Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for HAWARDEN, or HARDN

HAWARDEN, or HARDN, a village, a township, a parish, and a sub-district, in the district of Great Boughton, and county of Flint. The village stands on an eminence, at a small affluent of the river Dee, 2 miles S by W of Queens-Ferry r. station, 2½ NW by W of Broughton r. station, and 6½ W by S of Chester; was known to the ancient Britons as Pen-y-Llwch, and at Domesday as Haordin; is a seat of petty sessions; and has a post office‡ under Chester, and two inns. A weekly market is held on Saturday, and fairs on 28 April and 22 Oct. The township comprises 248 acres. Real property, £5, 144. Pop., 652. Houses, 143. The parish contains also the townships of Broughton, Bretton, Sealand. Manor and Rake, Mancott, Ewloe-Town, Ewloe-Wood, Aston, Moor, Broad Lane, Pentrobbin, Bannel, Saltney, and Shotton; and extends to the estuary of the Dee. Acres, 17, 695; of which 535 are water. Real property, £38, 557; of which £961 are in mines, £6 in quarries, and £2, 600 in railways. Pop. in 1851, 6, 203; in 1861, 7, 044. Houses, 1, 435. The increase of pop. arose mainly from the reclamation of marsh land in Sealand township, and from the commencement or extension of collieries, ironworks, a cornmill, a wire rope manufactory, candle works, and manure works in Saltney township. The manor belonged to Edwin, king of Northnmbria; passed to Hugh Lupus, the Montaltos, the Montacutes, and the Stanleys; was purchased, in the time of the Commonwealth, by Serjeant Glynne, a friend of Cromwell; and belongs now to that purchaser's descendant, Sir Stephen R. Glynne, Bart. An ancient castle on it existed before the Conquest, as a stronghold of the Mercian kings; was surrendered, in 1265, by Simon de Montford, to Llewelyn; was destroyed by Llewelyn; was rebuilt by the Crown; was surprised, in 1282, by David the brother of Llewelyn; was captured, in 1645, by the parliamentarian forces under General Mytton; was then dismantled; and is now represented by the keep and ruined walls, which command a fine view of Vale-Royal. A modern mansion, called Hawarden Castle, is the seat of Sir S. R. Glynne; was erected in 1752, and extended in 1809; and stands in a large and richly diversified park. An extensive estate belongs to the Right Hon. William E. Gladstone. Trumans Hill was a post of the ancient Britons, and has a fine view. Manufactures of pottery, fire clay, chemicals, and other things are carried on. The living is a rectory, united with the chapelries of H. ST. John, Buckley, Sealand, and Broughton, in the diocese of St. Asaph. Value, £2, 844.* Patron, Sir S. R. Glynne, Bart. The church, after being almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1857, was rebuilt in 1860, at a cost of £5, 490; is in the late decorated style, of the 14th century; and consists of nave, chancel, and aisles, with tower and spire. There are two chapels of ease, several dissenting chapels, an endowed school with £20 a year, other charities with £40, and a workhouse. Alderman Boydell and Lady Hamilton, whose name is associated with that of Lord Nelson, were natives. The inhabitants of Hawarden were formerly stigmatized as Harden Jews, from a local legend about the destroying of an image of the Virgin Mary in 946.—The sub-district contains also four other parishes, parts of two more, and an extra-parochial tract. Acres, 31, 015. Pop., 9, 528. Houses, 1, 910.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a village, a township, a parish, and a sub-district"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: Hawarden AP/CP       Hawarden SubD       Hawarden RegD/PLU       Flintshire AncC
Place names: HAORDIN     |     HARDN     |     HAWARDEN     |     HAWARDEN OR HARDN     |     PEN Y LLWCH
Place: Hawarden

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