Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/504

Rh ( AKNAUVdN. 491 HIKE. hood of Bangor. In 1'->S4 the birth of Edward II., tin- lii-t 1'iiiii-u of Wales, took place at ' tli"UL'Ii i'."t. a-> tin.- pretty and v< ll-Known tradition igle Te.wcr of the castle-, which was not thru in existence. '1 1 was John il' Havering. An insurrection liroke out in I'J'.M, in which i irritated by the new taxation, and led b i.turod the t.iwn ami castle- of < 'ar- narvon, liunit I < and put to <! ath tin- Knglish inhabitants. The cnstlc was closely invested by ( iwain (ilyndwr in 140L', but was successfully defended for Henry IV. by an English and two Welsh captains left in charge of it. During the civil war of the 17th cen- tury the castle, at first garrisoned for the king, was several times besieged and taken by each party ; at length it was taken and held by tl.- under Gcneiul Mytton in 164(i. The loyalists, xinder Sir John Owen, made an attempt in 1648 to recover possession of it, but without success. The town, which stands on a small peninsula running out into the Mcnai Strait, is defended by strong walls, with numerous circular towers. There were formerly but two entrances, at the E. and W. sides of the town ; but several others now com- municate with the now town grown up outside the walls. The castle stands on the S. side of the town. The streets, though narrow, are regularly planned, in- tersecting each other at right angles. 'The town is well paved and lighted with gas, and contains many well- built houses. For the accommodation of the tourists and visitors who resort to Carnarvon as a watering-place, there are good hotels, reading-rooms, and lodging- houses. There is a pleasant promenade on a terrace extending northward from the castle along the shore of the strait. The town contains a guildhall, county- hall, county-prison, market-house, custom-house, gas and water-works. The principal business of Carnar- von is the trade connected with the port. The num- ber of vessels belonging to it is about 200, and these are chiefly employed in the coasting trade. Pwllhcli, Barmouth, Port Madoc, and Porthdynllacn are subor- dinate ports. The harbour has been improved by the con- struction of a good landing-pier. The exports are slates and copper-ore, the former brought from the quarries of Llanllyfni, which are connected with the town by a railroad. Timber, coal, &c., are imported. Many hands are employed in the fisheries, and some in ship- building. A convenient harbour-office was built in 1840. There is a lighthouse on the breakwater at Llanddwyn Point. A brass and iron foundry, of re- cent establishment, gives employment to some of the people. There is regular communication with Angle- sea by steam-ferry. No important manufactures are carried on in the town. Carnarvon was constituted a free borough by a charter of Edward I. in 1284, and was the first town in Wales to receive that privilege. The government of tho borough, which is divided under the Municipal Act into two wards, is vested in a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 1 8 councillors ; and tho style of the cor- poration is, tho "mayor, bailill's, and burgesses of the town and borough of Carnarvon." Tho elective I'ianeliiso was conferred on tho town by Henry VIII., MIICC which time it has returned one member to tho imperial parlia- ment. Conway. N.vin, Pwllheli, and Bangor are contributory boroughs to Carnarvon. Then of the corporation is about 300 per annum. The 1 nl of Carnarvon is constable of the castle. Carnarvon is tho seat of a Poor-law Union, tho head of a County Court district, the headquarters of the county militia, and a polling-place and place of rice-tie >n fur the county. The assizes and quarter sessions are held here. Tho living is united t" the vie. 1.1 l.'anl.ehlifr, j n tip of Bangor. Tho jvirish church of Llanbeblig stands at a short distance fiom the (own. Tin- chureh i-arrisem chapel. There is also a new 1 nrist Church, which stands near ilway stall :ire chapels belonging to tho I i '.Ivinintic and Weslevan |uities, and a ine-e-hanics' institute and i rooms in- 'iits. for tl about 70 per annum. Portions of the old wall Konian city still exist, and : have been found on its site. Traces also of s> or outposts to Stgimtium, are seen in tin One of these forts, on the banks of tin Niont, j ( j n ncarl-. A chap--] i, iai-1 t,, bare been founded here b i-eror '.inline, and her name is still attaehed to a wefl. Stgontium covered an area of above six ae res, and wm oblong in form. Tho antiquities di.-eou-nel he-ru arc deposited in the Carnarvon Museum. 'Jin the noble castle arc extensive, and cover a quadrangular space of nearly tiroo acres. The outer w:. to 10 feet in thickness, are nearly j along them 13 towers, or circular baitions, of five, six, or eight sides. One of the lotti that - Kaglo Tower. It is a pci mounted by turrets at throe of its angles, and ta, name from the finely sculptured figure of an. adorns it. This tower is entered by tin- V other and chief - -.- on the N. side, under a I- .WIT which has i its front a statue of Edward I., and by Queen I -'.I. .inr which looks northward, and was d< portcullises. Tho enclosure originally formed t ills were repaired not many years ago, but interior buildings arc mostly in a state of dc< ancient].!! .still lorms a grand fe scene. (Saturday is tho market day. Annual fairs are held on the loth April, the llrd June, the Mth July, the I'Jth August, tho 9th September, the !Uh October, ad the 14th November. A regatta takes place ge n. rally in August CARNAllVONSIIIKi:, or < AKKNA l; 1 1.> I a maritime co. of North Wales, i i ine ipality, and 1 tho sea, on the- K. by the- co. of iKi.b:..-' tho co. of Merioneth and tho bay of Cardigoi tho W. by tho sea and tho Mcnai Si i ;- it, by tl v.hich it is separated from the Isle of Angli county is irregular in form, extending in '. Orme's Head on the N.E. to Braich-y- i about 65 miles ; and in breadth from 1 von in a south-easterly direction, 22 miles ; bu; greater part of tho county is much narrower. ! 150 miles in circuit, and has a coast-line of abor. 90 miles. isos an area of i>, niflei or about 370,273 acres. The county is situated and 63 22'N.lat, and 1 etwee n :i" 40 W. long. Carnarvonshire derives its n a, the ancient British el- city of Ktgonliuin, and signifying " tin country next Mona" (Anglcsea). Its early history ii most intimately connected with its physical charMMK its impe ni tnible mountain i> i iln- stout resi-- tunes by the early occupants of tin-. f Romans, Saxons, and Normans. probable that this district was part of the tern tory of the British tribe called tho Or<! some in- ; I'migi. ]t year A.II. M that the Romans first ni.i iiarter, on occasion of tho great alt HIS Paulinus, but the district was no p el'till about twenty years Inter. It wa- di vision of the island nameel A'ni'nmiia i^^^HJ iinel in that distiie-t e.fit calleel - Tworfggl 10 established in ty He fault* close to the present town of Carnarvon, and < .way. The- We-lsh name- of the- former is Our that of the latt. > Those 1 by a road branching off from Street, and passing through tie county of I Seyontium was also tho terminus of tho great ro*