Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Steeple Aston
A Cherwell valley village 9 miles south of Banbury, built on both sides of a steep little valley, with a church holding a grand 1730 monument by Henry Scheemakers, a school founded in 1640 and the Chequers, reopened in 2026. On the S4 bus and a mile from Heyford station.
- Nearest station
- Heyford, about a mile away across the Cherwell, on the Banbury to Oxford line; Banbury is about 10 miles by road
- Parking
- We found no public car park. Park with care on North Side or South Side, which are narrow in places
About Steeple Aston
Steeple Aston stands on the west bank of the Cherwell, about 9 miles south of Banbury and 13 north of Oxford. It is built on both sides of a small, steep valley, with North Side and South Side facing each other across a shallow stream. The older houses are of local limestone and ironstone rubble, and a few are still thatched. Come for the church and its monument, a pint at the Chequers, and the walk across the valley between them.
St Peter and St Paul's and the Page monument
The church on North Side is listed Grade II* and battlemented all round. It had a tower by 1220, and its north chapel of the mid-fourteenth century has an east window of fine reticulated tracery. In 1723 the judge Sir Francis Page took over that chapel, then in ruins, as a family mausoleum. When his wife died in 1730 he commissioned Henry Scheemakers for the monument, and the two of them recline inside a classical portico. It is the thing to see.
Look too for the fifteenth-century chancel screen, which the county history thought unique in Oxfordshire for having its lower panels open as well as its upper ones, an eighteenth-century brass chandelier from Cuckfield in Sussex, and two windows by Kempe. The church's greatest treasure is not here: the fourteenth-century Steeple Aston cope, embroidered with panels of oak and ivy stems, is on permanent loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum. We found no published opening hours.
The village and its school
Next to the church on North Side are Radcliffe's school, founded in 1640 by Samuel Radcliffe, and the almshouses Brasenose College built beside it in 1663. Further along, the Grange is an eighteenth-century house given balconies, battlemented brick towers and carved stonework through the nineteenth century, partly by Thomas Davis from 1824. Holly Cottage carries the date 1729. All of these are private or in use, so look from the street.
Rousham's follies
Two pieces of William Kent's landscape at Rousham, across the river, stand in Steeple Aston parish. The Eyecatcher of about 1740, listed Grade II*, is a high wall built as a sham ruin, one of the earliest of its kind, on the skyline of the principal view from Rousham. Cuttle Mill, by Heyford bridge, was dressed up about the same time as a 'temple of the mill' for the same view. Both are seen from a distance, and we have not yet confirmed Rousham's own opening for 2026.
A morning in Steeple Aston
Come by train to Heyford or on the S4, see the church and the Page monument, then cross the valley by Tuer Lane to South Side and the Chequers for lunch. In the afternoon, take the S4 north to Deddington for its castle earthworks and market place.
Walks from Steeple Aston
We found no council or parish leaflet for a walk from the village, so we suggest no route here. The Oxford Canal and the Cherwell run through the valley floor east of the village, and the canal towpath is the obvious level walk; plan the way down to it with an OS map.
Food and drink
The Chequers on South Side is the old Red Lion, reopened in July 2026 under its earlier name as a Hook Norton pub, with seasonal British food, a terrace and Sunday roasts. Its own site gives it closed on Tuesdays, but its posts have also said Wednesdays, so ring 01869 389174 before you go. The old Red Lion website is still online with out-of-date hours, so go by the Chequers' own.
The Banburyshire newsletter
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When to come
Not on a Tuesday, when the pub shuts, and ring first on a Wednesday. The S4 runs every 90 minutes on Sundays, enough for a Sunday lunch trip from Banbury with little room for error.
Last verified 11 November 2026 by our editors
Where to stay in Steeple Aston
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The Holt Hotel, Steeple Aston
Hotel · Steeple Aston
An independent 87-room hotel in an old coaching inn at the Hopcrofts Holt crossroads on the A4260 near Steeple Aston, with a bar, restaurant, afternoon teas and a Sunday carvery, about 15 minutes' drive from Bicester Village.
Family-friendly · Wedding venues · EV charging
Verified Nov 2026
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Oxfordshire Narrowboats, Lower Heyford
Self-catering · Upper and Lower Heyford
Self-drive narrowboat holidays, short breaks and day boats from Heyford Wharf on the Oxford Canal at Lower Heyford, from mid March to the end of October, for 2 to 12 people, dogs included.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The Unicorn Inn, Deddington
Pubs · Deddington
A Grade II listed inn of the mid 17th century on Deddington Market Place, with open fires, a garden behind, British classics and seven rooms, four of which take dogs.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Where to eat and drink in Steeple Aston
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The Chequers, Steeple Aston
Pubs
The former Red Lion at Steeple Aston, reopened in July 2026 under its original name of The Chequers: a Hook Norton pub established in 1765, with seasonal British food, a terrace and Sunday roasts.
Verified Nov 2026
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Kizzies Bistro, Lower Heyford
Cafes and tearooms · Upper and Lower Heyford
A café, bar and village shop at Heyford Wharf on the Oxford Canal in Lower Heyford, open daily from 9am to 5pm by its own page, with breakfast, lunch, local cakes and a large garden by the moorings.
Walker-friendly · Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The Horse and Groom, Caulcott
Pubs · Upper and Lower Heyford
A tiny family-run free house on the Lower Heyford road at Caulcott, where the landlord, a chef with a fine-dining background, cooks a changing menu known for its sausages. Booking is essential, and it opens Wednesday to Sunday.
Verified Nov 2026
Walks in and around Steeple Aston
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Heyfords Circular from Heyford Station
Walk · Starts in Upper and Lower Heyford · 2 hrs · Circular
The Heyfords Circular is a 3.4-mile (5.5km) easy circular walk from Heyford station, about two hours. It follows the Oxford Canal north to Allen's Lock, climbs to Upper Heyford's church and returns over fields to Lower Heyford's square. Flat, with gates, livestock and mud.
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North Aston, the Causeway and Somerton Mill
Walk · Starts in Steeple Aston · 3 hrs · Circular
A 5.2-mile (8.4km) moderate circular walk from North Aston Green, about three hours. It crosses the Cherwell meadows on an old causeway by Somerton Mill, follows the Oxford Canal north and climbs home past Bestmoor and North Aston church. It floods after rain.
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Oxfordshire Way: Kirtlington to Weston-on-the-Green
Walk · Starts in Kirtlington · 1 hr, 20 mins
A 3.3-mile (5.3km) easy one-way walk on the Oxfordshire Way from Kirtlington to Weston-on-the-Green, about 80 minutes. It crosses Kirtlington Park and open fields, with gates and three stiles, and the 24 bus links both ends, Monday to Saturday.
Sights in and around Steeple Aston
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Rousham House and Garden
Sight · Historic building · Upper and Lower Heyford
A house of about 1635 above the Cherwell near the Heyfords, and round it William Kent's landscape garden of 1737 to 1741, still much as he left it. The garden opens every day; no children under 15, no dogs, no tea room.
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RAF Upper Heyford Cold War sites, Heyford Park
Sight · Monument · Upper and Lower Heyford
The Cold War shelters, nuclear bomb store and command centre of RAF Upper Heyford, scheduled in 2006 and seen on guided tours from the airbase's heritage centre at Heyford Park, which opens free three days a week.
Stories about Steeple Aston
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RAF Upper Heyford: the Cold War airbase south of Banbury
Story · History · 7 minute read
RAF Upper Heyford began as a First World War airfield, trained bomber crews in the Second, and from 1951 housed American nuclear bombers. Its F-111s left in December 1993. Its shelters and bomb stores are now a scheduled monument, with tours from a heritage centre.
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Villages between Banbury and Bicester
Story · Guides · 8 minute read
The villages between Banbury and Bicester, group by group: the Cherwell valley from Somerton to Kirtlington, the plateau villages of Souldern, Fritwell and Middleton Stoney, and the quiet country north-east of Bicester. Which are worth a stop, what each has, which have no pub.
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Walks near Bicester
Story · Guides · 6 minute read
Walks near Bicester: the Historic Town Trail and the West Health Route in the town, the Oxfordshire Way from Kirtlington and a circle over the Cherwell meadows to Somerton Mill, with distances, stiles, buses and the walks we are holding back.
Getting to Steeple Aston
- By train
- Heyford station, about a mile away across the Cherwell, has trains on the Banbury to Oxford line.
- By bus
- Stagecoach S4, Banbury to Oxford, about hourly Monday to Saturday and every 90 minutes on Sundays (2026).
- By car
- About 10.5 miles from Banbury Cross, 22 minutes, on the A4260 Oxford road.
- Parking
- No public car park that we found. Park considerately on the village streets.
- Access
- The village is built down both sides of a steep valley, and Paine's Hill and Water Lane between the two streets are steep. Tuer Lane, across the middle, is a footpath.
Places near Steeple Aston
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DeddingtonA large ironstone village south of Banbury that was once a borough, with a big market square, a monthly farmers' market, castle earthworks you can walk free of charge and a church whose tower fell in 1634. Parking is free.
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SouldernA stone village above the Cherwell between Banbury and Bicester, 7 miles from Banbury, with manor houses of the 1600s, a church rebuilt in part by Comper and Bodley, and the Fox Inn with rooms. Wordsworth stayed at the old rectory.
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Great TewAn estate village of ironstone and thatch 8 miles from Banbury, with a Grade I church and the Falkland Arms on the green. Soho Farmhouse is next door but closed to casual visitors, and despite the name's reputation the village lies outside the Cotswolds National Landscape.
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AdderburyA large ironstone village 3 miles south of Banbury, split in two by the Sor Brook. It has a fifteenth-century chancel the county history singles out, morris dances now performed by sides all over the world, a small nature reserve and several pubs.