Llay

Llay (Welsh: "Llai" meaning meadow) is a village in the county of Wrexham, Wales. It borders with several other villages including Gwersyllt and Gresford. Prior to the 1960s, Llay was a coal mining village with the pit being a big employer for the village.

Places of interest

There is a country park in Llay called Alyn Waters Country Park, which has a sister country park in Gwersyllt of the same name. The Country Park has a children's play park, cycle paths through the forest, and pedestrian paths through the forest. There were numerous original art works around the park such as carved wooden animals along the paths, however many of the artworks have now been stolen or destroyed. There is a small golfing range at the park, and other sporting events take place on the large playing fields, such as football and archery.

There are four churches in the village of Llay, including the Roman Catholic St. Francis of Assisi, Llay Community Church of the Nazarene and St. Martin of Tours of the Church in Wales. St. Martins has an official Website [http://www.parishofllay.com]

There are three drinking establishments, which are the Royal British Legion club, The Crown Public house and Llay Miners Welfare, also known as Miners Welfare Institute.

The Miners Welfare has bars, dancefloor with small stage and a pool hall. The Welfare had its grand opening in 1931 after negotiations in 1929 for monies to build a Miners Institute with sports facilities. The Welfare was refurbished in 2005 after receiving a grant for the work.

There is an Industrial Estate in Llay, the estate being a similar size to the whole village itself, and it includes a Sharp Electronics factory.

Famous Past and Current Residents of Llay

*Dennis Taylor 1985 World Snooker Championship winner and BBC snooker commentator
*Terry Hennessey Former Welsh International footballer who played for Derby County in the 1970s. Now lives in Australia
*Mark Hughes Current Manchester City Manager and Manchester United and Wales footballing Legend lived in the village until age four
*Steve O'Shaughnessy Former Professional footballer who played for Leeds United, Bradford City, Rochdale and captained Darlington F.C.
*Chris Armstrong Former Wrexham FC, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and England B Footballer was brought up by his adoptive parents in the village after being originally born in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Links

* [http://llay-miners-welfare.co.uk/history Miner's Welfare's history on their official site]
* [http://www.welshcoalmines.co.uk/index.html Welsh Coal Mines website - check out the local pit's histories]
* [http://www.llay.me.uk/ Llay's Community Website]
* [http://www.parishofllay.com/ St Martins Official Website]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3546361 photos of Llay and surrounding area on geograph]