In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Holt like this:
HOLT, a small town, a township, a parish, and a subdistrict, in Wrexham district, Denbigh. The town stands on the river Dee, at the boundary with Cheshire, 4 miles ESE of Rossett r. station, and 5½ NE of Wrexham; presents, with its environs, a picturesque appearance; was the Castrum Legionis of the Romans, and the Castell Lleon of the Welsh; is known, in legal documents, as Lyons; was garrisoned by a detachment of the Roman legion from Chester; acquired a strong castle in the time of Edward I.; was, from time immemorial, a part of Powys land, and, for many centuries, the scene of numberless Border feuds; obtained a charter in 1410, and has ever since been governed by a mayor, two bailiffs, and a coroner; unites with Denbigh, Ruthin, and Wrexham, in sending a member to parliament; shows now a decayed aspect, little indicative of its former importance; is connected, by an old, narrow, stone bridge of ten arches, with Farndon in Cheshire; and has a post office under Wrexham, an ancient market cross, a church, a dissenting chapel, and a free school. ...
The castle stood contiguous to the Dee; was built by Earl Warren; passed to the Fitzalans, the Beauchamps, the Stanleys, the Arundels, the Mowbrays, and the Crown; was garrisoned, in 1643, for Charles I., and taken and dismantled, in 1645, by the parliamentarians; had a pentagonal outline, flanked at the angles with towers, and fortified by bastions; was guarded, on the land side, by a deep fosse; and has left very scanty traces. The church is ancient, in tolerable condition; and has a red tower. Roman coins, and other Roman relics, have been found.-The township and the town are regarded as conterminate. Acres, 2, 763. Real property, £4, 898. Pop., 1, 008. Houses, 219.—The parish contains also the townships of Dutton-Diffeth, Dutton-Cacca, Dutton-y-Bran, Ridley, and Sutton. Acres, 6, 158. Real property, £10, 138. Pop., 1, 490. Houses, 322. The property is much subdivided. Garden vegetables are extensively grown. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of St. Asaph. Value, £101.* Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Winchester.—The sub-district includes also another parish of Denbigh, two parishes and part of an extra parochia1 tract in Flint, and part of the same extra-parochial tract and part of a parish in Cheshire. Acres, 20, 969. Pop., 4, 452. Houses, 953.
Holt through time
Holt is now part of Wrexham district. Click here for graphs and data of how Wrexham has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Holt itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Holt, in Wrexham and Denbighshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/4398
Date accessed: 24th April 2024
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