St Lawrence's Church is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church in

Gnosall Gnosall is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Stafford, Staffordshire, England, with a population of 4,736 across 2,048 households (2011 census). It lies on the A518, approximately halfway between the towns of Newport (in Shropshir ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, England. It is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The earliest parts of the church are of

Norman architecture The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used fo ...

; it was later much modified. The church is unusual in having a central tower.

Early history

There was a church here in Anglo-Saxon times; this was replaced by a Norman church. The building is

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

and has a central tower. The earliest parts, the arches of the central crossing, and much of the walling, date from the 12th century. It is thought it may have been a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

, controlled by the monarch, not by the diocese in which it lies.D. M. Palliser. ''The Staffordshire Landscape''. Hodder and Stoughton, 1976. Page 52.

Later modifications

In the 13th century aisles, of three bays, were added to the nave; the triple

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...

and doorway at the west end were installed, and the south doorway.St Lawrence, Gnosall, Staffordshire
The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, accessed 17 May 2017.

The north

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

was rebuilt, with a lower roof (the earlier roofline is visible) and a double lancet window, of the 13th century, in the end wall. The south transept is little changed from the original form. The five-light east window is of the 14th century. In the 15th century the upper part of the tower was built, and the

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

was added. A

lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...

, with a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

, was built on the south side of the chancel about 1500. More recently, the porch for the south doorway, designed by

Charles Lynam Charles Lynam (9 February 1829 – 21 February 1921) was an English architect, designing many public buildings and churches in the Stoke-on-Trent area. He was also a church historian, archaeologist, and preservationist. Life Lynam was born in ...

, was built in 1893. The north vestry, designed by Horsley, Huber and Associates of Stafford, was built in the 1990.

References

External links

St Lawrence Church Gnosall: a guided tour for visitors
Gnosall Parish Council {{DEFAULTSORT:Gnosall, Church of St Lawrence Church of England church buildings in Staffordshire Grade I listed churches in Staffordshire English churches with Norman architecture Diocese of Lichfield Collegiate churches in England

Early history

Later modifications

See also

References

External links