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The historical town of Ruthin is situated in North Wales with its origins in the 13th century. The town of Ruthin was built on a red sandstone hill as a strategic lookout over the River Clwyd. A town which has over seven hundred years of recorded history, whose streets have been trodden by kings, queens, princes and travellers; its past suffered plague, battle and siege; its buildings reflect the best of architectural styles making the town an outstanding Conservation Area worthy of preservation.
Some other areas of note in Ruthin are:
Ruthin Castle, a baronial castle ordered to be built by Edward I, around 1277, was largely constructed in 1282. It consisted of two wards and five round towers originally guarding the inner ward. All that remains are three towers and the ruined double-towered gatehouse. According to local history, the lordship of Dyffryn Clwyd was given to the Grey family in 1282 after the defeat of Llewelyn effectively ending the principality of North Wales. Up to 1400 the history of the castle had little to note.
In the early 15th century the castle was held by Lord Grey, a gentleman who had made an enemy of one Owain Glyndwr by trying to acquire the Dee estates of the Welshman. When Glyndwr was ready to launch his bid for an independent Wales, Ruthin and Lord Grey became the first target. The attack surprised all and Ruthin was ravaged and burnt. The Civil War saw Ruthin Castle resisting attack by Parliamentary forces, who returned to besiege it two years later in 1646 and the castle was destroyed by order of Parliament.
Pendref Chapel. Situated at the upper end of Well Street (originally named Welsh Street) stands the town's oldest chapel, Pendref built in 1827.
Nunber 6 Well Street was where the Welsh national anthem was first printed.
The old courthouse, or manor courthouse, was the site of the principal court of the Lordship of Dyffryn Clwyd. Built in the early years of the fourteenth century with cells for prisoners in the basement area, the remains of the scaffold can still be seen projecting from the eaves. The last execution to take place there was probably that of a Franciscan friar, Friar Charles Mahoney, on 12 August 1679.
On the west side of the main square is Maen Huail on which, according to legend, Huail, son of Caw and brother of Gildas the historian, was beheaded for crossing King Arthur in love.
St Peter's Church dates from the 13th and 14th centuries and has a magnificent oak panelled roof given, according to legend, by Henry VII. The attractive gates leading to the south porch of St Peter's parish church were made in 1727 by the renowned craftsmen and blacksmiths Robert and John Davies of Bersham. Consisting of a pair of main gates between elaborate piers, with smaller side gates, the whole topped by much decorative scrollwork, they were restored in 1928.
The Myddelton Arms, of Dutch design and dating from the mid-16th century, has a remarkable roof with an unusual arrangement of windows known locally as the 'eyes of Ruthin'. It was built by Sir Richard Cough in the late 16th century. Adjacent is the Castle Hotel, formerly the White Lion, an elegant Georgian building which once had a cock-pit at the rear.
Nantclwyd House in Castle Street is a Grade I listed timber-framed mansion and the oldest building in Ruthin dating from 1314. It is said to be one of the two buildings to survive the burning of the town by Owain Glyndwr. The building has recently been restored.
County Hall in Record Street, now the town library, was designed by Joseph Turner, architect and one-time County Surveyor of Denbighshire. Built between 1785 and 1790 to house the records of the Court of Great Sessions and Quarter Sessions, the original scheme was amended to include a courtroom. Together with another Turner design, the old county gaol, the building established Ruthin's position as the principal county town of Denbighshire.
The Old County Gaol in Clwyd Street was renovated and opened as a tourist attraction in 2002. Built in 1775 to the designs of J Turner of Chester, as a model prison of that period to serve Denbighshire. The last execution was held in 1903 and he Gaol closed in 1916.
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