St James
Somerton, Oxfordshire
This is an important Cherwell Valley church, built in the 13th and 14th centuries but embellished with battlements and pinnacles a century or so later.
St Peter & St Paul in Steeple Aston is a fine rural medieval church, founded in Saxon times and, following many restorations over the centuries, finished in a number of styles. It has a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, and a lady chapel. There is a fine monument to a local Georgian dignitary in the lady chapel, as well as very early pew ends, which are protected.
The church owns one of the finest pieces of Opus Anglicanum embroidery in Britain, the Steeple Aston Cope. It is unique and cannot be housed in the church. It is in the the Victoria and Albert Museum for safekeeping, where it has been featured prominently in an exhibition of Opus Anglicanum embroidery. Unlike most examples which are decorative, this example tells a story. There are two banners in the church explaining it and some pictures around the church.
St Peter & St Paul has a warm and welcoming church community.