Whittington History Society

	1836 view from south Copyright William Salt Library* Following a fire in about 1760, which destroyed most of the church except for parts of the tower, the church was re-built with a short Georgian-style chancel, which can be seen in this picture.
	1838 view from north east Copyright William Salt Library* The building on the right of the church is believed to be the old vicarage. A "new" vicarage was built in 1886 opposite The Old Hall and this building became the core of St Giles Hospice which opened in 1983.
	Three ancient bells These had survived the fire of 1760 and were removed from the tower in November 1990, as the wooden frame had rotted such that the bells could no longer be rung. One had to be scrapped, but the old treble is now the Sanctus Bell, cast in 1630 by Thomas Hancox and the old tenor is the Clock Bell, cast in 1618 by Hugh Watts of Leicester.
	A Painting by T Holmes some time after 1880
Twentieth Century	Personal reminiscences bring history to life - click here to see what a Whittington villager remembered of the early 20th century St Giles.
	Early twentieth century Whittington Court can be seen to the left of the church. It looks like a Victorian vicarage, but never served as such as far as we know.
	Churchyard late 1920s It was in this churchyard in 1905 that Thomas Spencer (of Marks & Spencer fame) was laid to rest. The grave is to the left of this view.
	Interior some time before 1912 and after 1880 The gothic style chancel was added in 1880 and the ex-cathedral pulpit was installed in 1912. Note the screen. Is it fire-damaged?
	Interior between 1912 and 1920 There was a major restoration of the church in 1912 which cost £217 15s 9d. Elford lent its pulpit to Whittington, which had been lying in storage after removal from their church in 1848. Mr Frank Foster (later to become landlord of The Dog) fetched it from Elford and installed it in St Giles, but in order to make it fit had to dig a cavity. It is seen in this photo on the left.
	Interior between 1920 and 1956 - however oil lamps suggest an early date The organ seen on the right was installed in this position in 1920 as a World War I Memorial. It was moved to the gallery in 1956
Parish Magazines dating from 1926 and 1944	Sample pages open in a new window; close that window to return to this page.
	View from the Hawthorns - late 1950s
	Exterior before building of the vestry (to south of tower) in 1960s
	Recycling from earlier times - a wooden clock face had been used to form a ceiling
	The metal bell frame with its builder, John Brosch - 1991
	Six "new" bells dating from 1875 were purchased from St James Islington, and, together with the original two old Whittington bells, were hung in a new bell frame. The new peal was first rung on 3 October 1991.

*The William Salt Library has kindly given permission for Whittington History Society to include some images from their archive. Where an image is marked as Copyright: William Salt Library, you may only download or copy it for educational or personal non-commercial use. No copying, storage, redistribution or publication is permitted without the express permission of the William Salt Library.