YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
DH1N
ram
YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
LOUIS M. RABINOWITZ
AN ACCOUNT
OF THE
antr SCoimt
OF
EUTHIN.
SECOND EDITION.
Utogal Vix\axi&$xm\
PRINTED BY ROBERT JONES, RUTHIN.
MDCCCXXXVI.
TO
THE MEMBERS
flitmtg Society of 2Sut!)iu,
THIS ACCOUNT
THEIR TOWN AND CASTLE,
IS DEDICATED,
BY THEIR OBLIGED AND FAITHFUL SERVANT,
RICHARD NEWCOME.
Cloisters, Ruthin,
March 1st, 1829,
RlTHl.N CASTLE.
/>'/V7n a V/'a-uu/tgr in '//?/" JTusertm.
/W n
J btlt11■'r. Hfkotr, L,
awrasmif ©ASSfttBo
Ruthin CASTLE was founded in
the year 1281, by Edward I. King of
England, the year before his final success
in the conquest of the Principality, on the
death of Llewelyn ab Griffith, and consti¬
tuted one of those fortresses erected to
over-awe the ancient British, and secure
his attack and possession of their country.
He bestowed it on Reginald de Grey, son
of John de Grey, justiciary of Chester, to¬
gether with the lordship of Dyffryn Clwyd,
for which homage was dqne at Chester in
the year 1301, to Edward II. then Prince of
Wales. At the same time Reginald de
Grey obtained the lordships of Maes-
6
mynan, Penbedw, and Blowite, as depen¬
dencies on the Castle, to which were added
the lands of Wenchal, or Gwenllian de
Lacy. Reginald de Grey was of the house
of Grey de Wilton, and a descendant of one
of those Norman adventurers who arrived
in England with William the Conqueror,
and were engaged in incessant aggression
on the territories of the Principality, since
the subjugation of England. How well
this petty tyrant fulfilled this service,
appears from documents of those times.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, John
Peckham, in a true christian spirit, made a
journey into Wales, to mediate, if possible,
between Edward and Llewelyn, to whom
the latter delivered in writing, a long
and dismal catalogue of his complaints.
Among these no name occupies so signal a
place as that of this Reginald de Grey. It
occurs not less than sixteen times; and he
7
is accused of introducing new and op¬
pressive customs in the Cantrefs of Rhos,
Rhyfoniog, Dyffryn Clwyd, and Tegain-
gle, which had been made subject to the
jurisdiction of the justiciary of Chester.
He is also charged with rapacity, and of
abusing the King's power in setting lands
to farm; of depriving officers of places
they had purchased, and commissions
granted them by the King; of threatening
to imprison any who dared to complain of
his conduct; of refusing justice; of re¬
voking the most just sentences when they
opposed his own interest; of granting land,
not his own, and contrary to the laws of
Wales,* to the Abbey of Basingwerk (a
foundation of the Norman Earl of Chester);
* It is observable, that in the laws of Howel dda is one a-
gainst mortmain, restraining grants of lands to the church with¬
out the concurrence of the crown. Edward I. has the credit
of this wise provision; but he derived this wisdom from Wales.
8
and finally, of compelling the country
people to plough his land without wages.
In short,
" Dress'd in a little brief authority,
" Play'd such oppressive deeds before the sun
"As make the Angels weep!"
All this was done contrary to the articles
of peace with Llewelyn. The territories
in which this game was played had been
conquered by Henry II. in 1247, resumed
by Prince Llewelyn during his final strug¬
gle, and recovered by Edward I. on terms
which were thus tyrannically infringed
by Grey.
e.-
The Lords of Ruthin Castle are generally
included with those who are denominated
the Lords Marchers of Wales, who enjoy¬
ed very extensive powers and privileges;
but whether they really were such seems
doubtful. Their origin is as follows:—
9
The Kings of England, finding it difficult
to subdue the Principality by one great ar¬
ray, made arbitrary grants, from time to
time, to Lords and other great men of
England, of such districts in Wales as they
could win from the right possessors. Such
acquisitions were held to the conquerors
and their heirs for ever, of the Kings of
England, as lands purchased by conquest.
The same policy was pursued with respect
to the borders or marches of Scotland. In
order to secure their authority, the Lords
Marchers were permitted to assume such
prerogatives and authority as were expe¬
dient for the quiet government of their ter¬
ritories ; but no charters of these rights
were, for obvious reasons, ever given. As
the Kings had, of course, no sheriffs to exe¬
cute their writs in these parts, the Lords
Marchers executed them in their own
name, and the Kings permitted this for a
B
10
time. The Lords Marchers also seized 011
the goods of their tenants who died intes¬
tate. Such infringements on the power of
the crown originated in the nature and
necessity of the case, but being once ac¬
quired, were continued to such as enjoyed
them for a great length of time, even after
Edward I. had given laws to Wales. No
new Lords Marchers were created after
that event; but as the territory of Dyffry 11
Clwyd had been acquired immediately by
the King himself before that event, and the
building of Ruthin Castle commenced, it
is nearly certain that the powers of a Lord
Marcher could never have been exercised
by the Lord on whom this Castle was be¬
stowed. The first Lord Grey and his
descendants assumed the right of grant¬
ing charters to the town, but not one of
them are acknowledged or even referred
to in the charter 23 Hen. VII. 1-508,
11
after his purchase of the Lordship which
confirms the above supposition. Nor are
these Grey Charters to be found among
the Public Records. That they once ex¬
isted appears from antient Entries in the
Corporation Books.
There, probably, was, as Warrington
thinks, an ancient Town and Castle at
Ruthin before the present. An antient
MS. is said to give the more ancient Castle
the name of Erw trwm lwyth, i. e. the
Acre with a heavy load on it, a name des¬
criptive of the building it supported. It,
probably, was a heavy-looking square or
round tower, such as were the Castles in
England and Wales, and Duns in Scotland,
built by the ancient inhabitants. They
were rather places of retreat in times of
emergency, than permanent residences
such as the Norman race erected. These
b 2
12
more ancient towers, it is thought some¬
times appear in the Norman Castles, and
when this is the case, they must have been
adopted into his plan by the reported
founder of the Castle in general. Such
was the case, as is said on good authority,
at Cricceith, Hawarden, and many other
places. Such tower is generally included
in what was called the Keep, which was
the most impregnable part, and the resi¬
dence of the Baron, from which circum¬
stance it derived its name. The original
name of Ruthin Castle granted to de Grey
was Castell coch yn Gwern-f6r, so called
from the red colour of its exterior masonry;
and it is observable that a portion of land
contiguous is still called Gwern-for, im¬
plying a tradition that it was once covered
by the sea. But, perhaps the word for,
may mean Fawr, or the great Morass, as
a contiguous district is still called Gwern-
13
fechan, or the small ditto. The name of
Ruthin is, probably, Rhudden, Red Earth,
which is quite descriptive of its soil, and
not Rhuddinas, as sometimes asserted.
Llanrhudd, the name of the parish, is the
original church of this red tract of land.
More properly it should be Llanrhudden.
On investigating the present ruins,
much of which have been lately brought to
light at the expence of their present pos¬
sessor, it is no difficult matter to conj ecture
what must have been the appearance of
this Castle in the days of its grandeur.
It consisted, as its present appearance
shews, of a larger and smaller court,
standing east and west of each other, and
separated by a deep dry Foss cut through
the red stone rock. Old Churchyard
begins his description as follows:
14
"This Castle stands on rock much like red brick,
" The Dykes are cut with toole thro' stonye cragge."
Over this dry ditch was a wooden bridge
of communication, by means of which the
garrison commanded a retreat if either
court were surprized, on which emergency
this bridge could readily be cut away.
The larger or Entrance court, usually
called the Ballium,* was pentagonal, or
live sided, and contains an area of about
.'300 feet. The eastern part of this court
had two sides meeting in an obtuse angle.
The remaining three sides were at right
angles to each other. In the south¬
eastern side of this projection was the
great gate of entrance, flanked by two
* From Bailie Fr: from Bataglia which is base or low Latin,
and means an Entrenchment—un retrenchment on batalloit,
(Grose). The Lord's Bailiff held his court here, and thence
derived his name, or vice versa. To put in bail then means, in
fact, to put in something instead of being taken into the cus¬
tody of the Bailiff.
15
towers of a round form to the exterior and
square to the court within. Under these,
and extending to the north-east, are vaults
and long passages, which were used for
prisons and cellars. Probably more w ould
be found if an excavation were made. In
the centre of this court is the garrison well,
60 feet deep, cut through the red free stone
on which the Castle is founded, and with
which its exterior is cased. A small cylin¬
drical shaft adjoins and touches that of
the larger well, the use of which is not very
apparent. Perhaps its use was merely
to add to the expedition of drawing water;
or a weight may have descended in it to
increase the power of raising the bucket
of the larger well. We may also suppose
that, the large shaft being above the
power of a single man, this small one
was added, to be worked as a mode of
solitary punishment.
16
On the north side was the Baronial Hall,
where the Lordship Court might have
been held. Here too, the Lord of the
Castle, or his Steward, sat occasionally,
decreeing summary justice, or for the
more acceptable purpose of feasting his
superior officers and inferior retainers.
This hall we may imagine decorated with
banners, coatarmour, casques, battleaxes,
spears, bows and arrows, suspended in
trophies on its walls. In later times, we
may imagine pictures of martial chiefs,
and fire arms, to be added. The western
extremity may have been furnished with
a huge oaken table raised on a dais, where
the Baron himself sat at the board with
a select few, while inferior persons re¬
galed themselves at the tables in the lower
part of the hall. Adjoining to this end of
the hall, and communicating with the
chapel on the west side of the court, where
17
rooms, or parlours, to which he retired,
and, with their appartments above, were
his usual residence. In short, the ar¬
rangements, divested of their military
look, were similar to those of our colleges
in the Universities, as they exist to this
day. The foundation stones of these
rooms lately appeared on clearing away
the soil. There were five great embattled
round towers in this court, besides the
smaller ones at the gate of entrance, one
at each angle, which were connected by
a gallery running between a double wall,
above and below, on which the guards
plied their work of keeping watch, or
assaulting the enemy outside, with arrows
and other missiles, through the loop holes
or over the battlements.
" It shews within, by double walls and waies,
" A deep devise did first erect the same."
Churchyard.
Sloping down towards the court from this
c
18
running platform or way, were the roofs
of sheds and buildings which the inferior
soldiers inhabited, and were used in
part for other purposes of economy.
Such was the eastern court, or ballium.
The western court before-mentioned, as
connected with this by the wooden draw¬
bridge, was used for inferior purposes.
A fragment of an ancient MS. among the
papers of the late eminent antient Bri¬
tish Antiquary the Rev. John Lloyd, of
Caerwys, which describes the Castle in
its later days, harmonizes with the pre¬
sent appearance of the ruins. It calls it
"A fa ire lardge rome castel-like, encom¬
passed with a strong wale, having a great
towre wherein ys a gate, the waye beinge
oute thereof to the ulter mote, in which
rome are two greate and lardge howses,
sometymes used for barnes and stables,
built with tymber and covered with
19
slattes, and underneath the one of them
a rome for twenty greate horses with
bayes made of stones, these romes beinge
beneathe and under grownde. The same
romes servith for the ulter warde of the
Castle, beinge far gone in dekaye, the
Castle being built of redde asheler stones
the same beinge imbattled, the walle
mowche in dekaye."
This description seems not quite cor¬
rect, for the way into the ulter or outward
mote was not, apparently, from this rome
or space, but from the inward or middle
dry mote or foss between the two courts.
Nor does it notice that there are tivo ways
into the outward mote, one at the north
and the other at the south end of the
middle mote. The stables which are here
described as under-ground, must have
been the large square recess which ap-
c 2
20
pears near the portcullis at the northern
end of this dry mote. Over this recess
must have been the timber building men¬
tioned in the document, containing hay
and provender for the horses and cattle,
which were drawn in at the south end of
the middle mote, and pitched from below
into the timber building above the stables.
The archway at the northern extremity
was a portcullis, to which was attached
a draw-bridge reaching over the outward
mote. Above this arch are visible the
remains of a turret supported bracket-
wise and projecting on each side of the
wall above, in which the work of raising
and letting down the grate of the port¬
cullis was performed. A round mound of
earth opposite this arch on the furthest
side of the mote, may have supported
some kind of stone work, for receiving the
draw-bridge. It may indeed have been
til
what was called the Barbican, which was
an out-work in form of a gateway, flanked
by two towers, and connected with an
entrance to the Castle by a draw-bridge
over the outward mote. Its purpose was
to overlook the Town below. From this
reason, as some fancy, it took its name,
quasi " Burg I ken." This is far fetched,
yet those who object to this etymology
fetch it from far also, and say it is an
Eastern word, that the Saracens were
the original inventors of such appendages,
from whom the Crusaders imported them
into European fortresses. By means of
these two entrances at both extremities of
the middle foss, was obtained a nearer
communication between the opposite sides
of the Castle. Through the arch of the
portcullis corn may have been conveyed
to and returned from the mill below.
The Caenvys MS. just quoted, goes on
'22
to say that there was a garden attached
to the Castle, but on which side it does
not explain. It is very probable that it
was on its south-eastern side, where at
a short distance, are fields still called
Perllan yr Argiwydd, or the Lord's Or¬
chard, and Llyn yr Argiwydd, his Fish¬
pond. A path, which nearly coincides at
present with the Corwen road, is called
Lord Grey's Walk. He had also a deer
park, which is now the demesne land of
Bathafarn, and for this reason, perhaps,
still exempt from payment of tythe, and
also extensive forests, over which he pur¬
sued the sports of the chase. This forest
is described as spreading over certain
mountains "wherein sometyme doth lie
both redde and fallow deere, over whych
mountaines doth growe by estimation
thousands of oaks, worth to be sold a
hundred marks sterling. There are also
•23
within the said lordship certain pastures
and tillage grounds called Parkes, which
are farmed to divers people at yearly
rents." It proceeds to say, that the Lords
of the Castle had the tolls of faires held
in Ruthin on the feasts of Saint Matthew,
Pentecost, and Allhallows, and of the
markets held every Monday and Friday,
worth yearly twenty marks."
As it is conjectured that a fortified post
stood here before the Norman Castle was
built on its site, so is it as probable there
was also a Town adjoining, some cen¬
turies before the arrival of Lord Grey; for
ancient accounts speak of a feat of the re¬
nowned King Arthur performed in Ruthin,
w here a rude block of lime-stone, called
M aen Huail, is still shewn, on which that
Prince beheaded a rival of the name of
Huail, son of Caw of Edernion, and
21
brother of Gildas the historian. Perhaps
the former inhabitants were displaeed to
make way for the English retainers of the
Castle, a tyranny of which its founder
was fully capable. He either made an
addition to the Town immediately con¬
tiguous to his Castle, which he surrounded
with a wall, or threw that fence round the
ancient one for the protection of his fol¬
lowers, to whom he himself granted a
charter of incorporation, from the privi¬
leges of which the natives were excluded,
for it was not till the reign of Henry VI[,
who was of ancient British extraction,
that all oppressive laws of exclusion were
repealed. A small vestige of this wall is
still observable near the mill and bridge.
In the same place, about thirty years
ago, the ruins of a magnificent arch called
Porth-y-Dwr, or the Water-Gate, were
demolished to make way for the bridge
25
adjoining the county gaol. This suppo¬
sition of the Town having been walled in
is corroborated by a tradition hereafter to
be noticed, which speaks of the "Gates
of the Town." They are not however to
be traced at present except perhaps in
this place, and it is likely the fortification
was confined to the low ground under the
Castle comprehending only the present
Clwyd-Street. That quarter now called
Borthyn derived its name certainly from
this gate, and may mean what we now
denominate suburbs. The topography of
the Town must not be quitted without
noticing the Mill, which is very ancient,
and in one respect curious. In the mid¬
dle of its eastern gable appears a red stone
cross standing on the point of the old ga¬
ble, which leads us to conjecture that this
was formerly a religious edifice, perhaps
the garrison chapel before that within the
D
<26
Castle court was erected; unless, indeed,
this emblem was introduced to give a
sanctity and secure the necessary appen¬
dage of a Mill from a besieging enemy.
Lei and speaks of White Friars* having,
in remote times, been established here,
and their chapel might have been con¬
verted into the mill when John Grey built
the collegiate and parochial church. Nor
must we omit to notice the mansion of an
ancient family, now extinct, of Moyle or
Mule, in the precincts of the mill and
adjoining Porth-y-Dwr. The patriarch of
this family may have been one of De
Grey's Anglo-Norman settlers, and de¬
rived his name, not from the British word
moel, bald, but de Mola, as being once
* To these Friars we may attribute the reputed sanctity of
St. Peter's well near the Town. But if St. Peter was not the
patron of the place before the present church was built, this
consecration of the well must have been later.
27
the miller of the garrison and Town.
When the Castle was destroyed, the family
may have kept possession of its long-
enjoyed abode. This is, however, mere
conjecture. A family of the same name
is mentioned by Fenton in his History of
Pembrokeshire, which had always been
supposed to be Norman, though he is of
a different opinion and makes it purely
British, descended from the tribe of
Gwynfardd Dyfed.*
Having now established this potent
* The family of Towerbridge, now extinct, of Plas Tower-
bridge, which is said to have been introduced by Earl Lacy at
Denbigh, must have derived its name as well as its armorial
bearings, a tower and bridge, from having had the custody of
those appendages to a fortress. In a pedigree of Parry of
Llanbedr, Plas Towerbridge is called Plas Sion Grey, which
seems to connect this family rather with Ruthin Castle than
Denbigh. Walter Ward, or Cook, of Plas-y- ward, near Ruthin,
whose heiress carried the estate to the Thelwalls, was perhaps
the Wardour of the Castle, if indeed he did not occupy the
still humbler office of its Cook.
D 2
28
Lord in his dominion, and attempted a
description of his strong hold, the subject
leads to the history of events with which
it stands connected; but this is quite
barren for a whole century, except that it
sent in the year 1309, to the array against
Scotland, 200 men. Sixteen years after,
to the army for the Duchy of Aquitaine,
it sent 3 men at arms and 30 foot. To the
French war, in 1338, it furnished 60 men,
and five years after, it sent to recruit the
same army 166 men.—[jRymers Feeder a.]
Nothing of an interesting nature occurs
till the memorable sera of Glyndwr's
Rebellion in 1400. From the final attack
of Edward I. to this period, with the ex¬
ception of Griffith Llwyd, who gathered
together a number of his countrymen and
attacked Mold and Chirk Castles, but
was soon quelled, the ancient British
preserved inviolate their subjection to
29
England. There are therefore no attacks
on this Castle to record, and nothing that
called into active service the obligations
of its possessor. Indeed our countrymen
seem to have been well content with their
English connection. Edward III. was
greatly indebted to his new subjects of
the Principality, who contributed much
to his glorious success at Cressy and
Poictiers. Sir Hywel y Fwyall, or Sir
Howel of the Battle-axe, is recorded by
Cambrian Bards as having commanded a
body of his countrymen as a Corps de
reserve at the latter, and by his well-timed
advances and valorous incursions on the
French lines to have materially aided that
celebrated victory. "He was knighted,"
says Sir John Wynn of Gwydir, "on the
field of Poictiers, and by our countrymen
is reported to have taken the French
King prisoner, but however it was, he did
30
such service there that the Prince be¬
stowed a messe of meat to be served up
daily, during his life, before his Battle-
axe, which afterwards was bestowed on
the poor, whereof he was called Syr Hywel
y Fwyall." Froisart says that upwards
of ten Knights and Squires challenged the
capture of the French King at the same
time, of whom Sir Howel might have been
one, though Froisart declares that a
French Knight in the English service was
the man. We may conjecture then in
favour of Sir Howel that the testimony
was given on that field in favour of un
Chevalier Gallois, i. e. a Welsh or Gaulish,
but not French Knight. Iolo Goch, who
lived near the time, claims the honour for
our countyman in these lines,—
Syr Hywel y Fwyall pan roddodd
Y ffrwyn yn mhen Brenin Ffraink.
i. e. "Sir Howel of the Battle-axe when he
31
put the rein over the head of the French
King." Sir John Wynn seems to doubt
the report, but his Editor, Mr. Daines
Barrington, quotes a MS. now in the Har-
leian Miscellany, and given to the Lord
Treasurer by Mr. Hugh Thomas in favour
of the notion, which says that Sir Howel
ever after bore the arms of France with
a Battle-axe in Bend Sinister. Some
Welsh verses are given in the margin of
this MS. commemorating the grant of this
mess of meat.
Segir fy seigr wyall doeth hon ger bron y Brenin,
Gwedyr maes gwaed ar min, i dysaig ai devviswr,
Ai diod oedd waed a dwr.
i.e. "Place on the table my sewer, bear¬
ing the axe which came from the presence
of the King with blood on its edge, the
two dishes I have chosen. The drink
must be blood and water."
32
The Bard who wrote this was Howel
ab Reinallt, who lived 100 years after the
battle of Poictiers was fought, in 1356.
Whatever be the real fact, the singular
honour Sir Howel received shews strongly
that his service was of a very singular
nature.* In acknowledgement, it may
be supposed, of such singular services,
Edw. III. by statute, divested the Princi¬
pality of the Marches which were annexed
* If Edward III. were indebted to the services of his Welsh
subjects in his war with France, he met also with a most zeal¬
ous and intrepid foe of the same nation, and on the same
occasion. Froisart celebrates the prowess of Sir Evan of Wales,
a gallant Knight in the service of France. He was murdered
by one Lambe, who was dispatched from England for the pur¬
pose, and, probably, at the instigation of Edward himself. He
was lineally descended from Llewelyn the Great, as the late
Editor of the Gwydir History has discovered and shews in her
first Genealogical Table, and had a title to the crown of Wales.
An ancient MS. at Hengwrt mentions his sister "Elin the
French woman," so called because she was in France with her
brother, who in the same document, is called " Owen Llaw
Goch," or Owen of the bloody hand. Owen, loan, Ivan, Evan,
and John, are synonymous.
33
to the crown, and brought it under a
milder sway, though the power once
exercised by the Lords Marchers was not
entirely abolished till the incorporation of
Wales with England by the statute of
Henry VIII. In fine, that our country¬
men were conspicuous in the successes of
that period against France may be inferred
from their introduction by Shakespeare
into one of his Historical Plays.
Edward the Third's successor Richard
II. though vilely used by his English
subjects, found in the ancient British his
warmest friends. Owen Glyndwr, the
hero who is now to be introduced, was the
Squire of his Body, and knighted by him
before his deposal. He followed his
Royal Master's fortunes to the last, was
taken prisoner with him, and, when his
household was dissolved, retired to his
E
34
estate at Glyndwrdwy, determined to
avenge his wrongs when the opportunity
offered. Nor was this wanting long. He
well knew that his countrymen, though
over-awed by strong posts such as Ruthin
Castle, supplied with garrisons of warlike
foreigners, could not be inviolably secured
in their allegiance as a nation, irritated as
they were by constant oppressions, which
contributed to alienate them more and
more, and were among the causes of the
insurrection of Owen Glyndwr.
In the reign of Richard II. a sharp con¬
test about the right to a certain common
called Croesau, took place between Owen
and Reginald de Grey, a descendant of
the first Lord Grey de Ruthin of the same
name. The common was situate between
the lordship of Ruthin and Glyndwrdwy,
which Owen recovered from de Grey by a
35
suit at law. No sooner had the usurper
Henry IV. seized the throne than de Grey
again took possession of the common,
knowing the loss of his competitor's
interest at court. Still, to his honour be
it said, Glyndwr did not take up arms till
he once more had recourse to legal means
of terminating the renewed dispute. He
appealed, in fine, to Parliament; but times
were changed, and the wrongs of the
friend of the deposed and murdered King
were dismissed unredressed. Not satis¬
fied with the infringement of his neigh¬
bour's rights, De Grey injured him also
in his character, and represented him as
disobedient to the King of England.
Henry had summoned Owen among his
Barons to attend him with his people on
his expedition against Scotland. Unhap¬
pily the writ was confided to Lord Grey,
which he treacherously witheld, and thus
e 2
36
prevented Owen's attendance. Wilful
disobedience was attributed to him, and
he was treated as an offender. Aided by
this perfidy, De Grey took possession of
his lands under pretence of forfeiture,
invading such parts as lay contiguous to
his own. John Trevor, Bishop of Saint
Asaph, advised Parliament to be circum¬
spect, lest, by slighting Owen's complaint,
his countrymen might be irritated to
rebellion. Had this advice been taken,
it would have saved fifteen years of war
with all its calamities. Instead of listen¬
ing to the wrongs of a much-injured
chieftain, some of the Lords replied, "they
did not fear that rascally and barefooted
rabble." When our countryman saw that
insult was added to injury, the die was
cast, and the time arrived when Glyndwr
might vindicate his own and his country's
wrongs. Considering all these things
37
indeed, and his natural impetuosity of
temper, it cannot be a matter of surprize
that he should, from defending his paternal
estate, advance a claim on the Princedom,
to which he had some sort of hereditary
claim. It was this right, made out by
genealogical records, that disposed so
great a portion of the gentry, and the
commonality almost to a man, to espouse
his cause. His honest countrymen too
were readily persuaded to throw off their
allegiance to the usurping Monarch, and
avenge the cause of the grandson of
Edward III. their friend and protector.
Being too of a superstitious turn of mind,
they were encouraged, it is said, by their
Bards, who quoted a prophecy of Merlin,
fortelling that the government of Britain,
after being in possession of the Saxons
and Normans, should return at last to the
.38
ancient Britons.* Hostilities commenced
in the summer of 1400. His inveterate
enemy Lord Grey, being the primary
cause of his revolt, was first assailed.
Henry IV. considered this as an attack
on himself, and dismissed Lord Grey,
who was then at court, together with Lord
Talbot, to oppose him. They surrounded
his house at Glyndwrdwy, but he effected
his escape, raised a powerful army, and
caused himself to be proclaimed Prince of
Wales on the 20th Sep. 1400. His first ex¬
ploit was to surprize the Town of Ruthin,
taking advantage of a fair held on that
day. The Town was plundered, the
* It was to humour this belief, which further expected the
return of the ronowned Prince Arthur, who was said not to he
dead, but reserved for the accomplishment of this prophecy,
that King Henry VII. named his eldest son Arthur. The mis¬
chief apprehended from this persuasion was such, that Henry
II. despairing of a conquest of Wales as long as the immortality
of Arthur was believed, caused his remains to be searched for,
and exposed in the Abbey of Glastonbury.
39
inhabitants stripped of their goods, and
his army enriched with considerable
booty. In fine, he set fire to the Town in
many places, and retired to the moun¬
tains.* Tradition says, his followers 011
this occasion were, many of them, Grey's
own people of DyfFryn Clwyd, who called
themselves Ceiri Cadfan, (01% perhaps,
Cawri Cadfan, the heroes of Cadfan), who
was once the British Ruler of the Yale of
Clwyd; thus shewing their hatred of the
present dynasty. They hid themselves
in the thickets of Coedmarchan till the
gates of the Town (an expression which
has been anticipated to prove that the
Town was walled) were thrown open to
receive the people coming to the fair, and
then the Lord of Brynlluarth, in Llan-
* This acoount of Owen Glyndwr is from Pennant, who is
also closely followed by Thomas in his late history of this
chieftain.
40
rlmiadr, rushed in at the head of his party.
The same tradition adds, that these de¬
scendants of Cadfan, in consequence of
this feat, changed their paternal coat of
arms into argent, 3 grey hounds dormant,
sable, with the appropriate motto "Arol
gwaith gorphwys," "After work rest."
But the time of rest had not yet arrived.
Lord Grey, with his usual attachment to
Henry IV. and in resentment of this in¬
jury, raised his followers,—fought, and was
taken Prisoner! and kept in durance a
long while. His Royal Master, commis-
serating his sufferings, issued a com¬
mission empowered to treat with Glyndwr
for the ransom of his favourite. The sum
determined on was no less than 10,000
marks. Orders were given to sell Grey's
manor of Harteleigh in Kent to make up
this sum. And for the better enabling
him to pay it, the King absolved him from
41
six years payment of certain charges due
to the crown in respect to his possessions
in Ireland. A promise of neutrality was
also exacted. Accounts differ as to the
scene of this defeat, some laying it on the
banks of the Fyrniw, in Montgomery¬
shire, others near the Town of Ruthin.
In favour of the latter supposition, a notion
exists that the spot where Grey was taken
was in the parish of Derwen, near Ruthin,
between this Town and Glyndwrdwy, at
a place now called Bryn-Saith-Marchog,
or the Hill of the Seven Knights, from
the fact of Lord Grey having been taken
there with that number of attendant
Knights, or rather horsemen. But the
writer is informed that the name of this
place originates in a very different circum¬
stance. Glyndwr is said to have advanced
towards the Castle of Ruthin with a
detachment of troops, and that Lord
F
42
Grey, unaware of any hostility from so
small a party, fell into an ambush, and
was taken and carried among the rocks
of Snowdon. Before he was liberated,
Owen is said to have forced him to marry
Jane, his daughter by Margaret, daughter
of Sir David Hanmer, of Hanmer, in
Maelor, which promising union was not
productive of any children. Such alli¬
ances seem to have been a favourite
expedient with our hero in providing for
the spinsters of his family, for he is said
to have adopted the same expedient with
Edmund Earl of March, who was compelled
to wed a daughter after he became his
prisoner.
What the threat and ravage of war could
not effect for a while, it seems the wiley
Monarch was bent on carrying by treach¬
ery, for it is recorded in an ancient British
43
account—"Harri y Pedwaredd, Brenin
Lloegr, a yscrifennodd at Arglwydd Grae
o Rhuthyn, i erchi iddo ef, trwy rhyw ys-
tryw, fraduchu Owen Glyndwr. Ac yna
a gyrrodd Arglwydd Grae o Rhuthyn at
Owain i ddy wedyd iddaw y byddai yri cin-
iawa gyd ac Owen y dydd hwnnw, gan
henwi rhyw ddydd; ac a attebodd Owain
y byddai groesaw wrthaw oni ddygai gyd
ac ef uwch ben deng wr ar hugain. A
daeth yr Arglwydd yn yr oes terfynedig
ac ychedig gwmpeini gyd ac ef, (a gallu
mawr yn arfog tan lech yn dyfod ar ei ol),
a phan aeth Owain i giniawa efe a osodes
wersyll ar ben bryn i wersyllu tra fyddai
Owain ar ciniaw. A phan yr oedd Owain
ar ganol ciniaw, nychaf! gwelvnt y gwer-
syllwyr lonaid y ddol heb enni o wyr arfog,
ac a doedasant i Iolo Goch (Prydydd
Owain) rhybuddio Owain. Ac yna y
daeth Iolo i mewn, canys didyb oedd ef,
f 2
44
ac a canwodd ar ddameg yr Englyn rhy-
bydd yma ar osteg, rhag tybied yr
Arglwydd fod twyll, er bod yr Arglwydd
Grae yn deall trawthawd Cymreig nid
oedd efe yn deall ein medryn ni,—
"Coffa pen a lien Llyweinie lys
Ar las nos Nadolig,
Coffa golwyth Ammwythig
O'r tan a neidiodd naid dig."
Hanes calon Davidd ab Gruffydd, (brawd
y Tywysog Llewelyn) ab Davidd ab Gru¬
ffydd ab Llewelyn ab Iorwerth Drwyn-
dwm, a ddihenyddiwyd yn Ammwythig,
yn'y flwyddyn 1283, ac wrth ei ddihen-
yddu gymmerch y cigydd ei galon ac ei
taflodd i'r tan, a neidiodd y galon or tan,
ac a darawodd y cigydd ac a dynnodd ei
lygad ef."
In English,
"Henry IV. King of England, wrote to
Lord Grey of Ruthin, to desire him, by
45
some device, to betray into his hands Owen
Glyndwr. Upon which Lord Grey sent
to Owen to say he would dine with him
on a certain day, to which Owen replied
he should be glad to receive him, provided
he brought with him no more than thirty
followers. Lord Grey came at the ap¬
pointed time with only a small number, but
followed secretly by a numerous armed
force. When Owen sat down to dinner
he placed an encampment on the top of a
hill to remain there whilst he was feast¬
ing,—when, behold! this band suddenly
saw the meadows belowr filled with armed
men, and desired Iolo Goch (Owens Bard)
to give the alarm to his master. Upon this
Iolo instantly entered the Dinner-hall,
where Owen was feasting without sus¬
picion, and sang the following obscure
monitory Englyn in order that Grey should
not suspect anything, for though Lord
46
Grey understood common prose he was
unacquainted with our poetry,—
" Think on Lleweni's chief,* nor slight
The murder of the Christmas night,
The blazing hearth in 'Mwythig's keep,
The burning heart's avenging leap."
Alluding to the following story of the
heart of David ab Gryffyth (brother of
Prince Llywelyn) ab David ab GryfFydd
ab Llywelyn ab Iorwerth Drwyndwn,
who was put to death in Shrewsbury, in
the year 1283. In the performance of his
office, the executioner took out his heart
and threw it into the fire, and the heart
leaped from the fire and struck the execu¬
tioner in the eye and knocked it out.—
[Gwyliedydd, Dec. 1822.] Such are all
tfye events which connectGlyndwr's insur-
* Prince David was Lord of Denbigh, and resided at Llew-
eni in its vicinity.
47
rection with Ruthin Castle. How fruitless
was this contest to our countrymen,
except in the degrading laws it produced
in revenge, is too well remembered, but
it would be wide of the present subject to
enter into further particulars.
From this period, Ruthin Castle, we
must suppose, was free from all molesta¬
tion for a length of time. During the wars
of York and Lancaster, the ancient Britons
were in general friends to the former, from
their old grudge, perhaps, to the latter
house, and at length their politicks were
in unison with the Lord Grey of those
days, for we find him raised to the Earl¬
dom of Kent by Edward IV. The only
incident we find was a feud of a private
nature which occurred about the middle
of the fifteenth century, fifty or sixty years
after the days of Glyndwr. The Gwydir
48
Historian records that "the Thelwalls of
Ruthin, being ancient gentry of that
country, who came in with the Lord Grey,
were at contention with an ancient Septe
of that country, the family of GrufFyth
Goch. These being more in number
than the Thelwalls, (altho' the Thelwalls
carried all the offices of the country under
the Earl of Kent, then Treasurer of
England), drave the Thelwalls to take
the Castle of Ruthin for their defence,
where they besieged them until the siege
thereof was raised by John ab Meredith,
his sons, and kindred, to whom the Thel¬
walls sent for aid, and in that exploit
Robert ab John ab Meredith was slain
with an arrow in a wood called Coed-
marchan. Upon which exploit the Thel¬
walls assumed the crest of a deer pierced
with an arrow, and upon this conceit, so
frequent in the annals of chivalry, that
49
Meredith and his kindred, having seclu¬
ded himself in the woods and thickets of
Coedmarchan, had acquired the name of
the outlying deer."
At this time Lord Grey de Ruthin, now
advanced to the title of Earl of Kent, hold¬
ing high office in England, and possessing
estates in, to him at least, the more eli¬
gible and attractive county from which he
derived his title, having moreover no duty
of subjugation or oppression to perform,
had become totally non-resident in this
Castle. The Thelwalls were his represen¬
tatives, or as Sir J. Wynn's account
implies, the men in office under the Lord
of the Castle, which they seem therefore
to have occupied with less scruple in their
own defence than would otherwise have
been the case. From this time this Castle
was neglected and thinly garrisoned; and
G
50
about a century after, when Churchyard
wrote his Poem he says,
"It had great stores of chambers finely wrought,
Which time alone to great dekaye hath brought."
This description refers to the end of Queen
Elizabeth's reign. But previous to that
time, this Castle became the property of
the crown, having been sold to Henry VII.
by the Earl of Kent, who had ruined
himself by gaming. And this seems the
proper place to take our leave of the
Greys de Ruthin, by a succinct account
of the family.
Reginald de Grey, the first possessor of
Ruthin Castle and its territories, was the
son, as before stated, of John de Grey,
(who died in 1266), by Emma, daughter of
Geoffrey de Glanville. This Reginald
succeeded his father as sheriff of Notting¬
ham and Derby, and governor of Not-
51
tingham Castle, to which he accumulated
the governorship of Northampton Castle
and the justiciaryship of Chester, besides
the honour of Ruthin. He was summoned
to Parliament as Lord Grey of Ruthin,
and of Wilton, in right of his wife Maud,
daughter and heir of Henry de Long-
champ, Baron Wilton, in the Co. of
Hereford, by whom he had John de Grey,
only son and heir, justice of North Wales,
and governor of Carnarvon Castle, sum¬
moned to Parliament as Lord Grey of
Ruthin and Wilton, and died in 1324. He
married first, Anne, daughter of William,
Lord Ferrers, of Groby, by whom he had
an only son Henry de Grey, summoned to
Parliament as Lord Grey de Wilton, from
whom were descended the Lords Grey de
Wilton, who flourished till 1614, when
Thomas, the last Lord, died in the tower.
By his second wife, Maud, daughter of
g 2
52
Ralph, Lord Basset of Drayton, he had
Roger de Grey, only son, who became
Lord Grey de Ruthin, and governor of
Abergaveny Castle, and died 1353.
Roger married Elizabeth, daughter of
John, Lord Hastings, of Bergaveney, and
heir to John, Earl of Pembroke, by whom
he had Reginald de Grey, commander of
all the forts and Castles in Wales belong¬
ing to the King. He was summoned to
Parliament as Lord Grey de Ruthin, and
died in 1389. Reginald married Eleanor,
daughter of Lord Strange, of Blackmere,
by whom he had Reginald de Grey, taken
prisoner by Owen Glyndwr, who re¬
covered in the court of chivalry against
Sir Edward Hastings the right to the name
and arms of Lord Hastings in 1410,
became admiral of England in 1414, and
died in 1441; and also Eleanor married
to William Lucy, Esq. of Charlcote Co.
o3
Warwick. By his first wife, Margaret,
daughter of Lord Ros, he had Sir John
Grey, who succeeded him as Lord Grey
de Ruthin; and by his second wife, Joan,*
daughter and heir of William, Lord
Asteley, he had Sir Edw. de Grey, sum¬
moned to Parliament, jure uxoris, as Lord
Ferrers of Groby, who died in 1458,
having married Elizabeth, sole daughter
and heir of Henry, son and heir of Lord
Ferrers of Groby, from whom descends
the Earl of Stamford and Warrington.
He was succeeded by his son Sir John
Grey above mentioned, as Lord Grey de
Ruthin, whose son Edmund was created
Earl of Kent, by Edward IV. in 1463.
Edmund Earl of Kent, was succeeded by
* The story of the forced marriage with Joan, the daughter
of Owen Glyndwr, is not corroborated by the Peerage. His
wife Joan, it appears, was of a different family.
54
his son George, who died in 1506, and by
his first wife Anne Wideville, had Rich¬
ard, Earl of Kent, who dissipated his
fortune by gaming, and sold this Castle
and lordship to Henry VII. and died
without issue in 1524. His father, by his
second wife Catherine, daughter of Wil¬
liam Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, had
Henry, Grey, Knight, to whose grandson
Reginald, by his son Henry, the Earldom
was restored by Queen Elizabeth, in 157*2.
Not much to the honour of this Lord do
we read that he was one of Elizabeth's
agents in the execution of the unhappy
Queen of Scots, being joined in commis¬
sion with the Earl of Shrewsbury for
carrying it into effect at Fotheringay Cas¬
tle. When her head was severed, the
Dean of Peterborough, Doctor Fletcher,
exclaimed, "So perish all Queen Eliza¬
beth's enemies." To which the Earl of
55
Kent alone answered, "Amen." All the
rest of the spectators were dissolved in
tears. He, dying without issue, was
succeeded by his brother Henry, a person
(inCambden's words) "endowed Vith all
the ornaments of true Nobility." Bishop
Gibson carries on the account of this
noble race, by adding that Henry dying
without issue, in 1639, the honour, by
reason of the entail on the heir male,
descended to Anthony Grey, Clerk,
Rector of Burbach, in the county of
Leicester, son of George, son of Anthony
Grey, of Branspeth, third son of George
Grey, the second Earl of Kent. This Rev.
Anthony Grey had issue Henry, who
succeeded to the title on the death of an
elder brother. He took the side of the
Parliament, and with Lord Bolinbroke
was Keeper of the Great Seal of England.
He had issue Anthony, Earl of Kent,
50
in 1095. His son Henry was Lord Cham¬
berlain to Queen Anne's Household, and
created Marquis of Kent and Viscount
Goderich Castle 14th December, 1706,
and Duke of Kent in 1710. He had five
sons, who all died S. P. and the title failed,
but he obtained the title of Marchioness
Grey for his grandaughter, married to
Philip second Earl of Hardwick.
The title of Grey de Ruthin still sur¬
vives, but it is no longer in the name of
Grey. The present existing title of Grey
de Ruthin is thus connected with the
Earldom of Kent,—Earl Henry, who died
without issue in 1639, left a sister, Su¬
sanna, who succeeded to the title of Grey
de Ruthin, the Earldom of Kent descend¬
ing to Rev. Anthony Grey as before
stated. This Susanna married a Longue-
ville, the fruit of which marriage was
57
Charles Longueville, in right of his mother,
Lord Grey de Ruthin, Hastings, Weyford,
and Valence. His daughter and sole heir
Susanna, married Sir Henry Yelverton,
son of Henry, a Judge of the Common
Pleas to Charles I. son of Sir Christopher
Yelverton, Speaker of the House of Com¬
mons, 39 Queen Elizabeth, and afterwards
a Judge of the Queen's Bench, and con¬
veyed these titles to the family, by whom
they are now possessed. Charles, their
eldest son, succeeded his father as a
Baronet, and his mother as Lord Grey de
Ruthin, and died in 1679, S. P. His
brother Henry succeeded, and was created
Viscount Longueville, 1690, and died
1704. His eldest son, Talbot, was created
Earl of Sussex, 1717, with remainder to
his brother Henry and male issue.
Augustus, second Earl. Henry, third
Earl, died without male issue. He car-
H
58
ried the gold spurs at the coronation of
George III. as Baron Hastings. His
daughter Barbara married Edward Tho-
roton Gould, Esq. and their son Henry
succeeded, in right of his mother, to the
Barony of Grey de Ruthin, but the Earl¬
dom of Sussex and Viscount Longueville
became extinct for want of male issue.
Henry, the late Earl, by his father's will,
took the name and arms of Longueville.
His daughter, Barbara, by his wife Anna
Maria, daughter of William Kelham,
Gent, is the present Lady Grey de Ruthin.
Previous to this digression, we left
this Castle in a state of decay in the latter
days of Queen Elizabeth, as appears by
Churchyard's Poem on the Worthines of
Wales. It continued in this state for
some years after, and must therefore have
undergone considerable repair before it
59
was garrisoned for the King in the time
of the rebellion. The Caerwys MS. before
quoted, refers, probably, to this period.
"The Castle," it says, "is mowche in
dekaye;" and further, "there is remain-
inge in the said Castle certain old leade,
which was of the takeinge down of the
towers, beinge dekayde, which leade of
the value of xxlb. is in the keepinge of
the constable's (the Earl of Worcester)
deputye of the said Castle." What cor¬
roborates the notion that this old MS.
relates to this time is the account it gives
of the collegiate church, " which," it adds,
consists of a warden and chapitre, viz.
three prestes, (the exact number of clergy
since the Reformation), whereat the hole
town doth repayre for the hearing Gode's
service as to theire paryche church, the
church beinge of our Lady and Saint
h 2
60
Peter,* of the foundation of John Grey,
sometime Earl of Kent and Lord of
Ruthyne, the same beinge of the value of
xLlb." The Town of Ruthin seems to
have partaken in the decays of its Castle,
for it appears by a MS. account in the
possession of Thomas Griffiths, Esq. of
Wrexham, and of Pen-y-Nant, in the
parish of Ruabon, and copied by an
ancestor, out of the book of Mr. Robert
Wynn, of Nantglyn, high constable of
Isalet, that the townsmen of Ruthin ex¬
hibited a petition, about the year 1636, of
their "dekayed estate," on which they
* On the beautiful carved roof of the north aisle are to be
seen the words "Mater Maria ora pro nobis," and "Jesus
mercy, Lady help." The Virgin Mary is not now joined with
St. Peter in its Tutela. This roof must, from its style, be of
the date of Henry VII. Two of its pannels are carved with
the Prince of Wales's plume, and with pomgranates, in allusion
to Henry the Seventh's son Arthur Prince of Wales's marriage
with Catherine of Arragon aud Granada, whose armorial bear¬
ings were the pomgranate.
(31
were relieved in their proportion of the
county rate. In another MS. account of
the same date, the mizes and taxations to
the crown out of this lordship are said to be
remitted one half in respect to the decayed
state of Ruthin. This latter account must
refer to an inquisition taken in the year
1600, on a petition to the Lords of the Privy
Council from the townsmen of Ruthin
respecting their decayed state, when they
were relieved one half of their usual
proportion of all taxations to the crown,
and the other half assessed on the county
at large.
It should previously have been noted
that Henry VIII. granted this Castle and
its rights and appendages to his natural
son Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond,
but it very soon reverted to the crown on
his death. Its next grant was from Queen
62
Elizabeth to Ambrose Dudley, Earl of
Warwick, brother to her worthless minion
Robert, Earl of Leicester, on whom she
had bestowed Denbigh Castle and its
dependencies. On the death, without
issue, of Ambrose Dudley, and Anne, his
wife, who was included in the grant, it
came again to the crown, divested of the
demesne lands of Bathafarn, sold to the
Thelwalls at the instigation and special
favour of the Countess. Other manors
and parkes, besides Llwynydd, sold to
the same family, had also been severed
from this lordship.
James I. in order to raise money, made
a limited grant of the lordship; and his
son and successor, when reduced to straits
by his refractory Parliament, raised the
sum of £.20,000 on this lordship and
other crown lands, to pay arrears due in
63
the Ordnance department. Finally, he
sold it to Sir Francis Crane, Chancellor
of the Order of the Garter, as he is called,
and his brother Richard, for the sum of
£.4,000, subject it must be supposed, to
the proportion of the large sum before
borrowed. Pending the contract, Sir
Thomas Myddelton, of Chirk Castle, was
a suitor to the crown for permission to
purchase in preference to Sir Francis
Crane, who, being a Sou-theme, was not
likely to reside and do service to his
Majesty. It was also stated in his behalf
that he was possessed of £.2,000 per
annum in the Lordship, and farther, that
he was in possession of the Castle and
town parkes, and four mills, which had
been sold by James I. to Sir Hugh Myd¬
delton.* His application however was of
* So it is stated in the MS. dated not many years after, but
Sir Thomas Myddelton must have been the purchaser.
64
no avail, and the contract was completed
to Sir Francis Crane, in which was ex¬
cepted the Pendist in Ruthin, which was-
used as the county-hall, and also the
site of the Castle and Town parkes, and
other particulars. The exception of the
Castle, &c. must refer to this transaction
of previous sale. But this circumstance
makes it somewhat unaccountable how
it came to be garrisoned for the King in
the time of the rebellion, which is the
next event to be recorded, and the most
memorable one in its history. Necessity,
we know, has no law, and it may hav,e
been arbitrarily seized upon by the King-
in that emergency. Or we are at liberty
to suppose that it was garrisoned without
ceremony or any order from the King, by
the loyal inhabitants of the country, as
was the case with the neighbouring Castle
of Denbigh, which is plainly said to have
65
been garrisoned by William Salisbury,
"at the expence of himself and kindred."
Raignolds, the name of the deputy go¬
vernor of this Castle when it was given up,
as will hereafter appear, is a Welsh name,
viz. ab Reignallt, and one that existed in
these parts, and is not a worse corruption
of an ancient British name than Cecil for
Seisyllt.
The following memoranda of its history
at this memorable period, are furnished by
Mr. William Morris of Llansilin's pocket-
book in the library of Sir W. W. Wynn,
Bart, and accounts of that time to be seen
in the British Museum :—
" 1644, Oct. 2nd, Sir Thomas Myddel-
ton, and Col. Mytton, with all their forces
from Montgomeryshire and Shropshire,
met at Llangollen, and on the 20th Oct.
i
66
began violently to assault the Castle of
Ruthin, and so continuing for two days,
and conceiving no hopes of forcing it
retreated out of the country without per¬
forming any other achievements." Sir
Thomas Myddelton, it is well known,
remained not long attached to the Par¬
liament cause, but became a distinguished
cavalier. His early defection from loy¬
alty, we may suspect, was instigated by
the recent failure in his wishes; or he
may have thought it allowable to knock
somewhat rudely at the gate of his own
Castle.
" 1645, Feb. 5, Prince Maurice came to
Shrewsbury, and having stay'd there
some days in orderinge his forces, ad¬
vanced towards Chester. The first night
he lay at Chirk Castle, from thence went
to Ruthin, where Sir John Owen, with the
67
forces of North Wales, expected his
cominge, and as soon as he had cleared
Denbighshire and released Chester, Col.
Mytton fell upon Shrewsbury and sur¬
prized the Town, 22nd. Feb. about 4
o'clock in the morning."
For the next six months of this year
we are not furnished with any documents
relating to the civil war in these parts,
with which to fill up this interval. Ruthin
and Denbigh Castles remained well gar¬
risoned in expectation of assault, but
seem to have been under no particular
alarm till the latter part of 1645. Taking
the journal of Mr. Symonds, a royalist,
for our guide, we find that the King
visited North Wales in person, the begin¬
ning of September, this year, (coming out
of Herefordshire, whither he had retired
after the battle of Naseby), via Llanfyllin
i 2
68
and Chirk Castle, where he rested.
Thence His Majesty proceeded to Chester,
and after his defeat at Rowton Heath, near
that City, retreated to Denbigh Castle 011
the 25th of Sep. and raised the country
in his cause by a rendevouz* not far from
thence. History records that he raised
1400 horse in this country, for at the same
time Sir Marmaduke Langdale, his de¬
feated general at Rowton, was making a
rendevouz of the royalists near Holt Cas¬
tle, in the same county. The King left
Denbigh, on Saturday, the 28th Sep. and
passed through Ruthin, "where (says
Symonds) is a large Castle and fortified.
* Note.—" Saturday, Sep. 27th, 1645, bee it remembered,
that King Charles was this day and year above-written making
his rendevouz in the parish of Cyffylliog, in a place then called
Cenfesydd. The siege began at Ruthyn the 25th of Jan. 1646.
The ditto began at Denbigh April 17th, 1646."—Cyffylliog
Register. Cenfesydd is now the property of Rev. Edw. John
Owen, of Fachlwyd.
69
There Prince Maurice met us (the writer
must therefore have been of the party)
with his troops, and those of Prince
Rupert's horse that came from Bristol,
Lucas's horse, &c. toto 6 or 700." The
King passed on to Chirk, Prince Maurice
accompanying his Royal Uncle, and, as
history says, with 800 horse, and we
find Sir William Vaughan in command
of these troops shortly after. He (Sir W.)
arrived at Chirk Castle with some addi¬
tional troops Oct. 26th, and thence "we
marched to Llannanis,* Mr. Thelwall's
house." Sir W. Vaughan's object was to
support the garrisons of Ruthin and Den¬
bigh Castles. He was here quickly
alarmed with the intelligence that he was
followed by the Parliamentary general
Mytton, of Halston, who had advanced to
* Plas-y-ward, in the Parish of Llanynys.
70
Ruthin Nov. 1st. The two armies encoun¬
tered on Denbigh Green, and Mytton was
victorious. The vanquished foot were
received into Denbigh Castle by its mag¬
nanimous governor William Salisbury,
old "hosanau gleision," or blue stockings,
as he is called, and the horse retreated
to Llanrwst through Llangerniw, where
they were soon rejoined by the infantry
whom it would have been too burdensome
to harbour in the Castle any length of
time. The royalists on this occasion were
about 700 horse, and 200 foot. Pennant
asserts, on the authority of Whitelock,
that the Parliament forces nearly doubled
this number. It seems to have been a
sharp encounter, and well sustained by
the royalists, whom, it is gratifying to
think, were overpowered by numbers only.
This feeling proceeds from that preference
for the royal cause which actuates every
71
loyal breast even in the present day. For
though he feel grateful to providence that
the popular cause of those times issued
at length in being the remote cause of
the liberty of the subject at present en¬
joyed, yet is his heart with the noble and
high-minded cavaliers, as contrasted with
the hypocritical spirit of their opponents.
Their cause—the cause of loyalty—was
not a premeditated and unprincipled at¬
tack on the well defined liberties of the
subject, but that of supporting the long-
established power and privileges of the
crown, to which they had sworn allegiance.
The Parliament had forced the King into
an expensive foreign war for the recovery
of the Palatinate to his relative, in which
it deemed the honour of this kingdom
involved, and yet, as one should think,
with a purposed design, denied him the
means of carrying it on; thus reducing
72
him to the necessity of resorting to
arbitrary, but at the same time long-
established privileges he would otherwise
not have been disposed to exercise. And
it may be fairly asserted, there are few
even of those who are now most bitter in
their invectives against Charles I., who
would not, in his situation, have acted as
he did. Such sentiments in his favour
proceed from no leaning to the side of
despotism, but may be entertained by
one who is grateful that he himself is
subject to a more temperate and limited
monarchy.
What employment General Mytton
found in this country in the interval of
the before-mentioned victory and the com¬
mencement of his siege of this Castle, on
the 25th of Jan. 1646, does not appear,
further than that a brave party from
73
Denbigh Castle beat up his quarters at
Ruthin on Tuesday the 6th April, with
the intent of relieving the Castle. Being-
aware of their design, Mytton drove them
away and pursued them towards their
home, and near Denbigh defeated them,
taking many prisoners and killing others,
as appears from the following printed
letters in the British Museum, entitled
" Three Victories in Wales" Printed ac¬
cording to order of Parliament, April
14th, 1646, viz.
1 si.—A Copy 'of Major General Mittons
Letter.
"Sir,
This Castle of Ruthen is to be
surrendered to me. For the particulars
I shall referre you to these inclosed.
Ruthen, the 8th April, 1645."
K
74
2nd.—A Copy of Major General Mittoris
Major's Letter.
"Sir,
Your many favours I cannot but
acknowledge, and shall be ever ready to
serve you, I can now certify you that
Ruthen Castle is agreed by articles to be
delivered up to us upon Monday next.
I have sent you here enclosed the copy of
the articles whereupon it is to be surren¬
dered. Upon Tuesday last at night, the
enemy from Denbigh fell upon part of
our quarters, but took neither horse nor
men, which gave us an alarm here, where¬
upon a party of our horse went out and
fell between them and home, and meeting
them near Denbigh took Captaine Winne,
Captaine H. Morris, Captaine Morgan,
and Captaine Pickering, one Lieutenant
and two Cornets, with some gentlemen of
this country, and killed seven. I shall
75
rest, but never cease to be your humble
servant,
Ed. Moore.
Ruthen, the 8th of Aprill, 1646."
"Taken by Colonel Mitton's forces near
Denbigh:—
Captaine Win, Cap. H. Morris, Cap.
Morgan, Cap. Pickering, 2 Cornets, 1
Serjeant, divers gentlemen and other Sol¬
diers, divers arms, 7 slain upon the spot,
40 horse taken."
The Copy of a Letter from Col. Mittoris
Secretary.
"Noble Sir,
I make bold to salute you
with the information of my safe returne;
and for news I have not to trouble your
better employments, save with what is
certified even at present by Major Moore,
k 2
76
to which (adding that the same is very
honourable on my General's part) I
briefly referre you; and for the other news
touching the taking of four of the enemies
Captaines and others, by Simkies and
others, who were upon the guard that
evening, I also referre you to Major
Moore's relation, there being of the Den¬
bigh forces taken on Tuesday morning
last that were coming to beat up our
quarters, foure Captaines, viz. Captaine
Hugh Morris, Captaine Pickering, Cap.
Winne, and one Captaine Morgan, of
Walgrave, (qu. Gwylgre, now Golden
Grove?) besides two Cornets, one Lieute¬
nant, and some 8 or 9 more, they being all
of horse, about 40 horse taken, and some
7 of the enemy slaine on the place and in
the chase, the place being not a mile from
Denbigh. I have no more, but that in
77
your occasions you shall ever find me
your most humble and faithful friend
Tho. Brooke.
Ruthen, the 9th April, 1646."
" Articles agreed and concluded between
Mr. Robert Fogge* Chaplain to Colonel
Thomas Mitton, (Major-General of North
Wales) and Captaine Edward Thelwall,
Commissioners, on the behalf of the said
Major-General on the one party, and Mas¬
ter John Reynolls, deputy governor of the
Castle of Ruthen, on the other party:—
1. It is agreed and concluded by the
parties above-mentioned, That the Castle
* Mr. Fogge was Rector of Bangor Iscoed, and represented
in the Non-conformists Memorial as a very pious man. He
was the intimate friend of the celebrated Philip Henry of
Worthenbury, and was ejected at the Restoration. His son,
Rowland Fogge, became Dean of Chester.
78
of Ruthen shall be surrendered unto Ma¬
jor-General 1 Mitton aforesaid, or to his
assignees, on Monday next, April 12th,
1646, by tenne of the clock in the forenoon,
without any dismantling, demolishing, or
defacing the same, or any workes now
made in or about the same.
2. That all the ordnance, armes, am¬
munition, provision, and goods now in
the Castle be left safe and no way
harmed, saving the particulars hereafter
mentioned.
3. That the said deputy governor shall
march away quietly and without molesta¬
tion, with his sword and one case of
pistolls, and six gentlemen with him, and
each of them his sword.
79
4. That the rest of the souldiers, and
officers, the Irish only excepted, (who are
barred by the ordnance of Parliament), to
passe to their respective habitations, or to
convoy with a safe conduct, they behaving
themselves cruelly, (qu. civilly?)
5. That the said deputy take onely with
him two trunks, containing onely therein
his wearing apparell, and some few
cloathes and linning of his sisters, and
that a cart be provided for the carriage
thereof.
6. That in the meane time there be a
cessation of armes on both sides, and
no advantage taken by admitting any
strength of men or ammunition into the
said Castle, and other than the hostages
agreed upon by both parties.
80
And for the firme confirmation of the
premises, the parties to these presents
have interchangeably set to their hands,
this 8th day of April], anno dom. 1646.
Robert Fogge,
Edward Thelwall.
I also agree to the articles above-written,
John Raignolds.
I do consent to what my Commissioners
have agreed herein,
Thomas Mitton.
A list of Major-General Mitton's vic¬
tory against the Denbigh forces :—
Taken prisoners,—as before.
In Ruthen, all their armes and ammuni-
*
tion, bagge and baggage, were to be
surrendered to Major-General Mitton,
81
and the Irish to be left to be tryed accord¬
ing to the ordinance of Parliament."
Letter to the Honourable William Len-
thal, Esq. Speaker of the House of
Commons, concerning the surrender of
Ruthen Castle to Colonel Thomas Mitton,
Major-General of North Wales, together
with the articles concerning the same.
Ordered by the Commons assembled in
Parliament, That this Letter with the ar¬
ticles be forthwith printed and published.
H. Els ynge, Cler. Pari. D. Com.
London: printed for Edward Husband,
printer to the Honourable House of
Commons. April 14, 1646.
l
82
To the Honourable William Lenthal,
Esq. Speaker to the Honourable House of
Commons.
"Honourable Sir,
The reducing of this Castle of
Ruthen hath cost me more time and am¬
munition than I expected when I first
laid siege to it. At last, having a mine
almost in readiness to spring, and bat¬
teries prepared for a demicanon and
culverin to play upon it, it was this day
agreed to be surrendered upon the con¬
ditions in the inclosed articles, which I
am willing to accept, having perfect infor¬
mation by some that escaped out of the
Castle, that there was in it provision
sufficient for two moneths longer, which
now I find to be true. And if I should
have forced it, I must have hazarded many
men and made the place unserviceable,
83
which is of very great use to the reduce-
ment of this country, it being the most
convenient place for a garrison in all
North Wales, as things now stand with
us. Yesterday, before the break of day,
a part of the enemy out of Denbigh Castle,
being about sixscore and thirty mounted
firelocks, fell upon Captaine Rich. Price
his quarters, about two miles from this
town; but he was vigilant, and his scouts
performed their duty so well that they
were drawn into the field before they
came upon them, which gave him oppor¬
tunity to avoid them and convey the alarm
to this town. And thereupon Colonel
Carter, with a standing horse guard, which
we are fain to keep in the field constantly
to secure our out-quarters, and Captain
Simkies, with my own troop, which was
then upon the guard in this town, drew
out and fell between them and Denbigh,
l 2
84
and within half-a-mile of their garrison
met with them, and charged them so
gallantly that they broke in upon them,
killed seven of them (as is said) upon the
place, and in the pursuit took four Cap¬
tains, one Lieutenant, and two Cornets,
divers troopers, and above fourty horse,
with the losse of one man of our side.
The siege of Hoult hath of late been of
great difficulty and hazard to those few
men I have there; for the drawing off of
the Cheshire firelocks from that service
without my privity gave the enemy an
advantage to burn the guard the firelocks
kept, (which cost the country much to
fortifie,) and about fourty dwelling-houses
more in the town, and exposed my men
(who lay in open quarters, and fewer in
number than the enemy within were) to
their power, which necessitated my men
to be upon continual duty. Upon the first
05
of April the enemy sallied out and fell
upon Major Sadler's quarters, resolving to
put all my men in that house to the sword,
which they had been like to effect had not
a guard, which was placed in a mount
erected by us three days before, relieved
them. In this storm I lost five men, and
fifteen wounded; of the enemy there were
killed their commander Captain Cotting-
ham, a papist, a Lieutenant, and two more,
and many wounded. There hath been
never a day since but they sallied out con¬
stantly twice or thrice a day, and as
constantly beaten in. This service and
the furnishing of such garrisons which are
reduced, occasions the expence of much
powder and match, and therefore I humbly
desire that the honourable House will be
pleased to grant that I may have a hundred
barrels of powder and four or five hundred
firelocks sent me, and that some course
86
may be prescribed to convey it down
speedily, the carriage and convoy of the
last powder I had cost above half as
much as the powder was worth. And
further, that they will be pleased to ap¬
point a governor for this Castle. Lieute¬
nant Colonel Thomas Mason is a very
faithful, active, and godly gentleman,
and the most knowing man in his profes¬
sion that we have in these parts, having
been a souldier above twenty years, and
lost his command in Ireland because he
refused to bear arms against the Par¬
liament. And, if this place were worthy
of him, I should make bold to recommend
him to their consideration. This, never¬
theless, I leave to their wisdom to deter¬
mine, and rest your very humble servant,
Thomas Mitton.
Huthen, 8th April, 1646."
Then follow the Articles as before.
87
The Castle was accordingly delivered
up to the Parliament General on Monday,
the 12th April, 1646. Mr. Fogge, his chap¬
lain, the bearer of this important news to
London, was rewarded by Parliament with
£.50 for the intelligence. The General's
recommendation of Colonel Mason as its
future governor was approved, bat his
command was of short duration, as the
Castle was soon demolished by order
of Parliament, a part of its history which
accounts for so few interesting relics
being found among its ruins. Sir Richard
Myddelton of Chirk Castle, (Son of Sir
Thomas, by Mary, daughter of Thomas
Cholmondeley, Esq. of Vale Royal, and
grandson of old Sir Thomas, who, as
before stated, had obtained the Castle,
Town-Parks, and Mills), purchased from
the representatives of Crane their interest
in this lordship. For more than a century
88
after the purchase the lordship of Ruthin
or Dyffryn Clwyd, with its Castle, con¬
tinued a magnificent appendage to the
grandeur of the family of Chirk Castle,
and one that gave it a controlling in¬
fluence in the return of a member to Par¬
liament for the Denbighshire Boroughs-
It is now the property of Miss Harriet
Myddelton, one of the sisters and coheirs
of the late Richard Myddelton, Esq. of
Chirk Castle, to whose lot it fell on the
late partition of that noble estate under a
decree of the Court of Chancery. The
present castellated mansion erected since
that event, is certainly a great embellish¬
ment to this Town, and forms a picturesque
object at a distance. Large and extensive
as it is, the plan is supposed to be
incomplete at present; and therefore, to
adopt old Churchyard's words,
"The work itself will shake a subject's bag."
89
But its modern towers rise not to overawe
dependant subjects, but to waive the
banner of protection to the poor and of
invitation to friends, bidding them enter
its gates to feast on many a fatted deer
from the park of Coedmarchan, and
pledge in Cwrw Da and generous wine
to the health of an hospitable owner!
As this short history professes to speak
of the Town as well as the Castle of
Ruthin, it remains to add that it was early
incorporated as a Borough. Its original
charter must have been quite exclusive to
the interests of the natives of the Princi¬
pality. But these oppressions were
remedied by a charter granted by Henry
VII. and confirmed by a letter of James I.
The corporate body is merely an appen¬
dage to the lordship, and consists of two
aldermen and sixteen common council,
M
90
annually elected at the close of the year,
and an unlimited number of burgesses.
The steward of the lordship summons to
his Leet Court a jury of burgesses to elect
two aldermen. The aldermen immedi¬
ately nominate a common-council, who,
in conjunction with these magistrates,
elect burgesses at their pleasure. The
steward is nominated by the Lord of
the Manor, and removable at pleasure.
The aldermen appoint constables for their
liberties, and officers called leavelookers,
to inspect provisions brought to sale at the
Town-market, the tolls of which, to the
amount of fourscore pounds per annum or
more, together with lands of about £.25
per annum, constitute their revenue.
These are expended in clothing their
javelin-men, who, dressed in handsome
liveries, precede them on public occasions,
armed with ancient-fashioned halberts.
91
The residue is liberally expended for the
benefit of the Town. It may now be added
that the ancient corporation has been
abolished, and reconstructed under the
provisions of the late Act of Parliament.
But the boast of Ruthin is its Grammar
School, founded by Doctor Gabriel Good¬
man, a native of the Town, and Dean of
Westminster during nearly the whole of
the reign of Queen Elizabeth. His monu¬
ment is to be seen in the church of Ruthin
as well as in Westminster Abbey. Having
previously refounded the Wardenship of
Ruthin, he obtained for the School, in the
latter part of that reign, a grant from the
crown, to the President and Warden of
Ruthin, of a moiety of the Rectory of Llan-
elidan, (a parish in the vicinity,) for the
support of two Masters. The pious foun¬
der drew up statutes for the conduct of the
m 3
92
School, making it free to natives of the
Town of Ruthin and the parish of Llan-
elidan and others after the payment of
entrance. The Headmaster is appointed
by the Bishop of the Diocese (Bangor) as
President aforesaid, or, in default of his
lordship exercising his right in a month
after a vacancy, by the Warden. The
Undermaster is appointed by the Head¬
master. The Warden is to see to the ful¬
filment of the statutes, and that the
Schoolmasters perform their duty. Re¬
spectable exhibitions to the Universities
are attached to this School, part of them
derived from the will of Doctor Godfrey
Goodman, Bishop of Glocester, (from
which see he was ejected at the rebellion,)
nephew of the Dean, and the rest founded
about 80 years ago by the Rev. Edward
Lloyd, of Ripple, in Kent, who had been
educated at the School. This seminary
93
has the credit of having educated many
eminent characters, among whom may be
enumerated the following, viz.—Doctor
Davies, the celebrated author of the Welsh
Grammar and Dictionary; Doctor John
Williams, Archbishop of York, and Lord
Keeper; David Lloyd, author of the
Memoirs; Doctor John Wynne, succes¬
sively Bishop of St. Asaph and Bath and
Wells; Doctor Josiah Tucker, Dean of
Glocester; the late Lord Kenyon; Mr.
Baron Peryn; Chief Baron Richards;
John Maddocks, Esq. eminent at the
Chancery Bar; John Lloyd, Esq. Chief
Justice of the Carmarthen circuit; Doctor
Henry Owen, a late London Divine,
a learned author in Divinity; Doctor
Edwards, Archdeacon of Brecon; Doc¬
tor George Cotton, late Dean of Chester;
the Rev. J. Jones, the late Archdeacon
of Merioneth, late a Bampton Lecturer;
94
Doctor Thomas Hughes, Canon Resi¬
dentiary of St. Paul's, and one of the
Deputy Clerks of His Majesty's Closet,
son of an highly esteemed Master of this
School; his son, John Hughes, Esq. late
of Oriel College, a distinguished scholar of
that Society, and known in the literary
world; Doctor John Bull, Canon of Christ
Church, Oxford, and Exeter; and Rev. H.
Holland Edwards, Prebendary of West¬
minster, received the early part of their
education in this School. To this list
might be added the names of many, who,
occupying less distinguished stations, are
equally a credit to this their Alma Mater;
for instance, the late John Parry, Esq.
Barrister at Law, well known as a Welsh
Scholar and Publisher.
The Church Establishment of Ruthin,
which is Collegiate, consists of the War-
95
den, appointed by the Dean and Chapter
of Westminster, his two Curates, or Chap¬
lains, the Schoolmasters, and the twelve
Poor of Christ's Hospital, receiving weekly
stipends, and governed by statutes drawn
up by Dean Goodman, the refounder of
the Wardenship. These last particulars
are added for the information of the pas¬
sing visitor, who, if possessed of rational
curiosity, may be gratified with a recital
which adds respectability to a place the
Writer has so much reason to hold in
veneration and wish to illustrate.
K. JONES, PRINTER, RUTHIN.
Date Due
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