Flint, Wales
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Flint ( cy, Y Fflint) is a town and
community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...
in
Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, lying on the estuary of the River Dee. It is the former county town of Flintshire. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the
community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...
of Flint was 12,804, increasing to 12,953 at the 2011 census. The
urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...
including Holywell and Bagillt had a population of 26,442.


Geography

Flint is located in north-east Wales, adjoining the estuary of the River Dee, to the north of the town of
Mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi. Not ...
. Across the estuary, the Wirral can be seen from Flint and views to the south of the town include
Halkyn Halkyn ( cy, Helygain ; Flintshire Welsh: ''Lygian '') is a village and community in Flintshire, north-east Wales and situated between Pentre Halkyn, Northop and Rhosesmor. At the 2001 Census the population of the community was 2,876, increas ...
Mountain. As the crow flies, Flint is located less than 12 miles from the
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
urban area of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, and even closer to its metro area. However, the two estuaries in between make the distance travelling on land almost twice as long.


History

The name refers to the stony platform on which the castle was built, and was first recorded in 1277 in the French form ''le Chaylou'' (cf modern French ''caillou'', "gravel"). Edward I began to build
Flint Castle Flint Castle ( cy, Castell y Fflint) in Flint, Flintshire, was the first of a series of castles built during King Edward I's campaign to conquer Wales. The site was chosen for its strategic position in North East Wales. The castle was only o ...
in 1277, during his campaign to conquer Wales. Both castle and town were attacked by the forces of
Madog ap Llywelyn Madog ap Llywelyn (died after 1312) was the leader of the Welsh revolt of 1294–95 against English rule in Wales and proclaimed "Prince of Wales". The revolt was surpassed in longevity only by the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr in the 15th century. Ma ...
during the revolt of 1294–95; the defenders of the town burnt it in order to deny its use to the Welsh. Richard II was handed over to his enemy
Henry Bolingbroke Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of Fran ...
in the castle in 1399. As a consequence, it is the setting for Act III, Scene III of the
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
play ''Richard II''. The castle was the first of Edward I's 'iron ring' of royal castles to be built in Wales, and the design served as the basis for larger castles such as
Harlech Castle Harlech Castle ( cy, Castell Harlech; ) in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a Grade I listed medieval fortification built onto a rocky knoll close to the Irish Sea. It was built by Edward I during his invasion of Wales between 1282 and 1289 at t ...
and
Rhuddlan Castle Rhuddlan Castle ( cy, Castell Rhuddlan; ) is a castle located in Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, Wales. It was erected by Edward I in 1277, following the First Welsh War. Much of the work was overseen by master mason James of Saint George. Rhudd ...
. Owain Glyndŵr unsuccessfully assaulted it at the commencement of his revolt in 1400. The town did not have a wall, but a protective earthen and wooden palisaded ditch. The outline of this remained visible in the pattern of streets until the mid-1960s, and the
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
boundary can still be traced now. This can be seen in John Speed's map of Flintshire. Flint Town Hall, the home of Flint Town Council, was erected in 1840. In 1969 Flint hosted the National Eisteddfod, and so the town has a circle of Gorsedd stones in the field adjacent to Gwynedd County Primary School. In July 2006 the stones were centre stage in the National Eisteddfod Proclamation Ceremony which formally announced
Mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi. Not ...
as the 2007 host town of the event. The
Urdd National Eisteddfod The Urdd National Eisteddfod ( cy, Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Urdd Gobaith Cymru or ''Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr Urdd'') is an annual Welsh-language youth festival of literature, music and performing arts organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru. Arguably Eur ...
was held in Flint in 2016.


Governance

Flint is within the British parliamentary constituency of Delyn and the town is part of the Welsh Assembly constituency of Delyn. At local government level, Flint is a
community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...
administered by
Flintshire County Council Flintshire County Council is the unitary local authority for the county of Flintshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. It is based at County Hall in Mold. Elections take place every five years. The last election was on 5 May 2022. Histor ...
.


Culture and demography

In 2001 only 18% of the local population identified as Welsh, although this census controversially had no "Welsh" tick box. In the census of 2011, 57.1% stated they had Welsh, or Welsh and other combined, identity. Many people in Flint have some knowledge of the
Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...
, although competence varies. Implementation of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
's freedom of movement provisions has led to a noticeable increase in the numbers of Polish-language speakers in Flint. Several retail businesses display information in Polish as well as in English and Welsh and the town has a number of ''Polskie sklepy'' (Polish shops) specialising in Polish products. The Flint accent is frequently misidentified with that of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, although it has arisen in fact as a unique blending of the speech patterns of the area's Welsh speakers, earlier
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
settlers, and the residents of nearby Cheshire, Wirral, and the wider
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
region. There are several songs associated with Flint. The most widely sung is "The Yard". Another popular song is "Fifty German bombers over Flint", which tells the story of a wartime bombing raid over nearby Liverpool that accidentally targeted the town of Flint instead. Verses describe the arrival of the bombers over Flint, and how they were shot down by the " Bagillt Navy". Eventually, the ill-fated German aircrew were fished out by the "Greenfield Fishers". The song is often sung in a drunken, friendly manner to the accompaniment of much hand clapping and revelry.


Transport

Flint railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = File:Flint01LB.jpg , borough = Flint, Flintshire , country = Wales , coordinates = , grid_name = Grid reference , ...
lies on the North Wales Coast Line and is served by
Transport for Wales Transport for Wales (TfW; cy, Trafnidiaeth Cymru; cy, TrC, label=none) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) consi ...
services from Manchester Piccadilly to Llandudno. A north-south service between
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
and Holyhead also calls, as do some
Avanti West Coast Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise. During November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the Inter ...
services between
London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...
and Holyhead. Bus services are operated by
Arriva Buses Wales Arriva Buses Wales ( cy, Bysiau Arriva Cymru) is a bus operator providing services in northern Wales and Chester in northern England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. History Crosville Motor Services was formed in 1919 and operated serv ...
.


Education

The town has three high schools: St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School, Flint High School and Ysgol Maes Hyfryd. Primary schools in Flint include the Gwynedd School, Cornist Park School, Ysgol Croes Atti (Welsh medium), St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Ysgol Pen Coch.


Community

Flint once had its own low-powered television relay transmitter, designed to provide improved coverage of Welsh channels in an area that would otherwise receive only English television signals. Since 2009, signals have been transmitted digitally from Storeton transmitting station on the Wirral. Perhaps one of the town's most striking images, in addition to the castle, is the group of three
tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdicti ...
s of flats near the town centre. The first two blocks were built in the 1960s and named Bolingbroke Heights and Richard Heights, with a third, Castle Heights, added shortly afterwards. Flint's football team is Flint Town United. They play in the
Cymru Premier The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 200 ...
, the top tier of Welsh football. Nicknamed "the Silkmen", they play their home games at Cae-y-Castell. Brian Fell's sculpture footplate can be seen at
Flint railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = File:Flint01LB.jpg , borough = Flint, Flintshire , country = Wales , coordinates = , grid_name = Grid reference , ...
. Initially it was thought to be an imitation of the famous Monty Python foot drawn by
Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...
. The library, leisure centre (renamed in 2012 as the Jade Jones Pavilion), and the town centre have all been renovated. Flint Retail Park has also expanded and Flint is the only town in Flintshire to have a
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company ...
supermarket. A lifeboat station was established in Flint in 1966, operated by the RNLI.


Notable people

* Paul Draper (born 1970), songwriter and musician, went to
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...
in Flint. *
Ian Puleston-Davies Ian Puleston-Davies (born 6 September 1958) is a Welsh actor and writer. He is best known for his role as builder Owen Armstrong in the ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2010 to 2015. In November 2014, ITV announced ...
(born 1958), actor and writer, plays ''Owen Armstrong'' in ''Coronation Street''. *
Julie Roberts Julie Roberts (born February 1, 1979) is an American country music singer. Signed to Mercury Nashville in 2003, Roberts made her debut with the single "Break Down Here" in February 2004, a Top 20 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & ...
(born 1963) painter who works in acrylics, oils and watercolours.


Sport

* Enoch Bagshaw (1884–1930), an American football player and coach. * Ron Hewitt (1928–2001), footballer with over 500 club caps and 5 for
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. * Allan Jones (1940–1993), footballer with 249 caps with
Brentford F.C. Brentford Football Club is a professional football club in Brentford, West London, England, which competes in the Premier League, the highest tier of English football, having gained promotion via the playoffs at the end of the 2020–21 Champi ...
* Brian Godfrey (1940–2010), footballer with over 590 club caps and 3 for
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. * Andy Holden (born 1963), footballer with over 170 club caps, nephew of Ron Hewitt * Jade Jones (born 1993), 2012 and 2016 Olympic taekwondo gold medalist, attended Flint High School. *
Ian Rush Ian James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward. At club level Rush played for Liverpool from 1980–1987 and 1988–1996. He is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored a t ...
(born 1961), footballer with 602 club caps and 73 for
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, went to
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...
in Flint; some family live in the area.


References


External links


BBC Wales's Flint websitewww.cefnpennar.com : Flint historical & genealogical records listwww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Flint and surrounding area
{{Authority control Former county towns in Wales Towns in Flintshire