Flintshire?

This page is for those who would like to know more about Flintshire as a county.

Flintshire is in Wales, UK. It is in the North East region of the country, and is the smallest county in Wales with a population of 148,300 (growing at 4%!). Neighbouring counties include Merseyside, Wirral, Cheshire, Denbighshire and Wrexham. Liverpool is 20 miles away and Manchester is 45 miles away as the crow flies. The biggest town in the county is Connah’s Quay, which, collectively with Shotton, Queensferry and Garden City makes up the area of Deeside. The area is urban in comparison to the rest of the county. The Clwydian Mountains occupy much of the west of the county. The highest point is Moel Fammau (1,820 feet / 554 metres). This is the rural part of the county and creates its income through agriculture and tourism.

The area is home to a number of big companies, including Airbus, Toyota, Corus Steel and Shotton Paper. The county is also home to a number of fast growing internet companies including www.moneysupermarket.com and www.shopfitter.com Most of these companies are in or near Deeside Industrial Estate, one of the largest such industrial areas in the UK.The current administrative area of Flintshire (a unitary authority) came into existence in 1996, when the former administrative county of Clwyd was split into three smaller areas. The administrative capital of the county is Mold, known in Welsh as ‘Y Wyddgrug’.

Lighthouse on Flintshire Coast

The county was formed in 1284 under the terms of the Statute of Rhuddlan. The traditional county does not have the same boundaries as administrative Flintshire; in particular it has a large enclave called Maelor Saesneg, it also includes Prestatyn, Rhyl and St Asaph which are now administered by Denbighshire, as well as Bangor-on-Dee and Overton-on-Dee, now administered as part of Wrexham county borough.

Other enclaves of Flintshire included the manors of Marford and Hoseley, Abenbury Fechan and Bryn Estyn, all on the outskirts of Wrexham, and also a small part of the parish of Erbistock around the Boat Inn. These were all completely surrounded by Denbighshire.

Additionally, a small part of Flintshire, including the village of Sealand, was isolated across the River Dee when its course was changed to improve navigation.

To find out more about the history of Flintshire, please visit this council website.
This page was created with help of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintshire