St Giles' Church is an active

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the village of

Stoke Poges Stoke Poges () is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is centred north-north-east of Slough, its post town, and southeast of Farnham Common. Etymology In the name Stoke Poges, ''stoke'' means " stockaded (p ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, England. A

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, it stands in the grounds of Stoke Park, a late-Georgian mansion built by John Penn. It is famous as the apparent inspiration for

Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classics, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his ''Elegy Written in a Country ...

's poem ''

Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard ''Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard'' is a poem by Thomas Gray, completed in 1750 and first published in 1751. The poem's origins are unknown, but it was partly inspired by Gray's thoughts following the death of the poet Richard West in 1742 ...

''; Gray is buried in the churchyard.

History and architecture

The origins of the church are

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

and

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

. The tower dates from the 13th century. The adjacent Hastings chapel was constructed in 1558 by

Edward Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings of Loughborough Edward Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings of Loughborough, KG PC (c. 1521 in Loughborough, Leicestershire – 1572) was an English peer, the fourth son of George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon. He married Joane Harrington daughter of John Harrin ...

, owner of the manor of Stoke Poges, who also undertook a substantial enlargement of the neighbouring

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

. St Giles comprises a "

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

ed" tower, a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

and the Hastings Chapel. The church is built mainly of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

and

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...

stone, with tiled roofs. The exception is the Hastings Chapel which is constructed of

red brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

. The style of the chapel is later than the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

of the church;

Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...

, the writer and former chairman of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

, describes it as " Tudor". The church has extensions to either side, a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

of the early 20th century, and an entrance and vestibule installed in the Victorian period to provide private access to the church for the owners of the adjacent manor house. Elizabeth Williamson, in the 2003 revised edition, ''Buckinghamshire'', of the Pevsner Buildings of England series, considered the Victorian porch an "

excrescence Excrescence may refer to: * Excrescence (phonology) In phonology, epenthesis (; Greek ) means the addition of one or more sounds to a word, especially in the beginning syllable ('' prothesis'') or in the ending syllable ('' paragoge'') or in- ...

". During the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, a restoration was carried out by

George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccle ...

. Jenkins, in his volume ''England's Thousand Best Churches'', thought that the exterior was treated more sympathetically than the interior. Of the latter, he describes the removal of the

plasterwork Plasterwork is construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior or exterior wall structure, or plaster Molding (decorative), decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called parge ...

in the

, together with the replacement of the Norman

arch and the opening up of the

hammerbeam roof A hammerbeam roof is a decorative, open timber roof truss typical of English Gothic architecture and has been called "...the most spectacular endeavour of the English Medieval carpenter". They are traditionally timber framed, using short beams pr ...

, as giving the church the appearance of "a barn". St Giles remains an active

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, administered as part of the

Diocese of Oxford The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. It contains m ...

. The churchyard has been used as a filming location. In the opening sequence of the ''

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

'' movie, '' For Your Eyes Only'',

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

enters the churchyard through the

lychgate A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, lyke-gate or as two separate words lych gate, (from Old English ''lic'', corpse), also ''wych gate'', is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style ch ...

to pay his respects at the grave of his wife,

Teresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or re ...

. The churchyard also features in

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

's final film, ''

I Could Go On Singing ''I Could Go On Singing'' is a 1963 British-American musical drama film directed by Ronald Neame, starring Judy Garland (in her final film role) and Dirk Bogarde. Originally titled ''The Lonely Stage'', the film was renamed so that audiences wo ...

''. Adjacent to the church are the

Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens The Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens are memorial gardens in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, England. The gardens are listed Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. The gardens are adjacent to the Church of St Giles, Stoke Poges. The ...

, founded in 1935 by Sir

Noel Mobbs Sir Arthur Noel Mobbs (1878–1959) was the founder of Slough Estates, one of the United Kingdom's largest property businesses. Career Brought up in Northampton, Mobbs was educated at Bedford Modern School. Together with his brother, Herbert, ...

to ensure "the maintenance in perpetuity of the peace, quietness and beauty of the ancient church and churchyard". The gardens were landscaped by Edward White and contain a number of private plots for the

interment Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

of ashes, within a larger, Grade I listed park. The ashes of the film director

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Kenneth Horne Charles Kenneth Horne, generally known as Kenneth Horne, (27 February 1907 – 14 February 1969) was an English comedian and businessman. He is perhaps best remembered for his work on three BBC Radio series: ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh ...

, among others, are interred in the garden. St Giles is a

. Gray's tomb is designated Grade II. The Gray Monument (adjacent to St Giles' church and owned by the

) is listed at Grade II*. The lychgate is by

John Oldrid Scott John Oldrid Scott (17 July 1841 – 30 May 1913) was a British architect. Biography He was the son of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott) and his wife Caroline (née Oldrid). His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles Gil ...

and is a Grade II listed structure.

Thomas Gray and ''Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard''

was a regular visitor to Stoke Poges, which was home to his mother and an aunt, and the churchyard at St Giles is reputed to have been the inspiration for his ''

'', though this is not universally accepted. Some scholars suggest that much, or all, of the poem was written in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, where Gray lived. Other commentators have identified as alternative possibilities St Mary's,

Everdon Everdon is a village in West Northamptonshire in England, some south of Daventry. The population of the civil parish (including Little Everdon) at the 2011 census was 356. Nearby, The Stubbs is a wood belonging to the Woodland Trust, a UK cons ...

, Northamptonshire; and St Laurence's Church, Upton-cum-Chalvey, Berkshire. The poem certainly had a long gestation, but it was completed at Stoke Poges in 1750. In June of that year, Gray wrote to his friend and supporter,

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He had Strawb ...

; "I have been here at Stoke a few days and having put an end to a thing, whose beginning you have seen long ago, I immediately send it to you." writes that there is "no doubt" about the identification of St. Giles as the churchyard of Gray's ''Elegy'', and Robert L. Mack calls it "very close to irrefutable". In 1771 Gray was buried (in accordance with his instructions) in the churchyard, in the vault erected for his mother and aunt. The tomb above records the names, ages and dates of death of Gray's mother and aunt, and his own tribute to his mother ("the careful tender mother of many children, one of whom alone had the misfortune to survive her") but no reference to Gray himself. Instead, his death and burial are recorded on a plaque set into the adjacent, external wall of the Hastings Chapel. Gray's Monument, a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

set on a pedestal inscribed with

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

s from the ''Elegy'', was commissioned by John Penn as a memorial to Gray himself, as a tribute to the ''Elegy'', and as an eye-catcher for Penn’s Stoke Park estate.

Gallery

Gray's tomb, Stoke Poges.jpg, Gray's tomb, to the left Graygrave.jpg, Plaque set into the wall of the Hastings Chapel opposite Gray's tomb Gray's Monument.JPG, Gray's Monument John Constable - Stoke Poges Church - Google Art Project.jpg, Watercolour of St Giles by

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...

, (1834) Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens-9842283344.jpg, Memorial to

in the

References

Sources

* * * *

External link

{{Commons category, St. Giles, Stoke Poges
Guide to the church
12th-century church buildings in England Grade I listed churches in Buckinghamshire Churches in Buckinghamshire