Marford
Encyclopedia
Marford, near Wrexham
, is a village in the county borough of Wrexham
in Wales
. It has been described as "a delightful Gothick
estate village" and several of its cottages have been listed by Cadw
.
Marford covers some 750 acres (3 km²), where the hills of north-east Wales meet the Cheshire Plain
. Distant landmarks that can be seen clearly from Marford include Eaton Hall
, Chester Town Hall
and Cathedral
. Beyond that on the Cheshire plains, Peckforton Castle
and its hills form the skyline, with the outcrop of rock at Beeston Castle
.
rate books until 1804. The name is English
in origin, and may mean either the "ford
of the mere
", or refer to "mere" in its alternative sense of "boundary". At the time of Domesday
Merford was, along with Wrexham, one of the two commote
s of the Lordship of Bromfield, or Maelor Gymraeg, and at that time was part of the English county of Chester
, although it soon after became part of the Welsh kindgdom of Powys Fadog
. It once formed a small enclave of Flintshire
completely surrounded by Denbighshire
. Formerly in the ancient parish of Gresford
, in 1840 the township of Marford and Hoseley became part of the newly formed parish of Rossett
.
A detached part of Marford (or Merford) township lay in neighbouring Rossett
, next to the bridge over the River Alyn
, until 1884. This contained the Marford and Hoseley tenants' mill
, with the result that the building often known today as Rossett Mill is still confusingly, though more correctly, referred to as Marford Mill.
The rural area to the south-east of Marford was historically known as Hoseley. It was originally a separate township, and was recorded in the Domesday book
as "Odeslei" and later as "Hodeslei", meaning Oda or Hoda's lea (meadow). The name is still attached to several farms, roads and other features. There was an adjacent estate known as Horsley ("horse-pasture"), which is sometimes confused with Hoseley, although the names have different origins.
estates: the style is also called cottage orné. Although a few are earlier, most were built at the end of the 18th until the beginning of the 19th centuries by George Boscawen, whose wife had inherited the estate. Originally the buildings were roofed in thatch, but were soon re-roofed in Bwlch yr Oernant
slate, although some retain the distinctive roof lines of formerly thatched buildings. Many of Marford's houses feature crosses built into the design. A local folk tale states that these were included to protect the inhabitants from a ghost, supposedly the spirit of Margaret Blackbourne of Rofft Hall, who was said to have been murdered in September 1713 by her husband George Blackbourne, the steward of the Trevalyn estate. The original story having become garbled over the years, the ghost of Marford is often now referred to as "Lady Blackbird", and is said to tap at windows in the village.
to the south-west, and forms part of the community
of Gresford for local administration purposes. Marford and Hoseley is still, however, a separate ward of Wrexham County Borough, having a population of 2,458 at the 2001 census.
There are two public houses in Marford, one at the bottom of the Marford hill - The Trevor Arms (its name referencing the landowning family of Trevalyn Hall, the Trevors) - and the other at the top, The Red Lion
. There are no shops in Marford or places of worship, although there were two Nonconformist chapels; a Baptist
chapel in Cox Lane and Wesleyan
chapel on the old turnpike
lane in the Pant. Both are now private houses.
The village also has a disused quarry which has become colonised by many interesting plants, moths and butterflies, including the Dingy Skipper
and White-letter Hairstreak
: a small colony of the Silver-studded Blue
, introduced from Prees Heath in the 1970s, may now have died out. The quarry was originally opened in 1927 to provide materials for the construction of the Mersey Tunnel, quarrying ceased in 1971 when the 39 acres (157,827.5 m²) were allowed to regenerate naturally. The area was designated a SSSI in 1989 and 26 acres (105,218.4 m²) were purchased in 1990 by the North Wales Wildlife Trust
as a nature reserve.
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...
, is a village in the county borough of Wrexham
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...
. It has been described as "a delightful Gothick
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
estate village" and several of its cottages have been listed by Cadw
Cadw
-Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...
.
Marford covers some 750 acres (3 km²), where the hills of north-east Wales meet the Cheshire Plain
Cheshire Plain
The Cheshire Plain is a relatively flat expanse of lowland situated almost entirely within the county of Cheshire in northwest England. It is bounded by the hills of North Wales to the west, and the Peak District of Derbyshire and North Staffordshire to the east and southeast...
. Distant landmarks that can be seen clearly from Marford include Eaton Hall
Eaton Hall
Eaton Hall may refer to:* Eaton Hall, Cheshire, England, a private country house owned by the Duke of Westminster* Eaton Hall in King City, Ontario, Canada, a Norman-style chateau converted to a public hotel...
, Chester Town Hall
Chester Town Hall
Chester Town Hall is in Northgate Street in the centre of the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.-History:...
and Cathedral
Chester Cathedral
Chester Cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England Diocese of Chester, and is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly St Werburgh's abbey church of a Benedictine monastery, is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
. Beyond that on the Cheshire plains, Peckforton Castle
Peckforton Castle
Peckforton Castle is a country house built in the style of a medieval castle. It stands in woodland at the north end of Peckforton Hills northwest of the village of Peckforton, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building...
and its hills form the skyline, with the outcrop of rock at Beeston Castle
Beeston Castle
Beeston Castle is a former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England , perched on a rocky sandstone crag above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, , on his return from the Crusades...
.
History
Marford was formerly always pronounced and spelt Merford, and continued to be written as such on the 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...
rate books until 1804. The name is English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in origin, and may mean either the "ford
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
of the mere
Mere (lake)
Mere in English refers to a lake that is broad in relation to its depth, e.g. Martin Mere. A significant effect of its shallow depth is that for all or most of the time, it has no thermocline.- Etymology :...
", or refer to "mere" in its alternative sense of "boundary". At the time of Domesday
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
Merford was, along with Wrexham, one of the two commote
Commote
A commote , sometimes spelt in older documents as cymwd, was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix cym- and the noun bod...
s of the Lordship of Bromfield, or Maelor Gymraeg, and at that time was part of the English county of Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, although it soon after became part of the Welsh kindgdom of Powys Fadog
Powys Fadog
Powys Fadog or Lower Powys was the northern portion of the former princely realm of Powys which split in two following the death of Madog ap Maredudd of Powys in 1160...
. It once formed a small enclave of 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...
completely surrounded by 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...
. Formerly in the ancient parish of Gresford
Gresford
Gresford is a village and a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales.According to the 2001 Census, the population of the community, which also includes the village of Marford, was 5,334....
, in 1840 the township of Marford and Hoseley became part of the newly formed parish of Rossett
Rossett
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...
.
A detached part of Marford (or Merford) township lay in neighbouring Rossett
Rossett
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...
, next to the bridge over the River Alyn
River Alyn
The River Alyn is a tributary of the River Dee. The River Alyn rises at the southern end of the Clwydian hills and the Alyn Valley forms part of the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
, until 1884. This contained the Marford and Hoseley tenants' mill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
, with the result that the building often known today as Rossett Mill is still confusingly, though more correctly, referred to as Marford Mill.
The rural area to the south-east of Marford was historically known as Hoseley. It was originally a separate township, and was recorded in the Domesday book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as "Odeslei" and later as "Hodeslei", meaning Oda or Hoda's lea (meadow). The name is still attached to several farms, roads and other features. There was an adjacent estate known as Horsley ("horse-pasture"), which is sometimes confused with Hoseley, although the names have different origins.
Architecture
Marford is best known for its quaint looking Gothic revival cottages, built as part of the former Trevalyn HallTrevalyn Hall
Trevalyn Hall in Rossett, a Grade II listed building, is one of the most important Elizabethan manor houses in the county of Wrexham in Wales. It was built by John Trevor in 1576....
estates: the style is also called cottage orné. Although a few are earlier, most were built at the end of the 18th until the beginning of the 19th centuries by George Boscawen, whose wife had inherited the estate. Originally the buildings were roofed in thatch, but were soon re-roofed in Bwlch yr Oernant
Horseshoe Pass
The Horseshoe Pass is a mountain pass in Denbighshire, northeast Wales. It separates Llantysilio Mountain to the west from Cyrn-y-Brain to the east. The A542 road from Llandegla to Llangollen runs through the pass, reaching a maximum height of...
slate, although some retain the distinctive roof lines of formerly thatched buildings. Many of Marford's houses feature crosses built into the design. A local folk tale states that these were included to protect the inhabitants from a ghost, supposedly the spirit of Margaret Blackbourne of Rofft Hall, who was said to have been murdered in September 1713 by her husband George Blackbourne, the steward of the Trevalyn estate. The original story having become garbled over the years, the ghost of Marford is often now referred to as "Lady Blackbird", and is said to tap at windows in the village.
Today
Although still largely surrounded by farmland, Marford is now partly contiguous with the larger village of GresfordGresford
Gresford is a village and a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales.According to the 2001 Census, the population of the community, which also includes the village of Marford, was 5,334....
to the south-west, and forms part of 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 Gresford for local administration purposes. Marford and Hoseley is still, however, a separate ward of Wrexham County Borough, having a population of 2,458 at the 2001 census.
There are two public houses in Marford, one at the bottom of the Marford hill - The Trevor Arms (its name referencing the landowning family of Trevalyn Hall, the Trevors) - and the other at the top, The Red Lion
Red Lion
Red Lion may refer to:Botany* Red Lion, a cultivar of the Hippeastrum genus of flowering plantsEntertainment* A robot vehicle from the animated television series Voltron...
. There are no shops in Marford or places of worship, although there were two Nonconformist chapels; a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
chapel in Cox Lane and Wesleyan
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
chapel on the old turnpike
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
lane in the Pant. Both are now private houses.
The village also has a disused quarry which has become colonised by many interesting plants, moths and butterflies, including the Dingy Skipper
Dingy Skipper
The Dingy Skipper, Erynnis tages, is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It ranges from Europe across Asia Minor and Central Asia to the Amur region.Erynnis tages favours open grassy habitats up to 2,000 metres above sea level...
and White-letter Hairstreak
White-letter Hairstreak
The White-letter Hairstreak is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.-Appearance, behaviour and distribution:A dark little butterfly that spends the majority of its life in the tree tops, feeding on honeydew, making it best observed through binoculars. The uppersides are a dark brown with a small...
: a small colony of the Silver-studded Blue
Silver-studded Blue
The Silver-studded Blue is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.-Appearance, behavior and distribution:So named due to the silvery blue metallic spots on the underside hind wings. The upperside are a rich, deep iridescent blue in the males with a black border and the characteristic Lycid white...
, introduced from Prees Heath in the 1970s, may now have died out. The quarry was originally opened in 1927 to provide materials for the construction of the Mersey Tunnel, quarrying ceased in 1971 when the 39 acres (157,827.5 m²) were allowed to regenerate naturally. The area was designated a SSSI in 1989 and 26 acres (105,218.4 m²) were purchased in 1990 by the North Wales Wildlife Trust
North Wales Wildlife Trust
The North Wales Wildlife Trust is the Wildlife Trust for North Wales. Established in 1963 it has over 5,000 members...
as a nature reserve.