St Martin's Church, Bladon

St Martin’s Church stands at the edge of Bladon village, a few kilometres north-west of Woodstock in Oxfordshire. The building occupies a gentle slope above the main road, with the churchyard running down to meet a quiet lane. The present church replaced a medieval structure in 1804, though parts of the earlier fabric survive in the tower and porch. Inside, the nave feels dim after Blomfield’s 19th-century restoration removed the old clerestory. Three windows in the chancel recall the rector Arthur Majendie, who paid for much of the work. A lych gate at the entrance was given in memory of his mother in 1893. The church is chiefly known for the graves of the Spencer-Churchill family in its churchyard. Sir Winston Churchill chose to be buried here after his state funeral in London in 1965. His parents, brother, children and grandson lie close by, alongside the 10th Duke of Marlborough and Consuelo Vanderbilt. A new gravestone replaced the worn original in 1998, but erosion returned within eight years. After cleaning in 2006 the area was closed for a time to protect the stones. Visitors walk past the lych gate into a churchyard shaded by yew and lime trees. Churchill’s flat ledger stone lies flat among older headstones, many carved with 18th- and 19th-century names. The church itself has a plain exterior of local stone, its porch marked by a niche holding a statue of Saint Martin. Inside, the east window copies Sir Joshua Reynolds’ Choir of the Cherubs, while the west window frames the tower arch. The interior remains quiet, the light muted through Blomfield’s stained glass.