My outing to Gerrards Cross and Chalfont St Giles was on the hottest April day in London since 1949. Trains to GC go from Marylebone, an intimate station compared to other London termini. Arriving in a safari jacket in deference to the warm weather I was taken aback to see an attendant on the platform wearing a pillbox hat like a kepi and sporting a red cape. I could have been boarding a train in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On closer inspection I saw that the gold braid on his hat read Bicester Village. If you don’t know, it’s not in Bicester nor is it a village. It is a shopping centre immensely popular with tourists from the Far East.
My hostess whisked me off from GC to Chalfont St Giles for a cup of coffee and, at precisely 11.15, a visit to the 12th century church. Her friend was waiting in the porch and gave us a tour that was hugely interesting and informative. I realised how much I miss when I look around churches, etc without a guide.
The church dates from between 1150 and 1180 in the reign of Henry II. It has been rebuilt and added to over the centuries but there is a base to one pillar in the nave that is original Norman. There are Brasses, the oldest 15th century, beautiful wood carving and 14th century wall paintings.
The altar rails are supposed to have been salvaged from the old St Paul’s Cathedral. There is a 13th century double piscina, rare in Buckinghamshire but fairly common in East Anglia, and many tombs, memorials and hatchments all with a story to tell.
Two things were new to me. I was shown small metal studs set into the stone floor. These had secured small brasses which had been stolen. Two or three remain and looked very easy to remove. Theft has not been uncommon. The candlesticks on the altar were recovered from a car boot sale and the ancient wooden box for Offerings was never recovered.
I had never noticed a Squint in a church before. There are two at Chalfont St Giles. The most recent addition to the church is a small galley kitchen and loo concealed at west end of of the North Aisle behind a carved wooden screen that looks perfectly in place. It was paid for from a parishioner’s bequest. The next alteration, later this year, will be to move a brass (currently covered by a piece of carpet for protection) to a less used bit of flooring in the North Aisle where it will be covered by glass and illuminated. Much if not all of this has been paid for by The Co-op.
The church and graveyard are beautifully kept by volunteers including my guide who is a “Church Watcher” and plants wild flowers in the graveyard to good effect.
Will you be visiting Milton’s cottage, where Paradise Lost was written, while in Chalfont St Giles?
I didn’t know about Milton’s cottage, so that is something to see next time.
Glad that you enjoyed your trip to, Chalfont St Giles. Next on your list must be Milton’s cottage. Milton came there for eighteen months to escape the plague and, whilst there completed Paradise Lost and began Paradise regained. It is the only building in which Milton ever lived to have escaped the Blitz or the passage of time. It is home to many rare editions of his work.
The Friends of Milton Cottage organize lectures in London concerning his work. They are usually held in Livery Company Halls or, St Giles. Cripplegate , where JM is buried. Need to know more?
How about Chenies Manor ? About five miles from Chalfont St Giles, fascinating house and truly lovely gardens. You have not yet exhausted the area. Oh, yes- Jordans, just down the road. A Quaker village and in the cemetry of the Friends Meeting house are buried William Penn and his family.