This is the small church of St Lawrence at Folke, a few miles south-east of Sherborne. The village stands at the end of a short road south of the A3030. Externally it is all embattled and the tower has the tiniest of pinnacles and a semi-circular staircase on the west face. On the N. side of the tower a blocked arch or window can be traced. The church dates from 1628, a rare date in English church architecture at a time when Gothic forms were struggling with Classical features. That is evident here, witness the stepped three-light side windows and the four-light chancel E window, similar to St Catherine Cree in the City of London.
The interior is a delight. The west bay of the nave is aisleless, the next three have N & S aisles. The arcades are still Gothic but unusual. They have octagonal piers with hollowed faces to the main angles and moulded arches having the soffits decorated with rosettes.
The fittings are remarkable. Goblet-shaped FONT. BENCH ENDS with scallop-shell mouldings. Three-bayed CHANCEL SCREEN with Gothic and Classical forms has openwork scrolls and pinnacles: similar screen in the centre bay of the N arcade and a matching PULPIT. Pretty wall memorials include a CARTOUCHE of 1730 to members of the Kent family. The organ stands at the W end of the S aisle.
page updated 11th December 2003