Wrexham Cathedral & St Giles

Wales has 9 Anglican and Catholic cathedrals, and I decided to start my journey in Wrexham, using it as a base to visit Bangor and St Asaph. In hindsight, it was not the best choice as I didn’t realise that while there are direct trains from Wrexham to Bangor and Ryhll for St Asaph, all the trains pass through Chester.

Wrexham is one of the border towns and cities that have been fought over between the English and the Welsh. There’s evidence that the Wrexham area has had human activity dating back to the Mesolithic period (8000 to 4300 BC).

During the Roman conquest of Britain, the area which Wrexham formed part of was held by a Celtic tribe called the Cornovii. A Roman town was located in the Plas Coch area of Wrexham and excavations have revealed evidence of agriculture and trade with the wider Roman world.

The Battle of Chester circa 615/616 is the first recorded clash in the long struggle between the Welsh and English for territory in this part of Wales. Wrexham was probably founded in the eighth century when the Anglo-Saxon royal house of Mercia pushed their frontiers westwards and established the earth boundaries of Wat's Dyke and Offa's Dyke to the west of the present city.

During the medieval period, it grew as a trading town and administrative centre. The traditional pattern of Welsh life – law, administration, customs and language – remained undisturbed through the Middle Ages and the pattern was for local English people to rapidly adopt the Welsh-language and to be assimilated into Welsh culture, even to point of adopting Welsh Patronymic surnames. This changed with the Acts of Union passed during the reign of Henry VIII brought it into the full system of English administration and law. It became part of the new shire of Denbighshire in 1536.

Wrexham was a major centre during the Industrial Revolution with large scale tin and coal mining operations. But, like many towns and cities, it suffered significant decline in the 20th century. It became Wales’ seventh cities in 2022 as part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours.

Today, Wrexham is probably best known for its football club after its purchase by  by Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds and American actor Rob McElhenney and the attendant publicity from the docuseries Welcome to Wrexham had a significant impact on the club's visibility, leading to its acquiring a new global fanbase with no precedent for a team who were then in the fifth division.

My trip was all about the Cathedral. St Mary’s Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral and It is the seat of the Bishop of Wrexham, and mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wrexham which was founded in 1987.

Before becoming a cathedral, it was a large parish church that was built in 1857 by architect, Edward Welby Pugin. It is his version of a Decorated Gothic church. While it is obviously a 19th century church, it is possible to see glimpses of the churches that inspired him, as the pictures show.

During my exploration of the town, I found the parish church of St Gile’s. The current church dates from the 16th century but there is evidence that the site has been used a church from the 11th century. 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, mother of King Henry VII and wife of Thomas Stanley whose family had strong connections with the Wrexham area.

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.. It contains 30 niches and is graced by many statues and carvings including those of an arrow and a deer, the attributes of Saint Giles. It is thought that the tower may have been an inspiration for Victoria Tower, at the Palace of Westminster.

Among the many and varied decorations in the church is part of an early 16th-century Doom painting, including an elaborate sculptured memorial by Roubiliac.

Here are a few photos of this delightful gem.