St. Giles Church Prepares for 180th Anniversary Celebrations

This weekend (4th-6th September), St Giles Catholic Church, Cheadle (Pugin's Gem), will celebrate its 180th anniversary with a flower festival. We met up with Liz and Janet, who organise the flowers at the church, to find out more.

The newly refurbished stained glass window

All the flowers in the festival will be white to complement the beauty of the church itself, which is drenched in colour, texture, and pattern at every turn. It is incredibly beautiful, and keeping the colour palette simple will showcase the beauty of the building.

At the festival, there will be quarter peals of the bells, and there will be some specially created boards about the church and its history. One of particular interest will be all about the work they have been doing on the building currently, including the windows and the bells. The work on the stained glass has been recently completed at a whopping £39,000, with the John Hardman of Birmingham window pictured above having to be removed for restoration and is now fully restored. There is a lot to see at St. Giles Church, and over the festival, there will be people available to answer visitors questions.

All the windows, statues, and three altars will be decorated. Liz and Janet said they've been fortunate that a lot of people have come forward to help, including some of the students from the nearby Painsley Catholic College who are coming in on Thursday to help them clean up ready for opening. Cheadle Flower Club is helping with the creation, along with ladies from the church too. Janet & Liz are very surprised and grateful that so many people have wanted to help.

Janet and Liz would like to encourage as many people as possible to come and see the church in all its splendour and have an opportunity to experience the beauty of Pugin's Gem.

An example of the beauty awaiting visitors to the festival.

Opening times are: 4th: 10am-6pm, 5th: 10am-4pm, 6th: 12 noon - 5pm.

St. Giles Church Prepares for 180th Anniversary Celebrations

St. Giles is open every day all day for prayer and reflection.

St. Giles Church Prepares for 180th Anniversary Celebrations