New Brighton, Flintshire

Village in Flintshire, Wales

Not to be confused with New Brighton, Wrexham or New Brighton, Merseyside.

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Human settlement in Wales

New Brighton

* Welsh: Pentre Cythrel

Village store on Bryn Lane

New Brighton

Location within Flintshire

OS grid reference| SJ252653
Community|

* Argoed

Principal area|

* Flintshire

Preserved county|

* Clwyd

Country| Wales
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Post town| MOLD
Postcode district| CH7
Dialling code| 01352
Police| North Wales
Fire| North Wales
Ambulance| Welsh
UK Parliament|

* Delyn

Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament|

* Delyn

List of places

Wales
Flintshire

53°10′48″N 3°07′05″W﻿ / ﻿53.180°N 3.118°W﻿ / 53.180; -3.118

New Brighton (Welsh: Pentre Cythraul, officially Pentre Cythrel) is a small village in Flintshire, in north-east Wales. It lies between the towns of Mold and Buckley, in the community of Argoed.

## Description

[edit]

New Brighton lies on the A5119 road and has a hotel, the Beaufort Park Hotel.

A New Brighton electoral ward exists, formed from the northern half of the Argoed community,[1] with a total population taken at the 2011 census of 3,001.[2] It forms part of an "Argoed and New Brighton" (Welsh: Argoed a New Brighton) council electoral ward.[3][4]

## Name

[edit]

Very few names are recorded for this part of Argoed before the mid-nineteenth century, with a farm (south-west of the modern village) recorded as Tre Argoed in the sixteenth century and a map of 1840 showing a local tavern named "Blue Bell".[5] The name New Brighton does not appear until 1861, following the construction of a row of miners cottages by the owner of the Argoed Colliery, Josiah Catherall. It has been suggested that the name New Brighton may have arisen as many of the workers came to Flintshire from New Brighton, Merseyside but this has been disputed in recent years.[5][6]

The local Welsh name, Pentre Cythraul has been translated as "Devil's village" or "Devil's hamlet".[7][8][9] While the change from "Catherall" to "Cythraul" (a Welsh name for the devil) may seem like a "mischievous variation" or colloquialism on the Catherall family name, and Welsh authors recorded this as the derivation as early as 1902, there is no record of the village under the name Pentre Catherall.[5][10]

In 1913 the name was recorded under another variation, Bentre'r Gwr Drwg[11] With Gwr Drwg (lit. 'evil man') used in place of Cythraul by Welsh speakers who did not wish to envoke the name.[12] However, the form Pentre Cythraul persisted into the twentieth century when Ellis Davies described it as "the old name" for New Brighton.[13]

By 2018, the Welsh name did not appear on the list of standardised Welsh place-names published by the Welsh Language Commissioner, Aled Roberts.[14] The place-name panel stated that they had recommended using "New Brighton" in English and Welsh because "as the district became more anglicised and the coal-mining links disappeared, the forms Pentre Catherall and Pentre Cythrel were largely forgotten".[15]

As a result of the name being not officially recognised, it would not be added to road signs or appear on Ordnance Survey maps but is accepted by organisations such as the Royal Mail and DVLA.[16] The decision resulted in a locally launched bid to get the Welsh name officially recognised. In 2019, the commissioner's office stated that they were "reviewing its decision" following a number of enquiries,[5] including following a bid by locals, in the same year, for the Welsh name to be recognised.[17]

In October 2024, the commissioner proposed Pentre Cythrel as an alternative Welsh name to be formally recognised. The proposal would be presented to Flintshire councillors on a committee for approval on 10 October. The alternative Welsh name had been proposed over concerns of the "negative connotations" Pentre Cythraul may have, due to its translation as 'devil's village'. The commissioner now supports the use of an official Welsh name for the village, but suggested Pentre Cythrel, to be representative of the oral development of the name 'Catherall' and represent the local pronunciation. The commissioner stated that to use Cythraul would be a "further step away" from the colloquially given local name. A councillor also claimed that locals who had used Pentre Cythraul are supportive of the alternative proposed, and that recognising a Welsh name would support the council's promotion of Welsh, by making the language more visible and treating it equal to English.[17]

In November 2024, the new Welsh name Pentre Cythrel was officially recognised following a vote of approval from Flintshire council.[18]

## References

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Brighton, Flintshire.

1. ^ Election maps, Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
2. ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 26 May 2015.
3. ^ "Canlyniadau etholiadau ar gyfer Argoed and New Brighton / Argoed a New Brighton, 5 Mai 2022". cyfarfodyddpwyllgor.siryfflint.gov.uk. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
4. ^ "Welsh electoral ward names | GOV.WALES". www.gov.wales. 7 November 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
5. ^ a b c d Owen, Ken Lloyd Gruffydd, Hywel Wyn (2017). Place-Names of Flintshire. University of Wales Press. pp. 131–132.131-132&rft.pub=University+of+Wales+Press&rft.date=2017&rft.aulast=Owen,+Ken+Lloyd+Gruffydd&rft.aufirst=Hywel+Wyn&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:New+Brighton,+Flintshire" class="Z3988">
6. ^ Coates, Richard (1992). The Cambridge history of the English language. Cambridge; New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press. p. 355\. ISBN 0521264774.
7. ^ Robinson, Joe (9 October 2019). "New Brighton residents campaign for Welsh form of village's name to be recognised on its signs". Retrieved 18 August 2024.
8. ^ Owen, Hywel Wyn (1994). The place-names of east Flintshire. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 87\. ISBN 9780708312421.
9. ^ Cropper, Thomas (1923). Buckley and District. Historical, Biographical, Reminiscent. Cropper and Sons.
10. ^ D Lewis (December 1902). "Dylanwad Puritaniaeth ar Wleidyddiaeth a Chrefydd Prydain Fawr a'r Unol Dalaethau" [The Influence of Puritanism on Politics and Religion in Great Britain and the United States]. CWRS y Byd (in Welsh). XII. Rhyl: 273. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
11. ^ Jones, Hugh F (1913). Hanes Wesleyaeth Gymreig. Cyhoeddedig yn y Llyfrfa Wesleyaidd.
12. ^ Borrow, George Henry (2004). "LXXX". Wild Wales Its People, Language and Scenery. Digital Antiquaria, Incorporated. ISBN 1580572839.
13. ^ Davies, Ellis (1959). Flintshire Place-names. University of Wales Press. ISBN 9780708303375.
14. ^ "Standardised Welsh Place-names". Welsh Language Commissioner. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
15. ^ "New Brighton's Welsh name Pentre Cythraul 'should be recognised'". BBC News. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
16. ^ Pennar, Sion (8 October 2019). "Ymdrech i ddefnyddio enw Cymraeg ar bentref yn Sir y Fflint". BBC Cymru Fyw (in Welsh). Retrieved 14 August 2024.
17. ^ a b "Debate over Welsh name of Flintshire community amid 'devil's village' concerns". The Leader. 7 October 2024.
18. ^ "The Welsh name for New Brighton has been officially recognised". The Leader. 21 November 2024.

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