Photograph Gallery (click the thumbnails to see full sized image in a new window)

The ruins of St Nicholas' church at Oxney have probably suffered more damage within the past fifty years than at any time since the sixteenth century. This priceless relic from the past deserves greater respect than it has been accorded in recent years. This area is private property and trespassers will be prosecuted. This is a sanctified place containing the mortal remains of former residents of Oxney Court.

"Good stranger spare a thought for me
Once I was mortal, just like thee
I lived my days and loved and toiled
But now I rest beneath this soil..."

The roadway into the woods and some of the pathways that weave their way through the trees.

The dense woodland that surrounds the chapel. This makes finding your way very difficult, especially at night!

The Church of St Nicholas, Oxney, which was constructed in the twelfth century and was probably once surrounded by small dwellings. It is built primarily of local flint with cement.

The church was originally a chapel of ease served by the nearby abbey at Langdon: both were deconsecrated and fell into ruin following the Reformation.

The gate that was probably added in the late nineteenth century by the residents of nearby Oxney Court to a side doorway. A small niche or water stoup beside the door that was used to contain holy water for the faithful to use to 'cross' themselves on entry to the church.

Two views of the main end gable window from the exterior and a smaller side window.

A small side window that was blocked up in the sixteenth or seventeenth century. These two views of the interior reveal the presence of gravestones. The ruin contains a basic piscina, which was a stone sink for washing items of sacred significance such as the chalice used in communion. It possibly drained to the outside of the church. In addition there is a niche that would have been used as an aumbrey; this was a cupboard that originally would have had a beautifully decorated door; it was used for storage of sacred oils and incense, etc. After the Reformation, piscinas and water stoups were covered over and blocked up in the churches that survived and it is only recently that they have been restored in many churches.

These gravestones are from the LaCoste and Banks families and are sadly in bad shape, especially those that lie flat on the ground. They date from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

This original entrance and windows were walled up during the seventeenth century when the ruin was used as a barn or storage building. The fill material appears to be hard chalk or marl, the original arch lintels and supports are limestone and red sandstone.

Mysterious round holes that were drilled into the wall for some unknown purpose - these appear to have been made within the last century or so. Other holes have evidently been caused by vandalism and will eventually threaten the structural integrity of the ruin.

Nature continues to encroach upon this work of man. There is a very ancient yew tree outside the church which has a twin at the church of St Nicholas at Ringwould (reputed to be almost a thousand years old!). The last picture is a view of one of the mysterious trenches that are evident throughout the woods.

Please note that this area, including the ruins of the church and the Oxney Court estate are private property and you have no right to enter Oxney woods without prior permission from the owners. This website is published to detail historical and unusual events of the past and is not intended as a guidebook for persons intending to enter the Oxney area illegally.

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