Flint, Flintshire

infobox UK place
country = Wales
welsh_name= Y Fflint
constituency_welsh_assembly= Delyn
latitude= 53.24413
longitude= -3.13285
official_name= Flint
unitary_wales= Flintshire
lieutenancy_wales= Clwyd
constituency_westminster= Delyn
population= 11,936 (2001 Census)
post_town= FLINT
postcode_district= CH6
postcode_area= CH
dial_code= 01352
os_grid_reference= SJ245725 Flint ( _cy. Y Fflint) is a town in Flintshire, North Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Dee. It was the county town of the historic county of Flintshire and today is the third largest town in Flintshire.

Geography and administration

Flint has the oldest town charter in Wales, dating from 1284.Fact|date=February 2007 Across the River Dee, the Wirral can be seen from Flint and views to the south of the town include Halkyn Mountain.

History

Flint is known for Flint Castle which Edward I of England began constructing in 1277. The castle was later where Richard II was handed over to his enemy Henry Bolingbroke in 1399. As a consequence, it is the setting for Act III, Scene III of the Shakespeare play "Richard II". The castle was the first of Edward I's 'iron ring' of royal castles to be built in Wales and the design served as the basis for larger castles such as Harlech and Rhuddlan.

The town did not have a wall, but a protective earthen and wooden palisaded ditch, the outline of which remained visible in the pattern of streets until the mid 1960's, although the medieval boundary can still be traced now. A particular example of this can be seen in John Speed's map of Flintshire.

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. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northeast/sites/slideshows/pages/nat-eist.shtml?1 BBC - North East Wales Slideshows - National Eisteddfod Proclamation ] ]

Present day

Eighteen per cent of the local population identify themselves as Welsh, a much larger proportion (eighty-two per cent) do not (source: 2001 Census). Many people in Flint have some knowledge of the Welsh Language, although competence does vary. English is the main spoken language to be heard across the town. There are more Polish language speakers in Flint since the relaxation of trade and immigration laws within Europe. Many shops have English and Polish information displayed and there is a Polish Shop (Polski Sklep), specialising in Polish products.

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 television signals.

Flint has a local football team Flint Town United F.C.. They play in the Cymru Alliance.

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, old Irish settlers and those found in nearby Cheshire, Wirral and Merseyside. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/recordings/group/wales-flint.shtml BBC - Voices - The Voices Recordings - Male voice choir members ] ]

Brian Fell's sculpture [http://www.cywaithcymru.org/eng/archive_detail.php?projectsID=135 Footplate] can be seen at Flint railway station. Initially it was thought to be an imitation of the famous Monty Python foot drawn by Terry Gilliam.

David Hanson, the Labour MP for Delyn, resides in Flint.

Perhaps one of the town's most iconic images apart from the castle is the two Tower blocks of high-rise flats situated near the town centre. The first two blocks were built in the 1960s and named Bolingbroke Heights and Richard Heights.

Education

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 Atti (Welsh Medium) and St Mary's Catholic Primary School.

Pubs and drinking

Flint is home to many pubs, most of which have been renovated over the past decade in order for the town to appeal to the wider community. Flint's association with pubs and drinking goes back a long way; a survey issued in 1900, from the office in Mold, of the Chief Police Constable for Flintshire, listed a total of 35 licensed Public Houses and off licensed premises retailing beers, wines and spirits.

Notable people

Legendary Liverpool FC striker and former Wales football (soccer) captain Ian Rush attended St. Richard Gwyn Catholic High school in Flint, some of his family live in the area. Other famous footballers who are from Flint include Ron Hewitt who starred in Wales' only Football World Cup appearance and his nephew Andy Holden. Other famous people connected with the town include the chemist John Thomas best known for his research into plant dyes [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/scifiles/interviewsub/flashbackthomas.shtml BBC - Scifiles - Interviews - Thomas the Pigment ] ] and Thomas Totty, an Admiral who served with Lord Nelson and inherited Cornist Hall, Flint. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northeast/guides/halloffame/historical/thomas_totty.shtml BBC - North East Wales Historical - Thomas Totty ] ] The actor Ian Puleston-Davies also comes from Flint. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/09_september/27/funland_puleston.shtml BBC - Press Office - Funland Press Pack Ian Puleston-Davies ] ]

Tom Cruise's paternal great-great grandfather, Dylan Henry Mapother, emigrated to Louisville, Kentucky from Flint in 1850.

References

External links

* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ouberous/flint/index.htm Historic Notices of Flint 1883]
* [http://www.cefnpennar.com/fli1873land/index.htm Returns of Owners of Land 1873 for Flintshire]
* [http://www.genebooks.com/flint/holywell_registers.htm Catholic Registers of Holywell 1698-1829]
* [http://www.cefnpennar.com/flint/flint_constables.htm Constables of the Shire]
* [http://www.cefnpennar.com/flint/flint_burgesses.htm Burgesses returned to Parliament]
* [http://www.cefnpennar.com/flint/flint_knights.htm Knights of the Shire]
* [http://www.cefnpennar.com/flint/flint_rectors.htm Rectors of Flint]
* [http://www.cefnpennar.com/flint/flint_churchwardens.htm Churchwardends of Flint]
* [http://www.cefnpennar.com/flint/flint_overseers.htm Overseers of the Poor]
* [http://www.cefnpennar.com/flint/flint_sheriff.htm Sheriffs of Flint]
* [http://www.cefnpennar.com/flint/flint_guardians.htm Guardians of Flint]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northeast/sites/flint_town/ BBC Wales's Flint website]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northeast/sites/flint_town/history.shtml History of Flint] - written by locals
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3396226 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Flint and surrounding area]