.. I. Watkin, Tanner, Abereirch
.. H. D. Williams, Surgeon, Llansaintffraid
HISTORY
OF
CARNARVONSHIRE.
Carnarvonshire, one of the six Counties of North Wales, is bounded on the West by the Irish sea, on the North by the strait called Menai, which divides it from Anglesey; Merionethshire extends along the Southern coast, and Denbighshire limits the Eastern.
As Travellers generally enter this County either along the Conway or Capel Curig Road, it may be more convenient, for their sakes, to commence its History with a short account of the Town and neighbourhood of
CONWAY.
But before we proceed to a description of the Town, it may be necessary to inform the stranger that there is a District of this County, on the Denbighshire, or East side of the River Conway; and whether he be a Botanist, a Mineralogist, a Naturalist, or Antiquary, he may, if he have leisure, spend a few days on this side of the water with pleasure and advantage. This detached part of the County of Carnarvon is called Creuddin yn Rhos, and is celebrated for producing very excellent wheat; it contains three Parishes, Llangwstenin, Llan Rhôs, or more properly Llanfair yn Rhôs, and Llandudno.—In and about the ruins of old Diganwy, or Dingonwy, now called y Faerdre, and in Gloddaith woods, the Botanist will find a great number of rare Plants, while the Mineralogist will be tempted to examine the Copper Mines at Llandudno, and the Historian and Antiquary be induced to visit the curious collection of old Books and Manuscripts, in the libraries of Gloddaith and Bodysgallen, (Bod Caswallawn) two old family seats, belonging to Sir Thomas Mostyn Bart. the former built in the time of Queen Elizabeth, since which period it has undergone very little or no alteration, and almost all the old furniture is preserved in the same state. Marle has also been a fine old house, but was nearly burnt down about seventy years ago; it was at one time the property of the Hollands, then of Sir Gryffydd Williams, of Penrhyn, and on the death of his grandson Sir Robert, it devolved to Sir Thomas Prendergast, an Irish Gentleman, in right of his Lady, Anne, sister to Sir Robert, but at present this house, as well as the Ferry of Conway, art in the possession of Owen Williams, Esq. M.P. for Great Marlow.
On the very summit of the high Promontory of Ormshead, or Gogarth, is situated the small Church of Llandudno, dedicated to St. Tudno, whose rocking stone (Maen sigl or Cryd-Tudno) is not very far distant. On the Western side of this Mountain is a tremendous precipice, over-hanging the sea, and these rocks are frequented in the summer season by great numbers of birds of passage; the Gulls occupy the lowest range, above them are the Razor-bills and Guillemots, over these croak the Corvorants, and the Herons possess the uppermost projections and ledges of this stupendous rock; the Peregrine Falcon also builds his nest in these impending crags. In the days of Falconry these birds were considered so excellent, that the great minister Burleigh, sent a letter of thanks to an ancestor of Sir Thomas Mostyn’s, for a present of a cast of Hawks from this place. The British name of this hill, Gogarth, seems to be derived from ogo, or gogo, a Cave, and Garth, a Promontory, for there are several caves under this rock, and particularly one very large, inaccessible except by water; not far from it are the ruins of an old Palace, belonging to the Bishops of Bangor; there is also a farm house near the spot, known by the above name, Gogarth. Mr. Pennant says, (but upon what authority is not known) that this tract of Land was an appendage of the Abbey of Conway.
The Castle of Deganwy, or Dingonwy, called by the English, Ganoe, and afterwards, by the fault of transcribers, corrupted into Gannock, was celebrated in the wars, between the two nations; the small remains of it are on two hills, not far from the shore of the river, nearly opposite the Town of Conway, but nearer to the sea; there is a house a little below it, which still bears the name, and was lately inhabited by Lord Kirkwall; the walls of the old Castle surrounded these two rocks, and on the summit of one of them is the vestige of a round Tower;—In all probability this, as well as most Welsh Castles, was originally constructed of timber, as it is asserted in our Histories, that it was destroyed by lightning, in the year 810, [12]—the founder of it is not known. It was afterwards rebuilt, and was for some time in the possession of the Earls of Chester, when it was again destroyed by Llewelyn the Great;—Randle de Blondeville then repaired it, and King John encamped under its walls in the year 1211, and was reduced to great distress by the skill and prudence of Llewelyn, who contrived to cut off his supplies. Henry III. suffered still greater calamities near this place, in the year 1245, at which time John de Grey, of Wilton, was Constable; one of his courtiers most pathetically describes their miseries. At length Diganwy was in 1260 totally dismantled by our last Prince, Llewelyn ap Gryffydd.
Not far from hence, on the top of a hill, is an ancient Tower; its form is circular, its height about 20 feet, the diameter 12; its walls compose only two thirds of a circle, the rest is open. In all probability it was a Watch Tower, and connected with Diganwy as a place of retreat. The name of this District, Creuddin, seems to be derived from Creu, or Crau, blood, or gore, and Din, or Dinas, a fortified place; and was so denominated, in all probability, from the many bloody battles fought here between the English and Welsh. The fine view of Conway Castle and the Bennarth woods, from this side of the river, is greatly and deservedly admired. The original name of Conway was Caer Gyffin, and it probably was inhabited, and was a place of some strength, prior to the establishment of a Cistercian Abbey here, in 1185, by Llewelyn ap Jorwerth, Prince of North Wales, and it then no doubt increased in opulence and respectability, as the privileges of the members of this community, like many others of a similar description, were very considerable; in the first place they were to be exempt in all parts from Tolls and Pontage, and they had a right to a free passage over the ferries of the Menai, Conway, Barmouth, and Dyfi, (or Dôfwy) and it was endowed with Lands to a great extent, both in this County and in Anglesey; Caput Wedva vawr, (Snowdon) Crib Goch, near Llanberis, and Morfa Dinlle, are mentioned. The Castle was built by Edward the first, about the year 1284, who being apprehensive, probably, that he might find these monks and their attendants very unpleasant and troublesome neighbours, he removed them to Maenan, about 8 miles higher up on the Denbighshire side of the river, and not far from Llanrwst, where there is an old family seat belonging to Lord Newborough, which still retains the name of the Abbey. The town of Conway has four entrances: The upper Gate, the lower, or that next to the River, a Portal between that and the Castle, and another to the Creek called Porth y felin, or the Gate to the mill. Mr. Pennant’s observation with respect to this place is this, “a more ragged Town is scarcely to be seen within, or a more beautiful one without;” the form is nearly triangular, surrounded with lofty Walls, and guarded by 24 round Towers; the lower face of the triangle borders on the River. The Castle is built on a lofty rock, at the S. E. corner, and is generally considered (as the same Historian remarks,) a structure of “matchless magnificence,” and a more beautiful Fortress, perhaps, never arose. The Architect, Henry Ellerton, or de Elreton, (the person under whose direction Carnarvon Castle was also built) seems to have exerted all his skill here. It had two entrances, one up a steep rock from the River, with winding stairs, and ending in a small advanced work, before one of the Gates of the Castle, and protected by small round Towers; at the other extremity is a similar work; from which there was a drawbridge into the Town.—Over a great Foss, in one of the great Towers, is a beautiful oriel window. The form of this Fortress is oblong, one side is bounded by the River, another by a Creek, full of water at every tide; within are two Courts, and on the outside project eight vast Towers, each with a slender one of amazing elegance issuing from its top, within which was a winding staircase.