St Oswald, Dean

St Oswald is a Grade I parish church in Dean, Cumbria, in the Diocese of Carlisle and the Grasmoor Mission Community.

Overview

Historic England records a twelfth-century parish church with thirteenth- and fifteenth-century extensions and seventeenth-century alterations, of squared calciferous sandstone under a graduated greenslate roof with coped gables and cross finials. The plan is a three-bay nave with south aisle and porch and a twin open east bellcote, and a three-bay chancel with north vestry. The north nave wall has twelfth-century lower courses and a blocked doorway, with thirteenth-century narrow round-headed windows. The thirteenth-century south aisle and porch have a round-headed arch and doorway and ogee-headed windows. The fifteenth-century chancel has two-light ogee-headed windows under hoodmoulds, medieval carved-beast gargoyles, and a three-light Tudor east window.

The interior has a Norman font on a twentieth-century shaft, a four-bay aisle of round arches on round piers, a south tomb recess and aumbry, and medieval cross slabs built into the walls and used as flagging. The original chancel arch was replaced by a plaster pointed arch. The east-window lintel is a reused medieval cross slab to a member of the Branthwaite family. The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture notes a re-consecration in 1447. The church is kept open throughout the year.

Further Information

• Historic England list entry 1145164
• British Listed Buildings: Church of St Oswald
• Grasmoor Mission Community