Church of St Leonard the Less, Samlesbury

The Church of St Leonard the Less stands beside the River Ribble in the village of Samlesbury, Lancashire. It is an Anglican parish church built mainly in 1558, with a tower added between 1899 and 1900. The church occupies a site where there has been a place of worship since the 12th century. Traces of earlier structures remain within the present building. In 1966 it was recognised as a Grade I listed building. Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby, substantially rebuilt the church in 1558. A major restoration took place in 1885, followed by the addition of the tower designed by James Bertwistle of Blackburn. The church contains funerary armour from 1546 belonging to Thomas Southworth of Samlesbury Hall. Three war graves from the First World War lie in the churchyard. The church is built of yellow sandstone with older red sandstone sections and stone slate roofs. Inside, the nave and chancel form a single space measuring 66 feet by 18 feet 6 inches. There are box pews from the 16th and 17th centuries and a double-decker pulpit at the north end of the nave. A piscina is set into the south wall of the sanctuary, and a concealed baptistery lies behind an oak screen in the south aisle.