St. Martin's Church (Blaidon)

The first church building on this site was probably built in the XI or XII century , the first mention of the church dates back to 1269. Old postcards with images of the church until 1802 show the richly decorated southern porch of the church in the Norman style, which suggests that the church was built in the late XI or early XII century.

Parish books of registrations of baptisms , marriages, and burials have been kept at the Bodleian Library in Oxford since 1545.

In 1802, the parish petitioned the Bishop of Oxford for the construction of a new church building, as the old building was dilapidated and became in emergency condition. The bishop agreed, after which the old building was demolished, and by 1804 a new one was built. The construction costs were borne by the 4th Duke of Marlborough .

In 1891, the church building was reconstructed by the architect Arthur Blomfield: the altar and nave were restored, new windows were made and pinnacles were built ^[1] . Unlike the previous building, the new building has no lights, which is why, despite the additional windows, the interior of the church is quite dark.

Thanks to the efforts of the rector Arthur Mejendi, the church building has acquired its present form. In 1893, A. Mejendi gave the church gate a name in memory of his mother. As a token of gratitude to A. Mejendi, three windows in the altar of the church are dedicated to his memory and the memory of his widow and children. One of the windows is adorned with a copy of Sir Joshua Reynolds ’s Cherub of Chorus. In 1937, a statue of St. Martin was placed in a niche above the porch.

The parish of St. Martin's Church includes the Blenheim Palace , a family estate of the Dukes of Marlborough , but most members of the Spencer Churchill family are buried in the churchyard in Bladeon; only dukes and duchesses of Marlborough have the right to be buried in the chapel of Blenheim Palace.

Sir Winston's parents - Lord Randolph Churchill and Jenny Churchill , his younger brother John , his wife Clementine , their children - Diana, Randolph, Sarah, and brother-in-law Christopher Soames are buried in the churchyard in Bladon . Among other members of the Spencer-Churchill family, Consuelo Vanderbilt , wife of the 9th Duke of Marlborough , and their youngest son, Lord Ivor Charles Spencer-Churchill, are buried here.

Sir Winston Churchill at one time also expressed a desire to be buried in Blaydon. January 30, 1965, after the ceremony in London , the coffin with the body of the deceased was sent on a funeral train to Hanborough Station, from where he was taken to Bladeon. Here, in accordance with the wishes of the late politician, a funeral ceremony was held, in which only family members and several close friends participated. The pastor of the parish church delivered a liturgy, after which the coffin was lowered into the grave, on which they laid a wreath of roses, gladioli and lilies collected in a neighboring valley. The handwritten inscription on the ribbon of the wreath read: “From the grateful Motherland and the British Commonwealth of Nations. Elizabeth R " ^[2] .

In 1998, the tombstone on the grave of Winston and Clementine Churchill had to be replaced due to damage to the tombstone and the burial itself. A new tombstone at the grave was erected in the presence of members of the Spencer-Churchill family ^[3] , but after eight years, the new tombstone was polluted and partially damaged. In July 2006, the site of the cemetery with Churchill's grave was closed to the public, and the tombstone was restored .

• Crossley, Alan; Elrington, CR (eds.); Baggs, AP; Blair, WJ; Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Cooper, Janet; Day CJ; Selwyn, Nesta; Townley, Simon C. (1990). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 12: Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock. Victoria County History. pp. 31-34.
• Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus. Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. - London: Penguin Books, 1974 .-- 459 p. - ISBN 0-14-071045-0 .

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