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St Mary and St Nicholas, Leatherhead, Surrey

Location
(51°17′31″N, 0°19′39″W)
Leatherhead
TQ 167 561
pre-1974 traditional (England and Wales) Surrey
now Surrey
medieval Winchester
now Guildford
  • Nora Courtney
  • Peter Hayes
  • Peter Hayes
26 Aug 2015

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Feature Sets
Description

Leatherhead is is a town in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, approximately 20 miles S of London. The church of St Mary and St Nicholas stands to the S of the pedestrianised centre of the town. It consists of a chancel, transepts, an aisled nave with a N porch and a W tower. The earliest work is in the nave arcades of c.1200.The chancel arch is slightly later13thc work. The tower belongs to the 15thc and the N transept is 19thc, perhaps a rebuilding. The most striking feature of the church is the setting of the tower: at an oblique angle to the nave, so that the S aisle is almost half a bay shorter than the N. The church is of flint with limestone and some sandstone dressings. It was restored by Blomfield in 3 campaigns between 1873 and 1894, and E Christian restored the chancel in 1874. The only features recorded here are the nave arcades.

History

The church of Leatherhead, noted in the Domesday Survey, was in the manor of Ewell, and was held from the King by Osbern de Eu along with 40 acres of land. It later became the property of the Abbey of Colchester, to whom it was given by Eustace de Broc

Features

Interior Features

Arcades

Nave
Comments/Opinions

According to VCH the N arcade is 'of a somewhat earlier character than the S'. This judgement is based on the use of stiff-leaf on one of the capitals (which Pevsner compares with work at Reigate). It is worth pointing out, however, that the N arcade has more variety in the moulded capitals than the S, where they all have the same profile. Reigate has a variety of stiff-leaf forms in its arcades, but the arch profiles are stylistically earlier.

Bibliography

Historic England Listed Building. English Heritage Legacy ID: 290505

  1. O. Manning and W. Bray, The History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey, 3 vols. London 1804-14, II, 664-83.

I. Nairn and N. Pevsner (rev. B. Cherry), The Buildings of England. Surrey, New Haven and London,2nd ed. 1971, 338-39.

Victoria County History: Surrey, Vol. 3, 1911, 293-301