The distance from Pwllheli to Tremadoc is about 15 miles; the first village on the road is Abererch, situated on the river Erch, and partly in the Cwmwd (Commot) of Dinlleyn, Cantref of Lleyn, and partly in the Cwmwd of Eifionydd, Cantref of Dunodig. The Church is dedicated to Saint Cawrdaf; it is a discharged Vicarage, valued in the King’s Books at £6. Patron, the Bishop of Bangor. The number of inhabitants, in 1811, was about 1100. In this Church was buried Sir Thomas Pulesten, a distinguished favorite of Edward 1st. who was killed in 1282.—The next Parish is Llanarmon, the Church is dedicated to St. Garmon. At Plas Du in this Parish, was born that celebrated Epigrammatist, John Owen; this place gave birth also to the Rev. John Evans, S. Th. P. Bishop of Bangor, in 1715, and afterwards of Meath, in Ireland.—On the road to Carnarvon is Trallwyn, the seat of J. E. Lloyd, Esq. and not far distant, Glasfryn, Rev. Thomas Ellis; as we proceed, pass, on the left, Hendre, Rev. Thomas Roberts, and pretty near it Werglodd fawr, R. Jones, Esq. After passing the junction of the Pwllheli and Nevin Roads, soon reach Llanystumdwy, a Church and Village, situated near a river, in a well-sheltered little Vale, beautifully wooded; the Church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.—Near this place are a great number of gentlemen’s seats: Plas Hen, now the property of Sir Thomas Mostyn, Bart. once the seat of Evan Lloyd Vaughan, Esq. by marriage with an heiress of the name of Vaughan, a descendant of Collwyn ap Tangno; she afterwards married William Lloyd, a younger son of Bod-Idris: this William Lloyd was Sheriff in 1648, and was killed in a skirmish near Bangor, by Sir John Owen. Near it is Gwynfryn, late the property of David Ellis Nanney, Esq. Attorney-General on this Circuit, now the residence of his nephew, O. J. E. Nanney, Esq.; a little nearer Crickaeth, to the left of the road, is Trefan, late the property of Rev. Z. Hughes, now the seat of Mrs. Priestley.—To these may be added Sgubor Hen, Aberkin, Ty Newydd, Rev. J. Kyffin; Mynydd Ednyfed, Rev. Mr. Jones, Rector of Crickaeth; and Brynhir, now unoccupied. In this neighbourhood are the ruins of a small Chanel, called Bettws; and not far distant is Chwilog, an old House, which formerly belonged to the ancestors of Sir Howell y Fwyall, our celebrated Countryman, who attended the Black Prince to the Battle of Poitiers, and, according to our Welsh Bards, was the person who took the French King prisoner, though that honor is generally bestowed on Denis de Morebeque, a Knight of Artois.—Our brave countryman, however, undoubtedly behaved on the occasion with distinguished valour, for the Black Prince not only bestowed on him the Constableship of Crickaeth Castle, which he afterwards made his residence, but Knighted him, and in perpetual memorial of his good services, ordered, that from thenceforth, a mess of meat should be served up before the pole-axe, with which he performed such great feats; for that reason he bore it in his Coat of Arms, and was styled (as before-mentioned) Syr Howel y Fwyall, or of the Axe. After the Mess had appeared before the Knight, it was carried down and bestowed on the poor; Eight Yeomen attendants were constituted to guard the Mess, and had eight-pence a day, constant wages, at the King’s charge; and these, under the name of Yeomen of the Crown, were continued on the establishment till the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, and it is supposed by many that the Yeomen of the Crown are indebted to these for their origin. After the death of Sir Howel, the Mess was carried as before, and bestowed on the poor, for the sake of his soul, in the time of Popery, and probably as low as the period above-mentioned.—Sir John Wynne, in his History of the Gwydir family; informs us that this Sir Howel was also Constable of Chester Castle, and had also Dwyfor, and others, the King’s Mills, to farm, and a grant of the Weirs and Fisheries on this Coast, besides many other offices of great trust and profit.
Crickaeth Cattle is situated on conical rock, jutting far into the sea, and the Isthmus crossed, by way of defence, by two deep ditches; on each side of the entrance is a great round Tower; the Court is of an irregular form, and has the remains of a square Tower, beyond is another Court, and in it, on the verge of the rock, are two others, also square. It is probable that all the Towers were originally square, for the insides of the two round Towers are of that form; they have so much the appearance of the Architecture of Dolyddelen Castle, that it is probable this Castle was founded by a Welsh Prince, and that Edward the First did no more than case the Towers, which at present are the two rounders; after the conquest, Edward appointed William de Leybourne to be Constable, with a Salary of One Hundred Pounds a year, for which he was to maintain a garrison of 30 men, one Chaplain, one Surgeon, one Carpenter, and one Mason.
On our way to Penmorva and Tremadoc, pass by Stumllyn, formerly the seat of the Wynnes, now the property of — Jones, Esq. of Machynlleth. Several Antiquities are scattered over this part of the County; near Dolbenmaen, is a large Mount, on which might have been, as Mr. Rowlands conjectures, a Watch Tower. Near Ystum Cegid are three Cromlechs, joining to each other, possibly memorials of three Chieftains slain on the spot. And near Clenenney, on Bwlch Craig Wenn, is a fine Druidical Circle, consisting, at present, of thirty-eight stones; at a mile’s distance and within sight of this, above Penmorva, is another. On Llysdin Farm, were lately discovered, some small Urns, containing human bones and ashes. Not far distant from hence, in the Parish of Llanfihangel y Pennant, is Brynkir, once the seat of a family of that name, now the property of J. Huddart, Esq. at present Sheriff for this County; Lord Lyttleton, whose Letters from Wales are well known, and were published at the end of Bingley’s first Tour, remained here for several days, on a visit to one of the Brynkirs, and during his stay ascended Moel Hedog, which divides this Country from the Vale of Bethgelert. The present proprietor has built a new house here, and made other great improvements.
In remote days, this part of Eifionydd was possessed by two Clans, one descended from Owen Gwywedd, Prince of North Wales, and consisted of the houses of Cessail Gyfarch, Ystum Cegid Clenenney, Brynker and Glasfryn, or Cwmystrallyn; the other was derived from Collwyn ap Tangno, and consisted of the houses of Chwilog, Bron y Foel, Berkin, Gwynfryn, Tal Hen bont, (now Plas Hen) and Pennardd.—The feuds of these two parties filled the land with blood. The history of our Country, during that period, is the History of revenge, perfidy, and slaughter. This consideration induced Meredith ap Jevan, ancestor of the Wynne’s of Gwydir, to quit this his paternal country—“I had rather,” says he, “fight with out-laws and thieves, than with my own blood and kindred;—If I live in my own house, in Efionydd, I must either kill my own kindred, or be killed by them.” There was not a house in the hundred, as Mr. Pennant observes, that had not its dreadful tale,—they would quarrel, says Sir John Wynne, if it was but for the mastery of the country, and the first good morrow; John Owen ap John ap Meredydd, and Howel ap Madoc Vychan fell out for no other reason: Howel and his people fought valiantly,—when he fell, his mother placed her hand on his head, to prevent the fatal blow, and had half her hand and three of her fingers cut off by some of her nearest kindred. An attempt was made to kill Howel ap Rhys, in his own house, by the sons of John ap Meredith, for no other reason but that their servants had quarrelled about a Fishery; they first set fire to the Mansion, with great bundles of straw,—the besieged, terrified with the flames, sheltered themselves under forms and benches, while Rhys, the old Hero, stood, sword in hand, reproaching his men with cowardice, and telling them he had often seen a greater smoke in that Hall on Christmas-even. These flagitious deeds seldom met with any other punishment than what resulted from private revenge, and too often composition was made for the most horrible murders. There was a gwerth, or price of blood, from the slaughter of a King, to the cutting off one of his subject’s little fingers.
The Village of Penmorva is situated in a nook, between some high rocks, at the end of a tract of meadows, formerly subject to the over-flowing of the higher tides, till an embankment was made by W. A. Madocks, Esq. a gentleman to whom this part of the County is greatly indebted for numerous and great improvements, particularly for the erection of an embankment, about a mile in length, in order to reclaim some thousand acres of land, and which now forms a safe and convenient road between the Counties of Carnarvon and Merionneth, across the Estuary of Traethmawr, whereas formerly many lives were lost in going over these dangerous sands. In the Church of Penmorva, which is dedicated to St. Beuno, was interred that valiant Knight, Sir John Owen, besides the monument to his memory, there is another to Sir William Morris, of Clenenney, who died August 11, 1622. Tremadoc, a new Town, which bears the name of its Founder, is about a mile distant from Penmorva, and contains from Eighty to a Hundred Houses.—Here is a handsome new Church, a Market-Place, a comfortable Inn, and a great number of good Shops: near the Town are also several good Houses built by the same Gentleman, particularly Tan yr Allt, Morva Lodge, &c.; all of which, as well as every thing in and about this small Town, evidently prove the individual who planned and conducted the whole, to be a person of cultivated mind, improved taste, and superior judgment and ability.—A Market has been established here, and the Fairs which used to be at Penmorva on the following days, March 6, May 14, August 20, September 25, and November 12, have mostly deserted that place, and are held at Tremadoc.—Here is an excellent Salmon Fishery—a good shore for Bathing—and a safe Harbour for Vessels under 120 Tons burthen. It is greatly to be lamented, that the beneficial improvements projected by the before-mentioned public spirited Gentleman W. A. Madocks, Esq. and carried by him to such a state of forwardness; should not be completed. In the Year 1625, Sir John Wynne, of Gwydir, conceived the great design of gaining this immense track, (Traeth mawr) as well as the lesser one, (Traeth bach) from the Sea, by means of an Embankment; and for that purpose he implored the assistance of his illustrious Countryman Sir Hugh Middleton, in a Letter which has been preserved, and together with that Gentleman’s reply, printed in Mr. Pennant’s Tour. A Bridge over Traeth bach, and a new line of Road along the Sea Coast to Barmouth, and a Stage Coach, or some other more regular mode of conveyance between North and South Wales, particularly during the Summer Months, are still left among the desiderata of this portion of the Principality.
Ancient Divisions of the County.
Cantref, or Hundred. | Commots. (Cwmmwd.) |
Nant Gonwy, | Uwch Conwy, Is Conwy, Trefrew. |
Aber, | Llechwedd Ucha, Llechwedd Issa. |
Arvon, | Uwch Gwyrfai, Is Gwyrfai. |
Lleyn, | Cymmytmaen, Cyfflogion, or Canologion, Dinlleyn. |
Eifionydd, was oneof the Commots of the Cantref of Dunodig, and Arduwy was theother. | |
Creuddin, is aCommot in the Cantref, or Hundred, of Rhôs. | |
APPENDIX.
A
CATALOGUE
OF THE
RECTORIES, VICARAGES, AND CHAPELS,
IN THE
County of Caernarvon;
WITH THEIR
DEDICATIONS, SAINT DAYS, AND PATRONS.