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Summary

Church of St Oswald

Monument Types

• CROSS (EMED:SC/MED/PM, Early Medieval/Dark Age - 700 AD? to 1000 AD?)
• ANGLICAN CHURCH (MED:C11/PM, Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1899 AD)

Protected Status

• Listed Building (I) 1346672: CHURCH OF ST OSWALD

Associated Finds

• ROOF TILE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1200 AD to 1599 AD)
• BRICK (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1300 AD to 1599 AD)
• FLOOR TILE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1300 AD to 1799 AD)

Associated Events

• Desk based assessment, Crowle Market Place, Crowle 2009 (Ref: CROM 09)
• Archaeological recording, St Oswald's Church (Ref: CRPCC01-PAL 2012/21)
• Desk-based assessment, Crowle Drainage Scheme (Ref: PCAS 1128)

Full description

St. Oswald's Church, Crowle, Norman, Early English, 18th and 19th cent. rebuilding. Part of Nordic/AS sculptured cross-shaft with runic inscription is displayed in church (formerly used as lintel). (Fowler 1868, 187, 378-9, fig.; Pevsner 1964, 223-4; Page 1973, 140, 145-6). [1]

SE 7612-7712 CROWLE CHURCH STREET (north-west side)
17/40 Church of St Oswald 1.3.67
GV I
Parish church. C12 nave south and west walls and doorway, chancel north wall; C13 chancel arch, lower section of tower, and responds and portions of outer arches of north arcade; C14-C15 nave south windows; C15 north aisle, clerestory and upper stage of tower; C15-C16 arch to north chapel. Nave re- roofed 1785, north aisle taken down 1792. Chancel partially rebuilt 1856; restorations of 1884 by A S Ellis of London, including rebuilding north arcade and north aisle; south porch rebuilt c1900. Limestone ashlar, with rock-faced ashlar to south porch; ashlar dressings. Lead roof to north aisle, Westmorland slate roof to nave, Welsh slate roofs to chancel and south porch. West tower with rectangular staircase projection to north-east angle, 4-bay nave with north aisle and south porch, 3-bay chancel with 2-bay north chapel. 3-stage tower: chamfered plinth, string courses between stepped-in stages. First stage has pointed chamfered south door with string course at impost level; pointed 2-light west window with central mullion missing, moulded reveal with 2 keeled orders, the outer shafted, and an inner hollow-moulded surround with carved fleurons; poor C20 rendered repairs and glazing. Stair turret to first stage has offsets and slit lights. Second stage: chamfered slit light and small round window in square chamfered reveal to west, slit light to south. Upper stage: pointed 2-light belfry openings with foiled Y tracery and hoodmoulds. Moulded string course, plain coped parapet with original pinnacle bases to angles and centres of each side, carrying heavy C19-C20 square angle piers. Clock face to east. Nave: south side has C15-C16 square-headed 3-light window with partly restored Perpendicular tracery, and pair of pointed 3-light Perpendicular traceried windows, that to right restored, that to left a C19 copy. Above, a complete C12 corbel table with carved heads, etc, much worn. Stepped-in clerestory has buttresses between bays, 3 round-headed 2-light windows with cinquefoiled Y tracery, hollow-moulded reveals and hoodmoulds; moulded string course with 2 gargoyles to south, 3 to north, coped parapet with restored pinnacle to north-east angle, stump of pinnacle to centre north, remainder truncated. Roof hipped to east. South porch: pointed moulded outer arch dying into chamfered jambs, hoodmould, string course and coped embattled gable parapet; fine C12 inner round arch of 4 orders, the inner 3 shafted, with capitals bearing scalloped, spiral and carved roundel ornament, and the arch with incised lattice moulding to the outer order, another with chevrons and various pellets (some with faces), and 2 roll- moulded orders. C17 double doors with moulded ribs and iron studs, some diamond-headed. North aisle: plain plinth, C19 pointed 2-light windows with Perpendicular tracery, hoodmoulds and plain stops. Chancel: chamfered plinth, angle buttresses and buttresses between bays with offsets; sill string course; south side has restored central pointed double-chamfered door, C19 lancets with hoodmoulds; similar stepped triple lancets to east; coped gable with cross finial. North chapel: chamfered plinth, single north buttress; pair of C19 pointed north doors, one chamfered, the other moulded, both with hoodmoulds; C19 pointed 3-light window with Perpendicular tracery, hoodmould and plain stops, small triple east lancets with hoodmoulds. Interior. Tall narrow round-headed C12 tower arch (former nave west door) with heavy lintel at impost level and incised lattice decoration to tympanum on west side (the lintel an 1884 replacement of C11 decorated stone, see below); C17 door with trefoiled panels and iron studs. Square-headed chamfered doorway to stair turret with oak board door. Nave arcade of largely restored pointed arches with outer chamfered order, inner keeled order and rounded demi-order between, on original keeled responds with moulded capitals and restored octagonal bases, and restored cylindrical piers with moulded capitals and bases; moulded string course above. Pointed chancel arch with similar mouldings to nave arcade, but with a filleted inner order, on responds with the outer chamfer dying into jambs with nook- shafts, and inner orders on octagonal shafts (partly restored to north) with moulded capitals and water-holding bases on tall square pedestals. Chancel has wide chamfered 4-centred arch to north chapel (now organ chamber/vestry) on heavy octagonal responds (that to west restored) with moulded capitals and bases. Above, to west, is an exposed section of a C12 round-headed window arch. Round-headed window to north side of chancel (now in vestry). Important fragment of decorated Anglo-Scandinavian cross shaft or monument, reset in west bay of nave arcade. Coarsely-carved, with interlace to east side, bold interlaced serpents to north face, and complex south face with a pair of flying dragons and sun-wheel above 2 figures in profile addressing each other, and a figure on horseback with a sack (?) behind, and a runic inscription below, probably translatable as LIC BAECUN, "memorial stone". Small inscribed brass wall plate on south side of nave to Stovin children of c1784. C19 carved octagonal font, late C19 stained glass to nave and north aisle. N Pevsner and J Harris, The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire, 1978, pp 223-4; J Fowler, "Notes on the Discovery of a Shaft of a Stone Cross, with a Runic Inscription, at Crowle Church, Lincolnshire", Prodeedings of the Society of Antiquaries of London, second series, vol 4, 1868, pp 187-90; R I Page, An Introduction to English Runes, 1973, p 140, pp 145-146; drawing by C Nattes, 1794, Banks Collection, Lincoln City Library; photographs in NMR.
Listing NGR: SE7715612984 [2]

Two stained glass windows are dedicated to the memory of the fallen in the First World War, 1914-14. There is also a brass lectern, dedicated to members of the choir who died in the same conflict. [3]

A programme of archaeological recording was undertaken by Prospect Archaeology in 2010, during internal reordering works and the excavation of an external service trench .

Inside the church, the pew platforms in the nave and north aisle were removed and replaced with flagstones, flush with the existing floors. A kitchen area was installed at the west end of the north aisle. The font was moved from the west to the end of the nave, and the Crowle Stone was moved from the north side of the nave to a position next to the south door. The floor level in the tower was reduced to that of the nave, and toilet facilities were installed.

Small areas were excavated in the tower and in the south-west corner of the nave. Elsewhere, the exposed surfaces beneath the removed pew platforms were swept clean and recorded.

Excavation of a service trench across the churchyard was also monitored. Four 19th century brick vaulted graves and a complete graveslab (the Dawson/Dawson Margrave family) were uncovered and recorded. Evidence for the nave north wall foundations was found beneath the north arcade. The foundations were in line with a wall scar on the nave west wall, showing that the west door had originally been centrally placed in that wall, and that the nave was widened by 0.60m when the north aisle was built. The north wall of the north aisle was also discovered. showing that before its demolition in 1792 the medieval north aisle had been only 2.40m wide internally. Three brick burial vaults and a grave were discovered within the north aisle. They were dated to after 1792 when the original north wall was demolished, and before 1884 when the north aisle was rebuilt; it is likely that they were outside the church when constructed.

Excavations within the tower revealed the original external chamfered plinth of the nave west wall, and its return through the door, which is an original opening and pre-dates the construction of the tower. The original threshold had been removed by the installation of heating pipes in 1915, and the construction of concrete steps through the opening. Floor tiles were found in the area of the north aisle which had been reused to support the pew platforms. Nine different types, of three different sizes, were identified, indicating that there had been several phases of tiled flooring in the church. The tiles were mainly of Flemish type and were of 14th -17th century date. Flat roof tiles of 13-16th century date were also found, and are assumed to have been from the church. [4]

IOA 88, NAVE, ST OSWALDS CHURCH, CROWLE (GROUND SLIDE). SLS24.

IOA 88, NORMAN ARCH, ST OSWALDS CHURCH,CROWLE (GROUND SLIDE). SLS25.

IOA 88, PLAN: ST OSWALD'S, CROWLE (GROUND SLIDE). SLS1.

Keith Miller, 1979, Crowle (NOTES - LOOSE). SLS5002.

John Wood, 1986, A Gazetteer of Norman Architecture (GAZETTEER). SLS5102.

Parochial Church Council, 1990s, St Oswald's Crowle (PAMPHLET). SLS6575.

<1> Loughlin, N and Miller, KR, 1979, A Survey of Archaeological Sites in Humberside, 153 (BOOK). SLS523.

<2> English Heritage/NMR, 2005, Listed building system data in MIDAS XML format, 165095 (COMPUTER DISK/TAPE). SLS2963.

<3> Axholme Family History Society, http://www.axholme-fhs.org.uk/crowle.html (WEBSITE). SLS4678.

<4> Naomi Field, Prospect Archaeology, 2012, St Oswald's Church, Crowle - Archaeological Recording, 1 - 18 (REPORT - INTERIM, RESEARCH, SPECIALIST, ETC). SLS5577.

Sources and further reading

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