St Leonard's Church, Bridgnorth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Leonard's Church, Bridgnorth |
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Tower of St Leonard's Church, Bridgnorth
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| OS grid reference | SO 716,933 |
| Location | Bridgnorth, Shropshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint Leonard |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 18 July 1949 |
| Architect(s) | Thomas Rickman F. J. Francis Slater and Carpenter |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic, Gothic Revival |
| Completed | 1878 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Sandstone, roofs of clay tiles |
St Leonard's Church is an old Anglican church in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England. It is no longer used for regular church services. The church is a very important historic building, listed as Grade II*. This means it is a special building that needs to be protected. The Churches Conservation Trust now looks after it.
Contents
History of St Leonard's Church
The church you see today started being built in the 1100s. We don't know for sure if there was a church here before that. But, some old stone pieces from Anglo-Saxon and Norman times have been found in the church walls. This suggests an even older building might have been on this spot.
A tall tower was added to the church in 1448. Later, during the English Civil War in 1646, something dramatic happened. Soldiers called Roundheads used part of the church to store their gunpowder. A cannonball hit the church, setting off the gunpowder. This explosion destroyed a large part of the church.
The roof of the main part of the church was fixed in 1662. However, the side sections were not fully repaired until much later. In the 1800s, the church had several big repair and rebuilding projects. Architects like Thomas Rickman and F. J. Francis worked on it.
A major reconstruction started in 1860 by W. Slater and R. H. Carpenter. They rebuilt the church in a style called "Geometrical Gothic." This was different from the older "Perpendicular" style. From 1870 to 1873, Slater and Carpenter also rebuilt the tower, this time using the "Perpendicular" style. In 1878, a new octagonal (eight-sided) library was added to the church.
By the 1970s, the church tower was not safe. In 1976, the church was officially declared "redundant," meaning it was no longer needed for regular worship. In 1980, the Churches Conservation Trust took over its care.
Church Design and Outside Features
St Leonard's Church is built from local red sandstone. Its roofs are made of clay tiles. The church has a main rectangular part called the nave, with side sections called aisles. There's also a chancel, which is the area near the altar.
The Tower and Entrances
The church tower is tall and has three main levels. It has strong diagonal supports called buttresses. There's also a small, round staircase tower on one side with a pointed top. The main entrance to the church is through a doorway in the tower. Above this door is a large window with five sections.
In the middle level of the tower, you can see a statue of Saint Leonard in a special carved space. The top level of the tower has pairs of windows where the church bells are. The very top of the tower has a decorative wall with eight pointed decorations. Most of the windows in the side aisles have three sections. At the front of the church, there's another doorway with two windows above it.
Chancel and Library Details
The chancel, where the altar is, has three windows on its south wall. The window in the middle is shorter and is above a small door for the priest. The large window at the very end of the church has four sections.
On the north side of the chancel, there are two windows and a small opening called a squint. This squint allowed people to see the altar from another part of the church. A link connects the chancel to the octagonal library. The library has a pyramid-shaped roof. It has simple windows with two sections, alternating with taller windows that stick out from the roof.
Inside the Church
Inside St Leonard's, you'll see rows of arches called arcades. These arches are supported by round columns. The tops of these columns have beautiful carvings of leaves and plants.
Special Carvings and Features
On the south side, one of the columns has a carving showing the story of the Expulsion from Eden. Above this, in the curved space of the arch, there's a round carving of the Annunciation to the shepherds. These carvings were made by an artist named James Redfern.
In the chancel, there's a double piscina, which is a basin used for washing sacred vessels. There are also stepped seats called sedilia, used by the clergy. The roofs in the main part of the church and some side sections are "hammerbeam roofs," which are very decorative. The north aisle has a "tie-beam roof." The base of the tower has a special vaulted ceiling.
The walls of the main church area are covered in a reddish-brown plaster. The tower and chancel walls are bare stone. The floor in the nave has red and black tiles. The chancel floor has decorative mosaics and tiles, and the area around the altar has special patterned tiles.
Furnishings and Art
The baptismal font is eight-sided and made of marble. It has carved marble figures under small canopies and dates from 1894. The font has a very tall wooden cover with pointed decorations.
The wooden pulpit, where sermons are given, is also eight-sided. It stands on a large stone base and was made in 1862. It has carvings of plants and a round carving of Christ teaching his apostles. The wooden lectern, where readings are done, was made in 1929. It looks like an angel holding a trumpet.
The reredos, a decorated screen behind the altar, was designed in 1882. It shows the Crucifixion in the center. On the sides, there are figures of four important religious teachers.
At the east end of the south aisle, there's a small chapel. It has a reredos with a painting of Christ giving Holy Communion. In the same aisle, you can see a copper cross and candlesticks from 1898, made in the Arts and Crafts style.
Stained Glass and Memorials
Many of the beautiful stained glass windows in the church were made by a company called Clayton and Bell. This includes the large east window from 1876, which shows scenes from a hymn called the Te Deum. This window remembers Thomas Rowley, a headmaster of Bridgnorth Grammar School.
Other stained glass windows by Clayton and Bell show saints, scenes related to baptism, and important historical figures of the Church of England. There are also windows by other artists, like one showing the Good Samaritan.
The church also has many memorials. These include old monuments on the walls and brass plaques remembering people who have passed away. There are also four cast iron ledger stones on the floor with dates from the late 1600s and early 1700s. A wooden shrine was put up in 1922 to remember those from the parish who died in the First World War.
The church has a ring of eight bells. Some of these bells are very old, cast in 1681, while others were made later in the 1800s.
See also
