St Giles on the Heath, sometimes hyphenated as St Giles-on-the-Heath, is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the far west of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. It forms part of the

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

Torridge Torridge may refer to: * Torridge District Torridge is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in north-west Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Bideford. The district also includes the towns of Great Torringt ...

. The village is in the east of the parish and lies on the

A388 road The A388 is an A road in south west England which runs south from Landcross south of Bideford in Devon through Holsworthy, Launceston, Callington to Saltash in Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremoni ...

about eight miles south of the town of

Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England, west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the parish, which includes the village of Brandis Corner. ...

. The parish includes the hamlets of Hele, West Panson, East Panson, Sitcott, Box's Shop, Peter's Finger, West Druxton, Poole and Netherbridge. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north-west by the parishes of Northcott,

Luffincott Luffincott is a civil parish in the far west of Devon, England. It forms part of the local government district of Torridge and lies about six miles south of the town of Holsworthy. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parish ...

Ashwater Ashwater is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 651 that had risen to 673 by the 2011 census. It is close to the Cornish border, and is about 10 miles nor ...

Virginstow Virginstow is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England. It is situated about 7 miles north of Launceston in Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West En ...

Broadwoodwidger Broadwoodwidger is a village and civil parish in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 548. The village is just to the north of the A30 road, and is about eight miles east ...

and Lifton. Its western border follows the

River Tamar The Tamar (; ) is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape (an Area of Outsta ...

which forms the county boundary with

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. In 2001 its population was 617, significantly higher than the 258 residents it had in 1901. The village is part of Broadheath electoral ward. At the 2011 census the population was 1,650.

Church history

Before 1193 the church of St Giles was a chapelry of

North Petherwin North Petherwin () is a civil parish and village in the historic county of Devon and the ceremonial county of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated five miles (8 km) northwest of Launceston on a ridge above the River ...

belonging to the abbey of Tavistock. However, from 1288 it was a chapelry of St Stephen's by Launceston belonging to Launceston Priory. In 1500 the relationship between the two churches was settled; St Giles chapel was granted the right of burial and was thereafter to be served by a chaplain maintained by the priory who also served the chapel of Werrington. At the Reformation it became a

donative The ''donativum'' (plural ''donativa'') was a gift of money by the Roman emperors to the soldiers of the Roman legions or to the Praetorian Guard. The English translation is '' donative''. The purpose of the ''donativa'' varied. Some were expr ...

.''Cornish Church Guide'' (1925) Truro: Blackford; p. 101 The parish church, about 1.5 miles north-west of the village, is dedicated to

St Giles Saint Giles (, , , , ; 650 - 710), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 7th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly legendary. A ...

and dates from the 13th and 15th centuries. It began as a Norman church consisting of a nave and chancel only, to which a south aisle was added in the 15th century. It has a low west tower and a Norman font, and was partially

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...

in 1868 by J. D. Sedding, and further in 1878 by

James Piers St Aubyn James Piers St Aubyn (6 April 1815 – 8 May 1895), often referred to as J P St Aubyn, was an English architect of the Victorian era, known for his church architecture and confident Victorian restoration, restorations. Early life St Aubyn was ...

. The parish of St Giles belonged before 1876 to the

Archdeaconry of Cornwall The Archdeacon of Cornwall is a senior cleric in the Church of England Diocese of Truro and one of two archdeacons in the diocese. History and composition The archdeaconry of Cornwall was created in the Diocese of Exeter in the late 11th centu ...

and was then included in the new

Diocese of Truro The Diocese of Truro (established 1876) is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury which covers Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and a small part of Devon. The bishop's seat is at Truro Cathedral. Geography and history The d ...

to which it still belongs. St Giles-in-the-Heath forms part of Werrington with St Giles-In-The-Heath and Virginstow United Parish; the benefice is united with the benefices of Boyton and North Tamerton.

References

{{authority control Villages in Devon Torridge District