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Aidan McRae Thomson
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St Leodegarius, Ashby St Ledgers
St Leodegarius, Ashby St Ledgers

St Mary & St Leodegarius at Ashby St Ledgers is one of my favourite churches, a place I've known since childhood having grown up nearby but had not revisited for some 30 years until now.

This lovely ironstone building sits back in its own leafy enclosure forming a group with the adjacent outbuildings of the manor to the north of the churchyard. The church itself appears to be mainly 14th century (especially the tower and south porch) but the enlarged aisle windows all appear to be Perpendicular work of a century later and do much to enhance the edifice inside and out.

The interior is a churchcrawler's delight with much of interest from ancient woodwork and wall-paintings to the fine series of brasses (mostly to the Catesby family whose ancestral home is next door). Some of the brasses require seeking out being hidden under carpets or trapdoors, so my prior experience from childhood brass-rubbing trips here helped (two further brasses that were removed by an antiquarian in the mid-19th century have now rejoined them having returned to the church from Northamptonshire County Record Office in 2003, but alas they are located in the locked north chapel so can only be glimpsed through the gate).

The chancel beyond the ancient screen is the darkest area of the church (and wears a more early 19th century feel as a result of the glass of that date) but there is still sufficient light to appreciate the fine collection of sculpted 17th & 18th century wall-mounted monuments, mostly covering the north wall (this wall was formed by blocking in the arcade to the north chapel, the arches of which are still visible on the other side. A south chapel also existed originally but has long since vanished).

One of the best aspects of this church is its delightfully musty atmosphere, one can almost smell the layers of history upon entering. And history has certainly played out here with the Gunpowder plotters who reputedly met in the timber-framed gateway adjoining the churchyard and Robert Catesby's neighbouring former home (private but visible over the churchyard wall).

Ashby St Ledgers church is happily normally kept open and welcoming to visitors and is well worth seeing, it is a place of great interest and real charm.

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Taken on: January 17, 2020
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Sets appears in:   • Northamptonshire Churches    • Ashby St Ledgers - St Leodegarius   
Groups appears in:   • Saints de Bourgogne   
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ60, f/4.5, 1 sec, 4.3mm, ISO 160 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ60
Aperture: f/4.5
Exposure Time: 1
Focal Length: 4.3mm
ISO: 160
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
Metering Mode: Center-weighted average
White Balance: Auto
Gain Control: Low gain up
Color Space: sRGB
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St Leodegarius, Ashby St Ledgers

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