| Babell | |
|---|---|
 Babell, Flintshire | |
  Babell Location within Flintshire | |
| OS grid reference | SJ1573 |
| Community | |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HOLYWELL |
| Postcode district | CH8 |
| Dialling code | 01352 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Babell is a hamlet in Flintshire, Wales. It is part of the community of Ysgeifiog.
The hamlet takes its name from the Babell Methodist chapel, built in 1836, but the surrounding area, a township of Ysgeifiog parish, was formerly known as Gelliloveday or Gellilyfdy. The name was recorded in the Domesday Book in the form "Cheslilaved", and as "Kelliloveday" in 1602. [1] It has been suggested to mean "wych elm wood" (from Welsh gelli, "wood", and llwyv, llwyfanen, "wych elm"), [2] but the placename scholar Ellis Davies stated that it probably came from the personal name "Loveday", ("Lyfdy"): "Loveday's wood". [1]
There is a section of the ancient earthwork Offa's Dyke nearby Llyn-Ddu. [3] Although rural the area is dotted with old copper workings from the 19th century.
The notable 17th-century antiquary John Jones lived at the hall of Gellilyfdy, to the west of the present-day village.
