Wimborne St Giles is a village and civil parish in east Dorset, England, on Cranborne Chase, seven miles north of Wimborne Minster and 12 miles north of Poole. The village lies within the Shaftesbury estate, owned by the Earl of Shaftesbury. A tributary of the River Allen, formerly known as the Wimborne, snakes its way through the village. The village of St Giles was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. Wimborne St Giles was established in 1733, when the St Giles and All Hallows parishes were merged at the request of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury. In 2001 the population was 366, served by the village hall, post office, parish church, and a primary school. Recreational enterprises include commercial shooting, a trout farm, and fly fishing on the River Allen. The village is largely agricultural, with residents generally commuting to nearby cities and towns for employment. History Wimborne St Giles is a hundred and parish located in the wooded valley of the River Allen, near the royal hunting ground of Cranborne Chase. As originally divided, various parishes and villages resided within the hundred, including the parishes of West Woodyates, St Giles, and All Hallows. The tithing of All Hallows is located in the village, as well as the eponymous parish of Wimborne St Giles. St Giles House Early property owners in St Giles included the Malmayne family. Matilda Malmayne, heiress of the Malmayne estate, married Edmund Plecy. Ownership of the estate encompassing the present-day St Giles House has not changed hands through purchase since the Norman Conquest. In 1375, the manor estate was known as St Giles Upwymbourne Plecy. The Plecy male line became extinct towards the end of the 14th century, and the estate was transferred to Edmund and Matilda's descendant Joan Plecy, as heiress. Lady Joan Plecy was soon married to Sir John Hamelyn (d. 1399), high sheriff of Somerset. When Hamelyn died, there were no male heirs. The estate went to Sir John's daughter Egidia, by his second wife, who married Robert Ashley. The family estate, initially known as the Ashley Manor, has belonged to the Ashleys and Ashley-Coopers ever since. The cornerstone of St Giles House, home to the Earls of Shaftesbury, was laid by Sir Anthony Ashley-Cooper, then 2nd Baronet, later 1st Earl of Shaftesbury] on 19 March 1650. The country house was built on the remains of Ashley Manor. Incorporating late medieval