Arthur Mee - The King's England, Oxfordshire.
Lower Heyford – The Ancient Bridge.
It looks down from its slope across the wide valley where a bridge spans the Cherwell, a four-arched bridge with stones 700 years old in its piers. There is a fine picture from the bridge of the embattled walls and towers of Rousham Hall. The 13th century clerestoried church has a 15th century tower, and its 15th century porch has a sundial which says nothing except by a ray from Heaven. The nave arcades are 14th century. The east window is beautiful with a modern Crucifixion, in which are Mary and John under silver canopies; and another window has St. James in red and gold, the Madonna and Child in blue and white, Mary Magdalene in a red-lined cloak, and a scene from Gethsemane. There is ancient black and gold glass in an aisle window with shields, acorns, and a head of Christ. There are four old piscinas. Old beams remain in the roofs, and there is much 15th century work in the neat chance screen, which has a vine cornice. The font is 17th century. In the vestry is the portrait of a parish clerk for 52 years.
W. Hobart Bird – Old Oxfordshire Churches.
The church of St. Mary has quire, clerestoried nave, North and South aisles, South porch and Perpendicular West tower. The East window of the quire, of three lights, has curious Decorated tracery of a late form of reticulated in the rere arch, and a two-light Decorated also with unusual tracery. On the South are two two-light cusped reticulated Decorated windows. The one within the sanctuary has the sill lowered for sedilia. Note the very chaste Early English piscina and credence with simple roll moulds to inner trefoiled arch and an outer pointed arch. There is one Norman window behind the organ, and also a priest’s door on North. Note the good 15th-cent. chancel screen.
The North and South arcades of five bays are Decorated with octagonal pillars and capitals and chamfered two order arches, the North being somewhat the earlier. Note the blocked doorway to the roodloft. At the East end of the South aisle is a good restored Decorated pillar piscina and credence, also an early Decorated geometrical window in rere arch. The North wall has one three-light Perpendicular and at the West another three-light Perpendicular. There is a blocked North doorway. Note the responds of chancel arch; each has a large shallow cusped niche, which is most unusual. The chancel arch is Early English with two continuous chamfers. The West window is early Decorated. Inside the South door, notice the holy-water stoup. Inside the South aisle is a very uncommon stair turret at North East angle, which also has two cusped niches. The lower has an image bracket. There is a small trefoiled piscina at the end of this aisle, and at the end wall are two fine canopied niches with image brackets, all these details being indicative of original alters there. The fenestration here is mostly Decorated cusped reticulated in rere arches, with one three-light Perpendicular. The font is dated “1662”, but part of it is much older.
This church should be visited because of the unusual number of niches for images. There must have been more than the three altars customary in most churches.