St Laurence's Church is Ludlow's principal Church of England place of worship and vies with Ludlow Castle for the top spot in the town’s architecture and skyline stakes. It is the largest church in Shropshire, sometimes described as the "cathedral of the Marches", and is a member of the Greater Churches Group. St Laurence's was one of only 18 churches given a five-star rating in "England's Thousand Greatest Churches" by Simon Jenkins. It is the 13th most popular free visitor attraction in the West Midlands region, with no less than 70,000 visitors per year.
Official website
History
The church was established as a place of worship in association with the founding of Ludlow by the Normans in the late 11th century. It is situated on top of the hill around which the medieval town developed; there were previously ancient burial mounds on the site. The church was rebuilt in the year 1199 (the original having become too small for the expanding town) and has had several later additions and modifications. Until circa 1200 Ludlow was part of the parish of Stanton Lacy, but has since been its own parish and St Laurence’s is the parish church (other churches and chapels in the parish have come and gone – the only other one remaining in use, CofE wise, is St John’s on Gravel Hill). Plenty of material (leaflets, books, etc) is available on the subject inside the church.
Visiting
Please do venture into the church – it is impressive and contains a wealth of features. There are often events on and the place is usually busy. The tower is 135 feet (41 metres) high and commands expansive views of the town and surrounding countryside (the public may climb the many steps up the tower for a £3 fee per adult – note: it is quite a precarious climb, especially when coming down). Notable features inside include an extensive set of misericords (wood carvings) in the choir stalls, many reminders of Ludlow’s royal (Yorkist/Tudor) history, an impressive organ, as well as many fine stained glass windows. Extensive renovations have recently been completed and further work is planned. The main entrance into the church is the remarkable porch on the south side, usually with the parish flag flying above, though some of the other doors may be open when you visit.
The Churchyard
The churchyard is quite small and has been encroached upon by buildings during the middle ages, especially between the church and King Street and the Bull Ring. To the north is a stretch of the town walls, which collapsed here some years ago and are still not restored after some legal wrangling. There are good views to be had from the churchyard (or there will be once again when the collapsed wall is sorted) but these views can also be had from the nearby Castle Street car park.
The cherry tree planted in memory of poet A E Housman (whose ashes were buried there) is now just a stump in the ground, but a replacement was planted nearby in 2003; there is also a memorial stone for him set in the north church wall, near the West Door. Two notable buildings exist around the churchyard – Hosyers Almshouses on College Street (with a magnificent portrayal of Ludlow’s coat of arms) and the timber-framed Reader’s House on the other side of the churchyard, near the steps leading down to the Bull Hotel.
Getting There
The church can be accessed from the bustling town centre via either side of the Church Inn, behind the Buttercross building; the passage from King Street to the porch (on the right-hand side of the Church Inn) was known as the Callens. You can also get to the church via the former Linney Gate (on the north end of College Street) or from Bull Ring via the Bull Hotel’s yard (this route has steps). There might be construction work starting in 2015 with new almshouses being built - this will temporarily close off the walkway around the southeast corner of the church.
There is no car parking at the church. If you want to avoid the walk up the hill into town, try parking at either the Galdeford or Castle Street car parks (a fee applies 8am to 6pm). There is some free parking (for 2 hours) near the town centre, such as on the lower ends of Corve Street and Old Street.
Church Micro Series
If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first at churchmicro@gmail.com so he can keep track of the church numbers and names to avoid duplication.
There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page found via the Bookmark list.