Church Of St. Leonard

This medieval town church has 15th-century origins with a tower built in 1448 at the expense of Richard Horde. The church was badly damaged during the Civil War in 1646, when the north aisle and east part of the south aisle were destroyed. It was partially repaired in 1662, though the aisles were never fully restored. Restorations followed by Thomas Rickman in 1826, and by F.J. Francis in 1846-47. Between 1860 and 1873, William Slater and Richard Herbert Carpenter undertook a major reconstruction, rebuilding the church on its original plan but in a consistent Geometrical style (characteristic of the later 13th century). The tower was substantially rebuilt in 1870-73, also by Slater and Carpenter, retaining its original Perpendicular style. Albert Escourt of Gloucester served as contractor. An octagonal library was added to the north side of the chancel in 1878 to house a collection bequeathed by Hugh Stackhouse, who died in 1743. The books were removed to Shrewsbury in 1968. The church contains stained glass by Clayton and Bell. It became redundant in 1976 and has been in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust since 1980.

Materials and Construction

The church is built of local Bunter sandstone with clay tile roofs. The chancel roof has crested ridge tiles.

Plan

The church follows a rectangular plan with a nave flanked by aisles under separate roofs (the south aisle is one bay shorter than the north). The chancel is lower than the nave. A projecting south-west tower serves as the main entrance, and an octagonal library stands on the north side of the chancel.

Exterior

The earlier 19th-century work is in the Geometrical style, while the south tower is Perpendicular. The main entrance is through the three-stage tower, which incorporates a porch in its lower stage. The tower has diagonal buttresses and a higher polygonal north-west stair turret with a crocketed spirelet. String courses separate the stages, with grotesques beneath the crown. The 15th-century south doorway has panelled reveals beneath a large five-light south window. In the second stage is a figure of St Leonard in a niche. The upper stage contains two transomed two-light bell openings with stone-tracery sound holes. The embattled parapet has crocketed pinnacles.

The aisles mainly have three-light windows. The broad nave has a pair of three-light west windows above a west doorway with two orders of nook shafts. The chancel is three bays long, with a roof behind a moulded parapet. It has three-light south windows, of which the central one is shorter, above a priests' doorway. The east window is four-light. The north side has two windows and a squint, with the third bay occupied by a short link to the octagonal library under a pyramidal roof, resembling a scaled-down chapter house. The library windows are alternately simple two-light mullioned windows beneath the eaves and tall two-light dormers with quatrefoil tracery lights.

Interior

The nave arcades (five bays to the north and four bays to the south) have round piers with foliage capitals carved by S. Poole, and two-centred arches. On the south side, the third bay from the east is subdivided. Its subsidiary pier depicts the Expulsion from Eden on the capital, and in the solid tympanum of the main arch is a roundel depicting in relief the Annunciation to the shepherds, both carved by James Redfern. The right-hand subsidiary arch is blind with diaper pattern and a memorial inscription to George Fisher, who died in 1881.

The nave has a hammerbeam roof dating from 1662, on corbelled brackets. The north aisle has a tie-beam roof on elaborately carved solid corbelled brackets. In the south aisle is a two-and-a-half-bay double hammerbeam roof and, at the west end, a two-bay double hammerbeam roof set at right angles.

The chancel arch has a continuous roll moulding with a hood mould with angel stops, and an inner order on corbelled shafts with foliage capitals. The chancel roof is five-and-a-half unequal bays, and is a hammerbeam roof on brackets and large angel corbels, which are said to have been retained from the medieval roof. In the south wall is a double piscina and stepped sedilia.

The tall tower arch is panelled and spanned by a three-bay Geometrical-style stone screen dated 1862. The base of the tower has a lierne vault.

Walls are light red-brown plaster, except for ashlar walls in the chancel and tower base. The nave and aisles have floors of red and black tiles, with raised wood floors beneath pews. In the chancel floor, which is stepped, are memorial mosaics and decorative tiles. Encaustic tiles in the sanctuary were copied from those at Coutances Cathedral.

Principal Fixtures

The elaborate octagonal font by Thomas Earp (1894) has marble shafts with sculpted marble figures. The tall font canopy is by J. Phillips of Liverpool, added in 1911.

The polygonal wooden pulpit, by James Forsyth of 1862, has two tiers of elaborate foliage roundels, except for the main large roundel depicting Christ instructing his apostles to preach. The lectern of 1929 is by J. Phillips and carved of elm, depicting a large trumpet-bearing angel.

The stone chancel reredos, 1882 to the design of Richard Herbert Carpenter and built by Thomas Earp, depicts the crucifixion, flanked by gabled niches with figures of the Four Doctors.

There is a chapel in the south aisle, created in 1898, which has a reredos by Charles Spooner for the Guild of Handicraft, with triptych by Frank Smallpiece.

Pews have panelled ends. Against the south aisle are simpler pews with shaped ends and open backs. Choir stalls of 1891 are open-fronted with reticulated-tracery panels. The ends have carved arm rests and angels at the ends of the backs. The priests' stalls are canopied.

Monuments

There are several monuments of special interest. In the chancel north wall is a Baroque wall monument to Francis Wheeler, who died in 1686, with broken segmental pediment and urn. Next to it is a monument to Sarah Wheeler, who died in 1685, comprising an eared panel with broken pediment.

In the south aisle walls are four cast-iron ledgers of the period 1679-1707. Also in the south aisle is a brass plaque to William Francis Oldham, who died in 1899, showing a kneeling knight in relief, in a red marble frame.

Stained Glass

There are several windows containing stained glass. Clayton and Bell made the Te Deum east window (1876), saints in the south aisle (1874), Baptism in the tower (1873) and historical figures of the Church in England (1879-1908) in the north aisle. The chancel north window of the Good Samaritan is by W. Done (1873), and the chancel south window is by William Wailes (around 1847), showing the Canticles.

Historical Context

The church is of 12th-century origin and became a substantial medieval town church. The destruction wrought during the Civil War in 1646, when Parliamentary forces severely damaged the building, left a lasting impact on its form and history. The incomplete restoration of the aisles following the 1662 repairs meant the church remained in a compromised state until the major Victorian reconstruction.

The church contributes to the historic townscape of Bridgnorth and has group value with other buildings in St Leonard's Close.