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Tours > Wales > Wrexham, Bersham and Erddig
Wrexham, Bersham and Erddig
 It is a short distance by modern super highway from the English city of Chester to the Welsh market and industrial center of Wrexham, by far the largest town in North Wales. The impressive church of St. Giles with its enormous tower may look familiar to many American visitors, for an exact replica is found on the grounds of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Yale is the anglicized version of the name of a prominent Welsh family from nearby Plas yn Ial, (near Bryn Eglwys) among whose members was Elihu Yale, one of the benefactors who helped found Yale University.
The richly-decorated tower, 135-ft high, with its four striking hexagonal turrets, was begun in 1506. It is graced by many medieval carvings including those of an arrow and a deer, the attributes of St. Giles. The interior of the church also contains many late-medieval carvings and monuments. On a window you can find the words of the 1819 hymn by Reginald Heber, "From Greenland's Icy Mountains." Just outside the church, west of the tower is the grave of Elihu Yale, with its long, fanciful epitaph containing the following lines:
Born in America, in Europe bred,
In Africa travell'd, and in Asia wed,
Where long he lov'd and thriv'd;
At London dead
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of Yale's gift, his tomb was restored in 1968 by the university bearing his name. An interesting epitaph to a Daniel Jones, found within the church, tells us that not only his flesh was buried there, but also his beard.
To enter the churchyard, you pass through the magnificently-carved wrought-iron gates, completed in 1719 by the Davies Brothers of nearby Bersham, a small village that holds special importance for historians, for not only did it house the workshops of the Davies Brothers, it was one of the cradles of the Industrial Revolution. This is the place where British ironmaking began in 1670 and where John "Iron-Mad" Wilkinson set up shop in 1761. For many years the area was one of the most important iron manufacturing centers in the world. Today, the Bersham Industrial Center tells the story of the man who bored cannon for the American War of Independence and cylinders for James Watts' revolutionary steam engine.
Two miles south of Wrexham, and well-marked on all the major highways, is Erddig (Err Thig), a mansion owned by the National Trust, who consider it one of their most important properties. The Trust has begun the most ambitious project in its history to fully restore Erddig and the surrounding grounds, though badly damaged by mining operations nearby and by neglect of the owners. Erddig was built in the 17th century, with additions in the 18th.
Philip, the last squire of Errdig died in 1973, bringing to an end 250 years of continuous occupation by the Yorkes. As the thrifty family never seemed to throw anything away, the house and grounds are an antiquarian's delight, full of the most curious and fascinating objects - a treasure-trove of a family's interests, hobbies, work-tools and curios. Apart from the huge kitchens and laundry rooms filled with the most up-to-date labor-saving devices of their time, of special interest is the basement hallway (the Servants' Hall), the walls of which are lined with portraits of the staff, accompanied by verses honoring them and their work.
Next Stop: Chirk Castle
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