nave supported the central tower. The triforium dates to the twelfth century, the clerestory to the thirteenth. The central tower collapsed in either 1468 or 1470, destroying the choir. After the Dissolution, the commissioners decided that the body of the church building, one bell and two priests were all that was necessary for its new, parochial use. The rest of the Collegiate was stripped of lead and exposed to dilapidation. Over the two east chapels, a chamber was erected probably during the time of Henry VIII, when parts of ruins were also converted into houses. A staircase was built against the pier of the eastern arch on each side. Fireplaces were made in the south chapel (the former Thornton chapel). In 1572 and 1574 parts of the north-west tower fell on the west end of church. The eastern and southern sides of the tower still retain Norman work, while the northern and western sides were rebuilt in 1581. Outside the present east end are the ruins of rest of choir, the Lady Chapel and side chapels to its north and south. In 1859 the church was restored, with a new vestibule, a western door, east window and the rebuilding of the south aisle. After this, a building known as Priory House, attached to south side of church, was removed. The remains of the fallen portions of the central tower and the south transept were discovered and the outline of the south transept was revealed with a tiled floor. The chapter house to the east of the south transept formed the kitchen of Priory House. In 1881 almost all the north-west tower fell in ruins, crushing the Early English north porch, which was rebuilt 1882. The ruins at the east end of the former church, the chapter house and the stump of the north-west tower are scheduled (SAM 38). The Chapel of St James was situated within the precinct of St John's Collegiate Church, and it was shown as a rectangular building between the anchorite cells and the south door of the nave of the church on a plan of 1589 (Harl Mss 2073). In 1662, the chapel was still standing and in use as a stable, but 'much ruinated'. By 1845, it had long been 'entirely destroyed'. This, in addition to a chantry chapel to St Mary, was a subordinate institution to St John’s, and by the twelfth century was associated with an anchorite and believed locally to be the last refuge of King Harold after his defeat at Hastings. Its status is uncertain; described as a chapel and held by the dean in 1341, in 1589 it was termed the ‘old parish or chapel’. The southern side of the precinct of St John contained gardens, presumably for the petty canons and vicars of the cathedral. The eastern side of the precinct of St John contained the Chapel of St Anne (near the north-east end of the church), with houses of petty canons to the south. The southern side of precinct of St John’s church is formed by cliffs, and on two projections were small structures called anchorite cells. Local tradition states that Harold, after being wounded at Hastings, went to Chester, where he lived a holy life for many years as anchorite in cell of St James, near St John's Church. From the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, St John's was reported to have an important relic, the so-called Rood of Chester. According to documentary evidence, it appears to have been enshrined in a golden cross-shaped reliquary adorned with an image. Because of its presence, St John's was also called the Church of the Holy Cross at that time. All around the precinct wall of St John's were the clergy houses. The western side of the precinct of St John contained the dean's house and, further south, a palace which the bishops of Lichfield retained. Shown on a plan of 1589 (Harl Mss 2073), and on a seventeenth century plan, as being opposite the precinct wall, roughly where St John's Cottage now stands. The western side of the precinct of St John contained the dean's house and, further south, a palace which the bishops of Lichfield retained. The eastern side of the precinct of St John contained houses for the petty canons and vicars of the cathedral, and the northern side of the precinct of St John contained houses for the petty canons and vicars of the cathedral.