Wrexham city centre is the administrative, cultural and historic

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

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

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

and is the area enclosed by the inner ring road of the city. It is the largest shopping area in north and mid

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 ...

, and the administrative centre of

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 ...

. Many of its streets are pedestrianised.

Geography

The area encompassed by the inner ring road is Grosvenor Road, Powell Road, Bodhyfryd, St. Georges Crescent (The Beast Market), Smithfield Road, Eagles Meadow, Salop Road, St Giles Way, Pen-Y-Bryn, Ruthin Road, Bradley Road and Watery Road. It is primarily urban in nature, with the exception of the city centre's largest green space at Belle-Vue Park. The area is predominantly non-residential, notable exceptions being Eagles Meadow and around Parciau.

History

The city centre is Wrexham's medieval core, and as such contains most of its history. The city centre expands outwards from the hill top St. Giles Church, which itself is surrounded by a number of small medieval streets and alleyways.

Areas

Whilst the term 'City Centre' can be used quite liberally in Wrexham, it can be split into a number of smaller distinct areas, which have their own character and purpose within the city. Some of these are officially recognised by Wrexham Council, others are more a description of distinct areas.

The High Street and St. Giles

This is Wrexham's original city centre, beginning at the church of St Giles. This area was once the traditional High Street of the city containing most of its traditional shops and markets. It is now home to most of Wrexham's night-life including clubs, bars and restaurants. During the day the main attractions are the area's cafes and the historic 'Butchers Market' hall situated on High Street. The church of St Giles is one of the

Seven Wonders of Wales The Seven Wonders of Wales ( cy, Saith Rhyfeddod Cymru) is a traditional list of notable landmarks in north Wales, commemorated in an anonymously written rhyme: The rhyme is usually supposed to have been written sometime in the late 18th or ear ...

and often noted as the finest example of

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...

. It is also home to the tomb of

Elihu Yale Elihu Yale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721) was a British-American colonial administrator and philanthropist. Although born in Boston, Massachusetts, he only lived in America as a child, spending the rest of his life in England, Wales and India ...

Eagles Meadow

Eagle's Meadow is an open-air shopping centre in the south-east of the city centre. Opened in 2008, the complex is situated between Yorke Street and the inner ring road at Smithfield. The area incorporates a number of new buildings and public spaces, and includes a bridge to Yorke Street and an entrance in the style of the 'Spanish Steps' in Rome. Eagle's Meadow holds many top highstreet chain stores over two levels, alongside an 8-screen cinema and 24-lane 10 pin bowling

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane ...

. It occupies the site of a former car-park and

Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...

superstore.

Civic Centre

Formerly known as the

Civic Centre A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...

this quarter of the city centre can be thought of as everything north of Holt and Lampbit Street and east of Rhosddu Road. The area is bisected north to south by Chester Street. The area consists almost entirely of public services, arts and media centres. It is home to

Council HQ,

North Wales Police North Wales Police ( cy, Heddlu Gogledd Cymru) is the territorial police force responsible for policing North Wales. Its headquarters are in Colwyn Bay. , the force has 1,510 police officers, 170 special constables, 182 police community support ...

(Eastern Division) HQ,

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...

(Wrexham) Studios,

ITV Wales ITV Cymru Wales, previously known as Harlech Television and HTV Wales, is the ITV franchise for Wales. The new separate licence began on 1 January 2014, replacing the long-serving dual franchise region serving Wales and the West of England. Li ...

(Wrexham Bureau), Library and Arts Centre, Yale College of Wrexham, Wrexham Waterworld and a number of criminal and civil law courts. The area is also home to Llwyn Isaf, one of the city centre's largest green areas.

Island Green

Formerly an industrial area the location was home to the Island Green Brewery and

Wrexham Central railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Wrexham Central station (2).JPG , borough = Wrexham, Wrexham , country = Wales , coordinates = , grid_name = Grid r ...

. It is now a shopping area, developed in the late 1990s. The old oast houses used in the Brewery are now converted into apartments aside the

River Gwenfro The River Gwenfro ( cy, Afon Gwenfro) is a small river in Wrexham County Borough, north Wales. It is a tributary of the Clywedog.''Rand McNally encyclopedia of world rivers'', 1980, p.167 The name Gwenfro is possibly derived from the Welsh lang ...

, which cuts through the shopping area. During re-development the railway station was moved 500 yards west, and the station now sits inside the shopping area. Trains run from Wrexham Central to local suburban stations,

Deeside Deeside ( cy, Glannau Dyfrdwy) is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the ...

, the Wirral and

Wrexham General 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 county o ...

for connections onto inter-city services.

Main shopping area

The main arteries of the city centre link all previous areas. Running in an easterly direction from Grosvenor Road, Regent Street and Hope Street are the main shopping streets within the city, terminating at the base of St Giles' Church on High Street. Leading off these streets are a number of other streets, including Queen Street. The majority of this area is pedestrianised, and contains a number of notable landmarks including the thatched 'Horse & Jockey' pub and mock Tudor architecture at Hope St/Queen St.

Queens Square

The square is the focal point in the city centre. It plays host to daily events, Christmas celebrations and weekly markets. The square merges with Llwyn Isaf.

Parciau (Including Pen-y-Bryn)

Parciau is the name given to the southernmost area of the city centre. Much of the area is covered by Belle Vue Park, Wrexham, a substantial Victorian park built to commemorate the Jubilee of Wrexham's charter. The park is known for its bowl, which holds many summer musical events. Bridge Street, Pen-y-Bryn and Ruthin road all come under the Parciau area.

References

{{Wrexham Areas of Wrexham Central business districts in the United Kingdom