St Lawrence's Church, West Wycombe

St Lawrence's Church, West Wycombe
The Church of St Lawrence, West Wycombe

The church in 2009
51°38′50″N 0°48′20″W / 51.647154°N 0.805624°W / 51.647154; -0.805624Coordinates: 51°38′50″N 0°48′20″W / 51.647154°N 0.805624°W / 51.647154; -0.805624
Location West Wycombe
Country England
Denomination Church of England
History
Dedication St Lawrence
Architecture
Heritage designation Grade I listed church
Designated 9 January 1954
Architect(s) Widely believed Nicholas Revett
Architectural type Medieval, Norman and Neoclassicism
Completed 3 July 1763 (1763-07-03)
Specifications
Materials Flint, stone, masonry, marble, painted frescoes, gilt
Administration
Parish West Wycombe Parish
Deanery Wycombe Deanery
Diocese Diocese of Oxford

St Lawrence's Church is a Church of England church in the parish of West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on top of West Wycombe Hill in a prominent position overlooking the West Wycombe Road, and surrounding villages. West Wycombe Hill is managed by the National Trust,[1] although the church and graveyard are owned by the Church of England. The church resides in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. St. Lawrence Church and the mausoleum both occupy similar positions on top of West Wycombe Hill, and the Church tower is visible for many miles around. On a clear day one is able to see West London easily from the highest public floor level on the church tower.

There has been a religious focus on this site since at least 635AD. The Grade I listed church[2] was built in its current form from 1761, under instruction from Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet and Baron Le Despenser. It was officially reopened on 3 July 1763.[3]

The spectacular 18th century remodelling of the Church was completed by the mid 1760s, to drawings by either of the architects Nicholas Revett or John Donowell. The architect is widely believed to be Nicholas Revett,[4] who also worked on parts of the house at West Wycombe Park. The tower was raised to make it an eye-catcher from West Wycombe Estate, West Wycombe House and also from the West Wycombe road as one exits towards the West. Its crowning wooden finial of a great golden ball was possibly inspired by the Dogana, Venice, and was reputed to be a meeting place for the Hellfire Club – it could seat 10, and was described by the author John Wilkes as “the best globe tavern I was ever in”.

The interior of the Church is equally as spectacular. The nave has the appearance of a “very superb Egyptian hall”, inspired by that at Mereworth Church, and is said to have been derived from Robert Wood’s prints of the ancient Temple of the Sun, Palmyra. It has five arched windows of timber on each side, and is lined with engaged Corinthian columns under a continuous entablature. The painted ceiling is by Giovanni Borgnis, and there is spectacular Rococo plasterwork, on the ceiling, frieze and walls.

The primary building is made of flint, stone and brick construction and a gabled tile and copper roof. The building has undergone extensive rebuilding works during and after 1761, and since then, repair works have taken place every 40–50 years over the last two centuries.

St Lawrence's Church is known as the 'Summer Church' and St Paul's in the heart of the village is known as the 'Winter Church'. This is because until 1928 there was no road up to St Lawrence and no power until the 1970s.

The Tower

The tower is 80 feet (24 m) tall, with the golden ball adding another 20 feet (6 m). The top is 646 feet (197 m) above sea level.[4]

Bells

There are eight bells in the tower: the treble and second by Mears & Stainbank, 1923; the third by Lester and Pack, 1756; the fourth by Henry Knight, 1621; the fifth by Joseph Carter, 1581; the sixth by Henry Knight, 1620; the seventh by Lester and Pack, 1762; and the tenor by Thomas Mears, 1828.[5]
The bells ringing at St Lawrence's Church
Remembrance Sunday 2012
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Golden ball

The golden ball can be seen for miles around and is a recognised symbol of West Wycombe village. It is made from a wooden frame covered in gold leaf, 8 feet in diameter, and contains seating for up to six people.[4][6] There were rumours that the Hellfire Club, founded by Sir Francis Dashwood (1708–1781), met inside the golden ball,[4] but there is no evidence for that. It is no longer possible for the public to enter the ball. It has been suggested that Sir Francis Dashwood used a heliograph to signal through a porthole in the golden ball to his friend, John Norris (1721–1786), who had erected a tower, now known as the Camberley Obelisk, near his home at Hawley, Hampshire, 21 miles to the south.[6]

The Nave

The church nave is of the neoclassical style with English-baroque elements, and forms the centrepiece of the 1763 remodelling project by the architect. The nave is lined with engaged Corinthian capped columns which imitate porphyry stone; a volcanic rock. The frescoes are painted by G.Borgnis and his son.

F.S.A. Nicholas Revett published the Antiquities of Athens in 1763, the same year he completed the remodelling of St. Lawrence Church. The Royal Magazine mentions the church as thus: "It is reckoned the most beautiful Country Church in England", in 1763. It is significant to note that the Antiquities of Athens was published in 1763, when one notes that Nicholas Revett also completed the Temple of the Winds at West Wycombe Park in the same period - a project that one can presume he took inspiration from the Temple of the Winds he found on his Grand Tour, and that he discussed in detail in his publication. A year after the finishing of St. Lawrence Church he leaves for the Asia Minor to continue his grand tour, upon his return he publishes "The Antiquities of Ionia" in 1769.

Nicholas Revett, also designed the church of Ayott St. Lawrence in Hertfordshire, again in the neoclassical style.

Churchyard

The churchyard contains eleven Commonwealth war graves, six from World War I and five from World War II.[7]

Building Work

The Congregation has been fund-raising for several years in order to allow themselves to build the first major extension to the church in over 200 years. The churches goal is to build an extension which will provide a quality environment that is able to function as both a children's area whilst services are in process, and as a Sunday School for the churches thriving community. In 2015 the church engaged the current Church Architect, Joshua Harrison, to design a sensitive scheme which would be considered a fitting addition to the historic Grade 1 listed building.

The proposed extension adds a further single storey element to the front elevation creating approximately 20sq/m of new space, the eaves are low which result in a steep cat-slide roof with a roof hip which begins just below the nave entablature. The design shows four windows and 2 heritage style roof-lights. The architects 3D computer renders show an extension which extends beyond the Nave wall by approximately 1.5 metres, and has a door with a carved white stone frame. Previous to this proposed extension, there was a small stable building attached in the same area, though this was of a far smaller scale, with a much lower roof hip, and of a lesser architectural quality. It also extended only as far as the nave flank wall. It was demolished in the 1960s due to it being structurally unsound.

Among the many proposed interventions, one of the most significant is that of the design and insertion of a new high quality door and through-way, which will enter directly into the nave from the extension. Other interventions include the creation of a new community garden and improvements to an existing amenity to create further habitable space.

The architects submitted plans for the new extension in late 2015 and received planning permission in February 2016 after extensive consultation between the architects, Wycombe District Council, English Heritage, The National Trust and the Diocese of Oxford.

St. Lawrence Church can be seen in the new Bridget Jones film, coming out in the UK in 2016. It forms part of the opening scene in the March 23rd trailer release.

St. Lawrence Church has been used as a backdrop and as part of important scenery elements in various popular TV shows and films such as Downton Abbey[8] and major blockbusters.[9] It is also featured throughout the music video by Paloma Faith for her song "Picking up the Pieces" which has over 12,000,000 views on YouTube.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "West Wycombe Village and Hill - National Trust page".
  2. ↑ "Details from listed building database - Grade I".
  3. ↑ "Victoria County History - West Wycombe Churches".
  4. 1 2 3 4 Lacey, Nigel (2006). A Guide to St Lawrence's Church and West Wycombe Village.
  5. ↑ http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=West+Wycombe&Submit=+Go+&DoveID=WEST+WYCOM
  6. 1 2 Dashwood, Francis (1987). The Dashwoods of West Wycombe. Aurum. p. 220. ISBN 9780948149771.
  7. ↑ CWGC Cemetery report, details from casualty record.
  8. ↑ 1
  9. ↑ 2
  10. ↑ 3
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