England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Ruabon St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Ruabon lies in the extreme southeast of Denbighshire, indeed it forms part of the border with neighbouring Shropshire & England. Ruabon is a large village situated about 5 miles southwest of the industrial town of Wrexham. Ruabon sits astride the former line of the A483 road, it now bypasses to Ruabon's east, which connects Wrexham with the Shropshire market town of Oswestry. Ruabon is an industrial village, it grew rapidly following the growth in exploitation of the North Wales coalfield granting employment to many of the population. Prior to this industrialisation it was largely a rural and pastoral farming area. Ruabon sits on the eastern edge of the Clwyd Hills close to the line of the River Dee which occupies the Vale of Llangollen in a deeply incised valley running through the south of the parish. A small tributary, the Black Brook, drains the village into the Dee which eventually reaches the Irish Sea through Chester. Ruabon is sited at around 120 metres above the sea, land rises steeply to the west to reach local heights of over 500 metres on Ruabon Mountain whilst it descends gently to the east onto the Dee plains. Parishes in the upland area of Denbighshire are frequently large in extent and Ruabon is no exception, the parish covered an area of almost 16,000 acres and supported a population rapidly growing but by the end of this transcript probably supported over 8,300 parishioners. There is no specific mention of Ruabon, in common with most of Wales, in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Mary's church lies at the heart of the village of Ruabon, formed by the major crossroads of A539 & A483. The church is sadly largely a rebuild, only the tower remains from the mediaeval period. The western tower is dated to the 14th century showing features characteristic of the Decorated style popular during that century. The main body of the church was entirely rebuilt or remodeled in the 1870s and the work was obviously displeasing to Pevsner who described one piece as a "bastardized idea". The church sits on the western side of the A483 (now renumbered to B5605) at its junction with Church Street. A shoulder-high local stone wall surrounds the churchyard and entry is by a lychgate just set into Church Street. The are a number of substantial trees which particularly restrict views of the western tower.