Wrexham, Wales Genealogy

Wrexham (Welsh: Wrecsam) is a town and ecclesiastical parish and the heart of the County Borough of Wrexham in Wales. It is the largest town in the north of the country and is situated between the mountains and the lower Dee valley, close to the border with England.

Before 1974 the town was in the historic county of Denbighshire and, between 1874 and 1996 in the County of Clwyd. In 1996 it became part of the modern County Borough of Wrexham.

The town is divided into the communities of Abenbury, Acton, Caia Park, Offa and Rhosddu.

History
The remains of Offa's Dyke can be seen on the western outskirts of Wrexham. This massive earthwork, stretching from Chepstow in the south to Prestatyn in the north, was constructed in the late 8th century by Offa, King of Mercia, as a boundary between Saxon Mercia and Celtic Wales. Traces of an earlier dyke, Wat's Dyke, can be seen on the eastern side of the Wrexham. The land bewteen was mainly settled by Saxons and it would be several centuries before Wrexham and the lands to the east of Offa's Dyke would be returned to Wales.

The town is first mentioned in 1161 when reference is made to a Norman motte and bailey castle at Wristlesham. This castle is assumed to be the one in the grounds of the Erddig estate. In 1282 the area became part of the Marcher Lordship of Bromfield and Yale.

Wrexham became the main town in the area and grew wealthy with its markets. Following the Act of Union between Wales and England, it became part of the county of Denbighshire when it was created in 1536. Wrexham was divided into two distinct townships, Wrexham Regis (which was under the control of the King) and Wrexham Abbot (generally the older parts of the town, which originally belonged to Valle Crucis Abbey at nearby Llangollen).

The parish church of St. Giles stands in the centre of the town. There is known to have been a church on the site since the 13th century, but the original church was destroyed by fire in 1463 and was rebuilt by 1472. Other parish churches were later built within the town as the population increased: St. John's; St. Mark's; St. Michael's and St. Peter's.

The Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary's, which was built in 1857, was later promoted to a cathedral. It is now the seat of the Bishop of Wrexham.

The ancient parish of Wrexham comprised the townships of: Within the parish were two other townships, Erddig and Erlas, however, these were exclaves of the neighbouring parish of Gresford.
 * Abenbury Fawr
 * Abenbury Fechan
 * Acton
 * Bersham
 * Bieston
 * Broughton
 * Brymbo
 * Borras Hwfa
 * Esclusham Above
 * Esclusham Below
 * Gourton
 * Minera
 * Stansty
 * Wrexham Abbot
 * Wrexham Regis

As the population grew the parish became sub-divided into new parishes of Minera (1844), Brymbo (1844), Gwersyllt (1851), Esclusham (1879), Rhosddu (1886), Broughton (1909), Southsea (1921) and Bersham (1934).

The town has always been associated with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who were based in the Hightown area.

In the 18th century Wrexham had a substantial leather industry with many skinners and tanners based in the town. However, in the late 18th century Wrexham was transformed by the coming of the industrial revolution. It began when John ("Iron Mad") Wilkinson took over the Bersham Ironworks in 1762.

Both lead and coal mining were important industries in the western parts of the parish with brickmaking with bricks being produced in Abenbury, on the outskirts of the town.

One of the other main industries associated with the town was brewing and there were several large breweries in the town, together with numerous smaller breweries situated at the back of local inns. All commercial brewing in Wrexham has now ceased.

In the latter half of the 20th century, Wrexham (like most other part of Wales) began a period of depression with much of the traditional industries closing. A major regeneration programme was begun to provide alternative, modern industries in the area.

Following the reorganisation of local government in Wales in 1996, Wrexham became a County Borough.

Civil Records
Births, marriages and deaths in Wrexham will be recorded in the GRO indexes as:

Church Records

 * The following Wrexham Parish Registers have been deposited at the Denbighshire Records Office in Ruthin:


 * The Clwyd Family History Society have published many of the Denbighshire Parish Registers.
 * There are no official records available on the IGI for Wrexham parish.

Nonconformist Church Records
The following chapel records from Wrexham parish are available on the IGI:

Census Records
The parish of Wrexham formed part of the Wrexham Registrar's District.

Poor Law Union Records
The Wrexham Union was created on 30 March 1837 and the parish of Wrexham formed part of this. A workhouse was built at Croesnewydd, Bersham. The records of the Wrexham Union are now held at Denbighshire Record Office in Ruthin.

Cemeteries

 * Ruthin Road Burial Ground (now closed), Wrexham
 * Dissenter's Burial Ground (now closed), Rhosddu
 * Wrexham Cemetery, Ruabon Road, Wrexham

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Vision of Britain - Wrexham
 * Ordnance Survey map of Wrexham

Websites

 * Wrexham Parish Church at CPAT.
 * Wrexham War Memorials