Cefn Mawr
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.jpg) The Holly Bush pub in the centre of the village. | |
  Cefn Mawr Location withinWrexham | |
| Population | 6,669 (2001 Census, includes the villages Acrefair, Rhosymedre and Newbridge) |
| OS grid reference | SJ277423 |
| Community | |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WREXHAM |
| Postcode district | LL14 |
| Dialling code | 01978 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
| 52°58′23″N3°04′34″W / 52.973°N 3.076°W /52.973; -3.076 | |
Cefn Mawr (Welsh:Cefn-mawr;[1]Welsh pronunciationⓘ) is a village in thecommunity ofCefn withinWrexham County Borough, Wales. Its name translates as "big ridge".[2] The population in 2001 was 6,669, increasing to 7,051 in 2011.
The community of Cefn comprises the villages of Cefn Mawr, Cefn-bychan ("little ridge"),Acrefair, Penybryn,Newbridge,Plas Madoc andRhosymedre and is situated on the northern slopes of theDee Valley.
Cefn Mawr was part of the ancient parish ofRuabon and the area was known asCristionydd Cynrig (orCristioneth Kenrick in English). In 1844, most of Cristionydd Cynrig, together with the neighbouring township ofCoed Cristionydd became part of the new parish of Rhosymedre.[3]
Cefn railway station served the village from 1848 to 1960.[4]
Cefn Mawr was formerly heavily industrialised, with large deposits ofiron andcoal andsandstone, andheavy industry dominated the area in the 18th and 19th centuries. Iron was worked at severalblast furnaces andforges throughout the area and coal was mined atpits in Cefn, Plas Kynaston and Dolydd. Stone was cut at quarries above Cefn Mawr. Much of the mineral wealth of the area was exported by canal over thePontcysyllte Aqueduct on theShropshire Union Canal, until the railway reached Ruabon in 1855.
In 1867 Robert Ferdinand Graesser, an industrial chemist from Obermosel inSaxony,Germany, established a chemical works at Plas Kynaston to extractparaffin oil andparaffin wax from the localshale. The company later expanded into the production ofcoal tar, and carbolic acid (phenol). The site soon became the world's leading producer of phenol. In 1919 the US chemical companyMonsanto entered into a partnership with Graesser's chemical works to producevanillin,salicylic acid,aspirin, and laterrubber processing chemicals. The site was later operated by Flexsys, a subsidiary ofSolutia, but production ceased in 2010.With the closure of the nearbyAir Products and Chemicals site at Acrefair, manufacturing in the village has almost disappeared. A largeTesco store was opened in March 2012 on the former site of the village football team,Cefn Druids. After buying this land, Tesco agreed to contribute to the construction of the new football ground located half a mile (1 km) away near the neighbouring village of Rhosymedre.
Tŷ Mawr Country Park is located in the area, and features theCefn Viaduct, built byThomas Brassey in 1848 to carry theShrewsbury and Chester Railway across the valley of theRiver Dee. The village has twoprimary schools: an English, Cefn Mawr County Primary School, and a Welsh, Ysgol Min Y Ddol. There is also apublic library.
The community has 3 Football TeamsCefn Druids, Cefn Albion andCefn Mawr Rangers F.C.
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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