Category: People & Place

It’s here at last!

The 2019 Wonders of Wrexham Calendar is printed and on sale at the following outlets:

• Tourist Information Centre
• Wrexham Library
• County Borough Museum
• Bank Street Social
• Tŷ Pawb

It costs just £5 with all profits going to the Mayor’s Charity Fund.

But hurry, we’ve had just 500 printed and, if they’re as popular as they were last year, they’ll soon be gone!

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Cllr Andy Williams, The Mayor of Wrexham, said: “It’s excellent value and shows some of the truly beautiful areas of scenery and architecture in Wrexham. We really do have a fantastic location here and the Calendar is a reminder to us all of this. I hope you will support my charities this year by buying a copy of the Wonders of Wrexham 2019 Calendar.”

January – December

• • • Bangor on Dee Bridge and Church taken by Adrian Wright.  A cracking shot of this beautiful bridge which dates back to around 1660. the five arched stone structure is believed to have been built by Inigo Jones.
    • Gresford Wheel taken by Sally Davies. The iconic headgear of the former Gresford Colliery was preserved as part of the Gresford Disaster Memorial. Every year a service is held on the site to remember those who lost their lives in this terrible disaster. All four of our judges voted this the number one! This photo will also be the feature photo on the front of the Calendar.
    • All Saints church in Gresford taken by Steve Harvey. The peel of these bells make them one of the 7 Wonders of Wales so it’s only right that this photo made the final 13. Built in the 15 Century it really is worth a visit.
    • Bersham Waterfall taken by Carl Edwards. This is always one of our favourite views of Wrexham and we couldn’t resist including at least one view of this beautiful waterfall situated right here in Wrexham.
    • Farndon Bridge taken by Ian Lucas, MP, Farndon Bridge – OK this is seen by many to be in England! It is however a medieval gateway into Wrexham and does look splendid in this shot. Welcome to Wales!
    • The Mere at Hanmer taken by Paul Wynn. This Mere is a little gem in a beautiful and historic part of Wrexham – the Maelor. It is evidence that you don’t have to go far in Wrexham to see outstanding views.
    • Chirk Castle taken by Steve Harvey.  A Grade 1 Listed Building, property of the National Trust and with 700 years of history it’s no wonder it’s featured in this calendar. Thanks to the National Trust for allowing us to use the image.
    • Llwyn Isaf taken by Iolanda Banu. Right in the heart of the town centre is this little chappie – who, with his friends, are charming children and adults alike. The sheep trail takes you around the county borough and they’re all as charming as this one.
    • Bellevue Park Bandstand taken by Paul Wynn. Another town centre gem – this Victorian park is very popular with locals and visitors alike and the bandstand is host to a number of Music in the Park events in the summer months.
    • Penrhos Engine House taken by Ben Hughes. A reminder of our industrial heritage with this Scheduled Ancient Monument at Brymbo. Built by John Wilkinson in the late 18 Century it’s thought to be the earliest surviving colliery engine house in Wales.
    • Bank Street taken by Danny Edwards. One of the oldest streets in Wrexham, Bank Street, remains a busy and quaint thoroughfare in the town centre. Home to many old buildings and a must see for visitors to the town centre.
    • Pontcysyllte Aqueduct taken by Daniel Cooke the centre piece of the Pontcysyllte World Heritage Site and a sight not to be missed – this fantastic image sums up the longevity of this structure. How many winters has it seen? Well over 250 and still looking cool!

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The A5 will be closed for repairs to the guardrail during the evenings of December 5, 6 7 and 8 between 8pm and 6am – when the traffic is lighter.

The repairs will see a full closure north and southbound between Halton roundabout and Gledrid roundabout.

Diversions will be in place off the A5 onto the B5070 Chirk Road to rejoin the A5 at Gledrid southbound and halton northbound.

The North and Mid Wales Wales Trunk Road Agency will be undertaking the work and they have apologised in advance for any inconvenience the works may cause.

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Continuing our theme on interesting things about places in Wrexham County Borough, next up on our list is Acton 🙂

Acton is a place with a large amount of history – some of which you probably already know – but we’re going to try to include some obscure things you mightn’t have heard too.

Here’s five interesting things about Acton 🙂

1. Walking in Acton Park

We know, we know…we just said ‘obscure’ and walking in Acton Park is hardly that. But it’s simply too good not to include – I mean, where do we start?

Shall we start with the wonderful lake that’s the centre feature to the park, and massively popular with keen anglers?

Or what about the beautiful trees and large network of paths that you can explore?

Oh! What about the huge variety of wildflowers and the lovely Japanese garden?

And that’s not even mentioning the incredible history that comes with Acton Park, including the Cunliffe family and the notorious Hanging Judge Jeffreys…

Acton Park is simply great 🙂

And if you need further proof, take a look at the short video we made.

2. The Welsh Cup final

Did you know that back in 1878 – March 30, to be precise – Acton played host to the first-ever football Welsh FA Cup final?

The match saw Wrexham take on Ruabon Druids and Wrexham prevailed 1-0 courtesy of a James Davies goal in the final minute of the match…how dramatic!

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The final took place at Acton Park after Sir Robert Alfred Cunliffe donated the pitch.

19 clubs entered the inaugural completion, but only 17 actually fielded a team.

Another thing to add to the list of footballing firsts that Wrexham can claim!

3. The Hanging Judge

Wrexham has had its fair share of infamous characters, but perhaps no-one can claim such infamy as Hanging Judge Jeffreys!

George Jeffreys lived in Acton Hall in the 17th century. He led an eventful life and made many enemies along the way…

He famously liked a drink or two, and in 1680 he became the Chief Justice of Chester. This was despite him being labelled “the worst judge that ever disgraced the bench.”

Jeffreys then ensured his name would go down in history through the Bloody Assizes of 1685. In this, nearly 300 people were executed and many more were shipped off as slaves to the West Indies.

Eventually, his behaviour wasn’t tolerated, and in 1688 a coup was staged against him.

As he tried to flee, he was caught unsurprisingly in a pub with his pockets stuffed full with 35,000 guineas and a load of silverware. He later died in the Tower of London in 1689.

For a bit more info about Judge Jeffreys and the history of Acton Park, take a look at this blog.

4. Acton Community Resource Centre

Acton is home to a great community resource centre. It’s a very welcoming place and they have something for all ages.

Music, sports, fitness, education, recreation, leisure, the arts, and training are just some of the things that take place in the facility.

So if you have some free time and are thinking about building on your skills and giving back to the community, you’re invited to come along and get involved.

A couple of months ago, we visited the centre to chat to Purple Orchids (an over 50’s group) as they celebrated their first birthday. Take a look at our video from the day 🙂

5. Acton Dog

Acton Dog is one of the figures most associated with Wrexham 🙂

The Cunliffe family, who resided at Acton Hall simply loved greyhounds…so much so, that the greyhound was actually chosen as the family crest in 1759.

In 1820, Sir Foster had a new gateway built at Acton Hall, on top of which were four carved, wooden dogs.

The gateway became known as ‘The Four Dogs’ and it was a much-loved landmark for the people of Wrexham.

The dogs became symbols of Wrexham, and one of the original dogs (fondly referred to as The Acton Dog) is on display at Wrexham Museum 🙂

The gateway was repaired in 1982, and as the original dogs were in a poor state, copies were made to replace them.

So there’s still four dogs guarding the entrance to Acton Park estate today 🙂

If you enjoyed this blog, stay tuned as we’ll be featuring other places around Wrexham County Borough in the coming weeks.

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