Church and parish history
Penley Church was originally built in 1538. The timber structure was replaced by a brick one in 1793. This was demolished in 1893, and the current church was completed in 1899; it was consecrated in 1902, and dedicated to Mary Magdalene.
Penley was originally part of the parish of Ellesmere in neighbouring Shropshire, but it became a separate parish towards the end of the Commonwealth period. In early 1661, it reverted to being part of the parish of Ellesmere, after the Restoration of Charles II. In 1860, it again became a separate parish.
It was then in the English Diocese of Lichfield until 1920, when following the disestablishment and disendowment of the Church in Wales, it was transferred to the Welsh Diocese of St Asaph, where it remains. [4]
Penley is home to the Penley Community Hospital, which is still in operation and cares for Polish ex-servicemen who settled in the area. [5]
Flintshire is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders England to the east, Denbighshire to the west and Wrexham County Borough to the south. It is named after the historic county of the same name which has notably different borders. Flintshire is considered part of the Welsh Marches and formed part of the historic Earldom of Chester and Flint. The county is governed by Flintshire County Council which has its main offices in County Hall, Mold.
Flintshire, also known as the County of Flint, is one of Wales' thirteen historic counties, and a former administrative county. It mostly lies on the north-east coast of Wales.
Bangor-on-Dee is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, on the banks of the River Dee. Until 1974 it was in the exclave of Flintshire known as the Maelor Saesneg, and from 1974 to 1996 in the county of Clwyd.
The Maelor is an area of north-east Wales along the border with England. It is now entirely part of Wrexham County Borough.
English Maelor comprises one half of the Maelor region on the Welsh side of the Wales-England border, being the area of the Maelor east of the River Dee. The region has changed counties several times, previously being part of Cheshire and later a detached portion of Flintshire. The area is currently in Wales, despite its name, and administered as part of Wrexham County Borough.
Wrexham County Borough is a county borough in the north-east of Wales. It borders England to the east and south-east, Powys to the south-west, Denbighshire to the west and Flintshire to the north-west. The county borough has a population of over 135,000 inhabitants, with around 65,000 residing in either the town of Wrexham, the surrounding conurbation of urban villages around Wrexham, or the two other towns in the county borough, Chirk and Holt. The remainder lives to the south and east of Wrexham in more rural areas, including the county borough's large salient into the Ceiriog Valley, and the English Maelor.
The Diocese of Saint Asaph is a diocese of the Church in Wales in north-east Wales, named after Saint Asaph, its second bishop.
Overton or Overton-on-Dee is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is situated close to the Welsh-English border on the edge of an escarpment that winds its way around the course of the River Dee, from which Overton-on-Dee derives its name.
Maelor was a rural district in the administrative county of Flintshire, Wales, from 1894 to 1974. The area approximated to the hundred of Maelor or English Maelor, and was notable for forming a detached part of the county, surrounded by Cheshire, Denbighshire and Shropshire. The administrative centre was located at Overton.
Erbistock is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The village lies on the banks of the River Dee.
Hanmer is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. At the 2001 Census the population of the Hanmer community area, which includes Hanmer village itself, Horseman's Green, Halghton and Arowry along with a number of small hamlets, was recorded at 726, reducing to 665 at the 2011 Census.
Gwersyllt is an urban village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales.
Horseman's Green is a village in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. Located in the rural southeast of the county borough, it is close to the Wales-England border, in the community of Hanmer, the village is also simply called the Green.
Willington Worthenbury is a community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, and is situated near the England–Wales border.
Tudor Court, Penley is a house 0.5 miles (1 km) south of the village of Penley, Wrexham, Wales. It was originally called Llannerch Panna.
The Wych Brook, Worthenbury Brook and Red Brook, formerly known as the River Elfe, is a tributary of the River Dee in England and Wales, forming part of both the historic and present-day border between the two countries. The stream forms part of the border between Cheshire and Shropshire in England to the east, and Wales, particularly the Maelor Saesneg, to the west.
Maelor South is a community in the area of Maelor Saesneg, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It contains the villages of Penley and Bettisfield along with a number of other small hamlets and is represented by the Maelor South Community Council. At the time of the 2001 census, the community area had a total population of 1,137 people, increasing to 1,268 at the 2011 Census.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) is the local health board of NHS Wales for the north of Wales. It is the largest health organisation in Wales, providing a full range of primary, community, mental health, and acute hospital services for a population of around 694,000 people across the six principal areas of north Wales as well as some parts of Mid Wales, Cheshire and Shropshire. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is the operational name of Betsi Cadwaladr Local Health Board.
Whitewell is a small dispersed rural settlement, and surrounding ecclesiastical parish, in the east of Wrexham County Borough, Wales.
Tybroughton, occasionally written Ty Broughton, is the name of a former civil parish, historically in the Maelor Saesneg area of Flintshire, Wales and now in Wrexham County Borough. The rather isolated rural area contains no nucleated villages, although there are a few small hamlets such as Eglwys Cross.
