On Monday 8th August 2016, around 50 members and guests enjoyed an evening tour of St James the Great, Radley, on a pleasant summer’s evening, followed by refreshments in the vicarage garden. The Church is probably the oldest building in the village and Radley Vicarage is possibly the oldest building in the country to have been in continuous use as the home of a church’s incumbent.

After a short introduction to the Church building by Club chairman, Richard Dudding, people split into two groups for separate tours of the churchyard with Rita and Brian Ford or the interior of the Church with Felicity Henderson and Revd Pam McKellen (vicar of the benefice of Radley, Sunningwell and Kennington). The groups swapped tours before everyone moved to the front garden of the vicarage to listen to a short introduction to the vicarage exterior by Richard Dudding. Cheese and wine or an elderflower cup in the back garden of the vicarage rounded off the evening.

All the tour leaders had contributed chapters to Radley History Club’s forthcoming book, The Story of a Village Church St James the Great, Radley. The visit acted as a ‘taster’ for the book, which will go on sale, price £12.00, at an exhibition in the Church on 1–2 October.