PENBEDW, a hamlet, in that part of the parish of NAN-NERCH which is in the hundred of RUTHIN, county of DENBIGH, NORTH
WALES, 6 miles (S. S. W.) from Holywell; containing 47 inhabitants. This hamlet is situated in the southwestern and more
mountainous part of the parish, on the turnpike-road from Denbigh to Mold, and is separated from the parish of Kilken by a
small water-course, which also forms a boundary between the counties of Denbigh and Flint; the rateable annual value is
£564. The manor, which was granted by Henry VIII. to Peter Mostyn, Esq., in 1544, is now the property of Major Molyneux
Williams, whose residence, Penbedw Hall, is a handsome mansion, erected in 1775, and occupies an eminence, commanding an
extensive and interesting prospect over the picturesque and fertile Vale of Nannerch; it is surrounded by a fine park.
This portion of the parish is rich in mineral treasure: and near the mansion of Penbedw is a valuable mine of iron-ore,
of so rich a quality, and of such purity as to yield fifteen cwt. of iron from every ton of ore: this mine produced one
thousand eight hundred tons of ore in the year 1826, since which time the working of it has been discontinued. Lead-ore is
found in abundance throughout the eastern portion of the hamlet, and, though the mines have been worked for centuries,
they are still very. productive. The park of Penbedw, though not very extensive, contains some interesting relics of
antiquity: in front of the house are the remains of a Druidical circle, one hundred yards in circumference, which appears
to Inive originally consisted of eleven stones, of which only five are at present remaining; the sites of the others,
which have been removed, being occupied by thriving oak-trees, planted with a view to preserve the original form of this
ancient monument. About two hundred yards to the west of the circle is a large upright stone, near which are two tumuli,
in a perfect state. On one of the Clwydian mountains, above Penbedw Hall, are the remains of a strong British camp, called
Moel Arthur, defended by fosses and ramparts, and having on one side of it a smooth terrace of considerable extent; this
fortification, which formed one of a numerous chain of British posts on this range of mountains, communicated with Moel-y-
Gaer, in the parish of Northop. A sum of £2 is annually distributed among the poor by Major Williams; half of that amount
having been paid for many years by the owners of the Penbedw estate, under a bequest of £20 by Dorothy Hughes, in 1691.