Holt, Wales
Encyclopedia
Holt is a medieval market town
and local government community
in the county borough of Wrexham
, Wales
. It is situated on the border with England
. Holt Castle
was begun by Edward I
shortly after the English invasion of Wales in 1277.
. A brickworks (possibly called Bovium) supplied clay tiles and pottery to the Roman fort of Deva Victrix
, eight miles away (modern Chester
). The works was located just downstream from the modern town. In the early 20th century, six kilns, a bath house
, sheds and barracks were found there on the banks of the River Dee
.
Three Bronze Age
burial urns have also been found in Holt.
has parts dating to the 15th century and 17th century.
A Grade I listed 14th-century sandstone bridge
links Holt with the English village of Farndon
across the River Dee
. Records from the county court of Chester in 1368, state that:
A survey of 1627 described the bridge:
Sixteen years later, William Brereton
, attacked the bridge for the Parliamentarians
:
Thomas Pennant
recorded ten arches in 1754 (and had been told a date stone of 1354 was there until recently, which contradicts the more likely date of 1338) but Hubbard in Buildings of Wales only saw eight. The third arch, viewed from the Holt river bank, shows the strengthened arch where the drawbridge once stood.
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
and local government community
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
in the county borough of Wrexham
Wrexham (county borough)
Wrexham is a county borough centred on the town of Wrexham in north-east Wales. The county borough has a population of 130,200 inhabitants. Just under half of the population live either within the town of Wrexham or its surrounding conurbation of urban villages. The remainder living to the south...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It is situated on the border with England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Holt Castle
Holt Castle
Holt Castle was a medieval castle in the town of Holt, Wrexham Borough, Wales. Work began in the 13th century during the Welsh Wars, the castle was sited on the Welsh-English border by the banks of the River Dee....
was begun by Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
shortly after the English invasion of Wales in 1277.
Area
The district has been occupied since at least the Roman periodRoman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
. A brickworks (possibly called Bovium) supplied clay tiles and pottery to the Roman fort of Deva Victrix
Deva Victrix
Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia. The settlement evolved into Chester, the county town of Cheshire, England...
, eight miles away (modern Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
). The works was located just downstream from the modern town. In the early 20th century, six kilns, a bath house
Thermae
In ancient Rome, thermae and balnea were facilities for bathing...
, sheds and barracks were found there on the banks of the River Dee
River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a long river in the United Kingdom. It travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between the two countries....
.
Three Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
burial urns have also been found in Holt.
Town
There is a medieval market cross in the centre of Holt. The church of St ChadSt Chad's Church, Holt
St Chad's Church, Holt, is in the town of Holt, Wrexham County Borough, Wales overlooking the River Dee and the Wales–England border. It is an active Anglican church in the deanery of Gresford, the archdeaconry of Wrexham and the diocese of St Asaph and a Grade I listed building.-History:The...
has parts dating to the 15th century and 17th century.
Medieval Bridge
Farndon Bridge
Farndon Bridge crosses the River Dee and the England-Wales border between the villages of Farndon, Cheshire, England and Holt, Wales . It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is a scheduled monument...
links Holt with the English village of Farndon
Farndon, Cheshire
Farndon is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located on the banks of the River Dee, south of Chester, and close to the border with Wales...
across the River Dee
River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a long river in the United Kingdom. It travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between the two countries....
. Records from the county court of Chester in 1368, state that:
the jury presented that John, earl of Warenne, late Lord of Bromfield, had constructed a bridge across the River Dee (during 1338)... and upon that bridge is a fortified gateway' The jury then claimed that illegal toll was being extorted from workmen daily crossing the bridge, and that the town of Holt was giving shelter to felons who ambushed Cheshire folk
A survey of 1627 described the bridge:
contayninge 10 arches which River divideth Two Sheires, namely Cheshire and Denbye... Upon the fifth Arch from Holt standeth a Tower or Gatehouse of Fortification... (the text then describes the Lady's Chapel in the tower)... Upon the other end of the fortificacion next unto the manor of Farndon next unto the Manor of Farndon is layd out in Masons Works a Lyon to the full passant. And like Lyon is upon the gates of Holt Castell. The county of Chester doth repair the bridge to the Lyon.
Sixteen years later, William Brereton
Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet
Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet was an English writer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1628 and 1659. He was a commander in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War....
, attacked the bridge for the Parliamentarians
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
:
for which end they had also made a towre and drawbridge and strong gates upon the bridge soe as they and wee coceived it difficult if not altogether ympossible to make way for our passage'. Despite this he, Thomas MyddeltonThomas Myddelton (younger)Sir Thomas Myddelton of Chirk Castle was a Welsh politician and Parliamentary general.-Early life:He was the son of Sir Thomas Myddelton. He matriculated from Queen's College, Oxford, on 22 February 1605, and became a student of Gray's Inn in 1607. he was knighted on 10 February 1617, and was M.P...
and their forces took the bridge on 9th November 1643 when they cast 'some grenados amongst the Welshmen.
Thomas Pennant
Thomas Pennant
Thomas Pennant was a Welsh naturalist and antiquary.The Pennants were a Welsh gentry family from the parish of Whitford, Flintshire, who had built up a modest estate at Bychton by the seventeenth century...
recorded ten arches in 1754 (and had been told a date stone of 1354 was there until recently, which contradicts the more likely date of 1338) but Hubbard in Buildings of Wales only saw eight. The third arch, viewed from the Holt river bank, shows the strengthened arch where the drawbridge once stood.
People from Holt
- Leigh Richmond RooseLeigh Richmond RooseLeigh Richmond "Dick" Roose, MM, was a Welsh international footballer who kept goal for a number of professional clubs in the Football League between 1901 and 1912. A celebrated amateur at a time when the game was played largely by professionals, Roose was renowned as one of the best players in...
, a Welsh footballerFootball in WalesAssociation football in Wales is governed by the Football Association of Wales , which was established in 1876. The FAW oversees the Wales national football team and the Welsh football league system....
and internationalWales national football teamThe Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
goalkeeper from Holt.
Further reading
- Edward Hubbard, The Buildings of Wales: Clwyd (1986) ISBN 0-14-071052-3
- Gordon Emery, Curious Clwyd 2 (1996) ISBN 1872265995