The village of Treuddyn, some 5 miles south east of Mold is present on one of the very earliest of estate maps in Wales, dated to 1620.  From this we are able to glean a little of Treuddyn’s past.  The modern village has expanded westwards onto what was once common land, known as Rhos Trithen.  The name of the village first appears as ‘Trefthyn’ in 1275, but its absence in the Taxatio Ecclesiastica of 1291 would suggest that the village had grown little in the years between, since it has seemingly not met the £4 valuation necessary for inclusion. The name seems to point to a homestead of sorts, with the, ‘dynn’ suggesting a form of protection or enclosure, possibly a hedge or even a fence.

 

Treuddyn appears to have played a part in the fraught and complicated negotiations between Edward I of England and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1275.  It was at Treuddyn that Llywelyn appears to have travelled in anticipation of a meeting with Edward, who was staying at Chester, some 12 miles to the east. Llywelyn was hopeful that Edward would make the short journey to Treuddyn, for he hoped a rapprochement was possible, but it was not to be.  Arguably, it was at Treuddyn then, that the last effort to maintain a semblance of an independent Wales was lost.

 

While St Mary’s Church, the original centre of the village was built in 1874 – 75, it replaced a much older medieval double-naved church.  This older building can still be glimpsed in the fragments of 14th century stained glass along with some of the fittings.  The churchyard continues to tease us, since there are indications that it might have originally been curvilinear, which would suggest a much older llan, which in fact is indicated on the 1879 OS map.  There is also the curious rectangular platform which could possibly be the original site of the medieval church.  Most telling of all, however are the two aged churchyard yews which whisper loudly of the churchyard’s past.

 

Little more is known of Treuddyn’s past until the 19th century, when OS maps suggest a smattering of buildings surrounding the church.  What remains interesting is the number of pubs in the village, four in total within a stone’s throw of the churchyard, including the 17th century Old Hand Inn and the 18th century Farmers Arms.

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