Church of St Giles

The Church of St Giles is a parish church dating back to the 15th century, with substantial restoration work carried out between 1852 and 1858 by the rector, Rev. George de C. Guille. The building is constructed of stone rubble walls, rendered to the tower, and has gable ended slate roofs. The plan consists of a nave, a south aisle and porch, and a west tower. The church largely exhibits a Perpendicular style, having undergone extensive restoration in 1852-8, during which the chancel was enlarged and the north and south walls partly rebuilt. Further restoration occurred in 1898, including the installation of a screen and new oak stalls in the tower.

The west tower has three stages with diagonal buttresses and castellated parapets topped with obelisk finials. It features 2-light belfry openings with 4-centred arches. The west doorway is 4-centred arched, with roll and hollow moulding, and inscribed scroll stops. Slits are present on the north side of the tower for stairs. The north wall of the nave has three Perpendicular windows, two and three-light in width, made of red sandstone. A gabled vestry, dating from the 19th century, projects from the north end of the chancel. The east window is a restored Perpendicular design, three-light in width, with carved headstops. A cinquefoiled light has been restored on the south chancel wall. The south aisle also has restored Perpendicular style windows in red sandstone. A gabled south porch has a 4-centred arched doorway with roll moulding and early 19th century panelled doors.

Inside the porch, a medieval wagon roof retains moulded ribs, carved bosses, and wall plates. The south doorway has a 4-centred chamfered rubble arch and a contemporary heavy studded plank door with cover strips. Internal walls are rendered, apart from stencil decoration in the chancel. A four-bay arcade features Pevsner A-type piers with various religious devices carved on the capitals, and moulded 4-centred arches. A tall 4-centred double chamfered arch defines the tower. The pulpit, dating from the restoration, incorporates older carvings reputedly from an earlier rood screen. Roofs have been entirely restored to replicate the originals. A Norman font, composed of a subdivided cushion shape and a 15th century stem with colonnettes at the corners, is also present. The north wall features a good memorial in white marble to Henry Stevens of Cross, who died in 1802; above the plaque is a bas relief of a mourning woman in classical robes leaning over a sarcophagus. Numerous other early to mid-17th century marble memorials, predominantly to members of the Stevens family, are also found within the church.