The ancient parish of Wrexham included the townships of Abenbury Fawr (or “Big Abenbury”) in Denbighshire and Abenbury Fechan (or “Little Abenbury”) in Flintshire. The township of Abenbury Fechan was one of several exclaves of Flintshire and was transferred to Denbighshire for administrative purposes in 1884.
The civil parish of Abenbury was created in 1935 from parts of the old townships of Abenbury Fawr and Erlas. The majority of residents live in the village of Pentre Maelor, which was originally built in 1947 to house workers from nearby factories on Wrexham Industrial Estate. The parish also includes a large rural area and the Llwyn Onn estate on the outskirts of Wrexham, all of which are governed by Abenbury Community Council.
The disused Abenbury Church stands in an isolated position close to Plas Issa Farm on the Cefn Park estate. It has been described by some as a tin tabernacle, but only the roof is corrugated iron. The walls are timber and brick. Bethel Presbyterian Church,its full name, Abenbury Fawr, was erected in 1834. The cause had begun in a cottage before moving to a building formerly used as a smithy and later as a weaver’s workroom. The members were few in number, only twenty-five in 1883 and fourteen in 1930.
