STOKE POGES : St Giles : Pilgrimage Guide

OXFORD DIOCESE PILGRIM PROJECT

St Giles, Stoke Poges

There has been a church at Stoke Poges since Saxon times. The church today is mainly Norman, with an Elizabethan side chapel integrated by the Victorians.

For many the church is important because of its links with the poet Thomas Gray (1716-1771), who wrote his ‘Elegy written in a Country Churchyard’ here and is buried in the churchyard. Forty generations of Christians have come to the site of St Giles Church to worship over the past thousand years.

You will enter through the wooden porch.

remember their godchildren and grandchildren.

The two great oak timbers in the front have stood since the early 14th century. Conducting

In the past, everyone was expected to attend

business transactions here was a sign of good

church, from the very rich to the very poor.

faith up to the middle of the 16th Century. Until

During the 13th century the only seats in the

the middle of the 16th century most marriage

church were against the wall where the weak

ceremonies were performed here. Pray for those

would be allowed to sit down. The North Aisle

who have been married in this church. Pray for

was added during that time to accommodate

those preparing for marriage today.

the growing number of people who attended.

The current pews were added to the church at

When you step inside the church notice the

the end of the 19th century. Pray for all those

massive Norman columns which support the

who worship in this church today. Pray for the

arches. Notice the font: although not the original,

church in your own community.

it has always stood opposite the entrance to symbolize that baptism gives admittance

The tomb within the left side of the Chancel

to the church. Pray for new beginnings: for

wall is that of Sir John de Molyns and is in the

yourself, a friend or a situation that concerns

form of an Easter Sepulchre. On Good Friday

you. Godparents and grandparents may like to

the priest would take the cross from the altar,

wrap it in black cloth and lay it on the tomb.

In the churchyard stands the Yew Tree under

There it would remain throughout Good Friday

which, tradition says, Thomas Gray wrote his

and Holy Saturday as a sign that Jesus died and

‘Elegy’, one of the best known poems in the

was buried. On Easter Day, the people found

English language. Gray’s final resting-place

the tomb empty and the cross back on the altar

is under the east window of the Hastings

surrounded by lighted candles. Give thanks for

Chapel. A tablet in the wall opposite the tomb

the empty tomb and our Easter hope.

records his burial ‘in the same tomb - 1771 Thomas Gray, Esq., was buried August 6th’. A

The first visible part of the Church as you came

monument designed by the architect Wyatt

up the path is constructed of red brick and

was erected in 1799 adjacent to the church.

stone with Tudor-style mullioned windows.

Inscriptions on the monument celebrate his

The ‘Hastings Chapel’ was built for the inmates

poem and commemorate his death. In 1921,

of an Almshouse which then stood quite near

the monument, with three acres of land, was

the Church, founded in 1557. You can see the

bought by two local residents, and presented

arms of Lord Hastings over the outside door.

to the National Trust. Give thanks for the gift of

Give thanks for those who give generously to

creativity, for poets, writers and artists, whose

alleviate the suffering of the poor. Pray for those

talents enrich our lives.

who in need of re-housing today.

OXFORD DIOCESE PILGRIM PROJECT

Oxford Diocese Pilgrim Project: St Giles, Stoke Poges SL2 4NZ

You might also like to visit other nearby churches in the Pilgrim Project:

Website: www.stokepogeschurch.org

Holy Trinity, Cookham Stanley Spencer SS Michael and Mary Magdalene, Easthampstead Windows by Morris and Burne-Jones

PILGRIMAGE PRAYER Pilgrim God, You are our origin and our destination.

Travel with us, we pray, in every pilgrimage of faith, and every journey of the heart.

Give us the courage to set off, the nourishment we need to travel well, and the welcome we long for at our journey’s end.

So may we grow in grace and love for you and in the service of others. through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford

Illustrations by Brian Hall © Diocese of Oxford