For this church:

Introduction

Location

History

Archaeology

Fittings

Glass

Organ

Bells

Clock

Stonework

Monuments

War Memorial

Churchyard

References

Pictures

Plans

Listing Description

List of Incumbents

Parish page

West Leake
St Helena

Stonework

Nave and ?Chancel

The original wall fabric is principally composed of coursed blocks of locally sourced pale grey Lias (Lower Jurassic) limestone and lesser amounts of greenish grey, fine-grained Triassic sandstone block (probably from the Castle Donnington – Weston on Trent area). The surviving original window mouldings and buttresses are similar fine, greenish grey Triassic sandstone. In the window mouldings the sandstone is badly decayed and partially replaced with a harder pale brown, dressed Carboniferous (Millstone Grit) sandstone (?Derbyshire). The weathered tympanum is a face-bedded block of pale greenish brown Triassic sandstone. Occasional irregular blocks of purple or greenish metamorphic slate from the Precambrian rocks of Charnwood, Leicestershire have been used as well as rounded, water worn quartzite cobbles from the local fluvio-glacial, surface sediments sediments.

Much of the upper part of the Nave gable end has been reconstructed of buff-brown to reddish, coarse grained Carboniferous (Millstone Grit) sandstone block with a distinctively tooled / dressed surface. The same dressed sandstone was also used in the ‘new’ porch and side aisle.

Belfry and roof pinnacles

Constructed of pollution blackened Carboniferous sandstone blocks.

Churchyard

Lychgate roofed with Swithland Slate (Cambrian).

Swithland slate headstones in the graveyard.

with thanks to Dr Graham Lott for this information