“Desolate is the dwelling of Morna: silence is in the house of her
fathers. The voice of the people is heard no more. The stream of
Cultha is removed from its place by the fall of its walls. Raise the
song of mourning, O bards.”
The Castell Dinas Bran, vulgarly called Crow Castle, is one of the
primitive Welch Castles. I shall but bewilder myself or my readers, by
seeking for the origin of its name, which so many learned men have sought
in vain; all their researches ending in conjecture: nor can I find any
account to be relied upon, when or by whom it was erected.
The Castle stands, as hath before been shown, immediately above and on
the north side of Llangollen, on a conical mountain, about six hundred
yards above the level of the river Dee; {45} and is built on the summit
of the hill, which probably was leveled to procure materials, as the
building occupies the whole flat. It seems to have been about one
hundred yards in length, by fifty yards wide. The present remains are
almost without form: they are built of the silicious stone of the
mountain, set in a coarse mortar or grout, which is grown as hard as the
stone itself. There are here and there scattered remains of hewn stone
for facings, &c. some vestiges of a small round tower and a vaulted
passage, and also a very limpid stream, now almost choked with ruins.
A room {46a} has been built within these few years, for the shelter and
convenience of visitors to the Castle; the key of which may be obtained
at a little white cottage half way up the hill, inhabited by a very civil
woman of the name of Parry, who conducts the visitants, and provides them
with tea if required.
The Castle is conjectured to have been built by the Britons before the
Roman invasion; and was probably the residence of Eliseg in the year 600.
{46b} In the absence of all authentic accounts, I present my readers
with a free translation of what I conceive to be a legendary tale, hoping
it will at least amuse.
I find in the fragment of an old Welch book (from which the title-page is
lost,) obligingly lent to me by Mr. Edward Morris, of Rhisgog, to whom I
am indebted for much valuable information, the following account of the
building of Castell Dinas Bran:—
“The Duke of Difnal, or Cornwall, having conquered all his enemies,
was crowned King, and reigned in peace forty years, leaving at his
death his kingdom to his two sons, who were twins; Beli was the
firstborn, Bran was the youngest. They began to reign Anno Mundi
3600, but contentions soon arising between them, they appealed to
arms, and called their friends and adherents to the field; and,
notwithstanding the persuasions and remonstrances of the chiefs and
great men of the country, a day was appointed for the decision of
their claims by arms.
“In the meanwhile, their mother, the old Queen Corwena, obtained an
interview with her sons in her own apartments; when, placing herself
between them, she fell on her knees, her grey hair disheveled, and
her bosom bare, and thus addressed them:—‘O! my dear sons, look on
your mother, and for her sake forbear to shed the blood of your
friends; remember, it is the Queen who solicits you to peace and
unity; and remember also that the blood of those brave men who fall
in this quarrel will cry for vengeance, and a life for a life, and a
tooth for a tooth, will be required. Consider, you once lived
together in peace upon this bosom, and now this great kingdom is too
small for you. For God’s sake, and as you value my blessing, cast
away this fierce wrath; be not more cruel than the wolves of your
forests, and the bears of your woods. See how my tears fall upon
those breasts where you were wont to be cherished together. Do not
let me go to my dark house in sorrow. Throw down your arms, and
embrace each other as brothers, that God may bless the end of your
days with peace and prosperity, and crown your wives and your
children with comfort and joy. Amen.’
“The two brothers were so affected by this address from their mother,
that they both assisted to raise her from her knees, and intreated
her blessing. They then embraced, and drinking to their mother and
to each other, dismissed their armies. Beli went to New Troy, {48a}
and Bran took up his residence at a strong fortress, which he had
built near Llan-collen, {48b} and called Dinas Bran, after his own
name.
“The Queen, returning to the portion of land which had been given to
her as a jointure, there built a small town, which she named after
herself, Corwen.”
The following seems to be another version of the same story; and as the
Brut from which it is taken is by the learned translator supposed to be
the real Book of Gildas, {48c} I hope the antiquity and rarity of the
account will be a sufficient excuse to my general readers:—
“Beli and Bran were the sons of Dyfnwal, and began to reign 667 years
before Christ. {48d} A violent struggle arose for the sovereignty of
the kingdom, which ended in it being divided between them: however,
in process of time, ambition again prompted the two brothers to
collect their respective forces, in order to obtain supremacy; but
when the two armies were about to engage, their mother the old Queen
Torwen, or Tarevin, rushed between the lines, and hastening to her
son Bran, who had long been absent from her, she tenderly embraced
him, and with many sighs and tears intreated him to be reconciled to
his brother Beli. Her intreaties so wrought upon Bran that he turned
all his thoughts to peace, and laying aside his helmet, he went
unarmed to meet his brother. A reconciliation then took place, the
forces on each side throwing down their arms, and approving the
peace; and both parties went together to London, at that time called
Troia Newydd.” {49}
As Eliseg’s Pillar has given a name to a fertile valley, to a township,
and to the wonderful and stupendous Eglwyseg Rocks, and which they all
retain to this day, I presume to ask, is it not as reasonable to suppose,
since we find it recorded that there was a British King of the name of
Bran, that the name of the Castle I am describing should have been
derived from him, rather than from a paltry stream bearing the name of
Bran, or from an insignificant bird; for Bran in the Welch language
signifies Crow. Might not, also, the streamlet of the Bran take its name
from the city of Bran? for I find in Richards’s Welch Dictionary,
“Dinas,” English “City;” therefore, “Castell Dinas Bran,” i.e. “The
Castle of the City of Bran;” “Din,” “a fortified city or mount,” as
Dinbren, which adjoins the Castle Hill. Should these hints, which with
all deference I venture to suggest, invite others to a deeper and more
successful research, I shall be happy; and I sincerely wish some one may
prosecute further inquiry, furnished with more ample materials, and
endowed with a superior degree of antiquarian knowledge.
Leaving apocryphal accounts, I find that Madog Ap Gryffydd Maelor, who
founded the Abbey Crucis A.D. 1200, and who was by his mother’s side the
grandson of Gwen Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, resided at Castell Dinas
Bran. {50a} He inherited Powis Madoc, and was Lord of the second
Bromfeild and Mochnant Is Rhauader. {50b}
In the year 1209, Madog, forgetting his duty to his country and to his
prince, led his vassals and adherents to join the English army under King
John, then lying at Oswestry {50c} (Wynne says at Chester {50d}); where
he had assembled a great force, and with his usual violence and passion
had resolved to execute the severest vengeance on the inhabitants of
North Wales, and not to suffer a person to remain alive in the country.
But such resolves are sooner made than executed; and Llewellyn, Prince of
Wales, no sooner heard of these mighty preparations, and of the
disaffection of some of his own countrymen, particularly of the Lord of
Dinas Bran, than he issued his orders to his subjects in the counties of
Denbigh and Flint, to remove all their cattle and moveable substance for
a season, to the mountains of Snowdon; by which means, and by getting
into the rear of the King’s army, now advanced as far as the Castle of
Treganwy, he so straitened and harassed the English forces, that, after
eating their horses, and being reduced to the greatest extremity, they
were obliged to retrace their steps at that time in disgrace, and
breathing revenge, which the King in some measure executed the next year.
{51a} But as I mean to confine myself to the history of the Lords of
Dinas Bran, I will not deviate from my plan, by noticing matter which may
be deemed extraneous.
When John by his maladministration had quarrelled with his great Barons,
and thrown England into confusion, the vaccillating Madog, Lord of Dinas
Bran, again swore fealty to his lawful Prince, Llewellyn, who politically
overlooked his disaffection, and accepted his submission. This and some
other accession of force enabled the Welch Prince successfully to assail
the English, from whom he took all the castles the King had garrisoned,
and most cruelly and unjustly put to death all their defenders in cold
blood. This happened A.D. 1213. {51b} The remainder of the time of this
factious man, Madog, was occupied in rapine, war, and slaughter; and he
closed his turbulent life in Castell Dinas Bran, and was buried at his
Abbey of Llan Egwest, or Valle Crucis, A.D. 1236, {51c} leaving his son
Lord of Powis Fadog, Lord of Dinas Bran, and all his other signiorities.
Gryffydd Ap Madog, like his father, partook of the character of the
times, and was fickle and turbulent. His father, Madog Ap Gryffydd
Maelor, had generally resided at Wattstay, now Wynnstay; but Gryffydd Ap
Madog made the Castell Dinas Bran his chief residence, and it is probable
that his confidence in this almost inaccessible retreat might strengthen
and encourage him in his waywardness.
I find him joining Prince Edward, the son of Henry III. then King of
England, with all his forces, in the year 1257; and his disaffection is
thus stigmatized by the old writers: {52a}—“But Gryffydd Ap Madog Maelor,
Lord of Dinas Bran, a person of notorious reputation for injustice and
oppression, basely forsook the Welch, his countrymen, and with all his
forces went over to the Earl of Chester.” {52b}
The following year, Llewellyn the Prince, returning from an expedition
into South Wales, met the Earl, and forced him to retreat with great
precipitation, leaving the possessions of his unnatural allies at the
mercy of the conqueror, who now resolved to be revenged on that
ungrateful fugitive, the Lord of Dinas Bran. He therefore passed through
Bromfeild, and miserably laid waste the whole country, and obliged
Gryffydd to keep close in his Castle of Dinas Bran, which, being situated
on the summit of a very steep hill, seemed impregnable to all the daring
efforts that could be used against it. {53}
King Henry, being now much incensed against the Welch Prince Llewellyn,
on account of the obstinate resistance he experienced, and having drawn
together the whole strength of England, even from St. Michael’s Mount, in
Cornwall, to the river Tweed, marched with his son Edward in great rage
to North Wales, and without any opposition advanced as far as Treganwy;
but Llewellyn having taken precaution, as was the practice of the Welch
in cases of invasion, to have all manner of provision and forage carried
over the river, and having secured the strait and narrow passages whereby
the English might advance into the country, the King’s troops were in a
short time so mortally harassed and fatigued, that they were obliged to
return to England in haste, and with great loss.
Gryffydd Ap Madog, finding King Henry unable to protect his estate,
submitted to his rightful Prince; and Llewellyn then passed to Powis, and
banished Gryffydd Ap Gwenwynwyn, who had also joined the English, and
took all the lands in the country of Powis into his own hands.
Llewellyn, who was a politic prince, received the submission of the Lord
of Dinas Bran, because he knew that inaccessible fortress could not be
forced from him, and that it would not be safe to have an avowed enemy,
with so strong a refuge for his disaffected subjects, in the rear of his
operations; otherwise Gryffydd Ap Madog had merited banishment as much as
his namesake of Powisland: nay, Gryffydd, Lord of Dinas Bran, married an
English lady, {54a} Emma, daughter of Lord Audley, whose father did much
mischief and hurt to the Welch, by bringing from Germany a body of
horsemen, who, by the uncommon size of their horses, with their unusual
manner of fighting, terrified and easily defeated the Welchmen at the
first; but when they had become more familiarized with their mode, they
took their revenge upon them, even on Lord Audley’s own land. {54b}
All the nobility of Wales had solemnly sworn to defend their country till
death against the invasion of the English, and not to relinquish or
forsake one another; and the return of Gryffydd Ap Madog to his
allegiance diffused through every breast the hope of better days. {54c}
From this time to the day of his death, I do not find that he again
deserted his Prince, but attached himself to the fortunes of his country,
although fears of the resentment of his countrymen for his former conduct
made him keep close to his Castle of Dinas Bran, where he died in 1270,
{54d} and was buried by the side of his father in the Abbey Church of
Valle Crucis; leaving his country in the enjoyment of freedom and peace;
the Welch having, by innate bravery and constancy, aided by the
fastnesses of their country, and the good policy of their Prince, freed
themselves for a time from the thraldom of their potent enemy.
Mr. Pennant gives a different account of his end. {55a} He says that
“his wife Emma, having alienated his affection from his own country, made
him an instrument of its subjection, and of the destruction of his own
family; for, as he took part with Henry III. and Edward I. against his
natural Prince, the resentment of his countrymen was excited against him,
and he was obliged to shelter himself from their rage in his Castle of
Dinas Bran, where probably shame and grief put an end to his life.”
Be that as it may, Gryffydd Ap Madog, by his wife Emma, daughter of John,
Lord Audley, left issue four sons, viz. Madog, Llewellyn, Gryffydd, and
Owen. {55b} Madog, the eldest, became Lord of Dinas Bran, &c. He died,
it is supposed, not long after his father, leaving two sons to inherit
his property. {55c} The eldest, called Madog, had, by his father’s will,
Bromfeild and Yale, the Castell Dinas Bran, &c.; the second son,
Llewellyn, the Lordship of Chirk, &c. It should seem these children were
not of age when their father died; for Edward I. King of England, took on
him to appoint guardians to them both, and committed Madog, the elder, to
the care of John, Earl of Warren, one of his favorites; and Llewellyn he
intrusted to Roger Mortimer, son of Lord Mortimer, of Wigmore. {56a}
These men well understood the nature of the appointment; and it is
probable that Edward had maturely weighed in his mind the potency of
their enmity, who could be such powerful friends, and having then but
recently subjugated the country, he might wish out of his way two scions
of a stock which had proved so stubborn and so valiant. It was well
known that Warren and Mortimer had rid themselves of their respective
charges, and had possessed themselves of their estates, which they were
suffered to enjoy without an inquiry being instituted respecting them, or
about the disappearance of their wards; but the manner of the murder of
these two unfortunate children has but lately been discovered, in a
manuscript in the Bodleian Library. {56b} The guardian of the two boys
caused them to be drowned under Holt Bridge; and no doubt from hence
arose the origin of a fable which was long current in the country, of two
fairies having been drowned in that place.
From the Earls of Warren the Castell Dinas Bran passed to the Arundel
{56c} and other families. In 1390, Myfanwy Fechan, a descendant of the
house of Tudor, resided there, and was celebrated for her beauty in a
long ode by Howel Ap Einion Lygliw, a celebrated bard of that time. The
Castle was probably then held under the Earls of Arundel. It is now the
property of Mrs. Myddelton Biddulph, of Chirk Castle. The period of its
destruction is as completely unknown as the time of its foundation.
Eagles and hawks in abundance used to breed, as some now do, in the
neighbouring rocky ridge of the Eglwyseg, and
“Along the narrow valley you might see
The wild deer sporting on the meadow ground,
And here and there a solitary tree,
Or mossy stone, or rock with woodbine crown’d.
Oft did the cliffs reverberate the sound
Of parted fragments tumbling from on high,
And from the summit of that craggy mound
The perching eagle oft was heard to cry,
Or on resounding wing to shoot athwart the sky.”
The view from the Castle is not so extensive as might be expected from
its elevation, being bounded, except towards the east, by more lofty
mountains; yet the scenery is most truly grand and magnificent.
According to the plan laid down in the beginning of this work, I leave my
readers to their own observations; only informing them that the house
which makes a distinguished figure to the westward is Dinbren Hall, the
residence of Richard Jones, Esq.
Descending on the west side of the hill, and proceeding on the old way to
the Abbey Crucis, stands a neat house, called the Tŵr, i.e. Tower, which
I conjecture, for I can obtain no written document on the subject, to
have been a look-out or watch-tower belonging to the Castle; especially
as it is placed on the side most easy of access. Some additions have
been made to the Tower, and it is now a comfortable farm-house, inhabited
by a very respectable lady, of the name of Price. It has been a square
building, built of hewn stone, as evinced by the massive walls which now
surround the old part converted into a parlour, and by an old spiral
stone stair at the back of the room.
The old way from the Castle to the Abbey has been much intersected and
crossed, especially by the branch of the Ellesmere Canal, and by roads
made to recently erected retreats and farms; among which I must not,
however, reckon the road to