Church Of St Oswald

The Church of St Oswald is a parish church located in Lythe. It dates back to the 13th century, built on an older site, but was largely rebuilt in 1910 by Sir Walter Tapper. The tower contains some Saxon carved fragments, while the north aisle masonry is original, and there are remnants of medieval masonry at the east end. The church features coursed squared stone with a clay tiled roof and has added buttresses to the chancel.

The structure includes a nave, aisles, and a lower chancel with shorter aisles. A large square west tower topped with a short stone spire is prominent, along with a south porch. The nave has four bays, and the chancel has three bays, defined by large sloped and stepped buttresses. The tower consists of two stages and has paired lancet bell openings with quatrefoil spandrels, a corbel table, and a parapet. There are small lucarnes on the spire, and the porch features battered buttresses, a two-centred door arch with nook shafts, and a low parapet. The rainwater heads, dated 1911, are well-crafted.

Inside, the vaulted porch roof has a carved boss, and the oak door is linen-fold panelled. A small baptistery is located to the west of the tower. The interior showcases alternating round and octagonal arcade piers, a rib vault, and an oak gallery in the tower. The nave roofs are arch-braced collar-beam structures that appear to incorporate old timbers, as do the beam-and-joist aisle roofs, all of which are moulded. There is a screen with an organ case above it, and the south aisle chapel is vaulted. Additionally, several Georgian memorial tablets can be found within the church.