St Lawrence’s Church was built for the 7th Earl of Westmorland in 1744-46, probably to a design by Roger Morris, previously an assistant to Colen Campbell who had designed the neo-Palladian Mereworth Castle for Lord Westmorland twenty years before.  It replaced a church, mediaeval with a low tower, next to the castle.

St Lawrence’s is unique among country parish churches, with one of the most remarkable neo-classical interiors in Europe, designed like a Roman basilica. All its surfaces are painted with trompe l’oeil classical designs, and organ pipes are depicted on the west wall above the gallery. The ornate tower and spire have close similarities with several significant town churches, notably James Gibbs’s baroque St Martin-in-the-Fields, London.  The display of heraldic glass, contemporary with the church, is unique, and there are also some fine late 19th stained glass windows.

Mediaeval monuments from the earlier church were transferred here in 1744 and can be seen in the NW and SW corners of St Lawrence’s.  There is a peal of six bells, rung every Sunday and at all other services.