Parish Group Profiles for the Churches of: Brynford, Gorsedd, Mostyn, Whitford & Ysceifiog November 2014

Ss. Mary & Beuno, Whitford

St. Michael’s, Brynford St. Paul’s, Gorsedd

Christ Church, Mostyn

St Mary’s, Ysceifiog

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The five parishes are in Holywell Deanery

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HOLYWELL DEANERY

PARISH GROUP:

St. Michael’s BRYNFORD

St. Paul’s GORSEDD

Christ Church MOSTYN

Ss. Mary and Beuno WHITFORD

St. Mary’s YSCEIFIOG

and neighbouring parishes in the Deanery and Diocese

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HOLYWELL DEANERY

PARISH GROUP:

St. Michael’s BRYNFORD

St. Paul’s GORSEDD

Christ Church MOSTYN

Ss. Mary and Beuno WHITFORD

St. Mary’s YSCEIFIOG

GORSEDD WHITFORD MOSTYN

YSCEIFIOG BRYNFORD

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2020 Vision and the Deanery of Holywell

Following the publication of the 2012 Church in Wales Review the six dioceses of the

Church in Wales have been working towards the creation of Ministry Areas. In the

Diocese of St. Asaph a decision was made from the beginning to call these new

formations Mission Areas. It is a name that reflects the intention of becoming a more

outward focused church with the proactive desire to address and plan for growth.

This is potentially an exciting time in the life of the Diocese of St. Asaph as under the

banner of 2020 Vision we are determined to seek new vitality in our Church life

through the structured participation of the whole people of God.

The present Deanery of Holywell is a small deanery which consists of the Gorsedd

group of parishes (5), the Halkyn Group of parishes (3), the parish of Flint, the parish

of Bagillt and the parish of Holywell. The deanery began the move towards

becoming a Mission Area in July 2014 when the clergy team agreed to endorse

wider discussions in the deanery about the creation of a Mission Area based on the

boundaries of the existing deanery.

In October the deanery met to begin a conversation toward creating a vision for

what our new mission area would look like. This was a very successful meeting with

much enthusiasm being expressed about what might be achieved together. The

feedback is presently being collated with the intention of using the resulting

document to begin a wider consultation with the Deanery early in 2015. These are

early days in the journey toward a Mission Area for this deanery and much remains

to be put in place but the groundwork is being laid and a positive start has begun.

The deanery looks forward to welcoming a cleric to the post of Area Dean who has

the gifts to facilitate the process of discernment towards creating a vibrant and

effective mission area in the future. The deanery is looking for a leader who will

develop the desire for closer collaboration and whose gifts will help to ‘unlock the

potential’ of the family of churches in Holywell deanery. The five parishes are keen

to find ways of working together more closely and to develop the church’s work with

families and children.

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St Michael’s Church, Brynford

Brynford Parish is set some 230 metres above

sea level and about 15 miles from Chester and

Wrexham. The nearest Town is Holywell some 2

miles distance. The A55 is easily accessible.

The village of Brynford has a very pleasant semi-

rural outlook and it has a golf course within its

boundaries ( Holywell Golf Course).

The Church is located prominently at the centre of the village and is a Grade 11

Listed building constructed in 1853. The Church is illuminated at night as a beacon

of serenity and is clearly visible when entering the Village.

Holy Eucharist is celebrated each Sunday at 11.00am, except on the 3rd Sunday

when a Family Service is held at 11.00 am. On the 5th Sunday there is a joint service

together with all the congregations of the Churches within the Parish to encourage

closer relationships and worship. An Anniversary Gift Collection and

Commemorative Service is held each year with an invited Guest Preacher. The

Parish has retired clergy who assist with services, weddings and funerals

The Church is in good repair and receives

regular maintenance and has recently

undergone a reordering scheme. This

included plumbing and electrical

upgrades. A programme of refurbishment

was completed in December 2012 to

construct a social amenity space at the

rear of the Church. The area has a

kitchen, store-room/flower preparation

area and toilet facilities. Tables and

comfortable chairs make this a very

welcoming space to use for Church and

Community activities including for refreshments after services on the 3rd Sunday

family service.

The PCC has a sub-group to manage and encourage use of the community social

area at the rear of Church for outreach and mission to bring the Church closer to

local people and make it a hub of welcome, safety and social enjoyment to foster

social integration and combat loneliness and isolation. Our aim for the future year is

to encourage a wider use of the social facility.

St Michael’s has a branch of the Mother’s Union which meets in Church regularly.

The Churchyard St Michael’s has a traditional churchyard surrounding the building

and there is a connecting “new” section both are well maintained.

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Schools and Institutions

Brynford has a combined Infants/Primary School where children attend until the age

of 11. The School supports the Church by using it for special events – i.e. Christmas

Service.

The Parish has 2 nursing homes and clergy visit regularly

Statistics of the Parish of Brynford, 2013

St. Paul's Church, Gorsedd

St. Paul's lies at the cross

roads at the centre of the

village of Gorsedd which

together with the adjoining

village of Carmel make up

the parish of Gorsedd.

The parish was created from

parts of Whitford and

Ysceifiog parishes in 1853

when the church was built in

somewhat unusual

circumstances. Louisa, great

grand-daughter of Thomas

Pennant of Downing Hall

married Rudolph the son of

the 7th Earl of Denbigh and

as a gesture of thanks-giving

they endowed the building

TYPE St

Michael’s

The population of this

parish is approximately

2250

Electoral Roll 27

Weddings 4

Baptisms 7

Funerals 9

Confirmations -

Easter Communicants 27

Average Sunday

Attendance (16+)

18

Christmas Communicants 36

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of an Anglican Church in the nearby village of Pantasaph. However, during a visit to

Rome they converted to Roman Catholicism and thus the church when completed

would be to serve that faith. The ensuing furore stoked, not least by the then Bishop

of St. Asaph, resulted in a national appeal to build an Anglican church in the vicinity.

The appeal raised some £10,806, enough to build two churches one at Gorsedd the

other at Brynford.

The church remains much as it was in the Victorian era,

except, perhaps for the east window – 'Christ in Majesty'

installed in 1991 followed a little later by windows depicting

'the shipwreck of Paul' and 'Suffer little

children....'

In addition to the pipe organ there is a

public address system incorporating a

twin deck c.d. player and an induction

loop for the hearing impaired.

An exterior lighting system is installed to

illuminate the church on dark evenings.

Services

Family Communion each Sunday at 9.30 am with an additional Communion Service

(said) at 8.00 am on the 4th Sunday in the

month.

The Church Hall

Adjacent to the Church is the Church Hall,

the former school. It consists of a large

meeting room a committee room, kitchen

and toilets. It is home to the Carmel

Guides, Brownies and Rainbows and is also

used by the Church Ladies Guild, Ladies

Keep Fit group, Irish Dancing classes,

Model Flying Club and a local pop music

group. The Ladies Guild meet on the first

Wednesday in the month in the Church Hall. The Guild is

very active and has around 25 members and is open to all.

The meetings involve speakers on a wide variety of

subjects, and, of course the annual outing in June and

Christmas lunch.

Primary schools Ysgol Bro Carmel and Ysgol y Llan at

Whitford (Church School)

The Finance Group

The financial affairs of the Church are managed by a small

group of experienced people who meet on a monthly

basis to update the records and to discuss matters of particular importance in the

financial management of the Church.

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Statistics of the Parish of Gorsedd, 2013

Christ Church, Mostyn

Mostyn is a small village on

the estuary of the River Dee,

near Holywell and with

good transport links to

Chester, Llandudno with the

A55 being easily accessible.

Mostyn is a semi- rural / light

industrial area and

although it is socio-

economically deprived it is

a vibrant community with a

primary school (very good

Estyn Report 2010), well

attended Community

Centre and shops with a

small sub-post office, Village

Hall and a skate park.

The parish of Mostyn was

created in 1844 and the

church, which was

designed by Ambrose Poynter was consecrated on the 12th August 1845. The Church

is Grade II listed with many interesting features noted on the full CADW report.

Christ Church has a bilingual congregation and there is a weekly service held fully in

the medium of Welsh with a Cymun Bendigaid (Welsh Holy Eucharist) on the fourth

TYPE St Paul’s

The population of this

parish is approximately

1600

Electoral Roll 29

Weddings 4

Baptisms 5

Funerals 5

Confirmations 1

Easter Communicants 29

Average Sunday

Attendance (16+)

20

Christmas Communicants 78

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Sunday of the month. There are also festival services such as Harvest that are held in

Welsh, often with attendees from outside the Parish.

The organ was reordered in the 1980’s and was converted to electric. There are

three organists who play on a Sunday rota and are available by arrangement for

weddings, funerals and special services.

There is a single bell in the bell tower which can be rung as a “call to service”

The parish finances at Christ Church are healthy and the parish share is paid on time

as are bills as they are received. The parish has no outstanding debts or loans.

The graveyard at Christ Church is currently closed except for internment in an

existing grave. There are on-going plans to clear consecrated ground within the

churchyard boundary for extending the graveyard.

Sunday & Weekday Services

Sunday Services

in Month

Christ Church

Ist 9.30am Holy Eucharist

3.00 Gosper

2nd 9.30 Holy Eucharist

3.00pm Gosper

3rd 9.30am Holy Eucharist

3.00pm Gosper

4th 9.30am Holy Eucharist

3.00pm Cymun Bendigaid

5th Joint Service

Statistics of the Parish of Christ Church, Mostyn, 2013

TYPE Christ

Church

The population of this

parish is approximately

2,012

Electoral Roll 23

Weddings 1

Baptisms 6

Funerals 12

Confirmations 1

Easter Communicants 25

Average Sunday

Attendance (16+)

24

Average Sunday

Attendance (16-)

2

Christmas Communicants 9

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Church of St Mary and St Beuno, Whitford

The church of St Mary and St Beuno is

situated in the heart of Whitford village,

overlooking the Dee estuary in a

conservation area. The church is believed to

have been founded by St Beuno in the 7thC.

After the Norman Conquest, the church was

rededicated, like many others in Wales, to

the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Whitford is one of the ancient parishes of

Flintshire. The earliest recorded mention of

the church is in ‘The Domesday Book’ in 1086

as Widford with ‘land for one plough which a

priest and six vileins hold, with a church’. It is

thought that in the C13th the church suffered

damage as a result of the battles, during Edward

I conquest of Wales. Records show that the

church received £13 shillings for damage and

the loss of tithes. The history of the church from

C16 onwards is entwined with that of the Mostyn

family, probably the oldest landholding institution

in North Wales apart from the Crown.

The north aisle dates from around the 15 or 16th C

and is the oldest part of the church and known

as ‘the Mostyn aisle’. Until 1690 members of the Mostyn family were usually buried in

this aisle and commemorated by carved slabs in the floor and memorials on the

wall. Sir Roger Mostyn who had fought in the Civil War celebrated the restoration of

the monarchy and his knighthood by commissioning three bells which are still in use

today. The font is dated 1649 and the altar is thought to be Jacobean. The bells

were recast when the tower was rebuilt in 1843.

The South aisle contains many

memorials to the Pennant family and

is reputed to be where Thomas

Pennant is buried. The memorial to

Thomas Pennant, C18 naturalist,

antiquary and traveller is near the

organ. In the graveyard there is a

tomb and plaque in memory of

Moses Griffiths artist and illustrator to

Thomas Pennant.

The nave was rebuilt and the south

aisle added in 1846 with the support

of descendants of Thomas Pennant

and the Mostyn Family. The East

window with the crucifixion at its

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centre was installed in 1874 in memory of the Cope Family of Saithaelwyd Hall,

Carmel. The church remains much as it was apart from the installation of a stained

Glass window in memory of Mr Paton Watson Church Warden in the 1970’s. The

organ was installed early in the C20.

The main entrance to the church is the lych-gate on the Southside which has a room

over the steps. The original purpose is not clear but may have been used to

distribute alms or for the payment of tithes. The lych-gate on the East Side is known

as Porth Sir Roger with a beam in the wall dated 1667. It is thought built that Sir Roger

Mostyn provided funds to build the original gate. The gate was refurbished in the

1950’s.

Services

On the first Sunday of each month a Family Eucharist is held; second and fourth

Sundays Eucharist; and third Sunday is Village Praise.

Whitford Stones , Ancient Artefacts and Sacred Doorways

A precious collection of inscribed slabs and a sarcophagus, some of which date

from the C11 are held in the church. The sundial dating from C17 and incised cross

were found in the churchyard with the Sarcophagus and Nobili stone brought to the

church by the Pennant family. The smaller stones which include a Bronze Age

whetstone were donated by Canon Ellis Davies, a respected antiquarian and author

who is buried in the churchyard. He was appointed vicar of Whitford in 1913 and

remained until his retirement in 1951.

Whitford Church is now part of the ‘Scared Doorways Project’, is a church and

chapel tourism initiative which aims to help these historic buildings become more

sustainable through tourism. The visitor displays have recently been completed with

St Mary and St Beuno’s part of the cluster group of the seven churches and chapels

in Flintshire. The project has received funding from the Welsh Assembly governments

and is a joint project involving Flintshire, Denbighshire and Conwy.

Maintenance

Following the recent Quinquennial inspection there is some minor work to be

completed. The church was re-roofed in the 1950’s. The church is maintained by

volunteers particularly the churchyard.

Links with the Community

Ysgol Y Llan

Stable leadership both in the church and the school in recent years has resulted in

the strong links between them. Ysgol Y Llan is a Voluntary Aided Primary School

opposite the church with a role of 100+. There are five foundation governors

nominated by the PCC on the governing Boy of the school. Mr Bryan Griffiths has

recently taken up his appointment as new Headteacher on 1st September.

On the first Sunday of each month a Family Eucharist is held with the children taking

major role in the service. The children also provide the musical accompaniment led

by the older children now at secondary school. Children of Ysgol Y LLan attend a

weekly assembly in the church and this year participated in the Ash Wednesday

service. The church community is encouraged by this new generation of church

goers.

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Sion Chapel Lloc

The chapel is situated in Lloc village, a short distance away. A close relationship has

been established with the chapel over a considerable number of years with

Cymfanfa Ganu and concerts. Many of the worshippers are interred in Whitford

churchyard.

Thomas Pennant Society

There are close links with the Thomas Pennant Society which holds regular meetings

in the church. The Society in conjunction with the PCC have held very successful

Pennant Festivals in 2009 and 2011. In 2015 there will be a celebration of the silver

anniversary of the formation of the Thomas Pennant Society with a number of events

including a concert.

Whitford Young Farmers

Whitford is a farmimg community with many of the congregation employed in the

agricultural industry. The group have strong links with the church although only

occasionally hold meetings in the church.

Statistics of the Parish of SS Mary and Beuno, Whitford, 2013

TYPE Ss Mary & Beuno

The population of this

parish is approximately

2,247

Electoral Roll 29

Weddings 1

Baptisms 4

Funerals 5

Confirmations 7

Easter Communicants 49

Average Sunday

Attendance (16+)

30 (Fam Euch)

8 (other services)

Average Sunday

Attendance (16-)

25-30 (Fam Euch)

Christmas Crib Service 130

Christmas Communicants 10

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St. Mary’s Church, Ysceifiog

The village of Ysceifiog is

about 20 miles from Chester

and Wrexham. The A55 is

easily accessible. It is in a

rural area of outstanding

natural beauty and borders

Lixwm and Babell. The

congregation is bilingual.

St. Mary’s is a Grade II listed

building and is thought to be

one of the oldest churches in

Flintshire. Reputedly St.

Deiniol, 1st Bishop of Bangor

founded it in 15th Century.

The present Church was built

between1835-39 and was

capable of seating 232

people. The style of the

Church is Early English with five stained glass windows. Important ancient artefacts

still remain in the Church. The oldest piece of church plate is a chalice known and

inscribed as the ‘Cuppe of Ysceifiog’, dated 1633. This is still in regular use.

Behind the main door of the Church, beneath the tower, there is a full-length effigy

of a priest vested in chasuble and stole, his head resting on a cushion. The canopy

above is of fourteenth century origin. Other memorials and relics from the old

church were erected on the wall of the tower in 1962.

The earliest Parish Registers in existence date from 1662 – the previous ones having

been burnt.

Sunday and Weekday Services

Sunday Services

in Month

Church

St. Mary’s

1st 8.00am

11.00am &

Sunday School

2nd/4th 11.00am

3rd 11.00am &

Sunday school

5th Joint Service at

10.30am

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The Fifth Sunday Joint Service has encouraged closer relationship with all the

churches of the Parish. Annually we take part in raising funds for Christian Aid. Our

Village Carol Singing in Ysceifiog raises money for children’s charities. Sunday School

is a regular supporter of various charities i.e. Water Aid, Smile Train, St. Kentigern’s &

Hope House.

Parish Organisations

Ysceifiog, St. Mary’s runs a Sunday school on the first and third Sundays in the month

during term-time at 11.00am and afterwards join the morning service for

Communion /Blessing. The Sunday School is run by dedicated Sunday School

teachers assisted by young leaders.

As a legacy of the Ysceifiog Arts Festival 2013, a Community Choir rehearses and

performs in Church.

The Churchyard

St. Mary’s Ysceifiog Churchyard Cross is said to date from the fifteenth century. The

marks on the base are believed to have been made by archers sharpening their

arrows on it. The oldest grave, located near the present door is dated 1611.

The Bells

The four church bells from the old building have been re-hung in 2008 for stationary

chiming and are now frequently heard across the village and surrounding

countryside. There is a rota of bell ringers enabling them to be rung at each Service

and Weddings and funerals by request.

Quinqennial Inspection Report 2011

Following the report, many issues highlighted have been addressed, including re-

wiring and electrics.

Church/Village Hall

Ysceifiog Village Hall is situated

within a short walking distance of

the Church. It is used regularly by

both the Church, including

Sunday School, and the local

community. It is available for hire.

There is no school in the village,

the nearest school is Lixwm

County Primary.

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Statistics of the Parish of St Mary’s, Ysceifiog 2013

TYPE St. Mary’s,

Ysceifiog

The population of this

parish is approximately

1,181

Electoral Roll 21

Weddings 0

Baptisms 6

Funerals -

Confirmations 7

Easter Communicants 25

Average Sunday

Attendance (16+)

23

Average Sunday

Attendance (16-)

4

Christmas Carol Service 88

Christmas Communicants 44

Sunday School 10

The Vicarage St. Marys Court, Whitford Road, Whitford, Holywell, CH8 9AG

The newly acquired Vicarage is built from attractive stone and is a well presented

family home with extensive accommodation over two floors. Pleasant views can be

enjoyed from both aspects of the property, with views towards the Dee Estuary to

the front of the property and rolling countryside to the rear.

The Vicarage comprises Reception hall, Kitchen/breakfast room, Dining room,

Drawing room, Study, Utility room, Cloakroom, 5 Bedrooms (2 en suite), Family

bathroom, Double garage and landscaped gardens

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St Mary’s Court is a select development nestled on the edge of the desirable

conservation village of Whitford and the Vicarage is superbly situated for

commuting to the major centres of the North West and North Wales coast.

Whitford is characterised by deep wooded valleys and rolling countryside with much

of the surrounding area owned by the Mostyn Estate. Schooling is well provided for

at the highly regarded primary school, Ysgol Bro Carmel, and Holywell High School.

Comprehensive amenities are available in nearby Prestatyn and Mold. Local

recreational facilities include good walks, fisheries,

golf courses and the North Wales coastline.