The Roman & Medieval Crossings of the River Conwy
© Kanovium Project
This image shows the dock and another view of the possible river crossing which can be seen to be very narrow and rocky. The quay wall can be seen to project into the Conwy river, seen here at an acceptional.high tide on the 17th of April 2003 The flooded area to the left of this quay is the other half of the silted up mooring area, big enough for many ships, maybe half a dozen of the large transport ships used by the Romans, but on this day it is entirely covered by the river. Surely a tide such as this (modern day sea, and water table levels being taken into consideration) would have had the Romans struggling to secure their ships, or possibly releasing them to safety upstream of the fort site?. It is interesting to see the extent of a high tide on the Conwy river as the supposed Roman dock appears much lower and silted up than the level of the current river. The narrow point of the river, centre, is rock cut and is likely to be not much dissimilar from Roman days, this could possibly be the much vaunted area the Roman army crossed the Conwy. It would be interesting to know what remains under all the silt covering the dock.
It is unlikely that the quay wall
visible here is Roman, a trial trench put right through this earthwork (and still visible today) by P.K. Baillie Reynolds in 1928 located five stratified levels of archaeology representing stages of the quay development, it
seems only the first (puddled clay, cobbles, and brushwood) are actual Roman work. Indeed the top two layers had proved to be relatively modern, containing brick fragments. So while the dock was likely established
by the Romans, it seems it has been used extensively since, even as late as 1996 when a small amount of silt and mud was removed from the tip of the spit to allow access for modern boats (or jet skies). Why has the dock
seen subsequent use? much of the history of such obscure archaeology such as this dock is very vague, the only attention it has received was the 1928 trench, so we are largely in the dark as to the post Roman use of it.
On a purely romantic speculative note we could consider the following events, Kanovium may have been the seat of a post Roman chiefdom. Legend has it that a local warrior prince Rhyn occupied the fort site in the 6th
century. While it is purely only a legend we do have parallels with other local post Roman occupation sites. These high status sites are our only recorded 5th -8th century evidence of post Roman occupation, these
are Deganwy Castle, Bryn Euryn hillfort (Colwyn Bay), Dinorben hillfort (Abergele), Pen-y-Corddyn-mawr hillfort (Rhyd-y-Foel), and Dinas Emrys hillfort (Beddgelert). These sites represent high status post Roman fortified
dwelling sites (they could also be undefended too) which occupy a small period of Welsh history between the demise of Roman rule and the sweeping raids of Saxon and Viking pirates (and Irish) which in itself would only be
curtailed by the Norman conquest of this area in the 12th century. Saxons are recorded as being in the Conwy river area by the 8th century, and the Irish and Vikings are well documented in Anglesey, therefore it is highly
likely that any seafaring race, including dark age chiefdoms, would have used an upstanding dock such as the one at Kanovium . Why do we describe the dark age use as high status? because they imported high status goods
such as amphoras containing wine, still being produced in post Roman Italy, and also Germanic glass goods. In a slightly unconvincing modern theory that the 5th and 6th century post Roman occupants of North Wales had
ceased to make pottery then these imports are highly significant. The old Roman dock would have been an added advantage. Adjacent to Kanovium is a medieval name, the house and land of Castell, while we are uncertain
of where this castle stood, it is certainly evidence of the post Roman power base shifting not very far at all, and gives added credence to the continued use of Kanovium fort and its surroundings. The use of the dock in
later centuries is vague, with the founding of St Mary’s Church in the 13th century, the dock may still have been used by the possible ecclesiastical settlement associated with the church, a fish trap lies to the south of the
dock. A brickworks existed on the opposite bank of the Conwy, I am unsure of date, but it may too have used the dock, finally in the late 1790’s, Caerhun Hall is built, and the sandstone used in is construction is also
docked at the old quay
The air photographs of J.K.S. St Joseph indicated that a large ranged or courtyard type building, which is obviously Roman, stood just north of the dock. A very large building, approximately
200x100 feet, its use is unknown, it looks rather like a hospital. Auxiliary forts are known to have had hospitals, though often their location is open to dispute, the recovered plan of Kanovium fort indicated nothing of
the sort, but the location of a hospital near the dock here is equally inplausible. Adjacent to the courtyard building, north, are an area of very very indistinct tumps, quite possibly tombs as the R.C.A.H.M.W. Inventory
to Caernarvonshire vol II, notes one in this area. The building was also located on the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust Environs Geophysics survey of 2002, it was useful from my point of view as it seems to indicate the
condition and size of the river bank in Roman times. The Conwy has obviously changed height and deposited silt during the intervening centuries, so it is difficult to imagine how the river bank looked then. If a
very large building stood at this point then the bank has changed very little at all, and still looks similar to how it looked to the Romans. The clay marsh to the south of the dock occasionally yields the odd piece of
Roman ceramic, I originally thought this was odd as I would expect the clay to have been deposited long after the Roman interest in the site ended. But the probability that this building indicates that the river bank is
unchanged seems to point to the fact that the clay marsh was present in Roman times, possibly they used it as today for sheep and cattle, being wary of the high tides, always a feature of the Conwy.
Situated on the west bank of the River Conwy, the Roman fort at Caerhun, known to the Romans as Kanovium or Conovium, is believed to have been established at this point to control a network of trackways already in existence at the time of the forts founding in the late 70’s A.D. Basically known as a ‘route blocker’ a fort situated at an area of strategic importance with the aim of restricting native movement. These tracks which ran N-S, and E-W had been dictated by the nature of the land which North Wales consisted of, basically the N-W area was a great upland massif, which consisted of the Carneddau, Glyderau, and Snowdonia mountain ranges, while the N-E area consisted of the Mynydd Hiraethog (Denbigh Moors) which ran north to end at a flat coastal plain. The people before the Romans desired easy routes into this area (and indeed Anglesey and the western seaboard) the route N-S entered North Wales near Llangollen, and used the Dee Valley to enter this broken landscape. The E-W track connected the modern area of Deeside to Anglesey and the west, climbing up from sea level at modern Greenfield (near Basingwerk Abbey). The route today is slightly mirrored by the A55 road, however it veered away from the coast near St Asaph to eventually reach the Conwy river (above). From the river crossing it reached for the mountain pass of Bwlch y Ddeufaen, (pass of the two stones) to finally descend to Aber and once more be reunited with the coast (and now the A55). It would seem this track was considerably antique by the time of the arrival of Vespasian’s legionaries and auxiliary cohorts during 75-8 A.D, it was common practice for the army to utilize tracks already in existence especially in difficult terrain. While the Roman road was a strong factor in impressing the local folk and could be built as a large straight ‘agger’ even when the ground did not dictate such vast amounts of man hours to construct, however such ostentations were not considered appropriate in North Wales, and natural arteries already in use were transformed into something resembling the Roman road, though often were narrower than a Roman road in gentler countryside. The probably date for the founding of this track was in the Neolithic period, the ground west of the Roman fort, Bwlch y Ddeufaen pass, shows surviving examples of field systems from this period (which the British track respects) and also a ‘cromlech’, a stone chambered tomb, also seems to respect the track at Maen y bardd. The pass of the two stones, given its name by two Neolithic or Bronze age standing stones still in place, indicates an early establishment, while later Roman milestones of the Constantinian dynasty stood close by. Therefore the track was constructed possibly around 3500 B.C. The Roman army ‘formalised’ the trackway adding cuttings and aggers whenever possible, they did not respect the earlier settlements at Bwlch y Ddeufaen and their road not only disregards the field systems it is also seen to obliquely pass over an area of small stone circles, hut circles, and burnt mounds at an area just east of the pass, and north of the Afon Tafalog brook. The Deeside to Anglesey track became the Roman road connecting the fort of Segontium (Caernarvon) to the legion base of Deva (Chester) and we even know the name the Romans gave to it, ‘Itinerary 11’. A Roman road book, the Antonine Itinerary, which has survived until modern times as a Medieval reprint, indicates the road Iter XI connected the Roman military settlements of Deva, Canovio, Varis (unknown) and Segontio, this subject is dealt with in more detail at the Roman Milestones page. The south route (which was dictated by the Conwy Valley, (a natural fault) was now utilized by the Romans as the road to the forts of Bryn y Gefeiliau at Capel Curig, and at Tomen y Mur near Trawsfynydd.
The Itinerary 11 route ignored the North Wales coastal plain, which stretched from Point of Air (north of Greenfield), Prestatyn, Rhyl, Abergele, Llanddulas, Colwyn Bay, and Llandudno to end at the Conwy Estuary. It would seem the British track had done likewise (indifference to later Saxon and Norman and English conquests, which used the coastal plain as access to the mountains and valleys of the region). Avoiding the coast was necessary as the plain ended at areas of limestone headlands, these commencing at Abergele-Tan y Gopa, Llanddulas-Cefn yr Ogof, Old Colwyn-Penmaenhead, and last but not least the two Ormes at Llandudno. The headlands apparently not being deemed suitable areas by the Romans upon which to place a road, the compromise, however resulted in equally difficult terrain of another nature. The road ran south of St George and Abergele (after leaving the coast near St Asaph), north of Betws yn Rhos, and south of Llanelian, to change direction at Bryn y Maen (south of Colwyn Bay) to cross dreadful country to reach the river crossing at Tal y Cafn. The route north of Betws yn Rhos (once proposed as an alternative to the A55 coastal route in the late 1970’s) was difficult, the centre is the Dulas valley and basin, still waterlogged and broken even today, and the Roman army had to build their road here on a timber bed, likely more flooded then, helped today by modern field drains. West of Bryn y Maen the ground was even worse, several deep gullies, including, a very deep example (now utilized for the parkland of Bodnant Gardens) meant the road would have been difficult to construct, and it got worse west of the river crossing. West of the Conwy estuary there was more headlands, this time of granite, (Conwy Mountain, Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan) shy of these and the estuary, which then may have been a mile wide resulted in any track or road maker striking west for the Bwlch y Ddeufaen pass, before easier ground east of Bangor could be reached. This early road crossing the river at Tal y Cafn, at a point four and a half miles south of the Conwy Estuary, and one mile north of the Roman fort.
It has always been considered the fort guarded the crossing point of Iter XI, but opinion is confused to exactly where the Roman road crossed the River Conwy. I have heard it quoted it actually crosses at the site of the fort, a look at the above image can show this can not have been possible, the woods of Nant Gaeddor and Coed Cerrig-y-wyallt, far right, situated on the east lip of the valley are not suitable terrain for constructing a road. Opinion is stronger that the Romans crossed at Tal y Cafn which is exactly one mile north of Caerhun fort. This idea is given credibility by the fact it was obviously an ideal point to cross the river, and this is indicated by a Medieval castle mound guarding the west bank, the fact it became a Medieval ferry continuing to be used by stage coaches to only end as such by the construction of the modern steel bridge in 1897. The 1897 bridge is significant, by the twentieth century the Conwy Valley had become something of a backwater, literally. The North coast had become the focus with the founding of the modern resorts of Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, and Llandudno, aided by Thomas Telford’s new Holyhead road and bridge at Conwy, but it would seem the crossing point still warranted a new bridge. Likely because of the modern mountain resorts of Betws y Coed and Capel Curig, but doubtless many Victorians, on horse back, on foot, or still in stage coaches aiming for Anglesey would still have used the ancient road over Bwlch y Ddeufaen.
So the ancient validity of the crossing confirmed, did the Romans also cross the river here? surely the idea is flawed? Situated one mile south of the river crossing the fort would have been out of touch with folk movement at Tal y Cafn? From the area of the fort it is not possible to see Tal y Cafn, between the two points is a slight rocky rise, today the site of the wood Coed yr Arw, the bluff only stands to a height of 39 metres, but as Kanovium fort stands at 25 metres it completely blocks the view of the river crossing from the fort. Therefore it would have been necessary to construct a fortlet at Tal y Cafn bridge, it would also have needed to be in view of the main fort, so signal towers may have been sited at Coed yr Arw, or possibly on the opposite bank at Nant Gaeddor. This is pure conjecture, and while the troopers from the fort could have easily reached the river crossing in several minutes to intercept British movement, it would have been obvious either there was some intelligence permanently garrisoning the river crossing or important orders could not have been conveyed, therefore a signaling system is likely, in the form of smoke signals by day (also painted paddles which pivoted from frames similar to semaphore systems) and beacons by night.
A Medieval castle guards the west bank, called Bryn Castell, or Castle Hill, see below, surely this also would be the site of any Roman watch tower, but field walking the motte reveals no information, though the knoll upon which it was constructed (loose clay and river gravel) has eroded badly east of the motte so a Roman tower could easily have stood here which has now slipped into the river. Finally, the north road of Kanovium fort certainly seems to be heading north to Tal y Cafn river crossing and no deviation east to the river has ever been noted. The road can be viewed as an earthwork (agger and sandstone kerbs) crossing the field south of Coed yr Arw, and was located in a trial trench by P.K Baillie Reynolds mid point between the wood and the fort. However an area of very low river just north of the Roman settlement seems to indicate a possible ford of the river. This ford, which is visible on these images would certainly be in view of the fort, it is still usable today, and it would have easily been possible to cross cattle here, but there is no information on the ford, if natural or man made, but it is possible this, not Tal y Cafn, is the place the Romans operated a customs post restricting movement of goods and people. Possibly the muddy slopes of Nant Gaeddor and Coed Cerrig-y-wyallt were avoided by deviating north for a short distance, and the road east then took a similar route to the one believed to descend to Tal y Cafn. The image below shows the Conwy river from the N-E corner of Kanovium, narrowing at Coed yr Arw.
The second image conveys the probable routes of the three main roads exiting the Roman fort. It should be noted that all are mostly conjectural, though sections have been dug around Caerhun fort and Roman roads located (especially north and south), therefore the general destinations can be guessed at. Above Roewen the Roman road is bold and clear (if confused by the later winding tarmac lane) but from the river crossing, and indeed the west gate of the fort no trace of the road can now be seen. The south road can be seen as a causeway exiting the fort, S-E of which is the river and marsh, and it appears to curve S-W, to avoid the river, this was confirmed in one of P.K Baillie Reynolds’ sections in 1929. The course south is now not known. The course of Iter XI east was possibly confirmed by E. Waddelove in his 2000 study of the Roman roads in the area The Roman Roads of North Wales New Discoveries, private publication. The road west is confirmed on air photographs (in this author’s opinion), it is believed it joined Iter XI near Roewen to head for Segontium, but the course over the modern farmland now subdivided by 19th century enclosures is again difficult to trace today. Possibly the lane running north from Caerhun Farm, via the Afon Roe valley, to Roewen to soon join with the Roman road from Tal y Cafn bridge mirrors its former route. There was no 4th route as the River Conwy stood beyond the east gate of the fort. It is likely a road would have commenced north from the river crossing to access the great Orme with the rich copper deposits, the Roman site on the Vardre at Deganwy, and Roman interests near Rhos on Sea
The Tal y Cafn or Cafn Gronant River Crossing
© Kanovium Project
The Conwy, a short but significant river, 27 miles in length, divides the landscape into two halves, the mountainous land of Gwynedd to the west, and the farmland and moor of the Mynydd Hiraethog, east. The east appears to have been quickly conquered by the Romans as early as 48 A.D, the west the land of the Ordovices, though possibly Deceangli, was a natural fortress, and the Romans built a network of forts to hold this region. This has always been the first crossing point of the river, four and a half miles north at the estuary was more daunting to travellers, in antiquity it was one mile wide, so the ferry here at Tal y Cafn was an easier option, in time of summer becoming shallow. The Conwy was tidal up to the point of the Roman fort, and it is believed their shallow draught cargo boats (of up to 100 tons) would have been able to dock here. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was possible to ship further south, as far as Trefriw, which was a popular destination for steam passenger ships. We have absolutely no proof the Romans crossed here, but if they did it would have been a ford, it is doubtful a bridge would have been built at such a location, the soldiers and their mounts simply crossing at time of low water. We have no evidence for Roman bridges in North Wales, other than narrow examples of wood with stone abutments one which crossed a narrow mountain brook east of the fort of Tomen y Mur, and one at Roman Bridge rail halt south of Dolwyddelan, now beneath the railway station. It would seem rivers of the size of the Conwy may have been too expensive to bridge, a shallow ford being preferred if ever possible.
The Tal y Cafn crossing doesn’t look fordable, it is too deep and too muddy, besides it was always subsequently known as a ferry, likely the causeway mentioned above, nearer to the fort would have been more suitable. But if we are vague to our knowledge of this crossing point during the Roman occupation more is known of its subsequent history.
At Kanovium fort by 380 A.D the last person in possession of Roman money had long since left. History is blank at what became of the fort after this date, the coin of Theodosious the elder is our last link with the Roman establishment at Caerhun. By 406 A.D the last Roman garrison had left Britain, Wales is likely to have been relinquished sooner. The fort appeared to have received no maintenance or additions later than 250 A.D, so by the 5th century would likely to have been a derelict shell. But some Roman authority seems to have lingered, the area of the Roman fort north to the river crossing, and west became a maerdref. The maerdref was a small native Welsh (not truly Welsh, as Wales only became as such in the 9th century) kingdom, these are very often centred on old disused Roman sites (not always however) often native hillforts too. Similar maerdrefs came to be situated a nearby Segontium and Pen Llystyn forts, and at Romano-British sites at Deganwy, Bryn Euryn-Colwyn Bay and Dinorben-Abergele. At Caerhun the powerbase shifted from the fort and moved several hundred metres south to the area Castell, a farm retaining the name Maes y Castell. It is likely the fort was the site of the first maerdref, why a shift is unknown. A local myth names the fort Caer Rhyn, Rhun or Rhyn was a chief of a local aristocratic 5th century war band, we will never know if Rhun actually resided in the remains of Kanovium, but it is clear the local folk picked themselves up following the vacuum created by the Roman evacuation, and established some form of order centred on the fort and its river crossing. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions an attack on North Wales by a Saxon, Egbert in 830, and there is evidence of Saxon conquest of the land opposite the maerdref by the 9th century, possibly the post Roman armed strength keeping the Saxons at bay on the west bank of the Conwy. The area retained the royal connection, by the 10th century it had become a ‘commote’, still Welsh, the commote centred on the motte at the river crossing but the manor house was still situated at Castell. The area of the fort, and indeed far west became home to many bond tenancies dependent and subject to the commote. We know this because many local field names survive which we know indicate Medieval farming, such as ‘Erw’ or acre (seen closely adjacent to the east fort wall at Kanovium), and in farm names such as Llwydfaen all of which cluster on the fort and river crossing.
Of the motte at Tal y Cafn we know little, though it would seem the original Medieval name of the crossing point was Cafn Gronant. The motte is now known as Bryn Castell, though in the 18th century Richard Fenton names it as Castell Maelgwm
© Kanovium Project
Seen looking west, the motte has received no archaeological work, though it is listed and drawn by R.C.A.H.M.W in their Inventory to Caernarvonshire 1956. R.C.A.H.M.W describes the motte as being constructed 40 feet above the River Conwy, as being oval, with a circumference of 335 feet, a height of 15 feet with a small summit of 36 by 50 feet. It was built of river gravel, which may have been robbed later, as there is damage to the area seen above, there is no evidence of the motte ever having a ‘bailey’ or defensive outwork. It likely contained a wooden tower, and like a possible Roman predecessor was sited to monitor movement over the river crossing. We do not know if the motte was Welsh or Anglo-Norman, many such sites often being taken in forays and held by different protagonists from time to time. But the days of the military importance of the Conwy crossing point where soon to end at the English conquest of the 1290’s A.D when King Edward the first built a network of castles around the North Wales heartlands, including one at Conwy. For the first time in 1200 hundred years the powerbase of local authority switched from Caerhun with its diminishing memories of ancient power, to move to Conwy, though there had been a slight movement following Roman end in the area in the form of the maerdref at Deganwy (Roman influence from the 2nd to the 4th century) but now it shifted entirely over the river to the new borough at Conwy (English settlers had been invited to occupy the town) a ferry was established at Conwy, from the foreshore of the Llandudno Junction bank to end at the area of the modern bridges beneath the castle which was to exist until Thomas Telford constructed his bridge during 1822-6. A ferry continued at Tal y Cafn, and became a popular alternative to the wide crossing at Conwy for various reasons, natural danger, weather, and the bad attitude of the ferrymen.
The history of river crossing area during Medieval times is surprisingly well documented. The area of the Tal y Cafn ferry was called Cafn Gronant. Cafn Gronant was a maerdref of the commote of Arllechwedd Isaf. This commote was extensive and stretched from the Conwy estuary in the north, to Dolgarog, south of Caerhun, it was constituted by what would later become Gyffyn, a suburb of Conwy, and the three Caerhun maerdrefs, Castell , Glyn, and Cafn Gronant, all free townships. Castell appeared the foremost power, consisting of a warband akin to a clan (Della Hooke), it would seem their bond tenancies had been denuded of villeins at the time of the Norman conquest. They still existed in the 17th century as their descendants the Davies family of Caerhun. The Davies family centred on land now occupied by the later Caerhun Hall, their holdings had been extensive with tenants throughout the Caerhun area. The clan holdings previously had reached as far as the peak of Pen y Castell at 2034 feet, west of Caerhun, Pen y Castell is likely to mean ‘the top of the land of Castell’ while Castell is centred on the Afon Roe, west of the Roman fort, Castell holdings likely also encroached on the mountain itself, and names such as Hafod y gors wen, Hafod y garreg, and Frith y bont indicated Medieval farming. Interestingly, while the clan and the later Davies family actively attempted to form estates, they also lost some land to commons, and high ground with the name ‘cae’ field, suggests land gained from diminishing clans.
Indications of Medieval farming around the fort and river crossing is also fairly clear, Medieval land names are fairly prolific around Kanovium and Castell, such as ‘dryll’ a strip or ridge (furrow), ‘lleiniau’ a quillet, ‘talar’ a headland, and ‘erw/cynfar’ a measure of land, possibly an acre. The Afon Roe near Castell has a cluster of the erw name, and the field now occupied by the Kanovium bath-house is called ‘erw y gaer’ or ‘the fort acre’. Dol is also significant, meaning meadow or pasture, we have Dolymarchog near Castell, this means ‘horses pasture’, it is known during the 15th century horse breeding took place high up near Maen y bardd, and during the winter the stock was kept at Dolymarchog and Cafn Gronant. The ferry point also being of great importance for the moving of stock. 17th century land records now held at Caerhun Hall, Vaenol Hall at Bangor, and Baron Hill Hall at Beaumaris (all unpublished) indicate the Caerhun/Castell land use. Oats, barley, peas and rye, forming 50% of the output, but the other 50% was of much greater importance and consisted of horses and cattle. This website has considered the importance of Conwy Valley cattle breeding previously in St Mary’s Church. By the 19th century the estates ceased to own much of the high land west of the fort and in 1858 Ffrith cwm ithel on the slope of Drum was enclosed, and even later in 1919 at Ffrith Bwlch y Ddeufaen near Maen y bardd.
The later history of of Tal y Cafn, or Cafn Gronant river crossing is as follows. The first written record of the ferry occurs in 1301, during 1326 the ferry boat had to be replaced due to being riddled with rot. It is known by 1429 a ferry also existed at Conwy, and both had been owned by a single operator. The Conwy ferry catered for travellers from Chester to Ireland, and the Tal y cafn ferry catered for travellers from Shropshire, and the Midlands to Ireland. During 1777 the ancient track of the Roman road over the Bwlch y Ddeufaen was considered as the location of a ‘turnpike road’ this was a publicly funded toll road, which once the initial cost had been met would be self supporting. The go ahead was granted but the turnpike never got constructed. During 1806 on Christmas day the boat containing the Irish Mail coach capsized in a storm at Tal y Cafn, with the loss of 11 of the 13 passengers, including a 15 year old boy, obviously the crossing at Conwy Estuary had been too rough. The Irish mail was the need for a decent road link to Ireland, and there was much public debate about the solution to the river crossing, obviously what was needed was a bridge, and the government pressed for one. In 1811 Thomas Telford put forward a plan for a road along the North Wales coast, and a bridge over the Conwy estuary, finally completed in 1826, and a railway bridge was completed in 1848. Prior to the final bridging of the Conwy the Tal y Cafn crossing still retained some popularity as the ferrymen at Conwy had developed a reputation for unreliability and obnoxiousness. Richard Fenton (a visitor at Caerhun fort) reports in 1813 that on a wild night after waiting two hours for the none appearance of the Conwy ferry boat resulted in his party having to travel up river to Tal y Cafn and cross over the Bwlch y Ddeufaen at night in a torrential storm. Finally in 1897 the bridge is built ending the ferry which must have existed since the 14th century if not longer. It is still shown on the 1947 Ordnance Survey map sheet 107 as a toll road, it is no longer, though occasional stops are made for trains, and today the western approach to the bridge is occupied by a long standing family business of tailors. The ferry point on the west bank remains, well constructed in stone. A 1990’s housing development on the site of an old Inn now declares access to the dock is now prohibited.
The Sources of Information about the Conwy River Crossing
Pre Medieval - Kanovium Project
Landscape
and Settlement in Medieval Wales : Understanding Settlement in the Conwy Valley, Della Hooke, The Royal Courts of the Welsh Princes in Gwynedd, David Longley. Oxbow Monographs 81 1997.
The Crossing of The Conwy : Michael Senior. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch 1991.
Royal Commission Ancient and Historic Monuments Wales : Inventory of Ancient Monuments Caernarvonshire Volumes 1&2 1956.
