The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Ambrosden
The medieval church of St. Mary the Virgin in Ambrosden consists of a chancel and vestry, a nave with clerestory on the south side, south aisle, south porch, and west tower. The only survival of the 12th-century church is a Romanesque north doorway. The two short pillar-brackets for images with caps of stiffleaf foliage in the chancel are of 13th-century date. The embattled western tower was also built in the 13th century. Pargetting on the church tower represents, in panels on the east face, a lion rampant and a dragon (the supporters of the arms of Elizabeth I), with the date 1587, and on the west face a bird, possibly the falcon of the Boleyn family. The nave was rebuilt when the south aisle, separated from it by an arcade of four arches on octagonal columns, was added in the first half of the 14th century. The exterior wall of the south aisle is finished by an openwork parapet pierced with foils, and is surmounted by a cornice of heads and ball flowers. The wall is supported by handsome buttresses with niches The church plan, as existed and as chronicled in 1823 records, had a large courtyard entered through two elegant gates with a cross fixed at the northern part. The southern end of courtyard also had a cemetery. The main church building comprised:
The south porch leads to an aisle that is lit by four two-light windows. Between the aisle and the nave is a four-bay arcade. The nave has three clerestory windows similar to those in the north wall of the church. The nave pews are 17th-century. The pulpit and reading desk are late 17th-century, added in the reign of James II. The pulpit was refurbished in 1819 with cushion and cloth given by Lady Turner, bearing insignia of the Turner family. The nave had a west gallery where there was a painting of the Resurrection of Jesus. According to inscriptions it was given by the parishioners. The bell tower has a ring of eight bells and also a small Sanctus bell. Historical information about the St. Mary's Church is provided by British History Online. 'Parishes: Ambrosden', in A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 5, Bullingdon Hundred, ed. Mary D Lobel (London, 1957), pp. 15-30. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol5/pp15-30 [accessed 12 January 2023]. St. Mary's Church is a Grade II* listed building. For more information about the listing see CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, Ambrosden - 1046525 | Historic England. The ecclesiastical parish of Ambrosden is now part of the Ray Valley Benefice, and St Mary's also serves as the British Army garrison chapel. For more information about St. Mary's Church see Parishes: Ambrosden | British History Online (british-history.ac.uk). |
