St Laurence's Church, Norwich
Encyclopedia
St Laurence's Church, Norwich, or St Lawrence's Church, is a redundant
Anglican
church in St Benedict's Street, Norwich
, Norfolk
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. It stands on a sloping site between Westwick Street and St Benedict's Street.
was added to the tower. Towards the end of the 19th century the size of the congregation declined, and in 1903 its parish
was united with that of St Gregory's. The church closed finally in 1968, and was later vested
in the Churches Conservation Trust.
with stone and brick dressings. The clerestory
has an ashlar
facing. The roofs are in lead and slate
. Its plan consists of a nave
and chancel
in one unit, north and south aisle
s, north and south porches, a rood
stair turret on the south side, and a west tower. The tower is 112 feet (34 m) high. It is in three stages with diagonal buttress
es. In the lowest stage is an arched west door. Its spandrel
s contain carvings of "St Edmund
being arrowed and St Lawrence being grilled". Above the doorway is a four-light Perpendicular window, with niches
for statues on each side. In the middle stage are square sound holes, and there is a clock face on the south side. The top stage contains two-light bell openings on each side. The parapet
consists of a two-stepped battlement
s with corner pinnacle
s. The stair turret terminates in a spirelet.
The aisles have five bays
along the nave with an extra half bay extending along the chancel. The windows along the sides of the aisles, and at their ends, are Perpendicular in style with four lights. The clerestory runs along the entire length of the nave and chancel, and contains eleven tall three-light windows on each side. The east window of he chancel dates from the late 19th century and is in Perpendicular style. Both porches have two storeys. The north porch has a central statue niche in the upper storey with flanking windows, and blocked east and west windows. Inside the porch is a lierne vault
.
are carried on octagonal piers
. The roof is a hammerbeam
supported on corbel
s carved with angels. At the east end of the church are seven steps leading up to the altar. The reredos
is a war memorial of 1921 that includes panels painted by Kingston Rudd. Flanking this are more panels painted with images of angels and saints. There are similar painted panels on the screen to the north aisle chapel. Most of the furniture has been removed from the church, but a 15th-century font
is still present. Some medieval
stained glass has been incorporated in a mosaic
in the east window of the south aisle. Some brasses
remain in the church, while others have been removed and are in storage. One of those remaining, on the east wall of the north aisle, is to Sarah Glover
, the inventor of the Norwich sol-fa system
of musical notation. The ring
consists of six bells. The oldest of these was cast in about 1356 by William Revel, the next in about 1530 by William Barker, and the third oldest in 1615 by William Brend. Of the final three, one was cast in 1701 by Charles Newman, and the other two in 1737 by Thomas Newman.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in St Benedict's Street, Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. It stands on a sloping site between Westwick Street and St Benedict's Street.
History
The church was built between 1460 and 1472. It was restored in 1893, during which a corner turretTurret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
was added to the tower. Towards the end of the 19th century the size of the congregation declined, and in 1903 its parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
was united with that of St Gregory's. The church closed finally in 1968, and was later vested
Vesting
In law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment. One has a vested right to an asset that cannot be taken away by any third party, even though one may not yet possess the asset. When the right, interest or title to the present or future possession of a legal...
in the Churches Conservation Trust.
Exterior
St Laurence's Church is constructed in flintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
with stone and brick dressings. The clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
has an ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
facing. The roofs are in lead and slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
. Its plan consists of a nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
in one unit, north and south aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s, north and south porches, a rood
Rood
A rood is a cross or crucifix, especially a large one in a church; a large sculpture or sometimes painting of the crucifixion of Jesus.Rood is an archaic word for pole, from Old English rōd "pole", specifically "cross", from Proto-Germanic *rodo, cognate to Old Saxon rōda, Old High German ruoda...
stair turret on the south side, and a west tower. The tower is 112 feet (34 m) high. It is in three stages with diagonal buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. In the lowest stage is an arched west door. Its spandrel
Spandrel
A spandrel, less often spandril or splaundrel, is the space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure....
s contain carvings of "St Edmund
Edmund the Martyr
St Edmund the Martyr was a king of East Anglia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.D'Evelyn, Charlotte, and Mill, Anna J., , 1956. Reprinted 1967...
being arrowed and St Lawrence being grilled". Above the doorway is a four-light Perpendicular window, with niches
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
for statues on each side. In the middle stage are square sound holes, and there is a clock face on the south side. The top stage contains two-light bell openings on each side. The parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
consists of a two-stepped battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
s with corner pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s. The stair turret terminates in a spirelet.
The aisles have five bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
along the nave with an extra half bay extending along the chancel. The windows along the sides of the aisles, and at their ends, are Perpendicular in style with four lights. The clerestory runs along the entire length of the nave and chancel, and contains eleven tall three-light windows on each side. The east window of he chancel dates from the late 19th century and is in Perpendicular style. Both porches have two storeys. The north porch has a central statue niche in the upper storey with flanking windows, and blocked east and west windows. Inside the porch is a lierne vault
Lierne (vault)
A Lierne in Gothic rib vaulting is an architectural term for a tertiary rib spanning between two other ribs, instead of from a springer, or to the central boss...
.
Interior
Inside the church the arcadesArcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
are carried on octagonal piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
. The roof is a hammerbeam
Hammerbeam roof
Hammerbeam roof, in architecture, is the name given to an open timber roof, typical of English Gothic architecture, using short beams projecting from the wall.- Design :...
supported on corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s carved with angels. At the east end of the church are seven steps leading up to the altar. The reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
is a war memorial of 1921 that includes panels painted by Kingston Rudd. Flanking this are more panels painted with images of angels and saints. There are similar painted panels on the screen to the north aisle chapel. Most of the furniture has been removed from the church, but a 15th-century font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
is still present. Some medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
stained glass has been incorporated in a mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
in the east window of the south aisle. Some brasses
Monumental brass
Monumental brass is a species of engraved sepulchral memorial which in the early part of the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood...
remain in the church, while others have been removed and are in storage. One of those remaining, on the east wall of the north aisle, is to Sarah Glover
Sarah Ann Glover
Sarah Ann Glover was an English music educator who invented the Norwich sol-fa system.-Life and career:Glover was born in The Close, Norwich. Her father became Curate of St Laurence's Church, Norwich in 1811, and she developed her learning system to aid teachers with a cappella singing...
, the inventor of the Norwich sol-fa system
Tonic sol-fa
Tonic sol-fa is a pedagogical technique for teaching sight-singing, invented by Sarah Ann Glover of Norwich, England and popularised by John Curwen who adapted it from a number of earlier musical systems...
of musical notation. The ring
Ring of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
consists of six bells. The oldest of these was cast in about 1356 by William Revel, the next in about 1530 by William Barker, and the third oldest in 1615 by William Brend. Of the final three, one was cast in 1701 by Charles Newman, and the other two in 1737 by Thomas Newman.