St Lawrence

The parish church of St Lawrence dates from the 12th to 13th centuries and succeeding centuries and is the survivor of a pair of churches, the other being St Gregory’s in the nearby dependent settlement of Salem, but which was already ruinous by the 16th century and of which no visible trace now remains. The church is featured in Pevsner.

The church is built predominantly of Northampton Sand with Ironstone dating from the Jurassic period. Architectural detailing reflects a range of materials and phases, including Triassic sandstone from the Euville Beds used for the porch dressings, and limestone, including Bath Stone, employed in the window tracery. The most recent masonry repairs incorporate Coadstone. The plan consists of a four-bay nave with the chancel to the east. Arcades open from the nave into north and south aisles, with a porch attached to the south aisle. A west tower anchors the building, while a semi-basement boiler house is attached to the north side of the chancel.

The chancel retains significant medieval features, including a 14th century chancel arch with vestiges of the former rood loft entrance. Sedilia and a piscina are set into the south wall, and the communion rail is of plain wood. The east window contains decorative stained glass by CD Evans of Shrewsbury, depicting biblical scenes. To the north of this window, a statue of St Lawrence stands on a projecting corbel, notably without the instruments of his martyrdom. A blocked window is visible high in the north wall, and a tomb canopy in the same wall has been adapted to house the organ. 18th century commemorative monuments, now somewhat damaged, are mounted on the north and south walls. The movable choir stalls are of 19th century pitch pine, face inwards, and were heavily restored during that century.

The nave is articulated by 14th century octagonal piers supporting decorated but restrained arches. Above, the clerestory contains circular windows and dates from 1774. The west window, now glazed with opaque glass, opens into the ringing floor of the tower and is accessed through an oak-panelled sliding door installed in 1959. The oak-panelled pulpit dates from 1954 and replaced an earlier pulpit by GG Scott, now lost. The font, also designed by Scott, dates from the 19th century, as do the pitch pine pews.

The north aisle is a plain structure dating from the 14th to 15th centuries. Its easternmost bay was partitioned in the 1940s to form a vestry behind the organ and is now used for storage. 18th and 19th century commemorative busts and plaques line the north wall, including a bust of Ailena L’Anson Bradley (d.1726). External scars indicate the former presence of a north porch, while stone corbels attest earlier roof arrangements. The aisle was heavily restored and Gothicised in the 19th century.

The south aisle is of similar date and character, with its eastern bay likewise partitioned in the 1940s to form a vestry. 19th century commemorative plaques line the walls. The main church entrance is through the 19th century south porch, with redundant corbels and carved heads - including a blacksmith’s head, a female head in a square headdress, and a crowned head - marking earlier phases. The rear of this aisle is now used for serving refreshments.

The west tower dates from a single 13th century phase and has been much repaired. Scars on its east face show the former nave roofline, suggesting the nave and aisles were originally roofed under a single span. The tower has corner shafts, offset buttresses, biforate louvred belfry windows, and a crenellated parapet. The bells include five dating from 1624, one recast in 1814, with three added in 2000. The roof, clad in lead and copper, is protected by an alarm.

The surrounding churchyard, closed for burials in 2003, contains mainly 19th and 20th century gravestones. A war memorial relocated in 1948 forms the focus of village commemorations, and pathways are lined by surviving lime trees planted in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee.