Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Sealand, Flintshire

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Population
  
2,996 (2011 Census)

Principal area
  
Flintshire

Sovereign state
  
United Kingdom

Dialling code
  
01244

Ceremonial county
  
Clwyd

UK parliament constituency
  
Alyn and Deeside

OS grid reference
  
SJ352688

Country
  
Wales

Postcode district
  
CH5

Local time
  
Saturday 6:54 PM

Post town
  
Deeside

Sealand, Flintshire httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Weather
  
11°C, Wind NW at 11 km/h, 47% Humidity

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), increasing to 2,946 at the 2011 census.

Contents

Map of Sealand, UK

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.

Timeline

  • 1732: Nathaniel Kinderley proposed the scheme.
  • 1735-1736: Nathaniel Kinderley & Company cut the new Dee channel from Chester to Golftyn.
  • 1737: The new Dee channel was opened for shipping.
  • 1740: Kinderley's company became known as the River Dee Company.
  • 1753: First polder made: (the land where now are the) Shooting School, Sealand Manor, Garden City, about as far as Hawarden Bridge.
  • 1754: Polder made: Ferry Lane Industrial Estate, Thornleigh Park, Sealand Nursery, Deeside House.
  • 1768: Polder made: Bank Farm, Birchenfields Farm.
  • 1790: Polder made: Yewtree Farm, Church Farm, Sealand village, Waterloo Farm, Willow Farm.
  • 1826: Polder made: Old Marsh Farm, rest of low land east of where the A550 road is now.
  • 1857: Polder made: where the Deeside Industrial Park is now. (In the 20th century this area was raised 2.5 meters / 8 feet by sand pumping.)
  • 1861: The thousands of acres of reclaimed marshlands around Sealand and Saltney were raising £8000 in annual rent.
  • 1865-1867: St Bartholomew's Church, Sealand was built.
  • About 1880: West of the Dee, a polder including Beeches Farm (a little north of Hawarden Airport) was made.
  • 1892: Polder made: the Shotton steelworks.

    • 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.

    References

    Sealand, Flintshire Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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