Corwen, Merionethshire

Historical Description

Corwen, a small market-town and a parish in Merionethshire. The town stands on the river Dee under a lofty rock at the foot of the Berwyn Mountains, on the Holyhead roady 10 miles W of Llangollen, and 12 SSW of Ruthin. It has a station at the junction of the Llangollen and Bala branch of the G.W.R., with the Chester, Denbigh, Ruthin, and Corwen branch of the L. & N.W.R. It is the head of a poor law union and county court district and a seat of petty sessions½ and has a head post office. It is a favourite resort of anglers, and is a quiet, old-fashioned town. There is a workhouse and also almshouses. The church is cruciform, and was restored in 1871; it has Norman parts, and contains a monument to Jorwerth-ap-Sulien —thought by some to have been Bishop St Julian, " the godliest man and greatest clerk of Wales." The shaft of an ancient stone cross, attributed to the 8th century, stands in the churchyard. There are Baptist½ Congregational, Calvinistic Methodist, and Wesleyan chapels. A weekly market is held on Friday. The parish is divided into the townships of Bodorlas, Carrog, Dol-Aberalwen, Hen-dreforfydd, Llygadog, Mwstwr, Bhaggatt and Bonwm, Tiri-lanerch, Trewyn, and Ucheldref. Acreage, 15,107; population of the civil parish, 2680; of the ecclesiastical, 1828. Rhug is a seat of the Wynn family, and contains a knife and a dagger said to have belonged to Owen Glendower. Caer-Drewyn, on an eminence 1½ mile N of the town, is an ancient British fort, occupied by Owen Gwynedd in opposition to Henry II., and by Owen Glendower in opposition to Henry IV., and commanding a fine view of the vales of Glyn-dyfrdwg and Edeimion. A spot on the Berwyn Mountains bears the name of Cadairfronwen, and has a view of nearly 40 square miles of Glendower's own land. The living is a rectory, with Rhug annexed, in the diocese of St Asaph, and prior to 1862 was a sinecure, while the vicarage of it was united with Glyndwrdy; gross value, £393 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of St Asaph. Glyndyfrdwg was constituted a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1863. Coryatt. See CORFE GATE.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

For births, marriages, and deaths in Corwen from 1837 to 1935 you should search for the Corwen Registration District.
For births, marriages, and deaths in Corwen from 1935 to 1974 you should search for the Merioneth East Registration District.

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Merionethshire is available to browse.

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers online:

• Western Mail