HISTORY

A short history of St Anns church, Rhyl 

St Anns church (named after the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and as a mark of appreciation for the financial generosity of Mrs. Ann Nicholson) was the last of the four Anglican Churches to be built in Rhyl. Holy Trinity church was completed by 1835 as a chapel of ease to the parish of Rhuddlan; St Thomas' church was completed by 1867 (apart from the spire) in March 1869 ; and St John's church was built in 1887 and completed by 1890. All these three churches were built on the northerly side of the railway line - the railway coming to Rhyl in 1848. The Parish of Rhyl was formed in 1844 out of the township of Rhyl and other parts of Rhuddlan Parish. It was not until years later that a decision was made by the Church Authorities to build a church on the southerly side of the railway line and this was to be a Mission Church for that area of Rhyl. 

On the 21st September 1893 a piece of land was purchased from one William Williams by the Church Authorities at a price of £200. The land was described in the Conveyance deed as "All that piece of land containing by admeasurement 1,811 square yards or thereabouts situate lying and being in the Parish of Rhyl in the County of Flint which said piece of land is bounded on or towards the north by Vale Road - on or towards the east by land on which the Rhyl Ragged School stands and on or towards the south and west by other land belonging to me the said William Williams as the same is delineated on the plan drawn in the margin of these presents and thereon verged pink...".

One person in particular can be thanked for the early endowment of St Ann's church and that is the late Mrs. Ann Nicholson of "Nithsdale", Dyserth Road, Rhyl. It was she who contributed £1,200 towards the building of the Church of St. Ann and also endowed the Church with £1,000. It was therefore fitting that it should be she who on the 25th October 1893 laid the foundation stone in the presence of the Right Revd. Alfred George Edwards, Bishop of St. Asaph and the Vicar of Rhyl, the Revd Daniel Edwards. The laying of the foundation stone was dedicated by the bishop with the words, "In faith of Jesus Christ we place this stone, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen and the service commenced with the hymn "The church's One Foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord."

As mentioned previously, St Ann's church was built to be a Mission Church which in itself gives some clue as to the reasons behind the building of a church on the southerly side of Rhyl. During the 19th century, the main area of population in Rhyl was on the northerly side of the railway track and for the most part, the wealthier people in their larger houses were to be found. These people were either residents of Rhyl or visitors to the town during the summer months. The building of St Ann’s church was an attempt by the Church Authorities to minister to the poorer people and poorer area of Rhyl. The Architect of St Ann’s church, Mr R. Lloyd Williams of Denbigh presented Mrs Nicholson with a silver trowel and the inscription can be seen displayed in the church porch of St Ann's. 

On Thursday 26th July 1894, the new church was formally dedicated to religious uses even though the building of the church had not been completed. The church was lit by gas light and had seating accommodation for 250 people. On Friday 27th July 1894, the vicar of St. Helens delivered an English service and at 7pm the vicar of Moisten delivered a Welsh service.

It is reputed that the first child baptised as St Ann's was one Mary Ann Roberts, the daughter of Mr and Mrs Roberts of 5 William Street, Rhyl. This is reputed to be in 1895 but no official record of this event has been found.

On Monday 9th November 1896 the church was consecrated by the Bishop and he deemed that is should be a chapel of ease to the parish church of Rhyl. A legal document dated the 10th December 1901 regulated the right to nominate a Minister to serve the church of St Ann.  An Order in Council dated 6th March 1902 assigned a district or a consolidated Chapelry to the consecrated church of saint and, Rhyl, situated within the Ecclesiastical Parish of Rhyl in the Diocese of Saint Asaph. Indeed, even today at wedding services it still refers to the "Consolidated chapelry of St. Ann".

The first marriage at St Ann's church would appear to have taken place on 11th July 1909 between John Heathcote aged 44, a widower of The Victoria Hotel, and Harriet Roberts aged 41, a widow of 17 Gamlin Street, Rhyl.

St Ann's church had become associated with the rail workers and their families living to the south of the railway and was nicknamed "the railwaymen's church" as Rhyl in the first half of the twentieth century was a very important passenger station and goods depot for the operators of the railway. The church choir consisted mainly of railwaymen many of whom lived in Railway Terrace, Marsh Road, Rhyl. The church also had its own football team.

By 1930, the original church building of St Anns proved insufficient to house the numbers visiting to come to church and in 1931, St Anns church was extended and altered both on the westerly end of the nave and also in the chancel area where the then existing choir vestry was converted and embodied in the Chancel. In 1962 it was extensively renovated and completed by June 1962.

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