Church Of St Giles

Church of St Giles

A parish church of 12th-century origin, extended and renovated in 1843 and heavily restored in 1865. The building is constructed of coursed and random rubble stone with stone dressings and is roofed with banded blue and red plain tiles with stone coped gables. The eastern gable is surmounted by a ridge cross, while the western gable is surmounted by a gabled 19th-century bellcote. The bellcote features cusped pointed bell arches flanked by stepped buttresses with an attached shaft between them, plus inset quatrefoils above.

The plan is simple, comprising a small nave, lower chancel, north vestry, and south porch. The west elevation displays a pointed 19th-century two-light window with geometric tracery and stepped angle buttresses to either corner. The north elevation of the nave contains a small central blocked 12th-century door flanked by 19th-century lancets with trefoil tracery. To the east is a small 12th-century semi-circular headed window, and beyond stands a 19th-century vestry with a similar 19th-century lancet to its north side. The chancel has a small 12th-century window to its north elevation and a 19th-century two-light pointed window with geometric tracery to the east, with a continuous sill band below and flanking clasping stepped buttresses. The south elevation of the chancel features a pointed two-light 19th-century window with cusped lights and central trefoil. The south elevation of the nave has a stepped gableted buttress to the east corner and two 19th-century lancets flanking an off-centre gabled 19th-century porch, with a 12th-century window between the porch and the eastern lancet. The porch has a double chamfered doorcase with carved head stops to the hoodmould, angle buttresses, small trefoil-headed windows to either side, and a stone coped gable with ridge cross. All 19th-century openings are fitted with hoodmoulds and alternating red and yellow stone relieving arches. The inner door is a much-restored semi-circular headed 12th-century door.

The interior contains a wide moulded 19th-century chancel arch with soffit moulding on attached shafts. The chancel features a pointed moulded doorcase on its north side leading into the vestry, with carved head stops to the hoodmould. The vestry is fitted with 17th-century style panelling to the sides, a carved alabaster reredos, metal altar railings, and carved wooden rails across the chancel arch, all probably contemporary with the 1865 restoration. The nave is simple with an arched braced roof, simple bench pews, and a small stone font with an octagonal bowl decorated with cable mouldings, set on a column.

The west wall of the nave displays three re-set alabaster memorial slabs to members of the Sanders family, each with incised acanthus leaf decoration to the edges, dated 1652, 1653, and 1616. Also on the west wall is a white marble wall memorial to Joseph Clay who died in 1839. The north wall of the nave contains three enamelled brass wall memorials: one to Sir Thomas Gresley of Cauldwell Hall who died in 1868, and two to Laura Williams and Joan Gresley who died in 1900 and 1901 respectively. The chancel displays a simple alabaster memorial of circa 1960 and a brass memorial to Sir Henry Des Vieux of Drakelow Hall of circa 1875.

The stained glass, all dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, fills all 12th-century windows with bright Chartres-style stained glass probably dating to circa 1865. Similar Chartres-style stained glass roundels appear in the west window. The chancel has late 19th-century figurative glass to the east window and circa 1900 figurative glass to the south window in memory of Frank Mulligan. The east window on the north side of the nave contains a commemorative stained glass window to Francis Meynell who died in 1932, while the central north nave window has a war memorial stained glass window of circa 1918.