Church of St Mary is a Grade II* listed building in the Cherwell local planning authority area, England. First listed on 7 December 1966. Church.
Church of St Mary
- WRENN ID
- inner-moulding-honey
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Cherwell
- Constituency
- Bicester and Woodstock MP: Calum Miller (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 7 December 1966
- Type
- Church
- Address
- Church of St Mary, Main Street, Cottisford
- OS grid reference
- SP 587 310
- Coordinates
- 51.97495, -1.14641
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St. Mary is a Grade II* listed building located on Main Street in Cottisford. It dates back to the 13th century, with 14th century and later alterations. The church underwent restoration in 1861 by Charles Buckeridge, who added tracery to the square-headed windows. The structure is built of coursed limestone rubble and squared coursed limestone, topped with a steeply pitched old-tile roof and stone coped gables.
The church consists of a chancel, nave, and south porch, featuring a four-window range. The chancel has a three-light intersecting window on the east side, while the priest's entrance on the south has a pointed arched doorway with a plank door, flanked by 19th-century lancet windows. The nave contains a two-light 15th-century window to the right of the porch and a restored Perpendicular window to the left. The west gable features a single-light cusped lancet with a hood mould and label stop, along with a louvred lancet above the bell-cote.
The gabled stone south porch has an old-tile roof and stone coped gables with a cross. It has a pointed arched entrance with chamfered jambs. The south door is adorned with two orders of moulding and a pointed arched hood mould with headstops. There are three mass dials on the left wall of the porch.
Inside, the church has 19th-century roofs, with the chancel featuring an arched tomb recess and a 19th-century piscina. The furnishings include 19th-century pews and font, a possible 17th-century pulpit, a brass eagle lectern, and a 19th-century reading desk. There is an 18th-century organ and stone wall memorials to James Edward Rousby, who died in 1848, and Edward Rousby, who died in 1875, both of Cottisford House. Additionally, there is a marble wall memorial with an urn and cartouche dedicated to Richard Eyre, who died in 1761, and Martha Eyre, who died in 1772. The royal arms of George III are displayed over the chancel arch, and there is a brass from around 1500 commemorating John Samewell, his wife, and their thirteen children.
Local climate
Church of St Mary sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 79% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 74% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 37 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 70% 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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