St Leonard's Church

Parish church. Constructed around the late 15th century and restored in 1862. The church is built of granite rubble, with the tower constructed of granite ashlar. It has a gable ended slate roof.

The plan includes a nave, chancel, a south aisle, a very shallow north transept (possibly containing the Elford family pew), a west tower, and a south porch. The rood screen was removed during the 1862 restoration.

The prominent west tower is of three stages, with a battlemented top featuring crenellated and crocketted pinnacles. It has moulded stringcourses and a plinth. The two-light belfry openings have cinquefoiled heads with a quatrefoil between them. The four-centred arched west doorway, made of Roborough stone, is heavily moulded with an incised leaf design in the spandrels and a square hood-mould. A tall three-light west window, also of Roborough stone, incorporates Perpendicular tracery. A pentagonal stair turret is located on the north side of the tower. The north aisle windows are restored, and the shallow north transept contains a two-light window from the late 15th century, made of Roborough stone, with cinquefoiled heads. To the left of the transept is a shallow projection, originally likely for the rood stairs. The three-light east window has Perpendicular tracery and has been restored, except for the jambs. The south aisle features a three-light Perpendicular east window of Roborough stone and four two-light Perpendicular windows alternating with granite ashlar buttresses. The single-storey gabled south porch has a doorway similar to the tower’s; above it is a recess containing a grotesque carved stone depicting a skull holding cross-bones in its mouth with ears of corn emerging from its eye sockets, and an hourglass positioned below.

Inside, the four-centred arched south doorway has a broad chamfer and straight cut stops. A five-bay granite arcade leads to the south aisle, featuring Pevsner A-type piers and depressed four-centred double-chamfered arches. Similar arches define the chancel and transept. The tower arch is taller and more pointed. A modern rood screen, constructed in 1914, is a precise replica of the original that was removed in 1862. The church contains 20th-century scissor brace roofs.

The octagonal granite font, likely from the 15th century, has a panelled pedestal and high-relief shields on the sides of the bowl. Two 17th-century memorials are situated on the north wall. One, dated 1641, is dedicated to Elizabeth Elford and made of alabaster; it depicts the lady semi-reclining with her baby beside her on a couch, and three kneeling daughters by the bedside. The other is a slate plaque commemorating members of the Elford family, who were gentry of the parish, and displays seven shields bearing the arms of various family members.