English Heritage sites near Temple Guiting Parish
HAILES ABBEY
3 miles from Temple Guiting Parish
Founded by the Earl of Cornwall in thanks for surviving a shipwreck. It housed a renowned relic, ‘the Holy Blood of Hailes’: allegedly a phial of Christ’s blood. Great picnic spot. Audio tours.
BELAS KNAP LONG BARROW
5 miles from Temple Guiting Parish
A particularly fine example of a Neolithic long barrow of c.3800 BC, featuring a false entrance and side chambers. During excavations in the 1860s, the remains of 31 people were found in the chambers.
ROLLRIGHT STONES
13 miles from Temple Guiting Parish
Traditionally a monarch and his courtiers petrified by a witch, the Rollright Stones consist of three groups: the King's Men stone circle; the Whispering Knights burial chamber; and the single King Stone. They span nearly 2,000 years of Neolithic and Bronze Age development.
ODDA'S CHAPEL
14 miles from Temple Guiting Parish
One of the most complete surviving Saxon churches in England, this chapel was built in 1056 by Earl Odda, and rediscovered in 1865 subsumed into a farmhouse. Nearby is the famous Saxon parish church.
GREAT WITCOMBE ROMAN VILLA
15 miles from Temple Guiting Parish
The remains of a large and luxurious villa built about AD 250, with a bathhouse complex, perhaps the shrine of a water spirit, and mosaics.
CIRENCESTER AMPHITHEATRE
17 miles from Temple Guiting Parish
The earthwork remains of one of the largest Roman amphitheatres in Britain, built in the early 2nd century to serve the important city of Corinium, now Cirencester.
Churches in Temple Guiting Parish
St Faith
St Mary
Temple Guiting
Cheltenham
01386 584976
Welcome to St Mary's Church Temple Guiting. St. Mary's is one of seven churches in a joint benefice together with the villages of Naunton, Upper and Lower Slaughter, Guiting Power, Cutsdean and Farmcote.We hope these brief notes about its history and particular features of interest will encourage you to visit.
Temple Guiting is a small peaceful village in the Upper Windrush valley at the northwest corner of the Cotswolds. St Mary's Church was founded around the year AD 1170 by the Knights Templar and retains many features of interest.
The most ancient, easternmost part of the church dates from Norman times (12th century). Staring out from below the roofline on each side, are eleven stone corbels; beautifully carved beasts, figures and grotesque heads designed to ward off evil spirits.
In the nave of the church stands a beautiful 15th century font and above it in the central south window, three panels of attractive medieval glass of Flemish or German origin. A further nine glass panels were sold by the Talbot family to a London dealer in 1809 for £5.00 and exported to America. They are now in the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York.
Above the porch door is a Georgian Decalogue, an ornately painted set of wooden panels representing the Creed, Ten Commandments and Lord's Prayer. The Decalogue, circa 1746, lay hidden for over a century, eventually being restored in 2004 with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Behind the lectern is a beautiful stained glass window , the work of contemporary artist Tom Denny, illustrating a verse from Psalm 111 and installed in 2010 in memory of Lord Butterworth; the first vice-chancellor of Warwick University.
This is just a taste of the history of St Mary's church. The church is always open during daylight hours and you will find refreshments available. Visitors are especially welcome at our Sunday services and to our fortnightly 'Saturday at the West End'coffee mornings.
Pubs in Temple Guiting Parish
Halfway House
Kineton, GL54 5UG
(01451) 850344
thehalfwayhousekineton.co.uk/
Plough Inn
A 16th-century former courthouse, the cellars were once dungeons holding prisoners and the remains of the indoor stocks can be found under the rear lounge windows. Four interconnecting rooms are served by a central bar dispensing the highly...