Winwick (Warrington)
	OS Grid Ref: SJ 60395 92855 53º25’51.49”N 2º35’51.22”W

Saint Oswald's, the parish church of Winwick, is a mediaeval building dedicated to that Christian King of Northumbria. Oswald was slain in battle by the forces of the pagan king Penda of Mercia at Maserfelth. Maserfelth has never been conclusively located, but there are two claimants. One is Oswestry in Shropshire, but a tradition local to Winwick claims Maserfelth is much nearer there, and links the foundation of this church to the death of Oswald in that battle. This tradition may be somewhat strengthened by the presence in the church of the cross-arm of a Saxon-age Preaching Cross that once stood nearby, and also by the fact that there is a district (though not a specific place) a little to the north of Winwick, called Makerfield. In Saxon, that would have been Macerfelth, as opposed to Maserfelth. On the other hand, whilst there is evidence of occupation in the vicinity of Oswestry well before the Saxon period, during the Saxon period, there seems not to have been a settlement there.

(So: what do you think? Is Maserfelth Makerfield, or was Oswestry (in Welsh, Croesoswald) the site of Oswald's last stand?)

The cross-arm, all that is left of a great preaching cross that once stood near
St. Oswald's Church in Winwick, and must have been over four metres tall.
Now displayed inside the church on a window-ledge. (Sep 2000)

When I visited St. Oswald's Church, I was fortunate to find it open because the cleaner and a couple of members of the Church Committee were at work. It is increasingly likely in this less trusting and less trustworthy age that churches like St. Oswald's will be closed. The church interior shows signs of a relatively recent redecoration, enhancing and preserving the signs of its ancient past. Discussing the cross with the committee members, I discovered that the stone had recently been borrowed by Manchester University for research purposes, and if I had been a couple of weeks earlier, I might not have seen it. Unfortunately, when the cross-arm was returned to its home, it was put back on the window-ledge upside down. Given that this piece of stone must weigh something over a ton, it's likely to stay that way until it needs to be moved again for some other purpose.

The decoration on the ends of the arms is what gives away the fact that the cross-arm is upside down. In the next window bay, a couple of wooden plaques have been made to demonstrate to visitors what the carvings are like - there are also some line drawings nearby for the same purpose. In the picture shown alongside, it can be seen that the figure on the end of the arm nearest the camera is the one depicted on the right-hand wooden plaque, and that it is upside down. Of course, it might be argued that the figures carved on the other end could have given rise to the confusion. The carvings on the ends have been interpreted as showing (left) the martyrdom of St. Oswald - he was reputedly dismembered and his body parts hung in a tree after the battle (hence, some say, Oswes-try, from Oswald's-tree). The right-hand carving appears to show someone carrying what look like water pails. This might be a reference to St. Oswald's Well, which is within walking distance of the church, and may represent the site of the battle. (Photographed in Sep 2000.)

Being displayed upside- down is a minor indignity in the life of this cross. After having been smashed - some say by soldiers under Oliver Cromwell - some of the rich Saxon Carving on this cross-arm was chipped away so that the block of stone could be re-used as a grave marker. That damage affected the front face of the cross, which is why it is displayed with its back facing into the body of the church.

The cross at Eyam may give some idea as to how Winwick's cross may have looked before its destruction, but make no mistake, what stood at Winwick was significantly bigger and more imposing.

As to the victor of the battle of Maserfelth, Penda, he could not keep Christianity at bay for ever. Not long after Maserfelth, Christianity did indeed come to Mercia, as is related on the page at this site that deals with the beautiful and extensive Saxon relics at Wirksworth. Penda himself never became a Christian, but in his final years it is said that he developed a healthy respect for those who lived out their Christian faith with integrity, reserving his anger only for those who said one thing about their commitment to the faith but disproved it by the way they lived their lives.

St. Oswald's Church, Winwick is located on the A573 just north of junction 9 on the M62.

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