Church of St Mary and St Thomas
CHURCH OF ST MARY AND ST THOMAS, OLD KNEBWORTH LANE
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1295771
- Date first listed:
- 27-May-1968
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St Mary and St Thomas
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCH OF ST MARY AND ST THOMAS, OLD KNEBWORTH LANE
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2001-01-01
- Reference:
- IOE01/03083/13
- Rights:
- © Miss J Johnson. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1295771
- Date first listed:
- 27-May-1968
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St Mary and St Thomas
- Statutory Address 1:
- CHURCH OF ST MARY AND ST THOMAS, OLD KNEBWORTH LANE
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCH OF ST MARY AND ST THOMAS, OLD KNEBWORTH LANE
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Hertfordshire
- District:
- North Hertfordshire (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Knebworth
- National Grid Reference:
- TL 23085 21007
Details
ld Knebworth TL 22 SW KNEBWORTH OLD KNEBWORTH LANE (west side)
3/150 Church of St Mary and St Thomas 27.5.68
GV I
Parish church. Circa 1150 origin to chancel and nave. W tower c.1420. N chancel chapel (Lytton Chapel) rebuilt c.1705. Chancel restored mid-late C19. Flint and rubble with stone and brick dressings. Steep plain tile roofs. The N chancel chapel is plastered brick with red brick buttresses. 3-stage W tower has diagonal buttresses. Battlemented. Polygonal SE staircase turret. Lead spike. 3-light w window; W door with pointed arch in square surround. Most windows of nave are C15 with cusped lights. Those of N chancel chapel are original wood mullioned and transomed with leaded panes. Chancel has Norman Revival style round arch lights. Gabled S porch Probably c1845. Interior: Large C15 W arch with attached single shafts. Nave roof has C15 hammerbeam trusses with traceried panels above the hammerbeams and crown posts from the collar braces. These trusses alternate with simple braced collar trusses. Complete C15 oak box pews decorated with miniature stepped buttresses. Circa 1150 Norman chancel arch with scalloped capitals. Outstanding internal feature is the Lytton Chapel which contains a remarkable set of early C18 monuments to members of the Lytton family. On N and S wall: to Sir William Lytton (d. 1705) and to Sir George Strode (d.1707), both by Edward Stanton. Marble Semi reclining fiqures. Reredos backqround. Columns supporting segmental arches with cartouches, the former with life-sized allegories outside the columns. On W wall: to Lytton Lytton (d.l7l0), perhaps by Thomas Green. Standing figure in shell- niche tabernacle frame. Fluted side pilasters. Broken segmental pediment. Cupids either side. Also in chapel, brasses to Roland Lytton (d.1582) and his 2 wives. Tablet to Anne Lytton (d. 1601). Epitaph to William Robinson Lytton Strode (d. 1732) by John Annis: two kneeling figures facing sarcophagus. In chancel: epitaph to Judith Strode (d. 1662) on I wall in baroque style in black'marble with white marble bust. On N wall: brass to Lord Simon Bache (d. 1414) formerly in chancel floor. C18 altar table, with paired Doric colonnettes, the rear panelling with Greek key. Iron gates to Lytton Chapel by Lutyens, the oriqinal wrought iron gates removed to W arch. C18 pulpit with fielded panels, incorporating C16/early C17 Flemish panels at top. Font at W end c. 1480, limestone, octagonal. 3-light window in S nave wall by Clayton and Bell (RCHM, 1910; Pevsner (1977)).
Listing NGR: TL2308521007
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 162097
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Cherry, B, The Buildings of England: Hertfordshire, (1977)
Other
Inventory of the Historical Monuments of Hertfordshire, (1910)
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 08-Jun-2026 at 09:36:29.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.