Nominal: 591 Hz Weight: 2034 lbs Diameter: 49" Bell 1 of 9
Founded by John Warner & Sons 1895
Dove Bell ID: 1010 Tower ID: 12875 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: quarter Cracked: No
Bridgnorth: St Leonard
Overview
Grid reference: SO 716 933
What impresses one at once about this building is its sprawling scale. This can be appreciated, for instance, by standing at the south-east from where it is possible to see the tower, south chapel (which is the east end of the south aisle) and chancel in relationship to one another. As to stylistic considerations the overall impression is of the 14th century.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Wide nave with north and south aisles; south-west tower; chancel, with north vestry; north of the vestry the octagonal Stackhouse Library, now serving principally as the clergy vestry.
Dimensions:
Nave and aisles together are a prodigious 91 feet in width.
Description of Archaeology and History
The earliest reforence to the church is said to be in a document of the 13th century, but clearly the church existed before then (the first written Charter of the Borough is 1157, and Norman stones were found embeded in the walls in the 19th century wave of restoration) as a building of some significance.
Both town and church suffered severely in the Civil War. The church was at one point used as an ammunition store, and set on fire by a cannon mounted in the Castle. The resulting fire swept through and virtually destroyed the High Town in 1646.
The chancel was restored in memory of Thomas Whitmore; the south aisle was rebuilt in memory of his brother by John Pritchard, MP for the Borough; the tower followed in 1870, chiefly at the expense of W.O. Foster of Apley (Patron of the living at the time) and W.H. Foster, then MP for the Borough.
The architect for this work (i.e. the major programme of the 1860's and 1870's) was William Slater, the partner and successor of R.C. Carpenter one of the most sensitive of 19th century church restorers (the 19th century work at Sherborne Abbey, Dorset). The octagonal Stackhouse Library was added in 1878. Slater died in 1872 , so someone else was presumably responsible for the design.
Exterior Description
What impresses one at once about this building is its sprawling scale. This can be appreciated, for instance, by standing at the south-east from where it is possible to see the tower, south chapel (which is the east end of the south aisle) and chancel in relationship to one another. As to stylistic considerations the overall impression is of the 14th century.
The east window consists of four principal lights, arranged two plus two, with quatrefoils above each pair; in the window head a large and elaborately cusped quatrefoil within a circlet.
Steeply gabled, and on a grand scale, the south chapel is of two bays with prominent clasping buttresses at the south-east corner.
Then comes the exceedingly grand tower, a powerful mass of masonry seen from close to, no less than it is a prominent feature of the town and the surrounding landscape. It consists of three stages, with diagonal stepped buttresses extending virtually up to parapet level, and grotesque gargoyles project vigorously from the corners.
The sprawling character of the building is again especially evident as one looks at the west front. The west face of the southaisle is ingeniously set back so that it appears to be a linking passage between the tower and the main body of the church.
The nave itself is uncommonlywide, and the design solution here is also a pair of windows. These are on a big scale, with three principal lights apiece, and a pair of cinquefoils and a trefoil in each head. The doorway is richly moulded and has two orders of flanking colonettes. In the gable above the two main windows is a single-light window with one order of colonettes.
The north face of the north wall is a straight run of five bays, divided by buttresses, each with a three-light window with gently varying geometrical tracery of the kind familiar from the rest of the building.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
1876
The east window has four main lights with figures representing the Te Deum, with Christ in Majesty flanked by angels in the tracery lights. By Clayton and Bell.
Stained Glass
1847
South chancel window: three lights showing The Visitation, The Presentation in the Temple and The Circumcision, by Wailes.
Stained Glass
c.1870
South chancel II: etched grisaille.
Stained Glass
c.1872
North chancel 1: Two lights of grisaille flank a central panel of The Good Samaritan.
Stained Glass
c.1858
North chancel II: grisaille.
Stained Glass
1951
East window of south chapel has four lights showing St. Anne The Virgin and Child, The Pieta and St. Joseph of Arimathea.
Stained Glass
1872
South aisle south I and II: two windows of three lights cach representing St. Mary Magdalene, St. Mary the Virgin, St. Elizabeth, St. James, St. Peter and St. John. Appropriate small scenes appear in the predella panels under each figure. By Clayton and Bell.
Stained Glass
c.1880
Tower south window: Moses, Noah, Christ, St. John The Baptist and Nicodemus. Beneath the central figure of Christ is a scene of the Baptism of Christ, and the emblems of the Passion appear in the tracery.
Stained Glass
1862
Two west windows, filled with grisaille.
Stained Glass
1879-1908
North aisle. Four windows by the same (unknown) firm.
Building Materials
Sandstone
12th Century
Bridgnorth Sandstone
Interior
Interior Description
The interior contrives to be, in spite of the far-flung spaces, both magnificently well-related in its several parts and sumptuous in its details.
details. First its astonishing width, 91 feet, must be noticed again. The north aisle itself seems wide enough for a nave, and the nave is almost twice as wide as that. The north arcade is of five bays, with circular piers and stiff-leaf capitals. The south arcade is more complex. In the first place it is of four bays, not five, because of the setting back of the west wall of the aisle to form a visual linking passage with the tower. Then the third bay from the east is divided by a trumeau, and the western half of the divided bay is completely filled by stone panelling, richly diapered, and with a memorial.
The richest part of the church architecturally is the panelled arch into the tower space, and the lierne vaulting of the tower space itself, forming an extremely good entrance-porch to the church. The tower space is divided from the western bay of the south aisle by a stone screen of some elaboration consisting of the central doorway with pierced trefoils over and flanking openings of two lights each with quatrefoils in the head.
A feature of major significance is the magnificent 17th century (1662) roof of the nave. This is of five bays. The distinguishing feature is the series of six frames, consisting of a system of tie and haimer-beams with flat voluted braces and pendants. The braces are said to represent 'tongues of fire' though they are in fact a common local motif of the period. Other old woodwork seems to survive in the roofs, for instance the carved brackets supporting the main timbers in the roof of the baptistery (west bay of south aisle) and the solid richly carved spandrel brackets in the north aisle.
The chancel fabric may well be largely mediaeval but its overall impression is High Victorian inside, with a series of steps rising to the High Altar, sumptuous tiled floors and a convincingly mediaeval-looking roof structure.
Fixtures and fittings
Organ (object)
Originally built between 1865 and 1885 by J.W. Walker. Rebuilt by W. Johnson in 1911. Then in 1929 and 1972 by Rushworth and Draper.
Reredos
1882
Designed by Carpenter and work carried out by Earp. The base is of Corsehill stone, the carved figures of Potter Newton stone. The subject is the Crucifixion, Christ flanked by two groups of four figures. The wall each side is screened with arcading.
Lectern
1929
Carved in elm by J. Phillips, representing a full-length angel figure carrying a trumpet.
Pulpit
1862
Stands on a high circular stone base approached by stone steps with a brass handrail. It is hexagonalm of oak, with a relief of Christ preaching in the front panels and roundels of foliage in the other panels. There is a pair of brass candle sconces.
Font (object)
1894
Octagonal, of alabaster. Carved by Earp and dedicated in 1894. There are eight figures round the bowl. Over each figure is a cross and each stands on a serpent. They typify the various states of life.
Font (component)
1911
The Font Cover, a tall pinnacled construction suspended from the roof, dates from 1911, and was also carved by Phillips.
Bells
Nominal: 1196.5 Hz Weight: 626 lbs Diameter: 30.5" Bell 2 of 9
Founded by John Warner & Sons 1874
Dove Bell ID: 12914 Tower ID: 12875 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: quarter Cracked: No
Nominal: 1127 Hz Weight: 664 lbs Diameter: 31" Bell 3 of 9
Founded by Thomas Roberts 1681
Dove Bell ID: 12915 Tower ID: 12875 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No
Nominal: 1002 Hz Weight: 674 lbs Diameter: 32.75" Bell 4 of 9
Founded by John Warner & Sons 1874
Dove Bell ID: 12916 Tower ID: 12875 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No
Nominal: 889 Hz Weight: 734 lbs Diameter: 34.25" Bell 5 of 9
Founded by Thomas Roberts 1681
Dove Bell ID: 12917 Tower ID: 12875 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No
Nominal: 794 Hz Weight: 906 lbs Diameter: 37" Bell 6 of 9
Founded by Thomas Roberts 1681
Dove Bell ID: 12918 Tower ID: 12875 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No
Nominal: 749 Hz Weight: 1188 lbs Diameter: 40.75" Bell 7 of 9
Founded by Thomas Roberts 1681
Dove Bell ID: 12919 Tower ID: 12875 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No
Nominal: 665 Hz Weight: 1480 lbs Diameter: 44.25" Bell 8 of 9
Founded by Thomas Roberts 1681
Dove Bell ID: 12920 Tower ID: 12875 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: quarter Cracked: No
Diameter: 18" Bell 9 of 9
Dove Bell ID: 63716 Tower ID: 12875 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Churchyard
Grid reference: SO 716 933
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | N/A |
| Solar Thermal Panels | N/A |
| Biomass | N/A |
| Wind Turbine | N/A |
| Air Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ev Charging | N/A |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
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