St Mary & St Leodegarius at Ashby St Ledgers is a church located in an enclosure, adjacent to outbuildings of the manor to the north of the churchyard. It is mainly 14th century, especially the tower and south porch, with enlarged aisle windows that appear to be Perpendicular work from a century later. Its 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 located next door.
Some of the brasses require seeking out as they are hidden under carpets or trapdoors, and two brasses that were removed in the mid-19th century rejoined the collection in 2003, located in the locked north chapel. The chancel wears an early 19th-century feel due to the glass of that date but still houses a collection of sculpted 17th and 18th-century wall-mounted monuments, mostly covering the north wall. The north wall was formed by blocking in the arcade to the north chapel, the arches of which are still visible on the other side.
The church has a musty atmosphere, giving visitors a sense of the history that has played out there. Gunpowder plotters reputedly met in the timber-framed gateway adjoining the churchyard and Robert Catesby’s neighbouring former home, which is private but visible over the churchyard wall. The church is normally open and welcoming to visitors and is a place of great interest and charm.
Posted by Aidan McRae Thomson on 2020-01-26 13:59:45