Lovely norman masonry

The present St Lawrence building is Victorian, but in its churchyard is the small tower of its predecessor (in which Sir John Vanbrugh was married in 1719). This dates back to the twelfth century, although its top storey was added in the fifteenth century. The tower, which is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, has an impressive Norman doorway, formerly one of the entrances to the nave. The old nave and chancel is marked out in medieval and 18th-19th Century gravestones, including those of the Heskeths and Yarburghs of Heslington Hall.  This is detail of the stone decoration around the old doorway into the old church tower. You can see some of the other views here.