A Brief History
Built in the 13th century in the reign of Edward I, St Lawrence Chapel was originally endowed by two maiden sisters named Hewett, who supported it for approximately the next 100 years. The Chapel was seized by the crown and sold by King Edward VI in 1549, despite a petition sent to the King claiming 800 people took communion there.
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In 1575 the people of Warminster bought the Chapel, and in 1592 an indenture was drawn up appointing '12, 10 or eight of the principal honest and discreet men of the parish' to administer it. These are known as Feoffees, and the current group of eight Feoffees and four Nominated Trustees meets six times a year.
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The Chapel is a non-royal, interdenominational ‘peculiar’ chapel existing outside the control of any religious organisation.
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St Lawrence Chapel is now an independent foundation.
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Who was St Lawrence?
St Lawrence was a Christian martyr of Spanish birth ordained by Pope Sixtus II. When the Pope himself was arrested in Rome in 258, he ordered Lawrence, his deacon, to give the church’s treasures to the poor. Lawrence refused to give them up to the state when the city’s prefect demanded, so he was condemned to death.
Although Lawrence was probably beheaded, St Ambrose of Milan and the Latin poet Prudentius, among others, recorded that he was roasted to death on a gridiron, remarking to his torturers at one point, 'I am cooked on that side; turn me over, and eat.'
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A Patronal Festival is held in the Chapel each year on the closest Sunday to St Lawrence's Feast Day of 10th August.
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For more information on the life of St Lawrence click here
The History of St Lawrence Chapel
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List of Feoffees and Nominated Trustees click here
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Ray Shorto (Feoffee): Chapel history click here.
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David Pollard (Former Feoffee):
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Paul Tindalls: Article on Nelson Hall Scudamore Organ click here​
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St Lawrence Chapel and Curfew Cottage architectural drawings:
Click here
