The old church at Bix Bottom: a Norman ruin in an Oxfordshire wood
Marek Halden
Updated 24 September 2026
7 min read
Bix Bottom, Oxfordshire, England
Not every abandoned church is a grand cathedral. Some are small, rural and almost forgotten — like the old parish church of Bix, in Oxfordshire, which served a hamlet for centuries, was abandoned in 1875, and then stood quietly in the woods for more than a hundred years.
A church older than its village
The old church of St James at Bix Bottom is a small Norman building, with a nave and chancel, Norman lancet windows and a later Perpendicular Gothic east window. It served the hamlet of Bix Bottom, about a mile north of the main village, and it was the original parish church of the area.
The village of Bix itself is ancient — it appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Bixa' — and was once two settlements, Bix Brand and Bix Gibwyn. The old church belonged to that older world, when the hamlet in the valley was the centre of things.
Left behind in 1875
By the nineteenth century, the centre of population had shifted. In 1874 the architect John Gibson completed a new church of St James closer to the main village, and the old church in the valley was no longer needed. It was abandoned in 1875.
For the next century and more, it was left to the woods. Roofs fell in, walls weathered, and the building became a romantic ruin, gradually swallowed by trees and undergrowth. It even found a place in popular culture: scenes from the 1971 film The Blood on Satan's Claw were shot there.
A ruin, preserved
In 2015, thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the ruin was stabilised and preserved. Today it stands in the care of a conservation body, in the Warburg Nature Reserve, one of the largest reserves the local wildlife trust owns in Oxfordshire.
The result is unusual and rather beautiful: a genuine medieval ruin, kept safe but not rebuilt, standing in a wood where wildlife now has the upper hand. It is a rare example of a church that was allowed to become a ruin — and then looked after as one.
Visiting Bix Old Church
The ruin stands within a nature reserve. It is a place for quiet, careful visiting.
- Stay on the reserve paths and follow any on-site guidance.
- Do not climb on the ruin or remove stonework.
- Respect the wildlife — this is a protected reserve as well as a historic site.
Frequently asked questions
When was the old church at Bix abandoned?
In 1875, after a new church was completed closer to the main village.
How old is it?
It is a Norman building, with Norman lancet windows and a later Gothic east window.
Can you visit it?
Yes. The preserved ruin stands within the Warburg Nature Reserve in Oxfordshire.
Was it used in any films?
Yes — scenes from the 1971 film The Blood on Satan's Claw were shot there.
Related places
If this one stayed with you, these entries sit in the same corner of the archive:
- Broomhill Hospital: a derelict hospital in the Scottish hills — United Kingdom
- Château de Noisy: the castle that became a legend — Belgium
- Hashima: the island that ran out of people — Japan
Marek Halden
Marek Halden has been photographing and researching abandoned places since 2019, working legally and leaving every site as found. This archive records architecture, history and the human stories behind the walls — and never encourages trespassing.