Church of St Giles

St Giles on the Hill stands on the highest ground in Norwich, a Grade I listed parish church dedicated to the hermit Saint Giles. The building began around 1100 and grew through the 12th and 13th centuries, when its income reached £4 a year. By the mid-15th century its fortunes declined sharply, and in 1581 the chancel was demolished. The tower, the tallest parish church tower in the city, rises 34 metres above sea level. Inside, two eagle lecterns and many wall monuments remain from earlier centuries. The church’s history includes a night-time rescue by John Colton in the 15th century. Lost and guided to safety by its bells, he left land now known as Colton’s Acre and asked for the curfew bell to be rung each evening. The nave shows Perpendicular style with knapped black flint, tall windows and carved angels holding royal shields. A fan-vaulted ceiling survives in the porch, the only one of its kind in Norwich. Visitors find a spacious nave with five-bay arcading, clerestory windows and a false hammerbeam roof. The south porch, faced in ashlar, carries a modern statue of Saint Giles surrounded by symbols. Large gargoyles guard the exterior walls, while inside the chancel arch holds niches with restored images of Saint Giles and a Madonna. The church’s setting on rising ground gives views across Norwich, linking past and present in stone and flint.