St Giles' Church, Camberwell
Encyclopedia
St Giles' Church, Camberwell, is the parish church of Camberwell
, a district of London
which forms part of the London Borough of Southwark
. It is part of Camberwell Deanery within the Anglican Diocese of Southwark
in the Church of England
. The church is dedicated to Saint Giles
, 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".
church on the site of St Giles', and recorded in the Domesday book, 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 the first major Gothic
building by Sir George Gilbert Scott, best known as architect of St Pancras Station and the Albert Memorial
.
The new church was consecrated on 21 November 1844 by the diocesan Bishop of Winchester. The church was built to a cruciform
shape with a central tower surmounted by an octagonal spire
of 64 metres (210 feet). Much of the facing stone was imported from Caen
in Normandy
, 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
which was more suitable for the London atmosphere.
The church suffered considerably in the Second World War 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 22 metres of the spire was taken down and rebuilt at a cost of £1,000,000.
plan and has gabled transepts. The nave has a clerestory
and lower aisles with 5 bays and gabled entrance porches. The interior has and arch-braced roof and a lierne vault
at the crossing. The nave is flanked by alternately round and octagonal columns with foliated capital
s. The south transept is used as the Lady Chapel, and the north transept hold the organ.
The 19th-Century church features a sedilla and piscina
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.
St Giles church also contains notable stained-glass windows. In the chancel is a window by by Lavers & Barraud
. The windows in the transepts designed by William Morris
were destroyed in wartime bombing, and have been replaced by glass designed by Comper. The large East Window was designed by the local art historian and supporter of the Pre-Raphaelite art movement, John Ruskin
, a resident of Camberwell, and Oldfield. It depicts a wide range of Biblical scenes, from the Creation to the End of Time, in stained glass
. Ruskin visited a number of mediaeval French cathedrals such as Chartres to gain inspiration for his
stained glass designs for St. Giles'. The glass was made by the English stained glass company Ward and Nixon
.
The West window is also a Ward & Nixon, and incorporates some 13th-Century pieces of glass.
was organist for several years in the old church of St Giles'. After the fire, Wesley returned to St Giles to design the present J.C. Bishop organ of 1844 and played it at the opening recital. The organ retains its original mechanical action, has three manuals and pedals and contains over 40 working stops.
St Giles' also has a peal of ten bells cast in 1844 by the firm of Mears at the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry
. The largest, the Tenor, weights 1,220 kilograms (24 cwt)
Camberwell
Camberwell is a district of south London, England, and forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located southeast of Charing Cross. To the west it has a boundary with the London Borough of Lambeth.-Toponymy:...
, a district of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
which forms part of the London Borough of Southwark
London Borough of Southwark
The London Borough of Southwark is a London borough in south east London, England. It is directly south of the River Thames and the City of London, and forms part of Inner London.-History:...
. It is part of Camberwell Deanery within the Anglican Diocese of Southwark
Anglican Diocese of Southwark
The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 44 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 formed on May 1, 1905 from part of the Diocese of Rochester...
in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. The church is dedicated to Saint Giles
Saint Giles
Saint Giles was a Greek Christian hermit saint from Athens, whose legend is centered in Provence and Septimania. The tomb in the abbey Giles was said to have founded, in St-Gilles-du-Gard, became a place of pilgrimage and a stop on the road that led from Arles to Santiago de Compostela, the...
, 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-SaxonAnglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
church on the site of St Giles', and recorded in the Domesday book, 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 the first major Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
building by Sir George Gilbert Scott, best known as architect of St Pancras Station and the Albert Memorial
Albert Memorial
The Albert Memorial is situated in Kensington Gardens, London, England, directly to the north of the Royal Albert Hall. It was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband, Prince Albert who died of typhoid in 1861. The memorial was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the...
.
The new church was consecrated on 21 November 1844 by the diocesan Bishop of Winchester. The church was built to a cruciform
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
shape with a central tower surmounted by an octagonal spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
of 64 metres (210 feet). Much of the facing stone was imported from Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, 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
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
which was more suitable for the London atmosphere.
The church suffered considerably in the Second World War 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 22 metres of the spire was taken down and rebuilt at a cost of £1,000,000.
Architecture & interior
St Giles' Church is laid out in a cruciformCruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
plan and has gabled transepts. The nave has a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
and lower aisles with 5 bays and gabled entrance porches. The interior has and arch-braced roof and a lierne vault
Lierne (vault)
A Lierne in Gothic rib vaulting is an architectural term for a tertiary rib spanning between two other ribs, instead of from a springer, or to the central boss...
at the crossing. The nave is flanked by alternately round and octagonal columns with foliated capital
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
s. The south transept is used as the Lady Chapel, and the north transept hold the organ.
The 19th-Century church features a sedilla and piscina
Piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
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.
St Giles church also contains notable stained-glass windows. In the chancel is a window by by Lavers & Barraud
Lavers, Barraud and Westlake
Lavers, Barraud and Westlake were an English firm that produced stained glass windows from 1855 until 1921. They were part of the Gothic Revival movement that affected English church architecture in the 19th century.-History:...
. The windows in the transepts designed by William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
were destroyed in wartime bombing, and have been replaced by glass designed by Comper. The large East Window was designed by the local art historian and supporter of the Pre-Raphaelite art movement, John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
, a resident of Camberwell, and Oldfield. It depicts a wide range of Biblical scenes, from the Creation to the End of Time, in stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
. Ruskin visited a number of mediaeval French cathedrals such as Chartres to gain inspiration for his
stained glass designs for St. Giles'. The glass was made by the English stained glass company Ward and Nixon
Ward and Hughes
Ward and Hughes was the name of an English company producing stained glass windows. They began in 1836 as Ward and Nixon.Perhaps the most prestigious stained glass commission of the 19th century, the re-glazing of East Window of Lincoln Cathedral, went to Ward and Nixon in 1855...
.
The West window is also a Ward & Nixon, and incorporates some 13th-Century pieces of glass.
Organ & Bells
Before embarking on his career as a cathedral organist and composer, Samuel Sebastian WesleySamuel Sebastian Wesley
Samuel Sebastian Wesley was an English organist and composer.-Biography:Born in London, he was the eldest child in the composer Samuel Wesley's second family, which he formed with Sarah Suter having separated from his wife Charlotte. Samuel Sebastian was the grandson of Charles Wesley...
was organist for several years in the old church of St Giles'. After the fire, Wesley returned to St Giles to design the present J.C. Bishop organ of 1844 and played it at the opening recital. The organ retains its original mechanical action, has three manuals and pedals and contains over 40 working stops.
St Giles' also has a peal of ten bells cast in 1844 by the firm of Mears at the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a bell foundry in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The foundry is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain...
. The largest, the Tenor, weights 1,220 kilograms (24 cwt)