Church Of St Laurence

CHURCH OF ST LAURENCE, COWLEY

This is a small parish church with roots in the 12th century, substantially altered and enlarged over subsequent centuries. It stands as a notable survival of medieval ecclesiastical architecture within suburban Middlesex.

The original church was built in the 12th century as an unaisled nave. The chancel was rebuilt and probably widened in the 13th century. Some 14th-century windows were inserted in the nave, and further work occurred in the later medieval period, including new windows and reroofing. At some point in the late medieval period, probably when the chancel arch was removed, late medieval timber arches were installed in place of the chancel arch, and late medieval pews were added. It is uncertain whether the timber arcading visible in the roof truss above dates to this period.

In 1780, major works were undertaken: the bellcot was rebuilt, the west gallery was added, and the west porch was added or rebuilt. These improvements were paid for by Thomas Dagnall, whose family were significant local benefactors. Bernard Dagnall, probably Thomas's father, had previously funded other church and churchyard works.

A chancel gallery was installed sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century, supported on thin cast or wrought iron columns; it was not removed until the 1897 restoration. The 19th-century campaign of works included the addition of a vestry, west annex, and southwest porch. A 20th-century northwest annex was later added. The church was reseated between 1849 (when it was noted to be in a "grievous state" with pews of "all sizes, shapes, and colours") and approximately 1880.

The exterior is constructed of flint rubble with Reigate and other freestone dressings. The timber bellcot features a lead spire. Later brick additions comprise the west annex and porch. Roofs are tiled.

The plan consists of an unaisled nave and chancel, with the bellcot positioned over the west bay of the nave. A north vestry, west annex, and southwest porch complete the arrangement.

The exterior presents as a tiny church with a small, late 18th-century bellcot and spire at the west end. The nave is entered through the 19th-century west annex and porch, which has wavy bargeboards and a pointed outer opening. The 18th-century west annex contains a 14th-style west window inserted in the 19th century; above it are three small 18th-century windows in the west wall of the nave. A low 20th-century brick annex extends to the northwest. The nave's north wall has two 18th-century round-headed windows, one apparently enlarging a 12th-century opening. The south wall displays four windows of varying dates: one 14th-century and another of the late 15th or early 16th century. A blocked 14th-century former south door is obscured by a window, and a small dormer pierces the roof. The chancel is lit by a triplet of heavily restored lancets in the east wall, together with a 13th-style window and south door. The north side of the chancel is largely obscured by the 19th-century vestry.

The interior is plastered and painted. Its character is dominated by massive roof trusses and by the large bellcot support and double west gallery. There is no chancel arch; instead, the nave and chancel are separated by a screen and are roofed with similar king post trusses with ceiled and plastered rafters. The central roof truss, positioned between the nave and chancel, is infilled with six open pointed arches, each topped with very simple vertical tracery. These arches are of uncertain date and may represent a late 19th or very early 20th-century insertion.

The bellcot is supported on enormous posts dating to circa 1780, within which are incorporated two contemporary galleries. The lower gallery, now serving as the organ loft, incorporates 17th-century panelling into its front; the upper gallery is wholly 18th-century and retains its original bench seating. A gallery formerly existed on the south side of the chancel, accessible by a now-blocked door and another door currently within what is now a window. A 19th-century door on the north side of the chancel leads to the vestry. Remains of an altered 12th-century window are visible on the north side of the nave.

Among the principal fixtures, fragments of 15th or 16th-century tracery are incorporated into a low screen between the nave and chancel. Medieval fragments were formerly incorporated into chancel seating, now removed. Panelling of circa 1600 is worked into the lower part of the west gallery. The font is a 19th-century Perpendicular-style polygonal piece mounted on a possibly medieval polygonal stem. The present rectangular pulpit appears to have been assembled from a 19th-century polygonal pulpit. An early 20th-century brass lectern is modelled as a female angel. Nave benches with moulded top rails date to the 1860s or 1870s and were certainly in place by 1880. A painted reredos was added in 1928. Some 19th and 20th-century stained glass is present.

Monumental brasses include one to Walter Pope, died 1505, and his two wives. Several good 17th and 18th-century ledger slabs survive. Two benefaction boards record gifts to the church and its remodelling by Bernard and Thomas Dagnall, circa 1766–1780.

According to historical records, a church existed at Cowley by the 12th century. It may have been founded by Westminster Abbey to serve its estates in the area, though the advowson (the right to appoint a vicar) always belonged to the manor, not the abbey. The present structure remains the smallest church in the former county of Middlesex and is surely among the smallest parish churches in the country.