Wrexham in 1833 - a town of 5,500 people. To the north the town reached only as far as Llwyn Isaf, to the east as far the Beast Market (now St George's Crescent) and to the west as far as King Street. Below the Parish Church of St Giles, the town's industries hugged the River Gwenfro. The town ended at Pentrefelin and Pen y Bryn, while Mount Street and Salop Street gave way to farmland and Eagles Meadow.

Wrexham's growing population and the rising expectations of its residents led the town to expand. Housing varied. Villas for the professionals along Grosvenor Road and in Grove Park. Cramped courtyard developments along Brook Street or the better terraced housing in Newtown off Bradley Road for working people.

The respected town planner, Patrick Abercrombie, was asked to plan Wrexham's growth in 1918. Garden Village, Acton Park, Spring Lodge and, later in the 1950s, Queen's Park were the cutting edge response to the housing needs of 20th century Wrexham. Development continues but without the idealism of postwar years.

Part 5