Turf Hotel, Mold Road, Wrexham

Description

The Turf Hotel with the Racecourse football ground behind.
It is thought that the 'Turf Tavern' was built between 1840 and 1844. The name was later changed to the Turf Hotel. This is believed to have happened when the original building was knocked down and replaced by the current building around the 1860s by Jack Scott of the Seven Stars in an effort to revive horse racing in Wrexham.
It is the only public house to be found on the grounds of a British football league club. Records suggest the football club was founded in the pub in the 1870s by cricketers who wanted a sport over the winter months. It is thought that until the 1940s, players even changed inside the pub, while for many years regulars were able to watch games from its balcony. There have been many other sporting events witnessed from the balcony. There once lay a cycling track around the pitch, and both boxing and wrestling has also taken place on the Racecourse. Up to the late 1960s the Turf itself had its own bowling green situated where the pub car park is now. The original balcony is still in place, however the view of the Racecourse is now obscured by the Mold Road stand which was redeveloped in the late 1990's.