Church of St Leonard, Old Warden

The Abbey Church of St Leonard stands in the quiet village of Old Warden in Bedfordshire. Built mainly of brown cobblestones with limestone dressings, the church mixes Norman, medieval and later styles. Its tower base dates from the 12th century, while the rest was rebuilt in the 15th. The elaborate wooden interior was added in the mid to late 19th century by the 3rd Baron Ongley. A timber-framed south porch was added in 1952 in memory of Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth. Inside, the church is famous for its ornate wooden carvings collected in the 19th century. Many panels are said to come from Anne of Cleves’s private chapel, marked by crowned initials. Medieval stained glass in the north wall shows St Margaret and an abbot from Wardon Abbey. The lectern bears the RAF eagle and motto, given by Mrs Shuttleworth after her son’s death in 1940. The carved pulpit, probably 18th-century Flemish, and the altar panels were also added by the Shuttleworth family. The west end holds a life-size monument to Sir Samuel Ongley, a director of the East India Company. The churchyard contains the Ongley Family mausoleum with 42 vaults, only ten used. A chapel in the south nave holds the Shuttleworth family crest and RAF wings plaque. Six bells ring here, the oldest over 400 years old. The churchyard also holds the graves of Admiral Sir Lionel Halsey and Sir Ralph Harwood, among others.