Description

SO 4593
1312-1/13/43

CHURCH STRETTON
CHURCH STREET (east side)
Church of St Lawrence

04/07/52

GV
I
Church. C12 nave with C13 transepts, crossing and chancel, tower upper stage C15, vestry added 1831, transept aisles added 1868 in restoration by S. Pountney Smith, restored 1882 and 1932.

MATERIALS: generally rubble stone with ashlar dressings, partly coursed rubble and ashlar to the transepts, ashlar upper stage of tower. Plain-tile roofs with partly ornamental ridges and with ashlar coped gables, plain-tiled pyramid tower roof.

PLAN: cruciform plan consisting of nave and chancel, transepts with aisles and central tower.

EXTERIOR: chancel with pointed arched east window with Perpendicular-style tracery of c1639 with hoodmould with restored label stops. On north side to left is probable early C17 pointed window with twin lancet tracery and hoodmould with partly restored label stops; to centre is projecting late C19 gabled organ chamber with imitation Norman-style interlaced arcade decoration; to right is pointed arched doorway with hoodmould and label stop and with oak studded door. South side with window to right mirroring window on the north side; to centre left is pointed arched priest's doorway with roll moulding and hoodmould with chamfer stops; to left is pointed window and C16 flat-headed window above, both with chamfered surrounds.

North transept: C14 pointed arched window with Decorated-style tracery of three cusped lancets and quatrefoils. C13 lancet to left return side. Right return side covered by late C19 transept aisle with pointed window to north and two lancets to west.

South transept: restored pointed arched three-light window with reticulated tracery and hoodmould. Right return wall with C13 lancet. To left of transept is C19 transept aisle extension with advanced gable with diagonal buttresses and traceried pointed window. To far left is projecting vestry gable with roughcast rendered walls, pointed window with Flamboyant tracery, and dated 1831.

Nave: north side with wide flat buttress in centre containing C12 doorway with double roll-moulded semicircular arch and hoodmould, internally blocked door. Sheila-na-gig set in wall over. South side with C13 pointed window with twin lancet tracery. West end has corners with broad flat clasping buttresses, early C17 tall pointed window with Decorated-style tracery, datestone over dated both 1619 and 1978. Slightly advanced early C19 moulded door surround with pointed arched doorway.

Tower: three stages with two stages above nave roof with diagonal stepped buttresses, dripmould string courses featuring corner and central gargoyles and carved bosses. Chamfered lancets to east and south faces of the lower stage and each face of mid stage, the east side now with a clockface. Flat-headed louvred bell-chamber openings to each face of the upper stage with pointed arched tracery of two cusped lancets and quatrefoil. Battlemented parapet with ornate corner finials.

INTERIOR: unplastered interior walls. Trussed rafter roofs in chancel and north transept. South transept has arched brace collar-truss roof with central tier of opposing carved windbraces. C13 trussed rafter roof in nave. Transitional pointed arches under the tower crossing, with restored capitals of square moulded abaci and capitals with volutes, stiff-leaf carving and heads. Norman south door with one order of shafts and one capital with volutes now forms the entrance to the vestry. Transitional C12 doors in the north transept aisle arcade. Piscina in south chancel flat-headed window. Carved reredos dated 1647; panelling near the font is made of the old pulpit. Perpendicular-style font of carved octagonal bowl set on pedestal.

Eight bells including six cast by Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester in 1711. Stained glass by Betton and Evans of Shrewsbury.

Listing NGR: SO4523893677

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• St Laurence's Church, Church Stretton at Wikipedia
• St Laurence's Church, Church Stretton official website
• Wikidata Q7593928

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

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  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
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  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
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  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)