Church Of St Oswald

The Church of St Oswald is a Grade II* listed building with origins dating back to the 12th century, with significant restorations in the 17th century and again in 1885. It is constructed from ashlar and coursed squared stone, topped with graduated slate roofs. The church features a nave with a bellcote, a south porch, and a north aisle, as well as a chancel that also includes a north aisle.

The nave consists of three bays. At the center, there is a 17th-century south porch, which has a gabled roof and a chamfered four-centred-arched doorway, adorned with three ball finials on the stone coping. To the left of the porch is a chamfered flat-headed two-light window with segment-headed lights and incised spandrels, while to the right is a similar three-light window. An early 19th-century wall memorial is located to the far left. The west gable has a rubble base, offset angle buttresses, and a central pilaster buttress, with chamfered bands at the eaves level and halfway up. A central two-light flat-headed window features arched lights and incised spandrels. Above this is a 17th-century double bellcote, which is characterized by rusticated stonework, four-centred-arched openings, a moulded cornice, and a pyramidal gable topped with a squat obelisk, flanked by two similar obelisks.

The north aisle, added in the 19th century, has four bays and offset angle buttresses. It is punctuated by flat-headed chamfered ogee-traceried windows of two lights, except for the right window of the left-hand bay, which has four lights. There is also a chamfered lancet at the west end, and stone copings throughout. The chancel, also from the 19th century, has two bays and diagonal offset eastern buttresses. On the south side, the left-hand bay features a two-light flat-headed chamfered window with round-headed lights, while the right has a tall, thin chamfered one-light flat-headed opening. The east window consists of three lights arranged in a shallow pointed arch, with stepped lights and pointed-arch heads, accompanied by a hoodmould and wall memorials below.

Inside, the church has a 19th-century three-bay north arcade supported by octagonal piers and moulded pointed arches, with a similar chancel arch. A medieval monument features a recumbent effigy of a knight, dressed in chain mail with a long mantle, crossed legs, and a large shield, dating from around 1320-1330. Additionally, there is a fine early 18th-century carved marble monument to George Laverson, complete with pilasters and an open pediment that houses three cherubs.