Sealand, Flintshire

Sealand
Welsh: Gwlad-y-Môr

St. Bartholomew's Church, Sealand
Sealand
 Sealand shown within Flintshire
Population 2,996 (2011 Census)
OS grid referenceSJ352688
Principal areaFlintshire
Ceremonial countyClwyd
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town DEESIDE
Postcode district CH5
Dialling code 01244
Police North Wales
Fire North Wales
Ambulance Welsh
EU Parliament Wales
UK ParliamentAlyn and Deeside
Welsh AssemblyAlyn and Deeside
List of places
UK
Wales
Flintshire

Coordinates: 53°12′43″N 2°58′12″W / 53.212°N 2.970°W / 53.212; -2.970

A view in Sealand, Flintshire, Wales. Fertile market gardening land. In 1700 it was tidal sand and mud flat.

Sealand (Welsh: Gwlad-y-Môr) is a community in Flintshire and electoral ward, north-east Wales, on the edge of the Wirral peninsula. It is west of the city of Chester, England, and is part of the Deeside conurbation on the Wales-England border. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 2,746 (1,342 males, 1,404 females),[1] increasing to 2,946 at the 2011 census.[2]

Sealand is on flat land formed by land reclamation of part of the head of the estuary of the River Dee which had become heavily silted-up. It is on the A548 road, near the Chester dormitory communities of Blacon and Saughall 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 in Shotton at the recently established 'Ysgol Croes Atti' whilst Welsh medium secondary education is available nine miles away in Mold 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 land reclamation 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.[3]

Timeline

Boundaries of these polders show as old 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, 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 are currently plans for a major residential development on the land.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), the globally successful new wave act from Wirral, recorded the song "Sealand" for their seminal 1981 album, Architecture & Morality.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 2001 Census: Sealand, Office for National Statistics, retrieved 30 May 2008
  2. ↑ "Community/Ward population 2011". Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  3. ↑ http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-85248-old-marsh-farm-sealand
  4. ↑ http://www.angelfire.com/fl/shotton/history5.html
  5. ↑ The Battle of Waterloo was on 18 June 1815: the farm would have been named some time after that.
  6. ↑ http://www.tacp.uk.com/projects/landscape/land_rec/index.html
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