Who was The Hanging Judge?
Born George Jeffreys in 1645, he became the 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem and was also known for his role in prosecuting participants in the Monmouth (or West Coast) Rebellion. This rebellion took place in 1685 and was an attempt to depose King James II and place the illegitimate son of Charles II, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, on the throne instead.
Judge Jeffreys became known for his brutal prosecution of the rebels and tendency to sentence people to death for minor crimes. He was later appointed the Lord Chancellor and also served as the Lord High Steward. When James II was defeated by William of Orange in 1688, Judge Jeffreys tried to flee the country disguised as a sailor but was caught and imprisoned. He eventually died in the Tower of London in 1689.
Gatewen Hall During the 19th Century
1800s: The Generous Hayes Family at Gatewen Hall
By 1810, Gatewen Hall had been passed on to Thomas Hayes, a man who had made his fortune in the slave trade. Him and his wife brought up five daughters, two of which never married and remained at Gatewen Hall until their deaths. It was during Thomas Hayes’ ownership that the property was remodelled and enlarged to its current size. The style of the house was not overly flamboyant for the time but typical of the late Georgian/Regency period. Improvements included the addition of a main tree lined drive in 1844 that was about a quarter of a mile long and crossed through ‘The Park’ (now a field in front of Gatewen Hall). The long drive came out at a gated entrance at Crispin Lodge on Mold Road while a second gated entrance accessed Gatewen Road. These old driveways no longer exist being reclaimed by field and turf, but the routes are often still visible in the height of summer when grass over the driveways scorches brown.
The Hayes’ Sisters at Gatewen
Gatewen Hall played host to a number of charitable events by Thomas Hayes’ generous and devout daughters. Multiple local newspaper articles from the time document the charitable efforts of the Hayes’ sisters, including the Berse Sunday School afternoon tea which took place at Gatewen Hall annually for over fifty years. Miss Charlotte Hayes is also known to have given lectures in the Town Hall on Prince Charles Stuart in 1875, and the sisters also donated some of their land to form part of the Moss Valley Cricket Club in 1876.
1870s: Rediscovery of the Ffynnon Ddeuno Well Near Gatewen Hall
Located on the Gatewen Estate, the Ffynnon Ddeuno Well is expected to have predated Gatewen Hall and may have once had a small medieval chapel built over it. It wasn’t until the 1870s that the well was rediscovered by the Hayes’ sisters and restored, with a roof and benches built to make it a peaceful place to sit. When the colliery opened near Gatewen Hall, the well was disused and dried up due to mine pumping. The structure above it also vanished.
The Magic Well
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the well was thought by the locals to have restorative properties and be beneficial for those suffering from sores and aches. One local legend is of a young farm worker who, in a rage, tried to decapitate his wife. However, using water from the well, she miraculously survived.
1877: Gatewen Colliery
In 1877, the Gatewen Colliery was opened close to Gatewen Hall. A deed dated 1909 reveals the Hayes family leased land to ‘The Broughton and Plas Power Coal Company Limited’ who mined minerals and ironstone under the Gatewen Estate however it is widely acknowledge that the colliery did indeed open in 1877. During this time, Gatewen Hall was released to a new owner named Mr William Williams of which little is known. Gatewen Colliery provided jobs to locals until its closure in 1932 and even had a railway line running through it towards Wrexham. Up until the 1980s, the colliery was still used by the coal board unofficially. The site of Gatewen Colliery is now known as Gatewen Village, a new residential housing development, and the old railway line is frequently used as a walking and cycling path.
Gatewen Hall During the 20th Century
1910s: New Ownership
On 23 February 1910, the Hayes family placed the main portion of the Gatewen Hall estate for sale by auction with Messrs Jones and Son Auctioneers at the Imperial Hotel in Wrexham. Details of what was for sale can be found on the document below. It is unclear who woned the property during the next three decades however in 1911, some of the land was sold and the Gatewen Villas were built. The land came with an agreement that it was ‘at no time to be used as a public house or tavern for the sale of beers, wines or spirits or other intoxicating liquor’. It is believed that the houses were built for housing the workers from the Gatewen Estate, such as groomsmen, dairy workers, general workers and likely colliery workers also.
1940s: The Roberts Family
On 1st July 1943, Gatewen Hall and The Gatewen Estate including Gatewen Farm and 73.050 acres in the parish of Broughton was sold to Mr and Mrs Roberts. Mr. Roberts was thought to be a horse trader. The Roberts lived in what was the servants quarters and rented out the main residence of Gatewen Hall, sometimes to the manager of the colliery. Despite renting the main house to others, Mrs Roberts insisted that her family entered the main front door when returning from church on Sundays, much to the tenants irritation.
Mr & Mrs Roberts sold Gatewen Hall and it’s barns, outbuildings and surrounding gardens in 1972 to a family from Cheshire and moved into a modest constructed bungalow off a new access way serving the Gatewen colliery. Mr Roberts died not long after but Mrs Roberts continued to live there, reaching 100 years of age. She was well known in the area and possessed both a great sense of humour and thirst for hard work. Even in her 90’s, she could still be seen out in the fields, scythe in hand, crushing or cutting weeds.
The Farming Tragedy
At some point during Mrs Roberts occupancy at Gatewen Hall, a young farm hand accidentally tipped a tractor turning on to the steep paddock field just north west of the Hall. He was crushed and, saddened by the event, Mrs Roberts declared no tractor was ever to be used on the field again- and none has to this day.
Gatewen Hall during WWII
It is claimed that that during World War II, locals would arrive at Gatewen Hall when the bombing sirens rang out and they would all seek shelter in the cellars until the second siren signalled that it was safe to come out.
