The Church of St Leonard is a
redundant church
A redundant church, now referred to as a "closed church", is a church building that is no longer used for Christian worship. The term most frequently refers to former Anglican churches in the United Kingdom, but may also be used for disused church ...
in
Chelwood
Chelwood is a small village within the Civil parishes in England, civil parish of Compton Dando in Somerset, England, and is in the affluent Chew Valley in the Bath and North East Somerset council area, about from Bristol and Bath, Somerset, Ba ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, England. It was built in the 14th century and has been designated as a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
The church was largely rebuilt during
restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
around 1860.
The font is Norman with tiny volutes at the edges and a top frieze of something like
lambrequins. These have been described as the remains of locking staples used to prevent witches stealing the holy water. The stained glass has various 16th-century Flemish bits in the south aisle window.
The two stage west tower contains a bell dating from 1773 and made by Abraham Bilbie of the
Bilbie family
The Bilbie family were bell founders and clockmakers based initially in Chew Stoke, Somerset and later at Cullompton, Devon in south-west England from the late 17th century to the early 19th century.
Their importance to the local economy and ...
.
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelwood, Saint Leonard
Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century
14th-century church buildings in England
Church of England church buildings in Bath and North East Somerset
Grade II* listed churches in Somerset
Grade II* listed buildings in Bath and North East Somerset