St Leonard's Church, Heston facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Leonard's Church Heston
St Leonard's Church
Location	Heston Road, Heston TW5 0RD, London
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Administration
Parish	St Leonard Heston
Deanery	Hounslow
Archdeaconry	Archdeaconry of Middlesex
Diocese	Diocese of London

St Leonard's Church is a historic church in Heston, London. It serves as the local Church of England parish church. This building is very important, so it has a special status called "Grade II* listed." This means it's a particularly important building of more than special interest.

Church History: A Look Back

The church building we see today dates back to the 14th century. However, records show there was a priest in Heston as early as the 7th century!

In 1086, after William the Conqueror took over England, he gave the land of Heston to a person named Walter of Saint-Valéry. The church later became connected to the Abbey of Saint-Valéry, a religious house in France.

Becoming a Parish

Around 1270, Heston became its own separate parish. A parish is an area served by a local church. This happened under Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, who was the Lord of the Manor (the main landowner). Richard of Cornwall was the second son of King John. He was known for his skills in negotiations.

It's thought that Richard might have dedicated the church to Saint Leonard. Saint Leonard is known as the patron saint of prisoners. Richard had helped free prisoners during a journey called the Barons' Crusade in 1239. We don't know the exact date the church was dedicated.

Surviving Structures and Important Graves

The church tower is very old and survived major rebuilding work in the 1800s. The old lychgate, a covered gateway to the churchyard, also remains.

In the churchyard, you can find the grave of Private Frederick John White. He was a soldier whose death in 1846 led to big changes. The public was very upset about how he died. This led to rules that reduced harsh physical punishments in the army. Eventually, this type of punishment was stopped completely.

The famous naturalist Sir Joseph Banks (1743–1820) is also buried at St Leonard's Church. He was a scientist who studied plants and animals.

Church Architecture: What It Looks Like

The church tower is built in a style called "Perpendicular Gothic." This was a popular style in England during the late Middle Ages. A famous expert on buildings, Nikolaus Pevsner, said it was "one of the best" towers of its kind in the area. It looks similar to the tower of All Saints' Church, Isleworth.

The tower has special features like a small turret on the south-east side. It also has strong supports called diagonal buttresses. You can see a large window with three sections on the west side. The bell tower part has tall windows with two sections and flat tops. The top of the tower has decorative walls called embattled parapets and carved gargoyles (stone figures that often act as water spouts). The entrance porch on the west side has a special arch and carved decorations.

The main part of the church was rebuilt in the 1800s. It was designed to look like churches from around 1300.

Inside the Church: Key Features

The arch leading into the tower is tall and decorated. This style is typical of the 1400s. In the main part of the church, called the nave, there are rows of columns that separate it from the side sections, called aisles. These columns are sometimes round and sometimes octagonal, which was common in medieval churches.

The arch leading to the chancel (the area around the altar) is also decorated. The roofs of the nave, chancel, and outer north aisle have a special design with curved wooden supports. A modern glass wall now separates the tower from the nave.

Most of the wooden seats, called pews, from the 1800s are still there. Some were moved to make space for the altar, which is now closer to the front. Many old memorials and monuments from the original church also remain. One important monument in the Lady Chapel is for Robert Child and his family. They owned the nearby Osterley Park. This monument was designed by a famous architect named Robert Adam.

The church also has a beautiful collection of stained glass windows. These windows were made by well-known artists like C E Kempe and Heaton, Butler and Bayne.

Gallery

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  Porch

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  East end

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  Interior

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  Baptismal font

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  Altar

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  Stained glass