St Giles' was one of the three original parish churches, along with
St Mary's and
St Laurence's, serving the
medieval borough of Reading. The church is on
Southampton Street, just outside the town centre and in the portion of the original borough to the south of the
River Kennet. The original church was built in the 12th century to serve the population to the south of the River Kennet, who found it difficult to reach St Mary's during winter floods of the river. Besides the southern section of the medieval borough, its parish also included the hamlet of
Whitley, which then lay outside the borough boundary. In 1191
Pope Clement III gave the church to
Reading Abbey and throughout the Middle Ages it enjoyed the right of
sanctuary. In 1539,
John Eynon, the then priest of St Giles', was found guilty of
high treason and along with
Hugh Cook Faringdon, the abbot of Reading Abbey, was hanged in front of the abbey gateway. During the
Civil War, when the
Parliamentarian forces besieged Reading, the church tower was garrisoned by the
King's forces and used as a gun platform. As a consequence it was in turn attacked by the besieging
artillery and the upper part of the tower, including its spire, was destroyed in 1643. The fabric was restored at the end of hostilities. In 1798 there was a disagreement between members of the congregation of St Giles' Church. Many of them left and founded a new chapel in Castle Street, on the site of Reading's old gaol. This chapel eventually became the
Church of St Mary, Castle Street. In 1872, the original small mediaeval church was rebuilt by
James Piers St Aubyn in
Early English style retaining only the 13th century
aisle walls and
Perpendicular style west tower. A new
ashlar steeple was added in 1873. The exterior of the church is faced in
flint and the roof is tiled. The church is a Grade II
listed building. ==Present day==