Flintshire

Parishes

Contents

Brynford

During the early Victorian period, it was seen that there was a need to provide a church for the population of the more remote areas of Halkyn mountain. The local landowners undertook to build a church at Pantasaph; but when the building was almost complete, the family converted to Roman Catholicism. Following a period of bitter dispute, and legal action, the Bishop of St. Asaph had to relinquish the claim of the Established Church to the new building.
A fund-raising appeal was launched, and within a very short time the sum of £10,806 (a considerable figure for that time) had been contributed - enough to build two new churches - St. Michael's, Brynford and St. Paul's, Gorsedd.

The new parish of Brynford was created in 1854, from the townships of Brynford (formerly in the parish of Holywell), and parts of Trellan Ucha and Prysau (formerly in the parish of Ysceifiog).

Church History Church Records Civil Registration

Population Statistics

Church History

"The church is distant from the town about a mile and a half, and is a neat and substantial edifice in the gothic style of architecture, and capable of holding about 300 persons; the Schools and master's residence adjoin, and appear to be fitted up with every regard to the comfort and advancement of the scholars."
[From The Chester Chronicle of 16 August 1853]

The Clwyd FHS website has a photograph of the church.

Nonconformist Churches

Name of Chapel	Denomination	Number of "adherents"
Milwr - Welsh	Baptist	21
Saron	Calvinistic Methodist	60
Pisgah - Welsh	Congregational	98
Calcot - Welsh	Wesleyan	88

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Church Records

Parish Registers

• The following Parish Registers have been deposited at Flintshire Record Office, Hawarden. They may be viewed on microfilm at the Flintshire Record Office, the Denbighshire Record Office, and the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. These microfilms are not available elsewhere.

Baptisms	Marriages	Burials
-	1855 - 1965	1877 - 1917

Bishop's Transcripts

• No Bishop's Transcripts have been deposited.

I.G.I.

• There are no official I.G.I. entries for St. Michael's, Brynford.

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Civil Registration

In the GRO indexes to civil registration, entries for Brynford are found under:

• Years 1837 - 1851: Holywell XXVII.nnn
• Years 1852 - 1946: Holywell 11b.nnn

(GRO index references have no relevance at the local Superintendent Registrar's Office)

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Population

• In 1831- Brynford was not a separate parish.
• In 1901- the population was 661.
  [Royal Commission on the Welsh Church - October 1907]

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Statistics

Archdeacon Thomas (1911) gives the area of the parish as 1253 acres.

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