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A cruciform church, dedicated to St Oswald, the patron saint of Northumbrian (or North of the Humber) fishermen, stands just above the ravine north of the town.It is believed that there was an earlier church on the site , or in the field just over the northern boundary wall. The present church was built over a 50-year period in a style predominantly Early English with late Norman elements. The earliest work is dated c1180 and the latest c1230. The Norman work can be seen in the Nave with its pillars and aisles, in the clerestory windows, in the west window in the north aisle, and in the south door; the Early English style can be seen in the windows of the Transepts and Chancel, and in the west window of the nave. In the second quarter of the 13th century the original chancel and the eastern bay of the nave were removed to make way for an easterward extension on a much larger scale consisting of the chancel, the central crossing and the transepts. Restoration was undertaken in 1885 - 6. INTERIOR.SOUTH DOOR.The door is late Norman with continuous mouldings running on rectangular faces. The doorway has a semi circular arch of four orders, springing from three detached shafts, and an attached shaft on each jamb.The oak doors in the south porch were dedicated in 1968 as a memorial to the Rev Percy Vernon Corner, a vicar here for 30 years, who died in 1967. A Medieval Bench End is displayed in a glass case in the porch NORTH DOOR.Over the door are the 18th century royal arms of Queen Anne.NAVE.
The fairly narrow five-bay nave has columns which are alternatively round and octagonal. There are double chamfered pointed arches and basic moulded capitals, one with carving. The deeply splayed clerestory windows are placed directly above the apex of the nave arches.The pews are in undivided rows with no central aisle. The main west window is a lancet. The walls of the nave aisles were originally much lower than they are now and the aisle roofs were of a steeper pitch. The walls were raised to their present pitch in the 13th century. Roof. The roof, having been infested with the deathwatch beetle, was completely restored in 1885. In 1908 a fire broke out in the west end of the church destroying the organ, which at that time was in that part of the church. The distance the fire spread in the roof can still be made out today. Font. The font is a plain bowl-shaped basin on a round shaft. Fonts used to be covered and kept locked to protect the water for baptisms, which was at that time only consecrated once a year. The opposing marks near the top of the font are, perhaps, where the iron fittings for the cover were fixed. North Aisle. The west window in the north aisle is Norman, deeply splayed within. South Aisle. The east window on the south wall is the Fishermen's Window erected by the people of Filey in memory of those lost at sea. Nearby, on the wall, is a memorial that records the names of Filey fishermen who perished at sea and whose bodies were never found. 
The stone effigy on the wall is dated between 1250 and 1300 and is considered by some to be a memorial of a Boy Bishop who died in his year of office. Boy Bishops were elected by the boys of the parish from their own number to act as their leader and perform the office of a miniature bishop from St Nicholas's day (December 6th) to Christmas Eve. Others consider it to be a 14th century small effigy of a civilian, possibly representing a heart burial.On the east wall of the aisle is the line of the original aisle roof, which indicates it was of a much steeper pitch than the present one and would have resulted in very low walls. The walls would have been raised in the late 13th century. The walls were almost completely rebuilt in 1885 when the new windows were added. CROSSING TOWER.The Crossing Tower is very wide and not particularly tall and, with the transepts, was added in the early 13th century.The east piers, when compared to the west piers, are more unified with the arcade responds, and have fillets and keels, and the arches have elaborate mouldings. TRANSEPTS.The transepts were known as Saint Mary's chapel and Saint Oswald's chapel, and up to the middle of the 19th century were each separated by walls from the main body of the church.South Transept. The south windows depict King Aethelberht of Kent (left) and St Augustine of Canterbury and St Gregory (right). St Gregory is shown saying "non Angli sed Angeli", in the incident in Rome which preceded his sending St Augustine to England. The sedilla, on the west wall, similar to the one in the Chancel, and the piscina indicate that there was at one time an altar here. 
There is a monument to John Wilkes Unett, the developer of the "new" part of Filey that laid the foundation for the development of the town as a fashionable resort.North Transept. There is a piscina here also.. CHANCEL.It is a peculiarity of the church that the chancel is on a lower level than the nave. This is a feature found on very few churches. The four lancets on the south side of the chancel depict early saints, including the church's patron, St Oswald, King of Northumbria, and the Celtic missionary, St Aidan, whom he supported. There is a fifth lancet on the north side.The E window of three lancets, which are shafted within, was installed in 1889. The reredos is of 1911 by W.H. Wood. It is carved out of Australian oak and depicts a Crucifixion scene flanked by saints and martyrs. There is a fine 13C sedilia with pointed trefoiled arches and blank quatrefoils in the spandrel. Stone Altar. The altar was found in the stone floor of the chancel having been placed there at the time of the reformation when such altars were taken down. The sealed altar contains a square receptacle for the bones of saints or other relics. The five crosses cut when the altar was dedicated can still be seen. Its date, probable, is pre-Norman. STAINED GLASS. The chuch has a variety of stained glass from several artists:- H.W. Bryans (a "Running Greyhound" glazier's makers mark is included), T.F. Curtis of Ward and Hughes, Rev Ernest Geldart, C.E.Kemp (the "Wheatsheaf" makers mark" is included) and Kemp & Co. ( a "Wheatsheaf and a Tower" makers mark is included), J.W.Knowles, Powell Brothers, and James Powell and Sons. WESTERN TOWER.
At the west end there are pillars obviously built to carry a projected tower. The plans to have a tower here were evidently abandoned in favour of the crossing tower.click here to see photos of the St Oswald's Church - Interior click here to see photos of the St Oswald's Church - Exterior
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