HOPE

"HOPE, (or Estyn), a parish and village in the hundred of Maylor, county Flint, 11 miles S. of Flint, and 186 miles from London. It is a station on the Mold branch of the Chester and Holyhead railway. The parish lies to the W. of the river Alen, a branch of the Dee, and comprises eight townships, including the township, village, and borough of Caergwrle. This last is a place of considerable importance, being a municipal borough incorporated under a charter of the Black Prince, and a contributory with six other towns to the borough of Flint in returning one member to parliament. Hope, formerly called Hopedale, was held by Gislebert at the time of the Domesday Survey, and afterwards by the earls of Chester, the Stanleys, &c. Here are the remains of the old castle where Eleanor, Queen of Edward I., rested on her way to Caernarvon. Some of the inhabitants are engaged in the lime-kilns. In the vicinity are several mineral springs. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of St. Asaph, value £291, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Cynfarch, has a tomb to an ancestor of the Trevors of Plas Teg. There is a chapel-of-ease at Llanfynydd. The parochial charities produce about £16 per annum. Roman coins and roads have been met with, and there are traces of several British camps or earthworks. Wat's Dyke also crosses the parish.

"CAERGWRLE, a township in the parish of Hope, or Estyn, hundred of Maylor, in the county of Flint, North Wales, 11 miles to the S. of Flint, and 186 miles from London. It is situated on the W. of the river Alen, a branch of the Dee, not far from the Chester and Shrewsbury railway. The village of Hope, a mile off, is a station on the Mold branch of the Chester and Holyhead railway. It has been conjectured that this place was an outpost of the Roman station at Chester, which was the headquarters of the 20th legion. Traces of Roman roads have been observed, and Roman relics found in the neighbourhood; and the name of the township is easily derived from Caer gawr Lleon, signifying "camp of the great legion." On a steep and rugged rock are some remains of a British fortress, which was called Hope Castle, and connected with which is a tradition of a visit of Queen Eleanor after it had been captured by Edward I. Caer Estyn, near this village, is another British fort. Wat's Dyke crosses the parish of Hope. Caergwrle is a borough incorporated by a charter of the Black Prince, and is governed by a mayor and two bailiffs. It is contributory with six other towns to, the borough of Flint in returning one member to parliament. Limestone is quarried for burning at Caergwrle Hill. Cattle fairs are held here on Shrove Tuesday, the 10th May, the 12th August, and the 27th October."

"CYMMAN, a township in the parish of Hope, in the county of Flint, 1½ mile S.W. of Caergwrle."

"ISAF and USAF UWCH-Y-MYNYDD, townships in the parish of Hope, county Flint, near Caergwrie, under Bettws Hill.

"LLANFYNYDD, a chapelry in the parish of Hope, county Flint, in the vicinity of Caergwrle. Mold is its post town. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of St. Asaph, value £250, in the gift of the vicar of the parish."

"RHANBERFEDD, a township in the parish of Queen's Hope, hundred of Maylor, county Flint, 2 miles N. of Caergwrle. It is situated in Hopedale, on the river Alen, and near Offa's Dyke."

"SHORDLEY, a township in the parish of Hope, county Flint, near Caergwyrll."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2018