Cylchgronau Cymru

BEACON WATCH TOWERS ON THE NORTH WALES COAST BY GEORGE LLOYD THESE towers are situated at Whitford, Abergele, the church turret of Llandrillo-yn-Rhos, and Degannwy. In the past there has been a good deal of uncertainty as regards the history and date of the construction of the three round towers of Whitford, Abergele, and Degannwy and this article is an attempt to give a practical solution of their origin and approximate date. The first tower with which we are concerned is that on Garreg Hill, about three-quarters of a mile west of Whitford, 809 ft. above O.D. and commanding a view of the river Dee, the old Hoyle Lake anchorage, the river Mersey, and as far as the Isle of Man in clear weather. Thomas Pennant in his History of the Parishes of Whiteford and Holywell 1796, refers to it as a Roman Pharos which is illustrated by his artist Moses Griffith. His description of the tower is as follows The Romans took advantage of this elevated situation and placed on its summit a Pharos, to conduct the navigators to and from Deva, along the difficult channel of the Setsia Portus. The building is still remaining. It is tolerably entire its form is circular the inner diameter twelve feet and a half; the thickness of the walls four feet four inches. The doors or entrances are opposite to each other over each is a square funnel, like a chimney, which opens on the outside, about half-way up the building. On each side is a window. About four feet from the ground are three circular holes, lined with mortar, as is frequent in Roman buildings and penetrates the whole wall, for purposes now unknown. Within are the vestiges of a staircase which lead to the floors, of which there appear to have been two. Along such part of the upper, which was conspicuous from the channel, are eight small square openings, cased with free stone (the rest of the building being of rude lime stone, bedded in hard mortar) and each of these were separated by wooden panels, placed in deep groves, the last still in perfect state. In each of these partitions were placed the lights, which the Romans thought necessary to keep distinct, or to prevent from running into one, lest they should be mistaken by seamen for a star. Periculum in corrivatione ignium, ne fidus existimetur. To the building is very evidently a broad and raised road, pointing from the east and near its upper end are the marks of a trench, which surrounded and gave protection to this useful edifice. It certainly had in later times been repaired, or perhaps applied to some other use, for in one part is a piece of timber which could not have been aboriginal'.