St Matthew's Church, Langford

St Matthew’s Church stands in the quiet village of Langford, five kilometres north-east of Lechlade in Oxfordshire. The building began as an Anglo-Saxon chapelry linked to St Mary’s minster at Bampton. By the 11th century it had become a minster in its own right, with daughter chapels at Grafton and Radcot. Both chapels have vanished, but their hamlets remain part of the parish. The church was rededicated from St Mary to St Matthew at some point after the Reformation. Today it belongs to the Benefice of Shill Valley and Broadshire, which covers a dozen neighbouring parishes. The church’s oldest parts are the tower and nave, built in the late 11th century by Anglo-Saxon masons. These are the finest Anglo-Saxon remains in Oxfordshire and may post-date the Norman Conquest. Early English aisles and a 13th-century porch were added around 1200. Inside the porch are two Anglo-Saxon stone rood reliefs, one from the 8th century and one from the 10th. The chancel was rebuilt in the 13th century and shows unusual concave lozenge windows. A six-compartment aumbry in the north wall suggests the parish was prosperous at the time. Visitors find a ring of six bells, four cast in 1741 and two in 1953. The nave roof was restored to its original pitch in 1864 by Ewan Christian. A Jacobean pulpit dates from 1673 and a 17th-century clock now stands as a static exhibit in the south aisle. The blocked upper storey of the porch and the outline of its stairs remain visible inside the south aisle. The tower’s west gable carries two tall cylindrical pinnacles added in the 16th century. The whole church is Grade I listed, recognising its national importance.