St Giles' Church

A chapel in this area is believed to have been founded by the Celtic saint Silin (also known as 'Silyn'). A reference in 1620 to a piece of land called Erw Saint Silin (‘St Silin’s acre’) in the township of Acton in Wrexham Parish, highlights the saint's importance in the area. Both 'Silin' and 'Giles' can be translated into Latin as Aegidius and by 1494 the Church was known as 'Saint Giles'. There may have been a church in the city as far back as the 11th century and the present church is likely the third to have been built on the site. The earliest reference to the church was 1220 when the Bishop of St Asaph gave the monks of Valle Crucis in Llangollen 'half of the [income of the] church…

The richly decorated five-stage tower, 135-feet high, with its four striking hexagonal turrets, was begun in 1506 and is ascribed to William Hart of Bristol. An example of the Somerset type, it contains 30 niches and is graced by many statues and carvings including those of an arrow and a deer, the attributes of Saint Giles. It is thought that the tower may have been an inspiration for Victoria Tower, at the Palace of Westminster. The nave arcade is in the Decorated style, and dates from the 14th century, but the remainder of the church is in the late Perpendicular style, and includes an unusual polygonal chancel, similar to that at Holywell, Flintshire, and an echo of the one in the…