Church of Holy Trinity is a Grade II* listed building in the Cherwell local planning authority area, England. First listed on 8 December 1955. A Medieval Church.
Church of Holy Trinity
- WRENN ID
- waning-cobalt-marsh
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Cherwell
- Constituency
- Banbury MP: Sean Woodcock (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 8 December 1955
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Medieval
- Address
- Church of Holy Trinity, the Green, Shenington with Alkerton
- OS grid reference
- SP 372 427
- Coordinates
- 52.08219, -1.45739
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of Holy Trinity is a parish church dating from the 12th century, with significant alterations and additions throughout the 13th, 15th, and 19th centuries. The church's origins lie in a 12th-century chancel arch, which was moved to the north side of the chancel during a 19th-century renovation. The majority of the visible structure is from the 13th century, with numerous 14th-century windows that have been repaired or restored. A 15th-century south porch and a west tower, likely built in 1504 following a bequest, are also features of the church. A 19th-century vestry was added later. The church was extensively restored in 1879 by J.L. Pearson.
The church is constructed from coursed ironstone rubble with ironstone ashlar detailing. The chancel and porch have steeply pitched stone slate roofs laid in diminishing courses, while the nave and south aisle roofs are not visible. Stone coped gables and a stone flue on the north side are also present. The church comprises a chancel, nave, south aisle, south porch, and west tower.
The chancel has a 3-light east window with renewed reticulated tracery in Clipsham stone, featuring a hood mould and headstop. The south side has three 2-light windows with trefoiled lights, with repairs to the stonework on the central window, and a lower sill on the westernmost window. Hood moulds and label stops are present on these windows. The north side of the nave features four 2-light windows with trefoiled heads, these being wholly renewed in Clipsham stone in the 19th century; one window is situated in the former north doorway. A 19th-century vestry is also present on the north side. Clerestory windows, four on each side, are 2-light Perpendicular style with hood moulds and label stops. The nave features stone parapets and a gable with a housing for a Sanctus bell. The south aisle has a 2-light window with renewed ironstone tracery and mullion, and a 3-light window with trefoiled lights and a square head with weathered label stops. A “lively rustic carving of a man and an ox under a 14th-century canopy,” as noted by Pevsner, is located to the left of the latter window and is now weathered. The Perpendicular south porch has a pointed arched doorway with a hood mould and label stop, and features two scratch dials to the right of the entrance.
The west tower consists of two stages, with a crenellated parapet and Clipsham stone pinnacles. It has a 3-light Perpendicular window on the west side and a 2-light louvred window to the bell stage. Diagonal buttresses are present, along with a moulded stone plinth and a staircase projection on the south.
The interior includes a 12th-century chancel arch, now situated in the north wall of the chancel with cable and zigzag decoration, and a 13th-century style chancel arch inserted by J.L. Pearson. A 2-bay south arcade features three octagonal stone piers on a 19th-century stone base, with stiff leaf decoration and heads incorporated into the foliage of the capitals. The nave, chancel, and south aisle have roofs dating to the 19th century. A font from approximately 1800 is present, along with 19th-century fittings such as pitch pine benches, oak choir stalls, a pulpit, and a lectern. 19th-century tiles are also incorporated. Stained glass by Jones and Willis of Birmingham was erected in 1909, 1920 and 1921; the east window in the chancel was designed by Edmund Sedding, with main lights by Henry Casolani, and executed by Powell. A marble wall plaque in the chancel commemorates Edward and Rebecca Hughes, dated 1722.
Local climate
Church of Holy Trinity receives an average of 750 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 70% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 64% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 37 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 66% of listed buildings. Of these, 17 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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