The church, dedicated to St. Winefred, and rebuilt in 1769, is a rather spacious structure of Grecian architecture, 68 feet long by 56 wide; consisting of a nave with north and south aisles, with a chancel, in which is a window embellished with modern stained glass. It has also two large galleries over the aisles, and the whole is calculated to contain about 3,000 persons. Remains of the ancient edifice are still seen in the remarkably plain pillars on each side of the nave. It contains several monuments and tablets, and amongst them one by Westmacott, erected to the memory of Paul Panton, Esq.
Under the chancel are the vaults of the Mostyns of Talacre, the Pennants of Downing, and the Pantons of Bagillt; in the chancel is a neat cenotaph, in memory of Mary, mother of the late Edward Pennant, Esq. On the wall, at the end of the same aisle, is a flat stone with twelve quarterings, copied from those over the chimney-piece in the dining-room at Mostyn.
In rebuilding the church, the headless figure of a priest was found in his sacerdotal habit, and with a chalice in his hand. He is supposed to have been Thomas, second son of Thomas ap David, abbot of Basingwerk. This headless trunk is often exhibited to the wondering as the image of the blessed St. Winefred! The service is alternately English and Welsh, and at night there are English lectures. Holywell contains several meeting-houses for the various denominations of dissenters. A new Roman Catholic chapel has lately been erected.
The environs, which are studded with numerous handsome residences and gentlemen’s seats, abound with richly diversified scenery; and from the higher grounds are obtained extensive and varied prospects over the surrounding country, which is rich in picturesque beauty. The air is salubrious, and the opportunities of cold and sea-bathing, render it not only a pleasant place of permanent residence, but also of occasional resort for invalids, for whose comfort every accommodation is provided, with the benefit of good medical advice, and the advantage of numerous pleasant rides and walks in the immediate neighbourhood.—There are several good inns in the town, the principal of which are, the White Horse, King’s Arms, King’s Head, and the Red Lion.