Hawarden, Flintshire

Historical Description

Hawarden (pronounced Harden), a village, a township, and also a parish, including a large cluster of villages and townships, in Flintshire. The village stands on an eminence, above the valley of the river Dee, 2 miles S by W of Queen's Ferry station on the Chester and Holyhead section, and 2½ NW by W of Broughton Hall station on the Chester and Mold branch of the L. & N.W.R., and 6½ W by S of Chester. It has a station on the Cheshire lines, and Wrexham, Mold, and Connahs Quay railways, and a post, money order, and telegraph office under Chester. It was known to the ancient Britons as Pen-y-Liwch, and in Domesday as Haordin, and is a seat of petty sessions. A weekly market is held on Saturday. The parish contains also the townships of Broughton, Bretton, Sealand, Manor and Rake, Mancott, Ewloe Town, Ewloe Wood, Aston, Moor, Broad Lane, Pent-robbin, Bannel, Saltney, and Shotton, and extends over Sealand, which is across the estuary of the Dee. Acreage, 15, 000; population of the civil parish, 7057; of the ecclesiastical, 6180. The manor belonged to Edwin, king of Northumbria, passed to Hugh Lupus, the Montaltos, the Montacutes, and the Stanleys; was purchased in the time of the Commonwealth by Serjeant Glynne, a friend of Cromwell, and remained in the possession of the Glynne family till the death of Sir Stephen Glynne in 1874, when it passed to his nephew, the late W. H. Gladstone. An ancient castle on it existed before the Conquest as a stronghold of the Mercian kings, was surrendered in 1265 by Simon de Montford to Llewelyn, was destroyed by Llewelyn, was rebuilt by the Crown, was surprised in 1282 by David the brother of Llewelyn, was captured in 1645 by the parliamentarian forces under General Mytton, was then dismantled, and is now represented by the keep and ruined walls, which command a fine view of the Wirral, the Overton Hills, the Wrekin, and of Moel Fammau and the Vale of Clwyd range. A modern castellated mansion, called Hawarden Castle, is the home of the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, was erected in 1752 and extended in 1809, and stands in a large and richly diversified park. Trumans Hill, in the village, was a post of the ancient Britons, and has a fine view. Manufactories of pottery, fire-clay, and chemicals, collieries, and ironworks are in the neighbourhood. The living is a rectory, united with the chapelries of St John the Baptist, St Mary, Broughton, and St Bartholomew, Sealand, in the diocese of St Asaph; net value, £821 with residence. The church, after being almost destroyed by fire in 1857, was rebuilt in 1859, and was further improved in 1878, is in the Late Decorated style of the 14th century, and consists of nave, two chancels, and aisles, with tower and spire. There are three chapels of ease, and three school chapels, several dissenting chapels, a literary institute, and a workhouse. It contains a fine reredos erected in memory of the Rev. Henry Glynne, a former rector, and a fine recumbent figure of Sir Stephen Glynne. There is a large theological and general library founded by the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone. Alderman Boydell and Lady Hamilton, whose name is associated with that of Lord Nelson, were natives. The inhabitants of Hawarden were formerly stigmatized as Harden Jews, from a local legend about the destroying of an image of the Virgin Mary in 946.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Flintshire is available to browse.

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers online:

• Western Mail
• Baner ac Amserau Cymru
• The Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser
• The North Wales Chronicle