St. Giles

Introduction

St Giles in Cheadle, within the Archdiocese of Birmingham, was built in 1841-6 by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin for the Earl of Shrewsbury.

History

St Giles was originally conceived as a relatively simple parish church, built to serve Cheadle's modest Catholic population, but as the plans progressed it increased in size and detail. John Talbot became the sixteenth Earl of Shrewsbury in 1827, the same year that Fr James Jefferies was appointed as Cheadle's first permanently resident priest. Shrewsbury brought Pugin, a convert to the faith, to North Staffordshire in 1837. In 1846 the consecration of St Giles was attended by Bishops, Archbishops and overseas statesmen, as well as luminaries from the world of architecture and design.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is built of red Hollington sandstone ashlar with carved dressings and lead roofs of steep pitch with cast iron, fretted, crested ridge. The plan consists of west tower and spire, nave, aisles, vestry, chapel and chancel, and virtually abandons the ritual axis in favour of capitalising on the compact urban site. The tower and steeple are square of four tall stages set on a triple drip-moulded plinth, with four-stage angle buttresses with figures in niches to the west facing bottom stages. The south aisle has labelled, pointed three-light windows all with different (but authentically Decorated) tracery; the north aisle has similar two-light windows with a three light at the east side only.

The vestry composition is almost aedicular, stands on its own, more domestic than ecclesiastical but of exceptional balance. The entire interior of the church is painted from the floor up with gold, blue and red predominating in an intensely patterned scheme. The nave has octagonal columns painted in chevron pattern, pointed moulded arches with carved lions in spandrels, and scissor-brace collared trusses with fretwork in apices. The aisles have painted plaques of the Life of Christ, 16 in all.

The reredos depicts the coronation of the Virgin with six angels. The font is octagonal on a corbelled vase with fretwork spire cover, all set in an ornate brass railed enclosure. The pulpit is large and octagonal on a stand with religious scenes cut deep into panel-recesses. The stained glass is by Wailes.

Thomas Roddis carved the high altar and reredos, and on the front of the altar he carved figures of angels holding musical instruments. On the reredos the angels hold torches and censers, and the central panel shows the Coronation of Our Lady. Above the altar is the five light east window of the "Jesse" type, depicting the genealogy of Jesus, and on either side are the sculpted figures of Saint Giles and Saint Chad. Within the sanctuary elaborate provision was made for the celebration of the liturgy according to the medieval (Sarum) Rite; notably the Easter Sepulchre, and the sedilia and sacrarium.

The Nave windows were partly re-leaded in the 1940s by Harman & Co. The baptistery is located in the south-west corner of the church, enclosed within parclose screens. At the foot of the octagonal font, carved from alabaster, are four demons being crushed by the pedestal symbolising the destruction of sin. The glass of the baptistery window was manufactured to Pugin's designs by William Wailes of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.

The centre panel of the baptistery window shows Saint John the Baptist with the holy spirit above, and holding in his hands a roundel with the symbol of Christ as the Lamb of God. In the side lights of the baptistery window are eight personified attributes of the baptised Christian, namely: Liberality, Humility, Truth, Mercy, Modesty, Temperance, Patience and Purity. The west window of the Baptistery has patterned quatrefoils, and a shield emblazoned with the Talbot lion.

Parish life

St Giles owns and operates Cheadle Guild Hall, which is available to hire. St Giles supports the work of the National Churches Trust.

The parish office is based at the Presbytery at 18 Charles Street, Cheadle. St Giles' Catholic Primary School is listed as a contact on the parish's links page. Cheadle & District Foodbank is listed as a local organisation on the parish's links page.

Visiting

A book by the late Michael Fisher, written for the 200th anniversary of Pugin's birth, details the outstanding features of St Giles and is sold inside the church along with postcards.