St. Oswald's Church - Warton
St. Oswald's is built on sloping ground, and the visitor descends a flight of stone steps into the body of the church from the north door, which these days is the main entrance and has its own porch.
The tower itself belongs to the period of the fifteenth century rebuilding, when the whole church took more or less its present shape, except possibly for the north aisle. The tower was build by Robert Washington, who died in 1483, and whose forbears had been land owners in the parish since the thirteenth century. Now, almost five centuries later, the American flag flies from this tower on independence Day, a reminder that one of Robert Washington's descendants became the first President of a great country that in 1483 had not been discovered by the western world.
The "Stars and Stripes" was first presented to the Warton Church by American soldiers, Billeted in this country, they had come to see Washington House, the coat of arms, and the headstone against the east wall of the Church commemorating Mrs. Elizabeth Washington and her nephew, the Rev. Thomas Washington, one time Vicar of this parish. Then a few years ago, when visitors from San Diego were being shown the church, the Vicar commented that the flag was not up to date in its number of stars now that Alaska and Hawaii had joined the Confederation. On their return home, these kind friends obtained from a Senator a new flag which had been flown from the Capitol Building, Washington, on May 11, 1966, so this is now seen on the flagstaff of Warton Church Tower every 4th of July.
*******************The Family Trees - At the bottom of these steps, just round the corner and hanging on the wall of the south aisle, can be seen a representation of the arms of Washington and the family tree of the Washington's of Warton, tracing the descent of George Washington, the first president of the United States of America. The descent of Sir Winston Churchill from Robert Kitson of Warton Hall is also shown.
The Washington House
The Washington House