St Lawrence's Church, Gnosall

St Lawrence's Church is an Anglican church in Gnosall, Staffordshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The earliest parts of the church are of Norman architecture; it was later much modified. The church is unusual in having a central tower.

St Lawrence's Church, Gnosall
View from the south
52°47′07″N 2°15′12″W
OS grid referenceSJ 830 209
LocationGnosall, Staffordshire
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
Websitehttp://www.gnosallparish.org.uk/
Architecture
Heritage designationGrade I
Designated15 January 1968[1]
Architectural typeNorman architecture
Administration
DeaneryEccleshall Deanery[2]
DioceseDiocese of Lichfield

Early history

There was a church here in Anglo-Saxon times; this was replaced by a Norman church. The building is cruciform and has a central tower. The earliest parts, the arches of the central crossing, and much of the walling, date from the 12th century.[1][3]

It is thought it may have been a collegiate church, controlled by the monarch, not by the diocese in which it lies.[4]

Later modifications

In the 13th century aisles, of three bays, were added to the nave; the triple lancet window and doorway at the west end were installed, and the south doorway.[5]

View from the north-east

The north transept was rebuilt, with a lower roof (the earlier roofline is visible) and a double lancet window, of the 13th century, in the end wall. The south transept is little changed from the original form. The five-light east window is of the 14th century.[5]

In the 15th century the upper part of the tower was built, and the clerestory was added. A lady chapel, with a parapet, was built on the south side of the chancel about 1500.[1][5]

More recently, the porch for the south doorway, designed by Charles Lynam, was built in 1893. The north vestry, designed by Horsley, Huber and Associates of Stafford, was built in the 1990.[5]

See also

References
  1. Historic England. "Church of St Lawrence (1242645)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  2. Gnosall St Lawrence Diocese of Lichfield, accessed 21 October 2017.
  3. Our History St Lawrence Parish Church Gnosall, accessed 17 May 2017.
  4. D. M. Palliser. The Staffordshire Landscape. Hodder and Stoughton, 1976. Page 52.
  5. St Lawrence, Gnosall, Staffordshire The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, accessed 17 May 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.