If ever a bridge could be said to reflect the history of the village within which it was built, then Pont Rhyd-y-gwaed over the River Clywedog at Rhewl would fit the bill wonderfully - the Bridge over the Blood Ford.
The bridge as seen today, crossing the modern A525 Ruthin to Denbigh road would seem, from the inscription, to date from 1819, but there has likely been a crossing here, of one sort or another for centuries. Edward Lhuyd, writing at the end of the 17th century makes no mention of a bridge here (and he was terribly particular about documenting bridges within a parish) but since the road itself did not exist at the time, this is perhaps not unusual. As the name would suggest, it would have originated as a ford, and served as such for an age and a day, until the growth of travel in the 18th and 19th centuries warranted a new road and bridge.
It has several names, this bridge of Rhewl, other than Pont Rhyd-y-gwaed. It is also known as the Pont yr Englyn, for one, since in a wonderful smidgen of quirkiness, it has inscribed within its inner surface a poem, written as the name would suggest, in the englyn style - a traditional form of short poem, in which quantitative metres are used, involving a strict counting of syllables with rigid patterns of rhyme. Each line of the poem should have a repeating pattern of consonants, and an accent known as a ‘cynghanedd’.
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As such, the poem poses issues in producing an easy translation, which retains the rhyme…but of course, it was never really meant to be translated into any other language. However, an effort is given below, and is to be found in Gordon Emery’s rather wonderful, ‘Curious Clwyd 2’, and does an excellent job in maintaining the meaning of the poem and something of the rhyme.
‘Blood ford bridge, truth mantle making – On bedrock
Its foundation withstand shaking
So well it will be waiting
For generations waking.’
The poem seems to be accurate, since while other bridges in the district have suffered from flood damage in the past, the Pont Rhyd-y-gwaed has resolutely survived. As for the author, legend tells that it was written by Thomas Edwards, better known as Twm o’r Nant of Nantglyn, the Cambrian Shakespeare, no less. It has been suggested that he was also responsible for inscribing the englyn into the bridge, which given his past as stonemason makes considerable sense.
As the englyn makes plain, however, the bridge is known by another name, a rather darker, more sinister name - Pont Rhyd-y-gwaed, roughly rendering into English as something along the lines of, ‘The Blood Ford Bridge’. Exactly what this name refers to is unknown, but based on the information we currently possess, there are two possibilities that come to mind. The name could perhaps refer to the Battle of Maes Maen Cymro in 1118, in which Hywel ab Ithel of the cantrefs of Rhos and Rhufoniog fought the sons of Owain ab Edwin of Dyffryn Clwyd in what would seem to have been an extraordinarily brutal encounter - one which, it is said, led to the Clywedog running red with the blood of the slain, and the fields (one of which is named Cae Gwaed - Field of Blood) to the north of the bridge used to cremate the dead. There is also the possibility that it refers to an English Civil War skirmish, perhaps linked to a brief, short engagement when a desperate Royalist force out of Denbigh attempted a last ditch effort to lift the siege of Ruthin in April 1646 - an effort that ended in utter failure. Musket balls are still said to be found in the near vicinity of the bridge, and so in the absence of other evidence, I would suggest the ford and then the later bridge was thus named for that desperate 17th century skirmish.
And so the Pont Rhyd-y-gwaed lends itself to mystery. A bridge of several names, of wonder and savagery. In little Rhewl, if you please.
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