Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for FLINTSHIRE, or Flint

FLINTSHIRE, or Flint, a maritime county of North Wales; comprising a main body and a detached district. The main body is bounded by the estuary of the Dee, the Irish sea, Denbighshire, and Cheshire; and forms an oblong, extending north-westward, and measuring about 27 or 30 miles in length, and from 6 to 12½ in breadth. The detached district is separated, at the mean distance of about 9 miles, by Denbighshire; lies on the right bank of the river Dee; is bounded, on the S and the E, by Salop; and forms an oblong of about 10 miles by 6½. The area of the entire county is 184, 905 acres. The tract along the coast is level, finely sheltered, and highly fertile. The surface inland rises in variety of contour to the boundary with Denbighshire; includes, toward that boundary, the north-eastern declivities of the Clwydian hills; and attains, on the summit-line, in the peaks of Moel Cloddiau, Moel Arthur, and Moel Famma, elevations of 1, 452, 1, 491, and 1,845 feet. The ravine of Holywell is the only picturesque spot on the coast; but many parts of the interior present fine scenery; and the summit line of the Clwydian hills is cloven by several elevated roads or passes. The rivers Dee and Clwyd contribute beauty to respectively the detached district and the north-western corner; and innumerable stream-lets, descending from the Clwydian hills, diversify and adorn many parts of the interior. The chief streams are the Alun, going to the Dee, the Elwy, going to the Clwyd, the Terrig, the Wheeler, and some others. A carboniferous formation, comprising the coal measures, lies along the estuary of the Dee, and expands thence to the SE; a carboniferous formation, consisting chiefly of millstone grit, flanks the coal measures from end to end of the county; a formation of carboniferous lime-stone and shale commences near the coast, and extends parallel to all the millstone grit: an upper silurian formation, rising into the Clwydian hills, flanks most of the carboniferous limestone; and a trias formation of new red or Bunter sandstone, lies along the SW. The coal seams are surpassed in thickness only by those at Wednesbury in Stafford; and have been found, in some places, to possess an aggregate of 59 feet, within a depth of only 216 yards. Some of the coal contains 90 per cent. of combustible matter; and 37 collieries are worked. Ironstone and a fine kind of silicious freestone abound in the coal tracts; a rich hematitic iron ore is found in the mountain limestone; and a lead ore, containing appreciable quantities of silver, has been worked to the extent of 1, 056 tons a year, but has latterly been less productive. The lead ore appears, from remains or traces of ancient smelting-hearths, to have been worked by the ancient Britons and Romans.

The soils of the low tracts show much diversity, according to the character of the detritus and the rocks, but in general are very productive; and those of the hills are, for the most part, a mixture of clay and gravel, with predominance of clay. About 20, 000 acres are arable; about 110, 000 are in pasture; and most of the remainder is waste. Good crops of wheat are raised on all the sea-board's low lands. Barley, oats, rye, potatoes, and occasional green crops, also are raised. The native horses and cattle are of fair size and character; the cows are excellent milkers; and the sheep, though crossed by the Southdowns and the Leicesters, are small. Butter, cheese, and wool are exported. Farm-buildings and other edifices are of stone; fences, for the most part, are quick-set; and estates, in general, are large. Chemical manufacture is carried on at Flint; copper and brass works employ a number of persons at Holywell; several cotton mills also employ about 300 hands; and the produce of the mines is an abundant material of commerce. The Chester and Holyhead railway goes along all the coast; a branch from it goes to Mold; and another branch goes up the Clwyd. Good roads traverse most parts of the interior, and afford ready communication between towns and villages.

Flintshire contains 23 parishes and parts of 12 others; and is divided into the hundreds of Prestatyn, Rhuddlan, Coleshill, Mold, and Maylor. The registration county takes in part of one parish from Denbigh; gives off nine parishes and six other tracts to Denbigh, a parish and a township to Cheshire, two parishes and two chapelries to Salop; comprises 89, 479 acres; and is all included in the district of Holywell. The towns in it are St. Asaph, Flint, Mold, Holywell, Caergwrle, Caerwys, Overton, and Rhuddlan; and all these are boroughs, and the first of them a city. The chief seats are Hall in Hall, St. Asaph Palace, Downing, Gredington, Pengwern, Talacre, Greenfield, Aston, Bodelwyddan, Emral, Hanmer Hall, Hawarden Castle, Kinmael Park, Leeswood, Mostyn, Bodryddan, Kilken, Rhual, Gwernhailed, Bryn-y-Pys, Nerquis Hall, Pentre-Hobyn, Plas - Teg, Golden Grove, Gyrn, and Fron. Real property in 1835, £153, 930; in 1843, £274, 471; in 1861, £339, 012, -of which £50, 758 were in mines, £1, 709 in quarries, £1, 000 in ironworks, and £2, 841 in railways. The county is governed by a lord-lieutenant, a deputy lieutenant, and about 25 magistrates; and is in the North Wales judicial circuit, and the Northwestern military district. The as-sizes are held at Mold. The county jail is at Flint. The police force, in 1862 comprised 4 men for Flint borough, and 35 men for the rest of the county. The crimes committed, in that year, were 4 in Flint borough, and 51 in the rest of the county; the persons apprehended were 4 in Flint borough, and 30 in the rest of the county; the depredators and suspected persons at large were 5 in Flint borough, and 47 in the rest of the county; and the houses of bad character were 4 in Flint borough, and 41 in the rest of the county. One member is sent to parliament by the boroughs, and one by the county at large. Electors of the county in 1868, 2, 998. The entire county is in the diocese of St. Asaph. Pop. in 1801, 93, 469; in 1821, 53, 893; in 1841, 66, 919; in 1861, 69, 737. Inhabited houses, 15, 113; uninhabited, 801; building, 85.

The territory now forming Flintshire belonged anciently to the Ordovices; was included, by the Romans, in their Britannia Secunda; formed part of the Welsh Venedotia or Gwynedd; and was, by the Saxons, called Englefield, and made part of Mercia. The Picts and Scots overran it after the departure of the Romans, but were defeated by the British. The Northumbrians over-ran it, in the 7th century, and perpetrated a fearful massacre at Bangor-Iscoed, but were repelled by the Welsh. The Mercians, headed by their king Offa, overran and subdued it in the 8th century; and formed, for its defence, the great rampart called Offa's dyke. The Normans annexed it to Cheshire. Henry II., during his vain efforts to subdue Wales, met serious repulses in Flintshire, yet contrived first to get possession of Rhuddlan castle, and next to subjugate most other parts of this county. Llewelyn, in 1282, regained possession of all the county's strengths except Rhuddlan castle; but Edward I. retook Caergwrle, maintained a severe struggle elsewhere with Llewelyn, and eventually pushed on to Conway. Later incidents will be found noticed in connexion with the towns. Watling-street traversed the county from the boundary with Cheshire, through Bodfari, toward Conway. Roman stations were at Bangor-Iscoed, Caergwrle, and Bodfari, -perhaps also at Flint. Wat's dyke, parallel with Offa's, and sometimes mistaken for it, extends from the neighbourhood of Basingwerk south-eastward into Denbighshire. Ancient pillars are at Diserth and on Mostyn hill. Old castles are at Diserth, Flint, Caergwrle, Basingwerk, Rhuddlan, Mold, Hawarden, and Eulo. An ancient cathedral is at St. Asaph; an ancient abbey at Basingwerk; and ancient churches at Kilken, Overton, Hanmer, and Holywell.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a maritime county of North Wales"   (ADL Feature Type: "countries, 2nd order divisions")
Administrative units: Flintshire AncC
Place names: FLINT     |     FLINTSHIRE     |     FLINTSHIRE OR FLINT
Place: Flintshire

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