At the meeting of Council on 15th October a total sum of £174,000 was awarded to 12 churches. Two of these awards had been made under the Feasibility and Supplementary grant schemes.
St Nicholas, Kiddington (Grade II*) received a grant of £35,000 for extensive repairs.
The origins of the church are Norman, and the original chancel arch survives from this time. The rest of the church was rebuilt about 1400 in the Decorated Gothic style. The chancel was extended westwards so that, unusually amongst parish churches, it has one chancel arch in front of another. Later in the Middle Ages a Perpendicular Gothic east window was inserted in the chancel. In 1845 the chancel was rebuilt in its present apsidal form on the original Norman foundations to designs by George Gilbert Scott (1811-78).
St Mary, Magdalene, Crowmarsh Clifford (Grade I) received a grant of £30,000 for the installation of an accessible WC and servery.
The church was originally built in the early 12th century, possibly as the chapel of a leper colony under the care of Wallingford Priory. In 1140, it was used as a fortified post by King Stephen in his wars with Matilda who held Wallingford Castle.
The present building, sympathetically restored in 1840–1, 1868, and 1894–5, comprises nave, chancel, and north transept constructed of rendered flint and stone rubble with stone dressings and tiled roofs. A tall wooden bellcote at the nave’s west end, surmounted by a tiled pyramidal roof, is a 19th century replacement of an earlier original. The interior contains a 12th century piscina and baptismal font.
St Mary, Adderbury (Grade I) received a grant of £26,000 for the installation of chandeliers to heat the church.
The extant building is Norman in origin replacing an earlier Saxon church on the site. Inside the church is a mensa – a stone altar – which is the oldest object in the church, put there under the order of Lanfranc the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1866 Sir Gilbert Scott restored the nave, aisles, and south transept. Betjeman judged its exterior to be the finest in the county.
St Mary the Virgin, Shipton under Wychwood (Grade I) received a grant of £20,000 for the installation of electric radiant heaters.
The church first served as an Anglo-Saxon Minster. The present church is mainly early 13th century although the tower, spire and door are possibly Norman, c.1200. The tower is octagonal with four large pinnacles and dormer windows at the base, reminiscent of others in the county including Christ Church Cathedral. It contains a pre-reformation drum-shaped pulpit carved from a single block of stone with carved corbel heads.
The church was restored in 1857 by G E Street (1824-81) who oversaw the removal of the chancel screen, and moved the pulpit.
St Mary, North Leigh (Grade I) received a grant of £15,000 for urgent repairs to the tower roof
The church has undergone many changes over the centuries. Its tower is Anglo-Saxon
It contains The Wilcote Chantry Chapel (c.1442) a fine example of Perpendicular Gothic and Fan Vaulting.
In 1864 the Gothic Revival architect G.E. Street (1824-81) restored the church and reinstated the Norman font. The 15th century Doom painting at the east end of the nave was uncovered and restored and the south porch was built.
SS Peter & Paul, Steeple Aston (Grade II*) received a grant of £15,000 for roof repairs.
Every age has left its mark on this 12th century building with 13th, 14th, and 19th century architectural styles. In 1842 John Plowman (c.1773–1843) undertook some work on the building and in 1873 it was further restored by Charles E Buckeridge (1864-98).
The Steeple Aston Cope (1320-1340) made with silk, silver, and gold threads one of the few surviving examples of English medieval embroidery once belonged to the church but is now housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum
St Mary Magdalene, Duns Tew (Grade II) received a grant of £8,000 for connection to the water mains and associated drainage work.
The church was given to Merton Priory before 1198, and appropriated by the church by 1292. The font and porch date from 13th century and the arcade of pillars with carved heads is 14th century. In 1862 the church was largely rebuilt by George Gilbert Scott (1811-78). The lychgate at the entrance to the churchyard was built to commemorate the year 2000.
Holy Trinity, Sibford Gower (Grade II) received a grant of £8,000 for the installation of an energy efficient heating system
The building (which notably has no tower or separate chancel) was constructed in 1840 to a cruciform plan design in a simple Early English style by H J Underwood (1804-52) and funded by Grant and public subscription. It was extended in 1897. There are some excellent examples of Victorian and Edwardian stained-glass windows, fine pews, and choir stalls.
St Mary Magdalene, Stoke Talmage (Grade II) received a grant of £6,000 for internal repairs to the ceiling
The first clear historical reference to a church on this site dates from 1219. The medieval church was renovated in 1758 and restored again in 1860 by Gilbert Scott (1811-78) who added the south porch and the north aisle.
St Mary, Long Wittenham (Grade I) received a grant of £4,000 for repairs to the stonework and rainwater goods
The church is essentially Norman in origin with later medieval additions. It 1850 it was sensitively restored by Gilbert Scott (1811-78). Internally it contains some excellent medieval and Jacobean fittings including a 12th century lead font and 17th century woodwork brought from Exeter College, Oxford, in 1875.
St Mary Banbury (Grade I) received a Feasibility grant of £3,000 to explore options for repairs and restoration
The main body of the church was built in 1790-97 to a design by S.P. Cockerell (1753-1827), the tower and portico being finally completed in 1822. The interior was remodelled in the 1860s-70s by Arthur Blomfield, (1829-99) with stained glass windows and wall paintings by Heaton, Butler, and Bayne, including major artwork by the highly talented pre-Raphaelite artist Alfred Hassam (1842-69).
St James the Great, Stonesfield (Grade II*) received a Supplementary grant of £4,000 to cover the increased costs of its substantial roof repairs project (funded by the Trust in 2023).
This Early English church was built in approximately 1220 and contains some fine features from that period. The west tower was heightened in the 15th century. The church underwent some restoration and changes in the 19th century, which Pevsner (1902-83) deemed were unsuccessful.