Stansty() is an area and electoral ward inWrexham County Borough,Wales,lying to the immediate north-west of the city ofWrexham.It is a formercivil parishandtownship.Stansty is also anelectoral wardtoWrexham County Borough Council.The ward population as taken at the2011 Censuswas 2,114.[1]
| Stansty | |
|---|---|
 Rhosddu Methodist Church, Stansty | |
  Stansty Location withinWrexham | |
| Population | 2,114 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SJ327518 |
| Community | |
| Principal area | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WREXHAM |
| Postcode district | LL11 |
| Dialling code | 01978 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Geography, name
editStansty consists of Higher Stansty and Lower Stansty; Higher Stansty lies near toSummerhillandMoss Valleywithin thecommunityofGwersylltand is north of theA483 road.Lower Stansty, orPlas Cochas it is now more commonly referred to, is partly within the neighbouring community ofRhosddu,south of the A483. The division between Higher and Lower Stansty is an ancient one, as Stansty Issa (i.e. Lower Stansty), also called Stansty Abbatis, was originally a part of the manor of Wrexham Abbott belonging toValle Crucis Abbey.[2]
Along with those of some other places in this area of north-east Wales, the name of Stansty may have anOld Englishrather thanWelshroot, perhaps fromstan( "stone" ) with another element, possibly-stigor-stigu( "path, or" sty ").[3]
History
editStansty was one of the originaltownshipsofthe Lordship of Bromfield and Yale,and was also a township of the ecclesiastical parish of Wrexham. It comprised two townships, Stansty Ucha (Upper Stansty) and Stansty Issa (Lower Stansty) which were merged into one at the time of theCommonwealth.Stansty Issa was given to the Abbot ofValle Crucis AbbeybyGruffydd ap Madoc,Prince of Powys, in 1254.[4]
Part of the township was transferred to the new parish of Gwersyllt in 1851, and other parts were transferred to the parishes ofSouthseaandBershamin 1921 and 1934 respectively.[5]
Thecivil parishof Stansty was split in 1935 between Gwersyllt and Wrexham Regis.[6]
Stansty Park
editMuch of the area was farmland until the 20th century and belonged to an estate called Stansty Park, originally a manor in Stansty Uchaf (Higher Stansty) purchased by David ap Meilir in 1317. One of his descendants, John ap David ap Edward (1573-1635) took the surname of Edwards; the family seat, Plas Issa, was built in 1577.[7]His children included John Edwards (b.1612), court physician toCharles I,andJonathan Edwards(b.1615),ArchdeaconofDerry,[8][9]while his daughter Margaret marriedJohn Jones Maesygarneddtheregicide.[7]John Edwards (1619–73) expanded the Stansty estate, later known as Stansty Park, until it took up most of Stansty township: however his great-great-grandson, Peter Edwards, died without issue in 1783, and the estate, passing to distant relatives, was eventually sold to theironmasterRichard Thompson.[7]
Thompson built a new house, Stansty Hall, on the site in the 1830s. The late-Georgianhall at Stansty was later threatened by subsidence from coal mining and was largely demolished in the 1920s - a small section being incorporated into a more modern building - while some of the former estate's farmland has since been developed for modern housing. However, the park's highly elaborate wrought-iron gates, attributed to theDavies brothers of Wrexham,had been rescued and moved toErddig Hallin 1908.[10]
Though much the estate of Stansty Park has now gone, its name is still used for a modern housing estate nearSummerhilland for the ground ofCymru Allianceleague football teamLex XI F.C.The name is also applied to the original 1577 house, Plas Issa, which still stands.[11]
Plas Coch
editAnother of the area's main houses was Plas Coch in Lower Stansty, which was built in the late 16th century in mature hand-made red brick, giving the house its name (Plas Coch translates roughly as "Red Hall" ). It was a two-storey building: the plan of the dwelling was a typical through passage house with access at either end of the passage. The house was built for Sir William Meredith, one of the sons of Richard Meredith of Allington or Trevalyn (nearRossett) and treasurer and paymaster of the army in the reigns ofElizabeth IandJames I.Edward Meredith, a brother to William, was recorded in 1610 as trading asdraperinCheapside,London and he had held the lease on Plas Coch from his nephew for a time. Edward Meredith held the office of theHigh Sheriff of Denbighshirein 1629.
In 1709 the Plas Coch estate was sold bySir William Meredithof Kent toSir John Wynn, 1st BaronetofGwydir Castle,Llanrwst.
Plas Coch played an important part in the social life of the city, hosting theDenbighshire&FlintshireAgricultural Society Showand the AnnualWrexham LagerFestival. The house and outbuildings were demolished in the late 1980s to make way for a largesupermarketand retail development. The only part of the original property remaining today is a short length of stone wall at the roadside in front of a branch ofHomebase.During the construction of the retail development in 1991, a hoard ofRoman coinswas discovered by workmen: however all of the coins subsequently disappeared.[12]In 1995 further construction work on the site revealed traces ofRomanfield boundaries, hearths and a corn drying kiln.
Coal mining era
editThe area, like much of Wrexham, has a tradition ofcoal mining.Rhosddu Colliery,or the Wrexham & Acton Colliery as it was also known, was once reached along Colliery Road (the building of the A483 road has since divided the old colliery site). Colliery Road is still in existence today, but is now surrounded by a residential area.
Public houses in Stansty
edit- TheRailway Innon Railway Road
- ThePlas Cochon Plas Coch Road
Schools in Stansty
editReferences
edit- ^"Ward population 2011".Retrieved19 November2015.
- ^Williams, D. H.The Welsh Cistercians,Gracewing, 2001, p.209,ISBN978-0-85244-354-5
- ^Charles, B. G.Non-Celtic Place-names in Wales,London: University College, 1938, p.206
- ^Williams, Alister (2001).The Encyclopedia of Wrexham.Bridge Books.ISBN1-872424-67-8.
- ^Wrexham,GENUKI
- ^Wrexham Registration District,GENUKI
- ^abc"Edwards family, of Stansty, Denbighshire".Dictionary of Welsh Biography.National Library of Wales.
- ^Cotton, Henry (1851–1860).Fasti Ecclesiae Hibernicae: The Succession of the Prelates and Members of the Cathedral Bodies of Ireland.Vol. 3. Hodges and Smith. p. 337.
- ^Cotton, Henry (1860).Fasti Ecclesiae Hibernicae: Illustrations, corrections and additions.Vol. V. Hodges and Smith. p. 164.Retrieved29 September2010.
- ^Whittle, E.The historic gardens of Wales,Cadw, 1992, p.35
- ^"Stansty Park, Gwersyllt (26986)".Coflein.RCAHMW.
- ^Jones, D.History under foot,BBC Wales
External links
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