SEX73644 - St John the Evangelist, Arch Summary Report

Historically, Langley was part of the neighbouring community of Clavering. It does not appear as a separate manor in the Domesday Book, although by the thirteen century the sub-manor of Langley Hall was granted to the Priory of St Bartholomew at Smithfield, London by the lord of Clavering (COE 2015). The earliest parts of the current church building date to the twelfth century. Twelfth century remains in the nave include the south doorway, and an archway and small window in the north wall. There may have been an earlier church or chapel on this site. According to legend, King Edward the Confessor attended the consecration of a chapel of Clavering, which is the role that the church at Langley held until the nineteenth century. The West Tower, with stone rusticated quoins, was added in the fourteenth century. The hammer beam roof of the nave dates to the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century and is moulded and carved with designs of running foliage (HMSO 1916). The chancel was rebuilt c. 1560 in red brick, and the whole church was restored in 1885 when the upper half of the West Tower, the porch, and the vestry were built and substantial repairs made to other parts of the building (ibid). More recently, additional repairs to the church were completed in the 1980s, in time for the centenary of the nineteenth century restoration (COE 2015) - No monitoring was undertaken.