Volunteers

Acton Park has independent volunteers working throughout the year. They contribute a great deal of time and effort to the park and are very much appreciated.

The groups work on many different tasks, which have included:

• painting
• vegetation clearance
• weeding /pruning
• litter picking

For more information you can email countryparks@wrexham.gov.uk or call 01978 822780. You could also get involved with volunteering activities through the Friends of Acton Park group.

Friends of Acton Park

If you would like to have your say in the future of Acton Park, you could join the ‘Friends of Acton Park'.

Formed in 2008, the group has raised money to spend on the park for items such as picnic benches and a range of other projects. 

The group also volunteer regularly to help maintain the park, through:

• practical conservation work / gardening
• helping with events

For more information you can email countryparks@wrexham.gov.uk or call 01978 822780.

The park has a modern play area for toddlers and juniors. The area is fenced to prevent access by dogs and safer surface is provided beneath the play equipment.

There are two tarmac tennis courts in the park. The courts are free to use and are open all year round.

The lake provides the centre feature of the park. It was originally constructed using puddled clay in the 18th century but during the 1970s, the pond was drained and butyl lined.

Fishing is popular on the lake with the Acton Park Community Angling Club being the resident club. Fishing is restricted to members and day tickets anglers. Day tickets are available from fishing tackle shops in the Wrexham area.

A wetland area exists and supports a diverse range of wildlife. The lake is closed for fishing during the Wildfowl nesting period.

There are various areas managed to encourage wildflowers and biodiversity in the park, providing habitats for insects and other fauna.

These areas have been planted with native wildflowers and are left uncut during the summer.

The park has a network of paths, offering good access to all areas of the site. The paths are finished in a mixture of surfaces, with the majority being tarmac. 

The land that the park is on has had several owners in the past, having previously been part of the Acton Hall Estate.

In the 16th century it was owned by the Jeffreys family. Acton Hall was the birthplace in 1645 of George Jeffreys, the ‘Hanging Judge’. Jeffreys became notorious for the harsh sentences he handed down to followers of Monmouth’s rebellion in 1685.

After the Jeffreys, Acton Hall was home to Philip Egerton and then Ellis Yonge.

In the 18th century the estate was purchased by Sir Foster Cunliffe, whose family fortune had been made through the slave trade. The park itself was originally designed as a piece of parkland for the Cunliffe family, who used it for activities such as hunting.

The land was used as a training ground in World War One, and following on from this the park was bought by the diamond merchant Sir Bernard Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer sold part of the land to the Wrexham Council for housing.

William Aston, a leading furniture maker, was the next owner of the estate and he used the hall as a showroom for his furniture range. This allowed public access to the hall and park for the first time. People were able to enjoy boating on the lake, a lakeside tea room, an oriental garden and theatre performances. The Second World War halted these activities, when the site was used as a base and training facility for servicemen of all nationalities.

In 1947 the hall and park were presented to Wrexham Borough Council. New facilities were developed to service the growing population (including a bowling green, tennis courts and play areas).

Unfortunately due to its poor state the hall was demolished in 1956/1957 and other features such as the Japanese bridge over part of the lake was lost.

House building continued on the park until the 1970s and more recently apartments have been developed on the site of the former hall, recreated in a similar style.

See on site information boards for details on any upcoming events.

You can also contact the Friends of Acton Park group who organise events at the park.