St Giles

St Giles Parish News

This weeks parish bulletin

Sunday Mass Times

St Giles
Vigil Mass 5.00pm
Sunday 10.30am

St Thomas' (Tean)
Sunday 5.30pm

Confessions
Saturday
10.30 to 11.00am
4.30 to 4.50pm

Sunday
5.00 - 5.20pm (Tean)

Week days & Holy Days
See bulletin

Serving the parish of Cheadle, Staffordshire, St Giles' is considered to be the finest of all the churches built by the celebrated nineteenth century architect and designer, A.W.N. Pugin. It was financed by John Talbot (1791-1852), sixteenth Earl of Shrewsbury, who lived nearby at Alton Towers. Begun in 1841 and completed in 1846, St Giles' is of unique importance in the history of the Gothic and Catholic Revival.

St Giles' was a seventh-century French abbot and is often pictured with a doe, an allusion to the story that he once rescued a doe which was being pursued by hunters. St Giles' is also the dedication of the medieval parish church of Cheadle, which was rebuilt in 1838.

Dominating the town of Cheadle, the 200-foot, heaven-pointing spire is visible for miles around. At the foot of the tower are the west doors (pictured right), elaborated with two rampant lions. Read more about the exterior of the church here.

This website provides a detailed guide to the church, its history and information about present day Mass celebrations. We hope that you find it useful and informative.

The Church is open every day from 8.00 till around 3pm. On Saturdays, we do not close till after Evening Mass, which finishes at 6.15pm. You are welcome at any time, though we kindly request that you do not visit to take a look around the church during the liturgy and other times of public prayer.

Groups are welcome to come, but it is better to ring in advance.

If you ring us outside of normal hours, it is not usually possible for the church to be opened. However, we can offer a guided tour of the church at a cost of £2 per person. Refreshments can also be made available for these tours. Arrangements can be made via the parish office, or direct with Mr John Smith on 01538 722464.

Unfortunately St Giles does not have a car park. At weekends parking is available courtesy of St Giles Primary School, which is adjacent to the church, otherwise you will need to use one of the pay & display car parks in the town.

Thank you for your understanding and once again enjoy your visit to our lovely church.

Fr Petroc Howell R.I.P.
It is with sadness that we learned of the recent death of Father Petroc Howell, who served for ten years as a curate in Cheadle.

Petroc Thomasmore Howell was born in 1933 in Egypt. He attended school at Alton Castle and Cotton College. He was obviously devout from an early age and it is said that he would compete with his cousin (the later) Father Dominic Round to see which of them would lead Night Prayer. He was ordained in 1959 and served at Saltley, Grove Park and St. Chad's Cathedral before coming to Cheadle in 1968. During his time in Cheadle he was a well-known figure, often to be seen walking, cycling and also driving around the town. He was chaplain to both St. Giles' school and Painsley and was treated by the youngsters in both with affection and respect.

Although he left Cheadle in 1978 he never forgot the people of Cheadle and frequently returned to the town for the funerals of parishioners and parish celebrations.

He later served as priest with a couple of stints in Birmingham as well as in Coventry and Boldmere before finishing as chaplain at St. Joseph's Convent in Stafford. He retired in 2014 and lived for some time at Aston Hall and finally he was cared for in St. Joseph's Care Home in Coleshill.

In all his parishes he was noted for his careful visiting of the sick both in their homes and in hospital. At his funeral Mass he was described by the Archbishop as a priest's priest who was noted for the assiduous way that, whenever possible, he would attend the funerals of his brother priests.
May he rest in peace.
[Download Archbishop Benard Longley's Funeral Mass Homily]

St Alban’s, Macclesfield
St Alban’s are in the first phase of a restoration programme funded by: the HLF, the National Churches Trust, Shrewsbury RC Diocese and fundraising within their parish via their ‘Mission Together’.

As well as the building works on safeguarding the tower they have also been involved in a number of community engagement activities to share the heritage of the church and its architect with a wider audience. These have included: a children’s competition to design a fictitious spire for the church, a modular exhibition, a dedicated heritage website and a virtual tour of our church. They are planning to formally launch the last two activities on 2/3 March 2019.

For further information see St Alban's Heritage Project

Shopping online via TheGivingMachine at your favourite shops could generate a cash donation to St Giles with every single purchase. With stores like Amazon, Ebay, M&S, NEXT, Tesco, Sainsbury and John Lewis taking part.

It’s quick and simple to sign up. Instead of going direct to your favourite online shopping site, just visit www.TheGivingMachine.co.uk click on 'find a course’, type in St Giles Church Cheadle then click on 'join & support'.

Once you have registered you will be able to find the retailer of your choice and then shop as normal. Every time you shop, a small percentage of your spending will come back to St Giles. It costs you nothing extra.

It really is as simple as that. Please ensure you don’t miss this opportunity to give while you are shopping and help spread the word to raise as much as we can.