St Giles - The Future?
St Giles Hermitage : latest update from the Save St Giles Group
On Easter weekend, St Giles Church, Godshill, re-opened to the public, re-named ‘St Giles Hermitage’. It has been closed as a regular place of worship since the pandemic began in 2020, and members of the congregation have dispersed to other churches in AVC.
However, its re-emergence as a sacred and community space of quiet tranquillity, began with an (not so quiet!) Open Preview Day on April 9th, when many people crossed the threshold and were greeted with the fresh smell of clean windows, floor & paintwork, polished pews and furniture, completed by a Working Party the day before. The moment was celebrated with glasses of bubbly! The west wall (the altar was not at the east end as in most churches) is adorned with the beautiful mural of St Giles and the deer in the forest, painted by our local artist, Amanda Bowles. On the other three walls, there are new panels designed by a small group from St Giles congregation and Julie Francis, which re-tell in words and photographs the story of the church and other Godshill landmarks. These have been framed and painted by Mike Ireland in a shade of green to tone in with the mural, and a wooden cross has been crafted by David Tappin. NFNPA has donated a leaflet stand for holiday makers to pick up information on local places to visit, and Alan Moore has inserted a wall safe for donations. We are really grateful to Claudia Weis for her ongoing graciousness in allowing us to park on her working farm opposite St Giles from time to time.
So Phase 1 of the project has now been completed, and we move to Phase 2, which involves bringing water and drainage to the site, thus making ready for the installation of a toilet and kitchenette. Jamie Warne, our designer of small spaces, has given many hours of his time to produce designs for St Giles, and both he and every member of our ‘Save St Giles Group’ have caught the vision of how St Giles Hermitage could become an invaluable benefit to the whole community. For this to become a reality we need funds; our donations now stand at nearly £200, so from small and humble beginnings we press on! We are setting up a bank account and then a ‘Just Giving’ page – more about that next time. The building remains dedicated for Christian worship, which will hopefully take place occasionally, and it is licensed for weddings, so who will be the (2nd) couple in its history with connections to Godshill to be married in this unique church?!
St Giles is open every day to visitors but on the Saturday afternoon of Jubilee Weekend (4th June), we shall be serving tea and cakes outside under a gazebo – look out for the red, white and blue bunting!
Meanwhile, we urgently need a person/people who could take on the time-consuming, but rewarding task of exploring and applying for grant applications and community donations. Please respond if you think this would be fulfilling volunteer work for you. Thank you. Helen (07896953764)
The Revd Canon Helen Griffiss, Chair: Save St Giles Group
Photos courtesy of Jamie Warne @ studiojamming.com