7 minute read
Town in focus
Exploring Wrexham
Steve Goodier visits the market town of Wrexham and uncovers some interesting changes…
When I think of Wrexham I always recall Rupert. He was the senior buyer for a large builder’s merchants based next to the Wrexham football stadium and he was a tough and uncompromising negotiator who was well in his sixties. I found him grumpy and awkward to deal with and as it was my job to sell him construction timber I came to dread my fortnightly visits to him. All this changed when his secretary told me one Christmas that Rupert opened his home to all the local pensioners every Christmas Day and gave them lunch. Taking into account the man’s own advanced age, my heart went out to him and with only being in my twenties myself at the time it just went to show me you should never be too quick to judge people.
That was almost forty years ago and even then Wrexham was a commercial centre for the surrounding areas. Modern day Wrexham still continues to serve North Wales and the Welsh border lands and is an important hub for manufacturing, retail, education and administration and is a busy and vibrant large market town. Geographically it is located between the Welsh hill country and the lower Dee valley and it is next to the English counties of Cheshire and Shropshire. It is approximately 13 miles/21 km south of Chester, 30 miles/50 km
north west of Shrewsbury, 140 miles/230 km north of Cardiff
and 50 miles/80 km south west of Manchester.
The town has a population of about 66,000 which makes it
the largest in North Wales – and the fourth largest in Wales overall.
I mentioned Wrexham football stadium in the introduction and Wrexham A.F.C. is famous for being one of the oldest professional football teams in the world. The club plays in the fifth tier of English football and is currently owned by big
screen superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The team plays its football at the Racecourse Ground which is the world’s oldest international stadium that continues to host international games.
Unlike a lot of towns Wrexham is not built on a major river but three small rivers flow through various parts of the town
and these are the Clywedog, The Gwenfro and the Alyn – and the town is famed for its underground water reserves which helped it achieve a one-time dominance as a major brewing centre. Wrexham is not particularly hilly and developed on a relatively flat plateau.
Many people think of Wrexham as a city and indeed, the town
has applied for city status three times since the start of the 21st Century. These occasions have been in competitions to mark the new Millennium, and for both the Queens Golden and Diamond Jubilees. It has missed out on gaining a ‘city’ title on each of these occasions. On a more positive note Wrexham has held the National Eisteddfod of Wales a total of six times overall.
The list of well known people who have called Wrexham home is long and includes footballer and manager Mark Hughes, footballer and sports pundit Robbie Savage, snooker player Dennis Taylor, Andy Scott the guitarist with 1970s Glam rock
band The Sweet and former Blue Peter presenter Tim Vincent.
Samuel Johnson visited Wrexham in the 18th Century and described it as ’a busy, extensive and well built town’. Around the same time the author Daniel Defoe and the artist J.M.W. Turner visited, with the later producing drawings of St. Giles Parish Church and surrounding buildings and a watercolour painting of a street scene.
Wrexham does not appear in the Domesday Book and the first
recorded reference to the town was in 1161 when a ‘castle at
Wristlesham’ is mentioned – although the town was almost certainly founded prior to this. In the Middle Ages it developed as a regional centre for trade and administration and by the 17th Century the town had become the most populated in Wales. Wrexham was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution from the 18th Century onwards when the town and surrounding areas were an important centre of coal and lead mining and by 1913 the North East Wales coalfield (which included Wrexham) was producing around three million tonnes of coal a year and employed over 10,000 people.
However, after the First World War, the coal industry went into decline and by 1968 only two collieries remained open.
The last pit to close in the area was Bersham Colliery. As well as coal and lead Wrexham was a significant producer of iron,
steel and leather and, of course, there was the aforementioned brewing industry too.
The current town of Wrexham is a mixture of the modern and the past with the historic town centre containing a large number of listed buildings set on a Medieval street pattern that radiates out from the impressive Church of St Giles which is classed as one of ‘the Seven Wonders of Wales’. It is the burial place of Elihu Yale who is best remembered as the primary benefactor of Yale College (now Yale University) which was named in his honour. This Church was the main focal point about which Wrexham developed. The area around the Church, including The Church Precinct, is a collection of narrow enclosed streets that have a medieval character about them. Indeed, on Church Street and Town Hill you will find
several complete Medieval buildings.
The main shopping streets are formed by Hope Street, Regent Street and Queen Street. These have wider areas on them where markets took place from Medieval times up to the 19th
Century. The shopping streets and current indoor markets are interconnected by historic narrow alleyways and arcades. Butchers Market and the General Market are noted as being architecturally significant Victorian indoor markets. One
other notable building is the Horse and Jockey pub which was originally built in the 16th Century and still retains its
thatched roof. High Street is well known for its superb 18th and 19th Century buildings of varying scale, colour and detail.
The Wynnstay Hotel on Yorke Street was the birthplace of the Football Association of Wales in 1876.
Culturally ‘Focus Wales’ is an annual multi-venue festival that takes place in Wrexham town centre with a focus on emerging talent and the Welsh language.
So there you have it! From an historic viewpoint or just a modern perspective Wrexham is far too good to just dash past on the busy A483. It deserves some of your time and if you decide to go there you will be pleasantly surprised at what you find!
Steve Goodier is an outdoor writer and photographer who specialises in North Wales. He has walked and explored all over the world and is the author of 11 walking books with a further two on Snowdonia due to be published shortly.
What to do
Go to a football match
Wrexham Association Football Club is famous for being one of the oldest professional football teams in the world. The club plays in the fifth tier of English football, yet it has
found itself in the spotlight since when was purchased by Holywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney last year. The team plays its football at the Racecourse Ground which is the world’s oldest international stadium that continues to host international games.
Go shopping
In the last few years Wrexham has been transformed into a shoppers dream with the advent of new shopping centres such as Eagles Meadow, while still retaining the charm of the older streets, arcades and markets.
Visit a gallery
Tŷ Pawb is a cultural community resource,
bringing together arts and markets within the same footprint in the heart of Wrexham. This coexistence celebrates the significance of markets
within Wrexham’s cultural heritage and identity. It offers a space for dialogue around subjects including social and civic issues, the environment, health, cultural identity, sustainability and education.
Discover Science
The Xplore! Science Discovery Centre moved into its brand-new building in the heart of Wrexham last year. Full to the brim with science, exploration and fun, Xplore! has been bringing brain-teasing, mind-bending, eye-opening science to Wrexham for almost 20 years.
Go back in time
Erddig Hall is a Grade-I listed National Trust property just two miles from Wrexham town centre. As well as a fascinating house and sprawling grounds, Erddig has the second largest collection of items in the whole
D. Pimborough / Shutterstock.com
of the National Trust. With a total of 30,000 to care for,
it’s no mean feat for the house team of conservators and volunteers.
