Penley, Wrexham, Wales Genealogy

Penley (Welsh: Llannerch Banna) is a village and ecclesiastical parish in the County Borough of Wrexham in Wales, close to the border with Shropshire, England. Today Penley is in the community of Maelor South.

History
The village was until 1974 in an exclave of the ancient county of Flintshire known as Maelor Saesneg (English: English-speaking Maelor), sometimes called "Flintshire Detached"

Penley was originally part of the neighbouring English parish of Ellesmere in Shropshire, but it became a separate parish towards the end of the Commonwealth period. In early 1661 it reverted to being part of the parish of Ellesmere until 1860, when it again became a separate parish.

The parish church of St. Mary Magdalene was originally built around 1538 as a chapel of ease to Ellesmere. The original timber structure was replaced by a brick one in 1793 but this was demolished in 1893. The current church was completed in 1899.

Penley remained part of the English Diocese of Lichfield until 1920 when, following the disestablishment Church in Wales, it was transferred to the Welsh Diocese of St Asaph.

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

Church Records
The following Penley Parish Registers have been deposited at the Flintshire Records Office in Hawarden:

However, the registers are not complete.

The Clwyd Family History Society have published the following Penley parish registers:

The following records are available on the IGI:

Civil Records
Births, marriages and deaths in Penley are recorded in the GRO indexes as:

Poor Law Union
Penley was part of the Ellesmere Union, which was created on 14 November 1836. The workhouse was built in Haughton, Ellesmere. The records for the Ellesmere Union are held at Shropshire Record Office in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England.