St Hilary's Chapel

St Hilary’s Chapel stands in Denbigh, a town in Denbighshire, north Wales. Only its tower remains of the former garrison church, built around 1290 by Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln. The earliest written record of the chapel appears in 1334. In the 1530s the antiquary John Leland called it a large and handsome chapel where most of the new town still worshipped. On 28 September 1645 Charles I attended a service there with the Archbishop of York, Lord Keeper Williams and other leading figures during the English Civil War. The church was made of limestone rubble with red, brown and green sandstone dressings. After a new church opened at St Mary’s in 1874, the old building fell out of use. In 1923 most of the structure was demolished, leaving only the tower, which stands about fourteen metres high. In 1950 the tower became a Grade I listed building, recognising its national importance. Visitors find a single medieval tower rising above the town’s streets. The rough stonework shows patches of coloured sandstone around the windows and corners. The tower’s simple shape and height make it a landmark in Denbigh. Nearby lie the remains of Denbigh Castle, once linked to the chapel by its garrison role. The tower’s quiet corner offers a view of the town’s older streets and the surrounding hills.