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 in 2018 with funding from 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 https://archive.org/details/tourroundnorthwa01bing 
 

FROHTISFffiCE. VoJl 
 
 
 WBvyly delF ’ S-BUcen fecit. 
 
A 
 
 TOUR 
 
 ROUND 
 
 NORTH WALES, 
 
 PERFORMED 
 
 '. - % 
 
 • During the Summer of 179 8 : 
 
 ‘ CONTAINING 
 
 Not only the Description and local History of the Country, but also , 
 a Sketch of the History of the Welsh Bards ; 
 
 An ESSAY on the LANGUAGE; 
 
 Observations on the Manners and Customs; and the Habitats 
 of above 400 of the more rare Native Plants; intended as a 
 
 Guide to future Tourifts. 
 
 By the Rey. W. BINGLEY, B.A. F.L.S. 
 
 of st. peter’s college? Cambridge. 
 
 Illustrated with Views in Aquatint a by Aiken. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Sold by E. Williams, (Bookseller to ,the Duke and 
 Duchess of York, and Successor to the late Mr. Blamire,) 
 N°. 11, Strand; and J. Deighton, Cambridge. 
 
 1800. 
 
 printed by j. smeeton, st. martin’s lane. 
 
 * 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 / 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CZ' hap. I. — Chejler .- Hifory—Earldom —- 
 
 Ant lent Trade—Monkijh Opinions of it's Im¬ 
 ports — Siege — Rows—Cathedral —Bijhopric 
 — Churches — Cajlle — JValls—Manufallures 
 andTrade—River Dee — Police — Law-Courts 
 — Rood-Eye .. 1 
 
 Chap. II .—From Chejler to Flint. - Hawarden 
 
 and Cajlle—Euloe Cajlle—Defeat of Henry II. 
 
 — Northop —- Flint—Cajlle and Gaol . 23 
 
 Chap. Ill.— Holywell.' - Manufactures — We- 
 
 nefred's (Veil and Legend — Miracles—MoJfe$ 
 
 —Remark of Dr, Fuller—Devotees — Bafing- 
 werk Abbey and Cafle — Wat's Dyke . 51 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 a 
 
 Chap. 
 
2 
 
 CONTEN 1 S. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chap. IV. —Front Holywell to St. Ajaph. - 
 
 Roman Pharos—Vale of Clwyd — St. Afaph — 
 Cathedral—Miracle — Mortuaries — Ex cur- 
 fion to Rhyddlan—Battle at Morfa Rhyddlan 
 — Cajlle—A Siege oddly raijed—Statute of 
 Rhyddlan—Abbey—Diferth Village and Cajlle 
 —Anecdote of Sir Robert P ounderling . 69 
 
 Chap. V .—From St. Afaph to Conwy. - A her - 
 
 geley — Llandulas—Penmaen Rhos — River 
 Conwy — Ferry—Pearl Fifhery—Town of Con¬ 
 wy —- Cafle — Church — Infcription — Abbey — 
 
 Plas Mawr — Gloddacth—Diganwy .. 103 
 
 Chap. VI .—From Conwy by Bangor to Caernar¬ 
 von.'- - Rocks — Penmaen Mawr — Road— 
 
 Singular Accidents — Britifh Fort — Abcr — 
 lVat erf all — Llandygai — Penrhyn — Bangor — 
 Cajlle — Cathedral— Convent — Bangor Ferry 
 —Inn — Harp—Fine Scenery — Caernarvon— 
 Hotel .*... 124 
 
 Chap. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 3 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chap. VII. — Caernarvon. -- Walls — Exten- 
 
 five ProfpeCi—Harbour — Cajlle—Birth 0 } 
 Edward Firjl y Prince of Wales—Prynne the 
 Barrijler — Privileges — Segontium — Roman 
 Mode of Building—Britijh Court—'Jumpers 145 
 
 Chap. VIII. —Excurjion from Caernarvon to 
 
 Llanberis .- Vale of Llanberis—Pifiurefque 
 
 Scenery — Road — Labes—Dolbadarn Caftle — 
 Waterfall—Copper Mine — Village — Inhabi - 
 tants—Public Houfes — Church — Well — Cu¬ 
 rate — Camden s Defcription of Caernarvon - 
 [hire—Margaret Uch Evan—Glyder Vawr — 
 
 Llyn y Cwn—Extenfve View—Glyder Bach 
 ■— Cwm Idwel — Tull Du — Llym Idwel — 
 Plants—Romantic Pafs near Llanberis . 182 
 
 Chap. I CL.—Excurfion from Caernarvon to the 
 Summit cf Snowdon.—Injirudlions—Clog- 
 wyn du r Arddu — Height — Name-—Mr. Pen¬ 
 nant’s Defcription—Natural Productions— 
 Lakes Plants — Well — Incredible Story of 
 
 a 2 Giraldus 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
4 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Giraldus Cambrenfis—Sun not appearing to 
 rife from, the Sea-*-Royal For eft — Britijh 
 Parnaffus — More InJlruSiions — Scheme for 
 an Inn near Dolhadarn . 216 
 
 Chap. X. —Excurfon to the Summit of Snowdon 
 
 from Llanberis. -- Ffynnon Freeh — Llyn 
 
 Llwydaw — Llyn Glas—Romantic Scenery 
 Another Excurfion from Bettws — Bwlch Cwm 
 Brzuynog—Llyn Fynnon y Gwas . 243 
 
 Chap. XI. — From Caernarvon by Holyhead to 
 Amlwch——Ferry into Anglefea—Names of 
 the IJland-—General Character—Once joined 
 to Caernarvonfhire—Pool Ceris—Llanedwen 
 —~Infcription on Rowlands — Suetonius' Inva - 
 fton—Battle at Moel y Don—Plas Newydd— 
 Cromleche—Antient Mode of ere Sling Stone 
 Monuments — Llangefni — Gwyndy—Holyhead 
 —-Church Yard — Church — Amlwch — Port .... 250 
 
 Chap. 
 
 / 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 5 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chap. XII .—From Amlwch hy Beaumaris to 
 Caernarvon — Copper Mines — Llanelian — 
 Superjlitious Cujlom — Beaumaris — Cajlle — 
 
 Bay — Lavan Sands — Llanvaes — Battle — 
 Penman — Well and Crofs — Prief holme — 
 Puffins—Tnys LI god. . 276 
 
 Chap. XIII.— From Caernarvon byCapel Curig to 
 
 Llanrwjl.' - Llanddiniolen—Ant lent Fort — 
 
 Lord Penrhyn's Slate Fhiarrlcs—Nant Fran- 
 gon—Rude Landjcape—Falling of a Rock — 
 TTrivaen—Llyn Ogwen—Capel Curig—Vale 
 —New Inn—Dolwyddelan Caffle — Feuds — 
 Village — Pont y Pair — Waterfall on the 
 Llugwy—Vale of Llanrwf—Gwydir Woods 
 —New Road . 311 
 
 Chap. XIV .—From Llanrwjl by Ffefiniog to 
 Caernarvon. — Gwydir—Defcription of Llan¬ 
 rwf — Bridge — Chapel—Inn—-Waterfall on 
 the Conwy — Another—Gray s Bard—Pen- 
 
 tnachno 
 
« 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 rAGE 
 
 machno — Ffefiniog — Inn—Falls of the Cyn - 
 fact-—Pulpit Hugh Lloyd Cynfael—Anecdote 
 
 of Hugh Lloyd—Vale of Ffejliniog 
 
 334 
 
 Chap. XV. — From Caernarvon to Beddgelert . 
 
 —Bettws Garmon—Cafcade at Nant Mill 
 Llyn Cwellyn — Cajile Cidwm—Llyn y 
 
 Divarchen — Llyn Cader — Beddgelert — 
 Church — Epitaph—Anecdote of Llewelyn the 
 
 Great — Priory —- Inn — Gwynant —- Dinas 
 
 Emrys—Merlin s Prophecies—Llyn y Dinas 
 —Llyn Gwynant—Cwm Dyli—Waterfall . 354 
 
 Chap. XVI .—Excurfion from Beddgelert to the 
 
 Summit of Snowdon.——Clawd Coch — Sce¬ 
 nery—Cwm Llan .. 
 
 375 
 
 Chap. XVII .—Excurfion from Beddgelert to 
 Criccieth.—Devils Bridge — Rocks—GiraL 
 dus Cambrenfis—Salmon Leap—Antient Tri¬ 
 bute—Moonlight Scene—Tracth Mawr and 
 Traeth Bach — Penmorfa—Anecdote of Sir 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 'John Owen — Ford — Criccieth—-Story of Sir 
 How el y Fwyall and his Pole-Ax . 383 
 
 Chap. XVIII. —From Beddgelert to Harlech. 
 
 *- Mountain Road to Tan-y-Bwlch—New 
 
 Road — Tan-y-BzvIch Inn — Maentwrog — 
 
 % 
 
 Tommen y Mur — Waterfall—Impending Sce¬ 
 nery -— Llyn Tecwyn Ucha — Llantecwyn — 
 
 Fine Vale — Harlech—Town Hall — Cajlle — 
 Mephitic Vapour—Inn . 400 
 
 Chap. XIX. —Excurfion from Harlech to Cwm 
 
 Bychan. - Druidical Circles—Cwm Bychan 
 
 —JVelfh Pedigree — Bwlch Tydyad—Dnvs 
 Ardudwy — Cromlech — Dijlant Waterfall — 
 Sarn-Badrwyg — Overflowed Hundred. . 421 
 
 Chap. XX .—From Harlech , by Barmouth , to 
 
 Dolgelle .- Meini Gwyr — Cromlechs — Cors- 
 
 y-Gedol Barmouth — Inn — RiverMawddach-— 
 Friar s Ifland—Dinas Gortin — Beach—Fine 
 Scenery—Llanelltyd—-Dolgelle — Dr. Fuller s 
 Enigmatical Defcription — Manufactories — 
 
 Inn—Battle in the Civil Wars . 429 
 
 Chap. 
 
s 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chap. XXI .—Excurfion from Dolgelle to the 
 
 IVat erf alls.' - Y Vaner, or Kemtner Abbey — 
 
 Cafell Cymmer—Rhaidr Du—Difant Fall 
 —Rhaidr y Mawddach—Piftyll y Cain . 444 
 
 Chap. XXII .—From Dolgelle to Machynlleth. 
 
 - — Llyn Yrigraienvoy n—Story of Giant Idris 
 — Flue Lion — Cader Idris — Cat ar a Its — 
 
 Llyn y Cae—Craig y Cae — Phenomenon — 
 
 View from Cader Idris — Cafcade—Coracles 
 Machynlleth — IVaterfall—Defcription of the 
 Devils Bridge in Cardiganfoire .. 457 
 
 Chap. XXIII.— Fro?n Machynlleth, by Lanyd- 
 
 loesy to Newtown. --* Plynlimmon — Glas 
 
 Llyn—Frwd y Pennant—Llyn yr Avange— 
 Beavers — Llanydloes—Severn — Roman Fort 
 —Newtown — IVaterfall—Cajlell Doforzvyn 
 —Story of Sabrina . 479 
 
 Chap. XXIV. — From Newtoivn to Montgomery 
 — Severn — Montgomery — Church—Character 
 of Lord Herbert — Cajlle—Rufic View — Bri- 
 tijh Pofl—Singular Cujlom ... 
 
 495 
 
TO 
 
 JAMES EDWARD SMITH, M.D. F.R.S, 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE LINN^EAN SOCIETV. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 ]{. Have taken the liberty of pre- 
 senting to you these volumes, which 
 contain an account of a Tour made round 
 a part of Great Britain, that to every 
 naturalist, is particularly interesting. If 
 they are found of any use as a guide to 
 the treasures in the science, which there 
 so amply abound, one chief end of their 
 writing will be answered. It was in the 
 hope of this, that I was principally in- 
 
 VOL, I, 
 
 A 
 
 duced 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 • * 
 
 11 
 
 duced to present them to you; and I 
 have only to express a wish, that the 
 gift were better worth your acceptance 
 than it is. 
 
 Receive it, however, if not as valuable 
 from it’s own merits, yet as affording 
 you a testimony of the sincere esteem, 
 with which I am. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your most affectionate, and 
 
 Obliged humble servant. 
 
 W. Bingley. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 rip 
 
 1 HE accounts that I had at different 
 times received of the ftupendous and pic- 
 turefque fcenery of fome of the counties of 
 North Wales, induced me, in the fummer 
 
 i 
 
 of 1798, to fpend three months that I had 
 to fpare from my College avocations, in 
 that romantic part of Great Britain. Thefe 
 I juftly conceived, would be fo amply 
 fufficient, that they would allow me time 
 kifurely to examine all the moil material 
 places. 
 
 I can here truly fay, that every expec¬ 
 tation I had been taught to raife, was more 
 than fulfilled. The traveller of tafte, who 
 is in fearch of the grandeft fcenes that na¬ 
 ture has formed in thefe iflands; the na- 
 luralift, and the antiquary, may all reft 
 affured that they will find here ample en¬ 
 tertainment in their refpedtive purfuits. 
 
 A 2 My 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 My mode of travelling was chiefly on 
 foot, but fometimes I took horfes, and at 
 other times proceeded in carriages, as I 
 found it convenient. The former, not- 
 withftanding all the objections that have 
 been made againft it, will, I am confi¬ 
 dent, upon the whole, be found the moft 
 ufeful, if health and flrength are not 
 wanting. To a naturalift, it is evidently 
 fo; fince, by this means, he is enabled to 
 examine the country as he goes along ; and 
 when he fees occafion, he can alfo ftrike 
 out of the road, amongft the mountains or 
 moraffes, in a manner completely indepen¬ 
 dent of all thofe obftacles that inevitably 
 attend the bringing of carriages or horfes. 
 
 Next to being on foot, the tourift will 
 find a horfe the moft ufeful ; but in this 
 cafe, if he intends to ramble much amongft 
 the mountains, it will be neceflary for him 
 to take a Welfh poney, which, ufed to 
 the ftony paths, will carry him, without 
 
 danger. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 7 
 
 danger, over places where no Englifh horfe, 
 accuftomed to even roads and fmooth turf, 
 could ftand with him. 
 
 In carriages, no perfons will, of courfe, 
 expedl to travel, except along the great 
 roads, (which indeed extend quite round 
 the country), but at all the inns, horfes 
 may be procured to penetrate into the 
 mountainous and more romantic parts. 
 
 There is an inn at almoft every refpedt- 
 able town, where poft chaifes are kept; 
 but owing to the great numbers who now 
 make this falhionable tour, delays are at 
 times unavoidably occafioned by thefe be¬ 
 ing all employed. This, however, is a 
 circumftance that feems to me of but little 
 confequence to the tourift, iince, at almoft 
 every place where he has occafion to flop, 
 amufements may be found more than fuf- 
 ficient to occupy the two or three hours of 
 delay. 
 
 A ^ 
 
 V' 
 
 Evans’s 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Evans's fmaller map of North Wales,* 
 which is the corrected: map I ever travelled 
 by, will be found a moft ufeful companion. 
 The roads have in this been laid down with 
 fo much accuracy, that, wherever the tra¬ 
 veller may have occafion to find fault, it 
 will be more than probable that fome 
 change has taken place fince the furvey 
 was taken. A fmall pocket compafs, 
 amongft the mountains, will be almoft as 
 necefifary as the map. 
 
 The tourift, who happens to take along 
 with him thefe volumes, will, in pro¬ 
 nouncing and underftanding the Welfh 
 names, be fomewhat aflifted, by examining 
 
 carefully the former part of the chapter on 
 
 / 
 
 the language, where he will find the force 
 of the letters, and the explanation of fuch 
 
 * The price of this map is eighteen (hillings; and 
 it may be had of E. Williams, N°. xi, Strand, 
 the publifher of this work; as may alfo the larger 
 one, on nine fheets, price three guineas. 
 
 words 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Yii 
 
 words as commonly occur in the compe¬ 
 tition of the names of places, &c. 
 
 The expences of travelling in Wales, 
 notwithflanding what Mr. Pratt,* and 
 fome other writers have faid upon the fub- 
 jedl, I found in general, but little lefs than 
 thofe on the roads in the central parts of 
 England. Provifions are here very little 
 cheaper than with us 5 and the expences of 
 houfe-keeping have, within the few laft 
 years, been confiderably increafed. 
 
 Plaving put down thefe previous hints 
 for the future tourift, it is now proper that 
 I fhould fay fomewhat of the prefent 
 work. 
 
 Throughout the whole of my journey, 
 I endeavoured to make my purfuits and my 
 obfervations as general as pofiible : and in 
 thefe volumes, I have, as far as lay in my 
 power, made it my rule to put down for 
 
 # Author of Gleanings through Wales. 
 
 A 4. the 
 
 0 
 
via PREFACE. 
 
 the information of others, every thing that 
 I wifhed to have known when I was my- 
 felf making the tour. This, allowing for 
 all the differences of tafle and opinion, 
 feemed to me the beft criterion by which 
 to judge of the wifhes of the public ; in 
 what manner I have fucceeded, the volumes 
 themfelves muff fhew. 
 
 I have, as will be found upon perufal, 
 interfperfed them but little, either with 
 reflexions or incidental ftories: indeed of 
 the latter, I ought candidly to confefs, that 
 
 I met with very few which I thought 
 
 worth recording. Two late tourifts, Mr. 
 
 % 
 
 Pratt and Mr. Warner, if they have not 
 introduced the novelift too often in their 
 works, (which, by the way, I fhrewdly 
 fufpeX they have) were infinitely more 
 fortunate in meeting with adventures than 
 I was. 
 
 In the defcription of the country, I have 
 invariably endeavoured to let the fcenes 
 
 form 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IX 
 
 form themfelves, and to paint nature limply 
 as I found her. The tourift, who is de« 
 firous of forming reflections for himfelf, 
 will, I doubt not, at all events thank me 
 for my intentions in this refpeCh I Ihall . 
 ever remember, in a tour that I made fome 
 years ago to the Lakes of the north of 
 England, how much I found myfelf deceived 
 and difappointed, by the turgid and high- 
 flown defcriptions which fill almoft every 
 page of Mr. Weft’s Guide through that 
 country ; a book, in other refpedts certainly 
 of merit. This circumflance alone led me 
 to a determination, if poffible, to avoid that 
 error. When the fcenery exceeds the de» 
 fcription, it will be viewed with pleafure j 
 but when it falls Ihort of it, no one but a 
 traveller can tell the difappointment that is 
 felt. 
 
 As the prefent w r ork was intended chiefly 
 for the ufe of the tourifl:, I judged alfo 
 that I fhould be rendering myfelf of more 
 
 fervice. 
 
X 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 fervice, in not permitting it to lay claim 
 entirely to originality: but in return for 
 this, I have, I believe, (except in the firft 
 and laft chapters of the TourJ always in- 
 
 ferted marks of reference to the authors 
 
 \ 
 
 from whence my information is extradted. 
 To Mr. Pennant's accurate and learned 
 work on this country, I have in various 
 inftances, as will be hereafter feen, been 
 much indebted. 
 
 It may indeed, and not improperly, be 
 afked, what need there was for any other 
 account, when one fo accurate as the 
 above was already extant ? In anfwer to 
 this, I have to obferve, that the pre- 
 fent is more commodious for carriage: 
 the former being in two volumes quarto, is 
 extremely heavy and inconvenient for per- 
 fons to carry along with them. Mr. Pen¬ 
 nant has taken no general rout. He be¬ 
 gins near his own houfe in Flintfhire, pro¬ 
 ceeds through that county, part of Chefhire, 
 Shropfhire, and Denbighfhire, and returns 
 
 to 
 
 s 
 
PREFACE 
 
 to Downing 3 from whence he again fets 
 out, and takes not a regular rout over the 
 remainder of North Wales. I by no means 
 mention this circumftance as a derogation 
 from the intrinhc merits of his work, it is 
 only done to £hew it's inconvenience as a 
 guide to the tourift. It contains much 
 matter, and many long differtations on fub- 
 jefts of antiquity, (particularly an excellent 
 life of the Welfh hero, Owen Glyndwr, 
 which alone occupies about 70 pages) 
 thefe, though well calculated both to in- 
 ftrudt and amufe in the clofet, are too long 
 and uninterefting for the generality of per- 
 fons when upon their journey. And to 
 conclude the whole, it has been out of print 
 
 1 1 / 
 
 for fome time. 
 
 The literary world has been much in¬ 
 debted to the induftry and abilities of Mr. 
 Pennant, for his accurate examinations and 
 defcriptions of Wales, Scotland, and feveral 
 parts of England, in which he has evinced 
 
 a depth 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xii 
 
 a depth of knowledge that does not fall 
 to every man’s lot. He was the firft who 
 ' made the tafte for home travels fo prevalent 
 in this country ; and it would be uncandid 
 not to declare, that this gentlemen has 
 given us feme of the earlieft deferiptions 
 that are worth preferving. In his tour in 
 North Wales, from being a native of the 
 country, and having accefs to all the prin¬ 
 cipal libraries there, he pofieflfed many 
 advantages that in his other journies he 
 did not, which of courfe muft tend to 
 render this his moft correct work. 
 
 In the prefent volumes, from my being 
 refident in Cambridge, and having had 
 
 accefs to feveral of the libraries there, I 
 
 % 
 
 may perhaps be permitted to flatter myfelf 
 that I have been able to infert fome curious 
 information, and many hiftorical fadts, which 
 even Mr. Pennant has omitted. 
 
 When I made the journey, I very 
 ftrangely took but Ihort deferiptions of the 
 
 town 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xiii 
 
 towns of Chefter and Shrewfbury, intend¬ 
 ing to confine my obfervations entirely to 
 Wales: but afterwards, upon confidering 
 the matter, thefe places feemed fo materi- 
 ally connedted with the others, that rather 
 than omit them, I determined to add to 
 my own the moft ufeful obfervations of 
 Mr. Pennant and Dr. Aildn and fince 
 the references for thefe would, if inferred, 
 have occured very often, I thought it better 
 to leave them out. 
 
 In the Hijiory of the Bards y I have been 
 much indebted to feveral parts of Mr. 
 Jones's excellent work, entitled u Mufical 
 “ and Poetical Relics of the Welfh Bards. 
 In the more antient part of the hiftory, I 
 have taken the liberty to prefer the autho¬ 
 rities of the Roman writers to that of 
 Mr. William Owen, who has lately, in 
 the introdu&ion to his tranllation of the 
 
 I' r * /' 
 
 * In his Hiftory of the Country round Manchefter. 
 
 elegies 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 jdv 
 
 elegies of Llywarch Hen, given us a hiftory 
 of bardifm, very different from any we ever 
 heard of before ; for in what manner foever 
 new opinions may have fprung up, it ap¬ 
 pears to me difficult, if not impoffibje, to 
 overthrow the accounts of contemporary 
 writers, whofe authority no one feems be¬ 
 fore to have doubted ; and who were cer¬ 
 tainly themfelves prefent in fome of the 
 fcenes they defcribe. 
 
 The Itinerary I have attempted to make 
 
 ••» 
 
 as ufeful as poffible. When I made the 
 tour, I took with me one, fomewhat fimi- 
 lar, extracted from the accounts of former 
 writers. The diflances are marked, I be¬ 
 lieve, pretty accurately ; and all the vil¬ 
 lages, and fome other places, are here 
 inferted; many of which, from their in¬ 
 significance, have not been noticed in the 
 body of the work. 
 
 In the Appendix, I have placed, chiefly 
 at the delire of fome of my Welfh friends. 
 
 Lord 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xv 
 
 Lord Lyttleton's two interefting Letters on 
 this Country, and a few other detached 
 things, that I thought might be of ufe. 
 
 Very little of Botany will be found to 
 occur in the interior of the volumes; this 
 I have confined almoft entirely to the 
 catalogue at the end, where I have given 
 the habitats of the plants with as great a 
 degree of exadrnefs as I poffibly could. 
 
 In the Index , which is pretty full, I be¬ 
 lieve I have inferted every minute place 
 whofe name occurs, in order to render 
 that, to naturalifts in particular, of as 
 much ufe as poffible. They frequently 
 want to know the fituations of very final! 
 and obfcure places, which, without feme 
 fuch guide, it would be difficult to find. 
 The indexes to Mr. Pennant's Tour, I 
 found by no means fufficient for this pur* 
 pofe s for in many cafes, where the places 
 were not deferibed at length in the body 
 of the work, they were omitted there. 
 
 I have 
 
XVI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 I have now, in concSufion, to acknow-> 
 ledge my obligations for the kind and libe¬ 
 ral affiftance of feveral gentlemen in Wales, 
 but in a moil particular manner to the 
 Reverend Peter Williams, late of Jefus 
 College, Oxford, Re&or of Llanrug, near 
 Caernarvon, who was my companion in 
 many of the fcenes here defcribed: to 
 John Wynne Griffith, Efq. F. L. S. of 
 Garn, near Denbigh; the Reverend Hugh 
 Davies, F. L. S. of Aber, near Bangor; 
 the Reverend Evan Lloyd, of Maes y 
 Perth, near Newborough; and to Mr. 
 
 David Thomas, of Red Wharf, near Beau** 
 
 » \ 
 
 maris, Anglefea. 
 
 Wo B. 
 
i 
 
 A 
 
 TOUR 
 
 ) 
 
 ROUND 
 
 NORTH WALES, 
 
 
 CHAP, I. 
 
 CHESTER,-—HISTORY— EARLDOM — ANTIENT 
 TRADE—MONKISH OPINIONS OF IT’S IMPORTS 
 — SIEGE — ROWS — CATHEDRAL — BISHOPRIC — 
 CHURCHES—CASTLE—WALLS—MANUFACTURES 
 AND TRADE — RIVER DEE — POLICE — LAW- 
 
 COURTS—ROOD-EYE. 
 
 npHE antient city of Chefter is fitu- 
 JL ated on a riling ground, above the 
 river Dee, by which it is guarded on the 
 fouth and weft Tides, From its form, 
 one would be led to conjefture that it 
 was indebted to the Romans for its foun- 
 vol. i, B dation, 
 
2 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 dation, for the four principal flreets crof- 
 fing each other at right angles, ftill retain 
 the original appearance of a Roman camp. 
 Of this however there is no diredl hiflo- 
 rical evidence, though it is well known 
 to have been one of their military ftations, 
 and from its having been the place where 
 the twentieth Legion was chiefly quar¬ 
 tered, it was called Caer Legion , and Caer 
 Lleon Vawr ar ddyfr Dwy, the camp of 
 the great Legion on the Dee. It was 
 called by the Romans Cajlrum Legionis , 
 the camp of the Legion, Deva and Deu- 
 naiia from the river, and afterwards Cejlria 
 from Cajlrum , a camp or military ftation; 
 the Saxons gave it the name of Legan - 
 cejler and Legaceajler 
 
 At different times there have been dif- 
 covered here, various remains of Roman 
 antiquity, fuch as altars, ftatues, coins, 
 
 * Bifhop Gibforfs edition of Camden’s Britannia, 
 fd. l 60 v CC7, 
 
 and 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 and a hypocauft or furnace for heating a 
 fudatorium or fweating-room, which is ftill 
 to be feen at the Feathers’ Inn. The hy¬ 
 pocauft is the only part of the ftrudture 
 left ; it is redtangular, and confifts of a 
 number of low pillars fupporting fquare 
 tiles, perforated for the paflage of the 
 warm vapour. 
 
 After the Romans departed from Great 
 Britain in the fifth century, this place fell 
 under the government of the Britifb princes, 
 with whom it remained till the year 603, 
 when it was wrefted from them by Ethel- 
 frid king of Northumbria. Brochwel 
 Yfcithroc king of Powes attempted to 
 oppofe him, but with an army compofed 
 chiefly of Monks, from the monaftry of 
 Bangor-is-eoed not far diftant, depending 
 more upon the afliftance of Heaven than 
 in the manual ftrength of his army; he 
 placed them naked and unarmed upon 
 an eminence, where Ethelfrid obferving 
 
 B 2 them 
 
 
4 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES* 
 
 them iii the attitude of prayer, fell upon 
 them, and without mercy flew upwards of 
 twelve hundred.* 
 
 Sometime after this Chefter appears to 
 have again got into the pofleffion of the 
 Britons, but about 828 it was finally wrefU 
 ' ed out of their hands by Egbert, who 
 annexed it to the Saxon crown. 
 
 * Chronicon Saxonicum, edit. 1662, p. 25. 
 Hiftoria ecclefiaftica gentis Anglorum a venerabili 
 Beda, 1643, II. c. 2. p. in, 112, 113. Flores 
 hiftoriarum per Matthseum Weftmonafterienfem, 
 1570. P* 2 °6* Commentarioli Britanniae defcrip- 
 tionis pagmentum au£lore Humfredo Lhuyd, 1572. 
 Britannicarum Ecclefiarum antiquitates, Jacobo 
 UlTerio. 1639. p. 132. Fuller’s Church Hiftory, 
 1 655, p. 63. Tanner’s notitia monaftica. Row¬ 
 land’s Mona antiqua reftaurata, 1766, p. 152. 
 The Saxon Annals, Beda and Mr. Pennant place 
 this battle in 607, Ufher in 613, but the others 
 in 603, which appears to have been the true date 
 of the event. See a letter of Mr. Wynn of Llan 
 Gynhafal upon the fubje&in the Cambrian Regifter, 
 vol. II. p. 521. 
 
 / 
 
 In 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 5 
 
 In the fame century it was feized, and 
 almoft demolilhed by the Danes, who hav- 
 ing been defeated by Alfred the great, 
 had retreated for fafety into this part of 
 the country; but it was foon afterwards 
 reftored by his valiant daughter Ethelfleda, 
 the wife of Ethelred Duke of Mercia.* 
 After the Norman conqueft, William 
 created his nephew, Hugh Lupus Earl of 
 Chefter, and granted to him the fame ju- 
 rifdidtion in this County, that he himfelf 
 pofleffed in the reft of the Jlland. By 
 virtue of this grant the Earls held parlia- 
 ment here, confiding of the barons and 
 tenants, which were not bound by the 
 adts of the Englifh parliament,-f* and the 
 town of Chefter enjoyed fovereign jurif- 
 didtion within its own limits. The Earls 
 were petty princes, and all the land hoL 
 
 * Matt. Weftm. 354. Gibf. Camden, 558. 
 f Gibf. Camd, 567. 
 
 B 3 
 
 ders 
 
6 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALTS. 
 
 ders in the county were mediately or 
 immediately their vaffals, and under the 
 fame allegiance to them as to the kings 
 of England. 
 
 Hugh Lupus when he received the earl¬ 
 dom, immediately repaired the town walls 
 and erected the caftle the former having 
 either fallen into decay lince the days of 
 Ethelfleda, or not being thought fufficient- 
 ly ftrong for the exigencies of the times. 
 
 In feveral reigns fubfequent to the Nor¬ 
 man conqueft, Chefter was made a place 
 of rendezvous for troops in all expeditions 
 againft Wales, and frequently fuffered in 
 the contefts betwixt the two nations. Cam¬ 
 den fays that “ the ikirmifhes here between 
 se the Welfh and Englifh in the begin- 
 iC ning of the Norman times, were fo 
 
 “ numerous, the inroads and excurfions 
 \ , 
 cs and the fireing of the fuburbs of Han- 
 
 * Gibf. Camden, 558. 
 
 “ brid 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES 
 
 7 
 
 “ brid beyond the bridge, fo frequent, 
 “ that the Welshmen called it Treboeth , 
 “ that is, burnt town ; they tell us alfo 
 €€ that there was a long wall made there 
 of Welfhmen’s fculls.”* 
 
 In the time of Hugh Lupus the port of 
 Chefter appears to have arrived at fome 
 degree of confequence, The exports con¬ 
 fined in Haves,'f* (for this inhuman traffic 
 
 was 
 
 * Gibf. Camden, 559. 
 
 t u Here is a town called Brichflow (BriftolJ 
 li oppofite to Ireland, and extremely convenient 
 s ‘ for trading with that country. IVulfftan induced 
 ii them to drop a barbarous cuftom, which neither 
 <4 the love of God nor the king, could prevail on 
 “ them to lay afide. This was the market for 
 <c Haves collected from all parts of England. It 
 6i was a mod: moving fight to fee in the public 
 u markets, rows of young people of both fexes 
 66 tied together with ropes ; of great beauty and 
 “ in the flower of their youth, daily proftituted, 
 daily fold. Execrable fa6t ! wretched difgrace ! 
 
 B 4 ft men 
 
8 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 was carried on even by the Saxons to a 
 great height) in horfes and cheefe. The 
 imports were chiefly fpices and other lux¬ 
 uries of the Eaft, procured either from Ve¬ 
 nice or afterwards from Pifa and Amalphi 
 Cloth from Flanders ; Linen from Ger¬ 
 many ; reliques and other articles, fuel for 
 fuperftition, from Italy; wane from France 
 and Spain; and furs, whale-bone, fea¬ 
 thers and other articles from the northern 
 regions. 
 
 Lucian* a jolly Monk, who flourifhed 
 about the time of the conqueft, fpeaks of 
 fhips “ coming from Gafcoign, Spain, 
 
 £C men unmindful even cf the affe&ion of the 
 ££ brute creation ! delivering into fiavery their re- 
 
 lations, and even their very offspring.” beta, 
 S. Wulfftan in Anglia Sacra, quoted in Pennant’s 
 Tour, I. 134, 135. Wulfftan was Bifhop of Wor- 
 cefter, and died in the year IC95. 
 
 * See an extract from his writing in Gibf. 
 Camd. 559. 
 
 iC Ireland 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 9 
 
 sc Ireland and Germany, which by Chrift’s 
 “ affiftance, and by the labour and conduit 
 €t of mariners, repair hither and fupply 
 4( them with all forts of commodities $ fo 
 “ that being comforted by the grace of 
 <c God in all things, we drink plentifully; 
 “ for thofe countries have abundance of 
 €t vineyards.’* 
 
 Upon the death of John Earl of Chef- 
 ter, without iffue male in 1237, Henry 
 III. took the Earldom, and all the pow¬ 
 ers annexed to it, into his own hands; 
 and foon afterwards granted to the city 
 its firft royal charter. 
 
 In this city it was that the Welfh made 
 their final acknowledgement to the fove- 
 reignty of England in the year 1300, by 
 Edward of Caernarvon, Prince of Wales, 
 when the freeholders of the county did 
 homage and fealty for their refpe&ive lands. 
 
 Henry Duke of Lancafter, afterwards 
 Henry IV. in 1399 feized the city and 
 
 caftle 
 
10 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 caftle in his way to Flint, againft the ill- 
 fated Richard II, and on his return fecured 
 him one night in the fortrefs,* and cruelly 
 put to death Sir Perkin a Legh and other 
 gentlemen, whom he had taken with their 
 unfortunate mafter. 
 
 In the civil wars of Charles I. Chefter 
 adhered with great fidelity to the royal 
 caufe ; and it was not till every hope had 
 been cut off by the important victory which 
 the parliament's army had gained at Rowton 
 Heath, of which, from the leads of the 
 Phoenix Tower the King himfelf was an 
 anxious fpe&ator, that it was furrendered 
 to them on the 3d of February 1645-6, 
 on the moft honourable terms, after a 
 gallant refiftance for near five months, 
 during part of which time the garrifbn 
 were reduced to fo great a want of provi- 
 
 # Stow’s Annals, edit. 1631, 322. Carte’s Hif- 
 tory of England, edit. 1747? &c. II. 635. 
 
 fions 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 11 
 
 fions as to be obliged to live, even on their 
 horfes and dogs. 
 
 It is faid by Camden * that Henry IV. 
 Emperor of Germany, who married Maud 
 
 * a 
 
 the grand-daughter of William the Con¬ 
 queror, and had put into prifon his father, 
 the Pope and fome of the cardinals, with¬ 
 drew himfelf from the world, and retired 
 to this place, where he refided unknown 
 as to his real character for near ten years j 
 but death approaching, he difcovered him¬ 
 felf, and was afterwards buried in the abbey. 
 This ftory feems altogether doubtful, and 
 the latter part of it is certainly falfe, for Henry 
 IV. it is well known, died at Liege in 1106, 
 and was magnificently interred in the Cathe¬ 
 dral of that city. 
 
 Chefter has been often admired by ftran- 
 gers on account of the Angular ftru&ure of 
 
 it’s principal ftreets. Thefe have been ex- 
 
 » v \ 
 
 * Gibfon’s edit, 558. 
 
 cavated 
 
12 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 cavated to the depth of about eight feet 
 out of the earth. On a level with them 
 are low (hops and warehoufes; whilft above 
 and on a level with the kitchens and courts 
 yards are galleries, or Rows as they are 
 called, running along the fronts of the 
 houfes, and affording a covered walk for 
 foot paifengers.* Over thefe are the higher 
 ftories of the houfes. Thefe rows are dis¬ 
 agreeably clofe and often very dirty ; and 
 a perfon is under the neceffity of afcending 
 apd aefcending wherever a lane crolfes the 
 ftreet. The four large ftreets are for the 
 moft part of a good breadth, but upon the 
 
 * Thefe rows appear to have been the fame with 
 the antient vejiibules , and to have been a form of 
 building preferved from the time that the city was 
 poflefled by the Romans. They were built before 
 the doors, midway between the ftreets and the 
 houfes ; and were the places where dependants 
 waited for the coming out of their patrons. Pen¬ 
 nant’s Tour, I. 113. 
 
 whole 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 13 
 
 whole this city is rather venerable and lin¬ 
 gular than elegant. 
 
 The Cathedral is a large, irregular and 
 heavy pile of building, at prefent become 
 ragged from the decay of it’s mouldering 
 ftone. It was built on the fide of a nunnery 
 founded about the year 660, by Wolferus 
 King of Mercia, in favor of his daughter 
 Werburgh, afterwards fainted, to whom 
 it is dedicated. The chief part of the pre¬ 
 fent building was eredled in the reigns of 
 Henry VI. VII. VIII. but principally in 
 thofe of the two lafh The revenues of the 
 Abbey at the diflolution were according to 
 Dugdale valued at £ 1003. 5^. 11 d. and 
 according to Speed at £1073. lys. jd. 
 
 The choir is very neat, and the gothic 
 tabernacle-work over the flails is carved in 
 a light and elegant manner. About the 
 walls in the chancel are difperfed the mo¬ 
 numents of feveral biihops and churchmen, 
 but none of them of any magnificence. 
 
 The 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 1* 
 
 The Bifhop’s throne Hands on a ftone 
 bafe richly ornamented with gothic carving. 
 Around it’s upper parts is a range of fmall 
 images defigned to reprefent the kings and 
 faints of the Mercian kingdom. This bafe 
 is generally called the fhrine of St. Wer- 
 burgh, but it is in fa£t nothing more than 
 the pedeflal on which it flood. The fhrine 
 itfelf, in which were depofited the facred 
 reliques, mufl have been fmall and portable, 
 and probably made of gold or filver; for in 
 
 i 
 
 1180, we read, that it was brought out to 
 flop the raging of a fire in the city, which 
 for a long time was invincible by every 
 other means; but the approach of the holy 
 remains inflantly proved their fandlity by 
 putting an end to its furious devaflation. 
 
 Chefler was antiently part of the diocefe 
 
 t 
 
 of Litchfield, one of whofe biflhops remov¬ 
 ing the feat of his fee hither in 1075, was 
 the occafion of his fucceffors being fre¬ 
 quently fliled Bi/hops of Chefler . But it 
 
 was 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 15 
 
 was not ere&ed into a diflindt bifhopric till 
 the general diffolution of monafteries, when 
 Henry VIII* in 1541 raifed it to that dig¬ 
 nity ; adding the bifhopric to the province 
 of Canterbury but foon afterwards he 
 
 1 
 
 disjoined it from Canterbury, and annexed 
 it to the province of York, in which it ftill 
 remains. This diocefe contains the entire 
 counties of Chefter and Lancafter, part of 
 the counties of Weftmorland, Cumberland, 
 and Yorkshire, two chapelries in Derby- 
 fhire $ and five parifhes in Flintshire, 
 amounting in all to’two hundred and fifty- 
 fix parifhes, of which a hundred and one are 
 impropriations* The Bifhopric is valued 
 in the King’s books at £420. is. 8 d. and 
 is computed to be worth annually about 
 £?,joo. To this Cathedral belong a Dean, 
 two archdeacons, a chancellor, a treafurer, 
 fix prebendaries and other inferior officers. 
 
 * Gibf. Camd. 558. 
 
 \ — 
 
 The 
 
16 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 The Bifhop’s palace is a neat plain ftruCturc, 
 forming one fide of the Abbey court, two 
 others of which confift of handfome mo¬ 
 dern-built houfes. 
 
 Befides St. John's, which was once col¬ 
 legiate, and has been a large and magnifi¬ 
 cent pile of Saxon architecture, founded by 
 
 Ethelred King of Mercia about 680, there 
 
 * 
 
 are no churches in this place which can 
 boaft any thing extraordinary. Within this 
 are fome very curious fpecimens of the 
 mafiy ftrength of the Saxon columns and 
 arches* 
 
 The caftle is fituated above the river at 
 the fouth end of the town; though much 
 dilapidated, ftill affords fome appearance of 
 a fortrefs. It confifts of an upper and 
 lower ward, the entrance to each protected 
 by gates and round towers, and formerly 
 alfo by a ditch and drawbridges. Within 
 
 the caftle are the county gaol and the 
 
 . • 
 
 courts of Juftice. The latter have been 
 
 taken 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 17 
 
 taken down, and a new gaol, (hire-hall, &c. 
 eredted upon a much-improved and exten- 
 flve plan. The caftle has a governor, 
 lieutenant-governor and conftable, and is 
 garrifoned by two companies of invalids. 
 
 The walls round this city are almoft the 
 only entire fpecimen of antient fortification 
 now exifting in Great Britain. Their cir¬ 
 cuit is nearly two miles, and they are 
 fufficiently broad on the top to admit of 
 two perfons walking abreaft. Thefe are 
 at prefent kept in repair by the inhabitants 
 merely for the purpofes of pleafure and re¬ 
 creation. In commanding an extent and 
 variety of profpedt they can fcarcely be 
 exceeded. From hence the Welfh moun¬ 
 tains, the hills of Broxton, the infulated 
 rock of Beefton crowned with it's caftle, 
 the rich intervening flat, and the perpe¬ 
 tually changing objects on the river com- 
 pofe, in different parts, fcenes extremely 
 pleafing. 
 
 vol. 1* C " The 
 
 1 ■. 
 
IS A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 The only manufacture of confequence in 
 Chefter is that of gloves, which is carried 
 on to fome extent. There are alfo a fmall 
 manufactory of tobacco pipes, an iron foun¬ 
 dry, fnuff mills, fhip builder’s yards, and 
 other concerns, which afford fome but not 
 much employment to the poor. 
 
 The maritime bufinefs is of no great ex¬ 
 tent. It chiefly conlifts of the coafting 
 and Irifh trades, with a fmall portion of 
 trade to foreign parts. The number of 
 fhips belonging to this port is but fmall. 
 The bufinefs of fhip-building is carried on 
 here continually and with advantage, many 
 veffels from ioo to 500 tons being built 
 annually. 
 
 Till the new channel was made for the 
 River Dee, which was finilhed about the 
 middle of the prefent century, veffels of 
 twenty tons could fcarcely reach the town, 
 and fhips of burthen were obliged to lie 
 under Newtown, ten miles lower; which 
 
 was 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 19 
 
 • I 
 
 - -- - - - - -• - - - .V ^ . 
 
 was the origin of that affemblage of houfes 
 on the adjacent fhore, called Park-Gate, 
 ftill the ftation of the Irifh packets. But 
 now the water is of depth fufficient to al¬ 
 low veffels of 350 tons burthen to come 
 up to the quays at fpring tides. This new 
 canal opens from the fea near Northop, 
 about ten miles above Chefter, and there 
 are two ferries acrofs it, which make a 
 communication with the oppofite county 
 of Wales. The river juft above the bridge 
 is crofted by a ftone caufeway, which 
 caufes a fall of thirteen feet, and cuts off 
 conftant communication by veffels between 
 the upper part of the river and the lower. 
 There are however fix or eight tides that 
 flow over the caufeway, and fome reach 
 upwards of twenty miles up the country, 
 which allows a navigation for fmall barges 
 as far as Bangor, in Flintfhire. The caufe¬ 
 way ferves as a dam for the purpofe of 
 turning mills. The fnuff mills are fituated 
 
 C a direftly 
 
20 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 directly upon it, and the town corn mills, 
 which are reckoned very complete in their 
 conrtru&ion, are clofe to the bridge, one 
 arch of which conveys a ftream to their 
 ufe. 
 
 The government of this city is verted in 
 a corporation, confifting of a mayor, re¬ 
 corder, two fheriflfs, twenty-four aldermen, 
 and forty common-councilmen j two of 
 whom are leave-lookers , whofe office it is 
 to inform of all perfons exerciiing trades 
 within the city without being freemen. 
 The two fenior officers are murengers, or 
 receivers of the murage duties for main¬ 
 taining the walls. Two are treafurers, 
 who are next in fucceflion to the mayor. 
 There are likewife a fword and mace 
 bearer, and other inferior officers. 
 
 The law courts of the city are the courts 
 of Crown-mote and Port-mote, and the 
 Sefiions, all held in the Exchange. In the 
 
 Port- 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 21 
 
 'Port-mote the mayor, affifted by the re¬ 
 corder, holds pleas to any amount. He alfo 
 holds the feffions of peace, in which cri¬ 
 minals are tried, with the power of paffing 
 fentence of death. There is another court, 
 held at the Pentice , an antient building at 
 the centre of the city, in which the fheriffs 
 are judges this is for civil caufes only. 
 The city Gaol is in the Northgate. In the 
 Exchange, which is a large handfome pile 
 of building, fupported on columns, the 
 
 body corporate hold their aflemblies for 
 
 ♦ 
 
 public bufinefs, and the elections of mayors 
 and other officers. Here likewife the 
 mayors give their entertainments, and the 
 citizens their dancing afiemblies. 
 
 The city returns two members to par¬ 
 liament, chofen by the freemen at large, 
 and the fheriff is the returning officer. 
 
 A fine meadow lying between the walls 
 and the river, called the Rood~eye> is ufed 
 
 C 3 as 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 as a common by the citizens, and alfo for a 
 race-ground ; for which purpofe it is ad¬ 
 mirably adapted, lying like an amphitheatre 
 immediately beneath the walls, and alfo 
 commanded by the high banks on the op- 
 pofite fide of the river. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
 i 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 23 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 FROM CHESTER TO FLINT,-HAWARDEN AND 
 
 CASTLE—EULOE CASTLE—DEFEAT OF HENRY 1L 
 —NORTHOP—FLINT—CASTLE AND GAOL. 
 
 JT^EAVING Chefter, I proceeded on 
 my journey towards Holywell. Ha~ 
 warden,* the firft place that I arrived at, 
 is a finall clean-looking market town inj- 
 
 Flint£hire. 
 
 * The Saxons called this p^ace Haordine. The 
 Britifh name for it is Pennard Halawg , corrupted 
 probably from Pen y Llwch y or the head land above 
 the lake ; Saltney and the other fubjacent marfhes 
 having been once covered by the fea.—Pennant’s 
 Tour in Wales, 1784. I. 92. 
 
 t The County of Flint is the fmalleft of the 
 Welfh counties, being only about thirty miles long, 
 
 C 4 ten 
 
24 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Flintshire. In the place itfelf I obferved 
 nothing deferving attention ; the Surround¬ 
 ing country is pleafant, and the caftle, 
 which Stands at the eafl end of the town, 
 commands a fine and extenfive profpedt 
 towards the River Dee and the County 
 of Chefter. 
 
 This building, which at preSent confifts 
 of little more than fragments of the walls 
 and keep, is Situated in the grounds of Sir 
 Stephen Glynne Bart. It has been an ex¬ 
 tenfive building of much Strength, Situated 
 on a confiderable eminence and Surrounded 
 by a double ditch. 
 
 ten broad, and feventy in circumference. It con¬ 
 tains near 160,000 acres of land, and 32,400 inha¬ 
 bitants ; is divided into five cantreds or hundreds, 
 and contains twenty-eight parifhes. It has one 
 city, and four market towns. There is a hundred 
 
 about ten miles in length and fix in breadth belong- 
 
 • , 
 
 ing to this county, fituated between thofe of Den¬ 
 bigh and Salop. 
 
 The 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 25 
 
 The late Sir John Glynne took great 
 pains in having the rubbilli removed from 
 the ruins ; and in one place was difcovered 
 a long flight of fteps, at the bottom of 
 which was a door and formerly a draw¬ 
 bridge, which crofled a deep long chafm 
 (nicely faced with free-ftone) to another 
 door leading to two or three finall rooms* 
 probably places of confinement, where pri- 
 foners might be lodged with the utmoft 
 fecurity, after pulling up the bridge over 
 the chafm that intervened between them 
 and the open day,* 
 
 The circular keep, which is more ele¬ 
 vated and perfedt than the other parts of 
 the building, has, within thefe few years* 
 had a room fitted up in it, in the mo¬ 
 dern fitile. This addition, however, and 
 the painted ftatues, interfperfed in the 
 
 * Pennant’s Tour in Wales, Vol. I. 104^ 
 
 grounds* 
 
2* A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 grounds, but ill accord with the wild and 
 ihattered ruins around them. 
 
 The time of the foundation of this caftle 
 is not known. It appears to have been 
 poflefled, foon after the Norman conqueft, 
 by Roger Fitzvalerine, fon of one of the 
 noble adventurers who followed the for¬ 
 tunes of William the Conqueror.* It was 
 held by the fenefchalfliip to the Earls of 
 Chefter, and was afterwards the feat of the 
 barons of Mont Alt or De Monte Alto, 
 who were ftewards of the Palatinate of 
 
 ... - t . 4 > . « ' : ...... « 
 
 Chefter. ■'f 
 
 On the extinction of the antient earls, 
 this and other fortrefles belonging to them 
 were refumed by the crown.J In 1265 a 
 peace between Wales and Chefhire was 
 eftablifhed here in a conference between 
 
 * Collins’s Peerage, I. 48. 
 
 t Gough’s Camb. II. 588. 
 
 Pennant’s Tour, I. 94. 
 
 T 
 
 Simon 
 
 1 ' 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 27 
 
 •r— - .. — I — —■ I . ; urn .1.. — ■— ■*—■ ■ 
 
 Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicefter, and 
 Llewelyn, Prince of Wales and it was 
 in the year following that Montfort obliged 
 his captive monarch, Plenry III. to make 
 an abfolute ceffion to the prince, not only 
 of this fortrefs, but of the fovereignty of 
 all Wales.-f 8 Very foon after this time it 
 mud have been deftroyed for I find that 
 Llewelyn, in 1267, reftored to Robert de 
 Monthalt the whole of his lands at Hawar- 
 den, at the fame time reft raining him from 
 building a caftle there for thirty years.J 
 It feems however to have been rebuilt 
 fometime before the expiration of this 
 period ; for in the night of Palm Sun¬ 
 day, the 22d of March, 1281, David, 
 Lord of Denbigh, brother to Llewelyn, 
 
 * Carte's Hiftory of England, II. 151. He 
 quotes Annales Cejirenfes. 
 
 t Rymer’s Foedera, I. 814. Carte’s Hiflory of 
 England, II. 156. Pennant's Tour, I. 95. 
 
 t Rymer’s Foedera, I. 845. 
 
 having 
 
23 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 having forgotten the favours which had 
 been fo lavifhly conferred upon him by 
 Edward I. after his reconciliation with that 
 prince, furprized and took this caftle, and 
 in it Roger de Clifford, Jufticiary of Chef- 
 ter, cruelly maffacring all who relifted .* 
 This and other things, committed by 
 thefe two princes, were the caufe of a war, 
 which at laft ended in the total fubjedtion 
 of North Wales to the Englifh. The un¬ 
 grateful David, after the death of Llewelyn, 
 being taken by the king, fuffered for his 
 offences in a fevere and moft exemplary 
 manner; his fentence was, to be drawn by 
 a horfe to the place of execution, as a trai¬ 
 tor to the king, from whom he had re- 
 
 * Matt. Weftm. 370. Hen. de Knyghton apud 
 Hiftorice Anglicame Scrptores, X. Lib. III. p. 2464. 
 Powers Hiftory of Wales, 337. Holinfhed’s Chro¬ 
 nicle, II. 280. Stow’s Annals, 200. M. Weftm. 
 and Hen. Knyghton place this infurre&ion in the 
 enfuing year. 
 
 ceived 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 29 
 
 ceived the honour of knighthood to be 
 hanged for the murder of Fulk Trigald and 
 others in this caftle ; for his facrilege in 
 committing thofe murders on a Palm Sun¬ 
 day his bowels were to be burnt; and 
 finally his body was to be quartered and 
 expofed in different parts of the kingdom, 
 becaufe he had in different parts confpired 
 againft the life of the king.* 
 
 This caftle feems to have continued in 
 the barons of Monthalt till 1327, when 
 Robert, the laft baron, having no iffue 
 male, made it over to Ifabella, queen of 
 
 * O mors mifera proditoris, ad caudas equorum 
 per municipium Salopian fuit tractus, dein fufpenfus, 
 poftea decollatus, poftmodum truncus corporis in 
 quatuor partes fuit divifus en finaliter cor ejus cum 
 inteftinis fuit combuftum, caput Londin. porta- 
 batur, quod fuper turrem Londinenfem erigebatur 
 -fuper palum, e regione capitis fratris fui. Quatuor 
 partes corporis ipfius acephali ad Briftoliam, North¬ 
 ampton, Ebor. Winton. Mittebantur. Matt. Weft. 
 
 371. See alfo Carte’s Hiftory of England, II. 195. 
 
 Edward 
 
30 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Edward II. but on her difgrace it fell to 
 the crown.* 
 
 In 1336* Edward III. granted it, along 
 with the ftewardfhip of Chefter, to Wil¬ 
 liam de Montacute Earl of SalifburyjJ- in 
 whofe family it continued till the year 1400, 
 when his great nephew, John Earl of Sa¬ 
 lisbury, was beheaded by the townfmen of 
 Cirencefter, after attempting an infurrec- 
 tion in favour of his depofed mafter, Ri¬ 
 chard II. Salifbury had, prior to this 
 event, granted his eftates in fee to Thomas 
 
 t 
 
 Montague, Dean of Sarum, Lodowick de 
 Clifford, John Venour, and Richard Hert- 
 combe, and their heirs : but after his at¬ 
 tainder, by aft of parliament, in the 7th 
 Henry IV. they became forfeited to the 
 king. 
 
 * Gibf. Camd. 688. Dugdale’s Baronage, I. 527* 
 t Dugdale’s Baronage, I. 646. 
 
 In 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 31 
 
 In 1411 Hawarden was granted by pa¬ 
 tent from Henry IV. to his fecond fon, 
 Thomas Duke of Clarence 3 but in 1414, 
 the 2d of Henry V. Thomas, the fon of 
 John Earl of Salilbury, petitioned the par¬ 
 liament that the former fentence might be 
 annulled ; but upon his fuit being difmiff- 
 ed, Henry made to Clarence another grant, 
 
 in which he declared the former to be in¬ 
 valid.* 
 
 Clarence was flain at the battle of Baugy, 
 in 1420, and dying without iffue, Hawar¬ 
 den returned to Henry V. whofe fon, 
 Henry VI. in 1443, gave it to Sir Thomas 
 Stanley j-f* but about feven years afterwards 
 it was refumed and given, together with 
 Mold, to Edward Prince of Wales. On 
 this occafion John Hertcombe claimed 
 Hawarden as heir to the laft lurvivor of 
 
 * Pennant’s Tour, I, 97. 
 
 t Gibf, Camd. 688. 
 
 the 
 
32 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALKS. 
 
 the four feoffees, he alledging that John 
 Earl of Salifbury was not polleffed of it 
 at the time of his forfeiture, and on this 
 plea obtained a privy feal to enquire into 
 it. An inquifition was taken, his plea was 
 found good, and reftitution was made.— 
 This John Hertcombe conveyed it to the 
 ufe of John Needham and his heirs. 
 
 In 1454 a fine was levied to Richard 
 Neville, Earl of Salifbury, and Alice his 
 wife, (daughter to Thomas Montacute, the 
 great Earl of Salifbury) and Sir Thomas, 
 afterwards Lord Stanley, to the ufe of Sir 
 Thomas Stanley and his heirs male, on 
 condition that if he fliould fell the eftate, 
 fuffered difcontinuance, or died without 
 iffue male, it fliould revert to the Earl of 
 Salifbury or the heirs of Alice his wife. 
 On the death of Lord Stanley the fee de¬ 
 fended to his fon Thomas, afterwards 
 Earl of Derby, and after his deceafe to his 
 fecond wife, Margaret Countefs of Rich¬ 
 mond, 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 33 
 
 mond, the mother of Henry VII. On the 
 death of Margaret, Hawarden defcended to 
 Thomas Earl of Derby, grandfon to the 
 late earl, and continued in his family till 
 the execution of the gallant James Earl of 
 Derby, in 1651 ; foon after whofe death it 
 
 1 
 
 was purchafed from the agents of fequef- 
 tration by Serjeant Glynne.* 
 
 On the reftoration the lords made an 
 order, on the 17th July, 1660, that the 
 eftates of the Earl of Derby, and feverai 
 other noblemen, which had, in the late 
 ufurpation, been fold without their con- 
 fents, fhould be re-poffeffed by them with¬ 
 out moleftation. This induced Glynne to 
 make an offer to the earl of the furrender 
 of Hawarden for a leafe of three lives. 
 The propofal however w T as either rejected 
 or not immediately accepted, the confe- 
 quence of which was the lofs of the whole 
 
 7 - 
 
 * Pennant’s Tour, I. 98, 
 
 VOL. I. D to 
 
34 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 to the Derby family. The lords, refentful 
 of the indignities their order had experi¬ 
 enced in the late troubles, began with an 
 attempt to obtain reparation to one of the 
 greatefl fufferers. In December, of the 
 fame year, they fent down to the commons 
 a private bill for reftoring to Charles Earl 
 of Derby all the manors, lands, &c. which 
 had belonged to his late father. This was 
 ftrongly oppofed, and the bill was laid afide, 
 without ever coming to a fecond reading. 
 The Earl was then glad to compound for 
 the property of this place, and granted it 
 to Serjeant Glynne and his heirs,* in one 
 of whom. Sir Stephen Glynne, it yet re¬ 
 mains. 
 
 In the civil wars of the laft century, this 
 caftle was early pofleffed by the parlia- 
 
 * Pennant's Tour, I. 99, who quotes Drake's 
 Parliamentary Hiftory, and an account communi¬ 
 cated to him by the late Sir John Glynne. 
 
 ment, 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 35 
 
 meat, being betrayed to them by the 
 governor •,* and was kept for their ufe 
 till the year 1643, when part of the Eng¬ 
 lish forces, who had been ferving againfl 
 the rebels in Ireland, upon the ceflation 
 there, came over to aflift the king in 
 England, and landed at Moftyn, a place 
 about fixteen miles diftant. Soon after 
 their arrival they made an attack on Ha- 
 warden Caftle, and being joined by fome 
 other forces <€ after a fortnight's fiege, and 
 €€ much ink,*!* but little blood fpilt, the 
 “ caftle, being in want of provifions, was 
 furrendered to Sir Michel Ernley, on con- 
 <c dition to march out with half arms and 
 “ two pair of colours, one flying and the 
 
 # Carte’s Life of the Duke of Ormond, II. 471. 
 
 III. 204. quoted by Mr. Pennant, I. 100. 
 
 t See the ridiculous letters which palled on both 
 tides, in Rufhworth’s Hiftorical Collections, part 
 
 IV. vol. II. p. 301. and Pennant’s Tour I. 101, 
 
 D 2 
 
 102 . 
 
 “ other 
 
36 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 “ other furled, and to have a convoy to 
 “ Wem or Nantwyche.'* 
 
 The royalifts retained it till after the 
 . furrender of Chefter in 1645, when on the 
 17th of Feb. O. S. it was vigoroully be- 
 fieged by the parliament’s forces under 
 General Mytton, and on the 16th of March 
 following was furrendered to them. 1 !* On 
 the 22d of December the parliament, on 
 account of fome diflurbances amongft their 
 foldiers in north Wales, ordered this and 
 four other caftles to be difmantled. J Thefe 
 orders extended only to the rendering of it 
 untenable 3 it’s farther deftrudtion was ef- 
 
 # Rufhworth’s Collections, part IV. vol. II. p. 
 3 CI * 
 
 t Rufhworth's Hiftorical Colle6tions, part IV. 
 vol. I. p. 21. Whitelock’s Memorials of Englifli 
 Affairs from the beginning of the reign of Cha. I. 
 to the reftoration of Cha. II. 192, 197. 
 
 $ Whitelock’s Memorials, 231. 
 
 fedted 
 
■’A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 37 
 
 • V 
 
 fe£ted by the owner. Sir William Glynne, 
 between the years 1665 and 1678.* 
 
 Having pafled a bridge a little beyond 
 the ninth mile-ftone from Chefter, I turned 
 on the right over fome meadows, in fearch 
 of a fmall fortrefs I had heard of, called 
 Euloe Caftle. It ftands about a quarter of 
 a mile from the road, and from it's fituation 
 on the edge of a glen, and furrounded by 
 wood, I had fome difficulty in finding it. 
 It has confided of two parts; the larger of 
 which has been an oblong tower rounded 
 at one end, and about fourteen yards long, 
 and ten or twelve in width, guarded on the 
 acceffible part by a ftrong wall. The other 
 part confifts of an oblong court, at the ex¬ 
 tremity of which are the remains of a circu¬ 
 lar tower. This fortrefs has been well de¬ 
 fended ; on one fide by a trench, and on the 
 Other by the deep valley that runs beneath it. 
 
 * Pennant's Tour, I. 103. 
 D 3 
 
 Leland 
 
5$ 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Leland * fays, that it was in his time 
 “ a ruinous caftelet or pile and he is 
 almoft the only writer in which I find it 
 mentioned. 
 
 It was in Coed Euloe, the wood adjoining 
 to this place, that Heny II. in an expedition 
 again ft Owen Gwynedd, prince of Wales, 
 received a moft fevere repulfe from his two 
 fons, David and Conan. The army of 
 Owen was encamped againft him, and 
 feemed determined to come to an engage- 
 
 # Leland’s Itinerary, V. 53. “ Hoele, a gen- 
 
 tilman of Flyntfhir, that by auncient accuftom 
 (C was wont to give the badge of the fylver harpe 
 il to the be ft harper of North Walys, as bv a pri- 
 <( vilege of his aunceftors, dwelleth at Penrine yn 
 <c Flyntfhir ; he hath alfo a ruinus caftelet or pile x 
 (< at a place caullid Caftell Yollo. This word 
 “ Yollo, is the fame in Walfche that Lleuelin ys 
 “ and Ludovicus in Latine. Yollo ifs two miles 
 “ from Northop Village, a little on the left hand, 
 in the highe way to Chefter,” 
 
 ment 5 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 39 
 
 ment; but this was done only as an artifice* 
 to draw the English into a narrow and 
 dangerous pals, between two ranges of hills, 
 where a numerous ambufcade was fecretly 
 placed under the command of his fons. 
 Henry, too confident in the flrength of his 
 army, and not relying fufficiently upon the 
 opinion of thofe who had a more perfedt 
 knowledge of the country than himfelf, fell 
 into the fnare, and paid dearly for his rafh- 
 nefs; for when he and his vanguard, follow¬ 
 ing the Welfh, who in a fham flight retiring 
 into the valley, were engaged in fight, ano¬ 
 ther party on a fudden rofe with mod horri¬ 
 ble outcries from under the cover of the woods 
 which hung over the fteep, and affaulted 
 them with ftones, arrows and other miffile 
 
 i 
 
 weapons; the difadvantage of the place, and 
 the confufion they were thrown into totally 
 difabled them from refifling this unexpected 
 attack; and they were routed with a dread¬ 
 ful daughter, the purfuit being continued 
 
 D 4 to 
 
40 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 / 
 
 to Henry's encampment at Saltney, a few 
 miles diftant.* 
 
 When I arrived at the village of Northop, 
 I turned on the right, out of the ufual road 
 from Chefter to Holywell, and went towards 
 Flint. About two miles from this place, 
 and from the flope of an hill, at the bottom 
 of which ftands the town, the fcenery open¬ 
 ed in a moft pleafing manner. It was high 
 water; and the Eftuary of the Dee, which 
 runs up towards Chefter, enlivened by the 
 veflels “ lightly floating on it's furface,” 
 the towns of Park-Gate, and fome others on 
 the oppofite fhore, appeared to peculiar ad¬ 
 vantage. At the ebb of the tide this wide 
 arm of the fea dwindles into a narrow 
 ftream, inclofed on each fide by long and 
 dreary banks of fand. 
 
 # Lyttleton's Hiftory of Henry II. vol. II. p. 72, 
 
 73 - 
 
 Flint 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 41 
 
 Flint * is a market town, fmall, irregu¬ 
 larly built, and by no means pleafant. It 
 has once been furrounded by a ditch and 
 ramparts, but thefe are now nearly de- 
 ftroyed. Being fituated near the' fea, it is 
 reforted to by a few from the neighbour¬ 
 ing country as a bathing place ; but the 
 marlhy coaft which extends to the edge of 
 the water, and over which the fea fre¬ 
 quently flows, mu ft render this extremely 
 difagreeable. The church, or rather cha¬ 
 pel, for it is nothing more than a chapel of 
 cafe to Northop, is a dirty, ill-looking 
 building, with a boarded turret. From this 
 place there are packets which fet fail every 
 tide for Chefter and Park-Gate, This is 
 
 * Mr. Pennant in his Tour, I. 43, conjectures that 
 this place was the fame with what was antiently called 
 Colful or Colefhill ; and the chapel to have been (before 
 it was rebuilt) that granted by David ap Lewelyn to 
 the Abbey of Bafingwerk, and called Capella de Col- 
 Jul. 
 
 V 
 
 from 
 
42 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 from thence a charming, and as far as it re¬ 
 lates to Park-Gate, certainly an expediti¬ 
 ous mode of travelling. 
 
 The caftle Hands upon a rock in the 
 marfh, and fo near the river that fometimes, 
 at high water, the walls are walked by the 
 tide.-f- It had a communication with the 
 town by a bridge, which led to the outwork, 
 
 i 
 
 called the Barbican, within which, in 1785, 
 the county goal was ere&ed, This build¬ 
 ing has been fquare, having a tower at each 
 corner, fome remains of every one of which 
 are yet left. The tower at the fouth-eaft 
 corner is much larger than the others, and 
 is called the double tower. It’s outward 
 diameter meafures forty feet ; it is formed 
 by two concentric walls, each fix feet thick, 
 having a gallery, eight feet broad, included 
 
 t The channel of the Dee is at prefent at fome dif- 
 tance, but it formerly flowed clofe under the walls. 
 There are Rill in fome parts rings to which fliips 
 were moored. Pennant, I. 45. 
 
 between 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 43 
 
 between them, and leaving a circular area 
 in the centre of about twenty feet in di~ 
 ameter, into which there was an entry from 
 the gallery by four doors. This appears to 
 have been the keep. The interior of the 
 caftle is a fquare court, whofe area meafures 
 about an acre. In the curtain, on the weft 
 fide, are feveral windows with pointed 
 arches. 
 
 The founder of this caftle has not yet 
 been afcertained with any degree of cer¬ 
 tainty. Camden * and Lord Lyttleton at¬ 
 tribute it to Henry II. after his defeat at 
 Coed Euloe, and fay that it was finilhed by 
 Edward I. whilft Jabian, Stow, and many 
 others, fay it was built by Edward only, 
 about the year 127 $,^ not mentioning any* 
 
 thing 
 
 * Gough’sCamd. II.588. Lyttletorrs Hiflory of 
 Henry II. 
 
 t Hen. de Knyghton de event. Anglias, 2462. Ho- 
 linfhed’s Chronicle, II. 279. Stow’s Annals, 200. 
 
 Leland 
 
44 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 thing of its being begun by Henry, though 
 they in the fame fentence, fay that Edward 
 ftrengthened Rhyddlan Caftle, which 
 plainly evinces that they diftinguifhed be¬ 
 tween building and repairing. 
 
 On Palm Sunday, 1281, the Welfh be¬ 
 ing wearied of their fubjedlion to the Eng- 
 lifh, and as a fignal of a general infur- 
 re&ion, feized this and other caftles, plun¬ 
 dering at the fame time all who refufed to 
 join their party.* Wherefore, in the year 
 following, Edward - repairing to Wales, 
 
 Leland fays <e Quia Lewelinus princeps Wallize ad 
 <£ parlamentum Eduardi regis venire noluerat, rex 
 ££ Walliam adiens caftellum de Flint de novo funda- 
 £< vity caflrum de Rudelan firmavity ubi Lewelinus 
 ££ fubdidit fe regi, dando pro tranfgreftione, L. M. 
 <£ libraruin.” Colle£tanea de rebus Britannicis, I. 
 246. 
 
 * Matt. Weft. 370. Hen. de Knyghton, 2464. 
 Powers Hiftory of Wales, 361. Stow’s Annals, 
 201. 
 
 after 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 45 
 
 after he had taken Caregurle Caftle, 
 marched to this place, upon which Lle¬ 
 welyn and his brother fled, leaving the 
 caftle undefended.* 
 
 In 1332, Edward III. granted this and 
 other caftles to the Black Prince, with all 
 his lands here to hold to him and his heirs 
 kings of England and in 13 85 it was 
 beftowed by Richard II. upon Robert 
 Vere, Earl of Oxford, who at the fame 
 time was created Lord Chief Juftice of 
 Chefter.J 
 
 It was furrendered in 1399 to the trea¬ 
 cherous Percy Earl of Northumberland§, 
 who fhortly afterwards betrayed into this 
 place the unfortunate Richard II. under 
 pretence that the Duke of Lancaster defired 
 
 * Carte’s Hiftory of England, II. 193. 
 t Pennant’s Tour, I. 47. 
 
 + Grofe’s Antiquities of England and Wales. 
 § Stow’s Annals, 321. 
 
 only 
 
46 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 only to have his property reftored, and to 
 give to the kingdom a parliament. Nor¬ 
 thumberland met the king at Conwy, where 
 he had gone after his return from Ireland, 
 and proceeding with him towards this place, 
 the King obferved a band of foldiers amongft 
 the receffes of the mountains near Penmaen 
 Rhos, and would have returned, but Percy 
 catching his horfe’s bridle forcibly, directed 
 his courfe. They dined at Rhyddlan, and 
 came the fame evening to Flint. The 
 morning following the King met Boling- 
 broke in the court of the caftle, who falut- 
 xng him, faid, that for the future he intend¬ 
 ed to affift him in the government of the 
 realm; “ which” continued he “ you have 
 for two and twenty years ruled to its preju¬ 
 dice.” The King with the Earl of Salis¬ 
 bury, the Bifliop of Carlifle, Sir Stephen 
 Scroope, and two others of his officers, were 
 then made to mount on horfes, which, fays 
 Stow, were not altogether worth forty {hil¬ 
 lings. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 iff 
 
 lings, and thus led to Chefter from whence 
 after a night’s reft they were fent to Lon- 
 don.* 
 
 From this time I meet with nothing re¬ 
 lative to Flint Caftle till the civil wars of 
 the reign of Charles I, when it was garri- 
 foned for the King, after having been re¬ 
 paired at the expence of Sir Roger Moftyn, 
 who was appointed Governor.-f* In 1643 
 it was befieged by Sir William Brereton and 
 Sir Thomas Middleton, and was defended 
 by the Governor till all the provifions, even 
 to horfes, failing, he furrendered it upon 
 honourable terms. It muft afterwards have 
 been taken by the royalifts, for in Auguft 
 1646, it appears to have been furrendered 
 to Major General Mytton, J and in Decem¬ 
 ber of the fame year, it was, with Hawar- 
 
 * Pennant’s Tour, I. 50. 
 
 t Carte’s Hiftory of England. Pennant’s Tour, 
 I. 47. 
 
 J Whitelock’s Memorials, 221. 
 
 den 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALE& 
 
 43 
 
 den and three other caftles, ordered by the 
 parliament to be difmantled.* 
 
 In the year 1283, Edward I. granted to 
 the town of Flint it’s firft charter, by which 
 it was made a free borough, and the Mayor 
 fworn faithfully to preferve it’s liberties. 
 This was confirmed in the reign of Philip 
 and Mary, and afterwards in the 12th of 
 William IILf 
 
 The aflizes for the county of Flint are 
 held at Mold* The county gaol, in the 
 Caftle-yard, is in a fine healthy fituation, and 
 built on a plan fimilar to that at Ruthin. 
 Over the door, at the front of this prifon, 
 on a black and white marble, is the follow¬ 
 ing Infcription, which informs us of the 
 benevolent pfirpofes for which it was built* 
 
 # Rufhworth’s Colle£tions, part IV. vol. I; 297. 
 Whitelock’s Memorials, 231. 
 
 + Pennant’s Tour I. 46. 
 
 In 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 49 
 
 In the 
 
 Twenty-fifth year of his Majefty Geo. III. 
 
 In the Sheriffalty of Sir Thomas Hanmer, Bart, this 
 
 prifon was erected 
 
 inftead of the antient loathfome place of confinement. 
 
 In pity 
 
 to the mifery of even the mod guilty, 
 
 To alleviate the fufferings of lefs offenders, or of 
 the innocent themfelves, 
 whom the chances 
 
 of human life may bring within thefe walls. 
 Done at the expence of the County, 
 aided by the fiibfcription of feveral of the Gentry ; 
 
 who, 
 
 in the midd of mod didrefsful days, 
 voluntarily took on themfelves part of the burthen, 
 in companion to fuch of their countrymen, 
 
 on whom 
 
 Fortune had been lefs bounteous of her favours. 
 Jofeph Turner, Architect. 
 
 In the infide, on a white marble, is a lift 
 of the names of the fubfcribers, with the 
 fums they gave; beginning with Sir Roger 
 Moftyn, Bart. £ 100 . 
 
 yoL. 1 . 
 
 E 
 
 This 
 
50 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALESu 
 
 This place, in conjunction with Caerwys, 
 Rhyddlan Caergurle and Overton, fends a 
 member to parliament. The election is 
 made by the inhabitants paying parochial 
 taxes, and the returning officers are the two 
 bailiffs appointed by the Mayor. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 51 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 HOLYWELL.-MANUFACTURES —WENEFRED’s 
 
 WELL AND LEGEND—MIRACLES — MOSSES — 
 REMARK OF DR. FULLER—DEVOTEES—BASING- 
 WERK ABBEY AND CASTLE—WAT’S DYKE. 
 
 ■v 
 
 r jpHE road betwixt Flint and Holywell 
 runs chiefly along the coaft. It lies 
 low, and is hemmed in on one fide by a 
 difmal falt-marfh, and on the other by hills, 
 which completely preclude every idea of a 
 diftant view of the country. I found it al¬ 
 together perfedlly uninterefting. About 
 half-way I paffed through a little hamlet, 
 where the begrimed and footy faces of it’s 
 inhabitants feemed to indicate their em¬ 
 ployment to be about fome of the many 
 
 E 2 lead 
 
52 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 —- -- — - - - - - ^- 
 
 lead works with which this neighbourhood 
 abounds. 
 
 Holywell is a place of by far the moft 
 importance in Flint£hire. The numerous 
 manufactures in it’s vicinity, and its eaiy 
 accefs to the fea, have rendered it the great 
 mart of this part of the kingdom. The 
 town is fpacious, but irregular; it is plea- 
 fantly fituated on the flope of a mountain, 
 which extends nearly to the water. Many 
 of the houfes are good, and it altogether 
 bears an air of opulence fcarcely to be met 
 with in any other town in North Wales. 
 An admirer of the works of art may, at 
 this place, find his tafte amply gratified by 
 viewing the numerous works of lead, cala¬ 
 mine, copper, brafs, and cotton. 
 
 The parifh church is fituated in a bot¬ 
 tom at one end of the town, and fo low 
 that the prayer-bell can be heard only to a 
 very little diftance. This defeCt is re¬ 
 medied in the following fingular manner— 
 
 a perfon. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 53 
 
 a perfon, hired by the inhabitants, has a 
 leathern ftrap fattened round his neck at 
 the end of which is fufpended a bell of a 
 tolerable weight, and over one of his knees 
 is buckled a cufhion; thus accoutred he 
 fets out juft before the hour of prayers, and 
 walks round the principal parts of the 
 town jingling the bell every time his cu- 
 fhioned knee comes forward. 
 
 Giraldus Cambrenfis fays, that there was 
 formerly near this place a rich mine of 
 filver.* 
 
 Wenefride’s Well, from which the name 
 of Holywxll was given to this place, fprings 
 with vaft impetuofity from a rock at the 
 foot of a fteep hill at the bottom of the 
 town. This well is covered by a fmall 
 Gothic building, faid to have been erected 
 by Margaret the mother of Henry VII. but 
 
 * Itinerarium Cambrix audtore Syl. Giraldo 
 Cambrenfe, Lib, II. Cap. X. p. 872. 
 
54 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 by the frieze (obferves Mr. Grofe*) of the 
 outfide cornice, which is ornamented with 
 monkeys and other grotefque figures, it 
 feems to be of more antient date. No¬ 
 thing can exceed the delicacy and elegance 
 of the Gothic work on the infide of this 
 building, which forms a canopy over the 
 well, having in the centre, and ferving as 
 origin to the Gothic arches, a circular 
 fhield on which is carved a coat of arms, 
 though not at prefent diflinguifhable. In a 
 nich, oppofite the entrance, flood once a 
 ftatue of the Virgin Mary, but this has 
 been long deftroyed. The chapel over it, 
 which is of the fame date as the other part 
 of the building, is now converted into a 
 charity fchool. The well is an oblong 
 fquare about twelve feet by feven. The 
 water pafles through an arch into a fmall 
 
 * Antiquities of England and Wales. 
 
55 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 fquare court ; under this arch the catholics 
 uied to fwim as an a 61 of penance. 
 
 The legendary ftory of the origin of this 
 well is lingular and curious. Wenefride* 
 (in Wellh Gwenvre-wi : Tudur Aled, a 
 Wellh Bard, who flourilhed about A. D„ 
 145c, has celebrated this Virgin and the re¬ 
 puted miracles of her well, in a poem Hill 
 extant), who is faid to have lived in the 
 early part of the feventh century, was a 
 beautiful and devout virgin, of noble paren¬ 
 tage. She was niece to St. Beuno, who, 
 having obtained from her father leave to 
 found a church upon his poffeffions here, 
 took her under his protedtion, in order to 
 affift her in her religious exercifes. Cra- 
 
 • ' 1 
 
 docus, the fon of King Alen, whole reli- 
 dence appears to have been not far diftant, 
 
 * The following account is taken principally 
 from Bifhop Fleetwood’s edition of the Life of St. 
 Wenefrede, 8vo. Lond. 1713* 
 
 E 4 
 
 admired 
 
56 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 admired the beauty of her perlon, and re- 
 folved to make an attempt upon her virtue. 
 It is faid that he made known to her his 
 paflion, on a Sunday morning, after her 
 parents were gone to church. She made 
 an excufe to efcape from the room, and 
 immediately fled towards the church; he 
 
 overtook her on the defcent of the hill, 
 
 * > 
 
 and, enraged at his difappointment, drew 
 his fword and ftruck off her head. The 
 head rolled down the hill to the altar, at 
 which the congregation were kneeling,* 
 and Hopping there, a clear and rapid foun¬ 
 tain immediately gufhed up. St. Beuno 
 fnatched up the head, and joining it to the 
 body, it was, to the furprize and admira- 
 
 * I have inferted this as I found it in the original, 
 ' though it does not appear, from any other author, 
 that the church, which Beuno founded, flood where 
 the well now is. I fhould rather think this mufl be 
 a miftake. 
 
 tion 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 57 
 
 tion of all prefent, immediately re-united, 
 the place of feparation being only marked 
 by a white line encircling her neck. Cra- 
 docus dropped down upon the fpot where 
 he had committed this atrocious a£t and 
 the legend informs us, that it is not known 
 whether the earth opened to receive his 
 impious corps, or whether his matter the 
 devil carried it away; but that it was cer¬ 
 tainly never feen afterwards. The iides of 
 the well were covered with a fweet fcented 
 rnofs, and the ftones at the bottom became 
 tinftured with her blood. Drayton, in his 
 Polyolbion*, fays 
 
 The livelefs tears fhee (lied into a fountaine turne. 
 And that for her alone the water ihould not mourne, 
 T he pure vermilion blond that iflued from hervaines 
 Unto this very day the pearly gravel Raines; 
 
 * Page 160. 
 
 As 
 
58 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 As erft the white and red were mixed in her cheeke. 
 And that one part of her might be the other like, 
 Her haire was turn’d to mode, whofe fweetnelTe doth 
 declare 
 
 In livelinefs of youth the natural fweets fhe bare. 
 
 Wenefride furvived her decollation about 
 fifteen years, and having, towards the latter 
 end of that time, received the veil from St. 
 Elerius, at Gwytherin, in Denbighffiire, 
 died Abbefs of that monaftry. There her 
 body refted in quiet for near 500 years, till 
 the reign of King Stephen, when a miracle 
 having been wrought, by her interceffion, 
 on a monk at Shrewlbury, the abbot of the 
 convent there determined on the tranflation 
 of her remains to their monaftry, which, 
 after much difficulty and many pretended 
 vifions from Heaven, was at laft effected, 
 about the year 1138. 
 
 The well, after her deceafe, became en¬ 
 dowed with many miraculous properties. 
 
 It 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 59 
 ——-*- . . ■ - - - --, 
 
 It healed the difeafes of all who plunged 
 into its water; and Drayton fays, that no 
 animal whatever could be drowned in it. 
 The following is one of the numerous mi¬ 
 racles recorded of its powerful influence.— 
 Some thieves one night dole a cow from a 
 padure not far from the well - y and that 
 no perfon might trace them by their foot- 
 deps, dragged her along fome neighbour¬ 
 ing rocks. But mark what followed to the 
 impious wretches not one dep was fet 
 without leaving a deep imprcffion in the 
 dories, as if they had been palling over foft 
 clay ; nay, even the learned Editor of the life 
 of St. Wenefrede fays, that the original de- 
 fcribes them as at every ftep finking up to 
 the knees , which, coniidering how hard 
 rocks in general are, muft have been truly 
 miraculous 1 The owner, by this means, 
 was enabled to retake his bead; and the 
 terrified robbers, corning penitently to the 
 altar, confefled their crime, and were, no 
 
 doubt. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 60 
 
 doubt, at the interceffion of the faint, for¬ 
 given. 
 
 The fweet-fcented mofs, growing plen¬ 
 tifully on the fides of this well, is nothing 
 more than Jungermannia afplenoides , fpleen- 
 wort hunger mannia. It is found in many 
 other fprings in the kingdom, and is alfo 
 occafionally to be met with by the road 
 tides, and in woods in moift places. The 
 fuppofed tincture of her blood upon the 
 ftones at the bottom, is alfo a vegetable 
 production ; ByJJus jolithus of Linnasus, vio- 
 let-fmc/ling Byjjits . Mr. Grofe, in his An¬ 
 tiquities, fays, that a gentleman, who was 
 educated in this town, informed him that 
 he remembered a perfon being employed 
 to paint the ftones againft the day of the 
 commemoration of the faint, which is ftill 
 obferved by the Roman Catholics on the 
 3d of November.* 
 
 * Grofe’s Antiquities, Vol. VII. p. 37. 
 
 Dr. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 61 
 
 Dr. Powel * feems juftly to afcribe the 
 firft invention of this well to the monks of 
 Bafingwerk, an abbey about a mile diftant, 
 as it is not mentioned by any writer before 
 the foundation of that monaftry; even 
 Giraldus Cambrenfis, (a man ever ready to 
 relate any wonderful ftory) though he 
 lodged there a night, in his journey through 
 Wales, in 1187, does not once fpeak of it. 
 
 Of this invention Dr. Fuller^ fomewhat 
 curioufly remarks, that <c if the tip of his 
 “ tongue who firft told, and the top of his 
 “ fingers who firft wrote this damnable 
 “ lye, had been cut off, and they had both 
 “ been fent to attend their cure at the 
 * c fhrine of St. Beuno, certainly they would 
 “ have been more wary, afterwards, how 
 tfc they reported or recorded luch impro~ 
 “ bable untruths/* 
 
 t Powell Notes on Itin. Cambrias Syl. Ger. 
 Cambrenfe, Lib. II. Cap. X. p. 38. 
 
 * Fuller’s Worthies of Wales, p.38. 
 
 The 
 
62 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 The Devotees of the faint were formerly 
 very numerous, and the well was fo noted 
 that a crowned head of the laft age digni¬ 
 fied the place with a vifit, hut of late years 
 they have much fallen off ; however, if I 
 may judge from feven crutches and two 
 hand barrows (luck amongft the gothic or¬ 
 naments of the roof, I fhould fuppofe the 
 well was not yet entirely forfaken. Indeed 
 the fanative properties of this water, in com¬ 
 mon with thofe of cold baths in general, 
 are not to be difputed, but blindly to at¬ 
 tribute to the interceffion of a faint thofe 
 things which from the common courfe of 
 nature may be accounted for, feems only 
 worthy the ages of ignorance and fuperfti- 
 tion. 
 
 The quantity of water thrown up here is 
 really furprizing, this upon an accurate cal¬ 
 culation is found to be not lefs than eighty- 
 four hogjheads every minute. The well 
 has never been known to freeze, and 
 
 fcarcely 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 65 
 
 fcarcely ever varies in quantity, either in 
 droughts or after the greateft rains. Thefe 
 circumftances render it fo valuable in a 
 commercial view, that although it has but 
 little more than a mile to run before it ar¬ 
 rives at the fea, the ftream works no lefs 
 than fourteen mills, three of which are in 
 one part of it placed abreaft. 
 
 Proceeding along the road by the fide of 
 the ftream for about a mile, till I came to 
 the marfh, and then crofting it to the right, 
 I found myfelf within fight of Bafingwerk 
 Abbey, which ftands in a meadow on an 
 eminence juft above. Thefe fhattered time¬ 
 worn remains, with the furrounding fyca- 
 mores, are from fome points of view highly 
 pidturefque and beautiful. 
 
 The ivy now with rude luxuriance bends 
 
 It’s tangled foliage thro’ the cloifler’d fpace. 
 O’er the green windows mould’ring height afcends, 
 And fondly clafps it in a lad embrace. 
 
 The 
 
6* 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 The little now left is fcarcely fufficient 
 to indicate to us what this Abbey has for¬ 
 merly been. The church, which lay on the 
 eaft fide, is totally deftroyed. The refedtory 
 is pretty entire, and has on one fide a great 
 recefs, with two round arches, and a plain in 
 front. Above were the cells for the lodg¬ 
 ings of the monks, with a fmall window to 
 each.* The chapel of Knights Templers 
 
 founded here by Henry II. is fpacious and 
 
 * 
 
 elegant. The brick building, ftriped with 
 timber, which joins the abbey, and certainly 
 adds nothing to it’s beauty, is conjedtured, 
 by Mr. Grofe,*f- to have been the Granary. 
 
 The fituation is delightful, commanding 
 an extenfive profpedr of the river Dee, 
 Chefter, Park-Gate, and the Lancaftriaa 
 hills. 
 
 * Pennant’s Tour, I. 25. 
 
 t Antiquities of England and Wales. 
 
 The 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 65 
 
 The architecture of Bafingwerk is mixed, 
 being partly Saxon and partly Saracenic, or 
 what is generally called Gothic. The 
 round arches and fhort maiTy columns 
 fhewing the Saxon, and the narrow pointed 
 windows the Gothic parts. 
 
 Tanner * and Dugdale fuppofe this 
 abbey to have been founded about 1131 by 
 Ranulph Earl of Chefler, and to have been 
 afterwards confirmed by Henry II. and 
 Llewelyn Prince of North Wales: and Mr. 
 Pennant J conjectures it to be of a more an- 
 tient date, whilft many of the old writers 
 afcribe the original foundation to Henry 
 
 II-§ 
 
 The 
 
 # Notitia Monaflica. 
 
 t Monafticon Anglicanum, L 720. 
 
 J Pennant’s tour, I. 24. 
 
 § Stow’s Annals, 158. Leland’s Colledtanea, 
 I. ioi. According to Henry de Knyghton and 
 John Bromton, it was not founded till after 1150* 
 See Hen. de Knyghton de event. Anglia*, p, 2394, 
 
 VOL. 1. ,• F arid 
 
66 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 The value of it’s revenues in the 26th of 
 Henry VIII. was according to Dugdale 
 /T50. js. 3 d. and according to Speed 
 
 £ i 57 * l 5 s - 2 d. 
 
 Not far from hence flood formerly a 
 ftrong fort, called Bafirigwerk Caftle, built, 
 as Lord Lyttleton fuppofes, by one of the 
 Earls of Chefter.* In 1157, Henry II. 
 after his efcape at Euloe rebuilt this caftle, 
 which, in a former reign, had been demo- 
 lifhed, having firft cleared the pafles and 
 cut down the woods around it, which at 
 that time were impenetrable forefts.-f* This 
 
 and Chron. Joh. Bromton, p. 1048. Powel in his 
 notes on Gir. Camb. It. Camb. lib. II. c. X. 837, 
 
 and Bifhop Gibfon, in his additions to Camd. Flint- 
 
 * 
 
 fhire, agree in its being founded fo late as 1312. 
 
 * Lyttleton’s Hiftory of Henry II. vol. II. p. 72. 
 t Matt. Paris, edit. 1684. p. 81. M. S. chro¬ 
 nicle from Brutus to the end of the reign of Edward 
 IV. in the Library of St. Peter’s College, Cam¬ 
 bridge. 
 
 fortrefs 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 67 
 
 fortrefs was found to be a difagreeable check 
 upon the Welfh, therefore in 1165 Owen 
 Gwynedd, after many unfuccefsful attempts 
 at laft took it by ftorm, and immediately le¬ 
 velled it with the ground.* From this 
 time I have feen nothing more of it as a 
 fortrefs. 
 
 The great dike and fofs, called Wat’s 
 Dike, which begins at Maeibury near Of- 
 weftry, and pafles by Ofweftry through 
 Sir Watkin Williams Wynne’s grounds at 
 Wynnftay, i\ear Wrexham, Hope and 
 Northop, had it’s termination in the Dee 
 near this place. Churchyard the poet is 
 almoft the only writer who has not con¬ 
 founded this with Qffa’s Dike. He afligns 
 
 Mt 
 
 as the objedt of the work that the fpace 
 between the two was to be free ground, 
 where the Britons and Saxons might meet 
 with fafety for all commercial purpofes. 
 
 * 
 
 Powel’s Hiftory of Wales, 223. 
 
 F 2 There 
 
68 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 There is a famous thing ; 
 
 Cal’de Offia’s dyke, that reacheth farre in length. 
 All kind of ware the Danes might thither bring, 
 
 It was free ground and cal’de the Britaine’s ftrength. 
 Wat’s dyke likewife, about the fame was fet, 
 Betweene which two, the Danes and Britaine’s met 
 And traffic (till, but palling bounds by Height, 
 
 The one did take the other pris’ner (Height.* 
 
 * Churchyard’s Wcrthines of Wales, Edit. 1776. p. 104-. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 69 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 FROM HOLYWELL TO ST. ASAPH.-- ROMAN 
 
 PHAROS—VALE OF CLWYD—ST. ASAPH—CATHE¬ 
 DRAL—MIRACLE — MORTUARIES—EXCURSION 
 TO RHYDDLAN—BATTLE AT MORFA RHYDDLAN 
 —CASTLE—A SIEGE ODDLY RAISED—STATUTE 
 OF RHYDDLAN —ABBEY —DISERTH VILLAGE 
 AND CASTLE—ANECDOTE OF SIR ROBERT POUN- 
 
 DERLING. 
 
 r JP'KE road from Holywell to St. Afaph 
 is rugged, but pleafant. This coun¬ 
 try abounds in lead mines, and I paiTed 
 
 i 
 
 fome very coniiderable ones about a mile 
 from Holywell. I foon after got a fight of 
 an antient circular building, in form not 
 much unlike a windmill, which ftands on 
 the fummit of a hill, in the parifh of Whit- 
 
 F 3 ford, 
 
70 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 ford, betwixt the road and the fea. This 
 Mr. Pennant,* begging his friends would 
 not deem him an Antiquarian Quixote for 
 fo doing, conjedtures to have been a Roman 
 Jight-houfe, conftrudled to diredt the navi¬ 
 gators to and from Deva along the difficult 
 channel of Seteia Portus .-f* 
 
 About two miles from St. Afaph, I en¬ 
 tered the celebrated vale of Clwyd, and, 
 favoured by a morning ferenely bright, the 
 whole fcene from the fide of the hill ap¬ 
 peared to the greatefl advantage. Towards 
 the fouth flood Denbigh, with the (batter¬ 
 ed remains of its caflle crowning the fum- 
 mit of a rocky deep in the middle of the 
 vale and on the north, clad in its fober 
 hue, I obferved the caflle of Rhyddlan. 
 The intervening fpace was enlivened with 
 meadows, woods, cottages, herds, and 
 
 * Pennant’s Tour, VoL II. p. i. 
 t The Eftuary of the Dee. 
 
 flocks 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 71 
 
 flocks fcattered in every pleafing direction, 
 whilfl; the whole was bounded by the fea 
 and the dark retiring mountains. This, 
 from the great extent of the picture, is not 
 a fcene fitted for the pencil, though its 
 
 numerous beauties cannot fail in attracting 
 
 \ 
 
 the attention of every lover of nature. 
 When we enter a rugged mountainous 
 fcene, where the fhelving fides fcarcely 
 afford foil for vegetation, and where the 
 whole character is that of favage grandeur, 
 we are ftruck with aftonifhment and awe ; 
 but, when nature prefents us with a fcene 
 like this, which feems to abound with 
 health, fertility, and happinefs, every nerve 
 vibrates to the heart the pleafure we re¬ 
 ceive. Here the pencil fails. 
 
 I admire— 
 
 None more admires—the painter’s magic {kill, 
 Who fhows me that which I fhall never fee, 
 Conveys a diftant country into mine 3 
 
 F 4 
 
 And 
 
72 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALLS. 
 
 f 1 r i ■ .. . ■ ' . . .. . - 
 
 And throws Italian light on Englifh walls: 
 
 But imitative ftrokes can do no more 
 
 Than pleafe the eye—fweet Nature ev’ry fenfe. 
 
 The air falubrious of her lofty hills, 
 
 The cheering fragrance of her dewy vales. 
 
 And mufic of her woods—no works of man 
 May rival thefe; they all befpeak a pow’r 
 Peculiar, and exclufively her own. 
 
 After enjoying this fcene for fome’time, 
 I defcended into the vale, crofled the bridge 
 over the little river Clwyd, and foon after 
 came to St. Afaph, or, as it is called by the 
 Welfh, Llan Elwy, the Church of Elwy , 
 a name obtained from its lituation on the 
 bank of the River Elwy, which runs along 
 the weft fide of the town. It conlifts of 
 
 little more than a lingle ftreet, pretty re- 
 
 ♦ 
 
 gularly built, up the fide of a hill. It has 
 a cathedral and parifh church; and, as a 
 city, is, except one or two, the fmalleft in 
 the kingdom. The cathedral, though 
 fmall, is plain and neat. The epifcopal 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 73 
 
 palace is a large and convenient building, 
 and the deanry ftands due weft from the 
 cathedral, on the oppofite fide of the Elwy, 
 which' runs under the bifhop’s garden. 
 
 Kentigern, Bifhop of Glafgow, being 
 driven from Scotland by the perfecutions of 
 one of the princes of that nation, fled for 
 fafety into Wales. He was here patron¬ 
 ized by Cadwallon, uncle to Maelgwn 
 Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, who 
 gave him this place for a refidence, where 
 he founded an epifcopal feat and monaftry, 
 about the year 560, and became himfelf 
 the firft biftiop.* Being, fometime after¬ 
 wards, recalled into Scotland, he nominated 
 
 * Tanner’s Notitia Monaftica. Carte’s Hiflory 
 of England, I. 211, 212. Speed fays Kentigern 
 founded the monaflry, but that Malgo (Maelgwn 
 Gwynedd) made it into an Epifcopal See. See his 
 Cat. of Religious Houfes . 
 
 Afaph, 
 
74 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Afaph, or HafTaph, an eminently good and 
 
 pious man, to be his fucceffor. From this 
 
 % 
 
 perfon both the church and place received 
 their names; he died in 596, and was 
 buried in the cathedral.* 
 
 In the Norman times, and efpecially 
 about the reign of Henry I. there was l'o 
 
 great a devaluation of this part of the coun-r 
 
 • * » 
 
 try that no Bifhop could dwell here ; •j- from 
 this circumftance it is no wonder that Hen¬ 
 ry of Huntingdon,J in that part of his 
 hiftory which ends at the year 1135, fays 
 of Wales, that there remained in it three 
 bifhoprics, one at St. David’s, another at 
 Bangor, and a third at Glamorgan, not 
 mentioning this. Even—— Galfrid Arthur, 
 
 i f 
 
 * . 
 
 <s 
 
 * Tanner’s Notitia. 
 
 i Stubbs de Pont. Ebor. p. 1718. Quoted in Col-* 
 le&anea Curiofa, by John Gutch, I. 262. 
 
 X Hi-ft. Henrici Huntingd. apud Camdeni Script, 
 
 ^ » 
 
 poll Bedairu 
 
 or. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 7$ 
 
 or, as he is more commonly called, 
 Jeffry of Monmouth, who, in 1138, tranff 
 
 1 
 
 lated into Latin Tyfilio’s Hiftory of Britain, 
 written fometime in the feventh century, 
 bringing it down to his own time, does not 
 fpeak of it.* 
 
 It feems, however, to have been repaired 
 about this period, for in 1143, I find a 
 
 1 
 
 Bifhop Gilbert confecrated to this fee. 
 Jeffry himfelf was fucceffor to Gilbert, 
 being made Bifhop on 23d of February, 
 115°.+ 
 
 About the year 1247, this diocefe, with 
 that of Bangor, was entirely deftroyed in 
 the wars between Henry III. and the 
 Welfh, and the Bifhops were obliged to 
 live for fome time upon charitable dona¬ 
 tions.$ In 1282 the cathedral was burned 
 
 * Collectanea Curiofa, I. 262. 
 t Matt. Weft, p. 41. % Matt, Paris, 642. 
 
 f l * i * ' 
 
 down* 
 
76 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 down, and in about two years afterwards 
 was rebuilt.* But before this took place, 
 Edward I. at the requeft of Bifnop Anian, 
 petitioned the pope to permit the fee to be 
 removed to Rhyddlan, which he reprefent- 
 ed as a place well fortified, alledging the 
 infecurity of its prefent fituation, as being 
 open to all the infults of the Welih people; 
 at the fame time offering both ground for 
 the church and a thoufand marks towards 
 the expences of building it.^ This de- 
 fign was fruftrated, either by the death of 
 the pope, or the exhortation of the arch- 
 bifhop of Canterbury to rebuild the cathe¬ 
 dral on its antient fite. The roof and up¬ 
 per parts, with the hilltop’s palace and 
 canons houfes, were again deflroyed by 
 Owen Glyndwr in 1404, and they remain- 
 
 * Willis’s Survey of the Cathedral of St. Afaph, 
 45 - 
 
 t Rymer’s Foedera, II. 45, 
 
 ed 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 77 
 
 ed in ruins for upwards of feventy years, 
 when they were rebuilt by Biffiop Red¬ 
 man.* 
 
 During the protedtorfhip of Oliver Crom¬ 
 well, the poft road lying through this place, 
 the palace and cathedral were much in¬ 
 jured by the poft-mafter, who had his 
 office in the former, and made great havoc 
 in the choir of the cathedral, ufing the 
 font as a trough for watering his horfes, 
 and, by way of venting his fpleen upon the 
 clergy, tying up calves in the Bifhop’s 
 throne.'I* 
 
 Mr. Grofe relates a curious miracle faid 
 to have been wrought at this place -He 
 fays that fometime ago a mark ufed to be 
 {hewn on a black ftone in the pavement of 
 the ftreet, about the middle of the hill be¬ 
 tween the two churches ; this, he was in- 
 
 * Tanner’s Notitia. 
 
 t Supplement to Grofe’s Antiquities. 
 
 formed, 
 
78 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 formed, was the print of St. Afaph’s horfe- 
 fhoe, when he jumped with him fromOnan- 
 Hafia, which is about two miles off ; 
 though this, Mr. G. obferves, feems rather 
 to have been a miracle performed by the 
 horfe than the faint, unlefs his keeping his 
 feat at fuch a leap may be deemed one. 
 What was the occafion of this extraordinary 
 jump is not faid; whether only to (hew 
 the agility of his horfe, or to efcape the 
 aflaults of the foul fiend, who, in thofe 
 days, took unaccountable liberties even with 
 
 t 
 
 faints.* 
 
 % 
 
 The Diocefe of St* Aiaph comprehends 
 nearly all Flint (hire, Denbighfhire, and 
 Montgomeryihire, befides three hundreds 
 in Merionethflfire, and a (mall part of 
 Shropfhire. The members of the chapter 
 are the dean, archdeacon, (who is the Bi- 
 fhop) fix prebendaries, and feven canons. 
 
 # Grofe’s Antiquities, Vol. VII. p. *43. 
 
 And 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 79 
 
 And belides thefe there are belonging to 
 the church four vicars choral, four lay 
 clerks or finging men, four chorifters, and 
 an organifl. At the dilfolution of mona- 
 Aries, in the 26th of Henry VIII. the 
 bifhopric was valued at JT 202. ioj*. 6 d. in 
 the whole, and £187. 1 is . 6 d. clear.* 
 
 There were formerly at St. Afaph fome 
 Angular mortuaries due to the Bifhop on 
 the deceafe of every beneficed clergyman 
 within his diocefe. 
 
 Imprimis . His bed; gelding, horfe, or 
 mare. 
 
 Item. His bed: gown. 
 
 Item . His belt cloak. 
 
 Item. His beft coat, jerkin, doublet and 
 breeches. 
 
 Item. His hofe or nether (lockings, 
 Ihoes, and garters. 
 
 Item. His waiAcoat, 
 
 * Tanner’s Notitia. 
 
 Item. 
 
80 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 Item . His hat and cap. 
 
 Item. His falchion. 
 
 His beft book. 
 
 Item. His furplice. 
 
 Item. His purfe and girdle. 
 
 Item. His knife and gloves. 
 
 Item . His fignet or ring of gold. 
 
 Thefe were, by the intereft of Biflhop 
 Fleetwood, fet afide by a£t of parliament, 
 and the living of Northop was annexed to 
 the bifhopric in their ftead.* 
 
 The tower of the cathedral commands a 
 mod extenfive profpedt of the' Vale of 
 
 i 
 
 Clwyd in every direction; and it is by far 
 the beft fituation I could meet with for 
 feeing it to advantage. The River Clwyd, 
 from which the vale takes its name, is a 
 diminutive little ftream, that meanders along 
 it, fcarcely three, yards over in the wideft 
 part. Its banks are low, and it is after 
 
 * Willis’s Survey, 280. 
 
 fudden 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 8i 
 
 fudden rains fubjedt to the moft dreadful 
 overflowings, the water, at thofe times, 
 frequently fweeping along with it even the 
 very foil of the land it pafles over. From 
 this circumftance it is that much of the 
 land near its banks is let at very low rents. 
 This vale is perhaps the moft extenfive in 
 the kingdom, being near twenty-four miles 
 in length and feven in breadth ; and though 
 it is impoflible to exhibit a richer or more 
 beautiful fcene of fertility, yet, from its 
 great width and its want of water, I believe 
 the painter will prefer to it many of the 
 deep glens and picfturefque vales of Caer¬ 
 narvonshire and Merionethshire. 
 
 From St. Afaph I wandered down the 
 vale towards the little village of Rhyddlan. 
 The country all the way was interefting. 
 At the diftance of about a mile I looked 
 back upon the little city I had left: its 
 Angle ftreet occupied the Hope of the hill, 
 at the top of which ftood the cathedral, 
 vol. t„ G and 
 
82 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 and the intermingled trees and houfes, with 
 the turbulent River Elwy flowing at the 
 bottom, under a majeftic bridge of five 
 
 i / 
 
 arches, altogether completed a very beau¬ 
 tiful fcene. 
 
 Rhyddlan * lies in a flat in the middle 
 of the Vale of Clwyd, and on the eaftern 
 bank of the river, about two miles from its 
 influx into the fea. This is here fo wide 
 as to permit fmall flat veflels, of about 
 
 twenty tons burthen, to ride up, at high 
 
 \ 
 
 water, as high as the bridge. Though 
 now a very infignificant village, Rhyddlan 
 has been once a place of great importance, 
 of which however no trace is left, except 
 
 # The etymology of this place is thus exprefled 
 by Leland, “ Reihelan, communely caullid Rudelan, 
 “ cummith of Rethe , that ys to fay, roone color , or 
 “ pale redde , and Gian , that is th qJ hore; but G, when 
 “ Gian is fet with a word preceding G, is exploded.” 
 
 Itin. V. 53. 
 
 the 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 83 
 
 the ruins of its caftle.^ In 1283 it was 
 made a free borough by Edward I. who 
 endowed it with many privileges in order 
 to encourage an intercourfe betwixt the 
 Welfh and the Englifli.-f* From a port, 
 about two miles from this place, where the 
 river difcharges itfelf into the fea, much 
 corn and timber are annually exported. 
 
 Below the town is a large marfh, called 
 Morfa Rhyddlan, the Marfh of Rbyddlan , 
 where, in 795, was fought a dreadful bat¬ 
 tle betwixt the Welfh, under their leader 
 Caradoc, and the Saxon forces under OfFa 
 King of Mercia. The Welfh were de¬ 
 feated, and their commander ilain; in ad¬ 
 dition to this fevere lofs the Saxon prince 
 cruelly ordered all the men and children. 
 
 * “ Non procul a mari Rudlanain Tegenia olim 
 (i magnus urbs, nunc exiguus vicus fituatur.” 
 
 Lhuyd Comment, Brit. 56. 
 
 t Carte, II. 196 
 
 G 2 
 
 who 
 
31 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALKS. 
 
 who unfortunately fell into his hands, to be 
 mafiacred in cold blood ; the women them- 
 felves fcarcely efcaping his fury.* 
 
 The memory of this tragical event has 
 been carried down to pofterity by a ballad, 
 fuppofed to have been compofed foon after 
 the battle, called Morfa Rhyddlan , the air of 
 which is mod tenderly plaintive.-f* 
 
 The caflle is of red ftone, nearly fquare, 
 and having fix towers, two at each of two 
 oppofite corners and only one at each of the 
 others. One of thefe was called Twr y 
 Brenin, the King s 'Tower . The whole was 
 furrounded by a double ditch on the north, 
 
 * Powel’s Hiftory of Wales, 20. Matt. Paris, 
 bita duorum offarum, 976. Warrington’s Hiftory of 
 Wales, p. 105. 
 
 t See this air amongft the fpecimens of Welfh 
 mufic in the fecond volume of this work. It is the 
 general opinion in Wales, that this air was compofed 
 thus early, but from its conftrudlion it appears to me 
 to be of a much later date. 
 
 and 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 85 
 
 and a ftrong wall and fofs all round. In 
 this wall is a tower, called Twry Silod, yet 
 (landing. The principal entrance was from 
 the north-weft, flanked by two round 
 towers. The two oppofite to thefe are 
 very much (hattered, but the remainder are 
 pretty entire. 
 
 This caftle, according to Powel and 
 Camden,* was built by Llewelyn ap 
 Sitfylt, who reigned in Wales from 1015 
 to 1020, and made this the place of his re- 
 fidence. But Dugdale and Carte -j- both 
 
 fay, that it was erected by Robert de Rhyd- 
 
 / 
 
 dlan, nephew and lieutenant to Hugh Earl 
 of Chefter, in the reign of William the 
 Conqueror, in order to reftrain the excur- 
 fions of the Welfh, and that he was placed 
 
 * Ann. Poveli Gir.Camb.X. Itin.Camb. Lib. II 
 c. lo. p. 873. Gough’s Camel. II. 588. 
 
 t Dugdale’s Baronage, I. 36. Cane’s Hillory of 
 Engl. I. 466.. 
 
 G 7 
 
 there 
 
S(5 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 ■ * 
 
 there with fufficient forces to check them. 
 This, however, certainly cannot have been 
 the cafe, for in 1063, three years before 
 William came to the crown, it was in the 
 poffeffion of GryfFydd ap Llewelyn, Prince 
 of Wales, for in that year it was attacked 
 and burnt by Harold, fon of Godwin Earl 
 of Kent, who was afterwards king of Eng¬ 
 land, in retaliation for fome depredations 
 committed by the Welfli on the Englifli 
 borders. The Welfh prince was apprized 
 of his danger but a moment before the 
 Engliih prefented themfelves at the gates, 
 and as the only means of efcaping the 
 hands of his enemies, threw himfelf with 
 
 1 
 
 a few of his attendants into one of his fhips, 
 at that time ready in the harbour, and by 
 that means fortunately for himfelf got off.* 
 
 * Matt. Weftm. 429. Annot. Poveli. Gir. Camb. 
 It. Camb. Lib. II. c. X. 873. Warrington’s Hiflory 
 of Wales, 221. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 S7 
 
 It feems not to have remained long in 
 ruins, for in 1098, it appears to have been 
 again taken from the Welfh by the above 
 Robert, furnamed from the event DeRhydd- 
 lan, who, it feems, did not build, but added 
 many new works to it.* The two authors, 
 quoted above, may probably have miflaken 
 between building and fortifying, unlefs we 
 are to fuppofe that he entirely rebuilt it, 
 which may have been the cafe, though I 
 think the other account carries with it the 
 greater degree of probability. ^ Be this as it 
 may, it is certain that he was {rationed here 
 to repel the attacks of the Welfh; and 
 whilft upon this poll, Gryffydd ap Conan, 
 Prince of Wales, petitioned him for aid 
 againft his enemies, which was obtained; 
 but, on fome quarrel, he attacked him in 
 his caftle, took and burnt the bailey or 
 
 * Gough’s Camd. II. 588. 
 
 G 4 
 
 yard. 
 
88 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 yard, and flew fo great a number of his 
 men, that very few efcaped into the towers.* 
 It was afterwards repaired and fortified by 
 Henry II. who gave it to Hugh Beau¬ 
 champ;^ notwithstanding which, in 1167, 
 whilft Henry was engaged in foreign affairs, 
 it was attacked by Owen Gwynedd and 
 his brother Cadwalader, ailifted by Ryfe 
 a.p Gryffydd, and after a blockade of two 
 months, furrendered to them.J It muft, 
 not long after, have been delivered to the 
 Englifh, for about 1214, in the reign of 
 King John, it was attacked and taken, with¬ 
 out much oppofition, by the Welfli Prince 
 Llewelyn ap Jouverth, and is mentioned as 
 being the laft fortrefs which that monarch 
 
 * Pennant, II. xi. who quotes the Life of Gryf¬ 
 fydd ap Knyan, in Sebright MSS. 
 
 t Matt. Paris, 81. Powel, 208. Peterhoufe, 
 MS. 
 
 t Powel, 224. Lyttleton’s Hiflory of Henry II, 
 Vol. II. 493. 
 
 held 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 89 
 
 held in this country, the Welfh having now 
 entirely driven him out.* 
 
 Towards the latter end of the reign of 
 Richard I. Ranulph Blundeville *f* Earl of 
 Chefter, being unexpectedly attacked by 
 the Welfh in this caftle, fent to Roger 
 Lacy (for his fiercenefs furnamed Hell) his 
 Conftable of Chefter, to haften to his relief 
 with fuch forces as he could on the fudden 
 collect. It happened to be on Midfummer 
 Day when there was a fair at Chefter, and 
 Roger immediately got together a mob of 
 
 i 
 
 fidlers, players, coblers, and other idle fel¬ 
 lows, and marched towards Rhyddlan. 
 Llewelyn, who was at the head of the 
 Welfh, obferving at a diftance an immenfe 
 crowd of people, and fuppofing that it was 
 
 / 
 
 * Powel, 270. Wynne's Hiftory of Wales, 237, 
 t Or Blondeville. This addition was taken to 
 his name of Ranulpli from his having been born at 
 Ofweftry, in Shropfhire, which was antiently called 
 
 Album Moncijlerium . 
 
C‘0 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 the English army coming upon him, im¬ 
 mediately raifed the liege and fled. In me¬ 
 mory of this fervice the Earl, by charter, 
 granted to Roger Lacy and his heirs the 
 government over all the above defcription 
 of people in the County of Chefter, which 
 government was afterwards, in part, grant¬ 
 ed by his fon to Hugh Dutton, his Rew¬ 
 ard, and his heirs, by the following deed. 
 
 “ Sciant prasfentes et futuri, quod ego, 
 “ Johannes Conftabularius Cejlrice , dedi et 
 “ concefli et hac prafenti mea charta con- 
 “ firmavi Hugoni de Dutton et hasredibus 
 “ fius, magiftratum omnium * leccatorum 
 “ et meretricum totius Cefterfhiriaa, ficut 
 “ liberius ilium magiftratum teneo de 
 comite. Salvo jure meo, mihi et haere- 
 (i dibus meis.” 
 
 * Mr.Pennant has miftaken this word for peccatorum* 
 See his Tour, II. 12. Blount, in his Law Diction¬ 
 ary, has Lcccator , a riotous, debauched perfon. 
 
 This 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 This inftrument is without a date, but 
 was given fometime about the year 1220. 
 The heirs of Hugh Dutton claimed fo late 
 as the reign of Henry VII. “ de qnalibet 
 (i meretrice infra commit at um Ceftrire et infra 
 “ Ceftriam manente , et ojfcium fuum exer- 
 <( centef an annual payment of fourpence. 
 They alfo claimed, from antient cuftom, 
 that all the minftrels of Cheshire and the 
 City of Che her fhould appear before them, 
 or their ftewards, every year, on the feaft of 
 St. John the Baptift, and there prefent four 
 flaggons of wine and a lance, and each of 
 them to pay for their licence fourpence- 
 halfpenny. This latter claim is, I believe, 
 in fome meafure continued till this prefent 
 time.* 
 
 * Dugdale’s Baronage, I. 101. Blount’s Tenures, 
 by Beckwith, 300, where are quoted -Sir Peter Lei- 
 cefter’s Antiquities of Chefhire, 141, 142, 151, and 
 Burn’s Juflice, tit. Vagrants . 
 
 After 
 
92 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 After the furrender of Rhyddlan Caftle 
 to the Welfh in the reign of King John, 
 they feem to have had poffeffion of it for 
 many years, for the firft time I fee a,ny 
 thing of it afterwards is in the reign of 
 Edward I. when, upon the refufal of 
 Llewlyn ap Gryftydd to do homage to Ed¬ 
 ward at Chefter, that monarch, at the head 
 of an army, marched into Wales, and 
 amongft others took this caftle, obliging 
 the prince to come to terms. He then 
 fortified it and placed in it a ftrong garri- 
 fon.* Llewelyn knowing of how much 
 confequence this place was, and how dan- 
 gerous it was to his intereft whilft it re¬ 
 mained in the hands of an enemy, in the 
 year 1281, in conjunction with his brother 
 David, made a moft vigorous attack upon 
 
 * Matt. Weftm. 370. Tho. Wallingham, 6. Ho- 
 Imfhed’s Chronicle, II. 278, 279. PoweTs Hiftory 
 of Wales, 2^4* 
 
 it* 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 95 
 
 it, but the Englilh army approaching, they 
 were forced to retire to their faftneffes 
 amongft the mountains in Caernarvon- 
 fhire.* 
 
 Shortly after this it was taken by Ryle* 
 fon of Maelgon, and Gryffydd ap • Mere¬ 
 dith ap Owenj'f* though it feems as if they 
 had abandoned it foon afterwards on the 
 
 i 
 
 arrival of the king, who appears to have 
 refided here in 1283, for it was in this 
 year that he held a parliament here, in 
 which was palled, amongft other ftatutes, 
 that called the Statute of Rhyddlan . This 
 flatute contained a fet of regulations made 
 by the king in council for the government 
 of Wales, which the preamble ftates to 
 
 # Tho. Walfingham,9. Holingfhed’s Chron. II. 
 280. Matt. Weft, p. 370, fays, that they took, and 
 afterwards demolilhed it, which could not poffibly 
 have been the cafe. 
 
 t Grofe’s Antiquities. 
 
 have 
 
94 , 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 have been then totally fubdued. It contains 
 alfo many curious particulars with regard 
 to the cuftoms which prevailed in Wales 
 previous to Edward’s conqueft, fome of 
 which were retained, others altered, and 
 fome entirely abolished, by this ftatute.* 
 Edward I. at Rhyddlan, affembled the 
 barons and chief men of Wales, to inform 
 
 them that he had appointed for them a 
 
 % 
 
 prince, foch as they had long expreffed a 
 defire to have, a native of their own coun¬ 
 try, one who could not fpeak the Englifh 
 language, and whofe life and condudt had 
 been hitherto irreproachable. On their ac¬ 
 clamations of joy and promife of obedience, 
 he inverted in the principality his own fon 
 Edward, afterwards Edward II. an infant, 
 who had not long before been born at Caer¬ 
 narvon. *f- 
 
 * See Statutes at large, f Stow’s Annals, 203. 
 
 After 
 
 1 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 93 
 
 A. 
 
 ■-r-- 
 
 After the death of Llewelyn Prince of 
 Wales, David his brother was taken pri- 
 foner by the Englilh army, and with his 
 wife and two fons was fent to this caftle, 
 from whence, not long afterwards, he was 
 taken to Shrewlbary, where he was exe¬ 
 cuted for high treafon.* 
 
 In 1399 it was feized by the Earl of 
 Northumberland, previous to the deposition 
 of Richard II. who dined here in company 
 with that earl, in his way to Flint, where 
 he was delivered into the power of his 
 enemy Bolingbroke.*f* 
 
 t 
 
 In the civil wars Rhyddlan caftle was 
 garrifoned for the king, but was furrendered 
 on the 28th of July, 1646, to General 
 Mytton,J and on the 22d of December, in 
 the fame year, was ordered by the parlia- 
 
 * Tho. Walfmgham, 12. HolLnfhed’s Chron. 
 II. 282. 
 
 t Stow’s Annals, 321. 
 
 J Whiteiock’s Memorials, 217. 
 
 ment 
 
V 
 
 S3 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WAITS. 
 
 ment to be difmantled.* The property of 
 it is at prefent in the crown. 
 
 The burgeffes of Rhyddlan contribute 
 towards electing a member of parliament 
 for Flint. Thofe who are qualified inhabit 
 the place and that part of the parifh called 
 Rhyddlan Franchife , which extends above a 
 mile from the town.~f 
 
 Near the caftle was a houfe of Black 
 Friars, founded fometime before 1268, for 
 in that year Anian, who is related to have 
 been a prior of this houfe, was made Bifliop 
 of St. Afaph. It fuflfered much in the wars 
 between Edward I. and Llewelyn, but re¬ 
 covered and fubfifted till the diflolution a , 
 though it does not appear in the valu¬ 
 ations either of Dugdale or Speed. I did 
 not obferve, when I was at this place, 
 
 # Whitelock, 231. 
 t Pennant’s Tour, II. 15. 
 
 whether 
 
 9 
 
 / 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 97 
 
 whether any part of the building was re¬ 
 maining.* 
 
 Camden -f relates a ftrange circumftance 
 concerning the River Clwyd at its influx 
 into the fea. He fays that, “ below the 
 “ caftle, the river is difcharged into the 
 “ fea, and though the valley, at the mouth 
 “ of the river, feems lower than the fea, 
 cc yet it is never overflown ; but by a na- 
 “ tural, though an invilible impediment, 
 “ the water ftands on the very brink of 
 “ the fhore, to our juft admiration of the 
 “ Divine Providence. 5 ' If the marfh only 
 appears lower than the fea, without being 
 fo, there certainly feems no wonder at 
 all. 
 
 * Tanner's Notitia. Mr. Brown Willis, in his 
 Survey of Bangor, p. 357, fays, it was reported that 
 there was an abbey here, the religious of which were 
 of a military order. 
 
 t Gibf. Camd. 688- 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 H 
 
 The 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 93 
 
 The village of Diferth is about two miles 
 and a half eaft of Rhyddlan, the church 
 Hands in a romantic bottom, and is finely 
 overfhaded with feveral large yew trees 
 growing around it. In the church-yard 
 are many very Angular tomh-ftones ; but 
 two in particular attradted my attention, as 
 being not, as ufual, altar-fhaped, but having 
 a femicircular Hone upon the top of each 
 of them. They are of an antient date, and 
 belong to a family of the name of Hughes. 
 Here is alfo a curious and much orna¬ 
 mented old pillar, whofe ufe I could form 
 no idea of. 
 
 The caftle Hands on the fummit of a 
 high lime-ftone rock, at the difiance of 
 half a mile from the village. Its prefent 
 remains are very trifling, being nothing 
 more than a few fhattered fragments. From 
 hence there is a fine profpedt of part of the 
 Vale of Clwyd. 
 
 Diferth 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 S9 
 
 Diferth Caftle,* which was, mod proba¬ 
 bly, the laft of the chain of British pofts on 
 the Clwydian hills, was formerly called alfo 
 
 Din-colyn,-Caftell y 
 
 Ffailon,--Caftell Gerri, 
 
 --——-— and Caftell y Craig, 
 
 the Cajlle of the Rock, •f* The time of its 
 foundation is not known. It was fortified 
 by Henry III. about 1241,J and it appears 
 to have been the property of the Earls of 
 Chefter, for Dugdale, at the end of his ac- 
 
 * “ ThiSarte, or Difarte CaSlelle, yn Flintshire, 
 €i by the name yn Walfche is thus expounded • 
 44 Thi is pr iv at iv a particular as not ; fartc is Jleepe up; 
 44 not Jlepe or cltmng up , that is to fay, playne See 
 Le land's I tin. V. 53. 
 
 I ihould rather fuppofe it derived from dy very, 
 and ferth , Sleep, as it does not Rand upon a plain, 
 but upon a considerable eminence. 
 
 t Pennant, II. 7, who quotes Llwyd’s Itinerary, 
 MSS. 
 
 X Powel, 307. 
 
 H 2 
 
 count 
 
100 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 count of that family, remarks that, upon its 
 becoming extindt, Diferth and Diganwy 
 caftles were, in 31ft Henry III. both an¬ 
 nexed to the crown.* About twenty years 
 after this it was, along with Diganwy, de- 
 ftroyed by Llewelyn ap GryfFydd.-f' 
 
 On the Caftle-hill I found the following 
 plants growing in plenty:— Beronicafpicata , 
 Cijlus marifoliusy Ciftus helcanthemuniy ¥ ha- 
 1151 rum minusy Geranium fanguineumy Conyza 
 fquarrofay and Carduus marianusy with fome 
 others not fo rare. 
 
 In a field, a little to the fouth of it, I 
 obferved a ruinous building, called Siamber- 
 wen, the White-Hall y faid to have been the 
 houfe of Sir Robert Pounderling, a valiant 
 knight, who was many years ago the Con- 
 
 * Dugdale’s Baronage, I. 48. 
 t Matt. Paris, 851. Matt. Weftm. 316. Powcl, 
 326. 
 
 liable 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 101 
 
 ftable of the Caftle.* Of this illuilrious 
 hero Leland •f* relates a ftory, that being 
 for his valour noted far and near, he was 
 challenged, at a tournament, by a gentle¬ 
 man of Wales, who in the combat ftruck 
 out one of his eyes ; but, being afterwards 
 in the Englifh court requefted to challenge 
 him in return, he wifely fhewed that 
 he had prudence as well as valour by de¬ 
 clining a fecond combat, alledging as his 
 excufe, that he did not intend the Welfh- 
 man to knock out his other eye. 
 
 From this place I retraced my road back 
 again, through Rhyddlan, to St. Afaph, 
 from whence, the next morning, I fet off 
 to Conway. I muft here remark that, in 
 the latter part of this day’s excurfion, from 
 Rhyddlan to Diferth, I received but little 
 
 * Pennant, II. 8, who quotes Llwyd’s Itinerary, 
 
 MS. 
 
 t .Leland's Itinerary, VI. 21. 
 
 amufement, 
 
:o2 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 amufement, except in my botanical purfuits. 
 Neither the village of Diferth, nor its caftle* 
 afford any thing very deferving of atten¬ 
 tion^ 
 
 
 CHAP. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES 
 
 103 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 FROM ST. ASAPH TO CONWY.-—ABERGELEY— 
 LLANDULAS—PENMAEN RHOS—RIVER CONWY 
 —FERRY—PEARL FISHERY—TOWN OF CONWY— 
 CASTLE — CHURCH — INSCRIPTION — ABBEY — 
 PLAS-MAWR—GLODDAETH—DIGANWY, 
 
 j^/^Y next ftage was Conwy. The road 
 now became rather more hilly, but 
 
 it was hard and good, and the furrounding 
 
 \ 
 
 country, for the molt part, very pleafant. 
 After paffing Abergeley, a fin all village, 
 about feven miles from St. Afaph, I had 
 the fea on the right, and a range*of low 
 rocks on the left of the road. From the 
 bottoms of thefe were all the way meadows 
 
 H 4 and 
 
J04 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 and corn fields, which extended nearly to 
 
 the water. Beyond Llandulas, the dark 
 
 \ 
 
 -village, the road winds round a huge lime- 
 flone rock, called Penmaen Rhos. 
 
 Mr. Pennant * conjedures that it v/as in 
 fome of the deep bottoms of this neigh¬ 
 bourhood that Richard II. was furprized by 
 a band of armed ruffians, placed there by 
 the Earl of Northumberland, for the pur- 
 pole of betraying him into the hands of 
 Bolingbroke at Flint. 
 
 I was wandering leifurely along this road, 
 when on a fudden, a moft magnificent 
 landfcape burfi: upon the fight. The fine 
 old town of Conwy, with its gloomy walls 
 and towers, appeared, with the wide river 
 in front, and backed by the vaft Caernar- 
 vonffiire mountains. 
 
 The River Conwy, the Conovius of An¬ 
 toninus, runs on this, the eaft fide of the 
 
 * Tour, II. 334. 
 
 town. 
 
105 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 town. It is here about half a mile over, 
 and is eroded by a ferry. I have been told 
 of many Shameful impositions that are con¬ 
 tinually pradtifed by the ferrymen at this 
 place upon ftrangers. Their charges ought 
 to be a penny for every perfon on foot, two¬ 
 pence for a man and horfe, and half-a-crown 
 a wheel for carriages. Inftead of which, I 
 even once faw them myfelf, with the moil 
 impudent affurance poffible, charge half- 
 a-guinea for a gig, and after that importune 
 for liquor. They are, befides, fo much 
 their own mafters that, I am told, they will 
 only take over the boat when they think 
 proper, and in this manner perfons have 
 been frequently delayed in their journey 
 three, four, or more hours, without the 
 poflibility on their part of preventing it. 
 Whether thefe enormities are known to the 
 renter of the ferry, who, I underftand re¬ 
 sides at Conwy, I cannot tell, but if they 
 are, it is certainly his duty to watch his 
 
 fervants 
 
105 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 fervants more ftridtly, and prevent their 
 pradtifing fiich fhameful impofitions upon 
 
 the public. 
 
 / \ 
 
 The River Conwy was formerly noted 
 for being a pearl filhery; and pearls have 
 been taken here, at different times, ever 
 fince the Roman conqueft. Suetonius fays, 
 that to get thefe was one of the chief mo¬ 
 tives alledged for his invafion of this ifland. 
 The Britifli and Irifh pearls are found in a 
 fhell-fifh, called by-Linnsus * My a Marga - 
 ritefera , the Pearl Mujcle , peculiar to ftony 
 and rapid rivers. The pearls are faid to 
 be produced from a difeafe in the fiih fome- 
 what analogous to the ftone in the human 
 
 * Gen. Char. Shell bivalve, gaping at one end. 
 H inge with a broad thick tooth not let into the op- 
 pofite valve. 
 
 Spec. Char. Shape oval, bending in on one 
 fide. Shell thick, opake, and heavy. Tooth of the 
 hinge fmooth and conical. The length five or fix 
 inches, and breadth about 25. 
 
 body. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 107 
 
 body. On being fqueezed they will ejefl: 
 them, and they often caff them, fponta- 
 neoufiy in the fand of the ftrearn. There 
 have been fometimes fo many as fixteen 
 taken in one fhell. Pearls got here have 
 fold for four guineas each, and one for ten, 
 which was afterwards purchafed by Lady 
 Glenlealy, who put it into a necklace, and 
 refufed eighty pounds for it from the Du- 
 chefs of Ormond. A notion prevails that 
 Sir Richard Wynne, of Gwydir, chamber- 
 lain to Catherine Queen of Charles II. pre- 
 fented her majefty with a pearl taken in 
 this river, which is to this day honoured 
 with a place in the regal crown.* 
 
 A more beautiful or more pidturefque 
 town can fcarcely be found than Conwy.•f* 
 
 The 
 
 * Philofophical TranfaCtions abridged, II. 831. 
 Pennant’s Zoology, IV. 80. 
 
 t It has been conjectured by many, that this pre- 
 fent Conwy was the Conovium of the Romans; this, 
 however, appears to have been without any founda¬ 
 tion, 
 
IOS 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 The caftle ftands upon a rock, two fides of 
 which are wafhed by the river. Its archi¬ 
 tecture and portion are truly grand, and 
 denote the fpirit and judgment of its foun¬ 
 der, Edward I. From each end of the 
 town walls, fronting the river, a curtain 
 terminated with a round tower ran to fome 
 didance into the water, the more effectually 
 to prevent the approach of an enemy from 
 thence. The heap of rubbifh at prefent 
 left, nearly oppofite to the end of the caftle, 
 
 tion, for it has been, I think, clearly proved, that • 
 Conovium was fituated where Cacr Rhun (a corrup¬ 
 tion from Caer Hen , the old city) now ftands, on the 
 weft fide of the river, about five miles higher up. At 
 this place, now an infignificant village, many Ro¬ 
 man antiquities have, at different times, been dis¬ 
 covered ^ and out of the ruins of this, Camden con¬ 
 jectures, that Edward built the new town , at the 
 mouth of the river, which was from thence called 
 Aber Conwy, the conflux of the Conwy , It is now 
 generally called Conway, See Camden's Britannic a 
 
 is 
 
 i 
 
CimvY Castile 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 109 
 
 is the remains of one of thefe towers, the 
 other has been long fince entirely deftroyed. 
 The caftle was defended alfo by eight large 
 round towers flanking the fides and the 
 ends, from each of which ifiued, formerly, 
 a llender turret, riflng much above, con- 
 ftruCted for commanding an extenfxve prof- 
 peCt over the adjacent country ; of thefe 
 turrets there are only four now remaining. 
 The walls are embattled, and from twelve 
 to fifteen feet in thicknefs, and yet nearly 
 entire, except one of the middle towers on 
 the fouth fide, whofe lower part has fallen 
 down the rock, owing to the folly of feme 
 of the inhabitants who had taken away the 
 ftones from the foundation for their own 
 ufe. The upper part of the tower is entire, 
 fufpended at a vaft height above, and pro¬ 
 jecting near thirty feet over the walls be¬ 
 low, exhibiting, obferves Mr. Pennant, 
 “ in the breach fuch vaft flxength of wall- 
 “ ing, as might have given to the architect 
 
 “ the 
 
no 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 ** the moft reafonable hope that his work 
 “ would have endured to the end of time/" 
 
 , The chief entrance into the caftle is at 
 the north-we ft end, formerly over a deep 
 trench, by a draw-bridge. There was alfo 
 
 at the other end another from the river, up 
 
 * 
 
 a rock, protected by the projecting cur¬ 
 tain. 
 
 The hall is the moll remarkable apart^ 
 
 / 
 
 ment now left; it is a hundred and thirty 
 feet long, thirty-two broad, and about 
 twenty-two in height. It was lighted by 
 nine windows, fix of which were towards 
 the river, and three towards the court ; and 
 the roof was once fupported by eight 
 Gothic arches, fome of which are ftill 
 left. 
 
 Edward I. after his conqueft of the 
 Welfh, with his queen, and great part of 
 the Englifh nobility, fpent a Chriftmas at 
 this caftle in ail the joyous feftivity that a 
 
 luxurious 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. Ill 
 
 luxurious court could boaft. But what a 
 change has taken place fince that time ! 
 
 What now avails that o’er the vaffal plain 
 His rights and rich demefnes extended wide. 
 
 That honor and her knights compofed his train, 
 And chivalry Rood marfhaH’d by his fide. 
 
 Though to the clouds his caftle Teem’d to climb, 
 And frown’d defiance on the defperate foe ; 
 
 Though deem’d invincible, the conqueror, Time, 
 Leveli’d the fabric as the founder low. 
 
 Yet the hoar tyrant, though not mov’d to fpare, 
 Relented when he {truck its finifh’d pride, 
 
 And partly the rude ravage to repair, 
 
 The tott’ring towers with twitted ivy tied. 
 
 The walls around this town,* which are 
 built upon the folid rock, and betwixt 
 
 twelve 
 
 * The mode of defending a town, before the in¬ 
 troduction of gunpowder and artillery, was by a 
 number of fmall towers, capable of containing 
 twenty or thirty men each, flanking and defending 
 
 the 
 
112 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 i 
 
 twelve and fifteen feet in thicknefs, are 
 nearly entire. Within, the houfes are very 
 irregular, but by no means bad. The 
 church, laid to have been the conventual 
 church belonging to the moififtry, is a 
 mean-looking building. I obeyed in it a 
 few modern monuments belong ng to the 
 family of the Wynnes, formerly of this 
 place; and, among!! others, the following 
 lingular infcription on the tomb of a Mr. 
 Hookes: 
 
 Here lyeth the body of Nicholas 
 
 t 
 
 “ Hookes, of Conwy, Gent, who was the 
 “ forty-jirjl child of his father, William 
 €e Hookes, Efq. by Alice his wife; and 
 father of twenty-/even children ; who 
 €i died the 20th day of March, 1637.” 
 
 the intermediate curtains of the walls with long and 
 crofs bows and other manual weapons ; for few of 
 them were large enough to contain the projectile 
 machines of thofe times. 
 
 There 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALKS. 
 
 113 
 
 . There are fome poor remains of the Cif- 
 terian Abbey, founded here by Llewelyn ap 
 Jorwerth Prince of Wales, in 1185, who 
 endowed it with many privileges, amongft 
 which wasv vhe exemption of the monks 
 from main; T ,i ang, for the prince, any men, 
 horfes, dogs, or hawks. The abbots were 
 to be elected by the monks, without the 
 controul or interference of any other per¬ 
 rons whatever. They were to have the 
 benefit of all wrecks on the fliores of their 
 property, and to be toll free.* In this 
 convent, and that of Stratflur in Cardigan- 
 fhire, were kept the records of the fuccef- 
 lions and adts of the princes of Wales from 
 1126 till the year 1270^ The founder 
 was buried here, but on the diffolution his 
 
 * Dugdale’s Monafticon* I. 918, 920. Tanner’s 
 Notitia Mon. Leland's Colledtanea de reb. Brit. I* 
 
 yo 3* 
 
 t Powel’s Hiftory of Wales, 206* 
 
 VOL. !« 
 
 I 
 
 coffin 
 
114. 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 coffin was removed to Llanruft, a town 
 about twelve miles diftant. In this abbey 
 was alfo interred Conan ap Owen Gwyn¬ 
 edd,* wrapped in the habiliments of a 
 monk, which, in thofe fuperftitious days, 
 was deemed a coat of mail proof againft 
 every power of Satan .'f 
 
 Edward I. upon building the caftle and 
 
 fortifying the town, removed the religious 
 
 \ 
 
 of this convent to Maynan, in Denbigh- 
 Ihire, a place about three miles up the river, 
 where he had founded for them another 
 abbey, referving to the monks all their 
 former lands and privileges. He alfo re- 
 ferved to them the prefentation of their 
 conventual church at Conwy, now made 
 parochial, provided they found two able 
 and worthy Englifhmen as chaplains, and a 
 third a Welfhman, for the benefit of thofe 
 who did not underftand Englifh. One of 
 
 * He died in the year 1200. t Powel, 225. 
 
 \ 
 
 the 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 115 
 
 the Englifhmen was perpetual vicar, who, 
 on every vacancy, was to be named by the 
 convent, and prefented by the diocefan.* 
 Plas mawr, the great manfioii , is an an¬ 
 tique-looking houfe, built, in the year 1585, 
 by Robert Wynne, Efquire, of Gwydir. 
 On the houfe are the letters I.H.S. X.P.S. 
 and over the gateway, the Greek words 
 an re%#, bear , forbear. The apart¬ 
 ments are ornamented in a rude ftile, with 
 , \ , 
 
 uncouth figures in ftucco. 
 
 The caftle of Conwy was eredted in the 
 year 1283 by Edward I. who, at the fame 
 time, built the walls of the town, and re¬ 
 paired feveral of his other caftles in Wales, 
 in order to guard againft the infurredtions 
 of Llewelyn, which for fome years before 
 had been very frequent. It was built upon 
 a fpot which had formerly been fortified by 
 Hugh Earl of Chefter, in the time of Wil- 
 
 * Dugdale’s Monafticon, I. 921. 
 
 I 2 liam 
 
 r 
 
116 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 liam the Conqueror,* in a fituation highly 
 proper, having a complete command of the 
 river, and by its vicinity to the ftrong pafs 
 of Penmaen Mawr, enabling the king’s 
 troops to occupy it on the lead: commo¬ 
 tion, thereby fecuring a road to the interior 
 of the mountains and to the Me of An- 
 glcfea. 
 
 I am rather at a lofs to judge whether it 
 was this caftle or that of Diganwy, about 
 three miles north of it, that was called 
 Snowdon Cajile . Leland,*f* indeed, in his 
 Colledtanea, fays “ The Caft cl of Snowdon 
 is oftentymes put by a commen worde 
 “ for Conweyf but feveral circumdances 
 have occurred that induce me rather to 
 fuppofe, that this was not the cafe, and that 
 
 l ' y 
 
 * Matt. Weftm. 371. Holinlhed’s Chronicle, II. 
 282. 
 
 t Coll, de reb; Brit. I. 472. 
 
 1 
 
 Diganwy 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 117 
 
 Diganwy muft formerly have been called 
 Snowdon Caftle.* 
 
 Edward I. once found himfelf very dif- 
 agreeably fituated in this caftle. He with 
 a few of his men had preceded the body of 
 his army a little way, and even eroded the 
 river before they came up. Soon after he 
 had got over, the tide flowed in and pre¬ 
 vented them from following, which the 
 Welfh perceiving, attacked him and his 
 handful of men in the caftle, who were 
 drive,n to great diftrefs, having no kind of 
 provifion whatever, except a little honey 
 and water. But by the ftrength of the 
 caftle, and their own bravery, they were en- 
 
 * Dolbadain Caftle, near Llanberis, being fituated 
 in the heart of the mountains, might with greater 
 propriety than either of thefe have been called Snow- 
 don Caftle ; but the old Englifh writers, from its ob~ 
 feurity, had probably never heard of it, or if they 
 had, they do not feem to have known it by this 
 name. 
 
 \ i * 
 
 V' 
 
 ,7 ble^ 
 
118 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 , 4 I 
 
 I 
 
 — — ■ -- - | .. ... 
 
 abled to hold out till the water again retired, 
 and the army came over to their relief.* 
 
 In 1399, Richard II. in his return from 
 Ireland, having landed in Wales, heard that 
 the Duke of Lancafter had prepared im-, 
 menfe forces againft him, and defpairing in 
 the ftrength of his own army, in company 
 with about a dozen of his friends, hole in 
 the night to Conwy, where he hoped to be 
 more fecure; this, however, he fcarcely 
 found the cafe, for he was fhortly after¬ 
 wards drawn from thence by the infinu- 
 ating treachery of the villain Percy .-f 
 Richard HI. in the firft or fecond year of 
 his reign, granted “ to Thomas Tunftall, 
 Efq. the office of Conftable of the Cartel 
 €C of Conway, with the Captainfhip of the 
 
 ^ Towne of Conway, and to have under 
 “ under him the number of twenty-four 
 
 * Hen. de Knyghton de event. Angl. 24.71. 
 t Stow’s Annals, 322. Carte’s Hiftory of Eng¬ 
 land. 
 
 “ foldiers 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 no 
 
 “ foldiers for the time of his life, with the 
 “ wages and fees to the fame office and 
 €C captaynffiip due and accuftomed, and to 
 £( have for every of the faid foldiers 4 d. by 
 t€ the day.”* 
 
 The caflle was repaired and fortified for 
 Charles I. in the civil wars, by Dr. Wil¬ 
 liams, Archbiflhop of York, at the king’s 
 particular requeft. He faithfully promifed 
 the Archbifhop, upon his doing this, that it 
 
 fhould remain in the care of himfelf, or 
 
 > 
 
 any perfon appointed by him, till the mo¬ 
 ney expended was repaid. After it was 
 finiffied, feveral country gentlemen requeft- 
 ed him to receive into it their writings, 
 plate, and other valuables, which he, rely¬ 
 ing upon the king’s promife, did, giving to 
 every owner a receipt, by which he made 
 himfelf liable to the lofs. In May, 1645, 
 
 * MS. N°. 433, in Bib. Harl. quoted in Grofe’s 
 Antiquities. 
 
 1 4 
 
 about 
 
120 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 about a year afterwards. Sir John Owen, % 
 colonel in the king’s fervice, obtained of 
 Prince Rupert a commifllon, appointing 
 him governor of the caftle. By virtue of 
 this he furprized and took it, difpofteffing 
 tiie Archbiihop, not with {landing the king’s 
 pofttive promife to the contrary ; and he re- 
 fufed to give him any fecurity for the valu¬ 
 ables he had in charge. After this circum- 
 ftance the Archbifhop, being invited by 
 General Mytton, came over to the fide of 
 the parliament, and affifted in perfon, along 
 with the parliament’s army, and many of 
 die country people, whofe goods had been 
 lodged there, in attacking the caftle. After 
 a fiege of three months, it was taken on the 
 18th of November, 1646, and the property 
 of every perfon was juftly reftored to him. 
 Mytton, who had a moft cruel antipathy 
 againft the Irilh, ordered all who were 
 feized in the caftle to be tied back to back* 
 
 and 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. \2l 
 
 end flung into the river.* For his late 
 fervices the parliament granted the Arch- 
 bifhop a general pardon, and a releafe from 
 all his fequeftrations. 
 
 After the reftoration a grant was made 
 of this fortrefs, by the king, to Edward 
 
 i 
 
 Earl of Conwy, who, in 1665, ordered all 
 the iron, timber, and lead to be taken down 
 and tranfported to Ireland, under the pre¬ 
 tence that it was to be ufed in his majefty’s 
 fervice. Several of the principal gentlemen 
 of the country oppofed the defign, but their 
 remonftrances were over-ruled, and this 
 noble pile was reduced nearly to its prefent 
 condition.*f* It is now held from the crown 
 at an annual rent of fix (hillings and eight- 
 
 * Whitelock’s Memorials, 219, 228. Rufh- 
 worth’s Hiftorical Collections, part IV. vol. I. 297. 
 
 t Pennant’s Tour, II. 319. See alfo a copy of a 
 Letter in the Appendix to the fame volume, p. 478* 
 
 pence. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 *-<> * 
 -1 +MJ+A 
 
 pence, and a difh of fifh, to Lord Hertford* 
 as often as he paffes through the town.* 
 Edward I. made Conwy a free borough* 
 and ordered that the mayor, who was the 4 
 conftable of the caflle for the time being, 
 fhould preferve its privileges. It is at pre- 
 fent governed by one alderman, a recorder, 
 coroner, water-bailiff, and two ferjeants at 
 mace, chofen annually. The privileges 
 here, as in all other Englifh garrifons in 
 North Wales, extended from Caernarvon 
 to the River Clwydj for none could be 
 convided of any crime, within that diftrid, 
 but by a jury empanneled within it.*f* 
 Situated on the fide of a hill, about three 
 miles north of Conwy ferry, is Gloddaeth, 
 the beautiful feat of Sir Thomas Moftyn, 
 Bart, built by his anceflor. Sir Roger Mof- 
 
 * Grofe’s Antiquities, vol. VII. p. 18. 
 t Pennant, II. 314. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 123 
 
 x ___ 
 
 tyn, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, a 
 place, as I have been informed, furrounded 
 with charming fcenery and rare plants. 
 About half a mile beyond this is Diganwy, 
 an antient caftle, founded about the time of 
 the Norman conqueft, and near it a circu¬ 
 lar watch tower, faid to have been built 
 fometime in the latter part of the iaft cen¬ 
 tury. But from not having heard of thefe 
 curiohties, when I was in this part of the 
 country, I had not an opportunity of feeing 
 them. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 / 
 
 
 CHAP- VL 
 
 FROM CONWY BY BANGOR TO CAERNARVON.- 
 
 ROCKS —PENMAEN MAWR —ROAD—SINGULAR 
 ACCIDENTS — BRITISH FORT—ABER — WATER- 
 FALL—LLANDYGAI—PENRHYN—BANGOR—CAS¬ 
 TLE—CATHEDRAL—CONVENT—BANGOR FERRY 
 —INN—HARP—FINE SCENERY—CAERNARVON— 
 
 HOTEL. 
 
 J|AVING left Conwy in my route to 
 Bangor, I now began to find myfelf 
 in a truly mountainous and romantic coun¬ 
 try, for the hills of Flintfhire and Denbigh- 
 fhire, which I had juft pafled, bear no 
 comparifon for pidturefque beauty, with 
 
 the 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES* 
 
 12S 
 
 the rocky fcenes of Caernarvonfhire.* In- 
 ftead of being as thofe were gentle in afcent, 
 and frequently covered with grafs and turf 
 to their fummits, they now began to wear 
 the favage and majeftic face of Nature— 
 they were precipitous, rugged and gloomy. 
 
 A few miles beyond Conwy is the cele¬ 
 brated mountain called Penmaen Mawr, 
 a huge rock, riling near 1550 feet in per¬ 
 pendicular height above the fea* Along a 
 fhelf of this tremendous precipice is formed 
 an excellent road, well guarded towards the 
 fea by a ftrong wall, and fupported in many 
 
 * Before the divifion of Wales into counties this 
 county was called Snowdon Foreft, and in after-times 
 Arvonia, from its fituation oppofite Mon, Bon or 
 Anglefea. It is about 50 miles in length, 25 in 
 breadth, and 130 in circumference; is divided into 
 feven cantreds or hundreds, and lixty-eight parilhes. 
 It contains about 370,000 acres of land, and the po¬ 
 pulation is calculated at about i6,8oq. In it arc 
 one city and four market towns. 
 
 parts 
 
 1 
 
196 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 parts by arches turned underneath it, a me*« 
 thod in the expence found far preferable to 
 that of hollowing it out of the folid rock* 
 Before the wall was built, accidents were 
 continually happening by people falling 
 down the precipices; but fince that time, I 
 
 believe it has been perfectly fafe. 
 
 \ , 
 
 Of thefe accidents, Mr. Pennant * has 
 recorded the following: An excifeman fell 
 from the higheft part, and efcaped unhurt. 
 The Rev. Mr. Jones, who in 1762, was 
 reftor of Llanlian, in Anglefea, fell with 
 his horfe, and a midwife behind him down 
 the fteepeft part. The female perifhed as 
 did the nag, but the Divine, with great 
 philofophy, unfaddled the fteed, and march¬ 
 ed off with ■ the trappings, exulting at his 
 own prefervation. 
 
 “ I have often heard,” continues this in¬ 
 telligent author “ of another accident attend- 
 
 * Tour II. 305. 
 
 “ ed 
 
 t 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 12* 
 
 — ir -t —- - -- - u | 
 
 u ed with fuch romantic circumftances, 
 that I would not venture to mention it 
 €( had I not the ftrongeft traditional au- 
 thority, to this day in the mouth of 
 <c every one in the parifh of Llanfair Vech- 
 ** an, in which this promontory Rands, 
 tfC Above a century ago, Sc6n Humphridi 
 (< of this parifh, made his addreffes to Ann 
 €t Thomas, of Creyddyn, on the other fide 
 c< of Conwy river. They had made an 
 “ appointment to meet at a fair in the town 
 c< of Conwy. He in his way fell over 
 “ Penmaen Mawr; fhe was overfet in the' 
 “ ferry-boat, and was the only perfon faved 
 €C out of more than fourfcore. They were 
 “ married, and lived very long together in 
 <c the parifh of Llanfair. She was buried, 
 “ April ii, 1744, aged 116. He furvived 
 “ her 5 years, died December 10, 1749? 
 “ and was buried clofe by her, in the pa- 
 " rifh church yard, where their graves are 
 “ familiarly fhewn to this day.” 
 
 
123 
 
 A tOUR ROUND NORTH WALES* 
 
 At fome diftance the road appears like & 
 white line along the fide of the rock, which 
 towards the fea is in many places fo nearly 
 perpendicular, that a Hone may be thrown 
 from thence into it without touching below, 
 a height of almoft a hundred and forty feet* 
 The pafs would, were it not for the wall, 
 be truly terrible; and even yet, to thofe 
 who can make frights to mock themfelves, 
 the amazingly lofty abrupt precipice of rock, 
 towering overhead with the fragments and 
 ruins, that have for ages been falling down 
 from it, and feem ready to roll over one, do 
 prefent a fcene of horror. 
 
 Before this pafs was formed, the ufual 
 mode of going from Conwy to Bangor was 
 either in boats, or to wait the departure of 
 the tide and proceed along the fands, at low 
 water, a mode frequently attended with 
 danger, owing to the tide’s fometimes form¬ 
 ing hollows, of the depth of which, when 
 
 filled 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 129 
 
 filled with water, the guides cannot always 
 be certain. 
 
 I did not afcend to the fummit of Pen- 
 maen Mawr, though I have fince underftood 
 that there is at the top called Braich y Ddi- 
 nas, the arm of the city y an antient Britifh 
 fortification, in the walls of which, accord¬ 
 ing to the additions to Camden, * were for¬ 
 merly at lead a hundred towers all round, 
 of equal fize, and about fix yards in diameter 
 within. From it’s fituation, a hundred 
 men might here have defended themfelves 
 againft a great army, and it was large enough 
 to contain twenty thoufand foldiers. Of this 
 fortrefs, though I underftand very little is 
 left, yet there is fufficient to {hew that it has 
 
 i 1 
 
 once been a very extendve and important 
 place. Governor PownalJ, who examined 
 it many years ago with great care, contrary 
 
 , * Gibfon’s Camden, 673, 
 
 VOL. I. K to 
 
A TOUR ROUND N OR III WALES- 
 
 130 
 
 to the received opinion, conjefl: ures that it 
 has been one of the Druids’ confecrated 
 high places of worlhip, and never intended 
 for a place of defence. In the inclofure, he 
 fays, is a barrow of the kind which Dr. 
 Stukely calls a long barrow, and afcribes to 
 the fepulture of an Arch-Druid.* I how¬ 
 ever am inclined, from the circumftances 
 mentioned by Edward Llwyd, Mr. Pennant, 
 and other able writers (without having feen 
 it myfelf) to credit the other opinion, for 
 from them there feems every evidence of 
 its having been a Britifh fort. 
 
 About nine miles from Conwy ftands 
 the pleafing little village of Aber, the con- 
 jluence . Here I found a comfortable little 
 Inn, which from its fituation near Penmaen 
 Mawr, may be a very convenient place to 
 afcend that mountain from, to fuch as with 
 
 # See a paper of the Governor in Archaeol. of the 
 Society ol Antiquaries, III. 303. 
 
 to 
 
 l 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 131 
 
 to examine the curious remains at the top. 
 From the village, a deep and romantic glen 
 runs upwards of a mile amongft the moun¬ 
 tains, at the extremity of which is a cata- 
 radt, which precipitates itfelf from a height 
 of more than fixty feet down the rugged 
 front oi a rock. Thomfon’s defcription 
 feemed to apply extremely well to it: 
 
 Smooth to the (helving brink a copious flood 
 Rolls fair and placid; where collected* 
 
 In one impetuous torrent, down the fleep, 
 
 It thundering (hoots, and (hakes the country round. 
 At fir(l an azure fheet it rulhes broad ; 
 
 Then whitening by degrees, as prone it’falls. 
 
 And from the loud refounding rocks below 
 Daih’d in a cloud of foam, it fends aloft 
 A hoary mid, and forms a ceafelefs (bower. 
 
 "i 
 
 On an artificial mount, not far from the 
 village, though long fince deflroyed, flood 
 once a caftle, the palace of Llewelyn ap 
 Gryffydd, Prince of Wales.* 
 
 * PoweTs Kiflory of Wales, 325. Leland’s Iti- * 
 nerary, V. 45. 
 
 K 2 
 
 At 
 
132 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 At Llandygai (the church of rfegai) a vil¬ 
 lage beautifully fituated on the banks of the 
 turbulent little river Ogwen, is a neat 
 church, built in the form of a crofs, having 
 the tower in the centre- This is chiefly re¬ 
 markable for containing the remains of Dr. 
 Williams, Archbifhop of York, who lived in 
 the reign of Charles I. His memory is 
 preferved by a mural monument, which re- 
 prefents him in his epifcopal drefs, kneeling 
 at an altar. 
 
 On the right of the road, and not far from 
 Bangor, I pafled Penrhyn, the feat of the 
 Iri£h Baron of that name. The prefent build- 
 
 > .. 4 
 
 ing, which is a good fpecimen of the mi¬ 
 litary Gothic, much in vogue in the reign of 
 Henry VI. is fuppofed to Hand on the lite 
 of a palace which belonged to Roderic 
 Moelwynog, Prince of Wales, who began 
 his reign about the year 720.* When I 
 
 * Pennant s Tour, II. 284. 
 
 was 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 133 
 
 V 
 
 was here, it appeared to be undergoing fome 
 confiderable alterations, under the infpedtion 
 of the judicious Mr. Wyatt. A method of 
 fencing grounds is ufed about the eftates of 
 Lord Penrhyn, which I never recolledt to 
 have obferved before. The fences are made 
 with pieces of blue date, (of which his lord- 
 fhip has fome extenfive quarries in the neigh¬ 
 bourhood) driven into the ground about a 
 foot diftant from each other, and interwoven 
 near the top with briars, or any kind of flex¬ 
 ible branches to hold them together. Whe¬ 
 ther thefe are of lefs expence than walls or 
 hedges I know not, but in point of ornament 
 I think they are fufficiently neat. 
 
 Bangor,* the beautiful choir , though now 
 only a very fmall place, appears to have been 
 
 formerly 
 
 * Mr. Warner, a late tourift, whofe average rate 
 of walking of about twenty-five miles a day feems 
 to have rendered him liable to athoufand errors, has, 
 amongft others, miftaken this place for Bangor in 
 
 K 3 Flintfiiire. 
 
134 A TOTTft ROUND NORTH WAt.ES. 
 
 formerly fo large as from it's fize to be cal¬ 
 led Bangor vawr , the great Bangor , to dif- 
 tinguifh it probably from Bangor-is-coed in 
 Flintshire.* It is feated in a vale, from the 
 back of which arife the vaft mountains of 
 Caernarvonshire. From the churchyard is 
 an extenfive and beautiful profpedl of part 
 of Anglefea, with the town and bay of Beau¬ 
 maris. 
 
 The moft antient hiftorical fadl that we 
 have recorded of this place is, that Conda- 
 gius, a king of Britain, who reigned about 
 800 years before the time of Chrift, eredled 
 
 Flintfhire. Hr fpeaks of its being watered by the 
 “ Deva’s wizard ftream,” which flows under an ele¬ 
 gant bridge, of five arches. He fays that this was the 
 fite of the antient Roman Ration, Bouvium , that here 
 
 was the monaftry, 1200 of whofe monks were flain 
 
 \ » * 
 
 by Ethelfred, and that this formed a part of the king¬ 
 dom of Powis!! 
 
 * Gough’s Camden, II. 549. 
 
 here 
 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 135 
 
 here a temple which he dedicated to the 
 goddefs Minerva.* 
 
 On a rocky eminence, about a quarter of 
 a mile call from Bangor, flood formerly a 
 caftle built by Hugh, Earl of Chefter, fome- 
 time during the reign of William II.*f* The 
 date of it's demolition is not known. 
 
 The cathedral is a fmall dirty-]ooking 
 building, dedicated to St. Daniel. The nave 
 is about an hundred and ten feet long, and 
 fixty wide; the tranfepts fixty by twenty 
 five; and the choir fifty-four by twenty-fix. 
 
 It appears to have been firft eredled by 
 Maelgwn Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, 
 about the year 550; and Daniel, the fon 
 of Dinothus, Abbot of Bangor-is-coed, in 
 Flintlhire, who had, about thirty years 
 before, founded a college or monaft^ 
 
 • 
 
 * Leland’s Coll, de reb. Brit. II. 425. 
 t Speed’s Chronicle, ch. XIV. p. 123. 
 
 K 4 
 
 here. 
 
133 A TOUR ROU“ND NORTH WALES. 
 
 — . ---.- * ■ » ■ ■ , r 
 
 here, was made the firft bifhop.* The 
 prince, when he founded it, had fome 
 thoughts of entering himfelf a monk here, 
 and taking up the profeffion of religion. 
 But the charms and pleafures of the world, 
 to which he was too much addicted, foon 
 choaked the refolution, and by yielding 
 
 to thefe, he became, in the latter part of 
 
 \ 
 
 his life, a great libertine, though in his 
 public character he appears to have been 
 always a brave man, and a noble and mag¬ 
 nanimous prince. 
 
 The cathedral was deftroyed by the 
 Saxons 1071, and being afterwards rebuilt, 
 it was again deftroyed in 1212 by a de¬ 
 tachment from the army of King John, 
 who had invaded the Welth on account 
 of fome depredations they had committed 
 in the Marches. The hifhop was taken 
 prifoner, and carried to the Engiifh camp. 
 
 * Tanner’s Notitia. 
 
 but 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 1ST 
 
 *■ ■■ -■ r ' ' - ■*" J ' ■" — 
 
 but obtained his ranfom by the payment 
 of two hundred hawks.*—It fuffered along 
 with the cathedral of St. Afaph about 
 1247, in the wars betwixt Henry III. and 
 the Weiih.'f* In 1402 it was burnt down 
 in the rebellion of Owen Glyndwr (who 
 threatened to deftroy all the cities in Wales) 
 and remained in ruins upwards of ninety 
 years,, when the choir was rebuilt by the 
 Bifhop, Henry Denne, J but the tower and 
 nave were* according to an infeription 
 
 1 
 
 over the weft door, built at the expence 
 of Biftiop Skeffington in 1532. This fee 
 met with a ftiil more cruel ravager than 
 Owen Glyndwr in the perfon of Bifhop 
 Bulkeley ; who not only alienated many of 
 the lands belonging to it, but went fo far 
 as even to fell the bells of the church.§ 
 
 * Powell, 265, Wynne's Hiftory of Wales, 231. 
 t Matt. Paris, 642. 
 
 X Willis’s Survey, 62. Camden’s Brit. II. 549. 
 J Fuller’s Worthies of Wales, 19. 
 
 The 
 
l:33 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALKS. 
 
 The revenues were valued in the 26th 
 of Henry VIII. at ^151. 3/. per an¬ 
 num in the whole, and ^131. 16^. 4 <L 
 clear.* 
 
 This diocefe comprehends the whole of 
 
 Caernarvonfhire, except four parifhes, the 
 
 Ifle of Anglefea, and part of the Counties 
 
 of Denbigh, Merioneth and Montgomery. 
 
 It contains 107 parifhes, of which 36 are 
 
 impropriated. This fee has been com- 
 / . 
 puted to be worth annually about ^1200. 
 
 To the cathedral belongs a Bifhop, Dean, 
 Archdeacon,-f* Treafurer, and two Preben¬ 
 daries endowed ; a precentor, chancellor, 
 and three canons not endowed $ two vicars, 
 
 * Tanner’s Not. Mon. 
 
 t There were here formerly three archdeaconries, 
 viz. of Bangor, Anglefea, and Merioneth: out of 
 thefe the two firft were united to the bifhopric for 
 it’s better fupport, by a£t of Parliament, A. D. 
 1685. Willis’s Survey, 135. 
 
 choral. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 139 
 
 choral, an organift, lay clerks, chorifters, 
 and other officers.* 
 
 Mr. Pennant fuppofes that Owen 
 Gwynedd, Prince of Wales, who died in 
 1169, was buried in the fouth tranfept of 
 the church, and that his remains lie be¬ 
 neath an arch with a flowery crofs cut on 
 a flat ftone. Here are alfo mutilated 
 tombs of the Bifhops Vaughan and Row¬ 
 lands, the former of whom died in 1597* 
 and the latter in 1616. 
 
 Befides the cathedral. Tanner J mentions, 
 that there was near Bangor, a houfe of 
 friars, preachers, founded about 1299, by 
 Tudor ap Gronw, Lord of Penmynydd 
 and Trecaftle. Mr. Pennant § fays, it 
 Rood a little way out of the town, and 
 that it was converted into a free fchool by 
 Jeffery Glynn, LL. D. fometime about 
 
 * Tanner’s Not. Mon. t Tour II. 281. 
 
 J Not. Mon. § Tour II. 282. 
 
 the 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 14A 
 
 the reign of Edward VI. Over the chim¬ 
 ney piece is a fragment of an antient mo¬ 
 nument to one Gryffydd, with a long 
 fword carved upon it; and on the ftair- 
 cafe is another Hone, with the words ap 
 Tudor 9 probably part of the tomb of the 
 founder Tudor ap Gronw ap Tudor. 
 
 Bangor ferry, called by the Welfh Porth- 
 aethwy, the ferry of the confined waters, 
 is fituated about a mile from the town, on 
 the eaftern bank of the Menai, the ftraight 
 that divides Anglefea from the other parts 
 of Wales, and is certainly one of the moil 
 charmingly retired places in the kingdom. 
 Here is an Inn to which moft travellers 
 refort, there not being one in the town of 
 Bangor at all comfortable. The charges 
 are very high, being much the fame as at 
 moft of the inns upon the great roads near 
 London ; but the accommodations for this 
 diftant part of the country are fo extremely 
 
 good* 
 
 / 
 
 \ i 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 141 
 
 good, that a reafonable perfon can fcarcely 
 think of finding fault. 
 
 It was at this Inn that I was, for the 
 firft time fince my arrival in Wales, en¬ 
 tertained with the mufic of the harp, the 
 indigenous inilrument of this country. 
 The evening was mild, and the fun in 
 retiring had caft a golden tinge over the 
 whole face of nature. I had feated my- 
 felf in a window which commanded a full 
 and moft delightful profpedt of Anglefea, 
 the Ifie of the Druids, and I liftened, 
 wrapped in a pleafing melancholy, to the 
 fweetly flowing tones. A thoufand plea- 
 fant ideas of times of old floated on my 
 imagination, and the emphatic lines of 
 Gray croffed my thoughts with all their 
 ' force. 
 
 Ruin feize thee, ruthlefs king! ' 
 
 Confufion on thy banners wait; 
 
 Tho’ fann’d by conqueft’s crimfon wing. 
 
 They mock the air with idle Rate. 
 
 Helm 
 
14 2 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Helm nor hauberk’s twitted mail, 
 
 y 
 
 Nor e’en thy virtues, tyrant! (hall avail 
 
 To fave thy foul from nightly fears; 
 
 From Cambria’s curfe, from Cambria’s tears! 
 
 In the warmth of my imagination I had 
 overlooked the perhaps neceffary, though 
 moft cruel, policy of Edward L in deftroy- 
 ing a race of men, whofe fongs, deemed 
 almoft infpired, could not be heard with¬ 
 out the moft dangerous correfponding ef¬ 
 fects on the minds of the multitude. 
 
 Their fkill’d fingers knew how beft to lead 
 Through all the maze of found the wayward ttep 
 Of harmony, recalling oft and oft, 
 
 Permitting her unbridled courfe to rufh 
 Through difionance to concord, fweeteft then 
 E’en when expe&ed harfheft. 
 
 The next morning I fet out from Ban¬ 
 gor ferry to go to Caernarvon. I had 
 
 heard much in praife of the walk betwixt 
 
 < , ; 
 
 Bangor 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 143 
 
 Bangor and Caernarvon, but I found very 
 little to amufe me till I had paffed the 
 fourth mile-ftone, when, on a fudden turn 
 of the road, the ftraights of Menai, the 
 well wooded Ifle of Anglefea, and beyond 
 thefe, the far diftant Rivel mountains on 
 one fide, opened into a placid fcene, whilft 
 the black precipices and fhagged fides of 
 the rocks of Caernarvonshire on the other 
 formed a mod; delightful contrail. This 
 profped: was fo momentary, that it feemed 
 almoft the effedt of enchantment; and 
 proceding onward, the town and callle 
 of Caernarvon, after fome time, opened 
 the fcene, and completed one of the molt 
 exquifite landfcapes the eye ever beheld. 
 
 At Caernarvon I went to the hotel, an 
 Inn built a few years ago by the Earl of 
 Uxbridge, upon a very large and extenfive 
 fcale. It is an elegant Hone building, 
 {landing on the outfide of the town walls, 
 
 a little above the Menai, of which it com- 
 
 * 
 
 mands 
 
144 A TOUR HOUND NORTH WALES* 
 
 mands a fine profpeft. This Inn, which* 
 in excellence of accommodations and good- 
 nefs of apartments, is certainly the firft in 
 North Wales, will be found inferior to 
 very few, even in England. The charges 
 here, as Well as at Bangor ferry, are rather 
 high; but when the expences of a neceffary 
 eftablifliment, only ufed for about four or 
 five months in the year, are taken into 
 eonfideration, there are very few who can, 
 with juftice, complain of their being too 
 great. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 145 
 
 CHAP, VII. 
 
 CAERNARVON.-WALLS — EXTENSIVE PROS- 
 
 PECT—HARBOUR—CASTLE—BIRTH OF EDWARD, 
 FIRST PRINCE OF WALES — PRYNNE THE BAR¬ 
 RISTER — PRIVILEGES — SEGONTIUM — ROMAN 
 MODE OF BUILDING — BRITISH COURT — 
 
 JUMPERS. 
 
 ^^AERNARVON is, taken in the whole, 
 by much the moft beautiful town in 
 North Wales. It is fituated on the eaftern 
 fide of the Menai, the ftreight that divides 
 Anglefea from the other parts of Wales, 
 and is a place extremely well adapted to 
 afford a few months retreat for a thinking 
 mind frorr the bufy fcenes of the world. 
 Here an admirer of nature may bury his 
 vox., i. L cares 
 
146 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 cares in contemplating the greatnefs of her 
 works ; he will certainly find lcope enough. 
 It’s fituation, between the mountains and 
 Anglefea, renders it a convenient place from 
 whence travellers may with advantage be 
 
 able to vifit both. 
 
 1 
 
 It’s name is properly Caer-yn-Arfon, 
 which fignifies a fortified town in the dii— 
 tridl oppofite to Mona or Angelfea.* The 
 walls around the town are nearly entire, 
 and as well as the caftle, in their external 
 appearance, the fame as they were in the 
 time of their founder Edward I. They are 
 defended by a number of round towers, 
 and have in them two principal gates, en¬ 
 trances to the town. Over one of thefe is 
 a fpacious room which is the Town hall, and 
 in which the affemblies are frequently held. 
 The buildings are upon the whole pretty 
 regular, but the ftreets, as in all other an- 
 
 i 
 
 * Ar fon, or Armon, means oppofite to Mona. 
 
 tient 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 147 
 
 tient towns, are very narrow and confined. 
 On the outfide of the walls is a broad and 
 pleafant terrace walk along the fide of the 
 Menai, extending from the quay to the 
 north end of the town walls, which feemed 
 to be the fafhionable promenade in the fine 
 evenings for all defcriptions of people. The 
 Court-houfe, in which the affizes are held, 
 and all the county bufinefs is done, ftands 
 nearly oppofite to the caftle gates, and is 
 within a neat little place. The Cuftom- 
 houfe, a fmall infignificant building, is on 
 the outfide of the walls, and not far from 
 the quay. 
 
 From the top of the rock, behind the 
 hotel, I had an excellent bird's-eye view of 
 the town. From hence the caftle, and the 
 whole of the town walls, may be feen to 
 the greateft advantage | and on a fine day, 
 the Ifle of Anglefea, with Holyhead and 
 Pary’s Mountains, appear fpread out like a 
 map beneath the eye. Sometimes even the 
 
 T j z taj 
 

 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 far diftant mountains of Wicklow may be 
 feen towering beyond the channel. On the 
 other fide, towards the eaft, is a fine and 
 varied profpedt of the Britifh Alps, where 
 Snowdon, whofe 
 
 -- -— - —- hoary head, 
 
 Confpicuous many a league, the mariner, 
 
 Bound homeward, and in hope already there. 
 Greets with three cheers, exulting- 
 
 And the lofty Glydes are feen to far over¬ 
 top the reft. 
 
 Caernarvon is in the Parifh of Llanhublic, 
 and the parifli church, dedicated to St. Pub- 
 licius fon of the Emperor Maximus and 
 Helena the daughter of Odtavius Duke of 
 Cornwall, is fituated about half a mile from 
 the town. Within it I was fhewn a mar¬ 
 ble monument, on which were two recum¬ 
 bent figures of Sir William Gryffyd, of 
 Penriiyn, who died in 1587, and Margaret 
 his wife. The names and dates are at pre- 
 fent nearly erafed from fome mifehievous 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 149 
 
 perfons having cut them out with knives. 
 In this church the fervice is always per¬ 
 formed in the Welfh language ; the Eng- 
 lifh fervice being performed in a chapel 
 of eafe fituated in the north-weft corner of 
 the town walls, and formerly built for the 
 ufe of the garrifon. 
 
 At Caernarvon is a fmall but pretty good 
 harbour, ufed chiefly by the veflels which 
 trade there for dates, of which many thou- 
 fands are exported every year to different 
 parts of the kingdom. Thefe dates are 
 brought from the mountains of Llanberis, a 
 
 - j 
 
 village ten miles diftant. The quarries are 
 generally high up amongft the rocks, and 
 the workmen, in conveying them down 
 from thence, are obliged, as well as one 
 hcrfe before, to have another behind the 
 carts, to prevent the whole, in fome of the 
 dangerous fteeps in which thefe mountains 
 abound, from being dafhed headlong to the 
 bottom, which muft fometimes inevitably 
 
 L 3 be 
 
150 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 be the cafe without this contrivance. This 
 feems a moft inconvenient mode of convey¬ 
 ance : it appears that Hedges, fimilar to thofe 
 ufed in many parts of Weftmoreland and 
 Cumberland for conveying Hates down the 
 mountains, would not only be lefs expen- 
 five, but much more fafe and commodious. 
 
 The entrance into Caernarvon Caftle is 
 through a high grand gateway, over which 
 is a figure of the royal founder grafping in 
 his hand a dagger. In this gate, which 
 has been otherwife remarkably ftrong, there 
 have been no lefs than four portcullifes. 
 The caftle is a large and irregular building, 
 much more ftiattered within than from 
 viewing it on the outfide one would be led 
 to imagine. The towers are for the moft 
 part odtagonal, but there are three or four 
 which have each ten fides; amongft thefe 
 is the Eagle Tower, the largeft and by far 
 the moft elegant in the whole building. 
 This tower, which received its name from 
 
 the 
 
 I V 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 151 
 
 the figure of an eagle yet left at the top of 
 it, ftands at one end of the oblong court of 
 the caftle, and has three handfome turrets 
 iffuing from it’s top. 
 
 i In this tower it was that Edward, the 
 firft Prince of Wales, afterwards Edward II. 
 was born, on St. Mark's day, the 25th of 
 April, 1284. Mr. Pennant * fays, that the 
 prince was brought forth “ in a little dark 
 “ room not twelve feet long, nor eight in 
 breadth.” This affertion is certainly found¬ 
 ed upon tradition, but I wonder very much 
 at that gentleman's retaining the opinion, 
 after he had once examined the place. This 
 room has indeed had a window and a fire 
 place in it, but has never been any thing 
 more than a pafiage-room to the other 
 apartments, which, during the queen's ill— 
 nefs, though nearly the moft magnificent 
 in the caftle, muft have been ihut up, as 
 
 * Tour in Wales, II. 215. 
 
 L 4 
 
 ufelefs. 
 
152 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALKS. 
 
 ufelefs. I have no doubt whatever, but that 
 when Edward fent for his queen from Eng¬ 
 land, he provided for her a more magni¬ 
 ficent and fuitable bed-room than this, 
 v/hich, befides being extremely inconvenient 
 at a time like that, at the birth of an Englifh 
 prince, mud, from its being fo finall and 
 confined, have been beyond meafure un¬ 
 healthful. If the prince was born in the 
 Eagle Tower, it mull have been in one of 
 the large rooms, occupying in width the 
 whole infide, in an apartment fuitable to 
 the majefty of the heir apparent to the Eng- 
 lifh crown, and not, as the guide, who 
 fhewed me the caftle termed it, “ in fuch 
 “ a dog-hole as this/’ From the top of 
 the building I was highly gratified by an 
 extenfive view of the Ifle of Anglefea, 
 the Menai, and the country many miles 
 rounds 
 
 At tlje other end of the court, and oppo- 
 fite to this tower, is a gate, called the 
 
 Queen’s 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 153 
 
 Queen’s Gate, faid to be that through 
 which the faithful Eleanor, Queen of Ed¬ 
 ward I. firft entered the caftle $ it has been 
 guarded by two portcullifes, and had once 
 a communication with the outlide of the 
 caftle by a draw-bridge over a deep moat. 
 It is at prefent confiderably above the level 
 of the ground on the outfide, owing pro¬ 
 bably to the fofle having been filled up with 
 earth from thence. 
 
 The ftate apartments are larger, and have 
 been much more commodious than any of 
 the others. The windows have been wide and 
 elegant. On the outfide the building is fquare; 
 but I was furprifed, upon going into them, 
 to find all the rooms perfectly polygonal, the 
 fides being formed out of the vaft thicknefs 
 of the walls. The floors and ftairs through¬ 
 out the caftle are almoft all beaten in and 
 demolifhed. 
 
 There was formerly a gallery quite round 
 the caftle, by which, during a liege, a com¬ 
 munication 
 
m A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES.. 
 
 munication could be had with the other 
 parts without danger. On one fide this 
 yet remains undemolifihed. It was next 
 the outer wall, and v/as lighted by narrow 
 Hits that ferved as ftations, from which, 
 during a fiege, arrows, and other mifiile 
 weapons could be difcharged with advan¬ 
 tage upon the enemy. The caftle occupies 
 the whole weft end of the town ; it has 
 been a fortrefs of great ftrength, and before 
 the introduction of artillery v/as, no doubt, 
 able to withftand for a long time the moft 
 forcible attacks of an enemy. The exterior 
 walls are in general about three yards in 
 thicknefs. From its fituation and ftrength 
 it feems to have been well adapted to over¬ 
 awe the newly acquired fubjeCts of it's 
 founder. It is bounded on one fide by the 
 Streights of Menai; by the Eftuary of the 
 Seiont, exaftly where it receives the tide 
 from the former, on another ; on the third, 
 and part of the fourth fides, by a creek of 
 
 the 
 
 i 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. Ibb 
 
 the Menai; and the remainder has the ap¬ 
 pearance of having the infulation completed 
 by art. 
 
 From a heap of rubbifh, near the end of 
 
 / 
 
 the court oppofite to the Eagle Tower, 
 there is an echo which repeats feveral fyl- 
 lables moft diftin&ly. There is alfo a 
 fingle reverberation, and it appeared to pro¬ 
 ceed from fome part of that tower. 
 
 This caftle, from whatever point, or at 
 whatever diftance it is viewed, has a ro¬ 
 mantic Angularity, and an air of dignity 
 that commands an awe, and at the fame 
 time pleafes the beholder. It’s ivy-clad 
 walls appear in fome parts to be going fail 
 to decay, while in others they even yet re¬ 
 tain their antient form. 
 
 When one confiders that it has withftood 
 the fhocks of more than five hundred win¬ 
 ters, one almoft wonders that it has flood 
 fo long; for what is there that does not 
 fade ? 
 
 The 
 
IB 6 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 ----The tower that long hath Rood 
 
 The crufh of thunder and the warring winds, 
 Shook by the Row, but fure deRroyer—Time, 
 Now hangs in doubtful ruins o’er its bafe ; 
 And flinty pyramids, and walls of brafs 
 Defcend ; the Babylonian fpires are funk, 
 Achaia, Rome, and Egypt moulder down. 
 
 This huge rotundity we tread grows old ; 
 
 And all thofe worlds that roll about the Sun, 
 
 The Sun himfelf {hall die ; and antient Night 
 Again involve the defolate abyfs. 
 
 It appears probable, that the town of 
 Caernarvon lprung from the antient Segon- 
 tium, a Roman city, about half a mile dis¬ 
 tant, and is not, as generally fuppofed, 
 indebted to Edward I. for its name, for 
 Caer-yn-Arfon might, with equal propriety, 
 have been applied to the old city, as to this 
 more modern fortrefs. The town, how¬ 
 ever, was no doubt the creation of Edward, 
 and it was moft probably formed, in a great 
 meafure, from the ruins of the old fort. 
 
 After 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 157 
 
 After this monarch had fubdued the 
 Welfh, he began to fecure his conquefts 
 by erecting feveral ftrong holds, in different 
 parts of Wales ; and it appearing that Caer¬ 
 narvonshire, on account of its mountains 
 and moraffes, was a county very likely to 
 encourage infurreftions, he determined to 
 guard as much as poffible againft fuch, by 
 eredting there the caftles of Conwy and 
 Caernarvon, two of the ftrongeft in the 
 whole principality.* 
 
 He began this caftle in the beginning of 
 1283, and completed it within that year ; for 
 on the 25 th of April, in the year following, 
 his fon Edward, the firft Prince of Wales, 
 frequently afterwards filled from the event, 
 Edward of Caernarvon, was born here.-f* 
 Mr. Pennant, from the authority of manu- 
 
 * Caite’s Hiflory of England, II. 196. 
 
 t Matt. Welt. 372. Speed fays, the prince was 
 born on St. Mark's day, 1285. See his Chronicle, II. 
 
 545 - 
 
 fcripts 
 
358 
 
 A TOUR ROUNt> NORTH WALES. 
 
 fcripts in the poflfeffion of Sir John Sebright 
 
 m 
 
 and Sir Roger Moftyn, of Gloddaeth, fays, 
 that it was built within the fpace of one 
 year, by the labour of the peafants and at 
 the coft of the chieftains of the country, on 
 whom the conqueror had impofed that hate¬ 
 ful tafk.* The revenues of the Archbi- 
 fhopric of York, which was then vacant, 
 were applied towards defraying the ex- 
 pences.-f* 
 
 The reafon why the Queen was brought 
 here to bring forth the prince was, that 
 fince the Welfh remembered but too keenly 
 the oppreffions of the Englifh officers who, 
 in former reigns, had been placed over 
 them, they flatly told the king that they 
 were determined never to yield obedience 
 but to a prince of their own nation; and 
 Edward, perceiving them refolute, thought 
 
 «• 
 
 it 
 
 * Pennant’s Tour, II. 215. 
 t Grofe’s Antiquities, VII. p. 8. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 159 
 
 it a neceffary policy to have her removed, 
 though in the depth of a fevere winter, 
 from the Englifli court, to this place, and 
 thus, if poffible, delude them into that obe¬ 
 dience which he fuppofed it might be diffi¬ 
 cult to retain by mere force. Bv this means 
 he, in a fhort time, by affenting to their 
 demands for a prince of their own, reduced 
 
 the whole country to his will. 
 
 * 
 
 This place appears either to have fuffered 
 very little from the calamities of war, or 
 very few events have been given to pofterity. 
 In the year 1294, in an infurredtion of the 
 Welfh, headed by Madoc, one of the chief¬ 
 tains of the country, it was fuddenly attack¬ 
 ed during the fair, and after the furrender, 
 the town was burned and all the Englifli 
 found in the place cruelly murdered.* 
 
 * Henry de Knyghton, 2502. Tho. Walfingham, 
 26. Holinfhed’s Chronicle, II. 273. Stow’s An¬ 
 nals, 2c6. 
 
 When 
 
160 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 When and by whom this damage was re¬ 
 paired, or how foon afterwards the caftle 
 was retaken by the Englifh, is not mentioned 
 in any of the accounts that I have feen. 
 
 The firft perfon whom I find appointed 
 by Edward to be the governor, was John de 
 Havering, with a falary of two hundred 
 marks, for which he was obliged to main¬ 
 tain conflantly, befides his own family, 
 eighty men, fifteen of whom were to be 
 crofs-bowmen, one chaplain, one furgeon, 
 and one fmith ; the reft were to do the 
 duty of keepers of the gates, centinels, and 
 other neceflary offices. 
 
 In 1289, Adam de Wetenhall was ap¬ 
 pointed to the fame important office. The 
 eftablifhment for the town and caftle was 
 as follows. The conftable of the caftle had 
 fometimes fixty, and at other times only 
 forty pounds per annum. The captain of 
 the town £12. 3/. 4 d. for his annual fee; 
 but this office was fometimes annexed to 
 , the 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 161 
 
 the former, and then the falary was fixty 
 pounds for both. The conftable and cap¬ 
 tain had twenty-four foldiers allowed them, 
 for the defence of the place at the wages 
 of fourpence a day each. ^Certainly this 
 flight gar-rifon could only be eftablifhed for 
 peaceful times !* 
 
 In the year 1644 Caernarvon Caftle was 
 feized by Captain Swanly for the parlia¬ 
 ment, who at the fame time took four 
 hundred prifoners and a great quantity of 
 arms, ammunition, and pillage.-f* It muft 
 however have been very foon afterwards 
 retaken, for in May, 1645, I find it amongft 
 the caftles which were fortified for the 
 king.J Lord Byron was then the gover¬ 
 nor, but on the caftle being befieged by 
 
 # Pennant’s Tour, II. 216. 
 
 f Whitelock’s Memorials, 87. 
 
 X Rufliworth’s Hiftorical Collections, Part IV. 
 Vol. I. p. 21. 
 
 vol, i» M ' General 
 
 1 
 
f 
 
 162 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WAIJES. 
 
 General Mytton' and General Langhorn, 
 about a year afterwards, he furrendered it 
 to them upon honourable terms.* 
 
 In 1648 General Mytton and Colonel 
 
 1 * 
 
 Mafon were befieged here by Sir John 
 Owen, with a fmall force of a hundred and 
 fifty horfe and a hundred and twenty foot ; 
 but Sir John having received notice that a 
 detachment from the parliament's army, 
 under the command of Colonel Carter and 
 Lieutenant Colonel Twiileton, were upon 
 their march to join Mytton, drew off his 
 troops to attack them, and meeting them 
 on the fands, near Llandegai, betwixt 
 Bangor and Conwy, after a {harp engage¬ 
 ment, his party was routed, about thirty 
 of his men killed and himfelf, and about 
 a hundred others were taken prifoners.*f" 
 
 * Whitelock, 208. 
 
 t Rufhworth, part IV. vol. II. p. 1146. White- 
 
 lock, 311. 
 
 From 
 
 A 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 163 
 
 From this time all North Wales became 
 fubjed: to .the Parliament. 
 
 William Prynne, the barrifter, for pub- 
 
 \ 
 
 lifliing his book, called Hijlrio Majlyx t 
 was fenteneed by the Court of Star Cham¬ 
 ber, in 1637, to pay a fine of five thou- 
 fand pounds, to lofe the remainder of his 
 ears, to be ftigmatized on both his cheeks 
 with an S for fchifmatip, and to be im- 
 prifoned in this caftle for the remainder 
 of his life.* The former part of his fen- 
 fence was feverely put in execution, but 
 after a fhort confinement he was reftored 
 
 to liberty, and held a feat in the Ploufe of 
 
 \ 
 
 Commons till his death. 
 
 The property of the caftle is, at prefent, 
 
 0 
 
 in the crown, where it has been for near 
 a century. It was formerly held by the 
 families of the Wynnes of Glynllivon, the 
 Wynnes of Gwydir, the Bulkeleys of 
 
 * Whitelock, 26 . 
 
 M 2 Baron 
 
364 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES 
 
 Baron Hill in Anglefea, and the Moftyns 
 of Gioddaeth.* 
 
 The cradle of the unfortunate Edward 
 II. is dill preferved, and either is now r , or 
 
 was very lately, in the pafTeffion of the 
 Reverend Mr. Ball of Newland, in Glou^ 
 
 * Grofe’s Antiquities, VII. 9. 
 
 cefterdnre. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 165 
 
 cefterlhire. It defcended to him from one 
 of his anceftors who attended that prince 
 
 in his infancy, and to whom it became an 
 
 \ 
 
 honorary perquifite. This Angular piece of 
 antiquity, which I have delineated on. the 
 oppoiite page, from an engraving in the Lon¬ 
 don Magazine for March 1774, is made of 
 heart of oak, whole fimplicity of conftruc- 
 tion, and rudenefs of workmanship, are vifi- 
 ble demonftrations of the fmall progrefs that 
 elegancy had at that time made in orna- 
 mental decorations. On the top of the 
 upright polls are two figures of birds, 
 
 fuppofed, by fome, to have been intended 
 
 / 
 
 for doves, the emblems of innocency, but 
 though thefe fome what referable owls ift 
 
 their fhape, I conjecture them to have 
 
 \ 
 
 been intended for eagles, as the tower was 
 called the Eagle tower, and had a figure 
 of that bird at the top of it. The cradle 
 itfelf is pendent on two hooks driven into 
 the uprights, linked by two rings to two 
 
 M 3 ftaples 
 
 1 
 
166 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 ftaples faftened to the cradle, and by them 
 it fwings. The ftdes- and ends of the . 
 cradle are ornamented with a great va¬ 
 riety of mouldings, whofe junctions at the 
 corners are cut off fcjuare without any 
 degree of neatnefs, and the (idea and ends 
 are faftened together by rough nails. On 
 each fide are three holes tor the rockers. 
 Its dimenfions are three feet two inches in 
 length; twenty inches wide at the head, 
 and feventeen at the foot; one foot five 
 inches deep, and from the bottom of the 
 pillar to the top of the birds, it is two 
 feet ten inches.* 
 
 The town and caftle had feveral privi- 
 
 i v 
 
 leges and immunities granted to them by 
 their founder. The moft material of thefe 
 were, that Caernarvon Ihould be a free , 
 Borough, that the conftable of the caftle 
 
 * See London Magazine for March 1774, p. 135, 
 * 3 6 - - • 
 
 Ihould 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 167 
 
 fhould be the mayor for the time being, 
 and that the burgeffes might eled: two 
 bailiffs. 
 
 They had likewife their own prifon for 
 ail petty tranfgreflions; which prifon was 
 not to be fubjedt to the fheriff. They 
 had alfo a merchant’s guild, with this pe¬ 
 culiar privilege, that if the bondfman of 
 any perfon belonging to it dwelt within 
 this town, having lands, and paying fcot 
 and lot for a year and a day, after that 
 time he fhould not be claimed by his lord, 
 but fhould remain free in the faid town. 
 The inhabitants were befides exempt 
 throughout the kingdom, from toll, laf- 
 tage, paffage, murage, pontage, ftallage, 
 danegelt, and from all other cufloms and 
 impofitions whatfoever. And by the fame 
 charter Jews were not permitted to refide 
 within the Borough.* They had alfo 
 
 * Grofe’s Antiquities, VII. p, 9, 
 
 M 4 another 
 
J68 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH 'WALKS. 
 
 * 
 
 another privilege, which was, that none 
 of the burgeffes could he convidted of any 
 crime committed between the rivers Conwy 
 and Dyfy, unlefs by a jury of their own 
 townfmen.* The princes of Wales had 
 here their chancery, exchequer, and juf- 
 ticiary of North Wales.*f* 
 
 The town is at prefent governed by a 
 mayor, one alderman, two bailiffs, a 
 town-clerk, and two fergeants at mace* 
 The reprefentative for the place is eledted 
 by it’s burgeffes, and thofe of Conwy, 
 Pwllheli, Nefyn, and Criccaeth. The 
 right of voting is in every one reiident or 
 non-refident, who has been admitted to 
 his freedom. J 
 
 A * . <’ A \ ' ’ •- . • % 4 » 
 
 * Pennant's Tour, II. 218. 
 
 t Gibfon’s Camden, 665. Wynne’s Memoirs 
 of the Gwydir family, 417. 
 
 X Pennant II. 219. who quotes Willis’s Notitia 
 Parliam. III. part I. 76. 
 
 About 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 163 
 
 About half a mile fouth of Caernarvon 
 are a few walls, the fmall remains of Se¬ 
 gontium,* the antient Roman city, men¬ 
 tioned in the Itinerary of Antoninus, which 
 appears to have been the principal Ration 
 the Romans had in this country, Dinas 
 
 i 
 
 Dinorddwig,-f* and all the others being 
 only fubordinate Rations. The Roman 
 road from Dinas Dinlle to Segontium, and 
 from thence to Dinas Dinorddwig, is, in 
 fome places, Rill vifible. 
 
 * Called alfo by the Welfti Caer Cujleint, the 
 fort of Conftantine, and Caer Segont, the fort on the 
 river Seiont. 
 
 t The following is a copy of an infcription, fup- 
 pofed to be Roman, dug up not along ago near this 
 slace, 
 
 H L 
 IMP 
 QTRO 
 DEC IO 
 ISA.. 
 
 ER 
 
 Segontium 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 no 
 
 Segontium received iris name from the 
 river Seiont,* which runs from the lower 
 lake at Llanberis, pafies under the walls, 
 and difcharges itfelf into the Menai, near 
 the caftle of Caernarvon. It has been of 
 an oblong form, and formerly occupied 
 about fix acres of ground. It is now 
 divided into two parts by the road which 
 leads to Beddgelert. 
 
 Not far from hence is the antient fort 
 which belonged to itj this is alfo of an 
 oblong figure, and contains about an acre 
 of ground. The walls are at prefent 
 about eleven feet high and fix in thicknefs, 
 and at each corner there has formerly been 
 a tower. The Romans formed their walls 
 in a manner much different from what we 
 do now ; they firft placed the flones in 
 order one upon another, generally in two 
 courfes, the one regular and the other in 
 
 * Gough's Camd. II. 548. 
 
 a zigzag * 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 17! 
 
 a zigzag fafhion, and then poured boiling 
 mortar upon them, which, from it’s flu¬ 
 idity, infinuated itfelf into the many open¬ 
 ings and hollows of the work, and thereby, 
 from it’s ftrength, bound the irregular 
 pieces of ftone frequently ufed, into a firm 
 and folid wall. In making the mortar 
 they mingled land with the lime, unre¬ 
 fined by the fkreen, and charged with all 
 it's gravel and pebbles, and even fome of 
 the mortar, on breaking it, has been found 
 tempered with pounded brick. The mor¬ 
 tar ufed in thefe walls has acquired from 
 time almoft the hardnefs of ftone. 
 
 Along the walls are three parallel rows 
 of circular holes, each nearly three inches 
 in diameter, which pafs through the whole 
 
 thicknefs ; and at the end are others limi- 
 
 ? 
 
 lar. There has been much learned con- 
 
 % 
 
 jedture as to the defign of thefe holes, 
 fome have fuppofed them to have been 
 ufed for difcharging arrows through at the 
 
 enemy. 
 
172 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 enemy, but from their length and nar- 
 
 rownefs it is impoffible that this Ihould 
 
 ever have been the cafe. Others have 
 
 thought that they might have been left in 
 
 the walls to admit air, in order to harden the 
 
 liquid cement that was poured in; but 
 
 this cannot have been fo, fince there are 
 
 fuch at Salilbury that appear to have been 
 
 clofed with ftone at the ends, and others 
 
 $ 
 
 have been found even below the natural 
 furface of the ground at Manchefter, Mr. 
 
 i 
 
 Whitaker,* in his hiftory of Manchefter,. 
 fays, that he by chance met with one that 
 was accidentally laid open from end to end, 
 which he thought difclofed the defign of 
 all the reft, and which he fuppofes to have 
 been this: that as the Romans carried their 
 ramparts upwards, they took off from the 
 preflure of the parts below, and gave a 
 greater ftrength to the whole by turning 
 
 * Second edition, vol. I. p. 47. 
 
 little 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 173 
 
 little arches in their work, and fixing the 
 reft of the wall upon them. At Segon- 
 tium this appears to me to have been by 
 no means the cafe, for the holes are too 
 fmall, and at by far too great a diftance 
 from each other to have been of any ma¬ 
 terial ufe in taking oft from the weight: 
 and for my own part, if I may be allowed 
 a conjecture, merely from their external 
 appearance, I fhould be inclined to flip- 
 pole, notwithstanding the circumftance of 
 their being faid to be found below the 
 natural furface of the ground at Manchef- 
 ter, that they were made for no other 
 purpofe than merely to place in them 
 poles for refting the fcaffolding upon, ufed 
 in conftruCting the walls, and they may 
 probably have been left unfilled up in 
 order to admit the air into the interior of 
 the work, or for fome other purpofe, with 
 which I am not acquainted. I am more 
 inclined to this conjefture, fince they are 
 
 all 
 
 ( 
 
171 - 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 all parallel, and the rows at a proper 
 
 / 
 
 diftance above each other to admit the 
 men to work. Mr. Pennant fays, the 
 holes at the end feem to run through the 
 wall lengthways; thefe, I fhould think, may 
 go fix or eight feet in the wall, but there 
 
 t 
 
 is no reafon whatever to fuppofe they ever 
 went through . 
 
 Camden * fays, that this was the Set an - 
 thrum Portus of Ptolemy, but Mr. Whit¬ 
 aker,'!' with much greater propriety, fixes 
 that at the Neb of the Nefe, a high pro¬ 
 montory of land in the river Ribble, about 
 eight miles weft of Prefton, in Lancafhire, 
 Matthew of WeftminfterJ informs us, 
 that the body of Conftantius, the father 
 
 of Conftantine the Great, was difcovered 
 
 \ 
 
 here in the year 1283, and honourably 
 * II. 798. 
 
 t Hiftory of Manchefter, I. 180. 182. 
 
 4 P. 371. See alfo Leland’s -Colle&anea de 
 rebus Britannicus, vol. II. p. 46, 346, and 404. 
 
 interred 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 175 
 
 interred in the neighbouring church, mean¬ 
 ing, I fhould fuppofe, that of Llanbublic. 
 How the body of Conftantius came to be 
 interred here I know not, for even the 
 
 fame author, in the former part of his 
 
 . -' ■ , - \ 
 
 work, relates that he died at York.* 
 Helena, daughter of Q&avius, Duke of 
 Cornwall, and mother of Publicius, who 
 
 , ' X > 
 
 was born at Segontium, and to whom the 
 church is dedicated, is faid to have built 
 there a chapel, which the learned Row¬ 
 lands tells us was in being in his days.*f* 
 Cadwallo, the Prince of Wales from 
 365 to 376, on account of the Ifle of An- 
 glefea being infefted with the Irifh and 
 Pidtifh Rovers, removed the Britifh Court 
 from Aberffraw, where it had been placed 
 
 * Conftantius, vir fummae magnitudinis Eboraci 
 in Britannia diem claufit extremum. Matt. Weftm* 
 130. And fee Holinfhed’s Chronicle, I. 63. 
 t Mona antic^ua reftaurata, 165. 
 
 about 
 
ITS 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 about two hundred years before by Cafwal- 
 Ion, lawhir to Segontium, or, as the Welfh 
 called it, Caer Segont, where it remained 
 about a century, till affairs becoming more 
 fettled in Anglefea, it was reflored to the 
 ifland by Roderic Mawr, Roderic the Great , 
 where it afterwards continued during alj 
 the time of the Britifh princes.* 
 
 Whilft I was at Caernarvon, I was in- 
 duced from curiofity, to attend fome of 
 the meetings of a curious kind or branch 
 of Calviniftical methodifts, who from cer- 
 tain enthufiaftic extravagancies, which they 
 exhibit, are denominated Jumpers . I will 
 deferibe them from an account of one of 
 their own countrymen, as my own obfer- 
 yations did not lead me to be fo minute as 
 
 • » • *. i 
 
 he has been. “ They perfuade themfelves 
 <f that they are involuntarily adted upon by 
 ** fome divine impulfe; and becoming in- 
 
 * Rowland’s Mona antiqua, 149. 172. 
 
 toxicated 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 177 
 
 c ‘ toxicated with this imagined infpiration, 
 6C they utter their rapture and their triumph 
 with fuch wildnefs and incoherence— 
 €t with fuch gefticulation and vociferation, 
 as fet all reafon and decorum at defiance. 
 
 i 
 
 Thisprefumption feized chiefly the young 
 lc and fanguine, and, as it feems, like hyf- 
 “ teric affedtions, partly fpreading through 
 “ the crowd by fympathy; its operations 
 <c and effedts varying according to the dif- 
 “ ferent degrees of conftitutional tempe- 
 <€ rament, mock all defcription. Among 
 cc their preachers, who are alfo very vari- 
 “ ous in character, (illiterate and conceited 
 “ —or well meaning and fenfihle—or, too 
 * € frequently I fear, crafty and hypocritical) 
 “ fome are more diftinguifhed by their fuc- 
 “ cefs in exciting thefe Jlravaganza j*. One 
 i€ of thefe, after beginning perhaps in a 
 “ lower voice, in more broken and detached 
 ** fentences, rifes by degrees to a great- 
 
 N 
 
 VOL. X, 
 
 er 
 
178 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 “ er vehemence of tone and gefture, which 
 “ often fwells into a bellowing, as grating 
 “ to the ear as the attendant diftortions 
 “ are difgufting to the fight—of a rational 
 €t man. In the early part he is accompa- 
 c ‘ nied only by fighs and occafional moans, 
 “ with here and there a note of approbation; 
 
 which after a while are fucceeded by 
 iC winnings and exclamations $ till, at 
 <c length one among the crowd, wrought 
 ts up to a pitch of ecflacy, which it is fup- 
 “ pofed will permit no longer to be fup- 
 < c preffed, darts and commences the jump- 
 <c ing; ufing at intervals fome exprefiions 
 ct of praife or of triumph. The word 
 “ mod generally adopted is “ gogoniant 
 “ (glory!) Between thefe exclamations, 
 “ while labouring with the fubjeft, is emit- 
 “ ted from the throat a harfh undulating 
 
 # Thefe preachings are altogether in the Welth 
 
 found, 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 179 
 
 “ found, which by the profane has been 
 compared to a ftone-cutter’s faw. The 
 cc conclufion, which I am almoft afhamed 
 <s to defcribe, has more the appearance of 
 cc heathen orgies, than of the rational fer- 
 “ vour of chriftian devotion. The phren- 
 “ fy fpreads among the multitude; for in 
 
 i 
 
 “ fa ft a kind of religious phrenfy appears 
 “ to feize them. To any obfervations made 
 “ to them they feem infenfible. Men and 
 u women indifcriminately, cry and laugh, 
 <c jump and ling, with the wildeft extrava- 
 “ gance. That their drefs becomes deranged 
 “ or the hair dilhevel’d, is no longer an obj eft 
 “ of attention. And their raptures continue, 
 cc till, fpent with fatigue of mind and body, 
 “ the women are frequently carried out in 
 “ a fate of apparent infenfibility. In thefe 
 €t fcenes indeed the youthful part of the 
 €€ congregation are principally concerned; 
 the more elderly generally contenting 
 
 N 2 (< themfelves 
 
 
IS0 A TOUR HOUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 «-*- - --—» 
 
 “ themfelves with admiring, with devout 
 “ gratitude, what they deem the opera- 
 “ tions of the fpirit.^ Their exertions are 
 fo great at thefe times, that the hardefl la¬ 
 bour they could be put to, would not fo 
 much wafte their animal fpirits, or weary 
 their limbs, as two hours fpent in this reli¬ 
 gious fury. Were their meetings feven 
 times a week, inftead of once or twice, I 
 am confident that the ftrongeft conflitution 
 could bear it but a very fhort time. 
 
 Befides thefe they have their general 
 meetings, which are held once or twice in 
 a year, at Caernarvon, Pwllheli, and other 
 places in rotation. At thefe they fome- 
 times aflemble fo many as five or fix thou- 
 fand people. They hold their general 
 meeting at Caernarvon in the open air upon 
 the green, near the caftlej and not content¬ 
 ed with their enthufiafiic extravagancies 
 upon the foot, many of the people, from 
 
 the 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALTS. 
 
 181 
 
 the country, have been known to continue 
 them for three or four miles of their road 
 home.* 
 
 * The following is an extract from a Letter infert- 
 ed in the Gentleman s Magazine for September, 
 1799. p. 741. It is dated from Denbigh, and has the 
 fignature W. M. B. “ What renders this feet par- 
 ticularly dangerous is, that the preachers are in 
 <c general instruments of Jacobinifm ? fent into this 
 tc country to diffeminate their doctrines; and I af- 
 
 1 
 
 “ fure you, that Paine's JVorks , and other books of 
 “ the like tendency have been tranjlated into Wcljh, 
 (i and fee ret ly dijlributed about by the leaders of this 
 {i fedt. Thefe are facts which may be depended on, 
 <f and which are well known to many in this coun- 
 U try as well as to myfelf.” Such is the zeal which 
 the enemies of our country exhibit in dilleminating 
 their poifonous principles into the minds of the illi¬ 
 terate and vulgar, who unable to fee through their 
 fhallow artifices, are frequently I fear too eafily led 
 ip to their wicked defigris. 
 
 N 3 
 
 CHAP. 
 
182 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALTS. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 EXCURSION FROM CAERNARVON TO LLANBERIS. 
 -VALE OF LLANBERIS—PICTURESQUE SCE¬ 
 NERY— ROAD — LAKES—DOLBADARN CASTLE- 
 WATERFALL—COPPER MINE—VILLAGE—INHA¬ 
 BITANTS—PUBLIC HOUSES— CHURCH—WELL*— 
 CURATE — CAMDEN’S DESCRIPTION OF CAER¬ 
 NARVONSHIRE—MARGARET UCH EVAN—GLY- 
 DER VAWR—LLYN Y CWN—EXTENSIVE VIEW— 
 GLYDER BACH—CWM IDWEL—TULL DU—LLYN 
 IDWEL—PLANTS—ROMANTIC PASS NEAR LLAN¬ 
 BERIS. 
 
 r road from Caernarvon to Llan- 
 
 beris, the church of St. Peris , a vil¬ 
 lage, about ten miles eaft of it, was, for 
 the mod: part, rugged and unpleafant, 
 lying for nearly half the way over a flat 
 and barren country; and beyond that, 
 as far as the flrft or lower lake, over 
 mountains which, affording no varied 
 profpedls, were {till dull and uninterefting. 
 
 But 
 
 \ 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 183 
 
 But when I had pafled thefe, and was 
 arrived in the vale of Llanberis,* the 
 fcene which prefented itfelf was fo truly 
 grand that I do not recoiled: one equal to 
 it, even in the mo ft romantic parts of 
 Weftmoreland or Cumberland. It re¬ 
 minded me moft ftrongly of the fcenery 
 about Ulfwater ; but this, though much 
 lefs extenfire, is ft ill more pidurefque. 
 The bold and prominent rocks which af- 
 cend almoft immediately from the edges 
 of the lakes, and tower into the fky, caft 
 a pleafing gloom upon the whole land- 
 fcap e» The more diftant mountains of 
 the vale embofoming the mo fs-grown vil¬ 
 lage, with the meadowy flat around it, 
 are feen retiring in lines crofting each other 
 behind in the moft pidurefque manner 
 poflible, whilft the intermediate fpace, 
 
 * This yale is alfo called Nant Beris, the hollow 
 of Peris, 
 
 N 4 betwixt 
 
184 
 
 A TOUR HOUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 betwixt the village and the obferver, is 
 filled up with a fmall lake, whofe waters 
 reflecting the mountains which bound it, 
 contract their fombre hue, and render the 
 fcene ftill more interefting. I could al- 
 moft have fancied that nature untamed 
 
 i 
 
 bore here an uninterrupted fway a mid ft the 
 gloom and grandeur of thefe dreary rocks, 
 had not the filence been, at intervals, in¬ 
 terrupted by the loud blafts from the 
 neighbouring copper mine, which rolled 
 like diftant thunder along the atmofphere. 
 
 In my walk to this place, I met feveral 
 women and boys upon the road, who were 
 coming from the mountains with horfes, 
 fome laden with peat, almoft the only kind 
 of fuel ufed by the middle and lower clafs 
 of people in Caernarvonihire, and others 
 
 with heath, or as it is here called, Grug , 
 
 / 
 
 which the bakers make ufe of in heating 
 their ovens. Thefe they take from a dis¬ 
 tance of frequently more than fix miles, to 
 
 fell 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 185 
 
 fell at Caernarvon, where they in general 
 receive about fixpence for each horfe load. 
 In thefe journies, I have almoft always ob^ 
 ferved that the women employ themfelves 
 in knitting, which makes fome fmall addi¬ 
 tion to their miferable and hard-earned 
 pittance. 
 
 There is no carriage road from Caer¬ 
 narvon nearer to Llanberis than the bottom 
 of the lower lake, which is not quite half 
 way; the road from thence being nothing 
 more than a horfe path, and one of the worft 
 I ever faw. The belt mode for thofe who 
 are not able to walk fo far, is to go on 
 horfeback or in carriages, as far as the lake, 
 from whence they may be conveyed, in 
 boats, to the waterfall, the old caftle, or 
 the village. I found every part about this 
 romantic fpot fo extremely interefting that 
 I moft ftrenuouily advife all perfons who 
 vifit Caernarvon, to prolong their rout by 
 coming here. There are no difficulties 
 
 encoun- 
 
186 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 encountered but what the fcenery will 
 amply make up for. A perfon may ride all 
 the way on horfeback, but for the laft three 
 
 v . 
 
 or four miles the road is fo very bad that it 
 would be juft as eafy to walk. 
 
 There are in the vale of Llanberis, 
 which is ftraight and nearly of an equal 
 breadth throughout, two fmali lakes or 
 rather pools i for their fize will fcarcely 
 
 admit of the former appellation. The 
 
 * 
 
 upper pool is about a mile in length, and 
 fomething lefs than half a mile over, and 
 the other, though rather longer, is fo very 
 narrow that it has much more the appear¬ 
 ance of a wide river than a lake. Thefe are 
 leparated by a fmali neck of land, but have 
 a communication by a dream which runs 
 betwixt them. 
 
 In thefe pools the fifli called char ufed 
 formerly to be taken, but owing to the 
 copper-works carried on here, thefe have al} 
 been long fince deftroyed. 
 
 On 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 187 
 
 On a rocky eminence betwixt the two. 
 Hands an old building called Dolbadarn 
 Caflle ; it confifts now of a round tower, 
 twenty-fix feet in diameter within, and 
 fome few fhattered remains of the walls and 
 offices, which have once occupied the fum~ 
 mit of the fteep. It is called Caftell Dol¬ 
 badarn, or, the cajlle of Padarns meadow , 
 on account of it’s having been eredled on 
 the verge of a piece of ground, called Pa- 
 darn's meadow, fuppofed to have been the 
 place to which an holy reclufe of that 
 name retired from the world, to enjoy here 
 meditation and folitude* 
 
 Juft thus in woods and folitary caves 
 
 The antient hermits liv’d, but they liv’d happy; 
 
 And in their quiet contemplations found 
 
 More real comforts, than focieties 
 
 Of men could yield, than cities could afford* 
 
 Or all the luftres that a court could give. 
 
 There are feveral churches in Wales 
 dedicated to this Britiffi faint. 
 
 This 
 
183 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALKS. 
 
 This caftle, from it's conftruftion is evi¬ 
 dently of Britifh origin, and Mr. Rowlands* 
 feems to have been of opinion, that it was 
 in exigence fo early as the fixth century, 
 for it is one of the forts which he mentions 
 as being about that time in the poffefiion 
 of Maelgwn Gwynedd, Prince of North 
 Walesa and his fon Rhun ap Maelgwn, 
 during their contentions with the Saxons. 
 
 It was built, no doubt, to defend the nar¬ 
 row pafs through the vale into the interior 
 of the mountains, and from it’s fituation, 
 feems to have been capable of affording 
 perfedt fecurity to two or three hundred 
 perfons in cafe of an emergency. In this 
 caftle Owen Goch was confined for more 
 than twenty years, for having joined in a 
 rebellion againft his brother Llewelyn ap 
 jorwerth, the laft Prince of Wales. It 
 feems to have been long in ruins, for in 
 
 * Mona antiqua reftaurata, 149. 
 
 Le- 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 189 
 
 Leland’s time, he lays, there was only “ a 
 piece of a tower” left.* 
 
 Mr. Warrington -f fuppofes that this was 
 antiently called Bere Caftle, £ which fome 
 of the hiftorians relate to have * been in 
 Caernarvonshire, and feated in the midft of a 
 morafs, inacceffible but by a Single caufeway, 
 and not to be approached but through the 
 narrow and rugged defiles between the 
 mountains. This, at that time, the ftrong- 
 eft caftle the Welfh poflefTed, was taken 
 in 1283, by the Earl of Pembroke, after a 
 flight reliftance. 
 
 A little to the fouth of the caftle is a 
 tremendous cataradl, called Caunant mawr, 
 
 * cf Dolbadarn is on a rock betwixt two linnys. 
 “ There is yet a pece of a toure, where Owen Gough, 
 <s brother to LJuelin, lad Prince, was yn prifon.” 
 Leland's I tin. V. 44. 
 
 t Hiftory of Wales, 517. See alfo Carte’s Hif- 
 tory of England, II. 194, who quotes Chron. T. 
 Wikes and Anna!. Trivet. 
 
 X A corruption probably of Peris or Berts CaJUe. 
 
 the 
 
190 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES* 
 
 the waterfall of the great chafn , the height 
 of which is upwards of fixty feet. It is 
 formed by a mountain ftream, which rufhes 
 through a narrow opening in the rock, and 
 
 is precipitated with a thundering noife into 
 
 / 
 
 the deep black pool below. 
 
 At fome diftance beyond the caftle, and 
 near the edge of the upper pool, is a copper 
 mine belonging to a company of proprie¬ 
 tors, who refide at Macclesfield. Thefe 
 works are very inconfiderable, not having 
 more than forty or fifty hands employed in 
 them. 
 
 The village of Llanberis is romantic in 
 the extreme ; it is fituated in a narrow 
 graffy dell, furrounded by immenfe rocks, 
 whofe fummits, cloud-capped, are but fel- 
 dom vifible to the inhabitants from below. 
 Except two tolerable houfes in the vale, 
 one belonging to Mr. Jones, the agent to 
 the copper mine, and the other, which is on 
 the fide of the lake, oppofite to Dolbadarn 
 
 caftle. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 191 
 
 eadle, belonging to the agent to the flate 
 quarries ; the whole village confids but of 
 two cottages, apparently the mod miferable. 
 
 r ' 
 
 They are in general condrufted of a fhaly 
 kind of done, with which the country 
 abounds, and with but jud fo much lime 
 as to keep out the keened of the mountain 
 blads. The windows are all very fmall, 
 and in addition to this, by far the greater 
 part of them, with having been formerly 
 broken, are blocked up with boards, leav¬ 
 ing only three or four panes of glafs, and 
 affording fcarcely fufficient light within to 
 render even cc darknefs vifible. ,> Here I 
 might have expected to find a race of men, 
 who, fubjedt to the inconveniences, with¬ 
 out participating in the benefits of civil 
 fociety, were in a date little fliort of mi- 
 fiery. Thefe men, it might again be fup- 
 pofed, in this fecluded place, with diffi¬ 
 culty contriving to keep up an exidence, 
 would be cheerlefs as their own mountains, 
 
 fihrowded 
 
192 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 fhrowded in fnow and clouds; but I found 
 them not fo, they were happier in their 
 mofs-grown coverings, than millions in 
 more exalted fiations of life ; here I truly 
 found that 
 
 i. 
 
 Tho* poor the peafant’s hut, his feafts tho’ fmall, 
 He fees his little lot, the lot of all; 
 
 Sees no contiguous palace rear it’s head. 
 
 To fhame the meannefs of his humble Ihed; 
 
 No coftly lord the fumptuous banquet deal. 
 
 To make him loath his vegetable meal; 
 
 But calm, and bred in ignorance and toil. 
 
 Each with contradling fits him to the foil. 
 Cheerful at morn he wakes from fhort repofe, 
 Breathes the keen air, and carols as he goes. 
 
 At night, returning, every labour fped. 
 
 He fits him down the monarch of a filed. 
 
 There are two houfes in this village, at 
 which the wearied traveller may take fuch 
 poor refrefhments as the place affords. 
 One of thefe belongs to John Clofe, a 
 
 g re y- 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 193 
 
 grey-headed old man, who, though born 
 and brought up in the north of Yorkshire, 
 having occafion to come into Wales when 
 he was quite a youth, preferred this to his 
 Yorkfhire home, and has reiided here 
 ever fince. The other houfe is kept by 
 the parifh clerk, who may be employed 
 as a guide over any part of the adjacent 
 country. I found him well acquainted 
 with the mountains, and a much more 
 intelligent man than guides in general are. 
 He does not fpeak Englifh well, but his 
 civility and attention were a fufficient 
 compenfation for that defedt. Neither of 
 thefe places afford a bed, nor any thing 
 better than bread, butter, and cheefe, and 
 perhaps, eggs and bacon. 
 
 As 1 was one day fitting to my ruftic 
 fare, in the former of thefe houfes, I could 
 not help remarking the oddnefs of the 
 group, all at the fame time, and in the 
 fame room, enjoying their different repafls. 
 
 O - At 
 
 VOL.I• 
 
194 A TOUR SOUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 At one table was feated the family of the 
 houfe, confifting of the hoft, his wife, and 
 their fon and daughter, eating their bread 
 and milk, the common food of the la¬ 
 bouring people here; a large overgrown 
 old fow making a noife, neither very low 
 nor very mufical, whiift fhe was devour¬ 
 ing her dinner from a pail placed for her 
 by the daughter, was in one corner, and I 
 was eating my bread and butter, with an 
 appetite fceeled againfi niceties by the 
 keennefs of the mountain air, at a table, 
 covered with a dirty napkin, in the other 
 corner. This fcene, however, induced 
 me ever afterwards, in rny excurfions to 
 this place, to bring with me refreshments 
 from Caernarvon, and enjoy my dinner in 
 quiet in the open air. But excepting in 
 this Single inflance, I did not find the 
 houfe worfe than I had any reafon to ex- 
 pedl in fuch a place as this. The accom¬ 
 modations in the clerk’s houfe are poor, 
 
 but 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 195 
 
 but the inhabitants feemed very clean and 
 decent people. 
 
 The church of Llanberis, which is de¬ 
 dicated to St. Peris, a cardinal, miffioned 
 from Rome as a Legate to this ifiand, who 
 is faid to have fettled and died at this 
 place, is, without exception, the moffc ill- 
 looking place of worlhip I ever beheld. 
 The firft time I vifited the village, I ab- 
 folutely miftook it for an antient cottage, 
 for even the bell turret was fo overgrown 
 with ivy as to bear as much the appearance 
 of a weather-beaten chimney as any thing 
 elfe, and the long grafs in the church yard 
 completely hid the few pave (tones therein 
 from the view. I thought it indeed a cot¬ 
 tage larger than the reft, and it was fome- 
 time before I could reconcile to myfelf 
 that it was a church. Here is yet to be 
 feen the Well of the Saint, inclofed within 
 a fcpare wall, but I met with no fybiJ, 
 who, as Mr. Pennant relates, could divine 
 
 Q 2 mv 
 
196 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 my fortune by the appearance or non-ap¬ 
 pearance of a little fifh which lurks in 
 fome of it’s holes. 
 
 The curate I faw, and was introduced 
 to ; he refides in a mean-looking cottage 
 not far diftant, which feemed to con lift 
 of but few other rooms than a kitchen and 
 bed room, the latter of which ferved alfo 
 for his ftudy. When I firft faw him he 
 was employed in reading in an old volume 
 of fermons. His drefs was fomewhat lin¬ 
 gular ; he had on a blue coat, which had 
 long been worn threadbare, a pair of an¬ 
 tique corderoy breeches and a black waift- 
 coat, and round his head he wore a blue 
 handkerchief. His library might have 
 been the fame that Hurdis has defcribed 
 in the Village Curate . 
 
 Yon half-a-dozen fh elves fupport, vaft weight. 
 The curate’s library. There marfhall’d (land, 
 Sages and heroes, modern and antique: 
 
 He, their commander, like the vanquifhed fiend. 
 
 Out- 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 197 
 
 Out~caft of heav’n, oft thro’ their armed files, 
 Darts an experienced eye, and feels his heart, 
 Diftend with pride, to be their only chief: 
 
 Yet needs he not the tedious mufter-roll. 
 
 The title-page of each well-known, his name, 
 And character. 
 
 From the exterior of the cottage, it feemed 
 but the habitation of mifery, but the 
 fmiles of the good man were fuch as would 
 render even mifery itfelf cheerful. His 
 falary is about forty pounds, on which, 
 with his little farm, he contrives to fup- 
 port himfelf, his wife, and a horfe, and 
 with this flender pittance he appeared per¬ 
 fectly contented and comfortable. His 
 wife was not at home, but from a wheel 
 which I obferved in the kitchen, I con¬ 
 jectured that her time was employed in 
 fpinning wool. The account I had from 
 fome of the parishioners of his character 
 was, that he was a man refpeCted and be¬ 
 loved by all, and that his chief attention 
 
 O 3 was 
 
198 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 was occupied in doing fuch good as his 
 circumftances would afford to his fellow 
 creatures. 
 
 I venerate the man whofe heart is warm, 
 
 Whofe hands are pure, whofe do&rine and whofe 
 life 
 
 Coincident, exhibit lucid proof 
 
 That he is hon^ft in the facred caufe. 
 
 To fuch I render more than mere refpe&, 
 
 Whofe a&ions fay that they refpeft themfelves. 
 
 The vale of Llanberis was formerly a!- 
 moil covered with wood, but of this, there 
 is at prefent, but little left, except a few 
 faplings from the old roots, which only 
 ferve to remind us of the greater want of 
 the reft. Within the memory of perfons 
 now living, there were great woods of oak 
 in different places about thefe mountains* 
 Leland,* who wrote in the reign of Henry 
 
 * Itin. V. 42. 
 
 VIII. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 199 
 
 VIII. fays, <c The beft wood of Cairnar- 
 von (hire is by Glinne Kiedder (Glyn 
 “ Llwydaw) and by Glin Lhughy (Glyn 
 €( LlygwyJ 9 and by Capel Kiryk (Capel 
 ** CurigJ, and at LlanperisV In the 
 time of Howel Dha, How el the good , who 
 was made Prince of Wales in the year 940, 
 the whole country muft have been nearly 
 covered with wood, for it is ordered in 
 the Wei(li laws, founded by him, that 
 * c whoever cleared away timber from any 
 <( land without the confent of the owner, 
 €i he fhould, for five years, have a right 
 “ to the land fo cleared ; and after that 
 “ time it Ihould return again to the 
 owner. 3 ’* Thefe mountains alfo for¬ 
 merly abounded in deer,*f- which even 
 
 continued 
 
 * Wotton’s Leges Wallies, 
 t In hac (Merioneth) et Arvonia cervornm et ca- 
 prearum maxima in excelfis montibus cernitur mul- 
 titudo. Hum. Lhwyd’s Comment. 54. Leland 
 
 O 4 in 
 
200 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 continued in great quantities till much 
 later than the reign of Henry VIIL but 
 after the ufe of fire arms became general, 
 they were foon all deftroyed. 
 
 Camden,* fpeaking of the romantic 
 parts of Caernarvonshire, fays “ Nature 
 t€ has reared groups of mountains, as if She 
 “ meant here to bind the ifland faft to the 
 “ bowels of the earth, and make a fafe 
 “ retreat for the Britons in time of war. 
 “ For here are fo many crags and rocks, 
 ee fo many woody vallies rendered impafli- 
 “ ble by fo many lakes, that the lighted: 
 “ troops, much lefs an army, could never 
 
 In his Itinerary, vol. V. p, 43, fays, “ Carnarvon- 
 C{ (hire, aboute the fhore, hath reafonable good 
 
 < . t 
 
 <i corne, as about a mile upland from the fhore 
 <c outo Cairarvon. Then more upwarde be Eryri 
 u hills, and in them ys very litle corne, except 
 u oats in fome places, and a litle barley, but 
 <£ fcantly rye : if there were the deer would dejlroy it 
 * Gough's Camden, III. 548. 
 
 (C 
 
 find 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 201 
 
 find their way among them. Thefe 
 * € mountains may truly be called the Bri- 
 tiih Alps ; for befides that they are the 
 <<r higheft in the whole ifland, they are 
 C€ like the Alps, befpread with broken 
 “ crags on every fide, all furrounding 
 one, which towering far above the reft 
 ** in the centre, lifts it's head fo loftily as 
 “ if it meant not only to threaten, but to 
 “ thruft it into the fky/ 5 
 
 Near the end of the lower lake at Llan- 
 beris, there formerly lived a celebrated 
 perfonage, called Margaret ach Evan , 
 who died a few years fince at the great 
 age of about 105, file was the la ft fpe- 
 cimen of the ftrength and fpirit of the 
 antient Britifh fair. €t This extraordi- 
 
 nary female was the greateft hunter, 
 €€ lhooter, and fifher of her time ; fine 
 t( kept a dozen at leaft of dogs, terriers, 
 “ greyhounds, and fpaniels, all excellent 
 * c in their kinds. She killed more foxes 
 
 “ in 
 
202 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 ** in one year than all the confederate 
 ** hunts do in ten ; rowed ftoutly, and 
 was queen of the lake; fiddled excel- 
 ** lently, and knew all the old Britifh 
 €C mufic; did not negledt the mechanic 
 arts, for (he was a good joiner : and at 
 * c the age of feventy, was the bell: wreftler 
 ** in the country, and few young men 
 ** dared to try a fall with her. Some 
 years ago fhe had a maid of congenial 
 qualities; but death, that mighty hun- 
 ter, at laft earthed this faithful compa- 
 <c nion of hers. Margaret was alfo black- 
 fmith, fhoe-maker, boat-builder, and 
 i€ maker of harps. She (hoe her own 
 <c horfes, made her own fhoes, and built 
 her own boats, while fhe was under 
 ** contract to convey the copper ore down 
 ** the lakes. All the neighbouring bards 
 “ paid their addreffes to Margaret, and 
 “ celebrated her exploits in pure Britifh 
 verfe. At length fhe gave her hand to 
 
 S( the 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 20S 
 
 the moft effeminate of her admirers, as 
 “ if predetermined to maintain the fupe- 
 M riority which nature has beftowed on 
 “ her.*'* 
 
 Accompanied by the parifh clerk as a 
 guide, I afcended the lofty and almofl: per¬ 
 pendicular mountain on the north-eaft fide 
 of the village, called Glyder vawr, the 
 great Glyder . The afcent I found much 
 more fteep and tirefome than I afterwards 
 found that to the fummit of Snowdon* 
 The path all the way was rocky, and in 
 many places very wet and flippery: but 
 little inconveniences of this kind the tra¬ 
 veller, amongft the mountains, from their 
 frequent occurrence, will foon learn to 
 bear with. On the left of the afcent were 
 pointed out to me, at fome diftance, two 
 
 w 
 
 * This account of Margaret uch Evan is ex¬ 
 tracted from Mr. Pennant’s Tour, II. 166, 167. 
 
 high 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 2M 
 
 high mountains, called Llyder Vawr and 
 Llyder Vack, the greater and lejfer Llyder . 
 
 Glyder Vawr is the loftieft of all the 
 Caernarvonfhire mountains, except Snow¬ 
 don, and in a flat, almofl: furrounded by 
 rocks, about three-fourths of the diftance 
 to the fummit, we came to a fmall pool, 
 
 A 
 
 called Llyn y Cwn, the pool of the dogs . 
 This alpine lake is mentioned in the Iti¬ 
 nerary of Giraldus Cambrenfls,* as contain¬ 
 ing a Angular kind of trout, perch, and 
 Eels, which were all monocular, each 
 
 wanting a left eye. This account has in 
 general, been looked upon as fabulous ; 
 and Speed -f* thus deridingly fpeaks of it; 
 “ Thefe matters are out of my creed; 
 “ yet I think the reader had better be- 
 “ lieve them, than go to fee whether it 
 ** be fo or not.” But the Honourable 
 
 * -i'■* 
 
 * Gir. Camb. Itin. Cambrix, Lib. II. cap. 9. 
 p. S72. 
 
 i Theatre of Great Brit. 
 
 Daines 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 •205 
 
 Daines Barrington, in a paper on Cam¬ 
 brian fifh, , inferted in the Philofophical 
 Tranfacfiions for 1767, afferts, that on 
 accurate enquiry he had heard of a mono¬ 
 cular trout being taken within the memory 
 of perfons then living. At prefent I be¬ 
 lieve the pool is entirely deftitute of fi£h of 
 every defcription. 
 
 From the fummit of Glyder is a grand 
 and unbounded profpedt; on one fide, 
 the immenfe mountains of Caernarvon- 
 Ihire and Merionethfhire, appeared with 
 their prominent and towering precipices 
 in fuch rude order, that they feemed “ the 
 
 fragments of a fhattered world f ’ thefe 
 were interfered by the green meadowy vales 
 and deep glens which were feen to wind 
 amongft them. On the other fide, towards 
 the town of Caernarvon, I had the entire 
 Me of Anglefea furrounded by the fea, and 
 at a great difiance, the Me of Man re- 
 fembling a faintly formed cloud. Whilfi 
 
 the 
 
2 06 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES- 
 
 the intervening fpace betwixt myfelf and 
 the fea, was filled up by the varied fcenery 
 of mountain and vale, plentifully inter- 
 Iperfed with lakes and flreams. 
 
 At a little diflance, north-eafl of this 
 mountain, but with a deep hollow inter¬ 
 vening, is Glyder Bach, the lejfer Glyder , 
 of which Mr. Pennant * has given the 
 following fingular account, sc The area 
 44 of the fummit was covered with groups 
 44 of columnar Hones of vaft fize, from 
 44 ten to thirty feet long, lying in all di~ 
 44 redtions; moH of them were of co« 
 
 i * **«•»■ 
 
 44 lumnar form, often piled on one an- 
 46 other; in other places, half eredt, flop- 
 44 ing down, and fupported by others, 
 44 which lie, without any qrder, at their 
 44 bafes. The tops are frequently crowned 
 44 in the HrangeH manner with other Hones 
 44 lying on them horizontally. One was 
 
 * Tour in Wales, II. 160. 
 
 44 about 
 
. A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 207 
 
 “ about twenty-five feet long and fix 
 broad: I climbed up,” fays this Gen¬ 
 tleman, “ and on ftamping it with my 
 “ foot, felt a ftrong tremulous motion from 
 “ end to end. Another, eleven feet long 
 “ and fix in circumference in the thinneft 
 “ part, was poifed fo nicely on the point 
 a of a rock, that to appearance the touch 
 €C of a child would overfet it. A third 
 ** enormous mafs had the property of a 
 £C rocking ftone. 
 
 €€ Many of the ftones had bedded in 
 * c them fhells; and in their neighbour- 
 " hood I found feveral pieces of lava. I 
 “ would therefore confider this moun- 
 u tain to have been a fort of wreck of 
 “ nature, formed and flung up by fome 
 
 “ mighty internal convulfion, which has 
 
 / 
 
 6( given thefe vafl: groups of ftones for- 
 ge tuitoufly fuch a ftrange difpofition; for 
 “ had they been the fettled ftrata bared 
 of their earth by a long feries of rains, 
 
 “ they 
 
203 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 <€ they would have retained the fame re- 
 “ gular appearance that we obferve in all 
 
 * ' i 
 
 <€ other beds of fimilar matter.’’ 
 
 From my ftation on Glyder vawr, the 
 guide alfo pointed out to me, at the dis¬ 
 tance of four or five miles towards the 
 north, and beyond the deep hollows of 
 Nant Francon and Cwm Idwal, the two 
 lofty mountains, Carnedd David and Car- 
 nedd Llewelyn; the latter chiefly noted 
 on account of fome uncommon plants that 
 grow near it’s fummit. 
 
 Having fufficiently enjoyed the nume¬ 
 rous entertaining objedts which prefented 
 themfelves to me from this elevated fitu- 
 tion, I defcended to Llyn y Cwn; and 
 proceeding about three quarters of a mile 
 along the flat in which it is fituated, came 
 
 t 
 
 at length to an immenfe precipice above 
 a hundred yards in perpendicular height, 
 which forms one fide of the dreadful hol¬ 
 low that inclofes the black waters of Llyn 
 
 Idwal. 
 
A TOUR HOUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 209 
 
 » 
 
 IdvvaL This hollow, furrounded on all 
 ildes by black and prominent rocks, is 
 called Cwm Idwal, on account of it’s 
 having been the place where Nefydd Hardd, 
 for fome reafon, not known, caufed his 
 fon Dunawt to murder Idwal, the fon of 
 Owen Gwynedd, a young prince, who 
 had been entrufted to his care and pro¬ 
 tection.* It is a fit place to infpire mur¬ 
 derous thoughts. The fhepherds believe 
 it to be the haunt of demons, and that 
 no bird dare fly over it’s damned water, 
 fatal as that of Avernus. Knowing thefe 
 fadts, and {landing on the brink of the 
 gloomy vale, I could almoft have per- 
 fuaded myfelf that I had feen 
 
 The fheet fpe6tre rifmg from the gloom, 
 
 Point at the murderer’s flab, and fhudder by. 
 
 * See an account of the Fifteen Tribes of North 
 Wales in the Cambrian Regifter, I. p. 149. 
 
 vox. 1. P I de« 
 
CIO A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 I defcended alon® the broken rocks on 
 
 O 
 
 one fide of this precipice, to a great depth 
 into the hollow, and turning amongft the 
 larger mafles that lay in rude heaps, rather 
 more than half way down, where the 
 defcent began to be more gradual, I ar¬ 
 rived at the foot of a moft tremendous 
 chafm in the mountain, called Tull du, 
 the black cleft . A more fublime fcene 
 the pencil, even of Salvator Rofa, could 
 not have traced. Here the flream, that 
 runs from Llyn y Cwn, is feen rolling 
 from the top, and broken in it’s defcent 
 by a hundred interrupting rocks. But in 
 addition to this, there had been much 
 rain the day before I was here, and the 
 accumulated volume of water rufhing in 
 a vaft catarad, from the aftonifhing height 
 of a hundred andfifty yards. 
 
 In one impetuous torrent down the deep, 
 
 Now thundering (hot, and (hook the country round. 
 
 Amongft 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 211 
 
 Amongft the rocks, at the bottom, I ob- 
 ferved a number of circular holes of dif¬ 
 ferent fizes, from a few inches in dia¬ 
 meter to two feet or upwards, which have 
 been formed by the eddy of the torrent 
 from above. Thefe hollows are frequently 
 called by the Welfh people. Devil’s pots, 
 and from this circumftance, the place 
 itfelf is fometimes called the Devil’s kit¬ 
 chen. 
 
 From this place I now defcended to 
 Llyn Idwal, but found near this lake but 
 little recompenfe for my trouble. The 
 fcenery around was gloomy and difmal, 
 but afforded nothing of landfcape beauty, 
 Tull du from hence appeared merely a 
 cleft in the rock, without any thing re¬ 
 markable about it, for it’s great height 
 diminifhes it here almoft to nothing. Had 
 I firft feen it from hence I by no means 
 think I fliould have had the curiofity to 
 
 P 2 clamber 
 
212 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 clamber up to it, for the afcent is very 
 
 i 
 
 fteep and rocky. 
 
 With fome trouble I retraced the road 
 1 had come, and after a while arrived once 
 more at the place from whence I had be¬ 
 gun the defcent, and thence I proceeded 
 to the upper part of the horrid chafm 
 which I had before viewed with fuch 
 fublime pleafure from below. Near this 
 place I had been taught to expedt that 
 I ihould meet with a great number of 
 uncommon plants; and I was not dif- 
 appointed, for I this day found within a 
 very fmall fpace of ground, no fewer than 
 the following : Plant ago maritima—Lobelia 
 dortmanna—ParnaJJia paluJlris—Statice ar- 
 ?neria—Rum ex digynus—Vaccinium my r til - 
 lus — Cbryfofplenium oppojitifolium — Saxi- 
 fraga Jlellaris — Saxifraga nivalis — Saxi¬ 
 fraga palmata—Saxifraga oppofitijolia — Sax¬ 
 ifraga hypnoides—Silene acaulis—Arenaria 
 verna —And two varieties which have been 
 
 taken 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 1213 
 
 taken by Englifh botanifts for Arenwia 
 jumperina and Are?iaria laucifolia of Lin- 
 nxus, but thefe, according to Dr. Smith, 
 have not hitherto been found in England. 
 Rubus faxatilis—Phaliffrum alpinum—Lha- 
 UBrum ininus—Subularia Aquatic a — Coch- 
 learia officinalis—-Coc hie aria groenlandica of 
 Withering*-— Hieraciwn alpinum — G nap ha - 
 hum dioicnm—Pmpetrum nigrum—Rhodiola 
 rofea—Juniper us communis (var. 2. Moun¬ 
 tain dwarf Juniper tree) —Lycopodiutn Jela - 
 ginoides — Lycopodiumfelago—Lycopodium a!~ 
 pinum—Ifoetes lacujlris—■Pteris crifpa—Affi 
 plenium viride—Polypodium phegopteris 9 and 
 Polypodium fragile .—What a treat for a 
 botanift! 
 
 * This I have been informed, by Dr. Smith, is 
 not C. Groenlandlca of Linnasus, but only a variety 
 of C . Officinalis. Dr. Hull fays, when it is culti¬ 
 vated in a rich foil, it becomes C . Officinalis , but if 
 kept confined in a pot, retains it’s diminutive fize. 
 Brit iff) Flora , p. 482# 
 
 p 3 
 
 In 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 214 
 
 In a fecond vifit that I made to Llan- 
 beris, I went through the curious and ro¬ 
 mantic pafs, leading from thence by the 
 village of Capel Curig to Llanrwft. This 
 pafs is betwixt three and four miles in 
 length, and in fome places not more than 
 fifty or fixty yards wide. The rocks on 
 each fide are of a tremendous height, in 
 fome places nearly perpendicular, and in 
 others overhanging their bafes many yards. 
 Sometimes the road winds quite under the 
 precipices, and the impending rocks, defi* 
 titute of vegetation, render the fcene in 
 the higheft degree romantic. In few places 
 has Nature been more grand in her works 
 than in this vale, which towers infinitely 
 above all the pigmy works of art. About 
 two miles from Llanberis there is a huge 
 fragment of rock, once probably loofened 
 from the majeftic heights above, under 
 which is a confiderable cavity where a 
 poor woman for many years refided during 
 
 the 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 215 
 
 the fummer feafon, in order to tend and 
 milk her fheep and cows. The fummit 
 of the afcent, which is very gradual, is 
 called Gorphwysfa, or the rejiing place • 
 A good road might, I think, be made 
 without much expence from Caernarvon 
 by Llanberis, and through this pafs to 
 Llanrwft. This would be fhorter than 
 the prefent road by Conwy and Bangor 
 by at leaft ten miles, and would have all 
 the additional attractions of the moft ro¬ 
 mantic fcenery. 
 
 The walk from Llanberis back again to 
 Caernarvon, I found much more pleafing 
 than the dull mountain profpeCts the other 
 way. I had from all the eminences ✓ an 
 extenfive view of Anglefea towards Beau¬ 
 maris and Prieftholme, and to the left the 
 fine old cattle of Caernarvon appeared 
 with all it's fplendid towers rifing above 
 the hills. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
216 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 * * 
 
 EXCURSION FROM CAERNARVON TO THE SUM- 
 
 , i ' 
 
 MIT OF SNOWDON.-INSTRUCTIONS— CROG- 
 
 WYN DU’Il ARDDU—HEIGHT—NAME—Mr. PEN¬ 
 NANT’S DESCRIPTION—NATURAL PRODUCTIONS 
 —LAKES — PLANTS—WELL—INCREDIBLE STORY 
 OF GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS —SUN NOT APPEAR¬ 
 ING TO RISE FROM THE SEA —ROYAL FOREST — 
 BRITISH PARNASSUS — MORE INSTRUCTIONS — 
 SCHEME FOR AN INN NEAR DOLBADARN. 
 
 T HE diftance of the fummit of Snow- 
 don from Caernarvon, is rather more 
 than ten miles, and from Dolbadarn Caftle, 
 in the vale of Llanberis, the afcent is fo 
 gradual, that a perfon mounted on a little 
 Welfh poney may, without any great diffi¬ 
 culty, ride up very nearly to the top. 
 
 The traveller muft go from Caernarvon 
 to Dolbadarn Caftle, and then turning to 
 the right, go by the waterfall, Caunant 
 
 Mawr^ 
 
 i 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WATTS. 
 
 217 
 
 Mawr, up the mountain to a vale called 
 Cwm Brwynog, and proceeding along the 
 ridge, fouth weft of, and immediately over 
 the vale of Llanberis, he will come within 
 fight of a black, and almoft perpendicular 
 rock, with a fmall lake at it’s bottom, 
 called Clogwyn Du’r Arddu. This he will 
 leave about a quarter of a mile on his right, 
 and then afcending the fteep called Llech- 
 wedd y Re, he muft direft his courfe fouth 
 weft to the Well (a place fufficiently known 
 by the guides) from whence he will find it 
 about a mile to the higheft peak of Snow¬ 
 don, called Yr Wyddfa, the confpicuous . 
 
 Having conduced the traveller to the 
 fummit of this celebrated mountain, I will 
 now proceed to follow him myfelf. 
 
 I went from the caftle to Cwm Brwy- 
 
 nog, but inftead of taking the route I have 
 
 here prefcribed, I wandered to the foot of 
 
 % 
 
 Clogwyn Du’r Arddu, to fearch for fome 
 plants, which are mentioned by Llwyd and 
 
 Ray, 
 
‘218 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Ray, as growing on that rock. A clergy¬ 
 man of the neighbourhood, who was fo 
 obliging as to accompany me in this and 
 feveral other rambles among!! thefe moun¬ 
 tains, formed the wild idea of attempting 
 to climb apparently up the face of the 
 precipice, and I, eager in my purfuit, did 
 not object to the adventure. We began 
 our laborious tafk without once reflecting 
 on the many dangers that might attend it. 
 For a ffiort time we got on without much 
 
 \ 
 
 difficulty, but we were foon obliged to have 
 recourfe to our hands and knees, and clam¬ 
 ber thus from one crag to another. Every 
 ftep now required the greateft care, for 
 even the mere laying hold of a loofe ftone 
 might have proved fatal. I had once 
 taken hold of a piece of the rock, and was 
 about to trufl my whole weight upon it, 
 when it loofened from it’s bed, and l 
 fhould have been fent headlong to the bot¬ 
 tom had I not inftin&ively fnatched hold 
 
 of 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 219 
 
 of a tuft of grafs, which grew clofe by it* 
 and was fo firm as to fave me. When we 
 had afcended a little more than half-way* 
 I was much afraid we fhould have been 
 doomed to return, on account of the mafles 
 of rock over which we had to climb, be¬ 
 ginning to increafe in fize; we knew, 
 however, that a defcent would have been 
 attended with infinite danger, and being 
 urged on partly by eagernefs in our pur- 
 fuit, but more from a defire to be at the 
 top, we determined to brave every diffi¬ 
 culty • This we did, for in about an hour 
 and a quarter from the time of our begin¬ 
 ning the afcent, we found ourfelves on the 
 top of this dreadful precipice, and in pof- 
 feflion of fome very uncommon plants 
 which we had picked up during our walk. 
 
 I can fcarcely defcribe what my fenfa- 
 lions were, when upon arriving here my 
 companion pointed out to me the fummit 
 of Snowdon, at the diftance of only about a 
 
 mile 
 
220 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 mile and a half from us, and from it’s great 
 elevation appearing but little more than 
 half a mile diftant. I was fo much cheered 
 with the fight, that I proceeded from hence 
 with a degree of fpirit and alacrity that I 
 certainly fhould not have enjoyed, had it 
 not been from the remembrance of the 
 dangers we had paffed, and the knowledge 
 that thefe were at an end. This circum- 
 ftance reminded me, very forcibly, of the 
 ftory of the Pedlar, who in order to have 
 lome relief from the conftant and weari- 
 fome burthen of his pack, hit upon the 
 odd expedient of tying a large ftone upon 
 it. This, when he became much fatigued, 
 he threw off, and found then the lightnefs 
 of his burthen, when compared to the 
 double weight before, anfwered every pur- 
 pofe he wanted. It was exadtly thus with 
 me, for after all the fagging work, I had 
 juft had to get up Clogwyn du’r Arddu, I 
 found afeending to the fummit of Snowdon 
 
 quite 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 2.21 
 
 quite light and eafy; but had I gone along 
 the regular track, I have no doubt that I 
 fhould have fancied myfelf much more wea¬ 
 ried than I now really felt. 
 
 The perpendicular height of Snowdon, is* 
 according to the late admeafurements, one 
 thoufand one hundred and ninety yards 
 (not quite three quarters of a mile) from 
 the level 'of the fea. It rifes to a mere 
 point, it’s fummit being not more than three 
 or four yards in diameter. Round this, a 
 circular wall has been built by feme well- 
 difpofed perfon, probably feme one of 
 
 the fhepherds, who fend their flocks in 
 
 * 
 
 thefe mountains, which is found of the 
 greateft ufe to travellers, to fit upon and 
 enjoy the grand profpedls around. 
 
 This mountain was by the Saxons firfl 
 called Snowdon, as this word is evidently 
 derived from their language, and fignifies 
 a fnowy bill , or a hill covered with fnew . 
 The Welfh call all this clufter of mountains. 
 
222 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALKS. 
 
 by the general name of Creigiau yr Eryrii, 
 the fnowy cliffs , from the Britifh words 
 Craig a rock, and Eira fnow. The high eft 
 point is Yr Wyddfa, the confpicnous . All 
 the mountains that go under the above de¬ 
 nomination, lie in the county of Caernar¬ 
 von, for Leland,* who went over this 
 country in the reign of Henry VIII. under 
 the royal commiffion, fays, “ no part of 
 ™ Merionethshire lyeth in Crege Ery ; fo 
 that though that (hire be mountainous, 
 * c yet is all Cregery in Caernarvonfhire/’ 
 Mr. Pennant’s -f* defeription of this 
 mountain is fo extremely accurate and ex- 
 preffive, that inftead of my own obferva- 
 tions, I will give that in his words. “ The 
 mountain from the fummit,” fays this 
 gentleman, “ feems propped by four but- 
 “ treffes; betwxen which, are four deep 
 
 V 
 
 * Itin, V. 40. t Tour in Wales II, 171. 172. 173. 
 
 <c Cwms 
 
/ 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 223 
 
 t( Cwms or hollows; each, excepting one, 
 * ( had one or more lakes lodged in it s dif- 
 
 / ij 
 
 tant bottom. The neareft was Ffyn~ 
 “ non Lias, or the Green well, lying imme- 
 diately below us. One of the company 
 cc had the curiofity to defcend a very bad 
 <c way to a jutting rock, that impended 
 ec over the monftrous precipice; and he 
 <c Teemed like Mercury ready to take his 
 “ flight from the fummit of Atlas. The 
 “ waters of Ffynon Lias, from this height, 
 “ appeared black and unfathomable, and 
 “ the edges quite green. From thence is 
 (e a fucceflion of bottoms, furrounded by 
 ic the mod lofty and rugged hills, the 
 “ greateft part of whofe Tides are quite 
 <c mural, and form the mod magnificent 
 “ amphitheatre in nature. The Wyddfa 
 €i is on one fide; Crib y Fiji ill,* with it's 
 
 “ ferrated 
 
 * This rock is called alfo Crib y Ddifcih The 
 hollow betwixt this and Crib Coch is called Bwlch 
 
 y Saethau, 
 
224 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES; 
 
 ie ferrated tops, on another; Crib Coch, d 
 “ ridge of fiery rednefs* appears beneath 
 “ the preceding; and oppofite to it, is the 
 * c boundary called the Llechwedd. Ano- 
 “ ther very lingular fupport to this moun- 
 s ‘ tain isjy Cla'Wdd Coch, riling into a lharp 
 %c ridge, fo narrow as not to afford even 
 ** breadth for a path.'f*” 
 
 ** The view from this exalted lituation 
 i€ is unbounded. I faw from it, the county 
 “ of Ghefter, the high hills of Yorklhire* 
 ** part of the North of England, Scotland, 
 and Ireland; a plain view of the Ille of 
 ** Man, and that of Anglefea, lay extended 
 ** like a map beneath us, with every rill 
 
 y Saethau, the Gap of the arrows, where tradition re¬ 
 lates, that the hunters ufed formerly to conceal 
 themfelves, in order to Ihoot Rags, or any other 
 wild animals that palled by. 
 
 t There is a foot path along this narrow ridge, 
 over which the guide from Beddgelert always con~ 
 du&s perfons who afcend the mountain from that 
 place. 
 
 vilible. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 225 
 
 % 
 
 •** vifible. I took much pains to fee this 
 €€ profpedl to advantage ; fat up at a farm 
 (t on the weft, till about twelve, and 
 tc walked up the whole way. The night 
 cc was remarkably fine and Harry; to- 
 “ wards morn the ftars faded away,* and 
 tc left a fhort interval of darknefs, which 
 <e foon difperfed by the dawn of day. 
 “ The body of the fun appearing mod dif- 
 “ tin£t, with the rotundity of the moon 
 “ before it, arofe high enough to render 
 “ it's beams too brilliant for our fight. 
 s ‘ The fea, which bounded the weftem 
 “ part, was gilt by it’s beams, at firft in 
 “ flender ftreaks, but at length it glowed 
 €t with rednefs. The profpedl was difclofed 
 “ to us, like the gradual drawing up of 
 a curtain in a theatre. We faw more 
 
 * By this expreffion, I prefume Mr. P. means, 
 that they were hidden from the fight by intervening 
 clouds. 
 
 VOL. I. Q 
 
 €c and 
 
£‘26 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WATTT 
 
 / / 
 
 — -- '■ ,p —* 
 
 “ and more till the heat became fb power- 
 « ful, as to attrad the mifts from the vari- 
 44 ous lakes, which in a flight degree, ob- 
 44 fcurea the profped. The fhadow of the 
 44 mountain was flung many miles, and 
 
 44 fhewed it’s bicapitated form ; the Wyddfa 
 
 45 making one. Crib y Diftill the other 
 44 head, I counted this time between 
 44 twenty and thirty lakes, either in this 
 44 county or Merionethfhire. The day 
 44 proved fo exceffively hot, that the jour- 
 44 ney coft me the fkin of the lower part 
 44 of my face, before I reached the refting 
 44 place, after the fatigue of the morning,’ 5 
 
 At another time, w 7 hen this gentleman 
 was on Snowdon, he fays, 44 A vaft miff 
 44 enveloped the whole circuit of the 
 44 mountain. The profped down was 
 44 horrible. It gave an idea of numbers 
 
 44 of abyfies, concealed by a thick fmoke 
 
 / / 
 
 44 furioufly circulating around us; very 
 44 often a guff of wind formed an opening 
 
 44 in 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 227 
 
 u in the clouds, which gave a fine and dif- 
 “ tinft vifto of lake and valley: Some« 
 ** times they opened only in one place ; at 
 “ others in many, at once exhibiting a 
 “ moffc ftrange and perplexing fight of 
 “ water, fields, rocks, or chafms, in fifty 
 “ different places. They then clofed in 
 “ at once, and left us involved in dark- 
 “ nefs; in a fmall fpace they would fepa- 
 €C rate again, and flie in wild eddies round 
 the middle of the mountains, and expofe 
 “ in parts, both tops and bafes, clear to 
 “ our view. We defcended from this 
 €S vtrious fcene with great reluctance; but 
 “ before we reached our horfes, a thunder 
 “ ftorm overtook us; its rolling among 
 tc the mountains was inexprefiibly awful; 
 “ the rain uncommonly heavy; we re- 
 “ mounted our horfes, and gained the bot- 
 4< tom with great hazard. The little rills, 
 “ which on our afcent, trickled along the 
 
 Q^2 * c gullies 
 
228 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 44 gullies on the fides of the mountains, 
 t( were now fwelled into torrents; and we 
 “ and our fteeds paffed with the utmoft 
 44 rifque of being fwept away by thefe fud- 
 44 den waters. At length we arrived fafe, 
 44 yet fufficiently wet, and weary, to our 
 44 former quarters, 1 ' 
 
 44 The ftone that compofes this, and in- 
 
 u deed the greateft part of Snowdonia , is 
 
 \ 
 
 i( exceffively hard. Large coarfe cryftals 
 44 are often found in the Allures, and very 
 44 frequently cubic piritce y the ufual atten- 
 44 dants on alpine trails. Thefe are alfo 
 44 frequented by the rock ouzel, a moun- 
 44 tainous bird, and fome of the lakes are 
 44 flocked with char and gwyniads, alpine 
 44 fifh.” The chief wild animals of thefe 
 regions are foxes. 
 
 The following lines, from the Gentle¬ 
 man’s Magazine, * on this mountain, are fo 
 
 \ 
 
 * Written by. Mils Locke, 
 
 energetic 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 229 
 
 > \ 
 
 energetic and full of beauty, that I could 
 not refill the temptation of tranfcribing 
 them in this place, 
 
 Snowdon, I wifh not thou fhould’ft Rand array’d 
 In the full blaze of fummer’s gaudy noon; 
 
 In gloominefs thy grandeur is difplay’d, 
 
 And congregated clouds thy brow adorn. 
 
 Thy genius thron’d on his aerial feat, 
 
 While fierce conflicting elements engage, 
 
 Hears the loud thunder burfl beneath his feet. 
 
 And fcouls defiance on their feeble rage. 
 
 Snowdon, on thee with favage pleafure fraught, 
 Whilfl fancy rul’d with wonder have I gaz’d. 
 
 Travers’d thy dangers in excurfive thought, 
 
 And fhrunk from terrors I myfelf had rais’d. 
 
 * x 
 
 How oft I’ve fancied on the craggy fteep, 
 
 Striving in vain to heights like thefe to rife. 
 
 Contending with misfortune, oft I weep,. 
 
 Though fix’d on earth, afpiring to the Ikies, 
 
 The principal lakes vifible from the 
 fummit of Snowdon, are, on the cart, 
 
 Qjj Ffynon 
 
230 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Ffynon Lds y the green well; and Llyn 
 Llwydaw y the dufky pool. At fome dis¬ 
 tance beyond thefe are the Capel Curig 
 pools; on the weft, Llyn Cocb 9 the red 
 pool; Llyn y Nadrodd , the adder’s pool; 
 Llyn Glds, the blue pool; and Llyn Ffyn- 
 non y Gwds y the Servant’s pool; and beyond 
 theSe again, are Llyn Cwellyny Llyn Coder > 
 Llyn y Dywarchen y and Llynian Nantlle. 
 
 The parts of Snowdon, on which the 
 uncommon alpine plants are chiefly to be 
 found, are the eaft and north-eaft lides, 
 which form a range of rocks, called Clog- 
 wyn y Garnedd , Thefe abound in fteeps, 
 which render them, at all times, rather 
 dangerous to Search, but in particular, after 
 rain, more than at other times, as the rocks 
 bee me then So Slippery, that the footing is 
 rendered very unfafe. 
 
 It is a Singular fadt, that near the top of 
 Snowdon, is a Spring of fine clear and well- 
 tailed water, which I understand is Seldom 
 
 increafed 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. C31 
 
 l f • » 
 
 increafed or diminifhed in quantity, either 
 in winter or fummer. -From it’s very ele¬ 
 vated fituation, it is the coldeft I ever recoi¬ 
 led: to have taffced. 
 
 Moft of the old writers, who have had 
 occafion to mention this mountain, affert 
 that it is covered with fnow all the year 
 round but this is by no means true, for 
 this, as well as all the other mountains of 
 Wales, are generally entirely deftitute of 
 fnow from the beginning of June till about 
 the latter end of Odober, at which time it 
 commonly begins to fall. 
 
 Giraldus Cambrenfis,* moft incredibly 
 relates, that an eagle ufed to frequent this 
 mountain, at certain periods, in expedition 
 of war, that he might glut his appetite on 
 bodies of the (lain, and that in fharpening 
 his beak he made a large hole in one parti¬ 
 cular ftone on which he always perched* 
 
 * I tin. Camb. Sy 1. Gir. Camb. Lib. II. c. 9. 
 
 <U4 
 
 The 
 
232 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 The fummit of Snowdon is fo frequently 
 enveloped in clouds and mift, that except 
 when the weather is perfectly fine and 
 fettled, the traveller through this country 
 will find it rather rare to get a day fuffi- 
 
 ciently clear to permit him to afcend the 
 
 ' 
 
 hill. When the wind blows from the 
 weft, it is almoft always completely covered. 
 And at other times, even when the day 
 feerns very favourable, it will, from it’s 
 
 great height and it’s attraction of the clouds, 
 
 \ 
 
 fometimes become enveloped on a fudden, 
 and remain in that ftate for feveral hours; 
 For my own part, I think it much more 
 interefting when the clouds juft cover the 
 liimmit, for at thefe times, from their fud- 
 denly breaking and doling, the mod fub- 
 lime and pleading ideas are excited, 
 
 \ * V 
 
 It has been faid, and very generally 
 believed, that from the top of this moun¬ 
 tain the fun is feen to rife from the fea. 
 Many travellers have gone up in the even- 
 
 ings, 
 
\ 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 233 
 
 4 
 
 • ings, but owing to the atmofphere being 
 generally clouded about that time, I never 
 heard but of one or two, befides Mr. 
 
 Pennant, who had been fo lucky as to fee 
 
 * 
 
 it rife at all; and thofe who have feen it* 
 
 r 
 
 have found, that they had been' milled in 
 fuppofing it to emerge from the water® 
 The mere infpedtion of the map of Eng¬ 
 land, is quite fufhcient to fatisfy any per- 
 fon of the folly of fuch a fuppofition ; for if 
 the fun is feen to rife from the fea, from 
 the top of Snowdon, it mull either rife 
 from a point more wefteriy than the well 
 coaft of England, or otherwife, fome part 
 of the German ocean mull: be viiible from 
 hence, which I believe no one will contend 
 to be poffible, 
 
 Snowdon was formerly a royal foreft, 
 and warrants were ilfued for the killing of 
 the deer, but thefe were all extirpated be¬ 
 fore the year 1626.* 
 
 # Pennant’s Tour II. 175. who quotes Gwyclir 
 MSS. 
 
 This 
 
234 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 This mountain, held as facred by the 
 antient Britons, was their Parnajfus . They 
 have a proverb extant at this day, that 
 €€ whoever Jleeps on Snowdon , will awake 
 st either a poet or a madmanf probably 
 arifing from their conceiving, that upon a 
 perfon’s awaking in this elevated region, the 
 ftupendous objeds around, which fo fud- 
 denly prefent themfelves to him, mud 
 either infpire him with the furor poeticus or 
 Awen, as the Welffi term it, or otherwife 
 mud deprive him of his fenfes. 
 
 Many tourifls have put themfelves to 
 great trouble, in reprefenting the almofi 
 innumerable difficulties, which they pre¬ 
 tend to have encountered in their journeys 
 up this mountain. To provide againft 
 thefe pretended difficulties, one recom¬ 
 mends a flrong flick with a fpike in the 
 end, as a thing abfolutely neceffary. Ano¬ 
 ther advifes, that the foies of the fhoes 
 fhould be fet round with large nails; and 
 
 a third 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 255 
 
 a third inveighs againft attempting fo ar¬ 
 duous and fo difficult an undertaking in 
 boots. I can only fay, that I think to 
 have nails in the ffioes, and to take a ftick 
 may be both ufeful in their way, but if a 
 perfon is in good health and fpirits, he will 
 find that he can do very well without ei¬ 
 ther. I ffi ould recommend to the travel¬ 
 ler, to take fufficient time ; to be upon the 
 journey by five or fix o'clock in the morn¬ 
 ing, when the fun has not yet got much 
 power, and when the air is cool and re- 
 frefhing. The chief thing required, is 
 a little labour, which by going gently 
 along will be rendered very eafy. There 
 is alfo another advantage in having plenty 
 of time, by frequently flopping to reft 
 himfeif he will be enabled to enjoy the 
 different diftant profpedts, as they rife 
 above the mountains, and to obferve how 
 the objedts around him gradually change 
 
 in 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 
 in their appearance as lie rifes higher and 
 higher. 
 
 It will be always necefiary to take a 
 guide, and fome kind of provifions for 
 
 i 
 
 refrefoment; for the traveller up this 
 mountain will certainly find the want of 
 fiich, before he returns. A fmall quantity 
 of fpirits will alfo be found ufefufi as 
 fpirits are not only much more pleafant in 
 thefe cold alpine regions, but as there is 
 always plenty of water to be had, they are 
 more portable than any kind of liquor 
 which will not bear dilution. 
 
 A late tourift,* without any real founda¬ 
 tion for the aflertion, remarks, that a very 
 fmall quantity of any powerful liquor, in 
 thefe etherial regions, is fufficient to intox¬ 
 icate :—that the guide who attended him. 
 
 * The Rev. Richard Warner, of Bath, who 
 publifhed about two years ago, a Walk through 
 Wales. 
 
 men- 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 9S1 
 
 \ 
 
 mentioned his having nearly fallen from 
 one of the precipices himfelf, in confe- 
 quence of drinking a glafs of brandy 3 and 
 that, during the fummer preceding that in 
 which he was in Wales, one of a party of 
 gentlemen, from London, had been fo af« 
 fedted, by the fame quantity taken on the 
 fummit of Snowdon, that he actually got 
 a fevere-tumble, which though not fatal, 
 produced fome painful bruifes. 
 
 Left any of the readers of this prefent 
 work, from having read this account, may 
 be induced from the dread of accidents, 
 fimilar to thefe, to negledt taking along 
 with them that kind of refrefhment, 
 which, in my opinion, is neceffary towards 
 rendering themfelves comfortable in thefe 
 cold regions, it is incumbent on me, to 
 inform them, that the writer of the account 
 has very much miftaken the fadt. By the 
 advice of the clergyman, who attended me 
 in this and my other mountain excurfions. 
 
 we 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 •SS5 
 
 we always took along with us a pint of 
 brandy, the whole of which we ufed to 
 drink, without experiencing even the 
 flighted: degree of intoxication. And he has 
 frequently remarked to me, that ftrong li¬ 
 quors would, by no means, intoxicate a 
 perfon fo foon upon the mountains, as they 
 would below. 
 
 After I had feen Mr. Warner’s account, 
 
 l ; 
 
 I was at Beddgelert, and enquired of Wil¬ 
 liam Lloyd, the fchoolmafter there, who 
 had attended him as guide, and from whom 
 he laid he received the information, as to the 
 truth of it. The man told me, that he 
 certainly recollected having informed Mr. 
 Warner, that it was a very dangerous thing 
 for a perfon to be intoxicated upon the 
 mountains, the truth of which is dif¬ 
 fidently evident. But fo far was this man 
 from thinking, that a Angle glafs of fpirits 
 would produce any ill effedts, that I was 
 fometime afterwards one in a party of five, 
 
 when 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 23£ 
 
 when he advifed a bottle of rum to be taken 
 along with us, which we finilhed without 
 any one being in the leaft the worfe for it. 
 The track I have laid down for the Tra¬ 
 veller, at the beginning of this chapter, from 
 Dolbadarn Caftle to the fummit of Snow¬ 
 don, is upon the whole, very good, lying 
 in general, over ground covered with turf, 
 and not having a fourth part of the rocks 
 that any of the other roads have* Having 
 jfince I went this journey been no lefs than 
 feven different ways, to and from the top 
 of Snowdon, I am enabled to fay, that this 
 is by far the mod eafy and agreeable, being 
 neither fo deep, rocky, or dangerous as any 
 of the others. I do not fuppofe it poffible, 
 that from any other place a perfon can ride 
 to the top, on account of the great number 
 of pointed rocks which intercept the road. 
 Mr. Warner, in his Walk through Wales, 
 feems to have entertained a different opi¬ 
 nion: for fpeaking of a Farm in Gwynant, 
 
240 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 beyond Beddgelert, he fays, that the father 
 of the prefent tenant, who attended con- 
 ftantly the market at Caernarvon, in order 
 to avoid a route, rather circuitous by the 
 turnpike road, conftantly croffed the moun¬ 
 tain by the track, which he had purfued . 
 Thus the poor fellow, in order to avoid a 
 circuitous route, ufed to crofs over the 
 higheft peak of the mountain, and go by 
 Dolbadarn Caftle (the way he went) to 
 Caernarvon; by this means going near 
 twenty miles inftead of fourteen, by the re¬ 
 gular road; certainly not an Englifh me¬ 
 thod of avoiding a circuitous route. The fa£fc 
 was, that he went up a hollow, near ^ which 
 his houfe ftood, called Cwm Llan, croffed 
 over the foot of Snowdon, and came into 
 the turnpike road, leading from Caernarvon 
 to Beddgelert, not far from Llyn Gwellyn, 
 that,he might fave a more circuitous track 
 down Gwynant and round by Beddgelerto 
 It would have been utterly impracticable 
 
 for 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 241 
 
 for him, on account of the huge mafles of 
 rock, which are in different places fcattered 
 up and down, if he had defired ever fo 
 to crofs from Cwm Llan immediately over 
 Snowdon to Dolbadarn. 
 
 I fhould think Mr. Afhton Smith, who 
 is, I underftand, the owner of much land 
 about Llanberis, might find it a profitable, 
 certainly an ufeful fpeculation, to build a 
 fmall comfortable Inn fbrnewhere near 
 Dolbadarn caftle. Perhaps, to repair the 
 caftle itfelf for this purpofe, and place fome 
 out-houfes near it, would be found the lead 
 expenfive mode of doing it. The advan¬ 
 tages would be very great. Being fituated 
 in the heart of the mountains, the botani¬ 
 cal traveller, the mineralogift, and the ar- 
 tift, would be all induced to refort to it as 
 a fituation exactly fuited to each of their 
 occupations. Nor would the traveller on 
 pleafure, find lefs inducements than they. 
 From hence Glyder, and the mountains 
 around it, on one fide of the vale, and 
 
 vol* i. R Snow- 
 
242 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Snowdon * and his companions, on the 
 other, can certainly be vifited, with greater 
 eafe and advantage than from any place 
 whatever. The Vale of Llanberis, the 
 village, and the romantic pafs where the 
 rocks rife, almoft perpendicularly, from 
 each fide of the road, for betwixt three and 
 four miles beyond it, the cataradt, the cal- 
 tie, and the lakes have each a feparate 
 claim upon the Traveller’s attention. The 
 only ferious objection that can be made 
 againft it, is, that as part of the prefent 
 road from Caernarvon is fo wretchedly bad, 
 the expence of repairing that, to make it a 
 tolerably good carriage road, would be very 
 great. This is certainly true ; but when 
 
 all the advantages of building a houfe in 
 this very eligible iituation are counterba¬ 
 lanced with that, I am confident that every 
 
 a# 
 
 objection will be completely done away. 
 
 * The diltance of Dolbadarh from the fummit of 
 Snowdon is not quite four miles and a half; from 
 Beddgelert it is fix miles. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 243 
 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 EXCURSION TO THE SUMMIT OF SNOWDON 
 
 FROM LLANBERIS.-FFYNNON FttECH—LLYN 
 
 LLWYDAW—LLYN GLAS—ROMANTIC SCENERY 
 —ANOTHER EXCURSION FROMBETTWS—BWLCH 
 CWM BRWYNOG—LLYN FYNNON Y GWAS. 
 
 IN this excurfion to the fummit of Snow¬ 
 don, I proceeded about a mile beyond 
 Llanberis, and eroding the brook that 
 runs into the pool, afeended the fteep 
 high mountains on the right. After fome 
 fatigue, for the fun (hone bright, and the 
 reflection from the rocks was very pow¬ 
 erful, we arrived at the top of the firll 
 range of rocks which overlook the vale 
 I had left. In a hollow on thefe moun¬ 
 tains I came to a pool called Ffynnon 
 brech, the fpotted well. This pool is in¬ 
 ferior in fize even to Llyn y Cwm near 
 Glyder, but the botanift will find that 
 
 R 2 it 
 
244 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 it contains as many rare plants as that. 
 Here I found Sukularia aquatica , Ifoctes 
 Lacujlrisy and Lobelia dortmanna , growing 
 in fuch abundance as almoft to cover the 
 whole of the bottom. 
 
 From hence I continued my journey 
 up another fteep, and from it's top faw 
 two other pools in a vale a great depth 
 below me on the other fide of it, one of 
 thefe was called Liyn Llwydaw, the dujky 
 ■pool, and the other, much fmaller, Llyn 
 y Cwm Glas, the blue pool in the hollow . 
 Llyn Llwydaw has in it a fmall ifland, the 
 haunt of black-backed gulls during their 
 breeding feafon, for on this ifland, it is 
 faid, that they annually lay their eggs and 
 hatch their young. I did not defcend to 
 either of thefe, as there feemed nothing 
 about them at the time I was here likely 
 to repay me for the trouble, I contented 
 myfelf merely with the fight of them from 
 
 i 
 
 above, and proceeded onward for about 
 
 a mile 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 243 
 
 a mile and a half along the doping Tides 
 of the mountains, till I came to a hollow, 
 called Bwlch Glas ; from whence I once 
 again afcended to the fummit of this, the 
 moft celebrated mountain in Great Britain. 
 
 From the top of the firft mountains, 
 after I left Llanberis, the fcenery all the 
 
 s 
 
 way, till I came within fight of Llyn 
 Llwydaw, was awfully rude. It was one 
 continued feries of rocks, infinitely varied 
 in their form. The nimble footed fheep 
 that brouzed on their dark Tides, and Ikip- 
 ped along their tremendous precipices, 
 looked down upon us with the utmoffc 
 compofure, fearlefs of any danger from 
 their feemingly precarious fituations. In 
 fome places the rock, overhanging the 
 path, feemed ready to ftart from their 
 beds, threatening deftruftion to the tra¬ 
 veller who had dared their gloomy (hade. 
 
 R 3 - I was 
 
24$ A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 I was much pleafed with this part of my 
 ramble, for I love 
 
 --thefe lonely regions, where, retired 
 
 From little fcenes of art, great Nature dwells 
 In awful folitudo. 
 
 ^he latter part of the excurfion, along 
 the fides of the mountains, was rather un- 
 
 pleafant. The Stones I had to traverfe for 
 
 / 
 
 above a mile were fo fmall and loofe, as 
 at every Step to give way, rendering the 
 walking not only tirefome but fometimes 
 very dangerous. The fcenery was wild, 
 but little interesting. The hollow beneath, 
 hemmed in by the gloomy mountains 
 around, was from fome points of view ra¬ 
 ther grand, but this fell far flhort of what I 
 had palled. Wandering along this dreary 
 fcene I fometitnes heard, fweetly mellowed 
 by the diftance, 
 
 •--The wildly winding brook 
 
 Fall hoarfe from deep to deep. 
 
 The 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 247 
 
 The light clouds fwept brifkly .over the 
 mountains, fometimes entirely obfcuring 
 them, and at others fhewing their ferrated 
 tops vifible through the thinnefs of the 
 milt. Amongft the higher rocks I ob- 
 ferved the Black Ouzel, Turdus torquatns y 
 of Linnsus: it is not an unufual inhabitant 
 of thefe alpine regions. 
 
 I defcended from Snowdon this time 
 along what may with great propriety be 
 denominated a mountain fiaircafe, which 
 lies down the rocks immediately over the 
 village of Llanberis. This road was al¬ 
 together fo very fteep and tirefome, that I 
 fhould at any time prefer going a few miles 
 round to venturing down it again. 
 
 The day after I made this journey, I 
 afcended Snowdon once again from Bettws, 
 a fmall place about five miles from Caer¬ 
 narvon, in the road leading from thence to 
 
 * 
 
 Beddgelert, After I had pafled the village 
 a little way, I turned to the left, and went 
 
 R 4 along 
 
*48 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 - - - 1 "■^TTimT—MB *1 1—r~1— TlUTi ■ - 
 
 along the meadows, which here extend up 
 the mountain’s tides for about half a mile. 
 Leaving thefe, I after fome time, came to 
 Bwlch Cwm Brwynog, the hollow of the 
 vale of Brwynog , a kind of gap betwixt 
 two mountains which overlook that vale. 
 This hollow is reckoned about half way 
 from Bettws to the top, and perfons who 
 come on horfeback ufually ride thus far, 
 leaving their horfes here to the care of 
 
 their fervants till they return. I pafled by 
 
 * 
 
 Llyn fynnon y Gwas, the fervants ’ pool 9 fo 
 called, it is faid, from the fervant of a 
 farmer in the neighbourhood having fome 
 years ago been drowned there as he was walk¬ 
 ing fome fheep. The road then lay along a 
 pretty fteep ridge, one of thofe that Mr. 
 Pennant has not improperly denominated 
 the buttrefies of Snowdon, for at a diftance 
 they certainly have the appearance of fup- 
 porting that vaft mountain. 
 
 This 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 24$ 
 
 This road was much more rocky and 
 
 / 
 
 tirefome than that from Dolbadarn. In 
 one part I paffed for near a quarter of a 
 mile over immenfe malfes of rock, laying 
 upon each other in almoft every different 
 direction, and entirely deftitute of vege¬ 
 tation. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 250 
 
 CHAP. XI, 
 
 FROM CAERNARVON BY HOLYHEAD TO AM¬ 
 LWCH,-FERRY INTO ANGLESEA —NAMES OF 
 
 TIIE ISLAND —GENERAL CHARACTER —ONCE 
 JOINED TO CAERNARVONSHIRE—POOL CERIS— 
 LLANEDWEN — INSCRIPTION ON ROWLANDS — 
 SUETONIUS’ INVASION — BATTLE AT MOEL Y 
 DON—PLAS NEWYDD—CROMLECHE—ANTIENT 
 MODE OF ERECTING STONE MONUMENTS — 
 LLANGEFNI—GWYNDY—HOLYHEAD—CHURCH 
 YARD-CHURCH—AMLWCH—PORT. 
 
 T Crofied from Caernarvon into Anglefea* 
 by the ferry boat, which every day 
 takes paflengers acrofs the Menai to and 
 from the Ifiand, a diflance of fomewhat 
 
 * This Ifland, which forms one of the counties 
 of North Wales, is about 2o miles long, 17 broad, 
 and 70 in circumference. It contains about 200,000 
 acres of land, and 20,000 inhabitants. It is di¬ 
 vided into feven hundreds, and has 74 parifhes, and 
 four market towns. 
 
 more 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 251 
 
 more than a mile. The boat goes always 
 at high water, and when ready to fet out* 
 one of the men goes about the town blow¬ 
 ing a horn, in order to colledt together the 
 paffengers. 
 
 ' / 
 
 I intended to have gone quite round 
 the Ifland by Newborough, Aberffraw, 
 and Holyhead ; but being informed that 
 the fea had burft a bank near Aberffraw, / 
 and that at high-water it covered upwards 
 of a thoufand acres of ground, I was obliged 
 to give up this point as not eafily practi¬ 
 cable. I therefore, inftead, botanized along 
 the Anglefea coaft as far as Moel-y-Don 
 ferry, and then took the road leading to 
 Holyhead by Gwyndy, an Inn about half 
 way betwixt Bangor and that place. 
 
 From this coaft the town of Caernar¬ 
 von, with the ftraights of Menai in front, 
 and the high grand mountains in the back¬ 
 ground, were ftrikingly beautiful; and the 
 fcenery altogether, if poffible, exceeded in 
 
 elegance 
 
I 
 
 252 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 - -- - - - - - 
 
 elegance and majefty what I had before fa 
 much admired betwixt Bangor and Caer¬ 
 narvon. Snowdon was perfectly unclouded, 
 and his red fides brightened by the fun, 
 were feen gradually doping till they ended 
 in a point far above the tops of the adjoin¬ 
 ing mountains, each of which had it’s 
 beauty in the difpofition of it’s lights and 
 fhades, it’s prominences and hollows. 
 
 This illand was, prior to the invaflon of 
 
 % 
 
 the Romans, called Mon, which fignified 
 what is infulated or detached , and this they 
 latinized into Mona. The Britons called 
 it alfo Ynys Dowyll, the fhady IJland \ Ynys 
 Fon from it’s iituation, and Ynys y Cedeirn 
 from it’s heroes, or it’s powerful and ce¬ 
 lebrated Priefts and Druids.* When re¬ 
 duced by the Saxons, it then, for the firft 
 time, received the appellation of Anglefea, 
 
 * 
 
 * Rowland’s Mona Antiqua, p. 97. 
 
 It 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 253 
 
 It is by Giraldus Cambrenfis denomi¬ 
 nated the cc Mother of Wales,fince, 
 according to him, when all the other parts 
 failed in their corn, this alone, from it’s 
 fertile foil and high ftate of cultivation, 
 was able to fupply them. However true 
 this may have been at the time when Gi¬ 
 raldus wrote, it feems to me that it could 
 by no means be fo now, for the interior 
 of the Ifland appeared but very little cul¬ 
 tivated. Much of the land lies either un¬ 
 drained and full of turfy bogs, or is full of 
 low pointed rocks. There are indeed fome 
 farms in the interior, but it is about the 
 coaft that it is in the richeft ftate, and in 
 particular about that part of it which is 
 oppoftte to Caernarvonshire. 
 
 The general face of the country is low, 
 fiat, and difagreeable, being in want of 
 
 * “ Mon Mam Cymbry Itin. Camb. Au&ore 
 Sy). Gir. Cambr, Lib. II. c. 7. p. 867. 
 
 that 
 
25* 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 that variety which is always found where 
 there are woods and mountains: for though, 
 in the time of the Druids, this Illand is 
 reprefented as being almoft covered with 
 wood, which formed one continued grove, 
 it has at prefent, very little. There are 
 a few plantations on the fouth-eaft coaft, 
 but excepting thefe I recoiled; no others in 
 the whole Illand. 
 
 It is a conjecture of Paulus Jovius, an 
 Italian writer of the lixteenth century,* 
 that Anglefea was once joined to the con¬ 
 tinent of Wales, but from the continual 
 working of the ocean, was, in the courfe 
 of time, fevered from it j and that, for 
 fome while afterwards, the inhabitants of 
 Wales and Anglefea had a communication 
 by a bridge, till the breach became too 
 wide for fuch a palfage to be any longer 
 maintained. If this has ever been the cafe, 
 
 # Defcriptio Britannia, lo. 
 
 and 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 255 
 
 and it is by no means improbable, the lad 
 
 place of reparation feems to have been at 
 
 that part near Bangor ferry, for there the 
 
 channel is at prefent much the narrowed:, 
 
 and at this place is dill to be feen a trace 
 
 » 
 
 of fmall rocks jutting out in a line acrofs 
 the channel. Befides thefe there are alfo 
 other great fplinters of rocks tumbled down, 
 and really appearing as if the fea had con- 
 fumed the foil in which they had originally 
 been bedded, leaving the rocks bare and 
 rugged, and the dones and broken fhivers 
 in the bottom of the channel, heaped upon 
 one another. 
 
 In the hollows and cavernous interdices 
 of thefe fallen and broken rocks, for an 
 hour or two at the beginning of the flood, 
 from the tides flowing in at each end of 
 the draights, and meeting here, the fea 
 violently boils and fluftuates, making it 
 for that time a dangerous whirlpool. This 
 part of the channel is called Pool Ceris, 
 
 and 
 
256 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 and is a place extremely dangerous in the 
 navigation of large veflels, which muft 
 confult the critical feafon, and be con¬ 
 ducted by a flcilful pilot. 
 
 In this Illand the princes of North Wales 
 refided, from the time of Roderic Mawr, 
 in the ninth century, for near four cen¬ 
 turies, till the reign of Llewelyn the laft 
 prince.* Their palace was at Aberffraw. 
 
 I .y 
 
 I have been told that fome of it yet re¬ 
 mains, forming part of the walls of a barn. 
 It was in this palace that the celebrated 
 code of Laws, founded by Howel Dda, 
 Howell the goody about the year 940, was 
 conftantly kept. 
 
 About three miles from the place at 
 which I landed, I paffed Llanedwen, the 
 village where Henry Rowlands, the learned 
 author of Mona Antiqua Reftaurata, was 
 interred. He was inftituted to the vicar- 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 * Rowland’s Mona Antiqua, p. 172. 
 
 age 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 257 
 
 age of this place in October 1696, and 
 died in the year 1723- He lies under a 
 black marble flab which contains this in- 
 fcription* his own compofition; 
 
 M. S. - 
 Depofitum 
 
 Henrici Rowlands 
 , de Plas Gwyn, Clerici, 
 
 Hugies Ecclefise Vicarii; 
 
 Qui hinc cum hifce Exuviis 
 Per fpiritum Jefu, 
 
 Animam interea refocillantem 
 in ultimo die 
 •Se fore refufcitatum 
 Pi a fde fperabat; 
 ac inde, 
 
 Triumphante misericordia 
 In eternum cum Chrifto gaudium 
 Fore fufceptum, 
 
 1 
 
 Quod maxime anhelabat; 
 id eft 
 
 Efte Temper cum Domino* 
 
 Obiit 21. die Novembris 
 Anno Salutis 1723 
 TEtatis fuse 68, 
 
 S 
 
 VOL. I 
 
 Spiritus 
 
258 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Spiritus ubi vult fpirat. 
 
 Laus tota Tri-Uni 
 Omnia pro nihilo nijl qua tribuebat egcnis 
 Ij}a valent cum artes pereant et fcripta fatifcant . 
 
 Not far from Llanedwen is the place 
 where Suetonius Paulinus, the Roman Ge¬ 
 neral, firft landed when he invaded this 
 liland, and put an end to the power of the 
 Druids. About a ftone’s call: from the 
 fhore is a field, now called Maes Mawr 
 Gad, or Maes hir Gad, the field of the 
 great or long army , and a little to the eaft 
 
 of it, juft on the fhore, is a place called 
 the Rhiedd, or the chief men's pofi. The 
 foot foldiers pafied over in flat-bottomed 
 boats, and the hor-femen by fording and 
 fwmiming, which appears to have been 
 fufficiently eafy, as the ftream is here ra¬ 
 ther narrow, and at low ebb the water is 
 even" now feldom above a fathom or two 
 in the deepeft part. 
 
 Tacitus 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 259 
 
 Tacitus has given us a moft animated 
 
 defcription of the adfions of the Druids in 
 
 defence of their temples and facred groves, 
 
 and of the horror with which the Roman 
 
 ioldiers were ftruck on obferving their myf- 
 
 terious rites. “ Stat pro littore diverfa 
 
 “ acies, denfa annis virifque, intercurfan- 
 
 ee tibus foeminis in modum furiarum, vefte 
 
 * 
 
 “ ferali, crinibus dejedtis, faces prefere- 
 bant; Druidasque circum, preces diras 
 “ fublatis ad ccelurn manibus fundentes. 
 Novitate afpedtus percutere militem, ut 
 quafi .hserentibus membris, immobile 
 corpus vulneribus praeberent. Dein co- 
 * c hortationibus ducis, et fe ipfe ftimu- 
 ie lantes, ne muliebre et fanaticum ag- 
 e ‘ men pavefcerent, inferunt figna, fter- 
 <( nuntque obvios et igni fao involvunt. 
 
 Praefidium pofthac impofitum vicis, ex- 
 “ cifque luci, fasvis fuperilitionibus facri* 
 Nam crurore captivo adolere aras, et 
 
 S 2 “ hominum 
 
 r 
 
 i 
 
260 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 u hominum fibris confulere Deos fas ha- 
 bebant.”* 
 
 Moel y Don is celebrated as being the 
 place where part of the army of Edward I. 
 experienced from the Welih a fevere de¬ 
 feat, attended with great daughter. This 
 
 \ , ’ * y 
 
 happened in the year 1282. Edward had 
 led his men againft the Welfh, who had 
 
 retired 
 
 * Tacite Annales, Lib. XIV. c. 30. 
 
 “ On the fhore Rood a mixed army in clofe ar^ 
 e ‘ ray and well armed. Women were running 
 “ about with frantic geftures, clad in black, their 
 hair difhevelled, and brandifhing like furies their 
 ** torches. All around were Druids, with their 
 cc hands uplifted towards heaven, pouring out the 
 <( mod direful imprecations. The novelty of the 
 “ fpedlacle ftruck the aflonifhed foldier with hor- 
 <c ror, and his motionlefs limbs, affixed to the 
 <c fpot, were refignea to every wound. At length 
 11 animated by their commander, and rouzing one 
 <e another that they fhould not be intimidated by a 
 womanly and fanatic band* they brought for- 
 
 li ward 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 2 61 
 
 retired amongft the mountains about Snow¬ 
 don for fafety, and he not daring to at¬ 
 tack them in their faftneffes, fent over a 
 party of men into Anglefea, and encamped 
 on the bank of the Menai, near this place* 
 Here he ordered a bridge of boats of breadth 
 fufficient to permit fixty men to pafs abreaft, 
 to be built acrofs. Whilft he was at 
 Conwy Caftle, and before this was quite 
 boarded over, feveral of the Englifli no¬ 
 bility, and about three hundred armed 
 men, at the ebb of the tide, rafhly eroded 
 over it. The Welfh from the mountains 
 perceived this, and when the tide had re- 
 
 “ ward their enfigns, overthrew all who oppofed 
 (< them, and involved the Britons in their ovm 
 “ fires. When the battle was ended, they placed 
 garrifons in the towns, and cut down the groves 
 “ dedicated to the mod: horrid fuperftitions, for 
 i( there they facrificed on their altars with the blood 
 <e of their captives, and confulted the gods by the 
 “ infpe&ion of human entrails.” 
 
 S 3 
 
 turned 
 
‘262 A tOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 — — '■ ■ ■> . . ... , »«-■ ■■■■- ■■ —, „ 
 
 turned and cut off accefs to the nearelt 
 part, they fuddenly rufhed upon them, and 
 afiailed them fo furioufly that they were 
 all, except Sir William Latimer, who, 
 from the goodnefs of his horfe, got back 
 again, either put to the fword, or driven 
 into the water and drowned. There pe¬ 
 riled in this encounter thirteen knights, 
 feventeen young gentlemen, probably of¬ 
 ficers commanding in the army, and above 
 two hundred foldiers.* 
 
 I left the Holyhead road at Moel y Don, 
 and went about a mile to fee the grounds 
 of Lord Uxbridge at Plas Newydd, in 
 which I had been told there were fome 
 Druidical remains. Thefe I found, they 
 are two Cromleche behind the houfe. The 
 largeft is about thirteen feet long, twelve 
 broad, and the upper ftone, which is in 
 
 # Powel’s Hiftory of Wales, p. 372. Matt. Weft, 
 p. 37c. who has miftaken the Menai for the Conwy, 
 HoIinfheacTs Chronicle, II. p.- 281. 
 
 fome 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 263 
 
 fome parts about four feet in thicknefs, 
 refis upon five upright fupporters. 
 
 The cromlech * feems to have been in¬ 
 tended for nothing more than a fepulchral 
 monument, for under feveral of them in 
 Cornwall and other parts of England, bones 
 have been found buried. They appear to 
 have been the originals of our prefent altar 
 tombs, which are but a more diminutive 
 and regular kind of cromlech. 
 
 That they fhould ever have been ufed 
 as altars in the Druidical facrifices, as mofl 
 perfons have fuppofed, is impoffible, for 
 the upper ftones were generally too fmall. 
 
 * The word Cromlech is Britifh, and flgnifies a 
 Rone that is of a flat or concave form, or that in¬ 
 clines or bends downwards. Mr. Rowlands, with¬ 
 out any other apparent reafon than to fupport his 
 hypothefis of the cromlech being conflruRed for the 
 Druidical facrifices, derives it from the Hebrew 
 Cesrem hack , a devoted flone or altar. See Mona 
 Antiqua Reft. p. 207. 
 
 and * 
 
264 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 and too lofty for a fire to be kindled on 
 them fufficient to confume the vidtim 
 without burning the officiating prieft, not 
 to mention the horrid rites with which the 
 Druid facrifice was attended, and which 
 there would not be room to perform in fo 
 perilous a ftation. The upper ftones of 
 feveral of them were fo thin that the in- 
 tenfenefs of the facrifical fire would have 
 cracked and broken them. 
 
 Some have afferted that they were in¬ 
 tended as places of worship ; but there is 
 juft as little reafon for this fuppofition as 
 the former, for in many the fpace beneath 
 is fo fmall as fcarcely to admit even a man 
 to creep into them : and befides this, many 
 of them were erefled on barrows or heaps 
 of loofe ftones—a very uneafy fituation for 
 devotional offices.* 
 
 . * See BorlalVs Antiquities, p. 210, See. where 
 this fubjedt, as well as every other part of Druidical 
 antiquity, is treated at great length. 
 
 It 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES- 
 
 205 
 
 It has been attempted, and I think 
 with fome degree of fuccefs, to prove, that 
 by the application of the lever and inclined 
 plane alone, without ?giy other powers 
 whatever, it is pofiible to raife and eredt 
 fome of the largeft ftone monuments we 
 have in this ifland. In order to do this, 
 we may imagine that they chofe places 
 where they found, or made where fuch 
 were not ready to their hands, fmall mounts 
 of firm and folid earth for an inclined plane, 
 flatted and levelled at the top. Up the 
 Hoping fides of thefe they might, with 
 great wooden levers upon fixed fulcrums, 
 and with balances at the ends of them to 
 receive into them proportionable weights, 
 and with hands fufficient to guide and ma¬ 
 nage the engine, by little and little, heave 
 and roll up to the top the ftones they in¬ 
 tended to eredt. Laying thefe down there, 
 they might dig holes in that earth at the 
 end of every ftone intended for a column 
 
 or 
 
266 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 or fupporter, the depth of which holes was 
 to be equal to the length of the ftones; 
 and then, which with their levers could 
 eaiily be done, the ftones might be raifed 
 on end and let flip into thefe holes. Thefe 
 being now well clofed about with earth, 
 and their tops being made level with the 
 top of the mount, the other, flat ftones to 
 place upon them, might now be rolled up 
 in the fame manner as the others, and it 
 was only placing thefe incumbent flat 
 ftones on the tops of the fupporters, pro¬ 
 perly poifed and faftened, and cutting away 
 the earth from between them, almoft to 
 the bottom, and there would then appear 
 what are called ftonehenge, rolbrick, and 
 the Britilh cromlech; and where there 
 
 was no incumbent ftones, the upright co- 
 
 * 
 
 lumns and pillars, which we now fee re¬ 
 maining in many parts of the kingdom. 
 This is the eafleft and moft natural method 
 that can be imagined for the eredtion of 
 
 thofe 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 2 67 
 
 thofe ftupendous monuments of antiquity, 
 and it appears very probable that this was 
 the method ufed by the British mechanics, 
 who from their early communication with 
 the Egyptians and Phoenicians, probably 
 obtained their mechanical knowledge from 
 thefe great mailers of fcience.* 
 
 Betides the two cromleche I have men¬ 
 tioned, I found nothing deferving of par¬ 
 ticular notice either in the houie or grounds 
 at Plas Newydd, except the fituation, which 
 is indeed beautiful. The houfe, an ele¬ 
 gant building, flands upon the bank of the 
 Menai, almoft furrounded by woods, and 
 commands an elegant pidturefque and ex- 
 tenfive profpedt of thofe Britilh alps, the 
 mountains of Caernarvonlhire, 
 
 I left this place, and purfued my route 
 along the great Irilh road towards Holy- 
 
 * Rowland’s Mona Antiq. Reft. p. 95, 96. 
 
 head. 
 
268 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 head. About five miles from Gwyndy 
 I palled through a pretty little village, 
 called Llangefui, romantically feated in a 
 vale, with much wood about it. 
 
 I llept at Gwyndy, the wine houfe y an 
 Inn Handing by itfelf at equal diftances 
 from Bangor and Holyhead. At this houfe 
 I believe the belt of accommodations may 
 be had, but being frequented by all per- 
 fons going to or from Ireland, it is fre¬ 
 quently fo full of company as to be found 
 unpleafant to all parties. When I was 
 here I was unlucky enough to be only juft 
 in time to fecure the laft fpare bed, but 
 being pretty well tired I was glad to be in 
 poffeffion even of that, bad as it was. I 
 can fcarcely give an opinion, except on 
 the authority of others,, refpedting this 
 houfe, for when all were fo extremely bu¬ 
 lled I, a lone traveller, received, as I could 
 have expected, but little attention. 
 
 In 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 269 
 
 In the morning I proceeded towards 
 Holyhead,* diftant about thirteen miles. 
 This place, belides Holyhead, is called Caer 
 Gybi, the fort of Gybi , from it's having 
 been the refidence of Gybi, foil of Solo- 
 mon, Duke of Cornwall, and pupil of Hi- 
 larius, Bifliop of Poitiers. -Being confe- 
 crated a biiliop for his didinguifhed zeal 
 againft the Arians, he fettled here about 
 the year 380, where he is faid to have 
 founded a fmall monaftry.T 
 
 This town is fituated in an ifland at the 
 extreme point of Anglefea, but the dividing 
 channel, except when the tide is in, is ge¬ 
 nerally paflable without boats. It has 
 lately been rendered more populous from 
 it’s having been, for fome years pad, the 
 place of chief refort for paffengers to and 
 
 * So called, fays Holinfhed, from the number of 
 holy men that were interred there. See his Chro¬ 
 nicle, 
 
 t Tanner's Notitia Monaftica. 
 
 > * 
 
 from 
 
‘270 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 from Ireland. The diftance from hence 
 to Dublin is about twenty leagues, which 
 the packets generally make in twelve hours. 
 They have been known to perform it in 
 fix, and in ftormy weather they have on 
 the contrary been kept at fea for two or 
 three days. The paflage from Holyhead 
 is much fhorter, and always looked upon 
 as far lefs dangerous than from either Li¬ 
 verpool or Parkgate. 
 
 The church yard is on a rock dole above 
 the fea; it is a quadrangle of about two 
 hundred and feventy ieet by a hundred and 
 thirty. Three fides are inclofed by ftrong 
 high walls, and the fourth nearly open to 
 the fea, having only a parapet, which is 
 defended by deep rocks. It is aflerted by 
 feme writers, that this church-yard was a 
 place fortified about the year 450, by Caf- 
 
 wallon, law hir, Cafwallon the long handed , 
 
 * 
 
 fon of Eneon Urdd, King of Cumberland, 
 and Prince of North Wales. This prince 
 
 had 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 271 
 
 had been fent by his father to rid the coun¬ 
 try of Sirigi, a chieftain of the Irifli Pifts, 
 who having a Ihort time before landed in 
 Anglefea, and routed the inhabitants, was 
 about to fettle there. He was attacked at 
 this place, near which he had fecured his 
 fleet, and the young and heroic prince flew 
 him with his own hand, and routing his 
 forces, drove them entirely out of the 
 ifland,^ Mr. Pennant 'f is of opinion, 
 from the mafonry of the walls, that it 
 claims a far higher antiquity than the 
 above : he thinks it has been a Roman fort. 
 
 The church, which is dedicated to St. 
 Gybi, is a handfome embattled edifice, 
 built in the form of a crofs, and is fuppofed 
 to have been once a college, but the name 
 
 * Rowland’s Mona Antiqua Reft. p. 147. Carte’s 
 Hiftory of England, I. 187. 
 
 t Tour in Wales, II. 277. 
 
 of 
 
272 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 ''Cr ~—- — —■ '■ 1 11 ' —- ■ 
 
 of it's founder is not known.* It was 
 founded before 1291, becaufe it is rated in 
 the Lincoln taxation. The number of 
 nrebendaries is not known : there were at 
 
 .4 • 
 
 lead twelve, that number being mentioned 
 in the Penlion Lift in 1533. Th e reve¬ 
 nues at the diffolution were valued at 
 twenty-four pounds.•f* This college was 
 granted in the 7th of James I. to Francis 
 Morris and Francis Phillips. It afterwards 
 became the property of Rice Gwynne, Efq. 
 who, in 1648, beftowed on Jefus College, 
 Oxford, the great tythes for the rnainte-^ 
 nance of two fellows and two fcholars,J; 
 and fince that time the parifh has been 
 ferved by a curate nominated by the college. 
 
 * Mr. Pennant from the Hiftory of Anglefea, 
 p. 29. fays 14 Maelgwyn Gwynedd, who began his 
 44 reign in 580, is (aid to have founded a college 
 44 here.” 
 
 t Tanner’s Notitia Monaftica. 
 
 J Tanner’s Notitia. 
 
 Holinfhed 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES 
 
 273 
 
 . Holinfhed relates a circumftance refpedt- 
 ing Holyhead, which I have been able to 
 find in no other author. His words are : 
 “ Herein I marvel not a little, wherein 
 “ women had offended that they might not 
 “ come thither, or at leaft wife return 
 “ from thence, without fome notable re« 
 “ proach or fhame unto their bodies/'* 
 This was in the reign of William Rufus, 
 when the Irifh and Welfh had joined their 
 forces againft the Englifh ; but from whence 
 Holinfhed had his authority, or what could 
 be the reafon why the women were ib 
 abufed, I am equally ignorant. 
 
 Though Holyhead is much reforted to 
 by company to and from Ireland, it pof~ 
 felfes very few attractions for the traveller 
 on pleafure. The ifland on which it ftands^. 
 is feven or eight miles long, and in it's 
 fides flrangely indented. It is in general 
 
 * Holinfhed’s Chronicle, I. 36. 
 
 T 
 
 VOL* I, 
 
 maun- 
 
274 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 mountainous and rocky, and inhabited by 
 various fpecies of fea fowl that breed upon 
 the fleeps, which, towards the fea, are in 
 many places very high. 
 
 A number of crofs-roads, fufficiently 
 difagreeable, brought me from Holyhead 
 to Amlwch, near the lake ,* a fmall market 
 town, about a mile from which is Mynydd 
 Parys, the Parys Mountain , that inex- 
 
 i * 
 
 hauftible mine of copper, a mine of wealth 
 To all concerned in it. It was on Saturday, 
 the market day, when I got to Amlwch, 
 and the inn was crowded with miners, 
 who were come to receive their pay and 
 purchafe victuals for the week, fo that it was 
 with fome difficulty I could get any thing 
 to eat.. This was not owing to any in¬ 
 civility of the perfons at the inn, but 
 
 \ v 
 
 # This loch or lake, from which the totVn takes 
 
 * 
 
 It’s name, was fituated betwixt the church and the 
 port; but being drained, it was converted into a corn 
 field, in which capacity it yet remains. 
 
 merely 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 275 
 
 merely to their being fo bulled j for I af¬ 
 terwards found the houfe much better than 
 I expedted in what I had fuppofed, but 
 without foundation, fo obfcure a place. 
 
 Amlwch is on the fea coaft, and is a 
 fmall place, where much bulinefs is done. 
 It is chiefly fupported by the copper mines, 
 and is, I underftand, in a great meafure, 
 inhabited by miners and other perfons, who 
 have fome concern in them. The church, 
 dedicated to Elaeth, a faint of the Britifh 
 calendar, is a neat modern ftrudture. Not 
 far from this place is the port, from whence 
 the ore brought from the mines is trans¬ 
 ported to Liverpool and Swanfea. This, 
 though fmall, is extremely well adapted 
 to the bufinefs of exportation. It is a 
 chafm between two rocks, running far 
 into the land, and fufliciently large to re¬ 
 ceive thirty veflels of two hundred tons 
 burthen each. This was firft made at 
 the expence of the copper companies, for 
 the convenience of their Shipping, 
 
 T 2 
 
 chap; 
 
27 6 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 FROM AMLWCH BY BEAUMARIS TO CAERNAR¬ 
 VON. COPPER MINES—LLANELIAN—SUPER¬ 
 STITIOUS CUSTOM—BEAUMARIS—CASTLE—BAY 
 — LA VAN SANDS — LLANVAES — BATTLE — PEN- 
 MON—WELL AND CROSS-PRIESTHOLME—PUF¬ 
 FINS—'YNYS LIGOD. 
 
 HE diflanee from Amlwch to the An- 
 
 glefea coppermines, is very little more 
 than a mile, and I prevailed upon one of 
 the miners, an intelligent man, who could 
 
 fpeak Englifli, to walk with me there. 
 
 Having afcended to the fummit of. the 
 mountain, I found myfelf ftanding on the 
 verge of a vail; tremendous chafm, which 
 the miners call an open cajl . This I en¬ 
 tered, and when at the bottom, the fhag- 
 ged arches and overhanging rocks, which 
 teemed to threaten annihilation to any one 
 who was daring enough to approach them. 
 
 fixed 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 277 
 
 fixed me almoft motionlefs to the fpot. 
 The roofs of the work having in many 
 parts fallen in, have left fome of the rudeft 
 fcenes imagination can paint, and the ful- 
 phureous fmell arifing from the kilns in 
 which the ore is roafted, made it feem to 
 me like the veftibule to Tartarus. 
 
 Hac inter Elyfium nobis; at lasva malorum 
 
 Exercet poenas, et ad impia Tartarus mlttit. 
 
 Virg. /En. 
 
 "Tis here in different paths the way divides, 
 
 \ \ 
 
 The right to Pluto's golden palace guides; 
 
 The left to that unhappy region tends, 
 
 Which to the depth of Tartarus defcends; 
 
 The feat of night profound, and punilh’d fiends. 
 
 The mountain, owing to the fulphureous 
 fiimes from the works, is fo entirely des¬ 
 titute of every kind of vegetable produc¬ 
 tion for above half a mile on every fide, 
 that there is not in that fpace fo much as 
 
 T 3 
 
 even 
 
&J8 A T6UR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 even a lichen to be found.* I was almoft 
 fuffocated the whole time I was in the 
 mines, and a day or two afterwards, when 
 on my way to Beaumaris, the wind blow¬ 
 ing over the mountain, I found the fumes 
 extremely difagreeable at the diftance of at 
 leaft a mile from the works, fo powerful 
 is this poifonous vapour. I was much fur- 
 prized to fee the miners appear fo health¬ 
 ful as they do. Their complexions are in 
 general fomewhat fallow, but certainly lefs 
 fo than I could have fuppofed it poffible, 
 confidering the kind of employment they 
 are engaged in for near twelve hours every 
 day. 
 
 ■r 
 
 # Since this account was written, I have been 
 informed, that the proprietors and agents of the 
 mines have made vaft and expenfive improvements 
 in agriculture in this neighbourhood, and that they 
 entertain hopes that they can Rill cultivate the 
 mountain. 
 
 Here 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 279 
 
 Here are two mines which join upon 
 each other. Of thefe Lord Uxbridge is 
 poiieffed of one half, and the other is be¬ 
 twixt the Reverend Edward Hughes of 
 Kinmael, near St. Afaph, and Thomas 
 Williams, Efq. of Llanedan, the member 
 for Great Marlow in Buckinghamfhireo 
 The latter proprietor holds his fliare upon 
 leafe from Lord L^xbridge, which expiring 
 fcon, Mr. Hughes and his Lordfhip will 
 then become the foie proprietors. 
 
 There have been various conjectures as 
 to the etymology of Mynydd Parys, the 
 Parys mountain . Some fay that it was an- 
 tiently called Mynydd Pres, the brafs 
 mountain, others Mynydd Parhous, the 
 durable or inexhaujlible mountain; and again, 
 others that it had it’s name from Judge 
 Paris, who married a female of the family 
 of Penrhyn in Caernarvon (hire. An in¬ 
 telligent friend of mine, an inhabitant of 
 the neighbourhood, feems to think, that 
 
 T 4 
 
 as 
 
2S0 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH AVALES. 
 
 as it is yet called Mynydd Tryfglwyn, the 
 'woody mountain , the word Parys , fynony- 
 mous with Trysglwyn, may have been alfo 
 ufed, and that it received it’s name from 
 the circumftance of it’s being formerly co¬ 
 vered with furze and underwood. In con¬ 
 firmation of this opinion, he informs me 
 that there are perfons now living who can 
 remember it’s being thus covered: they 
 fay, the wood was firft deftroyed by being 
 cut down to roaft the ore with, and that 
 from the fumes, it has, fince that time, 
 never been able to get up again. 
 
 It is generally believed that the Romans 
 got copper ore from this mountain $ for 
 there are yet left what are thought to be 
 veftiges of their operations, and very an- 
 tient ftone utenfils have at different times 
 been found here. 
 
 From the time of the Romans till the 
 year 1764, thefe mines feem to have been 
 entirely negledted. Copper had about two 
 
 years 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 281 
 
 years before this period been found here, 
 and Meffrs. Roe and Co. of Macclesfield, 
 had, with a mine in Caernarvonfhire, a 
 leafe of part of the Parys mountain from 
 Sir Nicholas Bayley, the father of the pre- 
 fent Lord Uxbridge, which expired about 
 nine years ago. They for a long time 
 fpent much money in making levels to 
 drain off the water, and were about to 
 give up any further attempts, but their 
 
 s' 
 
 agent was determined to make one final 
 experiment in another part of the moun¬ 
 tain. This fucceeded, for in lefs than two 
 days, ore of almoftpure copper was met 
 with not two yards from the furface, which 
 proved to be that vail bed which has fince 
 been worked to fuch advantage. The day 
 that this difcovery was made was the 2d of 
 March, 1768; it has been ever fince ob- 
 ferved as a feflival by the miners. The 
 Rev. Edward Hughes, who was the owner 
 qf another part, in confequence of this fuc- 
 
 cefs. 
 
282 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES* 
 
 cefs, began a like adventure, which has 
 alfo fucceeded beyond the moft fanguine 
 expectations of the time. 
 
 The bed of ore, which is of unknown 
 extent, is in fome places twenty-four yards 
 in thicknefs, and the proprietors are faid 
 to raife annually from fix to feven thoufand 
 tons of merchantable ore. This is worth • 
 from three to lix pounds a ton, and an 
 idea of the wealth of thefe mines may be 
 formed, when it is known, that the Mac*- 
 clesfield Company have had fourteen thou¬ 
 fand, and Mr. Hughes thirty thoufand tons 
 upon the bank at the fame time.* The 
 number of hands employed are upwards of 
 a thoufand. 
 
 The ore is got from the mine partly by 
 picking and partly by blafting, after which 
 it is broken with hammers into fmall pieces 
 by women and children armed with iron 
 
 9 
 
 * Pennant’s Tour, II. 266, 267, 268. 
 
 gloves^ 
 
 1 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 283 
 
 gloves. It is then piled in kilns of great 
 length, and about fix feet high, and fet on 
 fire in different places to undergo the pro- 
 cefs of roafting; for as the ore in it’s natu¬ 
 ral ftate contains a great quantity of fill- 
 phur, it is neceflary that this fhould be fe- 
 parated from it by roafting, before it can be 
 fluxed into copper. The fulphur fublimes 
 to the top of the kiln, from whence it is 
 conveyed by a flue connected with it to the 
 fulphur chamber, a place built to receive 
 it, where it condenfes, and becomes the 
 flowers of fulphur of the fhops. It is af¬ 
 terwards taken from hence, melted in large 
 copper pans, and caft in moulds for fale. 
 
 After the ore has been thus roafted, 
 which is rather a tedious operation, taking 
 from three to ten months, according to the 
 
 quantity in the furnaces, which is gene- 
 
 § 
 
 rally from three hundred to a thoufand 
 tons, it is taken to the flacking pits, places 
 conftrudted of ftone, about fix yards long, 
 
 five 
 
284 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 five wide, and two feet deep, to be wafhed, 
 and made merchantable. The pooreft of 
 this, that is, fuch as contains from i £ to 
 2 per cent, of metal, is then conveyed to 
 the fmelting houfes at Amlwch-Port ; the 
 reft is fent to the company's furnaces at 
 Swanfea and Stanley, near Liverpool. By 
 the procefles of roafting and waftiing, though 
 the ore is much reduced in quantity, it is 
 confiderably improved in quality ; and the 
 water is fo richly impregnated with cop¬ 
 per, which is diftolved by the acid quality 
 of the fulphur, that by means of old iron 
 immerfed in it, according to the German 
 method, it produces fuch great quantities 
 of fiqe copper, that the proprietors have 
 obtained in one year upwards of a hundred 
 
 tons of the copper precipitated from the 
 / «. • ^ 
 water. Were this water afterwards eva¬ 
 porated, it would yield green vitriol at 
 nearly the rate of two hundred tons of vi¬ 
 triol for each hundred tons of iron, which, 
 
 at 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 285 
 
 at three pounds per ton, might produce 
 very good profit to the undertakers, if any 
 jfhould fettle fuch a manufadture there.* 
 Befides this, the proprietors have another 
 'artificial method of producing copper, this 
 is by placing great quantities of iron of any 
 kind whatever, either new or old, though 
 for the fake of convenience they generally 
 procure new plates, call for the purpofe, in 
 rectangular pits, fimilar to thofe ufed in 
 the above procefs $ they are about thirty 
 feet long, twelve broad, and two deep, 
 through which they turn the water that is 
 drawn from the beds of copper, which is 
 highly impregnated with the metal. The 
 
 * Mr. Aikin, in his Journal of a tour through 
 North Wales, p. 140, which I have lately feen, 
 fays, that there are here works for making green 
 vitriol and alum in fmall quantities, the property 
 of a feparate company, but to thefe Grangers are 
 not admitted. Before this work came into my 
 hands I had not heard of them, 
 
 iron 
 
286 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 iron- becomes diffolved by the acid, and is 
 fufpended in the water whilft the copper is 
 precipitated ; care is taken to turn the iron 
 every day in order to fhake off the incruf- 
 tation of copper formed upon it, and this is 
 continued till the iron is perfectly diffolved. 
 The workmen then drain off the water, 
 and rake together the ore in the form of 
 mud, which, when it is become, by dry¬ 
 ing, of the confiftency of a foftilh pafte, 
 they bake in ovens conftrudted for the pur- 
 pole, and export it, with the other ore, to 
 Liverpool or Swanfea. One ton of iron 
 immerfed in this manner, produces near 
 two tons of copper mud, each of which, 
 when melted, will produce fixteen hundred 
 weight of copper; this fells at a confide- 
 rably higher price than the copper which 
 is fluxed from the ore. 
 
 This method of obtaining copper by 
 means of iron, has been long pradtifed in 
 Germany, but has only been known amongfl: 
 
 us 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 267 
 
 Us of late years j and the firft finding of it 
 out was owing entirely to accident. From 
 the copper mines at Arklow, in the county 
 of Wicklow in Ireland, a great quantity of 
 water iffues, which is ftrongly faturated 
 with the vitriol of copper. One of the 
 workmen having accidently left an iron 
 fhovel in this water, he found it fome 
 weeks after, but fo incrufted that it was 
 thought to be changed into copper. The 
 proprietors of the mines in purfuance of 
 this hint, made proper pits and receptacles 
 
 for the water, and have obtained, by means 
 
 • , ) - 
 
 of iron bars put into them, fuch quantities 
 of copper, that thefe ftreams are now be¬ 
 come of as much confequence as the mines 
 themfelves. 
 
 The fides of the dreadful hollow from 
 whence the ore is taken, are nearly all per¬ 
 pendicular, but in one place was fufficiently 
 Hoping to permit my walking to the bot¬ 
 tom, a depth c£ about fifty yards. Along 
 
 the 
 
288 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 the edges, and in general hung by ropes 
 over the precipices, are ftages with wind- 
 IafTes or whimjies , as they here term them, 
 from Which the men who work upon the 
 fides, are lowered by cords. Here, fuf- 
 pended in mid air, they pick a fmall place 
 for a footing, cut out the ore in vad maffes, 
 and tumble it with a thundering crafh to 
 the bottom. In thefe feemingly precarious 
 fituations, they make caverns in which 
 they work for a certain time, till the rope 
 is lowered to take them up again. Much 
 of the ore is bladed by gunpowder, eight 
 tons of which, Mr. Pennant fays, are an¬ 
 nually ufed for that purpofe. 
 
 This procefs of blading mud frequently 
 be attended with danger, as the men have 
 been known to be fo careiefs as not to be 
 diffidently didant when the explofion has 
 taken place. The manner in which it was 
 done was quite novel to me. They bore a 
 hole in that part of the rock they with to 
 
 blad. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 289 
 
 blaft, about the width of a very wide gun 
 barrel, and of depth in proportion to the 
 quantity to be thrown up. At the bottom 
 of this they lodge their gunpowder, and 
 then taking an iron rod, made about two 
 feet in length, and tapered quite to a point, 
 they place it in the hole, and fill it up on 
 all fides with ftones, clay, &c. ramming 
 it hard down with an iron, projecting at 
 the bottom, as thus: 
 
 in which is made a nick, that it may pafs 
 freely round the rod. When it is filled up, 
 and well hammered down, the rod is 
 taken out, and a ftraw filled with gunpow¬ 
 der, fubftituted in it’s place. A match is 
 then lighted and put to it with, as they 
 exprefs it, as much time in it as to permit 
 vol, i, U them 
 
290 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 them to get away, that is, of length fuf- 
 ficient before it burns through and lights 
 the powder, to fuffer them to efcape out of 
 the danger attendant upon the explofion. 
 
 Several of the (hafts which have been 
 formed for taking off the water, are dri¬ 
 ven very deep : one that I faw, was up¬ 
 wards of a hundred and fixty feet below 
 the open bottom of the mine* I got the 
 miner who attended me to fix a candle on 
 the edge of one of the buckets by which 
 they draw the water up, and it was really 
 curious to watch it in it’s dark and con¬ 
 fined defcent, till it became a mere fpeck 
 of light, and then immerfing in the water 
 was loft. 
 
 Since the firft forming of thefe mines, 
 they have been the graves of many unfor¬ 
 tunate perfons, either from the roofs fal¬ 
 ling in, the ftages giving way, or the ropes 
 breaking. But a few weeks before I was 
 
 there. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 291 
 
 there, three men were all killed at once by 
 the breaking of a rope. 
 
 I was informed that thofe miners who 
 worked by the day, received upon an ave¬ 
 rage no more than fourteen pence. Others, 
 who work, by what they term the bar¬ 
 gain, are paid a certain fum per ton for 
 getting the ore. The mine companies 
 feem to take great care in providing for all 
 that have any concern whatever in the 
 works, for befides fupporting the poor by 
 their own voluntary donations, which are 
 now betwixt feven and eight hundred 
 pounds a year, they prevent a great num¬ 
 ber of the infants, of the aged and infirm* 
 from applying for relief, by giving them 
 light and eafy employment, and this is an 
 average expence of three hundred pounds 
 a year at leaft, befides furgeons and apo¬ 
 thecaries bills, which are feldom lefs than 
 feven or eight hundred a year. 
 
 U 2 
 
 The 
 
292 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 The mines have increafed the value of 
 lands of the parifh from about £1400. to 
 ^5000. a year and upwards $ the number 
 of houfes from two hundred to a thoufand 
 and upwards, and the population from 
 about nine hundred to feven or eight thou- 
 fand.^ 
 
 About two miles eaft of Amlwch, and 
 
 • 1 
 
 not far from the coaft, is the village of 
 
 1 
 
 Llanelian. The church is of very antient 
 foundation, being originally founded about 
 the year 540 by Elian Cannaid, the Bri- 
 tilh Hilary, to whom Cafwallon law-hir 
 had given many lands and franchifes about 
 this place, which I underftand are held 
 in his name by the freeholders of them to 
 this day.-f- It is rather a handfome build¬ 
 ing, and contains portraits of St. Elian 
 
 * Letter to the Bifhop of Bangor, Appendix, p. 57. 
 
 t Rowland’s Mona Antiqua Reftaurata, p. 156, 
 183. 
 
 and 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 293 
 
 - . — . . — ... ■■ . i , - r 
 
 and the Apoftles. Adjoining to the church 
 is a chapel, in one of whofe walls is a po¬ 
 lygonal clofct of wood, having at the back 
 of it another which could be entered from 
 another part. From this the villagers relate, 
 that, in the times of Popifh fuperftition, the 
 priefts returned oracular anfwers to thofe 
 enquiring.. The front clofet, which is 
 called St. Elian’s cheft, ufed to contain the 
 offerings that were made to him, but is 
 now employed for other purpofes by the fu- 
 perftitious of the country. Perfons of both 
 fexes, of all ages, and fizes, are to enter the 
 fmall door way, and if they can fucceed in 
 turning themfelves round within the nar¬ 
 row limits of the place, which meafures 
 only betwixt three and four feet in height, 
 about four feet acrofs the back, and eigh¬ 
 teen inches wide, they believe that they 
 ihall live for at leaft twelve months after¬ 
 wards ; but if they do not fucceed in this 
 difficult undertaking, they give themfelves 
 
 U 3 up 
 
29i A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Up as loft : for it is, they fay, a certain omen 
 that they muft die within the year. I have 
 been told, that it is curious to fee a ftout 
 lufty fellow, weighing fixteen or eighteen 
 ftone, ftriving to get into thefe narrow 
 confines, with as much confidence of fuc- 
 ceeding as a ftripling a yard high. And 
 when he fails in his attempt, to fee him, 
 contrary to all reafon, fretting becaufe his 
 body, which contains in folid bulk more 
 than the place could hold, were it cram¬ 
 med into all corners, cannot be got in. 
 But when we confider, that fuperftition and 
 enthufiafm have generally fo little to do 
 with reafon, we muft not wonder that this 
 fhould add to the heap of incongruities that 
 have already been given to us. 
 
 Llan Elian was formerly a fandtuary or 
 place of refuge, confirmed by a charter 
 from Cafwallon law-hir. Of this charter 
 there are copies yet in exiftence.* 
 
 * Rowland’s Mona Antiqua, p. 147. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 295 
 
 ) . ' v 
 
 <— — ■ ■’ » ' ■ " ',,^', 0 . •- ■■ :•-«' ' •> ■ ' -—------- 
 
 In digging a grave in the church-yard, 
 about four or five years ago, in a part 
 which had not for fome ages been ufed for 
 interment, a deep trench was difcovered, 
 running for about twenty yards tranfverfely 
 acrofs, which was found filled with human 
 bones. It is fuppofed to have been the 
 place of interment after fome fevere battle. 
 
 The diftance betwixt Amlwch and 
 Beaumaris is faid to be fifteen miles ; of 
 this, from experience, I can fay nothing ; 
 
 for I was under the necefiity of going fome 
 
 \ 
 
 miles round, as it happened to be high 
 water, and the road acrofs the fands at 
 Pulas Bay was quite overflowed. 
 
 The entrance into Beaumaris is very 
 pretty; the bay and the caftle, with Pen- 
 maen mawr and the Grme’s head at a 
 diftance, clofe up the end of the road, which 
 lies down a fteep hill, and is pleafingly 
 {haded on each fide with trees 0 
 
 U 4 The 
 
 t 
 
296 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 The town is finely fituated on the weft- 
 ern Bank of the Menai, juft where it opens 
 into an extenfive bay. It is in general neat 
 and well built, but one ftreet is very good. 
 Near it is Baron Hill, the charming feat of 
 Lord Bulkeley. 
 
 The caftle, which ftands in the grounds 
 of Lord Bulkeley, is quite clofe to the 
 town, and covers a confiderable fpace of 
 
 ground, but from it’s lownefs, it fails in ex- 
 
 • ■* / 
 
 citing particular attention. It has con- 
 lifted of an outer ballcuin or envelope, fur- 
 rounded with a broad ditch, flanked by 
 feveral round towers, and had, on the eaft 
 fide, an advanced work, called the Gun¬ 
 ner *s walk. Within thefe was the body of 
 the caftle, which is nearly fquare, having 
 a round tower at each angle, and another 
 in the centre of each face. The area is an 
 irregular odtagon, about fifty-feven yards 
 from north to fouth, and fixty from eaft 
 to weft, and in the middle of the north 
 
 fide 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 267 
 
 fide is the hall, twenty yards long and twelve 
 broad. The porter’s lodge is a Bridewell.* 
 
 There has been a communication round 
 the buildings of the inner court by a gal¬ 
 lery two yards broad, which is yet in a 
 great meafure entire. In recefies in dif¬ 
 ferent parts of the fides of this are fquare 
 holes, which feem to have had trap doors 
 opening into a kind of dungeon beneath. 
 The ufe of which, unlefs for fecuring pri- 
 foners, I have not been able to learn. 
 They muft have been defcended by lad¬ 
 ders, as there are no remains of Heps in 
 any of them. The two eaftern towers 
 ferved alfo as dungeons, and the defcent to 
 them was dark and narrow, as were the 
 galleries around them. 
 
 On the eaft fide of the building are the 
 remains of a very fmall chapel, arched and 
 ribbed with pointing and interfe&ing arches. 
 
 * Grofe’s Antiquities of England and Wales. 
 
 Between 
 
298 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Between each of the Gothic pilafters is 
 a narrow window, and behind fome of them 
 are fmall clofets gained out of the thicknefs 
 of the wall. 
 
 The caftle was built by Edward I. about 
 the year 1295, fometime after he had 
 founded thofe of Caernarvon and Conwy, 
 in order to fecure more firmly his pof- 
 fefiions in this ifland. He at the fame 
 time changed the name of the town front 
 Bonover, as it was then called, to Beau¬ 
 maris, a name derived from the French, 
 indicative of it’s pleafant fituation in a low 
 ground.* From this, and it’s being near the 
 bay, he had an opportunity of forming a 
 great fofs round it, and of filling it with 
 water from the fea. He alfo cut a canal 
 
 1 ' S ^ ‘ 
 
 in order to permit veffels to difcharge their 
 lading beneath the walls; and even fo 
 lately as within this century, iron rings 
 
 * Holinfhed’s Chronicle, II. 294* Stow’s An- 
 jials, p. 1 ?o. 
 
 remained 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 299 
 . . . .......- 
 
 I 
 
 remained affixed to them, which had been 
 made for the purpofe of mooring fhips or 
 boats.* 
 
 Sir William Pickmore, a Gafcon knight, 
 was appointed by Edward I. the fir ft go¬ 
 vernor, f* 
 
 It was given by Henry IV. very foon 
 after he had obtained the crown, to Henry 
 Percy, Earl of Northumberland, for life, 
 in reward no doubt for the fervices he had 
 done him in the reign of his predeceffor, 
 Richard IL+ 
 
 A manufcript in the Harleian collec¬ 
 tion^ records that Richard III. in the firft 
 year of his reign, granted to Sir Richard 
 Huddleftone, Knight, the conftablefhip 
 and captainfhip of the caftle and town of 
 
 * Pennant’s Tour, II. 243. t Ibid. 244. 
 
 f Dugdale’s Baronage, I. 278. 
 
 § Marked N®, 433; it is quoted in Grofe’s An¬ 
 tiquities* 
 
 Beaumaris. 
 
$00 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 Beaumaris. According to another manu- 
 fcript which defcribes it, the falary of the 
 conftable was forty pounds. Twenty-four 
 foldiers were allowed for the defence of it 
 and the town, at fourpence a day each. 
 They were commanded by a captain, whofe 
 annual pay was /12. *3^. 4 d. and the 
 porter was paid £g. 2s. 6 d. per annum. 
 
 This caftle was extremely burthenfome 
 to the country, on account of the frequent 
 quarrels which took place betwixt the gar- 
 rifon and the people of the country. 
 
 From the time of Sir Rowland Ville- 
 ville, alias Brittayne, the reputed bafe fon 
 of Henry VII. and conftable of the caftle, 
 the garrifon was withdrawn till 1642, 
 when Thomas Cheadle, deputy to the 
 
 Earl of Dorfet, then conftable, put into 
 
 \ 
 
 it men and ammunition. In 1643 Thomas 
 Bulkeley, Efq. foon afterwards created Lord 
 Bulkeley, fucceeded: his fon. Colonel Ri¬ 
 chard Bulkeley, and feveral gentlemen, 
 
 held 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 301 
 
 held it for the king till 1646, when it was 
 furrendered to General Mytton, who was 
 immediately made governor, upon ho¬ 
 nourable terms. It is now the property 
 of the crown.* 
 
 In 1653 the annual expence of the gar- 
 rifon was feven hundred and three pounds, 
 and in 1696 the garrifon confifled of a go¬ 
 vernor, who, befides his pay as captain, 
 had 2s. a day : a gunner, who had is. Sd. 
 a mattrofs (a foldier who affifted the gun¬ 
 ner) who had 1 od. a company of foot, con- 
 filling of a captain, at 8 s. a lieutenant at 
 4 s. two ferjeants at is. 6 d. each $ two cor¬ 
 porals at is. each, and one drummer and 
 eighty foldiers at 8 d. each per day, with 
 an allowance of a fhilling a day for fire 
 and candle for the guard, “f- 
 
 * Whitelock’s Memorials, p. 213. Pennant’s 
 Tour, II. 244. 
 
 t Grofe’s Antiquities. 
 
 When 
 
302 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 When Edward I, built the town, he fur« 
 rounded it with walls, and made it a cor¬ 
 poration, endowing it with great privileges, 
 and lands to a confiderable value. It fends 
 one member to Parliament.* 
 
 The bay of Beaumaris forms a fine open¬ 
 ing before the town, and fhips, it is faid* 
 lie fecure in it, even in ftormy weather. 
 The water is, under the town, fix or feven 
 fathom deep when the tide is out; but this 
 deep channel fcarcely extends more than a 
 quarter of a mile in width $ the other three 
 miles, to the village of Aber, being one 
 continued bed of fand, called the Lavan 
 Sands. Thefe, the Welfh people fuppofe, 
 were antiently quite free from water, and 
 formed a habitable part of Caernarvonfhire ; 
 which feems by no means improbable, lince 
 Mr. Pennant -f has brought fuch decided 
 proof of the incroachment of the fea at Aber- 
 
 * Pennant, II. 245. t Ibid. 335. 
 
 g ele y> 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 303 
 
 . . * ’ " 
 
 , geley, a village near the coaft, on the other 
 fide of Orme’s Head, about eighteen miles 
 diftant. He gives us an epitaph in the 
 church-yard, of which this is a tranflation: 
 
 In this church-yard lies a man who 
 €C lived three miles to the north of it.” 
 But as a more certain evidence, he had 
 obferved, at low water, far from the clayey 
 banks, a long tradt of hard loam, filled 
 with the bodies of oak trees tolerably en¬ 
 tire, but fo foft as to be cut with a knife 
 as eafily as wax. 
 
 About a mile from Beaumaris, near the 
 feat of Sir Robert Williams, Bart, and not 
 far from the fhore, Hands the poor remains 
 of the houfe of Francifcan Friars, founded 
 by Llewelyn ap Jorweth, Prince of North 
 Wales, fometime before 1240, called Llan- 
 vaes, or the Friars. There is now fo 
 little of it left, that it forms only part of 
 the walls of a barn. The church was 
 dedicated to St, Francis* Here were in- 
 
 interred 
 
304- A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALESV 
 
 terred Joan, a natural daughter of King 
 John, the wife of Llewelyn, a fon of one 
 of the kings of Denmark, Lord Clifford, 
 and many barons and knights who were 
 flain in the Welfli wars.* 
 
 The church, and other buildings, were 
 deflroyed foon after the death of Llewelyn, 
 in an infurreition, headed by his relation, 
 Madoc. It was afterwards reftored, and 
 again almoft ruined by Henry IV. on ac¬ 
 count of the Friars having efpoufed the 
 caufe of Owen Glyndwr, who had rifen 
 
 againft him. His fon, Henry V. relieved 
 
 * ■* 
 
 it, and eftablifhed a provifion for eight 
 
 * PowePs Hiftory of Wales, p. 293. Stow’s 
 Annals, p. 167. Leland’s Colle&anea de Rebus 
 Britannicus, I. 53. An inflrument in Rymer’s 
 Foedera, vol. IV. part. II. p. 83. has the following: 
 “ Pro fratribus minorum de Llanvayfii in infula 
 
 noflra de Anglefye-Confiderantes quod in 
 
 eadem domo corpus tam filia regis Johannis pro~ 
 * £ genitoris noftrl quam filii regis Dacia necnon corpora 
 domini de Clyfort , &c. fepulta exiftunt” 
 
 Friars, 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 305 
 
 Friars, but on the condition that only two 
 of them fhould be Welffimen.* 
 
 At the diffolution, Henry VIII. fold the 
 convent and it’s poffeffions to one of his 
 courtiers. They afterwards became the 
 property of a family of the name of White, 
 (now extind) who built here a good Man- 
 fion. It is at prefent the property of Lord 
 Bulkeley. The done coffin of the Princefs 
 Joan now ferves as a watering trough for 
 horfes.-f* 
 
 Near this place, in the year 819, a fe- 
 vere battle was fought betwixt the Welfh 
 and the Saxons under their leader Egbert, 
 who had invaded the ifland, and given it 
 then, for the firffc time, the name of Angle- 
 fea. The Saxons feem to have proved 
 
 1 / 
 
 victorious ; but they were foon afterwards 
 difpoffeffed of it by Merfyn Frych, the 
 
 * Tanner’s Notitia. Pennant, II. 248, who 
 quotes the Sebright MSS. 
 
 t Pennant, II. 247. 
 
 VOL. X, 
 
 ) 
 
 x 
 
 Welfh 
 
306 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 WeUh prince, who after fome bloody con¬ 
 tentions entirely cleared his country of thofe 
 invaders.* 
 
 Two miles north of Friars is the priory 
 
 / 
 
 of Penmon, which confifts at prefent of 
 very little more than the ruinous refedlory 
 and part of the church. This was a priory 
 of Benedi&ine monks, dedicated to St. 
 Mary, and endowed, if not founded, by 
 Prince Llewelyn ap Jorwerth, before the 
 year 1221. In the 26th of Henry VIII. 
 the revenues were valued at £47. 15J. 3 d. 
 in the whole, and £40. lys. 9 d. clear.*f' 
 Near Penmon is a well, furrounded with 
 a wall, and Tone feats, having two doors 
 
 # Rowland’s Mona Anti qua, p. 172. 
 t Tanner’s Notitia. It was befides Penmon, 
 called Glannach, St. Syriol, Praeftol, and Prieft- 
 holme; in the latter names it feems to have been 
 confounded with the neighbouring ifland, called 
 Prieftholme, where the priory is fuppofed to have 
 had pofieffions. The Welfh now frequently call 
 Penmon, Llenach. 
 
 or 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 30? 
 
 or entrances. On the wall are initials* 
 fuppofed to be thofe of fome one of the 
 Bulkeley family and his lady, who either 
 built or repaired it* And in the park of 
 Sir Robert Williams, about a quarter of a 
 mile diftant, is an antient crofs about fix 
 feet in height, the fhaft of which is cu~ 
 rioufly ornamented with checquered work. 
 Very neatly executed. The upper part of 
 it has been broken off*. Thefe, no doubt, 
 belonged formerly to the monaflry. 
 
 Not quite a mile from the fhore is Ynys 
 Seiriol, Seiriol's JJland called now Priefl> 
 holme. It is fuppofed to have been once 
 an appurtenant to the monaftry, and there 
 are yet left in it the remains of a fquare 
 tower. The Welfh have yet a tradition 
 extant, that when the Lavan Sands was 
 
 * Seiriol was the Ton of Owen Danwyn, the fon 
 
 of Eneon Urdd, who chofe this place as a religious 
 
 retreat. He is fuppofed to have built a chapel here 
 
 about the year 630. See Rowland 's Mona Antiqua, 
 
 p. 18^. 
 
 * •» 
 
 habitable. 
 
308 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 habitable, and formed part of Caernarvon- 
 lhire, they had a bridge acrofs the channel, 
 by which they had a communication with 
 that country. And they yet pretend to 
 lhew the remains of an antient caufeway, 
 which, they fay, was made from this illand 
 to the foot of Penmaen bach, near Conwy, 
 for the convenience of perfons who ufed to 
 vifit this place, held in former times in 
 mo ft fuperflitious veneration.* 
 
 Prieftholme, from the beginning of April 
 to the beginning of Auguft, is inhabited by 
 immenfe numbers of different kinds of fea 
 fowl, but in particular by that rare fpecies, 
 called Puffin Auk, the Alca Arklica of 
 Linnaeus. Thefe are birds of paffage, and 
 annually refort hither to breed, and one 
 part of the ifland appears at times to be 
 almoft covered with them. They form 
 burrows in the ground, and lay in them 
 one white egg, which is generally hatched 
 in the beginning of July. They are fo 
 
 *■ Gough’s Camden, III. 697. 
 
 affectionate 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 309 
 
 .affectionate to their young, that if they are 
 laid hold of by the wings they will give 
 themfelves the mod: cruel bites on any part 
 of their body that they can reach, as if 
 actuated by defpair; and when releafed, 
 inftead of flying away, they will often 
 hurry again into their burrows. The noife 
 they make when caught is horrible, and 
 not unlike the efforts of a dumb man to 
 fpeak. The time of their remigration is 
 about the eleventh of Auguft. Their food 
 is fprats or fea weeds, which makes them 
 exceffively rank, but the young, when pic¬ 
 kled and preferved by fpices, are by fome 
 people much admired. They do not 
 breed till their third year, and they are faid 
 to change their bills annually. The chan¬ 
 nel betwixt Prieftholme and Anglefea is 
 celebrated for producing feveral very un¬ 
 common fpecies of fifh.* 
 
 There 
 
 * This account of the Puffin I have extracted 
 from Mr. Pennant: his knowledge of Britifh zoo- 
 
 X 3 logy 
 
310 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 There are to the weft of Prieftholme 
 three iflands, each called Ynys Lygod, the 
 Moufe IJland; and it appears to me that 
 Giraldus Cambrenfis * has miftaken the 
 name of this, when in calling it Ynys 
 Lygod, and faying, that in antient times 
 when pofleffed by Reclufes, who had left 
 the world to enjoy here religious folitude, 
 whenever the inhabitants quarrelled with 
 each other, they were immediately plagued 
 with fwarms of mice, which always quitted 
 them as foon as they had laid afide their 
 animofities. 
 
 logy is well known, and the authenticity of his in-, 
 formation from the Rev, Mr. Davies of Aber, who 
 formerly refided at Beaumaris, no one can doubt. 
 I thought it too curious and interefting a fubjedl 
 to be paffed over in filence, and my information 
 could not have been drawn from a more authentic 
 fource. 
 
 * Itin. Camb. Audi. Sylv. Gir, Cambr. Lib. II, 
 
 C, 6, p. 868, 
 
 CHAP, 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 311 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 FROM CAERNARVON BY CAPELCURIGTO LLAN- 
 
 RWST.-LLANDDINIOLEN —ANTIENT FORT- 
 
 LORD PENRHYN’s SLATE QUARRIES — NANT 
 FRANGON—RUDE LANDSCAPE —FALLING OF A 
 ROCK—Y TRIVAEN—LLYN OGWEN—CAPEL CU- 
 RIG—VALE—NEW INN — DOLWYDDELAN CAS¬ 
 TLE—FEUDS—VILLAGE—PONT Y PAIR—WATER¬ 
 FALL ON THE LLUGWY—VALE OF LLANRWST— 
 GWYDIR WOODS—NEW ROAD. 
 
 rpm Gentleman who had accompanied 
 me in moft of my rambles amongft 
 
 i 
 
 the mountains of Caernarvonlhire, went 
 with me in my excurfion to Llanrwfl, a 
 town in Denbighfhire, by the neareft way, 
 about thirty miles from Caernarvon. He 
 propofed that we fhould go on a track 
 that lies through the mountains, rather 
 than take the ufual road by Bangor and 
 Conwy, which would have been much 
 
 X 4 more 
 
312 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 more circuitous. We therefore proceeded 
 to the village of Llanddiniolen ; about half 
 a mile fouth-eaft of which, my companion 
 pointed out to me, upon a confiderable emi¬ 
 nence, the remains of an antient encamp¬ 
 ment, called Dinas Dinorddwig. Here is 
 a large area, which has been furrounded by 
 a double ditch and ramparts, but the other 
 remains are very inconliderable. 
 
 We palled iome very exteniive date quar¬ 
 ries in the mountains, belonging to Lord 
 Penrhyn, and entered the romantic vale of 
 Nant Frangon,* or the beaver's hollow. 
 This tremendous glen is deftitute of wood, 
 and even of cultivation, except the narrow 
 flip of meadow which lays along it's bot¬ 
 tom. The fides, which are truly. 
 
 Huge hills, that heap’d in crowded order ftand, 
 
 * Properly Nant yr Afangcwn. Beaver’s have 
 been feen here within the memory of man. See 
 Owens Dictionary- For the account of their having 
 been formerly common in this country, fee Llyn yr 
 Afange near Llanydloes, in vol. II, 
 
 fuf- 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. SIS 
 
 fufficiently repay their want of verdure, by 
 the pleafing and fantadic appearance of the 
 rocks which compofe them. Thefe rife 
 abruptly from their bafe, and dretch their 
 barren points into the clouds, unvaried with 
 fhrubs, and uncheered by the cottager's hut. 
 
 In the year 1685, part of a rock of one of 
 the impending cliffs became fo undermined 
 by dorms and rain, that looiing it’s hold, it 
 fell down in feveral pieces, and in it’s paffage 
 down a deep and craggy cliff, diflodged forne 
 thoufands of other dones, of which many 
 
 were intercepted in their progrefs into the 
 
 • , * ' . 
 
 valley ; but as much forced it’s way as en¬ 
 tirely ruined a fmall piece of meadow 
 ground at the bottom, and feveral pieces 
 were thrown at lead two hundred yards 
 afunder. In this accident, one great done, 
 the biggeft remaining piece of the broken 
 rock, made a trench in it’s defcent as large 
 as the mountain dreams ufually run in, 
 
 and 
 
314. A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 ■ \ • » 
 
 and when it came down to the plain, it 
 continued it’s paflage through a fmall mea¬ 
 dow and acrofs the river Ogwen, which 
 runs down the vale, and lodged itfelf on 
 the other fide of it. It appears very pro¬ 
 bable, that moft of thofe vaft ftones that 
 are found lying in the mountainous vallies, 
 have been thrown there by accidents, fimi- 
 la r to this. 
 
 The upper end of Nant Frangon is 
 guarded on each fide by a huge conical 
 mountain. As I croffed the top of the 
 vale, I was delighted with a very beautiful 
 and unexpected view for nearly the whole 
 length of it, where the mountains down 
 each fide, appeared for a great difiance 
 falling off in fine perfpeftive. 
 
 Y Trivaen,* the mountain on the right, 
 at the head of the vale, received it’s name 
 from three tall ftones ftanding in an up- 
 
 * Y Tri Yacn, the three ftones or pillars. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 315 
 
 right pofition on it's fummit, which from 
 below, had the exadt refemblance of three 
 men. Of thefe there are only two at pre- 
 fent, the third having fometime ago tum¬ 
 bled down. Thefe ftones were not vilible 
 to us till we had pafied the vale ; but from 
 the road near Llyn Qgwen, we could fee 
 them very plainly. The two remaining 
 ones have certainly fo much the appearance 
 of human figures, that I am net at all fur- 
 prized, that many travellers, who have .not 
 confidered the vaft height of the mountain, 
 have been deceived in fancying them Welfh 
 iourifts attended by a guide, who was 
 pointing out to them the curiofities of the 
 country around. I was credibly informed 
 that one gentleman flopped his horfe near 
 half an hour to watch their motions, but 
 not perceiving them to move off*, he at 
 laft rode on to Capel Curig, where he 
 mentioned the circumftance and was un¬ 
 deceived. The rock feemed to be alto¬ 
 gether 
 
 i 
 
316 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 gether compofed of large, but apparently 
 loofe ftones, of all forms, and eroding 
 each other in all directions. We examined 
 it from below with a pretty good glafs, 
 and fancied we could perceive the third 
 fallen gentleman laying acrofs a deep 
 chafm, a little to the left of the other two. 
 
 The compofition of this rock appears 
 very much to refemble that of it’s neigh¬ 
 bouring one, called Glyder bach.* 
 
 Near Llyn Ogwen, a pretty large pool, 
 well docked with trout, and feveral other 
 kinds of fi£h, the country began to change 
 it’s rough afpeCt, and to affume a cha¬ 
 racter lefs mountainous, which it retained 
 till within a mile or two of Capel Curig,'f* 
 
 when 
 
 * See this mountain deferibed in my excurfion to 
 Llanberis, vol. I. p. 203, 204, &c. 
 
 i The chapel of Curig, a Britith faint. The 
 following is a tranilation from a little Welfh poem, 
 
 and 
 
 / 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 €> t 
 
 Oil 
 
 when it refumed it’s former afpedt, This 
 little village, which feemed toconfift of lit¬ 
 tle more than the public houfe and church, 
 did not come into fight till we had got 
 within about half a mile of the place. 
 
 The vale of Capel Curig, which is 
 bounded by the Britifh Alps, Snowdon 
 and his furrounding mountains, affords one 
 of the moft pidturefque landfcapes in the 
 whole country. 
 
 Here hills and vales, the woodland and the plain ; 
 
 Here earth and water feem to ftrive again: 
 
 Not chaos like, together crufh’d and bruis’d, 
 
 But as the world, harmonioufly confus’d. 
 
 In this vale there is that variety, both of 
 wood and water, which moft of the other 
 
 and is the only place in which I find him men¬ 
 tioned : 
 
 “ A certain Friar to increafe his (lore, 
 
 Beneath his cloak, grey Curig''s image bore; 
 
 “ And to protect good folks from nightly harm, 
 
 <c Another fells St. Seiriol as a charm.” 
 
 „ A Leiter of Lewis Morris, in Camb. Ref. II. 452. 
 
 Welth 
 
SIS 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Welfli vales are fo much in want of, to add 
 to their pidturefque effedt. Here are two 
 pretty large pools, near one of which Lord 
 Penrhyn is now building a fmall, but com¬ 
 fortable inn, from a defign of his agent, 
 Mr. Wyatt: and I cannot fufficiently ad¬ 
 mire the tafte of this gentleman, in draw¬ 
 ing the traveller out of the road, that he 
 may, the more at eafe enjoy the many 
 beauties of the vale for it is fituated in a 
 part of the vale, fomewhat out of the 
 ufual road, but certainly where every thing 
 around may be feen to the greateft ad¬ 
 vantage. I know not how far he will 
 have the thanks of travellers on bufinefs, 
 whofe feelings are frequently callous to all 
 the beauties of nature, and whofe fouls 
 very commonly dote only on their gains. 
 How thefe will like to be taken a mile 
 out of their way, in order to be forced to 
 enjoy what they never can, I do not know? 
 But I doubt not, that every man of tafte 
 
 will 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 310 
 
 \ 
 
 will feel himfelf highly indebted to Lord 
 Penrhyn for his truly patriotic exertions 
 in this part of the country, and to Mr, 
 Wyatt’s good judgment for an undertaking 
 fo agreeable and fo ufeful as the prefent. 
 
 The prefent public houfe is fomewhat 
 fimilar, in point of accommodations, to 
 
 thofe at Llanberis. We got here fome 
 eggs, bacon, and dreadfully bad new ale. 
 They told us they had fome dried goat, 
 but though the houfe was rather famous 
 for this fpecies of food, we declined having 
 any. The kids are frequently killed young, 
 when they are faid to eat fomewhat like 
 lamb ; but I underftand the flefh of the 
 old goats is not eatable, unlefs when faked 
 and dried, and even then it is fo ftrong 
 that it requires a ftout ftomach to digeft it. 
 
 After we had ended our repaft, we fet 
 out again on our journey, and having gone 
 about two miles, we left the road, and 
 
 went 
 
320 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 went to the right for near three miles fur¬ 
 ther to fee Dolwyddelan Caftle, an old 
 Britifli place of defence. It’s mountainous 
 fituation rendered it difficult to find, and 
 it was not till after numerous enquiries 
 that we were put into the track that led 
 us immediately up to it. 
 
 This Caftle ftands on a rocky fteep, 
 nearly perpendicular on one fide, and in 
 a vale entirely clofed in by mountains. 
 The name feems to have been originally 
 D 61 Gwydd Elen*, the meadow of Helen s 
 wood; there having been an antient mili¬ 
 tary way which paffed through the coun¬ 
 try, not far from hence, towards the fea- 
 eoaft of Merionethffiire, called Sarn Helen* 
 or Helen's way, fuppofed to have been 
 originally made by Helen, the daughter of 
 
 * It may, though with lefs probability, have 
 been Dol Gwydd Elain, the meadow of the wood 
 of the doe. 
 
 Odlavius* 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 321 
 
 Odtavius, Duke of Cornwall, and wife of 
 the Emperor Maximus.* 
 
 The Caftle has been but fmall, occu- 
 pying the entire fummit of the mount on 
 which it was built. It has confifted of 
 two fquare towers, each three ftories high, 
 having one room on a ftory, and a court 
 yard which was betwixt them. The largeft 
 of thefe towers is, in the infide only, 
 twenty-feven feet in length, and eighteen 
 in width, and the walls are about fix feet 
 thick. The walls of the court are en¬ 
 tirely deftroyed, and of one of the other 
 buildings only a very fmall part is left. 
 
 Who was the founder of this Caftle, or 
 
 \ 
 
 what purpofe it was originally intended to 
 anfwer, we have not at this time any do¬ 
 cuments left to inform us. Moft proba- 
 
 4 
 
 * Rowland’s Mona Antiqua, 165. Camden fun- 
 pofes this Helen to have been the mother of Con- 
 ftantine the Great. See Camden’s Britannia. 
 
 Y bly. 
 
 VOL. I* 
 
322 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 bly, when the feudal fyftem prevailed in 
 Wales, and petty chieftains were engaged 
 in perpetual wars with each other, Dol- 
 wyddelan Cadle, and others iimilar to it, 
 may have been built by fome of them as 
 places to which they might retreat, where 
 they could relide in fecurity, attended by 
 their vaffals and adherents in cafe they 
 fhould be neceffitated by fuperior force to 
 quit the plains and more cultivated parts. 
 Thefe caftles would alfo, at the fame time, 
 anfwer the purpofe of guarding the pafles 
 and denies amongft the mountains. 
 
 Mr. Rowlands fuppofes * that this, as 
 well as Dolbadarn Caftle in the vale of 
 Llanberis, was built fo early as the time of 
 Maelgwn Gwynedd, in the fixth century. 
 What the reafons for his conjecture could 
 be I cannot tell, as I have been able to 
 meet with nothing upon the fubjedt in 
 
 * Mona Antiqua Reftaurata, 149. 
 
 any 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 323 
 
 any other author which has led me fo far 
 back. 
 
 Jorwerth Drwndwn, or Edward with 
 the broken nofe> the eldeft fon of Owen 
 Gwynedd, made this Caftle the place of 
 his relidence for many years. On the 
 death of his father this prince claimed the 
 crown of Wales his hereditary right, but 
 was unanimoufly rejected, and only on ac¬ 
 count of the blemifh in his face, fo whim- 
 fical and indeciftve was, at that time, the 
 mode of fucceflion. Upon being thus re¬ 
 pulled from the throne, he retired to this 
 fequeftered fpot, where it is faid his fon 
 Llewelyn the Great, who began his reign 
 in the time of Richard I. was born.* 
 
 If Dolinchalan Caftle is, as I fuppofe, 
 the fame with this, Gryffydd ap Tudor, in 
 the reign of Edward I. had, as conftable, 
 
 i 
 
 * Warrington’s Hiftory of Wales, and Wynne's 
 Memoirs of the Gvvydir Family in Barrington’s 
 Mifcel. 359. 
 
 Y z an 
 
324 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 an annual falary of forty marks paid at the 
 Exchequer of Caernarvon at two different 
 payments.* 
 
 In the reign of the fame monarch, it ap- 
 
 s 
 
 pears alfo to have been poffeffed by Gil¬ 
 bert, Count of Gloucefter; for in May 
 1283, whilft at this place, he made an 
 agreement with that prince for marriage 
 with one of his daughters.*f* 
 
 Meredydd ap Jevan, an anceftor of the 
 Wynnes of Gwedir, in the reign of Henry 
 VII. purchafed the leafe of this Caftle and 
 the inclofures belonging to it, from the 
 executors of Sir Ralph Berkenet ; it having 
 been excepted among the places granted 
 by Richard III. and refumed by his fuc- 
 ceffor. Before that time Hoel, ap Evan, 
 ap Pvhys Gethin, a noted outlaw, refided 
 here. As foon as it came into poffeffion 
 of Meredydd, he removed his habitation 
 
 # Pennant, II. 145. t Rymer’s Fcedera, II. 244. 
 
 in 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES 
 
 325 
 
 in Evionedd, a hundred in the county, to 
 this Caftle, giving this excellent reaion: 
 
 I had rather fight with outlaws and 
 sc thieves, than with my own blood and 
 <c kindred : if I live in my own houfe in 
 “ Evionedd, I muft either kill mine own 
 “ kinfmen, or be killed by them !” 
 
 This gentleman foon reformed the coun¬ 
 try ; he eftablifhed colonies of the mojl tall 
 and able men he could procure, till at laid 
 they amounted to feven fcore tall bowmen, 
 every one arrayed in a 44 Jacket or armolet 
 “ coate, a good fteele cap, a fhort fword 
 ** and dagger, together with his bow and 
 44 arrows; many of them alfoe had horfes 
 “ and chafing flaves, which were ready to 
 anfwer the crie on all occafions, whereby 
 “ he grew foe ftrong that he began to 
 put back and to curb the fandtuary of 
 <( thieves and robbers, which, at times, 
 f 4 were wont to be above a hundred, well 
 
 Y 3 44 hprfcd 
 
32 6 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 “ horfed and well appointed.”* And fueh 
 were the feuds which prevailed around 
 him, that he never dared to quit his houfe 
 without leaving in it a powerful guard. 
 He removed the church of Dolwyddelan, 
 which before lay in a thicket to a more 
 open place by way of fecurity, and when¬ 
 ever he went to it he was attended by 
 twenty tall archers, and a watchman was 
 ftationed on a neighbouring rock, called 
 Carreg y Big, to give notice of the ap¬ 
 proach to banditti. He ended his ufeful 
 life in the year 1525, and left behind him 
 twenty-three legitimate, and three natural 
 children.^ 
 
 The village of Dolwyddelan, which is 
 about a mile from the Caftle, feems, from 
 it’s mountainous fiituation, to be quite fe- 
 cluded from the world. It's inhabitants 
 are extremely fimple, and in their manners 
 
 * Wynne’s Memoirs of the Gwedir family, p. 4 2 9 * 
 t Pennant, II. 146. 
 
 rather 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 327 
 
 rather referved and timid, probably from 
 the unaccuftomed fight of ftrangers amongft 
 them. None of them know any other 
 language than that of their country and 
 hemmed in as they are, with mountain 
 barriers, I fhould fuppofe, that three- 
 fourths of them were never half a dozen 
 miles from home. The village itfelf is 
 compofed of little elfe than fmall cottages, 
 there being only one houfe of a tolerable fize 
 that I could obferve in the place. 
 
 We left this place, and came into the 
 road we had left near Pont-y-Pair, a lin¬ 
 gular bridge of five arches, not far from 
 Bettws y Coed, the Jlation in the wood\ 
 This bridge, whofe arches are very lofty, 
 is built over the river Llugwy, and both 
 above and below it the bed is covered with 
 fuch ftrange malfes of rock, that when 
 there is much water in the river it muft 
 exhibit a mod pleafing fcene* 
 
 Y 4 From 
 
328 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 From Pont-y-Pair we went about a 
 mile on the road towards Capel Cerig, and 
 about three hundred yards from it we came 
 to a deep narrow glen, down which the 
 river Llugwy foamed, and a little higher 
 up we were fhewn the celebrated cataradt, 
 called Rhaiadr y Wenol,* the CataraEl of 
 the Swallow. The fall and the fcenery 
 around it are altogether grand. At the 
 upper part the water is thrown in a fheet. 
 down a rock almoft perpendicular; but 
 below, it’s courfe is varied by it’s direction 
 over a fmooth and llanting bed. The high 
 and wooded banks were enlivened by the 
 different tints of oak, birch, and ha^el, 
 hanging from the rocks, which rendered 
 the landfcape very fine. Had there been 
 more water we fhould have feen this cata¬ 
 ract to greater advantage, but the dry wea¬ 
 ther for fome weeks had, at this time, di- 
 
 * This waterfall is about five miles from Llanrwft. 
 
 minifhed 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 329 
 
 minifhed all the mountain ftreams to mere 
 rills. The ftation on the fide of the ftream, 
 oppoiite to that on which we flood, ap¬ 
 peared as if it would take in more of the 
 fall, but though I made an attempt to crofs 
 it, I found that (till the rapidity of the 
 current rendered that impoffible. When 
 the river, after a heavy fall of rain, affumes 
 a more impetuous form, the cataract mu ft 
 certainly be very grand, as the bed of the 
 ftream is at leaft twenty yards over, and 
 the innumerable maffes of rock which have, 
 at different times, been carried along with 
 it, and lodged here, oppofing it’s fury, 
 muft throw it foaming into all directions. 
 
 A little below the bridge Pont-y-Pair, 
 
 * _ r 
 
 the Llugwy unites with the Conwy. The 
 latter river rifes from Llyn Conwy, a large 
 pool about three miles beyond the village 
 of Penmachno, and though both of them 
 are, before their junction, moft furious 
 and broken torrents, they here affume a 
 
330 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 placid form, and glide, in one tranquil 
 current, filently along. 
 
 We flopped a while at Bettws to fee an 
 antient monument in the church, in me- 
 
 \ i 
 
 mory of Gryffydd, the fon of David Goch, 
 natural fon of Davyd, brother to Llewelyn, 
 the laft Prince of Wales. It is a large 
 armed recumbent figure in a recefs in the 
 north wall, and has this infcription on one 
 fide of it: 
 
 ic Hie jacet Gruffyd ap Davyd Goch, 
 
 (e agnus Dei mijere tried* 
 
 The road now brought us into the lux¬ 
 uriant vale of Llanrwfl, where the gay 
 tints of cultivation once more beautified the 
 landfcape, for the fields were coloured with 
 the richefl: hues that ripened corn and 
 green meadows could impart. A number 
 of gentlemen’s feats interfperfed around 
 gave an air of civilization to this valley. 
 We had not enjoyed the beauties of this 
 
 profpedt 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 S31 
 
 profped long, before we entered the gloomy 
 woods of Gwydir, which afforded a fine 
 contrail to the luxuriance of the vale. 
 The Conwy runs at a little diftance from 
 the road, and the filvery reflection of it’s 
 water {hooting through the dark foliage of 
 the trees, gave an additional intereft to the 
 fcene. Upon emerging from hence, we 
 had again the fame open vale, in which 
 the town of Llanrwft, now before us, 
 formed a confpicuous feature, and the ex- 
 tenfive landfcape thus completed, heigh¬ 
 tened by the dreary rocks bounding it on 
 each fide, has been jultly admired by all 
 the lovers of nature, as one of the finelt 
 fcenes her pencil ever traced. 
 
 About a quarter of a mile from Llanrwll, 
 we palled by Gwidir, the old family refi- 
 
 r 
 
 dence of the Wynnes j but as we were 
 anxious to reach Llanrwll, we deferred 
 the examination of this place till the next 
 
 day. 
 
 «/ 
 
 The 
 
532 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 \ 
 
 The road through Nant Frangon, by 
 Capel Curig to Llanrwd, was, till very 
 lately, nothing more than a horfe path, 
 and I underftand, one of the word: in the 
 country > but Lord Penrhyn, who, for his 
 liberality and public fpirit, is certainly en¬ 
 titled to the warmed thanks of his coun¬ 
 try, a little time ago began, (as I have 
 been informed) at his own expence, to 
 form this into a tolerably good carriage 
 road from Bangor, by his date quarries, 
 and through Nant Frangon to Capel Curig, 
 from whence Lord Gwydir means to con¬ 
 tinue it to meet the Shrewlbury road, be¬ 
 twixt Llanrwd and Capel Voelas, leaving 
 Llanrwd a mile or two on the north. 
 The regular dages, when this is finilhed, 
 
 i 
 
 will be Cor wen, Cyrniogen, Capel Curig, a,n 
 inn which Lord Penrhyn intends to build 
 near his date quarries, and Bangor ferry. 
 
 It is fomewhat dngular, that this road 
 will lie entirely along the valleys, except 
 
 betwix t 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 333 
 
 betwixt Llyn Ogwen and Nant Frangon, 
 where it paflfes over a rock fo fmall, that 
 it might, without any very great expence, 
 be cut through. 
 
 By this road the diftance betwixt Shrewf- 
 bury and Bangor Ferry will be fhortened 
 near twenty miles, and a coach would be 
 able to run it in almoft five hours lefs time 
 than it does at prefent by Conwy. The 
 mail, inftead of arriving at Holyhead at fix 
 o’clock in the evening, would be there by 
 one o’clock at noon, and about every fe- 
 cond week by faving a tide, would arrive 
 in Dublin twelve hours fooner than it does 
 now. 
 
 j ' 
 
 Befides thefe great advantages arifing from 
 this new road, the tourift will be able to tra- 
 verfe thefe, the mod mountainous and ro¬ 
 mantic parts of North Wales, even lolling 
 at eafe in his carriage. And by this road 
 the provoking delays and intolerable ex¬ 
 actions at Conwy ferry, will be entirely 
 avoided. 
 
 When 
 
334- 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 When I was here Lord Gwydir had but 
 juft begun his part, and we had only the 
 old horfe path from Capel Curig to Llan- 
 rwft. This, however, was tolerable good, 
 but the flupid guides, that they may fave 
 about half a mile, feldom diredt Grangers 
 along it, but moft unwifely take them over 
 a very narrow, fteep, and rocky path, 
 amongft the mountains. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 FROM LLANRWST BY FFESTINIOG TO CAER¬ 
 NARVON. GWYDIR—DESCRIPTION OF LLAN- 
 
 EWST— BRIDGE—CHAPEL—INN — WATERFALL 
 ON THE CONWY—ANOTHER —GRAY’S BARD — 
 PENMACHNO — FFESTINIOG — INN — FALLS OF 
 THE CYNFAEL—PULPIT HUGH LLOYD CYN- 
 FAEL—ANECDOTE OF HUGH LLOYD—VALE OF 
 
 FFESTINIOG. 
 
 antient manfion of Gwydir is an 
 exteniive building, but without much 
 regularity. It was built about the year 
 
 1558, 
 
 / 
 
 1 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 335 
 
 1558, by John Wynne ap Meredydd.* It 
 took it’s name from Gwaed-dir, the bloody 
 land, being fituated near the place where 
 a memorable battle was fought about 952, 
 between the fons of Howel Dda, and Jevaf 
 and Jago, two fons of Edwal Voel, who 
 had, at their father's death, unjuftly af- 
 fumed the government of North Wales, 
 which was the right of their elder brother 
 Meyric. The fons of Howel left their 
 principality of South Wales to avenge the 
 caufe of Meyric; but the others proved 
 too powerful for them, and ftill retained 
 the throne, •f' 
 
 At a little diftance among# the woods, 
 above this manfion, was Upper Gwydir, 
 a houfe ereded by Sir John Wynne in 
 1604, apparently for the fake of enjoying 
 
 * This date, with the initials L W. are over the 
 gateway. 
 
 t Warrington’s Hiftory of Wales. 
 
 from 
 
336 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 from thence the numerous beauties of the 
 vale below, which is here feen in a broad 
 and elegant expanfe, nearly as far as 
 Conwy. The houfe was, not long ago, 
 demolished, but the family chapel is Still 
 left. This is a Small building, in the Gothic 
 Stile, Sufficiently neat on the outfide, but 
 the roof and Some other parts within are 
 decorated with paintings of fcriptural fi¬ 
 gures, moft miferably executed. 
 
 Both thefe places are at prefent, the 
 property of Lord Gwydir, in right of his 
 Lady PriScilla, Baronefs Willoughby, el- 
 deft lifter of Robert, the late Duke of 
 Ancafter, into whofe family they pafTed in 
 the year 1678, by marriage of Mary, daugh¬ 
 ter and heirefs of Sir Richard Wynne, 
 with Robert, Marquis of Lindfey. 
 
 Betwixt this place and Llanrwft, is the 
 bridge over the Conwy, conftrudted in 
 
 1636, 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 337 
 
 1636, by the well-known Inigo Jones.* 
 It confifts of three large arches, the mid¬ 
 dle one of which is fifty-nine feet wide. 
 
 One of the other two has been rebuilt 
 fince Jones's time, and the inferiority of the 
 workmanfhip is very vifible. The inha¬ 
 bitants of Llanrwft boajl that this bridge is 
 formed upon fuch nice principles, that if a 
 perfon thrufts againft the ftone over the 
 middle arch, the whole fabric may be 
 plainly perceived to vibrate : though by the 
 way, I am by no means inclined to agree 
 with them in this point, I fhould fancy it 
 
 * The Honourable Daisies Barrington fays, “ Mr. 
 u Panton hath informed me, from the record from 
 “ the Quarter Selhons for Denbighfhire, that this 
 “ bridge was dire£ted to be rebuilt in the 9th of 
 ii Cha. I. by a letter from the Privy Council, Jones 
 l< being then furveyor of the works. The eftimate 
 u amounted to ^1000. which was to be levied on 
 u the two counties of Denbigh and Caernarvon.” 
 Barrington’s Mifcellanies, 353, 
 
 z 
 
 VOL, X. 
 
 much 
 
33$ A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 much better if it was quite firm. So many 
 have tried the experiment, that the (tone is 
 now become quite loofe. We, for frolic’s 
 fake, attempted it, but, except that ftone, 
 we found the whole bridge as firm as a 
 rock. 
 
 The town of Llanrwft is finely iituated 
 on the eaftern bank of the Conwy, but 
 has in itfelf nothing to recommend it to 
 notice. The directs are narrow, and the 
 houfes irregular. The church is dedicated 
 to St. Ryftyd, or Reftitutus, who was a 
 Bifhop of London about 360; and adjoin¬ 
 ing upon it, is a chapel, built in 1633, ^y 
 Sir Richard Wynne, from a defign of Inigo 
 Jones. The church is a plain ill-looking 
 ftru&ure, but the chapel is neat and well 
 built. 
 
 Againft the wall, at the weft end of the 
 latter, are five brafies, chiefly remarkable 
 for the excellence of their execution, each, 
 befides an infcription, containing a portrait 
 
 of 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 339 
 
 of the perfon to whofe memory it was 
 finifhed. One of thefe, which is by far 
 the beft done, is a whole-length figure of 
 Sarah Wynne, the wife of Sir Richard 
 
 4 
 
 Wynne, who died in 1671, The en¬ 
 graver’s name to this is William Vaughan, 
 the perfon who did the others was Sylvanus 
 Crew. Thefe are on Sir John Wynne, 
 who died in 1626 $ Sydney Wynne, his wife, 
 who died in 1632 ; Owen Wynne in 1660, 
 and Mary, the wife of Sir Roger Moftyn, 
 in 1653. 
 
 To this chapel has been lately removed 
 an antient monument of Hoel Coytmor, 
 which ufed to lay in the church, amongft 
 the rubbifh under the flairs leading into 
 the gallery. It is an armed recumbent 
 figure, with his feet refting upon a lion. 
 The infcription upon it is: 
 
 (i Hie jacet Hoel Coytmor ap Gruff, 
 t( . Vychan ap Gruff, Awn." 
 
 Z 2 
 
 This 
 
340 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 This Hoel Coytmor was grandfon to the 
 illuftrious perfonage whofe monument we 
 faw at Bettws, and was the owner of 
 Gwydir, which was fold by one of his 
 pofterity, to the family of the Wynnes. 
 
 Near this is placed a large ftone coffin, 
 fuppofed to have been that of the Prince 
 Llewelyn ap Jorwerth, denominated from 
 his great and valiant actions, Llewelyn the 
 Great. He was interred in the abbey of 
 Conwy, in the year 1240, but upon the 
 diffolution of abbeys in the 26th of Henry 
 VIII. as appears from a brafs plate fixed 
 upon it, it was removed from thence, and 
 has remained here ever fince. 
 
 Befides thefe there are no other monu¬ 
 ments in this chapel deferving of notice, 
 except one, which has on it the following 
 fingularly long and curious infcription, con¬ 
 taining a pedigree of the Wynne family, 
 from Owen Gwynedd, Prince of Wales, 
 
 to 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 341 
 
 •to Sir Richard Wynne, who died in the 
 year 1649. 
 
 “ This chappel was eredted Anno Do- 
 “ mini 1633, by S r . Richard Wynne of 
 €C Gwydir, in the county of Caernarvon, 
 “ knight and baronet, treafurer to the highe 
 <c and mighty Princefs Henrieta Maria, 
 <e Queen of England, daughter to King 
 <c Henery the Fourth, King of France, 
 <e and wife to our Soveraign King Charles. 
 “ Where lieth buried his father S r . John 
 “ Wynne of Gwydir, in the county of 
 
 Caernarvon, knight and baronet, fon 
 ie and heyre to Maurice Wynne, fon and 
 <c heyre to John Wynne, fon and heyre to 
 ** Meredith ; which three lieth buried in 
 “ the church of Dolwyddeian with tombs 
 <c over them. This Meredith was fon 
 “ and heyre to Evan, fon and heyre to 
 “ Robert, fon and heyre to Griffith, fon 
 “ and heyre to Carradock, fon and heyre 
 “ to Thomas, fon and heyre to Roderick, 
 
 Z 3 “ Lord 
 
342 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 “ Lord of Angleafy, fon to Owen Gwy- 
 “ nedd. Prince of Wales, and younger 
 “ brother to David, Prince of Wales; 
 “ who married Eme Plantageinet, filler to 
 “ King Henery the Second. There fuc- 
 “ ceeded this David three princes; his 
 “ nephew Leolinus Magnus, who married 
 4€ [one, daughter to King John ; David 
 “ his fon, nephew to King Henery the 
 (i Third ; and Leoline, the laft Prince of 
 ft Wales of that houfe and line, who lived 
 “ in King Edward the Firft’s time. S r . 
 “ John Wynne married Sydney, who lieth 
 “ buried here, the daughter of S r . Wil- 
 ** liam Gerrard, knight. Lord Chancellour 
 “ of Ireland; by whom he had iffue S r . 
 “ John Wnne, who died att Lucca in 
 ts Italy 3 S r . Richard Wynne, now liveing; 
 “ Robert Wynne, who lieth here; Ro« 
 €< g er Wynne, who lieth here; William 
 “ Wynne, now liveing; Maurice Wynne, 
 “ now liveing Ellis Wynne, who lieth 
 
 “ buried 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 343 
 
 €C buried at Whittford, in the county of 
 “ Flint ; Henery Wynne, now liveing; 
 “ Roger Wynne, who lieth here, and two 
 “ daughters; Mary, now liveing, mar- 
 cc ried to Sir Roger Moftyn, in the county 
 “ of Flint, knight ; and Elizabeth, now 
 <( liveing, married to S r . John Bodvil, in 
 “ the county of Caernarvon, knight.” 
 
 In the church is fome curious carved 
 work, faid to have been brought there 
 after the diffolution from the neighbouring 
 abbey of Maynan. The river Conwy runs 
 clofe part: the church yard, from whence 
 there is a fine profpedt of the bridge and 
 the high woods of Gwydir behind it. In 
 this river Salmon are frequently taken, and 
 in the months of February and March great 
 numbers of fmelts. The tide reaches no 
 farther than Trefriew, about a mile and a 
 half from Llanrwft, to which place only 
 the river is navigable for frnall veffels. 
 
 Z 4 About 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 3U 
 
 About three miles north of Llanrwft 
 flood the abbey of Maynan, to which, in 
 the year 1283, the monks were removed 
 by Edward the Firft from Conwy. The 
 revenues of this abbey at the diflolution, 
 were valued by Dugdale at ^162. 15J. o d. 
 and by Speed at £1 77. 10/. iod.* A 
 large old houfe built out of the ruins, is all 
 that is now to be feen. 
 
 The Eagles Inn, the only one in the 
 place where port horfes are kept, is, when 
 not full of company, a comfortable houfe 1 
 but during the fummer feafon it is fre¬ 
 quently fo crowded, as to render it very 
 unpleafant. From this houfe guides may 
 be had to accompany the traveller to any 
 of the curiofities of the neighbourhood. 
 
 About five miles from Llanrwft we 
 turned over fome fields on the left of the 
 road leading to Penmachno, to fee a fmall 
 
 * Tanner’s Notitia Monaftica, 
 
 water- 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 345 
 
 waterfall on the river Conwy. The height 
 
 d O 
 
 of this is not very confiderable, being only 
 twelve or fourteen yards. The fcene was 
 clad with wood, and the bed of the river 
 extremely rugged. 
 
 A mile further on, we flopped at a 
 fulling mill near a bridge, Pont y Pandy. 
 Here is a cataradt, called Rhaiadr y Craig 
 Llwyd, truly romantic and pidturefque. 
 It is not very lofty, and the river, from 
 want of water, flowed in two ftreams; but 
 the black rock that parted them, being the 
 moft rugged imaginable, rendered it, though 
 not quite fo tremendous, yet infinitely more 
 beautiful than if it had been hidden by the 
 foaming water coming down it. The high 
 banks on each fide are ornamented with 
 pendent flirubs, and a mill and rude wooden 
 aquedudt (which conveys water to an old 
 overfliot wheel) overgrown w r ith mofles and 
 grafs, came in to complete this elegant land- 
 fcape. The defcent to the bottom was 
 
 fteep 
 
 1 
 
346 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 fteep and difficult, yet I thought my trou« 
 ble well repaid by feeing the fall to much 
 greater advantage than from above, for 
 from hence it feemed increafed in height, 
 and many of the prominent and pointed 
 rocks, before hidden, came into the view. 
 
 The river accompanies the road to fome 
 diftance beyond this waterfall. Where 
 they parted, we left the road for a while, 
 and wandered along the banks of the 
 llream for fome time, till we came to 
 a moft wild fcene of wooded and pro- 
 jedting rocks, overhanging the black 
 and difmal ft ream. A grafly ledge, at 
 fome height above the water, on the 
 other fide, reminded me moft forcibly 
 of the fcene where Gray has placed his 
 Bard: 
 
 High on a rock, whofe haughty brow 
 Frowns o’er old Conwy’s foaming flood, 
 
 Rob’d in the fable garb of woe. 
 
 With haggard eyes, the poet Rood ; 
 
 (Loofe 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 347 
 
 (Loofe his beard and hoary hair 
 Stream’d like a meteor to the troubled air) 
 
 And with a mafter’s hand, and prophet’s fire, 
 Struck the deep forrows of his lyre. 
 
 From this fcene, we returned to the 
 road, and proceeded onwards over a 
 mountainous, though not either very ro¬ 
 mantic, or entertaining country, till we 
 reached Penmachno, the head of the Machno , 
 an odd looking village, built almofh in a 
 circle round the church* From hence we 
 continued our journey, over a ftill moun¬ 
 tainous, but dreary country, till we came 
 to the village of Ffeftiniog, the place of 
 haftening • This little place and the vale near 
 it, have been juftly celebrated by the elegant 
 pen of Lord Lyttleton, who made a tour 
 through Wales in the year 1756. 
 
 There happened to be a fair, when we 
 were at this place, and as we chofe to put 
 up with any inconvenience, rather than 
 be peflered with the vociferous curiolity 
 
 of 
 
348 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 of a fet of drunken fellows, we were taken 
 from the inn into an adjoining building, 
 and fhewn up flairs into a bed-room, the 
 moft dirty and difagreeable I ever was in. 
 After we had fatiated our thirft, as well as 
 we could, with what they called brandy and 
 water, the bell beverage they could pro¬ 
 duce us, but which, by the bye, I fhould 
 as foon have taken for Burgundy as brandy, 
 we went by a foot-path, which leads from 
 oppofite the end of the houfe, to fee the 
 falls of the Cynfaeh Thefe are, the one 
 about three hundred yards above, and the 
 other three hundred yards below, a ruflic 
 ftone bridge over the river, to which the 
 path led us. 
 
 The upper fall confifls of three fleep 
 rocks, over which the water foams into 
 a deep black bafon, overshadowed by the 
 adjoining rocks. The other, which I 
 think is nearly as beautiful, is formed by a 
 broad fheet of water, precipitated down a 
 
 flightly 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 349 
 
 flightly fhelving rock, about forty feet 
 
 % 
 
 high, and darkened by the foliage around 
 it, which clofes in almoft to the edge of 
 the ftream. After the water has reached 
 the bottom of the deep concavity, it ruflies 
 
 along a narrow rocky chafm, where, 
 
 \ 
 
 Raging Rill amid the fhaggy rocks, 
 
 Now flafhes o’er the fcatter’d fragments, now 
 Aflant the hollow channel rapid darts. 
 
 And falling fall from gradual Rope to Rope, 
 
 With wild infra£ted courfe and leflen’d roar. 
 
 It gains a fafer bed; and R;eals, at laft, 
 
 j ■ f *' * 
 
 Along the mazes of the quiet vale. 
 
 Betwixt this catarad and the bridge, is 
 a tall columnar rock, which ftands in the 
 
 l . * < Y \ * 
 
 bed of the river, called Pulpit Hugh Llwyd 
 Cynfaely or Hugh Lloyd's pulpit, the place 
 from whence the peafantry fay, a magician 
 of that name ufed to deliver his nightly 
 incantations. 
 
 Of this bard, magician, and warrior, for 
 he claimed all thefe titles, the following 
 
 anecdote 
 
350 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 anecdote is recorded. That when he was 
 a young man, he made a ftone bench to 
 put at the door of his houfe, not far from 
 hence; his wife's lifter was the firft who 
 fat upon it. “ Molly", faid he, “ you 
 have fat firft upon this bench, and you 
 * ( mu ft pay me three kifles for it.” The 
 demand was fatisfied. Sometime afterwards 
 his wife died, on which he went to Lon¬ 
 don ; leaving his lifter-in-law, now mar¬ 
 ried, and her hulband. He entered the 
 parliament's army, where he obtained a 
 commiflion, and was in the army of Gene¬ 
 ral Monk at the reftoration of Charles II. 
 
 « , • i 1 » * r 
 
 After having been from home many years, 
 and grown old, he returned to his native 
 country; and going to his own houfe, one 
 fine fummer's evening, he faw his lifter-in¬ 
 law, her hulband and children (all grown 
 up) fitting on the ftone bench, eating flum¬ 
 mery and milk. He alked them, in Eng- 
 
 lilh, 
 
 L * 4 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 351 
 
 lifh, if they would lodge him that night ? 
 but none of them knew a word of Eng- 
 lifh; they however conjedhiring what he 
 wanted, fhewed him a bed, the beft in the 
 houfe, and afked him to partake of their 
 fare, which he did, and being fatisfied, he 
 addreffed them in Welfh in the following 
 extempore ftanza ; 
 
 Yn Ffrainc y mae gwin yn ffraeth: yn Llundain 
 Mae Uawnder cynnliaeth ; 
 
 Yn Holand ’menyn helaeth ; 
 
 Y’ Nghymru , Llymry a Llaeth. 
 
 For wines delicious mighty France is prais’d, 
 
 And various dainties are in London rais’d; 
 
 With butter, Holland half the world fupplies. 
 
 But milk and flummery more than all I prize. 
 
 €( What, you are a Welfh man, my good 
 iC friend?” exclaimed his filter. “ Yes,” 
 faid he “ I am ; it is many years fince I 
 “ had three kiffes from the female who 
 
 t( firfl fat on this bench !” Ele was im¬ 
 mediately 
 
352 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 mediately recognized, and all was joy. 
 He then took out of his pocket a large 
 purfe, filled with gold, and giving it to 
 her, “ Here,’ 5 faid he, “ take this, as a 
 “ reward for your hofpitality to the old 
 “ Englifh ftranger, who is now more than 
 “ fourfcore years of age; he requires no 
 “ more for it, than a bed every night, 
 “ and flummery and milk every day while 
 “ he lives/" From this time, I believe, 
 he refided with them till the day of his 
 death, which was not till fome years af¬ 
 terwards. 
 
 Near Ffeftiniog ran the antient mili¬ 
 tary way, paved with {tones, even along 
 thefe fteep, and almoft, inacceflible moun¬ 
 tains, called Sarn Helen, or Helen’s Way, 
 the work of Helen, the wife of the Em¬ 
 peror Maximus.* 
 
 / . 
 
 * Rowland’s Mona Antiqua, 165. 
 
 Ffeftiniog 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 353 
 
 Ffeftiniog is iituated at the head of Cwm 
 Maentwrog, the vale of Maentwrog , (im¬ 
 properly called the vale of Ffeftiniog) down 
 which we went leifurely, enjoying all the 
 way the moft fublime pleafure, in con¬ 
 templating the beauties of the fcene before 
 us. There are few vales in this country, 
 that afford fuch lovely profpedls as this. 
 Many of the high mountains bounding it's 
 fides, are fhaded with lofty oaks, and the 
 filver Dwyryd ferpentizes placidly and 
 filently along the bottom, amidft the rich- 
 eft cultivation. The fea, at a diftance, 
 clofes the view; and Traeth bach, a wide 
 arm from it, is feen to receive the Dwy¬ 
 ryd, a little below Tan-y-bwlch Hall, 
 which is fituated on a riling ground, and 
 embowered in woods, at the north-weft 
 extremity of the vale. The little village 
 of Maentwrog, from whence it takes it’s 
 name, is feated nearly in the middle of it. 
 vol. i. A a We 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALLS, 
 
 354 
 
 We dined at Tan-y-bwlch Inn, and from 
 thence, proceeding through Beddgelert,* 
 arrived once more at Caernarvon, the place 
 from whence we began our route. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 FROM CAERNARVON TO BEDDGELERT.- 
 
 EETTWS GARMON — CASCADE AT NANT MILL — 
 LLYN CWELLYN — CASTELL CID VVM — LLYN Y 
 DWARCHEN — LLY r N CADER — BEDDGELERT — 
 CHURCH—EPITAPH—ANECDOTE OF LLEWELYN 
 THE GREAT—PRIORY—INN—GWYNANT—DINAS 
 EMRYS—MERLIN’S PROPHECIES—LLYN Y DINAS 
 —LLYN GWYNANT—CWM DYLI—WATERFALL. 
 
 H AVING remained at Caernarvon a 
 
 ' 
 
 length of time fufficient to enable me 
 to examine, pretty carefully, every thing 
 worth notice, within many miles of it each 
 way, I proceeded now on my journey to 
 
 # Thefe two places will be dcfcribed in my jour¬ 
 ney from Caernarvon to Harlech. 
 
 the 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 355 
 
 the other parts of North Wales. la the 
 
 A 
 
 promontory of Llyn, that divifion of the 
 County which juts into the Irifh Sea, I was 
 informed, that I fhould meet with but few 
 objedts worthy of attention, except the 
 antient church of Clynog and Criccieth 
 Caftle, I therefore determined to omit the 
 former, and vifit Criccieth, during my 
 relidence at Beddgelerti 
 
 In the road to this place, I pa did the 
 romantic village of Bettws Garmon, fo 
 called from it’s church being dedicated to 
 St. Germanus, the Bifhop who led on the 
 Britons to the famous “Alleluia” vic¬ 
 tory over the Saxons, at Maes Garmon, 
 near Mold.* 
 
 About half a mile beyond it, is a beau¬ 
 tiful little cafcade and bridge, at a place 
 called Nant Mill. This waterfall Would 
 appear to much greater advantage in aim off 
 
 * See an account of this battle in vol. II. 
 
 A a 2 
 
 any 
 
 4 
 
356 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 any ether fituation than the prefent, for 
 here the majeftic and black mountain of 
 Mynydd Mawr, and the more fmooth and 
 regular, though ftill, lofty Moel Eilir on 
 the left, attract to themfelves fo much of 
 the attention, and tower fo high above it, 
 as to make it appear quite diminutive. 
 
 Beyond the mill, Snowdon is feen on 
 the left, rearing his pointed fummit into 
 the fky. His red and precipitous cliffs, 
 and huge bulk, compared with the adjoin- 
 ing mountains, render it very eafy here, to 
 diftinguifh him from the reft. 
 
 On the right of the road, Llyn Cwellyn 
 extends itfelf for about a mile and a half. 
 In this pool, during the winter feafon, are 
 fometimes taken the Red Char,* a fpecies 
 of alpine fifh, found in great quantities in 
 Winander Mere and Conifton Water, two 
 lakes in the North of England. 
 
 * Salmo Alpinus Lmnad 
 
 On 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 357 
 
 On the farther edge of the lake, and juft 
 under Mynydd Mawr, is Caftell Cidwm, 
 Cidwm s Forty a high and fteep rock, on 
 the fummit of which, Mr. Rowlands * 
 fays, was formerly a fortification, one of 
 the guards to the entrance of Snowdon, 
 and founded by the Britons, fume time 
 prior to the fixth century. Whether there 
 are any remains of this fort now exifting, 
 I am not able to fay : the difficulty of 
 afcending to it, and the fmall importance of 
 the objedt, deterred me from examining. 
 
 Higher up, amcngft the mountains on 
 the right, I faw a fmall pool, about the 
 fize of a good horfe-pond, called Llyn y 
 dwarchen, the lake of the Jody fir ft cele¬ 
 brated by Giraldus Cambrenfis, in his Jour¬ 
 ney through Wales, in the year 1188, and 
 afterwards, by Leland and Camden, as eon- 
 
 f Mona Antigua Refburata, 149. 
 
 A a 3 taining 
 
358 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 taining a floating ifland.* The ifiand, eight 
 or nine yards in length, and having a final} 
 willow tree growing upon it, is yet in ex¬ 
 igence. It fometimes remains near the 
 fide of the pool, for a confiderable while 
 together, and is fo firm as to bear cattle 
 upon it, for when it has been diflodged by 
 the wind, a fheep or two have been fre¬ 
 quently furprized upon, and wafted with 
 it to the other parts. Nennius -f reckons 
 this ifland, amongfl: the mirabilia of Great 
 Britain. 
 
 I palled Llyn y Cader, another pool 
 not far from the road, and fhortly after¬ 
 wards, croffing a bridge, defcended through 
 Nant Colwyn to Beddgelert, a village com¬ 
 pletely embofomed in mountains, whofe 
 
 % 
 
 * Itin. Cambrias Syl. Gir. Cambrenfe Lib. II. 
 cap. 90. Leland’s Itin. V. p. 42. Camden’s Bri¬ 
 tannia. 
 
 t Nennius’s HifL Brit. 
 
 rude 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 359 
 
 rude and dark fides formed a fine contraft 
 with the meadows of the vale below. 
 
 The houfes were few and irregular, but 
 the church one of the neatefi: I had feem 
 In the church-yard, amongft many Welfh 
 epitaphs, I found the following Englifli 
 one, on the tomb of an Alice Griffith. 
 It’s fingularity induced me to copy it. 
 
 “ Thoufand fates on death attends, 
 
 “ Which brings poor mortals to their ends. 5 * 
 
 I have introduced this, merely from it's 
 fingularity, and not that the Engliffi reader 
 may form from it any judgment whatever 
 of the ftate of literature in Wales. Had 
 this been my purpofe, I ought, in juftice, 
 to have introduced a few againft it, from 
 my own country, where the language, in 
 which they were written, was (contrary to 
 the cafe in this inftance) the language 
 fpoken, I fear we fhould gain but little, 
 from a companion, as the following, from 
 
 A a 4 the 
 
360 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 the church-yard of Scarborough, in York¬ 
 shire (by no means the worft I have feen) 
 may Serve to fhew, 
 
 (C Jfiveft thou Betfy ? Yes, with God on high, 
 “ Art thou not dead? Yes, and here I lie. 
 
 <c I, who on earth with man did live to die, 
 
 - » 
 
 “ Dyed for to live with Ohrid eternally/' 
 
 “ She was a buty in her blowm, 
 
 <A And die was fuddenly cut down.” 
 
 &c. &c. 
 
 There is a tradition extant, that Llew- 
 elyn the Great, had a houfe at Beddgelert, 
 and that being once from home, a wolf, 
 during his abfence, had entered it. Upon 
 returning, his grey-hound, called Kill- 
 hart, came out to meet him, wagging his 
 tail, but covered over with blood ; the 
 prince, alarmed at the fight, ran into the 
 nurfery, and found the cradle, in which 
 his child had lain, overturned, and the 
 
 ground 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 361 
 
 ground flowing with blood : imagining that 
 the grey-hound had killed it, he imme¬ 
 diately drew his fword and flew him; but 
 upon turning up the cradle, he found the 
 child alive, and the wolf dead. This fo 
 affedted the prince, that he eredted a tomb 
 over his faithful dog's grave, where after¬ 
 wards the parifh church was built, and 
 called, from the incident, Bedd Cilhart , or 
 the grave of Kill-hart. From this was 
 alfo derived a very common Welfh pro- 
 verb: “I repent as much as the man who 
 “ flew his greyhound.” 
 
 This celebrated dog had been a prefent 
 to Llewelyn from his father-in-law. King 
 John, about the year 1205. And he was 
 fo noted for his excellence in hunting, 
 that his fame was tranfmitted to pofterity 
 in four Welfh lines, which have been thus 
 tranflated: 
 
 The 
 
562 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 The remains of famed Kill-hart, fo faithful and good, 
 The bounds of the cantred conceal. 
 
 Whenever the doe or the ftag he purfued. 
 
 His matter was fure of a meal.* 
 
 / ■ 
 
 Here was a priory of Augufline monks, 
 of very antient foundation, for it was faid 
 by Anian, Bifhop of Bangor, who lived in 
 the thirteenth century, to have been the 
 oldeft religious houfe in Wales, except 
 Bardfey.J In 1283 this monaftry was fo 
 much damaged by fire, that in order to 
 encourage benefadtors to come forward 
 and contribute towards the Rebuilding of it, 
 Anian remitted to all fuch, who fincerely 
 repented of their fins, forty days of any 
 penance inflidted on them. The value of 
 the revenues at the diffolution, was, ac« 
 
 # Jones's Mufical and Poetical Relics of the Welfli 
 Bards, p. 75. 
 
 t It was called the Abbey de Valle, S. Marias 
 Snawdonia. See Tanner’s Notitia Monaftica. 
 
 J Rymer’s Foedera, II. 317. 
 
 cording 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 363 
 
 cording to Dugdale £70. 3^, 8 d. and ac« 
 cording to Speed £69. 3^. 8 d.* There is 
 no relic whatever of this houfe at prefent 
 exuding. 
 
 The inn, or rather public houfe, for it 
 is certainly deferving of no better term, is 
 one of the word I was at during the whole 
 of my journey through Wales, and the 
 charges were beyond meafure extravagant* 
 There is only one bed in the whole houfe, 
 and that is wretchedly bad. The place I was 
 put into for three nights, was a back 
 room j but with the floor, ceiling and 
 boarded partition, all fo full of large holes, 
 as to feem only an apology for feparation from 
 the reft of the houfe. I was alfo fo in¬ 
 tolerably peftered by myriads of fleas, that 
 if I had not every night been fairly wea¬ 
 ried out with my rambles during the day, 
 all the powers of Morpheus might have 
 
 * Tanner’s Notiria. 
 
 4 
 
 been 
 
m A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 been exercifed in vain. I may too with 
 propriety add, that the concatenation of 
 fmells arifing from the fumes of the kitchen 
 below, when joined with thofe within the 
 
 , . • r 
 
 room, were filch as would not fuit a per- 
 fon of nice olfactory nerves. I complained 
 to the fervant in the morning, that I had 
 been aim oft devoured by fleas, and re¬ 
 ceived in anfwer one of the mod Angular 
 excufes for filthinefs I ever heard, “ Dear 
 “ me, fir,” faid the girl, c < if we were to 
 V kill one of them, ten would come to it's 
 
 burying.” 
 
 There is, I think, nothing that could 
 induce a perfon to come to this houfe but 
 the exquiiite fcenery around the place, and 
 it is a great pity but fome man, with a 
 more liberal fpirit than the prefent mjfe- 
 rable landlord, would eredt a fmall neat 
 inn in oppofition to this dirty and wretched 
 place. Surely cleanlinefs and civility would 
 not go unrewarded ! 
 
 The 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 365 
 
 The day after I arrived at Beddgelert, 
 I (trolled along a vale, called Gwynant, 
 the vale of the Jlream , and I can entirely 
 agree with Mr. Pennant in faying, that this 
 is the mod beautiful vale amongft thefe 
 mountains. It is about fix miles long, and 
 in it’s whole length affords fuch a variety 
 of fcenery of wood, lakes, and meadows, 
 bounded on each fide by lofty mountains, 
 that it is almofi: impoffible to be excelled. 
 The vale of Llanberis is the onlv one that 
 feemed to me to rival it; but the character 
 of the two are fo very different, and the 
 beauty of each fo exclufively it’s own, that 
 it is almofi: impoffible to compare them 
 together. 
 
 On the left, about half a mile up the 
 vale, is a lofty wood-clad rock, called 
 Dinas Emrys, the fort of Ambrofus , where 
 once 
 
 Prophetic Merlin fate, when to the Britifh king 
 
 The changes long to come aufpicioufly he told. 
 
 It 
 
366 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 It was to this place that Vortigern,* when 
 he found himfelf under the general odium 
 of his fubjedts, and unable any longer to 
 contend with the treacherous Saxons whom 
 he had introduced into his kingdom, retired 
 to hide his fihame, and provide for his 
 fecurity. It is probable, that upon this 
 infular rock he eredled a temporary reii» 
 dence of timber, with which the country 
 at that time abounded, that lafted him till 
 he went to his final retreat in Nant Gwr- 
 theyrn, or Vor tiger ris v alley , not far from 
 
 A 
 
 Nefyn, in the promontory of Llyn.-f* 
 
 Many of the antient Britifh and MonkiHi 
 writers affert, that upon his coming to 
 Dinas Emrys, he attempted to eredt a place 
 of defence, but what was built in the day 
 time always difappeared at night; he there- 
 
 * Vortigern was King of Britain from 44.9 to 466. 
 f I believe all the Welfh bards agree, that Vor¬ 
 tigern refided at this place at the time of his death. 
 
 fore 
 
 [ 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 367 
 
 fore confulted with his magicians or learned 
 men, as to what manner he ought to pro¬ 
 ceed ; €t they advife that he mu ft find out 
 “ a child which had no father, and with 
 ** his blood fprinkle the ftones and ix^ortar* 
 “ and that then the caftle would ftand as 
 “ on a firm foundation. Search was made* 
 and in Caer Merdhin * was Merlin 
 Emrys, or Ambrofe-f* found 3 he being 
 
 hither 
 
 * The City of Myrddin or Merlin, Rill called 
 Caermarthen, in South Wales. 
 
 t Ambrofius ille ex Virgine nobili (patris nomine 
 data opera fuppreffo] natus; ob mirabilem viri in 
 mathematicis reliauifque omnis generis difciplinis 
 cognitionem a rudi vulgo pro incubi filio habebatur. 
 Lhwyd Comment . Britan , 65. Merlin Ambrofius, 
 who was born at Caermarthen, was the fon of a 
 nun, the daughter of a king of South Wales. Jones's 
 IVelJh Bards , 23. According to Spencer, Merlin’s 
 father was a Roman conful, and his mother a nun, 
 the daughter of Pubidius, King of Mathraval, who, 
 to fave her life and honour, invented the Rory of 
 
 his 
 
368 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 €C hither brought to the king, flighted that 
 
 fc -pretended fkill of his magicians as pal- 
 
 4 ‘ liated ignorance; and with confidence 
 
 €C of a more knowing fpirit, undertakes to 
 
 46 fhew the true caufe of that amazing 
 
 €C ruin of the (lone-work; tells them, 
 
 “ that in the earth w r as a great water 
 
 * 
 
 <c which could endure continuance of no 
 tc heavy fuperftrudtion. The workmen 
 digged to difcover the truth, and found 
 44 it fo. He then befeeched the king to 
 * c caufe further inquifition to be made, and 
 affirmed, that in the bottom of it were 
 iC two deeping dragons, which proved fo 
 i( likewife, the one white and the other 
 cc red; the white he interpreted for the 
 {€ Saxons whom he had brought over, and 
 * c the red for the opprefled Britons ; and 
 
 his being without a father, which was fwallowed 
 by the credulity of the times. Faery Queen , lib, II. 
 cant . 3. Matt. Weft. p. z6f. 
 
 ct upon 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 369 
 
 (( upon this event in Dinas Emrys, he 
 began thole prophecies to Vortigern, 
 
 44 which are, to this day, common in the 
 
 \ 
 
 Britifh ftorie.”* 
 
 The more probable account is, that 
 Myrddin Emrys, or Merlin Ambrofius, 
 fo called from his bein^ afterwards na~ 
 
 O x. 
 
 tronized by Ambrofius, Vortigern’s fuc- 
 ceffor to the Britilh crov/n, was employed, 
 by this prince, to fearch out for him a 
 fecure retrea~ from the juft revenge of his 
 injured people; and that being a fkilfui 
 architect and mechanic, he feledted for 
 him this place, where he fuperintended 
 the building of the fortrefs. There was an¬ 
 other Merlin, frequently taken for this, a 
 native of Caledonia, called Myrddin ap 
 
 * Selden’s Notes on Drayton’s Polyolbion. Matt, 
 of Weftminfter, p. 161 — 170, gives a long account 
 of the latter part of Vortigern’s life, and a full de¬ 
 tail of all Merlin’s prophecies. 
 
 B b 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Morvryn, 
 
370 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Morvryn, and Myrddin Wyllt,* who, in 
 the year 542, when fighting under the 
 banner of King Arthur, accidentally flew his 
 own nephew, and in confequence of this, 
 was feized with a madnefs which aflfedted 
 him every other hour. He fled again into 
 Scotland, and in his lucid intervals com- 
 pofed fome beautiful pieces of poetry. This 
 Merlin afterwards returned to North Wales, 
 and was buried in the Ifle of Bardfey, in 
 Caernarvon fliire. 
 
 Vortigern married his own child by 
 Rowena, daughter of Hengift, the Saxon 
 prince, and had by her one fon and 
 fome writers have faid, that he was af¬ 
 terwards fo much hurt at his crime, that 
 with his own hands he fet fire to his houfe, 
 
 * Called alfo Merlinus Sylveftris. 
 
 t Evans’s Differtatio de Bardis, p. 77. Jones’s 
 Welfh Bards, p. 23. 
 
 + Speed’s Theatre of Great Britain, I. p. 313. 
 
 i 
 
 and 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 371 
 
 and in this manner deftroyed both himfelf 
 and his partner in guilt. Others fay that 
 his palace was confumed by lightening,^ 
 and others again, that it was deftroyed by 
 Aurelius Ambrofius and Uter Pendragon, , f' 
 two fons of Conflantine, who having fought 
 out the place of his retirement, fet fire to 
 it, and confumed him and his family to 
 afhes.J We are not, however, certain 
 that any of thefe were true, for Vortigern, 
 
 • t \ 
 
 being confidered as the author of all the 
 
 * Ibid. Stow’s Chronicle. 
 
 t So called from his having caufed two golden 
 dragons to be call, one of which he prefented to 
 the cathedral of Winchefter, and the other he car- 
 ried along with him in his wars, moft probably by 
 way of creft on his helmet. Jones’s Welfh Bards, 40. 
 
 £ Whitelock’s Memorials from Brute, p. 13. 
 Stow’s Chronicle. According to Nennius, the pa¬ 
 lace that was deftroyed muft have been that in Nant 
 Gwrtheyrn, for, c. 44. he fays, that when Vorti¬ 
 gern went to fortify himfelf at Caer Gwrtheyrn, he 
 gave to Myrddin the caftle he had built in Eryri. 
 
 B b 2 cal a- 
 
572 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES* 
 
 calamities which his country {offered, be¬ 
 came odious to the people, and the Britifh 
 writers load him with all manner of crimes, 
 and reprefent him as fuch a monfter of 
 iniquity, that it was not fit for him to go 
 out of the world like other mortals, there¬ 
 fore they invented thofe various kinds of 
 death, that he might appear to depart 
 from hence under the fevered: marks of 
 divine vengeance. 
 
 I have been informed, that there are 
 fome finall remains on the top of Dinas 
 Emrys, but that they are very inconfi- 
 derable. I did not myfelf clamber up the 
 rock to examine them. 
 
 A little farther in the vale is a pool, in 
 a charming fituation, called Llyn y Dinas, 
 the pool of the fort> taking it’s name from 
 being near Dinas Emrys, and abounding 
 in large and well-flavoured trout. Two 
 miles beyond this is Cwm Llan, a roman¬ 
 tic hollow, running into the mountains on 
 
 * * 
 
 the 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 373 
 
 the right towards Snowdon, which, though 
 the path is, in fome places, fteep and 
 rugged, may, with a little difficulty, be 
 afcended from hence. Having palled the 
 entrance into Cwm Llan a little way, I 
 came to another pretty little pool, not 
 quite fo large as the one I had left, called 
 Llyn Gwynant. Near this pool the vale 
 changes it’s name to Cwm Dyli, in which 
 is a lofty cataradl, called Rhaiadr Cwm 
 Dyli. The rivulet that runs from the 
 Alpine pool, Llyn Llwydaw, in the moun¬ 
 tains above, here breaks in foam and fpray 
 down the rugged front of a high rock, 
 from whence, foon afterwards, joined by 
 other tributary ftreams, it runs into Llyn 
 Gwynant. 
 
 Some parts of Gwynant exhibit fuch 
 perfedl fpecimens of pidturefque fcenery, 
 that in them I could trace all the order 
 and beauty of colouring, fo well defcribed 
 by Mafon : 
 
 B b 3 —— Vivid 
 
374 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 *--Vivid green. 
 
 Warm brown, and black opake the foreground bears 
 
 V 
 
 Confpicuous ; fober olive coldly marks 
 The fecond diftance. Thence the third declines 
 In fofter blue, or lefs’ning Rill, is loft 
 In fainteft purple. 
 
 During my walk along the vale, I ob~ 
 ferved, in different places, feveral men 
 bufily employed in cutting down the trees, 
 and could not help filently lamenting that 
 the practice of taking away the timber 
 fhould be fo general, not only in this 
 country, but, as I fome years ago was 
 forry to obferve, even throughout all the 
 North of England, and about the lakes. 
 Avarice or diffipation, and it's conftant 
 follower, poverty, have defpoiled the Prin- 
 cipality of nearly all it's leafy beauties. 
 Depriving fcenery of wood, is ruinous to 
 pi&urefque beauty and if the owners of 
 land do but go on in the manner they have 
 
 done. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 375 
 
 done, for a few years longer, there will 
 fcarcely be a tree remaining in all North 
 
 Wales. 
 
 CHAP, XVI. 
 
 EXCURSION FROM BEDDGELERT TO THE SUM¬ 
 
 MIT OF SNOWDON. -—CLAWDD COCH — 
 SCENERY—CWM LEAN. 
 
 S I had, upon coming into Wales, 
 
 made a determination to afcend Snow¬ 
 don by all the tracks that are ufually pointed 
 out to travellers, I for the laft time, un¬ 
 dertook the talk, along with a party of 
 four others, from Beddgelert, William 
 Lloyd, the village fchoolmafter, (his fcho- 
 lars being always, during the fummer time, 
 engaged in ruftic employments) performing 
 the office of guide. 
 
 The diftance from Beddgelert to the 
 fummit being reckoned not lefs than fix 
 
 B b 4 
 
 miles 
 
37 6 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 miles, and a lady being one of the party, 
 it was thought beft for her to ride as far 
 as the could without danger, and for the 
 reft to walk. In this manner therefore we 
 fet out, beginning our mountain journey by 
 turning to the right from the Caernarvon 
 road, at the diftance of about two miles 
 and a half from the village. We left the 
 horfe at a cottage about half way up, from 
 whence taking a bottle of milk to mix with 
 feme rum we had brought with us, we 
 continued our route over a feries of pointed 
 and craggy rocks. Stopping at different 
 times to reft,, we enjoyed to the utmoft, 
 the profpedls that by degrees were open¬ 
 ing around us. Caernarvon and the Ifle 
 of x 4 nglefea, aided by the brightnefs of the 
 morning, were feen to great advantage; 
 and Llyn Cwellyn below us, (haded by 
 the vaft Mynydd Mawr, with Caftell 
 Cidwm at it’s foot, appeared extremely 
 beautiful. In afeending, the mountains, 
 
 which 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 377 
 
 which from below appeared of an iru¬ 
 men fe height, began now to feem beneath 
 us ; the lakes and vallies became more ex- 
 pofed, and the little rills and mountain 
 fireams by degrees became all vifible to us, 
 like filver lines interfering the hollows 
 around. 
 
 We now approached a mo ft tremendous 
 ridge, over which we had to pafs, called 
 Clawdd Coch, or the red ridge . This nar¬ 
 row pafs, not more than ten or twelve feet 
 acrofs, and two or three hundred yards in 
 length, was fo fteep that the eye reached on 
 each fide down the whole extent of the 
 mountain. And I am firmly perfuaded that, 
 in fome parts of,it, if a perfon held a large 
 Hone in each hand, and let them both fall 
 at once, each would roll above a quarter 
 of a mile, and thus, when they Hopped, 
 be more than half a mile afunder. The 
 lady who was with us, to my great fur- 
 
 prize. 
 
378 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 prize, palled this horrid ridge without the 
 fmalleft figns of fear or trepidation. 
 
 There is no danger whatever in eroding 
 Clawdd Coch in the day time, but I mull 
 confefs, that though I am one of the lalt 
 
 to be alarmed by palling amongft preci¬ 
 pices, I fhould, by no means, like to ven¬ 
 ture, as many do who have never feen it, 
 along this track in the night. If the moon 
 ihone very bright I fhould not, to be fure, 
 mind it much, but a cloud coming fud- 
 denly over might even then render it dan¬ 
 gerous. There have been feveral inftances 
 of perfons who having palled over it in the 
 night, were fo terrified at feeing it the 
 next morning, that they have not dared to 
 return the fame way, but have gone a very 
 circuitous round by Bettws. I was in¬ 
 formed that one gentleman had been fo 
 much alarmed, that he crawled over it 
 back again upon his hands and knees. 
 
 In 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 379 
 
 In the hollow on the left, are four fmall 
 pools, called Llyn Coch , the red pool $ 
 Llyn y Nadroedd , the adder’s pool; Llyn 
 Gwdsy the blue pool, and Llyn FJynnon y 
 Gwds, the fervant’s pool. 
 
 Soon after we had pafled Clawdd Coch, 
 we became immerfed in light clouds, till 
 we arrived at the fummit, when a fingle 
 gleam of funfhine, which lafted but for a 
 moment, prefented us with the majeftic 
 fcenery on the weft of us. It, however, 
 only ferved to tantalize us, for a fmart 
 guft of wind obfcured us again in clouds. 
 We now fheltered ourfelves from the cold 
 under fome of the projecting rocks near 
 the top, and ate our dinners, watch¬ 
 ing with anxiety the dark fhades in the 
 clouds, in hopes that a feparation might 
 take place, and we be once more delighted 
 with a fight of the grand objeds around 
 us. We did not watch in vain, for the 
 
 clouds 
 
380 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 clouds by degrees cleared away, and left us 
 at full liberty to admire the numerous 
 beauties in this vaft expanfive fcene. The 
 fteep rock of Clogwyn y Garnedd, whofe 
 dreadful precipices are, fome of them, above 
 two hundred yards in perpendicular height, 
 and the whole rock, a feries of precipices, 
 was an objedt which hrft ilruck my com¬ 
 panions with terror, and one of them burft 
 out in exclamation, 
 
 ——-How fearful 
 
 And dizzy ’tis to caft one’s eyes fo low! 
 
 The crows and choughs that wing the midway air 
 
 Shew fcarce fo grofs as beetles. 
 
 We now Hood on a point which com¬ 
 manded the whole dome of the iky. The 
 
 % t 
 
 profpedts below, each of which we had 
 before conlidered feparately as a great fcene, 
 were now only miniature parts of the im- 
 menfe landfcape. We had around us fuch 
 a numerous variety of mountains, valleys, 
 
 lakes. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 38 i 
 
 lakes, and dreams, each receding behind 
 the other, and bounded only by the far 
 diftant horizon, that the eye almoft drained 
 itfelf with looking upon them. Thele 
 majedic profpedts were foon Ihut from our 
 light by the gathering clouds, which now 
 began to clofe in much heavier than they 
 had done before, and it was in vain that 
 we waited near an hour for another open¬ 
 ing ; we were therefore at length obliged 
 to defcend, in defpair of being gratified any 
 more with thefe fublime views. 
 
 We again paffed Clawdd Coch, and foon 
 afterwards, turning to the left, defcended 
 into the mountain vale, called Cwm Llan, 
 and followed the courfe of a dream which 
 runs from hence into Llyn y Dinas in 
 Gwynant. This little rivulet entertained 
 us much in it's defcent, by being fre¬ 
 quently thrown over low rocks, and form¬ 
 ing fmall, but fometimes elegant cafcades. 
 
 After 
 
382 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 After two hours walking, we came into 
 Gwynant, the vale I had with fo much 
 pleafure traverfed a day or two before, and 
 pafling Llyn y Dinas and Dinas Emrys, 
 we foon reached Beddgelert, fomewhat 
 fatigued with our long mountain walk* 
 
 I obferved near a cottage in Cwm Llan, 
 feveral children employed in gathering the 
 berries of Sorbus aucuparia , the mountain 
 afh. I was informed they were getting 
 them to make a liquor, which the Welfh 
 call Diod-griafol. This is faid to tafte 
 fomewhat like perry, and is made by 
 merely crufhing the berries, and putting 
 water to them, which, after they have 
 remained about a fortnight, is {trained off 
 for ufe. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 383 
 
 CHAP. XVII 
 
 EXCURSION FROM BEDDGELERT TO CRICCI- 
 
 ETH.- DEVIL’S BRIDGE—ROCKS—GIRALDUS 
 
 CAMBRENSIS—SALMON LEAP—ANTIENT TRI¬ 
 BUTE MOONLIGHT SCENE TRAETH MAWR 
 
 AND TRAETH BACH—PENMORFA—ANECDOTE 
 OF SIR JOHN OWEN—FORD—CRICCIETH—STORY 
 OF SIR HOWEL Y FWYALL AND HIS POLE-AX. 
 
 EDDGELERT is the place to which 
 travellers ufually refort, who with to 
 
 vifit Pont Aberglasllyn, the bridge at the 
 conflux of the blue pool , or as it is generally 
 called the Devil's bridge . It is about a 
 mile and a half diftant, but being in the 
 road leading to Tan-y-bwlch, fome content 
 themfelves merely with flopping a little 
 while, as they pafs it, in their journey. 
 
 I muft, for my own part, confefs, I was 
 rather difappointed in my expectations of 
 
 this 
 
 i 
 
38* A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 \ 
 
 this bridge. I had fomewhere read of an 
 arch thrown acrofs a narrow ftream, each 
 end fupported by a perpendicular rock, one 
 in Caernarvonfhire and the other in Merio- 
 
 i 
 
 nethfhire;* and perhaps confounding it in 
 fome meafure with what I had heard of the 
 Devil's bridge, near Hafod, in Cardigan¬ 
 shire, I had formed a fine high flown idea 
 that I fhould fee an arch thrown acrofs a 
 
 j 
 
 deep narrow valley, and hanging, as it 
 were, in mid air: but how difappointed, to 
 find it a bridge but little out of the ufual 
 form ! The grand fcenery around, made 
 it at a diftance appear quite an infignificant 
 objedt; but in this I had fcope enough for 
 admiration. The road winds along a nar¬ 
 row ftony vale, where the dark perpendi- 
 
 * Merioneth (hire is in length, from eaft to weft, 
 45 miles, and in breadth, from north to fouth, 34. 
 It’s circumference is about 150 miles. It has about 
 20,000 inhabitants, and contains 34 parifhes, and 
 two market towns. 
 
 cular 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 385 
 
 cular cliffs on each fide, fo nearly approach, 
 as only juft to leave width fufficient at the 
 bottom, for the road, and the bed of the 
 impetuous ftream which rolls at the fide oi 
 
 t 
 
 it. The lofty and rugged rocks, which 
 oppofe to us nothing but a broken feries of 
 precipices, one above another, as high as 
 the eye can reach, fihadow the tranflucent 
 torrent which thunders over the vaft frag¬ 
 ments, torn from the precipices above. 
 
 It was mo ft probably from this very 
 fcene, that Giraldus Cambrenfis -f* aflerted 
 of Merionethshire, that it was “ the rough- 
 “ eft and moft dreary part of Wales, for 
 “ it’s mountains were both high and nar- 
 “ row, and fo equally grouped together, 
 that Shepherds talking or quarrelling on 
 * c their tops could fcarcely, in a whole 
 “ day's journey, come together." And 
 
 t Itin. Camb. Syl. Gir. Cambrenfe. Lib. ll. c. 5. 
 
 p. 865. 
 
 Cc 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Drayton, 
 
386 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Drayton, * in his unpoiiflied lines, feems to 
 have followed him in opinion : 
 
 Of all the Cambrian {hires their heads that beare 
 fo hie, 
 
 And farths’t furvay their foyles with an ambitious 
 eye, 
 
 Mervinia for her hills, as for their matchleffe 
 crowds, 
 
 The near’ft that are faid to kiflfe the wand’rinp 
 clouds, 
 
 Efpeciall audience craves-- 
 
 A few yards above the bridge, is a fmall 
 cataract, noted as being a falmon leap. 
 It's height from the bed of the river is 
 about thirteen feet, but when there is a 
 tolerable quantity of water, it is not from 
 the furface more than eight or nine. The 
 falmon come up the rivers in order to 
 depofit their fpawn on the fandy fhallows, 
 and when flopped in their progrefs, by rocks 
 or dams, acrofs the water, they have the 
 
 * Polyolbion. 
 
 power 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 387 
 
 power of leaping to a (urprifing height in 
 order to get over them. This place being 
 only a few miles from the fea, is frequent¬ 
 ed by great numbers. In the courfe of 
 an hour, I have fometimes obferved thirty 
 or forty of them attempt to get up, but on 
 account of a net which the renters of the 
 fishery place for the purpofe, they very 
 feldom lucceed. This extraordinary power 
 of leaping fo high, feems to be owing to a 
 hidden jerk which the fifh gives to it’s 
 body, from a bent into a ftraight portion. 
 At this place, when tired with making 
 many vain attempts to furmount the bar- 
 
 4 / 
 
 rier, they retire to reft in the ftill waters 
 below, where they are either taken in nets, 
 or killed by ftriking them with an harpoon. 
 By the latter method, though it feems 
 extremely cruel, the men are always fo 
 certain in their aim, that I have feen five 
 or fix killed in lefs than an hour. The 
 general weight of fifh taken here, in the 
 
 C c 2 months 
 
388 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 months of Auguft and September, is from 
 one to eighteen pounds. In O&ober, they 
 become much larger, but the flavour of 
 thefe are not efteemed fo fine as the fmaller 
 ones. 
 
 The fifhery, I have been informed, is 
 the property of a Mr. Wynne, who lets it 
 to the filhermen, at the rent of twelve 
 pounds a year. The fifli are fold on the 
 fpot generally at threepence or fourpence a 
 
 In the reign of Henry IV. this was a 
 royal wear, and was then rented by Robert 
 ap Meredydd. It is not improbable, that 
 in old times, it might belong to the princes 
 of Wales, for falmon was the moft ufeful 
 and valuable fifli the Welfli had. It was 
 reckoned amongfl: the game, and was per¬ 
 haps the only fpecies of fifli that was pre- 
 ferved by their laws.* 
 
 * Wynne’s Memoirs of the G vvydir family, p. 387. 
 Pennant’s tour II. 192. 
 
 In 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 389 
 
 In my walk to the bridge, I was much 
 amufed by a flock of goats, confiding of 
 about forty, that were chafing each other 
 in playful gambols, amongft the rocks 
 above. This was the firfl time I had feen 
 fo many together, fince I came into Wales; 
 for they are not now wild, all being private 
 property, and regularly returning home to 
 their folds in the evenings. 
 
 The mountains of Merionethfhire, were 
 in former times, much infefted with wolves. 
 In the year 940, Athelftan marched with 
 an army into North Wales, where he over¬ 
 came Idwal,* the Welfh Prince, but he 
 afterwards reftored him to his throne, on 
 condition that he fhould do homage to him 
 
 * This is generally written Ludwal ; but Ed. 
 LIwyd, in his notes to Camden, has remarked, that 
 the Welfh never had a prince of that name, and 
 fuppofes it mult have been miftaken for Idwal. 
 
 C c 3 at 
 
390 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 at Hertford, and covenant to pay him yearly 
 a tribute of twenty pounds of gold, three 
 hundred of filver, and twenty-five thou- 
 fand head of oxen, befides a certain num¬ 
 ber of hawks and hunting dogs.* But in- 
 ftead of this tribute, when Edgar came 
 to the throne, on account of the country 
 being fo much overrun with thefe rapacious 
 animals, he demanded to be fent to him 
 every year the fkins of three hundred 
 wolves, by which means, without any ex¬ 
 pence to the fubjefts of the Englifh prince, 
 the whole land was, in the fpace of little 
 more than two years, entirely cleared of 
 them, and Idwal releafed from his tribute, 
 
 * Strutt’s Chronicle, II. 56.-- — —Thus Will. 
 Malmfb.—The Chron. Wrivallen has it iC quinque 
 mi Ilia bejiiarum .—The fame alfo has an old French 
 M* S. in the Cotton Library, marked Galba, E. 3. 
 it h&s it “ V. TTiille vachcs 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 391 
 
 at the end of the third, upon his declaring 
 that they were all deftroyed.* 
 
 Whilfl I was flaying at Beddgelert, I 
 found myfelf one evening almoft devoid 
 
 v 
 
 of employment, and the moon fhone fo 
 beautifully bright, that I was tempted to 
 ramble alone as far as the bridge. There 
 never was a more charming evening. The 
 fcene was not clad in it's late grand colours, 
 but now more delicately fhaded, and ar¬ 
 rayed in fofter charms. The darkening 
 ihadows of the rocks caft a gloom around. 
 
 * Strutt’s chronicle II. 67—Will. Malmfb.—Ho* 
 linfhed’s Chronicle, I. 225.—Whether they were 
 all cieflroyed or not at this time, we are not certain ; 
 
 t 
 
 for after the battle of Colefhill, in the reign of 
 Henry II. Giraldus Cambrenfis, Lib. II. c. 10. p. 
 873, relates, that a young Welshman, who . had 
 been flain, was difcovered attended by his faithful 
 dog, who remained by the corpfe the whole time, 
 without food, and defended it from being the prey 
 of birds and wolves. 
 
 C C 4 
 
 and 
 
592 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 and the faint rays in fome places faintly 
 reflected gave to the {training eye, a very 
 imperfect glimpfe of the furfaces it looked 
 upon, whilft in others, the moon {hot her 
 filver light through the hollows, and 
 brightly illumined the oppofite rocks. All 
 was folitude, all ferene and mild. The 
 lilence of the evening was only interrupted 
 by the murmuring of the brook, which 
 lulled to melancholy, and now and then by 
 the thrill fcream of the night-owl, flitting 
 by me in fearch of food. 
 
 The river rufhing o’er it’s pebbled bed 
 Impofed filence, with a hilly found. 
 
 The bridge was deferted, and I hung 
 over it’s battlements liftening to the hoarfe 
 fall of the water down the wear, and 
 watching as the moon got higher, the de-« 
 creafing fhadows of the mountains. I at 
 
 length returned, after a moft delightful 
 ramble of near two hours. 
 
 I went 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 393 
 
 I went the next morning by Pont Aber- 
 glasllyn, over one of the raoft tirefome 
 foot-paths, that even this country cm 
 boaft, to the village of Penmorfa. This 
 path lay over the rocks, which run clofe 
 by an arm of the fea, called Traeth Mawr, 
 the great fands . This walk, though ra¬ 
 ther painful, was however highly intereft- 
 ing: the lofty mountains ranged in rugged 
 order along the oppofite fide of the fands, 
 feemed an invincible barrier to the inte¬ 
 rior of the country— 
 
 The mountains huge appear 
 
 Emergent, and their broad bare backs upheave . 
 
 Into the clouds, their tops afeend the Iky. 
 
 In the year 1625, Sir John Wynne, of 
 Gwydir, conceived the vaft defign of re¬ 
 covering the two arms of the fea, called 
 Traeth Mawr and Traeth Bach, for culti¬ 
 vation, by embanking out the water ; and 
 for this purpofe he applied for affiftance to 
 Sir Hugh Middleton, who, in the I He of 
 
 Wight, 
 
m 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Wight, had not long before gained up¬ 
 wards of two thoufand acres of land from 
 the fea : the affair, however, pobably from 
 want of money, was never carried into 
 execution.* 
 
 Penmorfa, the head of the Marfh , is a 
 final 1 wood-clad village, romantically fitu- 
 
 ated on the weftern bank of Traeth Mawr, 
 
 * 
 
 and lies fo far out of the ufual route, as to 
 have been hitherto but feldom vifited by 
 tourifts. The church is dedicated to St. 
 Beuno, and within it there is a fmall mo¬ 
 nument, in memory of Sir John Owen, a 
 general in the army, and a ftaunch fupport- 
 er of Charles I. This valiant commander, 
 after the execution of his royal matter, 
 was, with feveral of the nobles, condemn¬ 
 ed by the Parliament, to lofe his head, 
 
 * Sir John Wynne’s Memoirs of the Gwydir fa- 
 mily in Barrington’s Mifcellanies, p. 351. Pen¬ 
 nant’s Tour 184—187. 
 
 and 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 395 
 
 and in his trial Ihewed a fpirit worthy of 
 fo great a man. After his condemnation, 
 with a humorous intrepidity, he made the 
 court a low reverence, and gave them his 
 humble thanks. One of thofe Handing 
 by, afked him what he meant ; he replied 
 aloud that “ it was a great honor for a poor 
 ic gentleman of Wales, to lofe his head 
 “ with fuch noble lords ; for by G—, he 
 “ was afraid they would have hanged 
 “ him/' He however, by good fortune, 
 and the intereft of Ireton, who proved his 
 advocate after a few months imprifonment, 
 was fet at liberty, and reftored to his 
 friends.* 
 
 There is a ford from Penmorfa, acrofs 
 Traeth Mawr and Traeth Bach, to the roads 
 leading to Tan-y-Bwlch and Harlech, 
 which faves a very circuitous road by 
 Beddgelert. Croffing thefe is fometimes at- 
 
 * Pennant I. 279. 
 
 tended 
 
395 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 I 
 
 tended with danger, owing to the tides not 
 always leaving the fame level, but fre^ 
 quently wafhing deep holes in the fand: 
 and it is not by any means fafe to attempt 
 this ford without the attendance of a guide. 
 
 Criccieth is a little Borough town, con¬ 
 tributory to Caernarvon, about three miles 
 diftant from Penmorfa, and fituated on the 
 north end of Cardigan Bay, and except the 
 few remains of its caftle, affords nothing 
 which can claim the attention of the Tra¬ 
 veller.* This is fituated upon a rifing 
 ground, at the end of a long neck of land 
 jutting into the fea, The entrance into it 
 is betwixt two rounders, which are fquare 
 
 within, and appear to have been the only 
 
 ,✓ 
 
 circular towers it has had, the others being 
 
 _ 'I 
 
 all fquare. There have been here two 
 
 * Leland fays of it in his time, “ At Crikith be a 
 two or three poor houfes, and there is a fmaulle 
 Ct ryle. There hath beene a franchifed now clene 
 \\ decayed.” Itin. V. 49. 
 
 courts. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 397 
 
 courts but neither of them very large. 
 The caftle has been but a fmall building, 
 and it is at prefent in a very ruinous condi¬ 
 tion. From the eminence, on which it 
 Hands, is an elegant view acrofs the bay, 
 towards Harlech, where that fine old caftle 
 is feen, backed by the high and diftant 
 mountains of Merionethlhire. 
 
 From the architecture, this caftle has 
 the undoubted appearance of Britifh origin, 
 and it’s reputed founder, Edward I. feems 
 to have done no more than cafe the two 
 towers at the entrance, whofe exterior 
 workmanfhip is certainly very different 
 from that of their interior. Mr. Rowlands 
 has placed this amongft thofe caftles, which 
 he conjectured were founded before the 
 fixth century.* 
 
 After the conqueft of Wales, Edward I. 
 appointed William de Leybourn, the con- 
 
 * Rowland’s Mona Antiqua Reftaurata, 149. 
 
 ftable. 
 
398 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 i 
 
 liable, with a lalary of a hundred pounds, 
 out of which he was to maintain a gar- 
 rifon of thirty ftout men, a chaplain, fur- 
 geon, carpenter, and mafon.* 
 
 Sir Howel y Fvvyall, a defcendant of 
 Colwyn ap Tangno, one of the fifteen 
 tribes of North Wales, was conftable of 
 this caftle.-f* This valiant officer attended 
 the Black Prince in the battle of Poidiers, 
 where, with only a pole-ax, he performed 
 fuch brave and heroic ads J that the prince 
 
 beftowed 
 
 * Sebright MSS. quoted by Mr. Pennant, II. 
 192. 
 
 t He was alfo conftable of Chefter Caftle. 
 
 J It is very generally believed in Wales, that Sir 
 Howel y Fwyall, though only on foot himfelf, took the 
 French King prifoner, who was mounted on horfe- 
 back. This circumftance is fully accounted for in 
 a MS. given to the Lord Treafurer Oxford, by 
 Mr. Hugh Thomas, and now depoftted in the Bri- 
 tifti Mufeum. 
 
 -- << Sir 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 39 9 
 
 bellowed on him the honour of knighthood, 
 and allowed him to take for his arms a 
 pole-ax * argent , between three flower-de- 
 luces , and to add to his name y Fwyall , or 
 the Ax. And further to perpetuate the 
 memory of his great fervices, the prince 
 ordered, at the expence of the crown, that 
 a mefs of meat fhould be every day ferved 
 up before the ax, with which he had per¬ 
 formed thefe wonderful feats. This, af¬ 
 ter it had appeared before the knight, was 
 
 —-“ Sir Howell ap Fwyall, ap Griffith, ap 
 
 i( Howel, ap Meredith, ap Einion, ap Gwgan, 
 “ ap Meredith Goch, ap Collwyn, ap Tangno, 
 e( called Sir Howel y Fwyall, or Sir Howel Pole- 
 st Axe, from his conftant fighting with that war- 
 
 €c like inftrument. It is faid he difmounted the 
 
 * 
 
 sc French king, cutting op bis borfe's bead at one 
 blow with his battle-axe, and took the French 
 4< king prifoner; as a trophy of which victory, it is 
 “ faid, that he bore the arms of France with a 
 battle-axe in bend finifter, argent.” Harl. MSS. 
 No, 229S. p. 348, Wynne’s Memoirs, 425. 
 
 taken 
 
400 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 taken down and diftributed amongft the 
 poor people. Even after his death the 
 mefs continued to be ferved up as ufual, 
 and for the lake of his foul given to the 
 poor, till fo lately as the beginning of the 
 reign of Elizabeth. There were eight 
 yeoman attendants, called Yeomen of the 
 Crown, appointed to guard this mefs, who 
 had each eight-pence a day conftant wages.* * 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 FROM BEDDGELERT TO HARLECH.-MOUN¬ 
 
 TAIN ROAD TO TAN-Y-BWLCH — NEW ROAD— 
 TAN-Y-BWLCIi INN — MAENTWROG—TOMMEN 
 Y MUR—WATERFALL—IMPENDING SCENERY— 
 LLYN TECWYN UCHA — LLANTECWYN — FINE 
 VALE — HARLECH - TOWN-HALL — CASTLE — 
 MEPHITIC VAPOUR—INN. 
 
 JP'ROM Beddgelert I went along, what 
 is generally called, the mountain road 
 to Tan-y-bwlch. The other, low road, lays 
 
 V 
 
 * See the hiftory of the fifteen tribes of North 
 Wales, in Camb. Reg. I. 148. See alfo Wynne’s 
 Memoirs of the Gwydir Family, p. 375. 
 
 partly 
 
401 
 
 ' A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 — 1 **■ —— - - ■ ■ - . - 
 
 •partly over the fancls of Traetb Mawr, and 
 cannot be palled but at low water. The 
 former, from Pont Aberglasllyn, for near 
 feven miles, is the moft rude and moun¬ 
 tainous way imaginable. The continuation 
 of rocky fteeps has been found fo ex- 
 ceffively unpleafant in carriages, that moft 
 people prefer getting out, and being on foot 
 the whole way. 
 
 There was, when I was here, a new 
 road forming lower down towards the 
 finds, which from every appearance will, 
 confidering the country through which it 
 has to pafs, be a tolerably level one. This 
 new road is to be brought from near the 
 bridge, and to join that from Caernarvon to 
 Dolgelle, not far from Tan-y-bwlch. I 
 have been informed that when this is com¬ 
 pleted, there are fome defigns of running 
 a coach, during the fummer time, from 
 Caernarvon to Dolgelle. An undertaking 
 of this kind is likely not only to prove 
 
 vol. i. D d ufeful 
 
402 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 ufeful to travellers, but very much fo to 
 the country at large. 
 
 The prefent romantic, though uncouth 
 road, for about two miles, commands 
 feveral beautiful and extended profpedts. 
 From one very elevated fituation I had a 
 moll delightful view of all the fine and 
 mountainous country about me; Harlech 
 and Criccieth Caftles were both in fight, 
 and the long extent of ground, forming 
 
 A 
 
 the promontory of Llyn, was vifible even 
 to it's extremity. 
 
 At Tan-y-bwlch, below the pafs> there 
 is only an elegant hall, embowered in 
 woods, the manfion of —— Oakley, Efq. 
 and the comfortable little inn, both of 
 which are on a conliderable eminence on 
 the north-weft fide of the vale of Maen- 
 twrog. This vale, watered by the little 
 river Dwyryd, which meanders along it’s 
 bottom, contrafted with the bleak and 
 dreary mountains of it's fides, from hence 
 
 affords 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 403 
 
 . - *• . *—i 
 
 affords a moil pleafing profpedt. A former 
 tourift * was fo much gratified with this 
 fcene as to obferve “ That if a perfon could 
 f€ live upon a landfcape, he would fcarcely 
 defire a more eligible fpot than this.” 
 The Inn is a fmall, but good houfe, and 
 the inhabitants very civil and attentive. 
 Foft chaifes are not at prefent kept here, 
 but the inn-keeper informed me, that as 
 foon as the new road was completed, he 
 probably might attempt a Angle carriage, if 
 there fhould be any profpedi; of fuccefs; 
 and this there mud: be, fince Tan-y-bwlch 
 is fituated nearly in the centre, betwixt 
 the three market towns of Caernarvon, 
 Bala, and Dolgelle. 
 
 On the oppolite flde of the vale Hands 
 the church of Maentwrog, which takes it’s 
 
 * Henry Penruddocke Wyndham, Efq. who made 
 a tour through Monmouthfhire and Wales in the 
 fummer of 1774 and 1777. 
 
 D d 2 
 
 name 
 
401 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 name from a large ftone in the church- 
 yard, called Maentwrog, the ftone ofTu- 
 rog, a Britifh faint, who lived about the 
 year 610, and was the writer of Tiboeth, 
 a romantic record belonging to St. Beuno, 
 and formerly kept in the church of Clynog, 
 in Caernarvonfhire.* Dr. Edmund Prys, 
 Archdeacon of Merioneth, who was of 
 fome celebrity as a We!£h poet, was recftor 
 of this place, and is buried here. 
 
 In this parifh are the fmall remains of 
 
 Mur Cafteli, now called Tommen y Mur, 
 
 * 
 
 where the kings of England ufed to encamp 
 when they came again ft North Wales, •f- 
 I left Maentwrog, and enquiring the 
 road to Harlech, proceeded on my jour¬ 
 ney. At the diftance of about half a mile, 
 
 * Jones’s Welfh Bards, p. 14. 
 t Sketch of the Hiftory of Merionethfhire, by- 
 Mr. Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt, in the Cambrian 
 Regifter, I. 191. 
 
 I crofted 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 405 
 
 1 croffed a fmall bridge, when leaving the 
 road, I wandered along a foot path up a 
 wooded valley on the right, for about a 
 mile and a half, in fearch of a waterfall 
 that had been before defcribed to me, 
 called Rhaiadr du, the black cataraB ; but it 
 was not without fome difficulty, and after 
 much afcending and defcending, that I 
 found it. In this cataradl, which is fur- 
 rounded with dark and impending fcenery, 
 the water is thrown with vaft impetuolity 
 over three black and fmooth rocks, each in 
 a different direction. Of it's height I could 
 form no idea, as the top of the upper fall, 
 by the winding of the rocks, was not vifi- 
 ble from below,, The rock that hangs 
 immediately over the fall, was, from it’s 
 great height and rude form, a fine objedl 
 in the landfcape, and the whole of the 
 hollow, for fome diffance below the cata¬ 
 ract, extremely grand. I attempted to 
 
 « 
 
 climb to the upper part, but the rocks 
 
 D d 3 were 
 
406 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES; 
 
 were too perpendicular and flippery to at¬ 
 tempt it without danger; therefore con¬ 
 tenting myfelf with feeing as much as I 
 could from below, 1 croffed the water, and 
 crept along the fhelving rocks by the fide 
 of the ftream, for near half a mile. Here 
 the banks clofed in over my head, leaving 
 but a narrow cliafm, from which the light 
 was excluded by the dark foliage from each 
 fide, and I found myfelf entering to ap¬ 
 pearance into the mouth of a deep and 
 horrid cavern. The fides were too fteep 
 for me to think of clambering up, and ex¬ 
 cept going quite back again to the cata¬ 
 ract, I had no alternative but to penetrate 
 this difmal place. This I foon did, for it 
 continued but a fmall wav: and now find- 
 
 j * 
 
 ing it’s banks fufficiently ilanting for me 
 to afcend to the meadows above, I was not 
 a little pleafed to efcape from this abode of 
 damp and horror. 
 
 Regaining 
 
 J 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 407 
 
 ■ ' ... l a MI wniMriTiwiH i wr—w»i > Tw ■ . . 
 
 Regaining the road I had left, it led me 
 along the fide of Llyntecwyn ucha, the 
 tipper pool of Tecwyn , where I found fome 
 pleafant, though lefs mountainous fcenery 
 than what I had juft palled. This pool is 
 larger than many of thofe in Wales, and 
 it's waters are beautifully clear. On one 
 fide of it is a range of low rocks, com- 
 pofed of a Ihivery kind of date, which has 
 mouldered in many places to the bottom 
 in fmall fiharp pieces, almoft refembling 
 needles. 
 
 Afterwards palling the village of Llan«= 
 tecwyn, and Llyntecwyn ifa, the lower 
 Tecwyn pool , I came to a mo ft lovely little 
 meadowy vale, about three miles diftant 
 from Harlech, called (as I underftood, the 
 Guide) Dol Orcah After the late un¬ 
 couth fcenery, I here enjoyed to the ut- 
 moft, the pleafing eftedt of the green 
 woods and meads in the vale, and the 
 purple heath which concealed and foftened 
 
 D d 4 the 
 
403 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALLS. 
 
 the harfh colouring of the neighbouring 
 rocks. 
 
 The whole of this walk from Beddge- 
 lert to Harlech, was exceedingly pleafant; 
 and from the continual varying of the 
 fcenery, kept the attention alive during 
 every part of the journey. 
 
 This road from Tan-y-bwlch is fcarcely 
 paffable for carriages, but there is another 
 from Beddgelert, along the fands, which 
 may be gone at low water ; but guides 
 mu ft be taken who are acquainted with 
 
 ✓ 
 
 the track, as it is very unfafe to venture 
 'without them. 
 
 Harlech, once the principal town in 
 Merionethfliire, is now dwindled into a 
 fmall and infignificant village, containing 
 not more than four or five hundred inha¬ 
 bitants. It is in the parilh of Llanfair, 
 and is, with it’s caftle, built on a cliff 
 which overhangs the marfh, on the fea 
 
 o 7 
 
 * 
 
 ceaft, near Cardigan Bay. Not far from the 
 
 caflle, 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 409 
 
 ■■■■»«■ ■■■»■'■- » ■ " i 
 
 caftle, is an old rooflefs building, once the 
 town hall; in which, I was informed, the 
 Members of Parliament for Merionethfhire 
 continue to be elected. 
 
 The caftle is yet very entire. It is a 
 fquare building, each fide meafuring about 
 
 feventy yards; and has, at every corner, a 
 round tower. From each of thefe iffued 
 formerly a round turret; all now, except 
 one or two, deftroyed. The entrance 
 is betwixt two great rounders, and the 
 chief apartments appear to have been over 
 the gateway, in a building which projected 
 into the court; and at each corner of this 
 building is alfo a large round tower. The 
 caftle was defended, on the eaft fide, by a 
 deep fofs 5 and it’s fituation, on the verge 
 of an aimoft perpendicular rock, rendered 
 it impregnable in aimoft every other part,, 
 I have been told, that from the marfh, this 
 fortrefs, except in it's fize, has much the 
 
 appearance 
 
410 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 appearance of the caftle of Belgrade, in 
 T urkey. 
 
 The evening that I arrived here, the at- 
 mofphere was perfectly clear, and I could 
 fee very plainly the peaked fummit of Snow¬ 
 don elevated high above all the other 
 
 A 
 
 mountains. The promontory of Llyn was 
 vifihle in almoft every part ; Criccieth 
 Caftle feemed fcarcely a mile diftant; and 
 the fine, though dangerous Bay of Cardigan, 
 lay entirely before me. 
 
 The antient name of this fortrefs was 
 Twr Bronwen, Bronwen’s "Tower ; fo called 
 from Bronwen,* or the white-necked filter 
 
 / A 
 
 to Bren, (or Branus) ap Llyn, Duke of 
 Cornwall, and afterwards King of Great 
 Britain, who lived about the year 290. It 
 is fuppofed by fome that Ihe refided here, 
 
 * She died in Anglefea, and was interred on the 
 bank of the river Alaw, in that ifland. Mr. Row* 
 lands fays, her monument was in exigence fo lately 
 as in his time. See Mona Antique Reftaurata. 
 
 and 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 411 
 
 and the higheft turret, though for what 
 reafon I know not, fince the prefent build¬ 
 ing was founded many centuries after her 
 time, goes yet by the name of Bronwen’s 
 Tower. * 
 
 It was afterwards called Caer Collwyn,-}- 
 or Collwyn s fort, from Collwyn ap Tangon, 
 one of the fifteen tribes of North Wales, 
 who repaired it in the eleventh century, and 
 refided for fome time in a fquare tower , 
 then called Bronwen’s Tower. J The pre¬ 
 fent name, Harlech, is probably derived 
 from the Britifh Hardd, beautiful; and 
 Llech, a rock, indicative of it's fituatiom 
 
 According to fome of the antient Britifh 
 Hiftorians, this caftle was built by Maelgwn 
 
 * Perhaps this tower may have Rood upon the 
 fite of the antient one of that name, and fo have 
 Rill retained the former appellation. 
 
 t It is fometimes, though improperly, called 
 Caer Colun. 
 
 J See the hiftory of the fifteen tribes of North 
 Wales, in the Camb. RegiRer, I, 148. 
 
 Gwynedd, 
 
412 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, fome- 
 time about 530 and it is generally fup- 
 pofed, that Edward I. founded the prefent 
 fortrefs, upon the ruins of the old caftle ; 
 fome parts of which are yet didinguifliable 
 from the more modern work of that mo¬ 
 narch. 
 
 It is evident there mud have been a 
 caftle here before Edward’s time, for in the 
 year 1160, during the reign of Henry II. 
 I find that one John Charlton, being pro¬ 
 tected by the king, imprifoned here three 
 
 of his wife’s uncles, Llewelin, David, and 
 
 \ 
 
 John.f 
 
 Hugh de Wlonkeflow was, in 1283, 
 appointed by Edward the fir ft, conftable, 
 with a falary of a hundred pounds; but this 
 ft 1 ary appears to have been afterwards re- 
 
 * Vaughan’s {ketch of the hiftory of Merioneth- 
 filire in Camb. Reg. I. 191. 
 
 t Powel's Hiftory of Wales, p. 215. 
 
 duced ; 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 413 
 
 duced; for in fome accounts, it was only 
 twenty-fix pounds thirteen fhillings and 
 fourpence, and in others fifty pounds; 
 which was fuppofed to be both for the Con- 
 fiable and the Captain of the Town. The 
 whole garrifon confided of twenty foldiers, 
 whofe annual pay amounted to a hundred 
 and forty pounds.* 
 
 In the year 1404, this caftle, along with 
 that of Aberyftwyth, in Cardiganfhire, was 
 fcized by the great, but ambitious Owen 
 Glyndwr, during his rebellion againft Henry 
 IV. They were both retaken about four 
 years afterwards, by an army which the 
 king had difpatched into Wales, againft 
 that fturdy chieftain .-f 
 
 Margaret of Anjou, the fpirited queen of 
 Henry VI. after the king's defeat at North- 
 
 * AylofFe’s Welfh Calender, p. 92. and Dodde- 
 ridge, p. 98, quoted in Pennant’s Tour, II. 130. 
 t Carte's Hiftory of England II, 661 and 669. 
 
 ampton* 
 
414 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 ampton, in 1456, fled from Coventry, and 
 found in this fortrefs an afylum from her 
 enemies ; after narrowly efcaping the hands 
 of Lord Stanley, who found and feized her 
 jewels and baggage. From hence, after a 
 fhort time, fhe proceeded into Scotland; 
 where, collecting her friends, the marched 
 to Wakefield ; near which place fhe once 
 more attacked her enemy, the Duke of 
 York, who was there defeated and flain.* 
 Edward IV. foon after he came to the 
 crown, found means to obtain the affec¬ 
 tions of the whole realm, and make him- 
 felf matter of every part of the kingdom, 
 except this caftle and a few others in 
 Northumberland. Thefe he did not think 
 it necefiary immediately to attack, per¬ 
 haps from the expectation, that feeing the 
 whole country continue in quiet pofleffion, 
 they might foon of their own accords fub- 
 
 * Carte’s England, p. 757. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 415 
 
 mit. The idea, however, proved ground- 
 
 lefs, for Dafydd ap Ifan ap Einion, a 
 
 < 
 
 ftaunch and valiant friend to the houfe of 
 Lancafter, held out in this caftle till 1468, 
 near nine years after the coronation of 
 Edward, who, at laft, feeing his refolution 
 not to yield till he was abfolutely forced to 
 it, found it neceffary to fend into Wales a 
 large army againft him, under the com¬ 
 mand of William Herbert, Earl of Pem¬ 
 broke, who, with incredible difficulty, 
 marched his men over the heart of the 
 Britifh Alps to attack him. The Earl 
 befieged the caftle, and it was furrendered 
 at difcretion on the 14th of April, 1468, 
 when Sir Richard Tunftal, Sir Henry Bel¬ 
 lingham, Sir William Stoke, with about 
 fifty other gentlemen, were taken prifoners 
 and committed to the Tower of London.* 
 
 Sir 
 
 * MS. Chronicle in the Library of St, Peter’s 
 College, Cambridge. Stow’s Annals, p. 421. 
 
 Camden’s 
 
416 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Sir Richard Herbert, brother to the 
 Earl, who had commanded the Englifh 
 army during the fiege, interceded with the 
 king for the life of the Britifh hero Dafydd 
 ap Ifan ap Einion. The king at firft re* 
 fufed, but Sir Richard told him plainly, 
 u That his highnefs might take his life 
 
 “ inftead 
 
 Camden’s Britannia, II. 538. Carte’s Hiftory of 
 England, II. 775. Wynne’s Memoirs of the Gwy- 
 dir Family, 398. Vaughan’s Sketch of theJHiftory 
 of Merionethfhire, Camb. Reg. I. 191. Camden 
 fays, the road over which the Englifh foldiers 
 marched, is to this clay called Lie Herbert. The 
 names of the valiant defenders of this fortrefs were 
 as follows: 
 
 Dafydd, ap Jevan, ap Einion. 
 
 Gruff. Vychan, ap Jevan ap Einion,. 
 
 Siankyn, ap Jorwerth ap Einion. 
 
 Gr. ap Jevan ap Einion. 
 
 Tho. ap Jevan ap Einion. 
 
 John Hanmer. 
 
 Dafydd ap Jevan ap Owen o Bowis. 
 
 Rhinalf 
 
I 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 417 
 
 \ 
 
 “ inftead of that of the Welfti captain $ or 
 gi that he would affiiredly replace Dafydd 
 “ in his caftle, and the king might fend 
 “ whom he pleafed to take him out again/ 7 
 This prevailed, but Sir Richard received 
 no other reward whatever for his fervice.* 
 In the civil wars of Charles I. Harlech 
 Caftle was the laft in North Wales that 
 held out for the king, being furrendered 
 on the 30th March, 1647, on honourable 
 terms, to Lieutenant General Mytton, 
 when Mr. William Owen was governor, 
 
 Rhinallt, ap GryfF. ap Bleddyn of Tower near 
 Mold. 
 
 * 1 
 
 Mawris ap Dafydd ap Jeffre. 
 
 Dafydd, ap Einion, ap jevan Rymus, 
 
 Howel ap Morgan ap Jorth Goch. 
 
 Ednyved ap Morgan. 
 
 Thomas ap Morgan. 
 
 John Tudur Clerck- 
 
 Gr. ap Jevan ap Jorwerth, fenio?\ 
 
 See Pennants Tour, II. 131. 
 
 # Pennant’s Tour, II. 131. 
 
 vox,, i. E e and 
 
 I 
 
418 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 and the whole garrifon confided but of 
 twenty-eight men.* 
 
 Edward I. made the town into a free 
 borough, and confirmed to it feveral grants 
 of lands and other emoluments. The 
 aflizes for Merionethshire, which ufod for¬ 
 merly to be held here, are now holden at 
 Bala and Dolgelle alternately. 
 
 In the winter of 1694, this neighbour¬ 
 hood was much alarmed by a kind of 
 kindled exhalation, which came from a 
 
 1 
 
 fandy marfhy tradt of land, called Morfa 
 Bychan, acrofs the channel, eight miles 
 towards Harlech, and injured much of the 
 country, by poifoning the grafs in fuch a 
 manner as to kill the cattle, and firing hay 
 and corn ricks for near a mile from the 
 coaft. It is reprefented to have had the 
 appearance of a weak blue flame, which, 
 by any great noife, fuch as the firing of 
 
 * Whitelock’s Memorials, p. 243. 
 
 guns. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 419 
 
 guns, or the founding of horns* was eafily 
 extinguished. All the damage was done 
 invariably in the night, and in the courfe 
 of the winter not lefs than Sixteen hay 
 ricks and two barns, one filled with corn, 
 and the other with hay, were burnt by it. 
 It did not feem to affeCt any thing elfe, 
 and men could go into it without receiving 
 the leaft injury. It is faid, that though it 
 was feen oftener during the firft three 
 weeks than it was afterwards, yet it was 
 obferved at different intervals of time for at 
 lead: eight months.* The occafion of this 
 lingular phenomenon is not exactly known* 
 It appears mod probably to have arifen 
 from fome collections of putrid fubdances, 
 the vapour coming from which might have 
 been directed towards this place by the 
 
 * Letter from Mr. Maurice Jones, inferred in 
 the Philofophical Tranfa£tions. See Lowthorp’s 
 Abridgement, II. iS3. 
 
 E e 2 wind 
 
■m A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 wind. Bifhop Gibfon has conjedtured, that 
 it might have proceeded from the cor¬ 
 rupted bodies of a quantity of locufts, which 
 came into this kingdom about that time, 
 but from the coldnefs of the climate were 
 deftroyed. He lays, that a coniiderable 
 quantity of them were feen lying dead 
 about the fhores of Aberdaron, in Caer- 
 narvonlhire.* 
 
 The public houfe at Harlech, for fuch 
 it can only be denominated, is kept by a 
 civil man, called Amoyl. The provifions 
 were indeed plain, but the beds, (only two, 
 and thofe in the fame room) confidering 
 the fmallnefs of the houfe and the obfcurity 
 of it’s fituation, clean and comfortable. 
 A guide may be had from this place, who 
 will condudt the traveller either amongft 
 the mountains, or over the lands to Bedd- 
 gelert. 
 
 <o 
 
 \ 
 
 ■- Gibfon’s Additions to Camden’s Britannia, (in 
 Ayhlch Jones’s Letter is copied,) p. 659. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 421 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 EXCURSION FROM HARLECH TO CVVM BYCHAN. 
 
 -DRUIDIC A L CIRCLES—CWM BYCHAN— 
 
 WELSH PEDIGREE —BWLCH TYDYAD — DRWS 
 ARDUDWY—CROMLECH—DISTANT WATERFALL 
 — SARN-RADIIWYG — OVERFLOWED HUNDRED. 
 
 J WENT (conduced by the guide) to 
 explore an obfcure vale, about four 
 miles from Harlech, called Cwm Bychan, 
 the little hollow . A mile from the town, 
 on a large elevated moor, he pointed out 
 to me, a circle of fmall ftones, about 
 thirty yards in diameter, with another at 
 fome diftance, furrounding it. From it's 
 form and appearance, I am inclined to fup- 
 pofe, that this mud have been one of thofe 
 Druidical circles, in which were holden 
 their Gorfeddau , or Bardic meetings ; for 
 thefe meetings were always in a place fet 
 apart in the open air, in fome confpicuous 
 
 E e 3 fituation, 
 
422 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 fituation, and furrounded by a circle of 
 {tones, having in the centre, a large one, 
 by which the prefiding bard, or Druid 
 flood. There was no relic whatever left 
 of the middle ftone. This kind of circle 
 was called Cylcb Cyngrair , or the circle of 
 congrefs. At thefe meetings, candidates 
 were admitted to the different degrees of 
 Bardifm, and on thefe occafions, it was, 
 that all the oral Bardic poems and tradi¬ 
 tions were recited, and their laws fettled. 
 During thefe ceremonies, all the Bards 
 flood within the circle, their heads and 
 
 feet bare, and clad in their uni-coloured 
 * * 
 
 robes. 
 
 Cwm Bychan is a graffy dell, about 
 half a mile in length, furrounded with the 
 
 moft black and dreary fcenery imaginable. 
 
 ♦ " 
 
 On the right of the entrance into it, is a 
 fmall pool, called Llyn y Cwm Bychan, 
 from whofe edge Carreg y Saeth, the rock 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES 423 
 
 of the arrow f towers, the blackeft of the 
 vale, I refted myfelf for a while on a 
 rock, above the pool, from whence I could 
 
 at eafe obferve, and enjoy the rugged 
 
 * 
 
 beauties of this romantic hollow. From 
 hence the landfcape extended in all it’s 
 magnificence: the vale was feen embo- 
 fomed in flupendous rocks, black and bar¬ 
 ren, and enlivened only by the patches of 
 meagre vegetation, lodged on their {helving 
 precipices. 
 
 We defcended into the hollow, and 
 wandered along the bottom, till we came 
 to the manfion (a true fpecimen of an an- 
 tient feat of a Welfh gentleman) lately 
 occupied by Mr. Evan Lloyd, a perfon 
 mentioned with much refpedt in Mr. Pen¬ 
 nant’s Tour.*f* He was able to trace his 
 
 i 
 
 * Probably the antient fportfmen took here their 
 Ration to watch the palling deer, which formerly 
 abounded in thefe parts. 
 
 t Vol. II. p. 125. 
 
 E e 4 
 
 defcent 
 
*24 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 defcent from Blyddyn ap Cynvyn, one of 
 the princes of North Wales. The pedigree, 
 as a curiofity, I have thought worth tran- 
 fcribing ; it is as follows : 
 
 Evan ap Edward, ap Richard, ap Ed¬ 
 ward, ap Humphrey, ap Edward, ap 
 Dafydd, ap Robert, ap Howel, ap Dafydd, 
 ap Meirig Llwyd o Nannau, ap Meirig 
 Vychan, ap Ynyr Vychan, ap Ynyr, ap 
 Meuric, ap Madog, ap Cadwgan, ap 
 Blyddyn, ap Cynvyn, Prince of North 
 Wales and Powys. 
 
 Having paffed this manfion, we af- 
 cended on the other fide, till we came to 
 a deep mountain hollow, called Bwlch 
 Tyddyad. Here the rocks clofe, and op- 
 pofe a colleftion of fhattered precipices, 
 forming a fcene of defolation and barren- 
 nefs throughout. A few grades, liver- 
 
 • it r ^ 
 
 wort, and heath, conftitute all the vege¬ 
 tation of this place. We wandered on this 
 rocky cleft, for fuch it only feemed, till 
 
 we 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 425 
 
 we got beyond the higher mountains, when 
 on a fudden, a fine open profpect of all the 
 country eaftward was extended before us* 
 Here we were treated with a paftoral land- 
 fcape, bounded by high diftant mountains, 
 which formed a majeftic barrier around: 
 amongfl: thefe, Cader Idris, and the two 
 
 i 
 
 Arrennigs were particularly confpicuous. 
 
 From hence we made a fharp turn to 
 the right, lfill continuing our journey over 
 a wretched horfe-path, and foon after¬ 
 wards, turning again to the right, we 
 entered another deep glen, called Drws 
 Ardudwy, the pafs of the overflowed land\ 
 a place well calculated to infpire the timid 
 mind with horror. The fides and bottom 
 were almoft covered over with loofe fra£- 
 ments of ftone, once detached by the force 
 of froft, or the irrefiftible rulhing of tor¬ 
 rents, after ftorms and heavy rain, from 
 the heights above. The fear for perfonal 
 fafety mull fometimes, in places fimilar to 
 
 this, 
 
425 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALKS. 
 
 this, be accompanied with a tremor, for 
 the mind is not always able to divert itfelf 
 
 J 
 
 of prejudices and difagreeable aflociations 
 of ideas, and in fpite of every effort of 
 teafon and judgment, the unpleafing fen- 
 fations of terror will fometimes affedt us. 
 
 After this dreary fcene, we entered a 
 more wide and fertile valley, called Cwm 
 Nancoll, the hollow of the funken brook y 
 from whence the guide took me, though 
 fomewhat out of the ufual track, to fee a 
 Cromlech, in a farm, called Gwern Einion, 
 Einions alder-grove. This is about two 
 miles fouth of Harlech ; it is at prefent 
 made to form the corner of a wall, and is 
 built upon two fides, with modern ftones, 
 to prevent the fheep from getting through 
 it. There are lix fupporters, three about 
 fix feet, and the other three about four 
 feet in height. The rtone which refts 
 upon thefe, is large, flat, and flanting. 
 
 A little 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 42? 
 
 A little while before we came to this 
 cromlech, I heard, from the fide of the 
 hill, on which we were walking, the fall¬ 
 ing of water, in a wood, on the other fide 
 of the valley, and apparently about half a 
 mile from us; and I could, though the 
 diftance was fo great, plainly perceive a 
 filver line amongfi the trees, formed by 
 the waters rufhing down a precipice. I 
 enquired of the guide refpedting it, and he 
 informed me, that it was a fall of no great 
 height, or beauty, and he was not ac¬ 
 quainted with it's name, if it had any. 
 My walk of this day had been very long 
 and laborious, and I was almoft fainting 
 from want of refreihment, fo that I was 
 under the neceffity of taking his word for 
 it, otherwife. I ihould have crofifed the 
 vale to examine it, for I am much inclined 
 to fuppofe, that it mull have been a cata- 
 radt of very confiderable height. 
 
 Betwixt 
 
428 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Betwixt the cromlech and the town of 
 Harlech, I paffed another Druidical circle, 
 fomewhat fmailer than the one I have 
 before mentioned, but furrounded, like 
 that, with another diftant circle. 
 
 It being the ebb of the tide, as we 
 
 returned, the guide pointed out to me part 
 
 of a long ftone wall, which runs out from 
 
 Mochras, a point of land a few miles fouth 
 
 of Harlech, in a direction weft-fouth-weft, 
 
 # 
 
 for above twelve miles. This is called 
 Sarn Bad-rwyg, the flip-breaking caufeway . 
 Weft of Harlech there was formerly ano¬ 
 ther habitable hundred belonging to Me- 
 rionethfhire, called Cantre’r Gwaelod, the 
 lowland hundred , on the edge of which, 
 this great ftone-wall was built, as a fence 
 againft the fea. But about the year 500, 
 when Gwyddno Garan Hir was lord of it, 
 one of the perfons who looked after the 
 dams, was fo carelefs as to let the fea 
 break through them, and ever lince that 
 
 time. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 429 
 
 time, it has been always completely 
 flooded.* Thus Cardigan Bay, though to 
 appearance very fafe for a fhip to ride in* 
 is for many miles fo full of fhoals, that it 
 is extremely dangerous for a vefiel of any 
 burthen to venture at all near the coaft. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 FROM HARLECH, BY BARMOUTH, TO DOLGELLE. 
 
 -MEIN1 GWYR—CROMLECHS CORS-Y-GEDOL 
 
 BARMOUTH—INN—RIVER MAWDDACH—FRIAR’S 
 ISLAND—DINAS GORTIN—BEACH—FINE SCENE¬ 
 RY— LLANELLTYD—DOLG ELLE —DR. FULLER’S 
 ENIGMATICAL DESCRIPTION—MANUFACTORIES 
 —INN—BATTLE IN THE CIVIL WARS. 
 
 r j£ 1 HE. road from Harlech to Barmouth 
 is even arid good, but, by it’s lying 
 over a flat and difagreeable country, is # 
 
 * Vaughan's Sketch of the Hiftory of Merioneth- 
 fhire, in Camb, Reg. I. 188. 
 
 beyond 
 
430 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 beyond meafure, dull and uninterefting. 
 At a diftance, towards the fea, I had no¬ 
 thing but turfy bogs and fait marfhes; 
 and on the other fide, the mountains were 
 low and ftony, and completely barren in 
 pidturefque beauty. 
 
 In a field by the road fide, near Llan- 
 bedir, I obferved two upright ftones land¬ 
 ing near each other, the one about ten, 
 and the other fix feet in height. They 
 were without infcriptions, and were pro¬ 
 bably what the Britifh called Meini Gwyr, 
 the ftones of the heroes, having been 
 eredted as funeral monuments to fome of 
 their antient defiled warriors who were 
 fiain in battle. 
 
 A few hundred yards beyond the fifth 
 mile ftone, and at a little diftance on the 
 left of the road, were two cromlechs very 
 near each other, placed on barrows, or 
 
 heaps 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 431 
 
 heaps of loofe ftones,* the fuppofed inter¬ 
 ments of fome men of antient note, the 
 largeft twelve feet long, nine broad, and 
 the quoit or upper ftone, about twenty 
 inches thick. I was told that this part of 
 Merionethfhire abounded in different fpe~ 
 cies of Druidical antiquity. 
 
 1 paired 
 
 * Though thefe barrows, on account of the 
 cromlechs eredled on them, have every appearance 
 of high antiquity, yet I am inclined to fuppofe, with 
 Mr. Wyndham, a judicious traveller through this 
 country in 1774, that many of the heaps of ftones t 
 ufually taken for barrows or cairns, “ were origi- 
 “ nally piled together for no other reafon than that 
 “ the reft of the field might afford the clearer paf- 
 ture.” See Tour through Monmouthfhire and 
 Wales, by Henry Penruddocke Wyndham, Efq. 
 The mode of forming thefe antient barrows or 
 Carneddaiif as they are called by the Welfh, was 
 fomewhat curious. When the carnedd was con- 
 fidered as the honourable tomb of a warrior, every 
 paffer by threw an additional ftone out of reverence 
 
 to 
 
432 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 I pafled Cors-y-gedol, the antient family 
 
 feat of the Vaughan’s, but now the pro- 
 
 / 
 
 perty of Sir Thomas Moftyn, Bart, and 
 continuing my journey by Llanaber, the 
 parifli church to Barmouth, I foon after¬ 
 wards arrived at that place. 
 
 Barmouth is placed in one of the moft 
 difagreeable fituations that could poffibly 
 have been chofen for it, near the conflux 
 of the river Maw, or Mawddach, whence 
 it is called by the Welfh, Aber Maw, and 
 
 from this Berthaw, or, corruptedly. Bar- 
 
 / - , ■« 
 
 mouth. Some of the houfes are built 
 amongft the fand at the bottom, and others 
 at different heights, up the fide of a huge 
 rock, which entirely protects the town on 
 the eaft. Their fituations are fo Angular, 
 
 to his memory; but when this heap came to be dif- 
 graced by being the mark where the guilty was 
 laid, the cuftom of every one who paflcd by, to 
 fling his ftone, was {till continued ; but now only 
 as a token of deteftation. 
 
 that 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 433 
 
 that it is really curious for a ftranger to 
 wind up along the narrow paths amongft 
 the houfes, where, on one fide, he may, 
 if he pleafe, enter the door of a dwelling, 
 or on the other, look down the chimney 
 of the neighbourhood in front. The lower 
 part of the town is almoft choaked up with 
 fand, which fills every paflage, and in wet 
 weather, it is extremely dirty and unplea- 
 fant. The houfes are the moft irregular 
 poffible—in fhort, it appears to be fuch 
 a place as nothing but the pleafures of 
 fociety can render at all comfortable. 
 
 It is frequented during the fummer fea~ 
 fon by many genteel families from Wales, 
 and the weft of England, as a fea bathing 
 place. Mr. Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt, 
 in his Sketch of the Hiftory of Merioneth- 
 ftiire,* feems to afcribe it's origin to per- 
 fons frequenting the banks of the Mawd- 
 
 * Camb. Regifter, I. 190. 
 
 F f dach, 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
434 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 dach, u by reafon of the herb fcurvy-grafs, 
 “ which grows there in great abundance.’' 
 
 The company mu ft find it an uncom¬ 
 fortable place, for the inn (the Cors-y- 
 gedol Arms) is at times, almoft buried in 
 land, and a perfon cannot walk many 
 yards from the door without being up to 
 the ankles in it. Added to this, a ftrong 
 
 wefterly wind blowing it againft the win¬ 
 dows and into all the rooms, muft render 
 it horridly unpleafant, and were it not for 
 the civility of the hofpitable Mrs. Lewis, 
 the place would fail in one of it’s chief 
 attractions. 
 
 I was beyond meafure furprized upon 
 bein£ introduced into the dining room, to 
 find upwards of thirty perfons, moft of 
 them of fortune and fafhion, in fo fecluded 
 a corner of the kingdom. I found too 
 upon enquiry, that this was by no means 
 all the company at that time in the town, 
 for another large and good building, which 
 
 Mrs. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 435 
 
 Mrs. Lewis had in her own hands as a 
 lodging houfe, was alfo quite full. To be 
 
 • ' ^ f V „ , , < , - 4 . Jl t • f ^ ' j ** 1 j' 1 
 
 again introduced, as it were into the world, 
 after my folitary rambles amongft the 
 wilds of this country, made a moft pleating 
 variety in my tour; and I enjoyed very 
 much the cheerfulnefs and affability of 
 
 * j f r • • r 
 
 every one prefent. 
 
 The lodging houfes in the town, are 
 many of them dirty and miferable places. 
 There are at Barmouth, three bathing 
 machines, but thefe are entirely appro¬ 
 priated to the ufe of the ladies, the gen¬ 
 tlemen bathing on the open coaft. The 
 amufements feem to confift in going out in 
 parties on the water, or in lounging on the 
 lands or beach. The latter is one of the 
 moft delightful walks I ever beheld. The 
 wide river Mawddach winds amongft the 
 mountains, forming many and elegant pro¬ 
 montories j thefe rife to great heights on 
 each fide, fome clad with wood, and 
 
 F f 2 others 
 
436 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 others exhibiting their naked rocks fcantly 
 covered with the purple heath. The fum- 
 mit of the lofty Cader Idris is feen to rife 
 high above the other mountains in the 
 back ground. Had the town been built 
 here, fcarcely half a mile from it's prefent 
 fituation, indead of one of the moll un- 
 pleafant, it might have been made one of 
 the mod: agreeable retirements in the king¬ 
 dom. - - 
 
 Within the lad three years, the number 
 of vifitors to this place has been much in- 
 creafed, which I can attribute to no other 
 caufe but the civility of the good hodefs. 
 She makes it her dudy to pleafe every one, 
 and die is fo fortunate as feldom to fail. 
 
 Barmouth is the port of Merionethfhire ; 
 but Mr. Pennant * fays, it is not fo much 
 frequented as it ought to be, on account 
 of the inhabitants (who do not attempt 
 
 * Tour in Wales, II. 114. 
 
 commerce 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 457 
 
 commerce on a large fcale) vending their 
 manufadtures through the means of fadlors, 
 who run away with many of the advantages 
 which the natives might enjoy; yet this 
 gentleman was informed, that a few years 
 prior to the publication of his tour,* forty 
 thoufand pounds-worth of flannels, and ten 
 thoufand pounds-worth of ftockings, had 
 been exported from hence in the courfe of 
 a year. The number of (hips at prefent 
 belonging to this port, is about a hundred. 
 The population of the place is eftimated at 
 fixteen hundred. 
 
 Not far from Barmouth, the river 
 Mawddach divides into two arms, and 
 forms a fmall ifland, called Ynys y Brawd, 
 or the Friar s IJland . On the top of the 
 rock, called Dinas Gortin, was formerly 
 a military trench or fence.*f- 
 
 * In the year jy8i. 
 
 t Vaughan’s Sketch of the Hiflory of Merioneth- 
 (hire, Camb, Reg. I. 190. 
 
 Ff 3 
 
 I left 
 
438 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 I left Barmouth, and proceeded along 
 the bank of the Mawddach, ufually called 
 Avon Vawr, the great river, towards Dol- 
 gelle. It was now high water, and the 
 whole bed of the river being filled, made the 
 different landfcapes the fcene afforded truly 
 pidlurelque. The firft two miles, which 
 lay along what the inhabitants of Bar¬ 
 mouth call the beach, formed by much 
 the moft interefting part of the journey. 
 In the compofition of the views, fcarcely 
 any thing appeared wanting: here was 
 every requifite of mountain and vale, wood, 
 water, meadows, and rocks, arranged in 
 beautiful order. The numerous heaps of 
 peat fpread along the green bottom, were 
 certainly unpleafant objedls in the fcene, 
 but thefe were eafily overlooked, when 
 every thing elfe was fo beautiful. Beyond 
 the beach the road winds at a little diftance 
 from the river, amongft the low mountains, 
 from different places in which I frequently 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 439 
 
 got a view of the river, partly hidden by 
 intervening mountains, which made it af- 
 fume the appearance of elegant and pic- 
 
 turefque lakes. And in this manner, for 
 
 t * > 
 
 eight or nine miles, was I alternately en¬ 
 tertained with fcenes of dreary and pic- 
 turefque landfcape. 
 
 About two miles from Dolgelle is Lla- 
 nelltyd, a neat and clean looking village, 
 from whence there is a road which winds 
 along a dark and gloomy vale, towards 
 Tan-y-bwlch. From the bridge, this vale 
 had indeed a grand appearance. Not far 
 from hence a foot-path leads over the 
 meadows to an antient monadic ruin, called 
 Y Vaner Abbey, which I vifited in my' 
 next ramble from Dolgelle to the waterfalls* 
 Many prefer making the journey from 
 Barmouth to Dolgelle by water, which 
 mud form a mod charming excurfion. To 
 fit at eafe and enjoy the pleafures afforded 
 by the pidturefque fcenes, along the Mawd- 
 
 F f 4 dach, 
 
440 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 dach, muft be extremely gratifying to an 
 admirer of nature. The river, however, 
 is diminifhed fo much in width and depth 
 within the lad: mile, as not to admit even 
 of a pleafure boat coming up to Dolgelle, 
 and the company are on that account, 
 obliged to land about three quarters of a 
 mile from the place, and walk up to the 
 town. 
 
 Dolgelle, the holme of the groves , is a 
 market town of fome confequence, feated 
 in a wide and fertile vale, between the 
 rivers Arran and Mawddach, and fur~ 
 rounded on all lides with high, and in 
 many parts wooded mountains. The ftreets 
 are irregular, and the houfes in general ill 
 built. The church is a neat ftrutture, 
 having in it an antient monument of Meiric 
 Vychan ap Ynyr Vychan, an anceftor of 
 the prefent family of the Vaughans of 
 Nanney, near Dolgelle, 
 
 Dr. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 441 
 
 Dr. Fuller,* in his Worthies of Merio- 
 nethfhire, publiihed rather more than a 
 century ago, fpeaking of Dolgelle, has 
 given us the following lingular and enig¬ 
 matical account of the place : 
 
 i. iC The walls thereof 
 are three miles high. 
 2- Men go into it over 
 the watery but, 
 
 3. Go out of it under the 
 water . 
 
 1. The mountains which 
 furround it. 
 
 2. On a fair bridge, 
 
 3. Falling from a rock, 
 and conveyed in a 
 wooden trough, (un¬ 
 der which travellers 
 muft make fhift to 
 pafsJ to turn an over- 
 fhot mill. 
 
 4. The bells (if plural) 
 hang in a yew tree. 
 
 5. Tenements are di¬ 
 vided into two or 
 more tipling houfes: 
 and chimney - lefs 
 barns are ufed for 
 that purpofe.” 
 
 * Fuller’s Worthies of Wales, p. 43. 
 
 4. The fteepte thereof 
 1 doth grow therein. 
 
 5. There are more ale- 
 
 houfes than houfes. 
 
 The 
 
44-2 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 The three laft of thefe remarks will not 
 hold good in the prefent day, as the alte¬ 
 rations that have taken place in this town 
 Since the Doctor’s time, are very confi- 
 derable. 
 
 Here are confiderable manufactories of 
 Welfli flannels, which, from the number 
 of hands neceflarily employed, makes the 
 town very populous.* The market for 
 their goods is chiefly at Shrewlbury; but of 
 late years fo much has been bought upon 
 the fpot, that they have had occafion to 
 fend very little to a market at fo great a 
 diftance. 
 
 The Golden Lion, called Plas ifa, the 
 lower houfe , is the belt inn the town affords, 
 but I cannot fay much in favour of it. The 
 provisions were not much amifs, except 
 the wine, which was bad, and the beds 
 were intolerable. 
 
 * The population is efthnated at about 2000. 
 
 In 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 443 
 
 In the civil wars of the laft century, 
 about a hundred of the king’s troops were 
 attempting to raile a fortification abou^ 
 this place, to defend it again!! the Parlia¬ 
 ment’s forces, when Mr. Edward Vaughan, 
 at the head of a fmall party, attacked and 
 routed them, taking their captain and 
 eighteen others prifoners.* 
 
 The celebrated Merionethfifire moun¬ 
 tain, Cader Idris, rifes at a little difiance, 
 fouth-weft of Dolgelle, and it’s fummit is 
 about fix miles from thence. As guides 
 can be at times procured here, moil per- 
 fons choofe to afcend it from this place. 
 Such was my intention, but I was com¬ 
 pletely prevented by wet and unpleafant 
 weather. 
 
 * WhitelodUs Memorials, p. 19©* 
 
 . ' ( ' 
 
 CHAP. 
 
444- 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 CHAP. XXL 
 
 EXCURSION FROM DOLGELLE TO THE WATER¬ 
 FALLS.-Y VANER, OR KEMMER ABBEY—CAS- 
 
 TELL CYMMER—RHAIDR DU—DISTANT FALL— 
 RHAIDR Y MAWDDACH—PISTYLL Y CAIN. 
 
 'JpHE three cataradts, on account of 
 which Dolgelle is chiefly vifited by 
 the tourift, are Rhaiadr du, the black ca - 
 tar aft; Rhaiadr y Mawddach, the fall of 
 the river Mawddach; and Piftyll y Cain, 
 the fall of the Cain. The former of thefe 
 is about five, and the other two about 
 eight miles from Dolgelle, and all of them 
 near the high road leading towards Tan-y- 
 bwlch. 
 
 I fet out on this expedition, but left 
 the road, and went along a foot path to 
 the right, a few hundred yards before I 
 reached the bridge at Llanelltid. I wan¬ 
 dered about a quarter of a mile acrofs the 
 
 meadows. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 415 
 
 ) - , ^ \ 
 
 meadows, when I came to an avenue of 
 aged fycamores, which led me to the re¬ 
 mains of an abbey, not vilible from the 
 road, called by the Wellh, Y Yaner, and 
 by Tanner, Kemmer Abbey, ^ 
 
 Where pious beadfmen, from the world retir’d. 
 
 In blifsful vifions wing’d their fouls to heav’n. 
 
 While future joys their nobler tranfports fir’d, 
 They wept their erring days, and were forgiv’n. 
 
 Part of the church of this monaftry is 
 yet left, and the refedtory and abbot's lodg¬ 
 ings are built into the adjoining farm 
 houfe. The other parts are much Shat¬ 
 tered, and the walls in many places patched 
 with modern work to render it of ufe to 
 the farmer, in whole ground it Hands. 
 The length is very difproportionate for the 
 width, being betwixt thirty and forty 
 
 * It is called befiaes by different authors, Cym- 
 mer, Cymner, Cwmner, Kinner, Kinmer, and 
 Kymmer, 
 
 yards 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALKS. 
 
 Li-6 
 
 yards, long, and not above eight broad. 
 The eaft end is the moft perfedf, and 
 through it’s thick covering of ivy, I could 
 obferve three fmall lancet windows. Again ft 
 the fouth wall are a few fmall Gothic pillars 
 and arches, and an aperture in the wall in 
 which was probably kept the holy water; 
 in this part of the building there has alfo 
 been a femi-circular door oppofite to two 
 fmall arches, and near them a mutilated 
 ftone reprefenting the head of a human 
 figure. The fpace of ground which thefe 
 walls inclofe is very inconfiderable, and 
 from the great plainnefs of the building 
 altogether, it will not form a pi&ure from 
 any point of view whatever. From a 
 large fycamore, which I obferved growing 
 amongft the ruins at the weft end, I ftiould 
 judge that the building had long been in 
 a moft ruinous ftate. Though it is but 
 little more than a mile diftant, it is, from 
 the obfcurity of it's fituation, Icarcely 
 
 known 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 447 
 
 known in Dolgelle. I enquired for it in 
 vain as Kemmer Abbey, for the only name 
 it has there is Y Vaner. 
 
 It was founded, according to Mr. Robert 
 Vaughan,* in the year 1198, by Meredith 
 and Griffith, Lords of Merioneth, and 
 fons of Conan ap Owen Gwynedd, Prince 
 
 * Sketch of the hiftory of Merionethfhire, Camb. 
 
 Reg. I. 190. Tanner, the authority of Speed fays, 
 
 that it was founded about 1200, by Llewelyn, fon 
 * 
 
 of Gervafe (Jorwerth); but a note adds, that 
 “ though he feems to have been a benefactor, and as 
 “ Prince of North Wales, to have confirmed the 
 “ donations of others as well as his own, there 
 (( doth not appear any great reafon to think him 
 <( founder, nor is the time of the foundation clear; 
 iC but it feems to have been in a fiourifhing condi- 
 (t tion in 1231, when in the wars of Henry III, 
 t( with the Welfh, the Englifh would have burnt 
 <( it, but the latter gave them three hundred marks 
 “ to fpare it. This Llewelyn became Prince of 
 North Wales 1195, and died in 2240.” Not, 
 Monaft. 
 
 of 
 
443 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 of North Wales. The monks were of the 
 Ciftertian order, and the abbey was dedi¬ 
 cated to St. Mary. Mr. Lewis Morris, a 
 man well acquainted with the hiftory and 
 antiquities of his country, fays “ it was 
 “ firft founded by Ibme monks, who fo- 
 journed there (as Mr. Robert Vaughan 
 “ of Hengwrt exprelfes it in his Remarks 
 “ on Sir William Dugdale’s Monafticon) 
 if from Cwm hir Abbey, in Radnorfhire. 
 
 It feems/’ continueth he, “ it was a 
 “ colony of monks they fent away, as 
 t( bees do when the hive is too full.”* 
 
 * Letter of Mr. Lewis Morris to his brother 
 Mr. William Morris, of the Cuftom Houfe, Holy- 
 head, Anglefea, in Camb. Reg. II. 493. This 
 feems in fome meafure, to account for Dugdale’s 
 miftake in confounding this abbey with that of 
 Combehire, or Cwm hir, in Radnorfhire, to which 
 indeed the Parcolude Annals make it a daughter 
 abbey. See Tanner’s Not. Monaftica, and Dug- 
 dale’s Monafticon Angl. 
 
 In 
 
 1 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 449 
 
 -- ■ '' >. . . 
 
 In 1231 when Henry III. was marching 
 againft the Welfh, who juft before, headed 
 by their Prince Llewelyn ap Jorwerth, had 
 rifen and attacked the caftle of Montgo¬ 
 mery, one of the monks of this houfe 
 happened to be near, and was queflioned 
 as to the lituation and force of the Welfh 
 army. He determined to befriend his 
 country rather than affift an enemy, and 
 therefore deceived them fo much in the 
 account he gave, as to induce them to 
 make an immediate attack. The Welfh 
 feigned a retreat to a neighbouring marfh, 
 into which the Englifh, who with the in¬ 
 cumbrances of their armour were not fo 
 agile as their neighbours, immediately 
 plunged after them, but to their deftruc- 
 tion, for the Welfh forces returning upon 
 them, after a fhort conflid came off vic¬ 
 torious. This adion fo enraged the king, 
 that paffing fhortly afterwards near the 
 abbey, he burned down the out-offices, 
 
 vol, 1 n G g and 
 
450 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 and ordered the whole building to be de- 
 ftroyed. The abbot only faved it by his 
 entreaties to the king, and paying him 
 down three hundred marks as fome re- 
 compence for the injuries that had been 
 done to him,* At the diffolution the re¬ 
 venues were valued> according to Speed, 
 at £ 58. 15/. 4 (L and according to Dug- 
 dale, at £51. ly. 4 d.'f 
 
 The 
 
 ■ . * . * " f * ■* •*' 
 
 * 1 
 
 * Powel*s Hiftory of Wales, p. 287. Matt. 
 Paris, p, 311. 
 
 t Tanner’s Notitia Monaftica. It appears, from 
 the accounts in the Augmentation Office, that from 
 the 31. of Henry VIII. <( the file of the monaftry, 
 i( with lands, tenements, and mills, at the rent 
 “ of £2. 15^. 4 d. The redtory of Llanelltid at 
 s< ^5. 13^. 4 d. The redtory of Llanycryn at ^13. 
 * € 13 s. 4 d. The redlory of Llanycreth at £ 6 . 18. 4 d, 
 u and twenty-four crannocks,|| and two hoppetts 
 “ of wheat, ^Tio. 6 s. 6 d . were all then upon leafe 
 6i to John Pewes. The other poffieffions there 
 
 jj A crannock was an antient meafure of corn. 
 
 4 ‘ defcribed 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 45r 
 
 The lite remained in the crown for fe® 
 
 \ 
 
 veral fucceflive reigns, not being granted 
 away till Queen Elizabeth bellowed it 
 upon Robert, Earl of Leicelter, about the 
 
 ft defcribed as lately being parcel of the abbey, were 
 
 44 the 
 
 ^ • r. 
 
 44 Town of Redcrowe, lands and 
 
 44 tenements. 354 
 
 44 Town of Llanelltid, divers te- 
 
 44 nements, &c.. xo 15 2 
 
 44 Town of Dolgelle, divers tene- 
 
 44 ments, &c. 284 
 
 44 Town of Cumkadein, tene» 
 
 44 ments and mill. 320 
 
 44 Town ofTranfbryn, divers te- 
 
 44 nements. T .. 5 © © 
 
 44 Town of Llanechethe, tene- 
 
 44 ments and rents.. 2 18 © 
 
 44 Chapel of Kydis. o 10 © 
 
 44 Fines and perquifites of courts o 10 o 
 
 44 So that the whole fum of the yearly income of 
 44 the crown, in right of the abbey, was then 
 u iod. See Camb. Reg. II. 284, 285. 
 
 G g 2 twentieth 
 
*52 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 twentieth year of her reign. How it has 
 fince defcended is not known.* 
 
 On a bank, not far from this monaftry, 
 flood Caftell Cymmer, the caflle of the 
 conflux y built by Uchdrut ap Edwin. This 
 caftle was demolilhed upon fome difagree- 
 ment with the founder, by the fons of 
 Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, about the year 1113, 
 not long after it’s eredtion.'f* 
 
 Returning from the abbey, I crofied the 
 bridge at Llanelltid, and went on the 
 vale leading towards Tan-y-bwlch. The 
 firfl waterfall I came to, was Rhaiadr du, 
 the black cataract, this is in the grounds 
 of William Maddocks, Efq. at Dol-y- 
 Melynllyn, the holme of the yellow pool , and 
 from this circumftance, it is called alfo the 
 
 j 
 
 A t ^ , 
 
 * Cambrian Regifler, II. 285. 
 
 f Powel’s Hiftory of Wales, p. 183. Vaughan’s 
 Sketch of the Hiflory of Merionethshire, Camb. 
 Reg. I. 190. 
 
 Dol- 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 453 
 
 Dol-y-Melynllyn fall. It is a double 
 fall, about fixty feet high, and the water 
 foams with a thundering noife amongft the 
 black rocks down which it is thrown. 
 Thefe rocks give to the fcene a lingular 
 appearance, from their being in many places 
 covered with a pure white lichen. The 
 trees on one fide of the dream had been 
 lately cut down, but the lively and varied 
 green of thofe on the other, formed an 
 elegant contraft to the almofi: jet black 
 rocks with which they were intermixed* 
 The torrent rolls into a fmall deep bafon, 
 from whence it dalhes itfelf along it’s rug¬ 
 ged channel. Mr. Maddocks has been at 
 the expence of making a very good foot¬ 
 path, both to the bottom and upper part 
 of this fall, giving to the traveller, every 
 pofiible means of feeing it to advantage. 
 
 About a mile farther I turned to the 
 right, to fee the other two which are fitu- 
 ated within a few hundred yards of each 
 
 G g 3 other. 
 
454 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALKS. 
 
 other. The path lays along fome woods 
 and meadows, not very amufing. From 
 the fide of a hill, about half a mile from 
 the fall, I could obferve the river Mawd- 
 dach rolling down a fteep in a woody vale 
 above, and it’s hoarfe murmuring juft 
 reached my ear. Beyond it, at fome dif- 
 tance, was a rude arch, which eroded the 
 glen, and from my prefent ftation, gave a 
 pleafing and romantic caft to the feene. 
 
 Defcending now (but cautious left too fail), 
 
 A fudden fteep upon a ruftic bridge, 
 
 We pafs a gulph in which the hazels dip 
 Their pendent boughs*-* 
 
 * This was a truly alpine bridge over the 
 river Cain, formed by the rude trunk of 
 an oak which hung frightfully over the 
 black torrent, that roared amongft the 
 rocks many feet beneath. Having pafled 
 this I foon found myfelf at the foot of 
 Rhaiadr y Mawddach, the cataratt of the 
 river Mawddach. This ftream here forces 
 
 itfelf 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. «5. 
 
 •»—■ ■**—^*-**** , ‘* * * " " * - ■■ i » 
 
 ft* 
 
 .f «* *' 
 
 ltfelf down a rock betwixt fifty and fixty 
 feet in height, whofe drata laying in pa¬ 
 rallel lines feveral degrees inclined from the 
 horizon, give the fcene a lingular and 
 
 crooked appearance. The dream is thrice 
 broken in it's fall, and the bafon into which 
 is precipitated, is very large. In the bafon 
 are fome fine trout, which an heron feemed 
 to be anxioufly watching till I arouzed 
 him from his attention. The rocks and 
 trees form an amphitheatre around, and 
 the foreground was finely broken by the 
 large pieces of rock, once, no doubt, 
 loofened from above. The upper part of 
 the fall was hidden by intervening rocks, 
 but upon eroding the dream, it came into 
 view. The fcene was now complete and 
 certainly pidturefque. 
 
 Pidyll* y Cain, the fpont of the Cain , I 
 found by far the highed and mod magni- 
 
 * The wood Ptjlyll in the Bnlifh language, figni- 
 hes a narrow ftream of water, fomething like that 
 lfluing through a fpout. 
 
 G g 4 ficent 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WARES. 
 
 ■ " " .■ »r—»r-. 
 
 ficent cataradt of the three. A narrow 
 ftream rufhes down a vafc rock at leaft a 
 hundred and fifty feet high, whofe hori¬ 
 zontal ftrata here run in irregular fteps 
 through it's whole breadth, and form a 
 mural front. Thefe indeed are fo regular, 
 as in a great meafure to fpoil it’s pidturefque 
 beauty, unlefs hidden by a volume of wa¬ 
 ter much greater than there was at the 
 time I faw it. Immenfe fragments of 
 broken rock fcattered around in every dif¬ 
 ferent direction at the foot of the fall, com¬ 
 municate a pleafing effedt:. And the agree¬ 
 able mixture of tints of the dark oak and 
 birch, with the yellower and fading elm, 
 formed on the whole a fcene highly gra¬ 
 tifying. 
 
 The guide who accompanied me, was 
 an Englifhman, who had refided only a 
 few years in Wales. He feemed ignorant 
 of the language, which prevented him 
 from giving me fo much information as I 
 
 wifhed. 
 
I 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 451 
 
 whlied. His name was Samuel Bartlet; 
 he keeps a fmall public houfe near Dol-y- 
 Melynllyn. 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 FROM DOLGELLE TO MACHYNLLETH.-LLYN 
 
 TRIGRAIENWYN—STORY OF GIANT IDRIS—BLUE 
 LION—CADER IDRIS—CATARACTS—LLYN Y CAE 
 —CRAIG Y CAE —PHENOMENON—VIEW FROM 
 CADER IDRIS—CASCADE—CORACLES —MACH¬ 
 YNLLETH—WATERFALL—DESCRIPTION OF THE 
 DEVIL’S BRIDGE IN CARDIGANSHIRE. 
 
 ^jPHE town of Dolgelle is feen to the 
 greateft advantage from the Machyn¬ 
 lleth road, at the diftance of about two 
 miles. From hence I beheld it in the 
 midft of a vale replete with paftoral beauty. 
 The wide river Mawddach in the diftance, 
 refledted it’s filvery whitenefs amidft the 
 high and dreary mountains. The inter¬ 
 vening fpace was varied with every lux- 
 
 uriancy 
 
/ 
 
 45$ A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 uriancy of woods, meadows, and corn 
 fields, interfered by the river Wnion which 
 ferpentizes along the vale. 
 
 The road foon afterwards, paffing over 
 high and wet moors, became dreary and 
 irkfome, the lofty Cader Idris on the right, 
 it's fummit now obfcured in clouds, re¬ 
 maining the foie fource of amufement. I 
 
 arrived at Llyn trigrafenyn, the pool of the 
 
 . • . *. 
 
 three grains , fo denominated from three 
 huge fragments of rock lying at the eail 
 end of it. The largeft is about eight yards 
 long, fix broad, and four high ; and the 
 traditions of the peafantry fay, that they 
 were three pebbles which by chance had 
 found their way into one of the fhoes of 
 the great giant Idris, and being fomewhat 
 uneafy to his foot, he took it off and threw 
 
 . *v 
 
 them out at this place, where they have 
 ever fince remained. It is alfo believed 
 
 amongft them that the pool is bottomlefs ; 
 
 • » 
 
 but though this is not the cafe, it is fome¬ 
 what 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 459 
 
 what furpriiing that fo fmall a place Chould 
 be, as I was told, upwards of fifty fathom 
 deep. Near this pool the profpedt began 
 to mend, and entering a long ftraight hol¬ 
 low, Llyn Mwyngil, the lake of the plea - 
 fant retreat , came in with diftant hills to 
 clofe the vale. 
 
 I flopped at the Blue Lion, a fmall pub¬ 
 lic houfe, a- little beyond the pool of the 
 three grains, and enquiring what they 
 could give me to dinner, I found, as Dr. 
 Johnfon* did at Glenelg, in the Highlands 
 of Scotland, that, “ of the provifions, the 
 “ negative catalogue was very copious. 1 ' 
 Here was no meat (except bad bacon), no 
 eggs, no wine, no fpirits. I, however, 
 obliged by neceffity, contented myfelf with 
 what they could give me, bread and butter, 
 and new ale, taken, from every appearance, 
 
 * See his Journey to the Weftern Iflands of Scot- 
 
 land. 
 
 from 
 
460 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALTS. 
 
 from the tub in which it was fermenting. 
 I have had occafion to remark throughout 
 the whole of my tour, that this occurs 
 but too frequently at moft of the fmall inns 
 in Wales, and the labouring people do not 
 feem to care about drinking it in this ftate; 
 if it has but the name of Cwrw, it feems 
 quite fufficient. 
 
 Edward Jones, the man who lives at 
 this houfe, in the winter teaches a fmall 
 fchool, and during the fummer feafon per¬ 
 forms the office of guide from hence to the 
 fummit of Cader Idris. He is a moft 
 talkative man, and is certainly efteemed 
 a very great fcholard . I fmiled feveral 
 times at his attempts to ffiow off his learn¬ 
 ing and abilities, and in fo obfcure a 
 fituation I really thought thefe excufable. 
 This houfe being lituated by the roadiide, 
 immediately beneath Cader Idris, is a very 
 convenient place for travellers coming from 
 Machynlleth to Dolgelle, to afcend that 
 
 mountain 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 46 i 
 
 mountain from. They may, if it is not 
 inconvenient, on account of carriages or 
 horfes, even go over the fummit of the 
 mountain and down the other way to Dol- 
 geile, in nearly as fhort a fpace of time as 
 it would require to defcend again to this 
 place. 
 
 At the time I came here it rained moil 
 violently, but bad as the houfe was, I de¬ 
 termined to remain all night, in hopes that 
 the morning might be clearer, and permit 
 me to go up the mountain. The bed I 
 flept in was not a very bad one, nor was I 
 here, though in a fmaller houfe, fo peftered 
 with fleas as I had before been at Bedd- 
 
 * ■ t J • 
 
 gelert. 
 
 The morning proving finer, I deter*- 
 mined to venture up Cader Idris, and take 
 the chance of the weather entirely clearing 
 by the time I got to the top. Therefore 
 having provided ourfelves with fuch things 
 as the houfe afforded, bread, cheefe, and 
 
 ale. 
 
462 
 
 A TOUR HOUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 ale, we fet out upon our expedition at nine 
 o'clock. 
 
 This mountain is called Cader Idris, 
 from the tradition of it’s having been a 
 fortrefs belonging to Idris, who is fup- 
 pofed to have been a prince of thofe parts 
 in very antient times. There is alfo a 
 tradition that this Idris was a great poet, 
 aftronomer, and philofopher, and that the 
 fummit of Cader Idris was his favourite 
 feat and obfervatory, and from thence 
 called Cadair Idris , the feat of Idris.* It 
 appears to me that from their antient date 
 and fmall authority, there may be juft as 
 much truth in the one as in the other of 
 thefe ftories, and fuch being the cafe, I 
 will leave it to deeper antiquaries to decide 
 upon their merits. ' 
 
 , 4 
 
 # He is fometimes called Cawr Idris , or King 
 Idris, Cawr being an old Britifh word for king. 
 
 Since 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 463 
 
 Since there had been fo much rain, the 
 guide took me along the fide of a rivulet 
 which runs from Llyn y Cae, a pool in 
 one of the hollows above, down the fide of 
 the mountain, to fee a fmall cataraCt, 
 formed by it's falling down the face of a 
 fteep rock. The torrent now fwelled by 
 the late rains, foamed along it's channel, 
 and came down in a white and thrice 
 broken flieet. This was altogether very 
 fmall but extremely pretty. 
 
 A little above this, I faw another cafcade 
 on the fame ftream, fmaller and more 
 contracted than the laft. The water was 
 here a little broken towards the top, but 
 it was from thence carried down an almoft 
 perpendicular rock about eight yards in 
 height. This little cataraCt would have 
 appeared but trifling, had it not been or¬ 
 namented by three large oaks, whofe 
 branches, whilft they almoft hide the ftream, 
 add greatly to the beauty of the picture. 
 
 I now 
 
464 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 I now crofted this mountain rivulet, and 
 went along the fide of it for a little way, 
 entertained in many places by the little caf- 
 cades formed in it's defcent, amongft the 
 abrupt rocks which lay in it's courfe. 
 Leaving it, I after awhile came to a hol¬ 
 low, in whofe bottom are the difmal wa¬ 
 ters of Llyn y Cae, the inclofed pool,* frpm 
 the weft fide of which rifes an immenfe 
 black and precipitous rock, called Craig y 
 Cae, that calls a gloomy lhade on every 
 thing below it. It's fallen and majeftic 
 front was only enlivened with patches of 
 
 # Mr. Arthur Aikin, in his Tour through North 
 Wales, p. 62, fays, “ fame travellers have mcn- 
 ** tioned the finding of lava and other volcanic 
 ** productions here; upon a ftridt examination, 
 u however, we were unable to difcover any thing 
 of the kind, nor did the water of the lake appear 
 u to differ in any refpe£l from the pureft rock 
 water, though it was tried repeatedly with the 
 mod delicate teds.’* 
 
 the 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 465 
 
 the mofs faxifrage, and a few goats of pure 
 white, that were feen flapping carelefsly 
 along it’s dangerous fteeps. From it's 
 fpiry points and deep precipices, it has 
 affumed an appearance not much unlike 
 the age-worn-front of fome antient cathe- 
 drah The whole of the fcene, from near 
 the edge of the pool, is truly pidmrefque 
 and grand, and from fome ftation not far 
 diftant, Wilfon’s admirable view of Cader 
 Idris was taken, 
 
 WhiKt I was gazing at the rock, a fmart 
 fhower of rain came on, and after it was 
 over, I was entertained with a pheno¬ 
 menon, novel to me, but not uncommon 
 amongft the mountains. The clouds were 
 on a fudden whirled around the top, and 
 apparently confined within the hollow ; the 
 motion was continued for fome time, and 
 then remaining flill for a while, they were 
 again fent round with confiderable velocity. 
 I can only account for this, by fuppofing 
 vol* r, H h them 
 
466 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 them fo denfe, that retting below the 
 upper edge, the wind in patting over, gave 
 them this rotatory motion. 
 
 The clouds now rofe above the moun¬ 
 tains, and the higheft peak of Cader Idris 
 was alone clouded. I afcended by Bwlch 
 y Cae to this fummit, which is called Pen 
 y Cader, the head of the fort; this, like 
 that of Snowdon, is conical, and covered 
 for fome diftance with fmall loofe ftones. 
 I continued here enveloped in mitt: for more 
 than half an hour, when the mountain 
 became perfedlly cleared for about ten 
 minutes. I had from hence a view, if not 
 more extenfive, yet if any thing, more 
 varied, than that from Snowdon. On one 
 fide of me I obferved, that the mountain 
 was broken into an abrupt and deep pre- 
 
 v* 
 
 cipice, at whofe bottom was lodged a fmall 
 lake or two. The diftant views were of 
 Bala pool, and it’s adjacent mountains, 
 which appeared quite near, and beyond it 
 
 the 
 
 / 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES 
 
 467 
 
 the long range of Ferwyn mountains, 
 headed by Cader Ferwyn, were feen to 
 extend in rugged files. Towards the fouth 
 I had the county of Montgomerys and 
 Plinlimmon, that celebrated mountain, was 
 very vifible. On the weft was the whole 
 curve of Cardigan Bay, from St. David's 
 quite round to Caernarvonlhire. I had 
 fcarcely looked round, when the gathering 
 clouds fwept over me in deeper folds, and 
 all was again hidden from my fight. 
 
 Cader Idris has three high points, the 
 moft lofty called Pen y Cader ; the next 
 in height, Mynydd Moel s and the third, 
 Craig y Cae. The afcent is much eafier 
 than up Snowdon; and I am confident, 
 that from Edward Jones’s houfe, I could 
 walk to the fummit in about two hours. 
 Of the height of the mountain, I was able 
 to learn nothing more than what Mr. Pen¬ 
 nant has given * us. He fays, that u Pen 
 
 * Pennant’s Tour in Wales, II. 99.- * 
 
 II h 2 *' y Cader 
 
468 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 €< y Cader is nine hundred and fifty yards 
 “ higher than the green near Dolgelle; 
 “ Aranvowddwy, feven hundred and forty 
 “ above Llyn Tegid; and the Arrenig 
 “ only twenty yards fhort of the Aran ; 
 ** that the fall from the lake to Dolgelle 
 “ green, is one hundred and eighty yards; 
 sc fo that the real difference of height be- 
 fC tween Cader and the Aran, is only 
 * s thirty yards.” 
 
 In order to vary my walk as much as 
 poffible, I took a different way down, by 
 going more eaftward, and defcending along 
 that part of the mountain, called Mynydd 
 Moel. The path in this direction was 
 fufficiently Hoping all the way, to permit a 
 perfon to ride quite up to the fummit. A 
 gentleman mounted on a little Welfh po- 
 ney, had done it but a few days before I 
 was there. 
 
 About half a mile from E. Jones’s cot¬ 
 tage, at the bottom of a hill, on the right 
 
 of 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 469 
 
 of the road to Machynlleth, I faw another 
 catarad, which, though very fmall, was 
 not deftitute of beauty. The rock down 
 which the water falls, is about eight yards 
 high, and being five or fix times as wide 
 at the top as at the bottom, it gives to the 
 fcene a fingular effed. After dry weather 
 I (hould fuppofe this fall would almoft 
 always be in want of water; I, however, 
 was lucky enough to fee it in perfedion, 
 after fome heavy (bowers of rain. 
 
 The road from hence to Machynlleth, 
 was very even and good ; but laying in a 
 narrow hollow, between a feries of wooded 
 mountains, without much variety of cha- 
 rader, even this fhort journey was ren¬ 
 dered tirefome, and the more fo fince I 
 had rain nearly all the way. The mur¬ 
 muring of the rivulet, which accompanied 
 me for feveral miles, and here and there a 
 pidurefque cottage feated in the woods, 
 were my only amufements, till I came 
 
 H h 3 within 
 
470 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 within two miles of Machynlleth, when in 
 the evening, the weather _ became quite 
 clear, and I entered the fine vale in which 
 the town ftands. I did not come in fight 
 of the place till I was within a mile of it; 
 for being feated in a vale, and hidden by 
 intervening mountains, it only became viii- 
 ble on a fudden turn in the road juft before 
 I got to the river, 
 
 I obferved in the Dovey, two of the 
 boats, called Coracles; thefe are ufed chiefly 
 in fifhing ; they are five or fix feet long, 
 and three or four broad, of an oval fhape, 
 and fo light that one man may with eafe 
 carry them on his (houlders. They were 
 the vitilia navigia of Pliny, and were much 
 
 t 
 
 in ufe amongft the antient Britons. Their 
 name was taken from their being formerly 
 covered with coria, or hides. Camden * 
 fays, they were made of fplit fallow 
 
 * Camden’s Britannia. 
 
 “ twigs. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 471 
 
 tc twigs, interwoven, (round at the bot- 
 €< tom), and on that part next the water, 
 “ covered with a horfe’s hidebut they 
 are now ufually covered with pitched can¬ 
 vas. They hold only a dngle perfon, who 
 can row himfelf with incredible fwiftnefs 
 with a paddle in his right-hand, whilft 
 with the other he can manage a net. 
 
 I eroded the Dovey into Montgome¬ 
 ryshire,* and fhortly afterwards arrived at 
 Machynlleth,-f* a neater and much more 
 regularly built town than mod: in Wales. 
 The town-hall is a plain building, and the 
 church has a fault, common with many 
 of the Weldi churches, in being white- 
 
 * This country contains about 450,000 acres of 
 land, and 28,000 inhabitants. It is divided into 
 feven cantreds or hundreds, and contains 47 parifhes. 
 It has feven market towns, and is about 30 miles 
 from eaft to weft, and the fame from north to fouth. 
 
 t Machynlleth dignifies the place near the river 
 Cynllaeth , which was the antient name for the Dovey. 
 
 Hh 4 wafhed. 
 
472 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 wafhed. From the church-yard is a pretty 
 view up a green and meadowy vale. Ma¬ 
 chynlleth is a place of fome trade, and I 
 fancied it had the afpedt of being more 
 opulent than moR of the towns in this part 
 of the principality. 
 
 I was fhewn an old building, now con¬ 
 verted into ftables, conRrudted of the thin 
 llaty ftone, with which this country abounds, 
 where it is faid that Owen Glyndwr fum- 
 moned the nobility and gentry of Wales in 
 the year 1402, when he was acknowledged 
 as their prince, and as fuch proclaimed 
 and crowned accordingly.* 
 
 Machynlleth was not improbably the 
 Maglona of the Romans, their principal 
 Ration in Montgomery (hire ; where, in 
 the reign of the Emperor Honorius, the 
 band of Solenfes were Rationed in garrifon, 
 
 * Wynne’s Hiflory of Wales, p. 321. Carte s 
 Hiflory of England, II. 655. 
 
A TOUR HOUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 473 
 
 to a£t as a check upon the mountaineers.* 
 Near Penallt, about two miles diftant, is 
 Cefyn Caer, the ridge of the city, where 
 
 Roman coins have been frequently found* 
 and where there has been formerly a cir¬ 
 cular fortification of fome extent.“f* 
 
 From the top of a high rock, which 
 overlooks the town, I had a moft extenfive 
 view of all the places around me. It was 
 a kind of profpedt that reminded me very 
 ftrongly of that Ihewn to Mofes from the 
 top of Pifgah. “ And Mofes went up 
 “ from the plains of Moab unto the moun- 
 “ tain of Nebo, to the top of Pifgah, that 
 “ is over againft Jericho: and the Lord 
 <e {hewed him all the land of Gilead unto 
 “ Dan. And all Naphtali, and the land 
 Xf of Ephraim, and ManafTeth | and all 
 
 # Camden’s Britannia. 
 
 t Vaughan’s Sketch of the Hiftory of Mcrioneth- 
 fhire in the Cambrian Regifter, I. 189, 
 
 the 
 
474 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 €c the land of Judah, unto the utmoft fea. 
 “ And the fouth, and the plain of the 
 “ valley of Jericho, the city of palm-trees, 
 “ unto Zoar/’ 
 
 When I was juft on the point of fetting 
 off for Lianydloes, I was informed of a 
 very lofty cataraft, about fix miles fouth of 
 the town, near a pool called Llyn Pen 
 Rhaiadr, the pool at the head of the cataraft. 
 But as the road lay quite over the moun¬ 
 tains, and I was anxious to reach Llanyd- 
 loes, I left it unfeen. 
 
 Had I not, that I might fee the more of 
 North Wales, made a determinate refo- 
 lution not to enter the louthern divifion of 
 the principality, I would have gone from 
 hence to Aberyftwyth, the conflux of the 
 Iftwithf diftant about nineteen miles. This 
 
 # The fepulchre of Talieftin, the Prince of the 
 Britifh bards, is fuppofed to have been near the 
 highway, about four miles from Aberyftwyth } but 
 this, if fuch was ever there, has been long deftroyed. 
 
 is 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 475 
 
 is now a celebrated watering place, fre¬ 
 quented by much company. Here are the 
 mins of a cattle, built about the year 1107, 
 by Gilbert Strongbow, and about two cen¬ 
 turies afterwards, rebuilt by Edward I. 
 From hence my route would have been to 
 an inn about twelve miles off, called the 
 Havod Arms, not far from which is the 
 celebrated bridge, called Pont-ar-Monach, 
 a b?~idge over the Monacb , and by the Eng- 
 lifli, the Devil’s bridge. And from thence 
 I fhould have returned into North Wales, 
 near Llanydloes. Were I ever to make 
 this part of the tour again, I certainly fliould 
 take this route 5 and inftead of the twenty 
 miles difagreeable road betwixt Machyn¬ 
 lleth and Llanydloes, go this round of about 
 fifty, vifiting in it thofe two interefting 
 places, and feeing much beautiful and ele¬ 
 gant fcenery. 
 
 As it may be of fome ufe to the traveller 
 through this country, I will prefent him 
 
 with 
 
476 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 with a fhort defcription of the Devil's 
 bridge, and the deep glen where it is 
 fituated, extracted from an entertaining 
 journey through North Wales, by Mr. 
 Arthur Aiken,* as the only account I dared 
 to rely upon for accuracy. (C After a long 
 “ and rather tedious walk (from Aber- 
 “ yftwyth), we came fuddenly to a moft 
 “ Angularly ftriking fpot. The valley of 
 <c the Rhydol contracts into a deep glen, 
 ** the rocky banks of which are clothed 
 ** with plantations, and at the bottom runs 
 a rapid torrent. This leads foon to the 
 ** fpot that we were in fearch of, which is 
 “ full of horrid fublimity. It is formed 
 “ by a deep dark chafm or cleft, between 
 “ two rocks, which juft receives light 
 16 enough to difcover at the bottom, through 
 
 * Journal of a Tour through North Wales and 
 part of Shropfhire, by Arthur Aikin, crown 8vo. 
 Lond, 1797. 
 
 “ the 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 477 
 
 € ‘ the tangled thickets and impetuous tor- 
 €e rent, which is foon loft under a lofty 
 “ bridge. By defcending an hundred feet, 
 <£ we had a clearer view of this romantic 
 “ fcene, juft above our heads was a double 
 t€ bridge, which has been thrown over the 
 €i gulph the inferior bridge was built by 
 (€ a monaftry,* and hence called Pont-ar- 
 Monach; this growing to decay, and 
 “ being thought infecure, another arch 
 €i was thrown diredtly above, and refting 
 €< on the antient one, and which now fup- 
 iS ports a good road acrofs the precipice. 
 “ The water below has fcooped out feveral 
 “ deep chafms in the rock, through which 
 <c it flows before it dives under the bridge. 
 “ A large beech has flung it’s boughs ho- 
 £C rizontally over the torrent, as if to hide 
 ** it from the fpedlator ; and the whole 
 
 * Probably that of Strata Florida, which was not 
 far from hence. 
 
 
 banks 
 
47$ 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 ** banks of this wild fpot are rough with 
 * c fern, mofs, and native thickets, except 
 
 tf on one fide, where a perpendicular 
 
 \ 
 
 “ naked date rock lets in the light to the 
 “ inmoft recelfes. Having fufficiently ad- 
 “ mired this tremendous fcene, we walked 
 “ along the cliffs overhanging the deep 
 glen, which receives the mingled waters 
 “ of the Rhydol and Monach, whofe lux- 
 “ uriant woods almoft concealed the nu- 
 * c merous rapids and falls occafioned by 
 “ the ruggednefs of it’s rocky bottom. 
 “ After a troublefome, and rather a ha- 
 “ zardous defcent, forcing our way through 
 ic the trees, and acrofs two or three head- 
 “ long little dreams, we arrived at a rocky 
 u bank, a few feet above the river, com- 
 “ manding a fine view of the junction of 
 €i the Rhydol and Monach, which feem to 
 “ vie with each other in the turbulence of 
 cc their waters, and the frequency of their 
 “ cafcades : immediately above the union 
 
 “ of 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 479 
 
 c< of the two torrents, rifes a perpendicular 
 “ rock, on the crags of which we faw 
 <( feveral kites perched; the fummit of 
 “ the rock is crowned with wood, equal 
 “ in luxuriance to that which clothes the 
 “ lofty fides of the glen.” 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 FROM MACHYNLLETH, BY LLANYDLOES, TO 
 
 NEWTOWN.-PLYNLIMMON-GLAS LLYN— 
 
 FRWD Y PENNANT—LLYN YR AYANGE—BEA¬ 
 VERS—LLANYDLOES—SEVERN—ROMAN FORT— 
 NEWTOWN — WATERFALL — CASTELL DOLFOR- 
 WYN—STORY OF SABRINA. 
 
 pROM Machynlleth towards Llanydloes, 
 the road winds for feveral miles over 
 dreary and barren moors. I had fcarcely a 
 fingle tree the whole way ; and the only 
 enlivening objects for the greateft part of 
 the journey, were a few patches of corn, 
 
 fparingly 
 
480 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 fparingly fcattered in the adjacent bottoms. 
 About five miles from Machynlleth, I 
 came to a long and lofty hill, which con¬ 
 tinues on an afcent for near three miles, 
 from whofe top I had an ample view of 
 the country around me 5 but it’s beauties 
 were very few, it feemed nothing more 
 than one difmal wafte of hill and vale* 
 From hence I went over the turfy moun¬ 
 tains, without a village, and almofl with¬ 
 out a cottage to be feen the whole way. 
 
 Soon after I had mounted the height, 
 Plynlimmon became vifible at the diftance 
 of four or five miles on the right. It’s 
 name Plynlimmon feems to have been 
 derived from Pen lummon, the fummit of 
 the beaco?i y from it’s being fo much higher 
 than all the hills around it; and proba¬ 
 bly, on that account, it may have been 
 of ufe to the neighbouring peafantry as a 
 known mark by which they could (even in 
 fnow) fleer their courfe over this uncouth 
 
 country. 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 481 
 
 country. From the different accounts I 
 * 
 
 had received of this mountain, I did not 
 think my trouble in afcending it was likely 
 to be repaid by any thing I (hould meet 
 with in the journey ; I therefore kept along 
 
 i 
 
 the road, and only paffed it at a diftance. 
 The mountains around being all low, make 
 it appear much higher than it really is, and 
 from it’s being the place from whence the 
 three noted rivers, Severn, Wye, and 
 Rhydol, all rife, may have been the caufe 
 of it’s being fo much known. In perpen¬ 
 dicular height, it is far exceeded both by 
 Snowdon and Cader Idris. In the flat 
 country, betwixt Plynlimmon and the 
 road, I obferved a fmall unadorned pool, 
 called Glas Llyn, the blue lake . 
 
 When I had got about half way to 
 Llanydloes, I turned on the right, and 
 went about a mile and a half from the 
 road to fee a noted cataradl, called Frwd 
 y Pennant, the torrent at the head of the 
 vol, in I i vale . 
 
482 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 vale. The rock was almoft perpendicular, 
 and the water, then in plenty, from the 
 late rains, roared down with a thundering 
 noife. The few fhrubs hanging from the 
 rocks about it, added to it’s beauty. In 
 height this is exceeded by few cataradls in 
 North Wales, except Piflyll Rhaiadr. 
 
 About four miles from Llanydloes, 
 the appearance of the country began to 
 change, and the woody vales in the front, 
 with the little Llyn yr Avange, beaver's 
 pool, at a diftance amongft them, formed 
 
 upon the whole, a pleafing fcene. In 
 
 * 
 
 different parts of Wales there are feveral 
 pools, called Beaver’s pools; and we are 
 affured by Giraldus Cambrenfis, and other 
 writers,* that formerly the beaver was an 
 animal found in many different places. 
 Giraldus, after giving a fhort defcription 
 
 * Itin. Camb. SyL Gir. Camb. Wynne’s Hil¬ 
 ary of Wales. 
 
 of 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 483 
 
 of them, fays, that in his'time, (about the 
 year 1188) they were found, and not 
 
 uncommonly, about the river Teivi, in 
 
 \ • 
 
 Cardiganfhire. They were called by the 
 Welfti, with great propriety, Lloft-Lydan, 
 or the broad-tailed animal . Their Ikin was 
 of fuch efteem, as to be valued by the 
 laws of Howel Dda, at a hundred and 
 
 twenty pence ; whilft that of the martin 
 
 * 
 
 was only worth twenty-four ; and thofe of 
 an ermine, otter, wolf, or fox, only twelve 
 pence. They feem to have conftituted the 
 chief finery and luxury of thofe days.* 
 
 The entrance into Llanydloes, the church 
 of St . Idlosy which is over a long wooden 
 bridge acrofs the Severn, did not prepoffefs 
 me much in it's favor, and I found myfelf 
 not deceived in my judgment of it. The 
 ftreets are wide, but the houfes are moft of 
 
 * Leges Wallicae, p, 260, 261. quoted in Pen* 
 nanUs Tour, II. 143, 
 
 I i a them 
 
484 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 them built with laths and mud, filling up 
 the intermediate fpaces of a timber frame. 
 
 Thefe are in general very irregular, and 
 I found as great a fcarcity of good houfes 
 in this place as in any I ever was in, of it's 
 fize and confequence. The town-houfe is 
 conftrudled in a manner fomething fimilar 
 to the others, and is, upon the whole, a 
 
 moft ill-looking building. 
 
 » 
 
 The width of the ftreets in this place, 
 lingular to fay) is a great defedt, for the 
 inhabitants throughout the town, taking 
 the advantage of it, throw all their dirt 
 and manure in great heaps before their 
 doors ; and thefe are in general fo large, 
 that in a hot day the exhalation of noxious 
 vapours from them, mu ft be a great nui- 
 fance to any perfon accuftomed to clean- 
 linefs. 
 
 The town is built in the form of a crofs, 
 having the market houfe nearly in the 
 centre* Here is carried on a confiderable 
 
 trade 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 435 
 
 trade for yarn, which being manufactured 
 into flannels, is fent to Welfh Pool for 
 fale. Within the church are fix arches, 
 whofe columns are furrounded with round 
 pillars, ending in capitals of palm leaves, 
 Thefe, as the inhabitants aflfert, were 
 brought from Cwm Hir abbey, in Rad- 
 norfhire. A date on the roof intimates 
 that it was ereCted in the year 1542. 
 
 The country all the way from Llanyd- 
 
 loes to Newtown, feemed plainly to indi- 
 
 •' * 
 
 cate an approach towards England, the 
 road winding along a vale much flatter and 
 more highly cultivated than any in the 
 interior of Wales. Here were feyeral 
 fields, both of wheat and rye, two fpecies 
 of corn feldom grown in very mountainous 
 countries, for the winds and ftorms are 
 there fo powerful as to fhake the corn out 
 of the ears fometime before it can ripen, 
 I now wandered 
 
 On the gentle Severn’s fedgy bank. 
 
 Ii 3 
 
 it 
 
43(5 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 It was here but a few yards acrofs, and it 
 glided fmoothly and filently along, re¬ 
 flecting brightly the green impending fo¬ 
 liage of it's banks. 
 
 I crofled the river before I came to the 
 village of Pen-y-ftrywad, and went up to 
 Caer-fws,* now a fmall hamlet, but for¬ 
 merly a Roman Ration of confiderable 
 note, fituated on the bank of the Severn. 
 The fite of the encampment is yet difeern- 
 ible, being a quadrangular rampart, about 
 a hundred and fifty yards fquare. On the 
 north-weft fide are hollows, which were 
 probably part of the fofles of the old pre¬ 
 empts. In the fouth-weft angle of it were 
 dug up, about twenty years ago, fome Ro¬ 
 man bricks, which were ufed in building 
 
 * The name Caer-fws is fuppofed by fome, to be 
 derived from Hefus, a Roman lieu tenant, 'which 
 was pronounced by the Britons, Caer-hefoos, and 
 by contraption, Caer-fws. See Camb. Reg. II. 379. 
 
 the 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 487 
 
 the chimney of a public houfe not far 
 diftant. There are remains of four en¬ 
 campments in it's vicinity, Rhos-ddiarbed, 
 Gwynfynydd y gaer-fechan, and Cefyn- 
 carnedd. From this Ration the Romans 
 had a road, called Sarn-fws, or Sarn Swfan; 
 which, from it's direction, though it can¬ 
 not now be traced the whole way, is fup- 
 pofed to have led to Chefter. 
 
 In Newtown, or as it is called by the 
 Welfh, Tre-newydd , I met with nothing 
 remarkable. Tt is a clean place, and the 
 country around it is fertile and pleafant. 
 
 A glen about a mile from hence, on the 
 right of the road to Builth, was pointed 
 out to me, as containing a fmall waterfall, 
 and fome beautiful fcenery; but when I 
 got to it, I was difappointed in finding 
 them by much the moft defpicable of any 
 I had yet feen. The face of the rock had 
 much the appearance of an old (hattered 
 wall, thrown aflant, one end finking into 
 
 I i 4 the 
 
•*■8$ 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 the ground. The water fcarcely trickled 
 down it, and from the muddy hole at the 
 bottom into which it ran, feemed feldom 
 to come in any quantity. 
 
 Returning to Newtown, I eroded the 
 river, and walked along its banks about 
 three miles and a half to Caftell Dolforwyn, 
 the cajlle of the virgin s meadow . This 
 ftands on a lofty hill, on the north-weft 
 bank of the Severn, and commands the 
 whole of the furrounding country. From 
 it I had a mo ft lovely and extenfive pro- 
 fpedt of the vale of Severn, through which 
 the river was feen to glide in elegant curves, 
 blackened by it’s high and fhady banks. 
 The landfcape was enlivened with all the 
 luxuriance of woods and meadow; whilft 
 the towns and villages around lent their 
 aid to decorate the fcenc. 
 
 The caftle has been a four-fided build¬ 
 ing, of no great ftrength, about fifty 
 yards long and twenty-five wide, and the 
 
 exterior 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 433 
 
 exterior wails appear to have been about 
 four feet in thicknefs. A frnall part of 
 the north wall, with fome trifling remains 
 of the interior, are yet left. The fouth 
 and eaft walls are entirely demolished, and 
 the other parts that are yet ftanding, are in 
 fo Shattered a condition, that it feemed as if 
 a ftrong wind might almoft level the whole 
 with the ground, I was informed that 
 fome perfons in digging amongfl: the ruins 
 a little time before I was here, had met 
 with a few reddilh earthen veflels and fome 
 coins, but what thefe were I could not 
 learn. 
 
 It is not known, with any degree of cer¬ 
 tainty, to whom the foundation of Caftell 
 Dolforwyn ought to be attributed; Dug- 
 dale * has given it to David ap Llewelyn, 
 a prince, who reigned in North Wales 
 from 1240 to 1246; Stowf* to Llewelyn 
 
 * Monafticon Anglicanum, II. 223. 
 
 i Stow’s Annals, p. 200. 
 
 himfelf; 
 
490 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 himfelf; and Mr. Evans, from the autho¬ 
 rity of John David Rhys, * to Bleddyn ap 
 Cynvyn, fometime betwixt the years 1066 
 and 1073. The latter now is generally 
 fuppofed to have been in the right. 
 
 Edward I. in the fixth year of his reign, 
 made Bogo do Knovill governor, and the 
 next year granted it to Roger Mortimer, 
 Earl of March, to hold to himfelf and his 
 heirs, the fervice of a knight’s fee.$ The 
 
 * Johannis Davidis Rhefi Linguae Cymraecae in- 
 ftitutiones accuratas, quoted in Evan’s Diflertatio 
 de Bardis, p. 92. 
 
 t Dugdale’s Baronage, II. 5. 
 
 % Ibid. I. 142. Stow’s Annals, p. 200. A 
 knight's fee has been defined to be fo much inhe¬ 
 ritance, as is fufficient yearly to maintain a knight 
 with convenient retinue; which, in the time of 
 Henry III. was accounted at .£15. It was made 
 f'lo, by the Statute i. Edw. II. c. 1. But Sir 
 Thomas Smith, in his Repub. Angl. Jib. I. c . 18. 
 rates it at .£40. And Sir Edward Coke, 2. Irift.fol. 
 596. fays, a knight's fee contained twelve plow-lands , 
 or fix hundred and eighty acres. 
 
 fon 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 491 
 
 fon of this Earl was attainted of high trea- 
 fon, but afterwards upon the reverfal of 
 the attainder, it was reftored to the family, 
 in the perfon of his grandfon Roger, who 
 died poffeffed of it.* By the marriage of 
 Anne, lifter to the laft Earl of March, 
 with Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cam¬ 
 bridge, this caftle, along with thofe of 
 Denbigh and Montgomery, became the 
 property of the Houfe of York. 
 
 In the year 1401 Sir Hugh Burrel was 
 made governor. *f* 
 
 Leland, J fpeaking of it, fays, “ Dolveron 
 “ Caftle ruin is in the Lordlhipe of Kid- 
 €t owen, upon an half mile or more from 
 “ Severne, a III miles up Severne from 
 « Montgomery, § and was the very chief 
 t( place of all the lordlhipe of Kidowen.” 
 
 * Dugdale’s Baronage, I. 148. t Ibid. II. 62. 
 
 + Leland’s Xtin. VII. 16. 
 
 § Leland has miftaken this diftance, for by the 
 neareft road poflible it is above five miles. 
 
 How 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 I 
 
 492 
 
 How this place took the name of Dol- 
 forwyn, or the meadow of the virgin , cannot 
 with certainty be known; circumftances 
 however would lead one to fufpedt, that it 
 had fome allufion to the ftory of Habren 
 or Abren, the daughter of Locrinus, fon 
 of Brutus, the firft king of Britain, by 
 Eflyllt, a daughter of the king of Ger¬ 
 many, whom he had taken captive in his 
 wars againft Hutnyr, the king of the Huns. 
 Previous to his taking this female he had 
 efpoufed himfelf to Guendolena, a daughter 
 of Corineus, a hero who had entered the 
 Ifknd, at the firft fettling, with Brutus; 
 and the chieftain, fearing this might put off 
 the marriage, threatened to come againft 
 him with a powerful army, and force him to 
 keep his former promife. Locrinus ^vas 
 therefore compelled to conceal Eflyllt in a 
 cavern, declaring that he had fent her out 
 of the kingdom, and to marry Guendolena. 
 Upon the death of Corineus, which appears 
 
 to 
 
 i 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 403 
 
 to have happened but a fhort time after- 
 wards, he immediately divorced Guendo- 
 lena, and acknowledged Effyllt for his 
 queen. When he died, Guendolena af~ 
 fumed the government, and with unrelent¬ 
 ing cruelty, caufed Eflylt and a daughter, 
 called Alaen, which fhe had borne to 
 Locrinus, to be thrown into the river and 
 drowned : from this circumftance it is fup- 
 pofed to have aiTumed the name of Abrien, 
 
 A , 
 
 which afterwards, with a flight alteration, 
 became Sabrina, and then Severn.* 
 
 Of this ftory, Milton,-f* who has made 
 Abren or Sabrina, the goddefs of chaftity. 
 
 * This event is faid to have taken place above 
 icco years before the birth of Chrifl. Sec GeofFry 
 ap Arthur, or Jeffry of Monmouth’s Hiftory of 
 Britain, in the Cambrian Regifter, II. p. 26, 29. 
 And after him Matt. Weffm. p. 20. Speed’s Maps, 
 ,c. X. fol. 115* And Whitelock’s Memorials from 
 Brutus, p. 2 
 
 t In his Masque of Comus. 
 
 has 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 m 
 
 has given us fo elegant and poetical 
 a defcription, that I cannot refill the temp¬ 
 tation of following Mr. Pennant’s excellent 
 example in tranfcribing it here. 
 
 Sabrina is her name, a virgin pure, 
 
 t 
 
 Whilome file was the daughter of Locrine, 
 
 That had the fcepre from his father Brute. 
 
 The guiltlefs damfel flying the mad purfuit 
 Of her enraged flepdame, Guendolen, 
 Commended her fair innocence to the flood. 
 
 That flay’d her flight with his crofs flowing courfe* 
 The water nymphs, that in the bottom play’d, 
 Held up their pearled wrifls, and took her in, 
 Bearing her flraight to aged Nereus’ hall; 
 
 Who, piteous of her woes, rear’d her lank head. 
 And gave her to his daughters to embathe 
 In ne£lar’d lavers, flrow’d with afphodel; 
 
 And through the porch and inlet of each fenfe>, 
 Dropt in ambrofial oils, till fhe reviv’d; 
 
 And underwent a quick immortal change—* 
 
 Made goddefs of the river: fhe flill retains 
 Her maiden gentlenefs, and oft at eve 
 Vifits the herds along the twilight meadows. 
 
 Helping 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 495 
 
 Helping all urchin blafts, and ill-luck figns 
 That the fhrewd meddling elfe delights to make, 
 Which file with precious viol’d liquors heals; 
 
 For which the fhepherds at their feftivals 
 Carol her goodnefs loud in ruftic lay. 
 
 And throw fweet garland wreaths into her dream 
 Of panfies, pinks, and gaudy dafodils. 
 
 And as the old Twain faid, fhe can unlock 
 The clafping charm, and thaw the numbing fpell, 
 If fhe be right invok’d in warbled Tong ; 
 
 For maiden-hood fhe loves, and will be fwift 
 To aid a virgin, fuch as was herfelf. 
 
 In hard befetting need. 
 
 CHAP, XXIV. 
 
 FROM NEWTOWN TO MONTGOMERY.—SEVERN 
 — MONTGOMERY — CHURCH — CHARACTER OF 
 LORD HERBERT—-CASTLE—RUSTIC VIEW—BRI¬ 
 TISH POST—SINGULAR CUSTOM. 
 
 J LEFT Newtown, and went over a 
 fine, cultivated country to Montgomery. 
 The infant Severn accompanied me near 
 
 half 
 
49G 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 half the way, fometimes approaching clofe 
 to the road, and at others, hidden by inter¬ 
 vening trees and hedges* Jufl before I 
 entered the town, I was furprized by the 
 road leading me along a hill, which was 
 elevated fo much above it, as to give me a 
 complete bird's-eye-view into almoft every 
 ftreet. 
 
 Montgomery appeared, from it's neat 
 houfes, to be inhabited chiefly by perfons 
 of fmall fortune, who had come here to 
 lead a life of retirement ; and it is well 
 calculated for this purpofe. It is clean, 
 and well built; and feems capable of af¬ 
 fording all the comforts and conveniencies 
 of life, without any of the buftle and noife 
 of a large town. The adjacent country is 
 decorated with lively and luxuriant fcenery, 
 which indicates population and fertility. 
 Lord Lyttleton has remarked, that when 
 he travelled through Wales, in the year 
 
 1756, 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 497 
 
 1756,* this place was little better than a 
 village: if this was the cafe, there muft 
 have been lince that time a very confider- 
 able addition made to it, for it is now a 
 moft refpedtable market town : and thefe 
 late alterations may have been the caufe of 
 it’s prefent neat appearance. 
 
 The church is ahandfome cruciform ftruc- 
 ture, dedicated to St. Nicholas, and has within, 
 it an antient monument, to the memory 
 of Richard Herbert, Efquire, the father 
 of the famous Lord Herbert of Cherbury, 
 of whom Mr. Granger *f* has given us 
 this lingular character : “ Lord Herbert 
 
 ftands in the firft rank of the public 
 minifters, hiftorians, and philofophers of 
 his age. It is hard to fay, whether his 
 perfon, his underftanding, or his courage, 
 was the mod: extraordinary; as the fair, 
 
 * See his Letters, printed at the end of the prefent 
 
 \ 
 
 work. 
 
 t Granger’s Biographical Hiftory. 
 
 K k 
 
 VOL, I. 
 
 the 
 
493 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 the learned, and the brave, held him in 
 equal admiration. But the fame man was 
 wife and capricious ; redrefied wrongs and 
 quarrelled for punctilios; hated bigotry in 
 religion, and was himfelf a bigot in philo- 
 fophy. He expofed himfelf to fuch dan¬ 
 gers as other men of courage would have 
 carefully declined: and called in queftion 
 the fundamentals of a religion, which none 
 had the hardinefs to difpute befides him- 
 felf. ,? The figures on this monument of 
 Richard Herbert and his Lady, are re¬ 
 cumbent, and under what has once been a 
 magnificent and much ornamented canopy. 
 In a corner clofe by it, was a large col¬ 
 lection of legs, arms, heads, and trunks 
 of other monumental figures, but all fo 
 broken and demolifhed, that I could make 
 nothing out of them. In the church-yard 
 I obferved more epitaphs upon the grave- 
 ftones than I ever faw together before, and 
 
 of 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 499 
 
 of courfe amongft fo many, fome truly 
 ridiculous. 
 
 Adjoining upon the church-yard is a 
 piece of ground unconfecrated, which fome 
 gentlemen of Montgomery have made into 
 a court, where they play at the game of 
 fives againft the church. 
 
 The town owes it's name of Montgomery 
 and Mons Gomerici to Roger de Mont¬ 
 gomery, Earl of Shrewflbury, who in 
 1092 entered Powifland, and took this 
 place, then called Ire-faldwyn, or Baldwin’s 
 Town, from it’s having been built and 
 fortified with a caftle by Baldwyn, lieu¬ 
 tenant of the marches to William the 
 Conqueror. The Earl fortified the place 
 afrelh, and called it, after his own name, 
 Montgomery.* 
 
 The 
 
 * Powel’s Hiftory of Wales, p. 152. Camb. Brit. 
 III. 53 r. Mat. Weftm. p. III. fays, “ that when 
 Henry III, ere£ted here a new caftle in 1221, it 
 
 K k 2 was 
 
 / 
 
500 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 The caftle is lituated on an eminence, 
 nearly north of the town, and has from 
 every appearance been a grand and auguft 
 building. It is now fo much demolifhed, 
 and even the foundations at prefent are fo 
 very imperfed, that it is impofiible to af- 
 certain, with any degree of accuracy, 
 what has been it's extent. It flood on a 
 rock quite precipitous on one fide, and of 
 fo great an height as to have the command 
 
 of all the places around it. The remains 
 
 ♦ 
 
 are a fmall part of a tower at the fouth- 
 wefh corner, and a few low and broken 
 walls. In this tower are feveral fmall 
 holes, fimilar to thofe I had before feen in 
 the Roman fort at Segontium, near Caer¬ 
 narvon j and thefe ferved flill more to 
 convince me that they were all originally 
 formed for no other purpofe than to reft in 
 
 was then called, from it’s fituation, Mons Gome- 
 ricus; but I am at a lofs to know the meaning of the 
 word Go?nericus .** 
 
 them 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 501 
 
 them poles, for the fupport of the fcaffolds 
 ufed in building. Some of thefe are near 
 fix feet in depth. This fortrefs feems to 
 have been divided by four fofles, cut in 
 the rock, each of which moft probably 
 had formerly it's drawbridge. 
 
 The firft authentic accounts we have of 
 the Caftle of Montgomery are, that in 
 1094, William Rufus having been engaged 
 in an unfuccefsful expedition againft the 
 Welfti (who in the preceding year had 
 rifen in arms and ranfacked this caftle*) and 
 having loft a great number of men and 
 horfes, was obliged to return into England 
 to reinforce his army, after having had juft 
 time to repair it.'f On his retreat, the 
 Wellh again laid fiege to it, being then 
 
 # Leland’s Cclle&anea, II. 314. 
 t Powel, p. 153. Matt. Paris, p. 15. Matt.Weftm. 
 p. 17. Holinfhed’s Chronicle, II. 20. 23. Carte’s 
 Hiftory of England, I. 466. 
 
 K k 3 
 
 reputed 
 
302 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 reputed the ftrongeft and belt fortified caftle 
 
 in Wales: the Normans gallantly defended 
 
 it for many days, but the Welfii having 
 
 found means to undermine the walls, took 
 
 it by ftorm, and having put the garrifon to 
 
 the fword, levelled the fortrefs to the 
 
 ground. After many ftruggles, ineffectual 
 
 on the part of the Englifh, it was not till 
 
 near four years after this event, that the 
 
 king was able to obtain a victory at all 
 
 decifive. Upon again taking this place, 
 
 ♦ 
 
 the caftle was immediately rebuilt by the 
 Earl of Shrewfbury; but was after that 
 again deftroyed, though at what period is 
 not known. It appears that in 1221, 
 Henry III. in order, as the hiftorians fay, 
 to reftrain the predatory excurfions of the 
 Welfh, marched againfl them, and ereCted 
 a caftle here, which he granted to his 
 jufticiary, Hubert de Burgh, with two 
 hundred marks annually, and a greater 
 
 , falary 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 503 
 
 falary in cafe of war.* About feven years 
 after this, as fome of the foldiers of the 
 garrifon were attempting, with the afiif- 
 tance of the country people, to open a 
 road through an adjoining foreft, a deep 
 and extenlive cover* of many miles, which 
 had long afforded the Welfh a fecure re- 
 tre^U?ffom whence ilfuing, they frequently 
 murdered and plundered travellers through 
 the country ; they were on a fudden attacked 
 by a body of the natives, who with great 
 daughter obliged them to feek refuge in 
 the caftle. The party then inverted, and 
 laid regular fiege to it, upon which Herbert 
 de Burgh, alarmed at his fituation, fent to 
 Henry for fuccour, who immediately in 
 perfon, brought an army to his aid, and the 
 
 # Matt. Paris, p. 263. Matt. Weftm. p. III. 
 Holinfhed’s Chronicle, II. 203. Carte’s Hiflory, I. 
 466. 
 
 Kk 4 
 
 Welfh 
 
504 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 Welfh upon his arrival raifed the fiege and 
 fled.* 
 
 In 1231 a party of Welfhmen, having 
 
 made an excursion into the lands adjoining 
 
 \ 
 
 the caftle, was intercepted by the Englifh, 
 and many of them were brought prifoners 
 into it, and beheaded. Llewelyn the great, 
 in revenge for this injury, affembling a great 
 force, laid wafte all the Englifli borders. 
 During the general confirmation, Hubert 
 de Burgh evacuated the caftle, and it was 
 feized by the Welfih, who burned it to the 
 ground, and fhortly after attacked and 
 deftroyed fome others in fouth Wales.*f* 
 
 In the year 1268, in a conference at this 
 place, a peace was efiabliihed betwixt 
 Llewelyn ap Gryffydd and Henry III. who, 
 upon that prince’s paying him a fine of 
 
 * Powell, p. 284? 285* Matt. Paris, p. 295. 
 Carte’s Hiftory of England, II. 357. 
 t Powel, p. 287. Matt. Paris, 311. 
 
 thirty* 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 505 
 
 thirty-two thoufand marks,* reftored to 
 him four cantreds, which in the wars he 
 had been deprived of.-f* 
 
 On an inquitition taken on the reverfal 
 of the attainder of Roger Mortimer, Earl 
 of March, in 1345, that Earl was found 
 to have been poffefTed of this cattle at the 
 
 V 
 
 time of his death. It continued in the 
 family till, along with thofe of Denbigh 
 and Dolforwyn, it paffed by marriage 
 with Anne, the fitter of the late Earl, 
 into the houfe of York.J 
 
 Lord Herbert, of Cherbury, in his life, 
 written by himfelf, fpeaks of it as having 
 been the habitation 1 of his grand-father, 
 and great grand-father, who held it for the 
 crown, as ftewards of the cattle, and of 
 
 * u Triginta duo millia lihrarum fterlingorum 
 Regi conceffit.” Matt. Paris, p. 851* 
 t Matt. Paris, p. 857. Matt. Wedm, p. 347. 
 
 4 Dugdale’s Baronage, I. 147, 148, 150. 
 
 the 
 
5(36 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 the hundred of Cher bury, in which it was 
 reputed to lie.* 
 
 In the civil wars of the reign of Charles 
 I. Lord Herbert was made governor, but 
 he did not declare himfelf either for the 
 King or the Parliament, till the arrival of 
 their army, under the command of Sir 
 Thomas Middleton, in 1644; he, how¬ 
 ever, then upon a treaty, permitted them 
 to enter the caftle. Soon after this tranf- 
 adtion. Lord Byron advanced with the 
 king’s army, confiding of about four thou¬ 
 sand men, which obliged Middleton to 
 flee to Ofweftry, leaving Lord Herbert 
 and all his foot foldiers in the caftle. The 
 royal forces now laid liege to it ; but Sir 
 Thomas, having been joined by Sir John 
 Meldrum, Sir William Brereton, and Sir 
 William Fairfax, returned with about three 
 
 * Life of Loid Herbert, p. 5. quoted in Pennant’s 
 Tour, II. 371. 
 
 thoufand 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 507 
 
 ihoufand men to the relief of the place. 
 Lord Byron drew up his men to engage 
 them, and after a mo ft dreadful conflict, 
 which lafled about eight hours, the Par¬ 
 liament’s army obtained a complete vic¬ 
 tory. The routed troops fled towards 
 Shrewfbury, and the purfifit was conti¬ 
 nued near twenty miles. In this battle 
 betwixt three and four hundred men of the 
 King’s party were flain, and above a thou- 
 fand taken prifoners. The lofs on the 
 fide of the Parliament was. Sir William 
 Fairfax, Major Fitz-fimons, and about 
 fixty men killed, befides a hundred who 
 were much wounded.* The caftle met 
 with the fate of all others, being difmantled 
 by order of the Commons. 
 
 It was on a fine ferene morning in the 
 beginning of September, when I was here, 
 
 * Rufhworth’s Hiftorical Collections, vol. II. 
 part 3. p, 746, 747. Whitelock’s Memorials, 
 p« j o 4 s 
 
 and 
 
50S 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 and I was fo much charmed with the ex- 
 tenfive and varied profpedt from the caftle, 
 that I refted undei the cool fhade of one of 
 it’s w 11s for near an hour, feafting my 
 eyes with the delightful pidture before me. 
 The fcene, which was calculated for almoft 
 Arcadian felicity, was enlivened by the 
 bufy work of harveft, and the merry carol 
 of the reapers floated through the air in 
 cheerful melody. The ruftic fwains and 
 damfels were all afliduouily employed in 
 gathering the yellow riches of the fummer. 
 Some were cutting, others binding, and 
 the gleaner, “ with bended (houlders tra¬ 
 veling the field,” followed the loaded 
 waggons, carefully laying up every ear 
 that fell.—I love to contemplate thefe 
 ruftic fights. 
 
 Hail, therefore, patronefs of health and eafe, 
 
 And contemplation, heart-confoling joys, 
 
 And harmlefs pleafnres in the throng’d 
 Abode of multitudes unknown! hail, rural life! 
 
 Addrefs 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 509 
 
 Addrefs himfelf who will to the purfuit 
 Of honours, or emoluments, or fame ; 
 
 I (hall not add myfelf to fuch a chafe. 
 
 Thwart his attempts, or envy his fuccefs. 
 
 On a hill not far from the caftle, is a 
 ftupendous Britifh port. The approach 
 guarded by four ditches, with two or three 
 entrances towards the main work, where 
 fome foffes run acrofs the hill ; the end of 
 which is fufficiently guarded by the fteep- 
 nefs.* 
 
 The town was formerly defended all 
 round by walls ftrengthened with towers. 
 Leland -f thus defcribes it in his time : 
 “ It ftandithe a mile from Severne banke, 
 “ and is ferved with fmall rills coming 
 “ from the hills hard by. The foyle of 
 the ground of the towne is on mayne 
 54 flaty roke, and efpecially the parte of 
 the towne hiilinge toward the caftell, 
 
 * Pennant’s Tour, II. 372. + Itin. VII. 16. 
 
 (( 
 
 now 
 
5»0 
 
 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES, 
 
 now a late reedified, whereby bathe 
 T4 ’ been a parke. Great mines of the 
 " c waulle yet apere, ad vejligia of iiii gates, 
 thus called, Kedewen gate, Cherbury 
 gate, Arthur's gate, and Kerry gate. 
 In the waulle yet remayne broken tour- 
 ets, of the which the white tower is 
 u the moft notable.’’ 
 
 Henry III. granted by charter, that the 
 
 % 
 
 borough of Montgomery fhould have, 
 amongft others, the privileges of a free 
 borough. The town is governed by two 
 bailiffs, and twelve burgeffes, or common- 
 * council men. It fends one member to 
 Parliament, who is eledted by the burgeffes, 
 and returned by the bailiffs ; Llanydloes, 
 Wei fit pool, and Llanfyllin, were for¬ 
 merly contributory, but they are now ex¬ 
 cluded from any fhare in the eledtion.* 
 
 * Camden’s Britannia, II. 780. and Willis’s 
 Notitla Pari. III. 78. and part II, 9. quoted Pen¬ 
 nant’s Tour, n. 373 - 
 
A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 511 
 
 In Blount's Tenures* I find a very cu¬ 
 rious cuftom, which once prevailed at this 
 place. When any woman was found 
 guilty, by the free burgeftes of the town, 
 of caufing any ftrifes, fightings, defama¬ 
 tions, or other difturbances of the public 
 peace, fhe was adjudged to the goging- 
 ftool, or cucking-ftool, there to ftand with 
 her feet naked, and her hair difhevelled for 
 fuch a length of time as the burgefies 
 fliould think proper, as a public example, 
 and warning to all who beheld her. This 
 cucking-ftool is what the Saxons called 
 fcealfing or fcolding ftool, that is, a chair 
 in which they placed fcolding women as 
 public examples, and in which, befides 
 this, if the enormity of the cafe required 
 it, they ufed to plunge them over head in 
 water. This engine in general confifted of 
 a long beam or rafter moving on a fulcrum. 
 
 # Edited by Beckwith, p, 282. 
 
 and 
 
512 A TOUR ROUND NORTH WALES. 
 
 and extending to the centre of a pond, on 
 which end the ftool or feat ufed to be 
 
 * The cucking-ftool is thus defcribed by Jacob. 
 “ Cucking-ftool (tumbrellumJ is an engine invented 
 (C for the puniftiment of fcolds and unquiet women, 
 iC by ducking them in water, called, in antient 
 (C time, a tumbrel, and fometimes a trebucket. 
 <c In Domefday it is called cathedra flerccris; and 
 cc the Saxons defcribed it to be cathedra in qua rix- 
 (i ofce mulieres fedentes y aquis demergehantur. It was 
 Ci antiently a puniftiment inflitfted upon brewers 
 “ and bakers, tranfgrefting the laws, who were 
 “ thereupon, in fuch a ftool, immerged over head 
 and ears injiercore , (linking water. Some think 
 ct it a corruption from ducking-ftool, and others 
 si from choaking-ftool, quia hoc modo demerjce aquis 
 “ fere fuffbcantur. ,i See Jacob’s Law Didlionary. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME 
 
 Smeelon, l’riuter, J48, St. Martin’s Lane. 
 
( 513 ) 
 
 ERRATA to VOL. I. 
 
 *** The Reader’s indulgence is requefted for the following 
 Errata, and fome others of lefs confequence that have 
 not been noticed, occafioned by the author’s abfence 
 from London. 
 
 * 
 
 A few 7 that are very material are printed in capitals, 
 
 Page. Line. 
 
 13. 7. for fide read fite. 
 
 i 
 
 16. 16. after town infert and. 
 
 67. 9. dele and Fofs. 
 
 100. 9. for Beronica read Veronica . 
 
 143. F5. for OPENED read ENTERED. 
 
 148. 11. for Glydes read Glyder . 
 
 150. 2. for this read fome fimilar . 
 
 155. 8. for ALSO read ONLY. 
 
 165. 12- for elegancy read elegance. 
 
 191. 4. leave out the word TWO. 
 
 195. 16. fox pave fiones read grave foncs. 
 
 209. 18. fox feet xo-d.d feeted. 
 
 212- 7. for thence read from thence. 
 
 221. 15. for fend read tend. 
 
 223. 20. for Pifyll read Difyll. 
 
 231. 11. for are read A. 
 
 237. 12. for thisprefent read the prefent. 
 
 242. 4. for any place read any other place. 
 
 245. 18. for rock read rocks* 
 
 257. 10. for hugies read hujus. 
 
 265. 9. for they read the founders. 
 
 266. 17. for fonehenge, rolhrick read Stonehenge , Rollrick. 
 
 > — ■. 19. fox f ones xea.df one. 
 
 287. 21. for was read were. 
 
 296. 13- for Ballcuin read Ballium* 
 
 310, 6. leave out when. 
 
 334, 5. for tolerable read tolerably. 
 
 363. 12. for AND THAT IS read THAT IS NOT* 
 
 430. 16. for DEFILED read DEIFIED. 
 
 477. 2. for and read an. 
 
 490. 11. after heirs infert on. 
 
 493. 8. and 11. for Alaen and Abricn read Abrtn. 
 
 L 1 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
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