The large church of St Sampson lies within the now small town of Cricklade on the River Thames.

A pilaster strip in the S wall of the nave is clear evidence that the nave originated before the Conquest. In the late 12thc. the first parts of the north and south arcades were inserted into the nave. In the late 13thc. further bays were added, and the arches of the whole arcade were built.

Romanesque sculpture is found on the arcades. Other loose sculpture, some of which may be Anglo-Saxon, has been inserted into the S wall and the N porch.

In Domesday Book, St Peter at Westminster holds the church of Cricklade "and has there many burgesses". Cricklade paid 'the third penny' which denoted its urban status (V.C.H., 2011 22). It was a flourishing Anglo-Saxon town during the 10th and 11th centuries, even minting coins during the 10th.

Two affronted beasts in high relief, each on a separate stone, have been inserted high (4.9m) on the south wall of the church. The measurements have been recorded as H. 38c; W. 60 cm; D. 60cm. Pevsner says they are Norman, but they are included in the Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Sculpture as 'Roman, reshaped in eleventh century (?)'. (Cramp, 2006, 215) Only the upper part of each body survives. Each beast has gaping jaws, a shaggy mane and long clawed feet. They have been compared to a pair of beasts at Somerford Keynes, Gloucestershire, but the animals at Cricklade are executed in higher relief and are much less stylised.

The church underwent a restoration in 1864 by Ewan Christian.