Old Codicote strings itself along the Welwyn-Hitchin road (B656), but the church is some distance from the main settlement, with modern estates to its west and open farmland to its north and east. St Giles does have ancient origins, but is mostly an early work (1852-3) of Joseph Clarke (1819-88), who is best known in the county for Apsley End church
It is said to have been consecrated by the Bishop of Rochester in c.1111, but nothing recognisably survives from that century, unless (as the National Churches Trust website and the Statutory Listing suggest) the iron strapwork on the south door dates from then; Bettley/Pevsner more plausibly propose that only the central strap dates from a major rebuilding which took place in the 13th century, and that the other two are good Victorian copies. The other surviving original features are the 13th century bases to the piers of the south arcade and the lancet window in the nave, and the tower, including its arch to the nave, and the clerestory are 15th century, though much restored.
There's one curious wooden carving in the church. Bettley/Pevsner don't mention it, but I assume it's a late medieval bench end. It's known as the Old Dog and is
said to have the head of a baboon, the ears of a bat, the tail of a lion, the mane of a horse and the legs of a goat. My photos are rather poor; there's a better one
here in which it's seen from the right, which reveals that it has a collar and chain too.
The pulpit is the most notable fixture; the Statutory Listing calls it Jacobean with which I'm sure most visitors would concur, but the more knowledgable eyes of Bettley/Pevsner ascribe it to the late16th century, in which case it's Elizabethan. I wish I was sufficiently knowledgeable to be able to explain the subtle stylistic differences between the two periods. The pretty backboard with Gothic tracery must be Victorian.
There's several Victorian and 20th century stained glass windows.
East window, 1864. The Good Shepherd, and Suffer Little Children. Anonymous; I'd suggest Michael O'Connor.
The Three Maries at the Tomb, 1868, anonymous.
St Patrick and St John, by M.C.Farrar Bell, 1946.
Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, Mary, Jacob and Rachel, 1875, attributed to Clayton & Bell.
Angels and St Michael, by Kempe, 1895. I'm usually allergic to Kempe, but I must admit this one isn't bad.
Sts Giles and St Albans, by A.A. Orr, 1912.
Treasure hid in a field (Matthew 13)
The seed growing secrets (Mark 4).
The mustard seed (Matthew 13).
The sower (Matthew 13).
The best windows are to be found in the porch, and date from 1968. They're by Agnes Charles (1906-88). She studied in the Royal Academy Schools (1930), and ran a studio and business in Codicote called St Crispin's Glass. The windows are sophisticatedly naive, colourful and full of personality. In nearly all stained glass each piece of glass is surrounded and held in place by a lead came, but here each individual glass fragment is really small, and it would look ridiculous if each one was leaded, though some assemblages are. Instead most pieces are I assume glued together. The result is something like a mosaic or a collage, and the effect is pleasingly slightly ramshackle with a handmade feel.
Charles was also responsible for the painted plaster angels over the chancel arch.
In the churchyard is a modern memorial to John Gootheridge who died and was buried in 1824, but was reburied a week later. This was because his corpse was dug up by body-snatchers who were providing specimens for medical students to study anatomy. Buried bodies were not considered property, but in this case Gootheridge's body was retrieved, and the resurrectionists, as they were known, have bestowed a kind of immortality on him as his name survives far more prominently than that of most others who died then.
Codicote church is usually locked.
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