HOLYHEAD.

And thou, Holyhead!—thy time-honoured name,

Shall henceforth flutter on the wings of fame.

To trace a mighty river to its source, has ever been considered a sublime

and interesting employment. It is pleasing to ascend its course from the

point where it opens into the ocean, and becomes an inlet of wealth to an

empire, till we arrive at the spot where it bubbles up a spring just

sufficient to irrigate the meadows of a neighbouring farm, and to

observe, as it receives the confluence of tributary waters, how it

diffuses its benefits to the tribes that dwell upon its banks. Still

more engaging is the task to trace the history of flourishing cities and

thriving towns. The rise and progress of Holyhead, from an obscure and

mean condition to one of increasing prosperity, is full of interest. Its

early history appears to have had but little attention, and perhaps

deservedly, from the insignificancy of the object. In giving a succinct

account of it, the writer finds himself somewhat perplexed, in

consequence of the very scanty materials with which he is furnished. The

historical guide-stones placed along the march of time are few and far

between. There are centuries in which the footprints of its history are

scarcely traceable. Roll back the tide of time, and you will find

Holyhead a small fishing village, where

A band of fishers chose their humble seat;

Contented labour bless’d the fair retreat:

Inured to hardship, patient, bold, and rude,

They brav’d the billows for precarious food;

Their straggling huts were ranged along the shore,

Their nets and little boats, their only store.

_When_ and by _whom_ the Isle of Holyhead was first peopled is involved

in obscurity; to us in this age, this part of its history is a profound

secret; all that is, therefore, said on that subject must be mere

conjecture. Antiquarians and historians have exercised their ingenuity

with respect to the origin of the name of the town. On this subject

there are various opinions. It was regarded as peculiarly sacred, in

consequence of its being the place of interment of pious people, and

thence called Holy Island. Some suppose the place was called Holy-head,

from the great number of chapels or places of religious worship that were

in it. Others assert that its most ancient name was _Llan y Gwyddel_;

and they say that the word _Llan_ probably signifies the Irishman’s beach

or shore, and not church, as generally accepted, for the shore is called

in this parish, and no where else in Wales, _Llan y Mor_, instead of

_Glan y Mor_; and in support of this supposition, our histories make

frequent mention of the Irish rovers landing here, and of their

incursions into several parts of the Island of Mona, or Anglesey, and

also raising some rude fortifications to protect their shipping. At the

present time there are places near Holyhead called _Porth y Gwyddyl_,

(Irishman’s port); _Pentre Gwyddyl_, (Irishman’s village, or hamlet);

_Cytiau’r Gwyddelod_, (Irishman’s cottages.)

Again it is conjectured, that Holyhead, like most Welsh towns, dates its

origin from an early Saint; and there are also the usual stories of

miraculous arrivals, especially as relates to one St. Fraid, (Bride) an

Irish Saintess, who, it is said, sailed from Ireland on a sod of green

turf, which, on her landing, became a firm hillock, and upon which she

built her chapel. And one of the old Bards founds the name of the Island

as springing from this mysterious lady, which he chronicles in the

following couplet:—

Swift o’er the sea the floating island fled,

While glorious rays illum’d her HOLY HEAD.

But its most usual Welsh name is _Caer Cybi_, (Fort of Cybi,) so called

from St. Cybi. History records the following account of this singular

and extraordinary personage.—Holyhead was the residence of a British

Saint, named Corincus, or Cybi, son of Solomon, Duke of Cornwall; who, it

is said, about the middle of the fourth century, after having lived a

very religious life for 20 years, went over to France, to Hilary, Bishop

of Poictiers; and finding favour with the Bishop, was ordained by him,

and officiated as his assistant until the Bishop’s death. He then

returned to his native place; but on account of tribulation in the

country, and some painful occurrences in the circumstances of his family,

he left home again, and arrived at St. David’s, and ultimately crossed

over to Ireland; and after residing there four years, returned and

settled in Holyhead. A Prince in Anglesey, out of compassion to him, in

consequence of his low pecuniary circumstances, gave him a castle, which

was in the neighbourhood. Cybi founded a small monastery within the

castle walls, and the establishment was called Côr Cybi, in allusion to

the monastery, or Caer Cybi, in reference to the castle walls. Mr.

Pennant presumes that the name of the town has originated from the castle

walls, the remains of which are still to be seen. Mr. Morris says, that

Caer Cybi, lived at the time of the dissolution of the Roman Empire in

Britain, and was contemporary, and on great friendship with Seiriol, an

eminent Saint, of Priestholme, or Ynys Seiriol, (Seiriol’s Island,) near

Beaumaris. St. Cybi, observes Tanner, flourished about A.D. 380, and

founded a small monastery in Holyhead. In the beginning of the 15th

century, the Irish fleet invaded Anglesey; and after committing some

depredations, returned to Ireland, taking with them the shrine of St.

Cybi, which trophy they deposited among the relics in Christ’s church.

Whether this town took its name from the Irish, who very early resided

here,—or from its number of chapels,—or from the interment of the

pious,—or from the legend of St. Bride,—or from the Saint who dwelt

within its ancient fort,—is surely now of very little consequence.

About A.D. 389, the Irish, under the command of Serigi, (the Rover,)

landed in Anglesey; and having defeated the natives, took possession of

the Island. On this invasion, _Caswallon-Llaw-Hir_, (or the longhanded)

Prince of Wales, came to the relief of Mona; and having routed the enemy,

pursued them to Holyhead, where their fleet lay; here they fought a

second battle, in which Caswallon slew Serigi, the Irish commander, with

his own hand. It is said that in this action the tribe of Caswallon put

the fetters of their horses upon their own legs, by two and two, to shew

their determination was,

Their country, parents, children, save,

Or fill one great and glorious grave!

The few records we have concerning Caswallon-Llaw-Hir, delineate the

great man and the hero. He was the eldest son of Einion Yrth, sovereign

of North Wales. The Triads record him with Rhiwallon son of Urier, and

Belyn, as the chiefs of the three golden-banded tribes. In consequence

of the signal bravery of the people of Caswallon, in the great battle of

Holyhead, their leader obtained a privilege of wearing the golden bands,

which denoted that no other power had jurisdiction there except the voice

of the national diet, assembled on extraordinary occasions. After this

conquest, a chapel was erected, within the fortification of Holyhead,

over Serigi, called _Eglwys y Bedd_, i.e., the church of the grave. This

church was afterwards endowed with distinct revenues from those of the

Collegiate Church, as appears by the College leases; it was called in the

British manuscript, _Capel Llan y Gwyddel_, or the Chapel of the

Irishman. At length it fell into ruin, and remained disused for ages;

and was ultimately removed, in order to render the way to the church more

commodious. In digging, the workmen found a stone coffin, or chest,

under an arch in the north side of the chancel, with human bones of a

prodigious size. Serigi was canonized by his countrymen, and had in this

chapel a shrine, which seems to have been held in exceedingly high

repute, for several very wonderful qualities and cures; but according to

an old Irish chronicle, it was carried off by some Irish rovers, and

deposited in the Cathedral of Christ Church, Dublin; from whence, they

were removed with many others, after the reformation, to — a place not

far from Dublin, where the relics that could be preserved from that

universal destruction are still kept.

A religious house is said to have been erected here by Prince _Maelgwyn

Gwynedd_, in the latter part of the 6th century. Maelgwyn Gwynedd

endowed the See of Bangor with lands and franchises; he also built or

repaired Shrewsbury, and the Castle of Harlech; also the Priory of

Penmon; and was the patron of Taliesin, the Post Laureate, and prince of

the celebrated Bards. A castle, now in ruins, over against the town of

Conway, was originally erected by him; he was contempory with Prince

Arthur:—

In Arthur’s days, of ancient date,

When Cambria’s chiefs elected

Her Maelgwyn to the regal seat,

Were Harlech’s towers erected.

History says he died of the yellow fever, which then desolated the

country, in the church of Llanrhos, which gave rise to an adage,—

The sleep of Maelgwyn in the church of Llanrhos.

Holyhead being a landing place for the enemy, was often the scene of

violent encounters, between the Welsh on the one side, and the Irish,

Picts, Danes, and Saxons on the other.

In A.D. 914, the men of Dublin destroyed Holyhead and ravaged the Isle of

Anglesey.

In A.D. 958, Abloic, King of Ireland, burnt Holyhead, and spoiled the

country.

The house for canons regular, called the College, appears to have been

founded by _Hwfa ap Cynddelw_, lord of Llys Llifon, and one of the

fifteen tribes of North Wales, a contemporary with Owen Gwynedd, who

began his reign in 1137. This college was granted by James I. to Francis

Morris, and Francis Phillips. It afterwards became the property of Rice

Gwynne, Esq., who, in the year 1640, transferred the tithes to Jesus

College, Oxford, for the maintenance of two Scholars, and two Fellows;

since that time, the parish has been served by a Curate, nominated by the

College. The Rev. Charles Williams, B.D., is the present Incumbent.

The head of this institute, formerly one of the three Spiritual Lords of

Anglesey, was usually denominated _Penclas_, or _Pencolas_. The Rev. Mr.

Evans considers it to have been _Pencais_, or chief judge in

ecclesiastical matters. But from the inscription on the exergue of the

ancient seal belonging to the Chapter, “_Sigillum Rectoris et capitali

Ecclesia de Caer Gybi_;” it appears that his customary title was that of

_Rector_. He was styled in a subsequent period _Provost_; for Edward

III. bestowed the Provostship of “his free Chapel, Caer Cybi, on his

Chaplain, Thomas de London,” for which the King, in 1351, dispensed with

his services to himself. The original number of Canons is uncertain. By

an inquisition made in 1553, twelve persons, styled Prependaries, were

found on the pension list, receiving an annual allowance of twenty

shillings each. Prior to the dissolution, the Provost had an income of

thirty-nine marks, (£26); one Chaplain, a stipend of thirteen marks, (£8

13s. 4d.); and two others, each a moiety of the latter sum. The

estimate, therefore, made in the time of Henry VIII., of its annual

revenue, as amounting to £24, must have been an under valuation.

In 1745, the materials of _Capel Llan y Gwyddel_, or the Irishman’s

Chapel, were used for the purpose of building a Public School, by Edward

Wynn, L.L.D., of Bodewryd, in this county, who gave by bond, dated Nov.

25th, 1748, the sum of £120 for the endowment of it; the interest thereof

to be paid annually, on the 24th of November, to the Schoolmaster, for

teaching six poor boys of the town to read and write.