Marble Church, Bodelwyddan

St Margaret’s Church, known as the Marble Church, stands in the Vale of Clwyd in Denbighshire, Wales. Its tall spire rises 202 feet and can be seen for miles, especially from the nearby A55 trunk road. The church was built by Lady Margaret Willoughby de Broke in memory of her husband, Henry Peyto-Verney. Designed by John Gibson, it was completed in 1860 after four years of work. The church was nicknamed the ‘Pearl of the Vale’ when first built. Inside, the church contains fourteen types of marble, including pillars of Belgian Red and shafts of Languedoc marble. The nave entrance is made from Anglesey marble, and Purbeck marble forms the bases of the shafts. Stained-glass windows in the tower depict Saint Margaret and Saint Kentigern. The church’s elaborate woodwork and marble work make it a notable example of Decorated Gothic style. The churchyard holds graves of Canadian soldiers who died at Kinmel Camp during the First World War. Four Canadian soldiers killed in a 1919 riot are buried here, alongside victims of the Spanish flu pandemic. The churchyard also commemorates 112 Commonwealth service personnel from the First World War. More recent graves include a Welsh Guardsman killed in the Falklands War. The church remains a quiet place of remembrance near the site of the old military camp.