Industry through the Ages

Coal in Flint      Shipping in Flint      Lead in Flint      Plague in Flint      1835 onwards in Flint

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that the Chinese may have used coal for smelting copper more than 3,000 years ago. The Greeks used coal in the 4th century BC and the Romans found and made use of coal in various parts of their empire. Coal cinders in Roman ruins in Britain indicate that coal was used during the period of Roman occupation from approximately 50 to 450 AD. The ancient Britons however dug coal even earlier. A flint axe, stone hammerheads, and wedges of flint have been found in coal seams. Also large quantities of coal fragments have been found in the defensive ditches of an enclosed late Iron Age fort at Port Seton near Edinburgh.

Although coal is abundant in most parts of the world, it was not used extensively for fuel until the Industrial Revolution. The transition from wood as the main source of fuel to coal which occurred at this time was a result of the dwindling fuel-wood supply and the superior energy content of coal. There was little incentive to use coal while wood was plentiful: coal is a dirty fuel and requires a special chimney, it is hard to extract and process and heavy to transport. Timber, by contrast, is clean, easy to use and at that time, abundant. For these reasons coal dropped out of use after the Roman period until about the 11th century and only became widely used in post medieval times. Ancient laws allowed the common people to collect wood for burning on their home fires. Metal mines in the region were probably in existence from the Iron Age. The close proximity of mineral veins to some hill forts hints at the recovery and working of ore before the Roman period. It is claimed that a large number of mines were worked for lead and silver by the Romans from 58 AD, although there is little direct evidence for this. Documentary sources provided clues to the importance of medieval mining in Clwyd, such as the reference to Edward 1 sending miners from Minerva to Cornwall to help in the mining of tin in the late 13th century. Unfortunately, large scale 19th century mining operations seem to have obliterated most surface evidence of earlier workings.


All the early coal seams were worked from the surface, in fully exposed outcroppings. However, in the middle ages exhaustion of outcrop coal in many places forced a change from surface to underground or shaft mining. The early methods of coal mining were rude and ineffective, shallow bottlenecked pits being universal, which, owing to the impossibility of drainage, had to be abandoned after a very short period of working. However, the demand increased, and as the restrictions on the use of wood for smelting iron became more vigorous, efforts were made to use pit-coal for this purpose making it necessary to go deeper and expand mining at the shaft bottoms. Crude methods were used to bring the water to the surface. A bucket and chain device was used, powered by men at first and later by horses. It was not until 1710 that the water problem was eased by the use of a vertical reciprocating lift pump. Raising the coal itself was another problem. Coal was loaded into baskets that were carried on the backs of men or women or loaded on wooden sledges or trams that were pushed or hauled through the main haulage roadway to the shaft bottom to be hung on hoisting ropes or chains. Sledges were pulled first by people and later by animals, including mules, horses and even dogs and goats. Manpower, operating a windlass to bring the coal to the surface, was replaced by horsepower. The introduction of the steam engine was a major turning point for the industry about 1770. pulling up coal

The monks are usually credited with the introduction of coal as fuel, for in 852 the Abbey of Peterborough received twelve cartloads "of fossil or pit-coal". During the Middle Ages the coal trade continued to develop, especially in Northumberland and Durham, where in 1239 a charter was granted to the freemen of Newcastle-on-Tyne to dig coals in the castle fields. During the 14th century coal was used with charcoal to produce wrought iron. Lord Dudley's son started using coal at their iron works in Worcester in 1610 because of the shortage of wood. Mining and the working of metals, continued for centuries after the departure of the Romans from North Wales and the Flintshire coalfields were worked from early medieval times with active support from the Kings of England. At one time Edward I authorised the transfer of miners from the Peak District of Derbyshire to work under supervision in the Flintshire lead mines. King Edward II brought German miners to search for copper in Dyserth Mountain.
There is conjecture that coal mining as an organised activity was first undertaken in North East Wales on behalf of the monks of Basingwerk Abbey. The abbey was founded in 1157 by Henry II and was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1536. Coal was used exclusively for industrial purposes i.e. forging and lime making. Lime was used to make mortar and plaster for buildings such as internal castle walls. Wages in 1277 at the erection of Flint Castle included payments to a group of coal miners at 4d per day. Coal mining in Flintshire came to its fore as a direct result of Edward 1's policy of establishing English settlements within his newly conquered lands east of the Clwyd. However, completion of the various projects undertaken by the Crown during the 13th and 14th centuries saw the disbanding of the large organised work force. Hence coal production was drastically reduced, its market being confined to domestic use and light industries. The Flintshire coal fields can be ranked as a pioneer in the annals of British Coal Mining.
Coal had been mined in Flintshire at least as early as the 13th century but mining made little headway until the time of the Tudors. By the time of the Civil Wars there was a brisk trade in coal between Flintshire and Ireland and Chester had become dependent on Flintshire coal. There is a record of coal reaching Chester by way of the River Dee as early as 1326. Coal Mining continued in a small way during the medieval period, mostly by means of bell pits. A Bell pitThese were shallow shafts with short chambers off at the bottom. Lacking the necessary technology, miners found it easier to sink another adjacent shaft rather than extend the workings. Such old workings can be identified by lines of infilled shafts and spoil heaps. Coal was first worked in this way in Clwyd, in what was to develop into the North Wales Coalfield. Mining tools and techniques were still primitive at this time, with little advance since the Romans. There are records of coal mines at Flint and Coleshill before 1540. The late 17th century saw the introduction of gunpowder and this revolutionized the industry. By hand drilling shot holes in the rock and filling them with gunpowder, a great deal more rock could be removed in a shift. It allowed workings to go deeper but this meant pumping out water. Early pumps were very primitive, mainly the rag and chain pump. The 18th century saw improved technology, especially in the field of pumping. In 1714, the first steam engine in Wales was erected at Hawarden for pumping and others soon followed to allow workings to go deeper than ever before. Up to then, shaft haulage had been by hand windlass or horse whim but deeper shafts made this impractical. As a result, larger mines used steam engines for winding and this allowed a greater amount of ore to be removed. In 1768, large deposits of copper were found at Parys Mountain on Anglesey and this was mined in a huge open pit as well as underground. For many years, this site was the largest producer of copper in the world, much of it being smelted at Swansea. The 19th century was the peak of the metal and slate mining industry, with improved technology such as compressed air rock drills and dressing techniques. One obstacle for many mines was the isolation of the sites and the transportation of the ore or finished slates to customers. This was overcome in many cases by building railways and the present narrow gauge railways such as Ffestiniog owe their existence mining. However by the end of the century, the metal mining industry in the whole of the UK was just about dead, with only small scale operations continuing.

The population of Flint was static for many years but during the 14th century the plague reduced numbers dramatically. The virulent and dreadful Great Plague spread from China into Asia and across Europe and reached England in the autumn of 1348. It was commonly known as the Black Death and so-called because the skin of the afflicted became intensely dark, and death followed, often within a few hours. It is estimated to have wiped out over one third of the population of the country. By the summer of 1349, it had reached Wales and advanced into the remote corners of Anglesey. Flint was afflicted by this frightful scourge that spread terror throughout the whole district and caused many deaths. The great reduction in income from taxes received from the county of Flint by the Earl of Chester during that period suggests that the number of deaths had been great. The revenues due to the Earl for Michaelmas 1349 were not collected at all and those for the following year only sparsely collected. The tolls of markets and fairs and the profits from fines imposed by the Borough Courts were also dramatically less than in previous years, The harassed officials pleaded that they had been unable to collect the rents from the Earl's tenants and the incomes from the mines, because of their dread of infection and the mounting number of deaths from the pestilence. In the year 1349/1350 the Burgesses of the Borough of Flint were heavily in arrears with payments, and the lead miners in the district, who had formerly paid 100 shillings a year had only paid 21 shillings, because most of the miners had died of the plague and those who survived refused to work the mines. The payments made for mill-dues had fallen by over a third, for such a great number of people who used to bring corn to the mills had perished in the plague. The plague returned in later years, but was less extensive. In the reign of Richard II, the hard-pressed Burgesses had to ask for further reductions in rents and various payments, because of the bitter suffering and grim poverty of families where the breadwinner had died of the scourge. The drastic fall in the Earl's income resulted in the appointment of Welsh sheriffs in the county of Flint. It was thought that they might succeed in exacting more from the impoverished people than could an Englishman. Many remote villages and hamlets where most of the inhabitants had perished became deserted and fell into desolate ruin and faded away past all recollection. The Plague revisited Wales in 1361-2, 1369, and seven times after that before 1420. Due to the Black Death in 1349 and the Glyndwr rising, Flint declined and by 1539 there were only 35 men over the age of 16. The population of England and Wales was about 3.7 million before the Black Death but was only about 2.5m afterwards with only about 68% surviving.

Flint had been important as a means to maintain control over the Welsh. When this was no longer required its influence declined. However coal and lead-mining industries continued to ensure the area remained prosperous. In 1692, a Charter granted, 'The Governor and Company For Smelting Down Lead With Sea Coale', rights to operate in Flint. In 1699 there was a lead smelting works operated by Daniel Peek. Flint had a thriving export trade of coal to Ireland, until halted by changes to the Dee estuary. There were several profitable shafts worked in the town and its environs. The coal was conveyed to the docks in carts, and panniers on the backs of horses and donkeys and later on trucks running on tramlines. In 1790 Flint had 4 coal merchants arranging the sale of coal at home and abroad. However after 1825 the coal industry declined rapidly owing to the slumps in the trade of the coal-consuming industries, especially with the rapidly developing coal field and industrialised areas elsewhere in Britain especially South Wales. The largest colliery in Flint during the first part of the 19th Century was the Dee Green Colliery operated by the Eyton family. Dee Green was unusual in that it consisted of six or more separate workings from Marsh Pit on the Dee shore to Bryn Coch Pit on the brow of the hill overlooking the town just over a mile to the south. None of the Dee Green pits were large but they were productive enough to warrant the laying of a tram road to connect them to a wharf on the River Dee. The date of the opening of the tramway is not known but it was certainly in use by the early 1830's. The line consisted of two more or less level sections connected by an incline. The lower section ran from the wharf to serve Marsh, Green, Pwll-y-Mwg and Mill Pits. At Pwll-y-Mwg there was an incline connection with the upper section which served Allt Goch and Bryn Coch Pits. Details of the track are not known and it was recorded as being out of use by 1836. The Eyton's appear to have given up control of the Dee Green Pits for a time to Messrs Pickering & Ormiston who operated the Flint Marsh, Gwaith-y-Coed and other pits to the north west of Dee Green. By 1840 the Eyton's had resumed control at Dee Green and they remained in charge until near the end of the collieries life some 16 years later. In 1857 Thomas Haughton (or Houghton) is reported to have taken over. The last activity at Bryn Coch Pit was around 1860. Marsh Pit, the site of which was later covered by Courtaulds Castle Works, was about 270 feet deep. Green Pit was some 750 yards south, close to the junction of Northop Road and Halkyn Street and reached a depth of some 380 feet. Pwll-y-Mwg Pit further along Halkyn Street, on the opposite side, was worked to a depth of about 390 feet. Mill Pit was situated near the Old Flint Mill, on the west side of Halkyn Street. The lowest coal worked here was about 300 feet below the surface. On the hill above was Allt Goch Pit, near the junction of Coed Onn Road and Northop Road. This pit reached a depth of almost 430 feet. The last and most isolated of the Dee Green Pits was Bryn Coch Pit, on the west side of Northop Road, south of Bryn Coch Farm. This was also the deepest, the lowest seam worked here was just over 570 feet below the pit head. Coal mining at Flint remained productive throughout the 18th century, but declined during the 19th century due to competition with much larger collieries elsewhere. By 1869 there would only appear to have been 2 coal mines left in Flint; Coleshill, and Flint Marsh. But by 1886 according to a Mining Inspectors Report listing mines operated under the Coal Mines Regulation Act, there was only 1 pit left employing 40 men, 28 underground and 12 on the surface. This was the Flint Marsh Colliery which had a chequered existence during its lifetime. It was known as the Flint Marsh Pit to distinguish it from the nearby Flint Colliery operated by the Eyton family under a lease from Lord Mostyn, as the Flint Coal and Cannel Co. Ltd. (This went into liquidation in 1886). It was situated at the end of Old London Road, near to the New Cemetery. The colliery was sunk in the early 1830's and worked by Pickering and Ormiston. The original shaft was 506 feet before reaching coal and believed to go down to about 700 feet. A No. 2 shaft was sunk about 1857. Virtually all the coal winding was done from No. 1 shaft and No. 2 shaft was mainly used for ventilation of the workings. The shafts were separated by an area of open land and may have been connected by a tramway. Another tramway ran from the pit bank at No. 1 shaft to a wharf on the River Dee. In 1844 the colliery was operated by John Ormiston alone and in 1850 by Messrs Williams and Bower. In 1856, Ormiston was back at the helm with Robert Williams. In the 1860's the Flint Marsh Colliery Co. Ltd took over the pit until its closure in about 1885. It remained idle until the early 1890's when the New Flint Coal and Cannel Co. Ltd resumed operations. A No. 3 shaft was sunk in the 1890s replacing no. 1 shaft as the winding shaft on the opposite side of Old London Road opposite No. 2 shaft. This was the deepest shaft reaching almost 850 feet. The mine closed again in 1898 but reopened in 1899 as the New Flint Colliery Co. Ltd but the company was wound up in 1902. The Deeside Colliery Co. Ltd tried again in 1904 and although there were huge reserves of coal, the problems with flooding and faulting proved insurmountable and after working all the available reserves above the water level, they ceased operations in December 1909. The colliery was also known as the Red Pits. There were two Quays at Flint. One was operated by the Eyton's for use in exporting coal from their pits and the other by Pickering & Ormiston for their pits. In 1845 the collieries were yielding 1,500 tons of coal a week.
Flint Marsh Colliery 1900

Flint Marsh Colliery 1900

A heinous evil of the times was the exploitation in the employment of young children in mines and factories. It was estimated that over 30,000 children were employed underground in mines throughout England and Wales during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Women and little girls worked underground in many pits. It was not unusual for children from Flint and Bagillt to begin work in the local pits at the age of eight or nine years. Following the result of a Ministerial inquiry, the Mines and Collieries Act was passed in 1842, which excluded women and young girls from working underground in the mines and boys between ten and thirteen years were not allowed to work underground for more than three days a week. But this legislation was frequently greatly abused and did not prevent the employment of children on the pit banks at a very tender age. The very young boys working underground had the comparatively light but wretchedly monotonous job of opening and shutting the ventilation air doors, on which the safety of the mine depended; crouching in solitude in a small dark hole at the pit bottom. Other children worked the pumps in the under-bottom of the pit, standing ankle-deep in water for ten or twelve hours during their shift. Older boys had the heavy task of loading trucks containing 2 to 4 cwts. of coal, and harnessed to the trucks, pushing and dragging them, half-naked and on hands and knees, along the cold and damp, dark narrow tunnels of the mine, even hauling up to 8 or 10 cwts, when the trucks ran on tram-lines. In pits where ponies and donkeys were used, children had the work of looking after them. Children worked, sometimes up to fifteen hours a day, with overtime and night work. When evidence was collected for the Children’s Employment Act Commission in 1841, the colliery managers emphasised the eagerness of children to get into the pits and work alongside their fathers. While the pit doctors declared that work in the mines, leaving aside the risk of accidents, was healthy and not excessive and that the diseases from which miners often suffered were generally due to their own negligence. The colliery owners told the Law Commissioners that the pits could not work fully and efficiently if the children’s working hours were restricted, because the miners’ production would be hindered without these young assistant labourers. Parents too, were often bitterly opposed to any discussions of the limiting of the profitable hours of overtime worked by their children. Accidents were frequent and sometimes fatal. Heavy falls of earth often buried the workers. Others were killed by dislodged stones and boulders. Not a few more asphyxiated by firedamp and there was the unending struggle against water that seeped into the mine and threatened to submerge the workers. In 1828, eleven miners were killed and ten injured in Eyton's Pit in Flint which was one of the pits of the Dee Green colliery. It was reported that an explosion claimed between nine and eleven lives and injured eleven others. The firedamp had collected in a part of the pit unobserved by the workmen and a boy incautiously took a naked light to the spot and a tremendous explosion followed immediately. There were upwards of thirty men and boys in the pit and nine were killed on the spot and eleven others dreadfully wounded. Most had broken limbs and were badly scorched. Some of the unfortunate men had large families and a woman who lost her husband and son had given birth only a few days before. Earlier, two boys, one aged eight years and the other twelve years, were killed in another underground explosion in a Flintshire colliery. Not until 1860 was the starting age for underground workers raised from ten to twelve years. The introduction of the miners' safety lamp - the Davy lamp, made slow headway, partly through the slackness of the management and partly through the prejudice of the miners themselves. Sir Humphrey Davy, the inventor of the safety lamp, recorded that at one mine in North Wales, 'The colliers wives assembled on the banks of the pit, with great noise and lamentation, to prevent their husbands from taking this new scientific horrid invention, down with them to the mines'. However, in 1830, the safety lamp was in general use. Each collier in Flintshire had to buy his own lamp. In the 1840's the miners also paid two pence a week out of their wages for the services of the pit doctor. The colliers lived a life apart; intimate and self-contained, in close-knit communities, and they developed an exclusive camaraderie and were resentful and suspicious of strangers from another district being employed in their particular mine. The employment of strangers was a frequent cause of trouble in early days, and the miners had a reputation for being turbulent and creating a disturbance on the slightest provocation. In 1819, a near riot occurred in the Dee Bank Colliery on the introduction of Brymbo miners to the pit and serious enough to cause the authorities to call for military aid to quell the disorder. In 1826 violence broke out when Northumbrian colliers were brought to work in a local pit and the Mold Yeomanry were called to restore order. During political unrest and a serious shortage of bread in 1778, Flintshire miners forcibly prevented the export of a shipload of grain from the Flint docks. There were industrial troubles in the Halkyn lead mines in 1822, when the miners rioted against the appointment of three overseers who were strangers and the introduction of an improved system of production by Mr. John Taylor, the mining agent for Lord Grosvenor. Taylor introduced the first ore-crushing mill in North Wales. It is not surprising that the miners were regarded as a rough and ebullient class. Miners earned 1s a shift and worked twelve hours a day. Lead miners and quarrymen worked ten hours a day and earned the same rate. A child of 8 years earned 1/3d to 2/6d a week in the coal mines. In the lead mines where they were employed in the washing of the ore they earned 2/0d a week at 10 years of age and 2/6d at twelve years. In the factories, a child aged 9 years could earn from 1/6d to 5/0d a week. Bagillt had the largest rope making industry in North Wales in the late 18th century. There was also a thriving soap works in the village. Agricultural labourers worked twelve to fourteen hours a day according to the season. A married agricultural worker was paid 9s a week in summer and 8s. a week in winter and a skilled ploughman could earn 12s a week. Women employed on the pit banks earned 6s a week. Single domestic servants living in households were paid £3 to £6 a year with their keep. The greater part of the cottage homes of the miners and labourers were described as dirty, ill ventilated, barely furnished and overcrowded, with one or two small bedrooms with straw beds. The miners and quarrymen and their families in North Wales lived mostly on bread of barley or oats, butter, potatoes, milk or broth and sometimes bacon. But rarely meat, except perhaps an occasional joint for the Sunday dinner, but vegetables, usually home grown, was plentiful. The Poor Law Commission of 1834 showed that in the greater part of North Wales, that although work was plentiful the labourer could only just maintain an average family of young children, living mainly on potatoes, oatmeal and milk - and little else. 1n 1829, during a severe relapse in trade, which brought great distress to the mining communities, the Friendly Association Coal Miners Union Society was formed in the midlands and in 1830 a branch was established at the Boot Tavern in Bagillt. In 1831 the miners of Greenfield, Bagillt and Flint went on strike demanding an increase in wages as well as the abolition of the Tommy shops where they had to buy their food. Around 1846 it was still usual for children to begin work at the pits at Flint when they were 8 or 9. In 1847, an Act was passed restricting working hours to ten hours a day. The Welsh workers and peasants had long been accustomed to a standard of living considerably below that prevailing among the working class in England. These, and similar inducements to English capitalists appeared in advertisements of sites for industrial developments in North Wales, in the early nineteenth century. The population of Flint in 1801 was 1,173, by 1821 it was 1,612 and with a large workforce and low wages the town was a great attraction for the new industrialists and by 1861 Flint had grown to 4,744 adults and to 4,925 by 1891. It was not until 1850 that Water Mains were laid to supply the people with water from the Little London Reservoir. Prior to this folks had to collect their own water from wells at Allt Goch and Little London. There was a further Water Works built at Coed Onn in 1875. It was not until 1876 that the streets and footpaths of Flint were paved. Gas was introduced in 1852 and Electricity in 1926, with a proper Water supply only coming in 1936.

Extract from the Reports of the Commissioners of Enquiry into the State of Education in Wales of 1847. (The Treachery of the Blue Books). The Borough of Flint contains 2860 inhabitants. Many are employed in the coal mines; others in the alkali works, and in smelting lead; and at present vast numbers find work upon the Chester and Holyhead Railway, which passes through the town. It is stated that children 8 or 9 years of age are sent to work in the coal pits, and at an early age are able to earn from 3s. to 9s. per week. The character of the inhabitants is degraded in respect of turbulence, intemperance and debauchery. The prevailing vice of the neighbourhood is drunkenness, which is rendered more flagrant and pernicious from the prevalence of the old Welsh custom of keeping merry nights. A week previous to my visit a murder had been committed by a party (as was supposed) who had been thus engaged in revelry. The clergyman informed me that fornication also is common in the town and neighbourhood; but that in Flintshire, as in England, it assumes the form of promiscuous debauchery, and is not a recognized and systematic institution as in other counties of North Wales.
The female population are ignorant of economy and of all kinds of domestic industry in consequence of which, and of the general improvidence and intemperance of the men, the social condition of Flint is almost as degraded as at Rhosllanerchrugog (Ruabon). The streets of the town are filthy; the houses are wretchedly built, and in worse repair; and the people are squalid and in rags. I visited several cottages in the town. A small house, 10 or 12 feet square, with a chamber above, accommodates on an average 2 parents, 6 children, and 6 lodgers. The floors are of earth, and in wretched condition. There is no room for furniture, and the interiors are filthy and unwholesome. I saw other cottages of 9 feet square, with no other room adjoining. These generally contain a husband and wife, with infants and a lodger. I visited a parish almshouse of these dimensions containing 9 people--a father, mother, and 7 children. There was one bed for the parents and another for the 7 children, both placed in the only room which the house contained. The eldest boy was 16 years old, the eldest girl 15. English is as much spoken in the town as Welsh; nearly all the inhabitants understood English. Welsh is principally retained for religious exercises.
Church School.—A school for boys and girls, taught respectively by a master and mistress in separate rooms of a school built for the purpose. Number of scholars, 105. Subjects taught – reading, writing, and arithmetic, the Scriptures and the Church Catechism. Fees, ld. and 2d. per week. I visited this school on the 15th February, when, owing to the indisposition of the mistress, the boys and the girls were taught together by the master. I found present 44 boys and 30 girls; 23 of these above 10 years of age, and 27 of them had attended the school for more than two years. I found 22 who could read with some ease, while 12 were ignorant of the alphabet. Among 43 copies belonging to the entire school, only 2 contained good writing. Among 11 scholars who had commenced arithmetic only four had advanced beyond the first rules. One only knew a very little of English grammar. Little was known of Scripture. Boys of 14 years of age did not know how long Jesus Christ had lived in this world. One said 30 years, another 40, and a third 60; a girl, 13 years of age, said our Saviour was crucified in Bethlehem. The master said that he did not teach the Church Catechism now, there being considerable objection to it; 15, however, were selected by the curate as learning the Catechism, and were found to be able to repeat portions of it. The girls are more intelligent than the boys; they are taught needlework and knitting for two hours daily by the mistress. Neither teacher has been trained. The master is 24 years of age, the mistress is only 18 years old; she has been engaged as a teacher since she was nine years of age. During my visit the master neither corrected the children's blunders nor encouraged them to correct each other. He would box their ears and in an angry tone exclaim, "No, no! that's not it!" There was little or no appearance of the national system traceable in his method of teaching, and his questions on the subject of the lesson were ordinary and slowly conceived. His school is not well organised: the classes are too large, and not well graduated, the third class containing much better readers than the first. No monitors are employed; and during my stay none of the pupils were occupied, except those immediately under examination. The floors of the school rooms were wet, and had accumulated so much dust beneath the desks and forms as proved that the place could not have been recently swept. There was only one double desk, 18 feet long, for each room, except one narrow plank, of about the same length, fixed to the wall. 13 girls had only 7 books among them, and all the books and cards were dirty and ragged. There were not slates enough for those who were learning to write.
The outbuildings are insufficient, and there is a drain of long standing behind the house, without any means of escape for the most filthy water. The subscriptions are insufficient to pay the teachers' salaries, and the minister has been obliged to make up the deficiency. There is no fund for the supply of apparatus, or for repairs. There is no house for the master. He complains that since he took charge of the school no one has visited it except the minister. The following school is supported in part by an endowment of £9 per annum, set apart for the maintenance of a school on the confines of any two counties in North Wales, the locality to be selected with reference to the ignorance of the surrounding inhabitants, and the inability of the Independent congregation therein to support a preacher. The school is removed at the end of 12 months. This roving character has a bad effect, discouraging the master, and rendering his teaching futile. The necessity which it involves of employing chapels or other temporary buildings for the purposes of instruction proves an additional evil.
Independent Chapel School — A school for boys and girls, taught together by a master in an Independent chapel. Number of scholars, 38. Subjects taught—the Bible, reading, writing and arithmetic. Fees - 1d. per week from 13 scholars, the rest being free. Master's income from the school £22 14s. School commenced August, 1846. I examined this school February 16th, when 18 children were present, 6 of whom were above 10 years of age. I found only 2 who could read a verse of the Bible correctly, only 4 who could write legibly upon paper, and no one who had any conception of Simple Addition, although they professed to understand the compound rules and Reduction. Although the Bible is constantly read, I found only one who could answer any questions upon Scripture history; I asked the rest, "Who were the twelve apostles?" Answer—" Reuben, Simeon, Levi, &c." "Who wrote the Epistles?" Answer – “Timothy, Acts, Rome, the Corinthians, and the Ephesians." I asked many other very easy questions, but could obtain no correct answers. The children understand English; out of 18 present 8 are accustomed to talk English during play-hours. The girls receive instruction in needle-work twice a-week gratuitously. The master has been 12 years engaged in teaching; he has never been trained to teach, and appears to have received a limited education. He is engaged as a preacher of the Independent congregation in the locality where the school is established for the time being. Both master and pupils appeared discouraged, and destitute of life and energy. The chapel was small and dirty. The boys were engaged in sweeping it during school-hours, and while I was examining them, so that the building was filled with dust. The fixtures were very inconvenient and all the apparatus scanty and ill-chosen.
Roman Catholic School — A school for boys and girls, taught together by a master, in the parlour of a public house. Number of boys, 8; girls, 4. Subjects taught—reading, writing, and the Roman Catholic Catechism. Fees -1d. per week. Total income of school, £6. 6s. I visited this school on the 16th of February. The scholars were not assembled. The school-room contained no furniture adapted for the purpose, except a few books; and I could not have possibly imagined that a school could have been held in such a place. It had chairs all around, a round table in the centre, and sand sprinkled over the floor, as is usual in taverns. The master did not appear likely to prove a good teacher. He spoke with the Irish accent, and ungrammatically. He is 46 years of age, was formerly a watchman in Liverpool, and was never trained to teach. His total income from the school does not exceed £6. 6s. and he has no house provided.

 There does not appear to be any evidence of a shipbuilding industry at Flint prior to the 19th century. Until the canalisation of the upper part of the Dee estuary when the river channel was diverted from the Wirral coast over to the Welsh shore, Flint was a small port. Its seaborne trade was almost negligible with the town quay small and lacking in facilities and even the smallest vessels had to wait for a full tide before they could sail up to the quay. Trade increased in the Dee subsequently but the inadequate and inconstant channel severely retarded the growth of the Dee ports and ultimately led to the closure of nearly all of them. Also after 1820 the size of ships increased and the Dee (especially as the deep-water channel moved away from Greenfield) could not cope with ocean going vessels. The contrast with Liverpool is very marked, where the establishment of the Mersey Docks & Harbour Board in 1857 had a great effect. The port at Chester had gone into decline from 1816 and by 1833 Flint was the principal creek of the port of Chester. However by 1847 the channel became very difficult and Flint was only able to admit small vessels.
Registered Shipping Tonnage comparison
Year 1672 1805 1874 1899
Dee Ports 838 2,561 200,000 78,000
Liverpool 2,600 111,227 E 4 million E 12 million

The following is the account of Exports and Imports for the year ending 5th January 1833 at Flint Port:-

  Number of vessels Tonnage Men
With coal, coastwise, outwards 570 31,982 1,657
Other vessels, with sundries 113 7,393 345
  683 39,375 2,002
Coastwise, inwards, with sundries 131 7,285 381
Coals 1 46 3
Slates 9 226 19
  141 7,557 403
Inwards from America & Ireland 13 720 48
Outwards to Ireland with Coals 74 4,719 260
with Sundries 4 225 12
  78 4,944 272

The main period of shipbuilding was from about 1828 when Edward Evans, David McCartney and Andrew Green were operating as Ship Builders to about 1865 when David Jones stopped shipbuilding in Flint. There was a daily ferry on a small boat to Parkgate and Chester when the tide permitted it and a ferry to the Isle of Man every fortnight in 1844. Probably the last Flint built vessel sailing was the 'Mary Jones' built by David Jones in 1863. This was a 3 masted schooner with 118 gross registered tons and was still in use when it was wrecked in 1932 off Ramsgate. It was on a voyage from London to the Tyne. In 1840, the Scottish firm of Ferguson, McCullum and Baird started a shipbuilding yard in Flint, producing wooden sailing vessels. The Ferguson's hailed from Rothesay in Scotland. The town then being a busy and prosperous port. In one year over 300 ships, including six from America docked at the port. William Patton, David Jones, Edward Hughes and Michael Parry are also shown in the Trade Directories for the period as a Ship Builders. By 1858 Ferguson & Baird and Michael Parry are shown as now working from Connah's Quay.

Lead ore was smelted by the burgesses of Flint using the local wood as charcoal initially before changing to coal in the late 17th century and exclusively by coal from 1704. It was then that the London Lead Company set up a reverbatory furnace at Gadlys near Bagillt. Regular markets for the sale of lead ore were held on alternate fortnights in Flint and Holywell. To extract the lead a technique much used was fire setting, whereby a fire was lit against the rock face and later quenched with water. The heat caused the rock to expand and the water contracted it quickly, thus causing it to split and allowing it to be removed by wedges or picks. The production of metallic lead from its ore is relatively easy and could have been produced by in a camp fire. The melting point of lead is 327 C, therefore, it would easily flow to the lowest point in the fireplace and collect. At first lead was not used widely because it was too ductile and the first uses of lead were around 3500 BC. Lead's use as a container and conduit was important and lead pipes bearing the insignia of Roman emperors can still be found. Lead is highly malleable, ductile and noncorrosive making it an excellent piping material. Coal was not successfully utilised in copper smelting until the late 18th century and the earliest known instance of its use as a firing agent in the pottery industry dates from the reign of Charles I. There was an increase in the use of lead in North Wales at the time of Edward 1's conquest of Wales in the 13th century. It was used on the roofs of the great new castles he built and also to repair the roofs of churches and other important buildings damaged during the wars. As well as being a high quality roofing material, lead has been used more recently to frame the glass in stained and leaded-light windows. Lead mining became an important industry in this area from the 17th century. It has been estimated that the production of lead and zinc from the mines of Flintshire and Denbighshire between 1692 and 1938 amounted to 3 million tons making the region one of the major metalliferous mining areas in the British Isles.

                                Flint Lead Works in 1820/30's

                            Example of  Factory in 1880's

Flint Lead Works in 1820/30's

It is believed there was a lead smelting works in Flint for about six hundred years. The discovery in the late 17th century of techniques for the use of coal for smelting lead provided a considerable fillip to both the local lead and coal mining industries, giving rise to the construction of the lead smeltery next to the Swinchiard Brook on the shores of the estuary in 1699. This was a lead smelt operated by Daniel Peek  and in 1702 he had an adjoining colliery to assist in the smelting. Benjamin Perrin was running the Old Smelting Works in 1708, later it was owned by Mr. Seaman, then Messrs Ingleby & Co, Messrs Jones & Co, Messrs Roskell, Tipton & Co, and later Messrs Roskell, Williams & Co until it was bought by Messrs Muspratt & Huntley in 1852 for £7,000. James Muspratt was the father of the alkali trade - Born in Dublin, 1793 - building his first factory in 1818. He set up a factory in Liverpool in 1823, moving to St Helens in 1828 later moving to Newton but from 1832 to 1850 his business was harassed by almost continuous and most expensive litigation, which finally resulted in his being compelled to close and abandon both his works and moving to Flint. His son Sheridan Muspratt founded the Liverpool School of Chemistry.  A lead works was built in Flint in 1755 to smelt Halkyn ore but Flint was also ideally situated for importing ores. The smeltery took in lead ore brought down by horse and cart from Halkyn Mountain about 5 kilometres to the south and also brought in by sea from other parts of Wales without access to coal resources, as well as from Ireland and Scotland. By the second decade of the 19th century an active market for lead ore had developed in the area, with fortnightly auctions alternately in Flint and Holywell. Coal supplied by local mines formed the fuel, which by the 1840s and 1850s was being transported by a system of horse drawn tram roads built to the west of the town. Wharves and piers were built for the export of lead bars, sheets and pipes as well as for the export of coal along the estuary to Chester and also by sea to Liverpool and Ireland. The works was leased by Richard Ingelby for a time but he went bankrupt in 1811 due to a downturn in trade due to the Napoleonic War and competition from North East England which was able to undercut all the other regions with only the large companies making money. This decline had a great effect on Flint with visitors describing it as 'poor, miserable and decrepit'. The situation began to change after about 1812 when a new lead works was erected in Flint by Messrs Roskell & Co. who it seems had acquired the old and apparently defunct lead works which had stood on the site for just over a century. The old smeltery had declined after about 1780 when Napoleon overran Europe and our markets were cut. In 1824 a sulphur tower 140 feet high was erected by Roskell to collect deposits of sulphur from the flues of the furnaces. Lead smelting was a thriving industry in the area at that time but Flint in 1826 was the most important with 7 furnaces, 5 slag hearths, 2 silver refineries and the company had 3 vessels to carry the lead to Liverpool and other ports. Roskell's at that time were making rolled and sheet lead and lead pipes. In 1834 there were 120 people employed in the smelteries with 800 men employed in the coal mines producing about 1500 tons of coal a week. It is estimated that in 1849 more than a quarter of the lead of the UK was brought to Flintshire for smelting. However the boom did not last long. There had been massive over investment and with the removal of import duty on lead this resulted in a large influx of cheap Spanish lead and lead ore and consequent sharp falls in prices. Many mines became economically unviable. Depression began to appear.

In 1835 David Scott is shown as a Steam Boiler maker. By 1840 William Whitehouse had an iron foundry at Flint and Henry Ommanney had a foundry and engineering works at Flint Forge. Edward Lloyd was a Timber merchant and Brick maker. Between the 1840s and the 1880s, a number of relatively small brickyards with coal-fired brick kilns were in operation around the town, working from deposits of glacial till known as purple mottled marls. The earlier brickyards produced handmade bricks and tiles but later on, some had introduced mechanization using steam engines. Some were worked in conjunction with collieries, which provided both fuel and material. For example, Flint Brick and Tile Works on Halkyn Road operated between about 1840 and 1880, and incorporated weathered shale from spoil heaps of the adjacent Dee Green Colliery in its products. Another smaller brickyard associated with a colliery operated close to the junction of Northop Road and Coed Onn Road at about this period. The second largest brickworks in Flint, operating from the early 1870s to the early 1890s, was associated with clay pits in the area of the present-day allotments off Prince of Wales Avenue. Another brickyard on Chester Street, in the area of the present-day fire station and industrial units, was in operation between the1850s and the 1880s on the site of the former Bath Colliery. There were other brickyards located south of Marsh Farm and at Pentre Ffwrndan, to the east of the town centre, and along Coed Onn Road/Allt Goch. With competition from larger brickworks further afield, none of the local works appear to have continued in operation after the end of the nineteenth century, but their contribution to the colour and texture of the town can still be traced.

The lead industry had gone into decline by the 1840s when the smeltery was superseded by a factory producing alkali and chloride of lime. It was said to be ‘one of the most extensive works of the kind in the world’, and it expanded over the site of earlier wharves and a shipbuilding yard, on the site which became known as the Castle Works within the area of the present-day Castle Park Industrial Estate. Like the lead works, at their height, these works employed many hundreds of workers. Many of those engaged in the alkali works were newcomers, including a sizeable contingent of Irish families seeking employment. These chemicals, produced from sea water and sulphur, were used in the manufacture of bleaching powder, disinfectant and soap. Alkali works were notorious for the pollution they created, particularly from emissions of hydrochloric acid fumes which tended to have a devastating effect upon the neighbouring countryside. By 1852 there were 3 chemical manufacturers, Muspratt's, Smith & Mawdsley and Messrs Wilson & Rowlandson. When Roskell's took over the lead smeltery they invested a large amount of money into the formation of wharfs which increased trade. The last lead smelting works closed finally in Flint in 1850, and in 1852 a Liverpool chemical manufacturing company, Messrs. Muspratt Brothers and Huntley established their Alkali Works there absorbing the wharves and shipbuilding yards of Ferguson and Baird and the Henry Ommanney iron foundry. The factory was later enlarged which required the land upon which the wharves were sited and this resulted in the closure of the shipyards. The shipbuilders moved to Connah's Quay on a larger scale but the site used by David Jones was not immediately needed and he continued at Flint for several years. By 1874 there were 800 people working at Muspratt's Works. About 1852 a chemical works was built at Pentre by Messrs Smith and Mawdsley. downwind of the town, where they continued to operate until they were finally closed down about 1900. After the closure of the chemical works in Flint in 1919 the dock was never used again on a regular basis by trading vessels. Messrs. McCorquodale, a famous paper-making firm of Liverpool and Newton started The North Wales Paper Mill at their Mill in Oakenholt in 1871. When the business was started in 1871, the raw materials used were entirely straw and esparto, but these were soon abandoned in favour of chemical wood pulp. At first, the mill specialised in the production of news, white and coloured printings, but towards the end of the century, a better class of printings was manufactured. In 1880 the mill had a second machine, thus increasing the size of the plant. In 1835 there were fairs in Flint 4 times a year in February, June, August and November, mostly for the sale of cattle, with the revival of Flint's weekly market from about 1855 on a Saturday due to the prosperity of the chemical industry and coal mines which led to immigration of workers (especially of Irish families).
PIGOT'S Directory 1822  PIGOT'S Directory 1835 SLATERS Directory 1859 SLATER's Directory 1883
Shopkeepers & Traders Bakers Bakers Bakers
Edward Ames, Blacksmith David Jones   Robert Hughes Church Street Robert W Bowen,  Chester Road
Thomas Ames, Blacksmith John Jones   Catherine Jones Evans Lane Joseph W Evans,  Church Street
George Bellis, Tailor James Parish   James Parish Roskell Lane Jane Jones,  Swan Lane
John Bibby, Joiner John Thomas,  Feather Street
Wm. Brien, Weaver Blacksmiths Blacksmiths John Thomas,  Chester Road
James Conway, Surgeon Thomas Ames   Edward Ames Church Street
Richard Conway, Flour Dealer Daniel Griffiths   Richard Evans Raven Square Blacksmiths
Thomas Davies, Boot & Shoemaker Thomas Griffiths   John Hughes Evans Lane John Hughes,  Raven Square
John Edwards, Linen Draper William Hughes,  Church Street
Edward Evans, Maltster Boot & Shoe Makers Boot & Shoe Makers
Richard Evans, Sea Captain Edward Edwards   John Burdon Chester Street Booksellers and Stationers
Robert Evans, Book keeper Thomas Foulks   John Burgess Swan Lane William Gibson,  Chester Road
Edwd Eyton, Grocer & Draper Edward Griffiths   Richard Davies  near Town Hall Michael Jones & Son  Chester Road
Robert Eyton, Dee Green Colliery William Griffiths   John Denham Parish Lane
Thomas Griffiths, Blacksmith John Jones   Thomas Foulkes Feathers Lane Boot  Makers
Thomas Hooson, Merchant James Lewis   Aaron Francis Castle Street John Burgess,  Chester Road
John Hughes, Agent to coal works John Lloyd   John Griffiths Chester Road George R Egerton,  Chester Road
Sarah Hughes, Linen Dealer     Evan Jones Feathers Back Lane Thomas Grimes,  Trelawney Square
R. G. Humphreys, Customs Officer Bricklayers   John Jones Evans Lane Edward Hughes,  Feather Street
Robert Jones, Shoemaker Samuel Dean   Joseph Lewis Chester Road Robert Hughes,  Evans Street
Thomas Jones, Flour Dealer Timothy Roberts   John Lloyd Naylors Row Joseph Lewis,  Chester Road
Wm. Jones, Weaver Thomas Rogers   John Welch Roskell Lane H & J A Seller,  Castle Street
Wm. Jones, Schoolmaster     John Williams Castle Street William Thomas,  Church Street
Peter Kenrick, Maltster Butchers John Welch, Sydney Street
Sarah Kenrick, Flour Dealer William Hughes   Butchers
Benjamin Ledsham, Joiner Samuel Huskinson   Charles Hodgkinson Trelawney Square Brewers and Maltsters
James Lewis, Shoemaker William Huskinson   William Hodgkinson Chester Road Joseph Jackson,  Church Street
Robert Mellor, Tide Surveyor Robert Jones   Robert Jones Chester Road
George Parry, Cooper Peter Pierce   Robert Redfern Church Street Brick Makers
Jphn Parry, Cooper Samuel Pierce   Eli Williams Church Street Peter Bibby,  Duck Lane
Michael Parry, Cooper E Williams   Robert Williams Church Street Edward Bowers,  Chester Road
Peter Parry, Tailor
Thomas Pierce Cooper Coal Proprietors Chemists Butchers
Edwd Pritchard, Boot & Shoemaker Thomas Eyton Dee Green Colliery John Haywood Trelawney Square Thomas Bellis,  Church Street
John Richardson Saddler Thomas Eyton & Son Mostyn & Bagillt Ropery Thomas Royston Trelawney Square Benjamin Bennett,  Market House
Edward Roberts Tailor Pickering & Ormiston Flint Marsh Colliery Joseph W Evans,  Church Street
Edward Roberts Agent lead works     Confectioners James Jones,  Market House
Sampson Roberts Overseer to the poor Coopers   John Blunt Castle Street John Owen,  Market House
George Roskell Lead smelter William Brine   Elizabeth Williams Church Street Absalom Redfern, Market House
John Simon, Plumber and Glazier George Parry Owen Roberts,  Chester Road
Richard Taylor, Grocer Peter Lloyd   Grocers John Thomas,  Chester Road
Josiah Thornley, Post Master     Edward Bevan Castle Street
Edward Williams Tallow Chandler Corn Dealers   John Blunt Castle Street Chemists
Robert Williams Tailor John Griffiths   Henry Denny Evans Lane Thomas F Evans,  Trelawney Square
Edward lloyd   Jane Dyke Castle Street Michael Jones & Son  Chester Road
Inns & Pubs     John Edwards Church Street
Anchor Richard Jones Grocers & Sundries Joseph Evans Church Street China and Glass Dealers
Black Lion Thomas Hughes John Blunt   Evan Hughes Feathers Lane William Gibson,  Chester Road
Bull Edward Roberts Henry Davies   Joseph Hughes Mount Pleasant St Walter Owen,  Church Street
Cross Foxes Robert Price William Edwards & Draper Barbara Jones Church Street
Feathers Sarah Booley Joseph Evans & Draper & druggist  Elizabeth Jones Chester Road Cloggers
George & Dragon Ann Pierce Thomas Griffiths   Godfrey Jones Chester Road James Clough,  Chester Road
Raven Edward Pierce Margaret Harris   Ishmael Jones Trelawney Square Joseph Williams,  Mount Street
Royal Oak Ann Edwards Margaret Jones   Robert Jones Chester Road
Ship Bell Jones Sarah Kendrick   Catherine Lloyd Church Street Coal Dealers
Swan John Thornely Richard Taylor   Thomas Owens Evans Row Edward Jones,  Chapel Street
Waterloo Edward Bellis Sarah Williams   Enoch Roberts Church Street Thomas Upton,  Duke Street
        Henry Roberts Chester Road
Inns & Pubs   Robert Roberts Church Street Confectioners
Anchor Ann Jones Charles Taylor Trelawney Square Joseph W M Evans,  Church Street
Black Lion Thomas Hughes Charles T Wood Raven Square Pryce Griffiths,  Castle Street
Bull Edward Roberts Walter Owen,  Church Street
Castle Joseph Garner Inns & Pubs Mary Porter,  Castle Street
Cross Foxes Robert Price Mary Hughes
Feathers Mary Pierce Castle Inn Robert Jackson Corn Factors
George & Dragon Ann Pierce Coach & Horses David Jones Peter Jones,  Chapel Street
Hawarden Castle Benjamin Hughes Cross Foxes Barbara Jones Hugh Owen,  Church Street
Old Anchor John Hughes Feathers Thomas R Brunton
Raven Sarah Pierce George & Dragon Thos Jones Fruiterers
Royal Oak Inn Ann Edwards Hawarden castle Jane Evans William Holmes,  Evans Street
Ship Inn Elizabeth Jones New Anchor Moses Hughes Owen Roberts,  Chester Road
Swan Robert Jones Old Anchor Roberet Jones Roger Williams,  Chester Road
    Raven Edward Hughes
Retailers of Beer Rose & Crown Charles T Wood Grocers and Tea Dealers
Thomas Edwards   Royal Oak Edwd W Jones Robert W Bowen,  Chester Road
Edward Griffiths   Swan Robert Jones Samuel T Edwards,  Castle Street
Ann Jones   Joseph W M Evans,  Church Street
Jarvis Jones   Retailers of Beer Pryce Griffiths,  Castle Street
Benjamin Ledsham   Thomas Bevan Castle Hill William A Howard,  Chester Road
John Lloyd   Zac Davies Castle Street Joseph Hughes,  Mount Street
Robert Lloyd   Henry Denny Evans Lane Ishmael Jones,  Trelawney Square
Thomas Lloyd   Jane Hughes Swan Lane Robert Jones,  Church Street
Thomas Parry   Evan Jones Evans Lane Thomas Jones,  Chester Road
    John Davies Castle View W & R Jones,  Church Street
Joiners Joseph C Jones Chester Road William Jones,  Church Street
Peter Bibby   Catherine Lloyd Church Street Elizabeth Lloyd,  Chapel Street
Thomas Ledsham   Pat O'Neil Castle Hill John Owen,  Mount Street
Josiah Tomley   Mary Parry Chester Road Walter Owen,  Church Street
    Francis Pierce Chester Road John Thomas,  Chester Road
Maltsters   Thomas Taylor Castle View John Thomas,  Feather Street
Humphreys Jones   Daniel Roberts Mount Pleasant
Robert Jones   Elizabeth Roberts Church Street Hairdressers
John Lloyd William Barber,  Holywell Road
    Ironmongers George Clews,  Chester Street
Millers Joseph Hughes Mount Pleasant St
Daniel Evans    John Parry Chester Road Inns and Public Houses
Daniel Hilditch Coed Y Cra Black Lion,   Ann Jackson, Church Street
Humphrey Jones Green Joiners Blue Bell,   Mary Davies, Castle Street
George Piggot Oakenholt Thomas Bibby Castle Lane Coach & Horses,   Thomas Hughes, Flint Common
Thomas Roberts Croes Atti John Davies Swan Lane Cross Foxes,   Joseph Jackson, Church Street
    Thomas Ledsham Church Street Crown,   Mary Christopherson Holywell Road
Milleners & Dresses   Josiah Thornley Raven Square Dee Tavern   John Brady, Chester Street
Jane Bellis   Thomas Williams Swan Lane Flint Castle Elizabeth Jones Castle Dyke
Mary Davies   George & Dragon,   R P Jones, Church Street
Mary Hall   Linen Drapers Hawarden Castle,   Thomas Porter, Church Street
    Joseph Evans Church Street Kings Head,   John Ryan, Castle Street
Surgeons   John Jones Church Street Old Anchor,   Robert Williams, Feathers Street
John Conway   Edward W Jones Church Street Railway Vaults,   Joseph Cosgrove Trelawney Sq
Henry Rothwell Trigg   Robert Davies Church Street Raven,   Edward Hughes Raven Square
John Wynne Royal Oak,   James Denton, Church Street
    Millers Ship & Anchor,   Joseph Lewis, Holywell Road
Tailors   Joseph Evans  Church Street Ship Inn,  Jane Scott, Ship Square
Edward Bellis   Ishmael Jones Mumforth Street Swan,   Sarah Harrison Chester Street
Peter Parry   John Rogers Oakenholt Three Pigeons Samuel Wilkinson  Hill Street
Edward Roberts   Lewis Williams Croes Atti Mill
Hugh Williams Retailers of Beer
  Milleners & Dressmakers Joseph Cosgrove,  Trelawney Square
Timber Dealers   Sarah Doughty Mumforth Lane Ann Davies,  Chester Road
Edward Lloyd   Mary Hall The Baths Mary Davies,  Castle Street
Michael Parry   Elizabeth Jones Church Street Shem Davies,  Commercial Road
    Mary Hayes Roskell Square William Downing,  Sydney Street
Wheelwrights   Mary Jones Parish Lane Elizabeth Edwards,  Eyton Terrace
John Hughes   Sarah Jones  Feathers Back Lane John Hughes,  Nailors Row
Henry Williams   Jane Porter Swan Lane Robert Jackson,  Commercial Road
    Mary Williams Swan Lane Edward Jenkins,  Mount Pleasant
Miscellaneous   Edwin Jones,  Eyton Terrace
Edward Bate                  Brewer, Kelsterton Painters & Glaziers Elizabeth P Jones,  Mount Street
Charles Clarke Hair dresser Joseph Hall Bardyn Cottage Elizabeth Lloyd,  Chapel Street
John Conway Slater & plasterer John Jones Roskell Square Mary Richards,  Mount Street
Joseph Hall Plumber, painter & glazer Edward Roberts,  Chester Road
John Haywood Druggist Surgeons John Whitby,  Evans Street
Robert Mellor Surveyor of customs John Haywood Trelawney Square John Williams,  Mount Pleasant
John Parry Nail maker Thos. Royston Trelawney Square
Edward Pritchard Governor of the prison Ironmongers
John Richardson Saddler Tailors John G Bevan,  Church Street
George Roskell & Co Lead Smelters Edward Ellis Mumforth Lane Francis Caprani,  Chester Road
David Scott Engineer & Iron Merchant Edward Jones Mount Pleasant Joseph Hughes,  Church Street
    Robt Jones Holywell Road Hugh Owen,  Church Street
    John Salisbury Castle View
    Edward Williams Naylors Row Joiners and Builders
    Jonathan Williams Castle Hill Peter Bibby,  Duck Lane
    Joseph Williams Mount Pleasant St John Evans,  Chester Road
    John L Roberts,  Church Street
    Timber Dealers Matthew Rogers,  Nailors Row
    R & W Gardner & Co Pentre Roger Williams,  Chapel Street
    Edward Lloyd Evans Row
    Michael Parry Quay Flint Linen and Woollen Drapers
Edward Jones,  Church Street
    Wheelwrights Hugh Jones,  Castle Street
    William Edwards Feathers Back Lane Robert Jones,  Church Street
    Joseph Hughes Chester Road John Roberts,  Church Street
    Miscellaneous Marine Store Dealers
    Joseph Hall Baths Thomas Parry,  Evans Street
    Charles Clarke Hairdresser
    Peter E Eyton Solicitor & Town Clerk Millers
    Thomas E Hughes Surgeon Joseph W M Evans  Church Street
    Evan Jones Parish Clerk
    Robert Jones Bricklayer Milliners and Dress Makers
    Hugh Owens Agent C A & G Craft,  Chester Road
    George Parry Cooper Annie Jones,  Feathers Street
    Edward Pritchard Governor Edward Jones,  Church Street
    Eliza Pritchard Matron Hugh Jones,  Castle Street
    Thomas Shipman Clerk John Roberts,  Church Street
    Isaac Taylor Surveyor
    Ellis Williams Hairdresser Painters, Plumbers and Glaziers
    Thomas Williams Chaplain & Vicar Joseph Hall,  Castle Villa
William Gibson,  Chester Road
Joseph Hall Jnr  Castle Cottage
Robert Williams,  Mumforth Street
Pawnbrokers
Isaac P Davies,  Feathers Lane
Thomas B Taylor,  Trelawney Square
Saddlers
William Davies,  Chester Road
Peter Hughes,  Church Street
Seedsman
Hugh Owen,  Church Street
Shopkeepers
Francis Bagshaw,  Church Street
Thomas Bellis,  Church Street
Thomas H Blackwell,  Chester Road
Joseph Coupland,  Castle Street
William Downing,  Sidney Street
Thomas Griffiths,  Flint Common
Samuel Jackson,  Eyton Terrace
Isaac Jones,  Feather Street
Mabel Jones,  Mount Street
Sarah Jones,  Holywell Road
Amelia Leighton,  Church Street
Alfred Lloyd,  Church Street
Elizabeth Lloyd,  Chapel Street
John Lloyd,  Northop Road
Margaret McCormack  Castle View
Mary Porter,  Castle Street
Thomas Pritchard,  Chester Road
Benjamin Roberts,  Hill Street
Thomas Roberts,  Flint Common
Robert Tinsley,  Chester Road
Roger Williams,  Chester Road
Slaters and Plasterers
Benjamin Conway,  Duke Street
Benjamin Jones,  Flint Mountain
Solicitors
P Mwyndey Evans,  Chester Road
Henry Taylor,  Town Hall
Robert J Williams,  Chester Road
Stonemasons
Peter Bibby,  Duck Lane
Surgeon
Richard Jones,  Nailors Row
Tailors
John Baker,  Chester Road
Edward Ellis,  Chester Road
Edward Jones,  Mumforth Street
Robert Price,  Church Street
Thomas J Williams,  Mount Street
Timber Dealers
Peter Bibby,  Duck Lane
Roger Williams,  Chapel Street
Watch and Clock Makers
Augustine Schwartz,  Chester Street
Wheelwrights
Wm Edwards,  Feathers Lane
Miscellaneous
John J Clark,   Bill Poster, Evans Street
George R Egerton,  General Dealer, Chester Road
Thomas F Evans,   Tobacconist, Trelawney Sq
Thomas Richardson,   Brazier & Tinsmith, Sydney Street

Other major local industries in the 1880's included, Astbury Brothers, The Britannia Iron Works in Pentre; Jacob Davies of The Flint Brick and Tile Works in Halkyn Road; Messrs. Smith and Mawdsley Chemical Works at Pentre; The North Wales Paper Mill in Oakenholt; George Roskell & Co., Alkali and Chloride of Lime Manufacturers; George Ommanney, Wrought Iron Works and Forge; Roswells Furnace; Messrs Jones and Davies, The Flint Foundry in Halkyn Street; a Stone Quarry and a Fulling Mill in Oakenholt - The Pandy; and the Kelsterton Brewery. In the 1880's, strong competition from South Wales and the importation of cheap ores from America and Australia caused a serious decline in the metal industry and some works closed. The Trade Directories show that Mr J G Bevan was operating as an Ironmonger in Chester Street in 1883.  The Smith and Mawdsley factory closed about 1890 when also Muspratt's was taken over by United Alkali Co. Ltd, a large company with works in Cheshire and Lancashire. They later closed the Flint works in 1920. Flint suffered a harsh industrial depression with the rapid decrease in trade at the Chemical Works of Muspratt and Huntley and the temporary closure of the Red Pits Colliery in 1894 due to severe flooding and heavy falls there and consequently there was great unemployment in Flint. Hundreds of men were unemployed, soup kitchens were opened in the Town and people left town to seek work elsewhere, and there were houses to let in every street. It was in 1895 that John Summers & Sons began building their factory at Shotton. Work was begun in 1897 on the erection of a vegetable parchment paper mill at Flint on the banks of the little stream known as the Swinchiard. The choice of location was decided by the water supply, the railway facilities and the success of the Oakenholt Paper Mills at Pentre, Flint. The mill did not operate for long. There was an upturn in fortune in 1908 when The British Glanzstoff Manufacturing Company, the German artificial silk concern took over the site and started building their factory in Flint producing artificial silk from wood pulp. In 1913 by agreement with Courtaulds they changed to the viscose process which gave a better yarn. They went into receivership during the First World War and the factory was taken over by Courtaulds in 1917 and renamed 'Aber Works'. By 1918 there was a working population in Flint of some 6,000. Courtaulds expanded over the next few years opening the Castle Works in 1920 and the Deeside Mill in 1922. The Greenfield factory was opened in 1936. At its height Courtaulds were employing about 10,000 people and were therefore the main employer in Flint and the second largest in the county. After about 1950 Courtaulds found materials were difficult to find and competition was fierce and employee numbers declined with real cuts coming in 1957 when Aber Works closed for production of rayon. In 1961 Courtaulds only employed 3,100. Castle Works closed in 1977 putting about 1,500 out of work. Deeside Works eventually closed in 1989 but had previously reduced its working capacity. With Shotton Steelworks reducing employees in 1980, employment shrank in the area. Flint was declared a Development Area with Category One status and the Flint Enterprise Zone began operations in 1983 and Delyn Borough Council with the aid of Welsh Development Agency funding redeveloped the area and the Courtaulds factories were pulled down and new much smaller factory units built on the Aber Industrial Park and Castle Park Industrial Estate. With new firms coming to Flint to take advantage of the special terms, employment again expanded in Flint in the mid 1980's. Kimberley Clark started building factories at Flint on the Aber Road in 1984 and with three mills now employ about 400 people. Headland Foods came to Flint in 1990 and now has 400/500 employees. SCA, a Swedish Company, purchased the Oakenholt Paper Mill and commenced paper tissue production in 2002, employing about 120 people. The Flintshire Retail Park which opened in 1994 has introduced many shops into Flint creating many welcome jobs for locals and others. The largest private employer in Flintshire, Airbus in Broughton near Chester has about 5/7000 employees but have about 135000 sub-contractors involved in the Airbus contract. This contract is therefore very important to the future prosperity of the area including Flint as many employees live in Flint.

Courtaulds Castle Works