Church Of St Giles And All Saints

The Church of St Giles and All Saints is a Grade I listed building located in Orsett, with origins dating back to the 12th century, featuring significant alterations from the 14th and 15th centuries. The structure is constructed from flint and ragstone rubble, with Reigate stone dressings. It has tiled roofs and a weatherboarded spire.

The 12th-century nave includes a north arcade with three 15th-century arches and two from the 14th century. The south wall features a 14th-century window with three ogee cinquefoiled lights and another with two cinquefoiled lights. A south doorway from around 1160 showcases a semi-circular arch adorned with chevron ornamentation, along with attached shafts that have carved capitals and bases. There is also a small 12th-century window nearby, and 19th-century west windows.

The 14th-century north aisle contains two 14th-century windows with two trefoiled lights in two-centred heads. A 15th-century wooden staircase door has a two-centred arch, and a 14th-century north doorway features moulded jambs and a two-centred head. The late 15th or early 16th-century north chapel includes a 19th-century east window, while the north wall retains two original windows with two cinquefoiled lights in two-centred heads.

The 14th-century chancel has an original east window with four trefoiled lights in a two-centred head, and the north wall displays a late 15th-century arcade with two-centred arches, along with an early 14th-century window with two trefoiled lights in the south wall. The northwest tower, built in the 15th century, consists of three stages, featuring a plain parapet, an embattled turret, and is topped by a spire. Some 17th-century brickwork is present in the tower, which also has a 19th-century west door and a 17th-century brick window above. The second stage includes a 17th-century brick window and a door to the roof with a two-centred head. The bell chamber is equipped with four windows, each having two four-centred lights. The south porch, dating from the 15th century, has undergone some later rebuilding. The roofs of the nave and chancel are designed with crown posts and seven cants, featuring arch-braced tie beams, and the south porch also has a crown post roof.