Serving the parish of Cheadle, Staffordshire, St Giles’ is considered to be the finest of all the churches built by the celebrated nineteenth century architect and designer, A.W.N. Pugin. It was financed by John Talbot (1791-1852), sixteenth Earl of Shrewsbury, who lived nearby at Alton Towers. Begun in 1841 and completed in 1846, St Giles’ is of unique importance in the history of the Gothic and Catholic Revival.

St Giles’ was a seventh-century French abbot and is often pictured with a doe, an allusion to the story that he once rescued a doe which was being pursued by hunters. St Giles’ is also the dedication of the medieval parish church of Cheadle, which was rebuilt in 1838.