Abergele 13
Chester 28
Conway 25
Corwen 20
Holywell 14
Llanrwst 22
London by Chester 214
— by Shrewsbury 206
Mold 16
Ruthin 8
St. Asaph 6
Bodfary 4
Denbigh, the capital of the county, is situated on the declivity of a
craggy hill, in the vale of Clwyd. This place was originally named by
the Welsh Castell Caled-Vryn-yn-Rhôs (the Castle on the Craggy Hill in
Rhôs), from the prominent situation of the castle in the ancient
territory of that name. By the parliamentary returns of 1841, the
population was 3405. The two principal inns are the Bull and the Crown.
Denbigh was formerly accounted a place of great importance, while its
castle and walls were entire; and, about the middle of the sixteenth
century, it was thus celebrated by Churchyard, the poet, in his “Worthies
of Wales:”—
Denbigh, now appeare, thy turne is next,
I need no gloss, nor shade, to set thee out;
For if my pen doe follow playnest text,
And passe right way, and goe nothing about,
Thou shalt be knowne, as worthie well thou art,
The noblest soyle that is in any part;
And for thy seate, and castle do compare,
With any one in Wales, whate’er they are.
The town is picturesquely situated on the side of a steep hill, and the
noble ruins of the castle on its summit greatly contribute to its
venerable appearance. Denbigh consists of three principal, and several
smaller streets and lanes, and is well paved and lighted, but only
scantily supplied with water, which is brought from several springs, each
at some distance from the more respectable portions of the town. This
inconvenience is much increased during a continuance of dry weather, at
which time the wells occasionally become exhausted, excepting that termed
the Goblin Well, situated at the foot of the hill on which the castle is
built; this is so copious as to supply a considerable portion of the
town, but the labour of carrying the water up the steep ascent is very
great. Connected with this spring is a cold bath. The environs abound
with beautiful and richly varied scenery. The land in the vicinity is
rich, and in a high state of cultivation; and in the neighbourhood are
numerous splendid seats and elegant villas, inhabited by opulent
families, who have selected Denbigh for their residence on account of the
advantages of its situation.
The ancient parochial church, dedicated to St. Marcellus, and now in a
very dilapidated condition, is situated in the open valley, at
Whitchurch, {102a} about a mile from the town, from which place the
rectory was transferred by act of parliament to Denbigh, which was made
the head of the parish. In the porch of this church are two monumental
brass effigies, in a kneeling posture, of Richard Myddelton, {102b} of
Gwaunynog, governor of Denbigh Castle in the reigns of Edward VI., Mary,
and Elizabeth; and of his wife Jane, both of whom were here interred. In
the body of the building there is an ill-executed mural monument to the
memory of the learned Welsh antiquary, Humphrey Llwyd, of Foxhall, near
Denbigh, who is represented as kneeling beneath a range of small arches,
and in Spanish costume. There is also a large altar-tomb to the memory
of Sir John Salusbury and his lady, the former of whom died in 1578. A
neat mural monument in the western wall has been erected, by the
Gwyneddigion Society in London, to the memory of Thomas Edwards, of Nant,
commonly called Twm o’r Nant, the celebrated “Cambrian Shakspere,” who
died on the 3rd of April, 1810, at the age of 71, and was interred in the
churchyard.
All the parochial duties are now performed at the chapel of St. Hilary,
within the walls of the castle, with the exception of funerals, which
still take place at Whitchurch, there being no cemetery attached to the
former. The inhabitants, early in 1838, realized a handsome subscription
to erect a new church, so as to be more convenient, in a contiguous part
of Denbigh parks, the site of which was liberally offered by Captain
Mostyn, R.N. The first stone was laid on the coronation-day of our
beloved sovereign, Queen Victoria. There are places of worship for
Baptists, Independents, Calvinists, and Wesleyan Methodists. The town
also contains a free grammar-school for twenty boys; a blue-coat charity
school, on the foundation of which are twenty-four hoys; a national
school, in which eighty-six boys and one hundred girls are educated.
Denbigh has a good town-hall, a dispensary, a reading room and a Welsh
literary society. Its chief manufactories are gloves and shoes; the
market is held on Wednesday and Saturday. There is also a branch of the
North and South Wales Bank here. Denbigh is the chief of the
contributory boroughs that send one member to parliament: the present
M.P. is Townshend Mainwaring, Esq., of Marchwiel.
It is a remarkable circumstance that no specific provision for the insane
poor has been made in any part of North Wales, although the melancholy
records of those afflicted by the loss of reason, prove that the Welsh
are no more exempt from that severe visitation than the mixed races known
as Anglo-Saxon. This circumstance excited the attention of the
philanthropic Mr. Ablett, of Llanbedr, who has most generously presented
twenty acres of land, in the immediate vicinity of Denbigh, for the site
of the building and grounds of an institution to be called the North
Wales Lunatic Asylum, and a subscription amounting to upwards of £6000
has been realized. The estimate for one commensurate to the wants of
this part of Wales, is from £12,000 to £15,000, and it is proposed that
the rest of the fund shall be contributed by the counties, in whom the
management of the institution shall be vested.