St Frideswide's Church Explained

St Frideswide's Church
Fullname:The Parish Church of St Frideswide
Style:Gothic Revival
Years Built:1870–2
Consecrated Date:10 April 1872
Architect:Samuel Sanders Teulon
Denomination:Church of England
Churchmanship:Anglo-Catholic
Diocese:Oxford
Country:United Kingdom
Vicar:Revd Clare Sykes
Website:osneybenefice.org.uk

St Frideswide's Church is a Church of England church on the south side of the Botley Road in New Osney, west Oxford, England.[1] The church is in a district originally part of the parish of St Thomas the Martyr.[2]

History

The church is dedicated to the patroness of Oxford, St Frideswide.[3] It was designed by the 19th-century Gothic Revival architect Samuel Sanders Teulon of Westminster, London and built by the local firm of Honour & Castle. The foundation stone was laid in 1870 and the church was consecrated on 10 April 1872 by John Mackarness, the Bishop of Oxford.[4] It was originally intended for the church tower to have a spire.

In the nave is the "Alice Door", carved by Alice Liddell, a daughter of Henry Liddell, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, made famous through Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Immediately to the west is Osney Ditch. The church was the setting of a Morse detective story, Service of All the Dead by Colin Dexter.

Vicars of St Frideswide's

Present day

St Frideswide's stands in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England.[5]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Oxford: An Architectural Guide . Peter . Howard . Helena . Webster . St Frideswide, Oseney . 94–95 . . London . 1 899858 47 4 . 1999 .
  2. Book: . . St Frideswide, Church of . 1988 . 393 . 0-333-39917-X . Hibbert . Christopher . Christopher Hibbert .
  3. Web site: St Frideswide, Oxford . . A Church Near You . 25 September 2012 .
  4. Web site: History of St Frideswide's Church . Malcolm . Graham . The Church of England . 14 September 2019 .
  5. Web site: St Frideswide's . Benefice of Osney . 30 April 2019.