The Holyhead Road: The Mail-coach Road to Dublin. Vol. 2

In Short

Charles G. Harper traces the western half of the historic mail-coach highway from the noisy industrial centers of Birmingham and Wolverhampton across the Welsh border to the island of Anglesey. Part travelogue, part history lesson, and part architectural survey, the volume captures a landscape in transition as the golden age of stagecoaches yields to steam engines and modern engineering. Filled with eccentric local legends, innkeeper lore, and descriptions of Thomas Telford’s engineering feats, the work preserves the social customs, physical landmarks, and vanishing traditions along this vital national thoroughfare.

The Story

The journey picks up in the bustling urban center of Birmingham, where large coaching inns like the Hen and Chickens once hummed with the constant arrival and departure of coaches like the Highflyer and Bang-up. Moving past red-brick toll-houses and industrial wastes, the route traverses the expanding town of Wolverhampton before dropping dramatically over Summerhouse Hill into the green, aristocratic countryside of Shropshire. At Whiston Cross, exact halfway point between London and Holyhead, the open road invites stories of rural topers and local folklore, while nearby archaeological remains at Wroxeter reveal the crumbling Roman foundations beneath Watling Street.

Entering Shrewsbury, the narrative explores the fierce rivalries between early coach proprietors who raced their spring-mounted "Machines" and "Diligences" against older stage wagons. Historic inns like the Lion served as bustling hubs for colorful local figures and famous literary travelers alike. Beyond the Severn crossing at Montford Bridge and past the ancient Shelton Oak, the highway leads through Oswestry to the Welsh border, where English custom gives way to Cymric culture and heritage.

Crossing into Wales, the road follows the shimmering Dee through Llangollen, mounting the steep ridge of Rhysgog where Telford’s engineered highway ascends into the mountain wildness. The landscape grows dramatic as the route threads past the waterfalls of Bettws-y-Coed, through the rocky chasms of the Conway, and up into the high, desolate moorlands of Capel Curig and Lake Ogwen, surrounded by three-thousand-foot peaks and strewn with massive boulders. Passing beneath the towering cliffs of Penmaenmawr—once a terrifying passage for early horsemen—the highway reaches the shores of the Menai Strait. Here, the marvel of Telford’s suspension bridge contrasts sharply with Stephenson’s massive iron railway structure at Llanfair. The final stretch crosses the island of Anglesey, where isolated villages retain their native Welsh language, bringing the traveler at last to the edge of the Irish Sea.

How It Unfolds

Leaving the Black Country The journey departs Birmingham's bustling, stone-built coaching inns, winding through red-brick toll-gates and busy industrial streets toward Wolverhampton. Roadside accidents, changing street layouts, and town expansions show a countryside rapidly modernizing.

Into Exclusive Shropshire Descending from Staffordshire’s high plateau, the road enters Shropshire's quiet agricultural valleys. At Whiston Cross, local pranks and innkeeper stories highlight the region's historic reputation for hard drinking and eccentric squires.

Rivalries on the Salop Road Reaching historic Shrewsbury, competitive coach owners launch new "Machines" and high-speed "Diligences" to cut hours off the London run. Great inns like the Lion host famous guests alongside reckless local thrill-seekers.

Border Crossing to Llangollen Passing ancient, hollow oaks and historic border towns, the route crosses into Wales where Cymric epitaphs and bi-lingual street life begin. Telford’s sweeping road carves past river bends and dense plantations into picturesque valleys.

Ascending Snowdonia’s Passes The highway climbs deep into mountain territory, skirting boiling chasms at Bettws-y-Coed and desolate moorlands beneath Trifaen Mountain. Peat-stacked farms, wind-weighted roofs, and mountain torrents mark the high, lonely wilderness.

Crossing the Straits to Anglesey Skirting the sheer headlands of Penmaenmawr, the road arrives at the Menai Strait, where colossal modern bridges dwarf older ferry crossings. The journey finishes across the quiet, monolingual Welsh villages of Anglesey.

The People

• Mrs. Sarah Lloyd: An enterprising innkeeper who builds a massive stone hotel in Birmingham to expand her coaching enterprise.
• William Waddell: Successor to the Hen and Chickens, he becomes the grandest figure in Birmingham's coaching and mail contracting business.
• Robert Lawrence: Landlord of Shrewsbury's Raven and Bell, whose vision reroutes Irish mail traffic away from Chester and through Shropshire.
• Jack Mytton: A wildly reckless local squire known for releasing live foxes in inn parlors and overturning carriages just to test his companion's nerves.
• Owain Glyndwr: The legendary Welsh prince whose name remains tied to ancient roadside oaks and mountain lore despite distant historical facts.
• Thomas Telford: The master engineer whose roads, bridges, and blasted rock cuts tame the terrifying mountain passes of North Wales for coaching travel.

In Its Own Voice

"Never did I sleep there, but I had reason to complain that the discreet hen did not gather her vagrant flock to roost at less variable hours."

Thomas De Quincey recalls his sleepless, noisy nights spent waiting for early morning Mails at Birmingham's famous Hen and Chickens inn.

"What!" replied the squire, "never upset in a gig? What a d—d slow fellow you must be," and, running his near wheel up the bank, over they both went.

The wild Squire Jack Mytton offers a terrifying response to a nervous passenger who admitted he had never experienced a carriage crash.

"The bridge itself, 'that 'ere great, long, ugly iron thing,' as the coachmen whom it drove off the last length of road called it, bulks large from this point of view..."

The arrival of the railway and its heavy tubular bridge marks the bitter end of the old coaching age across the Menai Strait.

What It's Really About

The work explores the profound transformation of the British landscape as modern engineering replaces perilous dirt tracks with smooth turnpikes and swift railways. It contrasts the gritty, industrial expansion of English manufacturing towns with the quiet, untamed mountain isolation of North Wales. Through inn registers, local folklore, and highway rivalries, the narrative captures the dying era of stagecoach travel just as steam power takes over. It examines how geography, language, and culture shift abruptly at the Welsh border, leaving an enduring portrait of local identity and roadside history.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to social historians, road-trippers, and lovers of British topography who enjoy detailed, authentic slice-of-life history over generalized summaries. Harper's style is dryly humorous, deeply researched, and attentive to physical details, making old inns, forgotten toll-houses, and mountain passes feel alive. Readers who appreciate Victorian travel writers like George Borrow or rural antiquaries will relish the rich collection of local anecdotes, coaching timetables, and architectural descriptions.

The prose naturally reflects early twentieth-century perspectives, including occasional imperial attitudes and period opinions regarding local customs. Readers should also expect meticulous regional geography, dense listings of village names, and detailed local genealogies that slow the narrative pace. However, the reward lies in its vivid atmosphere—the sound of coach horns in the early morning, the quiet beauty of Welsh river pools, and the sweeping drama of Telford's mountain roads carving through wild peaks.