Eryrys

{{Short description|Village in Denbighshire, Wales}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox UK place | coordinates = {{coord|53.112|-3.190|display=inline,title}} | country = Wales | official_name = Eryrys | community_wales = Llanarmon-yn-Ial | unitary_wales = Denbighshire | lieutenancy_wales = Clwyd | constituency_welsh_assembly = Clwyd West | constituency_westminster = Clwyd East | post_town = Mold | postcode_area = CH | postcode_district = CH7 | dial_code = 01824 | os_grid_reference = SJ203578 | static_image_name = St David's, Eryrys - geograph.org.uk - 195555.jpg | static_image_caption = St David's church (probably a design by Thomas Henry Wyatt),<ref name=wyatt>[http://www.churchplansonline.org/show_full_image.asp?resource_id=05905.tif Llanarmon, St David, Eryrys] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928170055/http://www.churchplansonline.org/show_full_image.asp?resource_id=05905.tif |date=2011-09-28 }}, Church Plans Online</ref> which closed in the 1980s and is now a community centre. }}

'''Eryrys''' ({{IPA|cy|ɛˈrərɪs}}; alternate spelling ''Erryrys)'' is a village in Denbighshire, Wales, located at approximate grid reference SJ203578, five miles south of Mold.<ref>Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 Explorer Map no. 265 ''Clwydian Range'', 2000</ref> The village is built on the limestone formation of Bryn Alyn and many limestone outcrops can be seen close by. At 355m above sea level, Eryrys is one of a number of villages with a valid claim to be the highest in Wales; others include Bwlchgwyn, Wrexham (341m, but has a still-active church, which Eryrys does not), and Garn-yr-Erw, Torfaen (390m, but has no church or pub).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapzone.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone/didyouknow/longesthighest/q_13_60.html|title=MapZone|author=Ordnance Survey|authorlink=|publisher=|accessdate=2007-03-04}}</ref>

A number of sources suggested that the name is derived from the Welsh ''Erw Yrys'', or the "acre (''erw'') of Gyrys", sometimes linked with the "Hen Gyrys o Iâl" identified as the author of early Welsh collections of proverbs.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} Given the similarity of the place-name to the Welsh word ''eryres'', meaning "a flock of eagles",<ref>{{Cite web |title=Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru |url=https://geiriadur.ac.uk/gpc/gpc.html?eryres |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=geiriadur.ac.uk}}</ref> it has also been suggested that the name refers to eagles once frequenting the high ground and prominent outcrops of the area.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Owen |first=Hywel Wyn |title=Dictionary of the place-names of Wales |last2=Morgan |first2=Richard |date=2008 |publisher=Gwasg Gomer |isbn=978-1-84323-901-7 |edition=Reprinted with corrections |location=Llandysul |pages=142}}</ref>

There are several limestone quarries close to the village, some now closed but others still actively serving the local cement industry. Eryrys was formerly a lead-mining community, with the remains of several mines still visible nearby,<ref>Clwyd and Powys Metal Mines Survey site, http://www.cpat.org.uk/projects/longer/mines/minesidx.htm</ref> although lead-mining in the area ceased in the late 19th century. The land around Eryrys is now primarily used for sheep-grazing, with also some dairy farming. Eryrys lies on the edge of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and many walking routes go through or around the village.<ref>[http://www.clwydianrangeaonb.org.uk/text01.asp?PageId=29 Clwydian Range AONB | About the Range | AONB Designation]</ref>

<gallery> Eryrys, Sir Ddinbych 08.JPG Eryrys, Sir Ddinbych 02.JPG Eryrys, Sir Ddinbych 06.JPG Eryrys, Sir Ddinbych 12.jpg

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==References== {{Commons category|Eryrys}} {{reflist}}

Category:Villages in Denbighshire