Todenham is first mentioned in a charter dated 804 AD, when it was part of the kingdom of Mercia. It seems Aethelric bequeathed the village of Todenham to Deerhurst Abbey in return for being buried here. He certainly had a good eye for a heavenly place to lay to rest. It remained in the hands of Deerhurst for around 200 years.

In the late 10th century, Deerhurst Abbey’s assets were seized by a local warlord who passed it on to his relative, King Edward the Confessor. In 1065 the dying King granted Todenham to the institution closest to his heart, Westminster Abbey. They held it for over 460 years.

At the dissolution it passed inevitably into the hands of the crown and was gifted to one of Thomas Cromwell’s most trusted lieutenants Sir William Petre and whilst it seems neither he nor any of his descendants ever visited the place, they owned it for over 250 years.

The church, dedicated to St Thomas A Becket, is well worth the trouble to gain access. It was almost entirely rebuilt in the 14th century of local stone with a Welsh slate roof. This is a bit of a rarity in the Cotswolds. The tower of ashlar stone has two stages with diagonal buttresses, and the spire is octagonal, with unusual solid pinnacles at the corners. In 1768 the spire was so severely damaged in a storm it had to be completely rebuilt 4 years later.

The Eastern window is beautiful with some excellent stained glass, made in 1879 by Lavers, Barraud and Westlake, there is a plain but seemly pulpit of no great importance but there is an early 19th century royal arms, altered at a later date to include the VR monogram.