The medieval wonders of St John's church, Duxford
- Michael Smith
- 12 hours ago
- 6 min read
In the shadow of Duxford's famous historic airfield with its regular flights of equally historic aircraft lies the church of St John. Testament to a quieter time when this part of Cambridgeshire was deeply rural, the church is home to a treasure trove of medieval delights, perhaps the most interesting of which date to its earliest years.
St John's, Duxford - a church dating back to at least the twelfth century
At first glance, it is difficult to date the church of St John; the windows on the outside are of differing architectural periods suggestive of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries although the tower, with its Norman detailing lower down, hints at an earlier date.
The give away detail can be found at the south door, hidden beneath a porch of later date, Here, we find a twelfth century doorway - possibly earlier - with a plain tympanum carved with an unusual stepped cross, around which is an archway with chevron detailing. We know to expect interesting things when we step through the door!
In his monumental (if somewhat difficult to navigate) work, A List of Norman Tympana and Lintels, Charles Keyser describes the cross as being a Maltese cross containing a rose.
The detail is still visible today although a monochrome photograph taken by Keyser for the book reveals the cross in greater detail, in addition to later wording on the tympanum which has now been lost .
Seemingly painted in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century, the text above the door read as follows, "THIS IS None other but the HOUSE of GOD and this is the Gate of Heaven" (see Gallery at the end of this blog post).
Early medieval wall paintings
On entering, the main internal hints to the age of the church are the round headed arches which support the tower, a feature reminiscent of Anstey in Hertfordshire. Single shafted jambs with early cushion capitals also suggest great age,
However, perhaps the most interesting feature of St John's today is what survives of its medieval wall paintings, some of which are unusual and probably date to the church's earliest founding.
Most of these are found in the chancel; if visitor looks upwards on passing through the second arch of the tower, an agnus dei (lamb of God) can be seen painted on the soffit above. The painting is rendered more interesting because it is surrounded by an Ouroboros, the ancient symbol of a snake devouring itself.
Once within the chancel, the western wall contains some fascinating imagery. Above the chancel arch itself is a scene of Christ's crucifixion (to the left) and deposition (to the right), above which can be seen horned devils with tails.
Graphic and gruesome depictions
To the right of the arch, below the main decorative frieze, are perhaps the church's most graphic images. Here we see the torture of St Margaret of Antioch, who is shown being martyred as she is suspended by her hair while tormentors pierce her naked breasts.
Below her is a scene (above) which is difficult to interpret fully. Nearest the arch is what looks like the body of a large centipede which is being attacked from the right by a man on a balcony bearing a spear. Below, a group of people look downwards.
However, closer inspection of the 'centipede' appears to reveal faces of individuals in a line. Are we seeing tormented men being condemned to hell in a doom painting?
Elsewhere in the church, later wall paintings are also in evidence. One appears to show fragments of the wheel broken by St Catherine. More complete, and to the right on the north wall as as we enter the church, is a an image of two saints, St Elmo and St. Leonard.
Saint Elmo (or Erasmus) is said to have been put to death by having his intestines wound out of his body on a windlass; the paint shows him (left, above) holding the windlass with their gory decoration.
St Leonard (right, above) is depicted with either a chain or a manacle, reflecting his intercessions on behalf of prisoners and women in childbirth. Both saints are seen as those involved in the helping of ordinary folk in day-to-day life.
Other internal features of interest at St John's
While some of what survives of St John's today dates from shortly after the time when church was built, much more is later still, albeit by only by a century or two.
Although dating from the 1200s, the octagonal font on its clunch base hints at life in the church before it was considerably expanded in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Between the chancel and the later north aisle there is also an early tomb which, though much degraded, shows the foot of a cross on a stepped base. This may be twelfth century.
The fourteenth century appears to have marked a period of development at St. John's. A rood loft holding the crucifix would once have dominated the church before the chancel arch. Today, only the stairway and upper door to the loft remain, the architecture of which points to the late fourteenth century.
Aside from the many later windows inserted in the walls, the church also contains some interesting medieval graffiti showing excellent examples of fifteenth century handwriting.
However, perhaps of most architectural interest are the two medieval roofs which were built as the church was developed and expanded.
The nave and chancel are of most interest in this regard. The nave features a fourteenth century scissor-braced roof while the chancel was subject to a sumptuous rebuild in the fifteenth century and features ornately decorated bosses where the roof's heavily moulded principal beams meet.
Above the north aisle, reached today through two fourteenth century arches, is a stoutly constructed roof, braced and supported by principal beams which are moulded.
A tour of the exterior
I always find that the churches which promise the most are often defined by their exterior, especially if what greets you resembles a hotchpotch of mis-matched features.
St John's is no different. Of course, the tower is the give away in terms of age but a closer inspection also reveals that it was itself heightened at an early point (probably in the thirteenth century).
The top of the short "spike" spire shows an intriguing kink. This was the result of a flag being attached to it during celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897 when severe gales caught the flag and distorted the spike.
On the north wall are some interesting grotesque gargoyles atop a cornice of vine and ball ornamentation.
A quiet place to reflect on darker times
St John's today is a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church itself is quietly, and intimately, situated in the middle of the village, a village which exudes both history and distinctive English charm.
And yet Duxford also carries its own bittersweet melancholy. With Spitfires, Hurricanes and many other historic aircraft frequently flying overhead from the nearby airfield, different feelings are evoked.
Today, in their innocent passage through the skies above, these aircraft serve to remind us that the village and its pubs were once the haunt of many a front-line fighter pilot seeking rest and relaxation during the dark days of WW2.
From this quiet place, seemingly so timeless and so steeped in the dust of centuries, young men barely out of school took to the skies in defence of this land against the bigoted and repugnant prejudice of nazism.
Many were shot down, never to return to this beautiful place. So it is fitting we remember them here and say a prayer for them.
Gallery showing features and architectural details at the church of Saint John, Duxford, Cambridgeshire
St John's from the south Detail of tower - notice earlier lower part One of the grotesques on the north wall of the church Close up detail of another grotesque at Duxford Norman doorway at Duxford St John's The tympanum from Keyser's book, dated 1927 Saints Erasmus and Leonard together on the wall A general view of the church interior View from the chancel The chancel arch at St John's North chapel adjoining the chancel at St John's Detail of capital and frieze work below the arch Tomb of an unknown priest The devil's in the detail - strange creatures at the top of the inner chancel arch Early wall painting showing the horrific torture of Saint Margaret of Antioch Agnus dei and fifteenth century chancel roof View down the north aisle towards the North Chapel Detail of fourteenth century arch Into to the rood loft! Fifteenth century wall niche Fragmentary wall paintings - including a fragment of Catherine's wheel
Further information
Historic England listing for St John, Duxford, click here
Churches Conservation Trust article on Wall Paintings, click here
Churches Conservation Trust article on St John, Duxford, click here
About the author, Michael Smith
I am a British translator, illustrator and performer of medieval literature. I am also a printmaker, with work in private collections worldwide.
My books, including a translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Alliterative Morte Arthure, are available through all the usual outlets. My translation of The Romance of William and the Werewolf was published in 2024. All my books feature my own linocut prints as their illustrations.
To find out more about me, please click here
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