St Giles' Church, Camberwell, is the parish church of

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

, a district of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

which forms part of the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council ...

. It is part of Camberwell Deanery within the

Anglican Diocese of Southwark The Diocese of Southwark ( ) is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. The church is dedicated to

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 ...

, the patron saint of the disabled. A local legend associates the dedication of St Giles with a well near Camberwell Grove, which may also have given Camber-well its name. An article on the church from 1827 states: "it has been conjectured that the well might have been famous for some medicinal virtues and might have occasioned the dedication of the church to this patron saint of cripples."

History

The ancient parish stretched from Boundary Lane, just north of the present Albany Road, south as far as Sydenham Hill. The

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

church on the site of St Giles', and recorded 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 ...

'', was almost certainly built of wood and stood amongst fields and woodland. The church was later rebuilt in stone by William FitzRobert, Earl of Gloucester and Lord of the Manor of Camberwell. Numerous alterations and extensions took place over the next three hundred years and by the 18th century, the church was crammed with box pews. On 7 February 1841 a devastating fire, caused by a faulty heating system and fuelled by the wooden pews and galleries virtually destroyed the medieval church. The heat was so great that stained glass melted and stone crumbled to powder. Immediately after the fire, a competition to choose the architect for the new church produced 53 designs and was won by the firm of Scott and Moffat. St Giles' was one of the first major Gothic buildings by

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

, best known as architect of St Pancras Station and the

Albert Memorial The Albert Memorial is a Gothic Revival Ciborium (architecture), ciborium in Kensington Gardens, London, designed and dedicated to the memory of Albert, Prince Consort, Prince Albert of Great Britain. Located directly north of the Royal Albert Ha ...

. The new church was consecrated on 21 November 1844 by the diocesan

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

. The church was built to a

cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

shape with a central tower surmounted by an octagonal

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

of 210 feet (64 m). Much of the facing stone was imported from

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, but by the 1870s the majority of this stone was removed due to decay caused by pollution. Appreciating his mistake, Scott paid for the church to be refaced with

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...

which was more suitable for the London atmosphere. The church suffered considerably in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with many of the stained-glass windows being destroyed. Just over 100 years after the re-facing, stone began to fall from the spire and major vertical cracks threatened its structural integrity. In June 2000, the top 72 feet (22 m) of the spire was taken down and rebuilt at a cost of £1,000,000.

Architecture and interior

St Giles' Church is laid out in a

plan and has gabled transepts. The nave has a

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' ...

and lower aisles with five bays and gabled entrance porches. The interior has an arch-braced roof and a lierne vault at the crossing. The nave is flanked by alternately round and octagonal columns with foliated

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

s. The south transept is used as the Lady Chapel and the north transept holds the organ. The 19th-century church features a sedilla and

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

on the south side of the Lady Chapel which date from the 14th century, both remnants of the mediaeval church. Further remains of the old church are visible in the former vicarage garden on Benhill Road, where a mediaeval porch stands. This originally housed the sedilla piscina which were moved into the rebuilt church in 1916; the mediaeval porch is today used to house bins for the local youth club. On the North side is a plaque by

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as "the greatest artist-craftsma ...

commemorating

Charles Masterman Charles Frederick Gurney Masterman Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC Member of parliament, MP (24 October 1873 – 17 November 1927) was a British radical Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician, intellectual and man of letters. He ...

(1873–1927), instigator of the National Health Insurance system (the precursor of the NHS) and his family. Beneath the present church lies the 300-year-old crypt. The original graves and tombs were removed and the various rooms were refurbished to house 'The Camberwell Samaritans'. The crypt was opened in its new role by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother in February, 1962. The Samaritans provided emergency relief and support for the large number of local homeless men in the area. The Camberwell Samaritans later became the St Giles Trust which continues to operate in Camberwell Church Street, a few minutes walk away from the church. The crypt itself is now used as an arts venue and jazz club.

Stained Glass

St Giles' Church contains some notable

stained-glass window Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

s. The

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

windows in the South transept were destroyed by wartime bombing, and were replaced in 1956 by windows designed by

Ninian Comper Sir John Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 – 22 December 1960) was a Scottish architect, one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival architects. His work almost entirely focused on the design, restoration and embellishm ...

depicting St Giles,

St Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

, St Alphege and St Thomas Beckett above, with St Swithin and Bishops Lancelot Andrewes, Anthony Thorold and Edward Talbot below. The great East Window was designed by the polymath and art critic,

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

, a resident of

Herne Hill Herne Hill () is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the London ...

, and Edmund Oldfield. It depicts Biblical scenes from the Creation to the End of Time. Ruskin visited a number of mediaeval French cathedrals including

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

to gain inspiration. The glass was made by Ward and Nixon. In the chancel are angel windows by Lavers & Barraud. The West window is also by Ward & Nixon incorporating 13th century glass originally from

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

Organ

The organ at St Giles' is a historically significant instrument, designed by

Samuel Sebastian Wesley Samuel Sebastian Wesley (14 August 1810 – 19 April 1876) was an English organ (music), organist and composer. Wesley married Mary Anne Merewether and had 6 children. He is often referred to as S.S. Wesley to avoid confusion with his father Sa ...

. Before embarking on his career as a cathedral organist and composer, Wesley, one of Samuel Wesley's seven children, was organist for several years in the old church of St Giles'. After the 1841 fire, Wesley returned to St Giles' to design the new organ in 1844 and played it at the opening recital. The three-manual organ was constructed by James Chapman Bishop, a British organ builder founded in 1807 which as Bishop & Son remains one of the oldest and last surviving organ builders in the country. Bishop & Sons continues to service and maintain the St Giles' organ to this day. The organ underwent restoration in 1890 and again in 1960. Although it has undergone some adaptations, it retains its original mechanical 'tracker' action, albeit operated electro-pneumatically since the 1960 work.

2015 restoration

In 2015, St Giles' Church embarked upon a major appeal to raise £500,000 in order to overhaul and restore the organ. Much of the 1960s electrical system is beyond repair and the organ's pipes require significant restoration. As part of the fundraising campaign there was a world record attempt by the Director of Music and organist at St Giles', Ashley Valentine, who attempted to set the world record for the "longest marathon church organ playing" in June 2015.

Church bells

St Giles' 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 ten bells cast in 1844 by the firm of Mears 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 ...

. The largest, the Tenor, weights 24 cwt (1,220 kg).

Worship

St Giles' is in the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

of the Church of England. There are two services on Sundays, a said service at 8:00 am and a sung Parish Mass at 10:00 am. There is another said service on Wednesdays at 10am.

References

External links

St Giles' Church website

Music events at St Giles' website

Camberwell St Giles Church of England listing

Bishop & Son, organ builder

Guinness World Record organ marathon page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Giles Church, Camberwell

Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom 19th-century Church of England church buildings George Gilbert Scott buildings Gothic Revival church buildings in London Grade II* listed churches in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Southwark Churches completed in 1844

Camberwell