St Oswald's Church is a Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 parish church located in Ashbourne

Ashbourne, Derbyshire

Ashbourne is a small market town in the Derbyshire Dales, England. It has a population of 10,302.The town advertises itself as 'The Gateway to Dovedale'.- Local customs :...

, in the county of Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Background

The church is named after Oswald of Northumbria

Oswald of Northumbria

Oswald was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death, and is now venerated as a Christian saint.Oswald was the son of Æthelfrith of Bernicia and came to rule after spending a period in exile; after defeating the British ruler Cadwallon ap Cadfan, Oswald brought the two Northumbrian kingdoms of...

.

Architecturally, it dominates the small town with its 212-foot spire. It is said to have been started in 1240 by Hugh de Pateshull

Hugh de Pateshull

Hugh de Pateshull was a medieval Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.Pateshull was the son of Simon of Pattishall and Simon's wife Amice. Simon was a royal justice...

, Bishop of Coventry

Bishop of Coventry

The Bishop of Coventry is the Ordinary of the England Diocese of Coventry in the Province of Canterbury. In the Middle Ages, the Bishop of Coventry was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichfield....

. Construction probably lasted until the early 14th century. It replaced an earlier Saxon church, and possibly a second Norman one. (A Norman crypt was discovered during excavations in 1913.)

From 1837 to 1840, it was restored

Victorian restoration

Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...

 by Lewis Nockalls Cottingham

Lewis Nockalls Cottingham

Lewis Nockalls Cottingham was a British architect who pioneered the study of Medieval Gothic architecture. He was a restorer and conservator of existing buildings...

, and then in the 1870s by George Gilbert Scott

George Gilbert Scott

Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...

, who added the battlements to the chancel.

Until Ashbourne Hall

Ashbourne Hall

Ashbourne Hall is a Manor house originally built by the Cockayne Family in the 13th century in Ashbourne, Derbyshire. The present Hall is part of a largely demolished, Georgian styled Hall build during the 18th century.-The Cockayne Family:...

 was partially demolished, it and St. Oswald's were the town's major monuments, standing at either end of the main street. The entrance to the hall's grounds continued the main street through high gates. What remains of the hall houses the local lending library and some unrelated offices. As they were before the 18th century when the Boothby's rebuilt and refurbished their home, St.Oswald's and its tower are once again the major landmark, and the church is the town's main attraction.

Memorials

Each of its transepts houses a chapel dedicated to leading local families. In the north transept, the Cockaynes, and the Boothbys (who bought their home Ashbourne Hall in the early 18th century). In the south transept is the Bradbourne's chapel. These chapels contain funerary monuments which have contributed greatly to the church's renown.

One in particular stands out: the Boothby monument to Penelope Boothby, daughter of Sir Brooke Boothby (6th Baronet)

Sir Brooke Boothby, 6th Baronet

Sir Brooke Boothby, 6th Baronet was an English linguist, translator, minor poet and landowner in Derbyshire. He was part of the intellectual and literary circle of Lichfield which included Anna Seward and Erasmus Darwin. He welcomed Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Ashbourne circles in 1766 when the...

. It is an exquisite and highly realistic sculpture made from Carrara marble (Italian) in the form of a sleeping child. It is considered to be the masterpiece of the artist Thomas Banks

Thomas Banks

Thomas Banks , English sculptor, son of a surveyor who was land steward to the Duke of Beaufort, was born in London. He was taught drawing by his father, and in 1750 was apprenticed to a woodcarver. In his spare time he worked at sculpture, spending his evenings in the studio of the Flemish émigré...

, and was commissioned by Penelope's father, Sir Brooke Boothby

Sir Brooke Boothby, 6th Baronet

Sir Brooke Boothby, 6th Baronet was an English linguist, translator, minor poet and landowner in Derbyshire. He was part of the intellectual and literary circle of Lichfield which included Anna Seward and Erasmus Darwin. He welcomed Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Ashbourne circles in 1766 when the...

. Other monuments and inscriptions in the church recall the generations of Boothbys buried there.

The 6th baronet Boothby was a minor poet, now known mainly for the sonnets which he wrote after his daughter's death - "Sorrows Sacred to the Memory of Penelope", which was illustrated with engravings of pictures by Fuseli

Henry Fuseli

Henry Fuseli was a British painter, draughtsman, and writer on art, of Swiss origin.-Biography:...

 and Glover. During his life he published several times on the church's inscriptions. It was said that he never recovered from the loss of his daughter, and he died in poverty in Boulogne-sur-Mer

Boulogne-sur-Mer

-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....

in 1824.

Organ

A new organ by Valentine of Leicester was installed in 1710.

An organ was obtained in 1826 by the builder Parsons. It was enlarged in 1840.

The current organ dates from 1858 and may contain pipework from an eighteenth century instrument. It has had several restorations, including by Hill and Son in 1858, Hill again in 1876, Hill Norman and Beard in 1950-51 and 1982.

A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

External links

• Information about the church, from derbyshire.uk, a guide to Derbyshire and the Peak District National Park.