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Hope

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"The parish is divided by the river Alyn into two parts; that above the river, called Hope Medachiad, comprises the townships of Uwchmynydd (subdivided into Uwch and Issa), Cymau, Caergwrle and Rhanberfedd; and that below the river those of Hope Owen, Estyn and Shordley. The total area contains 9171 acres, but a portion was transferred to the daughter parish of Llanfynydd in 1843, leaving to the mother church an area of 5171 acres, with a population of 3075." [From The History of the Diocese of St. Asaph , Ven. D.R. Thomas, 1908]

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Bibliography

  • Evans, D G. The Hope Enclosure Act Flintshire Historical Society journal, Vol. 31, (1983/1984), p.161-186.
  • Jarman, Sydney Gardnor. The parishes of Gresford and Hope Compilation facsim. ed. Wrexham : Wrexham County Borough Council, Library and Information Service, 2000.
  • Jones, Nigel . . . et al. St Cyngar's church, Hope Archaeology in Wales. 41 (2001), 42-50
  • Lloyd, George Hope Parish Church Flintshire Historical Society journal, Vol. 19 1961 Welsh Journals Online
  • Phillips, J. Caergwrle and Hope Proceedings of the Dyserth and district field club, 2009, p. 56-58
  • Smith, P Plas Teg Flintshire Historical Society journal, Vol. 18 1960 Welsh Journals Online
  • Taylor, A J. The Hope Castle account of 1282 Flintshire Historical Society journal, Vol. 33 1992 Welsh Journals Online
  • Taylor, A J The earliest reference to works at Hope Castle Flintshire Historical Society journal, Vol. 22 1965/6 Welsh Journals Online
  • Taylor, Henry An early Caegwrle deed Flintshire Historical Society journal, Vol.6 1917 Welsh Journals Online
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Cemeteries

In addition to the churchyard at the parish church, there are two public cemeteries in Fagl Lane.
Old Hope Cemetery (SJ 307583) was opened in the 1860's, and Bryn-y-Grog Cemetery (SJ 305583) was opened in the 1950's.
Both cemeteries are still in use, and are administered by Flintshire County Council. The opening time for each cemetery is 8.00 a.m. until sunset. There is a full time Sexton in attendance.
The cemetery records, from 1865 to date (Old Hope), and 1959 to date (Bryn-y-Grog), are held at the Flintshire County offices in Flint.
Researchers who wish to see the cemetery records must make a prior appointment, by contacting :

  • Flintshire County Council,
    Housing and Community Services,
    Cemeteries Section,
    County Offices,
    Flint,
    Flintshire.
    CH6 5BD.

    Tel: 01352 703360
    Fax: 01352 703373

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Church History

See Welsh Chapels and Churches for a photograph of Hope, St Cynfarch Ordnance Survey reference SJ 309583.

There is evidence that a wooden church stood on the site during the 12th century. This was replaced by a stone building in the late 13th century. The north nave was built circa 1500, with the tower being added some years later. Extensive "restoration" took place in 1859, and again in 1885.

Before the restoration of 1885 :

"The Churchwarden's boxes rose majestically to the height of seven feet, and some large holes cut in the front through which the head might be emerged were the only means by which the occupants could obtain a satisfactory view of the outer world."
[From The History of the Diocese of St. Asaph , Ven. D.R. Thomas, 1908]

Urgent and extensive structural repairs to the fabric of the church were undertaken during the year 2000; and the church was re-opened, and re-dedicated by the Bishop of St. Asaph, on Sunday, 17 December 2000.

The church is currently dedicated to Saint Cynfarch and Saint Cyngar; although at various times in the past it appears to have been dedicated to either one or the other.

The Clwyd FHS website has a photograph of the church.

'Hope Church' by Moses Griffith, c. 1770-1800 (watercolour) on the People's Collection Wales site

Hope Parish site

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 Civil parish of Hope :

Name of ChapelDenominationNumber of "adherents"
CymauCalvinistic Methodist210
FfrithCalvinistic Methodist60
HorebCalvinistic Methodist125
Sion, Coed TalonCalvinistic Methodist150
Bethel, Caergwrle - WelshCongregational110
Castle Farm, Caergwrle - EnglishCongregational80
Cromwell's Hill, Caergwrle - EnglishCongregationalNot stated
Penuel, Llanfynydd - WelshCongregational50
Not named, Pontybodkin - WelshCongregational115
Bethlehem, CefnybeddEnglish Presbyterian180
Not named, CaergwrleEnglish Presbyterian220
Sion, PenyfforddEnglish Presbyterian85
Not named, CaergwrlePrimitive Methodist35
Not named, PenyfforddPrimitive Methodist150
Not named, CaergwrleUnited Methodist Free Church103
Carmel, Cymau - WelshWesleyan73
Moriah - WelshWesleyan105
Ffrith - WelshWesleyan125
Not named, Caergwrle - EnglishWesleyan100
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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, Ruthin, and the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. These microfilms are not available elsewhere.
BaptismsMarriagesBurials
1668 - 19041668 - 19071668 - 1943
  • Clwyd FHS has published full transcriptions of the registers (complete with indexes) for the following years :
BaptismsMarriagesBurials
1668 - 18121668 - 18121668 - 1812

Bishop's Transcripts

  • Bishop's Transcripts for the years shown below have been deposited in the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
    Around the year 1951, most of the Bishop's Transcripts which had been deposited at that time were microfilmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and the films are available on request at Family History Centres of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
    The films may also be viewed at the Flintshire and Denbighshire Record Offices, and at the National Library of Wales.
    In general, the Bishop's Transcripts are less complete than the parish registers.
Deposited at the National Library of WalesMicrofilmed copies
1662 - 18511662 - 1851

I.G.I.

  • There are no official I.G.I. entries for St. Cyngar's, Hope.

Nonconformist Records

  • The following nonconformist registers for the Hope area are held at the Public Record Office, Kew.
    They may be viewed on microfilm at LDS Family History Centres; and at the Flintshire Record Office, the Denbighshire Record Office and the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
    They have also been incorporated into the I.G.I., as part of an "official extraction" programme :
Name of ChapelDenominationType of RecordYears Covered
Penuel and GyfynusIndependentBirths and Baptisms1820 - 1837
  • The following nonconformist registers for the Hope area are held at the Flintshire Record Office, Hawarden (FRO), or at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth (NLW).
    They have not been filmed; and they have not been incorporated into the I.G.I. :
Name of ChapelDenominationType of RecordYears CoveredHeld at
Bethlehem, CefnybeddEnglish PresbyterianBaptisms
Marriages
Burials
1875 - 1897
1873 - 1887
1873 - 1888
NLW
Sion, PenyfforddEnglish PresbyterianMarriages1937 - 1970
1972 - 1975
NLW
Caergwrle (not named)WesleyanMarriages1935 - 1967FRO
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Civil Registration

When Civil Registration was introduced (on 1 July 1837), the parish of Hope was assigned to the No. 1 ("Hope") sub-district of the Wrexham Registration District, which was co-extensive with the Wrexham poor law Union.

On 1 August 1871, Hope was transferred to the Hawarden poor law Union (established 1853); and for civil registration purposes, it was assigned to the No. 4 (" Hawarden") sub-district of the Chester Registration District.

On 1 January 1903, the sub-district of Hawarden was upgraded to a Registration District in its own right.

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

  • Years 1837 - 1851: Wrexham XXVII. nnn
  • Years 1852 - 1870: Wrexham 11b. nnn
  • Years 1871 - 1902: Chester 8a. nnn
  • Years 1903 - 1946: Hawarden 11b. nnn

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

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Description & Travel

Hope - on wikipedia

You can see pictures of Hope which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

The transcription of the section for this place from the National Gazetteer (1868), provided by Colin Hinson.

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History

'Plas Teg, Hope' by John Ingleby, 18th century (watercolour) on the People's Collection Wales site

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Maps

"North-East Wales Churches and Ancient Parish Boundaries" produced by Clwyd Record Office in 1994, published by Genuki with the permission of Flintshire Record Office and Denbighshire Archives

Kain, R.J.P., Oliver, R.R., Historic Parishes of England and Wales: an Electronic Map of Boundaries before 1850 with a Gazetteer and Metadata [computer file]. Colchester, Essex: History Data Service, UK Data Archive [distributor], 17 May 2001. SN: 4348. Here is a gazetteer/finding aid plus a set of overview maps to accurately identify the position of parishes within the county

Part of Hope parish in the County of Flint townships of Hope Owen, Estyn and Shordley; Part of Hope parish in the County of Flint townships of Rhanberfedd, Uwchymynydd Isa, Caergwle, Cymman; Hope parish, Uwchmynydd Ucha township on the People's Collection Wales site

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SJ292581 (Lat/Lon: 53.115002, -3.058534), Hope which are provided by:

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Population

  • In 1831- the population was 2747.
  • In 1901- the population was 3075.
    [ Royal Commission on the Welsh Church - October 1907]