Bangor 9
Beaumaris 14
Beddgelert 13
Capel Curig 17
Dolbadarn Castle 10
Ffestiniog 25
Llanberis 8
London by Chester 254
— by Shrewsbury 236
Pwllheli 20
Tan-y-Bwlch 23
Tre-Madoc 20
Caernarvon is the capital of the county, and is one of the largest and
best towns in North Wales. It name is properly Caer yn Arvon, which
signifies a walled town in the district opposite to Anglesea. Ar Vôn or
Ar Môn implies opposite to Mona.
“Caernarvon (we adopt the interesting and elegant description of Mr.
Roscoe,) is built on a peninsula, formed by the Menai on the west and
north sides, and by the Seiont on the south. It was formerly
enclosed by walls, defended by a chain of round towers, which on
three sides are still nearly entire. In former times there were but
two gates through which the inhabitants passed, but other openings
have been more recently made to form communications with the suburbs,
which are rapidly extending. The town-hall is over one of the
ancient gates of the town.
A terrace, extending from the quay to the north end of the walls,
offers a delightful promenade, and presents a variety of interesting
objects around the port, which is daily rising into greater
importance by receiving and dispensing the fruits of industry and
commerce. This terrace, Mr. Bransby observes, possesses the powerful
recommendation of being always clean, and of soon becoming dry after
heavy and continued rain. From this walk to behold the sun on a calm
summer evening, as he goes down ‘in a paradise of clouds’ behind the
Anglesea hills, is to witness one of the most lovely and glorious
spectacles in nature. On an eminence called the Twt-hill, near the
Uxbridge Arms Hotel, is a most extensive and varied panoramic view,
including part of the Snowdonian range,—the isle of Anglesea, with
its plains, farms, and villas, backed by the mountains of Holyhead
and Parys,—the swelling Menai,—and the blue and spacious bay, with
the sea stretching far beyond.
The harbour and the pier have both undergone very great improvement,
and ships of considerable burthen can now come up alongside the quay.
An extensive trade is carried on with Liverpool, Dublin, Bristol,
Swansea, &c., besides a lucrative coast trade, exchanging the
invaluable mineral substances of this part of the Principality for
timber and other articles. Slates are brought here as to the general
depôt from the quarries about Llanberis and Llanllyfni; and the
country people of all ranks resort hither, as the best and cheapest
market, from a considerable distance.
The market-house, erected by the corporation, the Uxbridge Arms
Hotel, by the Marquis of Anglesea, a number of excellent inns, among
which stand foremost the Goat Hotel and the Sportsman, with hot and
cold baths, and a billiard-room, render the modern town as pleasant
and commodious a place of residence as the most fastidious nabob,—to
say nothing of hardy Welshmen and pedestrian ramblers,—could possibly
desire.
Caernarvon is resorted to as a bathing place, and by invalids seeking
health and amusement, for a temporary residence. There are here the
advantages of a genteel neighbourhood as well as salubrious air; and
the rambler in quest of romantic scenery frequently makes this town
his head quarters. Besides many pleasant walks and rides in the
immediate vicinity, within the circle of a dozen miles are the Menai
Straits as far as Bangor, Llanberis, Snowdon, Plâs Newydd, and
Beddgelert, offering not only inducements to those in search of the
picturesque, but affording a source of continued gratification to the
botanist, mineralogist, and antiquary.
The parish church of Caernarvon is at Llanbeblig, and stands in its
loneliness at the distance of half a mile to the south-east of the
castle wall. It is a structure of great antiquity, and contains the
altar-tomb of Sir William Gruffydd (a member of the Penrhyn family)
and Margaret, his wife. The knight mailed in armour, and the lady in
the full dress of the age, are sculptured in white marble, and lie
side by side. English service is performed at a chapel of ease at
Caernarvon, close to the castle; but in this venerable little place
the service is conducted in Welsh. The churchyard exhibits the
peculiarities which give a touching interest to some of the burying
places of the Principality. Flowers of all colours, but especially
snowdrops, violets, and pale primroses, display their beauty and
expend their perfume on the graves of children, and maidens ‘that die
unmarried,’ while branches of the box, arbutus, and laurel, with
shrubs of a firm and sombre hue, mark the resting places of the more
matured in this ‘City of the Silent.’
For its ample and magnificent feudal structure,—almost terrible to
the eye,—Caernarvon is indebted to the first Edward, who raised this
colossal castle—as if in derision of the poor tenure of all sovereign
power—near the ruins of the great Roman station. Soon after his
conquest, Edward began the stupendous pile, which served less to
overawe the Welsh than for a magnificent ruin and a modern wonder.
The remains of Segontium furnished part of the materials, bright grey
limestone, of exceeding durability, was brought from Twr Celyn, in
Anglesea, and grit-stone, for the windows and arches, from Vaenol,
between Caernarvon and Bangor.
Vast, irregular, and more shattered than its exterior grandeur would
lead us to suppose, this giant-fortress stretches far along the west
of the town, its broad spreading walls being surmounted, at
intervals, with octagonal towers. The extent of the courts, the
gateways, and the towers, bear equal witness to those noble
proportions which astonish the modern architect, as from its
Eagle-turrets he commands the whole of its magnificent area, and the
wide sweeping circuit of its walls.
Opposite the massive Eagle tower, in which the unfortunate Edward the
Second was born, is the Queen’s Gate, {76} which had two portcullises
that communicated with a drawbridge across the moat. Over the
embattled parapet are seen the turrets rising majestically above the
solitary ruins, bounded on two sides by the water; the third bears
traces of a large ditch; on the north-east side is a deep well,
nearly filled up, with a round tower contiguous to it, apparently the
ancient dungeon. The exterior, and especially the main entrance, has
an air of forlorn grandeur, blended with massy strength, which must
at all times excite admiration and awe in the beholder. The area
within is irregularly oblong, and was divided into an outer and inner
court. The external walls of the castle, enclosing an area of great
extent, are nearly as perfect as when they were built, and of
considerable height and thickness.
The state apartments appear to have been spacious, commodious, and
handsomely ornamented; the windows wide, and enriched with elegant
tracery. The form is polygonal, though the exterior of the edifice
presents a complete square. The floors and staircases are
considerably injured—in many places wholly demolished. A gallery
extended round the entire fortress, to serve as a means of
communication in times of danger, and during a siege. It lay close
to the outer walls, and was provided with narrow slips, adapted for
stations, from which to annoy an enemy with arrows or other missiles
as occasion might require. But its time-worn and ivy-covered
bulwarks are now fast yielding, like the interior, to the assaults of
time. Some years ago the Eagle tower, struck by lightning, was split
down several yards from the summit, giving it still more the aspect
of a splendid ruin.
It was evening, as I before said, when I first caught sight of the
castle. The sun’s disk had sunk below the horizon, but his refracted
rays still played upon that imaginary line ‘which parts the day and
night,’ casting an attenuated melancholy grace over the crumbling
fortress. I lingered amongst those ruins till the last vestige of
light was withdrawn, except such as is bestowed by a clear blue
firmament emblazoned with burning stars. As I gazed, the phantoms of
history passed rapidly before my mental eye, with an order and truth
like unto the facts treasured in her pages, and with a realizing
illusion that converted me into an actual spectator of the scenes.
From the topmost point of the Eagle Tower a prophetic voice seemed to
issue, dispelling the delusion that in those days clung to the hearts
of the stricken Cambrians, that their own-loved Arthur would again
appear to raise up their fast-falling nation to its former glory. I
saw the stern conqueror buckling on his armour, after the Easter
festival, resolute to conquer or exterminate the defenders of that
ancient land. I heard the wailing of that dark and stormy night of
Palm Sunday, when the strong hold of Hawarden fell before his
victorious sword. I tracked the line of march his countless legions
took through the deep forest, reaching, in ancient times, from the
confines of Cheshire to the mountains of Snowdon, leaving Flint and
Rhuddlan still frowning in their perilled rear; and I looked upon the
picture of that onslaught at the bridge of Moel-y-don, when an
English knight was seen buffeting the waves of Menai, and alone
escaped to tell the tale of national vengeance. The panorama
shifted, and another pictured page discovered that gallant prince,
the last of his race who held the sceptre of the Cymri, slowly
retreating before his haughty foe into the mountain holds hard
by,—dispirited, though not despairing,—cursed by the priest whom
Edward brought to curse him,—deluded by the soothsayer, whose
prophecy bore ‘a double sense,’ too fatally fulfilled in his own
person,—deserted by many of his friends, and his affianced wife
basely held a captive in the hands of his enemy. The scene then
moved; the undaunted hero still struggled with his fate, once the
sovereign of the whole land, now only lord of the five baronies of
Snowdon,—goaded by the insults of his mean conqueror,—maddened into
open war,—betrayed by his base confederate lords,—and perishing alone
and defenceless in the solitary recesses of a wood. Such was the
strange eventful story; and that castle which marked the triumph of
the conqueror, and the subjection of the people—which heard the
infant cries of the first English prince of this cheated land—which
opened wide at midnight its gates to troops of warrior-knights
belonging to an alien country—which rung again and again with the
rude revelry of that barbarous age, when the pageant and tournament
of Nefyn was ended,—and which in the days of its strength, passed
into the hands of foes, and friends, and fratricides,—that castle in
its gaunt ruins, yet remained as the monument of these records, and
the tomb in which past ages silently slept.”
A rail-road has lately been formed from Llanllyfni to Caernarvon, a
distance of more than nine miles, for the purpose of conveying the copper
ore and slates to the quay.
A most interesting part of the Menai Straits is connected with
Caernarvon. Tourists may enjoy boating in perfection, either on the
Tal-y-Foel ferry, the new ferry at Barris, to which a good road has
recently been made, through the lands of the Marquis of Anglesea, by his
free permission; or to Aber-mania, at the mouth or gap of the straits,
and then to Llanddwyn, where are the remains of an old abbey. On the
opposite side the gap to Aber-mania is St. David’s Fort, a marine
residence of Lord Newborough, well worth a visit, and where the domestics
shew the greatest civility. A few miles to the northward, on the east
coast of Caernarvon bay, is Dinas Dinlle, an old Roman station of
artificial formation.
Caernarvon is remarkable for having been the first town in the
principality that enjoyed the privilege of a royal charter, which was
granted by Edward the First. The government of the place was rested in a
mayor (who is always constable of the castle), two bailiffs, a recorder,
burgesses, &c. before the passing of the municipal reform act; now it is
under the provisions of that act. In conjunction with the boroughs of
Conway, Criccieth. Nevin, Pwllheli, and Bangor, Caernarvon returns a
member to parliament. The member in the present parliament is W. B.
Hughes, Esq.
There are two banks, viz. Messrs. Williams & Co. commonly known as the
old bank, and which is in connection with the banks of the same firm at
Chester and Bangor; and a branch of the North and South Wales bank.
Coaches pass several times each day between this place and Bangor, and
the mail leaves every morning for Pwllheli through Clynog; and for
Barmouth, through Beddgelert, Tremadoc, Tan-y-bwlch, and Harlech.
Caernarvon castle is now undergoing considerable repairs, under the
authority of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests.
It is more than probable, that the town of Caernarvon had its origin in
the Roman city of Segontium, about half a mile distant, and that it is
not, as many have supposed, indebted for its name to Edward the First;
for _the fort in Arvon_, or in the hundred opposite to Anglesea, as the
name indicates, would apply with equal propriety to the ancient city as
to this more modern fortress. The town, however, there is no doubt, was
the creation of Edward, and it was most probably formed from the ruins of
the old station. The site of the ancient city of Segontium lies about
half a mile south of Caernarvon, the ancient Roman station mentioned in
the Itinerary of Antonius. This appears to have been the principal
station that the Romans had in North Wales, all the rest being only
subordinate stations. It received its name from the river Seiont, which
rises in the lower lake of Llanberis, passes under the walls, and
discharges itself into the Menai near Caernarvon castle. Its form was an
oblong; and it appears originally to have occupied about six acres of
ground. Not far hence was the fort which belonged to it: this was also
of an oblong figure, and stood upon about an acre of ground. The walls
are at present about eleven feet high, and six in thickness, and at each
corner there has formerly been a tower. A chapel, said to be founded by
Helen, daughter of Octavius, Duke of Cornwall, and a well which bears her
name, are amongst the ruins still pointed out. The chapel was standing
little more than a century ago. The old Roman road from the station of
Dinas Dinorwic, in Llanddeiniolen, to Dinas Dinlle, on the shore of
Caernarvon bay, lay through Caernarvon. Both stations are worth the
attention of the antiquary.
CAERWYS,
(_Flintshire_.)
Chester 23
Denbigh 7½
Holywell 6
London 212
Mold 12
St. Asaph 7
Caerwys, formerly a market town, with the parish of the same name,
contains about 1000 inhabitants, being situated on the high road leading
from Holywell to Denbigh, through the beautiful Vale of Clwyd. Caerwys
has the most considerable fairs for cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses, in
all the country, though its markets have long since failed. The
market-house still remains, but it has been converted, time out of mind,
into a dwelling-house. It is close to the cross; to the S. W. the arches
are yet plainly to be seen, though filled up; and the remains of an erect
south dial are yet distinctly to be seen in the south wall.
A few hundred yards to the west, is a most beautiful dingle, known by the
name of Maesmynan Wort, offering a pleasant ramble to the admirer of
nature and the botanist. Near the place where the brook, which runs
through this dingle by Maesmynan House, empties itself into the Wheeler,
was formerly the residence of Llywelyn ab Gruffydd, the last native
prince of Wales: a cottage, now called Pandy, shews the place where the
prince resided.
Among the towns of the Principality, this was formerly a place of great
renown, but its glory has faded away, and nought remains to evince its
ancient consequence but its name. This is a compound of the two words,
_Caer_, a city, and _gwŷs_, a summons, notifying its having been a place
of judicature. The assizes for the county were held in the town of
Caerwys till about the middle of the seventeenth century, when they were
removed to Flint; the goal is yet remaining, though converted into a
dwelling-house, called Yr hên Gaol. This still continues to be one of
the contributory boroughs for the return of a member to parliament. Mr.
Pennant, upwards of fifty years ago, describes Caerwys as a “town
mouldering away with age.” The chief boast of this town was its being
the _olympia_ of North Wales, the theatre where the British bards poured
forth their extemporaneous effusions,
“In thoughts that breathe, and words that burn;”
and where the honoured minstrels awakened
“Their harps to soul-enchanting melody,
And gave to rapture all their trembling strings.”
Here were held the ancient _Eisteddvodau_, or congresses of bards and
minstrels, where judges presided, appointed by special commission from
the Princes of Wales previous to the conquest, and from the Kings of
England after that event. These arbiters were bound to pronounce justly
and impartially on the talents of the respective candidates, and grant
degrees according to merit. The bards were formed into a college, the
members of which had particular privileges to be enjoyed by none but such
as were admitted to their degrees, and licensed by the judges. The last
commission granted by royal authority for holding this court of Apollo
seems to have been in the 9th of Elizabeth, when Sir Richard Bulkeley,
knt. and certain other persons were empowered to make proclamation in the
towns of North Wales, that all persons intending to follow the profession
of bards, &c. should appear before them at Caerwys on a certain day, in
order to give proofs of their talents in the science of music, and to
receive licenses to practise the same. The meeting was numerous, and
fifty-five persons were admitted to their degrees. From this period,
these meetings were discontinued at Caerwys and throughout the
Principality: the minstrel ceased to be considered a venerable character
in England, and our monarchs looked, probably, with equal contempt on the
bards of Wales. Thus neglected and despised, the Eisteddvodau dwindled
to nothing, and reposed in oblivion for many years.
Towards the close of the last century, some spirited Welsh gentlemen, who
had the honour of their national harmony and literature at heart,
determined to revive a meeting likely to preserve and encourage that
music and language, the excellence of which has for ages been
enthusiastically admired by their countrymen. In the spring of 1798,
their resolution was carried into effect; and an Eisteddvod was held at
Caerwys, the ancient place of meeting. Since this period, Eisteddvodau
have been frequent in different parts of the Principality.
CAPEL CURIG,
(_Caernarvonshire_,)
Bangor 14½
Beddgelert 12
Caernarvon 17
Cerniogau Mawr 15
Ffestiniog 20
Llanberis 10
Llanrwst 10
Menai Bridge 17
Capel Curig is most beautifully situated on the London and Holyhead road.
From its vicinity to Snowdon and other mountains of note in this part of
the Principality, and to several of the first lakes in North Wales, it
has been for a long time much frequented by tourists; and since the
diversion of the great Holyhead road through Nant Ffrancon, and the
erection of a spacious hotel here by the late Lord Penrhyn, has become a
place of fashionable resort, and during the summer season is visited by
many families of distinction. A new line of road from this place to
Caernarvon, through the pass of Llanberis, at the foot of Snowdon, has
lately been opened, affording a more direct communication with the
interior of the counties of Caernarvon and Merioneth.
In this vale there is a lovely variety both of wood and water. The name
is derived from its chapel, dedicated to a Welsh saint called Curig,
situate a short distance from the inn. He is mentioned in an old Welsh
poem, which, however, only intimates his order, and nothing more is at
present known of him.
Capel Curig is situated in a district abounding with mineral wealth. A
great quantity of calamine has been obtained here, and in the vicinity is
found the broad primitive rock called serpentine. Near a place called
Bryn Gwaliau, between Capel Curig and Llanrwst, there are some remains of
a Roman edifice, a great part of which has been removed for building
materials: one of the apartments was found by Mr. Lysons to be sixty feet
by twenty in dimensions, and another eighteen feet six inches square, in
which latter were several short square pillars of stone, similar to those
of the hypocaust near the Feathers hotel in Chester.
Behind the inn at Capel Curig westward are two lakes connected by a
stream, on which a boat is kept, and frequently employed by visitors in
aquatic excursions. At the foot of the lake there is an ancient rustic
bridge, from which, as well as from the lake, is a fine view of old
Snowdon and his proud associates.—At a short distance from the hotel
southward, rises the mountain of
Moel Siabod,
Whose height is 2878 feet: it is exceedingly precipitous, especially on
that side towards Bettws-y-Coed, and the summit is thickly strewed with
loose fragments. From this commanding station is a most magnificent view
of the mountains of Snowdonia, of nine different lakes, and “ocean’s dim
immensity.” The distance from the inn to the summit is about three miles
and a half.—Beneath Moel Siabod, towards the east, and about five miles
from Capel Curig, is
Dolwyddelan Castle,
Said to have been built about the year 500. It is situated on a high
rock, inaccessible on one side, and consists of two square towers, one 40
feet by 25, the other 31 feet by 20, and a court in the middle. This old
ruin, entirely enclosed by mountains, built probably by some of the
princes of North Wales, though its original founder and the time of its
erection are unknown. Iorwerth Drwyndwn made this castle his residence,
and his son, Llywelyn the Great, is said to have been born at this place.
It was a fortress of considerable importance to the Welsh, but a few
decaying relics now serve to mark the site of its former power and
grandeur. Recent investigations render it probable that this was the
last stronghold in North Wales that held out against Edward the First.
In the royal roll of expenditure of that period, appear items of payments
to an earl, a knight, and a squire, for bringing news to the Queen, at
Rhuddlan, where the army of reserve was stationed whilst Edward was
pursuing his successes in the Snowdonian mountains, of the reduction of
this fortress; and the date corresponds with the close of the resistance
and capture of David, the brother of Llywelyn. The village of
Dolwyddelan stands within about a mile of the castle, and consists of
only a few small cottages.
Three miles and a half from Capel Curig, on the left of the road toward
Bettws, is the celebrated cataract of
Rhaiadr-y-Wennol,
(Or the Waterfall of the Swallow.) The scenery around this truly
beautiful and picturesque fall, formed by the little river Llugwy, is
truly grand; the water at the top is in one body, but soon becomes broken
into many streams, dashing impetuously over large masses of rock, which
impede its progress, down a rugged chasm of sixty feet wide at the
broadest part, The high banks of the ravine are wooded, the trees hanging
beautifully over the torrent, and the ground is richly carpetted with
mosses and various wild flowers. From the upper part of the wood, near
the head of the fall, there is a very good view of the descending flood;
a path from the high road leads to the fall, and a little wicket gate has
been placed in the wall on the road side, for the convenience of visitors
who may wish to obtain a view of this sublime scene, which, although
contiguous to the road, is so obscured in the wood, that the traveller
will almost certainly pass it unawares, unless he makes timely enquiry:
it may, however, be discovered by a summer-house which has lately been
built on the top of a mountain directly over the fall.