Old St Lawrence Church is a ruined building in

Ayot St Lawrence Ayot St Lawrence is a small English village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, west of Welwyn. There are several other ''Ayots'' in the area, including Ayot Green and Ayot St Peter, where the census population of Ayot ...

, Hertfordshire, England. It is protected as a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, and dates back to the 12th century. The building was partially demolished in 1775 by Sir Lionel Lyde, 1st Baronet, who had acquired a country home, Ayot House, close by. It was replaced as the village's

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

by new St Lawrence Church, a neoclassical structure which Lyde had built on a site slightly further from his house. The last baptism to take place at Old St Lawrence Church was on the 21st February 1773 for Susan George.Find My Past - Ayot St Lawrence Parish Register New St Lawrence Church was consecrated in 1779.

Graveyard

Although Lionel Lyde and his wife Rachel are commemorated at the new church, the old

churchyard In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...

remained in use. Burials include

Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Frederick Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan (16 October 1865 – 28 August 1946), known as Viscount Kilcoursie from 1887 until 1900, was a British Army officer who served as Chief of the General St ...

(1865 – 1946), whose maternal grandfather was rector of Ayot St Lawrence. Earl Cavan was a

Field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

and his resting place is registered by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

. Although the Earl was not a

casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

in the normal sense of the term, the entry refers to the "memorial to the casualty in the form of a large 7' red granite celtic cross".He did however die within the years designated by the Commission for the Second World War (3 September 1939 to 31 December 1947). See

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayot St L, Old Buildings and structures in Ayot St Lawrence Church ruins in England Churchyards in England Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England Ayot Ruins in Hertfordshire