St Giles' Church is a church in

North Oxford North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian architecture, Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the co ...

, England. It is at the northern end of the wide thoroughfare of St Giles', at the point where it meets Woodstock Road and

Banbury Road Banbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, with its local shopping centre. Parallel and to the west is the ...

. It stands between where Little Clarendon Street joins Woodstock Road and

Keble Road Keble Road is a short road running east–west in central Oxford, England. To the west is the southern end of the Banbury Road with St Giles' Church, Oxford, St Giles' Church opposite. To the east is Parks Road with the University Parks opposi ...

joins Banbury Road. The church was built in the 12th and 13th centuries.Wood, Leslie,
St Giles' Oxford: Yesterday and Today – The Story of the Parish of St Giles'
'', June 1974 Oxford War Memorial adjoins the southern end of St Giles' churchyard.

Foundation, dedication and building

The church was first mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086, where it was recorded that the owner of the land north of the city intended to build a Norman church there. The church was built for one Edwin, son of Godegose and finished in 1120. In 1139, Edwin granted the church and all its property to the then newly created

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

Godstow Abbey, to the northwest. St Giles' Church is north of Oxford's

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

, and when built it stood in open fields. There were no other buildings between it and the city wall, where the

St Michael at the North Gate __NOTOC__ St Michael at the North Gate is a church in Cornmarket Street, at the junction with Ship Street, in central Oxford, England. The name derives from the church's location on the site of the north gate of Oxford when it was surrounded ...

church stands. About a thousand people lived within the walls of Oxford at this time. The church was not actually consecrated until 1200, by Saint Hugh,

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...

. There is a 13th- or 14th-century consecration cross consisting of interlaced circles cut into the western column of the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

that is believed to commemorate this. Also in commemoration of the consecration,

St Giles' Fair St Giles' Fair (also St Giles Fair) is an annual fair held in St Giles', Oxford, St Giles', a wide thoroughfare in central Oxford, England. The origins of the fair can be traced back to medieval times where it became one of England's dynamic tr ...

was established. The fair continues to this day, held on the Monday and Tuesday after the Sunday following 1 September, which is St Giles' Day. St Hugh also expanded the St Mary Magdalen's Church to the south in 1194. Surviving 12th-century features of the church include two windows in the north side of the

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

of the

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 ...

and the lower parts of the bell tower.Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 292 The tower was finished early in the 13th century, which is the date of the

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

arcades and

Early English Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

s as well. The

Decorated Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

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

was built late in the 13th century.

During and after the Reformation

Godstow Abbey surrendered St Giles' church and all its lands to

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

in 1539 during the dissolution of the monasteries. In 1542 the Crown granted St Giles' to Dr George Owen of

Godstow Godstow is a hamlet about northwest of the centre of Oxford. It lies on the banks of the River Thames between the villages of Wolvercote to the east and Wytham to the west. The ruins of Godstow Abbey, also known as Godstow Nunnery, are here. ...

, a physician of King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. In 1573 his son Richard Owen sold St Giles to Sir Thomas White,

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

, who in 1555 had refounded the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

house of St Bernard on the east side of St Giles' Street as St John's College. Sir Thomas granted St Giles' to St John's, which since then has held the

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...

of the parish. Incumbents of St Giles' have included two notable Laudians:

William Juxon William Juxon (1582 – 4 June 1663) was an English churchman, Bishop of London from 1633 to 1646 and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1660 until his death. Life Education Juxon was the son of Richard Juxon and was born probably in Chichester, ...

from 1610 to 1615 and Thomas Turner from 1624 to 1629. Monuments in St Giles' church include figurines of Henry Bosworth (died 1634), his wife Alice and their three children. They seem to have been made for a tomb that has not survived. St Giles' church was damaged during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, in which the Parliamentarian army besieged the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

force defending

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

in Oxford. John Goad, vicar from 1644 until 1646, is said to have led services in St Giles during Parliamentary artillery bombardments of Oxford in 1645. The Civil War may have been when the Bosworth tomb was destroyed. St Giles' church building received only minor repairs during the 17th and 18th centuries. At different times in the 19th century parts of the building were repaired and the chapel on the south side of the chancel was partly rebuilt.

The benefice since the 19th century

Oxford has expanded over time, so St Giles' church is now relatively central within the city. As north Oxford was built up and its population grew, new parishes were created out of parts of St Giles'. They included St Philip and St James', consecrated in 1862 and St Margaret's, consecrated as a daughter church of SS. Philip and James in 1883. St Giles remains a separate

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

but is now reunited with the parish of St Philip and St James with St Margaret in a united

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

Bells

The bell tower has a

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

of eight bells.The Oxford City Branch of Church Bell Ringers: Practising Towers
/ref> The oldest bell is the tenor, cast by Ellis Knight I of

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...

in 1632. Five more were cast by William Taylor, presumably at the Taylor family's then Oxford bell-foundry, in 1850: the same year as the rebuilding of St Giles' south chapel was begun. St Giles' youngest bells are the treble and second, cast in 1927 by Mears and Stainbank at the

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...

in the East End of London.

References

Sources

British Histor

* *

External links

Oxford History: St Giles' Church, Oxford in 1834St Giles' Church – Oxford
on

Flickr Flickr ( ) is an image hosting service, image and Online video platform, video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was previously a co ...

Photos of the cemetery outside St Giles' Church, Oxford, on 2 September 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxford, Saint Giles Church 1200 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 1120 Churches completed in the 1120s Giles

Saint Giles Saint Giles (, , , , ; 650 - 710), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 7th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly legendary. A ...

Grade I listed churches in Oxfordshire

12th-century church buildings in England