Kirkoswald is a village,

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, and former

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

located in

Westmorland and Furness Westmorland and Furness is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Cumbria, England. The economy is mainly focused on tourism around both the Lake District and Cumbria Coast, shipbuilding and the Royal Port of Barrow, Royal ...

, England, about from Penrith. The village is in the historic county of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

. The village, referred to colloquially as ''KO'', had a population of 870 at the 2001 census, which rose to 901 at the 2011 Census.

Heritage

The village name means "Church of St Oswald", the parish church being dedicated to Saint Oswald, King of

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

. The body of Oswald is believed to have been taken through the village. The church lies on the southern edge of the village overlooking the River Eden, close to the bridge connecting Kirkoswald to Lazonby. St Oswald's Church is unique in having a 19th-century bell tower on top of a hill 200 yards from the church itself. Parts of the church date from the 12th century, the chancel being added in 1523, when the "College" was founded by

Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre of Gilsland (25 November 1467 – 24 October 1525) was the son of Humphrey Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre of Gilsland and Mabel Parr, daughter of Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal by his wife, Alice Tunstall (daughter of Sir ...

and his wife. A sacred spring lies under the nave of the church, and a well is found on the west wall.Kirkoswald Cumbria
In 1808 a

hoard A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...

of perhaps 543 Northumbrian copper alloy

styca The styca (; . ''stycas'') was a small coin minted in pre-Viking Northumbria, originally in base silver and subsequently in a copper alloy. Production began in the 790s and continued until the 850s, though the coin remained in circulation until th ...

s and a silver trefoil ornament was found amongst an uprooted tree in the parish. One of Kirkoswald's most splendid buildings is the College, its name recalling the days when St Oswald's Church was a collegiate church. Originally built in 1450 as a

Pele Tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standing ...

it became, after dissolution in 1547, home to the Fetherstonhaugh family, which previously lived at Featherstone Castle,

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. The population in the 1841 census was 691 inhabitants.

Amenities

The village has one main street rising up a steep hill passing through a former market place with its two pubs – the ''Crown Inn'' and the ''Fetherston Arms''. A third pub, the ''Black Bull'', which at one time won awards for its food, overlooked the square, but this closed in the early 1990s. It also has a shop that houses a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, a

Methodist church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and a well-attended

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

. Until recently there were further shops, including a butcher and a branch of the

Midland Bank Midland Bank plc was one of the Big Four (banks)#United Kingdom, Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birming ...

. Given its market charter in the 13th century, the village held a market before it was moved to Lazonby and Kirkoswald railway station after the opening of the Settle to Carlisle Railway Line in 1876.

Governance

Kirkoswald is in

. Before 2023 it was in the Eden district of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

. Included in the parish are the nearby village of Renwick and the hamlets of Staffield, High Bankhill, Parkhead and Scales. From 1866 to 1934 Staffield was a separate civil parish. Renwick was also a separate parish until 1934. The parish council meets at the village hall in Kirkoswald's former market square. An

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

in the same name stretches north to

Ainstable Ainstable is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the England, English county of Cumbria. Historically part of the traditional county of Cumberland, it is now in the unitary authority area of Westmorland and Furness. The p ...

, with a total population at the 2011 census of 1,471.

Notable people

Bridget Atkinson Bridget Atkinson (née Maughan) (1732–1814) was an English farmer and shell collector who amassed a collection from around the world. She was recognised at the end of her life by the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1813 she w ...

(1732–1814), farmer and shell collector who amassed a collection from around the world. First honorary member of the

Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne The Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, the oldest provincial antiquarian society in England, was founded in 1813. It is a registered charity under English law. It has had a long-standing interest in the archaeology of the North East ...

. * Timothy Brown (1743/1744–1820), radical, banker, and merchant, was born in Kirkoswald * Maria Fetherstonhaugh (1847–1918), a novelist who also used the name Minna Carleton, was married at Kirkoswald in 1865 to Timothy Fetherstonhaugh, once a captain of the

13th Hussars The 13th Hussars (previously the 13th Light Dragoons) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War and the First World War but then amalgamated ...

References

External links