Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for CORWEN

CORWEN, a small town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district in Merioneth. The town stands on the river Dee, under a lofty rock at the foot of the Berwyn mountains, 10 miles W of Llangollen, and 11 SSW of Ruthin; has been put into connexion with the Northwestern railway system, by branches to Ruthin and to Llangollen-Road; is connected also by railway south-westward with Dolgelly; is a neat place of village appearance, amid magnificent scenery, -a seat of petty sessions, and a resort of anglers; and has a head post office, ‡ a good inn, a house of correction, a pari-church, a Calvinistic Methodist chapel, a clergymen's widows' hospital, an alms-house, some other charities, and a workhouse. The church is cruciform; has Norman parts; and contains a monument to Jorwerth. ap-Sulien, -thought by some to have been Bishop St. Julian, " the godliest man and greatest clerk of Wales. " An ancient stone cross, in the churchyard, is traditionally called the Sword of Glendower. A weekly market is held on Friday; and fairs on 24 May, 14 July, 7 Oct., and 20 Dec. -The parish is divided into the townships of Bodorlas, Carrog, Dolac-Aberalwen, Hendreforfydd, Llygadog, Mwstwr, Rhuggatt and Bonwen, Tirllauerch, Trewyn, and Ychyldref. Acres, 12, 646. Real property, £10, 487. Pop., 2, 042. Houses, 437. The property is divided among a few. Rhug is a seat of the Vaughans; and has a knife and a dagger said to have belonged to Owen Gleu-dower. Caer-Drewyn, on an eminence 1½ mile N of the town, is an ancient British fort; occupied by Owen Gwynedd, in opposition to Henry II., and by Owen Glendower in opposition to Henry IV.; and commanding a fine view of the vales of Glyn-Dwrdwy and Edeirnion. A spot on the Berwyn mountains bears the name of Glendower's seat; and has a view of nearly 40 square miles of Glendower's own land. The living is a rectory in the dio. of St. Asaph; and, prior to 1862, was a sinecure, while the vicarage of it was united with Glyndwrdy; but the rectory is now in charge, and Glyndwrdy is separate. Value, £390.* Patron, the Bishop of St. Asaph.—The sub-district contains the parishes of Corwen, Llansaintffraid-Glyn-dyfrdwy, Bryn-Eglwys, Llantysilio, Llangollen, Llan-saintffraid-Glyn-Ceiriog, and Llanarmon-Dyffryn-Ceiriog, all, except the two first, electorally in Denbigh. Acres, 53, 886. Pop., 10, 628. Houses, 2, 287.—The district includes also the sub-district of Gwyddelwern, containing the parishes of Gwyddelwern, Llangar, Llandrillo, and Bettws-Gwerfil-Goch, the extra-parochial tract of Botte-gir-bach, and the parishes of Llangwm, Cerrig-y-Druidion, and Llanfihangel-Glyn-Myfyr, -the last partly, the two previous wholly, electorally in Denbigh. Acres, 123, 807. Poor-rates in 1862, £6, 151. Pop. in 1841, 15, 089; in 1861, 16, 107. Houses, 3, 462. Marriages in 1860, 94; births, 499, -of which 37 were illegitimate; deaths, 310, -of which 87 were at ages under 5 years, and 14 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 989; births, 3, 979; deaths, 2, 844. The places of worship in 1851 were 12 of the Church of England, with 2, 621 sittings; 9 of Independents, with 1, 497 s.; 10 of Baptists, with 1, 190 s.; 17 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 2, 638 s.; and 27 of Calvinistic Methodists, with 5, 111 s. The schools were 15 public day schools, with 1, 014 scholars; 4 private day schools, with 89 s.; and 44 Sunday schools, with 3, 370 s.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a small town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Corwen CP/AP       Corwen SubD       Corwen RegD/PLU       Merionethshire AncC
Place: Corwen

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