Chirk, Denbighshire, Wales Genealogy

Wales

Wrexham

Denbighshire Parishes

Chirk

Eglwys y waun.png

Chirk (Welsh: Y Waun) is a small town, community and ecclesiastical parish in the Wrexham, Wales, between the towns of Wrexham and Oswestry.

History

CHIRK, a parish, in the union of Oswestry, hundred of Chirk, county of Denbigh, North Wales, 5¾ miles (N.) from Oswestry, on the road from London to Holyhead and Dublin. This parish is remarkable in history as the scene of a conflict between part of the forces of Henry II. and the Welsh, which took place in 1165, in a deep and picturesque valley, along which runs the river Ceiriog, on the west and south sides of Chirk Castle. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a handsome edifice, with a square tower containing a ring of bells, and measures fifty-seven feet in length and thirty-nine in width.

The town of Chirk, and much of the surrounding area was for centuries under the influence of nearby Chirk Castle and, later, the Trevor family of Brynkinallt in Chirk.

The parish of Chirk was divided into five townships:

• Chirk
• Halton (Welsh: Halchdyn)
• Brynkinallt (Welsh: Bryncunallt)
• Pen y Clawdd
• Gwernospin

Chirk was formerly a coal mining community, with coal being worked since the 17th century. The largest of these collieries were Black Park (one of the oldest in the north of Wales) and Brynkinallt. All mining ceased in the area during the 1960s.

It was a coaching stop on the old mail coach route along the A5 road from London to Holyhead.

The Chester to Ruabon railway had been extended south to Shrewsbury by 1848 with stations at Llangollen Road (at Whitehurst) and Chirk. South of the town a railway viaduct was constructed by Henry Robertson to take the line over the Ceiriog Valley.

Chirk Parish
Jurisdictions
County bef 1974	add here
County 1 Apr 1974-31 Mar 1996	add here
County 1 Apr 1996 -	add here
Civ Reg District	Oswestry (1881)
Reg Sub-district	St. Martin (1881)
Probate Court	add here
Diocese	add here
Rural Deanery	add here
Chapelry	add here
Poor Law Union	Oswestry
Hundred	Chirk
Province	add here
Hamlets	add here

Administration

Years	County
before1536	Chirkland
1536 - 31 March 1974	Denbighshire
1 April 1974 - 31 March 1996	Clwyd
from 1 April 1996	Wrexham

Census
Year	Pop.	%±
1801		—
1811		—
1821		—
1831		—
1841		—
1851		—
1861		—
1881		—
1891		—
1901		—
1911		—
SOURCE

Resources

Census Records

Census records from 1841 to 1911 are available online. For access, see England Census Records and Indexes Online. Census records from 1841 to 1891 are also available on film through a FamilySearch Center or at the FamilySearch Library.

Church Records

Parish Registers

Church of Wales Chapels and Parish Registers
Parish		Baptisms		Marriages		Burials
PARISH NAME		[URL YEARS]		[URL YEARS]		[URL YEARS]
PARISH NAME		[URL YEARS]		[URL YEARS]		[URL YEARS]
PARISH NAME		[URL YEARS]		[URL YEARS]		[URL YEARS]
Bishop's Transcripts
Bishop Transcripts: Christenings, Marriages, Burials and Christenings and Burials		[URL YEARS]

Parish Chest

Vestry minutes (DATES) are at the [URL ARCHIVE].

Church warden accounts (DATES) are at the [URL ARCHIVE].

Tithe Records

The tithe agreement date for Chirk was DATE.

Nonconformist Chapel Records

XXXX-XXXX denotes that the information has not been compiled yet.

Chapel	Denomination	Year Founded	Baptism	Marriage	Death
CHAPELNAME	DENOMINATION	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]
CHAPELNAME	DENOMINATION	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]
CHAPELNAME	DENOMINATION	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]
CHAPELNAME	DENOMINATION	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]
CHAPELNAME	DENOMINATION	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]
CHAPELNAME	DENOMINATION	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]
CHAPELNAME	DENOMINATION	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]
CHAPELNAME	DENOMINATION	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]	[URL YEARS]

Civil Registration

The Civil Registration District for Chirk is DATES AND NAMES CIV REG.

Poor Law Unions

Visit the England and Wales Poor Law Records page for more information.

Research Facilities

Maps and Gazetteers

• Chirk at Vision of Britain

Bibliography

• C Neville Hurdsman, "A History of the Parish of Chirk", 1996, ISBN:187242452X

Websites

• Chirk Parish Church at Clwyd FHS
• Chirk War Memorial at Clwyd FHS