St Lawrence Parish Church is an active

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is situated in

Lawrence Street Lawrence Charles Street (4 February 1920 – April 2004) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket in four matches for Warwickshire in 1946. He was born at Erdington in Birmingham and died at Hitchin in Hertfordshire, though the pr ...

, just outside

Walmgate Bar York has, since Roman times, been defended by walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. They are known variously as York City Wal ...

History

It is dedicated to

St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 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 Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

, possibly in deliberate reference to the

Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls The (Papal Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls) is a Roman Catholic papal minor basilica and parish church, located in churches of Rome, Rome, Italy. The Basilica is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and one of the five papal b ...

, in Rome. The tower of the old church building remains in the churchyard – the doorway and lower half date to the 12th century. This tower is now cared for by the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

. The oldest gravestones in the churchyard lie on the site of the demolished nave and chancel and include tombs of the Heskeths and Yarburghs of

Heslington Hall Heslington Hall is a historic manor house near the village of Heslington, North Yorkshire, England, within the city of York. The hall is part of the campus of the University of York. The original house dated from 1565 to 1568, but it was large ...

. The parish was united with that of St Nicholas after that church was destroyed in the

Siege of York The siege of York in 1644 was a prolonged contest for York during the First English Civil War, between the Scottish Covenanter army and the Parliamentarian armies of the Northern Association and Eastern Association, and the Royalist Ar ...

. St Lawrence was also severely damaged, but was rebuilt at the Restoration, and silver and furniture from remain.

Sir John Vanbrugh Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restorat ...

married Henrietta Maria Yarburgh here on a snowy day in 1719. The churchyard contains the 1830 Rigg Memorial – built by public subscription for six children who died in a boating accident, with an epitaph by James Montgomery – and the 1820 'medicine pot' memorial to Dr Oswald Allen (who ran the York Dispensary charity) and his wife. These monuments, together with the tower, are Grade I listed. The old church was demolished in 1881–83 to build a much larger building, the second-largest religious building in York after

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

. It is the leading work of J. B. Hall of Canterbury. The first incumbent was Robert Crosthwaite, who would later be appointed as inaugural

Bishop of Beverley The Bishop of Beverley is a Church of England Provincial Episcopal Visitor. The title takes its name after the town of Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Originally a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of York, the bishop's role wa ...

, and to whom a memorial plaque may be found in the church's sanctuary. The spire was added in 1891–3, with an illuminated clock given in memory of his parents by Alderman Robert Fawcett. The church contains the elaborate font, moved from the old church. Much of the stained glass was produced by the Knowles family of Stonegate, including the recently restored east window. There is a very unusual and large art deco First World War memorial window depicting the Somme battlefield, the city of York, and a knight and grail cup, designed in 1929 by

Joan Fulleylove Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters ** Joan of Arc (c. 1412–1431), patron saint of France *Joan (surname) Art and media * ''Joan'' (Alexander McQueen ...

. The chancel area was remodelled by Robert 'Mousey' Thompson of Kilburn as a Second World War memorial. The church has otherwise been little altered. The tower of the old church is designated as a Grade I listed building, and as part of a scheduled monument which includes the buried remains of the medieval church and majority of its burial ground. The 19th-century church is Grade II listed. Fr. Adam Romanis, who became Vicar in 2020, retired from the post in August 2024.

Bells

The church was given a set of 8 bells hung for change ringing in 1999, by the bellringers of York, to mark the millennium. They were all cast (in 1947, 1988, and 1999 respectively), and hung together, by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell (instrument), bell foundry. It is locat ...

, of Loughborough. These are rung by the St Lawrence Society of Change Ringers. Four of the bells formerly hung in Charrington's Brewery, London. The bells were all 'christened' on Easter Day of 1999 after the historic dedications of religious houses within the modern parish: (treble-tenor) St Helen, St Edward the Confessor, St Andrew, All Hallows, St Catherine, St Michael, St Nicholas, St Laurence.

St Lawrence today

The church has a large Community Hall, built on the former site of a line of cottages belonging to the Vicars Choral of York Minster in 1935. In early 2014, the east window of the church was severely damaged in high winds. The window has since been restored. St Lawrence in 2014 made online and print news due to wide online circulation of a video of the

Trololo Eduard Anatolyevich Khil (; 4 September 1934 – 4 June 2012), often anglicized as Edward Hill, was a Russian baritone singer. Khil became known to international audiences in 2010, when a 1976 clip of him singing a non-lexical vocable versio ...

song being performed there as part of a University of York Brass Band Society concert. In the last few years the parish church has seen fresh rejuvenation. In 2020 an organ which had previously been in St Michael Le Belfrey church, central York, was moved to St Lawrence's, refurbished and installed. The church hall has been fully refurbished. In 2016 the Rigg Memorial was restored by

York Civic Trust York Civic Trust is a membership organisation and a registered charity based in York, England. Its primary function is to "preserve, protect and advise on the historic fabric of York". It is based in Fairfax House. Foundation York Civic Trust ...

and was dedicated by the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

on 11 March 2017. During 2016 and 2017 the church underwent a major building project which included the installation of a new heating system, significant re-wiring and lighting costing in excess of £200,000. In conjunction with the York Civic Trust the Vicar and Churchwardens are working on an extensive churchyard improvement project which will look to address parking, lighting, the footprint of the medieval church and the boundary walls. These improvements to the church and the excellent acoustics have led to an increased use of the building for concerts. The church has links with the York Normandy Veterans' group, and in 2021 installed a newly designed memorial window on the Western wall of the tower lanai, created by Helen Whittaker of Barley Studios. In September 2023, York

CAMRA The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, real cider, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founde ...

held their annual beer festival in the church and hall, with great success. This was repeated in September 2024, which marked the Fiftieth York Beer Festival. During the period of vacancy following the retirement of Fr. Adam Romanis, St Lawrence's have hosted a wide range of guest preachers at term-time solemn Evensong. January 2025 saw the Ebor Singers partake in Choral Evensong which was broadcast on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

. The church is a member of The Society of St Wilfrid and St Hilda, and seeks episcopal and sacramental oversight from the

Stephen Race Stephen Peter Race SSC (born 1969) is a British Anglican Bishop. Since 2022, he has been the Bishop of Beverley, the Provincial Episcopal Visitor for traditionalist Anglo-Catholics in the Church of England's Province of York. Early life and e ...

Services

The church maintains a robed choir. It currently holds four services every Sunday, using predominantly Book of Common Prayer rites, and is one of only two York parish churches still to sing Evensong every Sunday. The church also recites the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

at every B.C.P. Communion. The service pattern has altered whilst the church is in interregnum. Thus, according to the Church website, the regular services are currently as follows: Sunday 08:30—Matins (

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

)
10:15—Sung Mass
18:30—Choral Evensong (B.C.P. - choir only during term-time) Wednesday 19:00—Holy Hour followed by Mass or Eucharistic devotion. Thursday 18:30—Said Evensong

References

Notes

As three out of four Lord's Day services are according to the Book of Common Prayer, it is reasonable to ascribe the label 'Prayer Book Catholic'.