Winwick steps back through the centuries at St Oswald’s Heritage Day

Pictures John Hopkins

HISTORY came vividly to life at St Oswald’s Church, Winwick, over the weekend as visitors were given the chance to explore one of Warrington’s most historic buildings and discover the remarkable stories surrounding the village.

The special Heritage Open Days weekend formed part of this year’s Heritage Open Days programme and focused particularly on St Oswald’s remarkable history, the tragic story of heiress Ellen Legh and the Battle of Winwick, fought nearby during the English Civil War in 1648.
The church opened its doors from 10am until 4pm, with the official opening carried out by Revd Martin Fuller at 11am, followed by a presentation from Andrew Abram of the Battle of Winwick Society.

Visitors were able to see historic photographs, displays of weapons and armour from the Civil War period and items discovered during searches of the battlefield.
The Battle of Winwick Society also provided an update on its continuing research into the 1648 battle, including work towards establishing a permanent monument and information boards at the battlefield site.
St Oswald’s is itself a remarkable piece of local heritage.
A church at Winwick was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, while parts of the present building date back to the 13th century.
The church also contains work by renowned Victorian architect A.W.N. Pugin, who rebuilt the chancel, sanctuary and vestry between 1847 and 1849. Among its historic treasures are the Legh Chapel, ancient memorials and an Anglo-Saxon cross fragment dating from around AD750.
And there are plenty of fascinating links beyond the Civil War.
The church is connected to Captain Edward Smith of the Titanic, who married local farmer’s daughter Sarah Eleanor Pennington at St Oswald’s in 1887.

One of the highlights was a talk by Eileen Monies, a guide from Lyme Park, focusing on the extraordinary and tragic story of Ellen Legh.
Ellen Turner was just 15 when she was abducted from her boarding school by fortune hunter Edward Gibbon Wakefield and deceived into marrying him at Gretna Green.
Her subsequent connection with the Legh family and her tragic death in childbirth at just 19 have left a lasting memorial within St Oswald’s.
The story provided a poignant reminder that behind the grand buildings and historic events are the very human stories which have helped shape Winwick over the centuries.

Battle of Winwick brought back to life
The Civil War connection remains one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of St Oswald’s.
Following the defeat of the Scottish Engager army at the Battle of Preston in August 1648, the retreating forces headed south and eventually reached Winwick.
On 19 August 1648, they were confronted by Parliamentary forces in fields around the church in what became known as the Battle of Winwick.
The fighting played a significant part in the final stages of the Second English Civil War, with the parish church subsequently being used as a prison.
The Battle of Winwick Society, formed in 2023, continues to research the battlefield, promote its history and campaign for greater recognition of the site.
The heritage event demonstrated just how much history remains buried – literally and metaphorically – around Winwick.
For a village whose history stretches back more than a millennium, St Oswald’s remains at the very heart of the story – a living building connecting modern-day Winwick with some of the most dramatic chapters in Warrington’s past.