St Matthew’sLangford.

8th century artefacts fromNormandy, definite Saxon

construction and stonework, andan example of an Englishmanprospering under Norman rule.

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Three Features illustrate ......

The Important Early History ofSt Matthew’s, Langford.

A Saxon tower, right, with a definite Saxonlong and short quoin structure and Saxonarches inside the church at its base.It is believed the church was built on thesite of an earlier edifice and that the towerwas built shortly after the Conquest beforeNorman building techniques, generally from1150, became standard. Therefore,consider the importance of Aelfsige ofFaringdon who would have used Saxonbuilders for the tower and was Langford’sbenefactor - he is described later.

The size of the churchindicates an important manor.Before the Conquest thereligious Minsters, Bampton,Broadwell and Langford, werelosing their power to manorsowned by earls. The combinedmanors of Langford andBroadwell exceeded 50 hides =300+ acres.

(A hide could be anything from 50 to200 acres but averaged 64 acres inthis area.)

The headless rood is set in a laterwall. One expert maintains that itwas imported from Normandy asit is earlier than 8th century dueto the long garment Christ iswearing. At the time of theConquest Christ would havebeen stripped to the waist in sucheffigies.So did the headless rood arrivedirectly after it had been carvedin the 8th century or was itplunder from a military campaignof a later era?

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Aelfsige.Aelfsige's estates comprised 15 Hides in Langford (960+ acres), 10 Hides inShipton-under-Wychwood (640+ acres), Rycote 2 Hides (128+ acres), and inBerkshire he held 5 Hides at Barcote (320+ acres) and 4 Hides in GreatFaringdon ( 256+ acres) together with 4 Hides (256+ acres) at Great Barrington inGloucestershire..... A total of at least 2,680 acres.(A hide could be anything from 50 to 200 acres but is thought to have averaged 64 acres in thisarea.)

Langford was transferred from Oxfordshire to Berkshire after 1086, DomesdayBook, owing to its connection with Faringdon which must have been Aelfsige, theEnglishman who prospered under Norman rule.

Clearly trusted byWilliam theConqueror we canunderstand how hehad the confidenceto embark upon amajor buildingproject like Langfordchurch.

The roof line ofAelfsige’s originalchurch is shown on thetower wall viewed fromthe chancel, at left, andthe narrow arches ofthe Saxon tower basevault.

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The present two bay chancel was rebuilt in themid 13th century but shortened at some timebecause the priest’s door, on the outside atleft, is set too far east. Inside, the 13th centurytrefoil piscina, below, is mounted in theblocked priest’s doorway. No details areavailable for the plainer piscina to the right.

A 13th century two tier, six compartmentaumbry to the north of the altar indicates arich church with lots of valuable plate tostore.

Further evidence that the chancel wasaltered dramatically is shown by the mis-match of stonework in the corner of theeast window above. A pillar doesn’t fitthe window reveal and a corbel is muchtoo close to the top of it.Note the unusual design of the windowswhich also occur at Wyck Rissington,about 12 miles north of here.

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The nave was rebuilt with a northand south arcade and aisles in lateNorman times, probably about1200, with slender rounded archesand columns with highly carved,floriated capitals. Graceful Normanarches which, probably, justpredate the introduction of theGothic pointed arch into England.

The south porch is 13th century and you enterthe church through a round arch Norman doorinto a large nave with north and south aisles.

The style and design indicate money andinfluence in the building of this church, maybeeven aristocratic connections. Note the superbdecoration of the column capitals, at left.

In medieval times the church was dedicated toSt Mary and was part of the diocese of Lincoln.It remained as a prebend (supporting Lincoln inmonetary terms) of the Lincoln Diocese until1848 when the Ecclesiastical Commissionersgained ownership of prebendal estates.Langford then became part of the OxfordDiocese. At this time from 1810 to 1850Langford had about 400 inhabitants most ofwhom would attend church here regularly eachSunday.

A Prebend of Lincoln.

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Many building modifications havetaken place over the years. Afterthe Black Death (mainly 1349)some changes were made but inthe 15th century local inhabitantsmade significant investments innew pavement flooring, seats,several windows and the presentoctagonal font. At one time theporch was two storey but only theblock doorway and the hint of anaccess stairway remain, as left.The nave was also re-roofed at alower pitch and clerestorywindows introduced above thearcade.

Fashions have changed in church services,as in everything else, and preaching wasnot a feature of the medieval church service.Preaching became common from lateTudor times onward and Holy Communionwas only celebrated at Easter, Whitsun,Michaelmas and Christmas during the 16thand 17th centuries.This Jacobean pulpit was made in 1673 byThomas Whiting (of Shipton-u-Wychwood?)for £8-00. Originally it could have been adouble decker type. However, in 1865 itwas decided to scrap it and provide a newone but, when blank facing panels wereremoved and the fine carvings revealed,that decision was quickly reversed. Thepedestal and stairs were provided in 1867.

The Mysteries of the Exterior.The figures above the porch door of The Crucifixion with OurLady and St John have been reset from another location.They are thought to date from 1020 -1040 and may havebeen commissioned by Earl Leofric of Mercia, a knownpatron of the arts. The form is similar to those found in theSyrian churches with the principal figure carved in high reliefon four stones. When reset the hands have been juxtaposedright and left probably to fit the porch facade. Also the Virginand St John are on opposite sides of Christ to normal. Christwears a loincloth which is significant when considering thedate of the headless Rood on the east porch wall.

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The square base and octagonal shaft column arethought to originate from the 15th century; itsprecise purpose is not known but it might havebeen for the broadcast of news and the King’sproclamations. It was probably surmounted by across and damaged during the Reformation.

In the 16th century the two flying buttresses wereadded to the north nave wall. The wall is out of truevertical, was it in danger of collapse? One buttresshas an inscription dated 1574.

While the tower is undoubtedly the oldest part ofthe church this headless rood might be the oldestartefact. Studies revealed that Christ wearing along tunic was common in statues up to the 8thcentury.There are no other figures like this anywhere inEngland.The method of construction supports the theorythat the figure was carved in northern France in700 - 800 AD.

The sources of information for this guide have been the original guide book in thechurch, John Blair’s Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire, English Heritage and Victoria County His-tory. The author is indebted to Dr Mark Page for permission to use his latest researchmaterial.Derek Cotterill 2008.

The pointedand pointlessWest enddecorationsto the roofappear tohave beenadded atabout thesame time.