|
Register | Mark Forums Read |
Season Two Episode Threads: S2E1 Welcome Back / S2E2 Quiet Zone / S2E3 Nott Yet / S2E4 Shaun's Vacation / S2E5 First Losers / S2E6 Ballers / S2E7 Giant Killers / S2E8 The Grind / S2E9 Glove Triangle / S2E10 Gresford / S2E11 Yn Codi / S2E12 Hand of Foz / S2E13 Family Business / S2E14 Worst Case Scenario / S2E15 Up The Town?/ |
Wrexham Talk about things related to Wrexham Football Club ! |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools |
29th January 2018, 18.09:43 | #509-0 (permalink) |
Cult Hero
|
Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)
Wales Vs Ireland, 1906. at the Racecourse.
https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/...06-1906-online |
2nd February 2018, 08.49:20 | #510-0 (permalink) | |
Due a Testimonial
|
Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)
Quote:
On 30th May 1699, Sir John entered into an agreement, then known as Lease and Release, with Roger Meredith, for an estate called Redhall (Plas Coch) in Stansty. Lease and Release was the process that was used for transfering deeds, during the sale of land and property until property law was changed in 1841. |
|
24th February 2018, 17.11:26 | #511-0 (permalink) | |
Due a Testimonial
|
Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)
Quote:
The farm was situated on the town side of the lane, directly opposite the corner of the kop, in an area, which was historically known as Lower Crispin (see attachment). In the mid to late 19th Century, the field on which Crispin Farm was situated, was still known as Crispin field, although the name ‘Crispianus’ seems to suggest that the farm may have been a substantial property in the distant past, as was indicated on Ogilby’s Road map of 1675 (previously posted) which shows a substantial house in the location that Crispin Farm occupied. In front of Crispin Farm, on The Racecourse side of the lane, near to the car park for the current club shop, was a field known as Crispin Croft, and at the top end of the Racecourse (between Plas Coch and Mold Road, there was an area which was still known as ‘The Crispin’ in the late 19th Century. This area was used occasionally as an assembly point for military parades in the mid to late 19th Century, although The Crispin seems likely to have previously been the location of a garrison, which was established in the area, during The English Civil War (In his book ‘ Stansty- a story of the land and its people, Quentin Dodd had also recorded that a large number of musket balls were found embedded in a number of walls in the area, most likely due to target practice). Opposite The Crispin, at the base of Stansty Park (where the road splits between Summerhill Road and Mold Road) there had previously been a blacksmiths, known as Crispin Smithy, and in the 19th Century there was also a house, known as Crispin Lodge, which was built at the base of Crispin Meadow, in the apex where the two roads used to meet; this was the family home of the borough surveyor- John Strachan. Further along Mold Road, on the Stansty Park side, there was a public house, known as The Crispin Inn, which, according to the 19th Century historian- Alfred Neobard Palmer, had previously been one of the houses that had been owned by the Edwards family of Stansty (The Crispin Inn was also recorded on Ogilby’s Road Map of 1675). The Edwardses are believed to have occupied the area from 1317, when their ancestor- David ap Meilir is thought to have bought, at least part of the manor of Stansty. The manor consisted of two parts- Stansty Ucha (upper Stansty) and Stansty Issa- lower Stansty, the latter of which had been gifted to the monks of Valle Crucis Abbey by The Prince of Northern Powys in 1254. But after the dissolution of the monasteries in the mid 16th Century, the two parts were reunited as one manor, and while the church retained some of the tithe rights of the land, the Edwards family continued as tenants and formed the estate, which would come to be known as Stansty Park in the latter half of the 16th Century. According to Alfred Palmer, the name ‘Crispin’ seems to have derived from St Crispin- the patron saint of leathermaking and shoemakers, and may have been associated with an ancient guild of shoemakers, dating at least as far back as a medieval shoemaker and weaver, called John ap John of Stansty, although no guild of shoemakers was ever recorded. Moreover, as I have previously posted, the St Crispin link could possibly have been related to the leathermaking activities of the white monks of Valle Crucis Abbey and the lay farmers who became the tenants of the Abbey’s lands in Stansty. Whatever the origin of the name, it seems to be related to leathermaking and/or shoemaking in the area around The Racecourse and much of Stansty, sometime very far back in history. As for the house called ‘Crispianus’ it seems to have been a substantial dwelling, at least into the 17th Century, and appears to have had its own fishpond, fed by a spring; hence the name ‘Springfield’, which still persists to this day. (The tradition of building and using fishponds began in the Medieval Period and were usually built by the wealthy sectors of society, including monastic institutions. They were frequently built close to castles, manors and monastic buildings, due to the risks from poaching, which was controlled by harsh laws). Crispianus, later known as Crispin Farm, was also the end point of a trackway, which would come to be known as Crispin Lane. The trackway, which ran along the top of the western side of the ditch of Wat’s Dyke, was still visible in the 19th Century, when it was shown on maps to run from Crispin Farm all the way to Felin Puleston Corn Mill, which was built in 1582. The track was described as a 4-foot-wide footpath, which in itself indicates that in the past it had been used as a Medieval trackway for small carts, but also, as the distance between the corn mill and Crispin Farm was more than 1.5 miles, then the trackway would appear to have been an ancient right of way, as it would not have been possible to just build a trackway without obtaining a right of way from all of the different owners of the lands along the route. The fact that the trackway stretched from Crispin Farm to Felin Puleston Corn Mill also has historical significance, as the inhabitants of the Stansty were required, by law, to mill their flour at The Kings Mill, which had been in operation since the 14th Century, and as the name suggests, was owned by the crown. The mill at Felin Puleston therefore provided an alternative, without the additional fees as determined by the crown, and so the ancient trackway is likely to have been used by the inhabitants of Stansty in order to avoid using The Kings Mill. While the trackway ended at Crispin Farm (highlighted in yellow on the attachment) there was also an ancient right of way (highlighted in blue on the attachment) which ran from Mold Road to Plas Coch and then along the boundary of The Racecourse, down to Crispin Farm, and which divided the lands owned by the Foulkes family and the Wynn family estates. This right of way was stopped by means of a court order issued in the 1840’s, despite a petition which had been raised by the inhabitants of Stansty. The property known as Crispianus eventually lost its influence and became known as Crispin Farm, which was gradually demolished over the years, until the mid-19th Century when all that remained was a cottage with a cow house, stables and outbuildings, and which was briefly occupied by the stationmaster of the new Wrexham, Mold and Connah’s Quay Railway from 1866, until the latter stages of the 19th Century, when the remainder of the property was also demolished. It seems almost certain that the land that The Racecourse was built on, had bore the name of Crispin, at some point in the very distant past. Last edited by eastsussexred; 24th February 2018 at 17.13:17.. |
|
30th March 2018, 12.22:06 | #512-0 (permalink) |
Due a Testimonial
|
Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)
In the 1870's, the British Government had tried to buy a 99 year lease on The Racecourse for the purpose of building a military center, to add to the considerable military possessions in the town, at that time. But Sir Watkin Williams Wynn refused because the land was a part of his family's heritage and because The Racecourse was regarded as a 'recreation ground for the people of Wrexham' and 'he was disinclined to give it up for one purpose when it was required by so many'.
Hopefully, the Welsh Government will follow suit and buy the land behind the kop in order to safeguard the Racecourse. Welsh Government exploring possibility of securing 'essential' Kop land - Wrexham.com |
28th April 2018, 17.28:57 | #513-0 (permalink) |
Due a Testimonial
|
Re: The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham Football Club (Massive history thread!)
Sometime ago there was a discussion on RP regarding the founding of the town and place name of Wrexham i.e. whether the town was of Anglo-Saxon origin and whether the name ‘Wrexham’ is derived from the people known as ‘Wreocensæte’ or the people of Wrekin.
I have looked into this further and can find no etymological links between the place name ‘Wrexham’ and the Ancient Kingdom of Wreocensæte. Below is a list of the earliest recorded place names relating to the town of Wrexham up to the 16th Century; - Wristlesha’ 1161 (the letter ‘m’ was uneligible in the original text) Wrexham 1186 wrechtessham 1200/01 Wrixham 1200-07 Wrechcessam 1222 (1295) Wrettesham or Wrectesham 1236 (Alfred Neobard Palmer) Gwrexam 1254 Wyrcesson 1291 (Alfred Neobard Palmer) Gwregsam 1291 or later Wrightesham 1294 Wrythelsham 1294 Wrechtessham 1294 Wrightlesham 1316-7 (Alfred Neobard Palmer) Gwerexham 1366 Wrixham 1416 Wrexham 1536-39 (with a subtext that it was ‘treuly caullid’ (truly called) ‘Wrightelsham’. Wrexham Vaure 1563/64 (most likely a corruption of the Welsh word ‘Fawr’ as in Abenbury Fawr) Gwreksam c1570 Gwrexham 1699 When the Romans invaded Britain, much of modern-day Wales was ruled by Ancient Brittonic/Celtic tribes, including the Deceangli, who occupied most of Flintshire and the lands on the western side of the town of modern-day Wrexham; the Ordivices, who occupied mid Wales and parts of the north and south Wales, and the Cornovii who occupied Cheshire, Shropshire, North Staffordshire, north Herefordshire and the eastern parts of Flintshire, Powys and Wrexham. Although there is plenty of evidence of wars between the native tribes and the Romans, most of the Ancient Britons were eventually subdued and assimilated under Roman law, including the Cornovii, who are believed to have had their capital base at a hill fort, called ‘Uiroconion’ (now known as Wrekin Hill, and also previously known as ‘Wrocen’). When Cornovii resistance finally ceased, the Romans established a new administrative capital (civitas) of the Cornovii, nearby, close to the end of the Roman trunk road- Watling Street, and they referred to the civitas as both ‘Viroconium Cornoviorum’ and ‘Uriconium’ (now modern-day Wroxeter). The tribal range of the Cornovii would also come to be known as The Ancient ‘Welsh’ Kingdom of Powys and after the Romans had left Britain, the Cornovii briefly retained the capital of their Kingdom at Uriconium, whilst changing its name to Caer Guricon. Most historians believe that Uriconium is merely a slight Latin variation of the Ancient Brythonic place name that was reconstructed from ‘Uiroconion’ to ‘Uriconium, Wrocen, Caer Guricon and ultimately to Wroxeter. Moreover, the region is also believed to have briefly given rise to a sub kingdom of Anglo-Saxon Mercia, known as The Ancient Kingdom of Wroconset, or Wreocensæte, though the sub kingdom had been fully absorbed into Mercia by King Offa in 760. The literal meaning of Wreocensæte is ‘those dwelling at Wrocen’ or ‘the Wrekin dwellers’ relating to the area around the Wrekin. Meanwhile, an outbreak of bubonic plague sometime around 546 and pressure from Anglo-Saxon encroachment had forced the Powysian king- Brochwel Ysgrithrog to move his capital from Caer Guricon to Pengwern, near Shrewsbury, but this region was also contested by the Anglo-Saxons and the Welsh were finally driven out of Pengwern by King Offa in 779. Offa then expanded westwards and he and his successors consolidated Anglo-Saxon victories with a new defensive embankment and ditch, called Offa’s Dyke, which ran from the mouth of the River Dee to that of the River Wye. Within this boundary, the Mercian’s established settlements around the area that would come to be known as Wrexham, such as Gresford (Anglo-Saxon ‘Graes’ and ‘ford’ meaning ‘grassy ford’) Hoseley (Anglo-Saxon ‘Oda or Hoda’s Lea’ meaning ‘Oda’s meadow’) Sutton (Anglo-Saxon ‘sudh, soth or suo’ meaning ‘south’ and ‘ton/tun’ meaning ‘farm or homestead’) Eyton (Anglo-Saxon ‘ea’ meaning ‘river’ and ‘ton/tun’ which translates as ‘homestead on the river’) Marford (Anglo-Saxon ‘Mere or mearc’ and ‘ford’ meaning ‘boundary at a crossing of the river’) and Stansty from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘stan’ meaning ‘stone’ and ‘sti’ or ‘sty’ relating to a road, pathway or enclosure. But the area was always contested by the Welsh and by 820 the Anglo-Saxons had been pushed back, forcing them to build a new defensive barrier, called Wat’s Dyke, on the outskirts of the town of modern-day Wrexham, which is situated just to the east of Offa’s Dyke The conflicts lasted for centuries and territory frequently changed hands, but by 1039, Gruffydd ap Llewelyn- the King of Gwynedd and Powys, had extended his kingdom east and south into Flintshire and Wrexham. Thirteen years later and allied with Aelfgar of Mercia, Gruffydd’s forces raided Hereford and defeated a combined host of Saxons and Normans near Leominster. Harold Godwinson, the Earl of Wessex and later- King Harold of England, was dispatched to Hereford to avenge the attack, by King Edward the Confessor, and eventually Harold negotiated an agreement by which, Gruffydd swore fealty to King Edward. The close alliance between Gruffydd and King Aelfgar of Mercia had ensured security for Wales, but when Aelfgar died in 1062, Harold Godwinson attacked the troublesome Welsh ruler’s court at Rhuddlan, and although Gruffydd escaped, he was captured and killed at Snowdon in 1063. Welsh lands were again under Anglo-Saxon control and when Edward the Confessor died in January of 1066, Harold Godwinson was crowned the new king of England, although his reign would be short-lived. In September of the same year, Harold’s forces defeated an invading Viking army, led by Hardrada of Norway, at Stamford Bridge, before being forced to march to East Sussex to meet a much larger army of invading Normans, led by the cousin of Edward the Confessor- William, Duke of Normandy. Harold- the last Anglo-Saxon king of England was killed at The Battle of Hastings on 14th October and William the Conqueror was crowned the new Norman king of England, on Christmas day 1066. William the Conqueror then left his trusted nobles to expand his territory across England as far as the troublesome borderland or ‘marches’ of Wales, (The term "march" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon ‘mearc’ which means ‘boundary’ and the Anglo-Norman ‘marche’ meaning ‘frontier’). Here, William installed three of his most favoured confidants, Hugh d’Avranches, Roger de Montgomery and William FitzOsbem, as Earls of Chester, Shrewsbury and Hereford respectively, with responsibilities for containing and subduing the Welsh. It was these three earldoms, which were collectively known as the Welsh Marches (Marchia Wallia), while the native Welsh lands to the west were considered as Wales proper (pura Wallia). The boundary between these two nations was then recorded in a manuscript of a ‘Great Survey’ (The Domesday Book) which was possibly commissioned by King William near to the end of his reign in 1086. It lists all of the land in England and parts of Wales, telling us who owned it prior to 1066, who owned it in 1086, and often telling us how and when it changed hands. While the town area that would come to be known as Wrexham was not recorded in the book, many other local settlements (as previously stated) were recorded. Moreover, from details within the Domesday Book, it can be ascertained that when the survey was taken, land to the western (Racecourse) side of Wat’s Dyke was governed under Welsh law, while land to eastern (town side) of the dyke was still being governed under Anglo-Saxon law. So in terms of the history of Wrexham, there is very strong evidence to indicate that when the Normans invaded England, the Anglo-Saxons had already been pushed back by the Welsh, from Offa’s Dyke to a new border at Wat’s Dyke, but also, that Anglo-Saxon settlers were still in occupation of the land to the east of Wat’s Dyke, including the area that would come to be known as Wrexham. The Marcher Lords then attempted to consolidate and expand their territories further into Wales, but the kingdoms of Gwynedd and Powys survived and began to push back the Norman advance from the end of the 11th Century, and it was during this period that the town that would come be known as Wrexham was first recorded in terms of a castle- ‘castellum de Wristlesha’ in 1161. The timing of this record has significance as it occurs soon after the death of Madog ap Meredudd, in 1160. Madog ap Meredudd- the last prince of the entire Kingdom of Powys, had made an alliance with the Norman king- Henry II and with the Marcher Lord and 4th Earl of Chester-Ranulf de Gernon, but after Madog’s death, much of his lands were regained by his brother-in-law, Owain Gwynedd. Owain- King of Gwynedd had previously fought and defeated the combined forces of Madog and King Henry at the Battle of Ewloe in 1150, as well as capturing the castles of Mold and Rhuddlan as he pushed eastwards from his powerbase at Anglesey. With the area that would come to be known as Wrexham again under threat from resurgent Welsh forces, King Henry II then spent a considerable sum defending the land that had previously been held by Madog ap Maredudd, including £16 18s on each of the garrisons at Castle de Wirstlesha’ and Castle de Hodeslea (Hoseley). Both castles were recorded in the court rolls of Henry II, under ‘the lands of the Earl of Chester’, in 1161. The castles are believed to have been motte and bailey timber fortifications, which were built by the Normans at Erdigg, near Wrexham, and Roft Mount, Hoseley, near Marford. As for the etymology of the name ‘Wrexham’ as derived from the first recorded name ‘Wristlesha’ there seem to be three main theories;- 1. Like Wroxeter, Wrekin and Wrockwardine, the name is derived from ‘Wrocen’ and may relate to the Ancient Kingdom of Wreocensæte. 2. From the proto- Germanic and old Saxon word ‘wristuz’ relating to a bend or turning point and from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘ham’ meaning ‘settlement’ so that Wristlesham roughly translates as ‘a settlement at the bend in the river’ (Gwenfro). The word ‘wristuz’ also gave rise to the Middle English word ‘wrist’ which evolved after the Normans invaded in 1066. 3. ‘Wristle’ is s a mispronunciation of the Anglo-Saxon personal name ‘Wyrhta’ meaning ‘craftsman or worker’ i.e. ‘Wyrhta’s settlement’. Of these three theories, I have not been able to find any sources that are able to provide an etymological link from ‘Wrocen’ and ‘Wrekin’ to ‘Wristlesham’ and ‘Wrexham’: that is not to say that there isn’t one, but rather that I haven’t found it or that the etymology hasn’t yet been established. Additionally, mispronunciation and translation errors appears to have been a common issue throughout the early history of the place name, as can be seen from all of the different recorded names, though it is not really surprising as the academic training of the writers is not known and it is likely that the writer would be interpreting the spelling of a place name that was transferred by word of mouth, which he may, or may not have heard before, and was unlikely to have seen the name written down, Further interpretation of the spelling errors themselves, then suggests to me that there are three main groups of related origin;- a. Wristlesham, Wrythelsham, Wrightesham and Wrightlesham are all spelling errors of the place name ‘Wrightelesham’ (as described in texts from 1536-39) from the Anglo-Saxon name ‘Wyrhta’s ham’. The Anglo-Saxon personal name ‘Wyrhta’ gave rise to the surname ‘Wright’ and its original Anglo-Saxon meaning was also carried forward in words such as wheelwright, wainwright, shipwright and playwright, so that Wyrhta’s ham (an Anglo-Saxon craftsman’s settlement) became Wrightelsham. b. Wrechtessham, Wrechcessam, Wrixham and Wrectesham are all corruptions of the place name ‘Wrexham’. c. Gwrexam, Gwregsam, Gwerexham, Gwreksam and Gwrexham are all derivatives and/or spelling errors of early Welsh translations, which invariably added the prefix ‘G’. The leap from ‘Wrightelsham’ to ‘Wrexham’ is much easier to explain in etymological terms, and particularly considering the conflicts in The Welsh Marches when the name ‘Wrexham’ was first recorded in 1161. When the Normans invaded, William the Conqueror had left his trusted barons to deal with the troublesome Welsh, but under Norman law, all conquered possession and lands remained under the ownership of the king. In both law and commerce, William the Conqueror- the King of England, was styled ‘W.Rex’ and thus, ‘Wyrhta’s settlement/ham’ which had briefly evolved into ‘Wrightelsham’ was subsequently changed to ‘W.Rex’ham- a settlement that belonged to the king, sometime before William died in 1087. The town of Wrexham would appear to be of Anglo-Saxon origin, with the etymology of the name ‘Wrexham’ being of Anglo-Saxon and Norman (Middle English) conception. Last edited by eastsussexred; 28th April 2018 at 17.33:04.. |
Thread Tools | |
|
Season 1 Episode Threads: S1E1 Dream / S1E2 Reality / S1E3 Rebuilding / S1E4 Home Opener / S1E5 Fearless / S1E6 Hamilton! / S1E7 Wide World of Wales / S1E8 Away We Go / S1E9 Welcome Home / S1E10 Hooligans / S1E11 Sack the Gaffer / S1E12 Wins and Losses / S1E13 Worst Team in the League / S1E14 A Hollywood Distraction / S1E15 Daggers / S1E16 Hello Wembley / S1E17 Wromance / S1E18 Do or Die | |