Church of St Laurence, Upminster Church of St Laurence, Upminster The church of St Laurence, Upminster, is the Church of England parish church in Upminster, England. It is a Grade I listed building. It is the historic minster or church from which Upminster derives its name, meaning 'upper church', probably signifying 'church on higher ground'. The place-name is first attested as 'Upmynster' in 1062, and appears as 'Upmunstra' in the Domesday Book of 1086. Alice Perrers, mistress of King Edward III, was buried in the church or churchyard in 1400. There is no memorial to mark her grave. She had three illegitimate children by the
Alice Perrers Parliament for Surrey. Due to the king's advancing age and the fact that after his death she would no longer have his protection, Alice contracted a secret marriage in November 1375 to Sir William Windsor, a Westmorland knight, who was appointed as the King's lieutenant in Ireland. He was 53 and she was 27. As William was a Royal Lieutenant in Ireland, he spent long periods of time absent from England and Alice, lessening the probability of the King discovering their marriage. William and Alice were married until William's death on 15 September 1384. He was 62 years old. They