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Bersham Heritage Centre, in the heart of the attractive Clywedog Valley, is Wrexham's centre for Industrial Heritage and home to the Museum Service's Industrial History collections. The Centre itself is on the site of an important 18th Century industrial complex.
Background History
Like many of the properties in Bersham, the Heritage Centre is a historical site in its own right. John Wilkinson had his East Works, a part of the Bersham Ironworks complex where the Heritage Centre now is. This area was known as Rolling Mill meadow, a name that hints at the work taking place, and some of the boring mills that made the cylinders and cannons were located here.
After the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 the Bersham Ironworks went into decline. In 1818 the site was leased to the Harris family and they opened a paper mill at Bersham. There were two further paper mills down stream at the Turkey and Esless mills.
In 1874 the Heritage Centre building was built as the Board school for the children of Bersham. Bersham School finally closed in 1961.
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