Great Gidding. CHURCH : ST MICHAEL
I first visited Great Gidding on a gloriously sunny Easter Sunday morning in 2007. This was the first stop on what was to be an eight church crawl. I can remember planning things out so that I arrived home at roughly the time that England were due to play Australia in the Cricket World Cup. Well, the church crawl went fine...but sadly, the day went sadly wrong and downhill as soon as the cricket started.
The Giddings are a favourite place of mine to visit. Each of the three villages have something different to offer the visitor. Little Gidding has its quaint and tiny seventeenth century church, Steeple Gidding has its stunning views of the surrounding countryside whilst Great Gidding has the feel of a thriving village in which it would be a delight to live! As well as the church, there is a pub, a village shop and a school. The website, which also covers Little and Steeple Gidding, is one of the best and most informative that you will find anywhere. Winner of the Village Website of the Year 2002, and well deserved as well!
Those tracing their family history will fall lucky if they have relatives who lived in Great Gidding thanks to the efforts of a local history enthusiast.
The church of St Michael was not mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086. There was a church here though before the middle of the 13th century, the present south doorway dating from this time. The west tower was added in the first part of the 14th century with the belfry being added about 1370. The nave and chancel arch date from around 1400 with the north and south aisles dating from 60 or so years after that.
In Victorian times, the church of St Michael was in poor condition. In 1843, the Archdeacon said that the church was "Very indifferent, roof especially" whilst the Church Wardens of the day said in 1857 that St Michael was "Much dilapidated". The church was restored in 1870, with further restoration to the tower and chancel arch in 1925
Gargoyles and grotesques can be seen on both north and south walls
