Many people will be aware of the phenomenon that is Welcome to Wrexham, the hugely successful and often poignant Disney+ series that follows the trials and tribulations of Wrexham, the Welsh town and football club, after the latter’s takeover by Hollywood’s Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
As a Welsh football fan (Swansea but with a soft spot for Wrexham having watched them a bit when living in nearby Chester), suffice to say I am hooked on the story. And it’s not a football story, it’s a people story. Football here is merely the vehicle that allows the documentary to search out and showcase the stories of those who often escape attention in today’s society, the everyday man, woman and child going about their daily business, some carrying unfathomable burdens and finally being given a compassionate platform to share.
You come for the superstar co-owners, you stay for the normal stories told with vivid passion by people like you or me.
Naturally, the town’s soaring parish church often features as a backdrop to many establishing shots of Wrexham, and it reminded me of my visits there when researching it for my first book Tudor Wales, released ten years ago. I’ve gone into my archives and pulled out what I wrote about St Giles’s Church, which I include below.
You can catch Welcome to Wrexham, all three seasons, on Disney+ now, and can buy a copy of my book Tudor Wales, a handy guide to all the locations in Wales associated with that famous dynasty, HERE.
Situated in the heart of the largest town in North Wales, the splendid St Giles Church and its soaring tower are presently renowned as the location of Elihu Yale’s tomb, the American-born merchant credited with aiding in the foundation of the eponymous university in Connecticut, USA. Nonetheless the church is widely held to be amongst the greatest of the medieval buildings still standing in Wales and is considered one of the ‘Seven Wonders of Wales’.
St Giles possesses a great tower constructed in the perpendicular style of the early sixteenth century and was assembled in place of the previous tower which burned down in 1463. Redeveloped under the orders Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, and his wife Margaret Beaufort (mother of the first Tudor king, Henry VII). St Giles is considered one of the ‘Stanley churches’, a series of churches that were built or rebuilt in this corner of Wales during the early Tudor period. Nearby examples include Gresford and Mold.
The erection of the eye-catching tower commenced in 1506 and was completed by 1524, remaining elevated high above Wrexham for five centuries. Standing an impressive hundred and thirty-five feet tall, the tower is adorned with many examples of medieval carving amongst later Victorian ornamentations.
One of the statues on the north wall portrays St James the Great, patron saint of travellers and of Spain and it is thought to have been commissioned in celebration of King Henry VIII’s marriage to Katherine of Aragon in 1509. The west wall contains a thick wooden door with prominent Tudor emblems carved onto the gate, notably the Beaufort portcullis flanked by the Tudor Rose.
The chancel and high altar were also added to the existing structure which increased the overall length of the church to one hundred and seventy-eight feet. It was clearly designed to be another expensive and conspicuous display of Tudor propaganda in an area already replete with familial connections.
Inside the church there are three Tudor connections worthy of note. The first, and certainly the most noticeable, is the sixteenth century camber beam timber roof in the nave, an example of Tudor craftsmanship that has remained as durable as the day it was erected. There are also a collection of corbels situated underneath the roof with varying designs that add to the aesthetic of the roof, predictably including Tudor roses and the Beaufort portcullis. Noticeable directly underneath the roof and over the east wall arch is an early Tudor wall painting which depicts the Day of Judgement. The artwork was only rediscovered in the nineteenth century.
St Giles also possesses a rare brass lectern that is considered to date from 1524 and thus is pre-Reformation in origin. The lectern, the stand from which the speaker would deliver their sermon, is in the design of an eagle, a common motif found in churches prior to the turbulence of the reforming of the English church under Henry VIII and his son Edward VI.
The eagle was considered to encompass symbolism favourable to the medieval worshipper, its propensity for flying at high altitudes for example denoting its closeness to the Kingdom of Heaven. The brass wings of the St Giles eagle would provide support for the placing of the Bible in preparation for the reciter to address the congregation and is certainly lavish in design. It is said to have been presented to the church by a lady named Matilda, the daughter of John ap Gruffydd of Plas-y-Stiwart who bequeathed the lectern to St Giles’ in his will. The badly damaged effigy of Hugh Bellot in also located in the chancel, a worn memorial to this Elizabethan scholar who served as bishop of Bangor and Chester from 1585 to 1596.
Close to where the lectern is traditionally placed is the third item of note; a bust of Margaret Beaufort, complete with crown atop her head emphasising her exalted position as the king’s mother. The presence of the bust only serves to reinforce the Stanley-Beaufort connection with St Giles and helps establish the undoubted importance the newly ascended royal dynasty placed on this regional parish church. There is another intriguing bust across the nave which possibly depicts her husband Thomas Stanley, although this portrayal curiously appears to be adorned with donkey ears.
St Giles Parish Church still commandingly rises above the largest town in North Wales five hundred years after its rebuilding and is a delightful example of Tudor architecture playing an integral role in establishing the dynasty outside London.
Son of Prophecy
Out in July is my forthcoming book, 'Son of Prophecy: The Rise of Henry Tudor'. This is a 300-year history of one Welsh family, and how they emerged from the wilds of Gwynedd, navigated the murky and violent waters of Welsh-Anglo politics, and eventually found their way, almost improbably, onto the English throne.
The rebellious Hywel and Gwilym of Ednyfed Fychan, the cunning of Rhys and Gwilym ap Tudur, the boldness of Owen Tudor, the resilience of Jasper Tudor, and of course the turbulent and unexpected rise of Henry Tudor. This involves war, treason, escapes and love.
Fourteen years in the making, from defiant Welsh rebels to unlikely English kings, this is the story of the Tudors, but not how you know it.
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With it being half-term, and very wet, I've just started watching Welcome to Wrexham with my kids - and I'm really enjoying it! I agree, it's absolutely a people story! I'm delighted to be reminded of Wrexham's Tudor connections too - it's sent me back to my copies (yes, I do have two) of Tudor Wales which are exceedingly well-thumbed.
Thanks for another great article. Although I stayed in Swansea for 5 days for a break, I didn't visit this lovely church. Any historical discovery is big to me, but especially when it one in connection to a woman of reknown like Margaret Beaufort. Love that she has a crown, one denied her in life. I don't know if you are aware of the splattering of Stanley churches in Liverpool, especially a local one in Childwall and one out by the famous pub The Punch Bowl. My niece was married in a Victorian Church in the Stanley area, covered in red roses and Stanley's arms. Stanley Park I am guessing is named for them, as is West Derby village. Of course there's Knowsley for a visit, Henry Vii apparently came to there and Latham and there's the tomb in Ormskirk. Both the wives of Stanley lie in effigy, Margaret and Eleanor, him in the middle, but Margaret of course is in Westminster. His son and grandson are also there.
This little hanging bust is beautiful. Margaret has lovely smooth skin, it's in very good condition. Love this. I admire Margaret and she went through some stuff. Cheers.
LynMarie.