Flint, Flintshire

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Flint Y Fflint


Population	11,936 (2001 census)
OS grid reference	SJ245725
Principal area	Flintshire
Ceremonial county	Clwyd
Constituent country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	FLINT
Postcode district	CH6
Dial code	01352
Police	North Wales
Fire	North Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Delyn
European Parliament	Wales
List of places: UK • Wales • Flintshire

Flint (Welsh: Y Fflint) is the fourth largest town in Flintshire, North Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Dee. It is the county town of the historic county of Flintshire.

1 Geography and administration
2 History
3 Famous links
4 Present day
- 4.1 Education
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography and administration

Flint has the oldest town charter in Wales, dating from 1284.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] History

Flint is known for Flint Castle, on which Edward I of England began construction in 1277. The castle is of particular note, as it is where Richard II was handed over to his enemy Henry Bolingbroke in 1399, and is the setting for Act III, Scene III of the Shakespeare play Richard II. Flint is home to a successful male voice choir.

In 1969 Flint hosted the National Eisteddfod, the town consequently has its own circle of Gorsedd stones. In July 2006 the stones became centre stage in the National Eisteddfod Proclamation Ceremony which formally announced the 2007 host town of the event as Mold.^[1]

[edit] Famous links

American actor Tom Cruise's ancestors hail from Flint.^[2] Legendary Liverpool striker and former Wales Captain Ian Rush attended school in Flint, he maintains close family links with the area. Other famous people connected with the town include the chemist John Thomas best known for his research into plant dyes^[3] and Thomas Totty, an Admiral who served with Lord Nelson and inherited Cornist Hall, Flint.^[4]

[edit] Present day

Welsh culture is in evidence across the town with around 6% of the local population identifying themselves as Welsh (source: 2001 Census). Many people in Flint have some knowledge of the Welsh Language, although competence does vary. The distinctive local variant of English is however the main spoken language to be heard across the town.

Flint has its own low powered television relay transmitter, designed to provide improved coverage of Welsh channels in an area that would otherwise receive only English programming clearly.

Flint has a local football team Flint Town United F.C.. They play in the Cymru Alliance.

The Flint accent is most often mistaken for a Liverpool accent. It is in fact a unique combination of speech patterns shared with other Welsh speakers and those found in nearby Cheshire, Wirral and Merseyside.^[5]

[edit] Education

The town has two High schools; St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School and Flint High School. Primary Schools in Flint include The Gwynedd School, Cornist Park School, Ysgol Croes Atti (Welsh Medium) and St Mary's Catholic Primary School.