Parish Church
The Church of England parish church of Saint Matthew is Saxon. In about 1200 the Early English Gothic north and south aisles were added, and in the 13th century the chancel was rebuilt. Some of the windows are 14th and 15th century Decorated Gothic and Perpendicular Gothic additions. Two flying buttresses were added to the north side of the church in 1574. The architect Richard Pace restored the building in 1829 and the Gothic Revival architect Ewan Christian restored the nave roof to its original pitch in 1864. The tower has a ring of six bells.
Read more about this topic: Langford, Oxfordshire
Other articles related to "parish church, church, parish":
... The Church of England parish church of Saint Peter has a late Norman nave and chancel ... The parish is now part of the benefice of Stratton Audley with Godington, Fringford with Hethe and Stoke Lyne ... A Church of England school for the village was built in 1864 and reorganised as a junior school in 1930 ...
A parish church (or parochial church), in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches.
In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, often allowing its premises to be used for non-religious community events.
The church building reflects this status, and there is considerable variety in the size and style of parish churches. Many villages in Europe have churches that date back to the Middle Ages, but all periods of architecture are represented.
Nearly every part of England is in a parish, and most parishes have a parish church, which is consecrated. If there is no parish church, the bishop licenses another building for worship, and may designate it as a Parish Centre of Worship, a building which is not consecrated, but dedicated, and for most legal purposes it is deemed to be a parish church. In areas of increasing secularisation or a shift in religious beliefs, centres of worship are becoming more common place as often larger churches are sold due to their upkeep costs, instead the church may use community centres or facilities of a local church of another denomination.
In cities without a Cathedral of a certain denomination, the Parish church may have administrative functions similar to that of a cathedral, however the diocese will still have a cathedral.
While smaller villages may only have a parish church, larger towns may have a parish church and then also smaller churches in various districts which do not have the status of 'parish church'. Often the Parish church will be the only one to have a full-time minister, who will also serve any smaller churches within the parish.
In the Roman Catholic Church, as the seat of worship for the parish, this church is the one where the members of the parish must go for baptisms and weddings, unless permission is given by the pastor for celebrating these sacraments elsewhere. One sign of this is that the parish church is the only one to have a baptismal font.
The Church of Scotland, the established Presbyterian church, also uses a system of parish churches, covering the whole of Scotland.
... A church was established in mediaeval times, possibly around the 12th century, at an isolated location in fields to the northeast of the village access was only possible from the west ... The original building was replaced with a simple Norman-style church with an aisled nave and a tower ... This church functioned as the parish church of Hove until 1531, when the parish was united with that of Preston (to the northeast) and became the parish of Hove-cum-Preston ...
... The Church of England parish church of Saint James the Apostle is known to have existed by 1074 ... James' parish is now part of the Cherwell Valley Benefice along with five other parishes Ardley, Fritwell, Lower Heyford, Souldern and Upper Heyford ...
... to develop as a village in the 13th century, it was in the parish of Slaugham in the Hundred of Buttinghill (hundreds were ancient divisions of land covering several parishes) ... As the new village was distant from the parish church at Slaugham (St Mary's), several miles south, a stone church was built as a chapel of ease ... when it was passed on in a will, and it was still the daughter church of Slaugham in 1291 but by the early 15th century it was referred to as a "free ...
Famous quotes containing the words church and/or parish:
“Having grown up in shade of Church and State
Breathing the air of drawing-rooms and scent ...”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“When the deep purple falls over sleepy garden walls, and the stars begin to flicker in the sky,”
—Mitchell Parish (1901–1993)