Church Of St Lawrence

The Church of St Lawrence is a church dating back to the early 12th century, with subsequent alterations and additions spanning the 13th to 16th centuries. The tower was added in the early 13th century. The chancel arch was rebuilt in a Victorian style by John Macduff Derick in the 1800s. The building is constructed of uncoursed limestone rubble with ashlar dressings, and has a gabled stone slate roof.

The church comprises a chancel, a nave, and a west tower. The east window is cinquefoil-headed and dates from the 15th century. The two-bay chancel features an early 16th century four-light window and a 13th century pointed lancet above a Norman lancet to the south. To the north, there is a restored 14th century trefoil-headed lancet and a blocked 16th century doorway. The two-bay nave has Norman lancets flanking a Norman doorway with intact voussoirs and quoining on the north wall. The south wall features a 15th century three-light cinquefoil-headed window and an unusual late 13th century three-light window with lozenge tracery in a triangular head, both flanking a 17th century porch with a chamfered oak frame and studded door. A fine 12th century south door has zig-zag carving to its roll-moulded arch, set over columns with scalloped capitals.

Inside, there is an ancient triangular niche for a piscina, a late 17th century communion table with a 20th century top, and an early 19th century Gothic-style communion rail. The roof is a 16th century queen-post design of two tiers, featuring downward arch bracing from the central stud to the tie beam; however, the collars, purlins, windbraces and rafters are 20th century replacements. The chancel arch and flanking arches were rebuilt in a Norman style by John Macduff Derick, replacing a simpler Norman arch and a squint. The nave contains a studded door to the rood stairs, two early medieval aumbries, an early 19th century lectern and missal, and a 15th century octagonal font with finely-carved Decorated blind tracery. A 20th century organ loft is present, along with a pointed-chamfered arch at the west end.

Monuments include floor tablets in the chancel to Elizabeth Fynmore, circa 1715, and William Fynmore, died 1757. An early 18th century wall tablet to William Finmere has a heraldic cartouche and flanking swags set over a bolection-moulded fielded inscription panel. A Baroque wall tablet, likely by William Bird, commemorates William Fynmore, died 1646, and his son, died 1673, featuring a heraldic achievement and putti resting on an oval panel with a richly-carved surround. Stained glass includes a 1930s memorial east window, late 19th century glass in two chancel windows and the east window of the nave, and reset 15th century fragments in the west window. The unusual late 13th century triangular-headed window shares similarities with those at Cumnor, Stanton, John and Theale.