Chirk (Welsh: Y Waun) is a town and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, 10 miles (16 kilometres) south of Wrexham, between it and Oswestry. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 4,468.
Built date unknownLast edited Oct 15, 2026, 3:52 PM
The name of the town in English, Chirk, derives from the name of the River Ceiriog, which itself may mean "the favoured one". The Welsh place name, Y Waun, is literally "The Moor".23
This page is based on “Chirk” from English Wikipedia, (r1366806031) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
The parish church of St Mary's is a Grade I listed building.4 The church building was begun during the 11th century by the Normans, although it is believed that an older llan, dedicated to St Tysilio, had pre-existed on the site. The existing church was dedicated to St Tysilio until the late 15th or early 16th century, after which it was re-dedicated to St Mary. Today, the church is a member of the Open Church Network and participates in the Sacred Space Project.
Chirk was formerly a coal mining community from the 17th to the 20th century. The two largest collieries were Black Park (one of the oldest in the north of Wales) and Brynkinallt (Welsh: Bryncunallt). These coal mines have now closed.
The Chester to Ruabon railway had been extended south to Shrewsbury by 1848, with stations at Llangollen Road (Whitehurst Halt, near Pentre) and Chirk; the Castle owners insisted that the railway not be visible to them and that the station be well outside the town lest it should encourage the populace to travel. South of the town a railway viaduct was constructed by Henry Robertson to take the line over the Ceiriog Valley.
The Llangollen branch of the Shropshire Union Canal runs through Chirk. The canal crosses the Ceiriog Valley (from England into Wales) along Thomas Telford's aqueduct. The aqueduct runs alongside the railway viaduct before the canal enters the Chirk Tunnel.
Modern day
Agriculture continues to be of some importance, as does tourism. The National Trust's Chirk Castle has prominence,5 as does the World Heritage Site of the Llangollen Canal,6 and the local scenery of the Ceiriog Valley and Berwyn Mountains. Manufacturing now plays a prominent position within the local industries, with major international firms such as Kronospan7 and Mondelez UK 8 maintaining sites in the town.
The town has four churches: St Mary's (Church in Wales),4 Chirk Methodist Church, Sacred Heart (Roman Catholic) and the Community Church.
Chirk is served by two local primary schools: Ysgol Y Waun and Pentre Church in Wales Controlled School. Ysgol Y Waun is the main primary school. It was formed in 2012, by the merger of Chirk Infants and Ceiriog Junior. Ysgol Y Waun is a nursery, infant and junior school of mixed gender and lessons are taught through the medium of English. The school has about 335 pupils, with an increasing number of pupils on free school meals: 19.7% in 2014, which is above the Local Authority average but below the Wales average.9
Pentre School is a nursery, infant and junior school of mixed gender. There are approximately 86 pupils on roll who are all taught through the medium of English. Welsh is taught as a compulsory part of the school curriculum as a second language. The school is in a relatively affluent area, with only 15.9% of the school population eligible for free school meals, which is substantially below the Local Authority and Wales averages.9
Most pupils in the community attend Ysgol Dinas Brân, Llangollen, for their secondary education. Ysgol Dinas Brân is a relatively large, bilingual secondary school catering for pupils from ages 11 – 19 (including Sixth Form).10 Other secondary schools in the area include Ysgol Rhiwabon, St Martin's School (Shropshire) and St Joseph's in Wrexham. The area is served by independent schools, such as Moreton Hall and Ellesmere College in neighbouring Shropshire.
Although Chirk is a predominantly English-speaking area, some parents choose to educate their children through the medium of Welsh. The nearest Welsh-medium primary schools are in Glyn Ceiriog and Cefn Mawr. Pupils can then transfer to either Ysgol Dinas Brân, Llangollen or Ysgol Morgan Llwyd, Wrexham for Welsh-medium secondary education.
The Ceiriog Memorial Institute, in the Ceiriog valley, just west of Chirk, is home to a collection of Welsh cultural memorabilia and was founded in the early 1900s to support the Welsh language, culture and heritage for future generations.
In the 2011 census, a total of 3,652 residents (81.7%) have no skills in the Welsh language.1
Chirk was a prominent location in the development of association football in Wales during the late 19th century. The town is home to Chirk AAA F.C., a football team founded in 1876, playing in the Cymru North (the second tier of Welsh football). Chirk AAA FC have a plaque in honour of Billy Meredith (born in the town, and the club where he started his career in 1890); he returned briefly in 1894 before signing for Manchester City. A second plaque to Meredith is situated in Chirk's Millennium Gardens at the Station Avenue entrance to the park and cricket club. It was unveiled on 26 July 2002 by Meredith's daughter Winifrede.
Chirk Golf Club was founded in 1991 and closed in September 2012.15
The name of the town in English, Chirk, derives from the name of the River Ceiriog, which itself may mean "the favoured one". The Welsh place name, Y Waun, is literally "The Moor".23
History and heritage
Chirk Castle, a National Trust property, is a medieval castle. Two families are associated with the town and its castle: the family of and the family. The , a family descended from the ancient kings of , also lived in the area for many years.
The parish church of St Mary's is a Grade I listed building.4 The church building was begun during the 11th century by the Normans, although it is believed that an older llan, dedicated to St Tysilio, had pre-existed on the site. The existing church was dedicated to St Tysilio until the late 15th or early 16th century, after which it was re-dedicated to St Mary. Today, the church is a member of the Open Church Network and participates in the Sacred Space Project.
Chirk was formerly a coal mining community from the 17th to the 20th century. The two largest collieries were Black Park (one of the oldest in the north of Wales) and Brynkinallt (Welsh: Bryncunallt). These coal mines have now closed.
The Chester to Ruabon railway had been extended south to Shrewsbury by 1848, with stations at Llangollen Road (Whitehurst Halt, near Pentre) and Chirk; the Castle owners insisted that the railway not be visible to them and that the station be well outside the town lest it should encourage the populace to travel. South of the town a railway viaduct was constructed by Henry Robertson to take the line over the Ceiriog Valley.
The Llangollen branch of the Shropshire Union Canal runs through Chirk. The canal crosses the Ceiriog Valley (from England into Wales) along Thomas Telford's aqueduct. The aqueduct runs alongside the railway viaduct before the canal enters the Chirk Tunnel.
Modern day
Agriculture continues to be of some importance, as does tourism. The National Trust's Chirk Castle has prominence,5 as does the World Heritage Site of the Llangollen Canal,6 and the local scenery of the Ceiriog Valley and Berwyn Mountains. Manufacturing now plays a prominent position within the local industries, with major international firms such as Kronospan7 and Mondelez UK 8 maintaining sites in the town.
The town has four churches: St Mary's (Church in Wales),4 Chirk Methodist Church, Sacred Heart (Roman Catholic) and the Community Church.
Chirk is served by two local primary schools: Ysgol Y Waun and Pentre Church in Wales Controlled School. Ysgol Y Waun is the main primary school. It was formed in 2012, by the merger of Chirk Infants and Ceiriog Junior. Ysgol Y Waun is a nursery, infant and junior school of mixed gender and lessons are taught through the medium of English. The school has about 335 pupils, with an increasing number of pupils on free school meals: 19.7% in 2014, which is above the Local Authority average but below the Wales average.9
Pentre School is a nursery, infant and junior school of mixed gender. There are approximately 86 pupils on roll who are all taught through the medium of English. Welsh is taught as a compulsory part of the school curriculum as a second language. The school is in a relatively affluent area, with only 15.9% of the school population eligible for free school meals, which is substantially below the Local Authority and Wales averages.9
Most pupils in the community attend Ysgol Dinas Brân, Llangollen, for their secondary education. Ysgol Dinas Brân is a relatively large, bilingual secondary school catering for pupils from ages 11 – 19 (including Sixth Form).10 Other secondary schools in the area include Ysgol Rhiwabon, St Martin's School (Shropshire) and St Joseph's in Wrexham. The area is served by independent schools, such as Moreton Hall and Ellesmere College in neighbouring Shropshire.
Although Chirk is a predominantly English-speaking area, some parents choose to educate their children through the medium of Welsh. The nearest Welsh-medium primary schools are in Glyn Ceiriog and Cefn Mawr. Pupils can then transfer to either Ysgol Dinas Brân, Llangollen or Ysgol Morgan Llwyd, Wrexham for Welsh-medium secondary education.
The Ceiriog Memorial Institute, in the Ceiriog valley, just west of Chirk, is home to a collection of Welsh cultural memorabilia and was founded in the early 1900s to support the Welsh language, culture and heritage for future generations.
In the 2011 census, a total of 3,652 residents (81.7%) have no skills in the Welsh language.1
Chirk was a prominent location in the development of association football in Wales during the late 19th century. The town is home to Chirk AAA F.C., a football team founded in 1876, playing in the Cymru North (the second tier of Welsh football). Chirk AAA FC have a plaque in honour of Billy Meredith (born in the town, and the club where he started his career in 1890); he returned briefly in 1894 before signing for Manchester City. A second plaque to Meredith is situated in Chirk's Millennium Gardens at the Station Avenue entrance to the park and cricket club. It was unveiled on 26 July 2002 by Meredith's daughter Winifrede.
Chirk Golf Club was founded in 1991 and closed in September 2012.15