Wrexham - History

Wrexham - Welsh Wrecsam - town is situated in Wrexham county borough, in the historic county of Denbighshire. It is an industrial centre, a market centre, and the principal town of northeastern Wales. The town sits in the heart of the beautiful North Wales Countryside, one hour from the port of Liverpool and 20 minutes from the Historic City of Chester. The town's name is Anglo-Saxon in origin. The earliest reference to Wrexham is on old documents under the names of Wristleham, Wrettesham and Wrechcessam.

Wrexham’s early history is shrouded in the mists of time. Evidence of prehistoric human activity in the area was revealed by the discovery of skeletal remains, known as "Brymbo Man", in a Bronze Age burial at Brymbo. "Brymbo Man" has been returned recently to the County Borough Museum. The Roman occupation saw development of a settlement at Plas Coch on the edge of town, a tile factory at Holt; lead mining at Ffrith and an encampment at Chirk. Edward I (king of England 1272–1307) granted the town to Earl Warenne. 

Wrexham was under the Marcher Lordship of Bromfield and Yale until 1536 when under Henry VIII, the Act of Union with England and Wales the county of Denbighshire was formed. Up until and during the 17^th century Wrexham had a bad name for turbulence. When Civil war broke out in 1642, the city on the whole aligned itself with the Royalist cause. During a Roundhead occupation of the town when the Organ pipes from the church were melted down to be used as ammunition, a major fire destroyed a quarter of the town. The local conflict came to a close when the Roundheads defeated the Royalists at Rowton Moor outside Chester in1645.

By the year 1750, it had grown into the largest town in Wales. In 1849 the town's official population was 7000. The breweries were an important part of the local industry and this was due to the excellent source of water found in the wells of Wrexham. During this period the town had no fewer than 60 pubs, 5 beer shops, 4 spirit bolts, and 20 off-licenses. Wrexham was also well known for its production of leather. Both the breweries and leather works led to the further expansion of the town into surrounding areas.

The town was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18^th century, when John (“Iron Mad”) Wilkinson established the Bersham Ironworks there. The ironworks produced cannon for the British army during the American Revolution and cylinders for James Watt's first steam engines. In the 19th century the town started to acquire steel, leather, and brewing industries. The building of the canals, a prime example of which can be seen at Pontcysyllte Aquaduct in Trevor, and the establishment of a rail network meant that goods could be transported more easily.

Today Wrexham is the unofficial capitol of north Wales. It has had a chequered history as an agricultural market town, a centre for heavy industry, a military headquarters of the famous Royal Welsh Fusiliers and now a town of commerce and light industry.

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