Ruthin from Wales into England, Ruthin was reputed to have "a pub for every week of the year". By 2007, however, there were only eleven pubs in the town. The public records of 23 October 1891 show 31 such establishments serving a population of 3186; most of these have been converted into housing or shops. The Ruthin Union Workhouse was built in 1834. The first copies of the Welsh national anthem, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau", were printed in what is now the "Siop Nain" tea and gift shop on Well Street. In 1863 the Denbigh, Ruthin and Corwen Railway, which linked
Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau The land of my fathers is dear to me,<br> Old land where the minstrels are honoured and free;<br> Its warring defenders so gallant and brave,<br> For freedom their life's blood they gave. Old land of the mountains, the Eden of bards,<br> Each gorge and each valley a loveliness guards;<br> Through love of my country, charmed voices will be <br> Its streams, and its rivers, to me. Though foemen have trampled my land 'neath their feet, <br> The language of Cambria still knows no retreat;<br> The muse is not vanquished by traitor's fell hand,<br> Nor silenced the harp of my land.