St Leonard

St Leonard’s is a very imposing church, at the side of busy main road near the centre of Padiham. It was built in 1869 on the site of many other churches dating back to 1451. From the outside, there is an imposing four sided tower, housing eight bells and a clock face on each side which can be seen from miles around.

Entering the church, one is immediately struck by the spaciousness, the high roof and the magnificent five stained glass windows in the Sanctuary. In 1972 there was a devastating fire which destroyed the roof, and many items within the building, including a recently refurbished pipe organ. However, the opportunity was taken to modernise the layout and since then, over time, meeting rooms, a kitchen and new toilets have been added, along with a new Vestry/Parish Office. The organ was also replaced by a two manual electronic organ, which is still giving good service. Recently, LED lighting has been installed to enhance the whole area.

The Baptistery houses an octagonal stone font which is believed to have been given by the last Abbot of Whalley c. 1520. The intricately carved wooden cover features eight pediments with gilded crockets. On one side of the Sanctuary is a delicately carved light oak lectern and on the other side is a dark oak pulpit featuring a carving of our Lord on the right and St Leonard bearing a prisoners chain on the left.

For those interested in stained glass windows, they were manufactured by amongst others, Wailes of Newcastle; Edmundson of Manchester; John Hardman of Birmingham. The two windows in the Baptistry had the lower sections replaced recently after damage many years ago.

A short guide available for visitors describes the many historical features of the building and more recent additions. A fascinating and amusing booklet entitled ‘Challenge in Stone‘ describes 100 years of history of the church and its people. We have a large graveyard about 5 minutes walk away. It dates back to the early 1800’s and has many interesting monuments.