Dyserth

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Dyserth
Dyserth Church - geograph.org.uk - 29581.jpg
Church of St Brigid
Denbighshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Dyserth
Location within Denbighshire
Population2,269 (2011)
OS grid reference SJ056789
Community
  • Dyserth
Principal area
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town RHYL
Postcode district LL18
Dialling code 01745
Police North Wales
Fire North Wales
Ambulance Welsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Denbighshire
53°17′56″N3°24′58″W / 53.299°N 3.416°W / 53.299; -3.416
Dyserth Waterfall in the late 19th century Dyserth Falls, Rhyl, Wales-LCCN2001703543.tif
Dyserth Waterfall in the late 19th century

Dyserth (Welsh : Diserth) is a village, community and electoral ward in Denbighshire, Wales. Its population at the 2011 United Kingdom census was 2,269 [1] and was estimated by the Office for National Statistics as 2,271 in 2019. [2] It lies within the historic county boundaries of Flintshire. Features include quarrying remains, waterfalls and the mountain Moel Hiraddug. Its railway line, once part of the London and North Western Railway, finally closed in 1973 and is now a footpath.

Contents

The village lies on the A5151 road, which links Rhuddlan and Holywell. The nearest major settlements are the coastal towns of Rhyl and Prestatyn.

Overview

Dyserth is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, listed in the Hundred of Ati's Cross and within Cheshire: [3] [4]

Ad hoc manerium ROELENT jacent hae berewiches, DISSAREN BODUGAN CHILVEN et MAENEVAL. In his est terra i carrucata tantum et silva i leuva longa et dimidia lata. Ibi est francigena et ii villani habent i caracutas.

Translation:

To this manor of Rhuddlan belong these berewicks, DYSERTH BODEGAN (1.5 m ENE of St Asaph) CHILVAN (?) and MAENEFA (?). In these the land is 1 carucate only, and there is a wood 1 league long and a half wide. One foreign woman and 2 villeins have 1 carucate there.

In the Middle Ages, Dyserth was the centre of the commote of Prestatyn, in the cantref of Tegeingl. Here, 1 km west of the present village, was Bodrhyddan Hall, occupied by the Conwy family, one of the most powerful noble families of North Wales. According to the antiquary Edward Lhuyd, the poet, scholar and priest Dafydd Ddu o Hiraddug (died around 1370) was buried in Dyserth church.

Dyserth is the location of Dyserth Castle, which suffered at the hands of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd; destroyed after a six-week siege in 1263. The remains of the castle were quarried away during World War I.

The oldest industry in the village and surrounding area is mining, with lead, copper and limestone just some of the minerals being extracted locally in the past. These quarries are still visible and form a major part of the village's geography, though mining ceased when Dyserth Quarry closed in 1981.

Traditionally there has been a strong Welsh language speaking community in the village; and until recent times many families and village folk knew, or knew of, each other. This is typical of a rural community whose life often centred on its many churches and chapels. Many of the village's families have their roots in agriculture, with many notable farms in or around Dyserth, including Hottia, Bryn Cnewyllyn and Ty Newydd.

Places of worship

The parish church of St Bridget and St Cwyfan, of the Church in Wales (the Wales based churches of the Anglican Communion), is a Grade II* listed building. [5] The church is dedicated to Saint Brigid of Kildare, and includes the name of the Celtic monk Saint Cwyfan, believed to have founded the original place of worship near the Dyserth Waterfall during the 6th century. [6] The church is notable for a Jesse Window dating from the 16th century.

Dyserth Chapel, in Dyserth High Street, built in 1927, also has stained glass. [7] It houses the English-speaking Horeb United Reformed Church. [8]

Railway

The Dyserth branch line was opened by the London and North Western Railway in 1869 to tap limestone quarries and a lead mine. A passenger, parcels and goods service was introduced in 1905 to serve local needs and an expanding holiday industry. The company designed and built a single-carriage, steam-powered motor train for such lines, with the Dyserth branch using the first example. [9] [10] The passenger service was a success before the First World War. Services were doubled and an additional unit provided for the motor trains. After the war the motor trains were replaced by locomotive-propelled push-pull trains. [11] Road competition and the 1926 General Strike ate into profits, leading the London, Midland and Scottish Railway to withdraw the passenger service in 1930. [9]

The line remained open for minerals, parcels and general goods until the end of November 1951, when parcels and general goods traffic ended, leaving just coal to Dyserth and limestone products from a quarry in that village. Coal traffic ended in May 1964, with lime and limestone traffic continuing until the line officially closed completely on 7 September 1973, [12] [13] although at least two special trains took stone away in 1974.

The tracks were lifted in 1980, [14] with the former trackbed now converted into a mixed-use footpath and bridleway.

People of note

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prestatyn railway station</span> Railway station in Denbighshire, Wales

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meliden</span> Village in Denbighshire, Wales

Meliden is a village between Prestatyn and Dyserth in Denbighshire, Wales. It grew up around the locality of lead mines and limestone quarries. The placename "Meliden" has variously been claimed to be derived from that of Bishop Melitus or St. Melyd ; its Welsh placename, "Alltmelyd", means "wooded hill of Melyd". The railway between Prestatyn and Dyserth, long since lifted and formerly with sidings in the village, is now a public walkway and nature trek. It has a 9-hole golf course, which is split in half by the former railway/nature walk. The local school, St. Melyd Primary, is a feeder school to the High School, Prestatyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vale of Clwyd Railway</span> Former railway line in North Wales


The Vale of Clwyd Railway (VoCR) was a standard-gauge line, which connected the settlements of Rhyl, St Asaph and Denbigh in North Wales. It opened in 1858, at first without a connection to the main line at Rhyl, but this was provided in 1862. At Denbigh, a connection could be made on to the Mold and Denbigh Junction Railway. Although the area became popular with holidaymakers from the 1920s, the line never realised its potential; it closed to passengers in 1955 and completely in 1968.

The Clwydian Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath in north-east Wales, mostly running through Denbighshire.

The Dyserth branch line was a short standard-gauge mineral railway between the northern end of the Clwydian Range at Dyserth and the North Wales Coast Line at Prestatyn. The line was constructed by the London and North Western Railway in 1869; it was built to carry quarried stone and coal. The rise of tourism led to the introduction of a passenger service in 1905. There were stations at Dyserth and Meliden, and basic halts were built at other stopping places. Competition from road transport led to the passenger service being withdrawn in 1930. With the eventual demise of all the mineral industries around Dyserth the entire line was closed in September 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meliden railway station</span> Former railway station in Wales

Meliden railway station served the mining village of Meliden, Flintshire, Wales, on the Dyserth branch line. It was used as a way of shipping minerals from the nearby quarries at Dyserth to Prestatyn. The branch line to Dyserth was opened by the LNWR in 1869, initially for mineral traffic only. A passenger service was instituted in 1905 but lasted only until 1930, when it was withdrawn by the LMS. The line remained open to serve a quarry at Dyserth until complete closure in 1973. Since closure the Prestatyn to Dyserth railway has become a nature walk. All that remains is the loading gauge and goods shed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodland Park railway station</span> Former railway station in Wales

Woodland Park was an unstaffed halt on the Dyserth branch line in North Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dyserth railway station</span> Railway station in Wales (1905–1964)

Dyserth railway station served the village of Dyserth, Flintshire, Wales. It was the southern terminus of the 2 miles 70 chains (4.6 km) Dyserth branch, most of which is now a public footpath. At its peak Dyserth had passengers in the thousands. In 1930 the line and station closed for passengers in the face of road competition. At one point fourteen trains a day had shuttled along the line. Although the station has long been demolished, a crane from the station has been installed at the end of the walk as a feature of historical interest, as have two pieces of track at Chapel Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Melyd Golf Links railway station</span> Former railway station in Wales

St. Melyd Golf Links railway station was a stop on Dyserth branch line. Passengers would have to access from the Gwaenysgor facing side of the golf course. All that remains here is a post that has long overgrown with foliage. This post was probably used to bear the station name.

The Clwyd Football League was a football league formed in 1974 as an amalgamation of the Dyserth League and the Halkyn Mountain League. The top division was at different periods at the second, third and fourth levels of the Welsh football league system in North Wales. The league ran until 2011 when a split led to the formation of the Clwyd East Football League comprising Flintshire teams under the North East Wales Football Association and the Vale of Clwyd and Conwy Football League, made up of Denbighshire, Conwy county and Vale of Conwy sides, under the North Wales Coast Football Association.

References

  1. "England and Wales » Wales » Denbighshire » Dyserth Key Stats 2011". Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 23 May 2015. (note: The ONS census website shows that 28 June 2022 was the release date of the 2021 Census Population Data broken down to Wales' 22 local authorities, with more granular detail to come at an undetermined future date)
  2. "Dyserth Population [2020] – Estimate". citypopulation.de. Office for National Statistics. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  3. "The Domesday Book Online - Cheshire - in Wales".
  4. Dyserth in the Domesday Book
  5. "Church of St Bridget | A Grade II* Listed Building in Dyserth, Denbighshire". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  6. St Bridget and St Cwyfan Church Council. "The Parish Of St Bridget and St Cwyfan Dyserth | Welcome". stbridget-dyserth.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  7. "Capel Dyserth Chapel, Dyserth, Denbighshire". stainedglass.llgc.org.uk. University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies . Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  8. "Welcome to Horeb United Reformed Church | Our History". dyserthchapel.org.uk. 25 October 2021. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021. (note: the main www.dyserthchapel.org.uk was live as late as January 2022, so August 2022 dead-url might be a technical issue)
  9. 1 2 Rear 2003, p. 51.
  10. Goodall 2003, pp. 60–64.
  11. Rear 2003, p. 47.
  12. Mitchell & Smith 2011, Plate 120.
  13. "Visit Prestatyn | Railway Line History". visitprestatyn.com. Prestatyn Town Council. 17 July 2011. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Dyserth quarry provided the last traffic for the railway, which was eventually closed in 1973.
  14. Rear 2003, p. 48.

Bibliography