St. Leonard, Beoley, Worcestershire

Description

The church of St. Leonard is an ancient building of stone in the Early English and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch and an embattled western tower, with pinnacles, containing 6 bells: the Sheldon chapel in the north side of the chancel, restored in 1891 at a cost of £130, contains many ancient and handsome monuments to members of this family, including the tomb of William Sheldon, who fought for Richard III. at Bosworth Field, August 22, 1485, and for a time lost his estate in consequence; it was, however, afterwards restored to him by an act of grace of Henry VII.: there are also two fine tombs with recumbent figures of knights and their dames under richly decorated canopies: said to be the work of Italian sculptors, and erected by Ralph Sheldon to the memory of his immediate ancestors; the crest of the Sheldon family, a "sheldrake," occurs frequently in the heraldic part of the decorations, the rest of the ornamental work, which is very rich, being of the Renaissance period: the stays which supported the banners of the Sheldon family still remain on the west wall, but the banners themselves have long since disappeared: the chapel contains a stone altar and a fine east window of the Late Tudor period, perhaps unique: the remains of many of the Sheldons lie in a vault underneath the mortuary chapel: there is a brass to Francis Sheldon, ob. 1631: the church was partially restored in 1885, and again in 1891, at a total cost of £1,450, and affords sittings for 240 persons, 100 being free.

Church Records

The parish register dates from the year 1538.