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PITAJ WRIGHT DUNNlNC 1 if; 
BEQL'EST ''^ 

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 
^, Gh:NERAL LI B RAR Y ^ J v 



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^ritli«*l«0ta Carahrfttsis, 



IBM 



JOURNAL 



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Cawkion Irrlunlngifal JlBanriotion. 




TOL. VIII. FIFTH SKBIEa 



LONDON: 
PICKERma AND CHATTO, 66, HATMAEKET, S.W. 

1891. 






LOVSOV ; 
WKXTXVO AVD CO., 30 AND 32, BAKSXiriA BTBIR, W.C. 



3 -J. BO^ 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Ewloe Castle .... P. B. Davies-Cooke 1 

Holy Welhi, or Water- Veneration Eev. E. Owen 8 

The Castreton of Atiscross Hundred in 
Domesday^ identified with the Town of 
Flint . . . . G. W. Shrubsole 17 



Qarregllwyd Stone, Aberhafesp . W. Scott Owen 

Boman Stones of the Tyrant Piayonins 

Victorinns . . . . J. O. Westwood 

Notice of a newly discovered Inscribed 

Stone on Winsford Hill, Exmoor . J. Rhys 

The recent Discovery of Urns at Pen- 
maenmawr .... 

Manx Ogams .... 

Report of the Forty-Fifth Annual Meeting 
at Holywell .... 

Llanveigan Church, Breconshire 

Llyfr Silin yn Cynnwys achan amryw 
Deolnoedd yn Wgwynedd, Powys, etc. 
{continued) .... 

Report of the Forty-Fifth Annual Meeting 
at Holywell (continued) 

Note on Pig of Lead in Chester Museum 

Receipts and Expenditure, Holywell Meet- 
ing ... . 

Cambrian Archaeological Association, 
Statement of Accounts for 1890 

Notice of a Medisdval Thurible found at 
Penmaen, in Qower 



J. p. £arwaker 


33 


J. Rhys 


. 38 


, 


51 


Rev. J. Price 


. 81 


• 


86 


, , 


102 


• 


137 


. 


144 


. 


160 


J. Bomillj Allen 


161 



23 
27 
29 



IT 



CONTENTS. 



The Place of Caerwys in Welsli History . 
Lingebrook Priory 

Evidenoes of the Barri Family of Manor- 
beer and Olethan, with other early 
Owners of the former, in Pembrokeshire 

Llyfr Silin yn Cynnwys achaa amryw 
Denlaoedd yn Ngwynedd, Powys, etc, 
{continued) .... 

Chief of the Noble Tribes of Gwynedd 

The Early Welsh Monasteries 

ETidenoes of the Bam Family of Manor- 
beer, Penally, and Bigelly, with other 
early Owners of the former, in Pem- 
broKeshire (^continued) . 

Index ..... 

Illustrations, List of . 



Edward Owen 
B. W. Banks 



H. F. J. Vanghan 
J.W.Willis-Bund 



Sir O. Duckett 



PAGl 

166 
185 



Sir G. Duckett . 190 



209 
241 
262 



277 
329 
dSl 



Obituary 

Reviews aitd Notices of Books 

Abcosoloqical Notes and Queries 



. 297 
42, 146, 224, 299 
77, 158, 283, 303 



^itkealagia Cauiliwjisis. 



FIFTH SERIES.— VOL. Vltl, NO. XXIX. 



JANUARY 1891. 



EWLOE CASTLE. 

BY T. B. DAVIBS- COOKE, ESQ. 
{Read at IhA Holywell Meeting, August 19/A, 1890.) 

After the Norman Conquest the English seem to have 
been constantly at war with the Welsh. They had 
gained possession of some strong positions, and had 
castles at Hawarden and Mold, then called Mont' Alto, 
a translation of the British name Wyddgrug, still used 
by the Welsh. As the English tried to get into Wales 
by Caergwrle (an old Roman station), Hope, Mold, 
Hawarden, and along the banks of the Dee, fights were 
very frequent. 

We find some of the Welsh princes at times siding 
with the English, while others were against them. It 
thus happened that in 1156, Cadwaladr, son of GruflT- 
ydd, and Madoc ap Meredydd, Prince of Powys, in- 
cited Henry II to devastate Gwynedd. Hearing of 
this, Owain Gwynedd assembled an army against him. 
In 1157 he sent his sons. Prince David and Prince 
Conan, to resist the King, who with his forces were 
allowed to become entangled in the woods and defiles 
of Ewloe, and in an action known as that of Coed 
Ewloe was utterly routed. At this battle were pro- 
bably present Eustace Fitz-John and Robert de Courci, 

5th sek., vol. VIII. 1 



2 EWLOE CASTLE. 

two of Henry's barons, also Henry de Essex, the 
standard-bearer, as we find all three, a few days after, 
named as certainly fighting at the battle of Coleshill. 
There Henry de Essex, in a panic, threw down the 
standard of England, and cried, ''The King is dead!'* 
The Welsh defeated a portion of the King's army, but 
Henry himself appearing, encouraged his men, and 
eventually gained the victory. A field in Caerfallwch 
township, not far from Sarn Galed, in Northop parish, 
is still known as *' Cae Harri". A king is said to have 
taken refuge among some trees there. Can this have 
been Henry II after the defeat at Coed Ewloe ? 

No mention seems to be made of Eustace Fitz- John ; 
but Robert de Courci may have been a kinsman of 
John de Courci, one of Henry Us most successful and 
valiant soldiers, to whom in 1176 he granted " Ulidia", 
the present counties of Down and Antrim in Ireland, 
and whose wife, AfFreca, founded (1193) Grey Abbey, 
Co. Down, for Cistercians. They had no children. 

Henry de Essex being accused of treason, six years 
after the battle of Coleshill, by Robert de Montfort, 
they fought a duel on an island in the Thames, near 
Reading. The standard-bearer was left for dead, and 
his body was carried by the monks to their church, 
where, being stripped of his armour, he revived, and 
became a monk of the Abbey of Reading. 

So far we have heard nothing of Ewloe Castle, for 
the very simple reason that no castle then existed. 

In the 4th Edward II (131 1) an inquisition was held 
upon a writ commanding the Justice of Chester to cer- 
tify as to the King's right to the manor of Ewloe. 
From this we find that Owain Gwynedd, some time 
Prince of Wales, was seized of the manor of Ewloe, in 
his demesne, as of fee. 

On his death (1169), David, his son, entered on the 
said manor as Prince of Wales, and held it till Llew- 
elyn ap lorwerth took from him the Principality toge- 
ther with the manor of Ewloe. 

Llewelyn ap lorwerth died seized of the manor, and 



EWLOE CASTLE. 3 

was succeeded by David his son, who also died seized 
thereof. Then Henry III occupied the same and four 
cantreds in Wales, z.e., those along the Dee to Con- 
way. He made Roger de Mohault (Mont' Alto) his 
Justice of Chester, and that individual quietly attached 
the manor of Ewloe to hie neighbouring possessions at 
" Hawithyn'' (Hawarden) and Mohaultsdale, to which 
it had never belonged. He made a park of the Wood 
of Ewloe, and so held the same manor and park until 
Llewelyn ap Grufiydd ap Llewelyn (the last Prince of 
Wales, who was killed at Builth in 1282) recovered 
the four cantreds from Henry III, and again attached 
them to the Principality of Wales. 

The said Prince Llewelyn ousted Roger de Mohault 
from the manor of Ewloe a.d. 1256, and built a castle 
in the corner of the Wood, which he gave to Ithel ap 
Bleddyn to hold of him as well as the manor. Prince 
Llewelyn continued seized of the manor of Ewloe until 
overcome by Edward I. The manor was then of the 
yearly value of £60, which is equal to about £1,500 of 
present money. 

The dimensions of the Castle of Ewloe, which con- 
sisted of a keep, round at one end, of a round tower, 
and of two courts, are 563 ft. round the outside walls. 
It is situated in an angle formed by two streams, the 
banks of which are very steep. The third side is pro- 
tected by a moat about 33 ft. broad. The keep would 
defend the pass by one stream ; the round tower, the 
pass along the other. 

The keep was probably of three stories ; dungeon, 
12 ft. 3 in. deep ; first floor, 13 ft. high ; and a floor 
above, now gone ; over which would be the roof and 
battlements. I believe the dungeon to have had a wall 
across it, dividing it into two parts. The entrance to 
the keep was by a doorway, 10 ft. 9 in. high, open- 
ing into the first floor. There was a platform outside 
it with, mayhap, steps ascending from the inner court. 
There may have been two doors to the keep, an inner 
and an outer one ; though as there are no indications 



4 EWLOE CASTLE, 

by crooks, bolts, or otherwise, of an inner door, it is 
probable there was only one. 

On the right of the door as one enters the keep there 
is a small doorway, 6 ft. jG in. high, leading to the stair- 
case. This staircase now consists of fifteen steps lead- 
ing to the place above the first floor, where there may 
have been, and probably was, an entrance to a room. 
Then come four steps more, which take one to the top 
of the wall as now standing. 

The thickness of all the Castle walls is either 7 ft. 3 in. 
in some parts, or in others 7 ft. 6 in., except the wall 
dividing the two courts, which seems to have been 
only some 4 ft. thick. To secure the door there must 
have been a wooden bar which ran into a hole now 
some 6 ft. 6 in. deep. 

Similar bars, running back into holes 4 ft. deep, 
secured the windows on the first floor, one of which 
remains almost perfect, though the other has suffered 
from time, — assisted by man. The window still exist- 
ing is 3 ft. 9 in. high by 1 ft. 9 in. It had two upright 
iron stanchions and five horizontal bars. There were 
stone seats in each window. 

Iron and wood seem to have been plentiful at Ewloe. 
Mr. Henry Taylor, in • his excellent work, Historical 
Notices of Flinty to which and to himself I am much 
indebted for information, mentions that one William 
Faber, when employed at Flint Castle, a.T). 1204, had 
two pieces of Ewloe iron for the door of the bretasche 
towards Colshulle, and eighteen pieces o^ iron of Ew- 
loe for bars to the window in the chapel and room next 
the chapel. Also that Thomas Carpenter and his fel- 
lows, wood-cutters, for cutting 10,000 shingles in Ew- 
loe Wood, for the kitchen and stable of Flint Castle, 
to be newly covered, had 45. (equal now to about £2) 
for every 1,000. 

I have forgotten to mention that the size of the first 
floor room of keep seems to have been 38 ft.by25ft. 9in., 
a very splendid apartment. Probably most of the win- 
dows looked down the dingles ; and as openings, if 



EWLOE CASTLE. 5 

frequent, would cause weakness, we may thus partly 
account for the fall of so much of the keep- wall on that 
side. As early as 1311 we find from the aforesaid 
inquisition, 4 Edward II, that the Castle was then only 
*' in great part standing". It must, however, have been 
repaired, as at one time (considerably later, I imagine) " 
a high-pitched roof covered the room over the first 
floor. This can be seen, as the pitch is still visible. 

The round tower has walls 7 ft. 6 in. thick, and a 
diameter, inside, of 25 ft. 8 in. From the present level 
of the round tower to the level of the outer court there 
is a depth of 15 ft., so it is possible there may be a 
room hidden there. 

Of the inhabitants we know that Prince Llewelj^n 
gave the Castle to Itliel ap Bleddyn, to hold for him, 
as well as the manor. This personage, as far as can be 
ascertained by date, is Ithel Anwyl ap Bleddyn, who is 
said to have lived in the Castle, and to have been 
buried in Northop Church, where, it is added, is his 
tomb. He was one of the Captains of Teg Eingl, 
whose duty it was to keep the English off. He 
bore for his arms, party per pale, gules and oi\ two 
lions rampant, adorsed, counterchanged in pale, an 
armed sword pointing downwards, argent^ hilted and 
pomelled or. He had a son, Bleddyn ap Ithel Anwyl, 
whose son, Ithel, was living a.d. 1329. One of the 
three figures in Northop Church may represent Ithel 
Anwyl ; the other, with the inscription, " Hie jacet 
Ithel Vach ap Bledd: Vach" (here lies Ithel the Little, 
or Younger, son of Bleddyn the Younger), may be his 
grandson, who certainly would be a son of Bleddyn the 
Younger, as his grandfather, Ithel Anwyl, was son of 
an elder Bleddyn. 

We have now brought the history of the manor and 
Castle down to the time when Edward I seized upon 
the possessions of the last Celtic Prince of Wales. 
From official documents I find Edward I dealing with 
the manor in 1284-5, and it remained with the Crown^ 

1 Richard II granted it, 12 Aug. 1398, for life, to John de Mout- 



6 EWLOE CASTLE. 

till Henry IV, 2 Nov. 1399, granted it for life to Sir 
William Clifford, Knt. 4 Oct. 1411, Sir William Clif- 
ford surrendered the above grant and confirmation, but 
had a re-grant for life from Henry Prince of Wales, the 
said Sir William to answer for all the value of the said 
manor above £20. 

18 Januaiy 1413-14, the King, Henry V, leases to 
John Helegh or Heley the manor of Ewloe, together 
with the sea-coal mine there, saving to John de Ewloe, 
farmer (i.e., tenant of the sea-coal mine), and to John 
ap Goch, farmer of the mill called " Le Castell Mulle", 
their terms of old granted to them ; they paying, how- 
ever, their rents to the said John de Heleagh, — for ten 
years at 4 marks, and £20 yearly to Sir William Clif- 
ford, who had a grant of the said manor, town, and 
mine to that value ; the said John de Heleagh to re- 
build the mill there, called " La Lady Mulle'*, at his 
own cost. 

In 1423 Henry V assigned the manor of Ewloe to 
his Queen, Katherine of France, as part of her dower. 
In 1437 the town and lordship are leased to Richard 
de Whitley, together with the coal mines in the county 
of Flint, for seven years from the death of Queen 
Katherine, for £22 : 13 : 4, as in last lease, and £4 more 
of increase. 

18 Jan. 1444, Henry VI gave certain rights at Ew- 
loe, by letters patent, to Peter Stanley and Margery 
his wife, to have and to hold to them and the heirs 
and assigns of the said Margery, by the service of a 
fourth part of one knight s fee. Margery Stanley was 
a daughter of Sir John Heighleigh, Knt.; perhaps the 
same John Helegh to whom, in 1413-14, King Henry V 
had leased the manor. 

Their son, Peter or Pyers Stanley, of Ewloe Castle, 
was High Sheriff of Merionethshire in 1485, and died 



acute, Earl of SaliRbury, subject to the yearly payment of 40 marks 
to William Warde and Thomas Brestwyk, who lield the same manor 
to that value by a grant of 19 June 1395. 



EWLOE CASTLE. 7 

about 1521. He married Constance, daughter of Tho- 
mas Salisbury (called H6n or Old) of Llyweni. To 
their son, Pyers Stanley, who was a gentleman of 
Henry VIIFs household, the King, 7 April 1535, 
granted a lease of Ewloe manor. 

For six generations the Stanleys lived at Ewloe 
Castle ; in the seventh generation Anne Stanley, the 
heiress, married John Mostyn of CoedOn, who was 
buried at Flint Church, 8th June 1607. 

Until 1627 the manor remained with the Crown ; 
but in July 1628 it was the property of Sir John North, 
Knt., who sold it to Colonel Thomas Davies, who resold 
it to his nephew, Robert Davies, Esq., of Gwysaney, 
20th June 1637, from whom the present owner inhe- 
rits it. One of the present owner's ancestors married 
a Stanley of Ewloe Castle. 



HOLY WELLS, OR WATER- VENERATION. 

BY THE REV. ELIAS OWEN, F.S.A. 
(^Read at the Holywell Meeting, August 20th, 1890.) 

The reverence once paid in Wales to sacred or holy 
wells has in our practical days all but disappeared. 
Formerly living water was supposed to possess virtues 
of a supernatural kind. Faith in the efficacy of sacred 
wells to cure disease was, perhaps, a development of a 
possibly ancient idea, that all objects were animate, 
and consequently that water was a living being, and as 
such had power which it usually exercised benefi- 
cently ; but occasionally this power assumed an inimi- 
cal form, and was destructive of human property and 
prosperity. Thus would water, streams, rivers, fount- 
ains, waterfalls, and wells, become objects of veneration 
and worship, and propitiatory offerings would be made 
to them either from fear or from some other motive. 

Water-worship was common to ancient pag«nnism, and 
possibly at this present moment, in various parts of the 
world, water is an object of veneration. The Egyptians, 
Persians, Greeks, etc., had their deities of fountain and 
stream. The early inhabitants of Gaul, Switzerland, 
and central Europe, worshipped lakes, and regarded 
them as sacred. The beautiful bracelets which have 
been discovered in the Swiss lakes have been supposed 
to have been votive offerings to the water-god. Classi- 
cal writers, such as Tacitus, Pliny, and Virgil, also 
allude to sacred lakes. Traces of a similar supei-stition 
with regard to water may still be found in Scotland 
and Ireland, and possibly in Wales. The Ganges, Nile, 
and Dee are or were thought to be sacred rivers. The 
step from worship to veneration, and from veneration 
to regard, consequent upon cures at certain wells, is 
natural. 

But I must confine my remarks to Wales, or this 



HOLY WELLS, OR WATEK-VENERATION. 9 

paper will extend to an unrea*sonable length. Many 
parishes in Wales still have their holy wells, but they 
are unaired for and overgrown with weeds, and the 
walls that at one time surrounded them have fallen 
down ; in some instances the wells have been filled up, 
and the water drained off, and undoubtedly their glory 
has departed. Once though, and that at no distant 
time, the cost of keeping the parish holy well in order 
was an item in the annual expenses of the parish ; and 
I have seen in parish accounts that a shilling was paid 
yearly out of the mize, or rates, towards keeping the 
holy well clean. 

These holy wells in Wales date from ancient times, 
even from pre-Christian ages. The Celtic people evinced 
great veneration for sacred wells, which in Gaul degene- 
rated into idolatry ; and if Gildas, who is supposed to 
have lived in the sixth century, is correct, it would 
seem that even in Wales divine honour was paid to 
them. His words are: *'Neqne nominatim inclami- 
tans montes ipsos, aut fontes vel coUes, aut fluvios olim 
exitiabiles, nunc vero humanis usibus utiles, quibus 
divinus honor a cseco tunc populo cumulabatur."^ (Nor 
will I call out upon the mouni'dms,fountai7iS9 or hills, 
or upon the rivers, which are now subservient to the 
use of men, but once were an abomination and destruc- 
tion to them, and to which the blind people paid divine 
honour,) This species of idolatry was interdicted by 
the Council of Tours, a.d. 567, and by other laws, but 
such commands are seldom entirely obeyed. 

It would seem that the early British missionaries 
perceiving the peoples attachment to ancient forms, 
consecrated or selected particular wells, already in high 
esteem, for the purposes of holy baptism ; and thus 
even in the present century the water for the font, and 
even for washing the church, was procured in many 
parishes from the well dedicated to the patron Saint of 
that church rather than from some other well in closer 
proximity to the church. 

* Gildas, paragraph 4. 



10 HOLY WELLS, 

There is reason to believe that the sites of many 
churches were selected because of the holy wells which 
existed in their neighbourhoods, and which were much 
frequented and greatly venerated by the Celtic people 
who inhabited those parts. There were wells even 
within churches ; but these in modern times have been 
drained. When Llanelian Church was being restored, 
a well of spring water was discovered beneath the 
floor, and tnere was some difficulty in diverting the 
spring. In many churchyards there were wells roofed 
over, from which water for baptism was obtained, and 
which were resorted to for bodily health. By trans- 
ferring thus to sacred purposes these ancient and 
venerated wells, they continued in Christian times to 
be greatly esteemed by the people. 

These wells were not alike in virtue. To some were 
attributed healing powers, to others cursing powers, 
whilst some again were supposed to possess prophetic 
powers, and some were used as wishing wells. They 
were frequented by the sick in body and the sick in 
mind, and anxious mothers carried in their arms their 
weak babies to them to obtain health. There were 
some wells used as a remedy for one kind of ailment, 
and others were thought to afford help in some other 
bodily disease. Thus one well, by the performance of 
certain rites, removed warts ; others, again, were fre- 
quented by those afflicted with cancer ; whilst others 
were good for the eyes ; weak-limbed people received 
strength from bathing in some, and bruises were healed 
in others ; fits even were cured by the waters of one 
well, and others were capable of healing the whooping- 
cough. Various were the ailments, far more in number 
than those enumerated, which were removed by the 
waters of these sacred wells. Undoubtedly some of 
these possessed medicinal properties, and hence their 
virtue. 

From the preceding enumeration it will be seen that 
there were wells that could affect for good or ill their 
votaries ; but there was one that could give to horses 



OR WATER- VENERATION. 1 1 

health. This was in the parish of St. George, near 
Abergele. Distempered animals were brought there, 
sprinkled with the water, and this blessing pronounced 
over them : — 

"Rhad Dow a Sant Sior arnal".'* 
(TJie blessing of God and St. George be on tbee.) 

But there was still another use to which holy wells 
could be put, which is very suggestive. A person who 
wished to unchristianise himself, so as to become an 
expert in the black art, filled his mouth three times 
with water from the well, ejecting it each time with 
apparent loathing, and after the third performance he 
was open to contract with the Evil One. There is a 
well of this description in the upper part of Llanelidan 
parish, called '* Ffynnon y Pasc." 

In certain parts of Wales lads and lasses, on Trinity 
Sunday, were in the habit of going to their holy well, 
and putting therein sugar, and then they all drank the 
water. This is, or was, a custom not confined to Wales. 

It was once customary not only to leave crutches 
and walking-sticks, but also the clouts used by the dis- 
eased at the wells where the sick had been cured, and 
even the harness of cattle was left behind, not only as 
offerings, but as a proof of the complete cure bestowed 
by the healing virtues of the waters. 

Wells with a south aspect were supposed to be the 
best. 

But it is time to proceed to a description of a few of 
the many holy wells once of more than local fame in 
Wales. It will be seen from what I have already said 
that many superstitions cluster round these spots, and 
religious ideas of ancient times have through them 
lingered on to our days. 

One of the most baneful as well as one of the best 
known wells was St. Elian's, or, as it is called, "Ffynnon 
Elian." Ffynnon Elian was a cursing well. It is situ- 
ated in the parish of Llanelian, about two miles from 
the modern town of Colwyn Bay. It was under the 



12 HOLY WKLLS, 

protection of St, Elian, a most popular Welsh Saint, 
who had, according to Pennant, '* a great concourse of 
devotees who implored his assistance to relieve them 
from a variety of disorders." But I will give Pennant s 
description of the Well. He states that " the Well of 
St. Elian has been in great repute for the cures of all 
diseases, by means of the intercession of the Saint, who 
was fii'st invoked by earnest prayers in the neighbour- 
ing church. He was also applied to on less worthy 
occasions, and made the instrument of discovering 
thieves, and of recovering stolen goods. Some repair 
to him to imprecate their neighbours, and to request 
the Saint to afflict with sudden death, or with some 
great misfortune, any person who may have offended 
them. The belief in this is still strong, for three years 
have not elapsed since I was threatened by a fellow 
(who imagined I had injured him) with the vengeance 
of St. Elian, and a journey to his Well to curse me with 
effect." 

Thus wrote Pennant in 1773. The efficacy of the 
AVell is believed in even in our days. I went to it in 
1888. A woman w^ho lives close by told me that people 
now visit it. 

The manner of proceeding in order to curse any one 
was to go to the Well and drop into it a pebble with 
the initials of the doomed party written thereon. This 
technically was called putting such an one into the 
Well. People from all parts of Wales went to Llan- 
elian to put those they had a spite against into the 
Well ; and the dread of such a proceeding was great 
beyond belief. But happily a person could take him- 
self out of the Well, and then he woijjd return to his 
normal state of health ; but as long as his name re- 
mained in tlie v^ater, so long would the wished-for 
afflictions of his enemy last. 

There was a custodian of St. Elian's Well. The last 
was John Evans. It was his work to search for the 
pebbles of those who had been placed therein, and take 
them out, and advise what should be done to counter- 
act the curse. 



OR WATER- VENERATION. 13 

Innumerable tales are afloat respecting the evils and 
the good accomplished at this Well. I have gathered 
quite a number of them from people acquainted v/ith 
" Jack, the priest", as he was called, and as illustrative 
of my subject I will record a few. 

A pig cursed, — An old man, Robert Hughes, of Rowen, 
near Conway, told me, thirty years ago, when I spoke 
to him of Ffynnon Elian, that a neighbour had sus- 
tained many losses from, as he supposed, the thiev- 
ing propensities of certain parties who lived near him. 
His wheat and oats and barley had, time after time, 
diminished unaccountably. At last his patience was 
exhausted, and he determined to go for vengeance to 
Ffynnon Elian. So one morning, at the break of day, 
he started on his journey, and having arrived there ho 
cursed with madness the thief who had stolen his 
grain. He returned pleased with what he had done. 
But curses come home to roost. Whilst he was engaged 
in partaking of refreshments, his wife, who had gone to 
feed the pigs, rushed into the house stating that the 
sow was raving mad. It was true. But on investiga- 
tion it was proved that the sow was the culprit, and 
that she had got at the corn in a cunning manner. 
However, the sow, being cursed with madness, was 
punished for her thefts. 

A Woman and her Husband. — A young v^ife who could 
not get on with her husband, determined to see what 
the Well could do for her. One day, in her husband's 
absence from home, she went to St. Elian to see what 
he advised. She stated her case to the custodian, and 
he immediately informed her that incompatibility of 
temper came nicely within the influence of the Well. 
He procured a bottle, and filled it with water from the 
sacred fount, and instructed her, whenever her hus- 
band was angry, and used strong language, to go 
quietly to the bottle and take therefrom a mouthful of 
the holy water, and retain it in her mouth as long as 
the storm of words lasted ; and he told her that she 
w^as to be very careful not to swallow the draught, for 



14 HOLY WELLS, 

that would be dangerous to her ; but as soon as her 
angry husband had ceased his abuse, she was to go 
outside and eject the water. This the woman promised 
to do ; but on starting away her eyes fell upon the 
small bottle in her hand, and bearing in mind the con- 
stant outbursts of passion on the part of her husband, 
she surmised that the bottle's contents would hardly 
last a day. 

"Ah !" said she to the Well-keeper, '* this will soon 
be finished, and what shall I do then ?'' 

" You can replenish the water daily from any spring," 
said he, " and thus a portion of the sacred water will 
ever remain in the bottle." 

So the woman departed, and the charm worked mar- 
vellously, for in a short time it accomplished a complete 
cure. So grateful was she that at the end of a twelve- 
month she determined to pay another visit to the cus- 
todian, who was surprised to see her, and inquired 
what she would further. '* Nothing" was her reply ; 
" but I have come to tell that my husband is now the 
best of men, and I am the happiest of w^omen." 

These tales will suflSce to show how miracles were 
wrought at St. Elian's Well. 

St. Tecla's Well, in the parish of Llandegla, was once 
a famous resort of health-seekers. It was efficacious in 
a disease called choyf tegla, or the falling sickness. 
The manner of proceeding was as follows. The patient 
washed his limbs in the Well, made an offering of four 
pence to it, walked round it three times, and thrice 
repeated the Lords Prayer. These ceremonies never 
began till after sunset. If the afflicted were a male, he 
made an offering of a cock ; if of the fair sex, a hen. 
The fowl was carried in a basket first round the Well, 
and then after that to the churchyard, where the same 
circumambulations were performed round the church. 
Then the votary entered the church, got under the 
altar, lay down there with a Bible under his head, and 
the bird s beak in his mouth, and was covered over 
with a rug of cloth, and rested there until break of day. 



OR WATER-VENERATION. 15 

On departing he left the fowl in the church, and an 
offering of six-pence. If the bird died, the cure was 
supposed to have been eflFected, and the disease trans- 
ferred to the victim. 

St. Deifers Well, Bodfari, was frequented for bodily 
ailments; and here, too, offerings of living animals were 
made, — a cockerel for a boy, and a pullet for a girl. 
The sick went nine times round the church before they 
bathed in the Well. Peevish children were dipped to 
the neck at three of its corners, to prevent their crying 
in the night. 

This Well has been drained, and supplies the villagers 
with water. 

But I must proceed. No description of wells in 
Wales can be complete without reference to the famous 
Well that gives existence and its name to the town in 
which the learned members of the Cambrian Archaeolo- 
gical Association meet this year. 

St. Winifred's Well. — Tradition accounts for this 
wonderful Well as follows. " In the seventh century 
lived a virgin of extraordinary sanctity and beauty, 
who made a vow of chastity, and dedicated herself to 
the service of God, and was put under the care of her 
uncle Beuno, who had erected a church here, and per- 
formed the services of God. A neighbouring heathen 
prince named Cradoc was struck with her uncommon 
beauty, and at all events was determined to gratify his 
desires. He made known his passion for her, who, 
affected with horror, attempted her escape. The dis- 
appointed wretch instantly pursued her, drew out his 
sword, and cut off her head. But his punishment was 
instantaneous ; he fell down dead, and the earth open- 
ing swallowed his impious corpse. The severed head 
rolled down the hill, and stopped near the church. 
St. Beuno took it up, carried it to the corpse, and offer- 
ing his devotions, joined it to the body, which instantly 
united, and a spring of uncommon size burst forth from 
the very place where the head had rested. And this 
was the origin of St. Winifred's Well, so called after 
the saintly virgin Winifred." 



16 HOLY WELLS, OR WATER-VENERATION. 

Pennant, in his account, says : "After the death of 
that Saint the waters were ahuost as sanative as those 
of the Pool of Bethesda. All infirmities incident to the 
human body met with relief. The votive crutches, the 
barrows, and other proofs of cures, to this moment 
remain as evidences pendent over the Well." Pennant 
states that of late years the number of pilgrims had 
considerably decreased, and that in the summer a few 
were to be seen in the water, up to their chins, in deep 
devotion for. hours, or performing a number of evolu- 
tions round the Well a prescribed number of times. 

Pennant also speaks of a large stone near the steps, 
2 ft. under the water, called " The Wishing Stone", 
which received many a kiss from the faithful, who, he 
says, are supposed never to fail experiencing the com- 
pletion of their desires, provided the wish is delivered 
with full devotion and confidence. He adds that " on 
the outside of the great Well, close to the road, is a 
small spring, once famed for the cure of weak eyes." 

In a paper of this description it must suffice that 
reference only is made to this wonderful Well. A volume 
could be written on it ; and if time and opportunity 
occur I hope, in the uncertain future, in a contemplated 
work, to more fully describe this and other holy wells 
in Wales. 



17 



THE CASTRETON OF ATIS-CROSS HUNDRED 

IN DOMESDA Y IDENTIFIED WITH 

THE TOWN OF FLINT. 

BT OEORQB W. SHBUBSOLE, ESQ., F.G.S. 
{Read at the Holywell Meeting ») 

As the case stands at present, our knowledge of the 
town of Flint commences with the year 1277 ; so that 
within historic times there is a period of twelve hun- 
dred years in which its history is a blank. I am dis- 
posed to question the accuracy of this, believing that 
there is much yet of the early history of Flint which 
awaits recovery. 

Local discoveries made during the last hundred years 
would go to show that close by the present town of 
Flint, and for miles, both east and west, along its 
shore-line, has been the seat of an extensive lead- 
industry, dating as far back as the time of the Romans. 
The evidence for this we have in the finding of nume- 
rous personal Roman relics, widely spread smelting 
hearths, heaps of scoriae, with fragments of lead, and 
lead-ore in various stages of manufacture, and the more 
substantial foundations of Roman houses. We may 
take it as a fact that there is abundance of evidence, 
acgumulated during late years, to show that there has 
been a Roman settlement in the immediate locality of 
Flint, and formed with a view to the production of 
lead, so freely occurring in the surrounding neighbour- 
hood. 

Supposing it to have been a Roman settlement, it is 
possible that for tue interest and security of the set- 
tlers, a casti^m with a wall of stone or earth, in accord- 
ance with their usual custom, would soon be built. 
More than this, we may believe that the camp was a 
substantial one, such as the mineral wealth of the place 

6th BBS., VOL. YIII. 2 



18 CASTRETON IDENTIFIED 

demanded. The absence above ground of all trace of 
Roman buildings is not conclusive evidence of their 
previous non-existence, since I find that in most cases 
the near presence of a church, or monastery, or Ed- 
wardian castle, is quite sufficient to account for the dis- 
appearance of the remains. 

In my paper in this volume, on the course of the 
Roman street from Deva to Varis, I have endeavoured 
to show that the Roman settlement of Flint was on the 
Itinerary road between Deva and Varis, and one of con- 
siderable importance both in a commercial and military 
point of view, and essential, in a measure, to the pro- 
gress of the Roman rule in North Wales. The pigs of 
lead with the well-known stamp, de OEANGi,may beyond 
doubt be assigned as the produce of the Roman settle- 
ment of Flint, from ore found in the immediate neigh- 
bourhood ; the tribute, in part, of the Ceangi for the 
year a.d. 74. Another pig of lead, of evidently a later 
date, bears the word sandon, for sandonivm, stamped 
upon it, which is recognised as the name of the Roman 
lead-producing town, the ancient Flint. 

If, then, Flint in the past has been all that I have 
endeavoured to sketch, it is difficult to understand how 
so important a site became so obliterated both in name 
and worth as not to find a place in later times in 
Domesday, According to the present reading of that 
record, Flint has no separate recognition, and so it is 
usual to consider it as included in the adjoining dis- 
trict of Coleshill. This is not, to my mind, a satisfac- 
tory assignment. If the ancient history of Flint, now 
unearthed, be anything near what I have suggested, 
then some trace of it in Domesday was to be expected. 
The Roman camp would survive in some form ; its out- 
lines, even if not its name, would be recognised in 
Norman times. 

This appeal to Domesday is not in vain. We find 
there just what is wanted, — a Castreton, which has 
been identified (irregularly, I think) with Kelsterton ; 
not, however, without a query on the part of the local 



WITH THE TOWN OF FLINT. 1 9 

Editor. The Castrfeton of Atis-cross Hundred, I hope to 
show, relates to Flint. The claims of Kelsterton to it 
rest on no more substantial basis than a slight identity 
in sound in the name. The etymology of the name 
Kelsterton shows no connection with the Romans, or 
Roman subjects. Like the names of many other places 
on both sides of the estuary of the Dee, as Kirkby, 
Irby, Frankby, Pensby, there is, as we shall see, a 
Danish element in the word Kel-ster-ton. Kel, from 
the Danish kjoll, is the Anglo-Saxon ceol, a keel or 
small ship ; ster is the Anglo-Saxon suffix denoting 
employment, as brewster, webster, etc. Kelsterton is, 
therefore, the ton occupied by the keelsters who built 
the keels or small ships which dotted the estuary in 
their time, engaged in fishing or transporting the lead 
produced at Flint to other localities. The shore about 
Kelsterton is singularly fitted for this occupation, with 
bays and inlets suitable for launching vessels when 
built, while on the higher ground about there is an 
abundance of good timber. 

It is interesting to mention that in the shipbuilding 
yards of Connah's Quay, scarcely a mile distant, we see 
possibly a local survival of a race of Danish shipbuilders 
who once inhabited the district ; at any rate the keel- 
sters' art still lives at Connah's Quay. It is still their 
ton or home. 

Kelsterton, then, as we have seen, has no claim to be 
identified with Castreton ; and further, since there are 
no remains of a camp, there exists no valid reason for 
the claim. It remains a case of mistaken identity in 
sound. The effect of this is to leave a military settle- 
ment, an old camp, to be assigned to some place in 
Flintshire, limited to the Hundred of Atis-cross. 

Seeing that the town of Flint has hitherto failed to 
find recognition in Domesday^ and looking at its posi- 
tion in the time of the Romans, — the seat of a Roman 
garrison, — Flint naturally and justly is qualified to 
take the vacant name of Castreton. There is no other 
site of a camp in Flintshire to dispute with Flint the 

2« 



20 CASTRETON IDENTIFIKD 

possession of the title to Castreton. We have, then, 
to think of the camp at Flint as constructed and left 
by the Romans ; perhaps utilised, certainly named by 
the Saxons "Ceastre" (camp), as in the case of Deva 
(Chester) ; and appearing in the Domesday Book as 
Castreton. From this record we read that " Castreton 
was held by one Hamo, and Osmund of him. Edwin 
held it as a freeman. There is half a hide rateable to 
the gelt. The land is one carucate. Two villeins, with 
one bordar, have half a carucate there. There is a 
wood one league long, and the same broad. It is worth 
five shillings.'' We are further told that the same 
Hamo held Aston (in Hawarden).^ 

A word as to the exact position of the site of the 
Roman camp. That it wus on the ground now occupied 
by the town of Flint seems pretty clear. The situation 
was one well chosen in every way, — a central position 
well set back from the shore, a stream of water from 
the mountains flowing by its side, the smelting works 
on either hand, ready communication by road and by 
water with Deva, surrounded by ample supplies of 
wood and coal, while the lead-ore gathered from the 
hills around was readily conveyed along the military 
road to the smelting places. 

A mile distant from Flint, along the shore, is Atis- 
cross, which at one time must have been a place of 
some note, since it gave the name to a very consider- 
able hundred ; and Pennant remarks, ** there is a tradi- 
tion that in very old times a large town stood at this 
place, and it is said the foundations of buildings have 
been frequently turned up by the plough."' 

There is something to be said in favour of the claims 
of Atis-cross as the site of the Roman garrison, mainly 
on account of the numerous relics found here from 
time to time. That it was a busy place there can be 
no doubt, that the lead and lime and coal for shipment 
were brought here, and that the little haven by Pentre 

^ Pennant's Tours in Wales, ed. J. Rhys, vol. i, p. 68. 
* Domesday Book, Cheshire and Lancashire, p. 69. 



WITH THE TOWN OF FLINT. 21 

Rock accommodated the vessels which conveyed these 
commodities to various stations along the coast. It 
was, in fact, the port for shipping the raw materials 
produced here. It by no means follows that the Roman 
garrison would be in camp either here or close by, at 
Atis-cross. As a military body they would have a sepa- 
rate and distinct location, which we prefer to think 
was on, or about, the site of the present town. Future 
discoveries may clear up this point. 

Later on the defences of Flint were utilised by the 
Saxons, probably by restaking or enclosing the old camp. 

The part taken by Edward I. would seem to have 
been the restoration of the Roman camp, so far as its 
outline and fosse were concerned, while additional 
security was gained by the modern walled-in Castle. 
I prefer to think of Edward as utilising the lines of 
the old camp ; hence we may regard the fossce and 
streets of Flint as partly survivals from Roman times. 
It is so in the case of Chester ; and Flint, too, should 
be shown a like consideration, for as Pennant remarks/ 
"the town is formed on the principle of a Roman 
encampment, being rectangular, and surrounded with a 
vast ditch, and two great ramparts, with the four regu- 
lar portcB as usual." 

Elsewhere in this volume I have brought forward 
reasons for supposing that the name of the Roman town 
on the site of Flint was Sandonium. The Saxons, on 
coming into possession of the place, would appear to 
have paid no more regard to the Roman name of San- 
donium than in the case of Deva. 

A word as to the present name of the tovrn of Flint. 
This is considered by Mr. Taylor, the historian of Flint, 
to be a contraction or corruption of the word " Fluen- 
tura", taken from a record of Edward I, who, when in 
the neighbourhood of Flint, and prior to the building 
of the present Castle, speaks of the place as " Castrum 
apud Fluentum" (camp by the flowing) ; a description 

^ Pennant's Tours in WaleHy ed. J. Rliys, vol. i, p. 57. 



22 CASTRETON IDENTIFIED, ETC. 

which is inaccurate, and without point, as regards any- 
thing in the surroundings of Flint.^ 

My suggestion is that the reference in ^'Castrum 
apud Fluentum" is not to Flint, but to Basingwerke, 
three niiles distant ; and that by the " flowing ', refer- 
ence is made to the remarkable stream which issues 
from St. Winifred's Well, and flows past Basingwerke. 
Jt is no stream or river in the ordinary sense. It is 
lan outburst of the pent up waters from under Halkyn 
Mountain, — a ceaseless, onward-flowing body of water, 
which, as Dr. Samuel Johnson remarks, " is all at once 
a very great stream",* and hence it is spoken of "as one 
of the seven wonders of Wales". This view is con- 
firmed by the historical fact that when Edward T super- 
intended the erection of Flint Castle, his camp wtis 
pitched at Basingwerke, by the stream in question.' 
His probably early letters from the place were dated 
from the "Castrum apud Pluentum", and the later 
ones from Basingwerke, which is alongside the stream. 
To my miqd the designation in both instances is the 
sq^me,- — BasiT>g\yerke, by the flowing, or stream. 

Tl>e origin for the modern name of the town T take 
to be derived from its association in the past, in many 
ways, with the s\;bgtauce known as flint. The further 
4iscussion of this point I leave to a future occasion. 

^ Taylor's Historic Notices of Flint, p. 2. 

* Journey into North Wales, p. 71. 

^ Taylor's Historic ^otice^ of Flint, p. 19, 



23 



GARREGLLWYD STONE, ABERHAFESP.^ 

BY W. SCOTT OWEN, ESQ., CEPNGWIFED. 





IM^- 



Some time ago my attention was drawn to this in- 
scribed stone, from reading in vol. xvii of the Mont- 
gomeryshire Collections a description of it by Mr. 
Richard Williams. No solution of the meaning of the 
inscription was given in his short notice. I therefore 
made drawings and rubbings of the inscription, and 
sent them, with a description, to several well known 
antiquaries ; but I met Avith little success, and I believe 
that most of them thought that the inscription was 
after the nature of *' John Jones his mark." 

I propose to describe the stone, and afterwards give 
an extract from a letter from Prof. Hubner of Berlin, 
to whom, through a friend, I sent a squeeze, giving 
the opinion of so high an authority upon ancient in- 
scriptions. 

The stone is erect, and of a very hard nature, about 
2 ft. 8 in. high, and the same in width, and stands in 

^ Reprinted from the Montgomeryshire Collections^ vol. xxiv, Oct. 
1890, pp. 317-20, by the kind permission of the Cocncil of the 
Powjs-land Club, and with the sanction of the Author. 



24 GARREGLLWYD STONE. 

a most commanding position, on the top of a ridge 
overlooking the valley of the Severn, distant about 
four miles from Caersws, and is known as Garregllwyd 
(**the blessed or holy stone"), pointing to its being 
revered for some reason or another. It now stands in 
a ploughed field, about 10 yards from the roadway; 
but in days gone by, the spot where it stands must 
have been a part of what was known as Penllanlikey 
Common. 

Upon the slanting face on the top of the stone, 
looking towards the west, is an inscription, as shown 
on the accompanying drawing, which is as accurate as 
I could possibly get it as to size and shape of the let- 
ters. The letters are about three inches long, and cut 
about a quarter of an inch into the stone, and are 
very plain ; but the second E is larger than the other 
letters. Underneath the inscription are two strokes 
joined by an irregular looking cut, which may only be 
a break in the stone, and yet may still be a cut with a 
chisel. 

The stone stands at the junction of three parishes — 
Aberhafesp, Bettws, and Tregynon ; but none of the 
letters on the inscription can in any way apply to 
these parishes or their townships. The Stone is men- 
tioned both in the Tithe and Inclosure Awards, and 
there called by its present name. 

Within a short distance of the Stone is an old road- 
way leading to Caersws on the south-west, passing 
close to the ancient British camp of Gwynfynydd, and 
to the north-east to Berriew, passing in its course 
places with significant names, such as Lluest, Lluest- 
goch, Gwernybaid (the last four letters being probably 
" bedd", or grave). These three places are within half 
a mile of the stone, and not far from the roadway. The 
road passes on to Bettws and its camps, and along the 
valley, on either side of which are two other camps, — 
the one Penygaer, the other *^The Camp." 

Between the two latter is a field known by the pecu- 
liar name of Dyddygugan (twelve scores). Here local 



GARREGLLWYD STONK, 25 

tradition points to a battle having been fought, and 
that the name commemorates the counting of the fight- 
ing men. Near to it is a field called " Cae Bedw''; 
doubtless the spot where the fallen were buried. I 
have also heard of a field of the name of "Death of 
Ten Officers", but cannot identify it. 

The existence of so many places with names pointing 
to war and its consequences, and the position of the 
places being near to the road I am treating of, led me 
to conjecture that perhaps the inscription upon the old 
Stone might have been the mark of a Roman legion 
marching towards Caersws by this road, avoiding the 
valley of the Severn ; but, as my readers will see, such 
a construction cannot be put upon it after reading the 
following opinion of Prof. Hubner. 

I am indebted to the courtesy and kindness of Mr. 
G. Shrubsole, F.G.S., Hon. Curator of the Chester 
Archaeological Society, for sending the squeeze which I 
had taken of the inscription to Prof Hubner, and for 
having so kindly sent me the Professor's letter, with 
permission to make what use I like of it. 

Extract from Prof. Hubner's Letter, June 1890. 

" The inscription, as you observe, is post-Roman. The squeeze 
shows the same as Mr. Owen's careful drawings ; the letters 
eEitlli, and the two strokes below, ii or 11. 

"It looks generally very much [like] those other Welsh 
stones which we consider Early Christian, from the sixth cen- 
tury downwards. They used to contain only the name of the 
person whose tomb they designated, either in the nomiuative or 
in the genitive, and some formula like hie jacet. As E and F, L 
and I, used too, are very similar in the rude palaeography of 
these inscriptions, I propose, but only as a guess, to read 

EFITLLI 
H 

" The name, if it was a name, isEfitllus. The ii or h may 
be an A for hie,** 

Such is the opinion of the great authority, and 
should he be right in his conjecture, it would be well 



26 GARREOLLWYD STONE. 

worth while to excavate and see whether the mortal 
remains of EfitUus are still there. 

I need scarcely say that it will be a great pleasure 
to me to show the Stone to any one who is interested 
in the subject. 



27 



ROMAN STONES OF THE TYRANT 
PIAVONIUS VICTORINUS. 

BY PROFESSOR I. 0. WESTWOOD, F.L.S. 

In a communication to The Academy of the 26th July 
1890, by Mr. Whitley Stokes, it is stated that in the 
month of April of this year (1890) there was disco- 
vered at Rennes, in France, in digging the foundations 
of the new " Bazaar Parisien'*, a Roman stone with the 
inscription, — 



IHP.G . M . 




FIAVVO 




NIO VIC 




TORINO 




F.P..INV. 

AVG. 

C.R. 

L . lUI . 


(pro felici inYicto) 
(Augnsto) 
(Civitas Redonum) 
(lengaa quataor) 



*' The M. Piavonius Victorinus above mentioned was 
one of the Thirty Tyrants, and is supposed to have 
been slain a.d. 268, after he had reigned in Gaul, and 
probably also in Britain^ for somewhat more than a 
year. The date of the inscription is thus fixed to a 
nicety. The Gentile name is spelt with one v on a Lin- 
coln milestone {Eph. Epigr.y vii, No. 1,097), for a refer- 
ence to which I am indebted to Mr. Haverfield, who 
also infornis me that AUraer {Revue Epigraphique, 
188S, p. 372) argues that this name is really Pius Avo- 
nius ; just as Piesuvius (so Tetricus is sometimes 
styled) is pretty certainly Pius Esuvius," 

The doubt as to Piavonius Victorinus having reigned 
in Britain is set at rest by the discovery of another 
Roman military stone on the Via Julia Maritima, between 
Nidum (Neath) and Bovium (Boverton), near Pyle, 
which was rescued from destruction by the late Colonel 
G. Grant Francis, and deposited by him in the Museum 



28 ROMAN STONES OF PIAVONIUS VICTORINUS. 

of Antiquities in the Royal Institution at Swansea. It 
bears the inscription, as given by Colonel Francis in his 
work on Neath and its Abbey : 

IMP 

M C PIA 

VONIO 

vicroR 

INO AVG°. 

The name of Victorinus recording one of the Thirty 
Tyrants of Rome, slain a.u.c. 1019. A number of coins 
of Victorinus was found at Gwindy, near Llansan let, 
in June 1835. (Dillvvyn's Swansea, p. 56 ; Numism. II, 
i, 132.) 

A figure of the Boverton Stone appears in my Lapi- 
darium WallicB, PI. 27, fig. 1, copied from a rubbing by 
Colonel Francis ; also reproduced in Joitrn, Aixh. In- 
stittUe, iii, p. 275. It was probably erected by the 
Legion which happened to be at Boverton at the time 
of the usurpation of Victorinus in Gaul (a.d. 265, in 
the time of Gallienus), like those of his contemporary, 
Tetricus, of which all that are known are published in 
the Winchester Volume of the British Archaeological 
Association, and are of the greatest rarity and interest. 

There is also another Roman stone at Scethrog (half 
way between Llansaintfread and Llanhamlwch), where 
I found it in the hedge, on the west side of the road, 
half covered with moss and ivy. The first word is 
nearly obliterated ; but I thought I made out the let- 
ters NEMNi, followed by ftlivs victorini. (Lap. Wall., 
p. 57, PI 32, fig. 7; and in A)xh. Camh., 1851, p. 226.) 

Oxford, 31 Jnly 1890. 



29 



NOTICE OF A 

NEWLY DISCOVERED INSCRIBED STONE ON 
WINSFORD HILL, EXMOOR. 

BY PBOFESSOB RHTS, M.A. 

This stone was made known to Mr. Elton, the Member 
of Parliament for that part of Somerset, and the well 
known author of the work on the Origins of English 
History, by Mr. J. Lloyd W. Page, who has recently 
published an interesting volume on Exmoor and the 
Hill-Country of West Somerset, with notes on its 
archaeology, together with maps and illustrations. Mr. 
Page alludes to the stone several times in his work, 
and has marked the site on his map. The spot is on 
Winsford Hill, two miles west of Winsford village, and 
five miles north-west of Dulverton. 

I had been anxious for some months to see the 
stone, so it was not hard for Mr. Elworthy of Foxdown 
to prevail on me and Mrs. Rhys to accept his hospi- 
tality, and visit the neighbourhood of Wellington. At 
his house we met Mr. Elton, and we all went, on the 
20th of August, to see the stone. From Dulverton 
our road lay mostly in the red deer district, and along 
the eastern banks of a pretty river called the Barle. 
This last name excited my curiosity greatly, and I 
should have been very glad to know if any ancient 
forms of it are known, for it presents a sort of mocking 
similarity to Belerion, the name given by Diodorus to 
the south-western peninsula of Britain. 

When we reached the place where the stone should 
be, we found Mr. Page there waiting to show it to us. 
We were unfortunately somewhat pressed for time, as 
we had to make a part of our homeward journey by 
train. However, we had leisure enough to satisfy our- 



30 



INSCRIBED STONE ON WINSFORD HILL, 



selves as to the reading of the inscription, which we 
made out to be 



CARAACI 
EPVS 



The top of the stone is fractured close behind the first 
c, and close to the perpendicular of the e ; so I venture 
to think that here an n has disappeared with the lost 
piece of the stone, and that the whole was originally 



CARAACI 
NEPVS 




The stone is described as Devonian rag, and it stands 
about a yard above the ground, inclining considerably 
towards the track or mountain-road near which it 
stands ; but the inscribed face of the stone looks away 
from the road, and it is so rough that the rubbing 
which I took will scarcely, I fear, enable our artist to 
give a drawing of it. 

As to the character of the letters, I may say that 
they are rudely cut ; but the A is, as a rule, boldly cut, 
and tends to resemble the a with round top in the old 
inscriptions of Cornwall ; and instead of a straight line 
connecting its limbs, we have, as it were, a v. The R 



INSCRIBED STONE ON WINSPORD HILL. 31 

IS the most rudely formed letter, and the P is not much 
better. The stroke over the second A, to make a con- 
joint AT, is deeply cut. The a following is less carefully 
made, and rather smaller in size than the other as ; 
the V is also decidedly smaller than the other letters. 
The only thing that created a difficulty to us was a 
sort of a tag to the right side of the first a, which sug- 
gested A with a small V conjoint with it. On the 
whole, however, we were unanimous in rejecting it, as 
being more probably no part of the writing. 

I may add that since our visit to the stone, Mr. El- 
worthy has been to see it again, and this time he was 
accompanied by my friend and neighbour, Dr. Murray. 
They nad more time than we had, and they used it in 
carefully cleaning the stone with a brush, and in taking 
a good squeeze of it. Dr. Murray has kindly shown 
me the squeeze, and I find that it very materially con- 
firms the first reading. But I will say no more, as I 
do not wish to anticipate his own account. 

As to the language of this interesting but too brief 
inscription, nepus for nepos will surprise no one who 
remembers the Margam Mountain Stone with its " pro- 
nepws Eternal i Vedomavi.'' Then with regard to such 
a designation as Caratdci NepuSy one cannot help see- 
ing that the formula is highly Goidelic : in fact, we 
have only to translate it into Irish, and we have at 
once Ua Carthaigh, " the descendant of Carthach'', An- 
glicised O'Carthy, Anybody who will take the trouble 
to turn the leaves of the Index to the Four Masters' 
Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland^ will find there 
several O'Carthys, some of whom have no other name 
given them in the text. 

As a Brython I should like to claim the stone as 
marking the resting-place of a grandson of the great 
Caratacus who gave the Roman legions so much 
trouble ; but I fear I must relinquish it as belonging 
to one of the Goidels who conquered parts of South 
Wales and Devonshire, in both of which they have 
also left Ogam inscriptions to commemorate their former 



32 INSCRIBED STONE ON WINSPORD HILL. 

sway. The Bristol Channel must have served as their 
highway to the heart of western Britain. 

To return to the name Caratacus. It is needless to 
say that scholars have now for years given up Carac- 
tacus as gibberish, and that the Celtic form may be 
surmised to have been Caratacos ; which regularly 
makes in Welsh Caradawg or Caradog, and as regu- 
larly makes in Irish Carthach. 

Lastly, there ought to be more inscriptions of this 
interesting class in Somersetshire, and it probably only 
requires for their discovery more men with eyes in 
their heads, like Mr. Page. 










y ^ 4 






\ 






\ 



crrHef^RV urms 

Pe N /AYl en A\AV£/R 



^^^^ 




^ ■ -^^ _ -— ' 



.^JEi>.rir.. i*>v^.^l>y- ■^af^JtJ^'^C ^ 



33 



THE RECENT DISCOVERY OF URNS 
AT PENMAENMAWR. 

6T J. P. EARWAKBR, ESQ., M.A., F.S.A. 

Last year (1889) Messrs. Darbishire and Co., the pro- 
prietors of the large Granite Works at Penmaenmawr, 
erected some new machinery for crushing and breaking 
their stone, and made a new tramway to carry the 
stone from this machine to the railway. In March of 
this year one of the workmen was set to work to trim 
the sides of this tramway, and on Friday, March 21st, 
he found two urns, both of which were destroyed. This 
find was reported to Mr. C. Darbishire, who on search- 
ing discovered two more urns, — a large one and a very 
small one, — both of which were removed entire. 

Nothing more was done until Thursday, March 27th, 
when further excavations were made in the presence of 
a small body of gentlemen of antiquarian tastes, whom 
Mr. Darbishire had invited to be present. An inspec- 
tion of the place where the urns had been discovered 
showed that the tramway had cut through one end of 
a low mound or barrow, which otherwise would hardly 
have been noticed. It was, when entire, of an oval 
shape, about 30 ft. long by about 15 ft. wide, and at 
the highest point not raised more than about 3 ft. 
above the level of the ground. 

A trench was dug right through the middle, along 
the longest diameter. The soil was found to be " made 
soil"; that is, it was not natural, but had been placed 
on the top of the ordinary surface of the ground. 
Great care was taken whenever any traces of black 
earth were met with ; and as a result of the day's 
digging, six urns were found, and five burials, in 
which calcined bones occurred, but without any traces 

5th 8E11., VOL. VIII. 3 



34 RECENT DISCOVERY OF URNS 

of any urns in which such calcined bones are usually 
placed. 

Of the SIX urns found, three good-sized ones were 
recovered in a fairly good state of preservation, but in 
a very wet and friable condition, so that the greatest 
care had to be taken to prevent them falling to pieces on 
exposure to the air. One very small urn was also found, 
which was of a different colour, and harder baked than 
the others ; and, unlike them, it did not c(Jntain any 
calcined bones. In fact, except for a little earth, it was 
empty. It was found standing upright, with the mouth 
uppermost; unlike the others, which w^ere found mouth 
downwards. 

In most cases the urns which were found rested 
with their mouths downwards, on flat stones which 
served as a firm base upon which to place them. In 
one or tw^o cases there were stones placed on the top 
of the urns, to protect them from the soil which wa^ 
heaped above and around them. Each of the urns was 
full of black earth containing calcined bones ; and the 
soil around each urn was more or less black, as if the 
urn had been placed on the spot where the body had 
been cremated, the ashes being placed inside the urn. 
So perfect was the cremation, that no trace of any 
teeth, nor any fragment of bone more than 3 or 4 in. 
long, was met with. 

The five burials in which fragments of calcined 
bones were found, without any urns, are noteworthy. 
Not the slightest traces of any urns were met with in 
these cases, and it seemed most probable that the 
remains had never been placed in any such recept- 
acles. 

During this excavation a series of stones of moderate 
size, varying from 1 ft. 6 ins. to 2 ft. 6 ins. in length, anct 
about as much as a man could lift, were found, appa- 
rently placed upright on the natural surface of the 
ground, at unequal intervals, and in an irregularly 
shaped figure. No urns were found in the space imme- 
diately enclosed or (so to speak) sheltered by these 



AT PKNMAENMAWR. 35 

stones ; but two or three of the interments without 
urns occurred in that space. 

The next digging was on Tuesday, April 1st. On 
going to the spot we were informed that since the 
previous Thursday some men had dug on their own 
account, and had found an urn ; which, however, they 
had broken to pieces in the belief that it contained 
treasure. Six men were employed in excavating, and 
all due precautions were taken that nothing should be 
overlooked or destroyed. The greater part of the bar- 
row on both sides of the trench, which had been cut on 
the Thursday, was dug up, but the results were not so 
satisfactory as had been anticipated. Two plain burials, 
that is, small patches of black matter, and a few cal- 
cined bones, without any traces of urns, were first 
found, and then another plain burial of a slightly dif- 
ferent character was met with. In this case a small 
hollow had been made in the natural surface of the 
ground, and in this the blackened earth and calcined 
bones had been deposited, and the whole covered by a 
thin piece of shale. 

In the afternoon one urn of about 9 ins. in height, 
and about 6 ins. in width across the mouth, was found, 
and was got out in a very perfect condition, one or two 
small pieces of the rim only having rotted away. It 
was found inverted, the mouth downwards ; but not 
resting on any stone, nor had it any covering or pro- 
tecting stone placed above it. The soil, as it was dug 
out and thrown upon the wheelbarrows, was carefully 
scrutinised by many keen eyes, but no traces of any 
worked stones, or flints, or implements of any kind, 
were discovered ; in this respect agreeing with the 
^ results of the previous excavations. 

On the following day, Wednesday, April 2nd, opera- 
tions were again resumed, and the whole of the remain- 
ing portion of the barrow was dug out, but no burials 
of any kind were met with. 

Some six weeks or so later, when the six perfect 

a* 



36 RECENT DISCOVERY OF URNS 

urns had had time to dry slowly in a room where the 
temperature was kept fairly uniform, they were re- 
moved to the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, under the 
personal superintendence of Mr. G. W. Shrubsole, the 
Hon. Curator there. They reached their destination 
quite safely ; and as their contents had been preserved 
intact, it became necessary to empty them to see if any 
implements of any kind had been buried with the 
burnt bones, as is not unfrequently the case. The 
larger urns contained charcoal, earth, and calcined 
bones ; and in two of them a small bronze pin, 1^ in. 
long, was met with. In another of them a very curious 
little vessel was found. This, on examination, was dis- 
covered to be a small stone vessel of an oval shape, 
measuring 4^ in. in length by 2 in. in width, and stand- 
ing 1^ in. high. It has been formed by cutting off the 
end of a stone, probably a rounded boulder from the 
beach at Penmaenmawr, and then carefully scooping 
out the interior to form a cup. 

This curious little vessel is unique, no other example 
of any stone cup being known. 1 exhibited it, in June 
last, to the Society of Antiquaries of London, where it 
excited much interest. Mr. Shrubsole has been in cor- 
respondence with Mr. John Evans, President of the 
Society of Antiquaries, and the Rev. Canon Green well, 
neither of whom is aware of any other instance in 
which a stone vessel has been found either inside an 
urn, or loose in a barrow. Mr. A. W. Franks, F.S.A., 
of the British Museum, had also never seen any similar 
example. 

Another large barrow exists near to the one in which 
these remains were found, and I am in hopes of being 
able to excavate it next year. 

Mr. Shrubsole informs me that one of the small so- 
called " food- vessels" contained the bones of a small 
mammal, and that a few bones, apparently other than 
human, were found in some of the urns, and are at pre- 
sent under investigation. There is also in the Museum 
a flake of Penmaenmawr stone, Ij in. thick, and 13 in. 










o 

CO 

p:5 

:=:> 

< 
w 

CQ 

w 

> 

pa 
o 



I 



i 



AT PENMAKNMAWR. 37 

square, which served as a cover for one of the larger 
urns. This is worthy of notice as considerable skill and 
a metal hammer would be requisite for its production. 
The appearance aud exact sizes of these urns are shown 
in the accompanying plates, from sketches made by Mr. 
Worthington Smith at the Museum. 



Bronze Pins found at Penmaemnawr. 



38 



MANX OGAMS. 

(Compiled from information supplied hy Prof, Rhys arid Prof 
Gr. F, Browne^ and from Letters in **The Academy.*^) 

The Isle of Man has long been celebrated for its Runic 
inscriptions, but it is only within the last few years 
that the existence of any monument bearing Ogams was 
suspected. Up to the present time six Ogam inscrip- 
tions have been noticed, — two at Arbory, two at Balla- 
queeney House, and two at Kirk Michael. 

Arbory. — The two inscribed stones are in the posses- 
sion of Mr. Crellin of the Friary Farm, which is situ- 
ated in the parish of Arbory, three-quarters of a mile 
north-west of Ballasalla Railway Station. They were 
both found built into the walls of the church of the 
Friary, a fine building, now used as a barn. 

No. 1 is like a roughish milestone with the top 
broken off. It is of schist, 4 ft. 5 ins. long, 3 ft. 5 ins. 
wide at one end, and 1 ft. 9 ins. at the other. It is 
inscribed on the angle thus -} 




MAC 



No. 2 is rounded like a cheese, 
the rounded angle thus : 



I M A Q« 

It is inscribed on 



^H'ii^ 



"»H OO 



I 



M A 



{^) 



^ See Prof. Rhys* reading in The Academy, Aug. 7, 1886. 

^ The stone is broken here, and no doubt had three more strokes. 



MANX OGAMS. 39 

Ballaqueeney. — The inscribed stones are in the pos- 
session of Mr. Kelly of Ballaqueeney House, which is 
about five minutes walk from Port St. Mary Railway 
Station. The Rev. E. B. Savage of St. Thomas' Parson- 
age, Douglas, gives the following particulars about them 
in a letter to Prof. Boyd Dawkins, dated May 20, 1886, 
and published in Ihe Academy y July 10, 1886 : — 

" Yesterday I found, at a farmhouse near here, two 
stones with Ogam inscriptions. They were unearthed 
some years ago, when the railway was being made.^ A 
field was denuded of some depth of gravel for ballast, 
and it turned out that this was the site of an old 
burial-ground. No. 1 was found in a grave made of 
slabs, and No. 2 formed the side-stone of a grave of a 
similar nature, but uninscribed, opposite. In the same 
set of gi'aves were coins. Three, now in the Govern- 
ment Office, are said to be Anglo-Saxon, of three reigns 
in succession." 

No. 1 is of a slatey nature, and broken into several 
fragments, so that it is impossible to take a good rub- 
bing of it. When put together, the stone measures 
1 ft. 8^ ins. long by about 5 ins. square. It is kept on 
a shelf in the greenhouse.^ The inscription is on the 
slightly rounded angle, and Prof. Rhys reads it as fol- 
lows : — 

Mill I I I I I I I I : : I / l I I I I I I J U_l 

I ""'III' ""' -II III '111!/"' ''"' 

B I V A I D (o) N A S MA Q 1 



/i.illl 



II I I II I 



/ "' " ""' '"lllll'lll 

MUCO I C U NAV 

No. 2 is shaped like an ordinary milestone, and the 
inscription on the angle is read by Prof. Rhys thus (see 
next page) : — 

" In 1874, at the Chronk, a rising gronnd near Port Sfc. Mary 
Station. 

2 The inscription was discovered by the Rev. F. B. Grant in 1874 
and was first published by Mr. William Neale in the Ma7ix Note- 
Book, No. 12, Oct. 1887, p. 163. 




40 MANX OOAMS. 

Kirk Michael. — The church is 
about five minutes walk from 
Kirk Michael Railway Station. 
^ The collection of monuments 

^ with Runic inscriptions in the 

. ^ churchyard is well known, and 

«. has been illustrated in the Rev. 

J. G. Cumming's work on the 
^ subject. The two Ogam in- 

scriptions are on the front and 
back of the cross erected by 
Mai Lumkun to the memory of 
^ Mai Mura, his foster (daugb ter) , 
I daughter of Dugald, whom 
. Athisl had (in marriage). 
•^ This cross stands on the top 
I of the wall, on the north side 
^ of the entrance-gateway to the 
I churchyard. There are two 
I separate Runic inscriptions on 
I the back, where there is no or- 
nament, running along the 
^ edges of the stone, on the right, 

5 left, and bottom sides. The 

< Ogam inscription is in the 

^ middle of the back of the 

o stone. It is on a vertical stem- 

o line, and very rudely scratched. 

^ The Rev. E. B. Savage sent a 

drawing of the inscription to 
jt>^ ^ *^ Lord Southesk, whopublished 

J^^^ ^ an account of it in The Acade- 

^r S wy, Nov.26, 1887. Lord South- 

*^^ ' esk's reading is as follows, read- 

ing downwards from the left : 

MUUOOMALL AFI UA MULLGUC 

(Mucomael, descendant of O'Maelguc). 

On the front of the stone is a cross of the usual 



MANX OGAMS. 41 

Celtic form, decorated with interlaced work. The 
spaces on each side of the shaft of the cross, which 
runs down the centre of the slab, are figure-subjects. 
On the right, a man seated, playing a harp, and a man 
holding a tau-headed crozier ; and on the left, a hound 
chasing a deer, and another man holding a tau-headed 
crozier. 

Mr. P. C. Kermode discovered a complete Ogam 
alphabet scratched on the face of the stone, to which 
Prof. G. F. Browne calls attention in a letter to The 
Academy, Oct. 18, 1890. It is 8| ins. long, and it runs 
in a vertical direction, starting just below the ring of 
the cross. It is read upwards, from the right. 

All the inscriptions in the Isle of Man, with one ex- 
ception, are either in late Scandinavian Runes with 
local peculiarities, or Ogams. The exception is a stone 
from Kirk Santon (now at Douglas), illustrated in 
Cumming's book on the Manx crosses. It is devoid of 
ornament, and is inscribed, in Latin capitals, aviti 

MONOMENTI. 



Note, — The Ogam inscriptions illustrated on pages 38 and 40 are 
redaced to the scale of one-sixth fall size, from rubbings taken by 
Prof. Browne. The long space between the m a and Q i on the Bal- 
laqueenej No. 2 inscription is occupied by a piece of quartz embed- 
ded in the slate, which prevented letters being cut on this part of 
the stone. 



42 



]aebte\ȣ( anH Botim of ^oofts. 



The Ancient Laws of Wales viewed especially in Beoard to the 
Light they throw upon the Origin of some English Institu- 
tions. By the late Herbert Lewis, B.A., of the Middle Temple. 
Edited by J. B. Lloyd, M.A., Lecturer in History and Welsh 
at the University College of Wales, Aberystwith. London : 
Elliot Stock. Pi ice 21*. 

In estimating the value of this work it is but just to bear in mind 
that its author did not live to see it in print, and that the occa- 
sional obvious blemishes in matter and manner which it contains 
would probably have been removed had the final proofs passed 
beneath his eye. The Editor, in his brief Introduction, professes to 
have rectified ** those slight inaccuracies of statement, or irregu- 
larities of style, which the author himself would have set right had 
he lived"; but too many instances of both still remain. The follow- 
ing awkward sentence on the very first page should not have been 
allowed to pass : ** In this court" (that of the cantrev) " other mat- 
ters of public interest, or which needed to be done notoriously, were 
settled." It is evident throughout the work that clearness of arrange- 
ment and lucidity of style were altogether lacking to its author. 

The plan adopted has been that of dividing the book into two 
parts: the first devoted to an examination of Welsh legal and social 
usages ; the second to a similar inquiry into early English institu- 
tions, and their relation to the former. While not without its ad- 
vantages, this method throws the student who may be desirous of 
following the parallelism which in the second division of his book 
the author is constantly insisting upon, into considerable confusion, 
by obliging him to refer backward to the pages in which the Welsh 
side of the question is set forth. Nevertheless, though form and 
method are important adjuncts in the treatment of so difficult an 
inquiry as that into the ancient Welsh laws, they are, after all, not 
so important as the matter itself; and if Mr. Lewis's results were 
such as to stand the tests of critical examination, it might be pos- 
sible to overlook the defective manner in which they are presented. 

The work is that of a man who had given much time and patience 
to the unravelling of the many complexities in the records of early 
Cymric institutions, and we feel sure that the author himself would 
have been the first to recognise the flimsiness and superficiality of 
the majority of the notices which his book has received. No more 
important, and, let us add, no more difficult task has ever been 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OP BOOKS. 43 

undertaken than the one that is here attempted. That Mr. Lewifl 
has succeeded in establishing his positions along a very extended 
line, and especially that he has been victorions in his direct attacks 
upon his opponents, cannot be conceded by an impartial critic ; but 
we ought to be thankful that — to change the metaphor — he has 
illumined several dark corners in the dense undergrowth of Welsh 
archaic legislation. 

It is obvious that in an examination of primitive usages, a right 
appreciation of the value of the documents which purport to set 
them forth is of the first importance. An argument based upon 
extracts from an eighteenth century document having a smack of 
antiquity about it, but unsupported by earlier and perhaps contem- 
poraiy evidence, cannot be considered conclusive as to the condition 
of things in the twelfth century ; yet into this pitfall the author of 
this work has constantly fallen, notwithstanding his legal training 
and undoubted acumen. Not, indeed, that he started with foregone 
conclusions, but that whenever he met with an axiom making for 
his view of whatever portion of Welsh customary procedure he 
happened to be considering, he adopted it unreservedly, whether it 
was drawn from TJie Booh of Chirk or that of Thomas ab Ivan of 
Trebryn. His conclusions are too often founded upon nothing more 
than the quicksands of the Moelmutic Triads, and, by consequence, 
are often found to crumble away at the breath of impartial criti- 
cism. Yet in reference to these very triads, of which no manuscript 
of earlier date than the commencement of the present century is 
known to exist, and the authenticity of which as being of the fifth 
OP sixth century before the Christian era, no scholar can for a moment 
admit, the Editor of the present work states, ** Until it can be 
shown that they are inconsistent with statements drawn from a 
better authority, the best course is, no doubt, provisionally to 
accept them.'* (Note on p. 36.) We are astonished at finding this 
canon of what may be accepted, and what rejected, in historical 
evidence, laid down by one who is himself a professor of history. 
According to this dictum, Defoe's Uiatory of the Plague^ an avow- 
edly fictitious work, should be taken for what it purports to be, 
since it contains nothing inconsistent with the circumstances which 
it professes to relate. It only needs a little consideration to render 
it manifest that a Welsh history written upon the principles enun- 
ciated by Professor Lloyd would be as monstrous a creation as 
some of the notorious productions of the last century. There is but 
one safe course for the writer who bases his work upon document- 
ary evidence. If a manuscript can bear a searching examination 
from within and from without, and can advance a tolerably clear 
account of itself, it may be accepted as good testimony. If its cre- 
dentials are as worthless as those of the so-called Triads of Dyfnwal 
Moelmud, it must be unhesitatingly rejected. It is good evidence 
for whatever facts it may contain, that are contemporaneous with 
the style and orthography in which they are recorded ; beyond this 
its use cannot be admitted for a moment. 



44 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 

It follows, therefore, that just so far as the arguments of Mr. Lewis 
arc based solely or mainly upon the Dyfhwal Moelmud Triads, must 
they be received with caution. It does i)ot follow that they are 
altogether fallacious, but they can be accepted as no more than the 
plausible conclusions of a scholar unfortified by contemporary cor- 
roboration. 

Unfortunately many of the author's speculations have no more 
firm bases than the documents referred to. These Triads, with their 
assumption of hoar antiquity, and their portrayal of a state of 
society of almost idyllic perfection, have deceived many. Their 
author, whoever he may have been, or at whatever period he may 
have flourished, was a man of remarkable intellectual power, com- 
bining much historic knowledge with the vivid imagination of a 
poet, and creating out of the mingled fact and fiction seething 
within his active brain a pleasing but utterly unreal picture of the 
pastoral life in which he conjectured the early Welsh to have lived. 

But, while too much of Mr. Lewis's work is vitiated by inaccurate 
generalisations, there still remain many important speculations of 
considerable novelty and value. It would be manifestly impossible, 
in the space at our disposal, to follow the author through his expo- 
sitions of the different features of Welsh political and social life. In 
an Introductory Summary he has briefly set forth the results of the 
investigations which are recorded at length in his subsequent chap- 
ters, and which we may conveniently adopt as affbrding an example 
of the author's usual style : 

" The free Welsh community was organised in this manner. At 
the base were the freeholding heads of households. Every man, 
however, belonged to a joint family, or trev, as well as to a family. 
Every trev belonged to a cenedl or kindred, with its pencenedl or chief, 
elders, and other officers. All the kindreds together were organised 
into a cantreVy or enlarged trev ; though the cantrev was often, for 
convenience, divided into ctvmmwds, or neighbourhoods, similarly 
organised with a cantrev, 

" The cantrev had a chief or lord, who had — (1), a royal court (of 
ceremony), with a staff* of officers ; and (2), a legal court, over which 
he presided (or, in his absence, his maer or reeve), giving it sanc- 
tion as ruler, but not as judge ; and in which (except in some parts 
where a different practice seems to have come in at a late date) the 
freeholding heads of households, or hreyra as they were called, acted 
as judges of law and fact. In fact, the freeholders, as a confrater- 
nity, arbitrated or decided their disputes under sanction of their 
administrative and executive chief. In this court, too, other mat- 
ters of public interest, or which needed to be done notoriously, were 

settled The chief and officers of the kindred retained divers 

powers ; but the enlarged trev appears to have possessed most of 
the authority and jurisdiction which may have belonged to a trev 
before it became so enlarged. Sometimes several cantrevs were 
combined into one country, or gwlad, under one prince ; but the 
cantrev with its court remained a complete organisation. There were 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 45 

a maer and canghellor^ and other ofBcers of conntry, in each can" 
trev, and the prince went abont from palace to palace, holding a 
court in each of his cantrevs, each of which had in turn to support 
his establishment. At a subsequent period these principalities were 
held nnder one common over-lord as a cywlad, or common country ; 
but the cantrev institutions remained, though some alterations were 
effected in the way of appeals and legislation. 

" So far we have dealt with the Free Brotherhood ; but they, after 
all, formed only an oligarchy. Under them were divers orders who 
had nothing to do with the settlement of disputes or affairs. Firet, 
there were alltuds^ i.e., strangers, refugee Welshmen, and others 

settling within the cantrev In time they became recognised 

inferior members of the community, with lands, rights, and privi- 
leges, but still under burdens to the breyr who protected and 
answered for them. They were ailltsy t,e., protected ones, having 
no share in the free privileges of the brotherhood. Then there were 
ailltSy or taeogSj who became such by reason of having forfeited their 
free privileges. All these aillts were allowed in time to become free 
citizens, and to hold their lands freely. There were also alltuds of 
the king, who by favour of the prince were at once located by him 
on public land, and in a shorter time became free citizens, without 
ever becoming aillts. And there were aillts or taeogs of the king, 
who seem to have been always in servitude, and probably were 
members of a conquered race. Lastly, there were caeths, or bond- 
men, in personal, and not prasdial servitude. There appear to be no 
signs in the laws of any class superior to the hreyrs, except the 
prince's family. There were no nobles. 

'* As to the land, all the wastes belonged to the free community 
of the cantrev in common. Of the rest, the greater part belonged to 
the free joint families. The prince, however, had some which was 
tilled by his aillts, who paid dues and rendered other services to 
him. The various officers of conrt and country had lands attached 
to their offices. There were also certain open lands which were 
common fields, in which every free Welshman was entitled to have 
an allotment of fixed size, of five free erws, for tillage, but no propri- 
etary right." 

With many of the conclusions here expressed, the writer of the 
pi-esent notice agrees, from others he dissents, while there are one 
or two that seem to be of considerable importance as setting forth 
some points of Welsh usage in a fresh and instmctive manner. 

Considerable attention has latterly been drawn by Mr. Seebohm 
and other scholars to the communal system of agriculture pursued 
by the early Welsh and other Celtic peoples. With it was closely 
connected a fiscal system that appears to us now-a-days to be com- 
plex and nnworkable, but was probably well adapted to the require- 
ments of a nation in its early stages of development. In the time 
of Howel, and at the later date of the first manuscript of what is 
known as the Venedotian Code, and at the still later date of the 
Survey of John de Delves, much of the arable land, though in ever 



46 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 

decreasing area, still remained cut up into strips averaging one 
erw, and cnltivated by a combination of tribesmen conjoined for 
the purpose of finding the plongh-team, who divided the number 
of erws according to their contribution towards the joint ploughing. 

For revenue purposes, the cultivable land of the free tribesmen 
was thus divided : four ertos to every tyddyn (farmstead), four 
iyddyns to every rhandir, four rhandirs to every gafael^ four gafaeU 
to every trev^ four trevs to every maenoL For the support of the 
tribal chieftain, the maenol was assessed to one pound, so appor- 
tioned between its several subdivisions that each erta bore its pro- 
portion of the tax, amounting to one farthing. 

To this explanation of the symmetrical system of landed division 
in Gwynedd, first suggested by Mr. Seebohm, our esteemed fellow- 
member, Mr. A. N. Palmer, assents. The author of the work now 
under review, however, held that " the whole of this elaborate 
scheme, with its affectation of numerical exactness, bears the im- 
press of unreality'*, and he has argued that it was no more than a 
theoretical scheme, presumably of the legist who drafted the Code, 
or of the writer of the manuscript in which it is found. Mr. See- 
bohm' s book on the English ViUage Community was not published 
until the latter half of 1883 ; Mr. Lewis died in 1884 ; it is pos- 
sible, therefore, that further study of Mr. Seebohm's arguments 
might have modified his views. This suggestion is rendered all tho 
more probable from the circumstance that the author has misquoted 
Mr. Seebohm (inadvertently, no doubt), though this error should 
have been corrected by the Editor. Indeed, that portion of the 
chapter dealing with Mr. Seebohm's conclusions appears to have 
been hurriedly interpolated. 

Now, while the differences between the landed system of North 
and that of South Wales are difficult of explanation, and while it is 
clear that the explanation that suits one scheme will not do for the 
other, it is quite certain that the primitive landed system of Wales, 
with its affectation of numerical exactness, was not an arbitrary 
scheme. The same principle of arithmetical arrangement was in 
vogue in Ireland, as Mr. Seebohm has sufficiently shown, and as 
may be seen still more clearly from documents at the Record Office 
which do not appear to have been known to him. Whether a sys- 
tem of taxation was connected with that of the Irish land divisions 
is not so certain, but there can be no doubt that it was so in Wales. 
Not only so, but when the English kings obtained sufficient power 
to be enabled to make grants of privileges and dues arising out of 
Welsh lands, they granted the render previously paid to the Welsh 
chieftain from a clearly recognised area to their own dependents. 
See on this The Athenceum, 2'S Nov. 1889, *. v. "Gwestva." 

Upon points of Cymric usage, which for their proper elucidation 
require a knowledge of the social and economic history of other 
branches of the Celtic family, Mr. Lewis's conclusions cannot be 
considered satisfactory. He seems to have known little or nothing 
of ancient Ireland, or, indeed, of the general principles which 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 47 

underlie the cnstomaiy procedure of all the Aryan nations. He 
took the two volumes of Aneurin Owen's edition of the Welsh Laws, 
and made what he could of them ; hut with one important excep- 
tion, he made no effort to study their main features in actual opera- 
tion. It is quite otherwise when we turn to the second division of 
the book, that dealing with English institutions and the British cle- 
ment contained therein. Here we have references in abandance to 
early legal treatises, to chroniclers, and to the works of recognised 
scholars who have written upon the origin and development of 
English usages. The fulness with which English procedure is dis- 
cussed renders this portion of Mr. Lewis' work an important contri- 
bution to our constitutional history ; but with all his diligence he 
met with little success in his attempt at proving the indebtedness of 
English laws and customs to those of Wales. In a really able 
chapter on the origin and progress of the system of trial by jury his 
conclusions are thus given r — 

''How did the ancient English or Anglo-Saxons come to adopt 
such a system (i.e., compurgation) ? We trace back compurgation 
in England almost to the time when the people of Anglo-Saxon 
England are supposed to have first become acquainted with Christi- 
anity, and we must suppose it then to have been based on the above 
Welsh principle (that the compurgators should be the nearest of 
kin to the accused), as we afterwards find it to have been, because 
there was no known source or means from or by which such prin- 
ciple could have been introduced. Indeed, it is impossible to believe 
that compurgation having once existed on the principle of evidence, 
could have reverted to the older and ruder principla But even at 
this early date to which we can trace the institution in England, 
there was no known existing foreign scarce to which we can attri- 
bute the origin of the English system. From what we know of the 
relations between the Anglo-Saxons and the unconquered Britons, 
it is not to be believed that the institution, though like their own, 
came from them. But the institution goes back among the Britons 
to an unknown date, probably to the introduction of Christianity 
among them ; and as a portion of the race, as a Christian people, 
occupied England before the coming of the Anglo-Saxons, it would 
seem not only possible, but probable, that they might have been the 
people and channel from and through which the English derived 
the system of compurgation in question. In these hesitating tones 
only is the conclusion stated, because no sane man would attempt 
to dogmatise on such a subject." (Pp. 410-11.) 

Mr. Lewis has another excellent chapter upon " Socage, Gavel- 
kind, and Borough English", in which are some very discriminating 
remarks upon early English and Welsh tenures ; but when (on 
p. 483) he remarks that *' the lands of gavelkind tenants in Kent 
are often styled ' gavel-lands', and so the gavel-lands to be found 
in many manors out of Kent may reasonably be taken to refer to 
lands under the same tenure", he is altogether wrong. The terms 
'* gavelkind" and " gafol-land" have nothing to do with each other. 



48 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 

The former denotes a method of snccession to land ; the latter, the 
tenure under which the holder of land rendered certain servile 
" gafol" to his lord. The Editor ought to have saved his friend 
from snch an unfortunate slip as this : hut we observe that through- 
out the whole of the second half of the book there is not a single 
note or suggestion of amendment from the Editor's pen, such as are 
frequent in the first part. It seems clear that the subjects discussed 
were altogether beyond him. 

We must make brief reference to one difficult point in Welsh 
land-tenure, that in the opinion of the present writer receives con- 
siderable enlightenment from the exposition of Mr. Lewis. Students 
of the Record of Caernarvon know that in the Survey of North 
Wales some lands are said to have been " de natura de Trefgewery", 
whilst others are described as being ** de Treweloge". Mr. Lewis 
considered that the former term denotes the land held in common 
by the king's villeins, each of whom was liable, in default of the 
rest, for the whole tribute arising to the lord from the trev, whilst 
tretveloge means tir gwelyawg, or inheritance-land descendible from 
father to sons, having the lord's dues apportioned amongst the 
several family holdings. The latter was the more honourable tenure, 
and there existed means of elevating the tenants from one grade to 
the other. At the period of the Survey certain tenants, described 
as " trefgewery", put forward claims to be considered as ** tre- 
weloge", but they were not admitted. Of Trefgoed, in the comot of 
Dinllaen (Carnarvonshire), it is said, " this vill is of the nature of 
trefgewery. The tenants say the tenure is that of treweloge^ but the 
jury say that it is trefgewen/^; and in proof of the servile nature of 
the tenure of trefgewery, wo have a plea of the reign of Richard II, 
which appears to have escaped the notice of Mr. Lewis, relating to 
the same hamlet of Trefgoed, when reference was made to the Sur- 
vey of John de Delves, and in which the land is said to be held of 
the king " in bundagio". 

Upon the very important question of the amelioration of this form 
of holding, Mr. Lloyd observes : — 

" Usually the change into treweloge implied an apportionment of 
the dues. As to the food-paying villeins, this change was facilitated 
by the commutation of their dues into a money-rent, which was 
easily apportioned. In the case of the labour-tenants the change 
could hardly be made without the substitution of money-rent for 
service. There must, then, have generally been the direct and formal 
concurrence of the lord in effecting the change into treweloge ; and 
there is reason to believe that there was something in the nature of 
a formal arrangement, under which the several tenants of a vill 
were at once freed altogether from the conditions of trefgewery 
tenure; the common right as well as the common liabilities were 
abolished, and each tenant was made to hold immediately and sepa- 
nxtely of the lord at the apportioned rent; and consequently each 
became the owner of an ordinary heritable property, which meant 
in Welsh law a family property." 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 49 

These remarks are especially valuable, inasmnch as this distinction 
of tenure has not been commented upon by Mr. A. N. Palmer in his 
History of Ancient Tenures. Mr. Palmer does, indeed, conjecture 
(p. 101) that in a maenol oiiginally containing no freemen at all, 
and about to be erected into a manor, under an English lord, a cer- 
tain number of bond-tenants would possibly be enfranchised in 
oi*der to supply the necessary attendance of free tenants at the court 
baron of the new manor. This hypothesis we consider to be rather 
far-fetched. 

Upon several other important points which crop ap in an examin- 
ation of the Welsh laws, we have no further space to dwell. In 
concluding our notice of Mr. Lewis* book we must draw attention 
to an important corrigendum inserted by Professor Lloyd. The 
MS. forming the basis of the Venedotiau Code in Mr. Aneurin 
Owen's edition of the Laws is assigned by that scholar to the "early 
part of the twelfth century". We are now assured, upon the 
authority of Mr. Gwenogvryn Evans, that it cannot be referred back 
farther than a.d. 1200. 



5tu skr., vol. VIII. 



Cambrian 9rct)aeolojQ^cal 9£(£iociatCon. 



THE FORTY-FIFTH ANNUAL MEETING 

WAS HBLD AT 

HOLYWELL, 

IN FLINTSHIRE, 

ON 

MONDAY, AUGUST 18Tn, 181>0, 

AND FOUR FOLLOWING DAYS. 



PSESIDEITT. 
THE RIGHT HON. LORD MOSTYN. 

LOCAL COMMITTEE. 

THE EEV. R. O. WILLIAMS, Holywell Vicarage, Chmrman. 



J. Scott Bankes, Esq., Soughton Hall, 
Northop 

T. Bate, Esq., Kelflterston, Flint 

Chas. Brown, Esq., The Folly,CheBter 

E. Bryan, Esq., Holywell 

W. H. Buddicom, Esq., Penbedw Hall, 
Mold 

J. Carman, Esq., Gerddi Beano, Holy- 
well 

P. B. Davies-Cooke, Esq., Gwysaney, 
Mold 

A. H. Spencer Cooper, Esq., Spring- 
field, Holywell 

H. A, Cope, Esq. , Saithaelwyd, Holy- 
well 

C. J. Croudace, Esq., Pendre House, 
.Holywell 

Samuel Davies, Esq., Bag^Ut 

The Rev. T. Z. Davies, Whitford 
Vicarage, Holywell 

J. P. Earwaker, Esq., Pensarn, Aber- 
gele 

J. Eerfoot Evans, Esq., The Strand, 
Holywell 

J. Pry 8 Eyton, Esq., Coed Mawr, 
Holywell 

J. Garner, Esq., Holywell 

The Rev. Stephen E. Gladstone, 
Hawarden Rectory 

LI. J. Henry, Esq., Lygen y Wem, 
Holywell 



Thomas Hughes, Esq., Greenfield, 
Holywell 

T.Vaughan Hughes, Esq., Greenfield, 
Holywell 

The Rev.Griffith Jone8,Mo8tyn Vicar- 
acre, Holywell 

A. T. Keene, Esq., Mold 

J. Herbert Lewis, Esq.,Vaynol, Liver- 
pool 

E. B. Marsden, Esq., Holywell 

The Rev. D. Morgan, Ysceifiog Rec- 
tory, Holywell 

J. L Muspratt, Esq., Rhyl 

P. P. Pennant, Esq., Nantlye, St. 
Asaph 

W. C. Pickering, Esq., Mostyn, Holy- 
well 

H. D. Pochin, Esq., Bodnant Hall, 
Conway 

J. Lloyd Price, Esq., Mertyn Hall, 
Holywell 

S. L. Revis, Esq., Holywell 

R. Sankey, Esq., Holywell 

G. W. Shrubsole, Esq., Chester 

Samuel Smith, Esq., M.P. 

W. J. P. Storey, Esq., Mostyn, Holy- 
well 

Henry Taylor, Esq., Curzon Park, 
Chester 

James Williams, Epq., Castle Hill, 
Holywell 



Local Treasurer. 
H. A. Cope, Esq. 

Loeal Secretary. 
Rev. Walter Evans, Halkyn Rectoxy, Holywell. 



51 



REPORT OF THE MEETING. 



EVENING MEETING, MONDAY, AUGUST 18th. 

Thb first evening meeting took place in the Assembly Rooms at 
8.30 P.M. The proceedings commenced by the General Secretary 
for North Wales reading the following letter from the late Presi- 
dent, M. le Dr. de Glosmadeuc, who was unable to be present on 
this occasion to resign the presidential chair to his successor. Lord 
Mostyn : — 

" He d'Arz, le 19 AoAt, 1890. 
" Cher Monsieur, 

" En ce moment je ne snis plus ^ Yannes, mais en vill^giature 
dans une des lies du Morbihan (He d*Arz) ; ce qui vous explique le 
retard que je mets d repondre k votre aimable lettre d'invitation au 
Meeting Annual de la Soci^t^ Cambrienne. . 

"Cent 6t6 un grand plaisir que j'aurais pass6 la Manche pour faire 
connaissance a la fois avec le beau pays de Galles, et avec les hono- 
rables membres de votre Association ; mais ce m'est absolument 
impossible de quitter, cette ann6e, la Bretagne. 

** Veuillez, je vous prie, en exprimer tons mes regrets k tons vos 
collogues, qni sont aussi les miens, puisque vous m'avez grati6^ de 
rinsigne honneur d'une pr^sidence annuelle. Transmettez le m6me 
regret k notre nouveau President, Lord Mostyn, et dites lui que 
j'aurais 6t6 bien heureuz de lui adresser mes compliments de vive 
voix. 

^'Avec I'assurance de mes meilleurs sentiments, 

" G. DB Closmadeuc." 

The President having taken the chair, then proceeded to deliver 
the following inaugural address : — 

" Ladies and Gentlemen, 

** It gives me great pleasure to take the chair here this evening, 
and in the name of the people of Holywell to offer a hearty and cor- 
dial welcome to the Cambrian Archaeological Association. I feel it 
a great honour to be called upon to preside here to-night at this 
the forty -fifth Annual Meeting of your Association. When I saw it 
announced in the papers that I was to deliver the inaugural address, 

4« 



52 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

I must confess I felt somewbat alarmed and pazzled, for to tell you 
the truth, being only a recent member of your Association, I must 
candidly confess I do not consider myself by any means an authority 
on archaeological subjects ; at tlie same time I can assure you that I 
take h great interest in them. I will ask you to grant me your 
indulgence while I make a few remarks this evening. 

" There is little doubt the tendency of the age runs in two direc- 
tions, — the one in which arcbeeology finds its principal object and 
scope, and the other which carries us forward with accelerated pace, 
whilst steam and electricity drive us all in one direction. Thought- 
ful attention, on the other hand, has been given to tracing back, 
step by step, the progress of our race from the earliest recorded 
times. Now this year, I think, our Association is meeting in a very 
interesting part of the county; in that part of the county of Flint, 
if I may say so, sacred to the Welsh archeBologist, for we are within 
a very short distance of the birthplace of the immortal Pennant; 
that great Welsh historian whose name will ever be cherished 
amongst us. Living at a time when travelling was very different 
to what it is now, it is marvellous to think of what that man did in 
the way of travel, the amount of literature he wrote, and the inte- 
rest he took in everything appertaining to Welsh archeeology. In 
his history of the parishes of Whitford and Holywell there is much 
to be learnt, and there are so many places mentioned in connection 
with your week's visit that I cannot do better than recommend you 
to read it up if you should happen to possess the volume. 

" Now I shall not attempt to describe all the interesting places 
you will visit, for that will be left to abler hands than mine ; but I 
should like to tjall your attention to one or two places of special 
interest which you will be sure to visit in this neighbourhood, such 
as Basingwerk Abbey and St. Winifred's Well. 

"Some say Basingwerk Abbey was founded in the year 1131, by 
Randal, second Earl of Chester, and others assert that it was built 
by Henry IT. On looking over my old copy of the Chronicles of St, 
Werhurg I find it stated that the Abbey was founded in 1157. The 
words used in the copy are, * Hoc Anno Basiwerk Fundatns', and 
that a battle royal was fought at Coleshill, and King Henry forti- 
fied Rhyddlan and Basingwerk, and conquered the Welsh. Pen- 
nant goes so far as to say that the Abbey was founded by one of the 
Princes of Wales, and is of an earlier date. Giraldus lodged here, 
and calls it the " Cellula de Basingwerk". He was in the ti-ain of 
Archbishop Baldwin, who on his progress through Wales preached 
the Crusade. The architecture is a mixture of Gothic and Saxon. 
All the monuments seem to have been destroyed, except one to a 
member of the Petre family, who married a Mostyn, or rather a 
widow of John Mostyn of the Talacre branch. 

" Of course you will visit St. Winifred's Well. The legend con- 
nected with the death of the Saint is so well known that I need not 
repeat it ; suffice to say that after her head was cut off, St. Beuno 
carried it to the body, offered up a short prayer, joined it on, and it 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 53 

instantly niiited» She is reported to have lived for fifteen yearn 
afterwards, and at her death she was buried at Gwytherin in Den- 
bighshire; bnt eventually she found her resting-place in the old 
Abbey of Shrewsbury. The Well is wonderfully pfetty, and has 
the arms, carved in stone, of Margaret, mother of Henry VII ; and 
those of the Stanley family, with those of Sir William Stanley, 
which would prove that it was built before the year 1495 ; also the 
arms of Catherine of Arragon, Henry VTI, and Henry VIII. 

" The old Chapel of St. Winifred is supposed to be of the same 
age as the Well, and is of Gothic architecture. The Chapel was a free 
one, and in the gift of the Bishop. In Richard Ill's time the Abbot 
and Convent had from the Ci'own ten marks yearly for the susten- 
tation and salary of the priest at the Chapel of St. Winifred. 

" I now shall allude to a letter which was written by Queen Mary, 
wife of King James II, on the 8th of May 1687, to Sir Roger Mos- 
tyn at Mostyn. The letter runs as follows : — 

" * Sir Roger Mostyn, 

" ' It having pleased the King, by his royal grant, to bestow upon 
me the ancient Chapel adjoining to St. Winifred's Well, these are 
to desire you to give present possession, in my name, of the said 
Chapel to Mr. Thomas Roberts, who will deliver this letter unto 
your hands. It being also my intention to have the place decently 
repaired, and put to a good use. I further desire that you will 
afford him your favour and protection, that he may not be disturbed 
in the performance thereof. You may rest assured that what you 
do herein, according to my desire, shall be very carefully remem- 
bered by 

" * Your good friend, 

"*Mary: Regina.' 

** Sir Roger Mostyn, who was a good Protestant, was placed in a 
very awkward position ; and from his letters which I have, I find 
he hardly knew what to do ; but such was his loyalty to the throne 
that ho could not resist the letter he received from the Queen, and 
the Chapel was duly -handed over to Mr. Thomas Roberts, the 
Jesuit priest. How long it i*cmained in the hands of the Jesuits I 
do not know ; but as James II lost his crown two years afterwards, 
it could not have been for long. 

"Curiously enough, one year before the date of this letter, the 
King had been in Holywell, and had actually laid his hands ou sick 
folk who thought they could be cured by him of their ailments. 
While he was here he was presented with the very shift in which 
his great-grandmother, Mary Stuart, lost her head. During his 
progress he gave golden rings with his hair in them. I wonder if 
any of these nugs are still in existence. 

"While I am speaking about Holywell, I should like to mention 
a subject which I think is not generally known ; nor do I believe 
it has been published. It is an account of the proclamation of 



54 CAMBRIAN ARGHiEOLOGIGAL ASSOCIATION. 

George II in Holywell in 1 727, abont forty years after the visit of 
James II ; and it shows ns that the High Sheriff of the coanty at 
that time was a very pronounced Jacobite. The memorandnm runs 
as follows : — 

** * It is in relation to William Wynn, Esq., touching his behavionr 
upon the proclamation of His Majesty King Qeorge II. That npon 
the demise of his late Majesty an Order of Council and Proclama- 
tion were issued, and delivered to the said William Wynn, who was 
the then Sheriff of the county of Flint, or his deputies, for proclaim- 
ing his present Majesty ; that Thomas Mostyn and Peter Pennant, 
Esquires, two of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace, immediately, 
on the 20th day of June now last past, resorted to Holywell, the 
most populous trading town in the said county (!), where they heard 
the High Sheriff and his deputy then were, in order to attend the 
solemnity of proclaiming his said Majesty. And when the said 
Thomas Mostyn and Peter Pennant came to the said town, they 
immediately inquired for the said High Sheriff, and finding that the 
said High Sheriff was then at a bowling-green not half a mile dis- 
tant from the said town of Holywell, Thomas Mostyn forthwith 
repaired thither, and having signified to the said High Sheriff the 
cause of his and the other Justice coming to Holywell, requested 
him to come to town in order to proclaim him his said Majesty. 
But the said Sheriff did not think it fit to comply with the request 
of the said Mr. Mostyn, but put him off with frivolous excuses, 
though Mr. Mostyn stayed for three or four hours at the said 
bowling-green, and made frequent applications to the said Sheriff 
for this purpose, and offered him the use of his horses for the con- 
veniency of carrying him to town, which he refused after the same 
slighty manner. 

" * The said Mr. Mostyn returned to the said Mr. Pennant. They 
both stayed in Holywell till 7 o'clock at night, still expecting the 
Sheriff would come to proclaim his said Majesty ; but the said Jus- 
tices perceiving the night coming on, and seeing no preparation 
made for proclaiming the King by the said Sheriff or his officers, 
they thought it convenient to return home, with a resolution of re- 
turning next day to proclaim him themselves, in casd'the said High 
Sheriff did not cause it to be done that night. 

** *And some time afterwards the under-sheriff, attended by one 
William Jones, and by one David Lloyd, an attorney, all on foot, 
and no other company, in the dusk of the evening, repaired to the 
Cross in the town of Holywell aforesaid, and there the said under- 
sheriff read His Majesty's proclamation, without the least demon- 
stration of joy usual on such occasions ; and no money given to the 
populace, save only sixpence to the said William Jones. The High 
Sheriff was in town, but did not attend the proclamation. That the 
said under-sheriff, only attended by the said William Jones, thought 
fit to proclaim His Majesty in four other towns in the said county. 
Nor was there used the least solemnity or demonstration of joy in 
any of the said towns upon this occasion ; the same being done in 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 55 

the most obscnre and private manner, withont any the least notice 
given to the gentlemen of the county, whose affections to the 
Government are snch as they readily wo aid have embraced such an 
opportunity of showing their zeal if the said Sheriff had given them 
the least notice to attend on this occasion. 

" * (Signed) Thomas Mostyn.' 

" What happened to William Wynn, the High Sheriff, I have not 
been able to find out ; but on referring to my friend, Mr. Henry 
Taylor, he thinks that he might have lived at Bryngwyn ; but I 
have been unable to find out very much about him. 

" Before I sit down I should like to say a few words upon two or 
three objects of interest that you will visit ; and as they are on my 
own estate, you will, perhaps, understand mj taking a peculiar 
interest in them. 

" The first is Maen y Chwyfan, a beautiful cross which stands in 
a field near the old turnpike-gate from Mostyn to Tremeirchion and 
St. Asaph, and now a main road under the jurisdiction of the 
County Council. It is also called * The Stone of Lamentation.' The idea 
is that penances were said before it. Pennant tells us there was one 
near Stafford which was called a * Weeping Cross*. It is very pretty- 
in form, 12 ft. high, 2 ft. 4 ins. broad at the bottom, and 10 ins. 
thick. The base is let into another stone ; the top is round, and 
includes, in raised work, the form of a Greek cross. Beneath, about 
the middle, is another in the form of St. Andrew's ; then comes a 
naked figure and a spear in his hand. On the other side is repre- 
sented some animal. The rest of the cross is covered with a beau- 
tiful fretwork. Can any one say what age it is ? I think there is 
no doubt it is early Christian. Some say it marks the place of a 
great battle. Perhaps it may^ as there are many tumuli about con- 
taining human bones ; but I am rather inclined to think that these 
are of an earlier date than the cross. 

" Near Maen y Chwyfan is Gelli (now two cottages) ; no doubt an 
ancient chapel in connection with Basingwerk Abbey. Gelli Wood 
was granted at Westminster, in Edward I's time, to the Abbey and 
Convent. 

*' Leaving Gelli we ascend the hill of Gbirreg, the highest point in 
the parish of Whitford, where a splendid view used to be seen on a 
fine day. The Isle of Man and Cumberland hills could be seen ; 
but now the trees have grown up, and hidden it. Here the Romans 
built a lighthouse, which was used to guide vessels up the river 
Dee. It is a round building, with an inside diameter of 12 J ft. ; 
the thickness of the walls not less than 4 ft. 4 ins., which has, no 
doubt, made it last so many centuries. One door was opposite to 
the other. Over each was a square funnel, like a chimney, which 
opened on the outside, about half way up the building. Inside was 
a staircase to the two floors. The lights were always kept separate, 
so as to prevent one running into the other, and being mistaken for 
a star. I know of a similar tower on Bryman Hill, near Llandudno, 



56 CAMBRIAN ARGHiEOLOOIOAL ASSOCIATION. 

and cannot help thinking that it was nsed as a lighthouse to show 
the channel of the Conway river, and not as an oatpost to Deganwy 
Castle, as has often been suggested. 

" Now yon are in the locality I think you should drop down the 
hill to Llynhelyg, and visit the grave of Captain Morgan. History 
does not tell us how this Captain Morgan met his death ; but it is 
generally supposed he was killed in a skirmish daring the civil 
wars, and that he was buried where he fell. About one hundred 
and fifty years ago the grave was opened. A skeleton was found ; 
on its head was a red cap of velvet, and round the neck a silk hand- 
kerchief. His sword and helmet were close by, and beneath bim 
two bullets, which fell from his skeleton, which prove him to have 
been shot. The farm near has been called '* Plas Captain", on 
account of Captain Morgan, who might have lived there. In an old 
pedigree there is a Captain Morgan mentioned as having been kiled 
in Cheshire ; if so, and he was the same Captain Morgan, why was 
he buried at Llynhelyg ? Perhaps some one will be able to give me 
information on this subject. 

** It may be interestiog to know the age of Llynhelyg. It was 
made by Sir Roger Mostyn, the third Baronet, in the early part of 
the eighteenth century. There being a ^eat scarcity of water, a 
dam was made at the lower end ; the springs rising, soon made a 
lake of the marshy ground. At that time that portion of the country 
was called the Mostyn Mountain or the Tegen Mountain. 

^' Pennant talks of Druidical circles in Glol, but I have never seen 
any. There are a lot of loose stones lying about, but they have no 
appearance of any circular form. 

'* Near here is Treabbot, which from its name was a seat of one 
of the abbots from Basingwerk, and it is one of the eight townships 
of Whitford. 

'* We now go across country to the Holywell Racecourse, where 
we find, not far from it, and close to Plymouth Copse, a circalar, 
entrenched camp called *Bwrdd y Rhyfel* or * Bwrdd y Brenin.' It 
is about 153 ft. in diameter, surrounded by a low bank ; and on the 
outside a ditch, in one part shallow, and the other more deep. I 
shall be curious to hear your opinion, if you should think the place 
worth visiting ; and whether you think it an old fortification, or a 
circle for some religious purpose. If a fortification, it could never 
have been a very strong one. 

"Now I hope I have not wearied you, and shall conclude the few 
remarks that I have made this evening by a hope that I may see 
the members of the Cambrian ArchsBological Association on Fnday 
at Mostyn, when I shall show them the House and objects of inte- 
rest in it. I thank you for the kind way in which you have listened 
to my Address this evening." 



At the conclusion of the Address, the Yen. Archdeacon Thomas 
rose to propose a vote of thanks to Lord Mostyn, and said : — 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 57 

" Those members of the Association who met last year in Brit- 
tany remember how fortnnate they were in having so able a Presi- 
dent as M. le Dr. de Closmadenc ; how genial he was, and how 
kindly he conducted the members through the ancient city of 
Yannes, and what trouble he took in showing them the unrivalled 
megalithic remains of the Morbihan. M. de Closmadenc is unable 
to be present at this Meeting, but he has expressed his earnest 
wishes for its success, and he has desired me to tell his successor in 
the presidential chair that he hopes he will find the office as pleasant 
an one as he did in Brittany. Lord Mostyn began his Address by 
deprecating his selection as President, as being a junior member of 
the Association. I am sure, however, that our choice has been 
fully justified by the excellent account, to which we have listened 
with so much pleasure, of the antiquities of his own neighbourhood. 
He has touched upon matters which will come under our notice 
during two of the excursions ; and when he tells us that he has 
been obliged to leave so many other things untouched, we can well 
understand how much there will be to look at in the course of the 
week. I consider it to be a fact of no small importance that our 
President is the possessor of such remarkable treasures in his own 
house, and that he exhibits such uncommon ardour in inquiring 
into the antiquities that surround him on all sides. In Lord Mos- 
tyn's library are collected books, manuscripts, and antiquities, per- 
haps hardly to be excelled anywhere else outside of the metropolis ; 
and it is exceedingly gratifying to find their possessor showing so 
much interest in everything relating to them. The promise he has 
thus given of what may be expected from him will, I hope, some 
day be fulfilled. A great opportunity was missed when the last 
edition of Pennant's Tours in Wales was published, for it has not 
been brought down to the present date in the same spirit in which 
it was begun. To execute this work in a more becoming manner is 
a task that Lord Mostyn is eminently fitted to perform. In our 
President we have one who has both the opportunity and the capa- 
bility for bringing it to a successful issue. I hope, therefore, that 
he will utilise the literary treasures in his possession for this pur- 
pose, and that at no distant time we may have the satisfaction of 
reading a history of this neighbourhood edited by him." 

Mr. Henry Taylor, F.S. A., was then called upon to read his paper 
on the ** First Charters granted to the Four Senior Boroughs of 
Wales", which will be published in an early Number of the Archaso' 
logia Cambrensis. 

In the discussion which ensued, the Ven. Archdeacon Thomas 
suggested that there were earlier charters in South Wales than 
those mentioned. It had been a question which one of the four 
boroughs was the senior ; whether the charter of the Borough of 
Caerwys was not granted forty years before 1288. Perhaps Mr. 
Taylor would kindly tell the members on what account he selected 
the charter of Edward 1 as forming the senior boroughs. He asked 
the question, for ho knew that any subject Mr. 'J'aylor went into 



58 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

lie did thoroughly. Any one who had read his Historic Notices of 
Flint must feel that anything he undertakes he would snrely do 
thoroughly well. It was, however, with something like a shock 
that he heard that Edward I returned from Nevin to Camaryon 
on the day Edward of Carnarvon was bom. He was always under 
the impression that he was at Bhuddlan, and that one of his 
knights rode in great haste to announce to him there the birth of 
his son, for which he was rewarded with knighthood, and which 
added to the heinousness of the offence when afterwards he rose 
against the King. 

Mr. Taylor, in reply to the President, said the charter of the 
Borough of Caerwys, which Lord Mostyn had previously shown 
him, was subsequent to the four mentioned in the paper. 

Mr. Edward Owen and the Kev. C. H. Dnnkwater joined in the 
discussion, to which Mr. Taylor replied. 



EXCURSION, -TUESDAY, AUGUST 19th. 

The carriages started from the King's Head Hotel at 9.30 A.H., 
taking the road towards Mold, in a south-easterly direction, along a 
hill-side. Had the day been finer, a good view would have been 
obtained across the estuary of the river Dee. As it was, only the 
nearer objects could be distinguished. The leading industry of the 
district appeared to be lead-mining, and vast heaps of limestone 
debris were to be seen in all directions. 

Halkin Church. — The first stop was at Halkin, nearly four miles 
from Holywell. Here the Rector, the Rev. Walter Evans, Local 
Secretary for the Meeting, pointed out the peculiarities of the 
church. The present structure was erected, at the expense of the 
Duke of Westminster, by Messrs. Douglas and Fordham, the well 
known architects of Chester. It is built of yellow sandstone, with 
a good deal of polished marble in the interior. The churchyard is 
entered under a well-designed timber lych-gate, and the modem 
carved woodwork inside the church deserves careful study. The 
whole of the present church is new, with the exception of a piece of 
sculpture (perhaps of the fourteenth century) built into a buttress 
on the south side of the nave, outside, at the east end. It was 
found by the Rev. Walter Evans in the belfry of the old church 
(built in 1769), used as a stone for the ringers to put their feet on. 
The sculpture possibly formed part of the churchyard-cross. The 
subject represented is the Crucifixion, with figures of St. Mary and 
St. John, each having the head inclined on one side, so as to look 
up at the Saviour. The folds of the drapery are as sharp as when 
first carved, assuming that the sculpture has not been tampered 
with by attempted restoration. Beneath is an angel with a cross on 
the forehead, supporting the crucifix, which is placed under a small 
(Dusped canopy. The sculpture measures 2 ft. 1 in. high by 1 ft. 3 ins. 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 



59 



wide. It is illastrated in the Rev. Elias Owen's Old Stone drosses 
of the Vale of'Glwyd and Neighbouring Fa^ishes^ p. 86. 

Moel y Goer. — A mile and a qnarfcer beyond Halkin, the members 
left the carriages to walk up to the top of a hill 993 ft. above the 
sea-level, called Moel y Gaer. The whole of the summit is enclosed 
within a single rampart of stones and earfh, with a ditch on the 
outside. This hill-fort is probably ancient British. It commands a 
fine view of the Moel Famman range of mountains, which were, 
however, on the present occasion, nnfortanately concealed from 
view by a dense, black mist hanging over the whole valley. The 
fortification is nearly roand in plan, and has a small artificial mound 
within the ring. A gold tore was found near it. (See Arch. Camb., 
2nd Ser., vol. v, p.. 85.) 




Piece of Sculpture in Ualkin Church. Flintshire. 

Northop Church, — Rejoining the carriages at the foot of the hill, 
a drive of two miles in an easterly direction brought the party to 
Northop Church. The most remarkable feature about the exterior 
is a massive Perpendicular tower, 98 ft. high, built in five stages, at 
the west end of the nave. The church has been recently restored, 
and furnished with carved oak seating. The plan consits of a nave 
and chancel of the same width, with a north aisle continued along 
the whole length of both, and separated by an arcade of six pointed 
arches springing from octagonal pillars. The old Perpendicular 
roof, of low pitch, still remains. The portion over the chancel has, 



60 CAMBRIAN ARCHiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

at the recent restoration, been decorated with painting. The win- 
dows are debased Perpendicular. The arch under the tower is 
panelled both on the jambs and soffit The font is a modern one, of 
marble, with an inscription. It is weak in design, the inside of the 
bowl being far too small. At equal distances along the north wall 
of the north aisle are four effigies, placed, at the time of the former 
restoration, in arched recesses in the wall, three being those of 
knights in plate-armour, and one that of a lady under a canopy. 
The inscription on the ef^gj of one of the knights is in lato Lorn- 
bardic capitals, as follows : 

HIC : lACET : ITH : VACH : AP : BLED : VACH. 

(Here lies Ithel Vychan ap Bleddyn Vychan.) 

The effigy of the lady is inscribed in almost identical characters : 

DIB : MAI : ANNO ; DNi : M®: cccc^lxxii. 
(... day of May, in the year of Our Lord 1472.) 

On the edge of this effigy was another inscription, but it has all 
been chipped away except the letters v c v. Pennant conjectured 
from this that it might have been the tomb of Leuci Llwyd, who 
died in 1482. (See his Tours in Wales.) These effigies will be more 
fully described by Mr. Stephen Williams in a future Number of the 
Arch, Camh, An account of Northop Church will be found in Arch- 
deacon Thomas* History of the Diocese of St. Asaph^ p. 478. 

Mold Church, — From Northop the party proceeded to Mold, two 
miles to the south, where, after luncheon at the Black Lion Hotel, 
and a short rest, the parish church was inspected. The plan con- 
sists of a nave with north and south aisles separated from it on 
each side by an arcade of seven Tudor arches, having a western 
tower built in 1770, and an apsidal chancel, of octagonal shape, 
built in 1856. The effect of seeing the three windows of the apse 
through the wide chancel-arch, from the west end of the nave, is 
not by any means unpleasing. The nave and aisles are Late 
Perpendicular in style. The arcades are very richly decorated 
with sculpture. Above each pier is an angel holding a shield bear- 
ing a coat of arms ; in the spandrels are other similar shields, but 
smaller ; and a frieze of beasts runs the whole length of the church, 
above the points of the arches. The devices on the shields are 
partly religious, consisting of the emblems of the Passion, and partly 
heraldic. Amongst the latter were to be seen the curious repre- 
sentation of the eagle carrying the swathed body of an infant in 
its claws, which was adopted as a crest by the Stanley family ;^ 
the royal arms of Henry VII; the Prince of Wales' feather and 
motto ; the three legs of the Isle of Man ; the fleur-de-lys, etc. The 
religious symbols include the five wounds, nails, crown of thorns, 
etc., of the Passion ; the Virgin and Child ; the Crucifixion ; and a 
representation of the chalice and wafer inscribed with the letters IHC. 

1 See E. Sidney Hartland's English Folk and Fairy Tales, p. 63; and 
Burke's Peerage (Earl of Derby). 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 61 

The whole of these sculptured details are quite worthy of a sepa- 
rate monograph, to the preparation of which some local antiquary 
would do well to devote his attention. 

The clerestory windows are square, and very small. There are 
several fragments of old stained glass in the windows of the north 
aisle. One small piece bears the date 1500. Ovdr the north door 
of the north aisle was remarked a beautiful painted glass window 
with two coats of arms and inscriptions beneath ; the one on the lefb 
being the royal arms of Henry VII, with a request to pray for the 
soul of Elis ap David ap Res, Vicar of Mold, 1565-76 ; the other, 
on the right, the Derby arms, with a request to pray for the soul of 
Edward Earl of Derby, who died in 1572, and his wife. A frieze of 
beasts runs round the church, outside as well as inside. The porch 
has a stone roof. 

Mold Church, was restored by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1856. The 
font is modern, and Perpendicular in style. The Registers com- 
mence in 1624. There are several monuments in the church belong- 
ing to the Davies family of Gwysaney ; amongst others, one to 
Robert Davies, 1728, by Sir Henry Cheer, Bart. 

Fentre Hohin. — Leaving Mold, the members drove on to Pentre 
Hobin, a mile and a half to the south-east, the residence of Mr. Pen- 
nant A. Lloyd. The house is built of yellow sandstone, and is an 
interesting example of old Welsh domestic architecture, with 
pointed gables, mullioned windows, and oak- panelled rooms. The 
date on the doorway is 1540, and that over the curious, carved oak 
chimney-piece in the dining-room, 1546, accompanied in both cases 
by the initials E ll, m ll. 

Adjoining the house is a series of eight vaulted cells erected by 
an ancestor of the present owner in order to afford accommodation 
to travellers, after the dissolution of the monasteries, when the 
monks could no longer entertain strangers. The cells average 5 ft. 
by 7 ft., by 6 ft. high, and each has a small entrance- doorway, and 
an aperture for ventilation at the side of it. The cells are all 
covered by one roof. At one end is a building containing a room 
for the- superintendent, which is reached by a short flight of steps. 

The Tower. — After Pentre Hobin, the next place visited was The 
Tower, half a mile to the south-west, — a medieeval, fortified house 
where, in 1465, Reinallt ap Gruff'ydd ap Bleddyn killed Robert 
Bryne, the Mayor of Chester, after a faction-fight at Mold Fair. 
The ring in the stone-arched ceiling of the lower room of The 
Tower (now used as a dining-room) is traditionally believed to have 
been made use of to hang the Mayor ; but it was more probably 
intended for the suspension of a chandelier. The building has been 
modernised, but without destroying any of the ancient features. 
Mr. Howard, the present occupier, was kind enough to offer the mem- 
bers refreshments, and to show them through the various rooms 
from roof to cellar. The Tower has already been described and 
illustrated in the Arch, Canib., vol. i, p. 55. It is a tall, rectangular 
tower, embattled and machicolated at the top, and with a round 
stair- turret at the south-east corner, having a pointed stone roof. 



62 CAMBRIAN ARCHi£OLOGlCAL ASSOCIATION. 

Gwysnney, — On the retnrn journey to Holywell, the party again 
passed throngh Mold, getting just a glimpse of the once strongly 
fortified monnd called the Bailey Hill. The last stop was at Gwys- 
aney, two miles north-west of Mold, the residence of Mr. Philip 
B. Davies-Cooke, who entertained the members to tea, and also read 
a paper on Ewloe Castle. Mr. Davies-Cooke exhibited some of his 
Welsh MSS. He is the fortunate possessor of the original MS. of the 
Liber Landavensis ; but it could not be seen on this occasion as it is 
being copied at Oxford. 

The pedigree of the Davies family is given in the Arch. GamJb.^ 
4th Ser., vol. vi, p. 47. A list of the MSS. at Gwysaney will be 
found in the Historical MSS. Commission Papers, iv-xii, 202. 

List of pictures, old documents, etc., at Gwysaney, Mold, seen by 
the Cambrian Archaaological Association on the 19th August 1890 : 

Ltbrary. 
In Olass Case on Table. 

MS. Book of Welsh Pedigrees. 

Tile from the Old Church at Flint. 

Signature of Henry VII in Letter to John Pnleston of Hafod y Wern. 

MS. Book of Welsh Poetry by lolo GK)ch, etc. 

1548, January 16th, Grant from Henry VIII of the office, for life, 
of Recorder of Bromfield, Yale, and Chirk, to Robert Davies, one 
of the Yeomen of the Guard, for faithful services. Great Seal 
attached. 

Book of Prayers (Latin and English) with Badge (a crowned Mar- 
guerite) of Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland, and sister of 
Henry VIII. Her Book of Prayer. 

MSS., St. Paul's I and II Epistles to Timothy, and the Epistle to 
Philemon, translated into Welsh. 

1552, Sept. Uth, Edward VI, R., Grant of Fees of the Crown, 
" videlt. sex denar* p* diem", for services to Robt. Davies, 
" Garde m'e ordinar'." Great Seal attached. 

1560, June 26, Elizabeth Regina. A Pardon of Outlawry to Mr. 
John Puleston, Gentleman. Great Seal attached. 

Two pieces of a dress said to have belonged to Queen Elizabeth. 

Commission to Captain Davies, signed by Charles I. 

1581, Grant of Crest and Arms to Robert David, son of John David, 
son of David Griffith of Gwysaney. — iV./?. The arms he had a 
previous right to ; and this crest the Davies family, to my 
knowledge, only once used, as they preferred their old Welsh 
one. 

Locket containing Miniature of RobeH Sidney, Earl of Leicester, 
K.G., younger brother of Sir Philip Sidney. Died 1626. Painted 
by Isaac Oliver. Wears same dress as in the portrait Lord de 
Lisle has. 

Signature of Oliver Cromwell, to release Robert Davies of Gwys- 
aney from prison at Chester Castle, 30 June 1658. 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 63 

Glass Case hung to Wall, containing — 

Grant to John Davye (Davies), Gentn., of Land in Brougbton, Mer- 

ton, and Tredesmawen, in the Commote of Gateshill, co. Flint. 

Philip and Mary, 1553, 1554. Great Seal attached. John ap 

David (Davye or Davies) of Gwysaney, co. Flint, married Jane, 

widow of Richard Mostyn, and daughter of Thomas Salusbury 

of Leadbrook, co. Flint. 
Miniature of Dorothy, wife of Sir John Pakington, Bart., reputed 

authoress of The Whole Duty of Man. 
Miniature, in silver case, of Charles II. 
Miniature of Lady Coventry, wife of Thomas, first Baron Coventry, 

Keeper of the Great Seal, 1625. 
Miniature of Philip II of Spain, by Coello. 
Betrothal or Wedding-Ring, thirteenth century. Stone, uncut 

sapphire. 
Silver Pendant, bust of Charles I. 
Piece of the mane of" Copenhagen", the Duke of Wellington's horse 

at Waterloo. 
Bronze Pendant taken from the body of a Russian soldier after 

Inkerman, 5 November 1854 
Ring given to George Earl of Kingston in memory of Right Hon. 

Spencer Percival, Prime Minister, assassinated in the House of 

Commons, 1812. 
Wedding or Betrothal Ring, time of Queen Elizabeth. 
Memorial Locket of Death of Edward Earl of Kingston, 14 Novem- 
ber 1797. 
Medallion of Leo II, Pope from 1823 to 1829. 
Miniature of William Chambers, Esq., of Ripon ; b. 1734: d. 1796. 

Painted by Cook. 
Russian Medallion with Portraits of Saints Bdrlaam or Yarlam and 

Susanna. 
Miniature of Lady Helena Rawden, Countess of Mountcashell. Died 

27 May 1792. 
Miniature of Lady Charlotte Fitzgei'ald. 
Miniature of Philip Davies-Cooke, b. 1793, d. 1853; and Philip 

Bryan Davies-Cooke, b. 1832. 
Portrait of Thomas Earl of Strafford, b. 1693 ; beheaded on Tower 

Hill, 1641. This portrait, on wood, is a sketch by Vandyck 

for the large picture belonging to Earl Fitzwilliam. 
Portrait of the Earl of Essex. 
Portrait of Mrs. Davies-Cooke of Gwysaney, by II Cavalier! Capalti 

of Rome, 1862. 
Portrait of the Lady Helena Caroline Cooke, born 11 Apnl 1801, 

died 9 May 1871. By Bonavia. 
Portrait of Catherine (Davies), wife of Pyers Pennant of Bychton, 

CO. Flint, b. 1642, married 1656. Drawn from some picture by 

Moses Griffith. 
Design for Wilson Memorial- Window in Mold Church. 
Portrait, on wood, of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. 



64 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

Geometrical Elevations of South Front, North and East Sides, taken 
in 1827, also Perspective (coloured) of Sonth Front of Gwys- 
anej. 

Sketch of Gwysaney by Moses Griffith, secretary and artist to Pen- 
nant the historiaD, 1803. The gift to Mr. Davies-Cooke of the 
Yen. Archdeacon Thomas. 

Portrait of Pyers Pennant of Bychton, near Holywell, Vice- Admiral 
of North Wales. Drawn from some pictnre by Moses Griffith. 

Portrait of Miss Adelaide Cooke, by Bonavia. 

Portrait of Lient.- General Cooke, C.B., by Bonavia. 

Entrance-Hall. 

Portrait of Robert Da vies, Esq., of Gwysaney, High Sheriff of Flint, 
b. 1684, d. 1728. His wife was Ann Brockholes of Claughton, 
CO. Lancaster, sister of Catherine Dnchess of Norfolk. 

Portrait of Eleanor, daughter and coheiress of Sir Peter Mytton, 
Knt., M.P., wife of Sir Kenrick Eaton of Eaton, Knt. Died in 
1637. 

Sword of Saadut Ali, Nawab of Oude, 1798. 

Sword fonnd in a field near Gwysaney, 1875, evidently nsed at the 
siege in 1645. 

Portrait of Anne, wife of Robt. Da vies, Esq., of Gwysaney, daughter 
and coheiress of Sir Peter Mytton, Knt, M.P. for co. Camar^ 
von. Married at Gresford Church in 1631. Died 1690. 

Portrait of Henry VI, King of England, b. 1421, d. 1471. 

Portrait of Sir John Vaughan, Lord Chief Justice of Common Pleas, 
M.P. for Cardiganshire; b. 1608, d. 1674. By Sir Godfrey 
Kneller. 

Portrait of Colonel John Robinson of Gwersyllt, a distinguished Roy- 
alist, b. 1603, d. 1680. 

Portrait of a Gentleman, unknown ; probably Mytton Da vies, Esq., 
M.P. 

Drawing- Room. 

Portrait of Robert Puleston, Esq., of Hafod y Wem, Wrexham ; 

b. 1613, d. 1634. 
Portrait of Sarah, wife of the first Earl of Bessborongh. 
Portrait of Miss Frances Puleston, sister of Philip Puleston, Esq., of 

Hafod y Wem ; b. 1735, d. 1804. By Downes. 
Portrait of Captain John Da vies, Royal Horse Guards Blue, wounded 

at the battle of Dettingen (vide London Gazette, June 1743) ; 

b. 1720, d. 1812. 
Portrait of Bryan Cooke of Owston, co. York, M.P., in uniform of 

Royal Horse Guards Blue. 
Portrait of Elizabeth, wife of Mytton Davies, Esq., of Gwysaney, 

M.P. for CO. Flint, 1678 ; High Sheriff, 1670. Daughter of 

Sir Thomas Wilbraham, Bart., of Woodhey, co. Chester. 
Portrait of William Roberts, Bishop of Bangor. 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 65 

Portrait of Frances Puleston, lieiress of Gwysaney and Hafod j 
Wern, wife of Bryan Cooke, Esq., M.P., of Owston, oo. York ; 
b. 1765, d. 1818. By Roraney. 

Portrait of John Davies, afterwards Captain Davies of Regt. of Horse 
Guards Blue ; b. 1720, d. 1812. 

Portrait of Colonel Bryan Cooke of Owston, co. York, M.P., in uni- 
form of Royal Horse Guards Blue; b. 1 756, d. 1821. By Homney. 

Portrait of Mary Davies, afterwards Mrs. Hnghes of Halkyn Hall ; 
b. 1723, d. 1799. 

DINING-ROOM. 

Portrait of John Davies, Esq., of Gwysaney, High Sheriff, 1775-76. 

Diedl7H5. 
Portrait of Letitia Vaughan, wife of Robert Davies of Gwysaney 

and Llanerch Park, daughter of Edward Vaughan, Esq., of 

Trawscoed, co. Cardigan, M.P., and sister of the first Viscount 

Lisbame. By Sir Godfrey Kneller. 
Portrait of Robert Davies, Esq., High Sheriff of co. Flint for years 

164446 and 1660. Defender of Gwysaney, April 1645. Born 

1616, d. 1666. 
Portrait of the Lady Louisa de Spaen, daughter of Robert Earl of 

Kingston, and wife of Alexandre, Baron de Spaen. 
Portrait of Anne, wife of Robert Davies, Esq., of Gwysaney, and 

daughter of Sir Peter Mytton, Knt., M.P. Died 1690. Painted 

in 1643 by T. Leigh. 
Portrait of a gentleman, unknown. 
Portrait of King Charles II. 
Large Gilt, Brass Dish (repouss^ work) representing Albert and 

Isabella of the Netherlands. Date, 1563. 

A drive of over seven miles brought the party back to Holywell. 

Nerquia Church. — A visit to Nerquis was included in the pro- 
gramme of the excursion on Tuesday, but owing to the unforeseen 
delay in Mold, caused by the rain, it was omitted. This short 
notice by the Rev. T. H. Lloyd, M.A., now Vicar of Llansantffraid 
yn Mechain, has been kindly prepared in order to supply, in some 
measure, the omission : — 

Nerquis, orNercwys as it should be written, is one of the ancient 
chapelries of Mold. Its etymology is not certain. Some think it 
is equivalent to " God*s Acre"; others, that it is derived from its 
situation on a ridge in the breast of the hill : cwy8=^& ridge or fur- 
row, «€r=fairor sunny, and therefore divine. 

It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, as is also the mother- 
church of Mold. The church originally was in the form of a simple 
parallelogram, with a western tower surmounted by a wooden spire. 
In 1847 north and south transepts were added, and a small pro- 
jection at the east end, to admit of the small Holy Table, which had 
previously stood in the body of the church surrounded by pews. 
The unrestored portions of the structure are of various dates. The 
5th seb. vol. VIII. 5 



66 CAMBRUN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

tower and parts of the nave are apparently of twelfth centnry cha- 
racter ; the remainder of the fifteenth centnry ; one window and 
probably the outer porch doorway are of late thirteenth centnry 
work. 

In 1883-4, the writer of this notice being then the incumbent, 
the church was thoroughly and completely restored, Mr. J. Oldrid 
Scott being the architect, when over £2,000 were expended. It 
now is one of the prettiest and most interesting churches in the dio- 
cese. The large west end gallery was removed,* and this brought 
into view a plain Norman arch of fine proportions, which had pre- 
viously been hidden by the gallery apd a wooden screen erected 
between the nave and the base of (he towen The latter was 
used as a coalhole ! but now has been thrown open, and converted 
into a baptistery ; the oak-panelling of the old pews forming the 
wainscot, and the ancient oak benches with round ends, brought 
from the gallery, affording sitting room on three sidea The tower, 
which is peculiar, having no original external entrance, and the 
spire, were thoroughly repaired, and the latter covered with oak- 
shingles measuring about 9 ins. by 4^. In lieu of the gallery a 
lean-to aisle was added to the north side of the nave, and the 
church was extended eastward so as to obtain space for a chancel 
beyond the modem transepts. 

In taking down the old walls on the north and east sides several 
flat, coffin-shaped, sculptured slabs, of various characters and dates, 
were discovered embedded in the masonry. Those with the Stafford 
knot, and the one with human fiioe, feline ears, and pisciform tail, 
are probably the most ancient, whilst the floriated crosses are very 
elaborate. The stones are carefully preserved in the porch, being 
placed on the stone seats, and dowelled to the walls. The sediiia are 
formed by an oak bench placed under a section of an ancient rood- 
screen. It is of elaborate design -; full of foliage and rich tracery, 
with canopied niches for statuettes, resembling in character the 
grand screen at Hexham Abbey. It is locally known as " Cadair 
Fair", and said to have been brought fi*om Old St. Chad's, Shrews- 
bury ; but there is not the slightest proof for this local supposition. 
It stood, prior to the restoration, at the north-east corner of the 
church, behind the pulpit; placed there by Sir George Wynne of 
Leeswood, who was a great traveller, as was also his cousin, Wilson 
the artist. What more likely than that Sir G. Wynne bought this 
oak-work abroad ? Indeed, it is certain that it was erected by him 
over his intended burial-place ; which, however, he was fistted never 
to occupy, having died in the old Fleet, in London, a prisoner for 
debt. There is a brass plate on a slab in the floor, in front of the 
pulpit, to this effect : " This is the burial-place of Sir Qeo. Wynne, 
1660." Strange to say, it should have been 1760. 

The pulpit, which is of oak, of the Tudor period, has been cleaned 
of several coats of paint, and now shows to advfintage its beautiful 
grain and elaborate carving. It is very small ; so much so that the 
Bishop of St. Asaph, who was preaching on the occasion of re- 



HOLYWELL MEETmG. — REPORT. 67 

opening the cbnrch after the addiHon of the transepts in 1847, com- 
plained to the then Vicar (Ap Ithel, one of the founders of this 
Jonmal and Association) of its limited accommodation, and the apt 
retort was " that it was quite largo enough for the living", Nerquis 
being one of the poorest incumbencies in the diocese. 

The old oak Elizabethan Communion-Table, now placed in the 
yestry, is interesting as being a rare specimen of those made in 
obedience to the order of Queen Elizabeth, 'Uhat the Table should 
stand east and west." The legs of the end which would probably 
be placed west are square, and elaborately carved in relief; while 
those which would in this case look east are round, with less and 
plainer carving. 

A portion of a stone jamb, which was found hidden in the old 
walls, with good hcUl-fiower carving, forms the base of a new stone 
credence- table. 

Some medicpval stained glass has been incorporated with the new 
glass (by Burlison and Grylls) in the east window erected to the 
memory of the late Captain Wynne and Mr. F. Lloyd Fletcher by 
their brother, Mr. P. Lloyd Fletcher, the present Squire of Ner- 
quis Hall, who with his sisters contributed largely to the restora- 
tion. Among other bits are the badges of King Richard III, viz., 
the yellow lion and white boar, and also a white rose in the rising 
sun. The old glass is very distinct from the new, being more trans- 
parent. 

The restoration has been most conservative ; the new work cor- 
responds in character with the old ; the distinctive features of the 
old work being jealously preserved, and all the disjecta membra 
which could not be incorporated in the structure being carefully 
preserved within the walls of the church. 

Begistere, — These are not complete. The earliest remaining entry 
is A.D. 1''65, several pages in the oldest book having been evidently 
lost. They were formerly kept within an iron box placed in the 
vestry of the church, but are now preserved at the Vicarage. Not 
many years ago a forcible entry was made into the church, and the 
box was carried away into a neighbouring field, and there forced 
open by thieves, who hoped to find within it the Communion-plate, 
which is of sterling silver, of early eighteenth century workman- 
ship. Fortunately the plate had been for some time previous kept 
in the Vicarage. The thieves, however, were so disappointed that 
they made a heap of the Registers, and set fire to them ; but a 
timely shower of rain, added to the fact of their being made of 
parchment, saved them. 

The following extract from the Owston MSS. {Arch,Camb.,SeT,lV^ 
vol. ix, p. 145) will show some of the evils which followed the disso- 
lution of monasteries (Nerquis and Mold being attached to Bisham 
Abbey), and, on the other hand, a cheering contrast between the 
present and the past, there being now three Sunday services in Ner- 
quis Church, regularly performed, in addition to a Sunday School: 

"1632. The humble petition of the parishioners and 'inhabit- 



68 CAMBRIAN ARCHiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

auntes of the senernll parishes of Nerqnis and Treythin to the rene- 
rend father in God, John, by God's Providence Bnshopp of Sainte 
Assaphen.' This undated paper (which appears from its contents 
and penmanship to have been drawn in some year of Charles the 
First's reign) exhibits a remarkable picture of spiritual destitution 
and clerical neglect. The services, it is alleged, being either neg- 
lected or performed at irregular and inconvenient times in the 
churches of the said parishes, the parishioners are compelled to 
waste their time on Sundays in waiting vainly for clerical offices, or 
are tempted to pass it in godless diversions, when they do not neg- 
lect to assemble themselves at their churches. * That in regard 
thereof, runs the petition', * most of the youthes and yonger sorte 
of people in either parishe doe commonly haunt the hare with grey- 
houndes and houndes vpon the Sundayes in the mominge, or doe 
vse to play at the foot boole, and boole, tenins, and bowles, within 
the severall churchyards of both parish churches, in regard they 
stay soe longe for service, when it is lastly rodd in their church ; 
and that th' elder sorte doe commonly fall to drinking or some vn- 
lawfull games, and some of the elder sorte dryven to returne home, 
staieing to longe for meate.' No, or only few, sermons have been 
preached in the churches for sixteen years past, during which time 
also the * catecizeinge of children' has been almost totally neglected. 
The date of this paper is shown by a subsequent paper dated 5 Dec. 
1640." 



EVENING MEETING, TUESDAY, AUG. 19th. 

The Committee of the Association met at 8.30 p.m., to receive the 
Reports of the varions officers, and discuss business matters. 



EXCURSION, WEDNESDAY, AUG. 20th. 

The carriage excursion on the third day, Wednesday, was in a 
westerly direction, starting, as before, at 9.30 a.m., from the King's 
Head at Holywell. The first point made for was Caerwys, four 
miles south-west of Holywell as the crow flies ; but which has to be 
approached by a circuitous route, owing to intervening hills. 

Caerwys is believed to occupy the site of a Roman station, and 
the rectangular arrangement of the streets seems to favour this 
view. Nothing beyond the plan of the town was seen that would 
confirm the theory of its Eoman origin. 

Gaerwys Church, — The church was the only object of interest 
which claimed attention. The ecclesiastical buildings seen on the 
previous day near Mold were of an English type ; the one at Caer- 
wys is distinctly Welsh. The plan consists of a nave and chancel 
of nearly the same width, with a tower and aisle on the north side ; 
together extending the whole length of the church. The tower. 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 



69 



which is at the north-west corner, is of a plain, massive, military 
pattern. The oldest portions, the pointed chancel-arch and a double- 
light, cnsped lancet- window, are of the Early English period ; but 
most of the rest is of later date. There is a window with Deco- 
rated tracery in the south wall of the chancel, at the east end, 
and two with Perpendicular tracery at the east ends of the chancel 
and north aisle. There are some nice fragments of old stained 




Bfflgy in Caerwys Gharch, Flintshire. 



glass in these three windows ; a small figure of an angel censing, 
coloured blue, yellow, and white, being particularly good. Between 
the nave and the north aisle there is a single, pointed arch quite 
devoid of mouldings, like the chancel-arch. The arcade (if it can 
be dignified by such a term) between the chancel and the north aisle 
is formed by two chamfered oak posts or pillars, with carved struts 
branching from the top to support a horizontal beam going across. 



70 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

The font is octagonal, poor in design, and dated 1661. In an arched 
recess with Decorated cnsping, beneath a window on the south side 
of the chancel, is an effigy of a lady with the hands folded in prayer 
over the breast, carved in low relief, and mnoh mntilated. On the 
exterior of the chancel, on the south side, is a remarkably well cut 
inRcription, in Roman capitals, to Robert Evans of Cairwis {i.e , 
Caerwys), who died in 1582. The oak Commnnion-Table has well- 
turned legs, and is dated 1620. 

Two curious old relics were exhibited in the church, — (1), a small 
hand-bell used at funerals ; and (2), a pewter flagon, also used for 
drinking out of on similar occasions. Both with the initials R. F., 
W. T.; and one dated 1703, and the other 1702. The chalice is 
inscribed " The Communion cup of Caerwys, Peter Thomas, Robert 
ap Robt., 1685"; and the paten, " The gift of Colonell Edward Jones, 
of Wexford in Irland, to the Church of Cayrwys, 1717." 

The '' Mulier Bona Nobili" inscribed stone, seen on a subsequent 
day at Downing, was found in a field near Caerwys. 

The Commission of the Eisteddfod held here in 1567 is now at 
^lostyn Hall. (See Arch. Camb,, vol. iv, p. 143.) Another Eisteddfod 
was held here in 1 798. 

Oop Hill Tumulus. — From Caerwys the party proceeded to New- 
market, six miles to the north-west. Here the members left the 
carriages to climb on foot to the summit of Gop Hill, which is 820 ft. 
above sea-level. A great archsaological treat was in store for every 
one, in the shape of an address by Prof. Boyd Dawkins upon the 
tumulus and bone- cave on Gop Hill. On reaching the top a mag- 
nificent view of the surrounding country was to be seen, and of the 
sea-coast from the Great Orme's Head on the west, to Hilbre Island, 
at the mouth of the Dee, on the east; and even further, to Liver- 
pool, in the extreme distance. The district immediately surround- 
ing Gop Hill is an undulating upland of limestone formation, bound- 
ing the Vale of Clwyd on the east side, and overlying the Coal 
Measures which run along the coast at a lower level. Gop Hill is 
not more than six or seven miles from Rhyl, and any one who may 
be staying at this fashionable sea-side resort may be strongly 
recommended to make an expedition to this interesting spot. The 
Tumulus is a huge mound of limestone rubble, and is a very promi* 
nent feature in the view for miles round. It reminded many of the 
members of the cairns they had seen in Brittany the previous year. 

Professor Boyd Dawkins having collected the party round him 
on the top of the mound proceeded to deliver the following address 
as well as the rather high wind in the exposed position would allow 
him : — 

"Mr. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen, — The cairn on which 
we are now standing is one of the largest, if not the largest, pile of 
stones in the whole of Wales. I commenced its exploration in the 
year 1886, the owner, Mr. Pochin, having very generously defrayed 
all expense. We first sank a vertical shaft from the top, as near the 
middle as we could guess, and then drove a horizontal drift, 30 ft. 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 71 

long, from the bottom of the pit Every portion of the work had 
to be heavily timbered to prevent the sides falling in, which ren- 
dered the work both costly and tedious. The resalts obtained were 
few, as might have been expected from the small area we were able 
to explore by the method described. We were unlikely to have 
stmck the trne centre of the monnd. It was extremely easy to misa 
it. At any rate we found nothing to reward our efforts beyond a 
few bones of the horse and other animals. With this meagre list of 
objects we were obliged to be content, and oar work then came to 
an end ; but I look forward to completing the thorough exploration 
of this most interesting Tumulus in the near future. 

" Perhaps some of you will ask why I have called it a cairn ? 
that is to sav, an artificial heap of stones in contradistinction to a 
natural one. Well, I have referred to it as a cairn because any com- 
petent judge would at once see that it belongs to a type of ancient 
remains known to be sepulchral. I may mention a very similar 
tumulus, perhaps not of snch large dimensions as the one now 
beneath our feet, which on being opened was found to contain a 
burial associated with a necklace of amber beads and the wonder- 
fully beautiful golden corselet now amongst the most highly prized 
treasures of the British Museum. 

" The Tumulus on Gop Hill is sometimes called ' Queen Boadi- 
cea's Tomb'; but there is no evidence with which I am acquainted 
that this celebrated ruler of the ancient Britons was ever in Wales. 
Nevertheless I believe that the tradition is true to the extent of in- 
dicating that the Tumulus is the burial-plaoe of some famous chief- 
tain ; but whether of the Age of Stone, or of Bronze, or of Iron, I 
am not now prepared to say. I hope, however, that the question may 
shortly be finally settled. The diameter of the mound is 350 ft., 
and the height 46 ft. Although its exploration has furnished such 
insignificant results up to the present, I must remind you of the 
sporting phrase, that * very oflen in aiming at a crow you may shoot 
a pigeon.' It was so in this instance, as we shall shortly see." 

Oop Hill JBone-Cave. — Prof. Boyd Dawkins at this point in his 
address requested his audience to accompany him a short way down 
the hill-side, below the cairn, to a spot in front of the entrance to a 
cave in the limestone rock. A ledge of limestone projects over, 
forming a rock-shelter on the left side of the Cave. The learned 
Professor having pinned up a plan and section of the Cave against 
a vertical rock continued his discourse. He said : 

" At the time that we were opening the Tumulus, Mr. Pochin dug 
out a fox-run on the hill-side, and in doing so unearthed the entrance 
to the Cave you now see in front of you. This we determined to 
examine. You will notice a large heap of debris in front of the Cave. 
Through this we drove two horizontal passages or adits. We dis- 
covered large quantities of charcoal, bones and teeth of domestic 
animals, and pieces of rude pottery adorned with chevrons. Close 
against the rock, below the overhanging ledge of limestone, we 
found a large slab of limestone covering the bones of several human 



72 CAMBRIAN ARCHJEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

beings ; and to the right of it a rectangnlar sepulchral chamber, 
abont 4 ft. 6 in. square by 3 ft. 10 in. high, having its sides formed 
of dry rabble walling, and containing an enormous quantity of 
human remains. It had evidently been a burial-place used by a 
large number of individuals over a long period. We found no bronze 
implements of any kind ; but the pottery taken out of the chamber 
is obviously of the kind manufactured during the Bronze Age. 
Three curious objects wei-e associated with the burials, namely two 
perforated pieces of jet and a polished flint flake. The skulls were 
chiefly long, or dolico-cephalic, such as we know to have belonged 
to the dark-haired aborigines of the Iberic stock that once were 
spread all over Europe ; but some were of the round, or bracy- 
cephalic type, which has been identified with the Celtic population. 
Thus we have here represented the two leading elements of the 
ethnology of Wales. 

*' Let us glance at the question of the coming of the Celtic people 
into Europe and into this country. The Aryans invaded Europe at 
a veiT early period, but we have no evidence of the appearance of 
the Celts in Britain before the commencement of the Bronze Age. 
The continental Celt did not dare to attack the Aryan inhabitants 
of this country until he could do so with some prospect of success, 
such as the possession of a superior weapon would be likely to en- 
sure him. It was with a bronze spear in his hand that the conti- 
nental Celt marched to overcome his neolithic neighbour across the 
' silver streak* which has afforded us so good a defence through 
countless ages. There is important archsdological evidence, derived 
from the formation of the bones found in this sepulchral chamber, 
that the individuals buried there did not wear boots with hard soles, 
but used their feet for grasping objects. 

*' I do not know whether there is any connection between the 
Cave and the Tumulus. In the earth of the Cave were discovered 
the bones of reindeer, rhinoceros, and other animals, bearing the 
marks of having been gnawed by the hyaenas whose den it once 
was. At the bottom of all was a layer of clay without bones. There 
is evidence that the Cave is of the post-glacial period." 

NevmiarJcet Church, — Before leaving the neighbourhood of GK)p 
Hill an inspection was made of Newmarket Church, which lies at 
its foot, — an uninteresting building, with a churchyard-cross of the 
thirteenth or fourteenth century, having the crnciBxion sculptured 
on both sides of the head. This cross, as well as others seen during 
the Meeting, is described by the Rev. Elias Owen in his Stone Crosses 
of the Vale of Clwyd. Mr. Owen formed one of the party on the 
occasion. 

The plan of the church is a simple rectangle with a porch on the 
south side. There is a bell -gable on the exterior at the west end. 
An oak pew in the interior has three shields carved on it, two hav- 
ing coats of arms; and one the initials J. J. K., and the date 
1706. 

in the churchyard were noticed some peculiar altar- tombstones 



HOLY WELL MEETING. — REPORT. 



73 



with arched tops, of the eighteenth century, belonging to a type 
not nncommon in this district. 




Cross in Newmarket Cburcbyard, Flintshire. 

Owaunysgor Church. — The party next proceeded to Gwaunysgor 
Gharcb, chiefly remarkable for the antiquity of its Registers, which 
commence as early as the year 1538, and for a 6ne sculptured font 
of the Norman period. This font, although now in a very dilapi- 
dated condition, is one of the best specimens existing in North 
Wales. It has a square bowl, 2 ft. 1 in. across the outside, and 
1 ft. 8 in. across the inside; being 1 ft. deep on the outside, and 
9 in. deep on the inside. The bowl is decorated with foliage spring- 
ing from interlacing stems, and is supported on a large central 
column with four smaller shafts clustered around it This font 
belongs to a class which probably originated in the North of France, 
and of which there are other instances at Lincoln Cathedral ; St. 
Peter's, Ipswich ; St. Nicholas, Southampton ; East Meon and St. 
Mary Bourne in Hampshire. 

The plan of Gwaunysgor Church is like that of Newmarket, a 
plain rectangle with a south porch. There is a bell-gable at the 
west end, outside. The south entrance- doorway has rather a curious 



74 CAMBRIAN ARCHiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

inner frame of wood with a triangular-headed opening, and geome- 
trical star-patterns carved on each side. Over this doorway, on the 
inside, is a sepulchral slab, 6 ft. long by 1 ft. 2 in. wide, bearing a 
cross and sword. 

A pedestal for a sundial, in the churchyard, has the date 1663, 
with the initials R. E., P. E. The Communion-Table is dated 1637. 
The chalice is Elizabethan, inscribed " + The Cuppe of Gwayniskor", 
and the paten is of pewter. 

In passing through the village a glance was obtained of an old 
mansion-house with stone mullioned windows, a sundial on one of 
the gables, and the date 1651 over the doorway. 

Llanasa Church. — After a short drive of two miles and a half 
Llanasa was reached, where the church has several points of inte- 
rest. The principal feature of the exterior is a bell-gable at the 
west end, of much more massive construction than usual, being 
supported on a solid, rectangular block of masonry rising from the 
ground. The plan of the church is a rectangle, divided up the 
middle by an arcade of five low, pointed arches separating the nave 
and chancel, which are on the north side, from the south aisles. The 
church was partially rebuilt in 1739, and has more recently been 
well restored by the late Mr. G. E. Street. In the east windows of 
the chancel and south aisle is some good, old stained glass, the sub- 
jects being, in the former, the Crucifixion, with St. Mary and St. 
John, and with the sun and moon, and the emblems of the Passion : 
in the latter, an archbishop, St. Catherine, St James, and St. Law- 
rence. The font is octagonal, the sides being decorated with Per- 
pendicular tracery and paneling. In the south aisle is a well carved 
sepulchral slab bearing a leopard or lion on a shield, and inscribed, 
in Lombardic capitals, Hic iacet orvfyd vachan. 

Maen y Chwyfan, — The very beautiful and elaborately sculptured 
Hibemo-Saxon cross which bears the name of Maen y Chwyfan 
is situated a mile and a quarter west of Whitford, and four 
miles north-west of Holywell, at a height of 642 ft. above sea-level, 
on the south side of the Sam Hwlcin, just beyond the point where 
the road from Llanasa to Holywell joins it. It stands in a field, 
and is protected by a wooden railing. The cross is erected on a 
rectangular stone base, devoid of ornament, and having its upper 
surface level with the ground. The shaft and head of the cross are 
formed of a single piece of yellowish brown sandstonei The outline 
of the monument resembles that of the most common type of cross 
fonnd in Cornwall, which is sometimes called a " wheel-cross", hav- 
ing a rectangular shaft and circular head without any projections. 
The wheel-cross is unknown in Scotland, Ireland, or England (ex- 
cept at Chester) ; but there are examples in Wales, at Llantwit 
Major, Llangan, and Margam, in Glamorganshire ; at Llanarthney 
in Carmarthenshire ; and in the Isle of Man, at Kirk Braddan and 
Lonan. The shape of the outline of the Maen y Chwyfan, how- 
ever, differs from that of the crosses enumerated in having a much 
loftier shaft ; so that in this respect it has more in common with 




-A.a.SniTii. ThJCm-iitt^ 







S^PVUCHRj^L SLAB 



A' ^- Smith . PwoTo-utTK 



■3 



— 3 



.-I 



--z 



±3FcA 



/" 



i°^•J 



HOLYWELL MEETIKG. — REPORT. 75 

the tall, slender monuments at Carew and Neyem, in Pembroke- 
shire, than with the short, stumpy wheel-ct*o8ses which are all head 
and no shaft to speak of. 

It will be seen that by varying the relative dimensions of the 
head and shaft of the wheel-cross, its character may be entirely 
changed. The effect of lengthening the shaft is to make the head 
appear smaller by comparison. The Maen y Chwyfan has the 
proud distinction of being the tallest of the wheel-crosses of Great 
Britain. 

The Maen y Chwyfan is scolptared in relief on all foar faces. 
Thus :— 

Front — On the head is a cross with a circular, raised boss in the 
centre, and four equal arms having expanded ends. The spaces 
between the arms are recessed, and there is a small, round pellet in 
each of the angles next the central boss. The lower and two side- 
arms are 611ed in with a triqnetra, or three-cornered knot, distorted 
on the side next the centre, so as to fit into the space occupied by 
the arms. The top arm is filled in with a looped band. 

The cross on the head is surrounded by a circular ring orna- 
mented with a flat cable-moulding. The boss has a cross formed of 
incised lines upon it. 

The shaft is divided into throe panels containing — (1) a piece of 
plaitwork composed of fourteen bands interlacing correctly, but 
irregularly executed as regards the straightness of the bands and 
the distances between them ; (2), a key -pattern, the setting-out lines 
of which form a square divided into eight similar triangles; (3), a 
man, nndraped, holding a spear (?) in his right hand, and treading 
on a serpent, the whole being surrounded by a border of rude spiral 
ornament. The bottom of the shaft, to a height of 1 ft. 6 in. above 
the base, is left plain. 

Back. — On the head is a design very similar to that on the front, 
except that the triquetra-knots on the arms of the cross are regular 
' instodd of being distorted, and there is no cable- moulding round the 
ring. The shaft is divided into two panels containing — (I) two 
separaie pieces of interlaced work, the one at the top consisting of 
a pair of concentric circular rings interlaced with a four-cornered 
knot formed of four intersecting semicircles, and the pattern filling 
the remainder of the panel at the bottom consisting of a band looped 
alternately on opposite sides ; (2), a piece of plaitwork composed of 
twelve bands. All the interlaced work on this face has a line along 
the centre of the band. The bottom of the shaft is plain to the 
height of 1 fL 6 in. above the base. 

jRight Side, — Bound the circular edge of the head is a continuous 
piece of plaitwork composed of four bands. On the shaft is a singje 
panel containing seven separate designs : (a), a double-square, ke^- 
pattern border composed of T's placed facing alternately to the 
right and left ; (6), a chain composed of two circular rings ; (c), a 
circular ring interlaced with a four-cornered knot, similar to the 
design on the top panel of the back of the cross ; (d), a band making 



76 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

undulating curves; (c), a band forming loops on opposite sides; 
(/), an animal with a man standing underneath its belly ; (^), a 
key-pattern, the setting-out lines of which form a square divided 
into eight similar triangles. The bottom is plain to a height of 
1 ft. 6 in. above the base. 

Left Side, — Round the circular edge of the head is a piece of plait- 
work of four bands, continued from the opposite side. Ou the 
shaft is a single panel containing five separate designs : (a), a 
chain of six circular rings ; (h), a piece of plaitwork composed of 
four bands ornamented with a line along the centre of the band; 
(c), a man, undraped, seen in full face, standing with his two arms 
upraised, and his two legs apart, with an axe between them ; (d), 
an animal (?) much defaced ; (e), an animal with a long tongue, and 
a serpent between its legs. The bottom of the shaft is plain to a 
height of 1 ft. 6 in. above the base. 

The following is an analysis of the ornament and figure-subjects 
on the Maen y Chwyfan : 

Ornament. 
Interlaced Work. — Plait of four bands, right side, head ; left side, 
head ; left side, shaft (&). 

Plait of twelve bands, back- shaft- panel (2). 

Band looped alternately on opposite sides, back-shaft-panel (la). 

Chains of circulai- rings, right side, shaft (h) ; left side, shaft (a). 

Circular ring and four-cornered knot interlaced, right side, 
shaft (n). 

Ditto with two concentric circular ring^, back, shaft (la). 

Triquetra-knot, back, head, arms of cross. 

Ditto distorted, front, head, arms of cross. 
Key-Patteitis, — T double border, right side, shaft (a). 

Square divided into eight triangles, front, shaft (2) ; right side, 
shaft (/). 
/S;piraZ«.— Front, shaft (3). 
Figure-Subjects. — Man with spear, front, shaft (3). 

Ditto with axe, left side, shaft (c). 

Ditto, under beast, right side, shaft (e), 

Beasi^ right side, shaft (e) ; left side, shaft (f). 

Gelli,-- Before leaving the neighbourhood of the Maen y Chwyfan 
some of the party walked half a mile south to see the farmhouse 
of Gelli, formerly a grange belonging to Basingwerk Abbey. Prom 
the few architectural details which remain, in the shape of windows 
with stone muUions, it would appear to be a building of the fif- 
teenth century. 

Not far oflT, at the south-west comer of a cornfield, still retaining 
the name of ** Cae Capel", a portion of the west wall of the old 
chapel, about 10 ft. long, was pointed out in the hedge, together 
with the Monks' Walk leading towards it. 

This concluded the day's excursion, and the members having re- 
joined the carriages returned to Holywell, a distance of four or ^Ye 
miles to the east. 

(To he continued.) 



n 



arcbaeological iQotes anti ©uerteg* 

Roman Inscriptions at Chester. — It will be in the recollection of 
yonr readers that in the year 1887, in carrying out some necessary 
repairs in the upper part of the north wall of the city of Chester, 
an examination was made of the lower part of the wall, when it was 
found to be full of Roman remains. No fewer than thirteen monu- 
mental and other inscribed stones were taken out of the small por- 
tion then examined, together with a number of other stones, which 
had formerly belonged to large and important Roman buildings. 
The interest excited by this find was very great, and as a result a 
Sub-Committee of the Chester ArchaBological and Historical Society 
collected nearly j£100, and further excavations in the wall were car- 
ried out. These resulted in the finding of/bvrteen more inscribed 
and sculptured stones, together with many architectural fragments^ 
eta, belonging to Roman buildings. 

In 1888 I was authorised by the Council of the Chester Archaso- 
logical Society, as their Editorial Secretary, to issne an illustrated 
account of these discoveries under the title of ** The Bacent Disco- 
veries of Roman Remains found in Repairing the North Wall of 
the City of Chester" (Manchester, Ireland and Co.), in which the 
Official Report of the City Surveyor (Mr. I. Matthews Jones), and 
various papers by the late Mr. Thompson Watkin, Mr. W. de Gray 
Birch, F.S.A., and Mr. G. W. Shrubsole, were printed in full ; 
together with the discussion on the age of the north wall, in which 
the late Sir James A. Picton, Prof. McKcnny Hughes, Mr. T. Hodg- 
kin, and others took part. AH the more important of the inscribed 
and sculptured stones were carefully and accurately drawn, and 
were illustrated in some thirteen full-page plates. In the Introduc- 
tion to this volume I ventured to urge upon the Chester authorities 
the importance of making further excavations in the north wall as 
time and opportunity permitted ; but the expense being necessarily 
great, the question of funds was somewhat of a stumbling-block. 

In the early part of this year Mr. F. Haverfield, M. A., of Lancing 
College, Shoreham, Sussex, issued an appeal, in connection with 
Prof. Pelham of Oxford, Prof. Middleton of Cambridge, Dr. John 
Evans, and other authorities on Roman remains, in order to raise 
funds for further excavations in the north wall. The consent of 
the Chester Town Council was willingly granted under certain con- 
ditions, and had it not been for unexpected difficulties of a special 
kind, the examination of the remainder of the north wall, to the 



78 ARCHJiJOLOGTCAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

east of the Northgate, wonld ere this have been resnmed with, no 
donbt, most important results. 

During the last month, however, the City Surveyor, finding that 
a portion of the north wall, to the west of the Northgate, wanted 
repair, obtained the consent of the Town Council to do the work. 
It was soon apparent that, just as was the case on the other side of 
the Northgate, the wall was full of Roman remains, consisting of 
inscribed and sculptured monuments, portions of Roman buildings, 
etc. On being informed of this, Mr. Haverfield at once forwarded 
a sum of money to enable the excavations to be carried down into 
the lower portion of the wall, with the result that no fewer than 
seven inscribed stones (either whole or fragmentary) have already 
been unearthed, together with four pieces of sculpture. Of these, 
two are particularly noteworthy, and it is strange that they should 
have been found so close together. It has hitherto been considered 
somewhat remarkable that only one sepulchral monument of any 
equiteSf or Roman horse-soldiers, belonging to the Twentieth Legion, 
stationed at Deva (Chester), should have been found ; but here two 
monuments to soldiers of this class have been discovered, in one of 
which the soldier is shown on horseback. One of these has the 
inscription still perfect, whilst in the other it is at present missing. 

Mr. Haverfield has sent the following account of them, which I 
have now much pleasure, with the sanction of the Mayor and Cor- 
poration of Chester, in sending to you for publication. The ezca- 
yations will be continued if sufficient funds can be raised, and I 
venture to appeal to the generosity of those of your readers who 
are interested in the past history of Roman England to enable them 
to be properly carried on. Any sums sent to Mr. Haverfield, to the 
City Surveyor, or to myself, will be gratefully received and duly 
acknowledged. The excavations are under the personal superin- 
tendence of the City Surveyor, who is most careful and painstaking 
in every way ; and his foreman and the men under him are most 
keenly alert for the traces of any fragment of Roman work, how- 
ever small. 

J. P. Earwakee. 

Pensam, Abergele, North Wales. 
Dec. 3, 1890. 



^^Provisional Account of Roman Inscriptions found at Chester 
(North Wall), 

"1. Tombstone, 20 in. wide, with two-inch letters, surmounted 
by fragment of a relief representing a horseman. Lines 3, 4, 5j are 
fractured, but fairly certsan : — 

' D.M 

C . IVL . 8BVERVS 
EQ . LEG . XXVV 
VIXIT . AN 

xxxx 



ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 79 

<'D(iB) M(anibii8) . nJL(ia8) seterus EQ(ae8) LEa(ionis) xx ^(aleriaB) 
v(ictriciB) vixiT AN(no8) xxxx.— To C. Jnlins Severus, horseman of 
the Twentieth Legion, who died at the age of forty. 

**As the Htone i8 broken off in line 5, it is impossible to say if the 
inscription was originally any longer. Each legion (about 5,000 
men) bad 120 riders attached to it under the Empire. 

" 2. Belief of a horseman riding over a fallen enemy, well pre- 
served ; underneath an inscription, of which only the first line, 
D . M (Dis Manibus) is left. 

''3. Tombstone, 80 in. wide, two-inch letters, surmounted by 
^gments of two figures, — one certainly, the other probably, female. 
The whole is much broken : — 

VOCON-AB C . VA VICTOR NIGMNA 
" VOCONIJB C . VA(leriuS ?) VICTOR NIGRINA. 

Possibly C. Va(l). Victor was husband of Voconia ; but the inscrip- 
tion appears never to have been completed. Certainly no more is 
visible. 

"4. Tombstone, 32 in. high, 26 in. wide; letters, one inch and 
seven-eighths ; surmounted by the lower part of a funeral banquet 
relief. Line 4 is much broken. Of line 5 only the top of an s at 
the end survives : — 

RESTITAE . V 
AN . VII . ET . M 

AR...^B. V. AN III 

Q 

" D(is) M(anibus) restitab v(ixit) AN(nos) vu, ET mae...(?) v(ixit) 
AN(nos) III... 

'* The name mar... is not quite certain. Possibly it is Martice, 

** 5. Fragment of tombstone with fine letters three inches and 
five -eighths long. Part only of the m is preserved : — 

MILES 

leg . XX . V V 

vixit an... f 

**.. .MILES (legionis xx. v) v(ixit annos...). 
" 6. Fragment, 27 in. by 20 in., with four-inch letters : — 

LVS 
.OAL 
NITV8 

" (Dis Manibus...) L(i)us { ) gal (eria tribn) ( )nitvs. 

" 7. Fragment, 3 in. by 8 in., with the letters Ni . bs apparently. 

" Besides these inscribed relics, some pieces of sculpture (all seem- 
ingly sepulchral) have been found, and some coping stones and 
other hewn work. All but two or three pieces are of red sandstone ; 



80 AROH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

the exceptions are of a whiter stone, resembling that nsed for the 
monument of M. Anrelins Nepos and his wife, now in the Grosvenor 
Mnsenm. It appears, therefore, that the part of the north wall from 
which these stones come has contents very similar to the part ex- 
amined some three years ago. The lettering of Nos. 1 and 4 seems 
to be later than that of the majority of the previous finds ; but 
arguments based on lettering are at all times to be used with caution. 
" I have myself seen all the inscriptions given above, and have 
also had the advantage of excellent squeezes of 1, 3, and 4, sent me 
by the City Surveyor, Mr. I. Matthews Jones, who has charge of 
the work. 

"Lancing College, Nov. 30, 1890. F. HAVEBriELD." 

—Aihenoeum, Dec. 13, 1890." 



MEETING OF THE CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL 
ASSOCIATION IN IRELAND. 

Bt invitation of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland it has 
been decided to hold the next Annual Meeting of the Cambrian 
Archffiological Association at Killamey during the second week in 
August. 

The office of President has been accepted by Prof. Rhts of 
Oxford. 



Erratum. — Arch, Catnh., Ser. 7, vol. vii, p. 335, line 15, for Nor- 
man read Roman, 



^rcliae0l0jgia dCamk^nsb* 



FIFTH SERIES.— VOL. VIII, NO. XXX. 



APRIL 1891. 



LLANVEIGAN CHURCH, BRECONSHIRE. 

BY THE EEV. J. PRICE. 

This church is situated on the south bank of the river 
Usk, about five miles below the town of Brecon, on an 
eminence commanding an extensive view of the Usk 
Valley. The church is dedicated to Meugan or Meigant 
Hen, a son of Gwyndaf Hen ap Emyr Llydaw, and 
Gwenonwy, the daughter of Meurig ap Tewdrig, King 
of Siluria. He flourished about 650 a.d. 

The church consists of a nave and chancel in one 
continuous length, without chancel-arch ; and a north 
aisle divided from the nave by an arcade ; and a 
massive tower at the west end of the nave. The shell 
of the church has been restored. 

The north aisle seemed to be the oldest portion of 
the church. Its north wall contained a thirteenth 
century window, and near it another corresponding to 
the former, except that a fourteenth century head had 
been added by some manifestly unskilful artist. It also 
contained a doorway of the same date as the oldest 
window. High up in the east wall of this aisle was a 
window of the early part of the fifteenth century. The 
first two arches of the arcade are supported by hand- 
some pillars ; the last two by plain mason-work pillars. 

For some purpose or other sand had been conveyed 

6tU 8ER., VOL. Till. 6 



82 LLANVBIGAN CHURCH. 

into the church, raising the level of the floor of the 
nave and north aisle some 20 inches above the original 
level. Why this was done it is hard to conjecture ; 
possibly for the purpose of drying the church, or more 
probably for the purpose of sepulture, as in some por- 
tions of the church there were traces of two layers of 
bodies having been buried one above another. 

Built into the wall of the western portion of the 
arcade were the muUions of a thirteenth century win- 
dow corresponding exactly with that in the north wall. 
The nave and tower are Qf the fifteenth century ; but 
the tower was clearly built subsequently to the nave. 

When the tiles were stripped from the nave and 
north aisle, the wall of the tower thus laid bare showed 
clear traces of an older nave-roof at a lower level and 
a lower pitch. Moreover, the timbers of the roof of 
the north aisle showed unmistakable signs of having 
been shortened to suit the span of this portion of the 
church. What, then, is its probable history ? If a 
novice may venture a conjecture, it is this ; dismiss- 
ing, of course, the question as to what the original 
wicker work church was like. In the thirteenth cen- 
tury a stone church was erected here consisting of 
nave and a chancel extending somewhat to the east- 
ward of the point where the north aisle joins the nave. 
In the early part of the fifteenth century the west wall 
of this nave was taken down, and the present hand- 
some, massive tower built against it, a window being 
inserted between the south porch and the tower to cor- 
respond with the windows in the tower. 

In the latter part of the fifteenth century the chan- 
cel was probably extended farther to the east ; the 
small, plain, thirteenth century windows were removed 
and replaced by four square-headed, cinquefoil, cusped 
windows ; and a magnificent rood-screen and loft were 
erected at the entrance to the former chancely which is 
exactly half way between the tower-arch and the pre- 
sent east wall. At the same time a portion of the 
north wall was taken down, the present north aisle 



LLANVEIGAN CHURCH. 83 

(which ifl still known as " the Eglwys Newydd") was 
eFected, the thirteenth century windows and doorway 
were put here, and the timbers of the nave-roof placed 
on it. These timbers have been manifestly shortened 
(the ends had perished), and the span of tne aisle was 
regulated by their length. 

When the windows in this north aisle were cleaned, 
and the stopping removed, two of them proved to be 
of a very composite character ; that high up in the east 
wall consisting of portions of two, if not thi^ee, separate 
windows. 

Portions of the stone steps leading to the rood-loft 
from the outside, are still visible in the south wall. 
The rood-loft was in position in 1813. One or two of 
the older inhabitants can recollect hearing of a gallery 
once extending across the nave. The traces of the 
rood-loft, viz., where the woodwork joined the walls of 
the nave on either side are distinctly visible. What 
became of it ? Let us see. 

In 1813-14 extensive alterations for the worse were 
made. The doorway leading to the rood-loft was 
taken out, and a high churchwarden-window, in a 
wooden frame, inserted instead ; and near this win- 
dow an unsightly deal pulpit, with reading-desk lead- 
ing into it, was placed. In the north aisle, against 
the north wall, and facing the pulpit, but on the 
ground, a gallery was constructed precisely similar 
to the galleries seen in infant-schools in the present 
day. The arch leading into the tower was filled up 
with lath and plaster, excepting the doorway. On this 
was a plain door. The whole had been coated with 
whitewash. When the lath and plaster were removed, 
the doorway was found to consist of two solid pieces of 
oak, forming what had been the archway through the 
screen into the chancel. It is in an excellent state of 
preservation. Underneath the whitewash was disco- 
vered the white rose of York beautifully painted, the 
roses being placed about a foot apart, on each side of 
the archway, from top to bottom. Another row of roses 

6« 



84 LLANVEIGAN CH[JRCH. 

was painted on the woodwork of the screen, from the 
one side of the nave to the other. Carrying the lath 
and plaster were found other portions of the screen 
terribly mutilated. The mouldings were wonderfully 
sharp and clearly cut, and the colours on the mouldings 
as fresh as if only laid on a few years ago, — white, blue, 
church-red, and chocolate. 

But this was not the only find. When the above 
mentioned gallery in the north aisle was removed, 
underneath was discovered a considerable portion of 
the remainder of the rood-loft. Here were found the 
huge oak beams, wonderfully moulded and chiselled, 
which had supported the loft. Originally each beam 
must have been 20 ft. long. They had been sawn into 
various lengths, and much mutilated. Here, too, were 
found many of the cross-pieces supporting the floor of 
the rood-loft, and extending transversely from the one 
beam to the other ; all moulded and coloured. It is 
pitiable to think that so beautiful a work of art should 
have been destroyed as recently as 1813. The whole 
of the pieces may now be seen in the churchyard, as 
also the old oak fifteenth century choir-stalls and 
benches. Here also may be seen the shaft of the 
churchyard -cross. The pedestal and head are wanting. 

And now comes the question : By whom was the 
thirteenth century church erected ? It is impossible to 
say, but I would hazard the following conjecture. 
According to Theophilus Jones' History of Breconshire^ 
the advowson of the living of Llanveigan, in early 
times, went with the lordship and Castle of Pencelli. 
The Castle is not much more than a quarter of a mile 
from the church. For some years there was a dispute 
respecting this property between Ralph Mortimer, lord 
of Melynedd, and William de Bros, lord of Brecknock. 
This quarrel was finally settled by Roger Mortimer, a 
son of Ralph Mortimer, marrying a daughter of William 
de Bros. Pencelli Castle and the advowson now went 
to this Ralph Mortimer, who was summoned to Parlia- 
ment in the 1st of Edward I (1272), and also in the 



LLANVEIGAN CHURCH 85 

28th year of the same reign, as lord of Pencelli or Pen- 
kelley. What more probable than that this Ralph 
Mortimer and his wife built or rebuilt the church ? 
The style of architecture seems to correspond with this 
date. 

But what shall we say for the extensive alterations 
and enlargements in the fifteenth century ? Presum- 
ing that these alterations were made when the house 
of York viiis in the ascendant, we find that during the 
reigns of Edward IV, Edward V, and Richard III, the 
manor and Castle of Pencelli, as well as the advowson 
of the living of Llanveigan, was in the possession of 
Henry Duke of Buckingham, subsequently the power- 
ful ally of Richard III, from whom he received " not 
only large grants of money, but also lucrative and 
honourable appointments." Is it too much to suppose 
that the church was enlarged by the Duke's orders, or 
at least with his co-operation ? and that the screen so 
lavishly decorated with the white rose was placed in 
the church quite as much to the honour of his power- 
ful patron as to the honour of God ? 

It could not well have been erected (I mean the 
screen) at any other period. During the reign of 
Edward IV, Buckingham lived in retirement in Brecon. 
His father and grandfather had died fighting for the 
house of Lancaster. Had it been erected in the reign 
of Henry VII we should have expected the white and 
the red rose exhibited alternately. 

We may therefore conclude the church was enlarged 
about the beginning of the reign of Richard III. 

The font is octagonal, but not regular, one or two of 
the sides being shorter than the others. The axe- 
marks on it are very clear and distinct. Probably it is 
older than any portion of the church. 



86 



LLYFR SILIN 

YN CYNNWYS ACHAU AMRYW DEULUOEDD 
YN NGWYNEDD, POWYS, ETC. 

QConiinuM from Vol, vii, p. 320.) 



RHIWGOCH.^ 

Sir John Wynn^ fab Kattrin^ verch ac etifeddes Elis 
Lloyd/ barrister, ap Robert Lloyd,^ Esq., ap leuan Lloyd 
ap Elisse ap William ap Grufiydd ap Siankin ap Rys 
ap Tudr ap Meredydd ap Llewelyn ap Gruffydd Lloyd 
ap Llewelyn ap Gruffydd ap Llowarch ap Bran. 

Mam Elis Lloyd, barrister, oedd Margret^ verch 
Hugh Nane^ ap Gruffydd Nane ap Howel ap 
Dafydd ap Meiric fychan. 
Mam leuan Lloyd oedd Gwen verch leuan ap Sion 

^ See Hist Fowys Fadog^ vi, 151-162, in which this pedigree is 
given somewhat differently, Sir John Wynn's mother being there 
named *' Jane", and Grnffydd ab Siankyn, ** Gruffydd ab lenan." 
The former appears to have been of Hendre Gelli Dywyll, in Ffes- 
tiniog, — a place which, according to the Tai Croesion MS., and 
Notes by Bishop Humphreys (in the possession of Mrs. Jones- Parry 
of Aberdunant), passed, together with Brynllydan and Cesail Qcj' 
varch, by the marriage of the heiress, Elin, daughter of Ivan ab 
Howel ab leuan ab Madoc, to Ivan ab Davydd of Penarth in Pen- 
machno, fifth paternal ancestor of Humphrey Humphreys, Bishop 
of Bangor and Hereford, oh, 1713. Gruffydd ab Jenkin married 
(according to Tai Croesion MS.) Mallt, daughter of Gruffydd ab 
Meredydd Vychan ab Meredydd ab leuan ab Trahaiam Goch of 
Lleyn, by whom he was father of Thomas ab GrufEydd of Clynnog. 
Previous descents are also given differently by Lewis Dwnn (ii, 89), 
who gives Howel ab Gruffydd as father of Tudor, and to Meredydd 
another son Rhys. 

* Ob. 11 Jan. 1718-19, aged ninety-one. 

' Jane. {Lewys Dvmn, vol. ii, p. 232, n. 19.) 

* Elis Lloyd living 1663-64. 

6 M.P. for Merionethshire, 1586, 1614 ; Sheriff for same co., 1595, 
1601, 1614, and 1625. (Calendars of Gwynedd,) 
® Living 24 Jan. 1610-11. ^ Nane, now Nannau. 



LLYFR SILIN, 87 

ap Meredydd ap leuan ap Meredydd ap Howel 
ap Dafydd ap Gruffydd ap Cariadog ap Thomas 
ap Rodri ap Owen Gwynedd. 
Plant Robert Lloyd o'r Rhiwgoeh oedd Elis Lloyd 
uchod ; Gruffydd Lloyd a briododd . . . verch ac 
etifeddes ...^ o Maes y Neuadd ; John Lloyd^ o'r 
Brynhir ; a Nane Lloyd ; Jane Lloyd gwraig 
John Morgans o Drawsfynydd ; Gwen Lloyd 
gwraig Lewis Nane o Gefndeuddwr ; au mam 
oedd Margred Nane uchod.' 

YR HENDWR YN EDEIRNION.* 

Hugh Gwyn ap Humffre Gwyn ap Hugh Gwyn'' ap 
Ednyfed^ ap Gruffydd' ap leuan^ ap Einion ap Gruffydd 
ap Llewelyn ap Cynwric ap Osber* ap Gwyddlach larll 
Desmond. 

Mam Hugh Gwyn*^ oedd Elsbeth" verch Gruffydd^' 
ap Llewelyn ap Hwlkin ap Howel ap lorwerth ap 

' Robert ftp Edward ap Humphrey. (UisL Powys Fadog^ vol. vi, 
p. 152.) 

^ Married the heiress of Brjnbir. (Ibid.) 

^ There were three other daughters, — Elleu, Anne, and Dorothy. 
(Ibid.) 

^ This ancient house is still extant, situated on the Dee, close to 
the water's edge, and approached by an old avenue of trees. The 
representatives of the original family, male descendants of Owain 
Brpgyntyn, were Barons of Hendwr. Davi(i of Cryniarth, elder 
brother of Gruffydd of Hendwr, was Constable of Harlech Castle 
during its famous siege by the Yorkists under the Earl of Pembroke. 

^ Living in the thirty -eighth year of Henry VIH. {Lewya Dwnriy 
p. 249, vol. ii.) 

« Living 31st Dec, 13th Henry VIII. (Jbid,) 

7 Third son. Inherited Hendwr from his father, leuan of Cryn- 
iarth (second son of Einion of Cors y Gedol), who married the heir- 
ess. One of the Grand Jury for co. Merioneth, 27th Henry VI. (26.) 

* Of Cryniarth, a house now pulled down, where are the remains 
of a vitrified stone camp. Living Michaelmas 1432. (IlisL Fovnjs 
Fadog, vol. vi, p. 20.) 

• Osbom Wyddel of Ynys Maengwyn and Cors y Gedol celebrity. 

10 Hugh Gwyn ab Ednyfed. 

11 " Mam Elsbeth oedd Kattrin verch John ap Meredith o Eifion- 
ydd." (Lewys Dvmn^ vol. ii, p. 146.) The statement, however, 
omitted here, is not confirmed by the history of the Gwydir family, 
where neither the lady nor the marriage is named. 

^2 Of y Chwaen Isaf . 



88 . LLYFR SILIN. 

GruflPydd^ap lorwerth ddu ap lorwerth ap Gruff- 
ydd ap lorwerth ap Madoc neu Meredydd ap Ma- 
tusalem ap Hwfa ap Kynddelw un o'r 15 Llwyth. 

Mam Kattrin oedd Gwenhwyfar verch Grono ap 
leuan ap Egnion ap Gruflfydd ap Howel ap 
Meredydd ap Kynfrig ap Gwgan. 

Mara Ednyfed ap Gruflfydd oedd Sabl verch leuan 
ap Adda ap lorwerth ddu o Bengwern. 

Mam Gruflfydd ap leuan ap Einion oedd Angharad 
verch ac un o etifeddesau Dafydd ap Giwn 
Lloyd ap Dafydd ap Madoc o'r Hendwr ap lor- 
werth ap Madoc ac i Owen Brogentyn. 

Pedair Merch ac etifeddesau oedd i Dafydd ap Giwn 
Lloyd uchod. Un oedd Margred mam Howel 
ap Moris o'r Glasgoed ;^ ac un arall a elwyd 

Lleuku^ [ ] leuan ap Gruflfydd ap Madoc, 

aeth i Fera. Angharad oedd mam Gruflfydd ap 
leuan ap Einion uchod.* 

UCHELDRE YN Y DEIRNION.^ 

Edmund Meiric, Esq., ap Peter^ Meiric ap Edmwnd 
Meiric' ap Peter Meiric® ap Edmwnd® Meiric, Doctor of 

^ Brother, not sob, in Hist, of Powys Fadog^ v, p. 282. 

* In the parish of Llansilin. * Gwraig. 

* See IJiaU Powys Fadog^ iii, p. 21. 

^ This pedigree is confirmed by the additional notes by Bishop 
Hnmphreys to Wood's Athence OxonieneeSy printed after his death. 
Edmnnd Meyrick sncceeded his father Peter at TJcheldre, which was 
purchased by him. The last Meyrick who owned it, a vicar of Cor- 
wen, sold it to Kyffin of Maenan. It now forms part of the Bug 
estate, and is an interesting specimen of a very early small Welsh 
mansion. Edmnnd Meyrick was descended from Rowland Meyrick, 
Bishop of Bangor, 1559-63, in snccession to Dr. Glynn, Bishop of 
that see, 1555-58. He married Grace, daughter and heiress of 
Cadwaladr of Garthlwyd in Llanddervel in Penllyn, son of Watkin 
ab Edward of that place (buried 22nd Feb. 1610-11), by his wife 
Grace, daughter of Cadwaladr ab Robert ab Rhys of Rhiwlas. (Harl. 
MS. 2288, and Add. MS. 9866.) This family came, through Howel 
y Gadair of Penllyn, from Rhirid Vlaidd, and maternally from 
Marchweithian. 

« Bapt. Feb. 12, 1623-24. (Lemjs Dvrnn, vol. ii, p. 126.) 

7 Married at Llandderfel, Feb. 5, 1618-19. {Ibid.) 

8 Died Nov. 9, 1630, aged sixty-five; buried at Ruthin. (Ibid.) 

9 Died in 1605. 



LLYFR SILIN. 89 

the Civil Law a Deon Bangor, ap Richard Meiric o Bod- 
organ ap Llewelyn ap Heilin ap Einion Sais ap Dafydd 
ap lorwerth ap Tudr ap Madoc ap Samuel ap Kydafel 
Ynfyd ap Lludd ap Llewelyn ap Llyminod Angel ap 
Pasgen ap Urien ap Kynfarch ap Meirchion Gul ap 
Grwst^ Ledlwm ap Kynan ap Koel Godebog Brenin 
Brydain. 

CAROG YN Y DEIRNIOK* 

Sion Lloyd ap Sion Lloyd ap Dafydd ap Hugh Lloyd 

ap Gruffydd Lloyd ap Elisse ap Gruffydd ap Einion ap 

Gruffydd ap Llewelyn ap Cynfrig ap Osber Wyddel. 

Mam Sion Lloyd oedd Ann verch Richard Trefor ap 

Thomas Trefor ap Edward Trefor h^n. 
Mam Ann oedd Sina verch Edward Lloyd ap Richard 

Lloyd Llwynymaen/ 
Mam Sion Lloyd ap Dafydd Lloyd oedd Sian verch 

Edward ap Rys ap Dafydd ap Gwilym o Eg- 

Iwyseg. 
Mam Sian oedd Gwenhwyfar verch Dafydd ddu ap 

Tudr ap leuan Lloyd ap Llewelyn ap Gruffydd 

Lloyd ap Meredydd ap Llewelyn ap Ynyr ap 

Howel ap Moreiddig ap Sandde. 
Mam Hugh Lloyd oedd Margred verch Dafydd ap 

Meiric fychan.* 

* " Gurgnst letlwm mab Ceneu mab Coyl hen Gust e pane." (Harl. 
MS. 3859.) 

^ This place is situate in Glyndyvrdwy, near the site of the man- 
sion of Owen Glyndwr, on the Dee. There are now two farms of 
the name belonging to K^g, Carrog TJcha and Isa. In the latter is 
a hage, thick, rough, circular block of oaken timber, said to have 
been anciently a table in the house of Owen Glyndwr. For the 
origin of the family see Hist Pcywya Fadog, vi, p. 375. 

See also Hist, Powya Fadog^ vi, p. 11, where two further descents 
are given, viz., Eichard Lloyd married daughter of Arthur Ward of 
Oswestry, and ...gleton Lloyd. 

* Richard Lloyd died 8 Sept. 1508, leaving by Margaret, daughter 
of John Edwards of Ciiirk, two sons, — 1, John, who succeeded to 
the Llanvorda estate ; and 2, Edward, who succeeded his father in 
the estate of Llwynymaen. (Harl MS. 1982, etc.) 

* Of Nannau. {IlisL Fowys Fadog, v, p. 56.) 



90 LLYFR SILTN. 

Mam Mary oedd Morfydd^ verch Howel ap Rys ap 
Dafydd ap Howel o RAg. 



EAGAD, GLYNDWRDWY.3 

Roger ap Sion* Lloyd ap Roger Lloyd ap Sion Lloyd 
ap Roger ap Robert ap Gruffydd Lloyd ap Elisse ap 
GrufFydd ap Einion ap Gruffydd ap Llewelyn ap Cyn- 
frig ap Osber Wyddel. 

Mam Sion Lloyd oedd Kattrin verch Peter Meiric. 
Mam Roger Lloyd oedd Kattrin verch Ffoulke Midel- 

ton ap Dafydd Midelton h6n. Cais Ach Gwaen- 

ynpg. 
Mam Sion Lloyd oedd Elsbeth Meiric o Fodorgan yn 

Sir F6n. 
Mam Robert Lloyd oedd Lowri verch Gruffydd ap 

Llewelyn ap Hwlkin o Fon. 
Mam Gruffydd Lloyd ap Elisse oedd Margred verch 

ac etifeddes Sienkin ap leuan ap Llewelyn ap 

Gruffydd Lloyd ap Meredydd ap Llewelyn ap 

Ynyr ap Howel ap Moreiddig ap Sandde Hardd 

o Forty n. 
Mam Elisse ap Gruffydd ap Einion oedd Lowri* 

verch Tudr ap Gruffydd fychan ap Gruffydd o'r 

Rhuddallt ap Madoc fychan. 

* Elcn. (Hist Powy$ Fadog,) 

* This is the same place as Ilhagatfc, in the parish of Llansant- 
ffVaid, near Corwen, where there have dwelt two families named 
Lloyd : the first a cadet branch of that of Plas yn Yale, descended 
from Osbom Wyddel ; the second derived in the direct male line, 
thronghout, from Cyhelin ab Rhys Sais, and so from Tndor Trevor, 
(Hist, Poivys Fadog, vol. iv.) For the one connecting strain of blood 
between the first and last families of Lloyd of Rhagatt, through 
those of Pontmffydd and Plas Isa, in Edeirnion, see Hist, of Powys 
Fadog, iv, p. 137 ; v, p. 300 ; and vi, pp. 42-43. 

» Living 1680 (Hist, of Pomys Fadog, vi, p. 375). 

* Lowri married firstly Robert ap Robin ab Grnffydd Goch of 
Rhos. Her father Tudr was born about 1362, and was lord of 
Gwyddelwern in Glyndyfrdwy. He was twenty-four years of age 
on 3 Sept. 1386, and was younger brother of the celebrated Owain 
Glyndwr. (Hist, Powys Fadog^ i, p. 197.) 



LLYFR SILIN. 91 



TYFOS YN Y DEIKNION.* 

Dafydd Lloyd ap Thomas ap Roland Lloyd ap Tho- 
mas ap Roland ap Dafydd Lloyd ap William ap Dafydd 
Lloyd ap Dafydd ap leuan fychan ap Grufiydd ap 
leuan ap Grufiydd ap Madoc ap lorwerth ap Madoc ap 
Ririd Flaidd. 

Mam Dafydd Lloyd oedd Susan verch ac etifeddes 

Nathaniel* Jones o'r Hendwr ap Moris Jones. 
Mam Susan oedd Mary Gwyn verch ac etifeddes 

Humphre ap Hugh Gwyn o'r Hendwr. 
Mam Thomas Lloyd oedd Kattrin verch Pyrs Wynn 
ap Robert Wynn o'r Plas Issa yn y Deirnion. 

BRINES.* 
HumffVe Branes ap Morgan Branes ap Humff^re ap 

^ The pedigree here differs from that in Hist, Powys Fadog, vi, p. 
23, in which the male and female lines appear to have been con- 
fused, and the entire descent is derived from David, second son of 
leaan, second son of Y Gwion Llwyd, Baron of Hendwr, of Gwuodl 
in Glyndyvrdwy, and of Branas Isa in Edeymion, instead of, as 
here, from leuan, second son of Gruffydd of Llanuwchlyn, ab Madoc 
ab lorwerth ab Ririd Vlaidd. (Arch. Camh., 1877, pp. 102 et seq.) 
Here Thomas appears as the son of Rowland ab Thomas ab Row- 
land ab Davydd ; there as the son of Rowland ab Davydd ab Rhydd- 
erch. The marriages differ entirely. The confusion would seem to 
have arisen out of the marriage of David Lloyd with Catherine, 
daughter of William ab David Lloyd, descended from leuan, second 
son of Gruffydd of Llanuwchlyn, fourth from Rhirid Vlaidd, whose 
line is here given as the paternal one from Madoc of Hendwr. (See 
also H, P. F., vi, pp. 19, 47.) Humphrey Jones of Tyfos, not named 
in either pedigree, was co-executor with Henry Lloyd, of Penpor- 
chell, of the will of John Lloyd of Penaner, who died «. p., 1690. — 
Ex inf. C. S. Mainwaring, Esq., of Galltvaenan and Bwlch y Bendy. 

* High Sheriff of Merionethshire, 1673. He married Mary, 
daaghter and heiress of Humphrey Wynn of Hendwr. {HisL Powys 
Fadog^ vi, p. 21.) 

^ This is the pedigree of Branas TJchaf, not to be confounded with 
Branas Isaf. Plas yn Nghrogen is now called simply Crogen, and 
belongs to the Earl of Dudley by purchase. The house is on the 
bank of the Dee. The Branas estate having been sold, has passed 
through several families, and been since 1696 the property of tlie 
houses of Llanvorda and Wynnstay. {Hist. Pot&ya Fadog^ vi, 19, 47.) 



92 LLYFR SILIN. 

Morgan ap Robert ap Reinallt ap GruflPydd^ ap Rys ap 
leuan ap Llewelyn ddu or Deirnion. 

Plant Robert ap Reinallt o Elizabeth Konwy o Fryn- 

euryn oedd Morgan ap Robert ; Lowri gwraig 

Thomas Lloyd o Lloran ; a Mared gwraig Howel 

ap Rys ap Evan ap Llewelyn o Fochnant is 

Rhaiadr. 
Plant Morgan ap Robert oedd Humffre, Robert, 

Ann, Elizabeth, Sian, a Gwen. 
Plant Morgan o wraig arall a elwyd Sioned verch 

leuan oedd Ffoulke ap Morgan yn unig ac a 

aned yn amser y wraig gyntaf. 

WERKLYS.2 

Humphre Hughes^ ap Richard Hughes^ ap Hugh* ap 
William ap GrufFydd^' Fychan ap Dafydd^ ap Rys ap 
leuan ap Llewelyn ddu ap Dafydd ap Gruffydd ap lor- 
werth ap Owen Brogyntyn. 

Mam Hugh ap William oedd Margred® verch Mer- 

edydd ap Dafydd ap Einion fychan. 
Mam William ap Gruffydd fychan oedd ...® fercli 
Meredydd ap lolyn ap leuan Gethin.^^ 

^ There is an ode by L. G. Cothi, addre8v<;ed to Gruffydd ap Rys. 
(Lewya Bwnn, vol. ii ; works of Lewis Glynn Cothi, Dosparth, v, 
13, p. 407, first ed.) The object of the poem is to wish Grutiydd 
God speed on his voyage of pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James 
the Apostle at Compostella in Spain, and to pray for his safe return. 

^ Now Gwerclas in Edeyrnion. 

^ High Sheriff for co. Merioneth, 1660, and for co. Denbigh, 1670. 
Oh 1682. (Eist. Powys Fadog, vol. vi, p. 45.) 

4 Oh. 1631. (Z6.) 6 06. Feb. 28, 1600. {Th.) 

^ Gruffydd was living in 1461, and was of Hendwr in Edeirnion ; 
his mother, Angharad, having been a daughter and coheir of David 
of Hendwr. His wife, Sabel, was daughter of leuan ab Adda of 
Pcngwern. (Pedigree of Wynne of Feiiiarth.) 

7 Living upon Oct. 6, 1427, and was dead Oct. 25, 1444. (Lewys 
Dwnn^ vol. ii, p. 250.) 

^ Of Bronheulog, Llanfairtalhaiam, Denbigh. (Lev^ys Bwnn^ ii, 
p. 250, n. 10.) 

^ Margaret {Hist. Povnjs Fadog^ vi, p. 45) ; Morfydd v. William 
ap Maredydd ap Dafydd (Lewys Dwnn, ii, p. 45, n. 9). 

^^ The family of Hughes of Gwerclas were bai-ous of Cymmer by 



LLYFR SILIN. 93 



CROQBN YN Y DEIRNION. 

Morgan Lloyd^ ap Dafydd Lloyd ap Morgan ap Tho- 
mas ap Hovvel ap Grruffydd ap Rys ap leuan ap Llew- 
elyn ddu o'r Deirnion. 

Mam Morgan ap Thomas oedd Kattrin verch Robert 
Salsbri o Llanrwst ; a'i mam hithe oedd Gwen- 
hwytar verch Rys ap Einion fychan ap leuan ap 
Rys Wynu ap Dafydd Lloyd ap y Penwyn. 
Mam Thomas ap Hovvel oedd Kattrin verch Gruffydd 
ap leuan ap Einion ap Gruffydd ap Llewelyn ap 
Kynfrig ap Osber Wyddel. 
Mam Rys ap leuan ap Llewelyn oedd Mared verch 
leuan ap Llewelyn ap Dafydd ap Gruffydd ap 
Owen Brogyntyn ; a bono elwyd Arglwyddes 
Crogen. 
Plant Morgan ap Thomas oedd Robert a fu farw yn 
ddiblant ; Dafydd Lloyd ap Morgan, Tad Mor- 
gan Lloyd Grogen. 
Plowel ap Gruffydd ap Rys o Grogen 1 oeddent 
Reinallt ap Gruffydd ap Rys o Franes J Frodyr. 

Y DEIRNION. 

Plant Einion* ap Gruffydd ap Llywelyn ap Cynwric 
ap Osber o Dangwystl verch Rhydderch ap leuan 
Lloyd* oedd Gruffydd ap Einion ;* lorwerth ap Einion f 
ac leuan ap Einion ; Mali verch Einion a briodes 

virtue of a grant by Edward I in 1284, to hold their lands per haro- 
niam. The property was ruined, as was also that of Hendwr, by a 
lawsuit between the families of Lloyd and Passingham as to which 
family was entitled to that of Hendwr, early in the present century. 
(See Arch. Gamh.j 1879, p. 46 et aeq,, " fiarons of Cymraer." 
^ Living in 1594. 

* He was of Corsygedol, and captain of forty archers from Meri- 
oneth in the tenth year of Richard II. 

* Of Gogerddan, co. Cardigan. Descended from Gwaithvocd. 
(Add. MS. 9864.) 

* Of Corsygedol. 

* Farmer of the Crown revenues in Towyn, and wood-warden of 
Estimaner in 1425. 



94 LLYFR SILIN. 

Howel Selef ;* Tibod verch Einion gwraig Howel ap 
leuan ap lorwerth o Gynlleth, ac iddynt y bu dwy 
ferch, nid amgen Gwenhwyfar gwraig Meredydd Lloyd 
o Llwynymaen, a Mared gwraig HoweP ap Moris ap 
leuan Gethin ; ac wedi marw Howel y priodes Tibod 
leuan fychan ap leuan Gethin o Foelyrch ac iddynt y 
bu GrufFydd ap leuan fychan o Abertanat. 

GrufFydd ap Einion ap Gruffydd ap Llewelyn a 
briodes Lowri verch Tudr^ ap Gruffydd fychan ac iddynt 
y bu Elisse* a briododd Margred verch Sienkin, ac 
iddynt y bu Tudr ap Elisse a briododd Elizabeth Con- 
wy ; Gruffydd ap Elisse a briododd Lowri verch Gruff- 
ydd ap Llewelyn ap Hwlkin ; Siankin mort ; Sion 
Wynn ; Elis Person Gresford ; a Thomas. 

Gwraig gyntaf Sion Wynn ap Elisse oedd Margred 
verch William ap Madoc fychan o Ll^n, ac iddynt y bu 
JRoger a briododd Elin verch Ffoulke Salsbri o Llan- 
rwst ac iddynt y bu Elisse, a Gwenhwyfar gwraig 
Hugh Salsbri, Lowri gwraig Howel fychan o Llanlidan ; 
Elin gwraig Sion Wynn ap Robert fychan o Llan- 
ufydd. 

Dafydd Llwyd ap Elisse a briododd Gwenhwyfar 
verch Richard Lloyd o Llwyn y Maen, ac iddynt y bu 
Sion Wynn a briododd Elizabeth verch Thomas Mos- 
tyn ; Thomas Doctor 141 a briodes Joan Lewis : Roger 
ap Elisse a briodes Kattrin verch William chwaer 
Hugh ap William o'r Deirnion ; a Hugh Ik\ a briodes 
Doritie Royden ; Gwenhwyfar ; Sian gwraig Edward 
Trefor ; Kattrin gwraig Lewis Lloyd o Strydalyn ;^ 
Elizabeth ; ac Elin gwraig Sion Roger. 

Roger ap Elisse op Gruffydd ap Einion oedd hynach 
na Dafydd Lloyd ap Elisse. 

Richard ap Elisse a briodes Gwenhwyfar verch leuan 
ap Dafydd ap Giwn ac iddynt y bu leuan ac William 
ac eraiU. 

^ Of Naimey. Living in 1400. (Pedigree of Wynne of Peniarih.) 

* He died in 1481. {Pedigree of Kyffin.) 
^ Brother of Owain Glyndwr. 

* Baron of Gwyddelwern. (FliaL of Powya Fadog, iv, 138 et seq. ; 
vi, 51, n. * Ystrad Alan. 



LLYFR SILIN. 95 

Gruffydd fycharH^ a briodes Mawd Kleraent^ ac iddynfc 
y bu William fychan a briodes Margred verch Sir Wil- 
liam Perod.^ 

Tudr ap Gruffydd ap Einion a briododd Gwenhwy- 
far verch Edward Stanle ac iddynt y bu Tudr a briodes 
Gwenhwyfar verch Rys* ap Meredydd ap Tudr, ac 
iddynt y bu Margred gwraig Harri goch Salsbri. 
Plant lorvverth ap Einion o Wenllian* verch Kynfrig 
ap Rotpert oedd Sienkin a briodes Mari verch 
Sir Roger Kinaston f leuan ; Dafydd ; Elisse ; 
William ap Sienkin a briodes Lowri verch Gruff- 
ydd ap Rys ap Dafydd ap Howel ; Morgan a 
briodes Jane verch Edward Trefor ; Mallt a 
briodes Reinallt ap Sir Gruffydd o Bowys ; 
Elizabeth gwraig leuan ap Dafydd Lloyd o 
Fathafarn ; Angharad gwraig Sion ap leuan 
fychan o Dowyn ; Gwenhwyfar gwraig Owen ap 
Sienkyn ap Rys ; a Mari gwraig Harri ap 
Gruffydd ap Aron. 
Plant leuan ap Einion ap Gruffydd ap Llewelyn oedd 
Dafydd^ a Gruffydd® ap leuan ap Einion.® 

^ Foreman of a jury in co. Merioneth, 33 Henry VI. He was 
one of the three captains who held onfc Harlech Castle against 
Henry IV. (Angharad Lloyd.) He was third son of Gruffydd ab 
Einion. (Vron Iw MS.) 

2 Maud Clement was married first to Sir John Wocfan of Wiston, 
CO. Pembroke. (Pedigree of Lloyd, penes H. F. J. Vaughan, Esq., 
of Humphreston Hall, Salop.) She was daughter and coheir of 
Sir John Clement of Caron. 

^ She was the daughter of Sir William Perrott, and her husband, 
William Vaughan, was the first of the family connected with South 
Wales, having been appointed Constable of Cilgerran Castle, 26 May, 
1 Henry VIII. (Bolls.) 

* The standard-bearer at Bosworth, and ancestor of the Rhiwlas, 
Voelas, Plas lolyn, Pant Glas, and Plas Cernioge families. 

^ This Gwenllian married, for her second husband, James ab 
Madoc Eyton. Her first husband was Cynric ab Rotpert ab lor- 
werth ab Ririd ab lorwerth ab Madoc ab Idwal ab Owain Bendew. 

* By the Lady Elizabeth Grey of Powys. 

^ The gallant Constable of Harlech. Married Margaret, daughter 
of John Puleston of Emral, and was living in 1468. 

* Of Hendwr in Edeirnion. Living in 1461. 

^ There were also three other sons, viz., Rhys, living 31 Henry VI, 



96 LLYPR SILIN. 

Plant Dafydd ap leuan ap Einion oedd Mr. Robert ; 
Thomas; GrufFjdd Glyn ; leuan ; Nicolas ; Sir Robert; 
Rydderch ; Sion ; Angharad gwraig William ap Gruff- 
ydd ap Robyn ; a Lowri gwraig Dafydd ap Meredydd 

ap Howel or Bala, mam Howel Lloyd oedd hi. 
Mam y Plant oedd Margred verch John ap Robert 

ap Richard ap Sir Roger Pilston. 
Mam Dafydd ap leuan ap Einion oedd Angharad 

verch ac unig eLifeddes Dafydd ap Giwn Lloyd 

-p Dafydd ap Midoc o'r Hendwr. 
Mam leuan ap Einion ap GrufFydd ap Llewelyn oedd 

Tanglwystl verch Rhydderch ap leuan Lloyd ap 

leuan ap Gruffydd foel ap Gruffydd. 
Plant GrufFydd ap leuan ap Einion oedd leuan, 

Ednyfed; a Lowri gwraig Madoc ap Dafydd 

Alrhe o Drefor ; a'i mam oedd Isabel verch 

leuan ap Adda ap lorwerth ddu o BengWern. 
Mam Isabel oedd Angharad verch Ednyfed ap Tudr 

ap Gronw ap Ednyfed fychan. 
Mam Angharad oedd Mared verch Dafydd ap Bleddyn 

fychan ap Bleddyn ap Ithel Llwyd ap Ithel 

gam ap Meredydd ap Uchdryd ap Edwin. 
Mam Ednyfed ap Tudr oedd Gwerfyl verch Madoc 

or Hendwr. 

CEISWYN.' 

Sir John Lloyd* Siarsiant o'r Gyfraith ap leuan' ap 
Dafydd Lloyd ap leuan ap Dafydd ap Llewelyn ap 
Grono ap Kynfrig ap Dafydd ap Madoc ap Cadifor ap 
Gwaithfoed Megis Gogerdden.* 

who married Gwenhwyfar, daughter and heiress of Howel Vychan 
of Bronolen, co. Caroarvon, and left issue, Thomas, living in 1461, 
and John, the youngest son, living in 1461. {Pedigree of Wynne of 
Fejiiarth.) Can Gruflydd Glyn be Guto'r Glyn the bard ? 

^ In the parish of Talyllyn, Merioneth. 

2 Sergeant-at-law, Dec. 1623 ; knighted 10 Jan. 1624. {Lewije 
DwiiYiy ii, p. 275, n. 2.) 

* Sheriff for co. Merioneth, 1558 and 1562. {Calendars of Gioyiu 
edd.) " Sarsiant'* for " Serjeant". 

^ The estate of Gogorddan descended to John Prys, Esq., one of 



LLYPR SILIN. 97 

Margred* verch ac etifeddes Sir John Lloyd a brio- 

dodd John Lloyd o Riwedog, Esq. 
Mam leuan ap Dafydd Lloyd oedd Margred verch 

leuan ap Dafydd Lloyd ap Llywelyn ap GrufF- 

ydd ; fal Mathafarn. 
Mam Margaret oedd Elizabeth verch Sienkin ap lor- 

werth* o EUiw verch GrufFydd Derwas.* 
Mam Dafydd Lloyd ap leuan oedd Gwenllian verch 

Meredydd ap leuan ap B^s ap Owen Fychan.* 

CEFN BODIG. PENLLYN. 

John Fychan,* Barister, ap John Fychan® ap Elis 
Fychan ap Howel Fychan ap Dafydd Lloyd ap Dafydd 
ap leuan Fychan ap GruflPydd ap leuan ap Gruffydd ac 
i Ririd Flaidd. 

Gwraig John Fychan, Barister, oedd Kattrin verch 
Hugh Nane ap GrufFydd Nane o Nane ap Hugh 
Nane h^n ap Gruffydd Nane ap Howel ap 
Dafydd ap Meiric Fychan. 

Mam John Fychan oedd Kattrin Moris verch ^o 

Gerrig y Drywidion. 
Mam John Elis Fychan (John ap Elis Fychan) oedd 
Kattrin verch® Cadwaladr ap Robert ap Rys ap 
Meredydd ap Tudr ap Howel. Cais Ach Rhiw- 
las yn Mhenllyn. 

the Council of the Marches, whose son, Sir James, was living in 
1588, and married Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of Humphrey 
Wynn, party to a deed, 2 Dec. 1671. Their daughter and heiress, 
Bridget Price, carried the estate of Ynysymaengwyu to her hus- 
band, Robert Corbet, Esq., of Humphreston, co. Salop. (Corbet 
Pedigree, etc.) 

^ Catharine. (Hut. of Powya Fadog^ vol. vi, p. 414.) 

^ Of Ynysymaengwyn. 

^ Of Nannau, co. Merioneth. 

* To Seisyllt. 

^ M.P. for Merionethshire, 1654; buried at Llanycil, 26 April 

® Second son of Elis fychan, living in 1636. {Lewys Dwnn, 
vol. ii, p. 230.) 

7 Morns ap John of Tai-yn-y-voel. (Ibid.) 

8 Verch Robert Wynn o Vrynker. 

5tu ser., vol. VIII. 7 



98 LLYPR SILIN. 



PENLLYN, 1655. 

EHs Fychan ap Sion* ap Elis* Fychan ap HovveP 
Fychan ap Dafydd Lloyd* ap Dafydd ap leuan Fychan. 
Cais Ach Glanllyn. 

Plant Elis Fychan ap Sion uchod oedd Robert ; a 
. Sion ; o ferched Elizabeth ; Judith ; a Kattrin. 



Y PLAS YN NGYNLLWYD ; LLANUWCHLLYN. 

Morgan ap Sion ap leuan ap Rys ap leuan ap Gruff- 
ydd ap Madoc ap lorwerth ap Madoc ap Ririd Flaidd 
lor Penllyn. 

Mam Morgan ap Sion oedd Gwenhwyfar verch Grono 
ap Tudr ap Grono ap Howel y Gadair ap GrufF- 
ydd ap Madoc^ ap Ririd Flaidd. 

Mam Gwenhwyfar oedd Margred verch leuan ap 
Llew. ap Einion ap Kelynyn : ac i Aleth Frenin 
Dyfed. 

Mam Tudr ap Grono oedd Isabel verch Gruffydd 
fychan ap Gruflfydd o'r Rhuddallt. 

Mam Sion ap leiian oedd Fali verch leuan ap Gruff- 
ydd ap Llew. ap Owain fain ap Owain Brogyn- 

tyn. 

Gwraig Morgan ap Sion ap leuan ap Rys oedd Sian 
verch Howel Fychan o Llwydiarth. 

Plant Morgan ap Sion o Sian verch Howel Fychan 
oedd Elizabeth Anwyl etifeddes gwraig Thomas 
ap Robert oV Llwyndedwydd ap Gruffydd ap 
Rys ap Dafydd ap Howel. 

' Of Brynllech. {Hist Poun/s Fadog, vi, p. 123.) Second son of 
Elis Fychan. Was alive in 1636. (Lewys Bvnin^ ii, p. 230, n. 7.) 
« Was alive May 8, 1626. {Ihid., n. 6.) 

* Lessee in a deed dated Nov. 8, 1555 ; and grantee in another 
one, Sept. 13, 1568. (Jhid., p. 229, n. 14.) 

* Purchased the mansion and demesne of Glanllyn from Jenkin 
ap Eys ap Howel, 19 Henry VII, 1504. {Ibid., p. 232, n. 2.) 

^ Ap lorwerth ap Madoc ap Ririd Flaidd (?). 



LLYFR SILIN. 99 



BALA: PENLLYN. 

Lewis Gwynn ap Cadwaladr ap Rydderch^ ap Dafydd 
ap Meredydd? ap Howel ap Tudr ap Grono ap Gruff- 
ydd ap Madoc ap lorwerth ap Madoc ap Ririd Flaidd 
Arglwydd Penllyn. 

Mam Lewis Gwynn oedd Margred [Margred Wenn\ 
vercli John ap Humphre ap Howel ap Siankin 
Ynys y Maengwyn. 
Mam Cadwaladr ap Rydderch oedd Lowri verch 

Meredydd ap leuan.* 
Mam Rydderch ap Dafydd ap Meredydd oedd Annes 
verch Rys ap Meredydd ap Tudr o'r Yspyty. 

RHIWLAS YN MHENLLYN. 

William^ Prys Esq. ap Roger^ Prys Esq, ap^ John 
Prys ap William® ap Sion Prys® ap Sion Prys^^ ap 
Cadwaladr Prys^^ ap Sion^ Wynn ap Cadwaladr^* ap 
Robert^* ap Rys ap Meredydd ap Tudr ap Howel ap 

* Son of Annesta, third wife. {Biat, of Powya Fadog, vi, p. 128.) 
2 Living in 1453. (Ibid,, p. 127.) 

8 Living in 1399 and 1426. 

* Ab Robert of Cesail Gyvarch, co. Caem. 
^ Sheriff of Merionethshire, 1730-31. 

6 Married 1688; oh. 1713; Sheriff of Merionethshire, 1709-10. 

7 Was not Roger Prys brother of John Prys, who died s, p. ? 
{Hist of Powys Fadog, vol. vi, p. 422.) 

8 Born 1619 ; baptized Thursday, April 8, 1619, Sir William 
Jones, Knt., and W. Wynne of Melai, Esq., being gossips ; married 
in May or June 1641 ; o6. 1691. Monument in St. Asaph Cathe- 
dral. M.P. for Merionethshire, 1640, 1673-79. Adhered to the 
King. 

» Born 1601 ; died Saturday, May 30, 1629 ; buried Monday, 
June 1, 1629 ; aged twenty-eight 

" Married Feb. 4, 1696-7; Sheriff of Merionethshire, 1608-9; 
died 1613; buried in St. Asaph Cathedral. 

^^ Sheriff of Merionethshire, 1592-3; M.P. for Merionethshire, 
1585. 

« Sheriff of Merionethshire, 1576-7, 1685-6 ; M.P. for Merioneth- 
shire, 1559-63. 

13 Third son of Robert ap Rhys. 

1* Chaplain to Cardinal Wolsey, Party to a deed dated Nov. 8, 
1525, 



100 LLYFR SILIN. 

Cynwric fychan ap Cynwric ap Llowarch ap Heilin ap 
Tyfid ap Tangno ap Cadwgan ap Ystrwyth ap March- 
wystl ap March weithian un o'r 15 Llwyth Gwynedd. 

Mam William Prys oedd ^ chwaer Arglwydd 

Bulkely verch. 

Mam John Prys ap William Prys oedd Mary verch 
ac un o ddwy etifeddesau Dafydd Holand ap 
Pyrs Holand ap Dafydd ap Pyrs Holand hen, 
etc. 

Mam William Prys oedd Elin verch Sir William 
Jones ap William ap Gruflydd ap Sion ap Robert 
ap Llewelyn ap Ithel fychan.* 

Mam Sion Prys ap Sion oedd Ann^ verch ac etifeddes 
Sion Lloyd o'r Faenol yr Register. 

Mam Sion Prys ap Cadwaladr oedd Kattrin verch 
Sir leuan Lloyd ap Sion Lloyd. Mai Ach 
Bodidris. 

Mam Cadwaladr Prys ap Sion Wynn oedd Sian verch 
ac etifeddes Thomas ap Robert ap Gruffydd ap 
Rys ap Dafydd ap Howel ap Gruffydd ap Owen 
ap Bleddyn ap Owen Brogyntyn. Fal Ach 
Maesmor. Aeres y Llwyndedwydd oedd hi. 

Mam Kattrin uchod oedd Elizabeth verch Thomas 
Mostyn ap Richard ap Howel ap leuan fychan. 

Mam Sian gwraig Sion Wynn oedd Elizabeth Anwyl 
verch ac etifeddes Morgan ap Sion ap leuan ap 
Rys* yn Llanuwchllyn yn Mhenllyn. 

Mam Sion Wynn ap Cadwaladr oedd Sian verch 
Meredydd ap leuan ap Robert ap Meredydd ap 
Howel ap Dafydd ap Gruffydd ap Kariadog ap 
Thomas ap Rodri ap Owain Gwynedd. Cais 
Ach Gwedir. 

Mam Cadwaladr ap Robert ap Rys oedd Mared 

^ Martha, daughter of Robert Visconnt Bulkeley of Baron Hill, 
died February 22, 1742-3. 

^ O Gastell March yn Lleyn. 

3 Married in St. Asaph Cathedral, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 1596; died 
Thursday, May 12, at Llwyndedwydd; buried at Llanfor, Wednes- 
day, May 18, 1608. 

* Gynllwyd. 



LLYFB SILIN. 101 

verch Rys Lloyd ap Gruffydd ap Einion Fychan 

o Gydros.^ 
Mam Robert ap Rys ap Meredydd oedd Lowri verch 

Howel ap Gruffydd Goch ap Dafydd ap Madoc 

ap Meiric ap Dafydd ap Llowarch ap leuan. 

Mai Ach Bryneuryn. 
Mam Rys ap Meredydd oedd Efa verch leuan ap 

Rys Wynn ap Dafydd Lloyd ap Dafydd* yr hwn 

a elwyd y Penwyn ap Cynwric' • 

1 To Ednyved Vychan. {Hist, Powye Fadog, vi, p. 146.) 

^ Gronwy y Penwyn. (Lewys Dtvnn, ii, p. 228.) Goronwy Llwyd 

was eldest son of lorwertb, commonly called Y Penwyn. {Hist. 

Fouoys Fadog, v, p. 369.) 
* J Varchudd ap Cynan. 

(To be continued. ) 



102 



REPORT OF HOLYWELL MEETING. 

(Continued from p, 76.^ 



EVENING MEETING, WEDNESDAY, AUG. 20th. 

A PUBLIC meeting was held at 8.30, in the Town Hall, at which 
papers were read by Mr. G. W. Shrubsole, E.G. 8., on " The Course 
of the Roman Road from Deva to Varis**, and on " The Castreton of 
Atis-cross Hundred identified with the Town of Flint"; by the 
Rev. Elias Owen on " Holy Wells". These will be published in the 
Arch, Camh. in due course. 

EXCURSION, THURSDAY, AUG. 21st. 

This day was devoted to Flint and Chester. Leaving Holywell 
Railway Station at 9.8 a.m., the members arrived at Flint at 9.19, 
where they were met by Mr. Henry Taylor, F.S.A., the Deputy 
Constable, and conducted over the Castle and Town Hall. 

Flint Castle, — Flint, as seen from the Railway, does not give the 
idea of being an attractive place, owing to the proximity of chemical 
works ; but it improves on further acquaintanca Mr. Taylor has 
published an excellent little guidebook to the Castle, containing an 
illustration, by the late Randolph Caldecott, of the memorable scene 
described by Froissart, in which the unfortunate King Richard II is 
deserted by his greyhound, " Mathe", the day before he was con- 
veyed, with the Earl of Salisbury, to Chester, by order of Boling- 
broke, on " two little nagges not worth 40 frankes." 

Flint Castle is situated on the sea-shore, and is well worth a visit 
notwithstanding the forbidding aspect of the red sandstone Ijuilding 
between it and the town, formerly used as the County Prison. The 
plan consists of a square area with a round tower at each corner, 
and a curtain-wall between. The tower at the south angle, which 
formed the keep, is detached, and of much greater size than the 
other three. It has vaulted galleries in the thickness of the wall, 
running right round. The whole building is remarkably well con- 
structed of yellow freestone. 

On the south-west side was the outer courtyard, now the site of 
the old County Prison, erected in 1784 ; and beyond the remains of 
the moat, which formed the defence of the Castle on the town side, 
together with the barbican, a square tower containing the entrance- 
gateway and portcullis. 

Edward I superintended the building of Flint Castle in 1277, as 







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" Performed by John Speede." 

FLINT CASTLE AND TOWN, 1610. 







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HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 103 

is shown by a Roll preserifed in the Public Record Oflfice in Lon- 
don. The strategic imp(^tance of the fortress arises from its com- 
manding the ancient ford across the estnary of the Dee. The first 
Constable was Gnnecelm de Badelesmere, who held ofl&ce in 1278. 
Sir Roger Mostyn is described as Governor of the Castle in 1643, 
when he defended the Castle on behalf of the Royah'sts during the 
civil war of the seventeenth century. The Castle was dismantled 
by the order of Parliament in 1646, and since that time has served 
as a quarry for building material. Fortunately the ruins are now 
carefully looked after by the present Constable, Captain P. P. Pen- 
nant, of Nantlys, who has placed a janitor in charge to see that 
no further damage is done. 

The chief historical event which took place in Flint Castle was 
the meeting between King Richard II and Henry Bolingbroke, 
Duke of Lancaster, and afterwards King Henry IV, on the 19th of 
August 1399. The scene has been immortalised by Shakespeare in 
his play of Kifig RicJiard II, Act III, Scene iii ; and other accounts 
are given by Froissart in his Chronicle, and by Jean Creton, in 
French rhyme, in an illaminated MS. of the fifteenth century in the 
British Museum. (See Mr. Hemy Taylor's Guide to Flint Castle.) It 
was here also that King Edward II met his favourite. Piers Oaves- 
ton, on his return from banishment in Ireland in 1321. 

Through the courtesy of Mr. Henry Taylor we are enabled to give 
a plan and views of the Castle. (See also Buck's Views, vol. ii, 
pi. 391.) 

Flint Tovon Hall, — After the Castle had been thoroughly examined 
a move was made for the Town Hall. Mr. Henry Taylor^ here 
pointed out the various improvements effected in the decorations of 
the Council Chamber in order to make it worthy of the ancient 
borough of Flint. The painted ceiling (presented by Mr. Ross Mahon, 
burgess ; the artist being Mr. Josh. Hall, Town Councillor) is divided 
into fifteen panels containing the armorial bearings x)f the tribes of 
North Wales. Arranged round the walls are various pictures and 
other objects connected with the history of Flint. Amongst these 
are copies by the talented young Flintshire artist, Mr. Leonard 
Hughes, of the portrait of Richard II in Westminster Abbey ; and 
of Colonel Roger Mostyn, the gallant defender of the Castle in 
1643 ; a rubbing of the brass in Cobham Church, Kent, of Sir Nicho- 
las Hauberk, Constable of the Castle, 1396-99; a water-colour 
painting of Edward the Black Prince; a case of seals relating to 
Flint; and Speed's Map of the County of Flint, dated 1610. On 
the table in the Council Chamber were displayed the Corporation 
and Church plate. 

The etching here given of Col. Roger Mostyn is by Mr. Leonard 
Hughes, and has been kindly lent by Mr. H. Taylor. 

The borough mace is of the time of William and Mary, and bears 
the initials W. M., R. R. (William and Mary, Rex et Rogina) ; the 

* Much valuable iDformation will be found in Mr. II. Taylor's Historic 
Notices of Flint. 



104 CAMBRIAN AROHiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

loving cup is of silver-gilt, and was presented to the Mayor, Alder- 
men, and Bargesses of the Borough of Flint by P. Ellis Eyton, Esq., 
M.P. ; and the Mayor's chain is a very beautiful copy of an Etrus- 
can original in the Vatican Museum at Rome, manufactured by 
Senor Neri, and presented by Jane, wife of Richard Muspratt, on 
her husband's ninth election to the civic chair in 1876. 

The inscriptions on the church plate are as follow : on the cover 
of the chalice, " The gift of Griffith Balls Evans, 1690"; on the 
paten, " The gift of an unknown person to the Church of Flint, 
1761"; and on the flagon, "The gift of old Thomas ap Evan of 
Boles, left for ffliut church 1663." 

In a frame on the wall of the Council Chamber is an autograph 
letter from Prince Albert Victor, which is as follows : — 

" February 16, 1885. 
" To the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough 
of Flint. 
" Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen, 

" I thank you heartily for your address of congratulation on the 
occasion of my attaining my majority. The ancient historical remi- 
niscences which connect Flint with the Princes of Wales cannot 
but add greatly to the interest with which I receive your good 
wishes for my future. 

"Albert Victor." 
The portraits on the walls are inscribed thus : — 

" Colonel Sir Roger Mostyn, Knight and Bart., the gallant De- 
fender of Flint Castle, 1643. — Presented to the Corporation of Flint 
by the Right Hon. Llewelyn Nevill, 3rd Baron Mostyn, Xmas 1887." 

" This copy of the celebrated picture of King Richard II, now in 
Westminster Abbey (the earliest known contemporary painting of 
an English Sovereign), was presented by the Right Uononrable 
Lord Richard De Aquila Grosvenor, M.P. for the County of Flint, 
and John Roberts, Esq., M.P. for the Flint District Boroughs, 
having been painted by Mr, Leonard Hughes, a native of Holywell, 
Christmas 1885. King Richard II was made prisoner by Henry 
Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, afterwards King Henry IV, in 
Flint Castle, on the 19th August 1399." 

."This rubbing of the brass monument in Cobham Church, co. 
Kent, pf Sir Nicholas Hauberk, Constable of the Castle of Flint, 
and Sheriff and Raglor of the county, 19th December 1396 — 2nd 
November 1399, was presented to the Mayor and Corporation of 
Flint by Philip Bryan Davies-Cooke of Gwysaney, a.d. 1888." 

" Richard Muspratt, Esquire, Mayor of Flint, 1857, 62, 3, 6, 6, 
74, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 80, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. — Presented by the present and past 
Members and Officials of the Corporation of Flint, by the Borough 
Justices, and by others associated with them, in recognition of his 
public and private worth, and in testimony of their appreciation of 
the deep interest he took in the welfare of Flint and its inhabitants. 
"Midsummer 188(). Leonard Hughes pinxit.*' 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 105 

The presentation of the rabbing of the monumental brass of Sir 
Nicholas Hauberk is thus described in the Flintshire Observer for 
February 8, 1888 :— 

"The Town Clerk (Mr. Henry Taylor, F.S.A.), on behalf of Mr. 
P. B. Davies-Cooke of Qwysaney, Mold, offered for the acceptance 
of the Corporation a handsome drawing of the celebrated monu- 
mental brass of Sir Nicholas Hauberk, Knight, Cobham Church, 
Kent. It is the same size as the original brass ; indeed, it is a 
rubbing from the brass, made by Mr. Davies-Cooke himself, the 
armorial bearings being emblazoned by an heraldic artist, under 
the supervision of the authorities at the British Musenm. The 
frame is of oak, and it is panelled at the back. It measures 8 ft. 6 in. 
by 3 ft. 8 in. 

" Sir Nicholas was appointed for life, Constable of Flint Castle, 
and therefore Mayor of the borough and Sheriff of the County, 
and also to the Bagloria, or Stewardship of the County, on the 
19th Dec. 1396, in the reign of King Richard II. This appoint- 
ment was afterwards confirmed by King Henry IV on November 
2nd, 1399. It is recorded that Sir Nicholas kept the Castle in some 
state; that he maintained there at least four men-at-arms and 
twelve archers ; and that he spent no less than £146 a year, a sum 
equal to about £1,750 per annum of our money. 

" Sir Nicholas married Joan, the granddaughter and heiress of 
John de Cobham, third Lord Cobham. This lady married no less 
than five times, viz., Ist, Sir Robt. Hemengdale ; 2nd, Sir Reginald 
Braybrooke ; 3rd, Sir Nicholas Hauberk ; 4th, Sir John Oldcastle, 
the leader of the Lollards ; and 5th, Sir John Harpeden. 

** The following reference to Sir Nicholas and this fine brass will 
be found in volume xi of the Journal of the Kent Archasological 
Society (of which Mr. Arnold, solicitor, Rochester, is the Secretary), 
in a very able paper read before that Society, in 1877, by Mr. J. Q. 
Waller, on the Lords of Cobham, the monuments, and the church : 

" ' Sir Nicholas Hauberk was probably a soldier of fortune, for 
we hear of no family of that name ; indeed, as we know, he appears 
to have been the only one who ever bore it. The name itself is but 
a sobriquet derived from the interlaced mail-tunic, — a fitting one for 
a soldier. In fact, it is easily paralleled as belonging to the same 
class as Shakespeare, Breakspear, Longspear, and Fortescne. He 
may have been one of the many free companions of whom the time 
was but too prolific, to whom war was a trade, and who amassed 
fortunes out of plunder, or from the ransom of their prisoners. 

" * Hauberk had evidently some esteem at the Court of Henry IV, 
or he would not have been selected as one of the six knights who 
formed part of the train of Queen Isabella, widow of Richard H, on 
her return to France in June 1401 ; nor of escort when the King 
went to Cologne, in 1402, to marry his eldest daughter, Blanche, to 
Louis Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Biivaria. There is good 
mention of him in the jousting held at Smith field in 1393, where, 
John Stow tells us, * certain Lords of Scotland came into England 



106 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

to get worship by force of arms. The Earl of Mare challenged the 
Earl of Nottingham to joust with him ; and so they rode together 
certain course, but not the full challenged, for the Earl of Mare was 
cast, both horse and man, and two of his ribs were broken with the 
fall ; so that he was conveyed out of Smithfield, and so towards 
Scotland, but died by the way at Yorke. Sir William Darell, Knight, 
the King's banner-bearer of Scotland, challenged Sir Pierce (Peter) 
Oourtnay, the King's banner-bearer of England, and when they had 
run certain courses, gave over without conclusion of victory. Then 
Cookeborne, Esquire of Scotland, challenged Sir Nicholas Hauberk, 
Knight, and rode five courses; but Cookeborne was borne over 
horse and man,' etc. 

''In Cobham Church chancel still hang two fine specimens of 
tilting helmets of this time, and it can scarcely be doubted that 
they belonged to Sir Reginald Braybrooke and Sir Nicholas Hau- 
berk. Hauberk's helmet may be identified, as his peculiar crest, a 
a fish within a ring or garland (as shown in the drawing), required 
special means of attachment, which may be seen in the four staples 
in the apex. 

" Sir Nicholas was twice married, his first wife's name being 
Matilda. She was living Henry IV (1390-1400), but nothing is 
known of her parentage. He died at Cowling Castle, October 9th, 
1407, leaving, by a deed made on the 6th, all his goods and chat- 
tels, excepting one hundred shillings of silver, which he reserved, 
to Sir Hugh Lutterel, Sir Arnold Savage, William Cobham, Esq., 
and John Giflfard, as it would appear in trust, by whom they were 
confirmed to Joan Lady Cobham, his widow, the same year. His 
son by her, named John (perhaps after Lord Cobham), died an 
infant. 

" The brass to Sir Nicholas may be considered as about the finest 
of English military brasses of the time. It is similar in design to 
that of Sir Reginald Braybrooke, who died 20th September 1405 
(he was with Richard II in Ireland in 1399, and perhaps also at 
Flint Castle), last described, excepting that bis has in addition 
figures of the Virgin and Child on the right side of the Trinity, and 
St. George on the left. At his feet is a small figure on a pedestal, 
on which is inscribed *Hic jacet Johnes fil's eor'.* The arms are pen- 
dent on the shafts of the canopy. His own are of an unusual and 
remarkable blazon, namely, cheeky argent and gules, a chief cha- 
poume gules and or; t.e., a silver and red check having the part of 
the shields red, edged with gold. On the sinister side the same coat 
impales that of Cobham. His arms had in both shields been wil- 
fully defaced, as if by heralds in officious exercise of their craft 
Hauberk by them was evidently not considered entitled to bear 
them. His head lies on a helmet and crest, as above described, 
which was destroyed. The Latin inscription, translated into Eng- 
lish, runs thus : * Here lies [the body of J Lord Nicholas Hauberk, 
Knight, formerly the husband of the Lady loan, Lady of Cobham, 
heiress of Lord John of Cobham, founder of this College ; which 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 107 

certain Nicholas died at Cowling Castle on the 9th day of October 
A.D. 1407. To whose sonl may Qod be gracious. Amen.' 

" This handsome present, as a work of art, as a historical sabject 
connected with Flint, is a distinct and valaable addition to the col- 
lection. Mr. Davies-Cooke is a member of an old Flintshire family 
of ancient Welsh descent, the members of which have for several 
hundred years taken a prominent part in the affairs of the county ; 
and we are sure it is veiy pleasing to the inhabitants of Flint 
Borough to find that the members of the real old Flintshire families 
recognise that the old county and borougb town is the right place 
to be the depository of these works of art and reminders of the 
traditions and past history of the county. This is the second gift 
Mr. Davies-Cooke has made to the borough, Mr. Davies-Cooke hav- 
ing previously presented the case of official seals, in connection with 
Flint now hung on the walls of this room." 

The improvements in the decoration of the Council Chamber, 
projected by Mr. H. Taylor, were completed in 1886. The stained 
glass windows were designed by Mr. Drewitt, and executed by 
Messrs. Shrigley and Hunt of Lancaster, the subjects being — 

First window, — arms of Edward I, Sept. viii, mcclxxxiv (the date 
of the first charter to the borough). George Roskell, Mayor, 1836-7. 
By his daughter, Elizabeth Harnett. 

Second window, — Edward III, Dec. vir, Mcccxxvii (the date of the 
second charter). James Eyton, Town Clerk, 1836-54; P. Ellis By- 
ton, Town Clerk, 1854-74; M.P., 1874-78. By their daughter and 
sister, Anne Parry Charles. 

Third window, — Edward the Black Prince, Earl of Chester and 
Fflynt, xxth Sept. mccclxi (the date of the third charter). Arms of 
the Prince as Prince of Wales at this date. Henry Taylor appointed 
Town Clerk, 1874. 

Fourth window, — Richard II, Nov. xxixth, Mcccxcv (the date of 
the fourth charter). Arms of the King at this date. Richard Mus- 
pratt, seventeen times Mayor. By his daughter, Florence F. Muspratt. 

Fifth window,— Philip and Mary, Nov. 5th, mdlv (the date of the 
fifth charter). Thomas Lock wood. Architect, 1885. 

Sixth window, — William III, xix Dec. mdcc (the date of the sixth 
charter). Thomas Lewis, Mayor, 1857, 1866, 1867. 

The Fifteen Welsh Tribes, whose arms are painted on the panelled 
ceiling of the Council Chamber, are — 

1st. — Hwfa ap Cynddelw, the first of the Fifteen Tribes, lived in 
the time of Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales. His office of 
Steward, by inheritance, was to bear the Prince's coronet, and to put 
it upon his head when the Bishop of Bangor anointed him. Many 
of the gentlemen of Anglesey hold lands from him by lineal descent. 
Sir Howel y Pedolau was a famous man in his time, and descended 
from him. Sir Howel's mother was King Edward II's nurse, and 
he being the King's foster-brother was in great favour with him, 
who knighted him. He was a very strong man, and could break or 
straighten horse-shoes with his hands. The arms, as represented on 
the panel, are, gulesy between three lioncels rampant, a chevron or. 



108 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

2nd. — Llowarch ap Bran lived in the time of Ovvain Gwynedd, 
and was the Prince a brother-in-law, both their wives being the 
daughters of Grono ap Owain ap Edwyn, Lord of Tegaingle. His 
arms are, argent, between three crows, with ermine in their bills, a 
chevron sable, 

3rd. — Gweirydd ap Rhys Goch, of the hundred of Tal-Ebolion in 
Anglesey, who lived in the time of Owain Gwynedd and of his son 
David ap Owain, and from whom were descended the Foulkes of 
Gwernvgron, Flintshire. His arms are, argent, on a bend sahle 
three lions' heads cabossed of the first. 

4th. — Cilmin Troed-Du lived in the time of Merfyn Frych, King 
of Man (818-843), being his brother's son, witb whom he came from 
the north of Britain when Merfyn married Esyllt, the daughter and 
heir of Conan Tidaethwy, King of the Britons. His posterity were 
wise and discreet men in all their ages, and many of them were 
learned in the laws in the times of the Kings and Princes of Wales, 
and were judges. From him are descended the Glynnes of Ha war- 
den Castle. His arms are — 1, quarterly, argent, an eagle displayed 
with two heads sable ; 2, argent, three fiery, ragged sticks gtiles ; 
the Brd as the 2nd, and the 4th as the 1st; over all, upon an escut- 
cheon of pretence, argent, a man's leg coupe a la cuisse, sable. 

6th. — Collwyn ap Tangno is said to be Lord of Efionydd Ardudwy 
and part of Lleyn ; and " it is true that his progeny have and do 
to this day possess and enjoy the greatest part of the said country", 
says Pennant. His arms were, sable, between three flower-de-luces 
a chevron arg&iit. It is narrated of one of his descendants, Sir 
Howel y Fwyall, that he was in the battle of Poictiers with the 
Black Prince when the French King was taken prisoner, where 
with his pole-axe he behaved himself so valiantly that the Prince 
made him a knight, and allowed a mess of meat to be served before 
his axe or parti zan for ever, to perpetuate the memory of his good 
service ; which mess of meat, after his death, was carried down to 
be given to the poor for his soul's sake ; and the mess had eigbt 
yeomen attendants found at the King's charge, who were afterwards 
called "Yeomen of the Crown", who had 8d. a day of standing 
wages, and lasted to the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. 

6th. — Nefydd Hardd, of Nant Conwy, lived in the time of Owain 
Gwynedd, who gave Idwal, his son, to be fostered by him; but 
Nefydd caused Dunawt, his son, to kill the young Prince at a place 
called of him Cwm Idwal ; wherefore Nefydd and his posterity were 
degraded, and of gentlemen were made bondmen of Nant Conwy. 
His son, Rhiin, to expiate that foul murder, gave the lands whereon 
the church of Llanrwst was built. The arms are, argent, three spears' 
heads imbrued sable, pointed upwards. From him was descended 
Bishop Morgan of St. Asaph, who translated the Bible into Welsh. 

7th. — Maeloc Crwm, of Llechweddisaf and Creuddyn, lived in the 
time of Prince David ap Owain Gwynedd, about the year 1175. 
The most famoas men descended of him were Sir Thomas Chalo- 
ner and others of that name, descended of David Chaloner of Den- 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 109 

bighy whose ancestor, Trahaiam Cbaloner, was so called because his 
grandfather, Madoo Crwm of Cbaloner, had lived in a town in 
France called Cbaloner. His arms are, argent, on a chevron sable 
three angels or. 

8th. — Marchndd ap Cynan, Lord of Abergelan, who lived in the 
time of Roderio the Great, King of the Britons, abont 849. Of him 
was Ednjfed Fycban descended, who bfing general of the host of 
Llewelyn ap lorwertb, was sent to the Marches to defend the fron- 
tiers from the approach of tlie English army, which was ready to 
invade them, nnder Rannlph Earl of Chester. Ednyfed killed three 
of their chief captains and commanders, and a great many of the 
common soldiers. The rest he put to flight, and triumphantly re- 
turned to his Prince, who in recompense for his good service gave 
him, among other gifts and honours, a new coat of arms ; for the 
ooat which he and his ancestors had always given before was the 
coat of Marchndd, being guies, a Saracen's head erased proper, 
wreathed or. The new coat was thus displayed, — gules, between 
three Englishmen's heads conped a chevron ermine. From the death 
of the last Llewelyn, Ednyfed's posterity were the greatest men of 
any in Wales. Of his descendants are Lord Newborough, Ffoulkes 
of Erriviatt, Morgan of Golden Grove, and other well known Welsh 
families. 

9th. — Hedd Molwynog, of Uwch Aled, was Steward to Prince 
David ap Owain, and from him were descended lolo Goch and Tudor 
Aled, the famous bards. His arms are, sable, a hart passant argent, 
attired or. 

10th. — Braint Hir of Isdulas is said to have lived about the year 
650, in the time of Cadwallon, whose nephew and chancellor he 
was. His arms, are, vert, a cross flowery or. 

11th. — March weithian, M'as called Lord of Isaled. The families 
and houses descended from him are many and eminent, among them 
being the Prices of Rhiwlas, Pantons of Coleshill, and the Parrys of 
Tywysog. His arms are, gules, a lion rampant argent, armed azure. 

12th. — Edwin, commonly called King of Tegeingl. His son 
Owain had a daughter called Angharad, married to Griffith ap 
Cynan, King of North Wales. Many noble families of Flintshire 
and Denbighshire are descended from him, including, in the female 
line, the Mostyns of Mostyn and the Wynnes of Nerquis. Howel 
Gwynedd, "a very valiant and stout man", was also one of his 
descendants. Of the latter, Pennant says, he "siding with Owain 
Glyndwr against Henry the Fourth did much annoy the English ; 
but on a time, being more secure than he ought to have been, he 
was taken by his adversaries in the town of Flint, who upon a place 
called Moel y Gaer cut off his head ; and long time before, one 
Owain apUohtryd, being grandson to Edwin, kept by force of arms 
all Tegaingle under subjection, notwithstanding all the power of 
the king, lords, and country to the contrary." His arms are, 
argent, between four Cornish choughs armed gnles, a cross flowery 
engrailed sable. 



110 CAMBRIAN ARCHiEOLOGIOAL ASSOCIATION. 

ISth. — Ednowain Bendew was Lord of Tegeingl in the year 
1079, whose residence is supposed to have been Ty Maen in the 
parish of Whitford. He is said by some to have been the Chief of 
the Fifteen Tribes. His arms were, argent, between three boars' 
heads a chevron sable, 

14th. — Efnydd was commonly called the son of Gwenllian, who 
was styled the heiress of Dyffryn Clwyd because she possessed a 
very great portion of it. Her husband received from the King, on 
his marriage, seven townships, including Lloprog Fawr and Lleprog 
Fechan. He bore az, a lion rampant salient, or^ wherewith he quar- 
tered his mother's coat^ being azure, between three nags' heads 
erased argent, a fesse or. 

1 5 th. — Ednowain ap Brad wen, called by some Lord of Meir- 
ionydd. He bore gules, three snakes enowed in a triangular knot 
argent. It was upon a descendant of this family that Henry VIII 
bestowed the title of ** Lusty Morgan", because the latter meeting 
the King in the streets late at night, and neither giving way, they 
drew swords and fought. It was afterwards sung, 

" Morgan hir, mawr gan Harri, 
Mae Llundain dan d'adain di." 

In connection with the portrait of Sir Roger Mostyn, the follow- 
ing article from The Daily Telegraph cannot &il to be of interest : 

"* Brave Sib Roger Mosttn.' 

" When the will of the illustrious Edward Hyde, Earl of Claren- 
don, who died in exile in France, 1674, was opened, ifc was found 
that he had bequeathed the manuscript of his History of the Great 
Rebellion to the University of Oxford, stipulating, however, that a 
period of thirty years should elapse between his death and the pub- 
lication of his book. The University observed the injunctions of 
the testator more scrupulously than the executors of Talleyrand, 
who made a similar stipulation with regard to his Memoirs.' When, 
early in the reign of Queen Anne, the History of tlie Rebellion and 
Civil Wars in England at length saw the light, there was a rush 
among the county families to purchase the bulky tome. It was 
obvious that Clai-endon would speak at large of the most prominent 
actors in the mighty struggle between Charles I and his Parlia- 
ment, and that it would be replete with matter concerning Crom- 
well and Ireton, Fairfax and Lambert, Falkland, Montrose, and 
Rupert of the Rhine. The county families, however, wanted to 
know what their grandfathers, the doughty Cavalier baronets and 
squires, had been doing during the great upheaval, and probably a 
very large proportion of the profits derived from the sale of Claren- 
don's magnum opus arose from the demand for it to stock the 
libraries of manors and halls. 

"Among the country gentlemen who fought valiantly for the 
* Man Charles Stuart', and yielded up their substance for his cause, 
almost to the last silver fiagon and the last broad piece, there are 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. Ill 

few more interestiDg types than Colonel Sir Roger Mostyn of Mos- 
tyn Ha]l, Flintshire, whose descendant, the sister and co heiress of 
Sir Thomas Mostyn, Baronet, married, in 1794, Sir Edward Pryce 
Lloyd, who was created Baron Mostyn in 1831, thus reviving the 
prestige of a name of which all Welshmen have reason to be proud. 
The actual Lord Mostyn has performed a very graceful act by pre- 
senting to the Corporation of Flint a copy of a picture, by Sir Peter 
Lely, of the historic Sir Roger Mostyn ; and it fortunately hap- 
pens that the Town Clerk is also the historian of Flint, and was 
able to tell the Council mauy edifying things touching the exploits 
of one of the most notable of the Cavaliers, who is described by 
Whitelocke, his uncle, as * a gentleman of good address and mettle ; 
of a very ancient family, large possessions, and great interest in the 
country, so that in twelve hours he raised fifteen hundred men for 
the King, and was well beloved there, living very nobly.' 
• " Sir Roger's military career may be briefly stated. With his 
fifteen hundred henchmen he captured Ha warden Castle from 
the Roundheads, and afterwards marched with his regiment to 
the relief of Chester. Appointed by the King Governor of Flint 
Castle, he repaired the stronghold and put it in a state of defence 
at his own cost ; but after a long siege, during which the garrison 
were reduced to eating their horses, he was forced to capitulate, 
though on the most honourable terms. His martial deeds ended by 
his taking a leading part in the famous defence of Chester. 

" Many hundreds of Cavalier noblemen and gentlemen drew their 
swords quite as eagerly, and fought quite as heroically, for Eling 
Charles as Sir Roger Mostyn, but not all of them enjoyed, as he 
did, * large possessions', and * lived very nobly*. Perhaps the most 
characteristic trait in his conduct was that he gave up for the Royal 
cause no less a sum than £60,000 ; equivalent, according to the 
Town Clerk of Flint, to half a million of our present money. Mos- 
tyn Hall was stripped ot all its valuables, and Sir Roger, who had 
been taken prisoner, but released on his parole, was so impoverished 
that he was fain, during some years, to live in strict seclusion at a 
farmhouse known as Plas Ucha. 

" There were many Cavalier grandees who strove, according to 
their means, to emulate his loyal generosity. Some of the finest 
gold and silver plate in the kingdom, including a considerable quan- 
tity from the Universities, went to the melting-pot to keep the 
King in cash. Broad acres in thousands were sold or mortgaged 
for the same loyal purpose ; and, indeed, had it not been for the 
unstinted devotion of the wealthy Cavaliers, it is doubtful how 
Charles could have continued the war for six months. Financially 
everything was against him : he could extort no more ship-money, 
no more benevolences, no more fees for monopolies, from his recal- 
citrant subjects. It was the Parliament who very grimly levied the 
taxes, and spent them in compassing the destruction of the throne. 
The French King, so lavish in his gifts to Charles II, could do 
nothing for Charles I ; and when Henrietta Maria took refuge in 



112 CAMBRIAN ARCHiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

France, she nearly starved for want of food and fuel in the apart- 
ments which had been assigned to her in the Louvre. There was 
not a merchant or banker at Amsterdam or Venice (then the great 
financial centres of Europe) who would lend the bankrupt King 
any money, and the idea of a paper currency was yet in embryo. 
Finally, Charles laboured under the terrible disadvantage of having 
the City of London against him. Had they been true in their alle- 
giance, the Corporation and the great City Guilds would have 
poured so much gold into his coffers as to 8ti*engthen the Royal 
sinews of war to such an extent that perhaps he might have coped 
successfally with the Parliament. 

" Clarendon has had his majestic say on the Rebellion ; White- 
locke, Macaulay, Forster, have added their stores of information 
and criticism to Clarendon's original deliverance; but there yet 
remains to be written a financial history of the Civil War ; a war 
carried on without any great loans being contracted, and appa- 
rently without any very great increase in the taxation of the people 
by the victorious party. The sea, it is true, was open to the Par- 
liament; but manufactures must have languished and trade de- 
clined at a period when nearly every considerable town in the king- 
dom was being besieged by one or other of the contending factions. 
The monetary mainstay on the Royal side was obviously the afiec- 
tionate and self-sacrificing liberality of the Cavalier nobility and 
gentry, the superior clergy, and the Universities ; but on the other 
side, the Parliament, as the war progressed, and its tide turned in 
their favour, found a very expeditious and convenient method of 
replenishing their exchequer. They laid hold of the * Malignants', 
or Royalists, wherever and whenever they could, and extracted 
monstrons fines from them ; and among the Cavaliers thus pitilessly 
amerced, few suffered more severely than Colonel Sir Roger Mostyn. 

" It is gratifying, nevertheless, to learn that when Charles II 
came to his own again, gallant Sir Roger was created a Baronet, 
and was enabled to leave the humble farmhouse of Flas IJcha, and 
resume the occupancy of his ancestral mansion. By 1684 his for- 
tunes had been so much mended that he was in command of the 
Flintshire Militia, one company of which he armed, clothed, and 
paid at his own expense ; and it must have been with justifiable 
pride that he received at Mostyn Hall the Lord President of Wales, 
the first Duke of Beaufort, in his first official progress through 
the Principality. Brave Sir Roger died in his bed at Mostyn in 
1690; but, like Sir Roger de Coverley, he must have come up to 
town from time to time to see the tombs and waxworks in West- 
minster Abbey, the lions in the Tower, and the window out of 
which Charles Stuart walked calmly to his doom. 

" It was at an earlier period that gallant Sir Roger sat to Sir 
Peter Lely, then the painter in vogue ; and curiously enough it was 
while examining the original, that the artist employed to copy it, 
Mr. Leonard Hughes, discovered a faded inscription on the canvas, 
which on being deciphered showed that the portrait was painted in 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — ^REPORT. 113 

1652, and that the age of the sitter was then tvrenty-eight. He 
mast, consequently, have been born about 1625, and could scarcely 
have come to man's estate when he was made Governor of Fh'nt 
Castle, and held it so stoutly against the Parliamentary 6enei*als, 
Sir William Brereton and Sir Thomas Myddleton. In civil war- 
fare, however, talent and enthusiasm are developed early. Napoleon 
was almost a boy when he commanded the artillery at Toulon, and 
he was but forty-five (the same age as the great Duke who van- 
quished him) when be lost Waterloo, and the mastery of the world 
to boot. Falkland was only thirty- three years old when he fell ; 
Prince Rupert was but twenty-two when he was made Commander- 
in-Chief of the Royalist cavalry. It was on that side that most 6f 
the enthusiastic, the daring, the romantic young men were to be 
found. The seniors were mainly devoted to the Parliamentary 
cause. Cromwell was fifty when he was victorious at Worcester ; 
Essex was fifty-one when he took the command of the armies of the 
Parliament. 

" But so far as the picturesque and the dramatic are concerned, 
the Cavaliers were certainly more interesting than the Round- 
heads; and it is for that reason that relics and memorials of Charles 
Stuart and his adherents are more eagerly prized than any memen- 
toes of the Parliamentary champions. Few collectors, we should 
say, would care to possess the leather apron of * Praise God Bare- 
bones*, or the steeple-crowned hat of Hugh Peters ; while there are 
80 many skulls of Oliver that they have become drugs in the 
market. On the other hand, every addition to the memorials of the 
Cavaliers is joyfully welcomed by the students of a most moving 
epoch ; and the portrait of * Brave Sir Roger Mostyn' will be viewed 
with interest and pleased attention not only by the people of Flint, 
but by all earnest students of one of the most exciting *and most 
dramatic chapters in the history of England." 

Chester, — Having seen Flint, the members left for Chester by the 
10.30 train. On arriving at the Railway Station at 11 o'clock, they 
were joined by a party of the Chester Archasological Society. Mr. 
H. Taylor, Honorary Secretary of the Chester Society, at once led 
the way to St. John's Church, where, in the absence of the Rev. 
S. Cooper Scott, they were received by the Rev. G. Child. 

Church of St, John the Baptist. — Here Mr. Taylor described in 
outline the architectural features of the old collegiate church and 
monastery. The church is situated outside the walls, at the south- 
east corner of the city, near the river, and between the Walls and 
the Grosvenor Park. The present church only occupies a small 
portion of the original building, as the choir is cut off just beyond 
the central tower, and the nave is incomplete at the west end. The 
plan now cpnsists of a nave and choir under the central tower, with 
north and south aisles running along the whole length of the build- 
ing, a north porch, and a tower at the north-west angle. The inte- 
rior of the nave is a splendid example of Norman architecture, pro- 
5th SB a. VOL. VIII. 8 



114 CAMBRIAN ARCHiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

dacing a very imposing effect by the massive strength of the ronnd 
piers and arches, calling to mind the nave of Durham Cathedral. 
The nave-arcades, four bays only of which now remain, are sur- 
mounted by a Transitional triforium and an Early English clere- 
story. The north-west tower fell in April 1881, crushing the porch 
beneath the dSbris, Fortunately carefully measured drawings of the 
porch had been made a short time previously, by means of which it 
has now been rebuilt. There are several interesting effigies and 
inscribed slabs of the fourteenth century lying in the north aisle of 
the nave. 

A Saxon church is said to have been founded on the site of the 
present building by Bthelred, Earl of Meroia, a.d. 901-11. Belong- 
ing to this period are probably the headstones and other fragments 
ornamented with Hibemo-Saxon interlaced work, which were shown 
to the members in the vaulted ciypt at the east end of the church. 
Sir Henry Dryden has kindly allowed his admirable drawings of 
three of these headstones to be reproduced here. They are all of 
the same type, having short, tapering shafts of rectangular section, 
surmounted by round heads, with three projections beyond the 
circle, — one at the top, and two at the sides. Projections of this 
kind are not common on the crosses of Wales, the only instances 
being at Penmon in Anglesey ; but they are often found in Corn- 
wall. (See A. G. Langdon in Joum, Brit. Arch, Assoc,, vol. xliv, 
p. 232.) From the small size of the monuments in the crypt of 
St. John's Church, they were evidently intended to stand at the 
head of a grave, and therefore do not belong to the class of more 
important churchyard crosses like the one at Nevern in Pembroke- 
shire. The dimensions and decorative features of the three head- 
stones are as follow : — 

No. l.-*Total height, 3 ft. 8 ins.; width of circular head,l ft. 5 ins.; 
width across projections at each side of head, 1 ft. 6 ins. ; width of 
shaft at bottom, 1 ft. 8^ ins. ; width of shaft at top, 10 ins. ; width 
of portion left rough, for insertion in ground, 1 ft. 11 ins. ; thick- 
ness at bottom, 10^ ins. ; thickness at top, 5} ins. 

Sculpture on Front, — On the head a cross with arms having ex- 
panded ends within a broad, circular band ; in the centre of the 
cross a circular, raised boss surrounded by four smaller bosses in 
the angles of the arms ; on each arm a triqnetra-knot. 

On the shaft a double bead-moulding at each side; at the bottom 
a semicircular panel ornamented with a scale-pattern , the space 
above being left plain. 

Sculpture on Back, — The same as on front, except that semicircu- 
lar panel at the bottom of the shafl is surrounded by a double in- 
stead of a single bead- moulding. 

Sculpture on Eight Side, — Round part of head left plain ; on the 
shaft a square border (key-pattern) formed of T*s, with a double 
bead- moulding on each side. 

Sculpture on Left Side, — Defaced. 

No. 2. — Width of circular head, 1 ft 6 ins. ; width across pro- 




Crosses at St. John's Church, Chester. 



a««»i« _i A.11 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — ^REPORT. 115 

jectiona of head, 1 ft. 8^ ins. ; width of shaft at bottom, 1 ft. 6 ios. ; 
thickness at bottom, 7 ins. ; thickness at top, 6 ins. 

Sculpture on Front. — On the head a cross of similar design to that 
on No. 1, but having a flat cable-moalding on the circular ring ; on 
the shaft a single panel containing a plait of eight bands, with a line 
along the centre of the band, and a doable bead-monlding at each 
side. 

Sculpture on Back. — Same as on front. 

Sculpture on Right Side, — On the circular part of the head a raised 
cable-moulding on each side ; on the ends of the square projections 
beyond the arms, six raised pellets ; on the shaft a square border 
(key-pattern) formed of T*s.* 

Sculpture on Left Side, — Same as on right side. 

No. 3. — Height, 1 ft. 9 ins. ; width of circular head, 1 ft. 3i ins. ; 
width across projections, 1 ft. 5^ ins. ; thickness at bottom, 6\ ins. ; 
thickness at top, 5^ ins. 

Sculpture on Front, — Gross of same shape as those on Nos. 1 and 
2, but with additional projections at points where the shaft joins 
the head ; the circular ring ornamented with a row of pellets, and 
the central boss also ornamented with pellets; on the shaft the 
remains of a panel of plaitwork of eight bauds. 

Sculpture on Back, — Same as on front, except that there is a 
rosette on the central boss, and rows of pellets on the arms. 

Sculpture on Right Side. — On the upper quadrant of the round 
part of the head a plait of four bands terminating in a Stafford 
knot; on the ends of the square projections beyond the arms, a 
a quatrefoil ; on the shaft, remains of foliage. 

Sculpture on Left Side, — Same as on right side. 

In addition to the headstones just described there are several 
other small fragments with the same style of ornament, amongst 
which is a small bit of a cross-shaft, measuring 9 ins, high by 10 ins. 
wide, by 8i ins. thick ; having on tiie front interlaced work, on the 
back the figure of a man, and on the side two twisted bands com- 
bined with double circular rings. 

The crypt is a regular museum of architectural details of all 
periods Some large vaulting-bosses are especially noticeable. They 
have carved upon them the Annnnciation, Scourging, Betrayal, 
Christ showing His Wounds, etc. The crypt is so <£irk that these 
most interesting relics are completely hidden. It would be very 
desirable that they should be removed to some place where they 
could be seen to better advantage. 

The west window is an admirable piece of stained glass decora- 
tion, embodying the history of the most remarkable events associ- 
ated with the church. It was designed by Mr. Edward Frampton, 

1 The key-patterns on the side of No. 1 are not the same as that on the 
side of No. 2, for in the former case the cross-strokes of the T's lie in a 
straight line, whereas in the latter the cross-strokes of every other T lie in 
two different straight lines. 

8« 



116 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

and presented by the Duke of Westminster on Easter Eve 1890. 
The following are the subjects : — 

(1.) The Massacre of the Monks of Bangor Is y Coed, a.d. 613. 

(2.) Founding of St. John's Chui*ch by the Saxon King Ethelred, 
A.D. 689. 

(3.) Edgar " the Peaceful*' rowed up the Dee, a.d. 972. 

(4,) Peter, the first Norman Bishop, founds the present Church, 
A.D. 1075. 

(5.) Burial of Bishop Peter, a.d. 1085. 

(6.) The founding of St. Werburg by Hugh Earl of Chester, and 
Anselm, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, a.d. 1093. 

(7.) Robert II elected Abbot of St. Werburg, a.d. 1175. 

(8.) Prince Edward, afterwards Edward I, the first royal Earl of 
Chester, enters the City, a.d. 1256. 

(9.) The Dissolution of the College of St John by Edward VI's 
Commissioners, a.d. 1548. 

(10.) Queen Elizabeth grants the fabric of the Church to the 
parishioners, and the advowson of the living, with the tithes, to 
Sir Christopher Hatton, Knight, a.d. 1581. 

(11.) The Siege of Chester and Flight of Charles T, A.D. 1645. 

(12.) The Restoration of the Episcopacy, a.d. 1660. 

The Cathedral. — From St. John's Church the members went on 
to the Cathedral, where the Rev. Canon Blencowe undertook the 
office of guide, to the great satisfaction of those who followed him 
whilst describing the most notable features in the building. The 
Cathedral is situated within the quarter of the city bounded on two 
sides by the walls, and on the other two sides by Nortligate and 
Eastgate. It did not become the Cathedral of the see of Chester 
until the time of Heniy VIII, previously to which it was a Benedic- 
tine Abbey founded on the site of the ancient Saxon church of 
St. Werburg. It is amongst the less important of the English cathe- 
drals ; and although it will not compare with those of Lincoln, Dur- 
ham, or York, yet it contains many interesting peculiarities. Like 
St. John's Church, it is built of red sandstone, unfortunately of a 
very perishable nature. Twenty years ago decay had made it far 
more picturesque than at present ; but the weathering of the exte- 
rior could not be allowed to go further without endangering the 
whole fabric. Owing to Dean Howson's untiring efforts the build- 
ing underwent a complete restoration, from the plans of the late 
Sir Gilbert Scott, in 1870-78, at a cost of £90,000. 

Amongst other things of interest which attracted the attention 
of the party were the beautiful mosaic wall-decoration of the north 
aisle of the nave, recently completed ; the fragments of St. Wer- 
burg's Shrine in the south aisle of the choir ; the beautiful chapter- 
house ; and the lector's pulpit and staircase leading up to it in the 
refectory. The stall bearing an inscription showing that it was 
the gift of the Cambrian Archaeological Association in 1874 had 
a personal interest for many of those present. The font also 
could not be passed by hurriedly by those interested in early 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — JREPORT. 117 

Christian art. It is of Bjzantine workmanship, having been brought 
from Italy, and presented to the Cathedral, by Lord Egerton. It 
is of rectangular form, with pairs of beasts, two peacocks, the Chi- 
Rho monogram combined with the Alpha and Omega, and other 
ornament. The fonr modern pillars on which it is supported are 
very feeble in design. The mosaic pavement of the baptistery is 
appropriately decorated with a net and fish. 

For description of the history and architecture of Chester Cathe- 
dral, see Murray's Cathedrals. 

Reception by the Maycyr, — At 1.30 the party were received at the 
Town Hall by the Mayor of Chester, Mr. J. Salmon, and the 
Mayoress, and entertained to luncheon, at the conclusion of which 
Lord Mostyn proposed the health of the Mayor. 

He begged, on behalf of the Association, to thank his Worship for 
the very kind way in which he had received them, feeling sure that 
each and all would enjoy their visit to Chester very much, which 
included the old Roman remains, the Museum, the Cathedral, and 
the wonderful old fifteenth and sixteenth centuries half-timbered 
houses. They ought to congratulate themselves on having such a 
fine day for their visit to Chester, and if they only had a fine day on 
the morrow, they would have had one of the most interesting and 
successful Meetings the Cambrian Archseological Society ever had. 
He begged to give, in all sincerity, the health of the Mayor and 
Mayoress of Chester. 

The toast having been heartily drunk, his Worship, in briefly 
acknowledging the compliment, welcomed the Association to Ches- 
ter. They were (he said) enjoined in the " Old Book" to extend 
hospitality to strangers, and he was sure that in his position, and in 
conjunction with his friend Mr. H. Taylor, their Local Honorary 
Secretary, he had great pleasure in receiving them in the name and 
on behalf of the ancient city of Chester, at tlie same time hoping 
the Association would receive enjoyment as well as instruction from 
their visit. Replying on behalf of the Mayoress, his Worship said 
one valuable lesson he always learnt from her was to do whatever 
he took in hand well, and he hoped he had succeeded on the pre- 
sent occasion. 

The Ven. Archdeacon Thomas, in proposing the next toast, 
pleasantly adverted to an incident in Welsh history, observing that 
they had lately visited a house in the adjoining county of Flint, 
which was pointed out as one in which a former Mayor of Chester 
was taken and afterwards hanged. But they did not do such things 
now, or burn one another's houses down. They came to Chester to 
see the wonderful remains in that most interesting city. Some 
good things they had seen, and some they had yet to see ; but on 
occasions like that, when coming, as they did, from different parts 
of the country, their enjoyment and instruction were immensely 
added to by those who were acquainted with the memorable places 
they visited. It was well that the cordial thanks of the Asso- 
ciation should be accorded to those gentlemen who had been kind 



118 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

enough to act as their guides. He begged, therefore, to propose the 
health of the Rev. Canon Blencowe, who had conducted them 
throDgh the Cathedral, and had explained to them as mnch as was 
possible within the time at disposal ; to Mr. Henry Taylor, who had 
not only instmcted them at the Church of St John, but also at 
Holywell, and that morning, at Flint, had led them over the 
Castle ; and to Mr. Alderman C. Brown, to whom they were to be 
indebted for much guidance and instruction. He begged, in the 
name of the Cambrian Association, to offer these gentlemen their 
cordial thanks for the very kind and instructive way in which 
they had guided them in their wanderings that morning. 

The Rev. Walter Evans, Rector of Halkyn, also joined in the 
expression of thanks for the way in which the Association had been 
welcomed. 

The toasfc was heartily drunk, and responded to by the Rev. Canon 
Blencowe, Mr. Henry Taylor, arid Alderman 0. Brown, the latter of 
whom mentioned as a curious coincidence that only so late as the 
Saturday previous an inscribed stone, dated 1674, had been pointed 
out to him in the City Wall, near the Nuns' Garden, mentioning 
the name of a gentleman as a " Muringer**; showing that Chester at 
the present time was in the possession of a fund of information, 
although it was yet to be discovered. 

After luncheon the party inspected, with very evident pleasure, 
the ancient charters and regalia of the city, exhibited at the Town 
Hall under the superintendence of Mr. S. P. Davies of the Public 
Office. 

The Walls, Roman Eemains^ and MedioBval Houses, — At 3 o'clock 
the party left the Mayor's hospitable roof; some to make a peram- 
bulation of the City Walls, under the guidance of Alderman C. Brown, 
and others, accompanied by Mr. H. Taylor, to see the specimens of 
ancient domestic architecture with which Chester abounds. 

The portion of the city enclosed within the Walls is approximately 
a rectangle measuring three-quarters of a mile from east to west, 
and one mile from north to south. The river Dee conies close up 
to the Walls on the south side, and then taking a bend outwards 
encloses the Roodee between it and the western Wall. The Shrop- 
shire Union Canal runs along the north Wall, and joins the Dee 
near the north-west angle. The four principal streets are parallel 
to the Walls, and intersect at right angles at a point a little to the 
east of the centre of the city. The streets take their names from 
the gates in the Walls to which each of them leads, — North Ghite 
on the north. East Gate on the east. Bridge Gate on the south, and 
Water Gate on the west. 

In the middle ages the duty of defending three of the Gates 
against the attacks of the " wild Welsh" was entrusted to the Stan- 
leys, the Hungerfords, and the Talbots, while the citizens kept 
watch over the North Gate. 

The upper part of the Walls is of the modisBval period, resting 
on Roman foundations. It varies in height from 12 to 40 ft., and 



01 




'J 

z 









-^ -"""Ssrr^ 




'-?¥;'-■ 



>fc-= 



.i 



'•--^^ii^.iiiii: ti: v^; 






^'f 







HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 119 

has a walk along the top the whole way round the oitj* being 
accessible from below by flights of steps at snitable intervals. In 
reconstructing a portion of the North Wall, near the Phcenix Tower, 
in 1887, a large number of inscribed and sculptured Roman stones 
were discovered, which are now in the Grosvenor Museum. 

For description of Walls and inscribed stones, see J.P.Earwaker's 
Roman Eemains in Chester; W. Thompson Watkin's Roman Chester; 
C. Roach Smith in Journ, Brit, Arch, Assoc., vol. xliv, p. 129; E. P. 
Loftus Brock, Ibid,^ p. 39 ; and Transactione of Chester Archaeological 
Sod^y. 

Amongst the objects of interest seen in the city may be men- 
tioned Bishop Lloyd's house (date 1615) in Watergate Street, with 
its carious carvings of Scn'pture subjects; the Rows and other 
specimens of domestic architecture; a fourteenth century mer- 
chant's cellar with gpx)ined vaulting ; the celebrated Roman hypo- 
caust and sudarium, beneath a shop in Bridge Street, described by 
Pennant in his Tours in Walet; and the base of a Roman column 
recently discovered, and preserved in situ by Alderman Brown. 

The Qrosvencr Museum. — The day's proceedings terminated witb 
a visit to the Grosvenor Museum, where the C orator, Mr. G. W. 
ShrDbsole,E.G.S., explained the various antiquities preserved there. 
The collection of Roman remains is particularly good. When first 
started, it possessed an unusually large number of inscribed stones^ 
from the ancient city of Deva, the home of the Twentieth Legion ; 
and since the discoveries made in pulling down part of the North 
Wall in 1887, the building has become too small to hold all its 
treasures. The greater part of the available space in the middle of 
the room is blocked up with cases of art-objects lent by the South 
Kensington Museum, which are utterly out of place here, and might 
surely be removed with advantage. 

A Roman pig of lead (a.d. 74) excited considerable discussion 
amongst the members. It was dug up in making the foundations 
of the Gas Works, near the Roodee, and is inscribed 

IMP VBSP AVG VT IMP 
DECEANOL 

The final L had been previously read i ; and instead of one word, 
DECEANOL (the equivalent of Tegeingl, the ancient name of the 
county of Flint), the last word had been made into two, de ceakgi 
(of the Ceangis). 

The Grosvenor Musenm possesses two sculptured stones of the 
Saxon period, — (1), a cross-head found at Hilbre Island ;^ and (2), 
portion of a cross-shaft found at Chester. The similarity of the 
ornament on the latter to that on the Maen y Chwyfan is remark- 
able, and seems to indicate that there must have been an intimate 

^ See " Illustrated Catalogue of Roman Altars and Inscribed Stones in 
the Grosvenor Museum/^ compiled by the Hon. Curator, 
s Engraved in Hume*s Hoylahe, 



120 CAMBRIAN ARCHiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

conneotion between the Saxon monasteries of Cboshire and those of 
Korth Wales at the time that these crosses were made. 

Amongst the latest acqnisitions to the Grosvenor Masenm, and 
not the least valuable, are the Penmaenmawr nrns of the bronze 
age, described in Mr. J. P. Earwaker s paper printed in Arch, Cawh,^ 
6th Series, vol. viii, p. 33. 



EVENING MEETING, THURSDAY, AUGUST 2l8T. 

The General Annual Meeting of members of the Association for 
business purposes was held in the Town Hall at 8.30 p.m. Killamey, 
in Ireland, was fixed as the place of meeting for the year 1891, at 
the invitation of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. The 
Committee submitted the following Annual Report, which was 
accepted by the general body of members ; — 

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ASSOCIATION 
FOR 1890. 

The papers contributed to the Archceologia Camhrensis during the 
past year are quite equal in literary merit and general interest to 
those published in the Transactions of the leading antiquanan soci- 
eties in England, Scotland, or Ireland. From the nature of the 
contributions promised there is every reason to believe that this 
high standard of excellence will be maintained. The Meeting of 
the Association in London, in the spring of 1889, was the means of 
opening the eyes of members to the vast storehouses of documents 
relating to Wales which are to be found at the British Museum and 
Her Majesty's Public Record Office. The very valuable papers by 
Mr. W. de Gray Birch and Mr. Arthur Roberts give a good idea of 
the treasures relating to the Principality to be seen at these institu- 
tions. The London Meeting also resulted in drawing from Mr. 
J. W. Willis-Bund a somewhat controversial article on Religious 
Houses in Wales, which shows that there are two sides to most 
questions. It is gratifying to find that Mr. Bund proposes to con- 
tinue his studies in the same direction. Welsh historians v^ho take 
an opposite view should furbish up their arguments in order to 
make an effective reply. Whilst on the subject of religious houses 
it is impossible to pass over Mr. R. W. Banks' original description 
of Brecon Priory, its suppression and possessions. Mr. Stephen 
Williams, after a slight rest from his labours at Strata Florida, has 
been able to take up the Welsh effigies, beginning with the fine 
specimens seen during the Cowbridge Meeting. The subject is well 
worth pursuing further, and a series of such papers, if afterwards 
made into a book, would form good companion volumes to Cutts' 
Sepulchral Slabs and Boutell's Christian Monuments, Mr. Griffith's 
paper on the Llandaff effigies is another step in the same direction. 
Every one will be glad to find that our veteran member, Professor 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 121 

West; wood, still contiDaes to write as ably on inscribed stones as be 
did nearly half a century ago, when the Cambrian Archeeological 
Association was in its infancy. Professor Rh^s, too, has a word to 
say on the important discoveries of Ofs^am inscriptions made by the 
Rev. Canon Collier and Mr. G. G. T. Treherne. 

Whilst we welcome new contribators of literary matter, it is with 
the greatest regret that we have to record the death of those who 
have helped to raise the Arckceohgia Gambrensis to so high a posi- 
tion amongst its contemporaries. Daring the past year Mr. David 
Jones of Wallington has been taken from us. His knowledge of 
Glamorganshire history was almost nnrivalled, as must have been 
apparent to every one who was privileged to listen to his lecture on 
the social condition of this country during the Tudor period, de- 
livered at Cowbridge. His loss will bo deeply felt both by personal 
friends and archceologists generally. 

An exceedingly interesting paper on the " Gift of Hanmer to 
Haughmond Abbey" was submitted by the Rev. Canon H. Lee to 
the Editors of the Arch, Camb. ; but after, much consideration it was 
decided that, owing to its great length, it could not be published 
immediately. The Shropshire Archseological Society, having more 
space at its disposal, has published the first instalment in its Traits- 
actions for 1889-90. 

Every endeavour has been made to keep up the character of the 
illustrations of the Journal, which have all been executed by Messrs. 
Worthington G. Smith and A. E. Smith. Owing to there having 
been no local fund to fall back upon for the illustrations of the 
Report of the Brittany Meeting, it would have been impossible to 
give so many Plates had it not been for the liberality of Mr. Wood 
of Rugby and our Hon. Treasurer, each of whom subscribed £10 
towards defraying the necessary expenses. 

The thanks of the Association are due to Sir Henry Dryden, Bart., 
and the Hev. W. C. Lukis for allowing their drawings of the mega- 
lith ic remains in Bnttany to be reproduced, as also to Mr. Banks 
and Mr. T. M. Franklen for placing their admirable photographs at 
the service of the Editors. 

Several works on subjects of interest connected with Welsh his- 
tory and antiquities have been submitted to the Editors for review, 
amongst which may be mentioned Archdeacon Thomas' History of 
the Diocese of St. Asaph, Mr. Stephen Williams' Strata Florida, and 
Mr. Gwenogvryn Evans' I^he Bed Booh of Rergest, 

The ** Archaeological Notes and Queries" might be made more 
readable if members would contribute to this portion of the Journal 
with greater frequency, and use it as a means of intercommunica- 
tion. It is particularly desirable that new discoveries should be 
noticed as early as possible. The Local Secretaries are, therefore, 
earnestly requested to keep the Editors au courant with what is 
going on in each county. 

Something has already been done to bring the Cambrian ArcheBo- 
logical Association into closer contact with the Societies in England 



122 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGIOAL ASSOCIATION. 

and elsewhere, by reprinting articles from their journals. The 
Editors have to thank those who have called their attention to mat- 
ters of interest to Welsh readers in the journals of other Societies, 
and to the Councils of the different Societies for giving permission 
to use snch articles in the Arch, Camb, In fxitnre it is to be hoped 
that more intercommanication still of this kind will take place. 

HON. SECRETARY'S REPORT, 1890. 

Since the last Report was presented at the Cowbridge Meeting, 
two years ago, the progress of the Association has been of the most 
satisfactory description. There are now on the mnster-roU 805 
names, whereas in January 1880 there were only 268. Your Com- 
mittee, however, have with regret to record the deaths of two of 
your Vice-Presidents : 

J. W. Nicoll Came, Esq., D.C.L., F.S.A. 

C. R. M. Talbot, Esq., M.P., P.R.S. 

As also of the following members : 

W. Beamont, Esq. 

Miss Dnnkin 

David Jones, Esq. 

G. W. Nicholl, Esq. 

Sir J. AUanson Picton, P.S.A. 

The following names have been added to the list of members 
since the last Annual Meeting, and now await the usual confirma- 
tion : 

English and Foreign. 

E. K. Bridger, Esq., Berkeley House, Hampton-on-Thames 
W. Boyd Dawkins, Esq., P.R.S., F.S.A., Woodhurst, Pal- 

lowfield, Manchester 
E. Sidney Hartland, Esq., P.S.A., Gloucester 
Jesus College Library, Oxford 

The Rev. P. H. J. MacCormack, P.S.A. Soot., Whitehaven 
Manchester Pree Library 
Evan Mathias, Esq., Hatton Court, London 
Henry Owen, Esq., B.C.L., Savile Club, London 
Hamlyn Price, Esq., Kandy, Ceylon 

D. Lleufar Thomas, Esq., 2, Brick Court, Temple, London 
John Williams, Esq., M.D., 63, Brooke Street, London 
Robert Williams, Esq., F.R.LB.A.,8, St. John Street, Adel- 

phi, London 

North Wales. 

The Lady Augusta Mostyn, Gloddaeth, Llandudno 

The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., Hawarden Castle 

The Very Rev. the Dean of St. Asaph 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 123 

E. Bockley, Esq., Milford Hall, Newtown 

Edward Griffith, Esq., Bpringfield, Dolgellej 

Thomas Haghes, Esq., Greenfield, Holywell 

J. C. Jones, Esq., Brynbella, Penmaenmawr 

The Rev. D. Jones, Pwllheli Vicarage 

Bev. Morgan Jones, Bangor 

The Rev. J. Morgan, Llandudno Rectory 

R. Ivor Parry, Esq., Llys Ivor, Pwllheli 

Edward Roberts, Esq., Mona View, Caernarvon 

Theodore Row, Esq., Knthin 

The Rev. R. Owen Williams, Holywell Vicarage 

Miss Frank Wynne, Ystrad Cottage, Denbigh 



South Wales and Monmouthshire. 

The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Swansea 

Sir W. T. Lewis, Mardy, Aberdare 

The Rev. J. J. Beresford, Llanarthney 

Joseph A. Bradney, Esq., Talycoed, Monmonth 

Ernest Clark, Esq., Carmarthen 

R. D. Cleasby, Esq., Penoyre, Breconshire 

R. Preston Cole, Esq., Llajidrindod 

The Rev. W. Dovey, Llansannor Rectory, Cowbridge 

David Evans, Esq., Ffrwdgrech, Breconshire 

Miss Harford, Faloondale, Lampeter 

Joshoa Hnghes, Esq., Rhosycadar Newydd, Cardigan 

The Rev. J. Hnghes, Cwmda Rectory 

T. N. Joseph, Esq., Swansea 

The Rev. C. W. Lewis, Heyop Rectory, Knighton 

Illtyd Nicholl, Esq., F.S.A., The Ham, Cowbridge 

H. P. Powel, Esq., Castle Madoc, Breconshire 

D. M. Richards, Esq., Mardy Office, Aberdare 

J. E. Samnel, Esq., Dowlais 

Miss Talbot, Margam Park, Taibach 

J. Vanghan, Esq., Merthyr Tydvil 

D. Williams, Esq., 5 Commercial Place, Aberdare 

Thomas Wood, Esq., Gwemyfed Park, Breconshire 

The Marches. 
The Rev. Canon R. H. Morris, D.D., Eocleston, Chester 

The retiring members of the Committee are : 

J. R. Cobb, Esq. 

Egerton G. B. Phillimore, Esq. 

George E. Robinson, Esq. 

And it is proposed that the following be elected 



124 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

Egerton G. B. Phillimore, Esq. 
George E. Robinson, Esq. 
And H. F. J. Vaughan, Esq., vice, J. R. Cobb, Esq., who as Local 
Secretary for Breconsbire continues to be a member of 
jonr Committee. 

Tour Committee, at a Special Meeting held at Shrewsbury on 
April 23rd, decided that the Index should at once be put into the 
printer's hands, and appointed your Chairman of Committee, your 
Treasurer, and Mr. Romilly Allen, as a Sub-Committee to arrange 
about the printing of it. They also considered the revised rules, 
which have.been printed, and will be presented to you for confirm- 
ation. 



EXCURSION, FRIDAY, AUGUST 22nd. 

The last day of the Meeting was also the finest, so that there was 
no necessity for the use of a cloak like the one described in the Life 
of St. Winifred. Every year, on the Vigil of St. John the Baptist, 
St. Winifred sent a cloak to St. Beuno by placing it on a stone in 
the fountain, when it was immediately conveyed to him, floating 
down the stream on the stone. "The virtue of this cloak, on 
account of the merit of the virgin, was such that wheresoever St. 
Beuno might be clothed therewith, it neither got wet with i*ain, nor 
was its nap turned by the wind. From the event of such thing 
St. Beuno called the coat ' Siccus'." There is a stone still to be seen 
beneath the water of St. Winifred's Well, which is called St. Beuno 's 
Stone. This is, no doubt, the one that was formerly credited with 
such miraculous properties. 

WaWs Dyke. — Starting at 9.30 a.m., some of the party went to 
see a portion of Watt's Dyke, situated just outside the town of 
Holywell, on the north-east side ; but the majority made straight 
for the Church and St. Winifred's Well which lies close to it. 
Watt's Dyke is an earthwork of the same description as Offa's 
Dyke. Nothing is known of its history. Its course is marked on 
the Ondnauce Map, running in a south-easterly direction between 
Northop and Mold, nearly parallel with the ghore of the estuary of 
the Dee, at a distance of from three to six miles from it, and then 
turning south at Hope towards Wrexham and Oswestry. Offa's 
Dyke runs parallel with Watt's Dyke, the latter being to the east 
of the former, and consequently further away from the foot of the 
Welsh Mountains, and nearer England. 

Holywell Church. — Holywell Church possesses hardly any interest 
for the antiquary. There are some tablets with inscriptions to the 
memory of members of the Mostyn and Pennant families in the 
interior, and a mutilated ef^gy of a priest with a maniple, holding a 
chalioe against his breast. 

St, Winifred*8 C/tapel and Well. — Adjoining the churchyard, and 
upon the same level with it, is the chapel above St. Winifred's Well, 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 125 

a bnilding in the Perpendicular style, baying a frieze of scnlptared 
beasts forming a moulding rnnning round the whole, similar to that 
already noticed at Mold Church. 

The Well lies immediately beneath the Chapel, the floor of the 
latter being supported by the vaulted ceiling of the former. The 
Well is approached by a flight of steps from the road. Camden says 
of it : " Under this place I viewed Holywell, a small town where 
there is a Well much celebrated for ihe memory of Winifred, a 
Christian virgin, ravished here and beheaded by a tyrant ; also for 
the moss, it yields very sweet odour. Out of this Well a small 
brook flows (or rather breaks through the stones, on which are seen 
I know not what kind of red spots), and runs with such violent 
course that immediately it is able to turn a mill." Nothing is more 
astonishing than to see the enormons volume of water which rushes 
out from the stream, and the clacking of the wheel of the mill 
which Camden speaks of is still to be heard. It is not more than 
twenty yards from the spring. 

It is hardly necessary here to repeat all the legends connected 
with St. Winifred. Those who are interested in the subject may 
consult Rees' Camhro-BrUish Saints^ Bishop Fleetwood's Life and 
Miracles of St Winefrede, Capgrave, Nor, Leg, Atigl, and Vita SS,, 
iv, 20, No. 3. The life of the Saint is said to have been written by 
the contemporary monk Elerius ; but the earliest authentic account 
is that given in the twelfth century by Robert, Prior of Shrewsbury 
(MSS. in British Museum, Claud. A v, and in Bodleian Library, 
Oxford, Laud. 94). Ralph Higden, in his Folyckronicon, has a 
curious Latin poem about St. Winifred, in which he tells us that 
the descendants of Caradoc, who beheaded St. Winifred, were con- 
demned to bark like dogs until they came to bathe in the Well : 

*' Qui scelus hoc putaverat 
Ac nail et nepotuli 
Latrant ut canum catuli 
Donee SanctsD suffragium 
Poscant ad hoc fonticulum 
Yel ad urbem Salopiie 
Ubi quiescit hodie.^ 

The Well is rented by the Roman Catholics, and large numbers 
of pilgrims annually visit the place that they may take advantage 
of the reputed miraculous properties of the waters in order to be 
cured of various diseases. Suspended from different parts of the 
roof and walls of the Well are to be seen many ex voto ofierings of 
crutches, etc., left by grateful persons who have been healed at the 
Well. The feast of St. Winifred is on November 3. 

The structure over the Well is a very beautiful specimen of Per- 
pendicular architecture, erected by Margaret, Countess of Rich- 

^ '^HistoriiB et Anglicanae Scriptores XX'*, by Thomas Gale. Oxford, 
1691. P. 190, 



126 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

mond, the mother of Henry VII ; to whose geuerositj we also owe 
the churches of Mold and of North op. 

A plan of the Well is given in the Arch<Bological Joumaly vol. iii, 
p. 148, and general views will be fonnd in Pennant's Tours in Wales 
and Bnck*s Views, vol. ii, PL 395. The shape of the basin of the 
Well is an eight-pointed star, having angles of 90 and 135 degrees. 
Vertical mnllions or pillars rise from each corner of the star to sap- 
port the vaulted roof, and the spaces between were originally filled 
in with tracery (now gone) which screened the Well off from the 
passage running round it. The chamber in which the Well is en- 
closed is square, having no openings in the walls, except in the 
front, which is pierced by three low-pointed arches, and a door in 
one of the side- walls. There are flights of steps within the chamber 
on each side of the basin of the Well, in front, leading down to the 
bottom. The bosses of the vaulting are ornamented with the arms 
of the Stanley family, Catherine of Arragon, and others. There is 
a very large cylindrical, pendent boss over the centre of the Well, 
covered with elaborate sculpture. 

Outside the Well is a large bath, open to the air. Uuder the 
water, at one corner, is St. Beano's Stone, already mentioned. 

Basingwerk Abbey. — Leaving St. Winifred's Well and its medi- 
teval associations with much regret, a drive of a mile down the road 
along the west side of the gorge formed by the stream which issues 
from the Well, brought the party to Basingwerk Abbey. The ruins 
are situated on rising ground on the east side of the entrance to 
the valley, about a quarter of a mile south of the Holywell Railway 
Station. Papers on Basingwerk have been published in the Archa- 
ologia Cambrensis, vol. i, p. 97, and in the Jovrnal of the British 
Archoeologieal Association, vol. xxxiv, p. 468, by Mr. E. P. Loftus 
Brock. Buck's Views (vol. ii, PI. 389) may be referred to as show- 
ing how much of the ruin has been destroyed daring the present 
century. Giraldus Gambrensis lodged a night at Basingwerk (a.d. 
1188) when in the train of Archbishop Baldwin on his progress 
through Wales to preach the Crusade. He calls it *' Cellula de 
Basingwerk", which does not seem to favour the idea that there 
was a large monastery there at that time. Banulph, second Earl of 
Chester (a.d. 1131), was one of the greatest benefactors to the 
Abbey, and possibly its founder. 

The style of the architecture of what remains of the Abbey is 
very late transitional Norman or perhaps Early English. The north 
side of the nave, north transept, and choir, are completely gone, 
although their position might be ascertained, no doubt, by excava- 
tion. The west wall of the nave is standing to a height of 8 ft., 
and the south wall to a height of 2 ft. 6 in. The west and south 
walls of the south transept are complete, and the triple lancet- 
window in the south gable is the most prominent feature in all the 
views of the Abbey. The pointed arch leading from the south aisle 
of the nave into the south transept is still perfect. The width of 
the aisle may be fixed by the respond of the nave-arcade. The 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT, 127 

springing of the arches of the central tower can be seen at the top 
of the south-west pier, the only one now standing. To the south of 
the south transept are the ruins of a long range of buildings on the 
east side of the site of the cloisters. The east walls are the most 
perfect. When Buck's View was taken the west walls also were in 
existence. The lower story was occupied by the sacristy, chapter- 
house, fratry, etc. ; and the upper story, the holes for the floor- 
beams and rows of lancet-windows of which are not yet destroyed, 
was used as the monks' dormitory. Part of the chapter-house forms 
a chamber lighted by lancet-windows, adjoining the east side of the 
range of buildings, and entered from it through two round arches 
springing from a pillar in the centre of the opening. On the south 
side of the site of the cloisters is the refectory, which is perfect with 
the exception of the roof, and contains some good Early English 
architectural details. 

One good result of the visit of the Cambrian Archeeological Asso- 
ciation to Holywell will be that there is a chance of the ruins of 
Basingwerk Abbey being systematically excavated. Mr. T. Vaughan 
Hughes has commenced to dig some trenches on the site of the 
north transept, and has discovered several encaustic tiles. Mr. 
Hughes has, unfortunately, no special knowledge as to how such a 
work should be undertaken ; but he has promised that he will do 
nothing further without advice from some competent authority. It 
would be better to leave the thing altogether untouched than to do 
it badly. 

By kind permission of the Council of the British Archaeological 
Association, and with the author's sanction, we are enabled to re- 
print Mr. E. P. Loftus Brock's paper (vol. xxxiv, pp. 468-76): — 

*' The site of these ruins testifies to the truth of what we are able 
to glean from the history, at present obscure, of this building, that 
it was not founded for Cistercian monks. There is here no secluded 
dell shut in from the surrounding world by high hills, and lying on 
low ground close to a stream. There are several such in this 
immediate neighbourhood; but they were set aside, and the site 
selected for this house is higher ground than other positions near 
it. It overlooks the country on almost every side, while on the 
north and west is a broad and extensive panorama of the estuary of 
the Dee, with the long lines of the Cheshire hills beyond. The site 
has probably been an inhabited one from long prior to its use by a 
colony of monks, since to the south-west stretches the line of Watt's 
Dyke, which after its lengthy course terminates close to here, and 
apparently in connection with the old fortification, Basingwerk 
Castle, the traces of the foundation of which are at no great distance. 
The presence of a fortification in close proximity to a Cistercian 
house is a great anomaly, since these monks, as a general rule, 
sought for the most secluded spots, far away from the traffic of men* 
We may accept it as confirmation enough of the meagre history 
that the Cistercians came late to this site, which was formerly occu- 
pied by other monks, and is additional evidence beyond what we 



128 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

have from the elevated rather than the seclnded position. The onlj 
example known to me of a Cistercian establishmeDt on high gronnd 
is at ScarboroDgh, close to the approaches of the Castle, and the 
same arrangement may have occurred here.^ The history and the 
site, however, confirm one another, and wo may consider it is deter- 
mined that the Cistercians were not the first monks to settle here, 
bnt we have no record of their arrival. The entry of the foundation 
does not occur in either of Mr. W. de Gray Birch's two lists ; and 
the Brut y Tywysogion does not aid us, although mention is made 
of the adjacent Cnstle. 

" The charter of King Henry makes no mention of the Order of 
monks ; and the fact of the dedication to St. Mary, universal in 
Cistercian abbeys, does not help us, for it is shared by other and 
older bodies. We have certain evidence, which has often been 
referred to, of the existence of a religious settlement here in early 
times, prior to the year 1119, since in that year Hugh Lupus, Eari 
of Chester, being on his way to the Well of St. Winifred, was 
attacked by the Welsh, and sought refuge in an Abbey in the neigh- 
bourhood, which was undoubtedly on the site of the present bund- 
ing. We may safely conclude that the original foundation was by 
one of the early princes of Wales, since the charters of Llewelyn ap 
lorwerth and David his son speak of donations having been given 
by their predecessors. This evidence is conclusive that the original 
monks must have been an older body than the Cistercians ; but 
there is no record when, and under what circumstances, the latter 
became the possessors.^ 

" It is not my intention to go closer into the present meagre 
documents, from which all that is known at present of the history 
is derived. These have frequently been passed under review, and it 
may be better to leave them until they can be better traced by the 
light of some probable future discoveries.' 1 will not also attempt 
to solve the discussion as to whether the charter already referred 
to was granted by Henry II or Henry III. Two points may, how- 
ever, be glanced at, — one is that the building whose ruins we now 
see could not have existed (except some small part) in 1188, since 
Giraldus Canfbrensis in that year stayed here for one night, and he 
speaks of the Monastery simply as a *■ small cell' (' Celula de Basing- 
werk*). 

^ It may be noted, however, that Scarborough was but a cell attached to 
a foreign house, and has nothing whatever of the usual Cistercian plan. 

' These charters are of later date than the time of Henry II, but no 
mention is made of any charter of this King. This absence of usual cus- 
tom rather favours my belief that it was Henry III, and not Henry II. 
King Henry*s confirmation is but a grant of gifts to the Monastery, and 
therefore no preceding charters (if any) had occasion to be referred to. The 
Chapel of Basingwerk is given by the King, and described as being that in 
which the monks firtt dwelt, and we may therefore infer that some new 
buildings were either erected or in progress. The bulk of the ruins cannot 
be ascribed to Henry II; but the time of Henry III would do very well. 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 129 

"We shall presently see that the architectural evidence indicates 
a later date for the balk of the building ; and this is so far opposed 
to the foundation in the time of Henry II, since some few, it may 
be, of the buildings generally bear some relation to the period of 
the charter. Another is with respect to the foundation by Henry I [ 
here, or at least somewhere in the locality, of a house for Knights 
Templars. Because no remains of this are known to exist, the very 
foundation has been denied. Argument like this is always danger- 
ous ; but it cannot be admitted in this case, since it is referred to 
more than once in almost contemporary chronicles. A notice of this 
event in The Waverley Chronicle^ under date 1157, may, however, 
be accepted as conclusive, since it speaks of King Henry having 
concluded works at Bhuddlan Castle and Basing werk Castle, and 
between the two a house for Knights Templars.^ This gives us 
alike the date, the founder, and the position ; and it also indicates 
that we may at once dismiss the title of ' Templars' Chapel*, actu- 
ally given by some writers, including even Pennant, to the existing 
refectory here, for *• inter heeo duo Castra' must have been miles 
away. The above extract is valuable also for its negative evidence 
that King Henry II, while he had his masons at work on the adja- 
cent castles and elsewhere, did nothing to the buildings here, since 
it would have been recorded. 

" The works to the Castle were but repairs, probably after the 
battle fought here, in 1166, between King Henry and the Welsh ; 
but we learn from the Bi^ y Tywysogion that in 1165 Basing werk 
Castle was destroyed by Owain Gwynedd. It is called * Dinas 
Basing*, and this title may be noted as another Saxon name occur- 
ring along the line of Offa's and Watt's Dykes. 

*^ Let us turn to the ruins of the Abbey, and endeavour to glean 
what they have to reveal of their own history. Notwithstanding 
the different aspect of the site we find here a perfect arrangement 
of a Cistercian house, remarkable not only for its completeness, so 
far as traces -remain, but for the purity of its design and the har- 
mony among all the parts. 

** The abbey church has a slype or sacristy adjoining its south 
transept ; next in order, going south, the chapter-house ; then pro- 
bably the parlour ; and lastly, the day-room or calefactory. These 
form one side (the eastern) of the cloister-space. The south side of 
the latter has, in the south-eastern angle, the kitchen ; and next to 
it the refectory, which is built, as is so frequently the case, north 
and south. The buildings on the west side are gone. The dormi- 
tory extended over the whole of the eastern buildings. A large, 
long range of buildings of brick and stone, with a superstructure of 
heavy oak timbers, filled in with wattle and plaster, extends east- 
ward from the kitchen, and were formerly cellars aud storehouses. 

1 " Castrum Rowelent firmavit, et dedit illud Hugoni de Bello Campo, et 
aliud Castrum, scilicet Basingewerch, fecit, et inter hsec duo castra unam 
domum militibus Tempi!.** 

6th seu., vol. viii. 9 



130 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

" Let ns examine these in detail. The chnrch had its east end 
close to the bold, cliff-like bank, which comes more or less close to 
the -whole northern side as well ; and below the cliff, dividing it 
from the public road, is an extensive fishpond, now divided into two 
by a high modem, bank which formerly carried a tramway from 
the high ground on which the Abbey stands, across the public road 
by a bridge, and with a slope to the low level of the land below, 
and so on to the edge of the river. The church was cruciform ; but 
at present all that is visible are the south gable of the south tran- 
sept, with a triplet of lancets above the line of the roof of the abut- 
ting dormitory ; the west wall of this transept, with the arch into 
the south aisle of the nave, and one of the responds to the south- 
west of the usual central tower, with one attached column of the 
nave-arcade in it ; the cloister-door ; a small height of the south 
aisle wall ; and jast enough of the west wall to enable us to make 
out the ground-plan. The church is built of the brown sandstone 
of the district ; not a very durable material, and the surface has 
succumbed considerably to the action of the elements. The mould- 
ings and other ornamental works have, therefore, suffered severely, 
but they can readily be made out. The aisle-arch is of plainly 
chamfered orders springing from an abacus, and the same is observ- 
able above the engaged half-round column of the nave-arcade ; but 
we may observe that the face west of the nave had a third cham- 
fered order, carrying the thickness of the wall, which is greater than 
the width of the pier. The capital is all but gone. The tower-pier 
has a bold corbel to carry the additional thickness next to the 
nave-columns, and space was thus obtained beneath it for the choir- 
stalls. The bearing arches of the tower spring from very handsome 
corbels close under the springing, and not from shafts. The arches 
were of plainly chamfered orders only. The corbels and traces of 
the arches over are only visible from the south and west arches in 
the one solid pier, — the only relic of the central tower. There is a 
trace of a clerestory-window of the nave, and its internal string- 
course, and we may conclude that they were single lancets. There 
was no triforium. The cloister-door, which is circular-headed, 
has been carefully moulded with clustered beads, hollows, and bow- 
tells, in several recessed orders ; and the west (central) doorway 
into the nave probably had a door somewhat similar, but only traces 
are visible of a recessed order or two to the south jamb.^ In the 
south wall of the transept is a pointed doorway to afford access to 
the night-stairs from the monks' dormitory. The stairs were of 
wood, and have, therefore, quite disappeared. There are two lines 

1 The rough bank of earth touching the north-west angle of the nave is 
part of the disused tramway. The masses of old walling and concrete in 
the hedge skirting the fishpoud, next the public road, have most, probably 
been brought from the ruins above or from Basingwerk Castle ; but their 
position appears old. From there being no mark of the rood-loft against 
the tower-pier, as at Yalle Crucis, it is probable that it was more to the 
west in the nave here, as it was there formerly. '• 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 131 

of roof of the south aisle of the nave visible over the arch leading 
into the transept, showing a reconstruction at a different slope. 
The style of the church is Early English of a good type (early thir- 
teenth century), and, when perfect, of excellent effect. The base of 
the south wall of the south transept seems somewhat earlier, and 
may be a portion of the ' small cell* which existed in the time of 
Giraldus Cambrensis. It has a small, round-headed opening into 
the sacristy ; a chamber, however, now quite destroyed ; but we 
may trace a round-headed and chamfered doorway which afforded 
entrance to it from the cloisters, and also a portion of a square- 
headed Perpendicular window eastward. 

" The Ghapter-House, — The main body of this building, entering 
from the cloisters, has quite disappeared, and the two conspicuous 
round-headed arches, which are oflen taken for the entrance, in 
reality do but lead into an eastern projection of the chapter-house, 
and were formerly within the building. The clever way may be 
noted in which the builders have carried the thick wall above 
upon a thinner wall beneath. The projection is of the same Early 
English date, and has been vaulted with quadripartite vaulting, but 
with additional ribs, to meet the piers of the three eastern lancets. 
These vrindows and the two lateral ones are moulded, and of much 
beauty. They have been glazed, but not into rebates. A sinking, 
as if for a frame, is visible. The projection was probably covered 
origrinally by a lean-to roof; but in fifleenth century times a cham- 
ber was constructed over it (probably the muniment-room), and 
opening from the dormitory. The chapter-house proper has had a 
flat ceiling, and the dormitory a boarded floor, since the holes for 
the beams remain. 

^^The Day-Boom, — This must have been a spacious apartment, 
lighted by an eastern range of broadly splayed lancets, which, from 
the fact that they have no rebates for glass, appear to afford evi- 
dence that the poor monks in this their most social working room 
bad no shelter from the elements. The Rev. Mackenzie Walcot 
states that this was so at Old Cleeve, and from similar evidence ; 
but the windows here, and there also, may have been glazed with 
movable frames only, secured to the iron stanchion-bars ; and let us 
hope that they were. The ceiling has been formed at the same 
level as that of the chapter-house. A door opens externally direct 
to the east. No trace is apparent of a chimney in the existing ruins, 
probably owing to their overgrown state ; but it may have been in 
the south wall, where there are signs of reconstruction ; or in the 
west wall, now demolished. The parlour was probably next the 
chapter-house, but there are no traces. The east wall has external 
buttresses, and one of these, at the south-east corner, has been re- 
tained, although the wall it abuts against is fifteenth century work. 
" I%e Dormitory, over, has also a range of eastern, nnglazed win- 
dows. The walls are too much broken by gaps to determine the 
position of any fireplace ; but a shaft is shown in Buck's View. The 
entrance to the monks' night stairs is perfect on this side; and 

92 



132 CAMBRIAN AUCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

next it is evidence of the reconstruction of the angle-wall of the 
transept when the dormitory was bnilt^ showing that the base of 
this wall is older. The roof has been of a sharp pitch, as is shown 
by the water-table beneath the three lancets of the transept ; and 
to prevent obstruction to these, it has been hipped back in its upper 
portion. A small doorway has opened from the south-east angle, 
now much dilapidated ; and it was probably for the passage of the 
sacristan to wat<;h the sanctuary light, as at Valle Crucis. The 
slope of the transept- gable is still preserved by a few of its coping- 
stones which totter above the lancet- windows. 

" The Kitchen adjoined the day-room, from which there is a door 
in the south wall, and another in the splayed south-west corner. A 
large part of the east wall is down, but enough remains to indicate 
that this apartment is late fifteenth century work. It is built against 
the older buttress, and there are traces of cross-walls. The fire- 
place opening is to the south, and between two good Perpendicular 
windows, now blocked. 

** TJie Befectory is a remarkable building, which has been of much 
beauty. Buck's View shows it with a perfect roof, a gable-cross, 
and with four lancet- windows. It is now roofless, and the gable is 
broken down to the ground- level, leaving thus but the three exter- 
nal walls and two jambs only of the gable-windows. The internal 
appearance is of great beauty, so far as the west wall is concerned, 
for it is filled with a series of varying splayed niches, some of which 
have been pierced with windows, now blocked. These are adorned 
with beautifully moulded shafts, banded, and with caps and bases, 
and arched heads above them with labels, etc. ; all very elaborately 
moulded, and having small nail-headed bands. Some are round- 
headed, with quatrefoils ; and there is a small, low, round-headed 
doorway in the west wall. There is a locker close to the north 
wall, and opposite to it is a serving door from the adjacent kitchen. 
The whole of the eastern wall has a perfectly plain surface, in 
curious contrast to the opposite one, and is most probably of later 
date. The north wall is comparatively modem, and built of older 
materials since the dissolution. A few of the old stone corbels 
remain, and indicate that the roof had principal rafters, while from 
Buck's View we know that it was of a high pitch. The work gene- 
rally agrees with current work such as we find in England ; but it 
is somewhat later in date than other Early English work here. 

*' The Cloister space has been occupied by an ambulatory around 
its four sides, of wood, covered with a sloping roof. We may notice 
one of the corbels against the wall of the south transept. 

** The long range of offices to the east of the kitchen, already 
alluded to, are of interest on account of their almost unaltered con- 
dition ; but they are in a terrible state of neglect, the eastern part, 
where there is an L-shaped prolongation southwards, being partially 
unroofed. The massive timbers and the solid construction are de- 
serving of admiration. The npper floor, approached by probably 
the original rough stone steps, is used in part for a storage of 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 133 

tanned hides, while in others various unsavonry stages of a tanner's 
business are being pursued. 

" The liistory, as told by the ruins, agrees in the main with re- 
corded history. We have traces of an early building, and we have 
a later and perfect Cistercian plan. Although, as we have seen, 
history is doubtful of the date of the latter, the architecture tells us 
that this must have been carried out very early in the thirteenth 
century, and by English rather than by Welsh hands.^ 

" The usual traditions with respect to the removal of portions of 
the building to other places are as numerous here as elsewhere in 
Wales. A part of the roof is at Cilcain Church. This is, perhaps, 
as true as that of the glass of Llanrhaiadr Church, so far away, 
being also from here. The whole area of the church and most of 
the other buildings is overgrown with nettles, long grass, and 
weeds, while several large trees have taken firm root, and with their 
foliage cover the weather-worn ruins with a grateful shade. Filth 
appears everywhere. The roofless refectory is used as a horse-litter. 
Rough mounds of accumulated earth cover, to a great extent, the 
foundations of the transepts and choir. The noise of the neighbour- 
ing manufactories reaches us, with the odour of alkali and copper. 
The lofty chimney of the opposite Greenfield Works, the noise of 
the passing trains, and the moaning wind through the outstretched 
wires of the electric telegraph, all alike tell us of altered life and 
society, and of the change that has fallen upon this spot, — a change 
with advantages, let us hope, but which should not make us forget- 
ful of the past. 

" Something is due at the hands of the men of this century to 
these remains, and it is to be hoped that our Meeting may be the 
means of directing the attention of the owner of these ruins to their 
neglected condition. Since the foundations of the entire ground- 
plan are most probably perfect beneath all the signs of neglect 
which surround us, it is greatly to be desired that a little care and 
attention should be bestowed, not only for the preservation of what 
is left (which is very necessary), but also for the uncovering of 
what is buried. A small outlay and a little loving care only are 
needed to render these remains as interesting, in proportion to their 
extent, as those of Valle Crucis ; and the earth accumulated over 
the site might cheaply be formed into a raised bank to act as a bar- 
rier to guard them from further havoc. I hope that some remon- 
strance may be recorded by this Meeting in favour of these remains, 
which shall not only result in what we see being carefully guarded 
for the future, but that all the portions buried beneath us may be 
revealed and cared for. A small cost would transform this neglected 

^ The distinctive features of ancient Welsh buildings are sufficiently 
marked to indicate a different school from English work. This applies, 
however, more to earlier than to later works, and least of all to sixteenth 
century ecclesiastical buildings. Indeed, the English fashion of apses, 
which revived then, as we see at Henry VIPs Chapel and at Coventry, 
appears also at Qresford Church and Hoi j well. 



134 CAMBRIAN ARCHiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

spot into one of beanty, valaable not only for research, bnt for th e 
recreation of the busy population around it." 

A passage from the Life of St. Werburg has been quoted (Arch, 
Camb,, vol. i, p. 97) to prove that there was a monastery at 
Busingwerk in the time of Richard, son of Hugh Lupus. Basing- 
werk is certainly mentioned in the Life, but nothing is said of a 
monastery. Perhaps some confusion has arisen in consequence of 
its being staled that a monk advised the Constable, William of 
Chester, to pray to St. Werburg ; but it was a monk of Hilbre, not 
of Basing vv^erk. The story is as follows : 

" Whiche prayer ended with wepyng and langour. 
Beholde and consider well with your gostly ee 
The infinite goodness of our Saviour ; 
For like as Moises devided the redde see. 
And the water of Jordan obeyed Joeue, 
Byght 80 the depe river of Dee made division. 
The sondes drye appered in syght of them eoh one. 
The Constable oonsyderynge, and all the company, 
This great Miracle trancendyng nature, 
Praysed and magnified our Lord God Almighty, 
And blessed Werburge the virgin pure. 
They went into Wales upon the sondes sure, 
Delivered their lorde from drede and enmitie, 
Brought him in safe garde agayne to Chestre cite.'' 

(Metrical Life of St. Werburg, by Henry Bradshaw, a monk of 
Chester, taken from an earlier source. Printed by Pynson in 1 52 1 . 
Two manuscript copies in Bodleian Library, Oxford, and British 
Museum. Reprinted by Chetham Society, vol. xv, p. 187, 1848). 
In canto xviii it is related " Howe sondes rose up within the salt 
see against Hilburghee, by Saint Werbnrghe, at the peticion of the 
Constable of Chestre." 

The poem goes on to say that Richard, son of Hugh Lupus, in- 
tending to make a pilgrimage to Holywell, is attacked by the 
Welsh, and sends a message to his Constable, William, son of Nigell, 
at Chester, to raise an army and -meet him at Basingwerk. The 
Constable marches with his army to Hilburghee (Hilbre), hoping to 
get ships to take him across the Dee, but finds none. A monk of 
Hilbre then recommends him to pray to St. Werburg. 

Dovming. — The next place visited was Downing, formerly the 
residence of Thomas Pennant, the great Welsh antiquary, which 
is situated about three miles west of Holywell Railway Station. 
The house was built in 1627, and afterwards altered by Thomas 
Pennant, who was born in the yellow room on June 14,' 1726. Ho 
was enabled to spend money on improvements owing to the* fortu- 
nate discovery of a valaable lead-mine on his estates. Thomas Pen- 
nant's branch of the family came from Bychton, which lies midway 
between Downing and Mostyn Hall. A full description of Downing 
and its contents will be found in Pennant's History of the Parishes 
of Whiteford and Holywell, The members were allowed to see the 
interior of the house, through the courtesy of the Earl of Denbigh. 




Inscribed Stone at Downing. 



SCALE : -^ fall size. 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 135 

Downing Inscribed Stone. — Afterwards an inspection was made of 
an inscribed stone which was brought fi*om Caerwys, and is now 
erected in the garden, close to a small artificial lake below the 
honse. It is a rade whinstone boulder, 3 ft. 9 io. high, by 3 ft. wide, 
by 1 ft. 6 in. thick, inscribed, in debased Latin capitals of the sixth 
or seventh century, 

HIC lAGIT MVLI 
BR BONA NOBILI 

(Here lies a good and noble wife) ; or, according to Professor Rhys, 
" here lies the good wife of Nobilis". The M of mvlier is the only 
letter of the minuscule form, indicating a transition from the Roman 
capitals to the Hiberno-Saxon minuscule. 

The Downing inscribed stone stood formerly a mile from Caer- 
wys. It was used as the gate-post at the entrance of a field where 
many Roman coins were found. It was removed to its present 
position in the last century. (See Prof. Westwood's Lapidarium 
Waliice, pi. 89, No. 4 ; Camden's Britannia, Gough's edition, vol. iii, . 
p. 223 ; and Pennant's Tours in Wales, Rhys* edition, vol. ii, p. 76.) 

Mostyn Hall, — From Downing the members went on to Mostyn 
Hall, where they were received by Lord Mostyn, the President of 
the Meeting, and conducted over the house and grounds, in batches 
of twenty, under His Lordship's able guidance. Afterwards they 
were most hospitably entertained to luncheon. 

The most interesting objects at Mostyn Hall are a splendid gold 
torque found at Harlech Castle in 1692 ; a Roman cake of copper, 
11^ in& in diameter, and 2| ins. thick, weighing 42 lbs., inscribed 



socio BOMAE 



and 



NATSOL 



The silver harp used at Welsh Eisteddfods, the commission for the 
Caerwys Eisteddfod in 1568, and a rude wooden vessel, of uncertain 
use, found in a bog near Dinas Mowddwy, Merionethshire, were 
shown. (See Prof. Westwood's Lapidarium Wallice, p. 169.) Lord 
Mostyn also exhibited (under a glass case) a selection of his valu- 
able collection of Welsh MSS. for the inspection of members. 

Mostyn Hall is built of stone, with mullioned windows and 
pointed gables. The oldest portions date from the time of Henry VI; 
but it has been remodelled and added to at various times, the most 
important changes having been effected by Sir Roger Mostyn in 
1631. The large bay window, which is so striking a feature in the 
exterior, was erected at this date.* The views from the grounds, 
across the estuary of the Dee, are very beautiful. 

Mostyn Hall was visited by the British Archaeological Associa- 
tion during the Llangollen Congress in 1877.* On that occasion 
Mr. W. de Gray Birch, F.S.A., of the British Museum, gave an 

1 See Pennant's Historic of the Parishes of Whiteford and Holywdl. 
' See Journ. Brit, Arch. Assoc., vol. xxxiv, p. 407. 



136 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

interesting account of the books and MSS. in the Library, amongst 
which are to be found the following : 
MSS, — Chronicle of Eobert of Gloucester. (English, fourteenth 
century.) 
Lydgate's " Fall of Princes.'* (English, fourteenth or fifteenth 

century, with illuminated initials.) 
Play written by Athony Munday, who died in 1 636. 
O^id, Suetonius, and other classical authors. (Italian, fifteenth 

century.) 
Three copies of Froissart's " Chronicle." (French, fifteenth 

century, with illuminated miniatures.) 
Service-Book. (French, fifteenth century, with illuminated 

miniatures and borders.) 
Dante. (Italian, fourteenth century.) 
Several French Bibles. 

Latin Bible. (Fourteenth century, with illuminations.) 
Chronicle of St. Werburg. 
Giraldus Cambrensis. 

Several Welsh MSS. (fifteenth and sixteenth centuries), in- 
cluding History of England, Llyfr Coch Nannau by Ellis 
Griffith. 
Books. — Original Folio Shakespeare. 
Letters. — Moatyn Correspondence, 1672-1740, 11 vols. 
(For Catalogue of MSS., see Hist. MSS. Commission, 4th Report) 

WhUford Church. — After leaving Mostyn Hall, the next place 
visited was Whilford Church, a mile and a half to the southward. 
The only objects of interest here are some fragments of sepulchral 
slabs of the fourteenth century, and a sundial with a Welsh inscrip- 
tion, found whilst the church was undergoing restoration by Mr. 
Ewan Christian, and some monuments belonging to the Mostyn 
family. The flagon of the Communion plate is dated 1 755, and the 
paten 1733. For further particulars see Pennant's History of the 
Parishes of Whiteford and Holyioell, 

The so-called Jioman Pharos. — Before returning to Holywell, the 
members went to see the so-called Eoman Pharos, situated in a 
wood called Coed y Gareg, on the top of a hill, a mile to the west 
of Whitford. The tower is a comparatively modem building, as is 
evident by the wooden lintels to the windows. The invention of 
the Roman Pharos theory is due to Pennant (see History of the 
Parishes of Whiteford and Holywell.) 



EVENING MEETING, FRIDAY, AUGUST 22nd. 

A public meeting was held at the Town Hall at 8.30 p.m., at 
which papers were read by J. W. Willis-Bund, Esq., F.S.A., on 
" Monfisticism in Wales", and by Edw. Owen, Esq., on " Caerwys." 
These papers will be printed in a future Number of the Archa^ologia 
Cambrensis. 










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M-'tytin 



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INCIS6D SCON6S 

^v^i^iSFORp era. 



ir«cHS3i2, . 9 ,e ,5 ,0 







^o^J/^^ 



HOLYWELL MEETING.— REPORT. 137 



NOTE ON PIG OF LEAD IN CHESTER MUSEUM. 



We extract from TJ^e Western Mail the following correspondence, 
which arose out of a notice in that paper of the Association's visit 
to Chester, as containing a discassion of several important points 
not touched npon at Holywell, and as elncidating the topographical 
history of the district within which we recently met : — 

" Sir, — In your issue of Friday, the 22nd instant, the statement 
of Archdeacon Thomas' discovery in the Chester Museum on Thurs- 
day the 21st instant, requires correction. It is there stated that 
* the inscription upon a pig of lead found at Flint has hitherto heen 
given as Deceango. The correct reading was found to be Deceangi,'* 
The facts are that the reading has hitherto been Deceangi, which 
has been taken by some to stand fovDe Ceangis (* from the Ceangi'), 
but that Archdeacon Thomas discovered that the letter hitherto 
read as i in the word on one of the pigs of lead in the Museum (for 
there are two) was unquestionably an L Subsequently I examined 
the other identically inscribed pig, where the I of the word is still 
clearer than in the first. Moreover, it appeared to me that there 
was no trace whatever, in the last letter but one, on either of the 
pigs, of the vertical bar which distinguishes a g from a c, and that 
the word is to be read Deceancl. If this stands for the modern 
Tegeingl, as I presume it must do, we should, of course, expect a r, 
not a gf, in the first century a.d. ; but, unfortunately, the incrusta- 
tion of the lead in both pigs makes this point less certain than it 
might be. 

"Finally, Tegeivgl was not *the Welsh name of the present 
county of Flint*, but only of the northern portion thereof; the por- 
tion, however, in which lead is mostly found. 

" I am, etc., Egerton Phillimore. 

" P.S, — I have had squeezes taken of the word Deceancl from both 
pigs, which entirely confirm the reading now given of the last two 
letters." 



" Sir, — ^In regard to the letter of Mr. Egerton Phillimore in your 
issue of the 29th of August, correcting two words in the Report of 
the Association's visit to Chester, I beg to state that the errors 
are those of the telegraphist, and not of your Correspondent, as an 
examination of the ' copy' handed in will at once indicate. 

"Mr. Phillimore observes that there are two pigs of lead bearing 
the word Deceangl or Dectancly and conveys the impression that 
he was the discoverer of the right reading of the stamp upon the 



138 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

second pig. This is not so. Both pigs had been examined, and 
squeezes taken, before Mr. Phillimore's attention was expressly 
drav^n to them. Mr. Phillimore may possess some occult informa- 
tion to prove that " Tegeingl" was not the Welsh name of the pre- 
sent county of Flint. I assert that there is some evidence to show 
that it tca«. 

" I am, etc., Youb Correspondent." 



" Sir, — Circumstances have prevented me from previously answer- 
ing the letter of * Your Correspondent' in The Western Mail of Sep- 
tember l,on the subject of the two inscribed pigs of lead at Chester. 
He may be assured that I had and have not the slightest desire to 
make a claim to the discoveries of others. As a matter of fact, 
I did not know, when I previously wrote to you, whether the cor- 
rect reading of the inscription on the pig No. 2 had or had not been 
noticed by any one before I saw it ; but I accept * Your Correspond- 
ent's' statement that it hdd, 

"I was not present at the earlier part of the meeting in the 
Chester Museum, and when I arrived the pig No. 2 was in such a 
position that the inscription on it could only be read with diflBculty, 
and could not be rubbed or squeezed at all ; so I hastily concluded 
that it might not have been turned over so as to enable a reading, 
rubbing, or squeeze, to be taken previously to my arrival. I may 
add that before I inspected the pigs I was only informed that the 
inscription read Deceangly and not Deceai^gi ; and that my remark 
that the g of this word might equally well, or better, be read a c 
was original ; i.e., it was not suggested to me by any other person, 
even if it was anticipated by any such person, which I am not yet 
aware that it was. 

" * Your Correspondent' further states that there is some evidence 
to show that * Tegeingl was the name of the present county of 
Flint', in reply to my assertion that Tegeingl was only the name for 
the northern portion of that county. I beg to state that I have 
examined all the chief authorities on this question, viz., the three 
old lists of the cantrefs and commotes of Wales, of which one is 
printed in Rhys and Evans' volume containing the BrvU from the 
Eed Book o/Hergest, and very inaccurately in the Myvyrian Archai- 
ology, where it forms the second of the two lists there printed ; 
another in Y Oymmrodor^ vol. ix ; and the third in Leland's Itine^ 
rary^ vol. v. Four more modern lists, one forming No. 1 of the 
Myvyrian^ and wrongly supposed to come from the Red Booh of 
Hergest ; the second in Sir J. Price's Description of Wales ; and the 
third and fourth in two seventeenth century MSS. in my posses- 
sion; the Taxatio Ecclesiastica of 1291, as given in Archdeacon 
Thomas' History <tfthe Diocese of St. Asaph; the Plwyfau Cymru in 
the Myvyrian ; Archdeacon Thomas' above cited work ; and Leland's 
Itinerary. Those authorities are at one on the following points : 

" (1.) They confine the ancient cantref or hundred of Tegeingl, 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — ^RETORT. . 139 

represented in 1291 by the Deanery of Englefield, in 1535 by the 
Deanery of Tegeingl, and since 1844 by those of Holywell and St. 
Asaph, to that part of the present county of Flint which is to the 
north of the ancient parishes of Mold (which included the present 
ones of Mold, Nerquis, and Treiddyn) and Hope. 

" (2.) They place these parishes of Mold (co-extensive with the 
old commote of Ystrad Alun^ or Moldsdale) and Hope (jdiaa Easton, 
Estyn, Llangyngar, or Llangynfarch) in one of the hundreds of 
Powys Fadog ; the rest of which hundred, except the township of 
Bodidris in Yale, is now in Denbighshire. This hundred was sub- 
sequently represented by the Deanery of Yale and Stratalnn, except 
Hope, which was in the Deanery of Maelor, corresponding to the 
hundred next to be mentioned. 

" (3.) They place the detached portion of Flintshire known as 
Maelor Saesneg, or English Maelor, which contains four parishes, 
and projects into Cheshire and Shropshire, in another of the hun- 
dreds of Powys Fadog, which was sometimes known as the hundred 
of Maelor. English Maelor was in 1291, and till 1849, included in 
the Cheshire Deanery of Mai pas. 

" I should add that the parish of Hawarden was not included in 
the ancient Deaneries of Tegeingl or Englefield. Whether it was 
part of the ancient eantref of Tegeingl I cannot say. 

*^ It appears from the above that out of the twenfy-six parishes 
which (omitting Hawarden) constitute modern Flintshire, only 
eighteen were in Tegeingl ; the remainder not being even in the 
same division of Wales, for they were in Powys, Tegeingl in 
Gwynedd. 

'* Thus my * occult information to prove that Tegeingl was not the 
Welsh name of the present county of Flint*, which ' Your Corre- 
spondent' condescendingly insinuates that I may possess, turns out 
to be only occult from those who have not studied the A, B, C, of 
Welsh historical topography. I am quite ready to prove my point 
in detail, if called upon to do so ; meanwhile, the oniis of showing 
Ystrad Alun, English Maelor, and the township of Bodidris in Yale 
(all now in Flintshire), to have been in Tegeingl, rests with * Your 
Correspondent.' If he can overthrow the authorities I have adduced, 
I shall be prepared to admit his claim to speak with authority on 
the historical topography of Wales. 'As at present advised' I am 
unable to make that admission. 

" I am, etc., Egerton Phillimobb." 



" Sib, — ^Tn your issue of the 18th instant appears a letter from 
Mr. Egerton rhillimore, which is an elaboration of a previous letter 
written in reply to a communication of mine. The correspondence 
originated thus. — Telegraphing hurriedly an account of the recent 
visit of the Cambrian Archaeological Association to Chester, I wrote, 
inter alia, that the ancient name for the present county of Flint was 



140 CAMBRIAN ARCHJEdLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

Tegeivgl. I confess that at that precise moment I bad not in 
mind whether or not I was running connter to authorities ancient 
or modern. Mr. Phillimore came down upon me with an emphatic 
*It was not.^ This retort I saw when enjoying a much-needed 
holiday. Having not long previously looked into the Domesday 
geography of modem Flintshire, I thought I might venture' upon 
the rejoinder that there was some evidence for my original state- 
ment. Mr. Phillimore, as *at present advised', replies by telling 
me to go and learn the *A, B, C, of Welsh historical topography.' 
I shall end this letter by recommending him to do likewise. 

'' Mr. Phillimore opens his attack by stating that he has examined 
'all the chief authorities on this question', ho presumably taking 
them to cover the whole alphabet of the study of Welsh historical 
topography. These authorities he parades in an imposing array of 
italicised capitals. They turn out to be such as are well known to 
all students, with the exception of two * seventeenth century MSS.' 
Unless Mr. Phillimore can show that these latter are entitled to 
special consideration as authorities for the ancient divisions of 
Wales, he may just as well quote last week's local paper. Perhaps, 
however, it may be more courteous to consider them as the X, Y, 
Z, of Mr. Phillimore's topographical alphabet. 

"His first authority, in point of date, is of the year 1291, — the 
Taxatio of Pope Nicholas. The lists in the Myvyrian Archaiology 
may be founded upon documents or tradition of an earlier date ; 
but their use as such can only be admitted after an exhaustive ex- 
amination, which Mr. Phillimore has not yet attempted ; but which, 
beyond any other living man, he is the best qualified to perform. 
However, 1291 is the * high water-mark' of Mr. Phillimore in the 
discussion of the question whether Tegeingl was the ancient name 
of the whole or of only a portion of modern Flintshire. I will at 
once readily grant that, inasmuch as modern Flintshire consists not 
only of a tract of land which may be said to lie within a ring 
fence, but of a detached district known as Maelor Saesncg, situated 
about ten miles distant from the nearest point of Flintshire proper, 
I am unable to make any sort of a case on behalf of this outlying 
district. When I first wrote of the present * county of Flint' I had 
altogether forgotten the existence of this addetidwn to the county. 
I had in my mind physical Flintshire rather than political Flint- 
shire. The connection of Maelor Saesneg with the county of Flint 
is purely fictitious, and arose solely out of political considerations. 
So far, therefore, as concerns this outlying district, I at ouce admit 
the accuracy of Mr. Phillimore's contention. But as ninety-nine 
men out of a hundred, when speaking of Flintshire, mean the well- 
defined district so called, having natural boundaries which divide 
it from the neighbouring shires, I shall direct myself to that dis- 
trict alone. I feel sure that Mr. Phillimore will assent to the rea- 
sonableness of this limitation. 

" I assert at the outset that the * A, B, C, of Flintshire topogra- 
phy' is the record of the Domesday Survey (1086), not the Taxatio 



HOLYWELL MEETING.— REPORT. 141 

(1291). Mr. PhilUmore says he has consnlted 'all the chief author- 
ities', but it is extraordinary that he should have forgotten tho/<m« 
et origo of English and Flintshire historical topography. When he 
takes it up he will find that the district under discussion is de- 
scribed as being, in 1086, in the hundred of Atiscross. It * corre- 
sponds to the modem county of Flint', says Archdeacon Thomas, 
but excepting that portion of the county lying eastward of the Dee, 
No mention is made of the cantrev of Tegeingl or of the hundred of 
Englefield. There is mention of Bnglefield, but it is not the hun- 
dred : * Earl Hugh holds Roelcnd of the King. Here T. R. B. was 
Englefield, which was altogether waste.' Then follows an enume- 
ration of the berewicks of the manors of Roelent and Bren, after 
which it is stated, 'All these aforementione«l berewicks of Engle- 
field, in King Edward's time, lay in Roelent, and were waste, as 
they were when Earl Hugh [Lupus of Chester] received them. 
The land of this manor of Roelent and Englefield was never rated 
to the gelt nor hided.' 

" After this comes the survey of the manor of Biscopestreu (Bis- 
tre) and its dependent manors, all in the hundred of Atiscross ; but 
at the period when the later authorities of Mr. Phillimore come into 
play, in the commot of Ystrad Alun and hundred of Y Rhiw, in 
Powys Fadog. Of that hundred Domesday makes no mention. 

"All this shows that between 1086 and 1291 a good many terri- 
torial changes had taken place in the district of modern Flintshire, 
of which Mr. Phillimore, having begun studying * the A, B, C, of 
Welsh topography' somewhere about half way down the alphabet, 
was quite unconscious. For instance, while he is quite accurate in 
stating that his authorities (the earliest of which is 1291) confine 
the ancient cantrev of Tegeingl to the ' north of the ancient parishes 
of Mold and Hope', he will find, if he gets a little higher up in his 
alphabet, that the parish of Kilkeyn (Cilcain), lying to the north- 
west of Mold, was in 1254 in the Deanery of Mold, and I suspect, 
therefore, in the commot of Ystrad Alun, though not necessarily in 
Powys Fadog. By 1291 it has become attached to the Deanery of 
Englefield. It occurs as part of cantrev Tegeingl (though that 
name is omitted) in the list of Plwyfau Cymru ; it is found in the 
Deanery of Tegeingl in 1535, and probably also in the two seven- 
teenth century * authorities'. I infer from Mr. Phillimore's remarks 
that he had no idea that it was ever otherwise. As a matter of fact 
there was no Deanery of Yale and Strat Alun in 1254 ; it was pro- 
bably one of the ecclesiastical changes effected after the conquest of 
1282. It does not follow, however, that there was no commot of 
Ystrad Alun. Changes difficult to make out also occurred in the 
commot of lal (Yale), but I am not concerned at the present moment 
with working them out. 

" Setting aside the district of Maelor Saesneg, it therefore ap- 
pears that out of the twenty-two parishes which (omitting Ha warden, 
as Mr. Phillimore has done) constitute the physical county of Flint, 
seventeen were in 1254, and eighteen in 1291, in Tegeingl; the 



142 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

remainder, according to him, ' not being even in the same division 
of Wales, for they were in Powjs, Tegeingl in Gwynedd.* Let na 
examine the latter statement a little closely. 

" Upon the death of Owain Gwynedd, some time Prince of Wales 
(1137-69), it was found that he was seized of the manor of Ewloe, 
in his demesne, as of fee ; that David, his son, entered on the said 
manor as Prince of Wales, and held the same until Llewelyn, the 
son of lorwerth, overcame and took from him the said Principality, 
together with the manor of Ewloe ; that Llywelyn died seized of 
the said Principality and manor; that after his death King Henry 
III occupied the same and four cantreds in Wales, that is to say, 

those between the Dee and the Conwy until Llywelyn, son of 

GriflSth, Prince of Wales, recovered the said four cantreds and 

again attached them to the Principality of Wales; that the 

said Llywelyn continued seized of the said manor, as Prince of 
Wales, until overcome by Edward I, who seized it not only in right 
of his conquest, but of the conquest by Henry III of the said four 
cantreds, etc. 

" Ewloe is one of the townships of Hawarden parish, and is only 
about six miles from Chester. How the manor came into the pos- 
session of Owain Gwynedd it is impossible to say with absolute 
certainty, but it probably resulted from his marriage with a daugh- 
ter of the lord of Tegeingl. However that may be, the fact of its 
possession by Owain proves that the bounds of Tegeingl and of 
Gwynedd were more extended than at the date when Mr. Philli- 
more*8 authorities come in. 

" The clause in the Statute of Rhuddlan (1284) points to the 

same conclusion : * We will and decree that there be a Sheriff 

of Flynt, under whom shall be the cantred of Englefeld, the land 
of Maelor Seysnek, and the land of Hope, and all the land adjoin- 
ing our Castle and town of Rothelan, as far as the town of Ches- 
ter*, etc. Now it is a striking circumstance that the only cantrev 
here mentioned, lying between Rhuddlan and Chester, is the can- 
trev of Englefield. Maelor Saesneg (that is the outlying district 
ten miles off) and Hope (which lies on the southern border of the 
county, and, according t/O the Plwyfau Cymru, consisted of only a 
single parish) are termed ' lands'. If the commot of Ystrad Alun 
was in another cantrev, — still more if it was in another province, — 
we should expect it to be specifically mentioned, as in the case of 
the commot of Eivionydd in Carnarvonshire, and the commot of 
Edeirnion in Merionethshire. The jurisdiction of the sheriff of the 
county extended up to the town of Chester. 

"The conclusion I draw from the evidence I have produced is 
this, — that in 1086 (and, no doubt, earlier, but how much earlier 
I will not conjecture, because the evidence becomes too uncertain) 
the whole of the district now known as Flintshire (barring Maelor 
Saesneg) was known to the Normans as the hundred of Atiscross. 
It was never so called by the Welsh. Their name for it was 
Tegeingl,— a name connected with that of a tribe who lived in the 



HOLYWELL MEETING. — REPORT. 143 

district in Roman times. Within fche limits of the Norman Atiscross 
was a marshy tract called Englefield. This word has nothing to do 
with Tegeingl ; it may have been a reminiscence of the Northum- 
brian inroad. Ordericus Vi talis (born in 1075) knows nothing of 
Englefield or of Atiscross ; of the Welsh Tegeingl he would natu- 
rally be ignorant. 

"As time went on, and as we approach the date when Mr. Phil- 
limore*s studies in Flintshire topography commence, the name Atis- 
cross is found to have died out, leaving to our own times a debat- 
able spot where the cross of Ati is said to have stood. The recovery 
and increase of Welsh influence, which must have been consider- 
able during the over-lordship of Owain Gwynedd, brought the 
Welsh name of the district into prominence. The old name of 
Atiscross had fallen into disuse. The Normano-English wanted a 
new name. * Tegeingl* was not translatable; but there being within 
the district a place called Englefield, led to the idea that both 
words were connected. The adoption of Englefield by the non- 
Welsh as an equivalent for Tegeingl was the next and most natural 
step. But it would probably be wrong to consider its geographical 
limits as coterminous with those of the Domesday hundred of Atis- 
cross, and equally wrong to treat them as similar to those of the old 
Tegeingl. Causes that led to the disuse of *Atiacross' also limited 
the application of its Welsh equivalent, * Tegeingl*. 

" One important factor amongst many, the existence of which we 
can now but dimly conjecture, was the establishment of a strong 
Norman family at Mold. Mold does not appear in Domesday unless 
under some unidentifiable name, so that its rise to importance was 
a little subsequent to 1086. Once fixed there, its barons soon began 
a re-arrangement of the map of Flintshire. Owain Gwynedd, the 
ablest chief who ever wielded power in North Wales, saw the vital 
importance of the Norman settlement, and the danger to Tegeingl. 
Early in his chiefship (1144) he made a desperate effort to uproot 
it ; bnt the barons of Mold were not to be dispossessed. The prac- 
tical effect was to cut the ancient Tegeingl into two unequal halves, 
the northern of which has alone come within Mr. Phillimore's pur* 
view. 

'* Sut the clear evidence we possess of the extent of the ancient 
hundred of Atiscross j the indisputable fact that Owain Gwynedd, 
at the time of his death, held possessions between Mold and Ches- 
ter; and the equally authentic fact that in 1254 the ecclesiastical 
divisions of Flintshire differed from those existing in 1291, go to 
prove (so far as a chain of circumstances can prove anything of 
which there exists no direct and incontrovertible evidence) that 
Tegeingl was the name of the present county of Flint, minus the 
political addition of English Maelor. If Mr. Phillimore can break 
this chain of reasoning, let him do so. * If*, to adopt his own words, 
' he can overthrow the authorities I have adduced, I shall be pre- 
pared to admit' that he has moved up his alphabetical ladder, and 
has got somewhere nearer the A, B, C, of Welsh topographical 



144 CAMBRIAN ARCUiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

study. I have carried him a little beyond 1291. I trust he will 
endeavour to penetrate the darkness that covers the other side of 
Domesday, 

*' As to the question of priority in the decipherment of the name 
Deceangl upon the pigs of lead in the Chester Museum, I need say 
Tio more than that I can assure Mr. Phillimore that hoth inscriptions 
had been examined before his arrival. Has he yet made sure of his 
reading, Deceancl ? I have since learnt that there used to be a pig 
of lead of the date of Vespasian at Eaton Hall. Has it been re- 
moved to the Chester Museum ? And if not, could it not be ex- 
amined for the name of the tribe whose tribute it formed? It 
might solve all difficulties. 

" Mr. Phillimore will, I trust, not consider me discourteous if I 
observe that I am going to leave him the last word, should he think 
it proper to reply to the present communication. I have said pretty 
well all I could say, leaving unsaid only a few minor points which 
would strengthen the argument I have set forth, at, I am afraid, 
unconscionable length. I am very busy just at present, and am 
unwilling to enter further into what is an arduous though pleasant 
controversy. I have shot my bolt, and having done so do not wish 
to skulk away, under the shadow of anonymity, from a thrashing if 
Mr. Phillimore wishes to make the attempt. I therefore beg to sub- 
scribe myself yours, etc., 

"Edwaed Owen.** 



CAMBRIAN ARGHiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 



HOLYWELL MEETING, AUGUST 1890. 



SUBSCRIBERS TO LOCAL FUND. 

Reoeiptb. £ S, d. 

His Grace the Duke of Westminster, K.G. .500 

J. Scott Bankes, Esq., Soup:hton Hall . . .220 

T. Bate, Esq., Kelsterton, Flint . . .110 

Chas. Brown, Esq., The FoUj, Chester . . .110 

E. Bryan, Esq., lloljwell . . . . 10 6 

W. H. Buddicom, Esq., Penbedw, Mold . . 1 

J. Carman, Esq., Holywell . . . .1 

C. J. Croudace, Esq., Holywell . . . .1 

P. B. Davies-Cooke, Esq., Gwysaney, Mold . . 1 

A. H. Spencer- Cooper, Esq., Springfield, Holywell . 2 

H. A. Cope, Esq., Saithaelwyd, Holywell . . 1 



1 
1 



SUBSCRIBERS TO LOCAL FUND. 



Rev, T. Z. Davies, Whitford Vicarage . 

J. Kei'foot Evans, Esq., Holywell 

Rev. Walter Evans, Halkyn Rectory, Holywell 

Samuel Davies, Esq., Bagillt 

J. Prys Eyton, Esq., Coed Mawr, Holywell 

J. Garner, Esq., Holywell 

LI. L. Henry, Esq., Lyjjen y Wern, Holywell 

Thomas Hughes, Esq., Greenfield, Holywell 

T. Vaughan Hughes, Esq., ditto 

Rev. Griffith Jones, Mostyn Vicarage . 

Miss Ingleby, Panton Hall, Holywell 

Alfred T. Keene, Esq., Mold 

J. Herbert Lewis, Esq., Vaynol, Liverpool 

E. B. Marsden, Esq , Holywell . 

Rev. D. Morgan, Ysceifiog Rectory, Holywell 

J. L. Muspratt, Esq , Rhyl 

P. P. Pennant, Esq., Nantlys, St. Asaph 

W. C. Pickering, Esq., Mostyn . 

H. D. Pochin, Esq., Bodnant Hall, Conway 

J. Lloyd Price, Esq.,Mertyn Hall, Holywell 

S. L. Revis, Esq., Holywell 

R. Sankey, Esq., Holywell 

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W, J. P. Storey, Esq., Mostyn . 

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James Williams, Esq., Castle Hill, Holywell 

Tickets sold (Colonel Batters, £1 U.; Miss < 

7s. 6rf.; Mr. Shrubsole, 7s, Gd.) 
Profit on carriages 



145 



£ s. d. 





1 1 




1 1 


[ '. 


110 




1 1 




1 1 




1 I 




1 1 




1 1 




10 6 




1 1 




1 1 




1 1 




1 1 




1 1 




I 1 




1 1 




1 1 




10 6 




1 1 




2 2 




.110 




.110 




.110 




.110 




110 




1 1 


hapman 






! 1 16 




.18 




£47 11 6 



Expenditure. 



Davies and Co., printing, etc., as per bill 
Local Secretary's disbursements 
Hall-keeper .... 
Further postage-stamps, etc. 
I ha " ■ 



. 2 11 6 
.316 
. 10 
..029 
Balance Landed to the Cambrian Archssological Associ- 
ation 41 6 10 



£47 n 6 



Examined and found correct. 



September 2nd 1890. 



R. 0. Williams, Chairman of Local 
CommitUe, 



5tu seh., vol. VIII. 



10 



146 



laebtetDfii anH Botim of Moks. 



Pabell Dofydd, sef Eglurhad ar Anianyddiaeth Grefyddol yr Hen 
Dderwyddon Cymreig. Gan Owain Morgan (Morien). Caer- 
dydd : argraffwyd gan Daniel Owen a*i Gwmrni (Cyfyngedig). 

[The Tabernacle of God (as Regnlator), or an Explanation of the 
Religious Philosophy of the old Welsh Dmids. By Owen Mor- 
gan (Morien). Cardiff: printed by Daniel Owen and Co. 
Limited.] 

The late Mr. Thomas Stephens of Merthyr, as is very well known, 
was engaged, a little before his death, in collecting materials for an 
essay on Welsh bardism. To pick ont of the mass of myth, inven- 
tion, specnlation, cnstom, which goes by the name of "Bardism", 
the genuine traditions, the real recollections, which it contains, is a 
work that needs urgently to be done. No one was more fitted than 
Mr. Stephens to undertake such a work; but he died before he 
could finish or even fairly begin it. 

The writer of Pabell Dofydd deals not merely with bardism, but 
with Druidism and ancient Welsh mythology and religion. But 
though he affects, in some measure, to discuss these difficult sub- 
jects as a student, he really writes as the enthusiastic expounder of 
a system into which he has been initiated. His enthusiasm interests 
us, and his style has the merit of being clear and easy. But when 
we ask whether "Morien" shows himself, in Pabell Dofydd, fitted 
for the work he has undertaken, we are bound to answer that he 
has taken no pains to make himself acquainted with what has been 
brought to light in recent years by competent scholars in the field 
of Welsh antiquities, and that his book is in general wholly un- 
trustworthy. 

In names like cyllell (knife) and cwlltr (ploughshare), which come 
undoubtedly from the Latin cultellus and culter, but which " Morien" 
derives from the Welsh callestr (flint), our author finds evidence that 
the " Cymry speak now the same language their ancestors did 
before the discoveiy of iron"; so that we are thus carried back, he 
says, " thousands of ages into the mist of the world's morning." 
He has no doubt that cromlechau were Druidical altars (" probably 
the first alters that God saw raised upon the earth"), although 
many of them are still covered with mounds of earth or of stones, 
and all were probably originally covered, or were intended to 
be. The three upright stones which sustain the horizontal stone 
of the cromlech were meant to stand, he says, for the three strokes 
in the mystic sign /|\ representing the Divine Word. What 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 147 

then, is to be said of the many cromlechau in which the sustaining 
stones number more than three ? The Goelbren y Beirdd^ or bardio 
alphabet, was proved by Mr. Thomas Stephens to have been an in- 
vention of the fifteenth century; but ** Morien" evidently takes it 
to have been in use among the Cymry in that Age of Stone which 
he makes so remote. 

Nearly all that other nations of antiquity knew, they learnt, 
according to ''Morien**, from the ancient Britons ; but they gene- 
rally corrupted that which they so received. Tau is but a corrup- 
tion of the Welsh word tad (father). We get the same name cor- 
rupted in the Egyptian Thoth, Similarly, Odin and Woden are, 
** Morien" says, undoubtedly corruptions of the Welsh Gvoyddon ; 
and he quotes ** the learned Higgins", who says that Pythagords is 
a Welsh name, and signifies to explain the system of the universe t 
Lucan mentions a Gaulish divinity whom he calls '* Hesus". In 
" Hesus", Professor Rhys rightly recognises " Esus", a Celtic god, 
of whom he gives us a most interesting account. ''Morien", 
on the other hand, identifies him with Hu Gadarn, a well known 
character in Welsh mythology, and expUins htian (an old name 
applied to the sun) as annedd Hu (Hu*s dwelling), with how little 
probability, let those who know anything of Welsh consider. Simi- 
larly he fatuously explains " Teusates", the name of the war-god of 
the Gauls, as "Duw yn dad" (God as father). 

" Morien" would have avoided many pitfalls into which he has 
fallen if he had consulted Professor Rhys* Uibbert Lectures^ in which 
the scientific treatment of the rich treasures of Welsh mythology 
has for the first time been attempted. Our author ignores the state- 
ments of GsBsar and Tacitus, who may be taken to have known 
something about the Druids, and who have told us that they offered 
up human sacrifices, and practised cruel rites, in groves. Our 
author says, on the contrary, that " Druidism, like Christianity, 
taught peace and brotherly love"; and that " as to its teaching and 
influence for good, it was so glorious that there is nothing like it 
except the Gospel itself." The Druids, according to "Morien", 
inculcated a singularly pure religion and a highly developed and 
poetical system of philosophy. The Greeks borrowed this religion 
and philosophy from the Cymry ; but their bards, " by their childish 
tales hid under bardic flowers the doctrinal notions concerning the 
Divine attributes which they had received from the learned Hyper- 
boreans (Britons), and made of those several attributes gods and 
goddesses." Then, in course of time, they ascribed human weak- 
nesses to them, so that the Greek gods and goddesses became the 
subjects of jest and scorn to some of the bards themselves. The 
Druids, on the other hand, retained the purity and simplicity of 
their religion, and " the Celiaid (worshippers of the god Celi) flowed 
from every part of the world to the Welsh festivals, as the Hebrews 
did to their own feasts at Jerusalem. " Ts it not possible", Morien 
asks, " that God gave to the stock of Japheth (namely the Cymry) 
shadows more literal of the great truths of the Gospel than were 

10 « 



148 REVIEWS AKD NOTICES OF BOOKS. 

given even to the Jew3?" In fact, the priesthood of Christianity, 
he maintains, is tlie same ** as the ancient priesthood of the Gorsedd 
of the Bards of the Isle of Britain ; and this was the reason why 
oar ancestors adopted Christianity so readily and so early ; soon 
after, if not, indeed, in the apostolical ao^e." 

Elsewhere " Morien" has called attention to the fact ( which is not 
a fact at all) that the whole Wolsh nation was Druidical one day 
and Christian the next, and explains this by his notion that Draid- 
isin and Christianity were practically identical. He goes on to say 
that *' the whole ceremonial system of the Charch of Rome was 
founded on the old lines of Draidism.'* 

We have given, we believe, a fair summary of the statements 
made by the author of Pahell Dofyddy and these statements are sup- 
ported by arguments which it will be doing him no injustice to 
leave out of account. Welsh mythology has a real claim upon the 
attention of antiquaries, but statements and arguments such as we 
have been considering only tend to bring ifc into ridicule ; and on 
the whole it must be said that it is as well for *' Morien's" reputa- 
tion that he decided to write in Welsh rather than in English. 

Alfred Neobard Palmer. 



"Gerald the Welshman." By Henry Owen, B.C.L. London: 
Whiting and Co. 1880. Demy Bvo. Pp. 186. Price (js. 

It is only right that the story of so eminent a Pembrokeshire 
man as Giraldus Cambrensis should be told by a native of his own 
county. A knowleilge of the places and people amongst which 
much of Gerald's life was spent enables Mr. Owen to give the neces- 
sary amount of local colour to his narrative. Besides this, he is in 
complete sympathy with the character of I he man he is describing, 
thongh he hesitates not to expose his weaknesses when the occasion 
demands it, chiefly by the aid of what the late Artemns Ward used 
to call " perlite sarcasm". 

It is said that life is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to 
those who think. Mr. Owen's method in dealing with the writings 
of Gimldus is to look npon their humorous side, and to extract as 
much amusement as instruction from their perusal. Take the fol- 
lowing instance from the first chapter of the book : '* Ho (Giraldus) 
quotes with prodigality from Holy Writ, from the Fathers of the 
Church, from the whole range of Latin literature, and not the least, 

from his favourite author, Giraldus Cambrensis He tells us, 

witli his accustomed modesty, that when his tutors at Paris wished 
to point out a really model scholar, they mentioned Gerald the 
Welshman.'' 

Mr. Owen's book has been elaborated from a Lecture delivered 
by him before the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, the object 
of which was to give a general idea of the works of Giraldus to 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 149 

those who have either no time or no inclinaHon to go throuj^h the 
seven . ponderous volumes of mediaeval Latin of the Rolls Edition. 
The first four chapters are devoted to an account of the life of 
Gij-aldus, who is brilliantly sketched in a few bold strokes, and they 
form a short but snflBcient introduction to the more important dis- 
cussion of his writings in the remaining fourteen chapters. 

The professed intention of the work being to set forth, in a popu- 
lar manner, the principal events of Giraldus' career and his literary 
achievements, we are precluded from estimating it according to 
that high standard of criticism we should have considered ourselves 
bound to adopt had Mr. Owen essayed an exhaustive atialysis of 
Giraldus' writings, and his true place in the ranks of his contempo- 
raries. Nothing of the sort has been attempted, though there is 
abundant pi-oof of Mr. Owen's competence for the task. Why 
should he not undertake it r* Giraldus was a man terribly in earnest, 
and to treat of him and his work in the light and airy manner of 
Mr. Owen appears to us to present but one side, and that not the 
strongest, of his complex character. Not^ indeed, that Mr. Owen 
has failed to grasp the significance of Giraldus' struggle for the 
supremacy of St. David's, or of his earnest efforts for the increase 
of godly living and learning amongst the Welsh clergy ; but the 
whole book is written in so sparkling a style that it is diflBcult to 
imagine its author has taken his subject seriously. 

Of the writings of Giraldus, the two works that are of the greatest 
interest for Welshmen are the Ttineranj through Wales, and the 
Description of Wales, Mr. Owen sketches most pleasantly the circuit 
of Archbishop Baldwin in 1201, though he tells us nothing fresh 
of the celebrated cylch. What would we not give for Giraldus' map 
of Wales, which may have been one of the results of this journey ? 
We may safely conclude it would be found of considerably more 
value than the map Mr. Owen has furnished to illustrate the Itine- 
rary, and which is the weakest feature of his book. Wherever we 
are able to check the statements of Giraldus by evidence from other 
sources, we invariably find him accurate. Take, for instance, his 
remark upon Robert de Belesme's stud-farm in Powys. It is pro- 
bably the same breed of horses that is referred to in a charter of 
Gwenwynwyn of Powys to the monks of Ystrad Marchell, where 
the reddendum is two colts ** of their superior breed", or 40s., the 
value thereof. 

Notwithstanding Giraldus* impartiality he was a severe critic of 
the Welsh. He had no sympathy with their unsettled mode of 
existence. Many of the habits and manners of tribal life, though 
fast losing their hold, were still tenaciously adhered to, and Giraldus 
had no patience with customs the nature of which he did not com- 
prehend. Even his struggle for St. David's was more the result of 
personal ambition than of a desire to restore the dignity of the 
British Church. He was as much a Romanist as Archbishop Bald- 
win or Hubert, and the argument of the pallium was adduced to 
prove the pre-eminence of the see rather than its independence. It 



150 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 

is an interesting though somewhat inexph'cable circumstance that 
in the extraordinary claim for the restoration of the dignity and in- 
dependence of St. David's, made by the last of the Welsh chief- 
tains, Owain Glyndwr, in a letter addressed to the King of Prance 
(which has been recently discovered in the Record Office), there itf 
no mention of Giraldus or of his great fight for the same cause. 
His list of the Bishops of the see was furbished ap; but the reasons 
with which he had fondly hoped to conciliate the pliant Innocent 
were left unused, and the name of their author was omitted as 
though it were a thing of evil omen. 

There was far more of the Norman than of the Welshman about 
the great Archdeacon ; but granting its truth, it is probably equally 
true that Gii*aldus was the man he was because of the union of the 
characteristic qualities of both nationalities in his person. For this 
reason we should have preferred the title of " Gerald of Wales"; 
but we are patriotic enough, and inconsistent enough, to be proud 
of Giraldus, and thankful to Mr. Owen for the admirable manner in 
which he has set forth the great Normano- Welshman's claims to 
the admiration of bis countrymen. 



The Lake-Dwellings OP Europe. By Robert MnNR0,M.D. London: 
Cassell and Co., 1890. Pp. 600 and 199. Illnstrations. 8vo. 

Since the establishment of the Bhind Lectureship in ArchsBology, 
in connection with the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, no more 
interesting series has been delivered than the Lectures for 1888, now 
published under the above title. Dr. Munro's investigations of the 
lake-dwellings of Scotland are well known ; but he tells us, with 
characteristic modesty, in his preface, that at the time he accepted 
the Lectureship he had no special knowledge of lake-dwellings 
beyond Scotland. If this be the case, it is one of the clearest proofs 
that the best way to master any subject is to write a book about it ; 
for no one can now deny to Dr. Munro the claim to be the most emi- 
nent specialist, not only on the lake-dwellings of his native country, 
but on those of the Continent generally. Being fortunately possessed 
of the necessary means and leisure (two very important factors by 
the bye) he was able to devote the two years previous to the de- 
livery of the Lectures exclusively to visiting all the principal public 
and private museams in Europe, and studying the literature of the 
subject. What good use he made of his time will be apparent to 
every one who considers the vast number of objects that have been 
examined in the various collections, or who will take the trouble to 
look tlirough the long bibliography at the end of the volume. 

With the exception of Dr. Ferdinand Keller's work on the Swiss 
lake-dwellings, translated into English by Mr. Lee in 1866, almost 
the entire literature of the subject lies buried in the Transactions of 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OP BOOKS. 151 

learned societies. Dr. Mnnro has now brought all this hidden in- 
formation to the light of day, and enables ns for the first time to 
take a general sunrej of the lake-dwellings of Earope, and to com- 
pare them with those of our own country. 

The greater part of the materials for the Lectares was collected 
by the author, note-book in hand, either on the sites of the lake- 
dwellings or in the musenms to which the antiquities found in 
them had been removed, and much of the information thus brought 
together is absolutely new to English archsBologists. 

The illustrations leave little to be desired, each plate containing 
a group of several objects from the same locality, drawn to scale 
from the originals, and reproduced by one of the new photographic 
processes. The softness of effect obtained in this way is decidedly 
preferable to that of wood-engraving. The drawings were made by 
Mrs. Munro, who must be congratulated on the excellence of her 
work. 

The sciences of geology and archaaology would be impossible were 
it not for certain fortunate circumstances, no doubt pre-ordained to 
take place by the Creator in order that man should not remain in 
complete ignorance of the history of the world and its inhabitants 
in past ages. These circumstances are, however, of a more varied 
nature in the case of the geologist than in that of the archasologist. 
The former derives most of his information from fossil remains of 
extinct creatures he finds embedded in stratified rocks deposited by 
the agency of water ; but the latter seeks his materials both in 
natural deposits like the drift-gravels, and in artificial accumula- 
tions of earth, stone, or rubbish, due to the agency of man. If the 
antiquities usually found in museums were to be classified accord- 
ing to the circumstances to which they owe their preservation, it 
would be seen how varied these causes are. Particular religious 
beliefs have led to the burial of grave-goods with the dead, thus 
furnishing a rich harvest for the collector. Hoards of valuable 
objects have been purposely hidden in the earth in times of insecu- 
rity. Many things have been lost accidentally by the owner, and 
got trodden into the ground, or embedded in the mud of a river ; 
others have been thrown away as useless into the refuse-heap of the 
dwelling-house, the mine, the smelting- place, or the manufactory ; 
and a very large proportion have been covered over by the debris of 
structures that have fallen into decay, or that have been destroyed 
in warfare. In times past the rediscovery of objects thus thrown 
aside, lost, or buried, has generally been due to agricultural or 
building operations, and less frequently to the labours of the 
treasure-seeker. 

Since archaeology has become a science, the exploration of ancient 
sites has been carried out systematically ; not so much in order to 
acquire valuable antiquities as to gain a knowledge of the past his- 
tory of mankind. No ancient sites have been so thoroughly ex- 
amined, or have yielded such important results, as the lake-dwellings 
of Elurope. 



152 . REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 

In his first; Lecture Dr. Manro points ont that although remains 
of lake- dwellings were noticed in Switzerland as early as the begin- 
ning of the present century, the discovery attracted no special atten- 
tion because the time was not then ripe for a due appreciation of its 
meaning, for the science of archaeology did not exist. Since then 
many causes led to an entire revolution in the views held by most 
people as to the antiquity of man on this earth, amongst which 
may be mentioned the influence of Sir Cliarles Lyell's theories on 
geology ; the fact established by the Scandinavian Savants^ that the 
ancient inhabitants of Denmark had passed successively through 
ages of stone, bronze, and iron ; the discovery of palsBolithic imple- 
ments in the river-drift, and bone caves associated with the remains 
of extinct mammalia ; and lastly, the publication of Darwin's Origin 
of Species. 

ArcheBology had so far advanced by the year 1854, that when 
next a lake- settlement of any extent was laid bare, owing to the 
lowness of the level of the. water in the winter of that year,^ Dr. 
Keller was able to explain the real significance of the whole thing. 
The lacustrine settlement referred to was situated near the village 
of Ober-Meilen, on the east shore of the Lake Ziirich. Its discovery 
was reported to the Antiquarian Association of ZUrich by M. -^ppli, 
and was thus brought under the notice of Dr. Keller, who ri»rhtly 
deduced from the facts placed before him that the piles found in 
the bed of the lake " had formerly supported a wooden platform, that 
on this platform huts had been erected, and that after these had 
been inhabited for a long period, the whole structure had been 
destroyed by fire." Dr. Manro goes on to say that " a knowledge 
of these discoveries at Ober-Meilen, and of Dr. Keller's opinion in 
regard to them, soon spread among the surrounding inhabitants, 
the immediate result of which was a sudden crop of lacustrine ex- 
plorers who carried on a vigorous search for similar remains in this 
and the adjacent lakes." 

Dr. Munro's first Lecture is taken up with detailed accounts of 
all the lake-dwellings of Western Switzerland and Fiance; the 
second with those of Eastern Switzerland, the Danubian Valley, and 
Carniola ; the third with those of Italy ; the fourth with those of the 
Lower Rhine district and North Germany ; and the fifth with those 
of Great Britain and Ireland. In the sixth and concluding Lecture 
the whole subject is reviewed under the title of " The Lake- 
Dwellers of Europe : their Culture and Civilisation." The arrange- 
ment of the subject is thus chiefly on a geographical basis, although 
the author has found it necessary to make exceptions here and 
til era 

In criticising the plan adopted, it must be borne in mind that 
it was necessary to group the materials under six divisions, corie- 
sponding to the number of Lectures ; and it must be conceded that 

1 The water in the lakes is lowest in winter, when the supply from the 
mountains is frozen in the form of ice and snow. 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 153 

Dr. Mnnro has done this as well as the limiting conditions would 
allow. At any rate the materials are never jumbled together, as is 
unfortunately often the case in works of a similar kind ; and the 
whole arrangement is so clear that the reader will have no difficulty 
in finding anything he happens to want, even without the aid of the 
very full index at the end of the volume. 

After the supreme interest attaching to the first discovery of 
lake-dwellings in Switzerland, perhaps no event which followed 
was more important, as regards its archseglogical results, than 
what is known as the " Correction des Eaux du Jura", described 
in the first Lecture. Dr. Munro says " It is often the case that 
antiquarian remains owe their discovery to the mere accident of 
agricultural operations, peat-cutting, drainage, etc. Such opera- 
tions are, however, usually confined to small lakes and bogs. The 
idea of partially lowering the surface of the extensive sheets of 
water in the Jura Valley, comprising the Lakes of Bienne, Neu- 
chdtel, and Morat, was too chimerical to be ever entertained in the 
interests of archsBology. But what was inconceivable, and utterly 
beyond hope, from this point of view, became, in the interests of 
agriculture, an accomplished fact." The water from the Lake of 
Morat flowed through the Broye into the Lake of Neuch^tel, thence 
through the Thielle into the Lake of Bienne, and lastly through 
the Zihl (or Lower Thielle) into the river Aar. The silting up of 
the channels connecting these three Lakes, and of the outflow into 
the Aar, rendered the surrounding lands continually liable to floods. 
" To remedy these defects the Swiss Government entered on the 
gigantic project of rectifying and deepening the entire water from 
the junction of the Lower Thielle with the Aar, to the mouth of 
the Broye in Lake Morat." The scheme also included the cutting 
of a new channel for the Aar, by moans of which it would be entirely 
diverted from its old course, and made to debouch into Lake Bienne 
by a straight and much shorter route- 

** The hydrographical result of these works (which were begun in 
1868, and only completed a few years ago) was to lower the surface 
of the Lakes to the extent of 6 or 8 ft. In the winter of 1871-2 
the operations began to tell on Lake Bienne; but it was some 
yeai-s later before the others became sensibly affected. When, how- 
ever, the works were completed, the permanent effect on these 
Lakes, especially on Lake Neuchatel, was very marked, — harbours, 
jetties, and extensive tracts of shore-land, being left high and dry 
by the subsiding waters. This was the harvest- time of archeeology. 
Many of the lacustrine abodes became dry land, and were visited 
by crowds of eager searchers ; even fishermen forsook their normal 
avocations, finding it more profitable to fish for prehistoric relics.... 
Thus the * Correction des Eaux du Jura', as the undertaking was 
called, gi-eatly facilitated the investigations of the Swiss lake- 
dwellings, and contributed enormously to the elucidation of the cul- 
ture and civilisation of their inhabitants." 

Dr. Munro not only describes very minutely all the circumstances 



154 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OP BOOKS. 

attending the exploration of the lake-dwellings in different parts of 
Switzerland, bnt he also gives illustrations of a vast number of 
objects obtained from them, ranging from the neolithic age to the 
Roman period. To the English antiquary, accustomed to found 
his conclusions on a few stray implements derived from burial- 
mounds, or valuables lost or hidden by their owners in times 
gone by, it must be quite a revelation to see for the 6rst time such 
a complete series of every conceivable utensil required for domestic 
purposes, artificers' tools of all kinds, weapons of so many forms, 
and personal ornaments exhibiting such a great variety of design. 

Amongst the most instructive objects of the neolithic age are the 
polished stone axes and flint tools still fixed in their original 
handles. Such things have been so rarely found in a complete state 
in this country, that it has only been possible to conjecture the 
manner in which stone axes were hafted by comparing them with 
the specimens ih use amongst savage tribes. Until a flint imple- 
ment is seen fixed in a wooden or bone handle, it is difficult to 
understand how it could really be employed practically as a cutting 
tool. All doubt as to the methods of hafting flints is, however, set 
at rest by the discoveries in the Swiss lake-dwellings. 

A foil discussion of the objects from the lake-dwellings would 
cover almost the whole field of archaeology, so that it will only be 
possible here to refer to one or two of special interest. Amongst 
these attention is specially directed to a wooden machine, supposed 
to be a beaver-trap, discovered at Laibach in Austria (illustrated on 
p. 179). A similar machine was found at Nant y Vast, in the 
parish of Caio, in Cardiganshire, and is now preserved at St. 
David's College, Lampeter. It has been described by the Rev. 
E. L. Barnwell in the Archcenlogla Cambrensis (4th Series, vol. x, 
p. 188). Manj suggestions have been made as to the use of such 
machines ; amongst others, that they were cheese-presses, or pumps, 
or for making peats, or musical instruments, or fish-traps. The 
Rev. B. L. Barnwell does not seem to have known of any foreign 
specimens, and only mentions one besides the Welsh example, 
which was found in the county of Derry, in Ireland. Dr. Muiiro 
gives instances of others from North Germany and Italy. The 
machines are all of the same pattern, consisting of a solid block of 
wood, from 2 ft. 6 ins. to 3 ft. 6 ins. long, by 6 to 12 ins. wide by 
3 to 4 ins. deep, having a rectangular hole cut right through the 
centre, and fitted with either ono or two valves turning on a hinge, 
and opening only in one direction. The block is hollowed out on 
the side towards which the doors open. 

Associated with the machine from Italy were several small pieces 
of artificially shaped wood, apparently the debris of some kind of 
mechanism attached to it. The hollow on one side is evidently 
made to receive some of the other working parts, which may have 
been of the nature of nprings, to keep the valves closed. Dr. 
Munro says, "At no time within historical times were such machines 
known to be in use, so that their function still remains conjectural, 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 155 

unless the circa rosfcantial evidence (t.d., the finding of a great nnm- 
ber of bones of the beaver amongst the food-refuse of this lake- 
dwelling) derived from the Pfahlban at Laibach decides them to be 
^^Biberfdlle'*; and a little farther on he remarks that, "To find so 
many of these machines, of nnknown nse, and so remarkably simi- 
lar in stractare, in snch widely separate districts as Ireland, North 
Germany, Styna, and Italy, must be a matter of interest to arches* 
ologists ; and no one can say that the correct explanation of their 
nse is to be found in any of the suggestions hitherto offered. I may 
mention one element which may help in the solution of the problem, 
viz., that all the examples from Italy, Laibach, and Ireland, were 

found in bogs that were formerly lakes If these machines are 

really traps, they could only be used in water where the animal 
could insert its head from below ; and among amphibious animals, 
the otter and the heaver are the only ones to which all the condi- 
tions involved in the trap- theory could apply."* 

Interesting as it would be to pursue this subject further, we 
mast pass on to other matters. The wooden wheels from the Tor- 
biera di Mercurago (illustrated on pp. 208 and 209) are extremely 
instructive as showing how the modern, many-spoked wheel was 
gradually evolved from a solid disc of wood. The wheels of carts 
now in use in India, of which models may be seen in the Indian 
Museum at South Kensington, are in the same early stage of deve- 
lopment as those found in the lake-dwellings. 

In describing the Terremare of the Po Valley, and the Terpen of 
Holland, Dr. Munro opens up new fields of archsBology which are 
comparatively unknown at present in this country. The name 
"Terramara" is one applied in scientific circles to an earthy sub- 
stance possessing valuable qualities as a manure, which is derived 
from certain artiflcial mounds in the provinces of Parma, Reggio, 
and Modena. Whilst excavating these mounds for agricultural pur- 
poses, various antiquities were noticed by the workmen, leading to 
the belief, in the first instance, that the deposits were sepulchral. 
The investigations, however, carried out by Strobel and Pigorini in 
the neighbourhood of Parma, in 1861-64, conclusively showed that 
** the terremare must be considered as the remains of the habita- 
tions of the living, and not, as hitherto supposed, the resting-places 
of the dead." 

The existence of pile-structures, and the deposition of the earth 
in stratified layers, still required to be explained, and to Chierici 
belongs the credit of solving the problem of the true nature of the 
terramare mounds in 1871. He maintained that they were the 
sites of villages, not on dry land, bat lake- dwellings occupying a 
rectangular area surrounded by an earthen dyke, forming an arti- 
ficial basin supplied with water from a neighbouring stream. The 
special investigations carried out at Castione under the superiu- 

^ Dr. Munro has, since the publication of his book, read a paper on this 
subject before the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 



156 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 

tendence of Pigorini in 1871, farther elucidated the subject by 
showing the whole method of construction of the dykes, platforms, 
etc., and making it clear that the height of the mounds could be 
explained by the theory that when the space below the huts was 
filled up with refuse of food, etc., thrown down below, a second 
structure was erected on the site of the older one. The objects 
from the terramare belong chiefly to the late stone and bronze 
ages. Amongst the antiquities deserving special mention are bronze 
razors similar to those found in Great Britain, bone combs with a 
handle like that of a bell at the top, and pottery vessels elegantly 
ornamented with crescent-shaped projections. 

The Tcrp mounds of Holland, like the terramare, first became 
known on account of the value of the earth contained in them as a 
fertilising agent They afterwards proved to be the remains of 
marine pile-dwellings, for an account of which the reader must con- 
sult Dr. Munro's valuable work. 

To those interested in the origin of Celtic art in Great Britain no 
part of Dr. Munro's book is more suggestive than the fourth Lec- 
ture on the " Special Character of the Remains found at La Teue", 
more especially since Mr. Arthur Evans* paper on a " Late Celtic 
Cemetery at Aylesford" has appeared in the Archceologia. La Tene 
is situated at the north end of Lake Neuchatel. The objects found 
there are of the iron age, and differ entirely from those obtained 
from the other lake-dwellings of Switzerland. The ornamental 
features occurring on the bronze sword-sheaths are so peculiar and 
so unmistakable that " La Tene" has become a generic term to 
describe objects exhibiting a similar style of decoration found else- 
where on the Continent. Weapons, etc., of the " La T^ne" type 
have been discovered in France and North Italy ; but Dr. Munix) 
believes that the central home of this kind of art was the middle 
and upper Rhine districts, Baden, Bavaria, and eastwards to Bohe- 
mia and Laibach. The name "Late Celtic'* has been given by 
Mr. A. W. Franks to antiquities of the " La T^ne" type from dif- 
ferent parts of Great Britain, of which the largest collection is to 
be seen in the British Museum. The predominance of the diver- 
gent spiral is one of the chief characteristics of " Late Celtic" orna- 
ment ; and a study of the spiral patterns in early Irish illuminated 
MSS. will at once convince any one that Celtic art of the Christian 
period was merely a modification of the pagan Celtic art which pre- 
ceded it. Mr. Franks has conclusively demonstrated, in his HoroB 
Foralesj that the " Late Celtic** period in Britain was about 200 to 
100 B.C. ; and the age of the Gaulish coins associated with some of 
the finds abroad tends to show that the ** La Tdne*' civilisation 
belongs to the same period and race. The nature of the '^ Late 
Celtic** and ** La Tene*' objects, which consist principally of wea- 
pons, horae-trappings, and chariots, show that the people who used 
them were essentially a warlike, and in all probability a conquering 
race. 

The whole question of the introduction of " La Tene** civilisation 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 157 

into Europe is one in which the most important issues are involved. 
Dr. Munro's views on a subject aboat which he is so competent to 
give an opinion must receive the careful consideration of all English 
archsdologists. He holds that the transition from the neolithic age 
to the bronze age was a gradual and a peaceful one, the same people 
having occupied the Swiss lake-dwellings throughout both periods ; 
but with regard to the transition from the bronze to the iron age it 
was different. " In short, the evolutionary stage between the melt- 
ing of bronze and the forging of iron is here represented by a hiatus 
between the styles of art of the two periods more striking than that 
which distinguishes the neolithic from the palaeolithic industrial 
remains. So far as I have looked into these matters I can only con- 
clude that with the introduction of iron into general use in Switz- 
erland, we have a new people who conquered and subjugated the 
hike-dwellers, and gave the death-blow to their system of lake- 
villages. Henceforth these villages fell into decay, and in the gene- 
ral destruction which ensued these * La Teue' implements might 
have been introduced by the invaders," 

Dr. Munro's theories are opposed to those of Dr. Keller, viz., that 
the lake-dwellers of the stone and bronze ages were Celts. Dr. 
Mnnro hazards the opinion that the original founders of the lake- 
dwellings of Central Europe ** were part of the first neolithic immi- 
grants who entered the country by the regions surrounding the 
Black Sea and the shore of the Mediterranean^ and spread west- 
wards along the Danube and its tributaries till they reached the 
great central lakes." Also he says that** the few indications derived 
from the data supplied by lake-dwelling research suggests the idea 
that the evolution of the Celts in Europe coincides with the substi- 
tution of iron for bronze in the manufacture of the more important 
cutting implements and weapons." 

It is now with the utmost regret that we are obliged to take leave 
of Dr. Munro's excellent work, still leaving untouched a host of 
interesting subjects. It is a treatise which throws more light on 
the civilisation and culture of the prehistoric inhabitants of Europe 
than any other which has yet been published, and it must for a long 
time remain the standard book of reference on lake-dwellings in 
the English language. The Scotch school of scientific archaeology, 
which owes its origin to such men as Sir Arthur Mitchell and Dr. 
Joseph Anderson, has produced no work more likely to do credit 
to its founders, or to the author, than Dr. Munro's Lake'DweUivfjs 
of Europe. 



158 



Stone Saucer from Kempston. — Prehistoric stone vessels like tbe 
one found recently at Penmaenmawr (see Arch, Camh,, Ser. V, vol. 
viii, p. 36) are of extreme rarity. It may, therefore, be interesting 
to compare the Penmaenmawr specimen with one in my own collec- 
tion. It is a nodule of clay ironstone from Kempston, Bedford, 
which has apparently been pecked into a shallow, saucer-shape on 
one side ; and a small central spot has been marked on the other, 
as shown (actual size) in the accompanying illustration. The nodule. 




Stone Saacer from Kempston, Bedfordshire. 

although natural, has a very artificial appearance, and was first 
taken for a fossil bone from the paddle of a saurian. It was found 
in a gravel-pit at Kempston with palaDolithic implements; but neo- 
lithic, Saxon, and other antiquities occur in the soil above the 
graveL 

WORTHINGTON G. SmITH. 



Transcripts in the Public Recced Office. — By the courtesy of 
the Deputy- Keeper I have recently been able to glance through 
some of the volumes of transcripts from foreign records, which 
were collected at great expense, some sixty years ago, as materials 
for a new edition of the Foedera. The new Rymer stopped dead in 
1830, and with the exception of an incomplete instalment published 



ARCH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 159 

in 1869, nothing has been heard of it since. Meantime the mate- 
rials are lying in bonnd volames in the Pablic Record OflBce, prac- 
tically inaccessible to all except those who can find the time to be 
in Fetter Lane between the honrs of ten and four. Any one who 
would get a taste of their qoality may see it in the abstracts pub- 
lished in the Reports on Fcedera (A-E), and an idea of their num- 
ber and variety may be had by consulting vol. iii of Hardy's SyUa- 
hu8y pp. xxxiv-liii. They represent gleanings from the archives and 
libraries of France, Germany, Flanders, Spain, Portugal, Switzer- 
land, Italy ; everywhere, in fact, in any part of Europe where docu- 
ments could be found bearing upon the history of England. In 
many cases there are detailed reports appended by those who were 
entrusted with the search, all of which were intended for publi- 
cation. 

As an instance of the importance of the collection let me cite the 
following. It is known that Owen Glendower, in his negotiations 
with the King of France, was induced to transfer the Welsh obedi- 
ence from the Roman to the Avignon Pope ; but no exact proofs 
have been yet forthcoming, so far as I know. I have been able to 
find in vol. cxxxv a copy of a despatch sent by Owen to Charles VI, 
in which the details of the plan are fully set out. St. David's is to 
be the metropolitan cathedral for Wales, no one is to hold a Welsh 
living unless he can speak Welsh, all appropriations of Welsh 
churches for the support of colleges and monasteries in England 
are to be annulled, and Wales is to have two universities of its own, 
one in the north, and the other in the south, though they cannot 
agree as to where to place them. Here are the very questions that 
are agitated amongst Welshmen to-day ; and the existence of the 
despatch would never be guessed by the printed reference to the 
volume as containing " treaties and other documents". 

In any other country these transcripts would have been printed 
long ago, either by the Government, or by an Ecole des Chartes, or 
other agency ; and it is to be hoped that an efibrt will be made to 
get them piinted and circulated for the benefit of outsiders, for 
whom frequent visits to London are out of the question. 

By the way, now that the Public Record Office is supplied with 
the electric light, why should not the hours of search be extended 
beyond four o'clock in the afternoon ? 

AthenoRumy Oct. 25, 1890. J. Hamilton Wylie. 



160 



CAMBRIAN' ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 



1890. 
1 Jan.— 



STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR 1890. 
Receipts. 



-Balance in hand 
Illustration Fund : 
R. H. Wood 
R. W. Banks 



Subscriptions in arrear 
Subscriptions for 1890 
Holywell Local Fund , 
Index . 



1891, 1 Jan.— Balance in Treasurer's hands ^£253 2 2 



£6 
6 






£ s. d, 
93 6 3 

10 
106 1 
242 11 

41 5 10 
1 18 6 


. 


• 



£497 1 7 



1890. 

Jan. 10. 

„ 28. 

„ 30. 



Mar. 18. 



April 15. 
„ 23. 
„ 29. 



June 17. 
July 29. 
Aug. 1- 
„ 22. 
Sept. 3. 



Oct. 4. 

„ll. 
Nov. 1. 

„ 4. 



Pathents. 



Editor's salary 


, 


. 


12 10 





W. G. Smith, illustrations . 






14 18 





Whiting and Co., printing . 


28 18 


10 ' 






Less received 


6 


3 


28 12 


7 


C. J. Clark, warehousing, etc. 


3 16 


6 


Less received 


2 4 


8 










— 


I 10 


10 


Editor's salary 


, 




12 10 





W. Q. Smith, engraving 


, 


, 


11 14 





Whiting and Co., printing . 


36 13 


A 






Less received 


3 15 


3 


32 18 
1 4 


2 
3 


Editor's disbursements 






Editor's salary 


, 


. 


12 lu 





W. G. Smith, illustrations . 






35 15 





W. G. Smith, Holywell Meeting . 


. 


. 


6 5 





Whiting and Co., printing . 


35 16 


2 






Less received 


4 19 





30 17 


2 


Editor's salary 

Archdeacon Thomas, balance for Index 


, 


. 


12 10 





. 


, 


10 10 





W. G. Smith, plan and engraving . 


. 


. 


1 12 


6 


Whiting and Co., printing . 


37 2 


2 






Less received 


18 


3 


1Q 1 


1 1 


To balance 




IV 1 

253 « 


1 L 

2 



Total £497 1 7 



Examined and found correct, 



16 Jan. 1891. 



D. R. Thomas 
James Dayies 



}' 



A uditors. 




Communion Table in NERQUIS CHURCH, Flintshire. 

See p. 65. 







"^^^'i 



girchae0l00ia Canihr^nslji. 



FIFTH SERIES,— VOL. VIII, NO. XXXI. 



JULY 1891. 



NOTICE OF. A MEDIAEVAL THURIBLE 
FOUND AT PENMAEN, IN GOWER. 

6T J. ROMILLT ALLEN, ESQ., F.S.A.SCOT. 

The thurible here illustrated was exhibited at the 
Temporary Museum formed during the Meeting of the 
Cambrian Archaeological Association at Carmarthen in 
1875.^ This interesting object was dug up at Penmaen 
Church, and is now preserved in the Swansea Museum. 
I am indebted to the Rev. J. D. Davies for the loan of 
the accompanying woodcut, which is borrowed from 
his History of West Goioer. 

The thurible consists of two parts. The upper one 
has been broken ; but enough remains to restore the 
whole, as shown on the second illustration. The total 
height of the thurible is 6^ in., and the greatest 
diameter 3J in. The height of the lower part is 2 in. 
Both the top and bottom parts have three loops pro- 
jecting from the outside, at equal distances apart. 
Through these were passed the chains by which the 
censer was swung. Each loop is half an inch in dia- 
meter, and is fastened to the side of the vessel with 
two rivets. The lower part, or pan, in which the in- 
cense was burnt is a round bowl with a flat foot to rest 
upon when not in use. It is ornamented on the out- 
side, round the top rim, with an undulating line 

* See Arch. Camh., 4th Ser., vol. vi. 

6th 8BR., VOL. VIII. 11 



162 MEDIEVAL THUBIBLE 

between two parallel lines. On the inside, near the 
bottom, is a rose-headed rivet, the object of which is 
not apparent. The upper part, or cover, is also circu- 
lar, and tapers, with a curved outline, towards the top, 
where it terminates in a conical point. Round the 
bottom are fifteen rectangular openings, to allow the 
perfume of the burnt incense to escape, and above each 
is a small circular opening for the same purpose. Over 
these are four projecting gables, like dormer-windows 
in the roof of a house, each pierced with two rectangu- 
lar holes. Round the top are four more rectangular 
holes. The spaces between the apertures are orna- 
mented with a variety of different patterns formed of 
incised lines, as shown. 

The Penmaen thurible is probably of the thirteenth 
century. 

Before the Reformation every church must have pos- 
sessed a thurible as a necessary part of the furniture 
required for its ritual, but the number now existing in 
Great Britain is surprisingly small. The following is 
a list of those specimens that have been described in 
the journals of different archaeological societies and 
elsewhere : — 

12th cent. — Alton Castle, Staffordshire. [Journ. Brit. Archaeol. 
Assoc, vol. xix, p. 87.] 
„ „ Ashbury, Berkshire. [Bloxam's Gothic Architecture, 
eleventh ed., vol. ii, p. 84.] 
15th „ Church Stretton, Shropshire. [Proc. Soc. Ant. 
Lond., vol. ii, p. 319.] 
„ „ Dymchurch, Kent. [Journ. Brit. Archaeol. Assoc, 

voL i, p. 47.] 
„ „ Gavrock, Kincardineshire. [Proc Soc. Ant. Scot., 

vol. xxi, p. 180.] 
„ „ Lyng, Norfolk. [Journ. Brit. Archaeol. Assoc, vol. 
xix, PL 6.] 
12th „ Pershore. [Journ. Brit. Arch. Inst, vol. xxxiv, 
p. 191.] 
„ „ Ripple, Worcestershire. [Bristol and Gloucester- 
shire Archaeol. Soc. Trans., vol. x, p. 149.] 
14th „ Whittlesea Mere. [Shaw*s Decorative Arts of the 
Middle Ages.] 




Tkuribuk from Exhumbo Church 
PEKMREM 

GOVVER SAVHLEd 



o 





THUBIBLE RESTORED. 



FOUND AT PBNMASN. 163 

It is not easy to determine when the use of thuribles 
commenced in the Christian Church. No representa- 
tion of a thurible occurs either on the catacomb paint- 
ings of the first four centuries, or on the sculptured 
sarcophagi of the same period ; but on one of the cele- 
brated mosaics in the Church of St. Yitale, at Ravenna^ 
an ecclesiastic is portrayed with a censer in his hand. 
Pictures of censers are to be found in the *' Sacrament- 
aire de Drogon", a Carlovingian MS. of the ninth cen- 
tury, and in many others.^ 

The first form of censer appears to have been an 
open dish swung by chains ; but those now in exist- 
ence, none of which date back further than the twelfth 
century, are made in two parts, i.e., a pan for holding 
the incense whilst burning, and a pierced cover that 
allows the perfume to escape, but prevents the ashes 
falling out during the operation of swinging. The 
commonest type of twelfth century thurible was as 
nearly as possible spherical, the division between the 
bowl and the cover being in the middle. The bowl 
rested on a foot, and the cover was surmounted by a 
small turret, the idea of which seems to have been 
taken from that on the top of the dome of a Byzantine 
building. The architectural idea was still further deve- 
loped by adding projecting dormer-windows, as on the 
examples from Penmaen, Persbore, and Ripple. These 
spherical thuribles were swung by three chains, and 
the decoration arranged in three circles on the surface 
of the sphere between each of the points of suspension. 
In the aesign of the censer of Trfeves,^ the imitation of 
a building has been pushed to its furthest extreme. 
It is quadrangular with apsidal ends, pierced windows, 
and surmounted by four turrets. 

In the later censers the architectural idea disap- 

1 Bohanlt de Henry, La Messe^ vol. i, pi. 4; and Birch'8\Erar/y 
Drawings and Illuminations in the British Museum^ p. 113. 

* Didron's Manuel des (Euvres de Bronze et d^Orfeverie du Moyen 
Agty p. 110 ; Annales ArMologiques, vol. ix, p. 357 ; and Cabier and 
Martin's Nouveaux Melanges d' Archeologie, vol. iii, p. 357. 

11« 



164 MEDIEVAL THURIBLE 

{ears. Thus the thurible from Church Stretton and 
lyng has six flat sides ; and such decorative beauty as 
it possesses is derived, not from any suggestion of 
architectural forms, but from the geometrical pattern 
produced by the piercings in the cover. 

Many of the foreign censers of the twelfth century 
are ornamented with figure-subjects, and have explana- 
tory inscriptions throwing much light on the symbol- 
ism associated in the mediaeval mind with incense. 

A very beautiful bronze censer belonging to M. Ben- 
vignat, architect, of Lille, in France, is engraved in 
Didron's Annales Archiologiques, vol. iv, p. 293. It is 
1 6 centimetres high, and 9 centimetres in diameter, of 
spherical shape, and ornamented with beasts and birds 
involved in scrolls of foliage. There is a foot at the 
bottom for it to stand upon, and on the top is an angel 
enthroned, surrounded by three figures, which are 
shown by the inscriptions to be intended for the three 
children in the fiery furnace, AnaniaB, Misael, and Aza- 
rias. Round the rims of the top and bottom parts of 
the censer, at the place where they join, is the follow- 
ing inscription, in two lines, — 

+ HOC EGO REINEBYS DO SIGNVM 
QVID MICHI YESTBIS 
EXEQ7IAS SIMILES 
DEBBTI8 MOBTB POTITO 
ET BEOB ESSE PBEOES 
YBANS TIMIATA GHBISTO 

(" I, Beineras, give this pledge. To me, in the possession of 
death, you owe some visible proofs of friendship. The perfumes 
which are burnt in honour of Christ are, in my opinion, prayers.") 

The censer of Treves/ already referred to, has upon 
it busts of four Apostles, and figures of King Solomon, 
Abel's offering of a lamb, Melchisedec's offering of bread 
and wine, Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, and Isaac bless- 
ing Jacob before Esau. Below are Aaron with a censer, 
Moses with a rod, and Isaiah and Jeremiah with books. 
It is inscribed as follows : 

* Didron's Annales ArchMogtqti€8,Yol. ix, p. 357. 



FOUND AT PENMAEN. 165 

" Salomon cnrat regnnm terresire fignrat 
Virificum verum regem per secnla rernm 
Ordo qaem vatnm cironmdat vaticinatam 
Xp'm venfcrnm carnisqne necem snbitQmm 
Conspicit e cells rex summas mnnns Abelis 
Melchisedec isto similatar mnnere Xp'o 
Ne perimas Abraham qnem bIo dedacis ad aram 
Decipit ecce patrem Bopplantans den no fratrem 
Tns Aaron fnmat qnod lucida facta fignrat 
Virga docet Moisi sit mens discreta magistri 
Callem Messie direzit vox Isaie 
Gentes Hebraicns pner instrnxit Jeremias." 

" Petras cnm Panic tradit nova dogmata mnndo 
Cnm Jacobo paria promit qnibns apocalista 
Hec tu qniso videns Gozbertus sit pete vivens." 

The mediaBval mind, which saw symbolism in every- 
thing, even makes the thurible serve its purpose for 
deducing a moral. It is compared to the body of Our 
Lord, the incense signifying His Divinity, and the fire 
the Holy Spirit.^ 

In Christian art censers are sometimes, though not 
often, used as accessories, either carried by angels, as 
in the scene of the Crucifixion on the Norman font at 
Lenton,* near Nottingham ; or by one of the Three 
Magi, as on the Norman font at Cowlam' in Yorkshire ; 
or by one of the Three Maries at the sepulchre, as in the 
j^thelwold Benedictional ;* or by an ecclesiastic in a 
representation of some solemn ceremony. In one of the 
illustrations to Caedraon's Metrical Paraphrase of the 
Scriptures^ a censer is being used at the burial of Maha* 
laheel.* This and the one in the -ffithelwold Benedict 
tional are of the Saxon period. According to Warren's 
Liturgy and Ritual of the Celtic Church (p. 127), the use 
of incense was unknown by the Christianised Celts, 

' Oemma AnimcB^ lib. i, c. xlii, qncted in Smith's Dictionary of 
Christian Antiquities. 

« Allen's Early Christian Symbolism, p. 308. » Ibid., p. 197. 
♦ ArchcBologia, vol. xxiv, pi. 20. * ibid,, pi. 83, 



166 



THE PLA.CE OF CAERWYS IN WELSH 
HISTORY. 

BT EDMUND OWEN, ESQ. 
(Read at tht Holywell Meeting, Augmt 22, 1890.) 

If the happiness poetically ascribed to the country that 
has no history, can with equal truth be regarded as the 
condition of certain places within the same charmed 
area, then Caerwys may be safely put down as one of 
the happiest spots in the Principality of Wales. Its 
tutelary Genius, if questioned, might with propriety 
reply in Canning's well-known line : 

" Story, Qt)d bless you, I have none to tell, sir"; 

and were I to content myself with briefly recording 
the few occasions upon which its name appears in con- 
nection with the pageantry of history, I should not 
have to trespass long upon your patience. But so 
circumscribed are the bounds of this "tight little 
island'' of Britain, and so long, varied, and eventful 
has been its history, that there are few localities, how- 
ever remote, that will not yield us some increase of 
knowledge from their contemplation. 

Whether Caerwys does or does not date back into 
Roman times, it is impossible, in the present state of 
our knowledge, definitely to say. There are no incon- 
venient facts to restrain our imaginations, and the 
possibilities are rather more favourable to the belief 
that it was a post of that great empire, than they are 
adverse to that conclusion. 

The name is first met with in the poem of the 
Gododin — 

" Can gen gaerwys 
Keui^ drillywys." 
(Skene's Four Ancient Books, ii, 77, Stanza 48.) 

^ Kewi stands for keni (cyn «[), according to the translation, but 
the word is printed by Mr. Skene as it is given above. 



PLACE OF CAERWYS IN WELSH HISTORY. 167 

" The branch of Caerwys 
Before it was shattered." 

(Translation, i, 392.) 

But, even if the word here used be correctly regarded 
as a proper name, it is highly improbable that the 
allusion is to the Caerwys, the object of our present 
consideration. If the derivation usually given of the 
name, " caer", a camp, and *' gwys", a summons, be the 
right one, it is manifest that in early days there were 
other places in the Brythonic area which might have 
been so called with as great propriety.^ 

Caerwys appears in Domesday as one of the bere- 
wicks of Englefield, which in King Edward the Con- 
fessor's time lay in Roelent. At the date of the 
Survey, a.d. 1086, all these berewicks were waste, as 
they were also when Earl Hugh received them from 
the Conqueror in a.d. 1070. The geographical signifi- 
cation of the names Roelend or Roelent, and Englefield, 
is rather difficult to arrive at, inasmuch as they appear 
to have changed their relative positions. In Domes- 
day it is said that " in Roelend, in King Edward's 
time, was Englefield", and again, that the twenty-two 
berewicks of Englefield lay "in Rolent" ; from which 
we may infer that all the land from the Dee to the 
Clwyd was called by the same name as the caput of 
the new Norman manor, and included a district known 
as Englefield. In later times the name Rhuddlan 
became restricted to the district lying around the 
castle of that name, termed the lordship of Rhuddlan* ; 

^ The name appears in the Brut TyuiUo, where the Arthnrian 
knight, Geraint, is termed " Geraint Caerwys" (sometimes '* Gar- 
wys") ; but in Mr. Gwenogvryn Evans' edition of Brut y Brenhin- 
oedd the same personage is called '' Geraint Garanwjs"; no doubt 
the correct form, whatever it may signify. 

' The borough comprehends a district within the parish of 
Rhuddlan, called " The Franchise", and also a part of the parish of 
St. Asaph. On the part lying to the west of the river Voryd, the 
limits of the borough coincide with those of the lordship. On all 
other sides the limits of the lordship extend beyond those of the 
borough. The ambit of the lordship is about ten miles, that of the 



168 THE PLACE OP CAERWYS 

while the territory known as Englefield, although not 
so extensive as in pre-Norman times, came, as the 
Welsh cantred of Tegeingl, to include the commots of 
Cynsyllt, Prestatyn, and Rhuddlan. Whatever may 
have been the extent of the hold of the Norman Earl 
of Chester upon the district of Rhuddlan, or of his 
feudatory, Robert of Rhuddlan, over Rhos and Rhy- 
voniawg, which Domesday informs us he held in a.d. 
1086, in fee direct of the King, it is certain that it 
varied as the balance of the warfare with the Welsh 
was favourable or otherwise. 

During the lifetime of Gruffudd ap Cynan, who 
acquired supreme authority in Gwynedd in 1078 
{Brut y Tymysogion), the hand of the Normans was 
heavily felt. The fortune of war inclined now to one 
side, now to the other, but out of the chaos emerged 
ho elements of permanence. ** For fifteen years", says 
Ordericus Vitalis (Bk. viii, c. 3), " Robert of Rhuddlan 
severely chastised the Welsh and seized their terri- 
tory. Making inroads into their country, through 
woods and marshes, and over mountain heights, he 
inflicted losses on the enemy in every shape. Some he 
butchered without mercy, like herds of cattle, as soon 
as he came up with them. Others he threw into dun- 
geons, where they suflered a long imprisonment, or 
cruelly subjected them to a shameful slavery." In a.d. 
1088 came the turn of the Welsh, who gained a 
notable success in the death of the redoubtable Nor- 
man noble beneath the walls of his castle of Deganwy. 
In 1098 (Florence of Wore, Wm. Malm. ; 1096, Brut 
y Tywysogion) it seemed as though the reduction of the 
whole of Gwynedd would be effected by Hugh, Earl 
of Chester, and Hugh, Earl of Shrewsbury. But the 
death of the latter at Aberlleiniog, in Anglesea, checked 

borough about six miles. It stretches nearly a mile and a half from 
the town, on the sonth ; on the north, less than a mile. Bodrhjddan 
Hall is sitaated within, bat on the very outskirts of the borough, 
so that a parf. of the mansion lies witliont the limits. (Mvnicipal 
Commissioner i'' Jteports, 1885. Borough of Rhuddlan.) 



IN WELSH HISTORY. 169 

the progress of the Norman arms. In the same year 
Gruffudd ap Cynan returned from Ireland, where he 
had taken refuge, and concluded a truce with Earl 
Hugh of Chester. The valuable life of Gruffudd, 
printed in the Myvyrian Archaiology^ has a difficult 
passage upon this period of its hero's career. " Having 
sent emissaries {cennadeu) to Earl Hugh, a truce was 
concluded between them, and there was given to him 
three trevs in that cantref. And there he dwelt for a 
year in disheartening poverty."^ The name of the 
cantref in which these possessions were situate does 
not appear, but the general tenor of circumstances 
makes it highly probable that it was cantref Tegeingl, 
or Englefield. Previously to this peace, Gruffudd had 
taken to wife Angharad, said, by Welsh genealogists, 
to be the daughter of Owain ab Edwin, lord of Tegeingl, 
and head of one of the Fifteen Tribes of North Wales. 
He probably lived at the place called Llys Edwin, in 
the parish of Northop, but that he had patrimonial pro- 
perty in the parish of Caerwys may, after the analogous 
construction of many Welsh place-names, be considered 
certain, from the fact that one of the townships of the 
parish of Caerwys is known as Trev Edwin. How a 
personage with so Northumbrian a name became the 
chief of a Welsh district, I will not stay to speculate. 
Nor will I do more than advert to the difficulties caused 
by the confusion which undoubtedly exists between 
Edwin, King of Tegeingl, and Ednowain Bendew, Prince 
of Tegeingl, from one or other of whom many Flint- 
shire families trace their descent. It probably is a 
case of one single gentleman rolled out into two."* 
It may, however, be pretty safely conjectured that 

' " Oddyna ydd anfones cenDadeu hyt at yr larl Hu, ac i tang- 
iiefeddws ac et", ac yn y cantref hwnnw i rhoddet teir tref iddaw ef 
yiio. Ac yno i dwg ei fnchedd flwyddynedd yn dlawt ofidas gan 
obeithiaw wrth weledigaeth Duw rhagUaw." 

2 Mr. H. F. J. Vaughan, in Y Cymmrodor^ vol. x, has made an 
exhaustive critical examination of the early Welsh pedigrees, to 
\vhich I would refer yon for further information upon this difficult 
point. 



170 THE PLAGE OF CAERWYS 

Angharad brought considerable property in the district 
of Tegeingl into the family of the North Wales princes, 
and from this time dates its close connection with the 
fortunes of the line of Giuffudd ab Cynan. Within a 
few yards of the bounds of the parish of Caerwys 
stands the house of Maesmynan, said — and no doubt 
correctly — to be one of the llysoedd, or halls, of Lly wely n 
ab Gruffydd, the last Prince of North Wales. Caerwys, 
in the language of feudalism, was his caput baronicBf 
the head of his Flintshire barony ; but the application 
of that term, which belongs to one form of society, to 
an outwardly similar feature of a society based upon 
diametrically opposite conceptions, would, of course, be 
misleading and unscientific. 

In A.D. 1137, upon the death of Gruffudd ap Cynan, 
and the advance to the front of his son Owain, the 
district of Tegeingl became still more closely united to 
the fortunes of the North Welsh princes. Owain is 
said to have married Christian, a daughter of Gronw 
ap Owain ap Edwin, and this alliance may probably be 
regarded as marking an increase in his Flintshire 
landed possessions. His successful resistance to 
Henry II in 1157, and again in 1165, and the capture 
and destruction of the castles of Basingwerk, Rhuddlan, 
and Prestatyn (Mold had been taken in 1144, and had 
probably not been rebuilt), extended the confines of 
Gwynedd farther to the east than they had reached 
since the days of OfFa. How the Welsh princes dealt 
with the districts that came spasmodically into their 
power is a difficult question to answer. Did Owain 
look upon his newly conquered territory in Cantrev 
Tegeingl as his, to dispose of according to his pleasure, 
as the Conqueror had regarded England after Senlac ? 
Probably not ; for we have no evidence, direct or 
indirect, whereby we can infer the expulsion of Nor- 
man settlers, the importation of Welsh tribesmen, or 
even of a change of tenure.^ Yet that Owain had con- 

^ It will be seen that upon this point I differ from Mr. A. N. Pal- 
mer, at any rate so far as his arguments for the eastward extension 



IN WELSH HISTORY. 171 

siderably extended the possessions which he held by 
descent is proved by a document now in the Record 
Office, the gist of which is as follows, though how he 
had obtained his new lands, whether by conquest or 
marriage, is unfortunately not specified. 

In the 4th Edward II (i.e., 1311), an inquisition was 
held at Chester, upon a writ commanding the justiciar 
of Chester [Payne Tibetot] to certify as to the King's 
right to the manor of Eweloe. The finding was that 
Oweyn Goneith (Gwynedd), sometime Prince of Wales, 
w^as seized of the manor of Eweloe in his demesne as 
of fee, at whose death, David son of Oweyn entered on 
the said manor as Prince of Wales, held the same until 
Llewelyn the son of lor(werth) overcame the said 
David and took from him the said Principality, together 
with the manor of Eweloe ; that the said Llewelyn 
died seized of the said principality and manor, after 
whose death King Henry III occupied the same and 
four cantreds in Wales, that is to say, those between 
the Dee and the Conway, and made Roger de Mohaut 
his justice of Chester, who attached the same manor to 
his (the said Roger's) neighbouring lands of Haurthyn 
and Mauhaltesdale, to which it had never belonged, 
and made a park of the wood of Eweloe, and so held 

of the Welsh during the eleventh century relate to the district of 
Tegeingl, and so far as they are directed to prove that any sach 
extension was the result of an organised movement on the part of 
the Welsh. Mr. Palmer's evidence appears to me to go no further 
than to show that a considerable Welsh element continued to dwell 
in the districts seized upon first by the Saxons, and later by the 
Normans, and that the dehcendants of these Welsh families inter- 
married largely with the incomers. This resulted in the social ad- 
vancement, and consequent greater prominence, of that Welsh ele- 
ment ; but it does not prove that that prominence was due to a 
territorial or military forward movement. The same phenomenon 
is perceptible on Irish soil. The Norman nobles intermarried with 
the daughters of the Celtic chieftains, with the result that the de- 
scendants of such unions became more Hibernian than the Hiber- 
nians themselves ; but it would be erroneous to regard this as the 
mark of an eastward expansion of the Irish power. The facts ex- 
amined by Mr. Palmer are undoubted ; but they are the results of 
anthropological rather than of political causes. 



172 THE PLAUE OF CAEKWYS 

the said manor and park until Llewelyn, son of Griff 
(ith), son of Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, recovered the 
said four cantreds frora Henry III and again attached 
them to the principality of Wales ; that the said 
Llewelyn ousted the said Roger from the said manor, 
and attached the same to the principality as it was 
before, and built a castle in the corner of the wood,^ 
which was in great part standing at the time of the 
inquisition, and afterwards gave the said manor to 
Ithel ap Blethin to hold of him ; that the said Llewelyn 
continued seized of the said manor as Prince of Wales 
until overcome by Edward I, who seized the said 
manor not only in right of his conquest, but of the 
conquest by Henry III of the said four cantreds; 
that after the death of Roger de Mohaut, the wife of 
Robert, son of the said Roger, recovered dower of the 
said manor, as the freehold of the said Roger, Joscelyn 
de Badelsmere then being justice of Chester ; that the 
King, on the recovery of the said dower against him, 
removed the said Joscelyn, and appointed Reginald de 
Grey, justice of Chester, and commanded him to in- 
quire by what right the wife of the said Robert had 
recovered the said dower; that the said Reginald 
found that no claim of dower could be founded on the 
appropriation made of the manor by the said Roger 
whilst he was justice ; upon which finding the said 
wife was ousted frora her dower, and the same taken 
into the King's hands ; that such was the right of the 
King to the said manor, which was of the yearly value 
of £60.* 

^ This confirms the conjecture of the late Mr. H. Longneville 
Jones, who visited the remains of Ewloo Castle during the Hbyl 
Meeting of the Association in 1858, and from the architectural de- 
tails inferred that the Castle was erected in the thirteenth century. 
{Arch, Gamh.y 3rd Series, vol. iv, p. 460.) 

2 PJea-Rolls of the County of Chester, 4-5 Edward II, m. 48 ; 
Twenty-Seventh Report of Deputy-Keeper of the Records. The 
abstract of the entry upon the Plea- Roil, given in the Deputy- 
Keeper's Twenty-Seventh Report, is so full as to be practically an 
entire transcript. Some of the proper names are not spelled as they 
appear in the Roll, but they are corrected above. 



IN WELSH HISTORY. 173 

In addition to the light thrown upon the devolution 
of the Manor of Ewloe,^ this document affords us the 
means of correcting some erroneous views of the history 
of this period. The Brut y Tyivysogion states that in 
A.D. 1210, Llywelyn ap lorwerth, Prince of Wales, 
made peace with King John. One of the conditions 
being his renunciation of all the land between the Dee 
and the Conwy, •' yn dragwyddawl,'' for ever. But it 
appears that Llywelyn, at the time of his death in 1240, 
held the Manor of Ewloe, situate in the district which, 
in 1210, he is said to have definitely renounced. The 
explanation probably is that at some period before 1240 
Llywelyn received back the lands that had been the 
private estate of his ancestors to hold of the King as 
tenant in chief. We know, from a document in Rymer, 
that the territory ceded to the English King in 1210, 
was in 1267 recovered by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, and 
this is borne out by the inquisition already quoted. 
Llywelyn, nevertheless, remained a vassal of the Eng- 
lish Crown, subject only to the necessity of doing 
homage.* Then came the final conquest of Edward I 
in 1282-3. Now, it is significant that in his claim to 
the Manor of Ewloe, Edward II based his title not 
alone upon his father's conquest but also upon that of 
his grandfather, showing that the tenure whereby 
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd received this manor and other 
lands in 1267 was that of the ordinary baronial ten- 

1 The docnment just given was largely quoted from by Mr. 
DaviesCocke in a paper upon "The Castle and Manor of Ewloe", 
which he read to the members of the Association upon their visit 
to Gwysaney, to which the reader is referred for farther informa- 
tion npon the history of Ewloe. 

' This point is quite clear. After conceding to Llywelyn the 
four cantreds of the Perfeddwlad (Rhos, Rhufoniawg, Dyffryn 
Clwyd, and Tegeingl)"8icut ipse et preedecessores sni ipsos unquam 
plenius habuerunt", the treaty provides "Pro quibus principatu, 
terris, homagiis, et concessionibas idem princeps et soccessores sui 
fidelitatem et homagium« ac servitiom consuctuni et debitum domino 
Regi, et heredibos suis prsBstare et facere tenebuntur, quod ipse vel 
antecessores sui Regibus AnglisB consueverunt et tenebantur facere, 
et prestare." (Foedera^ i, p. 474, Rolls ed.) 



174 THE PLACE OF CAERWYS 

ancy, technically dissoluble at the will of the King 
upon the death of his vassal, and actually voided by 
rebellion against his authority. That Llywelyn and 
the other Welsh chieftains who, according to the Eng- 
lish conception of society, were feudatories of the 
English Crown, appreciated the full extent of their 
dependence is perhaps doubtful. The exact position 
of the chief of a people still retaining much of the 
apparent independence, but much of the real bondage, 
of tribalism, is by no means clear. The customs of 
Gwynedd had been greatly modified by centuries of 
contact with England from the primitive system which 
still prevailed in Ireland, as it is set forth in the Book 
of Rights. Still it may be doubted whether the prin- 
ciple of absolute dependence, which was the keystone 
of the social, political, and to some extent even the 
ecclesiastical system of the English, was comprehended 
in all the fulness of its meaning by the chiefs or 
princes of Gwynedd. The fatal defect of the tribal 
system, as it was working itself out in Wales, lay in 
this, that it engendered no cohesive element whereby 
the sense of family unity could broaden out into the 
nobler and wider conception of nationality. It is 
indeed highly probable that the Welsh would ulti- 
mately have compassed national unity on the lines 
upon which their constitution was based, but it would 
have been a work of time, and would have to be 
wrought out through much intestine disorder. It 
would also have involved the modification, perhaps the 
subversal, of the principle of equality which gave to the 
tribal bond its strength, and would probably have pro- 
ceeded in the direction of class dependence which was 
the basis of the English system. This system, carried 
out with firmness and equity, through the personal 
power and statesmanship of the Conqueror and the 
first two Henrys, was that under which England has 
developed to be what we know her to-day. 

It is, indeed, evident that the Welsh constitution — 
at any rate the element of sovereignty within it — was 



IN WELSH HISTORY. 175 

rapidly assimilating certain ideas associated with the 
power of a feudal monarch. Llywelyn ap lorwerth is 
a much more feudal ruler than his father O wain Gwyn- 
edd. His attempt to secure the succession of his son 
David, by assembling the Welsh chieftains at Strata 
Florida Abbey in 1238, to do homage and swear fealty 
to David, was a distinct departure from Welsh con- 
stitutional practice, and was copied from the methods 
of the English kings. David, we are expressly in- 
formed by the Welsh chronicles, endeavoured to intro- 
duce English laws into Gwynedd, though it is ques- 
tionable whether he met with much success. Probably 
his reforms were rather in the direction of the consoli- 
dation of a body of court functionaries ; and it is to 
some such action as this that I would look for the 
explanation of what are known as the Fifteen Tribes. 
Some of these chieftains, indeed, distinctly appear as 
holders of courtly offices, and their descendants would, 
no doubt, have developed into political or judicial func- 
tionaries, had not the conquest of Edward I swept 
away the cause of their existence. This was the 
natural tendency. Feudtdism exalted the power of 
the chief. It was but natural that the Welsh princes 
should look with envy upon the irresistible force that 
accompanied the decrees of the King of England. On 
the other hand, there was the intense conservatism of 
a system which, though much of it had become mean- 
ingless and out of harmony with the new forms of 
activity that were becoming manifest, still presented 
many features of attraction and preserved its hold over 
the sentiments of the nation. It is this play of insti- 
tutions, founded upon absolutely different conceptions 
of society, that renders the stuay of the political and 
economic histoiy of the English occupation of Wales 
so interesting, and withal so difficult. 

Of the difficulties arising out of the existence of the 
two systems, the English and the Welsh, we gain a 
glimpse in the complaint addressed to the Archbishop 
of Canterbury by the men of TegeingI, a few yeare 



176 THE PLACE OF CAERWYS 

before the incorporation of Wales into the realm of 
England. They complained that, ** First they were 
spoiled of their rights and privileges and customs of 
the country, and were compelled to be judged by the 
laws of England, whereas the tenor of their privilege 
was to be judged according to the laws of Wales, at 
Tref Edwin, at Rhuddlan, and at Caerwys." But, 
while this complaint that they were judged by the 
laws of England was constantly urged by the Welsh, 
it appears from the evidence taken before the Com- 
mission of 1280-1, appointed to inquire what the laws 
of Wales really were, that in actual practice the Welsh 
preferred the judicial procedure of England. So, also, 
we find that the men of the lordship of Kerry, in 
Montgomeryshire, petitioned Henry III that the Eng- 
lish laws should run through Wales and the Marches. 
The English insistence upon the adoption of their own 
legal and fiscal procedure emanated from their opinion 
of the superiority of those methods. But though the 
Welsh clearly appreciated the great excellence of cer- 
tain portions of the English law, they had not arrived 
at that stage of development at which their own insti- 
tutions had been entirely outgrown. The report of 
the Commissioners of 1280-1 probably led Edward to 
see that the adoption of a policy of total subversion 
would be unsatisfactory, even if enforced by the strong 
hand, and that the wise course was to permit the con- 
tinuance of those features of Welsh law which still- 
retained some vitality, such as the equal division of 
inheritance between all the heirs, and the method of 
assessing the revenue. In this broad and statesman- 
like spirit, the ordinance known as the Statute of 
Rhuddlan, was drawn up soon after the thorough con- 
quest of the country in 1282-3. 

One of the immediate results of the conquest was 
the establishment of fortified towns, having charters of 
privileges strictly confined to the burgesses who were 
induced to settle therein. Such were Flint, Rhuddlan, 
Conwy, Beaumaris, Caernarvon, Criccieth, and Har- 



IN WELSH HISTORY. 177 

lech. These towns were, no doubt, established as much 
as centres of influence to wean the Welsh from their 
pastoral mode of life, as were the strong castles in- 
tended for a menace and mark of subjugation. The 
charters are in practically identical terms ; there is no 
expressed exclusion of Welsh burgesses, but we know 
from other evidences that the privileged townsmen 
must have been entirely English. In the 18th Ed- 
ward I (a.d. 1290), a charter was granted to the town 
of Caerwys, conferring on the burgesses similar liber- 
ties to those accorded to the English castellated towns, 
but no importation of English seems to have taken 
place, nor does there appear to have been any inten- 
tion of erecting a fortress. The question naturally 
arises, why Caerwys should have been selected for this 
honourable distinction. 

Some years later (i.e., in the '31st Edward I, a.d. 
1303), a charter was granted to the vill of Rhosfair, in 
Anglesea, which from this circumstance soon afterwards 
acquired the name of Newborough. The terms of the 
document are similar to that of Caerwys. Now, there 
seems to be as little reason for elevating Rhosfair into 
a borough, and according to it considerable privileges, 
as there was in the case of Caerwys. No castle was 
built there, nor was an English colony introduced. 
Why, therefore, were these two towns thus dis- 
tinguished ? I venture to suggest that the reason is 
to be sought in the fact that both places had been the 
private patrimony of Llywelyu ap Gruff^udd, the last 
Prince of Wales, and that, by virtue of the rebellion 
and death of a revolted subject of the English Crown, 
these estates (and, of course, those of Llywelyn's 
adherents) had passed into the direct possession of the 
English monarch. And that either to mark his or his 
son's assumption of the personal, as well as political, 
power of Lly welyn, or from a wisely sentimental desire 
to propitiate the Welsh, Edward elevated the two 
places most closely associated with the last Welshman 
who bore the title of Prince of Wales to positions of 

5th ser. vol. ym. 12 



178 THE PLACE OF CAERWYS 

honour, altogether out of proportion to their real geo- 
graphical status. The Rev. Henry Rowlands, author 
of Mona Antiquciy thus refers to the borough of Rhos- 
fair : " This parish [Newborough] was anciently a 
demesne of the Manor of Rhossir, which was situate 
here. Formerly, it was not called a township, but a 
manor, where the regulus or prince of the tribe fixed 
his residence and abode ; wherefore formerly, under 
the government of the Welsh princes, this parish was 
divided into two portions, one of which I find to have 
been assigned for the more immediate duties of the 
court, according to the custom of the nation ; the other, 
in a manner, held by free tenants, though bound 
to their lord by a predial covenant. The former of 
these again appears to have been laid out in two ways, 
and accordingly maintained two orders of domestic 
servants ; that is to say, first, those domestic stev/ards 
who were wont to call themselves Maerdrevs, having 
for their possession twelve gavels (the British nation 
gave the name of gavels to certain portions of land 
which were allotted to tenants in right of homage) ; 
secondly, those fellows of the meanest sort, called Gar- 
denmanni (Garddtvyr), who occupied twelve small 
gardens ; these people were very much engaged in 
drudgeries. The second portion of the manor, which 
was designed for works, reckoned only eight gavels for 
its possessors, and from the circumstance of that pos- 
session it gave them the name of free natives, whose 
posterity even to this day [i.e., circa 1710] occupied 
their possessions, with appurtenances, by hereditary 
right. Thus, in those ages, was the parish divided ; 
but afterwards, when the ancient government had 
passed away, the Princes of Wales and the Kings of 
England converted the first-named portion of the 
manor which lay nearest the prince's court, by the 
emancipation of the vassals and the bestowal of privi- 
leges, into a borough."^ We may be tolerably certain 

^ Arch, Camh., Ist Series, vol. i, pp. 305-6. Thongh Rowlands 
was perfectly well aware that the medioBval name of this place was 



IN WELSH HISTORY. 179 

that this description of the borough of Rhosfair is 
equally applicable to the borough of Caerwys. It is 
unfortunate that in the esse of Caerwys we are without 
the evidence that has been preserved of the past con- 
dition of Rhosfair in Anglesea. Such isolated facts as 
we are able to glean go io prove that the circumstances 
of the two places were identical, and we are therefore 
able to appreciate the reasons why they were similarly 
treated. I append a copy of the enrolment of a con- 
firmation of the charter of Caerwys, obtained the 9th 
Henry IV, setting forth the earlier charters to the 
town. The original of the charter is amongst the 
Mostyn muniments. The commercial importance thus 
given to Caerwys was purely factitious, as it also was 
in the case of Newborough. No exercise of the royal 
patronage could put them on an equal footing with the 
towns that were stationed on the direct path of pros- 
perity, and they gradually declined, until it was left to 
a later generation to wonder at and almost to doubt 
the existence of their former dignity, Caerwys, like 
Flint, was regularly farmed at an annual rent, and the 
amount accounted for among the annual receipts of the 
Chamberlain of Chester. 

We obtain an interesting glimpse of Caerwys in the 
3l8t year of Edward III (a.d. 1357), the full unfolding 
of which would lead me into digressions altogether 
beyond the limits of this paper. In that year the 
temporalities of the see of St. Asaph were seized into 
the hands of the Black Prince, as lord of the princi- 
pality of Wales. We accordingly have an account of 
the revenue accruing from them, drawn up for the year 
ending 3rd February 1358, by the Prince's officer, Ithel 
ap Kynwrig Sais. From this we learn that the vill 
of Bryngwyn, one of the townships of the parish of 
Caerwys, belonged in equal shares to the Bishop and 
the Cathedral chapter. This vill was then occupied by 
the free tribal family of Ithel, and by the tribal family 

Ehosfaivy he persiflted in calling it Rfiossir (i.e., Rhos-hir), aa "pro- 
ceeding from the natural propriety of the place." 

12« 



180 THE PLAOE OP CAERWYS 

of Gwerthnoit (Gwaethvoed), which had once been 
unfree (nativus) but was. then free. The collective 
members (progenies) of tliese family holdings {lecti) 
owed the Prince 225. id, and 255. per annum, respec- 
tively, the difference between the two sums being, no 
doubt, the extra rent paid by the family of Gwaethvoed 
upon its emancipation. This " goresgyniad", or *^ super- 
ascension", which is the term used in the Welsh laws 
for the process by which the unfree ascended to freedom, 
may have dated from the grant of Edward's charter to 
the borough, or it may have been the result of a grant, 
whenever and by whosoever made, of the township of 
Bryngwyn to the Church.^ I cannot stay now to enter 
into the many interesting points of Welsh custom 
called up by this entry. I will content myself with 
referring to Mr. A. N. Palmer's History of Ancient 
Tenures in the Welsh Marches^ for an admirable expo- 
sition of Welsh social and economic institutions. There 
is another item, however, to which I must call atten- 
tion ; it is that of 55., which proceeded from land called 
Gauelescop (that is, Gavael Escob, the Bishop's holding) 
in Hendrecayrus. I know not whether the Bishop is 
still owner of a small piece of land in the parish of 
Caerwys, nor have I been able to trace the period at 
which it became part of the temporalities of the see ; 
it was probably before the Edwardian conquest. The 
term Hendre Cayrus deserves attention. It points to 
a higher antiquity, and probably also to a superior 
dignity, to the places in the vicinity ; and it is a coinci- 
dence of importance in the comparison of Caerwys with 
Newborough, to note that a part of the latter parish 
was called Hendre Rhosfair. This lay outside the 
borough limits ; and we may fairly conjecture that the 
outlying portion of the parish of Caerwys beyond the 

^ Three persons whose privileges increase in one day : the first 
is where a chnrch is consecrated in a taeog trev (captiva villa) with 
the permission of the king ; a man of that trev, who might be a taeo^ 
in the morning, becomes on that night a free man. See Dimetian 
Code (Laws of Wales, vol. i, p. 44ri). 



IN WELSH HISTORY. 181 

borough boundary was that known as Hendre Caerwys; 
this was also that portion of the parish called for fiscal 
purposes the ringildry of Caerwys, from the circum- 
stance that it was the sphere of a ringild or rhingyll, 
an oflBcerof whom mention is made in the Welsh Laws, 
and whose originally legal functions became widened, 
under the English administration, so as to include the 
collection of local taxes. It was usual to appoint dif- 
ferent officers for the collection of subsidies due from 
the town, and. for the collection of those due from the 
ringildry. The same two sets of appointments were also 
made annually for the town of Khuddlan and for its 
outlying district ; and it is interesting to observe that 
while a Welsh name is quite exceptional amongst the 
Rhuddlan town officers, English names are equally ab- 
sent from the officers of the ringildry of Rhuddlan. But 
in Caerwys the local officers of the inner and outer dis- 
tricts are always Welsh, and the circumstance proves 
that the original Welsh families had neither suffered 
deportation, nor had had their borough invaded by an 
alien colony. 

I have been able to find no direct references to 
Caerwys, nor to the hospitable mansions that stood 
within its parochial bounds, in the poems of the medi- 
seval Welsh bards. Allusions to the district of Tegeiugl 
are frequent, and it is hardly possible to doubt that 
the walls of Maesmynan had not frequently resounded 
with the songs of Cynddelw, Lly warch ap Llywelyn, 
and others. One very striking circumstance in the 
compotus of Ithel ap Kynwrig Sais of the lands of the 
see of St. Asaph, to which I have already alluded, is 
that one of the holdings of a free tribal family in the 
vill of Branan (which is identified by Archdeacon 
Thomas with Bryngwyn, in Tremeirchion), was known 
as lectus Prydydd y M6ch. This was the appellation of 
Llywarch ap Llywelyn, one of the most famous bards 
of the twelfth-thirteenth centuries, of whose poems we 
have more than thirty pieces preserved in the Myvy- 
rian Archaiology, most of them being in laudation of 



182 THE PLACE OF CAERWYS 

the chiefs of Gwynedd. He is the only personage in 
Welsh history who bore the title of the " poet of the 
swine" ; and there can be no doubt that we shall be 

{)erfectly safe in considering that one of his rewards as 
aureate of Gwynedd was a grant of free tribal land in 
the township of Bryngwyn, in the parish of Tremeir- 
chion. It is very gratifying to be able to give a local 
habitation to one of the most eminent names in Welsh 
medisBval literature. 

Caerwys continued to retain its Welsh sympathies. 
In the troublous times of Owain Glyndwr, Flintshire 
declared w^armly for the last of the Welsh chieftains, 
but the centre of the disturbance was soon removed 
further westward, and the county settled down into 
dulness once more. 

I will not enter upon the connection of Caerwys with 
the great Eisteddfod of Queen Elizabeths reign. I 
need only say that the position occupied by the town 
both before and immediately after the English conquest 
appears to me to bring the bardic congress of Grutfydd 
ap Cynan within the bounds of historical probability, 
though there is no direct evidence on the point. 



Confirmation of the Charter of Caenoys, 
{Record OjM, Patent Roll, 9 Henry 17, p, 2, m. 6.) 

Eex omnibus ad quos, etc. salutem. 

Inspeximus quasdara litteras patentes Domini Eicardi, nuper 
Eegis Anglie, secundi post conquestum factas in hec verba : 

[Richard II.] Ricardus, Dei Gratia, Rex Anglie et Ffrancie, 
et Dominus Hibemie, omnibus ad quos presentes littere perve- 
nerint salutem. 

Inspeximus cartam quam Dominus Edwardus, nuper Prin- 
ceps Wallie, Dux Cornubie et comes Cestrie, patris nostri, fieri 
fecit in hec verba : 

[The Black Prince.] Edwardus, illustris Regis Anglie filius, 
princeps Wallie, dux Cornubie et comes Cestrie, episcopis, abba- 
tibus, prioribus, comitibus, baronibus, militibus, justiciariis, vice- 
comitibus, et omnibus ballivis et fidelibus suis salutem. 

Inspeximus cartam, quam Celebris memorie Dominus Ed- 
wardus, quondam Rex Anglie, proavus noster, fecit Burgensibus 
ville nostre de Cayrus in liec verba : 



IN WELSH HISTORY. 183 

[Edward I.] Edwardus, Dei Gratia, Eex Auglie, Dominus 
Hibernie, et Dux Aquitanie, archiepiscopis, episcopis, abbatibus, 
prioribus, comitibus, baronibus, justiciariis, viceconiitibus, prepo- 
sitis, ministris, et omnibus ballivis et fidelibus suis, saliiteni. 

Sciatis nos concessisse et hac presenti carta nostra confir- 
masse hominibus ville nostre de Cayrus in Walliaquod villa ilia 
decetero liber Burgus sit, et quod homines eundem Burgum iu- 
habitantes liberi sint Burgenses, et quod habeant gildam merca- 
toriam cum hansa, et omnibus libertatibus et liberis consuetudi- 
nibus ad libemm Burgum pertinentibus, quales videlicet habent 
liberi Burgenses nostri de Aberconewey et Rothelan in Burgis 
suis vel aiii Burgenses nostri in Wallia. Quare volumus et 
firmiter precipimus, pro nobis et heredibus nostris, quoil villa 
predicta decetero Liber Burgus sit, et quod homines eundem 
Burgum inhabitantes liberi sint Burgenses, et quod habeant 
gildam mercatoriam cum hansa, et omnibus libertatibus et libe- 
ris consuetudinibus ad liberum Burgum pertinentibus, quales, 
videlicet habent liberi Burgenses nostri de Aberconewey et 
Rothelan in Burgis suis, vel alii Burgenses nostri in Wallia sicut 
predictum est. Hiis testibus venerabilibus patribus, R. Bathon' 
et Wellen', D. Dunelmen', et W. Elien* episcopis, Gilberto de 
Clare, comite Gloucestr', Johanne de Warennia, comite Surreia, 
Henrico de Lacy, comite Lincoln', Reginaldo de Grey, justiciario 
Cestr', Johanne de Sancto Johanne, Willelmo de Latimer, Petro 
de Chaumpnent, Petro de Chauuuipaigne et aliis. Datum per 
manum nostram apud Kyngesclipston' vicesimo quinto die Octo- 
bris anno regni nostri decimo octavo [a.d. 1290]. 

Et quia in carta predicta prefatis Burgensibus concessa ali- 
qui diverse mete limites sive bunde ad quas precinctia dicti 
Burgi d' extendere, et infra quas libertates ipsius Burgi exactio- 
nari debeant non specificant* proprie quod dicti Burgenses super 

libertatibus eis concessis ut accipimus fueruut inquietati 

et eciam impetiti Nos eorum indempnitati providere volentes in 
hac parte similiter et quiete concessimus pro nobis et heredibus 
nostris iisdem Burgensibus quod diverse mete et bunde Burgi 
predicti et libertates ejusdem decetero teneantur et observentur 
infra limites et loca subscripta et per diversas metas et bundas 
Burgi predicti habeantur et teneantur imperpetuum, et quod 
libertates Burgi predicti infra eadem loca et limites et usque ad 
ea juxta vim et formam concessionis de eisdem libertatibus per 
predictum Dominum Regem proavum nostrum dictis Burgensi- 
bus facte absque impedimento nostri vel heredum nostrorum, 
justicii camere nostri, vicecomitum, escaetorum aut aliorum 
quorum ministrorum nostrorum aut heredum nostrorum perpe- 
tuis temporibus existeantur, videlicet, a via juxta Crucem vocat 
Crosse Wyaun que ducit versus Marian Croyken, et sic per 



184 THE PLACE OF CAERWYS IN WELSH HISTORY. 

lineam ad aquam de Groyken ad viam apud ubi descendit in 
quendam rivulum qui vocatur Calghok (? Galghok), et sic se- 
quendo ilium rivulum usque aquam de Willar, et sic scquendo 
illam aquam, et bundas terrarum domini Eeginaldi de Grey 
dimittendo illas terras extra bundas usque predictum crucem 
ubi predicte bunde inceperunt. Et quia nolunius abbreviare vel 
minuere in aliquo proficua nobis pertinentia de hominibus ma- 
nentibus infra dictas metas et bundas, seu de teneutibus eorun- 
dem hominum infra easdam extra villam de Cayrus, nee relevia 
vel servicia alia quaecumque de predictis hominibus, et eonim 
tenentibus nobis debita extin^ere, vel in aliquo minuere, volu- 
mus quod Ballivi ejusdem libertates per preceptum nostrum, seu 
vicecomitis nostri de Ftiynt, aut ragloti nostri de Englefeld, qui 
pro tempore fuerint, faciant executionem pro predictis proficuis 
et serviciis nostris predictis infra dictas metas et bundas et de 
eisdem proficuis et serviciis nobis, aut vicecomitibus et raglotis 
nostris predictis integre ad opus nostrum respondere teneantur. 
In cujus rei testimonium has litteras nostras fieri fecimus 
patentes, hiis testibus, venerabili patre Johanne, Assaven' epis- 
copo, Bartho' de Burgherssh, justiciario nostro Cestrie, Eeginaldo 
de Grey domino de Ruthyn, Eeginaldo Lestraunge domino de 
Ellesmere, militibus John de Delves, locum tenentem prefati 
justiciarii nostri, Johanne de Brunham sum'one Camerario nos- 
tro Cestrie, et aliis. Data apud Cestrie, sub sigillo scacarii nos- 
tri ibidem, vicesimo die Augusti, anno regni domini E[dwardi] 
liegis patris nostri tricesimo. [a.d. 1357.] 

Nos autem concessiones et voluntatem predictas ratas habeu- 
tes et gratas eas pro nobis et heredibus nostris, quantum in nobis 
est, dilectis nobis Burgensibus Burgi predicti et eorundem 
heredibus et successoribus Burgensibus Burgi illius concedimus 
et confirmamus sicut carta predicta rationabiliter testatur et 
prout iidem Burgenses et eorum predecessores Burgum predic- 
tum hactenus tenuerunt et libertatibus et acquietantiis predictis 
rationabiliter usi sunt et gavisi. In cujus rei testimonium has 
litteras nostras fieri fecimus patentes. Teste me ipso apud 
Westmonasterium die Junii anno regui nostri secundo [a.d. 1379]. 

Nos autem concessiones voluntatem et confirmacionem pre- 
dictas ratas habentes et gratas eas pro nobis et heredibus nostris 
quantum in nobis est dilectis nobis nunc Burgensibus Burgi 
predicti et eoiiindem heredibus et successoribus Burgensibus 
Burgi illius concedimus et confirmamus sicut carta et littere 
predicte rationabiliter testantur, et prout iidem Burgenses et 
eorundem predecessores Burgum predictum hactenus tenuerunt 
et libertatibus et quietanciis predictis rationabiliter usi sunt et 
gavisi. In cujus rei etc. T. R. apud Westmonasterium primo 
die Septembr'. [a.d. 1408.] 



185 



LINGEBROOK PRIORY. 

BT R. W. BANKS, ESQ. 

Leland, in his Itinerary (vol. v, p. 10), mentions this 
house in his list of abbeys in Herefordshire as " Lyne- 
broke, a place of nuns, within two miles of Wigmore, 
in the Marches between Herefor-dshire and Shrews- 
buryshire", and adds that the Mortimers, Earls of 
March, were its founders. Dugdale, in his Monasticon^ 
unfortunately included it in his list of the alien abbeys, 
which were finally dissolved in the reign of Henry V, 
as "Limbroke, Heref., Aveney in Norm. (Pat. 26, 
Ric. II.") Tanner, in his Notitia Monastica, considers 
the reference to Aveney to be an error for Aulney, 
which had a cell in Lincolnshire called Limbergh. Dug- 
dale s error has, nevertheless, been continued, and has 
been treated as correct in the recently published Dio- 
cesan History of Hereford. A careful search in the 
Extents of the lands of alien priories, co. Hereford, 
3 Ric. n, and in the list of alien priories \n Miscellanea 
of the Exchequer Rolls, 23 Edward I, makes it certain 
that Lingebrook, which has been gradually altered to 
its present name of Limebrook, was never an alien 
priory. Tanner, after referring to the supposed error, 
says that it is more certain that about a quarter of a 
mile from the left bank of the river Lugg was a priory 
of nuns of the Order of St. Austin, founded by some of 
the Mortimers as early as Richard I, which continued 
until the general suppression. 

The site of the Priory is marked as "Abbey" in the 
first Ordnance Survey, in the parish of Lingen, near 
the road which leads past Kinsham to Wigmore, by 
the side of a small brook which soon afterwards finds 
its way into Lugg. Nothing remains but a few ruined 
walls of rubble-work and foundations, which give no 
indications of monastic occupation. 



186 LINGEBROOK PRIORY. 

It remains to give a brief narrative of what may be 
now gathered relative to the Priory and its possessions. 
In the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas (1291), the lands 
within the diocese of Hereford, of the nuns of Lynge- 
broke, in Erleslen (Eardisland), Upton, Bodenham, 
Burton, and Morton, are taxed at £6:8: 8. The church 
of Clifton, in the deanery of Burford and archdeaconry 
of Salop, also then belonged to the Priory. A note of 
a different reading of the MS., at the foot of the page, 
adds " pauperum" to '* monialium", — a terra which ap- 
pears to have been well applicable down to the time of 
their suppression. 

In 1227 the Prioress of Lingebrok was summoned 
to make answer to the coheirs of Walter Muscegroa 
deceased, whose lands, by reason of trespasses imputed 
to him during the then late disturbance in the king- 
dom, had been given by King Henry III to John 
L'Estrange deceased, viz., lands in Wlfreton, Rettir, 
and Bodenham, to hold according to the form of the 
Dictum of Kenilworth^ the coheirs being prepared to 
redeem the same according to the said Dictum ; but 
the Prioress had entered the tenements in Bodenham, 
and detained them. The Prioress said in answer that 
the said Walter enfeoffed John L'Estrange of the said 
tenements, and that he enfeoffed Walter de Ebroicis 
(Devereux), who enfeoffed Nicholas Duredent, who en- 
feoffed Master John de Croft, who gave the same to 
the Prioress in frankalmoign ; whereupon the Court 
ordered the Rolls of Chancery to be searched for the 
alleged gift by Henry III to John L'Estrange. The 
result of the suit is not stated.* 

In May 1281 the royal licence was granted to Richard 
de la Legh to give 24*. of rent in West Bradeleye to 
the Prioress and nuns in frankalmoign ; and in May of 
the following year licence was granted to John de Croft 

^ Drawn op on the sarrender of the Castle of Eenilworth to the 
King. Under it the rebels were enabled to redeem their forfeited 
lands on payment of a certain number of years' value, calculated 
with reference to their offences. 

^ Coram Roge Roll, March, 6-7 Edward I, No. 42. 



LINGEBROOK PRIORY. 187 

to give to the Priory one acre of meadow in Ayston.^ 
Elizabeth and Joan, two of the daughters of Edmund 
Lord Mortimer, are recorded in the history of Wigmore 
Abbey (Dugd., Man.) as having been nuns of Lynge- 
broke Priory. 

On the 20th of June 1309, a pardon was granted to 
the Prioress and nuns for acquiring, in the time of 
Edward I, after the passing of the Statute of Mort- 
main, from Roger de Mortimer the advowson of the 
church of Stoke Blez (Blisse), which was held of the 
King in chief, without licence, with power to appropri- 
ate the same ; and on the 23rd of December 1336 a 
pardon was granted to the Prioress for acquiring 
] 165. 6d. of rent in Adforton, co. Salop, from Thomas 
de Baryngton without licence.* 

On the 20th of February 1351, on payment by the 
Prioress of 100^. into the Hanaper of the Chancery, 
licence was granted to Adam Esger, clerk, to give and 
assign the manor of Brokkeswode Power to the Prioress 
and nuns for celebrating the anniversary day of William 
Power in the Priory, according to the ordinance of the 
same Adam; and on the 10th of July 1355, in con- 
sideration of the great poverty and miserable indigence 
of the Prioress and nuns, and of 305. paid by them 
into the Hanaper, licence was granted to William de 
Waldebeof to give and assign to the Priory one messuage 
and 80 acres of land iu Draycote, to celebrate the anni- 
versary of the said William and Joan his wife after 
their deaths.* 

It also appears by the Inquisitions post Mortem of 
Roger de Mortimer (22 Ric. II) and of Edmund de 
Mortimer (3 Henry VI) that the Prioress held of these 
Earls a fourth part of a fee in Brokeswode. 

The Priory was surrendered to the Commissioners 
by Julian Barbor, the last Prioress, on the 28th of 
December 1539. In the Ministers' Accounts, 31,32, 

A Pat Rolls, 9 Edward I, m. 20; 10 Edward I, m. 13. 

2 Pat. Rolls, 2 Edward II, p. 2, m. 2 ; 10 Edward III, p. 2, m. 9. 

3 Pat. Rolls, 25 Edward III, p. 1, m. 31 ; 29 Edward III, p. 1, 
m. 30, 



188 LINGEBROOK PRIORY. 

Henry VIII, No. 96, the site of the late house, with 
the buildings there, is said to be " most apt for the 
farmer", with gardens, orchards, and fisheries. It was 
then leased by the Crown to John ap Richard. 

These notes may well conclude with an extract from 
Gasquet's Henry VIII and the English Monasteries, 
vol. ii, p. 464, and with an account of the possessions of 
the Priory on its dissolution : — 

" The nuns had fallen under the Act for the suppres- 
sion of the lesser monasteries, having an income of only 
£12 a year, but had purchased from Henry the perpe- 
tual continuance of their Convent by a payment of 
£53 : 6 : 8.^ At the close of 1639, however, they were 
called upon to surrender to the King, and the five 
nuns were promised pensions, the Prioress £6, and each 
of the others 635. 4d. ; in all, they were to have 
£16 : 13 : 4 a year. The following are the charges made 
for obtaining that sum for them : 

" William Thomas to John Scudamore, inclosing a Bill for 
getting the Pensions of the poor Nuns of Linbroke. 

£ 8, d. 

First, to write to Mr. Chancellor's clerk for making 

the warrant, and getting it signed . . 6 8 

Item, to Mr. Duke's clerk for writing out the pen- 
sions . . . . . .68 

Item, paid to Glascocke to dispatch them from the 

seal . . . . . .50 

Item, my Lord Privy seals fee for the head of the 

house . . . . .10 

Item, Mr. Chancellor's and Mr. Duke's fees of 

every portionary at 11/ . . . 2 15 

Item, for mine own labour . . ,10 



£5 13 4.'^ 



Mivistera' Accounts^ 33 Heyiry VIII. 

LYMBROKE PRIORY. 

" Com' Hereford. 
Pembridge. Eedd' in Marston .250 

Ereslande. Redd' in Barrow . . 114 

Broxwood. Byrches Redd' . 13 

^ Augm. Offic, Treas., Roll I, ni. 4n. 



LINOEBROOK PRIORY. 



189 



Roslen. Nonne House &c. . . .200 

Broxwood. Maner' . . .£300 

Broxwood. Herbag' de Powerswood , . 6 8 

Marston. Perquis' Curiae . . .14 

Dilwyn. Lib' redd' . . .36 

Bodenham. lib' redd' . . . . 1 8 5J 

Hereford Civ'. Lib' redd' . . . .34 

I^ynthall Erles. Lib' redd' . . .20 

Eyton. Lib' redd' . . .40 

Letton. Lib' redd' Abbot of Wigmore . . 3 4 

Morton. Par. de Eye. Lib' redd' . . 11 

Shirley. Eedd' de tenen' ad vol' . . . 19 10 

Aymestra. Redd' . . .10 

Shyrley. Ten' Ac. . . .10 

Amestrey. Prat' voc' Pungall . . . 13 4 

Cowarne Magna. Ten' et terr' . . 10 

Prat'. Esbroke . . . . .28 

Shobdon. Terr" . . . .16 

Bodyngeton. Prat' et Bryngewod terr' . . 13 4 

Leyngyn. Mess' . . . . .68 

Stoke Blisse. Deciraa . . . . 1 10 
Stoke Blisse. Al' decimae nuper Prioratui de 

Wormsley pertinen' . . . .10 

Lymbroke. Molend' cum clausis . . . 10 
Dorwalde. Firnia voc' Farleis felde prope Capel- 

1am de Dorwalde . . . .10 
Dorwalde. Firma Capellae^ St. Leonardi in, cum 

terr' eidem pertinen' . . . .200 

Lymbroke. Scit' Prior' &c. . . . 5 12 11 

Com. Salop*: 
Ludlow. Lib' redd' Magistri Hospital' S'ci Johan- 

nis de Ludlowe pro terr' . . . 12 

Com' Radnor': 
Prestene. Redd' . . . 3 3i 

Com' Wigom': 
Nunneupton. Mess' cum terris &c. infra Paroch' 

deC 16 8 

Clifton. Mess'&c. ... . . 70 

Clifton. Firma terr' voc' the Parsonag landes cum 

decimis . . . .15 8 

Clifton. AP decimse . . . . 2 13 4." 

R. W. B. 

^ See accoant of the discovery of remains, and drawing of Nor- 
man doorway, at Deerfold, Arch, Gamb,^ 4th Series, vol. iv, p. 835. 



190 



EVIDENCES OF THE 

BARRI FAMILY OF MANORBEER AND 
OLETHAN, 

WITH OTHER EAELY OWNERS OP THE FORMER, 
IN PEAIBROEESHIRE.i 

BY SIR GEORGE DUCKETT, BART., 

Knight of the Order of Merit of Saxe-Cdburg-Gotha^ Officer of PvUie 

Instruction in France, and Comxponding Member of Uu 

Society of Antiquaries of Normandy, 

Not the antiquary alone, bent on things pertaining to 
his favourite pursuit, neither the tourist from Tenby, 
nor the pedestrian plodding on his way for pleasure or 
for health, nor even the casual sportsman in search of 
game, within sight of the walls of Manorbeer, but one 
and each of these must have regretted, that some more 
authentic and less brief history of this interesting 
castle were forthcoming, involving the fortunes and 
vicissitudes, of so many generations. For ourselves, 
we have looked into every available and recently 
printed authority dealing with that locality, and dis- 
cover the same brief and incomplete details repeated 
in all, reproduced as a r6chauff6 from one common 
source. 

In view of elucidating this subject, an attempt was 
made in vol. xi, 4th Series, of the Archceologia Cam- 
hrensis, to furnish some, till then unpublished, particu- 
lars respecting the earliest known possessors of that 
place ; and additional evidences were given from the 

^ The aathorities for this paper are — Giraldas Cambrensis, ^.nj^Zta 
Sacra^ Documents pertaining to Ireland (Sweetman) ; Ordericus 
Vitalis ; Smith's History of Cork ; Irish ArchoBological Journal ; Ani- 
nals of the Four Masters; Hoare's Totir in Irelartd ; Lodge's Peerage 
of Ireland; Roberts' Calendarium Genealofficum ; Inquisitiones post 
Mortem et ad quod Damnum ; Brut y Tywysogi&n,^ with other refer- 
ences quoted in loco. 



THE BARKI FAMILY. 191 

Public Records on the same subject, in a later volume* 
of those Collections. 

In respect of the actual building or structure, little, 
if any, further information is derivable from existing 
evidence, or such as has hitherto come to light. We 
have simply before us what has already been supplied 
by diflferent writers, who, copying one from another, 
have left its early history as much in the dark as ever, 
spending pages over the etymology of the name of 
Manorbeer — a matter of very little, if of any con- 
sequence whatever. 

Of its earliest known possessors, the Barri family, it 
seems possible to furnish some authentic details, and 
this will be mainly the purport of the present paper. 

Manorbeer lies on the sea-coast between Tenby and 
Pembroke, and to those who may not have access to 
Leland, Hoare's Giraldus Cambrensis, or Fen ton's His- 
torical Tour through the county of Pembroke, we may 
supply the gist of their description of it. The latter 
observes: "The castle remains the most perfect model of 
an old Norman baron's residence, with all its appendages, 
church, mill, dove-house, ponds, park and grove still to 
be traced ; and the houses of his vassals at such a 
distance as to be within call." Indeed, the building is 
also the most perfect and entire known of any remain- 
ing castellated structure. Some description of the seat 
of the Barri family is given also by Giraldus Cam- 
brensis, who was a cadet of that house, and born at 
Manorbeer circa 1146.* His own words, more eulo- 
gistic of this his birthplace than quite merited, cor- 
respond in most particulars with its still existing 
features, save and except that certain lakes or fish- 
ponds, and enumerated vineyards, no longer exist ; 
though the valley which he mentions and its rivulet 
still remain. Neither has the structure ever undergone 
any very material alteration, and was at the outset 
apparently designed both for residential and defensive 
purposes. This is to be inferred from the fact that its 

1 Vol. xiii, p. 166, 4th Series, « Hoare's Giraldus, i, 201. 



192 THE BARRI FAMILY 

enceinte or main enclosure, in respect of this last, is 
furnished with no openings save loop-holes or similar 
apertures for the discharge of missiles, and that all its 
habitable apartments look inwards, facing an interior 
court. This conclusion as to the design of the edifice 
is probably correct ; but one fact still remains unex- 
phnnable, save on very questionable grounds, how, 
namely, throughout the stormy ages of its existence, 
and centuries of civil commotion, the building has 
escaped the ravages as well of warfare as of time ; and 
this last fact as to its existing condition^ tends much 
to the supposition that its defensive character could 
not have been a primaiy consideration. Its gateway 
and entrance, nevertheless, point somewhat to the 
contrary, being strongly protected by flanking-defence ; 
whilst, on the other hand, the fact that the church, 
though only a moderate distance from the castle, waa 
even detached at all from it, and that no oratory, so 
usually concomitant with feudal strongholds in the 
earliest pre-Reformation times, has been discovered 
within its enclosure, tends more to the supposition of 
a residential rather than of a defensive structure in its 
character. In this church there still remains a recum- 
bent monumental figure of a knight in chain-armour, 
the crossed legs of which, whilst denoting the crusader, 
point, by the shield charged with the Barri coat, to a 
member of that house. The connection of the Barri 
family with the Princes of the House of Dinevor may 
have contributed to its almost miraculous escape from 
ruin and overthrow, but its maintenance and preserva- 
tion must have been the result of care on the part of 
succeeding holders. 

* This condition may also, possibly, be attributable to wbat is 
recorded in the Camhrian Register , ii, 96, from a MS. of George 
Owen of Henlljs : "The buildings of the antient castles (of Pem- 
brokeshire) were of lyme and stone, soe verie strong that none of 
the masons of this age can doe the like ; for although all, or most 
of them, have endured for diverse hundred yeares past, yet are they 
in such wise knit together as if the lyme and stone did incorporate 
the one the other, and it were easier to dig stones out of the mayne 
rock then to pull down an old wall." 



OK MANOBBEER AND OLETHAN. 193 

It is probable that the Barris, in the absence of proof 
to the contrary, were the original founders of Manor- 
beer, and that its erection may be ascribed to William 
de Barri in the early part of the twelfth or end of the 
eleventh century, being the first of whom we have any 
reliable record.^ An earlier founder might, we think, 
be sought in Gerald de Windsor, which would place 
the era of its foundation in the eleventh century, a 
generation earlier. He had married Nesta, daughter 
of Rhys ap Tewdwr (Theodore), aud it was her daugh- 
ter whom William de Barri then had married. William 
de Barri is, however, the first known or recorded pos- 
sessor of Manorbeer, after arriving in Wales in the 
train of Arnulph de Montgomerie,* as one of his asso- 
ciates. 

* The MS. of George Owen of Henllys {Camb, JReg., ii, 102) attri- 
butes the erection of all the first castles and strongholds in Wales 
to this very era of Strongbow : " Onely one general note I think 
good to give in this place, that all the castles and tonnes of this 
country for the most part were bnilt by our conqueror, Erie Strong- 
bowe, and his Knights to whom he g^ve the land." 

* Arnoul or Arnulph de Monteomeri was a younger son of Roger 
de Montgomeri, Gomte de Belleme, the well-known Norman A>1- 
lower of the Conqueror, who made him Earl of Shrewsbury and 
Arundel. He had a sort of *' roving commission", as one may say, 
from the King to conquer and obtain what he could by the sword, 
in South Wales, for as early or earlier than King Stephen, even in 
the time of Bufus, and in the following reign of Henry I, the chief- 
tains who had established themselves in the west of England 
sought (as an addition to their pay) the license of conquest in the 
contiguous country of Wales, {fiesta Stephani Regia^ p. 940.) Many 
obtained regular permission, many gave themselves permission, to 
invade the Welsh territory with or without " letters of marque*'. 
The former case is thus recorded by Giraldus Cambrensis (Jtiner. 
Wallie)^ "invadendae Cambriss facultatem petiverunt"; and a^in, 
"cm Rex dedit licentiam conquirendi super Wallenses" {Mon, 
AngV), To Arnoul de Montgomeri is attributed the erection of Pem- 
broke Castle, from which he was sometimes named Earl of Pem- 
broke; and the appointment of Gerald de Wyndesore, one of his 
Anglo-Norman adherents, as Governor or Lieutenant thereof. When 
Arnoul de Montgomeri joined in rebellion against Henry I, that 
King transferred the government of Pembroke to Gemld de Wind- 
sor, the husband ^as observed) of Nesta, the King's late concubine. 
Whether Arnoul then fortified his CasMe of Pembroke, as is said, on 

6th seu., vol. VIII. 13 



194 THE BARRI FAMILY 

The record-evidences of the Barri family, both of 
Manorbeer (known also as Maynebir), co. Pembroke, 
and the great baronial house of the same name in the 
county of Cork — for both deduce their descent from 
the same origin — are more or less encompassed with 
the difficulties which beset every descent tracing back 
to so remote a period, and more difficult to be recorded 
with trustworthiness, by how much the more the his- 
tory of their remote ancestry pertains to a date of 
which the records were few, and those few mostly 
untraceable and lost to posterity. This observation, 
perhaps, concerns more especially the immediate Anglo- 
Norman occupants of Manorbeer, after the first Wil- 
liam de Barri ; those Barrys, namely, who, though 
apparently severed from their Irish relations and kins- 
men, carried on the descent to its last known holder 
(or occupier) David de Barry, temp. Edward III. 

With the possessors of the great seignories of those 
who passed over into Ireland, in due time Lords 
Barry of Barrymore, the case is essentially different. 
The former are quite untraceable in Pembrokeshire or 
Wales after the latter part of the reign of Edward III, 
whereas the Irish family of bygone days rose to note 
and eminence, from the time of the establishment of 
English rule in Ireland, down to the extinction of the 
title derived from the Barrymore Barony, and its lineal 
holders at the beginning of this century. And this is 
so far explainable, if the observation, made somewhere, 

behalf of his brother, the Earl of Shrewsbury, is not clear ; but both 
he, his eldest brother Robert de Bell^me, and (according to Orderic 
Vitalis) his other brother, Roger of Poitou, were outlawed and 
banished the kingdom circa 1112, and their estates became forfeited 
to the Crown. The same chronicler gives his wife as Lafracoth, a 
daughter of one of the kings of Ireland, and asserts that through 
this alliance Amoul aspired, in due course, to succeed his father-in- 
law. Nevertheless, when Magnus, King of Norway, invaded Ire- 
land, and was killed. Amours wife was forcibly taken from him by 
her father. This would have occurred about 1114-15, for twenty 
years afterwards we find him reconciled to the King, and his death 
is subsequently recorded. {Of. Ordericus Vitalis, Pars III, lib. xi, 
p. 794, ed. Migne.) 



OF MANORBEER AND OLKTHAN. 195 

we think, in the pages of Irish Family History^ is 
grounded on reliable fact, that the pedigrees of the 
original Anglo-Norman conquerors and colonists of 
Ireland were more carefully kept in that country than 
those of their kinsmen and contemporaries who re- 
mained settled in England. As evident examples in 
support of this, may be cited, at any rate, the genealo- 
gies of the Anglo-Irish Fitzgeralds (house of Leinster) ; 
the Butlers (that of Ormonde) ; the De Courceys 
(Barons Kinsale) ; the Barrys (Earls of Barrymore) ; 
and the Roches (Lords Viscount Fermoy). This obser- 
vation, however, can only apply to the Barry descent 
after the first two generations, for to Giraldus de Barri 
himself is alone due what we know of them. It is 
palpably evident that the history of the Barrys of 
Manorbeer is the history of those also who became 
seated in and identified with Ireland. They are so 
authentically associated with the first conquest of that 
country, that the historical details of the first adven- 
turers and their Anglo-Irish successors, for three or 
four generations, in their conquered and allotted terri- 
tories, are to some extent, if not entirely, the history 
of the occupants of Manorbeer during that same period. 
In the latter part of the reign of Edward III, how- 
ever, Manorbeer and its estates passed entirely out of 
the hands of the Barri family. The far greater im- 
portance which they acquired in their newly conquered 
and adopted countiy, as Lords of Olethan, etc., made 
them undoubtedly more indiS'erent to their English 
estate, and so it happened that, by some apparent 
failure of the ultimate proprietors' right, the lands 
became escheated and forfeited to the Crown. This 
may explain how, after falling into the King's hands, 
Manorbeer became constantly and successively the 
life-tenancy of some court-favourite for the time being. 
According to Camden and the Itinerm^ of Giraldus 
de Barri (chap, vi), the Barris derived their name 
from Barri Island situated on the shore of the Severn, 
or rather that of Glamorganshire, of which they were 

13« 



196 THE BAUKI FAMILY 

the lords. These are authorities which it raay be bold 
to impugn, but we would rather believe on the con- 
trary, and assert that the island in question derived 
its name from them. The family is so thoroughly and 
unmistakeablv Norman by name, that its original head 
was beyond doubt one of Duke William's followers at 
the Conquest of England ; indeed, the name is still 
identified with the existing family of Barri in France, 
and known as belonging to Gascony and Guienne to 
this day. 

Before dealing with the respective descents of the 
Barrys of Wales and those of Ireland, we may observe 
that from the time of the conquest of Ireland, when 
Robert de Barri accompanied his uncle Robert Fitz- 
Stephen in 1169-70, down to 1215, the Welsh and 
Irish properties must have been in the same hands, 
though between 1215 and 1324, the records seem to 
point to more than two lords. Chronologically 
arranged the Barrys^ of Manorbeer and tho Anglo- 
Irish Barrys of Olethan, are distinctively the same 
persons at the subjoined dates, and this is confirmed 
by recorded evidence : — 

LORDS OF MANORBBER, LORDS OP OLBTHAN. 

1207, William, son of Philip 1207, William, son of Philip 

de Barri. de Barri. 

1244, David de Barri. 1244, David de Barri 

1301-24. John, son of David 1307-19, John, son of David 

de Barri. de Barri, 

The most notable of the Manorbeer family, and the 
first probable possessor of the castle and its estates (as 
observed), from whom the succeeding owners of it may 
be deduced, was William de Barri. He was the son of 
Odo de Barri, and married (according to some, as his 
second wife) Angereth (or Angharad), the grand- 
daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, by that prince's daughter 

* We use "Barri" nnd "Barry" indifferently, the older orthogra- 
phy being " Barri". 



OF MAKORBEEK AND OLETHAN. 197 

Nesta, who was thus sister of Robert Fitz-Steplien,^ 
the prominent figure in the expedition of the first 
invasion of Ireland. Nesta' being sister (or daughter 
according to some) of Gruffydd ap Rhys, the ruling 
Prince of Wales at that time, his position by that 
alliance, in addition to his Anglo-Norman associations, 
became important and secure. He had been one of 
Arnoul (Arnulph) de Montgomeris adherents, when 
Henry I (or as some assert, Rufus) entrusted to that 
individual, the conquest of that part of Wales, and 
doubtless obtained the said estates as his share on the 
partition of the country. We regard him, therefore, as 
the common ancestor of the two families, although, in 

* Robert Fitz-Stephen is a person of too much consequence to 
pass over without further notice, for he was the first Englishman, 
or rather Anglo-Norman, who landed in Ireland with the avant 
garde of Strongbow's expeditionary force, his own party consisting 
of thirty knights, sixty csquir^, and three hundred foot-soldiers or 
archers. He was the son of Stephen, Constable of Abertiny (or 
Cardigan) and Pembroke Castles, by Xesta, the sister of Gruffydd 
ap Rhys, Prince of South Wales. She had been one of Henry Ts 
concubines, and had by him Henry, father of Miles and Robert 
Fit55-Henry, also adventurers under Strongbow. Her second hus- 
band waa Gerald (ancestor of the Fitz-Geralds), by whom she had 
Maurice and William. This Maurice Fitz-Gerald accompanied 
Robert Fitz-Stephen, and was with him at the taking of Wexford 
in 1169-70. "After sevenil successes", observes Dr. Smith {History 
ofCorkf 1774) " he, together with Hugh de Lacy, Robert de Bruce, 
and his half-brother, Maurice Fitz-Gerald, were constituted by 
Henry II joint-Governors of Ireland." As soon as the English 
dominion was fairly established there by Henry II, the King, in 
partitioning the country, made large grants to those who had 
assisted in its reduction. He assigned the whole kingdom (or pro- 
vince) of Cork to Robert Fitz-Stephen and Milo de Cogan by char- 
ter dated 1177. This charter, according to Hovenden in vitd 
Hen, rif was granted at the same time the King came to Oxenford 
and created his son John, King of Ireland. 

2 There exists the greatest possible contradiction in this descent. 
We follow the Brfd y Tywysogian as the most trustworthy. Accord- 
ing to that chronicle, Rhys, son of Tewdwr, began to reign a.d. 1077, 
was expelled 1087, and ob. 1091. His son (brother to Nesta), Gruff- 
ydd ap Rhys, ob. 1136 ; his son (Nesta's nephew), Rhys ap Gruffydd, 
flourished t Henry II (1171), s. Brut y Tywysogion^ pp. xxvii, xxx, 
61, 53; xxiv, xxxi, xxxiii, xxxiv, 119, 151 ; xxiv, 211, 213. 



198 THE BARRT FAMILY 

point of fact, one and the same. He must have died 
before 1166, for at that date we have evidence that his 
son Philip was paying tithes of his mills and wool in 
Pembrokeshire.^ (Ang. Sac, ii, p. 469.) 

THE BARRYS OF IRELAND. 

William de Barri (aforesaid) had four sons, Walter,* 
Robert, Philip, and Gerald. Of these, the youngest 
is historically the best known as Giraldus Cambrensis, 
the early chronicler, and of this son we will make 
further mention postea. From the eldest son Robert 
(by the second marriage), and from Phillip the second 
son, all the Barrys of Ireland are descended. In as 
much as Robert's career was short-lived, and that he 
fell at the siege of Lismore, we are disposed to con- 
sider Philip as ancestor of the Irish branch, or of the 
Barrys generally. 

Robert accompanied his uncle Fitz-Stephen as an 
adventurer in the conquest of Ireland, under Richard 
de Clare (second Earl of Pembroke, surnamed Strong- 
bow), and formed one of the first detachment of the 
expeditionary force. The date of the expedition is 
given as A.u. 1169, and was undertaken in the first 
instance in favour of Dermod, provincial King of 
Leinster. His brother (Cambrensis) tells us that he 
was the first man who was wounded in the conquest of 
that kingdom,' in attempting to scale the walls of 

* In 1131 he rendered account for £10 for the land of his father, 
as by Pipe Roll of that year, and was then of fall age. He is sup- 
posed to have died circa 1160, or possibly a year later. 

* Walter is recorded as the son of a former wife. 

* Conspicuous above all others in the first invasion of Ireland. A 
few years before he undertook the task he had been betrnyed by his 
vassals, when Constable of Cardigan (or Aberteivi), and given up 
to Rhys ap GrufFydd, who imprisoned him for three years, notwith- 
standing that he was his half-brother. By the intercession of his 
uncle, the Bishop of St David's, and another half-brother, Maurice 
Fitz-Gerald, he obtained his release. (Cf. Brut y Tywijgogion, p. 
213 ) 

This is related to the same effect, with other particulars, in a 
letter of one Florence MacCarthy, written during his imprison- 



OF MANORBEER AND OLETHAN. 199 

Wexford, and characterises him as "one more desirous 
to be eminent than to seem so/'^ He was afterwards 
killed at the assault of Lismore in 1185. It was in 
that year we find Philip, the second son, to have 
arrived in Ireland. In the meantime Strongbow and 
other followers had landed near Waterford.* 

He, like his elder brother had taken to a fighting 

ment, to ibe Earl of Thomond in 1609, among the Add. MSS. in 
the British Museum (4793, fo. 18), showing olearlj the part which 
Fitz- Stephen took. The letter on the " Ancient History of Ireland" 
goes on to state that Dormod MacMurchard, Chief of Leinster, hav- 
ing ravished a certain woman, " was driven out of the land, who 
went to King Hen. II, that was then in France {in 1168), by whom 
he was favourably used,, and dismissed with letters to license'' 
(Giraldns Camb., Expug. Uibern.y 1. i, c. i, p. 760) "as many as 
would go here (in England) hence with him. In his return he con- 
ditioned at Bristol with Richard, the son of Gilbert Earl of Stran- 
guel {Strongbow) to give him his daughter Aive {Eva) and Leinster 
after his decease ; and from thence went to the Prince of Wales, 
Rice ap Grifine, who inlarged.for him out of prison Robert Fitz- 
Stephens (sic) upon promise to follow MacMurchow, that went then 
for Ireland, where l\e kept secretly until Robert Fitz-Stephens, 
]S{anrioe Fitz-Gerald, and others, came with 90 horse and 300 
archers, whom the Earl of Stranguel {Strigul or Pembroke) followed 
at Bartholomew's- tide, in the year 1170, with 200 horse and 1000 
archers, and married the daughter of MacMurchow, who brought 
Leinster under his obedience." (Cf. Kilkenny ArckceoL Journal^ i 
New Series, p. 227. See further notice of Fitz-Stephen, p. 9.) 

^ "inter primes precipuus magis esse volebat, quam videri." 

* Strongbow's followers at the Anglo-Nonnan invasion are sup- 
posed to have embarked at Milford Haven, and to have first set foot 
on shore at Bannow, on the coast of Wexford, in May 1170. Fitz- 
Stephen would seem to have led the advance-guard of Strongbow's 
force, and the chiefs of his party consisted of Myler Fitz- Henry, 
Milo Fitz- David, Harvey de Montmaurice, Maurice de Prendegast, 
with Robert de Barri. Giraldns Cambronsis {Expugn, Hib., a iii, 
pp. 761, 762) describes the first landing of the expedition, and the 
intelligence thereof conveyed to Dermod MacMurrogh, the deposed 
King of Leinster. He says : '' Cum igitnr in Insula Banuensi sub- 
ductis se navibus recepissent, nunciis ad Dermicinm missis, non- 
nuUi ex partibus maritimis confluxerunt." As the remuneration, 
agreed upon beforehand, for this aid, Strongbow had tha Leinster 
King's daughter in marriage, and on the death of Dermod, in 1176, 
succeeded him as King of Leinster. The inheritance of his wife, 
Eva (the King of Leinster's daughter), as Countess of Pembroke, 
Strongbow parcelled out among his Anglo-Norman followers. 



200 THE BARRI FAMILY 

calling, and then went to assist his mother's brother, 
Robert Fitz-Stephen, in recovering the lands of Ole- 
than, Killede, and Muscherie-Dunegan, which hiul been 
taken possession of by Ralph Fitz-Stephen, the son of 
Robert. Whether this Ralph was tne Chamberlain 
of Henry II does not appear. These lands were the 
three cantreds near Cork, towards the efitst, which fell 
to the share or lot of Robert Fitz-Stephen, or those 
rather which he kept in his own hands out of the 
twenty-four cantreds* comprising the whole kingdom 
of Cork, which Henry II, when he portioned the coun- 
try, assigned to the above Robert and one Milo de 
Cogan. The charter granting this territory is dated 
about 1177, and the grantees came to an agreement 
with Dermod, King of Cork, to rent out the whole 
number, save the seven contiguous to Cork, which they 
retained in their own possession. These seven cantreds 
were bounded on the east by the river Blackwater, 
and of them Milo de Cogan retained the four western 
as his own portion. 

The portioning of the allotted territory occurred in 
1 1 79, and is confirmed by Giraldus Cambrensis {Expug- 
natio Hib.y lib. ii, c. 18). This younger brother attended 
Prince John in 1185, as his secretary, and arrived in 
Ireland in the same year with his brother Philip. By 
the inquisition taken after the death of Fitz-Stephen in 
1182, it would appear that a moiety of the (estates 
granted to him by the King, had been previously con- 
veyed to Maurice Fitz-Thomas Fitz-Gerald hid kins-^ 
man, before being created Earl of Desmond,^ together 
with the castle and manor of Dunemarke. The remain- 
ing, already named, cantreds in Cork, he gave to Philip 
de Barri his nephew, who soon afterwards erected 
thereon the castles of Barry's Court, Shandon, Castle- 
Lyons, and Buttevant. Of these, Buttevant in the 

^ A cantred is composed of one hundred villages, both in Wales 
and Ireland. 

2 Desmond si^nifips in Irish " Sonth Mnnst/er" (Smith). It was 
a county pnrtlj of Cork and Kerry. 



OF MAXORBEER AND OLETHAN. 201 

barony of Orrery, said to derive its name from the war- 
cry or Barry motto, Boutez en avant, was afterwards 
one of the principal seats of this Anglo-Irish family. 
They were held by the service of ten knights, under a 
feoffment of Fitz-Stephen, and became the splendid 
seignories of the lords Barry, over which that family so 
long afterwards exercised the feudal rights. Still, 
although the Barrys exercised over the estates within 
their seignories a more than despotic sway, levying on 
the freeholders' produce, so called " coyne and livery,^" 
they were themselves in aftertimes subject to the Earls 
of Desmond, who claimed to be the chief or paramount 
lords. 

In addition to the strongholds named, the Barrys 
erected other castles in the south and east of the county 
of Cork ; they founded besides and endowed many re- 
ligious houses, and became so important, that the family 
gave name to three baronies in that county, those of 
Barrymore,* Barryroe, and Orriria-Barria or Orrery. 
It has been observed, moreover, by some writer in 
speaking of the earliest Anglo-Irish colonists, and ap- 
plies to the family under notice, that their zeal for the 
English interest was proverbial, " at a time the Anglo- 
Normans became more Irish than the Irish themselves.'' 
This political state of affairs would not appear to have 
lasted beyond the Wars of the Roses, when most of 
the lords or original colonists of Anglo-Norman blood, 
went back to England in order to assist their friends 
and kinsmen, and in many cases forsook and abandoned 

^ Coin and lirery was an iniqnitoas extortion of ancienfc times in 
Ireland, exacted oat of the Church lands. The foarth Article of the 
Synod of Cishel enacts that henceforth the Church Unds and pen- 
sions of the clergy shall be free from all secular exactions and impo- 
sitions, and that no lords, earls, or noblemen, or their children, 
shall take or extort any coin or livery, cosheries, or caddies, or any 
such like custom, on the Church lands, etc. The custom is men- 
tioned by Giraldns Cambrensis, which proves that his descendants 
had very little regard for the prohibition. (Cox, i, p. 25.) 

2 Barrymoro barony contained 30 parishes, 204 plough-lands, or 
79,159 Irish plantation -acres. (Smith's Hist, of Curk, i, p. 154.) 



202 THE BARRI FAMILY 

their Irish estates, the native Irish re-possessing them- 
selves thereof, or overrunning them. Of these, the 
families of the Butlers espoused the cause of the House 
of York, whilst the Fitz-Geralds that of the Lancas- 
trians. The Barrys were possibly an exception, and 
remained on their estates, but many quitted Ireland 
to take part in the civil wars of that period. 

We purpose to enumerate the recorded members of 
the family in order of date, as far as possible, whether 
in undoubted direct descent, or unauthenticated as to 
their identity in the pedigree. 

A.D. 1169, 1185 (15 Hen. II, 31 Hen. II). Robert, the eldest 
son (ut supra), accompanied Fitz-Stephen to Ireland ; was 
wounded at the siege of Wexford, and subsequently killed at the 
taking of Lismore in 1185. 

A.D. 1140, 1166, 1185 (31 Hen. II). Philip de Barri appears 
to have succeeded his father before 1166 (A^ig. Sac,, ii, 469). He 
WHS the second son by the second marriage, and passed over to 
Ireland on the above occasion to assist his uncle in recovering 
the estates or cantreds in Cork, which Henry II had allotted to 
him, and dispossessing the usurper of them. He married, accord- 
ing to Arif/. Sac, ii, 468, a daughter of Richard Fitz Tancred, 
lord of Haverford. 

A.D. 1 146, 1185 (12 Stephen, 31 Hen. II). Giraldus Cambren- 
sis, youngest son of William de Barri, of whom postea, 

A.D. 1207 (8 John). William de Barri, son and heir of the 
foregoing Philip de Barri, is idenlified by King John's charter 
confirming to him the donation of the three cantreds in Cork, 
i.e, Olethan,^ Muscherie-Dunegan, and Killede, made by Robeit 
Fitz-Stephen to his father Philip de Barri. 

The witnesses to this confirmation of his lands in 
" Corcaia", were T., Bishop of Norwich ; David, Bishop 
of Waterford ; Simon, Bishop of Mcath ; Meyler Fitz- 
Henry, justiciary of Ireland ; John Marshall ; Philip de 
Prendegast ; David de Rupe ; Ranulph, earl of Chester ; 
Saier, Larl of Winchester ; Robert de Veteripont ; H. 
de Nevil'; Geoffrey de NeviP. (Woodstock, Chart., 
John, m. 5.) 

^ Oletlian was a cantred in the eastern extremity of Barrymore 
and in many records is named "Ivelhehan**. The Barrys, its owners, 
were for some time called Lords Barry of Castlelehan. 



OF MANORBRER AND OLETHAN. 203 

The evidences of William, third in descent from 
William of ManorVjeer are numerous, being identified by 
his attestation to several charters of that period. In 
view of the identity of the Irish and Pembrokesliire 
stock, it might possibly be further worthy of note, that 
the several deeds are tested in England. William de 
Barri is witness to the grant made to Richard de Lati- 
mer of lands in co. Dublin (tested at Woodstock, 9 
John, m. 5) ; to the grant to David de Rupe (Roche) 
of the cantred of Rosselither (Woodstock, 8th Nov., 
9 John, m. 5) ; to the grant to the four brothers Fitz- 
Philip, of the cantred in which Dunlehoth is situated 
(Woodstock, chart., 9 John, m. 5) ; to grant made to 
Eustace de Rupe of three carrucates in the honour of 
Luske, by the service of half a knight's fee, to be 
rendered by guarding the King's city of Dublin (tested 
at Woodstock, 9th Nov., chart., 9 John, m. 5) ; to 
Jordan Lochard of Kilsanehan (Woodstock, 8th Nov., 
chart., 9 John, m. 5) ; to Richard de Cogan of the 
cantred Muscry Omittone (Woodstock, 9 John) ; to 
Philip de Prendegast of forty knights' fees (Woodstock, 
9 John, m. 5) ; to Gilbert de Angulo of a cantred in 
Estyre (Tewkesbury, 12th Nov., chart., 9 John, m. 5). 
He witnessed further with Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, Earl 
of Essex ; Eanulph, Earl of Chester ; Saier de Quency, 
Earl of Winchester ; and others, the grant and con- 
firmation of divers lands to the convent of St. Mary of 
Grane and the nuns there, the gift of Walter de Ride- 
lesford (Tewkesbury, 12th Nov., chart., 9 John, m. 5). 
He was also witness to other charters of the same 
period.^ 

A.D. 1210 (12 John), Simon de Barri. Presfc {pay) made to 
knights at the mead near the water called Struthe, on Wednes- 
day (July 7), before W. Earl of Salisbury, and Richard de Maris- 
cis. Among the names of knights mentioned is the above Simon 
de Barri, who, from the date, was possibly a brother of William, 
for the next following entry has every appearance of being his 
son. 

^ Sec Swectman, Calendar (Irish docanients). 



204 THE BARRI FAMILY 

AD, 1221 (5 Hen. III). Eleven years later, viz. in 1221, we 
find Odo de Barri, who must have succeeded to the principal 
estates, for he is named with Kathel, King of Connaught ; O., 
King of Keneleon ; Dermot Macarthi, and other chief men in 
Ireland, as recipient of a letter (similar to one addressed to Tho- 
mas Fitz-Anthony), in which the King (Henry III) complains 
that since the death of King John (his father), he has received 
nothing whatever from the demesne-lands, rents of assize, or 
escheats of Ireland. (Westminster, July 17 ; Close Roll, 5 Hen. 
Ill, p. 1, m. 6, dorso.) 

A.D. 1229 (14 Hen. III). Philip de Barri; mandate to the Jus- 
ticiary of Ireland that the following knights, whom the King 
commanded to come with horses and arms, for his passage across 
the sea, remain in Ireland during the Justiciary's absence. 
(Close Roll, 14 Hen. Ill, p. 1, m. 15, dorso.) 

A.D. 1235 (19 Hen. III). Odo de Barri ; ostensibly the above. 
The King writes to Kw^^h de Lacy, Earl of Ulster, and others 
(among whom are Odo de Barri and David de Barri), thanking 
them for their services, and for remaining faithful to him while 
others recede from their fealty, etc. (Close, 19 Hen. Ill, p 2, 
m. 1.) 

A.D. 1237 (21 Hen. III). Robert de Barri, according to some, 
founded and endowed the Augustinian Abbey of Bally beg, near 
Buttevant, dedicating it to St. Thomas.^ Nevertheless, other 
testimony assigns its foundation to his grandfather, Philip, in 
1229. 

A.D. 1237 (21 Henry III). Philip de Barri is by the s:\me 
authority said to have founded a priory for Dominicans o:i a 
site in Cork, now called Crosses Green. He is also said to hav3 
erected Ballybeg Abbey, the foundation of which is also attri- 
buted to Philip de Barri, the great-grandfather of the Lord Jus- 
tice of Ireland in 1267. 

A.D. 1234 (18 Hen. Ill), David de Barri had a grant of a mar- 
ket at Buttevant. Was killed 1262. 

A.D. 1237 (21 Hen. Ill), Philip de Barri ; the same, probably, 
with the foregoing, and brother of David. Mandate to Maurice 
Fitz-Gerald, Justiciary of Ireland, to cause Philip de Barri to be 
brought under judgment of the Exchequer for debts from him, 
by summons of that Court. (Woodstock ; Close Roll, 21 Hen. Ill, 
ni. 7.) 

A.D. 1245 (29 Hen. III). WaUer de Barri was a juror on in- 
quisition taken by command of the King to the justiciary of 
Ireland, as to what lands Donatus, Bishop of Killaloe, had been 
deprived of ; or as to whether the lands of Roscrea ought to 

^ History of Ireland ^ MacGeoghegan, p. 303. 



OF MANORBEER AND OLETHAN. 205 

belong to the bishopric of Killaloe ; by whom they were alien- 
ated ; and what worth. This inquisition was taken at Eoscrea 
on Wednesday next after the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. 
(Inq. 29, Hen. Ill, No. 43.) 

A.D. 1251-2 (36 Henry HI). Philip de Ban-i, probably the 
above brother of David. By Inq. p, m. taken on Gerard de 
Prendegast, it was found that Philip de Barri held of him, in 
Balacha, one carrucate for one pound of pepper. {Inq. p, w., 
36 Hen. Ill, No. 61.) 

A.D. 1234, 1257, 1267, 1273 (18 Hen. Ill, 2 Ed. I). David de 
Barri, Lord Justice of Ireland in 1267, seems to have been one 
of the most powerful and remarkable oif the family, and by the 
services he rendered to the English Crown^ increased its stabi- 
lity in Ireland ; the thorough subjection to which he brought 
the MacCarthys, Kings of Cork, being, perhaps, among the most 
conspicuous. He was grandson of Robert, and great-grandson 
to Philip de Barri, the presumed founder of Ballybeg Abbey, to 
which he became a principal benefactor. According to the 
Annals of the Four Masters he founded, in 1251, the Abbey of 
Buttevant (Kilnamullagh), which thenceforth became the bury- 
ing place of the Barry family. On the inquisition taken after 
the death of Gerard de Prendegast, in 1251, it was found that 
the same held of David de Barry, in cajpite, fourteen fees, four 
carrucates, and sixteen acres, by the service of two knights. It 
was also found that he held half a cantred in Corkoyheof David 
de Barri, by the service of one knight {Inq. p. m., 36 Hen. Ill, 
No. 6.) He was constituted Lord Justice of Ireland in 1267. 
He, or, as is said, his father David had already, in 1234, obtained 
a grant in fee of a weekly market on Saturday, at his manor of 
Buttevant, and of a week's fair there, on the Vigil and Feast of 
St. Luke the Evangelist and the following days (17-24 Oct.). 
He had a further grant of a weekly market on Friday, at his 
manor of Karetto ThelV; witnesses to which were Edmund Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury and others. (Marlborough; Exchequer, 
Q. E. Miscellanea, ^- o. m. 5 ; Sweetman.) About 1272, or shortly 
after, we find David de Barri named in a conveyance as surety 
for Maurice Fitz-Maurice, when the same was summoned to 
warrant to Thomas de Clare the town of Youghal. (Esc, 20 
Edw. I, No. 117, m. 2.) He was living in 1273, having obtained 
in that year free warren in all his lands. 

A.D. 1273 (2 Edw. I). William de Barri granted to the poor 
of Buttevant the whole of the Church of Cathirduggan.* 

A.D. 1300 (28 Edw. I). Matilda de Barri, named as wife of 

^ Haniner's Chronicle. ^ Man. Ilib, 



206 THE BARRI FAMILY 

Maurice Fitz-John in inquisition of that date taken on Thomas 
Fitz-Maurice. (Roberts* CaL Gen.) 

A.D. 1301 (29 Edw. T). William de Barri, identified by an in- 
quisition " ad quod damnum'* of that date, relating to the Prioress 
and nuns of the Convent of St. John the Baptist in the suburbs 
of Cork ; the Lady Superior being Agnes de Hereford. (Roberts' 
Cat. Oen.) 

A.D. 1307 (1 Edw. II). John de Barri founded a house for 
Minorites of the Franciscan Order at Castle Lyons in the county 
of Cork. He also endowed the house of St. John the Baptist, of 
the Benedictine Order, within the suburbs of Cork (as above), 
with lands in Olethan and elsewhere.^ He was probably the 
same who occurs under 1317. 

AD. 1310 (3 Edw. II). David de Barri. Writs issued to Mau- 
rice de Carew to distrain the lands of David de Barri and 
Maurice Fitz-Gerald for services, etc., due to the King as Lord 
of several of their possessions. (BibL Lamb., i, fo. 38.) 

AD. 1317 (10 Edw. II). John de Barri (recorded as the grand- 
son of David the Justiciary of 1267) was living at Buttevant at 
this date ; possibly identical with the preceding John. He was 
father of David de Barri, according to some, and of 

A.D. 1355 (29 Edward III), William de Barri and John Barri, 
both named in an inquisition " ad quod damnum" taken at Cork 
before William de Rose, Prior of the Hospital of St. John of 
Jerusalem, relating to lands in Cork. 

AD. 1359 (32 Edw. III). Gerald de Barri was at this date 
Lord Bishop of Cork. 

AD. 1376 (49 Edward III). William, son of Adam de Barri, 
had seizin from Richard de Sarsfield of a messuage and all his 
lands in Gougheston, in the parish of KylaspuUmallan, co. Cork. 

A.D. 1390 (14 Ric. II). William Barri, chivaler, named with 
Joan his wife in an acknowledgment of the receipt of twenty- 
five marks. (Among the muniments of the Corporation of Rye ; 
H.M.C., iii, 512.) 

A.D. 1490 (6 Hen. VII). William de Barri did homage for his 
barony, and sat in Parliament, about 1490, as first Viscount de 
Barry of Barry's Court. He was killed by his brother David, 
Archbishop of Cork and Cloyne, in 1499. His successor was 
John Lord Barry and Viscount Buttevant, and his son was 

A.D. 1499 (6 Hen. VII), David de Barry, brother of the first 
Viscount (as above), killed in his turn by Thomas Barry. 

AD. 1555 (3 and 4 Phil, and Mary). James Barry, Viscount 
Buttevant, who entailed his estates in favour of his cousin. 

AD. 1557 (4 and 5 Phil, and Mary). James Barry, Viscount 

1 Mon, Ilih., pp. 61, 681. 



OF MANORBEER AND OLETHAN. 207 

Barrymore, who sat in Parliament, as Premier Viscount, in 
1559. His son, 

A.D. 1585-1617 (28 Eliz., 15 James I), David Fitz-James 
Barry, Viscount Buttevant and Lord of Ibawne, joined in the 
rebellion with Gerald Fitz-Gerald, sixteenth Earl of Desmond. 
He paid a fine of £500 to make his peace with the Government, 
and became afterwards faithful and loyal to the Crown. In 
1610 he raised the siege of Kinsale, and defeated the Spaniards, 
as General of the Provincial Forces. 

A.D, 1601-28-39 (44 Eliz., 3 and 4 Charles I). David, Lord 
Viscount Buttevant (grandson to the foregoing), was created 
Earl of Barrymore. Ilis son, 

A.D. 1630-56-94 (6 C. I ; 6 W. and M.), Richard Barry, second 
Earl of Barrymore, was succeeded in 1694 by Lawrence, third 
Earl, who in 1699 was succeeded by his half-brother, James, as 
fourth Earl. 

From him descended : 

AD. 1717-48 (21 Geo. II, 25 Geo. II), James, fifth Earl of 
Barrymore, who was succeeded in 1751 by his only son, 

A.D. 1751 (25 Geo. II, 13 Geo. III). Richard, born 1745, sixth 
Earl of Barrymore, and 6b. 1773. His son, a minor at the date 
of his succeeding his father. 

A.D. 1769-73 (13 Geo. Ill, 33 Geo. III). Richard, seventh 
Earl of Barrymore, died from an accidental discharge of a mus- 
ket while escorting French prisoners from Folkestone to Dover 
in 1793. He was succeeded by 

AD. 1770-93 (11 Geo. Ill, 5 Geo. IV), Henry, his brother, 
eighth Earl of Barrymore. At his death (1824) the title became 
extinct, and with it the lineage of the main branch of this 
ancient family. 

These two last noblemen not only encumbered their 
estates by mortgage, but conveyed away a large portion 
of them. The latter became overwhelmed with debt, 
and a story is told of this earl, whether true or not is 
uncertain, for the authority is not given, nevertheless, 
it is characteristic of the period, when licentious squan- 
dering was quite the form and fashion, and may be 
possibly well founded. It is related that, when residing 
at Anngrove,^ a tradesman called on the earl, for a 
settlement of his account. He was ordered refresh- 
ment, and shown every possible attention and hospi- 

^ One of the Barrymore seats, near Cork. 



208 THE BARRI FAMILY, ETC. 

tality. Under the pretence of affording him some 
amusement, he was asked to look out of one of the 
reception-room windows, at a man half-naked and 
undressed, whom some of the tenantry or their men 
were preparing to " duck" in a piece of water ; inquiring 
what the proceeding meant, and what he had done to 
merit this outrage, the Earl informed him 'Hhat he 
was a rascally dun, and that he had a number of the 
same class tied up in an outhouse, waiting their turn" 
to be similarly dealt with. The creditor not quite 
relishing the treatment in prospect, took the hint and 
disappeared. 

Thus far the Barrys of Ireland, until the extinction 
of the Earldom of Barrymore in 1824. 

( To he continued,) 



209 



LLYFR SILIN. 

YN CYNNWYS ACHAU AMRYW DEULUOEDD 
YN NGWYNEDD, POWYS, ETC. 

( Continued from p, 101 . ) 



RHIWEDOG. 

JoHN^ Lloyd ap John' Lloyd ap Lewis Lloyd^ (1654) 
ap William ap Elissau ap William Lloyd ap Moris ap 
Sion ap Meredydd ap leuan ap Meredydd ap Howel 
ap Dafydd ap Graflfydd ap Kariadog ap Thomas ap 
Rodri ap Owain Gwynedd.* 

Mam Elisau ap William Lloyd oedd . . . verch Dafydd 
ap Meredydd ap Howel ap Tudr ap Grono ap 
GruflPydd ap Madoc ap lorwerth ap Madoc ap 
Rind Flaidd, 
Mam William Lloyd oedd Angharad verch Elissau 
ap GruflPydd ap Einion ap GruflFydd ap Llewelyn 
ap Cynwric ap Osber. 
Mam Moris ap Sion oedd Gwenhwyfar verch Grono 
ap leuan ap Einion ap GruflPydd ap Howel ap 
Meredydd ap Egnion ap Gwgan ap Nerwydd ap 
GoUwyn : un o'r 1 5 Llwyth Gwynedd. 
Mam Sion ap Meredydd* oedd Fargred verch ac eti- 
feddes Einion ap Ithel* ap Gwrgenau fychan ap 
Gwrgenau ap Madoc ap Ririd Flaidd. 
Mam Meredydd ap leuan ap Meredydd oedd Lleu- 
ku verch Howel ap Meiric Lloyd^ ap Meiric ap 

^ B. 1699, d. 1737. {JETisL ofPowys Fadog, vol. vi, p. 298.) 
« D. 1724. 
^ * Sheriff of Merionetlishire, 1652-3. Died March 20, 1668, aged 
sixty. 

[Should not this be Lewis Lloyd ap Robert ap William ? — I. M.] 
* See HisU Powt/a Fadog iv, p. 266 et seq. 
^ Tstym Cegid. 6 O Riwedog. 7 Q Nannau. 

6th bxb., vol. VIII. 1 1 



210 LLYFK SILIN. 

Ynyr fychan ap Ynyr ap Meiric ap Madoc ap 
Cadwgan ap Bleddyn ap Cynfyn. 
Plant Elissau o Sibil verch SirSion Pilston Constabl 
Kaernarfon a chwaer Robert Pilston un fam un 
dad oedd William Lloyd ; Roland ; Sion ; Elis- 
sau fychan ; Rys Wynn ; Ereulys ; a Hugh 
Gwynn ; Gaenor gwraig Robert ap Morgan o 
Grogen ; Sion gwraig Cadwaladr Fychan ; a 
Lowri gwraig Dafydd ap Rhydderch ap Einion.^ 
Plant William Lloyd o Elsbeth Owen chwaer Sion 
Owen o Lwydiarth oedd Elissau ; Sion Lloyd ;* 
Rolant ; Gaenor gwraig Robert Kynaston ;' 
Sibil gwraig John Wynn o Ddolybachog ;* Mar- 
gred gwraig Edward Wynn o Garth ;* Doritie 
gwraig William Lloyd ap Harri;* Lowri gwrai 
Edward Prys f a Chattrin gwraig Edwan 
Lloyd o Bentre-aeron.® 
Elissau ap William a Sion Lloyd ap William uchod 
a fuant feirw yn ddiblant. Gwraig Sion Lloyd 
oedd® verch ac etifeddes Sir Sion Lloyd o Geis- 

wyn : a gwraig Elissau oedd ^® ferch 

Hugh Nane hen ; ac wedi raarw Elissau ap 
William a Sion Lloyd ei frawd digwyddodd 
meddiant Rhiwedog i Lewis Lloyd eu Nai." 
William Lloyd ap Moris ap Sion ap Meredydd o 

Rhiwedog ac Elissau ap Moris o'r Klanene oeddent 

Frodyr un fam un dad." 

1 O'rBala. 

2 Succeeded liifl brother; was Sheriff of Merionethshire, 1616 
and 1636 ; died Nov. 1646, without issue. 

* O Vortyn. * In Arwystli. 

* In Guilsfield, co. Montgomery. * Of Havod Uno8,co. Denbigh. 
" O Dre Brysg yn Llanuwchllyn. 

* Yn Arglwyddiaeth Croes Oswallt. 

* Margred. See Ceiswyn pedigree above. 

^® Jane, who married, secondly, Lewis Gwyn of Dolangwyn,Towyn 
(Lewys Dwnn, vol. ii, p. 226, n. 3, and Arch, Camh,j iii, p. 253, 5th 
Series). 

^^ Mab Rolant 3 ydd mab i William ap Elisau. 

** Hefyd Robert ap Moris o Park yn Llanfrothen ac o hwnnw y 
diicth teulu 'r Anwyliaid o'r Park. 



LLYFR SILIN. 211 



MATHAFARN. 

William Pugh^ ap John Pugh* ap Rowland^ P^g^^ ap 
Richard Pugh ap Rowland Pugh ap John ap Hugh ap 
leuan ap Dafydd* Lloyd ap Llewelyn ap GruflPydd ap 
leuan Lloyd ap Llewelyn ap Tudr ap Grono ap Einion 
ap Seissyllt Arglwydd Meirionydd ap Ednowain ap 
Eunydd ap Brochwel ap Isw^alder ap Idris arw ap 
Clydno ap Ynyr Farfdrwch ap Gwyddno Garanir ap 
Cadwaladr ap Meirion Meirionydd ap Tybion ap Cun- 
edda Wledig. 

Meibion a Merched Hugh ap leuan ap Dafydd Lloyd 
oedd Sion ; Meredydd ; Richard f Humphrey f 
a Dafydd^ Lloyd : ac o ferched, Mallt gwraig 
Sion ap Dafydd Lloyd o Fachynlleth ; Sian 
gwraig Rys ap leuan ap Lewis o Ddarowen. 
Mam Hugh ap leuan ap Dafydd Lloyd oedd Eliza- 
beth verch Siankin ap lorwerth ap Einion ap 
Gruflfydd ap Llewelyn ap Cynwric ap Osber ap 
Gwyddlach. 
Mam Elizabeth verch Siankin oedd Elliw verch GruflF- 
ydd Derwas ap Meiric Lloyd ap Meiric fychan 
ap Ynyr fychan. Fal Ach Nane. 
Mam leuan ap Dafydd Lloyd oedd Margred verch 
Gwilym ap Llewelyn fychan ap Llewelyn ap 
leuan fychan ap leuan ap Rys ap Llowdden. 
Mam Margred oedd Llewku verch Rys ap leuan ap 
Cadwgan. 

^ M.P. for Montgomeryshire. Living in 1711. (Letvya Dwun^ 
vol. i, p. 296.) 

■ The lordship of Cyfeiliog, Montgomeryshire, g^nted to him by 
Charles II in 1664. (^Mont. Coll., vol. xvi, p. 125.) 

^ Living in 1633. (Leivys Btonn, vol. i, p. 296, n. 11.) In his 
time Mathafam was taken and burnt to the ground by the Parlia- 
mentary forces under Sir Thomas Myddelton, Knt., 1644. (Phil- 
lips' Civil War in Wales, p. 275.) 

* Esqnire of the Body to Henry VII. {Lewys Dwnn, vol. i, p. 296.) 

^ Of Rhosygarreg and DolycorsUwyn. 

« Of Aberffrydlan. 

^ Married Elizabeth Powys of Cymmer Abbey. (Hiai. of Powys 
Fadag, vol. v, p. 112.) 



212 LLYFR SILIN. 

Mam Dafydd Lloyd ap Llewelyn ap Gruffydd oedd 
Goleubryd verch Madoc ap Gwily tn ap lorwerth 
Lloyd ap Riwallon fychan ap Riwallon Lloyd ; 
brawd oedd lorwerth Lloyd i Alo (neu Riwal- 
lon). Cais Ach Eglwyseg. 

Mam Llewelyn ap Gruffydd oedd Arddun verch 
leuan ap Madoc ap Gwenwys. 

Mam Gruffydd ap leuan oedd Mabli verch Philip 
fongam ap Meredydd Benwyn ap Gruffydd ap 
Grono ap Gwyn ac i Frochwel Yscythrog. 

Mam Meredydd Benwyn oedd verch Meredydd 

Bengoch o Fuellt ap Llew. ap Howel ap Seissyllt 
ap Llew. ap Cadwgan ap Elystan Glodrudd. 

Mam Tudr ap Grono ap Emion ap Seissyllt oedd 
Meddefys verch Owain Cyfeiliog ap Gruffydd 
ap Meredydd ap Bleddyn ap Cynfyn. 

Mam Meddefys oedd Gwenllian verch Owain Gwyn- 
edd ap Gruffydd ap Cynan. 

Mam Gwenllian oedd Cristian verch Grono ap Owain 
ap Edwin. 

Mam Sion ap Hugh ap leuan, etc., oedd Mary verch 
Howel fychan ap Howel ap Gruffydd ap Siankin 
ap Llewelyn ap Einion ap Kelynin.^ 

Mam Howel fychan oedd Margred verch leuan ap 
Owain ap Meredydd ap Dafydd ap Gruffydd 
fychan. 

Mam Mary verch Howel fychan oedd El en verch 
Sion ap Meredydd ap leuan ap Meredydd ap 
Howel ap Dafydd ap Gruffydd ap Kariadog. 
Mai Ach Rhiwedog. 

Mam Elen verch Sion ap Meredydd oedd Wenhwyfar 
verch Grono ap leuan ap Einion ap Gwgan ap 
Meredydd ap CoUwyn un oV 15 Llwyth Gwyn- 
edd. 

^ See Mont. Coll., xiv, 3S5 el seq. 



LLYFR SILIN. 2l3 



NANNAU. 

Hugh Nannau (06. 1702) ap H...^ (Hedd or Howel. 
No, it was Hugh. — I. M.). Nane ap GruffydcP ap Hugh* 
Nane ap Gruffydd* ap Hugh* Nane ap Gruffydd^ Nane 
ap HoweF ap Dafydd ap Meiric® fychan ap Howel Selef 
ap Meiric Lloyd ap Meiric fychan* ap Ynyr fychan ap 
Ynyr ap Meiric ap Madoc^® ap Cadwgan ap Bleddyn ap 
Cynfyn. 

Mam Hugh Nane ap Gruffydd ap Hugh oedd Elin 

verch Sion Wynn ap Cadwaladr*^ o Benllyn. 
Mam Gruffydd Nane ap Hugh oedd Annes verch 

Kys Fychan o Gorsygedol. 
Mam Hugh Nane ap Gruffydd ap Howel oedd Sian 
verch Humphre ap Howel ap Siankin o Dowyn.^^ 

Mam Gruffydd ap Howel oedd " verch Robert 

Salsbri Lanrwst. Tad William Salsbri. 
Mam Howel ap Dafydd ap Meiric oedd Elen verch 

Howel ap Kys ap Dafydd ap Howel o Rug. 
Mam Dafydd ap Meiric fychan oedd Angharad verch 

Dafydd ap Cadwaladr ap Philip dorddu. 
Mam Meiric fychan ap Howel Selef oedd Mali verch 
Einion ap Gruffydd ap Llewelyn ap Cynwric ap 
Osber Wyddel. 

* Sheriff of Merionethshire, 1691 ; M.P. for Merionethshire, 1695- 
1701; died 1701. 

* Sheriff of Merionethshire, March 16 to April 10, 1689. 

^ Born Oct. 22, 1588; Sheriff of Merionethshire, 1626-7 uid 
1637-8; died 1647. 

* Bom Friday, Jnne 11, 1568; M.P. for Merionethshire, 1593-97. 

* Sheriff for Merionethshire, 1587. Living in Feb. 1598. 

* Living in 1541. "^ Living in 1510. ^ Living in 1486. 

* His tomb is in Dolgelley Church. The cover, now placed on 
the splay below a window on the sonth side of the chnrch, nearest 
the chancel, has on it a mde effigy, on the centre of which is a 
shield ; length, 9^ in. On it, in pale, is a lion passant, with his tail 
curved back over his body. In a bordure is the inscription, hic j 

JAOET i MEVBIC • FILIV8 • TNTR \ VAGHAN. 

^® Living in the fifteenth year of Edward II. 

^* OfRhiwlas. ^2 Of Tnysymaengwyn. 

^3 Elen. (Lewi/8 Dwnn^ vol. ii, p. 22.) 



214 LLYFRSILIN. 

Mam Howel Selef oedd Mallt verch Howel Pickill, 
Esq. 

Mam Meirig Lloyd oedd Gwladys^ verch Gruffydd 
ap Owain ap Bleddyn ap Owain Brogyntyn. 

Mam Meiric ap Ynyr fycnan oedd Gwenhwyfar verch 
Gruffydd ap Gwin ap Grono ap Einion ap Seis- 
syllt. 

Mam Ynyr Fychan ap Ynyr oedd Gwerfyl verch ac 
etifeddes lorwerth ap Peredur ap Ednowain ap 
Brad wen. 

Mam Meiric ap Madoc oedd Efa verch ac etifeddes 
Madoc ap Philip ap Uchdryd ap Aleth. 

Mam Madoc ap Cadwgan oedd Gwenllian verch 
Gruffydd ap Cynan Tywysog Gwynedd. 

Mam Howel ap Dafydd ap Meiric oedd Elen verch 
Howel ap Rys ap Dafydd ap Howel ap Rys o 
Rug. 

Plant Howel ap Dafydd ap Meiric o Elin verch 
Robert Salsbri o Lanrwst oedd Gruffydd Nane ; 
Lewis Gwyn ap Howel ; Robert ap Howel o 
Lanrwst ; Dafydd ap Howel ; Sion Wynn ap 
Howel ; o ferched Lowri gwraig leuan Lloyd ap 
Dafydd ap Meredydd o Langerniew ; ac Elen 
gwraig William ap Dafydd Lloyd o Benllyn. 

Plant Dafydd ap Meiric o Elen uchod oedd William 
a fu farw yn Ifange ; a Howel : o ferched Mar- 
gred gwraig Tudr fychan ; Cattrin gwraig Sion 
ap Gruffydd ap Rys o Lanegryn ; Mary gwraig 
gyntaf Gruffydd Lloyd ap Elisse o Ragat ; ac 
Elizabeth gwraig Elisse ap Gruffydd ap Howel, 
brawd Tudr fychan uchod, ac i bono y bu Gruff- 
ydd Lloyd ap Elisse a briodes Lowri verch Ed- 
nyfed ap Gruffydd o*r Hendvvr. 

1 Angharad (?). {Ibid., p. 22G.) 



LLYFR SI LIN. 215 



CORS T GEDOL. 

Dafydd Fychan^ ap Richard* Fychan ap Rys' Fychan 
ap William Fychan ap Gruffydd* fychan ap Gruffydd' 
ap Einion* ap GruflPydd ap Llewelyn ap Kynwric ap 
Osber ap Gwyddlach larll Desmond. 

Mam GrufFydd Fychan ap Richard oedd Sioned verch 
Robert Fychan. 

Mam Richard Fychan oedd Gwen verch ac etifeddes^ 
Gruffydd ap William ap Madoc ap Llewelyn 
fychan ap GruflPydd ap leuan ap Sir GruflTydd 
Llwyd Marchog.® 

Mam Rys fychan ap William oedd Margred verch 
Sir William Perod.* 

Mam Gwen verch GruflTydd ap William oedd Eliza- 
beth verch Robert ap Meredydd ap Hwlkin 
Llwyd o Lynllifon. 

Mam William Fychan oedd Mawd Element a bono 
oedd Arglwyddes Karon, ac a fuase yn briod oV 
blaen a Sion Wgan hir ap Harri Wgan ac 
iddynt y bu Sir Sion Wgan o Gastell Gwye ;*® 

^ Rebuilt most part of Corsygedol in 1592-3 ; Sheriff of Meri- 
onethshire, 1587-8 and 1602-3. Died Nov. 9, 1616. 

* Sheriff of Caernarvonshire, 1578-9; of Merionethshire, 1576 
and 1585. Died about 1588. (Calendars of Gwynedd, p. 52, n. 37.) 

8 Sheriff of Merionethshire, 1547-8 and 1556-7. 

* A juror for Merionethshire, 27 and 31 Henry VI, and Foreman 
of a jury for the same county, 33 Henry VI. 

^ Living, Michaelmas 1415. 

^ Living Michaelmas, 20 Richard II. 

^ Of Llwyndyrys in Caernarvonshire. 

* Knighted by Edward I. 

^ 20 May, 1 Henry VIII, William Vachan appointed Seneschal, 
Receiver, Apparitor, and Forester of Cilgerran, and Constable of the 
Castle, etc., during pleasure. (Orifftnalia Rolls ; Add. MSS., Br. 
Mus., No. 6363 ; Arch, Camb,, vi, p. 7, 4th Series ; Perrot Notes, by 
Rev. E. L. Barnwell, p. 28, where Margaret, wife of William 
Vaughan of Cilgerran, is named as the fifth daughter of Sir William 
Perrot, Knt., of Haroldstone, co. Pembroke, said to have succeeded 
to the estate c. 1474 ; L. Dvmn, i, p. 165.) 

^^ Angticvy Wogan of Wiston Castle in Pembrokeshire. 



216 LLYFR SILIN. 

a'r Fawd uchod oedd verch William Klement 
ap Sienkin Klement ap Sir Sion Klement ap Sion 
Klement ap Robert ap Sieffre fychan Klement. 

Mam GruflPydd Fychan ap Gruffydd ap Einion oedd 
Lowri verch Tudr ap GruflPydd Fychan ap Gruff- 
ydd or Rhuddallt. Cais Ach Sion Edward o'r 
Waun. 

Mam Mawd Klement oedd ...^ verch GruflTydd ap 
Nicholas ap Philip ap Elidr ddu ap Elidr ap 
Rys ap Grono ap Einion. 

Plant Rys fychan ap William oedd Gruffydd ; 
Richard ; Robert ; Thomas ; Elizabeth ; Kat- 
trin ; Annes ; a Mary. 

Plant Richard Fychan ap Rys Fychan oedd Gruffydd 
Fychan ; Harri ; William ; Rys ; Robert ; Sion 
Lowri ; Gwen ; Grace ; Mary a Margred. " 

Mam y Plant hyn oedd Sioned verch Robert Fychan. 

Plant Gruffydd fychan ap Gruffydd ap Einion o 
Gorsygedol o Mawd Klement* oedd William 
Fychan o Gilgerran ; a Gruffydd Fychan ; a 
Thomas. 



HARDDLECH. 

Jolm FJalcu^ Constabl Harddlech a Siryf Sir Feir- 
ionydd ap John Ffalcus ap John Ffalcus ap John Ffal- 
cus ap John Ffalcus ap John Ffalcus ap John Ffalcus 
(saith John ol yn ol) ap William ap Granmel ap Ririd 
ap Rys ap Ednyfed Fychan. 

Mam John Ffalcus y Siryf oedd merch Dikwn 

Holand ap Trystan Holand Constabl Castell 
Crikieth. 

1 Jane, aunt to the celebrated Sir Ehys ab Thomas who had so 
large a share in placing Henry VII on the throne. (Lewys Dwnny 
vol. i, p. 90, n. 11.) 

2 For an acconnt of the Clement family and its connection with 
Wales, see Bridgeman's Princes of So'iUh Wales, p. 221 et seq. 

^ Lewys Dwnn, vol. ii, p. 225, n. 8. 



LLYFB SILIJT. 217 



MAENTWROG.i 

Ffoulke Prys^ ap Edmwnd Prys' yr Archdiacon ap 
Sion ap Rys ap GrufFydd ap Rys ap Einion fychan.* 
Fel Ach William Wynn o Llanfair Dolhaiarn. Dytfiyn 
Melai. 

Mam Edmwnd Prys oedd Sian verch Owen ap Llew. 
ap leuan ap Madoc ap Rys ap Dafydd ap Rya 
fychan ap Rys ap Ednyfed fycnan. 
Mam Owen ap Llewelyn oedd Angharad verch Rys 
ap leuan ap Llewelyn chwitn ap Cynwric ap 
Bleddyn. 
Mam Angharad oedd Annes verch Siankin Pigod. 
Rys ap Einion fychan uchod oedd frawd i Dafydd ap 
Einion fychan, hynaf i William Wynn o Llanfair Dol- 
haiarn. 

Nota. — Pa fodd yr oedd Gwenhwyfar verch Rys ap 
Einion fychan gwraig Robert Salsbri o Llanrwst 
yn etifeades, gan fod Gruffydd ap Rys ap Einion 
fychan uchod yn frawd iddi. Am nad oedd Gruff- 
ydd yn fab o briod. 

YPIONYDD. 

Tylwyth Moris ap Sion ap Meredydd. 

Plant Moris ap Sion ap Meredydd o Angharad verch 
Elissau ap Gruffydd ap Einion oedd William 
Lloyd ; Elissau ; Sion ; Robert ; ac o ferched 
Annes gwraig Rolant Gruffydd o'r Plas Newydd 
yn M6n ; Gwen gwraig Dafydd ap William ap 
Gruffydd ap Robyn, ac wedi hynny gwraig 
Hugh ap Owen o Fodeon ; Margred* gwraig 

^ Tyddyn dn, Maentwrog. 

* Eldest son by his second wife, Gwen. (Lewyg Dwnn^ ii, p. 285.) 

* iDstitnted to the Archdeaconry of Merioneth, Nov. 5, 1576 ; 
Rector of Festiniog, March 14, 1572 ; Eector of Llanenddwyn, April 
16, 1580.^ Died about 1621. 

* " i H^dd Molwynog." (Levrys Dwnn^ vol. ii, p. 285.) 
s Third wife. (Hist, of Qwydir Family, Table III.) 



218 LLYFR SILIN. 

Meredydd^ ap leuan ap Robert o Wedir; ac 
wedin gwraig Sir Rys Gruffydd o'r Penrhyn ; 
Sian gwraig Sion Wyun ap Meredydd o Wedir ; 
Lowri gwraig Sion Owen ap John ap Robyn ap 
Gruffydd Goch oV Rhos. 

Plant Elissau^ ap Moris oedd Moris f Gruffydd* 
Lloyd ; Rolant ; Robert ; Siames y Doctor : o 
ferched, Angharad gwraig Robert Gruffydd o'r 
Plas Newydd yn M6n, ac wedi hynny gwraig 
William o Glynllifon ; Annes gwraig Humffrey 
ap Dafydd ap Thomas o Llandekwyn ; Gwen 
Gwraig Owen ap Moris ap Gruffydd ap leuan 
ap Rys Yfionydd ; Cattrin gwraig*^ Robert 
Wynn ap Sion Wynn ap leuan ap Rys ; Mary 
gwraig Moris ap Robert ap Moris o Llanged- 
wyn. 

Nid oedd Sianes ; Kattrin ; a Mary o un iam a'r 
llaill. Mam y tri hyn oedd Sioned verch Sir 
James® ap Owen o Deheubarth. 

Plant Mari verch Elissau ap Moris o Moris ap Robert 
ap Moris o Llangedwyn oedd Kattrin yn unig, 
gwraig Owen Fychan o Llwydiarth. 

Plant Gwen verch Moris ap Sion ap Meredydd o 
Dafydd ap William^ oedd Annes gwraig Dafydd' 
ap Rys ap Dafydd ap Gwilym o Llwydiarth yn 
M6n ; Angharad Wenn gwraig Owen ap Robert 
ap Sion ap Meiric o Fodsilin ; Sian gwraig 
Moris ap Sion ap Meiric. 

Plant Gwen o Hugh ap Owen ap Meiric oedd Owen 

^ Ob. 1525, ap:ed about 65. {Hist of Gwydir Family, Table III.) 

2 Sheriff of Merionethshire, 15 il. 06.1571. {LewysDwtin^yoX.u, 
p. 156.) 

3 The will of Moris is dated 11 Oct. 1575. (J6id.) 

* Of Plas yn Chiwlog. {Ibid) 

* The marriage-settlements are dated on the 9th and 19th of Oct. 
1544. She was living 4 June 1578. 

® Of Pentre leuan, in Pembrokeshire, was knighted by Henry 
VII. (Ibid.) 

7 Of Cochwillan. 

8 Sheriff of Anglesey, 1550 and 1557, Died in 1574. 



LLYFR SILIN. 219 

ap Hugh ; o ferched^ gwraig William ap 

Meredydd ap leuan o Arfon ; Elizabeth gwraig* 
William y Conwy ; Elin gwraig Sion ap Robert 
ap Llew. ap Morgan o Benllech. 

Plant Margred verch Moris o Meredydd ap leiian ap 
Robert oedd Humphre f a Cadwaladr ;* o fer- 
ched Elen gwraig Edward Stanley* o Harlech ; 
Sian gwraig Cadwaladr ap Robert or Rhiwlas 
yn Mhenllyn ; Ales gwraig Robert ap Rys Wynn 
Salsbri (o Wytherin) ap Robert Salsbri o Llan- 
rwst ; Margred gwraig Sion Gruffydd o Cuchle, 
ap Sir William Gruffydd, brawd Sir Rys Gruff- 
ydd o'r Penrhyn ; Gwen gwraig Owen ap Rein- 
allt o Glynllugwy ; EUiw gwraig Sion Hwkes 
o Aberconwy ; a Marsli gwraig Thomas Gruffydd 
o Gelynog fawr yn Arfon. 

Plant Elin Lloyd^ verch Moris o Sion^ Wynn ap 
Meredydd oedd Moris® Wynn ; Gruffydd* Wynn ; 
Robert;^® Owen;^^ a Sion^* Doctor Wynn ac o fer- 
ched, Margred gwraig William Gruffydd ap Sir 
William Gruffydd o Gaemarfon ; Annes gwraig 
William Wynn ap William o Gychwillan. 

Plant Roland Gruffydd'' o'r Plas Newydd yn M6n o 
Annes verch Moris ap Sion ap Meredydd oedd 
Moris; William; Edward ; Edmwnd; a Richard; 
o ferched Elizabeth ; Margred, gwraig Rys 
Wynn ap Hugh o Fysoglen ; Elin gwraig Ed- 
ward Holand, ac wedin gwraig William Ham- 

^ Sioned. (Lewt/a Dwnn, vol. ii, p. 206.) 

2 Lewis ab Graffydd (?). (Ibid,) 

3 Living June 4t.h, 1578. {HinL ofGwydir Family, Table IIL) 

* Living Nov. 1563 ; dead before Jane 4, 1578. 

5 Sheriff of Merionethshire, 1544, 1552, 1553, and 1559 ; Con- 
stable of Harlech Castle, 1551-88. (Calendars of Gwynedd.) 

* Died in 1572. A " Marwnad" on her death in Hengwrt MS., 
No. 309. 

7 06. 1559. 

® Oh. 10 Ang. 1580. Father of Sir John Wynn of Gwydir. 

» Of Berthddn. »« Of Conwj. Was alive Nov. 30, 1598. 

'» Of Caemilwr. 06. 1590. «2 vSTas dead in 1574. 

13 Sheriffof Anglesey, 1541, 1548, 1553. {LewyaDwnn/\i,i^AZl.) 



220 LLYFR SILIN. 

twn ; Annes gwraig Roland Pilston ; Gweii- 
hwyfar gwraig William ap Moris o Dreborth yn 
Maugor ; Grace gwraig Thomas ap William ap 
Gruffydd ap Gwilym o Faenol Bangor ac wedin 
gwraig Thomas Gruffydd ap Sir Rys Gruffydd ; 
Alis gwraig Roland ap Meredydd o Llanelian 
yn Rh6s. 

Plant Robert ap Gruffydd^ o Angharad verch Elissau 
ap Moris oedd Mbris Gruffydd yr Aer ; Rolant ; 
Elis ; Richard ; ac Edward : ac o ferched Eliza- 
beth gwraig Owen ap Hugh o Fodeon ; Elin 
gwraig William ap Morgan ap William ap Rys 
ap Howel o Rug. 

Plant Angharad o William o Glynllifon oedd Moris 
Glyn f Owen' Glyn, Master of Arts ; a Chattrin. 

Plant Owen ap Hugh o Sibil verch Sir William 
Gruffydd oedd Hugh ;* William Doctor ; Sion ; 
laspart ; Rondl ; Roland ; Moris ; Edward ; 
Robert; o ferched Sian ; Gwen; Elin; a Chattrin. 

Plant Dafydd ap Rys ap Dafydd ap Gwilym o Llwy- 
diarth o Annes verch Dafydd ap William ap 
Gruffydd ap Robyn oedd Rys Wynn ; Dafydd 
Lloyd ; Owen ; a William: o ferched Margred ac 
Elin. 

Plant Meredydd Lloyd ap Sion Owen o Kattrin 
Conwy oedd Lewis; Sion Wynn; Owen; Dafydd 
Lloyd Batsler o'r Gyfraith ; William Lloyd ; ac 
William Wynn ; ac o ferched, Sian gwraig gyn- 
taf William Holand ap Dafydd Holand ap 
Gruffydd Holand o'r Hendre fawr yn Abergele; 
a bono oedd fam Sion Holand ; ac wedi marw 
Sian priododd William Holand ...*unig verch ac 
etifeddes yr Esgob Thomas Davies a hono oedd 

^ Seo Letuys Dwun^ vol. ii, p. 132, where mention is made of two 
Tuore sons, John and Hnmphrey. 

« Oh, 1688. 

» Rector of Llangadwaladr, 7 April 1601 to 28 March 1615. 

* Sheriff of Anglesey, 1608. Died in 1613. {L&u>y8 Dwrin, ii, 
p. 206, n. 10.) 

^ Margaret (Hist Fowys Fadog^ vol. iii, p. 50.) 



LLYFR SILIN. 221 

fam Pyrs Holand bach ; a Pyrs a briododd ...^ 
verch y Pyrs Holand o Geinmel, ac y bu iddynt 
Dafydd Holand langa, a Sion Person Llan St. 
Sior ; a Chattrin : a Dafydd Holand langa a 
briododd . . .* verch ...* Kyffin o Faenan, ac y bu 
iddynt Roger Holand a merch a briododd yn 
Sir Gaer lleon : a Roger a briododd ...* ferch 
...* Parry Esgob Llanelwy, a dwy ferch fu iddo 
yn etifeddese. Ac wedi marw merch yr Esgob 
Parry priododd Roger Holand® . . . verch Edward 
Wynn o Ystrad a bono oedd widw. 

Plant Humffrey ap Meredydd o ... verch leuan ap 
GrufFydd ap Meredydd oedd Sion Wynn ; leuan 
Lloyd ; Thonias ; ac o ferched Margred gwraig 
William Gruffydd o Gastellmarch a ... gwraig 
Evan ap Robert ap leuan ap lorwerth o Ffes- 
tiniog. 

Plant Cadwaladr ap Meredydd o Sioned verch Tho- 
mas ap Moris ap Gruffydd ap Evan oedd Thomas 
Wynn ; Sion ; Gruffydd ; Robert ; Owen ; 
Humphre ; Roland : ac o ferched Margred ; 
Marsli ; Annes ; a Sioned. 

Plant Lowri verch Moris ap Sion ap Meredydd o Sion 
Owen ap Sion ap Robyn, oedd Meredydd Lloyd; 
Owen Wynn ; Harri y Doctor ; William ; Sion 
Wynn ; o ferched Gwen gwraig Dafydd Anwyl 
ap Teuan ap Rys o Arth Garmon ; Elin gwraig 
Sion ap Rys ap Llewelyn ap Gruffydd o Eglwys- 
fach ; Margred gwraig Owen ap Sion o'r Bettws 
yn Rhos ; Ales gwraig Gruffydd ap leuan ap 
Llewelyn fychan o Llanelwy ; Annes gwraig 
Lewis Gruffydd ap leuan oAber ; Cattrin gwraig 
Rys Wynn o'r Bettws yn Rhos; Sian gwraig 
Sieffre Holand o Eglwysfach ... gwraig Sion 
Owen ap Dafydd ap Rys o Ddroserth ; Cattrin 
gwraig Hugh ap Gruffydd Lloyd o Llysfaen 
(14 o blant). 

1 Sioned. {Hist. PotoysFadog, iii, p. 50). « Elizabeth. {Ihid,) 
3 Maurice. {IhicL) * Jane, buried 22 April 1641. 

^ RicharJ. « SheriflTof Denbighshire, 1G34. Oh, 1642. ^_^ 



222 LLYFR SILIN, 



YFIONYDD. 

William Wynn^ ap Sir William ap Moris ap Elissau 
ap Moris ap Sion ap Meredydd ap leuan ap Meredydd 
ap Howel ap Dafydd ap Gruffydd ap Kariadog. Mai 
Ach Rhiwedog. 

Mam William^ Wynn oedd verch^ Sion Wynn Lack 
ap Thomas Lack o Llanddyn.* 

Mam Sir William'^ ap Moris oedd Elin® verch Sir John 
Pilston. 

Mam Moris ap Elisse oedd Kattrin verch Pyrs Stan- 
ley chwaer un fam un dad ag Edward Stanle 
Constabl Harlech. 

Mam Elisse ap Moris oedd Angharad verch Elisse ap 
GrufFydd ap Einion ap Gruffydd ap Llewelyn 
ap Cynwric ap Osber. 

Mam Moris^ ap Sion ap Meredydd oedd Gwenhwyfar 
verch Gronow ap leuan ap Einion ap Gruffydd 
ap Howel ap Meredydd ap Egnion ap Gwgan 
ap Merwydd ap CoUwyn un o'r 15 Llwyth 
Gwynedd. 

Mam Sion® ap Meredydd® oedd Margred^^ verch ac 

^ Of Clenenney. 

* Living in July 1586, but died before 7 Oct. 1596. 

' Margaret, sole heiress of John Lacon of Porkington in Shrop- 
shire, was buried at Selattjn, 28 Feb. 1571-2. 

* In the parish of Llangollen. 

6 Born about 1540; Sheriff of Caernarvonshire, 1582 and 1596; 
of Merionethshire, 1591 and 1606 ; M.P. for Caernarvonshire, 1592- 
97 and 1G04-9 ; for Beaumaris, 1601 ; knighted July 23, 1603. Died 
Aug. 1622. His tombstone is in Penmorva churchyard. (Calendars 
of Gwynedd,) 

^ Her will, dated 23 Jan., was proved May 21, 1577. 

"^ By deed dated 18 Aug. 1511, he conveyed his messuage called 
" Plas y Clynenney**, and other property, to certain feoffees to hold 
for himself for life, with remainder to his son Ellis and his heirs 
male. (Lewys Divnn, ii, p. 70.) 

® Party to a deed dated 12 Jan., 2 Richard III. {Ibid. See also 
Hiet. of Owydir.) 

^ Living 7 Henry V. 

10 Angharad (?). {Leimjs Dwim, ii, p. 70.) 



LLYFR SILTN. 223 

etifeddes Einion ap Ithel ap Gwrgeneu fychan, 
ac i Ririd Flaidd. 
Mam Meredydd ap leuan oedd Llenku verch Howel 
ap Meiric Lloyd ap Meiric ap Ynyr fychan. Cais 
Ach Nane. 

EFIONYDD. 

Plant Sion ap Meredydd ap leuan ap Meredydd ap 
Howel ap Dafydd ap GrufFydd ap Kariadog ap 
Thomas ap Rodri ap Owen Gwynedd oedd Moris ; 
Owen ; Gruflfydd ; ac leuan ; o ferched Kattrin 
gwraig Llewelyn ap Hwlkin ap Howel o Gwm- 
mwd Llifon yn M6n, ac wedi hwnw farw gwraig 
fu hi i Rronwy ap Dafydd fychan o Dindaethwy 
yn M6n ; Elen gwraig Howel fychan ap Howel 
ap Gruffydd ap Siankin o Llwydiarth yn Mhow- 
ys ; Margred gwraig Robert Irland o Swydd 
Groesoswallt ; Lowri gwraig Howel ap Madoc 
ap Howel o Yfionydd ; Annes gwraig Dafydd 
fychan o Lynn. 

Mam y Plant hyn oedd Gwenhwyfar verch Ronw ap 
leuan ap Einion ap Gruffydd ap Howel ap 
Meredydd ap Einion ap Gwgan ap Merwydd ap 
Collwyn ap Kellan. 

Mara Sion ap Meredydd oedd Margred verch ac eti- 
feddes Sienkin neu Einion ap Ithel ap Gruflfydd 
neu Gwrgenau fychan ap Madoc ap Ririd Flaidd. 

(To be continued.') 



224 



laebietosc anH Botitta of 9Sooit£C. 



Studies ik the Arthurian Legend. By John Rhys, M.A., Fellow 
of Jesus College, Professor of Celtic in the University of Ox- 
ford. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1891. Pp. vi, 411. Price, 
Us. Sd. 

This important work by our distinguished President forms the con- 
tinuation of his Lectures on Celtic Heathendom, and is an ampHGca- 
tion of two of the conrse delivered by him as Hibbert Lecturer for 
the vear 1886, which could not be included in the volume published 
by the Hibbert Trustees. A critical notice of that work appeared in 
our Journal for 1888, p. 859. 

The method of interpreting the mythic and heroic tales of the 
Goidelic and Brythonic Celts adopted in the author's earlier volume 
has been followed in that which is the snbject of the present notice. 
That is to say, the incidents which make up the great bulk of the 
romantic literature of the Celtic peoples are explained according to 
the anthropological method, the presence of the grotesque or the 
supernatural in them being regarded as the echoes of savage beliefs, 
and the heroes of the stories as the representatives of forces the 
action of which was figuratively expressed. As in his earlier 
work, so now. Professor Rhys, being before aught else a philolo- 
gist, does not disdain the explanatory system of philology, and by 
calling the science of language to the aid of anthropology he 
attains the happiest results without violating the principles of 
either. By both of these processes the principal personages of 
Aryan mythology have been transformed into san-gods, moon- 
goddesses, stellar divinities of greater or less importance, culture- 
heroes and the like impersonal entities, until the whole tribe of 
Celtic heroes, about whom our historians have written so mnch vera- 
cious history, are in some danger of disappearing altogether, like 
*' the baseless fabric of a vision", leaving not a single chivalrous 
knight or beauteous maiden behind. 

The Lectures on Celtic Heathendom came upon Welsh scholars 
with something of a shock, though Professor Rhys was by no means 
the first to examine and explain Celtic myths according to the 
methods of Dr. Tylor or Max Af tiller. Most of the Celtic scholars 
of France who circle round the Eewie Celtique are supporters of the 
anthropological system of myth interpretation, and several German 
scholars of eminence adopt the same reasoning with certain import- 
ant modifications. Though not so generally accepted in this country, 



BEVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 225 

the solar myth theory formnlated by that school has its able and 
learned expositors amongst oarselves; and whatever its ultimate 
fate may be, it cannot be denied that by the careful sifting of the 
historic from the fictitionSy and the comparison of the myths preva- 
lent amongst widely separated peoples, it has aided in the forma- 
tion of a truly scientific conception of history. Professor Rhys was, 
however, the first to apply the solar myth solvent to the romantic 
tales of the Welsh ; and having regard to the fact that he was 
working npon practically nntonched material, we think it a matter 
of regret that he did not devote part of his first Hibbert Lecture 
to an exposition of the theory he had adopted, and the limits 
within which he intended to use it in his examination of the Welsh 
myths. 

In the preface to the present volume he excuses his continued 
use of the terminology of the theory on the ground that it is *' so 
convenient", and that nothing has yet been found exactly to take 
its place. He, nevertheless, thinks we may be upon the eve of a 
revolution in respect of mythological questions, '*as Mr. Frazer's 
Golden Bough seems to indicate". If our judgment of that work be 
correct, the anticipated revolution need not be contemplated with 
much fear and trembling, for it seems to promise nothing worse 
than that personages who are now masquerading as solar deities 
will henceforth have to be content with the humbler rolea of sylvan 
sprites. Mr. Frazer's volumes form an extraordinary collection of 
myths, folk-tales, superstitions, and savage practices connected with 
tree-cult, marshalled in support of the author's conception, that in 
one stage of savage thought supernatural power was transmitted 
only by the death of its possessor and the succession of the mur- 
derer. The true explanation of the puzzling features of Welsh ima- 
ginative literature is so important a desideratum that we recom- 
mend the perusal of Mr. Frazer's work to our readers. For ourselves, 
we have failed to discover in it any portents of revolution ; nor, in 
our opinion, has Mr. Frazer done more than draw particular atten- 
tion to one phase of primitive belief, to the ignoring of many others 
for which the evidence is just as good. With this digression we 
return to the work which is the immediate subject of our present 
notice. 

It was in regard to those characters which might be termed his- 
torical, and of whose corporeal existence some of our ablest scholars 
have never entertained a serious doubt, that Professor Bhys's unde- 
fined attitude excited the keenest comment. The Professor did not 
trouble to make it clear that he was dealing only with the mythic 
element, the aberglaubej the fabulous accretion around a genuine 
personagre. The atom of fact was forgotten beneath the mountain 
of fiction, and Arthur, Cuchullain, Taliesin, et hoo genua omney were 
shot out, " in one wild horror mingled", not into the Carlylean limbo 
of everlasting night, but into the empyrean where they exist as the 
objects of afar different study — that of astronomy. The consequence 
is that Professor Rhys has been requested, upon several occasions, 
Gth bib., vol. VIII. 16 



226 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OP BOOKS. 

to explain his position a little more clearly in regard to several of the 
personages with whom he dealt so cavalierly ; and, as might have 
been expected, this has been especially the case in regard to the 
personality of Arthur. As to the difficult question whether there 
was a historical Arthur or not, the author so far meets his critics, 
in the work now before us, as to say : 

" One has to notice in the first place that Welsh literature never 
calls Arthur a gwledig or prince, but emperor ; and it may be in- 
ferred that his historical position, in case he had such a position, 
was that of one filling, after the departure of the Bomans, the office 
which under them was that of the Conies BritannioB, or Count of 
Britain. The officer so called had a roving commission to defend 
the Province wherever his presence might be called for. The other 
military captains here were the Dux Briianniarum, who had charge 
of the forces in the north, and especially on the Wall ; and the 
Comes Littoris Saxonici, who was entrusted with the defence of the 
south-eastern coast of the island. The successors of both these cap- 
tains seem to have been called in Welsh gwledigs or princes. So 
Arthur's suggested position as Comes Britannim would be in a 
sense superior to theirs, which harmonises with his being called 
emperor, and not gwledig. The Welsh have borrowed the Latin 
title of impercUor, emperor, and made it into amherawdyr ; later, 
amherawdun* ; so it is not impossible that, when the Roman impera^ 
tor ceased to have anything more to say to this country, the title 
was given to the highest officer in the island, namely the Comes 
BritannicB^ and that in the words Yr Amherawdyr Arthur, the Em- 
peror Arthur, we have a remnant of our insular history. If this 
view be correct, it might be regarded as something more than an 
accident that Arthur's position relatively to that of the other 
Brythonic princes of his time is exactly given by Nennins, or who- 
ever it was that wrote the Historia Briitonum ascribed to him. 
There Arthur is represented fighting in company with the kings of 
the Brythons in defence of their common country, he being their 
leader in war Q tunc Arthur pugnabat contra illos in illis diebus 
cum regibus Brittonum, sed ipse dux erat bellorum'). If, as has 
sometimes been argued (Professor Sayce in The Academy for 1884), 
the uncle of Maglocunus or Maelgwn, wbom the latter is accused 
by Gildas of having slain and superseded, was no other than 
Arthur, it would supply one reason why that writer called Mael- 
gwn inmdaris draco^ * the dragon or war-captain of the island', and 
why the latter and his successors after him were called by the 
Welsh, not gwledige, but kings, though their great ancestor 
Cunedda was only a gwledig. On the other hand, the way in which 
Gildas alludes to the uncle of Maelgwn, without even giving his 
name, would seem to suggest that in his estimation at least he was 
no more illustrious than his predecessors in the position which he 
held, whatever that may have been. How then did Arthur become 
famous above them, and how came he to be the subject of so 
much story and romance ? The answer, in short, which one has to 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 227 

give to this bard qnestion mast be to the effect, that besides a 
historic Arthur there was a Brythonio divinity named Arthur, after 
whom the man may haye been called, or with whose name his, in 
case it was of a different origin, may have become identical in 
sound owing to an accident of speech ; for both explanations are 
possible." (Pp. 7-8.) 

It would be important to know when the term arnkerawdyr first 
appears in Welsh literature. Its form seems to suggest that it was 
introduced directly into middle- Welsh at a comparatively late date, 
rather than to make for its first appearance at the close of the early- 
Welsh period. The name of Arthur and the title of Gwledig are 
found (though not in juxtaposition) in the extraordinary poem of 
Taliesin's entitled Kadeir Teymon (the Chair of Teymon), which 
Dr. Skene does not hesitate to place in his division entitled '* Poems 
referring to Arthur the Guledig." Though not one of them speeifi- 
cally invests Arthur with that title, we are bound to admit they are 
all sufficiently extravagant to justify Professor Bhys, or anybody 
else, in any amount of scepticism as to Arthur's bodily existence. 
The point, however, remains, that if the historic Arthur be re- 
garded as a hero of the Northern Britons, the office he would pro- 
bably have borne would have represented that of the Dux Britannia 
arum, in dignity inferior to that of the Comes BritannicB. And the 
fact that Ajthur is styled the Dux Bellorum by Nennius, added to 
the many trifling but converging allusions in the Welsh poems, 
appears to make for the northern habitat of Arthur. Respect 
for his friend Mr. Sayce has led Professor Bhys to consider the 
former's suggestion, that Maelgwn of Gwynedd was Arthur's 
nephew, more seriously than it deserved. It is no more than 
pure speculation, with very little to be said in its favour, and 
very much against. On the other hand, the view that the great 
Celtic hero's position was that of the Comes Britannioe, having the 
general over-lordship of the island, would widen the sphere of his 
activity, and enable us to locate the scenes of his great battles at 
various places in England marked out by tradition, by correspondence 
of name, and by suitability of position, — places he could never have 
visited had he been merely the leader of the northern host. Our 
readers who are interested in the historic Arthur probably know 
that the site of his last great battle, that of Badon {Mons Badonis)^ 
has been identified by the late Dr. Guest (who considered Arthur to 
have been " the nephew of a petty king in the west of Britain") with 
Badbury Hill in Dorsetshire. (Origtnes CeUicce, ii, 189.) Dr. Skene, 
again, has fixed upon Bouden Hill, in Linlithgowshire. (Ancient 
Books of Wales, i, 58.) It mny, therefore, be of moment to state that 
the opinion of Dr. Guest is also held by Mr. Egerton Phillimore, 
probably the highest living authority upon the topography of the 
early Welsh historians and chroniclers. Writing in Y Cymmrodor 
(xi, p. 76, note 9), Mr. Phillimore observes : " Mount Badon was 
probably Badbury Hill, in Dorsetshire, not very far from the coast. 
It is nearly if not quite impossible, for phonetic reasons, that Mons 

16 « 



228 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 

Badoyiis can now be represented (as Mr. Skene thought) by Bouden 
(or Buden) Hill in Linlithgowshire.". 

While we have been mindful that onr business is with history 
rather than with romance, though the history may be almost buried 
beneath the enormous overgrowth of fancy, we are not forgetful 
that Professor Rhys's province (at any rate in the book now before 
us) is legend, and not fact. So, having collected such notices of the 
fictitious Arthur scattered throughout medisBval romantic litera- 
ture as were discrepant, having with wonderful patience and skill 
brought them into accord so as to illustrate the growth of the 
Arthurian cycle of legends, and having wrought out the connection 
between the legendary Arthur and other characters of Celtic mytho- 
logy. Professor Rhys's conclusions upon the position occupied by 
the great King, given in terms of the solar myth theory of interpre- 
tation, are thus stated : 

** We have ventured to treat Arthur as a culture-hero ; it is quite 
possible that this is mythologically wrong, and that he should in 
fact rather be treated, let us say, as a Celtic Zeus. In such a case 
the whole setting of the theory advocated in these pages would 
require to be altered, and arguments might be found for so altering 
it ; but on the whole they seem to us to cany less weight than 
those which favour the treatment of the mythic Arthur as a Culture- 
Hero." (P. 24) 

This is accomplished by the much discredited method of philo- 
logists, in accordance with which the word "Arthur" is analysed 
into ar-thur^ to be regarded " in its wider sense" as meaning " one 
who binds or harnesses, or has to do with agriculture"; while the 
opposing method of anthropologists, by its examination and com- 
parison of different incidents in Arthur's mythic career (such as 
his journey to the Celtic Hades for the benefit of man), brings us 
to the same conclusion. 

The same measure is dealt out to other important characters of 
Arthurian romance. Gwenhwyfar, Peredur, Owein, Lancelot, Gala- 
had, and Urien are treated of, and the discords between the many 
versions of the gallant adventures in which they engage are ex- 
plained, and often reconciled, with great ingenuity. 

The objections which had been taken to Professor Bhys's treat- 
ment of Arthur solely as a mythic character present themselves 
with almost equal force in the case of Urien, Owein, and Geraint. 
When it is a question of the physical existence of the Bound Table 
knight Gwalchmai, a personage who has no place whatever in Welsh 
history, but of whom it is stated in the romances, that when en- 
gaged in battle his strength grew apace till midday, when it would 
begin to wane as rapidly, there being no historical diflBculty in the 
way, we can readily accept as adequate the solar explanation of this 
knight's peculiar attributes. But of Urien, who has been generally 
recognised as the Urbgen of Nennius (though Professor Bhys 
doubts the identity on philological grounds), of Owein his son, and 
of Geraint (ab Erbin), nothing inconsistent with actual fact is 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 229 

related by the Nennian chronicler and the old Welsh historical 
poems. Yet not only do they disappear from the solid earth, but 
the very districts with which they are associated are, by Professor 
Rhys's process of hud a lleJrith, dissolved into a veritable Scotch 
mist. Bheged becomes the limbo of the Celtic departed, and even 
Catraeth " sounds every whit as mythic as the Irish Marias." 

Upon one point, it being archaeological, we may be able to throw 
a little light. Dealing with the incident in Uirich von Zatzikhoven's 
Lancelot (dating, according to M. Gaston Paris, from the last years 
of the twelfth century), where that hero, after many chivalrous 
encounters, brings his wife Iblis to Arthur's court at Caradigan, 
Professor B»hys observes : 

"At first sight one would have said that Caradigan was the town 
of Cardigan; but this name is a form of Keredigion, * Cardigan- 
shire', and we have not been able to ascertain how early Cardigan 
became the name of the town called in Welsh Ahei' Teivif which 
literally means the ' Teivi's mouth*. On the other hand we are 
assured by Mr. Phillimore that Caradigan, standing probably for 
Caradignan, must have meant Cardinham, near Bodmin, in Corn- 
wall, where the remains of a great fort are well known" (p. 132, 
note). And an additional note (p. 392) informs us that " the sub- 
stance of Mr. Phillimore's communication may now be read in the 
Cymmrodor^ xi, 46. "^ 

We are unable to state the date at which the name Cardigan 
first appears ; it was certainly early in the struggle with the Nor- 
mans. However, the "sapient commentators" who conceived that 
Caradigan might stand for Cardigan were, unluckily for their 
modern critic, quite correct in their surmise, for the form " Cara- 
digan" was in earlv use as well as that of " Cardigan". In the 
11th Henry III, the King "concessit hominibas de Karadigam 
quod habeant singulis septimaniis unum raercatum apud Caradiga'/' 
etc., the town, of course, being meant. 

We have noticed Prof. Rhys's volume from one point of view alone, 
and that probably not the most impoi-tant point of view. The 
introduction of fresh and fruitful elements into the great stream of 
English literature was, it may be, of greater moment than the exist- 
ence of any mortal. All fair critics must concede that the author 
of the present work has conclusively set forth the superlative part 
played by Celtic genius in moulding and enriching our imaginative 
literature, though nowhere in the volume do we get a clear idea of 
the genesis of the Arthurian saga, or of the causes that led to its 
rapid development. Some one must arise who will enter into Prof. 

^ 1*1 ^'' f,^illi«»0'«'8 note, 80 far as it relates to the word in question, is as 
follows : "In Cornwall we have the tautological form Cardinham, anciently 
called Cardmam and m the Romances (in which it is named as a place 
where King Arthur held his court) Caradignan, Caradigan, or the like, 
forms which our sapient commentators have conceived to stand for Cardi- 



230 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 

Bhys's labonrs ; who, while assimilating the details that have been 
so laboriously collected, will perform such a service to the Arthnriaa 
cycle of romance as did Mr. Matthew Arnold to Celtic literatare 
generally by his celebrated conrse of lectures. The hoar has not yet 
come, nor, consequently, the man. Much yeoman's service still re- 
mains to be done in the clearing, sifting, and arranging of the enor- 
mous mass of heterogeneous material, and in that work Prof. Rhys 
has borne an important part. His book cannot be termed creative, 
nor will its publication mark an epoch ; but it is a contribution to 
the disentanglement of the Arthnrian question which no foture 
writer upon the sources of our early literature and its ever increas- 
ing influence can afford to overlook. 



The Book op Sundials, by Mrs. Alfred Gatit. Third Edition. 
Edited by H. K. F. Eden and Eleanor Lloyd ; with an Ap- 
pendix on the Construction of Dials, by W. Richardson. Lon- 
don : George Bell and Sons. 1890. Small 4to. Pp. 578. Illus- 
trated. 

It speaks well for the popularity of the late Mrs. Gatty's Booh of 
Sundials, that it should have reached a third edition, especially as 
the subject is one which appeals to the cultured few rather than to 
the general reader, who can hardly be expected to improve his mind 
at his own expense as long as the provident portion of the commu- 
nity enables him to sit in a comfortable chair, throughout the day, 
at a free library, following with breathless interest the adventures 
of " Three Men in a Boat", or falling asleep over Ouida's impossible 
heroes. 

In the present edition of The Book of Sundidls, although " a con- 
siderable amount of scientific and archsBological information has 
been added, its main intention remains the same, namely, that of 
treating sundials chiefly from their moral and poetical aspect." The 
bulk of the volume is, in £Ebct, occupied by a collection of mottoes 
occurring on sundials, numbering 738, together with 129 more in 
the Addenda, making 867 in all. The mottoes are in several dif- 
ferent languages, Greek, Latin, English, Frencli, German, Italian, 
Welsh, Manx, etc., and are all arranged alphabetically ; which is 
convenient for reference, but leads to endless repetition, because 
the same motto appears over and over again under a new letter of 
the alphabet when in a different language. A great amount of con- 
densation might be effected in a future edition by taking English as 
tbe standard language, and mentioning the instances where each 
Snglish motto ig to be found in foreign languages. There would 
oxilj be a small residue of foreign mottoes unknown in English. It 
w'onld also, we think, be an advantage to incorporate the Addenda 
"veith the rest, as no particular object seems to be gained by placing 
the new ones at the end. The same remark also applies to the 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 231 

Inirodnotiozi, the In trod action to the Addenda, and " Farther Notes 
on Remarkable Sundials", all of which might be combined. 

Mrs. Gatty tells ns that " the present collection of dials, with 
their mottoes, was begnn about 1835. Perhaps the presence of a 
carious old dial over our church porch (Catterick), with something 
like a panning motto, * Fagit hora, ora', may have had something to 

do with originating the idea As to these dial-mottoes, there 

may, perhaps, be as many difierences of opinion as there are differ- 
ences of character in those who read them. We, who have studied 
them for many years, feel with Charles Lamb, that they are often 
' more touching than tombstones', whilst t.o others they seem ' flat, 
stale, and unprofitable'. One correspondent describes them as ' a 
compendium of all the lazy, hazy, sunshiny thoughts of men past, 
present, and in po88e\ and says ' the burden of all their songs i» a 
play upon sunshine and shadow.' But this is no fair description. . . . 
So far from the burden of all their songs being a play upon ' sun« 
shine and shadow', one of the most fertile subjects of thoughts is 
the sun's power as being his own time-keeper, which he certainly 
is, whilst the mottoes constantly assert the fact." 

It would be a matter of considerable interest to make an analysis 
of all the mottoes, showing the ideas underlying them, and the lite- 
rary or other sources whence they were derived. 

After reading through the collection, it appears to us that the 
number of ideas suggesting the mottoes is surprisingly small, 
although the phi-aseology varies considerably, as the following ex- 
amples will show : 

The sufCa motion, — " From the rising up of the sun unto the going 

down of tlie same." 
Tlie motion of the shadow, — " Our days pass like a shadow." 
The paaaage of time. — " Labuntur Anni." 
Light and darkness, — ** Post Tenebras Lux." 
The importance of the present moment. — " Carpe diem." 
The past, present, and future. — "Aspice, Bespice, Prospice." 
The hour of death,— '' Forte ultima." 
Eternity, — " On this moment hangs eternity." 
Different parts of the day. — ** Dawn, the golden hour." 
Measuring time. — " Learn to number thy days." 
Forward motion of time. — " I go forward." 
Silent motion of time. — "Noiseless falls the foot of time." 
Rapid motion of time. — " I tarry not for the slow." 
Light necessary for work. — "The night cometh when no man can 

work." 

The practice of placing mottoes on sundials is probably a survival 
of the system of moralising afler the fashion of ^sop's fables, which 
was so common in the Bestiaries and other works of a similar kind 
in the middle ages. The sombre, religious tone of the sentiments 
expressed is, no doubt, to be traced to Puritan influence. Very few 
of the mottoes are witty or secalar, and in some cases they have 



232 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 

been turned to acconnt to glorify the Ohnrch, as in No. 883, " Nescit 
occasnm lamen Eccleaiso", or its doctrines, as in No. 821, — 

** Mulier, amicta sole, ora pro nobis, 
Sancta Dei Genitor." 

In addition to tbe mottoes, Mrs. Gfattj gives notes accompanying 
eacb, many of wbicb are of great interest, and every bere and tbere 
an illastration. Tbe sundial at Trelleck, Monmoutbsbire (p. 108), 
TV ill attract tbe attention of Welsb arcbaeologists. " It was erected 
in 1648 by tbe Lady Maud Probert, widow of Sir George Probert, 
and on tbree sides are represented, in relief, tbe tbree marvels of 
the place, viz., 1, a tnmalus, supposed to be of Roman origin, and 
above it the words, ^ Magna mole, quot bio sepulti'; 2, tbree 
stone pillars, wbence tbe name * Tri-llech* (tbe town of the tbree 
stones), witb tbe inscription, ' Major Sazis', tbe beigbt of tbe stones 
being also given, 8 ft, 10 ft., and 14 ft., as well as 'Hie fuit victor 
Harold'; 8, a representation of tbe well of chalybeate water, and 
two drinking cnps, * Maxima foute', and below, ' Dom. Magd. Pro- 
bert ostendit.' " 

Amongst tbe mottoes tbere is one only in Welsb (Addenda, No. 
cxxix), from St. Cybi's Cburcb at Holybead, — 

*^ Yr hoedl er hyd ei haros 
A dderfydd yn nydd ac yn nos.*' 

(" Man's life, although he prolonged it may, 
Draws to its close by night, by day.") 

** Tbe Rev. H. E. Williams, Hector of Llanaelbaiarn, bas discovered 
tbe int-eresting fact tbat the lines are tbe last two of a stanza on 
December, written by a Welsb bard named Aneurin Cawdrydd, 
wbo lived about a.d. 510." 

Tbe Editors of ^A* Book of Sundials do not seem to have bad tbeir 
attention called to the sundial at Whitford Church, Flintshire, seen 
during tbe Holywell Meeting of tbe Cambrian ArcbsBological Asso- 
ciation. It is inscribed " Gwel ddyn mewn gwiwlan ddeunydd 
mae fib beb dario mae'r dydd." ('* Bebold, man, tbe day it flietb 
witbout tarrying.") 

Seven Manx mottoes are given, viz., Nos. 74, 820, 881, 446, 567, 
668, and 781. 

In tbe portion of tbe book whicb deals witb " remarkable sun- 
dials" will be found descriptions and illustrations of, perhaps, tbe 
most complete series of examples of ancient sundials that has yet 
been brought together, including G-reek, Roman, Saxon, Irish, medi- 
8Bval, and post-Reformation ones. Many of tbe churches in England 
bave rude sundials scratched on the dressed stones of tbe doors, 
windows, and buttresses, wbich deserve more attention tban they 
bave yet received. They seem to fill tbe apparent gap between the 
more elaborate dials of the Saxon period and those of tbe sixteenth 
century. 



ARCUiEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 233 

The Appendix, on the constmction of sundials, will, no doubfc, 
prove nsenil to persons who wish to stady the mathematical part of 
the subject, although it is hardly necessary to include such ele- 
mentaiy directions as " how to set ofif a given angle", or to explain 
the meaning of the terms tangent, sine, secant, etc. For this the 
reader should be referred to text-books of geometry and trigono- 
metry. 

The only index given at the end of the volume is one of places. 
The omission of a general index detracts very much from the use- 
fulness of an otherwise excellent work. Although Mrs. Gatty's 
Book ofSrmdialahj no means exhausts a subject which it professes, 
all too modestly, to deal with from one point of view only, it con- 
tains so much information not to be obtained elsewhere, that its 
careful perusal must be a necessity for every one interested in this 
particular class of objects. 

The fact that Messrs. Qeorge Bell and Sons are the publishers is 
a sufficient guarantee that the book is printed and illustrated in a 
way that leaves nothing to be desired. 



a[rt|)aeological Botta anH ^mvita. 

Cardiganshire Inscribed Stones.* — Mr. J. Romilly Allen points out, 
in his article on the newly discovered stones in Carmarthenshire 
and Pembrokeshire, the necessity that exists for an accarate record 
of the inscribed stones of South Wales. Valuable as Professor 
Westwood's work is, he would be the first to admit that the illus- 
trations of the stones in the Lapidarium Wallice leave much to be 
desired. Until we have a series of photographs of each of the stones 
we shall be without what is really required. I have felt this so 
strongly that 1 have begun to make a set of photographs of the 
Cardiganshire stones, and I hope in the course of next year to have 
it done. The difficalties are, however, far greater than at first sight 
appear. Many of the stones are so placed that it is no easy task to 
photograph them ; others are so worn that it is very difficult to get 
any photograph to show the inscription. 

Of the forty odd Cardiganshire stones already drawn, I have got 
about half done ; but I am convinced there are many more that are 
not described still in existence in the unrestored churches, and I 
hope to notice some of them shortly. I now want to direct atten- 
tion to one or two of the stones that are described, and to show how 
the photograph varies from the published description. 

^ We hope, when Mr. Willis-Bund has completed his survey of the Car- 
diganshire stones, to publish a catalogue of them with illustrations from 
his photographs. — £dp. 



234 ABCHJSOLOaiCAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

1. The Pontfaen Stone, near Lampeter {Lap, Wall., p. 189, Plate 
LXVi, fig. 2). — The stone is thus described : Built into the wall of 
a cottage, and forming the gate-post to a field. Said to have come 
from Peterwell. No inscription. Gross of simple, double, incised 
lines. The Plate represents a stone broken through the middle, 
with part of the stem and one arm of the cross remaining, about the 
centre of the stone. On looking for the stone last September, to 
photograph it, I could find no trace of it ; but at Pontfaen, lying on 
the road-side, is a stone that has been once a gate-post, as both 
hinges remain in it. This stone is about tlie same height as the one 
described by Professor Westwood. His was 6 ft. This is 6 fL 3 in. 
from the top to where it was set in the ground. About 3 ft. of it 
was in the ground, thus making it 9 ft. 3 in. in all. It is 9 in. wide 
at the top, 19 in. at the base, and 12 in. thick at 2 ft. from the top, 
Just below the upper hinge is inserted a plain cross with something 
like the upper half of a circle over the upper side of the arms. The 
cross is 10 in. high, and the width across the arm 8 in. At the lower 
end of the slab, just above where it would be buried, in the ground, 
are two lines, which may be the remains of an inscription ; but if 
so, I am unable to make anything out. This stone is a rough block 
of the stone of the country, yery thick. It has no trace of having 
been built into a wall. 

One thing is very clear. If this is the same stone as that de- 
scribed by Professor Westwood, his Plate and description do not 
correctly represent the stone. I made all inquiries, and all the 
search I could, and was unable to find any trace of any other stone. 
I am, therefore, led to conclude this must be the same ; but if it is, 
the necessity for a revised description is obvious. If it is not, and 
the description and figure of Professor Westwood's accurately repre- 
sent a stone he saw at Pontfaen, then this is a stone that as far as 
I am aware has not been previously described, and is certainly not 
included in the Lapidarium. The only question remains, What has 
become of the other stone ? Surely at the centre of Welsh ecclesi- 
astical learning it cannot have been destroyed within the last ten 
years. If it has, it shows the necessity of some measures being 
taken to preserve local antiquities. 

2. The next stone that has suffered since the Lapidarium WallicB 
was published is the celebrated Idnert Stone at Llanddewibrefi, — a 
stone which is said to commemorate the death of Bishop Idnert, the 
last Bishop of Llanbadarn. In Camden's Britannia the stone is 
figured with a three-line inscription, — 

'* + hie jacet Idnert filius Ia.. 
qui occisus fuit propter pr.. 
Sanoti". 

In the Lapidarium WaUim the stone is described at p. 140, and 
figured PI. LXViii, fig. 3. Prof. Westwood says it is placed at the 
north-west angle of the outside wall, 10 ft. from the ground. The 



ARCH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 235 

inscription is mnoh de&ced ; broken through the " d" in " Idnert". 
After" filios" the letter '* I" follows a mark which may represent AO 
or AQ. 

Snocessiyo restorations of the church have mined this stone. It 
now consists of two fragments. Both are built into the west end 
of the church, on the north side ; the largest forming one of the 
comer-stones, about 10 ft. from the ground. It is bnUt in upside 
down. It contains the words, in two lines, 

" Idnert fiUus I[ap] 
Fuit propter p[n]"p. 

A second fragment, a little higher up from the ground, contains the 
word "occisus". 

8. The next stone is another of those at Llanddewibrefi. It is 
described in the Lapidarium Wallicd, at p. 139, and figured PL lxti, 
fig. 4. The Plate is taken from a drawing by the Rev. H. L. Jones, 
made before the 1874 restoration of the church. The drawing does 
not really accurately represent the stone, but it does not seem that 
the stone has been affected by the two restorations. The stone 
stands in the churchyard, south of the remains of the south tran- 
sept. The stone has been split down the middle of the cross in- 
scribed on it. The height of the stone is 8 fl. 8 in. ; width, 7 in. ; 
thickness, 8 in. The arms of the cross are 5 in. long, and are ter- 
minated by a base 5 in. high. The stem of the cross terminates in 
a triangle at the upper end. At the stem of the cross, where the 
cross-bars meet, is a circle. From this to the upper end of the stem 
is 7 in. At 3 in. from that is another cross-bar 8 in. long. None 
of this appears in Mr. Jones' drawing, and the cross is split through 
the circle, not on one side of it, as there shown. 

With the exception of the Daluo Stone, figured by Meyrick, PI. v, 
fig. 2, and described in the Lapidarium Wallioe^ p. 189, figured 
Plate Lxvi, fig. 6, but there stated to be missing, it is satisfis^tory 
to find that all the Llanddewibrefi stones are still in existence in 
whole or in part. 

The stones I have described show the necessity for a revised list 
of the Cardiganshire stones, and although I am afraid, in many 
cases, photographs will be hardly satisfactory, yet they will pro- 
bably be more so than anything else, and I hope to be able to get 
them carried out. 

J. W. Willis-Bund. 



Antiquities found near Lampeter. — The dagger here illustrated 
was found in 1886 by a man digging peat in a bog near a farm 
called " Roman Camp", also near the road called " Sarn Helen", 
and in the valley of the stream Nant Clywedog Ganol, about three 
miles above Llanfair Clydogan, Cardiganshire. It is of brass, 8 in. 
long, 1^ in. broad at hilt-end, \ in. thick, and weighs 1^ oz. The 
edges are very much worn, and appear to have been sharpened very 



236 



ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 



mach. The handle was probably fastened to the blade by means of 
three rivets and two thongs. 



^N 




Brass Weapons found near Lampeter. 

The spear-head was dug np about two miles lower down the 
valley, by the same man, within a week of the discovery of the 
dagger-blade, in planting potatoes. It is of light- coloured brass, 
3^ in. long, and weighs If oz. It was probably fastened to the 
shafl by means of a thong passed through the two eyes at the sides, 
as there is no trace of rivet-holes. 

St. David's College, Lampeter. W. E. Davbt. 



CoNFERKNCE OP Archjeological SOCIETIES. — The second Congress 
of Arcli8Bological Societies in union with the Society of Antiquaries 
was held at Burlington House on July 15, 1890, Dr. Evans, Presi- 
dent of the Society of Antiquaries, in the chair. 

The following Report of the Parish Registers and Records Com- 
mittee was discussed, and referred back for some additions and ver- 
bal amendments. The Committee is a very strong one, consisting 
of Dr. Freshfield, V.P.S.A., Chairman ; Rev. Canon Benham, F.S. A.; 
Mr. R. S. Faber, M.A., Hon. Sec. Huguenot Society ; Mr. W. J. 
Hardy, F.8.A. ; Dr. Howard, P.S.A. ; Dr. Marshall, F.S.A. ; Mr. 
Overend, F.S.A. ; Rev. Dr. Simpson, F.S.A. ; Mr. Mill Stephenson, 
F.S.A. ; and Mr. Ralph Nevill, F.S.A., Hon. Sec. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE TRANSCRIPTION AND PUBLICATION 
OF PARISH REGISTERS, ETC. 

The Congress of Associated Archseological Societies, desires to 
call the attention of the public, and especially of those interested in 
antiquarian research, to the extreme importance of duly preserving 
and rendering accessible the Registers and other parish records of 
the United Kingdom. These contain matt.er of the greatest value 
not only to the genealogist, but also to the student of local history, 
and through these to the general historian. It is to be regretted 
that sufficient care has not been taken in the past of these docu- 
ments, which have too often been thoughtlessly destroyed. 



ARCH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 237 

TheConfi^ss has drawn np the following snggestions in the hope 
that they may prove uBefnl to those anxious to assist in the preserv- 
ation, transcription, and, where possible, publication of the docn- 
inents referred to. As the older writings are in a different character 
from that used at the present time, they are not easily deciphered, 
and require careful examination even from experts. It is extremely 
desirable that they should be transcribed, not only to guard against 
possible loss or injury, but in order to render them more easily and 
generally accessible to the student. Many Registers have already 
been copied and published, and every year adds to the list ; and the 
Congress is in hope that these suggestions may lead to a still 
greater number being undertaken. 

SUOGESTIOKS AS TO TIULNSCBIPTION. 

Limits of Date. — It is evident that there is most reason for tran- 
scribing the oldest Registers ; but those of later date are also of 
great valae, and it is suggested that a.d. 1812, the date of the Act 
of 52 George III, cap. 146, is a suitable point to which copies may 
be taken. 

Care as to Custody. — Great judgment should be used in entrust- 
ing Registers and other parish records to be copied, and a formal 
receipt for them should in all oases be required. 

Character of Writing. — In transcribing great care must be used 
to avoid mistakes from the confusion of certain letters with other 
modem letters of similar form. A Committee has in preparation an 
alphabet, and specimens of letters, and the principal contractions ; 
but Registers vary, and especially in the manner in which capital 
letters are formed. Copies of the alphabet, etc., may be obtained, 
when published, on application to the Committee on Parish Regis- 
ters, care of the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House. Further 
information may also be obtained from Wright's Court- Hand Be- 
stored (enlarged by C. T. Martin). 

Great help in deciphering names may be gained from a study of 
existing local names. It must, however, be borne in mind that the 
same name may be constantly spelt in different ways, and may 
undergo considerable changes in the course of time, or from the 
hands of different scribes. 

In copying dates it must be remembered that down to A.D. 1752 
the year began on March 25, and not on January 1. 

Method of Transcription. — There can be no doubt but that a ver^ 
batim et literatim transcription is of far more value than any other 
form. It is, otherwise, impossible to be sure that some point of in- 
terest and importance has not been overlooked. The extra trouble 
of making a complete transcript is small, and the result much more 
satisfactory. In any case the names should be given literatimy and 
all remarks carefully copied. Other records, such as churchwardens* 
accounts, should certainly not be transcribed and printed otherwise 
than in full. It is far better, in both cases, to do a portion 
thoroughly than the whole imperfectly. 



238 ARCH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

Revision and Collation of Copies. — The decipherment of old Regis- 
ters is, as already pointed out, a work of considerable difficnlty, and 
it is therefore strongly recommended that in cases where the tran- 
scribers have no great previous experience, they shoald obtain the 
help of some competent reader to collate the transcript with the 
original. 

Publication. — With regard to the publication of Registers, the 
Committee have carefully considered the question of printing in 
abbreviated or index form, and have come to the conclusion to 
strongly recommend that the publication shonld be in full, not only 
for the reasons given above for transcription, but because the extra 
trouble and expense (if any) are so small, and the value so very 
mnch greater. There seems, however, no objection, in either case, 
to the use of contractions of formal words of constant recurrence. 
A list of some of these is subjoined, — Bap., baptized ; Mar., married ; 
Bur., buried ; Bac., baobelor ; Spin., spinster ; Wid., widow or 
widower; Dau., daughter. 

Witb regard to entries of marriage after Lord Hardwicke's Act 
of 1752, it is suggested that the form of entry may be simplified by 
the omission of formal phrases ; but care shonld be taken not to 
omit any record or fact however apparently unimportant ; such, for 
instance, as the names of witnesses, ministers, occupation, etc. 

It is believed that many Registers remain unprinted owing to an 
exaggerated idea of the cost of printing and binding. Reasonable 
estimates for these might probably often be obtained from local 
presses which would be interested in the publication. No absolute 
rule as to size and type can be laid down ; but on this and other 
questions the Standing Committee will always be glad to give advice. 

General Committee. — A Standing Committee has been appointed 
by the Congress for the purpose of giving advice, and preparing 
and distributing to the various Societies in union such information 
and lists as may be of common value to all. This Committee is 
engaged on the preparation of a list of all the Registers that have 
been printed, and when completed this list will be communicated to 
all subscribing Societies for inclusion in their publications. 

Local Societies are strongly urged to foi^m their own committees 
to take steps to secure the printing of the many transcripts that 
already exist unpublished, and to promote further transcription. It 
is believed that the publication of a series of Registers, supple- 
mental and extra to their Transactions, would add to the attractive- 
ness and usefulness of the Societies without being a serious burden 
to their funds. By combination and organisation a considerable 
body of outside subscribers may probably be secured for sucb a 
series ; and the cost of distribation of circulars, etc., may be mate- 
rially reduced by such a plan as the issue, by the Central Commit* 
tee, of an annual circular containing lists of Registers in course of 
publication. Such a circular might be distributed by the local 
Societies, and published in their transactions and elsewhere. 

The subject of an Archaeological Survey of England, by coimties 



ARCHJSOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 239 

or districts, was fiirther discnssed. It was annonnced that maps of 
Cnmberland, Westmoreland, and Snrrej were in preparation, and 
it was hoped that one of Berkshire would shortly be undertaken. 

It waft resolved that a copy of the circular issued by the Surrey 
Archteological Society be forwarded with the Report. 

PROPOSED ARCHiEOfiOGICAL MAP OP THE COUNTY OP SURREY. 

General Scheme of the Work, — A set of maps of the 6-inch Ordnance 
Survey is kept at the headquarters of the Society. On this it is 
proposed to mark all objects of archseological interest in the county. 
When the map is complete, a reduced copy and a complete topo- 
graphical index will be published in the Collectiofu of the Society. 
Following the lines laid down by Mr. George Payne, P.S.A., Hono- 
rary Secretary of the Kent ArchiBological Society, in his Arehceolo- 
gioal Survey of the County of Kent (published by the Society of Anti- 
quaries), it is proposed to divide the work into three sections, viz. : 

1. Pre-Roman. — (a), earthworks and tumuli. Where no date can 
be assigned to this class of antiquities, it is proposed to simply mark 
them as earthworks (£). (6), megalithic remains, cists, palsdolithic 
and neolithic implements^ bronze objects, as celts, palstaves, spear- 
heads, etc., sepulchral relics, etc. 

2. Roman, including cemeteries, interments, tombs, and sepulchral 
relics, foundations, camps, roads, hoards of coins, pottery, glass, 
personal ornaments, etc. 

3. Anglo-Saxon, including barrows, cemeteries, interments, and 
sepulchral relics, coins, glass objects, etc., personal ornaments, 
arms, etc. 

Finds of single coins, except in the case of early British or Anglo- 
Saxon, may be noticed and recorded, but need not be entered on the 
maps. The exact locality of all discoveries of British and Anglo- 
Saxon coins should always be given, together with the date of the 
discovery, and a reference to any published account of the same. 

Printed forms can be obtained from the Honorary Secretaries ; 
and any members willing to assist either by personal investigation 
or by reading and tioiing the various books relating to the county, 
are requested to communicate with the Honorary Secretaries. To 
prevent confusion and double labour, members are requested to 
notify to the Honorary Secretaries the work they are willing to 
undertake. 

Members can render much assistance by purchasing the single 
sheets of the Ordnance Survey for their own district, and filling up 
the same at home ; but in all cases the annexed form sbould be filled 
in as well. Single sheets of the 6-incb Ordnance Survey can bo 
purchased from E. Stanford, Cockspur Street, Charing Cross, S.W., 
at a cost of 2«. 6d. each, and a skeleton map, showing the divisions 
of the county, can be obtained for Sd. 

Field-names are most important, and especially those occurring 
in old charters, court-rolls, or other document}', parish-maps, rate- 



240 ARCH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

books, terriers, etc. All field names should be marked on the maps, 
and such old names as cannot be identified should be recorded 
nnder the head of the parish to which thej belong, together with 
fnll particulars of their occurrence. Much information on these 
points can often be obtained from the maps and estate-plans issued 
in auctioneers* catalogues on the sale of estates. Members are re- 
quested to send sale-catalogues of any estates in their neighbour- 
hood to the headquarters of the Society. 

It was resolved that the attention of archsdological societies be 
also called to a Domesday Map of Somerset just published by Bishop 
Hobhouse in the Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archceohgical and 
Natural History Society for 1889. 

The question of the desirability of constructing, on a uniform 
scale, models of ancient monuments, was discussed at some length, 
and a fine series of such models, made under the direction of the 
Inspector of Ancient Monuments, was exhibited. It was ultimately 
resolved that the archsBological societies of Great Britain memori- 
alise the Government to increase tbe allowance at present made 
under the Ancient Monuments' Act, in order that such models of 
other monuments might be constructed, and a Committee was ap- 
pointed to draw up a draft of a memorial to that effect. 

The Antiquary, Sept. 1890. 



It is with the greatest regret that we have to announce the death 
of our Treasurer, R. W. Banks, Esq., which took place on Wednes- 
day, June 24th. A fuller obituary notice will appear in the October 
No. of the Journal. 



ERRATA. 

P. 166, /or Edmund read Edward 

„ n., for Kewi re<id Keui 
P. 167, 1. 22, /or Rolent read Eoelent 
P. 168, n., for 1885 read 1886 
P. 169, n. 1, for larl read larll. 



Jutlracalajia €n\hvtmh. 



FIFTH SERIES.— VOL. VIII, NO. XXXII. 



OCTOBER 1891. 



CHIEF OF THE NOBLE TRIBES OF 
GWYNEDD. 

BT H. F. J. YAUGHAN, BSQ. 

GwYNEDD, the most northerly of the portions into 
which Rhrodri Mawr divided his kingdom, though en- 
joying a precedence over Deheubarth and Powys, was 
in the earlier stages of its career less fortunate than 
either of them, so that the Welsh History observes, — 
*' It had seldom been known before but that one of the 
princes was an usurper, and particularly in North 
Wales, where from the time of Edwal Foel none had 
legally ascended to the crown excepting Edwal, the 
son of Meiric, eldest son to Edwal Foel, m whose line 
the undoubted title of North Wales lawfully de- 
scended." Nor, on the other hand, must we presume 
that one usurper obtained Gwynedd, and left his de- 
scendants peaceably possessed of it generation after 
generation. Such a supposition is dispelled by com- 
paring the line of actual or de facto kings with that of 
the kmgs dejure. 

We will take the last first, and the succession is as 
follows from Rhrodri Mawr, Anarawd, Edwal Voel, 
Meirig, Edwal, lago, Cynan, and Gruffydd, who was 
the last to bear the title of King of Wales. Now let 
us take the de facto kings, — Anarawd, Edwal Voel, 
Howel Dda of South Wtdes, leuaf and lago (sons of 

GtH BBK., TOL. VIII. 16 



242 CHIEF OF THE NOBLE TRIBES 

Edwal Voel), Howel ab Tenaf, Cadwallon ab leuaf, 
Meredydd ab Owain of South Wales, Edwal ab Mei- 
rig, Aeddan ab Blegwryd ab Owain ab Morgan Mwyn- 
vawr of Glamorgan. According to the lolo MSS., Lly- 
welyn abSeissylltjIago ab Edwal, Gruffydd abLlywelyn, 
Bleddyn and Ilhiwallon,Bleddyn,Trahaiarn abCaradoc 
ab Gwyn ab CoUwyn, and Gruifydd ab Cynan. 

These several changes took place by force of war and 
bloodshed, so that the whole country must have suf- 
fered severely, and little time had the studious, and 
few places of resort, secluded from the din of arms, 
where they could commit to writing or store up an 
accurate history of their country. It is natural that 
such a confusion of aflfairs in the kingdom should pro- 
duce a corresponding confusion in its annals; and this 
is borne out by facts, for we have no knowledge of the 
consort of any of these kings of North Wales until we 
arrive at lago, who married Avandred or Avandrech 
(sometimes shortened into Vandred), daughter of 
Gweir ab Pyll ; and so we find his son Cynan, the 
father of King Gruffydd, called by Gutyn Owen, Cynan 
ab lago from his father, and Cynan ab Avandred from 
his mother. 

Here also we may notice two other variations in this 
line of descent. Firstly, that in the Life of Gruffydd 
ab Cynan, where we are told that Cynan was the son 
of lago ab Idwal ab Elisse ab Meurig ab Anarawd ; 
and secondly, that mentioned by Sir Peter Leycester 
from Giraldus, where Cynan is called son of lago ab 
Edwal ab Meyric ab Anandhrec ab Mervin, Prince of 
North Wales, ab Rhrodri Mawr ; and we are there told 
that Anarawd had no issue. But this is manifestly erro- 
neous, for Anandrech is the name of a woman, and the 
same as the Avandred above ; and other writers say 
that Edwal Voel married Avandred or Angharad, 
daughter of Mervyn, King of Powys. If, again, Ana- 
rawd had no issue, who is Prawst, daughter and heir 
of Elis ab Anarawd, wife of Seissyllt, and mother of 
Llywelyn ab Seissyllt, who thus laid a claim to Gwyn- 



OF GWYNEDD. 243 

edd ? History and reason alike lead us to receive 
the first mentioned list of the kings of Gwynedd as 
the true one. 

Passing on to an investigation of the claims which 
the several usurping monarchs advanced, we can find 
none other on the part of Howel Dda, than that, being 
known as a prudent and benignant ruler, he was pre- 
ferred by the voice of the chiefs of the Tribes, — an 
arrangement which, though it had to some extent the 
sanction of Rhodri Mawr, was little conducive to peace 
or to that stability which is necessary for states in 
order to flourish. By others he is supposed to have 
been first chosen as Governor of Wales during the 
minority of his uncle Anarawd's sons, and to have 
resigned the sovereignty to Edwal Voel upon his com- 
ing of age. 

Meredydd ab Owain ab Howel Dda slew Cadwallon 
and Meiric his brother, and thus seized upon North 
Wales ; but at his death left an only daughter and 
heiress, her brother having predeceased his father. 
This Princess, Angharad by name, is one of the most 
important persons of her day, since her issue claimed 
through her a right to the sovereignties of South 
Wales and Powys : South Wales through her descent 
from Cadell and Powys, because her grandfather, Owain 
ab Howel Dda, had married Angharad, daughter and 
heiress of Llywelyn ab Mervyn, King of Powys. 

The Welsh History says that this Angharad was 
twice married, firstly to Llywelyn ab Seissyllt, and 
secondly to Cynvyn Hirdref or Cynvyn ab Gwerystan ; 
but an ancient MS. in the Library of Jesus College, 
Oxford, says, " Rhys Gruc mab merch Madawc M mer- 
edud M bledynt Kynwyn M Gwedylstan M Kynvyn. 
y Kynvin hwnw a gruffydd vab Llywelyn a thrahay- 
arn M Cradawc tri brodyr oedynt meibion y hanghrat 
merch mared." The History observes : *'Grunudd being 
dead, Harold, by King Edwards orders, appointed 
Meredith, son of Owain ab Edwin, Prince of South 
Wales ; and the government of North Wales to Blethyn 

16« 



244 CHIEF OF THE NOBLE TRIBES 

and Rywalhon, the sons of Confyn, brothers, by the 
mother's side, to Prince Gruffydh, and who probably, 
for the desire of rule, were accessory to the murder of 
that noble Prince." 

The Llyfr leuan Brechva, in a pedigree on p. 32, 
says that Gwerystan married Angharad, daughter of 
Meredydd ab Owain, and had issue, Cynfyn, father of 
Bleddyn ; and on p. 54 has a passage which may be 
freely translated, "And now let us turn to the tafaith 
of Mathravel in Powys, which descended to Bleddyn 
ab Cynfyn through Angharad, his mother, the daughter 
of Meredydd ab Owain ab Howel Dda ab Cadell ; and 
she, indeed, had been the wife of Llewelyn ab Seissyllt, 
the mother of Gruffydd ab Llywelyn ; and because of 
the death of her brother Rhys, the talaith descended 
to Gruffydd ab Llywelyn through his mother ; and 
because of the failure of heirs of Gruffydd ab Llywelyn 
ab Seissyllt, the talaith descended to Bleddyn ab Cyn- 
fyn, whose descendants had it." 

In the Brut y Tywysogion we read of the sons of 
Bleddyn ab Cynvyn Gwyn ; and in The Golden Grove 
Book, M, p. 1971, is a pedigree wherein Karadoc ab 
Gwyn ab Collwyn is stated to have married, firstly, 
"Angharad, fh. MVed, King of N.Wales", relict to Lly- 
welyn ab Seissyllt ab Gwerystan ab Gwaithvoed ; and 
secondly, blank. By which second marriage he had a 
son, Trahaiarn ab Caradoc, King of North Wales, who 
married Nest, daughter to Gruffydd ab Llywelyn ab 
Seissyllt ("potius £ Ll'en ab Seissyllt, King of N. 
Wales"). But in another place of the Llyfr leuan 
Brechva, we read the following: "Gwehelyth Arwystli, 
Ho ap l6uaf ap Ywain ap trahaiarn ap Kradawc ap 
Gwynn ap Golwyn ap bleddyn ap ednywain ap pladrw- 
ys ap Kaidiau ap Korf ap Kynoc ap lerw hyvlawdd." 

Amidst such conflicting testimony we can only 
offer a suggestive explanation, which is that Angharad, 
heiress of Meredydd, married firstly Llywelyn, who had 
a claim on the sovereignty of North Wales from the 
fact that his father, Seissyllt, had married Trawst, 



OF GWYNEDD. 2J5 

daughter of Elisae, son of Anarawd, and brother of 
Edwal Voel, King of Gwynedd. Llywelyn was slain 
in 1021, having a son and successor, Gruffydd, who 
was slain in 1061, leaving by his wife, Editha the Fair, 
daughter of Alfgar Earl of Mercia, and sister of Edwin 
Earl of Chester, who held Tegeingl, a daughter, Nest, 
who, after certiiin untoward adventures with Fleance, 
son of Banquo, married Trahaiam ab Caradoc. For her 
second husband Angharad married Gwyn, by whom she 
had issue Caradoc, who had issue the aforesaid Tra- 
haiarn, slain in 1080 ; and she had also issue, Cynvyn, 
father of Bleddyn, who was slain in 1072. This Cyn- 
vyn is called Cynan in the Llyfr leuan Brechva. 

If we attempt to trace the genealogies upwards, dif- 
ficulties increase upon us, but it is worthy of remark 
that both Gwerystan and Gwyn are referred to the 
same ancestry. The line usually given for Caradoc is 
ab Gwyn ab Collwyn ab Ednowain ab Bleddyn ab 
Bledri, Prince of Cornwall. But this is evidently ficti- 
tious, for this Caradoc was slain at Rhuddlan, contend- 
ing with the Saxons, in 795, and so could not be father 
of Trahaiarn, who was slain in 1079-80. The lolo 
MSS., indeed, declare this Caradoc to be the son of 
lestyn ab Gwrgant, King of Glamorgan. Perhaps the 
truth lies between the two, and that Caradoc was in- 
deed the son of Gwyn ab Collwyn ab Gwyn, King of 
Dy ved ; which Collwyn had a sister, Angharad, wife of 
Gwrgan ab Judhael, and mother of lestyn, Llewelyn, 
and Tudor; and another sister, Gwenllian, wife of 
Tewdwr Mawr, Prince of South Wales. 

What somewhat confirms the idea that he was of this 
lineage is the fact that Trahaiarn was assisted by his 
cousins, Caradoc ab Gruffydd and Meilyr son of Rhiw- 
allon ab Gwyn, when he opposed the invasion of 
Gruffydd ab Cynan in Gwynedd. 

With respect to the lineage of Bleddyn ab Cyn- 
fyn, we read in the lolo MSS. that lestyn married, for 
his first wife, Denis, daughter of Bleddyn ab Cynfyn 
by his first wife, Haer, and received as her portion the 



246 CHIEF OF THE NOBLE TRIBES 

lordship of Cibwyr in Qwent, and their son Rhydderch 
had the lordship of Caerlleon by a settlement made 
with Bleddyn ab Cynfyn. We also find that Bleddyn 
ab Cynfyn kept his Christmas in Dyved : all which 
points out the fact of his connection with South Wales. 
The Brut y Tywysogion also tells us that in **1078 

Bleddyn ab Cynfyn was killed the man who, after 

Gruffydd, his brother, nobly supported the whole king- 
dom of the Britons ; and after nim Trahaiarn ab Cara- 
dog, his cousin, ruled over the kingdom of the Gwyn- 
eddians." 

It is nearly certain that the only claims which Cyn- 
vyn and Trahaiarn ab Caradoc had to royalty were 
derived from their ancestress, Angharad, Queen of 
Powys, and there is a suspicious appearance about the 
numerous pedigrees attributed to them, as though the 
genealogists had given them an eminent genealogy in 
virtue of their eminent position, but had not agreed 
among themselves what that genealogy should be. 
This appearance may, however, have arisen by the mis- 
takes and conjectures of ignorant persons in later 
times : at least there is one point of unity, viz., that 
Cynvyn, Caradoc, and Lly welyn, of Buallt, are all de- 
rived by the genealogists from lorwerth Hirflawdd, 
Cynvyn being fourteen generations, and Caradoc and 
Llywelyn eight generations from him. But let it be 
observed that that Caradoc was the one which we have 
already rejected, he having been slain in 795; and the 
same reason will cause the rejection of this Llywelyn. 

With respect to Cynvyn or Cynan more may be said, 
because he is called the grandson of Gwaithvoed ; and 
though we must reject the Gwaithvoed of Powys with 
the above genealogy from lorwerth Hirflawdd, it is pos- 
sible for him to have derived his connection with South 
Wales, which is historical, from Gwaithvoed of Cardi- 
gan. But here again we are met by the difficulty that 
both Gwaithvoed of Cardigan and Gwaithvoed of 
Powys are said by the genealogists to have married 
Morfydd, daughter and heir of Ynyr Ddu, King of 



OF GWYNEDD. 247 

Gwent. However, Gwaithvoed is called Prince of Car- 
digan and lord of Cibwyr, and Cibwyr is the portion 
given in marriage by Bleddyn ap Cynfyn with his 
daughter, Denis, to Jestyn ab Gwrgan. Moreover, this 
Gwaithvoed of Cardigan had a son, Gwyn, lord of 
Castell Gwyn. 

All this, however, involves considerable chronolo- 
gical difficulties, for it has been said that this Gwaith- 
voed of Cardigan was father of Ednowain, the lay 
Abbot of Llanbadarn in 1188, when Giraldus visited 
that part of the country. This, however, is impos- 
sible if Gwaithvoed was grandfather of Cynvyn ; and 
also, we may add, impossible if he was the father of 
Cynan Veiniad, as he is called, lord of Tregaron. We 
say impossible with regard to the latter, because this 
Cynan Veiniad had, according to the heralds and 

genealogists, a son named Rhun, whose daughter and 
eiress, Gwladys, was wife of Elystan Glodrhudd, said 
to have been born a.d. 933, and in whose right the 
three boars' heads couped are placed upon the shield 
of Elystan. We do not believe in such advanced 
heraldry at so early a time, and the whole shield is 
suspiciously like those of G waithvoed of Cardigan and 
Ednowain quartered ; the only difference being that 
the shield of Gwaithvoed is tinctured sable, that of 
Elystan gules. It is evident, therefore, that it would 
be quite possible for Gwaithvoed of Cardigan to have 
lived at a period sufficiently remote for him to be 
father of Gwyn. 

In Williams' Eminent Welshinen Elystan is said to 
have married Gwenllian, daughter of Einion ab Howel 
Dda ; but his coat is always given as quarterly, 1 and 
4, gules, a lion rampant, regardant or; 2 and S, argent, 
three boars* heads couped sable, founded upon the above 
descent from Rhun. 

We pass on to Lly welyn ab Seissyllt, whose ancestry 
seems equally involved in obscurity. We have already 
noticed that Seissyllt is called son of Gwerystan ab 
Gwaithvoed, and this Gwerystan is the same person 



248 CHIEF OP THE NOBLE TRIBES 

called in other places Gwynn and Gwedylstan (query, 
a confusion of Gwyn abElystan ?); and it is also certain 
that Gwaithvoed had a son called Elystan (Harl. MS. 
1977), whose descendant, Hunydd, afterwards married 
Meredydd ab Bleddyn, Prince of Powys. By many 
genealogists, however, Seissyllt is considered to be the 
son of Llywelyn of Buallt ; but if so, in the Jesus Col- 
lege MS. previously mentioned, where the children of 
this Seissyllt are given, no mention is made of any 
named Llywelyn ; and, moreover, this Seissyllt is stated 
to be son of Llywelyn of Buallt, son of Cadwgan ab 
Elystan Glodrhudd ; which Cadwgan is stated to 
have married Angharad, daughter of Lawr by Leuki, 
daughter of Meredydd Owain ab Howel Dda : which, if 
it be true (and it is one of our oldest MSS.), puts 
Llywelyn of Buallt out of the question. 

The mistakes of copyists and others are so manifold, 
manifest, and great, in our genealogical manuscripts, 
as all well versed in them must know, that there would 
be no diiEculty in the words Cynvyn mab Gwyn mab 
Elystan, or Cynvyn Gwyn Elystan, becoming Cynvyn 
ab Gwydelystan, and later, Cynvyn ab Gwerystan. 
Some such explanation there must be, for the pedigrees 
as they stand are otherwise inexplicable, and this con- 
fusion seems to have taken place just about the time 
when there were such changing and troublous times 
recorded as existing in the kingdom. 

Since we find so much confusion amongst royal per- 
sonages, we cannot expect those who held a humbler 
position to have escaped. Next to the king in Gwyn- 
edd came the heads of the tribes, or chiefs of the noble 
families, who amounted to fifteen. Their order is given 
differently by different authorities, and the fact seems 
to be that they had no definite order. Their power, 
according to the Welsh constitution, was very great, 
since they were able, for suflBcient cause, to put one 
member of the royal family off the throne, and replace 
him by some other member of it, — a notable instance 
being that of lorwerth Drwyndwn. 



OP GWYNEDD. 249 

The dates assigned to the origins of the several 
tribes differ widely; but this is probably to be accounted 
for by the fact that when the kingdom became settled, 
and after due inquiry, the most eminent persons were 
named as constituting the chiefs of the several tribes. 
The custom subsequently arose of speaking of some of 
them by the name of one of their most illustrious 
ancestors rather than by the name of him who actually 
held the position of chief at the time. Hence arose 
the great chronological difference between them, rang- 
ing from the seventh to the twelfth century. 

There are many lists of the noble tribes extant, two 
of which we give. Firstly, one taken from flarl. MS. 
2,28.9, fo. 309, — 1, Briant hir of Isdulas yn Rhos, in 
Denbighshire, 650 or 875; vertj a cross flory, or. 2, Kil- 
min Troedhu of Glynllivon, brothers son to Mervyn 
Vrych, King of North Wales, 842. Quarterly, 1 and 4, 
arg,^ an eagle displayed, with two heads, sa.; 2 and 3, 
arg., three ragged staves gu., and on an escutcheon a 
man's leg couped at the thigh sa. 3, Marchudd ab 
Conan ab Elvyn, dwelt at Brynfanigle, and was lord of 
Abergele. Gu., a Saracen's head erased proper, wreathed 
arg. and sa. 4, March weithian, lord of Isaled in Rhy- 
vonioc, Denbigh, 720. Gu., a lion rampant arg., armed 
az. Son of Hydh ab Maylawg Dda Gredhyf ap Konwy 
Dhy ap Kyllin Vnfid, to Meilr, and so to Cynedda. 
6, Colwyn ap Tangno, lord of Ardudwy in Merioneth- 
shire, and Evionydh in Carnarvonshire. Lived cir. 887. 
His grandsons, Aftar, Meirion, and Gwgan, sons to 
Merwydh ap CoUwyn, were at man's estate in the 
beginning of Prince Griffith ap Conan's reign, and lived 
in Lhyn. His dwelling was at Bronwen's Tower, after- 
wards called from him Caer Collwyn, near Harlech. 
Sa.y a chevron inter three fleurs-de-lis arg. 6, Edno- 
wen Bendew, lord of Tegaingle, lived about 1015. Arg., 
a chevron inter three boars' heads couped sa. He was 
son to Kynan Feiniad ap Gwaithvoyd, 7, Edwyn ap 
Grono ap Owen ap Howel Dha, King of Tegaingle in 
Flintshire. Arg., a cross engrailed flory inter four 



250 CHIKF OF THE NOBLE TRIBES 

Cornish choughs sa. 8, Hedh Molwinog, 1079. 9,Gwei-- 
ydd ap Rees Goch. 10, Bran, 1170. 11, Ednowen ap 
Bradwen,1061orll94, ap Idnerth apEdred ap Nathan 
ap Japheth ap Karwed ap Marchudd ap Conon ap El- 
wyn, as above. Gu., three snakes enwrapt together 
arg. ; two of their heads in chief, and one in base. 
12, Maelocbrum, 1175. 13, Nevydh Hardh. 1150, lord 
of Nant Conwy, ap leuan ap Ysbwys Garthen ap 
Sr lestyn ap Cadwgan ap Elystan Glodrud. Arg., 
three spears' heads sa., imbrued proper. 14, Eunydd 
Gwerngwy, 1061. 15, Hwfa, 1150. 

Our second list gives them in the following order : 
1, Hwfa ab Cynddelw. Gu., a chevron inter three 
lionels rampant or. 2, Lly warch ab Bran. Arg., a chev- 
ron between three Cornish choughs sa., each bearing an 
ermine spot in its bill. 3, Gwerydd ab Rhys Goch. 
Arg.f on a bend sa. three lions or leopards, faces 
caboshed of the field. 4, Cilmin Droed ddu. 5, Col- 
wyn ab Tangno. 6, Marchudd ab Cynan. 7, March- 
weithian ab Tegned, Gu., a lion rampant arg., armed 
az. 8, Briant Hir. 9, Hedd Molwynog. Sa., a hart 
passant argr., attired or. 10, NevyddHardd. 11, Madog 
Grwm. A^y., on a chevron sa., three angels or. 12, 
Edwin ab Grono. 13, Ednowain Bendew. 14, Efnydd 
or Eunydd ab Rhys ab Meirchion or ab Morien ab Mor- 
geneu ab Cynan ab Gwaethfoed. Az., a lion salient or, 
quartering az, a fess or inter three nags' heads erased 
arg., for his mother, Gwenllian verch Rhys. 1 5, Edno- 
wain ab Bradwain. 

A comparison of the foregoing two lists shows that 
we must not pay too much attention to dates which 
are so equivocal, arising probably from the confusion of 
two persons of the same or similar names, instances of 
which we have in many pedigrees, and notably in that 
of lestyn ab Gwrgan as given in the lolo MSS. Our 
only guide to the true dates is contemporary history. 
Nor are there instances of confusion of names only, for 
in the case of Eunydd the male and female lines are 
confused, since Eunydd was the son of Morien ab 



OF GWYNEDD. 251 

Morgeneu Gwerngwy ab Gwaethgeneu ab Elystan, 
natural son of Gwaitnvoed ; but his mother was a con- 
siderable heiress, being Gwenllian, daughter and heiress 
of Rhys Marchen or Rhys ab Meirchion of Ruthinland, 
ab Cydrick ab Cynddelw gam, derived from Sanddef 
Bryd Angel ; and since she was heiress of Dyffryn 
Clwyd, her son's genealogy is given through her {vide 
Harl MS. 1977). 

It is well to regard as facts in Welsh pedigrees, 
that we may expect constant confusion with per- 
sons of the same or similar name, and that when any 
one's mother has been a great heiress, her genealogy is 
often attributed to her children as well as, or instead 
of, the paternal line. We have instances of the tribe 
of Ednowain Bendew being confused with that of Ed- 
nowain ab Bradwain, so that the genealogy of Brad- 
wain has been attributed to Ednowain Bendew ; and 
in the Ll'ijfr leuan Brechva and other places, Cynvyn 
is constantly written Cynan. 

We have less knowledge than could be wished of the 
origin and status of the several tribes or nobles and their 
offices at court ; but we know that Ednowain Bendew 
was the head or chief of them, — a fact noticed in the 
catalogue of the tribes at the end of Pennant's work 
on Whiteford and Holywell, and still more forcibly in 
the celebrated pedigree of Colonel Jones the regicide, 
which was drawn out by the well-known antiquary, 
Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt, and signed on 30th Jan. 
1649, where he is mentioned several times as "chiefest 
of the peers of North Wales"; a title and pre-eminence 
given to none other, though his grandson, Hwfa ab 
Cynddelw, whose mother was a daughter of Ednowain, 
is said to have had the office of placing the crown upon 
the head of the Prince after he had been anointed by 
the Bishop of Bangor. 

Let us examine a little more closely the Ednowain 
Bendew, or Edwal ap Owen Bendew, or Owen Ben- 
dew, who occupied the position of Prince of Tegeingl 
and Chief of the Noble Tribes. The ordinary genea- 



252 CHIEF OF THE NOBLE TRIBES 

logists call him the son of Cynan Veiniard or Veinlad 
ab Gwaithvoed ; but we have seen already that it is 
absurd to suppose him to be the son of a man whose 
granddaughter married Elystan Glodrhudd, a king 
born A.D. 933. He flourished, says the book of Ednop, 
in 1079; and since Tegeingl was part of Gwynedd, the 
fact of his being Prince of Tegeingl points to his being 
a member of the reigning family there. He waa also 
the latest who bore that title, his descendants remain- 
ing there as Barons of Chester, and holding positions 
of importance, as Ithel, Archdeacon of Tegeingl in 1393. 

We find amongst the pedigrees attested by Gutyn 
Owen and others, that the name which the ordi- 
nary genealogists call Ednowain Bendew, or Eden 
Owen Bendew, or Owain Bendew, is really Edwal ab 
Owen Bendew; and this name Edwal is one which con- 
stantly occurs in the families of the Princes of North 
Wales. We also find Cynan ab lago called Cynan ab 
Avandred from his mother (who survived her husband 
some time), which is sometimes shortened into Van- 
dred, and is, no doubt, the name which the genealo- 
gists have transformed into Cynan Veiniad, or Vendi- 
gaid as some have it. Thus, instead of the impossible 
Ednowain Bendew ab Cynan Veiniad we have the his- 
torical Edwal ab Owen Bendew ab Cynan ab Avandred, 
who was of suflficient distinction (as in the case of the 
heiress of Dyfiryn Clwyd previously mentioned) to 
give her genealogy to her sons, especially the younger. 

It must strike all who read over the catalogue of 
the noble tribes that there is one of their chiefs called 
Prince of Tegeingl, and another called King of Tegeingl; 
and not only so, but these come very near each other 
in point of date. Now what is the history of Tegeingl ? 
Is there anything to throw light upon this matter ? 
Tegeingl formed part of Gwynedd, but was at an early 
time in the hands of the Saxons. The Gwentian Chro- 
nicle says that when the Strathclyde Britons asked 
King Anarawd for an asylum in his dominions, he 
replied that he had no lands he could give to them. 



OP GWYNEDD. 253 

but that if they could dispossess the Saxons who theu 
held it^ they might possess the country between the 
Dee and Conway, and he would assist them. In this 
expedition they were successful, and dwelt in that 
country for some time; but supposing this account 
true, it subsequently passed again into the hands of 
the Saxons, and became part of the Mercian kingdom. 

The Earls of Mercia were related to the line of 
Llywelyn ab Seissyllt, King Gruffydd ab Llywelyn, 
a very popular monarch, having married Editha^ the 
Fair, daughter of Alfgar (who had Harold's earldom), 
and sister of Morcar and Edwin, the latter of whom 
seems to be the fictitious King of Tegeingl set up with 
a Saxon title, and an adaptation of the arms used by 
several Saxon kings, though given a British lineage 
to please the Welsh.* It will be remembered that 
Nest, daughter and heir of Gruffydd ab Llywelyn, 
and niece of Edwin, became the wife of Trahaiam ab 
Caradoc, the usurping King of Gwynedd. Thus the 
people of North Wales and the Mercians lived on 
more peaceable terms ; but the Saxons were, even 
before the Norman conquest, the victims of conspiracies 
and jealousies among themselves. 

Upon the borders of Wales we find instances of 
rivalry between the house of Godwin and that of the 
Earls of Mercia. Harold, son of Godwin, had been 
busy in obtaining for himself certain coveted posses- 
sions in South Wales. His brother Tostig had received 
the earldom of Northumberland, but was so hated that 
the people of Northumbria rose against him, outlawed 
him, killed his house-carles, and seized his treasures, at 
the same time choosing Morcar, son of Alfgar, for their 
Earl 

* Sir Peter Leyoeeter calls her Aldith. 

« In Harl. MS. 2299, fo. 204, we find Owain of Tegeingl, the son 
of Edwin, called Owen ap Aldud ; that is, Owen, son of the alien 
or foreigner. This shows that Edwin, the foreigner, was not a 
Welshman, thongh in an old church historian^ Edwin, the brother 
of Morcar, is called Edwin the Welshman, showing his connection 
with Wales. 



254 CHIEF OF THE NOBLE TRIBES 

We are then told that Morcar was joined by his 
brother Edwin (our King of Englefield, or Tegeingl) 
with many Britons, and marched south to Northamp- 
ton. Harold was sent against them, but the North- 
umbrians sent him back to Edward, the Saxon King, 
with their own messengers, desiring that Morcar might 
be their Earl. The King granted their request, and 
sent Harold to announce his decision. Meanwhile, 
however, the northern men had done much harm about 
Northampton, slaying, burning houses, seizing cattle, 
and carrying off many hundred men back to the north 
with them, so that that shire and others in its vicinity 
were " for many years the worse". We are told that 
the Welsh, with several prisoners and other booties got 
in this expedition, returned to Wales. 

Without following all the exploits of Earl Morcar 
and his brother Edwin, it may suffice to say that they 
were soon afterwards fully employed, far away from 
Wales, in opposing the invasion of Tostig and Harold 
Hadrada, King of Norway, and subsequently William 
the Norman. The absence of his Saxon connections 
weakened the power of Trahaiarn ab Caradoc, and as 
Rhys ab Tewdwr Mawr had regained South Wales, of 
which he was the rightful prince, Gruffydd ab Cynan 
thought the opportunity ought not to be lost of obtain- 
ing possession of the throne of North Wales, which was 
his by right ; consequently he set out with a fleet from 
Ireland, his place of retreat, sailing for Anglesey, where 
the Irish seem to have been at that time somewhat 
powerful. 

We cannot absolutely allege that the invasion of 
England by Harold Hadrada was brought about by 
Welsh influence, but we may well remember that 
Gruffydd ab Cynan was the son, ex parte maternd, of 
Ranallt or Rawell, daughter of Auloed or Anlaf, King 
of Dublin, Man, etc., who was the son of Sitric, King 
of Dublin, 1012, son of Auloed, son of Anlaf, who was 
driven into Ireland in 926 by Athelstan, son of Sithric, 
son of Harold Harfager, King of Norway. 



OF GWYNEDD. 255 

It should be borne in mind that after the death of 
Prince Gruflfydd ab Llewelyn of North Wales, in 1056, 
Harold, acting as the lieutenant of Edward the Saxon 
King, had committed the government of that country 
to Bleddyn and Rhiwallon, even though Gruffydd, who 
was a most popular King, had left two sons, Ithel and 
Meredydd, who were slain in 1066 (or, as the Binit y 
Tywysogion has it, in 1068) at the battle of Mechain. 
Ithel was slain in battle, and Meredydd died of cold in 
his flight. Ehiwallon, son of Cynvyn, was also slain 
there ; so that Bleddyn ap Cynvyn held Gwynedd 
alone, but was soon afterwards, in 1073, treacherously- 
slain, and as usual, without regard to his sons, Trahai- 
arn ab Caradoc ascended the throne of Gwynedd, pro- 
bably in right of his wife, the sister and heiress of 
Ithel and Meredydd, sons of Gruffydd ab Llywelyn. 

And now, as the Life of Gruffydd ab Cynan says, the 
long-wished-for time had arrived, and Gruffydd, em- 
barking in the fleet which he had prepared, set sail, 
furrowing the sea in his voyage to Wales. He made 
for the port of Abermenai, in that part of Cambria 
which was called Venedotia (Gwynedd), whose govern- 
ment had at that time been unjustly and tyrannically 
seized upon by Trahaiarn, son of Caradoc, and Cynric, 
son of Khiwallon, Prince of Powys. Here he was 
joined by the forces of the sons of Merwydd, who had 
fled from the threats of the inhabitants of Powys to an 
asylum in Celennog, together with sixty chosen men 
whom Robert, lord of Rhuddlan, had sent to his aid, 
with forty men of Mona, into Ll^n, that they might 
fight against the usurper, Cynric ab Rhiwallon.^ Hav- 
ing found him there, trusting in his security, and little . 
recking the fate about to fall upon him, they slew him 
and the greater part of his forces. This took place in 
1079, the very year in which Owain Bendew is stated 

' Modern writers have endeavoured to make two persons named 
Rhiwallon ; but it is evident from the Life of Gruffydd ab Cynan 
that Cynric ab Rhiwallon was the son of Rhiwallon, Prince of 
Powys, and younger brother of Bleddyn ab Cynvyn. 



256 CHIEF OF TH£ NOBLE TRIBES 

to have become Prince of Tegeingl ; the elder brother 
regaining his rightful kingdom, and placing his 
younger brother in a responsible position as lord or 
prince of Tegeingl, and chief of the peers of his king- 
dom of Gwynedd. 

The family of Edwin of Tegeingl were among the 
most powerful persons of the kingdom of Gwynedd, 
and in order to conciliate them, and join them to him- 
self, King Gruffydd married Angharad, daughter of 
Owain ab Edwin ; which nearly proved fatal to him, 
for Owain, remembering the loss sustained by his 
family, and desirous of greater possessions and dignity, 
treacherously invited the Earls of Shrewsbury and 
Chester to invade North Wales, and take King Gruffydd 
prisoner. In this, however, he was fortunately unsuc- 
cessful, and only obtained for himself a temporary dig- 
nity in Anglesey, given by the English, and the lasting 
disgrace of being henceforward called ** Owain Vradwr ' 
(Owen the Traitor). The Giventian Chronicle tells us 
that in 1111 King Gruffydd confirmed to Earl Hugh 
his men and lands in Tegeingl, Rhyvoniog, and Mona, 
so that nothing could be done against him ever after. 

There was a connection also between the family of 
Owain and that of Cynfyn, the former having married 
Ewerydda, the daughter of the latter. The Brut y 
Tywysogion^ under the date 1113, says Einion ab 
Cadwgan ab Bleddyn and Gruflfydd ab Meredydd ab 
Bleddyn joined together to make an attack upon 
the castle of Uchtryd ab Edwin, who was cousin to 
King Bleddyn, for Iweryd, the mother of Owain and 
Uchtryd, the sons of Edwin King of Tegeingl, and 
Bleddyn ab Cynvyn, were sister and brother by the 
same father, but not by the same mother, as Angharad, 
daughter of Meredydd ab Owain, was the mother of 
Bleddyn, and Cynvyn ab Gwerystan was father of 

both. And the castle was at Cymmer, in Meir- 

ionydd. 

Let us recapitulate what has been said. A compa- 
rison of dates and pedigrees proves that tlie pedigree 



OF GWYNEDD. 257 

usually attached to Ednowain Bendew (whose true 
name, we find, is Owain Bendew), has been attributed 
to him by u mistake either of a genealogist or copyist 
reading Cynan Veiniad for Cynan ab Avandred, pro- 
bably in the abbreviated form, Cyn. Vd., and referring 
this Cynan to the house of Powys. We find, further, 
from Gutty n Owen, that Cynan ab lago is also called, 
from his mother, Cynan ab Avandred ; so that Owain 
Bendew was the younger brother of King Gruffydd ab 
Cynan of the house of Gwynedd ; and this coincides 
with history, and furnishes a competent reason for the 

Eosition of chief of the peers of North Wales, which he 
eld. In this way history, reason, and the incidental 
evidence of the genealogists themselves, concur in 
showing who Owain Bendew, the chief of the peers of 
Wales, was, and the diflficulties arising from the pedi- 
gree which has been erroneously attributed to him dis- 
appear. His descendants were allied, in the earlier 
generations, with the chief families in Wales, and held 
their estates in Flintshire, through Norman times, per 
baroniam. In the fourth generation from Owain, the 
head of the family allied himself with the eminent 
Norman family of Pulford of Pulford in Cheshire, and 
their great-grandson, Ithel, became Archdeacon of 
Tegeingl. 

It has been previously observed that our genealo- 
gists have frequently confused persons bearing the 
same name, and an examination of the pedigree of the 
descendants of Owen Bendew would, perhaps, cause 
some hesitation as to his living at so early a period as 
1079-1140. His grandson Madoc (or, as some say, son) 
married Arddyn, daughter of Brad wain, lord of Dol- 
gelley, whose son, we have seen above, was living in 
1194. We may, therefore, presume this to be about 
the date at which Madoc or Edwal flourished, and this 
corresponds with the date of an alliance two genera- 
tions lower, namely that of Ririd ab lorwerth with 
Tibet, daggjiter of Sir Robert Pulford of Pulford in 
Cheshire. A reference to Sir George Sitwells History 

5th skr. vol. VIII. 17 



258 CHIEF OF THE NOBLE TRIBES 

of the Barons ofPulford shows conclusively that Robert 
de Pulford was only enfeoffed in the Castle, etc., of 
Pulford by Ralph, son of Simon de Orraesby or de Pul- 
ford, in the year 1240 ; and he was the first Robert de 
Pulford ; so that his daughter, and probably her hus- 
band also, must have lived from about 1240 to 1300. 
These dates are taken from original deeds, and we are, 
therefore, compelled to accept them ; and not only so, 
but they agree with subsequent dates in the pedigree. 

Now, supposing Ririd to be married in 1240 or some- 
what later, and his great-grandfather or great-great- 
grandfather to be of full age in 1079-80, that gives us 
one hundred and sixty years for the two, or three, in- 
tervening generations ; that is eighty, or fifty-three, 
years each, — a period never reached by any subsequent 
three generations in the pedigree. We should rather 
expect, judging from average generations, that there 
would be five rather than three, and that Owain Ben- 
dew would be living from about 1130 to 1200. The 
history of Tegeingl would seem to point in the same 
direction, for we find King Gruffydd ab Cynan, who 
died in 1136, and his son. Prince Owain Gwynedd, 
who died in 1169, both marrying into the line of Edwin 
of Tegeingl, which they would scarcely have done unless 
that family had been very powerful ; and we are told 
that they had come to an agreement with the Normans. 

In 1166 Prince Owain Gwynedd, with his brother, 
Cadwaladr, and the Lord Rhys of South Wales, took 
the Castles of Rhuddlan and Prestatyn, which had 
belonged to the English, and so virtually reduced 
Tegeingl to his sway. 

In many of his wars Prince Owain Gwynedd was 
assisted by his son Cynan, who was a great warrior. 
In 1144 this Cynan had ravaged Aberteivi; in 1146 he 
took the Castle of Cynvael from his uncle Cadwaladr ; 
in 1156 he, with his brother David, defeated Henry II 
in the Wood of Cennadlog ; but died in 1174, leaving 
four sons, — Rhodri, Owain (who united against their 
uncle David in 1194), Gruffydd (who became a monk 



OP GWYNEDD. 259 

in 1200), and Meredydd, lord of Lleyn, whom Prince 
Llywelyn ab lorwerth deprived both of that lordship 
and also of that of Meirionydd. Meredydd then fled 
to Gwenwynwyn, Prince of Powys, who gave him 
Rhiwhiraeth, Neuadd Wen, Llysin, and Coed Talog. 

It is not necessary to follow their descendants fur- 
ther ; but we have here a curious instance of the way 
in which persons of similar name have been confused 
by the genealogists, since this Meredydd ab Cynan of 
Coed Talog is in Harl. MS. 1977 and other places made 
a son of Cynan ab lago or Avandred, and brother of 
Gruffydd, King of Wales. As this has taken place 
with one brother, there would be no difficulty in his 
brother Owain having shared the same fate, and they 
were both connected with Tegeingl and Merioneth. 
On the other hand, however, if we place Owain Ben- 
dew, the Chief of the Noble Tribes, as contemporary 
with his brother. King Gruffydd, who died in 1136, 
and also with Meredydd, Prince of Powys, who died 
in 1133, and Henry I of England, who died in 1135, 
we find the subsequent five or six generations remark- 
ably even as to dates. 

Robert, son of lorwerth ap Ririd ab lorwerth ab 
Madoc ab Idwal ab Owain Bendew, was living, though 
probably a young man, in 1339, and his brother Gwyn 
in 1313, when their names appear in deeds. He mar- 
ried Adles, whose father, Ithel Vychan of Mostyn, died 
in 1300, and by her was father of Ithel, Archdeacon of 
Tegeingl, whom Pennant mentions as living in 1375 
and 1393 ; and of Cynric, who continued the line. The 
Archdeacon was probably an old man in 1393, and his 
great-great nephew died in 1493, just a century later. 
This great-great nephew, John, was the grantee of 
Henry VII, to one of whose *' benevolences" he sub- 
scribed at Chilton, and is referred to in the Llyfr Silin 
as a man of mark and importance. 

The Archdeacon's brother Cynric, we are informed 
by Hengwrt MS. 96, went to live at Caerwys, and 
having married a descendant of Prince Dafydd, so 

17« 



260 CHIEF OF THB NOBLE TRIBES 

cruelly murdered by the English, was father of Ithel 
Vychan, — a surname given to distinguish him from his 
uncle the Archdeacon, and from whom the present head 
of the family takes the name of Vaughan. 

Ithel Vaughan resided upon his wife's estate at Holt 
in Denbighshire, she being the heiress of Robin, brother 
of Robert, living 9 Henry IV, 1408, progenitor of the 
house of Gwydir. His great-grandson, Richard, was 
living at Holt in 1488 ; but his son William succeeded 
his uncle John at Chilton in Shropshire, which had 
been granted by Henry VII to the family for services 
at Bosworth, together with a new coat of arms of the 
tinctures borne by Henry himself in that battle, viz., 
white and green, though the late Joseph Morris has it 
that that estate came from the Conways. Here they 
have flourished more or less ever since. 

The writer is informed that this was suggested, some 
years ago, in the Arch. Camb., as the true pedigree of 
Owain Bendew by one well versed in Welsh genealogy, 
but not pressed because the author had not then 
seen the confirmatory passage from the genealogists of 
Heniy VII. 

It is remarkable that we have an unusual form of 
heraldic bearing confined to South Wales, and attri- 
buted to three eminent families there, — the lion re- 
gardant. The coat of grw., three lioncels passant, regard- 
ant in pale argr., armed az.y is attributed to certain 
princes of South Wales. The coat, or, a lion rampant, 
regardant 5a., is attributed to Gwaithvoed, lord of Car- 
digan, Cibwr, and Gwent; and the coat, gu., a lion 
rampant, regardant or, is attributed to Elystan Glod- 
rhudd, Prince of Ferlys, i.e., the country between the 
Severn and the Wye. 

There seems some difiiculty, however, as to this 
territory, since we are told in the lolo MSS. that 
Glamorgan consisted of — 1st, Morganwy; 2nd, Gwent, 
that is the land between the Usk and Wye, and the 
three sleeves of Gwent, Erging, Ewyas, and Ystrad 
Yw ; 3rd, the Red Cantred between the Wye and 
Severn, to Gloucester Bridge, and thence to Hereford ; 



OF GWYNEDD. 261 

4th, the cantred between the Neath and Tawy ; and 
5th, Gower. All these lands belonged to Glamorgan 
from the time of King Arthur. 

Now if all these territories belonged to Glamorgan 
from the time of Arthur to that of Jestyn, what be- 
comes of the kingdom of Elystan Glodrudd, which is 
stated to consist, amongst other states, of Gloucester, 
Hereford, Erging, and Ewias ? Gower bordered upon 
the Cantrev Vawr, which belonged to the princes of 
South Wales ; but the Cantrev Eginiog, which also 
belonged to those monarchs, is stated to contain Cyd- 
weli, Carnwyllion, and Gower. This is accounted for 
by the fact that there were certain provinces which 
were the cause of constant disputes and wars between 
the princes of South Wales and those of Glamorgan. 

But to return to the three coats of arms mentioned 
above. They are attributed (for heraldry did not be- 
come an exact science in this country until the middle 
of the thirteenth century) to three potentates whose 
possessions at an early period were either entirely 
taken away or severely curtailed by the Normans, and 
it looks as if we had here a very early piece of heraldry 
commemorating the defeats sustained by the Welsh. 
Gwilym says : " This action {i.e., regardant) doth mani- 
fest an inward and degenerate perturbation of the 
mind which is utterly repugnant to the most couragious 
nature of the lyon, * cujus natura est imperterrita', ac- 
cording to the saying, * Leo fortissimus bestiarum ad 
nullius pavebit occursum'.... I hold the same form of 
bearing to be born (not only in the lyon, but in what- 
soever animals) significantly, and so commendably; for- 
asmuch as such action betokeneth a diligent circum- 
spection or regardful CDnsideration of fore passed events 
of things, and comparing of them with things present, 
that he may give a conjectural guess of the eflfects of 
things yet to come and resting in deliberation, which 
proprieties are peculiar to men that are careful and 
considerate of such businesses as they do undertake." 

30, Edwardes Square, Kensington. 
Mav 1889. 



262 



THE EARLY WELSH MONASTERIES. 

BY J. W. WILLIS-BUND, P.S.I. 
{Bead at the Holywell Meeting, August 22nd, 1890.) 

The monasteries that existed in South Wales before 
the Norman invasion of England have not received the 
attention they deserve. Celtic institutions, they are a 
most important factor in the history both of the Celtic 
Church and of the Celtic Church organisation. Difficult 
as it may be to work out their history, not only from the 
paucity of the materials, but also from the fact that 
those materials have been unscrupulously adapted for 
the purposes of a rival Church, that history is full 
both of interest and instruction ; of interest as show- 
ing that there was a time when a Christianity other 
than Latin was the religion of South Wales ; of in- 
struction, as giving a good example of the way in 
which the Latin Church conquers and extirpates her 
rival sisters. 

Everything connected with the Celtic Church, its 
origin, its doctrine, its existence, have been and are 
the subject of controversy. Its great feature was its 
monasticism, and the influence monasticism had upon 
its development. The origin of that monasticism 
has been a fruitful source of dispute. Writers who 
seek their materials exclusively from ecclesiastical 
sources have propounded a theory ascribing to Celtic 
monasticism a Latin origin : a theory most plausible if 
only superficially regarded ; but when examined, found 
to rest, as to dates, persons, and places, on a basis 
either unsupported by evidence, or supported by evi- 
dence altogether untrustworthy. 

This difficulty has been so felt that another theory 
has been propounded, drawn partly from ecclesiastical, 
partly from secular sources, ascribing an Eastern origin 
to the Celtic monasteries ; but to this second theory 



EARLY WELSH MONASTERIES. 263 

the objections are, if possible, greater than to the first, 
while the evidence in its support is even more unsatis- 
factory. It fails to explain the diflSculties in connection 
with the Celtic Church in Ireland; to say nothing of the 
difficulties connected with the Celtic Church in Wales. 

It will be well briefly to state the two theories. The 
first, or the Latin, ascribes the origin of monasticisra 
to the state of things that arose after the Decian per- 
secution. Numerous Christians who had fled for their 
lives to the deserts and the mountains became ancho- 
rites and hermits. The idea of the sanctity of the her- 
mit lasted for some years ; but about the time of Con- 
stantino, St. Pachomius introduced the custom of several 
hermits living together, and having everything in 
common. This developed into the monastic establish- 
ments that first appeared in Egypt and the Nitrian 
Desert, and rapidly spread thence over the Christian 
world. Under the patronage of St. Athanasius, monas- 
teries grew up in Italy. St. Martin of Tours introduced 
them into France by founding the Houses of Ligug^, 
near Poitiers, in 361, and Marmoutier, near Tours, in 
372. St. Patrick is alleged to be a disciple of St. Mar- 
tin, and is said to have introduced monasticism into 
Ireland some time between 440 and 460. Meanwhile, 
Germanus, Bishop of Auxere, who came to England in 
429 to confute the Pelagians, is said to have ordered 
monasteries to be built in England, and introduced 
them into Wales. A pupil of Germanus was Paul Hen 
(Paulinus), one of the great founders of the South 
Wales monasteries. Among the pupils of Paulinus 
were St. Teilo and St. David. 

According to this theory, Celtic monasticism was 
merely a branch of Latin monasticism, founded by 
Latin monks in accordance with Latin ideas. Its ac- 
ceptance at once puts an end to any idea of Celtic 
monasticism being a system wholly independent of the 
Latin Church; yet the traces we have in both the Irish 
and Welsh monasteries, of their prevailing opinions, 
customs, and habits, are so opposed to all Latin ideas, 



264 EARLY WELSH MONASTERIES. 

that before this theory is adopted it requires very care- 
ful scrutiny. 

The first difl&culty to its acceptance are the dates. 
St. Martin died in 397, St. Patrick was not born until 
387. Modern writers of his life, much as they differ on 
other points, agree that until he was sixteen he resided 
in South Scotland. Either he was never taught by 
St. Martin, or if he was, his teaching by that Saint is 
one of the numerous miracles in St. Patricks life. The 
visit of Germanus to Wales rests on evidence about as 
trustworthy as the story of his connection with the 
University of Oxford. Dubricius, the reputed founder 
of the see of Llandaff, an alleged pupil of Germanus, 
died in 612. Germanus died in 448. The age of Dubri- 
cius, when he was acquainted with Germanus, must, 
therefore, have been very tender. 

The more the dates are studied, the more it will be 
found they have been ignored to reconcile matters. 
Unless recourse is had to miracles, the dates present 
too great difficulties for the acceptance of the Latin 
theory. 

Nor will the second theory, ascribing an Eastern 
origin to the Celtic Church, bear any critical examina- 
tion. This theory, which is most fully expounded by 
Professor George Stokes in his Ireland and the Celtic 
Church, is open to still graver objections. Based on the 
disputes as to the observance of Easter, on various 
peculiarities noticeable in the Irish monasteries, such as 
the anchorite cells, the round towers, and on the traces 
of Greek and Oriental learning in the Irish monastic 
literature, it is endeavoured to be shown that the lead- 
ing peculiarities we find existing in the art, architec- 
ture, and learning, of the Irish Church have an Eastern 
origin. 

Admitting to the full that Eastern ideas may be 
found in the Celtic Church, no more reliable evidence 
exists to ascribe the origin of the Celtic Church to the 
Eastern than there does to ascribe it to the Latin 
Church, while much evidence does exist to prove its 
origin arose from neither of these sources. 



BARLY WELSH MONASTERIES. 265 

Both the Latin and the Eastern theory fail to account 
for or to explain many of the undoubted usages of the 
Celtic Church. Strange as it may seem, all attempts 
to explain Celtic usages, drawn from merely ecclesias- 
tical sources, are failures. It may be because the eccle- 
siastical records have been corrupted — deliberately cor- 
rupted — so as to destroy all trace of Celtic Christianity. 

The object of the Norman bishops and clergy was to 
show that as from Rome all ecclesiastical power pro- 
ceeded, so to Rome all ecclesiastical disputes ought to 
come. Most, if not all, of the Celtic ecclesiastical records 
have been ** edited" on this basis. Witness the Life of 
St. Patrick, and his commission from the Pope, " a fond 
thing of vain imagining"; witness the Life of St. David 
and his relations with Rome, an invention of later 
writers for an express purpose. But it is our misfor- 
tune that to these ** edited" Lives of saints, we are (to 
quote a modern writer^) *' obliged, in a great measure, 
to resort for the early history of the Celtic Church ; 
but for historic purposes these Lives must be used 
with great discrimination. There is nothing more dif- 
ficult than to extract historical evidence from docu- 
ments that confessedly contained a mixture of the his- 
torical and the fabulous. But the fiction, in the form 
in which it appears, presupposes a stem of truth, upon 
which it has become encrusted, and it is only by a 
critical use of authorities of this kind that we can hope 
to disentangle the historical core from the fabulous 
addition." 

These difl&culties are increased in the case of South 
Wales by the work of a Welshman (or rather an assertor 
of Welsh rights) who used the evidence that existed in 
his time for a definite purpose. Giraldus Cambrensis 
wrote with the avowed object of asserting the metro- 
politan claim of St. David's. Without charging him 
with a suppressio veri or suggestio falsi, it may 
fairly be said he did not use aU the evidence at his 
command, he gives us the Brief for the claim of St. 

1 Skene's Celtic Scotlandy ii, p. 427. 



266 EARLY WELSH MONASTERIES. 

David's. Had we all the evidence that Giraldus pos- 
sessed, our views of the Welsh Celtic Church would 
probably have to be modified. 

It is, therefore, all important to ascertain if there is 
any other extant source of information as to the Celtic 
Church that may, to some extent, have remained un- 
edited both by writers who asserted the claims of the 
Latin over the Celtic Church, and writers who enforced 
the local claims of that Church. Such a source of inform- 
ation exists in the Irish and Welsh laws. Both Norman 
and English despised the Celts and their laws too much 
to take the trouble to edit them. The opinion of Sir John 
Davis^ that the Irish laws were " bad in the commence- 
ment, bad in the continuance, and the cause of much 
bloodshed and other evils", correctly expresses the 
views that had prevailed up to his time, and which pre- 
vailed long after his time, as to Celtic law. These laws 
may, therefore, be taken as the best existing source of 
information on the early Celtic Church. In the form 
in which they have come down to us they are not of 
the highest antiquity, but in all probability they record 
ancient customs and observances long anterior to the 
actual date of the existing MSS. They are of the greatest 
interest in enabling us to obtain, through the mists of 
fiction and the cross-lights of legend, a gleam of truth 
on the organisation of the Celtic Church, and to see 
that Church from another standpoint ; for in the light 
of these laws we are regarding the Celtic Church from 
a fresh point of view, — a point of view of laymen, not 
of ecclesiastics ; of Celts, not of Latins. 

The Irish law is contained in the compilation known 
as the " Senchus Mor". It is, to use the term in the 
English sense, a digest of cases and opinions of eminent 
lawyers on various points, given as the matters arose; 
all the more interesting to us as furnishing the Celtic 
views on a number of subjects that would never have 
found their way into any book. Of the tracts that go to 
make up the ** Senchus Mor", the one dealing most with 

^ Reports, p. 34. 



EARLY WELSH MONASTERIES. 267 

monastic matters is known as the " Corus Bescna", a 
collection of cases and opinions on customs. The last 
part of it relates to monasteries, and gives the rules 
as to the succession to the abbacy. 

The Welsh laws, as we have them, are of a different 
kind. They profess to be a code drawn up from all the 
then existing laws by the Welsh Prince, Hy wel Dda, 
about the year 928, at an assembly, at Whitland, 
of clergy and laity representing all Wales, thus purport- 
ing to be made by competent authority, and to be 
binding on the people, while the Irish law purports to 
do nothing of the kind. The one is a digest of opinions, 
the other a code of law. 

Both the Irish and Welsh laws have strong points 
of resemblance and of difference. Both do not deal 
with nations, but with tribes. In both the family, 
the joint owner of the property, has developed into a 
collection of joint owners, a tribe ; but in neither case 
has the period been reached when the tribes have co- 
alesced into a nation. There are three versions of 
Hywel Dda's Laws, the Venedotian, the Dimetian, and 
the Gwentian, exemplifying that they were in truth 
the laws, not of the Welsh nation, but of the different 
Welsh tribes. 

The Irish Church certainly, the Welsh Church almost 
certainly, was monastic, not episcopal. The abbot, the 
spiritual ruler, was not the nominee of pope, or bishop, 
or tribal chief, but was chosen according to fixed rules. 
He might be a layman. It was not necessary, except 
in certain cases,^ that he should be in orders ; but 
whether he was or not, he ruled over bishop, priest, 
and deacon ; so pointing to the conclusion, that the 
Irish and Welsh laws amply bear out, that the persons, 
whoever they might be, and from wherever they came, 
who converted the Celts to Christianity, did not, as was 
done in most other countries, introduce with Christianity 
Latin customs and Latin civilisation. In Ireland and 

^ See the " Seith Escobty" of the Welsli laws, whore it is said 
certain abbots were to be in orders. 



268 EARLY WELSH MONASTERIES. 

South Wales Christianity had to adapt itself to exist- 
ing Celtic customs, not, as was the case elsewhere, to 
engraft Roman law and Roman civilisation on existing 
customs ; hence in Ireland and Wales the develop- 
ment of Church government proceeded on totally dif- 
ferent lines to those followed in countries where the 
Latin Church was able to enforce the supremacy of 
Roman laws and Roman ideas. Here, side by side 
with the existing laws and customs, the Christian sys- 
tem sprang up. This is clearly stated in the Corns 
Bescna} " Every law", it says, " which is here (in the 
Senchus Mot) was binding until the two laws were 
established. The law of nature (i.e., of the just man) 
was with the men of Erin until the coming of the 
faith in the time of Laeghaire, son of Nial. It was in 
his time Patrick came to Erin. It was after the men 
of Erin had believed Patrick that the other two laws 
were established, — the law of nature, i.e., which the 
men of Erin had, and the law of the letter, {.e., which 
Patrick brought with him." 

The Corns Bescna goes on,* " The poets who had the 
gifts of prophets foretold that the bright language of 
benediction would come, that is, the law of the letter, the 
rule of the Gospel. There are many things that come 
into the law of nature that do not come into the writ- 
ten law. Dubhthach showed them to Patrick. What 
did not disagree with the Word of God in the written 
law, and with the consciences of believers, was retained 
in the Brehon Code by the Church and the poets. All 
the law of nature was just, except the faith and its 
obligations, and the harmony of the Church and the 
people, and the right of either party from the other 
and in the other, for the people have a right in the 
Church, and the Church in the people." 

This passage shows two things, — (1), that the intro- 
duction of Christianity into Ireland did not abrogate 
Celtic customs, but that side by side with the custom- 
ary law a new law, the law of the letter, sprang up ; 

1 Ancient Laws of Ireland, Rolls Ed., iii, 27. * 15., p. 81. 



EARLY WELSH MONASTERIES. 269 

and (2), that according to Celtic ideas the right of the 
Church was not a paramount right over-riding the 
native law, but that the people had rights over the 
Church, and the Church rights over the people. There 
was no ecclesiastical supremacy in the sense in which 
it is found where the Latin Church and Latin rule pre- 
vailed. 

The Corns Bescna goes on to define the mutual rights 
of Church and tribe. This special Celtic feature has 
been too much ignored. The Celtic Church was not, 
and never, like the Latin Church, claimed to be 
national or universal. It claimed no right over the 
whole country irrespective of its tribal divisions ; it 
was a tribal, and in that sense a national Church. 
It had specific rights against a specific tribe living 
in a specific district ; but outside the limits of that 
district or tribe the Church neither possessed nor 
claimed any rights. On the conversion of a tribe to 
Christianity a monastic establishment was founded, 
with the assent of the tribe, on its territory ; and 
this foundation caused the territory of the tribe to 
be divided into two divisions, — (1), that which be- 
longed to the tribe, the territory of *' the tribe of the 
land"; (2), that which the Church possessed, the terri- 
tory of " the tribe of the saint". Each of these had 
duties, the one for the other ; each had rights, the one 
against the other. 

The history of these rights, although most interest- 
ing, does not fall within the monastic part of the subject. 
The only point to be noted as to them is that they 
relate exclusively to — that the Corns Bescna, in fact, 
deals exclusively with — a monastic Church. The idea 
of an episcopal Church does not seem to have ever 
occurred to the mind of the writer. 

So far as we can learn, the Celtic chtirches seem to 
have been thus founded. When Christianity was intro- 
duced into Ireland or Wales, the law as to the Church 
was founded on the basis of the old tribe law. The alien- 
ation of the tribe land could only be made with the 



270 EA.RLY WELSH MONASTERIES. 

assent of the tribe, and subject to the tribal rights. 
When a tribe or the chief of a tribe became Christian, 
probably with the assent of the tribe an ecclesiastical 
establishment was founded. For this purpose part of 
the territory of the tribe was made over to the mission- 
ary or saint. For instance, in the Irish Life of Columba 
that Saint is said to have gone to Derry, and seen Aedh, 
the son of Ainmire, King of Erin. Aedh gave Columba 
the royal fort. In it Columba settled, and founded a 
monastic establishment. Thus on the tribe-land, with 
the consent of the tribe, a new body was established. 
This new body was called " fine manach" (the tribe of 
the saint) as opposed to the lay-tribe (the tribe of the 
land). Some confusion and difficulty are caused by the 
way in which this expression "tribe of the saint" is used 
by the old Irish writers. It has at least two distinct 
meanings, — (1), that mentioned above, the monastic 
establishment as opposed to the lay tribe ; and (2 ), in 
settling who was entitled to succeed to the abbacy or 
headship of a monastic establishment, it meant the 
lay tribe to which the founder belonged as distin- 
guished from the tribe to which the other inmates of 
the monastery might belong. 

The gift of the land to Columba brings out another 
feature in Celtic monasticism. The gift was a personal 
one, for a definite purpose; not, as in later times, a gift 
to a monastic corporation. The saint was the grantee, 
not the monastery. The tribe of the land retained 
rights against the monastery, the right that the monks 
should keep their order and position, so that proper 
offerings could be made; the right to have their«hildren 
educated by the monastery, and the right to succeed to 
the abbacy in certain contingencies. 

As Christianity increased, from the original church 
of the saint other churches were established. From 
time to time further grants from the tribe of the land 
were made to the tribe of the saint, thereby increasing 
its importance. Against each of these new churches or 
establishments the tribe of the land retained the same 



EARLY WELSH MONASTERIES. 271 

rights as against the original church. The abbot of 
the original church exercised rule over all the other 
churches, just as the lay chief exercised rule over the 
lay settlements of the tribe. The members of all these 
different churches had certain rights in the property 
not only of their own church, but in that of the others 
as well, and certain rights of succession to the different 
offices in each. 

The Celtic churches were of different kinds or de- 
grees. The original establishment, the great monastic 
church, was the mother church, the abbot of which w^as 
the chief of the tribe of the saint. The next church in 
order of succession was an annoit church ; that is, a 
church from which the original founder had come, or 
where he had been educated, or his relics were kept. 
Then came a dalta church, a church founded by a 
member of the original community of the founder of 
the mother church. Next came the compairche church, 
a church dedicated to, and under the tutelage of, the 
same saint as the mother church ; and lastly the cill 
church, a smaller church, an offshoot of the original 
monastic church, but not to be confounded with the 
cell and the abbey of the Latin Church. 

The relationship of these different churches to each 
other is one of the most interesting and the most diffi- 
cult subjects connected with the Celtic Church. The 
relationship was not based on a common religious order 
nor on a diocesan connection, but on an imaginary kin- 
ship that was regarded as something sacred, a breach 
of which, "desertion from the Church", is the subject 
in the Irish law of very minute and special rules. In 
only seven specified cases was desertion, a breach of 
the tie of kinship, allowed. These seven cases were — 
failure, crime, famine, landless man, a " Macbuilg" son, 
learning, pilgrimage.^ In each case minute rules are laid 
down as to the right of the Church to receive the de- 
serter's property. 

^ Corus Bescna. Rolls Ed., p. 65. 



272 EARLY WELSH MONASTERIES 

The Corns Bescna} gives very elaborate rules as to the 
rights of succession of the aiflPerent churches to the 
abbacy, the headship of the tribe of the saint. These 
rules shed such a light upon the position the monastery- 
occupied in the Celtic Church, and how its head was 
chosen, that they must be referred to at length : 

**The Church of the Tribe of the. Patron Saint — That is, the 
tribe of the patron saint shall succeed to the church as long as 
there shall be a person fit to be an abbot of the said tribe of the 
patron saint ; even though there should be but a psalm-singer 
of them, it is he that wiU obtain the abbacy. Whenever there 
is not one of that tribe fit to be an abbot, the abbacy is to be 
given to the tribe to whom the land belongs until a person fit 
to be an abbot of the tribe of the patron saint shall be qualified : 
and when he is, the abbacy is to be given to him if he be better 
than the abbot of the tribe to whom the land belongs, and who 
has taken it. If he is not better, it is only in his turn he shall 
succeed. If a person fit to be an abbot has not come of the tribe 
of the patron saint, or of the tribe to whom the land belongs, 
the abbacy is to be given to one of the " fine manach" class until 
a person fit to be an abbot of the tribe of the patron saint, or of 
the tribe to whom the land belongs, should be qualified ; and 
when there is such a person, the abbacy is to be given to him 
in case he is better. If a person fit to be an abbot has not 
come of the tribe of the patron saint, or of the tribe of the 
grantor of the land, or of the manach class, the annoit church 
shall receive it in the fourth place, a delta church shall receive 
it in the fifth place, a compairche church shall obtain it in the 
sixth place, a neighbouring cill church shall obtain it in the 
seventh place. 

" If a person fit to be an abbot has not come in any of these 
seven places, a pilgrim may assume it in the eighth place ; and 
if a person fit to be an abbot has not arisen of the tribe of the 
patron saint, or of the tribe to which the land belongs, or of the 
manach class together, while the wealth of the abbacy is with 
an annoit church, or a dalta church, or a compairche church, or 
a neighbouring cill church, or a pilgrim, it (the wealth) must be 
given to the tribe of the patron saint for one of them fit to be 
an abbot, goes then for nothing. The abbacy shall be taken from 
them. 

" When it is a Church of the Tribe to whom the Land belongs, 
and a Church of the Tribe of the Patron Saint and of the Tribe 

1 Rolls Ed., p. ?3. 



EARLY WELSH MONASTERIES. 273 

to whom the Land belongs at the same Time, — That is, the tribe 
to whom the land belongs succeed to the church,i.e., the tribe of 
the patron saint and the tribe to whom the land belongs are 
one and the same tribe in this case, and the patron saint is on 
his own land. 

" The patron saint, the land, the mild monk. 

" The annoit church, the dalta church of fine vigour. 

" The compairche church and the pilgrim. 

" By them is the abbey assumed in their relative order. 

" Every one of these who assumes the abbacy, except the tribe 
of the patron saint, and the tribe to which the land belongs, 
and the manach class, shall leave all his legacy within, to the 
church ; or according to others, it is the share of the first man- 
ach person that is due of each man of them." 

After providing for the fine that is to be paid on 
leaving the head of a cill church, the Corns Bescna 
goes on, — 

"A Cill Church for the original Tribe to whom the Land belongs, 
— That is, a cill church which the tribe to whom the land belongs 
exclusively take possession of ; and they (the tribe to whom the 
land belongs) have the word of the patron saint for taking it, the 
cill church, or it came to them by prescription, as long as there 
shall be of them a person fit to be an abbot ; and when there is 
not, it, the abbacy, is to be assumed by the tribe that is next to 
them that has a person fit to be an abbot, i.e , the tribe of a 
patron saint ; and on the part of the tribe of the patron saint 
security is given that whenever there shall be a person fit to be 
an abbot of the tribe to which the land belongs, they will restore 
it (the abbacy) to them. 

"But in Case of the Tribe of the Patron Saint not giving Security 
it does not return back until it comes finally to the Pilgrim, — 
That is, I stipulate or I make a condition that it shall not 
return back to the tribe of the patron saint without security 
until it goes finally to the pilgrim, for the abbacy shall sooner 
pass to the tribe of the patron saint without security than to 
the pilgrim with security ; and it shall sooner pass to the other 
tribes, upon their giving security, than to the tribe of the patron 
saint without security ; but it shall sooner pass to the tribe of 
the patron saint, on their giving security, than to the other 
tribes on their giving security. 

"A Cill Church of Monks. — That is, a cill church of monks 
which a tribe of monks hold ; and the abbacy shall always be- 
long to the monks as long as there shall be a person of them fit 
5th seu., vol. yiii. 18 



274 EARLY WEMH MONASTERIES. 

to be an abbot; and whenever there will not be such, the case 
is similar to that before mentioned, i.e., of the tribe to whom the 
land belongs binding the tribe of the patron saint by a guarantee 
to the tribe to whom the land belongs upon the annoit church." 
''The Succession diall not devolve upon the Branches of the Tribe 
unless God has given it to one of them in particular ; but he (the 
candidate) shall he rejected, and named according to his dignity, — 
That is, the order of the succession by lot shall not devolve 
upon the branching tribes unless there is a person better than 
the others ; i.e., there are two reasons why the succession does 
not devolve upon the branches if it be assumed by one, or unless 
there l)e a person fit to be an abbot in common among them. 
There are two reasons why it (the lot) is cast, commonness of 
claim and equality of persons fit for the office."^ 

Such are the rules of the Celtic Church as to the 
succession to the headship of the tribe of the saint. 
Much in them is obscure ; many of the numerous de- 
tails are almost unintelligible ; yet they show clearly 
that in the election of the abbots to the Celtic monas- 
teries the. prevailing rules were wholly diflferent from 
any that either existed in, or were advocated by, the 
Latin Church. From these rules it clearly appears 
that the right of succession to the abbacy was in the 
following order : — 

1. The tribe of the saint, presumably monks in orders. 

2. The tribe of the land, presumably lay men. 

3. The tribe of the monks, the tribe to which the 
monasteries belonged (the " fine manach"). 

4. The annoit church. 
6. The dalta church. 

6. The compairche church. These three last being 
related to the tribe of the saint by the tie of ecclesias- 
tical kinship. 

7. The cill church, 

8. A stranger. 

Except in the first three cases, the tribe of the saint, 
the tribe of the land, and the tribe of the monks, every 
one, on succeeding to the abbacy, was bound to give 
his property to the monastery. 

From these rules it appears that a layman who was 

1 Eolla Ed., p. 79. 



EARLY WELSH MONASTERIES. 275 

an abbot of a lay tribe, by holding a monastery was not 
in the Celtic church guilty of an act of lay usurpation 
over the church, but was only exercising his regular 
legal rights. 

It would be beyond the limits of this paper to dis- 
cuss the peculiar custom of the rule of the selection of 
the fittest '* ecclesiastical tanistry", as it may be called, 
as to how and when an existing abbot was displaced 
by another and fitter person making his appearance. 
The chief point of. interest is that the Irish laws here 
give us an account that is obviously genuine of the 
organisation of the Celtic monasteries. We see here, as 
we see nowhere else in the same degree, the ecclesias- 
tical system as it existed under the Celtic rule. No 
part of the organisation is brought out more strongly 
than this, that the whole system was based on kinship, 
or on the relation of the churches to each other by the tie 
of kinship. The idea that the monasteries were related 
because they belonged to the same order, Benedictine 
or Cluniac, never entered the Celtic mind. As in the 
lay tribe, kinship, descent in theory from a legendaiy 
ancestor, united the tribe, and bound it together, so in 
the tribe of the saint, kinship, descent in theory from a 
legendary saint, was the basis on which the tribe was 
united, the link that bound it together. This fact may 
furnish one of the reasons for the great care and attention 
that were paid to the genealogies of the Welsh saints. 

The rules also bring out another very important 
point. The succession to the Celtic abbacy was here- 
ditary, not elective, or, more accurately, elective out of 
an hereditary class, the descendants of the founder. 
While any one might become a bishop, priest, or deacon, 
no one could become an abbot except, to use a modern 
phrase, he was of " founder s kin". From among the 
founder's kin ' the fittest, in theory, succeeded. The 
abbots of the mother church and the abbots of the oflF- 
shoots were all called "conharbas", "coarbs" (joint heirs 
or coheirs). From among those who repreaiented the 
founder's kin the abbot was elected according to cer- 
ise 



276 EARLY WELSH MONASTERIES. 

tain definite rules. If one of the " coarbs" happened to 
be a bishop he might be elected to the abbacy ; he 
would, at least, be eligible for election. But unless he 
was a " coarb" (one of the founder s kin) an apostle 
would have had no chance of being elected a Celtic 
abbot. 

It is worthy of notice that in the whole of this legal 
account of the Celtic Church organisation there is no 
mention of a bishop. Throughout the Corns Bescna it 
is doubtful if the word bishop occurs ; it may, there- 
fore, fairly be inferred that the Irish Celtic Church, 
as then constituted, knew nothing of episcopal govern- 
ment or episcopal rights. Neither bishop nor pope had 
any right of electing, or interfering witn, or opposing, 
the election of any abbot to a Celtic monastery. When 
in later times we meet with episcopal and papal claims 
to rights and jurisdiction over monasteries, we may feel 
sure that such claims are traces of the rule of the alien 
over the national church. The great features of the 
Celtic Church, as shown by the Irish laws, were, 
therefore, three, — (l), that it was not independent of, 
but mixed up with, the civil organisation of the tribe ; 
(2), that it had monastic rule by abbots ; (3), that there 
is no trace of anything like a claim to or exercise of 
episcopal jurisdiction or supremacy. These are all the 
theories and ideas of a later age and another Church. 
This tribal as opposed to a national character of the 
Celtic Church is well described by an Irish writer :^ — 
"The nation was split into independent tribes, the 
Church consisted of independent monasteries. The 
civil chaos out of which society had not yet escaped was 
faithfully reproduced in a Church devoid of hierarchical 
government ; intensely national as faithfully reflecting 
the ideas of the nation ; but not national in the ordi- 
nary acceptance of the term, as possessing an organisa- 
tion co-extensive with the territory occupied by the 
nation." 

1 Introduction lo the Rolls Edition of the Ancient Laws of Ireland, 
vol. iii, p. Izzyi. 

(To be continued,) 



277 



EVIDENCES OF THE 

BARRI FAMILY OF MANORBEER, PEN- 
ALLY, AND BIGELLY. 

WiTH OTHER EARLY OWNERS OP THE FORMER, 
IN PEMBROKESHIRE. 

BY SIR GEORGE DUCKETT, BART., 

Knight of the Order of Merit of Saxe-Cdburg-Ootha, Officer of Public 

Instruction in France, and Corresponding Member of tJte 

Society of Antiquaries of Normandy. 

(Continued from p, 206.^ 

In tracing the descent and record-evidences of the 
Barrys of Manorbeer and Olethan we arrive at the con- 
clusion that up to about the year 1 325 they were un- 
mistakeably the same people, and that the Pembroke- 
shire possessions continued with the same descendants 
(English and Anglo-Irish) down to that time, for irre- 
spective of documentary evidence, it is hardly to be 
supposed that such belief should arise from a mere co- 
incidence of names. We shall assume, therefore, that 
up to that date the lords of both properties were the 
same persons. 

It is quite possible that after the acquisition of their 
Irish estates, over which they exercised almost regal 
sway, the Barrys were less troubled about their Welsh 
property, though the evidence is as conflicting on this 
as on some other points ; but it is unmistakeably shown 
that towards the end of the reign of Edward III this 
last had entirely passed out of their hands. It is said 
of William de Barri (third in descent from the first 
known head of the family) that being a favourite of 
King John he assigned his Irish estate to his brother 
Robert, and lived in England, Kent being the district 
in which he located himself. This assertion may be 
true ; equally that Manorbeer may have been too re- 
mote a residence for his purposes. At a later date we 



278 THE BARRI FAMILY 

also find some of the Irish estates conveyed to a brother 
by another of the family. 

We have already spoken of William de Barri, one of 
Arnoul de Montgomery's adherents, as the common 
ancestor of the family. Robert, the eldest son,^ was 
concerned with Fitz-Stephen in the first invasion of 
Ireland, being one of the advance detachment of the 
expeditionary force which first set foot in that country. 
He was slain at Lismore in 1185. Philip, the second 
son, went over to Ireland a few years later, as did also, 
in company with Prince John, as secretary, the younger 
son, Giraldus de Barri (or Cambrensis). 

We give, in tabular form, the first four indisputable 
and authentic generations of the Barri family : — 

Bhys ap Tewdwr, 1090, y^^I&^JB 
Prince of South Wales 



I I 2 8 

=f=Oraflydd ap Rhys, Neeta, oonoa-=j=Stepbeii, =f=Qerald de Wind- 
1116, Prince of bine to Constable 

South Wales Henry I of Cardigan 



8or, Constable 
of Pembroke 



Bbys ap Roberi) Angharad=T=William William Maurice David, 

Gruffydd, Fitz- de Barri I J Bishop of 

1137 Stephen | j St. David's 

Beymund Nesta,sHeryey de 
le Gros 1175 Mont-Maurice 



1 I 2| 81 4! 

Bobert, Philip,=f=d. of Biohard Walter Giraldus Cambrensis, 

o5. 1185 1185-1229 Fitz-Tancred b. 1146, ob. 1215 



I 
William, Bobert=f= 

8 John, 1206 



»ert=T= 
=j=DaYid, lord of Buttevant, 1285-87 



David* Justiciary of Ireland, 1267, 
oh, 1278-80 

A.D. 1140, 1166, 1176-85. Philip de Barri occurs at some 
date before quitting Pembrokeshire for Ireland, in 1185, as wit- 
ness to an undated inspeximus charter of Peter de Leia, Bishop 

^ Walter is recorded by some to have been an elder brother by a 
former wife, making Robert the eldest son by the second marriage. 
Of this Walter nothing is otherwise recorded. 



OF MANORBEER, PENALLY, AND BIGELLY. 279 

of St. David's,^ granting and confirming to William Fitz-Maurice 
Fitz-Gerald the office of Bwpif&i^ of the bishopric, in succession 
to his father, Maurice Fitz-Gerald (the ancestor of the Gerald- 
ines), who had held the same under his brother David. As 
Peter, the second Bishop of St. David's (Suffragan to the see of 
Canterbury), occupied the see from 1176 to 1198, it is manifest 
that the dignity was confeiTed prior to Philip's departure for 
Ireland. (S. Gormanston MSS.,» H. M. C, iv.) He and Odo 
de Carew (a name of great antiquity in Pembrokeshire) married 
two sisters, daughters of Eichard Fitz-Tancred, of whom it is 
said {Aug, Sac.y ii, 468) " tunc temporis in partibus illis magnus 
habebatur." 

A.D. 1146-1215. Giraldus Cambrensis, or Sylvester Giraldus 
de Barri, the early and well-known chronicler, youngest son of 
William de Barri, was born at Manorbeer circa 1146, and, like 
his brothers, in descent maternally from Ehys ap Tlieodore, 
Prince of South Wales. His career is thoroughly authenticated 
by his own testimony, and leaves nothing to be questioned in 
that respect. It may be safely asserted that but for him we 
should have been in absolute ignorance of the earliest possessors 
of Manorbeer ; and, what is of more consequence, the invasion of 
Ireland, in which they took a prominent part, would never have 
been so fully known, or its details so authentically established. 
It is true that we glean little from him in a genealogical point 
of view, beyond his immediate relations and kinsmen ; but the 
bare record of Manorbeer as the place of his birth affords us a 
sure clue, and, as one may say, a safe starting-point on which 
to found the family history.* But for him, again, the royal and 

^ It was in 1176-7 that Peter de Leia, the Cluniac Prior of Wen- 
lock, succeeded to the see of Menevia, and died in 1198, having pre- 
sided over St. David's for twenty-two years. (Antiales CambricBy 
p. 55.) 

^ Dapiferatics, 

* To this grant Walter de Vinsor (sic) [VVyndesore] is also a wit- 
ness. 

* Giraldus de Barri seems to have written at least twelve or 
more treatises, — The Topography of Ireland (published by Camden) ; 
The Vaticinal History of Ireland^ relating to its invasion by Strong- 
bow, Fitz-Stephen, and Maurice Fitz-Gerald, and translated by 
Hooker in Hollingshed's Chronicley — for which two works he col- 
lected the materials from the time he first went to that country, in 
1 184, in company with his brother Philip, and as secretary to Prince 
John, Earl of Moreton; the Ititierarium Cambnce, l^opographium 
CamhriaSy De Principum Inslructione^ Anglorum Cronicon ; besides 
eight others, of which the treatise, De SudoHbus circa Sedem Mene- 
vensem, sets forth his ti'oubles in respect of the bishopric of St. 



280 THE BARBI FAMILY 

exalted owners of the estate, subsequent to Edward III, would 
have totally eclipsed the Barri family's connection with it. The 
attachment to the place of his birth is shown by his own de- 
scription of it ; overdrawn, perhaps, as to its physical features, 
but more true then than now. 

To recapitulate all that is known, or might tend to illustrate 
the history of this historian — how he strove, after being elected 
twice to the see of St, David's, against the arbitrary will of 
Henry II on the one hand, and the opposition of the see of 
Canterbury on the other — -would far exceed the limits of this 
paper. We can only rejoice that such a man existed, and that 
he has bequeathed to posterity so much that is invaluable to 
history. 

A-D. 1203-14 (5-16 John). William de Barri was witness to 
a charter of Geoffrey of Lanthony, Bishop of St. David's, con- 
firming to William, son of William Fitz- Maurice, the post of 
Dapifer of the bishopric, in succession to his father and grand- 
father in the same office. We imagine this William to have 
been the same, named as nephew of Giraldus Cambrensis, to 
whom, in 1203, the latter resigned his archdeaconry of Breck- 
nock. 

The first of whom we then find mention is — 

A.D. 1208-13 (8-13), William de Barri, living 1213, the son of 
Philip, whose estates in Ireland were confirmed to him by patent, 
dated at Woodstock, 8 John, as already stated. AccordUng to 
Lodge (revised by Archdall) he was one of the " Kecognitores 
Magne Assise" for Kent, where several of his successors. Lieu- 
tenants of Dover Castle, resided, having been located in that 
county. He is also said to have been appointed, with others, 
assessor of the damage done to the clergy in the diocese of St. 
David's during the interdict under which the country was laid 
in the same reign. 

The next recorded is, 

A.D. 1208 (9 John), Robert de Barri, brother of the foregoing 
William, who assigned to him the estate in Ireland, wholly or 

David's. To this he was twice elected, first in 1176, in saccession 
to his uncle, David Fitz-Gerald; and secondly in 1198, resigning 
the see in 1203. Subsequently to this last election he visited Rome 
several times in defence of the Chapter's election of himself, and in 
opposition to the prerogative of Canterbury over that of St. David's. 
He attended Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, in his progress 
through Wales in preaching the Crusade, and was with Henry II in 
1189, on his death-bed at Chinon. He was Archdeacon both of 
St. David's and of Brecknock, where he lived, and appears to have 
died circa 1216, aged seventy, being buried at St. David's. 



OF MANORBEER, PENALLY, AND BIGELLY. 281 

in part, for the bequest made on his lands near his Castle of 
Eobertstown shows him to have been the possessor thereof. He 
was father of David de Barri following — 

A.D. 1246-47 (30 Henry III). David de Barri held at that 
date four knights' fees in Pembrokeshire, which had been 
assigned to Joanna de Monteeanisio^ on the partition of the 
lands of William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, among coheirs. 
It was, no doubt, the same David who was witness to the par- 
tition of the said lands, which occurred between 1241 and 1246. 
There seems no reason to dissociate this David from the lord of 
Buttevant in 1234 ; the same also who in that year (18 Henry 
III) obtained a license for a fair and weekly market at Butte- 
vant in the lordship of Olethan. (Close EoUs, 18 Henry III, 
m. 5.)* He is said to have added to the revenues of his grand- 
father's foundation, Ballybeg. To this David, who is recorded 
to have been killed in 1262, succeeded his son David de Barri. 

A.D. 1267 (51 Henry III). David de Barri was Justiciary of 
Ireland in 1267. (Hanmer's Chron., i, p. 402.) He was still living 
in 1273, for in that year he had free warren in all his lands, as 
seen by patent dated at Gloucester, 10 Sept., 2 Edward I. He 
died, according to some, in 1278, but according to other testi- 
mony in 1280. It is further stated of him that in 1235 he 
added to the revenues of Ballybeg, an abbey which had been 

endowed by his great-grandfather Philip. 

• 

Thus far the records are incontestably clear ; but we 
now arrive at a period in the history of this family, in 
its connection with Wales, in which they are somewhat 
obscure. John de Barri, the next of whom we find 
mention in Pembrokeshire, died shortly after 1324, as 
will be shown. He is recorded as John^ son of David, 
but does not appear as heir to him in the Irish 

* Thierry states that a certain adventurer, Gii6rin deMont-C^nis, 
whose Normanised name became Mont-Chensey, was associated 
with others in the invasion of Cardiganshire from the seaboard. 
{Cambrian Register, 126.) He was plainly one of the earliest ances- 
tors of the family of Munchensi, created Barons by writ of summons 
in 1264. The above was Joane, wife of Warine de Munchensi, the 
sixth Baron by tenure, t Henry III, and daughter of William Mar- 
shall, fourth Earl of Pembroke. "^ 

« Anno 18 Hep. Ill, Sept. 26, 1234—" Rex dedit domino David 
de Barry mercatnm apnd Buttevant singnlis septimanis die sabba- 
thi, et nnam feriam singulis annis per 8 dies, viz. in vigil* et die 
sane to Lucie, et sex dies sequent'.*' 



282 THE BARRI FAMILY 

possessions. Neither is it manifest by documentary 
evidence whether he was not the son of a subsequent 
David (in 1290); and if this be fact, it would make him 
grandson of David the above Justiciary. We may 
assume for granted, therefore, that the David in the 
descent recorded by Lodge was the immediate prede- 
cessor of John de Barri. 

A.D. 1301 (26 Edw. I). John, son of David de Barri, gave in 
1301 the advowson of Penally to Acornbury Priory, and that of 
Manorbeer to Pembroke Priory, as set forth in Inq. 29 Edw. I, 
No. 82, and Patent, 5 Edw. Ill, p. 1, m. 38. He was living as 
late as 1324 (19 Edw. II), and his death probably occurred a 
year or two later. His wife's name was Beatrix, which we learn 
from his charter to Acornbury.^ He had two brothers, David 
and Eichard, of whom the former predeceased him, leaving a 
son of the same name. Of these two grants of the temporalities 
of Manorbeer and Penally to Pembroke and Acornbury Priories, 
it is probable that the latter was due to the fact that at an 
earlier date Ann Barri had been Prioress of that house ; and 
this is shown by the cartulary of Acornbury, fo. 79. John, 
styled in his charter to that house, " John, son of David de 
Barri" held, in 1324, five fees at " Maynerbeer", worth one hun- 
dred marks, as by inquisition taken in July of that year (17 
Edw. II), No. 75. 

In affiliating him to David, son of the Irish Justici- 
ary, we find it recorded that Joan, wife of David de 

^ This charter has been recited at p. 139, vol. xi, 4th Series, of 
these Collections, and is dated at Cornbury, 13 April 1301. One seal 
only is pendent therefrom, being the Barri coat, — argent, four bars 
gemelles gul^, Acornbury (of the Order of St. Austin), founded 
by Margery, wife of Walter de Lacy {t King John), was a nunneiT" 
abont three miles south of Hereford, and dedicated to the honoar of 
the Holy Cross. Dngdale gives the names of Agnes King as Prioress 
in 1465, and later, of Joan de Ledbury ; and these two names occur 
in the Formulare Anglicanum, pp. 105, 125. But Ann Barri appeara 
to have been a much earlier Prioress. In a charter of Roger de 
CliflFord to the nuns of Acornbury, another is named as Peronilla 
Edranee. Dugdale names the foundress as Margery, wife of William 
de Lacy, but a charter of confirmation in Dodsworth (vol. Ixiii, f. 
100) shows this to be an error : ** Qnas quidem terras dominus 
Johannes, rex Anglic, dicte Margerie uxori mee donavit ad facien- 
dum domum Religionis apud Comebirie." (Carta Walteri de Lacy.) 
To this charter William de Lacy is one of the witnesses. 



OF MANOKBKER, PENALLY, AND BIGELLY. 283 

Barry, living in 1298, and presumed mother of John, 
assigned to her son, John de Barri, the moiety of cer- 
tain lands in Ireland (Lodge). It is not impossible 
but that he may have been the same John de Barri 
who succeeded William de Burreche in 1282 as Trea- 
surer of St. David's. {Annales CambricB, 107.) 

Of some of his Irish property we have the following 
proof. In 1308 {Inq, ad quod damnum, 1 Edw. II, 
No. 96) he gave certain lands to the Prior and Convent 
of Mount Carmel at Castillaytharn in Munster, toge- 
ther with other land in the cantred of Olethan. In 
1318 {Irish Patent^ p. 25, No. 165), at his instance, he 
being called John, son of David de Barri, the sum of 
£105, which was owing by his manor of Buttevant to 
the Exchequer, was allowed to that vill in order to 
assist in fortifying it. In 1319-21 he passed l^Jiwo 
fines {IHsh Patent^ p. 68, No. 25), the seignories of 
Olethan and Muscherie-Dunegan, to David, son of 
David de Barri, and in 1 320 he gave a certain acquit- 
tance to John de Carew. {Close Rolls^ 14 Edw. III.) 
This document, "by John de Barri, Lord of Olethan, 
in Ireland", sets forth that an indenture had been 
made between him and Nicholas de Carew respecting 
a marriage between Richard de Barri, brother of him, 
John, and Beatrice, daughter of Nicholas, for which 
Nicholas was to pay John £500 on the death of Nicho- 
las. John de Carew, his son, waiTanted the payment 
of the sum named. Hence the deed in question was vir- 
tually a quittance to John de Carew of such warranty.* 

John, as we have seen, was still alive in 1324. His 
death seems to have occurred very shortly afterwards, 
for a contention arose about that date, as to the lord- 
ship of Manorbeer, between Richard (his brother) and 
David (his nephew, son of his brother David, who had 
died before him). It is also apparent that his wife, 
Beatrix, was already dead at that time. He can have 

^ We have to thank Mr. Floyd, who has worked out mnch of the 
history of the early Pembrokeshire families from the records, for the 
facts here specified in his MS. Collections. 



284 THE BARRI FAMILY 

left no surviving issue, unless Ann, mentioned as 
Prioress of Acornbury, were his daughter. 

A.D. 1326-27 (20 Edw. III). Richard de Barri. After the death 
of John, his nephew David, son of his brother David, succeeded 
to the Irish lordships, but his right to Manorbeer was disputed 
by his uncle Richard. The state of the controversy seems to 
have been the following, as set forth by David. John de Barri, 
by fine levied in the court at Pembroke, granted and quit- 
claimed to David, his brother, and his heirs the manors of Man- 
orbeer and Penally, for which quit-claim he granted the same 
manors to John and Beatrix his wife for their lives, to return 
on their death to him, David, and his heirs. David dying before 
John, left David, his son and heir, a minor. On his brother 
David's death, John (who, as a tenant for life only, had no power 
to make a fine) granted, nevertheless, the manors in dispute to 
Richard ap Thomas, who immediately re-granted them to John 
and his wife for their joint lives. There is no full counter- 
statement by Richard ; but it is evident, from certain proceed- 
ings, that he disputed the legality of the fine made to David. 
The dispute was at its height between the uncle and nephew in 
1327 (1 Edw. Ill), shortly after that King had succeeded to the 
throne. At that time the whole kingdom and principality of 
Wales were in a state of commotion, and the lordship of Pem- 
broke also was in the hands of the Crown ; Laurence de Hast- 
ings, heir of Aylmer de Valence, being then a minor.^ 

It would appear that David endeavoured to enforce 
and make good his claim by the strong hand, and took 
forcible possession of the estate. That he did this also, 
is evident, in defiance of an injunction to the contrary 
from Roger de Mortimer,^ then Justiciary of Wales ; 

^ Laurenoe de Hastings succeeded his father as fourth Baron in 
1325, being then a minor of five years of age. In 1339 he was made 
Earl of Pembroke, on attaining majority. 

' Notorious for the part he took against Edward II. He was 
Baron Mortimer of Chirke, second son of Roger Mortimer, sixth 
feadal lord of Wigmore, distinguished for his services in the field, 
and much employed, t. Edward I, in the wars of France, Scotland, 
and Wales. He was summoned to Parliament in 1307, and consti- 
tuted Lieutenant of Wales, having had all the castles of the Princi- 
pality committed to his custody. Being an opponent of the Spen- 
cers (5 Edward II) he was imprisoned in the Tower of London 
with his nephew, Lord Mortimer of Wigmore, and died about 1336. 
{Of. Burke, Extinct Peerage.) 



OF MANORBEER, PENALLY, AND BIGELLY. 285 

for the Justiciary's lieutenant, Thomas de Hampton, 
who was also seneschal of Pembroke, ejected him, and 
took the manors into the King's hands. ^ 

These proceedings were in due course followed up by 
Richard de Barry. Certain parties, William de Cres- 
pigny, Stephen Perot, and others, were indicted by 
him for conspiring with David de Barry, with a view 
to defraud him (Richard) and his wife of their inherit- 
ance. He alleged also that the said William, Stephen, 
and the rest, had undertaken to help David both by 
law and by force. The jury found William guilty ; 
Stephen (who appeared in court) departed in contempt 
of the bailiff and court, upon which a verdict was taken 
against him. The parties in question were seized and 
imprisoned, and for their release, William had to give 
a bond for two hundred marks, and Stephen for a larger 
sum. (Close Rolls, 9 Edw. Ill, m. 19.)^ 

On the fall of Mortimer, David sent in a petition to 
the King, in which he stated that he had been wronged 
by Mortimer whilst holding the county of Pembroke 
during the minority of Laurence, son and heir of John 
de Hasty nges, and that wishing to injure and annoy 
him (pergravare), had not only seized his lands, but 
asserted him to have been a partisan of the Earl of 
Kent.^ Elsewhere it is stated also that he had adhered 
to Prince Rees ap Griffith ; but with which of the two, 
or with neither, he had sided, the fact was found to be 
untrue by the inquisition to ascertain the truth (5 

^ Roger de Mortimer is stated to have seized the lands in 1327, 
" die Lnne prozima post festum 8ancti Michaelis, anno regni regis 
nunc primo." The inquisition is dated " Die Jovis proxima post 
festnm decollacionis Sancti Johannis Baptiste, anno r. r. Edwardi 
tercii a conqnestn qninto", and has already been recited, vol. xi, 
4th Series, p. 141. 

» Floyd, MS. Collections. 

^ This must have been Edmund of Woodstock, second son of 
Edward I. On the accession of his nephew, King Edward III, he 
was arrested, and sentenced to death for having conspired with 
others to deliver his brother (Edward II) out of prison. He was 
beheaded in 1330. His daughter Joane, " The Fair Maid of Kent", 
married the Black Prince, and was mother of Eichard II. 



286 THE BAKKI FAMILY 

Edw. 111,1331.)^ The matter, therefore, being as stated 
by David, William de Carew, Owen ap Owen, and Tho- 
mas de Carew, were indicted for the share they had 
taken in deforcing him, David de Barry. (Close, 5 
Edw. Ill, p. 2, m. 9.) It was subsequently ordered 
(Close, 9, Edw. Ill, as above) that the bonds given by 
William de Crespigny and Stephen Perot should be 
cancelled, if it was found that they were given under 
the circumstances stated by them. The result of the 
proceedings does not appear ; but the issue was that 
the lordship of "Maynorbier" remained with Richard. 

In looking into the history of those days, and especi- 
ally into the whole course of these proceedings, it is evi- 
dent that Pembroke at that time was divided into two 
parties, the Carews and the Roches :^ the one, headed 
by the former, supported Richard ; the other, by the 
latter, upheld David. Whichever party was in the 
ascendant packed the jury with its own adherents, and 
so obtained a verdict to suit its purposes. There seems, 
however, a reasonable probability for believing the 
cause of Richard to have been the just one. 

We glean further from these proceedings that Richard 
de Barri had married the daughter of Nicholas de 
Carew, who died, 5 Edward II (^1311-12), and that 
a bond for £500 had been given oy Nicholas to John 
de Barri, Richards brother, some time previously. As 
the marriage of Richard, without property, would have 
been no consideration for the bond (and some such 
there must have been), it is likely that it was the set- 
tlement of Manorbeer. We have stated that in 1319 
(13 Edward II) John de Barri passed his Irish property 
to David, and there is no doubt that this was done as 
a recompense to David for relinquishing any right he 
might have in Manorbeer. 

1 There is a manifest discrepancy as to the names Earl of Kent 
and Rees ap Griffith, for in the inquisition, 5 Edward III, 2 m., No, 
45, to which the writ containing the petition is annexed, the words 
are, "enndem David dilecto ct fideli nostro Rees ap Griffith adhe- 
sisse." The petition is included in the writ, 5 Edward III. 

> Floyd MS. Collections. 



OF MANORBEER, PENALLY, AND BIGELLY, 287 

We are ignorant of the date of Richard's death, but 
according to the Cambrian Register (ii, p. 184) he was 
still living in 1334, as seen by a final concord to which 
he was witness (8 Edward III), made in the court of 
Isabel (Elizabeth) de Burgo.^ It must have occurred 
before 1336, for he was then succeeded by his daughter 
Avisia, who had married Owen ap Owen. 

A.D. 1336 (9 Edw. III). Avice de Barri, wife of Owen ap 
Owen. By this marriage there was no issue. Owen died before 
Avice his wife, and her death occurred 15 Aug. 1358.* It was 
found that she was seized of the manors of " Maynebeer" and 
Penally, held of the lordship of Pembroke ; and of that of Big- 
elly, held of John de Carew as of liis barony of Carew. The 
first two manors are stated to have been worth £30, and Bigelly 
£10 yearly. An earlier inquisition (5 Edw. Ill), however, 

* She had the custody of the Earldom of Pembroke during the 
minority of Laurence Hastings, son of John by Isabel, the eldest 
daughter of Aymer de Valence. 

^ As this inquisition detils with the fine already shown as cause 
of litigation between her father and coasin, we here give the same 
{Inq,^. m., 33 Edw. Ill, Ist nrs.. No. 16) :— 

"Inquisition taken before the Escheator of Hereford and the 
Marches of Wales, on Monday before the Feast of the Purification, 
on the death of Avisia, wife of Oweyn ap Oweyn : 

**The jary say that John de Barry was seized in his demesne as 
of fee of the manors of Maynerbire, Pennally, and Begeley, in the 
county of Pembroke; which John de Barry gave the aforesaid 
manors to David de Barry, his brother, and to the heirs male of the 
said David. David de Barry then demised the manors to the said 
John de Barry for the term of his life. On the death of David, 
John, who had only a life-interest in the said manors, alienated them 
in fee to Richard ap Thomas, whereapon Richard ap Thomas forth- 
with demised the manors to John de Barry and Beatrix his wife 
for their lives (* cuidam Ricard" fiV Thome in feodo alienavity et pre- 
dictus Ricardus fiV Thome inaneria predicta predicto Johaimi de Barri 
et Beatrici uxori sve statim dimisit ad terminum vite eorum^). David, 
son and heir of David de Barry, recently entered the lands, where- 
upon John de Barry gave np possession to the said David in the 
warranty. 

*' David, son of David de Barry, held the manors for some time, 
until Richard de Barry, brother of David de Barry (the elder) dis- 
seized vi et armis David, son and heir of David de Barry, and died 
seized of the said manors, when Avisia, the wife of Owen ap Oweyn, 
who was the daughter and heir of Richard de Barry, entered the 
said manors, and died seized of them." 



288 THE BARRI FAMILY 

shows that Jameston and Neweton were members of Manorbeer, 
and this manor and Penally were worth £100 yearly. As to 
the number of knights* fees, by which the property was held, 
there occurs a difference at various times. In 1247 the Barrys 
held five fees, the same again iu 1323, but in 1331 the property 
is said to be held by tliree fees only. 

A.D. 1359 (33 Edw. III). David de Barri. The heir of Avice 
was stated by the said inquisition to be David de Barry, son of 
David, brother of Ei chard, and aged twenty-four years. 

Herein is an evident mistake, and it is obvious that 
grandson of David, brother of Richard, must be in- 
tended, inasmuch as the nephew of Richard v^as (as 
before shown) a man of full age {plene etatis) in 1327 
(1 Edward III) ; but the diflSculty seems capable of 
easy solution. David de Barry we find declared, by 
the above quoted inquisition, to be heir. Now there is 
extant a charter {Arch. Camb,, Jan. 1853), or rather 
letters of attorney, dated 18 Oct 1358 (33 Edw. Ill), 
from David de Rupe, lord of Fermoy, appointing Wil- 
liam de Rupe of Wales to take seizin for him of May- 
nerbeer and Penally. The two, there can be no ques- 
tion, are the same person, for at that early date it was 
not uncommon for individuals to bear two designations 
or family-names as here given : indeed, in an Irish 
Patent Roll, 3 Rich. II (p. 106, 3), mention is made of 
William Roche de Barry. In 1362 David de Barry is 
stated (as by inq., 36 Edw. Ill, on John de Carew, 
Sept. 1362) to have held of him at Bigelly two knights' 
fees worth thirty marks. How long after this he held 
the property is uncertain. Before the end of Edward 
I IPs reign ne had no longer any interest in it, for at 
that period, and indeed for some time before, we find 
William de Wyndesore in possession of Manorbeer ; 
whilst subsequent Patent Roll and Coram Rege Roll 
entries assign the property to Holland, Earl of Hunt- 
ingdon, and ostensibly (pro tern,) to John de Wynde- 
sore. The connection of the Barrys ceases, therefore, 
with him ; and of its subsequent owners, as far as ascer- 
tainable, we will now speak. 



OF MANORBEER, PENALLY, AND BIGELLY. 289 

A.D. 1384 (Edw. III-7 Eich. II). William de Wyndesore was 
the first, after the Bani family, who seems to have possessed the 
Castle and manors aforesaid. He was summoned to Parliament 
as Baron de Wyndesore from 5 Eich. II, was Viceroy of Ireland 
t. Edward III, and husband of the celebrated court beauty, 
Alice Perers, by whom he left no issue. He was in direct descent 
from William de Windsor (Wyndesore), lord of Stanwell, co. 
Middlesex, the brother of Gerald de Windsor (ancestor of the 
Geraldines and Dukes of Leinster), so that he was undoubtedly 
akin to David Fitz-Gerald, the Bishop of St. David's, and other 
contemporary Fitz-Geralds. 

Whether, when Manorbeer came into the King's hands, it 
was bestowed upon him under any such recognized relationship, 
and in acknowledgment of his services, or whether it had been 
given to Alice Perers by Edward III, and that he held the 
property in virtue of his wife (for her possessions were enor- 
mous), we have no precise record. It would appear, however, 
from the inquisitions taken after the death of both that such 
was not the casa The estate is not named among any of the 
lands assigned to her, either whilst living or after her death ; 
whilst the post-mortem inquest (8 Eich. II, No. 38), part of which 
ia subjoined, reads as if William de Wyndesore had possessed 
the fee of Manorbeer and Penally.^ It proves that he gave up 
the fee for a life-interest, and that John de Wyndesore, his 
nephew, was ultimately intended to be enfeoffed thereof in fee 
simple. But of this, further, under John de Wyndesore. We 
see no grounds for believing that he obtained the manors by 
purchase ; but rather, seeing that for many subsequent genera- 
tions the property was given by the Crown to diflferent court 
favourites, he acquired them in that way. On his death, in 
8 Eichard II, the manors must have been claimed by John de 
Wyndesore in virtue of his uncle's deed of feoffment. 

A.D. 1414 (2 Hen. ^y John de Wyndesore, son of John 

* Inq, p. If., Oct. 18, 8 Rich. II, ..."sad dicnnt (JuratoresJ quod 
Willelmus de Beauchamp chivaler et Hugo Segrave chV feoifati 
faeraut per predictam Willelmam Cde Wyndesore J de castro et ma- 
neriis de Maynerbyr et Penaly in com. Pembrochie per qnoddam 
scriptum feoffaraenti eisdem factum in feodo simplici, virtnie cujus 

feoffamenti ipsi feoffati seisiti fnerant et post mortem ejasdem 

Willelmi, quonsqne feoflamnt quemdam Johannem de Wyndesore, 
consanguineum predicti Willelmi" 

* The descent of William Baron de Wyndesore, as given in the 
various Peerages, is so thoroughly faulty and imaginary that we 
refer the reader to the abstract of his pedigree given at p. 137, vol. 
xi, 4th Series of these Collections. He was the son of John de Wynde- 
sore, and grandson of Sir Alexander de Windesore, lord of Grayrigg, 

5th sbb., vol. VIII. lif 



290 THE BARKI FAMILY 

(Baron de Wyndesore's brother), and obtained the estate osten- 
sibly by Letters Patent (1 Hen. IV),^ granting the same to him 
in fee, and all historians dealing with the subject leave the 
matter then at rest. 

It is evident that two years after this grant of 
Manorbeer was made, a plea was found — justly or un- 
justly remains a question — for the revociition of it, 
ostensibly on the score of misrepresentation or deceit 
{''ad minus' veram suggestionem Johannis Wyndesore*)^ 
for the wording of the writ leaves the exact cause open 
to doubt. The claim set up by John de Wyndsore or 
his trustees was apparently found untenable. The 
King, at any rate, held the same as a deception. The 
steps first taken to revoke the grant of 1 Henry IV 
may be seen among the Plea Rolls of 3 Henry IV, and 
other subsequent proceedings in the 12th of thatKing.^ 

Evershani, and Morland, co. Westmorland. After the death of his 
uncle he was engaged in protracted Htigation with Alice Perers ; 
and at one time also in a snit against Tliomas de la Mare, the Abbot 
of 8t. Albau's, as to certain lands in co. Herts. In some part of 
the latter proceedings he is styled " yiram ntique superbum et pro- 
tervam". In 1871 he was Sub-Vicecomes of Westmorland, and 
died on 7 April 1414 (2 Hen. V). Weever {Funeral Monuments) 
states that he took part at the Battle of Shrewsbury, and was a 
great commander in the wars of Ireland, t. Bic. II. He was bnried 
in Westminster Abbey, and the following epitaph, on a brass plate, 
in black letter, may be seen on the north side of the church : 

" Est bis septenus M. Ohristi C. quater annus, 
Yespera Paschalis dum septima lux fit Aprilis, 
Transiit a mnndo lo. Windesore, nomine notus, 
Corde gemens mundo, confessns crimine lotus ; 
Fecerat heredem GuHelmus avunculus istum. 
Miles et armigerum dignus de nomine dignum. 
Dum juvenilis erat, hello multos perimebat ; 
Fob tea penituit, et eorum vulnera flevit. 
Recumbens obiit; hie nunc in carcere quiescit; 
Vivat in eternum spiritus ante Deum.". 

^ "Rex concessit Johanui Windesore in feodo, maneria de Manor- 
bier et Penaley in com. Pem. in Wallia ; et Bigelly, et omnia tene- 
menta que fuerunt David de Barri militis in WaUia." (6, Patent, 
anno 1 Hen. IV.) 

2 We refer the reader to pp. 170-3, vol. xiii, 4th Ser., of these Col- 
lections, for the further proceedings taken in the 12th of Henry IV, 
with the order for quashing the grant and all claims put forward in 
respect of it. 



OF MANORBKER, PENALLY, AND BIGELLY. 291 

William de Wjmdesore died in 1384 ; the grant in 
question, of Manorbeer, was made to his nephew in 
1399, fifteen years afterwards, so that we might certainly 
assume from the wording of the post-mortem inquest on 
the former that he had been in possession of the pro- 
perty during that interval, or a portion of it. The Co- 
ram Rege proceedings of 3 Henry IV, and the Close Roll 
entry of 12 Henry IV, however, two and eleven years 
after the grant, make this supposition less than doubt- 
ful. The lands would appear to have been given to 
John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon and Duke of Exe- 
ter ; and there is proof that the manors belonged for a 
time to the Hastynges family previous thereto. That 
the grant to John de Wyndesore was revoked not only 
by the Close Roll, 12 Henry IV, but by earlier pro- 
ceedings, is manifest. The latter are among the county 
Placita for Wales, taken from the Coram Rege Roll of 
Trinity Term, 3 Henry IV, and are given in Appendix. 
The former have already been quoted in vol.xiii, 4th Sen 

A.D. 1400-12 (12 Hen. IV). Elizabeth, Countess of I^unting- 
don, had been evidently in possession of Manorbeer, together 
with her husband, John de Holland, Earl of Huntingdon,^ from 
some time subsequent to the death of William de VVyndesore, 
t Richard II. She was Elizabeth, daughter of John of Gaunt, 
Duke of Lancaster, and after the death of the Earl married, as 
her second husband. Sir John Cornwall, KG.* The proceedings 
taken in Chancery, 12 Henry IV {Arch. CamK, pp. 170-3, vol. 

' Lord Chamberlain of England, and created, in 1387, Dake of 
Exeter by Richard II. He was third son of Thomas Earl o^ Kent 
by Joan Plantagenet, and married Elizabeth, daughter of John of 
Gaunt, being thus brother-in-law of Henry IV. 

* Sir John Cornwall, according to tradition, won the hand of the 
King's sister, Elizabeth, by his prowess at a tournament in jousting 
at York with a French knight. He was distinguished in yarious 
capacities t. Kichard II and Henry IV ; and probably from his high 
connection with the blood royal was made by Henry IV, in 1433, 
Baron Fanhope, co. Hereford, and snbseqaently, in 1442, Baron 
Milbroke, co. Beds. He left no issue by his wife, according to Dag- 
dale but others (Heylin and Lysson) record (the former) a daugh- 
ter married to Lord Maltravers ; and the latter, a son killed during 
the wars in France, in vita patris. Sir John Cornwall took part, 
under Henry V, at the battle of Agincourt. 

19" 



292 THE BARRI FAMILY 

xiii, 4th Ser., quite show that up to that date both she and her 
then husband (Sir John Cornwall) had been long seized of the 
estate, holding it under a charter and deed of trust set forth 
in the writ in question. By these proceedings it is shown 
that at her death John Holland., her son, Duke of Exeter in 
1443 (having been restored in blood in 1417) succeeded to the 
foregoing Pembrokeshire estates, and these he must have held 
till his death in 1446. It is presumable also that the same 
were held by his son Henry, the third Duke, until his attainder 
in 1461, twelve years before his death in 1473. 

From that time Manorbeer passed from one «ourt favourite 
to another, until in the reign of Elizabeth it came into the pos- 
session of Thomas Owen of Trellwyn, and in recent times into 
that of Lord Milford. 



APPENDIX. 



The revocation, in the following extracts, of the Patent grant- 
ing to John de Wyndesore the manors of Manorbeer, Penally, 
and Bigelly, 1 Henry IV, quite proves that these lands had been 
in possession of John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, until his 
attainder in 1 Henry IV, and by inference from the time of 
William de Wyndesore's death. The entries tend to correct the 
error propagated by different writers, that the same had ever 
been in the possession of John de Wyndesore. 

County Placita, — Wales, No, L 

" Placita coram domino Eege apud Westmonasterium de ter- 
mino Sancte Trinitatis, anno regni Eegis Henrici quarti 
post conquestum tercio. (Kotulo Ixix.) 

" Hereford. — Memorandum quod venerabilis pater E. Exoni- 
ensis Episcopus domini Eegis Cancellarius, per manus suas pro- 
prias liberavit hie in Curia isto eodem termino coram domino 
Eege apud Westmonasterium, quoddam breve domini Eegis, in- 
dorsatum Vicecomiti Herefordie nuper directum, quod sequitur 
in hec verba : — Henricus Dei gratia, Eex Anglie et Francie et 
Dominus Hibernie, Vicecomiti Herefordie salutem : Supplica- 
verunt nobis Johannes Cornewaill chivaler, et Elizabeth uxor 
ejus, Comitissa Huntingdon*, ut cum Johannes Holand, nuper 
Comes Huntingdon', 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, 



OF MANORBEBR, PENALLY, AND BIGELLY. 293 

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 Ricardo Shelley 
clerico, habenda et tenenda eisdem Johanni Stevenes et Eicardo, 
heredibus et assignatis suis imperpetuum, virtute quorum doni, 
concessionis, et confirmacionis, predicti Johannes Stevenes et 
Ricardus inde fuerunt seisiti ; subsequenter quia nos, ad minus 
veram susgestionem Johannis Wyndesore, per litteras nostras 
patentes, ae gratia nostra speciali, inter alia dederimus et con- 
cesserimus eidem Johanni Wyndesore castrum, maneria, et do- 
minia predicta cum pertinenciis, per nomen maneriorum de 
Maynerbier et Pennaly cum pertinenciis in comitatu Pembro- 
chie in Wallia, una cum omnibus redditibus et serviciis omnium 
tenencium, que fuerunt David de Barri chivaler, in Begely in 
"Wallia, et una cum omnibus terris et tenementis, feodis militura, 
et advocacionibus beneficiorum et ecclesiasticorum, que prefatus 
Johannes Wyndesore, ac Thomas Holhirst, Johannes Duket, et 
Thomas Aflfrentwhait, habuerunt de dono et concessione dicti 
David, in dicto comitatu Pembrochie, que ad manus nostras 
racione forisfacture predicti nuper comitis devenerunt, habenda 
et tenenda eidem Johanni Wyndesore et heredibus suis imper- 
petuum, prout in litteris nostris predictis plenius continetur ; 
Ac iidem Johannes Stevenes et Ricardus de castro, maneriis, et 
dominiis predictis cum pertinenciis, virtute doni, concessionis, et 
confirmacionis predicti nuper comitis, tempore confectionis litte- 
rarum nostrarum predictarum, et postea fuerint seisiti, et statum 
suum inde 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 pertinenciis, per 
nomen castri, manerii, et dominii de Maynerbier, et manerii et 
dominii de Penale cum pertinenciis, dedit et concessit et carta 
sua confirmavit eidem comitisse adtunc uxori predicti Johannis 
Cornewaill, ad vitam ipsius comitisse ; Ita quod post decessum 
ipsius comitisse, predicta castrum, maneria, et dominia cum per- 
tinenciis Johanni, filio predictorum nuper comitis et comitisse 
et heredibus suis remanarent imperpetuum ; Ac prefati Johan- 
nes Cornewaill et cpmitissa, virtute doni, concessionis et con- 
firmacionis predicti Johannis Stevenes, inde fuerint seisiti ; Et 
postmodum prefatus Ricardus cartam ipsius Johannis Stevenes 
piefate comitisse in hac parte confectam, ac omnia in ea con- 
tenta, necnon statum et possessionem ipsius comitisse in castro, 
manerii, et dominiis predictis cum pertinenciis approbaverit, 
rectificaverit, concesserit et confirmaverit, et post decessum 
ipsius comitisse prefato Johanni filio predictorum nuper comitis 



294 THE BARRI FAMILY 

et comitisse, heredibus et assignatis suis imperpetuum ; Et licet 
predictus nuper comes nichil habuerit in eisdem, tempore foris- 
facture predicte, nee unquam postea, nee uUum officium pro 
nobis inde compertum fuerit, nee in manus nostras extiterint 
seisita ; ac predicti Johannes ComewaiU et comitissa pretextii 
tarn doni, concessionis et confirmacionis prefati Johannis Ste- 
venes, quam approbacionis, ratificacionis, concessionis, et confir- 
macionis predicti Ricardi, eidem comitisse inde in. forma pre- 
dicta factorum, possessionem C8tstri, maneriorum, et dominiorum 
predictorum cum pertinenciis debite tenuerint, et statum suum 
inde continuaverint ; idem tamen Johannes Wyndesore ipsos 
Johannem Cornewaill et comitissam super possessione sua cas- 
tri, maneriorum, dominiorum predictorum cum pertinenciis, 
diversis vicibus pretextu litterarum nostrarum patencium pre- 
dictarum vexavit, et inquietavit, et ad diversos labores et expen- 
sas eos posuit ipsos, que adhuc inquietat indebite et in juste, 
Velimus dictas litteras nostras prefato Johanni Wyndesore in 
hac parte factas, revocari et adnuUari jubere ; Nos, volentes in 
hac parte fieri quod est justum, tibi precipimus, quod scire facias 
prefato Johanni Wyndesore quod sit coram nobis in cancellaria 
nostra, in octavis Sancti Johannis Baptiste proximo futuris, ubi- 
cunque tunc fuerit, ad osten.dum si quid pro nobis, aut pro se 
ipso, habeat vel dicere sciat quare littere nostre predicte sibi 
inde sic facte, revocari et adnullari non debeant, et ad faciendum 
ulterius et recipiendum quod curia nostra consideraverit in hac 
parte ; Et habeas ibi nomina illorum per quos ei scire feceris ; 
Et hoc breve ; Teste me ipso apud Westmonasterium xi die 
Junii anno regni nostri tercio. 

*• Indorsamentum brevis predicti sequitur in hec verba : — 
Eesponsio Leonardi Hakeluyt vicecomitis. Virtute istius brevis, 
scire feci Johanni Wyndesore infranominato, quod sit coram 
domino Eege in cancellaria sua ad diem in isto brevi contentum, 
ubicunque tunc fuerit, ad ostendum si quid pro ipso domino 
Rege aut pro se ipso habeat vel dicere sciat, quare littere ipsius 
domini Regis paten tes, unde infra fit 'mencio, juxta formam 
ejusdem brevis revocari et adnullari non debeant, et ad facien- 
dum ulterius et recipiendum quod curia ejusdem domini Regis 
consideraverit in hac parte, prout idem breve exigit et requirit, 
per Philippum ap Gwillym, Johannem Orchard, Hoellum Whych, 
et David ap Griffith, probos et legales homines de balliva mea," 
etc. 

"Ad quas octavas Sancti Johannis Baptiste. coram domino 
Rege apud Westmonasterium venenint predicti Johannes Corne- 
waill et Elizabeth uxor ejus per Johannem Hulton attornatum 
suum ; et predictus Johannes Wyndesore juxta premunicionem 



OF MANORBEER, PENALLY, AND BIGELLY. 295 

ei in hac parte factam, in propria persona sua, similiter venit ;. 
Et predieti Johannes Cornewaill et Elizabeth protulerunt hie in 
curia cartam predieti nuper comitis, prefato Johanni Stevenes 
et Eicardo Shelley factam, donum et concessionem predictos de 
castro, manerio, et dominiis predictis cum pertinenciis testifican- 
tem, que sequitur in hec verba : — Sciant presentes et futuri, quod 
ego Johannes Holand, comes Huntyngdon, et camerarius Anglie, 
dedi, concessi, et hac presenti carta mea confirmavi Johanni 
Stevenes et Eicardo Shelley clerico, castrum, manerium, et do- 
minium de Maynerbyer, ac manerium et dominium de Pennaly 
cum omnibus membris, libertatibus, proficuis, commoditatibus, 
redditibus, serviciis, reversionibus, et pertinenciis suis, quibus- 
cunque in comitatu Pembrochie, habenda et tenenda omnia 
predicta castrum, maneria et dominia, cum orfinibus membris, 
libertatibus, proficuis, commoditatibus, redditibus, serviciis, re- 
versionibus, cum omnibus suis pertinenciis predictis eisdem 
Johanni Stevenes et Eicardo Shelley, heredibus et assignatis 
suis de capitalibus dominis feodi illius, per servicia inde 
debita et de jure consueta imperpetuum. In cujus rei tes- 
timonium, huic presenti carte mee sigillum meum apposui ; 
hiis testibus, Eoberto Bays clerico, Thoma Slielley, Eoberto 
Cary, Johanne Chanduyt,Willelmo Burleston, Nicholo Brenches- 

ley,et aliis ; Data duodecimo die Marcii, anno regni 
20Eic. II.- Eegis Eicardi secundi post conquestum vicesimo; 

Et proferunt eciam hie in curia iidem Johannes 
Cornewaill et comitissa scriptum predieti Ricardi Shelley, pre- 
late comitisse in forma predicta factum, approbacionem, ratifi- 
cacionem, concessionem, et confirmacionem carte predieti Johan- 

nis Stevenes testificantem, quod sequitur in hec verba 

Jamque ex parte predictorum Johannis Cornewaill et comitisse 
nobis sit ostensum, quod licet per veredictura juratorum inqui- 
sicionis, in qua partes predicte se inde posuerunt, compertum 
existit, quod predictus Johannes Wyndesore non f uit seisitus de 
predictis castro, manerio et dominio de Maynerbier, nee de mane- 
rio et dominio de Pennaly cum pertinenciis in comitatu Pem- 
brochie in Wallia, Vos tamen, pro eo quod in dicto brevi nos- 
tro de procedendo expressa fit mencio, quod ad judicium in hac 
parte reddendum nobis inconsultis procedi non deberet ad judi- 
cium 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 Cornewaill et comitisse justiciam ulte- 
rius differri in hac parte, vobis mandamus, quod si in placito pre- 
dicto coram nobis taliter sit processum et allegatum, tunc ad 



296 THE BABRI FAMILY, ETC. 

judicium inde reddendum cum ea celeritate, qua de jure et 
secundum legem et consuetudinem predictas poteritis, proceda- 
tis, et partibus predictis plenam et celerem justiciam in hac 
parte fieri faciatis, allegacione predicta, seu eo quod in dicto 
brevi nostro de procedendo expressa fit mencio, quod ad judi- 
cium predictum reddendum, nobis inconsultis, minime procede- 
retis, non obstante. Teste me ipso apud Westmonasterium, 
quinto die Julii, anno regni nostri duodecimo. 

" Et lectis et auditis, tam placitis parcium predictarum, quam 
predicto brevi de procedendo ad judicium ; Consideratum est, 
quod predicte breve domini Eegis patentes prefato Johanni 
Wyndesore de predictis castro, manerio et dominiis in forma 
predicta facte, revocentur et penitus adnullentur, et pro nullo 
habeantur ; Et quod predicti Johannes Cornewaill et comitissa 
eant inde sine die", etc.^ 

1 Gf. Bawl. MS. G, fo. 704, Bibl. Bodl., where reference is wrongly 
given. 



297 



©Wtuarp* 

RiCHAUD WlLLUM BaNES. 

The Association has lost one of its most zealons and learned mem- 
bers in the person of Richard William Banks of Bidgboarne, Here- 
fordshire, and Howey Hall, Radnorshire, who snconmbed to the 
prevailing epidemic of inflnenza on Jane 24, at the age of seventy- 
two. He was the eldest son of Mr. Richard Banks, solicitor, of 
Kington, and was edncated at Ludlow and Rngby Schools. He 
sncceeded to his father's business, and was also head of the firm of 
bankers, Davies, Banks, and Co., of Kington, Rhayader, and Peny- 
bont. Mr. Banks' great business capacities, his devotion to his 
duties, and his wide and accurate learning, made him a most valu- 
able coadjutor and guide. As a Magistrate for the counties of 
Brecon, Hereford, and Radnor (for the last of which he was High 
Sheriff in 1874, and a member of its County Council), and as Chair- 
man of the Kington Improvement Commissioners, he has left an 
honourable and worthy record ; and especially will his townsmen 
remember his great services in connection with the resuscitation 
and improvement of Lady Hawkins' Grammar School. 

But it is rather as an archsBologist, and of his services to our own 
Association, that we would write of him now. It was in 1864 that 
Mr. Banks became one of our members, and from that period till 
his death he was an active promoter of its interests, and a constant 
contributor to its Journal. The list of appended articles is evidence 
of the extensiveness of his knowledge, and their contents prove his 
accuracy. Historical records, municipal charters, mediaeval tenures, 
civil and ecclesiastical matters, the stories of counties and families, 
found in him a careful interpreter ; and he was always ready to 
help others in their researches. His " Cartularium Prioratus S. Jo- 
hannis Evangelist® de Brecon", with its illustrative notes, and his 
historical Preface to the " Official Progress of the first Duke of 
Beaufort through Wales in 1684", which he was the principal 
means of having so admirably reproduced by Messrs. Blades, East, 
and Blades, will form his best literary memorial. But we must not 
forget either his efficient management of the funds of the Associa* 
tion, of which he Was Treasurer from the resignation of Mr. Bam- 
well, in 1884, till his death, and which he has left in a better con- 
dition than they have ever been in before ; nor his help by purse 
and influence in carrying out successfully the work which Mr. Ste- 
phen Williams has so well directed and described at the Abbey of 
Strata Florida. 

Mr. Banks married Emily Rosa, daughter of Nathaniel Hartland, 
Esq., Charlton Kings, Gloucestershire, who with a son and daughter 



298 OBITUARY. 

survive him. The former has already given valuable help for the 
illustration of the Journal, and we trust he will prove a worthy son 
of a worthy fatter. 

List of Articles contribtUed to the Journal by Mr, Banks, 

1864. Early History of the Forest of Radnor, etc. • 

„ Account of the Siege of Brampton Bryan Castle, Hereford- 
shire. 

1866. A List of Members of Parliament for the County of Radnor 

and the Radnorshire Boroughs. 
„ Sir Robert Barley's Narrative. 

1867. Brampton Bryan Castle. 

1869-70. Notes on the Early History of the Manor of Huntington, 
Herefordshire. 

1871. On the Family of Vaupfhan of Herg^at. 

„ On the Contents of a Tumulus on Ty Du Farm, Llanelieu. 

1872. On the C ran nog in Llangors Lake. 

1873. On the Welsh Records in the time of the Black Prince. 

1874. The Four Stones, Old Radnor. 

1875. On some Radnorshire Bronze Implements. 

„ On Prehistoric Remains in the Edwy Valley, Radnorshire. 

„ Tomen Castle, Radnor Forest. 

1876. On a Shield-Boss found at Aberedwy. 
„ Bryngwyn, Radnorshire. 

„ The Castles of Grosmont, Skenfrith, and Whitecastle. 

1878. On the Early Charters to Towns in South Wales, 

„ On an Earthen Vessel found on the Coast of Anglesey. 
„ Notes on Records relating to Lampeter and Cardiganshire. 

1879. Llandc|wyn, Anglesey. 

„ On a Wooden Female Head found at Llanio. 

„ The Boundary of Herefordshire temp, Henry III. 

1880. The Grange of Cwratoyddwr, Radnorshire. 

1882-3w Herefordshire and its Welsh Border during the Saxon 

Period. 
„ Inspeximns and Confirmation of the Charters of the Abbey 

of Wigmore. 
„ Cftrtnlariuni Prioratus S. Johannis Evang. de Brecon. 

1883. The Early History of Hay and its Ijordship. 

1884. On the Descent of the Estates of Walter de Clifford. 

„ An Account of Bronze Implements found near Brecon. 

1885. On the Ancient Tenures and Services of the Lands of the 

Bishop of St. David's. 

„ On a Bronze Dagger found at Bwlch y Ddeu Faen, Brecon- 
shire. 

„ On the Early History of the Land of Gwent. 

1886. Caerphilly. 

1887. The Marriage- Contract of King Edward II. 
„ Edward II in South Wales. 

1888. Notes to the Account of Cwmhir Abbey, Radnorshire 
1890. Brecon Priory, its Suppression and Possessions. 



299 



laebietofic antr n^ottcesc of Soobd. 



The Surnames and Place-Names of the Isle op Man. By A. W. 
Moore, M.A. With an Infcrodnction by Professor Rhys. Lon- 
don : Elliot Stock, 1890. Demy 8vo. Price 10«. 6d. 

To nataralists the fanna and flora of small islands have a special 
interest, inasmuch as they may have a story to tell about archaic 
continental connections, or about lines of prehistoric migration. 
The student of ethnology regards insular peoples with similar inte- 
rest, and in the main for similar reasons. The separating ocean is 
for him a preserver, to a large extent, of evidences by which he 
may test his theories or enlarge his generalisations. Continents are 
exposed to be overrun by many races, laneuage giving place to lan- 
guage, and custom to custom, until the problem of differentiating 
the elements of the population becomes an almost hopeless puzzle. 
Outlying islands, on the other hand, are not so readily open to 
attack, and in very ancient times were probably much more secure 
from fear on that score. Speaking of the higher development of 
navigation among the Aryan peoples, Schrader (Prehist. Antiq. of 
the Aryan Peoples, Eng. Trans., p. 354) shows, from linguistic evi- 
dence, that it must have taken place in historic times, and among 
the European members of the Indo-European family, and he limits 
the early development of transmarine navigation to the Greek sea- 
boards on the Mediterranean and the shores of the Baltic. 

From such considerations as these the Isle of Man mast be an 
interesting subject of study to the ethnologist. It lies at nearly an 
equal distance from England, Scotland, and Ireland, and thus may 
throw light on the early inhabitants of each. It has preserved, as 
a spoken language, its ancient tongue almost to our own days, and 
it still retains, in its personal and topographical nomenclature, a 
kind of record of the vicissitudes through which it has passed in 
historic times. Mr. Moore was, therefore, well advised when he 
undertook to put together, in the volume under review, all that he 
could glean about Manx personal and place-names. He has done his 
collecting work well, and has placed students of ethnology and 
others under an obligation to him for his painstaking industry. He 
has been careful to get the earliest forms of each name he discusses, 
so as to avoid errors arising from hasty comparisons of existing 
**worn*' names ; but he has ventured on slippery paths in trying, 
without further equipment, to give their etymologies. Prof; Khys, 
in his judicious Preface, warns him to expect to have his views 



300 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OP BOOKS. 

revised. We make onr criticisms on these in no carping spirifcy 
bnt rather in the hope that he may soon have an opportanitj to re- 
consider them in a second, edition. 

Mac Shimmin (p. 27) betrays, we think, a Norse rather than a 
Scriptaral origin. Like Simmonds in English, it points to the 
Norse Sigmnndr as its source. (See Flatey Jarbok passim.) It is 
not very nsaal among Celtic peoples to find a Scripture name pre- 
ceded, in early times, immediately by a Mac. The Clucas on p. 24 
is more probably for Mac.Giolla Lncas than for Mac Lncas. Costain 
(p. 29) and its early forms, Mac Coisten, etc., are, doubtless, derived 
from the Norse Eysteinn, which has given the Highland clan Huis- 
ten and the name Mac Qniston, has become Justin in Ireland, and 
has nothing whatever to do with Augustin. (See Cleasby and Vig- 
fusson's Icelandic Dictionary, sub voce.) As to Myiechreest and Myl- 
vorrey, we prefer to find in them Mael (= tonsured) rather than 
Mac Giolla. Milroy, Milvain, Milligen (=Maolagain), Milrea, and a 
number of similar names in Scotland, are cognate forms, and cer- 
tainly involve Mael. McGuilley Ghreest, McGuilleyorrey, are not to 
be identified with the preceding. Mac Vorrey is more probably 
from Mnrchadh, which gives Murray in Scotland, and Murrough or 
Murphy in Ireland. 

Mr. Moore's reading of O'Donovan's Introduction to the Foems 
of 0\Dubhagan and of Huidhrin has led him into making numerous 
false analogies. Crow (p. 36) has probably nothing to do with 
Fiachan, but is much more likely to be the Manx remnant of Mac 
Ruadh ; c/. Highland McCroy. Fargher (p. 87) iR, no doubt, the 
well-known Highland Fear Char which we find in Farquharson and 
McErrocher (=Mc Fearchair). It has nothing to do with *' Fer*;'* 
(violent), but involves Car=:friend, and the intensitive prefix Fer 
(Welsh Gwr, Gaulish Ver) : rf Sanscr. Su-Caru, Gaulish Veni- 
Carus, Armorioan Hen-Car, Welsh Caratacus, Cungar, Irish Find- 
char. Fergus also has nothing to do with Ferg. The '* gus'* occurs 
in Aongus, Aedgus, etc., and the Fer is the same as in the preced- 
ing name. 

Kinley (p. 49) and MoKinley are probably the same as the High- 
land McKinlay, and are formed from Findlay (Finu-laech). They have 
nothing to do with Mac Cinfaolaidh, which would give McNeilly. 
Mr. Moore cites (p. 57) a Finio from the Statute Law Book of 1504, 
which is, doubtless, the same name. Alan (p. 50) is not a Norman 
bnt a Breton name. McCash (p. 59) looks sufficiently like the 
Highland McCosh to suggest a like origin.^ McCalba[ch (p. 60) 
has nothing to do with the Latin Calvus, but is most probably 
the same name as the Highland McKelvey=McSelbach (ColL 
de Reh. Alh,).^ Cowell, Coole, and McCoil, McCowle, and McQuill 
(p. 61), are, like the Highland McCool, forms of McDugal. Regan 

^ Mac Ad losaich gives both Mclntash and McCosh. 
3 McKimmy, name of Lord Lovat, Chief of the Erasers, was lor McShlmi 
(CoU. de Reb. Alb,)-, cf, McKittrick=McSitric, etc. 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OP BOOKS. 301 

(p. 64) has nothing to do with Biach (i.e., Riabhach, grey), bat is 
a very early Irish name. Mylrea (p. 65) presents no diflBcnlty, but, 
like the Highland Milrea, is simply Mulriabhach : M cGi Hi riabhach = 
McGilrea and Mcllreevy, are well-known Scotch and Irish names. 
Both Mall and Giolla (Gnilley) are componnded with colour- 
adjectives, e.g., Mal-rnadh=Milroy, Mnl-dnbh=Mnldaflr, Giolla- 
ruadh= Gilroy (c/. Mcllroy). The ancient signification of Giolla is 
not probably '* youth*', bat akin, as it seems, to Giall, it meant pro- 
bably " hostage", or one captured in fight. It is thus cognate with 
the Teutonic form Gisal; modem Germ. Geissel, with the same 
meaning. It appears in Teutonic names, e.g,^ Gislbert (Gilbert), 
with the same import. If this be correct, names formed of GKolla 
and various colour-adjectives indicate that their bearers were cap- 
tured in war, and thus " foreigners". Quilleash, Cuilleash (p. 74), 
cf, McLeese(p.91),are probably the same as the Highland McCuleis, 
McLeish, McAleese (McGiolla iosa), son of the servant or hostage 
of Jesus. 

McAvoy is not a contraction of Mac Aedha Buidhe (p. &?)j but 
a short form of Mac Gilla Buidhe ; cf. McAreavy, McAfee. The 
name Mac Effe, on p. 78, is one of the many forms taken by Mac Gilla 
Dubhtach, e.y., McAffee, McGuffie, McHafi&e, Mehaffy. Mac Lynean 
(p. 78) is probably the same as the Scotch McLennan, and is for 
Mc GKlla Finnan. Mac Lolan is also, as Mr. Moore suggests, for 
McLellan^Mac Gilla Fillan. 

Mr. Moore is somewhat more fortunate with his Scandinavian 
etymologies; but if he had looked at Gleasby and Vigfusson's Dic- 
tionary he would have seen that Ottar involves Herr (meaning 
host, people), and has nothing to do with sword. If Mr. Moore 
had known that the Welsh Lloyd means " grey", he would not have 
compared it with the ** Ijotr" in Thor-ljotr. To trace Christian to 
an Icelandic Kristin requires a good deal of faith. It is to be 
sought more probably in some form beginning with " r", and involv- 
ing the common Scandinavian suffix, '* stein". 

Mr. Moore has assumed (p. 93 et seq,)^ without evidence, a whole- 
sale plantation of Hibemo-Norman families in the Isle of Man. On 
the same principle he would naturally conclude that the Mc Williams, 
Mc Walters, etc., in Scotland, and the Guilliams and Guatkins of 
Wales are descendants of the Norman De Burgos. 0*Donovan has 
evidently misled him here. 

If Fairbrother (p. 103) is a translation of Beaufrere (=brother- 
in-law), of what is the personal name Fairclough a translation ? A 
similar difficulty attends his tracing Freer, Creer, to the French /rere; 
ef, the Irish name McCreary. Arin-biaurg (p. 114) has nothing to 
do with hearth, but contains the common Norse name-element Orn 
(poet. Ari)=eagle, and Bjorg=defence; cf, Om-ulfr, Arnold, etc. 

Frif$r in personal names, as Friede in German, does not mean 
"fair", but "peace", or in an earlier sense, "inviolability". Don- 
can (p. 116), like the Scotch Duncan, is, as is well known, simply 
Donchadh, involving in its last element Gath»»battle ; ancient form, 



302 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 

Catn ; c/. Welsh Dinocatu. It has nothing to do with the colour 
Dun, or with Ohn or Gal. Finlo (p. 116) is, doabtless, the same as 
the Gaelic Fin-laech=fairhero. It gives Finlay, Findlay, McKinlaj, 
etc. Symond (p. 116) is, donbtJess, the Norse Sig-mandr, and has 
nothing to do with the Hebrew Simeon. 

We have not much space to deal with Mr. Moore's etymologies 
for place-names; but a great many are questionable. Broogh(p. 132) 
in place-names in Ireland and Scotland means, especially when com- 
bined with personal names, a large house. Broughshane is not, as 
Joyce says, John's Border, but John's House. This meaning is well 
known locally. The " Broogh jarg mooar" (cited p. 143) means, 
most probably, not "the big, red brow", but "the big, red house." 
The word is known in Scotland with this meaning. 

Garee (p. 135) is probably Garbh=rough land, and takes the 
form Gariff and Garvy. Does Alt (p. 135) ever mean stream ? 
Peel is not a Celtic word, at least not a possible Irish or Gaelic 
form. No pure Goidelic word begins with p. Braid (p. 139) is a 
well-known word for an opening in hills, and is, doubtless, nothing 
more than Braighid=the neck or throat. As Irish Drum is to 
Manx Dreeym, so is Irish Mall to Manx Meyll. Its meaning, when 
topographically applied, is bald headland ; i.e., with no trees on it. 
It has nothing to do with any Scandinavian word, as Mr. Moore 
assumes, p. 41. Rhenshent (p. 143) is translated "holy ridge". In 
the Chronicon Mannice (quoted at p. 12) it is given as an equivalent 
of the Welsh Hentraeth=oId strand. The " shent" must, therefore, 
represent the Irish "8ean"=:old. 

We have dealt at some length with Mr. Moore's etymologies ; but 
his book has its great value not in these, but in the array of care- 
fully sifted and dated names which he gives us. He has rendered 
the work of those who come after him easy. The labour involved 
in putting this book together must have been enormous, and students 
of personal and topographical nomenclature must feel deeply grate- 
ful to him, while all who are interested in the history of these 
islands will welcome the work as a source of fresh information upon 
many important points. It has been no pleasant task to point out 
defects, and it is with true rejoicing that we express our high sense 
of the historical value of this great collection of Manx personal and 
place-names. 



Strata Florida Abbey 



Tile Paving South Chapel. South Tranȣpt 

>y.rf' 




MKA*uftKDAN» Drawn Bv Tckrcn Smitm 



«4/ 
iL- 



303 



Srcbaeological Batta antr aueries. 

Tile-PaVements at Strata Florida Abbey. — The plans of the tile- 
pavements in the chapels of the south transept of Strata Florida 
Abbey Church, which are published in this Number of ArchcBologia 
Cambrensis, are reprinted from the plates which appeared in my work 
on this Monastery published in 1889.^ Drawings to a large scale 
were published in Arch, Camh., July 1889 (vol. vi, 5th Series, p. 266), 
when seventeen varieties of the tiles found during the exploration 
of the ruins were illustrated and shortly described. In July 1890 
a Report upon further excavations in June of that year appeared in 
Arch. Camb., vol. vii, 5th Series, p. 253, when I somewhat fully de- 
scribed the discovery of all the pavements that have been found at 
Strata Florida ; and it is certainly a matter for congratulation that 
we have found here probably the most important and interesting 
series of encaustic and incised tile-pavements of the early part of 
the fourteenth century that have ever been found in situ. More* 
over, in the chapels of the south transept we have been able, wifch 
the tiles which were fouud in the course of the excavations, to fill 
up the blank spaces which appear in the plans with tiles corre- 
sponding in patterns to those that had been removed ; and with 
the exception of one of the chapels, whore we had to use a few of 
the large 7 in. tiles from the nave to make up a deBciency of the 
smkller patterns, the tiling in these chapels has been restored, to a 
large extent, in accordance with the original design. The chapels 
being roofed in, and enclosed with iron railings, it is hoped that we 
have preserved perfect examples of every tile that was used in the 
pavements throughout the building. 

Avery interesting fact discovered during the relaying of the tiles 
in the chapels was, that in front of each altar the tiles had been 
worn quite smooth exactly at the point where the priest had stood 
during the celebration of the Mass, and where his feet had rested, 
there was distinctly to be traced a wearing away and depression of 
the surface of the pavement. It was also noticed that the tiles in 
the chapels of the north transept, more especially in the one nearest 
to the north door, were much more worn than in the south transept 
chapels ; and probably this may be accounted for by the fact that 
the lay brethren, or convern, entering by the north door, would 
pray at the altars in the north transept. The north transept was 
screened off from the monks' choir and presbytery, and the situa- 

* The Cistercian Abbey of Strata Florida; its History and an Account of 
the recent Excavations made on its Site, By Stephen W. Williams, F.R.I.B.A. 
London : Whiting and Co, 30 and 32, Sardinia Street, W.C. 



304 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

tion of the door leading from the choir of the monks to the north 
transepts can still be traced. 

On the side of each altar in the transept chapels interments had 
been made, and owing to the weight of the fallen materials from 
the groined roofs, the places where the bodies were baried could be 
distinctly traced by the depression in the surface of the pavements. 
Of those who were thus interred no record remains. In the south 
chapel, next the sacristy, were found the remains of two magnifi- 
cent recessed and canopied altar-tombs of Decorated work, of ex- 
ceeding beauty, executed in fine oolitic stone, probably Caen stone. 
The carving of these tombs was of the greatest delicacy and finish, 
and of the highest artistic character. Fragments of these beantifal 
tombs were found scattered throughout the south transept, and also 
in the vault in the sacristy, which had been constructed under 
the south wall of the chapel, and wherein the bodies of the persons 
commemorated by the monuments had, been buried. Of the monu- 
mental effigies all that were found were portions of two pairs of 
hands clasped in the attitude of prayer, and a fragment of the toe 
of a shoe or solleret. 

The base of each monument was filled in with alabaster panels, and 
they were protected by an iron grille ; the holes still remain in the 
base-stones where the bars were fixed, and fragmente of the alabas- 
ter panels were foand in situ. The position of these tombs is clearly 
shown in the plan of the south chapel. 

It will be observed that the tile- pavements have been altered to 
insert these tembs, and they were erected subsequently to the 
period when the tiles were laid ; in all probability about the end of 
the fourteenth or early in the fifteenth century. The tiles in each 
of the chapels show irregularities of pattern, as if at some period 
the pavements had been damaged, and repaired with such spare 
ti)es as were available, without reference to the existing patterns. 
This may indicate the damage done at the period of the occupation 
of the Abbey by the men-at-arms of the Prince of Wales (after- 
wards Henry V) during the time of Owen Glyndwr's rebellion, 
when they used the Abbey Church as a stable, and which is so 
graphically described in the Chronicle of Adam of Usk, p. 191. 

In laying the tiles, colour was deemed of more importance than 
pattern. Sfore especially this is so where the tiles with heraldic 
devices are used ; and in cases where the pattern is continuous, the 
colours have been so arranged as te form alternate bands or chev- 
rons of light and dark tiles. 

Of the twenty varieties of tiles found at Strata Florida, fifteen of 
the patterns were used at Strata Marcella ; and it is quite clear that 
they cnme from the same manufactory, and the same dies were used 
in impressing the ornament on the plastic clay, the material and 
workmanship corresponding in every particular. Similar tiles were 
also found during the recent excavations at Old St. Chad's Church, 
Shrewsbury, and have also been found at Barrow, near Broseley, 
Acton Scott Church, and Tong Church, all in the county of Salop. 



Strata Flor»da Abbey 

Tiut Pavjnc Centre. Chapel. South Transept 




Strata Florida Abbey 

Tile Paving im North Chapeu. South Transept 







■ ■ 1 ^± ^ . 



f1lr.*<^^t: " r D-'-f 



t, Tri-'s* ■^•^.T. 



ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 305 

We have, therefore, a wide area over which these tiles are found, 
and I am of opinion that in all probability they were manufactured 
at Brozeley, where the trade is still carried on, the clays of that dis- 
trict bein^ especially adapted for the purpose. 

I have been favoured with a copy of an interesting paper upon 
explorations at St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin, where a quantity of 
ancient tiles was found in 1886, and they have been very well 
drawn and illustrated by Dr. Frazer, M.R.I. A. (See Remains of St 
Mary's Abbey, Dvhlin, their Explorations and Researches, a.d. 1886. 
Foster and Co., William Street, Dublin.) These Irish tiles very 
much resemble in character and design the Strata Florida patterns, 
in two or three instances they are nearly identical. 

The plans of the centre and north chapels at Strata Florida show 
portions of the tiling of the south transept, outside the screens of 
the chapels. The surface of the whole of the north transept was 
cleared down to floor-level in June 1890, and although the tiling in 
the transepts has been sadly broken up, enough remained to trace 
its general design. The patterns were all arranged in panels about 
5 ft. broad, extending the full width of the transepts ; each panel 
divided by bands of three rows of tiles laid square with the walls of 
the building, the tiles in the intermediate spaces being laid diagon- 
ally ; in each space a separate pattern, and the colours alternating, 
generally four tiles of each tint together. The plan of the centre 
chapel shows, at its lower right hand corner, this arrangement ; 
and it will be readily understood that when the great Abbey Church 
of Strata Florida was standing complete in all its glory, and before 
the devastation caused by Henry of Monmouth's archers and men- 
at-arms, that the effect must have been very rich and harmonious. 

S. W. Williams, F.R.I.B.A. 

Septembers, 1891. 

The late Charles Norris, Esq., of Waterwynch.- -No man has 
done better service to lovers of Tenby past and present^ than the late 
Mr. Charles Norris of Waterwynch. Unthinking strangers come to 
our town and say, " What a quaint old place !'* We middle-aged in- 
habitants laugh thereat, having seen nearly every house rebuilt. 
When Norris was at work, Tenby, from an archaeologist's or archi- 
tect's point of view, was an invaluable study. In the fifteenth cen- 
tury the town was, though small, one of the most thriving in Great 
Britain ; for here resided many really wealthy merchants, who did 
a considerable trade with Bristol, France, and Ireland ; a strong 
body of men-at arms grtrrisoned the Castle, and helped to circulate 
money; while the clergy of St. Mary's and the holy ladies of the 
Carmelite Convent probably brought more gold into the commu- 
nity. 

This state of great prosperity waned somewhat in the sixteenth 

^ This paper was written for a column which is published weekly in Hie 
Tenby Observer. 

6tH SIB., VOL. VIII. 20 



306 ARCH.EOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

century, but we have docnmentaiy evidence to prove that a large 
number of wealthy men still resided in streets which bore the same 
names they do to-day. In the seventeenth centnry came the 
deluge. Tenby was occnpied in 1642 by the Royalist Lord Car- 
bery, bombarded by the Parliamentarian Captain Swanley, taken 
and sacked by Rowland Langharne, the Parliamentarian, in 1644, 
and when he ratted, in 1 648, retaken and resacked by Colonel Hor- 
ton, Oliver Cromwell's lientenant. As may well be supposed, the 
wealthy merchants were killed, rained, or dispersed by this series 
of m'isfortunes, and their little town abandoned. Quite two-thirds 
of it must have been uninhabited, while the remainder was occu- 
pied by poor, half-starved fishermen. A trading vessel did continue 
running to Bristol, else the place would have Ijeen entirely forgot- 
ten. So poor and woe-begone were the Tenbyites of the eighteenth 
centuiy that they seem to have lost the instinct of destruction, and 
at the end of that century their town was a fossil relic handed down 
from the fifteenth ; shattered indeed by war, and defaced by time, 
but still easily read by an archeeologist. Nearly all that Tenby has 
passed away, and its very remembrance would have been clean for- 
gotten had it not been carefully and accurately recorded by Mr. 
Norris. 

Charles Norris, the younger son of a wealthy merchant, was born 
in the year 1779, probably in London, where his father resided. 
The family originally sprang from Warwickshire, and were related 
to the Savages, of which race came the mother of Walter Savage 
Landor. When Norris was quito a child he lost both father and 
mother, and having been well provided for by the deceased mer- 
chant, was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He does 
not seem to have taken » Degree at the University, but obtained a 
commission in the King's Dragoon Guards. While marching with 
his regiment through the town of Coventry, our young dragoon was 
smitten by the beaux yexix of Miss Sarah Saunders.^ He obtained 
an introduction, proposed, was accepted, and married her in the 
year 1800. Very soon military life lost its charm, and Norris sent 
in his papers. Robert Landor, younger brother to the poet, and dis- 
tant cousin to Charles Norris, was at this time his great friend. 

The Landers spent a good deal of time at Swansea and Tenby, 
and it seems not improbable it was at their suggestion tLac the 
young couple purchased a yacht (The Nautilus), and sailed in her 
to Milford, where they resided for some years. Charles Francis 
Greville had lately founded Milford, which was then expected to do 
groat things. 

After a ton years' sojourn on the banks of the Haven, Norris, 
again putting his worldly goods into the old Naiuilrs. sailed in her 

^ These Saunders were c. ve.y tUbDorn stock. Lawrence Saunders, the 
well-known martyr, was burnt at Coventry, in 1555, for ProtestantiBm, by 
Queen Mary ; and another ancestor, one Julius Saunders, suffered two years' 
imprisonment for Presbyterianism, under Charles II. 



ARCHiEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 307 

to Teuby, where he took a house in Bridge Strqet.^ Daring his 
residence in Bridge Street, Mr. Norris completed the chief work of 
his life. In 1810 he issued two numbers of a very ambitious work.* 
The design of this serial was that each number should contain six 
oblong folio plates. Each county, certain districts, towns, and even 
buildings (provided they produced sufficient matter for one number, 
were to be complete in themselves, so as to form a distinct publica- 
tion, and might be subscribed for separately. There was to be no 
truckling to gentility. No "modern seats, temples, or summer- 
houses" were to be introduced. Before this ill-starred publication 
was launched, the spirit of cynical independence notable in this last 
proviso somewhat delayed its appearance. 

In 1810 Sir Richard Colt Hoare reigned as leading antiquary of 
the day. He not only worked hard himsolf, but being a wealthy 
and liberal man was always prepared to assist brother archaeolo- 
gists. In his introduction to "The Architecture of St. David's" 
(the first number of The Architectural Antiquities of Wales) ^ Mr. 
Norris wrote : — " Sir Richard Colt Hoare, in his translation of 
Qiraldus Camhrensis, has also inserted several engravings. The com- 
mendation which he lavishes on so much exquisite architecture is 
just and appropriate. I wish that it were possible for me to speak 
with equal respect of Sir Richard's drawings. The worthy Baronet, 
in a more recent publication, exults rather too aristocratically in 
the advantage of a travelling carriage. The advantages are unde- 
niable, but the manner of exemplifying them is injudicious. He 
throws away disdainfully and impradently all apologies for his own 
imperfections, and leaves them, with good-natured contempt, as 
suitable or necessary alone to the jaded pedestrian." 

Some one (presumably his publisher) saw that such a paragraph 
would prove a very injudicious introduction to au expensive and 
specalative work, one which pretty well depended for success on 
the friends of Sir Richard Colt Hoare. So Norris was pressed to 
rewrite his introduction, omitting this objectionable paragraph; and 
oddly enough he gave way, although the original introduction was 
in type, and some numbers actually struck off. 

In 1811 the third instalment appeared, and the same year these 
three numbers, bound together, were offered to the public, the title- 
page of which ran : — 

" St. David's | in | a Series of Engravings | illustrating the dif- 
ferent I Ecclesiastical Edifices | of | that Ancient City | Being the 
three first Numbers of the | Architectural Antiquities of Wales | 
Published according to the general design, as a separate work for 
those purchasers who are not interested in the whole | By Charles 

^ It is at present divided into four tenements, adjoining Sparta Houses. 
Norris fitted it up, and to this day a cornice remains, said to have been de- 
signed by him. 

■ *'The I Architectural Antiquities | of | Wales | By Charles Norris, Esq. | 
Vol. I I Pembrokeshire | No. V | St. David's | Published by John Booth, 
Duke Street, Portland Place | Printed by William Savage, Bedfordbury | 
1810." 

202 



308 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

Noma, Esq. | London | Printed for John Booth, Dake Street, Port- 
land Place I By J. Bethell, Marshall Street, Golden Square | 
1811." 

The work is oblong folio, containing a frontispiece and seventeen 
plates. These were drawn by Norris, but etched by several hands, 
viz., J. Landseer, three; Letitia Byrne, four ; J. Rawle, five ; J. Pow- 
ell, two; J. Byrne, one; J. Rolfe, one; Elizabeth Byrne, one; 
W. Cooke, one. There is an introduction to H.II.H. George Augus- 
tus Frederick, the Prince of Wales, and twenty-two pages of letter- 
press. A most beautiful publication it is, doing the greatest possible 
credit to artist, author, engravers, and printers. Assuredly it did 
not repay the cost of the choice hand- woven paper on which it is 
printed. • 

It has been deemed necessary to enter into these dull details as 
book-collectors have been somewhat puzzled over this rare work. 
The same engravings and letterpress appearing under the dual 
headings of Architectural Antiquities of Wales and St. DaviiVs, dated 
1810 and 1811, caused confusion, which the partly suppressed in- 
troduction still further confounded. This big work fell still-born ; 
little or no encouragement was given. But printers, engravers, etc., 
required pnyment. Most folks would have given up in disgust ; 
but Charles Norris, with indomitable pluck, charactenstic of the 
man, took another course. He taught himself to use the graver, 
and in one short year had etched no less than forty of his own ori- 
ginal sketches of Tenby, and written descriptive matter filling 
sixty-nine demy quarto pages. So charmed was our author with 
his own economy, industry, and celerity, that he forthwith issued 
two synchronous editions of The Etchings of Tenhy; one a royal oc- 
tavo containing sixty-four pages of letterpress, as Stated above, and 
forty engravings ; the other a demy quarto, with the same matter 
on eighty- four pages.^ 

The drawings in this series are extremely accurate, as was all 
Norris' work. "Having taken the drawings", he writes, "and ex- 
ecuted the etchings myself, I am responsible for their fidelity ; and 
as this rare quality is, in all architectural publications, their prin- 
cipal merit, I rely on it as a compensation for any other deficiency 
for more ornamental and highly finished engraving, and for those 
attempts at picturesque effect to which accuracy is too often sacri- 
ficed." In Etchings of Tenhy the engraving was naturally very ama- 
teurish. The pictures are not suflSciently bitten in ; even the earliest 
impressions are in many cases blurred ; the later ones so indistinct 
that they are useless ; and as a work of art the book cannot be com- 
pared with the really beautiful St. David's series. Still, from the 

1 It has been supposed that the octavo was printed first, because some (if 
not all) of the copies lack the complete set of forty engravings contained in 
the quarto ; but as these etchings omitted to hear the same date (AprU \0, 
1812) as the others, it seems we must attribute the dual editions to the 
eccentricity of the author. Of course the ordinary course would have been 
to strike off some large paper copies. 



ARCH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 309 

arcliedologist's standpoint, Htchings of Tenby is bj far the more 
valuable work, for in it is accurately depicted the remains of a 
mediffival town, its fortifications, mansions, and cottages, which 
existed in a more or less perfect condition seventy years ago, but 
which would have been entirely forgotten had not Norris placed 
this record on our shelves ; while at St. David's, with the exception 
of a few details in the Palace, little or nothing has been destroyed, 
and many other pencils have been at work recording. 

In 1817 we find our author employed J. Rawle to engrave five 
drawings of Pembroke Castle, which, with a frontispiece and letter- 
press (neither of them seems to have been executed), were appa- 
rently to have formed a fourth number o? Antiquities of Wales. So 
far as the writer of these notes can discover, this number never 
appeared. These five Pembroke pictures were published jointly by 
Booth of Duke Street, and John Treble of Tenby and Pembroke. 
The latter (a bookseller) seems to have suggested to Mr. Norris that 
lie should write A Historical Account of Teiiby and its Vicihitt/, to 
serve as a local guide-book, and that it should be illustrated with 
views of the neighbourhood. He wrote the book, and sketched two 
pictures of Tenby, — one from the Hotel, the other from the sea ; 
Alanor Bear (sic) Castle, Pembroke, Pembroke Dock, and Carew. 
The book, however, appeared in 1818 without plates.^ In 1820 a 
so-called second edition was published, which contains the six plates 
and a map.^ This work was, in truth, no second edition, but the 
nnsold i*emainder of that published in 1818, provided with a new 
title-page, a map, and six plates. The errata, too, was removed 
from the end of the work to the beginning. Why it was not re- 
written is hard to say, seeing that it contains nearly as many errors 
as it professes to correct. The second issue of T/i£ Ilistorical Account 
of Tenby was our author's last literary venture. 

The memory of Charles Norris is preserved by his pencil, not his 
pen ; for thongh he wrote good crisp English, the subject-matter 
was mostly " compiled from the best authors", and his original 
theories were not happy, " Early Flemish Architecture" for instanca 

From an entry in the Minute-Book of the Tenby Corporation we 
find Mr. Norris rented a yard in Bridge Street from this body in 
1817 ; and that on October 16th of the same year he took up a lease 
of Waterwynch from Mr. Francis Sleeman, and that a new lease 
was granted to him (Mr. Norris) for sixty years, or three lives, the 
lessee binding himself to expend at least j£200 in building a house 
within two years from date of lease. 

In person Charles Norris was middle-sized, and very strong. An 

* "An Account of Tenby | containing | an Historical Sketch of the Place I 
compiled from tbebest authorities | and I a description of its present state | 
from recent observations I with particular notice of the various | objects of 
interest in its J vicinity | Pembroke | Printed by W. Wilmot for John Treble, 
Pembroke and Tenby | Sold also by Messrs. Longman Hurst | Bees Owen 
and Brown, London | 1818." 

• The latter published by Richard Laurie. Fleet Street ; the former en- 
graved by D. Havell, and published by Treble. 



310 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

excellent pedestrian, he tramped the country, with easel on back, 
from Stnimble Head to Monkstone Point, thinking nothing of a 
•walk from Tenby to St. David's ; and occasionally journeying on 
foot to Swansea, that he might visit his cousins, the Landers, then 
residents in that town. Walter Savage Landor was in Paris in the 
year 1802, and writes from thence to his sister Elizabeth: "I stood 
within six or eight yards of Bonaparte for a quarter of an hour. 
His countenance is not of that fierce cast which you see in prints, 
and which, perhaps, it may assume in battle. His figure and com- 
plexion are nearly like those of Charles Norris." 

Our author particularly prided himself on independence, and, 
like his cousin Landor, carried this virtue to a point that verged 
closely on eccentricity. When Mr. Jacob Richards, of Croft House, 
leased the Croft from the Tenby Corporation, he put a padlock on a 
little wicket-gate then standing at the north end. Mr. Norris wrote 
a Ruspiciously civil note to Mr. Griffiths, the Town Clerk, request- 
ing him and Mr. Richards to come to the gate next day, and talk 
the matter over. On their arrival these gentlemen found Mr. Nor- 
ris already on the ground, armed with a large hammer. Without 
a word he knocked off the padlock, and then threw it with all his 
might at the Town Clerk, hitting that unfortunate official on his 
waistcoat. " Please make a note of that, sir", he said, " and kindly 
place the padlock among the archives of Tenby.** Norris then 
shouldering his hammer, marched back in triumph to Waterwynch. 

In 1838 Colonel Owen (now Sir Hugh) resigned the Pembroke 
Boroughs, and Sir James Graham was asked to stand, as it was 
considered he would prove a valuable " Dockyard Member.** Nomi- 
nally a Tory, he was known to hold extremely Liberal views on cer^ 
tain points, so it was thought he might be carried without cont-est 
by a local coalition of parties. With this object in view invitations 
were issued from some of the country houses to representative 
gentlemen of both parties, asking them to dine with Sir James. 
One of these " happy family" feasts was held at Lamphey Court, at 
which Mr. Norris was requested to attend. In those days etiquette 
was all-powerful; and in a case of this sort, where every man ex- 
pected to meet his own particular pet political aversion, he natu- 
rally arrayed himself most punctiliously. Fancy the host's horror 
on seeing Mr. Norris arrive in a morning coat and a pair of ante- 
diluvian whi<e pantaloons tied with ribbons round the ankles ! Of 
course this attire was chosen with malice prepense, for a man who 
had been educated at Eton and Oxford, and subsequently held a 
commission in the King's Dragoon Guards, knew well enough what 
a commotion his eccentric toilette would create among the stiff, 
starched guests assembled at that solemn festival. 

Besides his published works, Mr. Norris left a vast collection of 
beautiful architectural drawings. These have been, to a great ex- 
tent, dispersed ; but his son, Mr. R. Norris of Rhode Wood House, 
Saundersfoot, still preserves a good many. 

John, the elder brother of our author, succeeded to the now his- 



ARCH^:OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 311 

torio house of Hughenden, Backs; bat dying without issue, it 
passed to the Lewis family, through whom it oame into possession 
of the late Lord Beacons Held. 

By his first wife, Miss Saunders, Charles Norris had thirteen 
children, four sons and nine daughters. Of these, two only survived 
him. By his second vrife, Miss Harris, he had three children, two 
sons and one daughter, of whom one son and the daughter survived. 

Charles Norris died in his house of Waterwynch, near Tenby, in 
1858, and was buried in the Tenby Cemetery. Bequiescat in pace, 

E. Laws. 

The Congress op Archj:o logical Societies. — The third Annual 
Congress of Archaeological Societies in union with the Society of 
Antiquaries was held at Burlington House on Thursday, July 23rd, 
Dr. Evans, F.R.S., the President of the Society of Antiquaries, in 
the chair. 

The first subject for discussion was the extension of the Ancient 
Monuments Act. General Pitt-Rivers remarked that he was ap- 
pointed to the office of Inspector of Ancient Monuments at the time 
of the passing of the Act in 1882, and after seven years* experience 
of this permissive Act, the action of the Government became so 
passive that, as owners were no longer encouraged to put more 
monnments under control, he ofiered to resign his position ; but 
eventually he consented to retain it nominally, thoagh drawing no 
salary. He must confess the Act was not doing, and had not done, 
a great deal of good, althougli it had been successful to a certain 
extent. The best of the owners were persuaded to place their pre- 
historic monuments under the operations of the Act without much 
difficulty ; bnt over those who wished to destroy, or who were culp- 
ably careless, he had no control. Then, again, the full penalty of 
£5 was absurdly inadequate. Whilst recognising the great care 
taken by most landowners, and anxious not to unduly interfere with 
the rights of property, he thought the Government should have 
some power to veto destruction. 

The Chtdrman (Dr. Evans) spoke more especially on the subject 
of Sir John Lubbock's Bill of the present session, whereby he pro- 
poses to extend the permissive clauses of the Act of 1882 to monu- 
ments of a later date, and reported that the Society of Antiquaries 
had supported the principle of the Bill by a resolution in March 
1891. He also stated that in 1872, at the saggestion of the then 
First Commissioner of Works, the Society of Antiquaries had, with 
much trouble, di*awn up an elaborate list of sepulchral monuments 
throughout tlio kingdom that were specially worthy of national 
care ; but nothing further came of it. 

General Pitt- Rivers fully agreed that many of our medisDval 
monuments and remains were quite as worthy (if not more so) of 
preservation as those that were termed prehistoric, and said that he 
wished some veto-power on destruction could be devised to save 



312 ARCHiEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

the medieaval as well as the early moDnments ; bat he thought that 
it was only very occasionally that Vandalism occurred, and that it 
would not be fair to the landowners, or satisfactory to the tax- 
payers, to attempt to alienate from private estates those portions 
whereon stood so many historic ruins. 

The Rev. C. R. Manning instanced Norfolk cases of destruction, 
and Chancellor Ferguson spoke of the disastrous use of Bewcastle 
as a quarry for building stones. 

Dr. Cox said he was disposed to go farther than the Inspector of 
Ancient Monuments. A power of veto would often be of no good. 
The remains might be permanently defaced or removed before any 
authority could be set in motion. If, however, a schedule was drawn 
up of those monuments which were not to be touched or destroyed, 
under some very heavy penalty, even without the nation acquiring 
the site, much good might be done. But something ought also to 
be done with regard to those fine remains, the owners of which 
either wilfully or ignorantly permitted their steady deterioration. 
He instanced the extensive and famed ruins of Rievaulx Abbey. 
During the five years he had lived in that neighbourhood he had 
been a frequent visitor ; and although the owner (the Earl Fevers- 
ham) now charged one shilling entrance, sad deterioration was 
noticeable year by year, particularly in the walls of the noble fratry. 
Lord Feversham would, doubtless, never permit active Vandalism ; 
but it was an almost equivalent evil, though the motive was differ- 
ent, to suffer great trees to grow up in the walls, and immense 
masses of ivy to overhang, so that every gale of wind shook and dis- 
lodged the masonry. The only piece of the original stone groining 
of the roof now remaining would almost certainly perish from this 
cause before another season. If owners, noble or otherwise, neg- 
lected to maintain such historic monuments, the State should step 
in, take charge, and do the necessary work. 

The Dean of Winchester said that he thoroughly supported Dr. 
Cox, for he had smarted much through the neglect and carelessness 
of those owning historic remains. The right of inspection and the 
right of registration of ail such monuments required much exten- 
sion. Because any one had accidentally been born in the possession 
of, or had afterwards acquired, that which was of ancient, historic 
interest, the fact did not in the slightest degree justify careless or 
wanton treatment. The State was the true owner, and should pre- 
serve them for the people and for the nation at large. He men- 
tioned that the new and excellent Bishop of Winchester, desiring to 
live closer to his work, was wishful to dispose of a palace that had 
been King Alfred's, and that possessed various Anglo-Saxon re- 
mains. If it were sold, it was quite possible that a road would be 
driven over the site, and this ancient building destroyed. The 
State ought to have the power instantly to step in, and check such 
action. His views might be, and were to a great exttnt, Socialistic ; 
but it was only by the operation of such views that national monu- 
ments could be preserved for the nation. 



ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 313 

Mr. Oarnett., C.B., spoke of instances of gross mistreatmont of 
monuments during chareh restorations in Wales. 

Mr. St. John Hope pointed ont that one reason why so many 
ancient monuments had not been placed under the present Act was 
that the owners could see no appreciable danger or decay in earth- 
works such as Old Sarum, or in rude stone monuments such as 
Stonehenge ; but if the principle was extended to the best of medi- 
ceval stonework, he felt sure that owners, who regretted the deteri- 
oration that they noticed year by year, would be glad to put such 
buildings under State control and repair. 

Mr. Ralph Nevill, F.S.A., thought that many of the intelligent 
middle class were more alive to the value of the remains under dis- 
cussion than tlie landowners. 

Eventually, afler further discussion, and after it had been stated 
that Sir John Lubbock would probabl7 reintroduce a similar measure 
next session, the two following resolutions were unanimously car- 
ried: — 

*' That this Congress, having taken into consideration the draft of 
a Bill to extend the Ancient Monuments Protection Act, 1882, beg 
to express to Sir John Lubbock their approval of the principles 
therein involved. 

*' That in the opinion of this Congress it is desirable that the 
Government should have some powers that would enable them to 
prevent the destruction of ancient monuments by the owners, whe- 
ther private or corporate.*' 

The next question was Parish Registers and Records. At the 
last Congress a strong Committee was appointed to deal with this 
question, of which Dr. Fresh field, V.P.S.A., is Chairman, and Mr. 
Ralph Nevill is Hon. Secretary. Mr. Nevill read the Report and 
suggestions, and expressed a hope that they would soon be able to 
issue an alphabet of register-characters, and also a list of all the 
Registers that had been printed, which list the Societies in union 
might like to bind up with their respective Proceedinga 

In the discussion that followed, Mr. Green, F.S.A., spoke in 
favour of the old suggestion of bringing all Parish Registens to 
London ; but this was promptly opposed by Chancellor Ferguson, 
who evidently carried most of the Congress with him. Eventually 
it was agreed ''That the Report of the Parish Registers and Records 
Committee be received, and the Committee continued, and that a 
sum of £5 be placed at their disposal." 

It was also agreed that each Society in union pay a subscription 
of one guinea towards the expenses of the Congress. 

The continuation of the Archesological Survey of England on the 
lines laid down by Mr. George Payne in his Map of Kent was 
brought before the meeting. The President announced that the 
map and index to the archaeology of Hertfordshire, which he was 
preparing, would be issued during the next few months. Chancellor 
Ferguson reported good progress with regard to the survey of 
Cumberland and Westmoreland ; the index, covering fifty-two 



314 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

pages, being already in type. It was also stated that the surveys 
of Berkshire and Surrey were actively progressing. This is one 
good result that has already ensued from these Congresses. 

The next subject brought before the Congress was a classified 
index of archa3ological papery. Upon this question there was at 
first considerable divergence of opinion, some being in favour of all 
the Societies contributing an account of their papers year by year 
to a scientific and archseological year-book of a particular pub- 
lisher, whilst the majority wished that the work should be entrusted 
to some known antiquary, and that the result should be sent annu- 
ally to the difierent Societies. At last, as a compromise, the follow- 
ing resolution was adopted by a considerable majority : — 

"That this meeting is of opinion that it is desirable that the 
index, as suggested, should be prepared under the authority of the 
Congress, and that the best method of carrying this out be referred 
to the Standing Committee." 

The question of a memorial to the Government for a grant to- 
wards constructing models of ancient monuments was, at the sug- 
gestion of General Pitt- Rivers, deferred. 

The Standing Committee for the Societies in Union, for the cur- 
rent year, was next elected. It consists of the officers of the Society 
of Antiquaries ; E. P. Loftus Brock, F.S.A. ; the Rev. J. C. Cox, 
LL.D., F.S.A. ; W. Cunnington, F.G.S. ; the Rev. P. H. Ditchfield ; 
Chancellor Ferguson, F.S.A. ; G. L. Gomme, F.S.A.; H. Gosselin ; 
Ralph Nevill, F.S.A ; George Payne, F.S.A. ; and Earl Percy, 
V.P.S.A. 

After an adjournment the Congress resumed, when the Director 
of the Society of Antiquaries (Mr. Milman) took the chair, whilst 
the President (Dr. Evans) delivered an interesting, humorous, and 
comprehensive address " On the Forgery of Antiquities." He said 
that it was mainly founded upon a paper on this subject that he 
read before the Royal Institution twenty-five years ago, and printed 
in. their Transactions; but he pleaded that for that very reason it 
would be sure to be original to his hearers, as that was a sure pro- 
cess of consigning it to oblivion. 

" The economic law of supply equalling the demand was as tTue 
of antiquities as of anything else, and it seemed always to be the 
case that, if there was any keen demand for possession of any par- 
ticular class of antiques, in due course gentlemen were found who 
were sufliciently obliging in exercising their talents to ensure all 
being gratified with that which they coveted. It should be remem- 
bered that there were both counterfeits and forgeries. The counter- 
feit was a reproduction of something genuine, whilst the pure for- 
gery was the invention of a something that had never existed at the 
time to which it was assigned. Literary forgeries had been nume- 
rous. There were the &lse Gospels, and the inventions of Chatter- 
ton and Ireland, whilst quite within their own time there had been 
the publication of Shakspearean glosses which were certainly not 
above considerable suspicion. Forged inscriptions were very old 



ARGHi£OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 315 

ways of attempting to deceive the tinwapy. Tbree centuries ago 
there was a rage for the production of highly imaginative Roman 
inscriptions, one of the most comical of which was a memorial of 
Tarqnin to his dearest wife Lucretia. Roman pottery, gennine 
enoagh in itself, has often been made the vehicle of inscriptions 
added to enhance its value, whilst Roman tiles have been punctured 
with legionary marks added centuries after they were baked in the 
kiln. 

"Antique gems have long been the subjects of most ingenious 
counterfeits ; but some of the really beautiful work in this direction, 
of the seventeenth, sixteenth, and even fifteenth centuries has appa- 
rently been done as a reproduction with certain added features, 
rather than with any intention to deceive. Many examples, too, of 
genuine classic work have been added to or altered to suit the 
times; such as the addition of a nimbus to a beautiful female an- 
tique cameo bust, in order to change it into a representation of the 
Blessed Virgin. Very few collections of Etruscan and Greek vases 
can be inspected by the practised eye without the detection of some 
fraudulent examples, or of those that have been 'improved' in 
modern times. The majolica of Palissy has been so successfully re- 
produced of late years, that it is difficult to detect sometimes the 
falsity of examples that claim to be the original ware. Wonderful 
ingenuity has been expended on china ; plain examples, for instance, 
of genuine Sevres, incontestably marked, have been scraped, and 
royal colours and special devices have been applied in fresh paste, 
and successfully fii*ed. Limoges enamels are another fruitful source 
of fraudulent imitation, whereby a rich harvest has been secured 
from the unwary. Some exhibited as genuine at the recent Man- 
chester Exhibition were detected. Ancient glass has not often been 
exposed to the forger's art ; but even here false incrustations have 
been Bometimes skilfully applied to give an appearance of extreme 
age. 

" Coins, as might be expected, are one of the most fruitful 
sources of fraud. There is a great variety of ancient base coins, 
both counterfeit and altered. Some of the early and contemporary 
counterfeits occasionally possess almost as much interest as the ori- 
ginals, if not mor& The gold and silver coins of most of the empe- 
rors were reproduced plated on iron or on some heavy base metal ; 
and it is curious to note that prominent amongst these clever for- 
gers were our ancestors the ancient Britons, of whose productions 
the speaker possessed several examples in his own collection. Some 
amusingly ingenious coins bore their confutation on the face, save 
to the most credulous ; as, for instance, a head of Priam with a 
view of Troy on the reverse ; and Dr. Evans thought he had seen 
Dido with the reverse occupied by Carthage ! Sovereigns for whose 
memory there was any popular sentiment were generally well 
supplied with coinage. Mary Queen of Scots was singularly well 
off in this respect, whilst coins were extant declaring Lady Jane 
Grey Queen of England ; which would, of course, be of surpassing 



316 ARCH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

interest provided they were genuine. Richard Coeur de Lion was 
a most popular monarch in English estimation ; at all events now 
that centuries remove us from his time. Cabinets of coins lacked 
any of this reign ; but an ingenious forger of the name of Singleton 
undertook to supply them, only, unfortunately for the success of his 
scheme, he reproduced details of the pennies of William I and II, 
which were too early for the time of Kichard. (Here, amid much 
amusement, the President produced a coin that he said would have 
been that of Richard I if he had produced any. It was one that he 
himself had constructed by using dies that he had specially en- 
graved on a worn fourpenny piece of William IV !). The fact is 
that Richard had no coins of his own, but continued to reproduce 
those of his father Henry. Coins fairly old in themselves have 
often been used as the medium of greater age : thus a crown of 
Elizabeth is extant showing through the lettering an only partially 
obliterated * Gulielmus Tertius'. Becker, at the end of last century, 
was the clever engraver of a number of counterfeit Greek and 
Roman coins. To give the requisite surface of worn age to his 
productions, it was his ingenious method to enclose his specimens 
in a box containing a number of iron filings, and then to take the 
box out for a drive or two on the jolting roads of his day ! After 
Becker had supplied so large a number of his counterfeits as almost 
to glut the market, he coolly turned round and confessed, and 
turned an honest penny by producing sets of his dies, so that now 
there are few of our large collections that do not possess specimens 
of Becker's dies. 

"Another style of prevalent deceit is the finding of coins in special 
localities. This is peculiarly the case with London, where there is 
hardly ever an excavation for foundations but coins (often of the 
most absurdly unlikely description, such as Greek or Alexandrian, 
and sometimes of quite a modern date) are * found* by clever work- 
men, sometimes at fabulous depths. Some thirty years ago there 
was a large manufactory of * old' lead and pewter articles said to be 
found during the construction of the Docks at Shadwell. Reliquaries 
and impossible heart-shaped vessels were turned out, on which a 
date was generally stamped of the eleventh or twelfth century ; but 
they blundered in giving the year in Arabic numerals two or three 
centuries before such numerals were in use. These forgeries were 
sown almost everywhere, and notwithstanding their clumsiness 
(several examples were produced for the benefit of the Congress) 
evidently commanded a good market. The President said that he 
had even had these things of "cock metal** sent over to him from 
. the diamond fields of South Africa, where it was alleged they had 
been disinterred at a depth of 3 ft. from the surface. Mr. Keed, 
Fome years ago, laid a trap for these gentlemen. He inquired of 
some of the workmen in London who were in the habit of produc- 
ing these things if it was true that they had found one with the 
figure of a bishop upon it No; they had seen nothing of it. Then 
producing paper and pencil, he drew the kind of thing he meant 



ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 317 

with letiering below. Ah, yes ! they believed one of their mates 
had turned up something a bit like it, and they would try to find 
him. Accordingly, in a day or two, a corroded quasi relic was pro- 
duced to Mr. Reed with the effigy of a bishop thereon ; and lo ! be- 
low the figure they had pnt his own lettering of * Sanctus Fabrica- 
tus'! This trade in 'cock-metal' seems now to have dropped out, 
and fabrications in brass have taken its place. An ancient dagger 
was produced of recent manufacture, and several members of the 
Congress testified to having seen, or had offered to them, like ex- 
amples. 

'* Carvings in ivory, both of ecclesiastical and classical designs, 
are not uncommon modern forgeries. As an example of the latter 
class Dr. Evans produced a small long-toothed comb, on the handle 
portion of which were a wolf and Romnlns and Remus cleverly 
carved in a snnk medallion. This, he said, was a modern forgery 
from the Rhine district. The forged ecclesiastical ivories are pro- 
duced in the south of France. Seals have been sometimes forged, 
particularly those of a rare kind, such as those engraved on jet. 

" The operations of * Flint Jack' and other less skilful followers of 
his trade are well known in their imitations of flint and stone imple- 
ments. Perhaps the cleverest work ever accomplished by * Flint 
Jack' was the working of a fossil alleged to be t^ken out of the 
chalk. Of late a school of forgers have been at work in the neigh- 
bourhood of Epping, producing polished stone hatchets, of which 
some examples were exhibited. They can, however, be detected 
without much trouble by the practised eye, because they are pro- 
duced on revolving grindstones, whilst the original were patiently 
polished and worked on fiat stones. Flint arrow-heads were a 
speciality of the notorious * Flint Jack'; but the President was able 
to produce two such perfect examples of his own forging that they 
were calculated to deceive even the most experienced. They had 
been worked by him as experiments. One of them was the result 
of pressure applied from pieces of stag's horn, and the other Was 
formed from old stone tools. 

"Palaeolithic weapons and implements from the gravel-drift have 
also been made largely in modern days. They can usually be de- 
tected by the absence of— (1) lime incrustations, and the discolor- 
ation thereby produced ; of (2) dendritic markings that look like 
tracings of twigs, but are caused by manganese ; or of (3) bright 
spots where they have been brought into contact with other flints. 
At Amiens, however, the workmen who dispose of these palsaolithio 
implements have discovered an ingenious way of producing the 
action of water as a solvent on the freshly chipped edges of their 
counterfeit^^. Their plan is to let these stones lie for months in the 
boilers by the side of their stoves before offering them for sale. The 
favourite reproduction of the bronze age is the socketed celt ; but 
one of the simplest wayd of detecting the counterfeits is through 
their being made of too heavy metal." 

At the conclusion of this address, which war. obviously much ap- 



318 AROH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

preciated, a brief discussion took place, Mr. Milmfin noticing some 
of the forgeries in connection with old plate and plate-marks; 
Chancellor Ferguson pointing out that sometimes, without any 
fraudulent intent, old inscriptions had been renewed on later plate ; 
and Mr. E. P. Loftus Brock, F.S.A., expressing a hope that illus- 
trations of the more common modern frauds might be circulated 
among the different Societies. 

The last question was " Field-Names", upon which Dr. Cox (chief 
originator of these Congresses) read a brief paper, adding certain 
extemporary remarks and suggestions. The chief value of the 
paper lay in the information it gave as to the whereabouts of the 
old award, or enclosure- maps, as well as the later tithe-commutation 
maps, showing where duplicate copies are or ought to be kept, in 
case those that should be in the parish chest are missing or stolen. 
He showed how often, and how entirely illegally, these maps found 
their way to solicitors' o£5ces, or to the agents of big estates. He 
recommended that the different county Societies should take up the 
highly important and most valuable question of field-names, mark- 
ing them on the larger sheets of the Ordnance Survey. 

At the conclusion of Dr. Cox's paper and remarks he was asked 
by Mr. Seth Smith and others to publish that which he had stated, 
a course which it seems desirable should be followed. It was con- 
sidered that the subject should be taken up specially at some future 
Congress when more progress had been made with the arch»ologi- 
cal surveys. 

Dr. Cox promised to produce next year maps of his own parish 
and of adjoining districts filled up in the way that he thought was 
desirable. — Athenaeum^ Aug. 1, 1891. 



Caediganshire Ikscribed Stones. — It gives me great pleasure to 
learn that the interest taken in the preservation of the early Chris- 
tian and inscribed stones of Wales has induced a new worker in the 
field, Mr. J. W. Willis-Bund, to form a collection of photographs of 
those still existing in Cardiganshire ; and I am happy to find that 
one at least not previously known is now recorded in the paper on 
that subject published in the Jalj Number of the Archceologia Cam- 
brensiSf p. 233. 

1 think it is unnecessary for me to say that I have always been 
ready to admit of correction in respect to my figures of these ancient 
relics published in the Arch. Gamb., where and when any of them 
were found, on subsequent examination, to be incorrect ; but in the 
case of the three stones mentioned in the report of Mr. Willis- 
Bund's researches I object to be thus criticised. 

1. The Pont Vaen Stone (p. 234), described and figured in the 
Lapidarium Wallice, p. 139, PI. Lxvi, fig. 2 (of which no description 
or figure has hitherto appeared in the Arch. Camb.). My short but 
careftil description stated that it had been " found during the Lam- 
peter Meeting of the Cambrian Archadological Association in August 



ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 319 

1878, embedded into the wall of the south-west angle of the cottage 
at Pont Vaen, half a mile west of Lampeter, just where the road to 
Aberaeron branches from the Newcastle-Emlyn road. It is about 
6 ft. high, half being buried^ in the angle of the wall of the cottage, 
and the other hnlf forming part of the wall of the adjoining en,' 
closure, into which it had evidently formed one of the gate-posts, 
one of the staples still remaining on the north side of the stone, 
below which is the figure of a cross formed of simple, doable in- 
cised lines, the left hand limb of which is hidden in the wall of the 
cottage. It is said to have been brought from the neighbouring 
PeterwelL It was first mentioned and figured by Mr. Worth ington 
G. Smith in the Gardener's Chronicle^ Sept. 21, 1878", in which, after 
speaking of the great yews in Lampeter churchyard, he says, ** I was 
reminded of this tree again a day or two afterwards, on passing an 
inn called * The Sexton's Arms.' Not far from the church is an early 
Cliristian stone from Peterwell, formerly used as a gate-post ; and 
now, with its back to the road, it stands half embedded in an old 
cottage-wall. One half of an incised cross can still be seen, and it 
is by no means impossible that the stone bears some inscription on 
one of its hidden faces." (P. 36y.) A woodcut is given of the stone, 
corresponding exactly, as will be seen on comparison with my figure. 
Lap. Wall., PI. Lxvi, fig. 2, 1. 

On comparing the above descriptions with the statement con- 
cerning the " Pontfaen" Stone' given on p. 234, it is quite evident 
that Mr. W. Bund has, notwithstanding my very careful descrip- 
tion, missed the stone figured by myself and Mr. Worthington 
G. Smith, and that the stone which he found lying on the road- 
side at Pontfaen has not previously been recorded, and that it is 
most probably the corresponding post of the entrance into the 
enclosure mentioned by me in my above quoted description, and 
miscalled by Mr. W. Bund a field. 

2. The "Idnert", Llanddowibrefi, Stone {Lap. Wall, p. 140, PI. 
LXViii, fig. 3). Mr. W. Bund adds nothing to my description ex- 
cept that the letter " d" in " Idnert** is broken through, and that 
"after *filius' the letter *i\follow8 a mark which may represent AC 
or AG." In my description it is stated that " after the word * filius' 
is the letter ^ i* followed by marks which may possibly represeut the 
letters AC or ao.** The correction of this misquotation is of conse- 
quence with reference to the name iacobi, suggested as that of a 
supposed saint, as doubtingly read by Dr. Hiibner. The inscription 
is read by Mr. W. Bund — 

" Idnert filius i[ap1 
Fuit propter p[nj" ? 

It is to be hoped that the photograph will show us which is the 
correct reading. 

1 Mr. Willis-Band misquotes my description in stating that this stone is 
broken through the middle. 
* Not to be confounded with the Pontfaen stone, Fishguard. 



320 ARCH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

3. The stone in Llanddewibrefi chnrchyard (copied by me in Lap. 
Wall., p. 139, PL Lxvi, fijar. 4, from the Rev. H. L. Jones' drawings) 
agrees with Mr. W. Bund's description, except tliat the cross is split 
through the middle, not on one side it, as there shown. 

Mr. W. Bund closes his observations with the remark that the 
stones which he described showed the necessity for a revised list of 
the Cardiganshire stones ; and although he was afraid in many 
instances photographs will be hardly satisfactory, yet they will pro- 
bably be more so than anything else. To which I must reply, from 
the experience which I have had in treating photographs artisti- 
cally, that a good rubbing is superior to a photograph in represent- 
ing the irregularities and marks on sculptured or inscribed stones. 

I. 0. Westwood. 

Oxford, 18 July 1891. 

Quern found near Lampeter. — The upper stone of a quern or 
handmill for grinding corn, here illustrated, was found in pulling 
down a wall at Cellars, near an ancient British camp. It is 1 ft. 
2^ in. diameter. 

W. E. Davet. 






^fTh 



Reputed Coffin of Conan M^riadec. — The stone coflBn here 
illustrated by Mr. Worthington G. Smith was seen by the members 
of the Cambrian Archeeological Association on the occasion of their 
visit to St. Pol de Leon during the Brittany Meeting in 1889.^ This 
remarkable relic is placed against the south wall of the south aisle 
of the nave of the Cathedral, being supported on two rectangular 
pillars, one at each end. The coffin consists of a rectangular block 
of granite hollowed out in the usual way. It is 7 ft. 8 in. long by 
2 ft. 3 in., to 2 ft. 4 in. wide, by 2 ft. deep, outside ; and 6 ft. 1 in. 
long, by 1 ft. 5 in. to 1 ft. 8 in. wide, by 1 ft. 1 in. deep, inside. The 

> See Arch, Camh., 5th Ser., vol. vii, p. 162. 



ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 321 

four vertical &ces are ornamented with scalpture in low relief as 
follows : — 

North Side, — A coventional tree within a round-headed panel, 
next the east end ; and an arcade of five semicircnlar arches spring- 
ing from flat pilasters having stepped capitals like those to be seen 
in Saxon architectnre. The spandrels are filled in with conventional 
foliage, and there is a narrow band of geometrical ornament run- 
ning roand the inside of each of the arches, and horizontally across 
between the capitals. The ornament consists of chevrons, a Z key- 
pattern, a row of lozenges, etc. 

South Side, — A similar design to that on the north side, but hid- 
den against the wall. 

East End.— An ornamental cross with spiral terminations to the 
arms, and snrronnded by eight raised bosses on a sank background. 

West End, — A conventional tree. 

The coffin is now used as a holy water-vessel. The cover has dis- 
appeared ; but according to a writer of the seventeenth century it 
wag inscribed, in ancient characters, "Hie jacet Conanus Britonum 
Bex." The style of the art shows the coffin to be of the eleventh 
or even twelfth century, so it is quite impossible that it can be the 
tomb of Conan M^riadec, the first King of the Britons, who is sup- 
posed to have lived in the fourth century. Even the existence of 
Conan himself is doubtful. 

J. R. A. 

Interesting Discoveries at Mold. — Some most inteitesting dis- 
coveries of very ancient ruins have been lately made at the Bailey 
Hill, Mold. Agreeably with a request from the Committee of the 
Welsh National Eisteddfod, Rhyl, upon the instructions of the 
Local Board some of the scavengers of the town were put to work 
on the grounds of the Bailey Hill for the purpose of finding a stone 
for the Bardic Circle. The men commenced to dig on the summit 
of the hill with this object, and afler going 3 or 4 ft. deep came 
across a large quantity, of stone, and being ordered to proceed with 
their work discovered a wall and part of a circle. They were then 
authorised to resume their work in another direction. Operations 
were afterwards made at the foot of the Hill, where their labours 
were still more successful. Here, with but little exploration, a wall 
6 ft. in width was found, and a number of human bones were taken 
from the soil. Some little distance away another wall was exposed, 
which measured no loss than 10 ft. in width. The walls are parallel, 
with a space of about 4 yards between, and are supposed to be an 
entrance to a tower embedded in the soil, and covered with trees. 
Much interest is taken in the discovery by the inhabitants. 



Carving at Kidwelly Castle. — In view of the discovery of a 
piece of carving on a wall of Kidwelly Castle, it may be of interest 
5th skb. vol. vm. 21 



322 ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

to state that the Castle was built by William de Londres, a Norman 
knight, soon after the Conquest. It was destroyed in 1093 by 
Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, and was rebuilt in 1190 by Rhys, Prince of 
South Wales. It was again demolished ; this time by Rhys, son of 
Gruffvdd ap Rhys; and being once more erected, it underwent 
various changes till it fell into the hands of the Crown. It was 
given by Henry VII to Sir Rice ap Thomas, whose monument 
is in St. Peter's Church, Carmarthen. 

Of the finding of the carving a correspondent writes: " Last Sun- 
day a friend made a discovery in Kidwelly Castle. I went there 
yesterday afternoon to have a look at it. I lit a candle, and had a 
good look round, but could not find anything for a long while. I 
gave np the hunt, and was on the point of leaving when I hit upon 
the carving. Inside one of the most perfect towers, and in a very 
dark corner, there are remains of a hunting scene cut in the stone 
and mortar. A hound is distinctly seen, then a hunter on horseback, 
the rider holding the reins with one hand, and in his right is held 
out straight something which I cannot make out. The horse seems 
to be galloping. The Saturday Review says that the chapel in the 
Castle was built by King John, who was fond of visiting Kid- 
welly." 



Doa-ToNas at Cltnnoo Fawr Church, Caernarvonshire. — The 
dog- tongs is an article of church furniture which, owing to the 
changed habits of church-goers since the last century, has now 
fallen entirely into disuse, so that specimens are rarely to be met 
with. One from Llanynys Church, Denbighshire, was exhibited at 
the Wrexham Meeting in 1874, and another from Clodock Church, 
Herefordshire, was exhibited at the Abergavenny Meeting in 1876. 
The latter is described by Archdeacon Thomas in an interesting 
notice in the Arch. Camb. (4th Ser., vol. viii, p. 212), in which he 
mentions incidentally the existence of another example at Gyflylliog. 

It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to explain that the object of the 
instrument was the ejection from the building of dogs that might 
render themselves objectionable by their bad behaviour during 
Service. The mechanical principle of the apparatus is that of the 
** lazy tongs" with which some of us are more familiar. The tongs 
consist of a series of bars pivoted together at the ends and in the 
middle, so as to form a piece of lattice- work which can be extended 
or compressed at will by pushing the handles at the end of the 
lattice-work either together or apart. 

The operation of extending the lattice brings the jaws at the end 
of the tongs furthest from the handle together with a snap, so as to 
render the seizing of an object at a short distance quite easy. The 
end of the tongs appears to shoot out with great velocity when the 
handles are pressed together, for each individual lozenge of the lat- 
tice becomes longer, and is at the same time pushed forward by the 
increasing of the length of the lozenges behind it. The velocity 



ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 



323 



thas accnmnlates all the way from the handle to the jaws of the 
tongs. 

The ignominious and, no doubt, rather cruel method of expelling 
the canine oflTender is thus graphically described by Archdeacon 
Thomas : " The dog-tongs had only to be taken off the seat on 
which they lay so innocently, and the handles brought quickly toge- 
ther, when out shot the jointed folds and arms, and in an instant 
seized the helpless wretch around the neck or leg, and without dan- 
ger or ceremony extiruded him from the place." 

The dog-tongs mentioned in Archdeacon Thomas* paper are of 







^25 


^m \%^ 









Dog-Tongs ia Clynnog-Fawr Churoh, Caernarvonshire. 



wood ; 



; but the pair at Clynnog Fawr Church, here illustrated, is of 
iron. This example was seen by the members during the Caernar- 
von Meeting in 1877. Its perfect state of preservation and dated 
inscription make it particularly interesting. The instrument con- 
sists of six bars three-quarters of an inch wide by three-sixteenths 
of an inch thick, jointed at the ends and in the middle, so as to 
form a lattice, with two lozenges in the middle and a half-lozenge 
at each end. The pivots are six inches and a half apart, centre and 
centre. The jaws are furnished with a set of four teeth at each side, 
which are ingeniously arranged so that a tooth on one side is oppo- 
site a space between two teeth on the other side. One of the bars 
with the handle at the end of it is inscribed 



324 



ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 



(Revd. H. Williams, Vicar 



1 1 W. I Wars 1815 
I. L W. I., Churchwardeiifl,1815.) 



Any member who has notes relating to churches where dog-tongs 
still exist, or reference in church accounts to such things, is re- 
quested to communicate with the Editor. 

J. R. A. 



Inscribed Stone at Southhill, Cornwall. — In the Rectory gar- 
den at Southhill, Churchtown, which is about three miles north- 
west of the market town of Callington, the interesting discovery 
has just been made of another of those ancient inscribed stones 
which furnish material for the speculation of searchers who are 
learned in antiquarian lore. 







Inscribed Stone at Southhill, Cornwall. 

Mr. J. T. Blight, in his Ancient Crosses of Cornwall, mentions that 
a cross stood "in the garden of the Rectory, Southhill'*, which was 
similar to the one illustrated |by^him, and standing at Higher Drift 
in the parish of Sancreed. 

Careful search was made for this stone cross on Sept. 3rd last, 
but with no satisfactory result. The sexton of the parish, an aged 
man, knew nothing of the existence of such a relic ; and the gar- 
dener, who has been in the employ of the present Rector and his 
predecessor for more than twenty years, was equally ignorant. On 
observing, however, a granite monolith in an oblique position at the 
eastern end of the Rectory garden, where it was almost hidden by a 
profusion of ferns and shrubs, I examined it closely, hoping that it 
might correspond with the descnption given by Mr. Blight. On 
its upper surface there w6re traces of incised work ; but as only the 



ARCH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 



325 



higher portion of the stone was exposed to view, permission had to 
he obtained to excavate around the sunken end. But the Rector 
being absent, and the sexton unwilling to spare much time about 
the experiment, only the upper surface was cleared, when the in- 
scription, as shown in the accompanying illustration, was clearly 
revealed to view. 

The characters were particularly distinct, and in an excellent 
state of preservation. Of course there will be a difference of opinion 
as to the reading of the lines. Evidently there are but two words 
on the stone, and the well-defined contractions indicate the limit in 
each line. In the first line there can be no doubt about the gumi, 
and in the second line the letters N...MAUC are equally clear. The 
two semicircular incisions are unusual. 

That the stone was originally fixed in an erect position, the 
slightest examination will show ; and the uneven state of the end 
fully above the ground also proves that those who are responsible 




'^RUfc-di?'^^ 










rsnsR: 



Scale of Te^t. 



for erecting it in its present position utterly failed to realise its true 
character and purport, inasmuch as it is fixed upside down. Form- 
ing, as it does, the chief attraction in a garden-rockery, the jagged 
part has claims to natural appearance to which the hidden part can 
offer little or no pretensions. 

The following measurements were taken : — Length of the inscrip- 
tion, 2 ft. 6 in. ; greatest width of inscribed surface, 1 ft. 5 in. ; 
width of under-side, 6 in. ; thickness of the stone, 1 ft. ; length of 
ditto, 7 ft. 

It may be mentioned that although I could not fully examine the 
sides and end of the inscribed part without removing a quantity of 
soil and some plants and shrubs, yet the upper face was uncovered 
sufficiently to ensure that no incised work was omitted in the sketch. 
But it is quite possible that this is the stone which attracted the 
attention of Mr. Blight when he visited South hill about twenty" 
years ago. If so, the raised Latin Cross to which he alludes is 



326 ARCH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES, 

hidden from view. And assaming this theory to be correct, this 
would be another instance of an earlj Saxon monumental stone 
appropriated in post-Norman times to quite another use bj the 
addition of a Christian symbol. 

The present gardener told me that when the rockery was formed, 
about fifteen years ago, during the incumbency of the Rev. P. V. 
Thornton, he assisted in removing the inscribed stone from Pigs' 
Court, a short distance below the Rectory (where it was built into 
an old wall), to its present site. But no notice was then taken of 
its monumental character. 

Samuel J. Wills. 



ARCHiEOLOGiCAL Map or THE CouNTT OF HEREroRD. — We have 
much pleasure in publishing the following prospectus of the scheme 
proposed for an archceological map of the county of Hereford, kindly 
sent to us by Mr. James Davies. The question of the desirability 
of setting on foot an archsBological survey of Wales will be dis- 
cussed at the meeting of the Committee of the Cambrian Archeeo- 
logical Association to be held at Shrewsbury next spring. In the 
meantime suggestions and correspondence on the subject are in- 
vited. 

Ed. Arch. Camb. 

"132, Widemarsh Street, Hereford. 
" dOth September 1891. 

" Dear Sir, — We are requested to draw your attention to the en- 
closed prospectus of a scheme which was started at the Llanthony 
Meeting of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club, and to invite 
your co-operation in the carrying it out to a successful issue. The 
work wonld soon be accomplished if each person to whom this cir- 
cular is addressed would be good enough to set down on the printed 
forms snch information as he possesses of the archsBological objects 
in his neighbourhood. The interest and value of the information 
thus tabulated can hardly be over-estimated. The Committee 
therefore trust that you will render such assistance, pecuniarily and 
otherwise, as lies in your power. 

*• Yours faithfully, James Davies, 

J. O. Bevan, 
" Honorary Secretaries to Herefordshire 
Archaeological Map Committee. 



^^Woolhope Naturalists' Field-Club. Archmologiml Section, — It is 
proposed to compile an index of antiquities and archaBological map 
of the county of Hereford. The assistance of the members of the 
Club, and of all who take an interest in antiquarian subjects is soli- 
cited in order to render the work complete. 

^'General Scheme of tJu Work. — A set of Maps of the 6-in. Ordnance 



ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES, 327 

Survey is kepfc at the Booms of the Committee, — provisionally at 
132, Widemarah Street, Hereford. On this it is proposed to mark 
all objects of archaBological interest in the county. When the map 
is complete, a reduced copy of the map and an index of sites will be 
published with the Transactions of the Club. 

'* It is proposed to divide the work into four sections or periods, 
viz. : — 

" 1. Pra^-Roman : (a), Early British trackways and camps, earth- 
works and tumuli, beacons and fords ; (6), megalithic remains, cists, 
palaeolithic and neolithic implements, bronze object's, celts, palstaves, 
spear-heads, sepulchral relics, etc. 

" 2. Roman: Cemeteries, interments, tombs, and sepulchral relics, 
foundations, camps, roads, forges, hoards of coins^ pottery, glass, 
personal ornaments, sites of early churches and other ecclesiastical 
remains. 

" 3. Anglo-Saxon : Barrows, cemeteries, interments and sepul- 
chral relics, coins, glass objects, personal ornaments, arms, etc.> sites 
of churches and ecclesiastical structures. 

" 4. Norman : Churches and ecclesiastical buildings, sites of 
castles, battles, etc. 

" Finds of single coins, etc., whether Roman, Early British, or 
Anglo-Saxon, may be noticed and recorded, but need not be entered 
on the maps. The exact locality of such discoveries should always 
be given, together with the date of discovery, and a reference to 
any published account. 

" Printed tabular forms can be obtained from the Honorary Secre- 
taries. 

" Any friends willing to assist, either by personal investigation, or 
by reading and giving reference to the various books relating to the 
county, are requested to communicate with the Honorary Secre- 
taries ; and to prevent confusion and double labour, they are invited 
to notify the share they are willing to take. 

"Members of the Club and contributors can render much assist- 
ance by purchasing the single sheets of the Ordnance Survey for 
their own districts, and filling them up at home ; but in all cases 
the tabular form should also be used. Single sheets of the 6-inch 
Ordnance Survey can be purchased direct from E. Stanford, Cook- 
spur Street, Charing Cross, S.W., or through Messrs. Jakeman and 
Carver, Hereford, at a cost of 1*. Sd. each ; and a skeleton map, 
showing the divisions of the county, can be obtained for 3d (includ- 
ing postage in both cases). 

'* Names of fields are most important, especially those occurring in 
charters, court-rolls, parish or tithe-maps, rate-books, terriers, eta 
Names appearing to bear special significance should be marked on 
the return; and such as cannot be identified should be recorded 
under the head of the parish to which they belong, together with 
full particulars of their occurrence. Much information on these 
points can often be obtained from the maps and plans issued in 
auctioneers' catalogues on the sale of estates. Members are re- 



328 



AUCH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 



quested to send sale-catalogues of any estate in their neighbourhood 
to the Honorary Secretaries. 

" Correspondents should note that in a county such as Hereford- 
shire, bordering on Wales, there occur Anglicised corruptions of 
Welsh names, with historical or topographical indications that may 
be worthy of record. 

" James Davies, 
"J. b. Bevan. 

** As the funds of the Woolhope Club are not available, the Archaa- 
ological Map Committee appeal for donations towards the necessary 
expenses, which may be paid to either of the Honorary Secretaries. 
Several contributions have been already promised." 




The Pont Vaen Stone, Cardiganshire. (See p. 319.) 

Reproduced from the Gardener's Chronicle, Sept. 21, 1878, by kind 
permission of the Editor. 



329 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS. 



VOL. VIII. FIFTH SERIES. 



Aberhapesp inscribed stone, 23 
Accounts, stafement of, Holywell 

Meeting, 144 
annual statement of, 1890, 

160 
Ancient Monuments Act, 811 
Antiquities, forgery of, 814 
Arbory inscribed stones, Isle of 

Man, 38 
ArcbaDological maps of counties, 

313 

map of Hereford, 326 

of Surrey, 239 

ArcbsBological societies, congress 

of, 811 
Artburian Legend , Rhys' studies 

in tbe, 224 



Ballaqueeney inscribed stones, 

Isle of Man, 39 
Barri family, 190, 277 

pedigree, 278 

Basin gwerk Abbey, 126 

Banks (Richard William), ob., 

297 
Bone-Cave, Gop, Flintshire, 71 
Bigelly, early owners of, 277 



Caerwys, place of, in Welsh his- 
tory, 166 
cbarter, 182 

6th 8CK.,yOL. VIII. 



Caerwys Church, 68 

effiiry, 69 

Cardiganshire inscribed stones, 

233, 318 
Chester Cathedral, 116 

St. John's Church, 113 

sculptured stones, 114 

Roman remains, 118 

pig of lead, 119, 

137 
Cinerary Urns, Penmaenmawr,33 
Clynnog Fawr dog-tongs, 322 
Coleshill, battle of, 2 
Conan M^riadec's reputed tomb, 

320 



Dog-tongs, 322 

Doiwnng inscribed stone, 135 



EflBgy, Caerwys Church, 69 

Holywell Church, 124 

Effigies, Northop Church, 60 
Ewloe Castle, 1 



Flint Castle, 102 
Town Hall, 103 



Gerald the Welshman (Owen's), 
148 



330 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS. 



Giraldus CambreDsis born at 

Manopbeer, 279 
Gop boue-cave, Flintshire, 71 

tumulus, 70 

Gwauuysgor Church, 73 

Registers, 73 

Gwynedd, noble tribes of, 241 
Gvvysauej, Mold, 62 



Halkin Church, 58 
Herefordshire, archaeological map 

of, 326 
Holy wells, 8 

Holywell Annual Meeting, 51 
Church emgj, 124 



Incised stones, Whitford, 136 
Inscribed stones, Arbory, 38 

Bellaqueeny, 89 

Cardiganshire, 233, 318 

Llanddewibrefi, 234 

Inscribed stone, Aberhafesp, 23 

Downing, 135 

Kirkmichael, 40 

Pontfaen, Lampeter, 234 

Rennes, 27 

Southhili, 324 

Winsford Hill, Exmoor, 



29 
Inscriptions, Roman, at Chester, 

77 
Isle of Man, Moore's Surnames 

and Place-Names of the, 299 



Kempston stone saucer, 158 
Kidwelly Castle, carving at, 321 
Kirk Michael inscribed stone, 
Isle of Man, 40 



Lake-dwellings of Europe, 150 
Lampeter, antiquities near, 235 

quern found near, 320 

Llanasa Church, 74 
Llanddewibrefi inscribed stones, 
234 



Llanelian holy well, 10 

Llanveigan Church, 81 

Llanuwchllyn, pedigree of Mor- 
han ap Sion, 98 

Lincfebrook Priory, Hereford- 
shire, 185 



Maen y Chwyfan sculptured 

stone,^ 74 
Manorbeer Castle, 191, 279 
Manx Ogams, 38 
Moel y Gaer, Halkin, 59 " 
Mold Church, 60 

Baily Hill excavation, 321 

Monasteries, early Welsh, 262 
Mostyn Hall, Flintshire, 135 



Nerquis Church, 65 
Newmarket Church, Flintshire, 
72 

Churchyard Cross, 73 

Newborough, Anglesey, 177 
Northop Church, 59 

effigies, 60 

Norris (Charles), 305 



Pabell Dofydd (Morgan's), 146 
Parish Registers, transcription 
of, 236, 313 



of Gwaunysgor, Flint- 
shire, 73 
Pedigree of Barri family, 278 

■ Branes of Branes, 91 

Einion ap Gruffydd of 

Ydeirnion, 93 

Fychan of Cefnbodig, 97 

Fychan of Corsygedol, 

Fychan of Penllyn, 98 

Ffalcus of Harddlech, 216 

Gwyn of Bala, 99 

Gwyn of Hendwr, 87 

Hughes of Werklys, 92 

Lloyd of Carog, 89 

Lloyd of Crogeu, 93 



215