west is very beautiful. Crocketed pinnacles, connected by
flying buttresses with the face of the spire, are arranged around the
junction of the spire and tower, and the spire itself is boldly crocketed
from base to apex. It is of the early perpendicular period. The deeply
recessed doorway of the western entrance may be of somewhat later date,
and contains the original west door. Separating the chancel from the nave
is a beautiful oak screen, which was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott.

A well-known local rhyme, referring to the spires of the three famous
churches of the neighbourhood, says:--

Bloxham for length,
Adderbury for strength,
And King's Sutton for beauty.

A hill side coppice bearing the name of Rosamunds Bower and the Moate
House are within easy walking distance. The pathway near the bog (mineral)
spring is the shorter and pleasanter route to Banbury, leading near to the
calcining furnaces and ironstone quarries of the Astrop Ironstone Company.

COMPTON WYNYATES, the residence of The Marquis of Northampton, is distant
about nine miles to the south-west of Banbury, and is a beautiful example
of a brick castellated house of Tudor date. It stands in a prettily
wooded hollow at the foot of the hills which skirt the south-east border
of Warwickshire. The building surrounds a quadrangle, and was formerly
encircled by a moat, which has now been filled in on the west, south, and
east sides; its erection began about 1519. The woodwork of the gables and
the doorway of the entrance front, with the shields bearing the Tudor
roses and the emblems of Castile and Arragon, are good instances of the
work of the time. On the right of the quadrangle is the rich bay window of
the hall, and in the hall itself is a finely carved wood screen, coeval
with the building. The tower, and particularly the highly ornamented brick
chimneys, are worth detailed attention. Adjoining the tower is the chapel,
the window of which looks out upon the lawn; a secret passage and Roman
Catholic chapel also testify to the troubled transition times of the early
households. There is but space to note two incidents in the long history
of the house,--the visit of King Henry VIII., and in later years the
fierce little fight when the place, garrisoned by the Puritan troops, was
attacked by Sir Charles and Sir Wm. Compton with a party of Royalists from
Banbury. The Comptons failed to regain their home.

[Illustration: COMPTON WYNYATES, HALL WINDO