Church of England The
Church of England parish church of
Saint Mary the Virgin was originally built about 1190. The five-
bay arcade between the
nave and north
aisle survives from this time. In the 13th century, the
chancel, nave and north aisle were remodelled, and the easternmost bay of the aisle was projected northward to form a north
transept. On the south wall is St
Richard of Chichester with, below, the
Adoration of the Magi, the
Massacre of the Innocents, and the Angel appearing to
St Joseph, all with foliage borders. On the north side of the nave over the arcade are paintings of the Tree of Jesse, St Christopher, the
martyrdom of St Thomas Becket, the
Coronation of the Virgin, the
Baptism of Jesus,
Saints Peter and Paul and the
stoning of Saint Stephen. The church is now a
Grade I listed building. By 1757 the tower had a
ring of five bells including the
sanctus bell. Henry I Knight of Reading cast three of them including the tenor bell in 1618–19. Henry III Bagley, who had
bell-foundries at
Chacombe and
Witney, cast the third bell in 1743. In 1866 Mears and Stainbank of the
Whitechapel Bell Foundry re-cast the second bell, which had long been cracked, and added a new treble bell. The frame is oak, and was made in the late
Middle Ages and by 1965 required replacement. In 1966 the tenor bell of 1619 was transferred to the parish church of St John the Evangelist in
Carterton. Due to the condition of the frame, the bells remaining at St Mary's were unringable until 2017, when
John Taylor & Co of
Loughborough restored them and added a new treble bell, increasing the ring of bells to six. St Mary's churchyard includes 32
Commonwealth War Graves Commission burials. There are 30 Second World War burials, one from the First World War and one other. Most of the Second World War graves are of members of the
RAF and allied air forces from RAF Brize Norton. The parish is now part of the
Benefice of Shill Valley and Broadshire. section of St Mary's parish churchyard
Chapel A
Primitive Methodist congregation was established in the village in the 19th century and built its own red brick chapel in 1861. ==Social and economic history==