Church
The earliest evidence of a church at
Begbroke is 12th-century work in the building.
It was claimed in the 18th century that Begbroke
was the 'mother church' of Yarnton, (fn. 58) but no
record of such a relationship has been found.
The benefices of Begbroke and Yarnton were
united in 1984, and in 1986 the joint benefice
was united with Shipton-on-Cherwell. (fn. 59)
The first known presentation to the rectory
was in 1216. (fn. 60) There was a vicar in 1232 who
was permitted to retain his position on payment
of a gold piece to the rector, (fn. 61) but no further
reference to a vicarage has been discovered. The
advowson was held by the Lyons family in the
13th and 14th centuries, passing with their
moiety of the manor to the Chetwode and
Spencer families. (fn. 62) It was then divided among
the four heirs of Sir Thomas Spencer (d. 1685).
One quarter, giving one turn in every four, was
bought in 1718 by Benjamin Swete, who gave it
in 1731 to Brasenose College, Oxford. (fn. 63) The
three other quarters were bought with the concomitant part of the manor in 1695 by Sir
Robert Dashwood, whose family retained
possession until 1868 when Sir Henry Dashwood sold his share of the advowson to John
Bellingham who presented himself to the living
in the following year. In 1871 Bellingham sold it
to Frederick Waldron, who also presented himself. In 1872 Waldron's daughter Margaret presented Henry Sadleir, who in 1873 bought from
her the three-quarter share of the advowson.
Sadleir, who had begun his career in Ireland,
conveyed the share in 1876 to trustees who were
to present clergy of the Church of Ireland
nominated by the bishop of Cashel. (fn. 64) The trustees had withdrawn by 1984 when patronage of
the united benefice was to be shared by Brasenose College and the Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust. In 1986 the duke of Marlborough
became the third patron. (fn. 65)
The rectory was valued at £2 in 1254, (fn. 66) and at
£2 13s. 4d. in 1341. (fn. 67) In 1523 the living was
worth £8, and in 1526 only £3, the latter figure
the lowest in Woodstock deanery. (fn. 68) By 1615,
however, the value had increased greatly to £66
13s. 4d. (fn. 69) Undervaluation on such a scale in the
16th century is unlikely, and the living may have
been augmented, although no grant has been
traced. Glebe seems to have comprised 1 yardland, carrying with it the right to a yard of
meadow in Yarnton meads. When Begbroke was
inclosed the rector was allotted several closes,
the most important of which were Heath
ground, later Parson's copse, on the boundary
with Worton, Parson's close, east of the way to
Bladon, Parson's clay, at the south-west end of
Dalton Lane, and a close in the Marshes; the
total was estimated at 251/2 a. in 1685. (fn. 70) In 1765
the glebe was said to be rated at 2 yardlands, and
in 1844 the tithe commission found 371/4 a., laid
out much as in the 17th century. (fn. 71) In the late
17th century and early 18th tithes were paid in
kind or in cash, but by the 1720s money payments seem to have been the rule. (fn. 72) During the
18th century Begbroke's tithes yielded c. £70 a
year and the glebe between £20 and £30, (fn. 73) but
by 1823 tithes had increased in value to £127
and the glebe to £63. (fn. 74) Tithes were commuted
in 1844 for £155, (fn. 75) and in 1874 the living was
worth £209 gross, of which £145 derived from
tithes and the rest from rent. (fn. 76) In 1926 the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners matched a private
benefaction of £200 to the rectory. (fn. 77)
The rectory house, described in 1634 as 'a
little dwelling house', was taxed on two hearths
in 1665. In 1685 it was said to be a four-bayed
building with a kitchen built on the back, and
there were also a barn and small stable. (fn. 78) The
house was rebuilt c. 1743 by Richard Hawkins,
rector of Begbroke and vicar of Yarnton, and
was modelled on his Yarnton vicarage. It was a
small house, with parlour and kitchen on either
side of a central entrance, but its size was almost
doubled in the later 18th century by additions
on the north. (fn. 79) The house was described in 1875
as unfit for a gentleman and his family, and it
was extensively rebuilt, acquiring at that date its
gabled roof. The outbuildings were replaced by
a coach house and stable. (fn. 80) In the 18th century
and for much of the 19th the house was either let
or used by curates. (fn. 81) It was sold in 1981. (fn. 82)
Many medieval rectors exchanged Begbroke
for a richer living within a few years of institution. Of 33 rectors between 1219 and 1535 only
6 are known to have died in office, including one
in the plague year of 1349. (fn. 83) On three occasions
in the 13th century members of the Lyons
family presented relatives to the living. (fn. 84) The
only medieval rector known to have studied at
Oxford was John Selle, who held Begbroke for a
few months in 1404. (fn. 85) The medieval church
contained a light, for whose upkeep 1 a. had
been given at an unknown date. (fn. 86) Visitations in
the earlier 16th century revealed that the rector
was absent and the parish served not by a curate
but by a visiting monk; the rectory house was in
ruins, the font unlocked, and the church windows broken. (fn. 87)
In the 17th and 18th centuries Begbroke was
held by a succession of Oxford college fellows,
most of them pluralists and many non-resident.
One rector, John Martin (d. 1680), was suspected in 1666 of embezzling money collected in
the parish for the relief of victims of the Great
Fire of London; he was allegedly a 'common
drunkard' and 'a great swearer', and apparently
assaulted the bishop's mandatory. Martin was
suspended for three years but continued to hold
the living thereafter, despite complaints about
his church services. (fn. 88) The parish's proximity to
Oxford made it easy to find curates and there
were some notable 18th-century incumbents.
Richard Hawkins, rector 1740-65, was constantly resident, held two services on Sundays,
and catechized throughout Lent. (fn. 89) Thomas
Cooke, rector 1765-76, was similarly conscientious, (fn. 90) and John Cooke, his brother, rector
1778-1823, at first served the living personally
from Oxford, but relied on curates after 1783,
when he was elected president of Corpus Christi
College. His longest serving curate was his son-in-law Vaughan Thomas, vicar of Yarnton, the
diversity of whose interests probably adversely
affected Begbroke, where Sunday services were
reduced from two to one, and communion services from four a year to three. (fn. 91) Ellis Ashton,
rector 1823-69, was non-resident, but he doubled the curates' salary to £80 and the quality of
the men employed was reflected in the religious
life of the parish. By 1831 Sunday services had
increased to two, with additional services on
feast days. Communicants increased from 12 or
15 earlier in the century to 20, catechizing was
reintroduced, and there was a lending library of
the curate's own books, said to be 'much used'. (fn. 92)
The census of 1851 recorded congregations of
50-60 at morning services and 60-70, including
Sunday School children, in the afternoon.
Those figures, high for such a small parish, were
said to be normal. (fn. 93) In 1854 congregations of
only c. 30 were reported, but later in the century
there were congregations of c. 45 in the morning
and c. 65 in the afternoon. (fn. 94)
The living was sold three times between 1868
and 1872, the rapid turnover of incumbents
perhaps accounting for the fact that 'the labouring men come to church irregularly and infrequently'. It was added as worthy of notice that
they 'do keep awake, although an agricultural
congregation'. (fn. 95) Only with the appointment of
George Downes, 1877-1909, did stability
return. Despite a declining population and a
decreasing congregation, Downes undertook the
restoration of the church in 1891 and maintained a full-time ministry in the parish. (fn. 96) The
establishment in 1897 of a Roman Catholic
priory close by the church seems to have led at
first to strained relations, and in 1922 the rector
alleged that 'the Romanists . . . are hostile and
try to make perverts of the Church people'. (fn. 97)
Relations improved during the long incumbency
of Herbert McCann (1941-80), to the extent
that the church key is kept at the priory. (fn. 98)
From 1947 Begbroke was held in plurality
with Shipton-on-Cherwell. By an Order in
Council of 1952 the ecclesiastical parish of Begbroke was extended to take in Campsfield, formerly in Kidlington parish. The change brought
a much needed increase of population. (fn. 99)
The church of ST. MICHAEL stands at the
north-east end of the old village. It is built of
limestone rubble with ashlar dressings, and has
a chancel, nave, and west tower all substantially
of the 12th century. (fn. 1) The elaborately decorated
chancel arch and south doorway are 12th-century, and a small gable window in the chancel
and windows in the tower, as well as its saddleback roof, may also be original. Until 1828 the
church retained narrow, single-light, 12th-century windows at the east end of the chancel and
in the south wall of the nave at the east end. (fn. 2) In
1982 a blocked north doorway was discovered
directly opposite that on the south. An image of
St. Michael above the north doorway remained
in the early 18th century. (fn. 3)
In the 13th century a large, plain, single-light
window was inserted in the south wall of the
chancel. Of later medieval work there remain
the font, with octagonal bowl and quatrefoil-decorated stem, an aumbry with its original
carved door, in the north wall of the chancel,
and the rebates of a rood screen. In the 16th
century or the 17th square-headed two-light
windows were inserted on either side of the
south doorway and in the upper storey of the
tower, and the nave was re-roofed. (fn. 4)
There were complaints of neglect in the 16th
century, and Thomas Hearne remarked in 1717
that 'everything of antiquity is gone'. (fn. 5) The
bishop ordered in 1756 that the tower be repaired and that 'some chosen words' be written
on the church walls. (fn. 6) A major restoration took
place in 1828-9 at the expense of Thomas
Robinson. The chancel windows were replaced
in Romanesque style, except for the small south-west window, which kept its deeply recessed
internal splays while being given external
mouldings in 15th-century style. The Perpendicular style was also used for elaborate new
windows on either side of the south doorway.
The narrow 12th-century window in the nave
was replaced by a window in 14th-century style.
A south porch, which had replaced an earlier,
taller, porch, was removed. Buttresses were
placed at the corners of the chancel and of the
nave. A small gallery was erected at the west end
of the church, and new pews were provided,
probably re-using some old materials. Robinson
may also have provided a new font; the old one
was removed to the rectory garden. The new
work was generally careful and sympathetic, the
nave windows, for example, apparently being
copied from those in the cloisters at Christ
Church, Oxford. (fn. 7)
Between 1830 and 1835 the bell-opening in
the south face of the upper storey of the tower
was renewed in 14th-century style to match that
on the north. (fn. 8) In 1845 the rector, Ellis Ashton,
took down the chancel arch and rebuilt it with
the same materials; at that time the 12th-century
gable window in the chancel was discovered and
opened up. (fn. 9) In 1875 H. A. Sadleir removed the
flat plaster ceiling, probably 18th-century, in the
chancel. (fn. 10) His successor, G. Downes, instigated
a major restoration of the church in 1891, under
the direction of H. Drinkwater of Oxford. The
ground level around the church was lowered,
and the roof reslated. A flat plaster ceiling,
possibly 18th-century, was removed from the
nave. The west gallery was taken down, the nave
replastered, and stonework, which had once
been coloured, was cleaned and whitewashed.
New pews were installed. The font was replaced
by the old one, which had been brought back
into the church in the 1840s to stand in the
tower. The tower was fitted out as a vestry. (fn. 11)
In 1956 the altar rails were replaced, and
arcading behind the altar table removed. Two
tables of the Commandments, set up in 1816,
were also removed. (fn. 12) The church was completely reroofed in 1983. In 1985 the external
rendering was stripped off and extensive repairs
made to the walls.
The church contains some notable glass of the
15th century and later, given in 1828 by Thomas
Robinson. Some, in the south-east window of
the chancel, was removed to Stonesfield in 1849
when a memorial window to the Robinson family replaced it. Of the remainder, the 15th-century painted glass in the south-east window
of the nave has been described as 'the most
important piece of Flemish glass painting ... in
the county'. Robinson's gift also includes armorial glass in the nave windows by Thomas
Willement. (fn. 13) By contrast, Victorian glass in the
east window was described by the diocesan
surveyor in 1956 as the worst he had ever seen,
and it was replaced by a window depicting St.
Michael. (fn. 14)
There are monuments and memorial inscriptions to several rectors, and to members of the
Fitzherbert and Robinson families. By the south
door are the octagonal base of a cross and an
ancient stone tomb. The church plate includes a
silver chalice and paten cover of 1680 and a
silver almsdish of 1792. (fn. 15) Thomas Robinson
gave an organ in 1839. (fn. 16) By 1882 there was a
small organ, presumably a replacement, in the
west gallery, (fn. 17) and a new organ was installed in
1956. (fn. 18) There were two bells until 1755, when
they were replaced by a single bell. (fn. 19)