The Seven Wonders of Wales () is a traditional list of notable landmarks in north Wales, commemorated in an anonymously written rhyme:A Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to North Wales (Southern section) via Google Books
The rhyme is usually supposed to have been written sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century by an English visitor to North Wales.Wales on Britannia: Seven Wonders of Wales , britannia.com The specific number of wonders may have varied over the years: the antiquary Daines Barrington, in a letter written in 1770, refers to Llangollen Bridge as one of the "five wonders of Wales, though like the seven wonders of Dauphiny, they turn out to be no wonders at all out of the Principality".Letter to Mr. Gough, July 20, 1770, in Illustrations of the literary history of the eighteenth century, v.5, Nichols, Son, and Bentley, 1828, p.583
There are also other shorter versions of the rhyme, including:Overton in days gone by via Google Books
A similar version to this included the last line as "Llangollen Bridge and all Welsh people".The Wrexham Advertiser, 7 May 1870 via the Welsh Newspaper Archive
The seven wonders comprise: Image Wonder Location Date Notable Features Pistyll Rhaeadr Near Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, Powys n/a A tall waterfall, falling 240 ft (73 m) in three stages St Giles' ChurchEglwys San Silyn Wrexham 16th-century The 16th-century tower of St Giles' Church in Wrexham can be seen for miles Overton yew treesCoed ywen Owrtyn Overton-on-Dee, Wrexham County Borough Planted at different times, ~3rd–12th century 21 yew trees at St Mary's Church St Winefride's WellFfynnon Wenffrewi Holywell, Flintshire AD 660 (as pilgrimage site), constructions date to medieval Historically claimed to have healing waters Llangollen BridgePont Llangollen Llangollen, Denbighshire Current construction dates from around 1500 Site of the first stone bridge to span the Dee Bells of All Saints' Church, GresfordClychau Gresffordd Gresford, Wrexham County Borough 13th-century The church bells are listed for their purity and tone SnowdonYr Wyddfa Snowdonia, Gwynedd n/a Highest mountain in Wales at 3,560 ft (1,085 m)
See also Seven Natural Wonders of the UK Seven Wonders of the World
Notes and references