Napton-on-the-Hill - Parish Church

Parish Church

The oldest parts of the Anglican parish church of St Lawrence include the chancel, which was built in the 12th century and still has three Norman windows in its north wall. The south doorway of the nave is also from the end of the 12th century. Prof. Louis Salzman considered that the north and south transepts were also 12th century but Prof. Nikolaus Pevsner proposed a later date of about 1275, noting their triplets of Early English Gothic lancet windows. The north and south aisles were added in the 13th century after the transepts. The lower stages of the bell tower date from about 1300. The east window of the south transept is a later Perpendicular Gothic addition.

The south porch reuses a mixture of Early English and Perpendicular masonry and has puzzled historians. Salzman thought it could have been built either at the end of the 16th century or in the 17th century but Pevsner suspected the involvement of J. Croft, the architect who restored the church in 1861. The vestry may also have been added in the 17th century and the upper stage of the tower was rebuilt early in the 18th century. After this rebuilding a ring of five bells was cast in 1731 and hung in the tower. The tenor was recast in 1874 and Eayre & Smith Ltd. rehung all the bells in 1958. The ring was increased to six bells by the addition of the treble cast by Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1963.

St. Lawrence's is at the top of the hill, making it a local landmark and giving it commanding views over the surrounding countryside, especially from the top of the tower. St. Lawrence's parish is now part of a single Church of England benefice with the parishes of Lower Shuckburgh and Stockton, part of the Bridges Group of parishes.

Actor Ed Bishop is buried in the churchyard.