Sealand (Welsh: Gwlad-y-Môr) is a

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 ...

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

and

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 ...

, 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 ...

, on the edge of the

Wirral peninsula Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to ...

. It is west of the city of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, and is part of the

Deeside Deeside ( cy, Glannau Dyfrdwy) is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire on the Wales–England border lying near the canalised stretch of the River Dee that flows from neig ...

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most cas ...

on the Wales-England border. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 2,746 (1,342 males, 1,404 females), increasing to 2,996 at the 2011 census. The community includes the village of Garden City. Sealand is on flat land formed by

land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamat ...

of part of the head of the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the River Dee which had become heavily silted-up. It is on the

A548 road List of A roads in zone 5 in Great Britain starting north/east of the A5, west of the A6, south of the Solway Firth The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between ...

, near the Chester dormitory communities of

Blacon Blacon is a council estate on the outskirts of Chester, England. It was once one of the largest council housing estates in Europe. Geography Blacon is next to the Welsh border, on a hill one mile north-west of and overlooking Chester. The vil ...

and

Saughall Saughall is a village and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Located between Shotwick and Blacon, it is approximately north west of Chester and from Sealan ...

and is a popular place of residence for people from both sides of the Welsh/English border. Welsh-medium primary education is available three miles away at Ysgol Croes Atti's Shotton site (opened in 2014) whilst Welsh-medium secondary education is available nine miles away in

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 ...

at the long established Ysgol Maes Garmon. The River Dee flowed to the sea along the current border between Wales and England, until in the 18th century it was diverted into its present channelized course to try to improve ship access from the sea to Chester. That led to extensive

in the head of the Dee estuary. The River Dee Company (1741-1902) had a right to reclaim the marshes and build embankments following the re-alignment of the Dee.

Timeline

* 1732:

Nathaniel Kinderley , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate ...

proposed the scheme. * 1735-1736: Nathaniel Kinderley & Company cut the new Dee channel from Chester to

Golftyn Connah's Quay ( cy, Cei Connah), known locally as "The Quay" and formerly known as Wepre, is a town and community in Flintshire, lying within the Deeside conurbation along the River Dee, near the border with England. It is the largest town in ...

. * 1737: The new Dee channel was opened for shipping. * 1740: Kinderley's company became known as the River Dee Company. * 1753: First

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains ...

made: (the land where now are the) Shooting School, Sealand Manor, Garden City, about as far as Hawarden Bridge. * 1754: Polder made: Ferry Lane Industrial Estate, Thornleigh Park, Sealand Nursery, Deeside House. * 1768: Polder made: Bank Farm, Birchenfields Farm. * 1790: Polder made: Yewtree Farm, Church Farm, Sealand village, Waterloo Farm, Willow Farm. * 1826: Polder made: Old Marsh Farm, rest of low land east of where the A550 road is now. * 1857: Polder made: where the Deeside Industrial Park is now. (In the 20th century this area was raised 2.5 meters / 8 feet by sand pumping.) * 1861: The thousands of acres of reclaimed marshlands around Sealand and

Saltney Saltney is a cross-border town, split between Flintshire, Wales and Cheshire, England. The town is intersected by the England–Wales border, with its larger part being a community of Wales in the historic county of Clwyd. The town forms par ...

were raising £8000 in annual rent. * 1865-1867: St Bartholomew's Church, Sealand was built. * About 1880: West of the Dee, a polder including Beeches Farm (a little north of

Hawarden Airport Hawarden Airport ( cy, Maes Awyr Penarlâg) , is an airport near Hawarden in Flintshire, Wales, near the border with England and west southwest of the English city of Chester. Aviation Park Group (APG) is based at the airport and provides ha ...

) was made. * 1892: Polder made: the Shotton

steelworks A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finis ...

. ::Boundaries of these polders show as old

dikes Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

across the farmland.

Airfield

RAF Sealand was originally a civilian airfield and was taken over by the military in 1916 for training. No. 30 Maintenance unit was formed there in 1939. In 1951 the station was taken over by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

, and then handed back to the RAF in 1957. As a result of defence cuts announced in 2004, RAF Sealand was closed in April 2006. There is a housing estate on the land and a planned Industrial estate.

In popular culture

Though not about the community, the 1981 song " Sealand" by Wirral band

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic band formed in Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin C ...

took its title from the RAF base there. For songwriter Andy McCluskey, the name seemed to evoke the image of "a place between the land and the sea".

References

External links

Photos of Sealand and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk

Google Earth view of Sealand
* http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/FLN/Hawarden/Sealand/ * http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/8807 * http://www.angelfire.com/fl/shotton/history5.html, History of Shotton, including a map showing dates when land areas in the Sealand area were reclaimed. * http://www.saughall.gov.uk/?page_id=821, History of

and

Shotwick Park Shotwick Park is a small settlement and former civil parish, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Located between the villages of Shotwick and Saughall, it is approximately north ...

, including how the Sealand land reclamation affected Saughall. {{Authority control Villages in Flintshire Polders

Timeline

Airfield

In popular culture

See also

References

External links