Pugin's Gem |
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Sunday Mass Times
St Giles Vigil Mass 4.30pm Sunday 10.30am St Thomas' (Tean) Sunday 5.30pm Confessions See bulletin Week days & Holy Days See bulletin Written by the late Michael Fisher to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Pugin's birth, this book describes in detail the outstanding features of St Giles. It can be bought within the church along with various post cards.. |
St Giles was originally conceived as a relatively simple parish church, built to serve Cheadle's modest Catholic population. As the plans progressed it increased in size and detail. In 1846 the consecration of St Giles was attended by Bishops, Archbishops and overseas statesmen, as well as luminaries from the world of architecture and design.
Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852), is arguably the greatest British architect, designer and writer of the nineteenth century. The son of a French draughtsman and designer, Pugin was responsible for an enormous quantity of buildings, and also for countless beautiful designs for tiles, metalwork, furniture, wallpaper, stained glass and ceramics. His prolific output included the interior designs for the Palace of Westminster, over one hundred churches and cathedrals, and eight major books on architecture and design. John Talbot (1791-1852) became the sixteenth Earl of Shrewsbury on the death of his uncle Charles Talbot in 1827, the same year that Fr James Jefferies was appointed as Cheadle's first permanently resident priest. Earl John made Alton Abbey his main residence and renamed it Aton Towers. He was zealous in promoting the Catholic faith following the Emancipation Act, and it was he who brought Pugin, a convert to the faith, to North Staffordshire in 1837. Shrewsbury was impressed by Pugin’s beliefs that Christian (or gothic) art and architecture could be a powerful weapon in the re-conversion of England to the Catholic faith.
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St Giles is part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham - Charity No. 234216
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