We visit Grasmere often, but haven't explored the Church for ages. Each time I visit St Oswald's I am surprised how large it is, and how strange. The Church was originally built in 1250, the North Aisle was added in 1490 and a new roof was added in 1563, to bring the two buildings together.
In The Excursion Wordsworth writes of the Church having "rude and antique majesty" . He writes:
Not raised in nice proportion was the pile,But large and massy; for duration built;
With pillars crowded, and the roof upheld
By naked rafters intricately crossed,
Like leafless underboughs in some thick wood,
All withered by the depth of shade above.
St Oswald's is certainly an impressive building with some pretty Arts and Crafts features, including the glorious stained-glass windows created by Arts & Crafts artisans Shrigley and Hunt and Henry Holiday.
I also love the sculpture of the Madonna and Child by Ophelia Gordon Bell. Bell married William Heaton Cooper and lived all her married life in Grasmere.
