In 1947 no girls were allowed in the choir at St Mary's which was quite normal in most churches at that time. In the summer of 1947 these 9 choirboys were taken on an outing to Southsea as a treat.
Dr Alan Gaydon was churchwarden at St Mary The Virgin for several years and during his tenure the gales of January 25th 1990 blew the stature of John The Baptist off the base of the spire.
The Friends of St Mary's have recently been arranging a series of 3 talks, one in Feb, March and April to raise funds for the church. This poster was for the Feb 2018 talk entitled "The Graveyard Shift: surgery and body snatching at Guy's Hospital in the 19th century." The talk was given by Professor Roger Jones.
John Chipperfield usually has a page in the Witney Gazette where he recalls events in times past. This item recalls the time in 1978 when Susan Morris, pictured at the organ in Clanfield Church played for 10 hours taking turns with John White and John Goodrun. It was to accompany the Flower Festival in the church. Susan is still playing at Clanfield (2019)
In 1978 the vicar looked after both Bampton and Clanfield churches. By 1970, the vicar of the time lived in the vicarage in Bampton and was responsible for the churches not only of Clanfield and Bampton but Lew, Aston and Shifford as well.
In May, 1995, the top of the steeple of St Mary's was repaired and a new mounting for the weather vane was put on. While the vane was down it was re-gilded. These are the two men who did the work.
There was a very full program of events that took place throughout Bampton from Saturday June 2nd to Tuesday June 5th. This is the full list of the events.