| Around 60 singers rehearsed Evensong in Deddington Church,
and then sang the parts of the service successively in a number of North Oxfordshire churches, going from one to the other by coach, and returning to Deddington Church, visiting the churches of Broughton, Wroxton, Horley, Cropredy and Claydon, where they had a cream tea and visited the Bygones Museum, before returning to Deddington.
The churches:
1) Deddington St Peter and St Paul is built of local stone, and dates back to the 13th century. In 1634 the steeple collapsed and crashed into the body of the church. King Charles I ordered enough money to be raised to rebuild the current tower flanked by massive buttresses and topped with eight gold weather vanes. Statues representing SS Peter and Paul stand on the west tower.
2) Broughton St Mary the Virgin also has 13th century origins, and stands as part of the Broughton Castle estate, home to the Fiennes family. It has a 13th century Norman font, a 14th century rood screen, and a 15th century gateway tower.
3)
Wroxton All Saints'
4) Horley St Etheldreda
5) Cropredy St Mary the Virgin stands in a settlement mentioned in the Doomsday Book. It is the site of the 1644 Civil War Battle of Cropredy Bridge. Parts of the church date back to the 11th century.
6)
Claydon St James the Great dates back to 1150. Outside the village lies Clattercote Priory, now a private house, with which the church had strong connections.
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