Curiosities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol.1-11: Historical, Entertaining & Commercial; Alphabetically Arranged. 11 Volume set.Dugdale, Thomas
History
Curiosities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol.1-11: Historical, Entertaining & Commercial; Alphabetically Arranged. 11 Volume set.
Dugdale, Thomas
Great Britain -- Gazetteers
[A] BANGOR, which signifies the beautiful choir, is a Bishop's See;
compared to its former size, it is now but an inconsiderable place. It
is seated at the mouth of the Menai, near its opening to the Lavan
sands, in a narrow valley, between two low ridges of slate rock, opening
to the south, towards the majestic mountain, Snowdon, which rises 3571
feet above the level of the sea. Mr. Warner, the intelligent Welsh
tourist, and his companion, spoke in raptures of this place. The beauty,
repose, and retirement of the whole pleased them wonderfully. The latter
observed, "If he were Bishop of Bangor, the only translation he would
covet would be, thence to heaven." The former agreed with him, that
"Were fate to throw him also into such a spot, very few attractions
would have sufficient force to elicit him from it." They had "Never seen
a place which united so many beauties in so narrow a circle." From this
city the new road finds its way through a low pass in the adjacent
ridge, and descends gently along the face of the sloping bank to the
great bridge: this road is very smooth and well protected, and worthy of
the magnificent scenery by which it is surrounded. Menai suspension
bridge is distant about two miles and a half from Bangor. This noble
bridge is substituted for the inconvenient ferry; it is 100 feet above
the level of high water, even at spring tides. The cathedral is a low
plain building, dedicated to St. Deiniol, to whom it owed its origin
about the year 525, and he was elected the first bishop in 550. He was
the son of Dinothus, Abbot of Bangor-iscoed, and reared under the
auspices of a Welsh prince, patron of the bard Talliesin, and perhaps
the most liberal prince of his time. In 1402 it was burnt down, during
the rebellion of Owen Glendower; and what is rather singular, it was
suffered to remain in ruins during the space of 90 years, when the choir
was rebuilt by the Bishop in the reign of Henry VII. But that cruel
ravager of ecclesiastical property, Bishop Bulkeley, not only alienated
the lands belonging to the cathedral, but even had the audacity to sell
the bells of the church. The choir is fitted up in a style of neat and
simple elegance, and ornamented with an excellent organ, the gift of Dr.
Thomas Lloyd, in 1779. The chapter consists of a dean, three
archdeacons, two precentors, two vicars choral, six minor canons, six
lay clerks, and eight choristers, with an income of L2,000. per annum.
The windows of the cathedral were formerly very handsomely ornamented
with stained glass, but in the civil wars of Charles I. the soldiers
destroyed these, amongst other things. The most conspicuous monument in
this building is that erected to the memory of Owen Gwynedd, one of the
ancient princes of Wales. Here are several Dissenting meeting-houses,
and the town is the resort of many visitors during the summer season;
upwards of 50,000 annually are said to remain for longer or shorter
periods.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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