St Leonard's Church, Linley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Leonard's Church, Linley
St Leonard's Church, Linley, from the south
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OS grid reference	SO 687 985
Location	Linley, Shropshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Churches Conservation Trust
History
Status	Former parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	24 October 1950
Architect(s)	Arthur Blomfield (restoration)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Norman
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, tiled roofs

St Leonard's Church is a very old church located in the small village of Linley, Shropshire, England. It is no longer used for regular church services. Instead, it is looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust. This trust helps to save important old churches.

When it was active, St Leonard's was an Anglican parish church, part of the Church of England. It is a very special building, listed as Grade I. This means it is considered to be of exceptional historical importance.

History of St Leonard's Church

St Leonard's Church started as a small chapel of ease (a chapel built for people who lived far from the main parish church) in the 12th century. This was around the 1100s. The church tower was built later in the same century.

In the 1800s, a pyramid-shaped roof was added to the tower. The church was also carefully repaired and updated in 1858 by an architect named Arthur Blomfield. During this work, the windows in the main part of the church were made bigger. The east wall was rebuilt, and new windows were put in. New benches were added, and the floor was tiled. A small basin called a piscina was also added.

The church stopped being used for regular services on 24 September 2007. It was then officially handed over to the Churches Conservation Trust on 15 July 2013.

Church Design and Features

St Leonard's Church is mostly built in the Norman style. This style was popular in England after the Norman Conquest in 1066. The church is made of sandstone and has tiled roofs.

Outside the Church

The church has a main area called the nave. It also has a narrower, lower section called the chancel at the east end. There is a tower at the west end.

The tower has two main parts. It has pilaster buttresses, which are flat supports built into the walls. These help to hold the tower up. The lower part of the tower has a straight-headed window on the west side. It also has small round-headed windows on the north and south sides.

The upper part of the tower has openings for bells. These openings are set inside two arched spaces. Above them is a corbel table, which is a row of stone supports. On top of the tower is a pyramid-shaped roof with a weathervane.

The south doorway of the nave is Norman in style. It has simple stone supports and a carved stone panel called a tympanum. This panel is decorated with zigzag patterns. The north doorway is also Norman but is now blocked up. Its tympanum has a carving of a Green Man. This is a figure with legs apart and leaves coming out of its mouth. The other windows in the nave have straight tops. The windows in the chancel are small and Norman. The three round-headed windows in the east wall of the chancel were added in the 1800s.

Inside the Church

Inside, the church walls are covered with plaster. The arch leading into the tower has round columns with carved tops. These tops are decorated with spiral shapes and beaded patterns. The arch leading into the chancel is simpler.

Between the east windows, there are arches with scalloped (shell-like) carvings on their tops. In the south wall of the sanctuary (the area around the altar) is a piscina. This was used for washing sacred vessels.

The font, where baptisms take place, is Norman. It is a round stone tub. Around the rim, it has a "cable moulding" pattern, which looks like a twisted rope. The outside of the tub has carved round shapes. Some of these shapes are surrounded by bands that look like they come from the mouths of demons, similar to the Green Man carvings.

The pulpit, where the priest gives sermons, is made of wood and has many sides. On the east walls of the nave, there are metal boards with the Ten Commandments written on them.

The reredos, which is a decorated screen behind the altar, was made around 1870. It was designed by Harry Burrows. It is a triptych, meaning it has three panels. It shows a cross and angels, painted on wood.

Also inside the church is a hatchment from 1803. This is a diamond-shaped board showing a family's coat of arms. In the blocked north doorway, there is a grave slab for two Roman Catholic monks. They died in 1779 and 1803. The stained glass in the east windows was made in 1862. It shows the Resurrection and was designed by William Warrington.

See also

• Grade I listed churches in Shropshire
• Listed buildings in Barrow, Shropshire
• List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in the English Midlands