Church of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Souldern

The Parish Church of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Church of England parish church of Souldern, a village in Oxfordshire about northwest of Bicester and a similar distance southeast of Banbury.HistoryThe church's origins are unknown, but the earliest known record of it is from 1161. Its oldest parts are the 12th century Norman tower, north wall of the nave and north doorway. The south aisle is of three bays and was originally a Norman addition made before the end of the 12th century.The original chancel may have been a Norman apse, but it was replaced with a larger, rectangular chancel with a new chancel arch. The Victoria County History dates this rebuilding to the early part of the 13th century but Sherwood and Pevsner attribute the work to about 1300.Early in the 14th century the south aisle was rebuilt on a larger scale in the Decorated Gothic style. The two Norman columns from the aisle's arcade were re-used to support three new pointed arches. A Norman capital turned upside-down now serves as the base of one of the columns. Decorated Gothic windows were added into the old north wall of the nave as well.