Stansty
Encyclopedia
Stansty is a ward
in Wrexham County Borough
in Wales
, lying to the immediate north-west of the town of Wrexham
.
and Moss Valley
within the community
of Gwersyllt
and is north of the A483 road
. Lower Stansty, or Plas Coch
as it is now more commonly referred to, is partly within the neighbouring community of Rhosddu
, south of the A483. The division between Higher and Lower Stansty is an ancient one, as Stansty Issa (i.e. Lower Stansty), also called Stansty Abbatis, was originally a part of the manor of Wrexham Abbott belonging to Valle Crucis Abbey
.
Along with those of some other places in this area of north-east Wales, the name of Stansty may have an Old English rather than Welsh
root, perhaps from stan ("stone") with another element, possibly -stig or -stigu ("path, or "sty").
s of the Lordship of Bromfield and Yale, and was also a township of the ecclesiastical parish of Wrexham. Part of the township was transferred to the new parish of Gwersyllt in 1851, and other parts were transferred to the parishes of Southsea
and Bersham
in 1921 and 1934 respectively.
The civil parish
of Stansty was split in 1935 between Gwersyllt and Wrexham Regis.
, and Jonathan Edwards
(b.1615), Archdeacon
of Derry
, while his daughter Margaret married John Jones Maesygarnedd
the regicide
. John Edwards (1619-73) expanded the Stansty estate, later known as Stansty Park, until it took up most of Stansty township: however his great-great-grandson, Peter Edwards, died without issue in 1783, and the estate, passing to distant relatives, was eventually sold to the ironmaster
Richard Thompson.
Thompson built a new house, Stansty Hall, on the site in the 1830s. The late-Georgian
hall at Stansty was later threatened by subsidence from coal mining and was largely demolished in the 1920s - a small section being incorporated into a more modern building - while some of the former estate's farmland has since been developed for modern housing. However, the park's highly elaborate wrought-iron gates, attributed to the Davies brothers of Wrexham
, had been rescued and moved to Erddig Hall
in 1908.
Though much the estate of Stansty Park has now gone, its name is still used for a modern housing estate near Summerhill
and for the ground of Cymru Alliance
league football team Lex XI F.C.
. The name is also applied to the original 1577 house, Plas Issa, which still stands.
) and treasurer and paymaster of the army in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I
. Edward Meredith, a brother to William, was recorded in 1610 as trading as draper
in Cheapside
, London and he had held the lease on Plas Coch from his nephew for a time. Edward Meredith held the office of the High Sheriff of Denbighshire
in 1629.
In 1709 the Plas Coch estate was sold by Sir William Meredith of Kent to Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet
of Gwydir Castle
, Llanrwst
.
Plas Coch played an important part in the social life of the town, hosting the Denbighshire
& Flintshire
Agricultural Society Show
and the Annual Wrexham Lager
Festival. Sadly the house and outbuildings were demolished in the late 1980s to make way for a large supermarket
and retail development. The only part of the original property remaining today is a short length of stone wall at the roadside in front of a branch of Homebase
. During the construction of the retail development in 1991, a hoard of Roman coins
was discovered by workmen: however all of the coins subsequently disappeared. In 1995 further construction work on the site revealed traces of Roman
field boundaries, hearths and a corn drying kiln.
. Rhosddu Colliery, or the Wrexham & Acton Colliery as it was also known, was once reached along Colliery Road (the building of the A483 road has since divided the old colliery site). Colliery Road is still in existence today, but is now surrounded by a residential area.
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
in Wrexham County Borough
Wrexham (county borough)
Wrexham is a county borough centred on the town of Wrexham in north-east Wales. The county borough has a population of 130,200 inhabitants. Just under half of the population live either within the town of Wrexham or its surrounding conurbation of urban villages. The remainder living to the south...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, lying to the immediate north-west of the town of Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
.
Geography, name
Stansty consists of Higher Stansty and Lower Stansty; Higher Stansty lies near to SummerhillSummerhill, Wrexham
Summerhill is a semi-urban village in the suburbs of Wrexham, Wales and forms part of the community of Gwersyllt.-Industry and History:In the 19th and early 20th century, Summerhill was predominately focused around local farming or coalmining industries, however there was also nearby Brymbo...
and Moss Valley
Moss Valley, Wrexham
The Moss Valley is an area and country park in Britain. It is in the county borough of Wrexham, in north Wales. The area is also informally known as "The Moss" and The Aggey amongst locals. It is most well known for its extensive coal mining history...
within the community
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
of Gwersyllt
Gwersyllt
Gwersyllt is an urban village and a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales....
and is north of the A483 road
A483 road
The A483 is a major road in the United Kingdom, running from Swansea in Wales to Chester in England, although the official title is the Swansea to Manchester Trunk Road.-Swansea:...
. Lower Stansty, or Plas Coch
Plas Coch
Plas Coch is an unofficial area in the Wrexham County Borough of Wales. It lies to the north-west part of the Welsh town of Wrexham. The area was originally known as lower Stansty however in more recent years the use of 'Plas Coch' is more common.-Geography:...
as it is now more commonly referred to, is partly within the neighbouring community of Rhosddu
Rhosddu
Rhosddu is a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is situated in the north-western suburbs of the town of Wrexham.-Administrative history:...
, south of the A483. The division between Higher and Lower Stansty is an ancient one, as Stansty Issa (i.e. Lower Stansty), also called Stansty Abbatis, was originally a part of the manor of Wrexham Abbott belonging to Valle Crucis Abbey
Valle Crucis Abbey
Valle Crucis Abbey is a Cistercian abbey located in Llantysilio in Denbighshire, Wales. More formally the Abbey Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Valle Crucis it is known in Welsh both as Abaty Glyn Egwestl and Abaty Glyn y Groes.The abbey was built in 1201 by Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor, Prince of...
.
Along with those of some other places in this area of north-east Wales, the name of Stansty may have an Old English rather than Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
root, perhaps from stan ("stone") with another element, possibly -stig or -stigu ("path, or "sty").
History
Stansty was one of the original townshipTownship (England)
In England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...
s of the Lordship of Bromfield and Yale, and was also a township of the ecclesiastical parish of Wrexham. Part of the township was transferred to the new parish of Gwersyllt in 1851, and other parts were transferred to the parishes of Southsea
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. Southsea is within a mile of Portsmouth's city centre....
and Bersham
Bersham
Bersham is a small Welsh village in the suburbs of the county borough of Wrexham that lies next to the River Clywedog. Wrexham owes a large amount of its original industrial heritage to Bersham, but despite this the village still retains a rural feeling....
in 1921 and 1934 respectively.
The civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Stansty was split in 1935 between Gwersyllt and Wrexham Regis.
Stansty Park
Much of the area was farmland until the 20th century and belonged to an estate called Stansty Park, originally a manor in Stansty Uchaf (Higher Stansty) purchased by David ap Meilir in 1317. One of his descendants, John ap David ap Edward (1573-1635) took the surname of Edwards; the family seat, Plas Issa, was built in 1577. His children included John Edwards (b.1612), court physician to Charles ICharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, and Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards (archdeacon)
Jonathan Edwards was born in Stansty, Denbighshire, Wales. He was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, matriculating on 3 February 1633 and obtaining degrees of B.A. on 9 June 1634, M.A. on 24 April 1637 and D.D. in November 1642. He was a Fellow of Jesus College from 1636 to 1648. He was a...
(b.1615), Archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
of Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, while his daughter Margaret married John Jones Maesygarnedd
John Jones Maesygarnedd
Colonel John Jones was a Welsh military leader, politician and one of the regicides of King Charles I. A brother-in-law of Oliver Cromwell, Jones was born at Llanbedr in North Wales and is often surnamed Jones Maesygarnedd after the location of his Merionethshire estate. Jones spoke Welsh with his...
the regicide
Regicide
The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
. John Edwards (1619-73) expanded the Stansty estate, later known as Stansty Park, until it took up most of Stansty township: however his great-great-grandson, Peter Edwards, died without issue in 1783, and the estate, passing to distant relatives, was eventually sold to the ironmaster
Ironmaster
An ironmaster is the manager – and usually owner – of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain....
Richard Thompson.
Thompson built a new house, Stansty Hall, on the site in the 1830s. The late-Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
hall at Stansty was later threatened by subsidence from coal mining and was largely demolished in the 1920s - a small section being incorporated into a more modern building - while some of the former estate's farmland has since been developed for modern housing. However, the park's highly elaborate wrought-iron gates, attributed to the Davies brothers of Wrexham
Davies brothers of Wrexham
The Davies brothers of Wrexham, north Wales, were a family of smiths active in the 18th century. They were particularly known for their high-quality work in wrought iron, of which several examples still survive in country homes and churchyards around the England-Wales border.The family consisted of...
, had been rescued and moved to Erddig Hall
Erddig
Erddig Hall is a National Trust property on the outskirts of Wrexham, Wales. Located south of Wrexham town centre, it was built in 1684–1687 for Joshua Edisbury, the high sheriff of Denbighshire and was designed by Thomas Webb....
in 1908.
Though much the estate of Stansty Park has now gone, its name is still used for a modern housing estate near Summerhill
Summerhill, Wrexham
Summerhill is a semi-urban village in the suburbs of Wrexham, Wales and forms part of the community of Gwersyllt.-Industry and History:In the 19th and early 20th century, Summerhill was predominately focused around local farming or coalmining industries, however there was also nearby Brymbo...
and for the ground of Cymru Alliance
Cymru Alliance
The Huws Gray Alliance is a football league and forms the second level of the Welsh football league system in north and central Wales....
league football team Lex XI F.C.
Lex XI F.C.
Lex XI F.C. is a Welsh football team based in Wrexham. They play in the Welsh National League Division One, which is in the Fourth level of the Welsh football league system....
. The name is also applied to the original 1577 house, Plas Issa, which still stands.
Plas Coch
Another of the area's main houses was Plas Coch in Lower Stansty, which was built in the late 16th century in mature hand-made red brick, giving the house its name (Plas Coch translates roughly as "Red Hall"). It was a two storey building: the plan of the dwelling was a typical through passage house with access at either end of the passage. The house was built for Sir William Meredith, one of the sons of Richard Meredith of Allington or Trevalyn (near RossettRossett
Rossett is a village and a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales.At the time of the 2001 Census, Rossett community had a total population of 3,336 people.-Geography:Rossett is geographically located near to the Welsh and English...
) and treasurer and paymaster of the army in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. Edward Meredith, a brother to William, was recorded in 1610 as trading as draper
Draper
Draper is the now largely obsolete term for a wholesaler, or especially retailer, of cloth, mainly for clothing, or one who works in a draper's shop. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. The drapers were an important trade guild...
in Cheapside
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...
, London and he had held the lease on Plas Coch from his nephew for a time. Edward Meredith held the office of the High Sheriff of Denbighshire
High Sheriff of Denbighshire
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...
in 1629.
In 1709 the Plas Coch estate was sold by Sir William Meredith of Kent to Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet
Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet
Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet , Welsh baronet, Member of Parliament and antiquary, was the son of Morys Wynn ap John. He claimed to be directly descended from the princes of Gwynedd through Rhodri ab Owain son of Owain Gwynedd. However, this claim is disputed in a publication of 1884 entitled...
of Gwydir Castle
Gwydir Castle
Gwydir Castle is situated in the Conwy valley, North Wales, a mile to the west of the ancient market town of Llanrwst and to the south of the large village of Trefriw...
, Llanrwst
Llanrwst
Llanrwst is a small town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It takes its name from the 5th century to 6th century Saint Grwst, and the original parish church in Cae Llan was replaced by the 12th-century church....
.
Plas Coch played an important part in the social life of the town, hosting the Denbighshire
Denbighshire
Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...
& Flintshire
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
Agricultural Society Show
Agricultural show
An agricultural show is a public event showcasing the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show , a trade fair, competitions, and entertainment...
and the Annual Wrexham Lager
Wrexham Lager
Wrexham Lager was a brewery in Wrexham, north-east Wales, that produced alcoholic drink for more than 120 years. It closed in 2000 and was mostly demolished between 2002 and 2003. Only the historic building in which brewing started still remains, however there are currently plans to resume brewing...
Festival. Sadly the house and outbuildings were demolished in the late 1980s to make way for a large supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
and retail development. The only part of the original property remaining today is a short length of stone wall at the roadside in front of a branch of Homebase
Homebase
Homebase is a British home improvement store and garden centre, with 350 stores across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is well known by its green and orange colour scheme. Together with its sister company Argos , it forms part of Home Retail Group. Homebase recorded sales figures...
. During the construction of the retail development in 1991, a hoard of Roman coins
Roman currency
The Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including the aureus , the denarius , the sestertius , the dupondius , and the as...
was discovered by workmen: however all of the coins subsequently disappeared. In 1995 further construction work on the site revealed traces of Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
field boundaries, hearths and a corn drying kiln.
Coal mining era
The area, like much of Wrexham, has a tradition of coal miningCoal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
. Rhosddu Colliery, or the Wrexham & Acton Colliery as it was also known, was once reached along Colliery Road (the building of the A483 road has since divided the old colliery site). Colliery Road is still in existence today, but is now surrounded by a residential area.
Public houses in Stansty
- The Railway Inn on Railway Road
- The Plas Coch on Plas Coch Road