Description

BURWARTON

823/30/7 BURWARTON
09-MAR-70 FORMER CHURCH OF ST LAURENCE

(Formerly listed as:
BURWARTON
CHURCH OF ST LAURENCE)

II
Parish church built 1874-76 by Anthony Salvin, and converted to a house after closure of the church in 1972.

MATERIALS: Rock-faced yellow sandstone, with freestone dressings, all quarried from nearby Burf Hill. Tile roofs (replacing original stone tiles), except for the leaded north-aisle roof.

PLAN: Nave with lower and narrower chancel, aisles under separate roofs, south porch, west tower, north organ chamber.

EXTERIOR: The church is in Decorated style. Main elements have parapets with gargoyles, and openings have hood moulds with contemporary heads on the stops. The chancel has 2-light windows and 3-light east window. Nave aisles have 2-light and 3-light windows. The south aisle is under a pitched roof, the north aisle under a lean-to roof, above which are cusped clerestorey windows in the nave, and added domestic chimney. The porch has a pointed arch, with cusped side windows. The tower is 4 stages with angle buttresses. The west door has 2 orders of nook shafts, above which is a 2-light window. The 3rd stage has cusped windows in west and north walls, and in the upper stage are pairs of 2-light bell openings. Above is a cornice and embattled parapet with Burwarton family arms. The vestry has, in the north wall, 2 cusped windows and pointed doorway to their left, and new triple east windows under an original rose window.

INTERIOR: Internal conversion has consisted mainly of inserting partitions, but the different spaces within the original building have been respected. The nave has 3-bay arcades of round piers with moulded capitals. The tall tower arch has continuous mouldings, and the stepped chancel arch has an inner order on corbelled marble shafts with stiff-leaf capitals, carved by Dayman of London. The nave has a 3-bay arched-brace roof, the chancel a similar 2-bay roof on corbels.

HISTORY: Built 1874-76 by Anthony Salvin (1799-1881), architect of London, for the 8th Viscount Boyne, replacing an earlier church, the ruins of which stand nearby. It is a late work by Salvin, who had built Burwarton Hall for the same client in the 1830s. The church closed for worship in 1972, since when it has been converted to a house. Original internal fittings, including a reredos by James Forsyth, and most of the original glass, have been removed.

Anthony Salvin (1799-1881) was a significant figure in the late Georgian and early Victorian Gothic Revival. Born in Worthing, was a pupil of a little-known architect named John Paterson (d 1832) and worked in the office of John Nash. He set up in independent practice in 1828 and early on showed his ability to create buildings in an impressively authentic medieval style. He is also known for a range of country house work.

SOURCES:
Newman, J and Pevsner, N., The Buildings of England: Shropshire (2006),188.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The former church of St Laurence, Burwarton, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* It is a well-designed Gothic-revival church by an architect of national reputation.
* It retains its original architectural character and external detail, having been sensitively converted to a house.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26483290

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)