“St Lawrence with St Maurice with St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate” is a parish of the
Church of England, within the
Deanery and
Diocese of Winchester. The parish surrounds the
Cathedral in the centre of the ancient
city of Winchester.
St Maurice remains in the title of the parish although the church was demolished, except for its tower, in 1957. Now we have the two churches of St Lawrence in the Square and St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate, serving an active and regular congregation with services on Sundays and weekdays.
Do come and join us – you will find a warm welcome. At other times, our churches are normally open whenever possible, so that you can find the peace and quiet joy that comes from silent prayer in buildings that have been prayed in for centuries and are much loved for that purpose today. Services and other events in the churches are listed on the Services page: follow the link in the sidebar to the left.
Our parish enjoys ecumenical links with churches of other Christian denominations, especially the United Church with whom we organise the Space in the City Wednesday lunch-time talks on spiritual matters. The next series – four talks by Rt Revd Dr Peter Selby, formerly Bishop of Worcester, under the general title “Mammon’s Revenge: the global finance crisis, its roots and its results” – will run from 24th February to 17th March (postponed from 6th to 27th January, due to the icy weather). For details, see the Space in the City web site.
Our Rector expects to retire in 2012. We will then form a united benefice with St Bartholomew’s parish in Hyde in the northern part of Winchester city centre. Following the retirement of its previous priest, St Bartholomew’s parish recruited a new priest-in-charge, Canon Cliff Bannister, who was installed in September 2009. If all goes to plan, in 2012 Cliff will also become rector of St Lawrence with St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate (we will drop St Maurice from the formal title at that time).
The modern parish of St Lawrence with St Swithun comprises the southern half of the ancient walled city of Winchester (except the Cathedral area) with an extension to the south to include the former parish of St Michael, whose church is officially part of our parish but is now used only by Winchester College as a secondary chapel. Also within our parish are St Thomas church in Southgate Street, now closed and used as charity offices, and the sites of several former churches including St Maurice, whose tower still stands in Market Lane, and old St Thomas, of which only the churchyard remains as the garden of two houses in St Thomas Street.
Here is a map of the parish with the locations of St Lawrence, St Swithun and St Michael churches.
St Lawrence in the Square
The medieval church of St Lawrence-in-the-Square is of great interest, not only for its unusual square design but also for its fine 17th-century ‘king-post’ roof and its ancient site. There was a church on the site before the Norman conquest, and it was incorporated into William the Conqueror’s palace as the royal chapel. After the palace and chapel were destroyed by fire, St Lawrence Church was rebuilt in about 1150. The church was badly damaged by fire in 1978 and after restoration re-opened in 1980, with seating for about 120 people. St Lawrence is still referred to as the Mother Church of Winchester, for it is the only surviving parish church of Norman foundation within the city walls. When a new Bishop of Winchester is on his way to his enthronement in the Cathedral, it is at St Lawrence Church that he is presented to the Mayor, clergy and citizens.
Click here for a map of Winchester showing the location of St Lawrence Church.
Access is easy - there is one step with a ramp for wheelchairs.
The church is open for services but may be closed at other times; to be sure of access, please make an appointment via the Parish Office (see below).
St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate
Kingsgate (King’s Gate) is one of the ancient gates in the walls of the city of Winchester. The Church above the gate is first mentioned in records in 1264 when it was also destroyed by fire; It was rebuilt and has been much restored over the centuries. Churches built over city gates were common in medieval times, but only a few survive today.
St Swithun’s Church features in literature as St Cuthbert’s in Anthony Trollope’s novel “The Warden”.
There is a good description of St Swithun’s Church, and information about St Swithun himself, on the Kingdom Living web-site
Click here for a map of Winchester showing the location of St Swithun’s Church.
The church is above the gate and is reached by a covered staircase (visible on the right in the picture); unfortunately it has not been possible to install a lift.
The church is open for services but may be closed at other times; to be sure of access, please make an appointment via the Parish Office (see below).
| Parish of St Lawrence with St Maurice with St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate, Winchester | |
|---|---|
| Rector: | The Reverend Canon David Scott
|
| Churchwardens: | Elizabeth Baron
John Stanning |
| Parish Office: | St Lawrence Rectory,
Colebrook Street, Winchester, Hampshire SO23 9LH telephone & fax: 01962-849434 |
The governing body of the parish, the Parochial Church Council (PCC), is a registered charity, number 1130543. This is a new registration (July 2009) as required by the Charities Act 2006 – under previous charity laws, PCCs were exempt from registration. Note that if you view our registration via the link above, you will see that our governing document is “Act of Parliament”: this is because PCCs are established, and their powers are defined, by the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956, as amended, and the Church Representation Rules (Schedule 3 of the Synodical Government Measure 1969, as amended).
