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Brynford

Clwyd geography stubsCommunities in FlintshireVillages in Flintshire
Brynford Village Green geograph.org.uk 33781
Brynford Village Green geograph.org.uk 33781

Brynford (Welsh: Brynffordd) is a village and community in Flintshire, Wales. It is located to the south west of the town of Holywell and near the A55 road (North Wales Expressway). Brynford had a population of 1,059 at the 2011 census.St Michael's Church (Church in Wales) dates from 1851 and is a Grade II listed building. The Cynfaen Memorial Methodist Chapel, serving Brynford, is in the nearby village of Calcoed. Two Bronze Age round barrows known as Clwt Militia (Militia Patch) are located on Holywell Golf Club, about 0.65 miles (1 km) north-northwest of the church.Historically, the area was extensively mined for lead and has been left with the scars of that past all over its common land.The explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley was a student teacher in the old village school.The community includes the villages of Calcoed and Dolphin.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Brynford (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 53.26082 ° E -3.23052 °
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Address


CH8 8AX , Brynford
Wales, United Kingdom
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Brynford Village Green geograph.org.uk 33781
Brynford Village Green geograph.org.uk 33781
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Nearby Places

St Winefride's Well
St Winefride's Well

St Winefride's Well (Welsh: Ffynnon Wenffrewi) is a holy well and national shrine located in the Welsh town of Holywell in Flintshire. The patron saint of the well, St Winefride, was a 7th-century Catholic martyr who according to legend was decapitated by a lustful prince and then miraculously restored to life. The well is said to have sprung up at the spot where her head hit the ground. This story is first recorded in the 12th century, and since then St Winefride's Well has been a popular pilgrimage destination, known for its healing waters. The well is unique among Britain's sacred sites in that it retained a continuous pilgrimage tradition throughout the English Reformation. During the Middle Ages, the well formed part of the estate of nearby Basingwerk Abbey. It was visited by several English monarchs, including Richard II and Henry IV. Following the establishment of the Church of England, attempts were made by the Protestant authorities to prevent Catholic pilgrimage to the well, but these attempts were unsuccessful. From the 18th century onwards, the well increasingly attracted secular tourism, and it was commonly believed that the well-water had natural healing properties by virtue of its mineral content. Two bath-houses were built on the site in 1869. In 1917, the well dried up as a result of mining operations in the Greenfield valley; to get it flowing again, water had to be diverted from a new underground source. The chapel above the well was built in the 16th century. It is a grade I listed building and a scheduled ancient monument. It comprises two parts, the upper chapel and the well crypt. The upper chapel has seen a variety of uses, including service as a sessions house and a secular day school, but is presently used for religious worship. The well crypt contains a star-shaped basin that encloses the well-spring, and an 18th-century statue of St Winefride. Both sections of the chapel are under state guardianship and managed by Cadw. The well complex is currently open to visitors, who may bathe in the water at certain times of day or fill water bottles from an outdoor tap. There is a visitors' centre and museum on the site. Organised group pilgrimages take place several times a year, and during the pilgrimage season, St Winefride's relic is venerated daily in the well crypt.