17th-century and the pulpit is 18th-century. St Lawrence's is a Grade II* listed building. Since 2015 the church has not been in regular use, and is not normally open for visitors. World War II air crash On 14 March 1944 an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V bomber aircraft, T4337 from No. 10 Operational Training Unit RAF at Abingdon, was on circuits and landings practice when its Royal Canadian Air Force pilot lost control while changing from flare path to instruments. The aircraft crashed onto what was then a military firing range at Great Park Farm, Besselsleigh, and almost immediately burst into flames. All three members of its crew were killed. At the time United States Army soldiers were billeted at Besselsleigh Park. They and a local man, Ron Amey, tried without success to rescue the crew. The pilot, Sgt DC Adamson, is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission section of Botley Cemetery, on the outskirts of Oxford. Ron Amey went on to succeed his father William Amey as head of the Amey quarrying and construction company. Economy and amenities Besselsleigh has a public house, the Greyhound. The Greyhound is in the coat of arms of the Lenthall family who used to own Besselsleigh Hall. Parklands Campus (formerly Bessels Leigh School and Spires School) at the edge of the village is an independent special school for boys and girls aged 11 to 16, run by the charity Action for Children. See also Marcham, where an RAF Armstrong Whitworth Whitley aircraft crashed on a training flight in 1942 References Sources Civil parishes in Oxfordshire Villages in Oxfordshire