The congregations of St. Mary's Church & St. Peter's Church joined together in 2012 when St. Peter's,
the Welsh church in the Boot End of Bagillt, closed. What follows is a brief history of both churches, a description of the stained glass windows, and a list of the vicars.
the Welsh church in the Boot End of Bagillt, closed. What follows is a brief history of both churches, a description of the stained glass windows, and a list of the vicars.
A Short History of St. Mary’s Church
By the Rev. Brian Taylor
The first move to provide the church at Bagillt was about 1830, when an attempt was made to convert an old brewery, near the railway station, into a chapel with seating for 1,000 people. This scheme was given Episcopal sanction, but was not put into force. With hindsight this was fortunate, for if the original plan had gone ahead the parish church would have been divorced from the community because of the bypass. In 1834 David Pennant, Esq., of Downing, offered to endow a church at Bagillt with £1,000, and David Pennant, Esq. (Junior) also offered the sum of £1,000. The offer was refused by the Bishop.
At a public meeting held at St. Winifred’s Chapel, on August 25, 1836, the Rev. John Jones, Vicar of Holywell presiding, the following resolution was passed:
“That the Chapel of Ease, for the accommodation of 700 persons, with a School upon the National System be erected, to be placed under the superintendence of a Clergyman, to be resident within one of the Townships of Bagillt or Coleshill.”
The estimated cost for the church and school was to be about £2000. A committee was appointed which consisted of the following:
R. J. Mostyn, Esq. (Chairman); the Hon. E. M. Ll. Mostyn, M.P.; David Pennant, Esq.; Sir Stephen R. Glynne Bart, M.P.; Jones Panton, Esq.; Roger Barnston, Esq.; T. Harrison, Esq.; William Thomas Ellis, Esq.; Richard Garnons, Esq.; William Totty, Esq.; William Williamson, Esq.’ Geo. Henry, Esq.; the Rev. John Jones, Vicar of Holywell; the Rev. Morris Williams (Curate, Secretary).
A subscription list was opened almost immediately. The chief donors were:
Jesus College, Oxford £500
D. Pennant, Esq. £200 (he also donated the land)
Lady Emma Pennant £200
The Rev. Thomas Pennant £100
Richard Garnons, Esq. £100
Lord Mostyn £50
The Farmers of Bagillt undertook to do all the cartage work free of charge, which was estimated to be worth £92.
Bagillt also received a Parliamentary Commissioners Grant, one of the few churches in Wales to benefit from the Commissioners. In the years following the Napoleonic Wars public money was made available for building churches mostly in the densely populated industrial areas of Northern England. The motivation was not for any religious sentiment but to keep the urban masses tranquil by means of religion after the tumult of war.
The following advertisement was inserted in the “Chester Chronicle” and the “Courant”:
“The Committee for carrying into effect the building of the new Chapel at Bagillt hereby give notice that they will receive for selection tenders of plans and specifications of the new Chapel (which is to contain 700 persons, and the estimate not to exceed £1000). Plans etc. to be sent free of expense to The Rev. Morris Williams, Curate of Holywell, on or before November 4th, 1836.”
The plans and specifications of an architect named John Lloyd were rejected by the committee in favour of the design submitted by John Welch. Incidentally, John Welch either lived or lodged at Bagillt Hall according to some of the correspondence viewed by the writer of this history. He was also responsible for some work undertaken in the city of Bangor, for it was from Bangor that he wrote to the vicar of Holywell complaining that the roof-slater had not been paid and was “eager for his money”.
Its description, according to The Buildings of Wales, Clwyd, (Denbighshire and Flintshire) by Edward Hubbard, is as follows: “Cruciform with lancets and low-pitched roofs. West tower, its parapet of stepped battlements, corbeled out. The transepts and East end have pairs of buttresses carried up as octagonal pinnacles. Shallow and broad crossing arches and a West gallery”. The church has recently been made a Grade 2 Listed Building by the Welsh Office. They described it as “a fine example of 19th Century Gothic Architecture”.
John Welch was also the Architect for Flint Town Hall (1840); St. Michael’s Church, Betws-yn-Rhos (1838-1839); Gwrych Castle, Abergele (minor work 1841); St. Ffraid Church, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy (1839); Lluesty Hospital, Holywell (1838-40); St. Mary’s Church, Ysceifiog (rebuilt 1836-37, though some other sources say it was Edward Welch); H.M. Stanley Hospital, St. Asaph. A very busy man indeed!
Contracts were let on March 10th, 1837, and on March 29th, 1837, the Rev. Thomas Pennant laid the foundation stone. The church henceforth to be known as St. Mary’s. The Rev. John Jones, vicar of Holywell, who had worked so hard for the new church to be, died the day the foundation stone was laid.
The consecration took place in 1839, on Thursday, 18th July. The service was conducted by the Rt. Rev. William Carey, D.D., Lord Bishop of St. Asaph. The Rev. A. D. Gardner, M.A., Vicar of Holywell, preached the first sermon, his text being Psalm 26:8, “Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house; and the place where thine honour dwelleth”. At evensong the preacher was the Rev. Richard Richards, Vicar of Caerwys.
The vicar of Holywell, who became patron of the living, appointed the Rev. Hugh Jones, M.A. to take charge of St. Mary’s, and he commenced his duties on July 21st. He was in deacon’s orders at the time, it was rare in those days for a deacon to be given responsibility of such a large area.
Bagillt first became a separate parish on May 23rd, 1844, and the old vicarage built in 1860. This was situated just above what is now Vicarage Drive and was set in two acres of land (glebe), at a cost of £1,171 12s. 11d. The following made donations:
Lady Emma Pennant £300
Galley-Knight Fund £300
Queen Anne’s Bounty £538 17s. 11d.
Bishop Short made up the balance of £32 15s
A new vicarage replaced the old about thirty years ago in the incumbency of the Rev. Canon John Pugh.
The newly formed parish was so busy that it warranted, not only a vicar, but also the ministry of an assistant curate. The names of the curates have, unfortunately, not been recorded. However, there has been mention of a curate named Reece who used to ride about the parish on horseback, just before the Second World War, and also the Rev. T. G. Davies who moved to South Wales. The last curate in the parish was the Rev. Marion Graham, who now serves in the parish of Flint.
An organ, purchased by subscription, was dedicated on 8th September, 1872. The present pews were installed in 1894 and the altar was given by the firm that provided the pews. The pulpit was lowered, and the organ was removed to the south side of the chancel. The old organ was replaced by the present organ during the incumbency of the Rev. T. A. Stillings, it was formerly the instrument in use at St. Catherine’s Welsh Church, Flint.
Also in 1894 a surpliced choir was formed. This indeed was a radical step in the days when a surpliced choir was viewed with suspicion, and regarded as “ritualistic”. Perhaps the then vicar, the Rev. Robert Owen, had been influenced by the Oxford movement when studying at New College, Oxford. There is a signed photograph of the saintly Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, in the church. He was Regius Professor in pastoral theology at Oxford from 1873-1885. In 1888 he was prosecuted, by the Church Association for Higher Practices, however this charge was decided for him in the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
P. P. Pennant, Esq., gave a new plot of land at the same time, for the first extension of the churchyard. An interesting point is that St. Mary’s was one of the first churches in the diocese to be lit and heated by gas. The gas was provided free of charge by the Old Lead Works Company which adjoined the churchyard. The original oil lamps went to the parish church at Mostyn.
In 1910, during the incumbency of the Rev. David Howell Griffiths, a faculty was granted to extend and enlarge the existing chancel by adding a larger sanctuary and clergy vestry because, “the Chancel of St. Mary’s Church, Bagillt, is very small and in other ways most inconvenient for the Administration of Holy Communion”. (which is still true to this day). At the same time a heating chamber was to be constructed underneath the vestry. The cost of this exercise was estimated to be £500. In 1934 the Rev. Hugh Iorwerth Kiffig Jones applied for a faculty to:
By the Rev. Brian Taylor
The first move to provide the church at Bagillt was about 1830, when an attempt was made to convert an old brewery, near the railway station, into a chapel with seating for 1,000 people. This scheme was given Episcopal sanction, but was not put into force. With hindsight this was fortunate, for if the original plan had gone ahead the parish church would have been divorced from the community because of the bypass. In 1834 David Pennant, Esq., of Downing, offered to endow a church at Bagillt with £1,000, and David Pennant, Esq. (Junior) also offered the sum of £1,000. The offer was refused by the Bishop.
At a public meeting held at St. Winifred’s Chapel, on August 25, 1836, the Rev. John Jones, Vicar of Holywell presiding, the following resolution was passed:
“That the Chapel of Ease, for the accommodation of 700 persons, with a School upon the National System be erected, to be placed under the superintendence of a Clergyman, to be resident within one of the Townships of Bagillt or Coleshill.”
The estimated cost for the church and school was to be about £2000. A committee was appointed which consisted of the following:
R. J. Mostyn, Esq. (Chairman); the Hon. E. M. Ll. Mostyn, M.P.; David Pennant, Esq.; Sir Stephen R. Glynne Bart, M.P.; Jones Panton, Esq.; Roger Barnston, Esq.; T. Harrison, Esq.; William Thomas Ellis, Esq.; Richard Garnons, Esq.; William Totty, Esq.; William Williamson, Esq.’ Geo. Henry, Esq.; the Rev. John Jones, Vicar of Holywell; the Rev. Morris Williams (Curate, Secretary).
A subscription list was opened almost immediately. The chief donors were:
Jesus College, Oxford £500
D. Pennant, Esq. £200 (he also donated the land)
Lady Emma Pennant £200
The Rev. Thomas Pennant £100
Richard Garnons, Esq. £100
Lord Mostyn £50
The Farmers of Bagillt undertook to do all the cartage work free of charge, which was estimated to be worth £92.
Bagillt also received a Parliamentary Commissioners Grant, one of the few churches in Wales to benefit from the Commissioners. In the years following the Napoleonic Wars public money was made available for building churches mostly in the densely populated industrial areas of Northern England. The motivation was not for any religious sentiment but to keep the urban masses tranquil by means of religion after the tumult of war.
The following advertisement was inserted in the “Chester Chronicle” and the “Courant”:
“The Committee for carrying into effect the building of the new Chapel at Bagillt hereby give notice that they will receive for selection tenders of plans and specifications of the new Chapel (which is to contain 700 persons, and the estimate not to exceed £1000). Plans etc. to be sent free of expense to The Rev. Morris Williams, Curate of Holywell, on or before November 4th, 1836.”
The plans and specifications of an architect named John Lloyd were rejected by the committee in favour of the design submitted by John Welch. Incidentally, John Welch either lived or lodged at Bagillt Hall according to some of the correspondence viewed by the writer of this history. He was also responsible for some work undertaken in the city of Bangor, for it was from Bangor that he wrote to the vicar of Holywell complaining that the roof-slater had not been paid and was “eager for his money”.
Its description, according to The Buildings of Wales, Clwyd, (Denbighshire and Flintshire) by Edward Hubbard, is as follows: “Cruciform with lancets and low-pitched roofs. West tower, its parapet of stepped battlements, corbeled out. The transepts and East end have pairs of buttresses carried up as octagonal pinnacles. Shallow and broad crossing arches and a West gallery”. The church has recently been made a Grade 2 Listed Building by the Welsh Office. They described it as “a fine example of 19th Century Gothic Architecture”.
John Welch was also the Architect for Flint Town Hall (1840); St. Michael’s Church, Betws-yn-Rhos (1838-1839); Gwrych Castle, Abergele (minor work 1841); St. Ffraid Church, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy (1839); Lluesty Hospital, Holywell (1838-40); St. Mary’s Church, Ysceifiog (rebuilt 1836-37, though some other sources say it was Edward Welch); H.M. Stanley Hospital, St. Asaph. A very busy man indeed!
Contracts were let on March 10th, 1837, and on March 29th, 1837, the Rev. Thomas Pennant laid the foundation stone. The church henceforth to be known as St. Mary’s. The Rev. John Jones, vicar of Holywell, who had worked so hard for the new church to be, died the day the foundation stone was laid.
The consecration took place in 1839, on Thursday, 18th July. The service was conducted by the Rt. Rev. William Carey, D.D., Lord Bishop of St. Asaph. The Rev. A. D. Gardner, M.A., Vicar of Holywell, preached the first sermon, his text being Psalm 26:8, “Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house; and the place where thine honour dwelleth”. At evensong the preacher was the Rev. Richard Richards, Vicar of Caerwys.
The vicar of Holywell, who became patron of the living, appointed the Rev. Hugh Jones, M.A. to take charge of St. Mary’s, and he commenced his duties on July 21st. He was in deacon’s orders at the time, it was rare in those days for a deacon to be given responsibility of such a large area.
Bagillt first became a separate parish on May 23rd, 1844, and the old vicarage built in 1860. This was situated just above what is now Vicarage Drive and was set in two acres of land (glebe), at a cost of £1,171 12s. 11d. The following made donations:
Lady Emma Pennant £300
Galley-Knight Fund £300
Queen Anne’s Bounty £538 17s. 11d.
Bishop Short made up the balance of £32 15s
A new vicarage replaced the old about thirty years ago in the incumbency of the Rev. Canon John Pugh.
The newly formed parish was so busy that it warranted, not only a vicar, but also the ministry of an assistant curate. The names of the curates have, unfortunately, not been recorded. However, there has been mention of a curate named Reece who used to ride about the parish on horseback, just before the Second World War, and also the Rev. T. G. Davies who moved to South Wales. The last curate in the parish was the Rev. Marion Graham, who now serves in the parish of Flint.
An organ, purchased by subscription, was dedicated on 8th September, 1872. The present pews were installed in 1894 and the altar was given by the firm that provided the pews. The pulpit was lowered, and the organ was removed to the south side of the chancel. The old organ was replaced by the present organ during the incumbency of the Rev. T. A. Stillings, it was formerly the instrument in use at St. Catherine’s Welsh Church, Flint.
Also in 1894 a surpliced choir was formed. This indeed was a radical step in the days when a surpliced choir was viewed with suspicion, and regarded as “ritualistic”. Perhaps the then vicar, the Rev. Robert Owen, had been influenced by the Oxford movement when studying at New College, Oxford. There is a signed photograph of the saintly Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, in the church. He was Regius Professor in pastoral theology at Oxford from 1873-1885. In 1888 he was prosecuted, by the Church Association for Higher Practices, however this charge was decided for him in the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
P. P. Pennant, Esq., gave a new plot of land at the same time, for the first extension of the churchyard. An interesting point is that St. Mary’s was one of the first churches in the diocese to be lit and heated by gas. The gas was provided free of charge by the Old Lead Works Company which adjoined the churchyard. The original oil lamps went to the parish church at Mostyn.
In 1910, during the incumbency of the Rev. David Howell Griffiths, a faculty was granted to extend and enlarge the existing chancel by adding a larger sanctuary and clergy vestry because, “the Chancel of St. Mary’s Church, Bagillt, is very small and in other ways most inconvenient for the Administration of Holy Communion”. (which is still true to this day). At the same time a heating chamber was to be constructed underneath the vestry. The cost of this exercise was estimated to be £500. In 1934 the Rev. Hugh Iorwerth Kiffig Jones applied for a faculty to:
- Install a new heating system to replace the existing gas radiators “which were hired and do not belong to the Church”.
- For the formation of a side chapel
- For the formation of a new choir vestry.
- For the removal of the font to a new position consequent upon the formation of the new choir vestry.
Group of parishioners in front of St. Mary's in the 1920s.
In the third row up there are five ladies left of centre, the first lady on the right (with the large hat) was Mrs J R S Lloyd; she was the district nurse. Mrs J P Lloyd is five along from Mrs JRS Lloyd, then at the very top of the photo there are three men; the one on the left is Mr Roger Lloyd, and his wife Olga is to the right of Mrs. J P Lloyd and the first lady after the two boys.
Below are the scenes depicted in the stained glass windows:
East End from left to right:
The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter.
Inscription: In memory of Margaretta born September 25th died September 29th 1861. Also Mary Ann born January 7th, 1848 died June 5th, 1865. Erected by the Rev. J. E. and Anne Jones in affectionate remembrance.
The Garden of Gethsemane
The Crucifixion
The Sepulchre.
Inscription: In memoriam Joseph Howell, late of Hawarden born 21st February, 1807 died 13th January, 1865. This window is erected by Louis and Septimus Howell of Bagillt 24th May, 1874. To the Glory of God and in affectionate memory of the above.
The Resurrection
Inscription: In memory of Catherine wife of Leigh Howell Bryn Merllyn Bagillt who died 23rd September, 1866 aged 34 years. Also their infant children Joseph and Joseph Dutton Howell.
The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter.
Inscription: In memory of Margaretta born September 25th died September 29th 1861. Also Mary Ann born January 7th, 1848 died June 5th, 1865. Erected by the Rev. J. E. and Anne Jones in affectionate remembrance.
The Garden of Gethsemane
The Crucifixion
The Sepulchre.
Inscription: In memoriam Joseph Howell, late of Hawarden born 21st February, 1807 died 13th January, 1865. This window is erected by Louis and Septimus Howell of Bagillt 24th May, 1874. To the Glory of God and in affectionate memory of the above.
The Resurrection
Inscription: In memory of Catherine wife of Leigh Howell Bryn Merllyn Bagillt who died 23rd September, 1866 aged 34 years. Also their infant children Joseph and Joseph Dutton Howell.
South end
The Ascension
Inscription: To the Honour and Glory of God and in affectionate memory of Henrietta Eyton of Cornist in this Parish. Third daughter of Thomas Eyton esq. Pen-y-Palmant also in this Parish. Who died 31st August, 1873 and was buried at Bodfari.
The Ascension
Inscription: To the Honour and Glory of God and in affectionate memory of Henrietta Eyton of Cornist in this Parish. Third daughter of Thomas Eyton esq. Pen-y-Palmant also in this Parish. Who died 31st August, 1873 and was buried at Bodfari.
A SHORT HISTORY OF ST. PETER’S CHURCH
By Miss D. Bloor
A small corrugated shed in New Brighton became the Mission Church for St. Mary’s Parish in 1883.
The Industrial Revolution was sweeping Britain and the impact of this was felt at the west end of Bagillt with the development of a foundry, leadworks, and colliery. The change brought a rise in the population and a need to replace the small mission building for something more substantial.
A site was chosen and a Mr. Hooson, a local bricklayer, began building the church which was soon to be called St. Peter’s. The interior was very sparse and in keeping with the close industrial environment in which it stood. The pulpit was its main feature and many fiery sermons were preached from its height. Mr. Roberts, the manager of the leadworks, had the bell cast at the foundry and presented it to the church. Church services and a Sunday school soon became well established. Welsh was the language used and St. Peter’s became known as the “Welsh Church.”
With the decline of the industries in the area the attendance at St. Peter’s began to dwindle and for many years its survival depended on a faithful few, and English became the first language. Fortunately the faithful overcame many obstacles so that by the centenary of June 1983 the church was once again well-established in the community—all three industries had long since disappeared and so had the neighbouring three chapels—but St. Peter’s “stood on a rock”.
The old pulpit, reredos, lectern, font, and organ have all been replaced, and so much care, love, and faith given that St. Peter’s survived to become the lovely little church it is today and a thriving and integral part of St. Mary’s parish.
-D. Bloor, 1985
I can only end this short history by quoting Canon W. V. Lost from a publication of his in 1939 to celebrate the centenary of the parish church:
“The above very brief outline, gives a few of the facts that it has been possible to secure with any degree of certainty and so the life of St. Mary’s Church has continued for a hundred years. We thank God, with heartfelt gratitude that for this period, through good times and evil times, through War and Peace, the Church of God has carried on her work here in Bagillt.
Let us not forget to thank the many benefactors, and countless Church-workers, the known and the unknown, who having served God in their generation have passed into the Great Beyond, leaving us to help complete the great work that they commenced.”
By Miss D. Bloor
A small corrugated shed in New Brighton became the Mission Church for St. Mary’s Parish in 1883.
The Industrial Revolution was sweeping Britain and the impact of this was felt at the west end of Bagillt with the development of a foundry, leadworks, and colliery. The change brought a rise in the population and a need to replace the small mission building for something more substantial.
A site was chosen and a Mr. Hooson, a local bricklayer, began building the church which was soon to be called St. Peter’s. The interior was very sparse and in keeping with the close industrial environment in which it stood. The pulpit was its main feature and many fiery sermons were preached from its height. Mr. Roberts, the manager of the leadworks, had the bell cast at the foundry and presented it to the church. Church services and a Sunday school soon became well established. Welsh was the language used and St. Peter’s became known as the “Welsh Church.”
With the decline of the industries in the area the attendance at St. Peter’s began to dwindle and for many years its survival depended on a faithful few, and English became the first language. Fortunately the faithful overcame many obstacles so that by the centenary of June 1983 the church was once again well-established in the community—all three industries had long since disappeared and so had the neighbouring three chapels—but St. Peter’s “stood on a rock”.
The old pulpit, reredos, lectern, font, and organ have all been replaced, and so much care, love, and faith given that St. Peter’s survived to become the lovely little church it is today and a thriving and integral part of St. Mary’s parish.
-D. Bloor, 1985
I can only end this short history by quoting Canon W. V. Lost from a publication of his in 1939 to celebrate the centenary of the parish church:
“The above very brief outline, gives a few of the facts that it has been possible to secure with any degree of certainty and so the life of St. Mary’s Church has continued for a hundred years. We thank God, with heartfelt gratitude that for this period, through good times and evil times, through War and Peace, the Church of God has carried on her work here in Bagillt.
Let us not forget to thank the many benefactors, and countless Church-workers, the known and the unknown, who having served God in their generation have passed into the Great Beyond, leaving us to help complete the great work that they commenced.”
VICARS OF BAGILLT
1839 Hugh Jones, M.A. Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. Preferred to Holywell in 1844. Later to become Archdeacon of St. Asaph
1844 Ebenezer Edwards, B.D., Lampeter. An uncle to the first Archbishop of Wales, the Most Rev. Alfred George Edwards (Bp. St. Asaph 1889-1934
and Archbishop of Wales from 1920).
1846 William Evans Jones
1850 Edward Newton Jones, B. A., brother of Hugh Jones.
1855 James Evans Jones, L. Th., Durham (buried in the churchyard)
1890 Robert Owen, B.A., formerly Archdeacon of Coolgardie, Australia
1912 Octavius Rees, Lic. Div., Lampeter (buried in the churchyard)
1932 Hugh Iowerth Kiffig Jones, M. A.
1936 William Vincent Lort, B.A., M.C. Canon Cursal of St. Asaph, 1955, Precentor of St. Asaph, 1959
1942 G. T. Walters, B.A.
1961 John Pugh, B.A., Rural Dean of Holywell, 1971. Rural Dean of Wrexham, 1977; Hon. Canon of St. Asaph 1979.
1974 Tom Atkinson Stillings, Dip. Theol.
1984 Brian Taylor
Interim
2010 Sarah Hildreth-Osborne
Interim
2013 John Geary, part-time Priest-in-charge (Brian Harvey, rector)
2017 Sue Moriarity (interim, January to June)
2017 Lara C. S. Stroud, M.Div., Virginia Theological Seminary