Stained Glass in St John the Evangelist Church, Oxborough,

exterior viewThe 14th century church of St John the Evangelist originally consisted of a nave, chancel vestry and north and south aisles, each with its own porch and doorway. Its appearance is very different today largely as a result of the sudden collapse of the tower on 28th April 1948, an event which destroyed both the nave and south aisle. Much of the building was saved when a wall was built across the west end of the chancel in its place to create a smaller, church from the former chancel.  The attractive remains now appear as a group of ecclesiastical buildings in a garden complete with what appears to be a cloister along the north wall more typical of Italy than Norfolk!
Of particular importance is the Bedingfield Chapel. This Chantry Chapel was founded in 1496 and contains two terracotta tombs that  Mortlock & Roberts describe as “the finest of their type in England”  The chapel is redolent of the English Catholic Church on the eve of the Reformation. Of real fascination is that this chapel retained its treasures through the vandalising periods of both the  Reformation and the Commonwealth.

The church retains some 14th & 15th century glass. Of particular note are the 14th century prophets located in the South chancel.

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