Old St Leonard's Church, Langho

Old St Leonard's Church, Langho

A simple low church with a south porch.  On the west gable is a bellcote, and on the east gable is a cross

Old St Leonard's Church, Langho, from the southeast
Old St Leonard's Church, Langho
Location in the Borough of Ribble Valley
Coordinates: 53°49′06″N 2°27′20″W / 53.8182°N 2.4556°W / 53.8182; -2.4556
OS grid reference SD 701 359
Location Langho, Lancashire
Country England
Denomination Anglican
Website Churches Conservation Trust
History
Founded 1557
Architecture
Functional status Redundant
Heritage designation Grade I
Designated 24 November 1966
Architectural type Church
Style Gothic
Groundbreaking 1557
Completed 1879
Specifications
Materials Sandstone, stone slate roof

Old St Leonard's Church is a redundant Anglican church 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of the village of Langho, Lancashire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building,[1] and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[2]

History

The church was built in 1557, soon after the Reformation, at a time when few new churches were being built. It is thought that much of the stonework and some of the fittings came from nearby Whalley Abbey following the Dissolution of the Monasteries.[2][3] The church was restored in 1879, when a vestry was added.[1]

In 1880 a new church, also dedicated to St Leonard, was consecrated. The reason for relocation was because the population had grown and was more concentrated around the route taken by the railway in the villages of Billington and Langho. The original church is still used several times a year for special services.[4] The old church was vested in the Trust on 1 July 1990.[5]

Architecture

St Leonard's is constructed in sandstone with a stone slate roof. Its plan is simple, consisting of a nave with a continuous chancel, a north vestry and a south porch. On the gable at the west end is a bell cote and on the east gable is a cross. The west window has four lights with Perpendicular tracery. In the north and south walls are two three-light windows, and the east window, which dates from the 19th century, also has three lights. In the south wall is a piscina, and projecting from the north wall is a stoup.[1]

External features

The churchyard contains war graves of a soldier and an airman of World War I.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Historic England, "Chapel Of St Leonard, Billington (1362341)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 June 2012
  2. 1 2 St Leonard's Church, Old Langho, Lancashire, Churches Conservation Trust, retrieved 18 October 2016
  3. Old Langho Church, Britain Express, retrieved 31 August 2010
  4. Historical Aspects of the Parish, Parish Church of St Leonard Langho, retrieved 2 September 2011
  5. Diocese of Blackburn: All Schemes (PDF), Church Commissioners/Statistics, Church of England, 2010, p. 4, retrieved 3 April 2011
  6. LANGHO (ST. LEONARD) OLD CHURCHYARD, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, retrieved 15 February 2013

Further reading

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