Mold is a town in Flintshire, Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the administrative seat of Flintshire County Council, and was also the county town of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996. According to the 2001 UK census, it has a population of 9,568 making it the third largest town in the county.
The town grew up around a now ruined castle, built by William II of England, and was the site of frequent battles between English and Welsh forces. The castle was captured for the Welsh by Owain Gwynedd in 1144, was lost to the English, and recaptured by the Welsh in 1201 and 1322. About a mile west of the town is Maes Garmon, (The Field of Germanus), which is the traditional site of the Alleluia Victory by British forces led by Germanus of Auxerre over invading Picts and Scots, fought shortly after Easter 430.
Attractions in Mold include the 13th-century parish church a small museum, and the regional arts centre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru. Famous people from the town include the artist Richard Wilson and Daniel Owen, the foremost novelist in the Welsh language. Jonny Buckland, Coldplay's lead guitarist, hails from Pantymwyn, a village two miles from Mold.
In 1833, workmen digging a prehistoric mound at Bryn yr Ellyllion (Fairies' or Goblins' Hill) discovered a unique Bronze age gold cape, subsequently dated to 1900-1600 BC, weighing 560 g and produced from a single gold ingot, which now forms one of the great treasures of the British Museum. This golden cape provided inspiration in the naming of the town's "Wetherspoons" pub.
Mold hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1923 and 1991, and will host the event again in 2007. There was an unofficial National Eisteddfod event in 1873.
Mold was also once very much connected to the British Rail network, having a large station and adjacent marshalling yards and locomotive sheds, however this closed when Croes Newydd at Wrexham was opened. The station was closed in the Beeching Cuts of the early 1960s, though the track survived until the 1970s to serve the Synthite works. Subsequently the town's new Tesco supermarket was built on the station site.