History of St Mary's
Brief history
St Mary the Virgin church was originally built during the 18th Century but was so disliked by the Bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce, that he had a new church designed and built by George Edmund Street. It is a grade II* listed example of Gothic Revival architecture.
The Rev. Elton first acquired the land in 1847 but it wasn’t until 1855 that the chapelry of Wheatley was separated from the Parish of Cuddesdon and the glebe land and land for the church was sold by The Rev Elton to the parish. In January 1856 an agreement was signed for the erection of the new church for £1,763 16s 6d. It is constructed from Wheatley limestone. The west tower was completed in 1868 with the addition of the spire built by Hollands of Thame.
The belfry contains six bells, four of which are from the original 18th Century church and one of which is a Russian Sanctus bell from Troitsa (thought to have been claimed as a spoil of war) given to the church in 1921 and about which there is romantic speculation.
Did you know?
On 14th June 1857, the first baptism took place in the new church. This was for Georgina Stanley, who later became a cook and never married. Her father was Alban Stanley who was a local stonemason and possibly worked on the construction of the church.
The first marriage, on July 26th 1857, was between John Carter, a 22 year old painter, and Eliza Gomm, aged 20. John’s father Joseph was also a painter and Eliza’s father Robert was a stonemason. Perhaps he too worked on the church.
The first burial in the new graveyard was on 2nd July 1857 for Ann Edmonds, aged 56.
On January 15 1862, the vicar dismissed the ringers and Churchwarden for ‘bad behaviour'. The exact nature of their misbehaviour is unspecified, but ringers and drink were closely associated at this period, and many clergy waged a perpetual war with their ringers.
The churchyard contains three Commonwealth War Graves: a Wiltshire Regiment soldier and a Royal Navy sailor of World War I and an Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry soldier of World War I.
St Mary’s was the first church George Edmund Street ever designed and is in the Gothic Revival style of architecture. He had previously designed the theological college at Cuddesdon and his final work was The Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, London (shown below).
William Morris and Philip Webb were George Street’s assistants on the design of the church.
Census record 1861 to show The Rev. Elton’s household
The first vicar, The Rev. Edward Elton, found the local girls too immoral to employ as servants so by 1861 he had a governess and a cook from London, a nursemaid from Warwickshire, a housemaid from Wallingford and an under housemaid from Waterstock.
The Russian Sanctus Bell
The names of the bells are: Edward (Treble), Samuel (2nd), King (3rd), Frideswide (4th), Birinus (5th), Mary (Tenor) and Trinity (Sanctus).
Stained glass memorials
The Rev. Elton commissioned two stained glass windows: one in memory of his son, Ambrose, who died in 1853 aged 5 months, which is in St. Nicholas’ church at Forest Hill, and the other for his father John, who died in 1856 aged 72 to be found in the Sanctuary at St Mary’s.
The old St Mary’s Church 1795-1856
There was once another St Mary the Virgin church built in the 18th Century which stood where the War Memorial is now sited.
The old St Mary’s Church 1795-1856
There was once another St Mary the Virgin church built in the 18th Century which stood where the War Memorial is now sited.
Historic timeline
1847
The Rev Elton purchased the land
1857
Church is consecrated
1862
100 villagers moved in to build the High Wycombe to Oxford spur of the Great Western Railway
1864
Wheatley railway station opened (shown in photo above)
1868
West tower completed with a spire
1870
May and June - riots by agricultural labourers at Littleworth
1872
The Conacher organ was installed
1873
Many villagers emigrated to the Colonies due to lack of work and poverty
1875
The Post Mill burnt down leaving only one mill in the village
1880s
Destitution, soup kitchens and hard winters were prevalent in Wheatley
1888
Merry Bells built as a non-alcoholic public house
1910
Flash flooding deposited 3 feet of debris and water in the URC
1912
The Wheatley Windmill was hit by lightning which tossed the miller and his wife out of bed!
1915
The Windmill ceased production
1914-18
180+ men left for war, 36 did not return
1921
Russian Sanctus bell gifted to the church (Russian Bell tower it came from shown above)
1939-45
9 men lost during the war
1951
Sewerage first laid in Littleworth
1963
Wheatley Station closed
1965
Lady Spencer-Churchill teacher training college opened
1974
M40 opened
1980
Theresa Brasier married Philip May
1995
‘Save Wheatley Spire’ campaign restored the church spire
2000
Original organ replaced by an electronic one
2016
Revival project launched by the St Mary's Vision for the future group. The project was launched by our patron The Rt Hon Theresa May, former primer minister and daughter of Hubert Brazier, our former Vicar.
2024
Between May 2023 and September 2024 the Church was closed for renovation. This was a significant project the work was carried out by Savvy's, a local contractor. It cost circa £650,000 and included a new floor, heating, wiring and lighting. The original scope included a new floor in the west wing with a glazed screen, and a glass entrance door to the porch. The protracted timeline in gaining Diocesan approval plus inflation meant that for this phase, these elements of the project would not be included. The congregation continued to worship at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Crown Road and also had access to meeting facilities at the United Reform Church.
On September 8th 2024 Bishop Gavin of Dorchester and Archdeacon Jan Haslam presided over a service of rededication attended by 152 people. Bishop Gavin emphasised that the rededication was about the people and not the building, and members of the community offered prayers during the intercessions. A joyous occasion which celebrated a project that had lasted 8 years.
