St Oswald's Church

The parish church of Grasmere, dedicated to St Oswald of Northumbria, is one of the oldest buildings in the Lake District. The core of the church dates from the 13th century, though it has been extended and altered many times since. The interior is unusual: the nave is divided by a row of rough-hewn wooden pillars, and the ceiling is plastered directly over the roof timbers rather than vaulted. Wordsworth described it as "rude and plain, which pleases more than ornament."

The churchyard is the main draw for most visitors, as Wordsworth is buried here in a simple grave in the corner near the River Rothay. The grave is modest — just a flat stone slab — which suits the man who wrote so honestly about ordinary life. The churchyard is pleasant to wander, with views of the fells above the village.

Just beside the church is Sarah Nelson's Grasmere Gingerbread Shop, which has been selling its famous spiced gingerbread from this tiny stone building since 1854. The recipe is kept secret and the gingerbread is unlike anything else sold under that name — denser and spicier, more shortbread than cake.

things to do sight
A story
Wordsworth is buried in the churchyard alongside his wife Mary, his sister Dorothy, and his daughter Dora. He helped plant the yew trees that shade the graves himself. The church has no font of its own — baptisms were historically conducted using a basin from Dove Cottage. A sprig of fresh rushes is still strewn on the nave floor each August at the Rushbearing Festival, a tradition going back to medieval times when rushes covered the earthen floor.