St. John the Baptist Church, the parish church of Carno, is on the site of an early foundation associated with the Knights Hospitallers, who had settled in the region by the early thirteenth century (NPRN 304892). The historical record shows that a church continued to be in use on this site throughout the centuries, but little trace remains of any earlier buildings since their demolition and replacement in 1867.

The current Gothic-style church was built in 1867 to the design of Poundley and Walker, and consists of a single cell nave and chancel, small tower with two-tier slated spire, and north vestry. The fenestration is a mixture of single lights with quatrefoils and double lights with hexafoils. The exterior of the church is formed from quarry-cut sedimentary stone, with regular coursing and large stone quoins, while the interior is plastered and painted. The slated roof has toothed ceramic ridge tiles and is supported on scissor-braced trusses. Churchyard memorials date back to the late seventeenth century. Within the church, against the south wall, is an early medieval inscribed stone (NPRN 275937).

There have been a number of renovations, redecorations and restorations since the church was built, which include the addition of battlements to the tower. The site was visited by the RCAHMW on 12 July 1910 and by Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust in 1999.

K Steele (2008) & C. Parry, RCAHMW, 11 August 2011.

Source:
Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouth I - County of Montgomery , Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales , 1911
Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust Historic Environment Record