Wrexham Industrial Estate - ROF Wrexham

ROF Wrexham

The Wrexham Industrial Estate had its origins as an Royal Ordnance Factory, ROF Wrexham, during World War II. The site employed 13,000 workers. The factory made cordite, an explosive propellent for shells. The site was chosen for its distance from German bomber bases in Europe while having good rail networks and a rural location that provided a good supply of labour. The complex was spread over a large area to minimise any damage from aerial attack. The main buildings were camouflaged and existing farm buildings were left in situ to help protect the site against reconnaissance. Many of the original buildings can still be seen today and still house smaller businesses on the estate, these can be distinguished from the 1950s buildings by large grids near the roof, essential for ventilation of the buildings.

The Ministry of Works built a large water abstraction and treatment plant at Sesswick on the River Dee, just to supply the plant, which was amalgamated into the Wrexham Water Company (now Dee Valley Water) in 1951.

To connect the site to the national rail network, a large marshalling yard of 10 separate roads, and these connected to the works internal network of rail lines. A passenger platform was built for military usage. All the cordite produced at the plant was taken by these sidings, along the Wrexham and Ellesmere Railway and then to Crewe. For shunting works, locomotives with diesel engines were used instead of steam as they were less likely to ignite any stray cordite, however it is known the works had possession of an 1859 0-4-0ST known as Victory.

The site was well defended, both on the ground and from the air, several Type 22 Pillboxes and Type 24 Pillboxes still remain in the area, found in areas untouched by modern industrial developments, and the entire site was under a mile away from RAF Wrexham, which was home to at least one fighter squadron, for defending the regions industrial assets from bomber attack.

After the war, the need for cordite ceased, and in 1945 the production facilities at Wrexham closed. Much of the buildings were left in place, abandoned, and agriculture again took over the fields surrounding the area.