Church Of St Lawrence (Asheldham Youth Church)

The Church of St. Lawrence, now used as an Asheldham Youth Church, is a 14th-century building, with alterations and rebuilding occurring in the 19th century and a 20th-century conversion to its current use. The chancel and nave were rebuilt on an earlier site, and the chancel east wall was later reconstructed using red brick. Septaria and Roman brick stone dressings are visible, along with red plain tiled roofs.

The chancel features a 19th-century east window with three trefoiled lights set within a two-centred arched head. Smaller 14th-century trefoiled and ogee-shaped windows are located on the north and south walls. The south wall also contains a 14th-century two-centred arched doorway, marked by moulded jambs, a label, and stops. The nave’s north wall is buttressed at the corners. A 19th-century window is present on the west wall, alongside a 14th-century cinquefoiled ogee east window. The south wall has two 19th/20th-century windows, the eastern one with a cinquefoil above a two-centred arched head, moulded label and head stops. A western window is blocked, featuring a segmental pointed head. A gabled, 19th-century porch projects from the south wall, incorporating a moulded segmental arch. A 14th-century south doorway has double chamfered jambs and a moulded two-centred arched head with a label. The crenellated west tower, of three stages and buttressed at the corners, shows a change in building technique above the buttresses; the west face has a small 14th-century trefoiled ogee light and a stone panel with a tiny quatrefoil light to the north. A small, vertical, flat-headed light of Roman brick is found on the north wall. Single trefoiled lights are present on each face of the bell chamber.

Internally, the chancel, now a dormitory, has a plastered, seven-cant roof and a plain central tie beam. A moulded two-centred arched head is visible on the south-east side, blocking a doorway, and a similar arch with label and stops on the south-west side. A floor slab commemorates Philip, son of Rev. Philip Ranshaw (1691). There is no chancel arch. The nave also has a plastered seven-cant roof, with a segmental arched head leading to a 20th-century service wing to the north. A 14th-century two-centred arched doorway and stairs lead to a former rood loft; a tall light is positioned at the top of the stairs, and a niche with a chamfered two-centred head is situated west of the stair base. A 20th-century crenellated and moulded rood beam is present. Two piscinae are set into the south wall, one in the splay of the south doorway featuring a trefoiled ogee head and a round drain, and the other similar, positioned below the south window with an octofoil drain. The west tower contains a 14th-century east doorway with double-chamfered jambs and a two-centred head, and a wide window splay with a two-centred arch under a segmental arch.