Church Of St Leonard

Church of St Leonard

A parish church of coursed and squared ironstone with limestone dressings, stone slate and lead roofs, dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, with alterations in 1578 and restoration by Ewan Christian in 1859.

The church comprises a three-stage west tower with spire, a nave with clerestory, a south aisle and contiguous chapel, a chancel, and a north porch.

The west tower dates to the 13th and 14th centuries and features a chamfered plinth, three string courses, plain buttresses to the east and angle buttresses to the west, and a lozenge frieze with gargoyles. The west side has a moulded doorway with double ringed shafts and an unusual stepped gable. The north and south sides have single lancets, with another single lancet above the door. Above these, on each side, is a roll-moulded double lancet bell chamber opening with double shafts. All lancets have hood moulds. The octagonal broach spire carries two tiers of crocketed gabled lucarnes with double lancets.

The four-bay nave has a chamfered plinth, a buttress to the north-east, an eaves band, a coped parapet and gable with cross. The north side contains a flat-headed Perpendicular triple lancet to the east and a 14th-century single lancet to the west. The clerestory has four plain double lancets on each side, all with hood moulds.

The south aisle and chapel have a south-west angle buttress, moulded sill and eaves bands, and a coped parapet. A datestone over the west door, dated 1578, bears a shield. The aisle contains a double hollow-chamfered doorway, flanked to the left by a single plain 13th-century lancet and to the right by two untraceried mid-14th-century double lancets with flat heads. The chapel has to its left a 13th-century roll-moulded doorway with ringed shafts, and to its right a triple and a double late-14th-century lancet with flat heads. The east end has a late-14th-century double lancet with four-centred arched head. All openings have hood moulds; three to the south have mask stops. At the east end stands a 19th-century octagonal stone chimney.

The three-bay chancel has a plinth and coped east gable with cross. The north side has a 15th-century transomed double lancet to the east and a larger 14th-century triple lancet to the west, both with flat heads. The east end has a restored early-14th-century triple lancet with intersecting tracery. The south side has a 13th-century double lancet with plate tracery to the east. All windows have hood moulds.

The north porch dates to the 14th century with 19th-century restoration. It has a chamfered plinth and eaves, a coped gable with kneelers and finial, a double-chamfered doorway, and a 19th-century quatrefoil in each side. The interior contains two restored stone benches, a 19th-century roof, and a 15th-century roll-moulded Tudor-arched doorway.

The interior features a triple-chamfered 13th-century tower arch with round responds and a 20th-century wooden screen. The 13th-century three-bay arcade has round and quatrefoil piers, octagonal imposts and double-chamfered arches with hood moulds, beneath a low-pitched 19th-century roof with wall shafts. The south aisle east end has a 13th-century moulded arch with shafts and dogtooth capitals. The south side contains a central 14th-century tomb recess with shafts and hood mould. The south-east window contains medieval glass fragments. The roof has been restored with moulded timbers and wall shafts.

The south-east chapel, now used as a vestry, has to its east a window, flanked to the left by a blocked lancet and to the right by a 15th-century niche with a mask pendant. The south side has a 14th-century and a 13th-century piscina to the west, and to their right a double-chamfered arch with imposts and the lower part of a 15th-century screen. The north side has a late-14th-century tomb recess to the east. The east end has a moulded sill band and hood mould. The south-east side contains a 19th-century triple sedilia with shafts and a late-13th-century piscina. Above is a stained-glass window of 1892, signed by G F Campfield and also attributed to Morris & Co. The two-bay chapel arcade has a round pier with four attached shafts and a stiff-leaf capital, with moulded arches. A resited 15th-century traceried oak screen stands within. The roof is arch-braced and dates to the 19th century.

The church contains a 12th-century round font with latticed top band, three 16th-century benches with traceried ends plus six restored ends, a 19th-century octagonal oak pulpit with benches and stalls, a 17th-century chip-carved chest and a plain 18th-century chest. Memorials include a slate tablet with Latin inscription dated 1726, a crested marble and slate tablet of 1915, and a large Classical marble and slate war memorial tablet of 1918 with an additional brass of 1945.