The parish church of St. Leonard is mostly a C14 building with a broached spire on the west tower.

The early C14 south aisle window has Victorian stained glass and is dated 1878. The stained glass in the east window is Victorian.

The octagonal font is also C19 as are the pews, however some of the bench ends are reused C16.

The chancel contains two alabaster chest tombs. Against the south wall is the C16 effigy of Sir Michael Poulteney (d1567) in armour with helmet, crowned with a saracen’s head, and lion at his feet.

The tomb against the north chancel wall is a monument to to John Poulteney (d1637) has a plain black top and shields in strap work cartouches around the sides.

Tags: elizabethan, font alabaster, jacobean, leonard, spire, stained glass, tomb

St. Nicholas parish church has a Decorated style (C14) west tower, the remainder of the church is in the Perpendicular style of the mid C15. The chancel was rebuilt in the early C19 and is of brick rendered in cement to imitate limestone ashlar blocks.

The red sandstone font is from the early C13, cauldron shaped with carvings of two green men and foilage.

The tower arch has inner half-round shafts and half-octagon capitals. The electric clock in the tower was installed in 1947 as a memorial to those that died in the second world war. The south east aisle window was installed in 1919 by the village at a cost of £100. It is a first world war memorial and “Thanksgiving for Victory”, dedicated to the memory of Howard Drinkwater and William Hakesley.

The three light Arts and Crafts east window, by Caroline Townshend, contains an image of St. Nicholas, the central light is a “Salvator Mundi”. The other light has an image of Mary Magdalene, the village previously being owned by Magdalen College Oxford.

The north aisle has two memorials the first is to to George Watson (d1674). The inscription reads:

In the coast of Guiney George Watson son of Thomas Watson of Willoughby (and one of his Majesstes Captains at sea) departed this life July ye 15 anno D. 1674 aetatis suae 45 and gave to ye poor of Willoughby ye profit of £50 for ever to be distributed as by a decree in Chancery is sett forth.

Death hath contrould a Captain bold Yet loss of life is gain Especially when charity For ever doth remaine.

The Willoughby charity was founded in 1437 by Margaret Hayward by a grant of land worth £20. In addition the charity was endowed by William Flavell (1496) and John Brooke (1536). This bequests were added to by George Watson (1647) and Bridget Freemantle (1773). By 1812 the income from the charity was £515 a year.

The second memorial is to Thomas Clerke (d1687), and his wife(d1669). Behind the organ is a table tomb dedicated to another Thomas Clerke (d1663). The tomb itself is mostly obscured by the organ works.

Tags: arts and crafts, Caroline Townshend, font, nicholas, stained glass, tower, war memorial

The parish church of St. Andrew stands next to the Bede House which in 1602 housed 12 bedesmen (those employed to pray for the soul of their benefactor) and two women, all free of lunacy, leprosy or the French pox. The house itself is C15 and a former Palace of the Bishops of Lincoln.

St. Andrew is C14 and was rebuilt in C15 . Stylisticly it is Perpendicular with a Decorated tower.

Inside the west door there are two medieval stone coffin covers. The curch also has some rare acoustic jar made of clay that are inserted high up in the wall of the chancel.

The floor of the chancel has two brass monuments. The earliest is a 2ft 7in memorial to Helyn Hardy (d1486). She wears a veiled head-dress, mitten sleeves, belt and cordon, which was the habit of a widow who has taken vows of chastity.

Next to it is a memorial with two 3ft figures dedicated to Edward Watson (d1520) and his wife. Edward Watson was Surveyor-General to the Bishops of Lincoln, and his descendants became owners of Rockingham Castle.

Following the Reformations churches were permitted to place the altar at the east end of the church or, as the puritans preferred, in the centre of the chancel or nave.

In 1633 Archbishop Laud decreed that the altar should be at the east end and railed off from the chancel.

The altar rails at St Andrew are dated 1635 and surround the altar on all four sides – a compromise between the two factions.

The south wall of the chancel has a three seat sedilia and piscina. The C15 wooden chancel screen has painted flowers and traces of painted saints on lower panels.

The east window is dated 1870 and is a memorial to John and Elizabeth Clarke. The central four panels have representations of the Nativity, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension. The lower panels are from the old testament.

The square font is made from the local ironstone and sits on a modern base. The font covering is Jacobean and early C17.

Tags: brass, rood screen, stained glass, tower

The west tower is around 150ft high. The south doorway is original of c1300, and most of the windows are of the Geometrical Gothic style of the same period, but they were renewed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1865.

The painted roof has Perpendicular style head corbels.

The Perpendicular style is also relected in the font and pulpit. However, the body of the church is in the Decorative Gothic style dating from 1325-1335.

However, what makes Middleton Cheney is the stained glass work by Morris & co. The west window has a piece entitled “Three young men in the fiery furnace” by Burne-Jones.

The East window memorial to William Croome (d1865). Designed by William Morris Co 1864.The figures below the tracery lights represents the twelve tribes of the Apolcalypse. Below are representations off Adam, Noah, David, Isiah, St Peter, St. Paul, St Augustine, St Catherine, Abraham, Moses, Eve, the Virgin, Magdalene, and St. Agnes.

The Censing Angels, Seraph, St. Peter, St. Augustine, St. Catherine, Eve, the Virgin, Magdalene, and St. Agnes are by William Morris. The four beasts, and the banners are by Philip Webb. The Adoration of the Lamb and St Alban are by Burne-Jones. St. John and St. Paul by Ford Madox Brown. The twelve tribes, David, Isiah, Abraham, and Moses by Simeon Solomon.

The south window of the chancel contains panels by Ford Madox Brown depicting scenes from the old testament. The tracery light is by Philip Webb.

The two north chancel windows were designed by Burne-Jones as a memorial to his friend W.C. Buckley who was the vicar.

In addition to the stained glass the church also contains mosaics by the company of James Powell & sons.

Tags: burne-jones, corbel, decorative, font, ford maddox brown, g.g. scott, perpendicular, philip webb, pulpit, roof, stained glass, tomb, tower, william morris