A church in Elkesleigh or Elchersleigh is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It was dedicated to All Saints or All Hallows, as confirmed in wills of parishioners from the 15th and 16th centuries. The shift to a dedication to St Giles was probably initiated at some point in the first half of the 19th century: White’s Directory cites the church as St Giles for the first time in 1844, though there are still later references to All Hallows.[3]
Interior
The building is in the decorated gothic style and made from local limestone. The church consists of a nave, north aisle, chancel, and an embattled west tower with pinnacles. New pews were installed in 1845, and at the same time some parts of the church were partly rebuilt.[2]
Catherine Sharpe, 1764, by Ant. Ince. South chancel
Edward and John Buckles, Mansfield. North chancel
Bells
There are three bells in the tower. They are dedicated in Latin:
1) missi de celis habeao nomen gabrielis
2) hec pro laude pie resonat campana marie
3) nomen sanctorum hec campana olocum [a misspelling; possibly "o locum"?]
Evidence suggests that they were cast by the mid-15th century, and the founder is unknown.[4][5]
The first bell, ‘Gabriel’, weighs 4 cwt (about 450 lbs) and is 26¼ inches in diameter. ‘Mary’ is heavier, with a total weight of 5 cwt (about 560 lbs) and a 29 inch diameter. 'All Saints' [sic] is 6 cwt (about 670 lbs) and has a diameter of 32¼ inches.
Owing to the precarious state of the wooden supports for the bells, the peal is considered unringable. These bells are one of only two peals in Nottinghamshire that date from before the Reformation, the other being at the Church of St John of Beverley, Scarrington, possibly by the same founder. In addition to their age and dedication, the bells are significant in their tuning, which lies between the beginning of a modern major and minor scale.[4]
