Church of St Leonard

Details

EYNSHAM THE SQUARE SP4309 (South side) 4/179 Church of St. Leonard 12/09/55 GV II*

Church. Late C13 chancel and south aisle; nave, north aisle and west tower of c.1450: restored in 1856 by William Wilkinson and 1892 by H. Drinkwater. Coursed limestone rubble; squared stone to west tower. Gabled stone slate roofs and Welsh slate aisle roofs. Late C19 Perpendicular-style east window. 3-bay chancel has late C13 two-light windows and a pointed chamfered priest's doorway to south; similar window and mid C19 vestry with lancets to north. Late C13 south aisle, with buttresses: 2-light east window with quatrefoil in head; side wall has, from east, late C13 two-light window with unusual cusped heads, a similar window with cinquefoiled heads, a late C15 studded door set in a square-headed surround with quatrefoils carved in spandrels, and a late C15 three-light window with panel tracery. 3-bay late C15 north aisle has fleuron frieze, offset buttresses and 3-light windows with panel tracery; crenellated 2-storey south porch has 2-light square-headed window above 4-centred doorway with C18 panelled double-leaf doors; pointed moulded south doorway. Late C15 four-bay clerestory has gargoyle rainwater spouts, and label moulds over 2-light cinquefoil-headed windows; late C15 five-light west window with panel tracery to nave. Late C15 three-stage tower with string courses and buttresses, and slit lights to stair-turret: 3-light west window and belfry windows; gargoyles to string course beneath crenellated parapet. Interior: chancel has mutilated late C13 statue niche to east: trefoiled piscina to south and early C18 communion rail with turned balusters; mid C19 arch-braced roof. Mid C19 chancel arch and king-post nave roof supported on C15 head corbels. Late C17 bolection-panelled pulpit (upper stage only), and C15 octagonal font with traceried panels and frieze of angels. 3-light Perpendicular window to north chapel. 5-bay nave arcades, with moulded capitals on oblong piers with concave mouldings: concave-moulded archway to west tower. C15 bench at west end of nave has traceried end-panels: other fittings are C20 and late C19. Three recesses in south wall of south aisle. Mid/late C19 south aisle roof on C15 head corbels, and C15 north aisle roof with moulded beams and braces. Wall painting: fragments of a C14 Life of St. Catherine in north wall of chancel; adjoining window has stonework painted with red-ochre bands. Monuments: chancel has wall tablet to James Preston, d.1805; another to John Esher, and Mary Bartholomew, d.1724, 1752 and 1762, set in architectural frame. Other C18 and C19 wall tablets include, in nave, John Rogers, with a broken pediment and shouldered architrave; Anne Bedwell, d.1728, with cherubs flanking portrait medallion; and John Rogers, d.1714. North aisle has reset brasses to John Martin, d.1610, Richard Martin, d.1617, and vicar William Emmot, d.1584. Stained glass: chancel has memorial glass of 1902 and 1930; south aisle windows of 1918 and to west, fragments of C14 and C15 glass including St. Thomas. Other windows retain leaded cases. (Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, pp.600-601; Bodleian Library, M.S. Top Oxen for late C18 and C19 drawings; National Monuments Record).

Listing NGR: SP4330509226

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

252263

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Sherwood, J, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, (1974), 600-01

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.