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St Giles' church lies in the grounds of Calke Abbey Link .

The earliest reference to a church on this site is in 1129 when it was seized from Calke Priory by the Abbot of Chester. The church and the village of Calke had been founded earlier (probably just before 1100) by Harold de Leke and then given to his new foundation of Calke Priory. This was one of the first Augustinian houses in England.

The present church is the nave of the mediæval church that until its first restoration in the 1570s had a chancel, tower and spire. It was rebuilt in 1826 by Sir George Crewe who restored the church adding new windows, building a tower and casing the entire exterior in stone.

St Giles was the parish church of Calke from 1160 until 1834. It is now a private manorial chapel, owned by the National Trust along with Calke Abbey, yet it is still a consecrated church, so it can still hold marriages and sermons. It is a grade II listed building (English Heritage Building ID: 82825 Link British Listed Buildings).