CAMBRIDGE COUNTY OroGRAPHIES l4Ma MERIONETHSHIRE '■"■"' f mil iiiimiiiMiimiii The. Canvbrid^e TJnv^erst^ Press Cofyriq^it. JecmgeJP^tSip & SiJn.1^ CAMBRIDGE COUNTY GEOGRAPHIES General Editor: F. H. H. Guillemard, M.A., M.D. MERIONETHSHIRE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS tlonDon : FETTER LANE, E.C- C. F. CLAY, Manager OFljmburgli : loo, PRINCES STREET Berlin: A. AS HER AND CO. iLcipjig: F. A. BROCKHAUS i^tto gork: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS Sombac anH (ffalrtitta: MACMILLAN AND CO., Lt SToronto; J. M. DENT AND SONS, Ltd. erofeoo: THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA. riii rights reserved Cambridge Cotmty Geographies MERIONETHSHIRE by A. MORRIS, F. R. Hist. Soc. With Maps, Diagrams and Illustrations Cambridge : at the University Press 1913 CatnbriDgc : PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS ?5 n s- z PREFACE 'nr^HE author desires to acknowledge his indebtedness -^ to various works in Engh'sh and Welsh on the history and antiquities of Merionethshire, especially the articles of the late W. W. E. Wynne of Peniarth on the architecture of the most remarkable of the churches. His thanks are due to Mr Pryce Williams of Towyn for assistance rendered in the chapter on Fisheries and Fishing Stations^ and to Mr D. A. Jones of Harlech and the late Thomas Ruddy of the Pale Gardens for help in the preparation of the chapter on Natural History. A. MORRIS. Octohi'K 19 I 3. CONTENTS 9- lO. 14. 15- 16. 17- 18. 19. 20. 2 I. 22. 23- 24. County and Shire — The name Merionethshire. Its Origin and Meaning . General Characteristics Size. Shape. Boundaries Surface and General Features Watershed. Rivers . . . . . .17 Lakes ......... 23 Geology . . . . . . . . .28 Natural History . . . . . . -37 The Coast-line ....... 44 Climate . . . . . . . . .51 People — Race, Dialect, and Population . . -57 Agriculture — Main Cultivations, Woodlands, Stock 66 Industries and Manufactures . . . . .70 Fisheries and Fishing Stations . . . .78 History of Merionethshire . . . . .83 History — Later Times . . . . . .91 Antiquities ........ 97 Architecture — (a) Ecclesiastical. Churches and Abbeys 106 Architecture — (b) Military. Castles . . .116 Architecture — {c) Domestic. Famous Seats, Manor Houses, Farms, Cottages . . . . .123 Communications — Past and Present. . . .130 Administration and Divisions — Ancient and Modern 138 The Roll of Honour of the County . . -145 The Chiet Towns and Villages of Merionethshire . 154 ILLUSTRATIONS The Vale of Festiniog The Mawddach, from Panorama Walk Aberdovey .... Rhaiadr Cwm, near Festiniog. Cader Idris: the Summit from the Saddle The Bird Rock, Towyn . Barmouth: Diphwys Prysor Valley, Rhaiadr Ddu . The River Artro at Llanbedr Llantihangel-y-Pennant . Bala Lake and Llanycil Church Talyllyn .... Cader Idris: the Precipice Towyn: the Dysynni Barmouth Estuary . Ynys Giftan .... Menhirs, Llanbedr . Remains of Goidel Hut, near Harlech The Glaslyn River: Snowdon in the distance Oakeley Quarries, Blaenau Festiniog Splitting and dressing Slates, Blaenau Festiniog Rhaiadr Mawddach and Gold Mine, Dolgelly The Beach, Llwyngwril ..... The Dwyryd River ..... The "Roman Steps," near Cwm Bychan PAGE 5 7 9 I 2 13 14 16 20 21 22 24 26 33 45 47 49 59 61 68 72 73 75 80 81 85 VUl ILLUSTRATIONS The Gateway, Harlech Castle Caer Drewyn, near Corwen Bronze dagger-knife found at Tomen-y Centurial Stones from Tomen-y-Miir Llanfor Church Llanaber Church Llanegryn Church Llanfair Church Cynuiier Abbey Harlech Castle Ruins of the Keep, Bere Castle The Hengwrt . Plas Rhiwias . Old Houses, Dolgel Old Coach Bridge, Dinas Mawddw Barmouth Bridge and Cader Idris Dolgelly . Thomas Edward Ellis Tyn-y-Bryn Corwen . Diagrams Mur PAGE 94 lOI I02 103 I ID I I I I 12 114 119 I 2 I I 24 128 129 137 144 146 163 MAPS Merionethshire, Topographical . . . Front Conjer ,, Geological .... Back Co'ver England and Wales, showing Annual Rainfall . . 53 Sketch map showing the Chief Castles of Wales and the Border Counties . .... to face p. 116 ILLUSTRATIONS ix The illustrations on pp. 5, 7, 9, 13, 14, 16, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 33, 45, 47, 59, 72, 73, 75, 85, no, III, 119, 128, 129, 133, 137, 144 and 157 are from photographs by Messrs F. Frith and Co.; those on pp. 61 and 103 from photographs by Mr D. H. Parry, Harlech; those on pp. 121 and 151 from photographs by Messrs George and Son, Corris; those on pp. 112 and 114 from photographs by Mr W. M. Dodson, Bettvvs-y-Coed; that on p. 94 from a pliotograpli by Dr Giiillemard; tliat on p. i 2 from a print published by Mr R. L. Jones, Machynlleth; that on p. 115 from a photograph by Mr Jones, Dolgelly; that on p. 124 from a photograph by Mr Arnfield, Dolgelly; that on p. 146 from a photograph kindly supplied by Mrs Ellis; those on pp. loi and 102 are reproduced from Archaeologia Camhrcnsis and the Archaeo- logical 'Journal respectively; the sketch map facing p. 116 is from a drawing by Mr C. J. Evans. I. County and Shire. The name Merionethshire. Its Origin and Meaning. The division of Wales into shires first took place in the reign of Edward the First. Before the conquest of Wales by that monarch there was no division of the Principality into shire ground as understood in English annals. The Shire (i.e. the part shorn off, or cut off, from the An^lo-Saxon word scir) was a Saxon institution brought into use at an early period, as early as the seventh cen- tury. In the code of laws of Ina of Wessex, we find portions of the country under his rule divided into scir ground, and each division was placed under an officer who was styled a scir-gerefa, i.e. a shire-reeve or sheriff. He was the natural leader of the shire in war and peace. His duties were to look after the king's rights, dues and fines, and he acted as the sovereign's representative as regards finance and the execution of justice. County is a word of Norman origin [comte] which came into use in our country after the Conquest, when the administration of each shire was entrusted to a great earl or baron, who was often a count {comte)^ i.e. a com- panion of the king, M. M. I 2 MERIONETHSHIRE The shiring of Wales was the direct outcome of the extension of English influence into our land. It took place upon two separate occasions, the first as stated above, and the second in the reign of Henry the Eighth. Con- sequently the shires of Wales do not stand in the same relation to the early history of the particular districts of which they are a share, as the real shires of England proper stand to old English history. They are really administrative districts formed for convenience, rather than organic divisions of land and people like Sussex and Kent, which correspond to original tribal kingdoms. Of the Welsh counties Anglesey's insular position gave it a unity and compactness of its own, but as regards the others, Cardiganshire alone in extent of territory and distinctive characteristics is in an analogous position to that of Sussex and Kent among English counties. It probably corresponded with the ancient principality of Ceredigion, and to this, perhaps, the strong local feeling and distinctive type of character still associated with that county are due. The other counties have, however, been built up of the immemorial territorial divisions (hundreds and commotes) of the Cymry. The county of Merioneth is one of the eight counties which came into existence by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284. The name, however, is of much earlier date as the name of a cantrev. In its Welsh form of Meirionydd we are taken back to a period some eight centuries earlier. The tradition is that about 420 a.d. Cunedda, a powerful British chief who held his court at Carlisle, was COUNTY AND SHIRE 3 invited by his kindred, the Brythons, to come and assist them, as they were sore pressed by the Gwyddyl or Goidels from across the Irish Sea. In right of his mother, as we are told in the Welsh pedigrees, Cunedda was able to claim large tracts of territory in Wales. He therefore most readily responded to the appeal, and by the aid of his numerous sons succeeded in expelling the Goidels from the greater part of the territory. Cunedda's men, it is recorded, settled permanently in the land, and so did his sons, except the eldest, named Tybiawn, who had died some time before in Manaw Gododin, as the territory of the north was called. The names of the sons have survived in the territories which they wrested from the Gwyddyl. Ceredig occupied Ceredigion (Cardiganshire); Arwystl seized upon Arwystli, a part of Montgomeryshire; Edeyrn made his abode in Edeyrnion in our present county ; Einion possessed him- self of Caereinion in Montgomeryshire. The sons of Tybiawn were likewise granted their shares, in right of the eldest son. Maelor obtained DyfFryn Maelor, and Meirion possessed the territory called Cantrev Meirion, " the Hundred of Meirion," which in its turn gave its name to Meirionydd, and the county of Merioneth. By the Statute of Rhuddlan there were added to the cantrev of Meirionydd the commotes of Penllyn, Edeyrnion, and Ardudwy, and these together constituted the shire of Merioneth until the time of Henry VIII. When the Principality became ripe for its union with England in the time of the Welsh sovereigns, the Tudors, an "Act of Union " was passed, by which five new shires 1 — 2 4 MERIONETHSHIRE were created from the Marcher lordships. This Act added to the county of Merioneth the lawless lordship of Mawddwy. 2. General Characteristics. Merionethshire is a maritime county of North Wales, washed on its western side by Cardigan Bay, and bor- dered on the north, east, and south by the counties of Carnarvon, Denbigh, Montgomery, and Cardigan respec- tively. It is more mountainous than any of the North Wales coimties with the exception perhaps of Carnarvonshire. Its deep and secluded valleys, with the ruggedness and variety of its elevated districts, give it a particular charm and interest. The varied panoramic views from its heights surpass anything to be seen in Wales. Portions of the county, by the nature of its rocks, are devoted to the industry of slate-quarrying. The best slate in the world for roofing purposes is worked in various parts of the county, but mainly in the north. Ours, too, is the only county in Wales in which gold has been found in quantities sufficient to pay for working; but, in the main, Merionethshire is an agricultural and pastoral county, the great proportion of the people being devoted to husbandry. Merionethshire is one of the most Welsh in customs and habits of all the counties of Wales. Its people have not been influence