Kirk Sandall St. Oswald’s Friends Group.
The church of St. Oswald, Kirk Sandall is mentioned in the Domesday book and was mainly
built in the 11th/12th centuries in the Norman style. Very few additions were made until the
Tudor period when it acquired a chantry chapel dedicated to William Rokeby. William, a
member of the local landowning family, had been vicar at the church until rising eventually
to become Archbishop of Dublin. He died in 1521 and left instructions and money in his will
for a chapel to be built in his name. The Rokeby Chantry Chapel is of national historic and
architectural importance and contains monuments and a restored medieval stained-glass
window.
In 1919 the Pilkington Glass Company acquired much of the land in Kirk Sandall to build a
glass factory. They also built a new village about ½ mile away and eventually in the 1970s
the old village surrounding the church was demolished. The church, being a Grade 2 listed
building, survived in isolation on the edge of what had become an industrial estate. A new
church was built adjacent to the modern housing and in 1978 St. Oswald’s Church was
declared redundant. In 1980 it was taken over by The Redundant Churches Fund, now known
as The Churches Conservation Trust.
The Friends Group was formed in 2007 to help to protect and promote this unusual historic
building. Open Days are held each month from May to September and admission is free. At
other times the church can be open by arrangement. We also work with local schools and
organisations delivering talks and mounting displays at exhibitions and festivals.
For further information visit our website at www.stoswaldskirksandall.co.uk