Wrexham North Wales religions

Wrexham > Religion

The Church of St. Giles

St Giles’ Church, Wrexham is the Parish Church of Wrexham and considered the greatest medieval church in Wales[5]. It includes a colourful ceiling of flying musical angels, two early eagle lecterns, a window by the artist Edward Burne-Jones and the Royal Welch Fusiliers chapel. In the graveyard is the tomb of Elihu Yale who was the benefactor of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States and after whom Yale College Wrexham is named. As a tribute to Yale and his resting place, a scaled down replica of the church tower, known as ’Wrexham Tower’ was constructed at Yale University. The tower appears in an 18th century rhyme, as one of the Seven Wonders of Wales.

St. Mary’s Cathederal

The Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows (St. Mary’s), in Regent Street, is the main Church of the Diocese of Wrexham, which extends over all of North Wales. Built in 1857 at the height of the Gothic Revival, the Cathedral was home to the Bishop of Menevia from 1898 until 1987, whose diocese covered all of Wales. However in 1987 the Catholic province of Wales was reconstructed, since which time the Cathedral has been home to the Bishop of Wrexham (now 2nd Bishop of Wrexham). The cathedral is also home to the relic of Saint Richard Gwyn, Wrexham’s patron saint. He was a Catholic martyr in the 16th century and was hung drawn and quartered at Wrexham’s Beast Market. He was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

Other

Wrexham also has a number of non-denominational chapels and churches scattered about the town. The main Methodist Church is in Brynyffynon, off Regent Street. Up until the 1970s the town was full of Welsh non-denominational chapels and the attendance of these was far in excess of that of the Anglican Church in the town.

In the past, Wrexham had a church with a spire much taller than the St Giles steeple. This church was dedicated and named after St Mark, but this was demolished as the building’s foundations were in danger of collapse. A multi-storey car park named "St Marks" was erected on the site.