Some have called it the first office block. It certainly still grabs attention after five hundred years. It’s official title however, St. John the Baptist South Porch.
The construction of this giant honey coloured stone bolder obscuring the original entrance of the town church, was not at first seen in a welcoming light by the townsfolk of Cirencester. Bought and paid by the monks who toiled in the lands behind the St. John the Baptist church, these Augustinian brothers had somehow been allowed to hijack the entrance to the people’s church, siting their new offices directly, a looming watchtower. This quite beautifully carved building, looking down on the comings and goings of what had already been a very busy place for over half a millennia, one wonders if the statement was an intent to dominate or mere flamboyance because just simply, the Abbey of St. Mary could afford it.
By a simple twist of fate, within thirty years of its construction in 1500, this mega edifice was commandeered by the town, turned into a would be town hall. Over the centuries it has been many things, and on the day i visited and was allowed to sneaky peek beyond where most stroll, a more practical gathering of chairs and tables, as at the end of the long day, a dry place in England is always of value.
St. John the Baptist, Cirencester