Gresford (; ) is a village and

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 ...

in Wrexham County Borough,

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 ...

. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the community, which also includes the village of Marford, was 5,334, reducing to 5,010 at the 2011 census. The Grade I listed All Saints' Church, Gresford has been described as the finest parish church in Wales, and has the most surviving medieval stained glass of any Welsh church. Its bells are one of the traditional Seven Wonders of Wales. The former Gresford Colliery was the site of the

Gresford disaster The Gresford disaster () occurred on 22 September 1934 at Gresford Colliery, near Wrexham, when an explosion and underground fire killed 261 men. Gresford is one of Britain's worst coal mining disasters: a controversial inquiry into the disaster ...

, one of Britain's worst coal mining disasters, when 266 men died in an underground explosion on 22 September 1934.

Etymology

The name Gresford is generally supposed to have been derived from 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 ...

elements and ('grassy ford').Mills ,''A Dictionary of British Place-Names'', 2011, p.214Palmer, p.239Palmer, A. N. "Gresford, in the Counties of Denbigh and Flint", "Archaeologia Cambrensis'', 1904, p.291 The name was recorded as ''Gretford'' in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086, and was later rendered as ''Gresworth'', ''Cresford'' and ''Grefford'', although documentary evidence suggests that these were merely alternative spellings and the name remained ''Gresford'' throughout. A cymricized form was in use by the 16th century, with , implying a meaning 'crossroads', noted in a document of 1591. This etymology was repeated in some 19th-century guidebooks; Samuel Lewis recorded the name was "anciently Croesfordd" which he translated as 'the road to the cross'. Lewis stated that the shaft of this cross was still present in his time, and was located half a mile to the south of the present church. The name ''cross'' ( or in Welsh) appears in a number of locations in Welsh tithe maps and a damaged wayside cross is recorded as a medieval relic. This derivation is also recorded by Thomas Morgan and

Nicholas Carlisle Sir Nicholas Carlisle, Royal Guelphic Order, KH, Royal Society#Fellows, FRS, Royal Irish Academy, MRIA, (1771 in York, England – 27 August 1847 in Margate, England) was an English people, English antiquary and librarian. In 1806, he became a c ...

History

There is some evidence of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and Post-Roman settlement in the Gresford area. These include a Roman altar thought to depict the Greek Goddess

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...

found within the church in 1908, and a

hoard A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...

Roman coins Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum#Numismatics, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction during the Roman Republic, Republic, in the third century BC, through Roman Empire, Imperial ...

dating from between 150 and 300 AD. Gresford is known to have been the site of an ancient

Celtic church Celtic Christianity is a form of Christianity that was common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages. The term Celtic Church is deprecated by many historians as it implies a unified and identifiab ...

and a stand of yew trees in the

churchyard In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...

has been dated to 500AD. Gresford is also home to two historic wells, including Parsonage Well enclosed by stone and inscribed with the initials A:E:M:N—most likely representing Anne, Elizabeth, Maria, and Newcome—daughters of Rev. Henry Newcome, who served as Gresford’s vicar in the late 18th to early 19th century. Gresford is also home to All Saints’ Well (also known as St Catherine’s Well) a historical source of village water and possibly a pilgrimage site. In common with many of the towns and villages of the

England–Wales border The England–Wales border, sometimes referred to as the Wales–England border or the Anglo-Welsh border, runs for from the Dee estuary, in the north, to the Severn estuary in the south, separating England and Wales. It has followed broadly ...

Marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...

, Gresford has gone through periods of both English and Welsh occupation during the Anglo-Welsh wars, being variously part of the Hundred of Duddestan and the

commote A commote (, sometimes spelt in older documents as , plural , less frequently )'' Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix ("together" ...

of ; The whole area was resettled by Welsh aligned to

Owain Gwynedd Owain ap Gruffudd ( – 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great () and the first to be styled "Prince of Wales" and th ...

in 1170–1203. At this time the

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

was transferred from that of St. Werburgh's

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

to St. Asaph, and the vicars of the village were Welsh with

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

names (for example, , who became vicar in 1284). 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. Pant-yr-ochain Inn - geograph

Until the late 19th century, the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

boundary encompassed a large area, including the

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 ...

s of Burton,

Llay Llay (; meaning meadow; ) is a village and Community (Wales), community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It borders several other villages including Gwersyllt and Gresford. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census, the total population of ...

Rossett Rossett ( or ) is a village, Community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. Rossett is served by the A483 road. At the time of the 2001 United Kingdom Census, 2001 census, Rossett community (including Rosset ...

and Gwersyllt, as well as several townships later included in Isycoed. The bells of the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

, All Saints' Church are one of the traditional Seven 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 brown

Millstone Grit Millstone Grit is any of a number of coarse-grained sandstones of Carboniferous age which occur in the British Isles. The name derives from its use in earlier times as a source of millstones for use principally in watermills. Geologists refer to ...

, locally referred to as stone. Pant Iocyn (later ) house was built in the 1550s alongside the road from Gresford to Wrexham by Edward 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 by Sir Foster Cunliffe, 3rd Baronet in 1785. The 18th-century addition now serves as a gastro pub.

Gresford Colliery

Henry Dennis and his son, Henry Dyke Dennis, began sinking a coal mine near Gresford in 1888, taking four years for the 3,280 ft deep shafts to be completed. The coalmine was located on the edge of the Alyn Valley, between the

Shrewsbury and Chester Railway The North Wales Mineral Railway was formed to carry coal and ironstone from the mineral-bearing area around Wrexham to the River Dee, Wales, River Dee wharves. It was extended to run from Shrewsbury and formed part of a main line trunk route, ...

(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 the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. 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. The

Gresford Disaster The Gresford disaster () occurred on 22 September 1934 at Gresford Colliery, near Wrexham, when an explosion and underground fire killed 261 men. Gresford is one of Britain's worst coal mining disasters: a controversial inquiry into the disaster ...

occurred 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. The

headgear Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's Human head, head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protective clothing, protection against t ...

wheel is preserved and forms part of the Gresford Disaster Memorial, along with a plaque. The disaster is commemorated in the

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

"Gresford", which is also known as "the Miners' Hymn", written by Robert Saint of

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the South Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly in County Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south bank of the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow and ...

, himself also a miner. This tune has been played regularly by many colliery

brass band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

s over the years and is found on a number of recordings, and is also played at the annual Miners' Picnics around the

North of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

, especially at the

Durham Miners' Gala The Durham Miners' Gala is a large annual gathering and labour festival held on the second Saturday in July in the city of Durham, England. It is associated with the coal mining heritage (and particularly that of miners' trade unionism) of th ...

. The colliery lasted until 1973 when it was closed due to geological problems.

Transport

The stone-built Gresford (for Llay) Halt, on the

was midway up the notorious Gresford Bank. The bank was so steep that a refuge siding was 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

All Saints' Voluntary Aided Church in Wales School is the village primary school. It still uses part of the school building constructed in 1874, in memory of Thomas Vowlier Short, a

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

University

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, and former

Bishop of St Asaph The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph. The diocese covers the counties of Conwy county borough, Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The ...

Sport

Gresford has a football team, Gresford Athletic F.C., which currently competes in the

Cymru North The Cymru North is a regional association football, football league in Wales, covering the northern half of the country. It initially had clubs with semi-professional status. Together with the Cymru South, it forms the second tier of the Welsh fo ...

. 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.

References

External links

Wrexham County Borough Council: Gresford Colliery Disaster

Gresford Athletic

www.geograph.co.uk: photos of Gresford and surrounding area

Welsh Coal Mines website: research the history of the local pit

Gresford Sailing Club
{{authority control Villages in Wrexham County Borough Communities in Wrexham County Borough Mining communities in Wales