St. Giles Church

There may well have been a church in Wrexham as far back as the 11th century and the present church is probably the third to have been built on the site. Local legend has it that work on building a church was originally commenced on what is now Brynyffynnon but that each day's work was destroyed during the night. A watch was kept one night and, as the day's work collapsed, a voice was heard crying 'Bryn-y-grog' (the Hill of the Cross) and it was taken as a divine indication that the church should be built a few hundred yards away on the hill of that name.

On 25 November, 1330, the church tower (often referred to as a steeple) was blown down, the result of which was that the whole church was rebuilt in the Decorated style. Some features of this 14th century church have survived and formed the basis of the outline of the nave and aisles of the 15th century building. Many believed that this catastrophe had befallen the tower because the market was being held on a Sunday. Consequently, market day was moved to a Thursday. The church is dedicated to St Giles although there is a strong local belief that it was once dedicated to the Celtic saint Silyn.