Flintor Flintshire

Flint (or Flintshire). 1. A maritime county of North Wales, consisting of two parts, one having the Dee on the E., the Irish Sea on the N., and Denbigh on the S. and W.; the other, separated by Denbigh and lying 6 miles to the S.E., has Cheshire, on'the N.E. and Shropshire on the other sides. It is the smallest of the Welsh counties, but is very populous. The larger part is 27 miles long by 8 miles in width, and the smaller 8 miles long by 5 miles wide; and the two together contain 169,162 acres. A range of not very high hills crosses the county from S.W. to N.E. There are fertile and well-watered valleys, and part of the Clwyd is in the county. The coast is low, and there are very wide stretches of sand, the tide going out a great way, and returning with a rapidity that makes the sands dangerous to strangers. Wheat and oats are the chief crops. There is. a breed of small cattle that give excellent milk, and there is much dairy produce. The lead of the county is considered the best in the kingdom, and coal, copper, and manganese are also worked. Holywell and Mold are the chief smelting places. There are 14 miles of works, and ship-building yards along the coast. The county returns one member to Parliament. The Chester and Holyhead Railway passes through the county, following the coast.

2. A parliamentary and municipal borough, market-town, and seaport of Flintshire, North Wales, lying to the S.W. of the estuary of the Dee, 13 miles S.W. of Liverpool. It is built mostly of brick, and is at the foot of a hill. There are a modern Gothic church, a guildhall, several chapels, a prison, and a library. There are large alkali works, and lead and coal mines in the neighbourhood, and much copper. The port has little shipping. The old castle - now in ruins - was built by Edward I., and became the prison of his grandson, Richard II. The town joins with others to send one member to Parliament. There is a station here on the Chester and Holyhead Railway.