St. Leonard's Church, Butleigh, Somerset

The configuration and appearance of the present stone building of St. Leonard's dates from the mid-nineteenth century, but there has been a church on this site since Saxon times. The oldest parts of the church are the jambs to the outer door. These are thought to be Saxon and may have been part of the early chancel arch then removed and re-used. In Norman times Butleigh was recorded in the Doomsday Book as Boduchelei, belonging to the Abbey of Glastonbury to which the church at Butleigh was attached for hundreds of years.

During the fourteenth century the church was largely rebuilt, not in the usual medieval cruciform plan, but as a long narrow structure with an aisle-less nave, chancel and a central tower as wall and pillar masonry and a gargoyle on the South West corner of the outer testifies. The windows to the nave and chancel are elegant late fourteenth century with internal decorated cusping that is rare for Somerset. The fine South porch is of the decorated style of the late fourteenth century. The old gable cross still remains with an elegant carved boss in the gable.

Outside, on the West side of the South porch, there are two scratch dials, one with a noonline at 1 metre 20 centimetres from the ground, and another 1 metre 72 centimetres. These stones are thought to be a Saxon sun-dial re-used like the jambs in the building of the porch.

At the time of the first Tudor King there was an insertion of the fine six light West window which is in the English perpendicular style. Now, only a little of the original painted glass remains to give us a glimpse of how the church was elaborately decorated during the Middle Ages. In the upper portion there is the Glastonbury Arms and the lower parts of four figures; St. James with a pilgrim's staff, St. Thomas with a lance, St. Bartholomew with a large blue knife, and possible St. Paul with a short similar shaped sword. This tracery light glass is unlike any in the country.

In 1608 the church was given the addition of the North transept where the organ now stands. It was built by the Simcox or Symcocke family who were the then Lords of the Manor, probably as a burial place for the family. A little later a memorial was erected in this chapel to Thomas Simcox. It was later moved to the chancel then partially destroyed.

In the nineteenth century the monument with the remaining figures of Thomas, his wife and son Christopher were replaced on the instruction of George Neville-Grenville.

In 1750 there was a need to renovate the roof. The lead was replaced by Ham Hill tiles and the timber rebuilt in elm because of the scarcity of oak at the time. In 1758 a one handed clock was purchased from Glastonbury and put into the tower.

Extensive alterations and renovations were undertaken in the mid-nineteenth century largely as a result of the

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