Church Of St Lawrence And St George

Church of St Lawrence and St George

Parish church located on School Lane, Springthorpe. The building dates from the 11th century with major phases of construction and alteration in the mid-12th, 13th, and 14th centuries, followed by rebuilding work around 1845 and restoration in 1865.

The church is constructed of coursed limestone rubble with some herringbone rubble and limestone ashlar. The roofs are slate with stone coped gables topped with finials, decorative ridge tiles, and 19th-century chevroned eaves. The plan comprises a west tower, nave with south aisle and south porch, rectangular chancel, north vestry, and south-east chapel.

The 11th-century west bell tower has a plinth and herringbone rubble at its base with small long-and-short alternating quoins. The west front features a blocked round-headed doorway with plain tympanum, crudely chamfered imposts, and an inserted narrow light with flat head. Below the belfry is a south window with a steep triangular head and round hood mould cut from a single stone. Bell openings on all four sides, reconstructed in the 19th century, have paired round-headed shallow chevroned openings divided by a shaft with scalloped cushion capitals and tall cubic bases. A plain 19th-century parapet sits above.

A plinth runs around the nave, vestry, chancel, and south chapel. The north-west corner of the nave has long-and-short quoins. A pointed 14th-century window features two round-headed cusped lights, a large reticulated quatrefoil, and hood mould. A rectangular window to its left has two ogee cusped lights and hood mould.

The 19th-century vestry has its west side furnished with steps leading down to a rectangular doorway with plank door and round-headed window with chamfered surround, hood mould, and head label stops. The north side features a round-headed chamfered doorway with hood mould and head label stops. A tall stack stands to the east. The east end of the vestry displays a round-headed chamfered window with hood mould and floral label stops.

The east end of the chancel has three 19th-century round-headed windows with continuous hood moulds and two label stop heads. The 14th-century south-east chapel, restored in the 19th century, has a two-stage diagonal buttress and a three-light window with centred head featuring three pointed cusped lights and hood mould. A broad 19th-century parapeted gable rises above. The south side of the chapel has a single rectangular 19th-century window to the west with cusped ogee head and hood mould. Broad 19th-century battlements crown this elevation.

The south aisle contains two 19th-century pointed windows, each with two pointed lights with a star set in an oculus above, and head label stops. The 14th-century porch, restored in the 19th century, has a south doorway with single free-standing shafts on 13th-century bases and foliate capitals, a filleted roll-moulded head, filleted hood mould, and floral stops. A mid-12th-century doorway of three orders features inner scored rectangular jambs, outer paired shafts with ornate cushion capitals and chequered abaci, and a round head of three richly chevroned orders. A plank door hangs beneath.

The west wall of the south aisle contains a 12th-century lancet.

Internally, the tower arch has a 19th-century pointed head with chamfered surround and double plank doors. A low late-13th-century south arcade comprises two low bays with octagonal pier, polygonal responds, plain polygonal capitals, double chamfered pointed heads, hood mould with floral label stops. A chapel arch of around 1845 features free-standing respond shafts with chevroned capitals and a round chevroned head. A 19th-century archway with segmental head leads to the south-east chapel and contains low 20th-century double doors. A 19th-century round-headed arch to the north vestry has decorated shafts, capitals, and a key-patterned arch, containing a wooden screen with plank door.

Between the south chapel and chancel proper is an intact part of a 12th-century wall with a round-headed deeply splayed window. A large 19th-century round-headed aumbry sits beneath. Two 11th-century ornate chairs, one with arms, remain in the church. 19th-century furnishings include a pulpit, lectern, altar rail, and pews. The tie-beam roofs are painted with red and white chevrons. A 13th-century font has a round basin supported on a single shaft with three attached shafts.