Talacre
| Talacre | |
| Flintshire | |
|---|---|
 The beach at Talacre | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SJ122846 |
| Location: | 53°21’4"N, 3°19’9"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Holywell |
| Postcode: | CH8 |
| Dialling code: | 01745 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Flintshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Delyn |
Talacre is a village on the north coast of Flintshire, close to the county's northernmost point, the Point of Ayr on the west side of the River Dee's estuary.
Talacre and has a sandy beach with dunes (with large holiday caravan parks lurking adjacent). The hills of the Clwydian Range behind the village form the eastern boundary of the Vale of Clwyd. It was formerly served by Talacre railway station, which is currently closed, on the North Wales Coast Line.
The name 'Talacre' is a combination of the Welsh words tal, meaning end, and acrau, meaning 'acres'.
The village is probably most popular for the Point of Ayr Lighthouse which stands on the beach at the headland. Here too are the Talacre Beach Holiday Home Park and the Presthaven Sands holiday park.
Talacre was used by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, as an aircraft firing range. Fighters flew over the remote village every day, shooting at wooden targets in the dunes and at drogues towed by aircraft. It was also used for testing new devices, such as 'window' the anti-radar foil that, on occasion, covered the whole village with silver.
Talacre Abbey (Westbury Castle)
The Talacre estate (Talacre Abbey) and Talacre Hall, built in 1829, were the home of the Mostyn baronets of Talacre. The Carmelite Margaret Mostyn grew up on the estate in the early 1600s. In 1919 the Mostyn family sold the estate by auction and in 1921 it was occupied by a community of Benedictine nuns, who moved out in 1988.[1]
The main hall, a Grade-II* listed building, now functions as a private house again, but renamed Westbury Castle.
In popular culture
The lighthouse was featured in popular British television drama Skins, in the episode 'Skins Pure'.
The village is often used as part of Paul O'Grady's comedy act, telling stories of how he spent many summers "Stuck in a four-berth caravan in Talacre", and is therefore now part of popular culture as a famous "typically British" seaside holiday resort.
References
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Talacre) |
- ↑ "English Benedictine Congregation". http://www.benedictines.org.uk/abbeys/curzon_park.htm. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
