Gresford(/ˈɡrɛsfərd/;Welsh:GresfforddWelsh pronunciation:[ˈɡrɛsfɔrð]) is a village andcommunityinWrexham County Borough,Wales.
Gresford
| |
|---|---|
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  Gresford Location withinWrexham | |
| Population | 5,010 (2011 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SJ353549 |
| Community |
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| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WREXHAM |
| Postcode district | LL12 |
| Dialling code | 01978 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
According to the 2001 Census, the population of the community, which also includes the village ofMarford,was 5,334,[2]reducing to 5,010 at the 2011 census.
The Grade I listedAll Saints' Church, Gresfordhas been described as the finest parish church in Wales, and has the most surviving medieval stained glass of any Welsh church.[3]Its bells are one of the traditionalSeven Wonders of Wales.
The formerGresford Collierywas the site of theGresford disaster,one of Britain's worst coal mining disasters, when 266 men died in an underground explosion on 22 September 1934.
History
editLocated close to theEngland–Wales borderwithCheshire,the settlement existed at the time of the compilation of theDomesday Bookof 1086, when it was recorded as "Gretford"[4]within theCheshire Hundred of Duddestan;[5]it had a church, though perhaps not on the present site. The name, derived probably fromOld Englishgræsandford( "grassy ford" ),[6]was later recorded as "Gresworth", "Cresford" and "Grefford", but documentary evidence shows that the place was clearly locally referred to as "Gresford" throughout its history, even under Welsh administration, and the other names merely represent alternative spellings.[7]The Welsh form "Gresffordd", supposedly believed to indicate an etymology fromy groesffordd( "the crossroads" ), seems to have been the imaginative creation of Welsh genealogists of the 15th century and later.[8]This form has, however, seen media use as an alternative spelling since at least the 19th century,[9]and although largely unused by the mainly non-Welsh speakers of the village itself, is today often used by the Welsh press, and Welsh-language media.[10][11][12][13]
In common with many of the towns and villages of the border lands, orMarches,Gresford has gone through periods of both English and Welsh dominance. The whole area was resettled by Welsh aligned toOwain Gwyneddin 1170–1203. At this time thebishopricwas transferred from that ofSt. Werburgh'sChestertoSt. Asaph,and the vicars of the village were Welsh withpatronymicnames (for example, Morud ap Gwarius, who became vicar in 1284). It is possible, however, that settlement existed on the site from quite an early date, as aRomanaltar was found within the church in 1908. The altar is likely to depictNemesis;this and the unearthing of aRoman coinhoardnearby-dating 150–300, is possible evidence of a settlement. There is also a stand ofyew treesin thechurchyard,the oldest dating to A.D. 500 — long beforeAnglo-Saxonsettlement.
Approaching Gresford from the Wrexham direction, on the left hand side of the road, there was a tree known as the 'Cross Tree', and alongside this there is the base of an ancient stone cross. This tree was removed after 1984, and has since been replaced with a young tree.
Until the late 19th century, theparishboundary encompassed a large area, including thetownshipsofBurton,Llay,RossettandGwersyllt,as well as several townships later included inIsycoed.The bells of theparish church,All Saints' Churchare one of the traditionalSeven Wonders of Wales.Gresford Church dates to 1492 and is a large building considering the size of what the population would have been in the present day boundaries of the parish. The base of the church tower has earlier remnants of a previous building and an earlier roofline of a former transept can be detected in the tower. The colour of the stone is quite distinctive, and is typical of the Wrexham area. It is a sandy brownMillstone Grit,locally referred to as "Cefn" stone.
Pant Iocyn(later Pant-yr-Ochain) house was built in the 1550s alongside the road from Gresford to Wrexham byEdward Almer,MP and three times High Sheriff of the county. It was one of the chief houses in east Denbighshire and descended in the Almer family until it was bought and enlarged bySir Foster Cunliffe, 3rd Baronetin 1785. The 18th-century addition now serves as a gastro pub.[14]
Gresford Colliery
editHenry Dennis and his son, Henry Dyke Dennis, began sinking a coal mine near Gresford in 1888,[15]taking four years for the 3,280 ft deep shafts to be completed. The coalmine was located on the edge of theAlyn Valley,between theShrewsbury and Chester Railway(later the GWR Birkenhead-Paddington line) and the old main road between Wrexham and Chester. The first coal was produced from June 1911, with full production reached before the outbreak of theFirst World War.The coal was renowned in the area as being of very good quality and hot burning.
Gresford Colliery was the site of one of Britain's worst coal mining disasters. TheGresford Disasteroccurred on 22 September 1934, when 266 men died following an underground explosion. The bodies of only 11 of the miners underground at the time of the explosion were recovered. Theheadgearwheel is preserved and forms part of the Gresford Disaster Memorial, along with a plaque. The disaster is commemorated in thehymn tune"Gresford", which is also known as "the Miners' Hymn", written byRobert SaintofHebburn,himself also a miner.[16]This tune has been played regularly by many collierybrass bandsover the years and is found on a number of recordings, and is also played at the annual Miners' Picnics around theNorth of England,especially at theDurham Miners' Gala.
The colliery lasted until 1973 when it was closed due to geological problems.
Transport
editThe stone-builtGresford (for Llay) Halt,on theShrewsbury and Chester Railwaywas midway up the notorious Gresford Bank. The bank was so steep that arefuge sidingwas required at the station in the event of engines having to leave some of their load behind to get up the hill. Banking engines were also used on occasions. The station was demoted to halt status in 1956 and was closed altogether from 1964.
Education
editAll Saints' Voluntary Aided Church in Wales School is the village primary school. It still uses part of the school building constructed in 1874,[17]in memory ofThomas Vowlier Short,aChrist Church, OxfordUniversitytheologian,and formerBishop of St Asaph.[18]
Sport
editGresford has a football team,Gresford Athletic F.C.,which currently competes in theCymru North.The club was founded in 1946 and plays its home games at Clappers Lane.
Gresford has a cricket club, Gresford Cricket Club, which also plays at Clappers Lane.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Community population 2011".Retrieved18 November2015.
- ^"2001 Census: Gresford (Parish)".Office for National Statistics.Retrieved10 November2008.
- ^All Saints' Church, Gresford,Imaging the Bible
- ^Palmer, A. N.A History of Ancient Tenures of Land in North Wales and the Marches,1910, p.238
- ^Gresfordin theDomesday Book
- ^Mills,A Dictionary of British Place-Names,2011, p.214
- ^Palmer, p.239
- ^Palmer, A. N. "Gresford, in the Counties of Denbigh and Flint", "Archaeologia Cambrensis,1904, p.291
- ^"Crefyddol".Cymro (Lerpwl a'r Wyddgrug).18 June 1891. p. 7. Archived fromthe originalon 4 February 2015.Retrieved3 February2015.
- ^Elwyn Davies (1967).Rhestr o Enwau Lleoedd Cymru / A Gazetteer of Welsh Place-names.University of Wales Press. p. 51.
- ^John Davies; Menna Baines; Nigel Jenkins; Peredur I. Lynch (2008).Gwyddoniadur Cymru - Yr Academi Gymreig.Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 392.
- ^"Canlyniadau am" Gresffordd "".Golwg360.Retrieved3 February2015.
- ^"Chwilio" Gresffordd "- Canlyniadau Cymraeg".BBC Cymru Wales.Retrieved3 February2015.
- ^"Pant-yr-Ochain: the chief house in Gresford by CHRISTOPHER J. WILLIAMS"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 16 May 2012.Retrieved17 July2013.
- ^"Gresford Colliery".BBC. 12 December 2006.Retrieved20 September2009.
- ^"Moving anthem to tragic miners".Jarrow and Hebburn Gazette.27 May 2010.Retrieved1 August2012.
- ^"All Saints' Primary School, School Hill, Gresford (405290)".Coflein.RCAHMW.Retrieved29 September2021.
- ^"Opening of the new school Gresford, Wrexham Advertiser".newspapers.library.wales.17 October 1874.Retrieved9 April2020.
External links
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