St Chad's Church

St Chad’s Church stands in the village of Holt, beside the River Dee and close to the Wales–England border. It is an active Anglican church, part of the diocese of St Asaph, and protected as a Grade I listed building. The earliest written record comes from 1379, yet the church is believed to have been founded around the 1280s. In the late 15th century Sir William Stanley paid for additions and remodelling. During the Civil War Parliamentary troops occupied the building, leaving visible musket-ball marks on the west wall. Later restorations in the 1870s were directed by Ewan Christian and John Douglas, who stripped away whitewash, renewed window tracery and installed new oak screens. The church is built of red sandstone in a mix of Decorated and Perpendicular styles. Its plan includes a five-bay nave, a two-bay chancel, north and south aisles, and a four-stage west tower with battlements. The south aisle houses a baptistry and a Lady Chapel, while the north aisle contains the organ and another chapel. Inside, the font dates from about 1493 and carries heraldic carvings. A Norman and Beard organ, rebuilt in 1976, occupies the north aisle, and six 18th-century bells hang in the tower. Civil War damage remains visible, including loopholes in the north door and pockmarks on the west wall. Outside, the churchyard holds the war graves of four British soldiers from the First World War. The flat roof carries a weather vane on the north side and a flagpole at its centre, with corner gargoyles and buttresses reinforcing the structure. A stair turret rises on the south side, giving access to the tower. The building’s stonework and fittings tell a continuous story from the 13th century to the present day.