St Thomas the Martyr's Church, Oxford

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Coordinates: 51°45′06″N 1°16′07″W / 51.751662°N 1.268504°W / 51.751662; -1.268504
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St Thomas the Martyr Church, Oxford
Anglo-Catholic
History
Founded12th century
DedicationThomas Becket
Administration
ProvinceCanterbury
DioceseOxford

St Thomas the Martyr Church is a

Hollybush Row
to the east, with St Thomas Street opposite.

Overview

The south wall of the church

The church was founded in the 12th century, dedicated to

Robert Burton
) and in the 19th century.

The church played a significant role in the early stages of the

Tractarians
were closely associated with St Thomas's.

History

To the Restoration

It has traditionally been held in Osney that the church was founded in the reign of

Henry VIII, when it was placed under Christ Church, Oxford. Christ Church treated it as a conventional parish church with a curate, and from the mid-19th century the incumbent was styled a vicar.[1]

The 13th-century priest's door in the south wall.

After the curacy was placed under the patronage of Christ Church, the incumbents were mostly scholars or members of the college; from 1616 to 1640 the curacy was held by

Robert Burton, author of The Anatomy of Melancholy, who enlarged the church. In the English Civil War the medieval stained glass in the church was destroyed, partly due to the vandalism of Parliamentarian troops captured at Cirencester in 1642 and imprisoned in the church.[2] Following the Restoration the holders of the curacy changed rapidly, often remaining in the position for only a few years at a time. From at least 1713 Christ Church leased a house in High Street to parish trustees and the profits were used for repairing the church. This continued until 1923, when the house was sold.[1]

19th and 20th centuries

By the early 19th century, the church and its parish were showing signs of neglect. In 1802 only ten

St Frideswide's in 1873.[1]

The curate from 1823 to 1842, one

St Frideswide, later replaced by the new parish church of St Frideswide's, which took on the parish of New Osney in 1873.[2]

Major repairs were carried out beginning in 1825. The floor-level was raised above flood-level, a full three feet. The roof was rebuilt, the south wall was rebuilt using the original materials, and the main features of the 12th-century chancel arch were discarded.[1]

The vicar from 1842 to 1892 was

Edward King preached at the church. In the early days of the movement, Anglo-Catholicism was closely associated with St Thomas'.[3] In 1847 Chamberlain founded the Community of St Thomas Martyr, which was devoted to the assistance of the poor of the parish, by now heavily slumland; this sisterhood remained active until 1958. The convent buildings for it were built in 1886, but have since been demolished.[2] In 1846 the north aisle and vestry
were demolished and a new aisle of five bays with a vestry at its west end was built in its place. The blocked tower arch and two blocked windows in the chancel were opened and a new chancel arch was built.

The vicar from 1896 to 1908 was T.H. Birley, later Bishop of Zanzibar.[2] In 1897 the building was again re-roofed and a vestry built against the north wall of the tower. St Thomas' was declared an ancient parish[clarification needed] in 1948.

Present day

The parish of St Thomas the Martyr had passed Resolutions A and B under the

alternative episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, then the provincial episcopal visitor for traditionalist Anglo-Catholics.[4]

In September 2015 the parish was united with the neighbouring parish of St Barnabas, Oxford, to form the new parish of St Barnabas and St Paul, with St Thomas the Martyr, Oxford. St Barnabas is the parish church and St Thomas is the chapel of ease. The first vicar of the new parish was Fr Jonathan Beswick. In 2019, he was succeeded by Fr Christopher Woods.

In November 2022, the parish began a consultation as to whether or not to rescind this arrangement, and in January 2023 the PCC voted by a majority to welcome the ministry of women priests and bishops.[5]

Architecture

Dr Burton
.

The church has a

Alexander Penrose Forbes.[1] The church has been reroofed at least twice, in 1825 and 1897.[1]

The chancel, which has a ceiling decorated by

William IV are displayed in the tower.[1]

St Thomas' church has been a Grade II listed building since 1954.[9]

The churchyard contains Combe House, a 1702 building originally built as a school, as well as a vicarage designed in 1893 by C. C. Rolfe. The remains of an earlier Rolfe building, the 1886 Sisterhood of St Thomas, are also present; in 1974, these amounted to a single cottage and a sculptured brick gateway.[10]

The pulpit was carved by James Rogers (1849–1931) in memory of his father, Thomas Rogers (1804–55), one-time Keeper of the Oxford County Hall. James Rogers also carved many of the pew ends and, possibly, the misericords in the choir stalls.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Crossley & Elrington 1979, pp. 369–412
  2. ^ a b c d e Hibbert 1988, pp. 425–426
  3. ^ Archbishops' Council (2010). "St Thomas the Martyr, Oxford". A Church Near You. Church of England. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2007.
  4. ^ Swinson, Maggie (September 2023). "House of Bishops' Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests St Barnabas & St Paul with St Thomas the Martyr, Oxford: Report by the Independent Reviewer" (PDF). churchofengland.org. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Ministry of Women Priests in our parish: an open letter". St Barnabas Jericho. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  6. ^ Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 298.
  7. ^ a b Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 299.
  8. ^ Archbishops' Council. "About the Church". Diocese of Oxford. Church of England. Retrieved 24 August 2007.
  9. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Thomas the Martyr (1047122)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  10. ^ Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 329.

References

Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Thomas the Martyr's Church, Oxford.
  • Whitehead, John (2003). The Church of St Thomas the Martyr, Oxford: A Short History and Guide. Privately published.

51°45′06″N 1°16′07″W / 51.751662°N 1.268504°W / 51.751662; -1.268504

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