Acton Park, Wrexham
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[edit] Geography
Acton Park is a residential area in the Welsh county borough of Wrexham. It neighbours other communities such as Borras, Rhosddu and Garden Village. Acton Park itself is a landscaped Parkland with mature specimen trees and gently undulating expanses of grass areas with recent tree planting. There are also areas of ornamental shrubberies, and wild bulb planting. It is often referred to locally as Acton.
[edit] Acton estate
The lake provides the centre feature of the park. It was originally constructed using puddled clay in the 18th Century but during the 1970's, the pond was drained and butyl lined. Fishing is popular on the lake with platforms provided for disabled anglers. (The lake is closed for fishing during the Wildfowl nesting period). A wetland area exists and supports a diverse range of wildlife.
A designated area managed to benefit wildlife as one of the Wrexham Bio-diversity Action Plan 'Urban Green Space' areas. Native wild meadow flowers have been planted to the existing grass to assist in providing habitats for insects and other fauna , increasing the bio-diversity of the parkland.
[edit] Park history
The park land was originally laid out in 1785 by the landowner Sir Foster Cunliffe. The whole park was enclosed within a stone wall and were the grounds of Acton Hall. Acton was designed by James Wyatt (For Cunliffe). Many of the beautiful mature specimen trees which survive today were planted at this time and the general park layout and picturesque positioning of the lake were part of the original park layout.
The estate did not remain within the Cunliffe family ownership and has passed through several owners throughout the years. The Jeffreys family lived at Acton Hall in the 17th century. The most famous member of the family being the notorious Hanging Judge Jeffreys, He gained his nickname because of the punishment he handed out at the trials of the supporters of the Duke of Monmouth. In 1688 when James II fled the country, Jeffreys was placed in the Tower of London for his own safety. He died there the following year at 44 of kidney disease. Judge Jeffreys's ghost is said to haunt Acton Park as he does with many of the homes that he lived in.
In 1947 the Council was presented with the hall and parklands by, the then owner, Alderman William Aston. By then the grounds had become very overgrown and a programme of restoration was implemented.
[edit] Housing
Between 1930 & 1970, about half of the park was developed as an area for housing. The remaining 55 acres of the original estate forms the majority of the present day park. Recently, 2005, the Acton Hall as been rebuilt by Bloorhomes and has been sold off as Exclusive apartments, there is also a small number of houses to the back of the hall which is still within the oringal boundaries of working Acton Hall. A number of the 'older' work house can still be seen within the grounds.
Even though the area was not initially designed as a 'park', it now features a bowling green, tennis courts, children's play areas, a Japanese garden, Gorsedd and a lake with abundant wildlife. The park is a jewel to the town of Wrexham and is very well preserved.
[edit] External Links
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