Garden Village, Wrexham
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Garden Village is a suburb of the city 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 ...
and an electoral division (ward) in 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, ...
of
Rhosddu Rhosddu () is a suburb and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, covering the north-western parts of the city of Wrexham and comprises the wards of Grosvenor, Garden Village and Stansty. At the 2011 Census, the population of the communit ...
in
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 ...
, Wales. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 2,035 It lies to the west of Chester Road and borders the wards of
Stansty Stansty is an area and electoral ward in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, lying to the immediate north-west of the city of Wrexham. It is a former civil parish and township. Stansty is also an electoral ward to Wrexham County Borough Council. The ...
to the south and east, Gwersyllt East and South to the north west, Little Acton and Acton to the west, and a small section of Gresford to the north.


History

The land in which 'Garden Village' was built on was originally named 'Mass & Pentre' which was situated South-West of Stansty Hall (which was demolished to give way for new housing around Snowdon Drive). At the start of the 20th century, housing in many areas of Wrexham was of poor quality and, with the increase in industry locally, in short supply. The development of Garden Village began with the purchase of some of land from Sir Foster Cunliffe near to the estate of Acton by the Welsh Town Planning and Housing Trust Limited.The Garden City Movement Up-To-Date by Ewart G. Culpi

(Retrieved 2011-01-11)
The intention was to provide affordable housing to workers coming to Wrexham to work in the expanding industries of coal and iron. Gresford Colliery had recently been opened where it was expected that approximately 3,000 men would be employed in the next two years. A Co-partnership Housing Society was set up in 1913 called Wrexham Tenants Limited, with Lord Kenyon, Mr. David Davies, M.P., and others as Directors to build the houses, while the Trust would build the roads and supervise the development of the estate. The original plan, by the Architect George Lister Sutcliffe, GL Sutcliffe was to provide a village institute, two places of worship, a school and plenty of open spaces and recreation grounds. The design was inspired by the Garden City Movement and was planned as a
Garden Suburb The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, and ...
. In the first year, 44 properties were completed; numbers 63-69 Acton Gate, numbers 149–167, Chester Road (originally called Bryn Acton) and Cunliffe Walk. These first house were designed by Sutcliffe and the remaining 205 by
Thomas Alwyn Lloyd Thomas Alwyn Lloyd (11 August 1881 – 19 June 1960), known as ''T. Alwyn Lloyd'', was a Welsh architect and town planner. He was one of the founders of the Town Planning Institute in 1914 and its President in 1933. He was also a founding memb ...
, architect to the trust. One of the pioneering features of the development was that the tenants were also investors in the Company thus ensuring control of future development. Unfortunately, with the advent of World War I, the development lost impetus and no further development was undertaken by Wrexham Tenants Limited. The planned shops, churches, institute and school were never built, although St Margaret's church was built in 1928, partly to the original design of Thomas Alwyn Lloyd. In 1955, Wrexham Tenants Limited was wound up and the properties sold to the tenants at greatly reduced prices of between £250 and £450. The ward was proposed to be called "Pentre Yr Ardd" in Welsh by
Wrexham County Borough Council Wrexham County Borough Council () is the governing body for Wrexham County Borough, a principal area in north Wales, covering Wrexham and the surrounding area. History Elections take place every five years. The Labour Party held power on the ...
for the electoral ward in the final recommendations report. The suggestion was not applied, with "Garden Village" used in Welsh, following the
Welsh Language Commissioner The Welsh Language Commissioner () is a Welsh Government officer, overseeing an independent advisory body of the same name. The position was created following the passing of the ''Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011'', effective on 1 April 2012 ...
's standardisation policy, as the commissioner stated they have no evidence of a used Welsh name for the settlement.


Schools

* Wat's Dyke Primary School


Churches

* St Margaret's Church * Bethel Chapel


References


External links


photos of Garden Village and surrounding area on geograph
{{authority control Villages in Wrexham County Borough