At the meeting of Council on 11 October a sum of £173,000 was awarded to 13 churches which represents a significant increase in the level of grants given by the Trust. The Trustees intend maintaining this for as long as possible in order to help churches cope with rising building costs and to encourage them to move ahead with their programmes of maintenance and development following the period of covid lockdowns. The maximum grant has been raised to £35,000, or £50,000 for a David Booth Award. The Trust’s third David Booth Award was made to the church of St Mary the Virgin, Buckland.”
St Mary the Virgin, Buckland (Grade I) The largest grant of £50,000 was awarded to the church of for roof, tower and drainage work.
This church is on the Heritage at Risk register. The Doomsday Book of 1086 mentions ‘a church in the Manor of Buckland’. The present church has a 12th century Nave, a 13th century Chancel, Transepts and Tower. The Vestry and Organ chamber extensions are Victorian. The South Transept contains highly decorated panels of mosaic representing the Te Deum Laudamus, installed in 1890/2 at the expense of William West of Barcote.
St Mary the Virgin, Great Milton (Grade I) received a grant of £30,000 for the renovation, conservation and repositioning of the magnificent alabaster monument to Sir Michael Dormer (d.1616). Judged to be the finest of its type in the country this tomb chest was originally located in the South Aisle before it was moved in 1860 to its current position where it is suffering from rising damp. The church is largely 14th century and was restored by Gilbert Scott in 1850.
Holy Trinity, Witney (Grade II) received a grant of £25,000 for urgent roof repairs.
Built in 1848-9 this aisleless church has a two-bay chancel and a five-bay nave
St Andrew, Wheatfield (Grade I) received a grant of £15,000 for the second phase of its programme for repairs. This will consist of work to remedy internal damage to the plasterwork caused by damp as well as porch repairs.
Described as ‘an ornament to the county and one of the six best churches in Oxfordshire for atmosphere’, the church stands isolated in the middle of a field. The original 14th century building was entirely remodelled in 1730 in a Georgian style, including font, pulpit and box pews.
All Saints, Wroxton (Grade I) received a grant of £15,000 for the restoration of the organ and loft.
The Clerestory and aisles are 15th century, a musician’s gallery was installed in 1738. The tower, designed by Sanderson Miller (1716-80) was rebuilt in 1748 at the expense of Francis, Lord North of Wroxton Abbey. The existing organ made by Halmshaw & Sons (Birmingham) was installed in 1879. Bodley and Garner undertook a number of restorations in 1885.
All Saints, Cuddesdon (Grade I) received a grant of £12,000 for urgent repairs to the tower and North transept.
The church is Norman with a central tower and flanking transepts. Aisles were added in the 13th century. Major restoration work was undertaken by G E Street in 1851-3.
St Peter ad Vincula, South Newington (Grade I) received a grant of £10,000 for repairs to the tower pinnacles.
This Norman church is celebrated for its exceptional North aisle wall paintings c.1300. The Nave contains late 15th century paintings which are less rigidly stylized and more naturalistic than those in the North Aisle.
Three churches each received grants of £5,000:
St Mary, Black Bourton (Grade I) for the installation of electric heating
Th earliest features are Norman including the chancel, font and carved stone pulpit – the priest’s door may be even earlier, possibly Saxon. The highlight of the church is its 13th century wall paintings. Covered at the Reformation, they were first uncovered when the church was restored in 1866. However, against the vicar’s wishes, they were again whitewashed and were not finally uncovered until 1932.
St James, Little Milton (Grade II) for the installation of under pew heating.
Built in 1844 by the Gothic Revival architect John Hayward of Exeter (1807-91). The west tower was added by Hayward in 1861. The church design is a 14th century style with a single nave and chancel under one roof. The oldest feature is the drain of a medieval piscine from the former chapel. The stained-glass windows were produced between 1853 and 1869.
St Frideswide, Oxford (Grade II*) for external repairs
Built in a Romanesque style by S S Teulon (1812-93). Dedicated to the patroness of Oxford, the foundation stone was laid in 1870 and the church was consecrated on 10 April 1872 by the Bishop of Oxford. It was originally intended for the church tower to have a spire. In the nave is the “Alice Door”, carved by Alice Liddell, a daughter of Henry Liddell, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, made famous through Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
St Peter, Drayton, Banbury (Grade II*) received a grant of £1,000 for footpath works to the South Porch.
Dating from 1223, its earliest surviving features are a Norman priest’s doorway and font. In the 14th century it was almost completely rebuilt in the Decorated Gothic style and north and south aisles were added. The low west tower was added in 1808 and has three 17th century bells: two cast in 1634 and two more cast in 1670. In 1878 the Gothic Revival architect Edwin Dolby (1838-1900) restored the church and added a vestry.
The Trust has also recently introduced a new scheme to fund Feasibility/Investigative works and architect’s fees prior to the start of a church project for repairs or enhancements. The churches of All Saints, Mollington and Holy Trinity, Shenington (both Grade II*) each received a grant of £1,500 under the auspices of this scheme.