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St Leonard’s is the Anglican parish church of Wollaton, a suburb of Nottingham. The church, its curtilage and boundary wall are listed Grade II*, and several individual monuments in the churchyard Grade II.

The church consists of nave and chancel with north and south aisles and west tower with spire, with a modern vestry and ancillary accommodation on the north side of the chancel. The nave and chancel originate from around 1200, although little of the original material is now obvious, having been enclosed during later alterations. The most significant survivor is the priest's doorway incorporated into the Middleton chapel (see below). A feature of the church is the lack of a chancel arch.

A north aisle was added in the late 14th century, and the tower and south porch were added at this time. The north aisle arcade dates from this time, but incorporates older masonry. The north aisle was rebuilt in the 15th century, and the clerestory was probably added at the same time.

The tower is unusual in that the ground floor was effectively a porch to the west door, with openings to north and south. The reason for this is that the church extends right up to the road, and the unusual layout allowed the movement of processions around the church. Such processions ceased with the Reformation and the arches were blocked. As part of the 19th century restoration, the arches were reopened, enabling access to the then main entrance, the south porch.

Charles Hodgson Fowler of Durham restored the church and added the south aisle and Willoughby family chapel (on the site of the former chantry chapel) in 1885-87, in Perpendicular rather than the more common Gothic Revival style of the period.

The expansion of residential areas to the west of Nottingham in the first half of the 20th century meant that by the 1960s additional accommodation was needed. The southern arch of the tower and the south doorway were blocked, allowing additional seating in the former porch, and making the west door the main entrance. The organ was moved from the north aisle to a position over the west door. Many of the historic features were restored by the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2009 under Rector Jerry Lepine (later Dean of Bradford Cathedral until 2021).

Wollaton is associated most closely with the Willoughby family, Lords of the Manor from 1314 to 1925, several of whose tombs and monuments are in the church. The most significant are those of Sir Richard (d.1471) and his wife Alice, and that of Sir Henry (d.1528). In the late 15th and early 16th centuries chantry chapels related to members of the Willoughby family (the Lords Middleton of Wollaton Hall) were added either side of the chancel, although these then disappeared following the Reformation.

Sir Richard's tomb, on the north side of the chancel, consists of a slab with inlaid brass in a highly decorated niche. Below the slab is a cadaver effigy. On the opposite side is the tomb of Sir Henry, in the form of a chest tomb with his effigy on top, surrounded by smaller effigies of his 4 wives. The chest itself has openwork sides, displaying a cadaver effigy within the chest. The stonework of the effigies has suffered considerable deterioration, some of which may have been deliberate, but recent conservation has revealed traces of paint which show that originally the effigy would have been highly coloured.

The presence of two cadaver effigies in the same parish church is unique in Britain, with only the cathedrals of Exeter, Salisbury and Winchester to match. There are only 37 cadaver effigy locations in total. Recent research indicates that the two effigies have almost certainly been exchanged at some time.

Apart from the various monuments to the Willoughby family, the other significant fitting from before the 19th century is the reredos. This is in painted wood, and the style is very much that of the late 17th century. For long it has been thought to date from that period, but recent research (2021) has disclosed details among the Middleton family records of it being installed as late as 1744. The carving (although not the design) was carried out by a relatively local craftsman, Henry Watson of Heanor.

Other notable features are 19th and 20th century stained glass windows by C.E. Kempe and Christopher Whall, and a monument to Robert Smythson who was known as the first professional architect in England and designed nearby Wollaton Hall among other grand buildings of the 16th century. Its 15th century illustrated antiphonal book, a rare survival, is now in a museum but is reproduced digitally in the church. The organ is a Willis, most recently enlarged within a new case at the west end of the church in 2012.

The text of this shared description has been jointly written by Stephen Craven and Alan Murray-Rust. Sources: Church guide book by Mary & Malcolm Stacey, 2nd edition 2009 with supplementary sheet updating information to 2021; Historic England listing Link ;
Southwell & Nottingham Church History Project Link