St Leonard, Billingford
St Leonard's church is situated on a hill above the busy A143 road, surrounded by fields and adjoined by the Hall. Hall Farm is a little further to the north with its access road, which also serves as a public footpath, leading past the churchyard. The church has a curiously short tower and it is not known if the top has collapsed at some time or whether the tower was never finished. The nave north windows date from the 13th century. The baptismal font is original and has a cover dating from the 16th century. The font cover is contemporary with the fine Jacobean pulpit. The pews were remade during a restoration in Victorian time but they retain the original medieval pew ends, some of them with carved faces. The rood screen is original also but most of the paint has at some time been removed from the panels. The remains of a 13th century wallpainting can be seen on the south wall. Some of the windows contain fragments of medieval glass dating from the 14th century. down the hill and across the narrow bridge, and climbed again the track to the church.
The Church War Memorial includes the name of Lieutenant Gordon Muriel Flowerdew who was a Canadian but born at Billingford and awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously for has heroic actions in the Battle of Moreuil Wood 30th March 1918
“
If anybody would like to expand this series please do, I would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first at churchmicro@gmail.comso he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page found via the Bookmark list”