St Katherine's Church, Chislehampton
The present church at Chislehampton, dedicated to St. Katherine, is a small 18th-century structure of stone, built by Charles Peers, the lord of the manor. It is a single rectangular room without structural division between nave and chancel, but the importance of the altar is emphasized by a recess in the east wall. The exterior is ornamented by carved stone urns and at the west end there is a clock-turret surmounted by a weather-vane pierced with the name of St. Katherine. There are three large round-headed windows on the south side, but none on the north or at the ends. Samuel Dowbiggin, the London architect who built Chislehampton House, may possibly have been employed to design the church. The new building replaced a medieval chapel dedicated to St. Mary, which was first mentioned in 1146 and was situated by the river, close to the old manor-house. Seventeenth-century presentments (1623–1706) record that the chapel was in a good state of repair, but in 1763 when Peers petitioned the peculiar court of Dorchester for permission to pull it down he described it as being in 'so ruinous and decayed a condition that the inhabitants cannot assemble for worship without manifest hazard (to) their lives.' The new church was erected out of the old materials about 200 yards west of the original church and had a churchyard attached; previously burials had taken place at Stadhampton. It was consecrated by the Bishop of Oxford in 1763. In 1846 this 18th-century church was characteristically described by J. H. Parker, a Gothic revivalist, as being in spite of its neat and trim appearance 'a sad instance of departure from all the proprieties of church architecture'. Its bell-turret was said to be 'such as is usually placed on stables'. The church was renovated in 1882 and in 1894 the bell-turret was restored and the roof raised at a cost of £165, but these restorations did not destroy its character and it remains one of the few complete Georgian churches in the county. The interior has preserved its Georgian woodwork, high box pews, western gallery, altar rails, and carved altar-piece with the Lord's prayer, the Creed, and the Decalogue. The altar rails are returned westwards on either side, with seats for children behind. It is not known whether they were intended for use by communicants. The elaborately carved pulpit is Jacobean and must have come from the old church, but it is reached by a Georgian staircase and has the 18th-century reading-desk and clerk's seat below it. The font is contemporary with the church building and a space on the opposite side of the aisle has been left where the christening party might stand. In 1952 an appeal was made for £3,000 to restore the church and verses in aid of the appeal were composed by John Betjeman. By 1954 the extensive repairs advised by the architect, Oswald Brakspear, were completed. All the windows were releaded and one of the angleposts of the bell-turret was renewed. The exterior and interior plaster was renewed and the whole redecorated. The clock face which carries the date 1762 was painted light blue and gold by John Piper. The rafters of the roof, exposed in the 19th century, were again concealed by a coved plaster ceiling. Concealed electric lighting was inserted in the pews in 1956, but the church is still lit mainly by candle light: there are three hanging brass candelabra, of which one is dated 1899, and wall brackets given by Sir Charles Peers some time after 1908. There are a number of memorials to the Peers family. They include one to Charles Peers, Esq. (d. 1781), the builder of the church, and to his three wives, two of whom were buried in the family vault in the church. The arms and crest of Peers are depicted on the monument. There are tablets to Robert Peers (d. 1818), son and heir of Charles and Katherine Peers; to Charles Peers, D.C.L. (d. 1853), heir of Robert; to John Witherington Peers (d. 1876), for 34 years Vicar of Tetsworth; to John Witherington Peers, who died at Wendover in 1891; and one designed by Frederick Etchells to Sir Charles Reed Peers (d. 1952), surveyor of Westminster Abbey, and his wife (d. 1953). Sir Charles was buried in the Islip Chapel, Westminster Abbey, and his wife in Chislehampton churchyard. A tablet commemorates those who died in the two world wars. The only stained glass in the church is the Peers arms and crest, executed by Kaye & Pemberton in 1953 for the patron and lord of the manor, Mr. Charles Peers. The church is notable for its fine service of silvergilt comprising a pair of chalices with paten covers, a pair of enormous tankard flagons, an almsplate, and a small salver, all with inscriptions surrounding coats of arms. On the drum of each flagon is engraved the arms of Peers surmounted by a crest; the inscription on one denoting that it was the gift of the French church, and on the other of the Dutch church in London, to Sir Charles Peers in 1716. Both flagons are also inscribed to the effect that they were presented by the son and surviving family of the late Sir Charles Peers to St. Katherine's Church on Easter Day, 1767, and the names of all these descendants living at that date are inscribed on the base of each vessel. The rest of the plate was given by Katherine Peers, the wife of Charles Peers (d. 1781). It is dated 1749 and must have been given to the old church soon after the family's arrival in the parish. The registers date from 1763. Previously entries for Chislehampton were made in the Stadhampton register (1556–1762), of which John Bilstone made two copies for the new Chislehampton church. There are two bells, neither of great antiquity. The old church also had two bells in 1553. The churchyard is entered by a contemporary stone gateway. Historical information about St. Katherine's Church is provided by 'Parishes: Chislehampton', in A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 7, Dorchester and Thame Hundreds, ed. Mary Lobel (London, 1962), pp. 5-16. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol7/pp5-16 [accessed 21 March 2023]. St. Katherine's Church is a Grade I listed building. For more information about the listing see CHURCH OF ST MARY, Great Milton - 1369258 | Historic England. For more information about St. Katherine's Church see Parishes: Chislehampton | British History Online (british-history.ac.uk). |
