PRN 53196 Parish church built in the 12th century with later 14th, 15th, 16th and 20th century alterations and additions. Constructed in coursed limestone rubble with plain tiled and slate roofs. For the full description and the legal address of this listed building please refer to the appropriate List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. {1} The church of St Lawrence and the farm now stand alone. The church has a small west tower, twelfth century below, but above thirteenth or fourteenth century. {2} Behind the altar, occupying the chancel and a chapel next to it, are three late 16th and early 17th century monuments to the St Paul family, fascinating both for their sheer opulence and for their completely different styles. The St Pauls were a family of lawyers and shrewd politicians, who grew rich at the time of the Reformation and built Snarford Hall (of which nothing now remains). The most imposing tomb here is to Sir Thomas St Paul who died in 1582. It is a lavish and highly coloured monument, much like a four poster bed, decorated with coats of arms. The effigy of Sir Thomas reclines, dressed in armour with a gold chain round his neck. His wife lies beside him elegantly dressed with a ruff and headdress. Round the canopy above kneel their eight children. The alabaster monument to Sir George St Paul who died some 30 years later dominates the north chapel. Both Sir George and his wife, Frances, lie stiffly propped up on one elbow, fashionably dressed. Poignantly, in a little alcove below, is the tiny effigy of their only child, Mattathia, who died as a baby. Frances appears again on the third, and most unusual monument here, with her second husband the Earl of Warwick . It is thought to be by the sculptor Epiphanius Evesham. Their heads and shoulders, in profile, are carved in relief and beautifully modelled.{2} Archaeological recording in late 1999 identified a number of features of the church. Human bone and ground disturbance provided evidence of graves adjacent to the central aisle. A narrow band of dark material indicated the prescence of an earlier pew platform. Two patches of in situ plaster at the eastern end of the nave were possibly remnants of a former floor surface, possibly of 12th century date. The removal of wood panelling revealed three blocked openings, two along the northern wall and one in the corner of the eastern wall. One of those in the northern wall was believed to be 14th century, but the others were undated. The filling in of the doorways, addition of a southern porch and alterations to the chancel pews and floor occurred in 1874.{3}{4}