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I Location

II General Description

St Leonard's has an aisled and clerestoreyed nave with arcades and aisle windows of c.1300 and the clerestorey a Perpendicular addition. The chancel is substantially of c.1300, but much restored. The W tower is 12thc. with plain round headed lancets at ground storey level, but bell-openings dating from the 13thc. The W doorway is also early 13thc., and in front of it is a Perpendicular west porch. The N nave doorway is late 12thc. but blocked: the S doorway is 13thc. and protected by a porch. Construction is of ashlar with a rubble W tower. There was a restoration in the 1870s and another in 1881-82 by J. M. Townsend. Romanesque interest centres on the boldly carved early 12thc. font and the N doorway.

III Exterior Features

1. Doorways

(i) N nave doorway

Two orders, pointed, blocked. First order, plain square jambs and arch with quirked hollow chamfered imposts, both replacements. Second order, originally on detached nook-shafts, now lost. The engaged capitals survive, however; the E double scallop with rolls between the scallops and a plain roll necking, much laminated and flaking off, the W a cushion with fluted bell and deeply dished shields, each carved in relief with a palmette. The imposts had the same design as the first order but are badly laminated and flaking away. The label has a quirked chamfer.

Dimensions

V Furnishings

1. Fonts

(i)

In west bay of N nave arcade. The font has a square bowl with a round, lead lined inner basin standing on a later coursed ashlar plinth. The upper rim is chamfered into a quadrant. Each rectangular face is carved with a different design, and there are grotesque heads on the angles.

E face: knotwork design of flat grooved fillets, consisting of two concentric circles with interlaced semicircles to top, bottom, left and right. In the centre of the design the semicircles enclose a small square containing a quatrefoil with a drilled centre. At their outer ends adjacent semicircles cross and terminate in diamonds at the corners of the square field. There is an inserted repair at the rim.

N face: the square left section of the rectangular face is carved with a six-by-six diapered grid of saltires with pellets in the angles in low relief. This leaves a narrow uncarved rectangle to the right.

W face: most of the rim is repaired in mortar or resin. The face is divided by a pair of vertical central fillet into two equal tall rectangular fields. Each is decorated with a design of flat curving stems terminating in large furled leaves. The two designs are similar but neither identical nor symmetrical.

S face: carved in low relief with intersecting round-headed arcading forming six pointed bays. Fictive irregular capitals and chamfered bases are indicated. Only a small central section of the rim is original, the remainder is repaired in mortar or resin. The angle heads are always at the top of the angle, immediately below the upper rim moulding badly eroded, but some description is possible.

NE angle: the angle moulding is rounded, the head worn and apparently human with pointed chin and bulging almond eyes drilled for pupils.

NW angle: roundish cat's head with little round ears at the top. The eyes are eroded away, and nothing survives of the mouth but a horizontal groove. The head stands on a fat angle roll carved with directional chevron rolls.

SW angle: the angle moulding is rounded with vertical grooves on each face. At the top, the mask is worn but takes the form of a beak clasping the angle, with a pair of grooves indicating wrinkles above. The head and eyes are damaged.

SE angle: the angle moulding is rounded, the head similar to that at the NE.

Dimensions

VII History

Aston le Walls was held by Mauger from Geoffrey de Mandeville in 1086. No church was recorded at that time.

Benefice of Byfield with Boddington and Aston le Walls.

VIII Comments/Opinions

The closest comparison for the font is the more elaborate and probably later font at Braybrooke, which is similar in its form, its use of a different design for each face, and in the knotwork motif on the E face here. Foliage similar to that on the W face of the font (described by Pevsner as 'a very asymmetrical Tree of Life') is found in conjunction with intersecting arcading on the font at Magdalen College, Brackley. The Brackley font also has dogtooth, however, and must be considerably later than this one, where the diapering and knotwork suggest an earlier date.

IX Bibliography