Buckley
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| Buckley | ||
|---|---|---|
| Statistics | ||
| Population: | 18,268 | |
| Ordnance Survey | ||
| OS grid reference: | Maps for SJ275645 | |
| Administration | ||
| Principal area: | Flintshire | |
| Constituent country: | Wales | |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom | |
| Other | ||
| Police force: | North Wales Police | |
| Ceremonial county: | Clwyd | |
| Historic county: | Flintshire | |
| Post office and telephone | ||
| Post town: | BUCKLEY | |
| Postal district: | CH7 | |
| Dialling code: | +44-1244 | |
| Politics | ||
| UK Parliament: | Alyn and Deeside | |
| European Parliament: | Wales | |
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- For other uses, see Buckley (disambiguation).
Buckley (Welsh: Bwcle) is a town in Flintshire, Wales, United Kingdom. It is the second largest town in Flintshire in terms of population, and is 2 miles from Mold, the county town. It is located on the A549 road, with the larger A55 road passing nearby, and is in the Alyn and Deeside parliamentary constituency.
It is contiguous with the nearby villages of Ewloe, Alltami (which are both under the jurisdiction of Buckley town council) and Mynydd Isa.
Notable nearby landmarks include Ewloe Castle.
Contents |
[edit] History
Buckley (the name comes from the Anglo-Saxon bok lee, meaning meadow, or field) was an Anglo-Saxon location, with some of its houses recorded in the Domesday Book of the 11th Century. However, the first documented evidence of its existence dates from 1294, when it was described as the pasturage of the Manor of Ewloe.
The town became an industrial heartland for pottery and coal between the 17th and 19th centuries. However, it only grew into any kind of prominence during the Industrial Revolution of the 18th Century, when coal and clay were extensively mined there, and the name Buckley became synonymous with the production of various fire-clay and pottery products.
Urban district council status was conferred on the town in 1898; at this time, the area comprised of two parishes, Buckley (1874) and Bistre (1844). Prior to then, it was divided between the parishes of Mold and Hawarden.
[edit] Mining and pottery
Buckley was a popular location for mining, as there were many faults in local rock formations that allowed seams of coal to be mined directly from the surface. Its heavy, clay soil also allowed for excellent pottery and bricks to be manufactured. Bricks from Buckley were transported all across the United Kingdom, as Buckley became a brickworking centre. A great deal of people moved into the area, particularly from Ireland and Liverpool to find work in the mining and brick industries, giving the town a distinctive accent (see Buckley#Buckley dialect).
Many pottery and earthenware products manufactured were taken on the backs of donkeys to either Chester market or exported via the River Dee, as early as the reign of Elizabeth I. The last pottery kiln was fired in 1946. However, a local cement works is still in operation.
[edit] Buckley dialect
Although very few locals speak with a 'Buckley' accent nowadays, due to people moving in and out of the area, and with the proliferation of television and radio, a few of the town's older citizens still speak in a form of the strongly accented dialect, full of colloquialisms, and often unintelligible to outsiders. The last remaining pure 'Buckley' speaker was noted linguist Dennis Griffiths, a Buckley resident, who died in 1972, and whose book is the main repository and record of the dialect. A few examples (mainly phonetic) are noted below:
- Wunst every blue moon - rarely occurring
- Thou frys me to death - the limit of boredom
- A lick and a promise - a quick wash
- Fasen the fost un fost - fasten the first one first
- The daddy on um aw - the best of the lot
- Husht thee naise - be quiet
- I conna meke thee out - I can't understand you
[edit] The 'Buckley Panto'
In 1932, a tradition started in Buckley of running an annual pantomime. Dennis Griffiths produced a version of Dick Whittington in 1933, and ran the pantomime for 27 years, famously using the programme to invite any and all complaints to arrive written "on the back of a 10 shilling note (non-returnable)".
[edit] Present day
Today, Buckley has a population of around 17,000, and boasts numerous light industries. Those who cannot find work locally commute to Deeside, Cheshire, Wrexham and Merseyside.
The Castle Cement works at Padeswood is the only large scale industry remaining in the town. Its huge new 200 ft kiln is now the major landmark on the skyline, visible from many miles away. Despite many locals considering it an eyesore, it has reduced pollution produced by the cement works by up to 90%. [1]
[edit] Geography
Buckley has a large area of common land, known simply as 'The Common'. It has a large playground for children, as well as numerous duckponds. A funfair visits here during the summer.
There is also a small lake, known as 'The Trap', which is stocked with trout. A German Messerschmitt bomber crashed into the Trap during World War II, shot down by anti-aircraft fire after going off course following a bombing run over Liverpool. The surviving crew members were captured by a Special Constable, Peter Griffiths. The land is primarily heavy clay soil.
Buckley has a shopping precinct, as well as one supermarket.
[edit] The Jubilee
Buckley observes a regional celebration and march over 200 years old called the Buckley Jubilee, which is celebrated on the second Tuesday of July. Officially, however, the Jubilee is 149 years old (as of 2005); the 150th is to be celebrated 11 July 2006. The difference in dates stems from the 'official' date being set when the Buckley Temperance Society first sanctioned the march. The Jubilee is a ceremonial march that begins on "The Common", a large area of common ground owned by the people of the town used for lesuire and recreational purposes. The term 'jubilee' was first used in 1871.
On the Common starting at 3pm is a non-demominational Service led by the Minister of the Church/Chapel leading the Jubilee that year. In 2005, it was the Revd. Anthraparushra. The Sunday before the Jubilee, the leading church is presented with the Centenary Shield, which they hold for the year. A 15 minutes service takes place, with two hymns accompanied by the Royal Buckley Town Band. The march then leaves the common, and marches through the town, with representetives from the local Sunday Schools, Scout and Guide troops, and many of the local schools.
[edit] Royal Buckley Town Band
Buckley has a famous brass band, the Royal Buckley Town Band. The band is one of only two in the entire United Kingdom to have received sanction from a British monarch to use "Royal" in their name. Elfed is the most violent school in history and it is well known never to send your child there if they are not from buckley.
[edit] Schools
Buckley has 5 primary schools - Buckley C.P. (County Primary), Mountain Lane C.P., Southdown C.P., Ewloe C.P., and Drury Lane C.P.
Buckley has one secondary school, the Elfed High School. During the Second World War, it was built as a military hospital, and adapted for school use shortly after, in the early 1950s. The school includes a sports centre, and a newly-constructed swimming pool, both for use of both the students and the public. Many students from Buckley also attend Argoed High School, located in nearby Bryn-y-Baal, or the Mold Alun High School, in Mold. All schools in Buckley are run by the Flintshire Local Education Authority.
[edit] Music / culture
Buckley has one nightclub, the Tivoli Nightclub (known locally as "The Tiv"), on Brunswick Road. Formerly both a cinema and a music hall, the Tivoli has seen many bands play there over the years, including Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin in the early 1970s, and many Britpop bands including Oasis (in August 1994), Ocean Colour Scene and the Super Furry Animals in the 1990s. It has been described as 'one of the finest quirky little venues of our time', and is featured in the DVD re-issue of Oasis' album, Definitely Maybe. [2] Between summer 1992 and spring 1993, Radiohead played there twice[3]. Since a renovation and rebranding in 2000, few bands played live at the venue, with the club music policy having more emphasis on commercial dance and pop music, with a rock night on Fridays. Recently, bands such as Skindred, Hed PE and OPM have all played there. The venue attracts crowds from Chester and Wrexham, both around 10 miles away from Buckley.
The town was also home to a community radio project which used to broadcast 'trial' or 'temporary radio' licences to Buckley, Broughton, Mold, Deeside and the surrounding areas. The station was known as 'South Flintshire Radio' and its offices were found above the swimming baths on Mold Road. The station was heard on eight separate occasions between November 1996 and July 2000 as part of a campaign to bring a local radio station to Flintshire, following the demise of Mold-based BBC Radio Clwyd. The project helped path the way for a permanent local radio licence which was awarded to Chester FM (known as Dee 106.3) which broadcasts to Chester, Ellesmere Port, Deeside and Buckley.
Buckley has a sizable two-storey library, with the second level being dedicated solely to history and reference pieces, mainly on the local area. The second floor also doubles as the local museum.
[edit] Transportation
[edit] Road
Buckley is located on the A549 road, and is near to the A55 expressway, which passes to the south of Ewloe.
[edit] Rail
Buckley railway station opened on 14 June 1860, with a line serving as a 5-mile line from Buckley to a junction with the London and North Western Railway Chester-Holyhead main line at Connah's Quay, in order to link collieries and brickworks in the Buckley area with a point of shipment on the River Dee.
The Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway (WMCQR) was incorporated on 7 August 1862 to build a line from Wrexham to Buckley. The Buckley Railway was opened in 1864 as a freight-carrying line, and was worked by horses.
The WMCQR line - 12.5 miles (20km) in length - opened as a single line with short branches from Buckley to a point near the Great Western Railway station at Wrexham; it also had a connection with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) at Hope. The WMCQR took over the Buckley Railway from 30 June 1873.
For more details on the Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway, see the main article.
Today, Buckley railway station is a minor stop on the Borderlands Line, which runs from Wrexham to Bidston on the Wirral. It is owned and operated by Arriva Trains Wales. Trains run every 60 minutes, Monday to Saturday daytimes, and infrequently at other times. Connections can be made at Shotton, Wrexham General or Bidston railway stations. There are two platforms, one for each direction the line runs in.
[edit] Air
The nearest major airports are Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Manchester International Airport, both around 45 minutes' drive away, although there is a minor airfield at Hawarden.
[edit] Notable people from Buckley
- Sylvia Heal, now a Labour Member of Parliament.
- Ryan Shawcross, a professional footballer, who signed as a youth player with Manchester United in April 2006. [4]
[edit] External links
- Buckley Society Homepage
- BBC North East Wales site.
- Jubilee History
- BBC Jubilee Site
- A collection of items relating to the pottery industry in Buckley
- Castle Cement homepage
- Tivoli Nightclub
- Information on the old railway line
- More information on the old railway line
- Preserved website of South Flintshire Radio
- A message board for all people coonected with buckley
[edit] References
Dialect extracts are taken from Dennis Griffiths' book Talk of My Town, Buckley Young People's Cultural Association, 1969. It can be borrowed from Buckley Library.
[edit] See also
The Making of Buckley and District by T.W. Pritchard, Bridge Books, 2006. ISBN 1844940314
