St Mary's Church, North Leigh
| St Mary's Church, North Leigh | |
|---|---|
| Parish Church of St Mary, North Leigh | |
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| Coordinates: 51°48′52″N 1°26′29″W / 51.81444°N 1.44139°W | |
| Location | North Leigh, Witney, Oxfordshire OX29 6TT |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Website | St Mary's – North Leigh |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint Mary |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Anglo-Saxon, Early English Gothic, Decorated Gothic, Perpendicular Gothic and Georgian |
| Years built | circa 1050–1725 |
| Administration | |
| Parish | St. Mary, North Leigh |
| Deanery | Witney |
| Archdeaconry | Oxford |
| Diocese | Oxford |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Clergy | |
| Vicar(s) | Rev. Miriam Keen |
The Parish Church of Saint Mary, North Leigh is the Church of England parish church of North Leigh, a village about 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Witney in Oxfordshire.
The bell tower is late Anglo-Saxon, probably built in the first half of the 11th century. There was an Anglo-Saxon nave west of the tower, and presumably an Anglo-Saxon chancel east of it. In the latter part of the 12th century the nave was abandoned and its arch in the west wall of the tower was blocked up. A new nave was built east of the tower in place of the Anglo-Saxon chancel, with north and south aisles flanking it and a new chancel extending further east, all in the Early English Gothic style.
Early in the 13th century the arch between the tower and the new nave was enlarged, a third chancel was built east of the 12th-century one, and the 12th-century chancel was made part of the nave. Early in the 14th century both aisles were extended westwards, flanking the tower on both sides, and arches were cut in the tower to link with the aisle extensions. New Decorated Gothic style windows were inserted in the east end of the chancel, the west end of the nave and along the south aisle.
In the middle of the 14th century the division between the nave and chancel was moved back to where it had been in the 12th century. The 13th-century chancel arch was removed, but its imposts remain in the north and south walls of the chancel. An arch was cut in the north wall of the chancel, presumably to connect with a new chapel.
After 1439 this chapel was replaced with a new Perpendicular Gothic style chapel, which has fine fan vaulting of unusually high quality for a parish church. It was built for Elizabeth Wilcote, widow of the then Lord of the Manor. She had been widowed twice and lost two of her sons, and had ordered the chapel as a chantry to offer Mass for them. Parts of the chapel's original 15th-century stained glass survive in its windows. Also in the 15th century, new Perpendicular Gothic windows were inserted in the north and south aisles.
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Wikipedia