Editing Rhuddlan (section)

==History==
[[File:Rhuddlan curch and castle 02155.jpg|thumb|Rhuddlan church and castle, {{circa|1781}}]]

In AD 921, the Anglo-Saxon king, [[Edward the Elder]], founded a [[burh]] named {{lang|ang|Cledematha}} (mouth of the Clwydd) at Rhuddlan.<ref>{{cite book |last=Griffiths |first=David |year=2001 |editor-last1=Higham |editor-first1=Nick |title=Edward the Elder 899–924 |publisher=Routledge |page=168 |chapter=Chapter 13: The North-West Frontier |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OBb4DrSm4NwC&dq=%22Edward+the+Elder+899%E2%80%93924%22+%22The+North-West+Frontier%22&pg=PA167 |isbn=978-0-415-21497-1}}</ref> In the following century, before the [[Norman Conquest]] and subsequent [[Normans|Norman]] occupation of lower [[Gwynedd]], the [[Perfeddwlad]], Rhuddlan was the site of a Welsh [[cantref]] and served as the seat of government and capital of Gwynedd for the Welsh king [[Gruffydd ap Llywelyn]] (ruled 1055–1063). Following the Conquest, in 1086, Rhuddlan was recorded in the [[Domesday Book]] as a small settlement within the hundred of Ati's Cross and in the county of Cheshire.<ref>{{OpenDomesday|SJ0277|rhuddlan|Rhuddlan}}</ref>

A mint established at Rhuddlan in the 1180s by [[Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd|Dafydd ab Owain]], and later maintained by [[Llywelyn the Great]], was responsible for minting the first native Welsh coinage since the reign of [[Hywel Dda]].

The town is known for the ruins of [[Rhuddlan Castle]], built by order of [[Edward I of England|King Edward I]] from 1277 to 1282, and for the site of another castle at [[Twthill, Rhuddlan|Twthill]], built by the [[Normans|Norman]] [[Robert of Rhuddlan]] about 1072.  Well-preserved Rhuddlan castle has a great round tower and many surviving walls. It was built soon after the [[Conquest of Wales by Edward I|conquest of Wales]].

The town was thus where Edward I signed the [[Statute of Rhuddlan]], laying down the way by which the [[Principality of Wales]], created by the princes of [[kingdom of Gwynedd|Gwynedd]], was to be governed.

The town's first Welsh chapel, now 17 Cross Street, was built in 1771.<ref name="dailypost">{{cite news|title=FlashBack: This Week: Rhuddlan|date=11 January 2011|newspaper=[[Daily Post (North Wales)]]}}</ref>

The hymn tune "Rhuddlan" was brought to wider prominence by [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]] as music editor of the first edition of [[The English Hymnal]] in 1906, and it has since been adopted by numerous other hymnals.  It is usually sung to the words of the hymns "Judge eternal, throned in splendour" and, more recently, "For the healing of the nations".

[[Rhuddlan railway station]] was part of the [[Vale of Clwyd Railway]]. The station closed in 1955 but the line remained open until 1968. The station was demolished around 1977 and a [[Premier Inn]] hotel now occupies the site.<ref name="dailypost"/>

In 2001, the [[A525 road|A525]] bypass was completed, easing access to Rhyl.  Since 2001 the centre of Rhuddlan has been largely redeveloped.

=== Archaeology ===
In 2021 February, archaeologists from Aeon Archaeology announced the discovery of more than 300 [[Stone Age|stone age]] tools and artefacts in Rhuddlan. They revealed [[Scraper (archaeology)|scrapers]], [[microlith]]s, flakes of [[chert]] (hard, sedimentary rock), [[flint]]s and even rudimentary tools. Expert Richard Cooke believes that the remains were belong to people who was passing through and made camp by the river more than 9,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2021-02-17|title=Hundreds of stone age tools found on Denbighshire housing site|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-56106312|access-date=2021-06-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Encampment dating back 9,000 years has been discovered in Rhuddlan|url=https://www.denbighshirefreepress.co.uk/news/19098449.encampment-dating-back-9-000-years-discovered-rhuddlan/|access-date=2021-06-15|website=Denbighshire Free Press|language=en}}</ref>