When you enter St Giles through the porch, you initially come to the south aisle which was the ancient church, dating from the end of the twelfth century. Then there is the central nave, built when the church was extended in 1898. The north aisle was finally added in 1911.

This guide takes you to some of the interesting features within the church following a roughly anti-clockwise route.

The medieval window preserved in the porch was originally in the chancel of the old church but was deemed too fragile to be retained when the church was restored in 1871. We know of no other such curvilinear church window in England.

The original church was dark. Windows were the size of this one in the West wall near the porch.

In 1553, there were three bells in the tower. One of them survives and has been preserved within the church.

The original church had a low ceiling. The corbels on the south wall supported the roof beams.

At one time, the chapel at the south of the old church was screened off, probably to form a chantry. The screen fitted into the groove in this pillar.

In 1871, there was a major restoration of the church, removing the medieval decorations, but boards with inscriptions were retained. Marks remain below the clerestory windows after their later removal.

The rood screen was painted green in medieval times and remained so until the 1871 restoration. Its position has moved back and forth over time.

It is unusual for a small village church to have had two seats for clergy. As well as the rector, there may have been a chantry priest.

A green man can be found in the ceiling of the old chancel. A wooden version can be found in the modern nave.

The stone altar was removed during the Reformation and now forms part of the floor of the old chancel. It was replaced by an Elizabethan table.

The Great East Window was the parishioners’ war memorial gift “in memory of the sons of West Bridgford who gave their lives unto the death in the Great War”.

One rector felt the central painting – The Good Shepherd by Edward Woore – in the reredos above the altar in the modern chancel was out of keeping with the ancient architecture and had it covered up.

There are various carvings on the choir stalls including a ship.

Above the choir stalls can be found angels playing musical instruments … even an organ.

The current organ is electronic. Pipes from past organs decorate the church.

The British Legion War Memorial Window following the Second World War.

West Bridgford’s Stone Man was rescued from a pond and eventually laid to rest in the church. One thought for its origin is that it nay be a monument to a member of the Lutterell family who were Lords of the Manor. The fourteenth century arch was moved here when the church was extended.

The artwork on the North wall is by local artist, Jenny Bell. There are sets for the different church seasons.

This window, designed by Jenny Bell, celebrates the centenary of the 1898 church extension. The waterfall represents St Giles’ church and her three daughter churches – St Luke’s, St Paul’s and All Hallows – now all parishes in their own right.

A collecting box reminds us of the fund-raising needed to allow the extension of the church.

The font is thought to date from the fourteenth century. Originally it would have been near the door to the church.