Church Of St Giles

BLETCHINGDON CHURCH END SP51NW (East side) 2/21 Church of St. Giles 07/12/66

GV II*

Church. Mid C13 chancel; C15 nave and tower; porch dated 1695; restored 1878 by Charles Buckeridge from plans of 1869. Coursed limestone rubble with ashlar dressings; stone-coped gabled stone slate roof. Chancel, aisled nave and west tower. Two-bay chancel has mid C13 corner buttresses and mid C19 three-light east window; early C17 two-light hollow-moulded round-arched north window; to south are similar C17 window, label mould over mid C13 pointed-arched chamfered doorway with scratch dials in jambs, and late C19 two-light window; part of blocked C13 lancet to north also. Mid C19 three-bay north aisle has 2- and 3-light cinquefoiled ogee-headed windows. South side of nave: memorial tablet dated 1754, with reset C12 lintel carved with star-in-square pattern; C15 Perpendicular 3-light window; restored early C14 two-light cinquefoiled ogee-headed window. South porch dated 1695: sundial above hood mould over hollow-moulded pointed-arched doorway; south doorway, with moulded architrave, has hood mould with rosettes carved in stops. Two-stage west tower has hood mould with scrolled stops over C14 pointed-arched moulded doorway; 2-light cinquefoil-headed window above and to stone-louvred belfry windows; gargoyles to corners of moulded parapet string course; C14 spirelet. Interior: late C19 reredos with carved figures; round-arched piscina; late C19 choir stalls; late C19 double-chamfered chancel arch. C15 four-bay north arcade has hollow-moulded capitals. Restored Jacobean pulpit, with panelled sides and C17 caryatids, reset on late C19 stone base. Seven Jacobean pews in north aisle, with panelled backs and bench ends with acorn finials and pedimented aedicules with strapwork. Early C18 cup-shaped font set on octagonal shaft; C15 cinquefoiled stoup to east of south door. Late C19 roofs, including arch-braced north aisle roof. Wall painting: west end of north chancel wall has fragment of C15 wall painting with flowers set in masonry lines. Memorials: chancel has wall tablet dated 1685 with putti flanking heraldic shield; two C18 architectural wall monuments with segmental pediments; putti and urn surmounting C18 wall monument; memorial to John Hooke, d.1673, has oval tablet set in carved laurel leaf surround; large architectural wall monument to children of Henry and Thomas Coghill, d.1628 and 1630, has two broken pediments with heraldic achievement above inscription- framed by Corinthian columns and strapwork; architectural wall monument to Sir Thomas Coghill, d.1708, and family by J. Piddington of Oxford has tasselled canopy and swags with flaming urns. C19 wall tablets include memorial to Arthur Arnesley, d.1841, has urn, honeysuckle frieze and wheatear pilasters. Stained glass: late C19. (Buildings of England: Oxfordshire: pp475-6; National Monuments Record; VCH: Oxfordshire: Vol VI, pp66-69; Bodleian Library, Topographical Drawings)

Listing NGR: SP5065318058