St Oswald's Church, Sowerby

Church in North Yorkshire, England

St Oswald's Church
The Parish Church of St Oswald

OS grid reference	SE 43115 81374
Location	Sowerby, North Yorkshire
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Website	www.stoswaldsowerby.org.uk
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	20 June 1966
Administration
Province	Province of York
Diocese	Diocese of York
Clergy
Priest in charge	The Revd David Biggs
Assistant priest(s)	The Revd Pauline Percy

St Oswald's Church is a Church of England parish church in Sowerby, North Yorkshire, England. It is named after Oswald of Northumbria.

History

The earliest church at Sowerby of which any part remains appears to have been built about 1140. The fine south doorway was probably built in the eleventh century and most of the stone work in the south wall of the nave is of medieval date. The tower, which contains the remains of the Norman church, was built in the fifteenth century with a hagioscope through which the altar is seen. In 1842, the church was restored and enlarged in nineteenth century Norman style. In 1883, further restoration and repair included the erection of an open Lantern of woodwork surmounted by a slated spire above the chancel crossing. In 1902, the north wall was taken down and made into an arcade and a spacious north aisle built. In the 1980s, re-ordering of the church took place including adding a free-standing altar to allow more intimate congregational worship.^[1] The church was Grade II* listed in 1966.^[2]

The churchyard contains two Commonwealth war graves, of a Royal Air Force boy airman of the First World War and a Royal Armoured Corps soldier of the Second World War.^[3]

Gallery

Norman doorway
The font
Chancel with altar

References

^ "How St Oswald's, Sowerby, grew from a chapel to a church - and how it grew lop-sided". St Oswald's Church, Sowerby. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
^ Historic England. "Church of St Oswald (Grade II*) (1151342)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
^ "CWGC Cemetery report, details from casualty record". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 24 September 2016.