Historic Churches in Oxfordshire

Not the oldest, but certainly the most popular of Oxford's historic churches, and the one which seems to have been at the centre of great events throughout Oxford's turbulent history. The first meetings of masters and students may have been held here in the 12th century, and the library of Oxford University was founded here. In 1547 St Mary's was used as a courtroom for the heresy trial of the Oxford Martyr's, Bishops Latimer and Ridley, and Archbishop Cranmer. You can climb to the top of the tower for wonderful views down onto the Radcliffe Camera and All Soul's College, and across the 'dreaming spires' of Oxford.
High Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, OX1 4AH

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Rousham's pretty 12th-century church stands within the grounds of Rousham House. The church holds memorials to generations of the Cottrell-Dormer family, owners of Rousham House, and features beautifully-carved nave arcades and a 12th-century chancel arch.
Rousham House, Rousham, Oxfordshire, England, OX25 4QY

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Heritage Highlight: 16th-century Dormer memorial

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A 15th-century private chapel featuring superbly carved and painted original woodwork. The chapel was built in 1449 by Richard Quatremayne, a close aide to Richard, Duke of York, and later, to Edward IV. It was to serve as a private chapel for Ryecote Palace, now sadly destroyed. The chapel features a musician's gallery and a beautifully carved rood screen. The font is 12th century, salvaged from an earlier church on this site.
Rycote Park, Milton Common, Thame, Oxfordshire, England, OX9 2PE

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Heritage Highlight: Superb 17th century roofed pews with royal associations

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St Mary's Church in the Oxfordshire village of Salford dates to the 12th century, with a major rebuilding in the Victorian period. Historical highlights include a Norman font decorated with blind arcading and a 12th-century tympanum carved with the Zodiac symbols of Sagittarius and Leo.
Chapel Lane, Salford, Oxfordshire, England, OX7 5YL

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Heritage Highlight: Norman font and carved tympanum

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St Faith's is a lovely Grade-I listed 12th-century church with a striking early 17th-century spire. There are 14th-century windows and a nicely carved Norman south doorway.
Church Street, Shellingford, Oxfordshire, England, SN7 7PZ

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Shilton is one of the prettiest, and most frequently photographed, villages in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. It lies roughly midway between the old market town of Burford and the more modern town of Carterton, in lovely west Oxfordshire countryside.

Church Lane, Shilton, Oxfordshire, England, OX18 4AE

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Heritage Highlight: 15th century font with beautifully carved relief design

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The parish church of St Mary's, Shipton under Wychwood is largely a 13th-century building, altered in the 14th and 15th centuries. There are some interesting 16th-century memorials, and a pulpit carved from a single piece of wood. The octagonal font dates to the late 15th century and was a gift of the Earls of Warwick. The most interesting feature, however, is the Thame Palimpsest, a wonderful brass memorial to Elizabeth Thame (d. 1548), whose likeness is engraved on the reverse of a piece of brass originally used to record a 1494 grant to the Guild of St Mary in Aylesbury.
Shipton under Wychwood, Cotswolds, Oxfordshire, England

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All Saints church stands in the shadow of historic 14th-century Shirburn Castle, home of the Earls of Macclesfield. The church dates to the 13th century, but incorporates parts of an earlier Norman church.
Shirburn, Oxfordshire, England, OX49 5DL

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A small 12th-century country church in the Evenlode valley, featuring a wealth of medieval wall paintings. Among the numerous paintings are a 'Doom' or Day of Judgement, a depiction of the Miracle of the Clay Birds, and likenesses of Sts Loy, Frideswald, and Zita, among many others. Well worth a trip.
Shorthampton, Oxfordshire, England

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Heritage Highlight: A superb collection of medieval wall paintings

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A large cruciform church in a sizeable village on the border of Oxfordshire and Wiltshire, the main interest of St Andrew's lies in the fact that most of the building - with the exception of the tower - was built during the reign of Charles I, at a time when there was very little in the way of church building in England. As such, it presents a rather unusual style - a merging of late Perpendicular and Classical.
Church Way, Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, England, SN6 8AN

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