Part 18

The original church, dedicated to St. Grwst, was a small edifice, situated close to the margin of the river, and built about the year 1170; and was supposed, from its style of architecture, to have been erected in the fifteenth century: it contained a screen of beautifully carved oak, brought here from the abbey of Maenan, which was used as a gallery for the singers. A new church has, however, been built on its site; and adjoining it, on the other side, is Gwydir chapel, a handsome square castellated edifice, the interior of which is decorated with a profusion of carved work; it was built by Sir Richard Wynne, from a design by Inigo Jones, in 1633, as a burial place for his family, the deceased members of which had previously been interred in the chancel, and contains many elegantly engraved brasses, exhibiting portraits of several of this family. On the eastern wall is a slab of white marble, recording the pedigree of the founder, and tracing his ancestors to Owen Gwynedd, prince of North Wales. On the southern wall is a mutilated monument to the memory of Sir John Wynne, Bart., a learned antiquary, and an indefatigable gleaner of materials for the illustration of Welsh history. In the centre of the chapel, upon the floor, lies the stone coffin of Llywelyn the Great, who died in 1240, and was interred in the abbey which he had founded at Aberconway, thence removed to Maenan, and from that place, at the dissolution, the coffin was brought to the old parish church of Llanrwst, where it remained obscured by rubbish, until placed in its present more appropriate situation. The same attention has likewise been paid to another piece of antiquity placed near it, a recumbent armed effigy of Howel Coetmor, grandson of Davydd, brother to Llywelyn ap Gruffydd; he was the owner of the Gwydir estate, which was sold by one of his descendants to the family of Wynne. There are in the parish eleven places of worship for dissenters. A new church, called by the inhabitants the English church, has lately been erected about half a mile from Llanrwst. It is a neat and commodious edifice.

Gwydir.

This ancient mansion, about half a mile distant from the town, beautifully situated amidst extensive woods of oak, which clothe the rocks projecting between the rivers Conway and Llugwy, near the foot of a lofty precipice called Carreg y Gwalch, or the Rock of the Falcon, was erected by John Wynne ab Meredydd, in 1555, and comprised an extensive, but somewhat irregular pile of buildings, ranged in a quadrangular style, and consisting of an inner and outer court. A great part of this edifice was taken down in 1816, since which time the present structure, though on a much smaller scale, has been built. A small portion of the former mansion still remains, and is fitted up in an antique and elegant style. That part which was built by Meredydd still remains, and contains some magnificent rooms, in which are several articles of furniture made from the druidical oaks of ancient times, and the cradle which nurtured Sir John and Sir Richard Wynne is still to be seen. The pleasure grounds are laid out with great taste, and contain a good collection of plants. Mary Wynne, afterwards Duchess of Ancaster, the last of this great race, conveyed the property to that family, and Lord Willoughby d’Eresby now possesses it in right of his lady.

Vale of Llanrwst.

This delightful vale, which is neither so widely extended as the Vale of Clwyd, nor so contracted as that of Llangollen, is regarded by the admirers of picturesque scenery, as exhibiting the most varied assemblage of beautiful features which the pencil could delineate. Mr. Burke has pronounced it “the most charming spot in Wales.” The prospect of the dense woods and towering hills which enclose it on each side, is enlivened by the sparkling waters of the sportive Conway, which present an animated scene, either of small vessels arriving at the village of Trefriw, or of the diminutive boats, called coracles, used in fishing for salmon and smelts, considerable quantities of which are caught in their respective seasons. At Mayne, within a mile of Llanrwst, is a spring of high repute, and frequently used with great effect as a cold bath.

In the valley called Nant Bwlch yr Haiarn, near Gwydir, is a cataract which falls about 100 feet, called Rhaiadr-y-Parc Mawr. The quantity of water, however, is seldom large enough to produce much effect. About two miles and a half from Llanrwst, on the Conway road, is the small but beautiful village of

Trefriw,

situated on an eminence commanding a delightful and extensive view of the Vale of Llanrwst. Near and above this lovely spot is the celebrated lake of Geirionydd, on the banks of which lived the illustrious bard Taliesin, called by his countrymen, by way of distinction, “Taliesin ben Beirdd,” the chief of the bards. About a mile from Llyn Geirionydd is the mountain village of Llanrhychwyn. Lord Willoughby d’Eresby has erected a monument which his lordship intended should identify the spot where the poet resided. Here, in a sort of hollow, formed on the summit of a mound, are still to be seen some remains of an ancient habitation. The river Conway is navigable from its mouth to Trefriw, for vessels of 60 tons burden, which bring coal, lime, timber, and grocery, for the supply of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood, and carry back the produce of the slate quarries and mines of the adjoining parishes. Five miles S. E. of Llanrwst, is

Gwytherin,

a small village, very poor and primitive indeed, once celebrated as the burial place of St. Winefred, but the pilgrimages to it are now few and far between.—Three miles to the north stood the Abbey of Maenan; but a large old house built out of its ruins now occupies its place.

Angling Stations.

_Distance from Llanrwst_. _Miles_. Bettws-y-Coed 5 Trefriw 2½ Dolgarrog 4 Llanbedr 5 Dolwyddelan 8 _Various Lakes near Llanrhychwyn and Dôlgarrog_, _viz._ Llyn Geirionydd 4 Llyn Bogynmyd 3 Llyn Cowlyd 6 Llyn Afangc. Llyn Tal-y-llyn, and Llyn Crafnant, near Llanrwst.

MACHYNLLETH, (_Montgomeryshire_.)

Aberdovey 10 Aberystwyth 18 Chester 70 Dolgelley 16 Llanidloes 20 London 208 Newtown 28 Towyn 14

Machynlleth is an ancient well-built town, superior to most in North Wales for cleanliness and respectability, the streets being remarkably spacious and regular in appearance. It is situated on the road leading to Aberystwyth from Shrewsbury and North Wales, about a quarter of a mile from the southern bank of the river Dyfi. The township contains a population of 2482. It is the centre of the woollen manufactory in this part of the country, where also some tanning business is carried on. The Eagles is accounted the principal inn, and the Unicorn Arms, in the middle of the town, has obtained a good repute for excellent accommodation. The name of this town signifies the place of the river Cynllaeth, which was the ancient name of the Dyfi or Dovey, in the valley of which it stands. It is the supposed Maglana of the Romans, where, in the reign of Honorius, a lieutenant was stationed to awe the mountaineers.

Here Owen Glyndwr summoned the nobility and gentry, of Wales in 1402. Amongst the number, Sir David Gam attended with the design of murdering Glyndwr, but the plot was discovered, and Sir David was seized. He would have suffered instantaneous death, had not some powerful friends interfered, through whose intercession his sentence was mitigated to confinement at Machynlleth, where he continued some time. But Sir David was scarcely set at liberty, ere he began to manifest a turbulent disposition; which so exasperated Glyndwr, that he burnt his house in resentment, uttering to Gam’s servant the following extemporaneous stanza:—

Os gweli di wr coch cam, Yn ’mofyn am Gyrnigwen; Dywed ei bod hi tan y lan, A nod y glo ar ei phen.

David, however, escaped this meditated vengeance by flying into England, where he continued in favour at the court of Henry the Fifth.

In the august assembly called Owen’s parliament, Glyndwr exerted his first acts of royalty, being then acknowledged as the Prince of Wales, and proclaimed and crowned.

Machynlleth has a neat and commodious church, which has recently been rebuilt. The town-hall or market-house was erected in 1783, by Sir W. W. Wynn, grandfather of the present owner of Wynnstay, who is lord of the manor, and holds courts leet twice in the year. The county court is held alternately here and at Montgomery, and the petty sessions for the hundred are held here occasionally. There are places of worship for Independents, Calvinists, and Wesleyan Methodists; and a national school liberally endowed.

The new line of road from Machynlleth to Towyn is exceedingly picturesque and beautiful, particularly that part of it lying between Penal and Aberdovey, which is cut out of the solid rock, and was opened in 1827; it passes along the northern bank of the Dovey, and affords most delightful views of the opposite coast of Cardiganshire, with the sea in the distance.

MAEN-TWROG (_Merionethshire_.)

Bala 22 Bedd-gelert 10 Capel Curig 22 Caernarvon 23 Dolgelley 18 Ffestiniog 3 Harlech 10 Slate Quarries 5 Tan-y-Bwlch 0¼ Tremadoc 10 The Cataracts 2

This is a small village, situated in the most romantic part of the highly picturesque vale of Ffestiniog, on the southern bank of the river Dwyryd. It derives its name from a large stone, still remaining in the church-yard, called Maen-Twrog, erected to the memory of a British saint, who died about the year 610. The church was rebuilt on the site of the ancient structure in 1814, and is a neat stone edifice with a square embattled tower. The Rev. Edmund Prys, Archdeacon of Merioneth, one of the most eminent poets of his time, was rector of this parish: he translated the metrical psalms used in the Welsh churches, and assisted Bishop Morgan in translating the Bible. He died in the year 1623, and was buried in Maen-Twrog church. Nothing can exceed the beauties of the little vale in which the village is built; the well-wooded hills are moderately high, and scattered with pleasing effect.

There is a comfortable inn here, where neat cars may be had. A Sunday school was lately erected, at the expense of Mrs. Oakley. Within sight of the village, and about a quarter of a mile distant, on the opposite side of the river, is

Tan-y-Bwlch,

that is, Below the Pass, which is one of the most beautiful and celebrated places connected with the range of Snowdonian mountains. It takes its name from being situated at the brow of a hill, where it overlooks the vale of Ffestiniog; and from Plâs Tan-y-Bwlch, the residence of the late W. G. Oakley, Esq., which is delightfully and romantically situated. The prospect from the terrace of this mansion is most splendid and interesting, embracing the glorious scenery of the vale of Ffestiniog, the river Dwyryd in all its meandering windings, the range of Merionethshire mountains in the distance, the majestic castle of Harlech, and the lake-like intervening views opening into Cardigan bay.

The Oakley Arms, an elegant hotel, is conveniently situated in the centre of the many attractive objects of this romantic district.

Several Roman antiquities have lately been found near this place, consisting of coins, urns, and inscribed stones, some of which are in the possession of Mrs. Oakley, and of J. Lloyd, Esq. of Pen-y-Glanau, who has also an extensive collection of antiquities, found in different parts of the Principality.

About two miles on the Harlech road, up a woody valley, are two most interesting waterfalls, on the Velin-Rhyd river, one called the Rhaiadr Dû, or the Black Cataract, and the other the Raven Fall. From the former the water rushes down a steep channel for about one hundred yards, and is thence thrown with great force over three rocks, each of which takes a different direction from the others: the depth of the fall is about forty feet. The latter is not more than a quarter of a mile distant, and in equal in beauty and grandeur. It consists of six different falls, each of which, about thirty feet in extent, is beautifully picturesque, and, as seen from the base of the rock over which the river descends, has a sublime and romantic appearance. There are also several other falls of minor interest on the streams that water the vale. At a cottage near the bridge, which the tourist will cross before he leaves the main road from Maen-Twrog, a guide to the falls may be obtained.

After the natural beauties of this lovely district, the object of the greatest attraction is the Ffestiniog railroad, for the conveyance of slates from the Ffestiniog quarries to Port Madoc, which is cut through rocks nearly the whole length of fourteen miles, and forms an inclined plane the whole distance, the fall of which is equal to one in one hundred and twenty, and the descent from its commencement to its termination is a most delightful ride, through an infinite variety of sublime and interesting scenery. For the accommodation of tourists and visitors, a carriage, connected with the Oakley Arms Hotel, has been placed on the line.

The quarries with which the railway is in connexion produce the best and most valuable kind of slate. They belong to Lords Newborough, Palmerston, and Powlett; Mrs. Oakley; S. Holland, J. Greaves, W. Turner, and Thomas Casson, Esquires.

MALLWYD. (_Montgomeryshire_.)

Bala 19 Can-Office 12 Dinas Mowddwy 1½ Machynlleth 12

This is a little village, placed between the salient angles of three abrupt mountains, Arran, Camlan, and Moel Dyfi, in a small valley surrounded by many delightful scenes, through which runs the river Dyfi, or Dovey.

The falls of the Dovey at Pont Fallwyd, about half a mile distant, are particularly romantic and beautiful.

The church is a very humble Gothic structure. The churchyard is remarkable for several large yew trees, one of which measures twenty-two feet in girth, and forty feet in height.—Mallwyd has a good inn, where post chaises may be procured.

MOLD, (_Flintshire_.)

Chester 12 Denbigh 16 Flint 6 Hawarden 6 Holywell 10 London 200 Northop 3 Ruthin 10 Wrexham 11

The ancient British name of this place, (Yr Wyddgrûg), signifying a Lofty and Conspicuous Hill, and also the Roman name of Mont Altus, of like import, were derived from a high mound on the north-western side of the present town, now called the Bailey Hill, a commanding eminence, partly natural, and partly artificial, upon which a fortification appears to have been erected at a very early period, but whether by the ancient Britons, or by the Romans, is not accurately known. It is seated in a pleasant valley, watered by the river Alyn; consists principally of one long spacious street; and in 1841, with that part of the township immediately adjoining, contained 10,653 inhabitants. By the late Act for amending the representation, Mold has been constituted a borough, contributory with Flint and the other boroughs in the county, in the return of a member to Parliament.

In the environs are numerous handsome seats and elegant mansions. The principal inns are the Black Lion and Leeswood Arms hotels. To the former a spacious assembly room has lately been added, and many agreeable balls are there given. The parish abounds with mineral wealth; the western district is rich in lead ore, which is generally found imbedded in limestone, or chirtz; but the operations are much impeded by the subterraneous stream of the Alyn, which here flows under ground for the space of upwards of half a mile. Numerous tumuli are found in various parts of the parish. In October 1833, some workmen, digging in a field near the town, discovered a human skeleton, having at its feet an earthern pot, which apparently contained ashes; and on the breast, with other metal, a large plate of gold, much ornamented, valued at the sum of £70: the trustees of the British Museum became the purchasers of these antique relics.

In the neighbourhood are various works for smelting lead, and an extensive cotton mill.

The county assizes are held in Mold. A new county hall has been erected in the old English style of architecture, from a design by Thomas Jones, Esq., architect, of Chester.

The church, dedicated to St. Mary, and said to have been erected in the early part of the sixteenth century, is a spacious and handsome structure, consisting of a nave, north and south aisles, and a chancel, with a lofty square embattled tower, enriched with sculpture and crowned with pinnacles, which though of more recent erection, precisely correspond with the general design. The interior of the church is embellished with architectural details and sculptured monuments. Among numerous monuments worthy of examination, is an elegant one to the memory of Richard Davies, Esq., of Llanerch; and against a pillar of the nave is this singular epitaph, composed by Dr. Wynne for himself, and placed there during his life:—“In conformity to ancient usage, from a proper regard to decency, and a concern for the health of his fellow-creatures, he was moved to give particular directions for being buried in the adjoining churchyard, and not in the church; and as he scorned flattering of others while living, he has taken care to prevent being flattered by others when dead, by causing this small memorial to be set up in his lifetime: God be merciful to me a sinner!” In the burial ground are deposited the remains of Wilson, the celebrated painter, styled “the English Claude.” There are places of worship for various denominations of dissenters. A branch railway from Mold, to form a junction with the Shrewsbury and Holyhead lines, at Saltney, near Chester, will soon be constructed.

Of the ancient castle not a vestige at present can be discerned, and its very site is completely covered with thriving plantations. The Bailey Hill, on which it stood, though at present difficult of ascent, was rendered still more arduous by the erection of strong ramparts and the formation of a deep moat: from the summit of this hill a fine view of the surrounding country is obtained. About a mile west of Mold is a noted spot of ground, called

Maes Garmon,

Or the Field of Germanus. Soon after the final establishment of Christianity in this part of the Principality, about 448, a severe conflict took place here, between the combined forces of the pagan Saxons and Picts, and the native converts, of whom thousands had been just previously baptized. The latter calmly awaited the approach of the enemy at this place, under the command of Bishops Germanus and Lupus, the former of whom, having given his troops orders to repeat after him the word “alleluiah,” led them on to battle.

This triumphant shout, uttered by the whole army, struck such terror into the hearts of the pagans, that they fled on all sides; numbers perished by the swords of their pursuers; and many, attempting to escape, were drowned in the adjacent river. This celebrated victory, which took place in Easter week, has been distinguished by historians with the appellation of “Victoria Alleluiatica;” and the memorial of it has been perpetuated by the erection of a pillar, in 1730, on the spot where St. Germanus is said to have stood. Modern researches of antiquarians have raised a doubt as to the locality of this remarkable event. One mile and a half on the Chester road runs

Offa’s Dyke,

The ancient and famous boundary between Wales and England, extending from Basingwerk, in Flintshire, to Monmouth. When the Romans made their inroads into this island, many of the Britons retreated into Wales, at which time the rivers Dee and Severn divided the two countries: all to the east was England, and to the west Wales. This division continued about 600 years, when the ambitious Offa, coveting the fertile lands of his neighbours, raised a quarrel and an army. He drove the conquered westward among the mountains, seized their property, formed this vast dyke, and ordained that neither Englishman nor Welshman should pass the new boundary.

The Tower.

On the right of the road leading towards Caergwrle, and about a mile from Mold, is an old structure, which presents a singular specimen of the style of domestic architecture during the ages of lawless violence in which it was erected: it consists of an ancient square tower of three stories, and appears to have been designed as a place of fortified habitation. During the wars between the houses of York and Lancaster, it was inhabited by Reinallt ab Gruffydd ab Bleddyn, who was constantly engaged in feuds with the citizens of Chester. In 1495, a considerable number of the latter came to Mold fair, and a fray arising between the hostile parties, great slaughter ensued on both sides; but Reinallt, who obtained the victory, took the mayor of Chester prisoner, and conveyed him to his mansion, where he hung him on the staple in his great hall. To avenge this affront, a party of two hundred men was dispatched from Chester to seize Reinallt, who, retiring from his house into the adjoining woods, permitted a few of them to enter the building, when, rushing from his concealment, he blocked up the door, and, setting fire to the house, destroyed them in the flames: he then attacked the remainder, whom he pursued with great slaughter: and such as escaped the sword, were drowned in attempting to regain their homes. The staple on which the mayor was hung still remains fixed on the ceiling of the lower apartment.

Moel Fammau.

On the right of the road to Ruthin, about five miles west of Mold, is this conspicuous eminence, rising 1845 feet above the level of the sea. Upon the summit of this mountain, the gentlemen of the country entered into a subscription, and erected in 1810, a jubilee column, to commemorate the fiftieth year of the reign of George III. The first stone was laid by Lord Kenyon, on the 25th October, in the presence of more than 3000 people. The monument was executed from designs by T. Harrison, Esq., of Chester, and consists of a rough stone building of pyramidal form, about 150 feet in height, and 60 feet diameter at the base. A square block of stone in the centse marks the division of the two counties, Denbighshire and Flintshire, and four parishes. From this elevated spot may be seen parts of Staffordshire and Derbyshire; the Wrekin, in Shropshire; Snowdon and Cader Idris, in Wales; and Black Comb, in Cumberland. The view is exceedingly grand and extensive, combining every variety of natural scenery; and as the mountain road has lately been repaired, and a room for visitors with a shed for horses erected on the summit, it forms a convenient and interesting spot from which to contemplate the beauties of Wales. The jubilee column has also been repaired by public subscription, to which Lord Kenyon was a liberal contributor.

Kilkain.

This village, which lies about four miles from Mold, on the bridle road to Denbigh, is remarkable for the finely-carved roof of its church, which at the dissolution of monasteries was brought from the abbey of Basingwerk.

MONA INN, (_Anglesea_.)

Beaumaris 14 Holyhead 12 Menai Bridge 10