Why Is There a Pig Carved Into Winwick Church?
Drive past St Oswald's Church in Winwick and you could easily miss it, but high on the tower there's a carving of a pig. It's been there for centuries, and the story behind it explains where the church stands and, if you believe the legend, how Winwick got its name.
A king died here, or so the story goes.
Oswald, the Christian king of Northumbria, was killed in battle in 642 fighting the pagan king Penda of Mercia. Most historians place that battle near Oswestry in Shropshire, but Winwick has claimed it for centuries, and the church that carries his name is said to stand close to where he fell. There's even a holy well dedicated to him about a mile north, in a field beside the A573 at Hermitage Green.
Then the pig turned up.
According to the legend, the builders had picked a different spot for the church. Every night, a pig would arrive, take the stones they'd laid in its mouth and carry them one by one to the place where Oswald died, squealing "We-ee-wick" as it went. Eventually the builders took the hint and built where the pig wanted. In the best-known version of the story, that squeal gave the village its name. Place-name experts have a much duller explanation involving an Anglo-Saxon farmstead, but the pig is the version people in Winwick grow up with.
You can still see it.
The carved pig sits on the outside of the tower, next to a niche holding a statue of St Anthony. The church itself is Grade I listed, the highest level of protection a building in England can have. A church at Winwick was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086, and the present building is said to date from 1358. Its chancel was rebuilt in 1849 by A.W.N. Pugin, the architect behind much of the interior of the Houses of Parliament.
It's seen a few other things, too.
After the Battle of Winwick in August 1648, the last battle of the Second English Civil War, more than 1,000 prisoners were held inside the church. And in January 1887, a ship's officer called Edward Smith married local farmer's daughter Sarah Eleanor Pennington here. Twenty-five years later, he was captain of the Titanic.
Next time you're driving along Golborne Road, it's worth a glance up at the tower.
Sources: Historic England (St Oswald's Church, Grade I); Wikipedia, "St Oswald's Church, Winwick" and "Winwick, Cheshire"; National Churches Trust; Diocese of Liverpool, Heritage Open Weekend announcement, 2026; Mysterious Britain, "St Oswald's Church, Winwick".
