Scenes in North Wales: With Historical Illustrations, Legends, and Biographical NoticesWright, G. N. (George Newenham)
History
Scenes in North Wales: With Historical Illustrations, Legends, and Biographical Notices
Wright, G. N. (George Newenham)
Wales, North -- Description and travel
The view from the high grounds of the park is amazingly extensive,
commanding a prospect over seventeen different counties. A part of the
grounds, distinguished by the name of the “Black Park,” derives its
epithet from the death of a keeper, who, coming to the assistance of a
young woman who was attacked by a stag, was himself gored to death by the
ferocious animal. The village of Chirk lies at the foot of the hill on
which the castle stands. It consists of a few cottages built from
agreeable rustic designs, and presents a neat and cheerful appearance.
The church is handsome, spacious, and adorned with a noble tower. The
interior is ornamented with monuments of the Chirk-Castle family; the
best and most interesting of which is erected to the memory of the famous
Sir Thomas Myddleton.
The little river Ceiriog, which separates England from Wales, flows
through the valley of Chirk, and is crossed by a handsome aqueduct
conveying the waters of the Ellesmere canal. This extremity of the
aqueduct is met by a tunnel passing under the hill, and carrying the line
of navigation towards the aqueduct at Llangollen. A singular mound may
be observed on the brow of the hill hanging over the Ceiriog, and at a
little distance from the church, it is obviously artificial, and is
doubtless a sepulchral barrow, such as are frequently found in other
parts of the principality.
LLANRWST CHURCH.
THE town of Llanrwst is situated on the eastern bank of the river Conway,
in the beautiful and luxuriant vale to which it lends its name. The
river is broad, smooth, and shallow, except when swollen by the mountain
floods, which rise and fall with wonderful rapidity. One of the most
celebrated objects here is the famous shaking bridge, built from a design
of Inigo Jones. It consists of three arches, the centre sixty feet span,
and, if the crowns of the arches were not too high, would be a light,
beautiful, and ingenious work. The ceremony of shaking is performed by
two persons upon the crown of the centre arch, first rocking themselves
sufficiently to acquire a gentle momentum, and then falling back against
the great centre stone of the battlements; a person leaning against the
opposite battlement will feel the tremulous motion communicated through
the whole masonry of the bridge. The view of Llanrwst vale from the
bridge, and from the road leading to it on the Denbighshire side of the
river is of unexampled beauty. The Gwydyr woods clothe a precipitous
mountain on the west, for a length of five miles, through which a bold
crag here and there is seen protruding with a fine effect. The opposite
side is also finely wooded, and variegated with mansions, parks, meadow,
corn-land, and all that enriches a landscape. This perspective of the
vale presents a composition embracing grandeur and magnificence in a high
degree, combined with scenes of great pastoral beauty.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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