The village, listed in The Domesday Book, probably had a wooden Saxon chapel before AD 1000. Consecrated to St Nicholas in 1273, the church was served by monks from Osney until 1539; after the Reformation curates from Oxford provided for the parish. Buttresses were built in 1642 by the father of Mary Powell, who at age 16 married poet John Milton in 1642—most likely in St Nicholas Church. Having fallen into disrepair, extensive restoration took place in 1852, preserving earlier wall paintings.
