This rare painting (left) of John the Baptist before Herod and Herodias is part of a series of the life and death of the saint. There were once several more scenes, but only those on this page are really identifiable now.

John, in his short but voluminous robe is at the left. He has a halo and his left hand is raised as if in rebuke; this may in fact be the moment when he told Herod and Herodias that their marriage was not lawful. Herod, who has a large crown and a heavily furred robe, is further left, and his wife Herodias, also crowned, is at the right.

Another scene, which is probably Herod’s Feast, follows, but it is very obscure now. Finally, in a further clear scene, John is beheaded. The executioner, his prominent sword raised above his head, stands at the left John himself is a confused and obscure figure at the lower right, where his body seems to be held in the crook of the executioner’s left arm. Quite where his head is is difficult to say - Tristram thought it was dangled by the executioner over a platter carried by two women, one of them perhaps Salome. This, although entirely consistent with the story, is impossible to confirm now, but there are certainly other figures at the far left of the scene, so Tristram’s interpretation of it is probably essentially correct.

The other clear scene is the Baptism of Christ (below, left), obviously harking back to an earlier point in John’s life. Christ stands centrally, with a halo and a loincloth, his hands clasped before him in prayer. At the left is John, reaching upwards towards Christ’s head. Part of his head, robe and his legs and feet are reasonably clear, but he is rather a vague figure otherwise. Another figure may stand behind him, and at the right is an angel holding garments. The perspective detail in the angel’s wings, held behind and partly over its head, is impressive for (Tristram’s) date of about 1360. In fact, all the paintings show this understanding of perspectival space to some extent, and the heads and faces in the scene of John before Herod and Herodias are painted with considerable naturalistic flair. These were made by an accomplished painter. They have been retouched, but this is unlikely to have altered the general articulation and layout.

The only other paintings in the church are of Biblical texts from the Geneva Bible of 1560 in painted shields on the nave walls. We know that three of these were made in 1679 by a painter called Robert Ford, and that he was paid three guineas for them.

Paintings of the Baptism of Christ are not common, but there is one other on the site, at Black Bourton in Oxfordshire. Links to paintings of saints are in the table below.

St. Andrew Martyred, Stoke Dry, Rutland	St. Anne teaching the Virgin to read-Corby Glen, Lincolnshire	St. Antony and the Pig, Barton, Cambridgeshire	St. Barbara : Hessett, Suffolk	St. Bartholomew : Selling, Kent	St.Catherine of Alexandria, life of : Castor, Cambs	St.Catherine of Alexandria : Hardley Street, Norfolk
St.Catherine of Alexandria : Old Weston, Northants	St.Catherine of Alexandria : Pickering, N. Yorks	St.Catherine of Alexandria, life of : Sporle, Norfolk	St. Clement : South Leigh, Oxon.	St. Dunstan holding the Devil by the nose : Barton, Cambs	St.Edmund : Boxford, Suffolk	St. Edmund : Lakenheath, Suffolk
St. Edmund, Martyrdom of : Bishopsbourne, Kent	St.Edmund, Martyrdom of : Fritton, Norfolk	St. Edmund (or St. Walstan) : Gisleham, Norfolk	St. Edmund, Martyrdom of : Pickering, N.Yorks	St. Edmund, Martyrdom of : Stoke Dry, Rutland	St. Edmund, Martyrdom of : Troston, Suffolk	St. Edmund, Martyrdom of : Weare Giffard, Devon
St.Eloi, Broughton, Bucks	St. Eloi and the possessed horse, Slapton, Northants	St. Eloi, as bishop & blacksmith, Wensley, N.Yorks	St.Erasmus, Martyrdom of : Chippenham, Cambs	St. Etheldreda : Willingham, Cambs	St.Francis Preaching to the Birds : Wissington, Suffolk	St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata, Slapton, Northants
St. George & Dragon : Banningham, Norfolk	St. George & Dragon : Broughton, Bucks	St. George & Dragon : Earl Stonham, Suffolk	St. George & Dragon : Fritton, Norfolk	St. George & Dragon : Hornton, Oxon	St. George dedicating himself to the Virgin : Astbury, Cheshire	St. George, with the princess : Little Kimble, Bucks
St.Helena, Broughton, Bucks	St. Hubert, Miracle of : Idsworth, Hants	St.James the Great : Hales, Norfolk	Life of St. James, Stoke Orchard, Gloucestershire	St. James the Great, meeting pilgrims : Wisborough Green, Sussex	St. John the Baptist, Martyrdom of : Chalfont St. Giles, Bucks	St. John the Baptist, Martyrdom of : Heydon, Norfolk
St. John the Baptist, Martyrdom of : Idsworth, Hampshire	St. John the Baptist, Martyrdom of : Old Weston, Northants	Life of St. John the Baptist : Cerne Abbas, Dorset NEW	St. John the Evangelist, Selling, Kent	St. John the Evangelist, Weston Longville, Norfolk	St. Margaret of Antioch : Old Weston, Northants	St. Margaret and the dragon : South Newington, Oxfordshire NEW
St. Margaret of Antioch Martyred, Stoke Dry, Rutland	St. Margaret of Antioch, Life of : Charlwood, Surrey	Life of St. Margaret, Wendens Ambo, Essex	St. Martin dividing his cloak, Chalgrave, Beds	St. Martin dividing his cloak, Wareham, Dorset	St.Nicholas of Myra, life of : Little Horwood, Bucks	St. Nicholas of Myra, two miracles of : Wissington, Suffolk
St.Paul : Black Bourton, Oxon	St. Paul : Beckley, Oxon	St. Peter : Beckley, Oxon	St.Peter : Black Bourton, Oxon	St. Peter, Martyrdom of : Chacombe, Northants	St. Roch : Pinvin, Worcs	St. Sexburga? : Willingham, Cambs
St. Stephen, Stoning of: Black Bourton, Oxon	St. Stephen, Stoning of: Catfield, Norfolk	St.Swithun (?) enthroned : Old Weston, Northants	Scenes from the life of St. Swithun : Corhampton, Hampshire NEW	St. Thomas Becket, blessing, Hauxton, Cambs.	St. Thomas Becket, Murder of, Marston Magna, Somerset	St.Thomas Becket, Murder of : South Burlingham, Norfolk
St. Thomas Becket, Murder of : South Newington, Oxfordshire	St. Walstan of Bawburgh? or St. Edmund : Gisleham, Norfolk	St. Zita : Horley, Oxon	St. Zita : Shorthampton, Oxon	Unidentified female saint : Heydon

23/4/2006