St Oswald, Ashbourne
St Oswald, Ashbourne
St Oswald's is a Grade I parish church on Church Street, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, in the Diocese of Derby. Historic England records a mainly Early English church from about 1220, with a Decorated tower and spire of about 1330.
- Location
- Ashbourne, Derbyshire
- Country
- England
- County
- Derbyshire
- City / town
- Ashbourne
- Address
- Mayfield Road, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, DE6 1AR
- Postcode
- DE6 1AR
- Built
- Mainly Early English from c.1220; tower and spire c.1330; Perpendicular work c.1520
- Consecrated
- 24 April 1241
- Architect
- L N Cottingham (C19 restoration); G G Scott (1878 chancel battlements)
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- Oswald
- Diocese
- Derby
- Parish
- Ashbourne St Oswald
- Grade
- I
- Style
- Early English; Decorated tower and spire; Perpendicular additions
- Grid reference
- SK 176 464
- Opening hours
- Open most days during daylight hours.
- Access
- Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby
Overview
The listing describes an early foundation. The present church is mainly Early English from circa 1220, with a few remnants of earlier Norman work and part of a Saxon cross shaft in the south aisle. A brass plaque commemorates dedication on 24 April 1241 by Hugh de Pateshull, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. The church is believed to stand on the site of a pagan holy well, now thought to be concealed beneath the crossing. The tower and spire date from about 1330; the spire, rebuilt several times, is recorded at 215 ft. Perpendicular additions and alterations followed about 1520.
The church was restored by L. N. Cottingham in the nineteenth century; Sir G. G. Scott added the chancel battlements in 1878. Fine monuments survive from the fourteenth century, among them Thomas Banks's 1791 figure of Penelope Boothby. Some medieval glass remains. In 1644 Parliamentarians fired on the church; marks are still visible in the west wall. The parish is Ashbourne St Oswald.