St Lawrence Church, Gnosall

There was a Saxon minster church here in the Anglo-Saxon period which was replaced by the current Norman church in the early 12th century. The core of the church dates from around 1100, which was quite early in the Norman church building era. The earliest parts of the church date from this time, which are the arches of the central crossing, much of the walling and some Norman windows.

The south transept is perhaps the most interesting feature of the church as very little of it has changed from its original form. There is lots of decorative string courses and sculptures on the capitals and columns.

There was some refashioning of the church in the 13th and 14th centuries when the aisles, the east window, and the triple lancet west window and doorway were installed. Also during this time the north transept was rebuilt with a lower roof (the earlier roofline is visible).

Late medieval features include the clerestory, the upper part of the tower, and decorative battlements, which are all 15th century. The lady chapel was built on the south side of the chancel some time around 1500.

There is a mutilated effigy of a 14th-century knight with a plaque that reads “This effigy is of Sir William Banestre who was knighted by King Edward III at the siege of Calais in 1347. This monument was damaged during the English Civil Wars.” To his right lies the effigy of a child, which I’m guessing is unidentified and unconnected to the knight.

There is also an old dug-out oak chest known as ‘The Great Coffer’, which remarkably dates from the 13th century. In 1692 it is mentioned in the Churchwardens’ accounts and is referred to as ‘the greate coffer’.