St Oswald's Church, Grasmere

The first church in Grasmere was founded by Oswald of Northumbria, King of Northumbria, in 642. The present church stands on or near the same site, and is dedicated to him. It dates from the 14th century, and was doubled in size by the addition of a parallel nave to the north of the original nave between 1490 and 1500. St Oswald's is constructed in roughcast stone with slate roofs. Its plan consists of a double nave, with a south porch and a southeast tower. The tower is battered (its walls incline inwards as the tower rises), it has lancet windows, and plain corner pinnacles. The roof was rebuilt in about 1562, which involved adding a second tier of arches to the arcade. The windows and doors were restored in 1840 by George Webster. The monuments in the church include one to Wordsworth by Thomas Woolner, with an epitaph by John Keble. There is also a wall tablet in the chancel in Doric style to the antiquary Daniel Fleming who died in 1701. William Wordsworth lived in Grasmere from 1799, and was buried at St Oswald's. In the southeast corner of the churchyard is a group of twelve graves surrounded by railings. These are the graves of members of the Wordsworth and Quillinan families, and are listed at Grade II*.