Svarttorps kyrka

The present church was constructed between 1869 and 1870 by master builder Anders Pettersson of Värsås, to designs by the architect Ludvig Hedin of the Överintendentsämbetet (the Swedish royal building office). Its neoclassical style favours plain, restrained forms drawing on ancient architecture. Because of the ground conditions on the site, the nave runs north to south rather than the more usual east-west orientation, with the tower and porch at the north end and the chancel, of the same width as the nave, to the south. A semicircular sacristy stands south of the chancel, and a sunken boiler room was added in 1937.

A medieval church, thought to have parts dating from the twelfth century, previously stood in Svarttorp. It had three altars, dedicated to the high altar, to the patron saint Laurentius, and to the Virgin Mary. A medieval altar cabinet from that church is now held by the Historical Museum in Stockholm, while an altarpiece of 1703 by Anders Ekeberg has been deposited at Ljungarums kyrka.

The font is the only piece of furnishing from the old church still in regular use; it is attributed to a craftsman known as Mäster Bestiarius, active in the late twelfth century. A carved Madonna figure standing near the font is a cast copy, the original being kept in a Stockholm museum. A wooden christening angel from the eighteenth century, also from the old church, is displayed in the church's devotional room.

Two pulpits can be seen inside. The current pulpit, at the south-east corner near the chancel, has a five-sided body and a sounding board, painted white with gilded mouldings and decoration. Preserved as a museum piece in the north-east part of the church is the older pulpit from the medieval church, a seventeenth-century oak piece in Renaissance style, decorated with inlaid marquetry work.

The church has had several organs over the centuries. An eight-stop instrument was sold to Burseryds kyrka before 1763, and a replacement built that year by Jonas Wistenius of Linköping was later sold on to Tengene kyrka. The organ heard today was built in 1871 by E. A. Setterquist & Son of Örebro. The building underwent renovation work in 1997, when a devotional room, toilet and new stair to the gallery were installed, and a further restoration concluded with a rededication in March 2012.