Church of St Mary Witney, England

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

WITNEY COGGES SP3609 8/92 Church of St. Mary GV I

Church. Late C12 and early C13: remodelled c.1330-40, Coursed limestone rubble, with old rendering, to part of south wall of chancel; gabled stone slate roofs. Chancel with north chapel and aisled nave with west tower. Chancel has clasping corner buttresses and early C14 curvilinear 3-light east window; south side has label moulds with head stops over C15 two- and 3-light windows and C15 doorway with C18 door. Early C14 north chapel: 3 fine heads above two early C14 two-light windows with elaborate curvilinear tracery; 3 two-light windows to north. North side of nave has two early C14 two-light windows and hood mould over C14 blocked door. South aisle has late C13 trefoiled lancet, label mould over early C14 two-light window and C15 three-light west window with panel tracery; early C13 south porch has round-arched hood mould over pointed arched doorway: pointed roll-moulded south door with moulded imposts. Early C14 north-west tower has 2-light windows and stone flight of steps to painted arched doorway; squinches to octagonal upper stage with lancets. Interior: east window has early C14 responds with ballflower capitals to rere-arch; early C14 double-piscina. C14 three-bay chancel roof with scissor-braced trusses. Early C14 two-bay hollow-chamfered arcade to north chapel; trefoiled piscina on east respond. North chapel has fine and unusual frieze of grotesques, animals and corbels of men and animals playing musical instruments; rosette and ballflower decoration to architraves of windows; roof, probably C15, of quartered moulded beams. Early C14 double-chamfered chancel arch to nave, which has C12 tub font on C14 octagonal base; C15 three-bay tie-beam roof. Transitional early C13 south arcade has double-chamfered pointed arches, and round pier with scalloped capital. C14 three-bay north arcade has double-chamfered arches set on octagonal piers. North aisle has archway to tower, and C15 roof with moulded beams; similar restored roof to south aisle. Monuments: between chancel and north chapel is a tomb chest with a very fine early C14 effigy of Margaret de Grey with angels supporting the pillow; sides of tomb have sexfoiled circles enclosing blank shields and symbols of the Evangelists. Chancel has late C17 wall monument of the Crutchfield family, in local Baroque style. North chapel has fine Blake memorial to William (d.1695) Sara (d.1701) and Francis (d.1681): 3 marble busts set in architectural frame with scrolled pediment; also wall tablets to 2 Francis Blakes, d.169l and 1681. Stained glass: east window of north chapel has early C14 glass with foliate decoration in tracery lights. The church originated as a 2-cell late Saxon structure. It is probable that the monks from the Priory (q.v.) used the north aisle of the church for their own services. The Blake family owned Manor Farm (q.v.). The north chapel was built, probably in the 1340s, by Lord Grey for his mother Lady Margaret. (Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, pp.5501-55; Bodleian Library, M.S. Top, Oxon; J. Blair and J.M. Steane, Investigations at Cogges, Oxfordshire 1978-1981, The Priory and Parish Church", 0xonensia, XLVII, 1982, pp,37-125).

Listing NGR: SP3611009629