St Leonard's Church, Middleton

Church in Greater Manchester, England

53°33′12″N 2°11′41″W / 53.5532°N 2.1946°W / 53.5532; -2.1946LocationMiddleton, Greater ManchesterCountryEnglandDenominationChurch of EnglandWebsitewww.middletonparishchurch.org.ukHistoryFormer name(s)St CuthbertStatusActiveFounder(s)Thomas LangleyDedicationSt LeonardConsecratedSeptember 1412ArchitectureFunctional statusParish churchHeritage designationGrade I listedYears built1100, 1412AdministrationProvinceProvince of YorkDioceseDiocese of ManchesterArchdeaconryArchdeaconry of RochdaleParishjoint benefice of St Leonard, Middleton and St John, ThornhamClergyRectorThe Revd Alison BailieCurate(s)The Revd Adele BridleAsst Curate(s)The Revd David Brooks, The Revd Freda Jackson, The Revd Karen Hamnett

St Leonard's is a Church of England parish church in Middleton, Greater Manchester, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade I listed building.^[1]

Much of the present building was erected in 1412 by Thomas Langley (born in Middleton in 1363) who was Bishop of Durham and Lord Chancellor of England. He re-used the Norman doorway from an earlier structure to create the tower arch. Also distinctive in this region is the weather-boarded top stage to the tower.

The church of St Leonard was enlarged in 1524 by Sir Richard Assheton, in celebration of the knighthood granted to him by Henry VIII of England for his part in the Battle of Flodden in 1513. The Flodden Window, in the sanctuary, is thought to be the oldest war memorial in the UK.^[2] It commemorates on it the names of the Middleton archers who fought at Flodden. The church also has one of the finest collections of monumental brasses in the north of England, including the only brass in the UK depicting an English Civil War officer in full armour, Major-General Ralph Assheton. George Pace designed a war memorial and, in 1958, added a choir vestry and installed new lighting.^[3]^[4]^[1]

In the extension of the churchyard are the war graves of two First World War soldiers, and an airman from the Second World War.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b Historic England. "Church of St Leonard, Rochdale (1162332)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
^ Mountford, Emma (7 September 2006). "World's oldest war memorial nears milestone". Middleton Guardian. M.E.N. Media. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
^ Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2004). Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East. The Buildings of England. New Haven, CT; London, England: Yale University Press. pp. 507–508. ISBN 0-300-10583-5.
^ History, St Leonard's Church, Middleton, retrieved 1 August 2013
^ "Middleton (St. Leonard) Churchyard Extension". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 6 February 2013.