Mansfield
St Lawrence

Archaeology

The church of St. Lawrence was built on a roughly triangular site which slopes from east to west. On the south side is Skerry Hill and on the north side Peck Hill. The two roads met at the west gate to the church. Prior to its present use the land was a greenfield site of no known archaeological interest. Although the church is surrounded by a grassed churchyard, it has never been used for burials.

The ground plan is a simple rectangular nave with north and south transepts leading from the chancel which is slightly narrower than the nave. An open-arched transept behind the choir stalls on the north side accommodates the organ and a small chapel, whilst the south transept has a partial wall to the east leaving access to the vestry and toilet. The vestries can also be accessed by pointed arch in the east wall of the nave. The transepts are not of equal size, the north being larger and the south extended eastward to house the toilets.

At the communion rail the sanctuary is raised with a single step and the altar elevated on two more.
 
There are no known burials within the church.

At the west end is a small baptistry with a font dated 1662. It sits under a lean-to roof sloping from the west wall, also covering the entrances porches each side of the baptistery. The south side porch is utilized as a store and the north side porch as the main entrance. The square tower rises from this porch; access to the tower is via a small external octagon projection housing a staircase with an access door in the north-west porch.

A further entrance to the church in the form of a small door is located at the junction of the south wall of the nave and the vestry.

Exterior

Blind arch

The church is built of brick faced externally with local Mansfield Woodhouse stone, dressed and laid in random courses. Hollington stone (Staffordshire) dressings have been used to frame the windows and doors. On the west wall of the north transept is a wide blind pointed arch extending from ground to the eaves; as a doorway it would have provided access to the north transept, but there is no record of its original purpose, nor is it shown on the architect’s drawing.

All the roofs are covered with flat red tiles.

Rainwater disposal is by half-round cast iron guttering supported by ornately scrolled cantilevered bracket bolted to the wall.

Low square buttresses are located at each of the corners of the chancel and the west wall.

Interior

The interior walls of the chancel, the north transept and the baptistry are of dressed stone which appears to be of a darker colour than the exterior. The walls of the nave are plastered and painted.

Nave roof

Substantial lightly stained cross beams span the nave and chancel from north to south joining the deep wall plate which is faced with planned timber. Rising from the wall ends of the rafters, timbers arch across the ceiling. Threaded metal tie bars from the apex pass through the centre of the cross beams and are secured with nuts. Short exposed rafters also of planed and stained timber also rise from the wall plate towards the apex, but terminate at a longitudinal beam, This beam is braced by a short queen post rising from the cross beam, likewise the longitudinal beam is supported by a pair of cantilevered brackets from the cross beam. In between the woodwork the ceilings are plastered and painted.

Set within a lean-to extension, exposed stained wood rafters in the baptistry slope west to east with painted plaster between.

The sanctuary The interior looking east

The floor of the chancel and sanctuary is covered with red carpet, likewise the area between the chancel arch and the nave seating. The central aisle also has the same covering, as does the area across the rear of the nave. Under the nave seating the stained wood plank floor is exposed.