Denbighshire () is a principal area and traditional county in North Wales.
Principal area
The current
principal area of Denbighshire was created in
1996, with substantially different borders to the traditional county of the same name.
See List of places in Denbighshire for a list of towns and villages.
Geography
The area is mostly hilly moorland, with the Clwydian range in the east, the Hiraethog Moors in the west and the
Berwyn range adjacent to the southern boundary. The broad, fertile
Vale of Clwyd runs south to north in the centre, and there is a narrow coastal plain in the north. Average temperatures are 2°C in January and 19°C in July.
Population
Denbighshire's total population at the 2001 census was 93,065, with the largest towns on the coast at Rhyl (pop. c.25,000) and Prestatyn (pop. c.15,000). The inland towns are much smaller, Denbigh having a population of 8,500, Ruthin 5,000, and Llangollen 3,300. 28% of the population speaks
Welsh, mainly in the upland area and the Vale of Clwyd.
Economy
There are no heavy industrial sites in the county although most of the towns have small industrial estates for light industry, the economy of the area being based on agriculture and tourism. A large proportion of the working population is employed in service industries. The uplands support the rearing of sheep and beef cattle, while in the Vale of Clwyd dairy farming and the growing of wheat and barley predominates.
On November 19, 2004, Denbighshire was granted Fairtrade County status.
Traditional county
The borders of the traditional county are substantially different to that of the principal area of the present administrative county of Denbighshire. The traditional county of Denbighshire was created in 1284 under the terms of the
Statute of Rhuddlan. It was formed from
Cantrefi taken from
Gwynedd Is Conwy and
Powys Fadog, to include:
Geography
Traditional Denbighshire is a maritime county, bounded to the north by the
Irish Sea, to the east by
Flintshire,
Cheshire and
Shropshire, to the south by the traditional counties of
Montgomeryshire and
Merionethshire, and to the west by
Caernarfonshire. In the south and west of the county the mountains of the Clwydian Range rise from 1000 to 2500ft high. The east of the county is hilly. There is some level ground along the coastal strip. The highest points are Moel Sych and Cader Berwyn at 2,713 feet.
Pistyll-y-Rhaeader is a spectacular 240 feet waterfall. The chief rivers are the
Clwyd and the
Dee. The
River Conwy runs north along the western boundary. The modern county of Denbighshire borders
Powys ot the south,
Flintshire and
Wrexham to the east and
Gwynedd to the west.
The main towns are Rhyl, Denbigh, Llangollen, Llanrwst, and Ruthin . The most important industries are agriculture and tourism.
Places of special interest
- Bodnant Gardens, Tal-y-Cafn ();
- Chirk Castle ();
- Denbigh Castle ();
- Eliseg's Pillar ();
- Plas Newydd, Llangollen ();
- Valle Crucis Abbey ().
Traditional counties of Wales | Principal areas of Wales | Denbighshire | Traditional county of Denbighshire
Sir Ddinbych | Sir Ddinbych | Denbighshire | Denbighshire | Денбишир