The castles and abbeys of England; Vol. 2 of 2: from the national records, early chronicles, and other standard authorsBeattie, William
History
The castles and abbeys of England; Vol. 2 of 2: from the national records, early chronicles, and other standard authors
Beattie, William
Abbeys -- England; Castles -- England
Westward appear Abersycan and the hills near Pontypool; the Blorenge
hill, nearly two thousand feet high.[295] The opening which occurs in
the range at this point, allows of a glimpse of the Breconshire hills at
Crick Howell to Bwlch, within eight miles of the county town. The next
in succession are--the Sugar Loaf, or Pen-y-Foel--so called from its
conical shape--near Abergavenny, which crowns the summits of four
converging hills, and rises eighteen hundred and fifty-two feet above
the channel of the river Gavenny, which flows near its base.
The same view takes in the Hatteril Hills, or Black Mountains, crowned
with Roman encampments; and near which is Oldcastle, once the residence
of Lord Cobham, whose unhappy fate forms a painful page in the national
history. From these hills the Monnow takes its source. Beneath lies the
dark Vale of Ewias; and in its bosom are the ruins of Lanthony, a
Cistercian Abbey of the twelfth century, which forms one of the
illustrated subjects of this work. In the same direction is seen the
Skyrrid Vawr, a lofty hill, seen in a volcanic fissure, which is
supposed to have been thrown open during one of those remote convulsions
of nature, of which in these districts the traces are so distinct and
frequent.
Looking northward, the prominent objects are Campstone Hill, and the
Craig, at the foot of which lie the picturesque remains of Grosmont
Castle, which gives the title of Viscount to the Beaufort family. To
these, but more northward, succeed Garway, Broad Oak, the Skinch-Cwm,
and White Hills, which close the panorama from Raglan Keep.--We have
been thus particular in designating the objects seen from the different
points of view, in order that the tourists who annually visit this
scene, may be in some degree prepared for the enjoyment which it is so
well calculated to afford.
[Illustration: From the top of the Keep.]
Descending from this lofty tower, where on festive occasions the family
ensign still floats, the contrast between the Natural scenery, which has
just faded from the spectator’s eye, and the iron-bound work of Art,
forces itself upon the mind, and elicits a spontaneous burst of
gratitude that, under the protecting banner of the English Constitution,
the peasant is now as safe in his cottage as ever Baron of Raglan was in
his Keep; that at last “right” is a match against “might,” and that the
strong arm of Justice falls with impartial force on the culprit--whether
he be robed in ermine, or clad in hodden grey.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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