St John the Baptist
Bettisfield, Wrexham
This beautiful church in a tranquil and peaceful setting, is one of the most complete churches designed by GE Street and has many fine features for visitors to enjoy.
St Chad’s is a beautiful church in a splendid setting with a wonderful heritage. The old medieval stone church, predecessor to the present church, dates from the middle of the 12thcentury. It was this first stone church that saw the marriage of Margaret Hanmer to Owain Glyndwr in about 1383. It was badly damaged in 1463 in the Wars of the Roses at the time when the great Welsh language poet, Dafydd ab Edmund, lived and wrote here. It was occupied in the Civil War and a battle took place here in 1643. It had a new roof in 1892 after a damaging fire. The poet R S Thomas was curate here in the first years of WWII. What we see today is the third restoration after the major fires of 1463 and 1889. The original 12th century style and plan were retained through each reconstruction, so in its graceful pillars we have an architectural continuity of over 700 years. Today this church remains a heritage treasure and centre of a village community.
