CAERWYS, a parish and borough (unincorporated), formerly an incorporated market town, in the Caerwys division of the
hundred of RHUDDLAN, county of FLINT, NORTH WALES, 4 miles (S. W. by W.) from Holywell, on the road from that town to
Denbigh, containing 985 inhabitants. The name of this place is thought to be derived from Caer, a fortress, and Gwyn, a
summons; denoting that this was anciently a small Roman station, and subsequently a seat of judicature; and it appears,
previously to the conquest of Wales by Edward I., to have been, together with a neighbouring town called Trev-Edwyn, long
since decayed, and the borough of Rhuddlan, one of the chief tribunals for this part of the principality. In 1244, the
Welsh abbots of Cymmer and Aberconway, having been constituted by the pope a court of enquiry, to ascertain whether Davydd
ab Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, had been under the influence of terror or force, in concluding a late unfavourable
treaty with King Henry III. of England, and, if so, to absolve him from the obligations of fulfilling it, summoned King
Henry to appear before them in the church of this town, to answer to the complaints of Davydd; but he, incensed at the
indignity offered to his authority, immediately applied to the pope to annul the commission, which was accordingly done.
Llewelyn ab Grufydd, the last native sovereign of North Wales, prior to his accession to the throne, resided at Maesmynan,
nearly adjacent, and possessed, as his patrimonial estate,the circumjacent cantrevs of Tegeingl, DyfrynClwyd, Rhos, and
Rhyvonioc. Shortly before the entire subjugation of Wales by the English, one of the grievances complained of by the
inhabitants, and submitted by their prince Llewelyn to Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbury, who had constituted himself
mediator between him and the English monarch, was, that the privileges of the men of Tegeingl, or Englefeld, comprising
the greater portion of the county of Flint, had been grossly infringed by the justiciary of Chester, who compelled them to
go to that city, or other places, to procure justice, asserting their right to be tried by the laws of Wales, and at the
usual places, viz., Rhuddlan, Trev-Edwyn, or Caerwys. On the introduction of justiciary courts into Wales, under the
sanction of the English law, Caerwys recovered its former importance, and the assizes for the county were held here till
the year 1672, when they were removed to Flint, and thence to Mold, where they are now held. The gaol is yet remaining,
but has been converted into a dwelling-house, called Yr hen Jail, "the old gaol:" there are also some fragments of the
town-hall, and the site of the last gallows is shewn upon a common, close to the road side, a little south-eastward from
the town. Henry III., in the 26th year of his reign, granted the inhabitants a charter of incorporation; and in 1356, the
grant of a weekly market and two annual fairs was procured for them, at the instance of John Trevor, Bishop of St. Asaph,
and others. Caerwys was long renowned for its Eisteddvodau, or sessions of bards and minstrels, which for some centuries
were held triennially, and in later times at irregular intervals. It was the resort of the bards of a certain district, as
Aberfraw in Anglesey was of those of that island and the adjacent county, and Mathraval of those of Powys; these places
having been selected on account of being the residences of princes. At these meetings none but bards of superior merit
were allowed to rehearse their compositions, nor any but minstrels of acknowledged skill to perform on their harps: of
their respective merits judges were appointed by the Princes of Wales, and, after the conquest of that country, by the
Kings of England. A commission from Queen Elizabeth, dated at Chester, the 23rd of October, 1567, for holding an
Eisteddvod at Caerwys, in the following year, is now in the possession of Sir Thomas Mostyn, Bart., together with the
silver harp, which it had been from time immemorial the privilege of his ancestors to bestow upon the best performer on
that instrument: this badge of distinction is about six inches long, and is furnished with strings of silver,
corresponding with the number of the Muses. The Eisteddvod accordingly took place on May 26th, 1568, when fifty-five
persons were admitted to their respective degrees, as vocal and instrumental performers, and the prize of the silver harp
was adjudged to Sion ab William ab Sion. The commissioners, in the course of this year, published a notice that another
Eisteddvod would be held on the next anniversary of that day; but of this assembly no particulars have been preserved,
further than that it was the occasion of a poetical contest between the bards of North and South Wales, in which some of
the most beautiful stanzas in the Welsh language were produced extemporaneously. From this period the Eisteddvodau did not
enjoy any share of royal favour, and were not convened by the successors of Queen Elizabeth; but in the year 1798, an
attempt to restore them was made by the Gwyneddigion Society in London, and, after the usual notice of a year and a day
had been given, a numerous meeting, under extensive and highly respectable patronage, was held in the town-hall here,
which had been especially fitted up for the occasion, and the usual contest of talent and skill took place, and prizes
were awarded to the successful candidates. The town, however, had been for some time declining; and, notwithstanding
these and similar efforts for the restoration of the Eisteddvodau to their original splendour, the Welsh poetry was
rapidly waning in character, and the high patronage by which it was previously cherished had declined, when a revival took
place, in the year 1828, under the auspices of the Cymrodorion Society in London; and the most splendid Eisteddvod on
record was held, on the 16th, 17th, and 18th of September, in that year, at Denbigh, where it is probable these ancient
meetings will in future be re-established. The town, which now presents only the appearance of a village, is pleasantly
situated at the junction of two vales, and consists of two streets intersecting each other at right angles, and
corresponding with the cardinal points, in the manner of a Roman town; from which circumstance, and the discovery of
ancient foundations and other relics, it has been considered by some writers the Vans of Antoninus; but this station has
with greater probability been fixed in the parish of Bodvari, the name of which, added to the discovery of numerous Roman
remains, especially in the plantations of Pontrifith, in that parish, appears to entitle it more to a claim of identity
with the Roman settlement. Caerwys has but little trade: a small quantity of woollen cloth is manufactured, and there is
a wire-mill on a limited scale, affording employment to a very few persons. Lead-ore has been found at different times, in
small quantities, mixed with the limestone strata in the eastern part of the parish, and a considerable quantity of iron-
ore exists on the western side of the town, but at present there are no works for procuring either. The nature of the soil
in the parish is various: in some parts of its north-western extremity it is very poor, being composed of a thin covering
of vegetable earth over a barren yellowish clay, but in other parts it is well adapted to the culture of barley and oats.
The market, which was held on Tuesday, has long since fallen into decay, in consequence of the establishment of a market
at Holy-well. Fairs for the sale of cattle, sheep, horses, and pigs are held on the first Tuesday after January 13th,
March 5th, the last Tuesday in April, the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday, the first Tuesday after July 7th, August
29th, November 5th, and the second Tuesday in December, which are the most considerable in the county. The charter
conferred upon the inhabitants the right of appointing two bailiffs, for the better government of the town, annually at
the court feet of the lord of the manor, now held about Michaelmas by Edward Mostyn Lloyd Mostyn, Esq. Caerwys is one of
eight contributory boroughs within the county, which are united in the return of one member to parliament: the right of
election is vested in the resident inhabitants paying scot and lot, in number at present one hundred and thirty, provided
they be capable of registering pursuant to the act. The limits of the borough, which were not altered by the late act for
amending the representation of the people, comprise parts of the townships of Caerwys and Trev-Edwyn: the mayor of Flint
is the returning officer. The living formerly consisted of a sinecure rectory and a vicarage, each rated in the king's
books at 9.10., which were united by an act passed in the 29th and 30th of Charles IL: it is in the archdeaconry and
diocese of St. Asaph, and in the patronage of the Bishop of St. Asaph. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is a neat
edifice with a square embattled tower, consisting of a nave and north aisle, and appropriately accommodated to the use of
the parishioners. There are places of worship in the town for Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists, and one for the former
also at Pen y Cevn. A National school is in progress of erection, partly at the expense of the National School Society,
and partly by subscription, in which one hundred and sixty children of both sexes may receive gratuitous instruction. In a
field near the village, called Erw 'r Castel', was anciently a fortress, the history of which is unknown, and of which
there are no remains. On almost every side of the village, but more particularly on the plains towards Newmarket, are
tumuli, of which several, having been opened, were found to contain urns of clay rudely formed: some of these have been
converted by the neighbouring farmers into lime-kilns. About a mile from Caerwys formerly stood a large stone, nearly five
feet high, bearing the inscription " Ilk facet outlier bo . . . . obiit," which was for some time used as a gate-post, but
was removed, about the close of the last century, to the gardens of Downing, in the parish of Whitford, then the seat of
Mr. Pennant, the antiquary and naturalist In the field in which this stone was situated a considerable number of copper
coins of different Roman emperors was discovered some years ago. At Fordden, near this place, regularly formed spars,
stalactites, and coarse mineral agaric are found; and in a wood in the vicinity there is a well, called St. Michael's,
the water of which has obtained, . among the superstitious inhabitants of the neighbourhood, the reputation of possessing
a peculiar miraculous efficacy, and the spring was formerly much resorted to by the credulous, on the morning of Easter-
day, for the purpose of drinking it. Dr. Wynne, Bishop of St. Asaph, and afterwards of Bath and Wells, was a native of
Caerwys; and the Rev. John Lloyd, an eminent antiquary, and the friend of Pennant, was rector of this parish: he died in
May 1793, and was interred in the church here. The average annual expenditure for the support of the poor amounts to £271.
17.