Kirkoswald, Cumberland
| Kirkoswald | |
| Cumberland | |
|---|---|
 The Belltower on the hill above the church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NY355541 |
| Location: | 54°45’55"N, 2°41’37"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 870 (2001) |
| Post town: | Penrith |
| Postcode: | CA10 |
| Dialling code: | 01768 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Westmorland & Furness |
Kirkoswald is a village and former market town in Cumberland, in the Lower Eden Valley about 9 miles from Penrith. The village is named for its church, dedicated to St Oswald.
Given market charter in the 13th century, the village held a market before it was resited at Lazonby and Kirkoswald railway station after the creation of the Settle to Carlisle Railway Line in 1876.
Parish Church of St Oswald
The village's name means Church of St Oswald and the parish church is dedicated to St Oswald, King of Northumbria. The church stands on the southern edge of the village overlooking the River Eden close to the bridge which connects Kirkoswald to Lazonby. St Oswald's Church is unique in having a 19th-century bell tower on top of the hill 200 yards from the church itself. Parts of the church date from the 12th century, the chancel being added in 1523, when the "College" was founded by Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre and his wife. A spring once revered as a sacred spring lies under the nave of the church, and a well is found on the west wall.
About the village
Kirkoswald no longer has a market, but it has a market square, where stands the village hall, still the headquarters of the parish council.
One of Kirkoswald's most splendid buildings is the "College", its name recalling the days when St Oswald's Church was a collegiate church. Originally built in 1450 as a pele tower it became home to the Fetherstonhaugh family, after dissolution in 1547, who previously lived at Featherstone Castle in Northumberland.
The village consists mainly of one main street rising up a steep hill passing through a market place where the village's two pubs ("The Crown Inn", and the "Fetherston Arms") stand. A third pub, The Black Bull, which at one time won awards for its food, overlooked the square but this closed in the early 1990s.
The village also has one shop / post office, a Methodist church and a well-attended primary school. Until quite recently there were further shops including a butcher, and a bank.
Nearby, and included in its civil parish, are the village of Renwick and the hamlets of Staffield, High Bankhill, Parkhead and Scales.
References
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Kirkoswald, Cumberland) |