Driving across the Oakley bridges from Bromham, St Mary’s Church is the welcoming sight that greets you as you enter the village. Parts of the building date from the middle of the 12th century, but there is reasonable evidence to suggest that there was a Christian church in Oakley many years before that. On its tower St Mary’s has an ancient clock, built around 400 years ago, and with only one hand, for the hours. Until the electronic winding mechanism was installed in the 1970s, willing volunteers wound it by hand! It is currently awaiting some repair and restoration work.
Services are shared each Sunday between our three churches and we worship as one community travelling to each church. Or you can always join us online for our live steamed Zoom services on most Sundays at 10.30am: visit the Services page for the links and joining information.
Since 2000, St Mary’s has been part of a Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEP) with Oakley Methodist Church, and at the service on the second Sunday of each month we particularly welcome our Methodist friends. The two churches work together to reach out to the community – running Messy Church for pre-shcool children and their carers and Messy Church for All for anyone of any age!
Children and families are always welcome to St Mary’s. For more information on our activities for children and young people, see the Young people page.
Worship at St Mary’s is led by an organ and a robed choir, who sing together with the choir from St Owen’s, and a peal of 6 bells calls us to church – see the relevant pages on the Activities page for further information.
Our church clock was recently restored from funds donated by the village and other benefactors.
If you wish to visit the church outside service times please contact the relevant churchwarden or our Administrator who can arrange access (all churches are kept locked), please see our Who’s Who page for contact details.
For more information about the village, visit Oakley Village website www.oakleyvillage.co.uk