Past and future success of hall in Cefn Mawr, Wrexham

But at the heart of it all, George Edwards Hall in Cefn Mawr has always been for the community.

The hall was officially opened in September, 1911, and was later extended, with the addition opening in April 1978.

In the will of Johann Hamilton Edwards, the widow of George Edwards, it was stated £1,000 was to be put to "erecting a public hall...to be used for entertainment and meetings of a high class character for the purpose of elevating the people".

And entertain it did.

Gareth Valentine is in the balcony during a performance of Pirates of Penzance at George Edwards Hall, October 1967. He went on to be a renowned composer, arranger, conductor and musical director.

Across the decades, the hall has been home to a silent cinema, known as the People's Cinema (the balcony and its seats remain), the Cefn Operatic Society, shows, bands, regular dances and discos, the venue for many a party and meeting, as well as host to welcome home events for soldiers from the First and Second World Wars. There was even a bomb shelter in its vast basement.

Read more: Wrexham in the aftermath of a soggy summer in 1983

Today it is still the go-to place for many in the area, and is always booked.

As well as being the site for things such as dance groups, dog training and Sliming World meetings, it also has great facilities - including a fully equipped kitchen - and space for a twice-weekly youth club and young carers team.

Part of the youth club at George Edwards Hall.

There's even a museum on site, run by volunteers, that keeps and curates artifacts from local history.

And while the hall, a warren of rooms filled with original features, continues to look forward, it's also a custodian of the past, with many snippets of history discovered within its walls.

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Council officer Natalie Hughes-Lloyd is based at the hall, and loves the lived-in and loved feel of the public building.

She said: "Everybody's got a story about the hall. I'm always genuinely surprised when local people come back in after a long time and see it's not really changed. The delight on their faces.

Letter from the council apologising for tampering with the bomb shelter without permission.

"The hall just keeps on going, and has done in so many different guises. There was even talk once of turning it into a pool!

"We have found movie posters, gas lamp contracts, parish records, allotment books, all connections to the past."

The hall's namesake was born in 1833 at Trefynant, Acrefair, and he was considered a "man of most hospitable and generous disposition".

George Edwards Hall was, and remains, a fitting legacy to both him and the community.

• For anyone interested in hiring space or more details, call 01978 821298 or email admin@cefncommunitycouncil.gov.uk