The Church of St Lawrence, Alton is an Anglican parish church in Alton, Hampshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building and is notable both for the range of its architecture and for being the site of the concluding action of the Battle of Alton during the English Civil War.
History The Church of St Lawrence, like many older English churches, is an amalgam of styles resulting from repeated additions and extensions being made down the centuries. In the words of William Curtis:
Anglo-Saxon Anglo-Saxon settlement in Alton began in around AD 500 and there was certain to have been a church in the township.Couper (1970), p. 9 There are no remnants of this structure left, except for the baptismal font that is now situated in St Lawrence's. The font is fashioned from one massive block of stone and crude axe marks may be seen on it, showing its primitive workmanship. When the church was restored in 1868 the font was discarded in favour of one of a more contemporary design; it ended up in Cirencester, but was purchased for £10 in 1934 and brought back to St Lawrence's, where it stands at the west end of the south nave on a mill wheel, symbolising Alton's status as a centre of the paper industry. It has been in use as a font since 1950.
Norman The present-day church had its origins in the Norman period, with building probably starting at some time not long after 1066. The conventional date for the founding of the church is 1070, and the church celebrated its 900th anniversary in 1970. This early church took the shape of a cross, the four Norman arches that formed the tower being described in Pevsner as "emphatically Early Norman, say around 1100".Pevsner and Lloyd (2002), p. 76 These arches, built of stone probably from Selborne or Binsted,Curtis (1896), p. 54 are situated midway down what is now the southern nave, and some remnants of the original door may be seen in the wall behind the 19th-century font located in the centre of the arches. At the top of the pillars supporting the arches are designs fashioned by French craftsmen with axes, including a wolf eating a bone (pictured, below left), a pelican, several winged cherubs, a demon and a pair of donkeys.
This Norman church passed to the ownership of William the Conqueror through Edith, the wife of Edward the Confessor, following the Norman Conquest. In the first mention of the church, in a charter of 1087 marked at its foot by William's trademark cross, we read that William exchanged it with the monks of Hyde Abbey in Winchester for their burial ground, upon which he wished to build his new palace.
Alton grew in prosperity during the 12th century as it was on the main route to London from the west country, so it was found necessary to extend the church; it was during this period that what is now the southern nave was extended to the west and building work was also made to the north part of the church. The old west door, which was walled up in the redevelopment of 1868, was built in 1140Couper (1970), p. 10 and Pevsner notes that a southern arcade was added in c. 1140 ("there are faint traces of this arcade inside, i.e. remains of the pier imposts with a band of ornaments"). The first known vicar of Alton, also vicar of Colmer and sheriff of Alton, comes from this period, one Richard Turstin, who held the office of Parson from 1161 to 1170.
13th–15th century Despite the 12th-century extensions, by the 13th century the church was yet again found to be too small, and so the Lady Chapel was built as an extension to the east of the Norman tower. At the eastern end of this chapel niches in the wall were built, at the time containing statues of St Lawrence and the Virgin and Child,Couper (1970), p. 11 but today containing painted wooden statues of St George and St Michael by Mr Southwick.
The well-known Alton Fair started in 1307, following a grant from Edward I; the church grounds were for a while used as a site for commerce and festivities, but on 19 August 1317 the Bishop of Winchester, accompanied by an abbot, two priors and a deacon, hurried to Alton and forbade the holding of fairs "in the churches or cemeteries of the diocese of Winchester, and especially in the church or cemetery of Aulton [sic]".Couper (1970), p. 12 The parishioners of the church were also told
This is the first documentary evidence that St Lawrence was the church's patron saint.
The 15th century saw a great number of extension and additions to St Lawrence's, including: the new northern nave – this was of roughly the same proportions as the existing southern nave, and made the church, in Pevsner's words, "essentially a parallelipiped "; what was previously the north wall to the old church was demolished and seven arcades were installed in its place, with three paintings of saints (pictured, left) remaining on the northern side of the second pillar from the west; new roofs over both naves; windows recast in the Perpendicular style; carved screens to choir and altar, and rood screen; a spire on top of the old tower.Couper (1970), pp. 12–13 The exterior of the church (apart from the Victorian broach-spire) also dates from the 15th century, and is fashioned from local flint and stone covered with plaster.Curtis (1896), p. 52 A chapel was also constructed in the southern nave, which is the current choir vestry,Couper (1970), p. 13 as well as a chapel to the north of the choir called the Champflour Chantry Chapel (of which only a stone fragment remains). The royal licence for the building of this chapel was issued on 20 October 1463:
16th–17th century Following the dissolution of the monasteries, St Lawrence's passed to the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Winchester on 1 May 1541. It appears that in this period the church was also a seat of learning; with the exception of Winchester College, the oldest record of any educational establishment in Hampshire comes from a report of 1548 to Edward VI's Chantry Commissioners, which states that there was in Alton:
Couper writes that the church "must have been gravely despoiled at this time",Couper (1970), p. 15 but gives scant evidence for this claim. Further building work occurred in the 16th century – the south door and porch, a priest's entrance to the Lady Chapel (made by the vicar Ralph Herriott; his initials may be seen on it) – but it is only in the 17th century, again in Couper's words, that the church "steps into the full light of day",Couper (1970), p. 16 with an instruction of Elizabeth I to the local JPs that the Poor Law provisions are being implemented, the beginning of the parish registers in 1615 and the churchwarden's accounts in 1625. These continue unbroken to the present day, except for some minor gaps during the upheaval of the English Civil War. The churchwarden accounts of 1625 mention that the church possesses a peal of bells, and these were rung when Charles I came to the town in 1625. The church's pulpit – described as "an outstanding mid c17 piece" in Pevsner – dates from this period.
Battle of Alton
St Lawrence's played a significant part in the Battle of Alton – part of the English Civil War – which took place on 13 December 1643. Alton was a Royalist town, and on 1 December 1643, a large force, commanded by the Earl of Crawford, occupied the town. Parliamentary forces, led by Sir William Waller, marched against Alton on 13 December and Crawford fled the town for Winchester, leaving behind a small force commanded by Colonel Richard Boles (Godwin gives his name as "Bolle"Godwin (1973), p. 145). This defensive force was beaten back through Amery Farm and the churchyard of St Lawrence's, and eventually barricaded themselves in the church itself, where, "having made scaffolds in the Church to fire out of the windows [they] fired very thick from every place."
According to Tony MacLachlan:
After a concerted assault, during which, according to the Parliamentarian Lieutenant Archer, "the churchyard was full of our men, laying about them stoutly with halberts, swords, and musket-stocks, while some threw hand-granadoes in at the church windows," the Parliamentarians eventually broke through the west door of the church, and Colonel Boles, who had threatened to kill any of his soldiers who asked for quarter,MacLachlan (2000), p. 184 was killed – the traditional place given for his death was on the steps of the pulpit. (The brass to Boles states that his force in the church was "neare four score strong".)Godwin (1973) p. 146 Bullet holes can be seen in the church's south door, as well as in both external and internal walls and pillars. When the church was restored in the 1860s many bullets were removed from the church ceiling, and a number of soldiers who died in the fighting were dug up in the churchyard; various relics of the battle – a key, a uniform button, bullets and a pipe – are displayed in a cabinet in the church.Couper (1970), pp. 17–18 A brass memorial to Boles is on one of the arcade pillars in the church. A facsimile of a tablet at his tomb in Winchester Cathedral (and containing the same mistakes – the date of the battle, for instance, is given as 1641), it states in part:
When Charles I heard of Boles's death he is said to have exclaimed, "Bring me my mourning scarf; I have lost one of my best commanders in this Kingdom."Hepper (2005), p.2
1686 thunderstorm
On 19 December 1686 a violent thunderstorm took place in Alton that damaged much of the church. According to an eye-witness account:
All of the church's windows were broken, the roof and steeple were badly damaged after being set on fire, the tower had a hole blasted through it and the weathercock, according to the same eye-witness, "was carried quite away, and the hand and Boards belonging to the Clock fell among the Congregation." No one was hurt, but the vicar's eyebrows were singed. The churchwarden's accounts for 1687 list many repairs having taken place in the preceding months, but the church bells rang both in 1687 when James II passed through Alton and in 1688 upon the proclamation of William III and Mary II.
18th century
During the 18th century a large number of galleries were built in the church. Couper comments:
Amongst the galleries were: a singing gallery at the west end; two or three at the east end (one of these was over the high altar (pictured, right)); various galleries filling the southern nave, with staircases leading up to them, "some of which were for paying customers and some free."Couper (1970), p. 21–3
In 1724 work began to change the church roof from tiles to lead, work that was completed in 1758; until this point the church had a three-span roof but this work saw the roof assuming the one-span structure that is maintained to the current day.Couper (1970), p. 23 In 1742 the plain window on the northern wall behind the pulpit was replaced "with a Square Crown Glass in order to give it better light, and also to alter the Sounding Board in such a manner as shall be thought most proper upon the opinion of the Revd. Mr. Smith, Vicar, and the workman." According to Couper, the housekeeping records during this century became "more meticulous than ever"; records were kept of the monies received for each member of the congregation ("1/- for each person 'seated' in the Church or Churchyard, and 3/4 for a child's")Couper (1970), p. 24 as well as for items such as "a pound of soft soap" (7d), "oyle" (3d) and "a chamber pott" (9d).