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St Giles Church
St Giles Church, Durham
Location	Durham, County Durham
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Tradition	Central
Website	http://www.stgilesdurham.org.uk
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Years built	c.1112
Specifications
Number of towers	One
Administration
Province	York
Diocese	Durham (since 1000)
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Reverend Father John Fisher
Archdeacon	Libby Wilkinson

St. Giles Church is a Grade I listed parish church in Gilesgate, County Durham, England. It was founded in 1112 by Bishop Ranulf Flambard as the chapel for nearby St. Giles' Hospital.

History

The church was constructed as the hospital chapel of the Hospital of St Giles outside the city walls. It was dedicated on St Barnabas' Day, June 1112 by Bishop Flambard to "the honour of God and St Giles". Godric of Finchale was a doorkeeper as St. Giles before moving to Finchale to become a hermit.

The church became caught up in an 1140 dispute over the bishopric of Durham following the usurpation of the diocese by William Cumin, Chancellor of King David I of Scotland. William of St. Barbara, the rightly elected Bishop, was forced to retreat to, and fortify, the church after his abortive entry into Durham was beaten back by Cumin's men. In response Cumin's men destroyed the hospital, which was later refounded at nearby Kepier.

In 1180 Bishop Puiset extended the church to reflect its role at the centre of a growing parish, adding the chancel. The current font is believed to date from this time. The church was appropriated to Kepier Hospital which acted as rector, receiving tithes and with the advowson (right to appoint a vicar), appointing a parochial chaplain to minister to the needs of the parish.

Extensive building and restoration work was also carried out during the 13th and 15th centuries. John Heath, the Elizabethan owner of the Kepier estates, Gilesgate and Old Durham is buried in the church.

The ecclesiastical parish of St Giles was divided in 1852 with the creation of a new Belmont parish, served from the church of St Mary Magdalene, Belmont and covering Belmont, Gilesgate Moor and New Durham.

St Giles Church retains some of Flambard's original building (primarily the north wall) and most of Puiset's additions. Minor restoration and three large windows inserted into the south wall in 1828. The church was restored and extended in 1873-1876 as the parish continued to grow. The organ was built by Harrison & Harrison in 1882.

The war memorial at the St. Giles Church, commemorates the members of the parish who were killed or missing in the First World War; it lists sixty-seven names. There are three bells in the tower that hang from a girder installed in 1964. The old oak bell frames are likely of late medieval or early post-medieval date.

The Revd Canon Dr Alan B. Bartlett is the current vicar of St Giles since Summer 2008. The Rev’d Abbey Hughes is curate.

References

1. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1159991)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
2. "St Giles Church", 'This is Durham', Durham County Council
3. ^ St Giles' Church, Durham
4. ^ "St Giles's Church, Gilesgate, Durham", Pipe Organs of Durham and the North East
5. "Durham, St. Giles", Bells of the North-East of England
6. "appointments". Churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2019.

External links

• Gilesgate including the Cumin usurpation
• Northern Echo Durham Memories article on Gilesgate and St Giles Church
• St Giles' Church Durham website
• "St Giles's Church, Gilesgate, Durham", Pipe Organs of Durham and the North East

54°46′41″N 1°33′37″W / 54.77796°N 1.56019°W / 54.77796; -1.56019

• Buildings and structures completed in 1112
• Churches completed in the 1110s
• 12th-century church buildings in England
• Churches in Durham, England
• Church of England church buildings in County Durham
• Grade I listed churches in County Durham