Church of St Laurence, Upminster

The Church of St Laurence stands on higher ground in Upminster, a village in the London Borough of Havering. Its name, first recorded in 1062 as ‘Upmynster’, appears in the Domesday Book of 1086. The church is a Grade I listed building and the historic minster from which Upminster takes its name. Alice Perrers, mistress of King Edward III, was buried here in 1400. The tower played a key part in the first accurate measurement of the speed of sound by Rev. William Derham. The church shows clear 13th-century work, especially in its tower of rubble walls, buttresses and Essex-style leaded shingled spire. In 1862–63 W. Gibbs Bartleet rebuilt much of the church, and in 1928 Sir Charles Nicholson reorganised the chancel, added a new choir and sanctuary, and built the south chapel and Lady Chapel. Violet Pinwill of Devon carved the pulpit, and the 15th-century font came from Upminster Hill Chapel. Inside, monuments mark the Branfills of Upminster Hall and the Esdailes of Gaynes. The churchyard holds war graves of six Second World War service personnel. The tower’s role in science and the quiet graves of Perrers and Derham add layers of history to the building.