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The Western Tower
The Nave
The Chancel
The Roof
Fixtures & Fittings
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St. Giles The
Abbot:
The Church Building - The Chancel
Reproduced from 'The
Church Guide Book'
| There is no way
of knowing if the Norman church of St. Giles possessed a chancel, but at some
time circa l200 one was constructed to the East of the nave. It was in
the Early English style of architecture, which was the first of the gothic
styles prevalent during the l3th century, being typified by tall thin
windows known as lancets. This first chancel was to survive almost intact
until its restoration in 1886. The new chancel, being almost identical in
size and shape to the original, was probably built in line with the
original foundations.
Before restoration, the
chancel was constructed of rough knapped flint work similar to that on the
nave, with North and South external corner buttresses as well as
intermediate buttresses between the lancet windows. These buttresses seem
to have been identical to those surviving on the nave, which would suggest
they were rebuilt at some point in the 16th or 17th century. On the North
and South elevations, the walls were pierced with three lancet windows to each
wall, with stone dressings and heads. Interior photographs show that the
chancel was originally divided from the nave by a segmental arch lower
than the present one, which would indicate that it had been rebuilt at
some point after the chancel was constructed.
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| The most
interesting interior feature, now lost, was the East Window which before
restoration seems to have been quite unusual. The surviving window was
a large rectangular opening placed in the East wall, which
was then subdivided into three lights each with a round head. This window
was probably constructed during the rebuilding of 1641. The old
photographs also show the survival of two capitals situated at the upper
external corners of the window. On closer inspection these can be seen to
be mutilated foliage capitals possibly of the 13th century. |
The Chancel circa 1880 |
| If this were the
case, they would be from the 13th century window. The relative position
of these capitals today would suggest that they have not moved
significantly, therefore possibly further suggesting that not all the
chancel's walls were rebuilt in the 1886 restoration.
In 1885, Mr Fox, a member of
a local brewing family, offered the church a new organ with the proviso
that the congregation provide a suitable chamber to house it. The offer
was taken up promptly, and by 1886 the Joseph Clarke, the
Diocesan Architect, had been appointed to undertake the work. By the time
work commenced, the brief had been extended to include the restoration of
the chancel, a project which produced the Eastern arrangement that exists
today. The original " arched " entrance from the nave into the
North aisle was removed and replaced with a cast iron beam. In addition,
the chancel was almost totally dismantled, including the removal of wall
buttresses. |
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The Chancel circa 1998
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The most dramatic
change, apart from the addition of the organ chamber, was the re-forming of
the East window. The architect Joseph Clarke clearly felt that as the
chancel was Early English in style it should have an East window to suit.
The new window consists of three lancet lights, with the central one being
taller than the two flanking, these being divided by two columns formed
from sections of Purbeck Marble divided by moulded courses of Bath
Limestone. |
| To
complete the rebuilding of the chancel, a new floor was constructed of
plain and decorative acoustic tiles and during this work it was said a
bottle was found containing documents relating to the church’s
restoration after the storm in 1639.
The chancel fittings are all
modern, dating from the first half of the 20th Century. The original
Victorian stalls were removed around 1935, and used in the new parish
church of St. Mary's, Green Street Green . The Rector's Stall was provided
as a memorial to Major General Sir Richard Ewart, who died in 1928, and of
his son, Lieutenant Richard Ewart, aged 26, killed in France 1918. The choir
stalls and altar rail were given in 1935, as a memorial to Marion Manning. |
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