Woolly says – A frustrating couple of weeks which had included a trip to Telford to see two museums, both of which were closed, nothing new there for us of course. I then made plans only to get up and find that we were snowed in, snow cleared two days later, and we headed off to find another closed museum. Storm Bert then stopped me in my tracks for another two days before we headed to yet another closed museum, the world is obviously against me! With new arrangements made, the roads clear and the sun trying to shine we headed off to meet up with my bestie Sion for a tour of his local area.
Wrexham was given city status on the 1st September 2022, located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England, it is one of the primary settlements of Wales. Wrexham was founded prior to the 11th century and developed in the Middle Ages as a regional centre for trade and administration becoming the most populous settlement in Wales in the 17th century. Today it is probably best known for hosting Wrexham A.F.C. (one of the oldest professional football teams in the world) with its two very famous owners. We had worked there for the summer a few years ago and I was excited to find out more about it from someone that really knew the place.
Having arrived in the city we couldn’t find the correct car park and having found some parking the human’s text back and forth so that we could finally find each other, whilst we waited to be united Jo and I took a look at the lovely war memorial. The Royal Welch Fusiliers memorial was erected in 1924, originally at the junction of Regent Street and Grosvenor Road, and moved to its present site after the Second World War. By Sir W. Goscombe John, sculptor, the monument has a central pedestal surmounted by figures in the 18th and 20th century uniforms of the Royal Welch Fusiliers and was very impressive, as were the lovely remembrance benches that flanked it.
With us all there we headed into the city with Sion leading the way, I was slightly perplexed as to why we were heading into a car park though. This was no ordinary car park, instead of the grey concrete walls that you usually see the place was awash with colour with some incredible graffiti work, part of a worldwide graffiti jam the incredible work had been done in 2023. We took our time to admire the artists efforts all agreeing that it was a great start to our tour.
Heading back into the streets we passed the Soames Brewery Chimney a Grade II listed former brewery chimney built by the FW Soames & Co. brewery in 1894 it stands at a height of 120 feet (37 m) and is easy to spot across the city.
Climbing up some steps we arrived at the most impressive 16th century tower of St Giles church, the tower was nearly as big as the church itself and had some wonderful gargoyles and decoration.
St Giles’ Parish Church is recognised as one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture in Wales and is a Grade I listed building; the main body of the current church was built at the end of the 15th century and beginning of the 16th centuries. It is widely held to be among the greatest of the medieval buildings still standing in Wales and is one of the seven wonders of Wales. Inside was warm and cosy with the most incredible ceilings. High above our heads the wooden roof had the most wonderful angles on display.
The stained glass windows were huge and filled with incredible scenes.
Above the chancel arch were large parts of an early 16th century Doom painting which was most impressive. Flags lined the rows, Sion told us about the US flag and a standard of the US Marine Corps that had been presented in WW2 to commemorate the affiliation between the RWF and the USMC from their shared service during the Boxer Rebellion in China. Sadly, the original flag had been deemed to tatty to remain by the states and a new one had recently replaced this small part of history which was a shame.
Outside in the cemetery and our small guide headed straight to the most famous tomb, that of Elihu Yale, benefactor of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, in recognition of this connection, ‘Wrexham Tower’ of Saybrook College in the university was modelled on the tower of St Giles’.
We wandered on finding ourselves in the shopping area with some lovely buildings to admire.
Arriving at a large building with shops on each side of its arch we were led to a memorial to commemorate William Low who was the innovator of the Channel Tunnel way back in the 1800’s.
Just across from it was a life size sculpture called the Arc which was unveiled on February 2nd 1996 depicting a miner and a steelworker on brick plinths, feet astride 2 steel arcs. They are at full stretch, each trying to bend the arc to meet at the top. It was lovely.
We set off to our next destination and one that due to Netflix has become world known for the show Welcome to Wrexham. Wrexham Association Football Club was formed in 1864 and is the oldest club in Wales and the third oldest professional association football team in the world, they compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. So how come Deadpool came to Wrexham? The story goes, it was apparently due to the British comedian and writer Humphrey Ker that the pair ended up buying a football club. Ker was a writer on Mythic Quest with McElhenney and was known for watching football during lunch breaks at work. By osmosis McElhenney became interested in the game to the degree that he decides to buy a football team, teaming up with Ryan Reynolds to complete the deal.
Sion is a season ticket holder for the club and knew all the best places including the burger van and The Vine which was a pub filled with memorials and pictures of the players and current owners.
He led us round the stadium pausing for a quick stop in the club shop before arriving in the bar area where there was more memorabilia including one of the Deadpool outfits which we learnt had been made along with several others a distant relative of Jen and Sions, an excellent claim to fame.
Sadly, there were no players about let alone the famous owners, so we left the club behind and headed down the street to the Wrexham Miners Project.
The Miners Rescue Station was purpose built, as required by the Coal Mines Act 1911, and was officially opened in November 1913 as a training centre for mine rescue teams. The Wrexham Miners Project is now working to preserve the building in memory of the brave people who trained here and to provide a cultural hub for the local community.
The entrance held a memorial to the Gresford Colliery Disaster which occurred on 22nd September 1934, just a few miles north of Wrexham, within Northeast Wales Coalfield. It was one of the most significant mining disasters in British history and had a profound impact on the local community and the mining industry as a whole. Tragically, 266 miners lost their lives in the disaster, making it one of the deadliest mining accidents in British history. Included in the number lost were some of Jen’s relatives.
Inside was a bit of a hodge podge of displays relating to the miners and those that had been trained in the building and Christmas. In fact, Christmas had taken over with Santa’s grotto ready and waiting for the big man to arrive and a beautiful fairy Christmas display made by children in the community.
Although small it was rather lovely and the staff were most welcoming, by now I was wondering if Sion had planned in a food break as my tummy was gurgling away, luckily he must have read my mind as our next stop provided us with a lovely meal in the local hospice café, a strange place for lunch maybe but as it supports the care needs of the hospice and the food was great I would recommend.
With bellies full we walked back to the car parks pausing to look at one of three bells from the Incomparable Pagoda in Mandalay which was sent home by the 1st Battalion the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1885, with its intricate writing engraved on the exterior it made for a fabulous last sighting of the day.
We had had a wonderful day, and Sion had proved to be the best sheep guide ever to his home city we only hope that we could provide an equally excellent day for the return visit.