Old St Leonard's Church, Langho
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{{Infobox church | name = Old St Leonard's Church, Langho | fullname = | image = St Leonards Church Old Langho - geograph.org.uk - 85352.jpg | imagesize = | imagealt = A simple low church with a south porch. On the west gable is a bellcote, and on the east gable is a cross | caption = Old St Leonard's Church, Langho, from the southeast | pushpin map = United Kingdom Borough of Ribble Valley | pushpin map alt = | pushpin mapsize = | map caption = Location in the Borough of Ribble Valley| location = Langho, Lancashire | country = England | coordinates = {{coord|53.8182|-2.4556|region:GB_type:landmark|display=title}} | osgraw = SD 701 359 | denomination = Anglican | churchmanship = | membership = | attendance = | website = [https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/visit/church-listing/st-leonard-old-langho.html Churches Conservation Trust] | former name = | bull date = | founded date = 1557| founder = | dedication = | dedicated date = | consecrated date = | cult = | relics = | events = | past bishop = | people = | status = | functional status = Redundant| heritage designation = Grade I| designated date = 24 November 1966 | architect = | architectural type = Church| style = Gothic | groundbreaking = 1557 | completed date = 1879| construction cost = | closed date = | demolished date = | capacity = | length = | width = | width nave = | height = | diameter = | other dimensions = | floor count = | floor area = | spire quantity = | spire height = | materials = Sandstone, stone slate roof}}
Old St Leonard's Church is a redundant Anglican church {{convert|1|mi|km|1}} 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,{{NHLE |num= 1362341|desc= Chapel Of St Leonard, Billington|access-date= 13 June 2012|mode=cs2}} and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.{{Citation | url = https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/visit/church-listing/st-leonard-old-langho.html | title = St Leonard's Church, Old Langho, Lancashire | access-date = 18 October 2016| publisher = Churches Conservation Trust}}
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.{{Citation | url = http://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=4245| title = Old Langho Church| access-date = 31 August 2010| publisher = Britain Express}} 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.{{Citation | url = http://www.stleonardslangho.org.uk/history.htm| title = Historical Aspects of the Parish| access-date = 2 September 2011| publisher = Parish Church of St Leonard Langho}} The old church was vested in the Trust on 1 July 1990.{{Citation | year = 2010| title = Diocese of Blackburn: All Schemes| series = Church Commissioners/Statistics| publisher = Church of England| page = 4| format = PDF | url = http://www.churchofengland.org/media/810334/blackburn%20-%20all%20schemes.pdf| access-date =3 April 2011}}
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.
External features
The churchyard contains war graves of a soldier and an airman of World War I.{{Citation | url = http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/40806/LANGHO%20%28ST.%20LEONARD%29%20OLD%20CHURCHYARD| title = LANGHO (ST. LEONARD) OLD CHURCHYARD| access-date =15 February 2013| publisher = Commonwealth War Graves Commission}}
See also
References
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Further reading
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- {{Citation | last =Hartwell| first =Clare| last2 = Pevsner | first2 = Nikolaus | author2-link =Nikolaus Pevsner| series= The Buildings of England| title =Lancashire: North | publisher =Yale University Press | year =2009 | orig-year=1969 | location = New Haven and London| page = 478| isbn = 978-0-300-12667-9}}
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{{Lancashire churches|I}}
{{Borough of Ribble Valley buildings}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langho, St Leonard}}
Category:Grade I listed churches in Lancashire
Category:16th-century Church of England church buildings
Category:English Gothic architecture in Lancashire
Category:Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust