Chapel Of St Leonard

Chapel of St Leonard, Thorpe Langton

Parish church, primarily 13th century in date with a late 13th-century tower. The chancel aisles and arcades were rebuilt in the early 14th century, and a clerestory was added in the late 15th century. The building was restored in 1867 by Joseph Goddard of Leicester, with roof repairs carried out in 1914. A 19th-century vestry was added subsequently.

The church comprises a west tower, nave, north aisle with north porch, south aisle, chancel, and vestry. It is constructed from coursed ironstone rubble with ashlared limestone dressings, under lead and plain tile roofs. The plinth is heavily moulded, and the parapets are coped. Angle-gabled buttresses with set-offs are present throughout.

The west tower rises in three stages and terminates in a broach spire. Decorative bands mark the 2nd and 3rd stages, with a decorative cornice above. Angle buttresses are positioned at the north-west and south-west corners. The west elevation displays a modernised doorway with a moulded, shouldered flat arch and plank door, above which is a 13th-century lancet with chamfered jambs and hoodmould. A 2-light pointed-arch bell-opening with lights divided by a single shaft with moulded capital and base, and a hoodmould, is positioned above. The north, south, and east elevations have similar bell-openings. A 19th-century clock face is set in the 2nd stage of the south elevation. The spire is furnished with corner pinnacles and two tiers of alternating lucarnes.

The north aisle is approached through a north porch, added by Joseph Goddard in 1868. This porch has a plain tile roof with coped gables featuring kneelers and a finial. The doorway is heavily moulded with engaged shafts and a hoodmould with headstops. The east and west walls of the porch each contain a single small window. The north doorway has a double-chamfered arch and plank door. To the west of the porch is a 2-light window with reticulated tracery and hoodmould with headstops. To the east is a 3-light window with intersecting tracery and hoodmould with headstops. The north aisle's east window is of 3 lights with reticulated tracery and hoodmould with headstops.

The chancel's north wall holds a 2-light window with reticulated tracery and hoodmoulds with plain stops, and to the east, a 2-light window with Y-tracery and hoodmould. The 4-light east window displays flowing tracery with a cross finial to the gable. A clerestory extends over both nave and chancel, containing five 2-light windows with cusped heads set in rectangular frames and straight headmoulds with returned stops. Three windows light the nave and two light the chancel.

The south aisle's south doorway has moulded jambs with engaged shafts, hoodmould with headstops, and a plank door. To the west is a 2-light window with intersecting tracery and hoodmould with headstops; to the east is a 3-light window with intersecting tracery and hoodmould with headstops. The south aisle's east window is of 2 lights with reticulated tracery and hoodmould with plain stops. The chancel's south wall contains a 2-light window with geometric tracery and hoodmould with plain stops, and to the east, a 2-light window with Y-tracery and hoodmould with plain stops. The south clerestory is similar to the north.

A late 19th-century vestry is positioned between the south aisle and tower, with a plain tile roof, coping, stone chimney, and 2-light west window.

Interior

The three-bay nave arcades feature double-chamfered, pointed arches with early 14th-century quatrefoil piers. The piers have moulded capitals and bases; the north-east pier and responds have ballflower decoration on their capitals. The triple-chamfered tower arch has a hoodmould and headstops with piers that possess capitals and bases. Above, the roofline of an earlier nave is visible. The north aisle retains reset corbel heads on either side above the doorway, with reset corbels of circa 1200 on the south side of the arcade and on either side of the south doorway and south-west window. A rood stair doorway is situated at the east end.

The chancel has a moulded string throughout. All windows have hoods; the north-east window features headstops. An early 14th-century piscina and damaged sedilia are present. The late 15th-century font is octagonal in form with stem, carved with foliage and tracery. A polygonal pulpit appears to incorporate panels of circa 1500, otherwise it is late 19th century in date. Pews and screen are late 19th century. An organ was provided by the Hanbury charity in 1952.

Stained glass in the east window of the north aisle depicts farming scenes and commemorates James Kendall (1933–69). The east window of the south aisle contains glass to the memory of George Kendall (1847–1926). Glass in the east window is by Heaton, Butler & Payne, circa 1868.

Roofs were restored in 1868, 1914, and 1978. The moulded 15th-century tie beams in the nave and chancel display elaborate carving, brattishing, and bossing. Late 19th-century tile floors are present throughout.