URPoint Details
Its name is said to derive from a mixture of Latin and Anglo-Saxon meaning ‘the hamlet of the king’.
Offa’s Dyke was the border between England and Wales in the 8th century and runs four miles west of the town.
During the 19th century the town’s prosperity came from coal, steel, brick-making, leather manufacturing and brewing.
In the churchyard of St Giles lies the grave of Elihu Yale (1648-1721) the American born son of a local man. In 1718 he donated books and paintings to help raise funds for the collegiate school of Connecticut in the USA. The tower at Yale University is modelled after the 15th century church of St Giles in Wrexham.
- Type:
- Landmark