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St Laurence's Church, Ludlow is an anglican parish church in Ludlow in southern Shropshire, England. The church was established as a Norman place of worship in association with the founding of Ludlow in the 11th century AD. It contains an extensive set of misericords in the choir stalls as well as fine stained glass windows. The tower is 42 meters in height and commands expansive views of the local area. The church was rebuilt in the year 1199 and has had several later additions and modifications.

History
The first church on the site was built as part of a planned town and market at around the same time as the constuction of the Norman castle by Roger de Lacy in the 1070s or 80s, on land that was part of the manor of Stanton Lacy. This first building was replaced by a larger church in 1199-1200. Traces of this late Norman building remain, including some extant foundations from the 11th century found beneath the south porch. .

In the Late Middle Ages considerable wealth accrued to the town based upon the wool trade. The Council of Wales and the Marches was established at Ludlow Castle in 1472 by King Edward IV and the castle became the royal residence of the Prince of Wales. The council remained at Ludlow until its abolition following the Glorious Revolution of 1689, making the town the administrative capital of Wales and the borders and bringing trade wealth to the town.

Another source of income was the presence in the town of the Palmers Guild who were paid to say masses and prayers for deceased patrons. The guild, although without any historical connection, associated itself with the legend of Edward the Confessor and St John the Evangelist in which the pilgrims bringing St John's ring to the king were said to have come from Ludlow. 16th century antiquary John Leland visited the town in 1540 or soon after and reported that;

Thise churche hathe been muche avauncyd by a brothar-hode therein foundyd in the name of St. John the Evangeliste. The originall thereof was as the people saythere in the tyme of K.Edward the Confessor; and it is constantly afirmyd there that the pilgrimes, that browght the ringe from beyond the se as a token from St. John thevangeliste to Kynge Edward, were inhabitaunts of Ludlow.

He goes on to say that the guild had ten priests, financed partly by endowments of land and partly by donations, living in a house at the west end of the churchyard, with an adjoining almshouse for thirty or more poor people. There were as many as ?? chantries for the guild's purposes within the church. Some chantry stalls survive in the chancel but others in the nave were removed following the reformation.cn. Chronicler and poet Thomas Churchyard visiting the town in 1547 recorded that church services were held three times a day, at 6 am, 9 am and 3 pm.(Lloyd 34) Correspondingly the church underwent several further additions in that era. The major works occurred between 1433 and 1471 with a virtual re-building of the nave, tower and chancel. |The Book of Llandaff records that the north aisle was rebuilt in 1305-8 and a faculty for reconstruction of the chancel was issed in 1433. The chancel roof can be dated from its heraldry to between 1445 and 1449. Boards for the choir stalls were purchased in 1447. A single fragment of the churchwardens' accounts for 1469-71 has survived and shows that bells were about to be hung in the crossing tower, with work by a mason from Gloucester still ongoing. The tower had been partially financed by bequests made in 1450 and 1466. A further bequest towards the vault of the steeple was made in 1500. These major rebuilding works created a church in largely Perpendicular style although with substantial Decorated elements. The Saint John's Chapel on the north side was the chapel of the Palmers Guild, which thrived in the Late Middle Ages.

In 1616 Ludlow saw a major celebration to mark the appointment in London of Charles Stuart as Prince of Wales following the early death of his more popular brother Henry. Daniel Powell, son of Welsh historian David Powel, who was involved in the events, recorded how the town dignatories gathered at the church and with musicians and the church choir processed to the castle together with two hundred soldiers. Gathered on the castle green they collected the Councillors of the Marches and after firing shots into the air all processed back to the church where after prayers and singing of psalms a sermon lasting one and a half hours was given.(Lloyd 45)

Galleries 17 February 1616 petition the bishop. Granted two days later. North quickly built and paid for by selling seats. South soon following with space given to Hammermen's Guild in compensation for removing their previous pew to build the stairs. Four pews behind to the parish and remaining space at the back of the church given to the masters and scholars of the free school of Ludlow in perpetuity.

19th century restoration
A structural survey in 1850 showed the structure of the church to be sound but with much deterioration of the fabric, especially the tracery of the windows. Damage could be made good by some replacement of stone. It recommended removal of the galleries. The east window had already been repaired in the 1830s. Many of the other windows were restored during the 1850s.

Architecture
The dominant exterior feature is the square bell tower, which houses the historic and famed bells of the church. The chancel contains the mediaeval choir stalls adorned with numerous misericords. Many of these fine wood carvings are of heraldry and others are genre scenes of common life. Typical sizes of the misericords and upper bench carvings are 25 centimeters wide by 12 centimeters high; the carvings have very deep relief (up to two centimetres). Some of the elements of the carving are repeated on roof adornments.

Below the chancel are the catacombs, holding an impressive set of church monuments, most of which contain the remains of people involved with Council of Wales and the Marches based at Ludlow Castle. As well as the large chancel east window, there are other notable windows within the chancel; the most remarkable one depicts the Ten Commandments, illustrating six of the commandments being broken.

The hexagonal south porch dates from the 14th century and serves as the main entrance to the church; this porch is one of only three of such a six-sided design in England.(Pevsner 356) The porch is also the town's war memorial with the roll of honour including 136 names from World War I, 42 from World War II and two from the Korean War.(lcc 214) The other interior chapels are St Catherine’s Chapel and the Lady Chapel, the latter of which has a large filled-in door that was once used for the Ludlow fire engine at an earlier era. Exterior features include a memorial plaque to the poet A. E. Housman and the Samuel Burgess Memorial Garden. Above the interior stone lantern there is s splendid vault.

Windows
St Laurence's Church has sixteen windows containing ancient stained glass including a rare 14th century Jesse Window in the Lady Chapel. The window of St Katherine's Chapel is was composed in 1904 from spare fragments of ancient glass preserved from 19th century restorations. One fragment is from a Coronation of the Virgin which has been compared with an example in the east window of Gloucester Cathedral. Other windows are of Victorian or 20th century glass.

The Palmers' Window within St John's Chapel illustrates the legend of King Edward the Confessor and St John the Evangelist by eight panels and was inspired by the Ludlow Palmers’ 13th century pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

The large east window of the chancel underwent restoration in the year 1832; this window depicts the martyrdom of St Laurence. The most extensive modern repairs and rehabilitation occurred in the period 1859 to 1861, which consisted primarily of interior modifications.

Notable burials
The ashes of A. E. Housman are buried in the church grounds, with the stump of a cherry tree marking their location. Ambrosia Sidney, (1565-1574), sister of Sir Philip Sidney and Mary Sidney who died at Ludlow Castle, aged nine, is buried near the altar under an impressive memorial bearing the arms of Sir Henry Sidney, (1530-1586), President of the Council of Wales and the Marches. His heart was brought from Worcester where he died and buried in a small leaden urn in an oratory near his daughter's tomb. The rest of his remains were buried with his wife Mary Dudley at Penhurst, Kent.

Choir stalls and misericords
St Laurence's Church has twenty eight misericords in the choir stalls which are of a quality usually associated with great cathedrals such as Worcester or Gloucester. Carved on the underside of the hinged choir seats each misericord is fashioned from a piece of timber some 26 in long, 12 in deep and 6 in thick. Sixteen of the misericords are older than the rest dating from around 1425. Eight have an unusual carvers mark in the form of an uprooted plant and a distinctive profile to the moulding running round the edge of the corbel. The remainder were carved in matching style around 1447 which was when the Palmers Guild bought one hundred planks of oak from Bristol to refurbish the choir stalls.

The misericords have a wide variety of themes. One shows a Green Man, another a mermaid. Many show scenes of town life including a wrestling match where two pairs of wrestlers are stripped to the waist while a horse is tied up on one side and a wool sack and a purse hang on the other. One shows a figure drawing ale from a cask and another shows a dishonest ale-wife being carried off to hell by demons, one of whom plays bagpipes. One complex carving shows a prosperous householder with tools of various trades in the centre while a seated woman holds a child on the left and a grave and burial implements are on the right. This has been interpreted as the Palmers Guild caring for spiritual needs from cradle to grave.

Ludlow then being a royal stronghold there is a royal influence shown in a number of misericords. An antelope, gorged and chained, was the badge of Henry VI in whose reign the misericords were carved. A Hart at Rest was the badge of Richard II and three ostrich feathers were then recognised as the badge of Richard's father the Black Prince. A swan represents the Bohun family and through Mary de Bohun's marriage to Henry IV passed to Henry V and Henry VI.

The choir stalls were originally constructed at a number of dates in the 15th century. In 1447, after the chancel had been lengthened, the stalls were doubled in number to thirty two. The stalls were restored in the 19th century under the direction of George Gilbert Scott when canopies removed during the reformation were replaced. The poppyheads are finely carved with four being from 1447. Carved figures include a Pieta, one of only two known in Shropshire, and various saints. One group possibly represents a Boy Bishop and Lord of Misrule involved in new year celebrations.

Above the porch on the first floor (second story in American parlance) is the Parvis room, which houses a small history museum pertinent to the church. At St. Catherine’s Chapel (the south transept) some floor-stones in the area honour recent congregation members. In the nave and aisle area, there are several noteworthy contents, including:
 * The royal English coat of arms from the year 1628.
 * Wall hanging: A Shropshire Lad located near the south door.
 * The west window illustrating some of the historical figures involved with Ludlow Castle.

Organ
Details of the organ from the National Pipe Organ Register

In the north transept is the John Snetzler organ. Through the generosity of Henry Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis, this organ was installed in 1764 at a cost of £1,000. Originally it was located in a gallery beneath the tower and had three manuals with 19 stops.

In the 19th century, Gray and Davison restored the organ and enlarged it, at the same time moving it to its present position in the North Transept. By this time, a fourth manual had been added.

The organ was restored in the 1980s by Nicholson & Co (Worcester) Ltd.

In 2006, thanks largely to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, further work was carried out to clean the interior, improve the console, and to add a rank of pipes.

List of organists

 * Edmund White ca. 1473
 * Thomas Sherman 1492 - 1508
 * John Perche ca. 1493
 * Maurice Phillips ca. 1551
 * John Broke ca. 1549 - 1559
 * Thomas Tanner ca. 1566
 * Thomas Cope 1568 - 1579
 * John Cooke 1578 - 1583
 * John Harrison 1584 - 1597
 * George Pingle 1597 - 1604
 * Richard Crumpe 1605 - 1620
 * Benjamin Cosyn 1621 - 1622
 * Mr. Perkings 1623
 * Marmaduke Pardoe 1623 - 1626
 * Walter Gibbs 1626 - 1628
 * Edward Smith 1627 - 1630
 * Edward Standley 1630 - 1634
 * John Maylard 1634 - 1635
 * Berkeley Wrench 1636 - 1637 (then organist of Gloucester Cathedral before reappointment in 1642).
 * John ap Evan 1638
 * Thomas Heardson 1637 - 1642
 * Berkeley Wrench 1642 - 1645
 * interregnum 1645 - 1672
 * Benjamin Moone 1672 - 1704
 * Henry Hall 1704 - 1707
 * William Hine 1707
 * Josias Preist 1708 - 1711
 * John Childe 1711 - 1712
 * John Salter 1712 - 1713


 * Benjamin Sharrett 1713 - 1716
 * David Langton 1716 - 1730
 * David Valentine 1730 - 1764
 * Joseph Harris 1764 - 1771 (then organist of St Martin in the Bull Ring, Birmingham)
 * Miles Coyle 1771 - 1789 (then organist of Hereford Cathedral)
 * John Clarke Whitfield 1789 - 1794 (later organist of St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Church of Ireland))
 * Charles Evans 1794 - 1823
 * Adam Ree 1823 - 1841 - 1851 - 1856
 * Miss Francis Ree 1856 - 1858
 * William Walter Ridley 1858
 * Robert Bartholomew 1858 - 1891
 * Joseph Humphrey Anger 1892 - 1893 (then Instructor of Harmony and Theory at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto)
 * Ivor Atkins 1893 - 1897 (then organist of Worcester Cathedral)
 * Clement Charlton Palmer 1897 - 1908 (then organist of Canterbury Cathedral)
 * Norman Charles Woods 1908 - 1911 (then organist of St. Michael's College, Tenbury)
 * Harold Carpenter Lumb Stocks 1911 - 1917 (then organist of St Asaph Cathedral)
 * Frank Edgar Bastick 1917 - ca. 1921 - 1948
 * Edgar Sydney Landen 1948 - 1951
 * Gilbert W. Whitehouse 1951 - 1970
 * Richard J. E. Francis 1971 - 1974
 * George Baker 1974 - 1976
 * Keith Anthony Morgan 1976 - 1978
 * Morwen Byram-Wigfield 1978 - 1980
 * Richard J. E. Francis 1980 - 2007
 * Shaun Ward 2007 - current

Bells
The crossing tower holds a ring of ten bells. The oldest six bells were cast in 1732 by Abraham II Rudhall and range in size from 31.94 inches tuned to C# to 47.19 inches tuned to E. A 17.50 inch bell cast by Thomas II Mears was added in 1824 and two bells by Gillett & Johnston were added in 1935. The last three bells were cast by Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 2008. The ring was overhauled and tuned in 2009.

Carillon
A carillon installed in the mid 19th century plays a different tune on each day of the week. The tunes, ranging from The Bluebells of Scotland to Metrical Psalm 113, are played four times a day at 8 am, 12pm, 4pm and 8pm. The chimes are mentioned in A Shropshire Lad by A E Houseman.

Churchyard
In the 18th century the churchyard with its views northward to the Corve Valley, Stretton Hills and Wenlock Edge was a social meeting place for the town. The churchyard was then filled with stone memorials but the churchwardens' accounts show that trees were planted and trimmed to provide shelter and gravel put down. It was also necessary at times to pay for rubbish to be cleared and to take the residents of Hosier's Almshouses to court for emptying their chamberpots in the churchyard.(lcc 167)

Levelling of the churchyard was undertaken in 1930 when most of the gravestones were removed. A memorial to A E Houseman was placed on the north wall of the church in 1936 and another to sculptor Adrian Jones in 1938.(lcc 216)

The church today
Clergy Visitor numbers

The church is a member of the Greater Churches Group.

In February 2013 it was announced that plans to build a new cloister for improved access and facilities on the north side of the church have been dropped. Repairs to the roof and pinnacles will proceed and about £2.5 million will be spent on repairs to stonework and windows. The nave will be reorganised with moveable seating and a biomass boiler will be installed for heating.