St Frideswide's Way - The Camino Inglés
St Mary's Church, Iffley, Rose Hill and Donnington, is a Pilgrimage Church on St Frideswide's Way. The route starts at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, follows the River Thames to Reading (site of King Henry I's royal abbey and burial place, and likely training site for the craftsmen who created Iffley's stunning beakheads).
At Reading pilgrims can join St James's Way, visit Winchester Cathedral and collect their 'wayfarer's dole' at the Hospital of St Cross. They can continue as far as Southampton from where - if they wish - they can cross the English Channel to Normandy or Spain, and finally reach the great pilgrimage destination of Santiago de Compostela.
Please get in touch!
Information for Pilgrims
Iffley Church is open every day from 9am-5pm
Enter by the West Door through a huge arch of carved beakheads.
There is no toilet. If desperate call at The Prince of Wales pub in Church Way.
Our pilgrim stamp
Our pilgrim stamp is on the shelf by the organ. Please get in touch!
The bird on the nest is inside the church near the altar.
Look for beakheads, a little bird on a nest and the south doorway!
Iffley Church is a spectacular late 12th-century church and a place of spiritual calm. It has outstanding Romanesque sculptures inside and out. Modern glass by John Piper and Roger Wagner. There is an excellent Guide Book.