St Giles' Catholic Church, Cheadle facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids St Giles' Church

Country	England
Denomination	Catholic
History
Status	Active
Consecrated	31 August 1846
Architecture
Functional status	Parish Church
Heritage designation	Grade I
Architect(s)	Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin
Style	Gothic Revival
Years built	1841-46
Specifications
Spire height	200 feet (61 m)
Administration
Parish	St Giles, Cheadle
Diocese	Birmingham

St Giles' Church is a beautiful Roman Catholic church located in Cheadle, Staffordshire, England. This amazing church is a Grade I listed building, which means it's very important and protected. It was designed by a famous architect named Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. The church was built between 1841 and 1846 for the Earl of Shrewsbury.

St Giles' Church is built in the Gothic Revival style. This means it looks like medieval churches from hundreds of years ago. Both the outside and inside are highly decorated. It has a very tall steeple that reaches 200 feet (61 m) into the sky. This makes it the tallest building in Cheadle. Inside, the walls are painted with colorful designs, and the floor is covered with patterned tiles. Almost all the furniture and decorations, like the font and pulpit, were also designed by Pugin himself.

The Church's Story
Bell Ringing
Images for kids
See Also

The Church's Story

How St Giles' Church Began

The story of St Giles' Church started with Father William Wareing. He was a Catholic priest who later became a bishop. In the early 1820s, he opened a small chapel in a private house in Cheadle. More and more people started coming to Mass there.

One of the people who attended was Charles Talbot, 15th Earl of Shrewsbury. He asked Father Wareing to find a bigger place. They found an old armoury (a place where weapons were stored) that was about 60 feet (18 m) long. This building was turned into a new chapel. In 1827, James Jeffries became the first resident priest.

Later that year, the 15th Earl died. His nephew, John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, took over. Earl John was very keen on supporting the Catholic Church. He brought the famous architect Pugin to North Staffordshire in 1837. Pugin first worked on the Earl's home, Alton Towers. The Earl was so impressed that he decided to only fund churches designed by Pugin. Pugin often visited Alton Towers, which was a good base for his work in the Midlands.

The old chapels, like the converted armoury, were simple. Pugin believed they were not grand enough for worship. He wanted to build churches that truly showed the beauty of the Gothic style.

Pugin's Design Ideas

Pugin had a chance to develop his ideas for St Giles' Church. Lord Shrewsbury promised a lot of money, which helped a lot. Pugin chose the church's site in 1841. He made sure the church was positioned to look its best from the street. This meant changing the usual east-west direction slightly. The tall tower and spire could be seen clearly from the town center.

Pugin loved working on St Giles'. He even called it "my consolation in all afflictions." He had a lot of freedom and support from Lord Shrewsbury. This helped him deal with other problems, like strict building committees or the sad death of his second wife.

As the work continued, St Giles' became even bigger and more splendid. This was partly because Pugin was so enthusiastic. But Lord Shrewsbury also wanted to promote the Gothic style. He believed it would help people connect with their faith. He even suggested some changes and additions himself.

Pugin took great care with every detail. He looked at many old medieval churches for inspiration. In 1840, he visited churches in Norfolk, England. He drew details of their designs, like patterns and carvings. His drawings are now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The stone porch of St Giles' was inspired by porches in East Anglia. He also studied old rood screens (screens separating the nave from the chancel), especially one at Castle Acre.

Pugin also looked at churches outside England. In 1843, he visited Antwerp to find ideas for the windows and painted details. In 1844, he saw the beautiful Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. This richly decorated chapel was built for King Louis IX in the 1200s.

Building the Church

The nave

Great care was taken to choose the right building materials. Most of them came from local areas. Lord Shrewsbury's Alton estate had plenty of oak and elm wood. Local quarries provided different colored sandstones. A new quarry was opened near Cheadle and Alton. The stone from this quarry was used for St Giles' and for other buildings Pugin designed in Alton village, like Alton Castle.

Lord Shrewsbury suggested using alabaster for the altars. Alabaster is a soft stone that carves beautifully. It was often used for statues and decorations in old churches. There were alabaster mines nearby, but the stone was usually ground up for plaster.

During construction, some plans changed. A north porch was added. The south aisle was made longer to create the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. The Lady Chapel was moved to the North aisle. The sacristy (a room where priests prepare) was also made bigger.

Pugin had strong ideas about how churches should be. In medieval times, the main part of the church (the nave) was a space for movement and processions. People didn't just sit in fixed seats. But after the Reformation, churches started having rows of fixed seating. Pugin did not like this "Protestant" style. When Lord Shrewsbury suggested filling St Giles' with seats across the whole nave, Pugin was very upset. He wanted a central passage for processions.

The rood screen

Pugin also put a lot of effort into designing the rood screen for Cheadle. He believed screens were very important in churches. The work on the screen began in 1842. Pugin promised it would be "the richest yet produced." There was a small problem when Lord Shrewsbury wanted to save money by not hiring an expert wood-carver. Pugin joked about it, but he was serious about the quality.

Windows and Tiles

Pugin found it hard to find stained-glass artists who could make windows exactly as he wanted, and at a good price. Stained glass is made by fusing colored glass pieces together in a hot oven. For St Giles', he hired William Wailes from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Pugin was mostly happy with Wailes's work. He noted that some of Wailes's best workers had even studied old glass in Normandy.

Pugin also believed that encaustic tiles were very important for decoration. By 1843, he told Lord Shrewsbury that the tiles for Cheadle were going well. He said they would have "the finest floor in Europe."

The tiles for the main altar area (chancel) and the Blessed Sacrament Chapel were very fancy and expensive. Lord Shrewsbury worried they would get damaged by people walking on them. He suggested using carpets, but Pugin thought that would defeat the purpose of having beautiful tiles. The Clerk of works, John Denny, had an idea: priests and their helpers could wear special cloth covers over their shoes. Lord Shrewsbury liked this idea, and Pugin got his tiles without carpets.

The Church is Blessed

The church was supposed to be blessed in September 1845, but the changes meant it took longer. The spire was finished on June 27, 1845, but the bells didn't arrive until January 1846. The bells had special messages written on them in Gothic letters, asking for blessings from Our Lady, St Giles, St Chad, and St Francis.

The blessing of St Giles' was finally set for two days: Monday, August 31, and Tuesday, September 1, 1846. Pugin was very involved in planning the ceremonies and getting guests into the church. Cheadle didn't have a train station, so people traveled by horse and carriage from Stafford.

The blessing on August 31, 1846, was a private event. Bishop Wiseman blessed the building, its furniture, and decorations. It ended with a special Mass. That evening, Lord Shrewsbury hosted a dinner for 54 important guests at Alton Towers.

The more public part of the blessing happened the next morning, on St Giles' Day. People came from miles around to see something not seen since the Reformation: a procession of ten Catholic bishops and two archbishops in their full, colorful robes.

Why St Giles' Church is Special

West door

St Giles' Church is very important because everything about it came from one brilliant mind: Pugin's. He understood all the rules of Gothic art and architecture. He knew how to use them perfectly. Pugin was a very religious man. He saw himself as a servant of the church, building not just buildings but also helping people's minds and ideas.

This is what makes Pugin the most important architect of the Gothic Revival. And St Giles' Church is a perfect example of what he believed an English church should be.

Bell Ringing

The bells of St Giles' Church ring to celebrate Mass every week. This happens on either a Saturday evening (4:30 PM to 5:00 PM) or a Sunday morning (10:00 AM to 10:30 AM). People also practice bell ringing on Tuesday evenings.

Images for kids

North East chapel
South East chapel
The nave