THE CHURCH, dedicated to St. Mary, is a fine old fabric of considerable
magnitude, ornamented with a massive square tower at the west end, in
which are eight musical bells. The structure was enlarged and beautified
in 1807, and since that period it has undergone great improvements. A
handsome organ was erected by subscription in 1812; it is stated that the
old organ, a fine toned instrument, is now in one of the churches in
London. The chancel, commonly called St. Mary’s, was destroyed in 1616,
and the tower and part of the body of the church were demolished in the
civil wars of 1644. The vicarage house, which stood on a piece of ground
adjoining the churchyard, with many other buildings, were burnt to the
ground at the same period, in consequence of the town being besieged.
The church contains many handsome tablets and monumental inscriptions,
among which is a beautiful canopy of elaborate workmanship, and
underneath it two figures in the attitude of prayer, in memory of Hugh
Yale, alderman of this town, and Dorothy, his wife, whose bodies were
interred within the chancel of this church, before its demolition in
1616. On the north side of the chancel is an elegant mural monument,
with a latin inscription, commemorative of Richard Maurice, who died in
1700, and other members of the family who died at a subsequent period. A
superb monument at the east end of the chancel remembers Robert Powell
Lloyd, who died in 1769, aged five years; Sarah Lloyd, mother of the
above, who died in 1790; and Robert Lloyd, Esq., the father, who died in
1793. A neat tablet at the same end records the death of the Rev. Thomas
Trevor, in 1784, vicar of this parish 50 years, and of Rhuabon 15 years,
chaplain to W. W. Wynne, Bart., and one of his Majesty’s justices of the
peace for the counties of Salop and Denbigh. There are various other
marble tablets, some of them beautifully executed, which our limits will
not allow us to notice. The living is a vicarage valued in the king’s
book at £23. 15s. 7½d., now returned at £507, in the patronage of the
Earl of Powis, and incumbency of the Rev. Thomas Salway. The iron gates
facing the town were put up in 1738 at the expense of the parish, at a
cost of £46 1s. 4d. The churchyard was enlarged in 1817. The elm trees
were planted between the years 1707 and 1713. The vicarial tithes upon
1,832A. 2R. 23P. of land in the town and liberties of Oswestry are
commuted for £70 1s. 6d., and the rectorial for £211. £13s. 6d. There
are 82A. 2R. 7P. of land tithe free. Earl Powis is the impropriator and
lord of the manor. The principal landowners are Earl Powis, W. W. Wynn,
Bart.; Earl of Bradford; Richard Jones Croxon, Esq.; William Ormsby Gore,
M.P.; Mrs. Lloyd, Thomas L. Longueville, Esq.; and Mr. Williams, besides
whom are several other proprietors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account