More information : (SE 77151298). St Oswald's Church (NAT). (1)
The church at Crowle has a fine circular headed doorway which suggests that it was originally a Saxon structure (2).
It has a Norman tower (3), and the chancel was restored in 1856 (4). (2 - 4)
Church of Saint Oswald - C12 remodelled C15. Nave with clerestorey, chancel, N. aisle, W. tower. N. aisle and chancel rebuilt C19. Shaft of runic cross, probably C7, under N. aisle arcade. Much restored 1884. (5)
In normal use. (6)
ST OSWALD. Of the Norman church the whole S wall of the nave is extant, and the W wall too - showing that the nave was remarkably wide. In the latter a plain tall doorway, now into the tower. It has a tympanum with an incised trellis pattern. The S wall has outside the complete frieze of eaves corbels with faces etc. In addition a sumptuous doorway with two orders of colonnettes, decorated capitals, and an arch of several orders, two of them with zigzag. The Norman nave was about as high as the present E.E. chancel with its lancet windows. This, however, was rebuilt in 1850. Was this done correctly? The chancel arch responds certainly look quite trustworthy. Also E.E. the S porch entrance and the N arcade of four bays, or at least its responds; for the rest was rebuilt in 1792 (and again, it seems, in 1884). The responds have triple shafts, the middle one keeled. Again E.E., but perhaps a little later, the lower parts of the unbuttressed W tower - see the charming small W window with dog-tooth. The continuation of the tower Perp. Perp also the clerestory and the N aisle and N chapel details.
- SCULPTURE. In the church an important fragment of an Anglo-Saxon cross-shaft of Viking inspiration. It is coarsely done and probably dates from the C11. To the (present) N and E heavy interlace, but to the S a man on horseback, two figures in profile above addressing one another, and two symmetrical dragons above them. Also part of a Runic inscription. (Not listed by the Taylors in Anglo-Saxon Architecture. See SE71SE1). (7)
Church of St Oswald,Grade I. (8)
The north aisle was not rebuilt in 1792 but taken down. It was then rebuilt in 1884. Evidence for the medieval north aisle wall was found during reflooring of the church in 2010 (internal width 2.40m). The original nave north wall was also found beneath the north aisle responds and arcade, showing it had been widened by approximately 0.60m when the north aisle was built. This explains why the west door looks off-centre. It would have been central to the original nave dimensions. (The original wall scar is visible in the nave west wall next to the respond). (9)
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