St Catherine
Towersey, Oxfordshire
With its origins as a Saxon chapel, the church we see today with its 12th century cancel, is constructed of one building inside another, joined only at the windows.
The chancel was entirely rebuilt, the tower was made higher and the porch was built. The aisles were widened, given new windows, and extended westwards to flank either side of the tower. A rood screen was installed between the chancel and nave. The chancel and high altar were dedicated in 1326, which may therefore have been the year that the remodelling was completed. The high pitched 13th century nave roof was replaced, probably later in the 14th century, with a Perpendicular Gothic clerestory and low pitched roof.In the south aisle is a carved recumbent effigy of a knight of about 1270 or 1300.
St Andrew's has also one of the largest collections of monumental brasses in the country. Most are 14th or 15th century but there are also later brasses commemorating a churchwarden (died 1899) and his wife, and two soldiers killed in the First World War. The church also has several paintings painted by Sir James Thornhill.