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All Saints Church in Shirburn stands close to Shirburn castle and in its grounds. It is built of flint with stone dressings, the walls being rendered externally with cement. It was much altered in the 19th century, and now comprises a chancel, an aisled nave, north and south transepts, western tower, south porch, and an organ chamber and vestry on the north side of the chancel.

The oldest part of the church appears to be the tower, which has on the north side a two-light window probably of Norman date. Inserted above the west window on the outside is the Romanesque tympanum of what may have been the original south doorway, and inside, above the same window, is the lintel of the door ornamented with a diaper pattern. These were found under the floor and put in their present position at the restoration of 1876. The tympanum has an unusual pattern of three-strand interlacement covering the space above the lintel. The top story of the tower is an addition of the 18th century.

The north and south arcades of the nave are the only major portions of the church which have escaped alteration in the 19th century. They differ in design, but are both of 13th-century date. The south arcade appears to be the earlier, for its eastern column has a capital and moulded base dating from the first quarter of the 13th century, whereas the northern columns both have mouldings of somewhat later character. When the northern arcade was built the western column of the south arcade was rather clumsily rebuilt to correspond.

Buckler's drawing shows that the chancel and the south transept were lighted by 14th-century windows, of which those existing are accurate copies, but owing to the cement rendering and 19th-century alterations the date of the walls cannot be satisfactorily established. His drawing also shows the vestry with a 14th-century window at the east end, but the existing east window and those in the north wall are 19th-century copies. Although it is likely that a vestry was added in the 14th century, as was commonly being done in other parish churches, the 19thcentury alterations make it impossible to be certain. Until 1876 the vestry was divided from the chancel Oxf. Dioc. d 708, f. 17. and the north aisle by solid walls and was entered from the chancel by a doorway.

No work of any importance appears to have been done to the fabric in the 15th or 16th centuries: it was noted in 1517 at the visitation that the roof and glass of the chancel were in bad repair and that the sedilia (now gone) were broken. A clock and perhaps the cupola seem to have been added to the tower in the first decades of the 17th century. Expenses of 1s. for 'ordering' the clock occur in John Chamberlain's accounts in 1648 and it may be supposed that he was the donor. The 'cupolow' is first mentioned in 1804, when a new bell frame was inserted and it can be seen in Buckler's drawing of 1822. 

The 18th century saw further alterations. The inscription to 'Thomas Toovey and John Scoles, churchwardens, (1713)', seen by Rawlinson on the north wall of one of the aisles, probably denotes some important work erected in that year. The style of the ceiling in the old vestry with its coved cornice filled with shields suggests that about the reign of George I it was determined to use it as a mortuary chapel for the Macclesfield family. There are memorials of the family in it since 1732 when the 1st earl was buried at Shirburn. The shields would be for the coats of arms of those buried. Except for one they are unpainted.

At some period before 1759 the roof of the church was ceiled, for in that year the archdeacon ordered that the pavement should be laid even, the cracked ceiling and the boarded seats be repaired, the communion table be carpeted, and the 'sentences in the middle aisle be new wrote'. 

At the end of the century perhaps, when population was increasing, a gallery was added at the west end and the tower arch was blocked up.

At the beginning of the 19th century a considerable amount of work was undertaken. This evidently included the addition of the north transept, apparently as a family pew for the Earl of Macclesfield. For various 'repairs' James Waklin was paid over £55 in 1802; other bills amounting to £18 13s. 8d. were paid to various workmen including a plumber; the clock was repaired, £2 2s. being paid in 1802 to William Hale towards the 'expenses of the clock'; and a new bell was bought to replace the old ones. Special rates were levied to meet the costs. The whole account was settled in 1804. In 1817 more work was necessary and bills amounting to £56 15s. were paid. By 1876 patching up would no longer suffice and a drastic restoration was undertaken at the expense of the Earl of Macclesfield, costing over £3,000. The architect was T. H. Wyatt of London. The work included reroofing and reflooring the church; the low side window in the chancel was opened up, most of the windows were restored or rebuilt, the north wall of the chancel was replaced by pillars and two arches, opening into the vestry. An arch was also built between the old vestry and the north aisle, where there had formerly been a wall with a window. The old vestry was then converted into a combined organ chamber and vestry and seats for the children were placed in it. The organ was by Gray & Davison of London. The church was laid with tiles throughout and all the fittings were renewed. The painted glass by Ward & Hughes in the east window and the small west window were given by the Dowager Countess of Macclesfield.

The circular stone staircase on the outside of the tower is 19th-century work and may also have been carried out at this time. Then, too, the cupola may have been removed.

The tub font is medieval and has a Georgian pyramidal cover of carved oak; there are two Jacobean chairs in the chancel, and two carved oak swags and a royal arms of the reign of William IV in the vestry. In the south transept is an ornate Jacobean wooden panel representing the sacrifice of Isaac.

Memorials still in the church include a brass in the south transept to Richard Chamberlain of Cootys (i.e. Cotes near Stamford) and his wife Sybill, the daughter of Richard Fowler, late Chancellor of the Duchy [of Lancaster] and their seven children. There are two effigies with scrolls of the Chamberlains, kneeling face to face, and effigies of their children kneeling behind, there is also a curious representation of the Trinity and four coats of arms. According to Wood the inscription was once in the chancel and below the step of the high altar was 'a faire raised altar monument of green stone' with an inscription round it to Richard Chamberlain (d. 1493) and his wife Sybill. Also in the south transept is a black and white marble monument to Sir Robert Chamberlain (d. 1602), and in the chancel is another wall monument with coat of arms to Sir John Chamberlain (d. 1651). 

Other memorials include a brass inscription to William Bouldre (d. 1498/9) and his wife Joan (in the south transept); a wall memorial in the vestry to Samuel Toovey, sen., Esq. (d. 1711/12) and his wife Mary (d. 1708) with coat of arms; a ledger stone to Thomas Toovey (d. 1741); and a memorial to Elizabeth Gage (d. 1693), wife of Joseph Gage Esq. A brass behind the pulpit commemorates five men killed in the First World War. In the organ chamber the memorials to the Parker family include the following: Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield (d. 1732); George, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield (d. 1764); the Hon. William Parker (d. 1788); Thomas, 3rd Earl of Macclesfield (d. 1793); George, 4th Earl of Macclesfield (d. 1842); Thomas, 5th Earl of Macclesfield (d. 1850) and Henrietta, wife of Thomas Augustus Wolstenholme, 6th Earl of Macclesfield. There is also a memorial to Mr. Thomas Phelps, an assistant to the 2nd earl in the observatory.

The following memorials recorded by Wood and Rawlinson have not been found: Hierom Ragland, gentleman, and his wife Anne (d. 1565); Master Richard Norton, vicar and special benefactor of the church 1510/11; Edward Fermour eldest son of George Fermour of East Neston (Northants.) (d. 1565); Master Hugh Lia (or Leya, d. 1498/9), formerly chaplain of Richard Chamberlain; and John Sydney, generosus (d. 1498/9). Probably the oldest memorial in the church was an incised slab of which F. G. Lee made a drawing in 1888. 

From the Edwardian inventory of 1552 it appears that the church was fairly well endowed in the Middle Ages: there were six vestments and two copes, various altar cloths, a silver chalice, a copper cross, three bells, and a hand bell. The present plate includes a chalice, paten cover, alms dish, and flagon of 1751. They are inscribed as the gift of George, Earl of Macclesfield, 1752. 

There are two bells, one by Henry Knight 1 is inscribed Gloria in excelesus [sic] Deo Hk 1587 RL; the other was made by John Warner & Sons in 1802. A Mr. Devenport bought the old bells and iron for £27 10s. in 1804 and the new bell was fetched from London and set up in 1803. 

The churchyard was originally on the north side of the church. It was exchanged in 1770 for land on the south side and the new churchyard was consecrated in 1826. In 1923 a new cemetery on the Watlington road was consecrated. 

The registers date from 1587. There are churchwardens' accounts for 1798–1804 and 1808–45.

Historical information about All Saints Church is provided by 'Parishes: Shirburn', in A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 8, Lewknor and Pyrton Hundreds, ed. Mary D Lobel (London, 1964), pp. 178-198. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol8/pp178-198 [accessed 28 March 2023].

All Saints Church is a Grade II listed building. For more information about the listing see CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS, Shirburn - 1284215 | Historic England.

For more information about All Saints Church see Parishes: Shirburn | British History Online (british-history.ac.uk).