About Us
Welcome to this brief introduction to St Peter’s and our village.
After reading this we hope you will be able to join us for one of our services or come to one of our social events where you can be assured of a friendly welcome!
St Peter’s Church serves the small rural village of Church Lawford together with the hamlet of Kings Newnham. The church is situated in the valley of the River Avon between Rugby and Coventry in the county of Warwickshire with a public footpath running through the award winning churchyard.
There has been a church on this site in the village for at least 700 years, the current building having been remodelled in the 1870’s and in May of 2023 we celebrated the 150th Anniversary of the building being re-opened.
We have a service each Sunday with varying service times and try to have services that people of all ages can enjoy. Our family service is at 10.00 am on the first Sunday of the month and is informal with craft activities, stories and singing. We have two service of Holy Communion each month one on the second Sunday at 9.00 am and one at 6.30 pm on the fourth Sunday. Our third Sunday service is at 10.00 am where we celebrate a different theme each month.
Our worship follows a liturgy taken from Common Worship and we use “Hymns Old and New” accompanied by the church organ. We enjoy traditional worship and hymn singing and celebrate a variety of special occasions during the year including Plough Sunday, Mothering Sunday, Harvest Festival, Christingle as well as of course Easter and Christmas. Our Remembrance Service takes place at the War Memorial in the centre of the village.
St Peter’s is well maintained and cared for by a small but hard-working group of volunteers and enjoys support from many villagers whether church goers or not.
A variety of fundraising and social events are held during the year including Organ Recitals, Tower Tours, Harvest Supper, Seasonal Mini-Markets, Concerts, Blue Bell Walk, Parachuting Teddy’s from the top of the church tower and our Third Sunday Afternoon Tea and Cakes. We love cake at St Peters and Church Lawford is well known for providing a wonderful selection at every opportunity!
Church Lawford church has a ring of six bells. The tenor is just over 7 cwt and they are a fine example of Taylor Bells. There is an active local band of ringers, who regularly ring for Sunday Services and hold a weekly practice on Thursday evenings. Visiting bands are welcome by prior arrangement. The bells are also rung for weddings, half muffled on Remembrance Sunday and for notable National and Royal occasions both joyous and solemn. The bells are very much part of the village soundscape.
The village of Church Lawford has a total population of just over 400 with a broad range of ages from the very young to those in their 90’s and 100’s! We have an active village community with many interest groups and volunteering opportunities to help around the village.
A free magazine is delivered monthly to every household detailing both church and village events and local news items.
The village has a beautiful village hall with excellent facilities and green credentials. The hall is used by a variety of groups, both from the village and the wider area, which include the local WI, YFC, U3A, Craft Group together with various exercise sessions. St Peter’s also makes use of the hall for our Annual Harvest Supper and other social events. Full details about the hall can be found on its website: https://www.churchlawfordvillagehall.co.uk/
The local pub, The Old Smithy, is very popular and serves food as well as drinks.