(1875) Views Of North Wales

^%f^

•fopolg

in

JJorfS

Valr*

Views

in

North Wales

ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY

Jrtlj;rolof[ic;i(

(

historical,

T.

^mtud,

L ROWBOTHAM

aitb

Jlcstriptibc

Botes

COMPILED DY

THE

REV. W.

J.

LOFTIE,

B.A., F.S.A.

SCRIBNER, WELFORD, & ARMSTRONG, BROADWAY LONDON: MARCUS WARD & CO. 1875

J

CONTENTS, Snowdon,

Cader

Idris,

Conway

Moel

........ ....... ....... .......

Castle,

Siabod,

Caernarvon Castle, 1!i;dim;elert,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

9 31

.43 66

.79 103

CHROMOGRAPHS.

Snowdon,

Cader

Conway

Moel

.........

Frontispiece.

Idris,

30

from the Barmouth Road,

Castle,

.

.

.

Siabod, from Bettws-y-Coed,

Caernarvon Castle, Beddgelert,

.

.

....

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.42 67

.78

.102

.

INITIAL VIGNETTES. Snowdon,

........

Bridge near Corwen,

Conway

Castle,

Cromlech

— Plas

Harlech Castle,

.

.

.

.

.

.

Newydd, Anglesea, .

.

.

Pillar of Eliseg, near Valle Crucis,

.

.

.

.... .... .

•

.

.

.

.

9

31

.43 66

.79 103

S NO IV DO N. JT^HE of

mountain

highest

Snowdon

Wales,

many much i.iikL

as eight

there

approaches feet

— Carrantuohill,

island, being only three

Snowdon

in

is

some of them by as

it,

hundred

Snowdon

Snowdon.

off

in Ireland

by

more

which

than

thousand four hundred and fourteen, while

by the position of the minor

This advantage hills

Highland or

chain of

the presence of

hills,

Snowdon

with him

;

and while

in Irish scenery,

is>

which surround

Several of them, although of great altitude, arc

difficult to say, in

a

Kerry, the highest in the sister

sufficient distance not to interfere

tallest in a

On the other

feet.

no mountain

above the waters of the intervening channel. moreover, set

across

Indeed, there are as

thousand five hundred and seventy-one feet

three

is

and short

far

as sixteen or seventeen Caledonian

peaks which exceed

hundred

falls

Ben Nevis and Ben Muich Dhui

the Scottish border.

I

England

in

yet

which

is

it is

at

a

often

really the

there can never be a moment's doubt in

as to his

supremacy among

Before proceeding to describe the ascents which

his compeers.

may

be made,

10

Suoiudou.

and it

from the chief authors who have mentioned Snowdon,

to quote

may

say something as to the geographical and

be well to

Fortunately, very competent

geological features of the district.

guides are at

number

hand

It

is,

in fact, not

which the range mainly from geologists

and

;

if

consists,

very easy to select from a

The Lower

of writers on the subject.

Silurian rocks, of

have received much attention

the student goes carefully over the ground,

he will also find plain evidence of volcanic action, and "will perceive various patches of igneous eruptive rocks standing out from amidst the great will

Lower

Penmaenmawr

Beginning from the north, he

Silurian formation.

be able to trace the great

rugged Snowdonian range from

Moel Hebog, above Tremadoc.

to

appears, this range

'

is

Singular as

it

composed of rocks which are the equivalents

of the strata occupying the comparatively low-lying hills of the

Bala

east

district

of Arenig.'

other words,

In

the

lavas

and

volcanic ashes of this great chain were erupted in the Caradoc or

Bala epoch.

To

the west of the flanks of this range

emerging from under these altered Caradoc traversed flags,

slates

have, then,

and much

by porphyries, Llandeilo beds, overlying the Lingula

beneath which again

lie

the great mass of Cambrian grits and

which supply the quarries of Penrhyn and Llanberis.

the south of Moel

Hebog we have

the

difference that the Lingula flags at

same

Snowdon

is

series repeated,

To

with the

Tremadoc abut upon the great

Merionethshire mass of Cambrian rock. of

we

strata,

Immediately on the east

a narrow anticlinal axis of slate and sandstone, full

of Caradoc or Bala fossils,

which separates what

great porphyritic basin of the of Dolwyddelan,

may

Snowdon range from

of precisely the

same

age."

be called the

the minor basin

The

"

Cambrian

"

Snowdon. formation districts

latter "

is

also

—one

very well defined.

It occurs

in

two separate

The

in Merionethshire, the other in Caernarvonshire.

commences between Bangor and Carnedd Llewelyn, and

terminates at the sea near Clynnog.

and the

1

'

Between the Menai

Snowdon range we

east flank of the

find

Straits

huge buttresses

of very ancient grit, schist, slate, and sandstone, having the

from south-south-west

direction

north-north-east,

to

though their sedimentary character

is

obvious,

same

which,

in

and though they

have not been so much altered as in Anglesea, but one obscure fossil feet.'

has been detected throughout a thickness of

These rocks

Murchison.

Longmynd

or

Bottom rocks

are

the

of Shropshire,

many thousand

equivalents

and

of

the

their commercial

importance will be duly estimated as being the locale of the Llanberis

and Penrhyn

quarries."

Some account

quarries will be found in our notice of of Siluria says

Snowdon

itself,

consist of

:

—

"

'

The

strata

slate

The author

which constitute the lower part of

and repose upon the older

dark bluish -grey slaty

part of the Llaudeilo formation.

of the

Moel Siabod.

slates

and Lingula

flags,

schists, representing the inferior

They

are traversed

by masses of

eruptive rock, consisting of porphyry and greenstone, or compact felspar or felstone.

Caradoc

fossils,

In the next overlying accumulations are

volcanic dejections of ashes and felspathic materials.'

Ramsay

Professor

considers that most of the intruding bosses of greenstone,

porphyry,

and

syenite,

Snowdon chain and rocks,

many

although the original beds alternate rapidly with

which traverse the rocks west of the

the great Merionethshire district of Cambrian

&c, date about the

close of the

in the epoch of the Llandeilo rocks.

Lingula flag period

A

i.e.,

period of comparative

12

Snotihion.

repose succeeded, followed

by those eruptions which produced the

porphyries of Snowdon.

'

says.

same

'

are true lava-beds,

period.'

Professor

All these

Snowdonian

porphyries,' he

accompauied by volcanic ashes of the

"

Eamsay has published

form

in a separate

his chapters

on Swiss and Welsh Glaciers, originally contributed to a volume

by the members of the Alpine Club. " It

is

now twenty

In his preface he says

had once been

that the valleys of the Highlands and of Wales filled

with

Few

glaciers.

but geologists heard the announcement,

and, with rare exceptions, those

who

glacial theory of the drift in general,

particular,

writers

cared at

about

all

it,

and that of extinct

met the

glaciers in

with incredulity, and sometimes with derision.

still

:

years since Agassiz and Buckland announced

held that the far-borne boulder

drift, so

Eash

widely spread

over the cold and temperate regions of Europe and America, had

been scattered abroad by mighty sea waves, set in motion by the

sudden upheaval of hypothetical northern continents polish

and

striation

veritable signs of vanished glaciers

writers

and talkers

;

and the

of the rocks in the mountain valleys

—were

to cart-wheels, hobnailed boots,

integuments of Welshmen sliding down the

—the

attributed by flippant

hills

;

and the nether

as if the country

had been inhabited by a monstrous race of primitive Celts clad in the famous giants,

—

armour of stone worn by Loupgarou and

when they fought with

the heroic Pantagruel

—

all

his

their sole

occupation for illimitable ages having consisted in the performance of Titanic glissades

upon the

rocks.

Now, however,

the tide has

changed, and for years the glacial theory (applied to a late Tertiary

epoch in Britain and elsewhere) has not only steadily gained ground

Snowdon. among

geologists,

but has even found

way

its

into the writings of

more popular authors." Speaking more immediately of Snowdon, he proceeds

:

—

" This mountain, the highest and noblest in the district,

bounded on three

sides

by

which

valleys,

in

respects

all

is

are

unsurpassed in geological interest and wild beauty by any in

On

North Wales.

the north-east

the bare crags of the narrow

lie

Pass of Llanberis, on the east the softer beauties of Nant Gwynant,

and on the west the long drift-covered

slopes

broad

the

of

depression that runs from Llyn Cwellyn'* to Beddgelert.

midst of these, the mountain the sea,

its

a

and the topmost thousand

porphyry,

peak 3571

tall

feet

above

base being formed mostly of old lava-beds of felspathic

and

felspathic tuffs

been

rises in

In the

scooped

by

time,

t

Cwm-glas,

Cwm-glas-bach,

of stratified

chiefly

feet

In these rocks six vast hollows have

ashes.

forming

wild

the

Llyn

upland valleys of

Llydaw,

\

Cwm-y-llan,

§

Cwm-y-clogwyn,|| and Llyn du'r Arddu,1f in some of which the * Cwellyn, properly Cawellyn fishing-creels once

%

Llydaw

the

is

— a basket, hamper, or

used in the lake.

this interpretation.

creel.

So

called

from the

t Little Grey Valley.

Welsh name of Armorica, but there seems to be no sense in Lludw means ashes or cinders, and it is remarkable that on Lower Silurian volcanic

parts of the slopes round the lake, there are consolidated ashes, still so scoriaceous-looking, that

readily recognise § IT

this

them

The Enclosed

even a person

||

Gardd, or Ardd, when preceded by the

name has

is

no geologist might

article

yr

The Craggy Valley. means a garden, and Such a name,

(the),

often been translated the " lake of the black garden."

however, seems to have no sense

Arddu also means or,

as

when taken

" the extreme of blackness

hollow at the base of a black lake,"

who

as volcanic.

Valley.

it

tall

black

might be

cliff,

the

;"

in

and

name

connexion with the

locality.

lying, as the pool does, in a literally signifies

deep

" the blackest

freely translated into Scotch, " Pitmirk Loch."

u

Snow dcm.

signs of glacier ice are even

Llanberis

Professor

and notes

interest

telling of the

marks he can

pictures of the scenery.

so

map,

we

of these valleys separately,

Many

of his descriptions are very

apart from

Everywhere he sees signs of

able

striking than in the Pass of

Eamsay goes over each

their peculiarities.

and of

graphic,

more

itself."

and unconsciously, while

he draws most accurate and real

detect,

His

little

book, which contains an admir-

indispensable to every geologist

is

will only select

Snowdon

valley on the eastern slope of " Approaching

length,

Llyn Llydaw, the

colour, like

Crib Goch, and

full

snow on the

amphitheatre, the scarred sides sharply defined against the sky,

He

is

—

is

speaking of the

more than a mile

rise the cliffs of

it

tall

black rocks circling the vast

may

outlines

well seem,

till

all,

in quiet sunshine,

when

In every season

the rocks, and perhaps

still

snow, comes driving

in a threatening evening,

like the roof of a vast cavern,

of which,

attempted,

a charm in this valley to the lover

water; or while the

wanderer scales the crags amid the seething mists

best of

Lliwedd,

veins of white quartz that

and ragged

a lazy ferry-boat, are reflected in the

pitiless rain, or hail, or

in

some of the lakes of Switzerland,

hopelessly inaccessible to the unpractised climber.

and phase of weather there of the mountains

;

grandeur of this wonderful

Pen Wyddfa, seamed with

like streaks of

Snowdon

visits

:

lake rather

Around

obliquely crosses the valley.

gleam

A

on the beholder.

and of a green

who

one more passage as an example of the

learned professor's power of word-painting.

valley bursts

meaning.

geological

their

glacial action,

when

down

;

or

when the

the valley

;

but

the gathered clouds,

hang heavily from

side to side

on the

Suowdoii.

edges of

hills,

and a streak of

light,

caught from the setting sun,

shows redly behind the dim peak of Snowdon, grimly reflected in the sombre waters of the lake. " is

The

signs of a glacier are so evident in

needless to describe

the details.

all

At

Cwm

Llydaw that

it

the outflow of the lake

there are moraine-like mounds, formed of earthy matter, stones,

and angular and subangular the lake, and

when

I first

which even now partly dam up

blocks,

knew

it,

was

ere the channel of the brook

raised

it

to a

still

higher level,

sacrilegiously deepened to lower

the water, for the sake of saving a few pounds in the construction of an ugly causeway. islets

Close to the outflow, the once beautiful

of rock, feathered with heath and grasses, are

now

little

united to

the mainland, and a broad ugly black rim round the lake marks alike the extent of the drainage and the barbarism of the perpetrators of this

unhappy outrage on the most

So much, then, will

beautiful scene in Wales."

for the geological features of

now endeavour

to

We

Snowdonia.

enumerate the principal points of ascent,

and to describe those which

are best worth attempting.

In old

times such an undertaking as a climb to the top of the mountain

was considered travellers

may

in

make the

the highest degree

obscure their view, and,

their descent.

perilous.

But modern

ascent almost daily, only fearing a fog which

Snowdon

is

if

they are without a guide, endanger

particularly liable to

sudden fogs

;

and

the tourist not already well acquainted with the tracks does a fool-

hardy thing in going up

alone.

Many

people, too, like to

meet

make

their

the sun on the summit, and must for that purpose

journey by night. assistance

In no case should this be done without the

and direction of a

well-skilled companion.

Snowdon.

16

They

There are four distinct paths of ascent.

which

Llanberis,

longest

the easiest

is

most tedious

and

;

;

from

picturesque

;

visit to

Ramsay has much

It

to say.

Maen

the

was from a

November,

He was

1846.

and on

this

occasion

its

on

was

not often

is

which Mr.

this last route

killed in a fog,

accustomed to ascend by

well

attempted in vain to

the guide

the winter, though constant search was made. it

the

His body was not found for four months, during

dissuade him.

discovered,

is

from

perhaps the most

Bras, of

cliff

that Mr. Starr, a Northamptonshire clergyman,

himself,

is

and the ascent from Llyn Cwellyn, which

made, but which includes a

in

which,

Beddgelert,

Clawdd Goch,

including the famous pass of the

are those from

from Capel Curig, which

When

at last

had been much mangled, probably by wild

other vermin, and the head was lying at

it

was

cats or

some distance from the

body.

With regard Cliffe

that

it is

to the

name

a generic term.

of Snowdon, It is

we

learn

from Mr.

not properly applied to a

particular mountain, but to a continuous tract of mountains.

The

word

The

is

Saxon, and evidently intends a

native appellation

is

modern

is

one,

where snow

Eryri, or Craig Eryri.

that this term signifies eagles' rocks.

the eagle

hill

lies.

Mr. Llwyd asserts

Mr. Pennant assures us that

seldom seen here, and that the name, and the more

Snowdon, are

borrowed of the former.

in fact

synonymous, the

latter

Creigiau'r Eira, he says, means

being

Snowy

Mountains, so named from the frequency of snow upon them.

Pennant gives them up

to

snow from November

sometimes they are powdered a just after sunrise, the

little

to

earlier or later.

May, but " In July,

thermometer has been observed at 34 de°\,

Snow don. and

August

iu

is

about 4350 feet

In 1850, snow

than Snowdon.

One

early in October.

Eryrod Eryri

One

—

of the

Snowdon," and

;

fell

of Sir

"

of the

titles

this

sometimes

;

mottoes

is

it

Eryr

Prince of Wales

" Lord

was

of

mountain was regarded by the Welsh with being fabled that those

it

who

slept

on

it

inspired."

quoted by Mr.

The morning was

before

here in June

W. W. Wynn's

The ascent from Llanberis may writer,

of

a considerably higher elevation

Eagle of the Eagles of Snowdon."

"

superstitious reverence,

would " wake

The point

at 48 deg. early in the afternoon."

permanent snow

falls

17

we reached

somewhat rough

the

after

Cliffe,

first

we were

rather misty, but

summit

we

strewed over with the

A

be described.

thus narrates his experience

it

would

reached the

debris

of

the

led to believe that

Our road was

clear up.

first

ascent

rocks,

recent

:

:

the path was

but

the

ponies

accustomed to this sort of travelling were quite as safe-footed

as

own horses are on a good turnpike road. The distance which we had now to ascend was computed to be five miles, and a height of 3571 feet but of this fact we never obtained a glimpse until we our

;

had nearly completed our journey. vale of

Cwm Brwynog, we

Keeping on the side of the

threaded our path with comparative ease,

now and then scrambling over peaks of rocks which interspersed our road, until we came upon Eushy Hollow. We now put our animals upon a smart trot, passing over many a bog which in winter would have swallowed us up.

who

Here we met with a farmer,

rented thousands of acres within our view, and a

substance, his wealth being estimated at least at

—

having a flock of 200 sheep

a great

number

£1500

man

of

capital,

in that locality.

His

Snowdon.

18

was a contrast

dress certainly

Imagine a thin spare

figure,

— which

'

round

all

had once been white

the brim off

English yeomen.

to that of the

with an old

— with

my

with

hat,'

an old pair of

—a pair —and a

corduroy breeches, without the knee-ties or buttons

brown woollen

stockings,

which once were black

coloured spare coat, with the nap worn

by

and ornamented

age,

here and there by a button or two of different

Add

sizes.

high-low shoes, which had never been acquainted with Martin, held to the foot by a piece of string portrait of one of the

yeomen

—and you

of Snowdon.

of

light-

to these,

Day and

will find the

His residence was in

the valley, at one of the few white cottages that could be seen in

There was no pretension to a homestead, and

the distance.

little

or no enclosure to the few patches of land adjoining, which were

under culture for

head of

day

Mr. William

to

that appointed

On

oats.

several

cattle,

the opposite side, however, there were

which formed a portion of

Owen was

by him

for selecting his sheep

young men and young women, boys and a

few who

difficult

claimed kindred to him

and

;

This

his wealth.

one of peculiar interest, for all his

it

was

family,

—and there were — were occupied girls

in

not the

and laborious task of driving the sheep together to the

sides of the mountain.

This was an amusing scene, for the old

man, with

his pockets, acted as general,

his

hands in

now

calling

out with stentorian tongue to a daughter, a true picture of an

Amazon, with causing the

'

Now, Bet

;

now, Sian

!'

(Jane)

;

then to a son,

welkin to resound again with his commands.

At

length, after great toil, the wild animals were got together in some-

thing like a huddle. " The temperature in the valley

we had

left

was scorching hot

Snowdon. but here for

was

it

and we had a smart

cold,

some minutes.

Owen

Mr.

came

and

fifty sheep,

fall

head of

lost several

which were frozen to death.

Clogwyn du yr Arddudwy,

at the foot of

we

waters of which are blue, and which

lake, the

of a mile on our left."

which there

now

The distance from Dolbadarn

is

Llyn

Arddu, just mentioned, the scene of another

d'er

about four miles, or a

A

comes in view. rocks,

little

more.

to be

This

had on

is

is

fell

over the

all sides,

fine

and shortly before reaching the summit

is

when Gorphwysfa

scenery

surrounding

reached.

Llyn Llydaw,

smaller lake or tarn at a higher level, Llyn Glas,

central

The

along a turnpike road. is

Soon afterwards described

The whole track from the lake

comes into view.

beautiful.

right.

Magnificent views are

the longest and most difficult route, the distance being

climbing begins

A

fatal accident

joined by that from Capel Curig.

nine miles, of which half at least

the

to the top of

having strayed from his party along a path to the

path

a

After passing the

gentleman named Frodsham

This sad event took place in August, 1859.

is

passed a quarter

Snowdon

this

stock,

We

in sight of the black precipice, or nearly perpendicular rock,

called

now

which lasted

of hail,

us that last spriug, about

told

March, the winter was so severe that he forty lambs,

L9

is

above,

to another

and

most strikingly

Immediately above the last-named tarn towers the

peak of Snowdon

—Moel-y-Wyddfa,

or the " Conspicuous."

notice of the route from Beddgelert will be found in our

account of that place.

The writer of Murray's Guide thus speaks "

The

visitor

who has thus

any of these routes

will be

of the

summit

arrived at the peak of

much mistaken

if

:

Snowdon by

he comes prepared for

Snowdon. mountain

solitude, for

most crowded spots

Moel-y-Wyddfa

in the season

is

one of the

The guides have erected two huts

in Wales.

on the highest point, where comestibles, such as eggs and bacon,

may

be obtained at tolerably reasonable prices, considering the

labour of getting them up. relief to find is

made

There

is

for

a dry

In foggy or wet weather

room and blazing

A charge

fire.

all

slight

bed and breakfast, to those who wish to see the sun

no doubt that the presence of a host of excursionists

always grateful to the lover of nature, but he must take with

no

it is

of five shillings

the pleasures and

who have ascended on

the annoyances.

all

it

rise, j

is

as

not

it is,

Fortunate are they

a cloudless day, for the prospect

is

one of

I

i

I

almost boundless magnificence."

He

thus sums up the view

:

— j

"

The distant views embrace the mountains

of Cumberland,

Westmoreland, and Lancashire, Penyghent and Ingleborough in Yorkshire, the Isle of

Man, the

of the

while

Irish

coast

;

hills

nearer

Anglesea and Caernarvonshire at the the whole of North Wales. Eilio,

Mynydd Mawr,

home we have

the whole of

\

and we might almost say

feet,

To the north and north-east

rise

Moel

the Glyders, Moel Siabod, Trifaen, Carnedds

hills in

the distance.

To

the

Menai

''

Straits,

the west are Moel

Hebog, the pools of Nantllef, Drvvs-y-coed, Gyrngoch, and Yr with the sparkling sea beyond

;

Eifl,

while to the south the eye wanders

over a perfect wilderness of mountains Lledr,

j

of Wicklow, with a good part

Davydd and Llewelyn, Penmaenmawr, and with the Clwydian

1

and the Manods above Ffestiniog

—Moelwyn, Cynicht, Moel ;

the Arenigs, the Berwyns,

Aran Benllyn and Aran Mowddy near Bala, Llawlech and the Rhinogs over Harlech, Cader Idris near Dolgelley, the rounded

hills

Snowdon. of Montgomeryshire, with in the far distance.

Plinlymmon and the Cardiganshire

Directly at the feet

lie

hills

Llanberis, with its

Llyn Cwellyn and Llyn-y-gader, and the beautiful vale of

lakes,

Nant Gwynant, while a stone might be thrown

From

deep valleys underneath.

any of the

from the summit.

visible altogether

"

In

into

twenty-five to thirty lakes are

Amidst the vast

O'er the expanse

And

;

horizon's stretch,

eye of wonder darts

restless gaze the

mountains on mountains

piled,

winding hays and promontories huge,

Lakes and meandering

rivers,

from their source,

Traced to the distant ocean."

Pennant gives the following account of in the latter part of the last century

"

his visit to the

summit

:—

The mountain from hence seems propped by four vast butbetween which are four deep cwms, or hollows

tresses,

excepting one, has one or more lakes lodged in

The nearest was Ffynnon Las, below us

:

its

:

each,

distant bottom.

or the Green Well, lying immediately

one of the company had the curiosity to descend a very

bad way to a jutting rock, that impended over the monstrous precipice

;

and he seemed

like

from the summit of Atlas.

.

to take his flight

Las, from this

height,

appeared black and unfathomable, and the edges quite

green.

From

lofty ,• i

Mercury ready

The waters of Ffynnon

thence

and rugged

hills,

is

a succession of bottoms, surrounded by

the greatest part of whose sides are perfectly

mural, and form the most magnificent amphitheatre in nature.

The Wyddfa

is

m

Crib Goch, a ridge of fiery redness, appears beneath

another

;

on one side

;

Crib-y-distill,

with

its

serrated tops,

Snowdon. the preceding

and opposite

;

to

it

the boundary called Lliwedd.

is

Another very singular support to

mountain

this

Y

is

Clawdd

Goch, rising into a sharp ridge, so narrow, as not to afford breadth

even for a path. " f<

The view from

>rmer tour,

I

unbounded.

this exalted situation is

saw from

In a

the county of Chester, the high hills of

it

Yorkshire, part of the north of England, Scotland, and Ireland

Man

plain view of the Isle of

map

like a

;

beneath me, with every

to see this prospect to advantage till

rill

—

visible.

up

sat

took

I

at a

and

left

the

dawn

fine

and starry

The body

beams too

its

at

length

brilliant

saw more and more,

attract the mists

one,

miles,

the

between

twenty and

Meirioneddshire.

me

by

it

more

rose high

enough to

rays, first in

its

its

/

The sea which

sight.

slender

The prospect was

redness.

drawing up of a curtain

a theatre.

in

the heat became so powerful as to

till

the

i

distinct,

lakes, which, in a slight degree,

The shadow of the mountain was

and shewed

Crib-y-distill

journey cost

gilt

from the various

obscured the prospect.

many

for our

glowing with

disclosed like the gradual

We

The night was

of the sun appeared

bounded the western part was streaks,

pains

which was soon dispersed by

with the rotundity of the moon, before render

much

towards morn, the stars faded away,

:

a short interval of darkness,

of day.

a

farm on the west

about twelve, and walked up the whole way.

remarkably

;

and that of Anglesea lay extended

bicapitated form

other

thirty

head.

lakes,

The day proved

either

;

I

the

Wyddfa making}

counted in

this

this

my

time

1

county,

so excessively hot,

the skin of the lower part of

jl

flungj

face,

reached the resting-place, after the fatigue of the morning.

that

oijj

my

before

ij

Snowdon. On

"

A

this day, the

23

sky was obscured very soon after

I

got up.

vast mist enveloped the whole circuit of the mountain.

prospect

down was

abysses, concealed

horrible.

by a thick smoke,

furiously circulating around

Very often a gust of wind formed an opening

us.

which gave a

fine

and

they opened only in

distinct vista of lake

one place

The

gave an idea of numbers of

It

and

at others,

;

in the clouds,

Sometimes

valley.

in

many

at

once,

exhibiting a most strange and perplexing sight of water, fields, rocks, or chasms, in fifty different places.

and

once,

left

us involved in darkness

;

They then

closed at

in a small time they

would

separate again, and fly in wild eddies round the middle of the

mountains, and

expose, in

We

our view.

and bases

both tops

parts,

clear

to

descended from this various scene with great

reluctance."

Bingley, another old writer, in his account of North Wales,

moved "

to poetry

The view from the summit

extensive.

'

From

this point the

found beyond

I

eye

is

Westmoreland and Cumberland

hills

of Lancashire.

When

;

says

my

expectation

;

the high mountains

and, on this side, some of the

the atmosphere

is

very transparent,

even part of the county of Wicklow, and the whole of the

Man, become

visible.

r

I

1

j

:

than Snovvdon.

which,

by

Many

seem directly under the this station

much

of the vales were exposed to the view,

their verdure, relieved the eye

warren rocks.

,

all

and the highest of the whole appear from

'lower

Isle of

The immediately surrounding mountains of

{Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire leye,

is

:

able to trace, on a clear day,

part of the coast, with the hills of Scotland of

He

by the marvels of the view.

The numerous pools

from the dreary scene of

visible

from hence, betwixt

Snowdon.

24

thirty

and

mountain

immense rocks

from the summit, seems as

;

were propped by

it

five

These are Crib-y-distill and Crib

as buttresses.

Goch, between Llanberis and Capel Curig

Hwynan

The

a varied character to the prospect.

forty, lend also itself,

;

Lliewedd, towards

Clawdd Goch, towards Beddgelert

Nan

and Lechog, the

;

mountain which forms the south side of the vale of Llanberis, towards Dolbadarn. "

and

The summit of Snowdon

settled, the traveller difficult to

When

is

so frequently enveloped in clouds

the weather

is

perfectly fine

through this country will find

have a day

mountain.

when

except

mist, that,

sufficiently clear to

state of the weather

;

it

times, even

and at other

seems favourable,

and

somewhat

permit him to ascend the

the wind blows from the west,

always completely covered

it

often

it will

almost

is

when

the

become suddenly

enveloped, and will remain in that state for hours.

Most

persons,

however, agree that the prospects are the more interesting, as they are

more

when

varied,

following description

mountain

is

the clouds just cover the summit.

in this state

"

is

'Now high and

perfectly accurate

swift

flits

(While the

Slow

By

sails

fierce

all

beneath

lies lost

save at once where drifted mists

Cut by strong gusts

The

now deep below

the gloomy storm, and

;

—

sun strikes the illumined top

vaporous exhalation hid,

In darkness

:

the thin rack along

Skirted with rainbow dyes,

of

eddying winds, expose

transitory scene.

Now

swift on either side the gathered clouds,

As by

a sudden touch of magic, wide

The

Snowdon when the

scenery from

of the

25

Snowdon. Eecede, and the fair face of heaven and earth

Amid

Appears.

the vast horizon's stretch,

In restless gaze the eye of wonder darts O'er the expanse

And winding

;

mountains on mountains

Lakes and meandering

But Snowdon has not wanted will tell us that "

The

much hill

Some

inspired as those

when merit claimed

who

the meed,

Hill, the verse-inspiring spring,

unknown

genial plant

;

to cultivating care,

may

feel this chilling air

;

bud, unseen, the village oak beneath,

Or bloom, unheeded, on the barren heath

And

present

upon the

of Apollo.

quitted earth on rapture's rising wing

E'en now,

May

sleeps a night

strain that gave to other days the deed,

Invoked the

And

To the

for real poets.

became poets by taking a nap on the '

"

whoever

top of Snowdon, will wake up as

" Here, too, the hards,

from their source

rivers,

Traced to the distant ocean.'

day the natives

piled,

and promontories huge,

bays,

though

its tints

Some beam may Some

friendly

And shew

its

depression's mists

:

may

shroud,

yet pervade th' incumbent cloud,

hand

its

bloom on

glowing dyes

may

spread,

Flora's gayest bed.'

"

Lloyd.

And Evans a

description

offers the following piece of fine

of

a descent

into

the

vale

writing in prose as of

Llanberis,

elucidatory of the mountain's poet-making powers

gusts of wind which

now

roared around us swept

:

and

— " Occasional

away

the pitchy

cloud that involved particular spots of the mountain, and discovered immediately below us huge rocks, abrupt precipices, and

26

Snowdon.

profound hollows, exciting emotions of astonishment and awe in the mind, which the. eye, darting

vacuity and horror, conveyed to

down an immense

descent of

under the dreadful image of

it

inevitable destruction."

A modern Snowdon with what he

felt

gives

writer

us

a description

of

and saw, and

Evans admired

:

—

"

On

reaching the summit,

our

all

suddenly dispersed

by a

fiery substance,

for they resembled molehills

glow of the sun displayed

the

difficulties

and our imaginary complaints overborne with

exclamations of wonder, surprise, and admiration.

illuminated

even for

words and piled-up imagery which

The

misty cloud, which had for some time enveloped enchantment,

from

exactly

tells

his account is therefore better,

poetical purposes, than the long

were forgotten,

sunrise

He

a very different kind of imagery.

;

the

;

and

all

—were

whole

ocean

appeared

the subject hills below us

whose orb becoming at length distinctly

map,

its fiat

by

as if

gradually tinged by the rich

whole island of Anglesea so

descried, as in a

light, thin,

us,

visible,

distinctly, that

and uncultivated

plains,

we

bounded by

the rich and inexhaustible Parys mountains, in the vicinity of

Holyhead.

The point on which we were standing did not exceed

a square of five yards, and

we

sickened almost at the sight of the

steep precipices which environed us.

Round

formed by the customary tribute of

all

it is

a small parapet,

strangers

who

visit this

summit, and to which we likewise contributed, by placing a laro-e stone on its top. This parapet, indeed, sheltered us from the chilly cold,

and protected us from the piercing wind,

to

which

this height

must naturally be exposed. "

We

remained in

this situation for a considerable time,

and

27

Suowdon. endeavoured, without success, forests,

but

to

enumerate the several

lakes,

woods, and counties, which were exposed to us in one view

and confounded with the innumerable

lost

admiration, and regardless of the chilling cold,

survey of the

Isle of

Man, together with a

;

objects

worthy of

we took

a distinct

faint prospect of the

Highlands in Ireland, which appeared just visibly skirting the distant

horizon.

But

another

soon

object

engrossed

our

all

attention '

The wide, the unbounded prospect But shadows,

for

clouds,

we unexpectedly observed

half-way

down

and darkness

lay before us rest

upon

;

;'

it

long billows of vapour tossing about,

the mountain, totally excluding the country below,

and occasionally

dispersing,

and

partially revealing its features

;

while above, the azure expanse of the heavens remained unobscured

by the thinnest

mist.

This, however,

was of no long continuance

a thick cloud presently wet us through

we were little

or

:

and the point on which

standing could alone be distinguished.

As

there appeared

no chance of the clouds dispersing, we soon commenced

our descent. that,

;

Eespecting this Alpine excursion,

say

suffice it to

though our expectations were raised exceedingly high,

infinitely surpassed all conception,

and

baffled all description

;

it

for

no colour of language can paint the grandeur of the rising sun, observed from this eminence, or describe the lakes, woods, and forests

which are extended before you

enumerates" their names, yet

cannot give the

it

;

for description,

though

it

cannot draw the elegance of outline,

effect of precipices, or delineate the

which reward the actual observer at

every

minute

new

features,

choice

of his

28

Snowdon.

position ascent,

;

till

and,

by changing

their colour

and form

at last every object dwindles into

interesting excursion,

atoms

in his gradual ;

in short, this

which comprehends every thing that

is

awful,

grand, and sublime, producing the most pleasing sensations, has left

traces in the

dear."

memory which

the imagination will ever hold

CADER

IDRIS.

CADER IDRIS

owes

estimation in which of scenery not so falls

short

of

its

much

that

rank and the

held by

all

lovers

to its height,

which

it is

Snowdon,

of

as

to

situation at the head of a short range,

its

and

to

its

peculiarly

The highest point

is

hundred and fourteen

precipitous

slope.

two thousand nine feet

above the sea

being exceeded by half-a-dozen mountains of the rival range, and being about six hundred feet lower than

The number

Snowdon.

of beautiful excursions which

may

be

made

in its neighbourhood, too, render it a point of universal attraction.

Dolgelly, to

Cymmer Abbey, Nannau,

the Falls of the Cain, are

the north, and within a few miles;

Machynlleth, with

its

all

while to the south are

Parliament House, and

all

the valleys which,

one by one, unite in the Dovey, with Plinlimmon in the distance "

Proud Plinlimmon," whose cloud-capped head,

bowed It

as

Gray

tells us,

at the magic song of Modred. is

from Dolgelly that

The name

is

visitors generally

approach Cader

Idris.

derived from Idris, a famous giant, whose chair of

— Coder

32

was on the summit

state

and perhaps

other,

name Dol

of Dolgelly

or

Dal is

—

— at

Idris.

least so the

or Dolgellen, as

a word

popular legend runs

we have

Evans gave

as " dale,"

—

it

is less

but

;

The

explanations have been offered.

better,

puzzling.

and the remaining

syllables

indicate the presence in the valley of a grove of hazel trees.

has

little

of interest in

modern

its

The church, with

streets.

It its

pewless floor and one old monument, and the house called the

Parliament House, from a tradition that in his parliament in 1404, are all the

Owen Glendower held

it

remnants of anticpiity that the

The house, however, looks much

place contains.

too

modern

have been standing at the beginning of the fifteenth century, but

may

Wales.

was not

It

in

1402

but at Machynlleth, that

here,

interest

of

—and, indeed,

But the greatest feature of

in a sense, of antiquity

It is situated so

its walls.

that Cader Idris and

fortifications.

Owen was

and the porch of the Parliament House there

;

has greater appearance of authenticity.

hills,

it

possibly be on the site of the veritable " St. Stephen's" of North

crowned

sists

to

The saying

its is

— about Dolgelly con-

completely in the heart of the

companions

may

be considered

as old as the time of Fuller,

its

and ad-

mirably sums up the peculiarity of the place. Fuller

is

not content with this notice, but adds four other things

worthy of remark respecting Dolgelly. "

1.

The

2.

Men

3.

Go

His words are as follows:

walls thereof are three miles high.

go into

out of

it

it

over the water

but

;

under the water.

4.

The

5.

There are more alehouses than

steeple thereof doth

grow

therein. '.

These enigmas he solves in the following manner

:

—The

first

alludes

Cader

33

Idris.

The second, that

to the fact that mountains surround the place.

on one entrance travellers

must

was a bridge over which

to the town, there

pass.

The

all

on the other they had to go

third, that

under a wooden trough, carried across the road

for the

conveyance

of water from a distance to an overshot mill on the opposite side.

For the explanation of the a

yew

And

tree.

fourth, that the bells

(if

plural)

hung

in

that " the tenements were divided into

fifthly,

two or more tippling-houses, and that even chimneyless barns were often used for that purpose." this description

from the

It

must be presumed that he penned

when almost every house was open Welsh

for the sale of

Cwrw

fair,

first

two.

miles from Dolgelly, the traveller, bent on ascending the

mountain, reaches the beautiful lake of Llyn Gwernan. further on

is

—

a deep

and lovely

in a magnificent amphitheatre of

tarn,

high up the side of the

Cader

cliffs.

Tal-y-Llyn, the most famous of

and oftenest praised lake at

exceeded by several.

At the

confined and

;

other side

— perhaps the best known The author of Murray's — This considered merits

its

:

"

is

in Wales, although in point of It

is

but a mile and a quarter

long and a quarter of a mile broad, being, in the narrow vale

hill,

all

in AVales.

some length upon

by many the most charming lake size it is

little

Idris, indeed, is well

supplied with water in which to cast reflections.

Guide dwells

A

Llyn-y-Gafr, and a short but steep ascent brings us to

Llyn-y-Gader

is

of

dda, or

Eespecting the other allusions, none will at present

ale.

apply, except the

Two

town during the time

state of the

fact,

'

an expansion of

the waters from the surrounding mountains being

dammed up

at the lower extremity,

in a rapid stream at Penybont,

where they run

off

under a new bridge, erected a few

Cader

Idris.

The lake

Notes of an Angler.

years ago.'

rapid growth and the amazing fecundity of as a matter of course, flogged from in general is not great,

weeds, which

is

is

morning

and the bottom

is

celebrated for the

and

its trout,

sport, particularly at the

covered with moss and

are the

most

likely spots to afford

There

is

the

little

is

a second inn at Minffordd, at the

junction of the Dolgelly and Machynlleth roads

;

but

it

not so

is

A

convenient, on account of the distance from the lake.

below Minffordd a small stream runs in from Llyn-y-Cae. best

way

of visiting this glorious tarn

in

it

North Wales

hollow, surrounded on

is

all

is

Llyn Idwal. sides

little

The

by following the course

The only lake

of the brook about a mile and a-kalf.

with

are

inn

and unpretending hostelry in much

of Tyn-y-Cornel, a comfortable anglers.

good

May and June

lower end of the lake.

the best months, and close to the village of Tal-y-Llyn

among

therefore,

The depth

the principal cause of the fish thriving so well.

The shallow weedy bottoms

repute

is,

to night.

It lies in a

to

compare

very deep

but the outlet by the intensely

rugged and steep precipices of Cader Idris "

On

every side

now

roso

Kocks, winch in unimaginable forms Lifted their black and barren pinnacles

In the light of evening, and

its precipice,

Obscuring ravine, disclosed above

'Mid toppling storms."

The lake account

:

its

is

of small size, but

depth

is

to be the crater of

is

Shelley.

all

the more striking on that

so great (360 feet) that

an extinct volcano.

some have supposed

better quality than those in Tal-y-Llyn; but the lake

on account of the

difficult

it

Trout are abundant, of

walking to get to

it."

is little

fished,

Cader Evans

praises Tal-y-Llyn, but hardly with such super-

also

lative adjectives as

some

vale

the

confined,

Idris.

is

later writers.

He

says of

not

of

beauty,

destitute

meadows "through which meanders a

rich

from the

The

lake,

valley

is

that

flanked

soon

by

is

highly

its

and sylvan

The

picturescpie.

the

ocean.

whose declivous

here

lake

side,

of

issuing

rivulet,

sides

The termina-

clothing.

on one

valley, so as to leave only a road

that though

consisting

with

confluence

lofty mountains,

are adorned with verdant tion

has

fine

it,

nearly

fills

the

and then contracts

gradually into the form of a river, rushing under a bridge of one

through a narrow

arch,

defile,

on one side of which stands the

church, and on the other cottages, intermingled with trees."

simple and quaint description shows

Wilson, the master

matters.

how

This

taste has altered in such

who may

be said to have

first

per-

ceived the beauty of our hills and lakes, and to have ventured to

paint

them

Idris,

and

as he

lies

saw them, was born not

own country not

so

much by

far

He

buried close by at Mold.

from the foot of Cader is

remembered

in his

immortal landscapes, as by the

his

signboard of an inn (the Three Loggerheads) which he painted.

Two

figures only appear, but the inquisitive traveller

is

advised to

guess silently as to the identity of the third, as the consequences of

asking information are not always agreeable. paint better things than signboards in

an appropriate neighbourhood,

it

;

and was

if

But Wilson could

ever an artist was born

he.

Continuing our ascent from Dolgelly, we cannot do better than follow the guidance of Aikin, who, in his Journal, thus describes

the scene "

We

:

quitted the road

and began our ascent at the

first

step of

Ccider

36

this lofty

full

When we had

mountain.

we descended

a

little

;

we climbed

hence

which

is

still

ridge,

kept constantly

down

torrents that fall

a second and

steep but not difficult track,

the surround-

higher chain up a

over numerous fragments of rock

We now

detached from the higher parts.

more elevated

surmounted the exterior

to a deep, clear lake,

by the numerous tributary

ing rocks

Idris.

came

and

to a second

and overlooked by steep

lake, clear as glass,

cliffs

in

such a manner as to resemble the crater of a volcano, of which a

most accurate representation

Some

of Cader Idris.

is

to be seen in Wilson's excellent

and other volcanic productions here however,

we were unable

view

have mentioned the finding lava

travellers

;

upon a

strict

examination,

to discover anything of the kind, nor did

the water of the lake appear to differ in any respect from the purest

rock water, though

was

it

with the most delicate

tried repeatedly

]

chemical that

is

tests.

A

made near

cult ascent

clear, loud,

the lake.

up the summit

and distant echo repeats every shock

We

now began

our last and most

(

diffiJ

of Cader Idris

itself,

which,

when we had

i

surmounted, we came to a small plain with two rocky heads of nearly equal heights, one looking to the north, and the other to the

south

:

vated,

we made

choice of that which appeared to us the most ele-

and seated ourselves on

laborious ascent of three hours.

its

highest pinnacle to rest, after

We

were

now high above

all

a.'

the

eminences within this vast expanse, and as the clouds gradually cleared away, caught

some grand views of the surrounding country.

The huge rocks which we before looked up Merc

far

below at our

valleys between cies,

them

feet,

to the north,

;

shut up the scene

;

to

with astonishment,

and many a small lake appeared in the

Snowdon, with

its

dej)enden-

on the west, we saw the whole curve of the

|

Cader

37

Idris.

bay of Cardigan, bounded at a vast distance by the Caernarvon mountains; and nearer, dashing

its

white breakers against the rocky

coasts of Merioneth, the southern horizon

mon, and at the

was bounded by Plinlim-

the eye glanced over the lake of Bala, the two

east,

Arenig mountains, the two Arrans, the long chain of the Ferwyn mountains, to the Breiddin

hills

on the confines of Shropshire

;

and

dimly, in the distant horizon, was beheld the Wrekin, rising alone

Having at

from the plain of Salop.

last satisfied

our curiosity, and

being thoroughly chilled by the keen air of these elevated regions,

we began

to

come

The

up.

whose cold stream

descend the side opposite to that which we had first

stage led us to another beautiful mountain lake,

clear waters discharge their

down

superabundance in a

with trout, and in some

rocky Alpine lakes.

is

full

All these waters abound

the side of the mountain.

found the gwyniad, a

fish particular to

Following the course of the stream, we came on

the edge of the craggy

cliffs

that overlook Tal-y-Llyn lake

;

and a

long and difficult descent conducted us at last on the borders of Tal-y-Llyn, where

Another

we

Walk through Wales) "

entered the Dolgelly road."

thus

traveller :

The afternoon was

fectly

clear,

describes this

— gloriously fine,

so that the vast

view (Warner's First

and the atmosphere per-

unbounded prospect lay beneath,

unobscured by cloud, vapour, or any other interruption, to the astonished and delighted eye, which threw

its

scene, including a circumference of at least five

glance over a varied

hundred

the north-east was Ireland, like a distant mist

and a

little

to the right

Caernarvonshire.

miles.

To

upon the ocean

;

was Snowdon, and the other mountains of

Further on, in the same direction, the

Isle of

Cader

Idris.

Man, the neighbourhood of Chester, Wrexham, and Salop

the sharp

;

head of the Wrekin, and the undulating summit of the

To the

south, I

David's,

saw the country round

and Swansea

;

St.

to the west, a vast prospect of the British

Channel, bounded by the horizon. jects,

Cleehills.

Pembrokeshire,

Clifton,

Exclusive of these distant ob-

Numberless

the nearer views were wonderfully striking.

mountains, of different forms, appearances, and elevation, rose in directions

towns, villages, and

combined

and

which, with the various harbours, lakes,

;

to

villas,

all

rivers,

scattered over the extensive prospect,

form a scene inexpressibly august,

diversified,

and im-

pressive."

Mr.

Bingley ascended this mountain from

an inn kept in his day by the guide.

the

From

Blue

this

Lion,

Mr.

spot

Bingley declares himself capable of attaining the summit in two hours, from which he describes the views to be

those from Snowdon,

if

"In descending," he in

which

I

more varied than

not so extensive. says,

"I took a direction eastward of that

had gone up, and proceeded along that part of the

mountain called Mynydd Moel.

The path

in this direction is suffi-

A

ciently sloping to allow a person to ride even to the summit.

gentleman, mounted on a

days before

Some Idris,

I

little

Welsh pony, had done

this a

few

years ago, a Cheshire lady rode a pony right over Cader

from Dolgelly to Minffordd.

Her

steed,

it

need hardly be

added, was a native.

Most

l-J

was here."

visitors will cross the river to

Cymmer Abbey,

a Cister-

cian house, situated, as usual with that order, in the midst of

beautiful natural scenery.

It is called

by olden

writers,

most

and

also

\\

Cader

39

Idris.

by the people of the neighbourhood, Vanner Abbey.

Cymmer

signifies the "

Welsh, and

is

church, as usual in the English Cistercian buildings,

which marked the

style

end

east

is

A.

can hardly be conceived

be excused

who

beautify such

;

thinks that ruins are

and that the

buildings,

places

final

as

is

more lovely spot than and the enthusiastic

much

The

of the severe

introduction of the pointed arch.

almost covered with ivy.

for the purpose

may

first

The name

meeting of the waters."

The this

tourist

better than complete

cause of Cistercian abbeys was to

Tintern or Studley or Cymmer.

The

founders were Meredith and Griffith ap Conan, late in the twelfth

century

;

whom we house,

and the chief benefactor was Llewelyn ap Jorwerth, of have spoken in our notice of Bethgelert. The abbot's

now

the residence of a farmer,

is

of the fifteenth or six-

teenth century, and has a hall with an old oak roof. of

Cymmer was "

About

foundation,

not uneventful, and has been thus

The

history

summed up

:

thirty years subsequent to the supposed period of its it

appears to have been in a flourishing state;

but

the evils arising out of war, more especially those which visit the seat of warfare, soon cast a paralysing

When Henry the Welsh,

the Third

who had

damp on

its rising

asserted their independence under their intre-

pid leader, Prince Llewelyn ap Jorwerth, and invested Castle, a

age,

was

monk

every

forces.

man

Montgomery

of this house, happening to be on a service of espion-

strictly

Cambrian

prosperity.

was marching a formidable army against

examined

as to the situation

Naturally considering

it

and strength of the

a duty incumbent upon

possessed of patriotism to befriend his

own country

rather than assist an enemy, he gave an exaggerated account of the

opposing army, and misrepresented their different positions.

The

Cader

40

Idris.

Welsh made a ruse de guerre, feigning a marsh, not far distant from the

site

of the

retreat to

an extensive

onset,

on which the

first

English troops eagerly pursued what they conceived to be the

vanquished enemy still

but being encumbered with heavy armour, and

;

further annoyed

by the treacherous nature of the ground, they

were unable to act offensively, or even active troops to

and

retreat, before the light

which they were opposed returned to the charge

after a short conflict, victory decided in favour of the

The King, incensed

;

Welsh.

and enraged by the sanguin-

at the deception,

ary as well as disastrous consequences that ensued, on passing by the religious house to which the informer belonged, gave

command

for its destruction

by

the conflagration

but the abbot, having expurgated himself and

;

fire.

the resident brethren from

All the out offices were

any privacy of the

consumed in

transaction, after

profound submission, earnest entreaties, and subjecting the estates to a fine of three

hundred marks, saved the

rest of the building.

At

the dissolution, the annual revenues were estimated, according to

Speed's valuation, at

money."

£58

15s., or

about £600 a-year in modern

—

CON WAY CASTLE. HE

—

Conway

river

perhaps

more

into

falls

the sea

and

as it is often

or,

correctly

spelt,

at a place

Conwy as

nearly

as possible half-way between Chester

Holyhead. five

The English

miles to

the

forty to the west.

east,

The

city

the

1826,

it

and

forty-

Welsh port

river at high water

about half-a-mile across

is

is

;

and before

could only be crossed by a ferry.

In 1806 the mails between London and Ireland were lost

by the swamping of the

passengers but two were drowned.

ferry-boat,

Many were

proposed for bridging this dangerous

gulf.

and

the

all

the contrivances

The

tide ran with

and the banks were shelving near the water's edge.

violence,

At

length Telford, then engaged making the great Holyhead road,

succeeded in crossing

it

with a suspension bridge, upwards

a hundred yards in length, and connected

with the upper shores.

mighty was

castle,

built

On

of

by vast embankments

the western side of the river stands the

which Edward the First began in 1284, and which

by the same great

architect

(Henry de Eire ton) who

also

;;

Conway If he

designed Caernarvon.

Castle.

had intended Conway

beauty alone, he could not have succeeded

and

plan,

out of the its

full

of symmetry.

cliff

which

it

and

;

added tenfold to

strength, has

beauty was by no means

its

and chief

He

object.

and

perfect as a fortress,

age,

if

by nature,

which has denuded

it

of

But although

picturesqueness.

out of the question in a building

left

which was to be as much a palace ton's first

for picturesque It is regular in

appears to grow, as

It

crowns

better.

was Eire-

as a castle, strength

took care that his work should be

appearance to take care of

left its

itself

thus carrying out to the utmost a cardinal principle of mediaeval

The

architecture.

result,

now

have been at work upon

beauty

is

that the softening influences of time

for nearly six centuries,

The use

sound the principle was. its

it

Conway

of

greater than ever.

Mr. Hartshorne, whose account of Caernarvon we useful

when speaking visited

it

Christmas within wild Welsh came the

King and

shall find

tells us, it

several times, its walls.

down from

Perhaps their

seems that Edward and his

and on one occasion spent it

was at

mountain

his court so closely, that for

fastnesses,

century

it

in history.

John

sometimes

called.

and besieged

some days they were

During the fourteenth century we hear it is

their

this time that the

danger of starvation, but were relieved at length by a

Aberconway, as

very

of that castle, has only touched incidentally on

But from what he

Conway.

Queen

shows how

Castle has departed

But

little

of

in

fleet.

Conway, or

in the last year of that

emerges from obscurity, and comes prominently forward

Henry

of Bolingbroke,

Duke

of Gaunt, having been banished

Second ten years

before,

of Lancaster, the son of

from England by Richard the

had returned while Richard was

in Ireland,

— Conway and had been joined by

by

those

all

whom

the

King had

Even the Duke

government.

his tyrannical

45

Castle.

espoused Henry's cause;

right to the throne,

alienated

and Eichard,

hastening over by Milford Haven, marched but a short his

enemy, when, suspecting the

them

at night,

by

of York, the next heir

way towards he deserted

fidelity of his soldiers,

with thirteen companions, and

fled

Conway.

to

Froissart describes this flight with his usual graphic touch

but,

;

being ignorant of Welsh geography, he speaks of Flint where he

ought to have said Conway. climax of the story

"When

The following passage contains the

:

matters could not longer be concealed,

King Richard

—

'Sire,

take care of yourself

;

it

was

told to

you must have good and

speedy counsel, for the Londoners have risen with a mighty power,

and intend

march against you.

to

Derby (Duke of Lancaster), your his advice

they act.

They have

cousin, their

elected the Earl of

commander

and by

;

You may be assured that some strong treaties have

been entered into between them, since he has crossed the sea by their

The King was thunderstruck

invitation.'

knew not what answer foresaw

affairs

ately taken.

to

make,

while, he replied to the knights

this information

—

'

Instantly

at-arms and archers, and issue a special

before

my

for the assembling of all

By your men

subjects.'

goes badly, for

have already

and he

would end badly unless proper steps were immedi-

Having mused a

had given him

kingdom

and

at hearing this,

for his courage forsook him,

'

lost half

struck and wavering.'

my

summons throughout

the

not

fly

vassals, as I will

God,' answered the knights, are leaving

who

make ready our men-

'

you and running

everything off.

You

your army, and the remainder are panic'

What

can

I

do, then?'

asked the King.

— Conway

46

'

We

will tell you, sire

and make

for

quit the

;

one of your

step-brother, Sir

Castle.

field, for

castles,

you cannot hold

John Holland, who

is

rebellion,

by

your

from that

in

field,

The King agreed

many who have

come

When

fled

He

to you.

affairs into

which they are at present.

has taken the

longer,

enterprising and courageous,

and must now have heard of the force or negotiations, bring

it

where you can remain until your

will,

a different state

it is

known

that he

from you will join him.'

The Earl of Salisbury was not

to the advice.

then with him, but in another part of the country

when he

and,

;

heard that the Earl of Derby was marching a large army against

would turn out badly

the King, he judged things for all

who had been

He

his advisers.

for his

master and

therefore remained quiet,

waiting for further intelligence. "

The Duke of York had not accompanied the King on

pedition join

;

him

for

two reasons

Richard had shown him England.

It

was

— ;

one, in return for the great affection

Sire,

King

the other, because he was Constable of

therefore necessary he should attend his King.

They

Other news was brought the King as he supped. '

this ex-

but his son, the Earl of Rutland, had been induced to

you must determine how you

will act

;

for

said

your army

is

as

nothing compared to the force marching against you, and a combat will

be of no avail

;

and appease the malcontents

as

you have

formerly done, by kind words and fair promises, and punish them afterwards at your leisure.

There

hence, called Flint (Conway), that

is

is

a castle twelve miles from

tolerably strong

advise that you fly thither, and remain shut please, or until

your

friends.

you hear other news from

We

will

Sir

up

;

we

therefore

as long as

you

John Holland and

send to Ireland for succour

;

and when the

Conway King of France, your

it

He

good.

father-in-law, shall hear of your distress, he

King Eichard

will assist you.'

47

Castle.

listened to this advice,

and thought

accompany him, and

selected such as he wished to

ordered the Earl of Eutland to remain at Bristol with the remnant of the army, ready prepared to advance

other news, or their enemies.

when they should be

when they should hear

sufficiently strong to

These commands were obeyed

combat

and the King,

;

at-

tended by his household only, departed on the ensuing morning for Flint Castle (Conway), which they entered without showing any

appearance of making war on anyone, but solely to defend themselves

A

and the place should they be attacked." French metrical chronicler says that

when he

the houses

are covered

"At

of Salisbury. instead

Conway, which

arrived at

the

was a piteous sight

King

was break of day

meeting of the King

and

the

and mourning quickly broke

forth.

to behold their looks

his

earl's

hard

face

fate,

" where

a place

There he found the Earl

Tears,

The

woful meeting." related to the

tiles."

it

called

was very great sorrow.

of joy, there

tions, sighs, groans,

with

is

Truly

with

many

Eichard,

we

ejaculations of grief.

quaint rhymer, "

how much

the

it

and countenance and

was pale with watching

and how he had made

;

he

his muster,

and described the impossibility of obtaining men willing against the duke.

earl,

lamenta-

to fight

are told, received this intelligence

"

No

one would believe," says the

King grieved

at

He continued

it."

some time at Conway, " where he had no more with him than two or three of his intimate friends, sad

and

distressed.

.

one was very uneasy for himself with sufficient cause.

and other persons, we were but sixteen in

.

.

Every-

Beckoning all."

The

Conway

Castle.

chronicler here bursts forth into a long tirade against the fickleness of fortune

;

at last very sensibly resolving, " I shall here at present

man would take no notice I shall now come to the

speak no more of fortune, for a prudent of her benefits, but in a reasonable way.

conclusion of

King Eichard, who, from

with treason, as

I

have already

and dismay.

of sorrow, mourning, earl said it

would be a great thing

I

delay."

But a horseman

army Richard had

finished his narrative, the

and prayers far

;

and,

from dignified.

who

When

He invoked

shall neither

His mouth, as we are

my

;

we

may

He

reason.

Conway,

for they

had

into imprecations

be trusted, his conduct was

For well

shall hold

I

know

Then

when

that

His judgment, the shall find

what

they be accursed from

shall

pain infernal.

power hath no law."

They went

of the defection of

Such

is

take heed unto ourselves

honour, you speak the truth."

farther stay at

whom he had

the judgments of heaven on the

and then

told, in

Wherefore, in every respect often said,

them

told

have refuge nor reprieve, but

they have done and spoken

it is

that he and the

this bearer of evil tidings

deserters in a long speech, concluding, "

the latter day shall come, and

wicked

full well

King again breaks out

the chronicler

if

know

Haven, to come thither without

arrived,

left.

alone at Conway, full

all

to send to his people,

lately left at the seaport, Milford

the

sport of fortune together

was

said,

our

belief.

and

;

this

said the earl, " Sire,

They then agreed

were greatly

straight to Beaumaris,

afraid,

to

by

make no

and with good

which was ten miles

from Conway. Beaumaris, which was one of the castles built by Edward the First,

was usually considered impregnable

in that age

;

but Richard

did not remain there long, he went back again to Caernarvon

;

every-

Conway

Castle.

which he had brought upon himself, in

where he lamented

his fate,

most unmanly and

bitter language.

" There was not a man," says

the chronicler, " so hard-hearted or so firm,

who would not have

wept at the sight of the disgrace that was brought upon him." would be interesting to know the name of the writer

It

we

are indebted for this curious narrative.

But he does

Francis de la Marque.

words of the

title

distinction,

He accompanied

is

described as a

a certain knight, his friend

His account

in-law) to be present in the Irish war.

;

and the

is

father-

very impar-

but he seems to have acquired a personal regard for the King,

and attended him until event was printed in

His metrical history of

his deposition.

full in

of Richard the Second stories,

and

The

fate

was accounted one of the most interesting of

in addition to

romantic histories of

this

the twentieth volume of the Archceolo-

1824, under the direction of the Eev. John Webb.

gia,

as

un gentilhomme Francois de

two seem to have been sent by the French king (Richard's

tial,

whom

him

by a mistranslation of the

of his metrical history, where he

French gentleman of

marque.

so

to

Strutt cites

it

an immense number of more or

which are

still

extant in manuscript,

less

we

have Shakespeare's famous play.

At Caernarvon, Richard was poorly lodged

in the castle.

It

was

not customary, except in time of necessity, to keep these expensive fortresses in

any high

state of repair

;

and when the court moved

from one to another, large quantities of tapestry, furniture, and even glass for the windows, was carried about with the

we

suite.

So

are not surprised to read that " in his castles to which he retired

there

was no

straw

;

furniture, nor

really he lay in this

had he anything

manner

to lie

down upon but

for four or six nights, for in

;

Conway

50

Castle.

truth not a farthing's worth of victuals, or of anything else,

be found in them.

who

king,

stayed not long at Caernarvon, for he had

on account of

his misfortune

my

consort

!

man

accursed be the

—

thus shamefully separateth us two!'" this lamentation,

which seems strange to

his wife

little

little rest

He

and great poverty.

Conway, where he thus greatly bewailed and

was

to

Certes, I dare not tell the great misery of the

:

—

'

My

mistress

doth he love us

There are several us,

then

returned to

—who

bines of

considering that at this

who had only who was being brought

time Richard was thirty years of age, and a widower,

been married in form to a child of eleven,

up

Windsor

at

She was eventually sent back to

to be his wife.

France, and married to the eldest son of the

younger

Catherine, was,

sister,

the Fifth, the son

from

whom

At

last

many

and successor of

Richard was

now

Duke

of Orleans.

years later, the wife of this

very

Duke

of Lancaster

a fugitive.

a messenger was sent to Henry,

who

detained him, and

He was

sent the Earl of Northumberland to take the King.

Conway

Exeter

and

1

earl,

.

.

it is

at

"in sorrow and dismay;" he knew nothing of the

still,

coming of the mean.

Her

Henry

but he often

What

.

said, " I

cannot

can have become of

tell

my

what

this

can

brother-in-law of

eight days since he went to Chester, to bring the duke

me to an agreement." Northumberland meanwhde was

engaged

in arrangements for securing the King's person, feeling sure that if

he was aware of their strength he would not leave the walls of his castle.

The following passage

Conway, that we must quote

men

into

they were

two

bodies,

fresh,

so well describes the situation of it

almost entire

under the rough and

and eager

—persecuting

:

—

"

He

formed his

lofty cliffs of a rock

traitors as

they were

—

to

Conway take the King.

.

well this pass.

I

shore.

.

.

tempered

beware that ye

stir

myself return."

There

came

is

in front of

it,

till

went on

to

in

you

tell

see the

him

King

Then the herald

aloft in the castle,

or

good array; and the

Conway

to fulfil his word.

but when the earl

;

safe conduct, that

him how the duke was

of

But

he sent a herald to King Richard, to ask

to grant

agreement with him.

King

lives,

file

leave his quarters.

an arm of the sea before the town

would be pleased over to

make him

not for your

stir,

prose or in rhyme,

I will, in

unless he be harder than

as,

So they put themselves

without making any

earl,

the

tidings

think shall

steel, I

Keep

going over, with five others, to the opposite

Ere to-morrow's dawn,

.

King such

the

tell

subtle earl said to his people, "

The

.

.

am

51

Castle.

if

he

he might pass

desirous of coming crossed the water,

hardly assailed by sorrow.

an

to

and found

He

said

cheerfully to him, " Sire, the honourable Earl of Northumberland

hath sent

me

hither to relate to

you how desirous Duke Henry

be immediately at peace with you.

May it

knowledge of the

him

come

truth, to grant

who was

there, then said to

thing to

make him come

to the messenger in his

safe

King Richard that

stir."

it

language, "

I heartily

times, descended from the lofty castle,

said aloud

give the Earl of

He thanked him

Northumberland permission to pass."

Salisbury,

would be a good

Then the King

thither alone.

own

to

conduct and leave to

presume to

here, for otherwise he will not

is

please you, for the better

a hundred

and passed the water, where

the earl had been long expecting him.

There he related to him

how King Richard had freely granted him safe conduct, and besought him to make haste. Then the earl went on board a vessel,

and crossed the water.

He

found King Richard, and the

Conway

52

Castle.

He

Earl of Salisbury with him, as well as the Bishop of Carlisle.

Duke Henry hath sent me hither, to the an agreement should be made between you, and that you

said to the King, " Sire,

end that

should be good friends for the time to come. sire,

and

I

may

be heard,

I

conceal nothing of the truth true,

and

will bring

up

all

:

—

those

If

you

whom

minster

;

shall lawfully cause to

you

;

here

listen

your pleasure,

his message,

will be a

I shall

a certain day, for the ends of justice

which you

If it be

will deliver to

to

and

good judge and

name

to you,

by

the parliament

be held between you at West-

and restore him to be chief judge of England, as the duke

(his father)

and

ancestors had been for

all his

more than a hundred

years."

At

and

length,

after

much

parley, Richard consented to the

terms proposed by Northumberland, who, on his part, took an oath

on the Sacrament, in the chapel of Conway intentions with which he

ward, and open. Flint,

On

had come were

the

that

receiving this assurance, Richard started for

preceded by Northumberland,

men had been

Castle,

perfect, fair, straightfor-

placed in ambush.

who awaited him where

When

the

King and

his

com-

his

panions had passed, they came out and cut off his retreat, making

him

virtually a prisoner.

as it does not concern refer the reader to

other writers

by

known and we may summarise it, and

rest of the story is well

Castle,

;

Shakespeare and Froissart, and the numberless

whom

has been narrated.

The

Conway

the tragical end of

He was met

King Richard the Second

at Flint

by Henry, who, on the

29th September, extorted from him a deed of resignation of the

crown

;

and, a few days later, the

House of Lords decided, on the

motion of the Earl of Northumberland, whose perjury and treachery

Conway we have

53

Castle.

that Richard should be placed in perpetual

described,

Within

confinement in some secret place.

reported that he had died at Pontcfract

;

and

months

six

it

was

having been

his body,

exhibited at St. Paul's, was buried at Langley, in Hertfordshire,

but eventually removed to Westminster Abbey by Henry V., where

tomb had probably been made

his

curious epitaph

is

stravit amicos" (he

still

to be seen

:

in his lifetime,

—

and where the

" Obruit hereticos

—

et

burned heretics and slaughtered their

eorum

friends).

In a later part of our French chronicler's work, he notices a curious

prophecy regarding Conway, which, he says, was told him by an ancient knight, as they rode together towards Chester

:

— " He

told

.me that Merlin and Bede had, from the time in which they lived, prophesied of the taking and ruin of the King, and that his castle it

come

who

he would show

it

me

to pass, saying thus

—

in '

form and manner as

There

shall be a

were in

if I I

had seen

king in Albion,

twenty or two-and-twenty years, in

shall reign for the space of

great honour and in great power, and shall be allied and united

with those of Gaul, which king shall be undone in the ports of the

Thus the knight

north in a triangular place.'

written in a book belonging to him. applied to the

town of Conway

reason, for I can assure

;

and

you that

it is

told

for this he

of

Conway was

the

King

Northumberland drew him treaty which he

power.

sufficiently

forth, as

made with him

Thus the knight held

this

thereunto great faith and credit

;

;

it

undone

was

place he

had a very good

a triangle, as though

been so laid down by a true and exact measurement.

town

me

The triangular

;

it

had

In the said

for the Earl of

you have already heard, by the and from that time he had no

prophecy to be

true,

and attached

for such is the nature of

them

in

Conway

Castle.

that they very thoroughly believe in prophecies,

their country,

phantoms, and witchcraft, and employ (have recourse Yet, in

right willingly.

want

:

but

this is not right,

to) is

them

a great

of faith."

Upon note

my opinion,

this passage

Mr. Webb, the translator, makes the following

— " The triangular shape of the town of Conway may be well

distinguished from the small terrace or rampart at the western entrance, which

whom it

it

was

commands

laid

Edward

the whole of the walls.

down and

fortified,

had

his choice of the

has been thought to bear reference to that of a "Welsh harp

this is too visionary a conjecture.

nature of the

site

No

from the outline of

clearly the case

doubt

and the exigencies of the it

;

and

was adapted

it

by

I.,

form ;

to the

Such was

situation.

must take leave

I

:

but

to

correct the author's assertion as to its being exactly triangular, a little

variation to the

visible

left,

owing

to the cast of the bank, being

from the point already mentioned.

.

.

The

a frequented entrance into the interior of Wales.

admirably selected, and the work capitally executed. of the whole of the walls

and beauty

;

and much of

himself secure

;

or, as

was

of a very superior kind as to strength

promises, unless disturbed

force,

by

violence,

Here Eichard, might have

felt

a last resource, might have found means of

escaping by sea.

Conway must have been

defended, after the

King was enticed out

(his brother) received

many

position

The masonry

it

with proper precautions and a moderate

with

castle

is

to resist the efforts of time for centuries to come.

and Ehys

The

.

the port and passage over the river, and protected

commanded

of

neglected, or very it.

ill

Gwilym-ap-Tudor

a pardon (2 Henry IV.) for having,

of their people, taken the castle

and burnt the town.

Conway

55

Castle.

This fortress had been, or was afterwards, used as a prison.

Claydon, a Lollard of London, was confined in

when Braybrook, who died In another note, Mr. inquiries, not long since, it

in 1404,

Webb

two

John years,

was Bishop of London."

says that "in the course of his

castle of

the venerable arch of the eastern

where must have stood the

is

Conway.

window

altar at

There he recognised

of the chapel

still entire,

which mass was performed

The

the fatal oath was taken.

conferred with his friends,

The plan

for

he took this metrical history, and compared

upon the spot with the

when

it

chapel, in

which Richard

at the eastern extremity of the hall."

of the town, with the castle at one corner, does indeed

resemble a harp, being three-cornered, owing not to any intention of the builder, but rather to the exigencies of the position at the

extremity of a land of promontory washed on two sides by the sea

and the

river.

When

Richard was at Conway, he was attended by a Welsh

gentleman who had long been attached to him, and who had probably been knighted a short time before.

He gave

evidence in

the famous Scrope and Grosvenor controversy as Sir Glendore, so called from the territory of

owned

He was

in Merioneth.

dismissed by destined, as

Henry

Owen

;

Owen

de

Glendwrdwy which he

with Richard at Flint, when he was

and, returning to his home, was eventually

Glendower, to lure to their destruction the Earl

of Northumberland,

whose base share in betraying Richard we have

already seen, and his son, the more famous Henry, Lord Percy, usually

known by

the

nomme de

guerre of Hotspur.

We

have

occasion to speak more at length of Glendower in another place.

We

hear

little

or nothing of

Conway

for

many

years after this

— Conway The

time.

civilisation of

Castle.

Wales was

still

far

from having been

accomplished, and no doubt a large garrison was kept in this and other

castles

turbulent

that

of

early

life

of

besides his

The

country.

Glendower, the Wars of the Roses, the

many

insurrection

of

circumstances in the

Henry the Seventh which connected him with Wales,

Welsh

conspired to keep

origin

and

surname of Tudor, or Theodore,

his

Conway and

all

the other fortresses of this coast in

the full stream of current events until

which was not until the great

it

next emerges prominently,

rebellion,

when

it

fell

into the

custody of the warlike Archbishop Williams, himself a Welshman,

and one of the military

last ecclesiastical dignitaries

power

in

England.

episode in the history of "

At

the

King Charles the to

Conway

commencement First

who

ever held civil and

Mr. Evans thus summarises this :

of the civil wars,

it

was garrisoned

by Dr. John Williams, Archbishop

whose custody numbers of the country gentlemen confided

plate

the

for

of York, their

and other valuables and movables, receiving a receipt from arch-prelate,

restoration

who

considered

himself answerable for their

on the return of better times.

He

at the

same time

bestowed the government of the castle on his nephew, William Hookes, in the year 1643. tically

Irritated

at this insulting

smallest attention to give of

In May, 1645, Prince Rupert inipoli-

superseded the Archbishop in the conduct,

him any

it

command

of

North Wales.

being done without the

virtual security for the property

which he had previously received the charge, Williams became

decisively disgusted

;

and having received an

offer

from Mytton of

protection, under the Parliamentarian authority, he joined issue

with that general, and assisted in the reduction of Conwy.

The

;

Conway

57

Castle.

town was taken by storm on August

15,

surrendered on the 10th of November.

Archbishop,

who had

wound

received a

1646, and the castle

For these

the

services,

in the neck, obtained a

general pardon for his prior opposition to the Parliament, and a

from the sequestration that had been made of

release

his estates

and Mytton, whose character partook more of haughtiness than avarice,

restored

every

to

individual

property previously

the

entrusted to the arch-prelate's care."

Archbishop Williams deserves a longer notice than

was employed

in so

many

up almost unexpectedly

He was Dean

various capacities, that his

in half-a-dozen different

of Westminster

he was Bishop of Lincoln

;

;

and

he was a patron of

among

his portrait occurs in

with a gun upon his shoulder.

distinct places.

Dean

art,

and encouraged

other enterprises

he

Stanley, in his

Memorials of Fuller,

Worthies, mentions that he was born at Conway, or rather,

as he writes

it,

at "

admire Williams, wrote so so

;

one of Hollar's prints

Westminster Abbey, has frequent occasion to speak of him. in his

turns

he was Keeper of the Great Seal

;

the English manufacture of tapestry,

defended Conway

and

He

this.

name

much

little

for

Aber Conway he says, "

in his praise,

in his defence.

But

;"

and distasted I

had rather

nation of others for relating what accusation of

my own

but apparently Fuller did not

have offended his friends because

I

may

I

his foes because I said

to live

offend,

under the indig-

than die under the

conscience for reporting

what

is

untrue."

Yet learning owed something to Williams, who founded the library of Westminster Abbey. First,

slept

and preached with his

He

attended the deathbed of James the

his funeral

fathers,

sermon from the

and he was buried in the

text, "

Solomon

city of David, his

Conway

58

Castle.

taking care not to read the nest

father;"

Charles the First loved

Rehoboam. sermon or

for other reasons

line,

not,

which

tells

whether for

of

this

and Laud was made Archbishop of

;

During one of the early outbreaks of

Canterbury over his head. fanatical fury

him

the Presbyterians, he defended the Abbey, " as

among

He was promoted

he afterwards defended Conway Castle."

to the

Archbishopric of York just before the war broke out, and followed the

King

His death took place a few weeks only

to the North.

after the execution of

King

He was

Charles.

certainly the

Conway but whether his

distinguished of the natives of

;

corresponded to any great mental or moral qualifications,

A

not prepared to determine.

letter is still

most

distinction

we

are

extant in the collection

of Mr. Orrnsby Gore, at Brogynton, in Shropshire, in which, under

the date of July 27, 1647,

the

King

Charles, then at Ruperry, orders

goods in the castle of Aberconway to be kept safe from

embezzlement, and to

the respective owners have them, they

let

having been put in there for safety while the place was in charge of the Archbishop.

This letter rather militates against the statement

of Evans, quoted above, that the goods were restored

by General

Mytton.

But

after sustaining

Conway was ruined

and surviving so many shocks of war,

in

The Commonwealth

left it

The Parliamentarians,

time of peace.

though they dismantled so

many

other castles, spared Conway.

unmolested

;

in the reign of Charles the Second, that

and it

it

was not

until 1665,

was dismantled. Among

the Welsh retinue of Richard the Second was a certain knight, called,

probably from the place of his birth, Henry Conway.

His

descendants were seated in Flintshire, and were successively in the

-

;

Conway

service of several English monarchs.

Henry the Seventh Eighth;

shire,

The grandson

the Sixth.

He had an

Conway.

Hugh was

Sir

Edward Conway was usher

;

John was made a banneret

Sir

Edward

59

Castle.

was the

Lord

Warwick-

Conway

possession, than he ordered

iron, lead,

war of

first

His

Viscount Kflultagh.

Irish peer as

and no sooner did he gain

them

the

estate in Ulster, as well as one in

and was made an

of requiring

by-

Henry

in the Scottish

of this soldier

son obtained from Charles the Second a grant of

remove the timber,

knighted

to

and other

for the Bang's service.

materials,

Castle

an agent to

under a pretence

It is generally

understood

that they were employed in repairing the buddings on his estate at

Lisburn, in

from the

Ireland

local

;

and notwithstanding many remonstrances

authorities,

the

castle

was unroofed, the

removed, and what had been up to that time in condition reduced to a ruin.

floors

perfect

fairly

Mr. Bulkeley, Mr. Wynn, and others

of rank and influence in the county, were distressed at the deter-

mination of Lord Conway, and seem, before he carried

have interfered with the steward, Milward is

extant,

Appendix) "

;

it

out, to

for the following letter

and was printed by Pennant (Tours in Wales, Vol. :

n.,

—

Honble Friends, " I have had the honor to receive yo r letter of the 20 th

Sep', in

which you are pleas'd to enquire of

Milward doth act by timber, I

do by

said

my

and iron of Conway Castle this

Milward

acknowledg is

me whether my

order, for the taking

it

to be

employed by me

;

down

servant

of the lead,

in answer to which question,

my

act

and deed

;

and that the

to dispose of the timber

and iron

Conway

60

according to such direction as

Ma

tie

then

it

was in

restraint

shipping,

in

it

for I

;

to transporte the

be more serviceable to his

And

having this opportunity of

humbly beseech you

which you have put upon

him yor favour

and

;

will

it

this country.

addressing myselfe to you, I

Castle.

gave him

I

lead into Ireland, where I hope

—

;

;

am

his proceedings,

to take off the

and to affoord

already prejudiced by the losse of

and an opportune season

for transportation of the lead

;

yet I shall esteeme this as a particular obligation upon mee, and be

ready to expresse you,

it

that you

are

may

put

otherwise

by

all

me

to

not of meeting occasions to "

Hon ble "

the service in

my

power to every one of

my

request,

which

delay.

And

doubt

pleased to grant this at

some trouble and testifie

my

I

being,

Sirs,

Yo

r

and obedient

affectionate

Serv*,

"CONWAY & KILULTA. " Eaglet, in Warwickshire,

16 th

Oct.,

1665.

" For the

Honble Thomas Bulkeley, Esq r Colonell Wtnn, Hugh Wtnn, Esqr ;

Thomas

;

Vadghan,

Esqr

,

His

Ma

'

tie s

Deputy-Livetenants in North Wales."

Pennant quotes a notice of Conway of

Grongar

Hill.

The

" Deep at

in ruin

from Dyer's poem

lines will describe its period of

its feet in

Conway's flood

His sides are clothed with waving wood

And

ancient towers crown his brow,

That

cast

an awful look below

Whose ragged walls the ivy creeps, And with her arms from falling keeps

;

decay

:

;

Conway

—

!

:

;

61

Castle.

So both a safety from the wind mutual dependence find.

On

now

'Tis

Tis now

And And

the raven's blank abode, th'

appartment of the toad

;

there the fox securely feeds,

there the poisonous adder breeds,

Concealed in ruins, moss, and weeds

While ever and anon there falls Huge heaps of hoary, mouldered Yet time has

And

Has seen

this

walls.

seen, that lifts the low,

level lays the lofty

broken

brow

pile complete,

Big with the vanity of state

But

transient

is

the smile of Fate

A little rule, a little sway, A sunbeam in a winter's day, Is all the

proud and mighty have

Betwixt the cradle and the grave."

Some care is now taken of Conway Castle. It is rented by a who holds it from the Crown for 6s. 8d. a-year, and the service of a basket of fish to the Queen when she passes by this lady,

way

and something

;

preserve

is

what remains

done to arrest the progress of decay, and to for future ages.

The

the railway, and appear almost to threaten engineers at castle,

people brief

first

towers overhang

it

but though the

;

proposed to run their line right through the

no harm has come to

who annually

it

from

this cause,

and the number of

visit it is greatly increased.

The following

and simple enumeration of the principal features of the ruins

occurs in Murray's " In plan

40

tall

it

is

Handbook

to

North Wales

—

nearly a parallelogram, with eight

feet in diameter, four at the angles,

drum towers

and four intermediate on

the north and south sides, rising nearly from the edge of the

Conway and connected with

precipice,

east

lofty curtains.

In advance of the

and west ends are raised platforms, each having three low

bastion or bartizan towers. sallyport, to

main

From

the right on the north side

is

a

which access was gained by means of a river-path

winding up the rock the

Castle.

gate,

;

while on the same position on the west

is

approaching over a steep drawbridge, and through

a covered entrance with flanking turrets.

The

interior is unequally

divided by a cross wall, which forms a sort of inner court marked

by four of the round towers, each of which has a The

principal feature in the interior

south side, 130 feet long.

with eight stone

ribs,

It is

is

now

lofty stair turret.

the hall of Llewelyn, on the roofless,

of which four remain

;

but was once ribbed

and furnished with

three fireplaces, as though intended to be converted into several chambers.

It is also lighted

by nine

The vaults underneath were magazines

windows.

by tapestry

early English for stores.

It

appears from old documents that this hall was built on account of

The two eastern towers

the original one being too small.

and Queen's

called the King's

northerly,

is

;

and in the

an oratory, a beautiful

little

latter,

which

is

are

the most

recess in the thickness

of the wall, with a polygon east end, groined. It contains seven bays,

and some

trefoil

panels as sedilia.

In the lower chamber are some

curious fragments of decorated tracing. is

Under the King's Tower

a vault, which was accessible only through a trap-door in the

floor above.

Twrdarn

or

On

the south side

is

the keep, and a tower called

Broken Tower, the base of which has been

at one time

completely excavated by the irreverent inhabitants of the town,

and now presents a dangerous-looking chasm, almost overhanging the railway.

']

—

Conway The dangers of the

inlet

63

Castle.

which Conway defends had long been

Dean

famous before Telford succeeded in bridging the chasm. Swift

is

said to have written

some doggerel verses on the dangers of

the road, and they are alluded to

done of much practical import

till

But nothing was

by Johnson.

the great road of Telford was

constructed, and the suspension bridge successfully designed

This was in 1829

made.

We

thing should be done.

mail-boat

;

but Mr.

;

Cliffe

and

it

and

was certainly high time some-

have already spoken of the

thus details the

list

loss of

a

of such casualties at

Menai, which will give an idea of the perils of travel in these

two suspension bridges were constructed

regions before the

"

On

Strait,

the 5th

Dec, 1664, a boat was upset

:

Menai

in crossing

and only one person was saved out of 81 passengers.

name was Hugh

Williams.

On

His

the same day and month, 1785,

another boat was capsized with

60 passengers, who were

drowned, with the exception of one, a

Hugh Williams

!

!

On

5th Aug., 1820, a third boat with 25 passengers was upset, and

all

the all

were drowned, excepting one, who also bore the charmed name of

Hugh Williams!

!

!

Again, on the 20th May, 1842, a boat was

crossing the Menai, near the spot where the above

catastrophes

happened, when she upset with 15 passengers, and

all

save one

;

Eichard Thomas."

Mr.

Conway

perished

but in this instance the name of the survivor was

Cliffe says of

the suspension bridge

at full tide is

:

—

more than half-a-mile

"

The passage

across,

of the

was formerly

rather formidable to travellers, there being a very rapid tideway,

and the ferrymen being most rapacious. an overloaded ferry-boat, conveying the

On

Christmas-day, 1806,

Irish mail-coach,

was upset

Conway

Castle.

The

during a heavy swell, and only two persons saved out of 15.

improvements determined on by Government in the coast Holyhead road involved the construction of the chain bridge, which was

begun, on Mr. Telford's plans, in 1822, and finished in 1826.

Its

width, measured between the centres of the supporting towers,

327

'The roadway

feet.

vertical bars

to

two

sets

made

is

of layers of plank, affixed

of suspending chains,

contains four chains, and each chain five bars

;

is

by

each of which the chains are

fastened into the rock under the castle on one side, and deep into the solid rock on the island on the other.'

the sands

2013

is

feet long,

and

The embankment

across

constructed of mountain clay,

is

faced with loose stones, which have firmly withstood

the most

violent gales."

But

fine as the suspension

wider passage at Menai. steam-engine,

It

bridge

it is

"was commenced

extensive workshops,

erected on the river-side, a

is,

surpassed by the

Stephenson made before trying the

tubular bridge, which Mr.

little

early in 1847.

A

and other appliances, were

above the castle; an immense

platform was constructed on a piece of level ground that projected into the river

months,

March

its

6,

and the

1848.

the purpose interest

;

;

tube was completed in about twelve

Six pontoons, each 100 feet long, were used for

and as

this

was naturally

was warped alongside was concentrated rams.

first

notation on pontoons having been effected on Monday,

Only four

was the

intense. its

piers.

first

experiment of the kind, the

In a few hours the colossal gallery

The power employed

in a couple of steam-engines, lifts,

to elevate

and two hydraulic

of 6 feet each, were required at

Conwy from

these enormous hydraulic presses, 24 feet being the height of the

Conway

When

bridge above the tidal level. it

at first

'

dangled in the

as

air,

Monday, the 17th

place on

the following day. of the

tube

same

is

412

year,

—The

elevated to the required height,

though a mere plaything in the

hands of the two hydraulic giants its

65

Castle.

;"

and

April.

it

An

was

finally adjusted in

engine went through on

second tube was floated on October 12th

and finished on November 15th following.

feet long, 14 feet wide,

and weighs about 1300

and

The height gradually

tons.

Each

22-^ feet high at the ends,

increases

towards the centre, a form obviously calculated to secure additional trength, as well as to prevent an accumulation of rain water

that point

it is

25^

covering throughout. tests,

but

the

and galvanised iron

feet high,

is

:

at

used for the

These tubes have been exposed to severe

deflection

has

been

exceedingly

trifling

;

and

experience has proved that that which arises from the temperature

does not vary up and It bas

down more than an

been remarked, that

in St. Paul's Churchyard, it cross

on the top of the dome.

if

inch."

one of these tubes was set on end

would reach about 12

feet

above the

MOEL SIABOD. LTHOUGH

who

people

are

willing

to

exert themselves in climbing, choose,

a

rule, to attack

their

Snowdon

before they try

Hmbs and lungs by an

Moel Siabod, neglected,

if

it

for

absence of

summit

its

Snowdon

Snowdon

itself,

;

so conspicuous

the advantage of including

Snowdon

in their range,

true that lookers-on see most of the

situations in life besides the highest

ambition.

but

its

in the neigh

but those who look from the head of Moel Siabod have

gain in interest what they lose in elevation. is it

affords

suffer for th©

from every other mountain

bourhood

to b

no other reason because

of the magnificent view

All views from

ascent oi

by no means

is

game

worthy to

Moel Siabod stands only ninth

situation gives

altitudes do not enjoy.

it

;

and more than in

many

senses

and there are other satisfy

an ordinary

in order after

Snowdon,

advantages which some of the greater

Although

the height of the highest,

Thus

it

it

wants seven hundred

feet of

yet stands better in several respectsj

than those peaks, which, by their nearness to the monarch himselfJ

—

Moel are

69

Siabod.

Snowdon

dwarfed in their apparent proportions.

by the

lesser

sustain

his

surrounded

is

mountains, as by great bulwarks or buttresses to

and instead of standing

weight;

like

most great

mountains, as part of a prolonged range or sierra, he centre of a vast heap or agglomeration,

kind of court, or band of sides

—north,

is

in the

surrounded by a

is

which stands near him on

satellites,

and west.

south, east,

and

Moel Siabod

all

the eastern

is

outpost.

The ascent eastern side

not very difficult from the north or west

is

however, towards the south,

declivity,

easy path,

much used by

but the

a safe and comparatively

is

There

pedestrians for descent.

is

a cairn

Everywhere the mountain shows the same

summit.

close to the

;

Along the edge of the

almost perpendicular.

is

glossy face, except where, in a kind of amphitheatre, lies the small

dark tarn of Llyn-y-foel.

Dolwyddelan

;

and

chiefly interesting in

On

the southern slope

and the

this,

slate quarries,

the neighbourhood

of

is

the castle of

form the two points

Moel Siabod, apart

from Snowdon.

Dolwyddelan

is

situated on a high craggy knoll, one tower only

remainiug, though two were to be seen in the time of Pennant.

There

is

a portion of the other.

residence of

Llewelyn the Great, to the throne of

deformity. pieces

(the

who was born

here.

ap Ievan

is

castle

was formerly the

Broken Nose), father of

The claims

of Iorwerth

Wales were disallowed, in consequence of

In the time of

by the quarrels of

"To such

"This

Drwyndwn

Iorwerth

Henry VII.

rival families

this district

and

clans."

his

was torn to

Eoscoe says

lengths did they carry their animosity, that

:

Meredydd

stated to have purchased the castle as a place of defence

Moel

Siabod.

own

within which to retreat from the violence of his

relations'

}

although the immediate vicinity was beset with bands of robbei J

His predecessor, Hoel ap Evan, was a noted robberJ

and outlaws. chief,

yet '

castle.

Meredydd did not For

I

had

thieves than with

my own

rather,'

my own

house at Efionedd,

hesitate to take possession of his nevi

he exclaimed,

'

fight with outlaws anc

blood and kindred. I

must

either kill

If I continue in

my own

relations

i:

be kdled by them.'"

Higher up the valley

Meredydd, who

tombs of of

whom

Penamaen, a house

built

by the sam

founded the present church, in which are th

also

his family.

mention

is

Prince Llewelyn ap Yorwerth was the same

found in our notice of Beddgelert.

will be

Within a few miles of Moel Siabod, and indeed almost upoi the famous slate quarries, which hav

his flanks, are several of

always been objects of interest since their working was commencec

upon the present extensive at

Nant Francon, a very

The great Penrhyn quarries

scale.

short distance to the north.

There

ar< j

many all

descriptions of

matters

them from which we might

relating

to

fluctuations of fashion, so frequent

and

so great, that

recognise in the present

Fortunately,

or

much

country.

to

it

and

commerce,

modes of

ii

tin

operation, ar

would be almost impossible

fc

considerable

hy

interest

by one of those miserable disputes which

The contest between

we

in the

But

day the work of ten or a dozen years age

hamper the prosperity

quarries will,

trade

of

unfortunately rather,

recently been excited so

articles

and changes

quote.

trust,

of all kinds of trade in

capital

and labour

dj

thlj

is

in the sla

be a thing of the past, long before thesl J3-'

pages are in the hands of our readers.

Meanwhile, we venture

tt

')'

— Mod

Siabod.

71

quote from the columns of a London daily newspaper/- a pleasantly written and sufficiently complete account of the slate quarries "

How

Francon

—

known

better

Penrhyn Quarry

as the

But that

geologists to decide.

—

slate quarried

a question for

is

a document

still

extant, in

Rowland Tomos, of Bangor, with an order

on in verse, Sion laying himself out in of the twenty-four metres

for

dates

Welsh

is

this

bard.

from Rhyl in the

correspondent that he

is,

fifty lines,

which are to

the need of the

for

who

by

is testified

which one Sion Tudur writes to Dean

curious feature about this business transaction

Tudur,

has been a

here

marketable article since the reign of Queen Elizabeth

sufficient

:

long there has been slate in the mountain of Nant

year

3000 that

A

slates. it is

composed

carried in one

day found barely

In this

cwydd Mr.

1580,

informs his

at the time residing in a house which

is

simply thatched, and therefore inconveniently amenable to the influence of the weather. are a fair sample,

He

begs the

Dean

to see that the slates

and they are to be brought down to Aberogwen

(now known as Port Penrhyn), where a ship wdl convey them to Finally, in a touching couplet,

Rhyl.

which brings the interesting

order to a conclusion, Sion prays that the lives,'

and that there may be no broken

from Aberogwen. written

Dean may

slates in the

For more than 200 years

Nant Francon appears

which anyone quarried at

to

will,

have been

'

live three

consignment

after this epistle

common

or in pursuance

was

ground, upon

of rights,

the

foundation of which was, to say the least, hidden in the haze of a

romantic past.

Towards the

close of the last century, the first

Lord Penrhyn acquired the right of absolute proprietorship in the * Daily News,

5tli

October, 1871.

— Moel

72

mountain, which was then

beginning

He

containing good slate rock.

Siabod.

be

to

known

well

working trim, and one year cleared as much as £80.

when

the quarry

To-day,

in full work, a million slates are sent

is

as

speedily put the quarry in regular

down

to

Port Penrhyn every week, and the wages paid to the quarry men average from £120,000 to £130,000 a-year."

The writer proceeds and the

effects of

He

not follow him.

apportioned

also details the rates at

among

the

men

and the form in which

itself,

and the causes

we need

which the rock

is let

quarrymen, mentioning that once a-month the stone

to the

"

to state the rate of wages,

the strike, and other things, into which

The quarry

is

;

and goes on

it is

to

is

speak of the slate

brought out of the quarry

:

divided into pones or galleries, each bearing a

name, generally connected with some event of importance in the

Penryhn family.

Thus there

is

the

'

which was opened

Fitzroy,'

about the time Lord Penrhyn married the daughter of the Grafton

;

the

'

Lord,'

which was commenced

was revived in the Pennant family

;

Duke

of

at the time the peerage

and the

'

Eushout,' a

name

which has no reference to the sudden desertion of the quarry by the j

men on

the morning of the second strike, but was so called in

compliment to the family where the son and heir to the Penrhyn title

and

levels,

which

estates

found his

bride.

These

galleries are

'

Eover,' a

dog that knows more about

business of quarrying than

slate

any other quadruped

Wales, gravely climbs in company with the party. '

on various"

connected with one another by steps or rope-ladders, up

Rover has now dwelt in the quarry '

short of breath

and being

and the general in

for fourteen years,

fat withal, has to

England or

Dog and

pup,

and getting

submit to the indignity

— Mod

Sia bod.

73

of being helped over the topmost round of the rope-ladder

But

of an umbrella handle inserted in his collar.

no such

balances

and

difficulty arises,

Rover

'

'

never misses an

opportunity of making a journey up or down. balances

'

are models of simplicity

by means

in the water

These

and mighty power.

'

water

In course of

time immense banks have been formed at one side of the quarry by the debris of rock and rubble rejected by the quarrymen.

banks have been

where the banks

is

levelled,

slates are split

also

'

tipped

'

These

and on them are erected the rows of sheds and

Over the

dressed.

the countless tons of

in the process of getting the slate.

But how

sides of these

rubbish

'

to get

it

daily

'

there

made The

?

question appears one beside which the historical difficulty of the

apple in the dumpling sinks into insignificance.

very satisfactorily balances.

Somewhere near the centre of the bank a

to the level of the lowest

end of which

below which contrivance

when

there

is is is

At

working of the quarry.

with the bank and working in a sort of pulley, either

It

is,

however,

by an examination of the water

answered

is

shaft

is

sunk

the top, level

a stout chain, to

attached a wooden box with a false bottom,

is

a tank capable of holding five tons of water.

based

much on

weight in one

it

The

the principle of a pair of scales

goes

down

other kicks the beam, and vice versd.

to the bottom,

The weight

is

and the

supplied by

water brought from the inexhaustible store of a mountain lake, and

turned on at will by a tap from a reservoir. at the

bottom of the

shaft,

When

waiting to come up to the bank, five tons of water rush into scale No.

2,

which

of 250 feet, bringing

up

scale

No.

1 is

with a four-ton load of slate or rubbish

is

at the top,

scale No. 1

and down

with a

is it

allowed to goes, a drop

swift, easy motion,

Mod

74

Then

checked by powerful brakes.

water rushes out, the scale

with

is

the water- valves are opened, the

loaded,

and

up

tons of water, carries

its five

band

Siabod.

scale No. 1,

tunnelled from the lowest working level, and a

is

down, along which the rubbish and

laid

coming down

in its turn scale No.

wheeled on to the

scale,

The

2.

tramway

slate blocks are brought,

whirled aloft by the balance, delivered on

to another pair of rails, wheeled whither they are wanted, emptied,

and so back

to the depths again.

There are in

all

sixty miles of

tramway, traversing the quarry from every point of the compass, but

all

converging on the water balances.

When

"

the slate blocks are delivered in the sheds, the work of

and dressing commences.

splitting

The obliging manner

A man

desire is at first sight almost miraculous.

two or three inches

block,

by one or two broad.

He

thick,

human

takes a rough

and some two or three

places at one

which

in

a piece of slate splits up on the slightest indication of

feet long

end of the block a broad

chisel, gives it

a tap with his hammer, works the chisel about by a

motion of his

wrist, another tap or two,

and

lo

!

the block

is split

more motion of the

clean down, as

if it

wrist,

had been a conglo-

meration of cardboard insufficiently amalgamated with paste. operation

is

repeated as often as necessary,

pieces of the thickness of those

we

see

till

the slate

on house-roofs.

them

a framework, with gauges of the various sizes required, brings

them slates

as evenly as if they are,

of a treadle, a

were sandwiches.

throughout the trade,

'Marchionesses,'

'Duchesses,'

into

This done,

the dresser takes rough pieces of slate in hand, and placing

upon them, by the working

This

is split

in

down

huge knife that cuts

The various

sizes of

oddly denominated 'Queens,'

'Countesses,'

and

'Ladies.'

These

— Mod names were given

to

them

; !

and

75

Siaborf.

in the infancy of the trade,

century ago, by General Warburton in circulars

The

prices current.

worth quoting. '

It

runs thus

been

It has truly

Mr. Leicester, a North

late

this peculiarity,

:

we

said, as

must

all

deplore,

That Grenville and Pitt have made peers by the score

But now

'tis

There's a

man that makes

He

creates

them

peeresses here

by the hundred.

at once without patent or writ

the stroke of a

A lady,

hammer, without the

or countess, or duchess

Yet high

And And

is

the station from which they are sent,

all their

great titles are got

by descent

;

where'er they are seen, in a palace or shop,

Yet no merit they claim from But derive

And

"Kin g's aid,

made.

is

Their rank they preserve, and are

A

;

have blundered,

asserted, unless 1

regards neither Portland, nor Grenville, nor Pitt,

But

By

more than a

and they now gravely appear

;

Wales county judge, wrote a clever poem on is

;

all

their chief

still

at the top.

their birth or connection,

worth from their native complexio^n.

the best judges prefer,

it is said,

countess in blue to a duchess in red.

This countess or lady, though crowds

Submits

And

to

you'll see

With how

when her

little

Soon discover how easy spirit

have they

The countess wants

grace

—

it is

is

I fear

you

but once in his clutches,

who have

is frail,

tried 'em,

to divide 'em.

and the duchess

will find, if

That the countess

all

they're as thin as a rat

life,

No passion or warmth to the And her grace is as cold and Yet

present,

respect he will handle a duchess

Close united they seem, and yet

No

may be

be dressed by the hands of a peasant.

countess

is

;

is flat.

known,

as hard as a stone.

you watch them a

and the duchess

little,

is brittle

which

;

Moel Too high

;

Siabod.

for a trade, yet without

any

joke,

Tho' they never are bankrupts, they often are broke

And

tho'

They

not a soul even pilfers or cozens,

are daily shipped off

and transported by dozens

In France, Jacobinical France,

How

nobles have bled

by the

But what's the French engine

To

we have

of death to

the engine which Grenfield and

That democrat engine by which we

Ten thousand

And

long

Long

"

sent

may

level

with ease

a lady, or countess, or duchess

Here there

is

blow

its

of slates

way, is bereft,

is left.'

to Port

Penrhyn, a distance of six miles.

a splendid pier 800 yards long, round which, in

service,

else in

know

the slates are finished they are loaded into trucks, anc

an average of 30 ships are moored,

engaged in loading all

the rocks in

Nant Francon

the vale of

Nor

When

all

wonders display,

'Till

down by tramway

working

all

compare

Bramah prepare ?

great duchesses fall at one his engine its

!

seen

fierce guillotine.

slates

all

full

busilj

under an organised system, which,

like

connection with this great undertaking, seems to have

solved the great problem of doing the most work in the shortest time,

and

in the completest

manner."

(§K.

uf.v

m '

-

CAERNARVON HE

CASTLE.

greatest of the Plantagenets, as

Edward

the First has been called, though he would

probably have disowned the surname, was

man who

a

could not lightly be turned from

In 1277 he determined on

his purpose.

the conquest of Wales.

as it

In 1283 he had

— that ever was accomplished— by mere

accomplished his purpose

as far,

is,

force

of arms.

Centuries had to drag painfully

on before the ancient Britons could be subdued to the Anglo-Saxon

and Norman invaders of

their island

;

and though Edward, with

the foresight of a great ruler, established wherever he could English institutions

and laws, he could only overawe the country by vast

fortifications,

and keep

establishment. the

Edwardian

it

under

his

power by an enormous military

Everywhere throughout North and South Wales castles attest his determination,

with which he carried

it

through.

more interesting than Caernarvon,

either for historical association,

for architectural importance, or for natural

The admirers

of

and the persistence

There are few among them

beauty of situation.

Edward have had much

to do to protect his

—

;

;

;

Caernarvon Castle. memory from

the charges of severity, and even of cruelty, which

have been brought against him by Welsh and by Scottish historians

and

Among

poets.

these charges, none perhaps

is

more often made

than that of the massacre of the Welsh bards, and none can be

more

Poetry

easily refuted.

verse to which

it is

is

much

married

immortal

is

blame

to

Though the

of such historical fables.

fact

and

;

for the propagation

may

be disproved, the

as long as schoolboys

learn to cry •'

Euin

seize thee, ruthless

King,

Confusion on thy banners wait

Though fann'd by They mock the

and

conquest's crimson wing. air in idle state

so on, the tale will be repeated, even "

On

dreary Arvon's shore they

Smeared with

gore,

;"

though

be not believed.

it

lie,

and ghastly pale

Far, far aloof the affrighted ravens sail

The famished

eagle screams

But Gray wanted only cared It

to clear the reputation of

little

was

after the

and passes by."

to enhance the effect of his ode,

second rebellion of the Welsh that the great

chain of English castles was laid upon Wales. of

brother

Llewelyn

whom Edward had

previously, attacked, on

He put

Palm Sunday,

In 1282, David,

subdued four years

the castle of Hawarden.

the garrison to the sword, and carried off the governor,

Roger de fetters,

and

Edward.

Clifford,

who, though he was wounded, was loaded with

and hurried over the mountains

David was soon joined by besieged

Flint,

his brother,

to

some

secret fastness.

and overran the Marches,

and destroyed everywhere the property of the

— Caernarvon English with at

fire

and

rapine.

81

Castle.

Edward quickly assembled

though in many

author of the Greatest of the Plantagenets, particulars he "

Though

rather Edward's apologist than his historian

is

insulted

King permitted him to

more reasonable

but

it

and outraged, Edward did not

The Archbishop again tendered

of peace.

to

:

reject the idea

his services

and the

;

go to Llewelyn in the hope of bringing him

counsels.

occupied some weeks.

They were

grievances.

army

his

Here we may quote the narrative of the anonymous

Rhuddlaw.

This attempt proved a fruitless one,

The Welsh prince handed

just such as

in a

list

of

might have been expected.

The country between Chester and Conway, formerly 'debatable ground,' had been ceded to the English,

own

laws,

and

their

own

courts

who had

and judges and

found themselves in these parts ruled over by they could not understand.

By

the

Welsh

established their

officers.

The Welsh

men whose

language

laws, too, great crimes,

such as murder or arson, were allowed to be commuted for a fine

pounds

of five

Nor would were at

all

it

;

while the English courts hanged up the offender.

be reasonable to assume that the English authorities

times patient, and placable, and condescending.

probable that some causes of complaint really

existed

;

It is

indeed,

considering the position of the two parties, this was nearly inevitable.

But the existence of some wrongs of

this

Llewelyn's conduct either wise or reasonable.

kind did not make

He had

already

experienced the King's kindness and generosity; and he had no right to

assume that wrong-doing, clearly shown to

have been maintained and

justified.

invited guest in his palace of Westminster of obtaining a patient hearing

exist,

would

Twice he had been Edward's ;

and he could not doubt

whenever he chose

to carry to the

;

Caernarvon King's

own

Castle.

more wise and more

Any

amendment.

ear a statement of things requiring

course would have been

defensible than that

which was actually adopted, of sudden and treacherous warfare.

The Archbishop brought back Llewelyn's answer; but he must have known

its insufficiency.

with a subject or vassal,

fare

listen to

Whenever it

Had Llewelyn

nothing but submission.

before having recourse to arms, he

actually engaged in war-

was Edward's constant

rule to

applied to

would readily have done

him

justice

but now, a blow having been actually struck, he demanded, in the first place,

any

That submission he would not purchase by

submission.

concession.

have justice

;

If

Llewelyn would lay down his arms, he should

if not, it

must be war, and then God defend the '

"The summer drew was now quite

on,

His

clear.

right.'

and Edward began to move.

His path

vassal, once before rebellious,

and then

pardoned and generously treated, had now, with greater violence, broken out into open rebellion, and dared his lord to the

With unhesitating collected his forces differed

in

decision,

and entered Wales.

nothing

from that of

The plan of the campaign

1277.

despatched for the reduction of Anglesea.

was

field.

but without any precipitation, the King

A

was

naval force

So soon as that island were

in the possession of the English, the King's operations

chiefly carried

on on the western side of Snowdon.

boats was constructed for the passage of the

Menai

A

bridge of

Strait;

and

while this work was in progress, the Welsh, by one of those sudden attacks of which they were always fond, surprised a detachment,

commanded by Lucas de Thony, a Gascon into the Menai, killing

men.

Encouraged by

knight, and drove

it

and drowning a considerable number of

this success,

and probably dreading

to be

Caernarvon shut up in

83

Castle.

Snowdon, as in 1277, Llewelyn

left

mountain

his

and passed into Radnor, where he expected

fastnesses,

meet a

to

He there came into contact with an English force, under the command of Edward Mortimer and John Giffard and in an irregular skirmish he was killed by one Adam Frankton, an party of friends.

;

English soldier, of his rank.

who knew not

But

his person,

and was quite unconscious

body was soon recognised by some of the

his

and the head was cut

leaders of the party,

off

and sent

to the King.

According to the custom of the times, Edward desired

it to

be

forwarded to London, and set up over the gate of the Tower.

"The

Llewelyn so entirely discouraged the Welsh,

'death of

that no further opposition at once submitted,

part of England. as

many

was

offered

;

but the whole principality

and became from that day forward an Its

integral

annexation was as natural and just a thing

other annexations which have occurred in our

own

time.

We may go further, and say it was more natural and more just. We have annexed India, under the mild government of Queen Victoria, province after province, of far greater size

and population

than the principality of Wales, merely because their rulers would not conduct themselves with justice and propriety as friendly and states.

But Wales had been

for centuries feudally

subject to England.

Edward asked nothing

of Llewelyn but that

independent

homage and loyalty Llewelyn's

ance first

;

first

which he had an unquestionable

right.

On

contumacy, Edward showed the greatest forbear-

and received

moment

to

his submission,

his submission

and restored him

was tendered.

and open warfare of the Welsh prince against be visited with nothing

less

than

forfeiture.

to his seat, the

The actual

rebellion

his feudal lord could

The chance-medley

84

Caernarvon Castle.

death of Llewelyn ended the question in the shortest

way

but

;

had he met with no such death, the termination of the contest must

The

have been the same. superior lord

;

Wales was

principality of

and Edward could

feel

forfeited to the

no more doubt than we do

now, that in uniting the two countries he was consulting the best interests of both

" The

wretched beginner of this second Welsh controversy, David

of Snowdon, succeeded, for several months, in hiding himself in the

mountains, and leading the

contumacy completed

his

life

ruin.

His unyielding

of an outlaw.

Had

he frankly and instantly

submitted, and thrown himself on Edward's mercy,

know saved.

of the

King

assures us that at least his

But he remained obdurate,

several months, he

was

until, after

at length given

all

a concealment of

up by some of

his

own

Then when there was no longer any merit

countrymen. submission, and

when nothing but an appeal

to

justly

and reasonably indignant at

and refused to grant an interview. decide upon his

fate.

No

Still

in

Edward's mercy

could save him, he begged to be allowed to see the King.

Edward was

we

that

would have been

life

But

his ingratitude,

he would not hastily

one who has any acquaintance with

English history can doubt, that in either of the following ten or twelve reigns, such an offender as this David would have been instantly taken before

any convenient

tribunal,

and would have

passed to the scaffold or the gallows in less than twenty-four hours.

He was an

English subject, he had been raised by

Edward

to the

position of an English earl,

and he had requited the kindness by a

treacherous rebellion, and

by

hitjh treason."

acts

unquestionably amounting to

;

Caernarvon

"He was

says the Chronicle of Dunstable,

tried,"

whole baronage of England."

and not

desired that others, this

residence at to

He

unhappy man.

85

Castle.

It is clear that

Edward

himself, should decide

upon the

regarded as one

The

who had committed sundry

which was not uncommon punishments were thus

that

at

set forth

:

—

"

As

So perished the

;

and

As

the murderer of

4.

We

to be

As having

hanged

conspired

Wales, and such were

preceded the erection of Caernarvon, Fiction has been busy with the

castles.

consistency,

and other

tales equally fanciful

and equally near the truth have grown with them. is

and

old legends of the massacre of the bards have assumed

by degrees the strongest

there

crimes

was to be quartered."

last sovereign prince of

Conway, and other Welsh

The

2.

;

Hawarden, he was

in various places, he

circumstances which

subject.

these

a traitor to the King, he

having committed these crimes on Palm

in

King

and who ought

crimes,

period,

1.

Sunday, he was to be disembowelled the death of the

took

According to a method

was to be drawn to the place of execution certain knights in the castle of sacrilegious,

trial

custom of those days, the criminal was

therefore to suffer sundry punishment.

the

fate of

Acton Burnell, about ten miles from Shrewsbury, and

place, and, according to the

As

the

appears to have retired to his chancellor's

have taken no direct share in the proceedings.

3.

"by

sincerely

one which

it is

Among

these

now as entirely exploded. Edward the Second was born in

usual to speak of

used always to be told that

Caernarvon Castle, and that his father presented him to the Welsh as their native prince.

aught we visitors at

know

This pretty tale was long repeated, and, for

to the contrary,

Caernarvon.

it

Not only

is

still

repeated by the guide to

are there grounds for doubting

— Caernarvon

86

its

truth in both particulars, but

Edward cannot have been born Mr.

but conclusive reason.

thus sums up the question "

An

absolutely certain that

it is

young

in the Eagle Tower, for a simple

Cliffe

Book of North Wales)

(in his

:

new light was thrown upon the history of this monument by the Rev. C. H. Hartshorne, at a

entirely

great national

meeting of

Cambrian

the

Archaeological

the result of very long and laborious

records preserved in

Association,

held

at

The whole of the important paper then read

Caernarvon, in 1848. is

Castle.

London and other

researches

among

the

Mr. Hartshorne

places.

demonstrated 'that the works were commenced at Caernarvon, 10th November, 1284 walls round the

;

at

Conway, 28th October, 1283.

town of Caernarvon were

built in

That the

1286, and that

during this year some portion of the castle was covered in with lead,

was first

and extensive works carried on

That the

in the fosse.

That Edward

in progress in 1291.

time, on the 1st of April, 1284,

I.

when

little

had been done

the castle, the expenses being chiefly confined to the

and

to the fosse

Wales was

bom

round the future

castle.

1295 rendered useless

the works were angle,

That

the

town

at

walls,

Prince of

on the 25th of April, 1284, at Caernarvon, but

That Madoc's insurrection

by no possibility in the Eagle Tower. in

castle

entered the town for the

all

commenced

that had previously been erected, and afresh,

beginning at the north-east

from whence, proceeding on the south

carried on without interruption.

masonry showed the north

side,

the works were

That the records and change of

side to be of

two or three

different ages,

the earliest being assignable to some year between 1295 and 1301.

That the Eagle Tower ivas the work of Edward the Second, shown

Caernarvon by

expressly relating to

rolls

87

Castle.

its erection,

and by form and character

of its mouldings.

That the Eagle Tower was roofed in November,

1316;

February,

floored in

finished in the 13th of

over

it

and the great gateway was

1317;

Edward

II.

(1320); and the Eoyal effigy

Those who are familiar with the

being then placed there.'

previous historical accounts of Caernarvon will see that the fore-

going completely destroys them.

Among

other things

affirmed,

on an authority quoted by Pennant, that the

built in

one year;

—and

that

Edward

II.

received tradition, in the Eagle Tower,

We

confess

dissipated.

we The

that the

regret

share Mr.

Cliffe's

been examined,

The burden

was Henry de Elreton."

estimated

it,

regrets thus far, that it

is

a pity a

should have been so clearly demonstrated.

upon Wales by the conquest may be partly

by observing the comparative number and importance

the castles in any district.

near

The

namely, in 1301.

been invented, rather than that, having

its falsity

cast

to

familiar to every one.

real date of the creation is seventeen years later,

We may

was

was born, according

created Prince of Wales at his birth.

falsehood should have

was

ancient belief should thus be

architect of the castle

Nor was Edward

is

it

castle

for example,

of

Along the coast of North Wales, or

we have Hawarden,

Flint,

Ehuddlaw, Dinas

Bran, Denbigh, Dinorwig, Dolwyddelan, Criccieth, Dolbadarn, and several more, besides the four attributed usually to

Edward's military architect maris,

—namely,

and Harlech, of which

last

our

Henry de

Elreton,

Caernarvon, Conway, Beauinitial letter

contains a view.

In 1850, Mr. Hartshorne communicated to the Archaeological

Journal a very complete and careful survey of Caernarvon.

We

venture to extract a few paragraphs, and must refer those of our

Caernarvon readers will be

who

Castle.

desire further information to the paper

"Immediately

securing the

amongst the

execution

the

after

Shrewsbury, in 1283, Edward

I.

possession

entire

different objects to

in

of

David

Priuce

at

kingdom

of the

which

first

Wales; and

of

his attention

was

directed,

Without

consideration.

he could retain but a very slight and uncertain

indeed,

footing

which

began to take active measures for

the erection of fortresses claimed his these,

itself,

found in Vol. vn.

his

newly-acquired

Within

territory.

Welsh

therefore, after the death of the last

An

building the castle of Caernarvon.

weeks,

six

commenced

prince, he

entry on the Liberate Eoll

of this year authorises the allowance of fifty-four shillings

and

eightpence to Soger Sprengehuse, Sheriff of Salop, for the expenses of forty carpenters sent to Caernarvon five shillings for

to the

was

same

place, for their protection.

also allowed three

equal

number

from Nottingham.

pounds two

The

Sheriff of

"

its

Sheriff of

Nottingham

and sixpence

for

an

Rutland had previously received

to

Conway

whilst the

whom

he had

monarch was

11th year of his reign; thus showing that

Castle preceded Caernarvon, though

date of

The

shillings

twenty masons and their foreman,

by the King's command

there, in the

pounds

also of nine

of this class of workmen, sent for their assistance

his expenses for

sent

and

;

200 footmen, sent from the County of Shropshire

Conway

by but a few months,

in the

commencement.

At the same time that Edward was carrying on these plans

for their coercion, he

was not inattentive

to the civil rights of the

inhabitants; for having, in the 11th year of his reign, granted a charter to the people of Caernarvon, in

now confirming

it,

he decreed

Caernarvon

Castle.

that the Constable of his castle, for the time being, should also be

Mayor

of the borough.

" It

is

quite impossible, in the absence of

to ascertain

of the buildings

any part of the existing

indeed,

period

what portion

when Edward

chronological order,

first it

began

fabric

was constructed

The

The extent and magnificence

design,

the

stateliness

of

rivalling each other in massiveness

work was

if,

in

in a

notion, therefore, that the

which

too incredible to engage

is

of so vast an edifice could

The grandeur of the

lofty

its

and

polygonal

towers,

dignity, its long vista of

sunk and imbedded in

carefully finished corridors, its structures

rocky foundations, the ample width and strength of walls, perforated

;

As we proceed

in the short space of twelve months,

only be the work of a lengthened period. general

erected

first

really assignable to the

is

his operations.

has hitherto been the general opinion, belief.

specific evidences,

was

will be perceived that the

state of progress for several years. castle

any

with every variety of loophole and

deep fosse which formerly encircled the northern

its

oilet,

curtain

and the

side, declare at

once the utter improbability of such extraordinary works being executed within so limited a period the natives of the country

;

perfected, too, at a time

when

were scarcely vanquished, and when the

expenses of the Welsh and Scottish wars had impoverished the

Exchequer "

From

the preceding accounts,

it

will

have been observed that

although military works were commenced at Caernarvon very shortly after the

death of the last Welsh prince, these operations were in fact

extended through a building

is

series

of years.

No

specified at this early period

;

particular part of the

and when,

therefore, the

Caernarvon

90

King himself

Castle.

visited the place in the twelfth year of his reign,

entered Caernarvon for the

1284, the accommodation

it

time, on the first

first

and

day of April,

Queen Eleanor,

afforded for himself and

then about to give birth to a future Prince of Wales, must have

been

The

ill-suited for the reception of royalty.

heir to the English

throne was undoubtedly born in the town on the 25th of the same

month

—whether

part of

it,

it

any particular

in the precincts of the castle, or in

would be hazardous

to determine

but, as

;

we

shall

shortly find sufficient reasons for stating, not in the Eagle Tower,

where

"

this event

is,

by concurrent

report, asserted to

have happened.

In the twenty-third year of Edward's reign (1295), the

of Scotland were so nearly settled, that the English less

cause for anxiety in that quarter.

He was

about to embark on

an expedition on the Continent, being involved Philip IV. of France.

him a

fifteenth of their

affairs

monarch had

in a dispute with

His English subjects had readily granted

movables

;

and in

his

endeavours to enforce

a similar tribute from the Welsh, so formidable a revolt broke out simultaneously in three different parts of the principality, that he

was obliged to suspend the intended embarkation of hasten to suppress the outbreak.

The

his forces,

leaders do not

acted together by any preconcerted plan.

The

seem

rising at

to

and have

Caernarvon

happened on a fair-day, when a large concourse of the people were assembled from the surrounding

districts,

Englishmen were collected in the town. Madoc, one of Prince David's illegitimate the foreigners

;

and a great number of

Under

the

command

of

sons, the natives slew all

hanging Roger de Pulesdon, the Constable, they

plundered and burnt the town, and took the

castle.

The

fastnesses

;

Caernarvon of

Snowdon were

of Anglesea

Castle.

speedily recaptured, and the unprotected plains

an easy prey before the arms of the insurgents.

fell

The King had now been absent from Wales

for eleven years,

and

during the interval large sums had been expended on the castle

but the temporary success of the native chieftains placed the

monarch

and compelled him

in unforeseen difficulties,

He had

country immediately.

to visit the

regain the power that had so

first to

suddenly been wrested from his grasp, and to recommence building the great fortress at Caernarvon, which,

if

not razed entirely to the

ground, must have been rendered useless as a garrison. of Anglesea, too,

would require some protection

His tenure

for the future.

These

transactions will immediately explain the cause of the royal writ on

the Clause Rolls of this year, addressed to the Justice of Chester, ordering

him

to select a

hundred masons, and send them immediately

to

the King's works at Caernarvon, evidently to repair the injuries they

had recently sustained there to do what Edmund, the King's brother, ;

undoubtedly the

shall direct ; whilst

to the

castle of

Beaumaris owes its origin

same temporary overthrow of the English power

"The

tradition of

Edward

II.

having been born in the Eagle

Tower has obtained such universal usurped the value

of-

historical truth

credit, ;

that the assertion has

though when we examine the

small and highly-inconvenient chamber where this event

have happened,

it

will

room should have been

appear perplexing selected,

same tower, and on the same reception.

the

when

level,

why

so

is

said to

there were others also in the

more

suitable for the Queen's

This chamber, both shapeless and low,

Vawmer, and

is

incommodious a

also a thoroughfare to

is

a passage to

two others of a

better

kind, as well as contiguous to one of the grand central rooms of the

Caernarvon

92

Castle.

These circumstances certainly bespeak improbability of

tower.

themselves

but the matter

;

is

placed out of controversy by the

on the present account, strengthened

entries

some upon a

later

they

too, as

are,

by

document, which are preserved in a different These indisputably prove

depository of the National Archives.

Tower might have been commenced by

that though the Eagle

from being completed when he died; and

Edward

I.,

there

evidence to show that that portion of the building where

is

it

was

far

his son is reputed to

have been born was actually not built until

the present of the following year,

and had

of age,

"The

sat ten

castle

when he was

thirty-three years

upon the throne

was commenced

at the

north-east corner,

and

gradually went on to the south-west, the masonry between these points being apparently the same.

works

till

we

Edward

I.

proceeded with the

reach the lofty curtain-wall to the south-east of the

Eagle Tower, where a string-course indicates the beginning of fresh operations, whilst the mouldings different style.

menced

and masonry henceforward show a

So that the erection of

in the eleventh year of

different intervals,

till

it

Edward

this I.

was advanced

height of perfection in the fifteenth of

grand

fabric

was com-

(1283), and carried on at to probably

Edward

its

greatest

(1322), thus

II.

extending over a term of thirty-eight years."

The present

state of the buildings is better than in

other castles which remain.

has been cared for by the Office of Works, and

kept in a

fair state of repair.

The

it

has been constantly

castle is only a part of the

general plan of fortification of the whole town, as

western corner of the walls.

most of the

Caernarvon being Crown property,

it

occupies the north-

There are two quadrangles, marked

;

Caernarvon only by the different

several of

them

the dividing wall has disappeared.

levels, as

No fewer than thirteen

93

Castle.

polygonal towers break the lines of the walls,

rising to a considerable altitude above the waters of

The

the Menai and the Seiont.

finest is the

Eagle Tower, so called

from the decorations of the battlements being, carved with heraldiclooking figures of spread eagles.

It

carvings came from the ruins of the

used to be said that these

Roman town

of Segontium

but here again the ruthless antiquarian steps in with the carver's

which were paid by Edward

bills,

said that

much

the same ruins

;

II., for

the work.

It

of the material for the whole building

was

also

came from

but here again we have evidence that four hundred

great stones were contracted for in Anglesea, and that a large

number "

The

besides were brought over the straits in small

vessels.

principal entrance into the castle," says Mr. Evans,

Beauties of England

and

in the

Wales, "is peculiarly grand, beneath a

massy tower, on the front of which

is

a statue of Edward, in a

menacing posture, with a sword half drawn

in his hand, apparently

threatening death and destruction to his newly-acquired, yet restive

and reluctant subjects."

umbrage

great

to the '

Another writer says of

still

Are ye lead

it,

that

it

"gave

smouldering independence of the nation.

—

see

ye not where Edward

sits

V

exclaimed a bard in one of his strains, and a thousand hands quivered on the blades."

Mr. Evans describes the buildings as they appeared ago

;

and

in the

now

as a

good account of what they are now

Guide Book, we venture

all

years

be found

to extract the older description, as

possessing a double interest.

makes

fifty

may

It will

be observed that Evans

the usual errors in the historical portion of his work

:

—

Caernarvon Castle.

94

" This gate, by the remaining grooves, evidently was defended

by four

portcullises.

shape

and was formerly divided into two

;

and inner

court.

The area within

The

of ancient grandeur

is

oblong, but of an irregular parts,

forming an outer

internal part of this stupendous

much more

is

expected from viewing the outside

;

dilapidated

many

monument

than would be

of the buildings

lie

in

ruinous heaps, and the rooms contained within the towers are mere

What

skeletons.

are called the state apartments appear to have

been extremely commodious, lighted by spacious windows, with These externally exhibit a square front, but inter-

elegant tracery. nally are

polygonal, some of the sides having been formed out of

all

the thickness of the walls.

A

gallery, or covered

way, appears to

have extended completely round the interior of the

about seventy yards are nearly

forming

castle,

a general communication with the whole of the building

:

of this

The gate through which

entire.

the truly duteous and affectionate Eleanor, wife of the conqueror,

made her

political entry into this

independence

into

submission

—

proud called

pile,

the

destined to convert

Queen's

Gate

—

is

considerably above the level of the present ground, and probably

was passable only by means of a drawbridge over the moat or It

was defended by two

Tower

portcullises.

The

the only one remaining complete, and from the

is

summit

an extensive view of the surrounding country and the Anglesea.

a

little

breadth

pomp from

'

Edward

dark room :

the Second,' says Mr. Pennant,

'

isle

was born

is

of in

in this tower, not twelve feet long, nor eight in

so little did,

or conveniency.' its

fosse.

staircase to the Eagle

on those days, a royal consort consult either

On

a view of this

having the accommodation of a

little

dark room

fireplace,

—which,

appears to have

"

Caernarvon

—the smallness

been a dressing-closet

with the improbability of

The adjoining

accouchment. floor

its

95

Castle.

will strike the beholder at once

having been prepared for the royal central spacious

chamber on the same

was most probably the one destined by the haughty monarch

for the

momentous occasion

an apartment suitable to the

;

an English queen, and the heir-apparent of a new is,

state of

principality.

however, matter of conjecture, and not worthy of discussion

as Mr.

Wyndham

justly remarks,

It ;

for

'Surely the birth of such a

degenerate and dastardly tyrant reflects

little

honour on the

castle

of Caernarvon.'

He makes Wales: till

the following remarks on the dignity of the Prince of

— "Though

Prince

Edward was born

in

1284,

it

was not

he had arrived to his sixteenth year that he received the

reluctant fealty of his deluded subjects.

'

In the twenty-ninth year

came down

of that monarch's reign, the Prince of Wales

and received homage of

all

to Chester,

the freeholders in Wales.

occasion he was invested, as a

mark

On

this

of imperial dignity, with a

chaplet of gold round his head, a golden ring on his finger, and a silver sceptre

in

his

hand.

It is

a curious circumstance, that

though the country was transferred by the Welsh, in consequence of birth, that neither the title nor estate

is

descendible by birth-

Edward

right to the heir-apparent of the British throne.

summoned

his son to

Parliament by the style and

Wales and Earl of Chester these honours

is

that investiture,

;

yet

it

the

the First

of Prince of

docs not appear that either of

absolutely hereditary.

summoned

title

Edward, subsequent to

same son

designation of Earl of Chester and Flint.

by the honourable

And when Edward

the

Third conferred the principality upon his son, the Black Prince, he

— Caernarvon Castle.

96

the eldest son of the kings of England

decreed, that in future

should succeed to the dignity of

Duke

of Cornwall

;

and, at the

same time, several possessions were annexed to the duchy. which time the

Dux

of

title

Cornubise

But long subsequent

primogeniture.

is

Since

legally attached to

honour of

to that period, the

Wales does not appear to have been necessarily connected with birth, for the eldest sons of the

letters patent

family

is

;

English monarch were created by

and though by courtesy the

first-born of the royal

styled Prince or Princess of "Wales, yet

dependent on nativity.

this title is

since the time of

Henry

However,

the Seventh, that

it is

it

does not seem

not legally clear,

any public

investiture,

by patent

or otherwise, has taken place, respecting the honorial

distinction

;

but the eldest son seems to have succeeded, both to

the dignity and concomitant property, as a matter of course."

The upper quadrangle contains the Dungeon Tower,

which

in

probably William Prynne was imprisoned, until the number of his sympathisers

who

visited Caernarvon

removed to a more

retired place.

became

The town

a-mile round, and were formerly defended

Evans writes

moat. "

A

parapet,

so great that he

by twelve

turrets

and a

:

walk ranged entirely round the inside of the embattled

and two gates formed the entrance into the town, the

facing the mountains, and the west opening to Menai.

most accommodating end of the town promenade, in while

was

walls were about half-

terrace,

walls,

extending from the quay to the north

forms a most charming walk, the fashionable

fine weather, for all descriptions of people

they inhale

the

amused by the moving

east

A wide and

salutiferous

breeze,

varieties of the port."

may

be

;

who,

pleasingly

— Caernarvon For the most obliterated

The

visitor. is

now one

part, however, the walls

by private port,

buildings,

97

Castle.

have been destroyed or

and can hardly be traced by the

which in Evans's time was of

little

of the head-quarters of the slate trade,

long pier by the river bank.

As many

importance,

and there

is

a

hundred thousand tons

as a

of slates are brought through Caernarvon in a year.

The

remains

Llanbelig,

of

within

Segontium,

half-a-mile

Beddgelert piercing the middle.

It

Roman

Caernarvon occupied

A Roman

and others subsequently. and a

list

new

a

made

vicarage house;

of coins found includes that most interesting one

caes. vespasian. avg.

p.

legend

preserved, but

its

very legible

Judea

is

m. TPvPPPCOS.

may

this inscription

The

reverse

be easily traced

;

is

:

imp.

not so well

the word capta

is

represented sitting under a palm tree,

weeping, verifying the prophecy of Isaiah, shall sit

a quadrangular area

'

and baths have been

villa

when Judea was subdued, bearing

:

"at

side, are extensive portions in

in 1845, in excavating the foundations of a

;

are

road from

Several interesting discoveries were

tolerably perfect state.'

struck

the

and was defended with strong walls of

masonry, of which, on the south

traced

station, ;

summit of an eminence gradually

of about seven acres, on the sloping on every side,

the

of

upon the ground.'

'

And

she,

being desolate,

Near the Seiont was a strong

fort,

intended to secure a landing-place at high water, two sides of the walls of which are nearly entire.

There are traces of other outposts

on the opposite side of the Seiont. circular artificial

the chief outpost of Segontium.

The compiler

Ddinas Dinlle, a conspicuous

mount, of great strength, on the sea-shore, was

of

Coins have been found there."

Murray's Guide adds

:

— " The excavations at

Caernarvon Castle.

98

this

Roman

spot brought to light a

now

vicarage

stands

also

;

well or cloaca, where

portions of a street and

the

hypocaust,

together with numerous coins of the reigns of Domitian, Maximus,

and

Aureliau, Constantine,

on two

preservation thickness.

Several

sides,

are in tolerable

about ten feet in height and six in

outworks

particularly towards the

The walls

Tetricus.

up

kept where,

Seiont,

'

communication,

the

on the opposite bank,

under Bryn Helen, remains existed to the close of the

Between them ran the causeway of Helen,

The excavations

are

now

filled

up,

or

'

Sam

and the

last century.'

Helen.'

visitors

.

tracing the external features of the defences.

difficulty in

total area of the station

was about seven

in the vicinity bear the

name

Many of

acres.

of Helen, such as

Helen, Ffynnon Helen, Coed Helen, &c.

.

.

have some

The

the places

Bryn Helen, Sarn

They were

so called in

honour of the Princess Helena, daughter of Octavius, the Duke of Cornwall, and wife of Maximus,

was born

The

first

cousin of Constantine,

who

at Segontium."

mound mentioned above is evidently a British may have been appropriated by the Romans, and

artificial

work, but

it

connected with their station at Segontium.

and was strongly sea-line has

fortified

It

overlooks the sea,

with a double line of escarpments.

The

been considerably injured by the waves, but traces of

watch-towers

may

be found.

The mound was

a large area, surrounded

On

the

by a vast rampart of earth

space, the remains of buildings, of

and not

circular,

than four hundred feet in diameter at the base.

:

less

summit

is

within this

an oblong form, are discoverable,

constructed with loose stones, and a tumulus composed of the same materials.

;

Caernarvon Caernarvon

member history

to is

is

the county

town and a borough, returning one

The population

Parliament.

99

Castle.

under

is

10,000.

Its

closely connected with that of the castle, but presents a

few separate

" In the year 1402, the

features.

by a party of

town was blockaded

insurgents, under the direction of

which was bravely defended

Owen Glyndwr

King Henry by Jevan ap Mere-

for

dydd, to whom, with Meredydd ap Hwlkin Llwyd of Glynllifon,

under the command of an English captain, had been committed the custody of the invested, that

it

On

castle.

this occasion so closely

was found expedient

was the place

to carry the corpse of Jevan,

died during the siege, by sea, round the peninsular part of the

who

country, for interment at Penmorfa. civil

wars Caernarvon was

On

the breaking out of the

seized, in behalf of the Parliament,

by

Captain Swanley, who, in 1644, took, on the surrender of the town, four hundred prisoners, and a very considerable quantity of arms

and ammunition.

The

however, appear to have been

royalists,

soon in repossession, for in 1646

it

was besieged by the troops

under Generals Mytton and Langhorn, to

whom

it

was surrendered

upon honourable conditions by the governor, Lord Byron.

In

1648, General Mytton was in turn besieged in the town, by a small force

under that eminent intelligence

received

that

loyalist,

marching with a superior army to siege,

and marched

to

rencontre ensued, in prisoner

;

after

Sir

John Owen

Colonels Carter

meet the which

but having

relieve the place, he raised the

rebels.

Sir

;

and Twisselton were

Near Llandegai a furious

John was defeated and made

which disastrous event, the whole of North Wales

submitted to the Parliamentarian authority." It is

highly probable that there was a town of some importance

Caernarvon

100

either here or close

we

heave

Castle.

by from the time of the Romans.

quoted above, observes on this point:

Evans,

— "But

whom

was

it

in

being long previous to that period, and was probably the British

town that subsisted under the protection

now

confined to the use of the

Roman

mentions passing through

it

life

of the

Romans, what

considered the ancient Segontium having been

Giraldus Cambrensis

military.

in the year

1188

;

the author of the-

Hugh, Earl

of Gryffydd, the son of Cynan, observes that

Chester,

who had dethroned

the

is

exclusively

of

Welsh monarch, and overran nearly

the whole of North Wales, to secure his conquests and facilitate future

inroads,

erected

four

fortresses

— one

at Aberllienawg

in

Anglesea, another in Meirion, a third at Bangor, and a fourth at this place,

then denominated

Hen Caer

Llewelin the

Custenni.

Great also dates a charter, granted to the priory of Penmon, from it

in the year 1221.

of the present

The

probability, therefore,

is

against the idea

town having been a creation of the conqueror.

To a

judicious and able warrior Hke Edward, however, the place presented

a situation admirably adapted for constituting a fortified post, for

The

position

by the Menai

Straits,

the purpose of curbing his newly-acquired country.

was naturally strong, bounded on one

side

on another by the estuary of the Seiont, on a third by a creek of the Menai, and the remainder has been apparently isolated

This

fortress, it

by

art.

has been justly observed, from whatever point or

from whatever distance

it is

viewed, assumes a romantic singularity

of appearance and an air of grandeur, that, while affords pleasure to the beholder fast to decay, excite a

of hoary-headed time."

;

and some of

its

it

excites awe,

noble walls, going

melancholy sigh at the dilapidating powers

—

BEDDGELERT. F

ever a tradition deserved to be treated

a well-proved

as

the

historical

which

tradition

The

beautiful spot.

it

now,

source.

may

or

The

may

its

tale, as

not be true

hundred years

of which

that

it

it

we have ;

it

is

;

and though

told

amongst

nations which have any legendary lore, and that various

other meanings

may

be given to the name,

with the recent writer

who

would disturb by doubts so

We may

first

we

are inclined to agree

says that no one " of the least taste affecting a legend."

give the story in

its

usual and best form, and

next speak of the antiquities and beauties of the place. accomplished,

who,

if

may

earlier,

The tragedy

later.

unfailingly strikes a tender chord in our hearts

all

"

tells is at least so far true,

the curious in such matters say a similar story

almost

is

this

name from

have happened a thousand years or a

it

to

" grave of Gelert

can hardly have obtained

any other

fact,

relates

if

An

not very brilliant poet, the Hon. William Spencer

we mistake

not,

was one of the bards celebrated

in the

—

;

;

Beddgelert.

famous Rejected Addresses verses,

—put

the fate of Gelert into simple

and we must quote them whole '•

:

The spearmen heard the bugle sound,

And cheerly smiled the morn And many a brach, and many a

hound,

Attend Llewelyn's horn. "

And still he blew a louder blast, And gave a louder cheer Come, Gelert, why art thou the ;

'

last

Llewelyn's horn to hear] "

'

Oh, where does faithful Gelert roam

The So

flower of

true, so

A lion

all his

brave

:

a

race

lamb

1

;

at honic

;

in the chase.'

" 'Twas only at Llewelyn's board

The

faithful Gelert fed

;

He watched, he served, he And centinel'd his bed. "In

sooth, he

The

was a

gift of royal

cheered his lord,

peerless hound,

John

But now no Gelert could be found,

And

all

the chase rode on.

" And, now, as over rocks and dells

The

gallant chidings rise,

All Snowdon's craggy chaos yells

With many mingled "

That day Llewelyn

The chase

And

cries.

little

loved

of hart or hare,

scant and small the booty proved,

For Gelert was not

there.

;

;

!

:

Beddgelert. Unpleased, Llewelyn homeward hied

When, near

;

the royal seat,

His truant Gelert he espied,

Bounding •

his lord to greet.

But when he gained

his castle dcmr.

Aghast the chieftain stood

:

The hound was smear'd with gouts His :

lips

of gore,

and fangs ran Hood

Llewelyn gazed with wild

Unused sueh looks

to

surprise,

meet

His favourite checked his joyful guise,

And

crouched, and licked

'Onward

liis feet.

in haste Llewelyn past.

And on went Gelert too And still, where'er his eyes

:

he

cast,

Fresh blood-gouts shocked his view :

!

Overturned his infant's bed he found,

The

And

all

blood-stained covert rent

around the walls and ground,

"With recent blood besprent. '

He called his child He search'd with

no voice replied

;

terror wild

;

;

Blood, blood he found on every side,

But nowhere found the '

'

Hell-hound, by thee

The

my

frantic father cried

child

!

devoured

child's :

And to the hilt the vengeful sword, He plunged in Gelert's side. '

His suppliant, as to earth he

No But

fell,

pity could impart

still

his Gelert's

Past heavy

dying yell

o'er his heart.

!

;;

'

106

Beddsrelert.

'

Aroused by Gelert's dying

yell,

Some slumberer wakened nigh

What words To hear •

the parent's joy can

his infant cry

:

tell,

!

Concealed between a mingled heap,

His hurried search had missed

;

All glowing from his rosy sleep,

His cherub boy he kissed. •

Xor

scratch

had

he, nor

harm, nor dread,

But the same couch beneath

Lay

a great wolf,

Tremendous 1

All

all

still

torn and dead,

in death

For now the truth was

The

gallant

To '

hound the wolf had

all

frantic

;

!

deed which laid thee low,

This heart shall ever rue '

slain,

Llewelyn's woe

Best of thy kind, adieu

The

!

clear

save Llewelyn's heir.

Vain, vain was '

!

what was then Llewelyn's pain

!

!

And now a gallant tomb they raise, With costly sculpture deckt And marbles storied with his praise Poor

Gelert's bones protect.

Here never could the spearman

Or Here

forester

unmoved

pass,

;

oft the tear-besprinkled grass

Llewelyn's sorrow proved.

And here he hung his horn and And oft, as evening fell,

spear,

In fancy's piercing sounds would hear

Poor

Gelert's

dying

yell

!

107

Beddgelert. And till groat Snowdon's rooks grow And cease the storm to brave,

"

The consecrated spot The name

Such assuredly

is

the

it

is

of Gelert's grave."

of Gelert

story

worthy of a

as

told

by Mr. Spencer, and

poet's best verse.

pointed out in a field near the church

mentioned in the ballad remains,

if

;

The tomb

is still

but none of the sculpture

indeed any ever existed uj>on

Llewelyn had several children, having been twice married

it.

it

old,

shall hold

not possible

is

now

to say

;

and

which of them was the subject of

Gelert's care.

This Llewelyn ap Jorwerth was Prince of Wales,

1194

The

1240.

to

and we read that in the which brought

prince,

put

his

all

latter

year "the most valiant and noble

Wales

to his subjection,

mears thereof further than they had been life,

and had

so often

six years."

many

years before, passed

and was honourably buried at the Abbey

of Conway, after he had governed

Wales well and worthily

fifty

His second wife was Joan, a daughter of King

John of England, by

whom

he was father of David,

who succeeded

This prince died childless, and the descendants of his father's

him.

elder son, Griffith, were the princes whose sad end, under

the First,

Some

is

;

authorities

but

Edward

detailed in our account of Caernarvon.

Beddgelert in

poem

from

enemies to flight and defended his country, enlarging the

out of this transitory

and

it is said,

chroniclers detail his deeds at great length;

it

say that Llewelyn founded the church at

memory is

of the rash deed narrated in Mr. Spencer's

certainly older than his time, though he probably

was a great benefactor

to the

monastery of the "Blessed Mary

;

Beddgelert.

108

of

Snowdon"

which was a place of

at this place,

grims, especially those passing

The church

is

and though

and repassing

some points of

small, possesses

lancet windows,

tall

formerly communicated with a north

aisle,

Portions of the cloisters

may

monastery was destroyed, or at

inducement

the

repaired

munificence,

Ireland.

which

arches,

remaining built up into also be seen

least severely injured,

damages

for benefactors to

chancel

interest, the

and the

According to Mr. Evans, "Edward the

1289.

resort for pil-

and from

very curious, being of the age of Edward the First

being lighted with three

the wall.

to

First,

but the

;

by

by

fire

in

his sole

and Bishop Anian, as an

;

come forward and enable the

to use his accustomed hospitality, remitted

prior

by an indulgence forty

days of any penance they might previously have been enjoined for past transgressions. to the

Abbey

It

was given by Henry the Eighth,

of Chertsey, in Surrey

;

£72

the Dissolution amounted, by Dugdale's valuation, to

by

Speed's, to

but

it is

£69

No

3s. 8d.

in 1535,

and the annual revenues

now

part of the building

8s.

at

8d.

remains,

probable the present church has at times been repaired out

of the ruins. "

The

village consists of a

few straggling cottages

and

;

one, little

distinguished from the rest, was, a few years past, the only place

where the a

traveller could obtain refreshment.

comfortable

inn,

with

excellent

He

will

accommodation,

proceeds on horseback or in a carriage

;

now

find

whether he

and a more pleasing or

convenient station he cannot take for making excursions to some of the most interesting scenes in this

Mr.

Cliffe gives the

and the adjacent county."

following description of the scenery in the

neighbourhood of Beddgelert

:

—

"

We

know not how

to account for

;

109

Beddgelert.

it,

but Beddgelert never, to

although

perhaps

it

us, fully realised

early promise,

its

has always been one of the favourite resorts of tourists

it is

too

much

enclosed.

In colour

it

has few

;

The

ecpials.

road below the Goat Hotel leads along the vale through which the united rivers flow into the ravine called Pont Aberglaslyn gate into Merionethshire.

body of the mountain

;

the precipitous sides of the chasm rise in

sombre majesty to the height of 700

works

river

of rock,

grey

;

and at the bottom the

torn by the convulsions of nature or the force of the

is

composed are

in

The

which the

schistose rocks of

some places perfectly black

;

in others

in others of an ochry tint, betraying the richness of their

internal veins

there

feet,

narrow channel among innumerable masses

for itself a

elements from the crags above.

mountain

—the

Here a vast rent has been made in the

is

;

in

some of them grassy mosses and

much heath

;

and frequent tracks of

heaps of debris, intersect the east side,

on which the

lichens nourish

torrents,

sides, or project into the stream.

traveller's

eye necessarily dwells,

abrupt and tremendous of the two

the other,

;

;

with continual

more

is

The

the most

prolific in its

mineral contents, has a vein of copper which has been successfully

worked, and bears several plantations on

its

the road, too, has been constructed along

pass for about half-a-mile.

it,

more gentle

declivities

;

and winds through the

In so short a space the river experiences

a considerable descent, rushing along with vast rapidity and noise

and where the surface of the water

is

covered with foam, a great variety of

not broken into waves or tints,

green and brown of

every shade, are reflected back by the rocks through the transparent fluid.

Whether

pale rays of the

visited in the sunshine of the morning, or

moon

;

in the heat

by the

and dryness of summer, when

Beddgelert.

110

the river

diminished in strength

is

of winter, at which season its

former bounds, and

or amidst the snows and rains

;

becomes a furious

it

torrent, disdaining

a great depth the bottom of the

filling to

chasm, the Pass of Pont Aberglaslyn will always present a picture of the highest sublimity. side,

The

lofty steepness of the rocks

and dark, damp

their sterility

chasm, and the roaring fury of the powerfully to impress the mind.

through this wonderful spot

on either

colour, the narrowness of the river,

The

cannot

fail

at all times

traveller will never

hurry

he will always pause at that point

;

where the vales at both ends of the pass are shut out from view

;

and

if

moon

the

his

be shining over the mountain, lighting up

the recesses of the rocks, and twinkling in the stream below, his lingering steps will scarcely lead

"The Glaslyn emerges from its

him from

so fine a scene.

the ravine beneath a bridge, pours

waters between rocky walls and wooded banks for a short

distance,

and

at length flows in a silent

expanded stream, through

the Vale of Tremadoc, to the sea."

Mr. Evans has also given some charming descriptions, one of

which

relates to the country to the north-east of Beddgelert,

the Pass of

Nant Gwynant

and

" It affords," he says,

in particular.

"such multifarious scenery, composed of luxuriant meads, watered

by expansive

lakes,

towards the sea clothed with

;

wood

whence

issue

numerous streams, that meander

and circumvented by august boundaries, far

up

their sides, above

bare and rugged summits to the skies

in

which they all

the

lift

finely

their

diversity of

colouring; so that the beauty and order, so admirably described by

the elegant Mason, are here actually exhibited to the enraptured

:

Beddgelert. "

Warm

'

Vivid green.

brown, and black opake, the foreground bears

Sober olive coldly marks

Conspicuous.

The second

Thence the third declines

distance.

In softer blue, or lessening

still, is

lost in

Faintest purple.'

" About a short mile

up

this valley,

on the

left, rises

rock, forming part of the mountain barrier, on which V.ortigern

had

his residence previous to his final retreat

Nant Gwrtheyrn,

persecutions of his subjects to

This

Nefyn.

bestowed

he

and the spot

Ambrosius;

still

upon

called in

the top of this precipitous rock

accessible

part

of which

.

is

his

is

a lofty is

said

from the

in the vicinity of

favourite

retains the appellation

Emrys, or the Fort of Ambrosius,

On

it

soothsayer, of

Dinas

Welsh Merddin Emrys.

a considerable area, the

defended by two large ramparts

within this are the remains of a stone-building, about ten yards in length thick

;

and the

and

though built without mortar, appear very

walls,

Near

strong.

this,

of Vortigern and his court,

a place, allusive to the magical story called Cell-y-dewinicud, or the cell of

is

the Diviners. " Here,

'

Prophetic Merlin

The changes long

And from

to

The

when

to the British

king

told.

the top of Brith, so high and wondrous steep

Where Dinas Emris The white

sate,

come, auspiciously, he

stood,

showed where the serpent fought,

that tore the red, from

whence the prophet wrought

* Briton's sad decay, then shortly to ensure.'

" This Merddin

is

represented in legendary story as the son of

virgin, begotten

by an incubus ; consequently endued with *

Drayton's Polyolbion.

112

Beddgelert.

miraculous and predictive powers

and numerous prophecies are

;

attributed to him, the copying or recital of which

by the Council

away from

But the

of Trent.

was prohibited

traveller will pleasurably turn

the recollection of such absurdities, to view the beautiful

Llyn-y-Dinas, for a large

filling

and

the vale with

contrast

and vividity

beyond

this rise, with

unwieldy bulk,

Cwm

towards Snowdon, whose summit

and

sides,

Y

scenery.

favoured effects of

Two

miles

Aran, under which

is

a

Llan, extending on the left

here finely visible between the

is

Numerous

intervening mountains.

;

and affording the

the surrounding

to

romantic hollow, denominated

clefts at the feet

expansive waters

its

well -flavoured trout;

out of the rocky

trees, issuing

tend greatly to relieve the eye from the

fatiguing, dull uniformity of the mountain.

At

the same time a

neat modern mansion, embosomed in woods, with a small lawn in front,

The

forms a fine close to the upper end of the lake.

and another

Llyn

mountains here converge, but soon recede

;

Gwynant, presents

about three-quarters of a

itself to

mile in length, and nearly

This

view. fills

is

the valley, leaving

lake,

more than

little

space for the continuation of the road."

A

writer in the

Guardian newspaper,

of September

9,

1874,

considers Beddgelert one of the best places from which to ascend

Snowdon. programme.

He

says

:

—-" Snowdon

was,

monarch of the Welsh mountains those which his six arms embrace

course,

our

in

fairly

is

there are no finer hollows than

:

;

no uglier or more saw-like ridges

than those which enclose his hollows

;

no more charming

than those basined at different heights in several

of

In shape, as well as in height, Snowdon

his sides.

ways up Snowdon, that from Llanberis

is

little

Of

lakes

all

the tamest.

the

By

113

far the

most imposing approach

of Gorphwysfa

;

that from Capel Curig, by

is

hut that from Beddgelert

is

also fine

way

and, after

;

seeing the mountains thoroughly, I should say that an ascent from

Beddgelert, and a descent to Gorphwysfa, will best.

Ascent or descent by the Crib Goch

Saethan, life

is

dangerous

on the former route,

:

show

ridge, or

features

its

by Bwlch-y-

in particular, a

man's

depends upon his not slipping or stumbling. " Ascending

fairly

Snowdon from

Beddgelert, the

upon the mass of the mountain

which, like precipitous

all

the

first

Llechog

side.

is

down

Arriving upon

You hem

valleys,

barely traversable loose slopes

presently

;

though

the precipitous edge of Llechog

down

for awhile, looking over into impossible precipices, or

;

Cwm-y-

into one of Snowdon's hollows,

Clogwyn, another of the characteristic spoon-shaped

of the slope

to get

precipitous towards

the north, but easily accessible on the other side.

not the finest in Wales.

is

arms (some places excepted), has one

six

and one rounded

Llechog, you look

aim

at Llechog, a recurved ridge,

you serpentine the more

at

solid piece

you come up upon the narrow bridge which

leads from Llechog to the summit, called Bwlch-y-Main.

This

is

another situation of grandeur beyond imagination without seeing.

Here are deep spoon hollows on both

sides

;

on one hand Cwm-y-

Clogvvyn, on the other the longer and broader deep of Cvvm-y-Llan.

Sometimes the path, which winds about among sharp, jagged rocks set upright,

brink of

and forming an edge not

Cwm-y-Clogwyn

jagged edge, and see

;

down

many feet

wide, passes the

then you go through a notch in the into

Cwm-y-Llan.

As you clamber

along this ridge (which looks a most frightful place, but perfectly safe,

and

is

is

really

sometimes done with ponies), you see the top

Beddgelert.

of

Snowdon, with the hut, climb

last part of the

"

But the

rising

difficult

came

the jags above you

to shade the path,

the

as

we descended

Capel Curig, with a midland woolspinner,

was quite willing

who thought he had done up the easy

to learn better,

ride

from

and seemed

fairly

way down

majesty of Snowdon on the

awe-struck at the

but frequent

;

and we went merrily down towards

great things in mountaineering to walk Llanberis, but

;

(but not in the least dangerous) path to

The sun was out

Gorphwysfa.

among

truly magnificent.

grandeur of Snowdon cannot be better seen than

full

from the steep and

clouds

is

to

Gorphwysfa, sharing also our delight with that pretty green lake

which

lies

Mr.

highest and closest to the mountain's side."

Cliffe

same ascent

two

friends.

:

(Book of North Wales,

—

"

.

One evening .

The next morning

.

down on Snowdon

;

but Moel Hebog, which

huge neighbour, gave promising

for its

179) thus describes the

p.

June we reached Beddgelert with

in

when we

get up.'

.

the clouds were

.

a sort of barometer

is

signs.

It

'

Thus cheered, we

may

clear

off,

walking

sir,

indeed,

for

about two and a-half miles on the Caernarvon road before we

turned

off,

not far from

'

Pitt's

Head,' a rock on the roadside, with

a profile resembling that immortal statesman. house, Fridd-Uchaf,

summit

of

Snowdon

we kept near a

bearing,

started,

we were

told, north-east.

of Aran, with its long serrated curtain, rose

steady collar-work for about two miles,

Leaving a farm-

torrent on our right, the

on the

we began

The peak east.

to shake off

After

Cwm

Craigog, and halted at a delicious spring, where our guide's canteen

and our

flasks of

brandy were serviceable, the old guide beguiling

the time with a store of anecdotes

—one of which, of a wild Irishman

—

115

Beddgelert.

who

insisted

on ascending in winter, and did ascend, when Snowdon

was rather thickly covered with snow, struck our fancy much. Soon

after

we came

in sight of a profound hollow, penetrating the

very heart of the mountain, Cwm-y-Clogwyn, or " The Precipice," in

which four small

Ffynnon Lds, Llyn Goch, Llyn

pools, called

Ffynnongwas, and Llyn-y-Nadroedd (signifying severally the Blue, the Red, the Servants', and the Adders' Pools), sullenly repose. depth, the gloom, the severity of this great

us powerfully.

was a sudden us, filling

The clouds continued most lift,

tantalising.

then vast masses of vapour swooped

Cwm-y-Clogwyn

in an instant

;

The

impressed

hill solitude

Now

there

down

uj)on

again the grey mass rose,

gracefully playing with the rocky outworks of the dread hidden

mountain

We

citadel.

Ponies are

left

fresh in our

mind

as

The scene was indeed

we

we stood. Clawdd Gdch

near the spot on which

had Warner's description of the

terrors of the

entered on the passage of that red ridge.

The clouds came down again

awe-inspiring.

the soughing of the wind was full of inexpressible melancholy

dim

light exaggerated the fearfulness of the

Yet

depth

;

;

the

yon felt that a

false step

would be

sublime.

Bingley thought that in some parts of this narrow stony

fatal.

in

broad sunlight the prospect

bivlch, if

a person held a large stone in each hand, and let

both

at once, each

thus

fall

would

roll

Below

us,

half-a-mile asunder

the bottom of a dark

'

;

and he

on the east and north-east, but

hidden by the mist, were Llyn Llydaw and Glaslyn filling

them

above a quarter of a mile, and

when they stopped be more than

does not exaggerate.

is

cwm' one and

— the former

a-half miles long.

After treading carefully over the slippery rocks for several hundred yards, at last

we made out

the Ordnance

mark through

the gloom,

— 116

;

Beddgelert.

and approached the Wyddfa.

Not a

The damp

was

soul

alone on the highest spot in the British

isles

We

there.

of the clouds, the chilly mysterious wind, the darkness

We

ceased not.

could only see a few yards on either side

Presently

we heard him shouting

in

Welsh

and

;

much

even the faith of our old guide in the day was sometimes shaken.

stood

south of the Forth.

some

to

one,

and found that one of the Llanberis guides was in advance of a Suddenly the dull vapours began to break at several

party.

and we obtained magical ghmpses of distant dream-like

Sunny mountain

effect.

our vision,

across

wandering glory solitude

;

now

in

lit

all

the

swift

scenes,

lakes flitted

wavy

up a grand peak,

line

points,

which had a

diamonds

like

of clouds

;

then a

or disclosed a gentle hill

Anglesea, like a variegated carpet, was visible

the proud towers of Caernarvon, the green ocean, swelling

hills,

mountain threads, were illuminated or hidden by turns

silver

About half-an-hour was thus spent

darkness followed. of excitement

;

and

in the

meanwhile other parties had

in a state

arrived,

and

more than a dozen shivering mortals clustered round the narrow There were no huts

top.

—then

height

;

— which have spoiled the romance of this

no shelter but the modern

as thought, the

whole mass of cloud sailed

us and around

us,

cairn.

oft"

Suddenly, swift

Snowdon

!

and before

bathed in sunshine, were landscapes which, once

seen, can never be quite blotted out "'Meditation here may think down hours to moments.'"

Marcus Ward & Co.,

Printers, U..vnl Ulster

G

Works,

<5

Belfast.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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