Oddington

An Overview

The village of Oddington is certainly a gem on its own but follow the signs for the Church of St Nicholas for a treat that is truly memorable.

This very interesting church stands in solitary grandeur hard by a coppice tenanted by rooks and quite deserted by the village which long ago migrated up the hill. There is nothing to mar the quiet beauty of chancel, nave, isle and tower, nothing but the cawing of the rooks to break the silence.

What he didn’t know, writing as he was, in 1905, was that hidden under the whitewash on the North wall of the nave, was one of the most complete depictions of the Doom of Mankind existing in this country today. Painted in 1340, probably whitewashed before it could be destroyed at the beginning of the reformation, uncovered in 1913 and fully restored in the 1970s, the beauty of this wall painting reduced both Ross and me to speechlessness.

Oddington

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“At the top centre of the painting is a figure of Jesus, flanked by apostles and saints, and below this are two angels sounding a trumpet to awaken the dead.

The bottom of the image shows the dead rising from their graves to be judged.

Some are awaiting admittance to the gates of heaven while others are being dragged into hell, where the fearsome figure of Satan, surrounded with his imps awaits them.”

– The Church Leaflet

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After years of documenting our exploration of Cotswold hotspots like Bourton on the Water, Burford and Broadway, we realised that many more beautiful villages were hidden amongst the valleys and vales of the Cotswolds.

These villages were just as beautiful as their widely popular tourist counterparts, but almost completely unheard of – so we decided to tell their story and explore the history, heritage and culture behind them. The result, our series Hidden Gems – exploring tiny medieval churches, ruined abbeys, historical artefacts and tales of a bygone era.

Starting in 2021, the series travels from the forgotten villages of Stanton and Stanway in the north, right down to the likes of Chedworth and Ablington, and includes many places hidden in plain sight, too.