To the early years of the fifteenth century belong at least two incised grave covers which were moved from the chancel to the floor of the tower in 1871. One, with a foliated cross upon it, commemorates William Wragby, who was instituted rector of West Bridgford in 1437. Enough of the inscription remains visible for the wording to be reconstructed: “Hic jacet dominus Gulielmus Wragby.” A second slab, which cannot be dated with any degree of certainty, took the form of a small memorial brass of a kneeling figure, under which there was an oblong inscription. Only the matrix and the metal rivets are left and part of the stone has been cut off to fit into its present position in front of the doorway of the belfry staircase. From the shape of the impression it appears to represent a priest in academic dress, with the hood of a university degree projecting at the back. The rector who was instituted in 1369, Thomas de Hawerthorpe, remained in his office for 46 years and expressed the wish in his will to be buried in the chancel. Nothing would be more natural than a memorial to such a parish priest in this form. A brass to a priest was placed in Stanford-on-Soar church about 1400, and so by 1415, when Thomas died, brasses were known in this part of Nottinghamshire. Two alabaster slabs also were in the chancel, Mr. Dutton Walker stating that in 1863 they lay on the north side and that one of them had once formed the top of the "founder’s tomb.”
At the beginning of the sixteenth century some slight alterations were made in connection with the chancel. The two older windows in the south wall, probably lancets, were then replaced by new ones in a debased Gothic style, of two and three lights respectively, with hood-mouldings on the outside.
The great structural change at this time was the building of the tower in three stages of dressed "ashlar” masonry, and surmounted by battlements and four crocketted finials. It was supported by diagonal buttresses at the western angles. Connected with the nave by a large Perpendicular arch, the lower stage was lighted by a three-light window of the same style. In 1863 Mr. Dutton Walker wrote:—“There is no west door (to the tower) but a modern debased one with a square head has been inserted in the south side, probably for the convenience of the bellringers.”1 A staircase was built into the south-west angle leading to the belfry and to the bell-chamber. On each of the four sides of the latter was built a circular-headed window to which louvre-boards were added later.
It is probable that three bells were originally hung in the tower, though one of the present three is a nineteenth century replacement.2 At all events, the commissioners of church goods, as the result of a survey, granted to Walter Basse, then rector, "three bells of one accorde hangynge in ye styple of ye same churche.” Of these pre-Reformation bells, the two which remain are inscribed Ave Mria and Celorum Xte Placeat Tibi Rex Sonus Iste. The first bears the founder’s mark on a shield which is charged with a saltire and a small cross superimposed. The second has a shield with two crowns, an elongated cross, an “R,” and a suspended bell, the mark used by Richard Mellers, the Nottingham bell-founder who died in 1507. The third contemporary bell, which has disappeared or been re-cast, had, according to Stretton, writing in 1808,3 a similar mark to this second bell.
An interesting feature of the exterior of the tower was a sort of dedication stone on the south face, still clearly legible, and inscribed in old English lettering: "xhr lapis adjutorij." The actual reading of this inscription was the subject of heated controversy towards the close of the nineteenth century, but there is little doubt that it represents “Christus lapis adiutorii”—“Christ the Stone of Help”—the first group of letters in the original being a symbolic representation in Latin of the Greek for "Christ.”
Few structural alterations seem to have been made to the church from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, until, in 1786 a new vestry was built.4 In 1833 the chancel was repaired.5 This was a great step forward, for in many cases during the previous century this part of the English parish church had fallen into disuse, and the communion tables were often in the nave. The chancel in this year was filled with pews, to replace some old ones from St. Mary’s, Nottingham. The roof was rebuilt and a flat ceiling put in which hid the top part of the ancient threefold east window, which had already been bricked up. The lancet window on the north side of the chancel, nearest the east end, was filled in.
West Bridgford Parish Church before alteration (from a painting).
In the latter half of 1871 the restoration of the whole church was taken in hand, but contemporary comments indicate that the rector and the architect cared more for cheapness and quick “improvement” than for the preservation of the real beauties of the church. This restoration cost £800. Among other changes the whitewashed plaster was stripped from the walls, leaving the rough bare rubble exposed. The porch was re-roofed, and the little gable replaced. The clerestory windows were also replaced. The easternmost lancet in the chancel was again opened. The old pews were removed, some of which incorporated ancient carved “poppyheads,” and were replaced by the present benches of varnished pine. The lath and plaster wall between the screen and the chancel arch was taken down, and with it the royal arms. The chancel walls and roof were raised two feet. Hitherto the roof had been lower than the chancel arch; now the gabled roof was higher than the flat one of the nave. Another new vestry was built, and the middle north lancet window was converted into a doorway for it. The westernmost lancet was made into an arch for the organ chamber, in which was placed an old organ from Sneinton church. The mediaeval oak door was burnt and two alabaster slabs from the chancel were cut to make steps for the sanctuary. The traceried windows of the south aisle, one of the mullions of the tower window, and the external battlements of the nave were renewed; a new gargoyle was placed at the south-east corner of the nave; the small doorway in the tower was filled in; and the font removed from the south door to its present position. Both the rood-screen and the musician’s gallery under the tower arch were pulled down, but while only scars serve to remind us of the latter, the screen was cleaned and replaced.
It was in 1881 that Mr. John Chaworth-Musters, the lord of the manor, began selling plots of land for building development, and the village rapidly grew into a populous suburb. It soon became obvious that a village church with a seating capacity of a little under 200 was inadequate for the needs of the new residents, and so the question which confronted the church officials was whether the need should be met by building a new church or by extending the old one. The latter alternative was adopted, and on 28th October, 1896, the foundation stone of a new nave and chancel was laid by Lady Byron. The present central portion of the church was added to the north side of the old building, the north wall of which was completely removed, and replaced by a large new arcade. The chancel arch, and with it the rood-screen, were taken from their original position and placed over the entrance to the old sanctuary, and the recess thus formed was made to accommodate the organ. The gabled roof of the former chancel was replaced by an extension of the flat battlemented roof of the nave, and a new clerestory with two double windows was added. A boarded floor was substituted for the old stone one.
In 1904 the upper part of the tower was restored. In 1911 the extension of the church was completed. A new north wall took the place of the temporary partition beyond the north arcade, and a large north aisle was thus formed. A "morning chapel,” a clergy vestry and a choir vestry were built, and the “Stone Man” and the organ were moved to the new chapel, which was dedicated to commemorate the coronation of King George V.
Considerable changes took place under the guidance of the late rector, Canon C. H. Hatfield. In 1932 the chancel and sanctuary of the new church were refurnished, and in 1934 the old south chancel was converted into a lady-chapel. The chancel arch and rood-screen were removed once more, and replaced as near to their original position as was permitted by the arcades of the newer central portion of the church. A stone floor again replaced the rotting boards, and the old Elizabethan communion table was cleaned and utilized as an altar for the new chapel. New screenwork, perpendicular to the old screen, was introduced. Repairs were effected to the parapets and windows, and the walls were strengthened to compensate for the disturbance of the structure presumably caused by the flood of 1932, when water had swept through the church.
New stained glass has been added from time to time, notably the great west window, depicting the resurrection, in 1936.
To-day St. Giles’ is one of the largest churches in the diocese of Southwell, accommodating over a thousand worshippers. It consists of mediaeval south aisle and chapel, attached to which is the Perpendicular tower, central nave, chancel and sanctuary, and north aisle with morning chapel. The vestries are approached through a door at the north-east end of the north aisle, and through another door behind the organ chamber. The new portions of the church are built of regular dressed masonry, and are furnished internally with chairs, while the south side retains the old Victorian pews. The windows in the north wall are square-headed and filled with plain glass. There is a north-west door and vestibule, and an ambulatory divided from the church by an oak screen. A modem screen separates the old chancel and the new, carved with vines and cherubs.
The altar of the north chapel is of plain modem oak, and the reredos behind the high altar is also of oak, carved with vines. On either side are angels clothed in priestly vestments, one holding an orb, and the other a crown of thorns, with the text “Diligis me” inscribed beneath each. The picture in the recessed centre of the reredos is of the Good Shepherd, with a lamb on his shoulder ; in the left panel is a lamb and a cross on a hill, and in the right panel a ram caught in a thicket. The piscina under an ogee arch is imitation Decorated, with shields now emblazoned with the arms of York and Southwell over each side. Oak-backed sedilia, an old bishop’s chair of uncertain date, brass altar rails, candlesticks, cross and vases make up the furnishing of the sanctuary. The chancel is well raised and divided from the nave by ornamental iron screens. Both the brass eagle lectern and the wooden pulpit (taken from the old church) are approached from the level of the chancel.
Church Plate and Registers.
There is a paten cover (or chalice cover) bearing London hall-marks for 1564-5, a chalice with the date and inscription "West bridgford 1659”; paten, flagon and lavabo-bowl each dated 1809, in addition to some modem plate. The church registers are almost continuous since 1559.
Charities
Dame Frances Pierrepont’s charity, founded in 1620, allocated £2 per annum to the poor of West Bridgford.
In 1778 the Rev. William Thompson founded a school in West Bridgford, for the instruction of the children of Colwick and West Bridgford. In 1803, under the terms of the same rector’s will, the school was endowed with a capital sum of £912.
Rectors and Patrons.6
| Date of Institution. | Rectors. | Patrons. |
| 13 Oct., 1239 | Luke de Crophill | Andrew Luterell, Kt. |
| 1 June, 1267 | Robert Luterell | Petronilla Luterell |
| 11 June, 1315 | Andrew Luterell | Johanna Luterell |
| Henry Luterell | ||
| 28 July, 1349 | John de Aslacton | Andrew Luterell, Kt. |
| 23 Sept., 1369 | Thomas de Hawerthorpe | idem |
| 22 Aug., 1415 | Richard Clarke | Geoffrey Luterell, Kt. |
| 26 Mar., 1437 | William Wragby | Godfrey Hilton, Kt. |
| 24 Dec., 1450 | William Funtance | Godfrey Hilton, Kt. |
| 6 April, 1479 | Robert Hyll | |
| 21 Nov., 1479 | John Alcok, D.D. | |
| 24 Oct., 1506 | Robert Lovell | Elizabeth Hilton |
| 9 June, 1517 | Walter Wright | Richard and ElizabethThymelby |
| 21 May, 1529 | Walter Basse | John Thymelby, Kt. |
| 21 Jan., 1556 | John Cooke | Richard Thymelby, Kt. |
| 21 June, 1571 | Robert Grene, M.A. | John Thymelby |
| 20 Sept., 1614 | Francis Withington, M.A. | Assigns of Henry Perpoynt, Kt. |
| Samuel Coates | ||
| 11 Feb., 1662 | Edward Greathead, M.A. | Henry, Marquess of Dorchester |
| 6 Aug., 1673 | Thomas Houghton, M.A. | |
| 19 Jan., 1692 | Joseph Bruen | |
| 11 Nov., 1717 | John Stokes, M.A. | Millicent Fuller |
| 8 Sept., 1749 | Thomas Rose, M.A. | Mundy Musters |
| John Gage | ||
| 1770 | William Thompson | John Musters |
| 27 Oct., 1803 | Peter Thoroton, Ll.B. | John Musters |
| 30 Jan., 1818 | Levett Henry Thoroton | John Musters |
| 30 July, 1831 | Roger Pocklington, M.A. | John Musters |
| 19 Mai., 1834 | William Musters Musters, B.A. | John Musters |
| 11 June, 1862 | William Roe Waters, B.A. | John Chaworth Musters |
| 1894 | James Robinson, M.A. | |
| 1903 | Henry Marsh Marsh Edwards | |
| 1904 | Richard Hargreaves, M.A. | |
| 1930 | Cyril Northcote Hatfield, M.A. | |
| 1941 | Reginald Felix Wilkinson, M.A. |
1. Dutton Walker. Op. cit.
2. Inscribed : "J. & E. Smith & Co., Chesterfield 1813. Gloria Deo."
3 Stretton MSS. Ed. Godfrey, 1910, p. 119.
4. Churchwardens' Parish Book, West Bridgford.
5. Mellors : “West Bridgford then and now,” 1914.
6. Torre MSS. and other sources.