Leicester's Church - Ruin - Denbigh, Clwyd, Wales.
N 53° 10.931 W 003° 25.160
30U E 471977 N 5892619
Leicester's Church - A magnificent new church, the largest of its age, was begun in 1578 by the Earl of Leicester, he died before it was completed. The ruins of the Church are located in the walled Market Town of Denbigh, Vale of Clwyd, North Wales
Waymark Code: WMWAKN
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/03/2017
Views: 1
Leicester's Church - The church ruins stand just below Denbigh Castle, and just a few yards from the medieval town walls entrance.
The church is in pretty ruinous condition and when I visited it was locked. Easily viewed from the outside,& through the barred gate, getting a good impression of how it looked 500 years ago.
The Church is a grade 1 listed building. Owned by the Welsh Government, in the care & protection of Cadw.
About Denbigh, Leicester's Church.
"The substantial remains of a large 16th century church begun by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Dudley was a favourite of Elizabeth I, and one of the most powerful men in Elizabethan England, until he lost the queen's favour - and his life.
The church was begun in 1578, and was probably the largest church begun during Elizabeth's long reign. Dudley intended the church to replace St Hilary's Chapel, and possibly to become a new Protestant cathedral, replacing St Asaph's Cathedral. However, work petered out after only a few years, partly because the Earl's personal unpopularity made it impossible for him to raise the necessary funds to finance the project.
The money that had already been raised was instead used to pay for a military campaign in Ireland. Work proceeded sporadically, but local people were so vehemently opposed to it that they frequently destroyed work as it was completed. Eventually the project was completely abandoned and the church was left a roofless ruin and a testament to one man's ambition.
The design was modelled after medieval friary churches, with no division between the chancel and nave. It was intended to have 10 bays, with side aisles, and it measured 55metres long by 23 metres wide. The design called for a Gothic exterior, but a classically inspired interior, with arcades of Tuscan columns alternating between single columns and pairs." Text Sources & More Info: (
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Address: Bull Lane, Denbigh, Clwyd (Former Denbighshire) Wales, LL16 3NF