St James Church is the sister church to St Francis and together they make up the Cowley Team Ministry. Between the two, 3 services happen every Sunday with a diary full of other social activities through the week making good use of the warm and well equipped Parish Centre just next door to St James Church. Some history of the area and the St James building from the church website:
By the time St Birinus brought Christianity to this part of Oxfordshire in 635 AD there was already a small Saxon settlement here. Situated in a strategic spot, high on a hill, overlooking a wide marshy valley and across to wooded hills beyond, Cufa's Wood had been established by Saxon raiders. They found their way up from the river leaving their long boats secured on the bank at a place which became known as Givete's ley. Cufa's (pronounced Coofa's) ley became Coolea, still pronounced thus as recently as 300 years ago, and Givete's ley became Iffley. When the Saxons built their church it would have been set in the heart of the settlement on consecrated ground. It is not recorded, but it more than possible that when the present church was built it replaced a small Saxon church which stood on this very spot. The Norman conquerors gave us the main body of the church dedicated to St James the Apostle. The Norman church dates from about 1130 AD. Architecturally it is far simpler than neighbouring St Mary's Church at Iffley, but has some interesting features dating from the very early days. One early writer describes it as "a long barn-like structure" with a stone bench running along the outer walls.
Fortunately for modern attendees, the benches have been replaced with more comfortable chairs!
The cache is planted with the kind permission of the Team Rector. Please be respectful of the graveyard and the church building. You shouldn't need to leave the path by more than a couple of feet to secure the cache in any event. I'd be grateful if you would also ensure the cache is well hidden again when you leave it.
Happy hunting!
*****congrats to sudsyNZ for the very quick FTF*****
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro@gmail.com.
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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