The monumental brass of Ralph Hamsterley (died 1518) at Oddington in Oxfordshire. Hamsterley was rector of Oddington and also warden of University College Oxford. This brass, which shows his body wrapped in a shroud being eaten by worms, was one of five identical brasses Hamsterley laid down before his death. Only one (at Oxford) was over his grave.
A mention of Oddington in a Papal bull written in 1146 suggests that the village had a parish church by the middle of the 12th century.[2] The present Church of England parish church of Saint Andrew was built at the end of the 13th century and beginning of the 14th century. The buttresses of the nave are late 13th century, and the font is probably also from that century. Some features of the chancel are early 14th century, but in 1821 the chancel was demolished and rebuilt.
Between 1884 and 1886, the church was heavily restored under the direction of the architect E.G. Bruton. The bell tower and the north wall of the chancel were rebuilt, the vestry and north aisle were added and several windows inserted. Inside the church are two unusual monuments. The first is an early 16th-century monumental brass in memory of Ralph Hamsterley, who had been parish priest and died in 1518. It is a cadaver monument, showing his corpse in its burial shroud, which is a style unusual for monumental brasses in England. Elsewhere, there is an example from the late 15th century, also in memory of a parish priest, in the parish church at Lytchett Matravers in Dorset.
Grave of Margaret Staples Browne in St Andrew's churchyard. Browne was a Māori princess whose maiden name was Papakura
The second unusual monument is a large pietà at the west end of the nave. It is decorated with Māori totems in memory of Māori servicemen killed in the First World War.[2] The tower has three bells. The treble was cast in 1609, but the bellfounder has not been identified.[3] James Keene of Woodstock[4] cast the tenor in 1626.[3] Thomas I Mears of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry[4] cast the youngest of the three bells in 1804.[3] The ring was converted for chiming in 2012.[5] There is also a Sanctus bell, cast by an unknown founder in about 1614,[3] but it is cracked.[6]
Charlton-on-Otmoor Services bus route 94 provides Oddington and neighbouring villages with a very limited Monday to Saturday service between Bicester and Oxford viaArncott and Islip.[verification needed] The H5 bus ("Stagecoach") runs hourly on weekdays only between Bicester and the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington, Oxford, and will stop at the Charlton-on-Otmoor turn about one mile away.
