St Giles Church, Durham
| St Giles Church | |
|---|---|
| St Giles Church, Durham | |
 |
|
| Location | Durham, County Durham |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Tradition | Central |
| Website | http://www.stgilesdurham.org.uk |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Years built | c.1112 |
| Specifications | |
| Number of towers | One |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Durham (since 1000) |
| Province | York |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Paul Butler |
| Canon(s) | Revd Canon Dr. Alan Bartlett |
| Laity | |
| Director of music | Andrew Robinson/Graeme Morgan |
St. Giles Church is a grade I listedparish church in Gilesgate, Durham, England.
The church was constructed as the hospital chapel of the Hospital of St Giles and was dedicated in on St Barbara's Day, June 1112 by Bishop Flambard to "the honour of God and St Giles". The church became caught up in an 1140 dispute over the bishopric of Durham following the usurpation of the diocese by William Cumin, Chancellor of King David I of Scotland. William of St. Barbara, the rightly elected Bishop, was forced to retreat to, and fortify, the church after his abortive entry into Durham was beaten back by Cumin's men. In response Cumin's men destroyed the hospital, which was later refounded at nearby Kepier.
Bishop Puiset later extended the church to reflect its role at the centre of a growing parish, and the current font is believed to date from this time. The church was appropriated to Kepier Hospital which acted as rector, receiving tithes and with the advowson (right to appoint a vicar), appointing a parochial chaplain to minister to the needs of the parish.
John Heath, the Elizabethan owner of the Kepier estates, Gilesgate and Old Durham is buried in the church.
The ecclesiastical parish of St Giles was divided in 1852 with the creation of a new Belmont parish, served from church of St Mary Magdalene, Belmont and covering Belmont, Gilesgate Moor and New Durham.
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