Shotton 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, tow ...

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

, Wales, within the

Deeside Deeside ( cy, Glannau Dyfrdwy) is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the ...

conurbation along the River Dee, joined with

Connah's Quay Connah's Quay ( cy, Cei Connah), known locally as "The Quay" and formerly known as Wepre, is a town and community in Flintshire, lying within the Deeside conurbation along the River Dee, near the border with England. It is the largest town in ...

, near the border with England. It is located 5 miles (8 km) west of Chester and can be reached by road from the A548. In the 2011 census Shotton had a population of 6,663. The

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

Grid Reference is SJ305685.

Etymologies

The town's name is first recorded in

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

as ''Cyllingas''. This name derives from 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 ...

word Celyn (meaning

Holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

) and has persisted in one form or another throughout the town's history. By 1822 Richard Willett recorded the name as ''Kyllins'', which he says contains "one of the parish's most notable ancient houses". Even today, ''Killin's Farm'' and ''Killin's Lane'' may still be found in the oldest part of town. The town's modern English name is shared with three other towns in Britain. These towns (all on the English side of the Scottish border) derive their names from ''Town of Scots'' but it is unlikely that a

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

town shares this etymology. The name probably derives from ''Scēot-tūn'' = "farmstead on or near a steep slope", or from ''Shot-tūn'' = "farmstead in a clearing in the wood". The town is officially named ''Shotton'' in both English and Welsh, making it one of the few towns in Wales to officially have neither a recognised Welsh spelling or Welsh etymology.

History

Founded by

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

, the town grew from the 18th century around

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

and farming on reclaimed

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

. Shotton also became a railway junction. The

John Summers & Sons John Summers & Sons Ltd was a major United Kingdom iron and steel producer, latterly based on the Dee Estuary at Shotton, Flintshire. The company was absorbed into British Steel Corporation in 1967; British Steel became Corus in 1999 and this c ...

steelworks was established in 1896 on a six acre site. At its peak it employed over 13,000. Following nationalisation in 1967, the works became part of the

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. Although known as Shotton Steelworks, the majority of the large plant owned by

Tata Steel Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the Tata Group. Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Tata ...

since 2006, is in neighbouring

. The town lies under the

Hawarden Bridge Hawarden Bridge (; cy, Pont Penarlâg) is a railway bridge over the River Dee, near Shotton, Flintshire, Wales. It was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (which later became the Great Central Railway), as part of t ...

, which was completed in 1889 as a swing-opening bridge.

Demography

Shotton has an area of 2.34 km², with a density of 3,001 km². The population is roughly 50% male and female and 62.2% are between the ages of 18-64. The

consists of three

electoral wards The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and distri ...

of 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:

Education

Shotton is served by the following schools: *

Connah's Quay High School Connah's Quay High School (CQHS, ) is an 11–16 mixed, English-medium, community comprehensive secondary school in Connah's Quay, Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

(English-medium secondary) *

Hawarden High School Hawarden High School () is an English language medium secondary school in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales. It is part of the Flintshire LEA. The school traces its history back to 1606 when a single-classroom grammar school was established with £30 ...

(English-medium secondary) * St Ethelwold's Primary School (

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...

) * Venerable Edward Morgan School (Roman Catholic primary) * Ysgol Ty Ffynnon (English-medium primary) * Ysgol Croes Atti ( Welsh-medium primary) *

Ysgol Maes Garmon Ysgol Maes Garmon is an 11–18 mixed, Welsh-medium community secondary school and sixth form in Mold, Flintshire, Wales. It was established in 1961 and is the only Welsh-medium school in Flintshire. It shares some of its facilities with Alun ...

(Welsh-medium secondary)

John Summers High School John Summers High School (formerly Deeside High School) was an 11–18 mixed, English-medium, secondary school and sixth form in Queensferry, Flintshire, Wales. It closed on 20 July 2017. Its sixth form education was provided through the Dee ...

(formerly Deeside High School) closed on 20 July 2017.

Transport

Shotton railway station Shotton railway station serves the towns of Shotton and Connah's Quay, Flintshire, Wales. It is situated where the Borderlands Line crosses the North Wales Coast Line. All passenger services are operated by Transport for Wales, which manage ...

is on the Borderlands Line and 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, ...

Notable people

Fred Robson Frederick Robson (25 April 1885 – 3 November 1952) was an English professional golfer who played in the early 20th century. Robson was a frequent competitor in the Open Championship. His best performance was a tie for second with Aubrey Boo ...

(1885–1952) professional golfer, competed in the

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

. *

Henry Weale Henry Weale VC (2 October 1897 – 13 January 1959) was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was ...

VC (1897–1959) recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

* Billy Tudor (1918–1965) footballer with 87 club caps, mainly

Wrexham A.F.C. Wrexham Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Wrecsam) is a Welsh professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Formed ...

Marika Humphreys Marika Humphreys-Baranova OLY (born 3 January 1977) is a British Ice Dance Coach, Choreographer, retired ISU Technical Specialist & Moderator, former competitor & British Winter Olympian. Personal life Marika Humphreys was born on 3 January ...

(born 1977) ice dance coach and choreographer, lived in Shotton

References

External links

History of ShottonPhotos of Shotton and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
{{authority control Towns in Flintshire