Inside St Oswald’s

The church today contains legacies from the past and fine craftsmanship from our own times. The result is a most successful new creation which brings everything into complete harmony. The best place to begin a tour of the building is just under the gallery at the west end. There are the old stones carved by the descendants of the Vikings, marvellously preserved to our day (other fragments may be seen on application to the Churchwardens or the Rector). As your eye travels up the Church you see the beautiful proportions of the design and the fine beams of the roof. When you walk up the Nave the wall on the left is one of the original walls, supported by great buttresses outside. On it are memorials to the Phipps family.

The screen is a superb piece of modern work, made in 1910 by Lichfield men with the decorated organ-case above it, in the old position. The organ itself, a tiny two-manual, is played from a detached console in the choir and underwent a complete renovation in 1988. The East wall of the Chancel is old and the Piscinea - small sinks used for rinsing the altar vessels - were uncovered during the Restoration. Notice the painted roof above the Altar and the windows modern but in the medieval style.

The Lady Chapel is most beautifully proportioned with a splendid vaulted roof. In its east window can be seen the figure of Saint Oswald in whose honour the Church is dedicated. He was King of Northumbria and one of the founders of Christianity in the North and killed in battle in 641. His Queen is said to have been buried at Whitby Abbey but his remains are interred at Durham Cathedral in the shrine of Saint Cuthbert who is here depicted with the King’s head. The south window is a War Memorial to the Old Boys of Mulgrave Castle School. The other stained glass windows in the Church are interesting, especially the little one above the Choir Vestry which has the rare subject of Tobias and the Angel.