The parish chests once held
the parish records and communion plate. They invariably had two or three
locks -the Incumbent could not act without the churchwardens. There are two
chests, one in the vestry is of wood, dated 1637, and bears the inscription:-
'Within this chest are writing layde,
Whereby six pounds a year convey'd
Unto Ruabon poor: it was given
By William Eyton, who is in heaven.'
In the south aisle the other chest may be seen; it is a strong magnificent
iron chest dated 1709 when David Lloyd and Robert Roberts were wardens. The
chest bears a strong resemblance to another made in 1738 which is now in St
Asaph
Cathedral. Richard Davies Vicar of Ruabon, was a canon of St Asaph.
The 1738 chest has been attributed {without firm evidence) as the work of
the Davies family of Croes Foel, famous for their exquisite wrought-iron work
as, for example, in the gates at Leeswood and also at Chirk Castle. Parish
Records together with a comprehensive collection of parish registers dating
back, unbroken, to 1559 and a full and representative collection of Civil
Records and churchwardens accounts are now deposited in the Denbighshire
Record Office in Ruthin
|