Wrexham
| |
|---|---|
| City | |
 .jpg) .jpg)  From top, left to right: Wrexham skyline, Hope Street,Erddig Hall andSt Giles' Church. | |
  Wrexham Location withinWrexham | |
| Population | 44,785 (Built up area, 2021)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SJ335505 |
| • Cardiff | 108[2] mi (174 km) S |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WREXHAM |
| Postcode district | LL11—14 |
| Dialling code | 01978 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
| Website | www |
| 53°2′48″N2°59′37″W / 53.04667°N 2.99361°W /53.04667; -2.99361 | |
Wrexham (/ˈrɛksəm/REK-səm;Welsh:Wrecsam[ˈwrɛksam]) is acity[a] in thenorth-east of Wales. It lies between theWelsh mountains and the lowerDee Valley, near theborder withCheshire in England. Historically in the county ofDenbighshire, it became part of the new county ofClwyd in 1974. It has been the principal settlement and administrative centre ofWrexham County Borough since 1996. At the2021 census, the built up area had a population of 44,785, and the wider county borough, which also includes surrounding villages and rural areas, had a population of 135,117. Wrexham was awarded city status in 2022.
Wrexham was likely founded before the 11th century and developed in the Middle Ages as a regional centre for trade and administration. Wrexham has historically been one of the primary settlements of Wales, and was the largest settlement in Wales for a time in the 17th century. In theIndustrial Revolution from the 18th century onwards, Wrexham and surrounding area was a major centre of coal and lead mining. Other significant industries included the production of iron, steel and leather, and brewing.
Wrexham serves north Wales and theWelsh borderlands as a centre for manufacturing, retail, education and administration. The city is noted forWrexham A.F.C. (one of the oldest professional football teams in the world); the nationally significant industrial heritage of theClywedog Valley; the National Trust Property ofErddig; and the fine Tudor church ofSt Giles, which towers over the historicWrexham city centre.
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Human activity in the Wrexham area dates back to theMesolithic period (8000 to 4300 BC),[4] with tools made from flint being found to the east of the city.[5] TwoBronze Age burial mounds are located to the west of the modern city centre[5] and there is evidence that the area had developed into a centre for an innovative metalworking industry by the early Middle Bronze Age.[6] A series ofIron Age hill-forts is located to the west of present-day Wrexham along the upland-lowland line[7] suggesting the presence of an ancient tribal boundary.
At the time of theRoman conquest of Britain, the area which Wrexham formed part of was held by a Celtic tribe called theCornovii. A Roman civilian settlement was located in thePlas Coch area of Wrexham and excavations have revealed evidence of agriculture and trade with the wider Roman world.[8][9] Following the end of Roman rule in Britain, Wrexham formed part of theRomano-British Kingdom ofPowys.
TheBattle of Chester circa 615/616 marked the beginning of a long struggle between the Welsh and English for territory in this part of Wales. During the eighth century, the Anglo-Saxon royal house ofMercia pushed their frontiers westwards and established the earth boundaries ofWat's Dyke andOffa's Dyke to the west of the present city.
It was probably during this first period of Mercian advance in the eighth century that the settlement of Wrexham was founded on the flat ground above the meadows of theRiver Gwenfro.[12] The name Wrexham probably comes from the old English for Wryhtel's river meadow.[5] Alternatively, the name may have described a settlement of theWreocensæte people, who were possibly a continuation of the Cornovii tribe of Roman Britain.[13] The settlement may have originally been named 'Caer Fantell' in Welsh[14][15] but by the 13th century was recorded in Welsh as 'Gwrexham' or 'Gregsam'.[16]
The Mercians fought over north-east Wales during the eighth to tenth centuries but the Welsh Kings of Powys re-conquered the Wrexham area during the 11th century. Following the Welsh reconquest, Wrexham formed an integral part of the Powys lordship ofMaelor[17] and so does not appear in theDomesday Book of 1086. The first recorded reference to the town in 1161 is to a castle at 'Wristlesham'.[18]
Stability under the princes ofPowys Fadog enabled Wrexham to develop as a trading town and administrative centre of one of the twocommotes making up the Lordship. In 1202,Madoc ap Gruffydd Maelor, Lord ofDinas Brân, granted some of his demesne lands in 'Wrechcessham' to the abbey ofValle Crucis and in 1220 the earliest reference to a church in Wrexham is made.[17]
Following theloss of Welsh independence and the death in battle of PrinceLlywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282, Wrexham became part of the semi-independentMarcher lordship of Bromfield and Yale.[12] 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 Denbighshire uplands, whilst iron and lead were also mined locally.[12]
By 1327, Wrexham had become amarket town.[19] It became one of the largest settlements in Wales,[20] and a celebrated centre for Welsh craftsmen.[21] The town was particularly well known in the 14th and 15th centuries for the manufacture of Welshbucklers,[22] as illustrated by the mention in the 1547 Inventory of King Henry VIII of 'wreckesham Buckelers'.[23] In 1391 Wrexham was wealthy enough for a bard, jester, juggler, dancer and goldsmith to earn their living there.[24] The traditional pattern of Welsh life –law, administration, customs andlanguage – remained undisturbed through the Middle Ages and the pattern was for localEnglish people to rapidlyadopt the Welsh-language and to beassimilated intoWelsh culture, even to point of adopting WelshPatronymic surnames.[17]
The localWelsh nobility and peasantry backedthe uprising led byOwain Glyndŵr against KingHenry IV of England during the early 15th century.[25] Local poetGuto'r Glyn (c. 1412 – c. 1493) heralded Siôn ap Madog, the great-nephew of Owain Glyndŵr, as 'Alecsander i Wrecsam' ("anAlexander for Wrexham")[26] and the poetHywel Dafi addresses Siôn's heir as 'Gwregys am ais Gwregsam wyt' ('a girdle around the heart of Wrexham.’).[27]
TheActs 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 ofDenbighshire in 1536.
In 1584St Richard Gwyn, a localRecusant, schoolteacher, and poet in the Welsh-language, was convicted ofhigh treason based on his Catholic beliefs by a panel of judges headed by theChief Justice ofChester,Sir George Bromley. On 15 October 1584, Gwyn was taken to the Beast Market andhung, drawn and quartered for his faith. He wascanonised byPope Paul VI in 1970 as one of theForty Martyrs of England and Wales. His Feast Day is 17 October.[28]
The main body of the church of St Giles was rebuilt in the late 15th and early 16th centuries[29] to become one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture in Wales.[29]
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 dye houses. The 1620 Norden's jury of survey[clarification needed] of Wrexham Regis stated that four-fifths of the land-holding 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 Alderman Valentine Broughton of Chester.[12]
During theEnglish Civil War, most of the local Welsh gentry supportedKing Charles I and in 1642 the King addressed enthusiastic crowds in the town.[30] However, local landlord Sir Thomas Myddelton declared for theRump Parliament[30] and Parliamentarians occupied the town in 1643 and 1645. Wrexham served as military headquarters for both forces[12] and a quarter of houses were burned down in 1643 during the quartering of troops in the town.[12][31]
In the 17th century, Wrexham served as an educational and cultural focal point for local society and became a 'Puritan Metropolis'.[12]Morgan Llwyd, the radicalnonconformist preacher and writer, was educated at the Wrexham Grammar School and became Vicar of Wrexham in 1645.[11][30] For a time in the 17th century, Wrexham was the largest settlement in Wales.[32]
Wrexham was known for its leather industry and by the 18th century there were a number of skinners and tanners in the town.[11]
The Industrial Revolution began in Wrexham in 1762 when the entrepreneurJohn Wilkinson (1728–1808), known as "Iron Mad Wilkinson", openedBersham Ironworks. Wilkinson's steam engines enabled a peak of production[clarification needed] atMinera Lead Mines on the outskirts of Wrexham.
From the late 18th century numerous large-scale industrialised[clarification needed] collieries operated in the southern section of theNorth East Wales coalfield, alongside hundreds of more traditional small-scale pits belonging to a mining tradition dating back to the Middle Ages.[citation needed]18th century literary visitors includedSamuel Johnson, who described Wrexham as "a busy, extensive and well-built town",[33] andDaniel Defoe who noted the role of Wrexham as a "great market for Welch flannel".[34] The artistJ. 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[35] and a watercolour painting of a street scene.[36]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.[citation needed] In addition to brewing, tanning became one of Wrexham's main industries.
By 1851, the population of Wrexham was 6,714; within thirty years this had increased to 10,978[37] as the town became increasingly industrialised.
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 ofHightown Barracks in 1877.[38] ThePoyser Street drill hall was completed in 1902.[39]
When the 1912National Eisteddfod of Wales was held at Wrexham,T. H. Parry-Williams achieved for the first time the feat, almost unheard of since, of winning boththe Chair andthe Crown. Parry-Williams later recalled returning home toRhyd-ddu, where he had been working as a hired hand upon the farm of a relative. Upon telling his employer of his double-victory, Parry-Williams was advised to, "seek grace." When Parry-Williams then explained that both victories had gained him £40, the relative shouted in angry disbelief,"Ac mi gwnest nhw i gyd ar dy din!!!" ("And you earned them all sitting on your arse!!!!")[40]
By 1913, the North East Wales coal field was producing up to 3 million tonnes a year and employed over 10,000 people, dominating the economic and cultural life of the area.[citation needed] One of the worst mining disasters in British history occurred atGresford Colliery in 1934 when underground explosions and a subsequent fire cost the lives of 266 men. However the industry went into decline after theFirst World War, and of the seven large-scale collieries operating in the Wrexham area in 1946, only two functional collieries remained by 1968.[citation needed] The last pit to close in the Borough was Bersham Colliery in 1986. The leatherworks in Pentrefelin and Tuttle Street, the many coal mines in the area, the brickworks in Abenbury,Brymbo Steelworks and the breweries all closed in the latter half of the 20th century. Wrexham suffered from the same problems as much of industrialised Britain and saw little investment in the 1970s.
In the 1980s and 1990s, theWelsh Development Agency (WDA) funded a major dual carriageway[citation needed] (the A483) 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 atHenblas Square,Island Green andEagles Meadow and theWrexham Industrial Estate, previously used in theSecond 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.[41]
Wrexham'sformer police station on Regent Street, originally the barracks for the Royal Denbighshire Militia, is now home toWrexham County Borough Museum.[42] The museum has two galleries devoted to the history of the city and its surrounding communities. The museum also holds the archive of theRoyal Welch Fusiliers; battalions were stationed in Wrexham during the First World War.[citation needed] The collection is notable for containing original documents in the handwriting ofSiegfried Sassoon,Robert Graves,J. C. Dunn and other notable members of the RWF, as well as official records.[43] The local police was housed in the high-riseWrexham Police Station from 1973 to 2019, with the building demolished the following year. The police moved to a smaller facility next toWrexham Library.[44]
There are two tiers of local government covering Wrexham, atcounty borough andcommunity level.Wrexham County Borough Council is the upper tier authority, providing most local government functions across the county borough, which extends to surrounding villages and rural areas as well as the main built up area of Wrexham itself. The county borough council is based at theGuildhall in the centre of Wrexham.[45] The built up area of Wrexham as defined by theOffice for National Statistics covers thecommunities ofActon,Caia Park,Offa, andRhosddu, and also partially extends into the communities ofAbenbury andGwersyllt.[46][47]
Wrexham gives its name to both theWrexham UK Parliament constituency and theWrexham Senedd constituency. The two constituencies have different boundaries; both include the built up area of Wrexham and adjoining rural areas, but more extensive rural areas are included in the UK Parliament constituency.[47]
Wrexham was anancient parish. It was subdivided into 15townships:[48]
The Abenbury Fechan township was anexclave ofFlintshire, and the rest of the parish was in Denbighshire. Abenbury Fechan was merged into Abenbury Fawr and transferred to Denbighshire in 1885.[50] From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under thepoor laws, in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including Wrexham, the civil functions were exercised by each township separately rather than the parish as a whole. In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so the townships also becamecivil parishes.[51]
Aparliamentary borough of Wrexham was created in 1832 as part of theDenbigh Boroughs constituency. The parliamentary borough covered the Wrexham Abbot and Wrexham Regis townships plus two small detached parts of the Esclusham Below township, which together covered the built up area as it then was.[52] The parliamentary borough was incorporated in 1857 to also become amunicipal borough.[53][54] The townships within the borough of Wrexham were united into a single civil parish called Wrexham Regis in 1885.[55][56] The borough was enlarged in 1935 to take in parts of several neighbouring parishes.[57]
The borough of Wrexham was abolished in 1974, becoming part of the largerWrexham Maelor district of the new county of Clwyd.[58][59] The area of the pre-1974 borough became acommunity, but was subdivided into smaller communities in 1985.[60] Local government was reorganised again in 1996 when the modern county borough of Wrexham was created.[61]
Wrexham was granted city status in 2022 as part of thecivic honours to mark thePlatinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[62][63] The city status was confirmed byletters patent dated 1 September 2022. It is formally held by Wrexham County Borough rather than any smaller definition of the settlement of Wrexham itself,[64] although the settlement is now generally described as a city rather than a town. Wrexham had bid for city status unsuccessfully on three previous occasions in 2000, 2002 and 2012.[65]
Wrexham Maelor Hospital (Welsh:Ysbyty Maelor Wrecsam) is the region's major acute district hospital, with over 900 beds, and is the largest of the three core hospitals inNorth Wales. Theother NHS hospital within the county borough isChirk Community Hospital and a formerPenley Polish Hospital.
Yale Hospital (Welsh:Ysbyty Iâl), situated close to the Maelor Hospital on the Wrexham Technology Park, is Wrexham's largest private hospital with over 25 beds. FormerlyBUPA Yale Hospital, it is now owned and operated by Spire Healthcare.
Wrexham is served byNorth Wales Police; their Eastern Division HQ has a large HQ building in Llay and a police station in the city centre. The police were formerly based at theWrexham Police Station from 1973 to 2019, with the building being demolished in 2020.[44]
The region's mainfire station is situated on Croesnewydd Road and is part of the newly combined Ambulance Service station. Other local fire stations are located in the nearby towns ofChirk andLlangollen.
Wrexham is not built on a major river, but on a relatively flat plateau between the lowerDee Valley andeasternmost mountains ofnorth-east 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: theClywedog, Gwenfro andAlyn. Wrexham is also famed for the quality of its underground water reserves,[5] which gave rise to its previous dominance as a major brewing centre.
Originally a market town with 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 theGwersyllt,Rhosllanerchrugog,Coedpoeth and Llay totals to a population of over 100,000 residents.[citation needed]
Wrexham is approximately 13 miles (21 km) south of Chester, 30 miles (50 km) north-west ofShrewsbury, 43 miles (69 km) south-west ofManchester, and 140 miles (230 km) north ofCardiff.[citation needed]
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 onTown Hill andChurch Street.[66]
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 through to the 19th century.[66] The shopping streets and indoor markets are interconnected by historic narrow alleyways and arcades, such as Bank Street andCentral Arcade, which host small independent businesses. The half-timberedTalbot Hotel building, built in 1904, stands in a prominent position at the junction of Hope Street and Queen Street. TheHorse and Jockey Public House, was probably originally built in the 16th century as a hall-house and retains its thatched roof.[67]
High Street is notable for its grand 18th and 19th century properties of varying scale, colour and detail which were built on long, narrowburgage plots probably of medieval origin.[68] The 18th century façade of theWynnstay Hotel on Yorke 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.[69] The Golden Lion Pub on the High Street is of 16th century origin[66] and became an inn c.1700.[11] The listedBorder Brewery chimney towers over Tuttle Street and forms a local landmark in the city centre.
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Wrexham held the National Eisteddfod of Wales for the sixth time in 2011.
A number of visitor attractions can be found in the area.
Wrexham has a number of historic city centre buildings, many of which are pubs but others have been converted into arts or community centres.
Wrexham's economy has moved away from heavy industry to high tech manufacturing, bio-technology, finance and professional services. The city also has the largest retail sector inNorth Wales.In 2007, the then town was ranked fifth in the UK for business start-up success,[73] higher than most larger UK towns and cities.
There are several shopping streets including Hope Street with major retailers such asNew Look,WHSmith andClaire's and Bank street with independent businesses.Plas Coch and Berse retail parks are on the outskirts close to the A483. Central andIsland Green retail parks are in the city centre.Eagles Meadow is a shopping and leisure development in the city, and contains branches of major chain stores and anOdeon Cinema, the development is connected to Yorke Street and High Street by a bridge. There are two traditional covered markets (General and Butchers) plus an open-air market on Mondays.
Wrexham has a Shopmobility service which is free. Much of the Wrexham city centre is pedestrianised.
Wrexham is home toDTCC, which collates and analyses company information for investment banks and financial organisations.
Moneypenny is an outsourced communications service, serving clients throughout the United Kingdom, and in the United States.[74] Their headquarters are based at the Western Gateway site in Wrexham.[75]
TheDevelopment Bank of Wales signed a lease for its new headquarters in Wrexham based on the Wrexham Technology Park, which is expected to accommodate 50 jobs.[76]
Chetwood Financial is a fintech lender that acquired a full banking licence in 2018, the only new retail bank to secure a licence in 2018.[77]
Wrexham Industrial Estate is one of the largest industrial areas in Europe[78] and is home to over 340 businesses creating employment for over 10,000 people. The estate currently extends to over 550 hectares and is home to major manufacturing businesses in a range of sectors including automotive, aerospace, food, pharmaceutical and engineering.[79]
Wrexham Industrial Estate is home to a number of biopharmaceutical companies such asWockhardt andIpsen which have major sites which provide research and development and manufacturing capabilities. The Industrial estate also hosts a 2,100 capacity Category C male prison, costing £212 million, which was built on the former Firestone Site. The prison opened in March 2017, and was named in February 2016 asHM Prison Berwyn.[80]
Wrexham's close location to both aerospace (Airbus are located in nearbyBroughton) and automotive manufacturers have led to a number of organisations being in the city.JCB on the Wrexham Industrial Estate, ACT and Magellan Aerospace are all major employers in the area.[citation needed]
Large food manufacturing sites includeKelloggs,Cadbury,Rowan Foods andVillage Bakery. Electronics companiesSharp andBrother have manufacturing facilities located along theA483.[citation needed]
One of Wrexham's traditional industries isbrewing.[81] Wrexham was once home toMarstons,Border Breweries and Wrexham Lager. Wrexham is still a brewing town, however, on a smaller scale, many are either located on Wrexham Industrial Estate and in the city centre, this includes Big Hand, Magic Dragon, Erddig, Sandstone, Beech Avenue, Axiom and the revival ofWrexham Lager Beer.[citation needed]
The central area of Wrexham has also seen a number of purpose-built residential developments as well as conversions of older buildings to residential use. Outside the city centre new estates are being developed in several areas, including over 500 homes at the former Brymbo Steelworks site, a ribbon of development on Mold Road leading out of the city (which includes four development companies) and Ruthin Road (Wrexham Western Gateway). There are further plans. These include the development ofNational Trust (NT) land atErddig for over 250 homes.[82] This latter proposal generated many protests, particularly from residents of nearby Rhostyllen. A motion at the NT's 2008 AGM to block the development gained much support but was overturned by proxy votes cast by the chairman.[83]
TheWrexham built up area as defined by theOffice for National Statistics (ONS) for the 2021 census had a population of 44,785.[1]
For the previous2011 census, the ONS identified a wider Wrexham built-up area with a population of 65,692, which comprised three built up area subdivisions called Wrexham (population 61,603),Rhostyllen (2,766) andBradley (1,323).[84] The Wrexham subdivision based on the 2011 census was larger than the Wrexham built up area based on the 2021 census; notable differences between those two definitions are thatBrynteg andGwersyllt have been classed as separate built up areas in 2021.[85][1]
According to the 2011 census, the average percentage of Welsh speakers (aged 3+) in Wrexham County Borough was 12.9%, compared to the Wales average of 19.0%. The highest proportion was in the rural Dyffryn Ceiriog division (31.2%) and the lowest in the urban Wynnstay division (7.7%).[86]
In January 2015, it was estimated more than 2,000 Portuguese migrants live and work in the city, mainly centred in the district ofHightown. The community holds an annual carnival through the city centre.[87]
APolish community exists in the city with a number of Polish supermarkets and restaurants in the city centre.
In 2021–22, Wrexham County Borough's bid made it to thefinal four bids of twenty for the title ofUK City of Culture in 2025.[88] It later lost toBradford in May 2022.
A company of actors (anterliwtwyr) from Wrexham is recorded as appearing in Shrewsbury in Henry VIII's reign.[89]
The then town is referenced in the late-JacobeanBeaumont and Fletcher play, 'The pilgrim' (1647), in which the stock Welshman declares that "Pendragon was a shentleman, marg you, Sir, and the organs at Rixum were made by revelations".[90]
Wrexham hosted theNational Eisteddfod in 1888, 1912, 1933 and 1977, as well as an unofficial National Eisteddfod event in 1876. The National Eisteddfod returned to the area in 2011, when Wales' leading festival was held on the land of Lower Berse Farm between 30 July and 6 August.
Wrexham has a number of theatres, including the Grove Park Theatre on Hill Street, and the Yale Studio theatre close to Llwyn Isaf, with others atWrexham University on Mold Road and at Coleg Cambria. There is a multi-screen Odeon cinema in the Eagles Meadow development.
Tŷ Pawb (formerly Oriel Wrecsam and the People's Market) is Wrexham's largest facility for visual arts and exhibitions, and offers other resources including an indoor market, food court and performance spaces. Tŷ Pawb is Welsh for "Everybody's House" and the name was selected by public vote in 2017.[91] Tŷ Pawb was the lead organisation for Wales in the Venice Biennale 2019.[92]
Other galleries in Wrexham include Undegun Arts Space on Regent Street[93] and The Wrexham Independent Gallery (TWIG) on Lord Street.[94]
Wrexham'sSchool of Creative Arts (part ofWrexham Glyndŵr University and formally known as North Wales School of Art and Design or NWSAD) is based on Regent Street.
Live music venues have developed around the core of the city. Further out of the centre other venues provide live music shows. The scene is dominated by local bands, however, mainstream musicians have attended local venues including theRacecourse Ground.
Central Station opened in 1999, the venue had a capacity of approximately 650, attracting a number of international acts. Shortly after its rebrand to Live Rooms Wrexham, it was found to be under financial pressures and closed on 9 February 2019, the year that marked its 20th anniversary.[95] The venue re-opened in 2022 as The Rockin' Chair with local bandThe Royston Club as the opening act.[96]
William Aston Hall at Wrexham University is a 900-seat venue designed to accommodate a range of events from conferences and exhibitions to theatrical performances, comedy shows and pop/rock concerts. Acts who have performed there includeSuper Furry Animals,Feeder,Love,Ray Davies,Freddie Starr andSweet.[97] The Wrexham Symphony Orchestra has been the orchestra in residence at William Aston Hall since 2004.
The first known concert to be held at theRacecourse Ground was in the 1970s with live performances fromKC and the Sunshine Band,Mac and Katie Kissoon andJunior Walker.[98] In 2016 theRacecourse Ground re-introduced live music to its summer schedule, the Welsh bandStereophonics were the first musicians to play a live show since the festival withMotörhead in 1982.[99] After the success of Stereophonics with special guestsCatfish and the Bottlemen came 2017 with live music fromUB 40 andOlly Murs. In June 2018 the Stereophonics returned to the Racecourse Ground alongside special guestJake Bugg.[100] In May 2023,Kings of Leon headlined shows at the Racecourse Ground.[101]
FOCUS Wales is a festival that began in 2010 to showcase musicians from Wales and around the world using venues across the city. FOCUS Wales includes interactive sessions and celebrates the arts of the region and beyond.[102]
Wrexham's newspapers include two daily titles,Reach plc'sDaily Post run remotely, and Newsquest'sThe Leader (formerlyWrexham Evening Leader) run from Mold.
The Leader, Wrexham edition, has a circulation of 1,780,[103] and the Daily Post has a circulation of 6,843[104] but covers all ofNorth Wales.
Two commercial radio stations used to broadcast from the Wrexham area –Communicorp stationHeart North and Mid Wales andGlobal Radio-ownedCapital North West and Wales, and a third station,Capital Cymru (serving Anglesey and Gwynedd). However, the studios in Gwersyllt were closed in January 2025 and are now vacant.[105]
BBC Cymru Wales has a studio and newsroom for radio, television and online services based at Glyndŵr University on Mold Road. From March 2008 to January 2021, the university was also the base forCalon FM, a community radio station that served Wrexham however the licence transferred from Wrexham Community Broadcasting CIC to Premier Radio CIC in April 2025.[106]
Eagles Meadow is the home of Premier Radio.
An online news website covering the Wrexham area,Wrexham.com, has operated from offices on Regent Street in the city centre since 2012.
A total of 37 parks and green spaces in Wrexham County Borough Council ownership have been, or are in the process of being, legally protected with green space charityFields in Trust ensuring they can never be built on, nor lost to development.[107]
Wrexham has three parks,Bellevue Park,Acton Park and the parkland at Erddig, as well as a green area within the city centre calledLlwyn Isaf.
Bellevue Park was built alongside the old cemetery on Ruabon Road. The park was designed to commemorate the jubilee year of the incorporation of Wrexham. It became neglected during the 1970s and many of the amenities were in a poor state of repair. A major project was undertaken to restore the park to its original state. The park reopened in June 2000. In 2015 Belle Vue Park was dedicated as a Fields in Trust Centenary Field because of its links with veterans of two world wars.[108]
Acton Park was originally the landscaped grounds ofActon Hall. It was laid out in 1785 byJames Wyatt on the instructions of the ownerSir Foster Cunliffe.[109]
Llwyn Isaf, situated alongsideWrexham Guildhall, is a popular green area within the city centre. The green was originally the landscaped grounds of a mansion house known as Llwyn Isaf. It now lies at the centre of Wrexham's civic centre just off Queens Square. The WelshChildren in Need concert was held here in 2005, which includedBryan Adams andKatherine Jenkins.[110]
Erddig Park is two miles (3 km) south of the city centre where the city meets the Clywedog Valley. The park is owned and managed by theNational Trust, and is home to Erddig Hall and its formal gardens.
The city has a professionalfootball team, Wrexham A.F.C., the oldest football club in Wales.[111] Their home ground is the Racecourse Ground, the oldest international football ground in the world.[112]
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, complementing their existing facility inNewport.[113]
On 16 November 2020, it was confirmed that actorsRyan Reynolds andRob McElhenney, through the RR McReynolds Company LLC, would be taking over the club after receiving the backing of the Wrexham Supporters Trust.[114][115]
In 2010, Wrexham became the new home ofCeltic Crusaders rugby league club spending their final two of three seasons in theSuper League – the top tier of theBritish rugby league system. Following the end of the 2011 season, the club entered administration. Aphoenix club was readmitted asNorth Wales Crusaders into the third tierChampionship 1. In 2016, the club moved to theQueensway Stadium in Caia Park as a result of lower matchday attendance, before moving toColwyn Bay in 2021. The city has also hosted ten matches of theWales national rugby league team.[116]
The Racecourse Ground has in the past also served as the secondary home of theScarlets, one of the four Welsh professionalrugby union sides that compete in thePro14. The Wales rugby union team have also played there on occasion. Wrexham is also home to rugby union teamWrexham RFC, a team affiliated to theWelsh Rugby Union. In 1931 nine northern Welsh clubs met at Wrexham to form the North Wales Rugby Union, Wrexham RFC were one of the founders.[117] Rhos Rugby Club, one of Wrexham RFC's main rivals are also based just outside the city in the village of Rhosllanerchrugog. Rhos now have grown to match Wrexham's quality, making the rivalry even more intense than in previous years.[citation needed]
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St. Giles is theAnglicanparish church of Wrexham and is considered to be the greatest medieval church in Wales.[118] It includes a colourful ceiling of flying musicalangels, two earlyeagle lecterns, a window by the artistEdward Burne-Jones and theRoyal Welch Fusiliers chapel. In the graveyard is the tomb ofElihu Yale who was the benefactor ofYale University inNew Haven, Connecticut, United States and after whomYale College Wrexham is named. As a tribute to Yale and his resting place, a scaled-down replica of the church tower, known as Wrexham Tower was constructed at Yale University. The tower appears in an 18th-century rhyme, as one of theSeven Wonders of Wales. In 2015, a first edition (1611) of theKing James Bible (also known as the Authorized Version) was discovered in a cabinet by the Vicar of the parish.[119]
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The Roman CatholicCathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows in Regent Street is the main church of theDiocese of Wrexham, which extends over all of North Wales. Built in 1857 afterCatholic Emancipation and at the height of theGothic Revival, the cathedral was home to theBishop of Menevia from 1898 until 1987, whose diocese covered all of Wales. However, in 1987 the Roman Catholic province of Wales was reconstructed, since which time the cathedral has been home to the Bishop of Wrexham. The cathedral is also home to the relic ofSaint Richard Gwyn, Wrexham'spatron saint, who was a Roman Catholic martyr in the 16th century. Richard washanged, drawn and quartered at Wrexham's Beast Market. He was canonised byPope Paul VI in 1970.
Wrexham has a number ofnon-conformist chapels and churches around the city, including a corps ofThe Salvation Army. The mainMethodist church is Wrexham Methodist church, built in 1971 on the site of the former Brynyfynnon Chapel on Regent Street. There is also aPresbyterian church in the city.
Wrexham had a church with a spire dedicated to and named afterSt. Mark in St. Mark's Road but it was demolished in 1960 after being declared unsafe and in danger of collapse due to inadequate foundations. Amulti-storey car park named St. Mark's was erected on the site.
Wrexham University was formed when the North East Wales Institute (NEWI) was granted full university status in 2008. It consists of Plas Coch campus in the western part of the city and the North Wales School of Art and Design located on Regent Street. The institution was founded in 1887 as the Wrexham School of Science and Art. It was formerly named after the 14th century scholar and last WelshPrince of Wales,Owain Glyndŵr, as (Wrexham) Glyndŵr University.
Yale College (now part ofColeg Cambria) is the main provider of adult education in Wrexham and is one of the largest colleges in Wales. As a tertiary college it also provides a wide range of higher education courses at its two campuses at Grove Park in the city centre and Bersham Road in southwest Wrexham.
It was named after Elihu Yale, best known for being the prime benefactor of Yale University. It was founded in 1950 as a state school on a site at Crispin Lane. In 1973, as part of the conversion of local schools to the comprehensive system, it was renamed as Yale Sixth Form College and the pupils re-located to other schools. The Crispin Lane site was incorporated into NEWI (now Glyndŵr University) after the development of the Grove Park Campus.
In 1998 Yale College took up residence in two sites across Wrexham: the faculty of engineering and construction at a site on Bersham Road, and a multi-purpose site in a redeveloped Grove Park campus. Over the next fifteen years the college grew.
In 2013 Yale College was merged with Deeside College, Northop College, and Llysfasi College to form a new college, Coleg Cambria, under the leadership of the ex-Deeside principal David Jones. The merger officially took place on 1 August 2013.
For the 2020–21 academic year, one of Coleg Cambria's Yale Grove Park Campus in Wrexham city centre underwent redevelopment. With a cost of £20 million, the new Hafod building is described to be a "commercial village" in Wrexham.[120]
Wrexham has a number of primary and secondary schools. It has just one Welsh-speaking secondary school,Ysgol Morgan Llwyd. In 2003, three of the largest secondary schools, St David's School, Ysgol Bryn Offa and TheGroves High School were merged to create two larger "super schools",Rhosnesni High School, andYsgol Clywedog. Other large secondary schoolsDarland High School andYsgol Bryn Alyn, were both built in 1958. Wrexham has become home to the first shared-faith school in Wales,St Joseph's.
There are sevenWelsh medium primary schools in Wrexham County Borough, two of which are located in Wrexham city (Ysgol Bodhyfryd CP and Ysgol Plas Coch CP).[121] Ysgol Morgan Llwyd serves as the single Welsh medium secondary school for the county and is located in Wrexham.
The city of Wrexham istwinned with the German district ofMärkischer Kreis and the Polish town ofRacibórz.
The first twinning was established on 17 March 1970 between the former Kreis Iserlohn and Wrexham Rural District. Its early success ensured that, after local government reorganisation in both countries in the mid-seventies, the twinning was taken over by the new Councils of Märkischer Kreis and Wrexham Maelor Borough Council and, in 1996, by Wrexham County Borough Council.
In 2001 Märkischer Kreis entered a twinning arrangement with Racibórz (Ratibor), a county in Poland, which was formerly part of Silesia, Germany. In September 2002, a delegation from Racibórz visited Wrexham and began initial discussions about possible co-operation which led, eventually, to the signing of Articles of Twinning between Wrexham and Racibórz in March 2004. The Wrexham area has strong historical links with Poland. Following World War II, many service personnel from the Free Polish armed forces who had been injured received treatment atPenley Polish Hospital. Many of their descendants remain in the area to this day.
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Wrexham has two railway stations,Wrexham General andWrexham Central, withGwersyllt located in the city's western suburbs. Until the early 1980s what is now platform 4 of Wrexham General, serving the Wrexham Central – Bidston service, was a separate station, Wrexham Exchange. There were plans for two new railway stations named after but located outside the then town in 2017:Wrexham North andWrexham South.[122]
Wrexham General was opened in 1846, rebuilt in 1912 and again in 1997. It has six platforms (four through, two terminal). Wrexham General is on two different lines, theShrewsbury to Chester Line and theBorderlands Line, both of which are run byTransport for Wales.
Wrexham General was also the base for the formertrain operating companyWrexham & Shropshire (the operating name of the Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway Company). The company-provided passenger train services from Wrexham viaShropshire toLondon Marylebone on an open-access basis. Services started in 2008, with an agreement for a seven-year period.[123] Wrexham & Shropshire began running services on 28 April 2008.[124][125] Having decided they could not make the business profitable, the company ended services on 28 January 2011.[126]
All services that operate from Wrexham Central to Bidston also run through this station.
A tokenAvanti West Coast service runs viaChester andCrewe toLondon Euston, whereas Transport for Wales operate a few direct services every weekday toLiverpool Lime Street.
Wrexham Central, which is located on theIsland Green retail park, is a small terminus station which is the southern terminus of the Wrexham to Bidston in Birkenhead Borderlands Line. Until the 1998 construction of the Island Green retail park, Wrexham Central station was located 50 metres further along the track.
Gwersyllt is an unmanned halt which serves the Gwersyllt suburb of Wrexham. It is a stop on the Borderlands line between Wrexham General and Bidston.
Abus terminal, the largest in north Wales,[citation needed] has been built in Wrexham, which formerly housed a staffed information booth. The bus station serves local, regional and long-distance bus services. It is served by various bus companies, includingArriva Buses Wales andStagecoach. Long-distance coaches are available toEdinburgh viaManchester,Bradford andLeeds and to London viaTelford andBirmingham.[citation needed] The Wrexham Shuttle provides a link between Wrexham and the nearby industrial estate.[citation needed] The townlink bus connects the main bus station with Eagles Meadow shopping centre and Border retail park to the east and Wrexham General and Central stations with Plas Coch, Wrexham Central and Island Green shopping centres to the south and west of the city.[citation needed] Wrexham is served by the National Express coach network, which picks up from the Wrexham bus station.[citation needed] Wrexham use the distinctive yellow AmericanBluebird school buses.[127]
The city centre is orbited by a ring road. The northern and eastern parts of the road are dualled between Rhosddu Road roundabout and Eagles Meadow. TheA483 is Wrexham's principal route. It skirts the western edge of the city, dividing it from the urban villages to the west. The road has connections with major roads (A55(M53),A5(M54)). TheA5156 leads to the A534 and on to the Wrexham Industrial Estate. TheA541 road is the main route into Wrexham from Mold and the city's western urban area. It connects to theB5101 road which eventually leads to theA5104 road to the east ofTreuddyn inFlintshire.
TheWelsh Government has acquired key sites to form part of the Wrexham Gateway Project to redevelop the Kop stand at the Racecourse Ground and upgrade the transportation network to support the upgrade in the sport and event facility.[128]
£5.4 million funding has been agreed for the redevelopment of theWrexham Museum that will integrate aWelsh Football Museum, which has been dubbed a museum of two halves. The football museum will have a number of themes including Welsh language communities, fan culture, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities and LGBTQ+ experiences.[129]
A health and wellbeing complex atColeg Cambria is expected to be built by summer 2024 at a cost of £14 million.[130]
Work has started on the regeneration of the historic markets by the contractor SWG. The aim of the project is to bring significant improvements to the Grade II-listed General and Butchers markets.[131]
Wrexham University's Enterprise Engineering and Optics Centre (EEOC) funding is now in place with Wynne Construction expected to start on the Plas Coch campus in 2024 forming part of the overall aim to improve the facilities atWrexham University Plas Coch campus.[132]
The creation of a Ryan Rodney Reynolds memorial park was officially announced on 23 October 2023 it is expected to consist of play facilities, tables and chairs, artworks, street food and a community cinema.[133]
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The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the City of Wrexham.
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