Parish Church of St Mary - Oxford Heritage Asset Register Nominations List

Location

Location of Parish Church of St Mary on Google Maps

What is it?

• a building or group of buildings

Why is it interesting?

• Historic interest – a well documented association with a person, event, episode of history, or local industry
• Architectural interest – an example of an architectural style, a building of particular use, a technique of building, or use of materials

The church, which was built in 1958, possesses historic associative value as it was designed by Nugent Cachemaille-Day, a renowned British architect of the mid-20th century who was a leading exponent of Expressionist architecture and who designed some of the most revolutionary 20thcentury churches in the country, many examples of which are nationally designated at Grade II and II*.

The building is of considerable architectural merit, which derives from the simplicity and purity of its form, its restrained material palette and its monolithic form and triangulated buttresses interspersed by repeated long, vertical openings.

Why is it locally valued?

• Illustration: It illustrates an aspect of the area’s past that makes an important contribution to its identity or character
• Aesthetics: It makes an important contribution to the positive look of the area either by design or fortuitously
• Communal: It is important to the identity, cohesion, spiritual life or memory of all or part of the community

The Church of St Mary was built to serve the Sandhills and Barton Estates, new housing estates constructed on the edge of Oxford to address the huge population growth that occurred in the Headington district in the 1920s as a result of the growth of the car works at Cowley, and the acute housing shortage in Oxford following the Second World War. The Sandhills Estate was developed privately from the early 1930s by the Bush Building Company, and the Barton Estate by the City Council from 1946.

The Church was constructed as one of three civic buildings occupying an ‘island’ of land at the entry to the Barton Estate, the other two buildings being a pub and the Royal British Legion Club. This reflects the social habits of Oxford’s working classes in this period: when the majority of working-age men had seen active military service; public houses were more central to social and community life; and church attendance, although low than before the war, remained high. The other two buildings are no longer present (having been demolished to make way for new housing), but the Church continues to illustrate this aspect of the lives of Oxford’s working-class population in the Post-War period.

Although not to everyone’s taste, the building is an accomplished piece of Post-War design and contributes positively to the appearance of the area. The open setting of the building allows the monolithic quality of the building to be readily appreciated, which sits in contrast to the relatively densely (albeit low-rise) development that surrounds it. The Church can be seen from the Headington Roundabout, and forms a landmark at the entrance to the Barton Estate.

Whilst church attendance is not as high as in 1958 when the building was constructed, the role of the church as a civic building remains important for the local community, both as a place of worship and as a venue for vital community groups. The building is therefore considered to posses a high level of communal value.

What makes its local significance special?

• Age
• Integrity
• Oxford’s identity

Whilst not a particularly old building, its age is significant as it was conceived and built as an original part of the Barton Estate. It continues to make an important contribution to the identity and 20th-century character of this part of Oxford.

The building is currently largely unchanged since its construction in 1958, retaining original floor finishes and windows etc. (although permission was granted in 2020 for extensions and alterations to the building - 20/02942/FUL).