St Mary the Virgin, Iffley

For other places with the same name, see St Mary the Virgin.

St Mary the Virgin, Iffley
Church of St Mary the Virgin
OS grid reference	SP 52714 03456
Location	Iffley, Oxfordshire
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Broad Church
Website	iffleychurch.org.uk
History
Status	Active
Dedication	Saint Mary
Architecture
Functional status	Parish Church
Heritage designation	Grade I listed
Style	Romanesque
Years built	c.1160–1230; 795 years ago (1230)
Specifications
Bells	6
Administration
Province	Province of Canterbury
Diocese	Diocese of Oxford
Archdeaconry	Archdeaconry of Oxford
Deanery	Cowley
Clergy
Vicar(s)	The Revd Clare Hayns
Assistant priest(s)	The Revd Dr Graham Low
Laity
Churchwarden(s)	Sarah Beaver and William Alden

The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Iffley is a Church of England parish church in the village of Iffley, Oxfordshire, England, now absorbed as a suburb of the city of Oxford. ^{[1] [2]}

History

The Romanesque church was built c.1160 by the St Remy family, probably financed with funds from the de Clintons of Kenilworth Castle. ^[3] The Early Gothic east end was extended in c.1230, when a cell was constructed on the south side for the anchoress Annora. ^{[4] [5]}

The building has not been changed much over the centuries, retaining its round-arched windows and doorways. ^{[6] [7]} It is Grade I listed. ^[8]

In the south wall of the nave is as a stained glass window designed by John Piper and made by glassmaker David Wasley in 1982 for an exhibition in Bristol. It was only installed at Iffley in 1995 after being gifted to the church by Piper's widow, Myfanwy. ^[9] The window depicting Piper’s familiar Tree of Life motif, which here uniquely reworks the message of the Birth of Christ. Five animals are portrayed on the branches of the tree and in front, proclaiming in Latin: Cock – Christus natus est (Christ is born); Goose – Quando? Quando? (When? When?); Crow – In hac nocte (On this night); Owl – Ubi? Ubi? (Where? where?); Lamb – Bethlehem! Bethlehem! In the bottom panel is the quote "Let man and beast appear before Him and magnify His name together…." ^[10]

Opposite is a window depicting the Flowering Tree designed by Roger Wagner and realised in glass by Patrick Costeloe of Thomas Denny’s studio in 2012. ^[11]

Gallery

• 
  Stained glass window by John Piper
• 
  Stained glass window by Roger Wagner

See also

• List of churches in Oxford

References

1. Hibbert, Christopher, ed. (1988). "St Mary the Virgin". The Encyclopaedia of Oxford . Macmillan. p. 414. ISBN   0-333-39917-X.
2. "Iffley St Mary the Virgin, Iffley". The Church of England . Retrieved 23 February 2014.
3. Phythian-Adams, Mark (June 2006). "The patronage of Iffley church - a new line of enquiry" (PDF). Ecclesiology Today (36): 7–23. ISSN   1460-4213 . Retrieved 27 February 2016.
4. Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England (1939). An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of Oxford. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. pp. 151–154.
5. Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 658–661. ISBN   0-14-071045-0.
6. Ross, David. "Iffley Church". Britain Express. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
7. Wall, Lionel. "Iffley". UK: Great English Churches. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
8. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1047319)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 2 October 2019.
9. "Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Iffley". The Jesus Question. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
10. "Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Iffley, Oxford, Oxfordshire". Visit Stained Glass. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
11. "Roger Wagner". Visit Stained Glass. Retrieved 26 September 2025.

Further reading

• Hiller, Jon (1995). "Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Iffley, Oxford". Project Report. UK: Oxford Archaeological Unit.

External links

• St Mary's Iffley website

51°43′39″N1°14′18″W / 51.7274°N 1.2382°W / 51.7274; -1.2382