The massive Wrexham AFC history thread (The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham...)

[Red Light]

History at it's absolute best - your many hours of research and investigation I am sure is appreciated by a great many.

I have also had the view for some time that all this research could be used as evidence to support a North Wales Football Museum - Newtown or any other club surely wont have this detailed background.

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by Red Light

History at it's absolute best - your many hours of research and investigation I am sure is appreciated by a great many.

I have also had the view for some time that all this research could be used as evidence to support a North Wales Football Museum - Newtown or any other club surely wont have this detailed background.

Thanks Red Light. If anyone who has involvment in bringing the football museum to Wrexham, wishes to use this information, then please feel free. If anyone involved needs additional information, then please just pm me, and I will help in any way that I can.

[jonesfach]

Originally Posted by Red Light

History at it's absolute best - your many hours of research and investigation I am sure is appreciated by a great many.

I have also had the view for some time that all this research could be used as evidence to support a North Wales Football Museum - Newtown or any other club surely wont have this detailed background.

Agreed.

Thank god those first dirty developers didn't build a B and Q. The flats.....well we ain't happy with them either but perhaps we will have to live with them...

[simon4012]

Originally Posted by jonesfach

Agreed.

Thank god those first dirty developers didn't build a B and Q. The flats.....well we ain't happy with them either but perhaps we will have to live with them...

Never, the sight of them from the mold rd sickens me every game.

[terrytactics]

Really good work ESR. Waiting with interest to see if anything comes of your research within the various corridors of power.

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by terrytactics

Really good work ESR. Waiting with interest to see if anything comes of your research within the various corridors of power.

I hope so terrytactics.

When I first started researching the history of The Racecourse, it seemed that it was widely accepted that The Wrexham Races were started on a new course, now known as ‘Y Cae Ras’ which was developed by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn in 1807. This seems to have arisen due to the fact that Sir Watkin had a lifelong connection with equine sport, as well as being a founding member and serving officer with a local cavalry force. It is also known that he had deliberately widened Regent Street to cater for riders and their horses to parade from their stables at Eagles Meadow up to the course on race days, and he was also known to have developed or upgraded the course around this time, as well as promoting and providing financial support, and commissioning and donating silverware as prizes
The 1807 date then appears to have been widely accepted after local author- Arthur N Shone published a book in 1999 called ‘The Wrexham Races, The Forgotten Welsh Racecourse’, in which he identified an announcement in The Chester Chronicle in 1807, which advertised (what he thought was) the first race meeting on The Racecourse. Others people since, appear to have identified different newspaper announcements from the same year, which advertised The Wrexham Races ‘on the new course’, and so it appears that the term ‘the new course’ cemented the idea that The Wrexham Races first started on The Racecourse in 1807, and this date was then circulated on the internet.
Since then, however, access to historic information through online archives, has greatly improved and I soon found a newspaper advertisement for The Wrexham Races ‘on the new course’ for a three-day meeting on 6/7/8th October 1806, followed by an article in a silversmith’s magazine, which published the design of a motif on a trophy, which was presented to the winner of The Wrexham Races in 1803.
I then found a newspaper advertisement in The Chester Courant for The Wrexham Races ‘on the new course’ consisting of a four-day meeting, which commenced on 15th September 1800, followed by another article in The Chester Chronicle, dated 7/9/1792, which advertised The Wrexham Races to take place on the 17th of the same month. This article identified that the races incorporated other ancient community sports and activities, such as smock racing and pudding eating, as well being the venue for the election of a mayor, thereby suggesting that the races had evolved as part of a much older tradition of community sport and social gatherings. This article appeared to confirm another article, written by a local author- Major Charles James Apperley, who became famous as a sport and social commentator of his time, under the pseudonym ‘Nimrod’.
Apperley wrote a series of his memoirs in Fraser’s magazine in 1842, in which he recalled going to The Wrexham Races with his childhood friend, during his bachelor days, and he described the races as little more than leatherplate races; the term ‘leatherplate’ being used to highlight a more rustic event, wherein riders sought to unseat their competitors during races by any means deemed necessary, without the gentleman’s rules that would be incorporated into the so-called sport of kings that were later frequented by the gentry of the land. By extrapolating from his age at death and his year of marriage, it is found that his bachelor days at the races would relate to a period before he joined The Ancient British Light Dragoons, to serve in Ireland from 1798.
However, the format of the races appears to have changed over time, as a number of advertisements for race meetings in Wrexham had appeared in The London Evening Post, dating from as far back as January 1739. The articles advertised a two-day meeting for The Wrexham Races ‘on the new course’ for Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th April 1739, with a considerable purse of £30 for the winner of the first days meeting and a £20 purse for the winner of the second day. The following year, the same newspaper also advertised another, well organised three-day meeting ‘on the new course’ from the 8th to 10th April 1740, which also offered a purse of £30 for the winner of the first days meeting and a £20 purse for each of the winners of the following days meetings. It was also published in a book in 1845 that a horse named Black Chance was the winner of one of these meetings. The advertisements from both of these years each stipulated rules and regulations akin to those which were later adopted in races in the 19th Century, which seems to suggest that The Wrexham Races were indeed an ancient custom that stretched back deep into history, and whilst occurring at least once a year, the races seem to have been sometimes better organised, and better rewarded, than at other times, when the format appears to have reverted to a more rustic meeting, which incorporated more of the traditional community activities, as identified in the reports from the 1790’s.
While initially it had seemed that Sir Watkin Williams Wynn -the 5th Baronet (1772-1840) had been responsible for the founding of The Wrexham Races, further investigation has shown that although he may have built or upgraded The Racecourse to a better standard, as well as promoting and financially supporting the races, he wasn’t really a lover of the turf, preferring instead to spend his days hunting, whereas his predecessors, at least as far back as Sir John Wynn, were more enthusiastic regarding the sport of kings.
Sir John Wynn (1628-1719) who had inherited the Watstay (Wynnstay) Estate was believed to have bred racehorses, and it was Sir John who had bought the Plas Coch Estate (where The Racecourse is now situated) in 1709. Sir Watkin’s grandfather- the 3rd Baronet then inherited the family estates when Sir John Wynn died in 1719 and his family continued to breed horses, with the 3rd Baronet having established The Ruabon Hunt, before he died when he fell from his horse while hunting at Acton Park in 1749. But it was during his lifetime that The Wrexham Races appeared in The London Evening Post (1739/40) along with an adage that there would be cockfighting at The Three Eagles in the mornings, before the races, and as The Three Eagles was owned by the Wynn family at that time, then it seems probable that The Wrexham Races were already being funded and promoted by the 3rd Baronet in the first half of the 18th Century.
When we consider where the racing took place in Wrexham, during the 18th Century, we are told by The London Evening Post that The Wrexham Races were held on ‘the new course’ in 1739 and 1740. Likewise, we also know that the races were also held on ‘the new course’ (Y Cae Ras) in 1800. It might therefore follow that there were two different racecourse locations; unless, that is, the location remained the same (Y Cae Ras) but the course was revamped as a new course in both the 18th and 19th Centuries. The latter appears to have been the case, due to the remarkable research of Alfred Neobard Palmer.
Palmer, who is regarded as the finest Wrexham historian of his time, published a series of 10 books on the local history of the area, at the end of 19th Century. There are a number of references to The Racecourse in its current location in his books, but only in the context of the 19th Century, which in itself seems to confirm that the location of The Racecourse had never been any different, as Palmer had specifically researched the fields and Streets of Wrexham
In his work ‘The Town, Fields and Folks of Wrexham in The Times of James The First’ Alfred Palmer had translated the oldest Latin records available to him since the early medieval period and made no reference to any racecourse. His research was based on a survey for Charles- Prince of Wales by John Norden, in 1620, although Norden’s Survey did not include land which had been previously owned by Valle Crucis Abbey, such as Stansty, which was not a part of the Prince’s estate. However, his book also gave commentary on those same areas up to the 19th Century and Palmer would most certainly have made reference to a racecourse, if another course was present in the town, as he was specifically providing a social history of the town in his work. In fact, of all of the known, main, published works on the history of Wrexham, no one has ever identified, or even suggested another location for a racecourse in the town, other than its current location. Therefore, it seems logical to deduce that the current racecourse has been a venue for community and sporting activity since at least 1739. Moreover ‘The Welsh history Review’ which is an academic paper from The University of Wales, has previously identified that the Myddleton family of Chirk Castle had been paying subscriptions to race meetings at Wrexham, since before 1700, and so the history of Y Cae Ras may well be pushed back into the 17th Century, at a later date.

In addition to access to proof documents, this is a summary of the evidence that I have submitted to archives.gov.uk, to have Y Cae Ras recognised as a sports venue, which has been in existence since at least 1739.
I have also added that The Turf Hotel appears to be the oldest public house at any sport stadium in the world, and given a history of the land that the racecourse was built on, in the context of events that have significance, in terms of the birth of Wales as a nation.

[Sir Crispin Lane]

Fantastic work again Esr

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

Crispin Lane appears to have been an ancient trackway, which was 4 feet wide in the late 19th century, when its owner- John Foulkes paid for a gravel surface to be laid. At this time, the lane was a trackway, bordered on both sides with high hedges, and was known locally as a lovers lane, and which in the 19th Century, stretched from the corner of a garden, known as The turf Tavern Garden, immediately off Mold Road, to The Plas Coch Toll Gate, also on Mold Road, though originally it may have been part of a trackway which continued across Mold Road, where the NCP car park is today.
The lane seems to have taken its name as a trackway which served an ancient farm, called The Crispin, which was located where the embankment for the Connah’s Quay railway line is now situated, opposite a position, about half way along where the kop is today.
In 1867, The Crispin was described as a cottage with a stable that was owned by the railway company, and was leased to a locomotive driver, although it is likely that it had belonged to the Foulkes family previously. The cottage at this time formed a part of the railway station and no longer had a garden, which had been removed when the railway line was first excavated, but prior to this, it had been a more substantial property, with outbuildings, a yard, a cow-house, a stable, a large garden, and also, previously had its own fish pond; the footprint of which, was recorded on an ordinance survey map (attached) dated 1819- before the railway station was built. At this time, The Crispin, which was not named on the map, was located in a field called Bryn Llyn, which relates to a pond on hill, and which can also be seen on the OS map. When the map was first drawn, the pond was known locally, as ‘the fishpond’ but in ancient times, it was known as Witches Pond, and Bryn Llyn had previously been known as Crispin Field. Nearby, on the opposite side of Crispin Lane (on the northside of The Racecourse) was a field known as ‘Crispin Croft’, and on the opposite side of The Racecourse, past Plas Coch, was another field called ‘Crispin Field’. Opposite to this, on the other side of Mold Road, and at the base of Stansty Park, was a field called ‘Crispin Meadow’; moreover, in the 17th Century, at least, it is known that there was also an inn called ‘The Crispin Inn’, which was situated on its own land, within the footprint of Stansty Park, at the side of Mold Road.
Stansty Park was an ancient estate that was owned by a family, known as the Edwards’s of Stansty, and who built their family seat, in the park, called ‘Plas Issa’ (later known as Stansty Farm) in 1577. Soon after, a cousin of the Edwards family- William Meredith, also built Plas Coch Hall, within its own estate, sometime between the 1580’s and 90’s. However, it seems most unlikely that fields, named after ‘The Crispin’ would have been bought, independently, on both of these estates after the estates were established, as Crispin Field and Crispin Meadow have field boundaries, which are aligned with each other, but are separated by the Mold Road; thereby, strongly suggesting that they were previously both a part of the same field. It is also very unlikely that the Edwards family would have sold a small parcel of land within their own estate to allow someone else to build an Inn (The Crispin Inn) which was named after another house in the area. Additionally, if the fields were bought after both estates had been established, then a bill of sale would likely have been recorded, as the land named after The Crispin occupied such a large area; but there are no known records of any sales. Another curiosity is- why was there a Crispin Meadow and a Crispin Field on the town side of The Racecourse, and a Crispin Meadow, which formed part of a larger field, known as Crispin Field, on the Stansty side of The Racecourse? Having two fields of the same name makes no sense, as no-one would know as to which field was being referred to; unless, that is, they were all originally connected as one field.
It seems logical to suppose then, that in the distant past ‘The Crispin’ was originally a farm, surrounded by a very large field, possibly for grazing sheep, called ‘Crispin Field’ which occupied much of Stansty including most, if not all of Stansty Park, Plas Coch and the land that The Racecourse was later built on.
The farm would have pre-dated the Stansty Park and Plas Coch estates, and it is possible that it may have dated back to the farms governed by the Cistercians of Valle Crucis Abbey, from the 13th Century, hence the name ‘The Crispin’ which related to the patron saint of shoemakers and leathermaking- St Crispin. As a mere farmhouse, the history of ‘The Crispin’ would not have been recorded in the same way that any of the stately homes of the landed gentry of the area were recorded, and would not, therefore, have been identified as a significant building on older maps. But the extent of the namesake land and the fact that it required its own lane, which still exists today, suggests that the cottage must have been a part of a farm of a considerable size at some time in its past. The lands and fields that the farm occupied, collectively, later became known locally as ‘The Crispin’ and the house of the same name was eventually demolished sometime after 1867, when the railway surveyor of the time referred to the property as being an old cottage.

The previous importance of the house or farm known as The Crispin was highlighted by a boundary line that was shown on the ordnance survey map of 1872 (attached).
At this time, there was still an ancient, 4-feet wide footpath shown on the map, which ran from the position where The Crispin had been located, all the way down to The Corn Mill at Felin Puleston.
The footpath, which was bordered with a hedge, ran along the western boundary of Wat's Dyke, most likely above the ancient ditch, with the banked up mound on the town side.
The Crispin Lane started on The Racecourse side of Mold Road, following the ancient pathway as far as the house known as The Crispin, where the footpath stopped, although the lane, which was later extended (in yellow) then continued in an arc toward Plas Coch.
Another boundary line (in blue) then ran from The Crispin, up past Plas Coch and back out onto the Mold Road. This boundary was described on the map as undefined, and it divided the lands owned by the Foulkes and Williams Wynn families, although it does not appear to have been a part of the ancient 4 feet trackway.
The lane on The Raceourse side of Mold Road seems to have taken its name from an ancient farm, called 'The Crispin', although by the middle of the 19th Century, the farm had diminished in size and was described as a cottage with stables and outbuildings. At this point, The Crispin had been taken over by the railway company, and its buildings were gradually demolished to make way for new lines, but its past importance can be seen in the ancient trackway and the fields and namesake properties that had also carried the name of Crispin, including an inn, which was still in existence in the latter half of the 17th Century.
Wat's Dyke also provided a traditional municipal boundary between the town, and land that was owned by the king, and that which had been owned by Valle Crucis Abbey, at Stansty.

[terrytactics]

What year was that photo taken ESR?