Mold, Flintshire

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Mold (Welsh: Yr Wyddgrug) is a town in Flintshire, Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the administrative seat of Flintshire County Council, and was also the county town of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996. According to the 2001 UK census, it has a population of 9,568 making it the third largest town in the county.

The name Mold originates from the Norman-French "mont-hault" (high hill), and is recorded as "Mohald" in a document of 1254. The Welsh name of Yr Wyddgrug is recorded as "Gythe Gruc" in a document of 1280-1, and comes from the words "Yr" (the), "gwydd" (tomb, sepulchre) and "crug" (mound). [1]

The town grew up around a now ruined castle, built by William II of England, and was the site of frequent battles between English and Welsh forces. The castle was captured for the Welsh by Owain Gwynedd in 1144, was lost to the English, and recaptured by the Welsh in 1201 and 1322. About a mile west of the town is Maes Garmon, (The Field of Germanus), which is the traditional site of the Alleluia Victory by British forces led by Germanus of Auxerre over invading Picts and Scots, fought shortly after Easter 430.

Attractions in Mold include the 13th-century parish church a small museum, and the regional arts centre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru. Famous people from the town include the artist Richard Wilson and Daniel Owen, the foremost novelist in the Welsh language. Jonny Buckland, Coldplay's lead guitarist, hails from Pantymwyn, a village two miles from Mold.

The Mold Cape

In 1833, workmen digging a prehistoric mound at Bryn yr Ellyllon (Fairies' or Goblins' Hill) discovered a unique Bronze age gold cape, subsequently dated to 1900-1600 BC, weighing 560 g and produced from a single gold ingot, which now forms one of the great treasures of the British Museum in London. This golden cape provided inspiration in the naming of the town's "Wetherspoons" pub.

Mold hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1923 and 1991, and will host the event again in 2007. There was an unofficial National Eisteddfod event in 1873.

Mold was also once very much connected to the British Rail network, having a large station and adjacent marshalling yards and locomotive sheds; however, this closed when Croes Newydd at Wrexham was opened. The station was closed in the Beeching Cuts of the early 1960s, though the track survived until the 1970s to serve the Synthite works. Subsequently the town's new Tesco supermarket was built on the station site.

Mold is a cittaslow (slow food town). It has only a few restaurants, but its Belvedere is a classic Italian, and there are others in the town and nearby that are highly regarded. Mold also has a market every Wednesday and Saturday at which much fresh produce can be obtained. For speciality and fresh local food, the Celyn Farmers' Market is held on the first Saturday of every month in Mold (and it continues, as it started, on the third Sunday of the month in nearby Northop). There are several producers in the Mold markets who also appear regularly at the famous Borough Market in London.

Mold has a very successful secondary school that serves the town and the surrounding villages. The name for the school is Ysgol Maes Garmon, which is the only Welsh secondary school in Flintshire. There is another secondary school in Mold called Ysgol Alun,although it is more commonly known as Mold Alun to distinguish it from another nearby secondary school Castell Alun in Hope.

[edit] The Mold Riot

In the summer of 1869 a riot occurred in the town which had considerable effects on the future policing of public disturbances in Great Britain. On 17 May 1869, John Young, the English manager of the nearby Leeswood Green colliery, angered his workers by announcing a pay cut. He had previously strained relationships with them by banning the use of the Welsh language underground. Two days later, following a meeting at the pithead, the miners attacked Young before frogmarching him to the police station. Seven men were arrested and ordered to stand trial on 2 June. All were found guilty and the alleged ringleaders, Ismael Jones and John Jones, were sentenced to a month's hard labour. A large crowd had assembled to hear the verdict, and the Chief Constable of Flintshire had arranged for policemen from all over the county, and soldiers from Chester to be present. As the convicts were being transported to the railway station the crowd grew restive and threw missiles at the officers. The soldiers opened fire on the crowd, killing four people including one completely innocent bystander. Although he strenuously denied the connection, Daniel Owen's first novel, Rhys Lewis, published in installments in 1882-1884, was heavily based on these events.

[edit] Trivia

The Hollywood actor Rhys Ifans - star of films such as Notting Hill, The 51st State and Kevin & Perry Go Large - attended Mold's Welsh speaking high school, Maes Garmon.
Miss Wales 2005, Rhian Fisher, also attended Maes Garmon.
Jonny Buckland (guitarist from the popular band Coldplay) attended The Alun School, a neighbouring mainstream english school.