The forgotten gentry of Gwernygaseg

Gwernygaseg, a substantial stone-built farmhouse, sits in a hollow formed where the Gwenfro meets a tributary stream, its grounds shaded by pines. The name means something like “the mare’s alder grove” or “the mare’s marsh”, depending on the exact translation of gwern, a word described by Alfred Palmer as corresponding closely to the old English term carr. Although always rated under Brymbo, the farm’s location on the bank of the Gwenfro meant it was only just within the borders of Brymbo township, and the majority of the land attached to it – including, for a period, Cae Fadog farm – was in fact in Minera.