The Church possesses a remarkably fine tower, which presents a venerable appearance by reason of the growth of vegetation upon it. A portion was pulled down during the Civil War, and rebuilt some time after the Restoration. The interior should be visited, although there are no special features upon which to dilate. About a mile to the north of the town lies Old Oswestry, a very fine and well-preserved earthwork, consisting of three concentric circles of defences. A portion of Wat's Dyke lies adjacent. This was the first ditch made by Offa, King of Mercia, in the eighth century to prevent Welsh incursions; the second, called Offa's Dyke, was dug a few miles nearer the Welsh border, and generally parallel to the first.
A stiff rise in the road announces that Chirk is at hand, and the celebrated castle is the first point of interest.
CHIRK CASTLE,
anciently, Castel-y-Waen, is the only example of the thirty great fortalices in Shropshire erected to control the Welsh border which remains in complete repair and is occupied at the present time. It is indelibly associated with the Myddeltons, an ancient Denbigh family who have been identified with every popular movement in that part of the country for centuries past. The present owner is Mr. Richard Myddelton.
(The Castle is open Mondays and Tuesdays 2 to 5 p.m., 1s. each person; other days special orders, Estate Office, Chirk, 5s. for three persons.)
The builder of the existing fortress was Roger Mortimer, Lord of Chirk, who in 1310 commenced work upon the site of Castell Crogen, which dated from 1011. In 1595 it came into the possession of Sir Thomas Myddelton, subsequently Lord Mayor of London. Sir Hugh Myddelton, of New River fame, was his brother. The Royalists seized the castle in the absence of the second Sir Thomas Myddelton, a Parliamentarian, who had the pleasant experience of battering his own property in the endeavour to retake it. Becoming disgusted with Parliamentarian excesses, he became Royalist again, and was besieged. So much damage was done by the artillery of Cromwell that £30,000 were spent subsequently on repairs.
It is a quadrangular structure, with embattled walls, four towers of great strength at the angles, and another defending the gateway. A court of considerable area occupies the centre. Some very interesting pictures form part of the treasures of the house, and among them is the exquisite cabinet given to Sir Thomas by Charles II. The exterior aspect is extremely pleasing, with ivy-covered walls and red-grey stonework forming a background to the old-world gardens. Traces of Offa's Dyke occur near the farmhouse at the foot of the castle. The beautiful Ceriog Valley is an attractive feature of this neighbourhood.
The road to Llangollen from Chirk commands a fine view of the vale, and a sight of one of the most striking features of the Dee Valley, the great aqueduct conveying the canal across it at a height of 120 feet above the river. An iron trough in the stonework contains the water. There are nineteen arches, and the length is over 1,000 feet. It is one of Telford's masterpieces.
(For a description of the route from Llangollen to Corwen, see [pp. 69-71].)