1 000 Year Old Viking Stones Inside St Oswald s Church Lythe North Yorkshire History

Welcome to St Oswald's in Leith nestled in the heart of the darkest most remote corners of North Yorkshire Hi everyone AD here from Hans and John's Thank you so much for watching today's video Now I apologize I forgot my microphone today so the audio quality might not be the best but I'm going to keep the talking to a minimum Beautiful church—says there's been one here on the site from 900 AD and there are some amazing artifacts that I can already spot over there corner so let's go and explore And if you're looking for some family history there's a surname index here plus contact information above—really helpful elpful St Oswald's also boasts a long list of medieval rectors incumbents and vicars Betwee e 12th century and the 1530s clerics such as Hugo Clericus John de Coutes and John de Gascoigne ey were living here and are documented in parish records There's the long list of incumbents but one in particular stands out—a notable episode involving Sir Francis Bigod during the reign of Henry VIII following the dissolution of the monasteries the land was returned to the crown Bigod was involved in a rebellion imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed at Highburn London in 1537 for what was considered high treason at the time The church was largely rebuilt by architects Sir Walter Tapper in 1910 and 1911 and you can see some photos of the restoration work but during those renovations the builders uncovered large quantities of medieval and pre-conquest carved stones embedded in the old tower wall and look this is beautiful—some of these fragments are actually on display They date from the Anglo-Scandinavian period the 9th and 10th centuries and we'll just take a quick look at them now I'm not going to go into any detail about these guys if you'really that interested—just google it because otherwise the video turns into a documentary which isn't wha e channel is about that but that's very famous and he's known as the gingerbread man but personally all I can think of is do you know the muffin man If any of you have ever seen Shrek you'll get the reference and I love that display at the back showing what the stones may have looked like in their original positions—and as always I find It's extraordinary how close we can get to these ancient artifacts Many of the fragments dating from the Anglo-Scandinavian period the 9th to the 10th centuries they include cross slabs and decorative pieces providing compelling evidence of an early Christian presence and a significant burial ground here long before the Norman church was built This is really interesting—I haven't seen one of these before—and this is the cross head so the cross The head is a modeled human head dating from the mid 9th to the 10th century and is exceptionally rare stone among cross heads particularly here in Yorkshire though it shares similarities with some Irish crosses the absence of a nimbus in the carving suggests it may not have depicted Christ It could have been coated with gesso a hard compound of chalk in glue used as a base for painting on sculpture Though not all of the figures have formal names attached the ancient stones here may possibly predate the Norman church by centuries yet they are among some of the finest Extraordinary remnants in any Yorkshire parish church and if you'd like to know more just Google it—or pause here as there are some small information boards nearby at's surrounded at the bottom—it actually contains a bit of information about the bear the symbolism of the bear and this particular piece is said to be representing some wrestling figures only the lower halves of them rema Absolutely incredible I truly feel honored to be able to get this close to these remarkable artifacts of our history It's a wonderful connection some additional details about the traders and settlers—this is one of the most fascinating aspects to me and here's the mysterious green man who is commonly found in Christian churches and they're a decorative architectural ornament but the green man is believed to have evolved from earlier pagan cultures and is often interpreted as a symbol of fertility and rebirth symbolizing the cycle of life and the forces of nature yet no one can truly explain the full meaning of this mysterious figure There were also several other pieces of medieval stones and I liked how they presented them since they displayed them just as they would have been in the past It's been so helpful—it was a really easy way for me to visualize what it might have looked like so you can see that piece of stone where it would have rested in the arch and another piece here fascinating The building we see today is largely the result of the 1910–11 restoration by Sir Walter Tapper Now Tapper retained only parts of the medieval structure—the north wall of the nave and the east end of the chancel—before almost the entire church was rebuilt and then I got completely distracted by this stone coffin but we're going to walk around the other side and get a better look at it The medieval sandstone coffin had lain in the churchyard a Leith for many years It had been broken into three large pieces and was covered with moss and grass but during 2007 the coffin was taken to the York Archaeological Trust conservation laboratories for cleaning and conservation The coffin was air-dried to allow the moss to be removed using brushes and wooden tools while stubborn stains were treated with a steam cleaner The stone was treated with a biocide to prevent further growth then washed and cleaned The coffin pieces were then rejoined using stainless steel dowels and conservation-grade adhesive before Returned to St Oswald's and kept indoors it will remain here for many years to come It's a highly ornate organ up there and the woodwork here including the intricately decorated screen is exquisite and the gallery details were crafted in 1910 to complement the ancient stones embedded in the walls This is some very beautiful woodwork isn't it I'm not a huge fan fan of Victorian churches but I think this one is really lovely and I'll also stop here if you'd like to pause the video to read more about the stained glass window That's just going to come up so you can pause here if you'd like to read a little more and it's interesting that the piscina actually has two drain holes which is quite elegant as well A trefoil design but I've never seen a piscina with two drainage holes— is that unusual Again I don't know—let me know in the comments it's just my personal experience and I haven't found it yet one with the double drainage feature This plough was over here—perhaps it was once used out in the churchyard no idea about its significance here but on the board there There were all the various tasks required to maintain the church and fund its restoration a common necessity in these old buildings On the south side of the chancel Lying to the east is the lady chapel a beautifully proportioned space with an elegant hammerbeam roof The east window here features a depiction of Saint Oswald himself reinforcing the church's dedication If you'd like to learn more please pause here and read further about the windows of the lady chapel with the south window serving as a war memorial commemorating those who lost their lives in the world wars The lady chapel's serene proportions and stained glass create a reflective space a quiet reminder that this has as always been a living house of worship not merely a historical monument with numerous memorials to local families particularly the Phipps family of Mulgrave Castle who were long-standing residents parishioners I'm just going to head back out and take a quick look around the graveyard and just to the left of the door here I found a Commonwealth War Grave and it's actually for a serviceman from the United Kingdom who died during World War II Australian soldier Gunner Phipps who was from the Australian field artillery died on the 6th December 1916 I often wonder whether the families of these Commonwealth war dead ever got the chance to come and say goodbye The graves here stretch back many centuries some possibly as far back as the 10th century or even earlier when this ground was used as a burial site and there are some very Large tombs here and memorials too including those honoring members of the Phipps family and the Mulgrave Castle lineage There is also a memorial dedicated to villagers who died in the First World War and nearby are the graves of sailors from the Belgian trawler Gianne which was wrecked off this coast coast in 1932 You'll always find in graveyards along the coast that many of the stones are actually just in memory and stones and that was because so many of the sailors lost their lives at sea and their bodies were never actually recovered so their families would have erected a memorial stone for them in their local churchyard This is especially heartbreaking—a gravestone marking the loss of their first daughter who was six weeks old followed by another daughter just eight months old then a one-week-old son and then the father Reuben a master mariner and he drowned with all hands on a ship called the Bounty on a voyage from West Hartlepool to Hamburg Isn't that truly heartbreaking St Oswald's Church here in North Yorkshire is muc more than a picturesque stop on a coastal walk It's a place where Viking burial stones meet Norman walls where medieval rectors once served and where Tudor conflicts left their mark It's It has been carefully rebuilt for future generations yet it still preserves echoes of its earliest beginnings I do hope you enjoyed today's video I'm going to wrap it up here If you did enjoy f you could please like and subscribe and if you're watching from a mobile device you can tap the bell button— it doesn't cost you anything but it really does help my little YouTube channel and if you'd like to support the channel a bit more you can click the "Buy Me a Coffee" link below which helps me reach these slightly more distant locations off the beaten path It just helps a bit with fuel but thank you so much for watching I'll see you for the next one—could be a haunting could be a joyride Bye for now