Trelawnyd (formerly Newmarket from 1710 to 1954) is a village in Flintshire, Wales. The village had a population taken at the 2011 census of 584.[1] It is part of the community of Trelawnyd and Gwaenysgor.

Trelawnyd
Trelawnyd
Trelawnyd is located in Flintshire
Trelawnyd
Trelawnyd
Location within Flintshire
Population820 (2011)
OS grid referenceSJ090796
Community
Principal area
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townRHYL
Postcode districtLL18
Dialling code01745
PoliceNorth Wales
FireNorth Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Flintshire
53°18′22″N 3°21′54″W / 53.306°N 3.365°W / 53.306; -3.365

Governance

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There is an electoral ward called Trelawnyd and Gwaenysgor. The total population of this ward taken at the 2011 Census was 1,838.[2]

History

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Trelawnyd is one of Flintshire's ancient parishes, originally part of Dyserth parish. It became a separate parish between 1254 and 1291, and included the townships of Gop, Graig, Pentreffyddion and Rhydlyfnwyd.[3]

The village was renamed Newmarket in 1710 by John Wynne[4] who obtained a faculty from the Bishops Registry. Wynne had by then redeveloped much of the village, established several industries, a weekly market, and an annual fair,[3] in an attempt to turn Newmarket into the area's market town. The plan failed as nearby Rhyl developed into the larger market town.[5] The village was officially renamed Trelawnyd in Welsh, in 1954.[3] One unscientific derivation of the name which is frequently found is "tref + llawn + ŷd", "town full of wheat". However, the earlier forms of the name need to be taken into account. Professor Melville Richards of Bangor University, who was Wales's foremost expert on its place names, proposed "tref + *Llyfnwyd", the settlement of a man called Llyfnwyd, but noted that some of the earlier forms also have "rhiw" (= hillside) and "rhyd" (= ford) instead of "tre": Rhiwlyfnwyd (= Llyfnwyd's hill), Rhydlyfnwyd (= Llyfnwyd's ford). The personal name is plausible from the earlier forms, but is not attested. In the “Place-Names of Flintshire” the first element of the name is shown to be originally “rhiw” and “Llyfnwyd” is a Cymricisation of an Anglo-Saxon name Leofnoth which occurs a number of times in the Cheshire and Flintshire section of the Domesday Book. The original meaning of the name Trelawnyd is therefore "slope of Leofnoth", and referred to nearby Gop Hill [6] Leofnoth was a common name in the late Saxon period. “Leof” and “noth” are Old English for “friendly” and “strength” respectively.[7]

Gop Hill ("Y Gop" in Welsh) has a prehistoric cairn mound, claimed to be the biggest in Wales and the second largest in Britain,[8] as well as a cave or rock shelter, discovered in 1886–87.[9]

Trelawnyd Male Voice Choir

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In March 1933, 35 villagers formed a choir (Côr Meibion Trelawnyd) to compete at the village Eisteddfod. Within a few months, it grew to 50 members, and has progressed to world renown with about 100 members in 2010.[10]

In 1957, under conductor Neville Owen, a local schoolmaster, they won the National championships which were held at Bala.[10]

In 1973, under conductor Dr. Goronwy Wynne, they again won the National choir championship at Ruthin.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Trelawnyd - Settlement Service Audit" (PDF). Flintshire County Council. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Trelawnyd (formerly Newmarket)". Genuki. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  4. ^ "Y Bywgraffiadur Ar-lein: Wynne, John". National Library of Wales. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  5. ^ "Trelawnyd Tourist Information". AboutBritain.com. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  6. ^ Place-Names of Flintshire Hywel Wyn Owen Ken Lloyd Gruffydd. Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru-University of Wales Press 2017. July 2017. ISBN 9781786831118. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Box Before the Normans Alan Payne and Jonathan Parkhouse June 2021". Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Trelawnyd, y Gop and Gwaenysgor". 6 February 2007.
  9. ^ "Gop Caves".
  10. ^ a b c Trelawnyd Male Voice Choir - History
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