Cilcain is a village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

, near

Mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi. Not ...

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

, north-east

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The village has an industrial history and includes the Millennium Woods, a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

, a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

, a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

, a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

(Ysgol y Foel) and a

village hall A village hall is a public building in a village used for various things such as: United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building which contains at least one large room (plus kitchen and toilets), is owned by a local ...

. Cilcain borders the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

es of

Rhosesmor Rhosesmor is a small village near Mold, Flintshire, in north-east Wales. The village lies near the parishes of Halkyn and Rhes-y-cae. The hamlet of Wern-y-Gaer is encompassed by the boundaries of the village. The hill fort site affords views ...

Rhes-y-cae Rhes-y-cae is a small parish and village in Flintshire, Wales. Literally translated from Welsh, Rhes-y-cae is 'Row of fields'. It is situated between Pentre Halkyn and Rhosesmor and is part of the local government community of Halkyn Hal ...

and Rhydymwyn. The community includes the village of Rhydymwyn.

Name

The

Welsh placename The place-names of Wales derive in most cases from the Welsh language, but have also been influenced by linguistic contact with the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Anglo-Normans and modern English. Toponymy in Wales reveals significant features ...

Cilcain, which has also in the past been spelled as Kilken and Cilcen, has been suggested to derive from ''cil'' meaning 'retreat' and ''cain'' meaning 'fair' or 'pleasant' in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it h ...

Early Cilcain

In the early years of Cilcain's existence it was noted as a place of retreat and was also locally famous for its regular village fairs, where a notable amount of

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

was often consumed. Cilcain was also known for

cockfighting A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

, which took place on Sundays after the local

church service A church service (or a service of worship) is a formalized period of Christian communal worship, often held in a church building. It often but not exclusively occurs on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day S ...

Church

The first recorded mention of the church at Cilcain dates from 1291. Cilcain is one of the "ancient parishes" of

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

. It originally comprised the seven townships of Cefn, Llan (or Tre'r Llan), Llystynhunydd (or Glust), Llys y Coed, Maes y Groes, Mechlas (or Dolfechlas), and Trellyniau. On 27 June 1848, the township of Trellyniau and part of the township of Llystynhunydd went to the new parish of Rhes-y-Cae. On 31 March 1865, the remainder of Llystynhunydd, and parts of the townships of Cefn and Mechlas, went to the new parish of Rhydymwyn.

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to ...

in the same name exists. This ward stretches north and had a total population at the 2011 Census of 1,874.

Millennium Woods

The Millennium Woods were planted in 2000 through the 'Woods on your doorstep' scheme of the

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tr ...

. Many of the trees were planted by some of the students attending the local school, Ysgol y Foel, in that year. The official name is Coed y Felin ('Mill Woods'), named after the disused

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

that now lies in ruins by the stream below.

References

External links

Cilcain Community CouncilCilcain Village HallCilcain Community ShopSiop Gymunedol CilcainCilcain TodayCilcain & Nannerch websitePhotos of Cilcain and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
{{authority control Villages in Flintshire Communities in Flintshire