There is an opportunity here to visit the industrial village of Bersham if you follow the trail from the car park starting point along the Clywedog Valley Trail westwards. If you do so, visit the Heritage Centre in Bersham, which displays the history of the valley's industry. There was an iron furnace here as early as 1670, and in 1753 the lease of the works was taken over by Isaac Wilkinson. In 1763 his sons, John and William, took over and founded the New Bersham Company based in Bersham Ironworks (all three men had a terrific flair for invention).
In the mid-18th century there was a big demand for cannons, and the Wilkinsons developed a boring machine that enabled cannon barrels to be cast solid and then hollowed out. In 1775 the process was adapted to a much more significant invention: the Boulton & Watt steam engine.
Cylinder bores had to be accurate to avoid leakage between them and the pistons. In 1776 James Watt wrote: "Mr Wilkinson has improved the art of boring cylinders so that I promise upon a 72 inch cylinder being not further from absolute truth than the thickness of a thin sixpence in the worst part." During the next 20 years Bersham bought most of the cylinders for Watt's engines, which powered the Industrial Revolution.
Bersham Ironworks expanded, and by the 1790s employed hundreds of workers and extended for almost half a mile along the valley. Then John and William quarrelled, the business drifted into a steady decline, and the works finally closed in 1812.
Remnants include the weir the Wilkinsons built to provide water to power the machinery, and three cottages opposite the Heritage Centre (originally a row of 13 built by the Wilkinsons in 1785 to house their workers). The whole site is now an industrial museum.
Back in Erddig Country Park, there are many paths that criss-cross the way, so you may feel the need to wander, but you will not want to miss out on the formal garden. The garden, like Erddig Hall, is a fantastic attraction: John Meller laid it out in its present form between 1718 and 1732 in the style then most fashionable, and today little has changed, proving his vision has stood the test of time. Meller bequeathed the estate to his nephew Simon — the beginning of the Yorke family tenure — and Simon developed the garden further while doing little to the house.
One highlight of the grounds of Erddig Country Park is a short section of the 40-mile-long Wat's Dyke. Less well known than Offa's Dyke, it was built for a similar purpose, though historians argue to this day over who actually commissioned it.
Another remarkable site in the park is the Cup and Saucer — a waterfall feature that uses a small drop in the River Clywedog to raise a small proportion of it to a greater height.
As for Erddig Hall itself, the original house was built on a dramatic escarpment above the winding Clywedog river between 1684 and 1689 to the designs of Thomas Webb for Joshua Edisbury of Pentre Clawdd, High Sheriff of Denbighshire. Since then there have been many alterations and additions, and the hall and grounds are now in the care of the National Trust.
Other sights to look out for on the walk around the estate are the joiners' shop and smithy, the Midden Yard (with its sawmill and cart sheds), and the Stable Yard (with stables, tack room, carriages, vintage bicycles, and vintage cars), while inside the house are the laundry, bakehouse, kitchen, and scullery.
Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.
