Cilcain is a village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

, near

Mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal ...

, in

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

, north-east

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. 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 letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

, a

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

(Ysgol y Foel) and a

village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

. Cilcain borders the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es of Rhosesmor, Rhes-y-cae and Rhydymwyn. The community includes the village of Rhydymwyn. Cilcain has an annual Cilcain show at the

. There are usually fairs and a dog show. Also a junior and adults race either up Moel Famau or just up a part of the mountain.

Name

The Welsh placename Cilcain, which has also in the past been spelled as Kilken and Cilcen, and may derive from meaning 'retreat' and meaning 'fair' or 'pleasant' in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

Early Cilcain

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

cockfighting Cockfighting is a blood sport involving domesticated roosters as the combatants. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1634, after the term ...

, which took place on Sundays after the local

church service A church service (or a worship service) is a formalized period of Christian communal Christian worship, worship, often held in a Church (building), church building. Most Christian denominations hold church services on the Lord's Day (offering Su ...

Church

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

. 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

Cilcain Community Council is divided into two

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

s, Cilcain and Rhydymwyn, each of which elects six councillors. The Cilcain and Nannerch communities make up the Cilcain

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 t ...

Flintshire County Council Flintshire County Council is the unitary local authority for the county of Flintshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. It is based at Tŷ Dewi Sant, Ewloe since 2025. It was previously based at County Hall in Mold. Elections take place ...

, which elects one councillor. It had a population of 1,790 at the 2021 census. Caerwys is part of the Delyn constituency and

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

region for the

Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

, and of the Clwyd East constituency for

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Millennium Woods

The Millennium Woods were planted in 2000 through the 'Woods on your doorstep' scheme of the Woodland Trust. Many of the trees were planted by students attending the local school, Ysgol y Foel. The official name is Coed y Felin ('Mill Woods'), named after the disused

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

that now lies in ruins by the stream below.

References

External links

Cilcain 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