The Friends of St Giles’

Registered Charity no: 247575

Place and Belonging

Historic tradition and modern identities blend and co-exist in St Giles’, a place which recognises many people have strong connections with this church drawn from a wide range of sources.

There has been a church on this site for a thousand years and the links between those who live here, those with community and civic ties to St Giles’ and the creative people who enjoy its space are what it offers to everyone.

Joining the Friends of St Giles’ will help maintain the building and its organs and preserve its historic fabric and nationally significant musical tradition. We value your support and involvement irrespective of which membership group you wish to subscribe to.

A Centre of Musical Excellence

St Giles’ is renowned for its exceptional acoustics and the high standard of secular and liturgical music it hosts. There is a professional choir on Sundays and regular musical events during the week, these include performances by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers and their programme partners. St Giles is also used for professional recordings.

Royal College of Organists Academy Organ School (RCOAOS)

St. Giles’ Cripplegate has been internationally renowned as a centre for organ study since 1992, when an organ school was founded here.

The organ school was subsumed into the Royal College of Organists in 2012 and now has over a thousand graduates.

Thanks to a sustained fundraising campaign 2000-8 led by the Friends, St. Giles’ has three first-class pipe organs, in constant use by students and their teachers. RCOAOS runs throughout the year and holds a summer course attracting students from across the world.   The largest of the three organs was a trailblazing instrument when installed in St Giles in 1969, incorporating historic material in a new and unique design. The instrument has been recorded by the BBC and used by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Singers and many other first-class professional musical organisations for concerts and recordings at the church. It is an integral part of the life and worship at St Giles and is in daily use, for lessons, practice, recordings, rehearsals, concerts and services.

Heavy use, dust and pollution have taken their toll and the time has come for the organ to require further cleaning and remedial work. Spare components for the ageing electrical system are no longer available and it must be replaced with a new solid-state system. The key-action needs detailed attention and leather motors require renewal. Some of the pipes are collapsing and now must be repaired.   Please help us to secure this organ’s future for the next generation of aspiring organists and teachers.  Donations to NatWest Account Name: The Friends of St Giles Cripplegate, sort code 56-00-23, account number 46963944

Annual Subscriptions

There are three groups of individual members, whose names recall the professional, craft and artistic history of the parish echoed in its street names. The only difference is the level of the annual subscription for

each group.

£100.00 – Silk

£50.00 – Fann

£20.00 – Fortune

We value your support and involvement irrespective of which membership group you wish to subscribe to. If you are able to commit to giving more, it would be very gratefully received.

Your Privacy

Please open the pdf document below to see our how we respect your privacy.

HOW TO JOIN ONLINE

By Standing Order

Please open the pdf below with instructions on how to join the Friends of St Giles' using Standing Orders made online.

HOW TO JOIN BY POST

using Cheque or Standing Order

Please print off the form below and complete the Standing Order instructions or enclose a cheque as preferred.

Please send by post to: The Executive Secretary, Friends of St Giles', St Giles Church, Fore Street, London EC2Y 8DA, UK.

With many thanks to Linklaters LLP, 1 Silk St, London EC2Y 8HQ for their generous support printing Friends of St Giles' membership leaflets.