Church of St Thomas A Beckett
CHURCH OF ST THOMAS A BECKETT
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1369209
- Date first listed:
- 18-Jul-1963
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St Thomas A Beckett
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCH OF ST THOMAS A BECKETT
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Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2004-08-03
- Reference:
- IOE01/12044/23
- Rights:
- © Mr Sean Bergin. Source: Historic England Archive
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Official list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1369209
- Date first listed:
- 18-Jul-1963
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St Thomas A Beckett
- Statutory Address 1:
- CHURCH OF ST THOMAS A BECKETT
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCH OF ST THOMAS A BECKETT
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Oxfordshire
- District:
- South Oxfordshire (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Elsfield
- National Grid Reference:
- SP 54053 09978
Details
ELSFIELD SP50NW 4/48 Church of St. Thomas a 18/07/63 Beckett
GV II*
Church. Late C12, late C13 and early C15, restored 1849 and by G.E. Street in 1859. Limestone rubble and ashlar; stone-slate roofs. Nave, chancel, south porch and vestry. C13 chancel has 3 lancets each side, one later extended downwards, and a 3-light east window with flowing tracery. C15 south wall of nave has 2 windows of 3 pointed lights under a square head. Small early C19 porch has an arched entrance containing the old studded door from the C17 square-headed south doorway. Rebuilt north side of the nave has two C19 lancets. West wall has a central buttress between C13 lancets and a double bellcote. Interior: Transitional chancel arch with volute capitals and corner spurs to the bases; lowered side window in chancel with a stone bookrest; C13 trefoil-headed piscina; C19 arch-braced roofs. Chancel walls retain areas of C13 painted masonry and stencil decoration above a C18 mosaic dado and a mosaic reredos of c.1860 by Salviati. Fittings include a Jacobean pulpit, with arched panels, and communion rails with bulbous balusters and a carved pulvinated frieze, probably a reused desk front from late C17 stalls of very high quality. The church has strong links with Christ Church, Oxford which must be a possible origin. C19 stained glass in east window and 3 lancets in nave. Monuments include a C18 marble wall monument and a C17 black marble ledger. (V.C.H.: Oxfordshire, Vol.V; Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, pp.591-2).
Listing NGR: SP5405309978
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 246568
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Salzman, L F, The Victoria History of the County of Oxford, (1957)
Pevsner, N, Sherwood, J, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, (1974), 591-2
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 04-Jun-2026 at 07:28:09.
Download a full scale map (PDF)© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900.© British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2026. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.
End of official list entry