Greenfield ( cy, Maes-glas) is a village in 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, tow ...

Holywell Holywell may refer to: * Holywell, Flintshire, Wales * Holywell, Swords, Ireland * Holywell, Bedfordshire, England * Holywell, Cambridgeshire, England * Holywell, Cornwall, England * Holywell, Dorset, England * Holywell, Eastbourne, East Susse ...

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

, north-east

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, on the edge of the River Dee

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of 2,741, which remained unchanged in the 2011 census. The

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, 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 P ...

name of the village, ''Maes-glas'' or ''Maesglas'', has the same meaning as "Greenfield".Davies, E. ''Flintshire place-names'', 1959, p.77 The name Maesglas was recorded in 1579,Davies, 1959, p.104 with the English version recorded as "''Fulbroke al asGreneffelde''" as early as 1540.

History

Greenfield is best known for its history of

papermaking Papermaking is the manufacture of paper and cardboard, which are used widely for printing, writing, and packaging, among many other purposes. Today almost all paper is made using industrial machinery, while handmade paper survives as a speciali ...

. A

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...

has been on this site since 1770. The site was chosen due to the constant water flow from the stream which comes from the

St Winefride's Well St Winefride's Well ( cy, Ffynnon Wenffrewi) is a well located in the town of Holywell, Flintshire, in Wales. It claims to be the oldest continually visited pilgrimage site in Great Britain and is a grade I listed building and scheduled ancien ...

. The speed this site developed was one of the reasons that Greenfield is still linked with the start of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

. In the mid 19th century up to 80 businesses had set up in the mile stretch between Holywell and Greenfield The remains of some can now be seen as conservation and industrial archeological projects have been undertaken in recent years. Among the businesses were a copper mill, a flannel mill, a flour mill, shirt-makers and soft drink works, W Hall & Son (which still exists today). Greenfield was also home to two

Courtaulds Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals. It was established in 1794 and became the world's leading man-made fibre production company before being broken up in 1990 into Courtaulds ...

rayon Rayon is a semi-synthetic fiber, made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has the same molecular structure as cellulose. It is also called viscose. Many types and grades of viscose f ...

factories and a sulphuric acid plant from 1936 to 1985. In 1842 William Crockford, of London gambling club fame, built the Zinc Smelting Works on the northern side of the coast road adjacent to the gas works. The factory was said at the time to be the most modern in Britain with its own dedicated railway to the nearby Crockford Wharf. Crockford died in 1844 and his widow Sarah continued running the factory with the assistance of a daughter and two sons - Fanny, Henry and Charles Crockford, the latter of whom patented several zinc smelting inventions. The family also laid a mineral railway from Pantasaph to the factory, converted Parys Mine works into a limestone crushing plant and ran a cement factory at Bryn Celyn. With industrial changes and periodic managerial problems output from the zinc works ceased by the turn of the century and derelict buildings were largely removed by 1928. Greenfield's oldest building is

Basingwerk Abbey Basingwerk Abbey ( cy, Abaty Dinas Basing) is a Grade I listed ruined abbey near Holywell, Flintshire, Wales. The abbey, which was founded in the 12th century, belonged to the Order of Cistercians. It maintained significant lands in the Englis ...

, founded circa 1132 by

Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester Ranulf II (also known as Ranulf de Gernon), 4th Earl of Chester (1099–1153), was an Anglo-Norman baron who inherited the honour of the palatine county of Chester upon the death of his father Ranulf le Meschin, 3rd Earl of Chester. He was de ...

. It was an important monastic centre in north Wales; both

Llywelyn ap Iorwerth Llywelyn, Llewelyn or Llewellyn is a name of Welsh language origins. See Llywelyn (name) for the name's etymology, history and other details. As a surname Arts *Carmen Llywelyn, American actress and photographer *Chris Llewellyn (poet), American p ...

and

Dafydd ap Llywelyn Dafydd ap Llywelyn (''c.'' March 1212 – 25 February 1246) was Prince of Gwynedd from 1240 to 1246. He was the first ruler in Wales to claim the title Prince of Wales. Birth and descent Though birth years of 1208, 1206, and 1215 have ...

were patrons. In 1536, abbey life came to an end with the Dissolution of the Monasteries. In ruins since the time of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

, it is in the care of

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...

(Welsh Heritage). The ruins are now part of Greenfield Valley Heritage Park, with the adjacent grounds home to an agricultural museum. Many of the museum's buildings were moved stone by stone from the surrounding area, including an old school house.

Holywell Junction Railway Station

The

North Wales Coast Line The North Wales Coast Line ( cy, Llinell Arfordir Gogledd Cymru), also known as the North Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell Gogledd Cymru or cy, label=none, Prif Linell y Gogledd), is a major railway line in the north of Wales and Cheshire, ...

runs through Holywell Junction with trains running fast through the station. Holywell Junction station - geograph

The station was opened on 1 May 1848 as part of the

Chester and Holyhead Railway The Chester and Holyhead Railway was an early railway company conceived to improve transmission of Government dispatches between London and Ireland, as well as ordinary railway objectives. Its construction was hugely expensive, chiefly due to ...

(now the

) and was named simply Holywell. A brick built

signal box In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

was opened in 1902 to replace an earlier wooden one. The station initially had two platforms but as the line grew busier the number of tracks doubled from one each way to two and the number of platforms followed suit. The main station building was positioned on the down platform and a subway connected them all. In 1912 Holywell Branch Line was opened just east of the station which linked the mainline to the centre of Holywell. Therefore, Holywell station was renamed Holywell Junction on 1 May and the new station called Holywell Town. The branch line lasted 42 years before being closed and Holywell Junction was closed to passengers on 14 February 1966 as part of the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...

, although it was open to freight until 1970. The

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

station building designed by

Francis Thompson Francis Joseph Thompson (16 December 1859 – 13 November 1907) was an English poet and Catholic mystic. At the behest of his father, a doctor, he entered medical school at the age of 18, but at 26 left home to pursue his talent as a writer a ...

was listed Grade II* in 1970 and is a private dwelling. The signal box was listed Grade II in 1991.

Governance

Greenfield is an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

of the town of

, within the

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 ...

local authority. The village is within both the Delyn Senedd constituency and the Delyn UK parliamentary constituency.

Description

The B5121 road from Greenfield to Holywell is the road which passes the St Winefride's Well, which Holywell is known for. Greenfield's main claim to fame in recent history is possibly the hidden

Gatso Gatso is the brand that Gatsometer BV (now known as Sensys Gatso Group when Sensys acquired Gatso in 2015) use on their speed cameras and red light cameras. The most commonly encountered Gatso speed cameras emit radar beams to measure the speed ...

speed camera, on the A548 road leading to

Bagillt Bagillt (; ) is a market town and community in Flintshire, Wales. The town overlooks the Dee Estuary and is between the towns of Holywell and Flint. At the 2001 Census the population was recorded as 3,918, increasing to 4,165 at the 2011 census. ...

, near the old disused railway bridge. It was voted the worst-placed speed camera in the UK by the Association of British Drivers, despite the fact that until 2009

Arrive Alive ''Arrive Alive'' is an unfinished comedy film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik and starring Willem Dafoe and Joan Cusack. It was produced by Art Linson. Premise Mickey Crews is a house detective in a seedy Florida hotel who gets involved in in ...

conducted their Speed Awareness courses at the Greenfield Business Centre, based in the original paper mill building 200 yards away. The old village primary school, which was just under 100 years old, was controversially demolished in 2005, after much opposition from local residents. A covenant in the deeds of the land on which the old school was built, stated how the land was sold by the Mostyn Family on the condition it was only to be used solely for educational purposes. Although this point was expressed to Flintshire County Council, they proceeded with the demolition. A new school was built to replace it, but in a different part of Greenfield. Both schools were named Ysgol Maesglas (Greenfield School).

References

External links