Carnarvon (Caer-Yn-Arfon) - From 'A Topographical Dictionary of Wales' (1849)
CARNARVON (CAER-YN-ARFON), a sea-port, borough, and market-town (having separate jurisdiction), and the head of a union, in the parish of Llanbeblig, locally in the hundred of Isgorvai, county of Carnarvon, North Wales, 250 miles (N. W. by W.) from London; containing 8001 inhabitants. This place, which is the county town of Carnarvonshire, and may be regarded as the metropolis of North Wales, owes its origin, according to a recent writer, to the Britons, who are thought to have carried on considerable commerce here before the invasion of the Romans. Writers generally have ascribed its origin to the Roman station Segontium, so named from its situation at the mouth of the river Seiont, which, rising in the lake of Llyn Peris, falls into the Menai strait, contiguous to Carnarvon Castle. Segontium was the most important post occupied by the Romans within the limits of North Wales; it communicated with the station Deva, now Chester, by the ancient Watlingstreet, and with South Wales by the road since called the Via Occidentalis. This station is by Nennius, in his catalogue of British cities, called Caer Cystenin, or "the castle of Constantine;" and the writer of the life of Grufydd ab Cynan states that Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, built a castle at Hên Gaer Cystenni, which the Latin translator has rendered "in antiquâ urbe Constantini Imperatoris." From the position of Segontium, opposite to Mona, or Anglesey, it obtained the British name of Caer-yn-Arfon, signifying the stronghold in the county opposite to the isle of Mona; and this appellation, with a very trifling change, was transferred to the present town, which subsequently rose from the ruins, and was partly built with the materials of the ancient city.
After the departure of the Romans from Britain, Segontium was frequently the residence of the British Princes of North Wales, who assumed and exercised supreme authority over the petty states into which the Roman province of Britannia Secunda was now divided. Cadwallon, son of Cadvan, who distinguished himself by his valour in opposing the inroads of the Saxons into North Wales, and who was killed while fighting against them in Northumbria, in the year 676, was the first of those princes that held his court in this place, which was probably selected, on account of the strength of its fortifications and the security of its situation, as a residence for their families, while they themselves were employed in the prosecution of the wars in which they were almost incessantly engaged, not only with the Saxons, but also with the Irish and Picts, and at a later period with the Danes, who were continually making predatory incursions into their territories. Carnarvon continued to be the residence of the native princes till about the year 873, when Roderic the Great transferred, or rather restored, the seat of government to Aberfraw, on the southern shores of the Isle of Mona, or Anglesey, where it had been originally established, in the fourth century, by Caswallon Law Hîr, the first native sovereign, and where it afterwards remained for several centuries.
Soon after the Norman conquest of England, Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, having nearly subdued the whole of North Wales, in which he committed the most frightful ravages, erected several fortresses in different parts of the principality, in order to secure his conquests, and among them a castle at this place. The castle was probably the first building of any importance near the site, and was perhaps the origin of the present town, which, though it is supposed to have been first styled Carnarvon in the time of Edward I., to whom its foundation has been attributed, is mentioned under that name at a much earlier period. Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, having banished his brother Cadwaladr, the latter engaged in his service several Irish chieftains and a large body of troops, and landed at Abermenai, a few miles to the southwest of Carnarvon, where he was opposed by Owain, with a powerful army. On this occasion the two brothers having amicably adjusted their differences, without further recourse to arms, the Irish were so incensed, that they detained Cadwaladr a prisoner, until they received their stipulated remuneration. That prince, however, giving them 2000 head of cattle, was set at liberty; and Owain, being apprised of this, suddenly attacked the Irish, and, having slain great numbers of them, carried off not only the cattle given by Cadwaladr, but other spoils and prisoners captured by them in the adjacent country. Giraldus Cambrensis, who accompanied Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, on his route through Wales, to preach the crusades, in 1188, mentions this place in his Itinerary; and a charter granted by Llewelyn ab Iorwerth to the priory of Penmon is dated from Carnarvon, in the year 1221.
On the conquest of Wales by Edward I., that monarch experienced much difficulty in repressing the free spirit of his new subjects, and in 1283 the Welsh chieftains firmly refused either to yield obedience to him as sovereign, unless he would consent to reside in Wales, or to any other person who was not a native of their country. The English king, with a view to reconcile them to his government, immediately despatched a messenger to his consort Eleanor, at that time near her confinement, requiring her presence at Carnarvon. She forthwith set out, though in the depth of winter, and, performing the journey on horseback, along the almost impassable roads of the country, arrived in safety at the town, which the king himself appears to have entered for the first time on the 1st April, 1284. Here, on the 25th of that month, the queen was delivered of a son, who, from the premature death of his elder brother, succeeded to the throne by the title of Edward II., and from the place of his birth was called Edward of Carnarvon. This prince, immediately after his birth, was presented to the Welsh chieftains, as their future sovereign, by his father, who, while he held the royal infant to the gaze of the Welsh, said in their own language "Eich Dyn," this is your man, which, corrupted to "Ich Dien," is the motto of the Prince of Wales to the present day. Edward I. now commenced the erection of a magnificent castle in this place, to keep the native chieftains in awe, and render himself master of his newly acquired dominions, more especially of the districts in the vicinity of Snowdon, which had been the safe retreat of numbers who set his power at defiance. In this castle, or rather in the portion of it first erected, he placed some troops, while engaged in completing the conquest which he had achieved; and, if not the original founder of the present town, he certainly laid the basis of its subsequent importance and prosperity. The first governor of the fortress was John de Havering, under whom, with a chaplain, surgeon, and smith, was a garrison of forty armed men, of whom fifteen were cross-bowmen, and the remainder performed the duty of watch and ward. The establishment, according to Sir John Doddridge's historical account of North Wales, published about the commencement of the seventeenth century, was afterwards differently constituted, and consisted of a constable of the castle, a captain of the town (whose office was occasionally held with that of constable), twenty-four soldiers, for the safe custody both of the castle and the town, and a porter of the town gates.
This splendid fortress, which for its extent and architectural beauty was the admiration of the country, and of which the remains strikingly display its original grandeur and magnificence, occupies the summit of a compact schistose rock, boldly projecting into the bay of Carnarvon, and bounded on one side by the Menai, on another by the estuary of the Seiont, and on the third, and partly on the fourth, by a creek, or inlet, from the strait. It was commenced in November 1284, and Edward seems to have compelled the native chieftains not only to procure artisans and labourers, but also to contribute large sums of money towards the expenses of its erection, to which also he appropriated the revenues of the archiepiscopal see of York. The walls of the ancient Segontium furnished a portion of the materials; limestone was brought from Anglesey, and breccia, or gritstone, from the vicinity of Vaenol near Bangor, for the conveyance of both which heavy substances the Menai afforded every facility. In the year 1286, some portion of the castle was covered in with lead, and extensive works were carried on in the fosse; the walls round the town, also, were raised in this year. In 1291 the castle seems to have been still in progress.
In the year 1285, Edward, who was then at Bristol, issued from that place a writ tending to conciliate his Welsh subjects, and declaring certain places in the principality, including Carnarvon, to be for ever free from the payment of the tax called talliage. In 1289, Adam de Wetenhall was constable of the castle, which office Edward probably conferred afterwards upon his distinguished favourite, Sir Roger de Puleston, whom, in 1284, he had appointed sheriff and "keeper" of Anglesey, and who resided in a mansion at Carnarvon, called after his name, Plâs Puleston. Sir Roger being commanded, in 1294, to levy a subsidy in certain parts of North Wales, towards defraying the expenses of the war with France, the inhabitants had recourse to arms, to resist this novel imposition, and succeeded in putting that officer to death. The insurgents, headed by Madoc, an illegitimate son of Prince Llewelyn, afterwards made a sudden attack upon Carnarvon, at that time crowded with Englishmen, who had assembled at the great fair held here; and having surprised the castle and the town, they massacred the unarmed and defenceless English, and, plundering the town, set it on fire; nor were they subdued until King Edward himself led an army into the Welsh territory. Madoc's insurrection rendered useless all that had been previously erected of the castle, and the works were commenced afresh, beginning at the north-east angle, whence, proceeding along the southern side, the works were carried on without interruption: the north side is of two or three different ages, the earliest being assignable to some year between the insurrection and 1301. The young prince Edward, in his 16th year, received the homage of his Welsh subjects at Chester, being invested, as symbols of his authority, with a chaplet of gold round his head, and a silver sceptre in his hand. It has been generally supposed that the prince was made Prince of Wales immediately after his birth; but he was not actually elevated to the dignity until the year in which homage was paid to him at Chester. After the accession of this prince to the throne of England, Carnarvon was for a short time the retreat of Piers Gaveston, the imperious favourite of that monarch, who landed here on his return from Ireland, whither he had been banished. The Eagle tower of the castle was the work of Edward II.; it was roofed in the month of November 1316, floored in the course of February 1317, and the eagle placed on the battlements in March: the upper portion of the north side of the castle, the gate of entrance, &c., were finished in 1320; the royal effigy, over the gateway, being fixed there in April of that year. These particulars, together with the dates of the works carried on by the first Edward, were brought forward for the first time by the Rev. C. H. Hartshorne in a valuable paper read by him at the second annual meeting of the Cambrian Archæological Association, which was held at Carnarvon in September 1848.
In 1402, the town was assaulted by the troops of Owain Glyndwr, but was valiantly and successfully defended for Henry IV., by Ievan ab Meredydd, and Meredydd ab Hwlkin Llywd of Glynllivon, to whom, under the command of an English captain, the custody of the castle had been entrusted. So closely was the place besieged on this occasion, that it was found necessary to convey the corpse of Ievan, who died during the siege, by sea, round the peninsular part of the county, for interment at Penmorva. During the parliamentary war, the castle and town, which were garrisoned for the king, were besieged and taken, in 1644, by Captain Swanley, who captured 400 prisoners, and obtained a large quantity of arms, ammunition, and plunder. The royalists, however, recovered possession of the place, and Lord Byron was appointed governor; but in 1646 it was again besieged by the parliamentary forces, under Major-Gen. Mytton, to whom the garrison surrendered on honourable terms. In 1648, Sir John Owen, with a party of royalists, besieged in the town General Mytton and Colonel Mason, who held it for the parliament; but Sir John withdrawing a part of his forces, to intercept Colonels Carter and Twisselton, who had been sent by the parliament to its relief, and were advancing towards Carnarvon, was defeated and taken prisoner near Aber, on the road to Conway. The siege was consequently raised, and soon after the whole of North Wales submitted to the parliament.
The town is delightfully situated at the mouth of the river Seiont, which here falls into the Menai strait, and within four miles of Abermenai, where that strait unites with the sea in St. George's Channel. It is surrounded with lofty and massive walls continued from the castle, which are defended by circular bastions at convenient intervals. On the embattled parapets was formerly a fine walk, carried along the whole circuit of the walls, in which were originally only two gates, both defended by two massive towers; the one on the east, looking towards the mountains, and communicating with the new town by means of a bridge thrown over the moat by which the walls are surrounded; and the other on the west, towards the Menai strait, communicating with the Anglesey ferry. Other entrances have been subsequently opened from the suburbs, and the extensive ranges of new buildings which are situated without the walls. The plan of the town is regular: the streets, though narrow, intersect each other at right angles, and are paved and lighted; the houses are in general neat and well built, and the inhabitants are supplied with water conveyed by pipes from springs and streams close to the town.
The salubrity of the air, the convenience of its situation for sea-bathing, and the beautiful scenery in the neighbourhood, have made Carnarvon the permanent residence of numerous respectable families, and the frequent resort of visiters. There are spacious and elegant baths, built by the Marquess of Anglesey, within the walls, and close upon the shore of the Menai: in this establishment are hot, cold, and shower baths, supplied with sea-water by an engine, and furnished with every requisite appendage, as news-room, museum, billiard-room, &c. The museum comprises a number of coins and other remains found at Segontium, some British antiquities, various curiosities, and specimens of natural history. The town has excellent hotels, and several respectable lodging-houses have been built for the reception of the increasing number of visiters, whom the advantages of its situation, and the many interesting and pleasing excursions which the vicinity affords, attract to this place during the summer season. The suburbs of the town have become interspersed with neat villas and cottages; and under the wall extending from the Eagle tower of the castle, along the shore of the Menai, is a broad terrace, forming a pleasant promenade, and commanding, at high water, a very interesting view of the Isle of Anglesey and St. George's Channel.
The port, which was for a long time merely a creek to that of Beaumaris, but is now independent, carries on an extensive coasting-trade with Liverpool, Bristol, and Dublin. The principal exports are, slates, of which about 30,000 tons are annually shipped from this place, and copper-ore; the principal imports are, timber from the American colonies, and coal and other commodities from the neighbouring coasts: the coal is deposited on wharfs for the supply of the town and the adjacent country. About twenty vessels are employed in the foreign trade, having an aggregate burthen of 1857 tons, and employing 110 men; and in the coasting-trade about 1100 vessels are engaged, of the aggregate burthen of 51,226 tons, navigated by 3500 men. Great quantities of fish are taken off this part of the coast, for the supply of the town and neighbourhood, and the fishery affords employment to a considerable number of the inhabitants. The harbour has been much improved under the provisions of two successive acts of parliament, carried into operation by trustees empowered to levy certain rates and duties on the tonnage of all vessels entering the port. Buoys have been laid down on the bar, to mark the entrance; and a breakwater has been constructed at Llanddwyn Point, seven miles to the north-west, forming a secure station for vessels: to point out these and to facilitate the entrance, two beacons have been erected on the high land at Llanddwyn, in one of which a red light is displayed at night. Very elegant harbour-offices and a machine-house were opened a few years ago, built of chiselled limestone, and ornamented with a handsome clock of superior workmanship; they are situated on the middle of the slatequay, and form a conspicuous object. A station, also, has been established for pilots commissioned by the corporation of the Trinity House, and comfortable residences provided for them at Llanddwyn by the trustees under the act for the improvement of the port, who also pay them an annual stipend for the care and management of a life-boat, the property of the Anglesey Society for preserving Lives from Shipwreck. There is another life-boat stationed at Carnarvon, which was presented to the port by Admiral Crawley. A patent-slip, constructed in the harbour, has been in use for some years, to facilitate the repairing of vessels, and extensive and commodious quays and wharfs have been formed under the provisions of the local acts before noticed. There is a tramroad from the town to the slate-quarries in the Vale of Nantlle, extending for nine miles into the parishes of Llandwrog and Llanllyvni; the slates and copper-ore are conveyed in wagons, and deposited in wharfs built on the banks of the river Seiont. In 1845 an act was passed for the construction of a railway from Bangor, by Carnarvon, and through Llandwrog and Llanllyvni, to Porth-Dinllaen, near the town of Nevin; but this design has been altogether abandoned. The custom-house is situated within the town walls, close to the entrance or gateway called Porth yr aur, or "Golden Gate." The principal market is on Saturday, but others are held almost daily, which are well supplied with provisions of all kinds, particularly with butchers' meat, fish, and vegetables. The fairs, principally for cattle, are on March 12th, May 16th, August 12th, September 20th, and December 5th. A new market-house was built in 1831, at the expense of the corporation, in which corn, poultry, eggs, butter, and light wares are sold: there are also shambles for the sale of butchers' meat.
This town was constituted a free borough by Edward I., in 1284, on his conquest of Wales. The burgesses were allowed by the charter to have a prison for misdemeanants, independently of the sheriff of the county; they were permitted to form a mercantile guild, and were invested with divers privileges. If any villein, or bondman, lived within the precincts of the town for a year and a day, either possessing lands, or paying scot and lot, he could not be reclaimed by his lord, but became enfranchised, and entitled to all the immunities of the borough. The burgesses were exempted, in every part of the kingdom, from the payment of talliage, lastage, passage, murage, pontage, and every other local imposition and tax. Jews were not permitted to reside in the borough; nor could the burgesses be convicted of any crime committed between the rivers Conway and Dovey, which district included nearly the whole of the counties of Carnarvon and Merioneth, except by a jury of their own townsmen.
By the act 5th and 6th of William IV. c. 76, the corporation is styled the "Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses," and consists of a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors, forming the council of the borough, which is divided into two wards, and of which the municipal and parliamentary boundaries are the same. The mayor is elected by the council annually on November 9th, out of the aldermen or councillors; and the aldermen triennially, from among the councillors, or persons qualified as such, one-half going out of office every three years, but being re-eligible: the councillors are chosen annually on November 1st, by and out of the enrolled burgesses, one-third going out of office every year. The aldermen and councillors must have a property qualification of £500, and the mayor one of £1000; or be rated at £15 annual value. Occupiers of houses and shops rated for three years to the relief of the poor are entitled to be burgesses. Two auditors, and two assessors for each ward, are elected annually on March 1st, by and out of the burgesses; and a townclerk, treasurer, and other officers are appointed by the council on the 9th of November.
Carnarvon, with the contributory boroughs of Conway, Criccieth, Nevin, and Pwllheli, to which Bangor was added in 1832, returns one member to parliament. The elective franchise was granted in the 37th of Henry VIII., and the right of election was formerly in the burgesses at large, but is now, by the act passed in 1832, for "Amending the Representation of the People," vested in the old resident burgesses only, if duly registered agreeably to the provisions of the act, and in every male person of full age occupying, either as owner, or as tenant under the same landlord, a house or other premises, of the annual value of not less than £10, provided he be capable of registering as the act directs. The number of voters under the ancient municipal regulations of the borough, at the time of passing the act, was 480; and the number of houses of the yearly value of £10 and upwards, situated within its limits, which comprise from two-thirds to three-fourths of the parish of Llanbeblig, and were not altered by the late Boundary act, is more than 400. There are 427 electors in Carnarvon, including 119 scot and lot voters; and 877 electors in the whole of the boroughs, including 180 scot and lot voters. The mayor of Carnarvon, where the election is always held, is the returning officer.
The corporation, the magistrates of which are four in number, formerly held courts for the trial of all offenders not accused of capital crimes, but have discontinued to exercise that privilege for many years, and prisoners are now committed to the county gaol, for trial at the assizes and general quarter-sessions. Courts leet and baron were also formerly held, as well as a court for the recovery of debts under 40s., of which the jurisdiction was co-extensive with the borough. The assizes and sessions for the county, and the election of a knight of the shire, are held at Carnarvon, as the county town. A county debtcourt is also fixed here; it was established in 1847, under the general small-debts' act, and its powers extend over the registration-district of Carnarvon. The guildhall is composed of two of the ancient towers upon the wall, which have been fitted up and accommodated to the purpose. The county hall is an appropriate building, but not distinguished by any architectural features of importance; and the county prison, and the house of correction, are not entitled to particular notice, either as regards their arrangements or structure.
The chapel, dedicated to St. Mary, and situated within the walls, appears to have been originally erected for the use of the garrison only: it has been elegantly fitted up as a chapel of ease to the parish church, which is about half a mile distant; and contains a beautiful organ, the gift of the Marquess of Anglesey, to whom it was presented by his Majesty George IV. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. The present National school, a large and handsome building, in the outskirts of the town, on the Llanberis road, was erected in 1843, at a cost of nearly £3000, raised by subscription, and by grants from the Committee of Council and the National Society: the rooms are capable of containing more than 1000 boys and girls. In connexion with the school, and superintended by the master of the boys' department, is a Normal school, established in 1846, for training young men as schoolmasters. There is an infants' school in connexion with the Church; a British school is supported by the children's pence, and several Sunday schools are kept in the town. Certain lands and tenements in the parish of Llanrûg, producing annually £58. 9. 10., were bequeathed by John Morris, for apprenticing poor children of the borough, and the parish of Llanrûg. The poor-law union of which this town is the head, was formed June 1st, 1837, and comprises the sixteen parishes and townships of Bettws-Garmon, Clynnog, Llanbeblig, Llanberis, Llandeiniolen, Llandwrog, Llanllyvni, Llanrûg, Llanvagdalen, Llanvair-Isgaer, and Llanwnda, in the county of Carnarvon; and Llangafo, Llangeinwen, Llanidan, Llanvair-y-Cwmmwd, and St. Peter's Newborough, in the county of Anglesey. It is under the superintendence of twenty-seven guardians, and contains a population of 28,511, of whom 25,125 are in Carnarvonshire, and 3386 in Anglesey.
The Roman Segontium occupied a quadrangular area of about seven acres, on the summit of an eminence gradually sloping on every side, and was defended with strong walls of masonry, of which there are extensive portions on the south side in an almost perfect state. A gold coin, inscribed t. divi. avg. fil. avgvstvs., was found within the area of the station, which is intersected by the road from Carnarvon to the parish church of Llanbeblig; and in digging the foundations of Cevn Hendrê, on part of the site, in 1827, several Roman coins and valuable relics were discovered. Among the latter was found a very thin plate of gold, four inches long and one inch broad, inscribed with characters, principally Greek, which, from their form, appear to be of the second century, and by the import of the names and epithets, some of which are Hebrew, shew it to be a Basilidian talisman: after the inscription in Greek letters, follows one in astral or magical characters. The Basilidian heresy, according to Irenæus, prevailed in Gaul immediately after the Apostolic age, and the discovery of this curious relic, which is now in the Carnarvon museum, proves how rapidly that doctrine spread through the remotest provinces of the Roman empire. In the year 1845 and 1846, when a new vicarage-house was being erected on part of the site of the station, some further and very interesting discoveries were made. A suite of apartments was brought to light, supposed to be a villa, or baths; with the foundations, &c., of other buildings; and a singular stone shaft, thought by some to have formed a granary for the use of the garrison. Coins, rings, fibulæ, fragments of inscriptions, pieces of painted stucco, and other relics were also dug up; the coins being of the reigns of Vespasian, Severus, Domitian, Maximianus, Constantine, Carausius, Valens, &c. In 1848, at the time of the meeting of the Cambrian Archæological Association in the town, some other remains were found. A portion of a Roman house, and the internal facing of the Roman wall of the station, were laid bare for the inspection of the members; and a few coins, fragments of Samian ware, some glass, bones, &c., were discovered, comprising, however, nothing different from what had been before met with. Between Segontium and the present town of Carnarvon, on the steep bank of the river Seiont, was an ancient Roman fortress, one of the out-posts belonging to the station. The walls of this out-post, measuring from eleven to twelve feet in height, and six feet in thickness, inclosed a quadrangular area, seventy-four yards in length, and sixty-four in breadth. At one of the angles is (or was) a heap of stones, probably the ruins of a tower, or circular bastion, the base of which was discovered by digging some years ago, and found to contain the horn of a deer, and skeletons of smaller animals. Upon removing the earth, there appeared to have been a similar bastion at each of the angles of the fort, which seems to have been intended to protect the landing from this part of the river at high water. On the opposite side of the Seiont are also vestiges of fortifications, other out-posts connected with the principal station, of which the chief was the strong post called Dinas Dinlle, a British work adopted by the Romans, on the summit of a circular, artificial mount on the shore of the Menai strait, and on the verge of an extensive marsh to the south-west of the present town. Constantius, father of the Emperor Constantine, is said to have been interred at Segontium; and it has also been supposed that Constantine himself resided, or was born, here. The remains of a chapel, founded during the continuance of the Roman empire in Britain, by Helena, mother of Constantine, are said to have been visible little more than a century ago; and a well in the vicinity, which was formerly in repute for the efficacy of its water, still bears the name of that princess. Some, however, contend that clear proof is wanting that either Constantius or Constantine was ever at Segontium; the chapel and well, also, may have derived their names from Helen, daughter of a Duke of Cornwall, and wife of Maximus, first cousin of Constantine.
The remains of the once important castle of Carnarvon occupy a spacious quadrangular area on the west side of the town. The external walls are very extensive, and in many parts almost entire; they are from eight to ten feet in thickness, and within them runs a corridor, forming a communication with every part of the castle, and opening into the numerous towers which at intervals rise from the battlements of the walls to a very considerable height. A portion of this corridor, nearly seventy yards in length, is still entire, and is lighted by narrow apertures, through which arrows might be discharged with security against an assailing enemy. Of the towers, thirteen in number, and from the battlements of which rise slender embattled turrets, some are pentagonal, some hexagonal, and others octagonal. Two are loftier than the rest, and one of these, which is singularly beautiful, is called the Eagle Tower, from the sculptured devices with which it is ornamented, and in particular from an eagle finely sculptured in stone by a Roman artist, and brought from the ancient Segontium: the tower is pentagonal, and surmounted by three slender octagonal embattled turrets. The principal entrance to the castle is on the north side, through a handsome gateway, under a massive tower, the front of which contains a statue of the founder; the gateway was defended by four portcullises, the grooves of which are remaining, and also the ponderous hinges on which the gates were hung. The smaller entrance, called the Queen's Gate, and through which Queen Eleanor is incorrectly supposed to have entered the castle before the birth of Edward II., is on the south-east, and considerably above the level of the ground on the outside; it is defended by two portcullises, and at the time of its erection was probably to be approached only by the drawbridge over the moat. This entrance leads into the Eagle Tower, in a small apartment in which Edward II. is erroneously said to have been born. In the castle area, which was anciently divided into an outer and an inner ward, the buildings are in a less perfect state than might be expected from the external appearance of the castle: many of them are, or, before the recent repairs, were, almost indiscriminate heaps of ruins; and in several of the towers the rooms are merely skeletons of what they were originally. The state apartments appear to have been extensive and commodious:- they were lighted by ranges of windows of elegant design, enriched with tracery; and, from the numerous remains of ornamental detail of beautiful character, seem to have been as well adapted to the purposes of a magnificent palace, as the other parts of the building were to those of an impregnable fortress. The staircase of the Eagle Tower is still entire; and from the summit a wide prospect is obtained over the neighbouring parts of Carnarvonshire and the Isle of Anglesey. The prevailing character of the castle, especially in the state apartments, is the decorated style of English architecture; and in the construction of the towers, and those parts of the building which were intended for defence, a combination of elegance with security, and of ornament with strength, appears to have been pre-eminently regarded. This stupendous and beautiful structure has just been repaired with very good taste and judgment, at an expense, it is understood, of about £2000, by the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Woods and Forests; the architect employed being Anthony Salvin, Esq. The repairs are such as to prevent further decay and danger, and the character of the building as a magnificent ruin has been well preserved. It possesses an air of majestic grandeur, and is a most striking object, towering proudly above the rocks which line the coast, and forming a prominent feature in the scenery of the surrounding district. Carnarvon gives the title of earl to the Herbert family. |
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