Church of St Mary

Details

CHASTLETON SP2429-2529 11/15 Church of St. Mary 27.8.57 GV II*

Parish church. Late C12, extended early C14 with tower of 1689; restored and chancel rebuilt by C.E. Powell in 1878-80. Regularly coursed and dressed marlstone with limestone ashlar dressings; stone slate and lead roofs with stepped coped verges and moulded parapets. Nave; chancel; south aisle; south-west tower porch; north transept and north-east vestry. Tower. In 2 stages with chamfered plinth, moulded string courses and embattled parapet. South side has square-headed moulded doorway with plank double doors and inscription to lintel "Thomas Harris and Thomas ? Church/Wardenes Anno Domi 1689". Chamfered rectangular opening directly below lower string course and ovolo-moulded 2-light mullion window above with narrow rectangular opening lighting internal stair turret to right. North and east faces have chamfered 2-light mullion windows to second stage and west side has chamfered rectangular opening directly below lower string course and chamfered 2-light mullion window above. Section of south aisle to left of tower has small rectangular chamfered opening and section to right has late C14 square-headed 2-light window to left with ogee cinquefoil heads and mouchettes; C15 square-headed window with 3 cinquefoil-headed lights to right. East wall has early C14 window with cusped intersecting tracery and elongated quatrefoil to apex; richly moulded ogee hoodmould with restored foliated finial and weathered head-stops. West wall has earlier steeper roof pitch visible. Clerestory of nave has small rectangular chamfered opening to left of tower and 3-light mullion window to right. West wall has early C14 three-light window with reticulated tracery and hoodmould continuing to either side. North side has late C12 round-headed doorway with semi-circular lintel, tympanum and hoodmould; C17 plank door with strap hinges. C16 mullion window with 3 segmental-headed lights and dripstone to right; late C15 three-light cinquefoil-headed window with dripstone to left. East gable end has probably late C15 bellcote with round-headed arch, pyramidal finials and cross to apex. Lean-to north transept has similar C15 window to that in north wall of nave without dripstone to north wall and 3-light chamfered mullion window with dripstone. C19 lean-to vestry in angle with chancel has window with 3 trefoil-headed lights and dripstone to east on north side and pointed doorway with hoodmould immediately to right. Apparently reset narrow rectangular window with projecting triangular head to east wall. Chancel. All windows are 1878-80: two 2-light windows on south, west with Decorated tracery and east with plate tracery. 2-light plate tracery window to north,and east window comprises 3 stepped moulded lancets with foliated label-stops and traces of earlier infilled opening beneath. Interior. Late C17 chamfered rectangular south doorway with contemporary 6-panel double doors. Nave arcade: 2 west bays of c.1180; plain pointed arches with continuous hoodmould, circular pier and semi-circular responds, all with abaci and moulded plinths. Pier has scalloped capital, palmette leaves to east respond and west respond plain. Extended by 2 bays to east in early C14: central octagonal pier with moulded plinth and capital and half-octagonal responds, east with raised circular decoration to abacus; double-chamfered pointed arches with continuous hoodmould. Early C14 double-chamfered pointed chancel arch has half-octagonal responds with moulded plinths and deeply undercut moulding to capitals similar to that of pier in extension of nave arcade. Crudely pointed double-chamfered arch to transept is also C14. Doorway to former rood loft in nave wall to east of east arch of arcade and blocked doorway to former gallery to west of west arch. Nave has tie beam roof in 5 bays with short wall posts on plain stone corbels. Square-headed windows in north wall and aisle have moulded wood lintels with straight-cut stops. C14 cinquefoil-headed piscina with hoodmould and label-stops in south wall of south aisle with semi-circular seat recess beneath south-east window; plain pointed piscina in south wall of north transept. C14 floor tiles in south aisle including fine set apparently in situ at east end. Fragmentary wall-paintings and texts, mainly of post-medieval date, on north wall of nave. Late C12 tub-shaped font with moulded plinth and circular base. Wooden polygonal pulpit with scratched date "1623" has carved pelicans to top dividing panels which have pilastered round-headed arches, floral and geometrical motifs. C19 roofs to aisle and transept and C19 scissor-braced roof to chancel. This has C19 encaustic floor tiles, including to raised sanctuary and C19 piscina and credence shelf in south wall. Plain pointed door to vestry which has fragments of reassembled medieval stained glass in east window, including a mid-C15 quarry depicting the Virgin Annunciate. Reassembled medieval glass also in west window of transept and in north clerestory window. Late C19/early C20 stained glass in several other windows including glass in east window of 1913. C19 benches with linenfold panelling in nave probably copied from late C15 bench end with linenfold panelling by font. 3 open benches in south aisle to east of tower are probably late C16 or C17. Monuments. C18 wall tablets and memorials to members of local families in nave, chancel and south aisle, most notable being to Sarah Jones (d.1687) and others on east face of tower and to Anne Jones (d.1708) on south wall of aisle. Former has 2 mourning putti with festooned garlands flanking segmental-pedimented inscription surmounted by armorial device; latter has inscription with scroll pediment broken by armorial device and mourning cherubs to sides framed by palm fronds and volutes. Figurative brasses in south aisle floor to Katherine Throckmorton (d.1592) and children and in nave floor to Edmund Ansley (d.1613), his wife and children. Brass plate in floor by north doorway to William Bankes (d.1676). Several late C17 and C18 incised tomb slabs in nave floor. Wooden funeral bier in porch. (Buildings of England: Oxfordshire: p531) [2455]

Listing NGR: SP2486829068

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

253904

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Sherwood, J, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, (1974), 531

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.