Penley ( cy, Llannerch Banna) is a village in the County Borough of

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

close to the border with

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and had a population of 606 as of the 2011 census. The village was, until 1974, in an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of the ancient county of

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

known as ''

Maelor Saesneg English Maelor ( cy, Maelor Saesneg) 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 ...

''. (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: "English-speaking Maelor"), sometimes called "''Flintshire Detached''", which was administered from

Overton-on-Dee Overton ( cy, Owrtyn) 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 whic ...

. Between 1974 and 1996, Penley was in the short-lived county of

Clwyd Clwyd () is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire to th ...

. Penley lies on the path of the long-distance walk, the ''

Maelor Way Maelor Way is a key long distance footpath, running 38 kilometres / 24 miles from the Offa's Dyke Path National Trail at Bronygarth to the Shropshire Way, Sandstone Trail, Llangollen Canal, South Cheshire Way, and the Marches Way all at Grind ...

''.

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 Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

in 1902, and dedicated to

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

. Penley was originally part of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Ellesmere in neighbouring

, but it became a separate parish towards the end of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

period. In early 1661, it reverted to being part of the parish of Ellesmere, after the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

of Charles II. In 1860, it again became a separate parish. It was then in the English

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

until 1920, when following the

disestablishment The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular stat ...

and disendowment of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...

, it was transferred to the Welsh

Diocese of St Asaph The Diocese of Saint Asaph is a diocese of the Church in Wales in north-east Wales, named after Saint Asaph, its second bishop. Geography The Anglican Diocese of St Asaph in the north-east corner of Wales stretches from the borders of Chester in ...

, where it remains. Penley is home to the

Penley Community Hospital Penley Community Hospital ( cy, Ysbyty Cymuned Llannerch Banna) is a former community hospital dedicated to Polish ex-servicemen in Penley, Wales. It was managed by North East Wales NHS Trust and closed in 2002. History The site was a United St ...

, which is still in operation and cares for

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

ex-servicemen who settled in the area.

Schools

Penley has one primary school and one secondary school. The primary school, known as the Madras School, was built in 1811 by George Kenyon II,

Baron Kenyon Baron Kenyon, of Gredington, in the County of Flint, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1788 for the lawyer and judge Sir Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baronet. He served as Master of the Rolls and as Lord Chief Justice of England ...

of Gredington. Penley's secondary school,

The Maelor School The Maelor School, Penley (Welsh: Ysgol Maelor) is a mixed comprehensive school situated in the village of Penley, Wrexham County Borough, in north-east Wales. As of February 2008, the school had a total of 794 pupils aged 11–18 of whom 138 ...

, was built in 1957 and serves the rural communities on both sides of the border. It has had excellent

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

results over the last few years with a high percentage of pupils getting A*s; it was awarded the title of the "most improved

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in North Wales" from the Curriculum Authority for Wales in 2006.

Notes

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Penley and surrounding areawww.penleyvillage.co.uk : Penley e-Noticeboard
{{Wrexham Villages in Wrexham County Borough

Church and parish history

Schools

Notes

Further reading

External links