Tydd St Giles

Tydd St Giles
The name ‘Tydd’ derives from a corruption of the word “Tide”, as the village was home to an important sluice used for draining the Fens. Although many Fenland names derive from Anglo-Saxon words, a few scattered around Wisbech include Anglo-Saxon words referencing the native British population. Although the village is old enough, it does not appear in the Domesday Book, because the village was in the liberty of the Bishop of Ely.
Tydd St Giles was founded in the late 11th century with the building of the church of St. Giles in 1084 on a natural rise in the land of the Fens. The church was built of Barnack stone, known to be the gift of the Bishop of Peterborough.
Village guilds
The village had three guilds: the Guild of our Lady (1350), the Guild of the Holy Cross (1385) and the Guild of St Giles (1386).
The Guild of Our Lady
The Guild of Our Lady had a membership restricted to twelve brethren. It was founded by William Everswell, chaplain and Nicholas Clerk. The foundation of the guild also established a chaplaincy. by 1535 the value of the guild was valued at £4 13s 1d. The guild provided candles and torches for the icon of Our Lady in the church.
The Guild of the Holy Cross
The Guild of the Holy Cross had a chapel at Sea Gate, near the outfall of the North Level Main Drain (Then the Shire Drain).
The guild of St Giles
The Guild of St Giles, provided candles for the mass in the church. The membership was paid in bushels of barley. The members was also required to attend Vespers on the eve of St. Giles and mass on the feast day itself (1 September). The guild was also involved in charitable acts in the parish, being required to donate 1s 8d worth of bread to the poor after St. Giles’ mass.
There was also a Guild of St John, although no guild documentation exists. They may have met in a chapel by the Tritton (now Tretton) Bridge.