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A pen and ink drawing of St Leonard’s Church with a prominent square tower, surrounded by trees and a stone boundary wall.

St Leonard, Little Downham

St Leonard, Little Downham

History of St Leonard

Listed building

Parish Church. Tower C12 with C19 fourth stage replacing an earlier structure (W. Cole). C12 door reset in early C13 south aisle. Nave, aisles and chancel C13 unbuttressed, with walls repaired and partly rebuilt C19. C14 windows in chancel and aisles restored or replaced C19. Porch rebuilt C19 with C15 arch re-used. Roofs C19.

Black and white ink drawing of a pointed arch doorway with zigzag stone carvings, side columns, and an iron-hinged wooden door.

Norman door, St Leonard, Little Downham

According to The Village and the Church : Downham in the Isle (1974) Downham’s recorded history starts in 970 AD when the abbot of Ely purchased six hides of land at Downham. At the time of the Domesday Book Downham had 15 villeins, 8 cottars, and 8 serfs.

In 1251 Bishop Hugh of Ely built a Palace with a park of some 250 acres.

A stone church with a tall tower and tiled roof sits under a blue sky, partially framed by tree branches and old gravestones.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

Stone church building with a square clock tower, tiled roof, and a prominent porch entrance in a sunlit grassy graveyard.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

Interior view of a stone church nave with pointed arches, a wooden beamed ceiling, a projector screen, and a stained-glass window.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

A large painted wooden panel displaying a royal coat of arms flanked by lions is mounted below the gabled roof of a church.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

Stained glass window set in a stone arch beneath a high timber roof with painted decorative floral and geometric patterns.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

Intricate wooden vaulted ceiling with grey painted beams decorated with gold floral patterns and monogrammed paneling.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

A stone-arched wooden door stands in a white church wall with memorial plaques and a large pillar in the foreground.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

A detailed view of a vaulted timber church ceiling featuring intricately painted rafters, stencilled floral patterns, and gilding.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

Looking down the aisle of a church toward the altar, featuring stone arches, a red carpet runner, and a Royal Coat of Arms.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

Two stained glass lancet windows set in stone tracery feature religious figures holding a lamb and a lantern respectively.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

Stained glass window depicting Christ carrying a cross, surrounded by smaller figures in military and civilian attire.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

Wall-mounted black clock with Roman numerals and gilt lettering reading Henry Jenkins London, hanging on a plain white wall.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

A printed information notice detailing the history of St. Owen’s Mission Church behind a pane of glass reflecting light.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

A framed document containing two black-and-white photos of a church interior and exterior, labeled Saint Owen's Church.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

Dark wooden door with ornate iron hinges set within a stone archway featuring carved faces and zig-zag molding on its frame.

St Leonard Little Downham (RGL2026)

Sources

  • Historic England
  • Photographs
  • Unknown Source

Tags

  • church
  • Listed building
  • medieval

Projects

  • Little Downham

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Licence

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 not including content on external links as indicated byexternal link.

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