Church Of St Leonard

This parish church has a 12th-century chancel and font, 14th-century arcades and west tower, with some late 15th to early 16th-century fenestration and roofs. It is built of stone rubble with freestone dressings and a slate roof. The building comprises a west tower, nave, chancel, north and south aisles, and a south-west porch, constructed in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles.

The original 12th-century church was rebuilt in the 14th century, possibly with transepts, before the north and south aisles and west tower were added. The transept arches were probably rebuilt in the late 14th century.

Chancel

The chancel masonry consists of small pieces of stone brought to course. Changes in the masonry suggest that parts of the north wall have been rebuilt. The chancel has a coped gable with kneelers and a 19th-century three-light Perpendicular window with a hoodmould and carved label stops. On the north side is a round-headed single-light 12th-century window which may have been reset.

On the south side, a priest's doorway has a two-centred hollow-chamfered arch with quatrefoils in the spandrels, a moulded architrave and a relieving arch. To the left of the door is a large blocked window under a relieving arch. To the right is a two-light 19th-century Perpendicular style cusped square-headed window with a hoodmould below a relieving arch.

North Aisle

The north aisle has coped gables with kneelers at the ends. The north wall appears to have been rebuilt above the windows. The east window is a two-light 19th-century Perpendicular square-headed cusped window with a hoodmould, label stops and a relieving arch.

Three three-light windows dating from approximately the late 15th or early 16th century are positioned on the north side. These are square-headed with cusped lights, hoodmoulds, label stops and relieving arches. The two easternmost windows have iron stanchions and saddle bars. A two-centred arched doorway to the west is chamfered with diagonal stops, a hoodmould and label stops. The door, dating from approximately the late 17th or early 18th century, has wide planks and studs.

South Aisle

On the south side, the south aisle has a two-light 19th-century Perpendicular style cusped square-headed window with a hoodmould below a relieving arch. The two eastern windows in the aisle are similar to the north side windows, with stanchions and saddle bars intact. The westernmost window is a two-light probably 19th-century square-headed cusped window with hoodmould, label stops, relieving arch and no stanchions or saddle bars. There are no west windows to either aisle.

South-West Porch

The south-west porch has a coped gable and kneelers with a 19th-century cross on the apex of the gable and a 1634 slate sundial above an unusually tall four-centred arched doorway with hollow-chamfered jambs decorated with ballflowers. The doorway has a hoodmould and label stops.

The interior of the porch has an unceiled waggon roof, formerly ceiled, with carved moulded ribs and 19th-century replacement flat carved bosses and 19th-century carved wallplates. One medieval boss survives with traces of ancient colour. The inner doorway is chamfered with a two-centred arch.

West Tower

The three-stage unbuttressed 14th-century west tower has no string course below the battlementing and obelisk corner pinnacles on rectangular bases. The string courses at belfry and bellringers' stage continue round a grand polygonal battlemented stair turret in the centre of the south face which projects above the battlementing of the tower proper. The position of the stair turret is similar to Totnes and Harberton but earlier, and the details are unusual for the region. The stair turret has large run-out stops at the base and two slit windows alternating with one small quatrefoil window and one window at belfry stage consisting of three flamboyant mouchettes pierced in a roundel.

The west doorway has a two-centred arch with shallow moulding and a bead hoodmould and label stops below a relieving arch. A small shield and flower are carved on the mouldings of the doorway at the springing of the arch. A three-light Decorated west window with geometric tracery is probably a 19th-century replacement.

The belfry opening on the west face is also geometric Decorated in style with two trefoil-headed lights below a quatrefoil. The window has a hoodmould, label stops and slate louvres. On the north side the belfry opening has two trefoil-headed lights with slate louvres below a square-headed hoodmould with label stops. On the east face the belfry opening is an arched uncusped two-light window with a hoodmould and label stops. On the south side the position of the stair turret restricts the belfry opening to a single-light trefoil-headed window with slate louvres and a hoodmould with label stops. The east face of the tower has a small rectangular chamfered window at bellringers' stage.

Interior

The chancel walls are plastered and the aisle walls are half-plastered. The chancel/nave division is marked by the change in height between the chancel and nave roofs, with no chancel arch proper. The tower arch is tall, plain and narrow.

There are four-bay north and south arcades. The easternmost bays on both sides are of polyphant with main and subsidiary shafts with mouldings between and capitals to the main shafts only. The south arch is two-centred, the north arch three-centred. Pevsner suggests that they may have been intended as transeptal arches. The three westernmost arches have octagonal freestone ashlar piers with double-chamfered arches and brattished capitals.

The nave roof is an approximately late 19th-century canted waggon with moulded ribs, carved bosses and wallplates. The north and south aisle roofs are largely Perpendicular open waggon roofs with carved ribs, bosses and wallplates. Most of the bosses appear to be 19th-century copies. The chancel roof is an open waggon, probably formerly ceiled, with carved ribs, bosses and 19th-century wallplates. Most of the bosses appear to be replacements.

The chancel walls are whitewashed but the remains of a late 19th-century pargetting scheme survive with two large angels and possibly St George killing a dragon. Contemporary colour may exist below the whitewash. The decoration was the work of the Reverend G.D. Melhuish (1891-97).

A late 19th-century timber reredos with dossall consists of five crested panels with flamboyant tracery. A medieval piscina on the south side has a chamfered arch; the moulded projecting bowl is probably later. On the north side a 19th-century moulded polyphant aumbrey has a hoodmould, label stops and a hollow-chamfered arch with ballflowers. The chancel has a late 19th-century mosaic floor.

A hagioscope between the south aisle and the chancel must have post-dated the rood loft stairs which still exist in fragmentary form. An approximately late 19th-century five-sided timber drum pulpit on a polyphant base has panels of blind tracery above a frieze of quatrefoils. The polyphant base is also carved.

Font and Fittings

The font is 12th-century and probably polyphant with two orders of cable moulding round the bowl and a base decorated with four profile heads at the corners and ornament carved on two of the main surfaces of the base. The whole design is unusual and may be a reconstruction. The font is on a later square plinth on a platform of late medieval tiles of the Barnstaple type decorated with stylized swans, lions and fleur-de-lis.

The benches in the nave are approximately 1860s with shouldered ends and engaged shafts with some stiff leaf carving. Blind traceried motifs are carved on the ends.

Monuments and Memorials

On the north wall an early 17th-century plaster wall monument, painted white, commemorates the son of Christopher Osmond of Fernhill, who died in 1631. A reclining figure in relief is flanked by Ionic columns supporting a moulded cornice. Above the cornice a cartouche with armorial bearings is flanked by the figures of Peace and War. A mourner kneels at the feet of the reclining figure and there is a cartouche inscription panel above the figure.

Below the plaster memorial a slate inscription panel is fixed to the wall commemorating Christopher Osmond, who died in 1631. The inscription is round the border with an outer border of fine strapwork and interlace, armorial bearings and a verse in the centre. On the north wall of the tower is a large undated plaster Royal Arms. A small probably 16th-century brass of a praying cleric is fixed to one of the choir stalls.

A late 19th-century east window showing the influence of the Morris Company appears to be contemporary with the reredos.