England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Isycoed St Paul

The Parish

The parish of Isycoed lies in the extreme east of Denbighshire forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Cheshire and thus part of the border between England and Wales. Isycoed is located roughly 5 miles east of the industrial town of Wrexham and stands just east of the B5130 road which links Holt with the A525 (Wrexham to Whitchurch) road. Isycoed's status ecclesiastically changed during the period of this transcript, up to 1827 Isycoed was a sub-chapelry of Holt, itself merely a chapelry of Gresford, from 1827 Isycoed became a full parish. Isycoed is a small place, little more than a hamlet sitting on the western bank of the River Dee, a few cottages gather round the church but most of the parish consists of rich pastoral land formed on the Dee's flood-plain, the chief livestock being dairy cattle. Isycoed is drained northwards by the Dee which passes through Chester before reaching the Irish Sea through its estuary. Isycoed is sited at around 20 metres above the sea land rises steadily westwards away from the Dee reaching 80 metres within the town of Wrexham. Around 3,500 acres of the former vast parish of Gresford was assigned to Isycoed on it becoming a full parish, that acreage would have supported a population of close to 550 parishioners, the dearth of marriages is expected to relate to a) the loss of the register from 1756 - 1797 and b) the expectation that many marriages were celebrated in either Holt or Gresford. Unlike most of Wales Domesday Book has a manor recorded within the area of Isycoed parish, Burwardestone manor was held by One Robert son of Hugh and offered 5 ploughs and a salthouse.

The Church

St Paul's church stands amongst the only cluster of properties, that might be reasonably described as a village, on the western side of Bryn Villa Road. Sadly this is not a medieval church, nor indeed the venue for most of these marriages, rather it was built just 2 years after Isycoed became a full parish in 1829. Pevsner described merely a brick rectangle with a small western tower that is its main point of interest it having the top stage as a domed octagon. Bryn Villa Road is widened outside the churchyard to allow safe on-street parking outside the gates which appear surprisingly baronial with multiple piers supporting wrought iron gates. The church is sat against the western edge of the churchyard which has no significant obstacles for the photographer.