Churches of the British Isles

The Church of St Giles, Sidbury, is on the eastern side of Fore Street, flanked south and east by Church Street. A church has stood here since the Saxon period prior to 1066. A seventh century Saxon crypt survives under the chancel. The building is medieval, with significant Norman work from the 1100s. The transepts date to the 1200s, and the porch to the 1400s along with internal features. The church underwent restoration work in 1843 under the direction of John Hayward.

Further work was by Micklethwaite and Somers Clarke in 1884-1885, and by Micklethwaite in 1898-1899 (on the chancel). Materials are limestone rubble and ashlar walls and decorations, slate roofs, and a shingled spire. The plan involves nave, chancel, three-stage tower with steeple, north and south aisles and transepts, south porch, and north vestry. The parish gained St Peter's Church in 1865 (see 'related links'). Attached to St Giles is a hall used by both churches.

The lost Sidbury Reading Room stood at the south-west corner of Fore Street and Ridgeway, in the middle of the village. It is shown on the OS 25-inch map of 1892-1914 as a reading room but this building was replaced by Sir Charles Cave in 1924 with the present village hall which is shown here. Major improvements were carried out in 1992, including the addition of a new commercial kitchen, toilets, and removable stage and bar for a variety of active clubs in the area.

The Parish Church of St Gregory the Great, Harpford, is at the north-western corner of Hayne Hill and Lower Way. The first building here is thought to have been a wooden Saxon construction, which was replaced by a small, simple stone Norman church from which the base of the font survives. The Norman church is mentioned in 1205 when it and its lands were granted by Bishop Henry Marshall to St Michel's Abbey in Normandy, later transferred to Syon Abbey in 1411.

The present building dates to the 1300s. This was followed in the late 1400s by the two-stage tower with north semi-hexagonal stair turret and a ring of six bells, plus a north aisle. The oldest of the bells dates to the 1700s. Victorian OS maps show this church as St Nicholas Harpford. It underwent various restoration efforts. By the beginning of the 1800s it had become very dilapidated and much was renovated in 1883-1884, if not fully rebuilt, by Haywood & Son.

Photos on this page kindly contributed by JMC4 - Church Explorer via the 'History Files: Churches of the British Isles' Flickr group, and four copyright © Anthony Vosper, Rob Purvis, Dave Kelly, and Roger Cornfoot via Geograph, reused under a cc licence. Additional information from Kelly's Directory of 1902.