St. Leonard Church, Nottingham

Saint Leonard’s Church in Wollaton is a historic Church of England parish church with roots stretching back to the early 13th century. The oldest surviving part is the chancel, with the nave and tower added in the 14th century. Though modest in scale, the church is rich in heritage and holds a Grade II* listing for its architectural and historical significance.

The church’s interior tells a story of long-standing ties to the Willoughby family of nearby Wollaton Hall, one of Nottinghamshire’s most prominent noble lineages. Several funerary monuments and elaborate tombs commemorate generations of the family, including a tomb chest with effigies of Sir Henry Willoughby and his wives. Another notable memorial honours Robert Smythson, the pioneering Elizabethan architect who designed Wollaton Hall.

From the 1460s, the church used the Wollaton Antiphonal, a lavish medieval manuscript containing music and liturgical texts. In the Victorian era, the church underwent significant restoration, and again in the 20th century, helping to preserve its character and craftsmanship.

One interesting feature is the turret clock, installed in 1892 by Potts of Leeds, featuring Lord Grimthorpe’s innovative gravity escapement. The timepiece, displayed on cast iron skeleton dials glazed with opal glass and once lit by gas lamps, was eventually replaced in 1991, with the original mechanism now housed in the Leeds Industrial Museum.

Saint Leonard’s remains a peaceful, historically layered site, quietly anchoring centuries of Wollaton’s religious and social history.