Flint, Flintshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Flint | ||
|---|---|---|
| Statistics | ||
| Population: | 11,936 (2001 census) | |
| Ordnance Survey | ||
| OS grid reference: | Maps for SJ245725 | |
| Administration | ||
| Principal area: | Flintshire | |
| Constituent country: | Wales | |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom | |
| Other | ||
| Police force: | North Wales Police | |
| Ceremonial county: | Clwyd | |
| Historic county: | Flintshire | |
| Post office and telephone | ||
| Post town: | FLINT | |
| Postal district: | CH6 | |
| Dialling code: | +44-1352 | |
| Politics | ||
| UK Parliament: | Delyn | |
| European Parliament: | Wales | |
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Flint (Welsh: Y Fflint) is the fourth largest town in Flintshire, North Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Dee. It is the county town of the traditional county of Flintshire.
The town, which has the oldest town charter in Wales, dating from 1284, is known for Flint Castle, on which Edward I of England began construction in 1277. The castle is of particular note, as it is where Richard II was handed over to his enemy Henry Bolingbroke in 1399, and is the setting for Act III, Scene III of the Shakespeare play Richard II. Flint is home to a successful male voice choir.
American actor Tom Cruise's ancestors hail from Flint. [1] Legendary Liverpool striker and former Wales Captain Ian Rush attended school in Flint, he maintains close family links with the area. Other famous people connected with the town include the chemist John Thomas best known for his research into plant dyes [2]and Thomas Totty, an Admiral who served with Lord Nelson and inherited Cornist Hall, Flint. [3]
In 1969 Flint hosted the National Eisteddfod, the town consequently has its own circle of Gorsedd stones. In July 2006 the stones became centre stage in the National Eisteddfod Proclamation Ceremony which formally announced the 2007 host town of the event as Mold. [4]
The town has two High schools; St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School and Flint High School. Primary Schools in Flint include The Gwynedd School, Cornist Park School, Ysgol Croes Ati (welsh Medium) and St Mary's Catholic Primary School.
Flint has its own low powered television relay transmitter, designed to provide improved coverage of Welsh channels in an area that would otherwise receive only English programming clearly.
The Flint accent is most often mistaken for a Liverpool accent. It is in fact a unique combination of speech patterns shared with other Welsh speakers and those found in nearby Cheshire, Wirral and Merseyside. [5]. Welsh culture is in evidence across the town with around 6% of the local population identifying themselves as Welsh (source: 2001 Census). Many people in Flint have some knowledge of the Welsh Language, although competence does vary. The distinctive local variant of English is however the main spoken language to be heard across the town.
Nearby villages with close ties to the town are Oakenholt and Flint Mountain, situated to the east and the south of the town centre respectively.
[edit] External links
- Flint Town Council
- Historic Notices of Flint 1883
- Returns of Owners of Land 1873 for Flintshire
- Catholic Registers of Holywell 1698-1829
- Constables of the Shire
- Burgesses returned to Parliament
- Knights of the Shire
- Rectors of Flint
- Churchwardends of Flint
- Overseers of the Poor
- Sheriffs of Flint
- Guardians of Flint
- BBC Wales's Flint website
- History of Flint - written by locals
