Holywell, Flintshire : Historical writing

Descriptive gazetteer entries

These other entries in our collection of descriptive gazetteers are also about Holywell. You may be able to find further references to Holywell in the descriptive gazetteers by doing a full-text search here.

Place Type of entry Source
Holywell parliamentary borough Bartholomew
HOLYWELL a town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district Imperial

This additional information from our descriptive gazetteers is for locations within the parish or parishes associated with Holywell.

Place Type of entry Source
Bagillt ecclesiastical district (St Mary) and village with railway station Bartholomew
BAGILLT a village, a township, and a chapelry Imperial
Basingwerk ruined abbey Bartholomew
BRYNFORD a township Imperial
Calcot hamlet Bartholomew
CALCOT a township Imperial
Coleshillfawr hamlet Bartholomew
COLESHILL-FAWR a township Imperial
Dinas Basing ruined abbey Bartholomew
Greenfield hamlet Bartholomew
GREENFIELD a township Imperial
WELSTONE a township Imperial

Travel writing

This website includes the complete texts of books describing journeys around Britain, written between the twelfth and nineteenth centuries. Selecting one of the links below will take you to the first reference to Holywell within the selected text. This will not always be a description of a visit: travellers often mention places other than where they are, for example as a basis for comparison.

Traveller Section No. of Refs.
Celia Fiennes 1698 Tour: Cheshire and Lancashire 3
William Camden Rest of Wales 2
Daniel Defoe Letter 6, Part 3: Worcester, Hereford and Wales 2
George Borrow Wrexham and Llangollen 1
Celia Fiennes 1698 Tour: Carlisle to Newcastle 1

This website includes two large libraries, of historical travel writing and of entries from nineteenth century gazetteers describing places. We have text from these sources available for these places near your location:

Place Mentioned in Travel Writing Mentioned in Historical Gazetteer
Greenfield 0 2
Bagillt 0 2
Brynford 0 2
Calcot 0 2
Downing 1 2
Mostyn 0 2
Whitford 0 2
Gorsedd 0 2
Bychton 1 2
Coleshill 5 4
Flint 7 2
Heswall 0 4
Caldy 0 2
Thurstaston 0 2
Lygan Y Llan 0 1
Gayton 0 2
Wirral 8 2
Rhes Y Cae 0 2
Oldfield 0 2
Halkyn 0 2

Names from historical writing

The following appear as names for Holywell. Follow the links for what the author actually said:

Name Author Source
HALY WELL William Camden Britain, or, a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland (London: George Bishop and John Norton, 1610).
HOLLY WELL Daniel Defoe A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain, divided into circuits or journies (London: JM Dent and Co, 1927).
Celia Fiennes Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary (London: Field and Tuer, The Leadenhall Press, 1888).
HOLLYWELL Daniel Defoe A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain, divided into circuits or journies (London: JM Dent and Co, 1927).
Celia Fiennes Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary (London: Field and Tuer, The Leadenhall Press, 1888).
HOLY WELL William Camden Britain, or, a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland (London: George Bishop and John Norton, 1610).
Celia Fiennes Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary (London: Field and Tuer, The Leadenhall Press, 1888).
HOLYWELL John Bartholomew Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887).
John Marius Wilson Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).
TREFFYNNON John Marius Wilson Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).

NB: These variant names come from our collections of historical travel writing and descriptive gazetteers:

  • The above links take you to the first reference to this particular version of the name within a book of travel writing, or to the relevant gazetteer entry.
  • Some names may derive from research by antiquarian writers such as William Camden and Thomas Pennant into the Roman, Saxon and medieval names of places. Their claims are not always supported by modern place-name researchers.
  • References by travel writers to the place using its "normal" name are not included. Descriptive gazetteer entries are included only if the name does not appear anywhere else.