St Oswald's Church is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Sowerby, North Yorkshire Sowerby () is a village, Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England immediately south of the neighbouring market town of Thirsk. Although the bou ...

, England. It is named after

Oswald of Northumbria Oswald (; c 604 – 5 August 641/642Bede gives the year of Oswald's death as 642. However there is some question of whether what Bede considered 642 is the same as what would now be considered 642. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and H ...

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 The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

is of medieval date. The tower, which contains the remains of the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

church, was built in the fifteenth century with a

hagioscope A hagioscope () or squint is an architecture, architectural term denoting a small splayed opening or tunnel at seated eye-level, through an internal masonry dividing wall of a church in an oblique direction (south-east or north-east), giving wo ...

through which the altar is seen. In 1842, the church was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...

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 Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

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. The church was Grade II* listed in 1966. The churchyard contains two Commonwealth war graves, of a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

boy airman of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and a

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

soldier of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Gallery

Norman Doorway at St Oswalds Sowerby - geograph.org.uk - 561891.jpg , Norman doorway The Font of St Oswalds, Sowerby ^2 - geograph.org.uk - 561915.jpg , The font The Altar and Chancel Crossing of St Oswalds Sowerby - geograph.org.uk - 561948.jpg , Chancel with altar

References

External links

St Oswald's Parish Church, Sowerby
Sowerby, St Oswald's Church Diocese of York Grade II* listed churches in North Yorkshire {{England-Anglican-church-stub