East Leeke is a village in the Rushcliffe district in the far south of Nottinghamshire, 5 mi N of Loughborough. St Mary's is a Grade I listed parish church in the centre of the village consisting of a chancel. N vestry, clerestoried nave, S aisle of four bays, S porch and W tower with spire. The surviving Romanesque material comprises a N doorway and window. The base of the W tower is also believed to be 12thc.

There was a church on the site in Saxon times and remains of its foundations were found when thr chancel was rebuilt in 1886 and the flooring round the S arcade was repaired in 1986. At the time of the Domesday survey there was a church and a priest though it is not certain whether it was here or West Leake (q.v.) that is referred to. Henry de Ferrers held the land. The W tower and S aisle or 13th century whilst the spire and clerestory and battlements are 15th century. The chancel was rebuilt in 1886 using earlier materials. Cardinal de Fargis, Rector of East Leake 1308-1347 established a chantry at the E end of the S aisle. It was at this time that the dedication of the church was changed from St Leonard to St Mary. In the same era the Treaty of Leake was signed here by Edward II and the barons in 1318.

It would appear that the original Saxon church was quite large. In the opinion of the fieldworker a portion, perhaps quite an extensive part of the N wall of the nave, dates from that time. Herringbone style masonry is visible in the outer N wall which probably dates to the 11th or 12thc (the official listing text gives the date as 12thc).