A HISTORIC Denbigh street was the topic of conversation at the most recent meeting of a Vale of Clwyd group.
Forty members of Llandyrnog and Llangwyfan Local History Society and visitors were delighted to welcome Clwyd Wynne to give a talk in Llandyrnog Village Hall.
He stepped in last minute due to the illness of the advertised speaker.
The title of the talk was 'Henllan Street – Good? Bad? Ugly?'
Henllan Street is one of the few streets that appear on the John Speed map of 1610 and is therefore one of the oldest in Denbigh.
It is less than a third of a mile long and during the 19th and 20th centuries it consisted of 160 houses, some larger but mainly they were of the two-up, two-down variety.
It sat in two parishes with even-numbered properties in Henllan and odd-numbered ones in Denbigh.
READ MORE: Nostalgia: Ruthin area school football from the Free Press archives
Henllan Street had the reputation of being the manufacturing end of the town.
The majority of residents were tradesmen and labourers who worked in Coppy Brewery, J M Owen grocer, Pilling’s Scrapyard and various lodging houses.
However, the majority of the residents were involved in local leather and related industries.
There were in excess of 80 shoemakers in the street, some who ran their own businesses with men working for them and others as single traders in their own homes.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the industry was in decline and many of these businesses closed.
There was no evidence of large scale unemployment as the men found other work such as the quarrying and printing industry or became professional workers with many finding positions at the new Asylum.
The main problem was low pay and the difference between the lives of the wealthy and the poorer members of the area.
This led to discontent and led to laws being broken. While the rich went hunting and shooting for sport as well as the meal, the poor felt justified in breaking the law to provide necessary food for the table by poaching.
A lot of the violent behaviour, for which the street became known, was fuelled by alcohol.
During the 19th century, there were three pubs.
The Albion (later known as the Denbigh Castle) was at the top end with the Black Lion further down and was demolished in 1892 to make room for houses.
It was owned by Mr Story of Coppy Farm and Brewery.
The Hand remains to this day although its front entrance into Henllan Street was rebuilt to face Bridge Street in 1922.
The temperance movement appears to have limited effect despite four places of worship being built in the street.
The Baptist Chapel was built in 1812 but little is known of its history.
Attempts to introduce Methodism into Denbigh were, initially, met with hostility and disturbances and hooliganism was rife when Methodist Ministers tried to preach. However, with support of Capel Mawr Elders, a satellite Sunday School was established in a house at the top of Henllan Street in 1827.
Chapel member numbers rose to 150 and Capel Seion was built in 1856.
The Parish Church of St Mary’s followed in 1874. The St Andrew’s Mission was built in 1908.
During World War I, Henllan Street provided and lost more men than any other in Denbigh.
READ: Remembering the men from Denbigh street killed in WWI
During the 19th century a number of shops closed and others opened. Most were grocers or greengrocers and there were also community bread ovens.
It wasn’t until just after the Second World War that the slum clearance was started and new council housing estates, a mixture of council and private houses, began to be built.
This improved accommodation helped to settle the street down but by now unemployment was becoming a problem and there were still numerous poachers!
Clwyd has spent all his life living on Henllan Street and has happy memories of going down to the shops for groceries or for sweets.
He acknowledges that there were examples of bad behaviour but there were many reasons why this might be the case such as poverty, alcohol, poor housing, overcrowding, poor education.
However, the majority of the residents were good, hardworking people who led normal, peaceful lives and who did their best to make Henllan Street a decent place to live.
All are welcome to Cymdeithas Hanes Lleol Llandyrnog and Llangwyfan Local History Society meetings with members paying only £5 for the yearly programme of three meetings.
For non-members it's £3 per meeting.
Light refreshments are served for all at the end of meetings.
For further details or queries, to join the society, or volunteer to be part of the projects, contact the society secretary via llangwyfanhistory@hotmail.com
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here