County Buildings (also known as the Former County Buildings) is a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed building in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

Wrexham County Borough Wrexham County Borough () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough, with city status in the United Kingdom, city status, in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire and Shropshire to ...

, Wales. It currently houses the

Wrexham County Borough Museum Wrexham County Borough Museum (or simply Wrexham Museum) is a local history museum in Wrexham, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is located within County Buildings, alongside the Wrexham Archives. The building is located on Regent Street, in ...

and Wrexham Archives. By 2026, the building would become one museum, dedicated to both Wrexham and Welsh football heritage. The building is located between Saint Mark's Road and Regent Street in the

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

and

Offa Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...

, bounded by

Wrexham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, also known as St Mary's Cathedral or Wrexham Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Wrexham, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Wrexham, and mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of W ...

to the west.

Description

The building is located on the corner of Saint Mark's Road and Regent Street, in the city centre of Wrexham and in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

of Offa. The Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Sorrows is located to its west also on Regent Street. Former County Buildings is two-storeys, with a five-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

entrance front which is flanked either side by advanced

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d ranges. The building's architecture is of a

Tudor gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

style. The building is composed of roughly coursed and squared

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

with freestone dressings and steep

slate roof Roofing slates are roofing tiles made out of slate. The rock is split into thin sheets which are cut to the requires size before shipment. This contrasts to slabs which are milled to produce larger structural components. They are the primary produ ...

s. The building has a chamfered buttressed tower. Forbidding_Architecture_-_geograph

Internally, the building's layout was modified in 1980, with rooms enlarged, a circulation space created and the courtyard enclosed.

History

The building was built as a

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

between 1857 and 1858 to the architectural designs of

Thomas Penson Thomas Penson, or Thomas Penson the younger, (c. 1790 – 1859) was the county surveyor of Denbighshire and Montgomeryshire, and an innovative architect and designer of a number of masonry arch bridges over the River Severn and elsewhere. Fa ...

. The Royal Denbighshire Militia relocated their

armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

from

Chester Castle Chester Castle is in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by the city walls. The castle stands on an eminence overlooking the River Dee. In the castle complex are the remaining par ...

, including their

gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

s and

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

, to the upstairs room of the building, now known as Court Room 1. Metal shutters on the armoury windows were initially planned to be installed, however following a reduction in revolutionary sentiment in the area, they were never installed. The building also provided as the home for the militia's officers, whereas the soldiers resided in houses around the then town and trained for one month annually. The militia vacated the building in 1877, moving to the

Hightown Barracks Hightown Barracks is a military installation in Wrexham, Wales. History The barracks were built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style and completed in 1877. Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encouraged the localis ...

. In around 1879, the building was converted to a divisional

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

of the

Denbighshire Constabulary Denbighshire Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the county of Denbighshire, Wales from 1840 until 1967. History The Constabulary was formed in 1840, under the County Police Act 1839, to replace the existing parish constables re ...

and a

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) ...

. The building was remodelled internally and externally to have two court rooms upstairs and a number of cells on the ground-floor for individuals on

remand Remand may refer to: * Remand (court procedure), when an appellate court sends a case back to the trial court or lower appellate court * Pre-trial detention, detention of a suspect prior to a trial, conviction, or sentencing See also

*''Reman ...

or accommodated overnight when showing signs of

alcohol intoxication Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of Alcohol (drug), alcohol. The technical ter ...

. During this conversion, the building was named "County Buildings", while the police and magistrates both relocated from the Old Town Hall. There was living accommodation provided in the rest of the building for the constabulary, including accommodation for the Inspector, Superintendent, Bridewell Sergeant, Constable and four unmarried Constables. Although most eventually lived outside the building, with the Bridewell Sergeant the last the leave in 1960. In the 1901 census, three prisoners were held in the building on

census day A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given population, usually displayed in the form of statistics. This term is used ...

. The exercise yard for prisoners is present today and surrounded by high walls to prevent escape. In the 1890s the building was extended and the extension later used as council offices. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Air Raid Precautions Air Raid Precautions (ARP) refers to a number of organisations and guidelines in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air raids. Government consideration for air raid precautions increased in the 1920s a ...

(ARP) were based at the back of the building, and an air raid siren was installed during wartime on top of the western side of the building and still works. The siren is played each

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces me ...

. The ARP's garage and cleaning depot was also built in the yard behind the building. In 1976–77,

North Wales Police North Wales Police () is the territorial police force responsible for policing North Wales. Its headquarters are in Colwyn Bay. , the force has 1,510 police officers, 170 special constables, 182 police community support officers (PCSO), 71 p ...

, which the Denbighshire Constabulary was absorbed into, relocated to Bodhyfryd police station, to the north-east, leaving the County Buildings vacant. Both the magistrates and police left by 1979. Between 1977 and 1996, parts of the building were part of a local art college, and it also served as a

Citizens' Advice Bureau Citizens AdviceCitizens Advice is the operating name of The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, which is the umbrella charity for a wider network of local advice centres. The abbreviation CitA is sometimes used to refer to this natio ...

. The building also survived the threat of demolition. In 1995, Wrexham Maelor Borough Council bought the building for it to be a museum. In 1996, following the formation of Wrexham County Borough, absorbing

Wrexham Maelor Wrexham Maelor () was a local government district with borough status, being one of six districts in the county of Clwyd, north-east Wales, from 1974 to 1996. History The borough was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 ...

borough from

Clwyd Clwyd ( , ) is a preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English cerem ...

, the building opened as the Wrexham County Borough Museum and Archives. The building was partly refurbished in the 1990s, with a new wing of the building built to replace a World War II-built structure. The wing was called "Satellite" and were to be used to manage and house the museum's on-site collections and a public study room (the "Collections Centre") for online services to reserved collections not displayed to the public. The new wing costed £398,500, paid with a

Heritage Lottery The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were t ...

grant of £299,375 and £99,125 from the council. The wing was completed on 15 May 1998. The building was refurbished in 2010–11, adding a front extension and now contains the Courtyard Cafe. It is proposed that the building host galleries dedicated Welsh football heritage on the vacant upper parts of the building, and is projected to open in 2024. Wrexham was chosen as the location for national football galleries, due to Wrexham's football heritage which includes the founding of the FAW in Wrexham in 1876, and having the oldest Welsh club, as well as oldest football ground in Wales. By 2026, the building would become home to the new museum containing both galleries dedicated to Wrexham's heritage and to Welsh national football heritage. In 2024, the council launched an online vote into two possible names for the new museum, and ''Histordy'' (combining and from Welsh, meaning ).

Description

History

References

Further reading