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pnras VRiGHt DiWNiNG'f 



t BEQUEST 

INIVEKSITY o^ MICHIGAN 
(GENERAL LIBRARY ^_j 



700 



^nhwtsia^h (Kamtrensts, 



JOURNAL 



OP THE 



Cnmhrian lrr|r^nlngirttl iBsnriation, 




VOL. Xlir. FOURTH SERIES. 



LONDON: 
PARKKR AND Co., 6, SOUTHAMPrON STREKT, 

STRAND. 
1882. 



IKIIITlNb AND (O., LtlilTFT), 8AKDIVIA ^TBKKT, 
LIHCOLM'ti IKK FIRLDB. 



N 




CONTENTS. 



A Comparison of Celtic Words found in 
Old English Idteratare and English Dia- 
lects with Modern Celtic Forms. Pt. Ill 

Herefordshire and its Welsh Border dar- 
ing the Saxon Period 

Farther Notices of the Early Inscribed 
Stones of Soath Wales . 

The Inner Wall of Shrewsbury . 

The Lustleigh Stone 

A Lost Church 

Historical MSS. Commission 

Materials for the Study of the Cornish 
Language .... 

Conwy Abbey Records 

Patent Rolls, Richard III 

A Comparison of Celtic Words found in 
Old English Literature and English Dia- 
lects with Modem Celtic Forms. Pt. IV 

Hafod Adam and some Antiquities in 
Dyffryn Ceiriog, Denbighshire . 

Notices of Early Incised Stones found in 
the Church of Llanwnda, Pembrokeshire 

The Towyn Incised Slate . 

Remarks on the Towyn Incised Slate 

Extracts from old Wills relating to Wales 

On the Circular Chapel in Ludlow Castle . 

The Pryces of Qunley 

^' Inspeximus" and Confirmation of the 
Charters of the Abbey of Wigmore 



John Davies 1 

R. W. Banks 19 

I. O. Westwood . 40 



C.H. Drinkwater, 

M.A. . 
John Rhys 

Edward Laws 



42 
50 

51 

59 



The late Robert 
Williams, M.A. 68 
71 

. 72 



J. Davies . 


81 


D. R. T. . 


96 


I. 0. Westwood . 


104 


E. WilliamB 


108 


W. G. Smith 


114 


. 


118 


C. C. Babington . 


126 


J. W. H. . 


129 


B. W. B. . 


137 



IV 



CONTENTS. 



Patent Rolls, Richard III 


. • . 


FASX 

150 


Clerical Subsidies .... 


. 


152 


The Gesail Gyfarch Stone 


J. Rhys . 


161 


Manorbeer Castle and its Early Owners . 


SirG.Duckett,Bt. 


166 


Church Stretton .... 


E. L. Barnwell . 


174 


Llywelyn ab Seisyllt and his Times 


Howel W. Lloyd 


176 


Historical MSS. Commission 


. 


197 


Cinerary Urns found at Cae Mickney, 
Anglesey .... 


Hugh Prichard . 


210 


Sites of Ancient Traditional Churches 


Elias Owen 


219 


Drilled Stone in Shrewsbury Museum 


W. G. Smith 


223 


The Mode of Disposing of Gipsies and 
Vagrants in the Reign of Elizabeth 


R. 0. Jones 


226 


Bone Knife found near Kempston, Bed- 
ford 


W. G. Smith 


232 


The Celtic Element in the Lancashire 
Dialect ..... 


J. Davies 


243 


Historical MSS. Commission 


. 


265 


Cartularium Prioratus S. Johannes Evang. 
de Brecon .... 


E. W. B. . 


275 


Report of Llanrwst Meeting 


. 


321 


Index ..... 


. 


335 


Illustrations .... 




338 



Obiiuaby Notices : Richard Mason, Joseph Edwards 



75 



Correspondence . 
Miscellaneous Notices . 
archieologlcal notes and queries 
Reviews .... 



76, 159, 235, 316 

11, 234, 309 

. 237 

78, 238, 317 



gtwhaedirjia €nmhunsh. 



FOURTH SERIES.— VOL. XIII NO. XLIX. 



JANUARY 1882. 



A 

COMPARISON OF CELTIC WORDS FOUND IN 

OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE and ENGLISH 

DIALECTS WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 

PART III. 

The remaining part of our investigation will treat 
mainly of the consonantal differences between Anglo- 
Celtic words and their equivalents in modem Celtic. 
Our task here will be easier than in discussing the 
vowel-changes, because the consonantal systems, or 
modes of expression, do not differ so widely in the Eng- 
lish and Celtic tongues as the vocalic; nor is there any 
reason to suppose that in this department so many 
Anglican changes have been made in course of time as 
in the other. 

Before beginning, however, to treat of consonantal 
changes, we may turn aside for a while to consider the 
changes that have been wrought in the languages them- 
selves. A constant process of change goes on in all 
languages, from various causes; new words are brought 
in from allied or other sources; words that belonged to 
the primitive stock, and were retained to a given age, 
become at length obsolete. In some instances the mean- 
ing is lost; but whether the meaning has been retained 
in some old vocabulary, or has altogether passed away, 

4th S£B., tol. ztii. 1 



2 COMPARISON OF CELTIC WORDS 

they have become foreign to the language as it is now 
spoken. The changes may be so great that the language 
of a nation, at one time, may become in a few centuries 
absolutely foreign to the descendants of those who spoke 
it. The Latin of the Salian hymns was not intelligible 
to the ordinary Roman citizen in the time of Cicero ; the 
Roman de la Rose cannot be understood by a modem 
Frenchman who has not studied Roquefort. The Early 
English that we were wont to call Anglo-Saxon must 
be learned by an Englishman as he must learn German 
or Old Norse ; and even the Morte Arihure, or the 
Aye7ihite of Inwit {Remorse of Conscience^ fourteenth 
century), of Dan Michel cannot be read by an English- 
man of the present day without the aid of a dictionary. 
Even the glossaries sometimes fail to help us, for in 
some instances the meaning of the word is no longer 
known. It is in this case that a study of the Celtic 
languages will often supply the lost meaning ; and on 
the other hand, our Anglo-Celtic words will throw some 
light on the changes which the Welsh or Irish language 
has undergone, and may enable us to determine some 
disputed questions about their form and position a 
thousand years ago. Instances of the recovery, by these 
means, of a lost meaning have been given in the words 
rook (" For everi moh must in to mire") and of stroth 
rande in the Morte Arihure. I propose to offer, in the 
first place, other instances of Celtic words found in our 
old English literature, of which the meaning has been 
lost in the course of time, and then to attempt to shew 
an earlier meaning of now existent Celtic words, or to 
explain some that have become obsolete. 

OBSOLETE COELTIC WORDS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE. 

Bunys. " Gret men forsake here (their) housen ful 
timys, gret wrethe, deth of kynges, voydyng of bunys, 
fallyng of banetis." (MS. Harl. 2320, H.)^ Mr. Halli- 

1 H., Halliwell's Arch, and Prov. Did.; B., W., K, S., the east, eta, 
of England ; E. D. S-, the Eng. Dial. Soc. ; E. B. T. S., the Early 
English Text Society ; E. E. Voc, Early English Vocabularies. 



WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 3 

well conjectures that the word means blows ; but this 
makes the expression unintelh'gible. The word bun is 
often found in O. Eng. books and in our dialects, with 
the meaning it has in Welsh and Irish ; Ir. Gael, bun, 
W. bon, a stock, a stem. In Wycliffe s translation of 
the O. Test, we find ''bonys" of flax (Josh, ii, 6) where 
we have now " stalks". It is still used in Cumberland, 
Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and other counties. It is also 
used in the flax trade. " The flax plants are passed 
between these cylinders, and the stalk or boon, as it is 
technically called, is by this means completely broken." 
{Eng. Enc.y s. v. Flax.) The word has the same extent 
of meaning as the Eng. stock, and is here = family. Cf. 
W. bonedd, stock, pedigree, descent, gentry; Ir. bunadh, 
a stock, a family. Voydyng is used as the O. Fr. vuide^ 
driving out, " expulsion, action de chasser" (Roq.), and 
the meaning is that honourable families were driven 
away or destroyed. 

Chynge, glossed reuma for rheuma in a vocabulary of 
the fifteenth century. {E. E. Voc, i, 267.) It is in a 
list of names of diseases (" noraina infirmitatum"). The 
word does not mean a catarrh, for the preceding entry 
is " hie catarus, an~ (Anglice) a pore", i.e., a pose or 
catarrh. It means a running sore or ulcer ; and it is 
the same word as the Manx cliinge {tinge), a sore, an 
ulcer ; sick, ill, which corresponds to the Ir. Gael, tinn, 
sick, diseased ; tinneas, sickness, disease. Every word 
has a history, and this word chynge gives evidence : 
(1), as many other words, that the Celtic race practised 
physic among their Saxon conquerors ; (2), since the 
word denotes a running sore, and disease in general, 
that inflamed sores (the word tinneas is connected with 
tine or tinne, fire) were a very common form of disease 
in the sixth and seventh centuries, probably from 
poverty of food; and (3), that t before a vowel, especially 
before e or i, was pronounced nearly as we pronounce 
it in destruction. The consonant is pronounced as a 
soft ch in parts of Ireland, and in the Highlands, as 
well as in the Isle of Man. (O'Don., Ir. Gram., p. 39.) 



4 COMPARISON OF CELTIC WORDS 

M' Alpine, in the Preface to his Gael. Diet, says that 
" t followed by e or i sounds like ch in child, or ti in 
Christianity.** This is a Celtic use, and our English 
pronunciation may be due to the Celtic element in the 
English people. 

Uodilbon, the name of a plant. (Hall., s. v. Istia.) It 
is foimd in an old receipt (fifteenth century) for making 
"a whyte trett'* (embrocation; Ir. Gael. treite=treti or 
trete, an embrocation) *^ that is callyd plasture istia or 
syne. Than take whyte lede, and put thereto powder 
of screws (O. Fr. seris, chicory or endive), and codilbon 

therto and instead of codilbon it ys to be noted 

that tansy, hempsed, or the croppys, whyle they be 

grene, may be taten the whiche trett or istia wolle 

garre (make) the matere to yssen owte at the wownde.'* 
This word is, I believe, a compound of Ir. Gael, codal, 
sleep, and hon, a stem, — here, a plant ; the Ir. Gael. 
codhlan, the poppy. 

C7oy5e, joUiness, joys. (Coles, 1677; marked as an old 
word.) 

** King of quaff (Bacchns), carrouse and doffe 
Your liquor of, and follow mee ! 
Sweete soyle of Exus He (Naxos ?), 
Wherein this coyse was every day." 

Percy MS., ii, 53. 

It means a feast or feasting ; Ir. Gael coisir, a feast, an 
entertainment. 

Crag, the face or countenance. "He hung a lang crag 
when t' news come." (Cumb. D.) Primarily a jaw; W. 
crogcUy a gill, a jaw. 

Croggen " seems to have been a jocular term for a 
Welshman." (Nares.) 

" Nor that terme croggen^ nickname of disgrace, 
Us'd as a by- word now in ev'ry place, 
Shall blot our blond, or wrong a Welshman's name, 
Which was at first begot with England's shame." 

Drayton, N. 

W. crogiy to hang; crogyUy a crack-hemp ; crogyn o ddyn, 
a fellow fit for the gallows. 



WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 5 

Gelty "unexplained, I think", says Nares, "in the fol- 
lowing passage of Spenser. Church and Upton say that 
it means a castrated animal. But why should Amoret 
be so compared ? Or why should loss of wits be attri- 
buted to such an animal ?" 

" Which whenas fearefall Amoret perceived, 
She staid not th' ntmost end thereof to try, 
Bat like a ghastly gdt whose wits are reaved, 

Ran forth in hast with hideons outcry, 
For horrour of his shamefuU villany ; 
Bat after her fall lightly he uprose.'* 

F. Q., iv, 7, 21. 

Church and Upton made only a bad and unseemly 
guess. It is the Ir. gdlt, a wild man or woman, one 
living in woods ; adj., wild, mad. 

Guiniad, a fish common in Ulswater and other lakes 
of Cumberland, of a silvery white colour. {Eng. JEnc, 
iv, 650.) "Nor would I have you ignorant of a rare 
fish called a ffuiniad." (Iz. Walton, c. xiii.) W. givyniad, 
a whiting, a mearling ; givyn, white. 

Locer. Bosworth has this word in his A. S. Diction- 
ary, but is uncertain as to its meaning, — "a joiner's 
instrument, a saw, plane ? S.'* As other words in this 
Dictionary, it is not Teutonic, but Celtic. Its meaning 
is well known by Celtic students. Ir. Gael. locaVy a 
carpenter's plane ; locair, to plane, to make smooth with 
a plane, to polish ; Manx, locker, a plane ; lockerey, to 
plane ; lockerskeeagh, shavings. This word gives evi- 
dence that the British Celts were not only tillers of the 
ground, but artisans possessed of some degree of skill 
in the arts of life. 

Muggles. This word is found in a curious legend of 
St. Augustine. Layamon, in his Brut (iii, 185, 186), 
says that the Saint preached to the men of Dorchester 
(some copies have the preferable reading, Rochester) of 
Christ, " Godes sune" (the Son of God) ; but they de- 
rided him, and taking the tails of rays (the fish so 
called), they fastened them on his cope : 

" And Domen tailes of rehgen, 
And hangede on his cape." 



6 COMPARISON OF CELTIC WORDS 

Augustine became very wroth, and, unlike his Master, 
prayed for vengeance upon his foes. His prayer was 
heard, and henceforth they and their offspring bore 
tails. They had "muggleB",and men called them"Mugg- 
lings": 

" Tha tailes heo oomen on, 

Tber uoren hoo magen iteled beon, 

Iscend wes that mon-can, 

Muggles heo hafden, 

And ine hirede sBlches 

Men cleopcth heom muglingeny 

(" Then tails came upon them : there were they tailed. 
Disgraced was that man-race : they had muggles, and 
in every company men calleth them muglings") The 
MS. Otno has moggies and moglynges. It is an old 
Celtic word. '' Mocoll, gl. mhter. (Z., 80.) Suhtel or 
subtelay according to Ducange, is the tail-band of ahorse, 
a crupper ; originally a roll of leather, to which, I be- 
lieve, a pendant was often attached. 

Nill, the shining sparks of melted brass. (Bailey.) 
Nill, the sparkles or ashes that come of brass tried in 
the furnace, pompholyx. (Gouldman, Eng. Lot. Dict^ 
1678.) I give this word as another instance of an arti- 
san term drawn from the Celtic languages. Their num- 
ber is very considerable. Ir. Gael, neul, light, a glimpse 
of light ; 0. Ir. nel,^ solus, light, a ray or flash of light. 
(0. Ir. Gloss, p. 107.) 

Riche. 

'* The kny3t kaches his caple and com to the lawc, 
Li3te3 down Inflylj and at a Ijnde (linden) tachej 
The rayne and his n'c/te." 

Sir Gawayne, p. 69. 

Mr. Morris, the editor of Sir Gawayne for the Early 
English Text Society, thinks that riche may mean horse. 
It means a tunic or outer garment. W. rhuch (lich), 
a coat ; rhiichen^ a coat, a leathern jerkin ; tunica (Da- 

^ Probably the Irish word was primarily «t7a, whence would be 
formed naila^ nela, nel. If so, the Anglo-Celtic word has preserved 
an older form. There was one, however, still more ancient, the 
Sans, naly to shine. 



WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 7 

vies); Arm. rocked, "chemise d'homme"; Ir. Gael, rocan^ 

a hood, mantle, cloak; A. S. hrcegel, raiment, a garment; 

Germ, rock^ a coat, a robe ; Fr. rochety a coat, a loose 

gaberdine. 

Ryndes. 

" Thare the rynde$ overreaches with realle bowghes 
The roo (roe) and the rejne-dere rekless thare ronnene 
To the ryndes of the wode." 

Mtyrte ArtJiure, 921, 3364. 

The editor, Mr. Perry, explains ryndes as thickets; but 
there is no authority for this interpretation. It seems 
only a guess ; and there would be tautology in speak- 
ing of the thickets of the wood. The word means trees. 
Ir. Gael, rinn for rind,^ a tree. 

Sorfe, "a kind of wood mentioned in Harrison's De^cr. 
of England.*' (H.) It is the service-tree. W.sarff, Lat. 
sorbus. 

SSoyl,pvej. Spenser (Webster.) " The prey, the soiled 
beast.'' (Gloss., ed. 1850.) 
Stocah, an attendant, a wallet-boy. Spenser (Web- 
ster). 

I insert these two words from Spenser in support of 
a previous assertion, that Celtic words abound in the 
language of the streets, and sometimes are found in 
more cultured language. The first has nothing to do 
with soiling. It is the Ir. Gael, sealgy hunting, prey; 
and the second is the Ir. stocach, a kitchen idler, a 
lounger who seeks for occasional hire. 

Tunnify ground ivy. East. (Wr.) This is an in- 
stance of the Irish or Gaelic form of Celtic, which pre- 
vails along the eastern parts of England. The first 
syllable is, I think, the Ir. Gael, tan, with the cus- 
tomary weakening of a to u, land, country, and the 
second a shortened form of ivy, which is also of Celtic 
origin. 

^ Again the Anglo-Celtic word seems to have retained the older 
form. "In the ancient Irish MSS. we find nd almost invariably 
written for the nn of the modern Irish orthography, as tond for tonUj 
a wave ; cend for ceann, a head ; glend for gleann, a glen or valley.*' 
(0*Don., Jr. Oram., 34.) The form gleiid has been retained in the 
place-name Glynde, in the south of England. 



8 COMPARISON OF CELTIC WORDS 

Tydyfre, a kind of bird. This is the form of the 
word in Wright's Provincial Dictionary^ quoting from 
the Parliament of Byrdes. In the copy of this poem, 
published in Early English Poetry^ by W. C. Hazlitt, 
vol. iii, 177, the form is tytyfer. 

" I say, sayd the Tyiyfer, we Kentyssbe men, 
We may not geve (give) the crow a penne, 
For with them that are sober and good, 
A byrde in hande is worth two in the wood." 

Mr. Hazlitt does not attempt to explain the word, or 
to show what bird is meant. It is, I believe, the 
gnat-snapper. W. tit, titen, a small fly, a gnat ; 
titiaid, ciniphes, conopes (gnats, Davies) ; W. yfhvr, a 
drinker, an imbiber. 

There is a considerable number of words in the plays 
of our great dramatist, Shakespeare, that are either 
certainly, or probably, of Celtic origin. I subjoin 
some instances of such words; for any attempt to throw 
light on the obscure passages in his immortal works is, 
at least, an undertaking of a laudable kind, and may 
be of use. 

Kam. 

" Sic. This is clean ham. 

Brut. Merely awry. When he did love his country 

It hononred him." CorioL, iii, 1, 105. 

Mr. Kjiight says that this means, nothing to the 
purpose. The word is certainly the Ir. Welsh cam, 
crooked, awry, perverse. Menenius has been praising 
the disgraced genenJ, and the tribune, Sicinius, re- 
plies that it is perverse at such a time to do so, and 
his feUow tribune by saying, "merely awry", only 
echoes the opinion that had been expressed. Coriola- 
nus had taken up a position against his country, and to 
extol now his former acts of devotedness was only per- 
verseness. 

Breeched. 

" There the murderers, 
Steep'd in the colours of their trade, their daggers 
Unmannerly breech' d with gore." 

Macletli, ii, 3, 122. 



WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 9 

This expression has given rise to many conjectures 
and some proposed emendations, as if the passage must 
be corrupt. Of all the attempted explanations, Dr. 
Schmidts is the strangest. He supposes that to 
breech means here, " to cover as with breeches, to 
sheathe". I venture to suggest that the meaning is 
that the daggers were stained, or dappled, with gore, 
and would connect the word with W. brych; It. Gael. 
hreaCy stained, spotted, dappled ; W. hrychu, to stain, to 
spot. In a word-list sent out by the Philological So- 
ciety, I find " hrecky a stain". The word has been re- 
tained in our dialects. In Cumberland breuh't means 
parti-coloured. Cf. Dan. bi^ceky a fault, a stain, and 
O. N. bragd, variatio (Hald.) Hence the word bracken, 
a northern name for the fern-plant, from its spotted 
fronds. 
Hint. 

" Our hint of woe 
Is common , every day some sailor's wife, 
The masters of some merchant, and the merchant, 
Have just our theme of woe." I'empesty ii, 1, 3. 

This word has been explained as denoting that the 
calamity was so slight as to be only a hint or sugges- 
tion of woe ; but a shipwreck could not be spoken of 
so lightly. We may reasonably connect it with W. 
hynt; O. W. hint (Z. 22), a way or course, answering 
to theme in 1. 6. The word, in the form of hent ana 
henty, is found in our dialects, and is a name for the 
course or line of the plough in making a furrow. Arm. 
henty chemin, route, voie. This may, perhaps, explain 
a line in Hamlet, iii, 3, 88 : 

" Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent !" 

This word is commonly connected with A. S. hentan, 
to hunt after, to take, to seize, and is explained by Dr. 
Schmidt as meaning *'hold, seizure, apprehension"; 
but the noun does not exist in Anglo-Saxon, and the 
related O. N. henda, manibus jactare, apprehendere, 
shows that it is connected with hand. 



10 COMPARISON OF CELTIC WORDS 

Bug^ a spectre, a hobgoblin ; a cause of fear. 

" And do yon tell me of a woman's tongue, 
That gives not half so great a blow to hear 
As will a chestnut in a farmer's fire ? 
Tush ! Tush ! Fear boys with li^gs /" 

Tarn. Shrew, i, 2, 211. 

*' Warwick was a hig that feared us all." 

Henry VI, III Pt., v, 2, 2. 

These passages may be compared with a verse ia 
Matthews Translation of the Bible, " Thou shalt not 
nede to be afraied for any bugs by night ; " rendered 
in the Authorised Version, " Thou shalt not be afraid 
for any terror by night" (Ps. xci, 5). The word must 
be referred, I thinl^ to W. bwg, a hobgoblin ; Cf. Ir. 
bugh, fear. 

But the Celtic languages have also changed in course 
of time, and our Anglo-Celtic words enable us to mark 
some of these changes. I will take some examples of 
this kind in the Welsh language. 

W. caill. This word is marked by Pryse as obso- 
lete, but the meaning of testicle is attached to it, as to 
the Arm. kail, hell (testicule). The original meaniug, 
stone, has been retained in Fr. caillou, a stooe, a flint 
stone, and in our provincial words cale (Lane), to 
throw stones, and Jceal or keale (N. Hamp.), stones, 
small stones in masses.' Cf. Sans, giid for kild, a 
stone. The Celtic languages have retained the root 
in cal, cal-ed, hard. 

W. cerddin, the mountain ash. Our Anglo-Celtic 

^ So also in North amptonshire the primitive meaning of gyve, a 
sinew (" gyves, sinews of the legs") has been retained, probably from 
gabh, to hold. I do not know whether the W. gaw, a sinew, a ten- 
don (Pryse) is still in use ; but the W. gefyn means only a fetter. 
Gaw is not in the dictionaries of Salusbury, Davies, and Richards, 
in this sense ; but Davies and Richards have g'iau, nerves. The 
change or extension of meaning must have been made at an early 
date, for Layamon, who wrote about 1205, says, 

" Tha wes Vortigem vaeste (fast) i-bunden, 
Givss s withe grete heo dnden an his foten." 

(They phiced very great fetters on his feet.) Brut, ii, 218. 



WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 11 

relatives are care, ("Another preventative of great 
fame is the mountain ash or care tree'\ Brand, Pop. 
Ant,, iii, 1021), and heer (Dev.), the mountain ash. 
The Irish name is cdorran (Gael, caorrurii)^ from caor^ 
a berry, the berry of the mountain ash ; caora, a 
cluster of berries or grapes. The Ir. caor is probably 
=^cora, the root being cor^ round. Our English care- 
tree is hybrid=6erry tree. Some word equivalent to 
the Ir. caor, berry, must have existed in Welsh, as it 
has been retained in the derivatives cerddin and the 
obsolete crawel, but it has been lost as a separate noun. 
It has been retained in the Anglo-Celtic carrons 
(Herts), a kind of wild cherry. 

W. cSd, a gift, aid, or relief, given by tenants to the 
Lord of the Manor. The Anglo-Celtic form is cert. 
" Cert-money, a common fine paid yearly to the lords 
of some manors" (Blount) ; Cf. Ir. ceart=certa, a debt, 
custom, toll, right ; Manx keayrt, a tax, tribute, alms. 
It is interesting to notice that such words as cert, 
cain, carno, gavel; hen-werth and trete, all of Celtic 
origin, indicate that the Celtic tenant paid to his 
Saxon lord such customs or dues as he had formerly 
paid to his Celtic chief. 

W. cocw, a hard mass, a lump ; marked by Pryse as 
obsolete. Its existence has been denied, and it has 
been held to be one of Dr. Pughe's inventions. Our 
Anglo-Celtic speech shows that a Celtic word, coc or 
kok, existed here in the fifth or sixth centuries, and had 
a very extensive use. It denotes some object of a 
round or swelling form. We find it in coak {cok), a 
round hard piece of wood used as a tenon (common in 
the West) ; cock (1) a boat, prim, a round coracle ; (2) 
the penis (Lane.) ; (3) a mound or heap of hay ; (4) a 
spigot ; (5) a snail-shell (N. Hamp.) ; in cogger, a 
snail-shell (N. Hamp.); cockle, to blister, as silk by rain; 
coke, the core of an apple ; and in cowk, a cow's hoof 
(Dev.) ; a sheep's heart (N.) The root is the same in 
the Sanskrit kosha (koka), a bud, globe, ball, a testicle, 
the penis, etc., and kucha, the female breast. It is found 



12 COMPARISON OP CELTIC WORDS 

in the Arm. koky the fruit of the holly, in the Ir. cocUy 
a boat ; coc-oil, the burdock, and other words. So far 
from being non-existent, it has played and continues to 
play an important part in our Anglo-Celtic speech. 

W. cwg, a rising, a projection. Chwareu cwg, a sort 
of play where two stand together and throw up a 
ball ; on its descent, they strive which shall strike it to 
his partner, and the furthest throw counts for the 
game (Pryse). The verb seems to be lost, but it ap- 
pears in the Arm. kouga, to raise the mill-stone of a 
mill. The Anglo-Celtic equivalents are cooky to cast, 
to throw (Nhamp.), as in ^^ Cook me that ball'', and 
"Let's have a game dX cook-a-haWy which appears to 
be the English form of the Welsh game; and cuck (N.), 
to throw, in which probably the primitive meaning has 
been retained. This is, I think, the origin of our 
common word, chucks to toss, to throw. " Kind ser- 
vice cannot be chucked from hand to hand like a foot- 
ball" (Sir W. Scott) ; though Professor Skeat connects 
it with Du. schokkeriy to jolt, to shake. It seems to 
be connected with the Ir. caith (for cacti ?), to fling, 
cast, throw ; and Sans, kag, to go, kang, to move for- 
ward. 

W. cnUy dry, withered, brittle. This word appears 
very extensively in our English dialects, and in crine, 
to scorch, to burn (Cumb.), we have probably the ori- 
ginal meaning. Other related words are Creen, to 
pine (Dev.); Creeny, Creany, shrunk, withered, small 
(common in all parts); Crink, to shrink (Suff.); a very 
small apple (Heref. Sal.); a small child (N.); and in 
cHddon for crindo% a person shrunk by age or sick- 
ness (Sal.) It is related to Ir. crioriy to dry, wither, 
fade, dwindle ; dry, withered ; Gael. crioUy to blast, to 
wither, fade, decay ; and to Arm. inn, dry, arid (sec, 
dess^ch^, aride). 

These are a few instances, taken from a single letter, 
of changes which the Welsh language has undergone, as 
shown by the Anglo-Celtic equivalents of Welsh words.^ 

^ On the other hand, some of our Anglo- Celtic words have changed 



WITH MODERN CELTIC POEMS. 13 

It is to be desired that the subject should be more 
thoroughly investigated by some one who is familiar 
with the older forms of the Welsh and Irish languages. 

It is now time to turn aside from this digression 
(which will be forgiven, I trust, on account of the inte- . 
rest connected with the subject) to the consonantal . 
diflFerences in Anglo-Celtic and Mod. -Celtic words. 
In the former we find very frequently tenues corre- 
sponding to mediae, and mediae to aspirates; or, in 
more modem phraseology, a mute surd in one is repre- 
sented by a mute sonant in the other, and a mute 
sonant by a spirant surd. 

Cork for g. This is found in anlaut (initial sound), 
inlaut (inward sound), and auslaut^ or final sound. 

AnoiiO-Oeltic {in anlaut). Mod. Celtic. 

Carve, kerve, to grow soui Arm. ^aro, garv, rough, sharp, tart ; 

W. gartp^ sharp, rough ; Lr. Gkiel. 

gtaryoer, sour, sharp 
CUtt^ a mucous discharge from a sore W. glyd; Arm. glud, viscid matter, 



glue ; Jr. Gael, glaodh, bird-lime ; 



Ir. fflodhj slime, slimy matter, glan- 
ders 
Cole, money, wealth (slang) W. golo ; Arm. glad, wealth, money 

*' And when that he hath noosed us, 
And our friends tips him no cole, 
Oh, then he throws us in the cart, 
And tumbles us into the hole !" 

(Slang song.) 

Crap, a bunch, a cluster W. graban, a cluster ; Fr. grappe, a 

bunch or cluster of grapes 



both in form and meaning from the parent stock, which in these 
instances has remained unchanged. We have gach for W. each and 
the Herefordshire gwethall (which represents the W. gwaddol, a 
dowry) means household stuff. This shews that in old times the 
dower of a bnde consisted wholly, or in part, of house-furnishing. 
In Lancashire, even in the last century, the marriage-portion of the 
daughter of a peasant or small farmer consisted almost wholly of 
linen and woollen cloths made up as sheets, towels, etc., of which 
the yam had been spun at home, and woven in the neighbourhood. 
Sir C. Lewis, in his Heief. Gloss., connects the Heref. gwethall with 
W. gweddill, remnants, orts ; but the very diverse meanings of 
dower and orts makes this connection inadmissible. 



14 OOMPABISON OF CELTIC WORDS 

In inJaut 

Aitolo-Oeltio. Mod. Cbltio. 

Basket, a vessel made of interwoven W. hasgtd^ id. 
twigs, rushes, etc. 

" Barbara de pictis yeni hcucauda Britannis, 
Sed me jam mavuU dicere Roma suam." (Martial.) 

Bisean^ a finger-stall Com. hysgan^ a finger-stall ; W. hyi^ 

finger ; cen^ gen, a skin ; Arm. oes- 
cen, a thimble 

Calkin, a sharp-pointed iron on a O. W. colginn^ arista (Cod. Juv.); Ir. 
horse^s foot' Gael eaCg, a sting, a prickle 

Caskety tk BttiXk OT Btem Ir. cuiseag, Gael, caiseag (caseg), a 

stalk or stem 

In auslauL (This is a very large class of words.) 

! Bollock, a girdle W. balog, an apron (P.); perizoma, a 

BaUok-knyf, a knife hong in the girdle (Davies) 
girdle 

" Sire Joban and Sire Geffrey bath a girdle of silver, 
A baselard or a haMoh-knyfy witb botons over gilte." 

Piers PL 9867. 

Blonk^ a horse W. Hane, a young horse (indicating 

a process of change going on) 

" Be it foreste or felde, fonnd tbou no fortbire ; 
Bynde tby hlonke by a buske witb tby brydille evene, 
Lngge tbi-selfe undyre lynde, as the leefe tbynkes." 

Morte Arthurs, 453. 

Bocke, to regard disdainfully, to swell W. hog, a swelling out ; Arm. houch, 
out, to swell, to strut touffe, toupet ; Ir. Gael, hoc, to 

swell out, to bud 

I hocke upon one. I loke upon him disdaynfuUy, 
j'aposte (Palsg.) Bocyn owte or strowtin, turgeo 
(Prom. Parv.); 0. N. bulka, tumere. 

Broc, a threat or boast (Sir F. Mad- W. brog, a swelling out ; brag, a swell- 
den) ing out ; Arm. braga^ marcher 

d*une mani^e fi^e 

" He bannede bis ferde, and saide that be T^olde 
Bath bi-legge, and eke Brustonwe (Bristol) 
A-boate bi-rowe. This was hire hroc^^ (bis boast). 

Layamon's Brut, 21029. 

^ Mabn (Webster's Dictionary) connects our Eng. calkin, wbicb 
has also the form calk, witb A. S. calc, a shoe ; Lat. calceus. But a 
shoe is not a sharp-pointed nail or projecting iron. 



WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 15 

Anglo-Cbltio. Mod. Celtic. 

Cammoek^eamockftkCUTYed OT crooked Ir. Gael, camog^ curyed, twisted; 
tree or piece of wood Manx, cammog^ a crooked bat ; W. 

camog, a kind of salmon with a 
crooked nose; cam«^, crooked, bent, 
the felly of a wheel 

" Bitter the blossom when the fruit is sour, 
And early crookt that will a camoeh be." 

Drayton, Ed. 7. 

'' Full hard it is a catnocke straight to make." 

Eng, Pam. (Nares.) 

Coraele, a small round boat made of W. corwgl, a fishing-boat ; cona^y the 
wicker-work covered with a hide trunk of a body ; cor, round 

Crannock^ an old measure of com W. crynog, a kind of measure ; Ir. 
(Bailey) Qael. crannog^ a basket, a hamper 

fCriehy a crevice (Y.) W. crig, a crack, a fissure ; crigyll. 

Crikey '*rima podicis" (Havelok, a ravine; 0. Fx.crique, a bay, a 

p. 69) creek 

iDatok, to idle (Mid-T.) W. diog, lasy, slow ; dioggn, an idler, 

(Daiokin, an idle person (Y.) a drone ; Arm. dieky diegus, lazy, 

negligent 
FyUcky a wanton girl W. ffilog, a filly, a young mare ; " usi- 

tatur pro meretrice". (Dav.) 

" Than is it comyn to euery wyght. 
How they lyue all day, to lye here at nyght ? 
As losels, myghty beggers and vacabondes, 
And trewands that walke oner the londes, 
Mychers, hedge-crepers,y^Z2o2» and Inskes, 
That all the somer kepe dyches and bnskes." 

Hye Way to ike Spyttel Hotu, 1. 114. 

C is also often found in Anglo-Celtic words where 
ch now appears in Mod.-Celtic. 

Acker ^ to tremble with passion (Sal.) W. achreth^ trembling ; trepidatio, 

tremor (Dav.) 
Crohety a grower of saffron (Harri- Ir. Qael. crochy s., saffron ; adj., red 

son's England, p. 232) 
Oj(;y, moist, wet (K.) Ir. Gael, oiche^ water; Lat. aqtta; 

Sans, ank-ura, water 
( Trokys, cuttings, woundings W. tnoch^ a cut, an incision, cut, 

( Ik^ke, a slice (Dev.) broken ; Arm. trouchy coupe, inci- 

sion 

" Tet he was in snffryng 
Of irokys and naylis clynkyng 
Tyll yt waa pacyd non" (p^^ noon). 

Pol and Bd. Poems (E, B. T. S.), p. 249. 

" I be come a shroving ver a liddle pankek, 
A bit o' bread o' your bakin. 
Or a truckle cheese o* your makin." (Shrove-tide song.) 



16 . COMPARISON OP CELTIC WORDS 

ANaLO-CELTic. Mod. Oeltio. 

{ Back, a small scythe (v.d.) W. baeh^ a hook, a grappling-iron ; 

( Bacay a hook, an iron hook (in old Com. bah, a hook; Arm. bachycrocy 

records, Ash) " instrument h pointes courbds"; 

Ir. Oael. b<xc, a hook, a crook 

Brock, the cuckoo-spit insect found W. brock, froth, foam ; Ir. bruchd, 

in an immersion of froth ; Aphro- froth 
phora spumaria (K. T. Line.) 

CUcks, refuse of meal, of oatmeal Manx, detch, bran, husks of wheat ; 

(Line.) Gael. caiUeach, husks of com. 

C before a vowel often becomes in Anglo-Celtic 
words, ch, as in French. Examples — Chairiy awry 
(N.), W. cam; Char, to hew stone (Webs.), Ir. Gael 
cearr^ to cut ; Chats, small things, fragments (v. d.), 
W. cat, a piece, a fragment. Charran, to deceive. 

" For gif hit wulled Teruagant, 
The us oure god of thisse lond, 
Her mid we sculled heo hi-charren.*^ 

(" For if Tervagant it will, who is our god of this 
land, hereby we shall deceive them''.) — (Layamon's 
Brut., i, 228). Ir. Gael, car, a twist, deceit ; carach, 
deceitful, tricky. Chert, an impure flint-like quartz or 
horn-stone (Webs.) ; Ir. Gael, ceart {certa), a pebble ; 
Ir. ceirthe {certi), a stone. Chock, part of a neck of 
veal (the part next the breast), Ir. Gael, cioch, the 
breast ; Arm. choug, the back of the neck, the top of 
the shoulder.^ Chollus, hard, stiff, stem (Line); 
Corn, calys; W. caled, hard ; Ir. Gael, caladh, hard. 
Chub, a lump (Line), a rough country clown (Wright); 
Ir. Gael cooh, pron. huh, a lump ;^ Ir. cobhach, a clown. 
Chuck, a schoolboy's treat (Westm. Sc), provision for 
an entertainment (Slang.) ; Ir. cucht, store, provision ; 
cucan, store of food, provisions (Ir. Gloss., p. 60, Z. 80). 

Cor k sometimes appears for gh, as in Brook, to dirty 
(N.) ; Ir. Gael. b7^ogh, filthiness, dirt. Dock, the name 
of a plant, dockin, a single plant of this kind (New- 

^ Cf. Manx cug (Cregeen), the female breast, breast-milk, and 
Srds. kucha, the female breast. 

'^ Hence the name of the fish called chub, from its form. The 
0. N. kuhhr (truncnlus) is from hubha (amputare), and seems to bo 
a different word from our Eng. chub. 



WITH MODERN FORMS. 17 

castle) ; Gael, dogha^ the burdock ; Ir. meacan-dogha, 
the great common burdock (m6acan= tap-rooted plant. 
Lukey nothing (N. slang) ; Ir. Gael, lugha, least, smallest; 
and Stroke y the hoop or wheel of a cart, " vietus, the 
hoope or stroke of a cart", " absis, the st)^ke of a cart- 
whele, wherein the spokes settle*' (Elyot's Lot. Diet), 
Ir. Gael, stroch, an arch ; but there are not many worcb 
in this class. 

C in Anglo-Celtic words sometimes is represented 
by h in Mod. -Celtic, as in 

Colt, to crack as timber (Warwick) ; a landslip 
(Glouc.) ; W. hollti, to split, to crack; Manx, scoZtey, a 
crack, a split; Ir. sgoltodh, id. 

Anqlo-Saxoit. Mod. Celtic. 

(CootOHy a dolt (Wr.) W. hutan, an oaf; hutyn^ a stupid 

< fellow 

(Cudden, a fool, a clown 

" The clavering cudden propped upon his staff" (Dry- 
den) ; and el is found for ll, as 

ClUy heavy, close (Dors.) W. Hud, close, compact 

CU/er, to stumble (N.) W. Uithro, to slip 

Oiofeyy a slattern (N.) W. Uyfi^ slimy, dirty; a sloven (Jones) 

C/o«A, an inflammation in the feet of W. Uoag^ burning, inflammation 

horses* 

Clour y a small lump or swelling W. ?/er,a bulb, a boss; W. c^or, earth- 
nuts 

Cly, money (Wright) W. Uud, wealth 

On the other hand, an Anglo-Celtic g sometimes re- 
presents a Mod. -Celtic c, as in 

Gach, filth, ordure (Qlouc.) ; also cock W. each, dung, ordure ; Arm. Jkakach, 

ordure, salet6 ; Ir. Gael, cac, excre- 
ment ; Du. kak, id. ; Sans. kaUha, 
dirt, dung 

Gargilon^ the principal part of a W. carw. Com. earov:. Arm. karo, a 
deer*s heart (Bailey); a hunter's stag, a deer; Yi . colon, ktm. halon, 
term Com. caloun^ a heart 

Qaw, a stripe (S.) W. eaw, a band ; bardd caw, a bard 

who wears the band or stripe of his 
order 

^ " Closh, or founder, is a distemper in the feet of cattle, taken by 
some cold after a great beat or vehement travel, which has stired 
(He) the blood so as it goes down to the feet." (Diet, Bust,, 1704>.) 
4^B saa., VOL. XIII. 2 



18 



COMPARISON OP CELTIC WORDS, ETC. 



Anglo-Saxoit. Mod. Cbi<tio. 

Ooggi^, a child's word for an egg (N.) W. coewy, an egg ; Ir. ffug, an egg 

Qrine, in the hybrid earikgrine^ an W. cryji^ a trembling, a shaking ; 

earthquiJce (Rob. Olouc.) Arm. hrena, to tremble 

QvletUy an old word for rent or rent- W. cyUid^ a rent, a tax 

charge 

"And the residue being xx K., lyeth in sundry guU 
ettes, in several towns and shers" — Ludlow, Muniments^ 
Edw. VI. (Wr.) 

These instances are very few in number, and for gach, 
the more common word in almost every part of En- 
gland, is cock. The Sans, hatha shows that the Du. 
kak is a borrowed word. 

The Anglo-Celtic g represents, however, more fre- 
quently a Mod. Celtic ch or gh; as in 

Ir. Gael, hiogh^ a teat, an udder 
0. Lr. boehaUly a herdsman, '^ bubul- 
cus"; lr.Qw\,huachaUle^id.; Manx, 
bochU^ a shepherd ; W. bu^ail, by- 
gd, a herdsman 
Ir.eacA^, confinement, restraint; Gael. 
cachd, id. ; Ir. etieht, to impound, 
confine ; Manx, eagleef a limit 

Ir. Gael, lachoy loch, the wild duck 
ordiake 



i?%«, a teat, a pap (BO 
BogdUy a herdsman {E. E, Foe., 
261) 



Cagg^ to make a tow for a certain 
time, or, as it is said, till the cagg 
is out. A word used by workmen 
(Wright) 

Lagy the wild goose 



" The Gray Logy or common wild goose, is the origin 
of the domestic goose of our farmyards" {Eng. Enc.y 
s. V. Ducks). 



Mag, an old cant word for a penny 
(Bekker) 



{Mug^ to move, to move on (Leeds) 
Mog, to move off or away (Sal.) ; 
0. N. moha, movere 
8nug^ handsome (Lane.) 



Treg, a worthless person (Line); 
lame owd treg*^ 



Gael, meachainny a luck-penny, an 
abatement of rent ; Ir. meachainj 
an abatement ; Fr. moAon, cuiyre, 
medaille de cuivre 

W. mufckio^ to moye quickly 



Ir. snoghachf beautiful; (}ael. gnuad' 
hachf pron. initghach, fair, beauti- 
ful 

Ir. Gael, truagh {trnga), lean, poor, 
miserable ; W. tru^ trvan, feeble, 
poor, wretched; Sans. ftu/cAa, poor, 
mean, small, abandoned (7) 



{To he continued,) 



19 



HEREFORDSHIRE AND ITS WELSH BORDER 
DURING THE SAXON PERIOD, 

Saxon tribes had already established their supremacy 
to the north of the Humber, and the West Saxons, 
steadily advancing from the south-west of the island, 
and in possession of the cities of Bath, Gloucester, and 
Cirencester, were gradually making the east bank of 
the Severn their boundary against the Welsh, when 
fresh invaders from Germany, landing time after time 
in large numbers, appeared on the east coast, and soon 
overspread the country in a gradually expanding stream 
through the centre of the island towards the south, 
laying the foundation for the kingdom of Mercia. 

There is nothing in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle^ or in 
the chroniclers who derived their narratives from it, 
to mark the onward progress of the Mercians. The 
account of an occasional collision with their neigh- 
bours, the Northumbrians, East Angles, and West 
Saxons, alone enables a notion to be formed of the 
gradual extension of their kingdom. With a view to 
trace its inroads on the Welsh border, it may be well 
to briefly refer to the early history of Mercia. Little, 
save their names, is known of its early kings. 

In 626 Penda succeeded to the kingdom, and ex- 
tended the Mercian territory much farther than his 
predecessors. After several engagements with the 
Northumbrians and East Angles, he was killed in 655 
in a battle with Oswio, King of Northumberland, who 
assumed the government of Mercia for three years, 
and bestowed the kingdom of South Mercia, separated 
jfrom North Mercia by the river Trent, on his brother- 
in-law, Peada, the son of Penda. On Penda's death, 
the leading men in Mercia rebelled against Oswio, 
and placed Wulfhere, another son of Penda, on the 
throne of Mercia and Middle Anglia. During his 

2« 



20 HEREFORDSHIRE AND ITS WELSH BORDER 

reign, his brother Merwald became King of West 
Hecana, which comprised a part of Herefordshire. 

On Wulfhere's death in 675 his brother Ethelred 
succeeded to the kingdom. In his reign, Archbishop 
Theodore succeeded in uniting the English church, ana 
divided Mercia into several sees, of which Hereford 
was one. It may be, therefore, assumed that the city 
of Hereford and part of the shire were already under 
Mercian rule. In 704 Ethelred retired to a monastery, 
and made over his kingdom to his cousin Cenred who, 
during his short reign, had many engagements with 
the Welsh. On his resignation of the throne he was 
succeeded by Ceolred, son of Ethelred, who, in 715, 
was killed in a battle at Wansborough with Ina, King 
of Wessex. His successor was Ethelbald, a great- 
nephew of Penda. He, first of the Mercian kings, 
during his reign of forty-one years, obtained a supre- 
macy over the other Saxon kings south of the Hum- 
ber, including the tribe of the Magesaetas, whose terri- 
tory was to the west of the Severn, in the diocese of 
Hereford, of which Wahlstod was then bishop. Of 
his engagements with the Welsh we have no parti- 
cular account ; but it appears that a large number of 
them were reduced by him to a state of serfdom,^ and 
that, in 743, he and Cuthred, King of Wessex, were 
at war with the Welsh. 

On the death of Ethelbald in 757, Offa, the de- 
scendant of an early king, was, after the deposition of 
an usurper, unanimously raised by the Mercians to t.he 
throne. Offa's reign of forty years was signalised by 
aggressions on his neighbours the East Angles, West 
Saxons, men of Kent, and the Welsh. Tradition 
assigns with much probability Sutton walls, near 
Hereford, as the site of one of his royal residences, 
and as the place where, towards the close of his reign, 
he murdered his guest, Ethelbert, King of the East 

1 "Britones, magna ex parte, Anglomm servitio maucipati fuere." 
(Plor. Wig., vol. i, p. 52, ed. Thorpe.) 



DURING THE SAXON PERIOD. 21 

Angles, the patron saint of the church of Hereford, 
whose body was on his canonisation removed from its 
burial place by the river side at Harden to Hereford.* 
In 760, the Welsh invaded Offa's territory, and were 
defeated at Hereford, with the loss of their leader, 
Dyfnwal ap Teudwr ; reprisals followed ; the Welsh an- 
nals record several invasions by Offa and the laying waste 
of their country, on several occasions within a space of 
sixteen years, without further particulars, the relation of 
which would have disclosed many hard-fought battles. 
The result of this long struggle was the erection of the 
great dyke (which bears Offa's name as a recognition of 
the boundary which was thenceforth to separate the 
kingdoms of Mercia and Wales) from Treuddyn, in the 
parish of Mold, to Bridge Sellers on the River Wye, 
which in its after course continued the line of demarca- 
tion between the two kingdoms. Asser, who lived at a 
period when the event was recent, speaks of the dyke 
in general terms as extending from sea to sea. Suc- 
ceeding chroniclers have followed in his track, but 
there can be no doubt that the dyke ended at Bridge 
Sellers. The year 777 is assigned as the date when 
the dyke was thrown up, probably because it imme- 
diately follows the date of Offa's last recorded invasion 
of Wales. 

We may still see silent records of the obstacles 
which arrested Offa's progress to the west in the moun- 
tainous districts and once impervious woods which 
bound the line of his dyke, and of the severity of the 
struggle made by the Welsh before they fell back on 
their mountain strongholds within a boundary, which 
nature had provided for their defence, in the line of 
earthworks which occur on the border. 

On the Herefordshire border are the extensive en- 
trenched camps of Croft Ambry, Wapley,^ and Burva, 

^ See the extracts from the manascript life of St. Ethelbert, hj 
Gi raid as Cambrensis, in Leland's Itinerary y vol. viii, fo. 88, and 
Fasti Herefordenses, p. 111. 

* Perhaps Wapleton of Domesday, in the tenure of Osbem Fitz- 
Bichard. See an account of Wapley Camp, vol. iv, 4th Series, p. 
338, Arch. Gamh. 



22 HEREFORDSHIRE AND ITS WELSH BORDER 

each within signalling distance of the other, forming a 
last line of defence of a people driven back to the west. 
In connection with Burva we see lines of retreat 
northward by the entrenchment, Castle Ring, to the 
larffe entrenched camps on the east of the river Ithon, 
and westward by the smaller earthworks at and near 
Kington, the two Gaers in Michaelchurch on Arrow, 
Pencastell in Brilley, and thence by the trackway, or 
rheol, over Clirow Hill and the Begwns, which there 
form the northern boundary of the valley of the Wye ; 
or by Gilvach yr rheol, past the site of Pains Castle 
to the entrenchment on Garth Hill, overhanging the 
Wye in its upper course. 

On the English side of the dyke in Shropshire, the 
strongly entrenched camps of Gaer ditches in Clun 
Forest, Bury ditches near Walcot Park, and Billings 
Ring occur ; while on the Welsh side Saeson's BanK, 
the lower and upper short ditches, the trackway along 
Kerry Pole, and the numerous mounds on the moun- 
tain tops near the boundaiy of Radnorshire and Mont- 
gomeryshire, marked on the Ordnance map as tumuli, 
but which seem to have served the purpose of beacons 
or guides, suggest a line of retreat either to the en- 
trenchments on the east bank of the river Ithon in 
Llanano, Llandewy, and Cefnllys, or to the interior of 
Wales. 

A glance at the Ordnance map will show that en- 
trenched earthworks abound along the Welsh border, 
and that, when the border is fairly passed, they seldom 
occur. This fact tends to the conclusion that the 
earthworks were not thrown up in prehistoric times, 
as the result of tribal contests, but that the object in 
view was to check an invasion from the east. 

A vague antiquity is often assigned to these earth- 
works, because notning is known of them save their 
names ; but it may well be that many of them were 
used, if not thrown up, by the Welsh after the Roman 
occupation, as the recognised mode of defence against 
an invader. The formation of Offa s dyke, viewing it 



DUBmO THE SAXON PEBIOD. 23 

only as a boundary line, shows the continuance of the 
practice, and we know that so late as the thirteenth 
century earthworks formed in Norman hands an im- 
portant mode of defence. It has been usual to ascribe 
one or other of the more remarkable camps on this 
portion of the Welsh border as the scene of the last 
struggle of the defeated Britons against the victorious 
inroad of Ostorius, and much ingenuity has been ex- 
ercised in the selection of the one which was rendered 
famous by Caractacus. 

Wooded ground, inclosed with an earthen rampart 
and a ditch, was the distinctive feature, on Caesar's 
arrival, of a British oppidum, of which CoxwaU Knoll 
and Creden Hill may be examples,^ and so continued 
to be until the Romans had established a peaceable 
rule in the island, and had become incorporated by 
association and marriage with the inhabitants of Bri- 
tish birth. The camps on the mountain top served 
rather as places of occasional defence than of perma- 
nent residence. 

In considering the question whether these border 
camps were thrown up or occupied merely as defences 
against a Roman invader, it is well to see how this 
part of Wales was approached by Roman roads, and 
what evidence there is of a Roman occupation of the 
district. For this purpose we may begin with the 
great road which led from Gobannium (Abergavenny) 
to Magna (Kenchester) on the left bank of the Wye, 
and thence northward across Herefordshire in a line, 
which is suflficiently indicated by its remains and names 
of places, to Bravinium, or Leintwardine, in the neigh- 
bourhood of Coxwail Knoll, and thence by the Stret- 
tons to Uriconium, the western continuation of Wat- 
ling Street. Traces of Roman occupation are found 
along its course, but not elsewhere on the borders of 

^ Compare Giraldns' accoant of Welsh habitations at the end of 
the twelfth centnry, ** Non nrbe, non yico, non castris oohabitant, 
Bed qaasi solitarii silvis inhaarent." — Descrvptio Kamhrias, 



24 H£R£FORDSUIKE AND ITS WELSH BORDER 

Herefordshire and Radnorshire. The only Roman 
road which traversed Radnorshire led from Caersws 
through the parish of St. Harmon, and by Bwlch y 
Samau to the large and well-defined Roman camp, 
known as Castell CoUen, on the right bank of the 
river Ithon, and onwards across the Wye to Builth 
and Brecon on the one hand, and to LLanfair ar y bryn 
and Muridunum (Carmarthen) on the other. If the 
line of entrenchments near the dyke were a defence 
against a Roman invader, we should expect to meet 
with a Roman camp, or other traces of Roman occupa- 
tion, in proximity to it ; but there are no such traces 
on the line of the dyke in Herefordshire. The roads, 
sites of towns, inscriptions, and other remains, show 
that the Roman occupation of Wales was as peaceable 
an one as in other parts of the island. 

Between the Saxon and the Welsh an undying 
hatred prevailed. Each race remained distinct ; the 
Saxon formed no settlement to the west of the dyke, 
although the result of his continual warfare acquired 
for him here and there a slight addition of territory 
over the border. 

The line of the dyke will be better understood by a 
reference to the map than by a verbal description.* 
It will suffice, when the time arrives, to give an ac- 
count of the Saxon encroachments on the west of it. 
From the death of Offa in 794 the fortunes of Mercia 
began to decline, and it soon became, as a kingdom, 
subordinate to Wessex. A few years after Ofl^'s death 
Egbert succeeded to the throne of Wessex ; he soon 
began a warfare with the Welsh. After subduing 
Cornwall he invaded the territory of the Welsh north 
of the estuary of the Severn, and forced them to pav 
tribute to him. In 811, he again invaded South 
Wales, and, in the two following years, he laid it waste 
from eastward to westward Another invasion by him 
is recorded in 828, after he had acquired the kingdom 
of Mercia, and obtained a supremacy over the Saxons 

1 See the description of it in Hartshorne's Salopia Antiqua. 



DURING THE SAXON PERIOD. 25 

north and south of the Humber. In 836, Burhed, 
King of Mercia, requested Ethel wulf, the then King of 
Wessex, to aid him in repressing the incursions of the 
Welsh. Ethelwulf thereupon led his army across 
Mercia. Entering South Wales with their combined 
forces, they forced the Welsh to pay tribute to Burhed. 
The Welsh annals throw little light on this continual 
warfare with the Saxon, but they contain a brief ad- 
mission that, in 822, the district of Powys was subject 
to Saxon rule. 

The result of these victorious inroads would, in the 
usual course of events lead to an increase of Saxon ter- 
ritory beyond the dyke, as well as payment of tribute ; 
accordingly we jBnd that the dyke in a part of its 
course ceased to be the boundary of Wales, and that 
considerable additions were made to Mercia between 
Knighton and the Wye. Before the end of the ninth 
century, Ethelred, who married Ethelfleda, daughter 
of King Alfred, became ruler of Mercia as Ealdorman, 
and retained the government of it until his death in 
915. The Radnor district appears at this period to 
have formed a part of Mercia. In 887, Ethelred, by a 
charter, with Alfred s Ucense, granted lands belonging 
to the church at Radnor* to the see of Worcester, and 
transferred to the lands of the same church six serfs 
and their progeny from the royal vill of Bensington as 
a further donation to the same see. The annexation 
of Radnor to Mercia at an early period is confirmed by 
the entry in the Welsh annals that Meredudd ap Owen 
in 990 laid waste Maes Hyfeid. We may infer that 
other additions to Mercia, which will be presently 
mentioned, to the west of the dyke, as far as the left 
bank of the Wye, were made about the same period, 
both from an examination of Domesday Book and of 
modem surveys ; for there is almost as great an ab- 
sence of Welsh names of places in the territory so 

1 " Readnora". See Thorpe's Diplom. Anglic.^ p. 133 ; Kemble's 
Saxons in England, voL i, p. 227. 



26 HEREFORDSHIRE AND ITS WELSH BORDER 

added as in the older parts of Herefordshire. The ob- 
literation of Welsh names of places seems invariably to 
have followed Saxon conquest, a fact which becomes 
more apparent when we compare the adjoining Welsh 
territory, which soon after the Conquest fell into the 
hands of the Lords Marchers, and find that in the latter 
Welsh names of places predominate to the present 
day. This obliteration of the names of places must 
have been a work of time; a long continuance of Saxon 
rule will alone account for such a result. The absence 
of any record of Welsh tenures or customs, and of 
Welsh tenants on the left bank of the Wye, is also 
confirmatory of a long Saxon occupation of the district. 
At the time of the Domesday Survey, and even as 
late as the reign of Edward I,^ Wigmore, with its 
castle, appears to have formed the north-western cor- 
ner of Herefordshire. All that lies to the north of 
Wigmore and west of Willey, between the rivers Teme 
and Lug, was part of Shropshire and in the hundred 
of Leintwardine {Lenteurde). Following the line of the 
dyke from Knighton southward, we find Osbem Fitz 
lUchard Scrupe held, in Leintwardine hundred, Stan- 
nage (Stanege), Cascop,^ and AckliiU (Achet). Hugo 
L'Asne held Knighton (Chenistetune), Norton (iVo?*- 
tune), and lands in Willey {Lege)^ which in King Ed- 
ward's time belonged to Leflet ; and Ralph de Morti- 
mer held two hides of land in Pilleth (Pelelei),^ in the 
Marches of Wales. Stannage, Norton, and Ackhill, 
are on the east side of the dyke ; Cascob and Pilleth 
are to the west of it, and the lands so referred to form 
the detached portion of Herefordshire, now part of the 
hundred of Wigmore. Osbern Fitz Richard also held 
Bradley (Bradelege), Titley (Titdege), Bramton {Bran- 

^ Dogdale, referring to Close Rolls, 32 Edward I, states that the 
manors of Knighton and Pullid, with the hamlet of Akhill, in com. 
Salop, were, with other possessions, assigned to Margaret, widow of 
Edmand Lord Mortimer. 

' The termination of the names of places in cop^ in this district, 
answers to the Anglo-Saxon cop, a (monntain) cap or top. 

8 " PuUelit", Inq. p. m. H. Ill ; " Pylaley", Lewis Dwnn, vol. i, 
p. 252. 



DURING THE SAXON PERIOD. 27 

tune), KniU {CheniUe\ Herrock (Hef'cope), a hill around 
the summit of which the dyke runs ; Harton {Her- 
tune), Hech, Clatretuney probably near Clatterbrook or 
Presteign, Kinnerton {Querentune\ Discoyd (Discote), 
and half a hide at Cascob, before mentioned ; of these 
possessions, Harton and Kinnerton form part of the 
extensive valley of Old Kadnor, on the west side of 
the dyke.^ 

The description of them in the Survey is that, " in 
these 1 1 manors the land is 36 carucates, but it was 
and is waste. It never paid geld^ it lies in the March 
of Wales. In these waste lands woods grow, in which 
Osbem hunts and has what he can take — nothing else". 
Earl Harold held Radnor {Badrenove) and King Ed- 
ward Womaston ( Ulfelmestune) in the Eadnor valley. 
Burlinjobb {BerchelvncopeY another township of Old 
Badnor, was in the king's nands. 

The dyke, which crosses the narrow defile near the 
entrance of Radnor Forest, styled " ruge ditch'* in the 
Survey of Herefordshire, temp. Henry III', marks the 
extreme limit, in this direction, of the Herefordshire of 
Domesday. It probably continued to be the boundary 
until New Radnor with Old Radnor was transferred by 
statute, 27 Henry VIII, c. 26, to form part of the new 
county of Radnor. Both parishes were from an early 
period and still are within the diocese of Hereford. 

Proceeding along the western side of the dyke we 
find that King Edward and Earl Harold^ held Kington, 
with its townships, Hergest (Hergesth), Bredward 
(Brudeford), Rushock (Ruiscop), Chickward {Cicwr- 
dine), and Barton (Beurtune), and English Huntington 
(Hantinetune), as distin^shed from what was at a 
later period known as the manor of Welsh Hunting- 
ton, which included the township of Hengoed and 
parish of Brunley, or Brilley, where the names of 

^ The Domesday names of places are printed in italics. 
« Afde, vol. X, p. 302, 4th Ser. 

3 Harold also held land in BaumgeurSin and Burardesiune, which 
appear to have been in the Radnor or Kington district. 



28 HEREFORDSHIRE AND ITS WELSH BORDER 

places are for the most part Welsh. Earl Harold also 
neld LyoD shall (Lenehalle), a parish through which 
the dyke runs, having on the west of it a farm called 
Elsdon (Ehdune), the only record of the hundred which 
bore that name, and comprised the parishes of King- 
ton, Titley, Lyonshall, Almeley, Letton, Willersley, 
Winferton, and Whitney ; also the manor of Mateur- 
din^ and Walelege,^ which last Gilbert Fitz Harold 
held at the time of the Survey. In Walelege was a 
defensible house and a large wood for hunting. Kalph 
de Mortimer also held in Elsdune hundred Elhurge- 
legdy^ which previously belonged to Edric. From the 
Holme's Marsh in Lyonshall to Upperton all trace of 
the dyke has disappeared; but, looking at the Map, it 
is evident that its course ran through the parishes of 
Almeley (Elmelie), held by Roger de Laci of the 
Church of St. Guthlac, Sarnesfield {Saimesfelde), also 
part of Earl Rogers' possessions, probably so named 
from a road branching from Watling Street, which 
passed through it to the valley of tne Wye. Con- 
tinuing to follow the line of the dyke to the Wye 
at Bridge Sellers, on the west of it, the parishes or 
townships of Kinnersley, Hurstley {Curdeslege), Norton 
Canon (iV^orft^ne), a possession of the church of Hereford, 
Yazor (Lwesoure), larsop (Edreshope), Mansell Gam- 
age (Malv€sdle)y which Elflet held of Earl Harold, 
and Byford {Buiford), occur in succession; and, up 
the valley westward, Staunton (Standune), a posses- 
sion of Earl Leofric's brother Edwin, who was kUled in 
a battle with the Welsh in 1039, Monnington {Manx- 
tune), another possession of Earl Harold, and after- 
wards of Ralph de Todeni, Brobury {Brocheherie), 
Letton {Letune\ Eardisley (Herdeslege), Willersley 
(Willaueslege), Winforton (Widferdest^ine), and Whit- 
ney ( Witenie), the westernmost parish on the left bank 
of the Wye, which Alward held in King Edward's 
time. Eardisley belonged to Edwin, Earl Leofric's 
brother, and, on his death, it came to Earl Harold. 

^ I have been unable to identify these. 



DURING THE SAXON PERIOD. 29 

At the time of the Survey it was, with several other 
parishes in the valley, in the tenure of Roger de Laci. 
It IS described as free from geld and customary pay- 
ments, as not lying in any hundred, situated in a wood 
and as having a defensible house,^ the site, of which is 
probably indicated by the moated defences of the after 
Castle of Eardisley ; mention is made of a Welsh tenant 
in this parish, ana also in Willersley and Winforton. 

It is very uncertain when the large part of Here- 
fordshire on the right bank of the Wye became Saxon 
territory. Many incursions were doubtless made from 
time to time across the Wye into Welsh territory from 
the time of Alfred, if not at an earlier period. According 
to a traditionary account, the See of Llandaff at one- 
time extended to Moccas^ on the Wye, and was gra- 
dually reduced by Saxon invasions to narrower limits. 
During Ethelred's rule of Mercia as Ealdorman, the 
Kings of Gwent and Brecon submitted themselves to 
Alfred, and agreed to hold their kingdoms of him as 
their over-lord on the same terms as Ethelred held 
Mercia.® His widow, Ethelfleda, as Lady of Mercia, 
under her brother, Edward the Elder, must have crossed 
the river when, in 917, she invaded the Welsh terri- 
tory with her army, and took by storm a fortress at 

^ It is noteworthy that, while all trace of the castle has disap- 
peared, the site of the earlier fort and its defences remains. Imme- 
diately at the back of Eardisley Castle farmhonse is a high circular 
" motte", protected at its foot, on the west, by a deep and wide 
ditch, partly filled with water, which was continued eastward at the 
back of the farm-bnildings, towards the turnpike-road. About 30 
yards west of the ditch, the intervening space being covered with 
wood, is a wide trench about 20 feet deep, which serves as a water- 
course in flood-time. Crossing green sward, 70 yards westward, is 
a third deep and wide trench, also a water-course, with earth thrown 
up on its east side as a rampart. The second trench passes under 
the road to Eardisley Park, and is soon after diverted into the third 
trench. From the second trench a wide ditch or moat, filled with 
water, runs on the south of the same road to the churchyard, where 
it appears to have been filled in. Eardisley was at the time of the 
survey a border parish. 

* Liber Landavenaisy pp. 374, 422. 

8 Asser, Man, Hist. Brit, p. 488. 



30 H£REFORDSHIRB AKD ITS WELSH BOEDER 

Bryoenamere, probably in the neigbbourhood of Llan- 
gorse Lake/ bringing back into Mercia the wife of the 
Welsh king and thirty-four of her followers. 

Two years later an event occurred which tends to shew 
that Gwent, although paying tribute, and entitled to the 
protection of the Saxon king, was still a separate king- 
dom. A band of Danish pimtes who had, nineteen 
years before, lefb England, and had since resided in 
Brittany, returned, and having sailed round Wessex 
and Cornwall, at last entered the mouth of the Severn ; 
proceeding up the Wye they invaded South Wales, 
pillaging and destroying all that they met with on their 
way. J^tering Archenfield, the Welsh Ergyng,^ in the 
cantred of Gwent Ywchoed and diocese of Llandaff, a 
district which extended on its northern frontier from 
the river Dore along the Worm (Guormwy) brook to its 
source, and thence mto Wye, a little above Horn Lacy, 
and embraced southward the whole of the land en- 
closed by the rivers Wye and Monnow, they took away 
captive to their vessels Cyfeliauc, the Bishop of Llan- 
daff, whom King Edward shortly after redeemed for 
£40 in silver ; leaving again their vessels, they ravaged 
Archenfield, until their progress was arrested by the 
men of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, who de- 
feated them with great slaughter. On the death of 
Ethelfleda in 920, her brother Edward assumed the 
rule of Mercia, and Howel Dda, Cledauc, and Idwal, 
Kings of Wales, formally acknowledged him as their 
lord. In 926, Athelstane, King of Wessex and Mercia, 
compelled the Kings of South Wales to meet him at 
Hereford, and agreed to pay him a yearly tribute in 
money and cattle, and he assigned the river Wye as 
the boundary of his kingdom." 

Little is recorded of the relations of Mercia with 
South Wales until the accession of Edward the Con- 
fessor nearly a century later. Border warfare no doubt 

^ See Jones* Breeonshirej vol. i, p. 78, in snpporfc of Llan^rse. 

2 Liber Land., pp. 374, 546, 582. 

3 WiUiam of Malmesbury, Bohn's ed., p. 134» 



DURING THE SAXON PERIOD. 31 

continued on the right bank of the Wye; its rich 
plains, readily acoessiole from Hereford and tempting 
to the Saxon, were probably the first addition to Mer- 
cia on the Welsh side of the river. The account of this 
district in the Domesday Survey is slight ; the woods 
and hilly waste ground, which divided it from the val- 
ley of the Dore, were probably considered of small ac- 
count. 

The canons of Hereford held lands in Preston {Pres- 
tretune) and Tibberton (Tibrintintune), which were 
waste in King Edward's time; also Eaton Bishop (^towe), 
a manor previously of Earl Harold. The manor of 
Eongston ((Jhingestone), which occupied a larger terri- 
tory than the modem parish of that name, holds the 
prominent position. It formed part of the royal de- 
mesne in the time of King^ Edward and of the Survey ; it 
contained a wood called Triveline, frequently mentioned 
as the Royal Forest of Trivel or Treville^ in early 
records, which rendered no custom but that of hunt- 
ing ; the only service of the vQlains, who dwelt there 
in King Edward's reign, was to carry the game to Here- 
ford. We gain a greater notion of its importance 
when we find it recorded that prior to the Conquest 
some of its land was let out on rent to the ship- 
wealas, or Welsh navigators, and that twenty-one cyt- 
weras (weirs or places for taking fish) on the Severn, 
and twelve cytweras on the Wye, belonged to it' 
Land in Cusop (Cheweshop) near Hay was held with 
it, and was subject to the custom of the manor. Clif- 
ford, one of the outposts on the Welsh border, was in 
the tenure of Brynmg, who was Sheriff of Hereford- 
shire in 1038. 

From the valley of the Wye, near Middlewood, a 

^ The forest of Trevel, according to an extent taken 15 John, 
contained 2,014 acres, and extended from Kingston to the river 
Dore. Mnch of it was open or cleared land. It had its Stradel- 
gate. Part of it, between the Dore and Trivel brook, was dis- 
forested, and granted to Dore Abbey by King John and Henry III. 
{Close BoUs, vol. i, pp. 165, 898.) 

^ Kemble's Scuoans in England^ vol. i, p. 320. 



32 HEREFORDSHIRE AND ITS WELSH BORDER 

stream ran southward until it joined the Monnow near 
Pontrilas, along a valley which separated the Kingston 
district from Ewyas. The Dore, or Dour, like many- 
other rivers, has preserved its Celtic name, notwith- 
standing the changes in the name of its valley ; first, 
by the Saxon, from Ystrad Dour to Stradel, and, at a 
later period, from an erroneous translation of the 
Celtic name of the river, to Golden Valley, the name 
it now bears. In Domesday the valley is called Stra- 
delie, and formed the hundred of Stradel ; although it 
has lost its Saxon name, a trace of it still survives in 
Monnington Stradel. In this valley, at the date of 
the Survey, the canons of Hereford held lands, and 
Walter, Bishop of Hereford, one hide, which had been 
laid waste in King Edward's time. Roger de Laci 
held Bacton {Bachetune) and Wadeturiy previously pos- 
sessions of Edwin and Alward, in which were resident 
three Welshmen, yielding three sextaries of hon^y ; 
Elnodestune, perhaps Snodhill, and Dorstone {Edward- 
estune). William de Scohies held Poston {Poscetentune), 
formerly in the tenure of Edwin. Alfred of Marlbo- 
rough held Monington {Manetune) and Brocheurdie, 
previously part of the possessions of Earl Harold ; in 
the latter there was one Welshman. Gilbert Fitz 
Turold held Bach (Becca). In it were eight Welshmen, 
who held two carucates of land, subject to a render of a 
hawk and two dogs ; also Harewood (Harewde)^ of 
which Edwin was previous owner; and Middlewood 
{Midewde\ formerly Earl Harold's — all woodland. Gil- 
bert also held 112 carucates of arable land in the valley, 
and paid geld. Hugo L'Asne held Beltrov and Ulve- 
tone^ both waste ; Wilmastone (WilTnestune) and Alca- 
mestune^ formerly in the tenure of Leflet, and Almun- 
destune, of which Alward was the previous possessor ; 
in the last there were a priest and a church. These 
particulars are given in order to show that the Saxons 
had a firm hold of this valley. 

The acquisition of the remaining part of Hereford- 
shire will be best understood by a short relation of 



DURING THE SAXON PERIOD. 33: 

events in South Wales. . About the year 1046, dissen- 
sions arose between GriflSith ap Ryderch, King of South 
Wales, and GriflSth ap Llewelyn, King of North Wales, 
which led to warfare in the vale of Towy. In the 
autumn of 1049, Irish pirates, with thirty-six vessels, 
entered the mouth of the Severn, directing their course 
up the river Usk, whence, with the aid of Griffith ap 
Byderch, they plundered the country around, and then 
with their combined forces crossed the Wye, burnt 
Dymedham, which cannot be identified, and put to the 
sword all whom they found there. Aldred, Bishop of 
Worcester, with a few men of the counties of Worcester 
and Hereford, tried to check their onward progress, 
but the Welsh, who formed part of the bishop s force, 
secretly sent messengers to Grifl&th, advising him to 
attack the English speedily. Griffith and his Irish 
allies availed themselves of the intelligence, and, falling 
suddenly on the English, put them to flight, killing, 
many of them; the rest, with the bishop, escaped. As 
Herefordshire men formed part of his force, we may 
infer that the invaders crossed the Wye into that 
county, previously passing through Archenfield, then 
probably part of Mercia,on their way from the river Usk. 

In 1052, Griffith, the North Wales king, laid waste 
a large part of Herefordshire. In the neighbourhood 
of Leominster, the men of the county, aided by the 
Normans of a neighbouring castle, probably Richard s 
Castle, encountered him, but Griffith gained a decisive 
victory, and returned with much plunder. 

In the early part of the next year, Rhys, brother of 
the South Wales king, was, on account of his frequent 
depredations at Bulendun, slain by order of King Ed- 
ward, and his head was taken to the king at Glou- 
cester. 

In 1055, King Edward, on the advice of his Council, 
banished Earl Algar, son of Earl Leofric. Algar im- 
mediately went to Ireland ; returning soon with eighteen 
vessels, he sought the aid of Griffith of North Wales 
against King Edward. Griffith, who had a short time 

4th 8BR., VOL. XIII. 3 



34 HEREFORDSHIRE AND ITS WELSH BORDER 

before killed Griffith of South Wales, collected a large 
army from the whole of his kingdom, and ordered that 
Algar should meet him at a place from which they 
might together lay waste the border and enter Here- 
fordshire. The timid Earl Ralph, King Edward's 
nephew, who then as earl, or in some other capacity, 
had the charge of the county, assembled an army and 
met the Irish and Welsh forces on the 24th of October, 
two miles from Hereford. He gave orders to his men 
to fight on horseback, contrary to their usual habit. 
The adoption of this plan and their leader's irresolu- 
tion caused a panic among his followers, who fled, with 
the earl at their head, before a spear was thrown, and 
were pursued by the enemy with a great slaughter. 
Griffith and Algar after their victory entered Hereford 
and, having killed the seven canons who defended the 
doors, burnt the Cathedral, which Bishop Athelstane 
had erected, sacked the city, killed some of the citizens, 
made others captives, and returned to Wales with their 
prisoners and much booty. On receiving intelligence 
of the event, the king ordered a large army to be as- 
sembled at Gloucester, and gave the command of it to 
Earl Harold, who immediately followed Griffith and 
Algar, entered the Welsh territory, and encamped be- 
yond Stradel, in the district of Ewias. The Irish and 
Welsh force, dreading the skill and prowess of Harold, 
did not dare to encounter him, but fled into South 
Wales. Harold thereupon dismissed the greater part 
of his forces, and returning to Hereford with the 
remainder, caused a wide ditch with a high rampart 
to be made around the city. Meanwhile, overtures 
for peace arrived from the enemy. Griffith and Algar 
met Harold at Billingsley^ in Shropshire, where terms 
of peace were made, which probably provided for the 
addition of Ewias, and established the present bound- 
ary of the county of Hereford on that part of the 
Welsh border. 

In the month of February following. Bishop Athel- 

1 "BilIig8leaga'',Flor. Wig.; « Biligsley", A.-S. Chroii. 



DURING THE SAXON PERIOD. 35 

stane died. He was succeeded in the bishopric by 
Leofgar, the mass priest of Earl Harold, " who forsook 
his chrism and his rood, his ghostly weapons, and took 
to the spear and the sword after his bishophood" Dis- 
satisfied with the terms of peace, and anxious to ac- 
quire fresh territory in the valley of the Wye, Leofgar 
renewed the warfare with the Welsh, and, encounter- 
ing Griffith in battle, was killed at Glasbury^ on the 
16th June 1056. Many of his clergy, Elnoth, the 
sheriflF of the county, and many others of his followers, 
were slain in this engagement. 

The Anglo-Sdocon Chronicle adds, " it is difficult to 
tell the distress, and all the marching and camping, 
and the travail and destruction of men and horses, 
which all the English army endured, until Leofric the 
Earl came thither, and Harold the Earl, and Bishop 
Aldred, and made a reconciliation between them ; and 
Griffith swore oaths that he would be to King Edward 
a faithful and unbetraying under-king." 

This peace settled definitively the boundary on the 
right bank of the Wye, and probably restored to Grif- 
fi3i some of the territory which Leofgar had seized, for, 
in King John's reign, the town of Hay received a 
charter in recognition of the liberties which it enjoyed 
in the time of Edward the Confessor. 

Ewyas, styled by the Welsh, in connection with 
Ystrady w, as one of " the two real sleeves of ErgyngV 
was separated from Ystradyw^ by the lateral spurs and 
vallies which run eastward from the range of the Black 
Mountains. Ewyas occupied the eastern slopes of the 
range, and extended to the Golden Valley ; its Welsh 
boundary ran for some distance along the ridge of the 
mountain. It now forms the hundred of Ewias Lacy. 
Its addition to Herefordshire deprived the Welsh of a 
district which affi)rded them a ready road for inva- 

^ Glastbyrig (Flor. Wig.), a name which suggests that he may 
have thrown up a fortified '* burh" there. 

^ Uher Land.y p. 512. 

* " Tretour and Creghowel stand in Estrodewe hundred." (Le- 
land, Ithie)ary^ vol. v, fo. (59. 

3« 



36 HEREFORDSHIRE AND ITS WELSH BORDER 

sion, and a readier road of retreat, on account of the 
broken and hilly nature of the ground. 

To strengthen the defence of the border, the Con- 
queror, in the early part of his reign, built the Castle 
of Monmouth,^ of which, at the time of the Survey^ 
William Fitz-Baderon had the custody. In furtherance 
of the same object, William Fitz-Osbern, Earl of Here- 
ford, granted to Walter de Lacy the castlery of Ewias, 
which embraced the larger part of the district, and at 
the time of the Survey had descended to his son Roger, 
who also held a detached portion of it (** in fine Ewias") 
known as Fwddog, extending along the eastern slope 
of the valley of Gwyrneu vawr, which did not belong 
to the castelry or any hundred, and which returned to 
him, "when men are there", fifteen sextaries of honey 
and fifteen swine. In the castelry were four Welsh 
tenants occupying a carucate of land at a render of two 
sextaries of honey. In it Henry de Ferrers had three 
churches with a priest, and thirty-two acres of land. 
He had also two dwellings in the Castle. The King 
also confirmed to Alfred of Marlborough, William Fitz- 
Osbern s grant to him of the Castle of Ewias (after- 
wards known as Ewias Harold,^ from its after-owner, 
Harold, son of Earl Ralph), which Alfred had restored, 
and the lands belonging to the Castle, of which his 
seven knights (milites) at the time of the Survey held 
a large part. On the demesne lands of the Castle' there 
were, among other occupiers, nine Welshmen holding six 
carucates of land at a render of seven sextaries of honey. 

The Castle of Clifford, with its castelry, estimated at 
twenty-seven carucates, extending along the right bank 
of the Wye, completed the defence of this part of the 
Welsh border. It was held in chief by Ralph de To- 
deni. Among his tenants, the names of Gilbert the 

^ Liber Land,, p. 649. 

* See Mr. Powle's paper, Arch. Camh., 1868 ; and Mr. Clark's 
deficription of the Castle, 4th Series, vol. viii, p. 116. 

3 Leland states that the lordship of Ewias Harold was a mile in 
breadth, and abont two miles in length. (Vol. viii, fo. 83a.) 



DURING THE SAXON PERIOD. 37 

Sheriff and Roger de Lacy occur. Among other inha- 
bitants, mention is made of sixteen burgesses and five 
Welshmen. 

Of the later additions to the county, Archenfield alone 
remained comparatively unchanged by Saxon rule. In 
the Confessor's reign it was inhabited by a population 
half Welsh and half Saxon, and governed by laws and 
customs peculiarly its own. The Welsh language was 
spoken there until a late period, and its parishes, dwell- 
ings, and families, still retain their Welsh names.^ An 
account of its customs follows those of the city of Here- 
ford in the Survey. It will suflSce to mention those 
that are remarkable. The King had three churches, 
the priests of which acted as the king s ambassadors in 
Wales. On the death of one of them the king had 20^. 
A Welshman stealing a man, woman, horse, or cattle, 
restored, on conviction, the property stolen, and for- 
feited a sum in money. Any one who killed a vassal of 
the king, gave to the king 205. for the man, and for- 
feited 1005. ; but if the man killed was the vassal of a 
thane, IO5. to the dead man's lord, — a custom differing 
from the Saxon " wergild", which was payable to the 
slain's next of kin. If a Welshman slew a Welshman, 
the relatives met and plundered the slayer and his 
kinsmen, and burnt their houses, until noon on the 
morrow, when the burial took place ; and of the plun- 
der, the king had a third. A man accused of setting 
fire to a house could defend himself by forty men, or 
pay 2O5. to the king. The men of the district, in time 
of war, formed the vanguard of the king's army on its 
inarch against the enemy, and the rearguard on its 
return. Kiset of Wales rendered to the king £40. 

These were the customs of the district generally ; 
other customs are mentioned as incident to the tenure 
of lands within it. The King had in Archenfield, at 
the time of the Survey, ninety-six men, who had with 
their men sixty-three carucates of land, and yielded to 

^ See the Rev. John Webb's preface to Bishop Swinfield's Roll, 
p. czliz et seq. (Camden Soc.) 



38 HEREFORDSHIRE AND ITS WELSH BORDER 

him by ciistom forty-one sextaries of honey, and 20^. as 
a composition for the sheep which they were wont to 
give by custom, and 105. for fumage (a chimney-tax) ; 
but they were free from geld and other customs, except 
military service. The king was also entitled, on the 
death of a freeman, to his horse with his arms ; on the 
death of a villain, to his ox. 

No account could be given of the state of this land 
in the Confessor s time, because Griffith, King of North 
Wales, and Bleddyn his brother, had laid it waste. A 
short account of the other vills and lands in Archen- 
field follows. It is difficult to identify any names of 
places with existing names. Chipeete is considered to 
represent Kilpeck on the northern frontier of the dis- 
trict. The limits of this paper will not admit of a de- 
tailed description ; but it may suffice to say that all 
the lands mentioned were held by Saxons, among whom 
the name of Earl Harold occurs, and that at the time 
of the Survey they were divided between Gilbert Fitz- 
Turold, William Fitz-Norman, Alfred of Marlborough, 
and Roger de Lacy ; and that the render of sextaries 
of honey, and occasionally of sheep, with a small sum in 
money, was an incident of their tenure. 

It remains to explain how the see of Llandaff lost its 
rights in Ergyng and Ewias. Both continued to form 
part of the diocese without dispute, under the rule of 
Bishop Herwald, during the Conqueror's reign and 
afterwards ; but as the Bishop grew old, and the Nor- 
man invasions of South Wales proceeded, advantage 
was taken of the Bishop's age and infirmity to deprive 
the see of Llandaff of many of its possessions, and to 
annex Ergyng to the see of Hereford, and Ewias to the 
see of St. David's.^ 

Herwald's successor. Urban, who was consecrated in 
1108, preferred a complaint to Pope Calixtus II of the 
invasions of his territory and diocese by the Bishops of 
Hereford and St. David's, which led to the issuing of a 
Bull in 1 1 19, directed to the Archbishop of Canteroury, 

^ Liher Land,^ pp. 550, 555. 



DURINQ THE SAXON PERIOD. 39 

commanding that justice might be done to the church 
of Llandaff. We may collect that the Archbishop's 
decision was unfavourable, from the fact of Urban's 
appeal to Honorius II, and joumies to Rome, where the 
Bishops of Hereford and St. David's were twice in- 
vited by the Pope to come and answer his complaint. 
They failed to come, and after hearing from Urban's 
witnesses that Bishop Herwald had held them for forty 
years, the Pope, on the 14th of April 1129, adjudged 
the districts in dispute to belong to the see of Llandaff. 
Shortly after Urban's departure, Bernard Bishop of 
St. David s arrived in Home with his witnesses. Urban 
was summoned to again attend in the following year 
to answer the matters alleged by Bernard, and also 
about Ewyas and Talybont. The hearing was adjourned 
by Innocent II for three years, on Urban 's representa- 
tion that he was weighed down by sickness, old age, 
and poverty, and therefore unable to undertake a third 
journey. Urban's death, on his way to Rome, in 1133, 
put a stop to the appeal. No decision was given, and 
the see of Llandaff never recovered its lost rights. 
Archenfield continued ever after to be part of the see 
of Hereford, and Ewyas to be part of the see of St. 
David's, until it was transferred in 1852, by an Order 
in Council, to the see of Hereford. 

R. W. B. 

Seeing in Mr. Havergal's Fasti Here/or denies, that 
the boundary of the diocese of Hereford was described 
in a book known as the Mundy Gospels, in the library 
of Pembroke College, Cambridge, I wrote to the Libra- 
rian of the College, Mr. R A. Neil, who very obligingly 
answered my inquiry as follows : 

" In the Mundy Gospels there is a page of Anglo- 
Saxon writing at the beginning of the book which gives 
the boundary on the east of the diocese of Hereford. 
It is in writing, according to Mr. Bradshaw, the Uni- 
versity Librarian, contemporary with Bishop Athelstane. 
With Mr. Bradshaw's assistance I have made out the 



40 FURTHER NOTICES OF THE EARLY 

meaning of it, except that I cannot identify all the 
places mentioned with places on the map. I enclose a 
copy of the page (in English characters) with explana- 
tions :" 

" Hanc discretionem fecit -^thestanus [sic] episcopus. 

" Du8 ligth f bisceoprice into Hereforda of Munuwi mu'San 
Thus lieth the from Monmouth 

up and lang Saeferne to Mjmster WorlSige . of Mynster Wordige 

MiuBterworth 

in Doddes aesc . of Doddes sesc in Ceolan heafdan . of Geolan 

Dodd*8 Ash Ghillinghead or some such form 

heafdan in Maelfern . and lang Maelfern in tha Stycinge . of 

thare Stycince in Temede . up on lang Temede . in Stanfordes 

R. Teme Stanford 

brycge . of Stanfordes brycge . in Maertleages ecge ondland ecge . 

bridge Martlej^s Edge 

in Caredune . of Caredune in Eardigtun . of Eardigtunc eft in 

back 
Saefern in Quattford." 

In reading this description it will be borne in mind 
that the see of Gloucester was created in the reign of 
Henry VIII. Comparing this account of the boundary 
with the grant of Henry II to Roger Earl of Hereford 
(see Arch. Camb., vol. xii, 4tli Series, p. 332), a notion 
is suggested that Ceolan Heafden may be identioAl with 
Cilteham, on the other side of Severn, in the grant, and 
so with Cheltenham. 



FURTHER NOTICES OF THE EARLY IN- 
SCRIBED STONES OF SOUTH WALES. 

I HAVE been favoured by Mrs. Emily Allen, of Con- 
naught Square, London, with the sight of some early 
drawings of Pembrokeshire inscribed stones, amongst 
which are two not hitherto published. These draw- 
ings are stated to have been made in March 1792 for 
Alien's History of Wales, and AUen's History of Pern- 
hrokeshire, books which, I believe, were never pub- 
lished. The drawings were originally in the possession 



INSGHIBBD STONES OF WALES. 41 

of Mr. Williams of Ivy Tower, near Tenby, at whose 
sale they were purchased, with a large collection of 
sketches, by Mr. Mason of Tenby, the former publisher of 
the ArchcBologia Cambrensis^ who allowed Mrs. E. Allen 
to copy the inscriptions. Amongst them is a fair copy 
of the Curcagnus stone {Lapidarium WallicB, Plate 
XLV, fig. 3), wiiich is stated to have been found " on 
one of the mountains in the upper part of Wales". 

Another of the drawings represents a duplicate of 
the Carew Cross inscription (Zap. Wall,^ plate LVii, 
p. 120), which is stated to have been " taken from a 
stone on the top of Carew Castle. There is also near 
the turnpike-gate of Carew an antique cross, which 
has the same inscription on one of its compartments" 
Does this stone still exist at the top of Carew Castle ? 
or is it the identical duplicate stone now at Fethard 
Castle, Ireland ? See also Graves, in Arch. Camh.y 
1879, p. 226. It would be curious that three copies 
of this inscription should have been made. 

A third of these drawings is copied in the accom- 
panying woodcut, representing a stone "found at a 
place called Stoneditch, near the town of Narberth". 




I cannot precisely decipher the inscription, of which 
the letters appear to have beeii carelessly copied. Is 



42 THIS INNER WALL OF 8HHEWSBURY. 

the second line intended for staoati, or does the in- 
scription terminate with the word iaoet ? It is to be 
hoped that some of our Pembrokeshire correspondents 
will be able to rediscover and send us a rubbing of this 
hitherto unpublished stone, as well as to give us some 
information on Aliens History of PeTnhrokeshire, above 
alluded to. I. O. Westwood. 



THE INNER WALL OF SHREWSBURY. 

" Salopla. urbs est in confinio Cambrise & Anglise super 
Sabrinam in vertice coUis posita, quae Anglice vocatur 
Schrobbesburia, a dumis & fructibus in illo coUe ali- 
quando crescentibus sic dicta. Britannice vero vocatur 
Penguern, quod sonat Caput abietis & fuit aliquando 
caput PowisisB terrae, quse se extendit per transver- 
sum mediae Walliae usque ad mare Hibemicum." (Hig- 
den, PolychronicoUy lib. i, circa a.d. 1350.) 

From this short description, which doubtless embo- 
dies the view of still earlier times, we may fairly gather 
that the city of Shrewsbury {Salopia urbs) did not ex- 
tend much, if at all, beyond the crest {vertex) of the loll 
on which three of the principal ecclesiastical buildings 
now stand. If it had occupied a larger area, a chron- 
icler like Higden (who probably was personally ac- 
quainted with a city within forty miles of his convent) 
would not have used the words, "in vertice collis 
posita", placed on the crest of a hill. If this be borne 
in mind, the inferences, which the following facts seem 
to warrant, will be more readily admitted, and, as 
additional information is from time to time acquired, 
the subject will be carried on to greater detail. 

Some three years ago my attention was directed to 
very considerable remains of a wall at the back of some 
houses in the High Street (those numbered 10, 11, 
and 12). The same remains are noticed in the ac- 
count given, by the Rev. W. A. Leighton,of the Deanery 



THE INNER WALL OF SHREWSBURY. 43 

of St. AlkmuncL Careful examination of the adjoining 
properties seemed to indicate that these remains, whether 
they did or did not form one boundary wall of the 
deanery, were the best preserved portions of a much 
longer wall, which extended south-east and north-west 
across the city (or rather across the present town) far 
beyond the limits of any deanery, and may have formed, 
and very probably did form, part of an original defence 
of the city which, in very early times, occupied, as 
Higden intimates, no more than the crest of the hilL 

That this wall was ever part of an inner wall, 
dividing the city into two unequal portions, can scarcely 
be believed, because such a wall would not have been 
built along a declivity so as to allow the lower portion 
to be dominated by the upper. It is now, indeed, an 
inner wall, and so I shall designate it ; but originally 
it must have been an outer defence. Nor could it have 
been a wall dividing the city into wards, for it is not 
now in any part of it a ward limit, but is included in 
two of the wards, the bank house (No. 6, High Street) 
being upon the dividing line. 

If we could believe that the Romans, or their suc- 
cessors, sometimes designated Romano-Britons, had any 
hand in the laying out of the earliest settlement on 
this peninsula, such a line of defence would be in exact 
accordance with their practice, which was to make their 
ramparts follow the outlines of the hills on which the 
fortiiBed camp or city stood. " It is frequently inti- 
mated in the ancient authors'', says the Rev. Richard 
Burgess, in his book on the Topography and Antiquities 
o/Romefthat the old walls continued with the outlines 
of the hills, for, in this manner, according to ancient 
tactics, the city would be more effectually fortified"; 
and, in support of this assertion, he proceeds to quote 
a passage from Pliny's Natural History. But be this 
as it may, no one will deny that ** in this manner the 
city would be more effectually fortified". 

All our historians are agreed that the very first de- 
fence of the position which Shrewsbury now covers 



44 THE INNER WALL OP SHREWSBUET. 

was a wall or rampart across the isthmus, on either 
side, from the height where the castle stands to the 
river. In course of time, however (if not at the very- 
first settlement of the place), further protection was 
required. Either previous friends became hostile, or 
old enemies found means to get across the natural 
defence which the river supplies, and so the inhabit- 
ants were compelled to construct a rampart, or even a 
stone wall, along the declivity of the hill, on the crest 
of which their dwellings were placed, and it may safely 
be asserted that, if they did so with any regard to the 
configuration of the ground and the extent of the in- 
habited area, they could not have carried it along any 
other line than the one where palpable remains of a 
wall are still to be seen. 

The river, which in winter, for the most part, would 
be impassable, became at other times fordable in more 
places than one, and at all seasons the river circuit 
was too long to be efficiently guarded by two or three 
hundred able-bodied burgesses, some of whom must 
always have kept watch and ward at the isthmus in 
time of danger. 

This second wall or rampart (for that across the 
isthmus, whether it were or were not earlier in date 
may be reckoned as the first), need not have been very 
high or very elaborately constructed ; the existing re- 
mains, indeed, of the wall, if my inferences are correct, 
do not lead us to suppose that it was anything like so 
well built as the wall of later date around the present 
town, but only sufficient to hold in check such foes as 
might have got across the river unobserved. 

The area enclosed by these first defences would 
resemble an oblong trapezium with four unequal sides, 
the isthmus forming one side, the line from the isth- 
mus to the angle of the declivity westward, about the 
middle of Pride Hill, making the second ; the third 
being from thence to the top of the Wyle, and the 
fourth from that point to the isthmus again. Gates, 
entrances or posterns, there must have been in the 



THE INNER WALL OF SHREWSBURY. 45 

third portion, at Pride Hill, Grope Lane, Fish Street, 
and Dogpole. (The use of modern designations is un- 
avoidable.) No remains of these entrances, indeed, 
now exist above ground, and it is difficult to search 
beneath the surface ; yet, under the shop front of the 
house at the end of Fish Street, where it joins the High 
Street, there is a piece of old wall forming the segment 
of a circle which may have belonged to a gate or barbican. 

Of the first and last of these four sides little or 
nothing need be said, as their position is unquestioned ; 
nor need I say much about the second, except that 
part of it which borders upon the third. These three 
sides are, for the most part, coincident with the walls 
which are acknowledged to have been always outer 
defences. The second side, however, has, in that part 
at least which borders upon the third, some features 
which are very interesting. Two walls are found run- 
ning nearly parallel at a distance of about eight yards. 
The outer, and, as I infer, the more modem one, is of 
dressed freestone of excellent quality, and the inner 
one of softer, more friable, and more highly coloured 
sandstone, not regularly dressed nor so carefully put 
together. Whether two walls are found on the north- 
east portion of this side of the trapezium I am unable 
to decide, for I have not examined the ground, nor do 
I know, for the same reason, whether there is more 
than one wall on the fourth side. 

At the angle formed by the second and third sides, 
about halfway down Pride Hill, these two walls pro- 
ject some five or six yards beyond the general line, and 
a small tower of 10 or 12 feet square projects still 
more. Here then, probably, on account of its being 
an angle, there was some building sufficient for the ac- 
commodation of a large number of defenders, and out- 
side this building may still be seen a broad flight of 
stone steps leading to the ditch at the foot of the 
declivity. From this angle begins that third side of 
the trapezium which forms the inner waU. 

The first remains of this inner wall are found in a 



46 THE INNER WALL OF SHREWSBUBY. 

cellar beneath the hoiise No. 10 Pride Hill, and they 
accord with the description of the materials which I 
have already given. On the opposite side of the street 
the old wall forms the boundary of Mr. Gough's pro- 
perty for some 70 or 80 yards, and where this property 
ends there is a projection beyond the line of the wall 
which may indicate a tower or turret. Beyond this, 
in the same general direction, about 70 or 80 yards 
farther on — the distance is uncertain, for measurements 
are well nigh impossible — but within 20 yards of Grope 
Lane, are the foundations of a similar smaU tower. 
On the south-east side of Grope Lane, the remains of 
the wall following the general line are quite distinct ; 
it is nearly perfect at the spot where I first observed 
it, where, as I have said, the Rev. W. A. Leighton 
locates the deanery of St. Alkmund, but beyond that 
it makes a sharp turn to the westward for five or six 
yards, and then takes a course parallel to its former 
one, if it does not, as I strongly suspect, pass back to 
the same original line after encompassing three sides of 
a parallelogram; and, if this be the case, here may 
have been another large fortification. There are, how- 
ever, no means of proving this point, for no remains of 
the other two sides are left above ground, and the old 
foundations, to be seen in the cellars of the dwellings, 
are not sufficiently distinct to warrant a positive state- 
ment. We now come to Fish Street, but here the 
alterations of level and contour are so misleading, that 
we can only gather the direction of the wall from its 
having for ages limited the properties on either side, 
and from some vestiges in a vault or cellar, partly 
under the street, and partly under a warehouse. A 
line of old wall, however, does run from this point 
down the side of the street until it joins the segment 
to which I have before referred. 

The present church of St. Julian is either built on both 
sides of the line of the wall, or itself occupies the site of 
a fortification which projected beyond the line. At the 
back of the Medical Hall, and the neighbouring shops 



THE INNER WALL OF SHREWSBURY. 47 

on tlie top of the Wyle, the wall is well preserved. It 
is several feet high, and forms, as elsewhere, the boun- 
dary of properties; hence the direction of the wall 
looks across Dogpole (where we have supposed there 
was a gate or postern) to the place where it forms, with 
the fourth side of the trapezium, a right angle. At 
this place, indeed, there is strong proof of this inner 
wall having once formed the outer defence of the city. 
The wall coming up from the Stone Bridge makes, 
with the wall on the fourth side, a figure which may be 
likened to a capital T; while the third and fourth 
sides form an angle, as though the letter T had, upon 
the left bar of the cross piece, a perpendicular erected ; 
a connection which, unless my inferences are admitted, 
is inexplicable. Of the fourth side nothing need be 
said; the wall exists almost unbroken, and is unques- 
tioned. 

The first proof on which I rely of this inner wall 
having been an outer defence, is found in the difference 
of elevation of the properties on either side of it. The 
level of the upper town is from 8 to 12 feet above that 
of the lower; and if we suppose the inner wall to have 
bad a breastwork or parapet in addition, it would have 
formed no contemptible obstacle to an invader. Another 
strong proof arises, as I have already intimated, from 
its bounding tenements and properties on either side. 
It is, moreover, nowhere broken through, except where, 
in quite modern times, tenements on the lower side 
have been enlarged by the acquisition of space on the 
higher, to which access is had by a flight of steps, or by- 
breaking away the wall (as was done at No. 8, High 
Street), and removing the earth so as to make the levels 
alike. In the main stretch of this inner wall, between 
Pride Hill and Grope Lane, there are no breaches of 
continuity whatever, nor between Grope Lane and the 
Bank Passage, except where, as I have stated above, 
it was broken through a few years ago to enlarge the 
premises at No. 8. 

When Domesday Booh was compiled, it is evident 



48 THE INNER WALL OF SHREWSBrRY. 

that tlie area of Shrewsbury was very much less than 
it is at present, or has been for three or four hundred 
years past ; but small as it was comparatively, it could 
not have been left without defence against the inroads 
of the British. There were then two hundred and fifty- 
two houses, which would not have occupied an area 
larger than that afforded by the crest of the hill, unless 
they had been very large houses indeed, which we know 
they were not. The rest of the peninsula was culti- 
vated by the citizens or grazed by their cattle. This 
additional area, however, in course of time, as the popu- 
lation increased, was needed for more dwellings. The 
citizens required more building room, and the ground 
occupied by the gardens and fields of their forefathers 
furnished sites for their mansions and courtyards. 
Wood and wattle were in numerous instances super- 
seded by stone, until the rest of the peninsula above 
flood-level was more or less occupied oy dwellings of 
one sort or another, so as to form a suburb more than 
commensurate with the original city. This enlarge- 
ment, we may suppose, took place in " piping times of 
peace"; but when the " tramp of war steeds" again was 
heard, it became absolutely necessary to find some de- 
fence for this important suburb, and so a wall was 
resolved upon : a mighty undertaking as it proved, for 
they not merely determined to surround the new and 
lower town with fortifications calculated to withstand 
methods of warfare then in vogue, but to supersede the 
old wall on the second, and it may be fourth, side as 
well. This new wall had its own gates and posterns, 
was connected with the two bridges, and was built, as 
I have said, in better style, and with better material, 
than the old one, which now becoming obsolete, especi- 
ally on the third side, would only serve as a quarry 
when stones were required for pubUc or even private 
erections. 

Time has revenged itself upon the new wall. It, too, 
has in places been swept away ; only one tower remains, 
and no gate or postern, excepting that at the foot of 



THE INNER WALL OP SHREWSBURY. 49 

St. Mary Waterlode, and a small postern at the back of 
No. 15, Pride Hill, of which only suflScient remains to 
shew its character. By the side of this postern, as 
though to make amends for its mutilation, is a very 
perfect embrasure, now converted into a window, which 
by ita architecture indicates the date of the new wall. 
Further eastward, down the seventy steps' passage, a 
doorway with a semicircular heading leads into a large 
vaulted room between the old and new walls, which is 
lighted by two very perfect embrasures. 

The only objection of any weight to the inferences I 
have drawn, arises from the positions of the palace of 
Pengwem Powis (which we know existed in British 
times) and the collegiate church of St. Chad): these 
were outside the walls of the upper town. The palace, 
however, would have had its own defences; and reli- 
gious buildings were, for the most part, privileged. In 
any case the church and college would have been in no 
greater danger from a barbarous foe than the Abbey of 
St. Peter and St. Paul, which was also outside the forti- 
fications of the town. 

I may be permitted to record my conviction that 
careful excavations would reveal the foundations of a 
fortification at the south-east end of Fish Street, pos- 
sibly occupying part of St. Julian's churchyard, similar 
to that of which the lower stories remain at the angle 
formed by the second and third sides of the upper town 
on Pride Hill. The ground, however, is so cumbered 
with buildings that we may not hope, unless something 
very unusual should clear them all away, to have the 
conviction verified. 

It will have been observed that I have purposely 
abstained from assigning any date for the erection of 
the inner wall. It, or a rampart which it superseded, 
was, no doubt, put up in very early times, anterior to 
the coming of the Normans, and very probably anterior 
to the coming of the Saxons. 

Others, with greater historical and local knowledge, 
may be induced to take up this interesting subject, 

4th seb., vol. XIII. ' 4 



50 



THE LUSTLEIGH STONE. 



and trace bit by bit the walls and fortifications of 
old Shrewsbury. They will have very soon the large- 
scale map of the new Ordnance Survey to help them, 
and to serve as a test of their and my conclusions. My 
object will be gained if the facts I have recorded are 
found to throw even the least light upon the ancient 
condition of that city which in monkish, doggerel Latin 
verse was styled " Pengwern quae nunc Salopia." 

C. H. Drtnkwater, M.A. 

St. George's Vicarage, Shrewsbury. 



THE LUSTLEIGH STONE. 

Mr* Burgh Iitls been aj^^aiTi to Lustteigli, when liis 
attention was called to the fixct that the second line as 
well as the first ends in a c, thoiighj in the fonner 
casGj it is very fiiint He has kindly sent me a rubbing, 



W^%.:r^ 





which I enclose, and in which the letter is easily per- 
ceived. I hope our excellent artist will be able to 
give us a second edition of his drawing with the c in- 
serted. I am exceedingly sorry there should be occa- 
sion for it. The reading will now be 
dettuidoc conhinoc 
and most of what I have said about the formula of the 
inscription is to be cancelled by the reader. 

John Ehys. 



51 



A LOST CHURCH. 

In the autumn of 1880 I was invited by Colonel Lamb- 
ton to assist in opening a tumulus close to his residence 
al Brownslade, in the parish of Warren, Pembrokeshire. 
The farm on which this tump stands is- known as 
Bullibur, a corruption, perhaps, of PwU y Pyr (Pyr's 
Bay); if so, this must once have been the name of 
Fraynes Lake Bay, which bounds the farm on one 
side, and is within a short distance of the tump. There 
is on the shore of the bay another small tumulus, which 
was opened by Colonel Lambton ; he found in it a 
kistvaen inclosing a female skeleton, with a fine 
brachycephalic skull, and fragments of pottery of the 
usual type, enclosed in round barrows of the bronze 
period. Not far from this second tumulus there is a 
strongly fortified camp, in the ditches of which Colonel 
Lambton has found well made pottery, and the bones of 
large oxen ; the latter proving it to have been occupied 
in post-Koman times, as this people and their prede- 
cessors in Britain used the small long-faced cattle. 
But as the Fraynes Lake burrows are strewed with 
flint chips, probably a prehistoric people were the con- 
structors of the camp. 

The mythical Pyr gave his name to Maen y Pyr or 
Manor Bier ; and Caldy Island,^ in former days, was 
known as Inys y Pur. As to the date of this Kymrig 
hero, the late Mr. Stephens/ writing of the Mahino- 
gioUy in which he is a prominent personage, says : 

" It is not easy to fix a date for these tales; perhaps 
they are not, in their present shape, older than the 
twelfth century; but they were evidently in circulation 
years, if not centuries, before. In the earlier tales of 

^ GiraJdas Cambrcnsis, Itineraj'y, chap. ii. 
^ Stephens, Literature of the Kymry, p. 414. 

4^ 



52 A LOST CHURCH. 

Kymric origin the machinery is invariably supernatural 
The Mahinogion of Pwyll, etc., are evidences of this. 
The moving power is seldom, indeed we may say never, 
personal courage, but invariably magic". This Mr. Ste- 
phens deems a sure proof of antiquity as well as Kymric 
origin ; so the Pwyll myth (in which Pyr is one of the 
actors) would seem to be one of the oldest of our Welsh 
stories. It seems strange that this should have survived 
in the nomenclature of Anglia trans Walliam, where all 
remembrance of historic Welsh days is lost.^ 

Having this old tale in mind, I was particularly gra- 
tified by an invitation to help in opening the tump at 
BuUibur. Visions of Pyr sitting up in a kistvaen, crowned 
and jewelled, with his regalia around him, passed 
through my head. We failed to find the hero or his 
regalia, but we did make some discoveries which 
may, perhaps, interest the readers of our JoumaL 
The tump stands in a sandy field known as " Church 
ways", on the edge of the burrows ; it is circular, with 
a diameter of 75 feet, and rather flat, not being raised 
more than some eight feet in the centre. From its 
shape and construction a careless observer would pass 
it by as one of those natural hillocks of blown sand 
which abound on the burrows in the neighbourhood ; 
but, on closer inspection, the surface is found to be 
strewn with bones, mostly human, which the rabbits 
have thrown out fi:om their holes. We commenced 
operations on the south-eastern side, where the bones 
seemed thickest, and found that this portion of the 
barrow consists of blown sand, in which skeletons of 
men, women, and children, are packed in tiers at least 
three deep, like pigeons in a pie. Some of the bodies 
were protected by an inclosure of long water-worn 
stones about the size of ninepins, but without any 

^ My dear old friend, the Rev. G. Smith, late Rector of Gumfres- 
ton, used to say he was once told that " King Longhand" used to 
hold court at Lydstep. This must have referred to Aircol Law flir, 
another member of the Pwyll family ; and it seems to me that Bull- 
Slaughter Bay takes its name from Pwll v Llaw Hir, or Longhand's 




Fig. 1.— One-third actual size. 




Tig. 2. 




Fig 3. 




Fig. 4.— One-third actual size. 



OBJECTS POUND NEAR BB0WN8LADK, PEMBROKESHIRE. 



A LOST CHURCH. 53 

\ covering; others lay in the bare sand; they were all 
oriented. With these bones we found a piece of fine 
bronze (see PL, fig. 2), which might have been an earring, 
or a finger ring, 1 think the former; and a small brass 
ring with a rude pattern of spots poimced on it (fig. 3). 
On the following day, a small stoup, roughly hewn out 
of a block of red sandstone, 14 incnes by 8, was found 
in this part of the tumulus. Mixed with the human 
bones were small quantities of bones of oxen {bos longi- 
Jrons), and sheep or goats, with a few limpet-shells, and 
a flint flake; but as these occur on the burrows, it 
might be accidental 

We then laid bare a place rather to the north of 
where we had been digging hitherto, and found a skele- 
ton oriented, and surrounded by made ground [clay] and 
rough, dry masonry, but without any covering.^ With 
this body there was a horse's nipper, a calf s tooth, and 
the jaw of a sheep or goat, with some shells of oyster, 
and limpet. 

By this time we had accumulated so many human 
bones, that decency suggested we should proceed to 

^ In Greenweirs and RoUeston's British BarrowSy p. 342, will be 
found an account of the opening of a tumulus on Wass Moor, in the 
parish of Kilbum, North Biding, York. In this barrow the Canon 
found, in connexion with a cremated body, a stone marked with a 
crosSy and not less than twenty cupped stones. The coincidence is 
BO great that Mr. W. G. Smith has introduced an engraving (fig. 1) 
of the Yorkshire stone for comparison with the Pembrokeshire one ; 
but it seems to me that it is a coincidence, and nothing more. In 
the first place, Canon Greenwell considers this cross was an acci- 
dental figure made while sharpening flint implements on the stone. 
No one could suppose this to be the case with the BuUebur Stone. 
Then, apparently, the Yorkshire barrow was old ; but the wheel- 
turned pottery in the Pembrokeshire one proves it to be compara- 
tively recent. Again, the cups in the Welsh stone are apparently 
sockets in which pivots have turned, while the Yorkshire stones 
were indented with oval depressions. The burned matter found in 
the Bullebur cist by no means indicates that cremation had taken 
place, as the bones recognisable as human are not charred. Canon 
Greenwell, in a letter he has kindly written to me on the subject, 
Riigg^sts that my stone may have been used as a board to play 
some game on ; but he takes for granted that the cist had boon tam- 
pered with ; and of this we found no indication. 



54 A LOST CHURCH. 

reinterment. For this purpose we selected the centre 
of the barrow, and had not sunk more than three feet 
when we struck on a large slab (flat stones had hitherto 
been conspicuous by their absence). It proved, as we 
anticipated it to be, the covering stone of a kistvaen, 
measuring about 4 feet by 3. In it we found portions 
of a human skeleton much decayed, mixed with charred 
bones and animal bones, and apparently of an older 
date than the others, which were all as well preserved 
as recent bones. In the kistvaen there were bones of 
oxen {bos long,), sheep or goat, and roebuck ; a well 
burned, wheel-turned potsherd, which resembled those 
found by Colonel Lambton in the adjacent camp, and 
not like such as are usually foxmd in barrows in Pem- 
brokeshire ; and along with these was a piece of chert 
about the size of half a brick, with a cup bored on each 
side, the borings being immediately opposite to each 
other, with a diameter of 2 inches, and the same depth, 
the inside of them being as highly polished as though 
they had just left the lapidary's hand. Then we came 
on a block of red sandstone, 2 feet long and 6 inches 
vnde; on it were scratches like Vs and is, resembling 
those known as mason's marks. The last and most 
curious discovery was a flat piece of limestone, 7 inches 
wide by 10 long, on which was roughly inscribed a cross 
within a circle, with a V or arrow-head in one segment 
(see Plate, fig. 4). We found nothing more, although 
we dug down to the sand ; still we discovered that 
although the privilege of burial in this mound was so 
appreciated that in places the dead were laid in four 
tiers, no interments had taken place near the kist- 
vaen. 

Having reserved three skulls for the inspection of the 
late Professor Rolleston, we put the other bones in the 
pit and covered them up. We then began to look about 
the surroundings of our tumulus, and found, adjoining, 
the remains of a wall, enclosing a space of about an 
eighth of an acre, and, at the further end of the tumu- 
lus, two small buildings ; one of them has, in the me- 



A LOST CHURCH. 55 

mory of man, been used as a cottage ; the other the 
labourers declared was the ruins of a chapel, some say- 
ing that they could remember an east window. It is 
very tiny, being only 16 feet by 12, and is pitched 
with water- worn stones ; it stands east and west. The 
native legend about it is, " That they tried to build a 
church, but the other people would not let them, and 
pulled it down again."^ So far for fact, now for deduc- 
tion. 

There can be no question that the central interment 
in the covered chamber of the tumulus was of an ear- 
lier date than either that in the clay and stone grave, 
or those in the blown sand. I believe that it was the 
primary interment of the barrow. But, first, as re- 
gards the oriented bodies, this arrangement suggests 
Christianity, which the neighbourhood of the church 
corroborates, and Professor RoUeston, to whom I sent 
the skulls, decided, without knowing their history, 
that they were not ''priscan crania, and not older 
than the Romano-British period." But, if Christian, 
they are the bones of folks who appear to have feasted 
by the open graves of their friends, and occasionally 
eaten horseflesh. We calculated that, if the whole 
tump is as thickly packed with bodies as the portion 
we examined, it must contain the remains of at least 
250 persons; and people are scarce near Bulliber now- 
a-days. The bronze earring (?) we found in this por- 
tion of the barrow was a tine piece of ancient metal ; 
the brass ring, a piece of trumpery, one would not be 
astonished to see lying in the street any day. The 
stoup, I expect, came from the little chapel, and had 
at some time been thrown into a rabbit's hole. It is 
with the central interment the difficulties arise. Here 
we find a body buried in a kistvaen in the squatting 
attitude afiected by the Bronze and Stone- Age Peo- 

^ We cleared out the foundation of this little chapel, and fouud 
nothing but the bottoms of some very large glass bottles about the 
size of those known as "Jeroboams". They were marked with pris- 
matic colouriog. 



56 A LOST CHURCH. 

pies; with it are interred the stones inscribed with 
mason's marks. The socketed stone was the bed in 
which some pivot had turned; perhaps that of a door 
or gate, though I apprehend it had some connection 
with early Christian ritual, for the Rev. J. Davies,^ 
while restoring the very ancient church- of Llanmadoc 
in Gower, found a similar stone put in as an arch-stone 
over a window. But the stone inscribed with the 
cross within the circle leaves little doubt as to the 
faith of the dead. This, surely, was the grave of a 
Christian man. 

Miss Stokes, in her admirable work on Christian 
Inscriptions in the Irish Language, says, " The Cross 
within the circle is found on the oldest stones in Ire- 
land"; and I am disposed to think that this man, 
buried with Christian symbols in a heathen kist-vaen, 
and who collected such a concourse of early Christian 
dead around him, must have been one of those early 
Irish missionaries who were the Evangelists of Wales. 
I say, Irish, because he seems to have stood on the 
border land of heathendom and Christendom, which is 
the position of Irish missionaries. Of course there is 
no doubt that Christianity got a certain footing in 
Britain under the Romans, though I apprehend no 
one now believes in the mission of Joseph of Arimathea, 
or in the conversion of Bran ab Lyr, the father of 
Caractacus. But Tertullian's assertion that, in the 
second century, *' Britannorum inaccessa Romanis 
loca, Christo vero subdita", is worthy of attention, 
though it may have been an exaggeration or have re- 
ferred to Ireland. Still, the presence of British bishops 
in the Councils of Aries, 314 a.d., Sardica, 347 a.d., 
and Ariminum, 395 A.D., is certain, and Pelagius proved 
himself to be a stubborn fact. 

' On the other hand, spade and pickaxe, I believe, 
never yet turned up any indubitably Christian re- 
mains of the Romano-British period^ ; while in Wales, 
had the population been Christian, there would have 

1 Hutory of West Gower, vol. ii, p. 80. 



A LOST CHURCH. 57 

been no occupation for the legions of Post-Roman Mis- 
sionary saints who have adorned her annals and enriched 
her local nomenclature. Had Welsh Christianity been 
directly derived from Rome, the ritual of the two 
churches would have been uniform, or, rather, there 
would have been but one church, and the Welsh clergy 
would have admitted the supremacy of the Pope. The 
mysterious establishment which sprang up in Ireland 
would seem to have been the Mother Church of Wales, 
and the Christianity of Romano-Britain an exotic faith 
practised by a small minority of foreigners. 

In 383 A.D. Magnus Maximus raised a large army in 
Britain for service on the continent. Tradition says 
these men were recruited in Wales, and none of them 
ever returned. During the reign of Honorius, 395 A.D., 
the Second Legion was removed from Caerleon, where 
it had been quartered for upwards of 300 years, and sent 
to Richborough.^ An Irish leader, Niall of the Seven 
Hostages, took advantage of this defenceless condition of 
Wales to swoop down on the northern seaboard, and 
on the counties of Pembroke, Cardigan, and Carmar- 
then, with a great host. If the inhabitants of these 
counties were of the old Gwyddel or Gaelic blood, as 
some ethnologists suppose,* they may have received 
Niall as a liberator rather as an invader. With this 
host, Christianity seems to have arrived in Wales. 

About this period, an Irish leader, Aulach Mac Cor- 
mac, is said to have married Marchell,* daughter and 
heiress of Tudyr, a Regulus whose clan lived in Brecon. 
Brychan was the issue of this wedding; a patriarch 
who, according to the hagiologists, rejoiced in a family of 
49 children, mostly saints. Professor Rees suggests,* in 
extenuation, that he had three wives ; and, perhaps, 
grandchildren, nephews, and nieces were included in 
the holy brood. Brychan's second son, Cledwyn, was 
a warrior as well as a saint, and invaded his kinsfolk 

1 Moore's History of Ireland^ chap. vii. 

2 Vestigent of the Gael in Owynedd, 

3 Essay on Welsh SainU, Rees, p. 110. * Ibid., p. 137. 



58 A LOST CHURCH. 

in Carmarthen, Pembroke, and Cardigan; in this expe- 
dition he was accompanied by the Irish missionary, 
Biynech or Bemach. 

whether all this story must not be taken with a 
modicum of salt I will not undertake to say; but Pro- 
fessor Rees, in his admirable Essay on the Welsh 
Saints, assumes that the churches of Llanglydwen, 
Dinas Nevem, Llanboidy and Llanvemach, which are 
dedicated to these two men, are the earliest consecra- 
tions in the county of Pembroke and its borders.^ To 
this period, perhaps, we should attribute the Ogham 
inscriptions, and this is the date I ventured to suggest 
for our BuUibur tumulus. On Speed's map of Pem- 
brokeshire, 1610, the site of the tumulus is marked 
"Trepicard", and, I think, has the two steeples that 
mark a church, but, in my copy, it is not very clear. 
In Mordens map of 1704, **Trepicard" occurs; but 
there is clearly no church marked. Perhaps some of 
our members can throw light on this forgotten chapel, 
which would seem to be holy ground, both to church- 
man and archaeologist. 

Edward Laws. 

Tenbj. 

* CTnless a chapel dedicated to St. Patrick, which once existed in 
the parish of St. David's, can claim priority. (Rees, p. 129.) 



Sotitnridfsre Stone in tbo Briti«h Museum. 
One-third actual size. 



59 



HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

(Continued /ram p. 328, Vol. xiu) 

1645, May 12. Order for Colonel Mitton to succeed Sir Thos. 
Middleton in his command. (L. J., vii, 367.) In extenso. 

1645, Sept. 23. Draft ordinance for admitting Humphrey 
Edwards to the possession of the estates of his brother Thomas 
Edwards in Shropshire. (L. J., vii, 595.) In extenso, 

1645, Sept. 25. Draft order for Sir William Brereton to com- 
mand in Cheshire. (L. J., vii, 599.) In extenso, 

1645, Oct. 14. Draft order for the payment of £500 to Colo- 
nel Thomas Mitton. (L, J., vii, 637.) In extenso, 

1 645, Oct. 28. Order for Sir Trevor Williams to be Governor 
of Monmouth Castle. (L. J., vii, 664.) In extenso. 

1645, Nov. 6. Draft Order for Colonel Thomas Hughes to be 
Governor of Chepstow town and Castle. (L. J., vii, 678.) In 
extenso, 

1645, Nov. 10. Draft order for Colonel Mitton to be Governor 
of Oswestry. (L. J., vii, 687.) In extenso, 

1645, Nov. 14. Draft order foi^ repayment of £1,000 advanced 
for the forces of Monmouth. (L. J., vii, 703.) In extenso. 

1645, Dec. 1. Draft order appointing Edward Prychard 
Governor of the town and Castle of Cardiff. (L. J., viii, 19.) 
In extenso, 

1645, Dec. 13. Order for appointment of Colonel Thomas 
Mitton as High Sheriff of Salop. (L. J., viii, 41.) In extenso. 

1645, Dec. 16. Draft order for payment of £30 to Edmond 
Stephens, messenger from Colonel Langherne. (L. J., viii, 43.) 
In extenso, 

1645, Dec. 19. Draft order for payment of £200 to Colonel 
Davies. (L. J., viii, 50.) In extenso, 

1645, Dec. 19. Draft order to clear Thomas Hanmer of his 
delinquency. (L. J., viii, 51.) In extenso. 

1645, Dec. 20. Draft order for Bushy Mansell to be Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the Forces of the county of Glamorgan, sub- 
ordinate to Sir Thomas Fairfax. (L. J., viii, 52.) In extenso. 

1645, Dec. 22. Order appointing Colonel John Birch Governor 
of Hereford. (L. J., viii, 53.) I71 extenso. 

1645, Dec. 25. Draft ordinance for repayment of £6,000 ad- 
vanced for Hereford. (L. J., viii, 67.) In extenso. 

1645, Dec. 30. Draft order for payment of £1,500 to Hum- 



60 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

phrey Davies and the Welsh drivers. (L. J., viii, 73.) In ex- 
tenso. 

Annexed : Order of the Commons to the same effect as pre- 
ceding. (C. J., iv, 383.) In eoctemo. 

1645. Petition of Dame Dorothy Mansell. Petitioner ob- 
tained a writ of error for the recovery of certain records out of 
the Court holden by the Lord President and Council in the 
Principality and Marches of Wales, in a cause against her late 
husband Sir Walter Mansell. The records are ready to be re- 
turned into their Lordships' House ; but the Lord President/ 
on account of his great inlirmity and sickness, is unable to bring 
them. Prays that some order may be made whereby the records 
may be certified and brought before their Lordships. 

1645-6, Jan. 8. Petition of Eice Vaughan. Prays that the 
office of Prothonotary and Clerk of the Crown for the counties 
of Montgomery and Denbigh, which is become forfeitable to the 
state by the delinquency of Mr. Kenricke Eaton, Sir Richard 
Lloyd, and Mr. Edisbury, who had the office for their successive 
lives, may be conferred upon petitioner. (L. J., viii, 78.) 

1645-6, Jan. 8. Draft order for payment of £100 to Lieu- 
tenant Anthony Berrow for his good service at Hereford. (L. J., 
viii, 91.) In extenso, 

1645-6, Jan. 8. Draft ordinance for payment of £2,000 for 
the garrison of Shrewsbury. (L. J., viii, 91.) In extenso. 

1645-6, Jan. 8. Petition of Captain John Poyer, now Governor 
of Pembroke. Prays for discharge, having been arrested at the 
suit of Captain Swanley, when he was sent to London by Major- 
General Langherne for the special service of the Parliament, 
and was attending the Committee of Gloucester. 

1645-6, Jan. 19. Draft order to allow interest on £1,500 due 
to Humphrey Davies and the rest of the Welsh drovers. (L. J., 
viii, 110.) In extenso, 

1645-6, Jan. 22. Draft order to continue Sir William Brere- 
ton as Commander-in-Chief of the forces before Chester. (L. J., 
viii, 1 1 7.) In extenso, 

1645-6. Draft order for payment of £100 to Captain Badger 
for his services at Hereford and elsewhere. (L. J., viii, 127.) In 
extenso. 

1645-6, Jan. 30. Intelligence concerning Ireland and the 
Earl of Glamorgan intercepted at Euthin, received Jan. 30. 
Copy of letter, dated the 26th, from John Sworde at Denbigh 
to Mr. Reignolds : " I am sorry not to be with you at this time. 
The business I went about is not yet come ; when it does, my 

^ John EgertoD, first Earl of Bridgewater. 



HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 61 

Lord's Grace of Canterbury has promised to furnish me with my 
desire. Lord St. Paul will be here to-night. Let me hear the 
condition of the enemy. I have letters for Dr. Uoyd^ from my 
Lord of York." 

Copy of letter, dated 21st Jan., from John^ Archbishop of 
York, at Conway, to Dr. Lloyd, Warden of Euthin : " I thank 
you for your letter, and I will satisfy the bearer. I beseech you 
to return to the noble Governor the Duke of York, to be sent 
him so soon as may well be ; for in Ireland they will not be 
gainsaid. That ho is at Ludlow the boat saith." 

Copy of letter, dated 21st Jan., from George Lord Digby, at 
Dublin, to the Archbishop of York : *' I am glad you do not take 
such alarm at the commitment of Lord Glamorgan as to despair 
of the relief of Chester, which T believe will now go on speedily, 
and of this I desire you to certify Lord Byron.'' 

Copy of letter, dated 25th Jan., from John Archbishop of 
York, at Conwy, to Sir John Walter, Governor of Cherke [Chirk] 
Castle : " Eead and then seal the enclosed, and you will know 
all I can tell you of this great business. Colonel Butler, a serv- 
ant of the Queen, will impart to you all the news from Ireland." 

Copy of letter, dated 25th Jan., from John Archbishop of 
York to Lord Ashley : " I received your letter of the 12th Jan. 
late on the night of the 24th, and have communicated the Mar- 
quess of Ormondes letter to Lord Byron. His answer to it 
implied some fear as to holding out Chester. Colonel Butler 
tells me that the men and shipping are still ready in Ireland, 
though retarded by the distractions there, which are so far com- 
posed that the Earl of Glamorgan is out on bail There is no 
relying upon these Irish forces for this service, though, if they 
come, they shall be carefully sent to the fittest rendezvous, and 
you shall be informed of their landing and condition. Lord 
St. Paul, imder Colonel Gilbert Byron, is at the head of six hun- 
dred, or, as I believe, of five hundred horse and foot, good men. 
Lieut-Colonel Eoger Mostyn has landed with a piece of a regi- 
ment of Lord Digby's raised in Ireland, which after a day or 
two's refreshment will be at your Lordship's disposal. Your 
Lordship probably knows, from the noble Governor of Chirk, 
more than I of the forces our garrisons can aflford ; but I am 
told that there are about four thousand fighting men at Chester. 

^ David Lloyd of Bertbllwyd, Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire, bom 
1598 ; Fellow of All Souls' College, Oxon., 1617 ; Warden of Ruthin, 
Dec. 1642 ; Dean of St. Asaph, Sept. 1660. Died Sept. 1663. 

* John Williams, D.D., Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and Arch- 
bishop of York, bom at Aberconwy, 1582, and educated at Ruthin 
Grammar School. 



62 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

I pray God bless your design, and desire your Lordship to 
esteem of me as one who hath long loved your Lordship, aud 
may truly write myself your Lordship^s most affectionate and 
humble servant." 

1645-6, Jan, — . Letter from Captain John Crowther, at 
Kingrode (?), on board The Entrance, to the Speaker of the 
House of Commons. " Having seen the letter directed to the 
Admiral, Captain Robert Moulton, about sending some persons 
from Glamorganshire to London, Crouther, in the absence of the 
Admiral, has sent a vessel to Cardiff for the purpose. The 
enemy have defeated the Parliament forces in Monmouthshire. 
The town of Cardiff being in want of ammunition, he has sent 
some thither, fearing for the security of the place, and desires an 
order to justify his conduct." 

1645-6, Feb. 3. Application for an order for institution of 
Edmund Gamage to the rectory of Lljmhary, and of Thomas 
Gamage to the rectory of St. Bride's Minor, super Ogmore, both 
in the county of Glamorgan. (L. J., viii, 142.) 

1645-6, Feb. 3. Petition of John Eliot. Petitioner, who is 
agent for the county of Pembroke, hears that John Poyer, late 
Mayor of Pembroke, has applied to the House for payment of 
£4,000, alleged to have been borrowed and expended by him in 
the service of the state ; whereas he has money and goods of 
the state in his hands, of great value, unaccounted for. Prays 
that Poyer may be summoned to attend the Committee of 
Accounts, there to answer petitioner's charges, and shew the 
particulars of his disbursements. 

1645-6, Feb. 7. Draft orders for Colonel Michael Jones to 
be Governor of Chester, and for Alderman Edwards to be ap- 
pointed Colonel to command the City Regiment here. (L. J., 
viii, 146.) In extenso. 

1645-6, Feb. 7. Draft order for observing Thursday next, 
come sevennight, in and near London, as a day of thanksgiving 
for the reduction of Chester. (L J., viii, 146.) In extenso. 

Draft order for Thursday next, come three weeks, to be simi- 
larly observed throughout the country. (L J., viii, 146.) In 
extenso. 

Draft order for payment of £50 to Mr. Parker, who brought 
the good news of the taking of Chester. (L. J., viii, 147.) In 
extenso. 

1645-6, Feb. 14. Draft ordinances for payment of £1,000 for 
Colonel Mitten's regiment, and for raising £600 weekly in Here- 
fordshire. (L. J., viii, 168.) In extenso, 

1645-6, Feb. [21]. Letter from Captain John Crouther, in 
Cardiff Roads, to the Speaker of the House of Commons, giving 



HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 63 

some account of proceedings in Glamorganshire, and of a rising 
of the townsmen of Cardiff, when the Governor with about three 
hundred men was forced to take refuge in the Castle. Crou- 
ther battered the town from the sea, to encourage those in the 
Castle to hold out, and they were shortly relieved by Major- 
General Langheme, and the town again reduced to obedience. 
This letter is much mutilated. (See C. J., iv, 457.) 

Annexed : A perfect relation of the occurrences happened in 
Glamorganshire, in and about Cardiff, together with the manner 
how that town was taken. Colonel Kearne, a committeeman of 
Glamorganshire, a discontented man, on the 6th Feb., pretend- 
ing to defend Cardiff against the Eaglan rogues, joined with 
them, rose against the Governor, and forced him, with some sea- 
men whom the writer had put into the town, and the well affected, 
to take refuge in the Castle, and strictly begirt them, offering 
quarter to all but committeemen and seamen. The writer en- 
couraged those in the Castle to hold out by daily approaching 
as near as possible with six barks and boats, and firing upon the 
town with large ordnance. On the 18th Major-General Lang- 
heme and others came to the relief of the place, and routed the 
enemy, who marched out to meet them ; but on the 20th they 
surrendered upon terms. The articles, however, were afterwards 
broken by them, and they were pursued, and many slain. 

1645-6, Feb. 24. Draft order for Colonel Eobert Kerle to be 
Governor of Monmouth. (L. J., viii, 184.) 

Draft orders for adding Thomas Morgan and others to the 
Committee for the counties of Gloucester, Hereford, etc. {in ex- 
tenso), and for a day of public thanksgiving for the late successes 
at Chester and Torrington. (L. J., viii, 185.) In extenso, 

1645-6, March 4. Draft order for Major-General Langheme 
to have Mr. Barlow's estate in Pembrokeshire. (L. J., viii, 199.) 

1645-6, March 7. Draft order for Sir William Brereton to 
command for three months the forces to be now drawn together 
for following the enemy in the field. (L. J., viii, 202.) In ex- 
tenso. 

1645-6, March 9. Draft order for Sir Thomas Middleton to be 
Governor of Chirk Castle.. (L. J., viii, 204.) In extenso. 

1645-6, March 13. Draft order for payment of £20 to Mr. 
Moore Pye, the messenger from Cardiff. (L. J., viii, 208.) In 
extenso. 

1645-6, March 16. Draft order for Major-General Langherne 
to command in the county of Glamorgan. (L J., viii, 211.) In 
extcTiso, 

1645-6, March 20. Order for Mr. Recorder Glynne^ to be 

* Sir John Glynne, third son of Sir William Glynne, Knight, bom 



64 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

Prothonotary and Clerk of the Crown for the county of Denbigh, 
etc. (L J., viii, 223.) In extenso, 

1645-6, March 24 Draft orders for payment of £2,000 every 
six months for ammunition for Hereford garrison, and for pay- 
ment of £6,000 every six months for the officers of the two foot 
regiments of Gloucester. (L. J., viii, 234, 235.) In extenso. 

1646, March 27. Draft order for Major Hornehold to have 
£1 GO for bringing the letter from Sir Wm. Brereton, etc. (L J., 
viii, 241.) In extenso, 

1646, March 30. Petition of Thomas Deacon and Nicholas 
Corselles, of London, merchants. In May 1642 petitioners were 
ordered not to molest Thomas Bushell or his sureties ; and the 
difference between them was referred to the mediation of the 
Lord Privy Seal, since which time nothing has been done. Bushell 
is a delinquent, and has deserted the Parliament, and petitioners 
therefore pray that the former order may be reversed. 

1646, April 18. Draft order for payment of £50, out of Mrs. 
Murray's fine, to Mr. Eobert Fogge for bringing the news of the 
taking of Euthin Castle. (L. J., viii, 278.) In extenso. 

1646, April 25. Draft order for Bushy Mansell to be High 
Sheriff of Glamorganshire. (L. J., viii, 285.) In extenso. 

1646, May 2. Draft orders for William Herbeit to be captain 
of a troop of horse to be employed in Monmouthshire, also to be 
Sheriff of Monmouthshire ; and for Colonel Morgan to command 
the forces in Monmouthshire. (L. J., viii, 293.) In extenso, 

1646, May 5. Draft order for Colonel Andrew Lloyd to be 
Governor of Bridgnorth Castle, (L. J., viii, 300.) In extenso, 

1646, May 9. Draft order for payment of £50 to Colonel 
Coote, who brought the news from Bridgnorth. (L. J., viii, 312.) 
In extenso, 

1646, May 21. Draft letter from (the Speaker of the House 
of Commons) to Colonel Langherne, to let him know that the 
Lords are much dissatisfied that their letters on behalf of Mr. 
George Mynn, a man well affected, and who has suffered much 
in the common cause, have not been obeyed ; and to require him 
to see that they are obeyed in all points, and Mr. Mynn freed 
from any seizure or sequestration of his iron or other goods in 
the county of Carmarthen. (See L. J., viii, 319.) 

1646, May 28. Petition of Thomas Deacon and Nicholas Cor- 
selles, of London, merchants. In the years 1640 and 1641 peti- 
tioners bought 1,250 tons of lead of Thomas Bushell and Edmond 

in 1603, at Glynllivon, Carnarvonshire, bought the Hawarden estate, 
Flintshire, from the Earl of Derby. Died in 1666, and buried in 
St. Margaret's Church, Westminster. 



HISTORICAL M3S. COMMISSION. 65 

Goodier, to be delivered out of the mines royal in the county of 
Cardigan on certain days then to come. In May 1642 Bushell 
petitioned the House, pretending that he was disturbed in the 
working of the mines by Sir Richard Price, and that he was 
unable, in consequence, to perform his contracts with petitioners. 
Their Lordships referred the petition to the Lord Privy Seal, 
giving his Lordship power to mediate between Bushell and peti- 
tioners, they forbearing any further prosecution in law against 
Bushell for eighteen months. Petitioners were never* served 
with this order until the day for payment, when they sent a ship 
to fetch away their lead ; and the ship-master was then served 
with the order, and forced to take away his ship without any 
lead at alL About this time Bushell took himself into the 
King's quartets, where he has ever since remained. Petitioners 
hear that the mines are now in the power of the Parliament 
and therefore pray either that Bushell may be ordered forthwith 
to perform his several bargains with them, or that they may 
have license to carry materials for the supply of the mines, and 
to transport lead and ore therefrom, they paying all duties. (L. 
J., viii, 336.) 

Annexed : 1, copy of preceding ; 2, copy of Bushell's petition 
referred to in preceding ; 3, copy of order referring Bushell^s 
petition to the Lord Privy Seal, 23 May 1642. 

1646, May 28. Copy of order upon petition of Deacon and 
Corselles. (L. J., viii, 336.) 

Annexed : 1, affidavit of Thomas Deacon that he served pre- 
ceding order upon Goodier, but could not serve Bushell, who is 
in the Isle of Lundy, where he stands upon his guard, — 29 June 
1646 ; 2, application of Goodier, Deacon, and Corselles, that no 
order may be made in Bushell^s favour until they have been 
heard. XJndated. 

1646, May 28. Draft ordinance to clear Eichard Brereton of 
Ashley, in the county of Chester, of his delinquency. (L. J., viii, 
336.) In extenso. 

1646, June 2. Draft order nominating Owen Brereton de 
Broughes^ a Deputy Lieutenant of the county of Denbigh, Noted 
"Not agreed." 

1646, June 6. Draft order for Colonel Samuel Moore to be 
Governor of Ludlow Castle. (L. J., viii, 362.) In extenso. 

1646, June 6. Draft order for Colonel Hxmiphrey Mackworth 
to be G<)vemor of Shrewsbury Castla (L. J., viii, 362.) In ex- 
tenso, 

1646, June 11. Draft order for payment of £1000 to Colonel 
John Birch, Governor of Hereford. (L. J., viii, 370.) In extenso. 

1 Borras. 

4rH 8IS., VOL. XIII. 5 



66 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

1646, June 11. Draft order for payment of £200 to Sir John 
Watts, late Governor of Chirk Castle, in discharge of Colonel 
Mytton's engagements upon surrender of the Castla (L. J., viii, 
371.) In extenso, 

1646, June 15. Application for an order for Dr. Aylett to 
institute and induct Henry Jones to the rectory of Knockin, 
Salop. (L. J., viii, 374.) 

1646, June 20. Draft order for Colonel Thomas Glynn to be 
Governor of Carnjurvon. (L. J., viii, 386.) In extenso. 

1646, June 29. Draft order appointing Colonel Thomas Myt- 
ton Governor of the town and Castle of Beaumaris and the Isle 
of Anglesey. (L J., viii, 403.) In extenso, 

1646, July 4. Petition of Edmond Goodier in answer to the 
petition of Thomas Deacon and Nicholas Corselles. (L J,, viii, 
415.) In extenso. 

Annexed : 1. Affidavit of Thomas Bentley of Barton-on-the- 
Heath, that the lease of the mines granted by Lady Myddleton 
to Bushell was in consideration of a great sum of money assigned 
by him to Edmond Goodier, and that Goodier was removed from 
the possession of the same by the King's forces as an adherent 
to the Parliament, and the profits, to the value of £10,000, taken 
away from him for His Majest/s service, etc. 29 June 1646. 
2. Affidavit of Thomas Deacon confirming preceding, 29 June 
1646. 3. Affidavit of John Port, 16 June 1646. 4. Petition of 
Philip Lacock, merchant In the order made to settle Mr. Goodier 
in possession of the royal mines in Cardigan, the mine of Cwm- 
ystwith, a distinct mine of potter's ore, was inserted. Petitioner, 
who, as soon as the county was reduced, quietly entered, and 
has since continued in possession of this mine, prays that he 
may be evicted only by law, equity, or after their Lordships 
have heard both parties interested. Undated. 

1646, July 15. Letter from Major-General Langhame, at Car- 
marthen, to Mr. Lenthall, Speaker of the House of Commons : 
" The discontents I daily meet with necessitate my advertising 
you of the dangers 1 fear if I receive not the orders of the House 
for the employment of my soldiers. They are allowed neither 
free quarters nor contributions without much reluctancy and 
opposition. The infection is spread generally over the whole 
Association, and is broken out with open violence in the turbu- 
lent county of Glamorgan. The Colonel-General signified that 
it was the desire of most of the Committee that none of my men 
should quarter in that county ; but they have paid no manner 
of contribution, that I might otherwise provide for them. If 
the House will direct my course, I shall not be wanting in my 
endeavours to observe their commands. The gentry of the 



HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 67 

country are so averse that they will wait their own designs if 
they find that I do but favour them. They seemed forward at 
first in promising the Commissioners of Excise all assistance ; 
but finding I had performed my part, they withdrew in the very 
point of the execution, and exposed Mr. Gunter to the fury of 
the giddy multitude/' (See C. J,, iv, 634.) 

1646, Aug. 4 Eeport that Major-General Langheme has 
raised six hundred horse in the associated counties of Pembroke, 
Carmarthen, and Cardigan, and has fourteen hundred foot, part 
of them English-Irish, besides the trained bands of those counties. 
Of these, two hundred horse would be sulficient to remain in 
the counties ; and if Pembroke and Tenby are kept up as garri- 
sons, it is much desired that two commanders with their com- 
panies may be sent down to those garrisons out of the army of 
Sir Thomas Fairfax, that the county of Pembroke may not suffer, 
as it now does, by the oppression and tyranny of the Governor. 
(See C. J., iv, 634.) 

1646, Aug. 13. Message from the Assembly of Divines that 
they have not been able to examine the three ministers intended 
for itinerant preachers in South Wales. (L. J., viii, 463.) In 
extenso, 

1646, Aug, 13. Order for disgarrisoning all the garrisons in 
Shropshire, except Shrewsbury and Ludlow. (L J., viii, 464.) 
In extenso. 

1646, Aug. 18. Draft ordinance to clear Henry Barlow of his 
delinquency. (L. J., viii, 466.) In extenso, 

1646, Aug. 19. Petition of WUliam Adames of Peterchurch in 
the county of Pembroke. Out of affection to Parliament he 
served with several men and horses, at his own charge, under 
Major-General Langhame; and when the enemy were in the 
county, voluntarily gave way for firing divers of his houses in 
the suburbs of Pembroke. He was afterwards obliged to take 
refuge, with his wife and child, in Pembroke, and the enemy 
then fired his houses and com, and drove away all his cattle. 
He subsequently came by ship to London, and has there re- 
mained above twelve months. He has been plundered of aU he 
had, is much indebted, and prays the House to give him some 
assistance in rebuilding his house, etc. (L. J., viii, 468.) 

Annexed : Certificate from Major-General Langhame and John 
Poyer, of the fidelity of Adames and of his great losses. 28 May 
1645. 

1646, Aug. 20. Draft ordinance to secure payment of the 
interest on £10,000 for North Wales. (L J., viii, 469.) In ex- 
tenso, 

1646, Sept 1. Draft order for £30 for the messenger that 



68 MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY 

brought the news of the taking of Flint Castla (L. J., viii, 479.) 
In eodenso. 

1646, Sept. 10. List of deputy-lieutenants appointed this day 
for Anglesey. (L. J., viii, 486.) In extenso. 

1646, Sept. 16. Draft order for Luke Lloyd to be Sheriff of 
Flintshire. (L. J., viii, 492.) In exknso. 



MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY OF THE 
CORNISH LANGUAGE. 

By thb late ROBERT WILLIAMS, M.A., Rector of Culminoton, 
AND CAirov OF St. Asaph. 

As the ancient Celtic of Cornwall no longer exists as a 
living language, it may be interesting to the inquirer 
to be informed what documents exist for the study of 
this interesting member of a language once spoken over 
a large portion of Europe. 

The Celtic languages consist of two distinct classes, 
which may be conveniently called the Cymric and Gaelic. 
The former includes the Welsh, Cornish, and the Armo- 
ric or Breton, which may be considered as three sisters, 
and which stand in the relationship of cousins-german 
to the three Gaelic sisters of Irish, Highland Scotch, 
and Manx. The two classes stand in somewhat similar 
relationship and difference to one another as Latin and 
Greek. Many rules of construction, and especially the 
peculiar init'al changes of words, are common to both 
classes, and three fourths of the vocabulary are identical 
in the Cymric and the Gaelic. The Cymric was sepa- 
rated from the Gaelic before it became divided into 
Cornish and Armoric. 

The earliest document is a vocabulary of Latin words 
with Cornish explanations, preserved in the Cottonian 
Library in the British Museum, and there entitled 
Vocahularium Wallicum. This was first noticed by 
Edward Lhwyd in the Cornish preface to his ArchcBolo- 
gia, and proved by him to be not Welsh, but Cornish. 



OF THE CORNISH LANGUAGE. 69 

It has been printed in the same order as it is written 
by Zeuss in his Gframmatica Celtica (1853). It has 
since been printed alphabetically by Mr. Edwin Norris 
in his Cornish Drama^with additional illustrations from 
the cognate dialects. This vocabulary ia of great philo- 
logical importance. The MS. was written in the thir- 
teenth century, and may have been a copy of an older 
original, as it closely agrees with the Welsh of the 
ninth century ; and it contains many proofs that the 
Welsh then more closely approximated to the Cornish 
than in later ages. 

The next work is a poem entitled Mount Calvary, a 
MS. of the fifteenth century, the subject being the trial 
and crucifixion of Christ. This contains two hundred 
and fifty-nine stanzas of eight lines each, in hepta- 
syllabic metre with alternate rhymes. This was first 
printed by Mr. Davies Gilbert in 1826, but with the 
grossest inaccuracies of printing. , A new and correct 
edition, however, was issued in 1862, for which we are 
indebted to the eminent Celtic scholar Dr. Whitley 
Stokes, now one of the six members of the Legislative 
Council of India. 

Then follows the series of dramas entitled Origo 
Mundiy Passio Domini NostH, and Resw^ectio Domini 
Nostri, These three dramas were most ably edited by 
the well known Oriental scholar Mr. Edwin Norris, 
with an English translation and notes, in two volumes 
8vo., which were published by the University of Oxford 
in 1859. The editor has also given an excellent com- 
pendium of Cornish grammar. 

The next work that was published was another drama 
called The Creation of the World, with Noah's Flood, 
which was written, as stated on the MS. containing it, 
"on the 12th of August 1611, by William Jordan." 
This work is of much less philological importance, and 
in several passages it is an imitation of the earlier 
dramas ; but the language was now become much cor- 
rupted, and is full of English words. It was published 
by Mr. Davies Gilbert in IS27, and is equally remark- 



70 MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY, ETC. 

able for its typographical errors as the Mount Calvary. 
A new and correct edition of this also was given by 
Dr. Whitley Stokes m 1864. 

Another most important addition has been made 
more recently to the scanty stores of Cornish literature, 
by the discovery in the Peniarth library of another 
drama, the existence of which seems only to have been 
known to Edward Lhwyd, who mentions in his Cata- 
logus MSS. Britannicorum {ArchcBologia Britannicay 
1707, p. 262), Llyvyr yn iaith Kemyw (4 to.) Codex Dia- 
lecto Comuhiensi scriptus. This is entitled Bewnans 
Meriasek, being the life of St. Meriasek, bishop and con- 
fessor. We are indebted for the publication of this also 
to Dr. Whitley Stokes, who has nandsomely printed it 
at his own expense, and most ably edited it, with a cor- 
rect translation and notes, in 1872. 

These are all the materials in existence for the illus- 
tration of the ancient Cornish in the purest times. For 
the study of the language, the following works are also 
to be noticed. Edward Lhwyd, in his ArchcBologia, 
compiled a grammar of the Cornish as corruptly spoken 
in his day. It is valuable as shewing the corruption 
from the purer language of the MSS. The next work 
was the Cornish Vocahulury printed by Pryse in 1 790 
(4 to.), but of which he was not the author, as the ori- 
ginal MS. is in existence with the date of 1730, and is 
supposed to have been the work of Edward Lhwyd or 
Scawen. The Grammatica Celtica of Zeuss (published 
at Leipzig in 1853) is an admirable work for the scien- 
tific study of the Cymric and Gaelic ; but the Cornish 
portion is very meagre in this edition, and the defi- 
ciency is fully made up in the second edition of Zeuss 
by Professor Ebel (Berlin, 1871). 

[A new edition of his Cornish Lexicon, having all the fresh words 
of the Bewmans Meriasek incorporated, had been prepared by Canon 
Williams, and was ready for the press, when he died. — Ed. Arch, 
Camb.^ 



71 



CONWY ABBEY KECORDS. 

Wair HerT. — Abbas de Aburconweye finem fecit cum R' p' 
sexaginta solidos p' confirmac'o'e quar^dara cartar' h'enda T R' 
apud Westm' xxiiij. die Marcii. 

(Note in margin, " i' R* vii'o i' Heref /' This is a reference 
to the Pipe Rolls, where the money is accounted for ; but no 
further particulars are given. — Originalia Roll, 6 Edward III, 
m. 30.) 

Thabbey of Conwey.— Ric'^ &c. To air ye fermo'r' & ten'nt' 
of the mano'rs lordship's land' & lyuelod' belonging to ye mon- 
ast'y of Conway in North Wales thise Tres forto see or here 
greting. Where as we understande y't o*r trusty and right wel- 
beloued in god Thabbot' of Stratford and Wooburn' Reforma- 
to'rs of that Religion' w'tin this our Roy'me haue co'mytted 
thadmf strac'on guyding and disposic'on of all' the said land^ and 
lyuelod' and of the Rent' and Reuenues co'myng and growi'g of 
the same vnto Dompn* Griffith Gogh' Prio'r of the saide place 
and oth'r during the variaunce and co*trau'sie betwix Dompn' 
Dauid Wincheco'be and Dompn* Dauid Lloid' for the Right and 
title of Thoffice of Abbacie ther*. We therfor' wol and straitely 
charge you all' and eu'ry of you that vnto the said Prio'r or vnto 
suche Offic's as by hym shalbe appoynted and assigned and to 
noon' oth'r ye truely pay and content yo'r fermes Rent' and oth'r 
dutees aft'r the Rate of your tenures fro t'me to t'me among' 
you vsed and accustumed vnto suche tyme as by the saide Re- 
formato'rs it shalbe det'myned and prouided who shal otherwise 
haue the Rule and be Abbot ther'. Charging ou'e this alman'e 
o'r Offic's and subgiett* of thoes p'ties that vnto hym that soo 
by theym shalbe p'uided ther' to be assisting fauo'ring and help- 
ing in all' thing' as shal app'teyne as they desire to please vs. 
Yeven &c. at Pountfreit the last day of May the furst yer' of o'r 
Reigne. (Harleian MSS. 433, f. 175.) 

Dil'ci R' in xt'o Dauid Lloid' Abbas et Conuentus de Ab'cone- 
wey dant viginti & sex solidos & octo denarios solut' in Hana- 
p'io p' confirmac'o'e I'rar' paten' D'ni R' nunc de exemplificac'o'e 
I'rar' paten' D'ni E' nup' Regis Angl' primi h'end'. T' R' apud 
Westm' XX. die Nouembr'. (Originalia Roll, 5 Henry VII, m. 74.) 

1 Richard III. 



72 PATENT ROLLS, RICHARD III. 



CommUsion to William Earl of Huntingdon and James Tyrell, Kni.y 
to array the Men of Wales, 

E* carissimo consanguineo suo Will'o Comiti Hunt' ac dil'c'o 
& fideli suo Jacobo Tyrell' Militi saPt'm Sciatis q'd nos de fide- 
litate industria & circumspec'o'e v'ris plurimu'confidentes assig- 
nauim' vos ac vob' coniunctim & diuisim potestatem & auctori- 
tatem dam' & co*inittiin' ad om'es et siugulos ligeos & subditos 
n'ro8 in Wallia co'morantes & ad laborand' potentes conuocand' 
& congregand' & ad nos iuxta gradus & facilitates suos bene & 
defensibilit' arraiand' et ip'os sic arraiatos in resistenciam & sup- 
peditac'o'em rebelliu' p'dito' & inimico' n'ro' si qui in partes 
Wallie pMict' p* t'ram aut p* mare aduen'int sine appliculnt ac 
alio' rebelliu' si qui in partib' illis fu'int qui co'moc'es p'p'li n'ri 
ibidem fec'int aut attemptau'int ducend' sen duci faciend* ac 
eosdem ligeos & subditos n'ros in conducc'o'e ille regend* & gub'- 
nand' necnon ad rebelles p'ditores & inimicos n'ros pM'c'os capi- 
end' & si necesse fu'it debeUand' Et ideo vob' & alt'i vVm man- 
dam' q'd statim visis p'sentib' circa p'missa diligent' intendatis 
eaq' fac' & quantum in vob' est exequamini sicut p'd'c'm est 
Dam' autem om'ib' & singulis ligeis & subditis n'ris sic p' vos 
congregand' & arraiand' ac ab'is quo' infest in hac parte tenore 
p'sencium firmit' in mandatis qM vob' & alt'i v'r'm in execuc'o'e 
p'misso' pareant obediant & intendant in om'ib' p'ut decet In 
cuius &c. T' W apud Birdporte quinto die Nouembr*. 

p' ip'm Eegem oretenus. 

(1 Eic, III, p. 1, m. 23d, No. 18.) 

Denimtion of Richard Vaughan, 

E' om'ib' ad quos &c. sal't'm Sciatis q'd nos de gra' n'ra sp'ali 
& mero motu n'ris concessim' dil'c'o et fideli s'uienti n'ro llic'o 
Vach'n alias d'c'o Eic'o ap Eob't ap leu'n Vaghan qui Wallicus 
oriundus existit q'd ip'e & om'es lib'i sui de corpore suo legitime 
p'creati & p'creand' ac heredes sui quicumq' sint indigen' & 
p'sona habiles & quil't eo' sit indigen' & p'sona habilis & ligei 
n'ri ac heredu' n'ro' ad acceptand' p'quirend' & gaudend' t'ras 
ten' redditus & s'uicia aduocac'o'es reu'siones officia feod' & 
om'es alias possessiones li'end' tenend' & occupand' p'fato Eic'o 
sibi & heredib' suis diuisim & coniunctim cum aliis p'sonis qui- 
buscumq' cuiuscumque g'dus status aut condic'o'is extit'int ac 
p'fato Eic'o heredib' & assign' suis aut heredib* suis de corpore 
suo legitime p'creatis aut p'fato Eic'o & heredib' masculis de 
corpore suo legitime p'creatis aut p'fato Eic'o ad t'minu' vite 
ip'ius Eic'i a ut ad t'minu' vite alicuius alt'ius tam in Angl' q'ni 



PATENT KOLLvS, RICHARD III. 73 

in Wall' infra Burgos & villas franchesiatas & ext'a plene & in- 
tegre p'nt aliquis ligeus n'r' Anglicus p'creatus et natus infra 
regnu' nVm AngF & non slit' nee alio modo p'tractent' h'eant' 
reputent' & gub*nent' nee p'tractet' h'eat' reputet' & giib'net' 
Et q*d p'd'c'us Eic'us & heredes sui ac lib'i sni p' aliquos Wal- 
len* non conuincat' nee conuincant' Et qM p'd'cus Rictus here- 
des ae lib'i sui quicumq' om'ia & singula prioilegia custumas & 
franchesias ac om'es acc'o'es & querelas reales p'sonales & mixtas 
h'ere exe'cere ac eis gaudere & vti ac pl'itare & impVitari nee- 
non respondere & resjwnderi possit & possint p'ut ligei n'ri infra 
regnu' n'r*m Angl' oriundi h'ent vtunt' & gaudent Et qM ip'e 
p'fatus Eic'us & heredes ac lib'i sui non artent' teneant' aut 
compellant^ aut aliquis eo' artet' teneat* aut compellat' ad sol- 
uend' aut supportand' aliqua subsid' amobr' Kylche custumas 
aut alia ou'a WaUicana p't' talia qualia ligei n'ri in regno n'ro 
Angl' oriundi soluunt et supportant Et hoc absq' fine & feodo 
nob' & heredib' n'ris aliqualit' soluend' & capiend' & absq' impe- 
dimento p'turbac'o'e vexac'o'e & g'uamine n'ri aut hered' n'ro' 
OflSc' vel Ministro' n'ro' quo'cumq' Et aliquo actu ordinac'o'e 
p'uisione seu statute quouismodo ante hec tempera incont'riu' 
fact' aut impost'um faciend' non obstant' p'uiso semp' q'd prefa- 
tus Ric'us lib'i & heredes sui homag' ligeum nob' et heredib' n'ris 
fac' & faciant Et q'd ip'e & heredes ae lib'i sui lotto & scotto 
cum aliis ligeis n'ris Anglicis p'd'c'is contribuant vt est iustum 
In cuius Ac. T' E' apud Westm' xiij die Februarij. 

p' I're de priuato sigill' & de dat' &c. 
(1 Eic. Ill, p. 2, m. 21, No. 150.) 

Licence to William, Abbot of Margam Moruisteryy to exchange Lands, 
etc,, with Richard, Abbot of Tewkesbury Monastery, 

E' om'ib' ad quos &c. sal't'm. Sciatis q'd cum Will's Abbas 
Monast'ij de Morgan' in Suthwall' & eiusdem loci Conuentus in 
iure ecel'ie sine Abb'ie p'd'c'e seisit' sint de c'tis t'ris ten' reddit' 
reu'sion' A aliis p'ficuis cum suis p'tin' in Saltmarshe Tokyng- 
ton'Olveston'in com' Glouc' ac infiu villam de Bristowe & lib'ta- 
tem eiusdem Eciam cum Eic'us Abbas Monast'ij b' Marie de 
Teukesbury & eiusdem loci Conuentus seisiti sint in iure ecel'ie 
sine Abb'ie sue de Teukesbury p'dict' de c'tis decimis t'ris ten' 
& redditib' cum p'tin' in parochiis de Nouo Castello & Kenfyk 
in Suthwall' cu' aduocacion' eccl'ia' de Nouo Castello & Kenfyk 
p'diet' cum p'tin* que p'dict' Abbas & Conuentus de Morgan' 
modo tenent p' composic'o'em int' p'dict' Abb'em & Conuentum 
de Teukesbury ex vna parte et p'fat' Abb'em & Conuentu' de 
Morgan* ex alt'a parte fact' p'ut in eisdem composic'o'ib' inde 



74 PATENT ROLLS, RICHARD III. 

confcis plenius apparet que quidem abb'ie sunt de fundac'o'e 
p*genito' & antecesso' p'dil'cissime Anne consortia n*re Et p' eo 
q*d p'd'cl Abbas & Conuentus de Moi-gan^ ad p'sens intendunt 
dare & concedere d'c'is Abb'i & Conuentui de Teukesbury p'dict' 
tY 4 ten' reddit' reu*sion' & p'ficua cum suis p'tin* in Saltmarshe 
Tokyngton Olveston* & Bristowe ac infra lib'tatem eiusdem in 
excambiu' p* p'dict' decimis t'ris ten' & redditib' ac aduocac'o'ib' 
pM^cis cum p^tin' p'ut p'd'c'm est Nos p^missa considerantes 
de gra' n*ra sp'ali ac ck c'ta sciencia & mero motu n'ns conces- 
sim' ac tenore p'senciu* I'ra' n^ra' patenciu' plenam & integram 
licenciam dedim' p'fat' Abb'i & Conuentui de Morgan' q'd ip'i in 
simul excambiu' p'dict' p* t'ris & ten' p'd'c'is & c^tis p'missis cum 
p'dict' Abb'e & Conventu monast'ij be' Marie de Teukesbury 
p'dict' & successorib' suis legittime fac'e & p'implere possint Et 
q'd bene liceat & licebit pMict' Abb'i & Conuentui de Morgan' 
decimas t'ras ten' & reddit' cum aduocac' p'dict' cum suis p'tin' 
absq' fraude recip^e & h'ere de p'fatis Abb'e & Conuentu de 
Teukesbury p'dict' imp'p'm Et q'd p'dict' Abbas & Conuentus 
de Morgan' p' eisdem decimis t'ris ten' reddit' & aduocacion' 
p'dict' cum p'tin' diet' t'ras ten' reddit' reu'sion' & p'ficua cum 
p'tin' in Saltmershe Tokyngton' Olveston' & Bristowe ac infra 
lib'tatem eiusd'm p'fat' Abb'i & Conuentui de Teukesbury & suc- 
cessorib' suis imp'p'm dare & concedere possint p' p'sentes Et 
q'd p'fati Abbas & Conuentus d'c'i monast'ij de- Teukesbury 
p'dict' t'ras ten' reddit' reu'sion* A p'ficua in Saltmershe Tokyng- 
ton' Olveston' & Bristowe ac infra lib'tatem eiusdem cum om'ib' 
& singulis suis p'tin' de p'fat' Abb'e & Conuentu' Monast'ij de 
Morgan' p'dict' recip'e & h'ere possint & tenere eisdem Abb'i & 
Conuentui Monast'ij de Teukesbury & successorib' suis imp'p'm' 
tenore p'senciu' similit' licenciam dedim* sp'alem Et hoc absq' 
fine sen feodo nob' vel' hered' n'ris p' excambio p'dicto in hana- 
p'io cancellar' n're inde faciend' sen soluend' Et q'd exp'ssa 
mencio de vero valore annuo p'misso' aut de aliis donis sine con- 
cession* p' nos diet' Abb'i & Conventui de Morgan' ante hec 
tempora fact' in p'sentib' minime fact' existit aut aliquo atatuto 
ad manu' mortuam edit' non obstant' aut aliquo alio statute actu 
ordinac'o'e restricc'o'e sen p'uisione incont'riu' fact' edit' sine ordi- 
nal non obstant' In cuius &c. T R' apud Westm' xij die 
Jjmuarij. 

p* I're de priuato sigillo & de dat' &c. 
(2Ric. Ill, p. 2, m. 19, n. 138.) 



75 



©bftuarp^ 

SiNOB the issue of the last Number of the Archceologia Gamhren^is, 
two well known persons have died. Althongb at the time of their 
decease they were not members of the Society, they had been so for 
years previously. The elder of these two is the late Rtchabd Mason 
of Tenby, a gentleman as well known as he was esteemed by all 
classes. In 1850 he undertook the printing and publishing of the 
Archasologia Camhrensis at his sole risk, on condition of receiving 
half the annual subscription for each Number supplied to the mem- 
bers. The list of subscribing members in that year contained under 
one hundred and thirty names. In 1855 the Society published on 
their own account, retaining him as their printer. He about this 
time commenced, as a private speculation, the Cambrian Journal, 
and carried it on for some years. Mr. Mason was the autbor of the 
popular Ouide to Tenby, which reached a sixth edition, and is un- 
doubtedly the most useful handbook of the present day. We believe 
he was a native of Herefordshire, and engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits; but seems to have been so charmed with Tenby that he 
settled there, and became one of the most active and useful members 
of the local authorities during the space of thirty years. He died 
in his sixty-fifth year, and is buried in the Cemetery. 



Mr. Joseph Edwards of Robert Street, London, was bom in Mer- 
ihyr, 5 March 1814, so that he was two or three years older than 
Mr. Mason. His father, Mr. James Edwards, was a mason, but prin- 
cipally engaged in cutting tombstones. In 1835 Mr. Edwards found 
his way to London, where he was for some time unable to find employ- 
ment. Before he left Merthyr he obtained a letter of introduction to 
Mr. Behnes the sculptor, who not being able to give him employment, 
introduced him to a Mr. Brown, a statuary and marble-mason, who, 
however, had no opening for him. Having nothing to do, he was 
permitted to remain during the day in one of Mr. Behnes' rooms, 
when Mr. Brown, who now wanted a hand, remembered the young 
Welshman, and inquired of Mr. Behnes where he might be found. 
Being informed he was at that time on the premises, he found him 
in an upper room engaged on some modelling which so pleased his 
future employer that he at once engaged his services at the modest 
rate of a guinea a week. In 1837, at the age of twenty-three, he 
entered as a student at the Royal Academy, and carried off the 
medal of that year for the best antique work. Two years afterwards 
he obtained the first of three medals awarded. From that time 
fortune began to smile on him, and commissions constantly follow- 
ing gave him full employment for the rest of his days. As soon as 
he found himself established to some extent, he became, and conti- 
nued for many years, a member of the Association, and was, with a 
few other members, remarkable for strict punctuality in his pay- 
ment of subscriptions. 



76 



Corresponlienee^ 

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ABCHiBOLOOIA CAMBBEN8IS. 



Sib, — I wish to obtain some fnrther information of the distin- 
guished Welshmen mentioned below, who graduated at the Univer- 
sity of Cambridge. The majority of Welshmen who aspire to be 
graduates are attracted to Oxford, from the greater advantages 
offered there for those who belong to Wales, as well as from its 
greater nearness of position ; but there is a considerable number of 
eminent Welshmen who have taken their degrees at Cambridge. 
At present I ask for information only about the following graduates : 

1. Nicholas Cantalupe. He was a Carmelite friar, and Superior 
of his order several times, in the fifteenth century. He was the 
author of some historical and theological works, and among others, 
of a Brief History of Cambridge, It is presumed, therefore, that he 
was educated at Cambridge. Leland, in his work, Be ScriptoribtUj 
says that he was of Welsh extraction, and of the same family as 
"the holy Thomas Cantalupe, Bishop of Hereford". I find this state- 
ment in the preface to an edition of Parker's History of the Univer- 
sity of Cambridge, printed in 1721. Is anything known of the Welsh 
family with which Nicholas Cantalupe was connected ? 

2. Owen Gwynn, or Gwynne as the name appears in the Cam- 
bridge Calendar, He was Master of St. John's College from 1612 to 
1633. Parker says that he was " a Welshman of a knightly family, 
Fellow of the College, Doctor of Divinity, was chosen Provost (now 
Master) in the year of Our Lord 1612, Vice-chancellor in 1616, 

rector of " The name of the parish is not given ; but it was 

probably a college living. Of what knightly family was he a member? 

3. Thomas Thomas. He was printer to the University in the 
latter half of the sixteenth century ; but he was also M.A. of King's 
College, and the author of a very useful Latin dictionary which 
passed through many editions. The books that came from his press 
were beautifully printed. The type resembles very closely the well 
known Italian type, and probably came from Italy. I presume that 
he was a Welshman ; but I shall be glad to receive some certain 
information about him. 

4. Robert Evans. He was the first Warden (as Parker gives the 
title) of the College of St. Mary Magdalen, appointed in 1542. This 
is certainly the correct date, for the College was founded in that 
year, though Parker gives 1544 as the time of his appointment. Is 
anything more known of him ? He died probably in 1 546, for in 
that year Richard Carre was appointed Warden. 

5. Thomas Ithel. He was Warden (now Master) of Jesus College 
from 1663 to 1579. Parker gives this report of him : — " Thomas 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 77 

Ithel, of Wales, Doctor of Law in 1563, Prebendary of Ely, Chan- 
cellor of the diocese of Ely under Bishop Richard Oox, Provost the 
5th of Elizabeth, rector of the Donative Church of Emneth in Nor- 
folk." The title seems then to have been indeterminate, for Ithel 
is called Provost on p. 122, and in the heading of the list the word 
Wardens is used. I have not been able to obtain any additional 
information about this Welshman. 

It is evident that many students came to Cambridge from Wales 
in the sixteenth century. John Williams, one of the best scholars 
of his time, afterwards Archbishop of York ; William Glynne, Pro- 
fessor of Theology, afterwards Bishop of Bangor ; Richard Yaughan 
and William Morgan (translator of the Bible into Welsh), the one 
Bishop of London, and the other Bishop of Llandaff ; and Edward 
Yaughan, Bishop of St. David's, were all educated at Cambridge. 

John Davtes. 



ittiscellaneous l^ottces. 

A SFLEKDID hoard of ancient bronze weapons has recently been found 
by labourers in cutting a drain in the p&rish of Wilbnrton, near 
Ely, on the property of Mr. Claude Pell of Wilbnrton Manor. The 
collection consists of about one hundred and ten spear and javelin- 
heads, ten sword-blades (broken), two socketed celts, a palstave, 
ferrules for the butt-ends of spears, ends of sword- sheaths, and other 
articles. The spear^heads are of various sizes and shapes, but all 
elegant in design ; and as castings, equal to a brassfounder's work 
of the present day. This collection of weapons lay in a heap upon 
the clay, below the fen peat, and their deposition is supposed to 
have been the result of a boat accident. A fen fire which occur- 
red at the spot some years back, reached these treasures, and fused 
and injured many of the weapons ; but the greater number are still 
well preserved, and in good condition. 



We find, from Hie Academy, that Historic Notices of the Borough 
of Flinty by Mr. Henry Taylor, Deputy Constable of Flint Castle, 
is in the press, and will he published shortly by Mr. Elliot Stock. 
The work will contain much curious information and official docu- 
ments, and will be illustrated by facsimiles and woodcu)». 



The latest additions to the Egerton Library of MSS. in the British 
Museum comprise three volumes of Welsh pedigrees (sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries), and a Register of " Inquisitiones post Mor- 
tem" for Cheshire, from the time of Edward III to Richard lU. 



78 



Chips prom Old Stones. By the Author op "Hill-Forts and 
Stone -Circles op Ancient Scotland." Privately printed. 
George Waterston and Sons. Edinburgh, 1881. 

Such is the unpretending title of a work by the authoress of the 
well known folio volume of HiU-Forta and Stone- Circle of Ancient 
ScoUandy which has attracted so much attention not only in this but 
in other conntries, and which has been already made known to the 
members of this Association. The present work, however, if less in 
bulk, is more comprehensive as to its subject-matter. Before, how- 
ever, we enter into detail, we cannot refrain from mentioning one 
circumstance which must give additional value to this work, and 
that is, that the writer makes it an invariable rule to see with her 
own eyes, and not trust to those of others. To carry out such a 
rule, especially among Scottish hills, the amount of energy and 
labour to be undergone is such that even zealous archaoologists of 
the rougher sex are too oflen inclined, under such circumstances, to 
make their observations and form their views on lower and more 
accessible ground. Nay, we are not always satisfied in our minds 
that the published works of some archsdolog^ists are not taken too 
much on trust. Such is not the rule of Miss Maclagan. She sees 
and judges for herself; so that we have double security as to the 
faithfulness of her illustrations and her accurate judgment. 

The " Brocks*' of Scotland are known (at least from published 
accounts) to most of those who live in this southern world; They 
were formerly assigned to Danish builders, — an opinion long since 
disproved. At first sight they may be thought not unlike the round 
towers of Ireland ; from which, however, they materially differ both 
in construction and use. The opinion of the late John Stuart, one 
of the most able of Scottish antiquaries, and for so many years Secre- 
tary of the Society of Antiqaaries of Scotland, is the one generally 
now acceded to, namely, that they are a development of sabterra- 
uean dwellings, in course of time continued above ground, and 
made in the form of a circular tower, bearing a likeness to the nvr 
raghi of Sardinia. These nuraghi have been more or less accurately 
described ; but the best account of them is by the late General De 
la Marmora. It is stated, however, that he was no draughtsman, 
and employed others to do this necessary work for him, from his 
description. This method of illastrating is far from satisfactory, 
especially as some of those employed had not even seen the objects 
they drew. The result was, as might be expected, these towers 
are represented in most fanciful form. Since that time great alter- 
ations have taken place, so that these remains are now seriously mis- 
represented. 



RKVIEWS. 79 

De la Marmora has stated in his Voyage en Sardaigne^ that in 
his time there were more than three thousand of them standing, 
while in the course of two thousand years many must have 
vanished. However, Miss Maclagan, on her first survey from the 
lofty ramparts of Gagliari, from which a vast extent of country was 
visible, saw no traces of them. On inquiry as to the cause of this, 
she was informed that having been turned into abodes for bandits, 
the Government ordered their destruction. The result is that the 
traveller from this point has to travel four hours to reach the 
nearest ; which is, too, in a very dilapidated state. Driving is no 
pleasant work over roads paved with loose, rough pebbles, with 
watercourses to be crossed, the fords being full of dangerous hol- 
lows. How any lady could have survived such a jolting is not easy 
to understand, unless we assume that Scottish ladies are of tougher 
physique than their southern friends. 

At last the building was reached, and was found to be a double 
or twin house, examples of which also occur in Treceiri in Carnar- 
vonshire. {Arch, Camb,^ 1871, p. 84.) There is, however, a certain 
difference, in as much as there is a very narrow communication 
between the two compartments, through which a hand might be 
inserted ; but this is not the case in Wales. 

Miss Maclagan remarks on a peculiarity of the entrance, which 
she states to be very much in use among nuraghi. It is bent round 
the outer wall, and its shape is that of a comma. She conjec- 
tures this was done to connect it with the entrance of the other 
apartment, which is straight. It is curious, however, that this 
curved entrance also occurs in more than one of the Treceiri houses ; 
but in these latter instances, as they are turned away from the 
direction of the prevalent winds, it has been conjectured that the 
object of the builders was protection from the wind in such an ele- 
vated and exposed situation as the summit of one of the so called 
Rivals, or, as Pennant terms them, the " Eifl Hills". The conclu- 
sion of our authoress is that there is nothing in this nuragh to com- 
pare with the hrocka of Scotland, although those that she subse- 
quently visited had many similar details as regards the internal 
stairs and chambers. The most remarkable of these structures is 
about two miles from Paulo Latini. It is not a single building, 
but a group contained within a huge triangular wall of excellent 
masonry, a plan of which, together with a restored view of the 
whole group, will be found in Plate 14 of De la Marmora's work. 

The illustrations of these primitive structures fill Plates 1 and 2 
of the Ohips, and are remarkable not merely for their accuracy, but 
as being the only reliable ones that have yet appeared of these Sar- 
dinian mysteries. 

The Chips are, however, not confined to Sardinia, for the next 
division embraces notices of the prehistoric antiquities of Brittany 
illustrated by the same skilfol hand. Some of these, more or less 
accurate, have appeared in other works, with, perhaps, the exception 
of the huge ftagments of the great menhir at Locmariaker, which 



80 REVIEWS. 

has never been fiprnred before, as far as we are a^rare. This 
monster measured 68 feet long, with a greatest breadth of 14 ; and 
although now in four fragments, yet even our authoress allows that 
they *' bad formed part of one great whole'' \ but at the same time she 
maintains that the stone never was erected, for being pointed at 
both ends it never could have been placed upright unless a hole 
sufficiently large had been dug in the solid rock ; but no traces of 
such a hole exist. She can find no writer who mentions it as even 
traditionally having ever been standing, and adds, the fact of its 
being broken goes somewhat towards proving that the upright posi- 
tion is mere conjecture. We fear we do not appreciate the force of 
the argument. 

Another difficulty is the breaking of the stone, hitherto conjec- 
tured to have been caused by lightning ; but this she denies, and is 
supported by one of the chief engineers of Glasgow, to whom she 
submitted two questions, — 1. Do you believe this stone ever stood 
on an end P 2. What was the cause of its breaking and misplace- 
ment? His answer to the first question was, simply impossible; 
and if fire was applied under the middle part of the stone lying on 
a granite rock, the heat^ by the force of expansion, would effect the 
disruption. 

This gentleman's first answer is not worth much, seeing that a 
stone in the same country, about 60 feet, has at some period been 
80 erected, and is stiU standing at no great distance from Brest. 
As to the second answer, it may be so far true as to splitting the 
stone, but could never have displaced one of the portions to the dis- 
tance and position it occupies. But then comes the question how 
such a column was brought thither P If by an iceberg, the stone 
would not have been of the same character as the granite of the 
district. But independently of this difficulty, it is, we fear, impos- 
sible to agree with Miss Maclagan's ingenious explanation, viz., that 
they wanted large capstones for chambers like that of the Table aux 
Marchandsy not far from the spot ; for in the first place such huge 
masses would not furnish the required tables or capstones ; and in 
the second, they were never so employed, being left as they were 
at the time of the breaking. 

But we have already exceeded our limits. There is much of inte- 
resting detail of her work in Brittany, and some of the famous stone 
monuments of her own country, concluding with an account of the 
singular cup and other markings on the pavement-slabs of the Foro 
Bomano, exactly similar to those in Scotland and elsewhere, to 
which the late Sir James Simpson first directed the attention of 
antiquaries. 

We cannot conclude without expressing our deep regret that this 
volume is confined to her private friends, and that the outer public 
know little or nothing of it. 



g!krclraefflflf|ia Camirciists. 



FOURTH SERIES.— VOL. XIII, NO. L. 



APRIL 1882. 



A 

COMPARISON OF CELTIC WORDS FOUND IN OLD 

ENGLISH LITERATURE and ENGLISH DIALECTS 

WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 

(ConHnued from p, 18.) 

If we continue our researches in this field, we find that 
in Anglo-Celtic words we still meet with tenues for 
mediae, or mediae for aspiratae ; as in p for 6, 6 for bh 
or v; t for d, and d for dd or th. 
P for 6 in anlaut. 

Ahqlo-Obltio. Mod. Oeltio. 

Fevy to fall in drops (Lane.) Yf.berUy to drop, to ooze ^Pryse) ; 

Arm. bera, to drop, to distil 
Parchj to scorch, to bum Ir. Gael, harg, burniDg, red hot ; 

Manx, paagh (for parg ?), dry, 

thirsty 
FarkeUj a kind of cake (Lane.) 0. Ir. bairgen, panis, placenta (Z', 

462 ; Goid., 76) ; Ir. Gael, hair- 

ffhearij a cake 
PaiOy dirty, obscene ; also baw W. baWj mire, dirt ; dirty, filthy 

" Pshaw, wench and pimp, paw words ; I know thou 
art an honest fellow." (Wycherley, Country Wife). 

Pour, to cause to issue, to make a W. bwrWf to cast, throw, pour ; bwrw 
liquid flow out or down ^^^9 to rain ; btoitPf fundere (Z', 

632) 
i'ro^, food, victuals; food to be eaten Ir. Gael, brochan, pottage; Manx, 
in the fields (Oumb.) broahan, id.; Corn, bruka for bniga 

or orugha, id.; W. pry (for pryg 1), 
food 

4th 8BK., VOL. XIII. 6 



82 



COMPARISON OP CELTIC WORDS 



Anglo-Oeltio. 
Proud^xxBed of an animal under sexual 

excitement 
Furlev, weak-sighted, short-sighted 

(Wilts.) 

p for h in auslaut. 

Bop, a father (Suff.) 

Clap, a lip (W.); the lower part of a 
hawk's beak {Diet, Rust.) 

Crapf a bunch, a cluster (W.) 

Fapey a gooseberry (K.) 

Oope, to shout (Oumb.); BftQ* ^^5, 
mouth of a river 

Mipy a nymph (Hall) 



Mod. Oeltio. 

W. hrwdf hot ; Arm. hroudy very hot, 
ardent ; tr^s chaud, ardent 

W. byr, short ; Uug, light ; Uygad^ 
the eye ; Corn, ber^ short ; loc, 
sight ; Arm. herr^ short ; luck, sight 



Ir. Gael, hoh-an, a father ; Sans, vap- 

ila for hap-iUif a father 
Ir. Gael, dab, a lip, a thick lip 

W. graban, a cluster 
Ir. Gael, fach ( fabu), a round lump 
Ir. Gael, gob, a beak, a mouth ; go- 
back, prating, scolding 



This word, I think, must be connected with W. 
Arm. mah, a son, ^ov map. There was an old form 
maqvi. Can this have become mapi, and, by assimi- 
lation, mipi ? Cf Corn, meppig, a child ; Arm. mop, a 
son ; mipien, sons. 



Mop, a tuft of grass (W.) ; the gall 
of the wild rose (Sal.) 

Sop, a lump of black lead (Oumb.); 
a tuft of grass (N ); 0. N. Boppr, a 
ball 



Gael, mob, anything rough, a tuft, a 
mop, disorder ; Ir. maibean, a clus- 
ter 

W. sob, a tuft, a bunch, a mass ; m- 
pen, a mass, a bundle 



p also represents in Anglo-Celtic words hh or v [f) 
in Mod. -Celtic ; as in 



Cope, a tribute paid to the lord of the 
manor in Derbyshire for smelting 
lead 

CappuU, caput, a horse 

Crap. " In some places darnel is so 
called." {Diet. Rust.) 

Craple,A c\9,w (Spenser); Germ.jb'a^ 
bkn, to grapple, to grope 

Pal, two courses or rounds in knit- 
ting (Wright) 



Pan, money (slang) 



Pooly, urine (Wright) ; voiding of 
urine (W.) 



Ir. Gael, cobkach, tribute; eobh, in 
0. Ir. cob, victory, conquest 

W. eeffyl, horse 

W. crtrf; Ir. Gael, creamh, wild gar- 
lick 

W. craff, claws ; Arm. oraban, griffe, 
ongle pointu 

W. ff€dy a circle, a fold ; Ir. Gael, fal, 
a circle, an enclosure ; Manx, paal, 
a ring, a fold ; Sans, pdlla, a large 
chest for grain ; palh, a small vill- 
age (inclosure) 

Ir. Gael, fana, a coin ; ban, copper ; 
banna, a halfpenny; Arm. pat, 
money ; Sans, pana, a copper coin 

Ir. Gael. fual=fula', urine 



WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 83 

The sounds hh,f, or v, in Mod. Celtic, are more com- 
monly represented by 6 in Anglo-Celtic ; as in 

Anglo-Cbltio. Mod. Celtic. 

Ah^ water, moisture, sap 0. Ir. and Gael, abk, water ; W. af- 

on, a river ; Sans, ap, apnaSf water 

"Yet diverse have assaied to deal without okes to that 
end, but not with so good success as they have hoped, 
because the ah or juice will not so soon be removed ■ 
and deane drawn out." — Harrison, Desc. Eng.y 213. 

Craby sour, rough (Webs.) Ir. Qael. garhh^ rough, coarse ; Arm. 

garv; W. garw^ sharp, rough ; Ir. 

Gael, geur^ gir, sharp, sour, rough 

Crabe, to fight ; a term in falconry W. era/, claws, talons ; crafu, to 

(Bailey) scratch; Arm. craban; It. crubh, a 

claw 
Diblea, difficulties (E.) Ir. Gael. diohhaU {dibal\ loss, injury, 

want ; Gael, dixtbhail^ a calamity, 

distress ; Manx. doilUys (with the 

loss of 5), a difficulty 
Qarb, a sharp, piquant taste in beer Ir. Gael, garbh, Arm. garv, W. garw^ 
or wine (fiailey) rough, sharp ; Ir. Gael, garbhan, 

coarse ground meal 

iOlahf a tattling nerson (Sal.) Ir. Gael, glafar^ noise, prating, chat- 

Olabber, to speak indistinctly, as ter ; Gtkei.gla/air ; Ir. glabaire, a 
children (Wedgw.); Gkrnu klaf- babbler ; Ir. glaniy noise, outcry, 
er, a prater chatter 

We find also /in Anglo-Celtic words, with the sound 
of English/, answering tof{v) in Welsh ; as in 

Oufdre, a stream W. gofer, a stream ; Arm. gouer^ id. 

'* Alle the gotes of thy guferea and gronndeles powles, 
And thy stryuande stremes of stryndes so mony 
In on dascfaande dam, dryues me (Jonah) ouer." 

(All the channels of thy streams and bottomless pools, 
and thy clashing rivers, of kinds so many, in one dash- 
ing dam-stream drive over me.) — Allit. P. E. E. T. S., 
C. 311. 

y Byfyr, a castrated goat W. hafr, hi/fgr, a castrated goat 

" The meat of a castrated goat of six or seven years 
old (which is called hyfyr) is reckoned the best/' — 
(Pennant, Br. Zool, i, 38) ; 0. N. hcfr, caper. 

Pennant, as a Welshman, may be only quoting a 



84 COMPARISON OF CELTIC WORDS 

word of his fellow countrymen, but the same word 
exists in Anglo-Celtic in the form of. 

Haver ^ Havior, a gelded deer. " Haviour bucks" 
{Ann. of Agric, Britten, p. 102) ; also called " Havi- 
ours". In Durham, havering is the name of a gelded 
buck. 

p is also found as the anlaut of some Anglo-Celtic 
words, where it is wanting in Mod. Celtic 

Anglo-Celtio. Mod. Obltio. 

( Plunhy to give a fair and full hit W. Uawn for pldnc^ full, abundant ; 

i (Leeds)* Ir. Qae). Idn ; Manx, lane, full, 

( Plonker, anything of unusual sub- great ; Lat. pUnus ; Sans, purna 

stance or thickness (Leeds) 

The word planets or plennets (Cumb.) in the phrase, 
" raining in planets'", seems to be from the same source. 

** Heavier now the tempest musters, 
Down in plennets teems the rain.*' 

Stagg's Poems. 

Plim, pliable (Heref.) W. %i», soft, limp ; pl^/dd, soft, flexi- 

ble 

PriU, a buttock (Dekker), a thigh TheCavali^e Nigra concludes that 
(Coles) this is the primitive form of the Ir. 

lestt, a buttock : " lets (clunis) pro 
kU-ja, ex antiquiore prtit-ja ; Lat. 
lattu ; Gr. irXarrft " (QloM. Vet. Hid. 
Cod. Taur.y xix) 

If this be correct, it is singular that the primitive 
form, as deduced by Nigra, should be exactly the form 
as retained in England. Prat may, however, be con- 
nected with Ir. Gael, hras, thick. 

We find the same result in the dental consonants as 
in the others, i.e., the surd mute appears in Anglo- 
Celtic words where we find the sonant mute in Mod.- 
Celtic, and the sonant mute where we find spirants in 
Mod.-Celtic, as in 

Tiff^ liquor, a draught of liquor (v. Ir. Qael. daif, a drink ; Ir. tihre, tib- 
d.) hir, a spring, a fountain 



^ The BuflBx -k (for -ok) is a common verbal formative in Anglo- 
Celtic words : -ok is also common. See p. 91. 



WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 85 

Anqlo-Oeltio. Mod. Celtic. 

Turin, the nose of the bellows (T); W. duryUy a snout, a bird*8 bill ; trw' 

O. N. triona^ tryne, rostrum yn^ a snout, a nose 

Lalimer^ an interpreter W. Uadmery an interpreter 

Malfdon^ the knapweed, Centaurea W. madfeUn, id. 

scabiosa 

" Jfa{/efon, jacia nigra" {Prom. Parv.) 

Gerard ineDtions the English names, knap- weed, 
bull-weed, matfelon, but also materJUlon or matrefillen. 
The name is mattefelon in the Cath. Aug. ; but, in a 
MS. quoted by Way, it is mandefelune. (See Way's 
note, p. 329.) 

Quittor, q%teUer,tJi ulcer, matter flow- W. ehvn/dr, chwydredd, ejected mat- 
ing from a sore ter, corruption ; chwydd, a swelling 

Brait, a kind of garment Ir. Qael. breid, frieze, a coarse kind 

of woollen cloth, a coif ; Manx, 
breid, a hood ; Arm. broz, jupe ; Ir. 
bread, a piece of milled, woollen 
cloth ; W. brethyn^ cloth, woollen 
cloth ; Ir. brat, cloak, mantle 

** Caracalla est vestis villosa quae Anglice dicitur hrait 
vel hakel''* {M.S. Lans., 413, H.) Caracalla was the 
name of a Gaulish mantle. 

Brut, a record, a chronicle W. brud, a chronicle ; Arm. brild, id. 

" Layamon's Brut, or Chronicle of Britain." 

Ctri^ a tribute, a tax W. c6d, an aid or tribute given to the 

lord ; Ir. Gael, ceart, a toll, custom, 
debt, right 
( Divet, a turf or sod (N.) Gael, duihheid (dufed), a flat turf 

I Dufet, id, (N.) used for covering cottages; Ir. 

Gael. dtU>hy black 
Gleet, glette, filth, viscous matter ; 0. W. glud, paste ; Arm. glud, viscous 
N. yUeta, humor matter, glue; Ir. Gael. gloth,ylodh, 

slime, mucous matter 

'' As mote in at a miin8ter (minster) dor, so mukel wern his chawles. 
He (Jonah) glydes in by the giles, thurg glajmande glette" 

Alia. P. C, 269 

^ The church of St. Mary Matfelon in London (Whitecbapel) is 
said to have been so named because the field in which it was built, 
and the neighbouring ground, bore the name of matfelon from the 
abundant growth of the knapweed there. 

* Caracalla was a Gaulish name for a large cloak ; probably from 
car, winding, flowing, and calla, Ir. caiZZe, a cloak. It is evident from 
this word that the Ir. caille is not from Lat. pallium. 



86 COMPARISON OF CELTIC WORDS 

AiraLO'OELTio. Mod. Celtic. 

Lossety luceUf a large wooden dish Ir. Gael, losaid, a kneading-trough, 
used in the North a wooden dish ; Ir. losad^ in the 

county of Cavan (0*Don.) ; Manx, 
losAt, a kneading-trough 

'* Bat shee that lives by nille (needle) and tape, 
And with her bag and lucett begs, 
0(t makes her hnsband many a scape (trick) 
Although she goes in simple raggs.*' 

Percy MSS., ii, 402. 

The Editora suggest that lucett may mean a budget, 
and refer to the Fr. Ivx^et [luchet], a spade. 

Nicety a breast-cloth, a wrapper for W. neisiad, a kerchief; nais, a band, 

the bosom or neck (Hall) a tie 

&nit€y an old name for the snipe. Yf,t/8nidy — 1, a beak; 2, a snipe; 

SniUj ibis {B, E, Fbc, i, 253) Corn, snitf a snipe 

Soort, to punish (Som.) W. sardio, to beat down, to chastise 

The surd mute t is often found in Anglo-Saxon where 
we find th or dd in Mod. Celtic. 
t for th. 

Anertyy hardy, stout W. nerik ; Arm. nerzy yigour, energy 

(Z'j 99); W. furihtUy strong, vigor- 
ous ; Ir. Gael, neart^ nert, might, 
force 

"A knight full anerty gaf them this answere." (Lang- 
toft's Chron.) Cf W. gwyr and agwyr, crooked. 

AelUe, awry (N.) Ir. Gael, clith, left-handed, awkward; 

Ir. clitidhy squint-eyed 

Brait, a rough diamond : a term W. braithj brith, spotted, speckled ; 

used by jewellers Arm. briz, tachet6, mouchet^ 

Burty to press or indent anything W. burth^ a Tiolent thrust ; burthio, 

(Som.) to thrust 

Burtle, a sweeting : a country word W. berthyll, fair, beautiful, pleasing ; 

(Bailey) berthyd^ beauty, a jewel 

Caty a kind of food given to pigeons; Ir. Gael, coihy food ; cothadh, support 

Du. kost, food 

Clii, close, heavy (Dors.) Ir. clith, close ; Gael, cluk^ strong ; 

W. lltidy close, compact 

^ytyng, a darliog W. meitkyriy a nursling, a darling 

" Haylle, maker of man ! haylle, sweetyng ; 
Haylle, so as I can ; haylle, praty mytyng,^^ 

Townley Mijs. 

Bit, to swallow greedily (N.) W. rhwth, greedy ; rhythu, to open 

wide, to be greedy ; rhyth-gi, a 
greedy dog 



WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 



87 



Anglo-Oiltio. Mod. Celtic. 

Tret, a contributioD, a tax W. trethf iredd, a contribution, tax, 

rate, tribute 

" Hath thy herte be wrothe or grefc (sorrowful) 
When Goddes serves was drawe on treV^ 

MS. Cott. H. 

O. Fr. treu, trehus, treud, impost, tax (Roq.); but 
probably from a Celtic source, 
t for dd or dh. 



A tile, refuse in mines 

Kettle, a lump, a swelling (Surrey) 
Rat^j cold, tempestuous (N.) 



W. adhaU, refuse (Williams, Corn, 
Diet,) ; W. adiU, vilis, abjectus 
(Dav.) ; Com. atal, aUaly refuse, 
waste 

W. chwydd^ a swelling {chwyddd^ a 
little swelling ?) 

Ir. Qael. reodh, frost ; Gael, reodha. 
frosty ; W. rheWy ice, frost ; Arm. 
reoj great cold 

The sonant mute d often represents th or W. dd in 
the Irish or Welsh languages ; as in 

Cadey the penis {Arth. and Merlin, Ir. caith, the penis 
36) 

Claud, a ditch (Bailey) ; a ditch or W. daiodd; 0. W. e^ud (Ir. Gloss., 
fence (N.) 59), a ditch, trench, embankment, 

fence ; Ir. dadJi., a dike, an em- 
bankment 

Claude, hot, bright gleams between W. glawdd, a lustre, glow, splendour 
showers (Nhamp.) ; 0. N. gladr ; (marked by Fryse as obsolete) 
Bw.glad, smooth, polished, shining 

Olade, an open space in a wood yf:gledd, the green sward, the face of 

the earth. '* Glebis, gletu (gledu ?). 
If the word be gledu, we may, per- 
haps, compare the mod. W. gledd 
(behce Eng. glade ?)." (W.Stokes, 
Phil. Soc, I860) 

( Oowdy, wanton ; gawdyehare, an 0. Ir. goitkim, futuo ; Ir. Gael, guth, 

I abode of harlots (Newc.) shame, disgrace ; Ir. gutdaeh, an 

( Gowder, futuere* adulterer ; 0. W. gdd, got, fornica- 

tion, incontinence ; Arm. gada, fu- 
tuere (used of beasts) 

Eoudery, gloomy, overcast (W.) W. huda, gloom ; htiddol, gloomy, 

darkening 

^ " Gadales in capitular. Car. M. ap Baluz, i, 343 : * de gadalihtu et 
meretrieibns volutnns' reducendum erit ad gatal, quia Armor, hod. 
cum d non z, gadalez, meritrix, gadal, libidinosns (unde Germ, geil ?), 
nt Provinc. godina, godineta, unde Gall. hod. gouine goier, ad gotin 
(Hibern. vet. goilhimm, gl. futuo, Sg. ; Cambr. hod. godineb, fomi« 
catio)."— Z', 186. 



88 COMPARISON OF CELTIC WORDS 

Anqlo-Celtio. Mod. Celtic. 

^Plid, earth, soil (Dev.) W. pridd^ mould, earth, soil 

(Prid^, the mud-lamprey, from liv- 
ing in the mud of streams {En^, 
Enc., iv, 277) 
Ted, to spread hay . W. Udd, a spread ; tedduy to spread 

out ; ted^ a stretch 

" Alas ! Callimachus, when wealth cometh into the 
hands of youth before they can use it, then fall they 
into all disorder that may be, teddin with a forke in 
one yeare that which was not gathered in twenty." — 
Lyly's Euphues. 

Tud, an apple-dumpling (Glouc.) W. twddy a lump, a hunch 

t and d before a vowel, especially before e or i, are 
sounded as ch orj; as 

Chee, an out-house, a hen-roost W. /v, a house ; Corn. cAy, a house, 
(Kent) a dwelling ; Ir. Gael, tiffh, a house; 

Manx, thief id. 
( Chark, to burn wood into charcoal Manx, chiarru, charrey, dry ; cheer ^ 
•^ (Heref.) to dry by the fire ; the same word 

(Char, id. as Ir. Gael, (tor, heat ; to heat, 

kiln-dry, to parch 
Cheat, the bearded darnel (Dors., Ir. dithein (dite) ; Gkiel. dtthean^ the 
Line.) darnel ; but in Gael. <2i=Eng. j ; 

diu=jUt dwng=yung. From due 
we \i2k\ejii=LJeet, hardened in cheat. 
Chit, a call to a cat (Lane.) W. tUw, puss, a fond name for a cat 

Chj/nge, reuma (E, E, Voc, i, 267) Manx, ching, sick, diseased, a sore, an 

ulcer ; Ir. Gael, tinn, sick ; tinneaSf 
disease 
Jerk, to throw with a sudden effort W. tercuj to jerk 
Jinky chinky to ring money, to jingle W. tincio, to tinkle 
Jouds, rags (Dev.), also duds Gael, dud, a rag ; dudach^ ragged ; 

Ir. dad^ a piece 
Joe-ben, the black-cap or great tit- Manx,(foo; Ir. </u&A, black; Ir. Ghiel. 

mouse (Suff.) beann {Jl>en)y head 

JvMockSf tufts of grass; also tussocks W. twi/s, a tuft, a top (twysoc, a little 

tuft) 

" They turn (the hay) against the wind that breaks 
the jussocks, which otherwise would hang together and 
fall heavy."— ifoci. Husb., 1750. 

g also, before a vowel, is sounded as^, as 

Jouring, a scolding (Dev.) W. gawri, to shout, to cry aloud 

**I pray the Lord that did you hither send, 
You may your cursing, sw ohvinga, jnuringSj end.** 

Hay man *8 Qtiidlibets. 



WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 89 

We have also gere, geere, jest, jeer, frenzy (an old 
word, Bailey), and jeer, which I would connect with Ir. 
Gael, gearr, to cut, to taunt ; Manx gai^rish, a jest, a 
sneer, ridicule. Prof. Skeat connects Eng. jeer with 
Du. scheeren, in the phrase gek scheereUy to shear, to 
fool, to jeer; but gdc scheeren means, **to play the 
fool with one, to make a fool of one" (Holtrop.), and 
how can we get the old form gere from Du. scheeren ? 

The W. ckw is constantly represented by wh in 
Anglo-Celtic words : as E. whap, a blow ; W. chivap. 
Wherry, to laugh ; whert, joy, mirth ; W. chwerthm. 
Wliew, a sudden movement ; W. chwiw. Whiff, a 
quick movement, a slight blast; W. chmf. Whig, 
sour, buttermilk ; W. chwig. Whig, a kind of sweet 
cake ; W. chwiog. Whute, to whistle ; W. chwyth ; and 
Whin, the rest-harrow (N. Hamp.) ; furze or gorse 
(Cumb.) W. chwyn. 

The letter s is found as anlaut in Anglo-Celtic words 
without y prefixed, as in Welsh. The prefix is not 
used in either Cornish or Armoric. 

Scavel, rapacious, greedy (Coles, iV. W. vsgafadw, rapacious ; ea/adj to 

ff.) take, to ffet 

Scovel, a mop (Aiusworth) W. wgubeU, a broom, a besom ; Arm. 

akubd, balai ; skubiien, fouet (voc. 
ninth century) 
Seovy, uneren (Dev.) W. ysgoew, fluctuating, waring 

iScofcUs, old ezcayations of mines W.y^/au, hollow; yxy^uo^, excavated, 

(Horef.) hollow 

Scopes^ icohegy icaubeSf sharp-pointed W. ysgdp, a sharp-pointed stake ; Lr. 

stakes used in thatching Qael. scolp, id. 

SerafU, to scorch (Som.) W. ysgra (for ysgrad ?), hard, dry ; 

crady heat ; ercu, roasted, parched 
Scratf, the sea-swallow (Webster) li.ysgraen^ ysgretan,i\iQ sea-swallow; 

Arm. gkrav^ id. 
Scttipin,B, small fish of the genus W. y^^o^p, a sharp-pointed stake; co^, 
M<<tM, furnished with spines (Web- a sting, a prickle. See scopes 
ster) 
Slip, clay made smooth and limp for W. yslib, smooth, glib ; Uipa, flaccid, 
the potter limp 

The W. si appears in Anglo-Saxon words as 5^ ; as 
in Shig, to ruin ; W. sigo, to shatter. Shock, a rough 
head of hair ; W. sioch, a bush of hair.* Shonk, hearty, 

^ The A. S. sceacga, a bush of hair, what is rough or shaggy, is 
the etymon assigned to slujck by Mahn. 



90 COMPARISON OF CELTIC WORDS 

healthy (W.); W. sionc, brisk, active. Sh appears fre- 
quently for s before other vowels; as Shore, to threaten 
(N.); W. soriy to chafe, to be angry. Shorry, a large 
stick on which hedgers carry fagots (Nhamp.]; W. 
ysgwr, a branch, a stake ; Arm. skoui^r, a brancn of a 
tree, cut or not, but always a large branch. Shard, 
dung ; VV. ysgarth, dung ; earth, oflF-scouring, filth. 

There are other variations, implying generally a 
more archaic form in Anglo-Celtic words ; as in 

Akglo-Celtio. Mod. Celtio. 

Conffd^tk sticky a staff (Lane); prim., W. cogel, a staff, a distaff; from the 
a stick with a knob r. coc or cone, the n being retained 

in Sans. fanJkha^ a shell ; Lat. con- 
cha ; £ng. slang, conk, a large, 
round nose 
(Corikerj a snail-shell (E.) W. cogwm, an apple, a shell, a lim- 

-<Co7ijftfr, id. (J^hamp.) pet. 8ee«upra 

{Cogger, id. (Nhamp.) 

CUyms, sores raised on beggars* Ir. Gael, claimh, scurvy, disease 
bodies artificially (Bailey) marked by sores {mh=v) ; W. dafr, 

a scurf, leprosy 
Mirp, bright, thriving (Lane.) W. mtr, fair, comely, bright 

Of these, the space at our command will not allow us 
to give more instances. 

The Celtic forms still remaining in our Anglo-Celtic 
words may now be discussed. They show how close 
and extensive must have been the union of the two 
races, for sometimes a Celtic suffix is found appended 
to Teutonic words. 

FORMS OF NOUNS. 

'ik a form of diminution. Arm. pot, pod,^ a pot, 
what contains or infolds ; pod-ik, a little pot ; lestr, a 
vessel, a vase; lestrik, a little vase; Ang.-Celt. patt-ick, 
a little jug (W.); Ir. pata, a vessel. Scorrick, a very 
small sum. 

^ The Arm, forms, pot, pod, shew that onr Eng. pod is only a vari- 
ant of pot, used in a special sense. We have, however, lately been 
told that the Celtic race must have borrowed the word from the 
Romans, and that the Romans must have had a word pottu or 
potum, signifying a pot ; of which classical scholars, unfortunately, 
have never heard. Professor Skeat says more wisely, because more 
truly, 8. V. pot, " this is one of the homely Celtic words*'. 



WITH MODEUN CELTIC FORMS. 91 

'Og or 'OC, a form of dim. Ir. Gael, mas, round, a 
hip ; Ir. mas-og, a little berry ; Angf.-Celt ball-ock, a 
testicle ; bitt-ock, a little bit ; mill-ock, a little mill, 
plumm-ocks, little plums ; silUock, small fry. (Ir. Gael. 
siol [sila], seed, spawn, progeny.) 

-an, -w, or --yn^ a sign of individuality or of small- 
ness. [r. Gael. ccLora^ berries ; caoraUy a single berry. 
W. hesg^ sedge ; hesgen, a single sedge or rush ;^ cist, 
a chest ; cistan, a little chest. Ang.-Celt. furgin, a 
wooden fork ; mn, a stem of ivy ; elmUy elven, a single 
elm ; porkiriy a young pig ; ratoriy a young or small rat. 

-el or -eZZ, a dim. form. (See Zeuss, 304.) W. 
porchel, a little pig ; pomdl, a little ball {pwm, pwmp, 
a round lump) ; Ang.-Celt. cockle, a little cock {cock, a 
cockle, Dev.) ; dossel, a little doss, a wisp ; paddle, a 
small spade ; messel, a little table ; (Ir. mias, an altar) ; 
with many others. 

VERBAL FORMATIVES. 

-ik or -ich. Gael, foills-ich, to reveal ; Ir. foills-igh, 
id. ; Ang.-Celt bann-ick, to beat 

'ok or 'och, -aich, -aigh. Gael. dor(^-aich, to darken; 
Ir. ceart-aigh, to regulate ; Ang.-Celt. bomm-ock, to 
beat (Corn, bom, a blow) ; bull-ock, to bully ; cramm- 
ock, to walk lamely ; mxill-ock, to curse, to revile ; 
shamm-ock, to sham, to trick ; and many others. 

-al or 'le. Manx breb, a kick ; breb-al, to kick. 
Ang.-Celt. peart-le, to revive, from peart, pert; cockle, 
to cry like a cock ; cuddle, to embrace ; the idea of fre- 
quency not being included in this class of words. 

'U in Welsh=y in Eng. W. brath, a stab ; brathu, 
to stab. A similar form is common in the south of 
England. ' Ex. clarky, to act as clerk; milky, to milk ; 
renty, to rent, etc. 

We have a remnant of a verbal conjugation in div, I 
do (Y.) ; cf. W. dysgaf, I learn ; and of W. -es, a femi- 
nine form, as brenhin-es, a queen, in mopse, mop-es 

^ Gf. Sans, vatia, a forest ; vanin, a single tree. 



92 COMPARISON OF CELTIC WORDS 

{mopse, puellula, Prom. Pai^.) ; horrocks, a dirty, 
coarse woman ; Jiaips, a slattern, etc. 

I will add, as an appendix, some words that are 
curious as corruptions of Celtic forms, the tendency- 
being invariably to substitute a known form for one 
that has become obscure, as yarrow-grass for aspara- 
gus. Thus we find All-heal, a miner's term in York- 
shire for a new place of working ; W. aU; Corn, eil, a 
second, another ; Com. wheal, whel, a work, a mine. 
Billy, a bundle of straw (Glouc.) ; W. hdyseii, a bundle 
of straw; helys, wheat-straw. Cassa-hully, winter- 
cress (S.) ; Ir. Gael, cos, twisted ; hiolar, water-cress ; 
6i7, hialy water ; the mediaeval English name of the 
plant being hillere and hilders ; W. hef'wr, cress ; 0. W. 
067', 6ir, water. Hunger-stone, a kind of quartz (Line. J ; 
Ir. Gael, unga, copper. Items, tricks, devices (Dev) ; 
W. huden, for huten, illusion, a trick. Dialogue, the 
eighth part of a sheet of paper (Line.) ; Ir. duilleog; 
Gael, duilleog, a little leaf (?). Lurhy-dish, the penny- 
royal ; W. llyrcadys. Morris, a country name for a 
sea-fish, like an eel, with a very slender body ; Ir. 
Gael muir, sea (W. mor) and easga, an eel. 

There are also many terms and phrases that are 
certainly not Teutonic, or Scandinavian, or Norman- 
French, and are, therefore, presumably Celtic. I sub- 
join a few on which the ingenuity of my readers may 
be employed with advantage. 

Chcippel-i-laa. In Fumess (Lancashire) if a boy 
pulled hazel-nuts before they were ripe, he was made to 
run the gauntlet between two rows of boys who lay down 
and kicked him as he passed between them. This 
punishment was called chappel-i-hxa (Morris's Fum. 
Gloss.) W. caffael y llach, to get the stroke (?). 

Hog-a-wee. A name given by boys in Northamp- 
tonshire to a kind of pastime, " of which the chief 
feature is kicking or gently striking" (Sternberg's 
Gloss.). W. hac, hag, a cut, and chwi, you, "cut or 
stroke at you". Cf Du cata whee, in one of Beaumont 
and Fletcher's plays for " God save you". 



WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 93 

Crocodile, a curious country name for the stems of 
Clematis Vitalba (traveller's joy). W. crwca, crooked, 
bent ; but what is dile f W. tyle, an acclivity, with the 
old sound of the y {?). 

GenyfenyCy a prostitute. 

" Syr, I beschrew all the hole (whole) sorte, 
Such genyfenyca kepeth many one lowe." 

Eye Way to the Spittel Hous, i, 68. 

W. given, a fair one ; Ir. gean^ a woman ; W.jffdnwg, a 
covered place, a covert; ffanygl, a covering, protec- 
tion (?) ; Gr. T^vrj. 

Hogminny, a depraved young girl (Dev.); Ir. oigh{ogi), 
a young female, and mann, bad, naught (?). 

Onyolbun, the name of a plant mentioned in MS. 
Bihl. R. (H). Ir. Gael, bun; W. 6ow, a stalk, a stem; 
W. oenol, belonging to a lamb ; oen, a lamb. Lamb's 
lettuce, Valeriana locusta (?). 

Thief, a young ewe (Lisle, Ohs. on Hush., 1757). 
Ir. othaisg, a sheep of a year old; Gael, othaisg, a year- 
ling ewe (?). 

We may, perhaps, explain some of our popular super- 
stitions from this source. It is commonly supposed 
that a bright spot in the wick of a candle indicates a 
coming letter. LlethHd in Welsh means a gleam, and t 
often corresponds to W. ih in Ang. -Celtic, and I to W. 
II. Now, if the final consonant vanished, the form 
would become letr, and when the meaning of the word 
had been forgotten, the word letter, still applied to the 
gleam, would denote in time a letter in the ordinary 
English sense. 

1 have offered in these pages some results of an in- 
vestigation in a field which has not hitherto been ex- 
plored, in the hope that the inquiry may be carried on 
by some more competent Celtic scholar than myself. 
Neither the Welsh nor the Irish is my native tongue, 
and the dictionaries to which I am compelled to refer 
are not always trustworthy. The study will amply 
repay the inquirer. The Anglo-Celtic element in our 



94 COMPARISON OF CELTIC WORDS 

English language enables us to map out Celtic England 
with a near approach to certainty. It will show the 
state of our Celtic forefathers in their domestic and 
social life; the intermarriage of Celtic maidens with 
the Saxon conquerors ; the influence of the Celtic ele- 
ment in the nursery, from the words connected with 
childhood; the degree of Celtic civilisation in the arts of 
medicine, of jewellery, pottery, agriculture, and mining; 
the state of the tenants of the Celtic lords of the soil, 
from the many Celtic words by which those tenures 
were denoted, and will throw some light on Celtic 
forms of religious worship. Much information, too, 
will be given on the form and position of the Celtic 
languages in the fifth and sixth centuries. From the 
words presented we may infer : — 

1. The large extent of the Celtic population, and the 
long continuance of their languages as spoken, or well- 
known, languages in England. The number presented 
in these papers, and in those on " The Celtic Element 
in the English People", is large, but it is only a por- 
tion of a collection that has been formed in the course 
of years.^ 

2. It is evident that the Celtic languages presented, 
at the time of the Saxon conquest, a more primitive 
form than in their present state. 

3. The irregularities of the English pronunciation 
may probably be referred to a blending of the Teutonic 
and Celtic races. At least, such sounds as a in hall 
and fatCy and the sound of t before a vowel, as in de- 
struction (destrucshon) are Celtic, and may have been 
derived from the Celtic race. 

4. A theory has been propounded by Windisch in 
Ktthn's Beitrdge, etc., and adopted by Prof. Rhys, that 
at some undefined period the letter p disappeared from 
the Celtic languages, and, when it appeared again, it 
was used only in foreign words, or as the representa- 

^ I shall be happy to shew this collection, which has now become 
very extensive, to any Celtic scholar who may wish to carry on this 
inquiry. 



/ 



WITH MODERN CELTIC FORMS. 95 

tion of an older k or ho. The sounds of p and h are so 
nearly allied that they might possibly be represented 
by one form, as h and v in Spanish {Habana, pro- 
nounced Havana) ; but it seems absolutely certain that 
the British Celts used words with p in the anlaut that 
were not foreign, and where p does not represent an 
older k or kv. 

5. It appears that the two great branches of the 
Celtic stock were more nearly allied in the fifth and 
sixth centuries than they are now. The county of 
Lancaster was certainly inhabited by a Cymric popula- 
tion, yet its dialect retained some Celtic words that are 
not now found in Welsh, which have been retained in 
the Irish and Gaelic. The root ber or hir, which is in 
the Welsh berwr (Ir. biolar, Ang.-Celtic billere), though 
found in some Welsh place-names, has disappeared 
from the spoken tongue. 

6. At the same period the Celtic languages, espe- 
cially in the vowel system, approached more nearly 
than at present the Sanskritic type,^ and, therefore, 
were less widely divergent from the primitive Indo- 
European or Aryan speech. 

J. Da VIES. 

^ I wish to inform any Sanskrit student who may read these 
papers, that the transliteration of Sanskrit words in them is not 
always correct. In the second Part, for example, the r in rina ought 
to be marked as the vocalic r, and t in katu as the cerebral t 



ERRATA. 

P. 14, /or blanc read blanfifc or blanc 

Pp. 17 and 1 8, /or Anglo-Saxon r€<id Anglo-Celtic. 



96 



HAFOD ADAM AND SOME ANTIQUITIES. IN 
DYFFRYN CEIRIOG, DENBIGHSHIRE. 

Hafod Adam is a farmhouse situated in the upper 
portion of the valley of the Ceiriog, where the little 
stream called Nant Caledwyn divides the range of hill 
on the northern side, about a mile below the village of 
Llanarmon. It stands in the township of Tregeiriog, a 
detached portion of the parish of Llangadwaladr, itself, 
until recent times, but a chapel of ease to the mother 
church of Llanrhaiadr in Mochnant. The Caledwyn 
brook separates the parish of Llangadwaladr from that 
of Llanarmon, and is the boundary also between the 
manors of Chirk and Mochnant. One field only belongs 
to the farm, on the Llanarmon side of the brook ; and 
this, from its name, " Megin (probably Mign) Hwyad", 
appears to have been at one time a swamp, and haimt 
of wild ducks. 

The house is small, and half the space on either floor 
is occupied by one principal room, the hall or kitchen 
below, and the guest-room above. The offices, which 
are detached, and parallel to it, are modem ; but pro- 
bably on an easier foundation, and may have been 
joined to it by a cross-building, so as to form three sides 
of a small court. The external walls are of stone, their 
base being formed of large, rude, unwrought boulders. 
These, no doubt, were originally buried in the ground ; 
but now, by the removal of the soil, they stand exposed 
on the surface, an ill compacted and by no means safe 
substructure for the weight that rests upon them. The 
interior divisions are made of strong, plain oak timbers, 
with lath and plaster filling in the interstices. The 
beams of the kitchen are fine, and deeply moulded, and 
bespeak a place of some importance in times gone by. 
Local tradition, indeed, states that it has formerly been 



HAFOD ADAM, ETC., IN DYFFRYN OEIRIOG. 97 

an old church ; and in the upper room there is still to 
be seen a fine relic of a fourteenth century roof The 
head-space between the principal and the struts is 
quatrefoiled ; the lower spaces between the struts and 
tne collar-beam being foliated, and the curved bracing 
ribs of the spandrels are well moulded, and the 
pegs by which they are bound together stand out in 
the woodwork. In the east wall were openings, which 
in the domestic period served for lights, and in the 
earlier period must have resembled the narrow loops in 
the church of Llanfechain. A small square window on 
the ground-floor also has its oak muUions deeply 
'moulded, but more in character with the domestic fea- 
tures of the kitchen than with the ecclesiastical style 
of the roof-principal. The doorway, too, has a special 
character, and though rude and primitive favours the 
ecclesiastical theory. It is formed of about five large 
stones flush with the wall, one large capstone forming 
a depressed arch. Such a doorway as may be seen walled 
up m, generally speaking, the west end of a church 
aisle, as at Abergele and Llannefydd, and appears to 
belong to a very early period of stone building. 

The ecclesiastical claim of the place is further sup- 
ported by the tradition which points to the small field 
adjoining, now known as the "Ilhewr',as the old burial- 
ground (** Yr Hen Fynwent"), and by the fact that the 
field in the adjoining parish, already alluded to, is noti- 
fied on the parish terrier of Llanarmon as enjoying a 
special modus : "For certain fields called Megin Chwiad 
two shillings are paid in lieu of tithe hay, when there 
is no corn, but otherwise nine pence." Assuming, then, 
that the tradition has reasonable grounds to rest upon, 
the questions arise, What church or ecclesiastical found- 
ation could it have been ? Can it in any way be identi- 
fied ? And if so, how is its secularisation to be ac- 
counted for ? 

In the Taxatio Ecclesiastical a.d. 1291, commonly 
called Pope Nicholas' Taxation^ we find under " Decana- 
tus de Mochnant", the mother church of Llanrhaiadr 

4th 8KB., VOL. XIII. 7 



98 HAFOD ADAM AND SOME ANTIQUITIES 

described "cum capellis suis, scilicet Langedwyn Lan- 
armaun Bettws Kadwalardyr." In Browne Willis's 
Survey of St. Asaph, 1720, and in Edwards's edition, 
ISOl, "Bettws Kadwalardyr" is made to represent two 
separate churches, viz., Llanwddyn and Llangadwaladr 
respectively. In my History of the Diocese of St, Asaph 
the two names are taken to stand for Llangadwaladr 
itself, and that for the following reasons : (1), that Llan- 
wddyn should be found ecclesiastically as well as civilly 
under the deanery of Mechain rather than Mochnant ; 
but that, (2), being, an impropriation of the Knights 
Hospitallers of Halston, it would not be included in the 
Ta^cation at all ; and (3), because one would naturally 
expect the name to be defined by some distinguishing 
appellative, as is the case in a multitude of other places 
so named, such as Bettws Leuci, Bettws Garmon, Bet- 
tws Gwerfil Goch, Bettws Caedewaun. But if the two 
names were intended to stand for two different places, 
in that case Hafod Adam has a fair claim to represent 
the " Bettws". 

It might help materially to a right solution of the 
question if we were quite certain of the derivation and 
meaning of the name. The most favoured explanations 
are the two given by Edward Lhuyd as — 1, a genial 
spot between hill and valley,^ a local description equally 
applicable to both places ; and 2, a chapelry subject to 
and deriving its name from a monastic foundation,* 
which is strictly applicable to neither case. A third 
explanation regards the name as a corruption of "Bede 
House", an oratory or place of prayer. 

The first of these is most in accord with the genius of 
Welsh topographical names ; and as far as my experi- 

^ " Bettws. Lhe canolig rhong dyfryn ac ywch mjnydh. Velhy 
y dynaid rhai, Ni a dhaethom y ronan i Bhettus, hynny yu lhe cyn- 
nes tymhoraidh. Y mae hyn yn vuy tebygol vyth nrtb osodiad ao 
agwedh y Lhannen sy meun amryu vanneu yng Nghymry yn duyn 
yr enu hunnu.'' — D. Some Welsh words omitted in Dr. Davies' 
Dictionary in Archceol. JBritt, 217. 

^ " Erilh a dhuedant y perthyne p6b Bettws i ryw vanachlog ag 
may odhiurth y gair y Lhading Abhaiis y daeth.'' {Ibid,) 



IN DYFFRYN CEIRIOG. 99 

ence goes, it is sufficiently descriptive of the situation 
of every Bettws, whatever the ultimate derivation may 
be. But it must be admitted that ecclesiastical terms 
have, for the most part, a Latin affinity. Perhaps, in- 
deed, we may take llan and hettws to be the Celtic or 
Cymric originals, which have been gradually superseded 
by the Latin equivalents, ecclesia and capella ; for I 
know of no Bettws which can be distinctly pointed out 
as a mother church in the sense that many Llans can be. 

The third would be the most appropriate explanation, 
if we were to look only to the ecclesiastical aspect of 
the matter ; and it would exactly answer the purpose 
which I conceive a Bettws in this place may have been 
intended to fulfil, viz., that of an oratory or house of 
prayer for travellers about to cross the wild Berwyn 
Mountains into the Vale of Edeimion. Still it would 
be a curious, perhaps a solitary, instance of a Saxon 
word, " bede house", being nationalised as a Welsh eccle- 
siastical name. 

Be this, however, as it may, there is, I think, suffi- 
cient probability that there was an ecclesiastical found- 
ation of some sort here ; and there is some ground for 
supposing that it was of the kind I have indicated, 
viz., a house of prayer for travellers intending to cross 
the Berwyns. The name of the field which is reputed 
to have been the old churchyard, " Y Rhewl" (Yr Heol), 
and the corresponding name of a neighbouring home- 
stead, "Pen-rhewl", both point to some well known 
road or highway ; and on the unenclosed hill allotted 
to Hafod Adam there is a spot where four such roads 
converged, or rather where two great thoroughfares 
crossed each other : the one, the famous " Sarn Sws", 
leads from Caersws, and crossing the hills near Llan- 
erfyl and Llanfihangel skirts the Berwyn from Llan- 
rhaiadr to Llanarmon, and passing on hence to Glyn- 
dyfrdwy wends onwards to 141 and Caergwrle (qu. 
Bovium), and thence to Chester (Deva). This is the 
line which the holy Garmon (S. Germanus) must have 
followed as he planted the churches that still hand 

7» 



100 HAFOD ADAM AND SOME ANTIQUITIES 

down his name in Mechain and Mochnant (Llanarmon 
Mynydd mawrV in Dyffryn Ceiriog and ISl, and when he 
crowned his mission with the great Halleluiatic victory 
at Maes Garmon, near Mold. 

The other comes from the direction of Old Oswestry, 
crosses the hills near Llechrydau, and the valley at 
Tregeiriog, and intersecting the Sam Sws, leads on over 
the wild mountain towards Llangar, and thence divides, 
in one direction towards Caergai, near Bala; and in 
another towards Penygaer, near Cerrig y Druidion. This, 
I have little doubt, was the line followed by Henry II 
when in a.d. 1165, with a vast army gathered together 
out of England, Normandy, Flanders, Anjou, Poitou, 
Aquitaine, and Scotland, he advanced from Oswestry 
with the full intention of uprooting and sweeping away 
every Welshman he should meet with, "omnium Walen- 
sium meditans excidium". His advance, however, loudly 
heralded as we know it to have been, from the de- 
mands made upon the sheriffs of the English counties 
{Itinerary of King Henry II) was not un watched by 
the Welsh. Beacon-fires from Cyrnybwch, Llechrydau, 
and Tomen y Gwyddel, flashed the course and progress 
of his march to the heights of Main and Breidden, to 
Corndon and Kerry, and were handed on from the 
peaks of the Berwyn to Cader Idris, the Arrans, and 
Snowdon. 

For a while, indeed, Henry overcame every obstacle. 
By way of precaution he "commanded the woods on 
either bank of the Ceiriog to be cut down ; and whilst 
this was being done, a body of Welshmen, without any 
orders from their leaders, fell upon his vanguard, in 
which he had posted all the flower of his army. A 
bloody action ensued. The Welsh fought bravely ; but 
Henry at last gained the pass, and came to the moun- 
tain of Berwyn." (Bridgeman, South WaleSy p. 48.) But 
by this time the Welsh had joined their forces from 
north and south and west, and there was the resolute 
will of men determined to " do or die". Along one road 
had come Owen Gwynedd and his brother Cadwaladr, 



IN DYFFRYN CEIRIOG. 101 

leading the men of North Wales ; along another the 
Lord Rhys with his hosts, advancing from the south ; 
while Owen Cyveiliog with his contingent from the 
west, and lorwerth Goch with the warriors of Mechain, 
had swelled the forces of Powys, and were joined in 
one patriotic band with those of Gwynedd and Deheu- 
barth. It was a critical opportunity; for once, at least, 
the men of Wales were united against the common foe. 
*' The Welsh hung like a dark cloud on the crest and 
sides of the Berwyn, waiting for an occasion to attack 
the King with advantage, who found it impracticable 
to approach them in the post they had taken, and was 
very uneasy in his own ; for the flying parties of the 
Welsh cut off his provisions, and his soldiers being afraid 
to stir from their camp, were soon distressed by a great 
scarcity of victuals and forage. Nay, the very elements 
appeared to feel the gravity of the crisis ; for although 
it was the middle of August, storm and tempest, wind 
and rain joined to frustrate the designs of Henry. 
Driven by the combined forces of the Welsh, and by the 
unpropitious elements, to retreat, and no longer daring 
to descend into the valley (deluged as it was by the 
unusual torrents), he kept along the hills, north of the 
Ceiriog, till he came to Crogen, near Chirk; and there, 
at the passage of Offa's Dyke, was fiercely attacked by 
the Welsh en masse, and defeated, with great loss of 
men and ammunition, at a spot still called *Adwy'r 
Beddau' (the Pass of Gravas). Henry, baflBed in his pur- 
pose, turned his steps back towards England, and in 
! lis rage blinded and castrated all the Welsh hostages 
! le could lay his hands on ; and so ended his campaign 
in much loss of men and honour." 

How far Henry actually advanced, it is, of course, 
impossible to say ; and even the site of the camp re- 
mains uncertain. From the mention of Crogen as the 
scene of the defeat, it has by some bben assumed that 
the place of that name in the Vale of Edeirnion was 
meant ; and that Caer Drewyn, above Rhagat, and 
nearly opposite Corwen, was the camp in question. But 



102 HAFOD ADAM AND SOME ANTIQUITIES 

it is expressly stated that the King formed his camp 
" in Monte Berwyn"; and there is on a hill called " Cer- 
rig Gwynion", which overhangs the Ceiriog valley (a 
little north-west of Llanarmon, and distant less than 
two mUes from the line of road towards Corwen), a re- 
markable camp which appears to answer the conditions. 
This hill of Cerrig Gwynion derives its name from the 
" white stones" in a bed of white spar which crops out 
along its ridge from east to west, which have been 
placed edgeways so as to form a sort ofchevatix defrise 
along the north and north-west faces of its summit. 
Within this stone rampart is enclosed a considerable 
level space with sloping sides, well adapted for an en- 
campment, and recalling, by its position and surround- 
ings, the fortifications on Penmaenmawr ; and what is 
very remarkable, the south-east curve of this stone 
welling is cut through by the dyke of a much later 
earthwork of oval form and great extent, but sheltered 
by the main ridge or outcrop of quartz from the pre- 
vailing north-west winds, to which the earlier fortifica- 
tion is more exposed. This I suspect to have been the 
camp constructed by Henry. The portion of the high 
road itself is marked in the Ordnance Map as " Ffordd 
y Saeson" (the Road of the Englishmen), probably in 
memory of that notable expedition. The open hill 
where the two roads intersect each other bears the 
name of "Croesau Cochion" (the red or bloody crosses, 
or crossings) ; commemorative, it may be, of some of 
those sanguinary skirmishes with which the retreating 
host of Henry were continually harassed ; and in the 
immediate neighbourhood are the remains of many 
cairns, hastily cast up, it may be assumed, over the 
bodies of the slain. 

Of these cairns, some have been exposed and levelled; 
others are only marked by a pit or trench, which eager 
fortune-hunters have dug in their vain search for 
golden treasure. One of these, near Bryndu Gate (to 
judge from the name of an adjoining boundary-stone), 
is associated with the name of Ehys Gdch (Careg Croes 



IN DYFFRTN CEIRIOG. 103 

Rhys Goch). The stones of the camedd have been 
utilised for walling; but the extent of the tumulus 
is easily seen ; and some of the cist-stones appear to be 
still in situ, but overthrown. The form of the base 
was slightly oval, about 17 yards by 14 yards at the 
widest points,east and west, north and south respectively, 
and the circumference about 43 yards. Another, about 
half a mile to the east of this, already alluded to, bears 
the name of " Tomen y Gwyddel" (the Tumulus of the 
Gael, — hodie Irishman). This appears to have been of 
earth, formed by throwing up the soil from the sur- 
rounding ditch. It has been opened and levelled. The 
diameter was about 7 yards, and the circumference 
35 yards. It would have formed a grand beacon, as from 
it could be seen, even on a hazy day, the Breidden, the 
Beacon Ring, the Kerry Hills, and Cader Idris. 

At the distance of about a mile from Croesau Coch- 
ion, a singularly beautiful spot is still pointed out at 
Pant y Llwynog, just above Camhelyg Isa, where a 
** great king" is reported by tradition to have made his 
hiding-place in ages long past. His name has not been 
handed down ; but there are two names, with either 
of which it would be appropriate to connect it, viz., 
Henry II, who would retreat this way towards Crogen, 
and Owen Glyndwr. 

Two places claim the honour of having been Glyn- 
dwr's residence, and it is almost certain that in his ear- 
lier days, before his great quarrel with the Lord Grey 
of Ruthin, he divided his time between them, — Glyn- 
dyfrdwy in the Vale of Edeimion, a little below Cor- 
wen (from which he took his name), and Sycharth in 
Cynlleth, a little to the south of Llansilin, the praises 
of which have been sung by lolo Goch, his faithful 
domestic bard. Both Camhelyg and Hafod Adam lie 
about midway between these two, and on the direct 
road which Glyndwr would naturally follow in journey- 
ing from the one to the other. Moreover, there were 
special reasons to attract him to this spot, for his 
daughter Myfanwy was married to Llewelyn ap Adda 
ap David of Camhelyg and Nanheudwy. 



104 INCISED STONES 

This Llewelyn ap Adda was of the house of Trevor in 
Llangollen, and traced his descent from the great 
founder of that sept, Tudor Trevor, Earl of Hereford ; 
and it is noteworthy that it was from the Rev. Thomas 
Trevor Trevor that Hafod Adam was bought in the last 
century by the grandfather of the present owner, who 
subsequently purchased Camhelyg also, and so again 
re-united them. For the recurrence of the name Adda 
(Adam) in the early Trevor pedigree shews pretty clearly 
that Hafod Adam (Hafod Adda) took its name from 
one or other of those members. 

D. R. T. 



NOTICE OF EARLY INCISED STONES FOUND 

IN THE CHURCH OF LLANWNDA, 

PEMBROKESHIRE. 

We are indebted to Miss Schaw Protheroe of Brynt^g, 
Goodwick, Fishguard, for a drawing and rubbing of a 
very curious incised, and ornamented gravestone which 
was found buried in the wall of the church of Llan- 
wnda, near Fishguard, in August 1881, differing from 
all the other early stones hitherto represented in the 
pages of the ArchcBologia Cambrensis, and of which the 
accompanying is a representation made from the rub- 
bing, by the camera. The portion of the stone which 
still remains is 54 inches long, and 18 inches wide, and 
is marked with a large rudely formed face surrounded 
by four parallel, incised lines forming the outline of the 
face ; above which is a St. Andrew s cross, each limb of 
which is also formed of four straight, incised lines. Below 
the face the incised lines are continued obliquely on 
each side, representing the shoulders of the figure, the 
space between the face and the shoulders forming a tri- 
angle. There is a certain irregularity in the arrange- 
ment of the lines, although the general effect appears 




IKCISED GRAVE-STONE FOUND IN CHURCH OF LLANWNDA, PEMBROKKSHIRK. 



J 



FOUND IN LLANWNDA CHURCH. 105 

at first sight to be uniform. The figured portion of the 
stone is 36 inches long. 

A very few instances only occur in the Welsh stones 
of representations of the head alone of the deceased, and 
none of these are so singularly rude as the one now 
under notice, and which I apprehend must be referred 
to the pre-Gothic, if not, indeed, the pre-Norman, period. 

The parish of Llanwnda forms part of the hundred 
of Dewisland, in the county of Pembroke, and from its 
position in the promontory of Pencaer was evidently a 
resort of the ancient British inhabitants, as indicated 
by the large number of Druidical remains scattered 
over the parish, and throughout the vicinity, some of 
which still retain the names of Llan Druidion, Fynnon 
Druidion, etc., thus rendering it especially interesting 
to the antiquarian. 

The following is a very condensed account of these 
remains, given by Lewis. Near Fynnon Druidion were 
found five flint knives ; and in the vale below is a cir- 
cular earthwork marked by a solitary, erect stone. An 
ancient town, called Trev Culhwch, is said by Lewis to 
have existed here at an early period, as evinced by the 
remains of ancient buildings which still occasionally 
obstruct the plough. A strong chain of well connected 
forts extends throughout the whole length of the parish, 
that on Garn Vawr comprising an extensive area en- 
closed by strong ramparts of uncemented stones. On 
the summit of the hill above Goodwick Pier is a rocking- 
stone weighing about five tons; beyond which are three 
remarkable cromlechs, two of which have been over- 
turned. There is another cromlech just above the vill- 
age, the table-stone of which is 15 feet long, 9 wide, 
and 2 thick. To the west of the site of the ancient 
town of Tr6v Culhwch are the remains of several other 
cromlechs of large size. 

On opening a cairn in 1826, for the purpose of 
widening a road near the sea, a brass instrument was 
found, about 9 inches long, with a circular ring at one 
end, and a flat triangle at the other, pierced with two 



106 INCISED STONES 

round holes in the neck which connected these toge- 
ther. This object was, fifty years ago, in the possession 
of D. P. Lewis, Esq., of Swansea; but of which Miss 
Protheroe has not hitherto been successful in tracing 
the present owner. No satisfactory conjecture has been 
offered as to the use to which it was applied. Near 
Tr6v Asser (said to have been the birthplace of Asser, 
the friend and biographer of Alfred the Great) is a 
tumulus surrounded by a moat, which on being opened 
was found to contain fragments of urns and other indi- 
cations of sepulture. 

In addition to the remarkable gravestone with the 
rudely incised human face, above described, Miss Pro- 
theroe has kindly furnished me with rubbings of five 
other early sculptured stones found in restoring the 
church of Llanwnda, Pembrokeshire. 

The first of these (fig. 1) must, in its entire state, 
have been a splendid slab. It is of very large size, the 
fragment (which is all that has been found) measuring 
33 inches by 20. The upper part of the cross is want- 
ing. It was evidently formed of circular, incised lines 
which in their complete form would have occupied the 
entire width of the top of the stone ; so that the two 
oblique lines seen in the middle of my drawing (which 
has been made by the camera) must have formed the 
stem to the circular head, shewing that the cross itself 
was not a Maltese one, there having probably been a 
cross incised within the circular head. The lateral Greek 
fret gives an elegant although simple finish to the de- 
sign, which is very unusual in Welsh stones. 

The three small stones (figs. 2, 3, and 4) are incised 
with simple crosses, each difierently designed. The 
cross in No. 2 is 19 inches high by 14 inches wide; that 
in No. 3 being 17 inches by 10, and having three trans- 
verse bars distinctly marked at the head of the cross, 
two being possibly intended to mark the titulus or 
inscription over the head of the Saviour ; and No. 4 
being 16 inches high and 9^ inches wide, having the 
cross plain, and inscribed within an oblong, round- 




f^t^tJ-^t 



Fig. 1. 





Fig. 2, 



Pig. 3. 



INCISSD STONES POUND IN CHURCH OF LLANWNDA, PEMBROKKSHIRR. 



FOUND IN LLANWNDA CHURCH. 



107 



headed space, and with a slightly impressed indication 
of a cross-bar where the feet of the Saviour might be 
supposed to rest ; but this is so indistinct that it may 
be only an irregularity in the surface of the stone. 





€^6' cff 



Pig. 4. 



Fig. 6. 



The ornamental fragment, No. 5, has been supposed 
to be a mason's mark ; but it appears to me to be the 
upper portion of a circular-headed cross, with the inter- 
stices between the arms of the cross ornamented with 
diagonal lines, forming a kind of tessellated pattern. 
In figure 5 I have indicated by dots what I consider to 
have been the complete design of the cross. The frag- 
ment only measures 14 inches by 10. 



Oxford. 4 Jfim. 1882. 



I. O. Westwood. 



108 



THE TOWYN INCISED SLATE. 

In the autumn of 1879 Mr. Humphrey Williams of Pl&s 
Edwards, Towyn, Merionethshire, while levelling some 
rough land about 250 yards from the sea-wall, came 
upon the remains of an old building of the existence of 
wnich he previously had no idea. Having carted away 
from it a great many loads of stones, he, at a depth of 
about 3 feet below the surface, found a broken iron pot 
or small cauldron, under which, lying flat on the groimd, 
embedded in consolidated peat-ashes, he fortunately 
noticed a piece of slate with some curious marks or 
figures scratched or engraved upon it with some pointed 
or sharp instrument. This is the object which has since 
attracted so much notice, and is known as " the Towyn 
incised Slate", and which was exhibited at the Church 
Stretton Meeting of the Cambrian Archaeological Asso- 
ciation last summer. 

In June 1880 the slate was given to me, and at Pro- 
fessor Rhys's suggestion was forwarded by me to Mr. 
J. Park Harrison, a gentleman well known for his pains- 
taking and elaborate investigations in connection with 
the Easter Island tablets, and the mysterious Cissbury 
marks upon chalk, who was at once struck with the 
ethnographic importance of the incised figures. The 
tablet was exhibited by Mr. Harrison at meetings of 
the Royal Archaeological Institute, the Society of Anti- 
quaries, and the Anthropological Institute, in the course 
of the summer of 1881; and it has since been carefully 
examined by many distinguished antiquaries, such as 
Messrs. Borlase, Franks, and A . Hartshorne, Dr. J. Evans, 
Canon Greenwell, Sir John Lubbock, General Pitt 
Rivers, Lord Talbot de Malahide, and Professor West- 
wood, all of whom agreed that the marks were not mere 
idle scratches. 

In order to ascertain the nature of the building in 



THE TOWYN INCISED SLATE. 109 

which the slate was discovered, and search for objects 
that might throw light on its history and date, I, at 
Mr. Harrison's request, early in March 1881 made some 
excavations on the spot, which resulted in the disco- 
very of a number of objects of considerable interest, all 
of which I duly reported to him. In consequence of 
these discoveries he himself came down from London a 
fortnight afterwards, and spent several days in making 
further excavations. Mr. Harrison brought to the task 
the tact and skill of a trained and experienced archaeo- 
logist, and carefully noted the most minute details. 
The result, and the conclusions which he arrived at 
after the most careful scrutiny and reflection, with re- 
gard to the slate and the other objects found, he has 
embodied in a well written Account lately published,^ 
with an autotype plate and other illustrations, from 
which, with his permission, the following particulars are 
mainly taken. 

It was ascertained that the structure referred to, 
where the slate and other objects were found, was of a 
rectangular plan, and was built of shingle and rough 
stones, the outer courses of which were set in white 
clay of excellent quality. The walls varied in thickness 
from 1 foot 6 inches to 2 feet. The length of the build- 
ing was found to be 40 feet, from east to west ; the 
width at each end, 10 feet 6 inches, but in the middle 
9 feet only. It had contained two chambers of unequal 
length, divided by a wall, the entrance being on the 
south side of the western chamber. The floor of the 
latter chamber was composed of fine peat with thin 
layers of ashes and white clay, and under this there 
was a paving of shingles, the intervals being filled with 
clay of the same description as that used in the walls. 
The floor of the eastern, and much the larger, chamber 
consisted of peat alone, trodden hard. A long bench or 

^ Descriptive Account of the Incised Slate Tablet and other Bemaivs 
lately discovered at Towyn, With Plates. Bj J. Park Harrison, M. A., 
OxoQ. London: Qaaritch. 1881. 



110 THE TOWYN INCISED SLATE. 

recess in the south wall, 16 inches above the floor, ap- 
peared to be part of the original structure. The wall 
at the back of this was narrowed to 9 inches in thick- 
ness, and outside there were two cell-like enclosures, 
the use of which was doubtful In its rectangular plan 
the structure resembles one on Holyhead Island, de- 
scribed by the Hon. W. Owen Stanley in the Journal 
of the Royal Archaeological Institute, vol. iii, p. 223, 
and attributed by him to Gaelic settlers in Romano- 
British times. 

Among the objects found in the Towyn building, 
besides the slate, were the following : forty small white 
pebbles lying together; a fragment of water- worn slate 
of oval form, witn incised marks on both faces; a bronze 
buckle ; potsherds and fragments of pot-rims of uncer- 
tain date, some with greenish glaze ; a Jacobean tobacco- 
pipe with a small bowl and thick stem; a heifer's horn; 
a slate hand-shovel ; three engraved fragments of slate 
counters; a stone muller or pounder; a small fragment 
of Roman terra-cotta ; two iron dart-heads ; several 
other iron objects much oxidised, one apparently a key; 
the corner of a stone slab with lines scored at various 
angles ; the corner of a rectangular terra-cotta dish of 
unusual form, with ornamented rim, and glazed on the 
inside face ; the lower half of a three-handled cup of 
fine paste, coated inside and out with thick, dark brown 
glaze ; a worked implement of slate ; and several peb- 
bles and round stones from the beach, probably sling- 
stones. Some bones were also found in a chamber on 
the north side of the building, several of which have 
been pronounced to be human. These objects point to 
two distinct periods of occupation of the structure, 
separated by many hundreds of years, the latter being 
comparatively modem ; while as to the date of the 
earlier period there is little to guide us except the 
figures on the slate itself. 

Mr. Harrison has devoted much labour and ingenuity 
to the task of deciphering the various figures on the 
slate, and has compared them with inscriptions given 



THE TOWYN INCISED SLATE. 



Ill 



by other archaeologists of all figures in any way resem- 
bling them; also with objects found in Irish crannoges, 
such Bs axes and articles of dress, in the Museum of 
the Irish Academy. Their striking resemblance to some 
of these relics points to the possibility of the Towyn 
building and its contents having originally belonged to 
Irish settlers or marauders. For a fuller and more ela- 
borate account of these investigations, and of the rea- 
sons which have led Mr. Harrison to the conclusions he 
has arrived at, I must, however, refer readers to his ex- 
haustive work. Those conclusions are that the figures 
on the face of the slate are most probably rude repre- 




Reverse of Slate. 



sentations, in elevation, of arms and objects of domestic 
use. The following are examples : 1, head of an iron 
battleaxe; 2, sleeveless tunic worn by the ancient Irish; 
3, chiton, ditto ; 4, three-cornered plaid or brat, ditto ; 
5, 18, and 24, urns or pots (reversed) with zigzag orna- 



112 THE TOWYN INCISED SLATE. 

ments ; 7, drinking-cup ; 8, 12, 14, and 17, hatchet- 
heads ; 9, 15, 20, and 21, baskets and other objects in 
wickerwork; 10, 11, and 13, celts; 16, cap or ban (Irish); 
22, casque or helmet ; 23, vase ; 25, hatchet (sparthe- 
shaped) ; B, scutcher or flail {suiste, Irish) ; c, club or 
sling. It should be stated that some of the above identi- 
fications were independently arrived at by Canon Green- 
well, General Pitt Rivers, Mr. Franks, and other archae- 
ologists of eminence. 

With reference to the figures on the reverse side of 
the slate, there can be little difficulty in recognising 
one of them as a human head or mask, viewed in pro- 
file. The other is supposed to represent a plan of some 
kind ; possibly of the Towyn building itself, to which, 
indeed, it bears a resemblance by no means fanciful. 

Without offering a decisive opinion as to the pur- 
poses for which the building was constructed, or why 
the figures were engraved upon the slate, Mr. Harrison 
seems to think that the structure may have been used 
originally as a tomb, and that (to quote his words) " the 
objects engraved on the tablet form a pictorial catalogue 
or funeral offering. In the latter case it would suppose 
a late period in Celtic paganism, when the old custom of 
burying objects valued by the deceased had degene- 
rated; inferior articles and miniature imitations having 
been first substituted, and then still cheaper represent- 
ations of needful articles on a tablet broken, perhaps, 
on purpose to symbolise, once for all, the operation of 
fitting the figures for another state. The main reason 
for doubt regarding the use of the Towyn structure as 
a tomb was the absence of any skeleton. The discovery 
of bones in the adjoining annex, however, to a great 
extent meets the difficulty, if difficulty it really is. The 
same objection was made to the little oval pits at Ciss- 
bury being graves, though the objects found in them 

were precisely what usually accompany interments 

The explanation of the total disappearance of human 
bones when buried in a material that admits the pass- 
age of air and water, seems now to be perfectly estab- 
lished by the explorations of Mr. Rooke Pennington in 



J 

I 

( 




I 



« '» 




THE TOWYN INCISED SLATE. 113 

a number of barrows in which no trace but black mould 
remained of interments which the objects he found 
satisfied him must, nevertheless, hav^e occurred." Again 
he says : " In adopting the view that the tablet may 
contain a funereal list of objects required by a deceased 
chief, I am merely following Sir John Lubbock and 
Mr. Tylor. If their views are correctly applied in the 
present case, the interest that attaches to the slate 
tablet is increased ; for it would be, perhaps, the latest 
instance that has been met with of the Celtic funeral 
custom of burying objects for use in another state. The 
change had been gradual from the sacrifice of the most 
valued ornaments or weapons, to that of inferior and 
even miniature articles, and the practice may here and 
there have died out in outline-representations of the 
objects required." 

With regard to the other objects found, Mr. Harrison 
remarks that " the three-handled cup styled a Ujg ap- 
pears to mark the date of a subsequent occupation". 
The same remark may also apply to several of the 
other articles, which are of undoubted modem date. 
" It was found near the west end of the small chamber, 
behind a fireplace, the dry stones of which stood upon 
several layers of peat and sand, quite 4 inches above 
the level of the original floor : a fact of much import- 
ance as indicating a partial clearance of the chamber 
after it had become filled with sand; enough being 
left, as it would appear, to cover the tablet, the small 
counters of slate, and the white pebbles, which would 
thus have escaped observation. As the stones at the 
back of the fireplace were but slightly burnt, the cham- 
ber, when re-occupied, may have been used merely as a 
temporary refuge." 

Mr. Worthington Smith, in the illustrations given 
herewith, has succeeded very well in reproducing the 
outlines and general form of the figures incised on the 
elate, — a task by no means easy of accomplishment 
owing to the rough surface of the slate, and the indis- 
tinctness of many of the lines. R. Williams. 

Newtown. 

4th S£B., vol. XXII. 8 



114 



REMARKS OK 

" THE TOWYN INCISED SLATE. 

I SAW the Towyn Slate for the first time at the Church 
Stretton Meeting of the Cambrian Archaeological Asso- 
ciation. I had previously heard of it, and had read a 
brief account of its exhibition in the pages of The Athe- 
ncBum. This account misled me, for it caused me to 
think that the Slate was not a genuine antiquity, and 
that the markings were either natural or meant nothing. 
I was, therefore, surprised when I saw the Slate, for the 
evidence was clear that the object not only was a genu- 
ine antiquity, but that the scorings on the Slate were 
reaUy rude attempts at drawing. 

By the kindness of the owner, the Slate remained in 
my possession in London for several weeks; and during 
that time I not only examined it in various lights, but 
photographed it, drew it, and engraved it, following 
with my graver every line originally scratched by the 
ancient ** artist on slate". Knowing something of archsD- 
ological subjects, and being myself an engraver (not 
on slate, — but on wood), I necessarily formed certain 
ideas of the things represented, and the mode of repre- 
sentation. By the courtesy of Mr. Park Harrison I had 
his engraved plates before me at the time; but I knew 
nothing of Mr. Harrison's views. The few lines that 
follow were, therefore, thought out before I knew any- 
thing of what Mr. Harrison had read or written. 

In comparing Mr. Harrison's outlines with the Slate 
itself, I found the engravings (in my estimation) to be 
incorrect. The main external lines were fairly accurate; 
but the internal marks and scorings (as I estimated 
them) were wrong, and gave an erroneous idea of the 
original. The scored lines on the actual Slate are what 
I should term somewhat coarse, whereas in Mr. Harri- 



ON THE TOWYN INCISED SLATE. 115 

son's plates they are extremely fine and attenuated. 
Owing to the nature of the surface of the Slate, it is 
impossible to see all the lines in any one light or posi- 
tion. To make out all the lines it is indispensably 
necessary to examine the object in four or even eight 
positions. In other words, the Slate must be gradually 
turned round for all the Unes to be clearly made out. 

The style of the engraving is very familiar to me. 
It represents the work of an individual who wished to 
score deep lines on a hard surface under difficulties. It 
is exactly the sort of thing a beginner in engraving 
would do who never had a graver in his hand before ; 
therefore, when the outlines, as at the top of 8 and 10, 
run further than the proper boundary, it is not because 
the artist so designed his lines, but because he could 
not stop his tool in time. Mr. Harrison specially refers 
to a line on the top of 21 as possibly representing a 
a cord attached to a basket; but I have not the slightest 
doubt in my own mind that it was a mere slip of the 
engraver s tool. As a beginner, my graver frequently 
slipped in the same way, made a long, thin line on the 
surface, and then stuck into the thumb of my left hand. 
I know such lines by bitter experience, ana there are 
many of them on this slate. 

A great mistake is often made by some archaeologists 
in endeavouring to attach a Tneaning to every rude 
thing they see. If a neolithic man leaves a few idle 
scratches on the side of a chalk-pit, some persons imme- 
diately term them mysterious inscriptions, and try to 
read them. As well might one of these gentlemen try 
to read the mysterious scratches made by a baby on a 
slate, or by some idle lad on the street-pavement or 
wall. It frequently happens that such things have no 
meaning, and were never meant to have any. Nothing 
is easier than to make a cross, a circle, or a wavy line. 
Some archseologists invariably see in these forms an 
early Christian sign, a relic of sun-worship, or, in the 
last, serpent-worship. A liiie must be either straight 
or crooked ; and a series of such marks need not of 

8* 



116 ON THE TOWYN INCISED SLATE. 

necessity make either a mysterious inscription, or indi- 
cate the worship of the sun or serpents. People do 
things in moments of idleness that have no meaning. 
An American will sometimes sit down and " whittle" a 
stick ; but it is not to be supposed that he is all the 
time skilfully and designedly making some carved^ 
wooden implement. When I was a young man I exhi- 
bited at the Architectural Exhibition a design for a 
new National Gallery. Out of mere wanton idleness 
and thoughtlessness f coloured a cloudy sky behind the 
building, and a flash of lightning. In the foreground 
I sketched an ox trotting by, also with no meaning 
whatever. I also sketched a group of people, all with 
umbrellas, and another group with none. Out of one 
of the windows I sketched a hanging carpet, and intro- 
duced many other minor details, — all out of sheer wil- 
fulness. To my great surprise, when the Exhibition 
was opened, one of the critics seized upon my picture 
as one of the most remarkable in the rooms. Not only 
remarkable for the quality of the " noble design", but 
demanding attention from the double meaning that 
pervaded every part of the picture. The ox was turned 
into "John Bull", the stormy sky was some political 
crisis, the lightning flash was revolutionary meetings ; 
some of the figures were the Radicals, others the Con- 
servatives ; the carpet was one thing, the weathercock 
another ; and the clever critic got up such an astound- 
ing tale that I really hardly knew whether I was my- 
self or some one else. 

Let us hope that nothing of this sort may be done 
with the Towyn Slate. The engraved figures seem to 
mean something; but however shrewd our guesses may 
be, it is quite likely the scorings may mean something 
different from what we guess. The figures 2 and 3 cer- 
tainly look like tunics ; 4 has appeared, from the first, 
to me as a skin-covered tent ; 9, 15, 20, 21, and 23, 
have appeared to me to be skins stretched out for dry- 
ing, and by no means ** wicker-baskets". The objects 
in the middle of the Slate impress me as bronze or iron 



ON THE TOWYN INCISED SLATE. 117 

celts, or possibly earthen pots ; B and c I look upon as 
phallic in their nature. 

Turning now to the scorings on the back of the Slate, 
the " wig" gives me no clear idea of anything ; and as 
for the " plan", it is possibly a mounted celt, the cutting 
edge of tne celt broken away. 

Great allowances must be made for the uncultured 
condition of the original artist, and the rudeness of his 
tools. If we could summon him from the dead, and 
ask him what he really meant by his pictures, he might 
quite possibly reply that he did not know himself, or 
that he had quite forgotten. Nothing is more common 
with beginners in drawing than to commence one ob- 
ject, — say a house, — and then, on the likeness being 
non-apparent, turning the scrawl into a ship or some 
other object. This may be the case with the Slate. 
The artist may have tried his hand at a celt in fig. 4; 
but, seeing a failure, may have manipulated it into a 
shawl or tent, or even a triangle or pot. 

The Slate, from its lithological condition, is clearly 
an antiquity, but of uncertain date. It is very interest- 
ing as bearing the rude scorings of some untutored and 
inexperienced artist, and the objects represented are, 
no doubt, things he was familiar with. 

WORTHINGTON G. SmITH. 



118 



EXTRACTS FROM OLD WILLS RELATING 
TO WALES. 

(Continued from p. 221, Vol, xi,) 

Deribighshire. — *' Eandall Wodall of the Towne of Holt in the 
CountieofDynbigL'^ Will, 1545. 27 " Pynnyng". "Sir John 
Baker, p«u«on, of Telston.^... William Wodall, sonne unto Rich- 
ard Wodall decessed... where as I have yerely a Rent owt of the 
Holt more Vt houses and pastures lying in the said Holt and 
parishe, and in the parishe of Gresford, the whiche I had by ex- 
chaunge of my brother Will'm for my Ferme in Worall...my 
cosyn Edward, my brothers sonne. . .my cousyn Paratts wife, of 
London. . .my brother Lancelott. . .cosyn Richard Coley. At Lon- 
don. Witnesse, my brother in lawe John Yeton", etc. 

" John Conw'aye, gent., being at Totenham Highcros (Middle- 
sex), at an honest mans house, and there sicke of bodie^'. Will, 
1548-9. (26, Populwell.) "To my brother David Conwaye, lying 
at the bores hedd in Westmynster, and to his heires...aU suche 
my landes. . .lying w*tin the shire of Denbight, and w^tin the 
towne of Rewe or els where w'tin the saide countie...Witnes, 
mynoste WiU'm Moris and his wyfe, Hugh ap Price my serv- 
aunte." 

1552. (12, Powell.) "Fowke Pygott,«,Merch't Tailor and Cit'n 
of London... my ferme and lease of my two mylles lying and 
beinge within the towne of Penbrocke in Southwales...I give 
my two houses with thappurtenaunces to theym belonging, ly- 
eng and being in Denbighe* in Northe Wales, to Thomas Pyg- 
gott my brother and his children'^ (remainder to testator's 

1 " 35 Henry VIII, John Barker, Clerk, and John Bostock of Bar- 
ton, recovered against William Ayre, senior, three messuages and 
fifty-two acres (including one of wood and one of marsh) in Tylstone 
and Lowcrosse. He was succeeded in 1658 by ' Joh*es Dye Cle'cus'." 
(Ormerod's Cheshire, ii, p. 697.) 

2 The Bigods, Bygodp, or Pigots, were an old and prominent 
family at Denbigh, where their memory is still handed down in the 
name of their former mansion, Plas Pigot. They derived from 
Hugh Bigod, a younger son of Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, who 
accompanied Henry II in his expedition into Wales, From him the 
Pigots of Shropshire claim descent ; and Thomas Pigott, LL.B., 
Abbot of Chertsey, Bishop of Bangor, 1500-1504, was of this family. 
(Aiicient and Modem Denbigh, pp. 189 et seq.) 

3 Plas Pigot. 



EXTRACTS FROM OLD WILLS- 119 

daughter Elizabeth). "Item... to Thomas my brother and his 
heyres. . .my landes lyinge and being in Balamenthlyne^in Northe 
Wales." Remainder as above. 

Eobert Chalner of Denbigh, 1552 (29, Powell) ''to be bur* at 
ye parishe churche of Denbigh... Dowse my wief...my sonne 
WyUiam...Wytnes by me WiUiam Bayn,* vicar of Denbigh, per 
me Eic'm Puskyn decanum AssaphenseuL^'* Agnes Chalner, 
mother to the said Bobert C. 

Will, 1556. (16, Ketchyn.) ;'Mr. John Fearewall, Clarke and 
Vicar of Camberwell in the Dioc. of Wynchester...to be buried 
in the chauncell of Camberwell before thymage of seynt GyUes. 
...I give and bequeathe unto the byldinges and reparacons of 
the churche of Weassename in Norfolke fyve shillinges...unto 
the churche of Seynt Martynes of Eayname...in Norf. fyve shil- 
linges...unto the reparacons of the churche and the chauncell of 
llanarmon in Yale foure poundes."* 

1558. (35, Noodes.) " David Jones of the par. of St Martyn 
Pomery, Citizen of London, Baker.^ My nephew, John Pryce of 
Derwen in the county of Denbighe, Esquyer...my cowsen Jef- 
frey Pryce, sonne and heir to my nephew John Pryce of Der- 
wen, Esquyer. . .my brother Sir Lewys. . .In presence of Sir Lewys 
Gethyn my ghostly father, Kichard Vaughan, John Greno, D*d 
ap Jevan, John Pers, Pers Robyns, Will'm D'd Pryce, Richard 
ap Robert, WiU'm ap Thomas.^' 

1556. (9, Ketchyn.) " Rice Uoyde alias dictus Rice ap Gruff, 
ap Dd. Uoyd of Erbistocke...Flynt, gentilman, to be bur. in 
church of K... Gryflf. ap Rice, my sisters sonne... Gwenhoyvar 
verch Gruflf., my sister... Margaret verch Rice and Anghareid 
verch Rice, my sisters doughters...John ap Rice my bastard 

^ Bala in the commote of Penllyn. 

2 Vicar, 1537-64. > Dean, 1543-56. 

* Mr. Fearewell was sinecure rector of Llanarmon, 1538-54. For 
a previous bequest to the reparation of the " roufe of this churche*', 
see Arch. Camb,, 1876, p. 227. 

^ John ap Meredjdd ap Ivan Lloyd ap 

Llewelyn Gocb==Morvydd, v. Edward ap Madog 
ap Griff. 

I \ I 

Rhys David Jones Sir Lewys 



John Prys==Gwen, v. Howe Salisbury 

Jeffrey Prys=Dorothy, v. Richard Thelwall of Plasy ward. 

{Lewis Dumrif ii, p. 351.) 



120 EXTRACTS FROM OLD WILLS 

Sonne...! give and bequeathe to thandes of Ellys ap Edward to 
make a payment (sic) from thende of Overtone brieve unto the 
hill topp towardes Wrexham warde, and betwixte the howse 
wherein Humfrey Taylour dwellithe, and the house of me the 
said Kice lloide, wher it is nedefuU to be paved, fyve markes... 
Item to amende our Lake at thende of Kaymawr, viijs. iijrf., to 
be done at the oversight of Willyam ap John William and Ho'U 
Fyvion...untd the Reparacion of Bangor bridge, xls.... towardes 
the reparacion of the churche of Erbistock, xxs/' 

1557. (9, Wrastley.) Eobert Meredethe, citizen and cloth- 
worker of London, bequeaths his tenement, etc., in Denbighshire 
to his mother Elizabeth, vergh John, for her life. Eemainder to 
his son John. 

Flintshire. — Lewys Floode or Lloyd of Will, 1543. 

(28, Spert) "To the Vicar of Whiteforth, my brother,* flfyve 
poundes sterling, a violet gown, twoo rynges of golde, my seal- 
ing rynge the one of theym, and my playne rynge the other, and 
twoo newe shirts... the said vicar and Robert my brethern en- 
joye and have my Farme and Lease of Brynneha...my said 
executours shall receyve and take upp almaner of debts and 
dueties owyng to me of any parsone or parsones, specially of 
Eobert Uphugh and Mered. Lloid, Receyrours of Denbyght." 
Witnesses are of Todington (Bedford). 

** Thomas Stacye, proctour of the Archis of Canterburie, and 
Eegister of the dioc. of Assaven.'' Will, 1552. (10, PowelL) 
" To the highe aulter of saynt faith in London, for my tythes 
necligently forgotten, and not paide, xijd. And in lyke maner 
other xijrf. to the high aulter of my parishe in Denbigh in North- 
walis...my doughter Marthey.. my sonnes Christofer and Ste- 
phyn... Christian my doughter... Item I give and bequeathe to 
my good lorde of Elye^ a ringe of gold, the value therof to be 
thirtie shillinges, and a T and a S to be graven in yt, that he 
maye were vt on his lytle finger to be a memorye to praye for 
my soule...Wife Alice S." Her will also, 1552. (Fo. 31, PoweU.) 

1551. (16, Bucke.) " Pers Mutton thelder, esquier, to be bur. 
in the parishe churche of Ruthlan...half of my goodes to my 
base children, that is to saye, John Mutton, Thomas Mutton, and 
Jane wyfe to Randulphe Bylington the yonger, and thother half 
to Margaret my wyfe... Richard Mutton my brother... Pers Mut- 
ton, base son of the said Richard... Sir Robert Conwey, vicar of 
Ruthlan." 

Will, 1558. (34, Noodes.) "John Davye^.-.to be buried in 

^ David Lloyd was vicar of Whitford, 1537-62. 

2 Thomas Goodrich, Bishop of Ely, 1534r54. 

* John ap David of Gwysaney married Jane, daughter of Thomas 



RELATING TO WALES. 121 

the mynster of Chester...! eeave and bequeath a couple of oxon 
that I bought the last yere, to the buylding of the mowld churche 
wheare I dwell. Also I bequeath a bullocke that I bought of 
the Eoide unto the mending of the high waye betwixt my house 
and the moulde... my brother Eobert ap Davy at Westmynster 
in London. . .my daughter Katherine. . .my daughter Marye. . .their 
graundefather Thomas Salisburie of the flynte...my landes in the 
parrishe of Ejdkyn. . ,of Naner. . .of Skyvoith. . .of Whatford. . .my 
heires laufully begotten of Jane Salisburye (she is living)... my 
bastard sonne WiUiam...my brother in law John ap Edwarde... 
myn uncle William ap Ed ward... my fatherelawe Thomas Salis- 
burye of the Flynt...my cousen John Davye, Constable of Har- 
den." 

Will, 1557. (1, Noodes.) " Gruffith Lloyd ap Tona, clerke, par- 
sonne of Gwayniscore,^ to be bur. in that church. Item I give 
and bequeath vij markes to buye a challice for the parrishe 
churche of Llanvorock....5ciiJ5. iiijrf. to be distributed amonge 
the poore parishioners of Llanvorock by the discreacion of Sir 
Ellice ap Hoell, Will'm Lloyd, and Meredith ap D'd ap Tona... 
...to said Sir Giles ap Hoell, vij/i. to praye for my soule...to 
Sir Fowle ap Thomas, vij/t. to praye for my"soule...to Sir Robert 
Sweteman* x& to say a trentaU for my soule. . . vj«. viijd. to be dis- 
tributed by the discreacion of Rob't app Ev'n ap Kener to the 
poore... of Relingesnoyde*...yJ5. viijrf. to poore of Melynden* by 
the discreacion of Thomas Conwaye...vjs. viijrf. to poore of De- 
sert by the discreacion of Perys ap WiUiam...vjs. viijd. to poore 
of Llanasshaph by the discreacion of Lewys ap John ap IthelL 

Will dated 22 Jan. 1556, p. 25, Feb. 1557-8. (10, Noodes.) 
" John Vachan, clerke, parsonne of Hawarden,* Flynte'', to be 
buried in that church or elsewhere. ** I doo geve and bequeathe 
XX nobles to be distributed among the poore men and poore 
women within the parishe of Ha warden... unto the right honor- 
able Edward Erie of Darby^ a cupp of silver and ^t with a 
cover... to David ap Rees ap Jevan, my scoler, all my bookes. 
Witnes, Sir Will'm Harvye, clerk, Sir Thomas Jones, clerke^',etc. 

WiU dated 25 Oct. 1557 ; proved, 15 June 1558 (29, Noodes). 
"Thomas Grufl&the of Ruthelande^ in the dioces of Saincte 

Salsbri de Leadbrook, who was third son of Sir Thomas Salusbnry 
of Llewenny, by Margaret, daughter of John Hook, Esq., of Lead- 
brook. (L. Ihminy ii, p. 321.) 

^ Gruff. Lloyd, rector of Gwannysgor, 1547-57. * V. Rhnddlan. 

' Trelyfnwyd, the old name of Newmarket. * Meliden. 

* Not given in B. Willis' or Thomas' list of rectors. 

• Patron of the living. 

7 Brother of John Gruflfith of Conway {supra). 



122 EXTRACTS FROM OLD WILLS 

Assaph...to be bur. in church there ..my brother Rouland G.... 
to my cousen William Moystin my gray horse... to warde the 
amending of the bridges uppon Euthelande mereshe, xxs....to 
Sir Robert Sweteman, vjs. viijd., to praye for my soulc.Marga- 
rete my wif...my house and chamber in Bangor, co. Carnarvon. 
. . . Witnes, Sir Rice Gruffith, Knight, Sir Robert Sweteman, preest, 
Rees ap John ap Gruff., Morgan John, Hugh ap Robert. 

Mericmetfishire, — Will, 1542. (5, Spert.) Humfrey Johns, citi- 
zein and grocer of London. "My mother Lawry Johns... my 
suster Elizabeth Madok Vaughan...to Sampson Johns, my sone, 
and to his heires for ever, all and singuler my londes and ten' tea 
...w'tin the towne of llan Tegwon w'tin the countie of Ardid- 
howe in the countie of Meroneth, and also all and sing'ler my 
other loudes and ten*tes... which late were Retherghe ap Ris, my 
uncle, lying and being in North walles, and the whiche he willed 
me by his last will and testament... Cosyn, David ap Nich'is... 
Cosyn, Rethergh ap David, esquyer ; son, William Johns ; wife, 
Ame.'^ 

1547. Roger EUys,^ Clerk, Bacheler of La we, parson of... 
Broughton in the countie of Southampton... to Ellys Wyn, my 
nevye, and Robert Floyde, my nevye, all such somes of money 
as to me is due for my porcion of Trubbrith and Yowthmoneyth,* 
parcell of the parsonage of Corwen for tharrerages of the same. 
Item I give and bequeth to my three nevyes, John ap D*d lloid, 
Thomas ap D'd Uoid, and Griffith ap D'd Uoid, all suche money 
as to me is due for my benefice of Corwyn." (Fo. 38, Alen.) 

John Morgan, vicar of Matching. Will in Commissary Court 
of Essex, 1733. Mentions his brother Edward Morgan, vicar of 
Towin, Merioneth. To be buried in chancel of Matching, on 
north side of Communion-table, with black marble stone and his 
coat of arms, a black lion rampant. 

Will, 1555. "Hughe Bostocke' of Dolgelthley, Meryoneth, 
drover, to be buried in church of Bermensham...Sir John Mut- 
ton, curat of Bremensh'm, and my gostely father." (25, More.) 

6 Dec. 1548. "Edwarde Apprice, gent.* Forasmoche as I, 
apperteyning vnto the kings maiesties warres". Leaves lands 

1 Rector of Corwen, 1637-61. 

^ Trebrys and Uwchmynydd, hodie^ Prys Ucba in Yspytty. 

s A family of this name lived at Plas Bostock, near Rnthin. Mary, 
daughter of Hugh Bostock, married Thomas Puleston of Emeral. 
(L. Dwnn, ii, p. 310.) 

* Edward ap Rhys was of Tref Brysg in Llannwchllyn, and father 
of Captain John Edwards, whose pedigree is given in L. Dumn, ii, 
p. 232. Plas Madoc bach, Aber dyfrdwy, and Tyddyn, are in the 
parish. 



RELATING TO WALES. 123 

" in Northe Walles, in the countie of Penllen, to his son John 
Apprice. Brother William Apprice, brother Thomas Apprice." 
Proved 14 May 1549. Some called "Place Madocke Bawghe", 
"Aber Tovertoye", and "Tothyne Avyllyne" (? co. Merioneth). 

29 June 1521, William Lloyd ap Morys,^ of dioc. St Asaph, 
to be buried at Llanvaur in said dioc. " Domino Thome Goz 
curato meo. . .Elene verch Davith, uxori mee. . .Gwen verch Will'm 
filie mee... omnia te'nta terras redditus et firmas regales Eliseo 
filio et heredi...Ex*ors Mag^rm Robertum ap Eys et Davith ap 
Meredith ap Howell. Hijs testibus d'no Thoma curato meo, 
David ap Meredith ap Howel ap Jev*n Says." Proved 21 May 
1522. (3,Ayloffe.) 

MorUgomeryahire, — ^Will, 1548. (5, Populwell.) " S'r Davyd 
Elis,* preeste, to be bur. in the parryshe church of Poole. . .to the 
reparacons of a certeyne bridge called Bottingtons,' twentie shil- 
linges...to the reparacons of the bridge called Telkeve the other 
twentie shillinges...to Davyd Uoyde ap Roberte* of the towne of 
pole my grave horsse... Residue... to Roberto lloyde*ap Davyd... 
Elsabethe Meyvoyde, and to Elys Myvoyde." In " Sentence" 
(1549-50) he is described as of the diocese of St. Asaph, and the 
attempt of Robert ap Edward, testator's next of Jcin, to impugn 
the wiU, is unsuccessful. 

"Ego Joh'es Waghan cl'icus primo die...Maij 1527'o. My 
bodie to be buried in saint Mary church^ yarde...unto the High 
aulter of saint Martins xijd...unto Sir Richard BurneU, curate 
of saint petirs, one of these iij thinges, that is to say, my decre- 
tall orelles, my coverlett, or my matteres...unto sir Robert Bayly 
my booke of Tully, pi8tells...unto sir Thomas Tardeley my 
book of a dieta...unto sir William Savege ijs., besides the dutie 
betwene hym and me before... unto sir Richard Addeney xxrf.... 
my brother Lewes to have and to holde the close and the tithe 

^ In the Plas yn Rhiwaedog pedigree (L. Dtmiriy ii, p. 226) we are 
told that this WiUiam Lloyd married £len, danghter of David Mere- 
dydd ap Howel of Bala, so that one of his witnesses and executors 
was his father-in-law ; the other executor was the father of Cadwaladr 
of Rhiwlas. 

^ Vicar of Welshpool. Query also rector of Llanfechain ? 

' Buttington and Kilkewydd bridges are both in the parish of 
Welsh Pool, and cross the Severn. 

^ David Lloyd (second son of) ap Robert Lloyd of Welsh Pool 
and Nantcribba, ap David Lloyd Yaughan of Marrington and Hafod- 
wen. {M(»it Coll, 1870, p. 145.) 

^ St. Mary Church : probably Llanfair in Gaedewen, t.e., New- 
town ; and in the same Deanery are Berriew and Manavon. The 
earliest rector given in Browne Willis is Richard ap Griffith, 1537. 



124 EXTRACTS FROM OLD WILLS 

ale as he was wonte to have... I bequeth and charge Edwarde ap 
Evan loyd vjs. viijd., to pay to the church of the Berrowc.unto 
the church of Manevon xxs. . .unto my brother sir Hugh Waghan, 
which is parson of saint Martins, xiij/t....John Morys, clarke of 
saint Martens... Hijs testibus, sir Owen Powle, vicar of abarow, 
Roger Addeney, John Grifi&th, and John Mores, clerke there." 
Proved 10 May 1527. (FoUo 19, " Porch.") 

WiU, 1550. (15, Coode.) WiUiam Cowper (of Thurgarton, 
Notts. ?) " To Eichard Cowp^ my sonne, my manor Uawligan,^ 
Mongumeric.Also all my maris, felies, folys & coltes remayn- 
ing in the moimtayns in Walis and in the said manor... Item my 
ferme or lease of the parsonage of llangaure in the said countie 
...to my said sonne Eichard Co wp'... Item one annuitie of lijs. 
viijd. w'ch I have yerely receyvid oute of the Treasorers ofl&ce 
of the Cowrte of Agmentacions, & grantid and going " owte of 
the landes of Uanligan aforesaid, sometyme being a priorie, and 
nowe in the Kings Ma'tie handes. 

1553-4. (26, Tashe.) "James Leche of Newtowne in Wales, 
in the countie of Mungomery, Esquier.'' All lands, etc., not 
otherwise disposed of in this will to Elizabeth his wife and 
Anne his daughter for their lives. Eemainder to Charles Price, 
his said daughter Anne's son. Lands in Haberhaves to wife and 
daughter Sage for their lives ; remainder to James, son of said 
daughter Sage. To son, Anthony Leche, interest and term of 
years in the farm of Manlogho Landylowe Singlemans. Testa- 
tor died in London. 

Shropshire. — 1555. (32, More.) '* Hughe Griffith, citizein and 
baker of London, and servaunte unto our soveraigne Ladye 
within her graces privie bakehouse... tenement... M^hiche I have 
in Denbighshere.-.be solde...and of the money comyngupon the 
sale therof...to Thomas Griffith, my sonne, twentie poundes, as 
sone as the same Thomas shall come and be of thage of xxj 
yeres...my foure brethem, David Griffith, Jeu'ne Griffith, Wil- 
lyam Griffith, and Thomas Griffith... Item where as my brother 
Jeu'ne of Thenwclauyth,* in the hundrethe of Oswestre, in the 
countie of Sallopp, dothe holde my farme there, wherof I have 
clere by yere foure poundes, I will that the same iiijM., after my 

1 The site of Llanllugan Nunnery was granted, 37 Henry VIII, 
to Sir Henry D*Arcy. The rectory or parsonage of Llanfair (Caer- 
einion) was an impropriation. Browne Willis states {Mitred Abbeys, 
ii, p. 316) that " in 1563 here remained in charge £2 : 10 : 8 in 
annuities." The last Prioress was Rose Lewis. For acconnt of 
Llanllngan Nunnery, see Mont. ColL, 1869, p. 301. 

^ Trefarclawdd is a township in the parish of Oswestry, and de- 
rives its name from Offa's Dyke, which passes through it. 



RELATING TO WALES. 125 

decease, shalbe egallie paide & devyded to and amonge my said 
two brethern, Jeu'ne G. and Willyam G., during so manye yeres 
as shalbe then to come... Alice G., my brother Jen'ns doughter, 
tenne poundes...and also my bigger fetherbed and bedsted... 
Willyam GriflBthe, my brother Thoms sonne...Anne Griffith his 
doughter...Hugh G. my godsonne,and his sonne... Margaret, my 
weifes doughter. . .Thomas Saunders, my wiefes sonne... Agnes, 
my wief...to my said brother Thomas Griffith, citizein and Mar- 
chanttallour, my gowne of browne blewe faced with foynes, my 
cote of russet velvet, my doblit of cremsen satten, and my 
frenche bonnet... to my brother Jen*ne my night gowne faced 
with ..my cote of blacke velvet, my morneng gown, and my best 
cappe of velvet... to my brother William my somer gowne 
faced with damaske, my blacke mornyng jackett, my doblet 
slevid with tawnye velvet, and my two payre of white and redd 
hosen...to the said Margaret, my wiefes doughter, the bedd and 
bedsted whiche my sonne and servaunte nowe lye on.'^ 

Humfrey Luce, citizen and letherseller of London, 1549. (40, 
Populwell.) " My brother Richard Luce, clerk, parsonne of Sal- 
lowes neynd in the countie of Salop... Kynver in the countie of 
Stafford, where I was borne... My father Humfrey Luce." His 
(testator's) daughter Elizabeth married Sir Richard Pipe, Lord 
Mayor of London, 1578. 

1554. (2, More.) " Rauflf Crosse of Whittington...to Sir John 
Price, curate of Whittington.^... Robert ap Merideth, vicar of 
Martyn Churche...sir Edmund Bagley, clerke...to Marget Shel- 
ton Jane Crosse, my sister, and to my children, Edward C, Jane 
C Thomas C, and Anne C." 

Will, 1585. (57, Brudenell.) Thomas Price of Clerkenwell, 
clerk. " My uncle vicare Price of Oswester" [deceased)? New- 
court gives name of Thomas Price, " minister or curate" (incum- 
bent) of Clerkenwell, 15 Nov. 1583, and his successor appointed 
12 Feb. 1585. 

1551. (25, Bucke.) " Thomas Tong, clerke, parsone of Myd- 
dell Salop, " to be buried, yf it shall please God that I dye in 
Myddell, in the chauncell there, above the greate stone. Item 
I will have dirge and masse in the daye of my buryall, to be 
kept as the maner and forme of holy churche hath ordeyned, 
and every prest being at dirge and masse to have viijrf. Item I 
will that myne Executours provide and bye asmoche blacke 

^ John ap Rice or Price was rector of Whittington, 1540-83 ; 
Robert ap Meredith, vicar of St. Martin's, 1540-56. 

2 John Price was rector of Whittington, supra^ 1540-83, and vicar 
of Oswestry, 1552-83 ; Chancellor of the Diocese of St. Asaph, 1559. 



126 CIRCULAR CHAPEL IN LUDLOW CASTLE. 

cotton as wyll make thirtenne gownes or cotes for poore men and 
women, and they to knyle at dirge and masse in the daye of my 
buriall, praying for my soule...S*r Thorn's Botefylde, Gierke, and 
Vicar of Nestronge...Sir Thomas Gardner, parson of Acton Bur- 
nell...Sir Will'm BucknoU, vicar of Madley...Item I give and 
bequeathe unto the making oute of the causys ende, next to the 
battelfyld, to the brooke that runnyth there, and for the mend- 
ing of the waye from thother ende of the same Cawsye next to 
HadnoUs Lane, xx«." 

Eoger Farmer of Wostemynde in the parishe of Worthen, 
Montgomerye, yoman... Eoger my sonne. . . Jeane R, Dorothy F., 
and Anne F., my 3 dau'i^s.-.Tsabell my dau'r...Sons, Wm. and 
Eobt.... Ellen, my wife, my dau* Eliz'th, Geo. Higgons wife. 
(1551-52,4, PoweU.) 

Eob. Longe,citizen and mercer of London, 1551-2. (6, Powell.) 
** My manner of Condover, Salop'^ to his wife Cicelly for life ; 
remainder to his three daughters, Mary, Martha, and Magdalen. 



ON THE CIRCULAR CHAPEL IN LUDLOW 
CASTLE. 

The chapel in Ludlow Castle appears never to have 
been examined with sufficient care, and admits of a very 
different explanation from that usually given of it. It 
is generally held to have been always a circular nave 
with either a short chancel extending only as far as the 
exposed foundations, or with a rather longer one reach- 
ing as far as the outer wall of the Castle. It is ex- 
tremely improbable that the latter was the case at the 
time when provision had to be made to resist an attack, 
for such a building would have seriously hampered the 
defenders by obstructing their way round the inner 
side of the defences; and yet there are clear indications 
of walls such as would have been required for such an 
extended building. Indications only remain ; there- 
fore their date is undeterminable. 

It seems clear that the original chapel consisted of 
the round part and the small chancel of which the 



CIRCULAR CHAPEL IN LUDLOW CASTLE. 127 

foundations are now visible. But even this chancel is 
not quite original, for Mr. Penson points out to me that 
the masonry of it belongs to a later date than that of 
the circular part. We do not, therefore, know what was 
the original chancel, and only the circular building 
belongs to the original date. Before that part was 
altered, the arcade in the interior and the Norman 
windows were uniform all round the building. The cor- 
bels now seen did not then exist ; for they are very 
irregular in date, and some of them verjr rude in charac- 
ter, and not such as any good architect would have 
put in such a place ; certainly none who built in any of 
the mediaeval styles of architecture. They were mani- 
festly inserted at a late date, very long after the erec- 
tion of the walls : indeed, it has always been a question 
what they can have supported. Vaulting is out of the 
question, for it would have rendered the upper part of 
the building quite useless, as being inaccessible, and 
the lower quite dark, from the position of the windows. 
A careful examination seems to shew that the ori- 
ginal building, a lofty circular tower, remained un- 
altered until a late period, when it ceased to be used as 
a chapel, and was divided into several apartments. At 
that time the rude corbels were put in to provide a 
support for a floor extending across the building. Two 
square-headed windows (b on the plan) were inserted 
near the ground to give light to the lower room then 
formed ; the old windows affording light to the new 
upper one : and a door (a) made to enter it on the north 
side by breaking a way through the wall, between two 
of the internal pilasters. As it was not convenient, 
from some cause, to place this doorway exactly between 
the pilasters, it was so made that its sides sloped out- 
wards, so that its western jamb started from the inner 
edge of the pilaster, but its eastern was some distance 
from the other pilaster ; thus leaving this latter quite 
free and untouched by the new work, whilst the former 
only just escaped destruction. At iiiis same date one 
of the Norman windows had its sloping sill cut away 



128 CIRCULAR CHAPEL IN LUDLOW CASTLE. 

to the level, so as much to lengthen the external open- 
ing, and a transome was placed across it at about the 
level of the new floor ; thus causing the upper part of 
the window to give light to the upper room, and the 
extension downwards to help the new square-headed 
windows in lighting the new lower room. Probably the 
chancel and its eastern extension was altered at the 
same time for new uses. 

The building was in this way rendered useful for 
domestic purposes, and its architectural character de- 
stroyed. It is not easy to see what those uses could 
have been, nor how access was obtained to the upper 
story ; but as all the new work, except the corbels, has 
disappeared^ and as they and the alterations in the 
walls alone remain to teach us, we have to be content 
with ignorance. The divisions separating the rooms 
were probably of wood, and fell away together with the 
slight modem walls when the Castle ceased to be inha- 
bited, leaving the massive Norman work remaining as 
we now see it. 

One thing is clear. At some time, probably after the 
erection of the state apartments, the old chapel was. 
desecrated, and altered so as to form additional rooms 
for domestic use ; and that after the Castle was dis- 
mantled, in the middle of the eighteenth century, the 
roofs, floors, and modern walls, fell into decay, and left 
the building as we now find it. 

After a careful study of the building, with the valu- 
able help of my friend Mr. Penson (who has kindly 
made the plan annexed), I have been able to arrive at 
the above, which is apparently the true history of the 
building. This study convinces me that very much 
remains to be discovered if similar minute examination 
were given to other parts of this magnificent Castle. 
Such a careful examination and description of it, made 
by some well qualified person who could devote much 
time and attention to it, is greatly to be desired. 

C. C. Babington. 



129 



THE PRYCES OF GUNLEY. 

This ancient family, of which we proceed to give some 
account, has been in possession of Gunley, the family 
seat, on the borders of Montgomeryshire and Shrop- 
shire, since a.d. 1450. The Pryces of Gunley are among 
the oldest of the landowning families settled in those 
counties, and a short survey of their pedigree lore may 
not be altogether devoid of interest to archaeologists. 
They count among those comparatively few remaining 
Welsh families who can clearly trace and prove a lineal 
descent from one of the Welsh kings of history. 

The task of proving this family descent has been 
made easier from the fact that the Pryces have held the 
same landed interest for fifteen successive generations, 
from the date mentioned above down to the present 
time. The descent is proved in detail by the light of 
facts stated in the Welsh THads^ in the Welsh Red 
Booh of Hergest^ in authenticated pedigrees (including 
an autograph manuscript pedigree by Lewis Dwnn), 
and in title-deeds written in black-letter type, many of 
which are preserved at Gunley. The descent and dates 
are also corroborated here and there by old parish regis- 
ters, muniments, and county records. 

The direct ancestor and founder of the Pryce family, 
Prince Gwyddno Garanhir, is known in Welsh history 
as a bard and as a powerful King of Cardigan and 
Cantre 'r Gwaelod. The large portion, we are told, 
of Prince Gwyddno Garanhir's territory, called Cantre 
'r Gwaelod, then a populous and thriving tract of 

4th sxb., vol. XIII. 9 



130 THE PRYCES OF GUNLEY. 

country, was in his reign suddenly submerged by 
the terrible and famous inundation, which has ever 
since formed the present great Cardigan Bay out of 
what had been previously a large tract of inhabited 
land. At the present date about twenty-one miles 
of the great sea-wall, which kept out the sea, may 
be discovered at low tides stretching in a direction 
across the Bay. Up to recent times, too, this Bay was 
known by its ancient name of Cantre r Gwaelod. Nor 
can there be any doubt of the fact of the great inunda- 
tion, which is amply testified to in old Welsh records. 
The flood-gates (so we are told in the Triads) had on 
one direful day been carelessly opened by Seithenyn ap 
Seiddyn Seidi, the Drunkard, Prince of Dyfed or 
South Wales, when sixteen fortified towns were sub- 
merged, each second in importance only to the fortifica- 
tions of Caerlleon on the Usk. 

These towns, with the surrounding country, were 
governed by Prince Gwyddno Garanhir in this ill- 
omened year. A bard himself, he laments, as may be 
expected, over so sad and impressive an event as the 
loss of a part of his people and demesne. The poem, 
which consists of twenty-six verses, is still extant. It 
was probably composed early in the sixth century, and 
handed down as a tradition from bard to bard. The 
copy preserved was probably committed to writing in 
the thirteenth century, and bears the orthographical 
marks of that period. The great inundation is also 
graphically described in other Welsh Triads of a rather 
later date, probably between a.d. 1318 and 1454. 

The coat of arms held by the line of Prince Gwyddno 
Garanhir is thus described by the oldest authorities: 
argent, a lion passant sable between three fleurs-de-lis, 



THE PRYCES OF GUNLEY. 131 

two and two, gules ; the lion armed and langued of the 
last. It is registered at the Heralds' College, to be 
rightfully borne, quarterly, by the Pryces of Gunley. 

Passing on from Prince Gwyddno, eight successive 
names are mentioned in direct lineal descent on the 
pedigree ; but they have no recorded interest. The 
ninth in descent is Seissyllt ap Ednowain, who married 
the Princess Trawst, daughter and heiress of Elyssau, 
second son of Anarawd, Prince of Powys, the third son 
of Khodri (or Koderick) the Great, Prince of the whole 
of Walea 

Seissyllt and Princess Trawst's son and successor, 
Einion ap Seissyllt of Mathafam, Lord of Meirionydd, 
occupies a prominent position in the family archives, as 
his name appears at the head of Lewis Dwnn^s auto- 
graph manuscript pedigree on parchment, which is pre- 
served. Lewis Dwnn, who was Deputy Somerset Herald 
of Arms between a.d. 1580 and 1609, was employed offi- 
cially during those years in obtaining evidence, and in 
collecting authentically all pedigrees of the principal 
Welsh families of that day. An autographical pedigree 
of his is, therefore, very valuable evidence on pedigree- 
lore. In a Hengwrt MS. there is a record of an in- 
quisition held at Bala in the sixth year of Henry VI, 
which states that in the time of Llywelyn ap lorwerth. 
Prince of Wales (i.e., a.d. 1215), Einion, Lord of Meiri- 
onydd, held in capite all the lands between the rivers 
Dyfi and Dulas direct from Llywelyn Vawr and Llyw- 
elyn Vychan, Princes of North Wales. 

Einion ap Seissyllt married Nesta, daughter of Madoc 
ap Cadwgan of Nannau ; and their daughter, Marged, 
was married to Thomas, son of Prince Rhodri of 
Anglesey, son of Prince Owain Gwynedd, when dis- 
sensions arose between Einion and his superior lords, 
the Princes of Meirionydd. In consequence of this 
quarrel, Einion placed himself, with his lands or lord- 
ship, under the sovereignty of the neighbouring Princes 
of Powys ; and from this date did fealty to them, in 
respect of his lands, instead of, as previously, to the 

9« 



132 THE PRYCES OF GUNLEY. 

Princes of Meirionydd. Einion's lordship henceforward 
formed part of a district named Cyveiliog, in Powys, 
and is thus specifically described in later times in an 
inquisition taken in the reign of Edward III, as well as 
in the one above named, tempore Henry VI. 

Einion ap Seissyllt was probably (partly owing t6 his 
possession of boraer-lands) a powerful adherent of the 
then Prince of Powys, Owain Cyveiliog, who was Prince 
A.D. 1130, and died in 1197; and his son and successor 
Grono, or Gronwy of Mathafarn, married Myddyfis 
{anglici Maud), a daughter of this Prince. 

Grono's eldest son, lorwerth, in turn married into a 
princely family, his wife Efa being daughter of Meredydd 
Lloyd, sixth Baron of Main, a direct Imeal descendant of 
Prince Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, one of the former Princes of 
Powys, A.D. 1064. This Prince, who is well known in 
Welsh history, was the founder of the third Royal Tribe 
of Wales, and held the sovereignty of Powys for thir- 
teen years. By his wife, a daughter of Picot de Say, 
he had a son Cadwgan, from whom are descended seve- 
ral of the principal county families of North Wales. 
Being Prince of Powys in the latter part of the eleventh 
century, in conjunction with the Princes Gruffydd ap 
Cynan of Gwynedd, and Rhys ap Tewdwr of South 
Wales, Prince Bleddyn ap Cynfyn made a search into 
the pedigrees and arms of the noble families. These 
investigations were afterwards digested by the bards, 
and put into record; and Wales was at this epoch 
divided by these Princes into five Royal Tribes, which 
were subsequently subdivided into fifteen lordships 
ruled over by fifteen peers or lords. 

But to return to the thread of the pedigree. Con- 
cerning lorwerth's eldest son Evan, and his grandson, 
also called Evan, there is nothing recorded of inte- 
rest. 

The next in succession to Evan ap Evan was Watkin, 
who married Lleiky, daughter of Dafyd ap Rhys Goch, 
Lord of Marton. Their eldest son, Hugh of Gwnle, as 
the name is spelt in the oldest documents, was living 



THE PRYCES OF GUNLEY. 133 

A.D. 1450, and was the first possessor of the Gunley 
estates, which have continued in the possession of the 
Pryces, in the direct line, ever since that date. Hugh 
of Gwnle acquired this property through his marriage 
with Margaret Lloyd, the heiress of an old Montgome- 
ryshire family, who were direct descendants of Broch- 
wae], lord of GuiJsfield, of the line of Brochwael Ysgyth- 
rog. Prince of Fowya a.d. 607. 

Margaret Lloyd's parents were David Lloyd and 
Cicely, daughter of John, son of Sir Philip Rosal, Lord 
of Rosal, son of Sir Ralph Rosal, Knt. 

Hugh's son and successor, Morys of Gwnle (or Gun- 
ley), married Agnes, daughter of John Clibri (Cleobury), 
lord of Clibri (Cleobury), a granddaughter of Sir Wil- 
liam Newton, Knt. The Cleoburys were a Montgomery- 
shire family of that date, a name since extinct. One of 
their number, John Cleobury, an Abbot of Montgomery- 
shire, is mentioned in Leland's Progress. 

An allusion to Morys of Gwnle, of some interest, 
occurs in an old marriage-settlement deed still pre- 
served, to which, with others, the names of Morys ap 
Hugh of Gwnle, and Ririd Myddleton, are subscribed 
as witnesses. The date is the fifth year of Henry VII, 
i.e.y 1489. The marriage-contract is between David 
Lloyd Vaughan, grandson of the celebrated Sir GriflSth 
Vaiighan, Knt., and Margaret Myddleton, daughter of 
John Myddleton, Esq., of Havodwen. This alliance was 
between cousins. About this time the eldest son of 
Morys, named Rhys of Gwnle, had also married a Myd- 
dleton, viz.. Ales, daughter of John Myddleton (ap 
Robert ap Philip Myddleton) and Elizabeth his wife, 
who was the daughter of Reynold, son of Sir GriflSth 
Vaughan, Knt. The Pryces, Vaughans, and Myddle- 
tons, were thus connected by marriage. 

The above named John Myddleton, an ancestor of 
the Myddletons of Chirk Castle, was in direct descent 
from Rhiryd Flaidd (Rhiryd the Wolf), Lord of Pen- 
Uyn, who lived in the twelfth century, and was the 
founder of the Myddleton family. His coat of arms is 



134 THE PRYCES OF GUNLEY. 

thus described: arg.^ on a pile vert^ three wolves' beads 
erased of the field. 

Rhys of Gwnle was succeeded by his eldest son, 
Richard Pryce (ap Rhys), Esq., of Gunley, the first of 
the family to assume the surname of Pryce ; surnames 
not having been generally adopted in Wales at an ear- 
lier period, as may be proved by abundant written evi- 
dence. Richard Pryce, who is thus a landmark in the 
family annals, as having been the earliest to bear the 
patronymic, married into a leading Montgomeryshire 
family of that date, the Typtofts. His wife was Alice, 
daughter of John de Typtoft, gent, probably a relation 
of John de T^'ptoft, Lord Typtoft and Powys, who was 
created Earl of Worcester circa 1500. 

Their eldest son and heir, Richard Pryce, Esq., of 
Gunley, who was later on High SheriflF of Mont- 
gomeryshire in 1652, appears to have taken an active 
part in the interest of Cromwell during the civil 
wars. In the border counties of Wales and in Shrop- 
shire, the country squires seem to have been arrayed, 
to a groat extent, on the side of the Parliament, 
against the King. The contest, too, being practically 
one between so called Papists and Protestants, the 
greater number of the country gentry here were appa- 
rently Parliamentarian. The following extract from 
a letter written by Mr. Richard Pryce proclaims his 
proclivities. Spelling was not an accomplishment which 
attached to good breeding in the seventeenth century 
as a rule : 

Richard Pryce to OoL Jones (afterwards the regicide) : 

<< Salop, the 27th of May 1648. 

" Sir, — My best respects to yo'r selfe Remembered, hoping in 
god of your saffe coming to london in health and safftie w'ch 
pray god Contynue to yo'r flfriends great comforte — ^heare is noe 
neues but the taking of the 50 footemen by yo'r horse, and that 
Sir John Owen is gon over vnto Camarvonshiere w'th a hundred 
horse, but I am sure this is not neues to you from better hands 
than my owne, and the taking of Chepsto Castle 



THE PRYCES OF GUNLEY. 135 

I have not else but committ you and yo'r brothers (to whom I 
desyre to be remembered) to gods blessed tuition, and will Ever 
Rest and Eemayne yo'r lo. [loving] cosin to serue 

"RiC. PRYCE. 

" To his Respectfull good ffriend Collonell Jon Jones 
this pr'sent. 
" To be left in a boxe at the signe of the Goate in Holbome." 

Mr. Richard Pryce married Jane, heiress of the Lloyds 
of Tregynon, and had five sons and two daughters. His 
eldest son, Edward Pryce, Esq., of Gunley, seems, like 
his father, to have taken an active part in the civil 
wars, and to have held a command under the Parlia- 
mentarian standard. He married a daughter, named 
Bridget, of an officer in Cromwell's army, and his name 
is mentioned in a warrant-letter from Francis Newport 
to Sir Eichard Ottley, Knt., giving a detailed list of 
leading men, on the side of the Commonwealth, to be 
apprehended under the series of vindictive legal pro- 
ceedings which were taken after the Restoration. 

Mr. Pryce left two sons, Richard Pryce, Esq., of Gun- 
ley, who died s. p., and Edward Pryce, who, according 
to an entry in the Parish Register at Chirbury Church, 
was buried on Sept. 4, 1643, and left by his wife Sina, 
only daughter and heiress of Evan ap Rhys ap Hugh, 
Esq., of Rhiwhirieth, a son, Edmund Pryce, Esq., of 
Gunley, who married, in 1696, Mary, daughter of 
J. Edwards, Esq., of Ex)rrington. His first wife having 
died, Mr. Edmund Pryce married, secondly, one of the 
Tanats (a very old-established Montgomeryshire family, 
whose name has since become extinct, but who are at 
present represented by Lord Harlech), namely, Cathe- 
rine, daughter of Edward Tanat, Esq., of Trewylan, a 
branch of the Tanats of Abertanat. Their son, Richard 
Pryce, Esq., of Trewylan, was High SheriflF of Mont- 
gomeryshire in 1728. Mr. Edmund Pryce's eldest 
son, Edward Pryce, Esq., of Gunley, was High Sheriff 
of Montgomeryshire in 1734, and having married a 
daughter of the Rev. Mr. Basset, left three sons, 
Richard Pryce, Esq., of Gunley, who was High Sheriff 



136 THE PRYCES OF GUNLEY. 

of Montgomeryshire in 1761, and died s. p. ; Edward, 
who also died s. p. ; and John Pryce of Gunley, who 
was in holy orders. The latter was Fellow of Pem- 
broke College, Oxford, and held the living of Welsh- 
pool, but was resident at Gunley, which in the days of 
pluralities was by no means an exceptional case, and 
was legally allowable, as Mr. Pryce was also chap- 
lain to a peer. He was married to a daughter of 
M. Bransby, Esq. 

The Rev. J. Pryce died circa 1803, and was succeeded 
at Gunley by his son Eichard Pryce, Esq., who was 
bom on May 10, 1772, and was High Sheriff of Mont- 
gomeryshire in 1817. 

Mr. Pryce married, on March 3rd, 1795, Eliza Con- 
stantia, daughter of the Rev. S. D'Elboeuf Edwards of 
Pentre Hall, Montgomeryshire, by his wife, Charlotte 
Mostyn, heiress of Cilcen Hall, Flintshire. 

Mrs. Pryce's mother was the only child and heiress 
of Roger Mostyn, Esq., of Cilcen HalL Her elder 
brother, Thomas Mostyn Edwards, Esq., of Pentre 
Hall, married Frances, daughter of Bell Lloyd, Esq., 
and sister of Edward Pryce Lloyd, first Lord Mostyn ; 
their only child. Miss Frances Edwards, being the last 
representative of the old family of Edwards of Pentre. 
At her death. Miss Edwards left the Cilcen property 
(to which she had succeeded) to her cousin Lly welyn 
F. Lloyd, Esq., nephew of the first Lord Mostyn. 

Mr. Richard Pryce died on October 26th, 1832, and 
was succeeded by his eldest son, Richard Henry Mostyn 
Pryce of Gunley, who was in holy orders ; the four- 
teenth possessor, in direct descent, from Hugh of Gwnle, 
who was living in 1450. The Rev. R. H. Mostyn Pryce 
married, in 1856, Eliza, only child of the late John 
Williams, Esq., of Hendydley Hall, Montgomeryshire, 
and died in 1859. His widow is lady of the manor, and 
the present owner of Gunley. 

The Rev. R H. Mostyn Pryce's younger brother, John 
Edward Harryman, late Captain of the 2nd (Queen's) 
Royal Regiment, and Colonel Commandant of the Royal 



THE PRYCES OP GUNLEY. 137 

Montgomery Rifles MUitia, bom 1818, married, June 5, 

1850, Eliza, daughter of the late Francis Burton, Esq., 
of 10, Norfolk Street, Park Lane. She died in April 

1851, leaving an only son, Edward Stisted Mostyn 
Pryce. Colonel Pryce married, secondly, July 26th, 
1862, Sarah Beatrice, daughter of General and the 
Hon. Mrs. Hamilton, daughter of the second Lord 
Castlemaine, and had two sons, Eichard and George. 
He died Oct. 4th, 1866. 

Edward S. Mostyn Pryce, Esq., Colonel Pryce's eldest 
son, the present representative of the Pryces of Gunley, 
was bom April 8, 1851, and married on August 7, 1877, 
Henrietta Mary, youngest daughter of Chanes W. Beau- 
clerk, Esq., of Winchheld House, Hants., first cousin of 
the ninth Duke of St. Albans. 

J. W. H. 



"INSPEXIMUS'^ AND CONFIRMATION OF 

THE CHARTEES OF THE ABBEY 

OF WIGMORE. 

An early Anglo-Norman account of the foundation of 
Wigmore Abbey is printed in Dugdale's Monasticon, 
tome ii, p. 213, and also in the late Mr. Thos. Wright's 
History of Ludlow^ with a translation into English. 
Dugdale also gives, from a Latin MS., a history of the 
Abbey down to the reign of Edward IV; but the char- 
ters to the Abbey are not printed in his original work, 
nor in the later editions of it. It seems, therefore, 
desirable to add them here as a further contribution 
to the history of the Abbey, a very full account of 
which, before and after its dissolution, has been given 
by the late Rev. T. Salwey in the second volume of the 
present Series of the ArchcBologia Cambrensis. 

R. W. B. 



138 CONFIRMATIOK OP THE CHARTERS 



Confirmation Holl, 3 Eenry VI IT, Part 1. 

ffenrictis Dei gratia Rex Anglie Francie et Dominus Hibernie 
omnibus ad quoa presentes litere pervenerint, Salutem. Inspex- 
imus literas patentes proavissimi patris nostii Domini Henrici 
nuper Regis Anglie septimi de confirmacione factas in hec verba 
Hcnricus Dei gratia Rex Anglie et Francie et Dominus Hibernie 
omnibus ad quos presentes fitere pervenerint Salutem Inspexi- 
mus cartani prepotentis Principis nobilis memorie Ricardi nuper 
Ducis Ehorad Comitis Marchie et Ultonie in hec verba Ricar- 
du8 Dux Ehorad Comes Marchie et Ultonie Omnibus ad quos 
presentes litere pervenerint Salutem in Domino Inspeximus 
cartam nobilis memorie domini Edmundi de Mortuo Mari Com- 
itis Marchie et Ultonie^ domini de Wiggemore et Clare et CoTiOr- 
cie^ in hec verba Edmundus de Mortuo Mari Comes Marchie et 
Ultonie Dominus de Wiggemore Clare et Conacie omnibus ad 
quos presentes litere pervenerint salutem in Domino Inspexi- 
mus cartam nobilis memorie domini Hugonis de Mortuo Mari in 
hec verba. 

Charter of Hugh de Mortimer, the Founder, 

Ego Riyo de Mortuo Mari in nomine patris et filii et spiritus 
sancti fundator Abbatie Canonicorum Regularium de Wigmore 
ob remissionem peccatorum meorum et omnium antecessorum 
meorum et propter salutem anime mee et omnium successo- 
rum meorum notum facio tarn presentibus quam futuris quas 
libertates et liberas consuetudines dedi et die dedicationis ejus- 
dem Abbatie concessi ipsis Canonicis meis de Wiggemore et 
omnibus hominibus suis et possessionibus suis quas in pre- 
senti de me et militibus meis et hominibus meis habeant in 
future per Dei gratiam de heredibus et successoribus meis habe- 
bunt concessi in prime pro me et hominibus meis quatenus ipsi 
Canonici de Wiggemore et omnes terrsD eorum habeant omnes 
libertates et liberas consuetudines in omnibus rebus quae ad me 
et heredes meos pertinent quas pure et perpetue elemosine 
habere debent et quod homines sui nullo modo cogantur sequi 
nundinas vel forias aliquot nisi sponte voluerint Et quod ipsi 
Canonici curiam suam in omnibus rebus habeant et teneant de 
hominibus suis preterquam in rebus ipsis que ponuntur et de 
jure ponere possunt hominem ad mortem nisi ipsi Canonici ali- 
quando aliter a me vel a ballivis nostris petierint homines Si 
quidam ipsorum Canonicorum si aliquando per nos vel ballivos 
nostros capiunt aliqua delicta ad nos pertinentia contra vadium 

^ Ulster. *^ Connaught. 



OP THE ABBEY OF WIGMORE. 139 

et plegium ipsorum Canonicorum vel ballivorum snorum nullo 
modo teaeant £t omnem eandem communitatem in bosco et 
piano et in omnibus locis libere et absque omni servitio et mer- 
cede habeant quam prius habebant antequam in manus dicto- 
rum Canonicorum devenerunt Ipsi Canonici communem nobis- 
cum habeant ad propria averia sua sive sint de ademptione sive 
de nutritura sua sive adquisita in bosco et piano et in omnibus 
locis ubi propria averia nostra pascunt libertatem etiam habeant 
capiendi aves et pisces ad opus suum et recia et laqueos ponendi 
in aquis et moris et lacis et in omnibus locis in partibus de 
Wiggemore preterquam vivariis et stagnis nostris de terris et 
pratis sive de boscis et pascuis et omnibus rebus suis libere faci- 
ant et disponant sicut eisdem et Abbatie sue melius et utilius 
expedire viderint Abbas et Canonici ipsius Abbatie de Wigge- 
more nee sequantur nee sequi cogantur Curiam de Halimote 
vel Hundredum in terra nostra nisi quando eisdem placuerit 
Quando vero aliquod consilium vel ab'quod judicium in aliqua 
ambiguitate in Curia nostra petunt absque omni mercede et dUa- 
cione libenter habeant Ipsi Canonici et homines sui nunquam 
pascant vel recipiant serjentarios nostros nee etiam teneantur 
nos sequi in equitatura nostra Homines sui de valle de Wigge- 
more non cogantur sequi^ clamorem patrie nee teneantur habere 
vel monstrare ballivis nostris aliqua arma sua Ipsi Canonici 
integre percipiant et pacifice habeant plenariam decimam de 
omnibus rebus que per annum nobis renovant in Parochiis suis 
et a Christianis decimari debent Dicti Canonici de Wiggemore 
et homines sui nullum tallagium vel relevium dabunt vel servi- 
cium aliquod facient propter mutacionem domini de Wiggemore 
Concessi etiam ego dictus Hugo de Mortuo Mart pro me et omni- 
bus heredibus et successoribus meis quatenus dicta Abbatia 
libera sit ab omni prehendinacione servientuum et equorum 
nostrorum et a custodia camere et omnium animalium et avium 
et ab omni onere servicio et exacione seculari. Ut autem hec 
libertates et libere consuetudines hie non nominate quas pura 
et perpetua elemosina habere debet ipsis Canonicis dictis de 
Wiggemore imperpetuum in omnibus firme sint et stabiles Et 
ne per alicuius consilii voluntatem vel per heredum meorum 
malignitatem et in aliquo infirmentur hoc scriptum sigilli mei 
impressione communitum Ego dictus Hugo de Mortuo Mari 
fundator Abbatie de Wiggemore et heredes mei post me contra 
omnes gentes dictis Canonicis de Wiggeviore semper warrantiza- 
bimus et ipsam abbatiam cum Canonicis et homines sues cum 
omnibus terris et possessionibus per me vel per heredes et suc- 
cessores meos sibi coUatis contra omnes in custu nostro defen- 

^ Hue and cry for a felon. 



140 CONFIRMATION OF THE CHABTERS 

demus et tanquam poram et perpetoam elemosinam nostram in 
omnibus acquietabimus Hiis testibus domino Boberto Folyot 
Episcopo Hereford qui dedicavit ecclesiam dicte Abbatie de 
Wiggemore, Domino Htigone de Zacy, Domino Roberto Corhett et 
Domino Roberto BouUrs qui ipsi dedicaconi interfuerunt, Eluredo 
de Cleyber, Briano de Bromptan, Simone filio eiusdem, Rogero de 
Kynleth, Willdmo fratre Domini Rugonis, iilio Domini Ad^ de 
Saltuigio, Everardo de YetUma, Rogero de Comleya, Oodfrido 
scriba, Roberto Gamerario et multis aliis. 

Confirmation (a.d. 1249), by Roger Mortimery of Thomas 
de Freme's Charter (a.d. 1244.) 

Inspeximus etiam cartam Celebris memorie Domini Rogeri de 
Mortv4) Mart filio Domini Radvlphi de Mortuo Mari progenitores 
nostri in hec verba Universis Christi fidelibus presens scriptum 
visuris vel audituris Rogerus de MortiLO Mari filius Radtdphi de 
Mortuo Mari salutem in Domino Noverit universitas vestra 
nos inspexisse cartam Thome de Fra^xino^ quondam Domini de 
Prestemede in hec verba Sciant presentes et futuri quod ego 
ThoTfuis de Fraxino concessi et dedi et hac presenti carta mea 
sigilli mei impressione munita confirmavi Ecclesie Sancti Jacobi 
de Wigmore et Canonicis ibidem Deo servientibus pro salute 
anime mee et omnium parentum meorum et pro quodam equo 
precii decern marcarum argenti quam iidem Canonici mihi dede- 
nint pre manibus totam iUam terram quam habui in dominico 
inter Katteswayam et terram Thome Presbiter que vocatur Brink- 
furlond et terram WUlelmi de Frojsd'iw in longitudine et inter 
parvum scichetum sub Kidecrofta quod vocatur parva Saverina 
et arduam viam que est inter Prestemede et le Cunibam undo 
decem sailliones tangunt ad eandem viam Habendum et tenen- 
dum dictis Canonicis in liberam et puram elemosinam de me et 
heredibus meis cum tota vestura et cum omnibus pertinentibus 
suis cum libera comuna et cum libera pastura per totum nos- 
tnmi de Prestmede in excepcione absque manifesto detrimento 
satorum et pratorum Volo etiam concede et confirmo pro me 
et heredibus meis quod omnes homines quos dicti Canonici 
habent vel habere poterunt processu temporis infra tenementum 
de Prestemede cum pertinentibus habeant pacifice et libere sine 
aliqua exaccone omnium aisiamenta per totum idem tenemen- 
tum que antiquitus tempore domini Thorae de Fraxino avi mei 

^ Thomas de Fresne held evidently by subinfeudation of Roger 
de Mortimer, whose confirmation as lord of the fee was necessary. 
Prestemede, after various corraptions, as Presthemedoi Presthend, 
Presthemped, is now Presteign. 



OF THE ABBEY OF WIOMORE. 141 

habere solebant in omnibus rebus et in omnibus locis Item 
homines dictorum Canonicorum quos habent vel habebunt infra 
dominium meum et heredum meorum nunquam citabuntur nee 
compellantur venire ad curiam meam vel ad curiam heredum 
meorum pro aliqua causa vel quocunque. delicto sed omnia pla- 
cita majora et minora que de hominibus eorum poterunt evenire 
tractabuntur et terminabuntur in curia ipsorum Canonicorum 
apud PrestToede sine aliqua contradiccione Ita tamen quod Ego 
dictus Thomas et heredes mei quando fuerimus ab eisdem Cano- 
nicis amicabiliter requisiti cum ipsis vel ballivis eorum sedebi- 
mus in eorum curia judicaturi majora placita que ad nos ratione 
solebant pertinere scilicet de comu et clamore levato^ de san- 
guine effuso et huiusmodi placitis ubi felonia evitari poterit et 
de finibus forsitan factis pro talibus criminibus tertiam partem 
habebimus de finibus antefactis et pro minoribus culpis nihil 
habituri Et ego dictus Thomas et heredes mei pro dicta porti- 
one placitarum custodiemus omnes illos qui fuerant incarcerandi 
de hominibus suis in mea prisona tanquam in communi carcere 
apud Prestmede in castello* nostro quamdiu illis placuerit et 
cum ipsi voluerint eos adducemus et in curia eorum ipsos pre- 
sentabimus Et ego dictus Thomas et heredes mei totam dictam 
terram cum pertinentibus ubicunque sita fuerint infra dictos 
terminos cum omnibus predictis Ubertatibus et cum omnibus 
dignitatibus et privilegiis que dominus feodi poterit concedere 
dare et confirmare alicui dicte Ecclesie Sancti Jacobi de Wigge- 
m.ore et Canonicis memoratis contra omnes homines et feminas 
in perpetuum warantizabimus et versus dominum Segem et capi- 
talem dominum ab omni servitio seculari acquietabimus de do- 
minico nostro apud Prestemede et apud curiam Datum anno 
gratie millesimo ducentesimo quadragesimo quarto kalendis 
Aprilis apud Prestemede Hiis testibus domino Briano de Bromp- 
ton? domino Johanne de Lyngayiu,* Pagano de JEssis,^ JoJianne 
de la Comhe^Rogero et Ada de Pedwardeyni^ Ricardo de Lecton^ 
Ricardo de Turlegh, Tfioma de Turpleton^ Rogero de la ffay, 
Wtllelmo de la Rode? Henrico filio Jorford, WUlelmo de Gfrase- 
lake, WUlelmo de Fraxino et aliis Nos igitur omnes donationes 
concessiones et libertates prescriptas ratas et gratas habentes 

^ Hue and cry ; blowing a born and oafccry. 
' The wooded knoll called " The Warden" is probably the site of 
the castle. 

* Now Brampton Brian. * Lin gen. 
^ jEaces, gen. of cbsc, an ash tree. Ashley, near Presteign. 

• Combe in the parish of Presteign. 
^ In the neighbourhood of Wigmore. 
^ Bodd in the parish of Presteign. 



142 CONFIRMATION OF THE CHARTERS 

pro nobis et heredibus nostris predicte Ecclesie et Canonicis ibi- 
dem Deo servientibus concedimus et confirmamus imperpetuum 
Pro hac autem concessione et confirmatione dederunt nobis 
dicti Canonici duodecim marcas argenti Ut autem nostra con- 
cessio et confirmatio finnitatis robur optineat imperpetuum 
sigilli mei impressione roboramus Hiis testibus domino Heii- 
rico de Mortice Mart, domino Briano de Brampton, dominus Jo- 
hanna de LyngaynCy domino Willdmo de Mortuo Marl, Pagano 
de Essis, Johanne de Oumba, WUlelmo de la Bode, Badulpho de 
Brestemede clerico et aliis Datum apud Ernewode ad purificati- 
onem beate Marie Virginis anno Domini millesimo ducentesimo 
quadragesimo nono Nos autem omnes donaciones concessiones 
confirmaciones et libertates predictas et omnia et singula in eis- 
dem contenta rata habentes et grata ea pro nobis et heredibus 
nostris eidem Ecclesie Sancti JacoM de Wiggemoi'e Abbati et 
Canonicis ibidem Deo servientibus ratificamus concedimus et con- 
finnamus per presentes prout carte predicte racionabiliter test- 
antur licet iidem Abbas et Canonici aut predecessores sui predic- 
tis donacionibus concessionibus confirmacionibus et libertatibus 
aut aliis quibuscumque in predictis contentis hactenus usi non 
fuerunt In cuius rei testimonium presentibus sigillum nostrum 
apponi fecimus Datum apud Wiggemore undecimo die mensis 
Marcij anno regni Eegis Ricardi secundi post conquestum tercio 
Nos autem donaciones confirmaciones et libertates predictas et 
omnia et singula in eisdemcartis contenta rata habentes et grata 
ea pro nobis et heredibus nostris eidem Ecclesie Sancti t/ixce^i de 
Wiggemore Abbati et Canonicis ibidem Deo seruientibus ratifi- 
camus et confirmamus et concedimus per presentes prout carte 
predicte racionabiliter testantur licet ijdem Abbas et Canonici 
aut predecessores sui predictis donacionibus concessionibus con- 
firmacionibus et libertatibus aut aliis quibuscumque in predictis 
cartis contentis hactenus usi non fuerunt Et insuper de uberi- 
ori gratia nostra pro melioracione Abbatie nostre predicte et 
securitate Abbatis et Conventus eiusdem nee ipsi aut succes- 
sores sui vel eorum tenentes residentes sui et alij residentes qui- 
cumque aut servientes sui temporibus futuris super illis liberta- 
tibus pretextu ambiguitatis aliquorum verborum obscurorum 
decetero impediantur inquietentur vel graventur dictas liberta- 
tes declarare plenius volentes concedimus pro nobis heredibus et 
successoribus nostris et hac carta nostra confirmamus prefatis 
Abbati et Conventui quod ipsi Abbas et Conventus et successo- 
res sui habeant et teneant imperpetuum omnes et singulas dona- 
ciones concessiones confirmaciones libertates firanchesias ac alia 
proficua sive commoditates et alia hereditamenta supra scripta 
quecumque et eorum singulis plene gaudeant et utantur Et ubi 



OF THE ABBBY OF WIOMOBE. 143 

predictus Hugo per cartam predictam concessit quod predict! 
canonici curiam suani in omnibus rebus haberent et tenerent 
Nos vero eciam concedimus eisdem Abbati et Conventui quod 
ipsi curiam suam et visum franciplegie et quicquid ad visum 
franciplegie sive regalem potestatem pertinet quantum nos ibi- 
dem habemus aut concedere possumus habeant et teneant de 
hominibus tenentibus et residentibus et servientibus suis per 
totum dominium de Wiggefnwre Videlicet in Abbabia predicta 
et in omnibus dominiis terris suis infra terras suas Aceciam in 
omnibus dominiis maneriis et tenementis suis que iam possident 
sive de jure possidere deberent in viUis de Lentwardyn' KyntorC 
WUton* TurpUton' Marlowe Wiggemore Yettov! inferiori Atfor- 
ton' Stanwey PeytorC LettorC Neivton* Walford* Adlacton' et Cokes- 
hcdle infra dominium nostrum de Wiggemore predicta Aceciam 
in dominio de Shobdon' in comitatu Hereford! necnon de domi- 
niis de Chxiyneham Cleohwry et Walton' in comitatu Salop' ex- 
ceptis in rebus ipsis que ponunt vel de jure ponere possunt 
bominem ad mortem nisi iidem Abbas et Conventus aliter a nobis 
vel ballivis nostris pecierunt unacum fugacione omnium anima- 
liorum et catallorum quolibet tercio anno in quibusdam commu- 
nis vocatis le Cleo infra comitatum Salop predictum quequedam 
fugacio prefatis Abbati et Canonicis ut in jure Dominii sui de 
Caynham predicti pertinet et pertinere debet Et quod iidem 
Abbas et Conventus et successores sui habeant et exerceant im- 
perpetuam communam pasture in dicta carta contentam tam in 
parcis nostris quam in boscis moris et aliis locis ubi averia nos- 
tra vel heredes nostrorum firmariorum aut aliorum occupatorum 
nostrorum ibidem pro tempore existente vel pasci consuevere 
aut debent simul cum libertate [capiendi] aves et pisces in forma 
eadem in carta contenta tociens et quociens eisdem Abbati et 
Conventui placuerit tam infra Warennam nostram et heredes 
nostrorum quam extra Nos eciam stricte illorum Canonicorum 
habitacionem tam propter abundanciam aquarum paludum 
quam propter parcitatem et penuriam pasturarum considerantes 
concedimus prefatis Abbati et Conventui et successoribus suis 
omnia terras prata pascua et pastures lacus clausura et moras 
sua infra et per totum dominium nostrum de Wiggemore predic- 
tum separalia imperpetuum et ab omni communione sequestrata 
et exonerata Habendum et tenendum eisdem et successoribus 
suis in separalitate erga nos et heredes nostros et alios quoscum- 
que imperpetuum Quodque ipsi Abbas et Conventus et succes- 
sores sui imperpetuum exonerentur de secta Hundredi et ffali- 
mote ratione tenure sue alicujus possessionis . quam habent ex 
dono nostro vel anteoessorum nostronim quam aliorum quorum- 
cumque necnon chyrainagio vel cariagio cum carectis aut plans- 



144 CONFIBMATION OF THE CHARTERS 

tris eorundem Abbatis et Conventus et hominum tenendum 
residencium et servientium suorum Et quod iidem Abbas et 
Conventus homines tenentes residentes et serWentes sui nullum 
tallagium relevium prestacionem subsidium aut donum aliquod 
nobis vel heredibus aut assignis nostris reddent aut facient 
propter mutacionem vel successionem dominii nostri de Wigge- 
more pro aliquibus terris et tenementis que habent ex dono nos- 
tro vel antecessorum nostrorum aut aliorum quorumcumque 
Necnon quod iidem Abbas et Conventus homines tenentes resi- 
dentes et servientes sui liberi sint et quieti de quocunque theo- 
lonio Anglicano vel Wallico infra dominia nostra de Knighton 
et Melenith et omnia alia dominia nostra tam in Anglia quam in 
Wallia Volumus eciam et firmiter precipimus per presentes 
[ac] eidem Abbati concedimus quod nullus Justiciarius Senes- 
callus Vicecomes Escaetor Ballivus prepositus seriantus aut offi- 
ciarius vel Ministri nostri heredes vel successorum nostrorum 
dictam Abbatiam et septa sive precinctum eiusdem autecclesiam 
et beneficia ecclesiastica seu villas terras tenementa boscos 
dominia feoda et possessiones que nunc Abbas et Conventus 
habeant vel successores sint habituri ingredeantur ad aliquod 
ibidem faciendum sive exercendum quod ad officium suum per- 
tinet quovismodo contra libertates suas sub pena decem libra- 
rum quarum medietatem ad opus nostrum et heredum nostrorum 
levari et retineri et aliam medietatem prout nobis heredibus et 
successoribus nostris prefatis Abbati et Conventui et eorum suc- 
cessoribus levari volumus et eorum usibus applicari absque deli- 
beracione seu manucapcione sine pleno assensu et spontanea 
voluntate ipsorum Abbatis et Conventus et successorum suorum 
et execucio inde fiat per baUivos suos sive Ministros nostros et 
per ballivos et Ministros heredum et successorum nostrorum 
tociens quociens casus predictus evenerit tam de corporibus 
eorum sic delinquenciimi quam de bonis et catallis suis irreple- 
gialibus Volumus eciam et concedimus pro nobis heredibus et 
successoribus nostris quod licet dictus Abbas et Conventus et 
eorum successores libertatibus immunitatibus privilegiis et qui- 
eteuiciis predictis seu eorum aliquo infuturo per vices aliquas ob 
necligenciam aut ex casu aliquo emergenti abusi fuerint vel non 
usi Ipsi tamen Abbas et Conventus et eorum successores prop- 
ter hoc super usum libertatum immunitatuum privilegiorum et 
quietancium predictorum vel eorum alicujus tociens sibi viderint 
expedire non impediantur impetantur occasionentur in aliquo seu 
graventur dictumque Monasterium Abbatem et Conventum eius- 
dem loci et successores suos ac homines tenentes residentes ac 
alios residentes et servientes in omnibus terris dominiis feodis 
et possessionibus suis Necnon terras boscos dominia feoda pos- 



OF THE ABBEY OF WIGMORE. 145 

sessiones libertates franchesias jurisdicciones privilegia ac bona 
ac catalla sua ubicumque existentes in nostram protectionem 
suscepimus specialeni Et ulterius inspeximus qiiandam cartam 
confirmationis pnecarissimi predecessoris nostri Edwardi nuper 
Eegis Anglie quarti eisdem Abbati et Coniientiii et successoribus 
suis in forma predicta eis concessam Nos autem literas omnes 
donaciones concessiones confirmaciones et libertates predictas et 
omnia et singula in eisdem cartis contenta rata habentes et grata 
ea pro nobis et heredibus nostris eidem Ecclesie Sancti Jacohi 
de Wiggeniore Abbati et Canonicis ibidem Deo servientibus rati- 
ficamus concedimus et confirmamus per presentes prout carte 
predicte racionabiliter testantur licet iidem Abbas et Canonici 
aut predecessores sui predictis donacionibus concessionibus con- 
firmacionibus et libertatibus aut aliis quibuscumque in predictis 
cartis contentis actenus usi non fuerunt Et ulterius de pleniore 
gratia nostra pardonavimus et relaxavimus pro nobis heredibus 
et successoribus nastris eisdem Abbati et Conventui et successo- 
ribus suis omnimodo donaciones alienaciones et perquisiciones 
per ipsos de terris et tenementis de nobis vel progenitoribus 
nostris seu de aliquo alio in capite tentis Aceciam donacio- 
nes alienaciones et perquisiciones ad manum mortuam factos et 
habitos absque licencia nostra necnon omnimodo intrusiones et 
ingressus per ipsos factos in eisdem Quare volumus et conce- 
dimus pro nobis heredibus et successoribus nostris et hac pre- 
senti carta nostra confirmamus prefatis Abbati et Conventui et 
successoribus suis quod ipsi Abbas et Conventus et successores 
sui imperpetuum habeant et teneant omnia terras et tenementa 
dominia feoda et possessiones sua que jam habent vel sint habi- 
turi et in puram et perpetuam elemosinam libere bene et in pace 
cum omnimodis donacionibus libertatibus immunitatibus privi- 
legiis et quietanciis predictis In cuius rei testimonium has lite- 
ras nostras patentes fieri fecimus Datum vicesimo quarto die 
Mail Anno regni nostri primo Nos autem literas cartas dona- 
ciones concessiones et libertates predictas et omnia et singula in 
eisdem contenta rata habentes et grata ea pro nobis et heredibus 
nostris quantum in nobis acceptamus et approbamus ac dilectis 
in Christo nunc Abbati Ecclesie Sancti Jacobi de Wiggentore et 
Canonicis ibidem servientibus et eorum successoribus imperpe- 
tuum ratificamus et confirmamus prout carte et litere predicte 
racionabiliter in se testantur In cujus rei &c. Teste Rege apud 
Westmonasterium secundo die JuniL 

Pro dimidio marca soluto in Hanaperio. 
The following extracts from the Taxation of Pope 

4TU BEB., vol. XIII. 10 



146 CONFIRMATTOK OF THE CHARTERS 

Nicholas shew what were the possessions of the Abbey 
in the thirteenth century. 



HEEEPOED DIOC. 










Taxatio Deeanatu* Leominster. 










TubUo 


Dec'ma 


Porcio canonicorum de Wyggemor apud 


£ s. 


d. 


£ s. 


d. 


Orleton ..... 


2 





4 





Ecclesia de Burleye 


5 6 


8 


10 


8 


Porcio vicarii in eadem non valet 


4 









Ecclesia de Wyggemore cum capella 


8 13 


4 


17 


4 


Vicarius ejusdem 


4 6 


8 


8 


8 


Ecclesia de Ailmondestre (Ayiuestrey) 










cum capella .... 


10 13 


4 


1 1 


4 


Porcio vicarii in eadem . 


5 6 


8 


10 


8 


Ecclesia de Sobbedon (Shobdon) 


8 





16 





Porcio vicarii in eadem non valet 


4 









Ecclesia de Presthemed (Presteign) cum 










capella .... 


17 6 


8 


1 14 


8 


Porcio vicarii in eadem . 


8 





16 





Ecclesia de Buton (Byton) 


5 





10 





Ecclesia de Stanton 


6 13 


4 


13 


4 


Porcio vicaiii non valet . 


4 









Taxatio Deeanatu* WMeUy. 








Ecclesia de Bredewardin 


8 





16 





Porcio vicarii in eadem non valet 


4 
LOP. 









AECHIDIAC0NATU8 SA 




Abibat de Wygemore. 











Habet apud Abbatiam de Wyggemore qua- 
tuoT carucatas terre arabilis Item apud 
Sobbedon habet quatuor carucatas terre 
arabilis Item apud Kayham (Cayn- 
ham) et Swytton (Snitton) habet qua- 
tuor carucatas terre arabilis Item ha- 
bet in omnibus maneriis 48 vaccas octo 
jiimenta sexcentum et quadraginta bi- 
dentes qui terre et exitus animalium in 
universe taxantur ad . . . 20 

Item habet de prato apud Abbatiam pre- 

dictam quod valet per annum 2 



OF THE ABBEY OF WIGMORB. 147 

Et de molendino ibidem praeter propriam 

molturam .... 
Item habet apud Sobbedon de redditu as- 
sise per annum 
Et pro marla vendita in eodem manerio 
Et de pastura venali ibidem 
Et de pannagio porcorum ibidem 
Et de molendino ibidem 
Et de placitis et perquisitis ibidem 
Et de operacionibus custumariis ibidem 

per ann. .... 

Idem habet apud Kayham et Swytton 

de redditu .... 
Et de molendino ibidem . 
Et de placitis et perquisitis 
Et de minora carbonum ibidem . 
Idem habet de redditu assise in vaUe de 

Wyggemore .... 
Et de molendino de Leyntwardyn 
Idem habet apud Prestemede dimidiimi 

carucate terre et valet per annum 
Et de redditu assise ibidem 
Et de molendino ibidem . 
Et de placitis et perquisitis ibidem 
Idem habet apud Aylmondestre dimidium 

carucate terre et valet per annum 
Et de redditu assise ibidem 
Idem habet apud Bredewardin de redditu 

assise . . . . . 1 10 

Idem habet apud Cheolton (Choulton) et 

Eton de redditu assise cum molendino 

ibidem . . . .200 

Idem habet apud Kynlet unam carucatam 

terre et valet per annum . . 13 4 

Et de redditu assise ibidem . . 13 4 

Idem habet apud Walton de redditu assise 3 3 9^ 
Et de redditu ibidem pertinente ad ves- 

turam . . . . . 1 6 ' 8 

Idem habet apud Nene (Neen Savage) de 

redditu assise cum molendino ibidem . 1 16 4 
Simul cum octo acras terre que tax- 
antur in summa predicta 
Idem habet apud Westwode de redditu 

assise . . . . . 10 

Idem habet apud Momele dimidium vir- 

gate terre que valet per annum .050 

10* 



Tazatlo Dwlms 
£ s. d. £ 8. d. 
10 


22 14 
6 
3 

3 

1 18 
13 



8 



4 


6 


8 


16 
1 10 
13 
5 




4 



7 
4 






15 

1 10 
1 
6 





8 


15 

1 10 







148 COKFIEMATION OF THE CHARTERS 

Taxatio Decima 

Idem habet apud Billebure de redditu £ s. d, £ $, d, 

assise . . . . . 13 4 

Idem habet apud Lodelawe (Ludlow) de 

redditu . . . . 12 

Idem habet apud Colkeshale unam caruca- 

tam terre que valet per annum . 10 

Et de prato ibidem quod valet . .040 

Item apud La Neuton unam carucatam 

terre que valet per ann. . . . 10 

Item habet de finibus terrarum per omnia 

maneria sua in omnibus annis .500 

Et de operacionibus custumariis de Kayn- 

hamet Walton . 10 8 

Item habet apud Assiston (Aston) de red- 
ditu assise . . . .030 
Item in parochia de Chinguford (Clungun- 

ford) de redditu assise . .10 

Item habet apud La Boure in Boreford 

(Burford) de redditu . . 18 

Item habet de pannagio porcorum apud 

Leyntwardin . . . .068 

Item habet in parochia de Greota (Grete) 

de redditu assise . . . 19 

Item habet in villa de Moeles (Meole 

Brace) de redditu assise 

Sumraa 
Decima 

Prior de Rothelinghop {Ratlinghope) que est Cella de Wyggemore, 

Habet apud Eothlinghop unam carucatam 

terre valet per annum 
Et de redditu assise ibidem 
Et de pratis ibidem cum pastura 
Et de finibus terrarum et perquisitis 
Et de uno molendino ibidem 

Summa £3 2 
Decima 6 2^ 

Decanatus de Bure/ord, 

Ecclesia de Hopton Wafre portio Abbatis 

deWyggemore . . .068008 

Ecclesia Clebury Mortymer . . 10 10 

Ecclesia de Momele . . . 5 10 

Porcio vicarii in eadem non valet .400 

Ecclesia de Nene Solers . .800 16 



. 


5 





£107 


19 


OJ 


. 10 15 


Hi 


it Cella dt 


'Wys 


. 


10 





. 1 


6 


8 


. 


6 


8 


. 


8 


8 


. 


10 






4 8 


10 






13 6 
)ne. 


8 


1 6 


8 


13 


4 


1 


4 


10 





1 





4 









2 13 


4 


5 


4 


10 





1 





4 









6 13 


4 


13 


4 


4 










OP THE ABBEY OF WIGMORE. 149 

Tazstio Decixna 

Porcio Abbatis de Wyggemore in eadem £0 3 3 J 
Postea Prior et Conventus de Wygeraore 

adquisiverunt istam ecclesiam de. Ljm- 

drugge in proprios usus et eonstitue- 

rint vicarium in eadem cujua porcio 

valet anniiatim 
Ecclesia de Lyndnigge . 

Decanatus de Stottesdone, 

Porcio Abbatia de Wygemore in ecclesia 

de Stottesdon ... 

Ecclesia de Cheylmarsh (Chelmarsh) . 
Porcio vicarii in eadem non valet 
Ecclesia de Hugleye (Hughley) 
Ecclesia de Kynlech (Kynlet) . 
Porcio vicarii in eadem non valet 
Ecclesia de Nene Savage 
Porcio vicarii in eadem non valet 
Porcio Abbatis de Wygemore in ecclesia 

de Chetynton (Chetton) . . 10 1 

Decanaiua de Lodelawe. 
Ecclesia de Kayham . .368068 

Porcio vicarii in eadem non valet .400 

Decanatus de Pmieshury. 

Ecclesia de Molebracy (Meole Brace) . 12 14 
Porcio vicarii in eadem . .500 10 

Decanatus de Clone, 
Ecclesia de Lydebury . . . 13 6 8 1 6 8 

Porcio vicarii in eadem . . 4 13 4 9 4 

Ecclesia de BokenhuU (Buckenell) .568 10 8 
Porcio vicarii non valet . .400 

Ecclesia de Castro Episcopi (Bishop's 

Castle) . . . . 8 16 

Porcio vicarii in eadem . . 4 13 4 9 4 

Ecclesia de Leynchwardyn cum capellis 

de Boryton et Dunton . . 20 2 

Porcio vicarii in eadem . . 4 13 4 9 4 

Porcio vicarii capella de Boryton (Bur- 

rington) non valet . . .400 

Porcio vicarii de Donnton non valet .400 
Porcio vicarii de Dounton non valet .400 
Porcio vicarii de Wygemore in ecclesia 

deAssiston . . . 6 7J 



150 



PATENT ROLLS, RICHARD III. 

Granty for Lift^ to William Stanley, one of the KnighU of the King's 
Body^ of the Office of Chief Justice of North Wales, 

Bex omnibus ad quos &c. salutem. Sciatis quod de gratia 
nostra speciali ac pro bono et fideli servicio nobis per dilectum 
et fidelem nostrum Williebnum Stanley militem pro corpore 
nostro ante bee tempora impenso et impendendo constituimus 
ipsum Willielmum Capitalem Justic' nostrum North Wallie ac 
eidem Williehno ofl&cium Capitalis Justic' nostri North Wall' 
damns et concedimus per presentes habendum occupandum et 
exercendum officium iUud per se vel per suiBficientem deputatum 
suum durante vit4 suft. percipienda in ofl&cio illo vadea feoda et 
regarda eidem officio ab antique debita et consueta una cum 
omnibus aliis proficuis avantagiis commoditatibus et emolumen- 
tis dicto officio aliquo modo pertinentibus sive incumbentibus in 
tam ample modo et forma prout aliquis alius officium predictum 
ante hec tempora habens sive occupans habuit et percepit in et 
pro eodem Eo quod expressa mencio de vero valore annuo offi- 
cii predicti in presentibus minime specificata existat aut aliquo 
statute actu ordinacione sen provisione incontrarium fact' non 
obstant'. 

In cujus &c. Teste Rege apud Exon' xii die Novembr' per 
ipsum Regem et de dat' &c. 

(1 Ric. Ill, p. 1, m. 24, No. 84.) 

Grants in Tail Male^ to William Stanley of the GastleSy Towns, Lord- 
ships, and Manors of Dinashran, Holt, etc. 

Rex omnibus ad quos &c salutem. Cum non solum generis 
nobilitas sed et justicie equitas omnes provocent et maxime 
Reges et principes homines de se bene meritos premiis condignis 
afficere sciatis igitur quod ob singulare et fidele servicium quod 
dilectus ligeus noster Willielmus Stanley Miles pro corpore nos- 
tro nobis per antea impendit non solum favendo juri et titulo 
nostro cujus juris et tituli vigore jam nuper ad coronam hujus 
regni nostri Anglie domino adjuvante pervenimus verum etiam 
reprimendo prodiciones et malicias rebellium et proditorum nos- 
trorum qui infra idem regnum nostrum perfidam jam dudum 
commocionem suscitaverant ac pro bono et fideli servicio nobis 
et heredibus nostris Regibus Anglie per eundem Willielmum et 
heredes sues pro defencione nostra et regni nostri predicti con- 
tra quoscunque proditores inimicos et rebelles quociens futuris 



PATENT BOLLS, RICHARD III. 151 

temporibus opus erit impendendo de gratia nostra special! dedi- 
mus et concessimus ac per presentee damus et concedimus.pre- 
fato Willielmo Castrum villam dominium et manerium de Denas- 
brajn Castnim villam et dominium Leonum dominia maneria 
terras et tenementa vocata Hewlyngton Bromfeld Yale Wrex- 
ham Burton Hosseley Ridley Iscoyde Hem Cobham Aimer Cob- 
ham Iscoyd Esclusham Eglossecle Ruyabon Abunbury Dynnill^ 
Morton BedwaU Pykhill Sessewick Sonford et Osselston' in 
Marchia Wallie Com' Salop' adjacente ac omnia castra villas do- 
minia maneria mesuagia terras tenementa redditus raglotariam de 
Merford et Hosseley et alias raglotarias ofl&cia reversiones servicia 
et hereditamenta quecimque cum suis pertin' que fuerunt Johan- 
nis nuper Ducis NorfiP et Georgii Nevile Militis sen alterius 
eorum aut alicujus alterius ad usum eorum seu eorum alterius 
in Dinasbrayn villa Leonum Hewlyntou Bromfeld Yale Wrex- 
ham Aimer Burton Hosseley Ridley Iscoyd Hem Cobham Aimer 
Cobham Iscoyd Esclusham Eglossecle Ruyabon Abunbury Dyn- 
nill Morton Bedwall Pykhill Sessewick Sonford et Osseleston' 
seu alibi in March' Wallie Com' Salop' predict' adjacent' habenda 
et tenenda omnia et singula castra dominia maneria terras tene- 
menta et cetera premissa cum omnibus et omnimodis nativis et 
eorum sequelis terris ten' redditibus serviciis molendinis sectis 
multuris stagnis mineris vivariis turbariis vastiis communiis bos- 
cis subboscis parcis warennis releviis escaetis curiis sectis curie 
vicinetis Franci plegii letis et cum omnibus aliis consuetudinibus 
libertatibus franchesiis commoditatibus raglotariis feriis mercatis 
feodis militum advocacionibus Abbatiarum Prioratum Cantaria- 
rum ecclesiarum capellarum et aliorum beneficiorum ecclesiasti- 
corum quorumcunqae eisdem castris dominiis maneriis terris et 
. tenementis ac ceteris premissis vel alicui inde parcell' pertinen- 
tibus sive spectantibus aut inde parcell' ab antique pertinen' 
sive spectant' adeo plene et integre prout predicti nuper Dux et 
Georgius vel alique alie persone unquam antea in eisdem vel 
eorum aliquo ante hec tempera habuit vel habuerunt exercuit 
vel exercuerunt occupavit vel occupaverunt seu usus fuit vel 
usi fuerunt quojusmodi prefato Willielmo et heredibus masculis 
de corpore suo exeuntibus de nobis et heredibus nostris per ser- 
vicium unius feodi militis pro omnibus serviciis exaccionibus et 
demandis absque compote vel aliquo inde nobis vel heredibus 
nostris reddendo vel faciendo et hoc absque fine seu feodo ad 
opus nostrum in hanaperio Cancellarie nostre aliqualiter sol- 
vend' seu faciend' Eo quod expresse mencio de vero valore 
annuo seu aliquo alio valore vel certitudine premissorum seu 
eorum alicujus aut de aliis donis vel concessionibus eidem Wil- 
lielmo per nos aut progenitores nostros ante hec tempera factis 



152 CLERICAL SUBSIDIES. 

in presentibus minime facta existit aut aliquo statute actu ordi- 
nacione vel restriccione in contrarium fact* edit' sive ordinat' vel 
aliqua alia re causa seu materia quecunque obstant'. 

In cujus &c. Teste Eege apud Westmonasterium x die De- 
cembr'. 

(2 Ric. Ill, p. 2, m. 23, No. 180.) 



CLERICAL SUBSIDIES. WALES, ^i- 

CertificaUy hy the Bishop of 8t Asaph, of the AppoirUment of Collectors 
of a Tenth, of Churches exempt therefrom, etc. 1437 (-8), 8 Feb. 

Johannes^ permissione divina Assavensis Episcopus Venerabi- 
libus et egregiis viris Domino Thesaurario et Baronibus de Scac- 
cario metuen' Domini nostri Begis salutem in Domino sempiter- 
uam Breve ejusdem Domini nostri Eegis quinto die Februarii 
anno Domini inferius annotato cum reverencia qua decuit rece- 
pimus in haec verba Henricus Dei gratia Rex Angliae et Francise 
et Dominus Hibernise Venerabili in Christo patri J. eadem gra- 
tia Episcopo Assavensi salutem Cum vos caeterique praelati et 
clerus Cantuar' provincise in ultima Convocatione prselatorum et 
cleri hujusmodi in ecclesia Cath' Sancti Pauli London* penul- 
timo die mensis Aprilis ult' praeteriti incepta et usque in octa- 
vum diem mensis Maii de diebus in dies [continujata prseter et 
ultra medietatem unius integras decimaB per vos Praelatos et Cle- 
rum [antejdictum nobis coucess89 in festo Nativitatis Sancti 
Johannis Baptists tunc prox futuro secundum vim formam et 
eflfectum concessionis ejusdem medietatis decimae solvend' con- 
cesseritis nobis... defensionem ecclesisB Anglic' et Regni Angliae 
sub modis formis et exceptionibus infrascriptis unam integi'am 
decimam de quibuscuraque bonis beneficiis et possessionibus 
ecclesiasticis dictae provinciae taxatis et decimam solvere consue- 
tis levaud' et solvend' ad terminos infrascriptos videlicet unam 
medietatem dictae decimae solvendam in festo Annunciationis 
Dominicae prox' futuro et alteram medietatem dictae decimae in 
festo Annunciationis... tunc prox' futur' exceptis a concessione 
levatione et solutione dictae decimae quibuscunque beneficiis 
bonis et possessionibus pauperum religiosorum pauperum moni- 
aliiim hospitalariorum et aliorum piorum locorum dictae pro- 
vinciae necnon beneficiis bonis et possessionibus quorumcunque 
religiosorum et aliarum personarum ecclesiasticarum ubicunque 

^ John Lowe, Provincial of the Austin Friars, nominated by Papal 
provision, August 1432 ; and consecrated, Nov. 1, by Archhishop 
Chicheley ; translated in 1443 to Rochester, where he died, and was 
buried in that Cathedral in 14G7. 



CLERICAL SUBSIDIES. 153 

infra dictam provinciam existencium quorum monasteria priora- 
tus loca bona possessiones seu beneficia per inundationes aqua- 
rum incendia guerras aliosve casus fortuitos seu alias qualiter- 
cunque destructa depauperata vel nimium diminuta existunt ; 
exceptis eciam a concessione levatioue et solutione dictas decimsB 
beneficiis ecclesiasticis dictas proviuciae quibuscunque qusB ob 
sui exilitatem inoff[iciata] existunt ; illis eciam beneticiis eccle- 
siasticis curatis taxatis et ad decimam. solvere consuetis non ap- 
propriatis dumtaxat quorum verus valor annuus modernis tem- 
poribus infra summam duodecim marcarum existit seu annuatim 
ad summam duodecim marcarum se extendit et non ultra in 
quibus ipsorum beneficionim Eectores Vicarii aut alii quocun- 
que nomine censeantur curati residenciam faciunt personalem 
vel alias si ab eisdem absentes fuerint in aliqua Universitatum 
dicti Eegni nostri sufficienter licentiati effectualiter insistant 
studio literarum de quibus beneficiis bonis et possessionibus om- 
nibus et singulis praedictis ut praemittitur exceptis locorum ordi- 
narii dictae provinciae quatenus ipsos concernit...in Scaccario 
nostro certificaverint quorum liticris certificatoriis in ea parte 
faciendis stetur omnino et fides plenaria adhibeatur sic quod 
nee ipsi ordinarii nee loca bona possessiones aut beneficia hujus- 
modi excepta vel personae ipsa occupantes aut coUectores dictae 
decimae aut alicuius partis ejusdem per brevia nostra vel alio 
quovis modo vel colore quaesito ea occasione contra formam cer- 
titicatoriorum ordinariorum hujusmodi vexentur vel graventur 
vexetur vel gravetur aliquis eorundem exceptis eciam a conces- 
sione levatione et solutione dictaB decimae et cujuslibet partis 
ejusdem beneficiis bonis et possessionibus Rectorum Vicariorum 
et aliorum virornm ecclesiasticorum beneficiatorum dictaB pro- 
vinciae quorumcimque qui post diem praesentis concessionis de 
raptu mulierum seu quacunque felonia indictati fuerint ac eciam 
eorum quos deinceps usque ad annum ultimse solutionis dictae 
decimae fiend* de raptu mulierum vel felonia indictari contigerit 
sic tamen si indictatorum ac indictandorum hujusmodi ordinarii 
de ipsorum vel eorum alicujus conversatione honesta et bonae 
opinionis fama praesertim super articulo super quo indictati fue- 
rint vel eorum aliquis indictatus fuerit per literas suas testimo- 
niales gratis in ea parte concedendas nos in Scaccario nostro et 
dictae decimae vel alicujus partis ejusdem CoUectores certificave- 
rint citra terminos seu teiininum limitatos seu limitatum ad 
solutionem dictae decimae vel alicujus partis ejusdem quorum 
Uteris certificatorus in ea parte stetur omnino sic quod a Recto- 
ribus Vicariis ac aUis beneficiatis hujusmodi sic indictatis vel 
indictandis et sic certificatis nihil de dicta decima vel aUqua 
parte ejusdem quovis modo levetur aut ab eis vel eorum aUquo 



154 CLERICAL SUBSIDIES. 

quicquam virtute presentis concessionis quomodolibet exigatur 
Proviso nihilominus et excepto quod nnlke personse ecclesias- 
tic89 pro bonis beneficiis et possessionibus eorumve fructibus et 
proventibus pro et de quibus dicta decima solvi debeat nee ipsa- 
rum persouaruin ecclesiasticarum firmarii pro bonis, beneficiis et 
possessionibus vel eoruin fiructibus aut proventibus hujusmodi 
sibi ad firmam dimissis pro eisdem cum laicis ad quintam deci- 
mam vel aliquam aliam contributionem vel impositionem per 
viros seculares factam vel faciendam aut ad aliquam partem 
ejusdem solvere teneantur seu quomodolibet artentur vel vexen- 
tur teneatur vexetur vel artetur aliquis eorundem quod si secus 
attemptatum fuerit tunc hujusmodi personae ecclesiasticce et ea- 
rum firmarii a solutione dictse decimse et cujuslibet partis ejus- 
dem excusentiir et ad eam quicquam solvere teneantur et quod 
super hoc ad eorum exonerationem habeant brevia nostra de 
Scaccario nostro absque difficultate aliqua tociens quociens in- 
stare voluerint et eisdem necessarium fderit seu quomodolibet 
oportunum Proviso insuper et excepto quod in eventum quo 
aUquis Collector ad levandum dictam decimam seu aliquam par- 
tem ejusdem deputandus nos in Scaccario nostro certificet per 
fidem et juramentum suum quod ipse predictam decimam seu 
aliquam partem ejusdem de Prioratibus alienigenarum. aut aliis 
possessionibus bonis seu beneficiis dictse provincise quibuscun- 
que superius non exceptis in quarumcunque personarum mani- 
bus cujuscunque status sexus aut conditionis fuennt eciamsi in 
manibus nostris vel KeginaB existant vel existere contigerint 
tempore prsBsentis concessionis et ante ultimam solutionem ejus- 
dem levare non possit aut quomodolibet impeditus fuerit quod 
Collector ipse a collectione dictse decimas ejusve partis de bonis 
beneficiis et possessionibus talibus totalizer exoneretur et in 
Scaccario nostro penitus acquietetur et levacio ac percepcio 
hujusmodi ad nos et ministros nostros extunc pertineat et Col- 
lector hujusmodi quicunque fuerit in ea parte omnino sit quie- 
tus Proviso insuper et excepto quod nos pro spiritualibus et 
temporalibus ecclesiarum Cathedralium et aliarum Conventua- 
lium regularium vel aliarum ecclesiarum quarumcunque in ma- 
nibus nostris seu firmariorum ac deputatorum nostrorum tem- 
pore collectionis et solutionis dictse decimse fortassis existentibus 
collectoribus eisdem satisfaciemus vel alias eosdem in Scaccario 
nostro exonerabimus et acquietabimus exonerarive et acquietari 
faciemus totaliter sine mora et quod nullus successor in eisdem 
Cath' Conventualibus regularibus seu aliis ecclesiis supradictis 
ad solutionem dictse decimas oneretur aut pro eadem quovismodo 
inquietetur Vobis mandamus quod aliquos viros fidedignos de 
Clero vestraB dioecesis pro quibus respondere volueritis ad dictam 



CLERICAL SUBSIDIES. 155 

decimam ad festa predicta solvendam in eadem dioecesi vestra 
juxta formam concessionis predictsB levandam et colligendam 
prout moris est assignari et deputari faciatis ita quod nobis de 
eadem decima ad eadem festa in forma prsedicta respondeatur 
Thesaurarium et Barones de Scaccario nostro de nominibns illo- 
rum qnos ad hoc deputaveritis circa Octavas Purificationis beatad 
Manse prox' futur' ad nltimum distincte et aperte certificantes 
Et hoc sicut nos et honorem nostrum diligatis nullatenus omit- 
tatis Teste me ipso apud Westm' xx'o die Decembris anno 
regni nostri sextodecimo Cujusquidem brevis auctoritate dilec- 
tos nobis in Ghristo Abbatem Hon' de Basyngwerk ordinis Cis- 
terciencis nostras dioecesis in Decanat[ibus de] Eos et Eywoniac 
Tegingell Dynmaill' Penllyn et Edeirmon Maelor Hoop Yale et 
Stradaivy et Abbatem Mon' de Stratamarcella eorundem ordinis 
et dioeceseos in Decanatibus de Pola Mechen Moghnaunt Caer- 
eymon Kedwyn Mowdwy et Keveylioc Marchia Nunheudwy et 
Kynlleyth' CoUectores deputavimus ad levandum colligendum 
et recipiendum dictam integram decimam dicto Domino nostro 
Begi ut prasmittitur concessam de omnibus et singulis beneficiis 
bonis et possessionibus ecclesiasticis dictoixim Decanatuimi tax- 
atis et ad decimam solvere consuetis quorum nomina in cedula 
huic certificatorio nostro annexa continentur Paupercula vero 
ecclesia nostra Cathedralis Assavensi quae cum Palacio et tri- 
bus Maneriis in diversis nostrsB dioecesis partibus situatis tene- 
mentis bonis ac domibus suis cum choro campanili et toto cor- 
pore ejusdem ecclesiae tempore guerrae totaliter fuit combusta ac 
omnibus libris calicibus vestimentis et aliis suis omamentis qui- 
buscunque funditus spoliata et necdum hodie reaedificata necnon 
Rectoriis ecclesiarum de Llangollen Wrixham et Ry wabon nos- 
tras dioeceseos Monasterio de Vallecrucis ordinis Cisterciensis 

appropriatis quarum Hector Eicardus Abbas ejusdem 

Monasterii ac ecclesia de Ilandrinno ejusdem nostras dioeceseos 
cujus Rector M. Lodowycus Byford post diem concessionis prae- 
dictae decimae per eorum emulos de et super certis feloniis indic- 
tati fuerunt de quorum conversatione honesta et bonae opinionis 
fama et praesertim super praemissis articulis vobis et omnibus 
quorum interest veritati testimonium perhibemus per prabsentes 

cujus indictamenti praetextu dictus Eicardus Abbas ergas- 

tulo jam diu detinetur omnibusque aliis et singulis beneficiis 
bonis et possessionibus ecclesiasticis nostras dioeceseos quorum 
nomina in dicta cedula minime inseruntur qua) per expoliatio- 
nes et incendia dicto tempore guerras destructa et nimium dimi- 
nutas fuerunt in tantum quod nonnulla beneficia in dioecesi nos- 
tra his diebus remanent inofficiata quorum verus valor annuus 
ad summam duodecim marcarum nullatenus se extendit et in 



156 CLERICAL SUBSIDIES. 

quibus Rectores et Vicarii ac posaessores eorundem residentiain 
faciunt in praesenti actualiter personalem a solutione dictae inte- 
gra9 decimae jnxta vim formam et eflfectum exempcionum in 
dicto Brevi regio expressis omnino exceptis ac eosdem Collecto- 
res sic per nos ut preemittitur deputatos ad fideliter responden- 
dum dicto Domino nostro Eegi in Scaccario suo apud Westm' 
coram vobis de dicta integra decima in terminis sive festis in 
dicto Brevi regio specificatis prout utrunque eorum concernit in 
hac parte in omnibus et per omnia oneravimus prout tenor et 
eftectus ejusdem Brevis exigit et requirit Quae omnia et singula 
vestris reverenciis notificamus et certificamus per presentes 
sigillo nostro sigillatas Datum in Manerio nostro de AUtmelyd 
viij'o die Februarii Anno Domini millesimo cccc'mo tricesimo 
septimo et nostras consecrationis anno quinto. 

[In dorso,] Hanc certificationem liberavit hie Venerabilis in 
Christo pater Episcopus Assavensis xviij die Februarii anno xvj 
Eegis H. sexti per manus Fratris WiUebni Russell'. 

[The schedule annexed to this certificate is very much de- 
faced. Only a few names of the rectories and churches are 
visible.] 

Certificate of Richard} Bishop of St. Asaph, with a Schedule annexfdy 
shewing the Names of Benefices from which alone the Subsidy was 
to be exacted in the Diocese of St. Asaph. 1478(-9), 18 JSdw. IV. 

Honorabilibus et circumspectis viris Dominis Thesaurario et 
Baronibus de Scaccario Domini nostri Regis Ricardus permissi- 
one divina Assavensis Episcopus salutem in Domino sempiter- 
nam. Breve ejusdem Domini nostri Regis ad deputandum col- 
lectores unius integrae decimse in dioecesi nostra per praelatos et 
clerum Cantuariensis provinciae in Convocatione praelatorum et 
cleri hujusmodi in ecclesia cathedrali Sancti Pauli London* de- 
cimo die mensis Aprilis ultimo praeterito inchoata et usque ad 
et in septimum diem mensis Mail ex tunc proximo sequentem 
de diebus in dies continuata et extunc usque ad et in vicesimum 
quintum diem ejusdem mensis Mali prorogata et ab illo die 
usque ad et in vicesimum sextum diem mensis Junii tunc prox- 
imo sequentem de diebus in dies continuata et congregata con- 
cessae ; quaequidem integra decima solvenda est ad terminos 
infrascriptos, videlicet unam medietatem dictae integrae decimae 
in festo Purificationis beatae Mariae Virginia proximo future, et 
aliam medietatem dictae integrae decimae ad idem festum Purifi- 

^ Richard Redman, S.T.P., Abbot of Shapp in Westmoreland, 
consecrated Bishop of St. Asaph, Oct. 13, 1471 ; translated to Exe- 
ter, 1495. 



CLERICAL SUBSIDIES. 157 

cationis beataB Mariae Virginis quod erit in anno Domini mille- 
simo quadringentesimo septuagesimo nono ; cum ea qua decuit 
reverencia nuper recipimus, ipsiuaque brevis integrum tenorem 
causa brevitatis hie inserere omittimus. Cujus brevis virtute et 
auctoritate ad levandum et colligendum dictam integram deci- 
mam in dicta nostm dioecesi de omnibus et singulis beneficiis 
ecclesiasticis Decanatuum subscriptorum, quorum beneficiorum 
nomina in scedula huic nostro certificatorio annexa continentur 
et non de aliis videlicet Abbatem et Conventum de Conwey ordi- 
nis Cisterciensis, in Decanatibus Edernyawn. Penllyn, Eos, et 
Revoneauc, Abbatem et Conventum Monasterii de Basyngwerk 
ejusdem ordinis Cisterciensis, in Decanatibus de lal & Strat- 
alwen Englefelde, Abbatem et Conventum de Valle Crucis pre- 
dicti ordinis Cisterciensis in Decanatibus de Marchia Mahelaur 
et Mochnante, ac Abbatem et Conventum de Strata Marcella 
ejusdem ordinis Cisterciensis in Decanatibus de Pola Kedewyn 
Kereynon & Mecheyn, Collectores deputamus et assignamus. 
Paupercula vero nostra Ecclesia Cathedralis Assavensis, quae 
cum Palacio et tribus suis maneriis in diversis nostrsD diceceseos 
partibus constitutis tenementis bonis beneficiis et possessionibus 
ecclesiasticis cum chore et campanili et toto corpore ejusdem ec- 
clesias tempore gueiraD per incendia et guerras totaliter f uit com- 
busta ac omnibus libris calicibus et aliis suis vestimentis funditus 
spoliata et nondum reasdificata, ideo a concessione, levatione et 
solutione dictas integrae decimas et cujuslibet partis ejusdem 
inerito ac vice et juxta formam concessionis dictas decimae, exci- 
pienda et excusanda est. Exceptis etiam a concessione, leva- 
tione, et solutione dictae integrae decimae quibuscumque bonis, 
beneficiis, et possessionibus ecclesiasticis dictae nostrae diceceseos, 
quorum nomina in scedula huic nostro certificatorio minime in- 
seruntur ; quae quidem bona, beneficia^ et possessiones omnia et 
singula tempore guerrae per incendia, guerras, et alios casus 
fortuitos distructa, depauperata, et diminuta existunt in tantum 
quod nonnuUa beneficia in dicta dioecesi nostra hiis diebus re- 
manent inoflSciata. Mandavimus enim coUectoribus predictis et 
eorum cuilibet quatinus de dicta integra decima in singulis de- 
canatibus ut prsefertur limitata, et prout ipsos et eorum quemli- 
bet concemit secundum nostram assignationem et deputationem 
praefato Domino nostro Regi ad terminos in dicto brevi specifi- 
cates debite respoudeant et quilibet eorum respondeat. Quae 
omnia et singula vestris Reverenciis certificamus per praesentes. 
In quorum omnium et singulorum fidem et testimonium sigillum 
nostrum praesentibus est appensum. Datum apud Sanctum 
Assaph* xviij'o die mensis Januarii anno Domini millesimo quad- 
ringentesimo septuagesimo octavo, et nostrae consecrationis anno 
septimo. 



158 



CLERICAL SUBSIDIES- 



[In dorso.] — Hanc certificationem^ liberavit hie infrascriptus 
Episcopus per manus Ricardi Hysham xxviij'o Januarii. 

[On a separate piece of parchment, sewn to the preceding :] — 



In Onere Abbatis de Conwey. 






Decanatus Edermjawn. 
Ecclesia de Landyrhille 
Ecclesia de Corvaen cum portione Kenewert dd' 


xiij5. 
xxvijs. 


iiijrf. 
y\\\]d. 


* Decanatus de Penllyn. 
Ecclesia de Llanwaur .... 


xxiiijs. 




Decanatus de Ros et RenoTeauc. 






Ecclesia de Eglewys Vach . . 
Ecclesia de Eglewys Eos 
Rectoria de Dynerth .... 
Ecclesia de Henlan .... 
Ecclesia de I^aundid . . 


XXVJ5. 

xxs. 
xlvij5. 
xxvja. 
xxvjs. 


viijt?. 
viijd. 
iiijrf. 
viijd. 
viijd. 


In Onere Abbatis de Basyngwerk, 






Decanatus de lal et Stratalwen. 






Ecclesia de Monte Alto 

Vicaria ejusdem .... 


V mark 
xxs. 




Decanatus de Englefelde. 






Ecclesia de Lanewrgan .... 

Ecclesia de Chewytforde 

Ecclesia de Kelkyn .... 

Vicaria ejusdem . . 

Vicaria in ecclesia de Abergelew 

Ecclesia de Skevyauc .... 


xliiij5. 
xxs. 
xiiijs. 
viijs. 

XX5. 

viiJ5. 


viijrf. 

ijd. 
viijd. 


In Onere Abbatis de Walle Crucis. 






Decanatus de Marchia. 






Ecclesia de Oswaldster' .... 
Vicaria ejusdem .... 
Ecclesia de Thwytinton 
Ecclesia de Swlatwn * . 
Ecclesia de Tjanemeneyth 


iiij mark 
xvija. iiijrf. 
xxiiiJ5. 
xiijs. iiijrf. 
xiiij5. viijrf. 



Decanatus de Mahelawr. 
Eectoria de Greflford .... xlviijs. 

Decanatus de Mochnante. 

Ecclesia de Bauradader cum suis capelUs, scili- 
cet, Wangedwyn et Lanaxmabem . xxs. 

^ Or certificatorium. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 1 59 

In Onere AbbcUis de StrcUamarcdla, 

Decanatus de Pola. 

Ecclesia de Pola .... xviJ5. iiijrf. 

Ecclesia de Kegydya .... xxxiijs. iiijrf. 

Ecclesia de Landrimeaw . . xviijs. 

Decanatus de Kedewyn. 
Ecclesia de Aberyew .... xxyjs. viijrf. 
Vicaria ejusdem .... xiiijs. 

Ecclesia de Landissullia . . . xiijs. iiijd. 

Decanatus de Kereynon. 
Ecclesia de Lanwer , . . . xxiiijs. 

Ecclesia de Castell* .... xiijs. iiijd. 

Decanatus de Mecheyn. 

Ecclesia de Meynott cum suis portionibus . xxa. 

Ecclesia de Lansanfrayte . xvj«. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE ARCHiBOLOOU CAMBaBNSIS. 



WELSH STOCK 

Sib, — Can any of our members give us some information as re- 
gards the history of this particular Stock, which in the March returns 
of 1745, as on other occasions, is placed at the bottom of the list, and 
marked "No price"? This may mean that the holders would not 
sell, or that there was no demand. In the same list Southsea Stock 
is quoted at 107^, the 3 per Cent. Consols, at 89 ; other Stocks are 
mentioned ; last of all, " Welsh Stock, no price." When did it come 
into existence P Or when did it cease ? And why called Welsh ? 
Any information on these points will be very acceptable to an In- 
QTIIBER. B. A. 

WELSH POOL. 

Sir, — On August 11, 1758, while the Court of Great Sessions or 
Assizes was sitting in the hall over the Market Place, an alarm was 
spread that the floor was giving way, which occasioned so great a 
crowding at the door and stairs that some of the common people 
were trampled to death, and many others bruised. The above is a 
statement in the Annual Register of that year. In Lewis' Top. Diet. 
it is stated that in 1824 the building had been enlarged from 62 to 
102 feet, for the accommodation of an Eisteddfod ; but no allusion 
is made to this unfortunate accident. Since 1824, and previous to 
the first Meeting of the Association in Welshpool in 1856, other 



160 CORKESPONDENCE. 

alterations, at least of the interior of the hall, were made. Bat was 
the bnilding of 1 758 that which was enlarged in 1824 P And if so, 
what was its date ? A Member. 

BANGOR DIOCESE 

Sis, — If Collier is correct, the spoliation of the episcopal estates 
of Bangor must have been carried on to a serioos extent. Whether 
from this canse the Bishop drew a larg^ portion of his income from 
the rectorial tithes in his diocese is not certain, although it is un- 
happily too certain that what was intended for the endowment of 
the parish church has been, and still is, devoted to other purposes. 
Before the reign of Henry VII, on account of the disputes between 
the two races, the Bangor bishops seldom resided ; but on Bishop 
Dean (who died Archbishop of Canterbury in 1507) coming into 
residence, he had fierce contests with the rich laity who had laid 
their hands on many of the episcopal estates ; but the Bishop, a man 
of courage, claimed and obtained his right. Among others was a 
small island in the north of Anglesey, possession of which was 
refused. On this the good Bishop proceeded with a small body of 
men, and ejected the holders by force. I am not well acquainted 
with that part of Anglesey, and do not know what island it could 
have been, unless it were the Holy Island, now artificially joined to 
the mainland. Probably one of the learned Local Secretaries of 
Anglesey can inform your humble servant, W. W. L. 



NOTICE TO MEMBERS. 



Pboqbamme of the Annual Meeting of the Cambrian Archaeological 
Association, to be held at Llanrwst on Monday, July 31st, and four 
following days, under the presidency of H. B. Sandbach, Esq., of 
Hafodunos : 

Monday, July Zl8t — Meeting of General Committee at 8.15 p.m. 
Public meeting at 9 p.m. Inaugural address by the President. 

Tuesday f August let. — Tynycoed Cromlech, Maesgarnedd, the 
Levelinus Stone, and the Gravestone of Brochmael at Pentrevoelas ; 
effigies and brasses in Tspytty Evan Church ; Plas lolyn ; Gilar. 
Public meeting at 8.80 p.m. 

Wed'nesday,Aug.2. — Inscribed Stone at Gwytherin ; Rhosydomen; 
Llansannan ; Tumulus, etc., at Llangemiew ; Maenan. 

Thursday, Aug, Zrd, — Llanrwst Church j Effigy in Bettwsycoed 
Church ; the Oria, Carausius, and Cantiorus Stones at Penmachno ; 
Dolwyddelan Church and Castle ; Sam Helen. Public meeting. 

Friday t Aug, Aih, — Gwydir Castle ; Talycefn ; Caerhun (Cono- 
vium) ; old Road at Y Ro ; Pencaer Helen ; Llanbedr Church ; 
Dolgarrog. Meeting for Members only at 8.30 p.m. 

Saturday, Aug. bth. — Llanrhwchwyn, Trefriw, and Crafnant. 

The principal hotels are The Eagles and Victoria, For tickets and 
information respecting lodgings, application should be made to 
Mr. C. I. Hutchins, Victoria Hotel, 




w'V^''^ 


M.! ^ 


f^ ^ 


P^' 


pl^ 


b'^^ 


m>,. 


f-":^<^' 


• li^- 



'-^^ 






















:x 



/ 






X. 



O 2 - 



/X 



.\ -^ 



K^ - 



GESAIL OYFARCH STONE. 

Stone, one inch scale— one-twelfth real size. 
Inscription, two inches to foot— one-sixth real size. 



FOURTH SERIES,— VOL. XIII, NO, LI. 



JULY 1882. 



THE GESAIL GYFARCH STONE. 

One day last June, Mr. J. Lewis of Llwyn Onn, Port- 
madoc, dropped me a word to say that Captain Evan 
Griffiths of the Gesail Gyfarch had found there an old 
inscribed stone which he should be glad to have ex- 
amined. The Gesail is a short distance from the village 
of Penmorfa, or about three miles from Tremadoc. 

In the beginning of August 1881, I happened to be 
spending a few days with Mr. Silvan Evans in the Valley 
of the Dovey, and I prevailed on him to come with me 
to the Gesail to have a look at the Stone. We went, and 
after walking up from Portmadoc Station we found the 
Stone laid by a wall near the house. It had been the 
lintel of a hevdy, or cowhouse, which was built in a very 
peculiar manner, and thought to be at least five hundred 
years old. It stood in a field called Cefn y Gelli. The 
Stone had got into the hands of the masons, who were 
going to build it into a new wall when Captain Griffiths 
came to know of it ; and even then he does not seem to 
have come to the rescue quite soon enough, as the 
masons had already begun to trim it in the usual way, 
which practice has probably spoiled more inscribed 
monuments than all other destructive influences put 
together. 

About the end of the month Mr. Lewis visited the 
Stone with Mr. Thomas Roberts, a civil engineer living 

4th 8IB.« vol. XIII. 11 



162 THE GESAIL GYFARCH STONE. 

at Portmadoc, who has very kindly favoured me with 
the following description of it, accompanied with a 
sketch. Its length is 5 feet 4 inches ; its thickness, 
6 inches ; and its breadth at three different points, 10 
inches, 12, and 14. It is greenstone from the intrusive 
rock overlying the lingula flags of the district, and 
was got most likely from the rock in the immediate 
neighbourhood. The inscription has been cut on the 
face, which had originally rested on the lingula flags. 

In the meantime the Rev. C. H. Drink water. Vicar of 
St. George 8, Shrewsbury, also paid a visit to the Gesail 
with a friend, who likewise took the dimensions of the 
Stone, and being an artist, he made a sketch of it, which 
has been kindly placed at my disposal. These last 
dimensions differ slightly from those given by Mr. 
Roberts ; the greatest length, according to Mr. Drink- 
water's friend, being 66 inches, while the other lengths 
are 65 and 59 ; the greatest breadth, 14f or 15 inches ; 
and the greatest depth, 8. Mr. Drinkwater further 
noticed a strange enclosure to the south of the house of 
Gesail, and above it an evidently sepulchral arrange- 
ment which he thinks well worth examining. It stands 
to the south-west of the house of Gesail, on higher 
ground. 

As to the readings, that of Mr. Drinkwater does not 
differ from that which Mr. Silvan Evans and I fixed on, 
and it was this : 

FILT CVNALTPI 

CVNACI [ic] lACIT 

BECCVRI 

We found no indubitable trace of the letters ic or Hic; 
but there is room enough certainly left vacant for the 
former ; and I think we noticed a part of the I, and a 
part of what may have been a c. I have very little 
doubt that they were both once there. It so happens 
that at this part of the Stone there is a sort of patch, 
as it were in relief on the face of it. The inscriber was, 
however, not deterred by this, for he began his iacit 
on it, though there is now very little left of the first i, 



THE GESAIL GYFARCH STONE. 163 

and the A is partly gone. There were some letters 
before becovri in the last line ; but they are gone, ex- 
cepting a trace of the tops of some of them, as the 
Stone is chipped in that part- I cannot even tell how 
many those letters may have been ; but Mr. Drink- 
water thinks they were at least four, possibly five. 

As to the other characters, the Fi consist of an F with 
a small i attached to its lower horizontal limb. The 
NA are conjoint in both lines. So far as the Stone is 
concerned, it is difficult to decide beyond doubt as to 
the last letter but one of the first line, whether it is p 
or R. There is there all that is necessary to make p ; 
but there is more, namely, a nearly horizontal bar pro- 
ceeding towards the right from the lower end of the 
perpendicular, just as though the oblique line of an R 
had fallen down. On. the whole, however, I am strongly 
inclined to think that the letter is to be read P, and 
that the rest is the result of a chipping of the surface 
of the Stone. 

But I have not yet done with the letters. The first 
letter of cvnaci has lost its lower part, as it stood on 
a part which has been broken ofi*, possibly before the 
stone left its original position on a grave. The first 
vowel of BECOVRI is somewhat rounded like a Greek e ; 
the second c is angular, like a very open v on its side ; 
and the vr are conjoint. I do not know any other 
instance of this ; and it is possible that I have not hit 
on the right reading. The last part of the R is rather 
distinguished by the colour than by any depression or 
groove, as the surface on both sides of it has flaked off. 
The possible readings of what remains of this line are, I 

think, BEC^VBL 

As to the names on this Stone, the first one to strike 
me as familiar was Cunaciy in which I recognised at 
once the well known proper name borne by St. Cynog 
or Cynawg among others. This, of course, does not 
help one in the least to identify the person mentioned 
in the epitaph. 

Then as to Cunalipi, that would now be Cyrdlib or 



164 THE GESAIL GYFARCH STONE. 

Cynllyb, and one of the intermediate forms between 
Cunalip' and the latter would be Conlip, of the existence 
of which there is proof in the occurrence of a derivative, 
Conlipan, in the Liber Landavensis, p. 193 (another 
MS. is said to give it as Coulipan). But neither does 
this decide between Cynllyb and Cynllib^ The latter, 
however, seems to be placed beyond doubt by the 
modern form Llihio, which would seem to be of the 
same origin as the latter part of Cunalipi : it occurs 
in the name of the church of Llanllibio in Anglesey. 
The name is to be found written Libiau or Lybiau in 
the Liber Landavensis, pp. 185, 186, 227, 228 ; and I 
believe that I have found it spelt Lipiau in it, but I 
have lost the reference. What lip or llib may mean in 
these names is not certain, as the only actual Welsh 
words that suggest themselves are enllib, slander, and 
llibyn, soft, flabby, craven, devoid of pluck. On the 
whole it may be safe to equate Ounalip-i with the O. H. 
German Hunlaif, and to regard the second element as 
cognate with the Latin linquo (I leave). In that case 
the Welsh Conlipan might be identified with the Irish 
Conligan, mentioned by the Four Masters, a.d. 898. 
I cannot make anything of the latter portion of the epi- 
taph. As a whole, however, it is to be compared with 
the one at Llanfaglan, reading 

FILI LOVERNII 
ANATEMOKI.^ 

And it disposes, I think, of the opinion that this is to 
be read upwards, Anatemori Fili Lovemii, though it is 
to be understood precisely as if that had been intended. 
So in this instance the epitaph might be rendered so 
far as understood : " Cynllib's son Cynog [lies] here." 
Then the occurrence of the letter p, if my reading is 
the right one, is of very great interest. This, together 
with other things which have suggested themselves to 
me in connection with the interpretation of our old in- 
scriptions, since the publication of the second edition of 
my little book on Welsh Philology, has made me modify 
the views there expressed by me respecting the whole 

* See Hiibner, No. 147. 



THE GESAIL GYFARCH STONE. 165 

history and origin of our old monuments ; but I am not 
going to inflict this piece of autobiography on the readers 
of the Journal. Rather would I conclude by expressing 
my thanks to Mr. Silvan Evans for his suggestions and 
a happy day spent in his company ; to Mr. Lewis and 
Mr. Roberts for their valuable information, and the first 
hint as to the discovery of the old monument; and 
above all, to Mr. Drinkwater and his friend, who have 
kindly placed their notes, rubbings, and sketches, at my 
disposal. Indeed, Mr. Drinkwater has made many more 
notes than I can utilise, and I hope he may be induced 
to publish in the Journal what he hiis put together as 
to the church at Penmorfa, and the result of his ex- 
amination of stones of interest at Tommen y Mur. 

I send the sketches and also the rubbings (both Mr. 
Drinkwater s and my own) to the artist of the Associa- 
tion, who will, I have not the slightest doubt, be able 
to place far more clearly before the reader, in one view, 
what I have wasted several pages in doing very inade- 
quately. 

It would be unpardonable of me to close these re- 
marks without mentioning the kindness shewn to us 
by Mrs. Evans ; and Captain Evans deaerves the thanks 
of the Association for so promptly securing the Stone. 
J. Rhys. 

Postscript, — After the above had been put into type, Mr. Drink- 
water with Mr. Anden, Vicar of St. Julian's, Shrewsbury, arranged 
to go with me to the Gesail, to dig into the enclosure. We 
did so; and Captain GriflBths very kindly assisted us with his 
presence and with his men ; but the digging was in vain, as we 
found nothing. We carefully examined the inscription again, 
and thought we found undeniable traces of the adverb ic. More- 
over, it does not seem so correct to say that the A of jacit has been 
partly worn away, as that it was never finished, owing probably to 
the hardness of the superficial patch alluded to. I believe now more 
firmly than ever that the letter I have ventured to read P cannot 
have been anything else ; and Mr. Auden, after very careful examin- 
ation of it with a glass, agrees with me. As a piece of guesswork, 
I may add that I find that civi would just fit the remains of the let- 
ters preceding Beccuri. It will be remembered that ciVB does duty 
for dvis on one of the Penmachno stones. 

Pwllheli. J. R. 



166 



MANORBEER CASTLE AND ITS EARLY 
OWNERS. 

(supplementary.) 

BY SIR GEORGE DUCKETT, Babt. 

Further researches have enabled us to supplement the 
article on the " Early Owners of Manorbeer'^, at p. 134 
of volume xi, with the following particulars, bringing 
down the probable tenure of the Castle, etc., in the 
family of the Hollands, Earls of Huntingdon, for three 
generations ; i.e., until the attainder of the third Earl 
in 1461 (1 Edward IV), more than half a centuiy later. 

At the time of the forfeiture of John de Holland, 
first Earl of Huntingdon and Duke of Exeter, in 1399- 
1400, who had married Elizabeth, daughter of John of 
Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and was therefore brother- 
in-law of Henry IV, we find that the Castle and manor 
of Manorbeer, like that of Penally and Bigelly, had 
been in his possession for a considerable period, and 
presumably from the death of William de Wyndesore 
in 7 Ric. II (1384). 

It is certain, however, and a recorded fact, that in 
1 Henry IV, John de Wyndesore, by some means which 
have not become apparent, induced that King, on the 
forfeiture of the Earl, to grant letters patent conveying 
to him the above estates ; but from the document (to 
be presently quoted) it is very doubtful whether he ever 
enjoyed possession at all; and if he did so, it was for a 
very limited time only ; for although the estate should 
have fallen in due course into the King's hands in 1400 
(in the first year of his reign), on the forfeiture of the said 
Earl's honours, the same appears at the time to have 
been held in trust for the Countess Elizabeth and her 
son, who was restored in blood in 1417. Either the 
near relationship of the Countess, as sister to Henry IV, 



MANORBEER CASTLE AND ITS EARLY OWNERS. 167 

must have had its influence^ and contributed to this 
departure from the ordinary course, in thus allowing 
her to retain possession of the lands : or her position 
was not affected by her husband's attainder, from the 
fact of his having settled the same on her by deed pre- 
vious to the treason committed, and that he did so 
is manifest from the writ in question. The almost cer- 
tain probability, therefore, is that at the death of Wil- 
liam de Wyndesore, Richard II conveyed the estate to 
his cousin's husband, John de Holland, Earl of Hunt- 
ingdon. 

The connection of that Earl with Manorbeer has 
much historical interest. He was not only Lord Cham- 
berlain of England, but had been created Duke of Exe- 
ter in 1397 by Richard II, as one of his confidants and 
adherers ; and being third son of Thomas Earl of Kent, 
by Joan Plantagenet, granddaughter of Edward I, was 
allied to the blood royal, and had married, as observed, 
Elizabeth, daughter of John of Gaunt. 

After Henry IV had usurped the throne, and impri- 
soned his cousin Richard, he was a chief actor in a con- 
spiracy to release the King, and deprive Henry of his 
crown and life, being leagued for this purpose with the 
Earls of Rutland, Kent, Gloucester, and Salisbury; and 
there is no doubt that the failure of the plot precipi- 
tated and quite settled the ultimate fate of King 
Richard. 

Readers, moreover, in history will not fail to associate, 
within a year of this time, the revolt of Owen Glen- 
dower, the famous Prince of Wales, and how, with the 
Earls of Northumberland and Salisbury, he was de- 
feated at the ever memorable battle of Shrewsbury in 
1403, in which, by the way, the above named John de 
Wyndesore also took part.^ These facts are noteworthy, 
because contemporaneous events tend not only to fix 
dates, but act as historical landmarks. 

It was within nine or ten years of these occurrences 

^ Authenticated by his monument in Westminster Abbey. 



168 MANORBEER CASTLE 

that the persistent annoyance, and counter-claim set up 
in the interval by John de Wyndesore, brought matters 
to an issue as regarded the Castle and manor of Manor- 
beer. Proceedings were taken in Chancery, in 12 
Henry IV, to decide the question. On the face of these 
it is evident that the King had been mistaken and 
deceived at the outset by John de Wyndesore by false 
" suggestion" and misinformation ; and although the 
grant thus made to him and certain trustees in the writ 
named, in the first year of his reign, would under such 
circumstances have become void, the King determined, 
with a view to a final settlement of the dispute, to re- 
call and cancel his letters patent conveying to him the 
estate. 

Although we are in the dark as to the deception 
employed, it is somewhat remarkable that in the very 
year of the grant to John de Wyndesore a statute 
was passed (1 Henry IV) " to prevent deceits of the 
King with regard to the value of estates granted," 
(Jacob.) In this instance, however, the deception may 
have been equally a misrecital of his uncle's (William 
de Wyndesore) grant and deed of feoffment to himself, 
or misrepresentation as to the power of the latter to 
grant the lands, in which (from his post-mortem inquest 
at p. 138 of volume xi) we know that he had no fixed 
estate, though at the same time he had always wished, 
and was minded, to enfeoff him in the same. 

The record we give below at any rate deals with the 
final settlement of the Castle, manor, and lordship of 
Manorbeer, and the manor and lordship of Penally in 
the county of Pembroke, and confirms their possession 
to Elizabeth, Countess of Huntingdon, and her son. She 
had, after the death of the Earl, married, as her second 
husband. Sir John Cornwall, a Knight of the Garter, 
and at the time in question both he and she were seized 
of the estate. 

The document entitled " De procedendo", apart from 
its value as authenticating the then owners of Manor- 
beer, has an especial interest in association with the 



AND ITS EARLY OWNERS. 169 

name of the celebrated Judge Gascoine, to whom the 
writ is directed. He it was, as will be remembered, 
who displayed such independence and boldness in the 
execution of his office, and committed to prison Prince 
Henry, the heir apparent, for contempt of court, whilst 
the conduct and traditionary remarks of the King on 
that occasion are equally worthy of remembrance. 

The following is a rough abstract of the suit deciding 
the point : 

The King to William Gascoigne^ and others his jus- 
tices. — Whereas lately, at the request of John Cornwall, 
Chivaler, and Elizabeth his wife, Countess of Hunting- 
don, praying us that whereas John Holland, late Earl 
of Huntingdon, Chamberlain of England, formerly hus- 
band of the said Countess, being seized in his demesne 
as of fee of the Castle, manor, and lordship of Mayne- 
bier, and of the manor and lordship of Pennaly in co. 
Pembroke, confirmed them, long before his forfeiture, 
by his charter to John Stevenes and Richard Shelley, 
clerk. Subsequently, at the suit and untruthful sug- 
gestion {ad minus veram suggestionem) of John de 
Wyndesore, we (the King) granted the same to himy 
together with other possessions late of David de Barry, 
Chivaler, in Begeley in Wales, together with all fees, 
etc., which the aforesaid John de Wyndesore and (his 
trustees) Thomas Holhirst, John Duket,* and Thomas 
Affirenthwayt, had as of the gift of David in Pembroke, 
which came to him by the forfeiture of the said Earl. 

Stevens and Shelley being, therefore, so seized, in vir- 
tue of the Earl's charter, confirmed the same to the 
Countess some time after the death of the Earl, then 
the wife of Sir John Cornwall, for her own life ; so that 

^ Sir William Gascoine of Gowthorpe, Lord Chief Jastice of Eng- 
land in 1401, married the daughter and coheiress of Sir Alexander 
Mowbray of Kirklington ; and a splendid monument in Harwood 
Church, in Yorkshire, perpetuates his name. He died in 1419 (14 
Henry IV). 

2 John Duket of Grayrigg, co. Westmorland, had married John 
de Wyndesore's aunt, Margery, sister and heir of Baron de Wynde- 
sore. 



170 MANORBEER GABTLE 

after the decease of the Countess, the Castle, etc., would 
remain to John, son of the aforesaid Earl and Countess, 
and his heirs for ever. Although the aforesaid late Earl 
had no estate in the same Castle, etc., at the time of 
his forfeiture, nor ever afterwards, neither was it found 
by office, nor was it seized into the King s hands, the 
Countess held it under the above charter and deed of 
trust. Nevertheless, John de Wyndesore annoyed them 
frequently by pretext of the King s letters patent, 
and therefore the King desires now to cancel the same 
letters. 

The matter went into Chancery, and it is stated that 
an inquisition was held, which declared that John de 
Wyndesore had no right to the Castle or lands. The 
record concludes by the King directing that steps be 
taken forthwith to give Sir John Cornwall the benefit 
of this decision. (5 July, 12 Henry IV.) 

Close Roll, 0*0 12 Henry 7F, Membrane 4.^ 

De procedendo. — Rex dilecto at fideU sue Willelmo Gascoigne, 
et sociis suis Justiciariis nostris ad placita coram nobis tenenda 
assignatis, Salutem. Cum nuper ad prosecucionem Johannis 
Cornewaill*, Chivaler, et Elizabethe iixoris ejus, Comitisse Hunt- 
yngdon*, nobis supplicancium ut cum Johannes Holand*, nuper 
Comes Huntyngton, et Camerarius Anglie, quondam vir ipsius 
Comitisse, seisitus fuisset in dominico suo ut de feodo et jure de 
Castro, manerio, et dominio de Maynerbier, et de manerio et 
dominio de Pennaly, cum pertinenciis, in comitatu Pembrochie, 
ac idem nuper Comes eadem Castrum, maneria et dominia, cum 
pertinenciis, diu ante forisfacturam suam, dederit et concesserit 
et carta sua confirmaverit Johanni Stevenes et Eicardo Shelley 
clerieo, Habenda et tenenda eisdem Johanni Stevenes et Eicardo 
heredibus et assignatis suis imperpetuum, virtute quorum doni, 
concessionis, et confirmaeionis, predicti Johannes Stevenes et 
Eicardus inde fuerunt seisiti ; Subsequenterque nos, ad minus 
verara suggestionem Johannis Wyndesore, per literas nostras 
patentes de gracia nostra speciali, inter alia dederimus et conces- 

1 We have to thank W. D. Selby, Esq., of the Record Office, for 
drawing our attention to this record, and collating it with the ori- 
ginal. 



AND ITS EARLY OWNERS. 1 71 

serimus eidem Johanni Wyndesore Castrum, maueria, et domi- 
nia predicta, cum pertinenciis, per nomen Maneriorum de May- 
nerbier et Pennaly, cum pertinenciis, in comitatu Pembrochie in 
Wallia, unacum omnibus redditibus et serviciis omnium tenen- 
cium que fuerunt David de Barry, Chivaler, in Begeley in Wal- 
lia, et unacum omnibus terns et tenementis feodis militum, et 
advocacionibus beneficiorum ecclesiasticorum, que prefatus Jo- 
hannes Wyndesore, ac Thomas Holhirst, Johannes Duket, et 
Thomas Afirenthwayt, habuerunt ex dono et concessione pre- 
dicti David, in dicto comitatu Pembrochie, que ad manus nos- 
tras, racione forisfacture predicti nuper Comitis, devenerunt, 
Habenda et tenenda eidem Johanni Wyndesore et heredibus suis 
imperpetuum, prout in literis nostris predietis plenius contine- 
tur ; Ac ijdem Johannes Stevenes et Eicardus de Castro, mane- 
riis, et dominiis predietis, cum pertinenciis, virtute doni, con- 
cessionis et confirmacionis predicti nuper Comitis, tempore 
confeccionis literarum nostrarum predictarum et postea fuerint 
seisiti, et statum suum continuaverint usque ad certum tempus 
post mortem ipsius nuper Comitis, quod predictus Johannes 
Stevenes, per nomen Johannis Stevenes, Armigeri, de comitatu 
Pembrochie, Castrum, maneria, et dominia predicta, cum perti- 
nenciis, per nomen Castri, manerij et dominii de Manerbeer, et 
manerii et dominii de Penale, cum pertinenciis, dedit et conces- 
sit, et carta sua confirmavit eidem Comitisse, ad tunc uxori pre- 
dicti Johannis Comewaill' ad vitam ipsius Comitisse, Ita quod 
post decessum ipsius Comitisse, predicta Castrum, maneria, et 
dominia,cum pertinenciis, Johanni filio predictorum nuper Comi- 
tis et Comitisse et heredibus suis remanerent imperpetuum ; Ac 
prefati Johannes ComewailP et Comitissa, virtute doni, conces- 
sionis et confirmacionis predicti Johannis Stevenes, inde fuerint 
seisiti, et postmodum prefatus Eicardus cartam ipsius Johannis 
Stevenes prefate Comitisse in hac parte confectam, ac omnia in 
ea contenta nee non statum et possessionem ipsius Comitisse in 
Castro, maneriis, et dominiis predietis, cum pertinenciis, appro- 
baverit, ratificaverit, coucesserit et confirmaverit, et post deces- 
sum ipsius Comitisse prefato Johanni, filio predictorum nuper 
Comitis et Comitisse, heredibus et assignatis suis imperpetuum ; 
et licet predictus nuper Comes nichil habuerit in eisdem, tem- 
pore forisfacture predicte, nee unquam postea, nee ullum ofli- 
cium pro nobis inde compertum fuerit, nee in manus nostras ex- 
titerint seisita ; Ac predicti Johannes Cornewaiir et Comitissa, 
pretextu tam doni, concessionis, et confirmacionis prefati Johan- 
nis Stevenes, quam approbacionis, ratificacionis, concessionis et 
confirmacionis predicti Eicardi, eidem Comitisse inde in forma 
predicta factorum, possessionem Castri, maneriorum, et dominio- 



1 72 MANORBEER CASTLE 

rum predictorum, cum pertinenciis, debite tenuerint, et statum 
suum inde continuaverint, idem tamen Johamies Wyndesore 
ipsos Johannem Comewaiir et Comitissam super possessioue 
sua Castri, maneriorum et dominiorum predictorum, cum perti- 
nenciis, diversis vicibus, pretextu literarum nostrarum paten- 
cium predictarum, vexavit et inquietavit et ad diversos labores 
et expensas eos posuit, ipsosque adhuc inquietat, indebite et in- 
juste, Vellemus dictas literas nostras, prefato Johanni Wyndesore 
in hac parte factas, revocari et adnullari jubere per breve nos- 
trum, Preceperimus Vicecomiti nostro Herefordie quod scire 
faceret prefato Johanni Wyndesore, quod esset coram nobis in 
Cancellaria nostra ad certum diem jam preteritum, ubicumque 
tunc foret, ad ostendendum si quid pro nobis aut pro se ipso 
haberet, vel dicere sciret, quare litere nostre predicte sibi inde 
sic facte, revocari et adnullari non deberent, et ad faciendum 
ulterius et recipiendum quod Curia nostra consideraret in hac 
parte ; Ac retornato brevi predicto in Cancellaria predicta ad diem 
predictum per prefatum Vicecomitem, et eodem brevi coram 
nobis misso discuciendo, necnon tam prefatis Johanne Corne- 
waill' et Comitissa per Johannem Hulton' attomatum suum, 
quam prefato Johanne Wyndesore, juxta premunicionem eis in 
hac parte factam, in propria persona sua coram nobis ad diem 
predictum comparentibus, predictus Johannes Wyndesore placi- 
tando in loquela predicta allegaverit quod nos, racione forisfac- 
ture predicti nuper Comitis, Castrum, dominia, et maneria pre- 
dicta, cum pertinenciis, in manus nostras seisivimus, et per 
literas nostras patentes dedimus, et concessimus eidem Johanni 
Wyndesore, Castrum, dominia, et maneria predicta, cum perti- 
nenciis, per nomen manerij de Majoierbier et Pennaly cum per- 
tinenciis, in comitatu Pembrochie in Wallia, una cum omnibus 
redditibus et serviciis omnium tenencium que fuerunt David 
Barry, Chivaler, in Begeley in Wallia, et una cum omnibus ter- 
ns et tenementis feodis militum et advocacionibus beneficiorum 
ecclesiasticorum que prefatus* Johannes Wyndesore, ac Thomas 
Holhirst, Johannes Duket, et Thomas Afirenthwayt, habuerunt 
de dono et concessione predicti David, in dicto comitatu Pem- 
brochie, que ad manus nostras ntcione forisfacture dicti nuper 
Comitis devenerunt, Habenda et tenenda eidem Johanni Wynde- 
sore et heredibus suis de nobis et heredibus nostris imper- 
petuum, ac pretextu doni et concessionis predictorum, idem 
Johannes Wyndesore fuit in possessione Castri, dominiorum, et 
maneriorum predictorum, cum pertinenciis, asserendo quod ipse 
tenet tenementa predicta ex concessione nostra, unde non inten- 
debat quod vos in placito predicto nobis inconsultis ulterius 
procedere velletis, petendo de nobis auxilium quod sibi extitit 



AND ITS EARLY OWNERS. 173 

concessum ut dicitur, quo pretextu vos in placito predicto ulte- 
rius procedere distulistis, et adhuc differtis in ipsorum Johannis 
Comewaill' et Comitisse dampnum non modicum et gravamen ; 
et nos nolentes eisdem Johanni Comewaill' et Comitisse justi- 
eiam differri, per aliud breve nostrum, vobis mandaverimus quod 
si in placito predicto coram nobis taliter esset processum et alle- 
gatum^ tunc ulterius in placito iUo cum ea celeritate qua de jure 
et secundum legem et consuetudinem regni nostri Anglie posse- 
tis, procederetis, et partibus justiciam fieri faceretis, aUegacione 
predicta non obstante, dumtamen ad judicium inde reddendum 
nobis inconsultis nuUatenus procederetis ; Jamque ex parte pre- 
dictorum Johannis Cornewaiir et Comitisse nobis sit ostensum, 
quod licet per veredictum juratonim inquisicionis, in quam 
partes predicte se inde posuerunt, compertum existat quod pre- 
dictus Johannes Wyndesore non fuit seisitus de predictis Cas- 
tro, manerio, et dominio de Maynerbier, ac de manerio et de 
dominio de Pennaly, cum pertinenciis, in comitatu Pembrochie 
in Wallia ; vos tamen, pro eo quod in dicto brevi nostro expressa 
fit mencio quod ad judicium in hac parte reddendum nobis in- 
consultis procedi non deberet, ad judicium predictum reddendum 
procedere hucusque distulistis et adhuc differtis in ipsorum 
Johannis Cornewaill* et Comitisse dampnum non modicum et 
gravamen, unde nobis supplicarunt ut ad reddicionem judicii 
illius procedi jubere velimus; Nos nolentes eisdem Johanni 
Comewaiir et Comitisse justiciam idterius differri in hac parte, 
Vobis mandamus quod si in placito predicto coram nobis taliter 
sit processum et allegatum, tunc ad judicium inde reddendum, 
cum ea celeritate qua de jure et secundum legem et consuetudi- 
nem predictas poteritis, procedatis, et partibus predictis plenam 
et celerem justiciam in hac parte fieri faciatis, allocacione (sic) pre- 
dicta, sen eo quod in dicto brevi nostro de procedendo expressa 
fit mencio, quod ad judicium predictum reddendum nobis in- 
consultis minime procederetis non obstante. Teste Rege apud 
Westmonasterium, quinto die Julij. 



174 



CHURCH STRETTON. 

This well known village, nestling under the mountain, 
presents a very pleasant picture to the railway traveller; 
and when more of the timber buildings existed than at 
present, the view was still more picturesque, although 
only as regards the absence of the more remarkable 
structures. Among these the former Town Hall may 
be mentioned, which has been superseded by a building 
probably more convenient, but by no means equal in 
general effect. It is given in the Castles and Mansions 
of Shropshire, although not strictly being one or the 
other; but the late Mrs. Acton, to whose generosity and 
liberality Shropshire is deeply indebted, thought it 
deserving a place in her volume ; otherwise no record 
of it was in existence, except a sketch which she copied. 

According to her the original Hall was built in 1617 
(14 James I), when, on the petition of Bonham Norton 
and others to be allowed, to establish a market every 
Thursday, and to hold the stalls for him and his heirs, 
he built the Market House at his own cost, or got 
others to assist. But long before this date the inha- 
bitants of Stretton had a much earlier grant (10 Ed- 
ward III, 1331) for holding a market on Thursday, and 
a fair on the day before and the day after the Exalta- 
tion of the Cross, 14 September. 

Mrs. Acton states that Bonham Norton, who was a 
London stationer, and the purchaser of the Stanton 
Lacy and some estates in Stretton, received a confirma- 
tion of the above grant of 1617; but no mention is made 
of such confirmation, or any allusion to the grant of 
1331; if such was the case, the older grant must 
not only have ceased, but be completely forgotten. 
Bonham Norton makes no mention of it in his petition 
to James, as might have been expected. As Mrs. Acton's 







W^^< ii 






CHURCH STRETTON. 175 

work is not eaaily procured, it may be thought desir- 
able to reproduce it in a future Number of the AtcTkbo- 
logia Cambrensis. 

Church Stretton is situated between two hamlets. All 
Stretton and Long Stretton. As the central Stretton 
alone has the church, its name may have been given 
to it for that reason ; but so many parishes have 
the same prefix, as Church Hill, Church Brampton, 
Church Stanton, Church Stone, and Church Stoke, and 
others, that Church Stretton is probably another ex- 
ample, without any reference to the existence of the 
two hamlets, which more probably took their names 
from the parish than gave them to it. 

The examples of domestic architecture are few, most 
being small buildings not far removed from cottages ; 
but there is an exception, viz., the house here faithfully 
represented from a drawing of Mr. W. G. Smith, 
Draughtsman of the Society. The house seems to have 
been originally built as it now stands, and was an im- 
portant edifice at the time. Little is known of its his- 
tory, except that it became, by purchase, the property 
of Ralph A. Benson, Esq., of Lutwyche Hall, who kindly 
acted as Chairman of the Local Committee at the Stret- 
ton Meeting. That it is in such safe hands is a matter 
of congratulation to all who can appreciate its value. 

E. L. Barnwell. 

Melksham. July 14, 1882. 



176 



LLYWELYN AB SEISYLLT AND HIS TIMES. 

In the Welsh History of Wales, by the late Rev. Thomas 
Price of Cwm Du (better known, perhaps, among his 
countrymen by his nom de plume, or Bardic sovhriquet 
of " Carnhuanawc"), it is said that in the year 994 — 
that is to say, seventy-two years before the Norman 
conquest of England — the throne of all Wales ("Cymru 
oil") was vacant for some years. Llywelyn ab Seisyllt 
(or, as some call him, Sitsyllt) was too young to assume 
the government. He was but fourteen years old, yet 
was married to Angharad, the only daughter and heiress 
of Meredydd, the son of Owen, the son of Howel the 
Good. What her age was when she was thus given in 
marriage to Llywelyn (thus carrying to her husband 
the hereditary right to the supreme sovereignty of her 
great-grandfather) is not stated. Seisyllt, the father 
of Llywelyn, was ninth in descent from Prince Gwyddno 
Garanhir, and was married to the Princess Trawst, 
daughter and heiress of Elisau, second son of Anarawd, 
son of Rhodri Mawr. Seisyllt had another son Einion 
of Mathafarn, Lord of Meirionydd (v. supra, p. 131.) 

Besides Llywelyn, there was living another Prince, 
who, but for the fact that he was ako a child, might 
have competed with him for the sovereignty. This was 
lago, the son of Idwal, the son of Meurig, the son of 
Idwal Voel, the son of Anarawd, the son of Rhodri 
Mawr. Idwal Voel had inherited from his father Ana- 
rawd the kingdom of Gwynedd ; but had been slain, 
with his brother Elisau, in 940, by the Saxons and 
Danes, who had united their forces against him in con- 
sequence of his refusal to pay to Edmund, the Saxon 
King, the tribute that had been enforced by Athelstan 
his father. Meurig was his eldest son ; but had been 
set aside by the people of Gwynedd, for some reason 
not mentioned by the chroniclers, as unworthy to reign 
over them. 



LLYWELYN AB SEISYLLT /LND HIS TIMES. 177 

Besides Meurig, Idwal Voel had left five other sons, 
leuan, lago, Cynan, Idwal Vychan (or the younger), and 
Rhodri. Of these we find two only, lago and Idwal, 
in possession of the sovereignty of Gwynedd about the 
year 950. Hywel Dda, whose sovereignty over the 
whole of Wales had for many years been undisputed, 
had died in 948. But no sooner was the good King in 
his grave than a fierce antagonism arose for the posses- 
sion of his dominions between his sons, of whom there 
were four surviving (Cadogan, one son, having been 
slain by the Saxons), Owen, Rhodri, Rhun, and Idwal, 
and the five younger sons of Idwal Voel. The contest 
seems to have commenced with the invasion of South 
Wales by the latter. Several fierce engagements were 
fought, in which lago and Idwal (who in one copy of 
the Annales Camhrice are said to have been previously 
driven out of their kingdom by Howel himself) cut the 
most prominent figure. In the last contest, at Camo, 
they are said to have come off victorious. After it, at 
all events, they are found in undisputed possession of 
the sovereignty of Gwynedd, while that of the rest of 
Wales is left to the sons of Howel. But one of them, 
at least, could not be contented to share the govern- 
ment peaceably with his brother. In 970 lago caused 
his brother leuan to be blinded,and afterwards strangled 
in prison. 

Of the other sons of Idwal, what became of Cynan 
does not appear. Rhodri was slain in 966;^ and his son 
Cystenin Dda, after hiring a body of piratical Danes 
under Godfrey the Viking, in 980, to ravage Mona and 
Lleyn (probably with the view to obtaining Gwynedd 
for himself), was slain by his cousin Howel, the son of 
leuan, at the battle of Hirbarth. Idwal Vychan, the 
fifth son of Idwal Voel, was murdered by the same 
Howel; at whose hands also his uncle Memig, who 
had been set aside as unworthy of the crown, died in 
prison, after being deprived of sight, in 973.^ For these 
and other crimes this Prince was surnamed " Ddrwg" 

1 Annales CamhriaSy p. 19. ^ Ihid. 

4frB 8SB., VOL. XUI. L2 



178 LLYWELYN AB SEISYLLT 

(or the Bad) by his subjects. The redeeming feature 
in his character is that he raised an army against his 
uncle lago, to avenge the cruelty, treachery, and mur- 
der perpetrated upon his father leuan, and drove him 
out of his kingdom, when he took refuge at the court 
of Edgar, the English King. Miss Jane Williams tells 
us^ that Edgar "compelled King Howel to admit King 
lago to a share of the kingdom of Gwynedd, and to a 
joint exercise of the sovereignty of Wales", and that the 
territory of Arvon became his portion. This, however, 
does not appear in the Chronicles, and is admitted by 
her to be an inference drawn from the general circum- 
stances of the case. According to the Aberpergwm 
copy, Hywel ab leuan went in the year 978 against the 
supporters of his uncle lago, and with him a great host 
of Saxons, and ravaged Lleyn and Clynog Fawr woefully, 
destroying the churches, blinding many of lago's parti- 
sans, and cruelly devastating the country. 

In 984, we learn from the Chronicle^ "Howel ap leuan 
went to England against the Saxons and Mercians who 
had fought on the part of lago his uncle, and there was 
slain with a great number of his men." All that is said 
in the Record Office edition of the events of this year, is 
that "lago was captured; and Howel, son of leuaf, had 
the victory, and conquered the territory of lago.'' It 
seems strange that Ab Ithel, in the otherwise very full 
and complete account which he gives in his Preface to the 
Record Office edition of the Chronicle^ should have left 
utterly unnoticed the Aberpergwm copy, which is that 
printed in the text of the Myvyrian Archceology, and 
quoted by Camhuanawc, throughout the course of his 
narrative, as his principal authority. This copy gives 
generally a fuller, more detailed, and circumstantial 
account of the events of each year than any of the 
other manuscript copies ; and although Ab Ithel may 
have conceived that this circumstance detracts from 
its authority, as shewing that copy to be of more modern 
date, and so liable to interpolation from other and less 

' History of Wales, p. 157. 



AND HIS TIMES. 1/9 

trustworthy sources, still many of the details, so far as 
I have been able to compare them, appear to be so con- 
sistent with the facts related in the other copies, and 
with events known to us from other sources, as well as 
with inferences deducible from reason, as to go far to 
shew that its writer had more than mere conjecture to 
rely upon for his statements, and to warrant belief that 
the transcript from which that at Aberpergwm was 
copied was on the whole derived from authentic sources, 
though statements contained in it here and there may 
be extravagant and improbable, and its orthography 
modernised. 

The statement that lago was captured by his nephew 
Hy wel Ddrwg seems to justify Miss Jane Williams in 
concluding that he had been reinstated by Edgar, other- 
wise he could scarcely have been taken prisoner while 
maintaining a contest in Lleyn. This capture is the 
last we hear of him, neither Camhuanawc nor Miss 
Williams pretending to tell us how this fratricidal 
monarch came by his end ; and their silence is justified 
by that of the Chronicles. Probably he died in prison, 
as they would scarcely have done less than record it, 
as in other similar cases, had he been put to a violent 
death, — a deed that could more readily have been justi- 
fied by that bad Prince than others of his acts, as being 
but the righteous retribution for his father's murder. 

Howel himself seems not to have survived the year.^ 
He had previously deprived of his sight Meurig, the 
eldest son of Idwal Voel, who, as has been said, had 
been deemed too devoid of talent, or disqualified by some 
other disability, to reign ; and his eldest son, lonfal, 
had risen in arms to avenge him, and also to claim the 
throne of Gwynedd in right of primogeniture, — a pro- 
ceeding that might be regarded as unexceptionable but 
for his act in allying himself with his country's enemies, 
the Saxons, and even the Danes, against those over 
whom he claimed to rule. But he met with a competi- 

^ In 985 Meurig, another son of leaan, is mentioned as slain, but 
with no circumstance of time or place. 

12* 



180 LLYWELYN AB SEISYLLT 

tor in Cadwallawn, the brother of Howel, by whom he 
was defeated and slain. 

Here, however, another competitor for the throne of 
Gwynedd, and for the sovereignty of all Wales, appears 
upon the scene in the person of Meredydd, Prince of 
South Wales, grandson of Howel through Owen his 
father, who had assumed the sovereignty of South 
Wales and Powys during the minority of his nephews 
Edwin and Tewdwr,the sons of Einion his elder brother. 
This Prince is found marching upon Gwynedd from the 
south, at the head of a powerful army, and is met by 
Cadwallawn, who had assumed the crown. of Gwynedd 
on the death of lonfal. Cadwallawn with his brother 
Meurig are defeated and slain ; and thus again the 
sovereignty of Wales is consolidated in a single hand in 
Meredydd ab Owen, a prince of the house of Hywel 
Dda, with the title, " Brenin Cymru OIL" This was in 
985, but his reign enjoyed but a short period of tran- 
quillity. "In 987 Godfrey the Dane, who had in the 
first instance been invited by the partisans of leuan ab 
Idwal Foel, and his black host, for the third time re- 
visited Mona, defeated the forces of King Meredydd, 
and took 2,000 prisoners ; among them Llywarch, the 
King's brother, whose eyes they put out. After which 
they made a similar triumphant raid upon the coast of 
South Wales. 

Nor was Meredydd otherwise left in undisturbed 
possession of his throne. Idwal, the younger son of 
Meurig, was elected as a rival monarch by the people 
of Gwynedd in 992, during the absence of Meredydd 
in South Wales, opposing uie Danes; whom, however, 
he was compelled to buy off with a penny poll-tax as 
the price of their departure. 

For his kingdom of South Wales, Meredydd had also 
a competitor in the person of his nephew, Edwin ab 
Einion, who was not ashamed to oppose him with a 
hired band of Mercians, while his antagonist again 
appears at the head of a body of Danish mercenaries. 
The real sufferers by these internecine contests were 



AND HIS TIMES. 181 

the people, whose lands were ravaged by both parties 
with fire and sword 

Returned to the north, Meredydd met Idwal at 
Llangwm, where he was worsted in the engagement, 
with the loss of a leader, Tewdwr, his brother Einion's 
son. The following year, 995, he died. 

Nor was Idwals triumph of long duration. Soon after 
he had to face another irruption of a horde of Danish 
pirates under Sweyn, who landed in Gwynedd from 
Man. Boldly and valiantly he encountered them at 
Penmynydd, and gave one example at least of a glorious 
death, in the person of a Cymric king slain in the de- 
fence of his country from a foreign aggressor. 

Meredydd survived him but a short time, and left, 
as has been said, an only daughter, Angharad, who 
became the wife of Lly welyn ab Seisyllt in the memor- 
able year when Wales was without a prince, though 
not long to remain so. In the words of Miss Jane Wil- 
liams, " King Idwal left only a son named lago, who 
was still a child. Cynan, the son of Howel the Bad, 
sprang eagerly upon the throne of Gwynedd, while 
Llewelyn ab Seisyllt, the son of Trawst, and the hus- 
band of Angharad, seized with a tenacious grasp upon 
the sceptres of Powys and Deheubarth, a.d. 998" (p.l62.) 

Thus far we have brought the history of Gwynedd 
back to the point whence we started, the minority of 
Lly welyn ab Seisyllt, and lago ab Idwal. In the course 
of it we have seen the throne of Gwynedd occupied 
successively by princes of the house of Anarawd (who 
derived it from the bequest of his father, Rhodri Mawr, 
King of all Wales), seized by a prince of the house of 
Hywel Dda, grandson of Rhodri through Cadell, a 
brother of Anarawd, who by a similar bequest inhe- 
rited the kingdom of South Wales, while to their 
brother Merfyn was bequeathed the kingdom of Powys. 

Thus far all the Chronicles seem to agree; but accord- 
ing to one authority (a short document of late transcrip- 
tion in the lolo MSS.) some extraordinary conditions 
were attached to these bequests; and it may be an 



182 LLYWBLYN AB SEISYLLT 

interesting question whether these conditions, suppos- 
ing them to have been really propounded, and accepted 
by the Cymric people, had they oeen adhered to, were 
calculated to save the country from those internecine 
conflicts which proved its destruction; or whether they 
may not rather have operated to produce the dissen- 
sions which issued in those conflicts. It is, indeed, pos- 
sible that the conditions never really existed, save in 
the imagination of those who either may have invented 
them, at a later period, for a special purpose, or may 
have too easily imagined that such must have been 
attached to the possession of the respective sovereignties 
from a knowleage of the general principles on which 
the transmission of property and authority was based, 
as received from their forefathers. But on the whole 
it appears to be the least improbable supposition that 
the document containing these conditions is a genuine 
and authentic one, and that it represents truly the poli- 
tical state of the country as it existed on the death of 
Rhodri, since there is nothing contained in it contra- 
dictory to the history as it appears in the acts of the 
several princes ; but, on the contrary, much which is 
calculated to throw light upon their otherwise often 
inexplicable conduct. 

In this document we read: "The sovereignty of Wales 
Paramount ('Teymedd Penraith'), consisting of the 
eldestof thethreediademed princes, enthroned kings, and 
their stocks of sovereignty, or the inherence by which 
sovereignty is rendered perfect. But a sovereign stock 
is not of the same principle in each of the three provinces, 
being to some extent different in each." These differ- 
ences are specified in other paragraphs of the document. 
Again : "A king paramount is a monarch placed in 
supreme authority over other kings; his voice being 
superior to theirs, individually and collectively ; and 
the sovereign whom the confederation might deem the 
wisest and bravest of all the allied kings was the per- 
sonage selected for this supreme dignity, and to him 
appertained the prerogative of monarch of the whole 



AND HIS TIMES. 183 

island of Britain and of all its kings." " The preroga- 
tive of the sovereignty of Wales Paramount is to select 
the wisest and bravest of its kings to be instated as the 
predominant prince and juridical chief of the whole 
island of Britain." Again : "A head of kindred (a * Pen- 
cenedl') is an elder of tribe, kindred, and family, who 
enjoys thorough enfranchisement; and one, consequently, 
whose kindred of the same family and tribe partake of 
his privileges to the ninth generation, lineally and col- 
laterally. A man of thorough enfranchisement is one 
who is neither mad nor imbecile, neither blind nor 
dumb, neither deaf nor lame, nor yet one of a strange 
tongue; one who is neither unskilful nor unlearned, 
who is not married to a natural alien, and who is not 
a condemned criminal; one who is not liable to the 
claim of retribution for murder, nor yet for insult, and 
who has not fled in the day of hostility and battle ; but 
he is one who knows all the usages and prerogatives of 
the sovereignty of the Isle of Britain, and the privileges 
of every free-born Cambrian. A man thus capacitated, 
and being descended from elders of his tribe and family, 
is entitled to the rank of * head of kindred' in the su- 
preme council of sovereignty in all courts of country 
and kindred, and in all courts of law and judgment. 
He claims also the position of father to every fatherless 
orphan of his tribe, kindred, and family; and it per- 
tains to him to correct all the transgressions of his tribe 
and kindred, without subjecting himself thereby to any 
penalties resulting from claims of redress. A ^ head of 
kindred' is also privileged to convoke a jury, and stir 
up a gathering of country and kindred on any lawful 
occasion ; and no authority can counteract such a pro- 
ceeding, for the integrity of sovereignty depends on 
heads of kindred, to whom should be presented every 
appeal against wrong and illegality inflicted on any of 
their kindred." 

The document defines also the three sovereignties of 
Dinevor, Aberfiraw, and Mathraval : the first consist- 
ing of king, lords of the court and throne, and country; 



184 LLYWELYN AB SEISYLLT 

the second, of king, fifteen tribes of Gwynedd, and jus- 
tices of court ; the third, of king, the chief families 
(gwelygorddau) of Powys, and justices of court. In 
each the country, tribes, or chief families, in fact the 
body of landed proprietors, were to be represented by 
the "Pencenhedloedd" (or heads of kindred), nearly cor- 
responding probably to the heads or chiefs of claiis in 
Scotland, and septs in Ireland.^ 

The document also provides, in a very curious and 
remarkable manner, for a court of arbitration for the 
three provinces, the seats of which were to be respect- 
ively at Bwlch y Pawl for disputes between Dinevawr 
and Aberffraw, the King of Powys to preside ; at Rhyd 
Helyg, on the Wye, for Mathraval and Dynevawr, the 
King of Gwynedd to preside ; at Dol yr Hunedd, in 
I&l, for Mathraval and Aberffraw, the King of Dinevawr 
to preside. And it is added that " wherever the seat of 
arbitration shall be, there shall also reside the aggre- 
gate sovereignty of the three provinces." 

It would carry me too far to attempt to investigate 
thoroughly here these constitutions. If they really 
were reduced to writing, or were even practically acted 

^ Glamorgan and the territory between Wye and Severn were ex- 
cluded from the prerogatives of supreme sovereignty over the rest 
of Wales ; why, is not made clearly to appear, and is the more un- 
accountable since they were, to all appearance, equally Cymric at 
this time with the rest of the nation. Was it because of their 
Silurian, i.e., Iberian origin ? There is a second, and apparently 
a subsidiary document to the former, setting forth a system of regu- 
lations, stated to have been determined on and agreed to by the 
concurrent enactment of the five royal tribes of Wales in federal 
council, in the time of King Edgar, for the course to be pursued by 
each sovereignty in case of invasion by a foreign enemy. In 
this it is remarkable that the paramount sovereignty is declared 
to be invested in the King of England, as the richest and most 
powerful, in case " the hostile aggression come by sea from a foreign 
country", each of the other kings of the island being " entitled to 
give his counsel in the assembly of the King of England." If 
this be truly an original document (and it is difficult to see why it 
should not), no more striking proof could be afforded of the height 
of the power attained by this monarch over the sovereigns of Wales. 
Hence the famous story of his having been rowed on the Dee, at 
Chester, by eight of the Welsh princes, may not seem so improbable 
as has been supposed. * 



AND HIS TIMES. 185 

on as unwritten law, before the time of Hywel Dda, 
they may have contained within themselves the ele- 
ments of disputation, leading inherently to interminable 
discord, contention, and hatred. Suffice it to say that 
the Welsh Code of Hywel Dda appears to contain no 
direct provision for the paramount sovereignty. His 
system of legislation, however, may have been designed 
as a superstructure based upon that which is contained 
in these constitutions. The words "Pencenedr and 
" Penraith" occur in the Laws ; the one as expressive of 
headship of a clan; the other, however, seems expressive 
of little more than that of chief of a jury empannelled 
for legal purgation of crimes. Miss Jane Williams ex- 
presses implicit belief in them ; but they are wholly 
unnoticed by Carnhuanawc ; in whose day, indeed, they 
existed as yet but in manuscript ; but in manuscript to 
which it is reasonable to suppose that he may have had 
access. And meagre as the notices in the Chronicles 
{Brutiau as they are termed in Welsh) are, arising often, 
doubtless, from the ignorance of the writers, — an igno- 
rance which has extended itself to the works of many 
so called historical writers down to our own day, — ^as 
to what really constitute the salient points of history, 
still it is difficult to imagine that they should not have 
forced themselves more frequently into their annals 
had they embodied the principles ordinarily acted upon, 
or at least professedly so, in the relations between the 
Cymric princes with their subjects and with one another. 
According to the Constitutions, the respective kings 
seem scarcely empowered to act in any important mat- 
ter affecting the whole of their kingdom without the 
advice and consent of their heads of kindred in solemn 
council assembled ; nor, again, the king paramount 
without those of an assembly composed of the heads of 
kindred of the three kingdoms together. Yet in every 
case, as far as appears from the Chronicles, the kings 
appear to take the initiative on their own entire respon- 
sibility, without any reference whatever to the assent 
or consent of what would, in the opposite case, be not 



1 86 LLYWELYN AB SEISYLLT 

improperly termed their parliament : not, indeed, pre- 
cisely as constituted now, but as it existed in England, 
under the name of " Witangemot", under the early 
Saxon kings. Instead of which we find little but vio- 
lent invasion, and overthrow of one king or prince by 
another, himself to be set upon and overthrown, and 
delivered up to mutilation, imprisonment, or even a 
cruel death, often at the hands of his nearest, and who 
should have been dearest, relatives. 
. The course of internecine warfare commences even as 
early as the reigns of the sons of Rhodri. In 892 An- 
arawd (who is described in one Brut as the eldest, in 
another as the youngest of the sons of Rhodri) falls 
upon the territories of his brother Cadell (described also 
in another Brut as the eldest), and most cruelly burns 
all the houses and crops in Dyfed and Ystrad Tywi, 
i.e., his legitimate kingdom of South Wales.^ In 907 
Cadell dies, and this deed of atrocity offers appa- 
rently no bar to the succession of Anarawd to the para- 
mount sovereignty of Wales. Cadell is succeeded as 
King of South Wales and Powys by his son Howel the 
Good. Meurig, his second son, slays (how or why is 
not stated) his brother Clydawc. What became of 
Meurig, or whether he was slain in retaliation by any 
one, the chroniclers omit to mention. 

On the death of Anarawd, in 913,Hywel Dda becomes 
at least paramount sovereign of Wales, if not, indeed. 
King of all Wales ; while Idwal Foel, son of Anarawd, 
who had previously borne that title, becomes sovereign 
of Gwynedd only ; a fact which goes far t,o prove that 
the paramount sovereignty was not, at least, under- 
stood at that time to descend in lineal succession from 
father to son. What was the precise and positive dif- 
ference between these two I have not found clearly laid 
down in any modern history of Wales. As T under- 
stand it, the difference consists in this, — that the sove- 
reign paramount had a superiority of little more than 
precedence, entitling him to the office of president in a 
national assembly of all the three kingdoms together ; 

^ Banes Gymru^ p. 402. 



AND HIS TIMES. 187 

while the "Brenin Cymru Oil" actually held the sceptre 
of the three kingdoms, by virtue of conquest or of here- 
ditary right, to the same extent, and in the same man- 
ner, as if he had been King of Gwynedd, Powys, or 
Dyfed only. 

In the year 907 or 909, when Cadell, his father, died, 
Howel had also succeeded to the kingdom of Powys, 
which had been seized by his father Cadell on the death 
of his brother Merfyn; or according to the Aberpergwm 
copy of the Chronicle of the Princes, in the second 
year of his reign, twenty-five years before, when he 
had dispossessed his brother by violence, — a state- 
ment which, it is only just to observe, is wholly unsup- 
ported by the other Bruts. This chronicle states that 
on the death of Idwal Foel at the hands of the Saxons 
and Danes, in 940, Hywel Dda took possession of all 
Wales,— "hoU Gymr/' {Myv. Arch.y p. 690); a state- 
ment which it is difficult to reconcile with the fact that 
Idwal Voel and his sons after him appear to have 
reigned in Gwynedd peaceably during his lifetime. 
Howel was at that time sovereign paramount of Wales, 
for which it may have been thought, as Miss Jane 
WiUiams and even Carnhuanawc seem to think, that 
the actual possession of the throne of each one of the 
three kingdoms was required. This, as we have seen, 
according to the explanation aflforded by the document 
in the lolo MSS., is incorrect, since according to it the 
sovereign of any one of the three kingdoms might be 
paramount over the other two, provided only he were 
duly elected by the heads of kindred in solemn assem- 
bly, and provided he was the eldest of the three, and 
duly qualified by knowledge, courage, and ability. 

It appears to me that the failure duly to recognise 
this important fact has led to much misinterpretation 
of the history of Wales at this period. An example of 
this would seem to be the statement of Miss Jane Wil- 
liams (p. 151), that "at the death of Idwal Voel his 
sons found it necessary to suppress their murmurs, and 
quietly to allow King Howel Dda to assume the crown 
of Gwynedd"; and in one chronicle it is certainly stated 



188 LLYWELYN AB SEISYLLT 

that he drove those princes out of their kingdom of 
Gwynedd. If it is true that he did so, it is difficult to 
recognise how such an act would accord with the sur- 
name which his countrymen then and ever since have 
gratefully accorded him, of " the Good", the noblest (far 
nobler than "Great") that any sovereign can enjoy. 
He could not rightfully have enjoyed it, except by 
solemn election of the legislative assembly, so to speak, 
of the country itself; and nothing save the most glaring 
demerit on the part of the direct heirs, the sons of Id- 
wal Voel, and even others nearer, perhaps, in blood 
than himself, could have warranted that assembly in 
fixing their choice upon him. To the rest of this his- 
torian's statement respecting him no exception need be 
taken, comprising, as it does, in a sentence, that of all 
persons and times : " This excellent man seemed to 
desire regal power merely for the sake of making all his 
subjects nappy ; and his private conduct and pubUc 
government were so uniformly discreet, equitable, and 
benevolent, that he secured universal reverence and 
goodwill. Contemporary chroniclers style him the chief 
and glory of the Britons, and time has failed to dim 
the calm halo which encircles his name.'' (P. 152.) 

One year has passed from the death of this good, 
great, and peaceable monarch, a.nd the scene becomes 
woefully transformed. lago and Ieuan,the sons of Idwal 
Voel, occupy jointly the throne of Gwynedd; Owen, 
the eldest son of Hywel Dda, those of Powys and De- 
heubarth. With these commences an internecine con- 
flict which, interrupted only by conflicts with the Eng- 
lish and Danes, lasts till the end of the centuiy. All 
at once we find lago and leuan descending upon Owen's 
kingdom of South Wales, and after two battles at 
Carno and Abercy wyn, devastating Dyfed with fire and 
sword. They in turn are chased back into Gwynedd, 
where an indecisive battle is fought with great slaughter 
on both sides, at a place called in the old orthography 
** Gwrgystu" in Aberconwy, transformed in the modern- 
ised transcript of Aberpergwm into Llanrwst, which 
may or may not be correct. 



AND HIS TIMES. 189 

Then, a.d. 958, we find Owain devastating Gorwen- 
nydd, a territory forming part of the independent domi- 
nion of Morgan Mawr, King of Glamorgan, and ruth- 
lessly destroying religious houses ; an invasion probably 
prompted only by ambition or by detestation of the 
English influence, then paramount at the court of Mor- 
gan ; but which is ascribed by Camhuanawc to a ques- 
tion of ecclesiastical discipline relating to the marriage 
of the clergy, because Englishmen had been received 
into those houses; but which, if true, that circumstance 
tends to shew must have been deemed an innovation 
by the body of the Welsh clergy. The proceeding 
brought down upon him the intervention of Edgar, 
who IS said to have assembled the notables of Glamor- 
gan much in the manner described in the document of 
the lolo MSS., who determined the question in favour 
of Morgan, and against Owen. 

In 962 we find Edgar in Gwynedd, and settling a 
colony of Danes in Mona ; then at Caerlleon on Usk, 
where he makes peace with Morgan on condition of 
rfeceiving from him yearly a tribute of one hundred 
brindled cows, himself engaging to confirm him in his 
kingdom ; while on Owen, who also appears there, is 
imposed the tribute specified (and thus acknowledged 
to be due) in the Laws of Hywel Dda, — a tribute that 
had been paid to Egbert by his great-grandfather Rho- 
dri, and enjoined by him on his sons, probably as a 
peaceful measure of policy, in favour of the more power- 
ful Saxon monarch. After which he is said to have 
returned to Gwynedd, and exacted from lago and leuan 
the tribute of the famous three hundred wolves' heads, 
which some have declined to accept as genuine. But 
to discuss the question would here be foreign to our 
purpose. 

After Cynan ab Hywel Ddrwg had ascended the 
throne of Gwynedd, a usurper appears upon the scene 
in the person of Aeddan ab Blegwryd, who seized first 
upon Deheubarth and Powys, the dominions of Lly- 
welyn ab Seisy lit, when as yet too young to defend them, 
and marching towards Gwynedd was met by Cynan 



190 LLYWELYN AB SEISYLLT 

in the field ; but the latter was defeated and slain, and 
Aeddan became possessed of the whole Cymric terri- 
tory "from sea to sea". He reigned for some years 
peaceably and well, repairing, to the best of his ability, 
the destruction eflFected in former reigns. But in 1013 
Llywelyn ab Seisyllt having attained his majority, 
attacked Aeddan, defeated and slew him together with 
his four sons or nephews, and thus established himself, 
not virtually merely as king paramount, but as actual 
sovereign in possession of the three great Cymric king- 
doms.^ 

What was the precise hereditary right of Llywelyn 
to the sovereignty is not very easy to determine. Ed- 
win may have died in the interval, though I find no 
mention of the event in the Bruts ; but he had left a 
son Owen, who may, however, have been an infant at 
this time, though his son Meredydd was old enough to 
be subsequently set up as King of South Wales by 
Harold, the son of Earl Godwin. Be this as it may, 
besides the right derived from his wife Angharad, 
Llywelyn had an hereditary right of his own, derived 
from his mother Trawst, a daughter of Elisau, second 
son of Anarawd, and brother of Idwal Voel. His cha- 
racter for courage, moderation, and ability, must, from 
the first, have stood high among his countrymen, and, 
doubtless, his claim had obtained their unanimous sup- 
port in the solemn council of the nation. It was said 
of him that he never made war for mere purposes of 
aggression, nor ever fought except in self-defence, or 
when his country was assailed by a foreign foe ; and 
his reign, except when interrupted, of necessity, by 
such enterprises, was one uninterrupted course of peace 
and prosperity to his people, who during these years 
grew greatly in wealth and numbers. This is ascribed 
by Carnhuanawc partly also to the fact that the Danes 

^ An attempt appears subsequently to have been made by Mearig, 
a son or nephew of Aeddan, to reconquer the territory ; but in the 
battle which was fought, Meurig was slain by Llywelyn with his own 
sword. (Hanes C, quoting Brut y T.^ p. 431.) 



AND HIS TIMES. 191 

and English being fully occupied in strife with each 
other, had no time for incursions into Cymric territory. 
But if so, this speaks also highly for the wisdom of 
Llywelyn, since it shews that he had the sagacity to 
hold himself aloof, nor permit himself to be handled as 
a tool by either enemy for the destruction of the other, 
and the weakening of his own power : a policy which, 
if always pursued by our sovereigns, might have pre- 
served their freedom, independence, and national pros- 
perity, for an indefinite period. 

One only foreign invasion did he experience, which 
he repelled with honour ; and on that one occasion did 
he avail himself of English co-operation. Aulaff or An- 
laff, a piratical Danish chieftain, landed in Gower with 
his "black host", to which was superadded a horde of 
Irish plunderers. These it is said that he drove with 
vast loss into Ireland, with the aid of a large force sent 
by Edmund Ironside,whereAulaflF became subsequently 
king. But it appears that there was certainly more 
than one expedition into Wales under a leader named 
Aulaff, — one when Edmund I (or the Etheling) and 
Hy wel Dda were reigning. There is a confusion, there- 
fore, in the story, and the Saxon aid may have been 
requested by Howel the Good. 

One other conflict of magnitude is to be noted during 
the reign of Llywelyn, which I need merely relate in 
the spirited language of Miss Jane Williams, whose 
word-painting in this instance can scarcely be greatly 
exaggerated, while it conveys a tolerably fair notion of 
the general untrustworthiness of her style of writing 
history. " In South Wales, a.d. 1020, an Irish adven- 
turer, crafty, clever, and voluble, appeared at Dinefavn*, 
calling himself by the name of Rhun, and pretending 
to be the son of the late King Meredydd. He was 
received by the subordinate kings of the province" (by 
how many " subordinate kings", by the way, does Miss 
Williams consider that each province had the happiness 
to be ruled ?), ** and a large army was assembled at 
Abergwili to enforce his claim. On the approach of 



192 LLYWELYN AB SEISYLLT 

Llewelyn ab Seisyllt with his forces, Ehun addressed 
his martial partisans with ostentatious bravery, confi- 
dently anticipating success, and arrogantly defying all 
opposition ; but ere the furious shock of conflict came, 
he hid himself; and the chieftains of the south, after 
fighting desperately against their enraged sovereign, 
were defeated and dispersed. Llewelyn lost many men 
in the battle ; but he overtook and slew the vaunting 
pretender, ravaged the country, and returned laden 
with the spoils, in melancholy triumph, to his favourite 
residence, Rhuddlan Castle." Whicn Castle, she omits 
to tell us, is said to have been originally built by him. 

The narrative is given by Miss Williams substantially 
in the words of the Chronicle of the PnnceSy here un- 
usually amplified (Ab Ithel's edition, as it stands in 
two of his copies, and also in the first of the two given 
in the Myvr. Arch., p. 605, Gee's ed.), which seems to 
correspond, for the most part, to the text of Ab Ithel. 
Camhuanawc has given only a condensed account, de- 
rived, as usual with him, from the Abei-pergwm MS. 
None of these, be it observed, say a word of the *' sub- 
ordinate kings", all of whom seem evolved from " the 
men of the south" of the Chronicle, like Darwin's "man" 
from the aboriginal ape. Nor, again, is it stated, except 
in Ann. Camhrice, p. 23 ("occisus est Reyn"), that Rhun 
was actually slain, but only that " from that time forth 
he never appeared again." According to the Brut 
leuan Brechva, Rhun was a natural son of Meredydd 
by an Irish woman. Llywelyn's life was prolonged but 
for a year or two after this event. 

Miss Williams proceeds to tell us that "in 1023 King 
Llewelyn ab Seisyllt died by assassination, at the insti- 
gation, it is said, of Howel and Maredudd, the sons of 
Edwin ab Einion ab Owen ab Howel Dda, and by the 
treacherous aid of Madog Mln, Bishop of Bangor. 
National reprobation prevented the authors of this 
heinous deed from profiting by it, and the throne of 
Gwynedd was immediately occupied by lago ab Idwal 
(Vychan), the lineal descendant of Rhodri Mawr. The 



AND HIS TJM£S. 193 

throne of Deheubarth was seized upon with a strong 
hand by Rhydderch ab lestyn, district King of Mor- 
gan wg, and Lord of Gwenllwg. The kingdom of Powys 
appears to have fallen into a distracted state, and to 
have afforded shelter to the turbulent sons of Edwin." 

There is little to object to in this statement, which 
is, on the whole, consistent with those of the several 
chronicles, one expression excepted, that of "district 
king", implying that the kings of Deheubarth held 
jurisdiction over those of Morgan wg ; an erroneous im- 
pression which has led the writer into many mistakes, 
underlying, as it were, and discolouring the whole stream 
of her history. Nothing can be clearer, from all the 
known facts, that Morganwg and also Essyllwg (which 
was afterwards the kingdom of Elystan Glodrydd) were 
wholly and entirely independent of the three great 
sovereignties, having the power to choose their own 
kings, hold their own national assembHes, and make 
their own laws. 

The treachery of Madoc Min on this and on a second 
occasion were held in such detestation by his country- 
men as to pass into a proverb, and become connected 
with a legendary tale. The Chronicle of the Princes 
tells us : " One year and one thousand and sixty was 
the year of Christ (1063, Ann. Carrib.) when Gruffydd, 
son of Llewelyn, the head, and shield, and defender of 
the Britons, fell through the treachery of his own men. 
The man who has been hitherto invincible was now left 
in the glens of desolation, after taking immense spoils, 
and after gaining innumerable victories, and countless 
treasures of gold and silver, and jewels and purple ves- 
tures." This deed of treachery also is ascribed to Madoc 
Mln. He betrayed (so runs the story) Gruflfydd, the son 
of Llywelyn ab Seisyllt,for three hundred head of cattle, 
promised him by Harold, King of the Saxons. The 
deed was done ; but Harold kept back the price of blood. 
Thereupon " Madoc went in a ship towards the town of 
Dublin in Ireland ; but the ship sank without the loss 
of any life save that of Madoc Mln, and so the venge- 

4th bbr,, vol. XIII. 18 



194 LLYWELYN AB SEISYLLT 

ance of God fell on him for his treachery ; and so may 
it befall every traitor to his country and to his king all 
over the world I And so wily and deceitful was that 
Madoc that he was called 'Madoc the Fox'; and thus the 
most treacherous of all traitors was Madoc Mln/' (lolo 
MSS. p. 611.) 

Miss Williams quotes Ann. Camh. and Brut y Tywy- 
sogion for her statement that " the murder of Chman ab 
Seisyllt, Llewelyn's brother, in 1026, was added to the 
crimes which ambition prompted the sons of Edwin to 
commit/* I find no authority whatever for the assertion. 
The Annals say simply that he died, and the Brut that 
he was killed, but not by whom. The statement which 
follows, that Meredydd ab Edwin was killed by the 
sons of Cynan, may lead to the conjecture that this was 
done to avenge their father s death; but it warrants no 
more than conjecture. Again, as to her statement that 
'* Howel ab Edwin was constrained by them to seek for 
safety in exile", one copy (C) states that Griffith ab 
Uywelyn expelled Howel (p. 23, N.), defeated him after- 
wards at Pencadair, and on his sailing up the Towy 
with a force of Irish auxiliaries, defeated and slew him, 
and took his widow to be his wife. 

It would carry us too far here to follow closely and 
in detail the fortunes of Gruffydd. Suffice it to say that 
his policy, equally bold with that of his father, was 
more aggressive, and less tempered with discretion. He 
was not averse to allying himself with Dane or Saxon, 
if momentarily to his advantage ; and he loved to exe- 
cute those border forays which inflict misery on the 
poor inhabitants while conducive to no solid or perma- 
nent result. Hence his attacks on Hereford and Wor- 
cester, the latter resulting in the death of the Bishop, 
who lost his life by putting himself at the head of such 
a force as he could hastQy muster to save his church 
and his flock. In 1042 he was taken prisoner by stra- 
tagem, by Cynan ab lago coming over from Ireland ; 
but his subjects pursued the Irish to their ships, and 
recovered their prince. (Enwogion, s. v.) 



AND HIS TIMES. 



195 



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LLYWELTN AB SBI8YLLT AKD HIS TIMES. 







197 



HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

{Continued from p. 68, Vol, xiii^ Ath Series,) 

1646, Sept. 16. Draft order for payment of £50 to Quarter- 
master General Gravenor for bringing the good news of the 
rendition of Bagland Castle. (L. J., viii, 492.) In extenso, 

1646, Sept. 24. Petition of the Deputy - Lieutenants of 
Cheshire, and the Governor and Committee of the City of 
Chester, to the House of Commons. Almost since January 
1642-3 two armies have been maintained in this small county, 
and, on the treaty for the surrender of Chester, the petitioners, 
to save the city from plunder, engaged themselves to give all 
the oflBcers and soldiers that served in the leaguer one month's 
pay, amounting to nearly £20,000, while the sequestrations will 
fall far short of what wa3 expected. The horse, dragooners, and 
volunteer companies are all six months in arrear, and the 
•coimty cannot satisfy them; and the soldiers are growing so 
impatient that the petitioners are in as great danger of being 
despoiled by their own necessitous soldiers, as they were before 
by the enemy ; so many soldiers have been withdrawn that the 
malignants outnumber those that are left, and North Wales is 
in danger of being overrun by the enemy. The county is in 
want of a member to represent them in Parliament ; is destitute 
of a godly and learned ministry, and the Courts of Justice are 
obstructed. The petitioners pray that considerable sums of 
money may be speedily ordered them out of the estates of 
delinquents, that a suflBcient number of soldiers may be main- 
tained at Chester for the safety of the city, and that the 
other grievances of the coimty may be redressed. (See C. J., 
iv, 674.) 

1646, Oct. 27. Draft order for Eowland Hunt to be SheriflF 
of the coimty of Montgomery. (L. J., viii, 548.) In extenso, 

1646, Nov. 3. Application for an order for Dr. Aylett to 
institute and induct Ludovicke Lewis to the parsonage of Ilan- 
dyssil, Cardiganshire. (L. J., viii, 555.) 

1646, Nov. 3. Ordinance to clear Sir Eobert Eyton and 
others of their delinquency. (L. J., viii, 556.) In eoatenso, 

1646, Nov. 6. Petition of Henry Earl of Worcester. Pe- 
titioner, upon the surrender of his house at Eagland, chose 
rather to C€wt himself upon the favour of the Parliament than 
to secure the liberty of his person, and disposal of his goods 



198 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

upon the articles offered to him by Sir Thomas Fairfax. Peti- 
tioner's reason for fortifying his house was to defend himself 
from the unruliness of soldiers, and during all the time he was 
Governor there, he never levied any contribution from the 
country, or oppressed his neighbours with free quarters or other 
incumbrance. He did not embrace a commission sent to him 
from the King to be General of South Wales, intending nothing 
but his own preservation ; and has for these three years kept 
his chamber, and most part of that time his bed, through his 
great infirmities, and never summoned a council of war, or 
issued any one order, save that for the delivery up of his Castle. 
Petitioner is now, by their Lordships' commands, brought up to 
London in great weakness, and remains a prisoner to death, as 
well as to their honours' pleasure. Prays for gracious considera- 
tion of his misery. (L J., viii, 558.) 

1646, Nov. 10. Draft order for Robert Powell, Esq., to be 
High Sheriff of Salop. (L. J., viii, 560.) In extenso, 

1646, Nov. 14. Petition of Ann, wife of John Bodvell, re- 
specting the guardianship of her children. (L. J., viii, 565.) 
In extenso, 

1646, Nov. 16. Petition of Captain Samuel Tompson. Pe- 
titioner has faithfully served the King and Parliament for the 
space of two years, and has laid out much money for the main- 
tenance of his troop, and has only received £44 3s. In May 
1644 petitioner lent £360 to Sir Thomas Middleton for the 
advance of his forces into North Wales. Prays that this sum, 
with interest thereon, may be repaid to him out of the estates 
of the delinquents of the six counties in North Wales, who are 
now in composition for their estates in Goldsmiths' HalL (L. J., 
viii, 567.) 

1646, Nov. 16. Draft order for the payment of £20 to Mr. 
Heath and Mr. Curtis, who brought the news of the taking of 
Eaglan Castle. (L J., viii, 567.) In extenso. 

1646, Nov. 17. Application for orders for Dr. Aylett to in- 
stitute and induct Dr. John Ellis to the Eectory of Dolgelley. 
(L. J., viii, 568.) 

1646, Nov. 17. Draft ordinance appointing Richard Symonds 
and others to preach itinerantly in South Wales. L. J., viii, 
669.) In extenso. 

1646, Dec. 2. Petition of Colonel Randall Mainwaring. He 
has endangered his life, impaired his health, and lost his estate 
in the public service. For four years last past he has been 
Major-General of the City Horse and Foot, and has only received 
£200 ; great arrears are also due to his son, who served as a 
captain at Abingdon tmtfl the forces there were disbanded, and 



HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 19'9 

is now, with petitioner's other children, dependent npon him. 
Petitioner prays that he may be appointed to the searcher's 
place for Sandwich and the members thereof, now void. (L. J., 
viii, 586.) 

1646, Dec. 16. Petition of Henry Earl of Worcester. Pe- 
titioner, who is near upon four score years of age, upon the 
treaty at Eagland, put himself wholly upon ParSament, and 
was brought up to the custody of the Usher of the Black Rod, 
where he has remained eight or nine weeks. On account of his 
age and infirmities he cannot walk in his chamber, or to his 
bed, without help, and has no means of his own to defray his 
necessary charge, and pay his great fees. He prays their Lord- 
ships that, inasmuch as his life cannot continue many days, 
they wiU be pleased to order that he may be freed of that 
chai:ge, and that he may die out of restraint, and not in the 
nature of a prisoner, and may forthwith have such allowance 
for his maintenance as they in their wisdom shall think fit. 
(L J., viii, 613.) This petition was ordered to be sent to the 
House of Commons, that in regard of his sickness and want he 
might have some means allowed him out of his own estate. 
On the 18th, the House was informed of the Earl's death, and 
application was made for the means to bury him. The petition 
is noted: "Bead 16 Dec. 1646; nothing done. Dead. 18 Dec. 
1646." 

1646-7, Jan. 4 Petition of Maurice Evans of the parish of 
Gannus [G wnnws], in the county of Cardigan. In 1 645 petitioner 
was forcibly thrust out of possession of a house called Pully 
Preeth and other tenements by Jenkin Uewellin, assisted by horse 
and foot of the King's solcQers. Uewellin still continues in 
possession of the premises, and cannot be made to give them 
up, because there is no Justice of the Peace in the county, as 
aU are disabled by their delinquency. Petitioner prays that the 
High Sheriff and Coroner of the county may be ordered to re- 
settle him in possession of his property. (ll J., viii, 643.) 

Annexed : 1. Affidavit in support of proceeding. 2. State- 
ment by the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, that he has ap- 
pointed two fit persons to put Evans in possession of his pro- 
perty. 9 Jan. Endorsed : Read. Nothing done. 

1646-7, Jan. 9. Draft order for Thomas Marbury, of Mar- 
bury, in the county of Chester, to be one of the Deputy-Lieu- 
tenants of the county. (C. J., v, 47.) In extenso. 

1646-7, Jan. 13. Petition of Sir John Brydges. In conse- 
quence of his service at the taking of Hereford he was to have had 
the power of freeing two others from their delinquency, he himself 
having been already freed by the Committee of Gloucester ; but, 



200 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

through the malice of enemies, the Committee for Hereford have 
sequestered him for acts done before his pardon. He has ap- 
plied to the Committee for sequestrations, who have stayed 
proceedings against him, but as he is going to serve in Ireland, 
leaving his wife and family in England, he prays to be secured 
from his enemies by an ordinance of Parliament 

Jan. 13. Draft ordinance for taking otf the sequestration of 
the estate of Sir John Brydges. (L. J., viii, 670.) 

1646-7, Jan. 13. Petition of Colonel Eobert Kyrle (or Kyrne), 
Governor of the town and Castle of Monmouth. In June 1644, 
finding himself to have been misled, petitioner deserted His 
Majesty's service, and joined that of the Parliament, and in 
January 1645-6 he was appointed Governor of Monmouth, 
and raised a regiment of foot, and troop of horse at his own 
expense, besides other services to Parliament ; yet the Com- 
mittee for Hereford have sequestered all his estate in that 
county that has come to him from his father, who always 
adhered to Parliament. He prays that the sequestration may 
be taken oflf, and the Committee ordered to restore anything 
already taken away. (L. J., viii, 670.) 

1646-7, Jan. 23. Petition of the well-afifected gentry and 
inhabitants of the county of Cardigan. They pray that a free 
school may be established in the town of Cardigan annexed to 
Jesus College, Oxford, and £100 per annum be allowed thereto 
out of the impropriations sequestered from delinquents in the 
county. (L. J., viii, 684.) 

Annexed : 1. Another petition of same. 2. Another petition. 
3. Schedule of proposed constitution and endowment of school 
4 Copy of preceding. 5. Another copy. 6. Eeasons showing 
the necessity of a free school to be erected in the town of Car- 
digan, and the benefit that may consequently ensue to the 
inhabitants of that county, presented to the Committee of Lords 
by Thomas Wogan, Esq., a member of the Honourable House of 
Commons serving for that town. There is no free school within 
forty miles, and the inhabitants are so poor that they are not 
able to have their children educated in any other county. 
None save the best sort of gentry can read or speak the 
English tongue, so that preaching does not at all edify them, 
they being not capable of understanding for want of breeding. 
In the whole four score parish churches, there are not one 
dozen ministers who can speak in their language. Mr. Wogan 
then gives many reasons why the town of Cardigan is the best 
place in the county for a free school. 7. Extracts from the 
Liber Regis, temp. Henry VIII, showing the value of the first 
fruits and tithes of livings appropriated to the Canons and Pre- 



HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 201 

center of St. David's Cathedral, out of which it is proposed to 
endow the school 8. Draft ordinance for erecting a free school 
in the town of Cardigan. (L. J., ix, 97.) 

1646-7, Feb. 13. Petition of Captain John Poyer, Governor 
of the town, garrison, and castle of Pembroke. Petitioner has 
borrowed large sums of money on the security of his friends for 
repairing and fortifying the town and Castle of Pembroke, where 
he has been Governor for upwards of four years, and for ammu- 
nition, clothes, victuals, and pay for the garrison. Prays that 
he may be repaid the money so expended by him for the 
necessary occasions of the Commonwealth, together with his 
arrears, out of the composition of certain delinquents. (L. J., 
ix, 14) 

1646-7, Feb. 22. Draft order respecting the circuits in North 
and South Wales. (L. J., ix, 31.) In extenso. 

1646-7, March 3. Order respecting the payment of the re- 
mainder of the £12,000 for the Cheshire Forces. (L. J., ix, 56.) 
In extenso. 

1646-7, March 3. Application for orders for Dr. Heath to 
institute and induct Mr. David Lloyd to the Vicarage of Pen- 
bryn, and Mr. Morrice Evans to the Eectory of Ciliau A6ron, 
both in the county of Cardigan. (L. J., ix, 56.) 

1646-7, March 6. Petition of Edmund Goodere (farmer of the 
mines royal in the county of Cardigan)an^ of the miners,smelter8, 
refiners, and other workmen, with hundreds depending on their 
labours. His Majesty by letters patent authorised a mint to be 
erected in the Castle of Aberystwith for the coinage of such 
silver only as should be raised out of the mines royal in the 
Principality of Wales, which castle and the houses erected for 
the mint are so destroyed by the late war, that the work cannot 
be continued there without great charge and danger. Petitioners 
pray that the mint may be continued at a place called the 
smelting mills, near the refining-house, until the castle shall be 
refitted ; and that the officers of the Tower may be ordered to 
furnish the mint with stamps and workmen, as they are war- 
ranted in doing by the patent, and as they have formerly done. 
(L J., ix, 68.) 

1646-7, March 16. Draft ordinance concerning the County 
Palatine of Chester. (C. J., v, 113.) In extenso. 

1646-7, March 20. Draft ordinance appointing judges for 
Wales. (L. J., ix, 91.) In extenso. 

1646-7, March 24. Petition of Edward Eumsey of Crick- 
howell, Brecon. Petitioner has sustained divers wrongs and 
injuries in his person and estate by the means of the Earl of 
Worcester and his son. Lord Herbert, by whose command his 



202 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

house was battered and plundered by Colonel Moi^n, a Popish 
commander ; petitioner was afterwaids by his command arrested, 
imprisoned, and tried for his life, being charged with treason for 
his service to the Parliament Having with great difficulty 
escaped this danger, the Earl commanded his forces again to 
apprehend petitioner, and he was in consequence obliged to 
leave his habitation (which the Popish forces twice attempted 
to bum with wildlire) and live abroad, to his great expense, and 
the utter neglect of his estate, the benefit whereof the Earl of 
Worcester has for divers years enjoyed under pretence of ward- 
ship and other means. Prays that the matter may be referred 
to the Committee of Brecon, or some other Committee of South 
Wales, to certify the truth of his statements, in order that he 
may receive some satisfaction for his losses. (L. J., ix« 99.) 

Annexed: Certificate of petitioner's service to the Parlia- 
ment, and of his great losses. 

1647, April 2. Draft ordinance to clear Dr. John Williams, 
late Archbishop of York, of his delinquency. (L. J., ix, 120.) 

1647, April 9. Draft order for Colonel Jones to be Governor of 
Dublin. (L J., ix, 133.) In extenao. 

1647, April 13. Application for an order for Dr. Aylett to 
institute and induct Itandall Davies to the Vicarage of Meifod, 
Montgomery. (L. J., ix, 134.) 

1647, April 15. Application for an order for Dr. Aylett to 
institute and induct^David James to the Bectory of Kilrhedin, 
Pembrokeshire. 

1647, April 23. Petition of Richard Willis. An ordinance 
has passed the House of Commons authorising the Commis- 
sioners of the Great Seal to pass a grant of the offices of 
Prothonotary, and Clerk of the Crown for the counties of Car- 
marthen, Pembroke, and Cardigan, etc., to Robert Coytmore, 
these offices petitioner claims under letters patent granted to 
his father in the third year of His Majesty's reign. Prays 
that his right may be taken into consideration, and directions 
given to stay the passing of the grant. (L. J., ix, 150.) 

Annexed : 1. Copy of precedmg. 2. Copy of the ordinance 
granting the offices to Robert Coytmore, 24 March 1646-7. 
3. Another petition of same that the matter may be examined 
into and determined. 4 Petition of Robert Coytmore that a 
day may be appointed for hearing the matter. 

1647, April 23. Order upon Willis' petition for the Com- 
missioners of the Great Seal to stay the passing of the grant. 
(L J., ix, 150.) 

1647 [April]. Petition of the aldermen, merchants, and 
citizens of the city of Chester. The River Dee is choked up» 



HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 203 

and made unnavigable by reason of the stone causey erected 
near the city to serve the Dee Mills, which for many years has 
occasioned a great decay of trading, and frequent inundations 
on the Welsh side. The Commissioners of Sewers for those 
parts during King James's reign resolved that the causey should 
be demolished, but this resolution took no effect in regard of the 
power of those whose private interest in the mills was concerned. 
Petitioners pray that they may have an ordinance for taking 
down the causey and mills, and that the material may be used 
for erecting tide mills for the service of the city. 

1647, May 1. The names of the commanders and officers of 
the regiments to be sent out of North Wales for the service of 
Ireland. (L. J., ix, 168.) In extenso. 

1647. May 1. The humble remonstrance and petition of 
William Morgan to the House of Commons, freely elected and 
returned Knight of the Shire for the county of Brecon. He 
relates his efforts in opposing the Commission of Array in the 
county ; that he was subsequently made prisoner and carried to 
Bagland Castle, and thence to Oxford, and he was forced to sit 
in the Parliament there ; but as soon as he was able he returned 
on bail to his own county, and declared for the Parliament. He 
prays that a difference may be made between himself, and 
others who joined the King, and that he may be permitted to 
take his seat in the House. 

1647, May 5. Petition of Colonel Randall Mainwaring. He 
has been arrested, notwithstanding the order of the House for 
his protection. He prays that he may be set at liberty, as he 
is ready to give every security for payment to his creditors, or, 
at least, that he may have leave to go abroad with his keeper. 
(L. J., ix, 176.) 

1647, May 7. Letter from Edward Allenn at Montgomery 
Castle to Edward Lord Herbert of Chirbury, and Castle Island, 
in Queen Street Last Tuesday night, upwards of three score 
soldiers marched from Pool in a hostile manner and surrounded 
Sutton House, and, after about two hours' resistance, broke open 
the doors, and took Mr. Griffith to Montgomery town, where 
they brought other gentlemen prisoners ; the soldiers then fired 
upon the Castle, but the writer would not permit his men to 
reply, for fear of making the soldiers use their prisoners worse, 
for whose release they demand £300. The writer then tried 
to obtain men from the town to strengthen his garrison, but 
none would come unless they were paid. Captain Lloyd, how- 
ever, procured twenty of his old soldiers, and Mrs. Herbert 
required her servants to come from Stallow, with which help he 
doubts not to hold the castle, notwithstanding the threats of 



204 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

such desperate men as these soldiers are. The writer has not 
so much as meat to give his auxiliaries for their service, and 
desires speedy directions for his conduct (L. J., ix, 186.) 

1647, May 11. Application for orders for Dr. Aylett to in- 
stitute and induct Henry Turner to the Rectory of Wing, 
Eutland, and Rice Price to the Vicarage of Llanllwchaiam, 
Montgomery. (L. J., ix, 183.) 

1 647, May 11. Petition of Thomas Foote and John Kendrick, 
Aldermen of London. Pray that John Richards may be ordered 
to forbeax a suit which he has commenced against them as 
Sheriffs of London, for not arresting Colonel Randall Man- 
wairing. (L. J., ix, 185.) In extenso, 

1647, June 5. Petition of Richard Wigmore. Having been 
formerly captain of a trained band in Herefordshire, by induce- 
ments and threats he accepted a commission from the King, 
and within three months after, in March 1642-3, he was taken 
prisoner by Sir William Waller, who discharged him on his 
taking oath not to attempt anything against the Parliament. 
This he has faithfully kept, and has besides saved the lives and 
protected the estates of many of the friends of Parliament, and 
done other good oflSces for the Parliament party, as is certified 
by the Earl of Essex, and others. He has lost an office at 
Ludlow, the chief support of himself and his family, and has 
but £107 per annum for maintenance, and that heavily charged. 
He hopes that he is a fit object of pity, as he came in so early, 
and has borne taxes and free quarters to a great value, and, 
therefore, prays to be discharged from his sequestration. Noted, 
*' Read. Nothing done therein." 

Annexed : 1. Certificate of the Committee for Sequestrations 
in support of preceding. 2. Order of the same Committee for 
petitioner's proofs to be annexed to his petition. 12 May 1647. 

1647, June 10. Application for an order for Dr. Aylett to 
institute and induct Humfry Lloyd to the Vicarage of Ruabon, 
in the ooimty of Denbigh. (L J., ix, 252.) 

1647 [June 22]. Message to the Commons, to remind them 
of the ordinance long since sent down concerning a new seal to 
be made for the counties of Pembroke, etc. (See C. J., v, 
220.) 

1647 [July 8]. Petition of Richard Willis ; that his cause 
against Robert Coytmore may, for the convenience of counsel, 
be put off until Thursday next. (See L. J., ix, 319.) 

1647, July 16. Copy of an order for the further hearing of 
the cause between Richard Willis and Robert Coytmore, touch- 
ing the Prothonotary's place in South Wales. (L. J., ix, 334.) 

1647, July 23. Petition of David Ouchteriong. Walter 



BISTORIOAL M8S. COMMISSION. 205 

Bowen duly presented, and afterwards instituted and inducted, 
by order of the House, to the Rectory of Llandyssil, Cardigan- 
shire, has been disturbed by Thomas Evans and John Lloyd, 
who took the Church Bible from him, and sent about twenty 
armed men to levy the tithes of the Sectory, and wounded and 
assaulted Bowen's agents, trying to force the tithes from them. 
Petitioner prays that those who disturb and oppose Bowen may 
be sent for to answer for their contempt. 

Annexed : 1. Affidavit of David Eees in support of preceding, 
15 July. 2. Affidavit of Thomas Phillips, 2 June. (L. J., ix, 
347.) In extenso. 

1647, July 31. Petition of Dr. Godfrey Goodman, late 
Bishop of Gloucester. At the beginning of the late wars, 
petitioner's whole estate was sequestered, and, as he had nothing 
to live upon in London, he was obliged to retire into North 
Wales, where he lived in a most obscure and mean manner 
upon the profits of a tenement worth £30 a year, which he had 
formerly conveyed to pious uses, but was obliged to resume for 
his own support; and now the Committee for the county of 
Carnarvon intend to sequester this small remains of his estate, 
which will expose him to absolute beggary. He prays the 
House to consider his case, as he is above sixty years of age, 
very sickly and infirm, to allow him some competent main- 
tenance for the short remainder of his life, and to free his tene- 
ment from sequestration. (L. J., ir, 362.) 

1647, Aug. 20. Petition of Captain Thomas Evans. John 
Williams, lawful incumbent of Llandyssil, Cardiganshire, farmed 
the profits of the Sectory to petitioner and others, but in May 
last Walter Bowen was presented to the Rectory, and procured 
an order from the House for his institution and induction 
thereto, as if it had been vacant by Williams's death, though he 
is alive ; imder colour of which Bowen's agents have attempted 
to collect the tithes, and on a petition of David Ouchterlong 
have procured an order for the attachment of petitioner, as a 
contemner of their Lordships' orders, when he knew not of 
them, and that Bowen, if he have any claim to the living, may 
try the same by ordinary course of law. Petitioner, who is one 
of the Committee for the county of Cardigan and for the 
coimties of Pembroke and Carmarthen, and is required speedily 
in the county, prays to be discharged from the attachment 
(L. J., ix, 388.) 

Annexed : 1. Affidavit of Sichard Eobert, that John Williams, 
reputed parson of Llandyssil, was alive and well on the 25th of 
June last. 2nd Aug. 1647. 

1647, Oct. 2. Answer of Major-General Langhame to an 



206 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

order of the House upon the petition of Frances Thomas, widow. 
On the 18th of June, the House ordered him to restore a certain 
quantity of lead to Mrs. Thomas, or to show cause to the con- 
trary within twenty days ; in answer to which he says that in 
1645, when he had cleared the county of Pembroke, and was in 
some condition to march into the counties of Carmarthen and 
Cardigan, then wholly for the King, he found the lead close to 
the garrison of Aberystwith, and, fearing lest it should fall into 
the hands of the enemy, he caused it to be shipped thence by 
sea, and that it was afterwards employed for the use of the 
State in the service under his command, as his accounts will 
show. (See L J., ix, 279.) 

1647, Oct. 6. Application for an order for Dr. Aylett to 
institute and induct Timothy WoodrofFe to the Eectory of 
Wenvoe, Glamorganshire. (L. J., ix, 471*.) 

1647, Oct 7. Application for an order for Dr. Aylett to 
institute and induct Henry Miles to the £ectory of Dinas, Pem- 
brokeshire. (L. J., ix, 474.) 

1647, Oct. 12. Petition of Henry Pugh to the Earl of Man- 
chester, Speaker of the House of Lords. Petitioner holds a 
presentation from his Lordship to the Eectory of Uanystymdwy, 
in the county of Carnarvon, but is most rudely debarred from 
possession by a prevailing gentleman and his servants in that 
parish. He prays for an order for removal of the obstructions 
• which at present detain him from his rights. 

Annexed : AflSdavit of Henry Pugh, that when he went to 
take possession of the Eectory and Parish Church he was hin- 
dered and obstructed by Morrice Owen and others, servants of 
Wm. Lloyd. 7 Oct. (L. J., ix, 477.) 

1647, Oct. 23. Application for an order for Maurice Owen 
to be instituted and inducted to the Eectory of Llanystymdwy 
in the county of Carnarvon. 

Annexed : Certificate from the Assembly of Divines that Owen 
has been approved for the Cure. 19 Oct. 

1647, Nov. 2. Order for George PoweU to be Comptroller 
of the Customs at Milford. (L. J., ix, 508.) In extenso. 

1647, Nov. 3. Petition of John Edisbury. Prays to be ad- 
mitted to the Office of Prothonotary and Clerk of the Crown of 
the counties of Denbigh and Montgomery, to which he is 
entitled in reversion under letters patent, upon the determina- 
tion of the interest of Kenrick Eyton and Eichard Lloyd, one a 
delinquent who has compounded under the articles for the sur- 
render of Denbigh, and the other a person excluded by name 
from pardon in the propositions offered to the King, and whose 
interests are determined by ordinance of 25 Dec 1643. (L. J., 
ix, 510.) 



HISTORICAL M8S. COMMISSION. 207 

1647, Dec. 24. Draft orders to appoint additional Commis* 
sioners in Pembrokeshire and Gloucestershire. (L J., ix, 610.) 
In extenso. 

[1647.] Petition of the inhabitants of the counties of Cardigan 
and Pembroke, to the House of Commons. The bridge over the 
Eiver Tivey [Teivi], which was built about eight years ago, at a 
cost of £1,500, has been lately broken down by the enemy, to 
the great hindrance of trade between the two counties ; it may 
now be repaired for £500, but, if left for three months longer, 
will cost more than both counties can advance. Pray that £500 
may be speedily levied out of delinquents' estates in the county 
for that purpose. 

Statement respecting John Jones of Nantons [Nanteos] in the 
county of Cardigan, a barrister, who published a book in defence 
of the King's actions, and himself served against the Parlia- 
ment ; quarrelling with the Governor of Aberystwith Castle, he 
complained to ^nce Kupert, and was by him clapped in 
prison for abusing the Governor, but he got loose and obtained 
a command under his cousin. Colonel Lewes, and joined with 
the countrymen to besiege the Governor of Aberystwith. He 
has procured many of his kinsmen to be of the Committee of 
the county, and so hopes to compound secretly, that no com* 
plaint may be made against him. 

Application for the appointment of Boger Lorte, John Eliot, 
and others as Committees in the county of Pembroke, for as- 
sessing part of the £60,000 on the inhabitants of the county. 

1641, April 3. Bond for £12,000 from Edward Lord Her- 
bert, son and heir of Henry Earl of Worcester, to the King : 

" I, Edward Lord Herbert, sonne and heire of Henry, now 
Earl of Worcester, doe hereby oblige myselfe, my executors, ad- 
ministrators, or assignes, upon the forfeiture and penaltie of 
twentie fower thowsand pownds sterling unto His Most Excel- 
lent Ma'tie, his heyrs and successors, or to any whom his 
Ma'tie shall appoint, in case that within two yeares now to 
come I doe not paye or cause to be payed vnto his Ma'tie 
or whom he shall appoint, the full somme of twelve thowsand 
pownds, provided that his most sacred Ma'tie be gratiously 
pleased to afifoord me the favour for which I am now a most 
humble suitor to him, and that his Ma'tie be likewise pleased 
to retume vnto me two propositions and obligations which he 
hath of mine, and herein I most humbly submitt to his Ma'tie's 
wisdome and goodnesse, and doe againe by these tye myselfe, 
my heyres, executors, administrators, and assignes, to the true 
and faythfUU payment of the above sayed twelve thowsand 
pownds, in and vnder the above mentioned penaltie and forfei- 



208 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

ture, in wittnesse whereof I hereto put my hand cmd seale, this 
third of April! 1641. Provided further, that if I dye within 
these two next ensueing yeares that then this obligation to 
be voyde, otherwise to stand in full vertue and force to the true 
intent and purpose before mentioned. 
(Endorsed) " 35. 

"K H., obligation. 

" Received the 11 of Aprill. (Seal) 
« 1641." 
The endorsement is in the King's handwriting. 

1647-8, Jan. 7. Petition of Colonel Thomas Morgan, Governor 
of Gloucester ; on the surrender of Hartlebury Castle the 
petitioner pledged himself to Colonel Samuel Sandys of 
Omberly, to endeavour to the best of his power that the seques- 
tration of Sandy's estate might \re taken off without fine or 
composition ; on the faith of this promise Colonel Sandys 
eflfected the surrender of the castle. Petitioner prays the 
House to be tender of his honour, and to grant performance of 
his promise. (C. J., v, 422.) 

Annexed : 1, Certificate from Colonel Morgan of his promise 
to Colonel Sandys. 4 Dec. 1647. 2, duplicate of preceding. 
24 Dec. 1647. 

1647-8, Jan. 10. Draft order for a general collection for 
relief of the town of Bridgnorth. (L J., ix, 657.) In extenso, 

1 647-8, Jan. 19. Draft orders for appointment of Sheriffs in the 
counties of Brecon, Carnarvon, etc. (L J., ix, 669.) In extenso. 

1647-8, Jan. 21. Draft order for Robert Martin to be Sheriff 
of the County of Radnor. (L J., ix, 672.) In extenso, 

1647-8, Jan. 29. Draft resolutions to discharge Mr. John 
Glynne^ from being Recorder of London, to recommend Mr. 
William Steele in his place, and to discharge Mr. Glyn fix)m 
being Steward of Westminster. (C. J., v. 450.) 

1647-8, Feb. 3. Report of Mr. Lisle's speech at the con- 
ference about Mr. Glynne, the Recorder of London, charged 
with being accessory to the violence offered to the Parliament 
in July last (L. J., x, 16.) In extenso, 

1647-8, Feb. 3. Draft ordinance to clear Samuel Sandys of 
his delinquency. (L. J., x, 20.) In extenso. 

1647-8, Feb. 15. Petition of Thomas Morgan, of [St.] Mau- 
ghan, in the county of Monmouth, and others. By lease made 
to them by Sir John Wyntor, before these wars, and since 
allowed by the Committee for sequestrations, the petitioners hold 
certain iron mills, forges, and furnaces in Dean Forest with 

* Third son of Sir William Glynne of Glynllivon in Caernarvon- 
shire. (See Williams's Biographical Did, of Eminent Welshmen,) 



HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 209 

other property, in tnist for payment of Sir John Wyntor's debts, 
and for portions and maintenance for his lady and children ; 
but Parliament having by ordinance granted to Colonel Edward 
Massey all the iron mills, forges, and furnaces in Dean Forest 
either belonging to the King or Sir John Winter, Colonel 
Massey has seized the mills, etc., above mentioned, to the ruin 
of Sir John Wyntor's lady and children, and the imdoing of his 
creditors. Petitioners pray that they may be allowed to hold 
the mills, etc., without interruption. (L J., x, 43.) 

Annexed: 1, copy of order of the Committee for sequestrations, 
allowing and confirming the lease to the trustees, 28 Jan. 
1647-8. 

1647-8, Feb. 18th. Draft order to make two alterations in 
the names of the Commissioners for Assessments in county of 
Brecknock. (li. J., x, 63.) In extenso, 

1647-8, Feb. 18. Draft order appointing Commissioners to 
disband the forces in South Wales. (L J., x, 63.) In extenso. 

•1647-8, March 3. Draft ordinance for declaring Colonel 
Payer and his adherents traitors and rebels, if within twelve 
hours after notice hereof they shall not surrender Pembroke 
Castle. (L J., x, 89.) In extenso. 

1647-8, March 5. Letter from Colonel Thomas Eainborowe 
to the Earl of Manchester, Speaker of the House of Peers : I 
have this morning received command from the committee at 
Derby house, to send a ship to Milford Haven in case the 
Governor (of Pembroke Castle) do not surrender within twelve 
hours ; a ship is ready accordingly, and a fit person shall be 
appointed to it. 

1647-8, March 6. Draft ordinance appointing an Attorney- 
General for the counties of Chester and Mint, etc. (L. J., x, 98.) 
In extenso, 

1647-8, March 6. Draft order appointing Thomas Lloyd, 
Sheriff of the county of Cardigan. (L. J., x, 99.) In extenso. 

1647-8, March 8. Draft order for felling timber in Frith 
Wood for repair of Chepstow Bridge. (L. J., x, 101.) In 
extenso. 

1647-8, March 14 Draft ordinance to confirm the election 
of the Mayor and Sheriffs of Chester. (L. J., x, 114.) In extenso. 

1647-8, March 17. Draft order adding Sir Anthony Irby, 
to the Committee of Westminster College in the place of John 
Glynne, Esq. (L. J., x, 118.) In extenso. 

1648. [April 4.] Petition of David ap David and other poor 
inhabitants of Wrexham Regis, in the county of Denbigh. On 
the 6th of May, 1643, about eleven o'clock in the forenoon, a 
fire occurred in the town, so fierce, owing to the dryness of the 

4th 8BB., VOL. XIII. 14 



210 CINERARY URNS FOUND AT 

season, thai in two hours one hundred and forty-three dwelling 
houses, and most of the goods in them, were reduced to ashes, 
besides kilns, barns, stables, and other buildings, about a fourth 
of the town, the estimated value being above £4,000 : most of 
the houses have not yet been rebuilt owing to the poverty of 
the inhabitants ; the petitioners pray the House to grant them 
orders and briefs for a general collection for their relief in 
London and Westminster, in the county of Middlesex, and also 
in Wales and the counties adjoining thereto. (L J., x, 178.) 

1648, April 17. Ordinance adding Major Eobert Harley 
to the Committee for Assessments iu Hereford. (L. J., x, 206.) 
In extenso. 



CINERARY URNS FOUND AT CAE MICK- 
NEY, ANGLESEY. 

When we consider the great extent of waste land in 
Anglesey which of late years has been brought under 
cultivation, and the numerous gorse fields and other 
wild enclosures which the draining tool and plough 
have penetrated and broken up, it is surprising that so 
few sepulchral urns have been brought to light.^ 

That they exist where least thought of, and under- 
lie the surface of our fields in larger numbers than we 
are apt to suppose, the following incident may serve 
to illustrate. During my boyhood there was a field not 
far from Dinam attached to a small farm called Cae 
Mickney,' overgrown with fern and stunted gorse — 
the haunt of cuckoos in spring, and of game and wild 
birds in winter. About fifty-five years ago this field 
was cleared and cultivated, and now, with the ex- . 
ception of a low and scarcely perceptible bank which 
runs through it, in the direction of the Cromlech at 
Bodowyr, distant about seven hundred yards, it has 
the even surface and ordinary appearance of an arable 

^ One urn only do I remember to have heard of as discovered 
in this neighboarhood. It was dug out of a railway-cutting by 
some navvies and taken to the nearest farmhouse, where it was 
allowed to perish in the open air. On the surface of the ground 
there was no barrow or other indication of its presence. 

^ So written by Mr. Rowlands in his Antiquitates Parochiales, 



CAB MIUKNEY, ANGLESEY. 211 

field. The bank here meDtioned has a slight depression 
on one side, and retfeinbles so nearly the reduced 
rarapart of a camp with its partly filled up trench, 
that I have often endeavoured to discover its extent 
and origin, but without success. The tenant believes 
it to have been an old road, because it contains more 
stones and gravel than other parts of the ground, and 
for the reason that passing under the floor of his house, 
where a spindle-whorl of stone was lately found, it is 
traceable across the next field. It may be nothing 
more than the foundation of a broad old fashioned 
sod-built fence, many of which in Anglesey would 
leave such appearances if imperfectly scattered. Early 
in the spring of the present year this bank was cut 
across by a labourer whilst making a new hedge, and 
about twelve feet south-west of the intersection two 
urns appeared, protruding their broken edges out of 
the sides of the newly-formed ditch. This circum- 
stance, and the fact that the land belongs to my 
nephew, led to a search, the result being that within 
a circle, measuring about thirty-six feet in diameter, 
we met with thirty-two interments, consisting prin- 
cipally of broken urns in a crumbling state of decay, 
the contents of which were incinerated bones with an 
unctuous black mould and ashes slightly intermixed 
with the soil in which the vessels were buried. In 
seven instances the interments appeared to consist of 
calcined bones and charcoal, put into the ground with- 
out the usual protection of urns. If otherwise, the 
urns had so perished and become blended with their 
contents as to be undistinguishable. Five of the urns 
were in a condition too fragmentary and pulverized to 
convey an idea of their size and forms. Nine were in 
pieces slightly larger than the preceding, but when 
collected and looked over they were found to be 
deficient in numbers, and represented only paits of 
urns, damp and decay having disposed of the missing 
portions. The other thirteen were considerably more 
perfect, although far from entire. Their bottoms in 

14" 



212 CINERARY URNS FOUND AT 

almost every instance had disappeared, and in many 
cases a whole side was deficient, usually the darkest 
and least baked, I may here observe, that all of the 
vessels were darker and further advanced in decay on 
one side than the other, owing seemingly to imperfect 
firing. One eminent archaeologist has suggested that 
the ancient mode of baking this rude ware may have 
been " to fill the urn with hot ashes and heap the 
glowing embers around it'', a method by which the 
heat would have been evenly distributed and the 
baking uniform throughout. Another distinguished 
antiquary of great experience is of opinion that " they 
have not been baked in a kiln but at an open fire." 
This last process best agrees with the appearance of 
the Cae Mickney urns, which, in every instance, were 
insuflSciently baked on one side and also at the 
bottom. Drawings of the best preserved have been 
selected to accompany these remarks. The antiquity 
of the vessels, and the trying circumstance of their 
position, lodged, as I found them, within a distance 
varying from six to ten inches of the field's surface, 
may well account for their decay. Those nearest to 
the sward were probably crushed by the plough. The 
basements of the inverted vessels and the tops of those 
uprightly interred had either been knocked off or had 
fallen away, leaving entrances for the roots of plants, 
which, spreading and thriving within the urns, sent 
their fibres through their decaying sides and hastened 
their disruption. We met with no cistvaen or grave 
containing unbunit remains, consequently the more 
highly ornamented class of vessels, such as food vases 
and drinking cups, did not fall to our lot. 

The urns are small, plain in ornament, and in other 
respects not remarkable as British specimens ; but 
it is curious they should have been discovered where 
there is no vestige of mound or earn, not the slightest 
elevation or depression in the field's surface to rouse 
curiosity or to guide the explorer in his search, with 
the exception of the old bank mentioned above, which, 



CAE MECKNEY, ANGLESEY. 213 

I think, must have run up to a ouce existing barrow 
and formed its north-eastern boundary, an idea in 
some degree supported by the fact that the bank is 
perceptibly higher at this point than anywhere else. 
The ground is not stony and hard ; on the contrary, it 
consists of a brown loam . four or five inches deep, 
resting on a stiff and tenacious substratum, in which 
the urns were imbedded. The purity and freshness of 
this upper soil is perplexing, because where a camedd 
has stood we naturally think we may find a residue of 
stones; and on a spot once occupied by a mound, vestiges 
of it might be looked for in a broken or uneven surface, 
or in a pan of earth rendered hard and unproductive by 
time and pressure. None of these indications were 
visible here. We therefore have to suppose, either 
that the stones of a camedd have been very carefully 
removed from the place by preceding tenants, or, that 
the firmness of the subsoil, with a few stones built up 
to the sides of the urns, a smallish slab placed above, 
and another set beneath each specimen, were regarded 
by their depositors as sufficient protections. If further 
secured by a covering of stones or earth, as I think 
they must have been, the mound, of whatever kind, has 
been so effaced that I know not whether during my 
excavations I touched its centre, and cannot state on 
which side of it I have been at work, although con- 
jecturing that my success has been on its southern or 
south-western border. That such monuments may be 
obliterated we have evidence in the names of farms 
and places in Anglesey, such as Cam, Cruglas, Camedd, 
Cromlech, Gaerwen, etc., plainly derived from the 
antiquities which once stood on or near to them, and 
which in several instances have been so thoroughly 
destroyed as to leave no vestige and in some cases 
barely a tradition. 

The farm of Bodowyr hems in Cae Mickney on two 
sides, regarding the antiquities on which, Mr. Rowlands, 
in his Mona Antiqua^ thus writes, " There is a pretty 
cromlech standing at the top of a hillock at Bodowyr. 



214 CINERARY URNS FOUND AT 

There is also, on a rising part of ground there, the high- 
way leading through it, the remains of a small cirque. 
And on another part of the ground there appear the 
marks of a carnedd, the stones of which in times past 
have been disposed into walls and buildings/' For a, 
time it seemed doubtful to me whether the carnedd 
mentioned here had not stood on Cae Mickney, and its 
position by mistake assigned to Bodowyr, but inquiry 
nas made me think that the site of the Bodowyr carnedd 
is still preceptible on the first field north of the crom- 
lech, where, on a brow rising with a gentle swell, there 
is a circular spot a little elevated, which is, up to this 
day, the dread of ploughmen, owing to its stony and 
resisting nature. My informant told me that cart-loads 
of stones had been removed thence by himself and 
other tenants, but the ground is still obstructive, and 
beneath its surface there is a bed of stones. The 
situation is suitable for a carnedd and corresponds 
with that of the cromlech, from which it is separated by 
a gradual decline and ascent. Should anyone feel in- 
terested in the inquiry he has only to look at his 
compass when near to the cromlech, and thence 
measure by step about 250 yards in a direction 
north-west by north and he will find himself at the 
place specified ; Mr. Jones, the tenant, would however 
be his surest guide. The diameter of the stony circle 
is from thirty to forty feet. A foundation of some 
kind lies concealed here, the nature of which a morning's 
digging might determine and lead to further dis- 
coveries.^ 

The "small cirque" here mentioned has been so long 
ago destroyed that I have no recollection of its exist- 
ence, and can only guess at its position, guided by Mr. 
Rowlands' remarks. About a hundred yiards from the 
cromlech, in a line west-south-west, we meet with a 
peculiar bend in the south-western fence of the public 
road, which, with another not so distinctly marked, 
some forty or sixty yards further towards the north- 

^ The property belongs to the Right Hon. Lord Boston. 



CAE MICKNEY, ANGLESEY. 215 

west, may indicate the positions of the two opposite 
sides of the cirque at this point if the present highway 
ever led through it. Between these dents, or bends, 
the hedge is faced with stones, possibly taken out of 
the walls of the cirque, in which respect it differs from 
the fence generally, which is built of sods. The pro- 
bability, however, is that the position of the cirque was 
on the field side of this fence, where the ground ascends 
gradually for about 130 yards towards the south-west, 
and terminates in a low and natural mound or hill 
commanding an extensive view. Struck by the simi- 
larity of this ground to that described by Mr. Row- 
lands, where he tells us that the cirque stood ** on a 
rising part of ground there" — meaning, I suppose, near 
to the cromlech — I called on Mr. Lewis of Bodrida, the 
present holder of the field, to inquire whether he had 
met with any stonework or other remains upon it. His 
answer was that twenty-eight years ago, whilst endea- 
vouring to reduce the prominence of the high ground 
there, in order to run a fence more easily over the top of 
it, his workmen came upon a trench 9 feet wide by about 
4 feet deep, filled with stones of a size suitable for 
building, which had evidently been disposed of in this 
manner, and thrown in from an old work, with the 
two-fold object of clearing the ground and of levelKng 
up the trench. Large quantities of these he removed, 
replacing them with earth. The position of the trench 
was pointed out to me, which takes an elliptical course 
around the hill, and encompasses a space measuring 
about 174 feet by 134 feet, its longest diameter being 
from north-east to south-west. At the south-western 
end, the trench was missed by the workmen for a short 
distance. Within the enclosure, cart-loads of cockle- 
shells were found. This fortified abode, of whatever 
kind, is so similar in outline and situation to the ''small 
cirque" drawn and described by Mr. Rowlands in his 
Mona Antiqua,^ that I think they may be identical, 
the only differing circumstance being that the highway 

^ See eograviDg, Mona Aniiqua^ p. 93. 



216 CINERARY URNS FOUND AT 

does not now lead through it.^ It is well known that 
alterations were made in these roads after Mr. Row- 
lands' day, but to what extent I cannot say with cer- 
tainty. The distance of this higher ground from the 
cromlech is about 230 yards. 

The following is a list of the remaining um frag- 
ments : — 

No. 1 is 10^ inches high; diameter of its orifice 
is 7f inches. Ornament on its border and neck is 
a zigzag, or herring-bone pattern, irregularly incised. 
Bottom imperfect. The body of the vessel is full of 
cracks, from which hang the fibrous roots of plants. 
Its broken parts are held in position by the soil within, 
to which the otherwise loose pieces adhere. See en- 
graving. 

No. 2. — A small cinerary vessel. Height, 3^ inches; 
diameter, 3^ inches. Bottom gone. The clay is coarse 
and pebbly. No ornament. Engraved. 

No. 3. — One side of an um. Height of fragment, 
13 inches ; diameter may have been 10 or 10^ inches ; 
border, 2 inches wide ; groove or neck, 3 inches wide. 
Ornament on border, a series of twisted thong im- 
pressions, consisting of five or six parallel lines arranged 
vertically and horizontally in alternate compartments. 
On the neck a zigzag line, the triangular spaces formed 
by which are filled in with five or more diagonal lines 
reversed in direction in the alternating spaces. This 
urn was more carefully protected than some of the 
others by a larger stone placed above, and a better 
arrangement of walling around it. Although slightly 
differing in outline, it reminds us of the so-called " Urn 
of Bronwen", as figured in the Arch. Camh, voL for 
1868, p. 236. Engraved. 

^ There is yet another spot at Bodowyr which claims considera- 
tion. It is a rocky ascent, partly coated over by furze and pastnre, 
on the field in front of the farmhouse. Over this hill a highway led 
some thirty years ago. It is oval in form ; and if ever protected by 
a bank or wall, the work must have corresponded in outline-with 
the ground-plan given by Mr. Rowlands. The position is defensible ; 
but at present it shews no traces of having been fortified. 



CAB MICKNEY, ANGLESEY. 217 

No. 4. — Part of an urn. ' Height, 9^ inches ;• dia- 
meter of mouth, about 8^ inches. A herring-bone or- 
nament is incised below the lip, diversified by two 
encircling lines of punctured holes, below which follow 
two projecting ribs or seams, the space between which 
is occupied by another band of herring-bone pattern. 
The ribs are punctured on each side. A broken awl of 
bronze was found within the urn, measuring, in its im- 
perfect state, 2^ inches. Inside the lip there is a 
chevrony ornament one inch wide. Engraved. 

No. 5 is imperfect and undecorated. Height, 7 
inches ; diameter of mouth, 5^ inches. Bottom gone. 

No. 6. — Part of a side. Height of fragment, 6 
inches ; supposed diameter of orifice, 6 inches. A 
groove-like depression below the lip, 2f inches wide, 
which bears twisted thong markings very rudely im- 
pressed, and arranged hernng-bone fashion. The same 
ornament within the lip. 

No. 7. — Height, 6^ inches ; diameter of mouth, 5:^ 
inches; overhanging border, If inches wide, with a 
twisted thong decoration, arranged lozenge-wise in 
double lines between two bordering horizontal lines. 

No. 8. — Part of a side. Hei^t of fragment, 7i 
inches ; border, 2 inches wide, ornamented with eight 
encircling and parallel lines, impressed with twisted 
thong. Beneath the border it bears eleven similar 
lines closely arranged. 

No. 9. — A fragment 4^ inches high. Diameter may 
have been 4^ inches. Ornament on border, a few 
oblique lines of cord pattern roughly impressed. 

No. 10. — Part of an urn. Height of remaining por- 
tion, 9^ inches ; diameter within its orifice, 9 incnes. 
On its border, 3 inches wide, are herring-bone orna- 
ments incised. The same decoration is continued on 
the neck below the border, which neck is a narrowish 
depression, bordered on each side by a punctured ridge 
or seam. I use the term seam, because I think it pro- 
bable that these encircling ridges or projections were 
the junctures or sutures of two parts of the vessel. 



218 CINERARY URNS, ETC. 

which had been separately wrought, and that, besides 
ornament, the object of the punctures on each side of 
the seam may have been to unite more firmly the two 
edges of clay and prevent their separation. When it 
happened that the overhanging border of one of these 
urns fell ofi*, the edges of the upper and lower parts 
plainly showed that they had been separately manipu- 
ated, and that during the process of firing, their union 
lad not been complete. No ornament within the lip. 

No. 11. — A small cinerary urn, without ornament 
and rudely made, 3^ inches high. Diameter about 3f 
inches; A part of one side is wanting. 

No. 12. — May have been 5 inches high, with an 
overhanging border If inches wide. Its diameter, 4^ 
inches. The outer surface of its walls has mouldered 
away, and exposed to view the coarse and pebbly 
nature of its paste. 

No. 13. — A fragment 9 inches high and 8 inches 
across. Dark coloured. Ornament very rude and in- 
distinct, consisting of vertical and horizontal lines im- 
pressed with twisted thong. It would appear from the 
dimensions of the preceding that the smaller urns have 
been the most fortunate in resisting decay. The whole 
of them, however, are in a state so friable that I have 
little hope of their preservation. 

Members who have recently joined our Association 
may not be aware that in the volume of the A7xh. 
Camb. for the year 1868 there is a valuable article on 
the ancient interments and sepulchral urns found in 
Anglesey and North Wales, from notices by the Hon. 
William Owen Stanley, with additional observations by 
the late Mr. Albert Way, F.S.A. To this interesting 
paper I would refer those who may be inquisitive on the 
subject of Cambrian urns. 

Hugh Prichard. 



219 



SITES OF ANCIENT TRADITIONAL 
CHURCHES. 

There are very many places in Wales where tradition 
says churches or chapels formerly stood. The sites of 
these traditional churches are often to be met with on 
the uplands, in the unenclosed and uninhabited parts 
of Wales. Drawing a conclusion from the names of 
places, which are always most tenacious of life, there 
can be little doubt .that the traditions respecting the 
existence of churches, now no more, had their founda- 
tion in fact ; and possibly it will be found, upon form- 
ing a complete list of these old churches, that Wales, 
in olden times, was well supplied, in proportion to the 
population, with places set apart for worship. Ora- 
tories, or chapels, seem to have been erected in spots 
where at present there are no people, and perhaps it 
was intended that the scattered population would meet 
in some central place for worship ; and hence these 
out-of-the-way sites of traditional chapels. 

Perhaps the remains now mentioned do not belong 
to the same period, nor to the same religious system. 
The more simple structures, oblong or circular in form, 
most likely, are very ancient ; whilst the rectangular 
buildings, with portions still left standing, are com- 
paratively modern. The first-mentioned may possibly 
Delong to the ancient Welsh church, engrafted, it may 
be, upon a previous belief, whilst the latter were con- 
nected with some abbey in the neighbourhood. 

These two classes of religious edifices are well worth 
separate and particular notice, and it would be an 
acquisition to our knowledge of former times if a com- 
plete list and careful description of all such buildings 
were made. 

A few of the more ancient buildings of the kind 
now mentioned have already been described in the 



220 SITES OP ANCIENT 

Sages of the Arch. Camb. We are indebted to the 
Lev. E. L. Barnwell for a most interesting account of 
one of these remains (4th Series, vol. v, p. 234), viz., of 
that called locally Eglwys y Gwyddd, which is situated 
in the parish of Towyn, Merionethshire. An accurate 
representation of this church accompanies Mr. Barn- 
well's paper. From this illustration it will be seen (I 
use Mr. Barn well's words) that the Eglwys "is a pic- 
turesque little stone circle , and that "it is situated on 
a small plateau of rock... and lies under a wall of rock 
on one side ; and on the other, above a similar but less 
lofty wall below it. The diameter of the circle is 26 feet, 
and the highest of the upright stones, 3 feet 7 inches. 
They are six in number, and were placed at regular 
intervals of a yard apart." 

The form, position, and name of this structure, all 
point to its great antiquity. The form is circular, and 
it consists of upright stones, a form that is found con- 
nected with pre-historic times : it appears to be in an 
uninhabited mountain district, but which in former days 
might have been the home of those ancient people that 
lived in circular huts on the hill-sides or mountain- 
tops of Wales. The name, too, is very peculiar and 
suggestive — ''Eglwys YGwyddel". The learned writer 
has translated the word "Gwyddel", but possibly it had 
better be left untranslated, as it may be found here- 
after that the word has very little, if anything, to do 
with " Irishman" or "Irishmen". The place, though, 
can safely be called " The Church of the Gwyddel". 
Here, then, we have a circle converted into a church, 
or it may be an original circular church, unroofed even. 
There is nothing singular in this form ; it was the form 
of man's abodes in those far-off times, and their place 
of worship would naturally be erected in like shape 
with their huts, just as in modern times ordinary build- 
ings and churches are in shape somewhat like each 
other. 

In this church we have possibly one of the most 
ancient religious edifices in Wales. Everything con- 



TRADITIONAL CHUBCHES. 221 

nected with it points to its great antiquity. In 
some respects it might have resembled ancient 
churches in other parts, The Treen churches in the 
Isle of Man seem to have approached the circle in 
form, being elongated with rounded comera. They 
were a kind of connecting-link between the circular 
and rectangular church. And, like these ancient 
churches in Wales, the Treen chutches were very 
diminutive. For a very interesting account of the 
Treen churches, see Arch. Camb,, 3rd Series, vol. xii, 
p. 271. 

But to proceed with the Welsh churches. There are 
on the Llanllechid mountain, in a spot that abounds 
with ancient remains, such a^ circular huts, cameddau, 
and those peculiar graves known as cistfaens, the 
foundation stones of what is called an old church. It 
appears to have been coeval with the remains now 
mentioned, but instead of being . circular it is rectan- 
gular. 

This building was first pointed out to me by Mr. 
Ellas Williams, now deceased, an intelligent farmer, 
who held a farm, Bronydd, that abutted upon the 
mountain, and attached to this farm was a large sheep- 
walk. Mr. Williams had spent all his life in the parish, 
and his mind was well stored with the lore of bygone 
times. He knew every nook of the mountains that 
extended for miles behind his house. The ancient 
remains that are scattered along them had gained his 
attention, and of some of the old buildings he had 
tales to telL He lived at a time that commenced 
before newspapers reached fannhouses, and his folk- 
lore was consequently valuable and trustworthy. Mr. 
WiUiams called the remains now mentioned, " Yr hen 
Eglwys", the old Church, or, in full, " Yr Hen Eglvnjs 
Llanyrchyn'' — the old Church of Llanyrchyn. 

The following is a description thereof. In stands on 
the unenclosed land in the parish of Llanllechid. Any- 
one wishing to find it, cannot fail doing so if he follows 
the path from Cae-Uwyn-grydd to Aber village, over 



222 SITES OP ANCIENT, ETC. 

the mountain. Starting from the first-named village, 
he, for a while, skirts tne foot of the hill, and then, 
about half a mile from thje village, he comes to a sin- 
gular natural cutting called Bwlch-Llanyrchyn, or Ffos 
Rhufeiniaid (the Romans' fosse); he then ascends a small 
ridge, and within about a quarter of a mile from the 
ffos, he crosses a mountain brook, and, just after crossing 
the brook, a few yards from its bank, and a few yards 
from the foot-path, walking up the stream, he comes 
to the foundation stones of a small rectangular building. 
This is the old church. The walls are about two feet 
thick. The building measures from three to four paces 
broad, by from six to seven paces long. It lies nearly 
east and west. The door-way, or entrance, was on the 
north side. A quantity of stones, overgrown with 
grass, lie at the east end internally. From the build- 
ing an extensive view of mountain and sea is obtained. 
Pathways, too, are traceable in its neighbourhood. One 
of these ascended the hill and went by the Aber water- 
fall to Aber mountain. It was called Llwybr Yr 
Oflfeiriad — the priest's pathway. Mr. Elias Williams 
informed me that the same priest officiated in the old 
Church of Llanyrchyn and in a church on Aber hill. 
The church on Aber Hill, he said, was still there, but 
in ruins, and that it stood on the ridge called Braich y 
Bedd — the Ridg6 of the Grave. Upon visiting this 
ridge, I found it covered with ancient circular build- 
ings ; but as I could not get an old inhabitant of Aber 
to accompany me in my search, I failed to identify the 
site of the old church. Both churches are, without a 
doubt, most ancient ; and it is strange that the services 
in them should have been conducted by itinerant 
clergy. But this appears to have been the case in the 
Treen churches in the Isle of Man. 

E, Owen. 



223 



DRILLED STONE IN SHREWSBURY 
MUSEUM. 

In the Shrewsbury Museum there is a remarkable 
drilled stone found at Acton Scott. It is termed a 
" Stone Celt'', and bears the number 27 in the Catalogue 
of the Shrewsbury Collection. The implement cannot 
be a celt, for if the word celt is merely the English form 
of the Latin cdtis or celtes, as given by Dr. John Evans, 
all true celts should be chisel-like, or at least adze- 
like, in form. Our illustration is a reproduction of a 
very careful drawing, kindly made for the Cambrian 
Archaeological Association, by Mr. William Phillips, 
F.L.S., of Shrewsbury ; we are also indebted to Mr. 
Phillips for several useful notes embodied in the fol- 
lowing brief description. 

The size of the stone is shown in the illustration ; 
the weight is six ounces ; the material, although hav- 
ing the appearance of very fine indurated sandstone, is 
really a piece of water- worn micaceous slate ; it is suf- 
ficiently soft to be easily scratched with a knife. The 
edge, shown on the right of illustration, is rounded, and 
shows no mark of abrasion from use either as a ham- 
mer or hoe, neither is there any chipping or striation 
to be seen on any part of the tool. The stone is a 
natural pebble or block, ground to shape, and, as is so 
often seen in stone implements, the original surface of 
the pebble is left in the natural depressions not reached 
in the process of grinding. Similar water- worn peb- 
bles and pieces of stone are frequent in the alluvial 
soil about Shrewsbury. 

One may sometimes arrive at the possible use of an 
ancient implement by first deciding what it is not. 
The Acton Scott tool is certainly not a celt or any 
adze-like or chisel-like tool. It is too broad for an 
adze, it is not a drilled hammer, neither is it a hoe. 
Dr. H. P. Blackmore of Salisbury thought it might 



224 



DRILLED STONE IN 



probably be a stone hoe, but the material of the im- 
plement is far too soft and the edge much too rounded 
for anything but the lightest possible soil. It is not an 
axe. No such tool is figured in Dr. John Evans's 
St07ie Implements of Great Britain^ and Dr. Evans 
himself is unal)le to throw any light on the possible 
use of the stone. We do not remember seeing any 
flimilar stone in any museum, or illustrated in any book. 

Our impression is that the stone is either an imple- 
ment for dressing skins or a pendant. If the former, 
it must have had a sharper edge at one time than at 
present, or otherwise it would not have been suitable 
for removing the surplus flesh from hides. If used for 
this purpose, the round hole may have been intended 
for the insertion of the thumb rather than of a handle, 
to give more purchase in working. It so adapts itself 
to the hand when the thumb is thrust into the hole, 
and the rest of the fingers are passed over the depres- 
sions at the top, that the idea would occur to any one 
that it may have been thus used to reduce the sub- 
stance of skins to a moderate thickness before applying 
the material with which they were "cured". 

Curiously enough we learn from Mr. Phillips that 
a not dissimilar instrument is still in use at Shrews- 
bury by curriers for preparing skins. The stones are 
oblong pieces of slate 4f inches long, If inches wide, 
and \ inch thick, fixed in a piece of wood for a handle 
as here illustrated, one half actual size. The bottom 




edge of the stone is at first square, but soon gets 
rounded by use, as in the engraving. The Shrewsbury 
Museum stone, however, may be part of a girdle or 
pendant. 





DRILLED STONE, SHUKWSBURY Ml'AEl'M. 



sH' 



SHREWSBURY MUSEUM. 225 

It is often extremely difficult, if not impossible, to 
assign uses to prehistoric objects. Quite recently, a 
wooden object, at first supposed to be a musical in- 
strument, turned out to be a brick-making machine. 
In another instance an object has been considered a 
hammer, a musical instrument, and a sun-dial. I may 
here refer to the curious Stokesay Stone engraved in 
ArchcBologia CambrensiSy Fourth Series, vol. xii, p. 248. 
The writer of a description of the Stokesay Stone con- 
cludes it to be part of a musical instrument because it 
has " seven holes" drilled round its periphery, whereas 
the number of holes is in reality only six, and the 
author thinks that if the " seven" holes were probed 
they would probably open into a "groove" described 
elsewhere as occurring in* the central hole. Now this 
"groove" is only a natural fault in the stone. The 
Stokesay Castle Stone is a very remarkable one, but 
incorrectly engraved at the page mentioned above. I 
am inclined to look upon it as a p>endent ornament to 
a girdle or necklace, especially as the stone is said to 
be soft and unsuitable for a perforated hammer, which 
it greatly resembles in form. 

Perforated stones are often most difficult to under- 
stand ; many are natural pebbles drilled from both 
sides, some are so small that it is impossible to say 
whether they are stone beads or spindle-whorls ; some 
possible spindle-whorls have the hole so large that 
they look like small hammers, unsuitable for the wea- 
ver's small spindle. There is a large and remarkable 
drilled quartzite pebble preserved in the schoolroom 
by Waltham Abbey, Essex. This pebble is 5 inches 
long, 4^ inches broad, 1|- inches thick, and very heavy. 
The stone was found close by, in the bed of the River 
Lea. It is a remarkable thing that the smallest part 
of the hole through the middle of this large stone is 
very little more than three-eighths of an inch in dia- 
meter, and apparently very unsuitable for a handle for 
such a large stone. The implement was at first much 
longer, but one end has been worked obliquely off on 

4TB 8SB., VOL. XIII. 16 



226 GIPSIES AND VAGRANTS 

both sides and from both faces, giving it an axe-like 
edge at one end, coming to a Very obtuse angle at the 
apex. 

A correspondent of mine, Mr. J. French of Felstead, 
Essex, has a remarkable and unusually large and massive 
hammer-stone of quartzite, weighing seven pounds, 
obscurely egg-shaped, and flattened on both sides, with 
a few other smaller but natural flattenings, as is com- 
mon with quartzite pebbles. It is .6 ins. by 5^ ins., and ' 
4 ins. thick. Near the heel, or thicker end, on both 
sides, there is an artificially drilled hole. Both the 
holes are about 1^ inch deep, and smaller towards the 
bottom. The striae made by the coarse sand in drilling 
are very plain. The holes, if continued, would not 
meet, for although started opposite each other, there is 
suflScient divergence to prevent their meeting. 

WORTHINGTON G. SmITH. 



THE MODE OF DISPOSING OF GIPSIES AND 
VAGRANTS IN THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 

A DOCUMENT, one of a mass of deeds formerly belonging 
to the family of Seys of Boverton Place, in the county 
of Glamorgan, and now in my possession, appears to be 
suflSciently curious to claim a place in your Journal. 
The document relates to proceedings by the justices of 
Yorkshire, though found in this county. It may be 
presumed that it was in due course delivered to the 
then Attorney General for Glamorgan, Roger Seys of 
Boverton, by the person entrusted to carry out the war- 
rant of the justices of Yorkshire, and to conduct the 
persons named therein to their respective last places of 
abode ; and it may be also fairly assumed that he 
finished his work by settling the last remnant of his 
ragged rout in this county. 

The document states the proceedings taken at the 
Quarter Sessions held at York on the 8th of May 1596, 



IN THE REION OF ELIZABETH. 227 

under the provisions of the statutes against Egyptians 
or Bohemians (as gipsies were then called), viz., the 
statutes of Henry VlII, Philip and Mary, and Eliza- 
beth, whereby Bohemians and all persons of their com- 
pany, whether foreigners or English born (except chil- 
dren under thirteen years of age), were made liable to 
be treated as guilty of felony, which then carried the 
penalty of death and forfeiture of goods. The company 
consisted of 196 persons, of whom 106 were tried at the 
Yorkshire Sessions, and condemned to death ; and some 
of them (presumably grown up foreigners) were executed, 
and the remainder, as well as the children under thir- 
teen, who had not been tried, were dealt with as stated 
in the document which foUows, viz. :. 

" To all Christian people to whom these our Tres (letters) testi- 
monial! shall come, We, S*r Will'm Mallorye, Knight, one of the 
Queenes Mat'y Counsalls established in tlie North Marches; 
John Dawney and William Bellasis, Knights ; » Philip Constable 
and John Holdham, Esquires, 5 of the Queens Majesties justices 
of peace in the said countie of Torke, to all mayors, sheriffs, 
bailifrs, constables, headboroughs, and tithingmen, and all other 
her Ma'ty (Majesty's) officers, ministers, and loyal subjects what- 
soever^ gr^etinge in our Lord God Everlastinge. Forasmuch as 
a great number of idle persons, the Queens natural bom sub- 
jects, and some of them descended of good parentage, as we be 
credibly informed by some of their friends that heartily wish 
the amendmeut of their lives, the whole number of which com- 
pany being one hundred, fourscore, and sixteen persons of men, 
women, and children, having wandered in diverse parts of this 
realme in this county of Yorke, some of them feigning them- 
selves to have knowledge in palmistry, physiognomy, and other 
abused sciences, using certain disguised apparell and forged 
speeche, contrary to divers statutes and lawes of this realme, 
and especially the statute made in the vth year of the Queenes 
Ma'ty (Majesty's) most gracious reaigne that now is, whom the 
Lord longe preserve over us. 

" We therefore, the s'd Justices, willing to keep this lewde 
company to conform them accordinge to lawe in that case pro- 
vided, did therefore cause the whole number of them to be ap- 
prehended and committed to her Highness gaols in the said 
countie of Yorke; whereof so many of them of full age, one hun- 
dred and six persons, were arraigned the Tuesdaie being the viii 
day of May last past, at a quarter Sessions holden at Yorke 



228 GIPSIES AND VAGRANTS 

aforesaid, at which Sessions the of those offenders were 

by lawful inquest, though not 'per medietatem lingua^ condemned. 
Whereupon judgement being given that the said offenders should 
receive pains of death, according to the provisions of the said 
Statute ; whereupon issued execution, and nine of the most vali- 
ant persons having least charge of children, and found by the 
said inquest to be strangers, afiens born in foreign parts beyond 
the seas, and none of the Queene Majesty natural bom subjects, 
suffered accordingly. The terror whereof so much appalled the 
residue of the condemned persons and their children which stood 
to behold the miserable end of their parents, did then cry out so 
piteously as had been seldom seen or heard, to the great sorrow 
and grief of all the beholders ; lamentably beseeching reprieves 
for their parents, then ready to suffer death, alledging that they 
being sixty infants and young children, which could not help 
themselves, should perish through the loss of their parents ; 
wherefore being moved with compassion upon so doleful cry of 
such infants, we, the foresaid justices, reprieved the residue of 
their condemned parents, and sent them back to the gaols from 
whence they came, where they continued till the vii of July last 
past, during which time the Eight Honorable Lords, Henry Lord 
Darsye and Eaphe Lord Yevars, pitying the said miserable per- 
sons, had obtained her Graces free pardon for the said offenders, 
which was published the said vii day of July, together with her 
Highness Warrant in the nature of a commission procured by 
the said Lords, dii*ected to us the aforesaid justices, that we 
should give order and direction to the said offenders to reform 
their lives, and to be placed where they were bom, and last 
dwelled by the space of three years; then to demean themselves 
in some honest faculty, according to the limitation of one Statute 
made in the 26th year of our late Sovereign Lord of famous 
memory. King Henry the VIII, now revived by the late Parlia- 
ment holden anno xxxv Elizabeth Eegine. 

" Now know ye, We, therefore, the said Sir W. Mallory, Sir 
John Dawney, Sir William Bellasys, Knights; Philip Constable 
and John Holdham, Esquires ; in accomplishment of her Ma- 
jestys said warrant and commission to us directed to, have 
authorised and appointed one William Portyngton, the bearer 
hereof, to lead and conduct all the rest of his company, being 
nine score and seven persons, every one to the place where they 
were bom, or last dwelled by the space of three years, there to 
get their living by some honest and lawful means, allowing to 
the said William Portyngton viii months next ensuing the date 
of these our letters testimonial, for the placing of them in form 
aforesaid ; and if it fortune any of his company to escape from 



IN THE REIGM OF ELIZABETH. 229 

the said William PortjTigton, or shall refuse to be placed by him 
on forme aforesaid, that then every one so offending to be appre- 
hended and deemed as felons, and thereupon to receive judge- 
ment. And at the expiration of these our said letters testimo- 
nial, the said William Portington to return to us the said 
justices, or some of us, a true calendar of all the names and sir- 
names of every of his company so by him placed, together with 
these our letters testimonial ; and so then he to receive of us 
the said pardon, which we have thought good to detain until we 
shall see the accomplishment of this our direction. 

"Moreover, these are to require, and nevertheless in the 
Queens Majestys name to charge and command every of her 
Highness ofl&cers and subjects, by the authority of her Graces 
said warrant and commission to us directed, that you and every 
of you, upon sight hereof, doe permit and suffer the said William 
Portyngton and his whole company quietly to pass and travel 
throughout any shire, city, town, village, hamlet, and place 
whatsoever, franchised or not franchised, among themselves 
honestly, without any vexation, let, stay, or impediment, to be 
done to them, or any of them, in body or goods, helping them 
likewise to lodging and harbouring in due time convenient, with 
victuals competent for their money, they not tarrying in one 
place above the space of one day and two nights at the most, 
unless sickness, death, or such like urgent cause, enforce the 
contrary. 

" In witness whereof we the said justices above named, to 
these our letters testimonial have put our hands and seals the 
viii day of July in the xxxviii year of the reign of our most 
gracious Sovereign Lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God Queen 
of England, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith. 

" W. Malory, J. Dawney, W. Bellassys, 
Phillipp Constable, John Holden." 

The seals, which were attached by parchment labels 
to the deed, are all gone, the wax having broken away. 
Each name is written on its label in the order in which 
the names are placed. On the back of the deed the 
following endorsement appears : 

" Lancaster ff. 

" Seen and allowed to passe through this countie, 
acording to intention of their Lycence, this 
24 day of JulliL 

" Rychard Molyneux. 
" Rich Houghton." 



230 GIPSIES AND VAGRANTS 

Sir William Mallory was of Studly. In 1569 he was 
made a Deputy Lieutenant for Yorkshire. In 1598 he 
was High Steward of Ripon. Whitaker (Craven, p. 458) 
gives the following pedigree : 

Sir William Mallory, =Dionj8ia, daughter and coheiress 
'' of 8ir William Temple of Studlej 



ofi 
3ir Jonn== 



Sir 
liring 1540 

Sir Williamy 

Sir William Mallory, Knight, tenip. Elizabeth. 

Sir John Dauney is the direct ancestor of the present 
Viscount- Downe. The family is of Norman origin, and 
their ancestor, Sir Paris D'Auney, is said to have come 
in with the Conqueror. 

Sir William BeUasis or Belasyse, also of Norman ori- 
gin, was descended from a family of great distinction in 
the north of England. Sir Wm. was Sheriff of Yorkshire 
in 1574. His eldest son, Sir Henry Belasyse, of New- 
borough, was created a baronet by James I on 29 June 
1611; and his grandson, Sir Thomas,, was created, in 
1627, Baron Fauconberg, and in 1643 Viscoimt Faucon- 
berg. The whole of the family honours became extinct 
in 1815; on the death of Charles Belasyse, Viscount 
Fauconberg. 

Philip Constable, of Everingham, was son of Marma- 
duke Constable, who died 1st Feb. 1574. Philip's will 
is dated 14 Oct. 1619. His grandson. Sir Philip, was 
made a baronet in 1642. He is ancestor of Constable 
Maxwell, Lord Herries. 

John Holdham not identified. 

Henry Lord Darcy. There was a Sir Henry Darcy, 
eldest son of Sir Arthur Darcy; but the Lord Darcy at 
the time of the deed was called John. It is odd that 
the scribe should have made such a mistake. The pedi- 
gree of the Darcies, Lords Darcy and Earls of Holder- 
ness, is as follows : 



IN THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 231 

Sir Thomas D'Arcy, summoned to Parliament from 1509-29;== 
attainted for ** Pilgrimage of Grace"; beheaded June 20, 1538 

George, restored as Lord D'Arcy,= Arthur^ 

2 Edward VI, 1548 ; died 1558 



T 



John, second Lord Darc7,= Henry ,» Thoma8,=E]izabeth 

d. 1587 d. before 1605 d. 1605 Gonyers 



Michael,== Catherine Gonyers, created, Augu8t== 

d. V. p, I 1641, Lord Darcy 



John, third Lord Darcy, d. 11 Charles I, Gonyers, created Earl of 

1635, 8, p. Holdemess. 

From this it is apparent that the Lord Darcy at the 
time of the deed was John, third Lord Darcy, of Aston. 
The only other Lord Darcy then existing was Thomas 
Lord Darcy of Chiche in Essex. 

Ralph Lord Yevars, or Eure, or Evre, was the third 
baron of that family, and was in 1605 constituted the 
King s Lieutenant in the Principality of Wales. Burke 
says that Hugh, a younger son of the Chevenings, 
Barons of Warkworth in Northumberland, acquired in 
the reign of Henry III the lordship of Eure in Bucks., 
whence their name. His son John was settled in the 
county of York, temp. Edward I ; and his descendant, 
Sir William, was in 1544 created Baron Eure of Wilton, 
county Durham. Ralph Lord Eure, the third Baron, 
was his grandson. 

Richard Molyneux was eldest son of William, and 
grandson of Sir Richard Molyneux, Knight, by Eleanor, 
daughter of Alexander Radcliffe, created a baronet in 
1611. He was ancestor of the present Earl of Sefton. 

Sir Richard Houghton or Hoghton, of Hoghton Tower, 
Lancashire, created a baronet in 1611, ancestor of the 
present Sir Henry Bold D. Hoghton of Hoghton Tower, 

R. O. Jones. 

Fonmon Castle. 



232 



BONE KNIFE FOUND NEAR KEMPSTON, 
BEDFORD. 

The object here illustrated is worthy of attention at 
the present time, as it probably belongs to the same 
class as the Towyn slate, illustrated at page 112 of the 
present volume. It apparently belongs to the time 
when iron was used as a cutting material ; and this 
knife, though made from a piece of splintered bone, 
is clearly an imitation of a metal blade inserted into 
a wooden, bone, or other handle. Towards the middle 
of both sides a series of rude, ornamental lines are 
engraved, and these lines indicate the junction of the 
iron or bronze with the haft. The left hand figure 
shows a few zigzag and long lines at the back edge of 
the blade. At the bottom of the right hand figure is 
a line and circle with a central dot, and the circle 
seems to indicate the point where a hole might be 
drilled for the insertion of a cord for suspension. The 
back of the knife is shown in the middle figure, and 
the part belonging to the blade is ornamented with 
crossed lines. The whole appearance of the object im- 
mediately suggests that it is an imitation of a metal 
knife in bone. The bone itself, though slightly lus- 
trous, has lost its gelatine, and it adheres to the tongue 
in the less lustrous places. 

This antiquity was found in a gravel pit at Kemps- 
ton, into which position it had doubtlessly fallen from 
the ground above. At the same time with this knife, 
a bone spindle belonging to a spindle whorl was found, 
a Neolithic flint scraper, several fragments of British 
and Saxon pottery, two ancient beads, and a disc of 
stone one inch and three-quarters in diameter, ham- 
mered away on one face, drilled with a very small cen- 
tral depression on the other, with the periphery smooth, 
and to which no use can be assigned : it does not ap- 
pear to be a spindle whorl in an unfinished condition. 



k 



m 



4 



BONE KSIFK FOUND AT KEMPSTON, NEAR BEDFORD. 



~T 



BONE KNIFE FOUND NEAR KEMPSTON. 233 

In vol. xiv, 3rd Series, p. 296, of the ArchcBologia 
Camhrensis, is engraved an iron piercer, with bone 
handle, found in a subterranean chamber at La Tour- 
elle, Quimper, Brittany, and to this illustration and its 
accompanying description we refer our readers. The 
bone handle of the piercer is cylindrical and somewhat 
smaller than the handle of the Kempston example ; it 
has a small incised circle, with a central dot towards 
the base exactly like the Kempston bone. Such little 
circles with central dots seem very frequent on pre- 
historic bone tools. The Quimper borer also has a 
series of horizontal and oblique lines at the point of 
junction of the iron and bone, very much in tne style 
of the Bedford knife. 

The gravel-pits in the neighbourhood of Bedford 
have long been known to be rich in the bones, teeth^ 
and tusks of extinct mammalia; the same pits also 
produce paleolithic flint implements and flakes. The 
surface humus in many places contains neolithic relics 
often in close company with Roman, Saxon, mediaeval^ 
and other antiquities. When excavations are made^ 
the objects belonging to the upper soil constantly drop 
into the bottom of the pits, and may be mistaken by 
careless or ill-informed persons for objects belonging to 
the gravel Mistakes of this nature are constantly 
made. The bones and flints belonging to the Bed- 
ford gravel are in a totally different condition from, 
the bones and flints in the humus above. Sometimes 
excavations were made into the gravel for graves in 
Saxon times, and in these places palseolithic relics 
were disturbed. When a relic is found in the bottom 
of a gravel-pit, this fact is no more proof of its anti- 
quity than the antiquity of a tobacco-pipe or a beer- 
bottle is proved by being found in the same position. 
Soinetimes the surface of the ground has been denuded 
by centuries of rain, and the gravel exposed. In such 
positions ancient and modern objects are mingled toge- 
ther. 

WORTHINGTON G. SmITH. 



234 



iHfetellanea. 

Commission from King Charles I to Colonel Thomas Davies of 
Gim/saney, Flintshire, to raise a Regim^ent of Jive hundred Men 
in Support of the Royai Cause. 

« Charles R 
" Chaeles, by the grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France, 
and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. To our trusty and wel- 
beloved Thomas Davies,^ Esq., Greeting. Know yee and all men 
els whoras'r it may conceme That wee, reposing great trust and 
confidence in your ability, diligence, and fidelity in martiall 
affajo-es, doe by theis p*sents constitute and appoint you Colonell 
of one Eegiment of ffive hundred ffoote and Dragooners. And 
wee doe hereby give you full power and authority for Us, and in 
our name to raise, imprest, and retayn the said Kegiment, con- 
sisting of f&ve hundred men, Voluntiers or otherwise raised or 
to be raised by sound of Drum or any other way in any of our 
Dominions, for the defence of our Royall Person, the Two Houses 
of Parliament, the Protestant Religion, the Lawes of the Land, 
the Liberty and propriety of the subject, the Privileges of Par- 
liament, and the defence of our Counties of Denbigh and Flint. 
And them so raised to bring togeather and imploy in our service 
for the defence of these our said Counties. And further, in the 
absence of ourself or our Lieutenant Generall or Generall of our 
Horse, Wee doe hereby give you full power and authority to 
dispose them into Companyes, and to nominate constitute and 
appoint Captaines and other fitting officers over them, whome 
Wee require you to obey and observe as their Colonell. And 
you likewise to obey observe and follow such orders and direc- 
tions as you shall from time to time receive from Ourself, our 
Lieutenant Generall, Generall of our Horse, or other your Supe- 
rior Officer, according to the discipline of warre. 

" Given under our Sign Manual! at our Court at Oxford this 
nineteenth of July 1643. In the nineteenth year of our Kdgne." 



Eawarden Castle. — Order given for its SvMentation hy 

Prince Rupert. 

" Theis are to wiU and require you, upon sight hereof, out of 

the moneys by you receaued or to be receaued as part of the 

loane money vpon Privy Scales and Subscriptions in the Counties 

* Thomas Davies, second son of Robt. Davies, Esq., of Gwjsaney, 
CO. Flint. See note, Arch. Gamh., 1881, p. 204. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 235 

of Denbigh and fflynt, to pay to the Hands of Colonell John 
Marrowe, for the use of S'r William Neale, and towards the vic- 
tualling and furnishing with Armes and Amunition the Castle 
of Hawarden in the County of fflynt, the surae of one hundred 
pounds ; which hundred pound and what other moneys of the 
Kinges Ma'tie, or of the said S'r William Neale, disbursed by 
him for the service of that Gamson, is to bee accounted for before 
S'r William Bellenden, Comissary Generall, or such Auditor or 
Auditors as he shall appoint, ffor the payment of which one 
hundred pounds this shall bee yo'r warrant. 

Dated the nynth of June 1644. 
" To the High Sherriffs of the respective Countyes 
of Denbigh and fflynt, and either of them. 
Charles Walley , Alderman of Chester ; Hum- 
phrey Lloyd of Bersham in the coimty of 
Denbigh, Gent. ; and every of them, and all 
others whom these may conceme. "Eupert. 

"12 Junij, 1644. 
" Rec'd by me, Colonell John Marrowe, from Robert Davies, Esq., 
• High Sheriff of the County of fflynt, the sume of ffifty 
pounds, in pursuance of this warrant. I say rec'd the 
sume of 50{. 

" John Marow." 



Conespontienee* 

TO THE EDITOR OP THE ARCH20L00IA 0AMBREN8I8. 



WELSH POOL 

Sir, — An interesting account of the Hall and Market Place of 
Welsh Pool, written by Mr. David Pryce Owen when he was 
Mayor, appeared in Bye^Oanes^ September 17th, 1878. Two days 
earlier fonndation-stones of what was called *'a new Town Hall, 
Assisse Court, and Market Hall'*, were laid by the Major and the 
Earl of Powis ; and irom the record of the past prepared on that 
occasion I glean the following. In 1761 the Market Hall, which 
stood on the south-eastern side of Upper Chnrch Street, at the corner 
of Broad Street, was in so bad a state that it was ordered to be 
palled down, and the market removed to the lower end of the Gnild 
Hall. The Gaildhall, which occupied its present site, waa used for 
holding the Great Sessions, flannel, grain, and other markets. In 
1790 and 1791, at a common hall, the local authorities condemned 
the building as ruinous ; and in 1795 it was agreed that it should 
be taken down and rebuilt. This was done, the architects and 
builders being Messrs. Hazeldine and Simpson of Shrewsbury. The 



236 CORRESPONDENCE. 

work was not completed until 180 k There is much more that is 
highly interesting in the account ; but it does not form a reply to 
your query. Moreover, it will doubtless appear in the interesting 
papers on Welshpool, by the Editor, in Montgomeryshire Collections. 
I may just remark that the catastrophe of 1758, referred to by "A 
Member", was not the only one of the sort that occurred in the old 
Hall. In 1795, in the course of a trial for burglary, the floor gave 
way, and there was much alarm. The place was cleared without 
accident, and the Court adjourned to the parish church. This pro- 
bably was the reason why the authorities acted on the warning they 
had received four years earlier, when the building was condemned. 

A.B. 
Croeswylan, Oswestry. 

WATT'S DYKE. 

Sir, — It seems very evident that a warden of the Welsh dykes (if" 
such an officer existed) would have no reason now-a-days to com- 
plain of want of occupation. Those portions of Watt's Dyke in the 
neighbourhood of Wrexham, that have remained to our own days, 
are becoming year by year smaller and smaller in extent ; and this 
not through the operation of the slowly wearing and levelling influ- 
ences of nature, but through that of the destroying hand of men. 
Those who live along the course of the Dyke ought themselves 
to ward and keep it. Some of these, however, would, I fear, 
gladly cart every bit of it away if they could only earn a dis- 
honest penny thereby. Others allow it to be destroyed because 
they do not know what it is. Although it forms the western 
boundary of the borough, there are many that have lived in Wrex- 
ham all their lives who do not know there is any such Dyke near 
the town. Well, in a few years there will be no such Dyke here. 
Long strips of it have been levelled, in quite recent years, along 
Crispin Lane dud between the Bersham and Ruabon Roads. I myself 
saw in the summer of 1881 another bit of it being destroyed ; and we 
' may be sure the new Railway Company, if they are not looked after, 
will sooner or later sweep away a great part of what is left. The 
course of the projected railroad (between the present railway bridge 
and the Workhouse) will run either along the actual site of the 
Dyke, or along a line parallel to and abutting upon it. In either 
case the Dyke is in peril. Though it be allowed for the present to 
remain, it will almost certainly, one of these days, be discovered to 
be in the way ; then, unless its proper wardens here (the Town 
Council as representing the inhabitants of Wrexham) take measures 
for its safety, it will be cleared away, and the earth of it used to fill 
a hole. Railway companies, if they have a conscience (a property 
which most people deny to them), are at any rate entirely destitute 
of sentiment^ and care not what they destroy bo long as they can 
declare a good dividend. Nor ought they to be very much blamed 
for this. It is not their function to guard our antiquities ; and if 



ARCH^OLOGIOAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 237 

the natural wardens of these antiquities do not ohject to their de- 
struction, why should the railway companies stay their levelling 
hand? 

Permit me, in conclusion, to suggest that when " The Hand Inn" 
is pulled down, its curiously carved beams and sills be acquired for 
the public, and placed in the Free Library. On one of the sills of 
this old inn is cut a very curious representation or rather emblem of 
the Trinity. A similar representation of the Trinity, under the form 
of three rabbits curiously united by their ears, occurs, I believe, in 
one of the windows of the church of the Holy Trinity, Long Mel- 
ford, Suffolk. 

Wrexham. Yours, etc., A. B. 



Y WEETHYR 



Sib, — Wishing to know whether " Y Werfhyr", a homestead in 
the neighbourhood of Amlwch, still shews anything explanatory of 
the fact of its being called by a name meaning "the fortification", 
I wrote on the subject to Mr. John Parry, the gentleman living 
there. As his reply to my letter may serve to induce some antiqua- 
rian to examine the ground, I think it expedient to have it printed. 
It runs thus : 

" On the top of a hill, near where the old house of Y Werthyr was 
situated, there can be seen to-day ruins of old earthwork fortiGca- 
tions. When I first came to reside here I often had twenty cattle 
grazing in the field, and sometimes they would all go down into the 
old trench, and were completely lost to view, so I filled it up in a great 
measure. Years ago Mr. Owen, the late Rector of Llanerchymedd, 
examined the place, and pronounced it the ruin of an old Welsh 
fort. There is also, in the adjoining field, a large stone measuring 
about 10 feet above ground, in the time of the former proprietor 
of the place there was another stone of the same size, some distance 
from it, and a huge flat stone extending from one to the other. The 
old country people stood in great awe of it, and considered it an act 
of sacrilege when Mr. Williams destroyed the top stone and one of 
the pillars." 

John Rets. 



9rci)s^ological ^otes.anH Queries. 

Is it true, as stated lately in The Glohe, that the cromlech at White 
House, near Trevine, North Pembrokeshire, has been built into a 
hedge? M. N. 

Clocabnog Church Restoration. Discovert op Fresco on Wall. 
— This church is undergoing a certain amount of restoration. While 
clearing the walls of the accumulated coatings of whitewash, the 



238 REVIEW. 

workmen came npon a couple of fresco paintings, one on each side 
of the large east window. The Rev. W. Jones, the Rector of the 
parish, describes the paintings as follows. That on one side of the 
window was the fignre of a man, about 2 yards long, with shaven 
face, and what appeared to be a breastplate on his breast. There 
were letters, in character like Hebrew, connected with this figure, 
but so obliterated as to be unreadable. The other fignre was also 
that of a man, full sized, canonically clothed, and holding a pastoral 
staff with the head thereof turned inwards. The man's eyes were 
particularly bright. This figure was bearded. It was abonl 1^ foot' 
long ; at least that part exposed was this size, but it might have 
been longer. There were also indistinct letters about this figure. 
Along the north wall was depicted a coat of arms in which a lion 
appeared. These paintings, the Rector says, cannot be kept intact. 

E. O. 

'* Chips from Old Stonbs." — This interesting work, which was 
originally privately printed, may now be had, at a very moderate 
price, of Mr. Cameron, George Street, Edinburgh, who has only 
twenty copies at his disposal. The authoress, Aliss Maclagan of 
Ravenscroft, Stirling, is better known from her grand work of The 
Hill Forts and Stone Circles of Scotland, a work unique in its design 
and execution. Chips from Old Stones is mostly devoted to the curious 
stone works called Nuraghi, and peculiar to Sardinia. Some of the 
most important of the primitive remains are also noticed and figured. 



Basinqwere Abbey. — On the occasion of a recent visit to this 
Abbey I found that the round-headed arch of the door leading from 
what was once the south aisle of the nave into what was once the 
north walk of the cloister, had been recently either wilfully destroyed 
or had fallen of itself by natural decay. The moulded voissoirs 
strewed the ground between the door-jambs, and apparently lay as 
they had fallen. It is to be hoped that what remains of Basiugwerk 
Abbey will not be allowed to go utterly to ruin. A. N. P. 



i&ebieto. 

OossiPiNG Guide to Wales. Woodall and Venables, 
Oswestry, 1882. 

The present edition of the Gossiping Guide to Wales, or rather to 
North Wales, is an old friend issued with many additions and im* 
provements. The author, Mr. Askew Roberts, and the publishers 
are alike to be congratulated upon the work that they have pro- 
duced. The writer holds a fluent pen, and we have read his book 
through with great pleasure. Various are the sources from which 
the author obtains his information. He seems to have read most, if 



REVIEW. 239 

cot all, the books of travel that have issued from English travellers 
in Wales irom past days to the present year. The matter obtained 
from these sources has been thoroughly digested and recast, and 
the result is a most readable book. But the Guide is not merely a 
judicious compilation of other men's labours. It has great merits 
independently of the information obtained from the library. The 
author is seen in his work. His acute observation and descriptive 
powers shew themselves in every page. He possesses a vein of quiet 
humour, and detects a bit of wit on the part of a station-master or 
publican, and he tells a tale in excellent style. We will give one 
instance of what we now refer to. Speaking of the Earl of Dudley," 
who possesses property in the parish of LlandrilTo, the Qosdping 
Guide says : " A stock story of the district is that his Lordship was 
in the habit of taking out with him a publican of Llandrillo as a 
guide, and that one day the nobleman, fearful that a suspicious 
looking bit of turf was not trustworthy, said to his retainer, ' Robert, 
has this bog any bottom to it ?* ^ Oh, yes, your Lordship,' was the 
reply ; and his Lordship jumped, and was at once up to his waist, 
and still sinking. 'You rascal!' quoth the noble, 'didn't you say 
this bog had a bottom P' ' And so it has, my Lord/ returned Robert, 
• but you haven't reached it yet/ " 

The work abounds with folk-lore and tales, which are always 
remarkably well told. We refer the reader to tlie book itself for 
these. 

It is not to be expected in a book of this kind that inaccuracies 
should be altogether absent therefrom ; but this is wonderfully cor- 
rect in the information given. So much so that wo venture to say 
that the author is a reliable historian. Still we detect a slight mis- 
description ; and we are glad that we have done so, just for the 
fun of punishing Mr. Askew Roberts' incredulity, shewn in his nar- 
ration of the story we are about to mention. Of Corwen Mr. Roberts 
writes : " Visitors to the churchyard are shewn a rude cross cut in 
the outside of one of the walls of the church ; and this, of course, is 
the true mark of Qwain Olyndwr's dagger, we suppose spiritualised. 
In the churchyard, too, there is a rude column called * Carreg. y Big 
yn y Fach Rewlyd', and to this appertains a stpry. We are told 
that all attempts to build the church in any other place were frus- 
. trated by the influence of certain adverse powers, till the founders, 
warned in a vision, were directed to the spot where this pillar stood." 
So much from the Gossiping Guide, But this is what Canon Thomas, 
in his History of the Diocese of St, Asaph^ says, alluding to the cross 
and stone mentioned in the foregoing quotation : " This stone (the 
cross) now forms the lintel of the priest's door"; and speaking of 
Carreg y Big, " This stone is now built into the wall of the north 
porch." Which is correct? We might say to our pleasant, gossip- 
ing guide, " Gently over those stones, sir." 

The amount of information contained in the Guide is really con- 
siderable, and the time expended and journeys taken ere this book 
could have been finished, must have been great. If it had been 



240 REVIEW. 

written in tbe last centnrj, as a literary work, it wonld have been 
landed ; and as a repository of cnrions things, it would have been 
quoted as an authority. Even in this year of facilities for visifing 
all parts of Wales, the Oossiping Guide is a monument of persever- 
ance ; and deservedly does it occupy a foremost place, if not the 
first, among guide-books to Wales. The chatty tone that pervades 
the book is just what one likes to see in a guide-book. Heavy read* 
ing and a sunny hill-side on a summer's day do not agree. This, 
however, admirably harmonises with a holiday ramble in Wales. 
There is, though, a danger attached to this style of writing, and this 
Quide has one sentence at least which we think might have been 
differently worded. We are sorry to find even one blemish amidst 
so many beauties ; but we do not think the following words are 
altogether in good taste : *' If water from the Jordan is imported to 
make Christians of little princes, why should not the water from 
St. Sulien's Well do a like service for little Taffies ?" We take ex- 
ception to this extract, and we doubt not that the good taste of the 
writer will agree with us, and that he will in the next edition of the 
Oossipmg Guide (and we are sure that it will undergo many editions) 
expunge the words. 



REVIEW. 241 



The Ancient Oostoms op the City op Hbebpoed. By Richard 
Johnson, late Town Clerk. 2nd edition. Printed by T. Richards, 
37, Great Qaeen Street, London. 

The new edition of this valuable work is now in the hands of the 
subscribers, who are to be congratulated on the acquisition of it. 
Nor are the members of a family well known in Hereford to be less 
congratulated on their prodnction of a volume of such interest to 
the antiquarian world in general, and more particularly to all who 
are interested in the city and county of Hereford. 

Those members of the Cambrian Archasological Association who 
were at the Meeting of the Association in 1867, will remember the 
kind assistance given by Mr. Johnson, the universally respected 
Town Clerk. He was then engaged on his intended work of the 
Gtistoms of the Gity^ which was published in the following year. For 
many previous years Mr. Johnson had read at the meetings of the 
Hereford Philosophical and Antiquarian Society, several papers on 
this subject, which, at the request of that Society, were subsequently 
printed in a small pamphlet. Being afterwards able, by extended 
researches, to add materially to his previously acquired knowledge, 
and still further assisted by private friends communicating other 
curious documents, he was induced by the earnest entreaties of his 
antiquarian friends to undertake the work, the second edition of 
which is now before us. 

It appears that after the work was published, Mr. Johnson dis- 
covered among the municipal archives, but did not live to give the 
public the benefit of his additional researches, documents which 
would have thrown light on several points. For this reason his 
widow, assisted by her daughters, has included in the second edi- 
tion this additional information. 

Hereford city was proved to be ancient demesne land in the time 
of the Conqueror, and continued to belong to the Crown until 
Richard I sold all his rights and interest to the inhabitants, 9 Octo- 
ber 1189 ; but thirty-five years before that sale, the Cmtoms Booh of 
Hereford was made a record for Rhudlan, to the men of which town 
the grant in fee-farm was made by the same customs the men of 
Hereford used. Thus the Customs Book commences with a petition 
from the men of Rhudlan, supported by the King's writ, which was 
granted without payment of fine or fees, whereas the inhabitants of 
other towns, as Carmarthen, Denbigh, etc., had to pay considerable 
sums for the same privilege, Carmarthen paying one hundred shil- 
lings. At a later date the men of Haverfordwest petitioned for the 
same privilege, for which a similar amount was paid. 

Scolding women were not unknown, and considered such a public 
nuisance that it was ordered they sfiould stand in some public place 
with bare feet, and their hair hanging about their ears, for a certain 
time ; then sent to prison, where they remained until they " had 
made redemption at the will of the bailiff whose tenants they were". 

15* 



242 REVIEW. 

Special regulations were also enacted for repelling the attacks of 
Welshmen. We read also of the numerous quarrels between the 
civil and ecclesiastical authorities, for accounts of which we must 
refer to the work itself. Mussels and oysters were the only fish that 
people might sell, " other than their own", under a penalty of six 
shillings and eight-pence ; half of which went to the mayor, and 
half to the chamberlain. Many other curious regulations of the 
same kind lire well worth perusing. 

In the latter part of the work are many interesting details of the 
civil war, in which Hereford vigorously supported the royal cause ; 
but in spite of the bravery of the defence the citizens were over- 
powered, although not without several struggles, for the city changed 
hands more than once. This part of the volume will be found by 
some the most interesting, if not the most important in antiquarian 
eyes. Taking, however, the work as a whole, we do not remember 
having read one equal to it in interest. 

Illustrations of a view of the city in 1778, and two of the old city 
gates, long since removed, are added to this second edition ; but 
the more interesting additions are the capital letters that commence 
some of the chapters, which are accurately copied from the original 
charters mentioned, of various dates from the tenth to the sixteenth 
century. These, we are informed, are from the skilful pencil of one 
of the daughters of the family. 

We must once more congratulate the Editor of this edition, to 
whose energetic spirit in undertaking the work the public is so 
much indebted. 



^rchaenUjia €nmhtm\%. 



FOURTH SERIES,— VOL. XIII, NO, LIL 



OCTOBER 1882. 



THE CELTIC ELEMENT IN THE LANCA- 
SHIRE DIALECT. 

It is inferred by Dr.Lappenberg, from the small number 
of the hundreds in Lancashire, that the British popula- 
tion was more numerous there than in other counties. 
" The circumstance^', he says, " that some of the smaller 
shires contain the greatest number of hundreds pre- 
sents inexplicable diflficulties, though at the same time 
it may afford a clue to their origin if we take into con- 
sideration the fiict that those small counties (vi2.,Kent, 
containing sixty-one, Sussex sixty-five, and Dorsetshire 
thirty-four hundreds) were the districts first conquered, 
and therefore the most densely peopled by the new 
settlers ; while in others, as Lancashire, with six hun- 
dreds only, the British population continued more 
numerous, and the hundreds, on the division of the 
country among the Anglo-Saxon chiefs, might have been 
formed without any reference to the number of the 
subjected Britons" (ii, 329, E. Ed.). The Celtic words 
in the Lancashire dialect prove that this part of the 
population was certainly very numerous ; but the same 
element exists quite as largely in the dialect of Cum- 
berland on the north, and in that of Cheshire or Shrop- 
shire on the south. Each of these dialects offers an 
interesting field of inquiry to a Celtic scholar, for each 

4th 8EB., VOL. XII T. 16 



244 THE CELTIC ELEMENT 

contains many words of this class, and each has retained 
some words that have become obsolete in the other. 

In the papers lately published in the Archeeologia 
Camhrensis, on the Celtic words in the English lan- 
guage, a large number of such words has been presented ; 
but as these are only a selection from a larger mass, 
they do not give an adequate idea of the whole extent 
of this element. This question, however, has an im- 
portant bearing in the historical inquiry into the con- 
stituent elements of the English people. Few probably 
will venture to assert that not a single individual of 
the old Celtic stock was left in the land when the Saxon 
conquest was completed ; but, on the other hand, few 
Englishmen seem willing to believe that the present 
English race partakes in a great degree of Celtic blood. 
In estimating the proportion of this element there is 
scarcely any evidence more conclusive than that of the 
Celtic words now existing in the English language, 
whether dialectic or otherwise ; for words cannot be 
forged, as documents or supposed historical records 
may. They offer a constant testimony that can be ex- 
amined, and they can be counted. It is certain that 
races speaking different languages have blended toge- 
ther, and the language of one race has wholly disap- 
peared, or left only a faint trace behind, especially when 
this has been a subject race ; but when a large number of 
words belonging to the absorbed people has continued 
in use, the fact of this people's existence on the soil, after 
the conquest, is absolutely certain ; and if this part of 
the language be large, we may assume confidently that 
the proportion of the conquered race in the existing 
population is large also. This result would be obtained 
for the whole of England if we could present the whole 
of the Celtic element in the spoken language ; but as 
this inquiry would require a volume of ample size, I 
propose to examine only the dialect of my native 
county, Lancashire, and by presenting the whole of this 
element, as nearly as possible, to shew how large it is. 
It must be borne in mind, however, that the Celtic ele- 



IN THE LANCASHIRE DIALECT. 245 

ment in the population is probably more extensive than 
the relative number of the Celtic words still existing ; 
for (l), the language of the conquerors would be used 
in the departments of law and of public affairs, and 
this supremacy would tend to repress the language of 
the conquered race ; and (2), the words of the subject 
population being shut out from literature and public 
business, would become mainly dialectic, i.e., confined 
to distinct localities, and not recognised in the common 
language of the nation. Some might be adopted and 
transferred to the common speech ; and many such 
words have found an abiding place in the English lan- 
guage ; but a much larger number would have only a 
local habitation and a limited use. It is also an import- 
ant fact in the historical bearing of this inquiry, that 
such words are constantly worn away by the friction of 
opposing influences. In the present age, from the uni- 
formity of our system of public education, words of this 
class are rapidly disappearing. 

I have chosen the dialect of Lancashire as the subject 
of our present inquiry mainly because it is my native 
patoisy and I can «term the use and meaning of its dis- 
tinctive words, to a great extent, from my personal 
knowledge of them. Fifty years ago the dialectic words 
and forms of speech were well understood, and often 
used by the middle and higher classes : at least this 
was the case in Lancashire, where at that time the 
social usages in the country parts were simpler than 
they are now, and there was more frequent intercourse, 
I think, between the different ranks of society. The 
last half century has affected the county of Lancaster 
quite as much probably as any other county ; and, alas I 
many of its old dialectic words, often racy and vigorous, 
with a large infusion of humour and pathos, have passed 
away. The English language would gain considerably 
if some of these words could be revived, and then en- 
grafted into our common English stock. But this dia- 
lect is also one of great interest and value to a compa- 
rative philologist. All our dialects deserve, and would 

16 » 



246 THE CELTIC ELEMENT 

repay, a more careful examination than they have yet 
received ; but I know of none that offers a richer field 
than that of Lancashire. I hope that its value in this 
respect will appear in part from the following list of its 
Celtic words. ^ 

LANCASHIRE CELTIC. WELSH OR IRISH CELTIC. 

Accorah (for atcorat ?), arable land. O. W. atcor, arable land ; jngcrum, 
When pasture-land is ploughed terra arabilis. (D.) The W. ex- 
up, and cereal or other crops are planation is lluryhr aradr, the path 
grown, it is called accorah land, of the plough. T, Jones ( TT. and 
(N.) Eng. Diet,, 1688) bas"a/ror, a fur- 

row ; atcori, to plow furrows."^ 
Probably cU refers to the going 
and return of the plough, and cori 
may be Sans, krish (karsh)^ to 
plough ; krishi (Icarshi% ploughing, 
tillage ; conn, with kri (itwr), to 
work, to act 
Agog, eager, excited, moved by ear- W. gogi, to shake, to agitate ; gogr, 
nest desire or expectation^ a sieve ; Ir. Gael, gog, to nod, to 

toss the head ; gogach^ nodding, 
reeling ; Manx, goght/r, hope, ex- 
pectation 
Aire^ land thrown up by floods or Ir. ara; Gael, ar, land, earth ; W. 

tides. (N.) ar, ploughed land ; arvum (D.) 

<4tW, a point or part of the compass; Ir. Gael, aird (airt), a quarter or 
applied to the wind region, a point of the compass ; 

Ir. arrf, a quarter of the heavens 
(Goidelicay p. 69) ; Manx, ard (id.) 

^ My authorities: (1), a Glossary by Collier, 1775 (C.) ; (2), Bam- 
ford's Glossary (B.) ; (3), a Glossary of Northern Words, by Mr. Pea- 
cock (N.); (4), two lists sent to me from yeomen living near Cartmel 
(Com.) ; (5), a Glossary of Southern Words by a schoolmaster named 
Jackson, living at Warrington (J.); (6), Lancashire words in Halli well's 
Diet.; (7), the Glossary by Messrs. Nodal and Miller (Eng. Dial. Soc.); 
in addition to my own knowledge of the dialect. (8), a Fumess Glossary 
(F.); (9), a continuation of Tummus and Meary by Paul Bobbin (P. B.) 
Some Lancashire words are given by Britten in Old Country Words (Eng. 
Dial. Soc.). 

^ Richards (1759) says that "in Glamorganshire it signifies the oxen 
that draw the plow, and the plow together". He has also (after Davie«) 
"a/cwi, qu. wh. to plow." In Roderick's Eng. W, Diet. (ed. 1737) aicar 
is given as a Welsh equivalent for " furrow". 

3 " Literally on the jog or on the start, from gog, synonymous with jog 
or shog ; gog-mire, a quagmire. — Halliwell." (Wedgewood, «. v.) He in- 
terprets it as meaning "jigging with excitement". Prof. Skeat (Eng. 
Etym. Diet., s. r.^ connects the word with Icel. gmgiash, to be all agog, 
to bend eagerly lorward and peep. Haldersen's interpretation of gffgiar 
is 'Patenter prospectare". It is connected with g(Bgiur,SL clandestine look, 
and grpgr, craft, roguery. From the meaning of tossing the head in scorn, 
are derived W. goffi. to satirise, to tannt ; gognn, a taunt, a satire ; Arm. 
gogea, k) taunt, to jibe. 



IN THE LANCASHIRE DIALECT. 



247 



LANC CELTIC. 

Arlesy moQey given to confirm a 
hiring or agreement in general. 
(N.) 

Ams, amesy^ earnest money. (S.) 



Arvil, a funeral, funeral rites ; ar- 
val (P.) ; Dan. arvdl^ inheritance- 
ale, a funeral feast' 

A sky anker y a water-newt or water- 
lizard 

Astmfif not in a line (Com.), slant- 
ing, oblique ; Du. sckuhiy sloping, 
oblique 

Awse, 08S, to offer, to attempt, to 
dare 

Bahj habby, an infant 



Bad, a short stick used in the game 
of tip-cat. {Leg. Lane,, p. 154) 



Bag, to cut peas with a back, a short 
sickle fixed to a long pole. (Brit- 
ten, 0. a W., p. 132) 

Bale, to issue, as matter from a sore. 

(J.) 

Ballocks, testicles ; A. S. bealloc^ a 
testicle.* (S.) 



WELSH OR IRISH. 
Ir. Gael, arias, earlas, a pledge, 

money payment; ar, a bond or tie; 

Manx, eearlys, an earnest penny; 

Lat. arrha, a pledge 
W. em, ernes, money given in pledge 

of an agreement ; Arm. arres, 

erres, id.; Ir. GaeL eamas {ernas), 

a bond, a tie 
W. arwgl, funeral rites; exequi», 

funus. (D.) 

Gael, asc, a snake, an adder ; Ir. as- 
chu (water-dog), an eel ; Ir. Gael. 
ease, ea^gan, water, an eel 

W. astcy, left, sinister 



W. aws, a daring, a challenging ; osi, 
to attempt, to dare ; Arm. esaat, 
esaea, to attempt; Fr. essay er 

W. baban ; Arm. babxk, a babe ; Ir. 
Gael., Manx, bab, baban, id.; Fries. 
bab, baube, but from a Celtic 
source^ 

Ir. Gael, bat, bata, a staff, a cudgel ; 
Manx, bad, a bat, a club ; W., Ir., 
bad, a boat ; prim, a stock ; Fr. 
baston, baton 

It. Gael, bac, a hook, a crook ; O. Ir. 
baec, ligo (Z' 77)j bach, to reap 
(O. Ir. Gl., 56); W. bach, a hook, 
a crook ; Arm. bach, id. 

W. bala, a discharge, an outlet ; ba- 
law, an efflux of water; Arm. bala, 
marcher 

Ir. Gael, ball, a ball, a globe ; ballog 
(balloc), a little ball, a shell, an 
ejfg-shell ; W. ball, a protube- 
rance ; ballasg, a porcupine 



* Cf . Sans. rina=ama, an obligation, a debt. 

* The objection to the Scandinavian word as the source of our arvil is 
that the Lancashire word denotes the funeral or funeral ceremonies only. 
If there was a feast, it was called the arvil supper, and the cakes formerly 
given were called arvil cakes or arvil bread. To go to the ari*il (for that 
was the pronunciation in my youth) meant to go to the funeral, whether 
there was a feast or not. Moreover, the Scandinavian arvol was held 
some time after the funeral, and was a recognition of the heir ^*cum in 
regno et bonis dabatur successio". (Ihre, s. v. Arvol) ^^Arral, arvil, a 
burial, funeral solemnity. Arvil bread, arvil supper." (Bailey.) "Arvill, 
a funeral ; arvill supper, a feast made at funerals." (Jamieson.) 

3 In Hindustani, baba means a young child, and bata, a bamboo lath. 
See Bad. 

* This must be a borrowed word, -oc is a Celtic dim. suffix. Cf . Ir. 
mas, a round mass, a hip ; masog, a little round, a berry. 



248 



THE CELTIC ELEMENT 



LANC. CELTIC. 

Bam^ to strike, to beat (N.) ; to tell 
a mocking tale, to jibe; s., a jibe, 
a taunt 

Ban, a kind of dumpling. (H.) 

Bannock^ an oaten cake 

Band, the summit of a minor hill. 

(N.) 
£ar A;^a77i, a horse^B collar; braugham, 

id. 
Breigham, id. (Cumb.) ; hragham 

(Dev.) 



Batten, the wooden frame that a 
weaver swings against the cloth 

Baw, dirt, ordure ; v. cacare 
Bawdy, dirty, filthy 
Baxotry, dirty, miry. (B.) 
Boady, bawdy, obscene. (B.) 

Been, clever, nimble. (H.) 

Beltan, beltane, the fire lighted* for- 
merly on Halloween, eve of No- 
vember 1 ; O.'N, bdl ', Dan. baal, 
a pyre 

Berr, bir, beer, force, speed, momen- 
tum ;* to run a bir, to take a run 
before leaping ; O. N. bir, ventus 
secundus 

Bevil, to beat ; bevilling, a beating 

Bicker, to quarrel, to wrangle 



Biddy, a name for a louse or a small 

fowl 
Big, a teat 



WELSH OR IRISH. 

Ir. Gael, beum, a stroke, a taunt ; 

Com. bom, a blow; Arm. ba/n-etn, 

to enchant, to delude 
Ir. Gael, bannock, Manz, bonnag, a 

cake ; Ir. bunna, id.; Eng. bun 

W. bant, a height ; ban, high 

Ir. braicam, Gael, braicheam, a horse*8 
collar, a pack-saddle; from braigh, 
O. Ir. brdge (Ir. GL, 75\ the neck 
or upper part of the oreast, and 
ama for cama, the hame of a horse- 
collar (Ir. cam) ; Manx, brogham, 
id. ; brogh, the neck ; O. Ir. braig- 
tech (teigk, a covering), camus, a 
horse-collar (Ir. Gl., 75) 

Ir. Gael, baitin (batin), a small stafi^ ; 
a dim. of bat, Cf . clog, a bell ; 
cluigin, a little bell 

W. baw, dirt, dung ; bawedi, nasti- 
ness ; Arm. babauz, light dung or 
scum ; Prov. Sw. Jxij, dung ; Fr. 
boue, mud, dung 

W. buan (t<=E. i), swift, nimble ; 

Arm. buan, id. 
Ir. la Beal teiime, the day of Seal's 

fire, May 1 (Vallancey) ; Manz, 

tan, tenney; W. Arm. tan, fire; Ir. 

Gael, tan, teine, fire 
W. bur (pron. bir), violence, rage ; 

baran, force, strength ; Manz,6io^, 

sprightliness, life 

Ir. Gael, buail, to strike, to beat ; 

Manz, biooalley, id. 
W. bicre, a contention, a skirmish ; 

bicra, to contend, to fight ; pig, a 

bill, a beak 
W. bidan, a poor, sorry little thing 

Ir. Gael, boigh, a teat, an udder 



* '^ We see at this day fires lighted up in Ireland on the eve of the sum- 
mer solstice and the equinoxes, to the Phoenician god Baal, and they are 
called 'Baal-tane* or * Baal's fire\" (Sir W. Betham, Gael and Cymry, p. 
222.) Such fires, called ^^Beltains", are still lighted in Lancashire, and 
cakes are even now made in honour of the event by the inhabitants of the 
banks of the Ribble. (Lane, Folk- Lore, p. 3.) This fire, or rather the day 
of the fire, is called Teanla. Cf . la teinne, the day of fire. 

2 "And, lo, in a great bire al the drove went heedlonge in the see." (Wic- 
liffe'a Trans., Matt, viii, 32.) "Ran violently" (Auth. Vers.). 



IN THE LANCASHIRE DIALECT. 



249 



LANC. CELTIC. 

Bitiff, to curdle, as milk when begin- 
ning to turn sour 



Blis807n, said of male or female ani- 
mals having sexual desire. In 
Cheshire, to tup (Leigh) 

Blob, a bubble, a blister ; also bleb, 
blobber, a bubble 



Bludgeon, a thick stick with a round 
knob 

Boy boggart, a hobgoblin, a ghost ; 

also boggy 'bo 
Boadle, half a farthing (B.), a very 

small coin. " Not worth a boadle^^ 
Bodikin, a bodkin. " Ods bodik\ns*\ 
■ an oath (bj God's spears) > 
Bog, a privy, a latrine 

Boll, a spectre, a ghost 

Bonny, large, plump, well formed, 

handsome; "a bonny deal" or "a 

bonny lass".* Cf. **a bonny bouk", 

a large bulk. (Whitby.) 
Bool, the handle of a pan, etc., a 

hoop ; booly, a child's hoop (N.); 

Germ. bVtgel, a bent piece of wood 

(N. and M.) 
Bor, the seed of the burdock, a halo 

(N.); borrana, rough places with 

large boulders lying about; bofrel, 

a quantity (N.) ; bor -tree, the elder; 

Sw. borre, a sea-urchin 



Bose, a hollow. TH.) 
Bother, bodder (N.), to stun 
noise, to perplex, to annoy 



with 



WELSH OR IRISH. 

Manx, 6t7{;>an, curds; &tn;a^A, coagu- 
lation ; Ir. bintigh; Gael, bintich, 
to curdle 

The Welsh names of the bittern are 
aderyn (bird) y bttm, and bwmp-y- 
gora, from bwmp, a hollow sound, 
and ror«=mar8h 

W. blys, a longing, an inordinate 
desire ; blystg, craving to appease 
an appetite ; blysiol, given to long- 
ing or desire 

Ir. Gael, blob, blobach, thick-lipped; 
Manx, bleb, a pustule, a blister, a 
fool, (a boaster ?) blebbin, the tip 
of the ear 

Com. blogon, a little block; Ir.Gael. 
bloc, round; blocan, a little block; 
l^ianx, blucan, a ball 

W. bo, a hobgoblin; btvg, bwgan, id.; 
bolol, a bugbear ; Ir. bugha, fear 

W. bath, a coin; bathell, a halfpenny 

Ir. Gael, boideachan (Jbodecan), a dag- 
ger ; Manx, bod, a point, a dirk 

Ir. bogaoh; Gael, bogan, a morass, a 
quagmire; bog, soft, wet 

W. dolol, an apparition 

Ir. Gael, buiuich, sturdy, clumsy ; 
bunanta, strong, stout, well set ; 
bonn, W. bon, a stock, a trunk 

W. bwl (bool), roundness, a round, 
hollow body; Arm. boul, a round 
bodv, a globe ; Ir. Gael, boll, a 
bubble, a boss; bollog, a skull 

Ir. Gael, borr, a knob, a bunch, a 
round swelling ; Gael, borran, a 
haunch or buttock; Ir. borruin, id.; 
Gael, borraxl, swelling, swagger- 
ing ; Ir. Gael, ban', a heap ; Hin- 
dust. bara, large, great; Sans, bara, 
vara, excellent, best 

W. baf, a shallow place, a shoal 

Ir. bodhar / Gael, bothar, deaf ; Ir. 
bothair, to stun with noise, to deaf- 
en; Gael, bod Jiair, id.; W. byddar, 
f pron. buthar), deaf ; byddaru, to 
aeafen, to stun ; Sans, badhira, 
deaf 



* " This false Brutus and his othere foon 
Strikede him with bodekyns anoon." 

Chaucer, Monk's Tale, 3987. 
2 From Fr. bonne, fair. (Skeat). But where is bonne used as £ng. fair? 



250 



THE CELTIC ELEMENT 



LANC. CELTIC. 

Bottle^ a bundle of hay or straw (a 
babble, Som.; a pumpkin, Dev.) 



Boi8, worms that infest horses, any 
round worms 

Braggoty ale spiced and sweetened; 
Maggot Sunday^ Mid-Lent Sun- 
day 



BrankSj an instrument for correct- 
ing scolding women,* " a kind of 
halter," N. (H.); Du. pranger, a 
collar; prangen^io pinch, to squeeze 



Brashj a sudden rush ; v., to rflsh 
headlong ; adj., rash, impetuous ; 
brez, to do anything energetically 



Brat, a coarse apron, a child^s bib or 
a child's napkin; A. S. bratt, pal- 
lium (S.), a borrowed word. 
(Skeat, s. v.) 



Braws, brambles, furze ; O. Fr. brossej 
a buiah, a thorny grove (Cotgrave) 



Bray, to cry (N.) ; Pr. braire, to bray, 

to laawl 
Brewis, oatcake steeped in broth 

Brindkt, striped, variegated, of 
mixed colour; 0. N. bronddttr, vir- 
gulis variegatuB (Skeat). 

Brisket, the breast of a slain animal 



Brock, the cuckoo-spit in8ect,^^Ao- 

phora spumaria 
Broddle, to assume, to swagger ; A. 

S. brcedan, to spread out 

Brog, a bushy or swampy place. (C.) 



WELSH OK IRISH. 

W. bothell, a round thing, a bottle, 
a blister; bot, a rotundity; Arm. 
botel, a bundle ; botelfoerm, a bottle 
of hay; Hindust. bolt, a lump of 
meat 

Gael, botus, a belly- worm; boiteag, a 
maggot ; L:. Gael, bot, a bunch, a 
mound 

W. bragawd, 0. W. bracaut (Z', 110), 
id.; O. W. brace, malt (0. Ir. GL, 
xvi); Mod. W. brag, id.; Ir.Gael. 
bracat, malt liquor; brack, braich, 
malt; Gael, brack, to ferment 

Ir. brancas, a halter ; Gael, brang, 
id.; brangaa, brangus, an instru- 
ment, a kind of pillory formerly 
used in the Highlands. Cf . Com. 
brangian; Ir. Gael, bragka, the 
neck or throat ; cos, to twist, to 
encircle 

Ir. Gael, bra^, brats (pron. brask), 
quick, hasty, daring ; W. brys, 
quickness; brys, &r^«^, quick, act- 
ive ; Arm. broee, eagemebs; breiaki, 
to make haste, to run 

W. brat, a clout, a rag; Ir. Gael. 
brcU, a cloak, mantle, veil, cover- 
ing ; Manx, brat, id.; 0. Ir. lam- 
brat (hand cloth), mappa (Z',613) ; 
Manx, brat, a covering, a child's 
bib, a veil; W. bretkyn, cloth 

Ir. brtis, small branches of trees; 
brosna, a fagot ; broisnin, a small 
bundle of brambles for fuel; Gkiel. 
brosna, a fagot 

W. breu, brefu, to low, to bleat; Sans. 
bru, to speak 

W. brywes, bread steeped in the skim- 
mings of pot-liquor 

Ir. Gael, brit, W. britk, Arm. 6m, 
spotted, speckled, variegated ; britk- 
yll, a trout, from its spots 

W. brysced (Richards), id. ; Arm. brvir- 
eked, the breast; Ir. Gael, bragka, 
bragkad, the upper part of the 
breast; Ir. Gael, braigkid, id.; also 
the neck 

W. brock, froth, foam ; Ir. bruckd, 
froth 

Ir. broid, pride, haughtiness; brodoil, 
proud, saucy; Manx, brod, brave, 
large 

"W. brwg, a forest, a wood, a brake 



* See Brand's Antiquities, ii, 365, Hazlitt's ed. 



IN THE LANCASHIRE DIALECT. 



251 



LANC. CELTIC. 

Brog^ to fish for eels by thrusting a 

baited line into their holes 
Brogues J shoes. (C.) 



Bryrif a hill, bank of a river* 

Bullock, to provoke, to bully. The 
term -ock or -ack is a Celtic verbal 
formative. G&eLbog,sofi]bogaichj 
to make soft 

Bulloe, bullas, a wild plum 

Bum, nates 

Bumpy a bittern ; the booming noise 
it makes ; Du. hommen, to sound 
as an empty cask 

Bump, a blow; v., to strike, to push 
against; also a hump, a swelling 



Burmely a dried hemp-stalk, 
talks are also called buns 



The 



Bur, a sweetbread. (J.) 
Burr, a halo, the calyx of the great 
waterdock, the head of a thistle 

Buss, a kiss ; v., to kiss 



Bustion,SLn inflamed swelling, a whit- 
low, gen. in the fingers or thumb 

Buzon, a finger-ring* 

Cack, ventrem levare; Du. kak, ex- 
crement ; Germ, kacke, id. 



WELSH OR IRISH. 

W. procy a thrust, a drive; procio, to 

thrust, to stab 
Ir. Gael, brdg, a shoe made of an un- 

tanned hide ; Manx, braag, a shoe ; 

W. brycan, a clog, a large shoe 
W. bryn, a hill; bri, eminence, high 

rank 
Ir. Gael, buaill, to beat, to strike; 

Manx, bwoalley, to beat, to thrash ; 

huaillagh, striking, quarrelsome, a 

quarrelsome person 
"W. bwlas, id.; bwl, a rotundity 
Ir. bum, id.; Ir. Gael, bun, W. ban, a 

stock, a base, a bottom, a butt-end 
W. bwmp, a hollow sound ; bwmp y 

gors, the bittern 

W. pwmpio, to beat, to bang; pwmp, 
a knob, a thump; Corn, bom, bum, 
a blow; Ir. Gael, beum, a cut, a 
stroke 

Ir. Gael, bun, W. ban, a stem, a stock, 
a base, a root; Manx, bun, a stem, 
a stalk ; Hindust. hm, a base, a root 

See jSorr 



Ir. Gael, bus, the human mouth, a 
lip, a kiss ; hisog, a kiss ; W. bus, 
the human lip ; Hindust. bosa, a 
kiss 

W. bystum (y=Eng. u) a whitlow, 
an agnail ; from bys, a finger, and 
turn, a fracture, a splint 

W. hyson (pron. buson), a finger-ring ; 
bys, a finger 

W. each, dung, ordure ; ccichu, to 
evacuate; Ir. Gael, cac ; Manx, 
cac, keck, dung; Lat. cacars] Sans. 
kalka, dirt, dung^ 



* Ihre, in his Suio-Gothic Diet., has ^^Bryn, vertex montis"; but this 
word must be due, I think, to a blending of races in what was known to 
the Romans as ^^ Chersonesus Celtica". 'Ihe W. bryn seems to be a native 
word. Moreover, in South Lancashire, where bryn is used, the Scandina- 
vian element is weak. 

* In the Testa de Nevill, William Gresle is said to have held the tenure 
of his land by presenting a bow without string, a quiver, twelve arrows, 
and a buzon, [Lane, Folk-Lore, p. 280.) 

3 I insert the Sans, equivalent here, as in other places, to show that the 
Celtic races have not bonowed, in these instances, from the Teutonic. 
Adelung scornfully denied to the Welsh people more than two-thirds of 
their language; for whenever a Welsh word bore a resemblance to a Latin 
or German word, it was at once denounced as borrowed. The anlaut in 
the Sans, kalka shows that the German words are borrowed. 



252 



THE CELTIC ELEMENT 



LANC. CELTIC. 

Cody an inferior servant, a low fel- 
low. From Fr. cadet. (Skeat.) 



Caddis^ cadduw (J.)» a worsted tape 
or ribbon. Caddow - weaver, a 
weaver of such tape* 



Cady, a hat ; generally a straw hat. 

(Com.) Used also in Devon 
Calder, a name for an upright, fixed 

stone. {N. and (?., Dec. 1869) 
Cahy to throw stones or sticks. (N.) 



Cainedy having a white surface or 
scum ; used of liquors. O. Fr. 
caiuy white 

Cairn, cam, a heap or pile of stones 

Caily a quay. (N.) 

Camy crooked, awry, perverse 
Cammdy crooked, cross, ill humoured 



Camhrely a crooked stick used by 
butchers to hang sheep on 

Canky a talk, gossip; v., to talk, to 
converse ; Fr. cancariy a noise, a 
complaint 



Car, used to denote a square vehicle 
holding four persons 

Carky anxious care; v., to be careful 
or anxious; A. S. care, care 

Carve, to grow sour. (J.) 



Casty a twist. One who squints is 



WELSH OR IRISH. 

Com. caid=cadiy W. caethy a servant, 
a bondman ; Arm. kezy keaZy a poor 
person, a beggar; Ir. Gael, cachd, 
a servant, a bondwoman 

Ir. Gael., W., cadasy a kind of cloth, 
fustian ; W. cadachy a piece of 
cloth, a clout ; Ir. Gael, cado, a 
blanket ; W. cedeny shaggy hair, 
nap of cloth. Cumb., cad 

W. caeady a covering; caeculu, to en- 
close, to cover 

O. W. caill, a stone; daery fixed 

O. W. cailly a stone ; in Mod. W. a 
testicle; Arm. kally kalch; O.Gael. 
cailly id. 

It. W. fan, Gael. caiUy white ; W. 
caened, hoary. (Jones) 

Jr. Gael, caimy cam; W. cam, a heap 
of stones; Manx, earn, id. 

Ir. Gael, cala, caladh, a harbour in 
Gael., also a shore 

It. Gael., W., cam, crooked, awry 

W. camuy to bend, to curve ; Arm. 
kaniy bent, winding ; Hindust. ka- 
mdniy bent, curved 

W.cam, crooked; jn'euy in comp.ir^u, 
a tree, a piece of wood 

W. cyngauy talk, discourse; cynganu, 
to discourse (Richards) ; cynatiu 
(Pryse); Arm. konchenriy a tale, a 
narration ; Manx, caynty speech, 
language, complaint; Gael, cany to 
sing, to say 

Ir. Gael.jW., Arm., car, carr, a sledge, 
a wagon ; Manx, carry a circle, a 
dray 

W. carCy care, anxiety ; carcus, soli- 
citous, anxious; Arm. A;ar<7, weight, 
load, burden 

Ir. Gael, gear, gtTy sharp, sour ; W. 
garuy Arm. garo, garv, sharp, 
rough ; Manx, gear, garg, sour ; 
Sans, karkasay rough, har^ 

Ir. Gael, ca^y a twist, a turn ; casta ; 



* The word seems to denote properly some kind of rough, shaggy cloth. 
In a petition against excess of apparel (1463) it is said, " No yoman, &c., 
to were in the array of his body eny bolster, nor stuffe of woole, coton or 
cadan^ (Way's note, s. v. Cadas, Prom. Parv.) " CacUis or crtde, saijette." 
(Palsgrave.) Cotgrave explains saijette as " the stuff sey", which was a kind 
of stout woollen cloth. 



IN THE LANCASHIRE DIALECT. 



253 



LANC. CELTIC. 

said to have a cast in his eye. To 
have a cast is to be not quite sane 
Cat, a small piece of wood used in 
the game of bandy-cat 

Gather y a cradle 

Catty, the stick used in the game of 

bandy. (N.) 
Causer, a way over a morass. (N.) 



Cave, to rake, to rake off. (Com.) 

Cawkin, a sharp projection on the 
shoe of a horse, used in time of 
frost 



Chang, the cry of a pack of houndf; 
v., to make such a cry 

Chats, any small things, as twigs, 

small potatoes, etc. 
Chit, a call to a cat (N.); chitty, a 

name for a cat 
Chock, a piece of wood ; chuck, a 

short, thick piece of wood. (Kent) 
Chuck, to throw, to jerk. Cf . cuck, 

to throw. (N'hamp. Gl.) 

ChuUing, a state of exhaustion, ap- 
plied to sheep after long strug- 
gling (N) 

Clag, a deer' 

C/a7tni£A,devoted to one's own family 
or relations; clan, a family (Whit- 

by) 

Cleaw, cleaw, clow, a flood-gate in a 
watercourse. Cf . claud, a ditch or 
fence. (N., H.) 

Cleat, a piece of wood fastened to 
another for strength 



Cleek, to snatch, to catch at hastily; 
a hook, to catch as with a hook 



WELSH OR IRISH. 

Manx, cast, twisted ; s., a turning 

aside, perversion ; W. cast, a trick 
W. cat, a piece, a fragment; chware- 

cat, the game of bandy ; Sans. 

kashtha, a piece of wood 
Ir. Gael. ccUhatr ; W. cader, a chair, 

a seat 
W. catai, a swing-club 

Ir. Gael, casar, a way, a path ; Manx, 

ccLSsan; Ir. Gael, cosan, a foot-path ; 

M. cass, Ir. cos, the foot ; Sans. 

kas, to go 
"W. caff, a rake with curved prongs; 

000, to grasp, to hold 
Ir. Gael, calg, a sting, a prickle ; 

Manx, caulg, the beards of barley; 

0. W. colgirm arista (Cod. Juv.) ; 

W., Com. col ; Arm. kolo, koloen, 

a sharp point, a beard of com 
MATL:L,chengey, tongue, language; Ir. 

Gael, teanga, tongue, speech (te=' 

ch) 
W. cat, a bit, a piece 



W. titw (^ti^hi in Manx, =tyi 

Gael.), a name for a cat 
W. cocw, a lump 



in 



W. ciog for cwc, a throw ; chioare- 
cwg, a game of throwing up and 
then striking a ball 

W. cwla, faint, languid, faltering 



W. cyllaig, a stag; O. W. celleic 
It. Gael, clann, children, a family, a 
tribe; W. p/an/, children 

W. clatcdd, O. "W. claud (Ir. Gl., 59), 

a ditch, an embankment ; Com. 

cledh, id.; Ir. cladh (pron.claw), id. 
W. cledd^ the cross-piece of timber 

that keeps the boards of a door 

together ; cledr, a board, a rail ; 

Manx, clet, a piece of timber nailed 

on another as a guard 
Ir. Gael. clioc==clica, a hook; die, a 

hook, to catch with a hook; Manx, 



* *' Ku carasswn 
KelUic fan." 
(Well have I loved the noble si&g.—Gododin, 84, 78.) 



254 



THE CELTIC ELEMENT 



LANC. CELTIC. 

^Nhamb.) ; dicky to snatch sud- 
aenly (Com.); s., a pointed catch 
(Com.), a sharp hook, as in our 
slang speech 
Clock, the round calyx of the dan- 
delion* 



Clutter, a heap ; v., to form a mass, 
to crowd words together in speak- 
ing 

Cob, a blow; v., to beat, to excel 

Cob, a round lump 
Cobble, a big, round stone; Du. kop, 
a head, Germ, kopf 

Cobble, a small boat 
Cock, a small boat ; 0. N. kuggi ; 
Dan. kog, id. 



Cock, a mound of hay 

Cocker, to indulge, to fondle 

Cockles : " the cockles of the heart", 
the ventricles (?) 

Cockle, to be unsteady, to move to 
and fro, to shake 

Cockroach, a name for the black- 
beetle 

Cod, a pod ; 0. N. koddi, a pillow ; 
A. S. codd, a satchel, a small bag 



Codreel, "a liar and his dupe". 

(Com.) 
Coe, a weir made of brushwood. ("W.) 



WELSH OR IRISH. 

cluic, a hook, a trick or wile; Gael. 
clichd, an iron hook, to hold by a 
hook ; Arm. Miked, the latch of a 
door; prim, a hook 

W. clwch, a round body ; clogor, a 
bubble, a protuberance ; clw, a 
round, a circle; Ir. Gael, clock, the 
pupil of the eye; cloca, a cloak 
(from its form) ; clog, a bell, a 
head 

W. cluder, a heap ; cludair, acervus 
(D.) 

W. cob, a blow; cobio, to beat; Hin- 
dust. kob, beating, pounding 

W. cob, a top, a tuft ; Hindust. huh, 
a hump ; Sans, kuhja, hump-backed 



W. ceubal, a hollow trunk, a boat 
W. cwch, a boat, a beehive ; Arm. 

koked, a small boat ; Ir. coca, a 

boat ; Gael. cuaeh==cwca, a bowl; 

Sans, kuch, to wind, to curve 
W. cocio, a round mass or heap ; Sans. 

kucha, the female breast 
W. cocru, to fondle ; cocr, a coaxing 

Ir. Gael, cochul, a pod, a shell; Manx, 
coggyl, the core of a sore; W. cog, 
a mass, a lump 

W. gogi, to shake, to tremble 

W. cocw, a lump; rhoch, a harsh ut- 
terance; rhochus, grunting 

W. cod, a bag, a pouch; coden, a bag, 
a cyst, a husk or pod ; Arm. kod, 
god, a bag, a pocket ; W. cwdd, a 
poppy; codi, to rise, to swell ; Ir. 
cuth, a head ; Sans, kuii, hidi, a 
winding, circling, a hut, a body, a 
tree ; Hindust. kuti, a small box ; 
khod, a helmet 

W. cy, cyn=cum, drel, a clown, a cuff 
(P.); barbarus, sordidus. (Dav.) 

W. cae, an enclosure, a hedge 



* It was commonly believed in my youth that by blowing the down off 
the calyx, the time might be known. This fancy arose probably from the 
fact that the meaning of the Celtic word cloc became, in course of time, 
forgotten, and the name suggested that the time would be told by the 
plant as by the modem clock. For the probable origin of another assump- 
tion, or superstition, from the word letter, see Arch. Cainb., April 18B2, 
p. 93. 



IN THE LANCASHIRE DIALECT. 



255 



LANC. CELTIC. 

Cogs, the projecting parts of a mill- 
wheel; Sw. kuggi^ a cog 



Coke^ the core of an apple 

Coil, — 1, a masSy a heap ; 2, tumult, 
disorder 



Colley^ a shepherd's dog 



Colly west, going on the wrong road. 
" Yo're noan reet ; yo're gooin 
colly-tcestj yo mun goo back." 
When evei^thing is going wrong, 
and ruin is imminent, then all 
things go colly-west 

Corn, a clay marble. (N.) 

Commudgeling, hiding or doing any- 
thing in secret 
Con, a squirrel. (N.) 



Cormyfogle, to cheat (J.); conyfogU 
(Line.) 



Cook, to circumvent, to cheat ; cog, 

to cheat (H.); cogger, a cheat 
Coom, a confined valley. (N.) 

Cop, the quantity of yam spun on a 

spindle 
Copptn, id.; A. S. cop^ a head, a top 

Copt, convex. (Com.) 



Coslril, a small barrel 

Cott, a piece of wool matted together 



WELSH OR IRISH. 

W. cog, a lump ; cocoa, cogs ; Arm. 
kok, the berry of the holly ; Ir. 
coc-oil, the burdock ; Sans, kucha, 
a breast, a teat ; koka, the wild 
date-tree; kos'a (for koka),&n egg 

W. cocw, a lump ; Manx, cogal, the 
core of a sore 

1, Ir. Gael, coll, a head ; Gael, coil- 
eag, a cock of hay ; 2, coileid, a 
stir, movement, or noise; Ir. Gael. 
goil, to boil, to grieve 

Ir. coilen, coillean, a whelp, a puppy; 
O. Ir. collar, a dog {Goidelica, p. 
77) ; cuilen (culen), a young dog 
(Ir. GL, 77); Manx, coill=colli,a, 
dog; W. cohryn; Arm. kolen; Corn. 
coloin, a b'ttle dog 

Primarily it means journeying at a 
loss, when every step is worse than 
useless. W. coll, loss, damage; O. 
W. gioes, motion (in comp. ioes) ; 
gv)e8od, a departure, a straying 

W. com, a round, a circle 

W. much, darkness, gloom ; mwci, a . 
fog, and cyn=cumy implying union 

"W. comll, a tail (Ir. ea^g, the tailed 
one), or Ir. Gael, cu for cun, a dog. 
Cf. Ir. Gael, cobieas, a ferret 

From cony, a rabbit ; one easily 
caught or deceived; Ir. GaeJ./or/- 
hail (fogel), to attack, to make an 
inroad, to plunder 

W. coegio, to deceive; coegiior, a de- 
ceiver 

W. cwm. Arm. komh, a valley 

W. coh, copj a tuft ; copyn, a small 
tuft 



The primary meaning of the root 
cop or cup, W. cop. a tuft ; Ir. Gael. 
C(U)h (coba) ; Manx, ceah a lump ; 
Sans, kapala, a skull, head, part of 
a wat'^r-jug, a teat ; kupa, a hol- 
low ; Hindust. ^*m;;, id.; kuppa,^n 
oil-vessel, a leathern bottle 

W. costrel, a flagon, a jar ; lagena 
(Z', 570) 

W. coixcn, dag-wool; Ir, caitin, shag, 
coarse hair, nap of cloth ; W. ce- 
den (eaten f), nap of cloth 



256 THE CELTIC ELKMIiNT 

LANC. CELTIC. WELSH OR IRISH. 

Cottojiy to agree with, get on well W. n/tton, concord, agreement ; cyt- 
with tuno (^=Eng. «), to accord, to 

agree 

Cotton^ to beat, to thrash "W. catau, to fight ; caty cadj a fight; 

Ir. Gael, colhakh, to fight, to con- 
tend 

Cougel, a stick, a cndgel W. cogel, cogyl^ a short stick; cog^ a 

lump 

One, caw, a stalk : a ling-cot/? is a W. cal^ cala, a stalk ; Lat. cxiulis 
stem of heather 

Oa<W?/, a difficult or dangerous feat;* Ir. Gael, crodha, strenuous, brave, 
croddy, id. daring ; crodachd, bravery (0. Ir, 

GLy 63) ; W. crcid, heat, vigour, 
strength ; Sans, kratu, power, vi- 
gour 

Crag, a rough, steep rock Ir. Gael.,W., craig^ a rock; Arm. kar- 

rek, a rock in the sea 

Crampety crumpet, a kind of teacake Com. crampedhan, a pancake, a frit- 
ter; W. crempogen; Arm. crampo- 
ezen, a pancake 

Crap, to nail pieces of leather on W. craff, a clasp, a plate of iron to 
clogs. (Com.) brace anything 

Crap, money Ir. Gael, cearb, silver, money ; W. 

grab, plenty, abundance 
Creany, small and lean, very small Ir. Gael. crion=€rina, dry, withered, 

small; Manx, creen, dry, withered 
Creas, measles W. ores, heating, inflaming ; eras, dry, 

parched ; Arm. kres, dry, parched 
(grouez, mh&mm&tion; Sans. Art;), 
to roast, to bum 
Cree, to seethe in hot water ; espe- W. cresu, to heat, to parch ; cres, 

cially applied to rice heating 

Creech, to scream W. crech, a scream ; crechianM scream 

Creel, a fisherman's basket, a kind of Ir. Gael, criol, crilvi, a chest, box, 

bier for slaughtering sheep coffer 

CreM, a spotted hen of a particular W. creulyd, blood-spotted 
kind ; creiled, speckled, variegated 
(Cumb.) 
OiwTTK?^, pudendum f eminae, the mons W. crim,^ ridge; crimaid, raising in 

Veneris? ridges 

Crobbock, a crooked stick ; crovuckt, W. crob, what is shrunk into a round 
crushed up or crowded (F.); crcib- heap ; cnobach, a crooked stick; 
bockd, cramped crybtoch,wha.t is shrunk or crinkled 

up 
Croghton, swollen, as the body by W. crug, a round form, a tump, a 
eating to excess, or by corpulence swelling ; crugio, to swell [cruget, 

swollen] ; a'oten, a little, plump 
girl 
Crone, an old ewe, an old gossip Gael, criona, old ; Ir. crion, old, 

withered 

* To set craddies was a common challenge in my boyhood, and much 
danger was often incurred by answering to it. 



IN THE LANCASHIRE DIALECT. 



25; 



LANC. CELTIC. 

CroodUf to crouch 

Crottle, a small gloBular body (N.) ; 
croty very little (Com.) 

Crothy Jcrothj a frame on which aheep 

are slaughtered^ 
Crotv,hn iron bar, a crooked piece of 

iron to hold pans on the fire 
Croicd, a fiddle 

Cruds, curds 



Crumnwck, a crooked stick. The ter- 
mination is Celtic. Germ, krumm, 
Du. ki-oMy crooked, bent 



Cunliff, a conduit 

Cuts, lots 

Cutty, short, diminutive ; Prov. Sw. 
kotty kottig, small, ill grown 



Dad, a father; daddy, id.; Prov. Sw., 
id. 

Dag, to shear sheep. (N. and M.) 



Daker, an argumentative discussion 

DahpT-hen, the corncrake 
Dally, to delay, to loiter 



Dandy, the hand 

Damragjt, all to pieces. (Com.) Cf. 
Dumkalla 



WELSH OR IRISH. 

W. crwd, a round lump; crwt, round, 
stumpy; crythog, gibbous 

W. crotfiell, a rotundity ; properly, 
a small, round thing ; croth, round- 
ness, a belly, a womb 

"W. croth, what swells or bulges out, 
a belly; a^eddol, concave 

Ir. Gael, cro, an iron bar 

W. cncth, what bulges out, a belly, 
a fiddle 

0. Ir. (Tuth, gruth, pressed milk, 
curd, cheese; ^^ gruth, lac pressum" 
(Gokl., 76); Gael, gruth, curds; Ir. 
n*uth-aim, 1 milk 

Ir. Gael, krom, crum, crooked, curved, 
bent ; W. cricm; Arm. kroumm, 
id.; Gael, cromag, any little crook- 
ed thing, a hook, a crook; Ir. croni- 
og, W. cry man ry=Eng. u), a reap- 
ing hook ; Sans, brunch, to curve, 
to bend, to move sinuously 

"W. cawn, reeds; conyn, a hollow 
stalk, a pipe; llif, a flood 

W. cwttcs, a lot or ticket ; Manx, 
kuht, a lot 

W. acta, cota ; Com. cot, cut, short; 
cytio, to cut, to curtail ; Ir. Gael. 
cutach; Manx, cuttagh, short, bob- 
tailed; Hindust. kdtah, small, little, 
mean 

W. tad^ dad; Com., Arm. tad, tat ; 
Ir. daid, dadi; Sans, tata; Hindust. 
tat 

Probably connected with Ir. dagr, 
Arm. dag, a dagger, a poicrnard ; 
Arm. dagi, to strike. Ci.W.tocio, 
to cut, to curtail 

Ir. tagar, a fight ; Gael, tagair, to 
dispute, to contend 

"W. dychre, a croak; dychreu, to croak 

Ir. Gael, datl, dala, respite, delay ; 
Gael, dailich, to delay, to linger; 
Ir. daol, lazy ; Arm. dalea, to de- 
lay, to defer; "W. dala, to keep, to 
stop 

Ir. Gael. doxd=dodi for dondi, the 
hand 

W. dam, a prefix implying about, 
round, and also completeness; dam- 
Udu to be expanding all round ; 



^ The Sans, kroda, a breast, a stomach, or belly, and also a pig, is from 
the same root. 



258 



THE CELTIC ELEMENT 



LANC. CELTIC. 



Dander^ to babble 

Dam^ to mend stockings by inter- 
lacing woollen thread 

Daub, plaster ; v., to plaster 
Dauber, a plasterer 



Dawkin, an idle person, a shy person 

(J.) 

Dayshun, a tub, a pan, a tub used 
for kneading oatmeal doagh ; also 
dashtn and deashon. (C.) 

Deawldy, sad, desponding 



Dealfa, dil^a, woful, sickly ; dilver, 
to be &int or exhausted. (Ess.) 

Deojnf, small, " a deary bit" 

D'eaa'd, killed or much injured by 
cold (Com.) ; des, to chill (N.); 
0. N. doBoa, to grow weary, to lan- 
guish 

Deroy, a party, a clan. "Aw doant 
care a pin for o*th dfroy on 'em." 

Dhu, black (N., Com.) ; dhu-stone, 
bajsalt of a black colour. (Sal.) 

Dicky-bird, a small bird 

Dirdam, durden, a murmuring noise, 
a confused uproar, especially of 
discordant voices 



Dobbin, a small glass tumbler which 
holds a fourth or fifth of a pint* 

Dockcm, dockin, the common dock ; 
A. S. docce 

Dog, a part of a rainbow. " When a 
part only is seen, it is called a 
dogr (F.) 



WELSH OR IRISH. 

dam-noethi, to be entirely naked; 

dam-rwygoj to tear all round or 

completely 
W. dumdro, to make a noise, to babble 
W. dam, a piece, a patch; damio, to 

patch ; Corn., Arm. dam, id.; O. 

Fr. dame, a slice 
Ir. Gael, dob, water, mire, plaster; to 

daub, to plaster; W. d^iob, mortar, 

cement ; diobio, to plaster ; O. Fr. 

dauber, to plaster 
W. dvogyn, an idler, a drone ; dkog, 

lazy, slow ; Arm. diek, dieyus, lazy, 

negligent 
Ir. Gael, dabkach {dablmchan), a tub, 

a vat ; dabhan, a bucket ; 0. Ir. 

dabach, cavea (/r. GL, 63) ; Hin- 

dust. dabar, a vessel for washing 
Ir. Gael.doZ, dola^, grief; Ir. dolaid^, 

impatient; W. dolur, pain, sick- 
ness, grief 
Ir. Gael, dealbh, poor, miserable; Ir. 

duilbhir, Gael, duilbhearraj sad, 

anxious 
Ir. Gael, dearoil, poor, little, mean ; 

Ir. der, small 
Ir. Gael, dis (pron. d^esh), suscepti- 
ble of cold, cold, chilly, miserable 



W. deoraid, a brood 

W. du, Ir. Gael, dubh, black 

W. dickyn, a fragment, a piece; die- 
ra, puny 

Ir. Gael, durdan, dordan, a humming 
noise, a muttering ; dord, Manx, 
durd, a noise, a humming ; W. 
dvordd, a confused noise, a mur- 
mur, a crash ; O. W. dvord, collo- 
quium. (Z', 559) 

"W. dobyii, a half -pint measure 

Gael, dogha, the burdock ; with the 
Celtic suffix to denote individual- 
ity; It, meacan-dogha, the burdock 

W. dog, a part, a fragment; tocio, to 
cut, to clip 



* I insert this word and its Welsh equivalent on the authority of the 
Lancashire Glossary/ by Messrs. Nodal and Milner, lately published by the 
English Dialect Society. Both words are strange to me. 



•.J 



IN THE LANCASHIRE DIALECT. 



259 



LANC. CELTIC. 

Doldrums, a fit of chagrin or low 
spirits 



Dole, grief 

Dollop, a lump, a large piece 

Donny, poorly, out of sorts. (H.) 



Dossel, a small quantity, a bit, a drop 

Dossuck, a dirty, slovenly woman ; 

do88y, a slut. (B.) 
Dow, black (N.^; gloomy 
Dowdy, a female shabbily dressed ; 

duddy, ragged. (N. H.) 
Dowel, a wooden peg to fasten boards 

with; Germ, dobel, a pin, a plug 



Dowp, a carrion crow. (N.) 
Draat, to drawl 

Drah, a vile woman, a prostitute ; 
drabhed, dirtied by walking in mire 

Draffj grains after being used in 
brewing; Du. c?ra/, hog*s- wash 

Drake, the plant darnel; O.Du.<ira- 
vick, avena fatna. (Kilian) 

Dub, a pit, a pool of water; 0. Fr. 
douve, a pool, a pit 



Dubbin, a kind of paste used by cot- 
ton weavers 

Ducars, an expression used when 
agreeably surprised. (N., Com.) 

Duds, rags 

Dumkalla, damkcdla, irrecoverably 
lost. (N., Com.) 

Dumpy, short and thick 



Dummock, a small heap of soil or 
dirt 

Durns, sharp, projecting hills 
Earles, earnest money 

4a'H SBB., VOL. XIII. 



WELSH OR IRISH. 
Gael, doltrum, grief, vexation (Arm- 
strong) ; Ir. Gael, dol, dolas, grief; 

trum, heavy; W. dolur, pain, grief; 

trwm, heavy 
See supra 
W. talp, a mass, a lump ; tal, high, 

tall 
Ir. Gael, dona, .poor, unfortunate, 

bad ; donas, hurt, misfortune, ill 

luck 
W. dos, a drop, a particle ; dosel, a 

little drop 
W. dosog, spotted, speckled ; dos, a 

drop 
W. du, black 
Ir. Gael, dud, a rag; dudach, ragged; 

Manx, doodee, a sloven 
Ir. Gael, dula, a pin, a peg ; Manx, 

dowal, a pin, a wooden peg ; W. 

dal, a hold, a catch; dala, to hold, 

to keep ; Arm. dalch, holding 
Ir. Gael, dubh, black 
Ir. Gael, drant, snarling, grumbling 
Ir. draJb, a spot ; Ir. Gael, drabh, 

dregs, refuse, used up grains ; 

drcSnig, drabog, a filthy slattern 
See supra 

W. drewg, drewlys, darnel ; Arm. 

draok, ivraie, darnel 
Ir. Gael, doib, a stream ; dobhar, W. 

dwfr, water; Manx, dub, dubbey, a 

pool, a pond ; Hindnst. doba, a 

reservoir 
W. dwbitiy plaster, mortar; Ir. Gael. 

dob, mire, plaster 
W. duw, God, and caru, to love 

Gael, dud, a rag; dudach, ragged; Ir. 
dad, a piece 

W. dam, around ; a prefix denoting 
completeness; coW, loss; O.W.co/- 
let, lost 

TV . twmp, a round mass ; tymmig^ 
short ; iwmpan, a round mass, a 
fat female ; Ir. tuimpe (twnpe), a 
hump; in Gael. a turnip; Ir^damr- 
5a, a lump(0*Don.); osLUBJumba, 
a gourd used as a water-bottle 

W. tiomp, a round heap, a mound, a 
stack ; with -oc, a Celtic diminu- 
tive 

W. duryn, a snout, a beak 

See Aries 

17 



260 



THE CELTIC ELEMENT 



LANC. CELTIC. 

Earnest, money given as a pledge of 
a bargain or agreement 

E'ver, a quarter of the heavens, as 
the north quarter 

Elly^ a bound or goal at the game of 
football 

Eloo,^ the hunter's cry when the 
hounds are near the fox, as *' Eloo ! 
At him 1" or to turn them back 

Erchiny a hedgehog; Lat. erinacetis 

Essl'mgs, salmon fry, salmon min- 
nows. (Com.) 

Esk, esckur, the water-newt 



Faddle, to do a work in an idle, care- 
less manner. " He f addles ower 
it."^ Fiddle-faddle, idle, purpose- 
less work or talk, nonsense 

Fadge, a burden, a load (C); Prov. 
Sw./«rf, a bundle of yam 



Faffle, to breathe quickly, to be quick 
and indistinct in speech, to stam- 
mer 

Fag-emI, a remnant, a poor or small 
end of anything 

Fanteague, ill humour, a state of irri- 
tation or anger 

Fan-epff, Farrups, a name for the 
DevU. " What te Ferrups !" What 
the Deuce I Also Firrups 

Feel, to perceive, be conscious of. 
(P.) "I feel a bad smell." (P.) 
To smell. (H., Derb.') 

Feg-sew, Jig- sue, ale ooiled with 
wheaten bread and figs 

Feigh, the top part of turbary which 
does not yield heat (N.); faigh, 
soil which lies on marl or coal 
{Ches.);/ey(C.) 

FeM, to sew down the inside of a 
seam; prim., to make a fold, to 
turn down the edge of cloth ; O. 
N./g/o, to cover, to hide 



WELSH OR IRISH. 

W. ernes, a pledge ; em, earnest mo- 
ney; Ir. Gael, mrmi*, a tie, a band 

Arm. evr (ever), eln; heaven, the fir- 
mament; Com.e6ar7i,f6ron,the8ky 

W. ael, a border, a skirt ; elin, an 
angle 

W.elu, to go; el, ela, go thou; eht>ch, 
go ye ; Sans, il, to go, to dart j 1 
aor. elisham 

Ir. Gael, uirchin {urchin), a little pig 

W. eog for esog,A salmon; Lat.wcu*, 
a kind of pike 

Ir. Gael, eascu (water-dog), an eel ; 
more suitable as a term for the 
newt ; Gael, ease, an eel 

Ir. G&el. fadail, delay, lingering, te- 
diousness ; 'JSlanx, fagaal for fad- 
aal, idle words, vain speeches, pro- 
lixity 

W. ffasg, a bundle ; ffagod ; Arm. 
fagot, a bundle of sticks; Fr.fagoi ; 
Gael./au/«e (^voiL.fajsha), a lump 
of bread 

W. chwaff, a quick gust 



W.ffaig=ffagi, an end, an extremity; 

Arm. foja, to give a third (the 

last ?) tilling of land ; Ir. foige, 

the topmost part 
Ir. Gael. /ooin, foolish, weak; iaoig, 

a fit of passion 
Ir.Gael./ar,^raoA,crooked, wicked, 

perverse ; with the usual change 

in Celtic of p for a primitive c 
Ir. fail, to smell; Ir-GaeL/ai/c^/ai/^*, 

a smell, a scent 

W. seio, broth, gravy, jelly ; Sans. 

suda, sauce 
Ir. faigh, faiche, a field, a plain ; 

Manx,/aaiV^, a green plat, a grass 

plat 

Ir. Gael. ///, to turn, fold, plait, in- 
volve ; Manx,///^, to roll up, to 
fold; W.ffill, a turn, a twist 



* I found this word in a list of sporting terms. I believe it is or was 
used in the county, but have no personal knowledge of it. 



Cf. O. 'N.fatla, actum frustra agere. 



IN THE LANCASHIRE DIALECT. 



261 



LANC. CELTIC. 

Fellon, a disorder in cows caused by 
cold, a sore 

Fetch^ an apparition of a person, es- 
pecially of a living person ; an 
exact likeness of him^ 

Fig, a humorous expression for 
dress. " He wur i' full/^." 

File, a person of low cunning, " an 
owd^/«" 



Flannen, flannel 

Flasget, a long, shallow basket ; O. 

Yr.flasche, O. N. flxuka, 0. H. G. 

flaska, lagena 



Flatck, to flatter, to wheedle; Prov. 
^w.jfladdra,Sw,pIaddra, to babble ; 
Grerm. Jielien, to beseech, to im- 
plore 



Flew, fluffy loose, downy particles, 
downy refuse of a bedroom 

Flick, to give a quick, light blow or 
scutch with a whip 

Flip-jack, a soft, flabby kind of pud- 
ding made of milk and flour 

Flofth, water or a watery place (F.) ; 
Ft, flux, Lat./turtt«, flowing 

Flow, wild, intractable 

Flum,flam, flattery, falsehood, a tale 
invented to deceive ; to impose 
upon by a false accoimt or by flat- 
tery ; flummox, to bewilder, to 
cheat 

Flummery, oatmeal boiled in water 
till it is thick and gelatinous. (P.) 

Fo^, long dry grass, grass left in the 
winter 

^offfft/j gross, corpulent, swollen 



WELSH OR IRISH. 

Gael, fealan (felan), a furuncle, a 
boil; Jr. Gael, faill, failin, a ker 
nel, a hard lump of flesh 

Com. feth, W.ffed, an appearance, a 
presence; Ir. Gael. /6/^, semblance, 
likeness; fuath, image, spectre, ap- 
parition 

"W. gwi8g=flsg or trng, a garment, 
dress; Sans, vesha, dress 

Ir, fileoir, a crafty person ; Jr. Gael. 
flll, to writhe, to bend; W. ffel=^ 
fila, subtle, cunning; ffill, a writhe, 
a twist 

"W. gwlanen=flanen, flannel 

W. fflasged, a basket or vessel made 
of straw or wicker-work; Ir. Gael. 
fleasg, Arm. flach, a rod or wand; 
properly an osier (fleasg, mois- 
ture) ; Ir. G&eL flasg,fla8gan, a flask 

W. ffladr, flattering, fondling, bab- 
bling; Ir. Gael, hlad, the mouth ; 
hladar, flattery, coaxing;* hladach, 
flattering ; ft/crz/atr, to flatter,soothe, 
coax ; Manx, hlaader, a flatterer ; 
hlaatar, flattery ; Arm. floda, to 
caress, to deceive 

W.^/w/, feathers; Lat.^>Zwwa; Arm. 
plu, a feather, down 

W. ffiychio, to break out suddenly 

W. Uipr, llipa, flaccid, flabby 

Ir. Gskel, flock, waterv, soft, lax; fli- 

uch,wet, moist, flabby; ManXj^ta^r- 

hey, rain ; fluigh, watery, wet, moist 

"W. fflioch, flush, brisk, lusty, abrupt 

Ir. plamas, cajolery. (O'Don.) 



W. llymry (y=Eng. u), llymrwrd. 

oatmeal and water boiled together 
W. ffwg, dry grass ; Manx, fog, the 

aftermath or second growth of 

grass 
Ir. Gael, hoc, to swell, to swell out, 

to bud ; Manx, boggys, boasting ; 

prim, swelling 



^ ^^ Exact figures and resemblances of persons then living, often seen 
not only by their friends at a distance, but many times by themselves. 
These apparitions are called /e^cA€«." — Grose in Brand's Pop. Ant., iii, 207. 

17" 



262 



THE CELTIC ELEMENT 



LANC. CELTIC. 

Frangy, petulant, peevish 



Frap, to brag, to boast (P.\ to fall 
into a passion ; s., a crack (C.) 

Fratchj to scold, to quarrel 



Friih, unused pasture-land^ (P.) ; 
prim., a plain between woods, a 
field taken from a wood (Oat?. 

Frow^ disorderly (Com,), hasty (H.) 



Frum, tender, soft ; prim, ripe, rank, 
luxuriant ; Prov. Sw. from, stout 
and strong 

Frump, to chafe, to take offence, to 
act or speak rudely, to jeer ; s., a 
cross person, especially when old 

Fudy the tail of a hare" 

Fudge, a stout child or person, short 
and stout ; fudgy, id. 

Fudge, to deceive, to mock with de- 
ceptive words, to bam; to do work 
slightly or deceptively (school 
word) 

Fussock, a gross, fat woman ; fus" 
8uck8=fus8u<:ke8f id. (P. B., 9) 



Gaff, an iron hook ; O. F. gaffe, gaf, 
a crook fRoq.); "mot d'origine 
celtique" (Brachet) 

GallowB, cunning, designing 



WELSH OR IRISH: 

Manx, fraofny, to fume, to storm; 
freanagh, raging, foaming ; Gael. 
frionas, Ir. frioihnag (th silent), 
fretfulness, moroseness 

Manx, frap, a noise, a report ; frap- 
pal, to make a noise or report as a 
gun 

It. Gael, fraoch, anger, rage ; W. 
ffroch, Com. froth, anger, wrath, 
fury 

W.ffrifh,ffridd, a plantation, wood- 
land, a sheep-walk ; Irjrith, a wild, 
mountainous place ; Gael.yri/A, a 
forest 

W,ffrato, agitated, in motion ;^rtpaf, 
haste; Arm. /Vou<len, impetuosity, 
violence 

"W.ffrumi, ripe, luxuriant, rank ; Arm. 
fromm, fulness; Sans, vridh, to in- 
crease; vrud, to heap, to amass 

W. ffrom, fuming, chafing; ffromi, to 
chafe, to fume, to be angry ; fro- 
myn, a testy person ; Arm. from- 
ma, to swell out, to puff with noise 

"W. ffwtog, a scut, a short tail ; Ir. 
hod, a tail 

W. fftotiar, a short person, a squab ; 
jPM?/, any short thing 

W. ffug, a feint, deception, guile ; 
ffugio; Com. f agio, to feign, to dis- 
semble 

W. bos, a swelling or rising up, a 

boss; bast (prim.,swelling), a boast, 

bragging ; both, a roimd thing, a 

navCj a boss ; ffothell, a blister ; 

ffoth, a round vessel; Hindust./o- 

ta, a bag, a testicle 
W. gaf, gavl, a hook or crook, an 

angle, the fork of the thighs ; 

Arm. gavl, id.; Ir. Gkiel, gaf, gafa, 

a hook 
Ir. Gael, callaid, craft, cunning, 

crafty; W. call, callaidd, discreet, 

cunnmg 



^ Not a wood, as commonly explained, but wood-land or a forest-glade. 
** Friths or forest, towne or filde, 
With tresur owte bogte he." (Sir Amadace, p. 56.) 
2 In the Lancashire Glossary, lately published by the English Dialect 
Society, this word is said to mean the hair of a rabbit or a hare. This is 
a mistake which has been copied from Mr. Peacock's list in the TransaC' 
tiom of Ihp Philological Society. The word means a tail, a bushy tail. 
»* Fttd, the tail of a hare. North." (Hall.) 



IN THE LANCASHIRE DIALECT. 



263 



LANC. CELTIC. 

Gallow9j very, extremely, as "^yoZ- 
loios haid'\ etc. 



Galore^ plenty, abundance ; adv., 
abundantly, plentifully 



Gam, crooked, as a gam leg ; gene- 
rally a game leg 

Gammon. SL leg, as a gammon of ba- 
con ; O. Pr. gamboHy id. 

Gambril, a crooked stick used by 
butchers 

Garishy wild, foolishly gay (P. and 
J.); O. Eng. gare. heat of passion; 
garUhf shining, dazzling 



Geal, to be benumbed with cold ^N.) ; 
Fr. geler, to freeze; Lat. gelii^ 

Geby to hold up the face (Com.) ; 
Prov. Sw. gevely the mouth 

Geaxon^ (gown), gummy matter issu- 
ing from tender eyes (C.) 

Gib, a hook, a hooked stick ; gib- 
bon, a walking-stick with a curred 
handle (N. Br.) 

Gig, a machine for dressing flax (C). 
" To sett o'th* ^iflr^*' is to set on, to 
stir up (C); gog, " to set a gog'"* is 
to set on (C.) 

Gike, to creak, as wheeb that need 
oiling 

GiUiver, a wanton woman 



Gimble, to walk with the toes turned 
inwards; 0. E. gimme, a hook. 
(Wright) 

Gimboe, a leg; 0. Fr. gambon, a leg 



WELSH OR IRISH. 

W. gallus, mighty, strong ; Com. gal- 
lo8, might, power; Arm. kals, very, 
extremely ; Sans, galbh, to be 
strong 

It. Gael, gu leir, go leir, gu leor, 
enough, in abundance ; Ir. loure, 
sufficientia (Ir. Gl.j 108 ; Z', 30). 
Gfu gives an adverbial force 

See cam, which in comp. is gam 

Ir. G«el. gamban, gambun, a leg, from 

the root cam (camb), gam 
See Cambrel 

Jr. Gael, gorach, foolish ; gor, heat, 
light, pleasure, laughter; Ir. Gael. 
gar, to heat ; Manx, goul, gall, for 
oar, a beam of the sun ; goull<igh, 
beaming, dazzling ; Sans, hara, a 
sunbeam 

Ir. gel, frost, geal^ela, white. Cf . 
Sans, kil, to be white, to be cold 

W. gtoeb, the face, a smirk ; Gael. 
geob=^eba, a wry mouth 

W. gan, the thrush; yr an (for gan) 
goch, the red thrush ; yr an loen, 
the white thrush 

Ir. gibne=giben, a lock, a curl; gub- 
achd, crookedness (Foley); Gael. 
gibean, a hunch on the back; Lat. 
gibbus 

W. gogi, to shake, to move up and 
down; gogwy, full of motion, act- 
ive; ^o</aio7i, energy; Ir.Gael.^o^, 
to move to and fro ; gogach, reel- 
ing, wagging 

It. Gkkel. giosg (gisga), to creak; gios- 
can, the creaking made by wheels 
that want oiling 

Ir. G^ael. giollct, giolle, a boy; but 
prim., either boy or girl ;' and 
mear=7nera, in comp. vera, wanton 

Ir. Gael. gionih, a lock of hair, a curl; 
prim., a twist, a curve; giomhach, 
a lobster, from its curved claws 

Ir. Gkiel. gamban^ gambun, a leg, from 
cam, gam, crooked, winding 



^ The Lane, geal has the g hard, as in Celtic. 
* " Our poesy i 



is as a gaum which uses (oozes^ 
From whence 'tis nourished." (l\mxm, i, 1.) 
' The Gael, gille, though now only denoting a male, must have f ormerlv 
been applied to both sexes, as l^e Eng. girl. The Scotch gillie means both 
a manservant and a giddy young woman. 



264 



THE CELTIC ELEMENT, ETC. 



LANC. CELTIC. 

iGimlick, a gimblet 
Gimlick-eye, a squinting-eye; Fr. 
gimbeleiy a gimblet 



Girdle, a plate of iron for baking 
Glaif,^ cold, (Com.) 



Glaver, to flatter, to talk in a coax- 
ing, wheedling manner 
Goad, a custom 
< Goby a lump, a mass 
(Gobbet, a small lump; -et is a dim. 
Celtic form 
Gob, the mouth ; Dan. gab, the mouth 
of a river 

Goggy, an egg ; a child's name for 

an egg (N., H.)« 
Gomeril, a silly fellow 

Gorrish, large and fat, thick 
Gorry, luxuriant as grass, etc. 
Gorbelly, one having a large belly, 

a glutton ; 0. N. gaur, prffigrandjfl 

longurio 



Goose, to get, is to get a good scold- 
ing; Germ, kosen, to taBc, to prat- 
tle, to caress 

Griddle, a broad plate of iron for 
baking cakes; Su.-Goth. grissel, a 
board on which bread is placed in 
an oven; Ir. Gael, gris, grxos, heat 



WELSH OR IRISH. 

Ir. Gael, g'xomh {ginia), a lock, a curl, 
a twist, a curve ; gkomach, a lob- 
ster, from its curved claws ; gim- 
leach, one in fetters, from their 
curves 

See griddle 

A corrupt form of W. gatmf, gakif, 
winter ; Ir. Gael, gamh, winter, 
cold ; geamkradh, cold quarter, 
winter; Sans. Idma, cold 

W. glaf, smooth, glistering ; glafru, 
to flatter; Ir. Gael, glafar, chatter 

W. gnawd, custom, habit, use 

W. gob, a heap, lump, mass ; Hin- 
dust. gubhila, hard lumps 

Ir. G^el. gob, the bill of a bird, a 
ludicrous word for mouth; Manx, 
gob, id. 

W. cocwy, a matured egg; Ir. gug, an 

egg 

Ir. camar, a soft, foolish person; Ir. 
Gael, caomh, gentle, mUd, soft 

W. gov, a prefix implying greatness; 
adj., extreme, high; goruch, upper, 
uppermost; ^07'«u, superlative, ex- 
cessive ; Arm. gov, gour, a prefix 
implying greatness, superiority ; 
Corn, gor, denoting what is great 
or excessive 

Corn, cows (gows), speech, discourse; 
Arm. komps, honn, language, dis- 
course ; W. cowydd, reciSitive ; 
Sans, kath, to talk, to relate 

W. greidyll, an iron plate for baking; 
^ratd,heat; Ir. Gael, greideal, gre- 
ideil, a griddle ; greidh, to bum ; 
Manx, gred, heat ; greddal, to heat ; 
Sans, grlshma, heat 



^ The I may be a relic of a distant past, retained in Ir. gel, frost, Lat. 
gelu. Sans. ^oZa, cold; or glaif may be a corruption of glaifh=gelita, p. p, 
of a root gel,; Lat. geUdus, Cf. Sans, pat, to fall; patita, fallen. 

2 These Celtic child- words, of which there is a considerable number, are 
a proof of intermarriage between the two races. 



{To he continued,) 



265 



HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

( Continued from p, 210. ) 
MSS. IN THE REPOSITORY OF TUE HOUSE OF LORDS. 

1648, April 19. Draft order adding Robert Harley and another 
to the Committee of Sequestrations for Hereford. (L. J., x, 211.) 
In extenso, 

1648, April 19. Order for the preservation "of timber in the 
Forest of Dean. (L. J., x, 211.) In extenso, 

1648, April 20. Votes respecting tlie removal of Mr. Glyn 
from the Recordership of London. (L. J., x, 212.) 

1648, May 4. Petition of Edward Lord Herbert of Chirbury. 
Upon the surrender of his castle at Montgomery he had £20 a 
week allowed him. Much of this money is now in an-ear, and 
he prays that it may be presently paid, and the order continued, 
if not during his life, as the Earl of Mulgrave had it, yet at least 
until he be satisfied for the losses he sustained for two years 
and three months, during which time he kept his castle until he 
submitted it unto the Parliament ; which losses appear by good 
certificate to amount to divers thousand pounds. (L. J., x, 243.) 

1648, May 18. Petition of the well affected parishioners of 
Cound, in the county of Salop. Richard Wood, late rector of 
the parish, was sequestered for his delinquency ; and Samuel 
Smyth, a godly and orthodox divine, settled to officiate in his 
stead. Wood is now dead, and Sir Richard Lee and Mr. Pitt 
are joint trustees of the patronage ; but as Lee is a delinquent 
under sequestration, the disposal of the living is wholly w^ith 
Parliament. Petitioners pray that Mr. Smyth may be confirmed 
in the rectory. (L. J., x, 261.) 

Annexed : Draft order appointing Smyth to the living. 

1648, June 12. Draft order for the Committee at Derby 
House to take some fitting course for the safety of the Isle of 
Anglesey and the counties of North Wales. (L. J., x, 318.) In 
extenso. 

1648, June 19. Draft ordinance for sequestration of the 
estates of Major-General Langhorne and divers other Papists and 
delinquents in the late rebellion in the counties of South Wales 
and Monmouthshire. (L. J., x, 333.) In cxte?iso. 

1648, June 19. Draft instructions for tlie commissioners for 
the sequestration of the estates of Major-General Langhorne and 
divers other delinquents. In extenso. (L. J., x, 334.) 



266 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

1648, July 10. Draft order for raising and maintaining a 
troop of horse in the county of Carnarvon, and for measures to 
be taken for reducing the Isle of Anglesey. (L J., x, 373.) In 
extenso, 

1648, July 10. Draft order appointing additional Commis- 
sioners for the county of Carnarvon. (L. J., x, 373.) In extenso. 

1648, July 13. Draft order appointing £600 for victualling 
and repairing the Castle and fort of Chester. (L. J., x, 381.) In 
extenso. 

1648, July 20. Draft order for the persons concerned in the 
late design upon Chester to be tried by martial law. (L. J., x, 
388.) In extenso. 

1648, July 20. Report from the Committee at Derby House 
respecting a letter from Colonel Mytton at Denbigh, of the 5th 
instant, and other letters and papers. 

1648, July 27. Petition of Godfrey Goodman, once Bishop of 
Gloucester. Petitioner has suffered as much proportionably as 
any one in the kingdom ; and though his pockets have been 
twice searched, and all his letters perused, to find an accusation 
against him, yet has he ever been found innocent ; having lost 
all, wanting means to subsist, and holding only one parsonage 
in cominendam, West Ildesly [Ilsley], Berks, one Mr. Newbery 
lias intruded into it. Petitioner never having been called to 
answer in his defence, prays that he may be left in possession, 
and Mr. Newbery be judged an intruder, until some sufficient 
legal course appear to the contrary. (L J., x, 397.) 

1648, Aug. 2. Petition and answer of Humphry Newbery, 
clerk, to the petition of Dr. Goodman, once Bishop of Gloucester. 
As the late Bishop was specially nominated in an ordinance 
amongst many other persons to be sequestered, petitioner con- 
ceives that the parsonage of West Ilsley was thei-efore seques- 
tered, and that he himself was duly placed there by the Com- 
mittee for Berks by the power given them by another ordinance. 
He has served the cure for above two years without any com- 
plaint against his doctrine and conversation, and prays, there- 
fore, to be continued in his place. 

Annexed : 1. Printed copy of ordinance for seizing and seques- 
tering of the estates, both real and personal, of certain kinds of 
notorious delinquents to the use and for the maintaining of the 
army raised by the Parliament, and such other uses as shall be 
directed by both Houses of l^arliament for the benefit of the 
( 'onimouwealth ; with the names of the committees who are 
employed in tlie several counties of this kingdom for the execu- 
tion of this ordinance. 15 March 1642-3. (See C. J., iii, 1.) 

1648 [Aug. 3]. List of prisoners sent to Chester, of others in 
Dublin Castlo, and of others to be secured. (See C. J., v, 659.) 



HISTOKICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 26/ 

1648, Aug. 4. Draft order for granting a commission to Cap- 
tain William Carter. (L J., x, 419.) In extenso. 

1648, Aug. 4. Draft order for payment of £1000 apiece to 
Colonel John Carter and lieutenant-Colonel George Twistleton.^ 
(L. J., X, 420.) In extenso. 

1648, Aug. 18. Letter from Major Robert Harley at Llanid- 
las (Llanidloes), giving an account how, after following a body 
of the enemy of about three hundred horse and foot from Leo- 
minster, he finally routed and dispersed them not far from Llan- 
idlas ; with list of prisoners. (C. J., v, 679.) 

1648, Aug. 21. Draft ordinance to associate the counties of 
Carnarvon, Merioneth, Denbigh, Montgomery, and FUnt, in North 
Wales, for nmtual defence and preservation of their peace, and 
also for the keeping of them in due obedience to the Parliament 
(L. J., X, 447.) In extenso. 

1648, Aug. 22. Application for an order for Dr. Aylett to 
institute and induct Nicholas Owen to the vicarage of Kenarth, 
Carmarthenshire. (L. J., x, 451.) 

Annexed : Certificate that Owen is a godly, able, divine, of a 
sober life and civil conversation, well qualified for the discharge 
of his ministry. 

1648, Sept. 5. Petition of Edward Herbert, son of the Lord 
Herbert of Chirbury, deceased. He prays that he may have the 
sole privilege and license, for fourteen years, of printing and 
publishing divers books written by liis father, the manuscripts 
of which remain in his custody; amongst which are the History 
of Heniy VIII, Poems, and a Tractate, "De Veritate." (L. J., x, 
490.) 

1648, Sept. 21. Draft,order to take off the sequestration of 
the estate of Walter Grosvenor. (L. J., x, 506.) In extemo. 

1048, Oct. 4. Petition of Edward Herbert, Esq., son of Edward 
Lord Herbert of Chirbury, deceased. Notwithstanding their. 
Lordships' order of the 5th of September last, Whitaker presum^i > 
to proceed with the printing of Lord Herbert's Historj'^ of 
Henry VIII. Petitioner prays that Whitaker may be sent for 
to answer his contempt, and that his presses may be seized. 
(L J., X, 529.) 

1648, Oct. 5. Petition of Thomas Whitaker, citizen and sta- 
tioner of London. In answer to the chai'ge against him of print- 
ing the History of Heury VIII, by the late Lord Herbert of 
Chirliury, he states that the copy which he prints was given to 
him by Lord Herbert, to the end he should print it after that 
Lord's decease. After Lord Herbert's death, according to the 
onh'nance of Parliament and ancient custom of the Company of 
Stationers, he caused the book to be licensed and entered in the 

^ Governor of Denbigh Castle. 



268 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

Hall Book of the Company before any order of their Lordships 
was procured to the contrary. Prays that he may be allowed 
quietly to enjoy his said copy, and to proceed with the printing 
thereof. (L. J., x, 530.) 

1648, Oct. 6. Testimonial in favour of George White for the 
rectory of Llanvihangel-ystern-llewern, in the county of Mon- 
mouth. (L. J., X, 531.) 

1648, Nov. 14. Certificate of the orthodoxy, etc., of Timothy 
Woodroflfe, Bachelor of Divinity, presented to the rectory of 
Kingsland, Herefordshire. (L. J., x, 588.) 

1648, Nov. 25. Order for Arnold Thomas to be sherifif of the 
county of Pembroke. (L. J., x, 608.) In extenso, 

1648. Petition of Colonel Thomas Morgan, late Governor of 
Gloucester, and the supernumerary officers of his regiment, lately 
disbanded by the ordinance of the 24th of December last, 1647, 
whose accounts are all stated and registered by the Committee 
of the Army, to the Lords and Commons. Petitioners have with 
all fidelity served the Parliament, even in the saddest times, 
and have cheerfully submitted to the late ordinance for disband- 
ing. Seriously considering the distracted condition of the Par- 
liament and kingdom, they have hitherto been very tender in 
pressing their necessities. Being most of them soldiers of for- 
tune, they will be reduced to an exigency if not speedily taken 
into consideration. They pray that one moiety of their arrears 
may be afforded them for the present, and that the other moiety 
may be charged upon the excise. At the foot of the petition is 
a list of the services done, and the places stormed and reduced, 
by the petitioners. Annexed : List of officers of Colonel Thomas 
Morgan's regiment lately disbanded. 

I*etition of Ambrose Jenkins and Rice, his son, to the House 
of Commons. Petitioner Ambrose was, nineteen years ago, for 
several debts imprisoned in the county of Montgomery, and 
having then a suit in the Court of Chancery, he employed Lewis 
lleynolds to be his solicitor, who, whilst Ambrose Jenkins was 
still in prison, brought in his notes of accounts of £329, which 
lie pretended he had really laid out ; and forced him to assign 
by conveyance certain lands in the county of Montgomery, 
valued at £27 a year. After the death of Reynolds, petitioners 
commenced a suit in the Court of Requests against his executor, 
for the recovery of the lands, but the suit was dismissed. Peti- 
tioners pray for relief. 

1660, May 18. Order authorising Baynham Throckmorton 
and others to stay waste in the Forest of Dean, to preserve the 
coal and iron works there, to provide for the finishing of the 
ship now building there, and for the preservation of the vert 
and venison in the Forest. 



HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 269 

1660, May 22. Petition of Percys Lord Powis. Petitioner's 
name was inserted in the first bill of sale of delinquents' estates, 
and thereby the manor of Kerinion [Caereinion], parcel of the 
barony of Powis, in the county of Montgomery, wherein peti- 
tioner hath but an estate for life, with impeachment for waste, 
was sold by the trustees at Drury House to Charles Iloyd of 
London, merchant. Since the purchase, Lloyd has erected an 
iron mill, and made a great destruction of timber, having felled 
and sold away more timber than his whole purchase-money 
amounts to. Petitioner prays that, as he is only tenant for life, 
a stop may be made of destroying any more of the timber, and 
of carrying away what is already cut, in order that there may 
not be a total destruction of the estate which descends to his 
son. (L. J., xi, 36.) 

1660, June 9. Petition of Charlotte Countess Dowager of 
Derby. (L. J., xi, 58.) 

Annexed : 4. Copy of warrant of Oliver Cromwell, addressed 
to Major-General Mytton and others, to call a council of war or 
court martial at West Chester, for the trial of any person resid- 
ing or apprehended in Lancashire, Cheshire, Salop, and North 
Wales, who have oflTended against the Act passed on the 12th of 
August 1651, "prohibiting correspondence with Charles Stewart 
or his party." The Court is further empowered to sentence and 
put in execution the sentence pronounced against any person 
found guilty, and is required to observe such rules and limita- 
tions as are set down in the Act, and to keep a true record of all 
their proceedings. 11 Sept. 1651. 

Papers relating to the Act of Indemnity. 

June 11, 1660. Petition of Johan Herbert, the relict of Mat- 
thew Herbert, late rector of Llangatting [Llanganten] and the 
chapels thereunto annexed, in the county of Brecknock, and late 
rector of Cefnllys in the county of Eadnor, on the behalf of her- 
self and her distressed children. Petitioner's husband for his 
service to his late Majesty was, contrary even to the orders of 
the then Parliament, sequestered from his livings before any 
charge was exhibited against him ; and the profits to the value 
of £400 per annum were taken from him for thirteen years. 
After several imprisonments he died in February last, leaving 
petitioner and her children destitute, and with many debts to 
pay. Prays that the persons who took the profits of the livings 
may be ordered to pay her all arrears of fifths, and that her 
children may not be stopped by the general Act from their 
remedy at law or equity for so much of the profits of the livings 

^ Percy, second Baron, wlio had been created a baronet, 6 Nov. 
1()22, and had married Elizabeth, sister of WiUiam, first Earl Craven. 



270 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

as has not been paid to the public treasury. Annexed : 1. Rea- 
sons in support of petition. 2. Proviso proposed to be inserted 
in the Act. 

66. Proviso, that the Act shall not extend to any persons who 
did in any way promote the indictments of high treason prefer- 
red and found against Sir George Booth and Sir Thomas Myddel- 
ton in the year 1659. 

69. Proviso, that the Act shall not extend to pardon any per- 
sons for waste or destruction committed since the year 1645 in 
or upon any of the lands, or of the timber or woods gi-uwing 
thereupon, wherein Henry, then Marquess and Earl of Worcester, 
or Edward, now Marquess and Earl, were only seized for term 
of their respective lives, without liberty to commit waste, with 
remainder in fee, or fee-tail expectant thereupon, to Henry Lord 
Herbert, son of the said Edward ; nor shall exclude Lord Her- 
bert from any remedy against persons for such waste. 

70. Proviso, that the Act shall not debar Katherine Anwell 
(Anwyl ?), executrix of Robert Anwell (Anwyl ?), deceased, 
from prosecuting in law and equity Sir John Carter and Colonel 
George Twisleton, to recover £1,200 which they, in the year 
1648, by duress of imprisonment, compelled Robt. Anwell to pay 
unto them for their private avarice, and without any just cause. 

1660, June 20. Petition of Richd.Axmsham, clerk. The Rectory 
of Hopesay, in the county of Salop, was divers years since seques- 
tered from petitioner for his affection to the late King. Prays 
that a fifth part of tlie profits of the Rectory may be forthwith 
paid to him, and tha remainder secured in the hands of some 
responsible persons until petitioner be restored. (L. J., xi, 71.) 

1660, June 23. Tlie following petitions were presented, in 
pursuance of two orders of the House of Lords, one of the 22nd 
of June for securing the tithes and other profits of sequestered 
livings in the hands of churchwardens or overseers of the poor 
of the several parishes, until the tithes of the sequestered clergy 
and of the present possessors shall be determined ; the other of 
the 23rd of June, giving the Clerk of the Parliament power to 
insert in the foregoing general order the names of those who 
should bring in petitions, to have the benefit thereof. Certifi- 
cates of the truth of the petitioners' statements are in many 
cases annexed to the petitions or written upon them. 

Name of Petitioner. Naipe of Parish. 
Bangor, Bishop of (Dr. Wil- 
liam Roberts) - Archdeaconry of Anglesea 
Bangor, Bishop of - - Llandyrnog, Denbigh 
Bayly, William - - Penstrowed, Montgomery 
Bridge, Thomas - - Malpas Higher Rectory, Cheshire 



HISTORICAL M3S. C0MMI8SI0K. 



271 



Name of Petitioner. 
Bridgeman, Henry - 

Collyar, Edward 
Davies, Francis 
Detton, Richard 
Duckworth, Charles 
Elly, Robert 
Evans, Richard 
Gething, John 
Good, Thomas 
Griffith, George, D.D. 
Griffithes, Sylvanns 
Hall, John - 
Heiwardy William - 
Howlle, Edward 

Hant, Henry 
Hnnt, Richard 
Hutchinson, Richard 
James, David 
Langford, William 
Lloyd, David, D.D. 
Lloyd, David, D.L. 
Lloyd, Evan 
Lloyd, Fowlk 
Lloyd, Hugh 
Lloyd, Hugh, D.D. 
Lewis, William 
Jenkin Williams 
Lloyd, Humphrey - 
Lloyd, Richard 
Lloyd, Richard 
Lloyd, Robert 
Lloyd, Samuel 
Lloyd, William 
Mellin, Henry 
Morhall, Ralph 
Mostyn, William 
Owen, Evan, D.D. - 
Owen, John 
Owen, William 

Owen, William 
Parry, William 
Price, John 
Puleston, William - 
Rawlings, Gyles 
Right, Thomas 



Name of Parish. 

Bangor Monachoram, Flint and Bar- 
row, Cheshire 

Llandewi-Velfrey, Pembrokeshire 

Llantrithyd, Glamorgan 

Acton Scott, Salop 

Doddleston, Cheshire 

Shawbury, Salop 

Llanasaph, Flint 

Criccieth, Carnarvon 

Cnlmington, Salop 

Llandrinio, Montgomery 

Llanwyddelen, Montgomery 

Edgmond, Salop 

Dawley, Salop 

Llansantffraid in Elvel, and Cascob, 
Radnor 

Llanwarne, Hereford 

Moston and Chorlton, Chester 

Astbury, Cheshire 

Breydell (Bridell), Pembroke 

Pool, Montgomery 

Llanfairdyffrynclwyd, Denbigh 

Llansannan, Denbigh 

Holywell, Flint 

Efenechtyd, Denbigh 

Denbigh, Denbigh 
I St. Andrew, Glamorgan., St. Fagan's, 
> Glamorgan, and Llancarvan, Gla- 
I morgan 

Ruabon, Denbigh 

Tredrey, Cardigan (P) 

Manerdivy, Cardigan 

Llanfachreth, Anglesey 

Cilcen, Flint, and Gresford, Denbigh 

Llaneilian, Anglesey 

Aberedw, Radnor 

Pontesbury, Salop 

Christleton, Cheshire 

Narbeth, Pembroke 

Marthery (Martletwy P), Pembroke 

Pulverbach and Pontesbury (Qrst por- 
tion), Salop 

Kidwelly, Carmarthen 

Abergele, Denbigh 

Llanwnda, Pembroke 

Llansawell (?), Carmarthen 

Highley, Salop 

Womesloe (P), Cheshire 



272 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

Name of Petitioner. Name of FariBh. 

Sayer, John - - Old Radnor, Radnor 

Shipton, Samuel - - Alderley, Cheshire 

Tannat, Edward - - Llanjblodwell, Salop 

Thomas, Oliver - - Lawrenny, Pembroke 

Tudman, Thomas - - Sandbach, Cheshire 

Viner, John - - Kinnersley, Hereford 

Walker, Richard - - Moreton-on-Lugg, Hereford 
Williams, Griffith,D.D.,Dean 

of Bangor - - Qyffin, Caemarron 

Williams, William - - Llansantffraid in Cwmdanddwr, Rad- 
nor 

Wynne, Humphrey - Oswestry, Salop 

Wynne, Rice - - Castle Caereinion, Montgomery 

Yonge, William - - Pwllcrocban, Pembroke 

1660, July 3. Letter from Sir William Wliitmore to Lord 
Craven. There is a discovery made of £1,000 worth of the 
King's goods formerly taken out of Ludlow Castle. The writer 
thinks it may be a piece of seasonable service if his liOrdship 
will procure an order for Colonel Moor, Governor of Ludlow 
Castle, or Captain Vincent Edwards, Deputy Governor, to seize 
the goods. (L. J., xi, 82.) 

16.60, July 16. Petition of Sir John Trevor, Colonel George 
Twisleton, and Andrew Ellis. Petitioners, taking notice of an 
order for hearing a cause depending between them and the Earl 
of Derby on Wednesday next, attended the Clerk for an order 
to summon witnesses, but were informed that he could not issue 
forth any orders for that purpose without direction of the House, 
by reason whereof petitioners are straitened in time, and cannot 
get their witnesses ready against that day ; they therefore pray 
that a later day may be appointed, and that a letter of summons 
may be directed to the Countess Dowager of Derby, and an order 
for the attendance of the persons mentioned in the annexed 
paper, who are all material witnesses in the cause. (L. J., xi, 93.) 

Annexed: 1, list of witnesses; 2, petition of same. That such 
letters of summons may be issued as will induce the Countess 
Dowager of Derby and Lord Chief Baron Bridgman to appear at 
the hearing, and give evidence. 

1660, July 16. Petition of divers lords, knights, and gentle- 
men of Cheshire and North Wales, on behalf of themselves and 
many others. Petitioners having been in August last in His 
Majesty's service in Cheshire, were at the then next ensuing 
quarter sessions, presented and indicted for high treason ; which 
indictments still remain on record. They pray that the justices 
by whom they were presented, and the juries, may be disabled 
from bearing any office of trust, and be excepted from the 
general pardon. (L. J., xi, 94.) 



HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 273 

1660, July 18. Petition of Percy Lord Powis. The seques- 
trators have, for some years past, taken possession of certain 
manors, lands, and tenements vested in petitioner and the Lady 
Elizabeth his wife, and by their illegal proceedings and usurped 
authority have sold the most part of petitioner's estate, although 
neither he nor his wife were ever convicted for recusancy, but 
for his fidelity and faithfulness to His Majesty and his father. 
Prays that what part of his and his wife's estate yet remains 
unsold by the trustees for the sale of delinquents' estates, may 
be discharged of sequestrations, and that the arrears remaining 
in the tenants' hands, or paid into the Exchequer, mqty be paid 
to him, as has already been granted to other peers. (L. J., xi, 96.) 

1660, July 24. Copy of petition of the well affected of North 
Wales to Thomas Lord Fairfax, General of all the forces in Eng- 
land and Wales. They condemn the Members of Parliament 
who were for treating with the King ; they declare themselves 
resolved to sink or swim, live or die, with his Excellency and 
the army, who have bound kings with chains, and nobles with 
fetters of iron ; and in conclusion they say, let nothing hinder 
the speedy executing of justice upon aU delinquents, especially 
the grand adversary of the kingdom ; let them go to the pit, 
and let no man stay them ; for better, as Solomon saith, is a 
roaring lion, a raging bear, than a wicked ruler. 

[Endorsed.] "24 Jul 1660. North Wales. Petic'on read at 
grand Co'mittee for the Bill of Indemnity, King's death." 

1660, June 4. Petition of William Lord Craven. In the year 
1641 petitioner went, by leave of the House, beyond the seas to 
his charge in Holland, where he remained until of late, without 
acting anything to the prejudice of Parliament. During his 
absence, by the practice and false oaths of some evil persons, his 
whole estate, both real and personal, was seized and kept from 
him, under colour of a vote made in the House of Commons, 
being then but a small part of the Long Parliament, and after 
the excluding of the major part of that House ; by which means 
petitioner has been already damnified above £200,000, besides 
the total loss of all his real estate. Prays that his annexed case 
may be taken into consideration ; and that to avoid multiplicity 
of suits, he may, by the favour of the House, be restored to the 
possession of his estate, and have reparation for tlie damages he 
has already sustained. (L. J., xi, 52.) 

Annexed : Statement of Lord Craven's case. 

1660, July 26. Certificate from General Monk, Duke of Albe- 
marle, in favour of William Lenthall, late Speaker of the House 
of Commons. " These are to certifie, That having p'ticular notice 
of the Deportment of William Lenthall, Esq., late Speaker, I 



274 HISTORICAL MSS. COMMISSION. 

found him very instrumental! in the restoring our National Hap- 
pinesse. In Scotland, att Berwick, all the way of my march to 
London, hee furnished and supplyed mee with frequent and 
important Intelligence, had a very signall hand in breaking and 
dividing the late officers and sould'rs of the Army heere, very 
violentlie opposed (and prevented in a great measure) the Oath 
of Abjuration, refused and hindred the issuing out any new writts 
to patch and piece uppe that House whereof hee was Speaker, 
expedited the Returne of the secluded members, and dissolution 
of the Long Parliam't; and vppon private Consultations with 
mee was very pressing and importune, and, I am sufficiently 
assured, very Cordiall for Eestoring his Ma'ty to his Dominions. 
If these services of his are sufficient to over ballance liis faults, 
which have bin the efiTects of his feare and Frailty, I hope, for 
the Encouragement of all seasonable Retumes to Loyalty, noe 
person will thinke butt that hee has merited att least to bee for- 
given. Given vnder my hand and scale, att the Cock-pitt, the 
26th day of July 1660. [Signed] Albemale." 

1660, July 31. Petition of Sir John Owen.^ Petitioner, for 
his loyalty to his late Majesty, was in the year 1648 committed 
prisoner to Denbigh Castle, and from thence brought to Wind- 
sor Castle ; there kept close prisoner for six months, then brought 
to St. James'; and afterwards, with the Duke of Hamilton, the 
Earls of Holland and Norwich, and Lord Capel, contrary to law, 
arraigned by persons who took upon themselves the title of a 
High Court of Justice, and unjustly condemned to be beheaded, 
though by God's mercy he escaped the execution of that sen- 
tence. He prays that aU those who were actors therein may 
receive punishment, and that reparation may be made to him 
for his sufferings. 

^ The eldest son of John Owen, of Clenenney in Caernarvonshire^ 
Esq. He was Vice-Admiral of North Wales, and was appointed in 
1645 to supersede Archbishop Williams as Governor of Conwy 
Castle. (Williams' Biographical Diet, of Eminent Welshmen.) 



275 



CARTULARIUM PRIORATUS S. JOHANNIS 
EVANG. DE BRECON. 

PREFACE. 

Among the publications proposed to be undertaken by 
the Welsh MSS. Society was one styled " Registrum 
Prioratus de Brecknock"; a work which, unfortunately, 
was not undertaken by the spirited publishers. Their 
proposal has, however, stimulated inquiry where the 
materials were to be found, and has led to the fulfil- 
ment of it by the Cambrian Archaeological Society in 
the following pages. 

It is well, by way of an introduction, to give some 
account of the foundation of the Priory of Brecon, its 
remains, and of the MSS. which have been made use of 
for the work. 

Nothing is known of the origin or early history of 
Bernard Newmarch, further than that he was a follower 
of William the Conqueror in the latter part of his reign, 
and a witness to the two charters which he granted to 
the famous Benedictine Monastery of St. Martin of 
Battle, founded and built in performance of the Con- 
queror s vow, after the battle, on the spot where the 
royal standard stood, and where his noble adversary, 
Harold, fell in defence of his country against the invad- 
ing Normans. A passing reference to the event may 
suffice here ; but the reader will do well to peruse 
Mr. Freeman's brilliant narrative of the foundation of 
the Abbey.^ 

The name of Bernard Newmarch does not occur in 
Domesday Book, and the span of life renders it impro- 
bable that he was a sharer in the victory of Hastings ; 
for one of the Brecon Priory charters shows that he was 
alive while Bishop Bernard occupied the see of St 
David's, perhaps at as late a period as 1120. 

Circumstances delayed the fulfilment of the Conque- 
ror's vow. Battle Abbey was not built before the ap- 

^ Histonj of the Norman Conquest^ vol. iv, p. 402. 

4th 8ER., VOL. XIII. 18 



276 CARTULARIUM PRIORATUS 

pointment of Gausbert as Abbot in 1076, and it was 
not consecrated until the reign of William Rufus in 
1094. Bernard appears to have been one of the leaders, 
with Roger de Lacy and Ralph de Mortimer, in the 
insurrection against William Rufus soon after his suc- 
cession to the throne. In the following year he was in 
possession of the manor of Glasbury, part of the Welsh 

Erovince of Brecheiniog ; and in five years afterwards 
e had conquered the three cantreds of the same pro- 
vince, thus possessing the whole of Brecknockshire ex- 
cept the cantred of Buelt, or Builth. In Bernard s 
crowning victory, Rhys ap Teudwr, King of South 
Wales, was killed in battle, near his Castle of Brecon, 
during the Easter of 1093.^ Soon afterwards, Roger, 
one of the monks of Battle Abbey, tarried for some 
time with Bernard, and by much importunity persuaded 
him to give to the church of St. Martin a district in 
Wales, with the old town and the church of St. John 
the Evangelist near thereto, situate just without the 
defences of the Castle of Brecon. Roger thereupon, 
with the aid of another monk named Walter, rebuilt* 
the church, and proceeded with the erection of monas- 
tic buildings, acquiring meanwhile, by prayer or gift, 
from the neighbours some possessions of land or 
tithes. As time went on. Nest, Bernard s wife, suffer- 
ing from ill health, with her husband s assent gave a* 
small vill, afterwards known as the manor of Berrin- 
ton ; and so Bernard's bounty having been gradually 
increased by other gifts of lands, mills, churches, and 
tithes, Walter was appointed by the Abbot and Convent 
of St. Martin the first Abbot of the Convent of Brecon, 
paying a yearly sum in money as a recognition of the 
subjection of his Convent to Battle as the mother 
church.^ 

In the selection of the spot near which the vanquished 
Welsh King fell, as the site of the future convent, Ber- 

^ Flor, Wig.y vol. ii, p. 33 (Thorp's ed.) ; Itinerarium Kamhiice 
lib. i, cap. 2, also 12. 
2 " Restaaravit". 
5 Chronicon de Bello, Bugd., Mon., tome i, p. 316. 



S. JOHAKNIS EVANG. DE BRECON. 277 

nard was probably actuated by a desire to imitate the 
Conqueror, and to place it safely under the defence of 
his castle. In the early part of the reign of Henry I, 
Bernard, in a charter, with the Kings assent, granted 
to the church of St. Martin of Battle the church near 
his Castle of Brer^on, which he had caused to be dedi- 
cated in honour of St. John the Evangelist, and recorded 
the particulars of the gifts of mills, lands, churches, 
and tithes, in Wales and England, which he, his wife, 
and followers, had previously made to the church of 
St. Martin. In a second charter he described more 
fully the lands which he had granted. These donations 
were from time to time augmented and confirmed, dur- 
ing the course of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, 
by the charters of his grandsons, Roger Earl of Here- 
ford, Walter, Henry, and Mahel ; by William de Bra- 
ose the elder, Reginald de Braose, and Humphrey de 
Bohun, succeeding lords of Brecon ; and also by Peter 
Fitz Herbert, lord of Blaenllyfni and Dinas, and many 
others, including members of the families of Pichard, 
Traveley, Torell, Baskerville, and Burghill. 

It is unnecessary to give here a description of these 
possessions of the Convent, because the ecclesiastical 
taxations which occur in the early pages of the Cartu- 
lary and the marginal notes give the information. The 
charters, the bishops' confirmation of them, and the 
compositions of disputes with other monastic houses, 
are worthy of a careful perusal, and give much interest- 
ing information on an obscure period in the history of 
Breconshire. 

The ground on which the conventual church and 
buildings were erected, occupies a small space. It was 
rendered less available for building by its steep inclina- 
tion on the south and east to the river Honddu. It lay 
without the town wall, near the old Port Superior, and 
extended to the outer ward of the Castle. Little can 
now be made out of the arrangement of the monastic 
buildings. It is evident, however, that they were not 
extensive. A strong and lofty wall, with a wide, arched 

18 « 



278 CARTULARIUM PRIORATUS 

opening as an approach to the Close, still bounds the 
ground to the west. In the line of this wall, near the 
entrance to the churchyard, are low buildings witli 
remains of gargoyles near the eaves, and wooden, framed 
windows, introduced probably after the suppression, 
showing externally and internally an alteration of the 
original structure. The noble conventual church occu- 
pies the north side of the Close. At its western end a 
building, converted into stables and other offices, runs 
southward, which formed apparently an ambulatory, 
with an approach through a door (now closed) into the 
church. Its upper floor was probably the dormitory of 
the Convent. Samuel and Nathaniel Buck's view of the 
south-east of Brecknock Priory in 1741 shows a build- 
ing running parallel with the church, the roof of which 
hides the lower part of the windows of the south tran- 
sept, and a modernised house, connected with the dor- 
mitory, occupying the south-west of the cloister croft. 
They mention that on the north (south) side of the 
church is a very good paved cloister, which opens into 
the church and joins it to the Priory house, where the 
refectory is still remaining. The present Priory house 
is a comparatively modern, detached, structure, built 
on the sloping ground towards the river, and so aflfords 
no assistance in making out the monastic arrangements. 
The cemetery, at a late period styled that of the 
church of the Holy Cross, lies north of the church, and 
was approached from the close through an arch in a 
wall running from the west end of the church. 

Nothing remains, unless it be the font, of the church 
of the twelfth century. If there had been anything 
noteworthy in its structure, or appearance, Gerald de 
Barri, whose residence of Llanddu was in the imme- 
diate neighbourhood, and whose name appears as a 
witness to several of the charters, would have men- 
tioned it in his Itinerary. The present church was 
built after his death. No annals, or register, of the 
convent have come down to us, so a notion of its date 
can be formed only from the building, as we see it now. 



S. JOHANNIS EVANG. DB BRECON. 279 

Sir Gilbert Scott considered that the earliest portion 
dates from 1220 to 1230. The limits of a preface do 
not afford room for more than mention of the salient 
features of the edifice, making use, for the purpose, of a 
few extracts from Mr. Freeman's able and exhaustive 
account of it.^ 

"The Priory church is the noblest of a class, of 
which a good many instances occur in Wales. The 
class I mean is one of massive cruciform churches with 
central towers, whose high roof and gables invariably 
present a picturesque external outline." 

" The leading idea is that of simple bulk. Brecon 
Priory impresses us more strongly with the idea of 
general magnitude than many buildings of much 
greater positive dimensions. This is perhaps partly 

occasioned by its extreme simplicity of structure 

The ground plan consists of a nave with aisles ; the 
southern one hot quite reaching to the west end, and a 
north porch, a central tower or choir, with transepts 
and an eastern limb, forming a large presbytery, with- 
out regular aisles, but with a remarkable arrangement 
of chapels on each side." 

"The church was, doubtless, commenced not long 
after the foundation of the Priory, but probably the 
nave might not be completed till towards the middle 
of the twelfth century. The choir, transepts, and pres- 
bytery were rebuilt during the thirteenth ; the four- 
teenth gradually transformed the Norman nave into a 
Decorated building. The presbytery consists of four 
bays ; as it originally stood, the two' easternmost bays 
were free, while chapels were attached to the western 
pair, but, on the north side, later alterations have 
somewhat interfered with this arrangement. The style 
is common Early English, extremely good, but not re- 
markable for richness ; in the exterior, indeed, remark- 
ably the reverse. A triplet occupies each bay, except 
the western one, and a quintuplet fills the east end. 
Externally, these windows are as plain as possible ; 
within, they have detached banded shafts and moulded 

1 Arch. Gamb., vol. v, K S., p. 160. 1854. 



280 CARTULAUIUM PKIORATUS 

jambs. Those at the sides are singularly slender, and 
the centre light rises in an unusual degree above the 
side ones. The eastern quintuplet has broader lights 
and a more gradual rise, but the three central ones are 
larger and grouped more closely together than the 
external pair." 

** The nave is of four bays on the north side and 
three on the south, such being the number of arches ; 
the southern aisle being a bay shorter than the rest. 
But to the east of the arcade, beyond its respond, is a 
blank wall almost equal to another bay. This was the 
space occupied by the rood- loft, the corbels for the 
support of which still remain, making it demonstra- 
tively certain that the choir was originally under the 
central tower." 

It remains to give an account of the source from 
which the documents which form the Cartulary, are 
derived. Bishop Kennett, in his Case of Impropria-- 
tions, 1704, gives the substance of the endowment, by 
William Revell, of the church of St. Mary, Hay, and 
quotes, as his authority, " Ex Cartulario Prioratus S. 
Johannis Evang. de Brechon, MS., f. 47," without re- 
ference to its possessor. In the short account of the 
Priory in Tanners Notitia Monctstica (1744), among 
the authorities refen-ed to is, '* Registrum antiquum 
Prioratus de Brechnoch, MS., penes Gulielmum Brew- 
ster, M.D., Herefordiae". Dr. Brewster bequeathed all 
his MSS. to the Bodleian. Theophilus Jones, the able 
and painstaking historian of Brecknockshire, appears 
to have searched for this MS. at the Bodleian and else- 
where without success, but his search was rewarded by 
the discovery at the Bodleian, among the MS. collections 
of Thomas Carte, of a volume, which contained a series 
of documents relative to the Priory and many other 
Welsh matters. In his history of the e-ounty, he gave 
an epitome of such of the documents as related to the 
Priory's possessions in Breconshire, with notes, which 
are valuable on account of his lofeal knowledge. 

At my request, the Rev. D. M. Macray kindly refer- 



S. JOHANNIS EVANG. DE BRECON. 281 

red to the volume, and arranged that a copy should be 
made of the Cartulary, and of other documents relating 
to the Priory hi a different handwriting, which he dis- 
covered in an earlier part of the same volume. 

A careful perusal of the documents copied leads to 
the conclusion that they were first transcribed from 
the original charters and other documents, and ar- 
ranged in their present order, after the suppression of 
the Priory, probably in the seventeenth century, by a 
writer who was but little versed in the character of the 
handwriting of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, 
and who had little knowledge of the succession of 
bishops, or the period during which the parties to the 
charters lived. As is not unusual in early deeds, the 
documents for the most part have no date, and so it was 
difficult to arrive at their sequence without some re- 
search, or a reference to works which were not within 
the reach of the original transcriber. It is probable 
that, after the suppression of the Priory, the charter and 
other deeds were consigned to a chest, or other place of 
deposit, and were at last rescued from oblivion by 
some one curious to arrive at their contents, without 
sufficient knowledge for the work ; for there is no 
sequence in their arrangement. Many of the later 
thirteenth century charters occur before the earlier 
ones ; some are twice copied, and there is a general 
confusion as regards the subject-matter and the period 
to which they relate. With a view to remedy this 
defect, it is proposed to arrange the several documents, 
as far as may be, in chronological order, in a table of 
the contents. 

The transcript in the Carte collection, judging from 
the handwriting, was made about 1710, evidently from a 
previous copy, probably differing from that in Dr. Brew- 
ster's possession. The handwriting shows that the Carte 
transcript was written by two persons in turn, — one 
continuing where the other left off. Their occasional 
notes in the Welsh language show that they were 
copying a recent hand; the name, Hugh Gruff][ith), 
^ See note at foot of preface. 



282 CARTULARIUM PRIORATUS 

occurs at the end of one note, apparently referring to 
the earlier transcriber. Some of the documents are 
imperfect, and suggest that a page was torn or missing, 
or that the original deed was imperfect, or illegible ; 
very few charters appear to be missing. 

It is proposed to add to the Cartulary the answei-s 
of a Prior of Brecon during the fourteenth century to 
articles exhibited against him, the appointment of a 
prior in 1435, and an account of the possessions of the 
Priory shortly after its suppression. 

In concluding, I desire to express my thanks to the 
Rev. D. M. Macray for his aid and suggestions, to Pro- 
fessor John Rhys for translating the Welsh notes, and 
to Mr. Geo. Parker of the Bodleian for the great pains 
which he has taken in making out very difficult hand- 
writing, for his searches, and for his zeal and readiness 
in answering all inquiries which arose on a perusal of 
his transcript. R. W. Banks. 

(Browne Willis, MS. 37, fol. 184, Bodl. Lib.) 

"Norwich, Apr. 13,1719. 

" Dear Sir, — 1 was obliged to go home by Bury I had begun 

a letter to you [at Ely], but desisted because I could not, without 
book, give you, 5for my Lord of St. David's, an account of the Cartu- 
lary of St. John's Priory in Brecknock^ which I had lent me in the 
year 1697, and abstracted part of it. It consisted of about 110 leaves 
in parchment, in octavo. Was procured me by Dr. John Davies, 
then of Jesus Coll., from Dr. Brewster of Hereford, who, as I was 
inform'd, was then the owner of it. I formerly sent you all the 
Dignitaries of the Church of St. David's that I could find mention 
of in my collections out of it. Since upon comparing your History 
of St. David's with them, I find, fo. 86, Cojivmtio facta per Thomam 
Episcopum Menevensem inter Reginaldum Priorem et Cmiventum Br&- 
chineiisem et mWm Benedictum Vicarium Matricia Eccles. Brechon, de 
ordinatione istius VicaricB a.d. 1248. I have not the month, but the 
year may seem to fix what you are (p. 104) in doubt about, y« con- 
secration of the said Bp. Thomas for thus runs a Teste in this 

Cartulary, f. 56, Testihiis Galfredo Episcopo Men&vense^ Magistro G. 
de Barriy 0, Archid, Breco^i. iiepote suo R, Decano, Osberto Capellano 
Episcopiy Ac. ; for after the dispute about the Election to the Bishop- 
ric was given against him, Geraldus is said to have resigned his 

Archdeaconry to William his nephew abt. 1203. 

"Your aff. servt. Thomas Tanner." 
"To Brown Willis, Esq." 
See also Tanner MS. (Bodl. Lib.), No. 342, f. 170. 



S. JOHANNIS EVANG. DE BRECON. 283 



CAETE PAPERS. 

(Bodleian Library y vol. 108, /oZ. 254, Article 19.) 

Proceedings of the Chapter of St. DavicTs relative to tithes with- 
held from the Prior hy the rector of the parish of St. Michael, Ys- 
tradwy, Wednesday after 14 Sept, 1234 : 

"Acta in capella sancti Johannis de Straddewyi feria quarta 
post exaltationem Sancte Crucis anno M'o ducentesimo trice- 
simo quarto coram H(ugone)^ archidiacono et officiale Menevensi 
et coram L. A. officialibus* et G.* Decano Brechonie, scilicet 
quod cum Prior et Conventus Brechonie monerent Hugoni 
Whethelen rectori ecclesie Sancti Michaelis de Straddewy^ super 
decimis quibusdam quas dicti Monachi dicebant ab antiquis 
monasterio Sancti Johannis Brechonie datas esse et concessas 
postquam tractatum fuerat super hoc negocio coram E(ogero) 
Pichard, tunc temporis domino ejusdem loci, Et dictus R Wil- 
lelmum Muthun constabularium auum cum quibusdam aliis 
transmisit ad Capitulum ut interessent et viderent quid in Capi- 
tulo super hoc negocio ageretur Tandem dictus rector compa- 
ruit et publice recognovit et concessit dictis Monachis duas 
partes omnium decimarum de tota terra de Kylvaynor, duas 
etiam partes omnium decimarum de tota terra Bernardi Bcghau, 
scilicet a lapide stante juxta furcas* tarn subtus viam maguam 
quam supra viam magnam usque ad locum ubi erecta fuit crux 
Keinthlen^ secundum quod rivulus descendit a fonte subtus 
Boghlek versus villam de Straddewy usque ad locum qui supra 
ripam dicti rivuli opponitur dicto lapidi stanti : duas etiam par- 
tes omnium decimarum de tota terra quae dicitur Wlythfays,® 

^ Theoph. Jones considers this occupied the place of the present 
Chapel of Tretower. 
' Hagh de Cluna. 

* A person appointed by a bishop to exercise, in his stead, ecclesi- 
astical jurisdiction in contentious matters. 

* Dean of the monastic body there. 

^ Now Llanvihangel Cwmdu. Where the county or diocese is not 
stated in the notes, the place is situate in Breconshire. 

® Probably a fork- like junction of two roads. 

^ See Jones' History of BrecTitwckshire^ vol. ii, p. 501, and Plate 
xiii. He says that the cross stood at Penheol y Crwys (or the head 
of the lane), a short distance north of Gaer. " Boghlek**, he suggests, 
may be Bwlch. 

* Gwlythfaes; corruptly pronounced " Glyffaes*'. (Ibid,) 



284 CARTULARIUM PRIORATUS 

que jacet inter montem qui dicitur Mayarch^ et flumen quod 
dicitur Uska. Promisit etiam dictus Rector quod quicquid abs- 
tulerat de dictis decimis, dictis monaehis eodem anno statim 
restitueret et in hujus rei testimonium huic scripto apposita 
sunt sigilla praedictorum judicum, scilicet H. Archidiaconi et 
officialis Menevensis et L A. officialium et G. Decani Brecho- 
nie hiis testibus, R. de Burchull' et R. de Brechonia clericis et 
R filio Rogeri et J. Monacho de Brechonia et Milone rectore 
ecclesie de Garpregny* et multis aliis." 



Further proceedings in consequence of the rector's refusal to abide 
by the decision of th^ Chapter, and final judgmeni in favour of the 
Prior : 

" Universis Christi fidelibus ad quos presens scriptum perve- 
nerit L de Lanmais* officialis et G. decanus Brechonie et 
Ythenardus officialis Archidiaconi Brechonie etemam in 
Domino salutem. Noverit universitas vestra quod cum mota 
esset lis inter priorem et conventum Brechonie et Hothel rec- 
torem ecclesie de Straddewy super eo quod dicebant ipsum H. 
eos spoliasse quibusdam decimis subscriptis ad eos ut dicebant 
in Stradewy de jure spectantibus tandem partibus convocatis et 
coram H(ugone) Archidiacono* et tunc officiale Menevensi et 
nobis in Capitulo de Stradewy personaliter conpareutibus lis 
praedicta secundum tenorem actorum subsequencium fuit ter- 
minata. Hec sunt acta in capella Sancti Johannis de Stradewy 
feria quarta post exaltationem Sanctae Crucis anno gratie 
mccxxxiiij coram H. archidiacono et officiale Menevensi et 
coram L. A. officialibus et G. decano Brechonie scilicet quod 
cum Prior et Conventus Brechonie monerent Hugoni Hothel 
rectori Ecclesie Sancti Michaelis de Sti-adewy super decimis 
quibusdam quas dicti Monachi dicebant ab antique monas- 
terio Sancti Johannis Brechonie datas esse et concessas postquam 
tractatum fuit super hoc negocio coram R. Pichard tunc tempo- 
ris domino ejusdem loci et dictus R. Willelmum Mutun consta- 
bularium suum cum quibusdam aliis transmisit ad Capitulum 
ut interessent et viderent quid in Capitulo super hoc negocio 
ageretur Tandem dictus Rector comparuit et publice recogno- 
vit et concessit dictis Monaehis duas partes omnium decimarum 
de tota terra de Kylvaynaur.^ Duas etiam partes omnium deci- 
marum de tota terra Bemardi Bochan, scilicet a lapide stante 

1 Penmyarth. 

2 Garthbrengy, a parish near Brecon. ^ Now Llanvaes. 

4 Hugh de Cluna^ Archdeacon of St. David's, 1200-1234. 

5 Cilfaenor (Ordn. Survey), near Llanviliangel Cwradu Church. 



S. JOHANNIS EVANG. DE BRECON. 285 

juxia furcas tam subtus viam magnam quam supra viara mag- 
nam usque ad locum ubi erecta fuit Crux Keinthlin secundum 
quod ri villus descendit a fonte subtus Bochelet versus villam de 
Stradewy usque ad locum qui supra ripam dicti rivuli opponitur 
dicto lapidi stanti. Duas etiam partes omnium decimarum de 
tota terra que dicitur Wlithuais que jacet inter montem qui 
dicitur Mayhard et -flumen quod dicitur Uska. Promisit etiam 
dictus Kector quod quicquid abstulerat de dictis decimis eodem 
anno statim restitueret dictis monachis, et in hujus rei testimo- 
nium huic scripto apposita sunt sigilla predictonim judicum, 
scilicet H. archidiaconi et oflBcialis Menevensis et L A. officia- 
lium et G. decani Brechonie hiis testibus, R. de Burchull et 
E. de Brekenie clericis, et R. filio Rogeri, et J. Monacho de 
Brechonia et Milone rectore ecclesie de Karthprenki et multis 
aliis. Processu vero temporis supradictus H. non obstantibus 
hiis que inter ipsum et dictos Priorem et Conventum in dicto 
Capitulo judicialiter acta fuerunt possessionem eorum circa dic- 
torum locorum decimas pro sua voluntate turbavit allegans acta 
predicta in absencia sua fuisse confecta; et sic prioi*em et mona- 
chos spolians Papam appellavit Prior autem et Conventus tam 
de dicta spolacione quam de eo quod conti-a tenorem dictorum 
actomm pro sue voluntatis arbitrio venerat sibi justiciam pecie- 
runt exhiberi. . Partibus igitur propter hoc negocium coram no- 
bis in Capitulo de Brechonia constitutis sepedictis H. appella- 
tioui sue sicut in actis illius diei continetur renuncians et non 
obstantibus exceptione et appellacione ab eo ut dictum est inter- 
positis in nostram jurisdictionem publico consensit quo facto lite 
legitime coram nobis contestata diem partibus de eanindem con- 
sensu constituimus ad sentenciandum precise : ad quem diem 
sepedictus H. rector ecclesie Sancti Michaelis de Stradewy etiam 
legitime vocatus venire contempsit Prior vero et Conventus 
per Johannem de Paleme monachum suum comparentes secun- 
sum retroacta in judicio tam de jure suo quam de possessione 
sua in dictis decimis quam etiam de processu habito in Capitido 
de Stradewy in actis contento sententiam ferri pecierunt Nos 
igitur Deum habentes pre oculis cum nobis legitime constaret 
de meritis et tocius processu negocii de consiliis virorum pru- 
dencium et jurisperitorum adjudicavimus finaliter et diffinitive 
tam possessionem quam proprietatem decimanim de terns et 
locis in supradictis actis contentis et nominatis ad Priorem et 
Conventum Brechonie pleno jure pertinere pronunciavimus et in 
eodem judicio diffinitive acta suprascripta rite fuisse confecta et 
in perpetuum fore vera et valitura. Decrevimus et ipsum H. 
compellendum esse per censuram ecclesiasticam ut de cetero de- 
sistat a perturbacione possessionis dictarum decimarum Prioris 



286 CARTULARIUM PRIORATUS 

et Conventus Brechonie et vexacione eoiimdem: In hujus autem 
rei testimonium praeseDti scripto sigilla nostra apposuimus." 

Bond ofHoger Pichard for the payment to the Prior of yearly 
rent of 4s. 2d, for the monks* land in the valley of Stradewy : 

" Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos presens scriptum perve- 
nerit Rogerus Pichard miles dominus de Stradewy salutem in 
Domino sempiternam. Noverit universitas vestra me et heredes 
meos teneri domino Priori Brechonie et Monachis ibidem Deo 
servientibus in quatuor solidis et duobus denariis de annuo red- 
ditu cujusdam terrae, quafe dicitur terra Monachorum in valle 
de Stradewy singulis annis ad festum Sancti Michaelis eisdem 
solvendis sine aliqua cavillacione, contradictione, dolo vel fraude 
in cujus rei testimonium praedictis domino Priori et Monachis 
praesentes literas feci patentes," etc. 

" Lhaw diwedliur hyd ynod yma."^ 

Pope HoTwrius III takes the Priory under his protection, and 
conjinns grants by Bishops of St. David's of chicrdies of Hay, St. 
Egyon, Mara, and Talgarth, 26 Jan. 1222 : 

" Onorius episcopus servus servorum Dei dUectis filiis Priori 
et Monachis Ecclesie Sancti Johannis de Brekenio salutem et 
apostolicam benedictionem Justis petentium desideriis dignum 
est nos facilime prebere consensum et vota que a rationis tramite 
non discordant eftectu prosequente conplere ea propter dilecti in 
domino filii vestris justis precibus inclinati personas vestras et 
monasterium in quo divino estis obsequio mancipati cum omni- 
bus bonis que idem monasterium in presentiam rationabUiter 
possidet aut in futurum justis modis prestante Domino poterit 
adipisci sub beati Petri et nostra protectione suscipimus. Spe- 
cialiter autem de Haya Sancti Egyon,* de Mara^ et de Talgarth 
ecclesias Parochiales cum pertinentiis suis quas bone memorie 
Gualfridus* et Gervasius* Menevenses episcopi de Capituli sui 
consensu vobis in usus proprios concesserunt sicut in eorum au- 
tenticis continetur vobis et per vos eidem monasterio vestro 
auctoritate apostolica confirmamus, et presentis scripti patroci- 

1 A recent hand up to this mark. 

2 Now Llanigon. Jones suggests that the church was dedicated 
either to Eigen, the daughter of Cradoc ap Bran, or to Eigion, the 
Bon of Caw, a saint of the sixth century. {Hist, of Breckn.^ vol. ii, 
p. 899.) 

^ Llangorse. 

* Geoffrey. Prior of Llanthony, elected 10 Nov. 1203, oh. 1214. 

6 lorwerth, consecrated 7 Dec. 1215, o6. 1229. 



S. JOHANNIS EVANG. DE BRECON. 287 

nio communimur. Nulli ergo omnino hominum liceat hanc 
paginam nostre protectionis et confirraacionis infringere, vel ei 
ausu temerario contraire. Si quis autem hoc attemptare pre- 
sumpserit iiidignacionem omnipotentis Dei et Beatorum Petri et 
Pauli apostolorum ejus se noverit incursurum. Datum Laterauo 
vij Kal. Febr. Pontificatus nostri anno sexto." 

Inspeximus by the Archdeacon of Brecon and the Official of St, 
David's, of the privileges granted to Battle Abbey by Pope Honoi^us, 
15 Mardh 1222 : 

" Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos presens scriptum pervene- 
rit G(iraldus) de Barri^ Archidiaconus Eogerus de BurghuUe offi- 
cialis domini Menevensis G. de Brenleys^ decanus Brechonie 
eternam in Domino salutem. Noverit universitas vestra nos in- 
spexisse privilegium Abbatis et Conventus de Bello in hec verba. 
Honorius episcopus servus servorum Dei dilectis filiis Abbati et 
Conventui de Bello salutem et apostolicam benedictionem vere 
religionis honestas nobis laudabiliter persuadet ut nos favorabi- 
liter confoventes pie vestris profectibus intendamus. Quaprop- 
ter vestris supplicacionibus incliue^ti auctoritate nobis preseu- 
tium indulgemus, ut nuUus a nobis de novalibus quas propriis 
manibus aut sumptibus colitis, sive de vestromm animalium 
nutriment] s decimas exigere vel extorquere presumat. NuUi 
ergo omnino hominum liceat hanc paginam nostre concessionis 
infringere vel ei ausu temerario contraire. Si quis autem hoc 
atemptare presumpserit, indignacionem omnipotentis Dei et bea- 
torum Petri et Pauli apostolorum ejus se noverit incursum. 
Datum Anagnie, Idus Marcii Pontificatus nostri anno sexto et 
ne super hiis alicui inposterum aliquo tempore dubitatio emer- 

' The date establishes the fact that he was the nephew of Gerald 
de Barri, better known as Giraldus Cambrensis, the son of William 
de Barri, and nephew of David, Bishop of St. David's. Giraldus Cam- 
brensis was born in 1147, created Archdeacon of Brecon in 1175, 
and elected by the Chapter to the bishopric of St. David's on June 
29, 1199, Failing to obtain a coiifirroation of his election, he resigned 
all claim to the see on Nov. 10, 1203, and his archdeaconry. He 
was succeeded as archdeicon by his nephew, who is styled by Browne 
WiUis, and in the History of St. David's, William ; but wherever his 
name occurs in this Cartulary, as " G. archdeacon." The date of the 
death of Giraldus is uncertain \ but he is said to have attained the 
age of seventy four. For an account of his life, see the History tf 
St. David's, p. 280, and Mr. Brewer's edition of Giraldus Cambrensis, 
vol. i (Rolls Series). 

'^ Brynllys. 



288 CARTULARIUM PRIOR ATUS 

gat huic scripto sigilla nostra duximus apponi bene valeat uni- 
versitas vestra semper in Domino." 

Order of Thonias^ Bishop of St David! Sy regulating the pay^meTvts 
hy the Prior of Brecon to its rrvotlicr church^ of Brecon, 1 Janvxiry 
1248-9 : 

** Cum inter Eeginaldum priorem Breconie et Conventiim rec- 
tores ecclesie loci ejusdem ex una parte et Magistrum Beuedic- 
tum vicavium Matricis Ecclesie ex altera propter taxacionis 
Vicarie illius ambiguitatem et quedam alia questio interseritur 
Tandem partes omnibus renunciantes sponte se ordinationem 
Dompni T(liomas)^ tunc Menevensis Episcopi in omnibus taxa- 
cionibus dicte Vicarie contingentibus supposuerunt qui Deum 
habendo pre oculis sic ordinavit quod dictus Magister Benedic- 
tus et vicarii omnes post eum inperpetuum percipient decern 
marcas annuas a dictis Priore et Conventu et eorum successori- 
bus. Scilicet duas marcas et dimidium in festo Sancti Michaelis 
et in die Natalis Domini duas marcas et dimidium et in die 
Pasche duas marcas et dimidium et in Nativitate Beati Johannis 
Baptiste duas marcas et dimidium pro omnibus ad dictam vica- 
riam spectantibus dictis Priore et Conventu omnes proventus 
tam matricis Ecclesie quam Capelkrum ejus integre percepturis 
preter secundum legatum et singulos denarios missales in qua- 
tuor solempnitatibus precipuis scilicet in Natali Domini, die 
Pasche, die Exaltationis Sancte Crucis et in dedicatione Ecclesie 
et preter singulos denarios missales pro corpore presenti ; dicti 
autem Prior et Conventus et qui pro tempore fuerint invenient 
ad minus duos honestos capellanos suis impensis propriis omnino 
qui una cum vicario qui pro tempore fuerit dicte Matrici Eccle- 
sie et ejus Capellis deserviant et cure animarum totius paro- 
chie soUicite intendant et vicario in hiis que cura animarum ex- 
igit reverenter obediant. Vicarius autem qui pro tempore fuerit 
si capellanus non fuerit aut alias celebrare et curam parochie 
honeste peragere impotens fuerit loco suo unum capellanum 
honestum suis impensis procurabit Qui cum duobus aliis que 
cura animarum exposcat sollicite studeat adimplere. Et quo- 
niam hii tres Capellani ad celebracionem divinorum in Capellis 
omnibus sufBcere non poterunt Dicti Prior et Conventus per 
aliquos probatos monachos dictis Capellanis sufficienter facient 
deserviri Cura animarum integre apud vicarium et Capellanos 
seculares pemianente. Insuper dicti Prior et Conventus omnia 
honera tam ordinaria quam extraordinaria in omnibus qualiter- 

^ Referred to in Bishop Tanner's letter, ante^ 282. 
} Thomas Wallensis, Archdeacon of Lincoln, consecrated July 26, 
1248, o5. July 11, 1255. 



8. JOHANNIS EVANG. DE BRECON. 289 

cunque ortum habentia omnino sustinebunt : et ne predicta ordi- 
natio temporis lapsu ab hominum memoria labatur, set robur 
pei'petuiun optineat earn dictus Menevensis Episcopus sigillo siio 
roboravit. Datum apud Landew^ anno Domini mccxlviij die 
Nativitatis Beate Marie Virginis." 

Confirmation of the Chapter of St. David^s of the foregoing order y 
1248-9 : 

"Cohfirmacio Capituli Menevensis. — Omnibus Cliristi fideli- 
bus ad quos presens scriptum pervenerit Capitulum Menevense 
salutem in Domino. Notum esse volumus universis nos inspex- 
isse literas venerabilis patris nostri domini Th(ome) Dei gratia 
Menevensis Episcopi in hec verba : Cum inter Reginaldum Pri- 
orem Brechonie, &c. Et in hujus rei testimonium presentibus 
commune sigillum Capituli nostri apponi fecimus. Datum Me- 
nevie anno Domini mccxlviij." 

Charter to Battle Abbey, 10 June, S7th Henry III, A.D. 1253 : 

"Henricus Dei gratia rex Anglie, Dominus Hibemie, Dux 
Normannorum, Aquitannie, et Comes Andegavie, Archiepiscopis, 
Episcopis, Abbatibus et Prioribus, Comitibus, Baronibus, Justi- 
ciariis, forestariis, vice-comitibus, prepositis, ministris et omnibus 
Ballivis et lidelibus suis salutem. Sciatis nos intuitu Dei et pro 
anima gloriosi regis Willelmi Conquestoris Anglie predecessoris 
nostri et pro salute anime mee et animarum antecessorum et here- 
dum nostrorum concessisse et hac presenti carta nostra confir- 
mfisse pro nobis et heredibus nostris Deo et Ecclesie Sancti 
Martini de Bello et Abbati et Conventui ejusdem Ecclesie quam 
predictus Eex ex voto f undavit et ut suam dominicam capellam 
liberam esse voluit ob victoriam ibidem sibi a Deo concessam 
omnes terras redditus et possessiones necnon et Ecclesias et eel- 
las cum suis pertinenciis a predecessoribus nostris vel ab aliis 
fidelibus sibi coUatas. Concessimus etiam et hac presenti carta 
nostra confirmavimus eisdem Abbati et Conventui et quod omnes 
homines sui liberi sint et quieti ab omni theloneo et onmia mer- 
cata sua per totum regnimi nostrum ubique absque theloneo 
faciant sicut carta Domini Henrici regis avi nostri quam iidem 
Abbas et Conventus inde hunc testatur ; Et quod ipsi et eorum 

^ Llanddew, two miles north-east of Brecon, where are the ruins 
of an occasional residence of the Bishops of St. David's. Giraldos 
the Archdeacon resided there. Buck g^ves a drawing of the ruins. 
For an account of the parish and the church, see Jones' History of 
Brechnockehirfiy vol. ii, p. 147, and Arch. Camb.y vol. iv, p. 277, 4th 
Series. 



290 CARTULARIUM PRIORATUS 

successores in perpetuum habeant amerciamenta omnium homi- 
num suorvm coram quibuscunque justiciariis vicecomitibus aut 
aliis ballivis nostris amerciati fuerint et quod habeant catalla 
fugitivorum et suspensorum et quonmicumque dampnatonim 
qui de ipsis tenuerint et etiam catalla forinsecorum qui infra 
libertatem ipsorum judicati fuerint que quidem catalla infra 
libertatem ipsorum cum ipsis malefactoribus inventa fuerint ; Et 
quod habeant pecuniam de hominibus suis que ad murdrum per- 
tinet, Et quod cedentibus vel decedentibus abb[at]ibus ejusdem 
loci ipsi Monachi habeant custodiam Abbatie sue et omnium 
terrarum et tenementorum ad ipsam pertinencium et liberam 
administracionem de omnibus rebus et possessionibus ad eandam 
Abbaciam pertinentibus et quod Abbatem sibi perficiant de se 
ipsis secundum formam electionum de prelatis que est in regno 
nostro sine impedimento et contradictione nostri et heredum 
nostronim et omnium ballivorum nostrorum petita tunc a nobis 
et heredibus nostris licencia eligendi et optenta et facta electione 
assensu nostro requisite et optento omnes etiam donationes liber- 
tates quietancias et consuetudines per cartas predecessorum nos- 
trorum regum Anglie et aliorum fidelium eis concessas cum 
omnibus predictis present! carta nostra predictis Abbati et Con- 
ventui cellis suis regali auctoritate concedimus et confirmavimus 
sicut predicte carte plenius testantur. Quare volumus et firmi- 
ter precipimus pro nobis et heredibus nostris quod predicti 
Abbas et Conventus et eorum successores inperpetuum habeant 
et teneant has predictas donationes et concessiones libertates 
quietancias et consuetudines bene in pace libere quiete et inte- 
gre cum predicta custodia et administracione et eleccione et cum 
omnibus aliis predictis sicut predictum est, Et prohibemus super 
forisfacturam nostram ne aliquis justiciarius, vicecomes, consta- 
bularius, forestarius, viridarius aut aliqui alii ballivi nostri vel 
eorum ministri in aliquo se intromittant contra banc concessio- 
nem nostram de terris redditibus et possessionibus vel homini- 
bus predictorum Abbatis et Conventus quia ipsos et hominos 
suos, terras, res, redditus et omnes possessiones suas in specialeni 
protectionem et defensionem nostram suscepimus hiis testibus. 
Petro de Mabaud, Johanne Mannseir, preposito de Beverlac, 
Magistro Willelmo de Kilkenni, archidiacono conventus, Philippo 
Lunell*, Bertramo de CryoU*, Johanne Grey, Johanne de Lexton, 
Eoberto Wallerand, Henrico de Wyngham, Stephano Banzzon, 
Nicholao de Sancto Mauro, Willelmo Germin, et aliis. Data per 
manum nostram apud Westmonasterium x® die Junii anno regni 
nostri xxxvii®." 



S. JOHANNIS EVANG. DE BRECON. 291 



Further charter to Battle Abbey, 20 May, 54 Henry II I, a.d. 1270 : 

" Henricu8 Dei gratia Rex Anglie, Dominus Hibemie et Dux 
Aquitanie, &c. sicut in priori (carta) erat tenor sub priori sigillo 
nostro quo tunc utebamur quod quia post modum mutatnm est 
cartam predictam sigillo quo nunc utimur duximus consignandam. 
Nos autem predictas donaciones concessioues quasi tantas ratas 
habentes et gratas et eisdem Abbati et Conventui gratiam volen- 
tes facere specialem concedimus eis quod licet ipsi aliquibus 
libertatibus et quietanciis contentis in cartis suis quibuscunque 
eis a predecessoribus nostris regibus Anglie et nobis concessis 
minus pro bono hue usque usi fuerint, eisdem libertatibus et 
quietanciis de cetero utantur sine contradictione vel impedi- 
mento nostri et heredum nostrorum vicecomitum sen ballivorum 
nostrorum quorumcumque ; Concessimus et eisdem Abbati et 
Conventui quod habeant et percipiant omnia amerciamenta sua 
et hominum suorum et fines et redemptiones eonindem homi- 
num suorum ad nos vel beredes nostros ratione cujuscunque 
delicti pertinentes salvis nobis et heredibus nostris finibus quos 
eundem Abbatem et successores suos Abbates loci predicti nobis- 
cum facere contigerit. Et quod idem Abbas et Conveutus habe- 
ant retomum omnium brevium nostrorum tam de summonicione 
scaccarii nostri quam de aliis libertatem suam predictam contin- 
gentibus, et quod respondeant ad idem scaccarium de omnibus 
debitis, summonicionibus et demandis eandem libertatem tan- 
gentibus, ita quod nuUus vicecomes sen alius ballivus vel minis- 
terii nostri aliquas districtiones, summoniciones aut alia facienda 
que ad ofBcium eorum pertinent nisi per defectum predicti Ab- 
batis vel ballivorum suorum ita tamen quod idem Abbas de fini- 
bus quos nobiscum fecerit nobis respondeat ad scaccarium nos- 
trum, et si aliquo casu contingerent hujusmodi fines amerciamenta 
et redemptiones hominum suorum predictorum per ballivos nos- 
tros vel heredum nostrorum contigerit : Volumus et concedimus 
pro nobis et heredibus nostris quod hujusmodi amerciamenta 
fines et redemptiones per ballivos nostros vel heredum nostro- 
rum coUecta sen recepta sicut predictum est eisdetn Abbati et 
Conventui et successoribus suis per visum thesaurarii nostri qui 
pro tempore fuerit sine diminutione aliqua restituantur, hiis tes- 
tibus venerabilibus patribus, W. Eboraci archiepiscopo, Anglie 
primatu,Winton* et Wigom*episcopis, Roberto Walerand, Roberto 
a Guylim, Willelmo de Winterphull, Ricardo Mounet, Radulpho 
Bakepur, Rogero de Wanton*, Waltero de Burges' et aliis ; Da- 
tum per manum nostram apud Westmonasterium vicesimo die 
Maii anno regni nostri quinquagesimo quarto." 

4th 8KB., VOL. XTII. 19 



292 CARTULARIQM PRIORATUS 



Taxation of ecclesiastical possessions of the Convent in the arch- 
deaconry of Brecon : 

" Taxatio^ Ecclesiarum secundum verum valorem in Archidiaco- 
natu Brechonie anno regni regis Edwardi xix^ intrante vice- 
simo. 
Ecclesia Brechonie xxli., decima xls., porcio prioris xxxviiis. 
Ecclesia de Haya xiiiilL decima xxviiis., porcio prioris xviiis. viiid. 
Ecclesia de Sancto Eguino^ (camerarius) xli., decima xxs., porcio 

prioris xs. 
Ecclesia Delgard* xviiili., decima xxxvis., porcio prioris xixs., 

sacrista iiis. 
Ecclesia de Mara* viiili., decima xvis., porcio prioris viiis. 
Ecclesia de Devennoc^ xviilL vis. viiid., decima xxxiiiis. viiii, 

porcio prioris xis. vid. ob. 
Porcio Prioris Brechonie de Straddewy* vis. viiid. 
Decima prioris Brechonie de temporalibus et animalibus lis. xid. 

ob. 
Prior Brechonie habet in bonis temporalibus et animalibus in 

Archidiaconatu Brechonie xxvli. xixs. iiiid., unde decima ut 

supra. 

Summa totalis porcionum Prioris Ixxvis. xid. 

Porcio Prioris de Ecclesia de Haya secundum taxacionem Nor- 
wycensem (scilicet) due partes ipsius Ecdesie vii marcas 
xviis. ob. qua, 

Porcio camerarii de Sancto Eguino s. media pars iii marcas iiiis. 

Porcio prioris de Tjdgarth s. due partes viii marcas viiis. xd. 

Porcio prioris de Mara s. media pars xxxvs. vid. ob. 

Porcio prioris de dominico de Straddewy ii marcas. 

Porcio prioris de Scatheroc^ vis. viiid. 

Porcio prioris de Devenoc s. tercia pars iiii marcas vs. xid. 

Prior respondebit de Brechonia xi marcas ixs. id. 

Summa totall' porcionum contingent' priorum xxxix 
marcas xiis. qu* 
Tnde quintadeciraa patet per subscripta : 

Porcio prioris de Ecclesia de Haya vis. vid. 

Porcio camerarii de Sancto Eguino iiis. 

^ In 1288 Pope Nicholas IV granted the tenths to King Edward 
for six years, towards defraying the expense of an expedition to the 
tioly Land; and that they might be collected to their full valae, a 
taxation was begnn by the King's precept in that year, and finished, 
as to the province of Canterbury, in 1291. 

Llanigon. ^ Talgarth. * Llangorse. ^ Devynoc. 

• Ystradwy. ^ Scethrog. 



8. JOHANNIS EVANG. DE BRECON. 293 

Porcio prioris de Talgarth viis. viiid. ob. 
Porcio prioris de Mara iis. iiiid. ob. 
Porcio de Straddewy xxid. qu* 
Porcio prioris de Scatheroc vd. ob. 
Porcio prioris de Devennoc iiis. xid. qu* 
Porcio prioris de Brechonia xis. xd. qu* 

Summa xxxviis. viid. qu* 
Vicesima secundum Taxacionem eandem : 
Porcio prioris de Haya iiiis. ixd. 
Porcio camerarii de Sancto Eguino iis. iid. ob. qu* 
Porcio prioris de Talgarth vs. ixd. 
Porcio prioris de Mara xxid. qu* 
Porcio prioris de Straddewy xid. 
Porcio prioris de Scatheroc iiiid. 
Porcio prioris de Devennoc iis. iiid. ob. 
Porcio prioris de Brechonia viiis. xd. qu* 

Summa xxvs. id." 

Nanvich taxation of ecclesiastical possessions of the Convent in 
tlie archdeaconry of Brecon and in the diocese of Hereford : 

" TaxaUo NortKwicerms^ pro anno, 

" Ecclesia de Haya viili. iis. iid. ob. solvat Priori pro rata duarum 
pertinentiis omnibus excepto procuracione archidiaconi et ac 
porcio prioris iiii[li] xiiis. ixd. ob. 

Ecclesia Sancti Eguini iiiili. viiis. xd. ob. solvat priori pro rata 
medio partis excepto procuracione archidiaconi et cinodale.* 

Ecclesia de Talgarth xli. xiiis. iiiid. in universe. In ista Taxa- 
cione tenetur precentor Gloucestrie pro rata xls. caveat sa- 
crista prioris. 

Ecclesia de Mara iiili. ixs. id. In universo respondeat vicarius 
pro medietate extraordiuariorum et solvat procuracionera ar- 
chidiaconi et cinodalem. 

Ecclesia de Straddewy respondeat priori pro rata duarum mar- 
carum. In extraordinario." 

" Ecclesia de Sancta Brigida* porcio prioris xxs. considerandum 
vtrum tantum valet ad opus prioris. 

^ Pope Innocent XXII gave the first fruits and tenths of all eccle- 
siastical benefices in 1253 to King Henry III for three years, which 
occasioned a taxation in the following year, sometimes called ** The 
Norwich Taxation", and sometimes "Pope Innocent's Valor." 

2 For synodale, a tax payable to the bishop by the clergy who 
attended the yearly synod. 

' Llansantfread juxta Usk. 

19 ■ 



294 CARTULARIUM PRIORATUS 

Ecclesia de Devennoc viiili xviis. ixA Respondeat prior pro 
rata tertie partis in omnibus. 

Ecclesia de Brechonia viiili. xviis, ixd. ob. respondeat prior pro 
rata in omnibus. 

Porcio prioris de Ecclesia de Mara ad decimam solvendam secun- 
dum Norwic* ixs. viid. 

Porcio prioris de ecclesia de Sancto Eguino iiiis. vid. 

Porcio Prioris de Talgarth xis. viid. Inde porcio sacriste ibidem 
iiiis. 

Porcio prioris de Mara iiis. vid. ob, qu'a. Inde porcio sacriste 
xiid. 

Porcio prioris de Stradewy iis. viiid. 

Porcio prioris de Scatheroc viiid. 

Porcio prioris de Devennoc vs. xid. 

Porcio prioris de Ecelesia de Breehonia xviis, ixd. ob. Inde por- 
cio precentor Glovemie* iia 
* Q. a gollwyd dalen yma.'* 

Estimatio que prior de Kylpeke' habet de decimis Garbarum in- 
fra limites parochie de Bodenham* que estimantur per annum 
Iiiis. iiiid. 

Estimatio Prioris Hereford habet decimas Garbarum infra limites 
ejusdem parochie que estimantur per annum xls. 

Estimatio prioris Leministre'^ habet decimas Garbarum infra 
limites ejusdem parochie que estimantur per annum xxs. 

Estimatio Rectoris de Pudlesdone* habet decimas Garbarum in- 
fra limites ejusdem parochie que estimantur per annum xxs. 

Summa vili. xiiis. iiiid. 

Estimatio Vicarius ejusdem loci percipit terciam partem omnium 
decimarum personalium et predialium que estimantur per 
annum vili. xiiis. iiiid. quas recepit in ecclesia de Bodenham 
que integre taxata est communibus annis ad xxli. 

Landewycum^ secundum Taxationem Norwycensem ii mai'cas. 

Item eadem ecclesia secundum verum valorem vi marcas. 

^ Gloucester. * Is a leaf missing here ? 

" Kilpeck and the followiug (except Llanddewi r' cwm and Llan- 
vair) are in the diocese of Hereford. 

* In Pope Nicholas' taxation the parish of Bodenham is as follows : 

Taxatio. Dedma. 

'* Ecclesia de Bodenham est Prior Brecon - £13 6 8 £16 8 

Porcio Vicarii in eadem - - -500 10 

Porcio Prioris de Kylpec - - - 1 2 

Porcio Prioris Hereford in eadem - -100 020 

Porcio Prioris Leom' in eadem - -034 004 

Porcio persone de Puddlesdon in eadem - 10 10 

Porcio vicarii de Pel ton in eadem - 3 4 4 

* Leominster, dioc. Heref. • Pnddlestone, dioc. Heref. 
7 Llanddewi'r cwm. 



S. JOHANNIS EVANG. DE BRKCON. 295 

Lanveypi secundum Taxationem Norwycensem ii marcas. 
Item eadem ecclesia ad verum valorem vi marcas. 
Porcio Prioris Brechonie in Diocese Herefordense. 
Porcio ejusdem in Ecclesia de Hopton Wafre* vis. viiid. 
Porcio ejusdem in Ecclesia de Humbre* xxs. 
Porcio ejusdem in Bruneshope* xxxiiis. iiid. 
Ecclesia de Bodenham xiiili. vis. viiid. 
Temporalia ejusdem ixli. xvs. Mobilia ejusdem xs.^ 

Summa xxvili. xis. viiid. 

Vnde decima viis. iid. 

Med' decima xxvis. vid. q' di' qu'a. 
Litera aquietantur quintadecima portat vli. tresde- 
cimo ...s. id. ob." 

Johriy son of Regiiudd Fitz Peter, refers to a decision that the 
churches of Llangorse and Talgarth belonged to the Prior, and that 
the churches of Cathedine and Llanelieu belonged to Peter Fitz Her- 
bert : 

" Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos presens scriptum perve- 
nerit Johannes filius et heres Eeginaldi filij Petri dominus de 
Blaeynleveny et Dynas salutem in Domino Noveritis quod cum 
retroactis temporibus inter nobilem virum Petrum filium Her- 
berti® et magistrum Johannem de Walingford clericum suum ac 

^ Llanfair yn Buelfc or Bailtb. 

• Archdeaconry of Salop. * Hamber. * Brinsop. 

^ " Prior de Bricoti — £ %, d. 

Habet apnd Beritone in Parochia de Themedeburie duas 

carncatas terre et valent per ami am 
£t de redditu assise ibidem 
Et de nno molendino ibidem 
Et de vendicione bo«ci per annum . 
Et de perquisitis curie ibidem 
Et de nno colnmbano ibidem 

Summa 
Decima 

De mobilibns Prioris de Brecon : 
Idem babet ibidem sex vaccas et exitus earum valet per 

annum - - - - - 9 

Decima lOid.** 
(Tax. Eccl. P. Nickolai, p. 16'^.) 

® Herbert Fitz Herbert married Lucy, one of the daughters of 
Milo Earl of Hereford. Their son, Peter Fitz Herbert, married 
(6 John, 1203) Alice, daughter of Robert Fitz Roger; and, as his 
second wife, Isabel, one of the daughters of the last William de Bra- 
ose. After the exile of William de Braose the elder. King John 
granted to Peter Fitz Herbert the third part of the land of Breck- 







. 1 









. 6 13 


4 






. 1 









13 


4 






. 6 


8 






■ 1 


8 


;9 15 









19 


6 







296 CAKTULARIUM PKIOKATUS 

[Herbertum] dicti domini Petri heredem ex una parte et religio- 
sos viros Priorem et Conventum Brechonie Meiievensis Dyocesis 
ex altera super aduocationibus de Mara, de Talgarth, Kethedyn^ 
et Langelew* ecclesiarum coram judicibus a sede apostolica dele- 
gatis mota contentio super formam hac cedata* fuisset quod 
idem Dominus Petnis pro se et heredibus suis ac dicto magis- 
tro J^^ohanne] jus dictorum religiosorum in dictis Ecclesiis de 
Mara et de Talgarth recognoverit et jura quod in eisdem habue- 
runt ecclesiis renunciaverit expresse, Dicti vero religiosi jura si 
quod in alijs duabus ecclesijs Kethedyn videlicet et Langelow 
^iquo modo habuerunt penitus renunciarent : Ita quod dicto 
Petro et heredibus suis qui pro tempore fuerint liceret ad ipsas 
cum vacarent libere presentare ; et ijdem religiosi duos Clericos 
ydoneos per eundem nobilem et heredes suos presentatos reci- 
pere tenerentur in ejusdem domus monachos et fratres qui pro 
predicto Petro predecessoribus et antecessoribus suis divina oflS- 
cia celebrarent et illis decedentibus vel aliqua causa a domo sua 
ejectis dicto nobili et ejus heredibus liceret alios duos ydoneos 
clericos eisdem priori et Conventui presentare qui ad ipsorum 
receptionem ut premittitur tenerentur. Ego predictus J[ohan- 
nes] supradictam compositionem quoad advocacionem ecclesia- 
rum predictarum ratam habens et sanctam, eam una cum omni- 
bus alijs libertatibus ecclesiarum advocacionibus et quibuscunque 
alijs donationibus per antecessores meos in puram et perpetuam 
elemosinam antedictis religiosis datis seu concessis pro me et 
heredibus meis presenti scripto confirmo et in suo robore perma- 

nock, inclading Blaenleveny and Talgarth. In 1215, Giles de Bra- 
ose, Bishop of Hereford, ejected Peter from the lands so granted. 
{Brut y Tywysogion^ p. 283.) On the Bishop's death, soon after- 
wards, all the lands late of William de Braose were taken into the 
King's custody ; and on his return to allegiance in 1 Henry III 
(1216), granted to Reginald de Braose, who was afterwards directed 
to deliver to Peter Fitz Herbert the castle of Blaenlevenny and all 
other his lands in the honor of Brecon, of which he was disseis&ed 
on occasion of the war with the barons. {Close Rolhy vol. i, pp. 312, 
316.) Peter died 19 Henry III, leaving Isabel his widow, and 
Herbert Fitz Peter, his son, his heir. Herbert died in 32 Henry III 
(1247), leaving Reginald Fitz Peter, his brother, his heir. Reginald 
died 14 Edward (1285), and was sacceeded by his son John, who 
was summoned to Parliament from 25 Edward I to 1 Edward II. 
(Dugd., Baronage^ 624; D., J/on., ii, pp. QQ^ 325.) 

^ Cathedine, a parish in Breconshire, in which the castle of Blain- 
Ueveny, or Blanllyffni, stood. 

* Probably Llanelieu. 

' Low Latin schedata or cedita, in the sense that it was testified, 
or judgment given. 



8. J0HANNI8 EVANO. DE BRECON. 297 

nere decerno : considerans diversa pericula que tractu temporis 
futuri occasione predicte presentacionis et receptionis hujusmodi 
clericorum ex utraque parte possint oboriri in favorem dictorum 
religiosorum et pro salute anime mee et animarum antecesso- 
rum et heredum meorum predictam presentacionem clericorum 
ad mouachatum eisdem religiosis et eoru^ successoribus in per- 
petuum remitto per presentes et ipsos a recepcione talium cleri- 
corum de cetero quietos clamo. Ita quod nee ego nee here- 
des mei nee aliquis per nos aliquid juris vel clamij in predicta 
presentacione per me et heredes meos faciendum de cetero 
habere et exigere poterimus inperpetuimi. Predicti vero religiosi 
et eorum successores duos monachos de prioratu suo predicto 
assignabunt qui pro salute anime mee et successorum et heredimi 
meorum divina officia celebrabunt quos vel quem priori ipsius 
loci amovere licebit et alium vel alios loco ipsorum vel ipsius pro 
voluntate sua assignare non obstantibus aliquibus compositio 
nibus inter antecessores meos et Abbates de Bello et priorem et 
conventum Brechonie factis temporibus retroactis. In cujus rei 
testimonium huic presenti scripto sigillum meum apposuL hijs 
testibus dominis Rogero Py chard, Johanne de Crofte, Johanne le 
Bret, militibus ; Rogero Gunter, Johanne Poleyn, et alijs." 

Johthy son of Reginald Fitz Peter, confirms his previous deeds, 
reserving to hhnsdf and his heirs the choice of two of the tnonks 
(the Prior excepted) of the Priory to say prayers for him and his 
heirs : 

" Universis sancte matris ecclesie filiis ad quos litere presentes 
pervenerint Johannes filius et heres Reginaldi filii Petri domini 
de Bleynleveny et de Dynas salutem in Domino sempitemam. 
Noveritis quod cum religiosi viri et prior et conventus Brecho- 
nie Menevensis Dyocesis ex forma cujusdam compositionis inter 
nobilem virum Dominum Petrum filium Herberti antecessorem 
meum et eosdem religiosos super diversis articulis facte, duos 
clericos ydoneos per eundem nobilem virum Petrum et heredes 
sues eisdem religiosis presentatos in monachos et fratres ejus- 
dem domus ad celebrandum divina ofBcia pro predicto Petro 
antecessoribus et successoribus suis ac illis decedentibus vel ali- 
qua causa a domo sua ejectis vel amotis, alios duos ydoneos cle- 
ricos loco priorum pro animabus dicti Petri et aliorum predicto- 
rum ad idem faciendum ad presentacionem dicti domini Petri et 
heredum suorum recipere teneantur Ego predictus Johannes 
supradictam compositionem quoad omnes alios articulos in ea- 
dem contentos ratam hijs et acceptam cam pro me et heredibus 
meis presenti scripto confirmo et in suo robore permanere de- 



298 CARTULARIUM PRIORATUS 

cemo ; considerans diversa pericula que tractu temporis futuro 
occasione predicte presentationis et receptionis hujusmodi deri- 
corum inter dictos religosos et me seu heredes meos possint ob- 
oriri in favurem dictorum religiosorum et pro salute anime mee 
et animarum antecessorum et successorum predictam presenta- 
cionem clericorum ad'monachatum eisdem religiosis et eorum 
successoribus inperpetuum remitto per presentes et ipsos religio- 
808 a recepcione talium clericorum de cetero quietos clamo : Ita 
quod nee ego nee heredes mei vel aliquis per nos aliquid juris 
vel clamij in predicta clericorum presentacione per me et here- 
des meos faciendum de cetero habere vel exigere poterimus in 
perpetuum : predicti vero religiosi et eorum successores duos 
monachos de prioratu suo predicto quos ego dictus Johannes et 
heredes mei per nos vel per quendam alium certum a nobis ad 
hoc specialiter assignatum de eodem conventu et in prioratu 
predicto persona prioris duntaxat excepta duxerimus eUgendos 
assignabunt qui pro salute anime mee antecessorum et heredum 
meorum divina officia celebrabunt, quos vel quern priori ipsi 
amovere licebit et alium vel alios loco ipsomm vel ipsius per me 
tamen seu heredes meos an per alium per nos ad hoc ut premit- 
titur deputatum eligendum vel eligendos assignare vel etiam 
abrogare pro voluntate sua assignare non obstantibus aliquibus 
compositionibus inter antecessores meos et Abbates de Bello et 
priorem et Conventum Brechonie factis temporibus retroactis. 
In cujus rei testimonium huic presenti scripto sigillum dicti pri- 
oratus conventuale est appulsum hija testibus dominis Eogero 
Py chard, Johanne de Crofte, Johanne le Bret, militibus, Kogero 
Gunter, Johanne Poleyn et alijs. Istam cartam habet Dominus 
Johannes filius Reginaldi signatam sigillo comnmni prioratus 
Brechonie quequam valoris nullius est quia sigillum nostrum 
non concoixiat litere ; Nee aliam habet cartam de contrario duo- 
rum monachorum de Brechonia." 

John, son of Beginald, grants to the Priory a free court, with 
jtirisdiction over their men (saving his rights within the forest of 
Talgarth), also common of pasture in the same forest, ivith lantdfor 
collecting their animals, and certain tithes arising in Talgarth : 

" Sciant presentes et futuri quod ego Johannes fiKus et herea 
Reginaldi dominus de Blaynleveny et Dynas concessi et hac 
presenti carta confirmavi mea pro me et heredibus meis in libe- 
ram et puram et perpetuam elemosinam et pro salute anime 
mee antecessorum et successorum meorum Deo et beate Marie 
et Ecclesie Sancti Johannis. Evangeliste de Brechonia et mona- 
chis Deo servientibus et servituris quod habeant liberam curiam 
suam de omnibus hominibus suis de omnibus querelis, atachia- 



S. JOHANNIS EVANG. Dfi BRECON. 299 

mentis qualitercunque contingentibus vel provenientibus excepto 
quod DOS et heredes nostri habeamus atachiamenta et placita in 
curia nostra de Talgarth de venacione et de viridi bosco de homi- 
nibus dictorum religiosorum dum tamen infra bundas foreste 
nostre de Talgarth atachiari possint per forestarios nostros jura- 
tos secundum quod consuetum est et usitatum fuit temporibus 
antecessorum nostrorum. Concedo etiam pro me et heredibus 
meis supradictis monachis et eorum successoribus quod habeant 
communem pasturam omnimodis animalibus suis proprijs per 
totam forestam de Talgarth exceptis paucis clausis. Concedo 
etiam supradictis monachis duas acras terre ad edificandum et 
recettandum dicta animalia sua apud Gronovawr^ juxta Frudlas. 
Concedo etiam supradictis monachis pro me et heredibus meis 
decimam pullanorum nostrorum et heredum nostrorum de equi- 
cijs nostris ubicunque in terra de Talgarth existentibus : Et quia 
volo quod hec mea donatio et carte mee confirmatio rata, stabi- 
lis et inconcussa pennaneat imperpetuum huic presenti scripto 
sigillum meum apposui^ hijs testibus dominis Lewlino de la Pole, 
Rogero Pychard, Johanne de Crofte, Johanne le Bret, Ricardo le 
Bret, militibus, Galfrido Clement, Bertram de Lanivilt, Magistro 
Johanne Vicario de Talgarth, Madoco ap Traham, David ap Tra • 
ham, Traharn ap Kadugan et multis alijs." 

Confirmation by Hxtmphrey de Bohun, son of Humphrey de 
Bohun and Bleanor de Braose, of the grants to the Priory by his 
ancestors : 

"Sciant presentes et futuri quod ego Humfridus de Boun^ 
filius Humfridi de Boun et Alienore de Breosa pro salute anime 
mee antecessorum et successorum meorum Concedo et hac pre- 
senti carta mea confirmo Deo et Beate Marie Ecclesie Sancti 
Johannis Brechonie et monachis meis ibidem Deo servientibus 
et servituris quidcunque antecessores mei; scilicet Bemardus 
de Novo Mercato fundator ipsius ecclesie et Mylo* Comes, et 
Eogerus Comes Hereford, Waltenis Henricus,^ Maelus,^ et Wil- 

* ITie Breconshire side of the valley of Qwryne fawr. Frndlas is, 
perhaps, '* Ffordlas'* of the Ordnance Survey. 

* This deed is printed in Dugdale*s Moyiasticon, torn, i, p. 823, with 
a reference to " Carta", 16 Edward II, No. 8, per " Inspeximas*'. 

^ Hnraphrey de Bohan was eighteen on the death of his father 
(51 Henry III, a.d. 1267). On the death of-his grandfather in 1274, 
he succeeded to the title of Earl of Hereford and Essex. The date 
of this deed may, therefore, be aboat 1270. 

* Milo Fitz Walter. 

* Younger brothers of Roger Earl of Hereford. 



300 CARTULARIUM PRIORATUS 

lelmus de Breosa avus meus^ et heredes eorum illis dederunt et 
cartis suis confiimayeiunt secuudum quod Carte Beginaldi de 
Breosa testantur in ecclesijs et pertinentiis earum in decimis 
terris, in hominibus, in burgagijs, in Bui^nsibus, in bosco, in 
piano, in molendinis, in piscatoribus et in omnibus possessioni- 
bus et in omnibus libertatibus et liberis consuetudinibus tenenda 
et habenda libere et quiete ab omni servicio terreno sicut carte 
antecessorum meorum testantur et ut hec mea concessio et con- 
firmacio rata sit et inconcussa earn sigilli mei muuimine robo- 
ravi hijs testibus Dominis, Roberto le Wafre, Gilberto de Bonn, 
Henrico de Sumery, Johanne le Bret, Johanne de Scalariis,^ 
militibus, Howelo filio Meur[ic], Roberto de Burchell', Bartholo- 
meo de Lambilio* et alijs." 

Herbert Fitz Peter grants to the Priory a right of fishing in 
JUangorse Lake, lands in the same parish, and a rent, in the nature 
of tithes, ai^ng from profits of the Castle of BlaenUyffni : 

" Sciant presentes et futuri quod ego Herebertus filius Petri* 
concessi et hac preseuti carta mea confirmavi pro me et heredi- 
bus meis et pro salute anime mee et antecessorum et heredum 
meorum in Hberam puram et perpetuam elemosinam Deo et 
Ecclesie Sancti Johannis Evangeliste de Brechonia et monacbis 
ibidem Deo servientibus et servituris Piscacionem in Mara tribus 
diebus in Ebdomada, et cotidie in Quadragesima, et cotidie in 
Adveutu cum una cimba* Concessi etiam totam terram Pente- 
navel® et totam terram Sancti Peulini^ que annuatim eisdem 
monachis unam marcam reddere solebat Et pasturam terre 
juxta villam Walkelini® quam idem monachi assaxtaverunt® libe- 
ras et quietas unde fuit dissentio inter patrem meum et ipsos 
monaclios et postea concordia facta fuit. Preterea concessi et 
confirmavi eisdem monachis redditus quinque marcarum quas 
recipere debent annuatim nomine decimarum proventuum et ex- 
pensarum castri mei de Blaynl[eveny] ad tres anni terminos sci- 
licet ad festum Sancti Alichaelis xxij s. iij denar', et ad Cami- 

^ William de Braose, who married Eve, daughter of William Earl 
Mareschal. Their daughter Eleanor married Humphrey de Bohnu. 
2 Scales. ^ Llanvillo. 

* Herbert Fitz Peter died in 1247 (see note, ante, p. 295). 
^ A fishing boat. 

^ Pentanafel, near Garn y Castell. (Ordnance Survey.) 

^ Llan yn y Gors (the church in the marsh) is sometimes, in old 

charters, called St. Paulinus juxta Mara. (Jones, Breckn,) 

8 Trewalkin, on the old road which leads from Talgarth to Gen- 

fford under Castell Dinas. 

• Ridded, or bi-ought into cultivation. 



S. JOHANNIS EVANG. DE BRECON. 301 

priviumi xxijs. iijA et ad festum Sancti Ethelberti xxijs. iij denar'. 
Concessi etiam spontanea voluntate mea quod mens ballivus in 
partibus meis de Brechonia quicunque ille fuerit absque omni 
contradiccione sentenciam excommuuicationis incurrat, si a solu- 
cione decimarum quinque marcarum in toto vel in parte ad pre- 
dictos tres dies cessaverit. Concessi etiam et confirmavi pro me 
et heredibus meis triginta acras terre cum pertinentiis quas Ysa- 
bella filia Gilberti quondam uxor Laurencij dictis monachis 
dedit et confirmavit, et sex acras terre cum pertinentiis quas 
Matildis Le Hagurner eisdem monachis dedit et contirmavit Et 
quinque acras terre cum pertinentiis quas Margareta filia Gegery 
Le Hagurner eisdem monachis dedit ad sustentacionem paupe- 
rum Et sex acras terre quas Alicia de Putangle eisdem dedit 
ad sustentacionem pauperum Et quatuor acras terre quas Ma- 
tildis Le Hagurner eisdem cum corpore suo legavit Et duas 
acras terre quas Willelmus le Surdeval eisdem cum corpore suo 
legavit. Concessi etiam dictis monachis triginta et novem acras 
terre cum pertinentiis quas Margareta filia Gegerry Le Hagurner 
eisdem de(Mt quas salvo jure cujuslibet eisdem monachis confir- 
mavi ; Et quod volo quod hec mea concessio et carte mee confir- 
macio firma et stabilis imperpetuum permaneat presentem car- 
tam sigilli mei impressione confirmavi: hijs testibus Domino 
Eeginaldo filio Petri, Domino Roberto le Wafre, Domino Eogero 
Pichard, Domino Petro de Watevile, Domino Johanne le Walde- 
boef, Domino Willelmo de Turbervill, Domino Nicholao filio 
Arnaldi, Domino Johanne de Gynes, Domino Matheo Croc, Gal- 
frido Clerico, Eoberto Gunter, Mahel le Bret et multis alijs.^'* 

AgreemeTvt of the Prior, with assent of Humphrey de Bohun^Earl 
of Hereford, with his burgesses of Brecon, for the payment by them 
to the Prior of ten marcs yearly as tithes on the farm, or rent, of 
their tovm. Swnday next before 1 January 1305 (33 Edward T) : 

''Anno ab incarnacione Domini mcccv'o et regni Eegis Ed- 
wardi filij Henrici Eegis tricesimo tertio die dominica proxima 
ante Nativitatem Beate Marie Virginis de assensu et volun- 
tate nobilis viri domini Humfridi de Bonn Comitis Here- 
ford et domini Brechonie facta fuit convencio inter dominum 
priorem et conventum Ecclesie Sancti Johannis Evangeliste 
Brechonie ex una parte et suis Burgensibus communitatis ejus- 
dem ville Brechonie ex altera videlicet quod cum dicti Burgenses 

^ The first days of the season of Lent ; soraetimes Septaagesima 
Sunday, because from that day ecclesiastics abstained from eating 
meat. {DicL de diplomatique chreti^nne.) 

2 Printed in Dugdale's Man,, torn, i, p. 323. Date, 123447. 



302 CARTULARIUM PRIORATUS 

a solucione decern marcarum in quibus pro decima firme pre- 
dicte ville quam a domino Comite habent annuatim ad firmam 
pro certis marcis antedictis Priori et Conventni singulis annis 
de jure tenentur per aliquid tempus voluntarie se retraxissent, et 
ipsi Prior et Conventus antedictos Burgenses coram magistro 
Johanne Walewayn tunc Senescallo Comitis et Domino Philippo 
ap Howel et magistro Eeso fratre ejusdem Philippi per dominum 
Comitem specialiter associatis super hoc querelassent : Tandem 
dicti Burgenses ad vitandum labores et expensas recognoverunt 
se bona fide coram dicto Johanne et suis assessoribus predictis 
dictam decimam annuam decern marcarum firme predicte hac- 
tenus injuste detinuisse obligantes se et heredes suos per pre- 
sentes fide media ad solucionem dicte decime decem marcarum 
ratione dicte firme priori et conventui antedictis et eorum suc- 
cessoribus fideliter et sine diroinucione faciendam et integraliter 
percipiendam pro equali porcione scilicet quinque marcas ad fes- 
tum Sancti Michaelis et quinque marcas ad festum annunciacionis 
beate Marie proxime sequentem et sic deinceps singulis annis 
quamdiu dicti Burgenses firmam antedicte ville de domino Comite 
tenuerint excepto eo quod tempore communis guerre in Wal- 
banno^ artabuntur precise et solucionem dicte decime decem 
marcarum sed ad decimam ejus quod ipsi de exitu firme predicte 
poterunt levare assidentibus et compotum dictorum Burgencium 
audientibus aliquibus ex parte dictorum prioris et conventus 
quos ad hoc ipsi elegerint deputandis incipiente termino soluci- 
onis in festo Sancti Michaelis anno supradicto. Et si dicti Bur- 
genses a dicta solucione in parte vel in toto defecerint quod ab- 
sit. Concesserunt et expresse consenserunt unanimiter pro se 
et heredibus suis et suis successoribus quod Constabularius 
Brechonie qui pro tempore fuerit ipsos distringat sicut pro debito 
domini sui distringeret non soluto et si id facere noluerit quod 
liceat Domino Episcopo Menevensi vel Archidiacono Brechonensi 
seu officiaU alberutrius eorundem seu Decano Brechonie qui pro 
tempore fuerint ipsos excommunicare pemices solempniter de 
die in diem unica admonicione premissa donee per predictam 
communitatem Burgensem dictis religiosis de decem marcis an- 
nuis modo predicto et de dampnis interesse et expensas que 
equas dicti religiosi propter defectum solucionis dicte pecunie 
totalis vel partis ejusdem sustinuerunt plene fuerunt satisfactunu 
In cujus rei Testimonium utraque pars presenti scripto per mo- 
dum Cyrographi confecto sigilla sua alternatim apposuerunt. Et 
ad majorem hujus rei securitatem faciendam Dictus Comes ad 
supplicacionem et rogatum utriusque partis predicte sigillum 
suum apposuit Datum die et loco et anno supradictis hiis tes- 

^ In Wales, or under the Welsh standard. 



S. JOHANNIS EVANG. DE BRECON. 303 

tibus Dominis Eicardo de Baskervile, Grimbaldo Pauncefot, 
Hugone de Power, militibus, Johanne de Waldebuf, Johanne 
Poleyn, Waltero Havard, Johanne Gurdenal, et multis alijs." 

EocemplificcUion (% Hdward II) at the instance of Humphrey 
Earl of Hereford, of a royal mandate (^20 Edward I) on an inqui- 
sition before commissioners, dedariiig that the Prior and Convent 
were entitled to their free court and other liberties, and to tithes in 
town and land of BuUth. 

" Edwardus Dei gratia Rex Anglie, Dominus Hybemie, Dux 
Aquitanie, ad quos presentes litere pervenerint salutem. Con- 
stat nobis per inspexionem rotulorum cancellarie Edwardi 
quondam Regis Anglie patris nostri quod idem pater noster man- 
davit per brevem suum Johanni Gyffard tunc constabulario^ 
Castri sui de Buelt pro dilectis nobis in Christo priore et conven- 
tu de Brechonia in hec verba. Edwardus Dei gratia etc. Di- 
lecto et fideli suo Johanni Giffard constabulario Castri sui de 
Buelt salutem. Quia accepimus per inquisicionem quam nuper 
fecimus per dilectos et fideles nostros Rogerum de Burchull et 
Rogerum le Rous quos assignavimus ad audiendum querelas 
et rationes dilecti nobis in Christo prions Brechonie super deci- 
mis et super libera curia sua prisis cervisie et theloneo ad Eccle- 
siam suam Brechonie spectantibus quod predictus prior et con- 
ventus habuerunt et de jure habere debent liberam curiam suam 
de omnibus hominibus suis tam Burgensibus quam aUjs de omni- 
bus placitis querelis et atachiamentis quaUtercunque contingen- 
tibus una cum prisis et omnibus alijs ad homines suos spectan- 
tibus : Et quod si aliquis hominum dictorum prions et Conventus 
latrocinio ab aUquo alio delicto deprehensus ftierit sen aliquo alio 
modo judicatus sen rectatus quod in Curia dicti prions iudicabi- 
tur et quod omnia catalla talis deprehensi vel convicti dictis 
priori et conventui remanebunt, et quod sola execucio mortis et 
membrorum domino de Buelt remanebit ; et quod idem prior et 
Conventus habuerunt et de jure habere debent decimam de om- 
nibus redditibus placitis perquisitis finibus, redempcionibus donis 
vaccis de Calammoy' pannt^o et omnibus alijs prouentibus et 
exitibus quacunque et qualitercunque ad dictum castrum et terre 
de Buelt spectantibus et provenientibus et quod predicti Prior 
et Conventus habuerunt et de jure habere debent decimam om- 
nium prisarum^ ceruisie de villa et t^rra de Buelt ad dictum cas- 
trum spectantibus, et quod homines dictorum prions et conven- 

^ The cnstody of the castle was committed to him, 10 Edward I. 
> '^Calanmay*', the calend, or Ist May, a composition payable 
every other year to the lord for a certain number of cows. 
» Ale. 



304 CARTULARIUM PRIORATUS 

tus tarn Burgenses quam alij sunt liberi et esse debent ab omni 
theloneo quocunque et ubicunque emaut seu vendant ; et quod 
predict! prior et Conventus habuerunt et de jure habere debent 
decimam omnium expensarum castri de Buelt videlicet de pane 
decimum panem, de cervisia decimam lagenam^ sive fomeantur 
sive braceantur* in dicto castro sive exterius emantur undecun- 
que proveniat seu carietur sive ab Anglia sive aliunde, et deci- 
mum ferculum* de camibus et piscibus emptis seu alio modo ad 
dictum castrum adventis, et de omnimodis aliis expensis, tarn 
majoribus quam minoribus in dicto Castello vel alibi in terra de 
Buelt per dominum vel ballivos suos factis preter vinum et ce- 
ram de quibus juratores inquisicionis illius non viderunt dare 
decimam ut dicunt, et eciam quod dicti Prior et Conventus habu- 
erunt et de iure habere debent dextrum humerum de averiis et 
ovibus omnibus in dicto Castro mactatis, et de porco, capud, et 
quod predicti Prior et Conventus habuerunt et de jure habere 
debent decimum animalein de omnimodis animalibus quocumque 
modo provenientibus, Vobis mandamus, quod prefatos Priorem 
et Conventum omnia premissa pacifice et absque impediment© 
percipere et habere permittatis, et si quid de premissis eisdem 
Priori et Conventui a tempore quo custodia Castri predicti et 
dicte terre de Buelt ad manus vestras ex commissione nostra 
devenit detinueritis id eis sine dilacione aliqua liberetis, et hoc 
niiUo modo omittatis, ne querela ad nos per prefatos Priorem et 
Conventum inde decetero veniat ex hac causa. Teste me ipso 
apud Westm'r duodecimo die Januarii anno regni nostri vicesi- 
mo. Nos igitur ad instanciam dilecti et fidelis nostri Humfredi 
de Bohim Comitis Herefordie et Essex volentes securitati et 
quieti ipsorum Prioris et Conventus prospicere ne super premis- 
sis possint futuris temporibus indebite molestari irrotulamentum 
predictum tenore presencium duximus exeraplificandum volen- 
tes et concedentes quod iidem Prior et Conventus omnia et sin- 
gula premiasa decetero integre percipiant et habeant prout in 
predicto irrotulamento continetur sine occasione vel impediment© 
nostri seu ministrorum nostrorum quorumcumque In cujus etc. 
Teste Rege apud Westm* primo die Junij." 

ConfirmcUion of Ralph Bishop of Hereford to the church of St. 
John of titlies of grain and hay in vUl of Brinsop, Sept. 1237 : 

"Universis ad quos presens scriptum pervenerit Eadulphus* 
dei gratia Herefordensis Episcopus salutem in domino. Noverit 

^ Flagon. ^ Whether they are baked or brewed. 

^ Dish. The remainder of this docament is supplied from Patent 
Roll, Edward II, p. 2, m. 8. 

* Ralph de Maydenstane, appointed 80th Sept. 1234 ; resigned 
17th Dec. 1239. 



S. JOHANNIS EVANG. DE BRECON. 305 

universitas vestra quod nos divine pietatis intuitu contulimus 
deo et ecclesie beati Johannis de Brechonia et priori et monachis 
ibidem deo servientibus duas porciones decimarum bladi et foeni 
terrarum de dominico ville de Bruneshope. Et easdem decimas 
dictis priori et monachis sicut ipsas diu juste et pacifice possede- 
runt auctoritate episcopali confirmamus Et ut hec nostra dona- 
cio et confirmatio rata permaneat presenti scripto sigillum nos- 
trum fecimus apponi. Actum Anno Domini mccxxxvii mense 
Septembris." 

Confirmation^ hy the same Bishop, to the Priory of the yearly 
sum of bs,, payable by the church of Oledbury North, June 1238 : 

" Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos presens scriptum perve- 
nerit Radulphus dei gratia Herefordensis Episcopus salutem in 
domino etemam. Noverit universitas vestra nos contulisse et 
confirmasse divine miserationis intuitu priori et monachis Sancti 
Johannis de Brechonia quinque solidos annue pensionis quos ab 
antiquis temporibus percipere consuevenint de ecclesia de North- 
cleburi in Archidiaconatu Salopesyr. In cujus rei testimonium 
has litteras nostras patentes eis fieri fecimus. Valete. Actum 
Anno Domini mccxxx'mo, viii'vo mense Junio." 

Confirmation by the same Bishop to the Priory, of the yearly sum 
of 10s,, payable by the church of Hurnber : 

"Omnibus sancte matris ecclesie filijs ad quos presens scrip- 
tum pervenerit Radulphus divina miseratione Herefordensis 
ecclesie minister humilis salutem in domino. Noverit universi- 
tas vestra nos inspexisse cartas bone memorie Gilberti^ et Egidij^ 
predecessorum nostrorum In quibus continetur eos confirmasse 
et concessisse priori et monachis Sancti Johannis de Brechonia 
decem solidos annuos nomine pensionis de ecclesia de Humbre 
Nos vero eorum concessionem et confirmacionem ratam et gratam 
habentes eam autoritate episcopali confirmamus. Valete." 

Confirmation, by the Dean and Chapter of Hereford, of formjtr 
gravis of Bishops of Hereford to the Priory. October 1240 : 

'*Universis ad quos presens scriptum pervenerit Stephanus 
decanus et Capitulum Herefordense salutem in domine Eter- 
nam. Ad universitatis vestre notitiam volumus pervenire quod 
nos inspectis concessionibus et confirmationibus venerabiUum 

^ Gilbert Foliot, consecrated 5 Sept. 1148 ; translated to London, 
24 March 1162-3. 

2 Giles de Braose, consecrated 24 Sept. 1200; ob. 13 Nov. 1216. 



306 CARTULARIUM PKIORATUS 

patrum Roberti,i Gileberti, Episcoporum Herefordensium factis 
priori et conventui Brechonie de ecclesia de Bodeham una cum 
testimonio sigiUi nostri quod predictis vidimus appensum. In- 
spectis etiam concessionibus et confirmationibus eisdem ab anti- 
quis Episcopis Herefordensibus de duabus portionibus decimarum 
dominici de Bruneshop quas ab antiquis temporibus pacifice pos- 
siderunt et similiter de decern solidis amiue pensionis in ecclesia 
de Humbre cum jure patronatus ejusdem ecclesie et de quinque 
solidis annue pensionis de ecclesia de North Cleyburi ab antiquo 
obtentis et de decimis proprii sui dominici de Brecon cum dua- 
bus portionibus decimarum dominici de Hopton le Waflre. 
Supradicta omnia supradictis priori et conventui divine caritatis 
intuitu auctoritate nostri Capituli confirmamus Ad cujus rei 
memoriam huic scripto sigillum nostrum apposuimus. Actum 
apud Hereford' Anno Domini mccxL mense Octobris." 

Agreement of the Lady Nest, daiighter of Griffith^ to recognise the 
rigJU of the Prior and Convent to the mill and pool of Trosdref 
given hy Ralph de Baskervile : 

"Carta Neste filie GriffinL— Hec est conventio et finalis Con- 
cordia inter J. priorem Sancti Johannis de Breconia et dominam 
Nestam filiam Grifini' quam ad notitiam omnium volumus per- 
venire super molendino suo et gurgite de Trosdref* unde contro- 
versia inter ipsos mota fuerat. Nesta in pleno capitulo apud 
Breconiam coram domino Galfrido* Menevensi Episcopo recogno- 
vit jus prioris de Breconia et ejusdem loci conventus in predictis 
molendino et gurgite et quod noluit amplius elemosinam viri 

^ Robert de Bethun, Prior of Llanfchony, consecrated 28 June 
1131; ob. April 1148. 

2 The Lady Nest was probably a sister of Rhys np GriflBth, Prince 
of South Wales. Sir S. Rnsb Meyrick in a note (Herald, VisitntioiiSy 
vol. ii, p. 99) gives a pedigree, which differs from that of Lewya 
Dwnn, from a MS. in the Harleian Collection. This pedigree states 
that Griffith ap Rhys had two daughters by his wife Gwenllian, viz., 
Gwenllian and Nest. It is difficult to conjecture how Nest obtained 
any right to Trosdref Mill, for a subsequent document establishes 
the fact that Ralph de Baskerville held the tenement of Trosdref, 
of whioh the mill formed part, of the lords of Brecon prior to his 
grant of the mill to the Convent Theophilus Jones suggests that 
she was the wife or widow of Ralph de Baskerville. If his supposi- 
tion be correct, it is singular that he is not styled ** mariti" rather 
than " viri sui". See subsequent note as to the Baskerville family. 

' On the Llyfni, in Llandevaelog Tre'r graig. 

* Geoffrey, Prior of Llanthony, elected 10 Nov. 1203, ob. 1 14. 
So we have an approximate date for this document. 



S. JOHANNIS EVANG. DE BRECON. 307 

sui Eadulfi de Baskervile impedire recognitiun etiam fuit tunc 
ibidem priore et conventu consentiente et concedente quod Nesta 
super annuo censu unius marce quam predictus prior et conven- 
tus de predictis molendino et gurgite percipere solebant de totis 
reragijs preteriti temporis ex quo molendinum et gurgitem pos- 
sidere cepit ipsis plenarie satisfecerat. Necnon et quod de 
eodem censu toto tempore vite sue similiter se erga eosdem ad- 
quitaverat Post decessum vero ejusdem Neste predictum mo- 
lendinum in usus proprios prioris et conventus redire debet. 
Quoniam autem prior et Conventus ipsam in fratemitatem ora- 
tionis domus sue suscepit unam libram incensi ecclesie Sancti 
Johannis de Breconia in festo ejusdem singulis annis in tota vita 
sua donabit. XJt autem hoc ratum et perpetuo firmum perma- 
neat illud presenti scripto cyrographoque cum sigillorum suorum 
nonne et domini G. Menev. Episcopi appositione roboratur Hijs 
testibus magistro Giraldo de Barri^ et G. Archidiacono de Breco- 
nia nepote suo, E. decano, Osberto capellano Episcopi, Thoma de 
Haya, Magistro Willelmo de Lanhameloch,* Willelmo Fichet, et 
Benedicto de Lanbilio,* Presbiteris, Johanne et Philippe de lan- 
mais,* Presbiteris, Mathia filio Decani et Philippe juvene de 
Lanmais et multis alijs." 

Richard de Hay returris to the Prior whatever William the 
pried y his father ^ held in lands and tithes within and loithout the 
borough of Hay, FhUip, the incumbent, gives to his brother 
RicJiard one half of the in^me for his life, th^ latter making a 
yearly payment to the Convent, : 

"Conventio inter Philippum de Haya et Eicardum fratrem 
suum. — Sciant onmes presentes et futuri quod hec conventio 
inter PhiKppum clericum de Haya et Eicardum fratrem suum 
quod inprimis Eicaixius recognoscit et reddit deo et Sancte 
Marie et Sancto Johanni et conventui de Breconia sine omni 
retentione et reclamatione quicquid Willelmus presbiter pater 
ipsorum tenuit quando unquam melius tenuit in terris, in man- 
suris, in decimis, et in omnibus pertinentiis intra Burgum et 
extra burgum de Tentura^ Haie et quod Philippus concedit huic 
Eicardi fratri suo medietatem omnium beneficiorum et proven- 
tuum ecclesie sancte Marie de Haia et Sancti Eggiani® in terris 

^ On the coDsecration of Geoffrey, Prior of Llanthony, as Bishop 
of St. David's, in 1203, Giraldas resigned his archdeaconry in favour 
of his nephew. 

2 Llanhamloch. ^ Llanvillo. * Llanvaes. 

* Tentura for tenetura, which is used in the sense of tenementum, 

^ In his De Illavdihilihus WallicB, vi, Giraldas remarks that " the 
churches have almost as many incumbents and partners as there are 

4^rH SER., VOL. xiix. 20 



308 CARTULARIUM PRIORATUS, ETC, 

in mansuris in decimis et in omnibus pertinencijs quamdiu Eicar- 
dus vixerit tali pacto quod Kicardus reddet ecclesie Sancti Jo- 
hannis de Breconia et monachis ibidem manentibus annuatim 
duas marcas et dimidiam et viii denarios ad quatuor tenninos sci- 
licet primam partem ad natale Domini secundam ad Pascham 
tertiam ad natale Sancti Johannis Baptiste, quartam partem ad 
festum Sancti Michaelis et quod inveniet omnem medietatem 
sumptus et expense de omnibus episcopalibus et de solidatis 
presbiteroiiim et clericorum et de omnibus que pertinent ad ser- 
vicium ecclesie intra et extra hec conventio inter ipsos est 
tenenda affida et jurata super altare Sancti Johannis coram Ra- 
dulpho priore et monachis ipsis concedentibus cyrographo et 
sigillo confirmata. Testibus hiis Jordano archidiacono,^ David 
clerico de Lando,* Eicardo capellano,Vicencio clerico nepote pri- 
ons, Godefrido clerico filio Bemardi, Eoberto de Baskervile, Grau- 
frido coco, Nicholao preposito, Eogero de Mucegros et multis 
alijs." 

principal men in the parish. The sons, at the death of their fathers, 
succeed to the living by inheritance, not by election, and so pollute 
the sanctuary ; and if a bishop should attempt to select and insti- 
tnte a stranger, the whole family would be up in arms against insti- 
tutor and instituted." (Rolls ed., vol. i, xx.) And in his De Bebtts 
a se gestisj referring apparently to the case before us, he says (vol. i, 
p. 30) that soon after his promotion to the office of archdeacon, 
finding a soldier, the brother of the parson of the church of Hay, 
sharing equally as well in the offerings at the altar as in the tithes 
and other offerings, he succeeded, with some difficulty, in putting 
an end to the abuse, and restoring the church to the parson. 

^ Jordan, an archdeacon of Brecon from 1150-76. 

2 Llanddew. 



309 



iHtecellanea. 

Petition of the Burgesses of Carnarvon, Conwy, and Beaumaris, 
to Cardinal Wolsey, 151 -29. 

" To the moost Reverend Fader in God my Lord Legate Cardi- 
nall' Archiebisshop of Yorke and Chauncellor of Englond. 

"[Here fo]lowen'certayn'Artycles of suche wronges vexacions 
& injuryes as be commytted & doon to the Burgesses & thinha- 
bitantes of the Kinges Englysh Townes of Carnarvon Conwey 
and Bewmeresse in North Wayllys, by the Welshemen* foren 
inhabitantes in North wayllys, by colour and occasion' of certayn 
liberties to theym graunttid by our late Soveraigne Lord King 
Henry the Vllth, which liberties have been graunttyd of old 
tyme by the Kinges progenitours Kynges of Englond to the Bur- 
gesses of the sayd Englys Towenes and to their successours bur- 
gesses, and by their lettres patentes therof mayde redy to be 
shewyd more playnly doith appere. 

" First by the sayd graunttes of the Kinges noble progenitours 
to the predecessours of the said Burgesses to theym & their suc- 
cessors in fourme aforsayd graunttyd schall not be tryed nor 
convicted by apell nor by indictament ne any other accion for 
any wronges trespasses felones or offences nor for any other 
thynges demaundid or to be demaundid on any accion by any 
forens or straungers, for londes, from their liberties, butt oonly 
to be tryed by their comburgesses. The Welshmen' by colour 
of their said last graunttes to theym made, have by indicta- 
mentes accyons & suyttes vexed troubled & inquieted many & 
diverse of the said Burgesses to their grete costes dammages & 
feyr of their lyves, and of lykelyod to be the distruccion of the 
Kinges Englysh Townes byforesayd and of his Castelles in the 

same Townes, oonlesse spedy may shortly [be] had, so that 

all such indictamentes now by the said foren's commensid 

agaynst after to be commensid may be from-hensforth 

mayde frustrate & voyde &c. 

"Burgesses & their predecessours have been & ought 

to be clerely exemptid fr ons questes & tryalles to 

be convicted by any foren's apon' any appelles wronges tress- 
passes or demaunddes agaynst theym, but comburgesses 

except it be of thynges towchyng the commynaltie of the said 
Boroughes, and in suche causes noon otherwyse but after the 
liberties approvyd & used in the Citie of Harfford. 

20* 



310 MISCELLANEA. 

"Also where the sayd Burgesses have severall Courtes in every 
of the seid Townes from 3 wekes to 3 wekes & have knowleges 
of pleys of dettes detynues covenauntes and trespasses and of 
all causes growyng within the said Townes, except in pleys of 
land, or of the Coronne, and of all prouffittes & mercyamentes 
growyng apon the same, where the Welshmen foren'swere accus- 
tumed to pay for every amercyament in the said Courtes xj.d. ob. 
nowe they wyll' nott pay for amercyament sett apon* any of 
theym but iij.d. by reason of their Charter, whiche is to the grete 
hinderauncez of the said Burgesses, that pay to the Eing yerely 
in fee farme xLli. iiij.s. vj.d. And so by reason* of the premisses 
the said Bayllys do yerely roon into a contempt of arrerages, 
whiche they do yerely pay to the Kinges Fee farme apon' ther' 
owne propre goodes, to their* grete vndoyng, oonles remedy be 
for theym provided in that behalf &c. so that they may lawfully 
levy as suche amercyamentes & other thynges as they have 
been' accustumed to do tyme oute of myiide. 

"Also the said Burgesses ought nott to be impannelled nor 
sworn' apon' Jurrys with foren's in noo maner cause, butt oonly 
by theym self. 

"Also by the Chartourr graunttyd to the said Burgessez noo 
foren' shall' brue ne bake brede ne ale to sell or occupy any 
maner libertie within viij myles of the said Townes. 

"Also it is ordyned & enstablysshed that noo maner of hedd 
officer as Chamberlayne Shryeff or Constable schall kepe any 
wyne tavern nor cause to retaile any maner of vytayle, but oonly 
to lyfT apon' ther fees & wages. 

"Also it is ordeyned and enstablysshed amongist other thynges 
by a statute made after the Eebellion' of Walys that noo Welsh- 
man' shuld be Justices, Chamberlayn, Tresourer, ShryfT, Stuard, 
Constable of the Castelles, Receyvour, Exchetour, Coroner, ne 
Chieff Foster, nor other oflficer, ne Keper of the Kinges Eecordes, 
ne lieutenaunt in any of the said offices. 

**Also the premisses notwithstanding the seyd Welshmen 
vexe, trouble, intermedell, use & take apon' theym the liberties 
forsaid, as Englyshmen', or Burgesses of the said Townes do, and 
over this they vexe & trouble the Englysshe burgesses & inha- 
bit«.ntes within the said Townes & burghes, so that within shorte 
space by necessitie they shalbe constreyned to departe oute of 
the said Townes, & to seke their habitacions in other places, 
wuthoute the Kinges most gracyous provysion' reformacion' & 
socour' be shewed to theym in this byhalf. 

"Also it hath been of old tyme accustumed & by thordynauncez 
of Northwaillys usyd that noo maner of Welshmen shuld be 
Officer, nor to here any maner wepon within the Englysh wallen 



MISCELLANEA. 311 

townes, but oonly Englyshmen as burgesses in the absence of 
souldyars, who have tyme oute of mynd usyd toccupy as soldyars 
of & for the defence of the Kinges said Englysh' Townes and 
Castell' of the same. 

" Also the Shryeflf that nowe is doith not exercise his office ac- 
cordingly thoroghe the parcyaUytie he beryth to the Walshmen', 
whiche have commensyd felonyes within the liberties of the 
sayd Englysh townes ; and so when suche persones were indicted 
by the sayd Englyshe burgesses for ther offenses don' and com- 
mytted within ther' fraunchese, then the said Shryfif doith' re- 
torn' the impannelles of Welshmen* for thoflfences doon within 
the said liberties, by reason of suche retorn, the sayd felons be 
acquyte, and so the King lesith his prouffitt. 

"Also the said Burgesses moost humble besechen' your noble 
grace, that they, may have graunttyd to theym that all the 
foren's dwellyng within the said Englysh liberties may be of 
good aberyng, forasmoche as they have slayn & murdered both 
Bayllys & other Englysh burgesses, and noo ponyshment ther- 
upon has been executid, to the parliouse example of all suche 
lyke mysdoers &c. 

" May it therfor please your noble grace the premisses tendirly 
considered to grauntte to the sayd Burgesses the Kinges moost 
noble lettres patentes or placard of all thole efifecte of the Articles 
above specyfyed. And they shall during their lives pray to God 
for your most prosperouse & noble estate long to endure." 



Letter from the Inlvaiitants of the County of Montgomery to Will. 
Zenthall, Speaker of the House of Commons, Sept. 1645. 

" To the Eight ho'ble William Lenthall, speaker of the House of 
Commons. 

" Right hon'ble 

" Wee of the Com'tee and. others of the Gentry & Inha- 
bitants of the Countie of Mountgomery haveing borne our share 
in the common Calamities of the Nation and being able to Lay 
Claime noe lesse then other counties to an Interest in yo' favour 
(were wee as forward as some, to instance it, before yo' leasure 
served to consider it) craue now leaue to vnfold the many and 
as wee thinke vnparaleld sufferings of this poore Countie of 
Mountgomery, in the hardest and saddest times, when it first 
opened a doore to yo' forces vnder the command of Sir Thomas 
Middleton Kn't to enter into Northwales maintayning them in it 
ag't all the forces of the Neighbouring counties round about 
even to the paying of double Contributions, for a full twelve 



312 MISCELLANEA. 

Month together, & afterwards supporting those forces abroad, 
w'th its proper Contribution, dureing the Seige of Chester, and 
vntill the other five Counties of Northwales were totally sub- 
dued to the obedience of Parliam't, dureing which service this 
countie lying open to Rapine & spoile, was often plundered by 
the forces vnder the comand of Prince Maurice, Lord Biron, 
Gener^U Gerrard, Sir Wm Vaughan & others, and well-nigh ex- 
hausted by the great forces led too & fro through it by our late 
King towards reliefe of Chester. 

"All which Stormes this poore Countie patiently endured, 
hopeing to see a glorious Sun-shine at length when all yo* Ene- 
mies were dissipated but findeing in the 6000/. per mensem this 
county set at more then double the rate of Denbigh-Shire (a 
richer countie then it) and now in the 9000/. per mensem to ex- 
ceed it still by much; wee are affraid our Silence hath increased 
our woe : — And therefore being now sollicited to concur in Peti- 
tion w'th the rest of the Counties of Northwales on an Act for 
a general Composition or abolition (rather) of all Crimes (though 
conscious to o' selves of none) but supposed to be committed 
ag't the Parliam't ; as they of South-wales did. Wee humblie 
beseech yo' hon' that our knowne Affection A sufferings (far ex- 
ceeding what is afforementioned) may not (as forgotten) be cast 
into the same Ballance with those that shewed little or noe 
Affection at all to the publiq' but stood it out to the last man 
Now that wee be made betrayers of our owne Innocency so far by 
subscribeing a Petition that involves vs (as wee conceaue) in the 
same guilt w'th those wee contributed so much ayde ag't (both 
in the first & second warre) to reduce to the obedience of Parli- 
am't. But that yo' hon' being now in a Capacitie (praysed be 
god) to distinguish betwixt yo' freinds & foes, would be pleased 
in yo' finale Judgments, now on the Transactions of North- wales, 
to give vs that Testimony of our fidelitie, as may leaue vs in noe 
worse esteame w'th yo' hon' then wee labour'd to render our 
selues in times of greatest danger. Not that wee craue any ex- 
emption from general! Taxes necessarily imposed to preserue 
the peace of the Nation saucing our desire only that our propor- 
tion therin may not as before exceede our abilities but rather 
that this poore Countie being very much enfeebled in yo' seruice 
dureing the late warre and sufficiently purged as wee beleiue 
of those ill humors that formerly distemper'd it may now at 
length by yo' hon'rs fauor enioy some little time of rest, from 
all other extraordinary Burdens, the better to recouer its former 
strength, to doe yo' hon'rs no lesse faithfull seruice vppon all 
occasions hereafter: The which wee humbly desire may be repre- 
sented to yo' hon'ble house of Commons, vnto whose approued 



MISCELLANEA. 313 

wisedomes wee humbly submit o' selues in all thinges & for the 

fauor shall euer remaine 

" Yo' honors faitlifull & humble seruantes 

" Evan Gwyn Eichard Owens 

Humpfrey Prichard David Powell 

Will. Pryce Eentull Owen 

Kees Morgan Kich. Owen 
Humffrey Beven 

William Kyffin Char. Hoyd 

James Mytton Edw. Wynne 

G. Wynne B. Griffith 

The. Edwards The. Rogers 

Uoyd Trevor Jo. Wynne 

Edwin Lloyd Ro. Griffiths 



{Egericm MSS. 1048.) 



Rich. Pryce." 



Indenture between Roger de Mortimer and the Earl of Arundel, 
relative to the Castle and Lordship of Chirk. 28 Hdw, III, 
20 March. 
" Ceste endenture faite en qatre parties tesmoigne qe come 
nostre Sieur le Roi nadgaires supposant le Chastel la terre et la 
seignurie de Chirk ove les apurtenances a lui apartenir come par 
la forfaiture Mons. Roger de Mortymer iadys Conte de la Marche, 
list donez et grauntez mesme les Chastel terre et seignurie a 
Mons. Richard Conte Darundell' a tenir a lui et a ces heirs a 
toux jours, come piert par la chartre nostre dit Sieur le Roi au 
dit Conte Darundell' ent faite, et come Mons. Roger de Morty- 
mer Seignur de Wygemor, cousin et heir au dit Conte de la 
Marche, soit a pursuyr de reverter le dit jugement renduz centre 
le dit Conte de la Marche, et sources est fait un reles au dit 
Conte Darundell' de tut le droit qil ad en les avant ditz Chastel 
terre et seignurie de Chirk ove les aptirtenances, le dit reles est 
bailie et lesse, si bien del assent le dit Conte Darundell' come 
du dit Mons. Roger de Mortymer Seignur de Wygemore a Mons. 
Berthelmeu de Burghesh' et a Mons. Johan de Beauchamp frere 
au Conte de Warewyk a garder sous les condicions suthescriptes, 
cest a savoir qe si nostre Sieur le Roi ou le dit Mons. Roger de 
Mortymer Seignur de Wygemore ou lour heirs facent recompen- 
sacion au dit Conte Darundell' dautre terre et rente a la value 
de la dite terre et seignurie de Chirk en lieu covenable cest a 
savoir en Engleterre ou en Gales, selonc ceo qe purra estre acorde 
resonablement entre eux sanz fraude ou mat engyn del une par- 
tie ou del autre deyns deux ans prescheins apres qe le dit juge- 
ment serra reversy, si ensy soit, ou si par cas le dit jugement ne 



314 MISCELLANEA. 

peusse estre reversy, niaes soit afferme, qe Dieux defende, adonq' 
le dit reles soit rebaille au dit Mons. Roger de Mortymer de 
Wygemor ou a ces heirs, cassi anienty et tenuz pur nid a toux 
jours. Et en cas qe nostre dit Sieur le Eoi ne le dit Mona 
Eoger de Mortymer de Wygemore ne lour heirs ne faeent recom- 
pensacion au dit Conte Darundell' dautre terre et rente a la 
value des avantditz terre et seignurie de Chirk' come desus est 
dit, dedeins deux aus prescheins apres le reverser du dit juge- 
ment, adonq* a la fin de les deux ans avant ditz le dit reles soit 
baiUe au dit Conte Darundell pur estoir en sa force a; toux jours. 
En tesmoignance de qeu chose a les deux parties de ceste enden- 
ture demurrantz devers les ditz Mons. Berthelmeu et Mons. 
Johan les avantditz Conte Darundell' et Mons. Roger de Morty- 
mer de Wygemore ount mys lour sealx, et a les autres deux 
parties demorantz devers les avantditz Conte Darundell' et Mons. 
Roger de Mortymer de Wygemore les avantditz Mons. Berthel- 
meu et Mons. Johan ount mys lour sealx. Don' a Londres le 
vyntisme jour de Marz Ian du regne le Roi Edward Dengleterre 
tierz pens la conquest vjmt et oetisme." 

{Exchequer, Treasury of the Receipt; County Bags^ Wales^ 
Bag of Miscellanea y 2, No. 2.) 



Letter of lord Keeper Williams, Bishop of Liricoln, to 
Sir J. Cmmr, 1623. 

" S^r — With my heartiest loue & comendations vnto you. I 
vnderstand by my Lord Duke I am left to be stayed a daye or 
two at Theobalds & therefor enforced to Recommend vnto you 
the causes of Hearinge Particularlye I wold desire you (in my 
name and request) to speake vnto my very worthy freynds the 
two lordes Chief Justices, that they wold be pleassed to assist 
the court to morrow mominge in the hearinge of one cause (to 
witt, that between the Ladye Bulkley and her Grand-childe) 
w'ch will not hold them very longe from theyre owne Benches, 
if they please to doe me the favoure. I loue both the parties, 
both of them suspecte me, and I desire justice maye preuaile, 
rather then either of them both : w'ch is all I recomend vnto 
you And doe rest 

" Yours very assured louinge freynd to prue 

* Jo. Lincoln C. S. 
" Westm'r College, 9 Nov. 1623." 

Addressed " To the R. H. my very lo\inge freynd 
the M'r of the RoUes." 



MISCELLANEA. 315 



Letter of Lord Keeper Williams, Bishop of Lincoln, for the 
Release of RecusarUs, 

"After my very harty co'es his Ma'tie haueinge resolued out 
of deepe reasons of state & expectances of like corespondencyes 
from forraine princes to the professors of o'r Eeligion to grant 
some grace & compency to the imprisoned papists in this king- 
dome comandes me to passe 2 writts vnder the greate Scale 
of England for the same purpose requireinge the Judges of eu*ry 
circuit to enlarge the said prisoners accordinge to the Tenor & 
effect of the same, I am to give you notice from his Ma'tie how 
his Eoyall pleasure is that vpon the receipt of the said writt 
you should make noe incendes or difficulty to extend this his 
Princely favour to all such papists as you shall finde ymprisoned 
in the seu'all gaoles of the Circuit for any church recusancy 
whatsoeu' or for refusall of the Oath of Supremacy or for haue- 
inge or dispersinge any popish bookes, or for heereinge of Masse 
or any other p'te of recusancy w^ch doth conceme religion onely 
& noe matter of state w'ch shall appeare vnto you to be meerely 
& totally civill and politicall & soe I bid you hartyly fareweU. 

" To'r assured loueinge frend 

" John lincolne C. S. 
" Westm' Colledge 2 of August 1622." 

{Add, MSS. 12,496, Bntish Museum.) 



316 



CortesponOenre. 

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ABCHiEOXiOQU CAMBREN8IS. 



MONKTON PRIORY CHURCH, PEMBROKR 

Sib, — I send yon some particulars relating to the choir (now in 
ruins) of Monkton Priory Church, Pembroke. This ancient build- 
ing consists of two parts, the point of division being marked by the 
tower. First the nave, in which the parishioners have ever wor- 
shipped. This portion terminates with the west wall of the Monks' 
Choir, which is the second part. The nave has one long barrel- 
vaulted roof, with nothing to relieve the exceeding plainness of the 
building. The choir, on the other hand, has some pfetensions to 
beauty even in its present roofless condition. The windows, and 
especially the east window, must have been exceedingly fine. Two 
of these have been broken. The way in which the destruction of 
these windows was brought about may prove interesting. I will 
therefore commit it to writing as neerly as I can remember it told 
to me. 

The interior of the choir was for many years used by young men 
from Pembroke as a tennis-court or ball-court One of the chnrch- 
wardens living close by, feeling distressed and annoyed by the noise 
created, determined, if possible, to put a stop to their practice. But 
how to accomplish this the churchwarden did not find so easy. 
However, it occurred to him that by means of chains and ropes, and 
a strong body of men making the cross then standing in the church- 
yard the lever, the wall of the choir might be pulled down. Poor 
man ! Instead of the wall being in any way disturbed, the cross 
was broken into several pieces, some of which have lately been 
found, and are now for safety in the church tower. The church- 
warden would not be beaten. He then set to work, and had some 
men to partially destroy the wall. The openings made were after- 
wards partially filled in, the game of ball set agoing again. How 
or when this practice was stopped does not appear ; but for years 
(I should say about thirty-five years) this desecration has ceased. 
The building still remains the same. No attempt has been made 
either to restore it to something of its pristine beauty, or to prevent 
any further destruction by the elements. 

The times are changed, and there appears now a feeling that this 
portion of this ancient church should be restored ; and it is owing 
to this feeling that I am anxious to have the opinion of the members 
of the Cambrian Archaaological Society on this one point, viz., the 
enlargement of the present archway which exists in the wall which 
divides the nave from the choir. 



REVIEW. 317 

I find that in the Archceologia Cambrensis, New Series, vol. ill, 
the writer on the Pembrokeshire charches refers to the choir at 
Monkton Priory as a parochial decorated chancel on an unnsuallj 
large scale. I cannot agree to this. I do not think it ever was a 
chancel, and the two periods at which the nave and choir were 
built are against this theory. I take it to have been the Monks' 
choir ; and if there was originally, as I have reason to believe there 
was, an arch between the two parts, it mast have been very small ; 
certainly not more than 8 feet high and 4 feet wide. There now 
exists in this arch a jamb of a window of very beautiful and some- 
what elaborate style, clearly showing that the monument which 
now fills up the arch, and which was unquestionably enlarged for 
the purpose, was placed there some time after the dissolution of the 
monasteries. I do not think that it ever was a chancel arch, nor 
that it was intended as an opening by which persons might have 
access to one or the other part. Is it not likely that by means of 
this opening, which possibly was protected by a grating, the parish- 
ioners could in some sense witness the Monks* service? I have 
mentioned the bare facts as well as made a few conjectures ; but what 
I more especially want to know is, if any of the members of the 
Society feel any grave objections to making a large chancel arch, so 
that the Monks* choir might be restored and converted into a 
modern chancel. This is the only hope I have of this portion of 
the church being restored. I trust, therefore, that whatever minor 
objections that may be raised they will be waived, so that my effort 
to carry out this work will be strengthened by the voice of your 
Society ; nnd I would make an appeal for help. My parish is a 
poor one ; there are but two resident gentry ; the majority of my 
parishioners being dock-yard labourers. Any subscriptions which 
any of your members may be pleased to contribute, I shall feel 
extremely obliged for. 

I am, ete., David Bowen. 



Diaries and Letters of Philip Henry, M.A. Edited by Matthew 
Henry Lee, M.A., Vicar of Hanmer. Published by Kegan 
Paul, Trench, and Co., 1, Paternoster Square. 

Mr. Leb has, by collecting and publishing these remains of a noted 
man, done a great service to the literary and religious community. 
With commendable zeal he has hunted after the scattered diaries of 
his kinsman ; and if he has not been as successful as he could have 
wished, nevertheless he has rescued from oblivion a series of por- 
traitures of the seventeenth century, any one of which in itself is a 
precious gem ; and richly do Philip Henry^s Diaries, though incom- 
plete, deserve a place by the side of Pepys' and Evelyn's Diaries, 



318 REVIEW. 

The spheres in which these men moved were very dissimilar. Occa- 
sionally, it is true, they refer to the same events, bat widely do they 
differ in the subjects they treat of. We have no court gossip in 
Philip Henry*8 Diaries, no record of scandal in high places ; but we 
have an extremely interesting description of the stirring times in 
which he lived. 

Philip Henry was of Welsh extraction. His grandfather, Henry 
Williams, was of Briton Ferry, Glamorganshire. Philip was bom 
August 24, 1631. Id 1643 he entered Westminster School, and 
became the favourite scholar of Dr. Bashby. In December 1647 he 
entered, as a King's Scholar, Christ Church, Oxford. In 1651 he 
took his B.A., and in 1652 his M.A. degree. He continued residing 
in Oxford after he had proceeded to his Master of Arts, filling posts 
which attest his scholarship and the high appreciation in which he 
was held by the authorities of his college. He received Presbyte- 
rian ordination in 1657, when he took charge of Worthenbury 
parish ; but in consequence of his persistent refusal to conform, he 
was ejected therefrom, October 1661. He continued, however, to 
reside in the neighbourhood, at Broad Oak, on his wife's property, 
to the day of his death, which took place June 24th, 1696. 

It will be seen from the above sketch of the life of Philip Henry, 
that he lived dunng a period in English history replete with mo- 
mentous events, and any contribution towards a thorough under- 
standing of the history of that period we roost heartily welcome. 
Philip Henry, a scholar, a man of observation, and a sorely tried 
actor in the seventeenth century drama, was eminently fitted to 
record the events that were happening around him. 

As might be expected, a rather large portion of his Diaries \b 
taken up with the religious questions of the day. These, to the 
theological historian, are vitally instructive. It is probable that 
they were to Philip Henry as precious as his heart's blood. They 
are a legacy that has reached our days. It is not our province to 
do anything more than to allude to them. Those who wish to study 
that phase of religious life then prevalent must do so by a perusal 
of the Diaries. But it is not only as a record of religious thought or 
religious feelings, or other cognate matters, that Philip Henry's 
Diaries are valuable. It throws much light upon the stiate of the 
country in those days. The antiquary will find in its pages that 
which will delight him. There he will get folk-lore and obsolete 
words, customs, and superstitions, to a very considerable extent. 
This part of the Diaries is that which comes more immediately within 
the bounds of our publication. Religious periodicals may, and pos- 
sibly will, take up those points which we now allude to ; but for 
our parts we will confine our remarks to less important matters. 

We will begin by noticing briefly the number of archaic words 
that give to the Diaries a peculiar charm. We find therein the fol- 
lowing : " seedness", " bowk", *' trolefuh'\ " huspeld", " ley", " kay'\ 
"mizes", "sraaying", "mono", " «Zead", " pikehils", " owler", etc. 
The words printed in italics are still used in Welsh. Since they 



REVIEW. 319 

were found in Worthenbury in the seventeenth century, they show 
how tenacious of life a word is. IVo^fnl means a cartful. The 
Welsh word for cart is trol. Kay is simply the Welsh cae (pro- 
nounced kay)y a field. Slead is a term for a cart without wheels, 
such as is in common use in upland farms in North Wales at the 
present day ; and formerly, when the roads were bad, they were in 
more general use. In fact, wheeled carriages were inlroduced to 
parts of Wales where they at present abound, to the exclusion of 
the slead, so late as the last century. But we must leave this inte- 
resting subject, and refer word-collectors to the book itself for fur- 
ther provincialisms, and we promise them fruit for their labours. 

In the Diaries we have references to customs, such as dressing the 
church with flowers, aforeday services on Christmas morn, burying 
in church, carrying the dead into church, distribution of doles at 
funerals, burying without a coffin, feasting at baptism of children, 
appropriated seats. Maypoles, the betrothed breaking a piece of silver, 
placing a candle and money in the hands of the dying, etc. Some 
of these customs have come down to our days, others have disap- 
peared within the present century, and a few are being revived in 
Wales, to the great satisfaction of the people, such as the aforeday 
service on Christmas Day, called by the Welsh ^^Plygain^\ 

In the Diaries there is a curious entry respecting appropriating 
seats in church. It is: "At that time there dwelt in Mr. Lloyd's 
house one Randle Beckett, who was appointed by Mr. Lloyd to 
secure his seat in the church, belonging to the sayd house ; and 
that upon a Whitsunday the widow Mullock came forcibly into the 
said seat, and satt down upon the sayd Randle Beckelfs lap, where- 
upon Ann Hatcliff, being in the next seat behind the sayd Widow 
Hamuett, sayd to her. What means this wrangling ? for they (mean- 
ing ye widow Mullock and her family) have but one seat in this 
form.'' Widow Mullock was a determined woman. But what a 
picture is here given of wranglings carried on by peopld irrespective 
of place ! Still these few words indicate the manner in which dis- 
putes were then settled. 

Many are the superstitions that are mentioned in the Diaries. 
Thus, " Drink Penny-royall water, warm'd, with a little sugar, for 
a cold." Witches are believed in. Philip Henry thus writes about 
one of these dangerous old women : " Mr. Steel's mother dyed, sick 
but two or three days. Mary Powel thought by some to bee be- 
witch'd ; her dame (cal'd Katharin of y^ Pinfold) is said to have 
kneel'd down and curst her." And again he gives us a choice bit 

of superstition : " The min'r Mr. Jones gave her an amulet, viz., 

some verses of John T, written in a paper to hang about her neck, 
as also certayn herbes to drive the Devil out of her ; but all in 
vayn." We should think so. In a letter to his son, Philip Henry 
writes : "Ann walkt a-foot to Malpas, to the buryal of widow Brin- 
ley, Sd back again. When shee was dying shee askt, was the money 
& the candle ready ; the one whereof was put in the one hand, & the 
other lighted in the other, at the time of her departure. They also 



320 REVIEW. 

sprinkrd her & the bed and room with their holj water, and fel a 
sweeping the room with besoms as hard as they coald, to sweep all 
her sins awaj.*' 

We must refer those who wish for more of such things to the book 
itself, with the assurance that there is a goodly crop to be gathered. 
Dreams, of course, curious enough for any one's liking, are to be 
found in the book ; but we must be forgiven if we transcribe none. 

The collector of proverbs will find a few treasures scattered here 
and there throughout the Diaries, as, "There is more seed under the 
clods then yet appears", " Prayer and provender hinder no man's 
journey", " Better buy peace then want it", " Pluck no more stakes 
out of our hedge", "Wheat in a barn is better than chaff in a church", 
and so on. 

But we have not exhausted the contents of this book, — the habits 
of the people, their wages, etc., the price of stock and of agricul- 
tural produce, the weather, the state of the country, family matters, 
strange coincidences, striking deaths, public events, etc. 

We leave the book, reiterating the words we said at the beginning, 
that the public is indebted to Mr. Lee for editing a valuable book 
that otherwise possibly would have been lost to posterity. The 
editor has taken much care to show that he is not of the same way 
of thinking as his illustrious ancestor. We think unnecessarily so. 
There are differences between Chnrch and Dissent. These are fairly 
well known. Mr. Lee by. certain footnotes controverts certain 
remarks made in the body of the work. We are inclined to think 
this was an error of judgment. The remarks in themselves may be 
suflBciently pertinent ; but we cannot bring ourselves to think that 
an editor of a diary should burden himself with the onerous task of 
disproving the correctness of the opinions expressed in the book he 
edits. We believe he should confine himself to elucidating passages, 
to throwing light upon obscure or brief entries, and not to attempt, 
by short notes, to settle questions that volnmes might be written 
upon. The editor has supplied many valuable notes of the kind we 
consider necessary, and therefrom we gain that information that the 
book fails to supply. All these notes add to the value of the DiaHss, 
and they show how well qualified the editor is for the work he has 
so successfully accomplished. We congratulate him upon bringing 
a labour of love, which must have involved much trouble, to such an 
end that we feel grateful to him for the pleasure he has given us in 
the perusal of the Diaries of Philip Henry y and we feel fully assured 
that any one who reads them will derive similar pleasure therefrom. 
We will only add that the book is altogether well got up, and re- 
flects credit upon the publishers. 



CambtCan 2(rc|)aeolo0ical asgoctatton. 



THE THIRTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING 

WAS KBU> AT 



LLANRWST 



MONDAY THE 31st DAY OP JULY 1882, 

AND FOUR FOLLOWING DAYS. 



PBE8IBEVT. 
H. R. SANDBACH, Esq. 

LOCAL COKMITTEE. 
J. BLACEWALL, Esq., Hendre House, Llanrwst, Chairican. 



G. Ashley, Esq., Caergroes, Llanrwst 
W. L. Banks, Esq., Hendrewaelod, 

Conwy 
C. W. Bulkeley, Esq., Bryniolyn, Con- 
wy 
Thomas Ellas, Esq., Llanrwst 
Rev. J. Irby Farr, M.A., Llanrwst 
Col. Wynne Finch, Voelas Hall, Llan- 
rwst 
W. Wynne Fonlkes, Esq., Old North- 
gate Honse. Chester 
' John R. Griffith, Esq., Brynderwen, 
Llanrwst 
Prof. Hughes, The Palace, St. Asaph 
O. E. Hughes, Esq., Trefriw 
The Rey. Canon Hugh Jones, The 
Rectory, Llanrwst 



Riohd. James, Esq., Dy£E!ryn aur Llan- 

rwst 
T. E. Jones, Esq., M.D., Henar, Llan 

rwst 
Col. S. H. N. Johnstone, Llanrwst 
Rev. David Morgan, The Rectory, 

Gwytherin 
Rev. D. Noel, Vicarage, Eglwys Fach 
H. D. Pochin, Esq., Bodnant HaU 

Conwy 
Rev. H. Roberts, Vicarage, Llanger- 

niew 
Hu^h Roberts, Esq., The Old Bank; 

Llanrwst 
A. H. Trethewy, Esq., Rhydycreusan, 

Llanrwst 
Migor Thursby, Llandudno 
A. O. Walker, Esq., Nantyglyn, Conwy 



General Seoretaries of the AflBOoiation. 

Rev. R. Trevor Owen, Llangedwyn Vicarage, Oswestry 

G. E. Robinson, Esq., Cardiff. 

Seoretaries for Camarvonshire and Denbighshire. 

T. Love D. Jones-Parry, Esq., M.P., Madryn Park, Pwllheli 
Rev. D. Hughes, M.A., Ruthin 
Rev. £. Owen, B.A., Efenechtyd, Ruthin. 

Looal Treasnrer. 
Hugh Roberts, Esq., N. and S. Wales Bank, Llanrwst. 

Looal Secretary. 
J. William Griffith, Esq. 



322 



REPORT OF MEETING. 



MONDAY, JULY 31. 

The General Committee met at 8.30 p.m. in the Orammar-Scbool, 
which had been kindly placed at the disposal of the Association by 
the Rev. J. Trby Farr, to receive and discuss the Report of the past 
year. At nine o'clock the outgoing President, Professor Babington, 
took the chair of the Greneral Meeting, and, after thanking the 
members for their kindness to him dunng his year of office, called 
upon Mr. H. R. Sandbach of Havodnnos, the President-elect, to take 
the chair. 

The President, on taking the Chair, welcomed the Association to 
Llanrwst, and was glad to see that so many members were met 
together. As, on sach occasions as this, residents looked forward 
for information from experts in archaaology, his neigh bonrs and 
himself anticipated much pleasure from the visit of the Cambrian 
Archesological Association to this part of Wales ; and, whilst he 
begged to tender the members his grateful thanks for the honour 
they had conferred upon him in placing him in a position which 
had been filled by such eminent antiquaries, he would, as a learner, 
claim their indulgence for alluding so briefly to some of the points 
of interest laid down in the programme. 

Though he had been a resident for many years, the excursion 
arranged for the morrow was through a district with which he was 
but little acquainted ; still he was sure it contained objects of no 
less interest than those of which he could speak from personal 
knowledge. On Wednesday, the first point to be visited would be 
Gwytherin, a place of very early note, as connected with the history 
of St. Winifred ; the tradition being that after her decollation at 
Holywell she was restored to life, and founded a nunnery in the 
secluded vale of Gwytherin, where she died, and her bones rested in 
peace until they were removed in the twelfth century to the newly- 
founded abbey of SS. Peter and Paul in Shrewsbury. Afterwards 
they would go and see, at the invitation of Mr. Yorke of Dyffryn 
Aled, a curious rocky table, mentioned by Leland, and commonly 
known as Arthur's Table. On their way back, he would be especially 
pleased to take them to see a lofty mound on his own property, a 
little below Llangernyw, about which he was naturally anxious to 
obtain some information ; he had hoped to have had it opened in 



LLANRWST MEETING. — REPORT. 323 

time for their visit, and had asked Sir John Labbock, Professor 
Hnghes, and Mr. W. Wynne Pfoulkes to come and superintend the 
work ; but, unfortunately, none of them had been able to do so. He 
had, therefore, thought it best to do nothing until he had the opinion 
of this Society. The mound stood on the left bank of the Elwy, at 
the junction of three valleys, and nearly in a line between two hill 
earthworks, one of which is called Cromwell's Camp. In this 
neighbourhood, too, after the floods of last year, were found several 
iron cannon balls, which are exhibited in the museum. On another 
of the days they would be able to see the interesting Elizabethan 
house of Gwydir, and the Gwydir chapel in Llanrwst church, in 
which are many monuments and brasses. Caerhiiu, which was also 
on the programme, was well known as the site of the Roman station 
of Oonovium. He would, however, call the attention of the members 
to the Roman roads which converged to this point, and he would 
also mention the existence of several stone circles on the road to 
Aber, which he feared would be too far off to be visited. Thanking 
them again for their kindness, he would try and shew his apprecia- 
tion by joining in all their excursions and doing what he could to 
make the meeting at Llanrwst a success. 

The Rev. E. L. Barnwell, in proposing a vote of thanks to the 
President, spoke of his long acquaintance with him, extending over 
forty years. In reference to what had been said about stone circles, 
he disagreed with the idea so often expressed of their being con- 
nected with the Druids, or as being the place for games. In his 
opinion they were merely a defence for graves. As to Leland's 
statement about the holes in Llansannan parish, he doubted if they 
would find anything of the kind ; no one else has mentioned them — 
not even Pennant, who must have been aware of Leland's state- 
ment. 

The morion was seconded by Mr. H. W. Lloyd. 

The Rev. R. Trevor Owen was then called upon to read the 
Report : — 

" Your Committee congratulate the members on their holding 
their thirty- seventh annual meeting in one of the most interesting 
portions of North Wales. During the existence of the Society, 
which may be said to have commenced in 1846, it has met a second 
time in certain towns, as Brecon, Welshpool, and Carnarvon, but 
this border land of Denbighshire and Carnarvonshire is now visited 
for the first time. Considering the number and nature of interesting 
objects it contains, it may be thought strange that the Society has 
not found its way here before, but, previous to the existence of the 
railway, the place was not easy of access. To have met here at 
last, and under the presidency of one of the oldest and firmest 
friends of the Association, is a matter of congratulation. Your 
Committee cannot in their report omit a reference to the meeting 
of last year art Church Stretton, over which Professor C. C. Babing- 
ton presided so efficiently. It is true the Society was on that occa- 
sion favoured with charming weather, but this circumstance alone 
4th ser., vol. xtii. 21 



324 CzVMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

could not have secured the success of the meeting but for the 
previous arrangements of the local Committee, and the valuable 
services of the indefatigable secretary, Mr. Wilding. If the present 
meeting be favoured with similar weather, a no less satisifactory 
meeting may be anticipated under the auspices of our President 
elect and the important local Committee, assisted by its secretary, 
Mr. J. W. Griffith. Your Committee are able to announce that the 
Society continues to increase as to its numbers, which, according to 
the list of members for 1882, amount to 319, being double the 
number of a few years ago. 

** The ArchcBologia Camhrensis was first printed in 1846, and has, 
without interruption, continued until the present time. Besides these 
volumes the Society has published several supplemental ones, so the 
complete collection is now of considerable value, and in all probabi- 
lity, but for the efforts of the Association, would never have come into 
existence. When it is a fact that within these few years many of our 
earliest remains have been destroyed, it is of no small importance 
that in many instances their memory has been preserved in the pages 
and illustrations of the A rchcBologiaCambrensis, It is well known that 
there are still remaining many unrestored churches in North and 
South Wales, especially in tJbe less frequented districts. These 
buildings, if somewhat rude, are well adapted for the wants of the 
inhabitants. It is true they have rarely any elaborate architectural 
details, but, notwithstanding this want, they are frequently interesting 
and valuable as examples of our early Welsh churches. If the 
buildings are in such a state that extensive repairs or even rebuilding 
is necessary, then care should be taken that nothing should be 
introduced which is not in accordance with local style and arrange- 
ment. A remarkable instance of such incongruity is seen in the 
modern church of Fishguard with its French apse, an appendage in 
itself all very well, but sadly out of place with its surroundings. 
Your Committee would suggest that the local secretaries in their 
several districts might use what influence they may have, in dis- 
couraging such innovations, or, at least, communicating them to the 
general secretaries of the Society. It is stated that at this time 
the interesting church of Camrhos, in Pembrokeshire, in the hands 
of a well-known architect, is in danger of being decorated with an 
elaborate bell-gable, which is totally unlike anything in the district, 
and presents a strange contrast to the severe simplicity of the 
building. The same mistake is contemplated, if not already carried 
out, as regards a new porch, quite as much out of place as the bell- 
gable. Thb church has been well described by Mr. Bomilly Allen, 
in the ArchoBologia Camhreiisis of 1871, to which meml)ers may 
refer if they wish to judge how far such elaborate ornamental work 
is suitable to the building. A still more important church, that of 
Monkton near Pembroke, has, through the incumbent's energy, had 
some work done as to windows and other parts of the structure. 
Ho is now contemplating the addition of a choir when he can pro- 
cure means from more distant friends, as he seems to have exhausted 



LLANRWST MEETING. — REPORT. 325 

the resources of a very poor district. This important church is too 
well known to require any description, but from what the Elev. 
David Bowen has already done it is certain that any contributions 
will be well and judiciously laid out. 

*' The Report or last year announced the death of four distinguished 
members, namely, of Mrs. Stackhouse Acton ; Dr. Guest, the Master 
of Caius College, Cambridge, who did so much for the early history 
of the country soon after the departure of the Romans; Canon 
Williams, the most able of Celtic scholars of his day; and Mr. Breese 
of Portmadoc, F.S.A., the local secretary for Merionethshire, and the 
authorof the Kalendars of QwijneddyVf ho was cut off in early manhood. 
During the present year the Society has lost Sir Pyers Mostyn, Bart., 
of Talacre, who represented the ancient family of that name, the 
elder branch of which became extinct in the male line by the death 
of the last Sir Thomas Mostyn, Bart, of Mostyn, who died un- 
married, the vast estates passing by the marriage of his sister to 
Sir Edward Price Lloyd, created Lord Mostyn in 1831. Richard ap 
Howell of Mostyn, who fought for Henry at Bosworth, had two 
sons by Catherine Salusbury of Lleweney, viz., Thomas of Mostyn, 
whose line became extinct on the male side by the death of Sir 
Thomas above mentioned, and Pyers of Talacre, who is directly 
represented by the present Sir Pyers. The late Sir Pyers took an 
active part in local duties, and was one of the most popular gentle- 
men in the district. He died at Talacre on the 14th of May, in his 
71st year. Mr. Matthew Moggridge, many years a resident pro- 
prietor of Glamorganshire, but latterly of South Kensington, died 
on July 14, within two days of his 79th birthday. Few members 
have taken so active an interest in the welfare of the Society. For 
many years he attended the annual meetings of the Society, the 
latest of which was that of Abergavenny in 1876. He contributed 
several articles of interest to the Archceologia Camhr&ims, In his 
younger days, when the poorer classes in Glamorganshire were in 
an excited and dangerous state, he exhibited no little courage in 
meeting and reasoning with a large body of men of a dangerous 
character. He trusted in his own influence as a magistrate and 
neighbour, and he was not disappointed. 

"It was not until some time after the Church Stretton Meeting that 
the lost transcript of the diary of Peter Roberts, called YCtoto Gyfar- 
wydd, was discovered to be in the keeping of Mr. Richards, printer 
of the Association, where it had been placed by the owner, the late 
Mr. Breese of Portmadoc, who died some days afterwards in London, 
Mr. Breese having made no memorandum of his having left it with 
Mr. Richards, his executors caused the most diligent inquiries to 
be made for it for some months, but without success. It was, ac- 
cordingly, stated in the report that in case of it« not being recovered, 
all subscriptions pre-paid would be returned. This statement led at 
once to its recovery, as immediate notice was given by Mr. Richards, 
or rather Mr. Clark, his representative. Canon Thomas of Meifod, 
with his usual kindness, acceded to an earnest request to undertake 

21 « 



326 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

the passing of it through the press/ and your Committee has great 
pleasure in announcing that three sheets are already printed. A 
considerable alteration has been made in the original proposal, by 
supplying deficiencies from another original record belonging to the 
Rev. R. H. Howard of Wigfair, who has kindly lent it for the pur- 
pose. Thus between the two manuscripts will be produced a 
volume of great interest, especially to the representatives of the 
principal families in the northern counties of Wales. The number 
of subscribers (10^. 6d.) at present is far below the number required, 
but a member has undertaken the cost at his own risk. Subscribers' 
names may be sent to the Rev. R. Trevor Owen, Llangedwyn, 
Oswestry, or to the Rev. Canon Thomas, Meifod, Welshpool. 

" Some subscribers to Westwood's Lapidarium WallicB have not yet 
received the final parts of the work. If such wish to have complete 
copies of this valuable work, they are recommended to apply to Rev. 
Edward L. Barnwell, Hon. Treasurer, Melksham, Wilts. 

" Of some valuable works announced in the report of 1881 as being 
actually commenced or in preparation, the following may be particu- 
larly specified. A supplementary volume of the History of the 
Diocese of St, Asaph, by Canon Thomas; A History of the Breton- 
Celts, by Professor Rhys ; while Rev. D. Silvan Evans has under- 
taken a Welsh Dictionary. The well-known character of these 
distinguished members of the Association is an ample guarantee for 
the value of these additions to Welsh history and literature. Of 
the supplemental publications of the Society few copies remain. 
Some, however, of the large paper edition of the Gower Survey, by 
Baker and Francis, are yet to be had. Your Committee have great 
pleasure in announcing that the manuscript of the third part of the 
Histxyry of West Gower, by the Rev. J. D. Davies of Llanmadoo, is 
now ready for the preps, and will probably be in the hands of the 
subscribers early in 1883. There is no more interesting part of 
Wales than that of West Gower, so that it is fortunate that so com- 
petent a gentleman as the Rector of Llanmadoc has undertaken at 
his own expense its history. The two parts already published are 
royal octavo, well bound, whilst the paper and type reflect great 
credit on the printer, Mr. H. Williams, at the Cambrian office. The 
numerous illustrations are also very good. The subscription price, 
which was much too low, will be 7s. 6d., and even at that price the 
cost will far exceed the receipts if Part III is executed in the same 
manner as the preceding parts. 

"Although the number of members continues to increase, yet 
your Committee regret that the number of members who forget to 
remit their subscriptions increases at the same time. Thus in 1881, 
out of upwards of 300 members, not 180 had paid. Some time ago 
it was ordered that the names of such defaulters should be printed 
in the Journal, as is the custom of the Historical and Archaeological 
Association of Ireland, formerly called the Kilkenny Archasological 
Society, and their names struck off" the roll of members. This ques- 
tion will form one of the subjects of discussion. 



LLANRWST MEETING. — REPORT. 327 

*' The following geDtlemcn have joined the Association and await 
confirmation of their election: — 

North Wales. 
Col. The Hon. Sackville West, Bangor 
Miss Whi taker, Caernarvon 
Mr. W. H. Owen, Tycoch, Caernarvon 
Mr. T. H. Williams, Llwyn Dolgellau 
The Eev. J. Davies, Llwyngwril Rectory, Dolgellau 
Mr. W. R. M. Wynne, Peniarth, Towyn 
The Rev. Canon R. Wynne Edwards, Llanrhaiadr, Denbigh 
The Rev. D. Jones, 7icarage, Llansantffraid, Glyn Ceiriog 
Mr. R. C. Webster, Bangor, Is y coed 
Mr. J. P. Earwaker, Pensarn, Abergele 
Col. Evans Lloyd, Moelygamedd, Bala 
Mr. H. D. Pochin, Bodnant, Conwy 
Miss E. Lloyd Jones, Penmaenmawr 

South Wales. 
Mr. H. Morris, Poolquay, Caermarthen 
Mr. John Griffith, Porth House, Cardiff 
Mr. David Bowen, Llanelly 
Mr. J. Garrard, Picton Place, Caermarthen 
Mr. F. W. Hybert, Conwy Road, Canton, Cardiff 
Mr. E. S. Mostyn Price, Belmont, Caerleon 

England and France. 
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris 
Major Barns, Brookside, Chirk, Rhuabon 
The Rev. C. H. Drinkwater, Shrewsbury 
Mr. Egei'ton G. B. Phillimore, 31, Hammersmith Road, 

London 
Mr. John Jones, Bellan House, Oswestry." 

The Rev. Canon D. R. Thomas moved the adoption of the report, 
and congratulated the members on meeting at so interesting a 
centre. He wished to say that the statement he had made in his 
EUtory of the Diocese of St. Asaph about the building of Llanrwst 
Church by Rhun, to expiate the murder of Prince Idwal, must be 
placed to the credit of Yspytty Ivan and the Knights of St. John, 
and not to Llanrwst. He concluded by mentioning a few unrestored 
churches still remaining. 

Professor Babington seconded the motion, and referred to the 
remarks about the restoration of churches. He said that what was 
of interest should be preserved; but that which was of interest 
to Archadologists was not always of interest to architects, who were 
too fond of destroying what offended their eyes, without regard to 
the historic interest that might belong to what they destroyed. 

The Rev. R. Trevor Owen then announced the arrangements for 
the next day, and the meeting separated. 



328 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 



TUESDAY. AUGUST 1st. 

Leaving Llanrwst at ten o'clock, the members made their first 
halt at Capel Garmon, whence they walked to the Cromlech on 
Tynycoed farm. The supporting stones are five in number, and 
measure respectively 5 ft by 4 ft., 6 ft. by 2 ft., 6 ft. by 3 ft. 4 in., 
5 ft. 9 in, by 2 ft., and 5 ft. by 3 ft. 6 in. The superincumbent stone 
is 14 ft. 7 in. by 12 ft. 2 in. To the north-east of this, at a distance 
of about 8 ft., are the seven supporting stones of a second cromlech. 
Intersecting the passage, which seems to have connected these two 
cromlechs, is another passage, five feet deep, running in a southern 
direction. 

The carriages then proceeded to Pentrevoelas, where the vicar 
had kindly placed in the schoolroom for inspection — Llyfr y Resola- 
tion, by Dr. Davies ; Welsh Prayer Book (black letter), Charles II ; 
Britannia Depicta, 1720 ; Secret History of the Calves' Head Club, 
1713; Y Nefawl Ganllaw, gan Lewis Anwyl, Yspytty Ifan, 1740; 
MS. Book of Pedigrees of Denbighshire families, circa 1690 ; Will 
of Lewis Anwyl, ] 643 ; Pedigree of Anwyls of Plas yn rhos ; 
Pedigree of Caerfallwch ; several Deeds, from 1619 to 1631 ; Pedi- 
gree of Jones Hafodre ; Deed for a grave in Llanrhaiadr Church, 
1629; two Funeral Cups; Bronze Medal, Paris, 1618 (struck in 
memory of Petrus Isannin), found at Capel Garmon about sixty 
years ago. 

Not far from the village is a tumulus, partly natural, partly artificial. 
The two lines of ditches still remain, except on the east side. Accord- 
ing to Pennant, it is the site of a castlet destroyed by Llywelyn ap 
lorwerth, who subsequently granted this estate to the Cistercian 
Abbey of Conwy. The conquest of Voelas by Llywelyn is referred 
to by Llywarch Prydydd y M6ch (Myv. Arch,, i, 299). Nearer the 
village, and at the back of the old mansion of Voelas, stands the 
Levelinus Stone. This stone is about 8 ft. high, 2 ft. broad, and 
1 ft. thick. The inscription is difficult to decipher. There is an 
excellent drawing of the stone in West wood's Lapidarium Wallioe^ 
Plate Lxxxvii, Fig. 1. From a letter of Edward Llwyd's, dated 
March 3rd, 1691, published in the CamhHan Quarterly, vol. iii, 
p. 211, it seems that there were more than one stone in Camden's 
time. 

On the way to Plas lolyn, a cottage supposed to have been a 
meeting place of the Royalists, was passed at Rhydlydan. Over 
the door, on a tablet, is the inscription " 1648, Mont Rendezvous." 
A long building, now used as a barn, together with a square tower, 
the cellar of which is excavated in the rock, are the only remains 
of the old house at Plas lolyn. Here lived Ellis Price, LL.D., 
who represented the county of Merioneth in the reign of Mary, and 
the first and second parliaments of Elizabeth. He was seven times 
sheriff of Merioncthsliire, once for Caernarvonshire, twice for Anglo- 



LLANRWST MEETING. — REPORT. 329 

Bey, and several times for Denbighshire. Through the interest of 
the Earl of Leicester he obtained a large share of chnrch property 
at the dissolution of monasteries. 

The next place inspected was Gilar, the birthplace of Robert 
Price, who gained the title of *' patriot of his native country", by 
opposing the grant by King William III to William Bentinck Earl 
of Portland of the Lordships of Denbigh, Bromfield, and Yale. Over 
the arched gateway is inscribed '''^n'' Above is a room, and over 
the fireplace are the same initials. This Thomas Price Wynne was 
sheriff in 1624. 

The church of Yspytty Ifan is a new one, but contains the 
effigies of Rhys Fawr ap Meredydd of Plas lolyn, the standard- 
bearer of Henry VII at the battle of Bosworth; of Lowry his 
wife, daughter of Hywel ap Giyffydd Goch, Lord of Rhufoniog, 
and of Robert their son, a chaplain of Cardinal Wolsey and lessee 
of the manor at the time of the dissolution. These effigies are 
given in the Archceologia CambrensiSy vol. vi, 3rd series, 1860, p. 105, 
from very accurate drawings by Miss Frances Wynne. In the south 
wall of the chancel is a brass tablet with the following inscription, 
'^ Maurice Gethin ap Robert Gethin ap*'. When the chnrch was 
taken down, 1858, portions of freestone tombs and window jambs 
belonging to an earlier church were found in the walls. No 
traces of the hospice remain. 

The remains of Pantglas, a large and ancient house of the 
Yaughans, stand on the left side of the road between Yspytty Ivan 
and Voelas Hall. The house stood until about the year 1797, when 
the roof fell in. Here lived Thomas Vaughan, Sheriff for Caernar- 
vonshire inl598, John Vaughan in 1628, and Henry Vaughan in 1699. 

The last object inspected was the gravestone of Brochmael at 
Voelas Hall. It was found in a field called Doltrebeddau. A full 
description of the stone and inscription is given by Professor West- 
wood in the Archoeologia Camhrensis, 1847, p. 30, and it is also men- 
tioned by Professor Rhys in his lectures on Welsh Philology, p. 889. 

The evening meeting was held at the Grammar School. The 
President called upon Professor Babington to give an account of 
the day's excursion. Mr. Howell W. Lloyd read a paper on "Lly- 
welyn ab Seisyllt and his Times", which is printed in the Society's 
journal. On the motion of the Rev. B. L. Barnwell the President 
was asked to call the attention of Col. Wynne Finch, the owner of 
the property, to the fact that the roots of the trees were in danger 
of injuring the Tynycoed Cromlech. The meeting was then ad- 
journed. 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2nd. 

The members started at the appointed time, and after enjoying 
the magnificent view of the whole range of the Caernarvonshire 
mountains, halted at Gwythorin, a small secluded village about 
Bovcu miles to the south-oast of Llanrwst. This church had become 



330 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

so dilapidated that it had to be taken down and rebuilt in 1867. 
On the south side of the church, near the porch, are the remains of 
two stones with floriated crosses, which ought to be taken care of. 
On the north side are four upright stones, 2 ft. high, placed in a 
row. On the most westerly of these stones is the inscription, 
assigned by Professor Westwood to the sixth or seventh century — 
" Vinnemagli Pil Senemagli*'. There is a drawing of it in Lapidarium 
WalluBy Plate Lxxxvil, Fig. 2. The chalice, " the gift of Morris 
Evans", has a cover similar to those of the communion cups of the 
Elizabethan period. In the articles to be inquired of within the 
province of Canterbury, in the visit^ition of Archbishop Grindal 
in 1576, the second inquiry is " Whether you have in your parish 
churches nnd chapels a fair and comely communion cup of silver, 
and a cover of silver for the same, which may serve also for the 
ministration of the communion bread." There are also in the 
church a small hand bell, probably the old Sanctus bell, and a rough 
and rude chest of one block, 40 in. by 20 in. and 17 in. deep. 

From Gwytherin the members proceeded to Dyffryn Aled, on 
their way passing between three tumuli, at a place called from the 
principal of them RJws y Bomen, On their arrival at Dyffryn Aled 
the members were received with courteous hospitality by Pierce 
Wynne Yorke, Esq., for which the President returned the thanks of* 
the Society. 

The party then walked to the place mentioned by Leland, who 
describes it thus: — *' There is in the paroch of Llansannan in the 
side of a strong hille, a place wher ther be 24 holes or places in a 
roundel, for men to sitte in, but sum lesse and sum bigger cutt« 
out of the mayne rock by mannes hand ; and these children and 
young men cumming to seke their catelle use to sitte and play. 
Sum calle it the Rounde Table." At present these so-called holes 
can hardly be recognised. Though the elevation where they are 
said to have been, and the level space in front, must be admitted to 
have been well adapted for games. On the north side of the rock 
appears to have been an earthwork. At the foot of this hill, over 
the doorway of a farmhouse called Plas isaf, is a stone having an 
incised floriated cross with a sword by its side, in a good state of 
preservation. 

The next point Was Llangernyw. Here the members inspected 
the mound, which the President had so kindly offered to open. It 
was, however, pronounced to bo not a tumulus, but a moated mound. 
Llangernyw Church is cruciform, and was repaired in 1848. The 
early Pointed south doorway, which had been converted into a 
window, has now been made the doorway to a new vestry, and on 
its right hand is a stoup. The perpendicular font has quatrefoils 
and the Tudor rose on alternate panels. In the churchyard, to the 
south of the church, are two upright stones with roughly incised 
crosses of different forms. On the same side, more to the south- 
west, are two large boulder stones, nine feet apart, projecting three 
feet above the ground ; between them is the tombstone of Harry 
Lloyd of Rhanheire. 



LLANRWST MEETING. — REPORT. 331 

A short walk brought the ipembers to Hafodanos, the seat of 
H. R. Sandbach, Esq., the President of the Association, where a 
samptuons repast had been provided. When Professor Babington, 
iu the name of the members, had returned thanks for their reccp- 
tiou, the statnarj and portraits were inspected. There was no 
evening meeting. 



THURSDAY, AUGUST 3rd. 

The excursion of this day began with the examination of Llan- 
rwst Church, which consists of a chancel and nave divided by a rich 
and interesting roodloft, said to have been removed thither from 
the Abbey of Maenan on its suppression. The crest- beam which 
supported the image of the crucifix and the attendant images of 
St. Mary and St. John, as appears by the morticed holes, has been 
placed eastward of the loft instead of westward. Among the monu- 
ments in the Gwydir Chapel, built in 1633, on the south side of the 
chancel, are the recumbent eflBgy of an armed warrior, Howell 
Coytmor ap Gruff. Vychan ap Gruff, ap M which may be attri- 
buted to the reign of Henry V ; several brasses commemorating 
different members of the Wynn family, who formerly were the 
owners of Gwydir ; and a stone coffin of extraordinary breadth, said 
to be that of Llywelyn ap lorwerth, Prince of Wales, founder of 
Conwy Abbey, who died in 1240, a date not quite agreeing with 
that of the quatrefoils which adorn the sides of the coffin, and which 
are of early fourteenth century character. An engraving of this 
coffin is given in the supplemental plates of Pennant, vol. ii, and in 
Pugh*s Cambria Depicta. In the latter a small flower-ornament, 
which Pennant does not give, is inserted in the spandrels of the 
quatrefoil. 

The old church at Bettws y Coed was the first halting-place after 
leaving Llanrwst. A recumbent effigy of a knight clad in the de- 
fensive armour of the fourteenth century, is placed under a plain 
Pointed sepulchral arch in the north chancel- wall of this church. In 
raised letters along the edge of the slab on which the effigy rests, is 
the following inscription : " Hie jacet Grufyd ap Davyd Goch. 
Agnus Dei miserere mei." Mr. bloxam, in Arch. Camb,, vol. v. 
Fourth Series, p. 130, states that sculptured effigies like this, repre- 
sented in studded armour, are of extreme rarity.- 

The next place visited was Dolwyddelen Castle, formerly the resi- 
dence of lorwerth Drwyndwn, father of Llywelyn the Great, who 
is suid to have been bom here. The only existing remains are a 
quadrangular tower of three stories, and at a short distance to the 
north of this the south wall of another tower which was standing 
in Pennant's time. 

The parish church, rebuilt on its present site by Meredith Wynne, 
the founder of the house of Gwydir, is small, and comprises a nave 
and chancel with a south aisle of two bays. The round arches are 



332 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOOICAL ASSOCIATION. 

supported by a stone pillar of Bomftn form. On the splay of the 
north window there is a brass effigy of a warrior, represented as 
kneeling, with the legend beneath, ^^ Orate pro a'i'abus Meredith ap 

Ivan ap Robert Armigeri et Alicie nxore Qui obierunt xviii^dio 

Marcii Anno d'ni m^v^xxv® Quorum animabus propicietur Dens: 
Amen." The peculiarity in this effigy consists in the representation 
of the collar and apron of mail. 

From Dolwyddelen the members proceeded to Penmachno Church. 
On takiug down the old church several inscribed and sculptured 
stones were found. These have been securely placed at the west 
end of the new church. On the upper part of one of them are in- 
scribed the letters oria ig tacit. The letters measure from 2 to 3 
inches in height. Another, 22 inches high, and 11 inches wide, has 
a large representation of the labarum monogram of the name of 
Christ, followed by the inscription, CARAUSIUS Hic jacit in hoc CON- 
OEBIES LAPIDUM. The third stone has two inscriptions. On one side : 



And on the other : 



CANTIORIC HIC JACIT 

VENED0TI8 GIVE FUIT 

GONSOBRINO. 



MA.... FILI 
MAGISTRATI. 

A public meeting was held in the evening, at which papers were 
read by Mr. Palmer on " Names of Fields in the Neighbourhood of 
Wrexham", and by Mr. 0. E. Hughes on " Local Legends." 

A vote of thanks to those who entertained the members during 
the week was proposed by Professor Babington, and seconded by 
Canon D. R. Thomas. 

The thanks of the Association were given, on the motion of the 
Rev. E. L. Barnwell, seconded by Mr. Robinson, to the Rev. J. Irby 
Farr, for the use of the Grammar School ; and to the Local Com- 
mittee. 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 4^h. 

This morning the members divided, one portion going to inspect 
Gwydir, an Elizabethan mansion. The house contains much oak 
carving of the time of Elizabeth and James I, portraits of Sir John 
Wynn, Catherine of Berain, and Mary Wynn, Duchess of Ancaster. 
The paneling of the breakfast-room has the linen pattern. 

Another section of the members, who had seen Gwydir previously, 
examined some stone remains on the top of a ridge beyond Maenan. 
On the way they came to the mansion of that name, about a mile 
from the Abbey, so called. This old house has been in part modern- 
ised, bnt retains several of its original, wainscoted rooms, the ceil- 
ings of which are elaborately ornamented with heraldic and other 
devices, and bear the date of 1582, with the initials M. K. (Kyffin) 
and E. R. (Eliziibotha Regina). This was the house of Sir Thomas 
Kyffin, Master of tho Rolls. 



LLANRWST MEETING. — REPORT. 333 

From this point a long and difficult walk brought them to a rocky 
escarpment known as " Oareg Olen", though marked on the Ord- 
nance Map as " Cadair Ifan Goch", But this name belongs to another 
ridge a mile to the north. " Gareg Oleu" is a long and narrow level 
space on the crest of a steep and rocky ridge, and could easily bo 
defended. This space is encompassed by a stone rampart, and 
divided internally into three courts. The northernmost, which is 
the easiest of approach, is nearly a square ; the second is an oblong, 
and larger ; the third, and largest, is an irregular triangle following 
the natural line of the rock. In the north-west angle of this is a 
large, circular hut with a narrow pas.sage. There are several, and 
well defined ones, on the west side, where the walling was double. 
To help towards the identification of the place, which has manifestly 
been a very strong post in its time, we give the local name in full 
as " Careg Oleu Rhiw Dafnau Maenan." 

The next item on the day's programme was the cromlech not far 
from Hendrewaelod, known by the name of " Allor Moloch." 

The members afterwards went to Bodnant Hall, the residence of 
Mr. H. D. Pochin, who had invited them to luncheon. 

When the President, in the name of the Association, had returned 
thanks for their reception, the members drove to Caerhun, the site 
of the Boman station Conovium. Here several interesting remains 
have been at times excavated, such as bricks, urns, pottery, and a 
curious circular shield about 1 foot in diameter, having upon its 
face a piece of wrought iron about 5 inches long. The inside was 
stufied with hair, and covered with leather. 

The next halt was at Llanbedr Church, where an unsuccessful 
search was made for a flat sepulchral slab with a cross thereon, of 
the date 1669, mentioned by Mr. Bloxam in his Companion to Gothic 
Architecture, p. 367. There is a stone with a cross upon it embedded 
in the western wall, just under the bell-turret ; but it has no inscrip- 
tion visible. There is a similar stone in the same position at Caer- 
h(in Church. 

Some of the members afterwards went to Pen Caer Helen, a paper 
on which, by Mr. J. T. Blight, has appeared in the Archceologia Cam- 
hrenais, 1867, 8rd Series, vol. xiii, p. 276. 

At the evening meeting the officers of the Society were re-elected, 
and Fishguard was selected as the place of meeting for 1883. 



334 



CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 



CAMBKIAN AECHiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 



LLANRWST MEETING, 1882. 

STATEMRNT OF ACCOUNl'S. 



Payments. 


£ 8. d. 


Receipts. 


£ *. 


d. 


Printing . 


. 1 16 6 


Subscriptions . 


. 13 8 





Postage . 


. 16 


Tickets sold . 


. 5 9 





Mr. Hutchings 


.18 2 








Expenses of excursions 


. 1 17 5 








Cleaning rooms 


.030 








Balance . 


. 12 16 11 










£18 17 


£18 17 






Examined and found correct, 

0. C. Babinqton, Chairman of General Committee. 
J. Blackwall, Chairman of Local Committee. 



SUBSCRIBERS TO LOCAL FUND. 

II. R. Sandbach, Esq., President 

Mrs. J. R. Griffith, Brynderwen, Llanrwst 

Mrs. Norris, Qorphwysfa, Llanrwst 

J. Blackwall, Esq., Hendre House, Llanrwst 

Richard James, Esq., D^^fifryn Aur, Llanrwst 

T. E. Jones, Esq., M.D., Henar, Llanrwst 

H. D. Pochin, Esq., Bodnant Hall, Conwy 

The Rev. R. Trevor Owen, Llangedwyn, Oswestry 



£ 


s. 


d. 


5 





i) 


2 


2 
















































£13 8 



STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR 1881. 



PAYMENTS. 

Printing 

Engravings 

Editor .... 

Rev. R. Trevor Owen, for 

postages, etc. . 
Balance 



£ s. 

148 3 

38 16 

40 



2 
25 



2 
2 10 



£254 4 



Examined and found correct, 
(Signed) 

July 22, 1882. 



RECEIPTS. 

By balance 
Books sold 
Balance of Church Stret- 

ton Local Fund 
Subscriptions 



£ s, d. 
20 10 10 
13 3 



40 
180 



Arthur Goke 
Charles C. Babikqton 



£254 4 



Auditors, 



335 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS. 



VOL. XIII. FOURTH SERIES. 



Accounts, statement of, 1881, 334 
Anglesey, 66, 210, 265, 266 
Annaal Meeting, programme of, 

160 
Archenfield, 87 
Arundel (Earl of), 813 

Bangor, diocese of, 160 

Dr. Wm. Roberts, Bishop 

of, 270 

Griffith Williams, D.D., 



Dean of, 272 

Basing work Abbey, 238 

Battle Abbey, 287, 289, 291 

Beaumaris Castle, Colonel Myt- 
ton Governor, 66 

Beaumaris, petition of the bur- 
gesses of, 309 

Biaenllyfni Castle, 300 

Brecon Priory, 276 

Brecon, William Morgan, knight 
of the shire of, 203 

Bridgnorth Castle, Colonel Lloyd 
Governor, 64 

Brinsop, tithes of, 304 

Brydges (Sir John), 199 

Bullibur Tumulus, 51 

Cardiff, rising of the townsmen 

of, 63 
Castle, Edward Prychard 

Governor, 59 



Cardiganshire, petition of the 
well affected gentry, etc., of, 
200, 207 

mines royal, in, 201 

Thomas Lloyd, Sheriff of, 

209 

Carnarvon Castle, Colonel Glynn 
Governor, 66 

Carnarvon, petition of the bur- 
gesses of, 309 

Carter (Colonel John), 267 

Caereinion, manor of, 269 

Cathedine, 295 

Cheshire, petition of the Deputy 
Lieutenants of, 197 

Sir William Brereton 

Governor, 5y, 60 

Chester, petition of the Governor 
and Committee of the city of, 
197 

of the aldermen, etc., of, 

202 

Castle, order of victual- 
ling, 266 

Colonel Michael Jones, 

Governor, 62 

Chirk Castle, Sir Thomas Mid- 
dleton» Governor, 63 

Sir John Walter Govern- 
or, 61, 66 

and lordship, 313 



Chepstow Castle, Colonel Thos. 
Hughes, Governor, 59 



336 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS. 



Chepstow Bridge, repair of, 209 
Chirbury (Edward Lord Herbert 

of), 203, 265 
Church Stretton, 174 
Cleobury North, 805 
Cliflford Castle, 36 
Conwy Abbey, records of, 71 
Conwy, petition of tho burgesses 

of, 300 
Craven (Lord), 272, 273 



Da vies (Colonel Thos.) of Gwys- 

aney, 234 
Denbighshire, office of Prothono- 

tary of, 206 

wills, 118 

Dyffryn Ceiriog, 90 



Edisbury, petition of John, 206 
Ewias Castle, 36 

Flintshire, Luke Lloyd, Sheriff 

of, 68 

wills, 120, 121 

Fitz-Herbert (Peter), 295 
Fitz-Peter (Reginald), 295, 297, 

298 
(Herbert), 300 

Gesail Gyfarch Stone, 161 
Glamorganshire, Bushy Mansell, 

High Sheriff of, 64 
Major-General Langhame 

to command in, 63 

relation of occurrences in, 



63 

Gloucester, Colonel Thos. Mor- 
gan, Governor, 208, 268 

Committee for the county 

of, 63 

pay of two foot regiments 

of, 64 

Glynne (Mr. John), Recorder of 
London, 63, 208, 265 

Goodman (Dr. Godfrey), Bishop 
of Gloucester, 205, 266 



Q Wynne (Owen), Master of St. 
John's College, Cambridge, 76 



Hafod Adam, 96 

Hartlebury Castle, surrender of, 
208 

Ha warden Castle, order for sus- 
teutation of, 234 

Hay (Richard de), 307 

Herbert (Edward Lord), son of 
Eari of Worcester, 207 

(Edward Lord), of Chir- 
bury, 208, 265 

(Edward), son of Lord 



Herbert of Chirbury, 267 
Hereford, Ralph Bishop of, 304 

Walter Bishop of, 32 

Wahlstod, Bishop of, 20 

Colonel John Birch, Go- 
vernor, 59, 65 
Hugh de Cluna, 283 
H umber, 305 

Huntington (William Earl of), 72 
Humphrey de Bohun, 299, 301 



Inscribed stone nearNarbcrth,41 
Itinerant preachers, appointment 
of, for South Wales, 198 



Jones (John) of Nanteos, 207 



Llandaff, diocese of, 29 

Herwald, Bishop of, 38 

Urban, Bishop of, 38 



Llaneliew, 295 

Llangorse, 295, 300 

Llanidloes, 267 

Llanllechid, 

Llanmadoc, 56 

Llanwnda incised stones, 104 

Langharne (Major-Gencral), 59, 

63, 66, 67, 205, 265 
Lenthall (Wm.), Speaker of tho 

Houseof Commons, 66,273,311 
Llywelyn ab Seisyllt, 176