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| St. Giles the Abbot, in late afternoon sun, August 2003 | The Nave, October 2003 | |
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| Ceiling of the Nave, Oct 2003 | The West Gallery, Oct 2003 | |
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| The spire of St. Giles and the 17th century market cross | Part of the half-timbered property near the church is a cafe |
When I visited the Anglican church of St. Giles the Abbot in October 2003, it had just reopened after refurbishment. A neat partition has been placed across the back of the nave, under the west gallery, to give a meeting room and kitchen so that the building can be used more readily for parish events. The whole effect is very pleasing and does not detract from the overall balance of the church. The nave is light and lofty with a stunning red ceiling. The church itself is not ancient being built in 1837-9 to the design of J. P. Pritchett. It formerly had three galleries but now only the west gallery remains. The original church was closer to the road on the same site.
Cheadle is perhaps best known for its Roman Catholic church, St. Giles, built by Pugin between 1841 and 1846. The church was funded by the Earl of Shrewsbury, from the Catholic family at nearby Alton. If you like Victorian Gothic Revival this is the place to see but on my visits so far I have not been able to photograph the interior. The steeple of St. Giles is so tall that one is forced to stand well back to photograph it and then other buildings intrude. There is much else to see in Cheadle and it would be useful to try photography when the sun is in the east.
Sources
The Buildings of England, Staffordshire, by Nikolaus Pevsner, Penguin, 1974, ISBN 0 14 071046 9
