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Summary

Grade II listed Victorian church, built on a new site east of two previous churches

Associated Legal Designations or Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1210177: CHURCH OF ST LAURENCE

Other Statuses and Cross-References

• Berkshire SMR No. (pre 2000): 01892.03.000
  
• Church Heritage Record: 9679
  
• National Monuments Record No.: SU 36 SE 10
  Gives NGR of SU 3853 6320
• National Monuments Record No.: SU 36 SE 38
  SU 3905 6309

Monument Type(s):

• PARISH CHURCH (Late 19th century - 1883 AD to 1900 AD)
• WAR MEMORIAL (TRIBUTE) (Early 20th century - 1919 AD? to 1925 AD?)

Full Description

Church built in 1883 on a new site, about 500m ESE of the old church site (SMR 1892.02). Built by Sir Arthur Bloomfield. Flint with Bath stone dressings and plain tiled roofs. 3 stage tower. Medieval floor tiles from old church set in the wall below the tower. Listed Grade II.

St Laurence's contains 'three exceedingly pretty Rococo putti of wood' <4><7> and stained glass from the Morris & Co workshop designed by Burne-Jones <5>.

There is a wooden war memorial panel inside the church to men who died in the First World War from 1914-18 <9>.

According to a church guide written in 1980 <5>, the first, medieval church was demolished in 1716 and 96 tiles from it are displayed in the Memorial Chapel of the third, 1883 church, under the belfry. Above the medieval tiles is a marble wall memorial from the second church, three photos of which, taken in around 1880, are in the 1883 church's vestry. In the vestry is also displayed a Faculty from 1716 to demolish the first church.

The West Woodhay estate was bought in 1882 by William Henry Cole, who commissioned the new church <5>. The church was extended to the east by 12 feet in 1894 and the sanctuary has three high-relief carvings by Goyer, which were a gift from Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's wife, as her husband was a member of the Cole family. The organ is by the younger Henry Willis, and the carving of the pulpit, lectern and bench-ends was by Jessie Cole, one of William Henry Cole's daughters, who had her own workshop in West Woodhay.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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