Church Of St Oswald

This Grade I listed parish church was rebuilt in 1483 for Sir John Neville, though the nave incorporates earlier fabric and the chancel arch reuses 14th-century responds. The nave roof was lowered around 1794. Restorations in 1864 included reflooring and reseating, with the nave roof repaired in 1928. The north aisle was re-roofed in 1955, the porch rendered around 1970, and restorations in 1983–84 included unsympathetic rendering to the plinth and parapet.

Materials and Construction

The tower, chancel and east wall of the vestry are built of Roche Abbey limestone ashlar. The nave, north aisle, and north walls of the north chapel and vestry use roughly coursed limestone rubble with reused ashlar, all with ashlar dressings. The south porch is rendered brick, with a brick internal partition wall between the vestry and chapel. The nave has a lead roof, the north aisle and chapel copper roofs, and the chancel and porch Welsh slate roofs.

Plan and Layout

Built in the Perpendicular style, the church comprises a west tower with west entrance, four-bay nave with south porch and north aisle, three-bay chancel with two-bay north chapel (now incorporating the organ chamber) and vestry. A moulded plinth runs throughout.

Tower

The three-stage tower has full-height diagonal buttresses with offsets and stair lighting slits to the south-west angle.

The first stage features a fine pointed moulded west door with shafted roll mouldings and broad hollow chamfer enriched with carved heads and flowers. Flanking buttress shafts have crocketed pinnacles, and a crocketed ogee hoodmould with finial rises to a fleuron frieze bearing a carved crown to the left and grotesque to the right. Above sits a pointed three-light traceried window with restored mullions and original hoodmould with worn carved grotesque stops. The hoodmould continues as a moulded string course between stages.

The second stage has a recessed moulded panel above the west window bearing a carved shield with the arms of Neville quartered with those of Newmarch and Mowbray. Above this is a panel carved in high relief showing the mantled helm of Neville surmounted by the bull's head crest, flanked by two heraldic panels bearing the arms of Neville, Mowbray and Newmarch. The south side has a single slit light, heraldic panel and relief carving of a ram and tun, reputedly a rebus for the builder, Lambton.

A moulded string course continues around the buttresses. The belfry stage has pointed two-light traceried windows with single transoms, hoodmoulds and headstops. A moulded string course with carved heads and fleurons runs below the coped embattled parapet, which has crocketed angle pinnacles. Gargoyles project at the angles and above the belfry openings.

Nave Exterior

The south side has buttresses with offsets between bays and coursed ashlar below sill level. Pointed three-light traceried windows have restored mullions. A string course marks the stepped-in clerestory, which has blocked truncated windows, a corbelled string course and coped embattled parapet with 20th-century rendered merlons.

The porch has a pointed outer arch beneath a raised gable and pointed inner arch with wave and hollow mouldings. The oak door has moulded ribs and wrought-iron strap hinges.

The north aisle has buttresses with offsets between bays, a pointed door with wave and hollow mouldings, and four-centred-arched three-light windows with plain tracery and restored mullions. The clerestory is similar to the south side but rendered.

Chancel Exterior

Diagonal buttresses have crocketed ogee gablets, while buttresses between bays bear large gargoyles. Both types have ornate moulded offsets and rise to diagonal pinnacle shafts.

The south side has a pointed moulded door with hoodmould and angel stops, and pointed three-light traceried windows. The very fine pointed five-light east window features crenellated supertransoms and a hoodmould with carved figure stops representing a bishop and king. A moulded string course runs below the coped embattled parapet with moulded coping and truncated pinnacles. The west gable bears a relief carving of Mowbray arms and crest.

North Chapel and Vestry Exterior

The north chapel and vestry have a pointed three-light traceried north window. The east side features a plinth and diagonal buttress similar to the chancel, a small pointed two-light cinquefoiled window with wave-moulded reveal, and a narrow trefoiled slit light above. A moulded string course runs below the coped parapet.

All windows display Perpendicular tracery and moulded reveals. Those to the chancel and tower are particularly fine, with cinquefoiled ogee lights, wave-and-hollow moulded reveals, hoodmoulds and carved figure stops.

Interior

The four-bay nave arcade consists of tall pointed double-chamfered arches on octagonal piers and responds with plain-moulded capitals and bell-shaped bases. The tower arch is tall and narrow, pointed and double-chamfered, with similar octagonal responds, capitals and bases.

The tower staircase doorway has a hollow-chamfered four-centred arch with incised spandrels below a corbelled string course and a plain oak board door. The west door has a moulded segmental-arched reveal. The belfry retains its original floor. The nave and north aisle doors have chamfered segmental-arched reveals.

The pointed double-chamfered chancel arch sits on reused 14th-century shafted responds with plain-moulded capitals and bases, mutilated to accommodate the screen. A square-headed opening (formerly a doorway to the rood loft) leads from the north aisle, with the lower four steps in situ.

The north aisle, which is open to the chapel, has a carved image bracket on the north wall bearing a shield with the arms of Neville and Newmarch flanked by foliage.

The two-bay arcade to the north chapel features pointed arches moulded with a deep three-quarter round hollow between shallow hollow chamfers. These rest on an octagonal pier with moulded capital and base on a square pedestal with broach stops, and responds with continuous broach-stopped outer chamfer and octagonal shafts to the inner order with moulded capitals and bases. The north chapel has a chamfered ogee piscina.

The chancel has a pointed chamfered reveal to the south door, a low chamfered ogee-headed doorway to the vestry with panelled board door, crenellated supertransoms to the windows, and a trefoiled ogee piscina with hollow chamfer, broach stops and mutilated scalloped bowl.

The fine triple sedilia features a projecting moulded bench seat, buttress shafts with moulded plinths, offsets and crocketed pinnacles, and castellated half-round canopies fronted by nodding crocketed ogee arches beneath fleuron friezes. The central canopy has ribbed vaulting while the side canopies have carved bosses and corbels. The central seat contains a re-set late 14th-century brass to William de Lound, vicar of Althorpe, showing a small half figure above a Latin inscription.

An ornate Gothic-style wall tablet on the nave south wall commemorates William Kettlewell (died 1870), featuring a trefoiled arch on marble shafts with a crocketed ogee hood and angel stops.

Roofs and Furnishings

The reset 15th-century eight-bay nave roof has moulded tie beams with carved friezes, moulded principal rafters, twin side-purlins and ridge-purlin.

The good 15th-century six-bay chancel roof features corbelled four-centred-arch trusses (the two main trusses with open traceried panels and crenellated transoms) and a finely moulded ridge-purlin with single side-purlins.

The much-restored 15th-century five-bay chancel screen has moulded posts and mid rail, a central ogee arched opening flanked by four-centred-arch lights with ornate Perpendicular tracery and crocketed ogee arches, blind-traceried lower panels, and a ribbed vaulted hood with carved frieze.

The altar rails date from the late 17th to early 18th century and have bulb-on-vase-balusters with a corniced rail. The pews are 19th-century; those in the chancel have ornate open traceried panels and crenellated tops.

The 15th-century octagonal font has a carved rosette frieze to the bowl and a shaft with scalloped stops.

Historical Notes

A drawing by Nattes from August 1794 shows the nave rendered, the clerestory blocked and the brick porch already in place. The Perpendicular window tracery is similar in style to work current in East Yorkshire in the 15th century.