St Mary's, Lapworth
St Mary's church in Lapworth is one of the most rewarding and unusual medieval parish churches in Warwickshire. The visitor generally approaches this handsome building from the north where the sturdy tower and spire stand guard like a sentinel. It is unusual in standing apart from the main building and was originally detached but is now linked by a passageway to the north aisle, making the church almost as wide as it is long. The west end too is remarkably configured with a chantry chapel or room set above an archway (allowing passage across the churchyard below).
The church we see today dates mainly from the 13th / 14th centuries, with an impressive fifteenth century clerestorey added to the nave being a prominent feature externally, but within it is possible to discern traces of the previous Norman structure embedded below in the nave arcade. There is much of interest to enjoy in this pleasant interior from quirky carvings high in the nave to the rich stained glass in the chancel and north chapel (which has benefitted immensely from a newly inserted window where the east wall had previously been blank). The most interesting memorial is the relief tablet in the north chapel by Eric Gill.
Lapworth church has consistently welcomed visitors and remains militantly open now despite being surrounded by churches largely reluctant to re-open after Covid. Happily since Tony Naylor's fine new window was installed the previous alarm system that restricted access to the eastern half of the church (which I inadvertedly set off on my first ever visit, deafening the neighbours!) has been relaxed so that visitors can now enjoy the full extent of the interior and its fittings.
St Mary's, Lapworth
St Mary's church in Lapworth is one of the most rewarding and unusual medieval parish churches in Warwickshire. The visitor generally approaches this handsome building from the north where the sturdy tower and spire stand guard like a sentinel. It is unusual in standing apart from the main building and was originally detached but is now linked by a passageway to the north aisle, making the church almost as wide as it is long. The west end too is remarkably configured with a chantry chapel or room set above an archway (allowing passage across the churchyard below).
The church we see today dates mainly from the 13th / 14th centuries, with an impressive fifteenth century clerestorey added to the nave being a prominent feature externally, but within it is possible to discern traces of the previous Norman structure embedded below in the nave arcade. There is much of interest to enjoy in this pleasant interior from quirky carvings high in the nave to the rich stained glass in the chancel and north chapel (which has benefitted immensely from a newly inserted window where the east wall had previously been blank). The most interesting memorial is the relief tablet in the north chapel by Eric Gill.
Lapworth church has consistently welcomed visitors and remains militantly open now despite being surrounded by churches largely reluctant to re-open after Covid. Happily since Tony Naylor's fine new window was installed the previous alarm system that restricted access to the eastern half of the church (which I inadvertedly set off on my first ever visit, deafening the neighbours!) has been relaxed so that visitors can now enjoy the full extent of the interior and its fittings.