St Mary the Virgin, the parish church
Traces
of an early roundheaded doorway on the south face of St Mary the Virgin's
tower, and other signs on the west face, indicate that there was an
11th century church on the site. As the name of the village is Saxon,
there may even have been a daub and wattle church before that, or
even a simple one of stone and wood.
Oseney
Abbey was founded in 1129, and Weston Church was given to it as a
foundation gift. Weston Manor was purchased by the Abbey in 1227.
This is confirmed by the Bishop and Chapter of Lincoln, in which diocese
Weston was before the foundation of the diocese in Oxford in 1542.
Information from the Oseney Cartulary states that Reginald, Bishop
of Cluny (France), consecrated a church on June 8th 1273, that has
three altars, the principle being that of St Mary, the others St James
the Apostle and St Nicholas. In 1564, the church "being in great
decaie" was re-roofed and the seats were renewed.
Click
on the thumbnails on the right to view each photo at a larger size.
