[1] The ancient parish was one of the largest in Oxfordshire, and included the townships of Weald, Lew, Aston, Cote, Shifford, Chimney and Lower Haddon.

Although early records[b] call him saint, confessor, priest and martyr,[4] even his tomb is now lost.

[4] Bampton Classical Opera gives a concert in the church to celebrate St Beornwald's Day on or close to every 21 December.

The most recognisable traces of that original building are characteristic herringbone masonry in the central crossing tower and stair turret.

[1] After the Norman Conquest of England, William the Conqueror granted the church to Leofric, Bishop of Exeter.

Surviving features from this period include the chancel arch under the tower, a Norman arched doorway in the south wall of the south transept, and a few Norman windows, including in the west walls of both transepts.

[1] Late in the 13th century the nave was widened by the addition of north and south aisles with four-bay Gothic arcades.

On a wall in the south transept is a monument to George Thompson, who died in 1603: a recumbent effigy of him flanked by Corinthian columns.

[7] In 1733 St Mary's Vestry paid £34 to John Reynolds, a blacksmith from Hagbourne, to make a new clock for the tower with a chime to ring the eight bells mechanically.

In 1799 a new Georgian main block was added to the front of the building by the builder and architect Daniel Harris.