St Leonard's Church, Bridgnorth

St Leonard's Church, Bridgnorth
Tower of St Leonard's Church, Bridgnorth
St Leonard's Church, Bridgnorth Location in Shropshire
Coordinates: 52°32′14″N 2°25′07″W / 52.5371°N 2.4187°W / 52.5371; -2.4187
OS grid reference	SO 716,933
Location	Bridgnorth, Shropshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Churches Conservation Trust
History
Dedication	Saint Leonard
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	18 July 1949
Architect(s)	Thomas Rickman F. J. Francis Slater and Carpenter
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Gothic Revival
Completed	1878
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, roofs of clay tiles

St Leonard's Church is a redundant Anglican church in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.

The present church originated in the 12th century. There is no mention of a church at Bridgnorth in the Domesday Book, but it is likely that there was an earlier church on the site because Anglo-Saxon and Norman stonework has been incorporated into the fabric of the present church. A tower was added to it in 1448. During the Civil War the Roundheads used the north aisle of the church to store ammunition, and this was ignited by a shot from a cannon in 1646. As a result, the north aisle and the eastern part of the south aisle were destroyed. The roof of the nave was rebuilt in 1662, but the aisles were not fully restored at that time. In 1826 the chancel was repaired by Thomas Rickman, and it was further restored in 1846–47 by F. J. Francis. A major reconstruction of the church was undertaken from 1860 by W. Slater and R. H. Carpenter. They rebuilt the church in Geometrical style rather than in the Perpendicular style of the earlier church. In 1870–73 Slater and Carpenter substantially rebuilt the tower, this time in Perpendicular style. An octagonal library was added to the north side of the chancel in 1878. By the 1970s the tower had become unsafe, and in 1976 the church was declared redundant. It was vested in the Churches Conservation Trust in 1980.