Acrefair
Encyclopedia
Acrefair is a village in the county borough of Wrexham
, Wales
. It was formerly part of the ancient parish of Ruabon
, and is located between the towns of Wrexham
and Llangollen
. It is close to the villages of Trefor, Cefn Mawr
, Ruabon
and Plas Madoc. The name Acrefair originates from the Welsh word for acres - acrau, or acre in the local Welsh dialect - and Mair, the Welsh name for Mary. We therefore have Acre-Mair, which leads to Acre-fair, as there is a soft mutation on the second element of a composite word. The English meaning of Acrefair is Mary's Acres.
Parts of Acrefair have beautiful views across the River Dee
and the Dee Valley. Acrefair has a newsagents, a petrol station, a post office, a chemist and two Chinese take-aways. It boasts many buildings built from "Ruabon Red" brick, including several chapels which are now closed and converted.(citation)
Edward Lloyd Rowland established an ironworks here in c.1817. Following his bankruptcy in 1825 the works were bought by the British Iron Company
. The company was re-formed in 1843 as the New British Iron Company and they continued to operate the works until its closure in 1887. The site was subsequently occupied by a succession of businesses, latterly Air Products
, which produced items for the chemical industry. The site ceased to be a commercial venture in late 2009..
Acrefair and Cefn Mawr were also home to the Monsanto Company chemical works, which had produced chemicals since before World War II
. The site was the American
company's first venture in Europe
. Monsanto later operated the site as FlexSys, one of their subsidiaries, but production on ths site ceased in 2010.
Coal, clay and iron were also worked in the area during its industrial period.
Acrefair railway station
was formerly a station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line
. It closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe
.
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...
, 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...
. It was formerly part of the ancient parish of Ruabon
Ruabon
Ruabon is a village and community in the county borough of Wrexham in Wales.More than 80% of the population of 2,400 were born in Wales with 13.6% speaking Welsh....
, and is located between the towns 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...
and Llangollen
Llangollen
Llangollen is a small town and community in Denbighshire, north-east Wales, situated on the River Dee and on the edge of the Berwyn mountains. It has a population of 3,412.-History:...
. It is close to the villages of Trefor, Cefn Mawr
Cefn Mawr
Cefn Mawr is a large village in the community of Cefn within the County Borough of Wrexham, Wales. Its name translates as "great ridge".The community of Cefn comprises the villages of Cefn Mawr, Cefn-bychan , Acrefair, Penybryn, Newbridge, Plasmadoc and Rhosymedre and is situated on the northern...
, Ruabon
Ruabon
Ruabon is a village and community in the county borough of Wrexham in Wales.More than 80% of the population of 2,400 were born in Wales with 13.6% speaking Welsh....
and Plas Madoc. The name Acrefair originates from the Welsh word for acres - acrau, or acre in the local Welsh dialect - and Mair, the Welsh name for Mary. We therefore have Acre-Mair, which leads to Acre-fair, as there is a soft mutation on the second element of a composite word. The English meaning of Acrefair is Mary's Acres.
Parts of Acrefair have beautiful views across the River Dee
River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a long river in the United Kingdom. It travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between the two countries....
and the Dee Valley. Acrefair has a newsagents, a petrol station, a post office, a chemist and two Chinese take-aways. It boasts many buildings built from "Ruabon Red" brick, including several chapels which are now closed and converted.(citation)
Edward Lloyd Rowland established an ironworks here in c.1817. Following his bankruptcy in 1825 the works were bought by the British Iron Company
British Iron Company
The British Iron Company was formed in 1824 to smelt and manufacture iron and to mine ironstone, coal, etc. It was re-formed as the New British Iron Company in 1843 and wound up in 1892.-British Iron Company :...
. The company was re-formed in 1843 as the New British Iron Company and they continued to operate the works until its closure in 1887. The site was subsequently occupied by a succession of businesses, latterly Air Products
Air Products & Chemicals
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. is an international corporation whose principal business is selling gases and chemicals for industrial uses. Air Products' headquarters is in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States. Air Products is the Lehigh...
, which produced items for the chemical industry. The site ceased to be a commercial venture in late 2009..
Acrefair and Cefn Mawr were also home to the Monsanto Company chemical works, which had produced chemicals since before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The site was the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company's first venture in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Monsanto later operated the site as FlexSys, one of their subsidiaries, but production on ths site ceased in 2010.
Coal, clay and iron were also worked in the area during its industrial period.
Acrefair railway station
Acrefair railway station
Acrefair railway station was formerly a station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line in north-east Wales. It closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe.-History:...
was formerly a station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line
Ruabon Barmouth Line
The Ruabon to Barmouth Line was a standard gauge branch line of the Great Western Railway across the north of Wales which connected Ruabon, in the east, with Barmouth on the west coast.-Connections:...
. It closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
.