, settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flintshire County Council.svg , shield_size = 100px , shield_alt = , shield_link = , image_blank_emblem = , blank_emblem_alt = , image_map = File: Flintshire UK location map.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Flintshire shown within Wales , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Constituent country , subdivision_type2 =

Preserved county The preserved counties of Wales are the eight current areas used in Wales for the ceremonial purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty. They are based on the counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 and used for local government and othe ...

, subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_name2 =

Clwyd Clwyd () is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire to th ...

, established_title = Established , established_date = 1 April 1996 , seat_type = Administrative HQ , seat = Mold , seat1_type = Largest town , seat1 = Connah's Quay , government_type =

Principal council A Principal council is a local government authority carrying out statutory duties in a principal area in England and Wales. The term “principal council” was first defined in the Local Government Act 1972, Section 270. This act created great r ...

, governing_body =

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 ...

, leader_title = Executive , leader_name = , leader_title1 = Leader , leader_name1 = Ian Roberts (

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

) , unit_pref = Imperial , area_total_km2 = 438 , area_rank =

12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...

, population_total = , population_as_of = , population_density_km2 = , population_rank = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicity , population_blank1 = 97.8% white , postal_code_type =

Postcode areas The list of postcode areas in the United Kingdom is a tabulation of the postcode areas used by Royal Mail for the purposes of directing mail within the United Kingdom. The postcode area is the largest geographical unit used and forms the initial ...

, postal_code = CH
LL , area_code = 01352
01745
01244 , area_code_type = Dialling codes , blank_name_sec1 = GSS code , blank_info_sec1 = W06000005 , website
www.flintshire.gov.uk
, leader_title2 = Chairman , leader_name2 = Marion Bateman , leader_title3 = Chief Executive , leader_name3 = Colin Everett , leader_title4 =

MPs MPS, M.P.S., MPs, or mps may refer to: Science and technology * Mucopolysaccharidosis, genetic lysosomal storage disorder * Mononuclear phagocyte system, cells in mammalian biology * Myofascial pain syndrome * Metallopanstimulin * Potassium perox ...

, leader_name4 = Rob Roberts ( C)
Mark Tami ( L) , timezone = Greenwich Mean Time , utc_offset = +0 , timezone_DST =

British Summer Time During British Summer Time (BST), civil time in the United Kingdom is advanced one hour forward of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), in effect changing the time zone from UTC±00:00 to UTC+01:00, so that mornings have one hour less daylight, and ev ...

, utc_offset_DST = +1 , blank2_name_sec1 = ISO 3166-2 , blank2_info_sec1 = GB-FLN , blank3_name_sec1 = NUTS 3 code , blank3_info_sec1 = UKL23 , blank4_name_sec1 = ONS code , blank4_info_sec1 = 00NJ , official_name = Flintshire ( cy, Sir y Fflint) is a county in the

north-east The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

of Wales. It borders England to the east, Denbighshire to the west and Wrexham County Borough to the south. It is named after the historic county of the same name which has notably different borders. Flintshire is considered part of the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...

and formed part of the historic Earldom of Chester and Flint. The county is governed by

which has its main offices in County Hall, Mold. The largest town in the county is Connah's Quay, followed by Flint,

Buckley Buckley may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Buckley's, a Canadian pharmaceutical corporation * Buckley Aircraft, an American aircraft manufacturer * Buckley Broadcasting, an American broadcasting company * Buckley School (California), ...

and Mold.

History

Flintshire takes its name from the historic county of Flintshire, which also formed an administrative county between 1889 until 1974 when it was abolished under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. The re-establishment of a principal area in 1996 under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 does not share the same boundaries and covers a smaller area.

Early history

At the time of the Roman invasion, the area of present-day Flintshire was inhabited by the Deceangli, one of the Celtic tribes in ancient Britain, with the

Cornovii The Cornovii is the name by which two, or three, tribes were known in Roman Britain. One tribe was in the area centred on present-day Shropshire, one was in Caithness in northernmost Scotland, and there was probably one in Cornwall. The name has a ...

to the east and the

Ordovices The Ordovīcēs (Common Brittonic: *''Ordowīcī'') were one of the Celtic tribes living in Great Britain before the Roman invasion. Their tribal lands were located in present-day North Wales and England, between the Silures to the south and the D ...

to the west. Lead and silver mine workings are evident in the area, with several sows of lead found bearing the name 'DECEANGI' inscribed in Roman epigraphy. The Deceangli appear to have surrendered to Roman rule with little resistance. Following Roman Britain, and the emergence of various petty kingdoms, the region had been divided into the Hundred of Englefield ( cy, Cantref Tegeingl), derived from the Latin Deceangli. Cheshire-Domesday-Hundreds

It became part of the Kingdom of Mercia by the 8th century AD, with much of the western boundary reinforced under

Offa of Mercia Offa (died 29 July 796 AD) was List of monarchs of Mercia, King of Mercia, a kingdom of History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa of Mercia, Eowa, Offa came to ...

after 752, but there is evidence that Offa's Dyke is probably a much earlier construction. By the time of the Norman conquest in 1066 it was under the control of

Edwin of Tegeingl Edwin of Tegeingl (born about 1020 and died 1073) was a prince or lord of the cantref of Tegeingl in north-east Wales. Biography Later pedigrees provide Edwin and his descendants with a Welsh pedigree, making him son of Gronwy and great-great-g ...

, from whose Lordship the Flintshire coat of arms is derived. Edwin's mother is believed to have been Ethelfleda or Aldgyth, daughter of Eadwine of Mercia. At the time of the establishment of the Earldom of Chester, which succeeded the Earl of Mercia, the region formed two of the then twelve

Hundreds of Cheshire The Hundreds of Cheshire, as with other Hundreds in England, were the geographic divisions of Cheshire for administrative, military and judicial purposes. They were introduced in Cheshire some time before the Norman conquest. Later on, both the n ...

of which it remained a part for several hundred years. Flintshire today approximately resembles the boundaries of the Hundred of

Atiscross Atiscross or Ati's Cross was one of the original twelve Hundreds of Cheshire bordering the Welsh Kingdom of Gwynedd to the west. It appears in the Domesday Book in 1066 under the control of Earl Edwin. There were 87 settlements within the Hundred ...

as it existed at the time of the Domesday Book. Atiscross, along with the Hundred of

Exestan Exestan was one of the original twelve Hundreds of Cheshire bordering Wales to the west. It appears in the Domesday Book in 1066 under the control of various Lordships including Thorth of Wroxeter. There were 9 settlements within the Hundred, seve ...

, was transferred from the Earldom of Chester to the expanding Kingdom of Gwynedd from the west in the 13th century following numerous military campaigns. This region, as well as an exclave formed from part of the Hundred of Dudestan (known as Maelor Saesneg), later formed the main areas of Flintshire, established by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 under

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

. It was administered with the Palatinate of Chester and Flint by the Justiciar of Chester. The county was consolidated in 1536 by the

Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 ( cy, Y Deddfau Cyfreithiau yng Nghymru 1535 a 1542) were Acts of the Parliament of England, and were the parliamentary measures by which Wales was annexed to the Kingdom of England. Moreover, the legal sys ...

under the Tudor King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, when it was incorporated into the Kingdom of England; it included the detached exclave of

Welsh Maelor The Maelor is an area of north-east Wales along the border with England. It is now entirely part of Wrexham County Borough. The name ''Maelor'' is an old Welsh word: it can be translated as "land of the prince", from ''mael'' ("prince") and ''l ...

. Flintshire as a separate local authority remained in existence until 1974 when it was merged with those of Denbighshire and

Edeyrnion Rural District Edeyrnion could refer to: * Edeirnion Edeirnion or Edeyrnion is an area of the county of Denbighshire and an ancient commote of medieval Wales in the cantref of Penllyn. According to tradition, it was named after its eponymous founder Edern ...

to form the administrative county of

. Clwyd was abolished 22 years later and Flintshire reorganised in its present form in 1996. However, some parts of the historic country are not included within the present administrative boundaries: significantly English Maelor was incorporated into Wrexham County Borough, and St Asaph, Prestatyn and Rhyl into Denbighshire.

Modern history

The current administrative area of Flintshire (a unitary authority and Principal area) came into existence in 1996, when the former administrative county of

was split into three smaller areas. The principal area was formed by the merger of the Alyn and Deeside and Delyn districts. In terms of pre-1974 divisions, the area comprises: *the former borough of Flint *the urban districts of

, Connah's Quay,

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 ...

, Mold *the rural district of Holywell Rural District *all of Hawarden Rural District except the parish of Marford and Hosley The district of Rhuddlan, which was also formed entirely from the administrative county of Flintshire was included in the new Denbighshire instead. Other parts of the pre-1974 administrative Flintshire to be excluded from the principal area are the

Maelor Rural District Maelor was a rural district in the administrative county of Flintshire, Wales, from 1894 to 1974. The area approximated to the hundred of Maelor or English Maelor ( cy, Maelor Saesneg), and was notable for forming a detached part of the county ...

and the parish of

Marford and Hoseley Marford is a village in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, near the Wales-England border. Marford covers some , where the hills of north-east Wales meet the Cheshire Plain. Distant landmarks that can be seen clearly from Marford include Eaton Hall ...

, which became part of the

Wrexham Maelor Wrexham Maelor ( cy, Wrecsam Maelor) was a local government district with borough status, being one of six districts in the county of Clwyd, north-east Wales, from 1974 to 1996. History The borough was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local G ...

district in 1974 and are now part of Wrexham County Borough.

Geography

Flintshire is a maritime county bounded to the north by the Dee estuary, to the east by

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, to the west by Denbighshire and to the south by Wrexham County Borough. The coast along the Dee estuary is heavily developed by industry and the north coast much developed for tourism. The Clwydian Range occupies much of the west of the county. The highest point is Moel Famau (1,820 feet/554 metres). The chief towns are

, Connah's Quay, Flint,

Hawarden Hawarden (; cy, Penarlâg) is a village, community (Wales), community and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Flintshire, Wales. It is part of the Deeside conurbation on the Wales-England border and is home ...

, Mold, Queensferry, and Shotton. The main rivers are the Dee (the estuary of which forms much of the coast), and the River Alyn.

Historic buildings and structures

File:Flint Castle 01.JPG, File:The corner.jpg, File:New Hawarden Castle.JPG, File:Ewloe Castle.JPG, File:Maen Achwyfan 655181.jpg, File:Flintshire bridge.jpg, File:Jubilee Bridge - Queensferry, Wales (2015).jpg, File:Llyfrgell Sant Deiniol and Gladstone's Library Hawarden Penarlâg 07.JPG,

Railways

Located on 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, ...

(

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

) with services run by Avanti West Coast and Transport for Wales specifically calling at Flintshire stations such as Flint and Shotton with an interchange at Shotton with the Borderlands Line, which links other Flintshire stations with the Liverpool area.

Industry

Parts of Flintshire have major manufacturing industries. Amongst these are an advanced Toyota plant that manufactures engines, UPM Shotton Paper, and Airbus UK, making the wings for the A330 and the

A380 The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...

at Broughton. There are daily flights of the Airbus Beluga transport aircraft of Airbus wings from Broughton for the smaller aircraft. The wings for the A380, which are too large to be transported by air, use a multi-modal transport using Flintshire's roads, the River Dee and the port of Mostyn, also in Flintshire. Flintshire is also known for its internet companies, the largest and most well known being

Moneysupermarket.com Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC is a British price comparison website-based business specialising in financial services. The website enables consumers to compare prices on a range of products, including energy, car insurance, home insurance, tr ...

based in

Ewloe Ewloe (; cy, Ewlo, ) is a village and electoral ward in the community of Hawarden in Flintshire, Wales. It is situated close to the Flintshire/Cheshire sector of the Wales-England border. The A55 expressway passes through Ewloe and its most n ...

. Flintshire included much of the

North Wales Coalfield The North Wales Coalfield comprises the Flintshire Coalfield in the north and the Denbighshire Coalfield in the south. It extends from Point of Ayr in the north, through the Wrexham area to Oswestry in Shropshire in the south. A much smaller a ...

, with the last colliery at Point of Ayr closing in 1996. Flintshire is home to Shotwick Solar Park, currently the largest photovoltaic solar array in the UK. It was built in 2016 and covers 250 acres of the south western edge of the Wirral Peninsula near the village of Shotwick. It has a maximum generating capacity of 72.2 MW and is connected directly to the largest paper-mill in the UK, UPM Shotton Paper. Flintshire was home to a thriving

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

industry with many of the local communities and homes being built around this sector. Steelmaking came to an end in 1980 with the loss of 6500 on one day. The Shotton Steelworks site, now owned by Tata Steel, continues to produce coated steel products, mainly for the construction industry.

Fairtrade

On 19 November 2004, Flintshire was granted

Fairtrade County The Fair Trade Towns campaign is the result of a grass-roots citizens movement that started in the UK in 2001 (see below). It allows citizens to get together in order to self-proclaim their town (or other local geographical area) as a region that ...

status.

Education

Flintshire County Council is the

Local Education Authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

of Flintshire. It runs 72 primary schools, 2

special school Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

s and 11 secondary schools. Six of the primary schools and one comprehensive are Welsh medium schools. Four of the secondary schools have come together with Coleg Cambria to form the Deeside Consortium. In December 2022, the Climate change, Climate Change Committee met and

Bistre West councillor Carolyn Preece recommended weekly Vegan school meal, vegan school meals in the local schools to combat climate change.

Media

Flintshire's local newspapers include two daily titles, Daily Post (North Wales), North Wales Daily Post and ''The Leader (Welsh newspaper), The Leader''. There are two radio stations broadcast in the area – Communicorp station Heart FM and Global Radio station Capital (radio network), Capital North West and Wales broadcast from ''the studios'' based in Wrexham. Whilst BBC Cymru Wales runs a studio and newsroom for their radio, television and online services located at Glyndŵr University but does not base their broadcasting there. An online news website covering the Flintshire area
Deeside.com
operates from Deeside.

Politics and government

Flintshire has been traditionally a Labour Party (UK), Labour Party stronghold, but in the 2019 United Kingdom general election, 2019 general election, the Welsh Conservatives won the Delyn (UK Parliament constituency), Delyn constituency. The Alyn and Deeside (UK Parliament constituency), Alyn and Deeside constituency is a historically and still is a Welsh Labour, Welsh Labour Party constituency, which is represented by Mark Tami.

Notable people

See :People from Flintshire, ''People from Flintshire'' * Gareth Allen (born 1988 in Mynydd Isa, near Buckley), former professional snooker player. * Saint Asaph, 6th century Christian saint, the first Bishop of St Asaph * Claire Fox (born 1960), writer, journalist, lecturer and politician; grew up in Buckley *William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898), 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister; retired to Hawarden Castle (18th century), Hawarden Castle. * Jade Jones (taekwondo), Jade Jones (born 1993 Bodelwyddan), taekwondo athlete; 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medallist * Michael Owen (born 1979), footballer with 362 club caps and 89 for England national football team, England went to school in Hawarden * Ian Rush (born 1961 in St Asaph), footballer with 602 club caps and 73 for Wales national football team, Wales *Gary Speed (1969 in Mancot – 2011), footballer and manager with 677 club caps and 85 for Wales national football team, Wales

International relations

Flintshire has one formal Town twinning, twinning arrangement with: * Menden, Germany

References

External links

*
Flintshire archaeological informationChester Recognizance Rolls
calendar surname-indexed with scans
Things to do in Flintshire
{{Authority control Flintshire, Counties of Wales Principal areas of Wales History of Flintshire History of Cheshire,