Church of St Lawrence

Church of St Lawrence

Former church, now redundant. The tower dates from the 15th century but underwent alteration in the 19th century. The main body of the church was rebuilt in 1764 by architect Thomas Hardwicke. A south aisle and north vestry were added in the 19th century, and the interior was extensively re-done in 1889. Further restoration work was carried out in the 1970s.

The tower is constructed of Kentish rag with ashlar dressing, while the body of the church is built of brown brick in Flemish bond, also with ashlar dressings. The roofs are covered in Welsh slate. The building comprises a three-stage west tower, a three-bay aisled nave with one-bay chancel (all contained within a single structure), together with the additional south aisle, north vestry, and small sanctuary.

The tower is of three stages, with a plinth and diagonal buttresses with offsets. Quoins are present to the second and third stages, with chamfered offsets between each stage. An octagonal vice at the north-east angle becomes circular at the top stage and features a chamfered doorway at its base and slit windows. The west side of the tower contains a round-arched board door of 19th-century date with decorative hinges set in an architrave, with a 15th-century window above comprising three cusped lights set in a two-centre-arched opening. Rectangular openings appear on the west and north sides of the second stage, though the south side is masked by 18th-century work. Louvred two-centred-arched belfry windows appear on the north, west, and south sides. A cornice below the embattled parapet completes the tower.

On the north side of the nave and chancel, the chancel bay is slightly set back and partly obscured by the added gabled vestry. The bays are defined by giant pilasters with stone imposts that support round arches. Each bay contains a blind segmental-arched window below a taller round-arched window with late 20th-century tracery copying the original design, consisting of two arched lights with a circle above. Ashlar coping runs along the top. The south side is masked by the aisle addition but retains upper windows of the same pattern. At the west end on the north side, steps lead up to a double door with eight raised and fielded panels in an ashlar architrave with pulvinated frieze and cornice; the top step is inscribed "to the vault of George Cooper". The sanctuary east window is blocked.

The interior features a pointed tower arch of several orders, the central hollow-moulded order being supported by short columns with moulded capitals. The body of the church contains late 19th-century wooden round-arched arcades with octagonal columns having moulded bases and acanthus leaf capitals. Clerestory windows consist of tripled round-arched lights. The roof comprises braced queen-post trusses with inner columns supporting a round arch.

The chancel is fitted with wooden screens on either side, featuring two tiers of round-arched arcades: slender columns below and twisted columns above. At the west end of the nave stands a wall monument to Thomas Hardwicke, the architect (died 1829), and other family members. A circular monument on the south wall commemorates Reverend William Coome (1810), created by Coade and Sealy. The tower contains a tombstone of Dame Mary, widow of Sir Edward Spencer (died 1658), with two heart-shaped coats of arms. Several other good monuments have been removed.