St Martin's Church in Bladon near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, is the Church of England parish church of Bladon-with-Woodstock. It is also the mother church of St Mary Magdalene at Woodstock, which was originally a chapel of ease. It is best known for the graves of the Spencer-Churchill family, including Sir Winston Churchill, in its churchyard. History The first church on the current site was probably built in the 11th or 12th century. . A print hung in the present St Martin's shows the old church before its demolition in 1802. This print shows an ornate Norman doorway to the south porch, which suggests a 12th or late 11th century date for the building. It also shows a clerestory that would have increased the amount of natural light in the nave. The parish registers of baptisms, marriages and burials date from 1545 and are kept at the Bodleian library in Oxford. There is no record of the church being built until 1802, when the parish petitioned John Randolph, Bishop of Oxford, to grant them a new building as the old one was becoming dilapidated and dangerous. Permission was granted, the medieval church was demolished, the 4th Duke of Marlborough paid for building materials and the new church was opened in 1804. In 1891 the architect A.W. Blomfield rebuilt the chancel, restored the nave, added new windows and added pinnacles on the tower. Unlike the medieval church, the new building has no clerestory and despite the windows that Blomfield added the interior remains relatively dark. The work was carried out largely at the expense of the rector, Arthur Majendie, and resulted in the creation of the present church. Because of these efforts, three windows in the chancel are dedicated to his memory by his widow and children. Other feature windows in the church include a copy of Sir Joshua Reynolds' Choir of the Cherubs. In 1893, Majendie gave a lych gate in memory of his mother. In 1937, a statue of Saint Martin was placed in a niche over the porch. Spencer-Churchill graves The parish of St Martin's includes Blenheim Palace, the family seat of the dukes of Marlborough. Most 'lesser members' of the Spencer-Churchill family are interred in St. Martin's parish churchyard at Bladon. With the exception of the 10th Duke and his first wife, the Dukes and Duchesses of Marlborough are buried in the Blenheim Palace chapel. Sir Winston Churchill