Chirk, Denbighshire, Wales Genealogy

Chirk (Welsh: Y Waun) is a small town in the north-east of Wales, between Wrexham and Oswestry. Until 1974 Chirk was in the ancient county of Denbighshire, and between 1974 and 1996 it was part of the newly formed county of Clwyd. Since 1996 it has been part of the County Borough of Wrexham

History
The town of Chirk, and much of the surrounding area was for centuries under the influence of nearby Chirk Castle and, later, the Trevor family of Brynkinallt (Welsh: Bryncunallt) in Chirk.

Chirk was formerly a coal mining community, with coal being worked since the 17th century. The largest of these collieries were Black Park (one of the oldest in the north of Wales) and Brynkinallt. All mining ceased in the area during the 1960s.

It was a coaching stop on the old mail coach route along the A5 road from London to Holyhead.

The Chester to Ruabon railway had been extended south to Shrewsbury by 1848 with stations at Llangollen Road (at Whitehurst) and Chirk. South of the town a railway viaduct was constructed by Henry Robertson to take the line over the Ceiriog Valley.

Census Records
The parish of Chirk formed part of the Oswestry Registrar's District.

Church Records
The following Parish Registers have been deposited at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth:

Civil Records
The parish of Chirk formed part of the St. Martin's sub-district of the Oswestry Registration District and any entries for births, marriages or deaths from 1837 in Chirk will appear as Oswestry in the GRO Indexes.

Poor Law Union
In 1791, the Hundred of Oswestry and the border parishes of Chirk and Llansilin were incorporated under a local Act for poor relief. A workhouse was built at Morda.

The records for the Oswestry Union are held at Shropshire Record Office in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England.