England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Steeple Aston St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Steeple Aston lies within northern Oxfordshire roughly 8 miles northwest of the town of Bicester, and because of the county's constricted shape, not too far from its border with neighbouring Northamptonshire. Steeple Aston is a large village, which also included within the parish Middle Aston, lying just over a half mile east of the A4260 road which links Banbury through to Oxford following the valley of the River Cherwell. Steeple & Middle Aston consists chiefly of a single long north to south running lane with modern developments growing westwards toward the A4260. Whilst the local limestone was quarried for local use it was farming which occupied the majority of those employed in the villages, the grazing marshes alongside the Cherwell providing rich pasture to supplement the arable farming on drier ground, a feature of the local area was in the growing of apricot trees as well as other orchard fruit. Modern developments have come to the parish, initially the Cherwell was upgraded to become the Oxford Canal and latterly the same valley route was followed by the railway line linking Banbury to Oxford. The Cherwell drains the parish southwards to meet the Thames which is then followed through the capital to the North Sea. Steeple Aston is sited at around 120 metres above the sea in quite gently undulating terrain where land rises away from the Cherwell's valley to local high spots at close to 150 metres.Steeple Aston parish was fairly typically sized for a lowland farming parish, covering just under 1,900 acres it would have supported a population of close to 600 parishioners. In Domesday times Steeple Aston Steeple Aston and Middle Aston were recorded separately, the latter offering 6 ploughs as well as the usual meadows & pasture whilst Steeple Aston, a holding of Bishop Odo of Bayeux, offered 10 more ploughs and some meadow.

The Church

St Peter's church sits at the heart of Steeple Aston at the junction of Fir Lane & Northside and on the western side of the former, the main north to south running lane. Somewhat surprisingly given the village name the church has never carried a steeple. The church is described by Pevsner as a 13th century church remodelled in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, the Victorians too had their say in modifying the medieval portions. Remaining from the 13th century, and Early English Gothic in style, one finds the chancel arch, often the earliest part of a church, as well as the arcades. Representing the late 14th century and the Decorated style is the northern chapel whilst much else was as the result of the Perpendicular era rebuild which began in the late 14th and ran onward into the following century. In the Perpendicular style the western tower with its diagonal buttresses and deeply recessed western doorway is a good example whilst the porch and southern aisle. The usual Victorian restoration came in 3 distinct phases, the last technically post-Victorian, the northern aisles was rebuilt in 1842, a general restoration and window replacement took place in the 1870s and the northern vestry was added in 1909. Limited street parking may be found along Fir Lane to access the churchyard which is surrounded by a high local stone wall with the main entrance at the junction. Whilst there are the odd tree dotted around these are easily avoidable by the photographer leading to a relatively straightforward church to photograph.