Coedpoeth - Hot wood
Coedpoeth is a village situated approximately 3 miles north west of Wrexham in North East Wales and lies about 750ft. above sea level, like most of the villages surrounding Wrexham it owes it`s existence to industry which in this case is primarily coal mining, steel making, lead mining and quarrying. These industries have now long disappeared and the inhabitants of the village mostly work in Wrexham or perhaps as far afield as Liverpool or Manchester. The population is around 5,000.
It`s not really known how old the village is but in 1412 Coedpoeth was described as a "waste" and in 1620 as a "common". The name translates as "hot wood" which comes from the fact that the area was cleared of trees to produce charcoal which in turn was used for the smelting of lead and the firing of kilns for burning limestone as well as fuel for the iron foundries nearby. The four areas of the village are "Nant" (stream) which is the oldest part and lies in the valley of the Clywedog which is a tributary of the River Dee, "Smelt" which is the area once used to smelt the lead ore (galena) mined nearby, "Talwrn" which refers to an area which was once open and lastly "Adwy" which is an abbreviation of "Adwy`r Clawdd" which refers to a gap or access point in Offa`s Dyke which runs alongside the southern boundary of the village.
The centre of the village we see today travelling along High Street (A525) is very much as was built before the First World War, little has changed, although the rest of the village has changed considerably mostly through housing development. At one time Coedpoeth boasted sixteen chapels and about the same number of pubs but these are now drastically reduced. Shops included nail makers, cobblers, drapers, printing works, chemists, in all about 70 businesses which are also much reduced although the High Street is still capable of supplying much of a family`s shopping needs which cannot be said for many of the other villages in the locality.
It`s not really known how old the village is but in 1412 Coedpoeth was described as a "waste" and in 1620 as a "common". The name translates as "hot wood" which comes from the fact that the area was cleared of trees to produce charcoal which in turn was used for the smelting of lead and the firing of kilns for burning limestone as well as fuel for the iron foundries nearby. The four areas of the village are "Nant" (stream) which is the oldest part and lies in the valley of the Clywedog which is a tributary of the River Dee, "Smelt" which is the area once used to smelt the lead ore (galena) mined nearby, "Talwrn" which refers to an area which was once open and lastly "Adwy" which is an abbreviation of "Adwy`r Clawdd" which refers to a gap or access point in Offa`s Dyke which runs alongside the southern boundary of the village.
The centre of the village we see today travelling along High Street (A525) is very much as was built before the First World War, little has changed, although the rest of the village has changed considerably mostly through housing development. At one time Coedpoeth boasted sixteen chapels and about the same number of pubs but these are now drastically reduced. Shops included nail makers, cobblers, drapers, printing works, chemists, in all about 70 businesses which are also much reduced although the High Street is still capable of supplying much of a family`s shopping needs which cannot be said for many of the other villages in the locality.