By the Rev. Thomas Miles. 



109 



considerable part of the year. Stockton is, however, considered a 

 pretty village. The cottages are many of them picturesque old 

 buildings, well grouped on each side of the road among orchards 

 and gardens, interspersed with many fine trees. In 1838, there 

 were 63 inhabited houses and tenements in the village, and one 

 tenement vacant, and the same in 1845. The eight dwellings in 

 the almshouse are included in the number of inhabited houses. 



The Church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and contains a 

 chancel, nave, and aisles; a north porch, and a low tower at the 

 west end. The chancel is 16 feet 10 inches long, and 18 feet 6 

 inches wide. The nave is 36 feet 6 inches long, and the whole 

 width of the nave and aisles is 38 feet. The chancel is separated 

 from the nave by a thick wall, and is entered by a low obtusely 

 arched doorway, recessed, on each side of which is an arched opening 

 or squint. The small arches of the squints are chamfered on the 

 west side of the wall, the door-way on the east side. Two of the 

 brackets which supported the rood loft remain on the west side of 

 the wall. The floor of the chancel is raised only 3 inches above 

 that of the nave, and there are no altar steps. The chancel is 

 Early English, but none of the original work remains, except it be 

 a part of the south wall, and one, or perhaps both of the lancet 

 windows, and retains no interesting features. The north wall was 

 re-built by the Rev. Henry Grood, in the beginning of his incum- 

 bency, and the east end which had no foundation, and was gradually 

 falling outwards, was re-built in a very substantial manner by the 

 Rev. R. F. St. Barbe, in 1840. The east window consists of 3 lancets, 

 the centre one rising above the others, enclosed in a large outer arch, 

 with an external and internal label, with corbel heads. It is in all 

 respects a fac-simile of the old window, excepting that the old win- 

 dow had a light in the form of a pointed oval, or vesica piscis, over 

 the middle lancet. The lancets are chamfered on the outside, and on 

 the inside are surrounded by a triple roll moulding, which is carried 

 round the head of the outer arch. There are no windows in the north 

 wall. The door in this wall was made by the Rev. R. F. St. Barbe, 

 in 1832. He also raised the ceiling, and put on a new roof when the 

 east end was re-built in 1840. On the removal of the old ceiling, 



