It is said that Rhewl is the site of what was a major battle between the forces of Henry III and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in the 13th century. The army of the Welsh prince was utterly annihilated there, caught by surprise near the banks of the River Dee. Ever since, the woods there have been called, Coed y Gadfa, ‘Wood of the Battle’ or ‘Battle Wood’.
Do the spirits of the Prince of Gwynedd's slain army still wander these woods by the River Dee?
The old woman was said to live on the edge of Coed y Gadfa - here perhaps..?
It is said that the ghosts of Llywelyn’s troops still haunt the woods, some say as goblins. So troublesome were these spirits that an old woman who lived by the woods was paid to enter Coed y Gadfa each evening carrying a bucket of fried rabbit and frogs legs. It was thought that the smell as she waved the bucket about was very much like the stench of the hastily cremated bodies on the battlefield, and thus reminded of the horror of their deaths, the spirits would flee, leaving the locals free from the moans and groans for another evening.
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