Martyrs memorial

Just off the A361, winding up an incline, is the narrow road to St Peter ad Vincula (St Peter in chains) a domestic and quintessentially English church of rich brown stone set in one of the most beautiful villages in the county.

Inside St Peter's are treasures indeed. The jewels in the crown are the wall paintings of the north aisle. They date from around 1340 and are clearly the work of a fine but unknown painter. What makes the paintings so satisfying is not only the beauty and boldness of their composition but also the mastery of vivid and subtle colour.

They are not frescoes but are in the unusual medium of oil on water. The result is a small group of historical and religious scenes that are both sophisticated and compelling.

Entering the church, the visitor sees immediately a most dramatic painting, framed by a Norman arch. The subject is the martyrdom of St Thomas a Becket in 1175. It is one of the finest wall paintings of medieval England.

It shows the archbishop kneeling before the altar, hands clasped in prayer, apparently lost in spiritual contemplation, with his chaplain trying to defend him from the four knights. One of the knights, in a blue coat, is plunging his sword into the saint's skull and blood is spurting from the gash down his forehead.

The other knights can be seen, with the most nearly complete of the four on the extreme left, also shown drawing his sword. Although sizeable areas are missing, his leg, his right arm, and most of his head with chain mail are visible.

Apart from the superb portrait of Thomas and the horror of the scene, this depiction of Becket's death is particularly interesting in that the head has not been defaced. Becket's martyrdom was a common subject in churches - whether in wall paintings or stained glass - until the Reformation, when Henry VIII ordered that all representations of the saint be destroyed. The king had a hatred for a man seen as a symbol of church resistance of the crown. It seems that this painting survived because the king did not know about it. Rural northern Oxfordshire was far from the king's jurisdiction. Did Henry VIII ever know that South Newington had disobeyed him?

The companion piece to the Becket painting is another murder, that of Thames of Lancaster. He led a rebellion of northern earls against Edward II and was executed in 1321. The proximity to Becket is surely deliberate. Lancaster kneels at the right while the executioner on the left raises his sword for the death-stroke. This martyrdom excites much interest among scholars as it is the only known example of its kind. It is another remarkable picture, not least for its dynamic composition - the almost prancing figure of the executioner seems ready to jump off the wall.

Moving further along the north aisle to the right is the next of the 14th century paintings: a lovely Annunciation, near the chancel, as is common with such paintings.

The Virgin stands at the right, one hand raised in acknowledgement and the other holding a book. To the left is the Angel Gabriel, his cloak a dark green. Between the two figures is a pot, containing a lily, painted in cream, with a branching flower. Beneath the pot is a shield bearing the arms of Mortayne, probably for Margaret, wife of Thomas Giffard, whose arms can be seen elsewhere in the church - the Giffard family had manorial connections with South Newington.

Further east, approaching the chancel and altar, is the most delicate of all the paintings: a Virgin and Child, with the infant Jesus stretching up one hand to touch Mary's face. In his other hand, he holds a shining red apple, the symbol of Jesus' acceptance of the sins of the world. But is not just delicate and informative.

It is a superb painting in its own right. Mary's robes and mantle fall in elegant folds as her body bends in a graceful curve. The colours are a vivid red and green. The overall effect is enormously touching. Below them is a shield, incorporating three leopards, bearing the arms of the Giffard family. To the left are a man and woman, kneeling in prayer - surely the same Thomas Giffard and his wife, Margaret Mortayne.

And surely they are the couple who have donated this painting and, possibly, all the other paintings in the north aisle. The whole is bordered by a strong geometric pattern of yellows, reds and browns and surrounded by foliage, a pleasing touch.

The final painting is a wonderful depiction of St Margaret of Antioch overcoming the dragon that swallowed and then ejected her - thanks to the cross that upset the innards of the dragon.

She is standing on the dragon, her lance upheld as she gives it the coup de grace'. In truth, in her stylised pose, St Margaret looks more like a fashion model or a ballet dancer than an early saint of the church. As the South Newington church guide suggests: this is surely the most elegant and graceful of all slayings of dragons!' Elsewhere, on the north wall of the nave, we encounter a very different set of wall paintings and a very different style: more primitive and rustic. They are frescoes and clearly of lesser quality than the paintings of the north aisle. They depict the Passion, from the Entry into Jerusalem to the later scenes of the Scourging, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. They date from the 15th century.

It is all too easy to dismiss these as the work of a journeyman, mere copies of manuscript paintings. In fact they contain much clear detail and some charm for so terrible a story - not least the donkey depicted in the Entry into Jerusalem.

Finally, high up on the wall of the chancel is a Doom - a painting of the Virgin and St Michael judging souls at the Last Judgement. It appears to be a work from the late 15th or early 16th century, and is difficult to interpret as much of the painting has been lost. But with good eyesight and a vivid imagination, a series of little faces of the saved can be seen going up to heaven on the north side of the chancel arch. Others are going down elsewhere!

There is much else of interest in St Peter ad Vincula: the piscina (a small recess with a basin where holy vessels were washed ) by the altar and the early stained glass remains in the church windows - particularly in the chancel, with the depiction of the symbols of the evangelists: the bull of St Luke, the eagle of St John, the angel of St Mathew.

The fourth symbol for St Mark is missing: there is only an abstract pattern. All four pieces of glass are in beautiful colours and, when I was there, were glowing against the late afternoon light of North Oxfordshire.

For those who would like to see this fine church and learn more - and a visit is highly recommended - the South Newington Festival takes place on June 7-8 and will feature a symposium on the church wall paintings.

The symposium will explore the paintings' significance in the religious life of the community between 1300 and 1600. The panel will include Roger Rosewell, a national expert on medieval wall paintings, Professor Peter Marshall, a reformation specialist from Warwick Universiity and Professor Anne Duggan , the leading expert on the Becket cult.

Afternoon activities include poetry reading, a bellringing workshop, a demonstration of ornamental ironworking, open gardens, children's games and competitions, and tours of village buildings. A brochure with booking form is available be e-mailing roger@giles2140.freeserve.co.uk or call 01295 720717.