Online Encyclopedia

bleak Hiraethog (" longing ") hills, sloping W. to the Conwy and E. to the Clwyd. In the N. are Colwyn and Abergele bays, on the S. the Yspytty (See also:

Lat. See also:

HOSPITIUM (Gr. evia, IrpoEevia)

Hospitium) and Llangwm range, between See also:

Denbigh and Merioneth. From this See also:

WATERSHED

watershed flow the Elwy, Aled, Clywedog, Merddwr and Alwen, tributaries of the Clwyd, Conwy and See also:

Dee (Dyfrdwy). Some of the valleys contrast agreeably with the bleak hills, e.g. those of the Clwyd and Elwy. The portion lying between See also:

RUABON (Rhiwabon)

Ruabon (Rhiwabon) hills and the Dee is agricultural and See also:

rich in minerals; the Berwyn to See also:

Offa's Dyke (Wdl (See also:

ea) is See also:

WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild and barren, except the Tanat valley, Llansilin and Ceiriog. One feeder of the Tanat forms the Pistyll Rhaiadr (See also:

WATERSPOUT

waterspout fall), another rises in Llyncaws (See also:

CHEESE (Lat. caseus)

cheese See also:

POOL

pool) under Mod Sych (dry See also:

BARE

bare-See also:

hill), the highest point in the county. Aled and Alwen are both lakes and streams.

See also:

GEOLOGY (from Gr. yp7, the earth, and Abyor, science)

Geology.—The geology of the county is full of See also:

INTEREST

interest, as it develops all the See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal strata that intervenes between the Ordovician and the Triassic See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series. In the Ordovician See also:

DISTRICT

district, which extends from the See also:

SOUTHERN

southern boundary to the Ceiriog, the LIandeilo formation of the eastern slopes of the Berwyn and the See also:

BALA

Bala beds of shelly See also:

SANDSTONE

sandstone are traversed See also:

east and See also:

west by bands of intrusive felspathic See also:

PORPHYRY (IlopcPisptos) (A.D. 233-c. 304)

porphyry and ashes. The same formation occurs just within the county border at Cerrig-y-Druidion, Langum, Bettys-ycoed and in the See also:

FAIRY (Fr. fee, faerie; Prov. facia; Sp. hada; Ital. fata; med. Lat. fatare, to enchant, from Lat. fatum, fate, destiny)

Fairy Glen. Northwards from the Ceiriog to the See also:

LIMESTONE

limestone fringe at Llandrillo the See also:

WENLOCK

Wenlock shale of the See also:

SILURIAN

Silurian covers the entire See also:

mass of the Hiraethog and Ciwydian hills, but verging on its western slopes into the Denbighshire grit, which may be traced southward in a continuous See also:

LINE

line from the mouth of the See also:

Conway as far as Llanddewi Ystrad Enni in See also:

RADNORSHIRE (Sir Faesyfed)

Radnorshire, near Pentre-Voelas and Conway they are abundantly fossiliferous. On its eastern slope a narrow broken See also:

BAND

band of the Old Red, cr what may be a conglomeratic See also:

BASEMENT

basement See also:

bed of the Carboniferous Limestone series, crops up along the Vale of Clwyd and in Eglwyseg. Resting upon this the Carboniferous Limestone extends from Llanymynach, its extreme southern point, to the Cyrnybrain See also:

FAULT (Mid. Eng. faute, through the French, from the popular Latin use of fallere, to fail; the originallof the Latin being replaced in English in the 15th century)

fault, and there forks into two divisions that terminate respectively in the See also:

GREAT

Great See also:

ORME, ROBERT (1728-1801)

Orme's See also:

Head and in Talargoch, and are separated from each other by the denuded shales of the Moel Famma range. In the Vale of Clwyd the limestone underlies the New Red Sandstone, and in the eastern See also:

DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division it is itself overlaid by the Millstone Grit of Ruabon and Minera, and by a See also:

long reach of the See also:

COAL

Coal See also:

MEASURES

Measures which near See also:

WREXHAM (Welsh•Gwrecsam, in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Wrighlesham)

Wrexham are 41 m, in breadth. Eastward of these a broad See also:

STRIP

strip of the red marly beds succeeds, formerly considered to be See also:

PERMIAN

Permian but now regarded as belonging to the Coal Measures, and yet again between this and the Dee the ground is occupied—as in the Vale of Clwyd—by the New Red rocks. As in the other See also:

NORTHERN

northern counties of Wales, the whole of the See also:

LOWER

lower ground is covered more or less thickly with glacial See also:

DRIFT (from "drive ")

drift. On the western See also:

side of the Vale of Clwyd, at Cefn and Plas Heaton, the caves, which are a See also:

COMMON

common feature in such limestone districts, have yielded the remains of the See also:

RHINOCEROS

rhinoceros, See also:

mammoth, See also:

HIPPOPOTAMUS (" river-horse," Gr. lames, horse and aoraµbs, river)

hippopotamus and other See also:

EXTINCT

extinct mammals. Coal is See also:

MINED

mined from the Coal Measures, and from the limestone below, See also:

lead with See also:

SILVER

silver and See also:

ZINC

zinc ores have been obtained. Valuable fireclays and terra-See also:

cotta marls are also taken from the Coal Measures about Wrexham.

The uplands being uncongenial for See also:

corn, ponies, See also:

sheep and See also:

black See also:

CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle are reared, for fattening in the Midlands of See also:

England and See also:

sale in See also:

LONDON

London. Oats and turnips, rather than See also:

wheat, See also:

BARLEY (Hordeum sativum)

barley and potatoes, occupy the tilled land. The county is fairly wooded. There are several important farmers' clubs (the Denbighshire and Flintshire, the vale of Conway, the Cerrig y druidion, &c.). The London & See also:

North-Western railway (See also:

HOLYHEAD (Caergybi, the fort of Cybi, the saint mentioned by Matthew Arnold as meeting St Seiriol of Penm6n, Anglesey)

Holyhead line), with the Conway and Clwyd valleys branches, together with the lines connecting Denbigh with Ruabon (Rhiwabon), via See also:

RUTHIN (Rhudd ddin, " red fortress ")

Ruthin and See also:

CORWEN (" the white choir ")

Corwen, Wrexham with Connah's See also:

Quay (Great Central) and Rhosllanerchrhugog with Glyn Ceiriog (for the Great Western and Great Central See also:

RAILWAYS

railways) have opened up the county. Down the valley of See also:

LLANGOLLEN

Llangollen also runs the Holyhead road from London, well built and passing through See also:

FINE

fine scenery. At Nantglyn paving flags are raised, at Rhiwfelen (near Llangollen) slabs and slates, and See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good slates are also obtained at Glyn Ceiriog. There is plenty of limestone, with See also:

CHINA

china See also:

stone at Brymbo. Cefn Rhiwabon yields sandstone (for hones) and millstone grit. Chirk, Ruabon and Brymbo have coal mines. The great Minera is the principal lead mine. There is much See also:

BRICK (derived according to some etymologists from the Teutonic bricke, a disk or plate; but more authoritatively, through the French brique, originally a " broken piece," applied especially to bread, and so to clay, from the Teutonic brikan, to break)

brick and pottery See also:

clay.

The Ceiriog valley has a See also:

DYNAMITE (Gr. S6eaµis, power)

dynamite factory. Llangollen and Llansantffraid (St Bridgit's) have woollen manufactures. The area of the See also:

ancient county is 423,499 acres, with a See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population in Igor of 129,942. The area of the administrative county is 426,084 acres. The See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief towns are: Wrexham, a See also:

MINING

mining centre and N. Wales military centre, with a fine See also:

church; Denbigh; Ruthin, where assizes are held (here are a See also:

GRAMMAR (from Lat. grammatica, sc. ars; Gr. ypaµ)

grammar school, a See also:

WARDEN

warden and a 13th-See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century See also:

castle rebuilt); Llangollen and Llanrwst; and See also:

HOLT, SIR JOHN (1642–1710)

Holt, with an old ruined castle. The Denbigh district of See also:

PARLIAMENTARY

parliamentary boroughs is formed of: Denbigh (pop. 6483), Holt (1059), Ruthin (2643), and Wrexham (14,966). The county has two parliamentary divisions. The See also:

urban districts are: Abergele and Pensarn (2083), Colwyn See also:

Bay and Colwyn (8689), Llangollen (3303), and Llanrwst (2645). Denbighshire is in the N. Wales See also:

CIRCUIT (Lat. circuitus, from circum, round, and ire, to go)

circuit, assizes being held at Ruthin.

Denbigh and Wrexham boroughs have See also:

SEPARATE

separate commissions of the See also:

peace, but no separate See also:

QUARTER (through Fr. from Lat. quartarius, fourth part)

quarter-session courts. The ancient county, which is in the diocese of St Asaph, contains seventy-five ecclesiastical parishes and districts and See also:

PART

part of a See also:

PARISH (Gr. irapouda, district, neighbourhood; 7r&poucos, one dwelling near or beside, from crap&, OtKOS, house; Lat. paroecur, Late Lat. parochia; cf. Fr. paroisse)

parish. The county was formed, by an See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act of See also:

Henry VIII,, out of the lordships of Denbigh, Ruthin (Rhuthyn), Rhos and Rhyfoniog, which are roughly the Perfeddwlad (midland) between Conway and Clwyd, and the lordships of Bromfield, Yale (Idl, open land) and Chirkland, the old possessions of Gruffydd ap Madoc, arglwydd (See also:

lord) of Dinas See also:

BRAN

Bran. Cefn (Elwy Valley) limestone caves hold the prehistoric hippopotamus, See also:

ELEPHANT

elephant, rhinoceros, See also:

lion, See also:

HYENA

hyena, See also:

bear, See also:

REINDEER

reindeer, &c.; Plas Heaton See also:

cave, the See also:

GLUTTON, or WOLVERINE (Gulo luscus)

glutton; See also:

PONT (or KYLPONT), ROBERT (1524–1606)

Pont Newydd, felstone tools and a polished stone See also:

AXE (0. Eng. aex; a word common, in different forms, in the Teutonic languages, and akin to the Greek 41v17; the New English Dictionary prefers the spelling " ax ")

axe (like that of Rhosdigre); Carnedd Tyddyn Bleiddian, " platycnemic (See also:

SKELETON

skeleton) men of Denbighshire" (like those of Perthi Chwareu). Clawdd Coch has traces of the See also:

Romans; so also Penygaer and Penbarras. See also:

ROMAN

Roman roads ran from See also:

Deva (See also:

Chester) to Segontium (Carnarvon) and from Deva to See also:

MONS (Flemish Bergen)

Mons Heriri (Tomen y mur). To their See also:

period belong the inscribed Gwytherin and Pentrefoelas (near Bettws-y-coed) stones. The See also:

VALLE, PIETRO DELLA (1586–1652)

Valle Crucis " Eliseg's See also:

PILLAR (0. Fr. piler, Mod. pilier, Late Lat. pilare, from pila, column)

pillar " tells of Brochmael and the Cairlegion (Chester) struggle against )Ethelfrith's invading Northumbrians, A.D. 613, while Offa's See also:

DIKE, or DYKE (Old Eng. dic, a word which appears in various forms in many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch dijk, German Teich, Danish dige, and in French, derived from Teutonic, digue; it is the same word as " ditch " and is ultimately connected with the ro

dike goes back to the Mercian advance. Near and parallel to Offa's is the shorter and mysterious See also:

WATT, JAMES (1736-1819)

Watt's dike. Chirk is the only Denbighshire castle comparatively untouched by See also:

time and still occupied. Ruthin has cloisters; Wrexham, the Brynffynnon " nunnery "; and at both are collegiate churches.

Llanrwst, Gresford and Derwen boast See also:

ROOD (O.E. rod, a stick, another form of " rod, O.E. rodd, possibly cognate with Lat. rudis, a staff)

rood lofts and screens; See also:

WHITCHURCH

Whitchurch and Llanrwst, portrait See also:

BRASSES, MONUMENTAL

brasses and monuments; Derwen, a See also:

churchyard See also:

CROSS

cross; Gresford and Llanrhaiadr (Dyffryn Clwyd), stained See also:

glass. Near Abergele, known for its sea See also:

BATHS

baths, is the ogof (or cave), traditionally the See also:

REFUGE

refuge of See also:

Richard II. and the See also:

SCENE (Fr. scene, Lat. scaena, Gr. oflvil, a tent or booth, a stage or scene)

scene of his See also:

CAPTURE (from Lat. capere, to take; Fr. prise maritime; Ger. Wegnahme)

capture by See also:

BOLINGBROKE, HENRY ST JOHN, VISCOUNT (1678-1751)

Bolingbroke in 1399. See J. See also:

Williams, Denbigh (1856), and T. F. Tout, Welsh Shires.

End of Article: DENBI

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.

Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
DENAIN

[next]
DENBIGH (Dinbych)