Horley

St Etheldreda's and the St Christopher

St Etheldreda's is listed Grade I and built of Hornton stone. Its tower dates from the late twelfth century, and the chancel largely from about 1200, remodelled in the fourteenth. The Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust describes it as light and spacious, with tall windows and good Decorated tracery.

The wall painting of St Christopher, dated to about 1450, is enormous and colourful. The Victoria County History called it 'one of the largest and most perfect representations of the saint in this country'. He wades through a stream full of fish, and his staff bends under the weight of the Christ child on his shoulder. Other scenes uncovered in 1853 could not be saved. The rood screen and loft are post-war, by Lawrence Dale between 1947 and 1950, and the pulpit shows scenes from the life of St Etheldreda, or Audrey, a seventh-century nun revered in East Anglia and rarely honoured in Oxfordshire. The trust has recorded the church open for its Ride and Stride day; we found no regular opening hours.

The village and the Manor House

The Manor House south of the church is listed Grade II*, a long sixteenth and seventeenth-century range given a new east front about 1700, with a doorway under a broken pediment. It is a private home, seen from the lane. Most houses keep the plain local look: two storeys of ironstone, many altered in the eighteenth century. For why the stone is that colour, read our story of Hornton stone. Horley is a conservation area, and the council's latest appraisal of it is dated February 2022.

An hour in Horley

Go straight up to the church, give the painting time, then walk back down the street to look at the houses. An hour covers it. Join it to Hanwell, a mile east, for its carved church, or to Hornton, under 2 miles west in its valley, for the Doom painting there.

Walks from Horley

We found no council or parish leaflet for a walk from Horley, so we suggest no route. Footpaths run down to the brooks and over to Hornton, and an OS Explorer map is the safe way to plan one.

Food and drink

The Red Lion on Hornton Lane is the one pub left of the four the county history found. It is an evening pub with Hook Norton among its ales, Aunt Sally in the garden and a beer festival around St George's Day, on CAMRA's guide. CAMRA's hours, updated in February 2026, are evenings from Tuesday to Friday and afternoons at the weekend (its Saturday hours are for summer), with Mondays closed. CAMRA mentions pizza pop-up nights, usually at weekends, but we found no website or food menu, so ring before you go. For a meal, the Bell at Shenington is about 3 miles west.

The Banburyshire newsletter

Events, new places and the best of the season, about once a month. Unsubscribe at any time.

Leave this field blank

Your name

Your email address

Yes, send me the Banburyshire newsletter

Sign me up

When to come

Any dry day for the church, though we found no regular opening hours. The Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust has listed it as open on its Ride and Stride day. Come in the late afternoon if you want to finish at the Red Lion.