Denbighshire was one of the four new shires in Wales created in 1536, being formed by a fusion of the lordships of Denbigh and Ruthin in Gwynedd with those of Bromfield-and-Yale and Chirk in Powys. Under the Act of Union it was laid down that meetings of the county court should alternate between Denbigh, the ‘head and shire town’ in the west, and Wrexham in the east. The Salusbury family of Lleweni more or less controlled the county until the accession of Elizabeth. John Salusbury, chancellor and chamberlain of Denbigh, was effective head of the family during the minority of his nephew and namesake, and he became the first sheriff and knight of the shire; he was succeeded in both capacities by his nephew, who was to be pricked twice and elected six times. The younger Salusbury’s association with the Protector Somerset in the chancellorship and chamberlainship of North Wales may explain his absence from the second Parliament of Edward VI’s reign, when his cousin Robert Puleston was elected, but no similar obstacle barred him in 1555 when Edward Almer was returned by his friend Puleston. Unlike the two Salusburys from the west of the county, both Almer and Puleston lived in the east, near Wrexham. Only Puleston had any previous parliamentary experience when returned for the shire.3

Indentures written in Latin are extant for all the Parliaments during the period apart from those of 1547 and 1558. Only the indentures for the Parliaments of 1542 and 1555 give Wrexham as the place of election. The contracting parties are the sheriff of Denbighshire and 20 to 30 or more named electors, usually including at least one Salusbury and Puleston. ‘Many other persons of the ... county’ are usually said to have given assent; in October 1554 the phrase used is ‘the major part of the whole community of the aforesaid county’. In 1542 several lordships assigned to Denbighshire by the commissioners responsible for dividing the shires were restored to Flintshire.4