IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Old Wrexham Road, WREXHAM, LL12 8UA

Looking south west on the B5445.

Now the B5445, this was formerly a stretch of the A483 but Gresford and other villages along this route have now been by-passed. Pikey Lane leads off to the right.

This carved bell appears to be a tribute to the fact that the bells at Gresford church are one of the seven wonders of Wales and whilst the road junction did in former years have a tree on the site along with the base of an old cross (just visible in the background) it had long since disappeared. However this finely carved tree stump has replaced what was "The old cross tree" with a welcome to the village in English and Welsh.

The metal fence here seems to regularly carry banners advertising local events. The village beer festival is taking place on Saturday 22nd June, and if that results in putting on some weight then there are 'legs, bums and tums' fitness classes in the Memorial Hall on Wednesday evenings to help take it off again.

Here the B5373 leaves the B5445 and heads towards Gresford church. The large block of stone in the centre of the photo is recorded as a cross base on the O.S. maps. However, for Mark 107 on the surveyor's schedule for the First Geodetic Levelling it is recorded as a font. I don't know what it is, other than to say it does have a significant hole in the top, which may have held a stone pillar - nowadays it is a flower pot. I can find no sign of the cut mark from that early survey, which may be on the low stone plinth and be hidden by the modern paved area, or it may just have weathered away over time. For a close up of one side of the stone see Image

This old cross base, according to the O.S., has stood at the junction of Clappers Lane with Chester Road for a very long time. It marks the turning for Gresford church from the main road between Wrexham and Chester. The schedule for the first Ordnance Survey records that a cut mark was made on an 'old font' at this junction. However, despite the large hole in the top of the stone (now used as a planter) it doesn't look much like a font. I have found no sign of the cut mark. See also Image

The unusual bell sculpture was made from the trunk of an oak tree by Simon O' Rourke on the site of an old wayside cross. Around the sculpture Gresford Women's Institute has planted a small garden.