Fall Asleep Learning About Wrexham

In this episode of the I Can't Sleep Podcast, fall asleep while learning about Wrexham. This little town has been around for a long time and is quite popular now with all that is going on with both the men's and women's football teams (soccer for us Americans). While the documentary is popular, all the facts about the town's history will leave you right where you want to be: passed out on your pillow. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Poster.

Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled,

Wrexham.

Wrexham is a city and the administrative center of Wrexham County Borough in Wales.

It is located between the Welsh Mountains and the Lower Dee Valley,

Near the border with Cheshire in England.

Historically in the county of Debenshire,

And later in the county of Clwyd in 1974,

It has been the principal settlement of Wrexham County Borough since 1996.

Wrexham has historically been one of the primary settlements of Wales.

At the 2021 census,

It had an urban population of 44,

785.

The core of the city comprises the local government communities of Acton,

Caer Park,

Offa,

And Rosdew.

In the 2011 census,

Wrexham's built-up area was determined to extend further into villages like Brumbow,

Brinteg,

Gorsold,

Newbrodden,

And Pentrebrodden,

With a population of 61,

603,

While also including nearby Bradley and Rostylen for a population of 65,

692 in 2011.

Wrexham was likely founded prior to the 11th century,

And developed in the Middle Ages as a regional center for trade and administration.

The city became the most populous settlement of Wales in the 17th century,

And was at the forefront of the industrial revolution from the 18th century.

Prior to de-industrialization in the 20th century,

The city and surrounding area were a hub of coal and lead mining,

The production of iron,

Steel,

And leather,

And brewing.

Today,

Wrexham continues to serve North Wales and the Welsh Borderlands as a center for manufacturing,

Retail,

Education,

And administration.

The city is noted for hosting Wrexham AFC,

One of the oldest professional football teams in the world.

The nationally significant industrial heritage of the Clwydog Valley,

The National Trust property of Erdig,

And the fine Tudor church of St.

Giles,

Which towers over the historic Wrexham city centre.

Human activity in the Wrexham area dates back to the Mesolithic period,

8,

000 to 4,

300 BC,

With tools made from flint being found to the east of the city.

Two Bronze Age burial mounds are located in the west of the modern city centre,

And there is evidence that the area had developed into a centre for an innovative metalworking industry by the early Middle Bronze Age.

A series of Iron Age hill forts are located to the west of present-day Wrexham along the Upland-Lowland line,

Suggesting the presence of an ancient tribal boundary.

At the time of the Roman conquest of Britain,

The area which Wrexham formed part of was held by a Celtic tribe called the Cornoviae.

A Roman civilian settlement was located in the Plaskotch area of Wrexham,

And excavations have revealed evidence of agriculture and trade with the wider Roman world.

Following the end of Roman rule in Britain,

Wrexham formed part of the Romano-British Kingdom of Powys.

The Battle of Chester,

Circa 615,

Marked the beginning of a long struggle between the Welsh and English for territory in this part of Wales.

During the 8th century,

The Anglo-Saxon royal During the 8th century,

The Anglo-Saxon royal house of Mercia pushed their frontiers westwards and established the earth boundaries of Watt's Dyke and Offa's Dyke to the west of the present city.

It was probably during this first period of Mercian advance in the 8th century that the settlement of Wrexham was founded on the flat ground above the meadows of the river Gwynfro.

The name Wrexham probably comes from the Old English for Rydal's River Meadow.

Alternatively,

The name may have described a settlement of the Rheossasson people,

Who were possibly a continuation of the Cornoviae tribe of Roman Britain.

The settlement may have originally been named Caerphantl in Welsh,

But by the 13th century was recorded in Welsh as Grexham or Greigsam.

The Mercians fought over northeast Wales during the 8th to 10th centuries,

But the Welsh kings of Powys reconquered the Wrexham area during the 11th century.

Following the Welsh reconquest,

Wrexham formed an integral part of the Powys lordship of Maelor,

And so does not appear in the Doomsday Book of 1086.

The first recorded reference to the town in 1161 is to a castle at Rysselsham.

Stability under the Princes of Powys Fadog enabled Wrexham to develop as a trading town,

An administrative centre of one of the two commodes making up the lordship.

In 1202,

Maddock Ap Gruffudd Maelor,

Lord of Dinasbran,

Granted some of his domain lands in Wrexham to the Abbey of Val Crucis,

And in 1220 to the earliest reference to a church in Wrexham was made.

Following the loss of Welsh independence and the death and battle of Prince Llywelyn Ap Gruffudd in 1282,

Wrexham became part of the semi-independent marcher lordship of Broomfield and Yale.

Wrexham increased in importance throughout the Middle Ages as the lordship's administrative centre,

And the then town's position made it a suitable centre for the exchange of the produce of the Dee Valley and Debyneshire uplands,

Whilst iron and lead were also mined locally.

From 1327 onwards,

The town is referred to as a villa mercantoria,

Market town,

And became a celebrated centre for Welsh craftsmen.

The town was particularly well known in the 14th and 15th centuries for the manufacture of Welsh bucklers,

As illustrated by the mention in the 1547 inventory of King Henry VIII of Wrexham bucklers.

In 1391,

Wrexham was wealthy enough for a bard,

Chester,

Juggler,

Dancer,

And goldsmith to earn their living there.

The traditional pattern of Welsh life,

Law,

Administration,

Customs,

And language remained undisturbed through the Middle Ages,

And the pattern was for local English people to rapidly adopt the Welsh language and to be assimilated into Welsh culture,

Even to the point of adopting Welsh patronymic surnames.

The local Welsh nobility and peasantry backed the uprising led by Owain Glinder against King Henry IV of England during the early 15th century.

Local poet Gutor Glynne,

Circa 1412 to circa 1493,

Heralded Sion Ap Madag,

The great-nephew of Owain Glinder,

As Alexander I Wrexham and Alexander for Wrexham,

And the poet Hywel Daffy addresses Sion's heir as a girdle around the heart of Wrexham.

The Acts of Union passed during the reign of Henry VIII brought the lordship into the full system of English administration and law.

It became part of the new shire of Denbighshire in 1536.

In 1584,

St.

Richard Gwynne,

A local schoolteacher and poet in the Welsh language,

Was convicted of high treason based on his Catholic beliefs by a panel of judges headed by the Chief Justice of Chester,

Sir George Bromley.

The main body of the Church of St.

Giles was rebuilt in the late 15th and early 16th centuries to become one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture in Wales.

The economic character remained predominantly as an agricultural market town into the 17th century,

But there were workshops of weavers,

Smiths,

Nailers,

As well as dyehouses.

The 1620 Norton's Jury of Survey of Wrexham Regis stated that four-fifths of the landholding classes of Wrexham bore Welsh names,

And every field except one within the manor bore a Welsh or semi-Welsh name.

A grammar school was established in 1603 by Ardalmen Valentine Broughton of Chester.

During the English Civil War,

Most of the local Welsh gentry supported King Charles I,

And in 1642 the King addressed enthusiastic crowds in the town.

However,

Local landlord Sir Thomas Middleton declared for the Rump Parliament,

And parliamentarians occupied the town in 1643 and 1645.

Wrexham served as military headquarters for both forces,

And a quarter of houses were burned down in 1643 during the quartering of troops in the town.

In the 17th century,

Wrexham served as an educational and cultural focal point for local society,

And became a puritan metropolis.

Morgan Llewod,

The radical non-conformist preacher and writer,

Was educated at the Wrexham Grammar School,

And became vicar of Wrexham in 1645.

Wrexham was known for its leather industry,

And by the 18th century,

There were a number of skinners and tanners in the town.

The Industrial Revolution began in Wrexham in 1762,

When the entrepreneur John Wilkinson,

1728 to 1808,

Known as Iron Mad Wilkinson,

Opened Bersham Ironworks.

Wilkinson's steam engines enabled a peak production at mineral lead mines on the outskirts of Wrexham.

From the late 18th century,

Numerous large-scale industrialized collieries operated in the southern section of the northeast Wales Coalfield,

Alongside hundreds of more traditional small-scale pits,

Belonging to a mining tradition dating back to the Middle Ages.

8th-century literary visitors,

Including Samuel Johnson,

Who described Wrexham as a busy,

Extensive,

And well-built town,

And Daniel Defoe,

Who noted the role of Wrexham as a great market for Welsh flannel.

The artist J.

M.

W.

Turner also visited the town in 1792-93 and 1794,

Which resulted in his drawings of St.

Giles Parish Church and surrounding buildings,

And a watercolour painting of a street scene.

Rev.

William Bingley described Wrexham in 1839 as of such size and consequence as to have occasionally obtained the appellation of the Metropolis of North Wales.

Wrexham gained its first newspaper in 1848,

The Market Hall was built in 1848,

And in 1863 a volunteer fire brigade was founded.

In addition to brewing,

Tanning became one of Wrexham's main industries.

In the mid-19th century,

Wrexham was granted borough status.

By 1851,

The population of Wrexham was 6,

714.

Within 30 years,

This had increased to 10,

978,

As the town became increasingly industrialized.

Wrexham benefited from good underground water supplies,

Which were essential to the brewing of beer.

By the mid-19th century,

There were 19 breweries in and around the town.

Wrexham Lager Brewery was established in 1882 in Central Road and became the first brewery in the United Kingdom to produce lager beer.

A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of Hightown Barracks in 1877.

The Poyser Street Drill Hall was completed in 1902.

When the 1912 National Eisteddfod of Wales was held at Wrexham,

T.

H.

Perry Williams achieved for the first time the feat,

Almost unheard of since,

Of winning both the chair and the crown.

Perry Williams later recalled returning home to Ryddw where he had been working as a hired hand upon the farm of a relative.

Upon telling his employer of his double victory,

Perry Williams was advised to seek grace.

When Perry Williams then explained that both victories had gained him 40 pounds,

The relative shouted in angry disbelief,

And you earned them all sitting on your arse?

By 1913,

The Northeast Wales Coalfield was producing up to 3 million tons a year and employed over 10,

000 people,

Dominating the economic and cultural life of the area.

One of the worst mining disasters in British history occurred at Grasford Colliery in 1934,

When underground explosions and a subsequent fire cost the lives of 266 men.

However,

The industry went into decline after the First World War,

And of the seven large-scale collieries operating in the Wrexham area in 1946,

Only two functional collieries remained by 1968.

The last pit to close in the borough was Bursham Colliery in 1986.

The leatherworks in Pentrefflyn and Tuttle Street,

The many coal mines in the area,

The brickworks in Abinbury,

Brimbo Steelworks,

And the breweries,

All closed in the latter half of the 20th century.

Wrexham suffered from the same problems as much of industrialized Britain and saw little investment in the 1970s.

In the 1980s and 1990s,

The Welsh Development Agency,

WDA,

Funded a major dual carriageway,

Bypassing Wrexham town centre and connecting it with nearby Chester and with England's trunk road network.

New shopping areas have been created within the town at Hembla Square,

Island Green,

And Eagles Meadow,

And the Wrexham Industrial Estate,

Previously used in the Second World War,

Has become home to many manufacturing businesses.

Wrexham Town Hall,

An early 18th century arcaded structure,

With an assembly hall on the first floor,

Which had been built at the top of Town Hall,

Was demolished to improve traffic flows in the area in February 1940.

Wrexham's former police station at Regent Street,

Originally the barracks for the Royal Debyneshire Militia,

Is now home to Wrexham County Borough Museum.

The museum has two galleries devoted to the history of the city and its surrounding communities.

The museum also holds the archive of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

Battalions were stationed in Wrexham during the First World War.

The collection is notable for containing original documents and the handwriting of Siegfried Sassoon,

Robert Graves,

J.

C.

Dunn,

And other notable members of the RWF,

As well as official records.

The local police was housed in the high-rise Wrexham Police Station from 1973 to 2019,

With the building demolished the following year.

The police moved to a smaller facility next to Wrexham Library.

Wrexham County Borough Council is made up of 56 councillors,

With one then appointed to serve as mayor for a year.

The most recent election to the council was on May 5,

2022.

The election resulted in an independent group conservative coalition,

As well as various ward changes and the addition of four new councillor seats from the 2022 election.

The main contiguous part of the city of Wrexham,

East of the A483 dual carriageway,

Is divided into the communities of Acton,

Rosedew,

Offa,

And Kaya Park.

Although other definitions of the city may consider Wrexham to extend westwards into other communities,

Such as Griswold and New Broughton,

Which are part of Wrexham's built-up area.

The Wrexham constituency elects members to the UK Parliament and the Senate.

The constituency includes both the city and some of its outlying villages,

Such as Griswold,

Ley,

Marford,

Rosset,

And Hold.

The UK Parliament constituency of Wrexham was considered a safe seat for the Labour Party until 2019.

At the 2019 general election,

Wrexham elected Sarah Atherton MP to the House of Commons,

The first Conservative Member of Parliament for the constituency.

Lesley Griffiths MS,

Welsh Labour,

Has represented the Wrexham constituency in the Senate since 2007 and has held a number of Cabinet positions in the Welsh Government.

Wrexham Maelor Hospital is the region's major acute district hospital,

With over 900 beds and is the largest of three core hospitals in North Wales.

The other NHS hospital within the county borough is Chirk Community Hospital and a former Penli Polish Hospital.

Yale Hospital,

Situated close to the Maelor Hospital on the Wrexham Technology Park,

Is Wrexham's largest private hospital,

With over 25 beds.

Formerly BUPA Yale Hospital,

It is now owned and operated by Spire Healthcare.

Wrexham is served by North Wales Police.

Their Eastern Division HQ has a large HQ building in Ley and a police station in the city centre.

The police were formerly based at the Wrexham Police Station from 1973 to 2019,

With the building being demolished in 2020.

The region's main fire station is situated on Chrisnoweth Road and is part of the newly combined Ambulance Service Station.

Other local fire stations are located in the nearby towns of Chirk and Llangollen.

Wrexham has applied for city status three times since the turn of the 21st century,

In competitions to mark the new millennium and for both the Queen's Golden and Diamond Jubilees.

In March 2012,

It was announced that Wrexham had again missed out on city status as the community of St Asaph,

Which was previously a city,

Was granted city status.

In 2021,

The Wrexham Council announced their intention to apply for a fourth time for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Award.

On the 20th of May 2022,

It was announced that as part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours,

Wrexham would receive city status.

The status was confirmed by letters patent on the 1st of September 2022.

It became Wales' seventh city.

Wrexham is not built on a major river,

But on a relatively flat plateau between the lower Dee Valley and easternmost mountains of northeast Wales.

This position enabled it to grow as a market town,

As a crossroads between England and Wales,

And later as an industrial hub.

Due to its rich natural reserves of iron ore and coal.

But three small rivers flow through parts of the city,

The Clwydog,

Gwenfro,

And Allen.

Wrexham is also famed for the quality of its underground water services,

Which gave rise to its previous dominance as a major brewing centre.

Originally,

A market town was surrounding urban villages.

Wrexham has now coalesced with a number of urban villages and forms north Wales' largest city.

Including adjacent urban areas to Wrexham,

Such as that of Gwersleth,

Roslyn Yrscragog,

Cwydpoeth,

And Leigh,

Totals to a population of over 100,

000 residents.

In 2021,

The urban population was 44,

785.

In the previous census in 2011,

Wrexham's built-up area also included settlements to the west,

Which increased the population to between 61,

603 and 65,

692 in 2011.

Wrexham was home to approximately 40% of the total population of the county borough in 2007.

Wrexham is approximately 13 miles south of Chester,

30 miles northwest of Shrewsbury,

43 miles southwest of Manchester,

And 140 miles north of Cardiff.

The historic city centre contains a large number of listed buildings set on a medieval street pattern,

Radiating out from the parish church of St Giles,

Which was the focal point around which the city developed.

The church precinct and the surrounding narrow enclosed streets and alleyways retain a medieval character.

Several complete medieval buildings survive on Town Hill and Church Street.

Hope Street,

Regent Street,

And Queen Street form the traditional main shopping streets and are wider in some parts than others,

Resulting from the location of the street markets,

Which occurred from medieval times to the 19th century.

The shopping streets and indoor markets are interconnected by historic narrow alleyways and arcades,

Such as Bank Street and Central Arcade,

Which host small independent businesses.

The half-timbered Talbot Hotel building,

Built in 1904,

Stands in a prominent position at the junction of Hope Street and Queen Street.

The horse and jockey public house was probably originally built in the 16th century as a hall house and retains its thatched roof.

High Street is notable for its grand 18th and 19th century properties of varying scale,

Colour,

And detail,

Which were built on long narrow burghage plots,

Probably of medieval origin.

The 18th century façade of the Wednesday Hotel on York Street closes the vista down the High Street.

The hotel is notable as the birthplace of the Football Association of Wales,

Which was formed at a meeting in the hotel in 1876.

The Golden Lion pub on the High Street is of 16th century origin and became an inn circa 1700.

The listed border brewery chimney towers over Turtle Street and forms a local landmark in the city centre.

Wrexham held the National Eisteddfod of Wales for the sixth time in 2011.

A number of visitors attractions can be found in the area.

Focus Wales,

An annual multi-venue festival that takes place in the Wrexham city centre,

With a focus on emerging talent and the Welsh language.

St Giles Church,

One of the Seven Wonders of Wales and burial place of Elihu Yale.

Racecourse Ground,

Home of Wrexham FC,

The world's oldest international stadium that still continues to host international games.

Erddig Hall,

A National Trust property.

Explore,

Science Discovery Centre.

Wrexham County Borough Museum,

A museum showcasing local history.

Indoor Markets.

Wrexham has always been historically known as a market town and continues this tradition with two architecturally significant Victorian indoor markets,

Butchers and General.

Wales Comic Con.

Founded and first held in Wrexham on a university campus in 2008.

The event moved to Telford in 2019,

A return for a one-day event in 2022.

Wrexham has a number of historic city centre buildings,

Many of which are pubs,

But others have been converted into arts or community centres.

The Horse and Jockey Pub on Hope Street.

The Golden Lion on High Street.

The Old Swan on Abbott Street.

The Wednesday Arms Hotel on High Street.

F.

A.

W.

Was formed at the hotel on the 2nd of February 1876.

Ty Pub,

A cultural communities resource that brings together markets,

Arts and a food court.

Seath Seren,

Seven Stars,

A former public house which is now the Wrexham Welsh Centre.

The venue is a bilingual community centre but retains its facilities as a pub with local food,

A bar,

Live entertainment,

Community meeting facilities.

Wrexham Miners Rescue Station,

Community Heritage and Café.

Wrexham's economy has moved away from heavy industry to high-tech manufacturing,

Biotechnology,

Finance and professional services.

The city also has the largest retail sector in North Wales.

In 2007,

The then town was ranked fifth in the UK for business startup success,

Higher than most larger UK towns and cities.

The city has a professional football team,

Wrexham AFC,

The oldest football club in Wales.

Their home ground is the Racecourse Ground,

The oldest international football ground in the world.

Wrexham was the site of the headquarters of the Football Association of Wales,

From its formation in 1876 until relocation to Cardiff in 1991.

Colliers Park has received a substantial investment to improve the facility,

Which was financed by FAW Wales and now recognised as a National Development Centre,

Completing their existing facility in Newport.

On the 16th of November 2020,

It was confirmed that actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney,

Through the R.

R.

McReynolds Company LLC,

Would be taking over the club after receiving the backing of Wrexham Supporters Trust.

Reviews

This was a subject that I knew nothing about, but I have been in Chester, England so I had a sense of the area. You held my interest and kept me awake for at least 15 minutes, but then out I went! Thank you, Ben!

It sounded interesting but apparently it wasn’t because I was out like a light in 5 minutes. 😂