Kirkoswald, Cumbria

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Kirkoswald
Kirkoswald shown within Cumbria
OS grid reference	NY355541
Parish	Kirkoswald and Renwick
District	Eden
Shire county	Cumbria
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	PENRITH
Postcode district	CA10
Dialling code	01768
Police	Cumbria
Fire	Cumbria
Ambulance	North West
European Parliament	North West England
List of places: UK • England • Cumbria

Coordinates: 54°45′55″N 2°41′37″W / 54.765183, -2.693673

The village and former market town of Kirkoswald lies in the Lower Eden Valley of Cumbria or Cumberland, situated about nine miles from Penrith. The village is usually referred to locally as KO.

Belltower, Kirkoswald, built on the hill above the church so that villagers could hear the bells (photo Andrew Smith, 2006)

St Oswald's Church, Kirkoswald, looking southwest (photo Andrew Smith, 2006)

The village's name means Church of St Oswald and the parish church is dedicated to Saint Oswald, King of Northumbria. The church lies on the southern edge of the village overlooking the River Eden close to the bridge which connects Kirkoswald to Lazonby. St Oswald's Church is unique in having a 19th century bell tower on top of the hill 200 yards from the church itself. Parts of the church date from the 12th century, the chancel being added in 1523, when the "College" was founded by Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre and his wife.^[1] A sacred spring lies under the nave of the church, and a well is found on the west wall.^[2]

One of Kirkoswald's most splendid buildings is the "College", its name recalling the days when St Oswald's Church was a collegiate church. Originally built in 1450 as a Pele Tower it became home to the Fetherstonhaugh family, after dissolution in 1547, who previously lived at Kirkoswald Castle, now ruined.

The village consists mainly of one main street rising up a steep hill passing through a market place on which the village's two pubs ("The Crown Inn", and the "Fetherston Arms") are situated. A third pub, The Black Bull, overlooked the square but this closed in the 1980s or 1990s.^{[citation needed]}

The village also has one shop which houses a Post office, a Methodist church and a well-attended primary school. Until quite recently there were further shops including a butcher's, and a branch of the Midland Bank.

Given market charter in the 13th century^[2], the village held a market before it was resited at Lazonby and Kirkoswald railway station^[3] after the creation of the Settle to Carlisle Railway Line in 1876.^[4]

For local government purposes Kirkoswald is within the civil parish of Kirkoswald and Renwick which is part of the Eden District of Cumbria.