Description

SK 02 SW; 13/78

BLITHFIELD C.P.,
Church of St. Leonard

12/01/66

GV

I

Parish Church. c1300; vestry added 1829-30; porch added 1860 by
Street, chancel restored 1851 by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin.
Ashlar; slate roof to chancel with crested ridge tiles and coped verges.
West tower with diagonal buttresses, four-bay nave with aisles and south porch,
three-bay chancel with angle buttresses and octagonal north vestry with buttress to each angle.

West tower: two stages with crenellated parapet; buttresses die away
below belfry stage which is later probably mid C19 addition; 2-light
West window (restored) with hood mould terminating in heads, small
square-headed window above containing two trefoil-arched lights with super
mullions over, pointed 2-light belfry openings with hood moulds
terminating in heads. Nave: Late C15/16 clerestory windows of three
trefoil-headed lights under a 4-centred arch. Aisles have square-headed windows
of two ogee-trefoil arch lights, and moulded parapet. Gabled south porch
with pointed arch to pointed south door, and arch-braced roof. Chancel:
pointed windows with Y-tracery, bay divisions marked by buttresses,
pointed east window of five lights with intersecting tracery; recess on
South side containing recumbent effigy of a priest, early C13. Vestry:
Tudor arch door to west; 3-light window to north and 2-light window
to east, both consisting of trefoil arched lights under a square head.

INTERIOR: Nave arcade of double-chamfered pointed arches on cylindrical
columns with moulded capitals, hoodmoulds terminating in heads; wide
pointed chancel arch with continuous roll moulding and broad fillet;
pointed tower arch with similar moulding, restored; nave roof of c.1853
a copy of the original of c1500, nearly flat with moulded tie beams,
principal rafters and ridge piece, and chamfered common rafters; C19
scissor braced chancel roof; sedilia with trefoil headed niches and
continuous hood mould; double piscina with trefoil ogee arch and
quatrefoil tracery over, and two scalloped basins. FITTINGS: C12
pillar piscina with scalloped bowl; C14 font, octagonal with roll
moulded bands; C15 bench ends with carved tracery and poppyheads; C15
rood screen restored by Bodley in 1881, four lights each side of a central
opening, frieze and cresting; C19 pulpit attributed to Pugin, octagonal
with panelled sides; altar rail, mid-C19, brass. MONUMENTS: Chancel:
Chest tomb, Sir Lewis Bagot died 1534, effigies of Sir Lewis and his 2
wives incised on top; Chest tomb, Thomas Bagot d. 1541, and wife, 2
figures incised on top; chest tomb, Sir Richard Bagot d. 1596 and wife,
2 recumbent effigies, Sir Richard in plate armour, a helmet with goats
head crest is hung above the tomb; incised slab on floor to Francis
Aston d. 1593 and wife; cartouche to Hervey Bagot d. 1755; three late
C17/early C18 aedilular wall plaques, one with Ionic columns surmounted
by urn spouting flame, looped up curtains to sides, the others have
Corinthian columns, foliated brackets and open top pediments containing
coats of arms. Vestry: two wall plaques, Sir Edward Bagot d. 1673,
semi-circular head surmounted by coat of arms and flanking cherubs,
the other double, Sir Walter Bagot and Dame Jane Bagot, d. 1695, two
semicircular headed panels, outer foliated pilasters, gadrooned cornice.

Listing NGR: SK0441323990

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17540745

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)