This ancient church is situated at the heart of the small town of Malpas. It is a fine example of medieval architecture and has witnessed to the truths of the Christian faith for over 1,000 years. The present building mainly dates from the middle of the fifteenth-century.
The church is very much involved in the life of the town and wider community, and has particularly strong links with the local junior school where the incumbent is Chairman of Governors.
The Church of Saint Oswald stands at the highest point of the village, near the site of a Norman motte and bailey castle. St. Oswald’s is a Grade I listed building and is recognised as being one of the finest examples in Cheshire of a late 15th century church. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Malpas. Its benefice is combined with that of St John’s, Threapwood.
St. Oswald’s is built in red sandstone with lead roofs. The tower dates from the 14th century and is just over 70 feet (21 m) high with diagonal west buttresses, angled east buttresses, and a southeast octagonal turret. The nave and chancel are crenellated. At the south-west corner is a porch which leads into a six-bay nave with north and south aisles. At the eastern end of each aisle is a chantry chapel, the north chapel originally belonging to the Cholmondeley family and the south chapel to the Brereton family. To the east of the nave is the three-bay chancel and in the north-east corner is a vestry dating from 1717. Above the south porch is a parvise and above the doorway is a wall sundial with niches on either side. The porch is embattled, with pinnacles and gargoyles.
“If anybody would like to expand to this series please contact Sadexploration at churchmicro@gmail.com so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication. There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page found via the Bookmark list”