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During the [[English Civil War]], Wrexham was on the side of the [[Cavaliers (royalists)|Royalists]] as most Welsh gentry supported the King, even though local landowner Sir Thomas Myddelton, owner of [[Chirk Castle]] gave his support to [[Parliament of England|Parliament]]. Wrexham became the main town in the area and grew wealthy with its markets.
During the [[English Civil War]], Wrexham was on the side of the [[Cavaliers (royalists)|Royalists]] as most Welsh gentry supported the King, even though local landowner Sir Thomas Myddelton, owner of [[Chirk Castle]] gave his support to [[Parliament of England|Parliament]]. Wrexham became the main town in the area and grew wealthy with its markets.


In the 17th century wool was woven and fulled in Wrexham. After wool was woven it was cleaned and thickened by pounding it in a mixture of clay and water. This was called fulling. After it dried the wool was dyed.


===Nineteenth and twentieth centuries===
===Nineteenth and twentieth centuries===

Revision as of 13:10, 10 July 2007

For other uses, see Wrexham (disambiguation).
Wrexham
Population63,000 
OS grid referenceSJ335505
Principal area
Preserved county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWREXHAM
Postcode districtLL11-14
Dialling code01978
PoliceNorth Wales
FireNorth Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Wrexham

Wrexham (Welsh: Wrecsam) is an industrial town, conurbation and county borough in north-east Wales, perched between the first mountains of Wales and the lower Dee valley, close to the English border with Cheshire. It is the main commercial, retail, educational and cultural centre in North Wales, and often termed 'The capital of North Wales'. It is the administrative centre of the county borough of Wrexham which has a total of 47 wards and covers 50,500 hectares of North East Wales. In the 2001 census the urban area of Wrexham had a population of 63,000 (old town proper: 42,576) , with the entire borough of Wrexham greater than 130,000. These figures make Wrexham by far the largest urban area in Wales away from the South Wales coast.

History

Prehistoric and Roman times

Approximately 8000 years ago Mesolithic man ventured to the Wrexham area. These people were hunter-gatherers and led a nomadic existence. They left little tangible evidence of their existence, however a number of small flint tools called Microliths have been found in the Borras area.

A number of Neolithic (4300 - 2300 BC) stone axe heads have been found in Borras, Darland and Johnstown.

Two Bronze age mounds, are situated at Fairy Mount, Fairy Road and Hillbury on Hillbury Road. Both of these mounds lie within the grounds of Victorian properties in the South West of the Town. It is likely that construction work within this area during the early 20th Century may have eradicated other related features.

The area surrounding Wrexham is well served by several Rivers, including the Clywedog, Alyn and Gwenfro, all of which are tributaries of the Dee. These Rivers would have served as highways for early man. Finds within the Alyn area reveal that trade was taking place along this River with places as far away as Ireland during the Bronze Age.

A number of Iron Age forts also exist within the surrounding area, including Bryn Alyn (near Bradley), Y Gaer (near Broughton, Flintshire) and Y Gardden (near Ruabon).

At the time of the Roman conquest of Britain, the area which Wrexham formed part of was held by a Tribe called the Cornovii. The Cornovii held the lowland forests of Cheshire and Shropshire. Their Capital was at Wroxeter, near Shrewsbury. In 48 A.D the Romans reached Wroxeter and then proceeded to attack a tribe called the Deceangli who were based in what is now Flintshire. Around 70 - 75 A.D the Legionary fortress of Deva was constructed (Modern day Chester) and for the next 300 years was the home of the Twentieth Legion.

Evidence of Roman occupation can be found at nearby Holt, where a tile and pottery works were constructed on the banks of the River Dee and at Ffrith where the remains of buildings have been located.

In recent years evidence of Roman occupation nearer the Town center, was found during the construction of the Plas Coch Retail Park. It is alleged that during the construction of the Retail development in 1991, a hoard of Roman coins were discovered by workmen, however all of the coins disappeared. In 1995 further construction work on the site revealed traces of Roman field boundaries, Hearths and a Corn drying kiln. It is thought that these are the remains of a farmsted.

Middle Ages

The King's Mill

In the early 8th Century, Aethelbald king of Mercia, who reigned from 716 to 757, constructed Wat's Dyke, this 40 mile long earthwork passes through the area and close to the Western edge of the town.

Wrexham is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. It is first mentioned in 1161 when reference is made to a Norman motte and bailey castle at 'Wristlesham'

The town 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).

During the English Civil War, Wrexham was on the side of the Royalists as most Welsh gentry supported the King, even though local landowner Sir Thomas Myddelton, owner of Chirk Castle gave his support to Parliament. Wrexham became the main town in the area and grew wealthy with its markets.


In the 17th century wool was woven and fulled in Wrexham. After wool was woven it was cleaned and thickened by pounding it in a mixture of clay and water. This was called fulling. After it dried the wool was dyed.

Nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Wrexham town centre

Wrexham was formerly one of the most industrialised areas in Wales. One of its main industries was brewing and there were several large breweries in the town, together with many smaller breweries situated at the back of local inns. Some of the more famous old breweries were the Albion, Cambrian, Eagle, Island Green, Soames and Willow. However, the most famous was the Wrexham Lager brewery which was built between 1881 and 1882 in Central Road. This was the first brewery to be built in the United Kingdom to produce lager beer. Another major producer, Border Breweries, was formed in 1931 by a merger of several of the existing smaller breweries. All commercial brewing in Wrexham has now ceased.

Bricks were produced in Abenbury, on the outskirts of Wrexham. The brickworks was sited on both sides of the Abenbury Road.

Coal mining was an important industry in the area, and provided employment for large numbers of Wrexham people, however most of the mines were situated well outside of the town centre. Wrexham's coal field was part of the larger North East Wales field. A number of deep mines were constructed throughout the area including Llay, Gresford, Bersham and Johnstown. A number of new settlements were built on the edge of the town to accommodate miners at a number of the sites including Llay and Pandy (for Gresford).

Other forms of mining and quarrying have taken place around Wrexham throughout its history, these include Lead extracted from Minera. All mining and most quarrying has now ceased in the area.

One legacy of Wrexham's industrial past was the Wrexham area's large and complex network of railways, the main branch being the Wrexham and Minera Branch, which supported the steelworks at nearby Brymbo Steel Mill and the Minera Limeworks. The rail network was torn up in the 1960s (see Beeching Axe) and the Minera Branch in the early 1970s. Wrexham began a period of depression: the many coal mines closed first, followed by the brickworks and other industries, and finally the steelworks (which had its own railway branch up until closure) in the 1980s. Wrexham faced an economic crisis: with residents anxious to sell their homes and move to areas with better employment prospects, but buyers were uninterested in an area where there was little employment. Many people were caught in a negative equity trap. Wrexham was suffering from the same problems as much of Industrialised Britain and saw little investment in the 1970s.

The 90s to present day

Wrexham
Wrexham County Borough

In the 1980s and 1990s, the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) intervened to improve Wrexham's situation: it funded a major dual carriageway called the A483 bypassing Wrexham town centre and connecting it with Chester and Shrewsbury, which in turn had connections with other big cities such as Manchester and Liverpool. It also funded shops and reclaimed areas environmentally damaged by the coal industry. The town centre was regenerated and attracted a growing number of high street chains. However, the biggest breakthrough was the Wrexham Industrial Estate, previously used in the second world war became home to many manufacturing businesses including Demon Tweeks,Kellogg's, JCB, Duracell and Pirelli. It is now the fifth largest industrial estates in Europe (second in UK) by area.There are currently over 250 businesses on Wrexham Industrial Estate and in the surrounding area. There are also a number of other large industrial estates in the wrexham area, with companies such as Sharp, Brother, Cadbury, and Flexsys. The dual carriageway was extended halfway to the Estate in 2003, and is expected to reach it by 2011.

The County has an economic activity rate of 79.5%, which is above both the Welsh and Great Britain (GB) average.

In November 2006 unemployment in Wrexham stood at 1.9%. This is below the averages for Wales at 2.3%, and England and the UK at 2.5%.

High land prices have led to large apartment blocks being built in and around the town. Scarcity of town center land has led to numerous housing estates being built in the surrounding villages on the outkirts, notably in Brymbo and Rhostyllen.

In June 2003, the Caia Park estate in Wrexham was hit by riots, when a large group of Iraqi Kurds living in the area attacked a pub where many women and small children were celebrating a christening. Around 200 locals and 40 Iraqis were involved. Riot Police from Cheshire, Merseyside and West Mercia, were brought into the estate after locals reacted angrily to the attack on the pub. The situation escalated and resulted in petrol bombs and other missiles being hurled at Police trying to restore order. 51 local residents received Prison sentences. Wrexham as a whole has since seen a vast influx of Polish and Portuguese migrant workers but there has been no repeat of the events of 2003.

Current developments and regeneration

Recent years have seen a large amount of redevelopment in Wrexham's town centre. The creation and re-development of civic and public areas such as Queens Square, Belle Vue Park and Llwyn Isaf have improved the area dramatically. New shopping areas have been created at Henblas Square and Island Green and major development is currently taking place at Eagles Meadow — a fairly large area of land between St. Giles and the inner ring road. The development when completed will increase Wrexham's retail area by over 400,000 sq feet and house a large range of high quality retail outlets, bars, restaurants, cinema, bowling alley and new apartments. It will include public areas and an iconic bridge to connect the development with the old High Street. The housing boom is also being felt in Wrexham. The central area has seen a number conversions and new build apartment complexes. Currently apartments are planned for a large area off Mold Road (close to the Football ground) and on Salop road (close to Eagles Meadow), and near the Island Green shopping complex. Outside of the town centre new build estates are being developed in Brymbo (former steelworks site), Wrexham Western Gateway site (Ruthin Road) and Mold Road. Plans are due to be unveiled (Summer 2007) of the next stage in the development of Wrexham Technology Park as one of the country's first sustainable business centres - the development is expected to increase the size of the Park by more than a third before 2012. Plans have been unveiled for a £17m waste processing centre for Wrexham which will help reduce the amount of waste going to landfill sites. It is believed the centre will be built on Wrexham's industrial estate and run by the Spanish-owned Waste Recycling Group.

City status

Wrexham is by far the largest settlement in North Wales, and has applied for city status several times, most recently in 2002 as part of the celebrations for the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, along with Aberystwyth, Machynlleth, Newtown, Newport and St Asaph. Its claims are backed up by the following information:

  • Being the largest urban area north of the Brecon Beacons
  • Despite not having a Protestant Catherderal (part of the historic criteria for City status), it is home to one of only three Catholic Catherderals in Wales
  • The centre for education, culture, retail, industry and business in North Wales
  • The largest catchment (in terms of area) of any other major Welsh settlement
  • A long and proud history of industry, including coal mining, steelmaking, brewing and tanning.
  • Its recent transformation from an historic market town and industrial hub into a forward thinking business and manufacturing centre (including one of the largest industrial estates in Europe)
  • A conurbation surrounding the town of around 100,000 people

In the end, the Welsh award was given to Newport in south Wales, however the borough still holds out hope of gaining the status in the near future. Wrexham county borough is among the smallest local authorities in north Wales by area. Although several attempts have been made to enlarge the local authority, other towns, such as Llangollen have rejected it, as there is a lot of "town rivalry" with neighbouring towns and cities, particularly Chester.

Culture

Arts

Wrexham hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1888, 1912, 1933 and 1977, as well as an unofficial National Eisteddfod event in 1876. Wrexham has a number of theatres, including the Grove Park Theatre on Vicarage Hill, the Riverside Studio Theatre at Wrexham Musical Theatre Society on Salop Road and the Yale Studio theatre close to Llwyn Isaf. The main Arts centre is at Wrexham County Library, with others at NEWI in Plas Coch and Yale College. There is a multi-screen Odeon cinema in the Plas Coch retail park just outside the town centre, with another planned at the new Eagles Meadow development — due to open 2008. The nearby town of Llangollen holds the International Musical Eisteddfod every July.

Music

Wrexham has built a vibrant music scence over the last few years. In 2007 it featured on BBC Radio One's Steve Lamac show, and regularly features on the Welsh music portion of the station. The main live music venue in Wrexham is Central Station, a club with a capacity of approximately 650, attracting touring bands from across the country. Since its opening in 2000 the venue has played host to hundreds of acts, including The Charlatans, the Scratch Perverts, Ash, The View, The Wildhearts, Mansun, Shed Seven, The Wonder Stuff, Skindred, Supersuckers, Moscow, Bloc Party, Hundred Reasons, Grandmaster Flash, Electric Six, Trashlight Vision, The Fall, Budgie, Crosbi, The Blackout, Kids in Glass Houses, Rooster and Robert Plant.[1]

Another live music venue in Wrexham is the William Aston Hall at NEWI. It hosts concerts and live entertainment. This 900-seat venue has recently undergone extensive refurbishment, and is now designed to accommodate a range of events from conferences and exhibitions to theatrical performances and pop/rock concerts. Acts who have performed there in the past include Super Furry Animals, Love, Ray Davies, Funeral for a Friend, Freddie Starr and Sweet.[2]. Other music venues in the town include the Old Swan on Abbot Street, and the Goulbourne in Borras.


Media

Wrexham's newspapers include the daily Wrexham Evening Leader, the weekly free Wrexham Mail, and the weekly broadsheet Wrexham Leader, often known as the "Big Leader". Two radio stations, Marcher Sound and Classic Gold Marcher - 103.4, serve the town from their studios on Mold Road. The studios are also home to a number of other regional radio stations broadcasting to the North Wales coast and the Wirral. A 'Media' quarter has developed within the towns Civic Centre where television stations BBC Wales, ITV Wales and S4C have studios or bureaux for their regional news services.

Shopping

The main shopping areas in Wrexham are; Abbot street, Bank street, Henblas street, King street, Regent street, Overton Arcade, Hope Street and Queen Street. A cluster of retail parks are situated around the inner ring road at Central and Border retail parks. Plas Coch and Berse retail parks are situated on the outskirts close to the A483.

File:Eagles meadow.jpg
Eagles Meadow Development

In 1999, almost at a stroke, Wrexham town centre added over 250,000 square feet of retail shopping space when the Henblas Square and Island Green developments were completed. In 2008 a 400,000 sqaure feet development will be completed at Eagles Meadow. This will increase Wrexham's shopping catchment to half a million shoppers. Commited stores to the development include Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, H&M, Next, River Island, TenPin and Odeon. The new development will be connected to Yorke Street / High Street by an iconic bridge.

Traditional markets - There are three covered markets (Beast, Butchers and Peoples Market's) plus the North Wales largest open air Market based in the town centre each Monday (including Bank Holidays).

Wrexham boasts the most used Shopmobility Service in North Wales. Its free. Much of the Wrexham Town Centre is pedestrianised.

Short Stay Car Parks adjacent to the town centre. Long-stay parking is available at St. marks (NCP) at the northern end of Regent Street or the larger surface park (WCBC)

Nightlife

Wrexham has a vibrant nightlife mainly centered around the older original parts of the town close to the St. Giles Church along High Street, Town Hill and Brook Street. Some of the more popular bars include Lloyds, Bar Cuprum, Golden Lion, Yates, Milliners, Harveys, Fat Cat Cafe Bar, Chequers, Bar 1-5, Barracuda, Yales Cafe/Bar, Honky Tonks, the Commercial, The Cambrian Vaults, South Central, Chicago Rock Cafe and Club K1. Nightclubs include Liquid, Envy, Scotts, Central Station (including live music venue) and the Centenary Club (at Wrexham FC)

Heritage

Wrexham's former Police station on Regent Street, originally the barracks for the Royal Denbigshire Militia, is now home to Wrexham County Borough Museum. The Museum has two galleries devoted to the history of the town and its surrounding communities. There is also a programme of temporary exhibitions, including last year an exhibition featuring the Mold Cape, the first time the Bronze Age treasure had returned to North Wales since its discovery in 1833. Just to the west of the town, Bersham Heritage Centre and Ironworks tell the story of John Wilkinson, the 'Iron Mad' pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. At the top end of the Clywedog Valley, about ten minutes' drive from Wrexham, Minera Lead Mines are the remains of the profitable lead industry that dates back to prehistoric times.

To the east of Wrexham, there are the remains of Holt Castle. The Castle and the nearby late medieval bridge were the scene of constant skirmishes during the Civil War in the 17th century. The River Dee in this area is deep and wide. The Bridge at Holt was the first crossing point South of the City of Chester and hence was of major strategic importance.

Just 2 miles south of Wrexham town centre, Erddig, the National Trust property, was home to the Yorke family until 1973. Its last resident, Philip Yorke, handed over a house in need of restoration as years of subsidence caused by the workings of Bersham Colliery had caused a lot of damage. The house was voted one of the two most popular stately homes in the UK by a National Trust/Channel 5 publication. However, the house was not popular with Bersham miners as it stood on a pillar of coal and they had to work round it.

File:Nags head.jpg
The Nags Head & Yorke Street

One thing Wrexham has always been famous for is beer. In the mid to late 19th century Wrexham had over 35 breweries, and grew a proud tradition of brewing both ale and lager. In 1882 German immigrants set up Britians first Lager brewery under the name of [[Wrexham Lager[[. All brewing has now ceased in the town. However a number of teh original brewery buildings remain. Most notably Wrexham Lager on Central Road (offices), Soames Brewery on Yorke Street (Nags Head) and Border Brewery on Tuttle Street (converted apartments).

Wrexham's mining heritage is nearly all gone. Most former mines have been converted into industrial and business parks - one such development at Bersham Colliery has the last surviving headgear in the North Wales coalfield. Just off the A483, on the edge of Wrexham, the Gresford Disaster Memorial stands witness to the 261 miners, two rescuemen and one surface worker killed by a series of explosions in the Gresford Colliery in 1934.

Religion

St Giles, the largest Parish Church in Wales

St Giles' Church, Wrexham is the Parish Church of Wrexham and includes a colourful ceiling of flying musical angels, two early eagle lecterns, a window by the artist Edward Burne-Jones and the Royal Welch Fusiliers chapel. In the graveyard is the tomb of Elihu Yale who was the benefactor of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States and after whom Yale College Wrexham is named. The tower of St. Giles is claimed as one of the 'Seven Wonders of Wales' and the tower of Yale University reflects its design.

The Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows, in Regent Street, is the main Church of the Diocese of Wrexham, which extends over all North Wales.

Wrexham also has a number of non-denominational Chapels and Churches scattered about the town. The main Methodist Church is in Brynyffynon, off Regent Street. Up until the 1970s the town was full of Welsh non-denominational Chapels and the attendance of these was far in excess of that of the Anglican Church in the town.

In the past, Wrexham had a Church with a spire much taller than the St Giles steeple. This Church was dedicated and named after St Mark, but this was demolished as the building's foundations were in danger of collapse. A multi-storey car park named "St Marks" was erected on the site.

Sport

Football and rugby

The town has a professional football team, Wrexham A.F.C., which competes in the Football League. Currently managed by Brian Carey and his assistant Steve Weaver, the club has a rich 130 year history and is perhaps most notable for an FA Cup upset over Arsenal F.C. in 1992, together with a number of European Cup Winners Cup runs in the 1970s-80's and early 90's, playing teams such as FC Porto (whom they beat), Anderlecht, Manchester United and AS Roma. They featured well in the 90's in F.A. cup runs knocking teams such as Arsenal, Birmingham City, Ipswich Town, Middlesborough and West Ham out.They won promotion from League 2 in 2003, and were relegated 2 seasons later due to being docked 10 points for entering administration, however in 2005 they lifted the Football league trophy at the millenium stadium in Cardiff in front of 40,000 fans. Despite the attempt to knock down the club's historic Racecourse Ground and replace it with a shopping development in 2005/06, the club's future is now assured, thanks to a consortium of local businessmen led by a local car dealer Neville Dickens and partner Geoff Moss. The town end of the ground is due for redevelopment in the 2007/8 season, which will see a new stand and a number of high quality apartments built.

The ground has in the past also served as the secondary home of the Llanelli Scarlets, one of the four Welsh professional rugby sides that compete in the Magners sponsored Celtic League. They would play, on average, two games per season there, though since the problems experienced by Wrexham FC during its period in administration, and uncertainty over the future of the ground, there were no Llanelli Scarlets games played there in season 2005–6 nor are any games scheduled for the 2006–7 Magners League season. Liverpool F.C. Reserves also play their home fixtures here, as do the Welsh international rugby team on occasion.

Other Sports

  • Athletics: Queensway International Athletics stadium in Caia Park is Wrexham's second stadium after the Racecourse and has hosted the Welsh Open Athletics event in recent years. The stadium is also home to North Wales' largest athletics club, Wrexham Amateur Athletics Club.
  • Basketball: The recently formed NEWI Nets are North Wales' highest-ranked basketball team and currently compete in English Division 2. They play at NEWI's Plas Coch sports arena.
  • Hockey: Plas Coch is home to the North Wales Regional Hockey Stadium, a water-based international FIH accredited facility with seating for 200 spectators and floodlighting. The stadium is due to host the 2007 Celtic Cup in July this year.
  • Horse riding: Bangor-on-Dee reacecourse is 10 minutes south of Wrexham
  • Leisure: Wrexham has 9 leisure centres these are; Chirk, Clywedog, Darland, Gwyn Evans(Gwersyllt),Plas Madoc, Queensway, and Waterworld, they offer activities such as Swimming, aerobics, climbing walls through to Yoga.
  • Tennis: Wrexham is home to the North Wales Regional Tennis Centre, which plays host to a number of international competitions each year including the 'Challenger' Series. The centre is also home to the Wrexham Lawn Tennis Association.

Tourism

Wrexham's most popular attractions include:

Education

Wrexham is home to the newest University of Wales college, the North East Wales Institute of Higher Education (NEWI). This incorporates the North Wales School of Art and Design. NEWI is currently seeking full University status as the future University of Wales, Wrexham.[5]

Wrexham has a number of primary and secondary Schools. It has just one Welsh speaking secondary School, that being Ysgol Morgan Llwyd. Recently, three of the largest secondary Schools, St David's School, Ysgol Bryn Offa and The Groves High School were merged to create two larger "super Schools", Ysgol Clywedog and Rhosnesni High School. Wrexham has also become home to the first shared faith School in Wales in the form of St Joseph's. Yale College is the main post-16 education facility.

In the whole of Wrexham County Borough there are 72 primary, 10 secondary and 3 special sector Schools.

Politics

Wrexham County Borough Council elects a mayor who serves for one year. The current mayor of Wrexham is Councillor Joan Lowe. She is the ninth female mayor of Wrexham. Wrexham Council's website, is one of the leading council websites in the country. People who live under the jurisdiction of Wrexham County Borough Council are able to pay taxes, debts and other fees through the website. They can also access many other services, such as reporting crimes, submitting planning applications and applying for permits.

The Wrexham constituency elects members to the UK Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales. The constituency includes both the town and some of its outlying villages such as Gwersyllt, Llay, Marford and Rossett.

The UK Parliament constituency of Wrexham has long been a safe seat for the Labour Party. The current Member of Parliament is Ian Lucas, and the Assembly Member for the National Assembly for Wales constituency of Wrexham is Lesley Griffiths.

Twinning

The town of Wrexham is twinned with the German district of Märkischer Kreis and the Polish town of Racibórz.

The first Twinning was established on 17th March 1970 between the former Kreis Iserlohn and Wrexham Rural District. Its early success ensured that, after local government reorganisation in both countries in the mid-seventies, the Twinning was taken over by the new Councils of Märkischer Kreis and Wrexham Maelor Borough Council and, in 1996, by Wrexham County Borough Council.

In 2001 Märkischer Kreis entered a Twinning arrangement with Racibórz (Ratibor), a county in Poland, which was formerly part of Silesia, Germany. In September 2002, a delegation from Racibórz visited Wrexham and began initial discussions about possible co-operation which led, eventually, to the signing of Articles of Twinning between Wrexham and Racibórz in March 2004. The Wrexham area has strong historical links with Poland. Following World War II, many service personnel from the Free Polish armed forces who had been injured received treatement at Penley Polish Hospital. Many of their decendants remain in the area to this day.

Transport

Rail

Wrexham has two railway stations. Wrexham General which has 4 platforms provides direct rail services to Chester, Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bangor, Liverpool and Holyhead. All local services that operate from Wrexham Central also run through General. A 5 times daily direct service to London is due to start in late 2007.

Wrexham Central which is located on the Island Green retail park has 1 platform, but splits into 2 tracks on the outskirts of the town.It provides direct rail services Gwersyllt, Cefn-y-Bedd, Caergwrle, Hope, Penyffordd, Buckley, Hawarden, Shotton, Hawarden Bridge, Neston, Heswall, Upton, Merseyside (Wirral), Bidston (Where there is connections to Liverpool and West Kirby)

Bus & Coach

A recent focus on road transport by the council has improved the bus travel in the Wrexham area, with most buses being low-floor and slightly elevated bus stops to allow people easier access to buses. A new bus terminal in Wrexham has been built. It is the largest in north Wales, featuring indoor shops and ambient music, along with a staffed information booth. The bus station serves local, regional and long-distance bus services. Long distance coaches are available to Edinburgh and London.

The "Wrexham shuttle" provides a link between Wrexham and the nearby industrial estate, there is a similar one in the Deeside area.

Wrexham is one of the first areas in the United Kingdom to adopt the use of the distinctive yellow American Bluebird school buses. 10 currently operate in the Wrexham area, transporting pupils to and from the schools and colleges.

Roads

The A483 is Wrexham's principal route. It skirts the western edge of the town, dividing it from the Urban villages to the west. The road has connections with major roads (A55, M53, A5(M54)).

The A5156 leads to the A534 and on to the Wrexham industrial estate.

The A541 is the main route into Wrexham from Mold and the town's western urban area.

Plans

Wrexham has many major plans for the future. The WDA (Welsh Development Agency) (now disbanded), had earmarked Wrexham as a potential transport hub. The UK capital of culture for 2008, Liverpool, has also donated £100,000 to a study of electrification of the Wrexham to Bidston line, and a possible rail link to the North Wales coast line. This will open new rail links to the east, and the urban area of Liverpool.

With house prices rising rapidly in this area, the council has made many plans for massive suburban housing estates to be built. One, near Ysgol Clywedog, will include a small shopping centre and another primary school.

On 30 January 2006, it was announced that a new railway company, named the Wrexham Shropshire and Marylebone Railway (WSMR), had been formed. It plans to run a fast or high speed rail service from Wrexham, through Shrewsbury to London's Marylebone station. The announcement made it unclear as to whether it will use locomotive hauled trains or high speed DMU trains, but it was mentioned that the line to Shrewsbury may need infrastructural upgrades to handle high speed trains.

Districts

Wrexham, comprises a number of areas which make up the urban area itself (Pop 63,000 in 2001). The Wrexham Urban Area was first defined in 2001 by the Office for National Statistics. This area does not include many of the villages surrounding Wrexham that make up the conurbation.

Wrexham's Urban Area (pink) and surrounding villages (circles)

Wrexham Urban Area

Nearby villages

Notable residents

Acton Park, Once the seat of George Jeffreys

A number of famous people have been born or lived in Wrexham over the years. Among them are:

Current residents include:


References

  1. ^ Central Station website
  2. ^ NEWI Student's Union website
  3. ^ Coed Llandegla Forest
  4. ^ BBC: Your 20 Hidden Tourist Gems
  5. ^ http://www.eveningleader.co.uk/titlesites2/detail.asp?storyid=875&officeid=1
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