culture
St. John Baptist Cirencester
St. John the Baptist Church in Cirencester stands out as one the most interesting and ornate churches of the Cotswolds. What with its flying buttresses, porch and grounds on which it lies, it's more often viewed as a small Cathedral than that of a church.
Inside is a silver goblet - appearing more gold than anything - which in fact ended up in the church from Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII. The cup was handed down to her physician as a thanks for treating her daughter, Elizabeth I, and in turn ended up being donated to the church. It is located in a small recess of the church in the east wing.
You can only scale the tower, under supervision due to health and safety regulations. Besides scheduled times for ascending to the top, the caretaker can accompany you up on request, especially if arriving in small groups.
One of the most recent projects inside was a lego building of the previous Saxony Abbey close the current site of John's. You could donate a lego brick for a pound and be one of the other 70,000 parts. Money went towards the upkeep of the current church.
Entrance to St. John's is free although donations welcome.
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Posted by Thomas MANDER-JONES
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