|
Coordinates: 52°55'49?N 3°03'01?W? / ?52.93026, -3.05025
Chirk (Welsh: Y Waun) is a small town in north-east Wales, between Wrexham and Oswestry. Chirk has been part of the County Borough of Wrexham since local government reorganisation in 1996. Prior to which it was administered as part of the county Clwyd and was part of the former county of Denbighshire. The border with Shropshire, England is only a mile east of the town.
The town is served by Chirk railway station.
[edit] History and heritage
Chirk Castle, a National Trust property, is a medieval castle. Two families are associated with the town and its castle, the Trevor family of Brynkinallt and the Myddletons.
Attractions in the town apart from Chirk Castle include a section of Offa's Dyke and the Chirk Aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal, built in 1801 by Thomas Telford. The Glyn Valley Tramway operated from here.
Chirk was formerly a coal mining community with coal being worked since the 17th century. The largest of these collieries were Black Park (one of the oldest in the north of Wales) and Brynkinallt (Welsh: Bryncunallt). All mining ceased in the area during the 1960s.
Chirk was a coaching stop on the old Mail coach route along the A5 from London to Holyhead.
The Chester to Ruabon railway had been extended south to Shrewsbury by 1848 with stations at Llangollen Road (at Whitehurst) and Chirk. South of the town a railway viaduct was constructed by Henry Robertson to take the line over the Ceiriog Valley.
[edit] Modern day
Looking towards Chirk over the Aqueduct and Viaduct
The Ceiriog Memorial Institute, in the Ceiriog valley, just west of Chirk, is home to a unique collection of Welsh cultural memorabilia and was founded in the early 1900s to support the Welsh language, culture and heritage for future generations.
Today Chirk's main industries and employers are wood based panels at (Kronospan) and chocolate manufacture at Cadbury Schweppes.
Chirk is home to Chirk AAA F.C., a football team founded in 1876.
A notable Chirk resident is the footballer Mike Jones, 1989 to present. A former notable resident was Billy Meredith who played for Manchester United from 1906 to 1921 and furthermore Chirk can boast a former Welsh international goalkeeper, Paul Jones, who was born in the town.
[edit] References
- G. G. Lerry, "Collieries of Denbighshire", 1968
[edit] External links
(Source: Wikipedia) |