Wrexham Guide

The town of Wrexham lies in Welsh Border Country, nestled in the lower Dee Valley between the lush Cheshire plains of England and the hills of Wales, surrounded by glorious countryside. The area has many attractions and places to visit including St Giles Church and the two National Trust properties of Erddig Hall and Chirk Castle. St Giles Church dates back to the 13th century and its impressive steeple is renowned as one of the seven wonders of Wales.

Here is abit of History behind Wrexham:

In the 1990's evidence was discovered of a small Roman settlement at Wrexham. However the modern town grew up in the Middle Ages. Wrexham was 1st mentioned in writing in the 12th century.

At the beginning of the 13th century the Lord of the Manor gave some of the land in the village to an abbey. After that Wrexham was split into 2 parts, one part was Wrexham Abbot (which lives on in the name Abbot Street). The other part was Wrexham Regis (of the king). However Wrexham was no more than a village until the late 14th century when it became a small town.

In the year 1391 Wrexham was given the right to hold a market and a fair. In the Middle Ages fairs were like markets but they were held only once a year. People would come from all over Clwyd and Cheshire to buy and sell at a Wrexham fair. The population of Wrexham in the late Middle Ages is unknown but it was probably only several hundred. Wrexham would seem very small to us but settlements were very small anyway in those days. The parish church of St Giles was built in 1492, and it's famous steeple was completed in 1506.

In 1907 the council purchased Parciau and turned it into a public park. The first cinema in Wrexham opened in 1910. The population of Wrexham carried on growing at a rapid rate. In 1901 it was 14,966. By 1931 it had reached 18,567. In 1981 the population of Wrexham passed 40,000 for the first time.

The first electricity was generated in Wrexham in 1900. In 1907 electric trams replaced the horse drawn trams. They were in turn replaced by buses in 1927. A Garden Village was built in Wrexham in 1913-17. In the 1920s and 1930s Wrexham council began the work of slum clearance. At that time a new council house estate was built at Acton Park.

In the late 20th century the traditional industries in Wrexham entered a steep decline. Coal mining in the area ended altogether. Gresford Colliery closed 1973. Bresham Colliery closed in 1986. However new industries came to Wrexham including engineering, pharmaceuticals, electronics, chemicals and food processing. During World War II a large ordnance factory was built at Wrexham.

After 1945 it was converted into an industrial estate. Bersham Heritage Centre opened in 1983. Maelor Hospital opened in 1985. A swimming pool was built in 1970. In 1998 it was refurbished and renamed Waterworld Leisure Complex. Then in 1999 two new shopping centres opened, Henblas Square and Island Green. The first Wrexham Science Festival was held in 1998.


Here are just some places to visit in and around Wrexham: