| Country: | England |
| Static Image Name: | Ayot St. Lawrence village centre, Hertfordshire - geograph.org.uk - 1478593.jpg |
| Static Image Caption: | Ayot St. Lawrence village centre |
| Label Position: | bottom |
| Coordinates: | 51.8343°N -0.2671°W |
| Official Name: | Ayot St Lawrence |
| Shire District: | Welwyn Hatfield |
| Shire County: | Hertfordshire |
| Region: | East of England |
| Constituency Westminster: | Welwyn Hatfield |
| Post Town: | WELWYN |
| Postcode District: | AL6 |
| Postcode Area: | AL |
| Dial Code: | 01438 |
| Os Grid Reference: | TL195165 |
Ayot St Lawrence is a small English village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, 2miles west of Welwyn.[1] There are several other Ayots in the area, including Ayot Green and Ayot St Peter, where the census population of Ayot St Lawrence was included in 2011.
George Bernard Shaw lived in the village, at Shaw's Corner, from 1906 until his death in 1950; his ashes are scattered there.[2] [3] The house is open to the public as a National Trust property.[4]
Other residents of the village included Shaw's friend, neighbour and bibliographer Stephen Winsten (1893–1991) and his wife, the artist Clare Winsten (1894–1989).
During the 1950s, the silk-maker Zoe Dyke (1896–1975) moved her business to Ayot House.[5] The historical novelist, biographer and children's writer Carola Oman, Lady Lenanton (1897–1978) lived at Bride Hall with her husband. She died there on 11 June 1978.[6]
The village has a timber-framed public house, The Brocket Arms, which may date back to the early 16th century.[7] It also offers meals and accommodation.[8]
The village has two churches:
Field Marshal Frederick Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan (1865–1946), a British Army officer and Chief of the Imperial General Staff, is buried in the churchyard.[10]