Pen-y-cae (sometimes spelled Penycae) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2011 census was 3,389.[1] It adjoins the larger village of Rhosllanerchrugog.

Pen-y-cae
Zion English Baptist Church, Pen-y-cae
Pen-y-cae is located in Wrexham
Pen-y-cae
Pen-y-cae
Location within Wrexham
Population3,389 (2011)
OS grid referenceSJ279452
Community
  • Penycae
Principal area
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWREXHAM
Postcode districtLL14
Dialling code01978
PoliceNorth Wales
FireNorth Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Wrexham

52°59′56″N 3°04′23″W / 52.999°N 3.073°W / 52.999; -3.073


Map of the community
Pen-y-cae Community Council logo

Etymology

edit

Pen-y-cae means 'head of the field' or 'end of the field'. Although often written as one word without hyphens, in its correct form the name is hyphenised due to the definite article 'y' preceding a single-syllable element.[2]

History

edit
 
St Thomas' Parish Church

The village was part of the ancient parish of Ruabon and the district was known as Dynhinlle Uchaf (but also known as Y Dref Fechan or Cristionydd Fechan).

The new parish of Pen-y-cae was formed 1879, from parts of the existing parishes of Ruabon, Rhosllanerchrugog and Rhosymedre. St Thomas' Church Penycae, then-Parish Church, was consecrated in 1878. However, most of the population of the parish were nonconformists and attended the Baptist chapels of Salem and Sion in Groes; the Calvinistic Methodist chapels in Groes and Tainant; the Wesleyan chapel of Soar in Stryt Issa; or the Primitive Methodist chapel in Copperas. Below is a list of Chapels in the community some moved locations over time and only three are currently active as of 2024[3]

Church in wales:

  • St Thomas

Baptists:

  • Groes Sion English Baptists
  • Salem Welsh Baptists"Capel y Bedyddwyr Salem"

Methodists:

  • Copperas Primitive Methodist
  • Tai Nant Welsh Calvinistic Methodist"Methodistaidd Calfinaidd Tai Nant"
  • Soar Welsh Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan)

"Methodistaidd Soar Stryt-Isa"

  • Groes Welsh Calvinistic Methodist"Methodistaidd Calfinaidd Y Groes"
  • Carmel Welsh Methodist (Wesleyan)"Methodistaidd Carmel Fordd Plas Bennion"
  • Newtown Mountain English primitive Methodists
  • Newtown Mountain Welsh Calvinist Methodists "Methodistaidd Calfinaidd Capel y Mynydd"

Other:

  • Plas Bennion Road Mission Room
  • Plas Du
  • Penycae Church Of The Nazarene

Industry/employment

edit
 
The Pen-y-cae Upper Reservoir

Coal was extracted from pits at Plas Bennion, Wynn Hall, Afon Eitha, Cristionydd, Groes and Plas Isaf; zinc was worked at Copperas. The area descending towards Acrefair was known as "The Delph", it was served by extensions of the Ruabon Brook Tramway but these were mostly defunct by the mid-20th century.

Most inhabitants find employment outside the village in Wrexham with only a few local shops or public buildings providing jobs.

Dee Valley Water operates two reservoirs in Pen-y-cae: Pen-y-cae Upper and Pen-y-cae Lower.[4]

Transport

edit

Wright & Son, ran a bus service from Pen-y-cae to Wrexham via Rhos, and later via Ponciau also. When the bus industry was de-regulated in 1986 there was fierce competition between Wright's and the much larger Crosville company. Wright's, the last surviving independent local company, ceased operations in 1993 leaving Crosville as the sole service provider in the Wrexham area.

Arriva currently operates a bus service to Wrexham Bus Station.[5] The nearest railway station is Ruabon, located two miles away from the village, which has daily services towards Chester and Shrewsbury.

Notable residents

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Community population 2011". Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Guidelines for Standardizing Place-names in Wales" (PDF). Welsh Language Commissioner. 20 May 2016. p. 4. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Genuki: Penycae, Denbighshire".
  4. ^ "Wrexham History". Archived from the original on 24 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ "3 Wrexham to Penycae" (PDF). Arriva. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 March 2024.
  6. ^ Davies, Gareth; Garland, Ian (1991). Who's Who of Welsh International Soccer Players. Bridge Books. p. 180. ISBN 1-872424-11-2.

Bibliography

edit
  • Dennis W Gilpin, "Rhosllannerchrugog, Johnstown, Ponciau, Pen-y-cae, a collection of pictures - Volume I" (1991)
  • Dennis W Gilpin, "Rhosllannerchrugog, Johnstown, Ponciau, Pen-y-cae, a collection of pictures - Volume II" (1992)
  • Colin Gibbs, "Clatter of Clogs" (1990)
edit