- Pentre Bychan
Pentrebychan (variously spelled as either one word or two, with the literal
Welsh language meaning of "little village") is a village in the county borough of Wrexham,Wales .It is situated between Rhostyllen and Johnstown in the ward of Esclusham, some four miles from Wrexham town centre.
The Pentre Bychan estate was once of great importance in the area. The
16th century house originally belonged to the Tegin family. It was a single storey building,half-timbered withwattle and daub . In 1620 the estate was purchased Hugh Meredith and the Meredith family, who owned several local coal mines, occupied the estate until 1802 when Thomas Meredith, the last of the male line, died. In 1823 the hall was replaced with a larger, three storey, dressed-stone building with gables, which had a stable block andcoachhouse at the rear. The hall was surrounded by landscaped gardens which included a brickdovecote which dated back to 1721.The house was used to house refugees during
World War II . The building was purchased byDenbighshire County Council in 1948, who at the time administered the area, and was demolished in 1963. The Wrexhamcrematorium was later built on the site, located on Pentre Bychan Road, off Smithy Lane. The house's magnificent gardens and woods remainThe ancient monument
Offa's Dyke runs through Pentre Bychan.Dee Valley Water and Scottish Power are prominent businesses located on the Wrexham Road at Packsaddle Bridge.
The classical pianist
Llŷr Williams was born in Pentrebychan in 1976Dr Roberts a local general practitioner with a surgery in nearby Johnstown lived for many years at `Barn Hey' in the village.
Countryside Walk
Pentre Bychan can be visited as part of one of Wrexham County Council's [http://www.wrexham.gov.uk/english/leisure_tourism/walks/routes/route1.htm Countryside Walks] .
After viewing the Hafod Y Bwch Gateway, the walk begins at Croesfoel Farm, once the smithy for gatesmiths Robert and John Davies whose ornamental gates con be seen at Leeswood Hall and
Chirk Castle . There is no plaque, as Wrexham Council's route guide suggests, and there is parking space for one car only. Opposite the now converted farm house is a public footpath sign next to a stile. One walks into a field along the line of a hedge, before crossing the hedge at a stile and veering off across the middle of another field where no path is evident, following the line of electricity pylons before reaching another stile. In the woodland there is a stile on the path to the left which leads into the lower end of a boggy field which is the site of Llyn Tro (a former moated house). The foundations of this can be seen by walking to the left, around the edge of this field towards a wooded area. The route then suggests retracing ones steps and crossing a country road into a field of horses. Once one has crossed this field the B5097 is reached. Crossing another road, one reaches another stile into a field towards Cadwgan Hall Farm (the original hall oak framework is in the Avoncroft Museum of Buildings in the West Country). The footpath runs along the right hand side of this field and into the woods, then onto a road. One turns left here and walks past Cadwgan Hall Farm, before turning left again at the stile into another field. One then reaches the remains of a railway bridge, and crossing another road, following the line of a disused railway embankment, the path turns left into some trees and emerges in the site of Pentre Bychan Crematorium. The brick dovecote can be seen. The rest of the route leads across a field and the main road back to Croesfoel Farm.External links
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3538700 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Pentre Bychan and surrounding area]
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