Arthuret Church, the Battle of Arfderrydd, Merlin and Mason's Marks

Arthuret Church is dedicated to St Michael & All Angels and dates from 1609 although a church has been here since the 6th Century AD. In 573 the Battle of Arfderydd took place here between the Brythonic kings Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio of Arfderydd and probably Rhydderch Hael of Strathclyde. The bard Myrddin Wyllt fought with Gwenddoleu and unintentionally killed his nephew who fought for Rhydderch. He subsequently went mad and wandered the Woods of Caledon, coming down to us as the Merlin of Arthurian stories.

The tower of Arthuret is surprisingly low and the story is that a court jester was buried here, being local, and he had told the king that the area needed a new church. Money was raised and work got underway however one of the team ran off with some of the funds and not enough remaind tot complete te tower. A very unsual sight is masons marks on the outside of a building and at Arthuret many are found on the tower, so the story goes that the masons added them to make doubly sure that they got paid for their work.
St Michael's Holy Well lies nearby and the Battle of Solway of 1542 was fought in the area, the action being a disaster for the Scots.