| Trelawnyd | |
|---|---|
 Trelawnyd | |
  Trelawnyd Location withinFlintshire | |
| Population | 820 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SJ090796 |
| Community | |
| Principal area | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | RHYL |
| Postcode district | LL18 |
| Dialling code | 01745 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
| |
Trelawnyd (formerlyNewmarket from 1710 to 1954) is a village inFlintshire, Wales. The village had a population taken at the2011 census of 584.[1] It is part of thecommunity ofTrelawnyd and Gwaenysgor.
There is anelectoral ward called Trelawnyd and Gwaenysgor. The total population of this ward taken at the 2011 Census was 1,838.[2]
Trelawnyd is one ofFlintshire's ancient parishes, originally part ofDyserth parish. It became a separate parish between 1254 and 1291, and included thetownships of Gop, Graig,Pentreffyddion andRhydlyfnwyd.[3]
The village was renamed Newmarket in 1710 byJohn Wynne[4] who obtained a faculty from the Bishops Registry. Wynne had by then redeveloped much of the village, established several industries, a weekly market, and an annual fair,[3] in an attempt to turn Newmarket into the area'smarket town. The plan failed as nearbyRhyl developed into the larger market town.[5] The village was officially renamed Trelawnyd inWelsh, in 1954.[3] One unscientific derivation of the name which is frequently found is "tref + llawn + ŷd", "town full of wheat". However, the earlier forms of the name need to be taken into account. Professor Melville Richards of Bangor University, who was Wales's foremost expert on its place names, proposed "tref + *Llyfnwyd", the settlement of a man called Llyfnwyd, but noted that some of the earlier forms also have "rhiw" (= hillside) and "rhyd" (= ford) instead of "tre": Rhiwlyfnwyd (= Llyfnwyd's hill), Rhydlyfnwyd (= Llyfnwyd's ford). The personal name is plausible from the earlier forms, but is not attested. In the “Place-Names of Flintshire” the first element of the name is shown to be originally “rhiw” and “Llyfnwyd” is a Cymricisation of an Anglo-Saxon name Leofnoth which occurs a number of times in the Cheshire and Flintshire section of the Domesday Book. The original meaning of the name Trelawnyd is therefore "slope of Leofnoth", and referred to nearby Gop Hill[6] Leofnoth was a common name in the late Saxon period. “Leof” and “noth” are Old English for “friendly” and “strength” respectively.[7]
Gop Hill ("Y Gop" inWelsh) has a prehistoriccairn mound, claimed to be the biggest in Wales and the second largest in Britain,[8] as well as a cave or rock shelter, discovered in 1886–87.[9]
In March 1933, 35 villagers formed a choir (Côr Meibion Trelawnyd) to compete at the villageEisteddfod. Within a few months, it grew to 50 members, and has progressed to world renown with about 100 members in 2010.[10]
In 1957, under conductor Neville Owen, a local schoolmaster, they won the National championships which were held atBala.[10]
In 1973, under conductor Dr. Goronwy Wynne, they again won the National choir championship atRuthin.[10]
