HOLYWELL, or TREFYNNON, a parish and market-town and borough, partly in the Holywell, and partly in the
Northop, division of the hundred of COLESHILL, county of FLINT, NORTH WALES, 5 miles (W. N. w.) from Flint, and 207 (N.
w.) from London, on the road to Holyhead, containing 8969 inhabitants. This place derives its Welsh name of Trefynnon, or
" the town of the well," from one of the most powerful springs in the island, which issues from a rock just below the
town, and has been celebrated for many ages for the miraculous efficacy traditionally related to have been imparted to its
waters by St. Winifred, to whose memory, after her decease, the fountain was dedicated. Its reported Saxon name of Weirton
appears to have been derived from the same source; and its present appellation of Holywell has originated in the supposed
sacredness of its spring, to which numerous pilgrims of every rank resorted from all parts of the kingdom, to present
their offerings at the shrine of its tutelar saint. St. Winifred, according to the monkish legend, was the daughter of
Thewith, a powerful lord in this part of the principality, and niece to St. Beuno, under whose protection she lived in
monastic seclusion, in a vale which, for its remarkable aridity, had obtained the name of Sych Nant, near the foot of the
hill on which the town of -Holywell now stands, -where Benno had built a small church, and where there are two fields,
still called Gerddi St. Benno, or "St. Benno's Gardens." The same authority states that Cradoors, son of a neighbouring
king, enamoured of the -beauty of St. Winifred, and enraged at her disdainful repulses, struck off her head with his
sword, as she was endeavouring to escape from his pursuit; that the -severed head, after rolling down the side of the
hill, stopped near the church of St. Beano, and that a spring -of prodigious force burst forth with impetuosity from the
spot on which it rested. The moss on the sides of this spring is said to have diffused a fragrant odour; and the stones,
which were discoloured with her blood, to have assumed, on the anniversary of her decollation, a colour not possessed by
them at other times. St. Benno, taking up the head, united it to the body, which instantly became resuscitated; and
Winifred is said to have survived her decapitation for fifteen years, and to have died at Gwytherin, in Denbighshire,
where her remains rested till the reign of Stephen, when they were removed (by divine admonition, as it is said,) to the
abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul at Shrewsbury, where a fraternity or guild was founded in honour of her memory. After her
death her sanctity is said to have been proved by numerous miracles; and the waters of the miraculously formed well were
found to be efficacious in the cure of all corporeal infirmities. The legend of St. Winifred would scarcely have been
worthy of repetition here, had not its influence on the prosperity of the town of Holywell, and even on its very
existence, by causing a vast resort of pilgrims to the extraordinarily copious spring, been extremely great, having even
yet hardly ceased to operate. In Domesday-book no mention is made of Holy-well, whence Bishop Fleetwood concluded that the
story above related was purely the invention of monks living in a later age; and it is somewhat singular that, if the
well had really attained the celebrity which it is said to have done at so early a period, the wonder-telling Giraldus
Cambrensis, who lodged a night at the abbey of Basingwerk, in this parish, in 1189, in company with Baldwin, Archbishop of
Canterbury, then preaching the crusades in Wales, should make no mention of it; a circumstance which induced Dr. Powell
to regard the whole story as a fiction, and ascribe it to the monks of the neighbouring abbey, under whose protection the
place seems first to have risen into importance, and who procured for it the grant of a market and fair. This abbey is
said to have been founded, in 1131, by Ranulph Earl of Chester, for Cistercian monks, being probably the -first
establishment of that order in Wales. This is the origin assigned to it by Bishop Tanner; but, according to Bishop
Fleetwood, it was founded by King Henry II.; and Mr. Pennant is inclined to attribute its origin to some of the later
Welsh princes, who were great benefactors to it, and in their respective charters recite that they give and confirm the
several donations to God, St. Mary, the monastery of Basingwerk, and the monks, which had been bestowed on the latter by
their predecessors, for the salvation of their souls. Ranulph, however, must in any case have been a great benefactor to
this house, as from this period may be dated its rise to importance; and about this time part of the buildings yet
standing seems to have been erected. Its previous existence, however, is recorded by a monkish writer, who relates that
Richard, son of Hugh Lupus, and the second Norman Earl of Chester, on his return, in 1119, from Normandy, where he had
been educated, undertook a pilgrimage to the well of St. Winifred, and that, either in going or returning, he was attacked
by the Welsh, and compelled to seek refuge in Baaingwerk abbey, in which insecure retreat he applied for relief to St.
Werburg, who miraculously raised certain sands in the estuary of the Dee, between Flintshire and the promontory of Wirrall
in Cheshire, which enabled Richard's constable to pass over to his assistance: the sands, said to have been thus formed,
have to this day borne the designation of "the Constable's Sands." It was probably Earl Richard who afterwards erected a
castle at Basingwerk, for the defence of the abbey, and which was destroyed by the Welsh in the reign of Stephen. During
the protracted struggle between the Anglo-Norman invaders of Wales and the native population of this country, the abbey of
Basingwerk, upon which the town of Holywell was dependent, appears, together with the surrounding country, to have been
alternately in the power of each party; but the monks, by good management, contrived to keep friends with both, at least
so far as to escape serious molestation. In 1150, Ranulph Earl of Chester, and Madoc ab Meredydd, Prince of Powys,
invading the territories of Owain Gwynedd, sovereign of North Wales, that monarch advanced into Flintshire, to check their
progress; and meeting them at Counsyllt, Coleselt, or Coleshill, in the eastern part of this parish, contrary to the usual
custom of the Welsh, of scarcely ever risking a general engagement, or of attacking an enemy unless in situations of
advantage, he availed himself of the ardour of his forces, and gave them battle. This conduct obtained for Owain a
brilliant victor', over his enemies, who were superior in number; and so entire was the defeat of the English that few
escaped but such as by the swiftness of their horses were enabled to elude the fury of the pursuers. Owain Gwynedd again
took post in this parish, at Basingwerk, in 1157, to await the invasion of the English forces led by Henry IL, in person,
who, having advanced along the sea-shore to Flint, thought either to bring the Welsh prince to an immediate engagement, or
to penetrate into the interior of the country. But Owain avoided a battle, and the English, passing through a long narrow
defile at Coleshill, after proceeding so far that it was alike hazardous either to advance or retreat, were attacked by
the Welsh, who rushed upon them with furious impetuosity from the woods, and threw them into the greatest disorder. Henry
was compelled to flee, and several of his nobility were slain, among whom were Eustace Fitz-John and Robert de Courcy ;
and the few of the vanquished that escaped the slaughter, falling back upon the main body of the English army which was
entering the defile, spread a general panic. A report of the king's death being propagated, the Earl of Essex, hereditary
standard-bearer of England, threw down the standard, and, in the general consternation that prevailed, the Welsh made
dreadful havoc in the ranks of the invaders. The rout was becoming general, when Henry, having escaped from his perilous
situation, exposed himself by lifting up the visor of his helmet, and thus restored the courage of his troops, who, led on
by their sovereign, drove the Welsh back into the woods, and passed through the defile without further opposition. Henry,
after his escape from this ambuscade, restored the castle of Basingwerk, which he left well fortified and strongly
garrisoned, in order to secure a retreat for his forces in case of any similar disaster in their marches through the
interior of the principality, much of which at that time formed a dangerous extent of wild forests. As an additional
security, and also probably for the protection of the numerous English devotees who went to present their offerings at the
shrine of St. Winifred, the same monarch founded here a house of Knights Templars, a military order which had been
introduced into England during the preceding reign. He also confirmed the grants already made to the abbey of Basingwerk,
and added to them some further immunities, a circumstance which induced Leland mistakenly to ascribe to him its original
foundation. The castle, after its restoration by Henry, was twice assaulted by the Welsh, who, after vainly attempting to
reduce it, were on both occasions repulsed with considerable loss. After the second attempt, made in 1158, the garrison
was considerably augmented, and continued to maintain possession of it till 1165, when, (while in the possession of Hugh
de Beauchamp, on whom it had been bestowed by the English monarch), the Welsh, under the conduct of Owain Gwynedd, after
defeating the garrison, fired and otherwise so entirely demolished the castle, that not a single vestige of it is now
discernible: this exploit facilitated the re-conquest of the maritime parts of Flintshire. Giraldus calls the monastic
establishment at this place "Cellula de Basingwerk." A castle is said to have been built at Trefynnon, or Holywell, in
1210, by Ranulph, the third Earl of Chester of that name. When Edward I. was making preparations for the final conquest of
the Welsh, he issued two mandates for the protection of the abbey, on condition that the monks should cease all commerce
with the Welsh rebels. This condition they appear to have implicitly observed, and henceforward to have closely attached
themselves to that which was so obviously the strongest party. At this period, the monastery of Basingwerk was raised to
the dignity of a mitred abbey; and the abbot was summoned by royal mandate to five parliaments which were held during the
reign of this monarch. The resort of pilgrims to the well of St. Winifred received the greatest encouragement from the
Roman pontiffs; and in the reign of Henry V., Pope Martin V. furnished the abbey of Basingwerk with pardons and
indulgences to sell to the devotees. This house continued to flourish until the dissolution, when its revenue, estimated
at £157. 15. 2., was granted to Henry ab Harry. The delusive practices above mentioned were renewed in the reign of Mary,
by the interest of Thomas Voldwell, Bishop of St. Asaph, who, on the accession of Elizabeth, fled into Italy. The last
pilgrim of royal lineage who visited the shrine of St. Winifred was James II., on August igth, 1686; on which occasion he
is said to have received part of the dress worn by Mary Queen of Scots at the time of her execution. His queen addressed
to Sir Roger Mostyn, Bart., an order for putting the chapel over the well into the possession of a Roman Catholic priest.
At the commencement of the last century, the market and fair formerly held at Holywell having long been disused, the
former was revived by letters patent from the crown, dated January 20th, 1703, granted to Sir John Egerton, Bart.,
bestowing also the privilege of three annual fairs, which, however, were never established. The resort of pilgrims to this
place has now nearly ceased, notwithstanding an attempt made some years ago to restore the belief of the vulgar in the
miraculous virtues of the waters of St. Winifred's well, in a pamphlet written by Dr. Milner, the Roman Catholic bishop,
entitled " Authentic Documents relative to the miraculous cure of Winifred White, of the town of Wolverhampton, at
Holywell, in Flintshire, on the 28th of June, 1805;" and containing also details of numerous other cases of the most
lamentable diseases said to have been cured by once bathing in the fountain: a triumphant reply to this pamphlet was
published by the Rev. P. Roberts, the late learned rector of Halkin. The parish of Holywell extends for some miles along
the southern shore of the wide and sandy estuary of the Dee, and comprises within its limits the whole course of the
Holywell stream, with its attendant valley. Whatever celebrity this place may have anciently derived from the supposed
sanctity and miraculous efficacy of the waters of its spring, has been altogether eclipsed by the real and substantial
benefits resulting from the application of its copious and powerful stream to manufacturing purposes, by the almost
inexhaustible wealth of its mines, and by its advantageous situation near the estuary of the river Dee; all which have
powerfully contributed to raise it to the highest rank among the towns of the principality, whether considered in respect
of its mineral productions, its manufactures, or its commerce. The town is pleasantly situated within a mile and a half of
the shore, on the declivity of a lofty hill of limestone, in a beautiful vale watered by the impetuous stream issuing from
St. Winifred's well, at the bottom of the town, sheltered on one side by lofty hills, and open on the other towards the
sea, embracing a picturesque view of the interesting rains of the ancient abbey of Basingwerk, and a fine prospect over
the open country towards Liverpool. The streets are spacious and well paved; the houses are handsome and well built; and
the whole town is well lighted with gas, and abundantly supplied with water by wells. The environs, which are enlivened
with numerous handsome residences and gentlemen's seats, abound with richly diversified scenery; and from the higher
grounds are obtained extensive and beautiful prospects overthe surrounding country, which is rich in picturesque beauty.
The gently undulating valleys are finely contrasted with the lofty hills by which they are enclosed, and the richly wooded
eminences, with the fine stream by which the lower grounds are intersected, and, in the disAance, with the expansive
waters of the Dee. The air is salubrious, and the opportunities of cold and sea bathing which the place affords render it
not only a pleasant plaice of permanent residence, but also of occasional for invalids, for whose comfort every
accommodath n is provided, with the benefit of good medical advi and the advantage of numerous pleasant rides and wal. in
the immediate neighbourhood. The celebrated well of St. Winifred, the mraculous efficacy of the waters of which was for
ages in uch repute, and the really sanative virtues of which I attract the notice and regard of numerous visitors, is
certainly the most copious in the island. It rises with prodigious force from under the rock immediately below the church,
and is received into a spacious and elegant polygonal basin, surrounded by a broad pavement, and surmounted by a beautiful
chapel in the later style of English architecture. From the angles of the polygon rise lofty and finely clustered columns,
with highly enriched and beautifully ornamented capitals, from which spring arched ribs of appropriate design, exquisitely
sculptured at the intersections, and uniting in a common centre, which support an elaborately wrought canopy of exquisite
beauty. From the point of intersection is a pendant, on which is sculptured the legend of St. Winifred; and around it,
and throughout the whole of the interior, are shields charged with armorial bearings, displaying the arms of England, of
Catherine of Arragon, of the Stanley family, and of the abbey of Basingwerk; and opposite to the entrance is a richly
canopied niche, in which was formerly a statue of the patron saint. Above this is the chapel of St. Winifred, in the same
style of architecture, elaborately ornamented with similar details: the roof of the eastern part, which is pentagonal,
and formerly lighted by five windows, is richly groined, and supported on slender columns of light and graceful form. This
chapel is lighted by lofty windows of elegant proportion, enriched with delicate tracery; and in front is a recess,
separated by an arched screen of elegant design, the roof of which was of finely carved oak. This beautiful edifice, which
was erected by the Stanleys in the reign of Henry VIII., has long been used as a school-room, and is still the only room
in the town which is appropriated to the use of public meetings. In front of the building is a pleasure bath, thirty-eight
feet in length, sixteen in breadth, and eight in its greatest depth, entered by steps, and in which is found in profusion
the violet-scented moss so eagerly sought for by visitors at Holywell. This moss is not peculiar to this place, but is
found also in several other parts of the kingdom, and in great abundance at a fine spring in the parish of Llandysilio:
it is called by botanists Jungermannia Asplenioides. Another species is also found here, called by Linmeus Byssus
Iolithus, and by Schwenckfelt Muscly; Subrubeus, which adheres to the stone like a coating of fine velvet: the Conferva
Getatinosa is also found in the water of this spring. The chapel is private property. but the spring is common. The well
was formerly in the highest reputation for the cure of all disorders, under the auspices of St. Winifred, in honour of
whom, as votive offerings from patients said to have been healed by the waters, the crutches of the lame, and the barrows
of the impotent, are suspended from the ceiling of the canopy. The water of the well is peculiarly adapted for the purpose
of cold bathing: its mean temperature is about 48° of Fahrenheit, and though sometimes, after showers, tinged with a
colour like that of whey, it is generally limpid and transparent: it contains a considerable quantity of fixed air, and
holds in solution sulphate of lime. According to an experiment lately made, it appears that the water Bows into the well
at the rate of one thousand two hundred tons per hour: the strong ebullition occasioned by this discharge accounts for
pebbles of an ounce in weight being continually suspended, or rather supported aloft, in the stream, which supplies the
greater part of the town, and within the distance of one mile and two hundred and thirty-four yards, in which it completes
its course to the Dee, works no less than eleven extensive mills, with a power equivalent to that of a thousand horses. On
the outside of the great well, close to the road, is a small spring, the waters of which were once famed for the cure of
sore eyes. The beautiful valley at the head of which the town is situated, and through which the waters of St. Winifred's
well take their short and precipitate course to the sea, is far more distinguished for the extent and variety of its trade
and manufactures, than any tract of similar extent in North Wales; a superiority which it owes to the convenience of its
powerful stream for giving motion to machinery, of its situation on the iestuary of the Dee being favourable for maritime
commerce, and of the fuel, both of coal and wood, for the manufacture of metals, which abounds in the vicinity. For many
ages, the copious stream of St.Winifred served only to turn a corn-mill belonging to the abbey, and a few others for
similar purposes, till about the middle of the last century, when several attempts were made to apply it to other
purposes, and some small mills in various branches of manufacture were erected. But it was not till the year 1777 that
Holywell can be said to have emerged from obscurity, and to have risen into manufacturing and commercial importance. At
that time Mr. Smalley introduced the cotton manufacture into this place, and erected a mill on a principle similar to that
of one which had been then recently erected at Cromford by Sir Richard Arkwright. Soon after this, Mr. Smalley was joined
by an opulent company from Lancashire, who introduced into the manufacture the improved machinery of Sir Richard
Arkwright, and in 1783 erected a larger mill, now called the Upper Mill, which works twelve thousand two hundred and
eighteen spindles. The same company, in 1787, erected the Lower Mill, adapted to the working of seven thousand four
hundred and ninety-two spindles; and in 1791, the Crescent Mill, in which eight thousand two hundred and eighty-six
spindles are kept in motion. These mills are applied to the spinning of cotton thread, of which twenty-six thousand and
ninety-six lb. are produced on on average weekly, furnishing employment to nearly one thousand persons. There are also
upon the same stream several extensive copper-mills, the first of which, for rolling sheet copper, was erected in 1781, by
the Parys Mining Company, who in 1783 erected another, called the Hammer Mill, for the manufacture of every description of
copper vessels, but particularly the large vessels used in the West India islands in the granulating process of the sugar
manufacture. The copper bolts now universally used in ship-building were first invented by the proprietors, and
manufactured under a patent at these works, from which also the royal dock-yards were supplied with copper sheathing and
rudder bands, previously to the establishment of similar works by government at Ports. mouth. The Meadow Mill, an
extensive and handsome building, erected in 1788, is appropriated to the manufacture of copper cylinders, which, after
being engraved with various patterns, are used in the printing of muslins, and for which a patent was obtained by the same
company. In 1806 a mill for drawing copper wire, to be manufactured into copper nails and spikes, for the supply of
government, was erected. In these several mills, all of which are worked by the same stream, and form conspicuous and
extensive structures in the vale through which it flows, more than a thousand tons of copper are annually manufactured
into the various articles above enumerated, and more than a hundred persons are constantly employed. There are also very
extensive mills for rolling copper and sheet lead, for casiting and drawing patent lead pipes, and for the manufacture of
white and red lead, affording constant employment to more than a hundred persons. A foundry for iron castings of every
description gives employment to more than fifty persons; and a manufactory for paper by patent machinery has been
recently established, in which more than forty persons are regularly engaged. A mill for throwing silk was erected in the
town, in 1822, in which more than a hundred persons find employment; and at Pen y Maes a manufactory for the weaving of
narrow silk goods was established, in 1821, in which sixty looms are in operation, and about ninety persons employed. In
the township of Bagillt, in this parish, are three separate and very extensive establish- , ments for the smelting of
lead-ore, in which, conjointly, more than a hundred thousand tons are smelted annually; and attached to these works are
refineries, in which, upon an average, forty-two thousand ounces of silver are annually separated from the ore: connected
with them are manufactories for sheet lead and pipes; in these several works nearly three hundred men are employed. The
district immediately around Holywell is preeminently distinguished for the richness of its mineral treasures, and
particularly for its mines of lead and calamine, which appear to have been worked from the earliest period, and still
continue to form an almost inexhaustible source of wealth. Several new mines have been opened with success, and have amply
rewarded the labours of the enterprising adventurers. Among these, the most considerable is the Milwr mine, about a mile
from the town, which was first wrought in 1822: in each of the years 1829 and 1830 it yielded to the proprietors a clear
profit of £17,000, and in the latter year alone produced nearly three thousand tons of lead-ore: a steam-engine, with a
seventy-inch cylinder, is at present being constructed for the use of this mine, in which two hundred persons are
regularly employed. The mine called the Holywell Level was first opened in 1773, from which time till the year 1795 the
adventurers lost more than £5000 by the undertaking: from 1800 to 1825, however, the accumulated profits amounted to
£131,850, or nearly to £5,300 per annum; but, from the increased expense attending the working of it since this last
period, the average profits have not exceeded £1000 per annum. The approach to this mine is near St. Winifred's well, and
it was formerly entered by boats, which floated on the water drained from the mine, by means of which the ore was brought
to its mouth; but, in 1830, a rail-road was laid down, communicating with the several workings in the level, which
extends in a westerly direction for more than eighteen hundred yards, and from which branches another level, extending
five hundred yards in a direction from north to south. The ore of this mine, from the greater proportion of silver which
it contains, is always worth te 1 per ton more than that of any other; the average produce is about a thousand tons per
annum, in obtaining which about one hundred men are generally employed: a steam-engine of adequate power is at present
being constructed for the use of the mine, and will be fixed about five hundred yards above the mouth of the level. There
are several smaller mines of lead-ore in the parish, and also considerable mines of calamine; but the latter have not
been worked for the last few years, as that article can now be imported from Germany at a much cheaper rate than that at
which it can be .obtained in this country. Coal is found in great abundance in the township of Greenfield, in this parish,
and is now being worked to a considerable extent; and in the township of Bagillt are also very extensive collieries,
affording employment to two hundred and fifty persons, and producing annually more than forty thousand tons of coal, which
is chiefly sent coastwise to Chester, Liverpool, and the distant parts of North Wales. The commercial importance of
Holywell is commensurate with its manufacturing pre-eminence: its situation on the instuary of the Dee affords great
facility of commercial intercourse with the chief towns in the principality, and with Liverpool and the principal ports on
the neighbouring parts of the English coast. Vessels of two hundred tons' burden can approach within two miles of the
town, at all states of the tide; and steam-boats and other vessels sail daily for Liverpool from the quay at Bagillt, and
from that at Mostyn, near the northern boundary of the parish, by means of which a constant intercourse with that port is
regularly maintained. The market, which is one of the largest and best supplied in North Wales, is held on Friday; but
the fairs, which were originally obtained by the monks of Basingwerk, and discontinued after the dissolution, have never
since been regularly established. By the act for amending the representation of the people, recently passed, Holy-well has
been created one of the eight contributory boroughs within this county, which unite in returning a member to parliament:
the right of election is vested in every male person of full age occupying, either as owner or as tenant under the same
landlord, a house or other premises of the annual value of not less than ten pounds, provided he be capable of registering
as the act requires: the limits of the borough are described in the Appendix, and the number of houses of the value above
mentioned is at present one hundred and fifty: the bailiffs of Flint are the returning officers. Petty sessions for the
division are held here once a month. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of St. Asaph,
rated in the king's books at £9. 15., endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £200 royal bounty, and in the patronage
of the proprietor of the estate of Llanerch, in the county of Denbigh, on the nomination of the Principal and Fellows of
Jesus' College, Oxford. The church, dedicated to St. Winifred, and rebuilt in 1769, is a spacious structure of Grecian
architecture, sixty-eight feet long and fifty-six wide, consisting of a nave, with north and south aisles, and a chancel,
in which is a handsome east window, embellished with modern stained glass: it has also two spacious and elegant galleries
over the aisles, and the whole is calculated to contain about three thousand persons. The steeple is plain, square, and
very strongly built: remains of the ancient edifice, which was of the same dimensions as the present church, are yet seen
in the remarkably plain pillars on each side of the nave of the latter. Part of the churchyard forms a gentle slope, but
the greater portion is almost precipitous. There are in the town places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Calvinistic
and Wesleyan Methodists, and for Methodists of the New Connexion; also a Roman Catholic chapel: the chapel of the
Calvinistic Methodists is a large and handsome building: in the township of Bagillt there are also places of worship for
Independents and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists; in that of BrInvordd, one for Independents; and in that of
Greenfield, one for Calvinistic Methodists. Mr. Williams bequeathed £100 for educating poor children in the grammar school
of this parish, to which Mrs. Poole added £25; Mrs. Keay, otherwise Fox, £60, secured on the Flint turnpike; Edward
Price, £25; and an unknown benefactor, £120: the interest of these sums, amounting to £14 per annum, is paid to the
master of a school held in the ancient chapel of St. Winifred, who, in consideration of this stipend, instructs
gratuitously fifteen boys, for the purchase of books for whose use William Wenlock, in 1691, and Catherine Wenlock, in
1708, each bequeathed a small rent-charge. A National school, in which six hundred poor children are gratuitously
instructed; and a dispensary for the relief of the indigent poor, have been established, and are liberally supported by
subscription. Ellis Parry; a native of Bagillt and a citizen of London, in 1628, bequeathed a messuage, tenement, and
lands, in the township of Bagillt, comprising thirty-five acres, let on lease at a rent of £ 43.4., which is distributed
weekly in bread to the poor of the parish. The same benefactor also bequeathed a rent-charge of £6, to be paid out of his
tenements in London, of which £2 was to be appropriated to placing out two poor boys in service, the same sum as a
marriage portion to two poor maids, and the remainder to be equally divided between the vicar and the churchwardens of the
parish. Edward George, in 1640, bequeathed a messuage and thirteen parcels of land in the parish of Ysceiviog, for
clothing the poor of this parish annually: of this land, six parcels appear to have been lost through neglect: the
remainder, comprising fifteen acres, is let on lease at a rental of £19.19. 6. Mrs. Catherine Jones and Mrs. Sidney
Edwards gave to the vicar the sum of £130 in trust for the poor. Mrs. Ellis of Bagillt bequeathed £10; and David Parry of
the same township, £50, to which £10 was added by his executors, William Wenlock and John Lloyd, the interest of which
sums, together with that of £ 17, obtained from the sale of Irish cattle which were seized under an act of parliament
prohibiting their importation, and £13, the accumulated interest of the last-mentioned bequests, making a total of £100,
is annually distributed among the poor. Mrs. Jones also bequeathed £13, which has been deposited since 1826 in the savings
bank, and of which the interest is to be applied to the same purpose. There are also several other charitable donations
and bequests. Among the various endowments of the ancient abbey of Basingwerk, which consisted of possessions widely
scattered through an extensive tract of country, were the Spon chapel at Coventry, in the county of Warwick, the churches
of Glossop and Longdendale, in the county of Derby, and other property in distant places. The remains of the conventual
buildings, which are considerable, are situated near the mouth of the Holywell stream, on a slope towards the sea,
protected on the west by a deep gully formed by the stream, and on the north-east by the vast ditch and rampart, forming
the ancient line of demarcation, called Wat's Dyke, which, proceeding northward through the Strand Fields, near Holywell,
terminates on the sea-shore below the abbey. They display various styles of architecture, from the rudest circular arch
and low massive column of the earlier Norman, to the middle era of the early English style. The church, which, from the
slight traces of its foundations, appears to 'have been an extensive structure, has entirely disappeared; but two of the
Norman arches of the monastery are entire, and the eastern walls of the conventual buildings, with narrow lancet-shaped
windows, are almost perfect: the south gable of the refectory, with its beautiful windows, is in tolerable preservation,
and the whole of these venerable ruins have an imposing and interesting appearance. The site and revenue of the abbey were
granted, in the 32nd of Henry II., to Henry ab Harry, whose daughter conveyed them by marriage to the family of Mostyn of
Talacre, ancestor of Sir Edward Mostyn, Bart., the present proprietor. In the field adjoining the abbey are the remains of
an ancient oak of large dimensions and venerable appearance, even in its present decayed state: it is called the Abbot's
Oak, and is supposed to have been planted in the time of the last abbot. There are also in various places vestiges of a
fine broad road anciently leading through the woods from the abbey to St. Winifred's well, and portions of the walls of
the commandery of the Knights Templar are still remaining. The name of a hill of narrow and steep ascent immediately above
the church, called Bryn y Casten, appears to mark it as the site of the ancient castle of Trefynnon, supposed to have been
built by Ranulph Earl of Chester, about the year 1210, but of which no historical notice is preserved, and the only
vestiges are some small portions of its foundations. In digging the foundation of some of the smelting-houses, the remains
of a Roman hypocaust were discovered, a circumstance corroborating the supposition that the mines of this place, which are
known to have been worked at a very early period, were not unknown to the Romans. An eminence in this parish, called Bryn
Dychwelwch, or " the Return Hill," is said to have been the place from which Henry IL gave orders for the retreat of his
forces, when his whole army was engaged in the defile at Coleshill. The commemoration of St. Winifred's decollation is
still annually celebrated on the 22nd of June, and that of the translation of her remains to Shrewsbury on the 3rd of
November. The average annual expenditure for the support of the poor amounts to £2508. 16.