‘The bridge, which was founded by the first John Trevor bishop of St Asaph, who died in 1357, is one of the Tri Thlws Cymru, or three beauties of Wales: but more remarkable for its situation than structure…The river usually runs under only one [arch]; where it has formed a black chasm of vast depth, into which the water pours with great fury, from a high broken ledge, part of the smooth and solid rock, which composes the whole bed of the river. The view through the arches, either upwards or downwards, is extremely picturesque’.
Thomas Pennant, ‘Tour in Wales Vol 1 (1778), p. 360-61
It is almost certainly the case that there has been a bridge at Llangollen, and in its current position across the Dee, from the very earliest days of its likely 6th century foundation. It would make every sense to site the settlement and its bridge in this spot, since despite appearances, the River Dee can, at times, be forded here. But frequent heavy rain in the hills makes a torrent of the river, and a bridge brings necessary reliability.
The earliest bridge would undoubtedly have been of wood, but there is a tradition that Llangollen was the site of the first stone bridge across the Dee. That too makes sense, since the river in flood makes short work of the labours of man, and a wooden bridge would have been casually cast to splinters by an enraged Dee. As W. T. Simpson makes plain, the Dee, ‘certainly is a very inconstant stream.’ (1) It is said that a bridge was built here during the reign of Henry I (1100-1135), and that during the 14th century rebuild, a stone bearing the date of 1131(2) was discovered. An army under the command of Alexander I of Scotland campaigned in North Wales as part of Henry’s three pronged attack on the Welsh kings and princes in 1114, and so the tradition is not perhaps without merit, since it is entirely possible that Alexander made use of Llangollen in making his way into Gruffudd ap Cynan territory. Is it too great a conceit to merge these two slivers of tradition - that the first stone bridge across the Dee at Llangollen can be assigned to the campaign of 1114?
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The Covid Pandemic of 2020/21 played havoc with the Royal International Eisteddfod, resulting its outright cancellation in 2020, and forcing it to go online in 2021. With no parade, the town still managed to bring colour and spectacle to view, the bridge playing its part, being covered in a patchwork of fabrics, the idea of the artist Luke Jerram and representing all corners of the globe, during what would have been the Eisteddfod week.
Our earliest written account of the Llangollen Bridge is from the Patent Rolls of 1284 - just a year after the final conquest of Wales by Edward I.
‘Grant to Roger de Morturo Mari,(3) of pontage, for three years, in aid of the repair and maintenance of his bridge of Thlangotthlan.’
Mortimer’s bridge was largely reconstructed in the 14th century under the direction of John Trefor I, Bishop of St Asaph (1346-57).(4) There remains, however, some debate as to whether the actual architect was not in fact his namesake, John Trefor II, also Bishop of St Asaph (1395-1410).
While Enderbie(5) (and Pennant) vie for Trefor I, Browne Willis considers the later Trefor to be responsible.
‘The Trevors of Trevor Hall in the Parish of Llangollen in this Diocese are descended from this Bishop, who is said to have built Llangollen Bridge, which is reckoned one of the greatest Curiosities of that Kind in North Wales.’
Willis, Willis Survey of St Asaph, p.75
That said, it seems more likely that John Trefor I should be given the credit, given that the later Trefor likely had much else to contend with.(6) Still, it’s currently impossible to be certain.
The views along the Dee from Llangollen Bridge are frankly, quite wonderful.
While there are hidden traces of the 14th century work, the fabric of the current bridge is thought to be largely 16th century, rebuilt sometime in the 1530s. This is the bridge that Leland makes mention of in his Itinerary in Wales (1536-9).
‘Llangollen is a ix miles above the Holt, and there is a great stone bridge on Dee Ryver.’
Leland, p.90
The bridge was again extensively rebuilt in 1656. A considerable undertaking, it seems, since records show a Rondle Reade was paid the extraordinary sum of £250 for his work. His efforts are remembered in a stone which was removed from the bridge in 1873 and can now be found within the frontage of the Masonic building a little ways down Hall Street.
Situated now on the frontage of the Masonic building in Hall Street, the Rondle Reade stone remembers the work done upon the Bridge in 1656.
The bridge has been much banged about with since, especially with the advent of the steam train in the 19th century. The arrival of steam to Llangollen came with the extension of the Ruabon Line to the town beginning in 1863(7) under the direction of Henry Robertson.(8) The newly built station, directly to the west of the bridge and on the northern bank of the Dee, necessitated the widening of the bridge and the building of a ‘tunnel’ to bring the trains through. During the alterations pieces of floriated sepulchral slab were found, thought to date from the 14th century and almost certainly originating at Valle Crucis Abbey. It’s likely that they were brought over from the Abbey after the Dissolution and utilised in the rebuilding of the bridge as part of the 16th or 17th century works. They were removed to Siamber Wen on the canal above the bridge, the home of Robertson and his sisters, where they remain to this day.
During the works of the 1860s, a curious and quirky little castellated tower was built on the north eastern corner of the bridge - a quite beautiful little folly. At times it served as a sweet shop and a café, before being demolished in 1939-40, considered a hazard to road traffic. More evidence of the narrow minded and frankly dunder headed thinking of bureaucrats, who would have us all living amongst blandness and in architectural boredom. The bridge had its width almost doubled in 1968-69 in order to cope with the increasing amount of road traffic, and it is this bridge, with bits and bobs added in later years, that exists today.
The much missed castellated tower on the north east corner of the Bridge c. 1920.
Llangollen Bridge has enjoyed a long life, has featured in the Tri Thlws Cymru (though no one seems to know what the other two were), the Five Beauties of Wales and of course the Seven Wonders of Wales. Rare praise indeed.
Pistyll Rhaeadr and Wrexham steeple,
Snowdon's mountain without its people,
Overton yew trees, St Winefride's well,
Llangollen bridge and Gresford bells.
Footnotes
[1] History of Llangollen and its Vicinity, Simpson, p. 76
[2] The stone, if it ever actually existed, has long been lost. The date is in any case problematic.
[3] Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer of Chirk.
[4] Little is known of John Trefor I, but he is believed to have been of local origin - to the village of Trevor on the outskirts of Llangollen.
[5] Detailed on a manuscript note in Cambria Triumphans or Brittain in its Perfect Lustre (1661).
[6] John Trefor II was a later ally of Owain Glyndŵr, and it seems unlikely that he would have had the time and perhaps the means to divert enough attention to the rebuilding of a bridge in Llangollen.
[7] Until the 1860s, rail passengers were required to alight at Whitehurst Halt to the near north of Chirk and take carriage to the town through Froncysyllte along the A5.
[8] Owner of Brymbo Steel Works and builder of the Cefn Viaduct and the Chirk Railway Viaduct.
Further Reading
B. H. St. J. O’Neil, Llangollen Report, Archaeologia Cambrensis 90, (1935)
T. Pennant, Tours in Wales Vol. I (1778), ed. J. Rhys, Caernarvon, (1883)
W. T. Simpson, History of Llangollen and it Vicinity, Llangollen, (1853)
L. T. Smith, The Itinerary in Wales of John Leland, London, (1906)
B. Willis, Willis’ Survey of St Asaph, ed. E. Edwards, Wexham, (1801)
Archaeologia Cambrensis, 5th Series Vol. I No. IV, October 1884
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