PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE
Bodelwyddan Church.—Two miles from Rhuddlan, off the road; excellent example of modern architecture.
Cefn Caves.—Three miles from St. Asaph, or 2½ miles from Trefnant, off the road.
Denbigh.—The castle; ruins of the garrison church.
Llanrhaiadr.—Church, with fifteenth century 'Jesse' window.
Ruthin.—Castle, with beautiful surroundings; church, Perpendicular, with splendid roof.
Corwen.—Church, with eighth-century cross in churchyard.
Llangollen.—Valle Crucis Abbey; Eliseg Pillar; Dinas Bran castle; Plas Newydd, the Bridge.
Ruabon.—Church; Wynnstay Park and Monument.
Wrexham.—Church, one of the Seven Wonders of Wales, Perpendicular architecture.
Ellesmere.—Church, with hatchet-work screen; old timbered houses; picturesque lakes.
Loop 1 (Third Portion).
DENBIGH TO SHREWSBURY.
[For the route from Rhyl to Denbigh see [previous map].]
For the first part of this section of the route the road is retraced through Rhuddlan, and here, if the traveller be interested in a grand example of modern ecclesiastical architecture, Bodelwyddan Church may be visited. It lies two miles from Rhuddlan, to the right of the road; was erected by Lady Willoughby de Broke; cost £60,000; and is called the 'Marble Church,' from the whiteness of the local limestone of which it is built. The spire and exterior are extremely pleasing, while the richness of the interior, with its marbles, wood-carving, stained glass, and excess of structural adornments, make it well worth a visit. A good road leads back to the trunk route.
THE CEFN CAVES,
reached by a side-road about two and a half miles from Trefnant. These lie in the grounds of Cefn Hall, and are open on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. They are deep cavities in the limestone rock, at one time inhabited by primeval man, whose bones and many interesting relics of his existence have been found by careful excavation of the floors. A very fine view of the Vale of the Clwyd, which has been rather overpraised, is obtained at this spot.
SHREWSBURY HOUSE, CHESTER.
One of the many picturesque frontages for which the town is famous.
DENBIGH TO SHREWSBURY.
DENBIGH
In Denbigh a long, broad street leads up to the centre of the town, and here the chief attraction, the castle, may be visited. Passing up through a Norman gateway, which once formed part of the boundary of the ancient town, and was called Burgess's Tower, the ruins of the long-abandoned parish church, or garrison church of St. Hilary, are seen on the spacious castle green. The old parish church of the town is at Whitchurch, on the road to Ruthin. The stately ruins of the great Norman fortress, which kept watch and ward over this portion of the Vale of the Clwyd for so many centuries, crowns the summit of this conical hill, and is perched nearly 500 feet above sea-level. Long before the Norman invasion this vantage-point had been seized upon for a stronghold, but the great epoch for Denbigh happened when Edward I. sat down in Rhuddlan and gathered into his conquering hands the fair lands of Wales, consolidating his power by building a castle in each. Denbigh and Ruthin, ruled by the Laceys and the Greys respectively, formed the nuclei of two counties. Here Henry Percy, in the wars with Glendower, tried to stem the tide of insurrection; and later, in the Wars of the Roses, it was a centre of that desolation and destruction which overwhelmed the valley under Jasper Tudor and the Earl of Pembroke, and reduced it to a land of smouldering embers. But one of the most stirring episodes in the history of the castle was the grand defence made by Colonel William Salusbury, the stout old Royalist, who, in the summer of 1646, valiantly held the walls against the Parliamentarians. From April until November it was assaulted in vain, for Salusbury had sworn that he would not surrender it except at the bidding of his King. This was eventually obtained, and the garrison marched out with, if possible, more than the honours of war. Soon afterwards the castle was completely dismantled, and now chiefly serves as a place of assembly for the townspeople, a recreation-ground, and a coign of vantage, under favourable circumstances, for a splendid view over the Vale.
The road to Ruthin leads out of the busy market-place, and a mile beyond the town one reaches the fine old church of Whitchurch, now only used for burial services. It belongs to the Perpendicular period, and in it parts of the rood-screen may be seen, converted into a reredos, and a screen at the west end of the north aisle. An interesting brass to Richard Myddelton, who died 1575, is preserved here; he was the Governor of Denbigh Castle, and is represented with his wife and a small family of sixteen. The Myddeltons, like the Salusburys, have left indelible traces upon this part of Wales, and of the sons represented on the brass, one became a Lord Mayor of London, and another, the sixth, is perhaps the best known to Englishmen, as he was the celebrated Sir Hugh Myddelton who brought the New River to the metropolis. The ancestral home of this family, Chirk Castle, will be visited en route.
After another one and a half miles, Llanrhaiadr Church is seen, whose interior is interesting on account of the 'Jesse' window, of fine fifteenth-century glass, purchased with the offerings of pilgrims to the holy well in the wooded glen above the church. It is in a remarkably good state of preservation, with the colours rich and brilliant. Outside the east window are the graves of five soldiers who fell in the famous siege of Denbigh; under one lies Captain Wynne, of the great house of Gwydir, near Llanrwst. He died from wounds in the castle, and by mutual arrangement the cortège was permitted to pass through the lines of the beleaguers, the Parliamentarians firing the last salute over the grave of the hero.
Between Llanrhaiadr and Ruthin the highest points of the Clwydian Range come prominently into view, the huge ruin on Moel Fammau, to which reference has been made in connection with Mold, being plainly visible.
RUTHIN (RED CASTLE)
The road leads into the central square of the town, from the south side of which issues Castle Street. The modern Ruthin Castle is occupied by Colonel W. Cornwallis West, Lord-Lieutenant of Denbighshire, and the ruins stand in the Park. (Permission to enter may be obtained at the lodge.) The remains consist of a dungeon, a 'Beheading Tower,' an armoury, and some curious passages. A whipping-post is also preserved. The ruins, deep red in hue, and mantled by the rich green of the clinging foliage, with a setting beyond of the upper part of the Vale of the Clwyd, form a picture rich in colour. Reginald de Grey owned the castle shortly after its erection in 1280, and it remained in the possession of his family until about 1480. Owen Glendower attempted its capture in 1400, but the Parliamentarians were more successful, for it fell in 1646, after a siege of three months, from which time it has been a ruin. Sir Thomas Myddelton of Chirk became owner, and the present possessor has inherited it from him in the female line. The castle was partially rebuilt in 1826, and brought to its present condition in 1852.
The Church of St. Peter is an imposing edifice, chiefly Perpendicular, and contains a finely decorated roof of Henry VII.'s period, beautifully carved in black oak and divided into 500 small panels. The old building adjacent and the church are the remains of a Priory of White Friars, and form a very picturesque addition; near them are the former buildings of the Grammar School, founded in 1574. The foundation is now accommodated in better surroundings.
The natural environs of Ruthin are of great beauty, and this part of the Clwyd Valley is a favourite place of residence. Upon Moel Feulli are the remains of a fortified British camp, enlarged by the Romans, and from it and Moel Fammau magnificent views may be obtained.
Leaving Ruthin, the upper part of the Vale of the Clwyd is traversed, and the watershed between the latter river and the Dee crossed at a height of 600 feet. After passing through the narrow Vale of Nantclwyd, with its towering limestone rocks, the small church of Derwen, lying off the road to the right of Derwen Station, is seen. It contains a handsome fifteenth-century screen and rood-loft, with a time-honoured thirteenth-century cross in the churchyard.
CORWEN
is a centre for the railway system of Wales, but possesses no special attractions, unless the mark of Owen Glendower's dagger upon the lintel of the south door of the church, inflicted, so it is said, when in a pet, be deemed one, though probably the tradition had its origin in the dagger carved on the shaft of an eighth-century cross in the same churchyard. The summit of the rock behind the town, whereon stands a cairn, was the point whence Glendower reviewed his troops previous to the Battle of Shrewsbury. The short climb is rewarded by a pleasing view.
LLANGOLLEN
is reached by a part of the Telford-Holyhead road, which is generally in magnificent condition. Pretty views of the Dee, the Berwyn Mountains on the right, the Llantysilio Mountains on the left, and the Eglwyseg rocks in front, are obtained, and the most beautiful part of the hill country of Wales, as contrasted with the mountain scenery, is presented to the eye. The loveliest views are those lying round the town, rivalling in beauty, and perhaps surpassing, any found elsewhere in Britain. The Bridge is one of the "Wonders of Wales," dating from 1345, and Plas Newydd, lying about half a mile from the bridge, the residence of the famed ladies of Llangollen, should on no account be missed. The romance of their lives is too lengthy for inclusion here, but may be readily learnt on the spot. The house is an aggregation of carved oak within and without. No one should visit Llangollen without ascending Castell Dinas Brân, which towers to a height of 1,000 feet above the village. The origin of the quaint ruins upon the summit is lost in antiquity, but is attributed to one of the early Princes of Powis. The tide of war has raged scores of times round the hoary fragments upon the crest, which look like the eyrie of a robber baron or the fantastic imaginings of a Doré. When the castle emerges into the light of history we find that Griffith, the son of Madoc, occupied it in the thirteenth century, and that about a hundred years afterwards it fell into ruin.
Valle Crucis Abbey: Ground Plan.
VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY
(admission 6d.) lies two miles by road from Llangollen. Founded by the above-named Griffith in A.D. 1200, it is necessarily in the Early English style, and dog-tooth ornamentation may be discovered in the west end. The beautiful ruin appeals to artist and antiquary alike, and is considered the most picturesque in Wales. A little way off to the north is Eliseg's Pillar, a most astonishing early monument put up by Concenn ap Cadell ap Brochmail to the memory of his great-grandfather, Eliseg, who lived as far back as the beginning of the seventh century. It is no longer possible to read the Latin inscription giving these facts, and the remarkable monument itself has suffered much mutilation. Llangollen is a town in which a week can be spent with profit and pleasure, so numerous are the places of interest in the immediate neighbourhood. The fine escarpment of the limestone rocks, the Eglwyseg, lying above the village, are conspicuous on the left for some distance on leaving for Ruabon through the Vale of Llangollen, where the famed Wynnstay Park is situated, the residence of Sir H. Watkin Williams-Wynn, Bart. The house is not on view, but admission to the park is freely given by application at the lodge gates, close to the town. The associations of the park are, however, the chief point in connection with it, for the Wynns go back into remote antiquity, and the history of North Wales and the members of this family are inseparable. The pillar standing above the swiftly rushing Dee is a cenotaph perpetuating the names of those who fell in the Irish rebellion of '98, when a Wynn took his company of yeomanry over the water to help in the suppression.
THE SWALLOW FALLS, BETTWS-Y-COED.
The finest waterfall in Wales.
WREXHAM
From Ruabon to Wrexham tram-lines run by the side of the road, but they do not cause much inconvenience, and the road is good. The chief object for visiting the town is to view the church, which is one of the finest, if not the finest, in the Principality, and enumerated among the "Seven Wonders of Wales." It was erected in 1472 to replace a former structure destroyed by fire. It is a splendid example of Perpendicular architecture, the tower of six stages and 135 feet in height being probably unsurpassed, and the rich peal of ten bells it contains are celebrated far and wide—they were made in 1726. The church contains monuments to the Myddelton and other families, and in the churchyard the Elihu Yale tomb is of exceptional interest to Americans.
ELLESMERE
At Wrexham one turns towards the south to Shrewsbury, and Ellesmere is the first town calling for comment. There are many old carved timber houses to be seen, a beautiful contrast to the modern box-of-bricks erections which now so frequently serve for dwellings. No trace of the castle now remains; its site is occupied by a bowling-green, whence a view into nine counties is obtained. The church is chiefly of Perpendicular architecture, and is worth visiting. The chancel screen is of hatchet-work, and over the door may be seen the groove in which the rood formerly stood. The Oteley Chapel has a quaint figure, temp. Edward IV., on the north-west pier, and also an altar-tomb with recumbent figures. The mere from which the town gained its name lies close at hand; four other meres are in the vicinity, and these, with other pleasant concomitants, help to make very pretty and charming scenery for some distance on the road to Shrewsbury. Shortly after leaving the town the Ellesmere Canal—one of Telford's great works—is crossed.