Not long afterwards they were given to Edward Fitz Alan, Earl of Arundel, and from him they seem to have followed the succession of the lords of Bromfield.* In 1390, Castell Dinas Bran was the habitation of Myfanwy Vechan, a very beautiful and accomplished female, a descendant of the house of Tudor Trevor. She was beloved by Howel ap Einion Lygliw, a Welsh bard, who addressed to her an ode full of sweetness and beauty.† At what period the castle was demolished we have no information. Churchyard, who visited it in the sixteenth century, calls it "an old and ruinous thing." About a mile from Llangollen, on the road to Ruthin, commences the charmingly secluded VALE OF CRUCIS. It is surrounded by high mountains and abrupt rocks, the lower parts of which are in many places clad with wood and verdure. In this vale are seated the venerable ruins of Llan Egwest, or Valle Crucis Abbey, and at a little distance from the road the fine gothic west end, embowered in trees and backed by the mountain on whose summit stand the shattered remains of Castell Dinas Bran, forms a beautiful feature in this delightful scene. VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY Is a grand and majestic ruin, affording some elegant specimens of the pointed style of architecture. Miss Seward has addressed this abbey in language finely poetical and descriptive : "Say ivy'd Valle Crucis time decay'd, Dim on the brink of Deva's wandering flood, * See the Account of Holt Castle, given in an ensuing chapter. VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY. Your riv'd arch glimmering thro' the tangled glade, And desolately great the rising sigh command." 33 ; There are still remaining of the church the east and west ends, and the south transept. In the west end there is an arched doorway, that has been highly and very beautifully ornamented; over this, in a round arch, there have been three lancet windows; and above these a circular or marigold one, with eight divisions. The east end, from its style of architecture, appears of higher antiquity than the other and its three long, narrow and pointed windows gives it a heavy appearance. The cloister on the south side, which a century ago was only a shell, is now converted into a dwelling-house, the residence of the person who farms the adjacent land. Three rows of groined arches, on single round pillars, support what once was the dormitory. Part of a chimney-piece in one of the bed-chambers is a relict of a sepulchral monument. The ornaments to the pillars and arches are of freestone, and many of them are perfectly fresh and beautiful. The area of the church is overgrown with tall ash trees, which hide from the sight some parts of the ruins, but contribute greatly to its picturesque beauty. "I do love these auncient ruynes, Who lov'd the church so well and gave so largely to't, Till dombesday; but all things have their end; Churches and cities (which have diseases like to men) D "This sober shade Lets fall a serious gloom upon the mind, That checks but not appals. Such are the haunts Whose tender eye bears not the blaze of day." Valle Crucis was a house of Cistertian monks dedicated to the Virgin Mother. It was indebted for its foundation, about the year 1200, to Madoc ap Griffith, a prince of Powis, who, after various successes and acquiring much booty by the reduction and ruin of English castles, dedicated a portion of his plunder to the service of religion! He was interred here. At the Dissolution the revenues appear to have amounted to £200 per annum. The following singular passage is from Mr. Grose's Work on the Antiquities of Great Britain. It contains the explanation, by Mr. Griffiths, of an inscription found on the ruins, and is an exceedingly good specimen of antiquarian ipse dixit. "Most of these houses were founded by an injunction from the popes, by way of penance, upon some great lords of those times, for what the holy church judged infringements on her prerogative; or for some crime which those fathers of the church knew full well how to avail themselves of. Taking the matter in this light, and from the Welsh name of the place, the inscription upon the ruins will be intelligible. The characters are Maso-gothic and Francotheotiscan mixt MD H OO HR BMSPOE ach O a PO u S PRO BHQV OES CM G RQO. The first double letters I take to be MAD, or Madocus; H, hoc; OO, monasterium; HR, honori; B, Beata; M, Mariæ; S, sanctæ; P, pœnitens; OE, Edificavit; ac, et; h☺, hoc; a P, appropriavit; O u S, opus; PRO, pro; B. bono; HQV, hospitioque; OES, ejusdem; CM, centum marcas; GR, gratis; Q, quoque; O, ordinavit. In Eng lish-Madoc, a penitent, erected this monastery to the honour of the blessed and holy Virgin, and appropriated for this work, and for the better maintenance thereof, an hundred marks, which he freely settled on them!" PILLAR OF ELISEG. The vale of Crucis is indebted for its name to this cross or pillar,* which is to be found in a meadow near the abbey. This pillar is very ancient, it appears to have been erected upwards of a thousand years ago in memory of Eliseg, (the father of Brochwel Yscithroc, prince of Powis, who was slain at the battle of Chester in 607,) by Concenn, or Congen, his great grandson. The inscription is not at present legible. The shaft was once above twelve feet long, but having been thrown down and broken some time during the civil wars, its upper part only, about seven feet in length, was left. After these commotions it was suffered to be neglected for more than a century. At length, in 1779, Mr. Lloyd of Trevor Hall caused this part of it to be raised from the rubbish with which it was covered, and placed once again on its pedestal. * Buck says that the vale took its name from the circumstance of the abbey having possessed a piece of the true cross. This, we are informed, was given to Edward I., who, in return for so valuable a present, granted to the abbey several immunities.-Buck's Antiquities, Matt. Westm. 371. + Mr. Edward Lhwyd copied it when in a more perfect state.--See Gough's Camden, ii. 582. CHAPTER III. LLANGOLLEN TO CAPEL CURIG, (37 Miles.) The Vale of the Dee-Owen Glyndwr's Palace-Owen Glyndwr—Corwen-Cefyn Creini-Pont y Glyn or Pont Diffwys-Cerig y Druidion -Cernioge Mawr-Scenery at 48th and 47th Milestones from Holyhead-Waterloo Bridge-Bettws y Coed-Pont y Pair-Rhaiadr y Wennol-Capel Curig-Moel Shiabod-Dolwyddelan Castle-Dolwyddelan―Penmachno-Yspytty Evan-Ascent of Snowdon. THE VALE OF THE DEE. ALL the country betwixt Llangollen and Corwen is exceedingly beautiful. The road extends along the vale of the Dee, Glyn Dyfrdwy, celebrated as having been, some centuries ago, the property of the Welsh hero, Owen Glyndwr. The mountains are high, and their features bold and prominent. Owing to the windings of the river, and the turnings of the vale, almost every step presents a new landscape. But the most lovely scenery between Llangollen and Corwen is that surrounding Llandysillio Hall. This hall was formerly the family seat of the Jones's, but the last proprietor having died intestate, the property has fallen into the hands of some ladies who are his coheirs; it is seated on a woody flat, near the opposite edge of the Dee, and from its situation in the bosom of the mountains, secluded as it is from the world, appears to be a most charming retreat. |