St Peter's Church, Ruthin facts for kids
St Peter's Church is an important church in the old market town of Ruthin, located in the beautiful Vale of Clwyd in north east Wales. It belongs to the Church in Wales, which is a part of the Anglican Christian faith. This church is considered a very special building, listed as Grade I listed because of its history and architecture.
History of St Peter's Church
Christianity started to grow in the Vale of Clwyd a long time ago, even before the year 900. Many Celtic saints set up small religious communities there. One saint, named Meugan, started a community in the area of Llanrhydd. This community served the people living nearby, including those in Ruthin. Over time, it became the main church for the whole area. St. Meugan's Church became very well known. It was even mentioned in official records from 1254 and was damaged during wars, with the king paying for repairs. The original St. Meugan's Church building is about 1.5 miles south-east of Ruthin.
In 1282, when King Edward I finished taking control of Wales, the importance of St. Meugan's Church began to lessen. King Edward gave the area of Dyffryn Clwyd to his friend, Reginald de Grey. De Grey then finished building Ruthin Castle, which had been started in 1277. In 1282, he made Ruthin a special town with its own rules.
When Reginald de Grey passed away in 1308, his son John took over the lordship of Ruthin. John de Grey was very important for the history of St Peter's Church.
Building the First Church
In 1310, John de Grey built a new place of worship called Capella St. Petri (St. Peter's Chapel) for the people of the new town. He made it a "collegiate church." This means it was a church run by a group of priests, in this case, seven of them. These priests were known as the Bonshommes, a special order of priests connected to the Augustinian canons. There were only three such places in England and Wales, and Ruthin was the only one in Wales.
During the difficult 1400s, the collegiate church continued to serve the community. However, it was damaged during the Owain Glyndŵr uprising. The town of Ruthin was attacked on September 16, 1400, and again in 1402. During the second attack, the 3rd Lord de Grey was captured and had to be ransomed by Glyndŵr.
In 1508, the 6th Lord de Grey of Ruthin, who was also the 3rd Earl of Kent, sold the lordship to King Henry VII. The de Grey family had become poor, mainly because of the huge ransom they had to pay for the 3rd Lord in 1402.
Changes Over Time
The original church has been changed a lot since it was first built. A major restoration happened between 1854 and 1859, during the Victorian era. At this time, its famous spire was added. This spire is the only one in the entire Vale of Clwyd.
Inside, St Peter's Church looks very unique because it has two main sections, called naves. These two sections are the same length and are built side-by-side, separated by a row of pillars. This happened in the late 1300s when the church, which was originally a single rectangle, was doubled in size. This double-nave style is not common in most of Britain, but it was very popular in the Vale of Clwyd. There are now at least 21 churches with this double-nave design in the area.
Both naves have amazing wooden roofs, which were added in the early Tudor period (around 1500–1540). The roof of the northern nave is especially detailed, with decorated beams and over 400 carved panels. These panels show many different designs, flowers, symbols, and family crests. The southern roof, added later, is simpler with plain panels but has decorated bosses (carved decorations where beams meet).
In 1589–1590, Dean Gabriel Goodman bought the church and its lands. He restarted the church's leadership and connected it with Christ's Hospital. He also oversaw the building of almshouses, which were homes for twelve poor people, including two women. Earlier, in 1574, Dean Goodman had also restarted Ruthin School. He became a major helper for the town, making Ruthin an important religious center and the best educational place in North Wales.
In 1683, the large bell of Ruthin Church was made. Sir Thomas Myddleton and Sir John Salusbury paid for it together. This shows that the church tower was strong enough to hold a big bell back then. A smaller bell had also been used since the Middle Ages to ring a curfew at night for the town's residents.
After the original chancel (the part of the church near the altar) was taken down in 1663, not much maintenance seemed to happen. In 1714, a special royal order was given to carry out urgent repairs, estimated to cost about £3,128. The church must have stayed in bad condition, because in 1720–1721, more restoration work was done. This included fixing the stone structure, windows, and timber, and adding a new family pew. The Myddletons of Chirk Castle, who were then the Lords of the Manor of Ruthin, paid for these repairs.
It seems the work from the 1714 order was not finished. In 1754, another order was issued, saying the church had "... become so ruinous and dangerous to the lives of the inhabitants." This order from King George II is now part of the British Museum collections.
In 1720, the Myddletons paid £28 18s 1d to the Davies brothers of Bersham. These brothers made the beautiful wrought-iron gates for the churchyard. In 1727, another £20 was given to put them up. The Davies brothers also made gates for Chirk Castle and Wrexham Parish Church. These gates made the church look even better and showed off the amazing skill of the ironsmiths in Ruthin.
In 1804, Reverend Richard Newcome became the warden. During his 47 years in Ruthin, he made changes to the church, the town, and Ruthin Castle. He also wrote about Gabriel Goodman. He was a friend of the "Ladies of Llangollen" and gave them a carved lion, which you can still see at Plas Newydd.
A terrible fire happened on April 6, 1904. It damaged the vestry (a room for clergy) and its roof. An old brass alms dish, prayer books, and clerical robes were lost in the fire.
On March 31, 1920, because of the Welsh Church Act 1914, all of Wales and Monmouthshire separated from the Church of England. This created the Church in Wales with its own archbishop.
In 1949, an electric clock was installed on the church tower as a memorial to those who died in World War Two. It cost £896.
During a special service on May 16, 1976, the local branch of the British Legion placed its standard (a special flag) in the church for safekeeping. Also, the standard of the Royal Air Forces Association was placed in the church "for evermore" at a service on September 29, 1991.
Among the many memorials in the church are two very rare brass plaques on the north nave wall. One shows Edward Goodman, a cloth merchant who passed away in 1560, wearing his robes as mayor of Ruthin. Unusually, he appears again on a second brass with his wife (he lived to be 84, she 90) and their eight children. Their second son was Gabriel Goodman, who is also remembered by a striking painted bust near the altar. He was a very important church leader, serving as chaplain to Queen Elizabeth I's chief minister, William Cecil, and as dean of Westminster. Goodman also helped pay for the Welsh translation of the Bible.
Behind the church, there are several historic buildings connected to the church and Gabriel Goodman.
Church Close Buildings
Behind St Peter's Church, there is a lovely group of buildings that feel like a small cathedral area.
The Almshouses
The rules for Christ's Hospital were written and signed by its founder, Dean Gabriel Goodman, on June 28, 1590. A copy of these rules is kept by the Warden. The rules stated that there should be a president (the bishop), a warden (a preacher), and 12 poor people. Ten of these were to be men and two women. The men had to be at least 50 years old, and the women had to be widows or single women, also at least 50. They had to remain unmarried while living there. The two women were supposed to wash clothes and look after the sick and weak people in the hospital. These poor residents were once known as the "Goodman Pensioners."
A group of twelve almshouses were built for the poor, and the Warden lived in the Old Cloisters. In 1863, new rules for Christ's Hospital were made. At that time, the almshouses were ordered to be rebuilt, but this didn't happen until 1865.
The buildings were greatly improved in 1865 and 1974. They now offer comfortable one-bedroom homes. The rules have also become much more relaxed, and married couples can now live there.
The Warden was in charge of the hospital and was also the parish priest at St Peter's Church. He also had to keep three or four cows, milk them himself, and share the milk among the residents. The residents had to wake up at 6 a.m. (7 a.m. in winter) and go to bed at 9 p.m. (8 p.m. in winter). They were not allowed to go to pubs, beg, or have lodgers. If they damaged hospital property, they had to pay for it from their allowance. The two women were responsible for washing and caring for the sick and helpless residents.
The Old Cloisters
This building was part of the original collegiate church founded in 1310. It is a two-story building attached to St Peter's. It used to be where the priests who served the church lived and worked before the Reformation. After Dean Goodman bought the college lands in 1589–1590, it became the home of the Wardens of Ruthin until a new Cloisters building was put up in 1954.
You can see the different changes and additions made to the building over the years. The neat brick part at the north end was added in the early 1500s and is now where the Choirmaster lives. The first floor of the Old Cloisters has been turned into a Masonic Temple, which is rented to the Gabriel Goodman Lodge of Freemasons. The ground floor is used as a Parish room and music rooms for the church choir.
The Old Grammar School and Headmaster's House
The current stone building was built in 1700 using money raised by donations. It stands on the site of the original school room. The brick building next to the Grammar School was built in 1742. It served as dormitories for students and a house for the Headmaster. The Old Grammar School and Headmaster's house were sold in 1903 and 1994 and have since been turned into apartments.
Churchyard Gates
Quick facts for kids Churchyard Gates |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Location | Churchyard, Ruthin, Denbighshire |
| Town or city | Ruthin |
| Country | Wales |
| References | |
| Cadw 906 | |
These beautiful wrought iron gates are listed as Grade II, meaning they are historically important. They were made on October 24, 1950, and are located on the north side of St Peter's Square, behind the Post Office. They form the main entrance to the church. The gates were made in 1727 by Robert Davies of Bersham and were a gift to the church from the Myddeltons of Chirk Castle.
Wardens of the Church
The Warden is like the main priest or leader of the church. Here are some of the people who have held this important role over the centuries:
Wardens of the Old Foundation (before 1590)
- 1310 Sir Hugh
- 1353 Nicholas de Blechley
- 1391 Gethin
- 1416 William Sutton
- 1421 John Croote
- 1439 Nicholas Hammond
- 1455 Robert Hale
- 1465 John Bert
- 1511 David Yale
- 1512 John Greysley
- 1535 John Strynger
- 1535 David Yale
- 1541 Hugh ap Ieuan
Wardens of the New Foundation (from 1590 onwards)
- 1590 Eubule Thelwall
- 1594 John Price
- 1599 Jaspar Griffith
- 1606 John Williams
- 1621 John Bayley
- 1633 David Lloyd
- 1658 Robert Lloyd
- 1662 David Lloyd (Restored)
- 1668 Hugh Pugh
- 1682 John Lloyd
- 1713 Benjamin Conway
- 1748 Edward Jones
- 1784 William Parry
- 1804 Richard Newcome
- 1851 Bulkeley Owen Jones
- 1909 Lewis Pryce
- 1916 Arthur Llewelyn Davies
- 1923 John Howell Thomas
- 1933 John Evan Rowland
- 1951 James Cecil Jones
- 1966 Gwilym T. Hugues
- 1970 John Elwern Thomas
- 1979 Robert Edward Smart
- 1986 David John Williams
- 1996 Raymond Bayley
- 2010 Stuart Evans
- 2023 Luke Bristowe
