A (very) brief history of Caerwys. Caerwys is a beautiful town in Flintshire, North Wales. It is situated just under two miles from the A55 North Wales Expressway and one mile from the A541 Mold - Denbigh road. At the 2001 Census, the population of Caerwys civil parish was 1,315, with a total ward population of 2,496.
Caerwys is mentioned in the Domesday Book as a small market town. The well-maintained church is dedicated to St. Michael. It has two parallel naves. The oldest part of the building is a stone tower whose base is said to have been part of a Roman observation tower. A short, informative booklet about the church was written in 1936 and updated in 1995. As well as being surrounded by areas of outstanding natural beauty and views across mountains and valleys, the centre of Caerwys has been designated a conservation area.
A famous native of Caerwys was actress Myfanwy Talog, who is commemorated by a slate plaque on the cottage where she was born. Talog never forgot her origins, and succeeded in persuading the BBC to bring the Radio One roadshow to Caerwys in the 1980s.
Caerwys and Philadelphia have important historical connections. Local doctor, Thomas Wynne, sailed to America on the ship Welcome in 1682 with William Penn. Wynne was one of the founding fathers of Philadelphia and became the first speaker of the Provisional Assembly, as well as a provincial judge. The original street plan of Philadelphia was designed on the street pattern of Caerwys. Welsh names crop up everywhere, and several buildings built in Philadelphia resemble buildings in the Caerwys area, some of which still stand today.
