Timber Rafters - St Oswald's Church - Grasmere, Cumbria, UK. - Wooden Church Artefacts on Waymarking.com

Timber rafters from the original church roof can be seen inside St Oswald's Church in the village of Grasmere in the Lake District.

"Inside the church, the arcade has five arches rising from ground level, and four arches above. The arcade does not reach the ridge of the roof, but ends in the upper tie beams of the open timber roof." (visit link)

"The Nave of St Oswald's Church has two aisles.
The Tower and South aisle date from 1250AD and the North was added as a separate building in 1490AD for the people of Langdale. In 1490 this area was entirely separate from the original Church, and was used as a ‘chapel of ease’ for the Brathay valley.

However, the gully between the two roofs collected snow and rainwater and in 1562 John Benson of Baisbrown bequeathed money, ‘so that the Roofe be taken down and maide oop again’.
The roof was raised up in 1563 using stone from the curtain wall, (the wall down the centre of the building) where the arches were created. This created a new third roof that overarched the other two and brought the whole church together under a single roof.

This is almost certainly a unique feature, with the tangle of timbers described by Wordsworth in The Excursion as follows:

‘Not raised in nice proportion was the pile,
But large and massy; for duration built;
With pillars crowded, and the roof upheld
By naked rafters intricately crossed,
Like leafless underboughs in some thick wood,
All withered by the depth of shade above’."

SOURCE: (visit link)
(visit link)

St Oswald's is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Windermere, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. It is situated by the banks of the River Rothay in the centre of Grasmere village in the heart of the Lake District.
It is an historic place of worship, that has over 100,000 visitors each year.
The church was founded in 642AD by St Oswald, a 7th Century Christian King of Northumberland, who is said to have preached on this site. St Oswald's Church is a Grade I listed building.
The description given by Historic England can be seen at the following link: (visit link)
(visit link)
(visit link)

Approximate age of artefact (Year): 1250AD Relevant website: Not listed Times available for viewing: Not listed Entrance fee (if applicable), local currency: Not listed

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