Bardney Abbey, one of the earliest Christian sites in His niece,
Osthryth brought some of his bones to Bardney in AD 675, as holy
relics for the Abbey, but the monks refused to accept the bones
as Oswald had been their overlord as King of Northumbria as
Bardney was in the Saxon Kingdom of Lindsey. The Saint's relics
remained outside the Abbey gates that night and a “pillar of
light shone skywards so bright that it was visible throughout
Lindsey”. The following morning, the monks declared that it was
a miracle and vowed never to turn anyone away again. So they
accepted St Oswald's remains, to be enshrined in the Abbey
church. Thereafter, the gates of the Abbey were always left open
and the tradition extended to Bardney village. Even today, if
you leave a door open, in