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Rockhampton is a small village in the Vale of Berkeley. St. Oswald's Church has a lofty 14th Century tower, a 15th Century font and some fine stained glass windows. On the south side of the chancel there are two deeply splayed decorative windows. One llustrates St. Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, holding the severed head of St. Oswald; Below there is a panel depicting the miracle of the otters reviving St. Cuthbert at the water's edge.
The other window illustrates King Oswald together with the depiction of a feast where St. Aidan blessed King Oswald's hand after his Christian almsgiving to the poor.
Behind the altar there is a grand three pane stained glass window - the centre division showing the Ascension, while the Kings' adoration is on the left and the baptism of the Saviour is on the right.
The Church is dedicated to St. Oswald, King and Martyr. He was born 605 AD, son of Ethelfrith, and became King of Northumbria in 636. With the aid of the forementioned Aidan, a monk from Iona, he worked to establish the Christian religion throughout his kingdom. Oswald died at the battle of Haverfield in 642.
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