Shorthampton is a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
in
Chilson civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
about west of
Charlbury
Charlbury () is a town and civil parish in the Evenlode valley, about north of Witney in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is on the edge of Wychwood Forest and the Cotswolds. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's po ...
, in
Oxfordshire, England. The oldest parts of the
Church of England parish church of
All Saints are
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
, and a round-headed
lancet window from this period survives in the north wall of the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
. The present
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ov ...
arch is small and was built in the 13th or 14th century. Most of the current windows are
Perpendicular Gothic. All Saints' has
box pew
A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries.
History in England
Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in ch ...
s that were added in the 18th century and a south porch that was built in the 19th century. All Saints' contains several 15th century
wall paintings including a rare one of the "Miracle of the Clay Birds" from the
Infancy Gospel of Thomas
The ''Infancy Gospel of Thomas'' is a biographical gospel about the childhood of Jesus, believed to date at the latest to the second century.
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is generally considered to be Gnostic in origin because of references ...
and another of
Saint Zita. All Saints' is a
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...
. All Saints' is part of the
Benefice of Charlbury with Shorthampton. Most church services are now held at the parish church of
St Mary the Virgin, Charlbury.
Charlbury Church of England parish website
/ref>
References
Sources and further reading
*
*
West Oxfordshire District
Hamlets in Oxfordshire
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