Church of St John the Baptist, Upper Eldon

2013-06-26

A 19th-century cow shed!

Built in the 12th-century, this tiny, elegant church stands barn-like in the attractive grounds of 15th-century Eldon House.

Its unassuming and simple exterior belies its history of near ruin and repair over the centuries. It was substantially restored in 1729 to save it from collapse, and then again in the 1860s and in 1975. In the 19th-century, it was used as a cowshed!

There are traces of nine consecration crosses from its original construction, each stone bearing a circle enclosing five holes which held long vanished metal crosses.