Restored Chronicles of St Laurence: Issue 4 (September 2026)

Ride + Stride| St Laurence Quarter| August Highlights| Coming Next|

Welcome to the fourth edition of Restored Chronicles of St Laurence, which provides an update on The National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported Development Phase of St Laurence Restored. This edition celebrates community engagement and how vibrant Stroud is in terms of its wonderfully diverse people and the rich heritage we continue to keep alive.

 

Ride + Stride 2026

Many people will be gearing up for Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust’s annual Ride + Stride fundraiser on Saturday, 12 September.

Join us for a day of adventure, heritage and community in support of St Laurence Church and the Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust. Explore Stroud on one of our guided walks, cycle through Gloucestershire’s beautiful countryside or create your own church-to-church challenge.

Victorian Stroud guided walks leave St Laurence at 11am and 2pm and are limited to 15 people each. To find out more and sign up here: Ride and Stride – St Laurence – Stroud Centre for Peace & The Arts

Registration is free, with a suggested voluntary donation of £10. St Laurence will be open from 10am to 4pm, with refreshments, tours, heritage displays and activities. Come along, get moving and help support our historic churches and community.

Celebrating St Laurence Quarter

We’re delighted to be hosting St Laurence Quarter, a new free exhibition created by Stroud Local History Society in support of the St Laurence Restored Project.

The exhibition explores the remarkable history of the buildings and streets around the church, and the many different lives they have had over the centuries. As exhibition co-ordinator and historian Marion Hearfield says: ‘Stroud has such a long history that it gives us great satisfaction when visitors to our exhibitions say, ‘Well, I didn’t know that!’’

Open through September:

Fridays 10am-1pm, 4^th/11^th/25^th

Saturdays 10.30am-1pm, 5^th, 12^th, 26^th and

10am-1pm National Heritage Open Days 10^th/14^th/15^th

 

 

 

August Highlights

During August our community weaving project Interwoven proved a huge success. We invited folk to choose a coloured thread to represent themselves and have a go on the Japanese designed looms leant to us by Wayward Weaves to create a community tapestry. We also asked people to come up with some adjectives that described them and add dots to our description board. We are so often asked to fill in forms that just ask for our age, ethnic background, marital status etc. But we are more than that. We believe we are full colour, not monochrome. Over1,000 people took part which will hopefully inform a bigger project next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming Up

We will be taking part in the Heritage Open Days 2026 which run from 11-20 September, so do keep your eyes open for those. Do take the chance to pop in and find out more about the wonderful heritage, stories and people associated with St Laurence. A warm welcome awaits you.

Whether you attend an event, share our news, volunteer or donate, your support helps us protect this remarkable building for future generations.

Follow us @stlaurencerestored

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpSZ7qhlM4I

Please scan QR to donate to our Give a Little page 

 

Or click HERE