---
title: "St Mary, Banbury"
description: "Located in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Built 1790–97; tower and portico 1818–22; interior remodelled c.1858–81. Diocese of Oxford. Grade I. Classical style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Church of England","Oxfordshire","Banbury","Grade I","Classical","Georgian"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/st-mary-banbury"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T01:14:42.368Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-07T17:48:07.865Z"
location: "Banbury, Oxfordshire"
country: "England"
county: "Oxfordshire"
town: "Banbury"
address: "Horse Fair, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 0AA"
postcode: "OX16 0AA"
built: "1790–97; tower and portico 1818–22; interior remodelled c.1858–81"
consecrated: "6 September 1797"
architect: "Samuel Pepys Cockerell; Charles Robert Cockerell (tower and portico); Arthur Blomfield (Victorian interior)"
denomination: "Church of England"
dedications: ["Mary"]
diocese: "Oxford"
grade: "I"
style: "Classical"
materials: "Hornton stone (Lias Marlstone); rusticated ground floor, ashlar above"
website: "https://www.banburystmary.org.uk/"
openingHours: "We try to keep the church open regularly throughout the year."
parish: "Banbury St Mary"
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1369519"
gridReference: "SP 454 405"
accessNotes: "Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby"
---

# St Mary, Banbury

St Mary’s is Banbury’s Grade I Classical parish church on Horse Fair, Oxfordshire, the town’s principal landmark, in the Diocese of Oxford.

## Overview

The medieval cruciform church was damaged in the Civil War and became unsafe; part collapsed on a Sunday morning in April 1790, the tower the next day. An Act of 1790 enabled a replacement on the same site. Samuel Pepys Cockerell designed a large Classical church with a square nave of Ionic columns under a shallow dome and galleries on all four sides. It opened for divine service on 6 September 1797. The VCH records foundations of reused medieval stone and walls of Lias Marlstone (Hornton stone). Charles Robert Cockerell added the west portico and circular ‘pepper-pot’ tower in 1818–22.

Arthur Blomfield remodelled the interior from the 1860s for the Revd Henry Back, raising the chancel, adding an apse and a rich colour scheme with stained glass by Heaton, Butler and Bayne. The listing notes Blomfield fittings including marble chancel walls, a Godwin pavement, organ case and pulpit by Rattee and Kett, and a 1876 chancel depiction of Christ in Majesty. The church is Banbury’s only Grade I listed building (1369519).

## Further Information

- [St Mary’s, Banbury](https://www.banburystmary.org.uk/)
- [Historic England list entry 1369519](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1369519)
- [VCH Oxfordshire: Banbury churches](https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol10/pp95-120)
- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary%27s_Church,_Banbury)