Shenington and Alkerton

Shenington: the green and Holy Trinity

The green is the village. Two eighteenth-century houses, Longwalls and The Limes, stand on it, with older ironstone cottages round about, many with stone mullions and thatch. In Church Lane, Mizpah Cottage carries a plaque that reads 'This house was burnt May 13th 1721', after a fire that damaged many cottages and the rectory.

Holy Trinity is listed Grade II*. Its twelfth-century chancel arch was moved to its present place when J. L. Pearson restored the church in 1879. The south aisle is thirteenth century and the west tower late fifteenth, paid for in part by a bequest of 1504 'for the making of the steeple of Shenington'. Look on the outside wall of the south aisle for a medieval carving of a man with an ox. The five bells were all cast in 1678 by Henry Bagley. We found no published opening hours.

Alkerton and St Michael's

Alkerton runs south from its church along a road cut into the hillside of red ironstone, with thatched and stone-slated cottages along it. St Michael's has a central tower whose lower storey is twelfth century. Walk round the outside to see the cornice under the parapet, carved in Hornton stone with grotesque human and animal figures of the kind found at Adderbury, Hanwell and Bloxham. Inside is an early thirteenth-century stone effigy of a knight nobody has identified, and a bell of about 1400.

The chancel is mostly the work of Thomas Lydiat, rector from 1612, a mathematician and chronologist remembered in a line of Samuel Johnson's poem The Vanity of Human Wishes. He rebuilt the rectory in 1625, was imprisoned for debt from at least 1629 to 1632, and died in 1646. He is buried in the chancel.

The airfield and the gliders

On the flat land north-west of Shenington is a Second World War airfield, where the county history says one of the earliest jet bombers was stationed. It is now Shenington Airfield, home of Edgehill Gliding Centre (opens in a new tab), a club formed in 2022. It sells Welcome to Gliding flights and training courses online; its FAQ says the flights run on most weekends all year, with usually a midweek day as well from April to September, weather permitting. Visiting pilots need prior permission, requested through the club's online form.

A morning in Shenington and Alkerton

Start on the green at Shenington and see Holy Trinity. Then take the road down over the Sor Brook and up into Alkerton for St Michael's cornice, and back for lunch at the Bell. If you have a car, Upton House is a short drive north on the A422 for the afternoon.

Walks

We found no council or parish leaflet for a walk here, so we suggest no route. The county history notes Shenlow Hill, about 225m high, for its wide views over eight counties; check an OS Explorer map for the rights of way before you set out.

Food and drink

The Bell, rebuilt in 1700 by its date-stone, is the only one of the village's old inns to survive. It faces the green. When we checked in November 2026 its own site gave it as open on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, Friday lunchtime and evening, Saturday from noon to 11pm and Sunday from noon to 5pm, and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Ring to check food times. Alkerton has no pub.

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When to come

A dry day from Friday to Sunday, when the Bell opens at lunchtime. The gliding centre flies on most weekends all year, and on a midweek day as well from April to September.