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I Location

II General Description

The nave has areas of herringbone masonry in its W wall to either side of the tower, which suggests a date before c.1100. The tower itself is 12thc., unbuttressed and of rubble. Apart from the 12thc. features described here it has a plain round-headed window in the W wall, ground storey. A two-bay N aisle was added to the nave towards the end of the 12thc. The chancel is basically 13thc. but much restored. It has a N vestry. There was a major restoration by S. I. Neuman in 1976-90, but certainly a 19thc. one before that. Features included here are the tower bell-openings and corbels, the tower arch the N arcade, and a font that must be 13thc. but retains some 12thc. features.

III Exterior Features

2. Windows

(i) Tower third storey, S bell-opening

Twin round-headed arches under a single-slab window head with a central shaft, worn but apparently square and chamfered with chamfer stops at top and bottom but no capital or base. The outer embrasures are square with worn chamfered imposts. The arches, cut out of the window head, are chamfered. On the semicircular headed window head is a Tree of Life with a central trunk decorated with a double row of nailhead, and a pair of furled leaves issuing from the top, each fluted with a scalloped edge. The edge of the lunette is carved with a pseudo-label with a row of square billet.

(ii) Tower third storey, E bell-opening

As the S opening but the embrasures have no sign of imposts, the lunette window head is uncarved, and the central shaft is octagonal with what may once have been a capital above it (see (iii) below).

(iii) Tower third storey, N bell-opening

As E opening. The central capital survives, badly eroded but carved with fleshy volutes.

(iv) Tower third storey, W bell-opening

As E bell-opening.

3. Exterior Decoration

c. Corbel tables, corbels

(i) W tower

The W tower has a corbel table at the top of the third storey, immediately below the parapet, but this is entirely remade with new ashlar blocks between the corbels, probably during the most recent restoration. Of the corbels themselves, a few are original but most are plain modern replacements. In the descriptions of each tower face that follow, corbels are numbered from left to right.

S face

SW angle: worn triple corbel.

S1: broken.

S2: broken.

S3-S4: modern.

S5: human head with drilled eyes, L jaw broken off.

S6: broken.

S7: broken.

SE angle: triple corbel, worn and broken.

E face

E1-E3: corbels broken or badly eroded.

E4: worn, apparently a horizontal torus on a tapering bracket.

E5-E7: modern.

N face

NE angle: modern.

N1-N7: all modern replacements.

NW angle: modern.

W face

W1-W5: all modern replacements.

W6: worn conical head (?)

W8: worn human head.

IV Interior Features

1. Arches

b. Tower/Transept arches

(i) Tower arch

W arch

Completely plain, round headed and of one square order. It is constructed of undressed stones with slightly chamfered impost blocks at the arch springings, cut back on the E and W faces.

2. Arcades

c. Nave

(i) N arcade

Of two bays with pointed arches of two chamfered orders to each face. The arches are carried on a central cylindrical pier and half-column responds at each end. All capitals are the same; multi-scallop with the shields emphasised by lightly-inscribed lines just inside their edges. Neckings are plain rolls and imposts have quirked chamfers. The bases are of roll and necking profile with spurs. The SE spur of pier 1 is carved with a human head, with incised lines for the nose, mouth and almond eyes.

V Furnishings

1. Fonts

(i)

At W end of nave towards the S. The bowl is tub-shaped and stands on a 20thc. base. It is carved with decoration in bands. At the bottom, tree-like foliage with stiff-leaf terminals rising from a running scroll at the lower edge; next a band of intersecting round arches, and at the top a row of dogtooth around the rim. The bowl is lined with lead.

Dimensions

VII History

Hinton-in-the-Hedges was held by Arnold from Geoffrey de Mandeville in 1086. No church was recorded at that time, and indeed the earliest reference to the church dates from c.1200, when Simon, capellanus de Hinton witnessed the grant of the chapel at Croughton to the hospital at Aynho.

Benefice of Aynho and Croughton with Evenley and Farthinghoe and Hinton-in-the-Hedges with Steane.

VIII Comments/Opinions

The font must date from c.1190-1210, and Pevsner describes it as 13thc., but it is an interesting case of early 13thc. forms (stiff-leaf and dogtooth) combined with traditional 12thc. intersecting arcading and applied to a standard 12thc. shape of bowl. It may usefully be compared with the font at East Haddon and especially that at Magdalen College, Brackley.

IX Bibliography