Closed in 2008 St Cross Church in Oxford stands before you. Its history stretches back centuries. Some believe it was founded around AD 890 by St Grimwald a French monk. Archaeological digs in 2009 however didn’t find evidence of a pre-Norman church. The chancel arch though dates from the late 11th or early 12th century. The nave followed around 1160.
Additions came in the 13th century. The tower and aisles were added then. The upper stage of the tower was rebuilt in 1464. The north arcade and aisle were rebuilt in the mid-15th century. Some original Perpendicular Gothic windows remain. Others are Victorian Gothic Revival.
The aisles were rebuilt again in the 19th century. The north aisle was rebuilt in 1839 except for the west end. The south aisle was rebuilt in 1843. Architect J M Derick designed this. In 1876 the north aisle gained an organ chamber and vestry designed by Henry James Tollit. In 1893 E P Warren oversaw a restoration adding new clerestory windows. The tower was repaired in 1908.
George Edmund Street designed the north aisle’s west window in 1855. It has since been moved. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner called the result garbled. Hardman & Co created the chancel’s east window in 1874. St Cross Church is a Grade I listed building.
For many years services were held weekly. Then on October 12 2008 the church closed. It wasn’t deconsecrated. Balliol College took over. It became their Historic Collections Centre. They hold medieval manuscripts and modern papers there. Early printed books are also housed there. The college maintains the chancel for occasional services. The bells remain in the tower but are unringable.
The move cost an estimated 3.3 million pounds. It opened in 2011. The Shirley Foundation contributed 1 million pounds. The church holds the college’s administrative records. Former Masters Fellows and students’ papers are kept there. Many medieval books survive from the college’s library. The collection’s size rivals some newer foundations. This is the third Oxford University library converted from a church.
St Cross Church boasts connections to Balliol College. John Snell benefactor of postgraduate scholarships between the college and Glasgow University is buried here. So are Masters James Leigh Strachan-Davidson and Arthur Lionel Smith. Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane’s fictional marriage in Dorothy L Sayers’ Busman’s Honeymoon took place here. The church’s history is rich and layered a testament to Oxford’s enduring legacy.