Description

ANSLEY NUNEATON ROAD
SP29SE (South side)
Church End
4/5 Church of St. Lawrence
25/03/68
GV II*
Church. Mid/late C12; tower and clerestory added late C15; chancel lengthened
mid C18; late C19/early C20 porch; north aisle added 1913. Restored 1894 and
1902. Red sandstone ashlar; western part of chancel of coursed rubble. Porch has
upper part of timber framing with rendered infill. Chancel and porch have
plain-tile roofs; aisle has slate roof; nave roof is hidden by parapet. Nave,
chancel, north aisle, south porch, west tower. Mainly Perpendicular style. 2-bay
chancel, 3-bay nave. Chancel has diagonal buttresses of 2 offsets, and east
pediment with hipped roof rising taller and steeper behind. Small quatrefoil
east window in moulded roundel. Chancel and nave have C12 pilaster buttresses.
South side of chancel has blocked Gothick doorway with moulded ogee arch.
Central buttress. Western part has C14 two-light window with reticulated tracery
and hood mould with head stops to each side. Blocked doorway has hood mould.
Trefoiled south west lancet. North side has re-set C15 three-light window with
intersecting tracery in eastern part. Western half has imitation ashlar render,
2-light window and straight-headed C14 low-side window. Porch has fretted barge
boards and 4-centre arched double-leaf doors. Simple C12 doorway inside has
round arch with imposts and C18 plank door. Nave has 3-light south windows; the
eastern is C15, with a 4-centred arch; the western is late C15, with a Tudor
arch. Clerestory of 3 straight-headed windows of 2 trefoiled lights to each
side. Moulded cornice and embattled parapet with 2 gargoyles and the remains of
another, and a crocketed pinnacle above the porch. Similar pinnacle to
north-east corner. East gable of earlier roof rises above parapet. North aisle
has lean-to roof with lead flat to upper part; topmost sections of east and west
parapets are treated as flying buttresses. 3-light east window, with a version
of Perpendicular tracery. North side has re-set C12 doorway of 2 orders, the
inner a plain arch with imposts, the outer a roil moulding and nook shafts with
fluted capitals, and an ancient plank door with strap hinges. Re-set C13 lancet
to east; 3-light window to west. 3-light traceried mullioned west window. Large
tower has plinth with 2 hallow mouldings, and full-height diagonal buttresses of
2 offsets. West doorway of 3 moulded orders has late C19 Gothic traceried
fanlight and half-glazed door. 3-light west window. Door and window have hood
moulds with lion's head stops. Small chamfered rectangular opening about half
way up on each side. 2-light Tudor-arched bell openings have transoms, hood
moulds and louvres. Moulded cornice and embattled parapet, with plain C18
pinnacles. Wrought-iron weather-vane. Interior is plastered. Eastern half of
chancel has roved cornice with frieze of alternating gilded heads and Tudor
flower, deep coved ceiling with moulded panel and central roundel with dove in
high relief. Plain round arch, with jambs forming pedestals of 2 monuments.
Western part of chancel has panelled ceiling, and part of a blocked C12 window.
C12 chancel arch of 2 roll and hollow-moulded orders with hood mould. The inner
order has plain jambs; north abacus is carved with a man being eaten by 2
monsters. The outer order has nook-shafts with capitals of volutes and flutes or
upright leaves; the north capital is damaged, the south appears to have been
restored. The nave has a very shallow-pitched Perpendicular roof with moulded
tie beams, braces and purlins, and gilded carved bosses; a timber is dated 1786.
Tower arch of 2 chamfered orders. S-bay north arcade of 1913 is of 2 orders,
with round piers-and octagonal capitals; arches without responds. Aisle has C12
arch with nail-head ornament, but without jambs, re-set in north wall. Mid C18
fittings: reredos of 2 black and gilded Tuscan columns has open semi-circular
pediment with winged head at apex, tympanum with inscription I/H/S pierced so
that light from the east window shines through, and C17/C18 painting. Communion
rail of semi-oval plan, with column balusters. 2-tier fielded panelled chancel
stalls with H-hinges. Some adapted fielded panelled pew-ends. Late C19 fittings:
elaborate traceried octagonal wood pulpit. Carved octagonal stone font with
granite clustered shaft. Stained glass: chancel north window: jumbled medieval
fragments. Monuments: chancel has monuments placed on the pedestals of the
central arch. North: James Ludford 1699 and John Ludford, erected 1700. A large
black pedestal with inscription and cartouches of arms to east and west, and
white marble urn with cartouche and heads. South: Samuel Bracebridge Ludford
1727, erected 1761. White marble pedestal with moulded sunk panels, and urn with
cartouche and phoenix. Wall monuments: chancel east wall, north of reredos: John
Bracebridge Ludford 1775 and family. A Gothic design probably early C19. South
of reredos: John Newdigate Ludford 1825, erected 1829. White marble panel with
segmental pediment, and a draped sarcophagus below. By William Hollins of
Birmingham. Chancel north: Elizabeth Ludford 1741. Panel framed by pilaster
strips with drapery, urn finials, 2 winged heads and a section of segmental
pediment. 3 hatchments on nave south wall.
(Buildings of England: Warwickshire: p66; VCH: Warwickshire: Vol IV, p7)

Listing NGR: SP2901392637

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17550667

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

• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)