Substantial Renovation for Historic Ruthin Church
A church in Ruthin is temporarily relocating as work begins on a £1.6m transformation project.
St Peter’s Church in the centre of the town dates back 700 years and is being re-ordered to create a kitchen, toilets, meeting space, a balcony, level access and new underfloor heating. The interior will offer a more flexible space for community use, as well as worship, with the chancel area being lifted and the high altar lowered. Most of the pews will be replaced by more comfortable and movable seating. Next door, the cloisters are being renovated to offer pilgrim accommodation with three ensuite rooms, including one with accessible facilities.
Denbighshire County Council received confirmation that they had secured £10.95m from UK Government for the former Clwyd West constituency to support the development of 10 projects aimed at protecting Ruthin’s unique heritage, wellbeing and rural communities. To deliver this project, £1.2m from the UK Government was allocated as well as a further £400,000 from the church reserves.
While the work is taking place, members of the congregations at St Peter’s will be relocated to St Mwrog Church in nearby Llanfwrog for the 9am service and to Ysgol Borthyn Voluntary Controlled Church in Wales School for the 10.30am service. From 2 February, the service time at Ysgol Borthyn will change to 4pm.
The Warden of Ruthin, the Revd Luke Bristowe said: “We want people in the town to know that while the doors maybe closed at St Peter’s for the building work to take place, the church is not closed. We hope people will join us in the temporary locations and are deliberating moving the time of our family-orientated service to 4pm, which will be followed by a meal, in the hope that this time will suit more people.
“Even before plans for the transformation of St Peter’s, we’ve been turning the building into a more community-focused space with our Monday afternoon Youth Café and Drop-In Fridays. Earlier this month, when schools were closed due to the snow, St Peter’s was open, and we hired a bouncy castle for inside the church, so families had somewhere safe to come. We welcomed more than 100 people that day.
“Church is not here just for Sundays. Church is an integral and important part of the community and the renovations here at St Peter’s will help us better meet the needs of the town.”
Councillor Jason McLellan, Leader of Denbighshire County Council Lead Member for Economic Growth & Tackling Deprivation, said:
“St Peter’s church is a building of historical significance to Ruthin and ensuring that the funding is in place to preserve heritage sites such as these are key to its future use. I’d like to thank Dyffryn Clwyd Mission area for working with and supporting Denbighshire County Council to secure this significant funding meaning that the church can continue to play its part in the community”.
While St Peter’s is closed, the Youth Café will open in the Drill Hall in Ruthin and Drop in Fridays are relocating to the Ambulance Hall on Priory Street.
Grosvenor Construction is undertaking the work at St Peter’s Church which is expected to take more nine months. It’s hoped the building will be completed in time to welcome people into the new-look space for Christmas 2025.
Dyffryn Clwyd Mission Area is a collection of 13 churches around Ruthin, working in partnership to serve their local communities. It is part of the Diocese of St Asaph, one of the six dioceses of the Church in Wales, an autonomous province of the worldwide Anglican Community.
You can find more information about the Churches of Dyffryn Clwyd, as well as take VR tours of many of them on their website: