Church of St. Leonard, Sutton Veny
The church of St. Leonard, with the exception of the chancel, has fallen into ruin since the building of the church of St. John the Evangelist in 1868. The old church was cruciform in plan with nave and chancel, north and south transepts, and central tower. There are traces of a Norman doorway in the ruined north wall of the nave, but the rubble walls of the nave and chancel are from the 13th century. On the south wall of the chancel there was once a large 15th or 16th century window.
The condition of the building began to cause concern very early in its life. Traces remain of the buttresses that had to be built in the 14th and 15th centuries on both sides of the nave and at the north-east corner of the chancel. In 1825 the church was much in need of repair and work began the following year. Restoration was completed in 1831. Among the work undertaken was the addition of an organ and gallery at the west end, and the insertion of a new east window. But within thirty years more repairs were needed, and it was decided to abandon St. Leonard's in favour of a new building which members of the Everett family offered to build in memory of Joseph Everett who died in 1865.
By the 1960s there was little trace left of the transepts. The roofless walls of the nave are still standing in parts, as a picturesque ruin. Occasional services are held in the chancel, which is still maintained.
The condition of the building began to cause concern very early in its life. Traces remain of the buttresses that had to be built in the 14th and 15th centuries on both sides of the nave and at the north-east corner of the chancel. In 1825 the church was much in need of repair and work began the following year. Restoration was completed in 1831. Among the work undertaken was the addition of an organ and gallery at the west end, and the insertion of a new east window. But within thirty years more repairs were needed, and it was decided to abandon St. Leonard's in favour of a new building which members of the Everett family offered to build in memory of Joseph Everett who died in 1865.
By the 1960s there was little trace left of the transepts. The roofless walls of the nave are still standing in parts, as a picturesque ruin. Occasional services are held in the chancel, which is still maintained.