Former Church Of St Laurence

FORMER CHURCH OF ST LAURENCE, BURWARTON

A parish church built between 1874 and 1876 by the architect Anthony Salvin and converted to a house following the church's closure in 1972.

The building is constructed of rock-faced yellow sandstone with freestone dressings, all quarried from nearby Burf Hill. The roofs are tiled, replacing the original stone tiles, except for the leaded roof over the north aisle.

The church is planned with a nave and lower, narrower chancel, aisles under separate roofs, a south porch, west tower, and north organ chamber. The design is in the Decorated Gothic style. The main elements have parapets with gargoyles, and window openings feature hood moulds with contemporary carved heads on the stops. The chancel contains 2-light windows and a 3-light east window. The nave aisles have 2-light and 3-light windows. The south aisle is under a pitched roof whilst the north aisle is under a lean-to roof, above which cusped clerestorey windows light the nave. A domestic chimney has been added above the north aisle. The south porch is built with a pointed arch and cusped side windows. The four-stage west tower has angle buttresses and a west door with 2 orders of nook shafts, above which is a 2-light window. The third stage contains cusped windows in the west and north walls. The upper stage has pairs of 2-light bell openings, and above rises a cornice and embattled parapet bearing the Burwarton family arms. The vestry has two cusped windows in its north wall with a pointed doorway to their left, and new triple east windows have been inserted beneath an original rose window.

Internally, the nave contains a 3-bay arcade of round piers with moulded capitals. The tall tower arch features continuous mouldings. The stepped chancel arch has an inner order on corbelled marble shafts with stiff-leaf capitals, carved by Dayman of London. The nave roof is a 3-bay arched-brace design, while the chancel has a similar 2-bay roof on corbels. The conversion to a house has consisted mainly of inserted partitions, though the different spaces within the original building have been respected.

Anthony Salvin (1799–1881) was a significant architect of the late Georgian and early Victorian Gothic Revival. Born in Worthing, he trained as a pupil of the little-known architect John Paterson (died 1832) and worked in the office of John Nash before establishing independent practice in 1828. He became known for creating buildings in an authentically medieval style and undertook extensive country house work. This church represents a late work by Salvin, commissioned by the 8th Viscount Boyne, for whom Salvin had also built Burwarton Hall in the 1830s. The building replaced an earlier church, the ruins of which survive nearby.

The church closed for worship in 1972 and has since been converted to residential use. Original internal fittings, including a reredos by James Forsyth, and most of the original glazing have been removed. The building retains its original architectural character and external detail.