I.

Introduction

Wrexham (county borough) (Welsh, Wrecsam), county borough and unitary authority, north-eastern Wales, bounded on the north-west by the Welsh county borough of Flintshire, on the west by the Welsh county of Denbighshire, on the south by the Welsh county of Powys, on the south and south-east by the English county of Shropshire, and on the north-east by the English county of Cheshire. Wrexham county borough came into existence as a unitary authority on April 1, 1996, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1994, which changed the structure of local administration in Wales from a two-tier system of county and district councils to a single-tier system of unitary authorities. It comprises the district of Wrexham Maelor and, in the south, part of the district of Glyndwr, both in the former county of Clwyd. Before 1974, when Clwyd was created under the local government reorganization of that year, the area covered by the county borough comprised parts of the historic counties of Denbighshire and Flintshire. Wrexham county borough has an area of 499 sq km (193 sq mi).

II.

Land and Resources

Most of the south-west of the county borough is rugged, hilly country and moorland. This upland zone, a long, peninsula-like stretch of land sandwiched between Denbighshire and Powys, comprises the middle and lower hill slopes of Esclusham Mountain at the northern end of the Cambrian Mountains. The central part of the county borough, in which the town of Wrexham is situated, consists mainly of undulating country, much of which is urbanized. In the east the land is low lying, with the flat plains of the River Dee in the north-east. In the south-east, including a second peninsula-like area projecting into England, the land is more undulating.

The climate is moderate, with average temperatures in January of 2° C (36° F) and in July of 20° C (68° F). Average annual rainfall is between 1,000 to 1,500 mm (40 to 60 in).

III.

Population and Administration

The population of the county borough is about 128,477 (2001): according to the 2001 census, 23 per cent of the inhabitants can speak Welsh (see Celtic Languages). The main town is Wrexham (population, 2001, 128,416), the largest town in North Wales, and the administrative centre of the new unitary authority. The Roman Catholic cathedral of St Mary is situated in Wrexham. Other important towns are Rhosllanerchrugog (1991, 12,879), Llay (1991, 4,832), and Gresford (1991, 4,915).

The police authority is the North Wales Police, which has its headquarters in Colwyn Bay, in Conwy county borough.

IV.

Places of Interest

Wrexham's church of St Giles is notable for its tower (41 m/136 ft high), while the graveyard is the resting place of Elihu Yale, the benefactor of Yale University, in the United States, after whom the university is named. Near Wrexham are Erddig, a restored 17th-century mansion, which is a National Trust property; Marford, an early example of a planned village; and Chirk Castle, a fortress completed in 1310. The area also has a number of museums and visitors' centres, including the Bersham Ironworks and Heritage Centre, and the Minera Lead Mines and Country Park. Offa's Dyke Path passes through the county borough from north to south. Wrexham FC, the oldest football club in Wales, plays in the English Football League and is based at the Racecourse Ground.

V.

Economy

The rural western part of the county borough is mainly devoted to pastoral and the eastern to arable farming; agriculture is therefore an important part of the local economy. The main economic activity is, however, centred around Wrexham town, the commercial centre of north Wales. In the past, Wrexham was a market town, noted for its breweries and tanneries, and bordered by mines producing coal, iron, lead, and other minerals, and by brickworks. Mining has ceased, tanning has disappeared, and only a single brickworks is still in operation. Wrexham is still a busy market town, and today it is home to a long list of major British and foreign companies. The products manufactured include textiles and clothing, electronic consumer goods, and processed foodstuffs. Many of the industrial estates have been built on the sites of former collieries.

VI.

History

There are many Stone, Bronze, and Iron Age sites in the upland areas, and there are some traces of the Roman occupation of this part of Wales. Offa's Dyke is a reminder of the struggles between the Welsh and Mercian kings in the 8th and 9th centuries. Rival Welsh princes battled for control until the arrival of the Normans in the late 11th and early 12th centuries. The Welsh Marches, as the region is known, remained turbulent until the time of Edward I of England, who established control in the late 13th century. The county of Denbighshire, of which the area of the county borough of Wrexham was at that time a part, was first formed by an Act of Henry VIII of England in 1536. During the English Civil War (1642-1649) the county was a Royalist stronghold.

The town of Wrexham, which has been a thriving market and administrative centre since the 14th century, takes its name from the Latin and old English for “hamlet of the king”, suggesting English origins; the town lies on the Mercian side of Offa's Dyke, the early boundary between the Anglo-Saxons and the Welsh. The area's industrial development was based on the wealth of mineral deposits to the west of the town, including coal, ironstone, lead, zinc, silica, and limestone. In 1793 John Wilkinson established a smelting works at Brymbo and sank pits to mine coal and ironstone, and soon there were many active mines in the neighbourhood. Towards the end of the 19th century, many of the small collieries were phased out, to be replaced by larger and deeper mines. However, the last of these was closed in 1985, finally ending the area's long association with mining.