Aston, St James Church

St James Church, Aston, Oxfordshire

St James Church stands in the centre of Aston, on the road to Standlake. It is, at first glance, a very plain Victorian building, on a cruciform plan, with a four-bay nave and a short, single-bay chancel.

History

The church was begun in 1838, when Aston was a chapelry of Bampton. The church was paid for by private subscription and with the aid of a gift from the vicar of Bampton.

The land on which the church stands was given by Henry Hippisley, a local landowner, and the design was executed by Thomas Greenshields of Oxford. The style is nominally Gothic, though a very plain and unembellished Gothic at that. The original design called for a stumpy west tower, but to this a spire was added in 1860.

The parish bier

That spire was provided by William Monk, who also gave a second bell. Six new bells were added in 1883 at a cost of £410, a sizeable amount at the time.

The interior furnishings are wonderful examples of 19th-century woodworking, with beautiful Victorian benches, choir stalls, lectern, and a pulpit in Geometric Gothic style.

The east window [Wilkinson memorial]

Memorial Windows

The richly-coloured stained-glass window above the altar is relatively recent, added in 1948 in memory of Major Thornton Wilkinson of the Green Howards (Yorkshire Regiment). Another military memorial is the stained-glass window in the choir, given in memory of Captain JLM Morton of the 23rd Battalion, Manchester Regiment, who died at Passchendaele in 1917.

All other windows were designed by MC Farrah-Bell, with input from Sir John Betjeman.

The beautifully crafted 19th-century pulpit

The church is unusually sparse in terms of memorials. The only two wall plaques that we saw were to 20h-century burials, the oldest being to Ellen Reed, who died in 1905 at just 22 years old.

A dedication board commemorates the church's erection and reads as follows:

'This chapel was erected in the year 1839; it contains 500 sittings, and in consequence of a grant from the Incorporated society for promoting the enlargement, building, and repairing of Churches and Chapels, 350 of that number are hereby declared to be free and unappropriated for ever.'

The wording offers a glimpse into the 19th-century, when worshippers were able to pay for reserved pews if they could afford them. The closer to the front of the church, and to the altar (and, by extension, to God), the more expensive the pews became.

The 1839 dedication panel

Visiting

The church is on Cote Road, next to the primary school. The church was open when we visited and, as far as we are aware, is open daily to visitors. There is parking along Cote Road, in front of the church.

If you are visiting Aston, don't miss the chance to visit the colourful Aston Pottery Gardens, a short walk away on the road to Bampton.