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

Headington Quarry Headington Quarry is a suburb and civil parish of Oxford, England. Once a separate village built on the site of a former limestone quarry, it is now fully integrated into the city of Oxford and lies approximately 3 miles east of the city centre ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, England. It is an active

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

in the Diocese of Oxford.

History

The church, designed by

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

, 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 mo ...

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, Fellow of the Royal Society, 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 sp ...

, the son of

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 ...

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, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

and

Warren Lewis Warren Hamilton Lewis (16 June 1895 – 9 April 1973) was an Irish 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 Corp ...

, 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 portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, ...

. 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 a suburb of Oxford, England east of the city centre, just outside the Oxford Ring Road. It is near to Headington, Barton and Wood Farm. It was built during the interwar period to relieve the housing shortage from working-class ...

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 Lord Williams's School is a co-educational secondary school with academy status in Thame, Oxfordshire, England. The school takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18. The school has approximately 2,200 pupils. In September 2001 ...

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.

List of clergy

Thomas Masterson (1849–51), J. James (1851–53), T. C. Browne (1853–58), Samuel Waring Mangin (1858–63), T. A. Wills (1863–64), W. R. Haverfield (1864–66), G. F. Wilgress (1866–67), Arthur Dalton (1867–70), Charles Pitman Longland (1870–91), Charles Francis Harding Johnston (1891–1916), Philip Valentine Doyne (1916–24), Wilfred Savage Thomas (1924–35), Thomas Bleiben (1935–47), Gerald C. Matthews (1947–56), Ronald E. Head (1956–90), Christopher Hewetson (1990–95), Thomas D. Honey (1995–2007), Tim Stead (2007–18) 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 ( 23 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 ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

, 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 William "Merry" Kimber (8 September 1872 – 26 December 1961), was an England, English concertina#Types, Anglo concertina player and Morris dancer who played a key role in the twentieth century revival of Morris Dancing, a form of traditional E ...

, 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 A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

of six

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

soldiers of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

.
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