St James, the parish church
Newbottle
church has been here since well before the year 1200, and probably
built by the Lord of the Manor close to his manor house. The nearby
hamlets of Charlton and Purston are known to have had chapels in the
medieval period, both probably served from King's Sutton, which was
always a large and richly endowed church.
St James'
church had its own vicars until 1959, though throughout the 18th and
early 19th centuries they were often absent and used assistant curates
to serve the church. There is a tradition that one indigent curate
of Newbottle, sometime around 1750, was the Reverend John Moore who
in 1783 became Archbishop of Canterbury. While here he was befriended
by Mr Watts of Brackley; later, when Mr Watts had fallen into want,
and Moore had prospered, he paid Mr Watts and later his widow, a pension
until the end of their lives.
From
1959-1964 St James was served from Croughton. From 1964-1988 the benefice
was united with Aynho, and since 1988 it has been united with King's
Sutton.
