St Laurence's Church and Churchyard Twelve Tombs in St Laurence's Churchyard is a Grade II listed building in the Reading local planning authority area, England. First listed on 14 December 1978. A C18 Church, tomb.
St Laurence's Church and Churchyard Twelve Tombs in St Laurence's Churchyard
- WRENN ID
- dusted-vault-indigo
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Reading
- Constituency
- Reading Central MP: Matt Rodda (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 14 December 1978
- Type
- Church, tomb
- Address
- St Laurence's Church and Churchyard Twelve Tombs in St Laurence's Churchyard, Market Place
- OS grid reference
- SU 717 735
- Coordinates
- 51.45643, -0.96884
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
St Laurence's Church and Churchyard contains twelve notable tombs. In the north-east corner of the churchyard, there are two stone chest tombs. The first, dating from the early 19th century, features double panels. The second is a fine mid-18th century tomb with corner balusters, oval side panels adorned with hourglasses on the north side and cherubs on the south side.
At the east end of the church, there is a sarcophagus-type tomb with tapering sides from the early 19th century, which is missing railings. East of this is another chest tomb from 1809, associated with the Austwick vault, characterized by corner piers with arched panels.
Further east, there is a high plinth chest tomb with fluted and reeded corner shafts. To the north-east of the first tomb, a chest tomb from 1800 marks the Mortimer vault and features panelled sides but lacks railings. South of this, a square plan tomb from around 1827 has raking sides, channelled corner piers, and broken ball finials.
Another high chest tomb from around 1810, with panelled corner piers, is located south of the previous tomb. Along the north of the churchyard path, various memorials can be found, with the most notable group located near the south-east corner of the Forbury extension of the Municipal buildings.
Among these are a sarcophagus-type tomb from around 1820, which once had a marble memorial tablet and features a fluted frieze; a high chest tomb from around 1830, associated with the Vines family vault and characterized by panelled corner piers; a low chest tomb from circa 1857 belonging to the Hoffman family with fluted corner piers; and a well-crafted chest tomb from circa 1797 for the Hooper family, featuring double panelled sides.
Local climate
St Laurence's Church and Churchyard Twelve Tombs in St Laurence's Churchyard sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 80% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 73% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 53% of listed buildings. Of these, 14 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
- 1 Group of 13 Chest Tombs Approximately 5-16 Metres South and West of Southtransept of Church of St Mary
- 2 Row of 10 Chest Tombs and One Table Tomb Against the South East of Churchyard Wall of the Church of St John the Baptist
- 3 Three Unidentified Monuments, in the Churchyard, Between About 1 1/2 Metres and 4 Metres East of East Wall of Nave, Church of St Lawrence
- 4 Tombs in Churchyard of All Saints Church
- 5 Group of 5 Chest Tombs to East of Porch of Parish Church of St Nicholas
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Nearby listed buildings
- Tracery Fragments in the Churchyard of the Church of St Laurence
- Church of St Laurence
- Drinking fountain on the south side of St Laurence’s Church tower, facing south towards Market Place
- Wall and gate piers of the Church of St Laurence’s graveyard
- Municipal Buildings
- 27 and 28, Market Place
- The Coopers Public House
- Reading Town Hall
- 32, Market Place
- Queen Victoria Jubilee Statue