Croes Eneurys

Wrexham

Alas. Much of ancient Wrexham has gone - buried, burned or battered down to rubble, a fate shared by the Town’s(1) medieval crossary. Edward Lhuyd mentions eight crosses in Wrexham, none of which now remain in anything other than placename… other than the startling, deeply incised cross base of Croes Eneurys, which he refers to, quite simply as,

‘Croes Aneirys in ye Township of Acton.’

Despite the considerable amount of development in the area since Medieval times, it would seem, in fact, that Croes Eneurys is still sited close to its original position. Edward Norden, writing in 1620, some decades earlier than Lhuyd, states that the field known as ‘Kae’r Croes’ lay next to ‘Croes ye Erios’. We cannot be clear as to the condition of the cross at the time of Norden, or indeed Lhuyd - the authors effectively bookend the worst of the 17th century religious iconoclasm - but it is hard to suppose that it survived the turbulence of the times unscathed.

Towards the end of the 18th century, the road was diverted to what is near enough its current position, and it may be that it was at this time that the cross, or what remained of it, was removed from its original position and placed a short distance to the west, neighbouring a field which then took its name from the cross - Erw’r Groes.(2) It is believed that the cross stood at this spot until sometime in the early 19th century when it was removed once again, this time by the new owner of Acton Hall, Sir Foster Cunliffe (1755-1834), who had it fixed, mistakenly upside down it seems, into the boundary wall of his estate,(3) and directly opposite the trackway, now a road by the name of Acton Gate, to Croes-Eneurys Farm. It is believed that it was at this time that the startling, deeply incised cross was cut into the road facing front, apparently in an effort to, ‘render it recognisable.’(4)

What remains of the cross projects some 0.25 m above the level of the original wall, the whole being about 0.68m tall and roughly the same in width. Curiously, at the time of the Royal Commission’s visit in 1911, they identified part of the pillar as leaning against a house trough at the nearby summit of Acton Hill. As with much of Wrexham’s physical past, this has long since disappeared.

Other than the outstanding Church of St Giles, Wrexham hides its past in nooks and crannies, in ginnels and snickets - in the earth, beneath tar macadam and in threads of memory. But the past is still here, in the Town, if one knows where to look. The curious Croes Eneurys speaks the truth of that.

Footnotes

1. Yes, I know it's a city now, and that’s lovely, but it will always be The Town to me.

2. Within the housing which sits upon the site of Erw’r Groes, a road continues to bear witness to its past - Eneurys Road.

3. The boundary wall, along with the original estate gates, are now the only remaining parts of Acton Hall still extant.

4. Royal Commission, Ancient Monuments, Denbigh, p.12