page_title: St Oswald's Church, Ashbourne
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: St Oswald's Church, Ashbourne / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Brass plate commemorating the dedication of St Oswald's Church, Ashbourne on 24 April 1241 by Hugh de Patishul, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield
context_page_description: St Oswald's Church is a Church of England parish church located in Ashbourne, in the county of Derbyshire, England.
context_section_description: The church is named after Oswald of Northumbria. A brass plaque in the chapel on the south side of the church commemorates its dedication on 24 April 1241 by Hugh de Pateshull, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.
  Architecturally, it dominates the small town with its 212-foot spire which was referred to by George Eliot as the "finest single spire in England". It is said to have been started in 1240 by Bishop Hugh de Pateshull.  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 by Lewis Nockalls Cottingham, and then in the 1870s by George Gilbert Scott, who added the battlements to the chancel.
  Until Ashbourne Hall 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. The church is a Grade I listed building.
caption: Brass plate commemorating the dedication of St Oswald's Church, Ashbourne on 24 April 1241 by Hugh de Pateshull, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.
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