GRESFORD, a parish partly in the hundred of BROMFIELD, county of DENBIGH, and partly in the hundred of MAELOR, county of FLINT,
NORTH WALES, 3 miles (N. E.) from Wrexham, comprising the lordship of Merford and Hoseley, which supports its poor by a
separate assessment, and containing 3849 inhabitants.. This parish is supposed to have derived its name, anciently Croes-
fordd, or " the road to the cross," from its situation near an ancient cross, within half a mile to the south of the
present church, of which the shaft is still remaining. It is very extensive, comprising upwards of twelve thousand acres ;
and the village is delightfully situated on the western side of the road from Wrexham to Chester, near the head of a
beautiful valley, which opens into the Vale Royal of Cheshire, a tract of country remarkable for the richness of its soil,
the beauty of its scenery, and the pleasingly diversified views which it presents. The little vale of Gresford is one of
the most lovely in the principality, abounding with pleasing and interesting objects, enlivened by the meanderings of the
river Alyn through its meadows, and finely varied with richly wooded eminences, on one of which stands conspicuously its
beautiful church, remarkable for the elegance of its architecture and its picturesque appearance; the plantations and
pleasure grounds attached to the elegant villas and rural mansions which are scattered throughout this small but romantic
dell combine, with the natural beauties of its scenery, to render it in every respect one of the most interesting and
attractive spots in this part of the country. Fairs for cattle are held on the second Monday in April, the last Monday in
August, Easter Monday, June 24th, August 21st, and October 22nd. Deeply sheltered in the vale is Gresford Lodge, the seat
of Mrs. W. Egerton, a stately and elegant mansion, designed by Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, and one of the most tasteful and
highly finished edifices erected by this distinguished architect. In this parish are also, Erddig, the seat of S. Yorke,
Esq., situated in a detached portion of it, the grounds of which are disposed with great taste, and are beautifully
adorned with wood; Gwersylt Park, that of John Williams, Esq.; Trevalyn Hall, the ancient mansion of the Trevors ;
Trevalyn House; and several other mansions. It is bounded on the east by the Dee, and is intersected by the Alyn, a
tributary of that river: on the banks of these streams and of the Pulford brook are extensive but not very rich tracts of
meadow, which are frequently flooded: the soil is tolerably good. Coal is found within the parish, and mines are worked
to a considerable extent in Gwersylt township, where are also some mills for drawing wire, which afford employment to a
small number of persons. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of St. Asaph, rated in the king's books
at £21. 2. 31., endowed with five-sixteenths of the great tithes, and in the patronage of the Bishop of St. Asaph. The
church, dedicated to All Saints, is a spacious and elegant structure, in the later style of English architecture, with a
lofty square embattled tower, of fine proportions, and richly ornamented on the summit with the figures of the twelve
apostles, alternated with crocketed pinnacles, and in the south-west angle with an elaborately enriched ogee canopy,
surmounting a niche of beautiful design, in which is a statue of Henry VII. The interior consists of a nave, chancel, and
north and south aisles, the roofs of which are of oak, panelled, and profusely ornamented with fruit and flowers
exquisitely carved: the ancient rood-loft screen, which is of very superior workmanship, is still remaining entire, and
separates the nave from the chancel; in the latter are twelve ancient stalls of oak richly carved. In the north aisle is
a beautiful niche, surmounted by an enriched canopy, and in the south aisle a piscina of elegant design: in several of
the windows are some fine remains of ancient stained glass. Under an arch in the north aisle is an ancient stone coffin,
on the lid of which is a shield charged with armorial bearings, round which is inscribed Mac jacet Gronow ap forworthap
Dafydd, &c., with the date 1321; and under a flat arch in the south aisle is an altar-tomb, with a recumbent effigy
clothed in chain mail, supposed to be that of Madoc ab Llewelyn ab Grufydd. There are several monuments to the family of
Trevor of Trevalyn, one of which, erected in 1638, during his lifetime, is to the memory of Sir Richard Trevor and his
wife Catherine, who are represented in a kneeling posture: the inscription records that he served thirty years in the
wars in Ireland, and was governor of Newry, the counties of Down and Armagh, and vice-admiral of North Wales, and that he
lived to see his great grandchildren. In the chancel are, a monument by Westmacott to the memory of J. Parry, Esq., late
M. P. for the county of Carnarvon; and a white marble tablet to the memory of William Egerton, Esq., with a bust of this
gentleman, finely executed by Chantrey. There was formerly a chapel of ease at Allington, but no vestiges of it are now
discernible, except the cemetery. At Gwersylt is a place of worship for Baptists; at Allington, one for Calvinistic
Methodists; and at Merford, one for Wesleyan Methodists. Dame Margaret Strode, widow of Sir George Strode, of the Inner
Temple, Londonr, by will in 1715, gave £500 in trust to the Bishop of St. Asaph and others, for the purchase of lands, the
produce of which was to be appropriated to clothing and instructing three poor boys and three poor girls of this parish,
and, if the funds would suffice, to apprenticing them to masters and mistresses of the church of England. Of this sum,
A450 was vested in the purchase of land in this parish, (ARE producing a rental of A 18 per annum. Dame Dorothy Jeffreys,
of Acton, in the parish of Wrexham, in 1728, gave £50 in trust for the instruction of poor children of this parish; and
in 1758, the sum of £114, which had accumulated from the former legacy, and A86 from the latter, making together £200,
were placed out in mortgage on a farm purchased by the parish, which now realises five per cent. interest. With these sums
three poor boys and three poor girls are clothed, taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, and, when of a proper age, are
apprenticed with small premiums, when the funds will allow it. In the school-room, which was erected from the funds of
Dame Margaret Strode, and is situated near the church, the children of the parish are, together with those on the
foundation, gratuitously instructed by subscription. Mrs. Shakerley, of Lower Gwersylt, in 1757, bequeathed £200 for the
purchase of lands, directing the rental to be applied in clothing and apprenticing, to husbandry and housewifery, six poor
children of this parish. No application having been made for apprenticing, for several years, this sum has accumulated,
and the proceeds now amount to £45 per annum. Mrs. Jane Shakerley, in 1777, bequeathed 4100, to be applied in the same
manner as the last-named bequest. Mrs. Anne Shakerley, in 1748, and the dowager Lady Williams, sister to these two
benefactresses, each bequeathed 4100, directing the interest to be laid out in clothing the aged poor of the parish, to
which purpose is also applied the interest arisinF from the other benefactions, when no premiums are paid for apprenticing
poor children, according to the intention of the respective benefactors. Near the church, and adjacent to the school-
house, are two unendowed almshouses. Mr. John Davies, of London, in 1595, bequeathed a rent-charge of £13. 6. 8., on his
estate at Allington, to the poor of this parish, among whom are also distributed the proceeds of other charitable
bequests. Wat's Dyke passes through the parish, and may be distinctly traced along the eastern bank of the river Alyn, in
a direction towards Caergwrle. Sir Richard Trevor, whose monument is in the church, was born in this parish, and resided
at the ancient mansion in the township of Allington, or, as it is sometimes called, Trevalyn: in this old hall is his
portrait, with some emblematic allusions to his former life as a warrior, and his subsequent application to devotion and
retirement. At Merford is an ancient British camp, called "the Roft," on an eminence commanding prospects of amazing
extent and variety, chiefly over the Vale of Cheshire; and in the township of Erddig is another strong intrenchment,
called "the Roman Fort." The average annual expenditure for the support of the poor amounts to £1157. 16.