About Us
The earliest known record for the parish church of St Mary the Virgin is in the Domesday Book of 1086. A meeting was held here by King Edward the Martyr in 977, and the Saxon priest is named in the Domesday Book, but almost nothing survives from this period.
The oldest visible parts of the present church include the early twelfth century Norman arches supporting the central bell tower, and an Anglo-Saxon tympanum over the vestry door. Beneath the floor of the chancel are the foundations of a former apse that also was built in the early twelfth century.
In about 1250 the nave was rebuilt and the north and south aisles were added, each linked with the nave by arcades of three bays. On the south side of the tower is the transeptal chapel of Our Lady, which may be of the same date. In the late thirteenth century the apse was replaced with a rectangular chancel.
For more information about the history of St Mary the Virgin's Church in Kirtlington, please go to The Akeman Benefice website following the link below -