Church Of St Mary And St Nicholas

Church of St Mary and St Nicholas

This is a parish church located on Church Road in Leatherhead, with a complex building history spanning from the late 11th century onwards. The church began as a late 11th-century structure, was substantially altered and expanded with aisles added in the early 13th century, and underwent further major changes in the early 14th century when the chancel was extended and transepts were either altered or added. The aisles were widened and a west tower with spire were constructed in the late 15th century. The original spire was blown down in 1703, after which various internal alterations were made during the 18th century. The church received partial renovation and alteration in the early 19th century, then underwent heavy restoration and alteration by the architect Arthur Blomfield in 1872-3 and again in 1891. The tower was separately restored in 1894.

The building is constructed of flint with dressings of limestone and some sandstone. The roofs are mostly red tiles, though some areas retain stone slate. The church comprises a nave with north and south aisles, a west tower, and a chancel with north and south transepts.

The west tower is a Perpendicular three-stage structure built at an angle, with its south-east corner obtruding into the nave. It features angle buttresses, a plinth with a trefoil arcaded band, bands to the upper stages, and a restored embattled parapet. A large west doorway dated 1893 and a transomed west window of the same date (both in Perpendicular style) sit above the main entrance. The short second stage has a small restored two-light window, while the set-back third stage contains three-light louvred belfry windows. A hexagonal stair-turret is positioned at the north-east corner.

The four-bay nave is covered by full-height aisles and features two gabled dormer windows on the north side and one on the south side. The north aisle is mostly rendered and has a gabled porch to the second bay with a two-centred arched outer doorway moulded in two orders and a stone slate roof. The third bay contains a square-headed 15th-century window of two cinquefoil lights with hollow spandrels and a hoodmould (this design was copied in the added 19th-century first bay), while the fourth bay has a 19th-century four-light Perpendicular-style window under a gable. The south aisle, extended at the west end to embrace the tower, includes a blocked two-centred arched doorway with deep chamfered surround. To the right of this doorway is an early 18th-century wall monument commemorating Mary, daughter of Thomas Elkins (died 1730), featuring an architrave of fluted pilasters. A gabled dormer projects from the south aisle roof.

Both transepts were formerly of a single bay. The north transept has a 19th-century extension housing a vestry over a heating basement. The east wall of the earlier portion displays flint and limestone chequer-board masonry with a 19th-century three-light window; the roof on this side and the lower half of the other are of stone slate. The east wall of the south transept incorporates a rectangle of limestone masonry from an early phase of building, framing another 19th-century window. Its gable wall displays 19th-century chequer-board masonry and a large 19th-century Perpendicular-style window.

The two-bay chancel has on its north side two 19th-century windows positioned under the voussoirs of former medieval two-centred arched windows, and a small blocked four-centred arched doorway. The south side features a rectangular patch of limestone masonry and a small blocked window, while a 19th-century three-light window occupies the east wall.

The interior contains four-bay aisle arcades with alternately round and octagonal piers. The capitals are moulded, with that at the east end of the north arcade featuring stiff-leaf decoration. The arches are stepped, chamfered and roll-moulded two-centred arches. The west arch of the north arcade was inserted in 1891. A four-centred tower arch with clustered shafts connects the nave and tower. The chancel arch is two-centred and double-chamfered with scallop stops, flanked by blocked rood-loft doorways. A squint has been re-aligned from the north transept to the chancel.

The chancel contains a piscina and three-seat sedilia with polished shafts. A 15th-century octagonal font with quatrefoil panels stands at the west end of the north aisle. The church houses numerous wall monuments, including the funeral helm of Robert Gardiner of Thorncroft (died 1571), who served as Sergeant of the Wine Cellar to Elizabeth I, and an obelisk and sarcophagus commemorating Richard Dalton (died 1681), Sergeant of the Wine Cellar to King Charles II.