St Giles' Parish Church ( cy, Eglwys San Silyn) is the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The church is recognised as one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture in Wales and is a Grade I listed building, described by

Sir Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...

as 'the glory of the

Marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

' and by W. D. Caröe as a “glorious masterpiece.” The iconic 16th-century tower rises to a height of 136 feet and is a local landmark that can be seen for many miles around. It forms one of the '

Seven Wonders of Wales The Seven Wonders of Wales ( cy, Saith Rhyfeddod Cymru) is a traditional list of notable landmarks in north Wales, commemorated in an anonymously written rhyme: The rhyme is usually supposed to have been written sometime in the late 18th or ear ...

'. St Giles' occupies a site of continuous Christian worship for at least 800 years. The main body of the current church was built at the end of the 15th century and beginning of the 16th centuries. It is widely held to be among the greatest of the medieval buildings still standing in Wales. The church contains numerous works of note including decorative carvings and statuary dating from the 14th century, monuments by Roubiliac and Woolner, a stained-glass window attributed to

Burne-Jones The Burne-Jones Baronetcy, of Rottingdean in the County of Sussex, and of The Grange in the Parish of Fulham in the County of London, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 4 May 1894 for the artist and designer ...

and one of the oldest brass eagle lecterns in Britain. The tomb of

Elihu Yale Elihu Yale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721) was a British-American colonial administrator and philanthropist. Although born in Boston, Massachusetts, he only lived in America as a child, spending the rest of his life in England, Wales and India ...

, benefactor of

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, is located in the churchyard. In recognition of this connection, 'Wrexham Tower' of

Saybrook College Saybrook College is one of the 14 residential colleges at Yale University. It was founded in 1933 by partitioning the Memorial Quadrangle into two parts: Saybrook and Branford. Unlike many of Yale's residential colleges that are centered on one ...

in the university was modelled on the tower of St Giles'. __FORCETOC__

History

A chapel in this area is believed to have been founded by the Celtic saint Silin (also known as 'Silyn'). A reference in 1620 to a piece of land called ''Erw Saint Silin'' (‘St Silin’s acre’) in the township of Acton in Wrexham Parish, highlights the saint's importance in the area. Both 'Silin' and 'Giles' can be translated into Latin as Aegidius and by 1494 the Church was known as '

Saint Giles Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...

'. There may have been a church in the city as far back as the 11th century and the present church is likely the third to have been built on the site. The earliest reference to the church was 1220 when the Bishop of

St Asaph St Asaph (; cy, Llanelwy "church on the Elwy") is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and community (Wales), community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census it had a population of 3,355 ...

gave the monks of Valle Crucis in Llangollen 'half of the ncome of thechurch ' of the town of Wrexham. In 1247, Madoc ap Gruffydd, Prince of Powys, bestowed upon the monks of Valle Crucis the patronage of the church of Wrexham. In 1330, the church tower was blown down by severe gales which resulted in a new church being rebuilt on the site in the decorated style, some features of which form the basis of the outline of the nave and aisles of the current 15th century building. Either in 1457 or 1463, the church was gutted by fire and work on the present building was started on the same site and incorporated some features of the 14th century church, such as the octagonal pillars. The main part of St Giles was built between the end of the 15th and early part of the 16th century. The magnificent ornamentation is rich in dynastic Tudor symbolism and was likely financed by

Lady Margaret Beaufort Lady Margaret Beaufort (usually pronounced: or ; 31 May 1441/43 – 29 June 1509) was a major figure in the Wars of the Roses of the late fifteenth century, and mother of King Henry VII of England, the first Tudor monarch. A descendant of ...

, mother of

King Henry VII Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufo ...

and wife of Thomas Stanley whose family had strong connections with the Wrexham area. In 1643 soldiers of the Parliamentary army destroyed the original organ which was referred to as 'Ye fayrest organes in Europe'. In the 18th century, the church was depicted by JMW Turner and described by

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

as a 'very large and magnificent church'. Part of the church used to be Wrexham's first fire station. As there were no fire appliances, people would run from the then town to collect ropes, water, and ladders and would run back. In 2015, a rare first edition

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

from 1611 was rediscovered after centuries of storage in the church.

Architecture and artworks

St Giles' Church, Wrexham (geograph 4885639 cropped)

The richly decorated five-stage tower, 135-feet high, with its four striking hexagonal turrets, was begun in 1506 and is ascribed to William Hart of Bristol. An example of the Somerset type, it contains 30 niches and is graced by many statues and carvings including those of an arrow and a deer, the attributes of

. It is thought that the tower may have been an inspiration for Victoria Tower, at the Palace of Westminster. The nave arcade is in the

Decorated style English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

, and dates from the 14th century, but the remainder of the church is in the late

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It can ...

style, and includes an unusual polygonal chancel, similar to that at Holywell, and an echo of the one in the contemporary

Henry VII Chapel The Henry VII Lady Chapel, now more often known just as the Henry VII Chapel, is a large Lady chapel at the far eastern end of Westminster Abbey, paid for by the will of King Henry VII. It is separated from the rest of the abbey by brass gates a ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. Above the present chancel arch are large parts of an early 16th-century

Doom painting A "Doom painting" or "Doom" is a traditional English term for a wall-painting of the Last Judgment in a medieval church. This is the moment in Christian eschatology when Christ judges souls to send them to either Heaven or Hell. The subje ...

, and the arch beneath shows striking evidence of the tracery which one filled it. The interior of the church contains notable carvings and statuary dating from the 14th century and the 16th century camberbeam wooden roof is adorned with wooden polychrome angels playing musical instruments. The church contains numerous monuments, including an elaborate sculptured memorial by Roubiliac. The brass eagle lectern was presented to the church in 1524. Tu fewn i Eglwys San Silyn Wrecsam St Giles Church Wrexham 01

Tu fewn i Eglwys San Silyn Wrecsam St Giles Church Wrexham 01

There are windows by the studio of

in the north aisle and a series of windows by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lichg ...

and C.E. Kempe and Co in the south aisle. The lyrics of the Evangelical hymn "From Greenland's Icy Mountains", written by

Reginald Heber Reginald Heber (21 April 1783 – 3 April 1826) was an English Anglican bishop, man of letters and hymn-writer. After 16 years as a country parson, he served as Bishop of Calcutta until his death at the age of 42. The son of a rich lando ...

, are etched on a window. The hymn was both composed and first performed at the Church in 1819. The church contains a medieval effigy which was found buried in the churchyard at the beginning of the 19th century. This depicts a Welsh knight, bare-headed with long hair, who holds a shield emblazoned with a lion rampant and the words 'HIC JACET KENEVERIKE AP HOVEL' ('Here lies Cyneurig ap Hywel'). Just west of the tower is the grave of

, after whom

in the United States is named. The tomb was restored in 1968 by members of Yale University to mark the 250th anniversary of the benefaction. It is inscribed with a self-composed epitaph beginning with the following lines: Tower of Wrexham church, Denbighshire

The churchyard is entered through wrought-iron gates, completed in 1720 by the

Davies Brothers Davies is a patronymic surname of English or Welsh origin. There are two main theories concerning its beginnings, neither of which has been definitively proven. The first theory contends that it may be a corruption of "Dyfed", the name of a medie ...

of nearby

Bersham Bersham ( cy, Y Bers) is a village in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, that lies next to the River Clywedog, and is in the community of Esclusham. Bersham was historically a major industrial centre of the area, but despite this the village sti ...

, who had been responsible for the gates of

Chirk Castle Chirk Castle ( cy, Castell y Waun) is a Grade I listed castle located in Chirk, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. History The castle was built in 1295 by Roger Mortimer de Chirk, uncle of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March as part of King Edward ...

, perhaps the finest example of wrought-iron work in Britain, and also made gates at

Sandringham House Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a estate ...

, and at

Leeswood Hall Leeswood Hall is a country house in Leeswood, Flintshire, Wales. Dating from 1742, it was built for George Wynne, the design being attributed to Francis Smith. Construction reputedly cost £40,000. The hall is a Grade II* listed building. To the ...

, near

Mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal seco ...

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

. In 2012, wrexham.com placed a webcam pointed at St Giles giving a live view of the church. June 2012 saw a beacon being lit on top of St Giles as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Since 2012, its interior has been re-ordered to include a re-modelling of the Chancel as St David's Chapel, and its north aisle is the home of the regimental chapel of the

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated ...

(now part of the Royal Welsh).

Folklore and culture

Local legend suggests that work on the church originally commenced at Brynyffynon but that each day's work was destroyed during the night and, as the day's work collapsed, a phantom voice was heard crying "Bryn y Grôg". This voice was taken to be a divine indicator that the church should instead be built on the nearby hill of that name. The church tower being blown down in 1330 was believed to have been a divine punishment arising from the town's market being held on a Sunday, which resulted in market day being moved to a Thursday. The tower collapsed on St Catherine's day and a statue of St Catherine appears on the east wall of the tower, possible as a form of protection. A corbel believed to depict

Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, KG (1435 – 29 July 1504) was an English nobleman. He was the stepfather of King Henry VII of England. He was the eldest son of Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley and Joan Goushill. A landed magnate of imme ...

, shows him with the ears of donkey for reasons unknown. In May 1581, the Catholic martyr

St Richard Gwyn Richard Gwyn (ca. 1537 – 15 October 1584), also known by his anglicised name, Richard White, was a Welsh teacher at illegal and underground schools and a Bard who wrote both Christian and satirical poetry in the Welsh language. A Rom ...

was taken to St Giles' and carried around the

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

on the shoulders of six men and laid in heavy shackles in front of the pulpit. However, he 'so stirred his legs that with the noise of his irons the preacher's voice could not be heard'. There was a local legend that

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

ordered a cannonball fired at the church tower during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. The church organ is referenced in the late-Jacobean

Beaumont and Fletcher Beaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I (1603–25). They became known as a team early in their association, so much so that their jo ...

play, ''The Pilgrim'' (1647), in which the stock Welshman declares that “Pendragon was a shentleman, marg you, Sir, and the organs at Rixum were made by revelations”. One of the most popular hymns of the 19th century, 'From Greenland's Icy Mountains' was composed by

on a visit to the vicarage and was first sung in public in the church in 1819. Within Acton Park in Wrexham there is a carved sandstone block which was removed from the Parish Church during the restoration programme of the early 20th century and is reputed to have magical powers so that anyone climbing onto it will be unable to get off. An unsubstantiated rumour suggests that the gravestone of Elihu Yale was stolen by the

secret society,

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

, and displayed in a glass case within the society's hall known as 'The Tomb'. According to legend, Wrexham city centre is traversed by numerous historic underground tunnels that begin somewhere underneath St Giles Church, and generally end in pubs around the area. St Giles' Church tower grotesques, Wrexham

St Giles' Church tower grotesques, Wrexham

The church's tower is traditionally one of the

, which are commemorated in an anonymously written rhyme: :''

Pistyll Rhaeadr Pistyll Rhaeadr (, meaning "spring of the waterfall") is a waterfall from the village of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant in Powys, Wales, and west of Oswestry. Description Pistyll Rhaeadr is formed by the Afon Disgynfa falling, in three stages, ove ...

and Wrexham steeple, '' :''

Snowdon Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (historic ...

's mountain without its people,'' :'' Overton yew trees, St Winefride wells, '' :''

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beau ...

bridge and

Gresford Gresford (; cy, Gresffordd ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the community, which also includes the village of Marford, was 5,334, reducing to 5,010 at the 2011 cens ...

bells.'' The church's tower is mistakenly called a "steeple" in the rhyme.

Gallery

File:Wrexham church.jpeg, A 19th century wood engraving view from the South West File:Eglwys San Silyn Wrecsam St Giles Church Wrexham 35.JPG, St Giles' Church viewed from the north-east File:Turner, JMW, 'Wrexham, Denbighshire', watercolour.jpg,

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...

, 'Wrexham, Denbighshire' (watercolour, late 18th century) File:Grave of Elihu Yale, Wrexham 2014-09-14.jpg, The tomb of

File:Memorial Quadrangle, Yale University.jpg, 'Wrexham Tower' of

, USA File:Sant Silyn, Wrecsam Parish Church of St. Giles, Wrexham, Wales 02.jpg, The face of the devil in the nave roof

References

External links

St Giles' Parish sitePanoramic views from the Church - from the BBCArtwork at St Giles' Church, Wrexham
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrexham, St Giles Grade I listed churches in Wrexham County Borough Church in Wales church buildings

St Giles Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...

Tourist attractions in Wrexham County Borough Landmarks in Wales