The placename Buckley first appears as Bokkeley in 1294 and it wasn’t until the mid 1800s that the present spelling appeared on an ordnance survey map, having undergone various changes in the meantime. The likely meaning of the name was “clearing in a beech wood” “boc” = beech tree; “ley” = wood, glade or clearing, though other contenders are “bucc” = buck, deer, and “bwlch y clai” = clay hole. The name is thought to describe the high ground in the Manor of Ewloe which we now call Buckley Mountain, the highest point being 518 feet above sea level.The township of Bistre is first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Biscopestreu Tree of the Bishops. In medieval times the area was part of three manors and lordships: Mold, Hawarden, and Ewloe. In 1874, the new ecclesiastical parish of Buckley comprised the townships of Ewloe Town, Ewloe Wood, Pentrobin and Bannel, formerly in Hawarden Parish. Though Buckley referred to a larger area which included parts of Argoed and Bistre. When a new civil area was created in 1897, Buckley Urban District was made up of six townships: Argoed, Bistre, Ewloe Town, Ewloe Wood, Pentrobin, and Bannel. Buckley district has Wat’s Dyke, an eighth century earthwork, as its western boundary.

Website: http://www.buckleysociety.org.uk/