St. Mary Litton Cheney  

Litton Cheney

St. Mary

The church of St. Mary is perched high up above the bulk of the village and adjacent to a delightful old rectory with a magnificent magnolia tree in the garden.  It is an awkward building to photograph because of the difficulty in getting sufficiently far away for a proper perspective and the need for a wide angle lens - in reality the tower does not lean!

The origins of the church are certainly Norman and maybe earlier.  There are sections of the nave and the porch which are 14c and the tower is late 14 or early 15c.  The chancel arch is of the same date; note the blocked-up hagioscopes (or squints) on both sides, which would once have given a view of the altar from the side chapels.  In 1878 the building was radically restored and a north chapel added.  The altar came from Balliol College, Oxford, and the bowl of the font is thought to be Norman, although the base is modern.  The barrel roof of the chancel is most attractive and there are some interesting oil lamps.

At the rear of the building is a delightful children's corner. 

The Trust gratefully acknowledges text by Robin Adeney  and Drone Photograph by Richard Noble DHCT© 2018

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