St Giles in the Wood, Devon

Historical Description

Giles, St, -in-the-Wood, or Stow-St-Giles, a parish in Devonshire, 3 miles E by S of Great Torrington, and 6 WSW of Umberleigh station on the L. & S.W.R. Post office under, Torrington; money order and telegraph office, Torrington. Acreage, 5014; population, 778. Stevenstone, the family mansion of the Rolle family, is a fine building of stone, standing in a park of 300 acres; it was rebuilt in 1872. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Exeter; gross value, £130 with residence. Patrons, the heirs of Lord Rolle. The church is ancient but good, has a tower, and contains many monuments of the Rolles and the Holes; it was well restored in 1862. There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels. Tristram Risdon, the historian of Devon, was born at Winscott in the parish, and is buried in the church.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Church Records

Findmypast, in association with the South West Heritage Trust, Parochial Church Council, and Devon Family History Society have the Baptisms, Banns, Marriages, and Burials online for St Giles in the Wood

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for St Giles in the Wood from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Giles, St.)

Maps

Online maps of St Giles in the Wood are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers covering Devon online:

• Western Times
• Exeter and Plymouth Gazette
• Western Morning News
• North Devon Journal
• Exeter Flying Post

Villages, Hamlets, &c

Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of the County of Devon in the year 1564, with additions from the earlier visitation of 1531, is online.

The Visitations of the County of Devon, comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564, & 1620, with additions by Lieutant-Colonel J.L. Vivian, published for the author by Henry S. Eland, Exeter 1895 is online.