:Bodelwyddan

The name "Bodelwyddan" translates as Abode (Bod) of Elwyddan, he being a fifth-century Romano-British Chieftain of the area.Bodelwyddan Castle, A Brief History Guide

While Bodelwyddan may not have a long and notable history, it does contain many historic buildings, and has been the site of several important military training exercises during the two World Wars.

Until 1860, Bodelwyddan was a part of the parish of St Asaph, before being gazetted as a new and separate parish on 3 August, following the construction of the Marble Church.[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/FLN/Bodelwyddan/ Genuki - Bodelwyddan] - Retrieved on 7 April 2013

During the two World Wars, the nearby Kinmel Camp was used to house soldiers, and was the location of the Kinmel Park Riots in 1919,[https://greatwarfiction.wordpress.com/2007/10/09/kinmel-camp-riots/ Great War Fiction - Kinmel Camp Riots] - Retrieved 7 April 2013 which led to several Canadian deaths.

Historically, Bodelwyddan was home to a lead mine, but plans to abandon the mine were submitted in 1857{{Cite web|url=https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/data/gb208-ab%2Fab%2F44-45|title=Bodelwyddan - ABANDONED MINE PLANS - Archives Hub|access-date=2018-07-18}} and the mine closed shortly thereafter.[http://www.mine-explorer.co.uk/mines/Bodelwyddan_2046/Bodelwyddan.asp Mine-explorer] - Bodelwyddan Lead Mine SH997749 The nearby "Engine Hill" was named after the mine engines designed to keep the mine's water problems under control. Engine Hill has four "main" engine shafts with multiple smaller shafts; however, the majority of knowledge on earlier working has been lost.[http://www.cpat.org.uk/projects/longer/mines/18009.htm Clwyd Metal Mines Survey] - Retrieved 7 April 2013

The A55 road Bodelwyddan bypass was completed in 1986, and has been fundamental in shaping the changing Bodelwyddan, being at least partially responsible for the Local Development Plan and the continued existence of Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.

{{See also|Town and country planning in Wales#Local Development Plans|label 1 =Town and country planning in Wales}}

In 2010, it was made public that Denbighshire County Council's Local Development Plan (LDP) had allocated over 1,700 new houses to be built in Bodelwyddan.[http://www.denbighshirevisitor.com/news/denbighshire-news/2010/08/18/more-opposition-to-bodelwyddan-housing-proposals-105722-27079686/ Denbighshire Visitor - More Opposition to Bodelwyddan Housing Proposals] - Retrieved on 6 April 2013

Following the announcement, the proposal has been heavily opposed by locals[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-16470243 BBC - Hearings examine council's Bodelwyddan homes plan] - Retrieved on 6 April 2013

including Conwy County Borough Council, who said “No evidence has been presented by Denbighshire County Council providing details of the likely impact on services generally in Conwy County (especially Health and Education)"

According to forecasts, the population of Bodelwyddan would be expected to rise significantly until 2021, potentially tripling the population.

In 2011 a referendum was held by the Town Council on the topic, with a resounding 94% against result. Despite the clear and near-unanimous opposition, the decision was made to go ahead with the plan, following a split vote by Denbighshire County Council.[http://wrecsamplaid.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/muppet-show.html Plaid Wrecsam - Muppet Show] - Retrieved on 6 April 2013

Despite Bodelwyddan's small size, it is a town and not a village, as evidenced by its Town Council.{{Citation needed|date=March 2016}}

To its South lies Bodelwyddan Castle, which sits on Engine Hill - so named for the Steam Engines that drove the mining operations that took place there in the past.

In the area surrounding Bodelwyddan lie small farms, including two farm shops. Also nearby are several hamlets - including: Cefn Meiriadog, Marli, Llannefydd and Pengwern.

{{Geographic location

| title = Settlements and geographic features near Bodelwyddan

| Centre = Bodelwyddan

| North = Kinmel Bay - 6 km
Rhyl - 8 km

| Northeast = Rhuddlan - 4 km
Flint - 29 km

| East = St Asaph 5 km

| Southeast = Ruthin - 26 km

| South = Denbigh - 14 km

| Southwest = Llanrwst - 32 km

| West = Abergele - 7 km

| Northwest = Towyn - 7 km

}}

At the time of the 2001 census, the Usual Resident Population numbered 1,802, of which 915 (50.8%) were male and 887 (49.2%) were female.[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-areas-in-england-and-wales/urban-areas-in-england-and-wales-ks01-usual-resident-population.xls Usual Resident Population] Spreadsheet retrieved from the [http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/datasets-and-tables/index.html?&newquery=Bodelwyddan&content-type=Reference+table&content-type=Dataset&content-type-orig=%22Dataset%22+OR+content-type_original%3A%22Reference+table%22&pageSize=50&applyFilters=true&sortBy=pubdate&sortDirection=ASCENDING Office for National Statistics] on 6 April 2013

With a density of just 20.95 people per hectare, Bodelwyddan is one of the most sparsely populated towns or villages in North Wales that is not classified as a hamlet.

File:Bodelwyddan Church Vicarage - geograph.org.uk - 559248.jpg

Bodelwyddan has over sixty listed buildings within its boundary. Bodelwyddan Castle and the Faenol Fawr are two of the oldest buildings.

Notable buildings include the Marble Church, built by John Gibson in the 1850s; Bodelwyddan Castle, now used as a branch of the National Portrait Gallery; and Glan Clwyd Hospital, the major hospital for central North Wales.

{{Main|Bodelwyddan Castle}}

Bodelwyddan Castle, built around 1460 as a manor house is one of the most obvious buildings on the Bodelwyddan skyline, both at day and at night. Being of a more recent vintage than most other nearby castles, Bodelwyddan Castle is well preserved.[http://www.information-britain.co.uk/destinations.cfm?area=229 Information Britain - Denbighshire] - Retrieved 7 April 2013 Today, Bodelwyddan castle is used primarily as a hotel and art gallery, but in the past has served other functions, such as being a private school for girls between 1920 and 1982.[https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20130413151731/http://education.gtj.org.uk/en/item10/12329 Gathering the Jewels - Lowther College, Bodelwyddan] - Retrieved 7 April 2013

[http://www.bodelwyddan-castle.co.uk/history.html Bodwlyddan Castle Official Site - History] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225231946/http://www.bodelwyddan-castle.co.uk/history.html |date=December 25, 2012 }} - Retrieved 7 April 2013

{{Main|Faenol Fawr, Bodelwyddan}}

File:Faenol Fawr (Entrance).jpg Faenol Fawr was built in 1597 as a country house for John Lloyd, registrar for the St Asaph diocese. Dormer windows with stepped gables were installed as part of an 18th-century renovation. It is now a country house hotel.{{cite web| url = http://historypoints.org/index.php?page=faenol-fawr-tudor-mansion|title= Faenol Fawr Tudor mansion| publisher= historypoints.org|access-date= 20 July 2013}} It is a grade II* listed building.{{cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-1357-faenol-fawr-bodelwyddan|title= Faenol Fawr, Bodelwyddan|publisher= British Listed Buildings|access-date = 20 July 2013}}

{{Main|Glan Clwyd Hospital}}

Glan Clwyd Hospital ({{langx|cy|Ysbyty Glan Clwyd}}) is one of the largest hospitals in North Wales, and is the major hospital for Central North Wales. Until 2007, it served as the headquarters of the Conwy & Denbighshire NHS Trust, prior to the mergers that took place to form the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7412218.stm BBC - NHS trust merger for north Wales] - Retrieved on 7 April 2013

Serving a population of approximately 195,000, with over 675 beds,[http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/861/page/41577 Betsi Cadwaladr - Glan Clwyd Hospital] - Retrieved 7 April 2013 it brings much traffic through Bodelwyddan and benefits from Bodelwyddan's good traffic links and proximity to the A55 Road.

{{Main|Kinmel Camp}}

Kinmel Camp is an army training base, that dates from 1915, during the First World War. The Kinmel Camp Railway served the camp up until 1964,[http://www.railbrit.co.uk/Kinmel_Camp_Railway/frame.htm RailBrit - Kinmel Camp Railway] - Retrieved 7 April 2013 and the camp is home to several First World War practice trenches, dug by recruits; now legally protected poignant examples of pristine trenches from that era.[http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/need-to-read/2012/07/05/festival-of-archaeology-comes-to-wales-91466-31322210/ Wales Online - Festival of Archaeology Comes to Wales] - Retrieved 7 April 2013

In the 1919 Kinmel Park Riots, five Canadian soldiers perished; There have been other tragic events in Kinmel Park history, including the death of many soldiers in the 1918 flu pandemic.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-20881406 BBC - Canadian war graves at St Margaret's Church, Bodelwyddan given QR code] - Retrieved 7 April 2013

[http://historypoints.org/index.php?page=canadian-war-graves-bodelwyddan History Points - Canadian war graves, Bodelwyddan] - Retrieved 7 April 2013

{{Main|Marble Church, Bodelwyddan}}

File:WALES BODELWYDDAN CHURCH 2014-05-62.JPG]]

St Margaret's Church, better known as 'The Marble Church', is clearly visible from a great distance up and down the A55 road and was erected between 1856 and 1860, and was built with local Limestone, sourced from nearby Llanddulas, whose appearance closely resembles porcelain.[http://historypoints.org/index.php?page=the-marble-church-bodelwyddan History Points - The Marble Church] - Retrieved April 7, 2013

The Church is dedicated to two Saints, Margaret and Kentigern, and contains several notable graves - including the grave of Elizabeth James, mother of Sir Henry Morton Stanley, a renowned Victorian Explorer. It is also home to the graves of over eighty Canadian soldiers, dating to 1918 and 1919.[http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/75424/BODELWYDDAN%20%28ST.%20MARGARET%29%20CHURCHYARD Commonwealth War Graves Commission - BODELWYDDAN (ST. MARGARET) CHURCHYARD] - Retrieved 7 April 2013

{{See also|List of schools in Wales}}

The local primary school is Ysgol y Faenol,[https://blocl.uk/schools/ysgol-y-faenol-400266 Ysgol Y Faenol, Bodelwyddan, Rhyl: Schools in Rhyl] which primarily feeds into Ysgol Glan Clwyd in St Asaph and Ysgol Emrys Ap Iwan in Abergele.

• Jade Jones - 2012 and 2016 Olympic taekwondo gold medalist was born in the town.
• Phil Salt - cricket player for The England and Wales Cricket Board.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/19429030.sussexs-phil-salt-handed-england-debut-pakistan/|title=Sussex batsman is handed his England debut}}
• Matt Sargent - footballer

{{Reflist|2}}

{{commons category|Bodelwyddan}}

• [https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3480610 Images of Bodelwyddan on Geograph]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130422221220/http://bodelwyddantowncouncil.co.uk/ Bodelwyddan Town Council Official Website]

{{Denbighshire}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Villages in Denbighshire

Category:Communities in Denbighshire

Category:Wards of Denbighshire