With its stone tower and spire, and windows of the Decorated period, from the outside Appleby Magna looks every inch a medieval church, which is what it is, and an excellent example of its kind.
Appleby Magna, Leicestershire
But the interior was given a complete overhaul in the first four decades of the 19th century, transforming it into a space with very high ceilings culminating in plastered rib vaulting.
At the same time the furnishings were completely renewed, box pews were installed throughout and the west gallery was rebuilt.
The north and south doors were closed off, and the main entrance became the west door under the tower. The chancel was remodelled during the 1870s.
The oldest part of the church is the chapel in the north east corner. Here is the battered effigy of Sir Edmund de Appleby, who fought with Edward III at the Battle of Crecy in 1346. His moated manor house was just to the east of the church.
Norton Juxta Twycross, Leicestershire
The church probably sits on the site of an earlier Saxon church, as the village is known to have had a priest by the 1086 Domesday survey, when Comitissa Godeva (Lady Godiva of Coventry fame) was the named overlord of the village.
Acresford, Leicestershire
The church is in the former stores and maltings of Acresford Brewery, and because of its history and uniqueness in being located in a row of terraced cottages it is a Methodist Heritage Site.
Twycross, Leicestershire
The parish church of St James dates from the 14th century with a 15th century tower.
