St Giles in the Wood
Major Settlement in the Parish of St Giles in the Wood
Historical Forms
- Stow St Giles 1330 Inqaqd
- Ecclesia Sancti Egidii 1379 Exon
- Seint Giles 1501 Ipm
- Seynt Giles 1529 Recov
- St Giles's 1809 M
Etymology
The parish takes its name from the dedication of the church to St Egidius, for which the popular English form, through Old French, was Giles . 'In the Wood' must be a quite recent addition to distinguish it from St Giles on the Heath infra 164. For the earliest form v. stow . Similarly for some parishes in Cornwall which now begin with 'Saint' we find stow in the earliest forms.