St Laurence's Church, also known as St Laurence-in-Thanet, is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activitie ...

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a populatio ...

Thanet Thanet may refer to: *Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England *Thanet District, a local government district containing the island *Thanet College, former name of East Kent College *Thanet Canal, ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

History

The church, founded in 1062, is a

grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ire ...

, and is the oldest church in Ramsgate. It was an abbey church until 1275, when it became a parish church. The building was enlarged in the 12th and 13th centuries, including a chancel and side aisles being implemented. A lightning strike in 1439 resulted in the church being rebuilt, with the tower being raised to its present height. As Ramsgate grew, the town developed its own church: St Laurence became a separate parish in 1826.

Churchyard

St Laurence has a large churchyard covering three and a half acres. It contains over 1400 graves, the earliest of which is dated to 1656.

Notable burials

* D'Este Mausoleum **

John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1730 – 25 February 1809), known as Lord Dunmore, was a British nobleman and colonial governor in the American colonies and The Bahamas. He was the last colonial governor of Virginia. Lord Dunmore was name ...

(1732–1809) **

Lady Augusta Murray Lady Augusta De Ameland (''born'' Murray; 27 January 1761 – 4 March 1830) was the first wife of Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, the sixth son of George III. They married on 4 April 1793 in Rome. Their union was in contravention of t ...

(1761-1830) **

Thomas Wilde, 1st Baron Truro Thomas Wilde, 1st Baron Truro, (7 July 178211 November 1855) was a British lawyer, judge, and politician. He was Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain between 1850 and 1852. Background and education Born in London, Truro was the second son of ...

(1782–1855) ** Augusta Emma d'Este (1801–1866) * Admiral William Fox (c1733-1810) * Sir William Garrow (1760–1840) *

John Collis Browne Dr. John Collis Browne Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons, MRCS (1819–1884) was a British Army officer, inventor of items for yachts and the originator of the medicine Chlorodyne. Serving as surgeon with the 98th Regiment of Foot in ...

(1819–1884)

References

External links

A Church Near You entry

Parish website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsgate, Saint Laurence Church of England church buildings in Kent Grade I listed churches in Kent

Saint Laurence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

11th-century church buildings in England Diocese of Canterbury