Notes on Ruthin

Jon's Travel Notes on Ruthin, Wales

6/26/96 I drove from Devonshire to Ruthin in North Wales, approaching the town through very winding roads in hills devoted (at least in the past, if not now) to mining.

Ruthin approach

I got in at 3:00, so I had a very short span of time in the Record Office (shown below).

Record Office

In a sense it was enough, because the parish records here have been transcribed and indexed, and are very good--but there was no sign of my most famous relative, supposedly from a family of some prominence in this town. Something very fishy here, but at least it's good to have that knowledge, and follow it up from other directions. It is entirely possible that the Americans who recorded Robert Williams's story on that end simply got the place of origin wrong--his career in America is pretty well established.

I took a walk around the town to gather the photos shown here, and at day's end I had a very nice dinner in the old inn where I was staying:

but I kept hearing loud cheers from the telly room in the pub, and soon retired to my own room to see the rest of the England/Germany European Cup match. The Welsh youths in the pub (who spoke Welsh with one another) were rooting for Germany, though all the adults around (who mostly spoke English) were pulling for England.

Other views of Ruthin:

Old Court House (a piece of the old gallows still attached)

Town wall outside Ruthin Castle (built 1284).
The walk along the wall.

View of the town from the castle.
Historic Mill Street. Ruthin was quite a center for milling, which was the chief trade Robert Williams took with him to the new world.

Town wall outside Ruthin Castle (built 1284).	The walk along the wall.
View of the town from the castle.	Historic Mill Street. Ruthin was quite a center for milling, which was the chief trade Robert Williams took with him to the new world.