Church Lane (B1165),
Tydd St Giles,
Wisbech,
PE13 5LX
alan.pateman@btinternet.com
About St Giles
Tydd St. Giles is a village in Cambridgeshire. It was founded in the late 1000s with the building of the church of St. Giles in 1084 on a natural rise in the land of the Fens. The church itself is built of Barnack stone, known to be the gift of the Bishop of Peterborough. The bell tower, which is separate from the church itself is a grade 1 listed building.
A detached 13th-century tower is sited well away from the church. This was often a necessary precaution due to the instability of the Fen silt.
Its fine 14th-century west window is said to be the work of Alan de Walsingham, architect of the lantern of Ely Cathedral. It has a 15th-century carved hexagonal font, and some modern woodwork by Robert 'Mousey' Thompson, with his trade-mark mouse.
Nicholas Brakespeare, the only Englishman ever to become Pope, was believed to have been curate here in the early 12th century.