Marston St. Lawrence

Marston St. Lawrence is a village and civil parish about 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Brackley in Northamptonshire. A stream flows through the village and another forms the southern boundary of the parish. The two merge as Farthinghoe Stream, a tributary of the River Cherwell (confluence one mile north west of King's Sutton) and therefore, ultimately, of the River Thames. The village was the birthplace of the labouring-class poet Mary Leapor (1722–1746), who was widely read in the mid-18th century.

Parish church

Much of the Church of England parish church of St. Lawrence is in the Decorated Gothic style, including the chancel arch and the arcades to both the north and south aisles.^[1] The north arcade is of four bays and was built in the 13th century.^[1] The Perpendicular Gothic east window of the chancel was added in the second half of the 14th century.^[1] One of the aisles was also rebuilt in Perpendicular Gothic, and the bell tower was added late in the Perpendicular period^[1] (15th or early 16th century). There are two carved wooden screens: a Perpendicular one to the north chapel and a very well-carved Jacobean one to the tower.^[1] The tower has a ring of five bells. The parish is now part of the Chenderit Benefice.^[2]

Marston House

The origins of the house are either Elizabethan or Jacobean, and one wing includes a panelled room that includes a richly carved overmantel bearing the date 1611.^[3] However the house was completely rebuilt between 1700 and 1730,^[3] making the present building either Queen Anne or early Georgian.

Amenities

Marston has a public house, the Marston Inn, a 15th century building^[4] that belongs to the Hook Norton Brewery.^[5]

Marston St. Lawrence Cricket Club^[6] plays in the South Northants Cricket League.^[7]

References

Sources

• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (1973). The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 302–303. ISBN 0 14 071022 1.