Everything about St Laurence Church Ludlow totally explained
St Laurence Church, Ludlow was established as a
Norman place of worship in association with the founding of
Ludlow in the 11th century AD. This parish church in
Shropshire,
England contains an extensive set of
misericords in the
choir stalls as well as fine
stained glass windows. The tower is 42 meters in height and commands expansive views of the local area. The church was rebuilt in the year 1199 and has had several later additions and modifications.
History
Original Norman traces were found beneath the south porch, indicating some extant foundations exist from the 11th century AD. After its initial construction the church was expanded and rebuilt in 1199 to accommodate a flourishing town population. In the late
Middle Ages considerable wealth accrued to the town based upon the
wool trade. Correspondingly the church underwent several further additions in that era. The major works occurred between 1433 and 1471 with a virtual re-building of the nave, tower and chancel elements. The tower took on a perpendicular style which was modish in the late 15th century in
England. The
Saint John's Chapel on the north side was the chapel of the Palmers Guild, who thrived in the
Late Middle Ages. The Palmers Window within St John's Chapel illustrates the legend of
King Edward the Confessor and
St John the Evangelist. by eight panels and was inspired by the Ludlow Palmers’ 13th century pilgrimage to the
Holy Land
.
The sizeable east window of the chancel underwent restoration in the year 1832; this window depicts the
martyrdom of
St. Laurence. The most extensive modern repairs and rehabilitation occurred in the period 1859 to 1861, which consisted primarily of interior modifications.
It is a member of the
Greater Churches Group.
Architecture
The dominant exterior feature is the square
bell tower, which houses the historic and famed bells of the church. The
chancel contains the mediaeval choir stalls adorned with numerous
misericords. Many of these fine
wood carvings are of
heraldry and others are
genre scenes of common life. Typical sizes of the misericords and upper bench carvings are 25 centimeters wide by 12 centimeters high; the carvings have very deep relief (up to two centimetres). Some of the elements of the carving are repeated on roof adornments.
Below the chancel are the
catacombs, holding an impressive set of
church monuments, most of which contain deceased persons involved with
Ludlow Castle’s
Council of the Marches. Other than the large chancel east window, there are other notable windows within the chancel; the most remarkable one depicts the
Ten Commandments, illustrating six of the commandments being broken.
The
hexagonal south porch derives from the 1300s and serves as the main entrance to the church; this porch is one of only three of such a six sided design in all of England. The other interior chapels are
St. Catherine’s Chapel and the Lady Chapel, the latter of which has a large filled-in door that was once used for the Ludlow
fire engine at an earlier era. Exterior features include a memorial plaque to the
poet A.E. Housman and the Samuel Burgess Memorial Garden. The ashes of Housman are buried in the church grounds, with the stump of a
cherry tree marking their location. Above the interior stone
lantern there's s splendid vault.
Contents
Above the porch on the first floor (second story in American parlance) is the Parvis room, which houses a small history museum pertinent to the church. At St. Catherine’s Chapel (the south transept) some floor-stones in the area honour recent congregation members. In the
nave and
aisle area, there are several noteworthy contents, including:
In the north transept is lodged the year
1764 four-manual
Snetzler organ. Originally it was located in a gallery beneath the tower. The organ was restored as of the 1980s by the Nicolsons Company in
Worcester.
References
Further Information
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