Carlton St John the Baptist

History

View of the church
from the south-west
shortly after opening

The church of St John the Baptist was consecrated Saturday 15 February 1958 by the Bishop of Southwell. It was built on a sloping site on Oakdale Road and designed by the architects Broadhead & Royle. The church was partly paid for from the proceeds of an appeal started by the popular radio and television personality Lady Isobel Barnett. A tented meeting on the site of the proposed church attracted a very large attendance. It was constructed of reddish-brown and sandy coloured handmade bricks and consists of a tower, porch, nave, a sanctuary that contains the altar, clergy stalls and Bishop’s chair, vestries, Lady Chapel, and a side chapel. It has been described as having a style that ‘stems from the early Christian columned halls of the 4th century but cannot be honestly placed in any historical style other than mid-20th century.’

In an interview with architect Vernon Royle in 2004 he commented that ‘I was able to persuade the building committee not to have choir stalls between the congregation and the altar’. It was one of his favourite church projects because, he said, ‘of the enthusiastic leadership of the Rev. John Nicholls, which enabled many ‘extras’ to be incorporated which were not provided by the diocesan funds’.

The interior looking
liturgical east (c.1958)

A party from the church visited the workshops of a joinery firm in Leicestershire where the pews with upholstered seats were being made. The extra money to purchase a pipe organ instead of the electronic instrument originally proposed was raised by the congregation. The white marble credence table and many small items were gifts from overseas in response to an appeal made to Anglican Churches dedicated to St. John worldwide.

The tower which stands at 50 feet high holds the eleven church bells. On top of the tower is a 17 ft high cross which was originally made of copper but has been replaced with one made of steel.

The eleventh bell has an inscription regarding The Sherwood Foresters, a Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Regiment active in the Anglo-Egypt War (1882), the Boer War, and both World Wars. The various battalions of the regiment were made up of volunteers and recruits from the towns and villages of Nottingham including Carlton.

There is a life-size statue depicting Mother and Child at the Well made by Josephina de Vasconcellos, an English sculptor who lived from 1904-2005.