Church of St Oswald

About

The Church of St Oswald, Filey, is a parish church in the North Yorkshire town of Filey, England. The church dates from the 12th and 13th centuries, with some embattlements added in the 15th century. The building is now grade I listed and was described by Pevsner as "easily the finest church in the north-east corner of the East Riding".

St Oswald's church building sits at the northern edge of a ravine that divides the town of Filey in two; the church being located in the North Riding of Yorkshire, whereas historically, the rest of the town was in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The Norman tower has been a wayfaring point for mariners who were sailing between the Tyne and London, and the tower also provided a good point to aim at for those who were landing on the sands at Filey. The position and design of the church, coupled with its size (over 130 feet (40 m)), have led some historians to suggest that the church had a higher importance than a mere parish church and may be older than contemporary thought had given it.

Its size, given the sparse population it served, has led to it being called "a cathedral in miniature". The church is also listed in Simon Jenkins' England's Thousand Best...