St.Giles and All Saints' Church, High Road, Orsett, Essex. RM16 3ER
Posted by: 
greysman
N 51° 30.758 E 000° 22.096
31U E 317389 N 5710117
A old church dating back to the C12th with later additions.
Waymark Code: WMWT9T
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/10/2017
Views: 1
Granted Grade I listing this church dates back to the C12th but there are extensive C14th and C15th alterations. Built of flint and ragstone rubble with Reigate dressings to doors and windows, it has tiled roofs and a weatherboarded spire.
[Reigate stone occurs in the upper greensand beds at the foot of the North Downs in Surrey. The outcrop runs from Godstone in the east to Brockham in the west, centering on the town of Reigate. It is one of the few buildings stones to be found in south east England but its use as a building stone had ended by 1939.]
The nave is C12th and has a north arcade of two C14th arches and three of the C15th. The south wall has a C14th window of three ogee cinquefoiled lights and a C14th window of two cinque-foiled lights. The south doorway is of circa 1160 with a semi-circular arch with zigzag chevron ornament, attached shafts with primitive volute carved capitals and bases, hood-mould with billet, a curved lintel and a tympanum with diapers divided into triangles. A small, possibly, C12th window was recently found adjacent in the south wall. The west windows are C19th.
The C14th widened north aisle has two C14th windows of two trefoiled lights in two-centred heads, a C15th wood staircase door with a two-centred arch, a C14th north doorway with moulded jambs and a two-centred head.
The late C15th or early C16th North Chapel has a C19th east window, the north wall has two original windows of two cinquefoiled lights in a two-centred head.
The C14th chancel has its original east window of four trefoiled lights in a two-centred head. The north wall is a late C15th arcade with two-centred arches and there is an early C14th window of two trefoiled lights in the south wall.
The Cl5th North-west tower was placed occupying the first C13th bay of the north wall of the nave. Partly stone and partly C17th brick it is of three stages with big diagonal buttresses. With a plain parapet, a thick north-west stair embattled turret, it is surmounted by a weatherboard spire. There is a C19th west door with C17th brick window above. The second stage has a C17th brick window and door to the roof with a two-centred head. The bell chamber has four windows of two four-centred lights and there is a ring of six bells hung for ringing in the English style.
The South porch is of the C15th with later part rebuilding. Nave and chancel roofs are crown post and 7 cants, with arch braced tie beams. The south porch also has a crown post roof.
Services are on the second, third and fourth Sundays at 1100.
Words from British Listed Buildings, Pevsner's Essex Buildings, and amended and added to with own on-site observations.
Co-ordinates are for the south porch.
The following is a table extracted from Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers showing the weights in kg, and the sounding notes of the bells.
Bell Weight Note Dated Founder
1 236.14 F 1886 Mears & Stainbank
2 271.70 Eb 1791 Thomas I Mears
3 326.59 Db 1791 Thomas I Mears
4 362.42 C 1791 Thomas I Mears
5 444.07 Bb 1791 Thomas I Mears
6 538.87 Ab 1791 Thomas I MearsVisit Instructions:1) A photo of the church is required for visits to a waymark.
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