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Overton
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"Overton, a small village about a mile beyond the bridge, situated on a lofty ridge, is remarkable for the commanding and almost unparalleled prospect, from a bank in the vicinity. On one side an extensive flat, consisting of rich meadows, varied, enlivened by the windings of the Dee; and bounded in front with fertile well-wooded slopes; while the naked, rusty-coloured mountains soar above in the distance; and close the diversified scene. On the other, a grand contrast is presented to the eye, by the two fertile expanses, the vale royal of Cheshire, and the plain of Salop." [From The Beauties of England and Wales, Rev. J. Evans, 1812]
The parish of Overton lies in Maelor Saesneg, which is the detached part of Flintshire. It consists of the townships of Overton Villa, Overton Foreign and Knolton.
Overton was granted Borough status by Edward I on 20th July 1292. In July 1992, Her Majesty the Queen planted a young yew tree in the churchyard, to commemorate her visit to Overton as part of the 700th anniversary celebrations.
The earliest ecclesiastical reference is believed to be a note in the Public Records of 1402, in which Overton was declared to be a Chapelry of the parish of Bangor-on-Dee. It was in the diocese of Lichfield until 1541, when it was transferred to the newly created diocese of Chester. In 1849, it was transferred to the diocese of St. Asaph, where it remains.
On 20th December 1867, Overton was constituted as a separate parish, and endowed with its own tithes, under the patronage of the Duke of Westminister. The new parish consisted of the townships of Knolton, Maesgwaelod, Maeslewis, Overton Foreign and Overton Villa.
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- Done, Brian and Betty Williams. Overton in times past : edited by Jean Balderson, Martin Barnfather. [Overton] : [Overton on Dee 700th Royal Charter Celebrations Committee], 1992.
- Book of reference to the plan of the Parish of Overton, Hundred of Maylor, det. no. 5, in the county of Flint (det. no. 7) : Major-General Sir Henry James, Director-General of the Ordnance Survey. London : Eyre & Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1874.
- Evidence of Mr. Henry Taylor ... given before the Municipal Corporation Commissioners, on the unreformed Flintshire corporations of Caergwrle, Caerwys, Overton, & Rhuddlan, etc. Flint : Thos. Jones, [1877.]
- Jones, Kath. The eternal yew trees of Overton Country Quest, November 207, p. 16-17
- Martin, Douglas. A visit to Overton, a village in Flintshire, Wales Hel achau, No. 64 (May 2000), p. 33-35.
- Pike, L Elgar. The official guide to Overton Rural District, Flintshire Croydon : Home Publishing Co., [n.d.]
- Roberts, Raymond. The Overton six [Connah's Quay] : [Raymond Roberts], 1992.
Ordnance Survey reference SJ 373418.
The Church, which is dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin, may well be on the site of a wattle and daub structure dating back as far as the seventh century. The first stone church, of which no trace now remains, was probably built in the late twelfth century. In the late fourteenth century a church was built on the present site, consisting of a tower and nave. In the late fifteenth century the nave was demolished and a larger one was built. The Hanoverian chancel was added in 1710. In 1819 the north aisle was widened, and a vestry was built on the south side of the tower. The south aisle was added in 1855. The church was extensively restored in 1868/1869, and was re-opened on 9 August 1870.
The Clwyd FHS website has a photograph of the church.
Overton Church, Flintshire on the People's Collection Wales site
'Overton Church' by Moses Griffith, c. 1770-1800 (watercolour) on the People's Collection Wales site
A new cemetery and "mortuary chapel" were consecrated on the 17th June 1872, a short distance along the road to Wrexham.
Nonconformist Churches
"Welsh Church Commission - County of Flint - The Statistics of the Nonconformist Churches for 1905" lists the following nonconformist places of worship in the Civil parish of Overton :
| Name of Chapel | Denomination | Number of "adherents" |
|---|---|---|
| Not named | Methodist Free Church | 60 |
| Cloy | Primitive Methodist | 69 |
| Not named | Primitive Methodist | 59 |
- The following nonconformist registers for the Overton area are held at the Shropshire Record Office, Shrewsbury.
They have not been incorporated into the I.G.I. :
| Name of Chapel | Denomination | Type of Record | Years Covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knolton | Primitive Methodist | Baptisms | 1867 - 1973 |
When Civil Registration was introduced (on 1 July 1837), the parish of Overton was assigned to the No. 1 ("Overton") sub-district of the Ellesmere Registration District, which was co-extensive with the Ellesmere poor law Union.
In the GRO indexes to civil registration, entries for Overton are in the format :
- Years 1837 - 1851: Ellesmere XVIII. nnn
- Years 1851 - 1930: Ellesmere 6a. nnn
(GRO index references have no relevance at the local Superintendent Registrar's Office)
Overton-on-Dee - on wikipedia
Various landscapes on the People's Collection Wales site
The transcription of the section for this place from the National Gazetteer (1868), provided by Colin Hinson.
- Ask for a calculation of the distance from Overton to another place.
Overton Bridge over the river Dee, on the confines of Denbigh & Flintshire on the People's Collection Wales site
Old horse-drawn fire engine from Bryn-y-pys, near Overton, 22 September 1950 on the People's Collection Wales site
"North-East Wales Churches and Ancient Parish Boundaries" produced by Clwyd Record Office in 1994, published by Genuki with the permission of Flintshire Record Office and Denbighshire Archives
Kain, R.J.P., Oliver, R.R., Historic Parishes of England and Wales: an Electronic Map of Boundaries before 1850 with a Gazetteer and Metadata [computer file]. Colchester, Essex: History Data Service, UK Data Archive [distributor], 17 May 2001. SN: 4348. Here is a gazetteer/finding aid plus a set of overview maps to accurately identify the position of parishes within the county
Map or plan of the parish of Overton in the County of Flint on the People's Collection Wales site
You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SJ377412 (Lat/Lon: 52.964736, -2.929487), Overton which are provided by:
- OpenStreetMap
- Google Maps
- StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
- OpenStreetMap Cymru (Welsh counties only)
- Bing (was Multimap)
- Old Maps Online
- National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
- Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
- Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
- GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)
- All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- In 1831- the population was 1746.
- In 1901- the population was 1111.
[ Royal Commission on the Welsh Church - October 1907]