Cilla Black's Welsh roots
Last updated: 09 October 2007
Cilla Black has discovered her ancestors came from Wrexham and Flintshire and she visited the area to find out more about her Welsh roots.
Cilla discovered her grandather Joseph Blythen came from Bieston, an old suburb of Wrexham, and one of her great-grandmothers lived in Holywell workhouse in 1842.
With the help of programme researchers, Cilla managed to trace her family back almost 300 years and encountered a number of suprises. Her journey took her to the old workhouse in Holywell, which is now Lluesty Hospital, and she was given a tour by maintenance worker Ken Baker.
Cilla also went on a visit of Wrexham town centre and to Bangor Isycoed Church as well as pouring over the archives in Wrexham Museum.
One of the highlights was meeting Gwen Poole, a distant relative of Cilla's who still lives in Wrexham and was able to offer more of an insight into Cilla's Welsh ancestry. The programme, broadcast on St David's Day 2006 on
BBC 1 Wales was called
Coming Home with Cilla Black.
External weblinks:
www.workhouses.org.uk - Holywell Workhouse history
icnorthwales.co.uk - Full story of Cilla's Welsh ancestry
Internal weblinks:
Holywell mini site
Wrexham mini site