Abbreviation | OHCT |
---|---|
Named after | Oxfordshire |
Formation | 1964 |
Founded at | Oxfordshire |
Type | Nonprofit |
Legal status | charity |
Purpose | Historic church preservation |
Location |
|
Region served | Oxfordshire |
Products | Publications |
Services | Grants |
Methods | Events |
Fields | Cultural heritage |
Official language | English |
Chairman | Stephen Goss |
Secretary | Richard Hughes |
Treasurer | Giles Dessain |
Grants Officer | Cynthia Robinson |
Publication | Annual Review |
Parent organization | National Churches Trust [1] |
Funding | Donations |
Website | ohct |
The Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust (OHCT) provides financial support with repairs and certain improvements to churches and chapels in Oxfordshire, England, without regard to their denomination.
ONCT encourages interest in Oxfordshire churches and chapels and undertakes fundraising, [2] partly through an annual sponsored 'Ride & Stride' event held in September, [3] [4] and through JustGiving. [5]
The Trust was established in 1964. Sir Hugo Brunner, formerly Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, has been a Trustee of OHCT and has helped with fund-raising activities, including formal openings. [6] By 2011, the value of the Trust's grants to churches and chapels had amounted to around £3.5 million. The chairman at the time since 1999, Christopher H. Walton, received an MBE for raising and distributing more than £2 million for Oxfordshire churches in his work for the Trust. [7] In 2016, it was announced that the Trust's 2014 Jubilee Campaign (50 years after its establishment) had raised £3 million in donations of cash and legacies, helping churches such as St Mary's Church, Chalgrove. [8] In 2024, the Trust provided finance to help with urgent repairs of St Mary's Church, Bampton, which featured in the television drama series Downton Abbey . [9]
As part of its activities, OHCT produces publications related to historic churches in Oxfordshire. [10]
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Gloucestershire to the west. The city of Oxford is the largest settlement and county town.
Sir George Gilbert Scott, largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started his career as a leading designer of workhouses. Over 800 buildings were designed or altered by him.
Iffley is a village in a designated conservation area in Oxfordshire, England. It lies within the boundaries of the city of Oxford, between Cowley and the estates of Rose Hill and Donnington, and in proximity to the River Thames (Isis). A notable feature is its largely unchanged Norman church, St Mary the Virgin, which has a modern stained glass Nativity window designed by John Piper and another window designed by Roger Wagner. The church is a Grade I listed building.
Highclere Castle is a Grade I listed country house built in 1679 and largely renovated in the 1840s, with a park designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century. The 5,000-acre (2,000 ha) estate is in Highclere in Hampshire, England, about 5 miles (8 km) south of Newbury, Berkshire, and 9.5 miles (15 km) north of Andover, Hampshire. The 19th-century renovation is in a Jacobethan and Italianate style produced by architect Charles Barry. It is the country seat of the Earls of Carnarvon, a branch of the Anglo-Welsh Herbert family.
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in 1886. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied Architecture.
Islip is a village and civil parish on the River Ray, just above its confluence with the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England. It is about 2 miles (3 km) east of Kidlington and about 5 miles (8 km) north of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 652.
Jericho is a historic suburb of the English city of Oxford. It consists of the streets bounded by the Oxford Canal, Worcester College, Walton Street and Walton Well Road. Located outside the old city wall, it was originally a place for travellers to rest if they had reached the city after the gates had closed. The name Jericho may have been adopted to signify this 'remote place' outside the wall. As of February 2021, the population of the Jericho and Osney wards was 6,995.
Bampton, also called Bampton-in-the-Bush, is a settlement and civil parish in the Thames Valley about 4+1⁄2 miles (7 km) southwest of Witney in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Weald. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,564. Bampton is variously referred to as both a town and a village. The Domesday Book recorded that it was a market town by 1086. It continued as such until the 1890s. It has both a town hall and a village hall.
Wroxton is a village and civil parish in the north of Oxfordshire about 3 miles (5 km) west of Banbury. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 546.
Yarnton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Kidlington and 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,545.
Launton is a village and civil parish on the eastern outskirts of Bicester, Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,204.
Noke is a small village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Oxford. It is on the southeast edge of Otmoor and is one of the "Seven Towns of Otmoor". The toponym is derived from Old English and means "at the oak trees". The parish still has two woodlands: Prattle Wood about 500 yards (460 m) southwest of the village, and Noke Wood about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the southeast.
Ditcheat is a village and civil parish 4.5 miles (7 km) south of Shepton Mallet, and 2.5 miles (4 km) north-west of Castle Cary, in Somerset, England. Besides the village, the parish has four hamlets: Wraxall, Lower Wraxall, Alhampton and Sutton.
Northmoor is a village and civil parish in West Oxfordshire, about 6 miles (10 km) west of Oxford and almost the same distance southeast of Witney. Northmoor is in the valley of the River Thames, which bounds the parish to the east and south, and is close to the River Windrush which forms part of the parish's western boundary. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 377.
Downton is a village and civil parish on the River Avon in southern Wiltshire, England, about 6 miles (10 km) southeast of the city of Salisbury. The parish is on the county boundary with Hampshire and is close to the New Forest; it includes the villages of Wick and Charlton-All-Saints, and the small ancient settlement of Witherington. The Trafalgar Park estate erased the former settlement of Standlynch. The parish church, Trafalgar House, and two more houses are Grade I listed.
Chiselhampton is a village in the civil parish of Stadhampton, on the River Thame, in the South Oxfordshire district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is about 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Oxford. In 1931 the parish named Chislehampton had a population of 136. On 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished and merged with Stadhampton.
Downton Abbey is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on PBS, which supported its production as part of its Masterpiece Classic anthology, on 9 January 2011. The show ran for fifty-two episodes across six series, including five Christmas specials.
The National Churches Trust, formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, is a British registered charity whose aim is to "promote and support church buildings of historic, architectural and community value across the UK".
The church of Our Lady of Bloxham, informally called St Mary's Bloxham, is the Church of England parish church in Bloxham, Oxfordshire. It is notable for its 14th-century tower and spire, which is the highest in Oxfordshire. It is unusually large for a parish church. The architectural historian Jennifer Sherwood described it as "one of the grandest churches in the country." It is a Grade I listed building.
The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin is the Church of England parish church of Bampton, West Oxfordshire. It is in the Archdeaconry of Dorchester in the Diocese of Oxford.