Introduction

Biography

John was the son of Will­iam Giles and Eli­za­beth Pike. He mar­ried three times—to Ann Led­yard Ev­ill, Ann Leese and Ell­en Bar­nett.

Giles trained for the min­is­try at the Bap­tist Col­lege in Bris­tol.

After pre­sid­ing for a short time at Ha­ver­ford­west, he be­came in 1830 pas­tor of the church in Sal­ter’s Hall, Lon­don. Leav­ing there in 1836, he served in Leeds; Bris­tol; Shef­field; Rath­mines, Ire­land; and Clap­ham Com­mon, Lon­don.

In 1834, at the re­quest of the Bap­tist Mis­sion­ary Com­mit­tee, he wrote a hymn to ce­le­brate the eman­ci­pa­tion of slaves, and con­trib­ut­ed two oth­er hymns to their 1842 Ju­bi­lee Col­lect­ion.

Works

• A Fun­er­al Ser­mon on the Death of Ro­bert Hall
• Lectures on So­cial­ism