Coedpoeth is a relatively large village situated three miles north west of Wrexham. 'Coed' is Welsh for 'wood' and 'poeth' means 'hot,' and according to Coedpoeth Community Council the name is 'popularly believed to derive from the production of charcoal for the smelting of iron and lead that was carried out in this area as far back as Roman times.' Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust, however, state that 'the significance of that name can only be guessed at.'
Although the earliest appearance of Coedpoeth as a settlement has not been established, 'coal was mined in the area from at least the early 15th century.' (CPAT) Despite this, there was little in the way of development in the area and 'an estate map of 1740 depicts a road (now the A525) with virtually unoccupied open hillside on either side. Eastwards, where now large estates back on to Offa's Dyke, the ground was then reclaimed for farming but with only a scatter of dwellings.' This means that the Coedpoeth is essentially a nineteenth century mining village, and the 'residue of industrial activity, particularly of coal mining, remains in some places.'
As Coedpoeth expanded, it absorbed previously separate villages. According to the Coedpoeth Community Council website these were: 'the Nant to the South which was supported by two mills on the River Clywedog and by the late 18th century had become a centre of industrial activity. Yr Adwy'r Clawdd to the North East was named after a gap in Offa's Dyke where merchant traffic passed. Cattle drovers, some of whom went as far as London, had to pay to pass through Offa's Dyke at the toll gates. Talwrn to the North West was home to several small scale coal mines. The first recorded reference to coal mining was in 1411 and was extracted from the area up until 1945. The Smelt was to the East, and so named as it was where smelting was believed to take place. Charcoal fuelled the smelt until the late 18th century when it was gradually replaced by coal in the form of coke.'
In the twenty-first century Coedpoeth has several amenities including two primary schools. Penygelli Primary school teaches around 240 pupils through the medium of English, whilst Ysgol Bryn Tabor teaches approximately 240 pupils through the medium of Welsh. The village also has a library, a police station and an 'Enterprise & Lifelong Learning Centre.'
Sources: modern and historic OS maps; Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust (reference number 15645); Estyn report on Penygelli school published in November 2014 and Ysgol Bryn Tabor published in January 2013; www.coedpoeth.com; www.wrexham.gov.uk
M. Ryder, RCAHMW, 8th January 2019