Westbury-sub-Mendip is equidistant from Wells and Cheddar in Somerset. It is one of many small settlements strung out along the main A371 from Wells to Axbridge via Cheddar running along the SW scarp of the Mendip Hills. The parish extends on to the high ground to the NE; it also extends SW across the moors of the valley of the Axe. This is an area ‘steeped in history’ with the diocesan centre of Wells 4mi to the SE, the once royal centre of Cheddar only 4mi NW, and the once-thriving lead mines on Mendip a similar distance to the N. The church of St Lawrence is built of coursed and squared rubble and is quite central, adjacent to a farm and near the main A371 road. Dating from the 12thc., it consists of a W tower, nave with S porch and S aisle, S transept and chancel. The Romanesque elements include the blocked N nave doorway, tower arch, and a possible font.

Westbury was held by the Bishop of Wells in DB.

While the font is described in the official listing text as 13thc, it has to be said that the form is difficult to date precisely, and the parallel tooling marks make a late Romanesque date at least within the bounds of possibility. The presence of keel mouldings on the engaged shafts in the tower arch suggests that the church was probably under construction quite late in the period, and the proviision of a font at the same time would be not unexpected.

Arguably the most interesting Romanesque details in the church are the attractive tower arch corbels which differ in their decoration.

The N doorway is unusual in several respects: was this the work of a particularly creative mason, or an expression of a local or regional style?