Church of St Leonard

Details

SO 81 SE UPTON ST LEONARDS CHURCHFIELD ROAD (west side)

6/177 Church of St. Leonard

10.1.55

GV II*

Parish church. Late C13; C15 tower; C19 enlargements of 1835 by Thomas Fulljames; 1849 by Henry Woodyer; 1850 by Francis Niblett; and 1889 by Waller and Son. Coursed rubble and ashlar limestone; stone slate roof. Nave with north and south aisles and west tower; chancel with north and south chapels; south vestry. C19 pointed-arched south doorway with hood; Cl9 porch with parapet gable and diagonal buttresses; pointed porch arch with trefoil panel over, arched collar truss porch roof; internal stone seats below trefoil-headed side lancets. North aisle: C19 three-light window with Decorated tracery to left of porch; 2-light to right; parapet gable to east end with diagonal corner buttress; off- centre 2-light C19 east aisle window with Decorated tracery; circular window in gable with quatrefoil tracery; 3-light C19 west aisle window with geometrical tracery. North chapel: early C14 with C19 restored east 2-light; single trefoil lancet to north side. Parapet gabled east chancel wall with diagonal offset buttresses; 2 east trefoil lancets; two C19 trefoil lancets to south chancel wall under combined hood. Parapet east gable to south chapel with east window all C19; vestry projects to left with south parapet gable; 2-light east trefoil lancet to vestry; cinquefoil to south vestry doorway with C19 plank door; 3-light with ogee trefoil lancets to left, below continuation of parapet. South aisle: C19 with lower pitched parapet roofs than rest of church; 3 large 4-light late Perpendicular style windows in offset buttressed south aisle wall; set-back buttresses to south west corner; 2-light trefoil lancet window over west Norman doorway, reset from elsewhere in church and largely C19 restoration having attached columns with scalloped capitals, enriched imposts, arch with dogtooth ornament within roll moulding and plain tympanum; plank door with moulded cover strips. C19 restored 3-stage tower with diagonal offset buttresses; large continuous plinth moulding interrupted by pointed-arched west doorway with stoup bracket to left; moulded cover strip plank door; C19 restored Decorated west window over. Scattered chamfered rectangular openings to lower and middle stages; large 2-light stone louvred belfry openings with Perpendicular tracery; 2 gargoyles to each tower face between 2 string courses; crenellated parapet with trefoil-headed lancet panelling; tall corner pinnacles with crocket enrichment. Double bellcote to east parapet gable of nave moved in C19 from north chapel. Spacious interior with wide aisles added to nave in C19; south aisle of 1835 in style of Commissioner's Church with 3-bay Perpendicular arcade having 4-centred arches on octagonal columns; 6-bay aisle roof with flat roof trusses. North aisle of 1850 is High Victorian with arcade of 2 large, flanked by 2 small pointed arches with chamfered archivolts from corbels to responds and piers; aisle roof of 2 large and 2 small bays as arcade, with arched scissor-braced trusses supported on carved stone angel corbels each bearing blank shield. C19 restored braced collar nave roof. C19 chancel arch appears mishapen with very small archivolt corbels; 2-bay arcades to north and south sides of chancel; 3-bay arched braced collar truss roof with cusped apex strutting and arched windbracing, all Cl9. Two sedilia to south chancel wall; raised tiled altar floor; mosaic reredos; and iron screen to north chapel all by Woodyer. C19 trefoil-headed piscina to south side of chancel; Cl9 altar rail and choir stalls. Wagon roof to north chapel; panelled roof with brattished wall plate to south chapel. Nave pews by Waller; C19 octagonal pulpit with carved inset panels; round Norman bowl font on later moulded circular base. Large memorial by THOMAS RICKETTS of GLOS. in north chapel to S THOMAS SNELL, died 1754: neoclassical sarcophagus surmounted by urn stands on large pedestal with gadrooned and moulded sides; alongside sarcophagus is putto standing by urn; further putto lying behind; details of SNELL'S charity on south side of sarcophagus. Memorial on north chapel wall to JAMES STEERS, died 1817, by Wood of Gloucester: oval inscription panel surmounted by urn. (Memorial almost hidden by organ). Inscription panel with obelisk shape over on north nave arcade is memorial to SAMUEL SMITH, died 1794. Momument to JOHN DEARMAN BIRCHALL, died 1897, on north chapel wall has alabaster frame with mosaic inlay. Set of Cl9 stained glass by various designers: south chancel windows by Thomas Willement; 2 east chancel lancets of 1849 by William Wailes of Newcastle; south chapel east window of 1905 by Bosdet of Chiswick; north aisle west window of 1859 by David Evans of Shrewsbury. Little of the late C13 church survives, but extensive Victorian additions and rebuilding are of a good quality. (D. Verey, Gloucestershire: The Vale and the Forest of Dean, 1976).

Listing NGR: SO8621614943

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

131839

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Verey, D, The Buildings of England: Gloucestershire 2 The Vale and The Forest of Dean, (1970)

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.