St. Mary Magdalen is one of the medieval parishes of Oxford, lying to the north of the site of the old city walls (early deeds therefore often refer to it as being in the suburbs of Oxford, rather than being in Oxford itself). When first recorded, it was connected with the church of St. George's in Oxford Castle, and the advowson was held by Osney Abbey. After its dissolution, this passed to Christ Church College. Ever since the late 19th century, the church has been a centre of Anglo-Catholicism in Oxford.
The church itself has been frequently altered, culminating in several enlargements made in the 19th century.
In 1850, a chapel of ease, dedicated to St. George, was opened in the parish, and stayed in use until c.1918 (papers specifically concerning this chapel may be found at PAR208/18 below).
Most of the parish records of Oxford St. Mary Magdalen were originally deposited with the Bodleian Library in 1954, and others deposited there at an unknown date, before their transferral to Oxfordshire Archives. Further deposits have been made as Acc 4011 in August 1995, Acc 5337 in November 2004, Acc 5974 in September 2000 and Acc 6620 in September 2017. A concordance of old and new references is provided at the end.
Catalogued by Robin Darwall-Smith in February 1997 with additions by Alison Smith in September 2018.