Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Edmund

Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Edmund

A Roman Catholic church built in two phases: initially designed by William Wardell in 1857 under the patronage of Sir George Bowyer of Radley House, and extended by the construction of the church nave to the designs of George Goldie in 1865.

The building is constructed of Marcham stone with a tiled roof. The plan comprises a nave of four bays with nave aisles to either side, a chancel with a Lady Chapel to its south side, and additional northern aisles with an organ chamber. The south aisle extends for the full length of the nave, while the north aisle extends only two bays at the eastern end. The church connects to the presbytery via an east-west cloister passage, both of which are the subject of separate listings.

The west front is divided into two bays and flanked by offset buttresses with gabled tops. Windows are of two lights with quatrefoils to their heads. At the gable head are two small lancets, above which sits a gabled bellcote with a single bell, added in 1884 to replace an earlier spirelet. To the right is the western end of the southern aisle, featuring a lean-to roof and a two-light window with a cinquefoil to its apex. The similar north aisle end is set back, and the second north aisle has a two-light window with ashlar surround including carved shields on the panels below.

The south side features a doorway with portal at the west end of the side aisle. To its right are two two-light windows with quatrefoils to their apexes. Above the lean-to aisle roof, clerestory windows comprise a series of four quatrefoils. The Lady Chapel, designed by Wardell and flanking the earlier chancel, has a higher ridge than the aisle and two two-light windows.

The eastern gable end has a five-light traceried window below which is a carved square ashlar panel showing Christ Crucified. The Lady Chapel east window has three lights and a traceried head.

The north side has two nave windows of two lights. To the left are the double aisles with two three-light windows to their north side. A gable with central chimneystack bears a square ashlar tablet with a coat of arms, similar to that on the south front of the presbytery. Either side of the stack are two-light windows with tracery heads. This forms the junction with the cloister passage.

The interior nave has simple round columns with drum capitals that appear to have been intended for carving. The south arcade consists of three wide arched openings, contrary to the pattern of four bays indicated by the roof and the rhythm of the north arcade. Arcade arches have simple chamfered mouldings. To the north side are two arches leading to the double aisle, which is shorter on this side.

The decoration of the chancel and Lady Chapel is more elaborate, with carved capitals and stops to the hood moulds and complex mouldings to the arches. The chancel, side chapel and organ chamber are all connected by lateral arches. The Lady Chapel features a stone altar with carved frontal in the style of Pugin showing three scenes from the life of the Virgin set in quatrefoil frames. The background to the altar and the ledge of the retable above are carved with foliage in high relief. Window embrasures are moulded with colonettes to their sides. Pillars in the north aisle are inscribed with the names of saints associated with Abingdon and with the patron Bowyer. The nave and chancel have wagon roofs, while the side aisles have panelled roofs. The chancel was reordered by Austin Winkley in 1974 following the requirements of the Second Vatican Council of 1961-1965, resulting in a simplifying of the 19th-century decoration and the removal of the 19th-century altar. The fact that the church was halted after the initial building campaign may have meant that the chancel was always less decorated than the Lady Chapel.

To the north east is the vestry hall, which connects with the cloister corridor leading to the presbytery. This has a roof with angle braces and tie beams and a plate safe with metal door.

The east chancel window, showing scenes from the life of the Virgin and St Edmund, is by Hardman. The lights in the Lady Chapel showing the Virgin and individual saints are by Clayton and Bell. The north aisle contains a medieval statue of the Virgin, found at Culham, brought here and painted in the mid-20th century.