I do love a historic church, and it was while I was visiting the beautiful village of Lewknor that I discovered this building, the Church of St Margaret.
Lewknor is a small village to the south of Thame, and south east of the city of Oxford. Its pub even has a medieval-esque name, Ye Olde Leathern Bottel, itself said to have been serving guests 450 years ago. A source at British History Online dates the building to the sixteenth century. The history of the village however goes even further - with evidence of Roman roads nearby, and the first mention of Lewknor in an official court paper from around 990AD where 'Edith of Lewknor' was a witness.
As I eased open the heavy wooden door of St Margaret's it was difficult not to take a little gasp. Built in the twelfth century, it's been the site of worship, weddings and burials for a good 800 years and you can somehow feel it in the walls. It has a heavy but happy atmosphere within its stone structure, which a friend so eloquently described as like walking through 'soul soup'.
But don't let that put you off - it's a happy soul soup. The font, which has stood pride of place in so many baptisms over the years has been dated to the twelfth century, likely placing it in the reign of some of the last Norman kings; Henry I and Henry II. Craftspeople have carved interesting faces into its stone, along with uniform circular decorations all around its sides.
Walking up into the chancel, there are some beautiful examples of medieval craftsmanship. A slightly worn effigy of a medieval woman lies underneath an elaborately carved canopy, which traces all the way along both walls. Although there is no identification on the monument itself, she has been tentatively identified as a wife of John Trompeton, a juror of the parish in 1341. Here, there are also four amazingly preserved seventeenth century effigies, of William Deane and his wife as well as Sir Thomas Fleetwood and his wife. Other monuments inside the church include the eighteenth century memorials to Sir Paul Jodrell and John Scrope and the nineteenth century monument of Richard Paul Jodrell. One of the windows was also designed by William Morris.
The church itself was extended in the fourteenth century and the tower built in the fifteenth century. It was then later renovated in the mid-nineteenth century, like so many medieval churches, but unlike others, the Victorian architects have maintained the medieval feel and preserved much of the original architecture and features.
Enjoyed this? You might also like this post on the Aldworth Giants at the church in Berkshire, and this one about the medieval wall paintings in Checkendon Church in Oxfordshire.
You can't beat a good parish church; and this one is fab!
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