Corwen and onto Rug Chapel

We left the Two Ladies and drove a short distance along the A5 to Corwen for lunch, where we were confronted by this magnificent statue, as we left the carpark - apparently The last Welsh Prince of Wales.

Owain Glyndŵr was probably born in the 1350s (the plinth gives 1349). The young Owain was a typical nobleman, his etiquette honed at the Inns of Court in London.

He had homes in Carrog, near Corwen, and Sycharth in Powys (near Oswestry). He fought with the English against the Scots and Dutch before King Richard II was abducted in Colwyn Bay in 1399 and dethroned by supporters of Henry Bolingbroke, who then became Henry IV.

It’s unclear whether the change of monarch affected the outlook of middle-aged Glyndŵr. At around this time he began to argue with a neighbour, Baron Reginald Grey of Ruthin. In September 1400 he attacked Ruthin, and followed up with raids on other local boroughs. This quickly escalated into full-scale rebellion, as Welsh people saw a chance to hit back at English settlers and the privileges they received

The rebellion received military aid from France and powerful English allies. In 1404, envoys from overseas and Scotland watched his coronation as Prince of Wales, at a parliament held in Machynlleth. 

With most of Wales under his control, in 1405 Glyndŵr and his allies drew up an agreement to overthrow the king and divide the country in three, with a considerable chunk of England added to Wales. However, French support dwindled, the rebels lost ground in Wales and in 1409 the English recaptured Harlech Castle – which had been Glyndŵr’s stronghold. 

Glyndŵr was never captured, and it’s presumed that he died in hiding c.1415.

This life-size bronze statue of Owain Glyndŵr on his horse was installed in the square at Corwen in 2007. It stands on an eight-ton plinth of polished granite.

Commissioned as a workhouse in 1837, and originally housing 150 paupers. The building was partly remodelled c1900, when many of the original windows, considered out of keeping with the more enlightened approach of the time, were replaced with larger ones. It closed in 1941, and was subsequently used as a factory. It is now a craft centre and guest house.

The parish church of Corwen has two saints - St Sulien & St Mael. A bit unusual I thought. 

It has a few interesting things about it, as have many churches, having seen centuries of history unfold around and in them. 

Corwen churchyard may have been in religious use since before Christianity came to Wales. A prehistoric standing stone is incorporated into the porch. Early Christian missionaries, in the 6th or 7th century, may have been attracted to the site by its established religious use (a ploy used a lot by early christians) and by the spring, just above the churchyard, which would have provided water for baptising converts. 

By 1222 there were 16 clerics at Corvaen, reflecting its regional importance. The church building in the 13th century was unusually large, as was the parish – covering 13 townships. The church tower was probably added in Tudor times. The church windows were described in 1730 as “lamentable” for admitting too little light, and by 1777 money had been raised to provide more and bigger apertures. 

The font dates from the 11th century and features Norman “cable pattern” around the base

Under the yew tree west of the church is the grave of a GWR locomotive driver called Owen Owen, who died on 5 April 1872 aged 29 (a newspaper family notice at the time recorded him as Owen Owens, and his date of death as 4 April). His epitaph includes shunting, whistling, signals and other railway terms. It was worth visiting just to see this!

The prehistoric standing stone Incorporated into the building.

Foot-stones with twin, and sometimes triple depressions on their tops, were allegedly used by descendants to awkwardly kneel and pray at the graves of their ancestors. There are others who have suggested they were simply shaped foot-stones and couldn’t have practically been used in this way: perhaps it is folklore?

Our last stop today in our busy itinerary, was to Rug Chapel. `Not another one`! I hear you say, but hold on, this one is unique - almost.

The chapel’s plain exterior gives little hint of the riches within! Never judge a chapel, or a church for that matter, by its exterior. Step inside 17th-century Rug Chapel and prepare to be wowed by its decorative flourishes. If you’re a fan of minimalism, you may want to take a deep breath before entering. Its founder, the arch-Royalist Colonel William Salesbury, created a private chapel complete with high church pretensions and a zany style to counter puritanical notions of the time. Being a private chapel it escaped, unscathed into the 21st century.

You can never have enough wood carvings or rose motifs. Colonel Salesbury was mad for them, whether it was on the altar rails, family pews, painted gallery or bench ends. A real show off in wood.

The balcony and lights, complete with candles!

Pew ends, have you ever seen the like? Beautiful workmanship.

The font. Not sure, but possible original.

Wall painting with skeleton, skull and hour glass reminds viewers (In Welsh verse) that time flies and life is short.

One of the four angel carvings adorning the base of roof trusses.

A band of these colourful panels line the chapel at the top of the walls and also some lower down, amazing. A remarkable building which escaped the puritanical ravages - thanks to its being hidden away on an estate.

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The Chain Bridge and Valle Crucis Abbey

A round trip was on the agenda for today, encompassing several sites we had `bookmarked` in our minds before we set out. Our starting point was the town of Llangollen which was about 7 miles away. Llangollen is a very `pretty` town, for want of another word! Also famous for the International Musical Eisteddfod which is a music festival taking place every year during the second week of July. It is one of several large annual Eisteddfodau in Wales. Singers and dancers from around the world are invited to take part in over 20 competitions followed each evening by concerts on the main stage. Over five thousand singers, dancers and instrumentalists from around 50 countries perform to audiences of more than 50,000 over the 6 days of the event.

Llangollen takes its name from the Welsh llan meaning "a religious settlement" and Saint Collen, a 6th-century monk who founded a church beside the river. St Collen is said to have arrived in Llangollen by coracle. There are no other churches in Wales dedicated to St Collen, and he may have had connections with Colan in Cornwall and with Langolen in Brittany.

Leaving the car park, we headed along the river side toward the town.

Llangollen Bridge is known as one of the ‘Seven Wonders of Wales’ and was built by Bishop John Trevor c. 1345. Widened in the 16th and 20th centuries, it allowed the town to develop on both sides of the river Dee, which rises in Snowdonia and flows through Bala Lake to Chester.

Another `must see` - The Chain bridge in Berwyn. 

The first chain bridge here was built by Exuperius Pickering in order to transport coal, lime, stone, etc from the Shropshire Union Canal, (Llangollen Canal) across the Dee to Telford's recently completed London to Holyhead road. The bridge allowed Pickering to bypass the Llangollen toll bridge further downstream, and transport coal from his mines near Acrefair up the canal and onward to Corwen. Permission to build it was granted in 1814 and it was completed by 1818, making it one of the first chain bridges in the world. 

The second bridge was built by railway engineer and industrialist Henry Robertson in 1876 using the existing chains of the first bridge. 

The chain bridge was rebuilt as a suspension footbridge reusing some of the existing chains. In 2015 its complete restoration (£465,000) after years of neglect was completed and it is now a major tourist attraction. So, having walked across it, here are my images! 

The Chain bridge and Chainbridge Hotel. 

The picturesque Berwyn railway station is a railway station on the former cross-country line between Ruabon and Barmouth. The station, which opened in May 1865, was a stop on the Great Western Railway(GWR) line between Llangollen and Corwen. It was closed by British Rail in January 1965. 

In 1986 the station was reopened as part of the heritage Llangollen Railway. It is now reportedly among one of the best 10 stations to visit in Britain. 

And just as we were taking our picture, we witnessed the arrival of this locomotive - unfortunately not steam! 

And so onto Horseshoe falls. Here Telford tapped the River Dee for the water supply for the Llangollen and Shropshire Union Canal. 

The picturesque church dates from the 7th Century. Additions have been made over the centuries, some taken from Valle Crucis Abbey which is not very far away, and was next on our list today.. Robert Browning worshiped here and there is a commemorative plaque in the church. The present building was erected around 1180 CE. 

A general view of the interior 

A closeup of the 14 C Eagle Lectern. 

And then onto the Valle Crucis Abbey ruins. It never ceases to amaze me at the craftsmanship that many of these old ruins hold testament too. People don`t change: as then, so now, the bigger and grander, the better to impress (awe?) the local serfs, the better.

Showing the amazing amount of work that this building must have taken. 

The Chapter House

Valle Crucis Abbey was founded in 1201 by Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor, on the site of a temporary wooden church and was the last Cistercian monastery to be built in Wales. Founded in the principality of Powys Fadog, Valle Crucis was the spiritual centre of the region, while Dinas Bran was the political stronghold. The abbey took its name from the nearby Pillar of Eliseg, which was erected four centuries earlier by Cyngen ap Cadell, King of Powysin memory of his great-grandfather, Elisedd ap Gwylog. (See below) 

Madog was buried in the then-completed abbey upon his death in 1236. Not long after Madog's death, it is believed that a serious fire badly damaged the abbey, with archaeological evidence that the church and south range were affected. 

The location on which Valle Crucis was raised was originally established as a colony of twelve monks from Strata Marcella, an earlier abbey located on the western bank of the River Severn near Welshpool. The original wooden structure was replaced with stone structures of roughly faced rubble. The completed abbey is believed to have housed up to about sixty brethren, 20 choir monks and 40 lay-members who would have carried out the day-to-day duties including agricultural work. The numbers within the church fluctuated throughout its history and the monks and the abbey itself came under threat from various political and religious events. The abbey is believed to have been involved in the Welsh Warsof Edward I of England during the 13th century, and was supposedly damaged in the uprising led by Owain Glyndŵr. Numbers also fell after the Black Death ravaged Britain. 

In 1537, Valle Crucis was dissolved, as it was deemed not prosperous compared to the more wealthy English abbeys. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the site fell into disrepair, and the building was given to Sir William Puckering on a 21-year lease by Henry VIII. By the late 16th century the eastern range was converted into a manor house. Valle Crucis remained with the Wotton family, and was inherited by the 2nd Baron Wotton, but upon his death it was passed to Hestor Wotton, his third daughter. Hestor married Baptist Noel, 3rd Viscount Campden and the abbey entered the family's ownership, before being sold shortly afterwards when the estate was sequestered by Parliament in 1651. By the late 18th century the building that remained were re-roofed and the site was used as a farm, before excavations were undertaken in the later half of the 19th century. 

Eliseg's Pillar is the remaining portion of a tall round-shafted cross of Mercian type, which gave its name to the valley and the neighboring abbey. All that survives today is part of the rounded lower shaft, on one side of which it is just possible to see weathered traces of early lettering. The roll mouldings at the top of the surviving section mark the point at which the squared and tapering upper portion of the cross would have originated; this may have continued to a height similar to that of the rounded shaft before being surmounted by a cross-head. 

The cross was pulled down in the 17th century during the Civil War, and the rest had been removed before this column was re-erected by T. Lloyd of Trevor Hall, and event commemorated in the late inscription on the rear. The mound was excavated at this time, and a skeleton found in a long cist, but it is not clear from the description whether this burial was prehistoric or early medieval. 

Fortunately, a detailed record of the original inscription was made in 1696 by the antiquarian Edward Lhuyd, before the lettering deteriorated to its present extent. Where his reading can still be checked, it appears to be reliable. Much of the wording was illegible, even in Lhuyd's time, but sufficient survived to allow an interpretation of the purpose and date of the monument. 

The monument was probably erected in the early 9th century, celebrating the exploits of a king up to a century earlier. Eliseg's campaigns may have provoked the construction of Offa's Dyke by the English, as a defence against the Welsh, in the mid 8th century. 

Our last point of interest for the day was to travel through Horseshoe Pass. This was the photo I took on a very misty day. The Horseshoe Pass (Welsh: Bwlch yr Oernant, "Pass of the Cold Stream") is a mountain pass in Denbighshire, north-east Wales. It separates Llantysilio Mountain to the west from the 565 metre (1,854 feet) mountain and Marilyn Cyrn-y-Brain to the east. The A542 road from Llandegla to Llangollen runs through the pass, reaching a maximum height of 417 metres (1,368 ft). The road travels in a horseshoe shape around the sides of a valley, giving the pass its English name. 

This route dates from 1811, when a turnpike road was constructed across the area. As with the rest of the roads in the Clwydian Range, it is not uncommon for sheep to gather in the road, sometimes causing problems for drivers. The road is also frequently closed in winter due to snowfall or landslides - I can well imagine! 

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Chirk Castle and a walk by the Canal

This was just a short break in the Llangollen area (we actually stayed in Glyndyfrdwy), having easily planned to fill our 4 days including a family visit. As always in Wales, you hope for rain free days. We had no rain, but at times it was very misty - we can`t have it all can we! 

The village is historically renowned for its association with Owain Glyndwr. It was here at his Manor of Glyndyfrdwy that Owain (Baron of Glyndyfrdwy) proclaimed himself “Prince of Wales” on 16th September 1400 so beginning his 14-year rebellion against English Rule.

This was our holiday let in the village of Glyndyfrdwy overlooking the river Dee and the village.

Quite a view from our bedroom window.

Angler fishing on the Dee just below our holiday cottage.

Sunday morning, and a short drive past Llangollen to this magnificent castle of Chirk, now owned by the National Trust. 

Chirk castle now stands proud amongst the chain of defence castles built in North Wales under the reign of Edward l, including castles such as Beaumaris, as not only a defence fortress but a family home too. Built in 1295 and completed in 1310 by Roger Mortimer, Chirk castle still boasts original features such as the 700 year old medieval dungeon and tower, laundry and servants’ hall. 

Sir Thomas Myddelton I was born in 1550, son of the governor of Denbigh Castle. With little hope of inheriting his father's position he left to make his fortune in London, which he did with remarkable success. He invested in the East India Company and the Virginia Company, was knighted, built a mansion in Essex, and in 1613 became Lord Mayor of London. 

In 1595 Sir Thomas I had bought Chirk Castle for £5,000 with the intention of turning it into his family seat. In actual fact he spent more time at his home in Essex, but he spent vast sums of money on the castle including building the north range and its State Rooms. 

Sir Thomas Myddelton II was a Civil War general, first on the side of Parliament, and then later, disillusioned by Cromwell's military dictatorship, as a Royalist in support of Charles II. 

Over the next 400 years the Myddelton family ruled a vast estate from Chirk Castle, subsequent generations were ambitious industrialists, entrepreneurs, and politicians. 

The award-winning gardens cover 5.5 acres of manicured lawns, herbaceous borders, beautiful rose, shrub and rock gardens, and the wooded pleasure ground – perfect for a stroll. A feature of these formal garden includes the vast and dominating clipped yew trees and topiary of different shapes and sizes, one being a squirrel. I didn`t find that one!.

On 23rd March 2013, the family favorite Cedar of Lebanon, planted over 200 years ago, fell during a period of heavy snow. To retain it`s memory, it was carved into this magnificent bench.

Plenty of naked people viewing the beautiful landscaped gardens.

The gatehouse entrance to the castle

Down in the magnificent dungeons, this was the state of the art loo! There was a lot more to this castle than we explored and to get a sense of the whole site, go to the National Trust site here.

After some lunch in a local pub, we took a walk along the side of the Llangollen Canal, and very peaceful too. This was one of the barges we saw on our ramble.

Then we made our way back to our village, stopping to photograph the station and signal box

Glyndyfrdwy railway station is a former station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line. It is now a preserved railway station on the Llangollen Railway, and was reopened by the heritage railway in 1993.

I was lucky to catch this steam locomotive coming into the station, albeit backwards! It was a `1940s` weekend and it was fascinating to see people getting off and on all dressed in their 1940`s gear!

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