St Leonard's Church, Balderstone

St Leonard’s Church stands in the quiet village of Balderstone, Lancashire, on ground that has been used for worship since the late 15th century. The present building replaced an earlier chapel of ease in 1854, designed by R. B. Rampling of Preston. A decade later a slim tower and spire were added by the Lancaster firm of Austin and Paley, giving the church its present outline against the skyline. The church is built of local sandstone with slate roofs and a simple four-bay nave leading to a lower chancel. Inside, an open timber roof spans the nave, and a two-manual organ made by Henry Willis in 1872 still stands restored. The east window holds five lights with Geometric tracery, while the west end features a polygonal baptistry topped by a three-light window. Outside, the churchyard contains a re-erected sundial from the early 19th century, its limestone columns and brass gnomon marking the hours. Six war graves from the First World War lie among the gravestones, and the whole churchyard is bordered by low stone walls. The building remains an active place of worship, its quiet setting unchanged by the centuries.