Church of St Mary the Virgin

Church of St Mary the Virgin, Charlton on Otmoor High Street

This is a medieval parish church of the 13th and 14th centuries, restored in 1857 by G.E. Street. It is built of limestone rubble with ashlar dressings to the walls, and coursed squared limestone with ashlar dressings elsewhere. The roofs are covered in concrete plain tile and Welsh slate. The church comprises an aisled nave, chancel, west tower, and south porch.

The late 14th-century chancel is built in squared limestone with a tiled roof. Its most prominent feature is a 4-light reticulated east window with 2 full-height mullions, and it has 2-light side windows with flowing tracery. The third pair of windows, positioned at the west end at a lower level, serve as low side windows. A priest's door on the south side features continuous moulding. The parapet with shallow quatrefoils is probably 19th-century work.

The narrow south aisle retains a 2-light 13th-century east window with plate tracery. To the south, it has a 2-light 14th-century window and a 3-light square-headed 16th-century window with uncusped lights and a label.

The 14th-century porch has an outer doorway with 2 chamfered orders and a lancet to the east. It shelters a simple double-chamfered doorway with an old plank door. Above this is a 15th-century panel containing 3 image niches, identical to one at Merton Church. The north aisle has two 14th-century 2-light windows and a small rectangular opening; the north door is blocked. The clerestory contains 3 14th-century quatrefoil windows plus a later window to the north, and mullioned windows to the south.

The crenellated tower has lower 3 stages dating from the 13th century, but the bell-chamber stage is 14th-century with 2-light arched openings. The third stage has 2-light openings with Y-tracery, and there are lancets in the lower stages plus stepped clasping buttresses to the bottom stage. The parapet, corner gargoyles and panelled pinnacles are probably 16th or 17th-century.

Interior: The chancel has an arched tomb recess to the north and, to the south, a triple sedilia and piscina with ogee tracery, combined below a label mould with head stops. The roof is 19th-century panelled. A large Decorated chancel arch features continuous mouldings. The 4-bay late 13th-century nave arcades have octagonal piers and round capitals, more elaborately moulded to the south, which carry arches of 2 chamfered orders. The tower arch is early 13th-century with 2 unchamfered orders. The 4-bay 14th-century nave roof has cusped arched bracing above the tie beams, between queen- and king-posts. The late medieval north aisle roof has cambered tie beams. Both aisles have simple piscinas.

Wall paintings survive on the north wall and over the rood screen, as well as extensive painted decoration on the nave arcades. There are 2 consecration crosses in the chancel. Fragments of medieval stained glass remain in the chancel tracery lights.

Fittings include a tub font with a 16th-century oak cover, 16th and 17th-century bench pews in the aisles, a simple pedestal pulpit dated 1616, and fine late 17th-century communion rails carved with acanthus scrolls and cherubs' heads. The notable early 16th-century rood screen is complete with loft, featuring an open arcade of decorated columns supporting traceried arches. The deep coving to the loft has a richly-carved pattern of intersecting ribs with ornamental panels and supports a frieze of vines. The lower section and double gates have linenfold panelling. Two broad steps in the sanctuary have medieval encaustic tiles laid in geometrical patterns.

Monuments include wall tablets to Adam Airay (died 1658) and Katherine Lamplugh (died 1671), both with scrolled pediments, and a large marble wall monument with Corinthian columns to Robert Benn (died 1752). There is also a brass to Thomas Key (died 1476).