St Cyr

St Cyr’s is a beautiful traditional village church set in an attractive village at the foot of Stinchcombe Hill, part of the Cotswold escarpment. Its congregation is at the centre of village life and there is a strong sense of community. 

The earliest mention of a church in Stinchcombe is in the Berkeley manuscripts: ‘the Church of Cam with the Chapel of Stinchcombe was granted to the Abbot of St Peter’s at Gloucester in 1156 by Robert Berkeley'. None of this early building remains, but the tower and porch of the present day church date from 1630. The dedication to St Cyr (Cyriacus, Quiricus) which means 'the Lord’s' or 'Sunday Child' is a rare one in England.

The current church is grade II* listed and built of local stone. An extensive restoration of the building was begun in 1854 funded by the local landowner and incumbent Sir George Prevost, Revd Isaac Williams and others, all participants in the revivalist Oxford Movement. The church has many fine features: stained glass windows, a reredos and the organ in a fine oak case. There are several beautiful table-top tombs in the churchyard beautifully restored in 2018 by Mr Graham O'Hare.

St Cyr has six bells hung for Change Ringing. Visitors are always welcomed to our ringing sessions and new recruits too. Please email if you are interested.

With the help of the Friends of St Cyr's, various projects have recently been completed including the reordering at the rear of the building with the grandest loo beautifully installed with its own gothic tracery around it, a kitchen area and an electric lift for wheelchair access. The amazing support of the PCC, the Friends and the village has made St Cyr's more accessible to all with the possibility of gatherings with refreshments available after services and socials within a a beautiful setting. If you would like to use our building for a gathering then contact us using the email above.