All Saints' Church, Gresford facts for kids
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All Saints' Church (Welsh: Eglwys yr Holl Saint) is a famous old church in the village of Gresford in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. Gresford used to be a coal mining village. This large church was mostly built in the late 1400s. It is made of slightly red sandstone and looks a lot like churches you might find in nearby Cheshire, England. Many people say it is the most beautiful parish church in all of Wales. It also has more original medieval stained glass than any other church in Wales.
The bells of All Saints' Church are so special that they are one of the traditional Seven Wonders of Wales. People don't just admire the bells for their beautiful sound. The church itself is also amazing because of its size, its lovely design, the old monuments inside, and the ancient yew trees in its churchyard. The bells are even mentioned in a famous old rhyme:
- Pistyll Rhaeadr and Wrexham steeple,
- Snowdon's mountain without its people,
- Overton yew trees, St Winefride wells,
- Llangollen bridge and Gresford bells.
Because it is so important and beautiful, the church was officially named a Grade I listed building on June 7, 1963. This means it is a very important historical building.
About the Church
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Even though a church was built here in the late 1200s, there might have been an even older building on this spot. The Domesday Book from 1086 mentions a church in "Gretford," but we are not sure if it was exactly this location. The church you see today was mostly built around the end of the 1400s. It is very big and well-decorated for what was a small village back then. This suggests that many people came here on a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is a special journey to a holy place. People likely came to see a special relic (a holy object) or a statue, perhaps of the Virgin Mary. The area the church served was huge, covering more than 30 square miles!
Around the 1500s, Robert Parfew, who was the Bishop of Saint Asaph, asked Thomas Cromwell if he could move his main church to Gresford. He said the church was "strongly and beautifully made" and had "all manner of ornaments." He also mentioned that the local people were helped by the church, possibly because of the money brought in by pilgrims.
The church has many beautiful old stained glass windows from around the year 1500. Most of these are now found at the east end of the church. Some people believe that some of this glass came from Basingwerk Abbey, a monastery that was closed down. The church also received a lot of money from Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby. He helped Henry Tudor win the Battle of Bosworth and become King of England. Thomas Stanley paid for the large window at the very front of the church, which shows many different saints. Another window, in the Lady Chapel, shows scenes from the Life of the Virgin and is almost completely original.
Inside the church, you can also see some very impressive memorials. Most of these are for members of the powerful Trevor family, who lived nearby at Trevalyn Hall. One memorial shows a stone figure, called an alabaster effigy, of Sion Trefor (who died in 1589). He is shown lying down, and a long stone tablet in Welsh seems to cover his middle. His daughter-in-law, "Dame Katherine Trevor," is shown twice. In one part, she is painted and kneeling next to her husband, Sir Richard Trefor (who died in 1638). In another, she is kneeling with her daughters in a smaller stone carving.
The church also has twelve special wooden seats called misericords. These date back to the late 1400s or early 1500s.
The Famous Bells
The first official record of the Gresford bells is from 1714. In 1877, a special machine was put in the bell tower. This allowed one person to ring all eight bells at once! The bells are still rung regularly for church services. There is also an old tradition of ringing them on November 5th. It's not completely clear why this happens. It might be to remember when William of Orange arrived in England in 1688, or it could be about Guy Fawkes and his plot to blow up Parliament in 1605. During World War II, the bells were only allowed to be rung if there was an invasion warning. Some of the bells have been replaced with newer ones over time.
Ancient Roman Altar
In 1907, workers found something amazing inside the church: the Gresford Stone. This was an altar from the Roman period! It had been hidden for hundreds of years, used as a simple stone block when the medieval church was being rebuilt. The altar has four carved sides and a special dip at the top. This dip was used to place offerings for the goddess Nemesis, who is shown on one side. This altar was probably part of a Roman shrine that existed between 100 and 350 AD.
Old Yew Trees
The church is surrounded by many old yew trees. Some of these trees are as big and old as the famous yew trees in Overton-on-Dee, which are also part of the Seven Wonders of Wales. Twenty-five of these trees were planted in 1726. However, one tree near the south gate is much older. It was already an ancient tree when King Richard II ordered people to plant yew trees. This was done to make sure there was enough yew wood for Longbows, which were important weapons for the army.
The churchyard also has the graves of six soldiers from World War I who served the Commonwealth countries.
See also
