Town Trail #01

PARISH CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

Royston is steeped in history, and not many know about the Royston Trail, which allows you to discover the history our town has to offer. With ‘daily walks’ becoming a part of everyone’s life over the last year or so, we thought it would be great to share this historical trail with our readers. Throughout our issues, we will be taking you through some of the stops on the trail. The first stop of the trail begins outside of the Parish Church of St John the Baptist. The church is currently undergoing restoration, which is due to finish in early 2022. The Parish Church was the only surviving part of an Augustinian priory that dates from the end of the twelfth century. The present nave was the chancel of the medieval church that became ruinous after King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the monasteries. The high stone wall to the left of the path to the west gate of the churchyard contains a fragment of the original nave. The Parish Church has gone through many changes over the years, but has remained as a church throughout. We at Stones are looking forward to seeing our beautiful church restored and also looking forward to inspiring our readers to learn about the history on the trail.

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