Bretton, Flintshire

infobox UK place
static_

static_image_caption=
country= Wales
welsh_name=
constituency_welsh_assembly= Alyn and Deeside
official_name= Bretton
population= 5,791 (2001 Census)
unitary_wales= Flintshire
lieutenancy_wales= Clwyd
constituency_westminster= Alyn and Deeside
post_town= CHESTER
postcode_district= CH4
postcode_area= CH
dial_code= 01244
os_grid_reference= SJ3563
latitude= 53.16
longitude= -02.97 Bretton is a village in Flintshire, Wales. It is located to the west of the city of Chester, near the border with Cheshire, England. Along with the nearby village of Broughton, the population was 5,791 at the 2001 Census.citeweb|url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadDomainList.do?a=3&c=bretton&d=16&i=1001x1002&m=0&r=1&s=1217179577179&enc=1&areaId=801646&OAAreaId=414354|title=2001 Census: Broughton & Bretton|work=Office for National Statistics|accessdate=27 July|accessyear=2008]

History

The name of the village is locally believed to have originated due to the old mill that is now a domestic dwelling on Chester Road. Bretton is an amalgamation of the words 'bread' and 'town', shortened to create Bretton. Rumour has it that that nearby villages (Broughton, Saltney, Higher Kinnerton and Lower Kinnerton) all bought bread from what was then the old mill.

Bretton also boasts a water pump on a roadside green.

Transport

Bretton used to be connected via road link to Broughton via Bretton Bridge. This was an old railway bridge that existed until the creation of the Broughton Park shopping complex. The bridge is now a public footpath with flagpoles at its summit. The old station that was part of the railway line can be found to the rear of the vets practice in Broughton. It is also of interest to note that in the late 1980's, residents in the Boulevard, Broughton have found remains of railway sleepers in rear gardens, from when the railway connected the villages of Broughton and Kinnerton. From the top of Bretton Bridge, the route of the former railway can be discerned. Part of the former trackbed is now a household waste drain within the country park in Broughton.

References