Church Micro 3078…Diddington Traditional Geocache

• The church of St Lawrence consists of a chancel with a modern north vestry, nave, north aisle, south chapel, west tower and south porch. The oldest part of the walls are of stone rubble mostly plastered. The tower is of red bricks with stone dressing, the south porch is also of red bricks plastered over and the east wall and chancel is of yellow brick. The roofs are of lead, tiles and slates.
• Although mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086, the nucleus of the present church is the chancel and nave which are of the first half of the 13th cent., to which a north aisle was added in 1275. The church was much altered around 1500 when a new south chapel was built, the clearstory was added and the north aisle remodelled with larger windows. Slightly later the tower was built, together with the western angles of the nave, the western bay of the north aisle being pulled down. The south porch is later still and in the 17th cent. The chancel was shortened and a yellow brick east wall was built. The vestry was added in about 1865 when the chancel was restored and reroofed.
• The church existed in 1086 when it belonged to the Bishop of Lincoln's manor. Before 1279, John Littlebury presented the advowson to Walter de Merton who, in turn, gave it to his college at Oxford. It was before this that the vicarage was ordained. The advowson of the vicarage still belongs to Merton College, Oxford.

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