Ken Ince's Pictures of Bythorn

St Lawrence's, Bythorn

The church of St Lawrence is, from distance, a curious affair, with the 14th century perpundicular tower and spire being topped by a curious little dome. There was no church here at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086 but re-used 12th century stone built in to the present walls indicate a structure being here at that date. This early structure would probably have been a basic, aisleless nave, with chancel.   The nave was rebuilt towards the end of the 13th century, at which point it is likely that the north aisle was built. The south aisle was added early in the 14th century with the chancel being rebuilt and the west tower and south porch being added around 1345.   The tower and spire were restored in the early 1850's and the church as a whole underwent considerable restoration in the 1870's. Early in 2002 much work was undertaken on the bells and they were rung properly for the first time in more than 100 years.   The first church bell to be hung here was cast around the year 1360 by William Rufford. It is thought that the bell would have been cast nearby, either in the church grounds or in a nearby field, although William and his father John each worked out of their foundry at Toddington, Bedfordshire. Between 1385 and 1400 two more bells were added by William Dawe, a founder from London.

This picture appears in the following picture tours:
Bythorn, Churches around Peterborough, Churches

Camera Make: Canon Model: Canon EOS 70D