Church of St John the Baptist, Eastnor

The original church was probably constructed in the 12th century. It was rebuilt in the 13th century and the tower, now the earliest remaining part, was constructed in the 14th. In 1851, John Somers-Cocks, 2nd Earl Somers, of Eastnor Castle, commissioned George Gilbert Scott to undertake a complete rebuilding. The 2nd Earl did not live to see the completion of his new church, dying in 1852. He was succeeded by his son, Charles who died in 1883 and is interred in the centre of the Somers-Cocks mortuary chapel in the church. St John's remains an active parish church in the Diocese of Hereford. The church is commemorated in Songs of Three Counties by Radclyffe Hall. [See box] ==Architecture==

St John's is constructed of local red sandstone and comprises the 14th-century tower, a nave, a north aisle and the Somers-Cocks mortuary chapel. The church fittings include a painting of The Crucifixion with a decorated frame by Augustus Pugin. The church is a Grade I listed building, its Historic England entry describing it as a “high quality but little known masterpiece”. ==Gallery==

St John Baptist Eastnor nave.jpg|Nave Eastnor, St John the Baptist church west window (33269145061).jpg|Stained glass in the west window Eastnor, St John the Baptist church, mortuary chapel (33013872060).jpg|Somers-Cocks mortuary chapel Eastnor, St John the Baptist church, monument (33241278532).jpg|Memorial to Charles Somers-Cocks, 3rd Earl Somers in the mortuary chapel Lychgate at St. John the Baptist church (Eastnor) (geograph 7229883).jpg|Lychgate ==Notes==