GENUKI : Minera, St. Mary

Minera

"An extensive chapelry, in that part of the parish of Wrexham which is in the hundred of Bromfield, county of Denbigh, in the Union of Wrexham, 4 miles (W by N) from Wrexham; containing, in 1841, 628 inhabitants. The chapelry comprises the western portion of the parish, and abounds with mineral wealth. ..... It is bounded on the north by the river Alyn, which rises in this hilly district. The greater portion of the inhabitants are engaged in the mines, consisting of iron, lead and coal, the last wrought to a considerable extent."
[A Topographical Dictionary of Wales, 1833 & 1849, Samuel Lewis]

The new parish of Minera was formed by an Order in Council on 23 May 1844 (gazetted on 6 December 1844) from the townships of Minera and Esclusham Above, which until then had been in the parish of Wrexham.
In 1865, another Order in Council added to Minera that part of the township of Bersham which lay west of Offa's Dyke.
In 1879, a large part of the township of Esclusham Above was transferred from Minera to the new parish of Esclusham.

Church History
Church Records
Civil Registration

Population
Statistics

Church History

Ordnance Survey reference SJ 269519.
It is believed that there was a Chapel of Ease (to Wrexham) on the present site as early as 1577. In 1730, the district was combined with Berse, which was also a Chapel of Ease to Wrexham., an arrangement which stayed in force until Minera became a parish in its own right in 1844.
The original Chapel was probably constructed of wood. It was reconstructed between 1728 and 1733; and a gallery was added in 1815. It was demolished in 1864, and a new Church was built in 1865, preserving the shape and interior of the old building. The new Church was opened in September 1866.
Archdeacon Thomas notes that : "On the entrance step the height of the Church above sea level has been carved in the stone - 838 feet 4 inches above sea level".

The Clwyd FHS website has a photograph of the church.

A district church (or chapel of ease) to Minera was opened at Coedpoeth in 1894 (SJ 282513), dedicated to St. Tudfyl.

Nonconformist Churches

"Welsh Church Commission - County of Denbigh - The Statistics of the Nonconformist Churches for 1905" lists the following nonconformist places of worship in the Civil parish of Minera :

Name of Chapel Denomination Number of "adherents"

Gwynfryn Wesleyans 194

Hermon, New Brighton Wesleyans 132

Penybryn, Mynglawdd Wesleyans 160

Name of Chapel	Denomination	Number of "adherents"
Gwynfryn	Wesleyans	194
Hermon, New Brighton	Wesleyans	132
Penybryn, Mynglawdd	Wesleyans	160

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Church Records

Parish Registers

The following Parish Registers have been deposited at the Denbighshire Record Office, Ruthin.
They may be viewed on microfilm at the Denbighshire and Flintshire Record Offices, at the A.N. Palmer Library, Wrexham, and at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
These microfilms are not available elsewhere.

Baptisms Marriages Burials

1786 - 1894 1845 - 1927 1847 - 1915

Baptisms	Marriages	Burials
1786 - 1894	1845 - 1927	1847 - 1915

Clwyd FHS has published full transcriptions of the registers (complete with indexes) for the following years :

Baptisms Marriages Burials

1772 - 1820 None None

Baptisms	Marriages	Burials
1772 - 1820	None	None

Bishop's Transcripts

Bishop's Transcripts for the years shown below have been deposited in the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Around the year 1951, most of the Bishop's Transcripts which had been deposited at that time were microfilmed by the LDS; and the films are available on request at Family History Centres of the LDS.
The films may also be viewed at the Denbighshire and Flintshire Record Offices, and at the National Library of Wales.
In general, the Bishop's Transcripts are less complete than the parish registers.

Deposited at the National Library of Wales Microfilmed copies

1772 - 1859 None

Deposited at the National Library of Wales	Microfilmed copies
1772 - 1859	None

I.G.I.

There are no official I.G.I. entries for St. Mary's, Minera.

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Civil Registration

Having been formed from townships of the ancient parish of Wrexham, the parish of Minera was assigned to the Wrexham Registration District.

In the GRO indexes to civil registration, entries for Minera are in the format :

Years 1837 - 1851: Wrexham XXVII.nnn
Years 1851 - 1930: Wrexham 11b.nnn

(GRO index references have no relevance at the local Superintendent Registrar's Office)

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Population

In 1831- this was not a separate parish.
In 1901- the population was 5826.
[Royal Commission on the Welsh Church - October 1907]

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Statistics

Archdeacon Thomas gives the area of the parish as 5455 acres.
[ The History of the Diocese of St. Asaph , 1908-1913, Ven. D.R. Thomas]

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Last Updated 5 May 2004 - Vic Roberts