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.
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.
These 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. In 1822 colliers at Flint Marsh pit
accidentally broke into an abandoned shaft, causing several miners to die and
partially flooding the pit. In 1828 two boys aged 8 and 12 died in an explosion
caused by unguarded candles being used by the miners families when bringing them
their dinners. 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 |
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,
1d. 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 |
| 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 Alkeli Factory in 1880'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 Lead Smelting Works in 1708, later it was owned by Mr. Seaman, then
Messrs Ingleby & Co, Messrs Jones & Co, Thomas Lloyd, Messrs Roskell, Tipton & Co,
and later Messrs Roskell, Williams & Co. 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 1833 6000 tons of lead were annually smelted at the Flint Works. 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.
Glass works which appear to have been established by the 1830s
were also associated with the early alkali industry. When mixed with
fat, alkali could be used to make soap, and mixed with lime and sand it
can be used to make glass. Coal and lead, two other important
requirements of glass-making, were available locally. A circular ‘glass
house’, possibly making use of the chimney erected for collecting
sulphur in the 1820s, is shown as a landmark on an admiralty chart of
the 1830s. This is possibly also the distinctive cone-shaped brick
chimney shown on the print of Flint Castle drawn by Henry Gastineau in
c1830. The
industry may have been of longer standing in the town since in the 1880s
there are references to the discovery of glass waste near the town hall.
Salt works at one time existed in the area known as the 'Gawaith-Halen'. 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. Also many mines
became economically unviable. Depression began to appear in Flint.
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. The 1849 edition of Samuel Lewis’s Topographical
Dictionary of Wales notes the ‘large alkali-works, which have . . . been
suspended, and are not likely to be resumed, as the muriatic acid gas evolved
from them deterred strangers from frequenting the town as a bathing-place’.
Between the 1780s and the 1840s Flint enjoyed a short-lived
reputation as a fashionable seaside resort. John Evans' The Beauties
of England and Wales published in 1812 says that the town is
‘frequented by many of the haut-tôn [the fashionable set], as a
bathing-place . . . but the marshy beach renders bathing both
difficult and at times inconvenient’. Samuel Lewis’s Topographical
Dictionary of Wales published in 1833 mentions that in spite of
being ‘very inferior in appearance’ and possessing ‘few recommendations
as a place of residence’ it was nonetheless a ‘convenient situation for
sea-bathing, which attracts a considerable resort of company during the
summer months . . . For the accommodation of persons who visit if for
the benefit of the waters hot baths have been constructed on an
extensive scale, and are provided with every requisite accommodation.
The neighbourhood abounds with pleasing walks and rides through a tract
of country rich in picturesque beauty and finely varied scenery.’ The
baths, formerly at The Bardyn just to the south-east of the castle, are
also mentioned in Edward Parry’s Cambrian Mirror, a tourist
companion to north Wales first published in 1843. He speaks of the town
being ‘a very pleasant sail’ from Chester, and that a great number of
people from Chester ‘avail themselves of this opportunity, to take their
families to Flint during the bathing season, where lodgings and every
accommodation may be had at very reasonable rates. For the convenience
of persons who visit Flint for the benefit of the water, hot and cold
baths have been constructed on an extensive scale, and visitors are
provided, at the shortest notice, with every requisite accommodation.
The air is salubrious and the surrounding scenery beautiful. The walks
in the neighbourhood – particularly the one down the cop to meet the
tide – are invigorating. A new and splendid Town Hall has lately been
erected . . . and in one of the rooms there is a billiard table for the
amusement of strangers’.
The coming of the railway in the late 1840s and the growth of
industrial interests both acted against the interests of the tourist
industry. The Chester to Holyhead line brought the beaches of Prestatyn,
Rhyl and Llandudno within the reach of holiday makers from Chester and
the towns of the North and West Midlands whilst Flint itself had by now
developed a reputation as an industrial town, as expressed in the
Chester Chronicle in 1879: ‘at the best of times Flint does note
wear a very attractive appearance, being generally enveloped in a halo
of sulphurous smoke’.
By 1852 there were 3 chemical manufacturers,
Muspratt's at was became Castle Works, Smith & Mawdsley at Pentre Oakenholt 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. George Roskell died in 1847 and the business
put up for sale by his son and the 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 alkali works 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. The factory was later enlarged which required the land upon which the
wharves were sited and this resulted in the closure of the shipyards. Although
Muspratts built a new wharf for their use. 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 1890
and the works demolished about 1900.
After the closure of the Muspratt chemical works in Flint in 1919 the dock was never used
again on a regular basis by trading vessels but was still used until about the
1930s. Messrs. McCorquodale, a famous paper-making firm of Liverpool and Newton
started The North Wales Paper Mill at their Mill in Oakenholt in 1871; there
were railway facilities and a plentiful supply of clear water. But more
important was the proximity of the Alkali works of Messrs. Smith and Mawdsley. 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. The company continued to expand its premises
in the late 1890's. 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 | |||
| John 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; David 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; Muspratt Brothers & Huntley, 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 Smith and Mawdsley factory closed about 1890
and was demolished about 1900..
In 1890, the Muspratt concerns in Liverpool, Widnes and Flint, together with
most other Leblanc works, amalgamated in United Alkali Co. Ltd., now a
constituent of Imperial Chemical Industries. Dr. E.K. Muspratt was made a
director and was succeeded by his son, Sir Max Muspratt who participated in the
founding of I.C.I. in 1926. 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 Flint Marsh Colliery called Red Pits 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.
There
was an upturn in fortune in 1908 when a subsidiary of a German company, the
British Glanzstoff Manufacturing Company started an artificial silk factory in
Flint. During World War I the factory closed down but was taken over by
Courtaulds in 1917. In 1913, the company had started making the synthetic fibre
viscose rayon, made from cellulose derived from imported wood pulp or cotton
waste. Courtaulds in September 1919 bought the old Muspratt Alkali factory in
Flint from United Alkali Co Ltd and called it Castle Works, where after
conversion they started production in 1922 of manufactured viscose rayon yarn.
Courtaulds also in December 1927 bought the Holywell Textile Mill in Flint which
they called Deeside Mill and after reconstruction and alterations was used for
yarn processing. At its height Courtaulds employed over 10,000 people at four
sites in Flintshire
and were therefore the main employer in Flint and the second largest in the
county. The Courtaulds Greenfield factory was opened in 1936. 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 stopped
the production of rayon. In 1961 Courtaulds only employed
During the last few years there has been a change in
the ethnicity in some of the workers in the local factories. Walk around
