Iffley Church

One of the topics I am teaching this term is a course on the history of English architecture, and this week we began with Norman buildings. I recommended to my student that he should visit Iffley church, which is about two miles from the city centre here in Oxford, and one of the finest surviving examples of asmall Norman parish church. It is usually dated to the years 1170-75.

There is a handsomely illustrated description of the church here.

I would recommend a visit by anyone interested in medieval churches or the twelfth century - it is one of the sights of Oxford that many visitors miss. Until I came to live here I did not realise it was so close to Oxford - the pictures all suggest that the village setting really is out in the country, not that it is now a suburb within walking distance of the city centre.

 The church of St Mary the Virgin, Iffley

Image: Lawrence LewO.P. on Flickr