In the 11thc. Kirtlington was a royal manor of Edward the Confessor, and it remained a royal manor until 1604 when it was sold by the crown. In 1086, Domesday book provides the first record of the church. It was given by Jordan and Lucy de Sai to Aulnay Abbey in or soon after 1131. It was a valuable benefice (VCH).
When the chancel was rebuilt in 1877, the foundations of an early 12thc. apse were found beneath the floor. This had been replaced by a conventional rectangular one in the late 12thc.
The church is in the Akeman benefice, comprising Bletchingdon, Great Chesterton, Hampton Gay, Kirtlington, Middleton Stoney, Wendlebury and Weston-on-the-Green.