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Prestatyn

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"The township is situated on the shore of the Irish Sea, in a flat district, which is highly cultivated and richly productive of all kinds of grain, but more especially of excellent wheat, for the growth of which the soil is particularly favourable." [From Handbook for the Vale of Clwyd, William Davis, 1856]

The new parish of Prestatyn was created on the 1st August 1860, from the townships of Prestatyn and Nant, in the parish of Meliden, and part of the township of Gronant in the parish of Llanasa.

The "London Gazette" of the 3rd August 1860 defined the boundaries of the new parish thus:
All those parts of the parish of Meliden in the county of Flint and diocese of Saint Asaph which are comprised within the townships of Prestatyn and Nant.
And also all that part of the parish of Llanasa, in the same county and diocese, which is situate to the north and west of an imaginary line commencing on the boundary between the said parishes of Meliden and Llanasa at a point marked A. on the map hereunto annexed, where a boundary-stone marked with the letters and figures "P.N.P. 1860. No. 1." has been placed, and extending thence south-eastward in a straight line across the road which leads from the village of Gwaenysgor to the road which connects the town of Gronant with that of Prestatyn, to the middle of the western end of the fence which divides the close numbered 147 on the Tithe Commutation Map of the parish of Llanasa, and on the map hereunto annexed from the close numbered 148 on such maps, and extending thence eastward along the middle of such fence, and of the fences which divide the said close numbered 148 from the closes numbered respectively 146, 129, 128, 127, 123, and 122, on the said maps to the fence which divides the said close numbered 122 from the close numbered 121 on the said maps, and extending thence northward along the middle of the last-mentioned fence, and of the fences which divide the said close numbered 121 as aforesaid, and the closes numbered respectively 119 and 118 on the same maps, from the closes numbered respectively 124, 133, 134, 135, and 136, on the said maps to the middle of the road leading from the town of Gronant to Prestatyn aforesaid, and extending thence westward along the middle of such last-mentioned road, for a distance of forty-seven yards or thereabouts to a point opposite to the middle of the southern end of the fence which divides the close numbered 24 on the said maps, from the close numbered 23 on such maps, and extending thence in a direction generally northward to and along the middle of such last-mentioned fence, and along the middle of the fences which divide the said close, numbered 23 as aforesaid and the closes numbered respectively 10 and 9 on the said maps, from the closes numbered respectively 21, 22, 11, and 13 on the said maps to the northern extremity of the same fences, and extending thence in a straight line due north to the middle of tbe Chester and Ho1yhead Railway, and extending thence eastward along the middle of such railway for a distance of nine hundred and eighty-five yards or thereabouts to a point opposite to a boundary-stone marked with the letters and figures "P.N.P. 1860. No. 2." which has been placed on the northern side of the said railway, and extending thence in a straight line due north to the boundary of the said parish of Llanasa.

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Bibliography

  • Amos's presentation guide to Rhyl (with view of the town) Rhuddlan, St Asaph, Denbigh, Abergele, Pensarn and Prestatyn. Rhyl : Amos Brothers, 1887
  • Blockley, Kevin ... [et al.]. Prestatyn 1984-5 Oxford : B.A.R., 1989.
  • Blockley, Marion. Discovering the secrets of Roman Prestatyn Country Quest 26/2 (1985), p. 51-2
  • Dawkins, W. Boyd. On the cairn and sepulchral cave at Gop, near Prestatyn London : Harrison and Sons, 1901.
  • Edwards, Thos. Historical guide to Prestatyn, Dyserth, Meliden, Newmarket, Gwaenysgor, Llanasa, Talacre, etc. Prestatyn : John T. Burrows, [1905]
  • Emery, Gordon. Prestatyn -Gop Hill & Trelawnyd Chester : Gordon Emery, 1989.
  • Goodall, Stephen P. The Prestatyn and Dyserth branch line Oxford : Oakwood Press, 1986.
  • Griffith, D. Geraint. Dauganmlwyddiant achos a chapel Rehoboth, Prestatyn Prestatyn : Capel Rehoboth, 1995.
  • Harris, D. W. History of Prestatyn [Rhuddlan] : Charter Publications, 1989.
  • Hughes, J. A shore walk - Gronant/Prestatyn sand dunes Proceedings of the Dyserth and district field club, (1993), p. 55-59
  • Manley, John. A Bronze Age chisel from Graig Fawr, Prestatyn Flintshire Historical Society journal, Vol. 31, (1983/1984), p.187-191
  • Owen, Hywel Wyn. Rhai enwau lleoedd yng nghymydau Prestatyn a Rhuddlan Bangor : Ysgol y Gymraeg, Prifysgol Bangor, 2007.
  • Patterson, J. and J. Phillips. Prestatyn and Gronant sand dunes Proceedings of the Dyserth and district field club, (2004), p. 97-98.
  • Phillips, Francis. A short history of Prestatyn Railway Station Prestatyn : North Wales Heritage Group, c1997.
  • Phillips, J. Visit to Big Pool Wood, Tyn-y-Morfa, near Prestatyn Proceedings of the Dyserth and district field club, (1995), p. 49-51
  • Presbyterian Church of Wales, Nant Hall Road, Prestatyn 1900 to 2000 : Prestatyn : Nant Hall Road Presbyterian Church, 2000.
  • Rank, C J Saddle quern from King Charles' bowling green, Gwaenysgor Flintshire Historical Society journal, Vol. 25 1971/72 Welsh Journals Online
  • Rhodes, J N The London (Quaker) lead company and the Prestatyn mines scandal Flintshire Historical Society journal, Vol. 23 1967/8 Welsh Journals Online
  • Roman Prestatyn / produced by The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust. Welshpool : Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust, 1986.
  • Smith, B. and J. Phillips. Barbara Allen nature walk at Prestatyn Community Woodland Proceedings of the Dyserth and district field club, (2008), p. 85-88.
  • Spite, Norman (ed) English Presbyterian Church, Nant Hall Road, Prestatyn 1900-1950 1950.
  • Stockdale, Joan. Refreshed in postwar Prestatyn Country Quest. 33 (February 1993), p. 40-41
  • Thomas, Harry. Prestatyn & district - a pictorial past Volume 1. Rhyl : Gwasg Helygain, 1993.
  • Thomas, Harry. Prestatyn in old picture postcards Zaltbommel : European Library, 1989.
  • Thomas, Harry. Prestatyn and district . Volume 2. Rhyl : Gwasg Helygain, 1994.
  • Thompson, Trefor. Old Prestatyn and Meliden Rhuddlan : Charter Publications, 1981
  • Thompson, Trefor. The Prestatyn and Dyserth Railway [Rhuddlan] : North Clwyd Railway Association, 1978.
  • Thompson, Trefor. The Prestatyn and Dyserth Railway Rhuddlan : Charter Press, 1985.
  • Thompson, Trefor. Prestatyn and Meliden in old photographs Rhuddlan : Charter Publications, c1979.
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Church History

Ordnance Survey reference SJ067828.
The new parish church, Christ Church, was consecrated on Wednesday, 27 May 1863.
The church was enlarged in 1905.

"The new church is situated on a very nice eminence, in the centre of the village. It is seen to advantage from almost any point of view, and gives a striking characteristic effect to the opening of the Clwydian Vale from the Chester line, and on the other hand in the view down the magnificent vale, it is the vanishing point in the picture."
[From The Rhyl Record of 4 June 1863]

The Clwyd FHS website has a photograph of the church.

Various items  on the People's Collection Wales site

  • Church, Prestatyn
  • Wesleyan Chapel, Prestatyn
  • Rehoboth chapel (CM), Prestatyn

 

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 Prestatyn :

Name of ChapelDenominationNumber of "adherents"
Not named - Welsh (28)Baptist28
Rehoboth (166)Calvinistic Methodist166
Rehoboth, MissionCalvinistic MethodistNot stated
Seion - Welsh (66)Congregational66
Not named (80)English Presbyterian80
Trinity (110Methodist New Connexion110
Bethel - Welsh (230)Wesleyan230
Horeb - Welsh (138)Wesleyan138
St. John's - English (100)Wesleyan100
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Church Records

  • The following nonconformist registers for the Prestatyn area are held at the Public Record Office, Kew.
    They may be viewed on microfilm at LDS Family History Centres; and at the Denbighshire Record Office and the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. It is understood that the microfilm is not available at the Flintshire Record Office.
    They have also been incorporated into the I.G.I., as part of an "official extraction" programme :
Name of ChapelDenominationType of RecordYears CoveredI.G.I. Batch Number
Rehoboth / Capel UchaCalvinistic MethodistBirths and Baptisms1825 - 1837C101271
  • The following nonconformist registers for the Prestatyn area are held at the Flintshire Record Office, Hawarden.
    They have not been filmed; and they have not been incorporated into the I.G.I. :
Name of ChapelDenominationType of RecordYears Covered
Bethel and Horeb
("circuit")
Wesleyan MethodistBaptisms1850 - 1977
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Civil Registration

The new parish of Prestatyn was assigned to the No. 1 ("St. Asaph") sub-district of the St. Asaph Registration District, which was co-extensive with the St. Asaph poor law Union.

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

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

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

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Description & Travel

Prestatyn - on wikipedia

Various landscapes/seascapes  on the People's Collection Wales site

You can see pictures of Prestatyn 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

The Railway Hotel, Prestatyn, c. 1885 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

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SJ063830 (Lat/Lon: 53.33558, -3.408603), Prestatyn which are provided by:

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Military History

Prestatyn War Memorial on the People's Collection Wales site

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Population

  • In 1831- Prestatyn was not a separate parish.
  • In 1901- the population was 1261.
    [ Royal Commission on the Welsh Church - October 1907]
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Social Life & Customs

The Pierrots at Prestatyn beach c1915 on the People's Collection Wales site

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Statistics

Archdeacon Thomas (1911) gives the area of the parish as 987 acres.