Baulking: St Nicholas

Woolstone: All Saints

All Saints is a delightful small church built of local clunch on a sarsen base. It was originally built for St. Swithun's Priory in Winchester in the early thirteenth century. The exterior retains a Norman door on the north side. Inside there is an unusual fourteenth-century lead font, a lovely chancel arch complete with a Green Man carving and a sculpture depicting the Stations of the Cross by Woolstone sculptor, Heidi Lloyd. In Spring, the graveyard is a mass of primroses. One wonders how many walkers from the Ridgeway have, over the centuries, stopped by this church to appreciate its peace.

The church is open in daylight hours. There is limited off-road parking off the lane approaching the church gate. If you are fit and able, please use The White Horse pub car park at the bottom of the hill. The landlord has kindly given permission to churchgoers. The church is accessed by a sloping path. The entrance and the nave of the church are all on one level. There are steps up to the chancel. For communion services, we are happy to bring the bread and wine to those in the pews. All Saints is a special place, nestling as it does at the foot of White Horse Hill. Whether worshipping with us, enjoying the church’s peace and quiet, or coming to enjoy one of our concerts, we welcome all visitors.

Uffington: St Mary

Famous for its links to John Betjeman and Thomas Hughes (author of Tom Brown’s School Days), St Mary’s distinctive octagonal tower sits proudly beneath the White Horse Hill. St Mary’s dates to the mid-thirteenth century and is a large cruciform church. It is believed that the church was built under the auspices of Abingdon Abbey, perhaps explaining how a rural village comes to have such an imposing church. The church provides a classic example of Early English style. Notable exterior features include a grand south porch with modern statues of St George and Alfred the Great by a local artist from Woolstone, Heidi LLoyd, and eleven surviving roundels from the original set of consecration crosses. The upper storey of the current tower replaced a steeple that collapsed in a storm of 1740. The interior was restored under the supervision of Diocesan architect G. E. Street in 1851. The interior retains the original sedilia and some interesting memorials, including a seventeenth-century tomb with the recumbent figure of John Saunders of Woolstone. For further details of the church’s history please see https://www.uffington.net/visitor-info/church-history/, or guide booklets are available in the church.If you are planning a visit, there is also Tom Brown’s School Museum.John Betjeman, churchwarden of St Mary’s in the 1930s, wrote a poem about Uffington:

Uffington

Tonight we feel the muffled peal

Hang on the village like a pall;

It overwhelms the towering elms

That death-reminding dying fall;

The very sky no longer high

Comes down within the reach of all.

Imprisoned in a cage of sound

Even the trivial seems profound.

The church is open in daylight hours, access is by the south-east door. For services, the main south-west door is used. There is on-street parking outside the church gate, though we ask you to respect the needs of local residents and the adjacent school. Access to a toilet is available during services and events. There is a sound loop system. There is limited off-road parking for the disabled. The church is accessed by a smooth tarmac path and there is wheelchair access using a ramp via the main south-west door. Inside is on one level except for steps up to the altar. A ramp is available on request or, for communion services, we are happy to bring the bread and wine to those in the pews.

We hope that, whether you are local or a visitor, joining us for worship, coming to discover the church’s history or simply looking for a quiet place to be, you will enjoy your time in St Mary’s.

Shellingford: St Faiths

St Faith’s light and quiet interior lends it a sense of calm. ‘A very satisfying church’ in Pevsner’s view. The church is twelfth century in origin, with Norman exterior doors and a Normal chancel arch still visible. As commemorated in the date above the porch door, the spire and porch were added in 1625. Inside there are two impressive eighteenth-century memorials to Mary Packer and Edward Hannes, Queen Anne’s physician. In addition, there is an early nineteenth-century memorial to the third Viscount Ashbrook by John Flaxman. The interior was renovated, with the addition of box pews, by Frederick Etchells in the mid-twentieth century and in 1968 a fine organ by Peter Collins was installed.

The church is open in daylight hours. There is on-street parking outside the church gate, though we ask you to respect the needs of local residents. For those joining us for services, there is a sound loop system. The church is accessed by a sloping gravel drive and there is limited off-road parking near the church porch for the disabled. There are steps down into the nave from the porch. A ramp is available on request. St Faith’s is a welcoming and serene place to visit or worship in and we hope that you will enjoy your time here.