Mynydd Isa
Encyclopedia
Mynydd Isa mənɪð ɪsɒː is a village in Flintshire
, in north-east Wales
. It lies between the county town of Mold
, and Buckley
. Mynydd Isa was originally a small hamlet
on the north side of the Mold to Buckley road (now the A549 road) just downhill from the now demolished Calvinist
chapel. It does not appear on Ordnance Survey
maps until after the 1840s.
Its placename is Welsh
for "lower mountain".
Another old hamlet nearby was Pant-y-Fownog, on the same road nearer Buckley (centred on the Griffin Inn); although the name was used well into the 1900s on picture postcards of the area and by the local Co-Op shop next to the Inn, it has long since become disused (lending its name to a road only).
Bryn-y-Baal is an old hamlet much enlarged since the 1970s and now contiguous with but not part of Mynydd Isa. Bryn-y-Baal takes its name from a Middle English
word "bale" (rhymes with "Carl") meaning small hill. It was later written in a Welsh language
form as 'bâl' with a tô bach
(little roof, hirnod, acen grom) over the "â". In Welsh this is pronounced as a long A. This form appears on early Ordnance Survey maps. Eventually it was written in the Anglicised form 'Baal' - still correctly pronounced to rhyme with "Carl"..
The local community council is Argoed Community Council (Cyngor Cymunedol Argoed) - Argoed being the name of the ancient township which had covered the area since the Middle Ages
, which also gives its name to the local secondary school.
In the village there are a secondary school
known as Argoed High School
a primary school (Mynydd Isa Junior School, or Ysgol y Bryn) in Bryn-y-Baal, and a local infant school (Wat's Dyke Infants) in Mynydd Isa.
Amenities include a pub, The Griffin on Mold Road. (The Mercia on Mercia Drive closed in 2010), various shops and the village centre which houses the library and other clubs and associations.
The village has a large youth organisation (estabished in 1984) with football teams representing the village in the county league from 7 to 16 years old and adult football dating back to the 1930s; however the adult team disbanded in 2009.
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
, in north-east 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 lies between the county town of Mold
Mold, Flintshire
Mold is a town in Flintshire, North Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the administrative seat of Flintshire County Council, and was also the county town of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996...
, and Buckley
Buckley
Buckley is a town and community in Flintshire, located in north-east Wales. It is situated 2 miles from the county town of Mold and is contiguous with the nearby villages of Ewloe, Alltami and Mynydd Isa...
. Mynydd Isa was originally a small hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
on the north side of the Mold to Buckley road (now the A549 road) just downhill from the now demolished Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
chapel. It does not appear on Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
maps until after the 1840s.
Its placename is Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
for "lower mountain".
Another old hamlet nearby was Pant-y-Fownog, on the same road nearer Buckley (centred on the Griffin Inn); although the name was used well into the 1900s on picture postcards of the area and by the local Co-Op shop next to the Inn, it has long since become disused (lending its name to a road only).
Bryn-y-Baal is an old hamlet much enlarged since the 1970s and now contiguous with but not part of Mynydd Isa. Bryn-y-Baal takes its name from a Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
word "bale" (rhymes with "Carl") meaning small hill. It was later written in a Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
form as 'bâl' with a tô bach
Circumflex
The circumflex is a diacritic used in the written forms of many languages, and is also commonly used in various romanization and transcription schemes. It received its English name from Latin circumflexus —a translation of the Greek περισπωμένη...
(little roof, hirnod, acen grom) over the "â". In Welsh this is pronounced as a long A. This form appears on early Ordnance Survey maps. Eventually it was written in the Anglicised form 'Baal' - still correctly pronounced to rhyme with "Carl"..
The local community council is Argoed Community Council (Cyngor Cymunedol Argoed) - Argoed being the name of the ancient township which had covered the area since the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, which also gives its name to the local secondary school.
In the village there are a secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
known as Argoed High School
Argoed High School
Argoed High School is a secondary school in Flintshire, Wales. The school's motto is "Succeeding Together for Excellence in Learning".-History:...
a primary school (Mynydd Isa Junior School, or Ysgol y Bryn) in Bryn-y-Baal, and a local infant school (Wat's Dyke Infants) in Mynydd Isa.
Amenities include a pub, The Griffin on Mold Road. (The Mercia on Mercia Drive closed in 2010), various shops and the village centre which houses the library and other clubs and associations.
The village has a large youth organisation (estabished in 1984) with football teams representing the village in the county league from 7 to 16 years old and adult football dating back to the 1930s; however the adult team disbanded in 2009.