Wrexham is about to step back into one of the most extraordinary years in its history, as a new programme of events marking the town’s 1876 “Year of Wonder” gets underway.
Local Actors
The festival was officially launched at a special public event in Wrexham Library in January. On the night, local actors gave voice to some of the larger-than-life figures who shaped Wrexham during that remarkable Victorian year, bringing their stories back to life in the very heart of the town.
The Year of Wonder was not a single moment, but an almost improbable run of achievements and firsts that briefly placed Wrexham at the centre of Welsh cultural, sporting and civic life. In February 1876, the Football Association of Wales was founded in the town, laying the groundwork for the first Welsh national football team and a legacy that still resonates today.
That same year also saw the opening of Ruabon Road Cemetery, designed as a landscaped “garden cemetery” at a time when public green spaces were becoming symbols of progress and civic pride. Intended to rival the great Victorian cemeteries such as Highgate, it reflected Wrexham’s growing confidence and ambition.
An Extraordinary Undertaking
Perhaps the most spectacular event of all followed in the summer, when Wrexham hosted the Art Treasures and Industrial Exhibition of North Wales and the Border Counties. Running for four months, the exhibition attracted tens of thousands of visitors and featured more than a thousand works of art, alongside industrial displays, concerts, lectures and daily performances. For a provincial town, it was an extraordinary undertaking, briefly transforming Wrexham into a cultural destination on a national scale.
Later that year came another milestone, as Wrexham hosted the National Eisteddfod for the first time. It proved unforgettable, not least because of the poignancy surrounding the chairing of the bard, an episode that entered Welsh cultural memory. Alongside these headline events were other signs of a town on the move, including the arrival of horse-drawn trams and a revival of local horticultural shows, circuses and public celebrations.
Programme of Activities
To mark the 150th anniversary of that extraordinary year, more than 30 organisations from across Wrexham have joined forces to deliver a year-long programme of activities. The festival will look back at the events of 1876 while also celebrating the town’s arts, culture, industry and heritage as they exist today, and as they are still evolving.
For more information, email library@wrexham.gov.uk. You can also find out more at wrecsam1876.co.uk or on Facebook.
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