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fore he hemmed in almost all the land towards Wales, and he fixed that 
Dyke to be the boundary of the land of either.” 
The same author in another place says the Dyke divided North 
Wales from England, and yet extended from sea to sea. From the 
seventh to the tenth century what we now call Wales was then called 
North Wales ; whilst Cornwall and part of Devonshire were included in 
West Wales. These two territories were inhabited by the same race — 
the Welsh. 
The Dyke consisted of a raised portion or vallum, with a ditch 
or fosse on the western or Welsh side; so that whilst the vallum could 
easily be ascended by the English on the east, owing to the gradual slope 
of the ground, it presented on the west considerable difficulty to the 
Welsh, who had to face the ditch and the perpendicular face of the wall. 
Mr. A. N. Palmer, our most learned local archeologist, says that 
the Dyke was probably defended on the western edge by strong palisades 
of wood, and also that along the top ran a broad, fairly level road, so 
thas forces could easily be forwarded from the permanent stations or 
forts to any point which was threatened. 
In the parish of Ruabon we have Moreton above, i.e., east of the 
Dyke, and Moreton below, i.e, west of the Dyke; so that there is little 
doubt that Offa’s Dyke was a national boundary. 
It seems probable that Offa conquered the country or the greater 
part of it up to Offa’s Dyke, and it remained in possession of the Saxons 
for several centuries, but that about the eleventh century the Welsh 
drove them out, or assimilated them, so that ever since the land directly 
east of the Dyke has been occupied by a population which still speaks 
Welsh, or whose ancestors Spoke Welsh until two centuries ago. 
There is another Dyke called Wat's Dyke, situated a little distance 
oa the eastern or English side of Offa’s Dyke. Who constructed this is 
not known. Mr. Palmer thinks it was the work of Offa himself, of one of 
the early Mercian kings, or of one of their warriors. 
In the parishes of Hope and Mold, where they are both well known 
and recognised as distinct, they are both called by the same name, /.e., 
they are both attributed to the same king. In the parish of Hope there 
is a farm-house called Clawdd Offa, although it is built on Wat’s Dyke. 
Wat’s Dyke may have been constructed as a second line of defence 
simultaneously with Offa’s Dyke, or (and this seems to me more probable) 
Wat’s Dyke may have been constructed first, and Offa’s later on, as a 
further encroachment on Welsh territory. 
Wat’s Dyke ia well seen at Wrexham, running east of the railway, 
and forming the western boundary of the cemetery. 
Wynnstay House, at Ruabon, the residence of Sir Watkin Williams 
Wynn, was formerly known as Watstay. The Dyke can be seen close to. 
the northern and southern boundaries of the park, on the outside, but 
not within the park itself. It is believed that the name means an inter- 
ruption or stay of the Dyke where the house stands. 
Near Offa’s Dyke. at Cadwgan, there is a tumulus, which is said to 
have been opened in 1797, when four suits of armour and the skeleton of 
a horse were discovered, and sent to Chirk Castle. 
Forts were sometimes built near the Dyke. There was one in 
Erddig Park, at a point still called ‘‘ Y Castell,” or the Castle. This was 
at one time a place of great importance, for it was the chief residence of 
the Lords of Bromfield. There were gaps or gates in the wall at certain 
points. The lower part of Coed Poeth is called Adwy’r Clawdd, i.e., the 
Gap of the Dyke. A little further north we still have Llidiart Fanny, 
or Fanny’s Gate. 
Wat’s Dyke at the present time forms the boundary between 
certain parishes, e.g., Wrexham and Bersham; and Offa’s Dyke divides 
Stansty from Acton. 
