St Mary’s Church, Rhuddlan

Link to French translationSt Mary’s Church, Rhuddlan

A parish church in Rhuddlan is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The church on this riverbank site was founded c.1301, when the river was navigable and Rhuddlan was a port. The church is on the left in the 1781 engraving, shown here courtesy of Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru – the National Library of Wales.

Engraving of Rhuddlan church and castle in 1781

A second aisle was added in medieval times, possibly late 15th century, along with the west tower. There were reconstructions in 1812 and, by the renowned architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, in 1868 to 1870. Much of the original medieval structure survives.

The Bodrhyddan mausoleum on the north side was added in 1820 by Williams Davies Shipley of Bodrhyddan Hall, when he was Dean of St Asaph. It was accessed by a now-blocked doorway of Tudor design, above which the name of Sir John Conwy (1575-1641) is inscribed. Sir John and his wife Mary are buried beneath the sanctuary. Stone steps by the altar rail conceal the entrance.

The east windows both commemorate members of the Shipley Conwy family. The sanctuary’s north window is a memorial to Geoffrey Seymour Rowley Conwy, who died in 1915 during the Allies’ disastrous attempt to invade Turkey through the Gallipoli peninsula. Geoffrey was a Major in the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. He was 37 years old. His father lived at Bodrhyddan. He left a wife, Gabrielle, who lived in Trewyddan.

Between the south door and west wall is a memorial window to the Rev TW Vaughan. When the wall was pierced for this window in 1934, two hollow areas within were discovered within the wall. The upper hollow contained a human skull, the lower a skull and human bones, although not a whole skeleton. The voids were lined with clay mixed with straw.

The churchyard contains a 17th-century sundial and chest tombs from the same century.

Postcode: LL18 2UU    View Location Map

Church website