St Lawrence Church Tour

St Lawrence 1Select a number to see the wallpainting

St. Lawrence’s church, is no longer in regular use, and is in the care of The Churches Conservation Trust, which maintains the building including the magnificent wall paintings which need the specialist attention no small struggling parish could afford. It can be viewed at any reasonable time. A list of keyholders is displayed. Walton Churches Partnership and the local ‘Church without Walls’ hold occasional services in the church and the Friends of St Lawrence also hold events in the church to support the C.C.T. in its work.

The church was built in the early fourteenth century in the Decorated style. The chancel was extended eastwards later in the century and the bell tower added (4 bells). There would originally have been a rood screen, and the spiral staircase which provided access still exists behind the organ and can be seen on the plan.

The wallpaintings are the most interesting feature of the church. They probably date from the fifteenth century and were originally teaching aids to reinforce the messages of sermons for the poor and uneducated. They were obliterated at the Reformation and presumably painted or plastered over, and only rediscovered during the 1849 restoration of the church. They themselves were restored by Professor Tristram in 1932, perhaps over-enthusiastically, and have received attention on at least two occasions since. Other decorations are also still visible. They date from after the Reformation in the late sixteenth century when text only and not pictures was permitted.

The Churches Conservation Trust has produced an excellent booklet (St Lawrence’s Church, Broughton, Buckinghamshire – Price £3) to which we are indebted for much of this information. Their address is:

The Churches Conservation TrustChs Cons Trust
Society Building
8 All Saints Street
London, N1 9RL

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