St Lawrence Church- West Wycombe - Bucks - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

The 18th century Church of St. Lawrence, with its golden ball on the top of the hill, is a well-known landmark, visible for many miles due its hilltop location, visually dominating the village.
The ball can seat up to eight people and gives a panoramic view of the area.
The church was remodelled by Sir Francis Dashwood inside and out. The hill is known as 'West Wycombe Hill' and was an Iron Age hill fort.
The church is approx 300 feet above the Hellfire Caves,

Also situated on the hill is the hexagonal flint and stone Dashwood Mausoleum, inspired by the Colosseum in Rome.

Meanwhile, hewn out of the hillside beneath are a series of caves, reached via an entrance that has been fashioned to resemble a gothic church and which adds to the overall ambience of eccentricity with which the overall estate seems imbued.

The person responsible for all this was Sir Francis Dashwood (1708-1781), a man whose name has become a byword for hedonistic debauchery, and who is today best remembered as a leading light in the most infamous of all the so-called “Hell Fire” clubs. These secret societies had become popular with wealthy young aristocrats in the first half of the 18th century and in 1721 it was considered to necessary to pass a Royal edict condemning “Young People who meet together in the most impious and blasphemous manner.. and corrupt the minds and morals of one another”.

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1800 Age of Church building determined by?: Other reliable source Street address of Church: St Lawrence West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire United Kingdom HP14 3AP Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Not listed If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Not listed Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: Not Listed Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/28/2012 The Mekon visited it