St John the Baptist

It has been suggested that Cottered was on a pilgrimage route to Walsingham, Norfolk, which may explain the old 15th century wall painting of St Christopher, the patron saint of travellers, on the wall opposite the main door of the church. Since the Reformation, the mural was hidden under lime wash. It was discovered during the major repairs of 1886. St Christopher is depicted carrying the Christ Child, guided by a hermit with a lantern. The background appears to be the local landscape of the period.

The west window, a Millennium project, depicts the baptism of Jesus by the Baptist alongside some of the key characters involved in the spread of Christianity down the centuries from St Alban and Thomas Cranmer, through to John Wesley and Martin Luther King. Note the very attractive Victorian floor tiles in the sanctuary.

The churchyard is the final resting place of Sir James Cantlie (1851-1926), physician, pioneer of first aid and a founder of the London School of Tropical Medicine. The churchyard is also known for its large variety of lichens.