Name of Church

Holy Trinity Bronington

Address

Post Code SY13 3 Grid Reference SJ488387

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Christine Henderson

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 5

Special features

Arguably the area’s earliest barn conversion, this unique and enchanting church was originally a Tithe Barn. Made from Fenn’s Bank bricks, once a thriving local industry, the building was consecrated as a chapel in 1836.
The original barn faced south, with new transepts forming the distinctive cross shape. The chancel and bell tower, with its Joyce clock, were added in the 1860s, and the new larger vestry dates from 1911.
There’s a wealth of charm and interest. The old box pews came from Gresford Church during the 19th-century, the chancel features distinctive Ruabon tiles from the 1930s, and art nouveau side windows enhance the chancel. The
gallery, inscribed with a stern command from Leviticus, used to house an orchestra (as in a Hardy novel), then an organ, now replaced by the chancel organ.
Its tranquil, wooded location at the end of a small lane makes this unusual church a serene and holy place to visit.

Name of Church

St. Mary, Ruabon

Post Code LL14 5 Grid Reference SJ303437

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Mr. John Griffiths

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 4

Special features

This grade I listed church, built on a pre-Norman site, and possibly a 7th-century foundation, was dedicated to St. Collen.
By the end of the 13th – century the church had been granted to the Cistercian Abbey of Valle Crucis, and the church was re-dedicated to the blessed Virgin Mary.
There is significant surviving medieval detail including the 14th - century Cheshire - type church tower and sepulchral monuments dating from the first twenty years of the 14th century.
During the 1870 restoration Benjamin Ferrey, architect and pupil of the renowned architect and designer Augustus Pugin, uncovered the magnificent 15th century wall painting depicting the Works of Mercy. This is reputed to be the finest medieval wall painting in the country.
In the north chapel is one of the finest monumental effigies in Wales. The Latin inscription invites the reader to “Pray for the souls of John ap Elis Eyton, knight who died on September 28, 1526 and Elizabeth Calveley his wife, who died in 1524”.
He fought at the battle of Bosworth in 1485 on the victorious side of Henry Tudor and was rewarded with large estates in Ruabon.
The exquisite and delicate font designed by Robert Adam was given to the church by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn upon the baptism of his son on the16th December 1772.

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Name of Church

St. Deiniol Worthenbury

Address

Post Code LL13 0 Grid Reference SJ418463

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Mrs. Sue Latham

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 5

Special features

The church is a Grade I listed building, and undoubtedly one of the finest examples of Georgian Architecture in Wales.
Built between 1736 and 1739, it was designed by Richard Trubshaw, the architect responsible for the remodelling of Emral Hall, (demolished in 1936), with which the Church has historical links.
The exterior is truly distinctive, in redbrick with stone dressings, a fine square tower with a balustrade and urn finials, and a clock by Joyce of Whitchurch.
The churchyard is fully enclosed by a brick wall with stone copes, and planted with lime trees.
A particular treasure is a complete set of box pews, mainly from the 18th-century, and carrying the Puleston family crest. Two have cast iron fireplaces and principal seating, and the whole is arranged in descending order of social standing.
On the east side is an armorial stained glass window removed from the private chapel at Emral Hall. At the west end there are funeral hatchments of the Puleston family.

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Name of Church

St. Giles, Wrexham

Address

Post Code LL13 8 Grid Reference SJ335501

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Mr. Paul Whitham

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 4

Special features

St Giles is considered the greatest medieval parish church in Wales. Whilst steeped in history and abounding with treasures and delights for the visitor, it also remains a busy and popular church with the congregation committed to worship, and acknowledging the presence of God in our daily lives.
The Great Tower is one of “the Seven Wonders of Wales”, and inside, a ceiling adorned with 16 colourful angels playing instruments and singing, greets the eye.
Art and religion are fused together in an ancient wall painting, lost for centuries, of the Day of Judgement. One of the oldest brass eagle lecterns in Britain is here, together with fine stained glass, including a window attributed to Burne-Jones, many amusing medieval roof corbels and statues, and many other interesting features.
Visitors will see evidence of the many historic links with the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and in a curious trans-Atlantic link, the tomb of Elihu Yale, founder of Yale University, is just outside the west door.

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Name of Church

St. Marys Cathedral, Wrexham

Address

Post Code LL1 2 Grid Reference SJ331504

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Canon Peter Brignall

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 4

Special features

This Gothic Revival church designed by E.W. Pugin was built in the mid 1850’s by Richard Thompson, a local collier and iron master. It became the pro-Cathedral Diocese of Menevia when it was established in 1898. The coats of arms belonging to the bishops of that era, can be found on display in the Cathedral cloister. In 1987 it became the Cathedral Church of the newly created Diocese of Wrexham.
A shrine to Saint Richard Gwyn (c.1535-1584) commemorates a local teacher, husband and father who was martyred in Wrexham’s Beast market in an age of religious intolerance. The Cathedral has many high quality stained glass windows that are memorials to families whose lives were irrevocably connected to the 19th – century growth of Wrexham as a town, and of the Catholic Church in Wales as it found new freedom following the Emancipation in 1829. Also to be seen is a replica of Michelangelo’s Pieta and a plaque to the memory of flight Lieutenant David Lord, V.C.
Although the Cathedral stands at a busy road junction and serves the Catholic Community of Wrexham with regular Masses, it is a haven to all who care to step inside in search of peace, tranquility and hope.

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Name of Church

St. Marcella Marchweil

Address

Post Code LL13 0 Grid Reference SJ35747

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

David Jones

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 4

Special features

There has been a church building on or near the current site since the 13th century. The church was restored in 1778, as the Latin inscription on one of the nave windows confirms.
The church has very close links with nearby Erddig Hall and the Yorke family. There is a beautiful stained glass window depicting the Yorke ”family tree”. Just below this window outside the church is the family vault. Further memorials inside the church commemorate different members of the Yorke family, including Phillip Yorke III who died in 1978 after bequeathing the whole of Erddig to the National Trust.
The pipe organ was presented to the church in 1888 by the widow of Benjamin Piercy of Marchwiel Hall. The organ was completely restored in the late 1990’s.
The peal of bells were installed in 1930 to replace a single bell and the church clock was made by Joyce & Co of Whitchurch in 1892.

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Name of Church

St. Mary the Virgin  Overton

Address

Post Code LL13 0 Grid Reference SJ373418

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Rev. David Lewis

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 4

Special features

Overton is perhaps best known for the magnificent ancient yew trees in the churchyard, one of “the Seven Wonders of Wales”. The oldest is thought to be 1500- 2000 years old.
The church tower dates from the 14th-Century and houses a peel of 6 bells, and a clock by Joyce of Whitchurch incorporating their patent escapement mechanism, in common with “Big Ben”.
The Norman circle cross, built into the west pillar of the nave, is probably the oldest stonework, and the weathered shaft of a 14th-century cross stands beneath a yew tree. An oak chest with heavy iron work probably dates from the 15th-century.
Much older still, believed to date from the 6th-century, is an unusual Abyssinian brass processional cross with a calendar stick in Indian script. Other treasures to seek out are an east window by Clayton & Bell, 3 Kempe windows in the south aisle (1890), with Kempe’s “Wheatsheaf“ signature on the clasp of the Magi’s cloak.

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Name of Church

Christ Church Rossett

Address

Post Code LL12 0 Grid Reference SJ365572

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Mrs. Ann Suter

Contact Email address

suetereas@aol.com

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 4

Special features

The church originated in 1841 following the formation of the Parish of Rossett out of Gresford Parish, but was replaced in 1892 by today’s building. Opinion is divided whether Rossett derives from “Yr Orsedd” meaning hillock, or “Y Rhosydd” meaning marsh.
Designed by Chester architects, Douglas and Fordham, who also designed the neighbouring churches of Dodleston, Pulford and Eccleston, Rossett has a peal of eight tubular bells.
The stained glass contains several good examples of the period. Two windows are accredited to the artist Kempe, and one to Burne Jones.
The reredos features five oak panels depicting Christ and six angels, and is of coloured alabaster and abalone. The hexagonal carved oak pulpit survives from the original church, as does the font in the church grounds.
Visitors are urged to explore the Living Churchyard, which contains several conservation sections.
The bier house once kept the old bier cart which carried the coffins through the village, and is now on display at Bersham Heritage Centre, near Wrexham.

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Name of Church

All Saints Gresford

Address

Post Code LL12 8RG  Grid Reference SJ346549

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Sue Kelly

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 5

 Event

 "Big Brunch Barbecue", 11am - 2pm, with food and drink, childrens' activities, and tower tours.

Special features

Gresford is often referred to as “one of the finest parish churches in Wales”. The Domesday Book mentions a church in Gresford in the 11th-century. It was almost entirely demolished in the 15th-century, and replaced by the present building, with only the lower parts of the tower and the west wall retained. The reason such a large church was built in a village as small as Gresford, is because thousands of pilgrims came to worship a sacred image, now unknown, whose gifts allowed for the present great church to be completed in 1498.
The screen and stalls with their carvings and misericords date from the 1400s. There are some fine medieval stained glass windows, and an octagonal Perpendicular style medieval font. The great yew tree by the east gate is ancient, together with the Roman altar carved with the figure of Atropos, believed to date from 350AD, now inside the church.

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Name of Church

St. Chad, Hanmer

Address

Post Code SY13 3 Grid Reference SJ456395

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Bill Barlow

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 – 5

“The church of the shining mere” has it all – scale, romance, history, war, fine features, and stunning views across the adjacent mere.
The original 12th-century church has been twice badly damaged by fire, deliberately during the Wars of the Roses and accidently in 1889. It was rebuilt each time with local sandstone on the same foundations, in the Perpendicular-style.
Around 1380, Owain Glyndwr was married here to Margaret Hanmer, the glamorous daughter of Sir David Hanmer, a Justice of the King’s Bench. It was from here in 1630 that Humphrey Hanmer emigrated to West Virginia to become the ancestor of the Hamners(sic) of America.
In 1643, during the Civil War, Nantwich Roundheads raided the village and stabled their horses in Fenn’s Chapel where the organ now stands. On 23rd June that year, a large body of Parliamentarian horse and dragoons were “cut to pieces” at the side of Hanmer mere, by Welsh Royalists.
St Chad’s features in “Bad Blood”, the award winning and best selling autobiography of Lorna Sage, who recorded her childhood in Hanmer Vicarage during the post-war years.
Other notable features include stained glass windows by Kempe, exquisite wood carvings, and a lovely Church Square with four listed buildings

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Name of Church

St. Chad, Holt

Address

Post Code LL13 9 Grid Reference SJ412541

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Rev. Clive Tucker

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 4

Special features

Standing on the banks of the River Dee in picturesque but often turbulent border country, this attractive, red sandstone church is surrounded by history, and dates back to 1395.
The north door tells its own story, with loopholes for gun barrels dating back to the Civil War period of 1645, and there is ample evidence of a battle fought with muskets inside the church.
The 15th-century font is rich in heraldry, including the Arms of King Richard III, and a number of beautiful memorials enhance the interior.
As with other churches close to the River Dee, in August the ancient custom of Rushbearing is a huge attraction, when new floor rushes from the banks of the River are brought in procession, and the graves are “dressed” with flowers.
Whilst here, many visitors also follow the Holt Village Trail (guides are available in the church) which embraces many interesting features from the Roman occupation of Britain, right up to recent times.

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Name of Church

St. Marys Chirk

Address

Post Code LL14 5 Grid Reference SJ291376

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Rev’d. Tony Rees

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 5

Special features

This impressive Grade I listed building features important funerary monuments to the Myddelton Family, former owners of Chirk Castle, and the Trevor family, the former chief local landowners.
It is partly built on 11th-century Norman foundations, the north aisle and tower being constructed later around 1475. The unusual layout is double-aisled, with no distinct chancel and only a small sanctuary. Much of the interior, especially the south aisle, is dominated by carved memorials, principally to the Myddelton family.
The roof bosses are original to the late 15th-century roof. These interesting wood carvings, repainted in the 1970s, represent a a common medieval art form, and reflect not only Old Testament creatures but also mythological beasts. The castle boss is thought to represent Chirk Castle.
Famous historical connections include Frances Maude, the author of the hymn “Thine forever”, who is buried in the churchyard. The Welsh poet R. S. Thomas served his first curacy here, from 1936 to 1941.

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Name of Church

St. Hilary’s Erbistock

Address

Post Code LL13 0 Grid Reference SJ355413

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Sheila Lewis

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 5

Special features

The present church was built in 1860 thanks to the generosity of the Boates family of Rose Hill and is dedicated to St. Hilary.
A previous church on this site was in 1692 dedicated to St. Erbin, it was a timber - framed building with a thatched roof and was rebuilt in 1748 due to a constant need for repairs.
Various members of the very generous Boates family donated all the beautiful stained glass windows in memory of family members.
The reredos has 3 compartments supported by marble columns and surmounted by a hooding of a vine pattern depicting the Last Supper.
Among the richly carved capitals of the pillars, the most westerly has the head of a female peeping out from among the flowers. At the apex of each sandstone arch dividing the aisles from the nave are other carvings of human heads.
The polygonal pulpit is of Caen stone with alternative carved panels and surrounded with a corbel band. The beautiful chandelier dates back to 1860.
There are many more interesting aspects of this beautiful church nestled on the tranquil banks of the River Dee which are well worth seeing.

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Name of Church

St. John the Baptist Bettisfield

Address

Post CodeSY13 2    Grid Reference SJ461356    2.483 W   52.55 N

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Frank Simkiss

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

01948 710718

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 5

Special features

Bettisfield was built by Sir John Hanmer in 1873-4, using Grinsall stone throughout, and is the work of the eminent Victorian architect G. E. Street.
It was Lord Hanmer, newly elevated to the peerage, who paid the first curate, the Rev. Joseph Dobel, his stipend. The first organist, Miss Fanny Leghfields Welshampton, was regarded as one of the finest organists in England. Bettisfield is renowned for its two magnificent stained glass windows, made by one of the pre-eminent specialist firms of the 19th-century, Clayton & Bell.
The fully working bell tower is of equal interest, especially to experienced ringers who are always welcome to experience its full circle ring, with demonstrations arranged by prior appointment. Originally hung by Taylors of Loughborough in 1874, and more recently renovated by the very same company, the treble bell is 4cwt 7lbs, the number 2 bell 4cwt 14lbs, and the Tenor 5cwt 56lbs. A quarter peal has been rung three times since the renovation.

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Name of Church

St. Dunawds Bangor-on-Dee

Address

Post Code LL13 0 Grid reference SJ 388453

Region of Wales (SE,SW, N or Mid)

North

Contact Person

Hilda Turton

Contact Email address

Contact Phone Number

Opening Times on Sept 6th

10 - 5

Special features

St. Dunawd was the distinguished Abbot of a huge 7th-century monastery, noted for the slaughter of 1200 monks by the Anglo-Saxons in 615AD. In approximately 1300 a red sandstone building was erected on what remained of the monastery, of which the chancel still stands.
From 1723 - 26 the architect Richard Trubshaw oversaw extensive rebuilding, including the bell tower which now houses six bells, four dated 1727 and the fifth and sixth 1865. In 1832 the north aisle was altered, in 1869 the south aisle was extended to form the present day baptistery, and in 1913 the vestry was built and the organ repositioned. Discover graves and memorial plaques dating from 1300, a font dating from 1500, and beautiful stained glass windows. Beneath the pulpit are fragments of stone from the old Bangor Cross.
The new Visitor Centre relates some of the fascinating history of the area. Listen to the stories told by the monk, and imagine what life would have been like in Bangor on Dee in the 7th-century.

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