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Ruabon

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"A parish in the Union of Wrexham, hundred of Bromfield, county of Denbigh; 5 miles (SW by S) from Wrexham; containing, in 1841, 11292 inhabitants. ..... The parish is situated in a picturesque part of the county, within three miles of the great Holyhead road, and is bounded on the south by the river Dee. The village ..... seems to have been indebted for its original prosperity to the noble mansion of Wynnstay, in the immediate vicinity, and to owe its present importance chiefly to the mines of ironstone and coal which abound, especially in the southern and western parts of the parish. ..... The parish comprises an important part of the Denbighshire coal tract, of which the principal seam is here nine feet thick; and its mineral wealth in coal and iron ore, particularly in the southern and western parts of it, has caused the establishment of numerous works. The whole give employment to from 1400 to 1500 men and boys. ..... Offa's Dyke and Wat's Dyke both intersect the parish, and in their courses approach within a quarter of a mile of each other, near the village, but diverge as they are traced either northward or southward, so as shortly to leave an interval of several miles."  [A Topographical Dictionary of Wales, 1833 & 1849, Samuel Lewis]

The ancient parish of Ruabon comprised the townships of Belan, Bodylltyn, Cristionydd Cynrig ( or Y Dref Fawr), Coed Cristionydd, Cristionydd Fechan ( or Y Dref Fechan, or Dynhinlle Uchaf), Dinhinlle Isaf, Hafod ( or Hafod y Gallor), Moreton Anglicorum ( or Moreton Above), Moreton Wallichorum ( or Moreton Below) (where Above and Below refer to Offa's Dyke), Rhuddallt, and Tref Robert Llwyd.
On 24 May 1844, Coed Cristionydd and part of Cristionydd Cynrig went to the new parish of Rhosymedre.
On 3 September 1844, Cristionydd Fechan went to the new parish of Rhosllanerchrugog.
On 28 October 1879, Moreton Above and the remainder of Cristionydd Cynrig went to the new parish of Penycae.

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Bibliography

  • Edwards, Ifor.     Claymaster of Ruabon         Country Quest 28/7 (1987), p. 5-6
  • Edwards, Ifor.         Claymasters and clayworkers in the old parish of Ruabon        Trafodion (Denbighshire Historical Society), 35 (1986), p. 83-99.
  • Edwards, Ifor.        Gazetteer of clayworks in the Wrexham and Ruabon district       Trafodion (Denbighshire Historical Society), 36 (1987), p. 47-83
  • Edwards, Ifor  and T. W. Pritchard.    The old parish of Ruabon in old picture postcards   2nd ed.     Zaltbommel, Netherlands : European Library, 1991.
  • Fairclough, Oliver.     William Parry of Ruabon:        Friends newsletter [National Museums and Galleries of Wales], May 2004, 29-32
  • Gilpin,  Dennis W.    Ruabon Boys Grammar School        Wrexham : Bridge Books, 1999.
  • Palmer, Alfred Neobard.            A history of the parish of Ruabon       Wrexham : Bridge Books, 1992.
  • Pritchard, T W.    Remembering Ruabon      Wrexham : Bridge Books on behalf of the Ruabon & District Field Club Millennium Book Committee, 2000.
  • Ruabon Parish Church, Denbighshire / [research and original text by T.W. Pritchard ; editing, design and photography by R.J.L. Smith]. Much Wenlock : R.J.L. Smith, c1998.
  • The Parish Church of St.Mary,Ruabon,Denbighshire(Diocese of St.Asaph).         Gloucester: British Publishing, 1968.
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Churches

There are more than 30 churches identified in this place. Please click here for a complete list.
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Church History

See Welsh Chapels and Churches for a photograph of Ruabon St Mary's Church Ordnance Survey reference SJ 303437.
The first church at Ruabon is believed to have been established by St. Mabon, during the sixth century. It was mentioned in the Norwich Taxation of 1254, when the dedication was to St. Collen.
The present church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, dates from the late thirteenth century. It was extensively "restored" in 1870.

The Clwyd FHS website has a photograph of the church.

Various items -  on the People's Collection Wales site

  • ST MARY'S CHURCH, RUABON  
  • RHAGLUNIAETH CHAPEL, RUABON
  • ENGLISH WESLEYAN METHODIST CHURCH, RUABON
  • Maengwyn Calvinist Methodist Chapel, Heol Maengwyn

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 Ruabon :

Name of Chapel Denomination Number of "adherents"
Bethania Baptists 90
Presbyterian Calvinistic Methodists (English language) 120
Providence Calvinistic Methodists 170
Not named Congregationalists (English language) 154
Not named Wesleyans (English language) 130
Plas Benion Wesleyans 60
Not named Primitive Methodists (English language) 270
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Church Records

Parish Registers

  • The following Parish Registers have been deposited at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
    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
1559 - 1945 1599 - 1964 1559 - 1963
  • Clwyd FHS has published full transcriptions of the registers (complete with indexes) for the following years :
Baptisms Marriages Burials
1559 - 1853 1599 - 1843 1599 - 1847

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 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and the films are available on request at Family History Centres of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
    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
1663 - 1867 1663 - 1861

I.G.I.

  • There are no official I.G.I. entries for St. Mary's, Ruabon.
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Civil Registration

When Civil Registration was introduced (on 1 July 1837), the parish of Ruabon was assigned to the No. 3 ("Ruabon") sub-district of the Wrexham Registration District; which, initially, was co-extensive with the Wrexham poor law Union.

In the GRO indexes to civil registration, entries for Ruabon 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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Description & Travel

Welcome to Ruabon site

Ruabon - on wikipedia

Various landscapes/buildings   -  on the People's Collection Wales site

You can see pictures of Ruabon which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

The transcription of the section for this parish from the National Gazetteer (1868), provided by Colin Hinson.

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History

Various items -  on the People's Collection Wales site

  • ROUND HOUSE;RUABON LOCK-UP, RUABON  
  • Offa's Dyke at Ruabon
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Land & Property

WYNNSTAY HALL, RUABON   -  on the People's Collection Wales site

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Maps

"North-East Wales Churches and Ancient Parish Boundaries" produced by Clwyd Record Office in 1994, published by Genuki with the permission of Flintshire Record Office and Denbighshire Archives

Kain, R.J.P., Oliver, R.R., Historic Parishes of England and Wales: an Electronic Map of Boundaries before 1850 with a Gazetteer and Metadata [computer file]. Colchester, Essex: History Data Service, UK Data Archive [distributor], 17 May 2001. SN: 4348.   Here is a gazetteer/finding aid plus a set of overview maps to accurately identify the position of parishes within the county

Various items  -  on the People's Collection Wales site

  • Township of Christionydd Kendrick in the parish of Ruabon in the County of Denbigh  
  •  Map of the townships of Moreton Below, Bodylltyn, Rhyddallt, Belan, Hafod, Moreton Anglicorum and Dinhunlle Issa in the parish of Ruabon

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SJ287449 (Lat/Lon: 52.996241, -3.063211), Ruabon which are provided by:

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Occupations

Various items  -  on the People's Collection Wales site

  • MONSANTO CHEMICAL WORKS, RUABON  
  •  WYNNSTAY COLLIERY: WINDING ENGINE HOUSE
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Population

  • In 1831- the population was 8353.
  • In 1901- the population was 3483.
    [ Royal Commission on the Welsh Church - October 1907]
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Schools

Various items  -  on the People's Collection Wales site

  • Ruabon Grammar School  
  • Old Grammar School and Hearse Shed, Church Street, Ruabon
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Social Life & Customs

Various items -  on the People's Collection Wales site

  • The Beaver badge presented to a Ruabon patrol 1933  
  • This is a sensitive portrayal of John Parry, 'The Blind Harpist of Ruabon',