The Parish of St Lawrence on the Isle of Wight holds regular services throughout the month, mainly in the larger Parish Church, but we do hold a monthly service in the beautiful Old 12th century church on the 1st Sunday at 5.30pm.
A small but enthusiastic congregation attend the services at both churches, and all contribute to the various roles that are needed to maintain our two lovely buildings. Flower arranging, sides person, lesson reading, cleaning, cake making etc.
VISITORS
The Old Church is open daily from 10am-4pm.
Throughout the week we receive many visitors who comment in our Visitors' book on how much they love the peace and tranquility. We provide light refreshments especially for hikers and walkers who use the coastal path.
HISTORY
The Old Church sits on a hillside in the Undercliff at St Lawrence.
Originally the church was simple rectangle until a chancel was added in 1842. The nave has a coved ceiling and windows of different periods. There is a blocked north doorway, simply moulded, within an internal frame with segmented top.
The original pews are still in place, as are the old hat pegs. There is a painted royal coat of arms on the west wall, dated 1663, that was repainted in 1926.
Percy Stone restored and largely refurbished Old St Lawrence in 1926-7. As the polulation of the village grew, a replacement church was build in the Victorian period.
