GENUKI : Flintshire, Brynford, St. Michael

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).

For a map link to this place - see under Maps on Holywell

Bibliography
Church History
Church Records
Civil Registration

Description and Travel
Population
Statistics

Bibliography

Brassil, Kenneth. Excavations at Naid-y-march, Brynford Flintshire Historical Society journal, Vol. 33, (1992), p. 203
Miller, J. Fossil hunt, Brynford Proceedings of the Dyserth and district field club, (1992), p. 55-7.
Tennant, Rowland. A history of six villages Holywell : Rowland Tennant, 2003.

Church History

See Welsh Chapels and Churches for a photograph of Brynford St Michael's Church

Ordnance Survey reference SJ 178744.
The Bishop of St. Asaph laid the foundation stone of the new church at Brynford on Monday, 6th October 1851. The Church, which was dedicated to St. Michael, was consecrated on 12 July 1853.

"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 "Welsh Church Commission - County of Flint - The Statistics of the Nonconformist Churches for 1905"lists the following nonconformist places of worship in the Civilparish of Brynford:

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

Return to top of page

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.

Return to top of page

Civil Registration

The new parish of Brynford was assigned to the No. 2 ("Holywell") sub-district of the Holywell Registration District, which was co-extensive with the Holywell poor law Union.

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)

Return to top of page

Description and Travel

Brynford and Calcoed Village site

Brynford - on wikipedia

Brynford photographs - on geograph.org.uk

Population

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

Return to top of page

Statistics

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

Return to top of page

Find help, report problems, and contribute information.

Last Updated 8 Jan 2013 - Gareth Hicks