Chirk, Wrexham, Wales Genealogy

Chirk (Welsh: Y Waun) is a small town, community and ecclesiastical parish in the County Borough of Wrexham, Wales, between the towns of Wrexham and Oswestry.

History
The town of Chirk, and much of the surrounding area was for centuries under the influence of nearby Chirk Castle and, later, the Trevor family of Brynkinallt (Welsh: Bryncunallt) in Chirk.

The parish of Chirk was divided into five townships:
 * Chirk
 * Halton
 * Brynkinallt
 * Pen y Clawdd
 * Gwernospin

Chirk was formerly a coal mining community, with coal being worked since the 17th century. The largest of these collieries were Black Park (one of the oldest in the north of Wales) and Brynkinallt. All mining ceased in the area during the 1960s.

It was a coaching stop on the old mail coach route along the A5 road from London to Holyhead.

The Chester to Ruabon railway had been extended south to Shrewsbury by 1848 with stations at Llangollen Road (at Whitehurst) and Chirk. South of the town a railway viaduct was constructed by Henry Robertson to take the line over the Ceiriog Valley.

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

Church Records
The following Chirk Parish Registers have been deposited at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth:


 * The Clwyd Family History Society have published many of the Chirk parish registers.
 * There are no official records available on the IGI for Chirk parish.

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

Poor Law Union
In 1791, the Hundred of Oswestry and the border parishes of Chirk and Llansilin were incorporated under a local Act for poor relief. A workhouse was built at Morda.

The records for the Oswestry Union are held at Shropshire Record Office in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England.