Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry, is located in the district of

Headington Quarry Headington Quarry is a residential district of Oxford, England, located east of Headington and west of Risinghurst, just inside the Oxford ring road in the east of the city. To the south is Wood Farm. Today the district is also known colloquial ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England. It is an active Anglican

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the Diocese of Oxford.

History

The church, designed by George Gilbert Scott, who also designed the

Martyrs' Memorial The Martyrs' Memorial is a stone monument positioned at the intersection of St Giles', Magdalen Street and Beaumont Street, to the west of Balliol College, Oxford, England. It commemorates the 16th-century Oxford Martyrs. History The monu ...

and the Exeter College Chapel, was built in 1848–49, to serve the spiritual needs of those living and working in the then-active quarry. Its foundation stone was laid on 19 June 1848 by

Samuel Wilberforce Samuel Wilberforce, FRS (7 September 1805 – 19 July 1873) was an English bishop in the Church of England, and the third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his day. Natural ...

, the son of

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

and then Bishop of Oxford, who consecrated the building on completion. The Lewis brothers,

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

and

Warren Lewis Warren Hamilton Lewis (16 June 1895 – 9 April 1973) was a British historian and officer in the British Army, best known as the elder brother of writer and professor C. S. Lewis. Warren Lewis was a supply officer with the Royal Army Service Co ...

, began attending here in 1930 and remained active in this church until their deaths, C. S. Lewis in 1963 and W. H. Lewis in 1973. Above the altar is the Christ in Glory stained glass window, installed in 1951 as a memorial to those who died in World War II. It was designed by Sir J. Ninian Comper. The cloth behind the altar was hung in 1994, and represents the three angels who visited Abraham according to Genesis 18. The chancel organ was built by Kenneth Tickell and installed in 1992. The church is known for its Narnia window, which features images from C. S. Lewis's

Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, telev ...

. It was commissioned fro
Sally Scott
a painter and glass engraver, and installed in the north aisle in 1991. It was bequeathed by George and Kathleen Howe (née Clark), who lived at 38 Grovelands Road in

Risinghurst Risinghurst is an outlying residential area of Oxford, England, just outside the Eastern Bypass Road which forms part of the Oxford ring road. It is about east of the centre of Headington and east of Oxford city centre. It is part of the Ri ...

close to the Lewis brothers in memory of their children, William G. and Gillian Margaret, who both died young. Willie died in 1955, aged 16, and Gillian shortly after her birth in 1945. Both are buried in the churchyard. The window contains a lamp post, the word "Narnia," Glimfeather the owl, the flying horse Fledge, the sword, shield, and bottle of cordial from the story of ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', the Dawn Treader, the castle Cair Paravel, Susan's horn and bow with quiver, and talking animals. In the top left and right hand corners are the arms of

John Williams, 1st Baron Williams of Thame John Williams, 1st Baron Williams of Thame (c. 1500 – 14 October 1559) was Master of the Jewels and Lord President of the Council of the Welsh Marches. He was summoned to parliament as Lord Williams of Thame on 17 February 1554. Life Will ...

, who founded Lord Williams's School where Willie attended at the time of his death. The models for the children were local and included the opera singe
Maggie Cooper
who was the girl on the horse, and Rachel Smith with the owl.

Notable clergy

Thomas Masterson (1849–1851), J. James (1851–1853), T. C. Browne (1853–1858), Samuel Waring Mangin (1858–1863), T. A. Wills (1863–1864), W. R. Haverfield (1864–1866), G. F. Wilgress (1866–1867), Arthur Dalton (1867–1870), Charles Pitman Longland (1870–1891), Charles Francis Harding Johnston (1891–1916), Philip Valentine Doyne (1916–1924), Wilfred Savage Thomas (1924–1935), Thomas Bleiben (1935–1947), Gerald C. Matthews (1947–1956), Ronald E. Head (1956–1990), Christopher Hewetson (1990–1995), Thomas D. Honey (1995–2007), Tim Stead (2007-2018) and Laura Biron-Scott from 2019.

Graveyard

Attached to the church is a small graveyard, particularly noted for including the grave of

, who died on 22 November 1963. The epitaph on his tombstone, chosen by his brother Warren Hamilton Lewis (buried in the same grave after his own death on 9 April 1973) and taken from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...

, reads "Men must endure their going hence." This quotation was the quotation on the family calendar the day the mother of Warren and Clive Lewis died, 23 August 1908. Also notable is the grave of William Kimber, the "father of English Morris" as his tombstone reads. Mrs. Janie Moore, the adopted "mother" of C. S. Lewis, who died on 12 January 1951, is also buried in the churchyard. The churchyard contains the

war graves War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...

of six

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

soldiers of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.
CWGC Cemetery Report, details from casualty record.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Headington Quarry, Holy Trinity Church Church of England church buildings in Oxfordshire Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England