St Oswald's Church, Ashbourne

One of the grandest churches in Derbyshire, with a slender spire of 212 feet. Referred to in the Doomsday book, the present church building dates from the mid 1200's and contains fine stained glass and monuments.Evidence of a Norman Crypt was found during renovation works in the early 20th Century but the existing church dates from the early 1200s and the 1241 dedicated plaque is believed to be the oldest in Britain. The oldest parts of the present building are the chancel (eastern end of the church containing the altar) and the transepts (the arms of the church), which were built in the first half of the 13th Century. The main part of the nave was added in the mid-thirteen century and was widened in the late 13th Century by the addition of south aisle when a tower was also added; a north aisle was never built, possibly because of the impact of the Black Death. The last major construction was the spire, which was built in the early in the C14th.