Esclusham (Welsh : Esclus or Esclys) is a community and electoral ward in Wrexham County Borough, Wales.
The community includes the villages of Bersham, Rhostyllen, Aberoer, Llwyneinion and Pentre Bychan, as well as a number of smaller settlements, the park at Erddig, and an area of the Ruabon Moors west of Aber-oer known as Esclusham Mountain. The population of the community at the 2011 Census was 3,515. [1]
The name is recorded as Esclesham or Esclusham as early as 1315, likely originating in a combination of the Old English personal name Æscel with ham, "settlement"; the name is locally pronounced with stress on the second (middle) syllable, probably due to the influence of Welsh language stress patterns. [2]
The old township of Esclusham, within the manor of Esclusham, was part of the historic Marcher Lordship of Bromfield and Yale. The Survey of topographer John Norden, carried out in 1620 within Bromfield and Yale, defined the township as follows:
[...] the towneshipp of Esclusham, beeing part of ye said manno', is bounden from Minera by a little purle of water running from the mountayne called Glas-bry, downe by the landes called Tir Kelin, and so to Clywedog vpon ye west by the landes of Hugh ap Robert ap Howell in ye manno' of Minera, and part of Glasbrie, and part of ye mountayne towardes y Groes Newydd ; but the certaine boundes vpon ye said mountayne they cannot sett downe. And from Mortyn Wallicoru' [3] by a brooke called Holbrooke, through certaine feildes with certaine markes knowne, to a place called Aberderryn, and from thence to a place called Penissa Maeswdd Kynelleth to a brooke called yr Avon Ddu ; and from Morton Anglicoru' [4] the said Avon Ddu doth bounde to ye towneshipp of Erddig, and from thence to Clywedoge, ioyning to ye towneshippe of Bersham in ye said manno'. [5]
The jurors noted that "vpon ye mountaynes and commons in and about this manno' do breed moore cockes and growes, w'ch gentlemen of ye countrey of Chesshire and other places do hawke and take them at some seasons of the yeare". [5]
The township of Esclusham Above (i.e. "above" Offa's Dyke) was incorporated in the parish of Minera from 1844; in 1879 parts of Esclusham Above, Esclusham Below, and Erddig were incorporated in the civil parish of Esclusham. [6] As a result of the Local Government Act 1972, this was itself replaced in 1974 by the Community of Esclusham, currently based in the Parish Hall, Rhostyllen.
An electoral ward in the same name exists. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 2,766 only. [7]
The community has a total area of 1656 hectares and had 3401 inhabitants at the 2001 census. [8] Its eastern part is relatively urbanised, with the village of Rhostyllen being close to the suburbs of Wrexham. In the western, rural part of the community the land rises to the high pastureland and moorland above Fron-deg and Aber-oer known as Esclusham Mountain.
Until the early 20th century there were lead and zinc mines on the mountain, and the area was used for grouse shooting. There are several structures of interest in industrial archeology, including the Bersham Ironworks and old lead workings. The Minera Caves, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, lie beneath Esclusham Mountain: over 8 kilometres of caves connecting with the old lead workings have now been mapped. [9]
Bersham Colliery was a large coal mine in Rhostyllen which employed over 800 men.
Wrexham is a market town and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley where it borders with the county of Cheshire in England. Historically in the county of Denbighshire, the town became part of the county of Clwyd in 1974 and then the principal settlement of the Wrexham County Borough in 1996.
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.
Rhosllanerchrugog is a large village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. The entire built-up area including Penycae, Ruabon and Cefn Mawr had a population of 25,362.
Ruabon is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The name comes from Rhiw Fabon, rhiw being the Welsh word for "slope" or "hillside" and Fabon being a mutation from St Mabon, the original church name, of earlier, Celtic origin. An older English spelling, Rhuabon, can sometimes be seen.
Coedpoeth is a large village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The built-up area with Minera had a population of 5,723 in the 2011 census.
Minera is a small village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It adjoins the large village of Coedpoeth.
Ponciau is a village within the community of Rhosllanerchrugog, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is close to the villages of Legacy, Pentre Bychan and Johnstown and is overlooked by Ruabon Mountain.
Brymbo is a large village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It lies in the hilly country to the west of Wrexham town, largely surrounded by farmland.
Wrexham was a rural district in the administrative county of Denbighshire from 1894 and 1974.
Bersham is a small Welsh village in the suburbs of the county borough of Wrexham that lies next to the River Clywedog, and in the community of Esclusham. Wrexham owes a large amount of its original industrial heritage to Bersham, but despite this the village still retains a rural feeling.
The history of Wrexham from the prehistoric to the present day. Wrexham is a large town in the north-east of Wales with a long history of both heavy industry and as a market town.
Rhostyllen is a village in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, south-west of the town of Wrexham. At the time of the 2001 census, area Wrexham 014A, which includes Rhostyllen itself, had a population of 1,383 in 599 households. Its name may be derived from the Welsh words rhos and estyll.
The first High Sheriff of Denbighshire was John Salusbury, snr, appointed in 1540. The shrievalty of Denbighshire, together with that of Flintshire, continued until 1974 when it was abolished after the county and shrievalty of Clwyd was created.
Esclusham Mountain is an area in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, United Kingdom, and is part of the Ruabon Moors. It rises to a height of 460 m, with the nearby spur of Cyrn-y-Brain, to the west, reaching 473 m. It lies mostly within the community of Esclusham. A smaller spur to the north, known as Minera Mountain, is within the neighbouring community of Minera.
Offa is a community and electoral ward in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, covering most of the south-western portion of the town of Wrexham. It is bordered by the communities of; Rhosddu, and Caia Park to the north, Abenbury to the east, Esclusham, and Marchwiel to the south, and Broughton, Coedpoeth, and Gwersyllt to the west.
Bersham Colliery was a large coal mine located near Rhostyllen in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The mine accessed seams found in the Denbighshire Coalfield.
Aberoer or Aber-oer is a small, scattered settlement in Wrexham County Borough, Wales; prior to 1974 it was in Denbighshire. It is part of the community area of Esclusham, and is situated on the rural slopes of Esclusham Mountain above Rhostyllen. The placename can be translated from the Welsh language as "[the] cold stream".
The 2022 Wrexham County Borough Council election was held on 5 May 2022 to elect 56 members to Wrexham County Borough Council, the principal council of Wrexham County Borough, Wales. On the same day, elections were held to the other 21 local authorities, and community councils in Wales as part of the 2022 Welsh local elections. The previous Wrexham County Borough all-council election took place in May 2017 and future elections will take place every five years, with the next scheduled for 2027.
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