Little now remains of the medieval chapel of St Leonard in Sand Hutton, a village about 6 miles NE of York. Only part of the S wall of the nave survives, situated behind the present parish church of St Mary, which was constructed during the 19thc. The remains include a small doorway and a window with tracery. The masonry surrounding the doorway has been supported by metal poles, though its survival looks precarious; the whole wall is overgrown with ivy.

There is no documentary evidence relating to the existence of a church or chapelin Sand Hutton during the Middle Ages, though there are some references to land around 'Hottune' changing hands around 1086. The Domesday Survey reports that in 1066 'Hottune' was part of the manor of Bulford and was held by Gospatric and Sprot, but in 1086, after having been passed to Hugh son of Baldric and Wulfbert of Hutton, it returned to the king. In the early 13thc the manor belonged to the Percys of Kildale and towards the last decades of the century it passed to the Grays of York.

Though there was clearly a manor of Sand Hutton, the village does not appear to have been more than a hamlet during the medieval period. This would explain why the simple rectangular shape of the structure, measuring 14 m by 5 m approximately, was never enlarged. The type of carving evident in the remains of the doorway is broadly similar to other types of capitals appearing in this region around the middle part of the 12thc, to which this work could be assigned.