falling, as indeed some of it did, causing a void at the upper end of
the chancel “which was stored with Lumber, as the Boards of Coffins and
Deadmen’s Bones.” A screen was erected at the expense of Lady Dudley “to
hide it from the beholders’ eyes, which could not but be troubled at
it.”[654] A further collapse caused the parishioners to decide to erect
a new church. This was begun in 1623 and finished in 1631. The cost of
building amounted to £2,068, all of which, with the exception of £252
borrowed, was obtained from voluntary offerings. The largest contributor
was Lady Dudley, who gave £250, and, in addition, paid for the paving of
the church and chancel. A small sketch of the church is given by Hollar
in his plan of 1658 (Plate 3), and a lithograph (here reproduced) by G.
Scharf is in Parton’s _Hospital and Parish of St. Giles-in-the-Fields_.
[Illustration: Del^t. John Hall Med Templ Lond Marti 17 1718. G Scharf
Lithog The Old Church of S^t. Giles in the Fields as it Appeared in the
Year 1718]
Hatton[655] gives the length as 123 feet and the breadth 57 feet. The
church and steeple appear to have been built of rubbed brick[656],
surmounted with battlements, and coped with stone.[656] A western
gallery was erected in 1671, and others to the north and south in
1676–7.
The chancel had a large east window, and one on either side. The nave
had a window over the chancel arch, and a large one at the west end.
There were north and south aisles, which must have been of considerable
height to admit of the galleries which were subsequently added. They
appear to have been of three bays,[657] with two windows in each. All
the windows, except the westernmost one in the north aisle, were glazed
with coloured and painted glass. There were three doors to the church,
one beneath the west window and others under the third window from the
east of the north aisle and the westernmost window of the south aisle.
No window is mentioned by Strype at the west end of the north aisle, so
that it is probable that the tower was attached to the church in this
situation. This had battlements and was provided with a vane.
The interior was well furnished and provided with numerous ornaments,
many of which were the gift of Lady Dudley.[658] Chief among the latter
must be mentioned an elaborate screen of carved oak placed where one had
formerly stood in the old church. This, as stated in a petition to
Parliament in 1640,[659] was “in the figure of a beautifull gate, in
which is carved two large pillars, and three large statues: on the one
side is Paul, with his sword; on the other Barnabas, with his book; and
over them Peter with his keyes. They are all set above with winged
cherubims, and beneath supported by lions.”
The church had a pair of organs with case richly gilded, and the organ
loft was painted with a representation of the Twelve Apostles.
Very costly and handsome rails were provided to guard the altar. This
balustrade extended the full width of the chancel, and stood 7 or 8 feet
east of the screen at the top of three steps.
The altar stood close up to the east wall, with a desk raised upon it in
various degrees of advancement.
The upper end of the church was paved with marble, and six bells were
provided in the steeple.
In 1640 the reformers were very bitterly incensed against the rector
with regard to the fittings in the church, and a petition was presented
to Parliament enumerating the various articles which were considered
superstitious and idolatrous. The result of this action was that most of
the ornaments were sold in 1643, while Lady Dudley was still alive.
After the Restoration the church was repaired and decorated, and a
striking clock and dials added to the tower.
In 1716 the church had a very valuable addition made to its plate in the
form of an engraved gold communion cup, weighing 45 ozs., which had been
purchased pursuant to the will of Thomas Woodville, a parishioner who
died at sea. This valuable chalice, together with the rest of the
sacramental and other plate, was stolen from the vestry room in 1804.
The church was obviously not well constructed, for by 1715 it was
reported to be in a ruinous condition. Under a moderate computation it
appeared that it would cost £3,000 to put it in order. The ground
outside being above the floor of the church, caused the air to be damp
and unwholesome, and proved inconvenient in other ways. In these
circumstances it was thought better to recommend a complete
reconstruction of the church.
The parishioners accordingly petitioned that the church should be
included in the 50 new churches to be built in the cities of London and
Westminster and the suburbs, and the necessary authority for this was
eventually obtained in 1718.[660] Nothing, however, was done until 1729,
when an arrangement was come to whereby the Parish of St. Giles agreed
to make provision for the stipend of the rector of the new parish of St.
George, Bloomsbury, on condition that the Commissioners acting under the
Act of Queen Anne should pay a sum not exceeding £8,000 for the
rebuilding of St. Giles Church. The arrangement was sanctioned by an Act
of Parliament of the same year.[661] By 1731, Henry Flitcroft had
prepared plans and entered into an agreement to begin pulling down by
31st August of that year, and to have the new church completely finished
on or before 25th December, 1733. For this work the architect was to
receive £7,030, but in fact the contract was exceeded by over £1,000,
Flitcroft’s receipt being for £8,436 19s. 6d.[662]
THIRD CHURCH.
The interior dimensions of the church are as follows: length from the
west wall to the east wall of the chancel, 102 feet; length from the
west wall of the nave to the east wall of the nave, 74 feet; depth of
the chancel, 8 feet; width of the nave and aisles, 57 feet 6 inches.
The plan is a nave of five bays with side aisles (Plate 43), over which
are galleries, these being connected by a western one in the last bay of
the nave. A shallow sanctuary is placed at the eastern end, and at the
west is the steeple and a vestibule containing the entrances and the
staircases to the galleries and tower.
The general treatment of the exterior of the church (Plates 45 and 47)
is plain in character, but of pleasing effect. The walling is faced with
Portland stone rusticated (chamfered at the joints) to a projecting band
marking the gallery level. Above, the walling is of plain ashlaring with
rusticated quoins. The gallery windows have semi-circular heads with
keystones, moulded architraves and plain impost blocks. The whole is
surmounted by a bold modillion cornice, with blocking course above.
Emphasis is given to the sanctuary by a pediment and by a large
semi-circular-headed window with panels on either side forming a
decorative composition.
The western end has a similar pediment with the tower rising above. The
central entrance doorway lacks emphasis and the importance which its
position seems to require, and is almost the same in design as those to
the vestibules facing north and south, which are relatively unimportant.
On the main frieze below the cornice is the inscription—H. FLITCROFT,
ARCHITECTUS.
Rising immediately behind the western pediment is the steeple of about
150 feet in height.
Flitcroft’s able design was evidently influenced by that of Gibbs for
the neighbouring church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, but it lacks the
vigorous character of that noble structure. The banding to the obelisk
above the belfry tends to make this feature appear somewhat overheavy in
comparison with the graceful lantern beneath. The change from square to
octagon at the clock face level is cleverly managed, and will bear
comparison with the same feature at St. Martin’s Church.
The following extract from _A Critical Review of the Public Buildings,
Statues and Ornaments in and About London and Westminster_ made by Ralph
in 1734, is of interest, as it gives an opinion upon the architecture of
this church shortly after its erection:—
“The new church of St. Giles’s is one of the most simple and
elegant of the modern structures: it is rais’d at very little
expence, has very few ornaments, and little beside the propriety
of its parts, and the harmony of the whole, to excite attention,
and challenge applause: yet still it pleases, and justly too; the
east end is both plain and majestick, and there is nothing in the
west to object to but the smallness of the doors, and the poverty
of appearance that must necessarily follow. The steeple is light,
airy and genteel, argues a good deal of genius in the architect,
and looks very well both in comparison with the body of the
church, and when ’tis consider’d as a building by itself, in a
distant prospect.”
Ralph disliked the position of the church, and would have altered its
direction, making what is the east end the main front, and placing it in
such a manner as to have ended the vista of Broad Street.
The interior (Plate 49) is much finer than the exterior would suggest,
and is an excellent example of a well thought-out design. Square
panelled piers rising to the underside of the galleries support Ionic
columns with block entablatures, all of Portland stone (Plate 46). These
carry the roof and ceiling. The ceiling of the nave is barrel-vaulted in
form, panelled and divided into bays by mouldings. The ceilings of the
aisle-galleries (Plates 44 and 51) take the form of a species of groined
vaults intersecting the barrel ceiling of the nave. The whole is covered
by a roof of one span.
The treatment of the galleries is more than usually satisfactory, for
the fronts, instead of being housed into the columns—giving the
suggestion of a necessary after addition—rest comfortably upon the piers
supporting the columns, and, if taken away, would mar the proportion of
the columns to their pedestals.
The shallow sanctuary is almost the full width of the nave. It is ceiled
with an ornamental panelled barrel vault following that of the nave, and
the eastern wall is filled by an architectural composition harmonising
with the general treatment of the nave.
On the frieze of the altar piece (Plate 51) is carved a cherub’s head,
and above is a scrolled pediment having in the centre a pelican feeding
her young in the nest.
The lower panels on either side of the altar and of the sanctuary, are
four in number, and enclosed in carved wood frames. Two contain
pictures; that of Moses to the left (Plate 52) and of Aaron to the right
of the altar.
The pulpit is of carved oak with inlay panels. The ironwork to the choir
balustrade is of wrought work, and the old iron bound chest in the
north-west vestibule is of interest.
The organ (Plate 50) is of considerable interest, and Mr. George E.
Dunn, the organist, has been good enough to supply the following
information. The instrument was built by the celebrated Bernard Schmidt
(known as Father Smith) for the second church in 1671, when he was 41
years old. He was known chiefly for the perfection of his diapason
stops—the true organ tone—and those in this organ are among his best
specimens. When the church was rebuilt by Flitcroft he evidently did not
desire to interfere with the organ, and adopted the unusual expedient of
erecting the tower of the new church partially round the organ;
consequently the back and part of two sides are covered by the walling
of the tower. Father Smith’s original specification remained until 1856,
when many of the stops had become decayed after 180 years’ use. Dr. G.
C. Verrinder, the organist at that time, had it restored and enlarged by
Messrs. Gray and Davidson, and further repairs and alterations were made
in 1884 by the same firm, under the instructions of the late Dr. W.
Little, the organist at that date. In 1889–1900 further alterations were
made by Messrs. Henry Jones and Sons, in collaboration with the present
organist. But through all the decay and changes the organ has undergone
Father Smith’s original diapasons in the front organ remain and are
still perfect. The blowing is done by hand, but the well-balanced lever
renders this comparatively easy, while, despite the retention of the old
tracker action, the instrument is quite free from the “rattling” so
often found in these old actions. In front are carved the royal arms of
George I.
All the glass to the windows, except a small panel (Plate 52) in the
west window of the south vestibule, is modern. This fragment, which is
probably from the earlier church, represents St. Giles’s tame hind
struck by the arrow.
The majority of the monuments in the church belong to the 19th century.
Those of earlier date are as follows:—
On the north-east wall of the nave is a tablet of white marble, on a
black marble slab, with the following inscription:
H. S. E.
GULIELMUS WATSON EQUES
SOCIETATIS REGALIS APUD LONDINUM,
ET COLLEGII REGALIS MEDICORUM SOCIUS,
REGALI ETIAM ACADEMIÆ MADRITENSI ADSCRIPTUS,
IN UNIVERSITATIBUS HALÆ ET VIRTEMBERGIÆ
MEDICINÆ DOCTOR
HONORIS ERGO ELECTUS
VIR SUI TEMPORIS
SCIENTIÆ INDAGATOR STUDIOSISSIMUS:
ARTIS MEDICÆ ET BOTANICÆ, NECNON PHILOSOPHIÆ NATURALIS,
PRÆCIPUE QUOD AD VIM ELECTRICAM ATTINET
INTER PRIMOS PERITUS.
OBIIT DIE MAII 10. A.D. 1787. ÆTAT. SUÆ 72.
HOC MARMOR NEC SUPERBUM,
NEC QUIDQUAM HABENS ORNATUS:
PRAETER IPSUM EJUS NOMEN,
FILIO PIENTISSIMO LEGANTE,
TESTAMENTI CURATORES
PONI JUSSERUNT.
Above, surmounted by a crest, is placed a coat of arms: (_Argent_) on a
chevron engrailed (_Azure_) between three martlets (_Sable_) as many
crescents (_of the first_).
On the wall of the north aisle is a white marble tablet to the memory of
John Barnfather, who died on 17th September, 1793, in the 75th year of
his age. A tribute is paid to his strictness and impartiality in the
execution of his duties as a justice of the peace, and to his “mildness
of Temper and benignity of mind” in private life. The tablet is
surmounted by a mourning female figure, and fixed on an oval slab of
black marble.
A little to the west along the aisle is a tablet of black marble, with
white marble cornice and base, bearing an inscription to the memory of
other members of the same family, viz., Robert Barnfather, who died on
23rd October, 1741, aged 54, and his wife Mary, who died on 6th
December, 1754, aged 67. A long account of the latter’s many good
qualities is contributed by “their most Affectionate Son.”
Still further westward is a tablet with the following inscription:—
NEAR UNTO THIS PLACE LYETH THE BODY OF
ANDREW MARVELL ESQUIRE, A MAN SO ENDOWED BY NATURE
SO IMPROVED BY EDUCATION, STUDY & TRAVELL, SO CONSUMMATED
BY PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE: THAT JOINING THE MOST PECULIAR GRACES
OF WIT & LEARNING WITH A SINGULAR PENETRATION & STRENGTH OF
JUDGMENT, & EXERCISING ALL THESE IN THE WHOLE COURSE OF HIS LIFE
WITH AN UNALTERABLE STEADINESS IN THE WAYS OF VIRTUE, HE BECAME
THE ORNAMENT & EXAMPLE OF HIS AGE; BELOVED BY GOOD MEN, FEAR’D
BY BAD, ADMIR’D BY ALL, THO IMITATED ALASS! BY FEW, & SCARCE FULLY
PARALLELLED BY ANY. BUT A TOMB STONE CAN NEITHER CONTAIN HIS CHARACTER,
NOR IS MARBLE NECESSARY TO TRANSMIT IT TO POSTERITY, IT WILL BE ALWAYS
LEGIBLE IN HIS INIMITABLE WRITINGS. HE SERVED THE TOWN OF KINGSTON
UPON HULL, ABOVE 20 YEARS SUCCESSIVELY IN PARLIAMENT, & THAT WITH SUCH
WISDOM, DEXTERITY, INTEGRITY & COURAGE AS BECOMES A TRUE PATRIOT
HE DYED THE 16. AUGUST 1678 IN THE 58^{TH}. YEAR OF HIS AGE.
SACRED
TO THE MEMORY OF ANDREW MARVELL ESQ^{R.} AS A STRENUOUS ASSERTER OF
THE CONSTITUTIONS, LAWS & LIBERTIES OF ENGLAND,
AND OUT OF FAMILY AFFECTION & ADMIRATION OF
THE UNCORRUPT PROBITY OF HIS LIFE & MANNERS
ROBERT NETTLETON OF LONDON MERCHANT HIS GRAND NEPHEW
HATH CAUSED THIS SMALL MEMORIAL OF HIM
TO BE ERECTED IN THE YEAR 1764.
Further is a tablet of white marble, in the form of an ornamental
cartouche, recording the death of John Hawford and Elizabeth his wife,
and their two sons John and William. All four deaths occurred between
December, 1712, and July, 1715.
Next is a tablet to the memory of Thomas Edwards, who died on 9th July,
1781, in the 71st year of his age. The tablet is of white marble,
surmounted by a black cinerary urn, on an oval slab of painted marble.
The inscription records his various bequests for the use of the poor of
the parish, and explains that the monument was erected by his widow not
only as a tribute of gratitude and affection, but with a view to
inciting others “whom God has blessed with Abilities and Success” to
follow his example. Her own death, on 23rd November, 1818, is also
mentioned.
Still in the north aisle, but near the entrance, is a tomb bearing a
white marble recumbent effigy of Lady Frances Kniveton, resting on a
black marble slab above a stone base. This is one of the two memorials
preserved from the second church. The inscription, contained on a white
marble tablet, reads as follows:—
In Memory of the Right Hon^{ble.} Lady FRANCES KNIVETON, (Wife of S^{r.}
GILBERT KNIVETON,/of Bradley, in the County of Derby Bar^{t.}) lyeth
buried in the Chancel of this Church./She was one of the 5 Daughters &
Co-heirs of the R^{t.} Hon^{ble.} S^{r.} ROBERT DUDLEY K^{t.} Duke of
the/Empire; by the Lady ALICE his Wife & Dutchess. which ROBERT. was Son
of the R^{t.} Hon^{ble.}/ROBERT DUDLEY, late Earle of LEICESTER. & his
Dutchess was Daughter of S^{r.} THO: LEIGH,/and Aunt to the R^{t.}
Hon^{ble.} THO^{s.} late Lord LEIGH of Stoneleigh, in the County of
Warwick./And the said Honour & Title of Dutchess DUDLEY, was by Letters
Patents of his late Majesty,/of glorious Memory, King CHARLES y^e 1^{st}
allowed; & since graciously confirmed to her, by his/now Majesty King
CHARLES y^e 2^d and She lived & died worthy of that Honour.
_Since the rebuilding of this_ Church _this_ Monument _was resett up by
the/Hon^{ble.}_ CHARLES LEIGH _of_ Leighton, _in_ Bedfordshire: 1738.
[Illustration]
At the west end of the north aisle is the stone monument, originally in
the churchyard, of George Chapman, the poet, said to have been designed
and given by Inigo Jones. The stone on which the inscription is cut was
inserted in 1827.
[Illustration]
On the west wall of the nave is an oval tablet of white marble,
recording the gift by the Hon. Robert Bertie, son of the 1st Earl of
Lindsey, of fifty pounds, the interest of which was to be utilised in
the distribution of bread and money to the poor of the parish.
On a pillar on the north side of the nave is the other memorial which
was originally in the second church. This is to the memory of Sir Roger
L’Estrange.
In the centre of a cartouche under a coat of arms: (_Gules_) two
lioncels passant guardant (_Argent_), is the inscription:
In the Middle Isle near
this Place lyeth the Body of
S^R ROGER L’ESTRANGE
Kn^t.
Born y^e 17^{th} of Dec^{r.} 1616
Dyed y^e 11^{th} of Dec^{r.} 1704
On a pillar on the south side of the nave is an oval tablet of
white marble, mounted on a black marble slab, and bearing an
inscription to the memory of the Rev. Richard Southgate, rector of
Warsop, sub-librarian of the British Museum, and Curate of St.
Giles-in-the-Fields, who died on 21st January, 1795.
_Reader_
_If thou canst = excell him:
It will be well,
If thou canst equal him._
In the south porch are three tablets. The first, which is of marble, and
was formerly affixed to a monument which stood on the north side of the
chancel in the second church[663], reads as follows:—
This Monument was Erected in the Year of Our Lord 1736. by the Pious
Direction of the Honourable/Dame BARBARA WEBB wife of S^{r.} JOHN WEBB
of Canford Magna in the County of Dorset Bar^{t.} and the
Honourable/CATHERINE TALBOT wife of the Honourable JOHN TALBOT of
Longford in the County of Salop Esq. Surviveing/Daughters and Coheirs of
the Right Honourable JOHN Lord BELASYSE Second Son of THOMAS Lord
Viscount/FAUCONBERG, in memory of their most dear Father his wives and
Children./
Who for his Loyalty Prudence and Courage was promoted to Several
Commands of great Trust by their/Majesty’s King CHARLES the First and
Second (Viz.) Having raised Six Regiments of Horse and Foot in the late
Civil Wars/He commanded a Tertia in his Majesty’s Armies att the Battles
of Edge Hill, Newbury, and Knaseby, y^e Seiges of Reading/and Bristol.
Afterwards being made Governour of York and Commander in Chief of all
his Majesty’s Forces in/Yorkshire, He fought the Battle of Selby with
the Lord Fairfax, then being Lieutenant General of y^e Countys of
Lincoln,/Nottingham, Darby, and Rutland, and Governour of Newark. He
Valiantly defended that Garrison against the English/and Scotch Armies,
till his Majesty Came in Person to the Scotch Quarters and Commanded the
surrender of it./At which time he also had the honour of being General
of the Kings Horse Guards. in all which Services dureing/the Wars and
other Atchievements, he deported himself with eminent Courage & Conduct
& received many wounds/Sustained Three Imprisonments in the Tower of
London, and after the Happy Restauration of King CHARLES the second/He
was made Lord Lieutenant of the East Rideing of the County of York,
Governour of Hull, General of His Majesty’s/Forces in Africa, Governour
of Tangier, Captain of his Majesty’s Guards of Gentlemen Pensioners, &
First Lord/Commissioner of the Treasury to King JAMES the Second. He
dyed the 10^{TH} day of September 1689. whose remaines/are deposited in
this Vault./
He married to his first wife JANE daughter and Sole Heiress of S^{r.}
ROBERT BOTELER of Woodhall in the/County of Hertford, Kn^{t.} by whom he
had S^{r.} HENRY BELASYSE Kn^{t.} of the most Honourable Order of the
Bath/interr’d in this Vault, MARY Viscountess DUNBAR, and FRANCES both
Deceased.
He married to his second Wife ANN Daughter and Coheir to S^{r.} ROBERT
CRANE of Chilton in y^e County/of Suffolk Bar^{t.} who also lyes
interr’d here.
He married to his third Wife the Right Honourable the Lady ANN POWLET
Second Daughter of the/Right Noble JOHN Marquiss of Winchester, sister
to CHARLES late Duke of Bolton, and is here interr’d, the/Issue by that
Marriage as above.
The two remaining memorials in the south porch consist of inscribed
marble tablets containing a record (1) of the gift of Richard Holford,
who left the sum of £29 a year, issuing out of three houses in the
parish, to be distributed quarterly amongst the “most aged &
necessitated poore people of the said parish”; and (2) of the gift of
John Pearson (died 1707), who bequeathed the sum of £50 a year for 99
years, one half to be utilised for the apprenticeship of boys “Sons of
poor decay’d Houskeepers,” and the other half to go to “the 20 Women in
the Almeshouses at y^e end of Monmouth Street.
In the north porch is an inscribed marble tablet recording the provision
made by Sir William Cony for the interest on £50 to be utilised in the
distribution of bread to the poor, “that is to say twelve penyworth
every Sunday in every yeare and eight holy dayes in the same yeare.”
Of the tombs in the churchyard only a few bear inscriptions which can be
dated before 1800.
A stone, now placed against the east wall of the churchyard, records the
birth and death of several persons named Hammond, including George
Hammond, died 13th September, 1789; George Aust. Hammond, born 6th May,
1761, died 8th November, 179–; Mrs. P. Hammond, died 11th June, 1798;
and John Hammond (inscription mutilated).
A stone, now placed against the west wall of the churchyard, records the
death of William Harding on 23rd January, 1749, aged 76; and of his
wife, Margaret, on 29th October, 1754, aged 82. On the same stone have
been cut the later names (19th century) of persons named Orme.
By the side of the path running past the east end of the church is the
tomb of Richard Pendrell “Preserver and Conductor to his sacred Majesty
King Charles the Second ... after his escape from Worcester Fight.” The
visible tomb is not the original one, the raising of the churchyard in
the early part of the 19th century[664] having made it necessary for a
new monument to be erected. This stands upon the black marble top of the
older one.
On the plinth at the west end of the church is a stone recording the
death of William Collins on 14th April, 1785, at the age of 27 years.