Ayot St Lawrence is a small village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, between Harpenden and Welwyn. There are several other Ayots in the area, including Ayot Green and Ayot St Peter.
George Bernard Shaw lived in the village, at Shaw's Corner, from 1906 until his death in 1950; his ashes are scattered there. The house is open to the public as a National Trust property.
Other residents of the village included the Shaws' friend, neighbour and bibliographer Stephen Winsten and his wife, Claire, and the novelist and biographer Carola Oman, Lady Lenanton.
The village has one pub/inn, The Brocket Arms, which is reputed to be haunted. The pub was established in the 14th century. .
The village has two churches. The old one, in the centre of the village, was partially demolished in 1775, because it was obstructing the view from Sir Lionel Lyde's new home.
The new St Lawrence church was designed in a neo-classical style by Nicholas Revett and features a Palladian-style frontage with Doric columns.
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