Pentre Maelor is a

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States a ...

near

Wrexham Industrial Estate Wrexham Industrial Estate (Welsh: ) is a well defined industrial area in Wrexham. It is sited on the eastern outskirts of the city and 2.5 miles from the centre of Wrexham. Originally the site of a World War II munitions factory, the estate lat ...

Wrexham County Borough Wrexham County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Wrecsam) is a county borough, with city status, 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 nort ...

, Wales. In 2020 it had an estimated population of 1691. The village is part of the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Abenbury Abenbury is a community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is situated south-east of Wrexham city and includes the village of Pentre Maelor and part of the Wrexham Industrial Estate. The ancient parish of Wrexham included the townships of Abe ...

, and forms the majority of the community's population. The

River Clywedog The River Clywedog is a river in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. Its uses have been watering crops, powering industrial machinery but is now used as walking trails or geography trips. The river originates to the west of Wrexham, and joins the ...

flows just south of the village. Pentre Maelor was established in 1947 as a housing estate to provide accommodation for workers from factories in the area. The village has retained its original layout, which consists of a rectangular central lock and connected 'wings' of houses, each of which is built around a green space. One of those green spaces located in the centre of the estate, is Owain Glyndwr Field, operated by

Wrexham County Borough Council Wrexham County Borough Council () is the governing body for Wrexham County Borough, a Principal area of Wales, principal area in North Wales, north Wales, covering Wrexham and the surrounding area. History Elections take place every five years ...

and protected by

Fields in Trust Fields in Trust, is a British charity set up in 1925 as the National Playing Fields Association (NPFA), by Brigadier-General Reginald Kentish and the Duke of York, later King George VI, who was the first president, which protects parks and green s ...

History

The housing estate was originally known as "Pilgrim's Place", as the area served as a burial place for non-conformists who were not allowed a burial at Wrexham Cemetery. The first non-conformist to be buried was J Lloyd of Bryn Agog Hall of which the area surrounding his grave was given the name. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

built a

Royal Ordnance Factory Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories during and after the Second World War. Until privatisation, in 1987, they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply, and later the Ministr ...

in the area, producing

cordite Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom since 1889 to replace black powder as a military propellant. Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burni ...

, for use in firing

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...

s. Following the war, the area was developed into a

trading estate An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...

when the land came under the ownership of the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

. The first factories on the estate, were built for

Courtaulds Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals. It was established in 1794 and became the world's leading man-made fibre production company before being broken up in 1990 into Courtaulds ...

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

and British Tissue. Pentre Maelor was developed as a housing estate to accommodate these factory workers. The housing estate was built in 1947 by Edward Gittings and the first residents moved in by 1948.

HM Prison Berwyn HM Prison Berwyn ( cy, Carchar Berwyn EF; ) is a £250 million Category C adult male prison in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is the largest prison in the UK, opened in 2017, and is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Name The gaol ...

was built in 2017, to a short distance north-east of the housing estate. Prior to its eventual construction, residents of the estate were consulted on the proposals.

References

{{Wrexham Villages in Wrexham County Borough