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Summary

St Leonard's Church was originally built in 1835, replacing the medieval St Leonard's Chapel of Ease. Like the medieval chapel it also functioned as a Chapel of East for St Mary's, Wolborough. It was extended in 1876, the extension being in quite a different style to the original building. It ceased to function as a church in 1995. The building subsequently became an antiques emporium. It then stood empty from 2011 until 2016 when it was purchased by Newton Abbot Town Council and converted into the new town museum, community space and council offices and renamed Newton's Place.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1256721: CHURCH OF ST LEONARD

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX87SE/254
• Old Listed Building Ref (II)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CHURCH (Built, XIX - 1801 AD (Between) to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Harris, S. G., 1899, Notes on the History of Newton Abbot, 290 (Article in Serial). SDV338239.

Department of Environment, 1983, Newton Abbot, 39 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV298253.

Church of St Leonard, Wolborough Street. Built in 1835. Architect Richard Millward but chancel of 1876 by J W Rowell. This replaced the medieval church of St Leonard in the market place which was pulled down except for the tower. Built of stone rubble. Five bay nave. West end gable ended and flanked by octagonal turrets. Traceried windows. Double doorcase. The interior has a gallery on 3 sides supported on iron clustered columns with capitals of 4 cherubs, rams, pigs, kings, merchants or peasants heads.

Weddell, P. J., 1985, The Excavation of Medieval and Later Houses at Wolborough Street, Newton Abbot, 77-103 (Article in Serial). SDV338225.

Council for the Care of Churches, 1996, Wolborough St Leonard (Report - Survey). SDV338238.

Full description given. Structure sound. West and north elevations in good repair following cleaning and repointing in 1986. Recommended for redundancy.

Oakey, N. J., 2004, Bradley Lane, Newton Abbot: Desk Based Assessment, 20 (Report - Assessment). SDV338211.

Gent, T. H. + Leverett, M., 2007, Archaeological Assessment of the Proposed Redevelopment at Wolborough Street, Bank Street and East Street, Newton Abbot, 2 (Report - Assessment). SDV338207.

English Heritage, 2012, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV348729.

Church of St. Leonard, Wolborough Street. 1835 by Richard Millward, chancel and interior alterations 1876 by JW Rowell. MATERIALS: Devon limestone rubble with freestone dressings and slate roof, crested to the chancel. PLAN: rectangular 5-bay plan with chancel of 1876. EXTERIOR: central bay of the gabled 3-bay north-west facade facing Wolborough Street is stepped forward and flanked by octagonal turrets offset in 3 stages with crenellated crown-like parapets to the tops. Five lancet recesses to the apex have a louvred opening in the tallest central one. Moulded string courses above and at sill level of a large 4-light pointed-arched traceried window with alternate red and cream voussoirs, which is above planked doors in paired pointed arches with headstops to hoodmoulds and circular windows to the tympana. The outer ranges in the lower slopes of the gable have 2-light traceried windows above pointed-arched hoodmoulds to former doors (now blocked) with 20th century windows. A wide flight of four granite steps is flanked by cast-iron bootscrapers. The chancel is of squared Devon limestone with cream freestone dressings. The returns have continuous dripmoulds with foliate terminal stops over five tall shallow-pointed 3-light windows with trefoils-headed lights. The late 19th century vestry to the right of the right return has 2-light windows with quatrefoils between trefoil-headed lights and foliate stops to the hoodmoulds; to the far right are three granite steps to the shouldered-arched planked door with elaborate strap hinges. To the rear is a single-storey lean-to with flat arches to 3-light windows.
INTERIOR: 5-bay nave has been divided by a large concertina screen to form a hall to the front. The gallery above has been half ceiled over. The whole unaltered shallow-pitched nave ceiling is panelled with foliate bosses to the angles and two circular ventilation roses; a panelled gallery to the sides and north-west end is supported on slender ribbed cast-iron columns with masks and animals to the capitals. The rest is mostly of late 19th century character including the pews. The floor to the nave is boarded, the choir and chancel have a polychromatic tiled floor; the choir, with pointed stone arches housing organ pipes on the left, is separated from the nave by a stone quatrefoil-panelled plinth to wrought-iron railings with steps and double gates to the centre. To the left is an octagonal marble pulpit with a foliate cornice over statues of saints and bishops in trefoil-headed recesses in each facet, to the right is a wrought-iron lectern. The wide moulded chancel arch rests on polished paired red marbled colonettes on corbels. The chancel (1876) has 3-light clerestorey windows, a richly-painted panelled ceiling, a three-light stained-glass window and as brass communion rail. The south chapel has an octagonal font with quatrefoil panels to the top, trefoil-headed panels to the shaft and rounded moulding to the base. Entrance hall has a shallow groin vault (1835) and l876 doors, gallery stairs and balusters with chamfered arrises to diagonal framing over planking. HISTORY: this church was built to replace the 15th century Church of St Leonard in Wolborough Street, demolished except for the tower in 1836 for road widening. Date listed: 22nd March 1983.

Harrison, V., 2021, Conversion of the former St. Leonard’s Church into Newton’s Place (Report - Survey). SDV364495.

Historic building recording undertaken prior to and during conversion and conservation of the redundant church into the new town museum, community space and council offices.
St Leonard's Church was built in 1835 by Richard Milward to replace the medieval St Leonard's Chapel of Ease which stood just to the north-east. The nave of the old chapel was demolished for road widening but the tower was retained by public demand. Like the chapel, St Leonard's Church functioned as Chapels of Ease for St Mary's, Wolborough and is marked as such on the Tithe Map.
The church was extended in 1876 with the addition of a chancel and vestries at the south end. This extension, designed by Joseph William Rowell, was in a quite different style to the original building. Below the church is a small cellar which is thought to be a subsequent addition, perhaps dug when the heating system was installed. The church, which was listed Grade II in 1983, was closed in 1995 and decommissioned in 1996. It subsequently functioned as an antiques emporium for some 15 years but has stood empty since 2011. In 2016 it was purchased by Newton Abbot Town Council and converted into the new town museum, community space and council offices, called Newton's Place.
The original 1835 church is built of coursed limestone rubble with ashlar limestone, freestone and pink composite stone dressings. The gabled front elevation has a projecting central bay flanked by two crenellated octagonal turrets with a double arched door way, a large arched traceried window above and five lancet recesses in the gable apex. The two outer bays each have an arched doorway with an arched window above. The east and west walls have four and five arched traceried windows respectively. When built the east wall abutted the Turks Head pub (demolished in 2010), and consequently has a blind recess internally. The 1875 south extension is of squared limestone blocks with cream Bath Stone dressings. The roofs are slated. The interior comprises as aisle-less nave with a first floor gallery around the north (front), east and west sides. The gallery is supported on cast iron columns with decorative plaster capitals. Most of the pews had apparently been removed by 1983. The original 1835 shallow pitched divided plaster ceiling still survives, with two ventilation roses, the metal shafts of which survived in the roof above (the ventilation mechanism was removed during conversion works due to the presence of mercury as part of the system). The ground floor pews were removed when the church was decommisioned 1996 and the wooden floor was described as 'new' at this time. The decorative pulpit, of Beer Stone, was installed in 1924. A low stone wall topped by a cast iron screen with gates separates the nave from the 1876 chancel.
The three bay chancel has two arched bays either side, those on the eastern side filled with the organ, by Hele & Co. Plymouth, 1909. The vaulted ceiling of the chancel is richly decorated and the richly coloured stained glass of the south window and side chapel windows is by Frederick Drake. The stone font was a gift to the church in 1877 by the Earl of Devon. It dates to the 15th century and came from Salcombe Church when the latter was presented with a new font.
Removal of the nave floor as part of the conversion revealed a number of features including three holes, two of which were brick lined. The function of these is unknown. Conservation works were carried out to the windows, chancel and nave ceilings and plaster capitals. The font and pulpit were also restored; the statues which had been removed from the pulpit were reinstated.
An archaeological investigation undertaken in the north-east corner of the nave/porch by AC Archaeology during the construction of the lift pit revealed wall foundations and floor surfaces. These were presumed to be associated with an earlier phase of the chapel building but Harrison suggests that they predate it. Also revealed was part of a stone-lined drain associated with a previous building on the site and which went out of use in the mid 18th century.
See report for full details.

Ordnance Survey, 2021, MasterMap 2021 (Cartographic). SDV364015.

Marked at Newtons Place.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4206 - Bradley Lane Assessment
• EDV4214 - Wolborough Street, Bank Street & East Street, Newton Abbot
• EDV8732 - Recording and analysis of St Leonard's Church, Newton Abbot

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