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St.
Leonard's
Middleton
Parish Church |
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The Parish Church in Middleton was erected
around in 1096 by Roger de Montbegon the Norman Overlord and was
probably dedicated to St. Leonard by Robert de Limesey, Bishop
of Durham. However, a Saxon church had stood on the site
long before the Norman Conquest, the church is constructed next
to, according to an early map of Middleton, a bronze age burial
ground. The church constructed by de Montbegon was a
simple small two cell church. The remains of this first
church can be found in the east wall of the tower. |
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Saint Leonard
was a French nobleman and was converted to Christianity by the
Bishop of Reims. Leonard renounced his wealth to become a
hermit. He became renowned for his
charitable work
amongst prisoners, obtaining freedom for many.
Leonard died in
his fifties in 559. His Saint Day is on 6th November.
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Over many years the church has been altered and
extended to suit the needs of a growing town.
The tower was added between 1250 and 1315.
Following his safe return from the Battle of
Flodden, Sir Richard Assheton, The Lord of the
Manor and leader of the Middleton Archers gave
thanks at St. Leonard's
and in it, hung his battle
armour as well as the sword of Sir William
Foreman, an important Scottish Knight he had
captured. |
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In 1515 Sir Richard commissioned a large stained glass window
at the north wall to
commemorate the Battle of Flodden. The Flodden Window
depicts in
detail the seventeen Middleton Archers and their
leader Sir Richard and his wife. The
window shows the archers wearing blue court mantles |
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carrying a
bow
stave with each
archers name above it and their leader and his
wife wearing scarlet cloaks, they are all
kneeling in prayer before leaving for the
battle.
Around 1520 the north arcade of
the church collapsed, bring down the
richly decorated roof in the process.
Pressed for time and short of funds Sir
Richard set about the task of rebuilding
and enlarging the church with the voluntary help and
support of the inhabitants of Middleton.
The Nave was widened and lengthened and
the clerestory added. Completed in
1524, this
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was the last major
alteration to the Nave, which is
virtually intact from Assheton's time. |
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The window was originally of a three light
design, unfortunately, over the centuries it was
allowed to fall into disrepair with most of the
glass missing or in need of repair.
Thankfully it's importance was recognised by
Richard Durnford, the Rector from 1835 to
1870. Durnford had the window removed and
the major portions re-assembled to make up the
present two light design. This was
installed in it's current position in the south
wall of the chancel. |
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The window is the oldest War Memorial in
existence.
The wooden
steeple on top of the tower was added in 1667
and is one of only three that survive in the
United Kingdom. The
exact reason for the wooden tower is unclear. It was suggested
that there was concern that the ground was too soft to support a
stone structure, but that seems unlikely. It may
be as simple as the fact that it was less
expensive to build.
In 1714 a set of five bells were installed, this
later increased to eight.
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The clock was installed in August of
1807 by William Platt, Clockmaker of
Manchester and replaced an earlier clock
which was installed between 1552 and
1647, there are three clock faces. In
October 2006 all the clock faces
underwent a programme of restoration
work in preparation for the clocks two
hundredth birthday in 2007. The clock
was made by William Platt of Manchester
and is one of only two known to exist,
it is the oldest public clock in the
area and is still hand wound three times
a week. |
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Inscription on Outer
Church Wall
(right of gate St. Leonard's Square)
Reads...
"This Wall was
rebuilt 1817 |
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William Wells
James Ogden |
} |
Church Wardens" |
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Thomas Andrew
John Shepherd |
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Abram Hilton
William Kirkman |
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Adam Partington
Peter Johnson |
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Inscription on Outer
Church Wall
(left of gate St. Leonard's Square)
Reads...
"This Wall was
partly rebuilt in 1916 |
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W. Stanton Jones
Rector |
} |
Wardens" |
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A. S. Batay |
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H. A. Ward |
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St. Leonard's clock faces
during restoration works in October 2006. |
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