GILESTON, a parish, in the hundred of COWBRIDGE, county of GLAMORGAN, SOUTH WALES, 6 miles (S. by E.) from Cowbridge, containing 62 inhabitants. This place, which is situated on the Bristol channel, is said to have derived its name from the family of Giles, whose mansion formerly stood near the church; but as this edifice itself is dedicated to St. Giles, it is equally probable that it has taken its name from this latter circumstance. The parish is very small, containing only three hundred and forty-one acres, and forming a manor of the same extent. The living is a discharged rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Llandaf, rated in the king's books at £5. 13. 64., endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £400 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Rev. John Edwardes, who, by marriage with the heiress of the family of Willis, successors to that of Giles, is proprietor of this manor. The church is a small and very ancient structure of stone, with a tower which projects curiously beyond the line of the nave, and appears to have been built subsequently to the rest of the edifice: it is kept in the best repair, and the churchyard forms part of the ornamented grounds of the rectory-house, which is delightfully situated within a mile of the sea, of which it commands an extensive view: the grounds are laid out with great taste, and the church forms an interesting and picturesque feature in the surrounding scenery. The coast in this part is particularly dangerous, and the sea frequently assumes an appearance of terrific grandeur, forming a striking contrast to the rural tranquillity of this sequestered spot. The average annual expenditure for the maintenance of the poor amounts to £22.9.