Norman Arches & Font - St Laurence - Shotteswell, Warwickshire - Romanesque Architecture on Waymarking.com

The north arcade arches and font in St Laurence's church, Shotteswell, are of Norman origin.

"It appears that the small cell that is now known as the vestry, was the original church, undoubtedly repaired and altered over the years. The old stone altar bears five consecration crosses, now firmly affixed under the east window in the vestry.

The north window of the vestry is only two inches wide (50.8mm)which is consistent with early windows before there was glass to put in them.

It is conceivable that the stones laid by the monks from the small Benedictine Priory that existed at Warmington prior to the Norman conquest are still within its wall today, the small cell would have served the people of the village a thousand years ago.

Shotteswell does not appear in the Doomsday Book and was possibly “the two hides of Warmington” held in 1086 by an unnamed knight and the village today is the development of that small settlement that existed at that time.

During the eleventh century the original cell was enlarged and extended westwards to something along the lines of the current size today, enclosed by the wooden screen. Evidence of the original seating is laid against the north wall, since provided with a wooden top added some time later.

Over the centuries, the massive Norman pillars of the north aisle were added along with the Norman font. It is believed that one of the supporting stones to be of Saxon origin with the characteristic wheat sheaf shape.

It appears that the Normans made the church much larger, perhaps twice as long, although it is not possible to confirm by how much. The distinctive Norman arches, with the wide lower edge, depicts this work as amongst the earliest in the country and is dated within a few years of 1100. This is one of the few dates of which there is any certainty in the early history of the church. Later Norman pillars had capitals with less abrupt overhangs so that the weight of the arch above did not end to put such stress in the stone. Evidence of such stress cracks can be seen on the central pillars and arches on the northern aisle."

SOURCE - (visit link)

Web site proof of Romanesque or Pre-Romanesque features: [Web Link] Type of building (structure): Church Address: St Laurence Church Lane Shotteswell Warwickshire England OX17 1JD Date of origin: Not listed Architect(s) if known: Not listed Romanesque or Pre-Romanesque: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Logging requirements: Please upload your own personal photo of the building. You or your GPS can be in the picture, but it’s not a requirement.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.