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The church of St. John the Baptist, which stood on the site of the north range of Mob Quadrangle in Merton College, is known to have been in existence very early in th 13th century. Before 1235 the owner granted the curia with the advowson to Reading Abbey, which granted it to Merton College in 1265 or 1266. The college remained patron until the closure of the church in 1891. In 1891 the parish merged with that of Oxford St. Giles to become the parish of Oxford St. Giles and St. John.
Merton appropriated the church in 1292 and it became the college chapel served by the college chaplains. Throughout the period 1292-1891 the parochial function of St. John's was subsidiary to its function as a college chapel. In the 17th century the parish used the north transept and the area under the tower for burials. No parish registers were kept until 1662, and the chaplains did not answer the bishops' visitation articles until 1854. (Source: Victoria County History of Oxfordshire, Volume 4, the City of Oxford, chapter entitled "Ancient Parish Churches".)
See also Wikipedia.
| Start of Parish Registers | 1687
| Start of Bishops Transcripts | none
| | Colleges Included | Corpus Christi College, St Alban Hall, and Merton College
| | Location | Bounded on the north by the parish of Oxford St. Mary the Virgin, on the east by St. Peter in the East, and on the south and west by the grounds of Oxford Cathedral.
| | Later History | Became part of the merged parish of Oxford St. Giles and St. John in 1891 which became a civil parish in 1926. The civil parish joined with the rest of Oxford in 1933. Ecclesiastical parishes continue to exist.
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Dates in the table from English Jurisdictions.
Research Tips
- Victoria County History of Oxfordshire, Volume 4, the City of Oxford, chapter entitled "Parish Government and Poor-Relief".
- Victoria County History of Oxfordshire, Volume 4, the City of Oxford, chapter entitled "Ancient Parish Churches".
- Oxfordshire History Centre, St Luke's Church, Temple Road, Oxford, OX4 2HT
- Oxfordshire FHS covers the whole county. The Family History Society provides an interactive map to assist in locating individual parishes and also relates the society's progress in transcribing parish registers and gravestone information for that particular parish. Browse the website to see what else the society can provide.
- Further information from GENUKI
- Ordnance Survey map of Oxfordshire 1900 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
- Ordnance Survey map of Oxfordshire 1944 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
- English Jurisdictions 1851, a parish finding aid provided by FamilySearch, particularly helpful in large towns and cities.
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