Wikipedia
Gwespyr is a village in Flintshire on the north coast of Wales. Gwespyr had a population of 289 people in the 2001 census. It overlooks Point of Ayr on the west side of the River Dee estuary and its sandy beaches with dunes. The hills of the Clwydian Range behind the village form the eastern boundary of the Vale of Clwyd. Gwespyr also looks respectively Welsh but is an alien name. It represents Old English for 'West-bury' which came to be interpreted as the 'west fort' meaning the western most fort in Mercia. Originally, it is thought to have been a strategic Mercian lookout which was reduced in importance with the development of a fortified Rhuddlan.
Gwespyr is famed worldwide for its top quality stone quarried in quantity from Roman times and shipped all around the world. "Gwespyr Stone" as it became known had a fine grain and colour also a remarkable quality of cutting and shaping. It was used for many buildings around Gwespyr. It was also used to build the ancient Maen Achwyfan at Whitford, the chapel at St Winefride's Well in Holywell, stone carvings in Rhuddlan Castle and Denbigh Castle, St Asaph Cathedral, The Talacre Arms Public house in Gwespyr and Basingwerk Abbey in Greenfield, Flintshire. Gwespyr stone was also found on sites such as Prestatyn Castle and the Roman bathhouse located in Prestatyn. There is plenty of evidence of the stone industry in Gwespyr prevalent even today, though all but one quarry is disused. The quarry in use today is home to Delyn Metal.