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C A E RNAHVON,* the Srgontlum of Antoninus, 

 and the Ctn-r-Srint of the Bntons. is the principal 

 .irvonshirc, one of the counties of North 

 Wales. This town is pleasantly situated opposite to 

 the isle of Anglesea ; having on one side the arm of 

 the v i railed the Straits of Menai, on another the 

 estuary of the Seiont, when- it receives the tide from 

 the former; on a third side, and on part of the fourth, 

 it lias a creek of the Menai ; and the remainder, ac- 

 cording to Pennant, has the appearance of having the 

 insulation completed by art. At a little distance 

 from the town, and about a quarter of a mile from 

 the Menai, is the ancient StgOMtUHHt which covers an 

 oblong space of about six acres, and is placed 0:1 the 

 summit of a rising hill sloping in every direction. 

 There are vestiges of walls in several parts, and in 

 one place is the remains of a building made with tiles, 

 and plastered with hard and smooth mortar. A 

 public road passes through the middle of this station. 



The present town was built by Edward, after he 

 conquered the country in 1282. It was finished in 

 one year, and the fortifications and castle were com- 

 pleted before 1284-. The walls and the exterior of 

 the castle are at present exactly the same as they 

 were in the time of Edward. The walls have a num- 

 ber of round towers, and two principal gates, one of 

 which faces the east, and the other the west. The 

 entrance to the castle is beneath a massy tower ; and 

 over the gate-way, which had four portcullisses, is pla- 

 ced the statue of Edward in a menacing attitude, with 

 a halt drawn sword in his hand. The castle occupies 

 an oblong space of three acres. All the towers are 

 cither pentagonal, hexagonal, or octagonal, and two 

 of them are much more lofty than the rest. The 

 eagle tower, which derives its name from the figure 

 of that bird placed upon its top, is singularly beauti- 

 ful. Its' walls are nine feet nine inches thick, and 

 thrie slender angular turrets issue from the top of it. 

 The walls of the fortress are seven feet nine inches 

 thick, and have within their thickness a very con- 

 venient gallery, with narrow openings for the dis- 

 charge of arrows. In a little dark room on the eagle 

 tower, which is about 12 feet by 8, Queen Eleanor 

 brought forth the, first Prince of Wales of the English 

 line. 



The town of Caernarvon, which is neat and regular, 

 xvas formerly included within its present walls, but 

 the suburbs are now larger than the town. The 

 houses are well built, and the streets, which though 

 narrow and confined, are clean, and are all at right 

 angles, corresponding with the gates. The hot and 

 cold baths, built by the late Earl of Uxbridge, have 

 increased the number of gay invalids who visit this 

 place in the summer season. Along the banks of 

 the Menai, and without the walls, there is a delight- 

 ful promenade, which commands a fine view, and ex- 

 tends from the quay to the north end of the walls. 

 The church of Caernarvon, which is situated about 

 half a mile to the south east of the town, is in the 

 parish of Llan-Beblic. The chapel of ease stands in 

 the north west comer of the town, and the service is 

 always performed there in English, while at Llan- 

 Beblic it is performed in Welsh. The business of 



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the county is transacted in the room over die eastern 

 gateway, which was formerly used as a custom-house, 

 for which a building has been erected within the 

 walls. There is also at Caernarvon an extensive 

 bowling green. 



At a small distance from Caernarvon castle, near 

 the steep bank of the Seiont, i a Roman fort. The 

 walls, which are pretty entire on two bides, are 10 

 feet 8 inches high, and 6 feet thick ; one of them is 74 

 yards long, and the other 64. Along the walls are 

 three parallel lines of round holes, not three inches in 

 diameter, and nicely pi; 'tiin. There are ia 



the end of the wall similar holes, which appear to 

 run through it lengthwise. The foundation of a 

 tower appears near the corner of one of the walls. 

 " This very curious piece of antiquity," says Mr Pen- 

 nant, " is at present most shamefully disfigured by 

 walls and other buildings, insomuch, that I fear my 

 description will in a manner become unintelligible." 



Though Caernarvon has no manufactory, yet it 

 carries on a tolerable trade with London, Bristol, 

 Liverpool, and Ireland. Vessels of near seven hun- 

 dred tons can ride in safety in the harbour, but the 

 entrance to the port is beset with extensive sand 

 banks. The articles imported, which are consider- 

 ably less than the exports, consist chiefly of Irish 

 cloth, fine wool, hides, tallow, and groceries. Slates, 

 to the annual amount of L. 50,000, are exported to 

 London, Bristol, and Liverpool. Copper ore from 

 Llanberis, and the Paris mount, is shipped to Swan- 

 sea ; and flannel webs, stockings, and an ochre found i 

 Anglesea, are exported to America and the West In- 

 dies. Number olhouses 609. Population 36'36 ; of 

 whom 4-00 were returned as employed in trade and 

 manufactures. See particularly Pennant's Tour 

 through Wales, Lond. 1810, vol. ii. p. 4O3 ; and 

 Evan's Tour through South Wales. (*-) 



CAERNARVONSHIRE, one of the counties 

 of North Wales, is bounded by the sea on all side* 

 except the east, where it borders upon Denbighshire, 

 and a small part of the south, where it is in contact 

 with the county of Merioneth. This county is the most 

 mountainous in Wales, and exhibits all the sublimity 

 and rugged grandeur which is peculiar to Alpine re- 

 gions. The celebrated mouncain of Snowdon, and a 

 number of subordinate hills, with their craggy sum- 

 mits, deep dells, moors, chasms, and lakes, occupy 

 the central part of the county, and are connected with 

 another chain of hills, which extend across the county 

 in a north west direction, from Abt-rconway to the 

 sea at Aberdaron. The mountains between Caernar- 

 von and Conway appear from the shore of Anglesem 

 to rise in three different ranges. The lower valleys 

 and the bases of these mountains are generally tem- 

 perate and fertile. The second nmge affords pastu- 

 rage and fuel, while the highest range is destitute of 

 vegetation, and is covered with snow during a great 

 part of the year. The vak? of Conway, which ter- 

 minates at the town of Aberconway, extends about 

 twenty miles. It gradually widens to about a mile 

 in breadth, and its beauty increases particularly ia 

 the neighbourhood of Llanrwst, where it is formed 

 into the finest meadows. The declivities of thr 



C > 



I'nir ar Fon, signifies the strong hold opposite t 



