Wrexham

Wrexham (Welsh, Wrecsam), town in Wrexham county borough, north-eastern Wales. Wrexham lies at the northern end of the Cambrian Mountains. It is the commercial centre of predominantly agricultural north Wales, and is the market town of the area and a centre of industry. Heavy industries, chemicals, leather and textiles, and food processing are all important to the local economy. Wrexham Lager Brewery, which closed down in 2000, was the first lager brewery in Great Britain. Wrexham lies only 8 km (5 mi) from the border with England, and the area has historically been hotly contested. The name “Wrexham” is from the Latin and Old English for “hamlet of the King”, suggesting English origins, and the town is situated on the English side of Offa's Dyke, the early boundary between the Anglo-Saxons and the ancient British. Wrexham's parish church of St. Giles was completed in the early 16th century; it is notable for its tower which was described as one of the seven wonders of Wales, and the graveyard is the resting place of Elihu Yale, the benefactor of Yale University. Erddig Hall, a fully restored 17th-century estate, lies just outside Wrexham. Population 128,416 (2001).