The parish church of St. Giles, Chesterton, is mostly of an early C14 Decorative design, with some remnants of an earlier C13 church. The church itself is in an isolated field some distance from the village, but near to the old Peytos mansion that was pulled down in 1802. Its isolation makes the inscription on the sundial strange, as there were hardly ever anyone around to loiter.
The porch is c1400, leading to an early C13 south doorway carved with ballflowers. To the east is an early C14 priest doorway.
Inside is the door is a C13 font with a tapering round bowl. The church itself is long and narrow consisting of nave and chancel, without any division between the two. The blocked north door is probably the oldest part of the church being a remnant of the earlier C12 building. It used to be the entrance used by the Peyto family and now incorporates a memorial to the 1914-1918 war.
The North and South chancel window are c1330 inset with Victorian stained glass, the north window incorporates some fragments of C15 glass, the south window is from the Hardman Studios Birmingham (1890). The large window in the south wall of the nave is C15 with modern stained glass.
The chancel also contains a modern piscina inserted into C14 image niche with a ribbed vaulted soffit and crocket enrichment. At the west end of the church are Baroque memorial monuments to the Peyto family. The first memorial is to William Peyto, 1619, and his wife Eleanor, was commissioned from by the Sculptor and Architect Nicholas Stone at a cost of £150. The second memorial is to Edward Peyto 1643 and Elizabeth his wife. The busts are set on a pedestal flanked by shafts of dark marble with white Corinthian capitals. This monument was made by John Stone the son of Nicholas Stone, and designer of the old mansion.
On the south wall is a late C16 alabaster tomb of Humfrey Peyto (d 30 March 1585), and Anne his wife. The date of Anne’s death (1604) is not recorded on the tomb. The tomb was made by craftsmen in Burton-on-Trent, which by the end of C16 had become the centre for work of this type having supplanted those of Nottingham.
Due to the small population of the parish St. Peter’s has been closed and reopened a number of times during the last 150 years. It finally ceased to hold any regular services in the 1950s.
Nowadays it is owned by the Churches Conservation Trust, and remains a consecrated building, although services are only held here once a year.
The church originally served the nearby medieval village which was abandoned some time during the 14th century. The church continued to serve the villages of Flecknoe, Sawbridge, and Nethercote. However, a smaller church was built in the late 19th century in the village of Flecknoe which is about 2-3 miles away as the crow files. The building was paid for by the railway company in 1891 as compensation for the disruption caused at Wolfhampcote. The railway itself was closed to passengers in 1952 but carried freight until 1963.
The pews in the foreground are medieval as can be seen by the low shelf which is for resting elbows, not books. The date of these pews is thought to be 14th century but there is some evidence for an earlier 11th century date. The font is Anglo-Saxon. The octagonal pulpit with inlaid panels is dated 1790.
The chancel contains a modern pointed traceried five-light window, and the altar rails are also modern. The floor is paved with a number of memorial slabs from the 18th century, and the walls contain 19th century memorials to the Tibbits family.
On either side of the chancel arch are half-round moulded corbels. The steep-pitched king-post roof in the chancel consisting of three trusses, and is probably 14th century.
A C14 ogee-headed piscina with circular basin is inset into the south wall of the north chapel, indicating that an altar was once there. The north aisle has a memorial cross to John Truslove who died aged 16.
The sanctuary contains memorial slabs and a brass memorial to Frances Benyon wife of parish minister (died 1687).
Built of red sandstone in the 11th century, the tower was added in the 15th. St Leonard’s is one of the counties oldest Norman churches in Warwickshire. The land was given to the Coventry Priory in 1043 by Lord Leofric (him of Lady Godiva fame) mainly woodland from what I can gather it was worth at that time 100s, but by 1086 the monks had chopped a good part of it down and it was only worth 60s. A small part of the ancient woodland it still survives though.
An 11th century Norman semi-circular arched doorway remains as the south entrance. The east wall was rebuilt possible in the 15th century of red sandstone.
The turned oak balustrade altar rails are 17th century and the front of the benches has late 15th century carved tracery-headed panels.
The church contains a modern window celebrating the 100th birthday of Florence Mabel Such, and the lives of Brian Frank Howkins, Katherine Mary Mann, Sally Ann Parke, and Dorothy Clarice Smith. And a Victorian memorial window to Anna Latty, the wife of a previous curate, which is set into a 12th century lancet window.
The octagonal font is 12th century, whilst the pulpit is made of 17th century carved panels. The tower is a 15th century addition and its size indicates that the intent was to enlarge the body of the church at that time too.
The south wall of the chancel features a small brass plaque with an inscription to Moses Macham, minister of Ryton. who died 29th June 1712.
Lo here doth ly a shining light
wrapped up in the shades of night
the sheppard is took from his sheep
but O would they his doctrine keep
and practice the rules that he did give
So shall ye Pastor and ye People live.
to the right of the inscription is an engraving showing a lantern standing on a coffin and a skeleton holding on to a tree.
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