Church of St Giles

Details

COBERLEY - SO 91 NE

5/52 Church of St Giles

4.7.60

GV II*

Anglican parish church. C12 origins, rebuilt and enlarged mid C14, Perpendicular nave and chancel rebuilt in Early English style by John Middleton 1869-72. Nave south wall: rubble and coursed squared and dressed limestone, random ashlar towards the top of the wall suggests partial rebuilding of this wall. Nave north wall and south chapel refaced in rock-faced limestone C19. Chancel rock- faced limestone. Tower ashlar. Red tile roof. Nave, chancel; west tower; south chapel; porch butts west end of the south chapel. Nave south wall: 2-light window with a hollow-chamfered mullion, cinquefoil-headed lights and Perpendicular tracery to the left of the porch which conceals a C19 double door with decorative hinges with surface decoration within a 4-centred arched surround with a cusped outer arch and a casement-moulded surround above waist height; angel corbel probably not in situ above. Nave north wall: four C19 buttresses with offsets; 3 tall C19 two-light windows with Perpendicular style tracery and hoods with carved head stops. C19 chancel: two C19 three-light windows with tracery and hoods with carved head stops on the north; diagonal buttresses and 3-light C19 window with tracery at the east end. South chapel, built c1340 by Sir Thomas Berkeley: pointed 2-light east window with reticulated tracery moulded hood and carved head stops. South wall, from right to left: window matching that at the east end; small low-side window comprising a quatrefoil with ball flower decoration on its chamfered outer margin, a deep moulded hood with carved head stops; 2-light window with quatrefoil upper left with moulded hood and carved head stops, one badly eroded; plank door with decorative hinges within a flat-chamfered 4-centred arched surround; 3-light window with Perpendicular tracery and hood with plain stops; short length of dripmould, probably reused with reused plain corbel below at the west end. Probably contemporary gabled porch a single diagonal buttress double doorway comprising a network of fillets imitating Perpendicular style tracery within a double-chamfered pointed-arched surround; lion's head gargoyle to the right; 3 large quatrefoils to the left-hand return. Two-stage Perpendicular tower with diagonal buttresses bearing the Berkeley arms and moulded plinth; projecting stair turret on the south side with large incised sundial with a metal gnomon, dated and initialled 'P.C. 1693' (Paul Castleman) at the top of the stair - turret; Perpendicular 3-light window with a casement-moulded surround at the west end. Two-light belfry window with stone louvres; moulded string between the two stages; battlemented parapet with moulded string with grotesques at each corner. Stepped coping to the gable ends. Upright cross finials at the gable end of the nave and south chapel; stump of similar finial at the gable end of the chancel. Plastered interior: facetted roof trusses to the nave; 2 bay chancel with C19 arch-braced principals rising from angel corbels; 2 quarter bays at either end. South aisle/chantry chapel: C19 wagon roof rising from C19 foliate corbels with a moulded ridge purlin. Flagged floor to the nave. Small square C19 flags elsewhere with green glazed encaustic tiles at the edges. C19 Early English style chancel arch with engaged columns with ornate foliate capitals with a hood with carved head stops and hoods; matching rere arches to the windows lighting the nave and chancel. Perpendicular casement-moulded tower arch. The nave is divided from the south aisle/chantry chapel by two C19 Early English style arches, there is a single similar archway from the chancel to the chapel. Ornate C19 stone reredos decorated with blind Perpendicular style tracery with a vine scroll frieze continued over the heart burial of Sir Giles Berkeley in the south wall, comprising a trefoil-headed niche with a gable supported on small engaged columns within which is a mandorla of a knight partially blocking a further niche. The frieze is continued over a square niche in the north wall into the back of which is built a C15 carved stone crucifixion, probably originally in the porch. Early C18 communion table. Two C19 seats made from reused pews with linenfold panelling. C19 wooden communion rails with pierced tracery. Late C18 pulpit with blind arcading and lozenge decoration in relief; barley twist railing up steps to pulpit. C19 reading desk with blind tracery. C19 octagonal limestone font inside the south door. Six wrought iron hanging paraffin lamps to the nave. South chapel: trefoil-headed piscina in the south wall towards the west. Cusped tomb recess lower right containing the recumbent figure of a young man in civilian dress; low side window, formerly with a hinged door inside which was a bell which was rung during mass; remains of the casting of a C16 brass now retaining only one heraldic shield associated with the Brydges family. Single piece of C12 chevroned stonework reused on the north wall. Three recumbent carved stone figures: the tomb of Lady Joan Berkeley, wife of Sir Thomas Berkeley, later wife of Sir Richard Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London; tomb of Sir Thomas Berkeley, who rebuilt the church, in knight's armour with legs crossed. Both these tombs lie on a C19 raised limestone plinth. Recumbent effigy of a small girl, probably a daughter of the Berkeleys to one side. Monument at the west end of the chapel, to Mary daughter of Jonathan Burford, by Alice his wife relict of Paul Castlemain of Coberly, died 1717; Charles Castelmain died 1682 and Jane Castelmain died 1712, with a broken segmental pediment containing an herald shield; freestanding columns with Corinthian capitals either side of the inscription panel; heraldic shield at the base flanked by cherubs' heads. C19 stained glass in chancel. (David Verey, The Buildings of England: The Cotswolds; and V.C.H. Glos, Vol VII, p181)

Listing NGR: SO9656115829

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

135004

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Verey, D, The Buildings of England: Gloucestershire 1 The Cotswolds, (1970)
Page, W, The Victoria History of the County of Gloucester, (1981), 181

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.