Old St Leonard's Church, Langho | |
Imagealt: | A simple low church with a south porch. On the west gable is a bellcote, and on the east gable is a cross |
Pushpin Map: | United Kingdom Borough of Ribble Valley |
Map Caption: | Location in the Borough of Ribble Valley |
Country: | England |
Coordinates: | 53.8182°N -2.4556°W |
Osgraw: | SD 701 359 |
Website: | Churches Conservation Trust |
Founded Date: | 1557 |
Functional Status: | Redundant |
Heritage Designation: | Grade I |
Designated Date: | 24 November 1966 |
Architectural Type: | Church |
Groundbreaking: | 1557 |
Completed Date: | 1879 |
Materials: | Sandstone, stone slate roof |
Old St Leonard's Church is a redundant Anglican church 1miles 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, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
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. The church was restored in 1879, when a vestry was added.
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. The old church was vested in the Trust on 1 July 1990.
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.
The churchyard contains war graves of a soldier and an airman of World War I.