Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/505

Rh CARNARVONSHIRE. 495 CARNARVONSHIRE. illed the Tin Oceitlentalis. After the retirement of the iomans, Scyontiiiin was long one of the residences of the rinces of North Wales, who hud another seat at )eganwy on the river Conway. On the death of Rhodri lawr (Roderick tlio Great) about A.D. 880, and the parti- ion of AValos among his three sons, this county, as part f Gwyuedd (North Wales), fell to Anarawd, the eldest. t was invaded and wasted in the following century by ie princes of South Wales, who were, however, defeated car the Conway by the two reigning princes, Icvav nd lago. About the middle of the llth century the axon chief, Harold, was charged by Edward the Con- Vales, in which, with the co-operation of his brother 'ostig, ho acquitted himself with great skill and com- lete success. Later in the same century invasions were iado by the earls of Chester and Shrewsbury. Early a the "l3th century King John, intending to take evengc on Llewellyn ap lorwerth, then Prince of North really from want of supplies, and from the harassing ttacks of the Welsh, he had to retire. John was more successful, when shortly afterwards ho renewed the
 * ssor with the conduct of an expedition against North
 * Vales, led an army into the country ; but after suffering
 * ipt, and compelled Llewellyn to accept peace on dis-

Jvautageous terms. Henry III. invaded North Wales it 1245, and encamped on the Conway; but after .' reduced to great extremities, and losing many of ien, who were killed or captured by the Welsh, he to withdraw, the only success to compensate for his ind Insure being the fortress of Deganwy, which he cded in completely rebuilding. This fortress was subsequently taken and demolished by Prince Llewellyn tp Gruilyd. Edward I. having invaded Wales about 127", Llewellyn was compelled to make peace with him ,ery hard terms ; and the second invasion by the i monarch about 1283 resulted in the death of . ellyn, and the entire conquest of the principality. This achievement was celebrated by a grand tourna- t held at Nevin, and the great castles of Carnarvon i'.d Couway wore immediately founded. A formidable vrection, provoked by a levy of now taxes, broke out iu Carnarvonshire about 1294, when the Welsh, led by i JIadoc, an illegitimate son of Llewellyn, got possession of the town and the castle of Carnarvon, burnt the lurmor, and killed all the English then gathered in great nimihers there. The insurrection was suppressed by Edward himself, who recalled the army on the point of embarking for the French war, and inarched into Wales. The next important event in the history of the county a the siege of the castle of Carnarvon by Owain jtlyndwr at the commencement of the 15th century, and its successful defence for Henry IV. by the Welsh captains to whom, under an English officer, it had been entrusted. This county became the scene of several con- tests during the civil war in the reign of Charles I., Carnarvon and Conway castles being taken by the parliament. From the mouth of the Conway, at the north-eastern extremity of the county, the coast-line has a south-westerly direction, with no great irregu- larity, to Braich-y-Pwll, opposite Bardsey Island, from which point it bends eastward, with several curves, to St. Tudwal's Island, and thence sweeps north-east- ward in a bold curve, forming the northern boundary of Cardigan Bay. The principal promontories along the coast are Great Onne's Head, running out several miles to the N.W. at the mouth of the Conway ; Penmaen- ilawr, about S miles W. of Conway ; Yr Eivl, or Rivcll, a few miles to the N. of Nevin; Braich-y-Pwll at the 'South-western extremity of the county, and Penrhyn and near them, the coast is generally low, a narrow tract of comparatively level ground intervening between the mountains and the sea. Along the northern coast are the f.avan Sands, an extensive tract left dry at low water, .nd supposed to have been formerly an inhabited dis- trict. With the exception of Anglesea, the only islands iff the coast are Bardsey Island and St. Tudwal's. . Carnarvonshire is almost wholly covered with the vast i range of mountains connected with Snowdon, and named from it Snowdonia. It commences on the coast not far from Conway, with the huge headland of Penmaen- Mawr, rising precipitously from the bay of Beaumaris to the height of 1,540 feet, and extends southward with increasing elevation and breadth till it covers the whole county between Denbighshire and the bay of Carnarvon. This range terminates near Nevin, in the lofty irregular mountain mass of Rivell, 1,867 feet above the level of the sea. Snowdonia consists almost entirely of slate-rocks belonging to the Silurian system, and is the principal mountain chain in Wales and in South Britain. The central mountain, from which four main ridges diverge, was named by the Welsh Creiyiait V Eryri, which has been variously translated " eagle-rocks " and " snow- rocks" (Snowdon, or Snawdun). Its highest point is called Yr Wyddva, i.e. the " conspicuous summit," and rises to the height of 3,57 1 feet above the level of the sea. Two other peaks approach this in elevation Carnedd Llewellyn, 3,470 feet in height, and Camedd Davydd, 3,429 feet. Other remarkable summits are Moel Shabod, 2,878 feet high ; Moel Hebog, 2,585 feet ; Clawd Goch, Craig Goch, Glider Vawr, and Glider Vechan ; Bwlch Mawr, 1,673 feet high; and Gyrn Goch. The heights of Penmaen-Mawr and Rivell have been previously given. Valleys of groat depth, and some with very precipitous sides, lie round Snowdon, separating the various ridges. In these valleys or cwms are numerous tarns or mountain lakes, most of them of small size, and formed by the ex- pansion of mountain streams. The principal lakes, or Ifyns, are those of Cwn, Conway, Llanberris, Ogwen, Cawellyn, and Nanlle. Many of them abound in fish of various species, and are remarkable for the fine scenery sur- rounding them. Carnarvonshire has many livers, but the only one of any importance is the Couway. It takes its rise at Llyn Conway, at the S.E. corner of the county, on the edge of Denbighshire and Merionethshire, and after a short curve, first to the N.E. and then to the N.W., runs in a northerly direction past Llanrwst to Conway, where it falls into the bay of Beaumaris. Its entire length is about 30 miles, throughout the greater part of which it is the boundary of Carnarvonshire and Denbighshire. The Conway is navigable to within a short distance of Llanrwst. It is joined by many tributary streams on both sides, amongst which are the Machno, Llygwy, and the Ledan. The Llygwy rises near the Carnedd Davydd, and passing Capel Curig runs over several ledges of rock, and joins the Conway a little above Llanrwst. Other rivers are the Seiont, which falls into the Menai at Carnarvon ; the Ogwen, which falls into the same strait near Bangor ; the Gwrfai, the Ltyfni, and the Glas-Llyn. The latter rises near the centre of Snowdonia, and runs through some of the most wonder- ful scenery in Wales. It has a fine fall not far from its source, forms two beautiful lakes, and after a course southward of about 15 miles, passing Beddgelert, falls into the bay of Cardigan, near Tremadoc. The general characteristic of the scenery of this county is sublimity. But the wild grandeur of the mountains is intermingled with and softened by many a passage of quiet beauty, still lake and shining stream. The shores of the Menai present a succession of diversified and picturesque scenes. Some of the most beautiful landscapes occur in the valley of the Conway. But above all is the view from Yr Wyddfa, the loftiest peak of Snowdon. Besides the vast ridges radiating from it as a centre, -with their intervening m:ms and llyns, and the greater part of North Wales with Anglesea immediately surrounding them, the view embraces the mountains of Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Yorkshire, portions of the Highlands of Scotland, the Irish Sea, with the Isle of Man, and even the moun- tains of Wicklow. It is seldom, however, that the atmosphere is sufficiently clear for the observing of this magnificent panorama. A large part of Snowdonia be- longs to the crown, having been made a royal forest by Edward I. It was disafforested in 1649. The mine- ral productions of Carnarvonshire are various and of considerable importance. Slate is tho prevailing rock throughout the county, and is quarried to a great extent at Llanberis, Llanlyfni, Nantfrancon, and other places.
 * Du, near St. Tudwal's Island. Except at these points