St Mary Magdalen's Church, Oxford

St Mary Magdalen
51°45′17″N 1°15′32″W / 51.754620°N 1.258826°WCoordinates: 51°45′17″N 1°15′32″W / 51.754620°N 1.258826°W
Location Magdalen Street, Oxford
Country England
Denomination Church of England
Churchmanship Anglo-Catholic
Website St Mary Magdalen, Oxford
History
Dedication Mary Magdalene
Administration
Deanery Oxford
Archdeaconry Oxford
Diocese Oxford
Province Canterbury

St Mary Magdalen is a Church of England parish church in Magdalen Street, Oxford, England. The church is just to the north of the former city wall.

History

A Saxon wooden church stood here a thousand years ago, but this was burnt down in 1074.[1] Robert D'Oyly, the Norman Constable of Oxford, built a single aisle chapel to replace the wooden church. Saint Hugh, the Bishop of Lincoln, rebuilt the church in 1194. Following the English Reformation, the church's patronage passed from St Frideswide's to Christ Church. In 1841–42, George Gilbert Scott, then young and unknown, rebuilt the chancel and the north aisle. This complemented his Martyrs' Memorial just north of the church. It was the first Victorian Gothic interior in Oxford.

Compared to other Oxford churches, it is relatively high, with a strong emphasis on Anglo-Catholicism.[2]

The bells in the church have been rung regularly by the Oxford University Society of Change Ringers since the 1930s. They were augmented to be a ring of 10 bells in 2002.[3]

See also

References

Small font formerly in St Mary Magdalen's Church
  1. ↑ History, St Mary Magdalen Church, Oxford.
  2. ↑ From the Parish Priest, St Mary Magdalen Church, Oxford.
  3. ↑ OUS Towers, OUSCR.

Further reading