The South Porch

The St Giles' Tour

The South Porch

Entry to the church is by way of the south porch, rich with carving and statuary. For Pugin, the porch was not just an entrance, or a place for the wiping of shoes and drying of umbrellas, but liturgical space.

Historically, the first parts of Baptismal and Marriage Rites took place in the porch, and women were "churched" in the porch after childbirth. The porch was the correct place for the holy-water stoup, from which the faithful sprinkled themselves in preparation for prayer and worship.

The porch has a vaulted stone roof and two holy-water stoups that sit under nodding ogee arches. The floor is layed with encaustic tiles lettered with the text: "We will go into the house of the Lord with gladness" and at the entrance to the church: "pray for the good estate of John XVI Earl of Shrewsbury of whose goods this church was built."

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