St Leonard's Church, Downham facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Leonard's Church, Downham
St Leonard's Church, Downham, from the south
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OS grid reference	SD 784 443
Location	Downham, Lancashire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Leonard, Downham
History
Status	Parish church
Dedication	Saint Leonard
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	13 February 1967
Architect(s)	Mervyn Macartney (rebuilding)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	15th century
Completed	1910
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, slate roof
Administration
Parish	St Leonard, Downham
Deanery	Whalley
Archdeaconry	Blackburn
Diocese	Blackburn
Province	York

St Leonard's Church is a beautiful old church located in the village of Downham, in Lancashire, England. It's an active Anglican church, which means it's part of the Church of England. The oldest part of the church, its tall tower, was built way back in the 1400s! The rest of the church was rebuilt more recently, between 1909 and 1910. This church is very special and is protected as a Grade II* listed building in England.

The Church's Story

The oldest part of St Leonard's Church is its west tower. This tower was built in the 15th century, which means it's over 500 years old! The rest of the church building was rebuilt much later, between 1909 and 1910. A person named Mervyn Macartney was the architect who designed the new parts.

What the Church Looks Like

Outside the Church

St Leonard's Church is built from sandstone, which is a strong type of rock. Its roof is made of slate. The church has a main area called the nave and a special area for the altar called the chancel. These two parts are under one continuous roof. There's also a small chapel on the south side and a room for the organ on the north side. You'll also see a south aisle and a porch on the south side.

The tower has strong supports called buttresses at its corners. The main door on the west side has a fancy moulded frame and a pointed top. Above this door is a window with three sections and a Tudor arched top. This window has special stone patterns called Perpendicular tracery. Higher up, the bell openings have two sections and pointed tops. At the very top of the tower, there's a parapet with a pattern like castle walls. It also has pointed decorations called pinnacles and gargoyles at the corners.

The windows along the south aisle have three sections each. The part of the aisle towards the east has a gabled roof, which means it has a triangular shape. The wall along the aisle also has the castle-like embattled pattern. The porch has two doors, an outer one and an inner one. Both have smooth, angled edges called chamfered jambs and pointed arches. The large window at the east end of the church has five sections and a Tudor arched top.

Inside the Church

Inside, the church has an arcade between the nave and the aisle. This means there are three sections with pointed arches. The arch leading into the chancel is also pointed and has chamfered edges. Both the nave and the chancel have barrel roofs, which are curved like the inside of a barrel.

The font, where baptisms take place, is made of sandstone. It's shaped like an octagon, similar to fonts from the 1500s. On its sides, you can see carved shields. One shield has the "Legs of Man" symbol, and another has a chevron and three fleur-de-lis (a lily flower design). The other shields are plain.

The church also has a beautiful brass chandelier in a Baroque style. The colorful stained glass in the east window was given by Ralph and Richard Assheton of Downham Hall in 1869. It was later re-set by a company called Shrigley and Hunt. Shrigley and Hunt also designed another window that shows Saint Leonard. This window was made in the early 1900s.

Most of the monuments inside the church remember members of the Assheton family. One special monument was made by Richard Westmacott for Frances Arabella Assheton, who passed away in 1835. The church has a large pipe organ with two manuals (keyboards). It was built by Forster and Andrews and moved to this church from Meols in 1909.

There are five bells in the church tower. Two of these bells are very old, dating back to around 1480, and were made in London. The other three bells were made by John Taylor & Co. Two of them were cast in 1881, and the last one in 1948.

Other Buildings Nearby

In the churchyard, there is a sundial that has the date 1808 carved on it. It's made of sandstone and has an octagonal shape on an octagonal base. Each side of the base has a sunken panel that looks like a pointed window. The base and the top part are shaped with decorative mouldings. On top, there's a brass plate with writing on it and a gnomon, which is the part that casts the shadow to tell the time.

Why the Church is Special

St Leonard's Church was officially named a Grade II* listed building on February 13, 1967. On the same day, the sundial in the churchyard was listed as Grade II.

• Grade II* is the second highest level of protection for buildings in England. It means the building is "particularly important" and has "more than special interest."
• Grade II is the most common level. It means the building is of "special interest."

Architectural experts Hartwell and Pevsner wrote in their book series Buildings in England that "the church is unostentatious, with no surprises." They also said that inside, "the impression is of calmness and generosity of space." This means they found the church to be simple and peaceful, with a feeling of openness.

The Church Today

St Leonard's is still an active Anglican parish church today. It belongs to the deanery of Whalley, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and the diocese of Blackburn. Its benefice (its official area) is combined with Christ Church, Chatburn.

The church holds services every Sunday at 11:15 AM. These services alternate between Holy Communion (on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month) and Morning Prayer (on the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Sundays). All services follow the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (BCP).

See also

• Listed buildings in Downham, Lancashire