St. Giles' Church, Tattenhoe
Encyclopedia
St. Giles's Church is a small 16th century Church of England
church in the estate of Tattenhoe
, located to the west of Milton Keynes
, Buckinghamshire
, England
. It is of modest size but is a Grade 2* listed building.
, after the first St. Giles’s fell wholly into decay.
Beyond the churchyard in the meadow is the site of the lost village of Tattenhoe. The village disappeared without any records; the reason for its disappearance is not known.
After the Norman Conquest
in 1066, land at Tattenhoe had been given by William the Conqueror to three of his Lords, Earl Hugh of Chester, Richard Ingania and Urse de Bersers. By 1167 ownership of both Tattenhoe and Snelshall had passed to Sybil d’Aungerville. She granted these lands at Snelshall to the Benedictine monks of Lavendon, to start a religious community - Snelshall Priory. Sybil d’Aungerville’s grandson Ralph Martel gave some more of his land at Tattenhoe in 1216 to the lands already given to Snelshall Priory. Over 100 donations were given to the Priory during the following 100 years, some of these large, including the donations of the fishponds around St. Giles’s.
Some of the stones were transported and used to rebuild St Giles’s Church. Parts of today’s St. Giles’s are still recognisable as part of an earlier building - including the archway of the main door and the base of the font
.
, Newton Longville
, Shenley
and Loughton
. They walked across the fields on summer Sunday evenings to make sure the church stayed in use for worship and for future generations. The stained glass window in the church dates to 1919.
The only way for worshippers to reach St. Giles’s was via footpaths through fields. In the days before Milton Keynes this was a popular outing for local people, to come to services here. The highest-attended service each year was Harvest Festival, which is still celebrated today. There was no road to the church until the late 1950s, when a local farmer built a long, narrow single track from the Whaddon Road to his farm, and allowed worshippers to use this private track as an access to the church. This remained the way to the church until the end of 1990s, when Portishead Drive and today’s car park were built. The route of this old track is now a redway that runs from Hengistbury Lane north through Westcroft.
In 1996 work started on the first foundations of the houses of new Tattenhoe around the church. In late 1999 the Churchwardens invited Immanuel, a new congregation within the Watling Valley Ecumenical Partnership, to hold weekly services at St. Giles's.
The church has recently been extensively redecorated, with the walls repainted and the pews and other woodwork grained in traditional style. In summer 2007, the installation of electricity was completed.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
church in the estate of Tattenhoe
Tattenhoe
Tattenhoe and Tattenhoe Park are adjacent districts of Milton Keynes, England, in the ancient parish of Tattenhoe. It is located at the south-western edge of the city, not far from the ruins of Snelshall Priory...
, located to the west of Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is of modest size but is a Grade 2* listed building.
Early history
The first St. Giles’s Church was built on this site around 1200 AD. The yew trees in the churchyard have been dated from this time and were probably planted at the time the first church was established. This makes them some 800 years old. The building you see today dates from circa 1538. It is the second church building on the site and was constructed using the stones from nearby Snelshall PriorySnelshall Priory
Snelshall Priory was a Benedictine priory in Milton Keynes, the United Kingdom, built around 1200.The priory was started after Sybil d'Aungerville granted land at Tattenhoe to Lavendon Abbey, who most likely started a cell at Snelshall. Snelshall Priory paid 1 mark a year to Lavendon until 1232, at...
, after the first St. Giles’s fell wholly into decay.
Beyond the churchyard in the meadow is the site of the lost village of Tattenhoe. The village disappeared without any records; the reason for its disappearance is not known.
After the Norman Conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
in 1066, land at Tattenhoe had been given by William the Conqueror to three of his Lords, Earl Hugh of Chester, Richard Ingania and Urse de Bersers. By 1167 ownership of both Tattenhoe and Snelshall had passed to Sybil d’Aungerville. She granted these lands at Snelshall to the Benedictine monks of Lavendon, to start a religious community - Snelshall Priory. Sybil d’Aungerville’s grandson Ralph Martel gave some more of his land at Tattenhoe in 1216 to the lands already given to Snelshall Priory. Over 100 donations were given to the Priory during the following 100 years, some of these large, including the donations of the fishponds around St. Giles’s.
Some of the stones were transported and used to rebuild St Giles’s Church. Parts of today’s St. Giles’s are still recognisable as part of an earlier building - including the archway of the main door and the base of the font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
.
Recent times
For hundreds of years, until the late 1980s, the parish of Tattenhoe comprised only three buildings: the farmhouses of Tattenhoe Bare, Tattenhoe Hall and Howe Park Farms. St. Giles’s stood alone in the fields, surrounded by dense woods, fields, livestock and crops. For 460 years St Giles’s was kept open for worship by the families living at the three farms and by worshippers from neighbouring villages including WhaddonWhaddon, Buckinghamshire
For other villages with the same name, see Whaddon.Whaddon is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district, in Buckinghamshire.The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'hill where wheat is grown'...
, Newton Longville
Newton Longville
Newton Longville is a village and civil parish in Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. The village is about south-west of Bletchley.-History:...
, Shenley
Shenley, Milton Keynes
Shenley is one of the parts of Buckinghamshire that went to make up the "new city" of Milton Keynes in the 1960s...
and Loughton
Loughton, Milton Keynes
Loughton is an ancient village, modern district and civil parish in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The village spreads between Watling Street and the modern A5 road, to the west of, and about 1 mile from, the city centre....
. They walked across the fields on summer Sunday evenings to make sure the church stayed in use for worship and for future generations. The stained glass window in the church dates to 1919.
The only way for worshippers to reach St. Giles’s was via footpaths through fields. In the days before Milton Keynes this was a popular outing for local people, to come to services here. The highest-attended service each year was Harvest Festival, which is still celebrated today. There was no road to the church until the late 1950s, when a local farmer built a long, narrow single track from the Whaddon Road to his farm, and allowed worshippers to use this private track as an access to the church. This remained the way to the church until the end of 1990s, when Portishead Drive and today’s car park were built. The route of this old track is now a redway that runs from Hengistbury Lane north through Westcroft.
In 1996 work started on the first foundations of the houses of new Tattenhoe around the church. In late 1999 the Churchwardens invited Immanuel, a new congregation within the Watling Valley Ecumenical Partnership, to hold weekly services at St. Giles's.
The church has recently been extensively redecorated, with the walls repainted and the pews and other woodwork grained in traditional style. In summer 2007, the installation of electricity was completed.