Woolstone: All Saints

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.

Baulking: St Nicholas

St Nicholas is a beguilingly simple church sitting at one end of the village green. It dates from the mid-thirteenth century, though naturally with a few later additions. Inside are remains of a series of fourteenth-century wall paintings thought to depict St George Slaying the Dragon and the Seven Corporal Acts of Mercy. The church is divided by an unusual stone chancel screen with stairs originally for access to the rood loft. In the eighteenth-century the roof was renovated, initials and the date of 1708 on one of the rafters being testament to this, and a recent addition of a servery and toilet, installed by local craftsmen, is the twenty-first century‘s contribution to the continuing life of the church building.

The church is open in daylight hours. There is off-road parking outside the church gate. Access to a toilet is available during services and events. The church is accessed by tarmac path. The entrance and the body of the church are all on one level. St Nicholas is a hospitable place and we welcome all visitors whether worshipping with us, attending one of our Folk music events or appreciating the church’s calm and history.

Should you wish to help maintain St Nicholas with a donation, please follow the article in the Notices section; thank you.

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.