Holywell and Greenfield Through Time

- Blurb -

Holywell, a town in Flintshire, Wales, is situated to the west of the River Dee estuary. The town is thought to take its name from St Winefride's Well, and literally means 'holy well'. As one of the 'Seven Wonders of Wales', St Winefride's Well has generated a lot of interested over the years - many pilgrims from all parts of the world still come to Holywell to visit the well. The town's focus during the eighteenth century was on industry; lead mining and cotton milling were popular at this time. This sort of production was also prominent in Greenfield, where the water supply from the mountains close to the town supplied not only the well, but also many factories in Greenfield. The wealth generated from the production of copper in particular and the inclusion of the railway station in the area from 1848 to 1966 led to the development of a high street in Holywell. Since this time, the town has continued to develop. The valley surrounding Greenfield also has a number of conserved structures and mills from past times and is the only area in Wales to have seven ancient monuments.Local resident and author David Wilkes takes readers on a journey through time to reveal the history behind the best-known landmarks of Holywell and Greenfield.