Meliden ( cy, Alltmelyd) is a village between

Prestatyn Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085, History Prehistory There is evidence that the ...

and

Dyserth Dyserth ( cy, Diserth) is a village, community and electoral ward in Denbighshire, Wales. Its population at the 2011 United Kingdom census was 2,269 and was estimated by the Office for National Statistics as 2,271 in 2019. It lies within the h ...

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. It grew up around the locality of lead mines and limestone quarries. The

placename Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

"Meliden" has variously been claimed to be derived from that of Bishop Melitus or St. Melyd (the village has the church of St. Melyd as its main place of worship); its

Welsh placename The place-names of Wales derive in most cases from the Welsh language, but have also been influenced by linguistic contact with the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Anglo-Normans and modern English. Toponymy in Wales reveals significant features of ...

, "Alltmelyd", means "wooded hill of Melyd". The railway between Prestatyn and Dyserth, long since lifted and formerly with sidings in the village, is now a public walkway and nature trek. It has a 9-hole golf course, which is split in half by the former railway/nature walk. The local school, St. Melyd Primary, is a feeder school to the High School, Prestatyn. Meliden's football club, Meliden F.C., reformed in 2008, joining the

Clwyd Football League The Clwyd Football League was a football league formed in 1974 as an amalgamation of the Dyserth League and the Halkyn Mountain League. The top division was at different periods at the second, third and fourth levels of the Welsh football leagu ...

. Above the village is the limestone hill of

Graig Fawr Graig Fawr is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the preserved county of Clwyd, north Wales, now in Denbighshire. It is 153 metres (502 feet) high and located near Prestatyn. It is owned by the National Trust. See also *List of Sites of ...

(153 metres, 502 feet) which belongs to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. The views from the crag include the coast from Llandudno to the Wirral, Snowdonia, neighbouring

Moel Hiraddug Moel Hiraddug, also known as Y Foel, is a hill fort and hill in the Clwydian Range of north-east Wales. The northern part of the hill has been eaten away by limestone quarrying. An Iron Age hillfort crowns the hill, called Moel Hiraddug. Its ridge ...

, and many other hills of North Wales.

History

In 1086, Meliden was recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

as a small settlement within the hundred of Ati's Cross and in the county of Cheshire.

References

External links

Official site

VC Melyd - The cycling club based in Meliden

Photos of Meliden and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
Villages in Denbighshire {{Denbighshire-geo-stub