St Leonard's Church, Spernall, church in Stratford-on-Avon, UK
St Leonard's Church in Spernall is a Grade II* listed church building constructed mainly from limestone with brick sections and featuring a simple layout of a nave and chancel. The structure displays windows from multiple centuries, including a 13th-century west window with Y-shaped tracery and a distinctive wheel-shaped window added to the chancel in the 19th century.
The building first appears in documents around 1190 with 12th-century origins, including a surviving chancel arch from that early period. Major changes occurred in the 18th century with a brick reconstruction of the northwest corner and in 1844 with extensive repairs including a new wheel window, before services ended in 1972 and the Ancient Monuments Society acquired the structure in 1980.
The church is dedicated to St Leonard, the patron saint of prisoners, as shown by the carved monogram 'SL' visible inside. The interior woodwork was embellished in 1835 with delicate carvings of vines, lilies, and books that reflect local craftsmanship.
The church sits in a rural area of Warwickshire surrounded by fields and trees, offering a setting removed from busy places. Visitors should know the building no longer serves for regular worship but remains accessible to the public as a historic site and has been used as an artist's workshop since the 1980s.
The Ancient Monuments Society purchased this building in 1980 as the only church they have ever owned, rescuing it from demolition after services ended in 1972. An artist named Nicholas Jones has used the structure as a workshop since the 1980s, giving the historic site a creative second life.
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