ST MARY MAGDALENE CHURCH, WOODSTOCK
Anglican Church
Improved community facilities OHCT Grant: £15,000
This major project to reorder the nave and to provide a flexible space for a wider range of uses was undertaken over a six-month period in 2017. Improvements included new heating, lighting, the provision of a servery with modern cooking and wash-up facilities, new lavatories and the creation of a step-free automatic entry access to the church.
OHCT was delighted assist the church in funding these improvements, providing a seed-corn grant as a contribution to the fund-raising appeal undertaken by the church. The Appeal is doing well but further donations would be welcomed.
More information at http://woodstockandbladon.com/fundraising
St Mary Magdalene Church (Grade II listed) was built in the reign of Henry I for the convenience of the court during royal visits to the royal hunting lodge of Woodstock Manor – the main parish church was (and remained for centuries) at St Martin’s Church in Bladon, for which St Mary Magdalene was a chapel at ease.
The chancel was built in the 14th century but the church has been significantly rebuilt and altered over the centuries: by the late 18th century the church tower was in a dangerous state and it was rebuilt in 1784; and the church did not escape Victorian ‘improvements’ being largely reconstructed in 1878.