OXFORD: ST. THOMAS PARISH RECORDS

Scope and Content

Oxford St. Thomas is the westernmost of the medieval parishes of the city. Its history can be traced back to the late 12th century (for it was dedicated to St. Thomas Becket), and from the early 13th it was a chapelry of Osney Abbey. After the dissolution of the Abbey, the church passed to Christ Church, where it was treated as a parish church administered by a curate, who was supplied by the Dean and Chapter.

At the Reformation, the church was temporarily rededicated to St. Nicholas, but its old name was soon returned. However, on deeds of the time the parish is often referred to as "St. Thomas or St. Nicholas".

The parish was a large one, if poor. However, as west Oxford grew larger, the new parishes of St. Paul (1836), St. Barnabas (1869) and St. Frideswide (1873) were created, partly from its territory. In 1979, Oxford St. Thomas was united with St. Frideswide and Binsey.

Most of the parish records of St. Thomas were deposited with the Bodleian Library in 1978, but all the records in PAR217/15 were deposited directly with Oxfordshire Archives in 1978 as Acc. 1538. An Appendix provides a concordance of old and new references.

Catalogued by Robin Darwall-Smith in February 1997.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: The Victoria County History of Oxfordshire, Vol. IV (The City of Oxford), 1979, pp. 403-406,

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