Tours > Wales > Caerwys Caerwys (Care Wiss)
A few miles west of Holywell, the tiny settlement of Caerwys (Care Wiss) proudly proclaims itself as the smallest town in Britain, for it was restored to town status with its own mayor in 1974 after the period since 1886 as a mere Parish. Caerwys was granted its first borough status as early as 1290 by Edward I, having earlier received a charter from Henry III. The town also boasts of containing the oldest lived-in house in Wales, with parts of a 1480 dwelling remaining in an 1800 alteration.
An eisteddfod is reputed to have been organized here as early as 1100 by Gruffudd ap Cynan (Gruffith ap Kunan); another in 1523, but the most famous took place in 1568. This year the town hosted an eisteddfod called by Queen Elizabeth I in a competitive festival to control the Welsh bards and minstrels (mainly to prevent the practice of poetry, often scurrilous and anti-monarchical, by those unlicensed). The nearby village of Tremeirchion (Tray Mare Keeyon) commemorates Dr. Johnson's Mrs. Thrale (Hester Salesbury, a native of Denbigh who came to live in the village). Her second husband, Count Piozzi is buried in the Churchyard.
