Church Micro 3082...Thorpe Langton Traditional Geocache
gladstone8: Cache removed
Church Micro 3082...Thorpe Langton
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(small)
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Not quite a drive by....
The oldest of the three surviving churches in the Langton group of villages, St Leonard's is a magnificent medieval building dating from the 13th to 15th centuries A.D. It has been extensively refurbished during the past fifteen years without detracting from its historic character.
Four miles north of Market Harborough is the small village of Thorpe Langton, which means 'long town' from the Anglo-Saxon.
In the early 19th century the census returns reported 215 people living in the village in 1821, this gradually declined to 83 in 1881 but has increased to nearly 150 as recorded in the 2001 census.
The church at Church Langton was the mother church of the chapel at Thorpe Langton, and both of them were granted to Leicester Abbey in the 12th century. There was no resident rector at Thorpe Langton but by the 19th century it appears to have been customary for the rector's curate, living at Church Langton, to serve Thorpe Langton.
There was no burial ground until late in the 19th century, as the rights of burial remained with the mother church. As at Tur Langton, the inhabitants in 1832 petitioned the archdeacon that the yard in which the chapel stood should be consecrated. After a restoration in 1868 by Joseph Goddard the reopening was reported by the Leicester Chronicle and Leicestershire Mercury where it was stated (15th Aug 1868) that the churchyard was not at that time used for burials and the question was asked, ‘why might not this ground be consecrated and used for burial...?’
The present church dates from the late 13th and early 14th century. The west tower with its broached spire and pinnacles probably dates from the late 13th century. The church consists of a north & south aisles, nave and chancel. The clerestory was added in the late 15th century to both nave and chancel, and with it a low-pitched roof. The pitch of the earlier nave roof is visible on the tower. The junction of earlier masonry with that of the clerestory in the chancel and the disproportionate height of the east window in the south aisle both suggest that the side walls may have been lowered before the clerestory was added.
Joseph Goddard completed a major restoration in 1868. Under Goddard’s direction the porch was moved from the south side to the north side. It is, however, doubtful whether the north aisle was actually rebuilt, but a great deal of other work was done at that time. Stanyon of Market restored the stone work of the whole church, rebuilt the east end of the chancel and made an excellent job of restoring the 15th century font. Loveday of Kibworth installed a new roof to the 15th century design, restored the ancient pulpit and rebuilt the screen using old oak salvaged from the roof, making it an interesting example of local craftsmanship.
“If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.
There is also a Church Micro Stats page found via the Bookmark list”
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