Streatham, St Leonard
Tooting Bec Gardens, SW16 1RB Find on map
Number of bells: 8
Tenor Weight: 12¾ cwt
Ground floor ring: No
District: Northern
Practice Night: Tuesday
Ringing Times: Sunday Service: 9 - 10am. Evenings by arrangement.. Practice: 8.00-9.30pm (occasional quarter peal - please check)
Entry: Entry is by a spiral staircase inside the West door of the church.
Contact: Tower Contact gill@elderberry.co.uk Gill Tomlinson
Additional Information: Very limited parking in church car park & Tooting Bec Gdns. Alternative is Tooting Bec Common end of Prentis Rod.
Website: www.stleonard-streatham.org.uk/bells.html
St Leonard’s is the ancient parish church of Streatham. The building, begun by Sir John Ward in 1350, was substantially rebuilt and enlarged during the 19th century. The interior was redesigned after being gutted by fire in 1975, giving a lighter, more open feel to the church.
There were probably five bells prior to 1785, when a new ring of six (tenor 14 cwt) by Thomas Mears II was installed. The Duke of Bedford, then patron of the parish, donated the tenor with the remainder of the cost being raised by public subscription. Those bells were augmented to eight and the tenor recast by Warners in 1906 but were subsequently destroyed in the fire.
The present eight were cast by Whitechapel in 1980/81, the tenor being the gift of the Surrey Association to celebrate its centenary, hung by voluntary labour and dedicated to the Glory of God on 25th October 1981.