Saint Laurence's Church is one of three Church of England parish churches in the benefice of Upton-cum-Chalvey, and is the oldest building in the borough of Slough, in Berkshire, England. In the 12th century the wooden parish church of Upton was replaced with a flint building. The tower and outside walls of the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

building form part of the present church. Several of the walls are built of puddingstone. Two other Norman features survive: the ancient baptismal font and a

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman Ca ...

. In the English Reformation many of the ancient decorations were mutilated. A 13th-century Italian allegorical image of the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

– God Father, Son and Holy Spirit – survived and was reassembled in the restoration of the church.

Dereliction and restoration

By the early 19th century St Laurence's had fallen into such disrepair that it was decided to build a new church, St Mary's, in the town centre. The Norman building was saved from demolition by a local farmer who secured the outside walls and tower. Saint Laurence's was restored in 1850–51 by Benjamin Ferrey and rededicated on 2 December 1851.

Notable associations with the church

The churchyard may have inspired the 1751 '' Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard'' by local poet

Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his '' Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,'' published in 1751. G ...

(1716–71). St Laurence's "ivy-mantled tow’r" was a well-known landmark housing a

curfew bell The curfew bell was a bell rung in the evening in Medieval England as the curfew signal for everyone to go to bed.Wood/Peshall, p. 177 A bell was rung usually around eight o'clock in the evening which meant for them to cover their fires — dead ...

that "tolls the knell of parting day" across the fields of

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

. The

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

and composer Sir

William Herschel Frederick William Herschel (; german: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline ...

(1738–1822), discoverer of

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus ( Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars), grandfather of Zeus (Jupiter) and father of ...

, is buried at St Laurence's. He, his wife and his grandson are all interred in a family vault at the base of the tower, and there are commemorative plaques on the wall nearby. In 2001 a generous bequest allowed St Laurence's to install a set of stained-glass windows to commemorate Herschel and his discovery. The west window of the church is a memorial to John Sullivan (1788–1855), who is buried in the churchyard. He was the Collector of Coimbatore, India, between 1815 and 1830, and is best known as the founder of the city of

Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and so ...

Charles Hatchett Charles Hatchett FRS FRSE (2 January 1765 – 10 March 1847) was an English mineralogist and analytical chemist who discovered the element niobium, for which he proposed the name "columbium". Hatchett was elected a Fellow of the Linnaean Soci ...

(1765–1847), discoverer of the element niobium, is also buried here. The poet and translator

Keith Bosley Keith Anthony Bosley (16 September 1937 – 24 June 2018) was a British poet and translator. Bosley was born in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, and grew up in Maidenhead, Berkshire. He was educated at Sir William Borlase's Grammar School in Marlo ...

was the church

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

for many years.''The Guardian'', 14 July 2018

References

External links

History of St Laurence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slough, Saint Laurence's Church

Saint Laurence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roma ...

Upton-cum-Chalvey Diocese of Oxford Grade I listed churches in Berkshire English churches with Norman architecture