Orre old church is Jæren's oldest building, the church is probably originally from 1250. A lot of history is in the walls, and prehistory practically oozes from the ancient church. Imagine who they were, these people who came to this place of worship in the 13th century.
English monks were presumably the architects
According to tradition, English monks were architects of the medieval church. To build the church, builders were brought from England by the very rich and powerful man Olru-Kåre. He is mentioned in the Sverre saga. The church was originally built with no tower and even smaller than today. The walls are meter-thick walls with soapstone in the corners.
The Orre old church had a tower and a small wooden choir in the middle of the 17th century. The armoury was built around 1663. Roof tiles were laid in 1768. In 1864, the old choir was demolished, and a new and larger choir was built in line with the outer walls. Two larger empire windows were also installed in the stone wall to the south.
The old church bell from the 13th century hangs in the attic above the armoury. The soapstone baptismal font returned to the church in 1985 and was deposited by the Stavanger Museum, which took care of the baptismal font in 1878. The baptismal font was sold during the restoration in 1864/65.
The altarpiece and pulpit from the first half of the 1600s were made by Jørgen Snekker. The pulpit was painted by Gottfried Hendtzschel, while the altarpiece was painted by Daniel Maler in 1661. The altarpiece was painted over in 1902 and the picture field was renewed. A crucifix that is probably from the 15th century was inserted in the middle field.
The church was restored in 1977 and had new wall cladding on the outside. The roof was replaced and asphalt-impregnated boards were obtained. The interior was painted, and the cast iron fireplace from the end of the 19th century was removed. The Orre old church was a parish church until 1950. when the new church for the parish was taken into use at Pollestad. Between the church and Orre river, there is a memorial stone to commemorate the poet Alexander L. Kielland who spent a lot of his holidays at Orre.
