ABERGELE (ABER-GELAU), a parish and market-town, in the union of St-Asaph, hundred of ISDULAS, county of DENBIGH, NORTH
WALES, 12 miles (N. W.) from Denbigh, 20 (N. W.) from Ruthin, and 224 (N. W.) from London, on the great road to Holyhead,
from Chester, containing 2506 inhabitants. This parish takes its name from its situation near the month of the river
Geley, which here falls into the Irish sea, and is celebrated as the scene of several military exploits in the earlier
period of the wars between England and Wales, and of various transactions of great historical interest. Prior to the
Norman Conquest, Harold, in his attempt to subjugate this part of the principality, was encountered by Grufydd ab
Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, on the plain near Cevn Ogo, in this parish, and, after a sanguinary battle, in which he
was defeated, and a considerable number of his men slain, was driven back to Rhuddlan. In the reign of William the
Conqueror, Hugh Lupus, on his march to invade the Isle of Anglesey, passing through the defile of Cevn Ogo, which is the
narrowest pass on this part of the coast, was attacked by an armed band of Welshmen, which had been posted there to
intercept his progress, and of which, after an obstinate and protracted battle, eleven hundred were left dead on the spot.
In the reign of Henry II., Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, on his retreat from Flintshire, fortified himself in this
pass, where he gave battle to the forces of that monarch, and repulsed them with great slaughter: after having secured
this important post, he retreated to Pen y pare, in the adjoining parish, where he made a stand against the English
forces, and effectually checked the further invasion of his dominions. Near this same pass, Richard II., whom Percy, Earl
of Northumberland, under pretence of an amicable interview with Bolingbroke, had inveigled from Aberconway castle, after
his return from Ireland, was surrounded by a military band, bearing the Northumberland banner, and conducted to Flint
castle, where he was treacherously betrayed by the earl into the power of the usurper. From these circumstances it has
been justly remarked, that on no spot in the principality has more blood been shed than in the defile of Cevn Ogo. The
town is delightfully situated in a pleasant valley, watered by the river Geley, and within half a mile of the Irish sea,
which forms the northern boundary of the parish. The coast, in some parts, is terminated by sandy cliffs, impending over
the sea, which, according to tradition, has made considerable encroachment upon the land; and a stone tablet, in the north
wall of the churchyard, records in Welsh, but without either name or date, that a man was buried there who lived three
miles to the north, to which distance the coast previously extended. The testimony of this epitaph is corroborated by the
appearance, at low water, of a large tract of hard loam, in which oak trees, in an almost entire state, but softened to
the consistency of wax, have been found. The salubrity of the air, the pleasantness of its situation, and the decided
superiority of its shore for sea-bathing, have rendered Abergele a favourite resort for invalids, and made it the most
fashionable watering-place in North Wales: during the summer season it is frequented by numerous families, for whose
accommodation every requisite arrangement has been made. The environs abound with picturesque and with strikingly bold
scenery, and afford various pleasing and interesting excursions. Lead and copper ores, tin, and manganese, are
occasionally found in the parish, and many spirited attempts have been made, but without proportionate success, to
discover mines of sufficient extent to remunerate the adventurers for working them: lead-ore only is obtained at present,
and that but in small quantities. The fine range of mountains on the south of the town abounds with limestone, of which
great quantities are procured, and shipped off weekly for Liverpool: in these works, which are conducted upon a large
scale, two hundred men are constantly employed in quarrying, and fifty horses in conveying the produce to the coast. The
market, which is on Saturday, is well supplied with corn and provisions; and fairs, which were formerly noted for the sale
of cattle, are held annually on the 1 ith of February, 2nd of April, the day before Holy Thursday, June 18th, August 20th,
October 9th, and December 6th. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of St. Asaph, rated in
the king's books at A li. 9. 91., and in the patronage of the Bishop of St. Asaph: the rectory is an impropriation held in
commendarn by the archdeacon, since the time of Henry VIII. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is a low edifice of
great length, and of unpretending character, with a lofty square tower at the west end. There are places of worship for
Baptists, Independents, and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. Some charitable donations and bequests have been made for
the gratuitous instruction of children, and for distribution among the poor. About halfway between the pass of Cevn Ogo
and the town is Gwrych castle, now being built by Lloyd H. Bamford Hesketh, Esq., and occupying the summit of a rocky
eminence: the front of this extensive structure already exceeds four hundred and eighty yards, on each side of which a
noble terrace, four hundred and twenty yards in length, has been raised, which extends to the east and west entrances, the
latter of which is through a high arch, flanked by two lofty embattled towers: the building comprises eighteen lofty
embattled towers, of which the principal, called Hesketh Tower, is ninety-three feet high: the whole, when completed, will
be one of the largest structures of the kind in Great Britain. On the summit of one of the limestone hills, about a mile
north of the church, there is a very large and perfect camp, called Casten Mawr; and near it, on a hill called Copps yr
Wylva, or " the mount of the watch tower," there are some remains of an ancient British fortress of great strength, of
which the north front is defended by an almost perpendicular precipice, one hundred and ninety-six feet in height, and on
the east and south are walls of stone and a deep fosse on the west is a large opening between two mounds of earth and
stone, beyond which is another deeper and broader fosse, called Fos y Rhuveiniaid, or " the Roman Fosse." About two miles
to the west of the town is Cevn Ogo, a lofty and precipitous rock of limestone, in which, among others of minor extent,
there is one of the most spacious and magnificent natural caverns in Europe: it has a bold front towards the sea,
considerably elevated, and the entrance, which is many feet above the road, is under a lofty arch of comparatively fine
proportions, forty-eight feet in height, within a very short distance of which, proceeding inward, rises a tall columnar
rock, presenting the appearance of a rudely sculptured massive pillar, which divides the cavern into two apartments: the
recess to the left soon terminates, but that to the right spreads into a spacious chamber, thirty feet in height, and
extending to an unexplored depth into the interior of the mountain. The sides and roof of this surprising cavern are
studded with beautiful pendant stalactites, many feet in length, ranged on each side with an appearance of perfect order,
resembling the pipes of an organ, and reflecting the most brilliant diamond-like hues and the floor is strewed with
immense masses of stalagmite, uniformly of a deep orange colour, and of the most grotesque and fanciful forms.
Brjrnfanigl, in this parish, was the residence of Marchudd ab Cynan, one of the fifteen ennobled tribes of North Wales,
who was cotemporary with Roderick the Great, and subsequently that of his descendant, the brave Ednyved Vychan. The
average annual expenditure for the support of the poor amounts to £1136. 11.