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St. Laurence's Church in Caversfield consists of a chancel measuring internally about 27 ft. 9 in. by 13 ft. 10 in., north vestry and organ chamber, nave 29 ft. by 13 ft. 6 in., north and south aisles each 6 ft. 4 in. wide, and a west tower 11 ft. 2 in. by 10 ft. 6 in.

The ground stage of the tower, which retains two original windows in the north and south walls, is probably of pre-Conquest date. The walls are of small limestone rubble, but the quoins have all been renewed. The tower arch, though entirely restored, represents in all probability a late 12th-century enlargement of the original opening, and the west window may have been inserted at the same date, when the upper part of the tower appears to have been first rebuilt; the 12th-century doorway reset in the north wall of the present north aisle affords evidence that some considerable repair of the fabric was undertaken at that period. Early in the 13th century the bell-chamber of the tower was rebuilt or added, the chancel reconstructed, and north and south aisles were added to the nave. The doorway in the north wall of the chancel leading to the present vestry, which has a shouldered head and jambs with the rebate on the vestry side, suggests the addition of a north vestry about 1300, but it is possible that it was not adapted to its present use till the restoration of the church in the last century. The arch to the organ chamber at the west end of the north wall of the chancel is probably that which is referred to by Parker in A guide to the architectural antiquities in the neighbourhood of Oxford (1846) as being then the chancel arch, and was moved here in 1874. As they now stand, the vestry and organ chamber date from 1874, when the nave aisles, which had been pulled down, probably in the 18th century, were rebuilt, the chancel arch renewed, and the whole building, with the exception of the tower, reroofed.

In the east wall of the chancel is a pair of early 13th-century lancets with plain wide internal splays, and labels on both faces. The internal labels intersect at their junction and are original, but the linked external labels appear to have been restored. At the east end of the north wall is a small aumbry, to the west of which, within the present sanctuary, is a recess with a two-centred head, all of modern stonework and probably made in 1874 for the Langston tomb which now stands in it. The remaining features in this wall are the doorway to the vestry and the arch to the organ chamber referred to above; the latter is two-centred and of two chamfered orders with responds worked to a single wide chamfer on each face. At the south-east is a rough trefoil-headed piscina with a quatrefoil basin, and immediately to the west of it is an early 14th-century window of two acutely pointed cinquefoiled lights with a quatrefoiled spandrel in a two-centred head. Near the centre of the wall is an original lancet and at the south-west is a square-headed early 15thcentury window of two cinquefoiled lights. All these windows have been very much restored, their rear arches being modern. The present chancel arch was built at the general restoration in 1874 and is constructed almost entirely of modern stonework. The walling of the chancel is of limestone rubble and the original window dressings are of a yellow sandstone. Limestone is used for the later insertions, the south-east window being of a dark brown stone of a ferruginous nature. The north window of the organ chamber is of three lights, and has original leaf tracery of about 1360 reset, but its original position is doubtful.

The early 13th-century nave arcades are each of two bays with two-centred arches of two orders supported by a central circular column and semicircular responds. The work has been very much patched and restored, the capitals having been considerably damaged by the blocking inserted in the bays when the aisles were pulled down. The south arcade is of slightly earlier character than the north arcade, and has spurred bases of a pronounced Attic type, standing upon square plinths with roll-moulded sub-plinths. The bases of the north arcade are also spurred, but the hollow has become a water table, and the projecting sub-plinths have their upper edges plainly chamfered. The capitals of both arcades are foliated and have volute leaves at the angles, with human heads or leaves on each face, their moulded abaci being square. The arches are roll-moulded and the outer orders are enriched by a band of dogtooth, while the inclosing labels are ornamented with the nail-head. The walls pierced by the arcades are only 2ft. 1 in. in thickness, and, if not actually of pre-Conquest date, are most probably built on the foundations of the original nave. Reset in the north wall of the modern north aisle is a good doorway of the last half of the 12th century, recessed in two roundarched orders, the outer order having shafted jambs. The head of this order is moulded with a keel inclosed by 'dentelle' ornament, and has a roll-moulded label with head-stops; the inner order has a roll enriched with leaves. No other original detail remains in the aisles, which are designed in the 13th-century manner

The tower rises in three stages marked by slight set-offs, and is crowned by a saddle-back roof gabled east and west. The restored tower arch has square jambs with chamfered abaci, and a plain arch slightly pointed with a chamfered label. The early windows lighting the ground stage on the north and south have heads roughly semicircular in form, and are set near the middle of the wall with wide splays on both faces. The actual opening in each case is about 6 in. wide and 1ft. 2 in. high, and appears to be perforated in a block of tufa-like stone. Internally the openings are increased by the splaying of the jambs, head and sill to a width of about 2ft. 4 in. and a height of 3ft. 10 in., while they are splayed to about the same dimensions externally, where the radiation of the stones forming their heads interrupts the coursing of the limestone rubble for some distance round. The round-headed window in the west wall is entirely modern externally, though one or two original stones remain in the internal jambs. A slight difference in the walling marks the later work of the two upper stages. In the west wall of the ringing chamber is a modern window of two round-headed lights with old internal jambs, probably of the late 12th century. The bell-chamber is lighted on the east and west by tall lancets with modern external stonework. The gables to the saddle-back roof have been renewed, but the internal jambs of the windows and the timbers in the roof show much of the work to be of the early 13th century.

Historical information about St. Laurence's Church is provided by British History Online. 'Parishes : Caversfield', in A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 4, ed. William Page (London, 1927), pp. 157-163. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol4/pp157-163 [accessed 13 January 2023].

St Laurence's Church is a Grade II* listed building. For more information about the listing see CHURCH OF ST LAURENCE, Caversfield - 1046533 | Historic England.

For more information about St. Laurence's Church see Parishes : Caversfield | British History Online (british-history.ac.uk)