St Lawrence's Church, Weston Patrick facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Lawrence's Church, Weston Patrick
St Lawrence's from the south
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Location	Weston Patrick, Hampshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	12th century, rebuilt 1868
Dedication	St Lawrence
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Listed building – Grade II*
Architect(s)	Thomas Henry Wyatt
Style	Gothic Revival
Specifications
Materials	Stone, flint
Administration
Diocese	Winchester
Province	Canterbury

St Lawrence's Church is a special Christian church located in the small village of Weston Patrick, Hampshire, England. It's considered a very important building, listed as Grade II*. This means it has a lot of historical and architectural value. The church stands proudly on the eastern side of the village, on one of its highest spots. Experts at English Heritage have even called it a "small-scale gem of English Gothic," which means it's a beautiful and valuable example of old English church design.

Exploring the Church's History

St Lawrence's Church has a long and interesting past, with parts of it dating back hundreds of years.

The Old Norman Church

The oldest part of the church you can still see today is the north doorway. It was built around the late 1100s, during the Norman period. This doorway has a rounded arch and special carved edges. A drawing from around 1810 shows that the church's east window also used to have a rounded Norman arch. Today, that window has a pointed, Gothic-style arch instead.

Rebuilding in the 1800s

The church you see now was mostly rebuilt between 1867 and 1868. It was designed in the Gothic Revival style, which means it looks like older Gothic churches. The architect was Thomas Henry Wyatt, who is actually buried in the churchyard. His family still lives in the village!

Before the rebuilding, the original church was quite old and needed repairs. The Wyatt family decided to help. They appointed a new rector (a church leader) in 1866 and built a house for him. Then, the church rebuilding began. The builder was John Wilkes, and the project cost £1,692. The Wyatt family paid most of this cost, with some money also raised by others. The new church was officially opened in June 1868.

What the Church Looks Like

The outside of the church is made from flint stones and dressed stone. The roof is covered with red tiles. At the west end, there's a shingled spire, which is a tall, pointed roof on the bell tower. Some people have described it as a "funny pagoda bell tower."

Inside, the main part of the church (the nave) and the area around the altar (the chancel) are the same width. The ceiling of the chancel is painted a deep blue with golden stars, which looks very pretty. The floor is covered with decorative tiles.

The church has an organ, which is a special type called a Willis "Scudamore" model. It's located in a small area next to the chancel. Until 1965, people had to pump air by hand to make the organ play! There's also a single bell in the bell tower at the western end of the church. You can see some beautiful and detailed carvings of plants and leaves inside.

The large east window was a gift from Thomas Henry Wyatt himself. The three windows at the west end, including a round "Nativity" window showing the birth of Jesus, were made by artists named Lavers and Barraud. On the church walls, there's a small piece of an embroidered altar cloth from 1682. It has the initials "GG" and "IR" on it.

Gallery

• 

  The old church, around 1810

• 

  The new church in 1868,
  the year it was completed

• 

  Altar cloth fragment, dated 1682

• 

  The chancel ceiling, painted dark blue with gold stars

• 

  The church seen from the north side

• 

  The Norman north doorway,
  built in the late 12th century

• 

  The west "Nativity" window