Acrefair's Blue Bell

Last updated: 12 May 2009

your comments

Linda Banks (nee Richards) Australia
I used to live in Garden Cottage the house above where Stan and John lived. I have many happy memories of living there with Stan and John such fantastic neighbours and characters. John loved to cook and always had something 'tasty' going on the big stove in the kitchen - he used to put his thumb and middle finger together and kiss them - like a french chef would to indicate how good his cooking was. I remember the Blue Bell and Eighteen Banks - my cousin Pete (Roberts) would have camps (with a gang of others) and bake potatoes on an open fire. We had no electric until the 60s and my dad (Cecil Richards) would run a TV from a generator he built in the shed. Stan and John would also have a generator in their shed which was much bigger than ours - but if it broke down during 'Rawhide' then it would be a major disaster. It seemed to me as a kid that there was always something going on on Stan's field - football or cricket. What great days they were.
Tue May 12 09:19:31 2009

Bryan Jones, Canada
Can anyone refresh my memory or did I just imagine it, but I seem to remember that when I visited the Bluebell in the 60s that I had to stand in a shallow pit in the floor to throw darts because the roof beams were too low for the trajectory of the darts.
Thu Apr 2 08:27:48 2009

Lesley Lawton, Nantwich
Thanks for your memories of Dad and his love of all things mechanical. Dad recently took us on a drive around the lanes he used to frequent in his old car. He has recently rekindled his love of motor bikes and bought a bit of a wreck which he has brought back to life, and is now preparing to take his bike test! On the subject of John Ernie, I don't really know a lot about him, I just have a very vague memory of him being in the house when we visited. Other members of the family were Percy, William and Catherine. She married Oswald Williams and lived at Higham Villas on Llangollen road. I know nothing about Percy or William. I drove past Westland house a couple of weeks ago, it looks so different, it always seemed so big!
Tue Jan 27 10:43:46 2009

Chistine Madsen
For Gareth, my taid - Will hard hat - was related to Charlie "tripe", not sure how though, was Charlie John Ernie's brother?
Wed Jan 21 14:39:41 2009

Gareth Davies, ex-Acrefair
Hi Lesley. I can remember your dad Stan Hayward very well; he was big friends with my cousin Michael Hughes. He'd be a couple of years older than me and he lived with his dad and Uncle John (John Ernie Tripe). We had some great times riding our motobikes around eighteen banks and keeping them in Stan's shed. The first one we bought was for £3 from someone who lived in Cae Coch. It was a 1937 BSA 500 cc Empire Star. I think it ended its days in the pool at the bottom of the field just where the road bends to the right. We also used to race our pushbikes around the banks as well, the winner getting a bottle of light ale that someone had managed to con Nancy Williams at the Blue Bell that it was for their dad. Stan bought an old car, well a wreck really (it was before the 10 year test, now MOT, was introduced) and we used to pile in and ride around the quiet roads to Penycae and the Garth. Your great Uncle John Ernie was a real character. I think he used to work for Whitley Brothers, Wrexham.
Thu Jan 15 10:15:19 2009

Christine Madsen
Missed the Eagles, Rhosymedre, off my list of pubs. It is now Park View nursing home, of course.
Mon Jan 12 09:08:09 2009

Christine Madsen
I am answering my own question here but I have found out the names of all the old pubs in the area (Thanks Brian!) In the top of Cefn there was The Pigeons, The Foresters Arms, The Britannia, The Prince of Wales, The Old Ship, The Butchers Arms, The Feathers (the old co-op) The Miners Arms, The Grosvenor Arms, The Black Horse, The Red Lion, The Sun and The White Lion. In Acrefair there was The Hampden (Still there) The Black Horse, The Red Cow, The Blue Bell, The Cheshire, The Tom and Jerry, The Black Lion, The Foresters Arms, The Yew Tree, The Oddfellows Arms, The Eagles and The Duke of Wellington. On The Crane Cefn were there was The Crane Tavern, The Grapes, The Railway, The Cape of Good Hope, The Wheatsheaf and The Green Man. In Rhosymedre there was The Plough, The Golden Lion, The Queens, The Oddfellows, The Harp, Brookside Inn, The Points. In the bottom of Cefn there was The Fighting Cock, The Victoria, The Buck, The Old Star, The Queens and The Mill. Plenty of choice in those days then!
Fri Jan 9 12:33:51 2009

Chistine Madsen
Can anyone tell me the names of the pubs up Cefn Mawr High St leading up to Cae Glo?
Mon Dec 22 09:18:59 2008

Christine Madsen
For Cath Wright, I was a waitress for your mum and dad in the late '70s and did a bit of bar work too. Your dad built a big boat in the yard at that time. I remember you and your brother, the pub was busy then. Your mum was a darn good cook. I can see her now in my mind with her cigarette holder and a big gin and tonic in her hand. I don't smoke but a gin and tonic would go down well. Ice and lemon please!
Mon Dec 1 08:20:35 2008

Lesley Lawton (Hayward) Nantwich
My dad, Stan, used to live in Delph Road, not sure what the house was called, but I remember it being out on its own. Anyone remember him?
Thu Jul 31 11:28:52 2008

Isabel Rowlands
Nigel and myself bought the Blue Bell Inn in 1985. We added the restaurant at the back and had many happy years there. Some of the main characters were bob Watkin, Bronwyn & Arthur, Dave & Sue Gauge, Billy Blue Line.
Wed Jul 9 15:07:42 2008

Chris Madsen
Very sad to hear about the death of Nigel Griffiths who kept the Blue Bell in the 1980s into the '90s. Lovely, kind, full of fun chap.
Tue Apr 29 08:54:02 2008

Phil Davies, Llangollen
Drank in the Bell or the Cheshire, as I knew it, on many occasions. Eddie Evans was a great landlord. Later worked with Marilynne in the Gas Board in Llangollen and Cefn Undertakings. Well remember the showroom in Llan, and our occasional visits to Cardiff. Phil, ex Progress Office
Mon Apr 7 09:31:18 2008

Cath Wright, Acrefair/Cefn
For Marilynne and Gareth Davis. Wow, The Blue Bell, I am Jean and Les Wright's daughter, I think we moved there in 64 or 65, and I know that bedroom well, I spent my teenage yrs in it lol grounded, mind you the 20 yrs we were there I think I slept in every room. I remember Nancy well and the farm as I used to go up there often as a child, my playing grounds as it were and was allowed to help Arthur with the cows, also Gary Roller too if I remember rightly. I also remember that big fat cigar Gareth, what a lovely place that was too, I remember the Border signs being up at the back of the pub but it was Burtonwood when my parents had it. It is an era sadly missed and thinking about the place only tonight made me find this web site and read your recollections, realy great, thanks. Happy new year everyone.
Mon Jan 7 10:30:37 2008

Chris Madsen (Jones) Plas Isaf
To Derek Evans Johnstown, do not excuse yourself. I spoke to Terry the other day and there were more pubs than houses in Rhosymedre by all accounts! You name some that might have been! You were a great help, thank you.
Mon Dec 17 08:14:28 2007

Derek Evans, Johnstown.
To Chris Madsen, My apologies, the other pub on Brook Street was the Red Lion and not the Royal Oak. But we are going back to the 1891 census and it as being at No.18 Brook Street.
Tue Dec 11 08:32:25 2007

Chris Madsen (Jones) Plas Isaf
I have spoken to Terry Owens today and he said his old house in Brook St was once the Brookside Inn so that's solved that one. He had not heard of the Royal Oak and was unsure as to the Points being a pub. He also said at one time there was a farm house on what we know as the church field and the farmer used to drive his cows over the bridge to the dairy in Church St to be milked.
Fri Dec 7 13:22:52 2007

Linda Hall
I spoke to my mum yesterday and she has confirmed that their houses in Brook Street used to be a pub according to my taid (Norman Morris) when he was alive. She also confirmed that Tommy Owens was also a pub many years ago.
Fri Dec 7 12:28:41 2007

Chris Madsen (Jones) Plas Isaf
To Derek Evans, thanks, it was the Brookside Inn that my Dad spoke of, somewhere near to Tommy Owens' house. Wonder where Royal Oak was then? There would only have been a few cottages in that area then, wouldn't they?
Fri Dec 7 10:08:29 2007

Linda Hall
I'm not sure if my mum (Norma Morris) said that their house 2 New Terrace in Brook Street Rhosymedre used to be a pub, it had a cellar in it. I will check with her tonight and get back to you.
Thu Dec 6 10:51:07 2007

Derek Evans, Johnstown.
To Chris Madsen, there have been a couple of other pubs in the past on Brook Street such as the Royal Oak and the Brookside Inn which features on the 81, 91 and the 1901 censuses.
Wed Dec 5 14:39:13 2007

Chris Madsen (Jones), Plas Isaf
Just thinking of the shape of Tommy Owens' house in Brook St, Rhosymedre, could that have been a pub? Rob if you read this, can you ask your Dad? My mum thinks it may have been the pub that my dad remembers.
Tue Nov 27 09:18:31 2007

Chris Madsen (Jones), Plas Isaf
My dear dad used to mention a pub near where Tommy Owens lived in Brook St, Rhosymedre, not the Eagles and not the Points which also may have been a pub so I have heard, alas I cannot remember the name of it.
Thu Nov 15 14:04:39 2007

Gareth Davies, ex-Acrefair
Marilynne I think it was Robert William you refer to; Arthur would have enjoyed more than one pint! I can also remember painting the white posts that marked out the car park for Nancy. In the living room over the fireplace was a picture of Sir Winston Churchill with one of his cigars in a glass case underneath. I can remember my brother taking of the "American Bar" which was in the Blue Bell. I assume it was the main bar which served the two rooms which must have been unique for its time. After your parents gave it up I used to go there for meals in the evenings when it was managed by Les and Jean (?). It was a lovely traditional pub now lost.
Tue Aug 21 10:10:45 2007

Jess Jones, Wrexham
This pub the Blue Bell was owned by my nanny. When I was little she was the last tenant before they turned it into a taxi firm and all of our family regret that it is now not the attractive pub it once was. I loved the Blue Bell pub when I was younger but the only thing is that place is haunted. I can't find anything on the history of it and why it would be haunted if anyone knows any where i can look let me know
Wed Jul 25 08:51:02 2007

Rob Holt from Cardiff
I remember when my father used to go fly fishing by the Blue Bell, his name is Andy Holt. Unfortunately it's a taxi house now and I will always remember when I was a lad the jukebox they used to have in there.
Tue Jul 24 15:16:53 2007

Marilynne Strefford, Cefn Mawr/Buckley
For Gareth Davies. I also had a room that overlooked the car park, it was next to a small room with bars on the window where my parents kept all the spirit and tobacco stock. The Bell was a Burtonwood pub but it also sold Wrexham Larger which was very popular, especially in the summer months. I also remember Nancy's brother who called in most nights for a drink and a game of fives and threes, he was always the first customer of the night, he would have one drink and then go on his way. I think he lived on a farm just up the road and would call in on his way to visit friends in Acrefair.
Mon Apr 30 08:36:10 2007

Gareth Davies, ex-Acrefair
Thank you for your memories. Sometime in the 60s I too "lived" in the Blue Bell or Cheshire as many locals referred to it. It was after Bill Cheetham passed away and his wife Nancy wanted a "man about the place" because otherwise whe would have been on her own. My mother volunteered me for some reason, hardly a man, more a school boy, and I can't remember how long it was for I slept there. My room over looked the car park and as a special treat I was periodically allowed a bottle of light ale - drunk with a straw I might add just in case the police called in! My Uncle Richard Philip Williams who taught me to play darts in the Blue Bell was Nancy's brother, her younger brother was Arthur a great friend of George Watkin and her elder brother was Robert who farmed Ty'n y Pistyll with her sister Rosie. I think that Nancy went to live with them after she gave up the tenancy and your Mum and Dad must have been the next tenants. Was the Blue Bell a Burtonwood house? It certainly wasn't Border or Banks'.
Fri Apr 20 15:42:23 2007

TOM HUGHES, DONCASTER
To Jack, Chirk, thanks for that but the Turf Hotel I have is listed on the marriage certificate as Turf Hotel, Broughton. The landlord at the time 1918 played rugby for Wales but name not known.
Mon Jan 8 10:20:39 2007

Jack, Chirk
To Tom Hughes, Doncaster, the only Turf Hotel is in Mold Road, Wrexham, by the football ground.
Tue Jan 2 10:59:30 2007

Jack, Chirk
34 pubs in Cefn alone, I know this because I went to all of them!
Fri Dec 29 13:13:06 2006

Tom Hughes, Doncaster
Are there any recollections of the Turf Hotel in Broughton or there about in the 1900s?
Thu Dec 28 13:43:37 2006

Pale ale, Border brown & a bottle of exhibition
I am really surprised that this page has not taken off with all the local pubs past to present and all the characters past to present who crammed these cosy joints. Joe Goodfellow, Derek Young, Andy Brown all ex landlords of the Queens Hotel. The Pete Savage years at the Mill. Viv Francis years at the Vaults and so on, etc...oh! and Arnold at the Holly. I'm sure some of you guys can go back further with some of the landlords who kept these magnificent public houses, eg who ever had a pint in the Grovener at the top of Cefn when did it close? How many pubs were there in Cefn at one time!
Thu Oct 26 15:38:05 2006

Susan Gordon Jones (Whitehead)
For Marilynne: it is the 15th actually but not a bad memory after .... years!!
Mon Jul 31 09:54:02 2006

Marilynne Strefford, Buckley/Cefn Mawr.
for Susan Gordon Jones. I think that you are being very kind, I certainly feel all of the ... years that we both become in August. All the very best to you for the 3rd, if my memory is correct. You are right that is the Kim we had in the Dolydd. Have you seen the photograph on the Acrefair page of St Paul's Sunday School party, we all seem to be on that particular one, also the picture of Bob Parks taken with my dad taken in the Blue Bell.
Tue Jul 18 09:35:27 2006

Susan Gordon Jones née Whitehead Cefn Mawr and SW
It was a lovely surprise to see your photgraph on this page, you have not changed a bit! I think I remember Kim, was he the wire haired fox terrier you had when you lived in the Dolydd? All the best for 1st August!
Mon Jul 17 10:07:44 2006

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