Trefonen
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Trefonen is a small village located approximately south-west of
Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...
, and three miles east of the
England-Wales border England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Engl ...
, in
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. The name translates into "village of the ash trees" in English. In 2001, the total population was 1,798,The Office for National Statistics (2001) ''Neighbourhood Statistics: Trefonen Ward''. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk Accessed December 2006 but there has been considerable housing development since that time. The village currently comprises over 700 households, a village hall with playing fields and play area, a parish church, one public house—the Barley Mow, one shop, pre school, and a primary school. At the 2011 Census the population details are listed under
Oswestry Rural Oswestry Rural is a geographically large civil parish located in Shropshire, England. It is situated south of Oswestry itself, and extends from the border with Wales in the west. It covers an area of and had a population of 4,504 in the 2011 ...
. The eighth century earthwork
Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke ( cy, Clawdd Offa) is a large linear earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa, the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from AD 757 until 796, who is traditionally believed to h ...
ran through the village and it is still visible today, in small sections, running adjacent to Chapel Lane. The
Offa's Dyke Path Offa's Dyke Path ( cy, Llwybr Clawdd Offa) is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws walkers from throughout th ...
, tracing the route of the structure, also runs directly through the village. Each summer the more contemporary Trefonen Hill Walk is organised by local residents to raise money for charitable causes.


History

Although not mentioned in the
Domesday book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
, records from 1272 show Trefonen as having an obligation to keep the lord's hounds .Local Resident Steering Group (2006) ''The Village Design Statement for Trefonen, Treflach and Nantmawr''. Creative Digital Printing Limited However, the village owes most of its current size to mining activity from the early 18th century until the last mine closed in 1891.Local Resident Steering Group (2006) ''The Village Design Statement for Trefonen, Treflach and Nantmawr'' Creative Digital Printing Limited During this period the resident populace became engaged in the extraction of the underlying coal, the quarrying of surface carboniferous limestone and its subsequent manufacturing use in a local pottery and brickworks. As these industries declined in the latter half of the 19th century local people returned to their agricultural roots and sheep and cattle rearing flourished. Many of the village's local facilities were built to service the expanding working population of the 18th and 19th centuries and so the Malthouse was built in 1720, the Barley Mow public house in 1760, the
Calvinistic Methodist Calvinistic Methodists were born out of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival and survive as a body of Christians now forming the Presbyterian Church of Wales. Calvinistic Methodism became a major denomination in Wales, growing rapidly in the 1 ...
Chapel in 1795, the All Saints
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
parish church in 1821, the school house in 1825, and the Carneddau Independent Chapel in 1832. The village hall is the latest addition and was completed in 1991. There is also now a brewery in the village which makes Offa's Brew. This is located next door to the Barley Mow, and first opened in 2006.


Hill Walk Weekend

Trefonen has hosted a yearly weekend of hill walking and events since 1988. There are several long walks over the course of the long bank holiday weekend, the longest being around the local countryside. Permission is kindly granted from local farmers to use their fields for the charitable purposes. Other regular events include shorter walks aimed at families and children, cross country fun runs, and horse riding. The weekend has grown over recent years to also include a scarecrow competition and a duck race, as well as entertainment nights at the local village hall. Money raised is shared between a local charity, and a foreign charity, typically a school or children's project in an African country.


Notable people

* Maurice Parry, Welsh international footballer * Sam Meredith, former Welsh footballer *
Di Jones David "Di" Jones (1867 – 27 August 1902) was a Welsh footballer who played as a full-back for Oswestry, Chirk, Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City in the late 19th century. He also won 14 caps for the Welsh national team. Career Club career ...
, former Welsh footballer * Joe Clarke England cricketer


Football Team

In 2008 the village set up a football team called
Trefonen F.C. Trefonen F.C. is a football team situated in the village of Trefonen, Shropshire, who play in the fifth level of Welsh football. They currently play in the Montgomeryshire League Division One, part of the Welsh football league system. History ...
, who play in the Welsh league system.


References


External links


Trefonen WebsiteFamily fun at the Hillwalk weekend.
{{authority control Villages in Shropshire