Caerwys

Caerwys

Town Square
Caerwys
Caerwys shown within Flintshire
Population 1,283 (2011)
OS grid reference SJ128729
Principal area
Ceremonial county
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BUCKLEY
Postcode district CH7
Dialling code 01352
Police North Wales
Fire North Wales
Ambulance Welsh
EU Parliament Wales
UK Parliament
Welsh Assembly

Caerwys is a town in Flintshire, Wales. It is just under two miles from the A55 North Wales Expressway and one mile from the A541 Mold-Denbigh road. At the 2001 Census, the population of Caerwys community was 1,315,[1] with a total ward population of 2,496.[2] Following reorganisation the community population fell at the 2011 Census to 1,283[3] with the ward raising to 2,569.[4]

Caerwys is mentioned in the Domesday Book as a small market town. The well-maintained church is dedicated to St. Michael. It has two parallel naves. The oldest part of the building is a stone tower whose base is said to have been part of a Roman observation tower . Within the church is the cover slab of a tomb reputed to have been that of Elizabeth Ferrers, the wife of Dafydd ap Gruffudd, prince of Wales (d. 1283). A short, informative booklet about the church was written in 1936 and updated in 1995. As well as being surrounded by areas of outstanding natural beauty and views across mountains and valleys, the centre of Caerwys has been designated a conservation area.[5]

In 1377 income from the Farm of Cayrouse was listed as part of the Principality issued to the Earl of Chester under the County Palatine of Chester, Caerwys being part of the Aticross Unhidated hundred [6][7].

In 1568 Queen Elizabeth I of England appointed a commission to control the activities of "minstrels, rhymers and bards", in Wales. Simwnt Fychan was summoned to meet at Caerwys and was appointed "pencerdd", i.e. the senior bard.[8]

Caerwys and Philadelphia have important historical connections. Local doctor, Thomas Wynne, sailed to America on the ship Welcome in 1682 with William Penn. Wynne was one of the founding fathers of Philadelphia and became the first speaker of the Provisional Assembly, as well as a provincial judge. The original street plan of Philadelphia was designed on the street pattern of Caerwys.[9] Many Welsh names crop up in the city, and several buildings built in Philadelphia resemble buildings in the Caerwys area, some of which still stand today.[10]

Caerwys also hosted two of the most important eisteddfodau of the early modern era – one in 1523, during the reign of Henry VIII of England at which Tudur Aled was present[11] and the other, sanctioned by Elizabeth I, in 1568.

Church of St Michael

Notable persons

Writer and Methodist theologian Thomas Jones of Denbigh was born at Penucha, near Caerwys, in 1756.

Actress Myfanwy Talog, another native of Caerwys, is commemorated by a slate plaque on the cottage where she was born. Also a television presenter with the BBC, Talog persuaded the corporation to bring the Radio 1 Roadshow to the town in the 1980s.

Caerwys Rectory was the birthplace of the antiquary Angharad Llwyd (1780-1866), daughter of the rector John Llwyd (1733–93).[12]

Sport

The local football team Caerwys F.C. play in the Clwyd League. In the 2009/2010 season, they finished 3rd. They have a rivalry with many clubs including Holywell Town, Denbigh Town, and Ruthin Town. They also have a Summer League team and have a rivalry with Ysceifiog.

References

  1. ↑ 2001 Census: Caerwys (Parish), Office for National Statistics, retrieved 15 June 2008
  2. ↑ 2001 Census: Caerwys (Ward), Office for National Statistics, retrieved 15 June 2008
  3. ↑ "Community population 2011". Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Flintshire Conservation Areas, Flintshire County Council, retrieved 3 August 2009
  6. ↑ Powell-Smith, Anna. "Caerwys | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
  7. ↑ Doddridge, Sir John (1714). An Historical Account of the Ancient and Modern State of the Principality of Wales, Dutchy of Cornwall, and Earldom of Chester. J. Roberts.
  8. ↑ Adam Fox & Daniel Woolf - The Spoken Word: Oral Culture in Britain, 1500-1850
  9. ↑ Caerwys: Thomas Wynne, Caerwys Town Council, archived from the original on 8 July 2011, retrieved 13 February 2009
  10. ↑ Following footsteps, Vale Advertiser / icNorthWales, 12 May 2006, retrieved 13 February 2009
  11. ↑ Williams, D., 1961, A Short History of Modern Wales, London: John Murray, p.28
  12. ↑ British Listed Buildings

Caerwys is the summer home to many holiday makers as there are no fewer than 3 caravan parks set within the town.


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