St Giles-without-Cripplegate
St Giles-without-Cripplegate | |
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![]() The west tower of St Giles-without-Cripplegate | |
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Location | London,EC2 |
Country | England |
Denomination | Church of England |
Website | http:// stgileschurch |
History | |
Founded | 1394 |
Architecture | |
Heritage designation | Grade Ilisted building |
Style | Perpendicular Gothic |
Administration | |
Diocese | London |
Parish | St Giles' with St Luke's |
Clergy | |
Rector | The Rev'd Canon Jack Noble |
St Giles-without-Cripplegateis anAnglicanchurch in theCity of London,located onFore Streetwithin the modernBarbican complex.[1]When built it stood without (that is, outside) thecity wall,near theCripplegate.[2]The church is dedicated toSt Giles,patron saintof handicapped and infirm people of many different kinds. It is one of the fewmedievalchurches left in the City of London, having survived theGreat Fireof 1666.[3]
History[edit]
There had been aSaxonchurch on the site in the 11th century[4]but by 1090 it had been replaced by aNormanone. In 1394 it was rebuilt in theperpendicular gothicstyle[5]during the reign of Richard II.[6]The stone tower was added in 1682.[7]
[1545] The xii day of September at iiii of cloke in the mornynge was sent Gylles church at Creppyl gatte burnyd, alle hole save the walles, stepull, belles and alle, and how it came God knoweth.
The church has been badly damaged by fire on three occasions: In 1545, in 1897[8]and during anair raidof theBlitzof theSecond World War.[9]German bombs completely gutted the church but it was restored using the plans of the reconstruction of 1545. A new ring of twelve bells was cast byMears and Stainbankin 1954, and this was augmented with a sharp second bell cast in 2006 by theWhitechapel Bell Foundry.[10]The historic pews, altar and font come from the nearbySt Luke Old Street,and were transferred to St Giles when it closed and the parishes were amalgamated in 1959.[11]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Tower_of_Church_of_St_Giles%2C_Cripplegate%2C_and_Old_Houses_in_Fore_Street%2C_1884_by_Philip_Norman.jpg/220px-Tower_of_Church_of_St_Giles%2C_Cripplegate%2C_and_Old_Houses_in_Fore_Street%2C_1884_by_Philip_Norman.jpg)
The church was designated a Grade Ilisted buildingon 4 January 1950.[12]
Notable people associated with the church[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Chancel_of_the_Church_of_Saint_Giles-without-Cripplegate_%2801%29.jpg/220px-Chancel_of_the_Church_of_Saint_Giles-without-Cripplegate_%2801%29.jpg)
- John Field,curate of the church, c. 1570
- John Foxe,author of theBook of Martyrs,surrogate for Crowley c. 1565 and buried in the church, 1587
- Robert Crowley,rector of St Giles's and Protestant polemicist was buried in the church in 1588
- Thomas Deloney,English novelist and balladist, had his son baptised in the church in 1586
- Lancelot Andrewes,rector of the church after Crowley
- Roger Townshend,buried in the church in 1590
- SirMartin Frobisher,captain who fought against theSpanish Armada,buried in the church, 1595[13]
- SirFrancis Willoughby,industrialist and coalowner, buried in the church in 1596
- Nathaniel Eaton,first schoolmaster ofHarvard College,baptised in the church in 1610[dubious–discuss]
- Oliver Cromwell,military commander andLord Protectorof England during theCommonwealth,marriedElizabeth Bourchierin the church, 1620
- Nicholas Tooley,Shakespearean actor, shareholder in theGlobe Theatre,buried 5 June 1623
- John Speed,author of theTheatre of the Empire of Great Britaine,buried in the church in 1629
- John Milton,author ofParadise Lost,buried in the church in 1674
- John Bunyan,author ofThe Pilgrim's Progress,attended the church
- Daniel Defoe,author ofRobinson Crusoe,died in the parish, 1731
- Mark Catesby,naturalist, artist, and author ofNatural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands(1729–1747), was a parishioner and several of his children were baptised in the church, and later buried in the churchyard
- Rick Wakeman,keyboardist, recorded his track "Jane Seymour" (fromThe Six Wives of Henry VIII) and the pipe organ parts in the third section ofYestrack "Close to the Edge"[14]using thepipe organin the church
- Jack Nitzsche,composer, pianist, recorded "St. Giles Cripplegate" with theLondon Symphony Orchestrain 1972
Layout of the church[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/St_Giles_Cripplegate_Plan.jpg/440px-St_Giles_Cripplegate_Plan.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/North_Aisle_of_the_Church_of_Saint_Giles-without-Cripplegate_%28East-Facing_View_-_01%29.jpg/220px-North_Aisle_of_the_Church_of_Saint_Giles-without-Cripplegate_%28East-Facing_View_-_01%29.jpg)
- John Milton buried here in 1674
- The altar fromSt. Luke's, Old Street,which was dismantled in the 1960s due to subsidence.
- The east window. Designed by the Nicholson Studios, following the pattern of the original medieval window.
- Sedilia(where the priest sat) andpiscinaof the medieval church.
- Display cabinet containing the historic treasures of Cripplegate.
- John Foxe, author of "The Book of Martyrs"is buried here.
- Plaque commemorating Sir Martin Frobisher, explorer and sea Captain.
- Bust of John Speed, map maker and historian.
- Statue of John Milton byHorace Montford[15]
- The organ. From St. Luke's, Old Street[16]
- Bust of Daniel Defoe, author of "Robinson Crusoe"and John Milton.
- Busts of Oliver Cromwell and John Bunyan, author of "Pilgrim's Progress".
- Portrait of Dr. William Nicholls, the first Rector of St. Luke's Church and Vicar of St. Giles'.
- The West Window – shows the coats of arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, Milton, Cromwell and Frobisher.
- The font – from St. Luke's Church.
- The Cripplegate Window which celebrates the centenary of the charity The Cripplegate Foundation.
- Bust of Sir William Staines, Lord Mayor of London in 1801.[17]
51°31′7.38″N0°5′38.55″W/ 51.5187167°N 0.0940417°W
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/St_Giles-without-Cripplegate_-_Nave_with_Organ.jpg/220px-St_Giles-without-Cripplegate_-_Nave_with_Organ.jpg)
Gallery[edit]
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View from the outside
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Baptismal Font in the church
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Tower of the church
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"The City of London Churches"Betjeman,JAndover, Pikin, 1967ISBN0-85372-112-2
- ^'Cripplegate, one of the 26 Wards of the City of London'Baddesley, J.Jp96: London; Blades, East & Blades; 1921
- ^"The London Encyclopaedia" Hibbert,C;Weinreb,D;Keay,J: London, Pan Macmillan, 1983 (rev 1993,2008)ISBN978-1-4050-4924-5
- ^"The City of London Churches: monuments of another age" Quantrill, E; Quantrill, M p30: London; Quartet; 1975
- ^"The Old Churches of London" Cobb,G: London, Batsford, 1942
- ^"St Giles' Cripplegate".City of London.Retrieved6 August2023.
- ^"The City Churches" Tabor, M. p34:London; The Swarthmore Press Ltd; 1917
- ^"The Visitors Guide to the City of London Churches" Tucker,T: London, Friends of the City Churches, 2006ISBN0-9553945-0-3
- ^History of St Giles' without Cripplegate
- ^"Love's Guide to the Church Bells of the City of London".Archived fromthe originalon 27 September 2011.Retrieved22 September2010.
- ^"St Giles Cripplegate Church".
- ^Historic England."Details from listed building database (1359183)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved23 January2009.
- ^Jones, Frank (1878).The Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, Knight: Containing a Narrative of the Spanish Armada.Longmans, Green. p. 335.Retrieved26 July2023.
- ^Mettler, Mike."Total 5.1 Mass Retain: Steven Wilson on Mi xing Yes' Close to the Edge in Surround Sound".The Sound Board.Retrieved28 February2014.
- ^"London:the City Churches” Pevsner,N/Bradley,S New Haven, Yale, 1998ISBN0-300-09655-0
- ^Pearce,C.W. “Notes on Old City Churches: their organs, organists and musical associations” London, Winthrop Rogers Ltd 1909
- ^St Giles's Church Guide
External links[edit]
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