Llanrwst: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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GBP 60 - 140 The Meadowsweet Hotel
 This comfortable, family-run establishment in Snowdonia is nestled in the small market town of Llanrwst in the heart of the Conwy valley near Betws y … MoreGBP 50 - 140 Maenan Abbey Hotel
 Situated in the beautiful Conwy Valley, on the outskirts of the magnificent Snowdonia National Park. The hotel stands on the site of the original thir… More | ||||||||||||
Llanrwst: Guide
| Llanrwst Conwy | |
Llanrwst (Llanrwst and North Llanrwst railway station|North Llanrwst on the Conwy Valley Line (which once terminated here, before being extended to Betws-y-Coed in 1867 and Blaenau Ffestiniog in 1879). Had the railway line been built on the west shore of the river Conway, as originally planned (to serve the inland port of Trefriw, located across the river from Llanrwst), it is unlikely that Llanrwst would ever have achieved its present status. Indeed, at one time more people lived in Llanrwst than any other place in Wales, even Cardiff.
Attractions in the town include the bridge (Pont Fawr), built in 1636 and said to have been designed by Inigo Jones, the fifteenth century courthouse Tu Hwnt i'r Bont, two seventeenth century chapels and Gwydir Castle, a manor house dating from 1492. The parish church holds the stone coffin of Llywelyn the Great.
The historic Llanrwst Almshouses were constructed in 1610 by Sir John Wynn of Gwydir to house poor people of the parish. The buildings closed in 1976, but were restored 1996 with the aid of National Lottery|Heritage Lottery funding, reopening as a museum of local history and a community focal point. The museum currently holds a collection of over a hundred items relating largely to the rural Conwy Valley, and a number of items are associated with the renowned Llanrwst Bards of the late nineteenth century.
The Gwydyr Forest lies to the south west of the town.
History & "Independence"
Llanrwst hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1951 and 1989.
In 1276 Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, a Welsh Prince, also know as Llywelyn the Last seized the town, declaring it a "free borough" independent from the diocese of St. Asaph|Llanelwy. Although the Archbishop went as far as to seek the help of the Pope to overturn this, his attempts failed, Llywelyn pleading a close family tie to the place as a reason for safeguarding it.
After the death of Llywelyn in 1282, every further attempt by the Archbishop of Llanelwy failed, the Cistercian monks of Aberconwy Abbey (where Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Llywelyn's father, had died in 1240) insisted that it be allowed to keep the independence which had belonged to it for 29 years, and ripped down any banners related to the Bishopric or to Edward I of England. (A century later, the monastery was moved eight miles upriver to Maenen, near Llanrwst.)
The town consequently has its own coat of arms and flag, and this is the origin of the old local motto "Cymru, Lloegr a Llanrwst" (Wales, England and Llanrwst).
In 1947, Llanrwst town council made an unsuccessful submission to the United Nations for a seat on the security council, stating that Llanrwst was an independent state within Wales. The chairman and secretary of the Llanrwst Historical Society have now obtained proof of this from the UN in New York. (see also micronation).
The recently returned the above-mentioned Llanrwst flag to the community. Dating from the twelfth century, this emblem was central to the town's belief that it was independent of the United Kingdom, proudly bearing the motto "Cymru, Lloegr a Llanrwst".
The phrase "Cymru, Lloegr a Llanrwst", a testament to this apparent independence, has now become synonymous with the song of that title, by local band Y Cyrff.
See also
Llanrwst Rural District
External links
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Llanrwst". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.