Bangor - From 'A Topographical Dictionary of Wales' (1849)
BANGOR, a city, port, parish, and, jointly with Beaumaris, the head of a union, in the hundred of Isgorvai, county of Carnarvon, North Wales, 9 miles (N. E.) from Carnarvon, and 238 (N. W. by W.) from London; containing 7232 inhabitants, of whom 4987 are in the borough. The origin of this small but ancient city is involved in great obscurity. Leland, on the authority of the Chronicle of John Harding, stales that, prior to the establishment of Christianity in Britain, Condage, a prince of the early Britons, erected a temple here, which he dedicated to Minerva. Upon the correctness of this testimony, rests the supposition that the city existed during the continuance of the Roman empire in Britain; but the sole evidence of its having been occupied by the Romans is derived from a hewn block of gritstone, three feet four inches in length, and eighteen inches broad, found at Tŷcôch, two miles distant from the city, bearing a Latin inscription of undoubted antiquity, but which is the only relic of the Romans known to have been discovered in the immediate neighbourhood. At a further distance from the city, at Vaenol, some labourers in 1819 discovered the upper stone of a quern, or handmill, about two feet below the surface, and beneath it a collection of silver Roman coins, with a pair of small antique brass spurs.
The earliest authentic account of the place occurs in the history of the first religious establishment founded here, which, according to some authorities, originated with Deiniol, or Daniel, son of Dynawd, or Dúnothus, abbot of the monastery of Bangor-Iscoed, in the county of Flint; who is said to have built a college for the instruction of youth, and for the support of the clergy, in this part of North Wales, about the year 525. This college continued to be dependent on the parent establishment at BangorIscoed, from which it is supposed to have derived its name, till the year 550, when Maelgwyn Gwynedd, King of North Wales, called by Gildas "Maglocunus," endowed it with lands and divers privileges, and erected it into a see, of which Daniel was consecrated first bishop by Dubricius, Archbishop of Caerlleon-on-Usk. Daniel died about four years after his consecration, and was buried in Ynys Enlli, or Bardsey Isle, at that time the usual place of interment for men of distinguished sanctity. According to other authorities, it appears that Dúnothus, abbot of Bangor-Iscoed, who, in the year 597, headed a deputation of seven bishops and a great number of learned men, to meet St. Augustine, whom Gregory the Great had sent into Britain to propagate the Christian faith, founded a small establishment on or near the site occupied by the present cathedral, as a cell to the abbey of Bangor-Iscoed, and placed in it monks from that institution. This small monastery afterwards became the asylum of the few brethren that escaped the massacre of the monks of BangorIscoed by Ethelfrith, King of Northumberland, who, in 607, advancing to Caerlleon-ar-Ddyvrdwy (now Chester) against the Britons, whose army he defeated in a decisive battle, fell with fury upon the monks of Bangor-Iscoed, then assembled near Caerlleon to assist their countrymen with their prayers, and put about 1150 of them to death. About fifty only saved themselves by flight into the mountains, and afterwards united with the brethren at this place in forming a religious establishment, to which they transferred the name of their ancient monastery, Bancôr, the "chief society," or Bon côr, the "good choir."
Notwithstanding the uncertainty of the original foundation of the religious fraternity at Bangor, it appears that the place was erected into a see about the year 550, and that Deiniol was the first bishop. It continued, no doubt, to be a suffragan bishopric to the archiepiscopal see of Caerlleon, though no regular succession of its bishops is recorded for a space of nearly 300 years. The first of Daniel's successors of whom there is any mention, is Elvod, who, according to the Annales Menevenses, died in 811. The see is said to have been endowed with additional lands by Rhodri Mawr, and also by his son and successor, Anarawd, in gratitude for a victory over the Saxons, on the banks of the Conway. In 925, Sisyllt ab Clydawc gave some lands to the church; and King Athelstan is stated in the archives of the cathedral to have been a benefactor to the see. Mordav, Bishop of Bangor in 940, together with Chebur, Bishop of St. Asaph, accompanied Hywel Dda, King of Wales, to Rome, in order to obtain from the pope a confirmation of that monarch's celebrated code of laws.
In 973, Iago, sovereign of North Wales, having been expelled from his dominions by a rival prince named Howel, applied for assistance to Edgar, King of England, who, desirous of fomenting the quarrel, advanced with an army to Bangor, and compelled Howel to allow him an equal share in the sovereignty. The English monarch, during his continuance in this city, assumed a sovereign authority in Wales. He confirmed the privileges of the see, and augmented its possessions with lands and other gifts, erecting also, on the south side of the cathedral, a church, which he dedicated to St. Mary, and which, according to Browne Willis, was used as a parochial church till the reign of Henry VII. Coins of this king's reign have been recently found near the cathedral. In 1071, the city suffered material injury, and the cathedral was destroyed by an English army that invaded this part of the principality. About the year 1080, Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, in order to assist his descent upon the Isle of Anglesey, and to secure the conquests he had already made in North Wales, erected a castle, about a quarter of a mile south-east of the city, on the ridge of hills which bounds the vale. Of this castle, no particular event is recorded in the history of the principality; probably after the restoration of Grufydd ab Cynan to the throne from which the earl had expelled him, it was either destroyed immediately, or suffered to fall gradually into ruins. The city recovered from its devastation, but the cathedral remained in a ruinous state till 1102, when a synod was held at Westminster, for the reformation of the Church, at which Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, presided, assisted by Girard, Archbishop of York, Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, and others; and at which also Hervé, or Herveus, Bishop of Bangor, the first Welsh prelate that ever attended a council in England, and who had been consecrated in 1093 by Thomas, Archbishop of York, was present. The members of this synod, lamenting the decay of religion in this part of North Wales, which they attributed in a great degree to the destruction of the cathedral, gave large sums of money towards its restoration. Giraldus, who accompanied Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, in his circuit to preach the crusades through Wales, relates in his Itinerary, that they visited the city of Bangor, and were well received by the bishop of that diocese, with whom they remained one night; and that on the following day, after the celebration of mass by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Guianus, Bishop of Bangor, was compelled by his importunity to take the cross, to the infinite regret of all the people.
From this time, Bangor appears to have remained in a flourishing state till the year 1211, when King John, invading North Wales, encamped his forces on the banks of the river Conway, and detached a portion of his army to burn the city. This they accomplished; and, entering the cathedral, they took Robert the bishop (who had succeeded to the see upon the death of the prelate elected in place of Giraldus, who declined the office) from before the high altar, and made him prisoner, but afterwards liberated him, on the payment of a heavy ransom. During this reign, Bangor suffered great devastation in the wars that were carried on between the king and Llewelyn; and in the reign of Henry III., it was dreadfully ravaged by the continual struggles for empire between that monarch and Davydd ab Llewelyn, whom Richard, at that time Bishop of Bangor, and a partisan of the King of England's, excommunicated. In these wars the cathedral was again destroyed, and the bishop, taking refuge in England, was honourably entertained for nearly twenty years in the monastery of St. Alban's.
On the final invasion of Wales by Edward I., the neighbourhood of Bangor became the scene of several engagements, and, in particular, of that disastrous conflict in which fifteen knights, thirty-two esquires, and one thousand soldiers, were slain by the Welsh forces under Richard ab Walwyn, after crossing the Menai strait, at low water, by a bridge of boats. At this time Anian, Bishop of Bangor, being in high favour with Edward, obtained from that monarch the restoration of various endowments, which had been confiscated during the preceding reign, together with many additional grants and extended privileges. He procured a grant of Bangor House, in Shoe-lane, London, as a town residence for the prelates, when attending their duties at court; and for the better maintenance of the episcopal dignity, he obtained by letters-patent from the crown the return of all writs, with all waifs and estrays, in his several manors, and also in the villages of Tregaian, Abydon, and Bôdychan. In 1284, having had the honour of baptizing the young prince Edward, who was born that year at Carnarvon, he received a grant of the two ferries of Porthaethwy and Cadnant, and the manors of Bangor, Castell-Mawr, and Garthgogo in the county of Carnarvon, with the cantred of Trefôs in the Isle of Anglesey; and, two years afterwards, a confirmation to himself and his successors of a third part of the tithes issuing out of the king's demesnes, mills, and lead-mines, in England and Wales. When Edward I. made his extent, or survey, of the revenues of the Prince of Wales, the Bishop of Bangor procured a commission from Chancery, to inquire into the tenures of his see; the survey taken, called the Bishop's Extent Book, is still preserved among the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum. In 1329, Matthew de Englefield obtained for the inhabitants the grant of an annual fair on the eve, day, and morrow of St. Luke, and of another on the eve, day, and morrow of St. Trillo.
In the reign of Henry IV., John Swaffham, having written a book in condemnation of the doctrines of Wickliffe, was advanced to the see, as a recompense for his services. During the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr, Llewelyn Bifort, a Welshman, having been promoted to the bishopric by that chieftain without the sanction either of the king or of the Archbishop of Canterbury, his name appears, in 1406, among the chief persons who were outlawed for the part they took in that rebellion. This prelate was made prisoner, in 1408, by the king's troops, in the battle fought in Yorkshire, in which the Earl of Northumberland was slain; but not having taken any active part in the engagement, or borne arms against his sovereign, his life was spared. The conspiracy excited by Owain Glyndwr against the authority of Henry IV., is said to have been contrived chiefly in the house of David Daron, Dean of Bangor, who was outlawed by that monarch. During this insurrection the city was devastated, and the cathedral destroyed; the latter continued in a state of ruin for nearly ninety years, till Bishop Dean, or Denny, rebuilt the choir, and, on his subsequent translation to the see of Salisbury, left his mitre and crosier, which were of considerable value, to his successor at Bangor, on condition that he should complete those other parts of the building which had been already begun. In the reign of Richard III., Dean Kyfin, who was instituted about the year 1480, was a zealous and active partizan of the Earl of Richmond, the success of whose enterprise he materially contributed to promote, and from whom, after his accession to the throne by the title of Henry VII., he obtained a grant of lands, and permission to endow a chantry in the south transept of the cathedral, at the entrance of which he was interred.
During the civil commotions in the reign of Charles I., the city became the scene of great desolation. The services of the Church were suspended, and the cathedral was used as a stable for the horses of the parliamentarian troops; the monuments, shrines, and other decorations of this venerable structure were defaced and mutilated, and the revenue of the see was alienated and appropriated to the use of the parliament. It was, however, restored to the see after the interregnum; and, in the first of James II., Humphrey Lloyd, bishop of the diocese, obtained an act of parliament for augmenting the revenues of the see, providing for the repair of the cathedral, and the maintenance of the choir. This act annexed to the bishopric the archdeaconries of Bangor and Anglesey, and gave two-thirds of the tithes of the comportionate rectory of Llandinam to the chapter, as trustees, for the support of the choir, and the repair of the fabric. In Bangor originated the celebrated Bangorian controversy, between Dr. Benjamin Hoadley, who presided over the see from 1715 to 1721, when he was translated to Salisbury, and Dr. Thomas Sherlock, who succeeded him in this diocese, and was also translated to Salisbury in the year 1738, on the advancement of Dr. Hoadley to the see of Winchester.
The city is delightfully situated in a vale, bounded on the south by lofty and precipitous rocks, and having at the eastern extremity a fine opening towards the adjacent straits of the Menai, commanding an extensive view of the beautiful bay of Beaumaris, bordered on the opposite side by the rocky shores of Anglesey and the town of Beaumaris. It consists principally of one street, from which others branch off on the north side, and of some smaller streets on the acclivity of an eminence on the south side; with several small streets on the lower ground, near the sea: it is lighted and macadamised. The neighbourhood comprehends a variety of pleasing and picturesque scenery, and in many parts is characterised by features of striking grandeur. At the distance of a few miles, on one side, are the rugged mountains of Snowdonia, and on the other the wide expanse of Beaumaris bay; while in the immediate vicinity of the town are varied walks and rides abounding with objects of romantic interest.
The vast sums expended by government in the improvement of the Holyhead road, and the stupendous works which have been raised in prosecution of that object, together with the more recent opening of the Holyhead railway, have contributed to the importance of the city, and, combining with the natural advantages it possesses, might elevate it to a very prominent rank among the commercial towns of the principality. Bangor, however, which is a member of the port of Beaumaris, carries on little or no trade of importance: coal and the common necessaries of life are the only goods brought to it, and these are landed from the ships upon the coast, and conveyed away in carts at low water, without the aid of quays or wharfs. The coast is accessible to ships of eight hundred tons' burthen, which can enter the bay at any state of the tide; and all vessels, however large, can ride securely in the channel, well sheltered from storms, except in violent easterly gales, to which they are exposed. Steam-packets ply regularly between Bangor and Liverpool. The Bangor slate-quarries are noticed under the head of Llandegai. The market is on Friday, and, during the summer, a market is also held on Tuesday; they are well supplied, but provisions of all kinds are dear. The fairs are on April 5th, June 25th, September 16th, and October 28th. There are also large cattle fairs, called "Borth fairs," held at the Menai bridge, in the parish, on August 26th, September 26th, October 24th, and November 14th, to which a greater number of cattle is brought than to any other fairs in North Wales.
By the act for "Amending the representation of the people in England and Wales," Bangor was constituted one of the six contributory boroughs within the county, which unite in the return of a member to parliament. The right of election is vested in every male person of full age occupying, as owner, or as tenant under the same landlord, a house or other premises of the clear yearly value of not less than ten pounds, provided he be capable of registering as the act directs. The number of tenements of this value within the limits of the borough, which are minutely described in the Appendix, is about one hundred and ninety. The mayor of Carnarvon is the returning officer. A county debt-court is fixed here; it was established in 1847, under the general small-debts' act, and its powers extend over that part of the registration-district of Bangor and Beaumaris which is in the county of Carnarvon. The town-hall and shambles are situated nearly in the centre of the town.
Prior to the Union of England and Ireland, a variety of plans were suggested for conducting the great road from London to Dublin over the Menai strait, in lieu of the ancient ferry; but it was not until the increased communication between the two countries, subsequently to the Union, had invested the subject with much additional importance, that it obtained the consideration of government. In 1801, official instructions were given to Mr. Rennie, to survey the strait, and to propose a plan and estimate for a bridge. That eminent engineer accordingly prepared four designs, two of them for crossing, by means of a cast-iron arch or arches, with others of stone at each extremity, at the rock called Ynys-yMôch, or "Pigs' Island," about one hundred yards from the ferry, where the present suspension bridge has since been erected; and two for crossing at the Swelly rocks, half a mile further southward. But though no objection was offered to the plans, they were not carried into execution; and nothing further was done regarding the measure until the year 1810, when a parliamentary committee was appointed to inquire into the state of the roads from Shrewsbury and Chester to Holyhead. This committee having reported that no injury would result to the navigation of the Menai by the construction of a bridge across that strait, as proposed by Mr. Rennie, notwithstanding the propagation of contrary opinions by meddling or interested persons, instructions were issued from the Treasury to Mr. Telford the engineer, to survey the above-named roads, and to take into consideration the best lines that could be adopted, and the best mode of crossing the strait. Mr. Telford proposed two designs, one applicable to the Swelly rocks, and the other to Ynys-y-Môch. The latter, which was intended to consist of a cast-iron arch, five hundred feet in the span, was accompanied with his decided preference, and both were transmitted by the Lords of the Treasury to the parliamentary committee again appointed, in 1811, to inquire into the state of these roads. Still, although the erection of a bridge on one of the plans furnished by that able engineer was strongly recommended by the committee, no means were then adopted for carrying either into effect.
In 1815, the state of the Irish road through Wales being again brought under the consideration of parliament, an act was passed appointing a commission to direct the accomplishment of the proposed improvements, and authorizing a grant of money from the Treasury. The commissioners appointed Mr. Telford their principal engineer, who, in 1817, was requested to state his opinion regarding the erection of a bridge, on the suspension principle, across the Menai, and, if he deemed it practicable, to prepare a plan and estimate. Early in the following year, therefore, this gentleman presented to the commissioners a report, design, and estimate, fixing upon Ynys-y-Môch as the most proper situation. This is a mass of solid rock, rising steeply from the edge of the water, nearly adjacent to the Anglesey shore, with which it is connected by a narrow reef, dry at low water. The opposite, or Carnarvon shore, is composed of clay, shale, sandstone, &c., lying in strata much resembling coal measures; and rises from the surface of the water perpendicularly to the height of about forty feet, above which the ground still rises to the ridge separating the valley of the strait from that of the city of Bangor. The breadth between the shores, at high water, is three hundred and six yards, and at low water one hundred and sixty. Mr. Telford proposed that the distance between the centres of the supporting pyramids should be five hundred and sixty feet, the roadway to be preserved uniformly one hundred feet above the reach of spring-tides, and the height of the pyramids to be fifty feet above the level of the roadway. The main chains were to be sixteen in number, with a deflection of thirtyseven feet; and their extremities were to be secured in a mass of masonry built over stone arches between each of the supporting piers and the adjacent shore, four on the Anglesey side, and three adjoining the Carnarvonshire shore, each arch to be fifty feet in the span. The roadway was divided into two carriage-ways, each twelve feet wide, with a footpath between them, four feet in width.
This design having been approved of by the commissioners, a report was made to the Lords of the Treasury, which was laid before parliament, and a grant of £20,000 was obtained for commencing operations, which took place in July 1818. In 1819, the commissioners, in spite of considerable opposition, obtained another act of parliament, which not only empowered them to build the bridge, levy tolls, and purchase Bangor ferry, but to make a new road from the bridge across the Isle of Anglesey to Holyhead. The first stone was laid on August 10th, at which period the number of men employed amounted to upwards of two hundred. In the early part of 1821, it was determined, in lieu of securing the chains over stone arches, to carry them through tunnels, and fasten them to the solid rock that lines the shore. This alteration in the original plan allowed the arches to be sprung at the distance of sixty-five feet above high-water mark, those next the main piers being made semicircular, and those towards the land gradually diminishing segments, the crowns of the whole being parallel with the superincumbent roadway. Thus, there is only as much masonry over the arches as is necessary for a proper entablature and cornice; and the small piers being tapered from ten feet to seven and a half in thickness at the spring of the arches, whereby the latter were increased from fifty feet to fifty-two and a half in the span, a greater degree of lightness and elegance has been imparted to the structure. At this period, about four hundred men were employed on the work; and the first cargo of iron-work was delivered on the 3rd of August, the whole having been contracted for to be made of the best hammered iron at Shrewsbury, whence it was conveyed by canal to Chester, and from that port hither by sea.
In 1822, application was made to parliament for an act to extend the period for completing the bridge, which, as stated in the former act, would have expired in July 1823; and the number of workmen, owing to the forwardness of the work, was gradually reduced towards the close of this year. The new act, which received the royal assent on the 7th of July, 1823, besides extending the time for completing the bridge to July 1825, invested the commissioners with additional powers; and the Lords of the Treasury were authorized to issue £108,498 for completing the bridge, and for payment of the sum awarded by a jury for the purchase of Bangor ferry, viz. £26,394. The fixing of the main chains was commenced on October 24th; and, to prevent the roadway sinking in the middle below a horizontal line, by their expansion, it was determined that the roadway and side railing should have a rise of two feet towards the middle: in order, also, that the deflection of the main chains might not be lessened to the same extent, it was resolved to increase the height of the pyramids, so as to make their elevation fifty-two feet above the level of the road under the archways. The last chain was raised on the 9th of July, and the whole having been connected by the end of August, the suspension of the roadway bearers was commenced, and a passable road was formed by the 24th of September, on which day many of the gentry and other inhabitants of the neighbourhood crossed the bridge. The roadway is constructed of deal planks, resting upon sleeping rods, and consists of two carriage-ways, each twelve feet in breadth, with a foot-way, four feet wide, secured by iron railings, running the whole length between them: these roads are formed of two tiers of planks, three inches thick, lying longitudinally, with a third and upper tier placed transversely, and secured at each end by guards of oak, to prevent the carriage-wheels injuring the vertical rods. The bridge was opened on January 30th, 1826; and, as the expense of the work had been defrayed by a loan from the public, the first vehicle allowed to cross it was the London and Holyhead mail, on its way down, about half-past one in the morning. Very soon after its completion the bridge sustained considerable damage from a violent tempest, owing to the motion of the main chains; to remedy which, four sets of transverse braces were introduced between each series of chains, to prevent them from coming closer together. Between each two lines of braces, consisting of cast-iron tubes, is a diagonal lacing of wrought-iron, which, with the tubes and bolts, forms a stiff frame between each series of chains. The reparation of the bridge was considerably retarded by gales during the spring; but the additional securities suggested in consequence of the late storms were carried into effect in the early part of the summer, and have served the intended purpose; this magnificent work having braved, uninjured, the storms of succeeding years.
Another work of extraordinary engineering skill, in the same neighbourhood, and also spanning the Menai Straits, is the Britannia tubular bridge, forming part of the line of the Chester and Holyhead railway. This gigantic piece of mechanism takes its name from a rock in the middle of the straits, called the Britannia rock, upon which the central pier of the bridge is raised. On each side of the central pier is a space of four hundred and sixty feet; then rise two other piers, near the water's edge, one at each side of the straits; and beyond these side piers, at a distance of two hundred and fifty feet, are two walls of enormous bulk. The wall on the Carnarvonshire shore is of inconsiderable length, the adjacent land being high and bold, and the railway passing along its surface to the immediate vicinity of the bridge: the wall on the Anglesey shore, however, forms the commencement of a vast embankment, on which the railway is raised to the bridge level. The two water-spaces of four hundred and sixty feet each, and the two other spaces of two hundred and fifty feet each, are occupied by eight iron tubes, placed in two parallel lines. These tubes are thirty feet high, outside measure, and fourteen feet wide; the weight of each of the four long ones is about one thousand seven hundred tons, and that of each of the four short ones about eight hundred tons, making a total of at least ten thousand tons of iron, exclusively of the iron used in other parts of the bridge. The masonry, it is believed, cost about £200,000, containing a million and a half cubic feet of stone. The three piers are composed of blocks of stone seven and eight feet long; they rise to about two hundred and thirty feet above low-water mark, and their summit is seventy feet higher than the upper surface of the tubes. As ornaments to the walls on the shore are four lions, two at each end of the bridge: these contain about eight thousand cubic feet of stone, and though in a couching posture, their height is twelve feet; the greatest breadth across the body is nine feet, the length twenty-five feet. In the whole, including the piers and the landward buildings, the length of this splendid bridge is one-third of a mile. The engineer to the railway company is Robert Stephenson, Esq., through whose determined perseverance the tubular principle was adopted here and at Conway. In the article on the latter town the invention, and method of construction, of the tube-bridges, are described.
The course of the railway in the vicinity of Bangor is as follows. Leaving the Aber station, which is about five miles east of the city, it is carried over the Ogwen river-valley by two extensive viaducts, thirty-five feet high, consisting of twenty-four arches, and embracing a fine view of Penrhyn Castle, with its park, on the right, and of the Snowdonian mountains on the left. At the west end of what is termed the Ogwen cutting, commences a tunnel of 440 yards, cut through the Llandegai hills; after which, the Cegin river and valley are crossed by a viaduct 200 yards long, elevated sixty-two feet above the level of the stream, and supported on nine arches: to the right is Port-Penrhyn, in the parish of Llandegai. The line again enters into the bowels of the earth through the Bangor tunnel, formed in the rock, at a depth of from 160 to 200 yards, on the south side of the city: this was one of the most laborious works in the whole line, extending 920 yards in length, through slaty rock, and greenstone. Near its extremity is the Bangor station, one of the largest stations on the line, 137 feet long, of beautiful design and admirable proportions, and, like all the other stations, well adapted to the purposes of traffic, and the passengers' convenience: the length of the platform is 260 feet. This station occupies nearly all the space between the Bangor and Belmont tunnels; it stands on an elevation, and commands a good prospect of the city, of the ocean, and Puffin Island. The Belmont tunnel, under what are called the Carnarvon mountains, is 726 yards long, has four shafts, and passes through rock of the same description as that at Bangor. The entrance to each tunnel is in the massive Egyptian style; the roof of each remains in the natural state, unlike the roof of the Llandegai tunnel, which is arched with brick-work. The line soon after reaches the Menai tube-bridge, and passes into Anglesey. A general account of the railway is given under the head of Holyhead. In 1845 an act was passed for the construction of a railway to be called the North Wales Railway, from Bangor, through Carnarvon, to Porth-Dinllaen; but the design has been altogether abandoned.
The see comprises the whole of the Isle of Anglesey; the whole of the county of Carnarvon, with the exception only of three or four parishes in the hundred of Creuddyn; the greater part of the county of Merioneth; and two deaneries in the county of Montgomery. It is divided into the two archdeaconries of Merioneth, and Bangor and Anglesey; the latter until recently comprised two archdeaconries, which were annexed to the see in the 1st of James II. By the act 6th and 7th William IV., c. 77, it was proposed to unite the diocese to that of St. Asaph, on the next avoidance of either; but the union being deemed injurious to the interests of the Church in the principality, the design has been abandoned. The ecclesiastical establishment consists of a bishop, dean, chancellor, treasurer, the two archdeacons, a prebendary or canon, three other canons, two vicars choral, an organist, lay clerks, choristers, and other officers. The chapter is composed of the dean, chancellor, treasurer, archdeacons, and four canons.
The CATHEDRAL CHURCH, dedicated to St. Daniel, and, after repeated demolitions, principally rebuilt and restored by the liberality of Bishops Dean and Skeffington, is a cruciform and embattled structure, chiefly in the later style of English architecture, displaying portions in the early and decorated English styles, with a low massive embattled tower at the west end. Though not remarkable for any richness of embellishment, it has a pleasing symmetry in its proportions, and an appropriate simplicity of character, which are much improved by its situation in a spacious open area, on one side of which is a fine avenue of trees, forming in summer a pleasant promenade. The Interior is extremely well lighted by ranges of six windows, in the later English style; in each of the aisles of the nave and transepts, and at the extremities of the latter, as well as at the east end of the choir, are larger windows of elegant design and lofty dimensions. The nave is one hundred and forty-one feet in length, sixty feet wide, including the aisles, and thirty feet high; the roof is supported by ranges of six obtusely pointed arches, resting on octagonal fluted columns, on square plinths, and ornamented with annular capitals, which separate it from the aisles. Between the eastern extremity of the nave and the choir, and also forming entrances into the transepts, is an area, whose roof, of loftier elevation, is supported by four obtusely pointed arches, resting upon corbel heads, originally intended to sustain a central tower. The choir, which is a well-proportioned Latin cross, is of the same height as the nave, and sixty-three feet in length to the altar-screen, above which rises to the roof the large east window, twenty-seven feet high, and thirteen feet and a half in width: this window was put up about sixty years since. The transepts are ninety-six feet in length, from north to south, and thirty-two feet and a half in width, and are partly in the decorated and partly in the later style of English architecture. The present internal arrangement, which is rendered necessary from the want of a parochial church, differs materially from that of cathedrals in general. The organ-screen is placed across the nave, nearly in the centre, dividing it into two portions, of which the eastern is connected with the choir, and contains the bishop's throne and family pew, and the prebendal stalls, of highly enriched tabernacle-work. The western portion, with the choir and transepts, is regularly pewed and fitted up. This western portion of the nave is appropriated to the performance of morning and evening service, every Sunday, in the Welsh language, according to the usual ceremonies of the Church; in addition to which are two full cathedral services in the choir, performed in the English language. The whole length of the cathedral is 214 feet, and its breadth along the transepts ninety-six feet; the tower is sixty feet high, and, but for the premature death of Bishop Skeffington, would have been raised to the height of 120 feet.
There are few monuments of importance, either for their antiquity or for their architectural character. The tomb of the renowned Grufydd ab Cynan, King of North Wales, on the left side of the altar, was formerly surmounted by a shrine, which was destroyed during the parliamentary war; and under an arch at the south end of the transept is the effigy, in stone, of his successor, Owain Gwynedd, recumbent on a sarcophagus ornamented with a cross fleury. Several of the bishops have been interred in the cathedral, but there is nothing worthy of notice in the small monuments that have been raised to their memory. A gravestone marks the place of interment of William Wynne, M.A., author of a History of Wales, chiefly compiled from the chronicles of Caradoc of Llancarvan.
The north aisle of the choir has been separated from the remainder, to serve the purposes of a chapter-house, consistorial court, and library. In the last is preserved a manuscript of Bishop Anian's, forming a volume of moderate size, entitled Liber Pontificalis Dñi Anniani Bangor Episcopi, containing a missal, which, in addition to the rubric, includes thirty-two offices and numerous anthems set to music for the use of the cathedral of Bangor and other churches. This volume appears to have been drawn up by the bishop about the year 1291, and to have formed one of those provincial diversities in the mode of performing the service of the Church, that were prohibited by the statute of Uniformity, in the preamble of which it is expressly named. During the commotions in the time of Owain Glyndwr, the volume was lost, but it was restored to the church by Bishop Ednam, in 1485. It was again carried away, during the occupation of the cathedral by the parliamentary troops, in the reign of Charles I., but was afterwards recovered by Bishop Humphreys.
The Episcopal Palace, in which Mr. Pennant, in 1770, observes that "the prelate is indifferently lodged," was, after its previous demolitions, almost entirely rebuilt by Bishop Skeffington, in the early p |
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