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53°00′N2°55′W / 53.0°N 2.91°W /53.0; -2.91
TheMaelor is an area of north-eastWales along theborder with England. It is now entirely part ofWrexham County Borough. The nameMaelor is an old Welsh word: it can be translated as "land of the prince", frommael ("prince") andllawr ("low ground", "region").[1]
The Maelor originated as acantref of theKingdom of Powys, focused on the monastic settlement ofBangor-on-Dee[2] and containing thecommotes of Maelor,Yale (Iâl), the Alyn Valley (Ystrad Alun) andHope (Yr Hob).[3]
Most of the area fell under control of the Kingdom ofMercia during the eighth century, withOffa's Dyke delineating the new border.[2] By the time of the 1066Norman conquest of England, its eastern areas were recorded as held byEdwin, Earl of Mercia: they were later granted to the Norman magnateHugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester.[2] The lands of the Maelor were only reincorporated in Powys during the reign ofStephen of England (1135–54) byMadog ap Maredudd. He died in 1160 and the kingdom was subdivided amongst his heirs.
By the early 13th century, when it was part of the lands ofMadog ap Gruffydd, Prince ofPowys Fadog, the Maelor was divided into two parts. Maelor Gymraeg ("Welsh Maelor"), also known by the English nameBromfield, lay west of the river Dee and was based on the commotes ofWrexham andMerford.[4]Maelor Saesneg ("English Maelor") included parts of the parishes ofOverton,Ellesmere,Whittington andOswestry;Malaur Saisnec appears in a document as early as 1202.Saesneg ("English") is believed to relate specifically to the area's religious administration rather than linguistic factors, as it was historically part of the ancientDiocese of Lichfield and Chester.[1] The Welsh Maelor remained within theDiocese of St Asaph.
Welsh political control of the area ceased in 1282-3 followingEdward I's conquest of Wales. The English Maelor became a personal property of the crown and in 1284, along with other royal estates in the region, was amalgamated into the new county ofFlintshire, while the Welsh Maelor remained part of the MarcherLordship of Bromfield and Yale, which Edward granted to EarlJohn de Warenne.
The English Maelor (Welsh:Maelor Saesneg) is the area east of the River Dee extending almost toWhitchurch. In 1397, underRichard II of England, the English Maelor was attached to theCounty Palatine of Chester to form thePrincipality of Chester. It continued as a personal possession of the crown until 1536 and theLaws in Wales Acts.
Although part of Flintshire, the administrative changes of 1536 confirmed the Hundred of Maelor or English Maelor as anexclave, surrounded by Cheshire, Shropshire andDenbighshire. The administrative centre of the area, often referred to asFlintshire Detached, wasOverton and it included the villages ofBangor-on-Dee, Bettisfield,Bronington,Hanmer,Halghton,Penley,Tybroughton, Willington andWorthenbury.
In 1887 aBoundary Commission was appointed to review the boundaries of counties in England and Wales. At an inquiry at Overton, it was found that most of the population of the area favoured it becoming part ofShropshire, and this was later supported by resolution of the Flintshire justices of the peace.[5] However, whenlocal government legislation was introduced no change was made.
Under theLocal Government Act 1894, the area becameOverton Rural District, which was again renamed in 1953 as Maelor Rural District, remaining as a detached part of Flintshire until 1974.[2]
TheMaelor Gymraeg, the "Welsh Maelor", is the part of the Maelor lying to the west of the River Dee. It included parts of the ancient parishes ofBersham,Erbistock,Marchwiel,Ruabon,Wrexham andGresford.
After the Edwardian conquest this area continued as part of the Lordship of Bromfield and Yale until 1536, when it was included in the newly created county ofDenbighshire as the Hundred of Bromfield.
In 1974,local government in Wales was reorganised, and both halves of the Maelor were included inWrexham Maelor, one of six districts in the new county ofClwyd. In 1996 a furtherlocal government reorganisation took place, and Maelor became part of the newly created county borough ofWrexham.
Remfry, P.M.,Whittington Castle and the families of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, Peverel, Maminot, Powys and Fitz Warin (ISBN 1-899376-80-1)
