Description

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

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17531043

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

• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)