Maeshafn is a small village in

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

, Wales, near the border with

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

. Maeshafn lies several miles to the southwest of

Mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal seco ...

. Overlooked by Moel Findeg hill, the

River Alyn The River Alyn ( cy, Afon Alun) is a tributary of the River Dee, in north-east Wales. The River Alyn rises at the southern end of the Clwydian hills and the Alyn Valley forms part of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Nat ...

flows to the west, and

Loggerheads Country Park Loggerheads Country Park is a country park in the village of Loggerheads, Denbighshire, Loggerheads, Denbighshire, Wales. The park has a wooded river valley that follows the course of the River Alyn and high cliffs from within the Clwydian Rang ...

is towards the north towards the

A494 road The A494 is a trunk road in Wales and England. The route, which is officially known as the Dolgellau to South of Birkenhead Trunk Road, runs between the terminus of the M56 motorway between Mollington and Capenhurst and the A470 at Dolgellau ...

History

Historically Maeshafn was a lead mining village called Maes y safn. The East Maes-y-Safn Lead Mining Company operated in the area. A 1980 publication noted that the local miners would "build a house themselves by encroaching on the waste and enclosing a small field". Their cottages were typically bungalows, with just one or two rooms and two or three beds.

Landmarks

No shops remain today in the village, but there is a pub called the Miners Arms, which originally served as the pay office for the miners. Nearby is Maeshafn Cave, near Big Covert Wood, a long-fissure cave which along with Gop Cave was cited in 1970 as the only caves in North Wales which have unearthed artifacts from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. The cave, also known as Big Covert or Llanferres Cave, was excavated by J. G. Morris in 1954. A quarry is situated about to the south of Maeshafn. It received approval for limestone extraction in 1950 and developed in subsequent decades to become an important regional producer of limestone by the early 1980s. In 1982-4 proposal were made to extend mining at the quarry to 800,000 tonnes per annum, which was approved in 1987. The quarry was owned by Welsh Aggregates Ltd. from 1976, which changed their name to Bodfari (Quarries) Ltd in 1991. In 1998 it was purchased by Tilcon (South) Ltd., a subsidiary of

Anglo American plc Anglo American plc is a British listed multinational mining company with headquarters in London, England. It is the world's largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output, as well as being a major producer of diamonds, copper, n ...

, and was later bought by Tarmac Central Ltd.

Transport

Maeshafn is connected by bus to

Eryrys Eryrys (; alternate spelling ''Erryrys)'' is a village in Denbighshire, Wales, located at approximate grid reference SJ203578, five miles south of Mold. The village is built on the limestone formation of Bryn Alyn and many limestone outcrops c ...

Graianrhyd Graianrhyd, also spelt ''Graeanrhyd'', is a small, scattered village in the community of Llanarmon-yn-Iâl, Denbighshire, Wales, lying in hilly limestone country around to the east of Llanarmon-yn-Iâl village, and just to the south of Eryrys. ...

Llanarmon-yn-Iâl Llanarmon-yn-Iâl is a village, and local government community, in Denbighshire, Wales, lying in limestone country in the valley of the River Alyn. The community is part of an electoral ward called Llanarmon-yn-Iâl/Llandegla. The population o ...

and

Llanbedr Llanbedr () is a village and community south of Harlech. Administratively, it lies in the Ardudwy area, formerly Meirionnydd, of the county of Gwynedd, Wales. History Ancient monuments at Llanbedr include Neolithic standing stones; the St ...

References

{{authority control Villages in Denbighshire