Church Of St Leonard

The Church of St Leonard is a parish church dating back to the 13th century, with significant development in the 15th and 16th centuries, and later additions and alterations. The original structure includes a priest's door from the 13th century. The south porch, tower, and south arcade were built in 1412 for Cardinal Langley of Durham. The majority of the church's fabric dates to 1524, commissioned by Sir Richard Assheton. Later additions include a vestry from the late 17th century, a top stage to the tower around 1667, an east window of 1847, an organ chamber in 1920, and north vestries in 1958, designed by G.G. Pace.

The church is constructed of dressed stone, with a weather-boarded top stage to the tower. It features a four-bay aisle (five bays north) with a weathered plinth, buttresses, and a castellated parapet featuring foiled panelling. The windows are cusped 3-light in the aisle and uncusped 3-light clerestory windows set within flat heads. The south porch is ornately carved with niches and foiled panelling, encompassing an arched doorway with a crocketed ogee hoodmould. The C17 vestry is deliberately low to avoid obstructing the windows above. Rainwater heads on the north aisle mark a restoration in 1869; "JS 1852" appears on the castellations.

The west tower comprises four stages with diagonal buttresses, a weathered plinth, 2-light windows on the first and second stages, clock faces on the third, and a distinctive weatherboarded top stage designed to accommodate a new peal of bells, with gables on each side. A C20 addition is executed in a free Gothic style.

Inside, a double-chamfered nave arcade is supported by octagonal piers. The roofline of the 1412 church is evident above the tower arch, which itself incorporates a re-set Norman chancel arch of three orders with scalloped capitals, unusual rams’ heads carved on the bases, and two orders of zigzag in the pointed arch. Fragments of the Norman church survive in sections of a billet frieze used within the north arcade. A C15 rood screen, lacking its original loft, features heraldic dado panels that have been restored. There are stalls with misericords and traceried ends with poppyheads, featuring carved animals. A Hopwood box pew, likely from the late 17th century, is located in the south aisle and has barleysugar balusters. A C19 font and lectern are also present.

A window commemorates the victory at Flodden Field in 1513, prompting the rebuilding of the church as an act of thanksgiving. Various C16 and C17 brasses, along with C18 and C19 decorated wall tablets, are also incorporated. The church occupies a prominent hilltop position.