Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church dating from the 15th century, with substantial rebuilding in 1867 by Talbot Bury, who incorporated elements from the 14th and 15th centuries. It is constructed of rubble and coursed squared limestone with ashlar dressings, and has roofs covered in Welsh slate, sheet metal, and concrete plain tiles. The church comprises a chancel, nave, north aisle, north and south vestries, a west tower, and a south porch.

The rebuilt chancel features a fine 3-light east window with Perpendicular drop tracery, and a 4-centred arch above it. A square-headed 2-light window is present on the north side, matched by a similar window on the south. The remainder of the chancel and vestries are of 19th century design. The nave has two 3-light Perpendicular-style windows to the south, below pairs of quatrefoil clerestory windows, and two small windows above the south porch. The north aisle is characterized by traceried windows with pointed-segmental arches. The north clerestory includes three pairs of quatrefoil windows, and the nave parapet displays a frieze of blind quatrefoils.

The west tower is of 15th-century rubble construction, with diagonal buttresses, a moulded plinth, and strings. It has a Tudor-arched west doorway below a 3-light Perpendicular window, and arched 2-light bell-chamber openings with Perpendicular tracery. A crenellated parapet tops the tower, having formerly supported corner pinnacles. The buttresses bear the arms of New College Oxford and its Warden at the time of construction, around 1465.

Inside, the chancel incorporates a 14th-century piscina with a cusped head, a 14th-century recess containing the effigy of a priest, and a cartouche of arms which now forms the base of a missal stand. A wide 4-centred arch leads to the south vestry, and the roof is coupled-raftered with arched bracing. Responds of the chancel arch, and the east respond and first capital of the 3-bay nave arcade, are decorated with vigorously-carved capitals depicting naturalistic grapes, corn, and other vegetation; the remaining capitals are moulded but uncarved. The 15th-century tower arch has inner shafts with octagonal capitals, and a wide casement moulding. The nave roof is of Perpendicular style. The church contains an Art Nouveau wrought-iron screen dating from around 1900, originally from Bicester Church, and numerous late 17th and early 18th century ledger stones, mostly memorializing members of the Myrry family. The east window contains 19th-century stained glass.