Details
TL 3731 WYDDIAL WYDDIAL
(North side)
10/150 Church of St. Giles
22.2.67 (C of E)
GV I
Parish church. Nave C14, W tower early C15, chancel C15, N aisle and N
chapel 1532 for George Canon. Nave restored and chancel and S porch
rebuilt 1859 by Baillie & Co.. Flint rubble with stone dressings,
remains of external plaster on tower butting up to quoins, thin red
brick to arcade and external walls of N aisle and N chapel, and steep
old red tile roofs. Lead spire with vane on tower. A Perp Church of
3-bay nave, 2-bay square ended chancel, unbuttressed 3-stage
battlemented W tower, S porch, and a fine brick N aisle and N chancel
chapel dedicated to St. George and dated by a recorded brass to 1532.
C19 Chancel has 3-light E window with cinquefoil in head, 2 paired
lancet windows on S, and arch-braced open timber roof with wallposts and
corbels. C15 tall chancel arch of 2 moulded orders, the inner only on
engaged shafts with moulded caps and bases. Large 2-centred brick arch
opening into N chapel of 2 double hollow-chamfered orders with octagonal
responds and chamfered capitals closed by an elaborate early C17 carved
and pierced oak panelled screen with arched double door, arcaded top and
grotesque figures interrupting a dentilled entablature with swelled
frieze. The nave has C19 open timber roof, S wall features, and panelled
pulpit and pews. Grouped lancet windows, one to light pulpit at E,
single window to E of porch and similar window at W of 2-centred arched
S door. 3½ bays arch-braced moulded roof with 2 purlins, wind-bracing,
and moulded king-posts set on collars with axial bracing to ridgepiece.
Moulded wallplate with collar pieces. Arch braces spring from stone
corbels. 3 bay C16 N arcade of brick, probably originally plastered but
now colour-washed red and tuck pointed with narrow black joints. Wide
2-centred arches of 3 chamfered orders, the middle chamfer hollow, on
brick piers with semi-octagonal shafts on cardinal faces and hollow
chamfered shafts on the diagonals. S side of tall C17 panelled box pews
in N aisle block the middle and E arches of arcade. Tall C15 tower arch
of 2 orders, only the inner carried on half-octagonal shafts with
moulded caps and bases. W-tower has chamfered string courses to 3
diminishing stages, W window of 2 lights under a quatrefoil in a
2-centred head. S lit only in middle stage with clockface on S. 2-light
pointed bell openings with trefoil headed lights. Gargoyle to parapet
base-course. C19 gabled S porch faced in knapped flints with Early
English style moulded entrance with small raised shafts and single
lancet side windows. Continuous N brick range of N aisle and N chapel of
1532 has moulded external plinth offset and eaves course, diagonal
corner buttresses with stone watertables, canted brick projection for
full height at W end, plastered gable triangles, 2 2-light C15 traceried
stone windows probably reset from nave at W and W end of N wall, 4
brick-traceried 3-light windows on N with heavy moulded hoodmoulds and
lozenge shaped terminals, more elaborate 3-light brick E window with
cinquefoil lights and six small lights in the head under a Tudor arch
with hoodmould. Early C17 classical stone N doorway with round head,
moulded square surround and full entablature. Plain impost blocks and
keystone breaking up into frieze. Interior has continuous segmental
plaster barrel-vault, with 2 iron tie-rods. An elaborately carved early
C17 arcaded screen with entablature separates the chapel, the single
door being offset to N to accomodate the former box pews, the carved
panelled sides of which now form a dado at the W end of the aisle.
Plainer C17 panelling as original dado along N wall. Elaborate moulding
on N face of brick arch from chancel to chapel and 'front' face of
screen faces into chapel. In 2 of N windows of aisle are 8 panels of mid
C16 Flemish stained glass. Monuments: George Canon d.1532 (upper half
missing) on W wall of N chapel; palimpsest to John Gille d.1546 with
wife and children in chancel; Margaret Plumbe d.1575 a demi figure with
4 shields on stone panel with moulded surround in chancel; Margery
Disney d.1621 a wooden tablet with gilt inscription in black arabesque
border on grey ground, in nave; Sir William Goulston d.1687 a large wall
monument in chapel with inscription on gilt tasselled drape above
Baroque gadrooned base supported by deathsheads and cherubs.
Barley-sugar black shafts but white marble bases and Corinthian cups, 2
white busts in black niches. Full entablature with urn of black and
white between reclining figures on swans neck pediment; undecipherable
fine early C18 wall monument to S of chapel alter with black panel
framed in fruit festooned Corithian pilasters supporting a broken
pediment with fresco painted achievement and heavy swags on surrounding
plastered wall; wall monument in N aisle to Brabazon Ellis d.1780 with
draped urn and achievement on grey marble cenatoph over a grey marble
surround to white marble tablet. Figure carved in oval frame on tooled
based. Fittings: mid C19 communion rail, lectern, pulpit and seats.
Chapel alter frontal of wood with blind C14 tracery. C19 screen to tower
arch carefully copying early C17 screens to N chapel. Some moulded C17
panels incorporated in C19 pews. A medieval church of outstanding
interest for its brick N aisle and N chapel of 1532 and the C16 stained
glass, monuments and C17 carved woodwork. (RCHM (1911) 244-5: VCH (1914)
117-8: Kelly (1914) 295: Pevsner (1977) 411).
Listing NGR: TL3741431763