The Church of St John the Baptist was founded by William FitzOsbern and given to an abbey in Normandy. The nave may be 11th century, as may be the Norman font. A north aisle was added at the end of the 12th century and a south aisle shortly afterwards. In the 14th century the chancel was rebuilt and the south porch was added. In the 15th century a chapel was added south of the chancel and east of the south aisle, and a four-centred arch was inserted in the south wall of the chancel to link it with the chapel. The north aisle was demolished, its arcade filled in and two-light Perpendicular Gothic windows inserted in each of the filled-in arches. The Perpendicular Gothic west tower was added towards the end of the 15th century. The square-headed windows in the south aisle were inserted in the 16th century and the spire was added to the tower probably early in the 17th century.
On the wall can be found a memorial portrait by John Flaxman, showing a woman holding pelicans in her hand in relief. The chancel has a modern reredos.
In front of the porch is a 19th-century Celtic cross by Joseph Clarke on the four steps of the old churchyard cross.
Near the Celtic cross a marble monument marks the grave of Edward Edwards, (1812–1886) the pioneer of the public library movement. The churchyard also contains four Commonwealth war graves of service personnel, three from World War I and one from World War II.
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Herceg Novi was founded (on a former small fishing village, existing since Roman Empire times) as a fortress in 1382 by first Bosnian King Stjepan Tvrtko I and was called Sveti Stefan or Castelnuovo. The Turks conquered Herceg Novi in 1482, and ruled for 200 years, until 1687. However, there was a short pause between 1538 and 1539 when it was held by the Spaniards before they were defeated in the Siege of Castelnuovo. Turkey ruled again until 1687, from then until 1797, the town was ruled by the Venetian Republic.
The Herceg Novi old town is amazing. It is on a fairly steep hill that leads all the way down to the sea. Wandering through the small stairways to the various plazas and fortresses is a many hour adventure.