Offa is a

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

and

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

Wrexham County Borough Wrexham County Borough () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough, with city status in the United Kingdom, city status, in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire and Shropshire to ...

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

, covering most of the south-western portion of the city of

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. It is bordered by the communities of; Rhosddu, and Caia Park to the north, Abenbury to the east, Esclusham, and Marchwiel to the south, and Broughton,

Coedpoeth Coedpoeth (; ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The built-up area with Minera had a population of 5,723 in the 2011 census. Locality Coedpoeth is on a hill between the Clywedog and Gwenfro valleys, surrounded by c ...

, and Gwersyllt to the west.

Naming

According to Howard Williams and Liam Delaney, a Professor of Archaeology and Doctoral Researcher respectively, at the

University of Chester The University of Chester is a public university located in Chester, England. The university originated as the first purpose-built teacher training college in the UK. As a university, it now occupies five campuses, campus sites in and around Ch ...

, the area is named after Bryn Offa ( Welsh for Offa's Hill), a housing estate and former hall located currently within the community. Bryn Offa itself is actually named after

Wat's Dyke Wat's Dyke () is a linear earthwork running through the northern Welsh Marches from Basingwerk Abbey on the River Dee estuary, passing east of Oswestry and on to Maesbury in Shropshire, England. It runs generally parallel to Offa's Dyke, s ...

which historically passes through the community, as historically there was no distinction between Wat's and

Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke () is a large linear Earthworks (Archaeology), earthwork that roughly follows the England–Wales border, border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa of Mercia, Offa, the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon king of Mer ...

, leading to local confusion. Williams and Delaney state that such distinction between the two dykes was only made by the nineteenth century at earliest.

History

Unlike many such community areas in Wales, Offa was not based on the boundaries of an earlier

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

, although it corresponds roughly to some of the areas included in the old township of Wrexham Abbott. It was first established only in April 1985, after a boundary review bought four new 'urban' communities into being within the then town of

.About Offa Community Council
, Offa Community Council The community has four wards, Erddig, Brynyffynnon, Hermitage, and Offa. The Community Council states that it was noted in a

Welsh Assembly The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

report as one of the most "active and innovative" in Wales. At the 2001 census, the community had a total population of 9,852 in 4,294 households,Offa Community
, Office of National Statistics the population increasing to 10,501 at the 2011 census. Following the Hermitage ward's inclusion in the top 10% of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation, Offa Community has been involved in the

Communities First Communities First was a Government of Wales, Welsh Government programme aimed at reducing poverty. The programme was community focused and supported the most disadvantaged people in the most deprived areas of Wales with the aim of contributing t ...

regeneration programme.Community Regeneration – Teams and Partnerships
, Wrexham CBC

Area

Offa is bounded by the A483 dual carriageway to most of its west, stopping before Bersham, where it arbitrarily curves around until reaching the River Clywedog near Bersham Road. The river forms the community's southern boundary until its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the River Dee which continues the border to the King's Mill. It then follows the A525 until reaching Eagles Meadow which via Mount Street it curves around reaching Wrexham's

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

, Regent Street, and the A541 until closing with the A483. The community of Offa covers much of the south-western part of the city of Wrexham, including St. Giles' Church, Wrexham Central station, Wrexham Maelor Hospital, Wrexham Technology Park, and Bellevue Park. It covers large residential areas, including the areas known as Hightown, Brynyffynnon and Felin Puleston, as well as the part of the grounds of Erddig not within the neighbouring communities of Esclusham, and Marchwiel. Its easternmost sections are regarded to be part of Hightown.

Gallery

File:Wrecsam kingsmill.jpg, Former King's Mill Visitor Centre on the River Clywedog File:Bandstand, Bellevue Park, Wrexham - geograph.org.uk - 605760.jpg, . The Bandstand at Bellevue Park

References

{{Wrexham Communities in Wrexham County Borough Areas of Wrexham