Methodist Church

The Methodist Church, originally a non-conformist chapel and formerly a town mansion, was built around 1720-1730 for a member of the Jordan family and converted around 1849. The building is constructed of ashlar stone and has a slate roof with coped verges, showcasing a local baroque style. It features two storeys and a basement, with channelled rustication above the basement. Fluted and reeded pilasters divide the front into five bays, topped with a full entablature and a balustraded parapet. The windows include glazing bar sashes, either from 1849 or the 20th century, with the first-floor windows having shaped aprons below and segment-headed basement windows with keys.

The central entrance has a Gibbsian surround with a pulvinated frieze and a keystone, leading to 20th-century panelled doors and a transom light. There are five steps leading up to the door, which bridges over the basement door that has a bolection surround and is accessed by curved flights of steps from the forecourt. At the rear, there are seven closely spaced segment-headed windows with flat raised quoins, and the south side has a wide part-blocked segmental entry. The rear doorway, located within the current stair lobby, features a pulvinated frieze and keystone. The rear basement includes three hollow chamfered mullion windows.

The interior was completely renovated for the chapel in 1849 and redesigned in 1949 by Thomas Rayson of Oxford, drawing inspiration from St Stephen's Walbrook. It features four Corinthian columns that support a ciborium with a chandelier. Before 1849, large vases adorned the parapet and the railings leading to the front steps, which were purchased for Cornbury Park by Lord Churchill.