Esclusham ( or ''Esclys'') is a

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 ...

and

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

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 Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The community includes the villages of

Bersham Bersham (; standardised: ) is a village in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, that lies next to the River Clywedog, and is in the community of Esclusham. Bersham was historically a major industrial centre of the area, but despite this the vill ...

, Rhostyllen, Aberoer, Llwyneinion and Pentre Bychan, as well as a number of smaller settlements, the park at

Erddig Erddig () is a country house and estate in the Community (Wales), community of Marchwiel, approximately south of Wrexham, Wales. It is centred on a country house which dates principally from between 1684 and 1687, when the central block was bui ...

, and an area of the Ruabon Moors west of Aber-oer known as Esclusham Mountain. The population of the community at the 2011 Census was 3,515.

History

The name is recorded as Esclesham or Esclusham as early as 1315, likely originating in a combination of the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

personal name ''Æscel'' with ''ham'', "settlement"; the name is locally pronounced with stress on the second (middle) syllable, probably due to the influence of

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

stress patterns.''Nomina'', v. 11-13, 1987, 102 The old

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of Esclusham, within the manor of Esclusham, was part of the historic Marcher Lordship of Bromfield and Yale. The ''Survey'' of topographer

John Norden John Norden (1625) was an English cartographer, chorographer and antiquary. He planned (but did not complete) a series of county maps and accompanying county histories of England, the '' Speculum Britanniae''. He was also a prolific write ...

, carried out in 1620 within Bromfield and Yale, defined the township as follows:

..the towneshipp of Esclusham, beeing part of ye said manno', is bounden from Minera by a little purle of water running from the mountayne called Glas-bry, downe by the landes called Tir Kelin, and so to Clywedog vpon ye west by the landes of Hugh ap Robert ap Howell in ye manno' of Minera, and part of Glasbrie, and part of ye mountayne towardes y Groes Newydd ; but the certaine boundes vpon ye said mountayne they cannot sett downe. And from Mortyn Wallicoru'Morton Wallicorum, present-day Johnstown by a brooke called Holbrooke, through certaine feildes with certaine markes knowne, to a place called Aberderryn, and from thence to a place called Penissa Maeswdd Kynelleth to a brooke called yr Avon Ddu ; and from Morton Anglicoru'Morton Anglicorum, part of present-day
Ruabon Ruabon (; ) is a village and community in 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. I ...
the said Avon Ddu doth bounde to ye towneshipp of Erddig, and from thence to Clywedoge, ioyning to ye towneshippe of Bersham in ye said manno'.''Norden's Survey'', Harl. M8. 3696.

The jurors noted that "vpon ye mountaynes and commons in and about this manno' do breed moore cockes and growes, w'ch gentlemen of ye countrey of Chesshire and other places do hawke and take them at some seasons of the yeare". The township of Esclusham Above (i.e. "above"

Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke () is a large linear Earthworks (Archaeology), earthwork that roughly follows the England–Wales border, border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa of Mercia, Offa, the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon king of Mer ...

) was incorporated in the parish of Minera from 1844; in 1879 parts of Esclusham Above, Esclusham Below, and Erddig were incorporated in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Esclusham.GENUKI - Wrexham
/ref> As a result of the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, this was itself replaced in 1974 by the Community of Esclusham, currently based in the Parish Hall, Rhostyllen.

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 2,766 only.

Features

The community has a total area of 1656

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. A ...

and had 3401 inhabitants at the 2001 census.Davies, J. and Jenkins, N. (eds) ''The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales'', University of Wales Press, 2008, p.267 Its eastern part is relatively urbanised, with the village of Rhostyllen being close to the suburbs of

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 ...

. In the western, rural part of the community the land rises to the high pastureland and moorland above Fron-deg and Aber-oer known as Esclusham Mountain. Until the early 20th century there were lead and zinc mines on the mountain, and the area was used for grouse shooting. There are several structures of interest in industrial archeology, including the

Bersham Ironworks Bersham Ironworks was a large ironworks at Bersham, near Wrexham, Wales. The original working site of John Wilkinson, it was the first site in the world to use a new way of boring holes in cannon and steam engine cylinders. History Early yea ...

and old lead workings. The Minera Caves, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

, lie beneath Esclusham Mountain: over 8 kilometres of caves connecting with the old lead workings have now been mapped.The Caves
, Minera Quarry Trust, accessed 24-03-10

Bersham Colliery Bersham Colliery was a large coal mine located near Rhostyllen in Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham, Wales. The mine accessed seams found in the Denbighshire Coalfield. History The Wrexham area in the 19th Century was highly industrialised. At t ...

was a large coal mine in Rhostyllen which employed over 800 men.

References

{{coord, 53.03378, N, 3.0669, W, type:adm3rd_region:GB_dim:2000, display=title Communities in Wrexham County Borough The Lordship of Bromfield and Yale Wards of Wrexham County Borough