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All Saints' Church () stands in the former
coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
village of
Gresford Gresford (; ) 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 census. The Grad ...
in
Wrexham County Borough Wrexham County Borough () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough, with city status in the United Kingdom, city status, in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire and Shropshire to ...
, Wales. It is a large, mainly late 15th-century church in a slightly red
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
, in many ways more typical of nearby
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
churches.*"Parish history":
www.allsaintschurchgresford.org.uk
"History" tab
It has been described as the finest parish church in Wales, and has the most surviving medieval stained glass of any Welsh church. The bells of the
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...
of All Saints are one of the traditional Seven Wonders of Wales. Not only are the peal of bells of note, listed it is said for the purity of their tone, but the church itself is remarkable for its size, beauty, interior
church monument Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the death, dead. The term encompasses a wide variety of forms, including cenotaphs ("empty tombs"), tomb-like monuments which do not contain human remains, a ...
s, and its
churchyard In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...
yew tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew ('' Taxus b ...
s. The bells are commemorated in an anonymous rhyme: : Pistyll Rhaeadr and
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...
, : Snowdon's mountain without its people, : Overton yew trees, St Winefride wells, :
Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community (Wales), community, situated on the River Dee, Wales, 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 Val ...
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
and Gresford bells. The church was designated as a Grade I
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
on 7 June 1963, as "an exceptional example of a late-medieval church with fine medieval glass and furnishings".*"Cadw":


Description

Though a church was built in the late 13th century by the Welsh patron Trahaearn ap Ithel ap Eunydd (and his five brothers), this was possibly not the first building on the site. The
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086 records a church at "Gretford in Extan hundred", but this might be elsewhere around the village. The present building was very largely constructed at the end of the 15th century. The church is remarkably large and well-fitted out for what was a small settlement, suggesting (as do some documentary hints) that there was a profitable place of
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
there, though no evidence for what the attraction was remains - probably a
relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...
or statue, perhaps of the
Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
The medieval parish was very large, over 30 square miles.
Robert Parfew Robert Parfew (or Robert Warton) (died 22 September 1557) was an English Benedictine abbot, at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, and bishop successively of St Asaph and Hereford. Life He was probably born in the late years of the f ...
, the Bishop of Saint Asaph, wrote to
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
when he was
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
's chief minister, requesting that he be allowed to move his seat to Gresford, as "the Church of the said parish was strongly and beautifully made erect and builded, as also all manner of ornaments and other necessaries requisite for the replenishing and furniture of the same were brought and provided and the inhabitants of the ...parish ... were not a little aided and succoured towards the better sustentation of the living", perhaps referring to the pilgrimage receipts. The church has much fine late medieval
stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
of around 1500, now collected at the east end, except for small figures in the top of the tracery of some aisle windows. Some glass has been claimed to have come from the dissolved abbey at
Basingwerk Basingwerk Abbey () is a Grade I listed buildings in Flintshire, Grade I listed ruined abbey near Holywell, Flintshire, Holywell, Flintshire, Wales. The abbey, which was founded in the 12th century, belonged to the Cistercian, Order of Cistercia ...
on the banks of the River Dee below Holywell. The church was also richly endowed by
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 im ...
, whose intervention at the
Battle of Bosworth The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( ) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 ...
helped the Welsh-born Henry Tudor overcome
Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
in his successful quest for the throne of England. He paid for the large central east window, which survives almost complete; this reflects the dedication of the church with a host of figures of saints. A window with the ''
Life of the Virgin The Life of the Virgin, showing narrative scenes from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a common subject for pictorial cycles in Christian art, often complementing, or forming part of, a cycle on the Life of Christ. In both cases the ...
'' in several scenes in the Lady Chapel is largely intact. There are very fine memorials, mostly for the local Trevalyn Hall branch of the powerful North Welsh Trevor (Trefor) family. An
alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...
effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...
of Sion Trefor (d. 1589) reclines within a classical framework, a long tablet inscribed in Welsh appearing to hide the middle of his body. His daughter-in-law, "Dame Katherine Trevor" is represented twice, once painted and half life-size, kneeling next to her husband Sir Richard Trefor (d. 1638), and also kneeling with daughters in a smaller
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
. The twelve
misericord A misericord (sometimes named mercy seat, like the biblical object) is a small wooden structure formed on the underside of a folding seat in a church which, when the seat is folded up, is intended to act as a shelf to support a person in a p ...
s date from the late 15th or early 16th century. Some of these are very evocative, such as "A Devil, erect, driven by a man or woman in long kilted garment, facing left, and, pushing two women on a sledge or barrow into the jaws of Hell. Left Supporter an ape with a urine flask. Right Supporter a fox with a bucket of excrement".


Bells

The earliest record of the peal of Gresford bells dates back only to 1714. An apparatus was installed in the belfry in 1877 so that all eight bells could be chimed by one person. The bells are rung regularly for church services, and the old custom of ringing on 5 November is still continued, though it is unclear whether this is to commemorate the successful landing of William of Orange in 1688, or the
Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...
of
Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educate ...
to blow up Parliament in 1605. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the custom of tolling the passing bell was discontinued, as the bells were to be rung only as an invasion warning. There have been modern replacements for some.


Romano-British altar

Inside the impressive church, one of the most remarkable finds was discovered in 1907 by workmen, the Gresford Stone. This is a
Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
altar that was hidden for centuries, being used as a stone block in the rebuilding of the medieval church. The altar has four carved sides and a decorative depression at the top, used for the placement of offerings to the goddess
Nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...
depicted on one side. The altar was probably part of a Romano British shrine dating back to 100 to 350 AD.


Yews

The church is surrounded by a grove of yews, some of which are equal in size and age to those of Overton listed in the Seven Wonders of Wales. Twenty-five of these were planted in 1726, but one growing near the south gate is older. It was already an ancient tree at the time of
Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...
's proclamation that ordered the general planting of yews to support the army and the use of yew in the
Longbow A longbow is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. Longbows for hunting and warfare have been made from many different woods in many cultures; in Europe they date from the Paleolithic era and, since the Bronze Age, were mad ...
. The churchyard also contains the war graves of six Commonwealth service personnel of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.


See also

*
List of church restorations, amendments and furniture by John Douglas John Douglas (English architect), John Douglas (1830–1911) was an English architect based in Chester, Cheshire. His output included new churches, alterations to and Victorian restoration, restoration of existing churches, church furnishings, ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gresford, All Saints Church Grade I listed churches in Wrexham County Borough Church in Wales church buildings in Wrexham County Borough John Douglas buildings Tourist attractions in Wrexham County Borough Landmarks in Wales