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JOURNAL 



CflmkiDn Irrltfalngiral Issoriatinn. 







VOL. III. FIFTH SERIES. 



LONDON: 
PICKERING AND CHATTO, 66, HAYMARKET, S.W. 

1886, . 

LIBRARY 
innVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 



« 

LOXDOV : 
WHITIKO AVD CO., 30 AND 32, BABDIITIA 8TBIET, W.C. 



CONTENTS. 



Notes oa the History of Monmouthshire . F. J. Mitchell « 1 

Monmouth . . . W. Bagnal-Oakelej 12 

Carew Castle . . . J. R. Cobb . . 27 

St. Thomas, 07er-Monnow . . P. Potter . 41 

On the Gurmarc Stone, St. David's . I. O. Westvvood 43 

Effigy in Bangor Cathedral 52 

Notes on the Older Churches in the Four 

Welsh Dioceses {cordiniied). The late SirS. R. Glynne, Bart. 55 

Sudbrook Camp , . . A. E. Lawson Lowe 81 

Architectural Notes upon Usk Church, 

Monmouthshire . . S. W. Williams 90 

Early Inscribed Stones. — The Abercar 

Stone . . . C. Wilkins and J. Rhys 1»3 

Pembrokeshire Raths . . E. Laws . . 97 

Tredegar House, Monmouthshire . C. 0. S. Morgan 100 

Origin of the Name Tredegar . . Octavios Morgan 102 

Carved Powder-Flask of Stag's Horn 

found near Hay . . . D. R. T. . . 106 

Merionethshire Six Hundred Years Ago . D. R. T. . 108 

Unrestored Churches . . . G. E. Robinson . 121 

Celtic Remains in Vend6me . The late R. Perrott 128 

Ecclesiastical Appointments, Patent Rolls, 

Charles II . . . . . . 139 

The Trial of Lord Ferrers . . ... 145 

Caerphilly . . . . R. W. B. . . 161 

The Portionary Churches of Mediaeval 
North Wales: their Tribal Relations, 
and the Sinecurism connected there- 
with . . . . . A. N. Palmer . 175 



IV CONTENTS. 

Celtic Remains in Yendome (continued) The late B. Perrott 210 

Roman Coins found in Monmouthshire : 

1. Caerleon and Caerwent . M. Bagnal-Oakelej 224 

Ecclesiastical Appointments, Patent Rolls, 

Charles II (continued) . . . ... 228 

Tintem Abbey . . . T. BlashiU, F.RI.B.A. 241 

Rhiwaedog, Ynys y Maen Gwyn, Dolau 

Gwyn, and Nannau . . . H. W. Lloyd - 253 

Notes on the Older Churches in the Four 

Welsh Dioceses (continued). The late Sir S. R. Gljnne, Bart. 270 

On a Mutilated Wooden Image of the 
Crucifix found in the Church of Kemeys 
Inferior, Monmouthshire ; and on other 
Wooden Images, or Portions of such, 
still existing in this Country . . M. H. Bloxam . 282 

Glamorganshire Documents . .... 292 

Swansea Castle • . . R. Capper, F.R.G.S. 302 

Ecclesiastical Appointments, Patent Rolls, 

Charles II (concluded) . . , . . . 308 

Report of Annual Meeting at Swansea . .321 

Subscribers to Local Fund and Statement of Accounts . 346 

Local Museum Catalogue . . . , . 348 

Index . . . . . . . 351 

Illustrations, List of . . . . . . 354 

Obituary ....... 150 

coebespondence ..... 70, 234 

Miscellaneous Notices .... 235, 315 

Reviews . . . . . " . 152 



^.nHtaU^h €nmhvtmis. 



FIFTH SERIES.— VOL. Ill, NO, IX. 



JANUARY 1886. 



NOTES 

ON 

THE HISTORY OF MONMOUTHSHIRE. 

MoKMOUTHSHiRE is the border-land between Wales and 
England. Some years ago there was a very hot feud 
in the county as to whetner it ought to be considered 
Welsh or English ; but it is now generally considered 
to have been the marches all through the middle ages, 
the neutral ground, or the battlefield, as the case might 
be. Anciently Welsh, and the abode of the tribe of 
the Silures, it was conquered by the Romans, and again 
by the Normans ; and though its language and its local 
names were Welsh, it became legally English in the 
reign of Henry VIII. In the reign of Charles II it 
was included in the Oxford circuit ; and the Lord 
Marcher 8 Court, which was held at Ludlow in Shrop- 
shire, was finally got rid of in the reign of William III, 
on the petition of the Welsh people. The Welsh lan- 
guage continued to be spoken until recent times, for 
we read of an English stranger being buried in Mon- 
mouth in the time of Queen Elizabeth ; and in Charles Is 
time, Captain Dabridgecourt, who was quartered at 
St. Pierre in 1644, and ordered to make levies for the 
King, • speaks in no very complimentary terms of the 
slowness of the Welsh to respond to the call ; and writ- 
ing to Prince Rupert, he professes his readiness to obey 

6th sir., vol. hi. 1 



2 NOTES ON THE HISTORY 

the King's mandate to go to Jew, Turk, or Gentile ; 
but from the Welsh, he says, ** Good Lord, deliver us !" 

At the time of the second Roman invasion of Britain, 
Ostorius Scapula, one of the commanders of the Empe- 
ror Claudius, attempted to expel the Silures ; but the 
tribe, protected by their hills and mountains, gained 
the victory, and compelled him to retire, and shortly 
afterwards he died of the fatigues of the campaign. In 
the reign of Vespasian, however, their conquest was 
effected by Julius Frontinus, and the country became a 
part of Britannia Secunda, — a term given to the con- 
quered land west of the Severn. It is well known how 
thoroughly the Roman settlement was effected, and 
how for several hundred years they occupied a position 
here somewhat analogous to our own at present in 
India. Their principal stations in this county were 
6ve in number, — Venta Silurum, now Caerwent ; Isca 
Silurum, now Caerleon ; Gobannium, now Abergavenny; 
Blestiura, considered to be Monmouth ; and Burrium, 
thought to be Usk. Two main Roman roads led 
through the county, — the Via Julia, from the mouth 
of the Severn to Caerwent, Caerleon, and also towards 
Neath ; and the Akeman Street, from Caerwent, across 
the Wye and Severn, to Cirencester. The Via Julia 
can still be traced, and is called in Welsh Sarii-hir (the 
long, paved causeway). It is said that there are traces 
of six British and Roman encampments ; one, very in- 
teresting and perfect, is to be seen on Twmbarlwm, 
and is well worth a visit from any one who does not 
object to climbing a stiff hill. 

Caerleon was the capital of Britannia Secunda, and 
it is curious that during the whole of its occupation by 
the Romans not a trace of its history exists beyond a 
dim tradition of the martyrdom of Julius and Aaron 
during the persecution of Diocletian in the fourth cen- 
tury. 

After the Romans left the country but little or no- 
thing is certainly known of the events which occurred ; 
but in the days of Kfng Alfred the Kings of Gwent 



OF MONMOUTHSHIRE. 3 

and Glamorgan placed themselves under his protection, 
and did homage to the Saxon rulers down to the Nor- 
man Conquest. In 892, or the following year, the 
Danes plundered the town, and ravaged the whole 
country. King Edgar, the great Saxon monarch, three 
times visited Uaerleon on local matters and disputes 
between the Princes. In 976 the Danes destroyed the 
city of Caerleon utterly, and ravaged the whole country 
round. The Saxon fleet is twice mentioned as having 
appeared before Caerleon. The ships of those days 
were small, and the river is a tidal one, so this may 
have happened ; but in very early times Newport be- 
came the seaport of Caerleon ; and if the old chronicles 
mav be trusted, very stirring events arose out of the 
rignts and privileges thereto pertaining. 

It may not be generally known that the church of 
St. WooUos, at Newport, is supposed to have been the 
cause of the defeat of Hastings. An extract from the 
Life of St. Gwynlly w, or WooTlos, is interesting if only 
as showing that the British chroniclers took a very 
different view of the character of Harold from that held 
by Mr. Freeman, the historian of the Norman Con- 
quest. It is as follows : — 

" In the time of Grifiith, the valiant King of all 
Wales, Edward being King of England, merchants fre- 
quently came from England, and exchanged merchan- 
dise in the harbour at the mouth of the river Usk. 
After the business was accomplished they paid toll ; for 
if they did not pay the accustomed tribute they were 
not to have any more leave to come and traffic in the 
harbour. It happened that at one time they would 
not pay. This having been heard, Rigrit, son of Imor, 
and grandson of King Griffith, went to the harbour in 
a rage, and, full of indignation, ordered the debt to be 
paid ; but they, although commanded, would not pay 
it. Afterwards, for the disgrace of the Englishmen, 
and in derision of their kingdom, he cut the rope of the 
anchor, and caused the loose anchor to be carried to 
the church of St. Gwynlly w. The sailors, returning to 



4 NOTES ON THE HISTORY 

the merchants, related to Earl Harold the disgrace and 
derision wherewith thev were treated. The malevolent 
Earl being moved with great anger, and desirous to 
revenge, collected an army, which being gathered toge- 
ther, he rushed upon Glamorgan, being hostilely dis- 
posed to bum and lay waste all the country. This 
commotion having been heard, the inhabitants brought 
their goods to the refuge of the saints. These being 
taken, they fled and hid themselves in the woods. 
Afterwards an army came and burnt and ravaged, 
sparing no one, but taking away whatsoever it found. 
In the meantime, the lock being broken, some of the 
robbers entered the church of the venerable Gwynlljrw, 
which was full of garments, provisions, and many valu- 
able things. These being seen, like most greedy wolves 
they stole everything they saw in the church. The 
anchor aforesaid, which was the cause of the robbery 
and plundering, was, however, not seen by any one, but 
was, notwithstanding, in an inner corner of the church. 
The cheeses were divided by the robbers. When cut, 
they appeared bloody in the inside. The whole army 
was amazed, and with ready hands restored everything 
that they had stolen. Besides, Earl Harold being 
pricked among the first witli painful compunction, 
offered on the altar on behalf of his soldiers. Then he 
returned, and dreading greater punishment, promised 
that he would never violate the refuge of the venerable 
temple. Soon after, in the following month, for that 
wickedness and other crimes, he was conquered in the 
battle of Hastings by King William, and slain.'' 

This country was well known to Harold, for he had 
a hunting palace at Portskewet, near Chepstow, which 
is said to have been destroyed by Caradoc ap GriflSth, 
in revenge for Harold not having helped him to re- 
cover the principality of South Wales. Mr. Freeman, 
in his History of the Norman Conquest, says that 
Harold's mother, and sister and niece, fled from Exe- 
ter after the siege of that city, and took refuge on 
the Flatholm in the Bristol Channel. The church- 



OF MONMOUTHSHIRE. 5 

yard of St. WooUos was again the camping-ground of 
a boisterous army in the reign of William, who sent 
his son William Rufus to burn and harry Glamorgan, 
in revenge for the refuge afforded by Caradoc, king of 
that country, to some mutinous Norman knights. At 
this time, when Glamorgan is mentioned, Gwent is 
included, for there appears to have been no separate 
country of Gwent as a whole, but it was all broken up 
into small lordships. The event is thus related : — 
" William, being enraged and angry, and excited with 
indignation, sent his son William Rufus, a brave young 
man and warlike, with immense force and armed 
soldiers to Glamorgan, which was laid waste and burnt, 
and deprived of money. The army being, therefore, 
fatigued on their return, rested a certain night in fixed 
tents about the church of the most blessed Gwynlly w, 
the town being empty of men, who had fled to the 
woods for safety from their enemies. The houses were 
full of divers kinds of com, whence they fared abun- 
dantly ; but the reverse was in the horse pastures, for 
there was not there any pasture, but odious famine. 
No horse would taste the oats, and Almighty God 
would not open the closed houses. Holy Gwynlly w 
prayed, whom the Deity heard. This miracle having 
been seen, William Consul among the first, offered 
valuable gifts to God and the church, asking mercy 
and pardon for demolishing the houses. The whole 
army subsequently kneeled before the altar, offering 
with penitence and fear, and promising that they would 
not any more violate the land of St. Gwynllyw, and 
that such things as they had before done, they would 
never do again.'' 

It is to be observed that in these old records there 
is much more sympathy with the Normans than with 
the Saxons. Perhaps the Britons were secretly glad 
of the reverses which had happened to their old 
enemies the Saxons ; perhaps these monkish tales have 
been touched up and recast by later monks who loved 
the Norman rule. Whether the natives of this country 



NOTES ON THE HISTORY 



preferred the Norraan suzerainty to the Saxon or not, 
it seems to have been thought necessary to guard the 
land by no less than twenty-five Norman fortresses. 
These formed two lines, the first including Scenfreth, 
Grosmont, Monmouth, Chepstow, and Caldecot, on the 
banks of the Monnow, the Wye, and the Severn ; and 
the second, including Whitecastle, Usk, Llangibby, 
Caerleon, and Newport, stretching in a diagonal line 
from Grosmont to tne banks of the Rumney. Many 
important historical events took place at these castles. 
Henry II seized that of Caerleon, and burnt the town, 
it is said, in revenge, because its lord would not join 
in his expedition to Ireland. Henry III defeated 
Llywelyn, the Welsh prince, at Grosmont, and his 
queen built the beautiful church there. Henry V, 
when Prince of Wales, drove Owen Glyndwr out of 
Grosmont Castle, and defeated him in battle at Usk. 
Newport Castle was the refuge of Simon de Mont- 
fort, the great Earl of Leicester, in the contest between 
Henry III and his barons. After the escape of Prince 
Edward victory deserted the banner of that heroic 
man. Woodward says : " The bridges on the Severn 
were broken down by Edward's troops, who also seized 
upon the boats they found on the stream, and in an 
engagement on the wide estuary now called the Bristol 
Channel, they defeated the ships of their great 
opponent. They were drawing their toils closer and 
still closer round him ; at Hereford he was beset for a 
time, but whilst some of his followers, driven into 
Gloucestershire, submitted themselves to the prince, he 
broke out, and being joined by Llewellyn, with whom 
he contracted a still closer alliance, attacked and 
destroyed Monmouth Castle, and devastated the lands 
round about ; then throwing himself into Newport, he 
was shut in on every side. The Earl at length made 
his escape from Newport by night, and almost alone, 
and returned to Hereford, for he found it diflBcult to 
keep his men together in the Welsh territory, being 
used (like all Englishmen to this hour) to bread ; they* 



OP MONMOUTHSHIRE. 7 

could not relish the meat and milk which were the 
chief sustenance of the Cymry, and the ways were so 
beset by parties of the enemy, that none were safe. 
He was expecting the arrival of his brave son with 
new forces, when Prince Edward received tidings of 
their approach, and fell upon them unexpectedly, 
making almost all of them prisoners. And then came 
the end On the 5th of August was the fatal fight of 
Evesham." 

Some time before this, in the reign of Henir II, 
Newport had been the scene of a treacherous ana dis- 
graceful massacre. The King, on his return from 
Ireland, desired to make peace with lorwerth ap Owen 
ap Caradoc, and lorwerth obeying the king's summons, 
desired his son Owen to come to him upon the road. 
Owen, in conformity with his father's orders, hastened 
forward with a small retinue, who were so well assured 
of the King's protection, that they thought it needless 
to encumber themselves with arms which might retard 
their journey. This exactly suited the dastard purposes 
of their inveterate enemy, the Earl of Gloucester, 
whose soldiers being apprised of their errand and 
intended route, were in waiting to receive them, and as 
they passed Newport Castle, rushed out to attack them. 
Owen was killed upon the spot with most of his 
followers, a few only escaping to carry back the heavy 
tidings to his father. 

At the time of the Reformation there were about 
seventeen religious houses in the county, but one of 
these, Llanthony Abbey, had fallen into decay long 
before from other causes. At the time of the dissolu- 
tion there were only about thirteen monks in Tintern 
Abbey. Llantarnam Abbey is the subject of legend, 
and it is stiffly asserted in some histories that King 
Arthur was crowned within its walls, and that his 
queen underwent the same ceremony in St. Julian's 
nunnery. As, however, the monastery does not appear 
to have been founded until the twelfth century by 
Howel, the story may be safely dismissed, though, like 



KOTES ON THE HISTORY 



other religious houses, the great foundation may have 
heen preceded by buildings of wattles and rods. In the 
time of Mary, Elizabeth, and James I, the usual 
barbarities appear to have been practised upon many 
persons in the 'name of religion, but Monmouthshire 
seems to have gone quietly through all those troubled 
times, and it is not until 1679 that we find an execu- 
tion for religious causes. The victim was Charles 
Baber, alias David Lewis, a Jesuit priest, who was 
apprehended one Sunday morning by six armed men 
in a little house in the parish of St. Michael, Llan- 
tarnam, and taken that day to Abergavenny, and the 
next to Monmouth gaol, where he was kept ma room 
by himself, for which he was obliged to pay fourteen 
shillings a week. The foUowing year he was sentenced 
to death at Monmouth. He was then sent to 1-^**?°/ 
and strictly examined concerning the pretended i^pisn 
plot, but after vain attempts to induce him to add to 
Titus Oates's false testimony, he was sent back ^am 
to Monmouthshire, and eventually hanged at usk, 
with the usual horrible accompaniments, on August 
27th, 1679. Challoner gives his very long speecn 
before execution, which says volumes for his resigna- 
tion and presence of mind. . - 
At the time of the civil war in the reign ot 
Charles T, Monmouthshire was again the scene ot 
8tirrh.g events. lu the Diary of Richard Symonds 
who accompanied the King in his many marches, a list 
is given of all the castles in the county, and ot tnese 
ei^t are pronounced habitable, and two of these, 
Pencoed and Penhowr, are registered " vei^ tf^^.' *"? 
one, "Llanribby, strong and inhabited and tortitied . 
Pencoed w^ the residence of Sir Edward Morga^, who 
was High Sheriff for that year. 1645. The habitable 
castles were Chepstov^r, Baglan, Monmouth, Usk, L,lan- 
gibby, Pencoed, Penhow. and Beeston The castles 
mentioned as "ruined" at that date are Ca^rleon, New- 
port, Abergavenny, Arnold, White<^tle, grosmont, 
and Skenfrith • the last three belonging to the Duchy 



OP MONMOUTHSHIRE. 9 

of Lancaster. Callicot, Trewilliam, and Greenfield 
Castles are mentioned as having no ruins left. If by 
Callicot he means Caldicot, he must have had his 
information second-hand and not very correctly, for 
Caldicot is a strong and interesting castle, though in a 
ruined condition. Notwithstanding its return as 
*' ruined" there appears to have been a garrison for the 
King in Newport Castle of about fifty men (five 
hundred were paid for), commanded by Col. Herbert, 
eldest son of Lord Herbert of Cherbury. It appears 
that in those days the town of Newport consisted 
entirely of one long street, called Monmouth Street. 
This Herbert seems to have been a staunch royalist ; 
he resided at St. Julian's, near Caerleon, and Oliver 
Cromwell wrote him the following sharp letter : 

** Leaguer before Pembroke, 

"18th June 1648. 

" Sir, — I would have you to be informed that I have good 
report of your secret practices against the public cuivantage ; by 
means whereof that archtraitor, Sir Nicholas Kemeys, with his 
torse, did surprise the Castle of Chepstow ; but we have notable 
discoveiy from the papers taken by Col. Ewer on recovering the 
Castle^ that Sir Trevor WiUiams of Llaoigibby was the malig- 
nant who set on foot the plot. Now I give you this plain warn- 
ing by Captain Nicholas and Captain Burges, that if you do 
harbour or conceal either of the parties, or abet their misdoings, 
I will cause your treasonable nest to be burnt about your ears. 

" OuvER Cromwell." 

It is well known how Charles I came to Monmouth- 
shire after the battle of Naseby ; how hospitably he 
was received by the Marquis of Worcester at Raglan 
Castle ; how nobly that castle held out against Fairfax ; 
and how at length it was forced to capitulate in 1646, 
the horses having eaten their halters for want of forage, 
and having to be fastened with chains. Chepstow 
Castle was the last garrison that held out for the 
King. It fell in 1648, when Sir Nicholas Kemeys, the 
Commander, was, in spite of proposals to capitulate, 
massacred by the Parliamentary soldiers. On July 22, 



10 NOTES ON THE HISTORY 

1645, King Charles went to Creeke (Crick House ?) to 
meet Prince Rupert from Bristol. There is a tradition 
that the Parliament men came in at one door, whilst 
King Charles left by the other : it may have been on 
the occasion of this visit. After the council of war 
the King returned to Raglan and the Prince to Bristol. 
On Thursday 24th July, the King came to Black 
Rock, intending to get over towards Bristol. The 
gentlemen of Wales persuaded earnestly his stay, 
and immediately raised the " Hoop 1 hoop ! ' The chief 
inhabitants of Monmouthshire seem to have taken the 
royal side, with the exception of two or three who 
were, like the majority of the commons, only anxious 
to live at peace and to save their goods, and for that 
purpose were occasionally to be found, first on one 
side and then on the other. 

In the letter from Captain Dabridgecourt, before 
alluded to, written from St. Pierre in 1644, he speaks of 
the difiiculty of rousing the inhabitants to any exertion. 
He writes to Prince Rupert : " I shall beseech you to 
send me no more into this country if you intend I 
shall do you any service, without a strong party to 
compel them, not to entreat them The ammuni- 
tion hath been here these seven days for want of 
carriages, and I fear shall stay seven more unless I have 
some power to force the people. They value neither 
Sir John Winter, his warrants, nor mine, nor any. 
Some say they will not come ; the rest come not and 
say nothing. All generally disafiected, and the force 

that is in Chepstow not able to compel them 

Here be two or three constables deserve hanging, and 
I had done it ere this if I had but a party to defend 
me from their Welsh bills." 

Some years ago, in the roof of the Priory House, 
Caerleon, an old letter was found, which may be seen 
in the Museum at Caerleon. It runs thus : 

** Captain Thomas Morgan, — You are to remain with the 
Train Band under your command in the town of Chepstow, to 



OF MONMOUTHSHIRE. 1 1 

secure the said town, and not to permit any of the firearms to 
go out of the said town. Also, of the four pieces of ordnance 
which are there, you are to dispose two of them for the defence 
of the town of Monmouth ; and for so doing this shall be your 
warrant. 

" Dated at Eagland the 28th day of March 1643. 

" Ed. Herbert." 

Mr. Wakeman says that " the writer of this letter, Ed. 
Herbert, was an active Parliamentarian of Merthyr 
Gerin Grange, in Magor; he died in 1666. Who 
Capt. Thomas Morgan was is not so clear." 

The close of the civil war concludes the picturesque 
and adventurous part of the history of Monmouth- 
shire, but enough has been said to show how inex- 
haustible that history is, and how it may be viewed in 
very different ways, — civil, military, and ecclesiastical. 
The abundance of materials, not the scarcity of them, 
has hitherto hindered the production of a complete 
and reliable county history, and two or three anti- 
quaries of note have delayed publishing valuable facts, 
on account of the continual growth of interesting 
matter, as their researches went on. The industrial 
and commercial history of the county has a large field 
for those interested in it, from the first ironmakers at 
Pontypool, who were a family of the name of Grant, 
and who were succeeded in the year 1565 by Mr. 
Richard Hanbury, citizen and goldsmith of London. 
At that time, the reign of Elizabeth, the ore was 
smelted with charcoal, and to prevent the destruction 
of timber in making it, a statute was passed prohibiting 
the erection of iron works, except in certain districts ; 
of these Monmouthshire was one. In 1740 coal was 
successfully employed in iron-smelting, but the iron 
industries of this county developed at first very slowly, 
and the famous Nantyglo works even were at first 
unsuccessful. 

Later on an immense stride was taken, and the 
coal and iron trade is the greatest industry in the 
county, and a powerful factor in all its concerns. 

Of course, in this sketchy memorandum only a few 



12 MONMOUTH. 

points have been touched upon, but these will show the 
immense variety of subject there is in the history of 
our own neighbourhood ; and the history of even a small 
part, if carefully worked out, will often throw light 
upon the history of the whole kingdom. 

F. J. Mitchell. 



MONMOUTH. 



The town of Monmouth has generally been considered 
to occupy the site of the Roman station called Blestium, 
and the distances given in the Itineraries bear out this 
opinion, though, with the exception of a few coins no 
relics of Roman times have been found there. When a 
former visit of the Cambrian Association was made to 
Monmouth in 1857, it was stated by Mr. Wakemau 
that he had carefully examined the remains of the 
ancient Norman town, and considered it identical with 
the Roman one. But looking at the shape of the ancient 
suburb of Over-Monnow, with its two main roads at 
right angles, and open space at their point of inter- 
section, surrounded as it is by an angular earthwork, I 
cannot help thinking it to have been a more likely 
position for ancient filestium than the Norman town 
of Monmouth, especially as the Romans preferred low 
ground near rivers for their towns ; but I leave this 
matter for the consideration of those better versed in 
Roman castrametation than I am. 

Leland says that the town, where not defended by 
the rivers, was enclosed by a wall, which wall, he adds, 
extended from the Monks Gate and East Gate almost 
to the Wye ; and again from Monk's Gate to the Mon- 
now. He also says there were four gates in the wall of 
the town — ^the Monk's Gate, East Gate, Wye Gate, 
and Monnow Gate ; ** the latter being upon that bridge 
under which the Mone flows." This description of the 







>^ x.jg'g oA<<y 






14 MONMOUTH. 

position of the latter gate must be incorrect, as the 
walled town ended near the top of Monnow Street. 
Speed's map, 1610, shows the position of these gates, 
calling the East Gate by the name of Dixton's Grate, 
and tne gate at the top of Monnow Street, near the 
Bailey, the West Gate. There were remains of a gate 
in this position a few years ago, which were used as a 

Starting near this poiijt, the wall ran behind the 
houses in a direct line towards the Wye. The street 
formerly called the Back Lane, but now St. John Street, 
Glendower Street, and Workhouse Lane, was evidently 
the fosse : at the bottom of Workhouse Lane it turned at 
right angles towards the Wye-bridge Gate, and going 
on in the same direction, on the north side of Wye- 
bridge Lane (which was the fosse), a little beyond the 
east end of the Lane turned at right angles, or nearly 
so, to the East Gate, now Dixton Gate, of which there 
are some remains of one of the towers, forming part 
of the Old Nag's Head Inn. From thence the rampart 
and fosse, as laid down in Speed's map, extend to 
Monk's Gate and the high bank of the Monnow, and 
along it to the Castle, where the wall went round the 
Castle, and joined the town wall again at the gate at 
the top of Monnow Street. This enclosed an area of 
twenty acres, beside the Castle. In addition to these 
gates there seems to have been a postern, or sally-port, 
at the end of Workhouse lane. 

In making the circuit of the town a few days ago, in 
company witnMr.GriflSn, we passed through the premises 
of Mr. Thomas Baker at the top of Monnow Street, 
and the latter pointed out to us the course of the town 
ditch, now filled in, but which originally ran from the 
direction of the river Monnow through his orchard 
and garden, under the castle hill to Monnow Street. 
This is a considerable divergence from the line of 
circumvallation as given by Leland, Speed, and others, 
and would place the town gate lower down Monnow 
Street ; and it seems to me that this was the case, for, 



MONMOUTH. 1 5 

in describing an engagement between the Royalists 
and Parliamentarians in 1645, a contemporary writer 
says, "that the Royalists, seeing Col. Kyrle approaching 
with 100 muskettiers, retreated to the lower end of 
Monnow Street,^ which they had possessed a long time, 
and upon his coming to the inmost bridge in the midst 
of Monnow Street, ne commanded it to be let down",* 
etc. If this should prove to be the original position 
of the town gate, the gate described as formerly used 
as the gaol would be the one from the town to the 
outer bailey of the castle, and is probably the gate 
spoken of in old writings as St. Stephen's. This devia- 
tion from Speed is shown by a dotted line on the map. 
The suburb of Monmouth, now called Over- Monnow, 
appears to be of considerable antiquity, as it is sur- 
rounded by an ancient earthwork known by the name 
of "Clawdi dhu" (Black Dyke or Ditch). This earthwork, 
which appears to have begun at the river Monnow, 
between the mouth of the Scud Brook and Monnow 
Bridge, crosses the road, and runs through the gardens 
near the old Dry-bridge turnpike gate ; then turns at 
a right angle, and extends for some distance its course 
in the direction of Gibraltar Hill, and then turns 
towards the Monnow again, where it ends near the old 
Cinderhill turnpike. The name Cinderhill tells its own 
tale ; it is a street made over the cinders of the ancient 
bloomaries. In ancient times the process of extracting 
the iron from the ore was so imperfectly performed that 
a few years ago men were employed to raise these 
cinders in order to resmelt them. Heath, in his His-^ 

^ The following note is in Heath's account of Mr. Baker's house, 
then occupied by Mr. Hughes, and which I mention because it is 
just opposite the position where I imagine " the drawbridge in the 
midst of Monnow Street" was situated. *' Mr. Hughes is induced 
to believe, from some ancient doorways and walls now remaining in 
his cellar, that the site of his house formed part of Monmouth 
Castle. Certainly their appearance justifies such a conclusion, and 
from their affinity we should be induced to credit the opinion." In- 
stead of the " Castle" I should be inclined to say the Town Gate as 
marked by the dotted line. 

« Webb's Civil Wars, vol. ii, p. 400. 



IG MONMOUTH. 

tory of Monmouth, describes a flood in 1 79fi^ which tore 
up the Cinderhill road, and disclosed the cinders of 
which it was composed. 

The ancient Norman church of St. Thomas stands in 
an open space in this part of Over-Monnow, and the 
base of an old cross may be seen near the Green 
Dragon Inn. On Speed's map the street is called St. 
Thomas Street, and the cross is represented in situ at 
the junction of the four streets. This part of Mon- 
mouth W61S in the middle ages called the Capper s town, 
from the fact that most of its inhabitants were em- 
ployed in making hats or caps. Shakespeare refers to 
this headgear in his Henry F, where Fluellen says to 
that monarch : " If your majesties is remembered of 
it, the Welshmen did goot service in a garden where 
leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps ; 
which your majesty knows to this hour is an honourable 
padge of the service, and I do believe your majesty 
takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy s day." 
Fuller, in his Worthies, giving an account of the Mon- 
mouth caps, speaks of them thus; "These were the 
most ancient, general, warm, and profitable coverings 
of men's heads in this island. In the old church of 
St. Mary there was a very elegant chapel called the 
Capper's chapel, which was taken down in 1736. 

The gate-house on Monnow bridge is a good speci- 
men of a late Norman building of its kind. It was in 
no way connected with the walls of the town, but was 
probably used for the collection of tolls at fairs, which 
were held extra muros. Between the walled Norman 
town and the* bridge over Monnow lay an open space; 
for Monnow Street could not have been built tUl many 
years later. This open space was the market ground, as 
the name Chippenham still reminds us. From the 
Anglo-Saxon ceapian, to buy, are derived many- 
names of towns of early commerce. A chipping was 
the old English term for market, and ham, home or 
place. Monnow Street still continued to be used for 
the same purpose at the large fairs, until the New 



MONMOUTH. 17 

Cattle Market was provided in 1876. The bridge was 
originally much narrower than it is at present, as may 
be seen by looking at the arches from beneath. The 
arches of the footway are modern. 

Near the tower on the river Monnow stands a late 
Norman church dedicated to St. Thomas, in the diocese 
of Llandaff, which has two ornamented Norman door- 
ways on the north side, one formerly leading into the 
nave, and the other into the chancel. There is also a 
Norman chancel arch, and in the chancel on the north 
side a string courae about 5^ in. by 3^ in., 5 feet 
4 inches from the floor, which originally existed on the 
south side, but was cut away by the ignorant zeal of 
a mason to make room for the gas pipes. 

The Castle of Monmouth stands on a high mound 
on the southern bank of the river Monnow, which 
formed part of its defences, and we see by Speed's 
Map that it was enclosed by the town wall. It proba- 
bly was the site of a Saxon castellum^ for it is men- 
tioned aj3 one of a line of strongholds erected to curb 
the predatory incursions of the Welsh. This fortress 
would be an earthen mound palisaded on the summit, 
and surrounded by a deep ditch, with little or no 
masonry; but the situation was of so much importance 
in the subjugation of this part of the country, that we 
find very soon after the Norman Conquest that a stone 
castle was erected on this spot ; and the Liher Landa- 
vensis fixes the date at about 1071, in the following 
passage : " In the time of King William and Earl Wil- 
liam, and Walter de Laci, and Raul de Bernhai, Vis- 
count (Sheriff) of Hereford, the Castle of Monmouth 
was built ; and Earl William gave a moiety of the 
Castle to his three barons, Humphrey, Osborne, and 
William the Writer ; and on Earl William's death 
Earl Roger succeeded him, and through treason he was 
captured, together with his betrayer, by the King. 
They three, with others, were dispossessed. After 
these things the Castle was given to Guerthenauc (or 
Wihenoc), and in his time Bishop Herwald consecrated 

5th bkr., tol. III. 2 



1 8 MONMOUTH. 

the church of the Castle of Monmouth, — ' et in tem- 
pore illius Herqualdus Episcopus consecravit ecclesiam 
de castello Minqui/" This church, which was dedi- 
cated to St. Cadocus, was removed about 1134 from 
the interior of the Castle to some mutually convenient 
locality outside it, having become inconvenient to the 
garrison.who were unpleasant to the monks who served 
it. Wihenoc was succeeded by William Fitzbaderon, 
who is mentioned in Domesday (1086) as holding the 
Castle. 

Lambarde tells us that in the reign of King John 
the Castle was alternately possessed by opposite parties. 
He says it was occupied by *• Richard the Erie Mar- 
shal, who associating with other noblemen moved war 
against the King ; and then by the Earl of Gloster ; 
and after this, Symon speedily following, assailed, took, 
and razed it to the ground.'* 

In 1216 John de Munmuth was made Governor of 
St. Briavels. He gave the Hospital of St. John of 
Monmouth to the monks of St. Florence at Saumur. 
In 1266 Prince Edward surrendered the Castle and 
honour of Monmouth to his brother Edmund, surnamed 
'* Crouch back", and it continued in his family till it 
came to John of Gaunt by his marriage with Blanche, 
daughter and heiress of Henry Duke of Lancaster. 
Monmouth Castle was a favourite residence of his, and 
of his son, Henry of Bolingbroke, afterwards King 
Henry IV. 

The greatest historical event connected with this 
Castle occurred in August 1357, when the son of the 
latter, the future King Henry V, was born within its 
walls ; and tradition still points out the wall of the 
room where the conqueror of Agincourt first saw light. 
(See illustration next page ) 

I know not any remarkable event connected with 
Monmouth Castle during the long Wars of the Roses, 
but when we come to the times of the civil wars be- 
tween Charles I and the Parliamentarians, we find that 
with varying fortune it was in possession first of one 



MONMOUTK. 



19 



side, and then of the other, till on March 30th, 1647, 
it is recorded that Colonel Kyrle came to Monmouth, 
and gave orders for the sleighting of the garrison, and 




Monmoath Castle. 
The Walls of the Room in which Henry V waa said to be born. 

the soldiers and townsmen began to pull down the 
round tower of the Castle, and to demolish the works ; 
but it was not till December 22nd of the same year 

22 



20 MONMOUTH, 

that the tower of the Castle of Monmouth fell down 
upon one side. Upon the site of the fallen tower, and 
with the materials of it and of other parts of the 
Castle, the first Duke of Beaufort built the present 
Castle House in 1682. This contributed to the further 
destruction of the Castle, and left the scanty remains 
of the old fortress in its present dilapidated state. In 
the beginning of this century an outwork of the Castle 
still stood near the narrow part of the top of Monnow 
Street, as previously mentioned. This was the Bailey 
Tower, and its name is still retained in the name of 
the ward of the borough, which is called the Bailey 
Ward. A fragment of what may have been the great 
hall of the Castle remains, as also some of the wcdls of 
two dilapidated flanking towers; but the existing 
relics are too insignificant to give a clue to the original 
plan. 

THE PRIORY. 

The Priory of Monmouth was founded by Wythenoc 
de Munmuth, about 1073, as a Benedictine monastery, 
subject to the Abbey of St. Florence, or, as it is some- 
times called, St. Laurence, near Salmur, in Anjou. 
From Dugdale's invaluable Monasticon we reprint the 
following particulars of its history : 

" Wihenoc de Monemue, or Monmouth, in the time of Henry I 
brought over a convent of black monks from St. Florence, near 
Salmur, in Anjou, whom he placed first in the church of St. 
Cadoc, near the Castle here, and afterwards in the church of 
St. Mary. The first endowment of this house consisted of various 
churches, chiefly in the neighbourhood, with three carucates of 
land near the Castle of Monmouth, a carucate at Lancadok, a 
carucate at Snenton, and various tithes. Baderon of Monemue, 
brother of Wihenoc, gave the monks here three forges, with the 
tithes of vill in Monmouth. Hugh de Laci gave them an annual 
rent of three shillings in Lideuey. Richard de Cormeiles gave 
them the church of Weston, with all his right in the church of 
Tradinton. The former of these donations was confirmed by 
Walter de Cormeiles, his son. 

" Of two hospitals which were founded at Monmouth by John 



MONMOUTH. 21 

de Monemuta about a.d. 1240, one, dedicated to St John, was 
given by his son to the Abbot and monks of Salmur, of whom 
the monks of Monmouth formed a part. The deed of founda- 
tion of the other hospital, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is given 
with the deeds of Monmouth Priory. 

" Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, second son of Henry III, gave 
to the Prior and Convent of Monmouth ten acres of wood in 
Bochotte, in the road from Monmouth to Hereford, with two 
acres of waste land in Codythan. 

" Monmouth was, among other alien priories, seized by the 
Crown during the various wars with France, but was as regu- 
lariy again restored. Henry IV, in the first year of his reign, 
restored all conventual alien priories, reserving in times of war 
to the Crown, what they paid in times of peace to the foreign 
abbeys ; but in the reign of his son they were given to the King 
witliout reserve. 

" Monmouth Priory, however, was one of those which were 
allowed to become denizen, and so remained till the general 
suppression of religious houses in the time of Henry VIlT, when 
its revenues were rated at £56 :1 : 11. The site was granted, 
in the 4th and 5th of Philip and Mary, to Bichard Price and 
Thomas Perry. 

"PRIORS OF MONMOUTH. 

** Kobert occurs Prior of Monmouth in the time of Henry I, 
in the first charter of Baderon de Monemue, as does Goisfridus 
or Greofltrey in another charter of Baderon, and in one of Richard 
de Cormeiiis, about A.D. 1125. The Geoffrey mentioned in the 
latter charter is probably the same person who is called * Geof- 
fredus Parvus*. 

" Peter occurs in the charter of Hugh de Laci, about 1134. 

" Florentius occurs in the charter of John de Monemuta the 
elder, in the time of Elias Bishop of liandaff, about 1230 a.d. 

"Peter de Bosco occurs A.D. 1297. 

•'Thomas Tynney was made Prior a.d. 1379. 

" Richard Ward occurs in the first year of Henry IV, A.D. 1400. 
He died in 1412. 

" William Eyton succeeded in the same year. 

"Robert occurs in the time of Booth, Bishop of Hereford, 
about A.D. 1500. 

" Richard Taylbush was the last Prior, a.d. 1539. He received 
an annual pension of £9 after the Dissolution. 

" No Register of Monmouth Priory is noticed anywhere ; nor 
have the editors of the new Mcmasticon as yet found an impres- 
sion of its common seal. 



22 MONMOUTH. 

" Vide * In bibl. Bodl, Oxon., MS. Dodsworth, vol. Ixiii, fol. 
104, cartas quasdam spectantes ad prioratum de Monmouth, 
Pat. 15, Edw. Ill, p. 3, m. 2, vol. iii, in Bundello Beuef. alieniq., 
48 Edw. Ill, de eccl. de Monmouth, Stretton, Asperton, Dixton, 
Tatington, Llanrethall, Castro Godrich, Ac, Prioratui alien, de 
Monemuta appropriatis.' Rec. in Scacc. 33 Hen. VI, Mich. 
Eot. 12. 

" Certain Pleadings of the 4th year of King John, as to the 
Church of Staunton, which belonged to this Priory, are preserved 
in the Augmentation OflBce, in which repository are cdso to be 
found several deeds from its benefactors, and a Court Roll of 
the 7th Rich. II." 

The last of the Priors, Richard Tailebus or Taylbush, 
granted on Jan. 27, a.d. 1585, in the 27th Henry VIII, 
a lease for seventy years of " all that scite and mano- 
rial place lying in the town of Monmouth, and joyning 
the priori church, and the parish church of Monmouth, 
to Rob. Terghwhyt at a reserved rent of £6 : 1 3 : 4 per 
an , taking £20 sterling in the name of a fyne." He 
was evidently setting his house in order, for the pre- 
vious year the Kings commissioners had valued the 
Priory ; and the following year, in the account ren- 
dered by the King's servants, the Priory is described 
as lately dissolved. 

The situation of the Priory Church seems, from the 
above lease, to have been near to the parish church, 
and in Speed's map it is drawn as close to the east end 
of it. In 1736 there was still standing the ruin of this 
grand church, consisting of what Mr. Heath describes 
as " beautiful arches springing from massy columns"; 
but in those days of destruction it was considered to be 
in the way. 

The accompanying sketch of St. Mary's, with the 
ruins of the old Priory Church adjoining, gives an idea 
of the position of the original church belonging to the 
Benedictine Priory, and agrees with Speed's description 
of it. " In this town a beautiful church with 3 iles is 
remaining ; and at the east end a most curiously built 
(but now decayed) church stands, called the Monks' 
Church." The nave of this church was for the use of 



MONMOUTH. 



23 



the parifihioners, while the ruined eastern portion 
formed part of that used by the monks/ The latter 
church appears to have been cruciform ; and probably 
adjoining the north transept was the chapter-house of 
the order. This and other buildings would extend in 
the same direction till they joined a building, the wall 
of which was pulled down some years ago in preparing 




St. Matj's Charch. 

the ground for the erection of the oflBces of the Regis- 
trar of the County Court. Here was probably one of 
the day-rooms of the monks ; and in the process of re- 
moving the dihris^ the workmen discovered a series of 
encaustic wall-tiles, which were described by the late 

^ In 1684 the first Duke of Beaufort, in his progress through 
Wales, describes a monument of a knight, cross-legged, on an altar- 
tomb then existing in the church, which was traditionally considered 
to be John of Monmouth. This had been damaged by Cromwell's 
soldiers, and was entirely destroyed when the church was *' restored** 
in 1736. 



24 



MONMOUTH. 



Mr. Wakeman in his paper on the Prioiy of Monmouth, 
printed by the British Archseological Association in its 
Journal, vol. iv, p. 216. 

Of the conventual buildings there still remains the 
part known as "Geoffrey's Window", though, of course. 




many years later than his time. Geoffrey was a Bene- 
dictine monk, Archdeacon of Monmouth, and Bishop of 
St. Asaph, 1152. He was said to have been born in 
Monmouth. This window wras probably in the domestic 
buildings of the Priory, erected in the middle or latter 
part of the fifteenth century. 



MONMOUTH. 25 

The common seal of the Priory is unknown, but 
several impressions of the seal of Prior Florence exist 
in the Augmentation Ofl&ce. It is an eagle with two 
heads displayed, with a crescent in chief, and the legend 
reads, sioillum Florence pkioris monem. 

In addition to the Priory we read of St. John's Monas- 
tery and the Hospital of the Holy Trinity. These were 
probably of the same foundation, and they are described 
in thecharter of John of Monmouth, during the priorate 
of Florence, about 1216, as being situated without the 
East Gate of Monmouth ; but no trace whatever of the 
buildings remains. 

The parish church, dedicated to St. Mary, stands on 
the site of the ancient Priory Church. At the recent 
restoration, in 1881, the bases of the pillars of the old 
Norman church were exposed to view ; and one respond 
of the arcading stiU remains against the wall of the 
tower, which forms part of the western end of the pre- 
sent nave. Its base is 3 feet 6 inches below the pre- 
sent floor. An ancient encaustic pavement was disco- 
vered some feet below the present floor, and a broken 
portion of a cresset-stone was found by the workmen 
excavating in the interior of the church. The frag- 
mentary block measures 18 ins. by 11 ins., and contains 
the remains of six cups about 2^ ins. in diameter, and 
2 ins. deep. The bottoms and sides of the cups have 
dark discolorations, as from the action of fire. The 
cressets or cups were filled with fat, and were used by 
the monks as lamps at the night offices of the church, 
and in their dormitories. A holy water stoup was also 
found built into one of the walls that was taken down. 
There is a good four-light, late Decorated window in 
the western side of the tower, and a fine arch of the 
same date opening into the church. On the north and 
south sides of the tower are two turrets (Norman, I 
imagine) about 7 ft. wide, and nearly 6 ft. deep, run- 
ning high up the tower. The one on the south con- 
tains the tower-staircase. An elegant spire surmounts 
the tower. The church has been rebuilt from the plans 



26 MONMOUTH. 

of Mr. G. E. Street, R.A., in Early English style, with 
the addition of a new chancel and vestry. This church 
was until lately in the diocese of Hereford, but it is 
now in that of Llandaff, the river Monnow having beoi^ 
until 1844, the boundary between the two dioceses. 

There has of late been much discussion as to the 
arms of the town of Monmouth, and some authorities 
consider that it has no right to use the shield which is 
given on the old map of Speed. The town-seal has the 




device of a common trow under sail, and it was granted 
when Charles II gave the town a new charter. It has 
this inscription engraved round the handle, under the 
matrix : " xxvij Anno Regni Regis Caroli 2*** nunc Ang- 
lia\ etc. '*Eec'us Ballard Ar : tunc Secundo Major 
Villa de Monmouth." 

A few years ago the matrix of the seal of the Chan- 
cery of Monmouth was discovered by a poor man in the 
Wye, and for some time this was used as the weight 
of a clock-pendulum ; but having been seen by some 
one who recognised its original use, it was rescued from 
its ignoble position. It was engraved in the Journal 
of the Archaeological Institute in March 1857. It ap- 
pears to be well executed, and quite perfect, and bears 
the figure of an armed knight on horseback, with this 
inscription : ''S: Edwardi : di : gra : reg : Angl : t : 
Francie : CanceUarie : sue : de : Monemoutk\ This was 
the official seal of the Court of the Lord Marcher of 
Monmouth, who held his own court, modelled after 
those at Westminster ; and from this court issued writs 



MONMOUTH. 27 

both original and judicial. The King's writs did not 
run in the marches, nor could the Crown officers exe- 
cute any such writs within these precincts unless the 
whole barony was in question, and in case of high trea- 
son. The date of the seal is given as Edward IV. 




Seal of the Chancery of Sionmouth. 



CAREW CASTLE. 



No other place that I know shows so plainly, and in 
such contrast, the different periods which have princi- 
pally affected it as Carew Castle. First, the original 
construction, probably tempore Henry II. As viewed 
from the west it looks like an Edwardian castle with 
later windows and battlements; but it is really earlier, 
and part of the east side and the north-east tower are 
of the same date, namely Early English. Second, the 
east and west interior faces built by Sir Rhys ap Tho- 
mas about 1480. Third, the north front and the north 
side of the inner court, the work of Sir John Perrot 



28 CAREW CASTLE. 

about 1580. And fourth, the siege in 1644, the effect 
of which was the reverse of constructive, on the whole 
of the south side. 

The earliest works which show a definite date are, in 
my opinion, the piscina and the rudiments of the ori- 
ginal north light in the chapel, and a window in an 
unoccupied and inaccessible chamber at the top of what 
1 have called the north-east tower, the square tower 
adjoining the chapel on the north side. This last is 
the highest chamber in the Castle ; and these are all 
well defined Early English. There can scarcely be a 
doubt that this was the date of the first construction, 
the remains of which are the north-west and south- 
west towers with their connecting wall and building, 
and the south-east tower with the gateway and all the 
east front as far as the square tower just named. 

I fail to find any trace of a British caer or camps of 
any sort. 

Sir Rhys appears to have altered every light (except 
that in the north-east tower), and perhaps the battle- 
ments and chimney-stacks ; but his most decided alter- 
ations appear in the inner court, the west and east 
sides of which were wholly recast by him. Probably 
he treated the north and south sides similarly. But 
Sir John Perrot recast the north, and Cromwell's men 
cast down the south, in each case so effectually that 
there is no trace of what preceded. I expect Sir Rhys* 
work is evidenced externally only by the windows, and 
that Sir John Perrot altered the parapets and chimneys. 

The very remarkable building of Sir John Perrot 
seems to have been suggested by the peculiar ground- 
plan. The square base of the north-west tower faces 
very different points from that of the south-west tower. 
Its west face is at right angles to the true west, while 
the corresponding face of the other is at right angles 
to the north-west point ; consequently. Sir John found 
that he could continue the north face of the last named 
in a straight line, and build on the square of the east 
face, almost outside the existing building, while using 



CAREW CASTLE. 29 

the north-west tower as part of his new work. The 
latter is a continuation of the north-west tower, having 
it for its west end ; but it ends altogether outside the 
north face of the east front, the original wall of which 
still exists internally. Consequently the building, ori- 
ginally rectangular, or nearly so, now has its east front 
longer by the whole width of Sir John Perrot's work 
than the west front is. 

This rather goes to show, as pointed out by Mr. 
Clark, that when the form of the site does not forbid 
it, the desire to be concentric existed before Edwardian 
times. But in no sense can Carew be considered as 
coming within either of Mr. Clark's definitions. It is 
remarkable that in his recent admirable work, like Mr. 
King, he omits descriptions of Pembrokeshire castles. 

Even here, perhaps, generally level as the ground is, 
the set of the square bases of the western round towers 
was probably due to the nature of the foundation. In 
its present form, what strikes me most is the vast 
accommodation for state purposes, and the scant provi- 
sion of domestic chambers and offices. The whole 
space between the two western towers consists, and 
apparently always did consist, only of a lower vaulted 
hsJl formed by a double row of nine bays on the 
ground-floor, opening to the vaulted basements of the 
western towers, probably for the use of followers ; and 
of a lofty, timber-roofed hall over, opening at each end 
to the towers ; which last, above the vault of basement, 
contain only two state rooms with fireplaces and 
latrines. 

The south-east angle tower» of horseshoe form, also 
contains a vaxilted basement, which was a double sally- 
port, and two fine chambers with better private accom- 
modation above. The east building is mainly occupied 
by stairs, — ^two great halls, one over the other, — the 
chapel with the priests' rooms adjoining, crypt below, 
and a state room over. The vaulted basement, like 
tliat on the opposite side, might have been the kitchen, 
only it has no fireplace ; and the whole of Sir John 



30 CAREW CASTLE. 

Perrot's building seems to have comprised only an 
upper and lower long and lofty gallery-like chamber 
with like vast rooms at the west end. The basement 
might have been the kitchen, as alleged, but it also 
has no fireplace ; and I do not think that people who 
built as Sir John did would have put their kitchens 
under their timber-floored halls ; and if a kitchen, in 
such case one would expect some provision for stairs. 
The only parts left for domestic purposes are the cham- 
bers on each side of the entrance. 

There cannot have been erections in the court (now 
gone), so common elsewhere, as that would have spoiled 
the whole effect of the more recent design. The offices, 
if anywhere within the present walls, must, therefore, 
have been on the south side, now destroyed. But even 
here there is little appearance of, and less room for, 
barracks, stabling, barns, and the like. 

Sir Rhys' object seems to have been display, and he 
possibly housed his own followers and those of his 
guests and their horses temporarily on the green. The 
numbers he entertained were very great. 

As a fortress Carew seems to have been very weak. 
Its situation has none of the advantages usually selected 
by mediaeval engineers, except, perhaps, convenience 
of sea- transport ; not even that of water for use, con- 
venient of access. The east front seems peculiarly ex- 
posed ; yet here was the chapel-tower with windows 
near the ground, and the gateway with only one gate, 
and one portcullis, and no flanking guard-rooms. It 
seems almost necessary to believe that there was an 
outer and better protected court ; but there are no cer- 
tain vestiges of it. 

The very pretty little gate-tower is clearly Sir Rhys'; 
but it can only be looked on as a toy ; and the curtain 
on each side, with the low rampart, looks only for 
parade. The parapet is built in the middle of the wall, 
allowing standing space on the wall outside. Any one, 
without being active, could rest here and clamber over 
the parapet ; while not a single loop here, or anywhere 



CAREW CASTLE. 31 

else, rakes the wall. A boy might have got into Sir 
John's east end, and fired the wood floors. 

Yet Cromwell did not attack this side, but the more 
solid south. Perhaps his object was more to destroy 
than only to take. The ravelin thrown out in front of 
the gate-tower seems to show the sense of weakness, 
and possibly was sufficient to look formidable. 

The marked dissimilarity between Pembroke and the 
earlier building at Carew is very striking. The first 
gathers round a vast central keep ; the last has nothing 
that can be called a keep. The first has no defined 
plan; the last has. Pembroke caps a limestone cliflf; 
Carew is almost on the flat, in meadows. Pembroke 
has no corbel-table ; Carew has it everywhere. At 
Pembroke it is the roofs only that are vaulted; at 
Carew everything except the roofs. At Pembroke 
scarcely a loop has a recess ; at Carew there is scarcely 
one without. At Pembroke the round towers have 
round bases ; at Carew the bases are square. At Pem- 
broke the presence of freestone is proof of early work ; 
at Carew it is just the contrary, — no freestone occurs 
earlier than in Sir Rhys' late Perpendicular : all the 
early ashlar was a dark sandstone. At Pembroke each 
tower has its own stairs in connected or disjointed 
spirals; at Carew the stairs are distinct from the 
towers, and serve other chambers also. Pembroke is, 
for the most part, curtain ; at Carew there is now ab- 
solutely no curtain. At Pembroke the site of the 
Chapel of St. Nicholas cannot be pointed out ; at Carew 
the chapel is the most prominent building. The ap- 
proach to the entrance at Pembroke, though within 
the town walls, is protected to a most unusual extent 
by all the usual means; at Carew it is scarcely pro- 
tected at all, though there are no town-walls or other 
defence ; and what power of defence there is, is of an 
exceptional character. 

Entering the Castle Precinct, near the ancient cross, 
an inequality of the turf may be noticed, which I think 
may indicate the outer ward. It is said that the south 



32 CAREW CASTLE5. 

wall of the present garden has blocked loops, and that 
pitching has been found in it. Perhaps it is part of a 
building which may have formed the north side of the 
outer ward. 

Just before reaching the gate-tower was a broken 
line of apparent rubbish. By partially clearing this I 
have uncovered the foundations of a ravelin-work simi- 
lar to that at Manorbere, thrown up. to protect the 
gate in Parliamentary times. It has been a good deal 
knocked about. I expect not by cannon, as the gate- 
house within is not battered ; but yet in parts it re- 
tains its original face. 

The little foss, well walled on both sides, showed on 
the north side of the present causeway leading across 
it to the gate-house. It is now clear that this cause- 
way is recent, and that the foss extends 9 feet to the 
south of the gate-tower. The wall on which the bridge 
fell to its pier remains, and the pit inside. Except the 
little lift-bridge and two cross movable beams, the 
gateway had no defence. It consists of a barrelled vault 
18 feet long and 9 feet wide ; a room over, approached 
from the south rampart, with good windows on three 
sides ; a latrine ; and steps to a wondrously small look- 
out turret in the north-west angle. This gate-tower, 
I think, must be considered to be the original work of 
Sir Rhys, though it is probably the only building 
remaining which is. 

The ramparts and parapet on each side have been 
before referred to. The crenelles are well shaped, like 
those of the south-east tower ; but all the embrasures 
have been again narrowed into slits, as at Manorbere. 

About 40 feet inside the gate-tower is a wall 10 feet 
high, parallel with the Castle, with no loops, but with 
a plain opening in it, having square holes, to carry 
beams. This wall extended from the eastern face of 
the south-east tower to the chapel tower, the apse of 
the latter extending beyond it. Fifteen feet inside this 
is the great entrance. This is very nearly round-headed, 
and was probably much enriched, but every scrap of 



CAREW CASTLE. 33 

ashlar is now gone. In the crown are five raeurtri^re 
openings, apparently stopped in Sir Rhys's time. The 
vault had only one double-hung door and one port- 
cullis, — the only portcullis in the Castle. But before 
these were reached, the drop of a latrine and the door 
to the offices occurred ; probably it Was somewhat the 
same on the south side, but here the building is much 
ruined. There seems to have been only a pretence of 
a guard-room or any offensive arrangement, unless it 
was supplied by the latrine. 

The casement of the south-east tower is reached by 
an arch outside the main wall of the Gastle, and be- 
tween it and the cross- wall before described, and leads 
to a similar arch opening out west, close on the south 
face. This basement has a barrel-vault^ but gives no 
access to the chambers above> and it has only one nar- 
row light. It evidently served as a sallyport, both to 
the ditch on the south face, and to the space betweeu 
the screen wall just now described and the great 
entrance. This power of attack by sally, and by fire 
from the loops of the chamber above, seems to have 
been almost the only means of defence of any import- 
ance, and is very unusual, I believe unique ; yet it is 
difficult to see how this was very serviceable, seeing 
there is no apparent access between the sallyport 
chamber and the other part of the Castle. The cham- 
ber over is also vaulted, but was well lighted with its 
own well-lit latrine and a little auxiliary chamber 5 ft. 
by 4 ft. There were also loops commanding the gate- 
way. Over this was another like lofty chamber with 
timber roof. This tower is horseshoe in shape, and has 
original crenelles similar in shape to those on the foss- 
rampart. 

Tne south front of the Castle, as far as Sir Rhys's 
alterations, has been destroyed and replaced by a 
modem wall. It looks as if a breach for assault nad 
here been made ; the foundations, however, afford little 
space for buildings of any importance. 

North of the great entrance come, first, some service 

6th bmr., vol. iir. 3 



34 CAREW CASTLE. 

rooms of no especial character, but vaulted ; then spa- 
cious, three-flight stairs starting in the yard, every 
tread of which is now removed ; and beyond, a vaulted 
basement, with ribs now gone, arcaded at the sides. 
It must have been a handsome chamber ; but being 
wholly without light, and having no fireplace, could 
have Deen used only for stores. On the east of it is a 
vaulted passage leading to the crypt, and to rooms, 
and a latrine beyond. 

Over the store-place was a hall, 54 ft. by 24 ft., with 
good windows looking into the court; and over it, 
divided by a wooden floor, was another similarly sized 
hall with a pitched timber roof. Here is the fireplace 
with the arms of King Henry VII. 

To the east is the chapel, 36^ ft. by 17 ft.; that is, 
exactly one-third smaller than the chapel at Manor- 
bere. It, as well as the crypt beneath, is vaulted, and 
had ribs of plain, hammer-dressed stones, 10 ins. wide, 
forming two bays and a half. The east end is a demi- 
octagon, having three lights ; one at the east, and one 
on each of the north ana south sides. 

On the right of the entrance is the sandstone recess 
for the stoup. Between the south and east windows 
is the piscina, also of sandstone, evidently once highly 
finished, and most distinctly Early English ; and on 
the corresponding face a plain aumbry. Between the 
north window and the door to the priest's rooms is a 
good-sized but plain fireplace, clearly original ; and at 
the west end, between the two doors, is an arched open- 
ing to the lower eastern- hall, 4 ft. wide and 4 ft. high, 
similar to that which existed at Manorbere before the 
latter was converted into a door. These openings 
from the chapel to the hall do not seem to have at- 
tracted the attention they deserve. The windows, 
apparently, were built up at bottom, and widened, pro- 
bably to admit Sir Rhys's freestone ; but every vestige 
of it has now disappeared. Fortunately, however, he 
built over the sill and one jamb of the original sand- 
stone Early English window. This I have uncovered, 



CAREW CASTLE. 35 

and from it can be clearly made out the character of 
what it had been. 

The priest's rooms consist of one chamber with a fire- 
place, and beyond it a smaller, with latrine, all vaulted. 

The chambers over correspond in size. That over the 
chapel had a gabled timber roof and ram part- walk ; 
the roof-timbers being supported on sandstone corbels, 
6 ft. from the floor ; now weathered and smooth, but 
which may have been once sculptured. The fireplace 
was probably enriched, but the great sandstone blocks 
have been forced away ; while on the north side, be- 
tween the fireplace and the door, is an opening through 
to the next chamber by a long, low arch not reaching 
to the ground. The rooms beyond are vaulted ; so that 
here are three vaults, one over the other ; the upper 
being probably timber-roofed, but it is now inaccessible. 

It may have been that the chamber over the chapel 
was allotted to some person of position, yet not quite 
entitled to the ordinary use of the halls, and that he 
had his separate rations cooked in the room adjoining, 
the low arch being the hatch through which it was 
passed. This tower is crenellated in the same way as 
the south-east tower. 

The junction of Sir John's building with the older is 
very visible, showing how they misfitted. There is a 
long hollow between the two, at first 2 ft. wide, gra- 
dually diminishing towards the west till they unite. 

I need scarcely describe Sir John's building, as it is 
so well known to most as one of the most magnificent 
examples of late Tudor. The eastern part consisted of 
a basement approached from the inner court, and two 
floors forming halls or galleries above, having a half- 
round end to the east, and a half-round projection on 
the north; the whole about 102 ft. long and 20 ft. wide, 
timber floors and roofs, and timber lintels to the win- 
dow recesses. The basement is lofty, and was fairly 
lighted by square windows ; but it has no fire- 
place, and the loops of the latrines in the older build- 
ing open into it. It seems to me it can have been only 



36 CAKBW CASTLE. 

a store-place. The first floor has three fireplaces, but 
apparently no partitions ; and the upper has only one 
fireplace, out that much enriched. The mode of access 
is not quite clear. It was apparently from the western 
part. Here are similar chambers, only, of course, not 
so long, with one half-round projection to the north, 
joining up to the north-west tower, as before described. 
The corbels of the latter show inside the former. Here 
were the stairs from the court. The only difference of 
the windows from those to the east is that here there 
is on each side of each a coved recess, as for a seat or 
an eflSgy. There is an entire absence of anything that 
could in my opinion serve as offices, and no latrine of 
the same date as this building. I doubt if there is 
any original latrine of Sir Rhys's, unless it be the mini- 
ature one in the Gate Tower, or of Sir John's. 

The workmanship, so far as it goes, is excellent, and 
the effect striking ; but there being no arches to sup- 
port the windows, they have necessarily given way as 
the timber decayed, and it seems to me must shortly 
perish. I can devise no way of saving or even strength- 
ening them, which will not be very costly or very dis- 
figuring. The owner is very anxious to do what may 
be done to preserve them. He has been good enough 
to consult me, placing at my disposal a sum of money 
for this and other purposes in preserving the Castle ; 
but I am sorry to say I can devise no satisfactory plan, 
though I have taken skilled experts to advise me. 

The bases of each of the western towers are square, 
with great batter, dying into round at the first floor 
level. Tike the base of a broach spire, as at Goderich, 
Newport, Chepstow. The basements are wholly un- 
connected with the chambers above, and are covered 
with high, barreled vaults, the ridge being north and 
south. Each have separate entrances by steps from 
the vaulted western hall, and have three loops opening 
out of very large recesses without seats, but no fire- 
place. The east loop of the south tower opens high up 
above the springing of the vault, while all the others 



CAREW CASTLE. 37 

are low ; and this tower has a stone basin with drain 
(now-a-days we should say sink) ; and the northern 
has an arched postern, 4 ft. wide, opening just under 
the west face of the hall. The angle of the square base 
in which this arch is placed, with the west face, is so 
acute that the arch cannot be seen till you are close 
to it. 

There is a spring on the beach close outside, and so 
far as appears at present this was the only access to 
water ; out the postern looks as if it had been closed 
since Sir Rhys's time. 

The stairs to the chambers above are newel, and, in 
each case, in the wall adjoining on the east, and have 
also separate entrances from the vaulted hall. These 
stairs continue to the turrets or watch-towers above. 
The chambers had two lights each, latrines in the 
north-west angle, and fireplaces on the east side. 
Without doubt these towers are Early English, the 
windows being recast by Sir Rhys, and the parapets 
by him or Sir John. 

The vaulted hall on the basement between these 
must have been a handsome chamber, but somewhat 
dark. It consisted of two rows of arches of nine bays 
each, 7 ft. by 12 ft., with simple, square ribs, 10 ft. 
wide, springing from the walls, without capitals, as at 
Monkton. All the centre piers are gone. There was 
a broad door from the court, and tnree small lights 
into it, and three others on the opposite side. The 
great height of the coves of the recesses of these win- 
dows is unusual Thev look like chimneys ; but it is 
clear they never went higher than the floor of the hall 
above. That under the bow window has been ingeni- 
ously carried out into it. I consider this hall to be ori- 
ginaJ. 

Over it, approached from the court by wide stairs 
and a sumptuous porch and ante-room, is Sir Rhys s 
great hall. It is about 90 ft. long, and nearly 30 ft. 
broad, and had a timber, high-pitched roof, the ridge 
of which was about 40 ft. from the floor. At the south 



38 CAREW CASTLE. 

end is an arched recess with an elaborate window at 
the back, not included in the above dimensions. This 
was probably the musicians' gallery ; and on the east 
side of the north end was a bow window projecting into 
the court. Three lights to the west, which were Early 
English, were widened and filled up, both above and 
below, with Perpendicular freestone. The most north- 
erly yet shows the Early English jambs and seats. 
Sir Rhys boldly grasped the difficult)^ caused by the 
end towers not standing square. He built a new north 
end wall, leaving an internal space of some feet at the 
east side, running to nothing at the west, quite unoc- 
cupied. This can be well seen from the rampart of the 
north tower. A good-si^ed ash-tree is growing in the 
space. 

The alteration of the parapets is carried out all 
round the inner court, and on the western towers and 
their connecting wall. I think this may have been 
done by Sir John ; for as I attribute the little gate- 
tower and the wall on the north of it to Sir Rhys, and 
these have crenellations resembling the original on the 
south-east and north-east towers, I scarcely think he 
would have erected one building copying the old, while 
he was destroying like work elsewhere, 

The chimney-stacks seem all to have been square. 
If we may trust Mr. Sandby s drawings they were 
embattled. 

There are no signs or tradition of a well. Lead pipes 
are said to have been dug up, many years ago, at 
Stevens' Green, on the old-red, about a mile off, the 
direction of which pointed towards the Castle. 

One cannot but wonder at the selection of the site. 

Sir Rhys's display at Carew is fully detailed by Mr, 
Fenton ; and it was here that he was required by King 
Richard III to take an oath of fidelity, and give his 
son as hostage. He did not give his son, but swore 
that whoever dared to land in those parts should first 
paas over his body. It is not impossible that the toy 
bridge connected with the little gate-tower at Carew 



CAREW CASTLE. 39 

was erected to enable him, without disgrace, to get 
under it while King Henry VII passed over it, and 
thus over Sir Rhys s body. Sir Thomas Perrot, a kins- 
man of Sir Rhys, was present at his tournament, and 
accompanied him, with Henry VII, from'Milford Haven 
to Bosworth. Sir Thomas is alleged to have introduced 
pheasants into Pembrokeshire, at Haroldstone, near 
Haverford ; and it was there his reputed son, Sir John, 
was born. 

The connection of Sir John Perrot with Carew is 
somewhat perplexing. He was made Lord President 
of Munster by Queen Elizabeth in 1572, and Lord 
Deputy of Ireland in 1583, dying in the Tower in Sep- 
tember 1592, having been sentenced to death on the 
16th of June previous; but it was said that Queen 
Elizabeth would never suffer her brother to be sacrificed 
to the envy of strutting adversaries. Sir John's bar 
sinister seems to have been handed on by him to his 
successors. 

That he resided much at Carew is beyond all doubt; 
but he held at the same time his house at Harold- 
stone, and subsequently had Laugharne Castle. He 
obtained a grant from Queen Mary of Carew Castle ; 
and shortly after Elizabeth's accession created surprise 
by travelling from Carew to Greenwich in less than 
three days, to take command of some ships in order to 
intercept certain Spanish forces ; and an inventory of 
his effects is given in Arch. Camh., vol. xi (1865), p. 
122, with a great deal of other very valuable informa- 
tion. Yet Sir John Carew probably resided here in the 
early part of the seventeenth century. He was High 
Sheriff of Pembrokeshire in 1623, and was buried in 
1637, under a stately tomb in Carew Church, bearing 
the eflSgies of himself and his dame. 

Mr. Fenton seems to think that the Tudor work 
should be attributed to Sir John Carew, and not to 
Sir John Perrot ; but the inventory before referred to 
removes all possible doubt, reference being there made 
to deal boards provided for the dining chamber of the 



40 CAKEW CASTLE. 

new building at Carew, and as " much glasse ready to 
be set upp as will glace all the windows of the newe 
buildings' . 

The frequent reference to the iron chest at Carew is 
very curious. It seems to have produced cash when 
required, and ultimately to have been valued at 405. 

It may be observed that fractions of glass and por- 
tions of lead may yet be seen in some of the great 
windows. 

It seems difficult to see how residence at Carew was 
managed, when it is remembered that there are two 
halls, one over the other, nearly 100 ft. long, with two 
chambers at the west end of these over 40ft.; another 
magnificent hall, 86 ft. by 26 ft., with groined base- 
ment under, nearly the same siae ; two others, 54 ft. 
by 24 ft,, with groined basement under ; a chapel with 
priest's rooms and crypt, and rich chamber over, 38 ft. 
by 16 ft. ; two chambers in the south-eastern horseshoe 
tower, of about the same size ; two chambers in each of 
the western towers, about 18 ft. by 18 ft. ; and very 
little else besides, only the chambers, for the most 
part, unlighted, north of and over the entrance ; with 
absolutely no place for kitchen, bakery, and offices, un- 
less the basements of the round towers were so used ; 
to say nothing ofstables, barracks, or bams. 

Assuming that all the chambers with latrines were 
other than public or almost public halls, yet the pro- 
portion of hall to more domestic apartments is surpris-^ 
ing. It may be that the square projection on the south 
side was a latrine tower. Even if it were, the accom- 
modation in this respect is very limited. Neither Sir 
Rhys ap Thomas nor Sir John Perrot did anything now 
remaining in the sanitary line, unless it were to destroy 
what previously existed, and the deficiency is most 
marked when compared with earlier works. 

If there were any British camps here I do not think 
they would here be called *^ Caerau", as it is the Eng- 
lish-speaking part of Pembrokeshire. The pronuncia- 
tion is simply due to local form, — *' Care-you" (Carew), 



ST. THOMAS, OVER-MONNOW. 41 

By a contrary form, " Carew cwm" has become *' Crow- 
combe'*. I do not believe the last has more relation to 
crows than the first to camps. 

I presume there were mills of old ; the present show 
no signs of antiquity ; and the defence aflforded by the 
tide-water is so one-sided, I scarcely think it would 
have been banked back on that account, seeing that 
the causeway prevents the approach of any boat with 
material or other matters. 

J. R. Cobb. 



ST. THOMAS, OVER-MONNOW.^ 

The annient church of St. Thomas, Over-Monnow, may 
be described as Norman ; and it seems pretty clear 
that the main walls are comparatively unaltered, except 
for necessary repairs to the alterations that have been 
made in the windows of the nave. To take the several 
points to which I may direct your attention : — 

The west door is quite modern, having been first 
erected in 1830. Old people telJ me that they remem- 
ber the church with simply a blank west end wall 
which served for the purposes of the game of base-ball. 
Prior to 1830, I am told, the church was long unused, 
and almost a ruin. It was then taken in hand by 
Mr. Thomas Wyatt of Troy ; the west doorway built 
in brick and cement, a new turret added (as shown in 
photograph) in wood and plaster, and galleries built, 
which, with the present pewing, were made of oak got 
on the Duke of Beaufort's estate. The present west 
doorway was built in stone in 1880, precisely after the 
pattern of the previous doorway. 

The north doorway of the nave was found, in 1880, 
to be so dilapidated, as far as the iambs were con- 
cerned, that they were replaced by the present ones, 
as nearly as we could discover after the pattern of the 
old ones. The arch of the door is, I suppose, original. 

^ Notes refwJ on the visit of the Association in August 1885. 



42 ST. THOMAS, OVER-MONNOW. 

The chancel-door seems to be original, except that 
the pediment was, in 1 874-5, replaced in Forest of Dean 
stone instead of sandstone. The walls of the chancel 
were then stripped, inside and out, of the whitewash 
and plaster covering them. The chancel-windows on 
the north side seem to be much as they have been for 
a long time, although I am told originally they were 
narrower outside. There is a kind of hood over the 
two on the north side, which does not exist over the 
original one on the south side. The second window on 
the south side was added in 1874-5. 

The stringcourse which existed on the north side 
seems to have disappeared on the south. 

The present chancel- window in east wall was erected 
in 1874-5, when the whole, or nearly the whole, of 
this wall seems to have been taken down. This win- 
dow is the fourth I can trace. A somewhat elaborate 
Gothic window, which disappeared in 1836, is shown in 
a picture of the interior. This picture was bought at 
Sir Charles Landseer's sale, and was picked up by acci- 
dent in London, and presented to me by Mr. F. Mew, 
the architect, who superintended the repairs in 1880. 
On the south side there was evidently, at one time, a 
large opening which has been filled up, probably in 
1830. The old stone flashing is still to be seen on the 
east nave-wall. 

The windows of the nave were replaced in stone in 
1880, precisely after the pattern of the then existing 
plaster ones. Portions were found of two older win- 
dows on each side, of a meaner pattern than the pre- 
sent onQS, and smaller. 

Inside the church we may note the old hagioscope, 
rediscovered in 1874, and tne stone slab above it. The 
chancel-arch is original ; the jambs, which were much 
decayed, being replaced in 1874 by the present Forest 
of Dean stone instead of the sandstone then existing. 
There is a set-off to be noted over the chancel-arch, 
east of the nave. Originally the stringcourse went all 
round the chancel, but a large portion was clipped off 



THE €URMARC STONE, ST. DAVID's. 43 

in 1874 by the misdirected zeal of a workman. There 
is an old aumbry on the south side of the sacrarium. 
The chancel-roof seems to have been entirely altered 
in 1874. Formerly the beams were horizontal, as the 
old ones in the nave-roof now are. The ceiling of the 
nave was altered in 1880, the present boarded roof 
taking the place of a flat plaster one, 3 or 4 fb. lower 
than the present level. 

I do not know where the memorial stones in the 
aisles came from, or whether they occupy the place 
they always did. There have been no burials at St. 
Thomas' since 1852. Up to 1844 all the Registers were 
kept at St. Mary's ; since that date I have them. The 
font is, I suppose, a make-up. The picture shows a 
much older and ruder one. 

The small cross in the churchyard was, up to 1874, 
over the east wall of the chancel. The stem of it was 
lengthened when it was repaired. The old cross-base, 
near the inn opposite, according to Speed's map, stood 
in the centre of St. Thomas' Square, and does not seem 
to have been a churchyard-cross. 

P. Potter. 



ON THE GURMARC STONE, ST. DAVID'S, 

with observations on the introduction 

OF the alpha and omega on ancient 

monuments. 

This carved and inscribed stone was first made known 
to archaeologists in the article published by myself 
in the Arch^ologia Cambrensis for 1856 (Third Series, 
vol. ii, p. 50). The stone was then used as a gate- 
post leading to a farmhouse called " Pen- Arthur", half 
a mile to the north of St. David's, in close proximity 
to two other ornamented stones which I subsequently 
represented in the Lapidarium Wallice, PL 60, neither 
of which bears any inscription. I have been informed 
that all these three stones were originally placed around 



44 THE OURMARC STONE, ST. DAVID's. 

a holy well two fields distant from the Pen-Arthur 
farmhouse. 

Welsh archaeologists will be gratified to learn that 
these three stones have been rescued from their dan- 
gerous situations, where they have been long exposed 
to injury by passing waggons, etc., and placed for per- 
manent security in the Cathedral of St. David's by the 
venerable Dean, by whose noble exertions that splen- 
did edifice has been so admirably restored, and wnere, 
it is hoped, that other outlying stones from the neigh- 
bourhood may gradually be brought together, forming, 
with others sJreadv there, a lapidary museum equal in 
interest to those of Margam Abbev and Llantwit Major. 

In removing these stones to St. David's it was dis- 
covered that me Gurmarc Stone possessed two features 
which had not been previously observed. First, that 
the upper left hand angle of the face of the stone was in- 
scribed with several letters, corresponding with the cAi- 
rho monogram of Christ on the opposite right angle of 
the stone; and second, that the reverse side of the stone 
was also carved with a cruciform design. These pecu- 
liarities are represented in the accompanying drawings 
taken from photographs and rubbings kindly forwarded 
to me by the Dean. 

The newly found portion of the inscription is diffi- 
cult to decipher, owing to the peculiar forms of the let- 
ters and the partial abrasion of the stone. It com- 
mences with a large capital A with a long straight bar 
across the top of the letter, and the middle cross-bar 
angulated like a small v. This is an early, well known 
form of the first letter of the alphabet, and it is followed 
by an angulated stroke with a slight, recurved stroke 
at its bottom ; which, however, may possibly be the 
bottom of the second stroke of the initial a. Then 
follow three upright strokes looped together at the 
bottom, like a small m turned upside down (oi). This 
is followed by a single straight stroke, i ; and then 
there is a broken space caused by the partial scaling ofi 
of the surface of the stone, but in which may be very 




THE GURMARC 8T0NK, ST. DAVIDS. 



THE GURMABC STONE, ST. DAVID 8. 



45 



faintly traced the form of an h ; and then there is 
clearly a large s, agreeing with the terminal s of the 
right upper angle of the stone. 

Now in usual conjunction with the Greek contraction, 
^)9, of the name of Christ, we find the Greek, or rather 
Graeco-Latin, form of the name ofJesus, IH20T2, con- 
tracted first into IH2 or IHC or iTTS, and subsequently 
into ihs (which also form the initials of the woras 
"lesus hominum Salvator", adopted as the motto of 
the Jesuits) ; and we accordingly arrive at the conclu- 
sion that the latter half of the newly discovered part 
of the Gurmarc inscription represents the ihs. 




Rerene of the Gurmaro Stont. 



Moreover, in many veiy ancient stones and MSS. 
we also find the names of J esus Christ accompanied by 



46 



THE GURMARC STONE, ST. DAVID S. 



the Alpha and Omega, according to the passage in the 
first chapter of the Revelations, v, 8. Here then we find, 
first, the capital A of the ancient form, for Alpha ; 
second, a mark which corresponds with the well-known 
7-shaped contraction in MSS. of the word et (and), and 
then a letter which represents the ancient double w 
form of the Omega (co) instead of the more ancient form 
(n). We, therefore, thus obtain the formula. Alpha et 
Omega, ihs and yp^. 




The Glendaloagh Stono. 



The introduction of the initials of the names of the 
Saviour, or of the Alpha and Omega, at the top of 



THE GURMARC STONE, ST. DAVID's. 47 

Christian inscriptions appears to have been an evident 
imitation of the ancient Roman formula, d. m. {diis 
ftmnibus), applied in similar situations. It is of the 
greatest i-arity in our Christian lapidary monuments, 
and there is no other instance of the employment of 
the Alpha and Omega in conjunction with the iFs and 
Xp<; in Wales than the one now found. In Ireland, one 
instance of such conjoined forms only is known, which 
has been published in the Journal of the Royal Histo- 
rical and ArchsBological Association of Ireland (vol. iv, 
Fourth Series, Jan. 1883, No. 53, p. 43), found during 
some works at Glendalough in 1875, of which the pre- 
ceding is a drawing ; from which it will be seen that 
the Sr, xp^ ^^® preceded by two characters which the 
author, the Rev. James Graves, gives, together with 
the three others, as being in almost pure Greek charac- 
ters, and as representing A and ©, and as belonging to 
the eighth or ninth century (p. 44), " whilst the archaic 
form of the Omega would seem to point to even an 
earlier date." This letter is combined above with the 
contraction* for et ; and when separated from this con- 
traction it is, as here used, carved in many third and 
fourth century inscriptions in the Catacombs at Rome.* 
The Bishop of Limerick remarks on this Glendalough 
Stone : " I have not met with an example that I can 
recollect of the use of the form of Omega, which occurs 
on this slab of Bresal, at a period more recent than the 
fourth century. I saw one instance of about that date 
on a Christian monument in Africa ; but we must re- 
member that ecclesiastical fashions of all kinds esta- 

^ " Bean Keeves reads it thus, * et tiy% and not as a simple w. The 

f is equal to et, and so i equal to ' et w\ The line marking the con- 
traction is seen above." (Footnote, p. 44.) 

^ The Benedictines give numerous instances of the introduction 
of the A and w upon coins, diplomas, charters (especially at the 
headings), etc., in the Nouv, Traite de Diplomatique^ vol. ii, pp. 5G9, 
582, 616, and elsewhere. In vol. iii, PI. 37, v, i, they also give a 
representation, from a MS. of sermons of St. Augustine, etc., of the 
seventh or eighth century (which afterwards became common) of a 
cross from the arms of which are suspended the two letters a and w. 



48 THE GUEMARC STONE, ST. DAVID'S. 

blished themselves at a later period, and continued to 
prevail down to a later date in Ireland, than in Borne 
or other places to the east of us. As the Omega you 
have found on the Glendalough slab seems to be unique, 
I dare say you are right in regarding it as copied from 
a Greek Mo. which happened to be in the hands of the 
ecclesiastics living there." (Op. cit, p. 47.) 

In The Book of Armagh ^ a famous MS. in the Library 
of the Royal Irish Academy, the passage from the Apo- 
calypse reads, " Ego sum alfa et «"; and in the Codex, 
A. 4, 15, in Trinity College, Dublin, Library, there is a 
drawing with a ^«, the middle monogram representing 
the contraction xp* ; the x being here formed by a hori- 
zontal bar crossing the upright stroke of the cross, 
which was a frequent form of the Chi; whilst the Rho 
appears above the bar, and the I is formed of the lower 
part of the vertical stroke of the cross. This is the real 
meaning of the -f; so that it is not equivalent to xp9, 
as stated by the author (p. 46) and by most other 
writers. In such cases the prefix in nomine (Christi) 
is understood, especially at the beginning of early 
charters. 

It is remarkable that whilst in very many of the early 
coins of the French monarchy^ we find the reverse of the 
pieces marked with the cross, accompanied in that of 
Clovis I with the A and fl, in that of Dagobertus with 
ft and A ; and even in that of the Capetian King, 
Robert, the A and ft are still used, each being suspended 
by a ribbon from above ; whilst in more numerous 
instances the cross is accompanied with either a M or 
M A, which unquestionably represent Alpha and Omega, 
the M being intended for an angulated w turned upside 
down. It is still, however, more remarkable that there 
is not a single instance in the many hundreds of Anglo- 
Saxon coins figured in Ruding's Annals^ in which 
either the A andco or ft, or the ih? or ^p? at'o introduced ; 

^ See fignres of the -earlj French coins, published by Lenoir 
(Monumens de la France ; fol., 1840), and in the first volnme of 
Madame de Witt's recently published Le$ Ghroniqtiere de France, 



THE GURMARC STONE, ST. DAVIDS. 49 

the only Christian emblems which I can discover 
amongst them being the Chi, Rho, and Iota conjoined 

X in the usual form on the reverse of the coins of Coel- 

noth. Archbishop of Canterbury (Ruding, PI. 13) and 
of Athelwulf {Ibid., PL 30) ; and the hand of God ex- 
tended out of a cloud on the reverse of the coins of 
^thelred, either with all the fingers extended, or with 
only the thumb and first two fingers, in the act of 
benediction. (Ruding, PL 22.) On a vast number of 
the Anglo-Saxon coins, however, there is in the centre 
a small cross with four equal arms, which seems placed 
there, however, only to fill a blank space. 

With reference to the relative ages of the objects 
inscribed with the il or its equivalent, CO, it must be 
borne in mind that whilst the former shape of the let- 
ter occurs in the oldest Greek inscriptions several cen- 
turies before Christ (see the fii'st four Plates of the 
Palaeographical Society's facsimiles), it is never found 
in MSS. after the birth of Christ, being universally 
supplanted by the CO. In modern printed books the h 
is used as a capital letter, and the w simply as a minus- 
cule. I only know one instance (given by Boldetti, 
351, MunteVy Sinnbildery i, p. 85) in which the fl ap- 
pears for Omega at the side of the labarum. 

In Wales there is only another instance in which the 
ihs and XP? appeared together, namely on the Stone of 
St. Gwnnws, still standing in the churchyard of Llan- 
wnnws, Cardiganshire {Lap. Wall., PI. 68) ; on which, 
however, there is now only the x/09 remaining at the 
top right a igle of the stone ; the left angle, where, 
doubtless, the ihs existed, being broken off.^ The 
Christian monogram is very similar to that employed 
upon the unique Irish inscribed stone from Glendalough, 
described and figured above. The upper line of the 
inscription on the Glendalough Stone is to be read — 
"oii[oit]do bresal"; that is, a prayer for Bresal. 

^ The xps is omitted by Professor Hiibner (Christian Inscriptions 
of Britain^ p. 42. No. 122), to whom I sent a copy ot the stone, as 
well as by Prof. Rhys {Arch. Camb., 1874, p. 246). 

5tI1 6KK., VOL. III. 4 



60 THE GURMARC STONE, ST. DAVID's. 

I believe the first character of the lower line on 
the Glendalough Stone is intended for an Alpha, of 
which the v-shaped cross-bar, usual in early forms of 
the Alpha, is replaced by the two middle, detached, 
vertical strokes. 

It will be noticed that the monogram of "Christus** 
on the Glendalough Stone terminates with a recumbent 
8 ( CO ), respecting which the Bishop of Limerick remarks 
that he " takes it to be meant for an s, which itself 
stands for the Greek Sigma. So the s in IHS stands for 
the Greek 2 (Sigma), the fourth letterfthird and last let- 
ters] of the name of Our Lord" (p. 47). In this unusual 
position the letter is, however, simply an s, either fan- 
cifully, or with the intention of fiUing up a space, laid 
prostrate. See the figure of the Gurdon Stone (Lap. 
Wall, PI. 35, fig. 2), in which the two letters s in the 
word " sacerdos" are thus written ; also the two letters 
s in the inscription of the Newcastle coffin-lid {op. cit.^ 
PI. 31, fig. 4) ; and several other instances are given in 
N. Tr. de Diplomat., t. ii, PI. 25 ; vii, v, 2, 3, 5. 

There is still one other inscribed stone in Ireland 
which gives the vq^ v/d?, namely the sepulchral slab of 
Berichtuire at TuUy lease in the county of Cork.^ This 
is much more elaborately ornamented than the majority 
of the Irish gravestones given by Miss Stokes, and 
more nearly resembles some of the Scotch stones. The 
formula of the inscription is also unique in the Irish 
stones, and more like that of the Llanwnnws Stone ; 
whilst in the upper right hand angle appears the let- 
ters 'xp^\ the corresponding left angle being cut oflf, 
apparently intentionally (as in the Llanwnnws Stone), 
on which was, doubtless, the monogram ihs. 

In Scotland, I believe, the only instance of the intro- 
duction of the "A et CO" occurs at the top of one of the 
Kirkmadrine Stones (Stuart, Sculptured Stones of Scot- 
land, ii, PI. Ixxi, p. 35) ; the letter Omega is much 

^ Miss Stokes' Chrisiiaji Inscriptions in the Irish Language, vol. ii, 
PI. 30. 



THE GURMARC STONE, ST. DAVID's. 51 

defaced, but the two loops at the bottom of the co are 
clearly visible, — a point of importance, with reference 
to the supposed age of the stone, founded on the form 
of this letter, as insisted upon by the Bishop of Lime- 
rick (p. 47). Below these letters the stone bears the 
monogram, f , inscribed within a circle ; equivalent to 
the Clii (written vertically), Rho, and Iota, and not to 
the XP9. 

In England instances of the employment of the Alpha 
and Omega are extremely rare, and seem confined to 
the north of England, and of a very early date. Two 
small sepulchral stones were dug up in the cemetery of 
the old church of St. Hilda, Hartlepool, on one of 
which, inscribed in Runic letters with the name Hil- 
dethryth, on the sides of an incised cross, above the 
arms of which are the A formed as in the Gurmarc 
Stone, and the Omega formed of a circle divided down 
the middle by a straight vertical line, evidently in- 
tended for an m rather than H. Precisely the same 
formed letters occur on the other stone, inscribed with 
the name Berchtgyd. A fragment of another small 
sepulchral stone was also found in the restoration of 
Billingham Church, Durham ; in the centre of which is 
a space, on the left side of the stone, inscribed with a 
large A ; the right hand side of the stone (broken off) 
having, doubtless, the Omega. The inscription round 
the edge of the stone, "Orate pro", is in Anglo-Saxon 
uncial letters, and, as well as those of the Hartlepool 
stones, may be referred to the seventh century. (Hiib- 
ner, Iiiscr. Brit. Christ, pp. 69, 70, 72.) Hlibner also 
{ibid., p. 80) notices two small pewter masses found in 
the lliames, one of which is stamped with the labarum, 

X, within a circle, from the upper arms of which are 

suspended what appear to be the letters A and fl, repre- 
senting the Alpha and Omega described by the late 
Mr. A. Way and Mr. Franks. 

It remains to be mentioned that the reverse side of 
the Gurmarc Stone is occupied with an incised cross 
not quite like any other figured in the Lapidaritim 



52 EFFIGY IN BANGOR CATHEDRAL. 

WuU'kp, l)ein<^ formed with the four limbs of nearly 
equal length, and of double incised lines united by a 
double circular bar, in the manner of the Irish crosses, 
the extremity of each limb of the cross extending 
beyond the outer circle. 

I. O. West WOOD. 

Oxford. January 1886. 



EFFIGY IN BANGOR CATHEDRAL. 

During the process of restoration that went on in 1879 
there was discovered under the floor of the Chapter 
House, and surrounded by burnt wood (probably the 
remains of the ruin wrought by Owen Glyndwr in 
1404), the eflBgy, of which we are enabled, through the 
kindness of the Editor of the Proceedings of the Royal 
ArchcBological Institute, U> give the accompanying illus- 
tration and description. 

At the meeting of the Institute on February 5th, 
1880, Mr. Albert Hartshorne exhibited a photograph of 
an effigy, in low relief, of a lady, which he described as 
*' habited, like Queen Philippa, in a square head-dress, 
a wimple, and a long gown with pockets in front, and 
fastened with innumerable buttons down to the feet, 
and having l(»ng pendent sleeves. The hands are raised 
to the shoulders, palms outward ; an attitude of speci- 
ally earnest supplication very unusual in monumental 
sculpture, and such as may be seen in a modified form 
in the effigy of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. 
The close sleeves of the cote are shown, buttoned with 
oriental profusion ; and from the left hand is suspended 
a set of praying beads, in connection with which are 
five circular brooches, by which the beads are appa- 
rently kept in position. On the verge of the slab is the 
following inscription, in Lombardic letters, * . . ic iacet 

eva qve fvit vx anvel cvivs anima propiciet ' 

Full-sized or principal effigies are rarely represented 




KFFIGT IN BANCO R CATHEDRAL. 



EFFIGY IN BANGOK CATHEDRAL. 53 

with beads, though these accessories of devotion are 
frequent enough in the hands of * weepers' on the sides 
of high tombs. Isabella, wife of the first Sir John 
Spencer, carries beads in her effigy at Great Brington, 
Northamptonshire, and so does the pilgrim Hcistings at 
Ashby de la Zouohe, as well as an unknown lady in 
Lutterworth Church. 

" We are indebted to the obliging courtesy of the 
Rev. C. F. R. Palmer for the following notes upon the 
effigy at Bangor : 

"*The position of the hands is that miiversally 
adopted in the earliest ages of the Church, as is seen in 
all the * Orantes' portrayed on the walls of the Roman 
Catacombs. It is still retained by the priest in the 
most solemn parts of the Mass, and prevails extensively 
on the Continent and in Ireland, especially among the 
lower classes of people. It seems to be the most natu- 
ral and most earnest mode of raising the hands in 
prayer. It has never been discountenanced, and even 
continues to be recommended in the Franciscan Order. 

" * With regard to the beads, presuming that the 
effigy has a Paternoster bead (usually superior in mate- 
rial and workmanship to the rest) in the fingers, there 
are foui*teen sets of one Pater and seven Aves each. 
There are, therefore, fourteen Paternosters and ninety- 
eight Aves ; and the two beads projecting half way 
down the string, to the left, seem to have been added 
to make up the round number of a hundred Aves. 

** * Now the * Joys and Sorrows of Our Lady' formed 
a very favourite devotion with our forefathers. The 
* Seven Joys', as enumerated by St. Thomas k Becket 
in his well known Latin hymn, were, the Conception, 
the Birth, the Adoration of the Wise Men, the Finding 
in the Temple, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and 
the Assumption. Fabian wrote his Chronicle divided 
into seven parts, each part dedicated to one of the Joys. 
Still much variation exists in the number of the Joys, 
the Adoration and the Finding being very frequently 
omitted, so as to reduce the number to five, correspond- 



I" 



54 EFFIGY IN BANGOR CATHEDRAL. 

ing with the five wounds of Our Lord. The * Seven 
Dolours' were — the Prophecy of Simeon, the Flight into 
Egypt, the Loss of Jesus in the Temple, the Fall of 
Jesus under the Cross in going up to Calvary, the Cru- 
cifixion, the Piercing of His Side, and the Burial 

" ' Thus we should have a probable explanation of 
these beads. But there were innumerable devotions 
attached to the beads. The religious orders, especially 
the Mendicants, had each their particular beads, and 
even separate religious houses aflfected some peculiarity 
in this matter. I think the number seven was selected 
as that connected with so many notable Christian mys- 
teries and doctrines. 

" * With regard to the five brooches, they may have 
either been appended ornaments, as is not uncommon 
with rosaries at the present day, or have served to 
mark lengths in the beads for the purpose of adapting 
them to various devotional uses. But what those uses 
were remains to be investigated.'" 

" The unknown lady in Lutterworth Church", above 
referred to, was described by Mr. M. H. Bloxam as 
*' represented cumbent, on the left of her husband, clad 
in a long, loose gown with a mantle over, fastened 
across the breast by a cordon with pendent tassels, the 
cordon being affixed on either side to a lozenge-shaped 
fermail. The sleeves of the gown are full, but drawn 
up, and cuffed at the wrists ; the veiled head-dress, or 
coverchief, is worn ; and the head reposes on a double 
cushion, supported by angels. On the left side of the 
gown is a string of beads, or par precum. The period 
to which this monument may be fairly assigned is some 
time in the latter half of the fifteenth century." 

Mr. Bloxam writes to say that he considers the Ban- 
gor effigy to be " the work of the same sculptor who in 
the fourteenth century executed the monumental effigy 
of King Pabo in Llanbabo Church, Anglesey, described 
and illustrated by him in Arch. Ca7n6.( 1874, 4th Series, 
vol. V, p. 110), and that of St. Jestyn in Llaniestyn 
Church, in the same county, and described i6ic?.,p. 217. 



55 



NOTES ON THE OLDER CHURCHES IiT THE 
FOUR WELSH DIOCESES. 

BT THE LATE 

SiE STEPHEN RICHARD GLYNNE, Bart. 
(Continued from voL «,/). 219.) 



THE RURAL DEANERY OF CASTLE MARTIN. 
COSHESTON (ST. MICHAEL). 




COSHESTON 



1842. 



This church is in a striking and elevated situation, 
commanding a view ove^- Milford Rpvpfi. It consists 



56 NOTES ON THE OLDER OHUKCHES 

of a west tower, nave with north aisle, south transept, 
and chancel. The steeple is curious, — a small, square 
embattled tower set over the west end, upon a kind of 
bracket, and surmounted by a small octagonal spire of 
stone. There is a kind of billet-cornice below the bat- 
tlement ; the belfry windows quite open, and of rude 
work ; two on the east side, and one on each of the 
others. On the north side of the tower is a door by 
which there is an ascent to the steeple by rude stone 
steps outside the roof, there being rude stepping^tones 
against (projecting from) the wall. The whole of the 
external walls seem to have been rebuilt in a poor 
style. There are two oddly shaped, wide arches, much 
flattened between the nave and aisle. The pier seems 
to have been originally large, square, and solid, but is 
altered into an octagonal form. The windows were 
probably originally quite small. There is an arch to 
the transept, resembling those on the north side. The 
exterior is neat, but devoid of interest. The chancel 
has open seats and a modem Gothic reredos.^ 

LAMPHEY. 

24 Oct 1845. 

This church consists of a wide nave without aisles, 
north transept, and chancel, with a west tower. The 
tower is of a kind very common in the south-western 
part of Pembrokesliire, but not elsewhere. The charac- 
ter is more that of military or castellated architecture. 
This particular instance is lofty, and tapering towards 
the top, without buttresses or stringcourses dividing 
the different stories. There is an embattled par^^pet, 
and below it a corbel-table. The belfry-winaows on 
the east and west are double, with obtuse heads ; the 
others single. At the north-east angle is a square tur- 
ret with stairs ; the west doorway plain and pointed ; 
over it a window modernised. The lower part of the 

^ This church has been put into good repair in the year 1885. 
The Rector, the Rdv. T. G. Cree, had well restored the chancel some 
years previously. 



IN THE FOUR WELSH DIOCESES. 57 

tower has a very curious, plain stone vault within, 
forming a rudely shaped arch. The style of this and 
similar towers is apparently Early English, though this 
may not be a matter of certainty. The north door is 
closed, and the south porch made into a vestry. The 
windows of the nave are all modernised, with sashes ; 
the ceiling also modem. There is a small chapel on 
the south (now made into a pew), opening by a very 
rude and low obtuse arch. In the south wall is some 
trace of the rood-door. The north transept opens to 
the nave by a singular, imperfect arch (about three 
parts of a segmental arch) abutting against the east 
wall ; and from the transept into the chancel is a 
pointed, clumsily shaped hagioscope. The chancel-arch 
IS plain and obtuse, without mouldings. There are 
some good Early English lancet-windows in the chan- 
cel ; on the north three, with good mouldings ; on the 
south, one ; all having external as well as internal 
mouldings. On the south of the altar is a piscina with 
mouldings and dripstone. The font has a circular bowl 
with a curious ornamental paneling round the top, and 
scolloped below ; the stem circular, with a cable- 
moulding round it, and square base. The pulpit is 
within the chancel-arch, obstructing the altar. At the 
west end is a finger-organ in a gallery. 



ST. FLORENCE, 

21 Oct. 1845. 

This church has a nave, north transept, tower placed 
on the south side, and a chancel, with south chapel 
(now divided off), and a vestry on the north. The 
church follows the style and peculiar arrangement so 
prevalent in the west of Pembrokeshire. The nave is 
wide, and there is a large south porch, within which is 
a benatura, near the door, and a plain, rude niche over 
it. On the south of the nave is one lancet. At the 
west end is a late square-headed window, lately re- 
stored. The tower, as usual, tapers, and is without 



58 NOTES ON THE OLDER CflUECHES 

any divisions by strings or buttresses. At the south- 
east is a square turret, and the whole has the common 
battlement. On the south side, in the lower part, is 
a lancet, and no other openings but the belfiy- windows, 
which are double on the south and west, with obtuse 
heads ; on the north with square heads, and no arch ; 
on the east a single narrow slit. The tower is, in its 
lower part, rudely vaulted in stone, and forms a tran- 
sept, the arch being of rude and clumsy pointed form. 
On the west side, within the tower, are two rude 
arches formed in the wall. On the east side is a recess 
which seems once to have opened into the south aisle 
of the chancel, near which is a rude arch, possibly once 
the entrance to the rood-steps ; and another low, 
pointed recess in the wall. The north transept opens 
by a rude, pointed arch, and contains some stone 
brackets. The chancel is vaulted in stone, and its arch 
very plain, springing straight from the wall on each 
side. Between the chancel and the chapel, or aisle on 
the south, are two oddly shaped, depressed arches, 
very plain and coarse, with a circular pier having an 
impost moulding and no base. In the eastern respond 
is a square recess. There is a pointed doorway on the 
north side. The east window has three lancets within 
a general arch of pointed form. On the north of the 
chancel, adjoining the chancel-arch, is a rudely shaped, 
pointed arch formed in the vault, apparently forming 
a kind of chapel, and lighted by a lancet. There are 
stone brackets, which must have supported the rood- 
loft. In the north transept is a two-light Decorated 
window without foils. The font has a square bowl, 
scolloped below, on a low cylinder with square base. 
There is no west door. The south chancel-aisle has no 
windows, and the roof is a continued slope from the chan- 
cel. The whole church is rude and singular, but a fair 
specimen of the style of the west of Pembrokeshire.^ 

^ This church was re-roofed and repaired during the incumbency 
of the Rev. George William Birkett, who carefully preserved its ori- 
ginal features. 



IN THE FOUR WELSH DIOCESES. 59 



GUMFRE8T0N. 

24 Oct. 1845. 

This church is very much of the same character as 
the last. The plan is a nave with very large west 
porch ; a tower on the north of the nave, forming a 
transept ; and a small, low chancel with south chapel. 
The chief peculiarities here are the large western porch 
and a curious semicircular projection on the north side 
of the nave, which externally presents two stages 
roofed. What purpose it can have answered it is im- 
possible to determine. The porch has more the appear- 
ance of a chapel ; is very strongly built, and vaulted 
in stone, with stone seats against the sides. The doors 
are very plain, and pointed. Over the inner door is 
the trace of a niche, and there is an octagonal bena- 
tura in the angle. Over the outer entrance is a narrow 
slit, not glazed. This church is particularly deficient 
in windows: there is not one on the north of the nave; 
on the south are a few late, square-headed ones ; but 
no door on either side. The ivy grows most luxuri- 
antly on the south wall. The tower is smaller than 
that of St. Florence, and tapers very perceptibly. It 
has a battlement, and corbel-table below; but, as usual, 
no stringcourses nor buttresses. The stair-turret is 
square at the north-east comer. There are several 
square-headed, narrow openings on the north side, one 
on the west. The belfry-windows are double, narrow, 
and with square heads. Within, the tower has a 
strong, stone-vaulted roof, forming a transept, and 
opening to the nave by the usual rude, ill formed, 
pointed arch. Against the east wall, within the tower, 
is a flat-arched recess, within which is a kind of altar, 
which, in such a situation, could scarcely have been a 
tomb. On the same side is also a wide hagioscope into 
the chancel. In the west wall is also a flat-arched 
recess, more probably for a tomb. The chancel-arch is 
low and obtuse, resting on imposts ; and there is an 
odd arch on the north, by which the hagioscope opens 



60 NOTKS ON THE OLDER CHURCHES 

into the chancel. The east window is a very bad 
modern one. The south chapel is now used as a vestry, 
and opens to the chancel by a low, plain, pointed arch. 
The roof is curiously groined, with rude stone ribs, 
without mouldinj^s, crossing each other, and without 
boss or shafts. The font resembles that of St. Florence.^ 



HODGESTON. 

Aug. 21, 1851. 

This church has a nave and large chancel, with 
western tower, but no porch. There is a curious con- 
trast between the fine Middle Pointed chancel and the 
rude Pembrokeshire nave and tower. The chancel is 
almost of equal length with the nave, and has unluckily 
been much mutilated ; but it presents a very good 
specimen of Middle Pointed, unusual in this part of 
the country. The windows (two on each side) are un- 
happily now closed, but are each of two lights. The 
east window is a wretched modem one. There is a 
string, internally, beneath the windows, and along the 
south side of the chancel runs a stone bench. There is 
also a curious cornice of flowers, in stone, just beneath 
the chancel-roof; which is now a very poor one of 
wood, but probably a stone one was intended. The 
grand feature of the chancel are the beautiful sedilia, 
three in number, with ogee canopies, crocketed, ^nd 
finialed with intermediate pinnacles, and a cornice of 
ball-flower. The canopies have trefoil feathering, and 
the shafts between them are octagonal. These are set 
rather farther westward than usual, and one of the 
windows is placed between them and the piscina. The 
piscina has a double ogee-head much like the sedilia, 
and very rich finials. Against the east wall is a bracket 
of stone. The chancel-arch is a rude pointed one. 
Westward of it is part of a stone fence. The steps to 

^ Some ycara since, during the incumbency of the Rev. G. N. 
Smith, the font was appropriately placed in the semicircular recess 
towards the west end of the north wall of the nave. 



IN THE FOUR WELSH DIOCRSRS. 



61 



the rood-loft are curiously arranged against the south 
wall of the chancel, ascending from the east straight, 
but quite narrow. The nave is vaulted, and has no 
windows on the north. The tower is small and oblong, 
vaulted inside, without battlement or buttress, but 
having a corbel- table and a stair- turret attached to the 
north side. The eastern belfry-face has double win- 




Se lilia^ Hodgeston Cburcb. 

dow with circular heads ; the western, a double square- 
headed one ; and there are some other slit openings. 
There are stone benches within the tower, against the 
north and south walls, and the vault and arch to the 
nave are very rude. The font has a square bowl, scol- 
loped below, upon a cylindrical stem. The pews are 
painted blue.^ 

^ Tn their History of St. David's, at p. 207, Jones and Freeman 
notice the sediiia and piscina in this church as having the general 



62 



NOTES ON THE OLDER CHURCHES 




^'^^fi^-^-^'/.-^i^^^i^^::::— 






Ks -— :7'^•■■*^'uc^♦«•.;- 
CASTLEMARTIN. 



CASTLE MARTIN. 

August 1851. 

An interesting church, perhaps one of the most cha- 
racteristic in the district. The plan comprises a nave 
with north aisle, chancel, a tower on the south of the 
nave (forming a transept in its lower stage), and a 
large south porch. There has also been an aisle or 
chapel on the north of the chancel, and a north tran- 
sept. There appear those features which are so pecu- 
liar to the English districts of Pembrokeshire, and 
which are the more strongly marked on the south of 
Milford Haven. The tower is tall and tapering, but 
very strongly built, without stringcourse, but with 
battlement and corbel-table. The west parapet is 
slightly gabled. The belfry-windows on the north, 

effect of Bishop Gower's style. See also observations by Mr. Free- 
man to the same effect, at greater length, in Arch, Camb.^ 1852, p. 
185. A subscription set on foot at the close of the Tenby Meeting, 
for the restoration of the chancel {Arch. Canib,^ 1851, p. 388), re- 
sulted in the restoration of the entire church. 



IN THE POUR WELSH DIOCESES. 63 

east, and west are mere slits ; that on the south a 
double lancet with central shaft. The west end pre- 
sents two nearly equal gables. There are lancet win- 
dows on the south side of the nave, and altogether 
much that bespeaks the First Pointed period. 

The interior is striking, and might, with careful 
restoration, be made to have a very solemn effect. The 
arcade of the nave is curious, has four pointed arches 
with square piers chamfered, each having attached in 
front a shaft with rude capital. The nave and aisle are 
each wide, and nearly equal in breadth. The tower 
ranges with the eastern bay of the arcade, opens to 
the nave by a rude arch of pointed form, and the lower 
part has the usual coarse vault. It has a lancet 
window, now filled with obituary glass. The roof in 
the nave is open, but very plain. There are some stone 
corbels in the wall over the tower-arch. The arrange- 
ment of pews is awkward, though the arcade is left 
free. The chancel-arch is low and obtuse ; the chancel 
long, and from the unevenness of the ground has a 
considerable ascent towards the east. On its south 
side are seen two pointed arches in the wall, with a- 
corbel at the point whence these spring, and an octa- 
gonal pillar with rude, overhanging capital, marking 
the former existence of an aisle. The east window, 
which has been restored, has three trefoil-headed lan- 
cets contained under a flat arch, recently filled with 
stained glass representing SS. Peter, James, and John. 
On the north-east and south-east are lancets, one 
closed; and on the south are three sedilia, each spring- 
ing from rude corbels or capitals, but without shafts. 
Eastward is a plain piscina, nearly triangular. The 
font has a circular, cup-shaped bowl, much like a 
cushion-capital, with a kind of scolloping at the upper 
part ; the stem cylindrical, on a square plinth. Most 
of the windows have, unfortunately, been transformed 
into sashes ; but some laudable maprovements have 
been effected, and more, perhaps, will follow. The 
porch is extremely large, more resembling a chapel, but 



64 NOTES ON THE OLDER CHURCHES 

is disused, and a modem door opened in the centre of 
the west front, whereby the arrangement is mucb dis- 
turbed, and a wrong effect produced. The ground in 
the churchyard is most uneven, and on the north rises 
almost to the roof of the church. There is the trace of 
a pointed roof seen on the east wall of the tower. 

In the churchyard is the base of a cross. The sacra- 
rium is large, and laid with polished tiles. 

Near the east end of the cnurchyard is the old Vicar- 
age, now a parish school ; a curious, ancient building, 
in which appear two arches springing from a central 
cylindrical column.^ 

WARREN (ST. MARY). 

Aagust 1851. 

Another of the peculiar Pembrokeshire style of 
church, but differing in arrangement materially from 
Castle Martin. It comprises a chancel, nave, south 
transept, porch, and a western tower with stone spire. 
The tower and spire seem to be Third Pointed ; the 
tower large and lofty, without strings of division, but 
with stair- turret at the north-west. There is neither 
buttress nor battlement, but a corbel-table near the 
top ; the west door closed ; the basement spreads out- 
ward ; the west window Third Pointed, and labelled ; 
the belfry-v ' dows are single, narrow lights, and there 
is another i i of lancet opening on the north. The 
spire is not lofty in proportion to the tower ; is octa- 
gonal, but not ribbed. Its only openings are a series 
of single lights; one on each face, round the lower part. 
The lower part of the tower has within a plain vault ; 
and a modern wall has been added between it and the 
nave, perhaps for additional strength. There appears 
to hav^e been once an aisle or chapel on the north. The 
chancel inclines considerably from the line of the nave 

' Of the old Vicarage above, and of this and of other churches 
flescribod in this series, see Mr. Freeman's notice in his article on 
the architectural antiquities of South Pembrokeshire, Arch, Camb.^ 
1852, pp. 161-202. 



IN THE FOUR WELSH DIOCESES. 



65 



to the north. The chancel-arch is a very rude, mis- 
shapen one, which can hardly be in its original state. 
To the north of it is an arched recess in the wall, per- 
haps a ha^oscope. There are stone corbels inside the 
nave, on the north. The south transept and the porch 
are vaulted. Most of the windows are frightfully 
modernised ; but there is a closed lancet at the south- 




WARREN 

east of the chancel, and another at the north-east. The 
chancel is long, and well developed. There was once 
an aisle or chapel on its south side, opening to it by a 
Pointed arch, and by another to the transept. The 
sacrarium is large. There are some stone brackets in 
it. The nave has rather a desolate look, and is pewed. 
The font has a square bowl upon a cylindrical stem, 

5th skr., vou iir. 5 



66 NOTES ON THE OLDER CHURCHES 

which stands on two square steps. The porch has 
plain, pointed doors. 

There are a holy well in the churchyard, on the west 
of the tower, and the steps on which once stood a cross, 
on the south. 



STACKPOLE ELIDYR, ALIAS CHERITON (ST. ELIDYR 

AND ST. JAMES). 

Sept. 1, 1851. 

This church differs in plan from both the last men- 
tioned, but has the same local characteristics. It is 
now undergoing complete restoration, and partial re- 
building, under the direction of Mr. Scott. The plan 
consists of a chancel with south chapel, a nave and 
transepts, with a tower placed at the north end of the 
north transept. The tower tapers, and is without 
either stringcourse or battlement, but has a corbel- 
table near the top ; the belfiy-windows single and 
narrow. The lower part, as usual, is vaulted within. 
There is a staircase from within to the tower. The 
arches to the transepts are plain and pointed ; that to 
the chancel is round. There are hagioscopes on the 
north and south, from the transepts into the chancel ; 
that on the south is oblique, and reaches to the ground; 
that on the north is straight, and has a depressed arch. 
The chancel opens to the south chapel by a wide, ob- 
tuse arch upon imposts. This chapel has a stone vault 
with very plain, unmoulded ribs. At its east end is a 
curious, original stone altar in a perfect state, on which 
are some characters, apparently Ogham. There is also 
a trefoiled piscina. In this chapel is a very fine monu- 
mental efiigy of a cross-legged knight, under a fine 
ogee, crocketed canopy in the wall. This canopy has 
flowered mouldings, and spandrels occupied by flowers, 
and a baU-flowered moulding, all of elegant Middle 
Pointed character. There are also two eflSgies of ladies; 
and on a paneled altar-tomb, now mutilated, the figures 
of a man and woman under trefoiled arches. The win- 



IN THE FOUR WELSH DIOCESES. 67 

dow at the east end of the chapel is square-headed, of 
two lights, and Middle Pointed, lately restored. Those 
of the nave, which are restored, are similar. There is 
one cinquefoiled, narrow window in the north transept. 
The font is octagonal, paneled. 

The situation is beautifiil, in a lonely, woody valley ; 
the churchyard shaded by fine trees, and much secluded. 
On the north side the ground is very uneven, and rises 
high, so as to give a curious eflFect to the position of 
the tower. 

There is the shaft of a cross upon three high steps.^ 



DEANERY OF NARBEETH. 



AMROTH. 

23 Oct. 1846. 

This is a curious Pembrokeshire church consisting of 
a nave with a singular western vestibule or galilee, a 
tower forming a north transept, a south transept, 
and a chancel with north aisle. The tower is of tne 
usual kind, embattled, with a block-cornice under it, 
and a square turret at the south-east. The belfry- 
windows are narrow and rude. The exterior has a 
rude appearance, and is partly whitewashed. The vesti- 

^ Tlie altar, with its inscribed slab, in the chantrj sonth of the 
chancel, is given at p. 109 of Westwood's Lapidarium WaUice, The 
effigy with its crocketed canopy, mentioned above as being in this 
chantry, lies in the north wall of the chancel, in what appears to 
have been its original position. The cist beneath, containing the 
skeleton of (as may be confidently supposed) Sir Elidyr de Stack- 
pole, was fonnd in 1851 or 1852, when the exterior face of the wall 
was rebnilt. After the restoration of this chorch, that of the 
churches of St. Petrox, Bosherston, St. Twinnel's, Warren, and 
Castle Martin (all within the Stackpole estate), were undertaken in 
saccession by the Earl Cawdor, the Association's President in 1851, 
and of whom there is a brief notice in the obituary at p. 80 of Arch. 
Camh.j 1861, Third Series, vol. vii. 

5« 



68 NOTES ON THE OLDER CHUKCHES 

bule, westward of the nave, is of lower elevation, and 
opens to it by a rude, plain, pointed arch without im- 
post mouldings. The nave has a coved roof, plastered, 
and the arch opening from it to the south transept 
is of a plain. Pointed form. The tower contains a 
two-light window, of trefoil lights and square head, 
apparently Perpendicular. The chancel-arch is de- 
pressed, and ruae in form, set upon imposts. On the 
south side of the chancel is a very flat arch in the wall, 
which seems to have once communicated with an aisle 
or chapel. The chancel is divided from a north aisle 
by an odd-shaped, flattened arch ; and there is a simi- 
lar one between the tower and the nave, and between 
the north chancel-aisle and the tower. The north 
chancel-aisle is raised on an ascent of three steps, and 
forms the burying-place of the Biddulph family. In 
its wall is a pointed, arched recess, probably a piscina. 
The east window of the chancel, and also that of the 
north chancel-aisle, are Perpendicular. The other win- 
dows are wretched modern insertions. The interior is 
damp, and vilely pewed. The font seems Norman, hav- 
ing a square bowl, with some, curious, sculptured foli- 
age, upon a square stem and plinth. 

In the churchyard is a cross. The tower has three 
bells.^ 

BEGELLY. 

20 Sept. 1847. 

Has much of the general character of the district. 
The plan is a west tower, nave, and chancel, with a 
north aisle ranging alonff the eastern portion only, and 
a small transeptal chapel and porch on the south. The 

^ This churcli was put into good repair early in the incumbency 
of the present Vicar, the Rev. W. D. Phillips, who was instituted in 
1850. Mr. Biddulph, whose wife and two children lie in the north 
chancel -aisle, owned Amroth Castle from 1832-40, and resided in it. 
The Castle, which, although much modernised, retains distinct traoea 
of mediaBval features, had, centuries since, a considerable estate 
attached to it, possessed by the Barrets of Pendine, from whom it 
passed by marriage to a family of distinction named Elliot. 



IN THE FOUR WELSH DIOCESES. 69 

tower Is taJl and rude, tapering, with a clumsy battle- 
ment, and no stringcourse. At the north-east angle is 
a stair-turret. The belfiy-windows, of two lights, are 
varying, pointed, and square-headed. On the west side 
is a doorway with plain arch, and label over it. The 
lower part of the tower is rudely vaulted in stone, as 
at Lamphey, opening to the nave by a clumsily formed 
arch. The b^jse, as in the neighbouring Welsh towers, 
bulges out. The chancel-arch is pointed, with mould- 
ings. In the north-east angle is the rood-door, and the 
steps remain. The portion of the north aisle which is 
west of the chancel-arch has a large piece of solid wall 
to the nave, with one very plain, misshapen, pointed 
arch. From the chancel this aisle is divided by two 
low, plain. Pointed arches, with a central, circular pil- 
lar of slender form. The transept opens also by a low, 
plain arch of similar form. The chancel is lower than 
the nave. On the south is a large lancet window. The 
east window is Middle Pointed, of two lights. In the 
north chapel the east window is square-headed. On 
the south side of the rCave is a trefoiled lancet. The 
other windows are modern, with sashes. The font has 
a square bowl upon a cylindrical stem. The date of 
this church is doubtful, but probably the main part is 
First Pointed. 

The situation is very pleasing. 



70 



Corre£(ponIience. 

TO THE EDITOB OF THE ABGHiEOLOGIA CAMBREN8I8. 



RAMBLES OVER THE DENBIGHSHIRE HILLS. 
No. IL 

Sir, — The scene of my last letter was in the neighbourhood of a 
bridge called Pont Petraal, abont seven miles &om Ruthin, on the 
Cerrig j drudion road. In this letter I will relate what I saw and 
heard in the same mountain district, but still further up in the 
mountains. From the well called " Ffynnon y Fuwch Freeh", men- 
tioned in my last letter, we went to Cefn Ban nog, a small mountain 
farm, and from thence we proceeded to the open mountain, also 
called Cefn Bannog. In this district there were remains of circular 
and other buildings, and these were approached by deep trackways. 
In Carnarvonshire these remains are called ** Cyttiau'r Gwyddelod" 
(the huts of the Gwyddelod) ; but here they have a different name, 
for they are called " Gwaith y Brithwyr" (i.e., the work of the Brith- 
wyr). This is a rather singular name, and it is worthy of more than 
a passing remark. 

Y Brithwyr.— The word hrithvrr, of which hrithwyr is the plural, 
is given in Dr. Owen Pugh's Dictionary, and the word is there de- 
fined, '* a variegated or mottled man. It implies either a man in a 
party-coloured dress, or one whose body is painted, — a Pict.*' In 
this way these huts become the work of the ricts, or painted men, 
or men who painted their bodies. Historians have told us that the 
ancient Britons painted their bodies, and Cowper sings : 

" Time was when clothing, sumptuous or for use, 
Save their own painted skins, our sires had none." 

The Task, lines 8 and 9. 

Our forefathers must have been hardy men to have outlived such a 
winter as this we are passing through without clothes ; but all this, 
we know, is the poet's licence and the historian's fiction. 

I asked my informant, Thomas Jones, Oefii Bannog, who told him 
that these remains were said to have been erected by the Brithwyr, 
and he told me that an old man, John Hughes, Bryn Mawndy (a 
place two miles away), who was in the habit of visiting these parts 
to look after his ponies, had given him the information. He also 
said that Hughes was a well informed man, and knew the history 
of all the places in the neighbourhood ; and further, Hughes said 
that an ancient name for Cefn Bannog was Pyll Brithion^ PyU being 
the plural of pwll, a small pool. This, most likely, was the name of 
the valley, which was bounded on one side by Bannog Ridge, and 



CORBESPONDENGE. 71 

not the name of the ridge, or Cefn, itself. If so, the name would be 
most appropriate, for the place abounds with small pools of water or 
monntain springs ; and these at a distance would glitter in the sun, 
and make that part appear as if dappled with pools. 

From these remaius we walked to Bwloh y Forwyn (the Pass of 
the Virgin), which overlooks Wann Baunog. From Bwlch y For- 
wyn an extensiye view of wild scenery is obtained. Mountain after 
mountain appears, dimmed bv distance, and hollow after hollow, 
darkened by shadows. In the immediate neighbourhood of the 
Bwlch, rank ferns and sturdy heath flourish ; and the deep note of 
the curlew is heard from the marshy ground below. On the Bwlch 
stands a stone, erected years ago, to direct the traveller on his way. 
As I have a little information about this stone I will speak of it as 

Bwlch y Forwyn PUlar-Stone. — The Stone stands right at the top 
of the pass, or bwlch. It is about 5 feet high, and about I^ foot 
broad. On one side is the date 1630, and underneath these figures 
are the initials H. R. On the other side, cut into the Stone, is a 
small St. Andrew's cross. At one time there were a series of these 
stones to be seen along this hill, but they have been removed, and 
utilised. Thomas Jones, Cefn Bannog, removed one of them, and 
it at present forms a gatepost near his house. This stone also has on 
it the date and initials above given ; and besides, it has another 
date, 1863, and other initials, J. B. S., cut into it. These modem 
letters and date were engraven on the stone (T. Jones told me) by 
John Roberts, saddler, Pontuchel. I could not ascertain whether this 
stone had on it a small cross, as the side where the cross should be 
was built up against the field wall. 

These pillar-stones were placed on the hill (the wild, trackless 
mountains) to direct the traveller to the Hendre, or, as it is called 
in full, Hendre Glan Alwen, where a bed, supper, and breakfast 
awaited him. The initials, H. R., stood (Jones informed me) for 
Hugh Beynallt, who held the Hendre in 1630 on the condition that 
he should supply all travellers with a bed for the night, and food for 
supper and breakfast. The occupier of the Hendre paid no other 
rent for his farm than that now stated. The farm belonged to the 
Salesbury family. Undoubtedly the farm was, previously to 1630, 
let on like terms. There were many such places in various parts 
of Wales, and such a hospitium would be indeed welcome to a weary 
traveller in winter. Pilgrims and travellers were alike entitled to 
hospitality in these places. At present the Hendre is an ordinary 
farmhouse. 

As the weather continued unpropitious, we returned to Cefn 
Bannog, and we were glad to find ourselves sitting around a good, 
blazing fire. In the house I noticed a settle with tne date 1639, and 
the initials E F M M underneath. These initials, the occupants of 
the house told me, stood for Edward Ffoulk and Mary Morris, rela- 
tives of the present owner of the settle ; the woman, Mary Morris, 
according to a Welsh custom, retaining after marriage her maiden 
name. 



72 CORRESPONDENCE. 

I knew that I was in tlie oonntry of the fairies, and so without 
mnch circamlocntion I introdnced the sabject. This pUm of pro- 
ceeding will noty however, always do, for people are very shj on 
Bach subjects, and they think that the lowlanders only langh 
at them for believing that snch beings ever existed. It requires 
therefore, some little tact, and a good amount of give and take, 
before this shyness is entirely dissipated ; but when once their over- 
sensitiveness has been overcome, fkiries and other like matters are 
fully discussed So now I will relate what I heard of the &irie8 at 
Cefn Bannog. 

The Fairies : their Kindne$$. — Thomas Jones informed me thnt 
he was personally acquainted with the wife and the children of the 
man who is the subject of the following tale, and he has no doubt 
as to the truth thereof. The hero of the tale was a shoemaker, but 
I forget his name. However, the tale is as follows. 

The shoemaker enjoyed indifferent health, and thinking that pos- 
sibly he might improve in bodily strength if he could get some« 
thing to do beside shoemaking, he went fix)m home to see if he 
could get some other work. He was fortunate enough to get work 
in a tan-yard, at a place called Penybont, not far from the Druid, 
in Corwen parish. The shoemaker's family lived in a house called 
Tan y Graig, belonging to Clegir-issa farm, and the man walked 
to his work from hi^ home either daily or weekly, I forget which. 
However, he seemed to be getting on in a marvellous way, for he 
had now always plenty of money by him. This money he got^ not 
by working in the tan -yard, but he found it on the ground when- 
ever he passed a certain place. The spot where he picked up the 
money was a round plot of green ground, close to a gate on Tan y 
Coed farm. The glitter of the coin on the ground in the first instance 
took his attention, and he ever afterwards found a like bright coin 
on the same spot. The money found was silver (three shilling-pieces), 
and they were all alike. The luck that attended him he kept secret; 
but after a while he, to get peace from his wife, who was always plagu- 
ing him to know how he got so much money, told her all about the 
find, and how that he believed it was the good fairies that placed 
the coin there for him. Shortly after divulging the secret, the shoe- 
maker died, and no one ever found any more pieces of silver on 
that spot. 

Fairies seen, — After this tale had been related, I asked T. Jones 
if any one had ever seen the fairies, and he said " Yes ; but that 
they were not now often seen." Jones said that some children had 
seen them on the hill close by. The day was misty, and the clouds 
capped the hills, and the children saw a large number of diminutive 
folk, dressed in blue, emerging from the clouds, and then rushing 
back into the clouds. Jones, though, had not himself seen them. 

Fairies forming an Acquainiatice with Mortals. — I will suppress 
names when relating the following, because there are many descend- 
ants of the lady that flourishes in the tale living, who, perhaps, 
would not like to hoar what was told me of their grandmother. I 



CORRESPONDEKCE. 73 

will, therefore, call her Mrs. B. This lady was an aotiye, indns- 
trioas person, greatly respected bj all her acqaaintances, and she 
oceapied a large farm in the uplands of Denbighshire. The fairies 
knew her well, and were in the habit of addressing her as '^Anntj 
Ann"; and she, when called by the wee, little folk, always went to 
them ; and in this way she became personally acqnainted with the 
fitiries, and knew them individually by name. There was quite a 
friendship between Mrs. B. and the fairies. Sometimes, when Mrs. 
li. was msh-gathering by Bodrnal, the fairy dog would come to her, 
just as any other dog would come to welcome its master's friend. 
It was Tery evident ^at the fairy tribe loved Mrs. B., and that she 
loved them. The descendants of Mrs. R. are well-to-do people, and 
they have not heard it hinted that the riches they possess came from 
fairy-land. Most likely they inherit their grandmother's industry, 
a quality that even fairies admire, and that in this way they have 
accumulated the riches that are in the fiEtmily. 

Many other tales were told by one or other of the company while 
-we sat nestling round the fire ; but enough has been related in this 
paper to show how rich these mountain recesses are in folklore of 
by-gone days. In my next paper I will give an account of what I 
heard and saw in another out-of-the-way dingle in Denbighshire. 

E. O. 

CHEPSTOW CASTLK 

Sib, — ^Mr. Clark gives no description under the head of Chep- 
stow, but he very frequently refers to it in his general remarks, and 
when speaking of work elsewhere. He, or his printer, apparently 
had trouble with his handwriting, for it is clear some of his remarks 
apply to Clipston in Notts, and not to Chepstow, as stated. I 
allude especially to the hall and kitchen of wood ordered by King 
Henry III (vol. i, p. 164). Whether this applies or not to the 
mural galleries, hanging shutters, and other things (pp. 164, 166, 
and 181), I cannot say. John Carter has large-size drawings of the 
embrasures of the marten tower, and their loops, and does not 
show what is described. My object here is more especially to speak 
of the entrances and their approaches. 

Seeing that Chepstow stood outside the town wall (that is, prac- 
tically in the field), and was, moreover, on the side of the river on 
which attack was to be expected, the defences of the lower or eastern 
end seem slight. There is no lift-bridge, only one gate and a port* 
cuUis. Compare this with Goderich. It confirms my opinion that 
this gate was protected by a barbican of the nature of the Walm- 
gate, York, the rudiments of which yet show on the eastern part of 
tiie south gate tower ; and I expect a search for foundations there 
would prove this. Oddly enough, Mr. Clark is represented by the 
author of Domestic Architecture (vol. ii, p. 314) to say that there is a 
complete stone barbican at Chepstow. 

Bat it seems to me certain tiiat there were inner chambers over 



74 CORRESPONDENCE. 

the passage, whether that was vaulted or not. These may haire 
supplied an additional portcullis or more, and gates towards the 
court ; but I do not see how it is possible there could have been an 
oratory over, as stated. /. • u« 

The entrance at the west or upper end is rendered confosing by 
the modem wood bridge from the gate, across the ravine, to the 
rock further west ; and by the destractiou of the masonry starfcmg 
south-west, from the south-west bastion-tower, near the limekiln. I 
believe this masonry to be the remains of a wall, possibly joming 
the town wall, or reaching to the cliff opposite ; and that the access 
to the west gate was by a steep road passing under fire of the souUi- 
west tower and its connecting cartain, to the bridge- platform. An 
enemy who had advanced so far, if attacked in rear by a sortie 
from the sallyport, would have to choose between cold steel and the 
precipice. 

The alterations of the west gate house, partly by decay, partly by 
design, have led to a misconception of it The gateway was not 
more than about 15 feet high. It had two portcullises ; one worked 
• from the second floor, one from the first. The wall under the arch 
dividing the two has perished, giving extraordinary height, as at 
Llawhaden ; and the depth is artificially increased by cutting away 
some 6 feet of the wall carrying the trunnion of the bridge. I have 
no doubt whatever that the bottom of the portcullis-groove marks 
the floor-line. The fall from thence to the lowest quoin of the 
eastern arch is only about 1 in 6, while the ascent on the outer side 
must have been as bad as 1 in 4, if not worse. 1 have no doubt 
that the floor of the drawbridge-pit, if cleared, would prove this. 
The only access to Tenby Castle is by a yet steeper road, through a 
gate scarcely 10 feet high. 

Excellently well kept and marvellously interesting as Chepstow 
Castle is, it would be still more interesting if a little more of it could 
be seen. It is so interesting one longs to see more. No one admires 
ivy more than I do ; but it is as weU to be without good work as to 
allow ivy to overwhelm it. 1 look on those two wych-elms growing 
out of the limestone rock at the head of the Castle ditch as surpris- 
ingly beautiful. I could not cut them. But I should like to see 
them developed, and a little of the Castle to be seen as well, by cut- 
ting a good many of their neighbours. One gets an erroneous im- 
pression of a castle if it is simply a sylvan scene, however beautiful. 

The south-west tower, a building with basement and two stories, 
distinctly Norman, is, I doubt not, full of interest ; but it is fuller of 
rubbish, on the summit of which an ash-tree grows gracefully. The 
beautiful chamber south of the gate between the third and fourth 
courts, is, I believe, Norman recast ; but both it and the building 
on the north are obscured by ivy. Who does not thirst to see those 
of the Norman arches of the keep, which show on the outside, re- 
opened r 

J. B C. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 75 



THE WYNNE OF LEESWOOD FAMILY BIBLE. 

Sib, — Daring the last few months the writer has had placed in 
hxs hands bj his friend, Egerton G. Bagot Phillimore, Esq., a yery 
interesting volume which the possessor thought ought to be brought 
before the notice of the public. 

The book is a handsome folio volume bound in dark blue or black 
calf richly ornamented in gold, with the remains of two silver clasps, 
the boards rather thick, and the edges of the leaves gilt. Unfortu- 
nately the back has disappeared, and been replaced by one which 
neither in character nor richness harmonises with the original, being 
modem and plain, with the exception of the title, " Y Bibl, 1690." 
The title-page bears a print of the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, and 
underneath the words, " Rhydychain, Printiedig yn y Theatr yn y 
fliN^ddyn mdcxc." 

The laudable work of printing the Bible in folio, in the Welsh 
tongue, was undertaken through the efforts of William Lord Bishop 
of St Asaph, as is evident from the following printed receipt which 
is pasted upon the back of the frontispiece of the New Testament r 
"12 Martii, '87. Received then of Mr. George Wynne the summe 
of twelve shillings toward printing the Welsh Bible in folio, accord- 
ing to the Proposals made by the Right Reverend Father in God 
William Lord Bishop of St. Asaph ; and upon the payment of the 
like summe I do, by the order and on the part and behalf of the 
said L' Bishop, promise, within twelve monethes from the date 
hereof, to deliver to the said George Wynne, his executors or 
assignes, one Welsh Bible of the large paper, ready bound, accord- 
ing to the said proposals, or to repay the said summe of twelve shil- 
lings. Ffra. Evans, p/." 

We must, of course, bear in mind that twelve shillings of that 
day represents a much larger sum at the present time, though, if 
we take into consideration other concomitant circumstances, we 
must allow that even then the work was produced at a very reason- 
able rate. The copy before us, however, is not quite perfect, since 
the last three leaves have been beautifully supplied in manuscript, 
carefully copying the printed letters of the remainder. It is very 
possible that in this way the history of the volume has been broken, 
since the vacant spaces are the parts which the various owners have 
selected for making their notes and entries, and such a space would 
naturally occur very conveniently at the end of the Book of the 
Apocalypse of St John. 

From what remains, the history of the volame may be told in few 
words. As shown above, it originally belonged to the family of 
Wynne of Leeswood, and probably passing by marriage, with their 
other possessions, into the hands of the Warings, was sold or given 
away. It then came into the possession of the family of Griffith of 



76 CORRESPONDENCE. 

Bhnal or Ty Newydd, and snbseqnentlj into tliat of Mr. Josepk 
Eaton, a builder, of Mold, oo. Denbigh, by whom it was conveyed to 
a London dealer, and afterwards nven in exchange for a Spanish 
Bible, of greater intrinsic value, to B. G. B. Phillimore, Esq., a dili- 
gent collector of Welsh MSS. and old books. 

Passing on now to family notices and inscriptions in the book, we 
first notice, on the interior of the cover, a book-plate engraved with 
the coat of arms, and, beneath, the words, " George Wynne, of Lees- 
wood, Esq." The crest is a dolphin naiant, on a wreath, beneath 
which is an esquire's helmet ; the mantling, of rich scrollwork, en- 
compassing the helmet and shield, upon the latter of which appear 
the arms, argent, a chevron or between three dolphins naiant proper. 
Burke, under the head of Wynne of Leeswood, Bart, gives the 
arms as azure, a chevron between three dolphins hau riant, argenL 
Crest, a dolphin hauriant, argent. Extinct temp. George IIL It is 
curious that the portion of the book-plate whereon the heraldic 
insignia appear is engraved with horizontal lines, the usual way of 
expressing azure in printing. It would be interesting to determine 
whether the coat, as depicted upon the book-plate, was an inten- 
tional difference for the fEtmily of Wynne of Leeswood, or whether 
the difference arose simply through the ignorance of the engraver ; 
ail instance of which occurs in another book-plate in the possession 
of the author, where the arms of Kyffin of Maenan are given quar^ 
tered with, argent, a chevron guies between three pheons sable ,• the 
two upper pointing to each other, the lower pointing upwards. 
There can be no doubt but that this is a perversion of the engraver, 
the arms being evidently intended for those of Goronwy, lord of 
Henfachau, son of Cadwgan y Saethydd (the Archer) of Mochnant, 
who bore, argent, a chevron gules inter three pheons pointing to the 
fess, point sable. The mother of Goronwy was Angharad Fecban, 
daughter and coheir of Gruffudd ab Meilir Eyton of Eyton ; and he 
himself married Efa, daughter a^d heir of David ab Howel Yychan 
ab Howel ab leuaf, lord of Arwystli, by whom he had an only 
daughter and heir, Efa, wife of Cuhelyn ab Rhnn ab Einion Evell ; 
and so this quartering passes to her descendants and representa^ 
tives, the Vaughans, Earls of Carbery, now represented by Vaughan 
of Humphreston and Watkyns of Pennoyre ; Kyffins of Maenan, 
Glascoed, and Oswestry ; Tanats of Abertanad, Blodwell, etc It 
seems by no means improbable that the family of Heylin have had 
their arms transformed by a similar process from three boars' heads 
with necks into three horses' heads erased ; the former being those 
of Heylin ab Trahaiam ab Iddon ab Rhys Sais, the latter those of 
Brochwell Yscithrog. 

The manuscript entries are as follow : 

On the fly-leaf preceding the title-page, in a formal hand, " June 
V, mdccxxviii. This Book was given by Eleanor Wynne, Widdow 
and relict of Gborge Wynne, Esq., Late of Leeswooa, deceased, as 
an Heirloom to that Family for ever." 

On the title-page, in different places, ** 1715. George Wynne and 



CORRESPONDENCE. ^1 

Eleanor Wynne, John Wynne, J. G." The title-page has been 
mended, and the date restored in niannseript. 

On the first page of the Book of Genesis, '* John Wynne de Lees- 
wood", in old writing; and on the same page as chapter y, " George 
Wynne." 

On Hii Isaiah, yerse 12, is the following note, apparently by one 
of the family of Griffith, " Nur Efe a wel Had Parai a estyn ei dy- 
dian, a buriad gras ol lehofah, a Iwyda yn ei law O lafar ei enaid y 
gwel firwyth ao a fodlonnr Rhodaf lawer ido yn alian ar cedym a 
rana Efe yn Ysbail, Louth, J. G." 

At the end of the Book of the Prophet Malachi : " Anna filia 
Johannis Wynne de Lees wood in Comitata fflint Armigeris [«tc] 
Babtisata fait secnndo die Jnlii Anno dom' millessimo Sexcentessimo 
Nonagessimo Octayo, etc. A. on friday betwene nine & tenne in the 
morning. 

" Georgins filius predicti Johannis de Leesewood p'dict' in Com' 
predicto Babtisatns fait sexto die Janii An'oque dom' 1700. G. 
wen'day betweene eight and nine in the morning. 

"Johannes filins p*d' Joh'is Wynne de Leeswood in Comitata 
p'dicto Babtisatns fait decimo die Martii Annoqae dom* 1702, etc. 
J. on Taesday betwene 9 and 10 in the morning etc. 

" Thomas Llewelyn scripsi.** 

At the end of the Book of Susanna is written, in a large hand, 
" John Wynne.'* 

Of the family of Griffith we haye the following memorials. On a 
sheet of black-edged paper pasted npon the fly-leaf facing the title- 
page : " The Rhnal Tablet, Mold Church. Sacred to the memory of 
Thomas Griffith, Esq., of Rhual, who died June 15th, 1811. Also 
of Henrietta Mariah Griffith, wife of the above, who died June 18th, 
1813. And also of Edwin Griffith, their youngest son. Major in the 
15th Regiment of Light Dragoons, who on a day so fatal to the 
family, JxvaQ 18^^, 181 5, at the oyer memorable and sanguinary battle 
of Waterloo, fell, being struck by a cannon-ball in the breast, and 
instantly expired, while gallantly leading his regiment which he 
commanded to the charge of a body of French. Peace to Ghx)d and 
Braya" 

Printed upon a sheet of black-edged paper, " In remembrance of 
Elizabeth Griffiths, Widow of the late George Griffiths, Ty Newydd, 
near Mold, who died May 24th, 1872, aged 48 years, and was this 
day interred in the ^Etmily yault at Hope." 

On a fly-leaf at the beginning of the book is pasted a letter from 
Josh. Eaton, builder, and dated Mold, 9 Oct. 1878, giying a descrip- 
tion of the book, and stating that it belonged to Sir George Wynne, 
High Sheriff of the county of Flint in 1723, the yery diy summer. 

" The traditional history of Sir George Wynne is a sad instance of 
the changeability of this world. At one time he was considered one 
of the richest gentlemen in Wales, haying been very lucky, as they 
say, in lead mines from a certain piece of land in Ualkin Mountain. 
The spot is called to this day " Erw Sir George", or Sir George's 



78 CORRESPOXDENCE. 

Acre. There is now a bouse in Mold where he lived for some time, 
and a certain room is shown ns where he nscd to keep his vast 
amonnt of gold, the floor of which is very mnch bent, caused by the 
weight of gold it contained. He made those splendid gates in front 
of Leeswood ; gates, they say, that cannofc be surpassed in any part 
of the kingdom. But he died in prison, at the King's Bench, and his 
only surviving daughter, out of a very numerous issne, was wife of 
Richard Hill Waring, Esq., of Salop. She died without issue, so 
the family are extinct." 

It remains for us to make a few remarks upon the family of Wynne 
of Leeswood. It is palpable that the volume before us was not ori- 
ginally the property of Sir George Wynne, who was created a Baro- 
net, 9 August 1/31, but of his grandfather, George Wynne, who died 
an esqaire, and whose wife, Eleanor, survived him, and \e(t it as an 
heirloom in the family. The Wynnes, like many other Welsh 
families, seem to have been people of ancient lineage, but small 
estate, until the time of John Wynne, the son of the subscriber to 
the Bible, and whose name of John Wynne appears written in seve- 
ral places in it. This was the John Wynne who discovered the 
valuable lead mine upon his property, which made his descendants 
so much more wealthy than his ancestors that, as is oflen the case, 
it has been customary to regard him as founder of the family. This 
is too oflen the case, and arises to some extent, perhaps, from the 
ideas of primogeniture so common in England, which virtually 
makes only one member of a family in each generation, so that the 
younger, or at least the less wealthy members, are soon forgotten ; 
and if one of them acquires a large fortune, there is a general ex- 
clamation against his claiming to be of the same family as the per- 
son to whom the chief portion of the property has descended ; espe- 
cially if the latter, either by some hick of policy, carrying some 
popular measure, or other means, has been rewarded by tiie dignity 
of a modern peerag^e ; or, as it is commonly but erroneously called, 
become ennobled. 

For the ancestry of the Wynnes of Leeswood we must ascend to 
Tewdwr Mawr, as follows : 

Tewdwr Mawr, Prince of Soath Wales 



Ehya ab Tewdwr Mawr, 1093 



wladys, dr. of Bhiwallon ab Cynfyn 



Omffadd 

=T=Gwenlliaii, dr. of QmfEtidd ab Cynan of North Wales 

Rhys, oh, 1197 

=j=Gwenllian, dr. of Madoc ap Meredith of Powya 

Bhys Grag 

hys MeoheU, oh, 1244 



Bh 



ahya Vychan 
=T=Gwlady8, dr. of Gruffadd ab Llewelyn 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



79 



'i 



bya Gloff of Wendod 
=y=... dr. and heir of Qmffadd of Cymytmaeo 
I in Llejn 

Madoc 

Trahaiam Gooh, of Lleyn, bore aawre, a chev- 
1 ron inter three dolphins haoriant argi. 

Ithel DaUnth 

Lilewelyn 
I 
Gruffudd 



10 bnilt Plas Ithel Wynne of Coed y Llai 



( 
Omffudd 

I 
Qwyn 

liricholas 



thel Wynne 



John Wynne 
John Wynne 
Peter Wynne 
Peter Wynne 
John Wynne 



Gtoorge Wynne of Leeewood, dead ante Jane 5, 1728, sabsoriber to the 

Welsh Bible 
^Eleanor, who sorvived him 

John Wynne, who greatly enriched the family by the discovery of a rich 
=F mine 



I 



J, 



Sir George Wynne of 

Leeswood, bapt. 

6 Jane 1700; created 

a Baronet, 9 Aag. 1781 

=j= dr. of Mr. Lloyd =f 

of Heligen or Halkin, | 
ob. 26 April 1748 Sir John Wynne, Bart., in 1771 



? 



John Wynne, heir in remainder, 

bai>t. 7 March 1702 ; succeeded 

his brother as heir male, and 

oh, 1764 



I 
Anne Wynne, 
bapt. 2 July 
1698 



Qeorge, oh, t, p., 
viv.pat. 



Esther, s, p, Mary s. p. 



Margaret, heir, second wife 

^Bichard Hill Waring, ob. 

8. p., 1789 

Richard Hill Waring devised his estates to his cousin, of whom 
more may be seen in the article npon Oswestry lately published in 
the ArchcBologia Camhrensis, He inherited the name of Hill from 
bis mother, Margaret, eldest daughter and coheir of Bobert Hill of 
Attingham, co. Salop. The other coheirs of Bobert Hill were, — 
Anne, wife of Leighton Owen Griffith of Dinthill ; Margaret, wife 
of Thomas Kynaston of Maesbury; Elizabeth, wife of Francis 
Chambre of Petton ; Sarah, wife of John Harries of Cruokton; and 
Rebecca, wife of Samuel Adderton of Preston. 

Henbt F. J. Vaughan. 

Humphreston Hall, Salop. 
6 Oct. 1885. 



80 



CAMBRIA]^ ABCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

Thb Annual Meeting will take plaoe on Anfi^st the 23rd and follow- 
ing days, at Swansea, nnder the Presidency of Mr. John Talbot 

DlLLWYN LlEWBLTW. 



STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOE 1885. 



EBCSIPTS. 



£ 8. </. 



56 8 2 



To amount reeeived from 
the late Treasurer, the 
Rey. E. L. Barnwell . 

Pickering and Co., for 
Journals sold 

Arrears of subscriptions 151 1 

Subscriptions for 1885 . 225 15 

Surplus, Newport Local 
Fund 

Lord Tredegar's cheque 

Overpaid 



6 15 



28 12 

10 

1 



Examined and found correct, 



^£478 14 



Balance in Treasurer's 

hands . . ;C234 9 5 



PATMBRT8. 

Rey. Canon Thomas for 
Editors 

Ditto, disbursements 

Ditto, account of Index 

W. G. Smith, wood en- 
grayings . 

Ditto,attendance at New- 
port .... 

Messrs. Whitinpr and Co., 
printing Journal 

Cattell and Co., zinco- 
graphs 

D. Dallas, Dallastype and 
printing 

A .Baker, wood-engraving 

J. Russell Smith, wood- 
blocks purchased 

Blades and East, circu- 
lars (autograph) 

Edw. Laws, Secretary's 
disbursements 

Treasurer's ditto 

To balance . 



£ 9. d. 



40 

3 

10 



Feb. 20, 1886. 



James Davisb, Auditor. 

D. R. Thomas, Chairman of Committee, 



27 9 

5 5 
134 17 2 

6 15 








2 1 
2 17 



. 7 
. 11 
. 234 9 


6 
6 
5 


£478 14 






FIFTH SERIES.— VOL. Ill NO, X 



APRIL 1886. 



SUDBROOK CAMP. 

This camp, which is of somewhat exceptional interest, 
ifi situated on the coast about four miles from Chepstow, 
and in close proximity to where the recently constructed 
railway tunnel runs under the Bristol Channel. 

The works in connection with this tunnel have mate^ 
rially altered the surroundings of the camp. The parish 
of Sudbrook, which had, from some unknown cause, 
become depopulated, had many years ago been merged 
into that of Portskewett, and only a short time since 
not a single habitation was to be seen in the vicinity 
of the camp, which presented a singularly solitary 
aspect. Now all this is changed, and close by the 
camp a busy, populous village, sadly wanting, by the 
way, in everything that is picturesque, has sprung into 
existence^ 

The earthworks in their present form extend for 
upwards of 320 yards in an irregular semicircle, both 
ends of which run down almost to the edge of the low 
cliflFs on the sea-shore, enclosing an area of somewhat 
more than three acres. The original defences con- 
sisted of three parallel banks of unequal height, 
though on the eastern side only the innermost of these 
remains. This bank must have been the main line of 
defence, and is still more than 20 feet in height, and of 
considerable breadth. Outside this was a ditch and a 

5th sbb., vol. hi. t( 



82 SUDBROOK CAMP. 

much smaller bank ; and beyond that another ditch and 
a third and larger bank, though of less formidable 
dimensions than the innermost ; and beyond that again' 
there would probably be another ditch, though there 
are but slight indications of it at the present time. 
All these lines of embankment are very distinctly 
defined along the western side for a distance of nearly 
200 yards, to a point where the earthen ramparts have 
been broken through, but beyond that all traces of 
the two outer banks have become obliterated. The 
opening here referred to is generally believed to have 
been the entrance to the camp, but it is by no means 
conclusive that it formed any part of iihe original 
plan, and it is equally possible that this supposed 
entrance may be nothing more than a comparatively 
modern opening cut through the banks for the con- 
venience of the farmer who occupied the meadow-land 
within the camp. There is much diflBculty in ascertain- 
ing the original extent and plan of the stronghold, 
arising mainly from the fact that for centuries the sea 
has been making steady inroads on this part of the 
coast, to an extent that would hardly appear credible 
to those who are not familiar with the neighbourhood. 
Its action at this particular point has, however, recently 
been arrested by an unsightly heap of debris from the 
tunnel-works, that has been deposited on the beach. 

It is almost impossible to realise the extent to which 
the coast-line must have altered. According to tradi- 
tion, a long spit of land once ran out from Sudbrook 
Point in a south-westerly direction, extending as far 
as the Denny, a rocky islet now lying in mid-channel 
at a distance of over four miles from Sudbrook. A local 
writer,^ to whom we are indebted, has remarked that 
the names by which some of the intervening rocks and 
sand-banks are still known seem to afford some corro- 
boration of this. Such designations as CruggyorCrugan, 

^ The late Mr. Thomas Wakeman, who in conjunction with Octa- 
yias Morgan, Esq., F.S.A., compiled a series of valuable papers pub- 
lished by the Monmouthshire and Caerleon Antiquarian Association. 



SUDBROOK CAMP. 83 

the hillocks ; Bedwin, the birchen grove ; or Dinan, the 
fortified hill, are certainly not applicable to places over- 
flowed by the tide twice in every twenty-four hours. 
This strip of land would form a narrow peninsula, 
having the open channel towards the south and east, 
whilst on the other side the estuary of the little river 
Troggy (or Nedem, as the lower part of the stream 
is now called) would form a spacious anchorage. 

We may here call to mind the well-known Welsh 
tradition, embodied in the Triads, that Portskewett 
was once one of the three principal ports or harbours 
in the island, which could hardly be understood under 
existing conditions. Assuming the existence of this 
peninsula, the camp must have stood at the head of 
the harbour, occupying the neck of land uniting the 
long spit forming its southern side with the main- 
land. Whether, however, so great an alteration in the 
coast-line is possible within the last two thousand 
years or so, is certainly open to question. 

The camp has been surmised by several writers to 
have been originally constructed by the Britons, and 
subsequently occupied by the Romans. Camden, 
writmg of Sudbrook in the earlier part of the seven- 
teenth century, says : " The Church whereof, called 
Trinity Chappell, standeth so neare the sea, that the 
vicinity of so tyrannous a neighbour hath spoiled it of 
halfe the church-yarde, as it hath done also of an old 
fortification lying thereby, which was compassed with 
a triple ditch and three rampiers, as high as an ordinary 
house, cast in forme of a bowe, the string wherof is 
the sea-cliffe''; and adds, " that this was a Roman work 
the British bricks and Roman coins found are most 
certain arguments"; and he specially mentions a fine 
medal of the Emperor Severus found here, which in 
Canaden's time was in the possession of the then Bishop 
of Llandaff, Dr. Francis Godwin, who was himself an 
antiquary, and resided for some years in the immediate 
neighbourhood. 

Archdeacon Coxe, who speaks of Sudbrook Camp as 

6« 



84 SUDBROOK CAMP. 

" usually supposed to be Roman", states that upon the 
edge of the cliffs at either extremity of the innermost 
bank he found " heaps of stones and rubbish, which 
seem to be the remains of ancient buildings ; among 
these were two or three ranges of large stones, placed 
on each other, without cement, and others of the same 
kind which had fallen down, strewed the adjacent 

f round." Unfortunately, every vestige of this masonry 
as been carried away by the continued encroachments 
of the sea. 

Although the camp itself presents no distinct traces 
of anything resembling Roman work, and, with the 
exception of Camden, no writer has recorded the fact 
of any Roman remains having been found upon the 
spot, the fact that the Romans must have had some 
post in the immediate vicinity can hardly be doubted. 
A great military road, known as the Via Julia, passing 
through AqucB Solis (Bath), connected Isca Silurum 
(Caerleon), the head-quarters of the second legion, 
with the great central station, Calleva Atrehatum (Sil- 
chester). Starting from Isca Silurum, this road passed 
througn Venta SUurum (Caerwent), following the line 
of the present highroad between Newport and Chep- 
stow as far as Crick, where it met another road which 
came from Glevum (Gloucester) by way of Lydney, 
crossing the Wye a little above Chepstow Castle, where 
the remains of a bridge may still be seen at low tides, 
following very nearly in the line of the high road to a 
short distance beyond Pwlmeyric, then crossing the 
fields behind Haye's Gate Farm, and then along an old 
road by Broadwell, in which the Roman pavement was 
very perfect some few years ago, and thence to Crick, 
From Crick the main line of the Via JuUa evidently 
turned southward towards the coast, pursuing its 
course along the line of the present highroad as fiir as 
Portskewett, skirting a tract of low, marshy land, 
through which the Nedern flows, and which, before the 
construction of the sea-banks and defences, must have 
been covered with salt water at every spring tide, thus 



SUDBROOK CAMP. 85 

precluding the possibility of carrying the road in a 
direct line from Caerwent to the sea-coast, and necessi- 
tating the somewhat considerable detour along the 
higher ground by Crick. Between Crick and Fort- 
skewett the Roman pavement can still be very dis- 
tinctly traced in places. Beyond Portskewett, for the 
distance of a little more than half a mile, the road has 
been destroyed, but some indications of it may yet be 
seen across the fields, and it appears to have led to the 
sea-coast in the immediate vicinity of the camp. With 
the evidence of this road we can hardly, in considering 
the facts connected with the camp at Budhrook, ignore 
altogether the much-vexed question as to the line 
taken by the Roman passage across the estuary of the 
Severn, concerning which so many learned dissertations 
have been written by gentlemen who, for the most 
part, as Mr. Wakeman has aptly remarked, seem to 
have thought it totally unnecessary to make them- 
selves acquainted with the localties. A very able paper 
on this subject by the Hon. and Right Rev. Bishop 
Cliflford appears in the third volume of the Bristol and 
Gloucestershire Archaeological Society's Transactions: 
and the writer, labouring under no such lack of suffix 
cient local knowledge, comments on the peculiar advan- 
tages which would here be derived from the action of 
the tide, which, owing to the bend in the estuary, is 
specially favourable for boats crossing the stream. 

The Itinerary of Antoninus, which probably dates 
from the second century, and is certainly not later than 
the fourth, and is therefore an authority of the highest 
value, gives us the distances of the various stations 
along the Via Julia. Most of the theories that have 
been advanced relative to the point where the estuary 
was crossed are based upon the hypothesis that, owing 
to mistakes in the copy of the Itinerary that has 
reached our times, the names of some of the stations 
have been transposed. This supposition is, however, 
altogether rejected by the Bishop, who shows that by 
placing the station Trajectus at the point where the 



86 SUDBROOK CAMP. 

Via Julia crossed the Avon, not far from Bitton, instead 
of identifying it as the passage across the estuary of 
the Severn, there can be no difficulty whatever in accept- 
ingthis portion of the Itinerary as it stands. 

The Bishop unhesitatingly accepts the earthworks at 
Sudbrook as Roman, and is of opinion that here was 
the place of embarkation used by the Romans in 
crossing the channel, and that it must have been for 
the defence of the passage that this camp was con- 
structed, " The spectator who stands on the edge of 
the embankment'*, says the Bishop, ** and contemplates 
the work of denudation still in progress, will readily 
understand that during the course of fifteen hundred 
years and more, a very considerable portion of the 
coast must have been washed away, and that conse- 
quently, when this fort was erected by the Romans, not 
only was the earthwork complete on the river-side, but 
a considerable space of land probably intervened 
between the western front of the fortress and the bed 
of the river. He will also understand why no indica- 
tions at present exist of what were the conveniences 
for the anchorage of ships and landing of men and 
goods, at the period when the fort was built ; all such 
works must long ago have disappeared/' Whilst, how- 
ever, freely admitting the probability of this having 
been the point of embarkation for troops and stores 
crossing the estuary in the time of the Romans, and 
likewise the occupation of the camp by a Roman 
garrison — which would follow as a matter of course — 
it appears to be more than questionable if what we 
now see can by any possibility be the remains of a 
Roman camp of the usual rectangular form, of which, 
as some have contended, only two, or parts of two 
sides, forming the northern angle, remain. The theory 
of its ever having been occupied by the Romans is now 
discredited by many, and perhaps the most commonly 
accepted opinion is that, like other somewhat similar 
" cliff castles" to be found along this coast, it owes its 
construction to the Danes. But taking all the facts 



SUDBROOK CAMP. 87 

into consideration, we may probably venture to assume 
that the camp was originally a British work, subse- 
quently occupied, and perhaps reconstructed by the 
Romans ; for the camp itself does not seem to be of 
Koman origin, and there would be nothing unreason- 
able in the supposition that the Britons had previously 
used this same passage across the estuary, and that the 
Roman road which led to this spot was on the line of a 
British trackway. It is equally possible that the 
stronghold may in turn have been occupied in like 
manner by the Danes, who would not improbably adapt 
the existing earthworks, so far as practicable, to their 
own peculiar style of fortification. Local tradition 
attributes the camp to Earl Harold, whose palace at 
Portskewett was in the immediate vicinity. 

An account of the camp at Sudbrook would hardly 
be complete without some reference to the ruins of the 
little church, so oddly placed in the fosse of the ancient 
stronghold. This is the ** Trinity Chappell" mentioned 
by Canwien, and was the parish church of Sudbrook, or 
Southbrook, a place which, having at one time become 
depopulated, is no longer an independent parish, but 
has for at least two centuries been merged into that 
of Portskewett. When this took place is uncertain, 
nor is it known when the church was finally abandoned 
and suflfered to fall into ruins. In 1560, the Bishop 
certified that John Williams, then Rector of Sudbrook, 
was " there resydent and kepeth hospytalytye''. The 
burial in 1596 of William Taylor, "parson of South- 
brooke'*, is recorded in the Portskewett registers, but 
the place of interment is not stated ; and the baptism 
in 1629 of a daughter of William Hulton, " some time 
curate of the parish of Southbrooke", is recorded in 
the same registers. The church was certainly used as 
late as 1674, for a marriage is recorded in the Port- 
skewett registers as having been solemnised " at the 
church of Sudbrooke" in that year. There are, how- 
ever, no means of ascertaining whether Sudbrook waa 
then an independent benefice. Archdeacon Coxe^ 



88 SUDBROOK CAMP. 

writing in 1800, says that divine service was performed 
in Sudbrook Church within the memory of persons 
then living, and adds that a person he met there told 
him that he had assisted at a funeral there forty years 
before. The funeral referred to was probably that of 
Mr. Blethyn Smith, a landowner in Sudbrook, and 
formerly master of a vessel, who by his will, dated in 
1755, desired that his body should be '^ buried in the 
eastern end of the chancel of the decayed church of 
Sudbrook, as near the wall as may be, attended by six 
seafaring men as bearers, my coffin covered with the 
ensigns or colours of a ship, instead of a pall." The 
fact that the church was described as being " decayed" 
in 1755, tends to throw doubt on the correctness of 
Archdeacon Coxe's information as to regular service 
having been performed therein within memory at the 
time when he wrote. Nearly three hundred years ago, 
Camden says that the sea had washed away half the 
churchyard. More and more gradually disappeared, 
and in a short time the church itself must in turn have 
been destroyed. The heap of dSbris from the tunnel 
works has, however, acted as a break-water, and thus 
stayed the work of demolition. A few years ago it 
was not uncommon to find fragments of coffins and 
human remains lying upon the beach. 

Within the last thirty or foVty years the ruins have 
sufiered sadly, but fortunately a very careful and 
minute account of the church, as it then existed, was 

{)repared by Octavius Morgan, Esq., F.S.A., and the 
ate Mr. Thomas Wakeman, and published by the 
Monmouthshire and Caerleon Antiquarian Association 
in 1858. From this we learn that the church was 
originally an early Norman structure, some of the 
features of the nave closely resembling a very interest- 
ing little Norman church at Runston, about three 
miles from Sudbrook. Great alterations and additions 
seem to have been made somewhere about the middle 
of the fourteenth century. A chancel of almost equal 
dimensions with the nave was then added, and a porch 
erected to the entrance-door on the south side of the 



SUDBROOK CAMP. 89 

nave. The porch was simply built up against the wall 
of the nave with a straight joint, and has now parted 
company, not having been bonded into it. The elegant 
window at the west end of the nave was probably 
inserted about this time, and there were other addi- 
tions, including the open bell-cot, with apertures for 
two bells, over the chancel-arch. At the time when the 
account published by the Monmouthshire and Caerleon 
Antiquarian Association was compiled, there were 
.various interesting features, particularly in the chancel, 
of which not a single vestige now remains. Fortunately, 
these are most minutely described, and we have here 
another instance of the valuable services which local 
antiquarian associations may render by recording what 
would otherwise be totally lost. The base of the 
churchyard cross still remains. The socket is of a 
type of which there are many other examples in this 
district, being a massive octagon, having its upper edge 
chamfered, and brought to a square by large broaches 
of a convex outline at the alternate faces. 

It may be added that the manor was anciently held 
in subinfeudation by the De Southbrook family, part 
by the service of half a knight s fee under the lordship 
of Magor, and the remainder by the eighth part of a 
knight's fee under the lordship of Caerleon. It was 
eventually acquired by a branch of the Kemeys family, 
and in the reign of Henry VIII one moiety of the manor 
passed into the possession of the Herberts of Caldicot 
Court, through the marriage of Thomas Herbert with 
Bridget, daughter and sole heiress of Thomas Kemeys 
of Caldicot. In 1721 their share of the manor of Sud- 
brook was sold by Vere Herbert, Esq., and his eldest 
son, and after several conveyances it was ultimately pur- 
chased by Morgan Lewis of St. Pierre, Esq., the direct 
ancestor of the present lord of the manor, Charles 
Edward Lewis, Esq. The site of the camp has recently 
been purchased, together with the surrounding property, 
by Mr. Thomas Andrew Walker, the contractor of the 
Severn tunnel. 

A. E. Lawson Lowe, F.S.A. 



90 



ARCHITECTURAL NOTES 

UPON 

USK CHURCH, MONMOUTHSHIRE. 

The Priory Church of St. Mary at Usk illustrates the 
growth of some of our larger parish churches, from the 
original Norman building of moderate size down to 
the end of the Perpendicular period, when it probably 
attained its largest dimensions before the dissolution 
of the monasteries in the time of Henry VIII. 

This Priory of Benedictine nuns was founded by 
Earl Richard de Clare, the well-known Strongbow, 
Earl of Pembroke and Lord of Striguil, whose uncle, 
Walter de Clare, was the founder of Tintern Abbey ; 
and it appears, from an entry in the valuation of its 
revenues made at the time of the dissolution of the 
Priory, about 1535, that £1 was to be expended 
annually " upon Sherethursday in almes to pray for the 
founders, viz: — Sir Richard de Clare, Sir Gilbert his 
son, Earles of the Marches",, and for other descendants 
and benefactors. 

The date of the foundation of the Priory can there- 
fore be fixed approximately about the early part of the 
twelfth century, say 11 35 or thereabouts. The architec- 
ture of the original Norman church, of which there are 
still considerable remains, most certainly dates from a 
much earlier period ; and I think the cruciform church, 
as shown on the plan accompanying this paper, may 
have been built about the middle of the eleventh 
century, or at any rate very soon after the Norman 
Conquest. Of the early Norman church there remain 
the south wall of the nave, with its massive south- 
western buttress of early type, which distinctly marks 
the length of the original nave, a portion of the west 
wall of the north transept, and the very fine central 
tower carried upon four massive piers, with its circular 



NOTES UPON USK CHURCH. 91 

angle stair-turret approached from the north transept. 
Externally can be traced the water-tables of the roofs 
of the choir, north and south transepts, which probably 
extended as shown by the dotted lines and shading 
upon the plan. 

The groining, over what is now the chancel, in the 
interior of the tower, is carried upon angle corbels, and 
is of distinctly early Norman type. The tower itself 
is built in three stages, and is, I believe, of the same 
period as the nave and transepts to the top of the 
corbel-table ; the battlements are modem. 

I am of opinion that the early cruciform Norman 
church was the original parish church of Usk ; that 
upon the founding of the Priory by Earl Richard about 
1135, considerable additions were then made, so as to 
accommodate the parishioners as well as the conventual 
establishment ; the north aisle was also built at that 
period for use as a parish church, and the original 
Norman nave was lengthened about 10 feet or so, as 
shown on the plan by the dotted lines and lighter 
shading, indicating Early English or transitional Nor- 
man work. 

On the plan which is now in the church, showing the 
alterations made in 1844, a buttress is shown, which 
appears to have been taken down when the nave was 
further lengthened at that time, and which, I think, 
marks the limit of the west wall of the nave before the 
latest alterations were made. This buttress is in 
line with the west wall of the north aisle. It will be 
seen on reference to the plan that the arcade is of the 
same period as the north aisle, and that when it was 
built the north and west walls of the early Norman 
church were taken down; but, doubtless, the tran- 
septs and choir were retained ; the east wall of the 
north aisle was at the same period pierced for a door- 
way giving access to the north transept, which then, 
as now, was probably used as a vestry. At the same 
time, I believe, the doorway now blocked up in the 
south wall of the nave was opened, to give access from 



92 NOTES UPON U8K CHURCH. 

the church to the conventual buildings and cloisters ; 
in the original Norman church, the entrance would be 
by a west doorway, probably of very rich design, as at 
Chepstow Church. The arcade, which is of transitional 
Norman, or very early English type, consists of four 
obtusely pointed arches, carried on circular piers and 
responds, with moulded caps and plain splayed bases. 

It will be observed, upon reference to the drawing, 
that the pillar marked 0, the first from the east end, is 
different from the others, in having four slender attached 
shafts, and I think that this difference was intended to 
mark the line of the chancel of the' parish church, and 
that probably the door at the north-eastern angle of 
the aisle was the priest's door. If we assume that a 
screen extended the entire length of the arcade, it will 
be seen that the north aisle then becomes a separate 
church for the parishioners of Usk, as was the case at 
Leominster Priory Church. 

The next important addition made was in the Per- 
pendicular period ; and from the character of the 
work I think the additions of this period, which con- 
sist of the north and west porches, the insertion of 
three windows in the north wall, and the same number 
in the south wall, were probably made about the latter 
end of the fifteenth century, and are of a type common 
in this district. It appears to me that this was 
about the time when the later alterations were made, 
a period of great church restoration throughout Mon- 
mouthshire and part of Glamorganshire, and that the 
work was done by the same men who built the beautiful 
Perpendicular churches of Somersetshire. 

Tne later additions and windows introduced in 1844 
are, unfortunately, but inferior copies in point of detail 
of the older and much richer Perpendicular work, and 
this is especially noticeable in the tracery of the new 
west window. It seems unfortunate that the builders 
in 1844 were unable to restore and rebuild the tran- 
septs and choir, instead of lengthening the nave west- 
wards, which has destroyed the original proportions of 



EARLY INSCRIBED STONES. 93 

this fine old church ; and it is to be hoped that if any 
further enlargement or restoration be attempted, that 
it should in that case result in rebuilding the choir and 
transepts. 

No doubt, excavations in the Priory grounds would 
lay bare the original foundations of the missing portions 
of the early Norman church. 

I am indebted to my assistant, Mr. Telfer Smith, for 
the very accurate drawings which illustrate this paper. 

Stephen W. Williams, F.R.I.B.A. 

Bhayader. April 1886. 



EARLY INSCRIBED STONES. 



THE ABERCAR STONE. 

At the Newport meeting I exhibited rubbings of an 
early inscribed stone of the Romano-British period 
found at Abercar, Breconshire, and now, in accordance 
with the promise then given, supply fuller particulars. 
It will be seen that the stone was originally placed in 
a vertical position, the lower end being " tenoned" for 
that purpose. It is 81 inches in length, 9^ inches 
wide, 5 inches thick, and the "tenon" is 10 inches in 
length, so as to admit of solidity. It was first dis- 
covered by lolo Morganwg in his antiquarian wander- 
ings, fixed up as a lintel in a beast-house at Abercar 
farm, on the Brecon road, six miles from Merthyr. 
Something like^ thirty years ago, the son of lolo Mor- 
ganwg, Taliesin Williams, took Mr. Westwood to the 
spot, and by him it has been figured,^ but not com- 
pletely, only a portion of the inscription being then 
visible. The inscription, I take it, reads annicci, but 
there is a small part of the stone worn at the top, on 

^ Arch. Camh., 3rd Series, vol. iv, p. 162 ; Lwpid. WallicCy Plate 
xxxTi, 4, i, p. 64. 



94 EARLY INSCRIBED STONES. 

the left-hand side, and there is quite sufficient room 
for F, in which case the name would be pannicci. 

I am indebted to Mr. Llywarch Reynolds, who has 
taken a lively interest in the matter, for the following 
names, similar to those on the stone. At Lanivet, near 

Bodmin : — ^annicvt — Annicuri ?(Hubner, Inscrip- 

tiones Britannm ChristiancB, No. 18, p. 7). Cf. "Anni- 
coios" C^Liste des mots relev6s sur les monnaies gaul- 
oises". — Revfie Celtique^ i, 293). 

I can trace no letters after Filius, though there is a 
long space blank, but as the stone is covered with 
layers of white lime, some may yet come to light. It 
is broken in two, and only the top of the t in tvmvlo 
is visible. There are remains of a building near Aber- 
car farm, which is said by tradition to have been a 
chapel. No examination of the heap seems to have 
been made, but in the same beast-house as the one 
where I found the Abercar stone I obtained from the 
wall a fragment about a foot square, containing the 
letters etafil. This, like the other, has been seen by 
Professor Rhys and Various members, and pronounced 
to be of earlier date than the Abercar Stone. 

The district has been rich in crosses and inscribed 
stones, but they have all disappeared. The Cateri 
Stone, describea in Jones's Breco^ishirCy is stated to 
have been broken on its way to the Swansea Museum. 
This I doubt, having traced it from the Taff Valley to 
Merthyr, and thence to a brewery, where, in the altera- 
tions and additions to the place, it may have found its 
end. The Vaynor Cross is stated to be doing duty as 
a milestone. If so, the cross was at the top, and is 
now broken off. The milestone stated to be the one is 
the next to the cemetery, Cefn Coed. 

From the same valley I have obtained a sepulchral 
urn, which was found in a small tumulus, and when 
discovered contained dark earth and ashes. This urn 
and the Abercar Stone are now in my possession. 

Charles Wilkins. 

Springfield, Merthyr. Nov. 13, 1885. 



m , I* 






m 






'?) 






.WlJ 



EARLY INSCRIBED STONES. 95 

Some years ago, when I made it my business to see 
the inscribed stones of Wales, Mr. Wilkins kindly 
accompanied me to inspect the Abercar Stone ; but we 
found that the inscription was all covered by the door- 
way having been walled up, so that we could not see 
even the letters which Prof. Westwood had read when 
he visited the spot years previously. Since then Mr. 
Wilkins has never lost sight of the stone, and the 
Association is much indebted to him and Mrs. Davies, 
the owner of the farm of Abercar, for extricating this 
ancient monument, which is now open to easy exami- 
nation on Mr. Wilkins's lawn at Merthyr Tydfil. I 
visited it, with my friend Mr. Llywarch Reynolds, in 
the course of the Newport meeting of the Association 
last summer, and the reading we then thought pro- 
bable was the following :^ 

[aInnicci filivs 

[hjiCIACIT feCVRI IN hOC TVMVLO. 

I am, however, not sure that the first N is not rather 
an A : in that case, one would have anicci instead of 
[aJnnicci. As to the obliterated a, there was a letter 
under it in the other line, which allows itself to be 
guessed an h. But of the damaged letters the worst 
is that which I have here represented as a long s. 
Nevertheless, no part of the letter can be said to be 
gone, but a bit of the stone adjoining the top of it 
having somehow disappeared, leaves the upper portion 
of the letter undefined. The lower part, however, was 
perpendicular, so I regard it as having been the same 
sort of 5 as that in singno on the Caldy Stone (Hubner, 
No. 94 ; Lapidarium Wallice, Plate 52), or as the ss in 
Trenegassi on the Cilgerran Stone (Hubner,108; Lapid.^ 
Plate 53). This, it will be seen, would not stand alone 
as a minuscule in the Abercar Stone ; for there we find 
one h (I think two), and the rounded « is more minus- 
cule than otherwise. 

^ It is not intended to lead the reader to suppose thai the e is 
smaller in size than the other letters. 



96 EARLY INSCRIBED STONES. 

Among other characteristics of the lettering, it may 
be mentioned that the N has its first limb longer than 
the others, especially in in. The letters Li form the 
usual ligature, the i falling below the line and attached 
to the extremity of the l. I am not sure that any 
writing followed Filius in the same line. As to the 
Latinity of the inscription I have nothing to say, 
except that I take securi to stand for the adverb secure: 
I do not recollect meeting with it before in any form, 
either in Wales or ComwalL 

The other stone is important, as seeming to prove 
that the burial-place to which both it and the other 
belonged was at Abercar. My notes of the fragment 
are that it reads eta filt, in better capitals than the 
other. I thought I discerned before eta the limb of 
another letter, which, from its inclination, I took tohar^ 
been an m ; but Mr. Phillimore, who has also examined 
it, tells me that he reads p. I take fili to be a part 
of the word filia, as suggested by the previous name 
ending in a, which may, as usual, be safely taken as 
indicating a feminine form. 

There is a Welsh saying. Lie caiff Cymro y Cais, and 
I hope Mr. Wilkins will keep his eye on the building 
at Merthyr, in the walls of which he suspects that 
another ancient monument lies buried, and all but for- 
gotten. 

JoflN Rhys. 



97 



PEMBROKESHIRE RATHS. 

On the one-inch ordnance map of Pembrokeshire a line 
of earthworks (fourteen in number), reaching from the 
slope of Precelly mountains to St. Bride's Bay, are marked 
" raths". This, I believe, is the only Welsh district in 
which the word occurs. It is of course common 
through the length and breadth of Ireland ; is found 
in Cornwall (see Glossary of Cornish Names, p. 136), 
and enters into place-names in Lincolnshire. Raithhy 
occurs twice in that county. So foreign does the word 
appear in Pembrokeshire, that many have concluded 
the map maker must have been an Irishman, who 
termed the earthworks raths, because he had heard 
them so called in his own land. Through the kindness 
of Captain Dewing, RE., officer in charge of the 
survey now in progress, I have been enabled to trace 
somewhat as to the authority on which this word 
appears in the map. 

The original map in survey, one inch, was published 
in 1843, and drawn some time before by T. Badgens. 
Who he was I have failed to di«cover. 

Only a small portion of Pembrokeshire round Mil- 
ford Haven has been surveyed on the 25-inch scale. 
This was done in 1875, Captain Hill, R.E., being in 
charge of the survey. The map meets and merges 
into the south-western portion of what I will call rath 
land. So far from dropping the word. Captain Hill 
marked down j^2;e additional camps a^ raths, viz., those 
on Tower Point, Brandy Point, Rickeston, Walwyns 
Castle, and Rhosmarket, while he confirms the word at 
Three Lakes, the only original rath which is included 
in his map. The process of naming a place on 
ordnance survey is as follows. Three godfathers are 
necessary ; these must be the three best local men who 
can be found, and they must be unanimous as to the 

5th bsb., yoL. UT. 7 



98 PEMBROKESHIRE RATHS. 

pronunciation of the word. The names of these 
persons are then recorded, and the word entered on 
the map. I have seen a list of the persons who were 
consulted by Captain Hill, and who are responsible for 
the naming these earthworks raths ; they consist of a 
baronet, three landowners, a clergyman, and certain 
substantial tenant farmers. I find from inquiries I 
have made that "old people" on the Precelly slope 
know the word well. About Haverfordwest it is 
exclusively applied to one earth work, that near Wiston 
Mill by the side of the South Wales Railway. 

On the shores of St. Bride's Bay the word is familiar. 
The Rev. J. O. Harris, rector of Walton West, writes 
me : " I find there are very few adults in the parish, 
who do not know what a rath is. An old woman this 
morning (Feb. 20th, 1886) pointed out to me five raths: 
Muslake (Musselwick ?), Broadmore, Talbenny Parish ; 
Rosepool, . Walwyns Castle, Walwyns Castle Parish; 
Haroldston or Drewson, Haroldston Parish." The 
word is pronounced wraithe in Pembrokeshire. 

Professor Rhys, in a letter to the writer, March 3rd, 
1886, says, " I can offer no other account of the origin 
of the word rath, than it is the Irish word raith, in 
which the th has for many centuries been either mute 
or sounded H. The Welsh form occurs in the com- 
pound Bedd rawd, a tomb, literally a grave rath, and 
gauaf rawd, a winter dwelling ; but the simple term is 
obsolete so far as I know, nor do I know of any place- 
name in which it occurs. Dr. Murray, who is working 
on the great English dictionary, assures me there is no 
English origin for the word." Professor Rhys is dis- 

Eosed to think the occurrence of this term in Pem- 
rokeshire is due to Mr. Badgens' Irish proclivities, and 
to the sheep-like fashion in which folks follow one 
another. The fact that the name is spreading certainly 
adds strength to this suggestion. But on the other 
hand, to the extreme north-east of the line of raths is 
a camp which is called " Moat", and has given its name 
to a manor-house belonging to Sir Owen Scourfield, 



PEMBROKESHIRE RATES. 99 

Bart. Now, I believe camps are very frequently 
termed " moats" in Ireland ; so it would be reasonable 
to conclude that the a^oining xaths were named by 
the same people at the same time that Moat took its 
name. 

The Scourfields of Moat are a very old Pembroke- 
shire family. According to Fenton, p. 354, they have 
resided at Moat since the days of Edward I ; at all 
events, John Scourfield, Esq., of New Moat, was High 
Sheriff for the county in 1600. 

Without assuming that these words Rath and Moat 
are relics of the original Gaelic inhabitants of Pem- 
brokeshire, we must remember that the Irish have immi- 
grated into the county in very great numbers in com- 
paratively recent times. In the reign of Henry VIII 
they were said to be dangerously numerous, while 
George Owen assures us that at the end of the six- 
teenth century "they are soe powdrid among the 
inhabitants of Rous and Castell Martyn, that in every 
village you shall finde, .the 3rd, 4th, or 5th house 
holder an Irishman, and now of late they swarme more 
then in tymes past, by reason of their warres in Ire- 
land." This, I think, gives all the pros and cons for 
the worth rath, except the most decisive one. Does it 
occur in old deeds, etc. ? That I cannot tell.^ 

t Edward Laws. 

^ Will Bome of onr other Pembrokeshire members investigate this 
point?— Bdd. a, C. 



7« 



100 



TREDEGAR HOUSE, MONMOXJTHSHIRE. 

The present red brick mansion has always been said to 
have been designed by Inigo Jones. It was not, how- 
ever, built till after his death, probably owing to the 
unsettled state of the country during the civil wars. 
The house was built by WiUiam Morgan of Tredegar, 
whose initials, interlaced, appear underneath or within 
the carving over the fireplace in the gilt drawing-room. 
The house seems to have been finished in 1672, as that 
date is seen on a glass sun-dial in the window of the 
cedar evidence-room, and on the door of the cellar is 
cut*' Roger Lewis Butler, 1674". The gilt drawing- 
room bears a strong resemblance to the rooms of many 
Italian palaces, and the altars of the Italian churches 
of the seventeenth century seem to have suggested the 
chimney-piece. 

The tradition is that the fresco painting on the 
ceiling of the oak drawing-room was the work of 
an Italian artist, who died shortly after its comple- 
tion ; that it subsequently fell down, and was again 
put up, and daubed up by the workmen of the 
country. The artist was probably Isaac Fuller, an 
artist who painted wall and ceiling at this time, and 
died 1692. There was, however, previously, an ancient 
mansion, which the family had inhabited for several 
centuries ; this was mentioned by Leland in his 
Itinerary, circa 1540, as being **a very fair place of 
Stone", and as a " Manor Place' . Of this, all that now 
remains is the servants' hall, which was the great hall 
of the original mansion, and is probably five hundred 
years old. The dais, raised one step above the 
remainder of the hall, remained till 1812, when the 
hall was newly paved. The last quartering in the 
shield in the dining-parlour window is that of Blanche, 
heiress of Therrow, wife of William Morgan, who 
built the house. 



TREDEGAR HOUSE. 101 

In 1404 Owen Glyndwr ravaged WentUwch, and 
destroyed everything, houses and churches, and burn- 
ing Newport Castle, so that when the inquisition was 
made the return of the value of the lordship was " nil". 

The churches of St. Bride and Peterstown were 
rebuilt, as shown by the architecture, in the beginning 
of the centuiy, when additions were made to St. 
Woolos Church, and the castle was gradually rebuilt. 
The mansion house was most probably rebuilt at that 
period, as the batter of the old walls and the lower 
grate in the servants' hall seem to indicate. 

The great iron gates in front of the house were 
erected in 1714 by John Morgan, Esq., and over the 
centre gates are his arms impaled with those of his 
wife, Martha Vaughan of Trebariad, and in the medal- 
Uons are his initials, J. M., interlaced. The gates 
weighed 25,050 lb., and at Id, per lb. cost £104 7s. 6d. 

It appears from some letters written by Mr. Bryan, 
the steward at Tredegar, to his master. Judge Advocate- 
General Thomas Morgan, that, on his succeeding to the 
estate on the death of his nephew, William Morgan, 
he in the year 1766 did much to the mansion house of 
Tredegar in the way of repairs, painting, etc.; and as 
Miss Elizabeth Morgan (afterwards wife of Wm. Jones, 
Esq., of Clytha), becoming possessed of the personal pro- 
perty of her brother William in consequence of his 
dying intestate, removed nearly all the furniture from 
the house to a barn in the vUlage of Bassaleg, where 
much of it was spoilt, the house was refurnished by 
Thomas Morgan, and therefore much of the present 
furniture was put in by him. The only original fur- 
niture now remaining consist of the great cedar table 
in the haU, a marquetrie table in the gilt drawing- 
room, a marquetrie looking-glass belonging to it in the 
tapestry-room, and a baby's chair in the lumber-room 
over the servants' hall. 

In 1766 the dining-parlour, then called the great 
parlour, was floored with Dutch oak and painted by 
painters from Bristol; and since then, as far as my father 



102 ORIGIN OF THE KAME TREDEGAR. 

could remember, it has never been painted. It appears 
that some picture-frames were sent to Bristol, most 
probably to be regilt, and it is very likely that many 
pictures were then framed, as many of the frames of 
that date correspond in pattern. The great clock at 
the stables was put up in that year. The earlier dock 
was said to have struck the quarters by boys, like the 
old clock formerly at St. Dunstan's, near Temple Bar. 
On the sundial in the shrubbery at Tredegar is the 
inscription, "Latitude, 51 deg. 45 min., April 20th, 
1698." The sundial stood at the head of the large 
piece of water, which was formed by Mr. Muckle about 
1 790, and must therefore have been brought from some 
other place. 

C. O. S. M. 



ORIGIN OF THE NAME TREDEGAR. 

The meaning and derivation of this name has been 
much disputed. Tredegar, in Monmouthshire, is the 
ancestral home of the Morgans, whose family, there is 
every reason to believe, was established there at the 
beginning of the twelfth century, as Bledri ap Cadivor 
Vawr, the direct lineal ancestor of the family, was 
witness to a charter of Roger de Berkerolles, who was 
then living and dwelt close by, which charter granted 
to the Abbey of Glastonbury the tithes of one division 
of the parish of Bassaleg, which was constituted at 
that time, and in which parish Tredegar is situate ; and 
as Bledri died in 11 1 9, it must have been signed very 
early in the twelfth century. 

There have been many explanations and derivations 
of the name of Tredegar given by ingenious persons. 
One is a contraction of the Welsh words Troed-y-gaer, 
** the foot of the camp", because there is an ancient earth- 
work on a hill in the park opposite the house, called, 
as many Welsh forts are, "the Gaer". Another is Tre- 



ORIGIN OF THE NAME TREDEGAR. 103 

deg-dr, " the homestead of ten plough-lands". Another 
was Tre-deg-erw, " the mansion, home, or dwelling of 
the ten acres". Others thought that ten acres was but 
a small piece of land for so large an estate, and fancied 
it might be Tri-deg-erw — three ten acres, or thirty 
acres. Another idea has been that it may be Tre dau- 
gaer^ " the home of the two forts", as there is another 
earthwork on a hill in front of the house. These will 
serve to show what a charmingly fertile language the 
Welsh is for persons who like to speculate in deriva- 
tions. The name ''Tre-deg-erw" is found in old 
English letters in the Ordnance Map, as if it were an 
accredited ancient name ; but how it got there is a 
mystery, for there is no such place, nor ever was such 
a name or place that anyone now living can recollect 
or ever heard of, and there never was any field of ten 
acres to have given the name, I well remember the 
county being surveyed for the Ordnance Map by the 
engineers in 1820, and can only imagine that they got 
hold of this name from the conjecture of some ingenious 
person trying to explain the name Tredegar. The most 
obvious derivation, and which is the true one, does not, 
however, seem to have occurred to these ingenious 
persons. 

The word ire/* (pronounced trev), before a consonant, 
tre, means, not a single house, which would be ty, but 
the dwelling-place, chief mansion, or homestead of 
some important person, with necessary ofl&ces, stabling, 
and outbuildings for the accommodation of the family 
of servants necessary for the performance of such 
various duties as would be requisite, and was in fact 
rather a group of buildings analogous to the German 
Heim or Ham, and thus came to signify a village and 
subsequently a town. There could not, therefore, have 
been ten trefs together. The tref generally took its 
name from that of the owner or founder of the dwelling 
— as Tre-gwilym, Tre-madoc, Tre-gunter, etc.; though 
sometimes the name was derived from the situation, or 
some other circumstance, as Tre-goed, the mansion of 



104 ORIGIN OF THE NAME TREDEGAR. 

the wood ; as Tre-castle, from the vicinity of a castle, 
as Trecastle, in Carmarthenshire, Englished into Castle- 
ton — and there is no doubt that Tredegar took its 
name from the first founder or owner, whenever he may 
have lived, and the name, as is usual, has continued to 
the present day. 

The earliest mention of the name which I find in 
writing is in an old copy of a poem of Gwilym Tew, a 
Welsh poet who lived in the fifteenth century, for there 
are no very early deeds to be found in which it is 
mentioned by name. The property having been in the 
family for so many centuries, the original charter or 
grant, if there ever was one, may have been lost or 
destroyed. Tredegar is situated in the ancient lord- 
ship marcher of WentUwch | and being freehold, was 
most probably granted to our ancestor Bledri ap Cadivor 
Vawr (whose father, a Pembrokeshire chieftain, was 
buried at Carmarthen in 1084), by Robert FitzHamon, 
after his conquest of Glamorgan and WentUwch from 
the ancient Welsh prince, lestyn ap Gwrgant, about 
1100, and it is probable that any charter or other such 
document may have been destroyed when Owen 
Glyndwr ravaged WentUwch with fire and sword in 
1404. 

The poet GwUym Tew, or William the Fat, flourished 
between 1430 and 1470, and presided at a Gorsedd in 
Glamorgan in 1460, about which time he wrote a com- 
plimentary poem in praise of Sir John Morgan of Trede- 
gar, Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, whom in the title 
he styles Syr Sion ap Morgan o Dre-Degyr; and again 
in the poem itself he writes the name Tre-Degyr, the 
t and a being in the Welsh language interchangeable 
consonants. The Tre and Degyr in both instances are 
separated by a hyphen, and Degyr in both instances 
has a capital 2), indicating a proper name. In a MS. 
of the seventeenth century, in the possession of the 
late Mr. S. K.Bosanquet, is this statement, *'The 
house of Tref-ddigr, holden by inheritance of blood 
from time to time, is the most ancient in all Wales." 



ORIGIN OF THE NAME TREDEGAR. 105 

** Teigr ap Tegonwy was an ancient prince in King 
Arthurs time." The t being changed into d- for the 
sake of euphony, the place is again called "Tref-Deigr"; 
and though Teigr may be as mythical a personage as 
King Arthur, this is strong presumptive evidence that 
there was such a traditionary personage connected 
with this place, at whatever time he may have lived. 
Again, in a pedigree by Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt, 
made about 1660, and now amongst the Hengwrt 
MSS. at Peniarth, the name is written, ''Thomas 
Morgan de Dref-degyr, Esq." From this evidence it 
seems to me clear that Tredegar received its name 
from its early possessor, whose name was Teigr, though 
when he lived or who he was is not known, but his 
name was attached to his tref^ or homestead, and has 
continued to this day, as is the case with an adjoining 
hamlet in the same parish, which now retains its name 
of Tre-gwilym, which it derived from being the trefy 
residence, or homestead, of William de BerkeroUes, a 
Norman who came over at the Conquest, and was 
father to Roger de BerkeroUes before mentioned, who 
built a small castle adjoining it, which, after the 
Norman usage, he called Rogerstone ; and both names 
are retained at the present day, the one being the 
Welsh name of the tref and hamlet, and the other the 
name of the manor founded by Roger, the builder of 
the small castle, a scanty fragment of the wall of 
which stUl exists. 

OcTAVius Morgan. 



106 




CARVED POWDER-FLASK OF STAG'S HORN 

FOUND NEAR HAY. 

This interesting object was exhibited at the Newport 
Meeting in 1885 by Miss Be van of Hay Castle, who 
has also obligingly supplied the accompanying account 
of its discovery. 

" Some few years ago the railway-bridge which crosses 
the Dulas close to Hay Station was enlarged, and while 
digging the new foundations in a garden on the left 
bank of the Dulas, the horn was discovered. Some 
other relics were found at the same time, but were un- 
fortunately lost before I heard of them. The owner of 
the garden described them as part of a sword and a 
silver thimble. The latter probably belonged to the 
horn, as the centre part appears to have been finished 
off in some way. The horn is that of a red deer, and 



POWDER-FLASK OF STAGES HORN. 107 

18 of unusual size. The Dulas is the border stream 
between England and Wales, and being just outside 
the town-walls of Hay, its banks would have been a 
likely place for a fight." 

The horn was evidently a powder-flask. Its depth is 
6 inches ; and its breadth at the top, 3 inches ; and 
circumference, 7 inches ; and at the bottom, 5 and 1 1 
inches respectively. The carving is apparently foreign, 
and represents Our Saviour at tne Well of Samaria. It 
is of the sixteenth century. Others of a somewhat 
similar character are engraved in Meyrick and Skelton s 
Ancient Armour, vol. ii, PI. cxxiv. The figures are 
3| inches high. The woman, habited in cloak and tip- 
pet, is shown drawing up a water-bucket from the 
well ; which, however, instead of being represented as 
"deep", is built above ground to hold tne bubbling 
spring. The look of inquisitive surprise upon the 
woman^s countenance is well rendered. On the other 
side of the well Our Saviour is represented standing, 
not " sitting", with a nimbus round his head, and a 
face marked by weariness and meekness. The character 
of the scene is further sustained by the sacred symbol 
carved on the wheel (forming thus a cross within a 
crown) over which the rope is drawn to raise the water- 
vessel. 

Whatever may be thought of the appropriateness of 
such a scene for such an object, it is evident, from 
other instances, that it was not uncommon in such con- 
nection. Perhaps it may have been intended to remind 
the soldier that he was to bear himself as a servant of 
Christ, and to teach roughly that the Church's work 
on earth was militant. 

It will be observed from the engi-aving, in which 
Mr. Worthington G. Smith has represented the original 
very faithfully, that the base of the horn has been 
capped with a silver lid for the purpose of filling ; and 
in like manner the nozzle of the projecting point in the 
centre tipped for priming, with, no doubt, the so called 
" silver tnimble" found at the same time near it. The 



1 08 MERIONETHSHIRE 

tines on either side have been sawn oflF close, and of 
course originally plugged up, though now empty and 
open. Holes on either side show where it was attached 
to the strap by which it was carried, slung over the 
shoulder. The back of the horn is in its original rough 
and unpolished state. 

The position of Hay on the banks of the Wye, guard- 
ing the pass by that valley out of the Marches of Wales 
into Breconshire, was the scene of frequent skirmishes 
and fierce onslaughts, not only from the time that Ber- 
nard Newmarch settled his trusty lieutenant, Sir Philip 
Walwyn, in possession, to the time when the Castle 
was destroyed in the border wars of Owen Glyndwr in 
1403, but throughout the later Wars of the Roses and 
the troubles of the Commonwealth ; and probably we 
shall not be wrong if we assign to this last occasion the 
loss of the relic which has thus at length been brought 
to light again. 

D. R. T. 



MERIONETHSHIRE SIX HUNDRED YEARS 

AGO. 



ECCLESIASTICAL. 

In a former article, read at the Bala Meeting of the 
Association in 1884, and printed in vol. i, Fifth Series, 
pp. 272-284, we have given some account of the civil 
and manorial features of the county at the end of the 
thirteenth century. In the present we propose to do 
the like service by its ecclesiastical conditions, and 
especially its monastic appropriations. 

Our main authorities for this purpose will be the 
Taxatio Ecclesiastica of a,d. 1291 (best known as Pope 
Nicholad Taxation)^ and the charters of the several 
religious houses connected with' the county. Several 
of uie names there given we have hitherto failed to 



SIX HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 109 

identify. Those that we have made out we have en- 
closed within brackets ; the others we shall be glad to 
be enlightened upon by those who have the means of 
doing so. 

From the Taxatio Ecclesiastica we learn that the 
county was divided in a.d. 1291, as it is still, between 
the two dioceses of Bangor and St. Asaph, and that 
the line of demarcation between them coincided with 
that of the principalities of Powys and Gwynedd. In 
the Bangor diocese there were three rural deaneries, 
Talybont, Estimaner, and Ardudwy ; and in St. Asaph 
two, Edeimion and Penllyn. These deaneries corre- 
sponded with the civil commotes, and contained re- 
spectively the following parishes, viz. : — 

Edeimion^ six, e.g., Corwen with its four portionists 
and a vicar ; Llansantffrdid ; Gwyddelwern, a rectory 
and a vicarage, — the former appropriated to the ten 
vicars choral of St. Asaph ; Llangar ; Llandrillo ; and 
Llanaelhaiam, which has subsequently been incor- 
porated in Gwyddelwern. 

Penllyn^ five, e.gr., Llandderfel, Llanfor, a rectory in 
two portions, and a vicarage ; Llanycil, and Llanuthlyn 
(Llanuwchllyn), each a rectory and a vicarage ; and 
Llangower. 

The Bangor deaneries are not so fully enumerated ; 
their names are not all given ; but the *' two deaneries 
of Meryonnid" are sufficiently indicated by their de- 
scription as " the Benefice of Griffin the Dean", and the 
*^ Benefice of the other Dean" in Tewyn, with its two 
portions and its chaplain, to refer to Talyhonty of which 
Dolgelley was the head ; and Estimaner, of which 
Towyn was the mother church. The deanery of Ar- 
dudwy is, indeed, mentioned by name, but no details 
are added to show the parishes comprised within it. 
We may, however, supply these items from the list of 
old parish churches, with this result, viz., — 

Ardudwy eleven : Festiniog, Llanaber, Llandanwg, 
Llanbedr, Llanenddwyn, Llanddwywe, Llanfair, Llan- 
fihangel y Traethau, Llandecwyn, Llanfrothen, and 
Trawsfynydd. 



110 M ERIONETHSHIRE 

Estimaner four : Towyn, Llanfihangel, Talyllyn, Penal. 

Talyhont five : Dolgelley, LlanelTtydy Llanfachreth, 
Llanegryn, and Llangelynyn. 

We find thus in the county, at that period, thirty- 
one benefices, of the gross annual value of £144 IO5.; 
but many of them, it will be seen, were only vicarages, 
the great or rectorial tithes of which had oeen appro- 
priated to monastic houses or other religious founda- 
tions. Such were Llanfachreth, Llanelltyd, and Llan- 
egryn, to Cymmer Abbey, Llanuwchllyn to Basing werk, 
Gwyddelwern to St. Asaph Cathedral. 

The Bangor portion of the county was then, as it is 
still, in the archdeaconry of Merioneth, which is the only 
archdeaconry in North Wales that has retained its inde- 
pendence through all the intervening vicissitudes down 
to the present day, the others having been united at 
one time or another to their respective bishoprics. In 
the second volume of the First Series of the ArchcBoh- 
gia Cambrensis (1847, p. 19) an engraving is given of 
the archdeacon's official seal, which we now reproduce. 







together with this description : " The design is one of 
common occurrence in Continental iconography, and in- 
dicates the Father seated on a throne, with the Son 
crucified between His knees, and the Holy Ghost, in 
the form of a dove, proceeding from the mouth of the 
First Person in the Holy Trinity. The same repre- 
sentation is to be met with, on a larger scale, upon a 
monumental brass of the Bulkeley family in the chancel 



SIX HUNDRED YEARS AGO. Ill 

of Beaumaris Church. Below is a Death head with a 
garland, emblematical of the victory over death. It is 
now in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford."^ 

The St. Asaph portion, a century earlier, must have 
formed part of the archdeaconry of Powys ; but this 
appears, in the interval, to have been absorbed in that 
of St. Asaph, which was finally united to the bishopric in 
1573, and so continued till 1844, when it was revised, 
and subdivided into those of St. Asaph and Mont- 
gomery ; to the latter of which, representing part of 
ancient Powys, the two Merionethshire deaneries were 
attached. They were, however, in 1882 again trans- 
' ferred to that of St. Asaph. 

The religious houses and their appropriations will 
occupy a much larger space, and we will treat them in 
something of the order of their importance, reserving 
the first place to the one local foundation of** Cyroraer" 
as it is always called in printed records, although locally 
known almost solely as " Vanner". 

I. CYMMER ABBEY. 

From the confirmation charters of Llewelyn ap lor- 
werth. Prince of North Wales, dated a.d. 1209,* to the 
Abbot and monks of Kemmer, of the Cistercian order 
and Benedictine rule, serving God and the Blessed 
Virgin, we learn that the Abbey was founded by Mere- 
dydd and Gruflfydd,' the sons of Cynan (who, with his 

1 The initials R. N., and the date, " Ruthin, Oct. 22'\ show the 
writer to have been Richard Newcome, Warden of Ruthin, 1804-51, 
and Archdeacon of Merioneth, 1834-57. 

' Dngdale's Monasticfm, 

* Gruffydd ap Cynan== 

Owen Gwynedd= Cadwaladr, lord of Meirionydd 



Cynan"=f Howel 

I 

Meredydd, lord of Llyn and Meirionydd, Gruffydd== 

deprived by Llewelyn ap lorwerth Howell. 



112 MERIONETHSHIRE 

brother Howell, had seized Meirionydd, in 1148, firom 
their uncle Cadwaladr, the brother of Owen Gwynedd), 
and that associated with them, probably as a later 
benefactor, was Howel, the son of Gruffjdd. 

This charter^ enumerates the lands, with their bound- 
aries, which had been granted to the Abbey. The 
names in their printed form are veiy unintelligible ; 
but partly by thinking out the sounds they may have 
represented to a Saxon ear, and partly by substituting 
for letters which a Saxon scribe knowing nothing of 
the meaning of the names might have mistaken, other 
letters similar in form, we have been able, with the aid 
of an Ordnance Map, to identify them to a large extent. 
Thus, starting from "Aberydon", alias *' Albedrydon" 
(Abereiddew), and crossing " Eskeryndone"* (Esgair 
Eiddew) to the river *' MidhuF (Fidwl), which rises in 
Irobell (Rhobell), and flows between " Yrhanolwen'* 
(Hafodwen) and " Tir manew" (Namiau) to the river 
*' Mahuweth'' (Mawddach), or rather one of its feeders ; 
thence to the " Erill" (Cefn yr Eryr), thence to the top 
of **Ydhualt'' (Y Dduallt), on to the source of the 
**Menach" (Mynach) ; thence to the '*Creon" (Afon 
Creunan), which is the boundary between Meryonyth 
and Penrellyn (Penllyn). On the other side of the 
" Mannehec'^ (Mynach). " Cumdadhd" (Cwm y dolan ?) 
to "Ydymant" (Nantddu), and on to the borders of 
'VPenllin". 

South of the Wnion, and adjoining the above, we 
have " Egeirkawr" (Esgair gawr, near Drws y Nant 
Station), ^'Cuykawr inter Kawr et Haynnawe" (i.e., 
Crug Cawr, between the Cawr and Harnog), ** Bryn- 
betwyn", Y Ddolwen, " Kenenkrewnan" (Cefn Cruan), 
" Yranockelynawe", " Nantykeiliochou'' (Hafod and 
Nant Helygog), " Brythgwm" and " Martnam^' (March- 
nad), "cum integris terminis et pertinentiis suis". 

Another portion lay in the mountains east of Aber- 
llefeni, where we have " Llwydyarath" (Llwydiarth, on 

^ Pat., 8 Henry Vf, Part I, m. 6, " Per Inspex."; Pat, 6 Bdw. Ill, 
Part II, m. 9, " Per Inspex." 



SIX HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 113 

the Dulas, near Bwlch y Tri Ardwyddi), '' Kellyleth", 
*'Kellynorlem', " Moylly wydyath" (Moel Llwydiarth), 
"Respoldydre", " Kinnygerh wyn" (C wmygerwyn), " Buli- 
tifrie" (Bwlch y Tri Arglwyddi), "YkychuF, "Cum- 
kelly (Cwm Celli), " Ryallathhidwyn", " Esgeiraneryn'' 
(Esgaimeirion), and *' Y Kumkorsawe" (Cwm Corsog, 
qu., Coris).' 

The next series of names I have, however, been un- 
able as yet to identify. " Cunningwernach" (Cynning- 
wern fach), " Riccarneth" (Crug carnedd), " Keneny", 
" Kellynllhwyn", ''Tannoth" (? Cefn y Celyn, Llwyn- 
ffawydd), " Wllymarch'' (Pwll-y-march in the Vale of 
Artro), *'Broneunwch'V* Acria Lewelyn preconis", "Hal- 
neythey", " Ryhukweryth", and ** Bodychwyn''. 

Of the names that occur next in order, most of them 
are to be found in Llanegryn and Llangelynin, such as 
•* Body wyn'' (Bod-Owen)," Hyrdyr Llanegryn'V^ Redy- 
nor" (Rhedynoc), "Enyawn"(Pant Einion),"Ada","Bar- 
edyn" (Bredyn), " Vill Crennays" (Trevaes), " Graenny- 
falch'' (Gwaunybwlch),"Acra Kennedir"(qu., Cynydd), 
"Kelly Wassarauc" (Gelli Sarog), "Golewernkennahet" 
(Goleuwern and Cjrfannedd). 

In the province or commote of Ardudwy are enu- 
merated " Llanhuldut" (Llanelltyd), " Cunigwenyn'' 
(Cwm Gwnin), " Moylesbryn" (Moel Ispri ; written in 
old parish- book, " Moel-is-bryn"); '* Kesseylgum'' (Ce- 
sailgwm), " Cum Meneyth" (Cwm Mynach), and all the 
lands between the Keyn and Maudhu (the Cain and 
the Mawddach). Their boundaries come in the follow- 
ing order: *' Gwynnenyth" (Gwynfynydd), "Gwervy- 
undeyew" (Gwernyfeidiog), ** Nantygaranew", " Algayn^' 
(qu., Y Foel in Dolgain), " Nazithir ' (Nanthir), '' Beth- 
yresgyw" (Bedd yr esgyrn ; qu., Bedd Porius)," Yney- 
dyawe" (Yfeidiog), " Nant y Moch''(c/! Dolymoch), and 
the Cain. The top of '' Nigri Montis" ( Y Dduallt), 
" Llyn Phelycymoch" (the Lake on Ffridd Helyg y 
Moch), above Erylyfedwen, to " Palus Mycyneleyn^' (the 
bog, Y Figin, near the Lake), to the '* Lin" (Lliw), which 

5th sbr., vol. III. 8 



114 MERIONETHSHIRE 

is the boundary between Ardudwy and Penllyn and 
Mandhu (Mawadwy). 

A few names then occur which I have not sufficiently 
made out, e.gr., '^Abkeyn" (Aber Cain), "Llwynyrhic", 
*'Y Kennycllwydyon'' (Cerrigllwydion), "Heskyn du'* 
(Heskyn ddu), " Yrhanortanolawe ', " YbwUellwyth", 
" dolicancion'' (Dolau), near "Nanheu" (Nannau). 

The next series is easily identified : — *'Iralltlhwyt" 
('RaUt Lwvd), " Heskyn'^ (Cwm Heskyn), " Dynaste- 
lery" (which appears to be the full name of Craig y 
Dinas, e.g., Dinas Talyr^), " Cukedryn" (Crug Edryn ; 
prob. Craig Adeiyn), " Ryhukenerthuc", "Pennarth- 
wonawe", '* Nantylastegwaret" (Nantglas ; cf. Pantglas), 
" Nantyrhendy", " Bethicoydhur" (Beddycoedwr), and 
" Ywenallt" (qu., part of Gwynfynydd). 

The rest of the Abbey property being in Lleyn, does 
not fall within the compass of this notice ; and it only 
remains to note that the mineral resources of the dis- 
trict were not unknown to the monks, who had con- 
firmed to them the right of digging for metals and 
treasures within their property, — '* in metallis et the- 
sauris eflfodiendis". 

II. BASIKGWERK ABBEY.^ 

It is not known when or by whom this establishment 
was first founded ; but it was in existence, though not 
of the Cistercian order, before the year a.d. 1119. 
Before the time of Henry II, however, a.d. 1154- 
88, it had been refounded as a Cistercian house, for 
the king by his charter confirms the grants to it of 
Handle II, Earl of Chester, 1128-53, and other barons. 
Hugh Cyveiliog, the son and successor of Handle in 
the earldom, who died in 1181, was also a benefactor ; 
and about the same time Owain Brogyntyn, lord of 
Edeirnion and Dimnael, gave the ** Vill of Wenhewm" 
(Gwernhefin), " with all its inhabitants and appurte- 
nances'', and also " a certain water in Penthlinn called 

^ See Arch, Camh, vol. i, p. 97 (1846), for account of this Abbey. 



SIX HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 115 

Thlintegid or Pimblemere, and all the pasture of the 
said land of Penthlin." This deed was witnessed by 
Reyner, Bishop of St. Asaph, 1186-1224, and by Ithel, 
O wain's chaplain. David, however, the son and suc- 
cessor of Llewelyn ap lorwerth, Prince of Wales, in a 
Confirmation Charter, dated 1240, states that *'the 
lands and pasturage in Penllyn were the donation of 
the Lord Llewelyn, his father", and that the " Vill of 
Wenhewm" only was the gift of Owain Brogyntyn, 
" confirmed by Helysus", his nephew and successor, viz., 
Elisse ap Madoc ap Meredydd, whom we shall meet 
with again as a large benefactor to the Abbey of Strata 
Marcella. 

The ** measures and divisions which are named in my 
father's charter'* are not within our reach, otherwise we 
might identify them, as in the case of Cymmer Abbey. 
In the Taxatio of a.d. 1291 they are described as 
** Grang* de Kellynng cu' Penlyn quatuor caruc' & d'i cu' 
redd' & aliis com'od, 2:10:0 dec. 55. (The Grange of 
Kellyng with Penllyn, four ploughlands and a half 
-with rents and other conveniences, £2 1 05. tenths, 65.). 
Whether, however, this Grange of " Kellynng" refers 
to some place in Penllyn or in the neighbourhood of the 
Abbey, does not clearly appear certain ; but I rather 
incline to think it refers to their Grange at " Y Gelli", 
Dear Whitford, for this property could hardly have 
deteriorated so much in value as to be farmed out in 
A.D. 1535 to Robert ap Res for £1 165. 8d.^ 

This Robert ap Rhys was the third son of Rhys ap 
Meredydd of Plas lolyn, standard-bearer of Henry 
the Seventh at Richmond, and himself the chaplain 
and cross-bearer to Cardinal Wolsey, and father of Dr. 
Elis Price of Plas lolyn, of Cadwaladr Price of Rhiwlas, 
and Richard, Abbot of Aberconway, and Hugh, also an 
abbot. Sir Robert, besides these lands of the Abbey 
of Basingwerk, also became the possessor of those 

^ " County of Merioneth, commote of Penllyn. — ^Value in Ferm of 
yanons lands and tenements therein, per ann., thus let to Robert 
ap Ees, £1 : 16 : 8." (26 Hen. VIII.) 

8» 



116 M ERlONETflSHIRE 

attached to the cell of Mochraiadr, belonging to Strata 
Marcella. From Sir Robert, through his son Dr. Elis 
Price, this property descended to Elizabeth Price, 
heiress of Plas lolyn, and lady of the Manor of 
Yspytty, who married Robert Edwards of Galltycelyn, 
and eventually to Dr. Price Jones of Rhyl, who cut 
the entail, and sold both the estate and the advowson 
of Llanuwchllyn to Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart., M.P. 

The story of the advowson is curious. Till the 
Reformation it was certainly unappropriated, and is 
given in the King's Book, Valor Eccles., 26 Hen. VIII, 
as both a rectory, and a vicarage ; and in a trial at 
Shrewsbury in 1 682, Bishop Lloyd of St. Asaph, asserted 
that Dr. Elis Pryse had got it put into the famous 
patent of Tipper and Daw, by whom, being but 
trustees, it was assigned to his son, Thomas Pryse and 
his heirs. The bishop carried the case, and in a second 
trial, in 1684, a second time substantiated his claim, 
but was refused possession ; and when the case was 
forced on a third time in Bala in 1688, at a time when 
the bishop was obliged to be in London, and in spite 
of his protest, the verdict was given against him by 
default.^ The case was not further contested, and 
from that time passed through successive generations 
of the family to Dr. Price Jones, who sold it, as already 
stated, to Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart. 

III. YSTRAD MARCHELL, STRATA MARCELLA. 

This also was a Cistercian Abbey, founded by Owen 
Cyfeiliog in a.d. 1170, in the Vale of the Severn, but 
connected with this county by considerable possessions 
acquired, partly by gift and partly by purchase, within 
a few years of its foundation. 

In 1176 a certain '* Hey le with" sold to the aionks 
of Strata Marcella, for two pounds and a half of silver, 
all his lands in " Esgyngaenog" ; Madoc ap Llywarch, 
however, claimed it, but sold his rights therein for one 

* Thomas, History of St. Asaph, p. 717. 



SIX HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 117 

pound of silver, and Meredydd ap Howel, the lord of 
Edeirnion, granted them full and free possession. 
Caenog is a portion of the parish of Gwyddelwern, on 
the old road from Bala and Corwen to Wrexham. In 
A.D. 1183, Elisse ap Madoc ap Meredith ap Bleddynap 
Cynfjm, lord of Edeirnion, cousin of Owen Cyfeiliog, 
granted to the same monks, in consideration of three 
pounds, the land called " Llecheudin", the bounds of 
which have been identified by Mr. Howel Lloyd, as 
agreeing with those of the Gydros property in the 
north-eastern angle of the commote of Penllyn. They 
are enumerated in the charter in the following order. 
From Aber Cummein (the junction of the " Cwmmain" 
brook with the Geiro) to its source ; thence from Blaen 
Cwmmain to Kairrunck ; thence to the ford Rhyd- 
Holwen, and up that stream to the source of Nant- 
ucheldref; thence downwards toManachduner(Mynach- 
dwvr), thence up the stream to the Alarch, and follow 
that stream down to the Geiro. 

In A.D. 1198, the same Elisse ap Madoc, confirmed to 
them the lands of Esgyn Gaenog, already noticed ; 
and further, for the consideration of eight pounds, 
sold them some land called **Gwothelwern", the bound- 
aries of which are given as from "helegluin seith- 
uc" (Helyg Llwyn Seithug?) to "gweun" (gwaun or 
gwern ?) ; thence to Moel Casseg, and on to the near- 
est stream, and till you come to a still larger one. 
The same benefactor gave the monks all the land 
called " Nantfaith", with its appurtenances. The same 
Elisse granted to them, in the province or commote of 
Penllyn, part of Keman (Commain) and of Lledwenin 
(Bodweni ?), and Pennantmaelgn (Pennant Melangell, 
now in Montgomeryshire), and from the bounds of 
Rewedauk (Rhiwedog) to Mautho (Mawddwy). He 
also confirmed the grant of lands bought by them from 
Madoc Hethgam. To these were fui'ther added the 
lands of " Blainhiveit'' (Blaen Hirnant). 

The lands purchased from Madoc Hethgam have been 
identified by Mr. Howel W. Lloyd as follows : — 



118 MERIONETHSHIRE 

"From Llinheskyn (Lljnhescyn) along Kaletdimer 
(Afon Hescyn) to the brook <»lled Bratfos (Brottos), 
and thence to the end of the wood (Nant-y-coed), and 
onwards in an oblique direction to an upright stone on 
the mountain, and thenoe to the top of rutU (Bwlch 
y Foel Poeth), and on to the river Tarwerign (Trew- 
eryn), following up the stream to the junction of the 
Kelin (Celyn), and keep along that brook to the 
boundary hne of Penllin and Gwenech (Penlljm and 
Gwynedd) ;* thence pass on to Ekelchet (Y Gylchedd), 
and so on to the source of the stream Geyro."* 

But one of the most interesting grants is that by 
Gwenwynwyn, Prince of Powys, made in 1190, of 
" Nantmeichat from its beginning even to Mochraedr". 
This mountain dingle lies on the southern side of the 
Teweryn river, into which the stream that flows through 
it runs from Uyn Arenig. Here was a cell of the 
Abbey, and a glance at the Ordnance Map will show 
that it was not only conveniently situated for the 
management of these far distant possessions of the 
mother house, but also specially suited for fulfilling 
one of the conditions of the grant, viz., that they 
should supply the prince with lodging and entertain- 
ment for one night in each year, when he visited this 
extreme portion of his dominion ; indeed, it must have 
served a similar office here to that of the hospice of 
the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem on the other 
side of the mountain at Yspytty Ifan. Another con- 
dition connected it yet more closely with the mother 
establishment, viz,, the annual supply of "two colts of 
their superior breed'', which had evident reference to 
the Spanish breed of horses which Robert de Belesme, 
Earl of Shrewsbury, had introduced into Powys about 
the end of the eleventh century. At the dissolution they 
fell, as has been already noted under Basing werk, into 
the hands of Sir Kobert ap Rhys, whose family became 
greatly enriched by the spoils of the monastic houses 
with which they had to do. 

^ Montgomeryshire Collections, vol. v, pp. 109 et seq. 



SIX HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 119 



IV. VALLE CRUCIS. 



This Abbey was founded by Madoc ap Gruflfydd 
Maelor, about the year a.d. 1220, for a colony of 
monks from Ystrad Marchell ; but although it acquired 
considerable possessions in Denbighshire, it does not 
appear to have succeeded to any of the property of the 
mother foundation in this county. Indeed, notwith- 
standing its proximity and its importance, the only 
Merionethshire property it appears to have owned was 
a moiety of the township of Mwstwr in Corwen parish, 
" Medietat* ville que dicit' Mystuyr cu' om'ib' t'minis 
p*tin' suis", granted in the original foundation charter. 

V. BEDDGELERT. 

This Priory of Austin Canons, founded by Llewelyn 
the Great, possessed a certain parcel of land in the 
parish of Llanfair, in Ardudwy, mentioned in the 
"Extenta Com., Meryonneth", as **ter stent of the 
Prior of Bethkelert, and it gives to the lord the prince 
per annum 2rf., to be paid at the festivals of Easter 
and Michaelmas equally" {Arch. Camb., Series I, vol. ii, 
p. 164). 

VL KNIGHTS HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM. 

In the adjoining counties of Montgomery and Den- 
bigh, the good services of this hospitable brotherhood 
have long been attested by their well known establish- 
ments at Camo, and Llanwddyn and Dol-y-gynwal ; 
the very name of the last of which places got super- 
seded, through the reputation of its famous order, by 
that of the Hospice of St. John, Yspytty Ivan. But 
that they were established in Merioneth does not 
appear to have struck anyone until the attempt was 
made in 1884 to identify the "homines hospitalis de 
Villa de Wona'\ mentioned in the Extent of Merioneth- 
shire printed in the Journal of our Association in the 
volume for 1867, pp. 183-93. The same place was 
written in another part of the document, " Hospitalis 



120 MERIONETHSHIRE, ETC. 

de Wemias^; and this bore a striking likeness to a 
place-name mentioned, with some further particulars, 
in the Rotuli WaUicB (p. 94), to the eflfect that "Literae 
de acquistantia pro prioreet/ratribushospitalesSandi 
Johannis Jerusalem pro terns in Wanas in Merioneth". 
With this clue it was not difficult to find its locale in 
G wanas at the top of the Pass above Dolgelley, where 
the road from that town forks off into two directions, 
one leading southwards to Machynlleth and the other 
eastwards to Dinas Mawddwy. At this point stands 
an old house called Plas G^wanas^ and near it is marked 
on the Ordnance Map the suggestive name of " Dol 
Yspytty", i.e.f the Hospice Meadow. It was just the 
spot for these beneficent hosts to occupy, in order that 
they might befriend the travellers who had to cross the 
bleak and lonely pass of " Bwlch Oerddrws" on the 
Mawddwy side towards Pool and Shrewsbury, or to 
traverse the narrow valley of the Corris, towards 
Machynlleth, or the wild and beautiful Talyllyn in the 
direction of Towyn. Lewis, in his Topographical 
Dictionary^ writes, under Dolgelley, that ''ancient 
chapel, called Yspytty Gwanas, was formerly situated 
on the road to Dinas Mawddwy, about four miles 
distant, the site of which is now marked by a few 
yew trees"; and in the will of David ap Meuric Vychan 
of Nannau, dated 1494, and printed in Origiiial 
Documents, pp. 143-44, we find a legacy of 6s, 8d, 
for glazing the chapel window. " Item, lego wis. viijd. 
ad vitriandum fenestram in hospitale sancti Johannis 
baptiste Goanes" 

D. RT. 



121 



UNRESTORED CHURCHES. 

It appears to me especially desirable that the volumes 
of our Journal should contain descriptive notices and 
illustrations of all the noteworthy parish churches in 
the Principality, and especially of those which have 
hitherto escaped what, for want of a better word, or in 
mere irony, has come to be called " restoration". I 
would by no means decry the spirit and liberality 
which dictates these labours : both are praiseworthy in 
the highest degree. The regret is that so many 
restorations are injudicious and not according to know- 
ledge ; and from the antiquary's point of view, at any 
rate, are by no means an unmixed good. Few churches 
come out of the ordeal without serious detriment to 
their character as time-honoured monuments. Many 
of them are bedecked as to their exteriors with scraps 
and ends of architectural finery, and bedizened 
internally with ill-applied colouring, or bedaubed with 
that most pernicious and prevalent of all shams, a 
stuccoed imitation of stone, which covers up every 
trace of the history of the church more completely 
than the honest old whitewash it has superseded. 
Such restored churches are out of keeping with their 
surroundings, having lost in the process much of that 
individuality and character which constituted their 
charm, and have become essentially commonplace. As 
the number of unrestored churches is daily becoming 
less, I hope to give short descriptive notices from time 
'to time of such of them as come under my own 
observation in the few holidays a busy life affords ; 
perhaps more able pens may be induced to carry on 
the tale. 

The majority of our Welsh rural churches are small, 
simple in plan, stern, almost rude, in outline, and with 
but little architectural adornment ; still they have a 



122 UNRESTORED CHURCHES. 

character all their own, and an indefinable charm which 
is perhaps bom of their perfect adaptability to purpose, 
and their close assimilation with the prevailing charac- 
ter of the scenery in which they are placed. So true 
is this harmony, that nature has grafted them into her 
economy, and decked them lovingly with her choicest 
garniture of moss, lichen, and fern. Veritable histories 
are they, written in stone. Their early founders have 
stamped upon them the impress of their own indi- 
viduality. They built in honest singleness of purpose, 
and in the hope that when the mouldering touch of 
time came to be laid upon their handiwork, there 
should then be found skUful hands as weU as loving 
hearts to restore again the fane they built in witness 
of that faith, which in all essentials descends to us 
unbroken ; and he who adds to or needlessly takes 
from their handiwork mars the historic page and sins 
against posterity. 

1. The Church of Llanjihangel-Ahercowyn is a small 
ruined structure, situated, as its name implies, at the 
junction of the Cowyn with the T^f, about three miles 
from St. Clears, and is dedicated to the archangel 
Michael. The church has been so long disused for any 
appropriate purpose, that there does not appear to be 
any recognised road to it, and a way must be found 
across the fields. It consists of a nave and chancel of 
decorated dat^e, with a tower added afterwards, and 
the accompanying sketch-plan, although not drawn 
to any scale, and the figures are approximate only, 
still, upon the whole, is suflSciently accurate to show 
the main features of the church. Small as the nave 
is, it has had north and south doors, as well as the one 
opening westward into the tower porch, — a provision 
for ingress and egress so far in excess of the popula- 
tion around and of the space within, that one is 
reduced to conjecture what can have been the reason 
for such an unusual provision. Can the sheltered bay 
and sprit of land on which the church stands have 
been a favourite landing-place for pilgrims on their 



UNRESTORED CHURCHES. 



123 



route to the Great Shrine of St. David, and this little 
church a station on their road ? Such an assumption 
seems in some measure to be warranted by the existence 












■/ 



^ 






./ 







-mviaio «o; ji»,r^ 







Al^^ftTCtf "Vi-^H 



of several sepulchral monuments of unusual character 
in the churchyard, and locally known as " Pilgrim 
Stones", of which more anon. The procession of 
pilgrims could thus enter by the south door on their 



124 



UNRE8T0RED CHURCHES. 



way up from the beach, and after prayers and oblations 
pass out at the north door, and thus avoid the ap- 
pearance even of turning back upon their pilgrimage. 
The nave and chancel are both of decorated date, and 
from the character of the label mold over the eastern 
window it must have been built about the middle of 
the fourteenth century. The south door of the nave 
and the western one inside the tower porch are alike, 




VJ O W X ^'l>o o y^ 






two centred, while the chancel arch is semicircular, 
formed of thin laminated courses of stone, springing 
from a boldly designed impost molding, but undoubtedly 
of the same date. Its shape and comparative rude- 
ness are apt to deceive the unwary into saying it is of 
Norman date, whereas it is only of Romanesque cha- 
racter. Suchlike arches are very common in Wales, 
and I am inclined to think there was a reason which 
prompted the retention of this form of chancel-arch in 
a period when the pointed arch was used almost 
universally for all other features. Eastward of the 
south door there is a stoup in the wall, and on the 
opposite or north side of the nave is a shallow recess 
about four feet long, in the thickness of the wall, and 
above the floor-level. It is neither the position nor 
the size suitable for a tomb, and I can only conjecture 
it may at one time have been the depository for such 
another coflfer as that of Saint Beuno at Clynog Fawr 



UNRESTORED CHURCHES. 125 

in Oaraarvonshire, made to receive the offerings of the 
pilgrims.^ 

Sufficient remains of the newel, stair to the rood- 
loft to show that the floor of the latter must have 
been under the top of the chancel-arch, low as that is ; 
and on various parts of the plaster, which still adheres 
to the walls of the nave, may be discerned traces of 
the original frescoed ornamentation in chocolate upon 
a buff ground ; but the colours are very faint through 
long exposure. 

Quite at the east end of the side walls of the 
chancel are two tall, narrow recesses, whose unusual 
shape and position puzzled me considerably. They are 
too narrow for seats, and I came to the conclusion they 
may have been intended for credences. But why so 
tall ? as they are fully five feet in height, and less than 
one foot in width or depth.^ The aumbry proper is in 
the north wall, as usual. 

The east window is a good example of Decorated 
date, having two lancet lights with cusped heads 
and a quatrefoil over, under a well-cut scroll, label- 
mold, and the whole is in sufficiently good preservation. 
The tower has evidently been built at a somewhat 
later date than the church itself, as the walls, although 
built upon, are not bonded into those of the nave. 
The external door of the tower porch is exceptionally 
low, and four-centred. The tower is so entirely 
smothered with ivy, that its upper stages cannot be 
seen ; but this doorway, cut clean through the masonry, 
and without any rebate for a door, is sufficient to indi- 
cate the date. The latter springs from a broadly 
splayed base, from which it is divided by a very boldly 
designed string-course moulding. This splayed base, 
which is so characteristic of the southern and western 
churches of Wales, gives an appearance as well as 
reality of strength, and induces the belief that such 
towers served the double purpose of a defensive post 
as well as a bell tower. 

^ Arch, Camb., 1868, Third Series, vol. xiv, p. 197. 
^ They may have been intended for images. 



126 



UNRESTORED CHURCHES. 



On the south side of the church, and under the 
shadow of an ancient and wind-torn yew, lie three of 
those monuments locally known as *' pilgrim stones'*, 
the centre one of which has been illustrated by Pro- 
fessor Westwood, in his article on monumental eflSgies, 
in Arch. Camh., 1847, p. 316. The learned professor 
is so very accurate an observer, that I am disposed to 
think his illustration has been obtained from a rubbing 
furnished to him by another, rather than from his own 
observation, or he would assuredly have noticed the 






fact that the right hand of the figure holds a short 
boar-spear or javelin, and from the clouds on either 
side of the head of the figure depend sheltering hands. 
The efiigy on the right is apparently habited, as the 
lower part of the legs and feet only are to be seen, 
and a long straight-bladed sword is indicated, but so 
far as I could see, no corresponding part for the hilt on 
the upper half of the stone. The coped tombstone 
has also been described by Professor Westwood in the 
article before referred to. The resemblance in the 



(JNKESTORED CHURCHES. 127 

shape and ornamentation of this stone to the coped 
tomb in Bridgend is pointed out by the Rev. E. L. 
Barnwell in his description of the latter in the vol. of 
Arch. Camh. for 1873. 

As these tombs have not hitherto been illustrated in 
our Journal I have endeavoured to give a general idea 
of them. At the head and foot of each stone is a 
smaller one. The one at the head and foot of the 
coped tomb has an incised cross of the Maltese type 
within a circle. The circle itself, as well as the boss in 
the centre of it, and the ornament round the edge of 
the stone, is of the cable pattern. 

The semi-military character of two of these eflSgies, 
as indicated by the sword of one and the spear of the 
other, leads us to infer that the occupant of the third 
grave was of a more peaceful disposition, if not an 
ecclesiastic.^ Professor Westwood and Mr. Barnwell 
have given the sum of local tradition concerning 
them. The same tale was told to me, with the added 
information that unless these graves were kept clear 
of weeds the land around would pass from the hands 
of its present possessors. As I was at the trouble to 
clear away all the nettles and weeds in order to obtain 
a good view of these stones, let me hope, if there is 
any truth or virtue in tradition, my sedulous labour 
in this respect may avert for awhile that disestablish- 
ment and disendowment with which we are threatened. 

G. E. R. 

^ Lewis, in his Topographical Dictionary, states that adjoiniog the 
churchyard was anciently a hospital, called ** The Pilgrim's Lodge", 
bnt no particalars either of its foundation or its history are re- 
corded. 



128 



CELTIC REMAINS IN VENDOME. 

Among some manuscript papers which have come to 
our hands is one on this subject, written by the late 
Mr. R. Perrott of Nantes, a zealous antiquary, well 
versed in Breton antiquities, and, according to the 
obituary notice in the Journal for 1863 (Third Series, 
vol. ix, p. 169), **avery minute and accurate observer." 
We are glad, therefore, for the purposes of comparative 
archaeology, to reproduce the paper, as well as to recall 
attention to the curious information it contains, al- 
though we feel bound at the outset to state that we 
differ widely from some of his views, and more especi- 
ally with regard to the sacrificial use of the dolmen or 
cromlech. 

The article was written in the form of a critique or 
review on t\ie> Archceological History of Venddme, writ- 
ten by Mons. J. de P^tigny, and published in 1849.^ 



The Quarterly Review has an article on Stonehenge, 
in, which it is said : "As a general rule these remains 
are found on barren moors, on the remote sea-coasts of 
Brittany or the Orkneys, where trees never grow or 
could grow. On the other hand, though trees and 
groves were rife between Ckartres and Rheims (the 
ancient country of the Carnutes), not one single Druid- 
ICAL remain is to he found within its limits.'' 

It will be seen, however, that within a small circle 
round Vend6me alone there are many dolmens, and at 

^ Tlistoire archeologique du YendSmoiSy par ^lons. J. de Petigny, 
Correspondant de Tlnstitnt, Aead^mie des Inscriptions et Belles Let- 
tres. Dessins et Plans par M. Launay, Professeur de Dessin aa 
Lyc6e de Vendome, Correspondant du Comite des Arts et Monu- 
ments an Miiiistdre de I'lnstruction publique. Vend6me : Henrion, 
Editeur. 1849. 



CELTIC REMAINS IN VENd6mE. 129 

least one peulvan, or menhir, all attributed to the 
Druids pro Celts. In the Departement du Cher they 
were formerly common, but are now reduced to a small 
number. We believe that the same observation is 
applicable to many other Departements. It is said that 
many are still to be found in the Chartraine. We hope 
to obtain the requisite information. By the bye, Mr. 
Horace Marryat says, in his Residence in Jutlandy the 
Danish Isles, and Copenhagen, that a lofty dolmen was 
pointed out to him at " Stonehenge", the name given 
to all such structures by the peasants in those parts 
(Jutland). 

The dolmens were altars formed of a large stone 
called the ** table", placed on two or more upright 
stones named " supports". Some savants have supposed 
that the dolmens were tombs, because in digging round 
them human bones have often been found. These 
bones might be those of the victims immolated in the 
bloody sacrifices of the Druids. 

Thfe Dolmen de Freteval lies on the bank of Le Loir, 
near the line of an ancient Roman way from Orleans 
to Le Mans, serving as a boundary between the parishes 
of Freteval and Pezon, and of the Comt^s or Baillages 
de Vend6me and Chateaudun. " Now it was the con- 
stant custom of the Gauls to place dolmens (those rude 
altars of Druidical worship) on the frontiers of the 
cities and pagV 

After referring to, but not describing, a small ruined 
dolmen near the mill of Villeport, at Saint Hilaire-la- 
Gravelle ; another beyond this bourg, between the mill 
of Langot and the high road, with a table-stone placed 
horizontally on several supports ; and a third on the 
left bank of the Loir, at a place called Breuil, remark- 
able for its masses of rock overhanging the river, and 
in the commune of Brdvainville, M. de Pfetigny pro- 
ceeds to the details of that of Freteval. 

The table of the dolmen of Freteval is a brute stone, 
2 metres wide, 3 metres long, and 65 centimetres thick. 
Two big, upright stones served as supports ; but one 

5th skr., vol. iil 9 



130 CELTIC REMAINS IN VEND6mE. 

of them has been thrown down, so that the table-stone 
now leant to one side. Its length runs from east to 
west. As it never had more than two supports, it is 
one of those termed ** inclined'*, because one end of the 
table rested on the ground, whilst the other was raised 
about a mfetre by the supports. The victims were 
slaughtered at the upper part of the table, and the 
blood ran to the lower part, tohere is an excavation^ in 
form of a basiny to receive the blood. A channel, still 
traceable^ conveyed the blood to this basin, into which 
the priests dipped their hands and face. Fr^teval is 
one of the most curious points in the arrondissement. 

Not far from this spot are the well preserved remains 
of a small cellay supposed to be of the third century at 
least ; about 7 metres square, and of the same height. 
Walls, 1 m. 75 centim. thick ; of small appareil, and 
ornamented with lines of brick {cordons) at intervals of 
43 centimetres. It is called " Tour de Gresset". 

Not far from the bourg of Thord, in a vineyard called 
" Les Chateaux", have been discovered foundations of 
towers or circular buildings, and stone coffins in the 
shape of troughs. It is generally supposed that the 
use of these coffins does not go farther back than the 
period when Christianity abolished the custom of burn- 
ing the dead, i.e., in the fourth or fifth century ; but 
as the Gauls, prior to the Roman conquest, interred 
instead of burning their dead, these coffins may, in 
many instances, be much more ancient. Similar ones 
are to be found in all the old Gallic localities. 

Opposite the village of Thor^, on the other bank of 
the Loir, rise lofty rocks bathed by the clear waters of 
the river. The steep slopes are hoUowed out in every 
direction, and pierced in numerous stories with open- 
ings affording entrance to caverns formerly inhabited. 
This spot is called " Le Breuil", a name indicating one 
of those enclosures, thickly covered with wood and 
brushwood, behind which the Gauls were accustomed 
to conceal their dwelling-places. The finest grottoes 
are found in the upper part of the rock, where also 



CELTIC REMAINS IN VENd6mE. 131 

they are in a better state of preservation. A staircase 
vaulted in semicircular arch, and cut in the rock, leads 
to them. We enter first into a vast hall, 10 metres 
long by 8 wide, and 2 m. 30 centim. high. At the 
bottom of this are two alcoved recesses (reduits en forme 
cTalcove). The largest is 3 m. deep by 5 wide. In the 
side-walJs and in those of the grand hall exist niches 
destined to receive objects used by the inhabitants, or 
the sacrijicial instrumentSy if, as there is every reason 
to believe, this cavern served as a Druidical temple. 
The other recess is about 3 m. 50 centim. in every direc- 
tion. Its opening is arched, and all round it runs a 
large groove, artistically hollowed in the rock, indicat- 
ing the existence of a heavy door, which closed herme- 
tically this sort of dungeon, and interrupted all com- 
munication with the air and light.^ In the middle of 
the floor is a circular hole, like a basin, 30 centim. deep, 
and 70 centim. in diameter. On one of the sides is a 
low, arched opening communicating with a narrow cor- 
ridor, which descended in gentle slope towards the 
lower stories ; but the falling in of the earth has inter- 
rupted it, and it terminates abruptly by a breach open- 
ing perpendicularly over the depths of the valley. This 

^ In the Univers Pittoresque, M. A. F. Didot, one of the Editors, 
who himself visited the spot, gives a plan and some sketches of " La 
Tonr des Grants", a very remarkable Cyclopean monument in the 
Island of Gozo. In explaining the plan he says: ''At the spot 
marked D on the plan is a hollow inform of a vase^ hewn in the rock 
or stone, which appears to have been destined either to contain 
the blood of the victims or to consume their remains with fire." 
(It is shown on the floor in one of the drawings, and resembles the 
hollowed circles described at p. 130. It is one of the sanctuaries. — 
R, P.) " F, a passage faced on each side with two large stones, of 
which one, G, is 3 feet 6 inches wide, and 8 feet high. In the pass- 
age, and near this stone, is a sort of circular vase hollowed in the 
9tone [of the floor]. The edges rise 2 or 3 inches above the pave- 
ment. What was the destination of this vase, which is about a foot 
in diameter P M. De la Marmora thinks that it was destined to 
contain water to satisfy the thirst of the doves consecrated to the 
PhoBnician Venus or AJstarte." All these surmises, however, would 
seem to be worthless in the absence of proof even of the very 
slightest description. — R. P. 

9« 



132 CELTIC REMAINS IN VENd6mE. 

corridor is lighted by a narrow window ornamented 
with rude sculptures. It communicates with the great 
hall by a low opening similar to that giving access to 
the dungeon. In these two openings are visible traces 
of grooves, and of holes for door-hinges. 

Two large arches, one 2 m. and the other 4 m. wide, 
give light to the great hall. They look toward the 
east, and present no appearance of having been closed. 
In the mass of rock which separates them, an opening 
{tin soupirail)^ blackened by smoke, indicates the fire- 
place, in front of which the ground has been " taillS en 
carrS" (a sqiuxre hole like the round blood-holes) some 
centimetres in depth. 

Hence are visible, in the horizon, **Les Rochers de 
St.Andr6",which furnish Vend6me with building stone. 
Like those of Breuil, they are pierced [percSs) or exca- 
vated, in every direction, with caves which are still 
inhabited. Tradition acquaints us that one of these 
was anciently the den of a serpent which devoured all 
passers by till a certain hero, mounted on a chariot whose 
wheels were armed with sharp blades, drove at fuU 
speed over it, and severed it into three pieces. M. de 
Pfetigny attributes all these caves to the Celts. *' The 
Gauls", says Csesar, *' are very skilful in working mines, 
and in excavating underground passages. There are no 
works of this description which are not well known to 
and practised by them." {"Hisomne genics cunicidoimm 
notum et usitatum est^^) This testimony is confirmed by 
provincial tradition and the observation of archaeolo- 
gists, who in most parts, and especially in central 
France, have recognised the traces of underground 
habitations to which the Gallic population retired. 
These dwellings are still occupied on the banks of the 
Loir, the Loire, and the Cher. 

In the middle of the level on the summit of the hill 
of Breuil is a tomhelle formed of round pebbles [caillonx 
routes), from the top of which is clearly visible the 
*' Tombelle of Tr6o'', to be spoken of presently. Tom- 

^ CaDsar, De Bello Gall, b. 7. 



CELTIC REMAINS IN VENd6mE. 133 

helles are conical elevations raised by the hand of man, 
and composed of small stones or earth brought thither. 
They are commonly known by the name of Motte or 
Montjoie, and will generally be found on the borders 
of the Pagi^ or in the centre of Celtic localities of some 
importance. M. de P^tigny supposes them to have been 
signal-stations, and also to have had a sacred character, 
and that religious rites were celebrated thereon. As in 
digging there bodies have sometimes been found, it has 
been thought that they were merely sepulchral monu- 
ments. The very characteristic choice of their site on 
elevated points which correspond with each other, 
belies this supposition. The presence of bones is ex- 
plained by the use of human sacrifices ; and, moreover, 
it is possible that under these sacred edifices the re- 
mains of some powerful chief may have been interred. 
The Tombelle de Breuil was perfectly well placed to 
watch the frontier of Le Maine et Le Vendomois, and 
to be the first ring in the chain of fortified points ob- 
served along the course of the Loir and all the ancient 
limit of the country of the Cenomani. 

At about a kilometre beyond the bourg of La Cha- 
pelle Vend6moise, going from Vend6me to Blois, in a 
field on the right side of the road, is a dolmen of large 
dimensions. Its table-stone is 5 metres long by 3 wide. 
Thickness, from 40 to 50 centimetres. Two uprights, 
3 metres long by 2 in height, support this enormous 
weight horizontally. All this forms an artificial grot 
or cliamber whose extent is 4 m. 50 c. by 3 m. At the 
west it is closed by a single stone nearly 5 in. in length, 
but only 1 m. in height. The table-stone runs from 
north to south. 

Joined to this chamber, on the east, is a second 
monument, composed of a table-stone, 4 m. long and 
2 m. broad, raised to the same height as the first, on 
three supporters, which close it on the east. 

In fine, in continuation of (" en avant de") this 
second part of the Druidical edifice is a third table- 
stone, whose dimensions do not exceed 1 m. by 3. It 



134 CELTIC REMAINS IN VEND6mE. 

reposes on two supporters only 1 m. high. A stone 
placed beside it served as a step to ascend it, and per- 
sons arrived by these graduated platforms at the grand 
table-stone at the bottom (" du fond"), on which the 
sacrifices were celebrated. 

On the surface of this latter is a channel (" rigole") 
terminating in a basin which communicated, by a nar- 
row and oblique opening, with the chamber below (" la 
chambre inf^rieure''). The priest placed himself under 
this opening, and received the blood of the victims, 
which inundated his face and his vestments, then rais- 
ing himself on the platform, through the space which 
separates the two great tables, he exhibited himself, by 
the light of the torches, to the aflfrighted people, like a 
bloody phantom. 

Under the Roman dominion human sacrifices were 
prohibited ; but they were preserved under the name 
of " Taurobole\ Inscriptions and medals have handed 
down to us the memory of this. As the Druidical 
altars were then abandoned, the gap was filled up ("on 
y suppleait") by hollowing out a hole in the ground, 
wherein the priest placed himself, and over which was 
laid, for the immolation of the victim, a movable plank. 

The dolmen of La Chapelle Vend6me is one of the 
finest and most complete in France. Placed on an ele- 
vated table-land, it marked the separation-line of the 
Blasois from the Vend6mois. In the eleventh century 
war having broken out between the Comtes de Blois et 
de Vend6me respecting the demarcation of their fron- 
tiers, the Vend6mois constantly claimed the dolmen as 
the limit of their territory, and had it acknowledged 
as such, which makes historians say that it was a mere 
heap of stones placed there to indicate the boundary of 
the two Comtes. 

The Blasois Marches are very rich in Druidical monu- 
ments. Near the Bourg of Landes, on ascending this 
branch of the Cisse, on an elevation overlooking the 
left bank of the little river, is a magnificent inclined 
dolmeuy whose table-stone, 3 m. 50 c. long, by 3 m. 



CELTIC REMAINS IN VEND6mE. 135 

wide, reposed on eight supporters, of which only four 
are now upright, but sufficient to maintain the equili- 
brium ; height above the ground, 1 m. 30 c, at the 
upper end, and 48 c. at the lower end. The stone on 
which this lower part reposes projects so as to serve as 
a stepping-stone for ascending it. On the surface of 
the t,able-stone we recognise the channel destined to con- 
duct the blood from the upper to the lower part. ** This 
is the finest example that I know of this sort of dol- 
men.'" 

Another dolmen of the same kind exists beyond 
Landes, to the west. Its supports have fallen down. 
The remains of a third, entirely broken up, appear 
nearly opposite the last, on the right bank of the Cisse. 

Returning towards the east, at a hamlet called 
** Bourges", a name eminently Celtic, we find a much 
more important monument. This is an artificial cavern 
whose monolithic roof is formed of one enormous stone, 
3 m. long by 3 wide. Six supporters, three on the 
right, and three on the left, sustain this gigantic roof. 
These are immense, unworked stones, 1 m. thick, and 
2 m. 20 c. high. They are so exactly united on their 
sides as to leave no interstice. It is a grotte auxfees, a 
name which indicates the abode of Druidical priest- 
esses : in fact, the local tradition says that there anci- 
ently existed here " un convent de Sybilles'". It now 
serves as storeroom and bakehouse to a cottage built 
against it. 

At the branching off of the new road from Vend6me 
to Blois is an upright, conical stone, which probably 
marked the limit of the Gallic oppulum (of Vindoci- 
num=Vend6me). It is a peulvan^ 5 m. in circumfe- 
rence, and 2 m. 20 c. in apparent height. It is directed 
from east to west in its greatest thickness. It turns 
on itself at Christmas night. There are no remains of 
Gallic or Roman constructions on the site of the ancient 
Chateau de Vend6me, although it is not to be doubted 
that a Celtic fortress existed there. 

The interior of the eminence an which the Ch&teau 



136 CELTIC REMAINS IN VEND6mE. 

de Vend6me was erected encloses one of those myste- 
rious underground passages commonly found in ancient 
Celtic localities. Some regard them as the work of the 
seigneurs of the middle ages ; but neither charters, nor 
chronicles, nor other authentic documents, nor proofs, 
nor traditions indicate this. The opinion which attri- 
butes them to the Gallic people seems to be the best 
founded. 

CsBsar aflSrms, in his Commentaries, that no people 
were more skilful than the Celts in excavating works 
under ground. These asylums were so numerous that 
on the approach of a hostile army the inhabitants of 
the country might conceal themselves, with all their 
property, and seemed to disappear in the bosom of the 
earth. M. Baraillon, a most exact observer of Celtic 
antiquities, remarks that underground passages existed 
under all the Gallic towns erected on eminences, and 
cites numerous examples in the Limousin, La Marche, 
and Berri. {Recherches sur les Monuments Celtiques, pp. 
156-309.) Thus the hill on which rises the Chateau 
d'Amboise encloses vast vaults whose origin is un- 
known. (Baraillon's Recherches sur les Monuments 
Celtiques; Liber de Compositione Cctstri Ambaziac, c. i; 
SpiciL Acheriiy t. iii.) 

The city of Chart res itself, the capital of theCar^iw- 
teSy of which our country was a dependence, had no 
other habitations in the commencement than caves 
excavated in the steep flank which overlooks the Eure, 
on the south side of the city. " These caves*', says 
M. Chevard {Hist, de Chartres, tom. i), ** great part of 
which still remain in the quarters erected on the top 
and in the flanks of the hill, between the north and 
the south, served as retreats to the early inhabitants 
of Chartres. Few towns contain so many excavations. 
Almost all the houses of note, and of a certain anti- 
quity, such as the Palace of the Comtes, the early 
churches, the old monasteries, the houses formerly 
occupied by the bishop and canons, and numerous pri- 
vate buildings, still contain, in great part, large sub- 



CELTIC REMAINS IN VEND6mE. 137 

terranean rooms, independently of the cellars (* caves et 
caveaux"), and frequently communicating with other 
underground passages cut in the rock."^ 

Cyclopean walls, composed of enormous, unworked 
stones, closed on the crest of the hill this natural en- 
ceinte. (" Erat enim ex quadratis immanissimis lapidi- 
bus constructa altisque turribus munita et idcirco urbs 
lapidum vocitata."^) Hence the name, " Town of Stones" 
(Stone Town, Ville de Pierres), a name of Chartres in 
the middle ages, which is only a translation of Carnu- 
teSy derived from the Celtic cairn (rock or stone). The 
modern name, Chartres, would seem to come from the 
Latin career (a den, and by extension a dungeon). 
This is also found in La Chartre, a little town within 
the limits of the Vendomois, and remarkable as a Celtic 
locality. We will speak farther on of the vast under- 
ground passages of Tr6o, whose Gallic origin cannot be 
mistaken. 

The extent of these artificial caves, the precautions 
taken to render them habitable, the traces which they 
oflfer of the abode of men and animals, all concur in 
proving thj^t they served as places of refuge for entire 
populations. 

If we may believe a vague tradition, the underground 
passages of Vend6me Ch&teau were formerly of consider- 
able extent, on one side communicating with the crypt 
of the ancient church of St. Bienheur^, erected on the 
site of a Druidical sanctuary. All trace of this, how- 
ever, is lost ; but some fifty or sixty years ago chance 
led to the discovery of a gallery excavated in that part 
of the hill which borders on the Faubourg St. Lubin. 
In digging out a cellar in a very ancient auherge (the 
St. Jaques), situated at the entrance of the Faubourg, 
the lower opening of this gallery showed itself. Pass- 
ing under some dark vaulting we arrive at a vast 
reservoir of water. The overflow of this spring escapes 

^ The hill on which stands the city of Bonrges (the Avarium of 
Cs&sar) is honeycombed as a crypt-town. 
* Ckronique d*Aganon. 



138 CELTIC REMAINS IN VENDOME. 

at the foot of the rock, forming a little stream which 
runs into the neighbouring Loir a little above the 
Pont Saint Georges. The gallery leading to the inner 
basin bears the marks, on its rounded vaulting, of 
human labour with the pickaxe. The cutting is of 
remarkable perfection. Width of gallery, 1 m. 40 c; 
height, 2 m. 20 c. at the lower part, increasing gradu- 
ally to 4 m. 20 c. at the upper part. The ascent may 
be followed for 60 m. 

Another gallery, 2 m. 40 c. wide, branches off from 
this one under the reservoir, and appears to follow the 
direction parallel to the hill-side of St. Lubin, but is 
blocked up, after running 8 m., by a falling in, near 
which are perceivable some holes in the rock, appa- 
rently for door-hinges. Tradition affirms that this 
gallery had an exit in the upper part of the Faubourg, 
near the Fontaine St. Sulpice. 

As to the upper gallery, it should have terminated 
at the top of the hill, near the entrance of the court of 
the ChS^teau. It is blocked up at a few metres only 
below the surface by some very old landslips, about 
20 m. above the level of the street. The slope of this 
gallery is so well managed that horses and cattle might 
traverse it to water under ground, sheltered from the 
sight and the shafts of the enemy. 

These underground galleries are one of the most 
curious sights at Vend6me. Their existence, unknown 
in the last century, was probably forgotten in the 
middle ages, for the Comtes de Vend6me had dug, at 
great cost, a well of enormous depth at the opposite 
end of the enceinte of their citadel. 

Caves and unhewn stones, which served for altars 
and territorial bounds, are the only monuments left us 
by the Gauls. No traces of their habitations, nor even 
of the walls of their towns, could remain, for almost 
everywhere, according to Csesar, they were of wood or 
mud. 



139 



ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS, 

PATENT BOLLS, CHARLES H. 

We reproduce, for the benefit of our members, from 
"Appendix I to the Forty-Sixth Annual Report of the 
Deputy Keeper of Public Records'', the following en- 
tries of " ecclesiastical appointments in Wales and the 
Borders/' They are of considerable historical value as 
belonging to the period of the Restoration, and they 
help to fill up many gaps in the previous records of 
that period. 

No. I. — Appointments oj ArcJibishops and Bishops on the 
PcUent BollSy Charles II, 

Bangor, Dean and Chapter of, conge d'elire to the, vice [Dr. Robert 
Price], deceased. Westm., 30 Oct. (17 Chas. II, p. 8, 
No. 4.) 
„ [Humphrey] Lloyd, S.T.P., Dean of St. Asaph, Bishop of, 
vice [Robert Mor^^n], late Bishop, deceased. Royal 
assent. Westm., 30 Oct. (25 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 8.) 
„ Humphrey Lloyd, S.T.P., Dean of St. Asaph, Bishop of; 
restitution of temporalities. Westm., 5 Dec. (25 Chas. II, 
p. 1, No. 7.) 

Barlow, Thomas, S.T.P., Bishop of Lincoln, vice William Puller, 
S.T.P., late Bishop, deceased. Royal assent. Westm., 
7 June. (27 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 6.) 
„ Thomas, S.T.P., Bishop of Lincoln ; restitution of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 5 Auf?. (27 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 5.) 

Barrow, Isaac, S.T.P., Bishop of Sodor and Man, vice Samuel But- 
ter, late Bishop, deceased. Royal assent. Westm., 13 
June. (15 Chas. II, p. 4, No. 30.) 

Beaw, William, S.T.P., Bishop of Llandaff, vice William Lloyd, lato 
Bishop, translated to Peterborough. Royal assent. 
Westm., 13 June. (31 Chas. II, p. 8, No. 27.) 
„ William, S.T.P., Bishop of Llandaff; restitution of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 4 July. (31 Chas. II, p. 8, No. 26.) 

Bridgeman, Henry, S.T.P., Dean of Chester, Bishop of Sodor and 
Man, vice Isaac Barrowe translated to St. Asaph. Royal 
assent. 6 Sept. (23 Chas. II, p. 4, No. 1.) 

Chester, Dean and Chapter of, conge d'elire to the, vice Brian Walton, 
S.T.P., late Bishop, deceased. Westm., 25 Jan. (13 
Chas. II, p. 47, No. 25.) 



140 ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS, 

Chester, Henry Feme, S.T.P., Bishop of, vice [Brian Walton], late 
Bishop, deceased. Royal assent. Westm., 6 Feb. (14 
Chas. II, p. 26, No. 31.) 
„ Henry Feme, S.T.P., Bishop of; restitution of temporalities, 

Wesfcm., 3 March. (14 Chas. II, p. 26, No. 23.) 
„ Dean and Chapter of, conge d*elire, [vice Henry Feme, hite 
Bishop, deceased]. Westm., 7 April. (14 Chas. II, p. 26, 
No. 15.) 
„ George Hall, S.T.P., Bishop of, \yice Henry Ferae, late 
Bishop, deceased.] Royal assent (?). Westm., 12 Jane. 
(14 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 53 ; p. 26, No. 7.) 
„ John Pearson, S.T.P., Bishop of, vice [John Wilkins], late 
Bishop, deceased. Royal assent. Westm., 11 Jan. (24 
Chas. II, p. 5, No. 3.) 
Crofts, Herbert, S.T.P., Bishop of Hereford [vice Nicholas Monkes, 
S.T.P., late Bishop, deceased]. Royal assent. Westm., 
3 Feb. (14 Chas. II, p. 26, No. 32.) 
„ Herbert, S.T.P., Bishop of Hereford ; restitution of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 3 March. (14 Chas. II, p. 26, No. 24.) 
Davyes (Davies), Francis, S.T.P., Bishop of Llandaff, vice Hngh 
Lloyd, late Bishop, deceased. Royal assent Westm., 
21 Aug. (19 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 41.) 
„ Francis, S.T.P., Bishop of Llandaff; restitution of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 11 Sept. (19 Chas. II, p. 6, No. 16.) 
Dolben, John, S.T.P., Bishop of Rochester, Archbishop of York, 
vice [Richard Sterne], late Archbishop, deceased. Royal 
assent. Westm., 9 Aug. (35 Chas. U, p. 3, No. 4.) 
„ John, Bishop of Rochester, Archbishop of York ; restitution 
of temporalities. Westm., 22 Aug. (35 Chas. II, p. 4, 
No. 4.) 
Feme, Henry, S.T.P., Bishop of Chester [vice Brian Walton, late 
Bishop, deceased]. Royal assent. Westm., 6 Feb. (14 
Charies IT, p. 26, No. 31.) 
„ Henry, S.T.P., Bishop of Chester ; restitution of temporali- 
ties. Westm., 3 March. (14 Chas. II, p. 26, No. 23.) 
Glemham, Henry, S.T.P., Bishop of St. Asaph, vice [George Griffith], 
late Bishop, deceased. Royal assent. Westm., 5 Sept. 
(19 Charles II, p. 5, No. 11.) 
„ Henry, S.T.P., Bishop of St Asaph ; restitution of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 23 Oct. (19 Chas. II, p. 5, No. 7.) 
Hereford, Nicholas Monck, S.T.P., Bishop of Royal assent. Westm., 
21 Dec. (12 Chas. II, p. 40, No. 2.) 
„ Nicholas Monck, S.T.P., Bishop of; restitution of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 7 Feb. (13 Chas. II, p. 45, No. 6.) 
„ Dean and Chapter of, conge d*elire to the, vice Nicholas 
Monck, S.T.P., late Bishop, deceased. Westm., 14 Jan. 
(13Chas. II, p.47, No.21.) 
„ Herbert Crofts, S.T.P., Bishop of, vice Nicholas Monck, 
tS.T.P., lat^ Bishop, deceased. Royal assent. Westm., 
3 Feb. (14 Chas. II, p. 26, No. 32.) 



PATENT ROLLS, CHARLES II. 141 

Hereford, Herbert Crofts, S.T.P., Bishop of; restitntion of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 3 March. (14 Chaa. II, p. 26, No. 24.) 
Llandaff, Archdeacon and Chapter of, cong^ d'elire to the, vice Ha^h 
Llojd, S.T.P., late Bishop, deceased. Westm., 16 July. 
(19 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 32.) 
Francis Da vies, S.T.P., Bishop of, vice Hugh Lloyd, late 
Bishop, deceased. Royal assent. Westm., 21 Aug. (19 
Chas. II, p. 2, No. 41.) 
Francis Davies, S.T.P., Bishop of; restitution of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 11 Sept. (19 Chas. II, p. 6, No. 16.) 
Archdeacon and Chapter of, conge (Telire to the, vice Francis 
Davies, S.T.P., late Bishop, deceased. Westm., 1 April. 
(27Chas. II,p. 6, No. 16.) 
William Lloyd, S.T.P., one of the King's chaplains, Bishop 
. of, vice Francis Davies, late Bishop, deceased. Royal 
assent Westm., 13 April. (27 Chas. II, p. 6, No. 15.) 
William Lloyd, S.T.P., Bishop of; restitution of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 7 May. (27 Charles II, p. 6, No. 14.) 
Archdeacon and Chapter of, cong^ d'elire to the, vice Wil- 
liam Lloyd, S.T.P., translated to Peterborough. Westm., 
22 May. (31 Chas. II, p. 8, No. 29.) 
William Beaw, S.T.P., Bishop of, vice William Lloyd, late 
Bishop, translated to Peterborough. Royal assent. 
Westm., 13 June. (31 Chas. II, p. 8, No. 27,) 
William Beaw, S.T.P., Bishop of; restitution of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 4 July. (31 Chas. II, p. 8, No. 26.) 
Lloyd [Humphrey], S.T.P., Dean of St. Asaph, Bishop of Bangor, 
r/ce [Robert Morgan], late Bishop, deceased. Royal 
assent. Westm., 30 Oct. (25 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 8.) 
Humphrey, S.T.P., Dean of St. Asaph, Bishop of Bangor; 
restitution of temporalities. Westm., 5 Dec. (25 Chas. II, 
p. 1, No. 7.) 
William, S.T.P., one of the King's chaplains, Bishop of Llan- 
daff, vice Francis Davies, late Bishop, deceased. Royal 
assent. Westm., 13 April. (27 Chas. II, p. 6, No. 15.) 
William, S.T.P., Bishop of Llandaff; restitution of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 7 May. (27 Chaa. II, p. 6, No. 14.) 
William, S.T.P., late Bishop of Llandaff, Bishop of Peterbo- 
rough, t»ce Joseph Henshaw,S.T.P., late Bisliop, deceased. 
Royalassent. Westm.,24 April. (31 Chas.lI,p.8,No.31.) 
William, S.T. P., Bishop of Peterborough ; restitution of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 29 May. (31 Chas. II, p. 8, No. 28.) 
William, S.T.P., Dean of St. Asaph^ [Bangor], and one of the 
chaplains in ordinary to the King, Bishop of St. Asaph, 
vice Isaac Barrow, S.T.P., late Bishop, deceased. Royal 
assent. Westm. (undated). (32 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 4.) 
William, S.T.P., Bishop of St. Asaph, restitution of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 13 Oct. (32 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 8.) 

1 Sic on Pat. Roll. 



142 ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS, 

Pearson, John, 8.T.P., Bishop of Chester, vice [John Wilkms}, late 
Bishop, deceased. BoyaJ assent. Westm., 11 Jan. (24 
Charles II, p. 5, No. 3.) 
Peterborough, William Lloyd, S.T.P., late Bishop of Llandaff, Bishop 
of, vice Joseph Henshaw, S.T.P., late Bishop, deceased. 
Royal assent. Westm., 24 April. (31 Chas. II, p. 8, 
No. 31.) 
„ William Lloyd, S.T.P,, Bishop of; restitution of tempo- 

ralities. Westm., 29 May. (31 Chas. II, p. 8, No. 28.) 
St. Asaph, Henry Glemhani, S.T.P., Bishop of, vice [George GriflSth], 
late Bishop, deceased. Royal assent. Westm., 5 Sept. 
(19 Charles II, p. 5, No. 11.) 

„ Henry Glemham, S.T.P., Bishop of; restitution of tem- 
poraHties. Westm., 23 Oct. (19 Chas. II, p. 5, No. 7.) 

„ Dean and Chapter of, conge cTelire to the, vice Isaac Bar- 
row, S.T.P, late Bishop, deceased. Westm., 14 July. 
(32 Chas. II, p. 1, No.l.) 

„ William Lloyd, S.T.P., one of the chaplains in ordinary 
to the Kling, Dean of St. Asaph^ [BJangor], Bishop of, 
vice Isaac Barrow, S.T.P., late Bishop, deceased. Royal 
assent. Westm. (undated). (32 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 4.) 

„ William Lloyd, S.T.P., Bishop of; restitution of tempo- 
ralities. Westm., 13 Oct. (32 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 8.) 
St. David's, Precentor and Chapter of, conge' d'Hire to the, vice Wil- 
liam Lucy, S.T.P., late Bishop, deceased. Westm., 19 
Oct. (29 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 2 ; p. 4, No. 3 ; under date 
of 17 Oct) 

„ William Thomas, S.T.P., Dean of Worcester, Bishop of, 
vice William Lucy, S.T.P., late Bishop, deceased. Royal 
assent. Westm., 10 Jan. (29 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 1 ; p. 4, 
No. 2.) 

„ William Thomas, S.T.P., Dean of Worcester, Bishop of; 
restitution of temporalities. Westm., 29 Jan. (29 
Chaa II, p. 2, No. 1.) 

„ Precentor and Chapter of, conge d'elire to the, vice William 
Thomas, S.T.P., late Bishop, translated to Worcester. 
Westm., 20 Sept. (35 Chas. II, p. 6, No. 5.) 
Sodor and Man, Isaac Barrow, S.T.P., Bishop of, vice Samuel But- 
ter, late Bishop, deceased. Royal assent. Westm., 13 
June. (15 Chas. II, p. 4, No. 30.) 

„ Henry Bridgeman, S.T.P., Dean of Chester, Bishop of, 
vice Isaac Barrow, translated to St. Asaph. Royal assent. 
6 Sept. (23 Charles II, p. 4, No. 1.) 

„ John Lake, S.T.P., Canon Ilesidentiary of York and Arch- 
deacon of Cleveland, Bishop of, vice Henry Bridgeman, 
S.T.P., late Bishop, deceased. Royal assent. Westm., 
14 Nov. (34 Chas. II, p. 8, No. 12 ) 



1 Sic on Pat Roll. 



PATENT ROLLS, CHARLES IT. 143 

Thomas William, S.T.P., Dean of Worcester, Bishop of St. David's, 

vice William Lucy, S.T.P., late Bishop, deceased. Royal 

assent. Westm., 10 Jan. (29 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 1 ; p. 

4, No. 2.) 
„ William, S.T.P.,Dean of Worcester, Bishop of St. David's ; 

restitution of temporalities. Westm., 29 Jan. (29 

Chas. II, p. 2, No. 1.) 
„ William, Bishop of St. David's, Bishop of Worcester, vice 

[James Fleetwood], late Bishop, deceased. Royal assent. 

Westm., 22 Ang. (35 Chas. II, p. 6, No. 10.) 
„ William, Bishop of St. David's, Bishop of Worcester; 

restitution of temporalities. Westm., 1 Sept. (35 

Chas. II, p. 5, No. 8.) 
Worcester, William Thomas, Bishop of St. David's, Bishop of, vice 

[James Fleetwood], late Bishop, deceased. Royal assent. 

Westm., 22 Aug. (35 Chas. II, p. 5, No. 10.) 
„ William Thomas, Bishop of St. David's, Bishop of; resti- 

tution of temporalities. Westm., 1 Sept. (35 Chas. II, 

p. 5, No. 8.) 
York, John Dolben, S.T.P., Bishop of Rochester, Archbishop of, vice 

[Richard Sterne], late Archbishop, deceased. Royal 

assent. Westm., 9 Aug. (35 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 4.) 
„ John Dolben, Bishop of Rochester, Archbishop of ; restitution 

of temporalities. Westm., 22 Aug. (35 Chas. II, p. 4, 

No. 4.) 



N'o. II. — Preaentotions on the Patent Polls, Charles II. 

Ardeme, James, S.T.P., Dean of Chester, vice Henry Bridgman, 
deceased. Westm., 28 June. (34 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 
23.) 

Awbrey, William, yeoman, sexton in the church of Nantmell, com- 
monly called Trey-yr-Gloch, co. Radnor, vice Hugh Lloyd 
of (Jardd Vage, deceased, 21 June. (12 Chas. II, p. 19, 
No. 184.) 

Bamett, Nathaniel, elk., rector of Newtown, co. Montgomery. 
Westm., 16 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 398.) 

Beeston, Richard, elk., M.A., vicar of St Alkmonda, co. Salop, 
Lichfield and Coventry dioc. Westm., 11 Oct. (14 
Chas. II, p. 19, No. 135.) 

Benson, Edward, elk., Treasurer of Hereford Cathedral. Westm., 
21 July. (12 Chas. n, p. 19, Nos. 112, 113.) 
„ (Jeorge, elk.. Prebendary or Canon of Wellington in Here- 
ford Cathedral, co. Heref. Westm., 9 July. (12 Chas. II, 
p. 19, Nos. 153, 154.) 
„ George, elk.. Archdeacon of Hereford, vice John Hughes, 
S.T.P., deceased. Westm., 19 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 3, 
No. 22 ; p. 19, No. 116.) 



144 ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS, 

Bevan, Thomas, elk., M.A., vicar of Llandilo Vanre, co. CarmartHet), 
St. David's dioc. Westm., 7 Nov. (17 Chas. II, p. 3, 
No. 39.) 

Bidwell, Robei*t, elk., M.A., rector of New Radnor, co. Radnor. 
Westm., 16 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 397.) 
„ Robert, elk., Canon or Prebendary of Llandegley in the 
colle^ate church of Brecon, dioc. St. David's, vice John 
Ambler, deceased. Westm., 27 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, 
Nos. 166, 167.) 

Birch, Thomas, elk., presentation to the third portion of the rectory 
of Brumyard, co. Heref , vice Richard Hill, elk., de- 
ceased. Westm., 31 Aug. and 15 March. (12 Chas, II, 
p. 4, No. 179; p. 19, No. 9.) 
„ Thomas, rector of Hampton Bishop, co. Heref., vice William 
Hall, resigned. Westm., 8 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, 
No. 131.) 
„ Thomas, elk., presentation to the second part or portion of 
the prebend or rectory of Bromyard, co. and dioc. of 
Heref. Westm., 27 June. (16 Chas. II, p. 19, No ^.) 

Bonnett, William, elk., vicar of Bridstowe, co. Heref. Westm., 18 
Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 146.) 

Bo wen, John, elk., rector of Llanthetty, co. Brecon. Westm., 7 July. 
(12Cha8. II, p. 1, No. 410.) 
„ Philip, elk., rector of Llanvihangel Penbedo, ca Pembroke, 
St. David's dioc., vice Rhoderick Humfreyes, elk., de- 
ceased. Westm., 25 May. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 228.) 

Braboume, William, elk., rector of Nangle, alias Aigulo, co. Pem- 
broke. Westm., 26 June. (12 Chas. II, p. 19, No. 
182.) 
„ William, elk., Prebendary of Eyewithington in Hereford 

Cathedral. Westm., 30 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 19, Nos. 
43, 44.) 

Bridgeman (Bridgman), Charles, elk., M.A., rector of Llanrhaider yn 
Cynmerick, Bangor dioc, and province of Canterbury. 
Westm., 13 Oct. (17 Chas. II, p. 8, No. 3.) 
„ Henry, elk.. Dean of Chester, vice [William] Nicholls, de- 
ceased. Westm., 16 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 117; 
p. 19. No. 135.) 

Butler, Arnold, elk., vicar of Loughor, co. Glamorgan. Westm., 30 
Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 214.) 
„ John, elk., vicar of Kenfig, co. Glamorgan, Llandaff dioc. 
Westm., 2 Dec. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 122.) 

Buttolph, Thomas, rector of Northop, co. Flint. Westm., 1 Aog. 
(12 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 114.) 

(To be continued.) 



145 



THE TRIAL OF LORD FERRERS. 

The following curious account, written by an eye- 
witness, belongs to a period when newspapers were few, 
and their place had to be supplied by letters. For it I 
am indebted to Col. Jones-Mortimer of Plas Newydd, 
Llanfair, near Ruthin, to whose great-grandfather it 
was addressed. 

Dr. Wilson is described elsewhere as " belonging to 
a family which, when Liverpool was little more than a 
small fishing town, was the oldest and chief family con- 
nected with the neighbourhood". An account of the 
trial and execution appeared in The Gentleman's Magor 
zine for 1860. Lord Ferrers was condemned for the 
murder of his steward, and executed at Tyburn by 
hanging. Afterwards his body was conveyed to Sur- 
geons' Hall, where incisions were made as for dissec- 
tion. It was then allowed to be privately buried in 
the church of Breedon-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire. 

Temple. April 24tli, 1760. 

D' Wilson, 

Ab* ten days ago I set down to write to you, but was 
hinder'd from finishing my letter ; and indeed I am now glad of 
it, since I am able to send you some account of L* Ferrers's 
Tryal, w*^*^ you was so desirous of having. Yesterday sennight 
(the l"* day), having no opportunity of being present, I was 
obliged to be contented w*" seeing the Procession, w^ did not 
much strike me. First came the Constables & Beadles, then 
the Prisoner in his own Coach, guarded on each side by the 
Yeomen of the Guard ; before & after the Coach marched 50 or 
60 of the Foot Guards, headed by an OflScer, the Drums beating 
all the Way ; the Blinds of the Coach were drawn up so high 
as to prevent L* Ferrers from being seen by the incredible Num- 
bers assembled for y* purpose. 

The next Morning, between 7 and 8 o'Clock, I deceived a 
Tickett for Admission in Bed. You may be sure I hurried down 
to Westminster immediately, fasting, and with only a little piece 

5th 8IB.,yOL. 111. 10 



146 TRIAL OP LORD FERRERS. 

of Bread in my Pockett. On coming to the Pakce Yard, join- 
ing to the Hall, I found it filled w*^ Troops, 15 men out of every 
Company, of the 3 Regiments of Foot Guards, with Officers & 
Colours, drawn up 3 Deep all round y* Square, w**^ fixed Bayo- 
netts. Thro* these every ooe of all Eanl^ were obliged to walk ; 
no Chairs admitted, nor any Coaches, but the Prisoner's, & L^ 
Steward's Trains allowed to pass. Having shown my Tickett 
at 3 Places I got into the Court, w«^ was filled w^ scarce any- 
thing but Jewells, & Gold, & Silver. Many of the People had 
been there from 6 o'Clock* I will endeavour to describe the 
Court to you, but fear I shall fail in the Attempt. 

At the upper End of the Court was a most magnificent Throne 
under a Canopy of Crimson Velvett, w*** a Chair of the same, 
erected for the King, if he had chose to be present. Upon the 
2°* step of y* Throne was a Crimson Velvett Chair, for the L** 
High Steward ; on the right Hand of the Throne was the King's 
Box, and on the Left the Prince of Wales's. On the right Hand 
Side of the Hall, near the King^s Box, was one for the Foreign 
Ministers. The 2 first rows of seats, nearest the Pitt, were kept 
for the Peeresses and Peers' Daughters. All the other Benches 
on that Side, in the form of a Playhouse gallery, were for 
Gentlemen and Ladies ; & above all these, at allmost the very 
Top of the Hall, was a gallety, partly for L** Lincoln & his 
Friends, and the rest for the Board of Works. On the other 
Side of the Court, and near the Prince of Wales's Box, was one 
for the D. of Cumberland : behind that one for the L* Steward's 
Family and Friends ; the 2 first Rows next the Pitt for the 
Peeresses, the seats above for Gentlemen & Ladies, and the 
gallery above for the Board of Works. Below the Throne, on 
the Woolpacks, sat the Judges ; at the Table the Clerks, Masters 
in Chancery, & King's Council. On the Right Hand of the 
Pitt sat the Archbishops & Bishops ; on the Left the Dukes, 
Officers of State, & Marquises ; & in the Middle & at the Bottom 
the Earls, Viscounts, & Barons. At the end of the Pitt, oppo- 
site the Throne, was the Bar, wide enough for 3 or 4 persons 
a breast ; on each side a little Pew for the Attorney & Solicitor 
General. Behind were 2 Rows of Seats for the Dutchesses; 
above these was a Box for the Duke of Ancaster, as L** Great 
Chamberlain of England, & his Friend. The other Benches 
were disposed of as those on the Sides of the Court All the 
Court was hung w*** fine Red Cloth. 

About J an Hour past Eleven the Procession from the House 
of Peers began. First a Serjeant at Arms w^ his Mace, then 
the 20 Gentlemen, Attendants to the L** Steward, 2 & 2 ; then 
the Masters in Chancery, King's Council & Clerks ; then the 



TRIAL OP LORD FERRERS. 147 

Judges ; after them Peers* sons ; then 3 Serjeants at Arms w"» 
Maces ; then the Barons, Bishops, Viscounts, Earls, Marquisses, 
& Dukes ; after them 3 more Serjeants at Arms w*** Maces, 
Heralds, Gentlemen Usher of the Black Rod, Gentleman w^ 
the L* Steward's white wand ; and last his Grace the L** Steward 
w^ his Train bom by 2 Pages ; a party of the Yeomen of the 
Guard closed the Procession. All were in their Scarlet Robes 
trimmed w^ Ermin according to their Degrees, & as they passed 
by the Throne to their Places, they all bowed very low, one by 
one, in Seniority, the Juniors going first. 

Being all seated, a Serjeant at Arms made Proclamation for 
all Persons of what Rank soever to keep Silence, on pain of Im- 
prisonment, and then ordered the Lieutenant of y* Tower to 
bring the Prisoner to the Bar ; he was immediately brought. & 
kneeled. Then the L^ Steward bid him rise, w«^ he obeyed ; the 
Lieutenant stood on his Right, and the Gentleman Gaoler of 
the Tower on his Left Hand, w**^ the Ax, the Edge turned from 
the Prisoner. The Prisoner's Witnesses were then called, to the 
number of, I think, 8 or 9. They all endeavoured, but in vain, 
to prove him Lunatick, and their Arguments for it were, that 
he grinned, & spitt in the glass, muttered, & talked often to 
himself, & drank something, I've forgot what, out of the Spout 
of a CofTee Pott, & fell often into most violent Transports of 
Passion. Amongst them were 2 of his Brothers, who went far- 
ther than the Rest, but cou** do him no service. After their 
Examination the Sollicitor General summed up the Evidence in 
an exceeding clear, elegant manner, & proved by the Authority 
of L*^ C. J. Hale that the Dementia affectata, or Drunkeness, a 
Plea w** L^ Ferrers's Council urged for him, would not avail, 
for by the Laws of England Ko Person shfdl have Privilege by 
this voluntary, contracted Madness, but shall have the same 
Judgment as if he were in his right Senses. He proved, nwre- 
over, by the same authority, that partial Insanity w^ not serve 
him, for, says Hale, " Such a Person as labouring under melan- 
choly Distempers, has yet ordinarily as great Understanding as 
ordinarily a Child of 14 years hath, is such a Person as may be 
guilty of Treason or Felony." The Sollicitor gained great ap- 
plause, & indeed most deservedly. This murder was proved to 
be as premeditated & malicious as cou** be perpetrated. 

After he had done, the L*^ Stew* asked the Ifi* if it was their 
pleasure to adjourn to their House, & upon their assenting, they 
all went out in the same Order they came in. In ab* ^ an Hour 
they returned, but without the Bishops, who never vote in Cases 
of Blood, and then the L* Steward asked their opinions, begin- 
ning w*** L** Littleton, y* youngest Baron, in this Manner: — 

10 « 



148 TRIAL OF LORD FERRERS. 

"George L* Littleton, you have heard Lawrence Earl Ferrers 
tried for Murder & Felony, whereof he stands indicted. What 
says your Lordship, is he guilty, or not guilty ?" To which L** 
Littleton, standing up uncovered, & laying his Eight Hand upon 
his Left Breast, replied, " Guilty, upon my Honour." In this 
manner the L* Steward asked them one by one, going upwards, 
& all, to a Man, brought the Prisoner in guilty. Upon w** the 
Prisoner was brought to the Bar, & acquainted w*** their Lord- 
ships' Judgment. This ended the Business on Thursday ab' 6 
o'clock in the Afternoon. 

On Friday I got there a little after eight. At J an Hour past 
One the Procession came in, the Bishops excepted, & the Prisoner 
was brought to the Bar. His Grace then addressed himself to 
him : " Lawrence Earl Ferrers, you have been tried for Murder 
and Felony, whereof you stood indicted, & your Peers have 
unanimously found you Guilty. What have you to say why 
Judgment of Death sh^ not be passed upon you ?" L* Ferrers 
then read a Paper, w^^ one of the Clerks repeated to the Court, 
the substance of which was that " he begged pardon of their 
Lordsliips for having given them so much Trouble ; that he was 
advised to plead Limacy, & hoped the Peers would recommend 
him to the King's mercy." The L* Steward asked him if he had 
anything more to offer, and on his answering " No", he then 
begun his Speech, w**^ he opened w^** saying how much his 
Majesty's Love of Justice and Mercy had endeared him to all 
his subjects ; that great as his Love of Justice was, he was more 
inclined to mercy where it c** be shewn ; but that the Crime of 
which his Lordship was proved guilty was of so crying & so 
heinous a Nature, that there was no Eoom to expect it. He 
then proceeded to harangue upon Murder, & concluded w*** the 
Sentence that " you, Lawrence Earl Ferrers, be carried back to 
the Prison of the Tower of London, & on Monday next be car- 
ried to the place of Execution, where you shall be hanged by 
the Neck untill you are dead, & your Body afterwards be dis- 
sected, & God Almighty have mercy on your Soul." 

After a little pause he addressed himself to the Prisoner again : 
*' My Lord, I am to acquaint your Lordship, by order of the 
House of Peers, & Advice of the Judges, whom we have con- 
sulted, that as you have petitioned for a little Eespite, they have 
indulged you till May 6th. During this Interval your Rela- 
tions & Friends will be allowed Access to you, & you will have 
the assistance of some of the ablest Divines of the Protestant 
Church to purge your Soul from the guUt w*** w*^ it is over- 
whelmed, & to prepare you for the awfuU scena" 

As soon as the Sentence begun, the Gaoler begun to turn the 



THE ANN UAL MEETING. 149 

Axe till the Edge came full against the Prisoner. Then the 
L^ Steward called for his Staff, w<* was given him upon the 
knee (as everything else during that time). His Grace immedi- 
ately broke it, & declared his Commission of Lord High Steward 
void, & left the Chair of State, & came down to the Woolpack 
w^** the Seals, as L* Keeper again. 

I had forgot to mention that in the Procession to Westmin- 
ster the L** Steward's Train soon followed the Prisoner's. He 
had 5 Coaches, and a pair preceded him, & then came in his 
State Coach & six fine Horses, all decked w*^ Eibbons, & led by 
Pages ; all the Servants attending the 5 State Coaches in his 
own livery. The Guards all rested to him, the Drums ruffled, 
the Colours dropt, & the Officers saluted him w^^ their Spon- 
toons. At the Door, where he alighted, he was received by his 
own Guard and Col" Guard of 100 Men, w*'^ payed him the 
same Honours as the King. 

L** Moreton asked if the Prisoner could distinguish between 
an immoral & a moral action. He was proved fully capable of 
doing it ; ergo not Mad. 

Nothing but a Coronation can equal this grand sight. Some 
say this is finer and more regular. L** Ferrers is of an exceeding 
Ttiean appearance, & seemed not affected w^^ his Sentence. 

I would have wrote to Mortimer & Blake, but must now defer 
it till Saturday. Comp^ to them and all friends. 

Y" Tho» Weddell. 

Write by the return of the post. 



THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION. 

This Meeting will be held at Swansea on Monday, August the 28rd, 
and following days, under the presidency of Mr. John Talbot Dill- 
WTN Llewbltn of Penllergare. A strong Local Committee has been 
formed, with the Mayor (W. J. Bees, Esq.) as Chairman, and Mr. 
Walter Lewis, C.B., as Hon. Secretary. 

On the first evening His Worship the Mayor will publicly receive 
the President, and Officers, and Members of the Association, and 
the President will deliver his inaugural address. 

The excursion on Tuesday will be to Margam Abbey, where a 
paper will be read in the Chapter House on the history of this Cis- 
tercian house, by Mr. S. C. G^mwell ; and thence to Neath Abbey, 
where a paper will also be read by Mr. J. S. Sutton on the history 
of the Abbey. 

On Wednesday the excursion will be to North Gower, including 
the tumulus at Penycrick, near KiUbion ; Llanrhidian Church, with 



150 OBITUARY. 

its early stone coffin, stone pillory, and other remains ; Weobley 
Castle, where the Rev. J. D. Davies, anthor of the History of West 
Ootoer, will read two papers ; Samson's Jaok Maenhir ; and King 
Arthur's Stone. 

On Thursday, Swansea Castle will be visited, and described by 
Mr. B. Capper ; the Hospital of St. David, in St. Mary's Street, on 
which Mr. J. Bnckley Wilson will read a paper ; and the parish 
Chnrch of St. Mary, on which a paper will be read by Mr. Q^mwelL 
The Members will then proceed, by invitation of the President, to 
Penllergare ; after which some Roman encampments on Cam Gkich, 
and other Roman remains, will be inspected. 

The last excursion, on Friday, will be to South Gower, where 
Park-le-Breos and the Chamber Tumulus will be described by Sir 
H. Hussey Vivian, Bart, M.P. Pennard Church and Bone-daves, 
Bacon Hole, Minchion Hole, are to be described in a paper by 
Mr. C. H. Perkins ; Bishopston Church and Valley, Merton, and 
on to Oystermouth Castle, upon the history of which Mr. T. P. Mar- 
tin will read a paper, 

It will thus be seen that not only places of great interest will be 
visited, bat also that care has been taken to have them well de- 
scribed by papers on the spot ; and as the country is, in many 
respects, very (attractive, and the excursions will all be by carriage, 
a most pleasant ai^d successfal week may be anticipated. 



®&ituar$. 

R. Kteke Pbnson, P.S.A. 

Richard Ktbke Penson was the eldest son of the late Mr. Thomas 
Penson, F.R.I.B.A., and M. Inst C.E., architect, of Wrexham, who 
held the appointment of county surveyor in Denbighshire and Mont- 
gomeryshire. He was, we believe, bom in Oswestiy, and was in his 
seventy-first year at the time he died, on May 22nd last. He was 
sent to London to prosecute his studies for about five years, from 
1843 to 1848, during which period he became a member of the old 
Water Colour Society, of which Mr. Henry Warren was at that time 
President. Mr. Penson became an early exhibitor, and had then 
acquired some distinction as a water-colour painter. This connec- 
tion lasted for many years afterwards, during which he continued to 
exhibit very clever and effective sketches. He also was elected an 
F.S.A. and F.R.I.B.A. In 1852 he read a paper on Ludlow Church, 
before our Association, at the Ludlow Meeting in that year. 

In or about the year 1857 he was appointed county surveyor for 
Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire, and was then associated with 
Mr. A. Ritchie, now of Chester, architect, who subsequently became 
his partner and successor. Mr. Penson then acquirod a very exten- 



OBITUARY. 151 

Bive practice. He went to live at Perryside, Carmarthenshire, and 
Mr. Ritchie established the offices at Swansea, conducting, among 
other works then in hand, extensive alterations and repairs at Djne- 
vor Castle for Lord Dynevor. 

In 1859 Mr. Penson's father died, and his son succeeded him in 
most of his public appointments ; and the younger son, Mr. Thomas 
Mainwaring Penson, became well known and established in practice 
as an arclutect at Chester, where he died in June 1864. Besides 
repairs at Dynevor Castle, Llandilo, Carmarthenshire, Mr. R^ K. Pen- 
son designed alterations and additions to Bronwydd, in the same 
county, for Mr., afterwards Sir T. D. Lloyd, Bart. ; the new church 
of St Mark, Wrexham ; a new residence for Mr. P. R. Roberts, near 
Aberystwyth ; the restoration of St. Peter's Church, Ruthin, Den- 
bighshire ; St. David's Church, Carmarthen ; the new vicarage houses 
for St. David's and St. Peter's churches, Carmarthen ; Christ Church 
(new) and St. Peter's Church Schoob, Carmarthen; and St. Peter's 
new Church, Llanelly. At Swansea and in the neighbourhood the 
following works were ei^ecuted by him : new church and school- 
buildings at the Cockit ; new National Schools, Oystermouth Road ; 
rebuilding and restoration of Oystermouth Church ; additions to 
Kilvey Church ; also the restoration of Llanrhidian and Penmaei^ 
churches; and new church at Morriston ; in Pembrokeshire, the 
churches at Amroth, Angle, St. Petro?, Roch, and Rosemar^et. Also 
in Carmarthenshire the following churches were rebuilt, altered, and 
restored according to his plans, — Llandarog, Llanedy, Llanllwch, 
Llandefeilog, Bettws, Mothvey, Merthyr, Llinglydwen, Llanfihan- 
gel y Croydden, Laughan^e, and Llanilar. He was also engaged 
upon residences and parsonage-houses : at Talgarth, for Captain 
Thruston ; Llidiarde, near Aberystwyth ; at Westfa, Llanelly, for 
Mr. C. W. I^'evill ; new vicarage, Llanedy; National Schools at Aber- 
ystwith ; new church, schools, and residence at Ferryside, Carmar- 
thenshire; Brymbo and Minera new schools, Denbighshire; new 
offices and buildings for the Provincial Insurance Company, Wrex- 
ham ; new schools at Ludlow ; schools and dispensary, Oswestry ; 
Penybont new church, near Oswestry, and upon numerous county 
works. 

Mr. Penson died at his residence, Dinham House, Ludlow, after 
a long and painful illness, and was buried in Ludlow Cemetery. 
He was a magistrate for the borough, and acted as the Iiocal Secre-' 
tary of our Aasociation for Shropshire. 



152 



A History of West Gowee, Glamorganshire. By J. D. Davies, 

M.A., Rector of Cberiton and Llanmadoa Part I, 1877. 
Historical Notices of 'the Parishes of Llanmadoc and Cheriton, 

in the Rural Deanery of West Gower, Glamorganshire. 

Part II, 1879. 
Historical Notices of the Parishes op Llangennydd and Rhosilt, 

IN the Rural Deanery op West Gower. Part III, 1885. 

Swansea : printed by H. W. Williams at the Cambrian Office. 

We owe an apology for so long a delay in noticing this important 
contribntion to the history of Glamorganshire, and we have the 
more satisfaction in drawing attention to it now in view of the 
approaching visit of the Association. 

Mr. Davies enumerates in his Preface some of the attractions 
which the district possesses for the antiqnary. '* Mentioned as it is 
in the Triads, abounding in ancient military works and old baronial 
castles, it has been the scene of many a ferocious fight, and has also 
heard within its bounds the voices of some of tiie most notable 

saints of the days of old It is one of those places that claim the 

honour of being the birthplace of the great St. Patrick.... Numerous 
fossil bone-caves pierce the frontage of its cliffs; the cradle of many 
a wild and romantic legend, it would be difficult to find a locality 
of such limited dimensions so full of interest to the traveller and 
archseologist." And yet he tells ns that "beyond the masterly 
account of the date and architecture of the churches" by Mr. Free- 
man, '* its history has never been written"; and so, with commend- 
able zeal and painstaking industry, he sets about removing the re- 
proach, and adding what promises to prove, when completed, no 
unworthy portion of the history of the county. 

The First Part, divided into chapters, takes up the general history 
of the district. The other parts treat in detail of the respective 
parishes. Thus, chapter i discusses *Hhe origin and meaning of 
the word Gower", and gives some information respecting its eariy 
inhabitants, — a difficult thesis, as may well be believed. For the 
name many meanings have been suggested, according to its supposed 
derivation ; from — (1) Owyr (Men), from the fancied resemblance of 
the " pitched stones" which abound in the country to the human 
form, whence the name attached to them of "Meini Gwyr"; but, 
unluckily for this theory, "Meini Gwyr" does not mean "Stone 
Men", which would be " Gwyr Maen", but the " Stones of Heroes". 
(2) Ohry^ ^y^, " the Men of Yonder Land", as distinguished from 
those of Eastern Glamorganshire ; and this is backed up by a some- 
what irrelevant discursus on Hebrew analogy. (3) Owyr, " fertile". 



REVIEWS. 153 

which maj be appropriate enough now, bnt hardly suited to the 
period when the name was first given. (4) Oibyr, " sloping", which 
is sufficiently accurate as a description, bnt hardly satisfactory. 
Still lees so is that (5) to which Mr. Davies gives his adhesion, as 
Go-Mr y "rather long", but which appears to us rather weak. (6) 
Another form is that of Gwair (Caer Wair), in Taliesin's poem ; 
but Mr. Davies says, rightly enough, that " the Fortress of Hay" is a 
meaning at once ridiculous and unintelligible". But then the word 
need not mean " hay" at all, but be a proper name, — " the Fortress of 
Gh^r" ; and we know at least of a parish in Merionethshire whose 
dedication is said to be St Gwair, but is always written Llan 
Grower.^ By the way, we see no suggestion of any connection with 
the name of the river " Ogwr", which may be quite as likely a clue 
as any of those that have been noticed. Another name, however, 
given to it is said to have been that of Bheged^ " a gift", com- 
memorating a grant made to IJrien, one of Arthur's Knights. We 
come, however, to more reliable ground when we find attention 
drawn to the preponderance of Welsh names in the interior, though 
Welsh has ceased to be spoken there, to the number of Danish 
names on the coast, and the comparatively small number of Saxon 
names in either part. The earliest historical mention appears to be 
that of Nennius, who speaks of Cunedda driving out the Irish 
during the latter half of the fourth century, A.D. 850-400. 

Christianity is assumed to have been introduced about the middle 
of the sixth century, because there are churches dedicated to SS. 
David, Madoc, Cynnyd, and Illtyd of that era ; and this is a fair 
ground of inference, although it may need to be borne in mind that, 
on the one hand, later dedications may bear the name of earlier 
saints, and, on the other, Fagan, and Dwyfan, and Medwy, who 
evangelised the neighbourhood four centuries earlier, were not likely 
to have overlooked a point so near them. We hesitate, indeed, to 
adopt the langraage of our author when he writes that '* its history 
now begins to be surrounded with the greatest possible interest, 
coming before us as it does at a time when the power and the glory 
of Wales was at its zenith, the age of chivalry and romance, and 
having as a resident in this remote comer of it the celebrated Urien 
Bbeged, one of the most £unous of King Arthur's Knights, who, 
with his treacherous wife, Morgan Le Fay, doubtless entertained the 
renowned Peredur and others on that wonderful journey through 
the world in search of the Cauldron of Inspiration and the Symbolic 
Lance," etc.; but we willingly accept the picture as a pleasing contrast 
to set off the more prosy account of the cruel ravages of the 
marauding Danes upon the coast, and of the more peaceful settle- 
ment of the Flemings in the interior. There is one desideratum, 
however, we cannot help noticing at the outset, and as it has not 

* Another derivation, however, is given to this, as '*Ar gyfar", i.e., 
*' opposite" to Llanycil ; and the same might be applied just as aptly or 
inaptly to Cydweli and Gower; and better still from the east, Morgan wg 
and Gower. 



154 REVIEWS. 

been supplied in either of the two succeeding Parts, we venture at 
once to name, in the hope that it may be given in the next instal- 
ment, as it is one without which mucn of the interest of the descrip- 
tion is lost, — ^we mean a good map of the district 

Chapter ii treats of '* the occupation of Gbwer by the Danes", 
who appear to have first landed here about the middle of the ninth 
century ; and have left behind them such memorial names as 
Oxwich, Helwick, Wormshead, Whitford, and Buny Holms along 
the coast, with traces of their encampments in the interior in the 
** Bulwark" on Llanmadoc Hill, on Tankey Lake Moor, and Harding's 
Down ; in Llanrhidian and Penrice, in the former of which we 
have such place-names as "Stafal Hagar" (Haugr^s Mound) and 
" Hara Dara** and " Sigmond's Hill". In the course of a hundred 
years the Danes appear to have become Christianised, and to have 
got on a friendly footing with the Welsh: probably because the 
latter were in continual fend one with another, and glad of the help 
which they could bribe the Danes to give to one side or the other. 
At all events, the story of the next hundred and fifty years tells of 
little but their intestine quarrels, until they become sabject to the 
Normans. 

Chapter iii takes, up the conquest by the new comers under 
Bernard Newraarch and Roger de Newburgh at the close of the 
eleventh century. From Bernard the devolution of the lordship is 
traced down to Alina, widow of John de Mowbray, executed at 
York, 15 Edward II (1322), and daughter of William deBraose, the 
last lord of Gower of this line, who died in 1826. This William 
de Braose appears to have been a man of unscrupulous character, 
and to have contracted to sell his Gower estates to the Earl of 
Hereford, and then to ingratiate himself with Edward II to have 
put Hugh de Spencer in possession, so that there arose great dis- 
putes concerning these possessions between John de Mowbray, the 
Earl of Hereford, the Mortimers, and the Despencers (p. 68). 
Boyal Letters Patent and Parliamentary Bolls are quoted largely to 
illustrate the descent ; and subsequent records are given tracing it 
downwards, — Originalia Roll, 4 Henry IV (a.d. 1403), to Thomas 
(Mowbray), Earl Marshal; Patent Roll 9 Edward IV (a.d. 1469), 
to William Earl of Pembroke ; Patent Roll, 5 James I (a.d. 1608), 
to Edward Earl of Worcester, ancestor of the Duke of Beaufort, 
who still retains the ancient privileges. 

In chapter iv the pros and cons of the controverted question of 
the " Colonisation of Gower by the Flemings" are discussed. The 
same subject was debated, it may be remembered, at the Swansea 
meeting of the Association in 1861, and the report of that discus- 
sion is here reproduced at length, together with a letter by " Beged*' 
(Sir Gardner Wilkinson), in reply to a paper by Mr. C. H. Hartshome 
in the Cambrian Journalj who had denied the existence of such a 
colonisation. The conclusion arrived at may be summarised in the 
statement that the evidence is rather inferential than positive ; and 
that although there is little historical direct information on the 



REVIEWS. 155 

point, there is a local tradition to that effect, and a considerable 
similarity in the features, habits, language, and customs of the 
people of Gt)wer to those of South Pembrokeshire, who were 
undoubtedly Flemish; still, not more than might arise from the 
intercourse of close neighbours, who were alike aliens to the native 
race, and so bound together by the ties of common interests and 
mutual protection. 

The last chapter, v, treats of " the occupation by the Romans", 
a subject which, for symmetry's sake, should have received earlier 
consideration. Mr. Davies here sets himself to answer *Hhe 
question frequently asked, Are there any good grounds for supposing 
that the Romans actually occupied Gower P" And his reply, which 
is in the affirmative, is fortified by these three considerations : 

1. The existence of a Roman station at Leacaram (Lloughor). 

2. The discovery of pottery and coins near Swansea, and a tes- 
Belated pavement at Oystermouth. 

3. The finding of a considerable quantity of Roman money, 
especially at Llethrid and in the Paviland Caves. 

Part U. The parochial portion begins, as might be expected, with 
an account of the two parishes of which the author is rector, viz., 
Llanmadoc and Cheriton ; and these are treated fully and carefully. 
Commencing with a description of Llanmadoc Church, and its recent 
restoration, Mr. Davies proceeds to tell us how it had been granted 
in 1156 by Margaret, Countess of Warwick, to the Knights 
Templars, on whose dissolution it was transferred to the Knights 
Hospitallers, in whom it continued till the Dissolution, temp. 
Henry YIII, since which time it has vested in the Crown. Indeed, 
we are astonished to see what a large proportion of the churches of 
Gower were appropriated to the Knights, — e.g.^ Loughor, Porteynon, 
Llanrhidian, Walterston, Llandimor, Rhosili, Ilston, Penrice, Pen- 
maen, and Cheriton. The particular establishment to which Llan- 
madoc was granted was that of Dinmore in Herefordshire. Their 
possessions were subsequently sold by Queen Elizabeth in a.d. 1559 
to Anthony ManselL The Aubreys, who have been lords of the 
manor from the year 1650, are then traced in succession to their 
present representative, Mr. Charles Aubrey Aubrey ; and this leads 
on to the civil and the natural history of the parish, including the 
bone caves, with their fossil contents. Stone hammers and other 
bronze implements found in the parish are next described and 
figured ; but one of the most interesting objects is the quadrangular 
bell (see p. 156), to which is attached a " History of St. Madoc's Bell", 
from Irish sources. The " oldest register book", dating only from 
1723, supplies one or two items of family interest, and the Terrier of 
" 1734, Anidomini", gives some curious information about the method 
of tithing followed in the parish, including among the items, *' from 
every hen two eggs, and from every cock three eggs, to be paid in 
Lent." 

We notice a boundary cross found in the wall of the churchyard, 
of which the illustration is a sufficient description. For this and 



156 



REVIEWS. 



for the inscribed stone, vecti pilivs ovan hic ucit, we refer to Pro. 
fessor Westwood's Lapidarium Wallue, pp. 49 and 237, 238, and 
Plate 101. 







Boundary Croes, Llanomdoo Churohyard. 

Cheriton, like Llanmadoc, was early appropriated to the Knights 
of St. John, but to a different house and the later Order, viz., the 
Hospitallers of the Commandery of Slebech. The church of 
Cheriton is not mentioned in the Taxatio Ecclenaatica of A.D. 1291, 
but that of Llandimor is, so that it is probable that the latter has 
been overthrown by the encroachment of the sea, and Cheriton has 
taken its place. The edifice is of a better type, and earlier than 




Bell in Llanmadoc Church. 



that of Llanmadoc, consisting as it does of nave and chancel, with 
a central tower, beneath which is the choir. The ancient altar slab 



REVIEWS. 157 

was bronglit to light during the restoration. One of the comers 
had been broken off, and on the " three remaining were indications 
of what were once probably small incised crosses, bnt which, from 
the lapse of time and the exposed situation of the stone, were in two 
otses fretted oat of all shape, and nothing bat mere holes ; in the 
third comer faint chisel marks coald be traced. In the centre of 
the stone there was also an irregular cavity. These I take to be the 
remains of the five crosses, with which all those old altar stones 
were invariably marked*' (p. 102). For ** the irregular cavity in 
the centre" we would suggest another use, of which, we believe, the 
examples are excessively rare ; and that it was a receptacle for the 
preservation of some specially honoured relic. Some stencillings of 
various dates were also discovered at the same time. Many interest- 
ing notices are given of this parish, as of the last, from many 
sources; and its caves and camps are carefully described, and a 
history given of the Castle and Manor of Llandimor.* In the 
middle of the fifteenth century it was the residence of Sir Hugh 




END SECTION. 

Ancient Altar-Slab at Cheriton. 



Johnys, Knight Marshal of England, who, with Dame Margaret 
his wife, was buried in the Church of St Mary's, Swansea, and of 
whose memorial brass in that church an engraving and description 
are given by Mr. Davies. 

Part in continues the " History of West Gower" for the parishes 
of Llangennydd and Bhosili with equal fulness of description and 
increasing interest. Under the former we have not only the 
parochial foundation traced back to the days of St. Cennydd in the 
sixth century, bnt also an account of the Priory founded here by 
Eoger de Bellomont, Earl of Warwick, in the reign of King 
Stephen, and annexed by him to the Abbey of St. Taurinus at 
Evreux in Normandy. As an alien priory, it was early dissolved, 
and through the influence of Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, appropriated to his newly founded College of All Souls in 
Oxford. Close Rolls and other records are made to testify to the 

' Qu., lilan-din-Mor ? the Church of the Fortress on the Sea. 



158 REVIEWS. 

correctness of the history, and nnmerons illustrations of the chnrch 
and its monomental remains add to the interest. Terriers and 
manorial deeds complete the monograph, and combine to fnmish a 
very admirable Parochiale of Llangennydd. We may say the same 
also for the account of Rhosili, with its ancient church, its fine 
Norman doorway, font, and ankeret's window, of each of which a 
drawing is given. A brief notice informs us that *' remains of an 
old besanded church may be seen in the warren belonging to 
Rhosilly glebe ; the site of this ruin lies about midway between the 
parsonage house and the present parish church". Taken in connec- 
tion with what has been said of Llandimor, it shows that the sea 
must have made considerable encroachment on this coast. The 
** Swine House", t.e., 8weyn How, or Sweyn's Mound, *' Worm's 
(Orm's) Head", the " Smuggler's Cellar", " The Helwicks", the 
Dollar Ship, the Paviland Caves, have each a section, as also the 
respective manors of the parish, with their civil and genealogical 
memoranda. 

We cannot close this notice without again congratulating Mr. 
Davies on his work, and we heartily wish him nealth and the 
financial support to enable him to complete what he has so well 
began and continued. 



r GOMERTDD, DAS 1ST, GbAMMATIK DES KtMRAEO, ODEB DER KeLTO- 

Walischen Spbache. Yon Ernst Sattler. Zurich und Leipzig. 

This is a Welsh grammar written in German by one who, we 
believe, is connected with the German- speaking part of Switzerland. 
It is interesting to all who are connected with Wales, because it 
shows the attention that b now given on the Continent, and especi- 
ally in Germany, to the Celtic races and Celtic literatnre. Adelung, 
in the last century, poured unmeasured contempt on these races and 
tlieir languages. One half of all they uttered was borrowed from 
Latin, one fourth from German, and the remaining fourth part 
might possibly belong to the miserable barbarians. Even Bopp, in 
the present century, denied at first that the Celtic languages be- 
longed to the Indo-European or Aryan class : they were simply bar- 
barous. All this is now changed. Bopp recognised his error, and 
his celebrated paper, " Uber die Celtischen Sprachen vom Gesichts- 
puukte der vergleichenden Sprachforschung" (On the Celtic Lan- 
guages from the View-Point of Comparative Philology), which 
appeared in the year 1838, brought the Celtic languages, as a part 
ot the Aryan class, before German philologists, and led the way to 
the laboured researches of Zeuss, Ebel, Windisch, Zimmer, and other 
eminent scholars. As a proof of the more intelligent and scientific 
study of these languages, we have now before us a grammar of the 
Welsh language written for the use of Germans. 

This book is the most extensive grammar of the language that 
has yet been published. It consists of 418 pages, and is divided 



REVIEWS. 159 

into tbirty-fcbree chapters or divisions (hauptstikke). The author has 
made good nse of the grammars written by John Williams (ab Ithel) 
and Thomas Rowland. He refers to the Hanes Cymru by Price, to 
the MahinogiOTiy and other well known Welsh books. His grammar 
has evidently been written with much care, he has sought informa- 
tion from the best sonrces, and yet his work is evidently the pro- 
duction of one who is not very familiar with the country or its lan- 
guage. We did not know before, as we are told in the Preface, that 
Wales is bounded by the river Mersey. The Hundred of Wirral, 
that lies between the Mersey and the Dee, has never, we believe, 
been included in the Principality. 

The author endeavours to give the pronunciation of Welsh words ; 
but though the letter g has a hard sound, we have never heard 
gwaedd pronounced as qtiaitk. He gives Iman as the Welsh equivalent 
for the English quick; but buan in South Wales is unknown. It 
would have been better to say North Welsh or Venedotian. Llet is 
said to be the equivalent of the Eng. less ; but the only form we know 
is llai, though there is some authority for Ueiach, Llai is a mutilated 
form of the Sanskrit lagkfyas, the comp. of* laghu, little ; which is 
retained in the Irish laogh=laghUy Welsh llo, calf, the little offspring 
of the cow. We cannot understand why cyfagos^ instead of the 
simpler agos^ should be offered as the substitute of the lost posi- 
tive form of ««*, or why the form of the adjective which denotes 
equality should be called " admirativus**. It denotes sometimes 
admiration, but not primarily or necessarily. It represents the 
Sanskrit adi^ which is put as a suffix to denote similarity or a class. 
It might be called the form of similarity or of definite comparison. 
Dr. John Davies says, referring to this form, " Est et comparationis 
genus, quod sequiparationis dici potest." 

Herr Sattler is mistaken in supposing that the W. Ao^, to be fond 
of, or delight in, is from hoyw^ or that it meant primarily to be ex- 
cited (erregt). Hoffi is the Welsh representative of the Sans. suhJidmi^ 
from suhh, to shine, to be gay or happy, to desire. The o in hoffi is 
due to the influence of the following a, by what is called in Sanskrit 
guna or qualification. The W. rhaid is not from the O. Ir. rect^ law. 
Both these words and the Ir. lagh^ law, are connected with the 
Sans, lag^ to fasten, to attach ; lagita^ fastened. They denote that 
which binds us, to which we must be subject. The Sans, raj or 
rai{f, for rag, has the same meaning, and is an older form. The W. 
pert, to make, cannot be translated by the Germ, lassen. It is con- 
nected with the Sans, hri, to make, by the common change from 
a gnttural to a labial sound. The W. peidio, to cease, cannot pro- 
perly be translated by the Lat. nolle ; nor is W. pallu, to fail, to 
perish, connected with the Lat. pallere. Feidio, from paid ( =pali), 
is related to the Sans, pat, to fall, sink down, subside ; and pallu to 
the Sans, pall, to go. The Lat. pallere is probably connected with 
Sans, palita, gray. (See Pick*, ii, 158.) 

Herr Sattler does not seem to be acquainted with comparative 
philology in its modern scientific form. If he had known it he 



160 REVIEWS. 

would not have said that the Welsh verbs caffael and cael were de- 
rived from the Irish gabhail. They are all derived, as Sanskrit and 
other languages, from the primitive Aryan tongue, spoken in a pre- 
historic age by our common forefathers in some part of Central 
Asia. They are connected with the Sans, grabh^ to take, seize, the 
letter r having fallen out It is, however, retained in the W. crafi^^ 
to hold securely, and in the Arm. krapa, to seize, grapple. The 
suffix 'cU is a verbal formative in the Celtic languages, as in Manx, 
brebbal, to kick, from breb, a kick. It is at least rashness to assume 
that in Welsh eb and ebu, to speak, are primitive forms. In the 
Capella gloss the form is hepp, now hepy corresponding to the Sans. 
a'abd, to speak (s' is a slight sh). From the Lithuanian sacau, I say, 
and the German aagen^ it is probable that the primitive form was 
sak. 

One of the strangest errors of Herr Sattler is his assertion that 
the W. cryn^ when it means moderate, middling (ZienUich), is from 
the Ir. cruinn, round. There is no connection between the two 
words of any kind. The W. cryn is related to the Ir. and Ghiel. crion^ 
dry, withered, small ; and both are connected with the Sans, /fnui^ 
dry, decayed, small, ^m «Vf, to decay. The palatal, sibilant ^ often 
represents an older k, as in this instance. When cryn means trem- 
bling, it is a variant of the Ir. crtthy probably from a form crithin ; 
and criih is related to the Sans, ibrtt, to move to and fro, twist, spin. 

We hope that our grammars will in future be marked by a higher 
grade of scholarship. All forms that are capable of explanation 
ought to be explained. The student's progress need not necessarily 
be impeded by this process, and it will certainly be more intelligent. 
Our limited space will only suffice for one or two examples. The 
W. hyddofy docile, corresponds to the Sans. iUrdamOy easily sub- 
dued, from su, a prefix denoting facility or excellence, and dam, to 
subdue. The word gofer, rivulet, would be in Sanskrit ku-vartf ku 
denoting inferiority, deficiency, or evil, and vari, water, a stream ; 
O. W. ber^vari or bari. 

We have endeavoured to correct some of Herr Sattler's errors ; 
but we welcome his book as a good omen for Welsh philology, and 
we bear witness to the great diligence that he has shown in study- 
ing some of the best authorities in that department. He has, how- 
ever, much to learn in the science of comparative philology before 
he can be accepted as a fitting guide in the study of Welsh or auy 
other language. 



'§,n\iMalo$h €nmhunm. 



FIFTH SERIES.— VOL. Ill NO. XI. 



JULY 1886. 



CAERPHILLY. 



Few castles have received as much attention, or have 
been so fully and ably described, as the castle of Caer- 
philly. Those of our members who possess the entire 
series, may well refer back to the volume of Archceo- 
logia Cambrensis for 1850, and peruse the exhaustive 
description of the castle and its details, which has 
recently been incorporated by Mr. Clark in his work on 
mediaeval military architecture ; but others, and many 
of those who visited the castle last year, may still 
expect in these later days a renewal of the story in the 
current pages of our Journal. So an endeavour will 
be made in the account which follows, to give a general 
description of the castle, its position and defences, with 
the aid of the old plan and wood engravings, and to 
tell what is known of its history, making a free use of 
Mr. Clark's materials, but avoiding a repetition of his 
detailed account of the buildings. 

Although Cardiff and the coast-line had been long 
wrested from Wales by Norman invaders and their 
successors, much of the land of Morganwg was still 
debateable land, and hable to continual claims of the 
princes of Wales as their own by right, and to conse- 
quent invasions, until the death of Llewelyn ap Griffith, 
and the conquest of Wales by King Edward. The 
commots of Senghenydd, nominally under the rule of 

6th 8EB., VOL. in. 11 



162 CAERPHILLY. 

Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, appear in the 
latter part of the reign of Henry III to have been 
inhabited as well by adherents of Llewelyn, as by those 
who acknowledged the Earl as their lord. His prede- 
cessor, Richard de Clare, had been Commander-in-Chief 
of the king's forces in Glamorgan, Pembroke, and other 
parts of Wales on the occasion of the Welsh insurrec- 
tion in 1257 (41 Henry HI), and probably availed him- 
self of his position to strengthen his power and increase 
his territory. He died in 1262, and his son. Earl 
Gilbert, inherited his large possessions in Glamorgan- 
shire, including Senghenydd, within which Caerphilly 
is situated. 

On the 19th June 1265 Llewelyn entered into a 
treaty of peace with the King, and formally acknow- 
ledged him as his lord ; but the terms of the treaty do 
not appear to have been long adhered to by Llewelyn, 
for in the summer of 1270^ he wrote to the King's 
brother, Richard, King of the Romans, declining to 
give up the land which he occupied to the King and 
Prince Edward, and stated that he had invaded the 
land as belonging of right to him and his ancestors, 
under the conviction that Edward was bent on the 
destruction of himself and of Wales, his country. 
Continual proposals appear to have been made by the 
King to Llewelyn to settle any infractions of the treaty 
of peace, which were as often evaded by Llewelyn's 
non-attendance or excuse. 

Caerphilly, situated in a valley opening eastward to 
the river Rhymney, from which it was about a mile 
distant, was a suitable site for a fortification to check 
th^ inroads of the Welsh from the mountains of 
Glamorganshire into the fertile plains in the neighbour- 
hood of Cardiff. The only natural advantage of the 
site was a swamp, through which a brook, known as 
Nant y Gledwr, flowed on its course into Rhymney. 
Of this. Earl Gilbert, a few years after his succession 
to the earldom, availed himself, by making excavations, 

' Shirley's Royal Letters^ Henry III, vol. ii, p. 312. 



CAERPHILLY. 163 

throwing up earthworks, damming up the brook, and so 
converting the elevated part of the marsh into an 
island surrounded by water, as a suitable site for his 
intended castle. The documentary evidence which esta- 
blishes the fact that Earl Gilbert was the builder of 
the castle there, at the same time leads to the conclu- 
sion that his first castle was rebuilt, or very much 
enlarged, before it assumed the proportions or import- 
ance of the castle now in ruins. 

In the early part of 1271 the King empowered the 
Bishops of Coventry and Worcester to act with Roger 
Mortimer and R. de Leyburn as Commissioners in 
hearing and determining at the ford of Montgomery, in 
the beginning of February, all causes of complaint 
between Llewelyn and Earl Gilbert, and all transgres- 
sions of Llewelyn against the form of his peace with 
the King. This arrangement was notified to Llewelyn 
and the Earl, and they were ordered meanwhile to 
abstain from hostilities. 

Llewelyn, however, disregarding the King's injunc- 
tion, invaded the EarFs territory in the Marches with 
banners displayed and a large army, intending to lay 
siege to the castle of Caerphilly. With a view to 
prevent further hostilities, Earl Gilbert, at the King's 
instance, agreed to surrender his castle to the King, 
pending the settlement of the matters in dispute ; and 
on the 25th October the same Bishops were authorised 
by the King's letters patent to take the castle into 
their custody in the King's name, unless Llewelyn with- 
drew with his army, and named a day for the hearing 
and determining of his alleged grievances at the ford 
of Montgomery. The Bishops accordingly went to 
Caerphilly, and on the 2nd November entered into an 
agreement with Llewelyn, who was then actively 
besieging the castle, which is stated to have been lately 
erected by Earl Gilbert, that the Prince with his army 
should withdraw from the siege, and allow the Bishops 
to take possession, in the King's name, of the castle, 
until the King granted the custody of it to some one 

lia 



164 CAERPHILLY. 

who was entirely unconnected with the Prince or the 
Earl, the Prince entering into an engagement, pending 
the settling of the contention relative to the castle, 
not to wage war against the Earl or his followers, nor 
to interfere with his men or tenants in going and 
coming, or carrying on their usual trade or business. 
In return, the Bishops, in the King's name, promised on 
the Earl's part to withdraw the garrison from the 
castle, and that, pending the contention, the Earl would 
not interfere with the castle by the increase of its 
ditches, in the repair or rebuilding of its walls, or 
increasing the fortifications, in addition to its then state, 
and that its occupants on the King's behalf would, in 
like manner, abstain from any further works for its 
defence, and from waging war against the Prince, or 
preventing his followers carrying on their usual mer- 
chandise. It was further arranged that the men of 
Senghenydd, whether partisans of the Prince or of the 
Earl, should dwell in the places where they then were. 
The Bishops also promised that the castle should not 
pass out of their hands until the determination of the 
dispute, and appointed a day for the hearing of it. 

We obtain further information of what took place on 
the occasion, and afterwards, from the King's letter to 
his brother Richard. It appears that Llewelyn claimed 
the site of the castle as his own, and laid siege to it with 
a view of totally destroying it ; he alleged that he might 
have accomplished his objcKjt on the third day if he had 
not entered into the treaty with the Bishops that the 
castle should remain in its then state as regards the 
walls, ditches, bretashes, provisions, and other matters, 
until their decision on the hearing. The Bishops 
received possession of the castle under the Earls 
authority from his Constable with much difficulty on 
Llewelyn's part, and placed their men in it, waiting the 
arrival of the King's garrison. Soon after the siege 
was raised, the Earl's Constable of Cardiff Castle, with 
forty men-at-arms, arrived at Caerphilly. Secretly 
approaching the castle, he sought admission to search 



CAERPHILLY. 165 

for and see the arms of the Earl's men. The Bishops, 
not suspecting anything wrong, permitted the Constable 
to enter, whereupon he obtained leave that one of his 
soldiers, who was well acquainted with what was in the 
castle, and afterwards a third, might be admitted. 
After a scrutiny of the arms, they returned to the gate 
and admitted the remainder of the forces into the 
castle. On their entry, the Constable of Cardiff engaged 
to hold the castle in the King's name, and the Bishops, 
unable to contend with the difficulty, gave up to him 
the custody of the castle. 

Llewelyn complained of this infraction of the agree- 
ment to the King, who, on the 22nd February 1272, 
wrote to him in answer that the Earl justified his 
resumption of possession of the castle, on the ground 
that the Bishops had no authority to enter into such a 
treaty without the Earl's assent, and asked that some 
of the King's soldiers should form its garrison, and 
hold it until Easter, when Commissioners to be ap- 
pointed might do full justice as to the matter in dis- 
pute ; to this the King had assented, and he summoned 
Llewelyn to attend the hearing accordingly. An 
adjournment again took place ; ultimately, on the 30th 
October 1272, at the instance of Anian, Bishop of St. 
Asaph, the King, who was about to proceed to France 
to do homage for his Duchy of Aquitaine and lands 
in that kingdom, informed Llewelyn that Prince 
Edward, who was then on his return from the Holy 
Land, would preside at the hearing, which was pro- 
rogued to the Easter following.^ 

This arrangement was interrupted by the King's 
death on the 16th November and the continued absence 
of Edward, who did not return to England until the 
2nd August 1274. His coronation took place on the 
1 9th August. Llewelyn, although summoned to attend, 

* As regards Llewelyn's siege, see " County Bags, Wales", Box 
143 B, No. 27 (the contents of which are printed in Arch, Camb., 
N.S., vol. i, p. 285) ; Patent Rolls, 66 H. Ill, m. 1 ; and Shirley's 
LeUerSj vol. ii, p. 343. 



166 CAERPHILLY. 

was not present at the coronation ; we may, therefore, 
assume, from Llewelyn's absence and open hostility soon 
afterwards, that no hearing took place, and that the 
Earl continued in possession, although the district of 
Senghenydd again became the scene of warfare, and so 
continued until the death of Llewelyn and the final 
conquest of Wales. 

Any one who regards the ruins of the castle will 
recognise how improbable it is that Llewelyn could 
have passed through its several defences, and have 
taken it on the third day, or that the gate through 
which the Constable of Cardiff passed would have 
placed his followers on their entrance in possession of 
the castle. The redoubt on the north-west of the 
castle may have been the site of the castle which Llew- 
elyn besieged ; and Earl Gilbert, under a sense of its 
insecurity and the probability of a fresh assault on the 
part of Llewelyn, may have built a new castle in the 
marsh, with every defence which the military science 
of the day suggested. If the castle stands on its 
original site, its fortifications must have been greatly 
increased on all sides after Lleweljni's siege. 

Caerphilly is considered by Mr. Clark to be both 
the earliest and the most complete example of the 
Edwardian, or concentric, castle in the kingdom. It 
comprises within its fortifications a larger extent of 
land than any other fortress in Wales. Adopting the 
words of Mr. Clark, " The first characteristic of a con- 
centric castle is the arrangement of its lines of defence, 
one within the other, two, or even three deep, with 
towers at the angles and along the walls, so placed that 
no part is left entirely to its own defences"; and again, 
"The paints of the lines of defence were so arranged 
that the garrison could sally from one part, and so 
harass the attack upon another ; moreover, each part, 
tower, or gatehouse, and sometimes each stage of a 
building, was so contrived that it could be held sepa- 
rately for a short time ; also, from the concentric 
arrangement of the lines, a breach of the outer wall did 
not involve the loss of the place." 



CAERFIHIIILILT CAS^ 





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CAERPHILLY. 167 

A reference to the plan of the castle will at once 
show how well Caerphilly answered the conditions of 
such a fortress. Built on a gravelly eminence in the 
centre of the marsh, surrounded by moats, which could 
at any time be filled with water by damming up Nant 
y Gledwr and the water which flowed on the northern 
part of the swamp, the outer defence of the castle on 
the east was a wide moat, on the opposite side of 
which ran, for a length of 250 yards, a strong curtain 
wall, with towers at intervals on it, and postern gates 
at either end of the curtain. At its southern end 
were strong towers to protect the dam and sluice in the 
curtain, by which the waters of the lake were retained 
and regulated. Nearly in the centre of this curtain 
the eastern gatehouse, built on a large fortified plat- 
form, was approached by a drawbridge of two spans, 
each connected by a large pier in the outer moat. On 
the platform was a corn-mill for the use of the garrison. 
Passing across the platform, another drawbridge over 
an inner moat, about 45 feet wide, led to the gatehouse 
of the middle ward, defended by two towers, with 
half-round projections on either side of the gateway, 
and connected with a large gatehouse on the western 
front by curtain walls in the form of a parallelogram, 
rounded, or bowed outwards, at each of its angles. 
A somewhat narrow terrace occupied the space between 
the fortifications of the middle and inner wards. The 
inner ward formed a quadrangle, measuring 200 feet in 
length from east to west, and 160 feet in width, enclosed 
by curtain walls, capped at each angle by a round 
bastion tower, with two lofty gatehouses on the east 
and west fronts, each gateway having two half-round 
towers as its defence. The hall and domestic buildings 
were on the southern side of the inner ward, and com- 
municated with a large tower and water-gate in the 
curtain of the middle ward. The western approach 
was further protected by a large hornwork, or barbican, 
of earth, scarped off to the level of the wall, by which 
it was surrounded, and communicating by a drawbridge 



1G8 CAERPHILLY. 

across a moat with the western gate. It also, by 
means of cross cuts, could be surrounded by water. 
This brief description, with the aid of the plan, may 
give a general notion of the nature and extent of the 
fortifications, which were probably carried out by Earl 
Gilbert during the reign of the first Edward. 

On the marriage of Earl Gilbert in 1290 with King 
Edward's daughter, Joan, the Earl's Glamoi^nshire 
estates were regranted by the King to the Earl and 
his Countess jointly and their issue. Earl Gilbert died 
in 1295. The Extent, taken at Caerphilly on the 
22nd Feb. 1297, before a jury composed of David the 
wheelwright (Qhuelwryghte), Robert Chambers (de 
Camera), Richard de Bromfel, John le Bakere, Ithel le 
Webbe, and Yeuan le Melleward, probably retainers 
connected with the castle, states that there was there 
a castle in good coi^dition, and well fortified, with a 
fish-pond (vivarium) of the value of which the jury- 
were ignorant ; also 80 acres of arable land, worth 
yearly 13s. id.; 16 acres of pasture worth 4^. ; 80 
burnt burgage tenements, which before the war were 
wont to yield yearly 405. ; also two mills, which before 
the war were worth yearly 16 marcs, and were then 
worth nothing, because the country around was laid 
waste. The pleas and perquisites of court, worth 
formerly 405., yielded nothing. They also found that 
Gilbert de Clare and Joan jointly held of the King in 
chief, and that Gilbert de Clare, their son, then of the 
age of four years, was their next heir. 

The Inquisition post-mortem on the death of the 
Countess, taken at Caerphilly before the Escheator and 
a Welsh jury on the 9th June 1307, gives some further 
information as to the town. The water-mill is valued 
at £5 yearly, and the fulling-mill as worth nothing. 
In the town of Caerphilly were forty-two burgesses, 
who each held with his tenement an acre of land at 
the yearly rent of Is. ; other burgesses held 18|^ 
burgage tenements, without land, at an aggregate 
yearly rent of 95. 3d. There were also two burgesses 



CAERPHILLY. 169 

who held two burgage tenements, destroyed during the 
war, at a yearly rent of 8d. The burgesses were pro- 
bably free from all services, except service in time of 
war and attendance at the lord's courts. 

Gilbert, the succeeding Earl, had livery of his lands 
in 1307 (1 Edw. II), notwithstanding his minority. 
He was then and in after years engaged in the war 
with Scotland, and was killed while leading the van- 
guard of the King's army at the battle of Bannock- 
burn, 24 June 1314. He left three sisters, his co- 
heiresses, the eldest of whom, Eleanor, became the 
wife of Hugh le Despenser the younger. The Inquisi- 
tion taken on his death throws no light on the then 
state of the Castle; but we learn from it that the 
water-mill was then let for 1005., and the fulling-mill 
again in working order and let for 50^. The custody 
of his castles and lands in Glamorganshire (including 
Caerphilly) was shortly afterwards committed to John 
de Everdon and Ingelram Berenger, as Constables 
during the King's pleasure.^ 

In the early part of 1316, while the castles and lands 
were in the King's hands, Llewelyn ap Rhys (better 
known as Llewelyn Bren), who had been deprived of a 
considerable post which he held under the late Earl, 
took advantage of the exactions of the King's ministers 
in those parts to stir up an insurrection of the Welsh 
for redress of their grievances. Invading the late Earl's 
possessions in Glamorganshire, he surprised and took 
away captive the Constable of Caerphilly while he was 
holding his court outside the Castle, and then attacked 
the Castle, where he " met with such a resistance as 
prevented his entrance, although he succeeded in burn- 
ing all the outward walls."* This statement of the 
chronicler must be an exaggeration of what took place. 
Llewelyn Bren may have burnt all the wooden defences 
in his way, but he could not have done much damage 
by fire to the walls. 

1 Rot. Original., 8 Edward XL 

2 See Arch, Cainb., N.S., vol. ii, " On the Insurrection of Llewelyn 
Bren", and the monk of Malmesbury there cited. 



1 70 CAERPHILLY. 

In 1318 Hugh le Despenser obtained a confirmation 
of all the royalties within the territories and .lordships 
of Glamorgan and Morgan wg which the late Earl en- 
joyed, as the share of his wife Eleanor in her inherit- 
ance. Taking advantage of the excessive favour shown 
to him, as Chamberlain of the Household, by the King, 
he enriched himself with insatiable avarice by encroach- 
ing on the lands of others, obtained numerous grants 
of forfeited lands and castles, and so provoked a rising 
of the Lords of the Marches, the temporary banishment 
of himself and his father, and in the end their disgrace 
and ruin. 

To him we may attribute the almost palatial exten- 
sion and alteration of the hall of Caerphilly Castle, 
which measures 73 ft. by 35 ft., and was about 30 ft. 
high. The hall was lighted by four lofty and well pro- 
portioned windows in the Decorated style, in the 
north wall, at the east end of which was a fine door- 
way, corresponding in style and form with the windows, 
and leading into the inner court. The roof was sup- 
ported by fourteen short clustered pilasters resting 
upon corbels terminating in triple heads, beautifully 
executed in oolitic stone. The south and end walls 
were plastered ; but the north wall, probably rebuilt, 
is cased with ashlar-work of oolitic stone. Empty 
grooves in the south wall, once filled with the upright 
posts of the hammer-beams in the earlier roof, and a 
joint of walling, still visible in the west wall, aflFord 
further evidence of the partial rebuilding and extension 
of the hall.^ A reference to the wood engraving will 
render any further description of it unnecessary ; but 
it may be well to note that the present wooden roof, 
supported by the pilasters, is a very recent work, erected 
for a social gathering. 

The confederate nobles, in their attempt to redress 
their grievances against the younger Despenser in 1321, 

^ The practical eye of Mr. Stephen W. Williams noted these alter- 
ations, and he called my attention to them on the spot. 



CAEHPHILLY. 171 

laid waste his Glamorganshire lands^ and reduced and 
destroyed many of his castles. Caerphilly may have 
been taken, but it escaped any serious damage. In the 
Parliament of May 1323 the proceedings against the 
Despensers were reversed, their exile was repealed, and 
the elder Despenser was created Earl of W inchester. 
Their restoration to the royal favour, and the advan- 
tage which the younger Despenser took of the King's 
weakness of character, renewed their unpopularity. In 
March 1325 Queen Isabella crossed over to France on 
a visit to the King, her brother ; but she soon expressed 
her determination not to return to England until the 
Despensers were dismissed by the King. In Septem- 
ber following Prince Edward left for France, to do 
homage in his father's stead, and was detained there 
by the Queen in order to further her designs against 
tne King. On the 24th of September 1326, the Queen 
and Prince Edward, with the Earl of Kent, Roger Mor- 
timer, and other exiles, landed at Harwich, where she 
was well received by a large number of nobles and 
several bishops, and soon assembled a large army at her 
disposal 

On hearing of the Queen's approach, and that the 
commonalty of the kingdom as well as the city of Lon- 
don adhered to her cause, the King withdrew, on the 
29th of September, from London, in company with the 
two Despensers, by way of Gloucester, to Chepstow, 
where, on the 16th of October, he appointed the Earl 
of Winchester the commander-in-chief of his forces in 
the West, and committed to him the defence of Bristol 
and its Castle. With a view to prevent the King's 
escape, the Queen rapidly followed, with her army, the 
King's movements. She reached Wallingford on the 
15th of October, and proceeded to Gloucester, where 
she received a considerable accession to her forces, and 
sent forward the best of her troops to Bristol, which 
the Earl of Winchester was speedily forced to surren- 
der. On receiving the news of its surrender, the Queen 
moved onward, and arrived at Bristol on the 26th of 



173 CAERPHILLY. 

October. On the following day the Earl of Winchester 
was condemned by popular clamour, without a trial, 
and executed. 

Meanwhile the King, with the younger Despenser, 
had left Chepstow for Caerphilly, in the hope of getting 
his vassals in Pembrokeshire, Glamorganshire, Gower, 
and other parts of South Wales, to rise in his favour. 
While at CardiflF on the 27th, and at Caerphilly on the 
29th and 30th of October, he issued commissions to 
Rhys ap Griffith and others for the purpose. Disap- 
pointed in his attempt to thus raise an army, he left 
Caerphilly, committing the custody of the Castle to ' 
John de Felton. Proceeding to Margam, where, on 
November 4, he issued a commission for the defence of 
the coast against his enemies, he embarked with De- 
spenser in a vessel for the coast of Ireland. After beat- 
ing about with a contrary wind, for a few days, in the 
Bristol Channel, he returned, landing privately at 
Swansea, and took refuge in Neath Abbey. From 
thence, on Nov. 10 th, he sent the Abbot, his nephew, 
Edward de Bohun, and others, to treat with the Queen 
and Prince Edward, who had assumed the government 
of the kingdom. 

Leaving Neath with Despenser and a few other fol- 
lowers, the King again arrived at Caerphilly. Despair- 
ing of any arrangement with the Queen, and anxious 
to escape, he appears to have again left the Castle after 
he had committed its custody to Roger de Chandos, a 
few years previously SheriflF of Herefordshire, aad en- 
trusted the care of all his gold and silver, arms, victuals, 
and other effects in the Castle to Thomas de London.^ 

The Queen, with her army, had arrived at Hereford, 
where she stayed a month. From thence she sent the 
Earl of Leicester, William la Zouche of Mortimer, and 
Rhys ap Howel, with others who were well acquainted 
with the country, to find out and seize the King in his 
retreat. This, by the aid of bribes, and with the aid 

* Ahbrev. EoL OiuyinaL, vol. i, p. 382. 



CAERPHILLY. 173 

of the Welsh, they succeeded in accomplishing. The 
King was taken, on the 16th of November, near the 
Castle of Llantrissant, with Robert de Baldok and 
Simon de Redyng, and Despenser, in a neighbouring 
wood. They were all taken to Hereford, where, on the 
24th of November, Despenser was arraigned without 
trial, and executed.* 

A pardon was granted, on the 4th of January follow- 
ing, in the King's name, to all in the Castle of Caer- 
philly, except Hugh, the son of the younger Despenser.' 
He gallantly. continued its defence in the King's name, 
and held it against his assailants until Easter, when 
he surrendered it on security given for the lives of 
himself and the garrison. William la Zouche had pro- 
bably the conduct of the siege, as he received an allow- 
ance (1 Edward HI) for thirty men at arms to besiege 
the Castle if it should not be rendered. His mother, 
Eleanor, was detained a priBoner, with her family, in 
the Tower of London, until February 13?.8, when she 
was liberated, and received into the Kings favour. 
Shortly afterwards she married William la Zouche, who 
in the early part of 1329 laid siege to the Castle of 
Caerphilly, then in the King's hands.' Roger Morti- 
mer, Earl of March, the King's Justiciary for Wales, 
was directed to raise the siege, and bring William la 
Zouche and Eleanor into the King's presence. What- 
ever difficulties there may have been, all was satisfac- 
torily adjusted, and in 1330 the King restored to them 
and the heirs 6f his cousin, Eleanor, the land of Glamor- 
gan and Morgan wg. Hugh, her son, received in 1333 
the King's pardon for the defence of the Castle,* and 
on his mother's death, in 1337, had livery of her lands 
in Glamorganshire and elsewhere. 

Little more remains to be told of what happened to 

^ For the King's flight, see Patent Rolls, 20 Edward II; Adami 
Marimuth., Chnmicon, p. 46 ; and Carte's Ilidory, 

* Patent Rolls, 20 Edward II, m. 3. 

* Rjmer's Fcpdera, vol. iv, p. 374 

* Patent Rolls, 6 Edward III, m. 26. 



1 74 CAERPHILLY. 

the Castle of Caerphilly. It appears to have been in a 
defensible position at the time of Owen Glvndwr's 
rising, for the defence of the Castles of Caerphdly and 
Ewvas Lacy was committed by the King to Constance 
Lady Despenser on the 8th of September 1403. Before 
the middle of the same century it ceased to be a forti- 
fied residence, and had fallen to the condition of a 
prison. When Leland visited it, in the reign of Henry 
V III, it was used for the same purpose, and had fallen 
into a ruinous state. Wind and weather since have 
done much to increase its ruin ; and the hand of man, 
in the endeavour to destroy with gunpowder several of 
the bastions of the middle ward and towers, and in the 
removal of the ornamental stonework of the exterior of 
the hall, has done more ; but the bare walls still stand 
to attest its past gi*andeur and the scientific skill of its 
builder. 

R. W. B. 



175 



THE 

PORTIONARY CHURCHES OF MEDIAEVAL 
NORTH WALES ; 

THEIR TRIBAL RELATIONS, AND THE SINECURISM 
CONNECTED THEREWITH. 

In the year 1291 was made, as is very well known, a 
valuation of all the ecclesiastical benefices of England 
and Wales. The record of this valuation, commonly 
called The Taxatio of Pope Nicholas, is full of interest- 
ing information concerning the time to which it relates. 

We gather from Tlie Taxatio that, at the date of it, 
while in the two northern dioceses of Wales, to each 
parish there belonged, for the most part, but a single 
priest, there was in almost every deanery at least one 
parish (generally more than one), the revenues of which 
were divided into " portions", — the shares of an equal 
number of priests to the same parish belonging. 

In the case of several of the parishes noticed in The 
Taxatio, some of the priests were really curates in 
charge of chapels dependent upon the parish church 
(see p. 195) ; but cases of this kind are only here men- 
tioned to be excluded for the present from considera- 
tion. It is the case of those parishes in which two or 
more priests were connected with the parish church 
itself, whether the church had chapels dependent on it 
or not, that we have in the first place to consider. 

The shares of the parochial revenues which were 
enjoyed by the several priests connected with the 
parish church, are called, as we have seen in The Tax- 
atio and elsewhere, ** portiones" or " portions*', a name 
which will henceforth suflBce for designating them. The 
priests themselves, to whom these "portions" were 
severally assigned, may then be called "comportion- 
ers", and the churches in conne^jtion with which this 
arrangement subsisted " portionary churches''. 



1.76 PORTION ART CHURCHES 

The portionary churches of mediaeval North Wales, 
which we have now to study, ought properly to be 
arranged, it soon becomes evident, in two distinct 
groups. To the first group belonged those churches 
in the case of which all the comportioners were resi- 
dentj actually serving the church with which they 
were connected, and forming within it a sort of college 
or society of canons or prebendaries. These we will 
call ''collegiate portionary churches". We shall here- 
after see that while some of these belonged to the class 
of collegiate churches common in England, others were 
of a type peculiar to this part of Wales. 

The second group of portionary churches will then 
include all those churches in the case of which the com- 
portioners were non-resident, their place being sup- 
plied by a single priest called "the vicar", who had 
undivided charge of the parish, . and to whom was, 
therefore, surrendered a portion, but seldom so much 
as a half, of the parochial revenues. The tithes were 
thus divided into vicarial and rectorial, and the recto- 
rial tithes into two or more " portions", enjoyed seve- 
rally by an equal number of sinecurists.^ We will call, 
therefore, the churches in connection with which this 
arrangement subsisted, "churches of the portionary 
sinecures". Most of the portionary churches of the dio- 
ceses of St. Asaph and Bangor belonged formerly to 
this group. 

Postponing, for the present, the consideration of the 
distinction between these two classes of portionary 
churches, let us fix our attention upon the phenomenon 
in respect of which they agree, the division of their 
tithes into distinct " portions". What was the origin 
of these portions ? And to what did they correspond ? 

We will study this problem first of all in connection 
with a church concerning which we happen to know a 

1 I have assumed above that the sinecure comportioners were all 
priests ; and I believe not merely that all of them were originally in 
orders, but also that in 1291 most of them were still so; but it is 
not impossible that by the thirteenth century some of the sinecure 
** portions'* may have been in the possession of laymen. 



OF MEDIiEVAL NORTH WALES. 177 

great deal, the collegiate church of Caergybi, or Holy- 
head, in Anglesey. This church was formerly served 
by a college of twelve canons or prebendaries. Now 
there are extant two lists, compiled apparently about 
the middle of the fourteenth century, in which are 
given not merely the names of the priests occupying 
the several canonries within the church of Caergybi, 
but also the names of those in whom the patronage of 
the said canonries rested. The patronage of each 
canonry was in the hands, we note, not of a single per- 
son, but of a group of persons, the descendants of a 
common forefather. But it is necessary to take cogni- 
zance of the details of this curious arrangement, and I 
therefore give below^ a summary of one of the two lists 

^ 1 and 2. The canonries held by Llewelyn ap Rhys ap lorwerth 
and Robert Appleby were in the patronage of lenan ap Madoc ap 
Ithel and six others, all of whom were of the progeny of Cadwgan 
ap Llywarch. 

3 and 4. The canonries held by Master Hagh Trygam and John 
ap Grono ap William were in the patronage of Mallt ferch Graffydd 
ap Eden and five others, all of whom were of the progeny of Madoc 
ap Llywarch. 

5 and 6. The canonries held by Adam Bryan and Thomas Mar- 
chant were in the patronage of the sons of Cyfnerth ap Meredydd 
and seven other persons, all of whom were of the progeny of lor- 
werth ap Llywarch. 

7. The canonry held by [Walter] Swaffham was in the patronage 
of the sons of Dafydd ap Menrig, of the heirs of Madoc ap Cyfnerth 
Goch, of the heirs of Dafydd ap Cyfnerth Goch, of the heirs of 
Adda Goch, and of fonr persons besides, all of whom were of the 
progeny of Bledrws ap Hwfa. 

8. The canonry held by Master John Gayer was in the patronage 
of lorwerth ap Einion ap Madoc Goch and twelve others, all of 
whom were of the progeny of Cyfnerth ap Hwfa. 

9. The canonry held by ..... By ggyng was in the patronage of 
Sir John Kighley, Knight, of William ap Gmffydd. and of ten others, 
all of whom were of the progeny of lenan ap Hwfa. 

10. The canonry held by Sorsby was in the patronage of 

Llywelyn ap Hwlcyn ap Hywel and fourteen others, all of whom 
were of the progeny of lorwerth ap Hwfa. 

1 1 . The canonry held by Hywel ap Llywelyn ap lenan ap Tndor 
was in the patronage of William ap Ithel Fychan and sixteen others, 
all of whom were of the progeny of Grono ap lorwerth. 

12. The canonry held by Thomas Toon was in the patronage of 
the representatives of the two progenies last named. 

5th sir., vol. iit. 12 



178 PORTIONARY CHURCHES 

named. Now it is quite clear, from the form in which 
the statements made in the list is given, that the 
patrons of the several canonries in Caergybi Church 
were the existing representatives of certain "cenedloedd" 
or " kins' V who occupied a corresponding number of 
" gwelyau", or tracts of tribal land, within the parish 
of the same. The proof, however, of this statement 
will not, perhaps, be properly appreciated by all unless 
the terms used in it be exactly explained. This, there- 
fore, will now be done. 

A " gwely" was the land occupied by a '* cenedl" or 
group of persons springing from the " gwely'' or bed of 
a common ancestor. It was at first the land of this 
same ancestor, and after his death was tied up or en- 
tailed for three generations ; being, however, shared 
equally meanwhile, in the first generation among the 
sous, in the second generation among the grandsons, 
and in the third generation among the great-grandsons 
of the original proprietor. But throughout all these 
successive partitions the " gwely" still held together, 
and was regarded as a unit, and it still bore the name 
of the first owner of it. Thus " Gwely Ithel ap Madoc" 
was the name of the land which belonged at first to 
Ithel ap Madoc, and which was still held by his pro- 
geny ; that is to say, by such of his sons, grandsons, or 
great- grandsons, as survived. I think it can be proved 
that even after the third partition the " gwely" still, 
for certain purposes, held together ; but it is evident 
that after that event the existing representatives of 
the original proprietor might themselves become stock- 
fathers of new kins, and a new group of ** gwelyau" be 
formed, or a wholly new "tref^ laid out. 

^ " Cenedl'* is the word always used in the Welsh laws for such 
a kin as is above described. This word has now a wider signifi- 
cance. 

2 A " gafael" was a theoretical landed holding, the fourth part of 
a normal "tref" or township, assumed for the purposes of revenue 
to contain sixty-four **erws** of land, and chargeable with fifteen 
pence a year *' twnc", or tax, to the lord of the commote. When, 
therefore, a "gwely'*, in being assessed for " twnc", was treated as 



OF MEDIEVAL NORTH WALES. 179 

We are now able to appreciate the significance of the 
statement made in the list, that the twelve canonries 
of Caergybi Church were in the gift of eight distinct 
** progenies". These progenies were as follow : the pro- 
geny of Cadwgan ap Lly warch, the progeny of Madoc 
ap Lly warch, the progeny of lorwerth ap Lly warch, 
the progeny of Bledrws ap Hwfa, the progeny of Cyf- 
nerth ap Hwfa, the progeny of leuan ap Hwfa, the 
progeny of lorwerth ap Hwfa, the progeny of Grono ap 
lorwerth. 

If, now, we have interpreted the statement of the 
list correctly, there must formerly have been within 
the district served by the church of Caergybi an equal 
number of*' gwelyau",or "gafaels'V called by the names 
of the stock-fathers of the above progenies. These 
"gwelyau"or ''gafaels" would bear the following names: 
Gwely Cadwgan ap Lly warch, Gwely Madoc ap Lly- 
warch, Gwely lorwerth ap Llywarch, Gwely Bledrws 
ap Hwfa, Gwely Cyfnerth ap Hwfa, Gwely leuan ap 
Hwfa, Gwely lorwerth ap Hwfa, Gwely Grono ap lor- 
werth. 

Now in the year 1353, near to the date of the com- 
pilation of the lists under discussion, a minute survey 
was actually made of the county of Anglesey, and we 
turn eagerly to the record of this survey to ascertain 
whether any of the '*gwelyau" bearing these names 
in the neighbourhood of Caergybi are mentioned in it. 
Glancing through that portion of the survey which 
relates to the commote of Talybolion, in which com- 
mote Caergybi is situated, we find " Caerkeby" (that is 
Caergybi or Holyhead) returned with " Bodewygan" as 
a hamlet of the township of " Treflowar", or Tref Lly- 

a " gafael", it was often called by that name. Thns the tract of 
tribal land inhabited by the progeny of Ithel ap Madoc (see above) 
might, nnder the conditions named, be called " GafaeV* Ithel ap 
Madoc instead of* Gwely** Ithel ap Madoo. In my History of Ancient 
Tenures of Land in the Marches of North Wales I have dealt some- 
what minutely with the ** gafael" and its contents, as well as gene- 
rally with the land system of ancient Wales. 
^ See note 2, p. 178. 

12« 



1 80 PORTIONARY CHURCHES 

warch ; and within the limits of this township with its 
two hamlets, of which Caergybi was one, three of the 
"gwelyau" above indicated are actually described, Gwely 
Cadwgan ap Lly warch, Gwely Madoc ap Llywarch, 
and Gwely lorwerth ap Llywarch. It is further said 
that in the first named " gwely" were two bovates of 
land, then escheat to the lora, and unoccupied, but 
formerly the land of Madoc ap Llewelyn ; and that this 
Madoc had a share in the election of two prebendaries 
in Caergybi, — an election which had at first belonged 
to Cadwgan ap Llywarch. We note also that among 
the coheirs to whom Gwely Cadwgan ap Llywarch be- 
longed was a man called Tudor ap Hywel ap Tudor. 
Now the name of Tudor ap Hywel also appears in *' the 
list" among the names of those of the progeny of 
Cadwgan ap Llywarch who possessed the patronage of 
two of the Caergybi canonries. We may thus be quite 
certain that we have identified three out of the eight 
*' gwelyau" to which the patronage of the Caergybi 
canonries pertained. 

Now let us turn our attention to the five " gwelyau" 
that remain to be identified. None of these other five 
"gwelyau" can be traced in the township or even in the 
commote which contained the " gwelyau" named after 
the sons of Llywarch. Let us, therefore, examine that 
portion of the survey which relates to the commote 
adjoining, the commote of Llifon, — a commote into 
which, as we know, the ancient parish of Caergybi ex- 
tended. Here we come upon a description of the t.own- 
ship of " Comissok" (Conissiog ?), with a group of ham- 
lets, among the names of which we recognise those of 
Bodedeyrn,Llechylched, DeubwU (preserved in Llanfair 
yn Neubwll),and Llechgynfarwy/ parishes in that part 
of the mainland of Anglesey which lies nearest to the 
Island of Holyhead. 

Belonging to this township, with its group of hara- 

^ I desire to acknowledge the help rendered me in identifying 
these place-names by Mr. Thomas Prichard of Llanerchymedd. . 



OF MEDIAEVAL NORTH WALES. 181 

lets, we find enumerated four other of the " gwel yau" 
we are in search of, namely Gwely Bledrws ap Hwfa, 
Gwely Cyfnerth ap Hwfa, Gwely leuan ap Hwfa, and 
Gwely lorwerth ap Hwfa ; and again, among the names 
of the occupiers of these " gwelyau'', we note several 
whose names appear again in the list of patrons of the 
Caergybi canonries. 

We have thus identified seven out of the eight 
" gwelyau" with which the patronage of those canonries 
was connected. The eighth ^' gwely", that of Grono ap 
lorwerth, cannot be identified, though we may con- 
clude, from what will be advanced in the next para- 
graph, that it lay in the same township wherein were 
situate the " gwelyau" of the several sons of Hwfa. 

Let us now recur to the eight progenies owning the 
eight "gwelyau" just described. If we take note of 
these progenies as they are enumerated on p. 1 79, we 
shall observe that the progenitors of the first three of 
them were brothers, and the sons of one Llywarch. 
This Llywarch was, we learn from other sources, Lly- 
warch ap Bran ap Dyfnwal, who lived in the twelfth 
century, and was lord of the commote of Menai.^ He 
was owner also of the *^ tref " or township whereof Caer- 
gybi was a hamlet ; a township which for that reason 
was called " Tref Llywarch"; but he is best known as 
being progenitor of one of the fifteen noble tribes of 
North Wales, — a tribe (" Uwyth") of which the three 
progenies or kins (" cenedloedd") named after his sons 
were the first divisions. The progenitors of the four 
kins or progenies next named were, in like manner, 
brothers, and the sons (as we elsewhere learn) of Hwfa 
ap Cynddelw of Presaddfed, lord of the commote of 
Llifon. Hwfa lived in the twelfth century, and was 
progenitor of another of the fifteen noble tribes of 
North Wales. Since the progeny of Grono ap lor- 
werth was associated with tne progeny of lorwerth ap 

* In the township of Porthamel, in the commote of Menai, there 
were also " gwelyau" named after the three sons of Llywarch ap 
Bran. 



182 PORTION ARY CHURCHES 

Hwfa in the patronage of one of the Caer^bi canonries, 
we may be nearly sure that Grono ap lorwerth, the 
Btock-father of this progeny, was one of the sons of 
lorwerth ap Hwfa. The one progeny was therefore, we 
infer, an offshoot from the other. 

Thus all the patrons of the twelve canonries of Caer- 
gybi Church are represented in the last resort by Lly- 
warch ap Bran and Hwfa ap Cynddelw. 

Now there is a tradition that Lly warch ap Bran was 
a great benefactor to Holyhead College. There is, in 
any case, a shield bearing the arms which have been 
attributed to Llywarch, still to be seen on the south 
side of the church ; and this latter stands, we know, 
within a township of which he was the owner. Hwfa 
ap Cynddelw is, m like manner, traditionally connected 
with the establishment of the College of Holyhead. 
Dr. John Jones, of Galltfaenan, the antiquary, commu- 
nicated to the Rev. Prebendary Tanner, before the year 
1744, the tradition that this Hwfa was the actual 
founder of the College. It is certain that Lly warch ap 
Bran and Hwfa ap Cynddelw were the owners of the 
greater part of the lands from which the tithes due to 
Caergybi Church were derived ; and I think we may 
conclude, from what has been said, that they were also 
the joint rebuilders of that church, and founders of the 
later collegiate body connected with it. This latter 
appears to have been constituted so as to consist of a 
" Prsepositus", or Provost (so called in the Valor Eccle- 
siasticus of Henry VIH, but called "Rector" on the 
capitular seal, and " Penclas" in the current Welsh of 
the time), and twelve canons; the parochial revenues 
being equally divided (see page 193) between the 
Provost on the one hand, and the body of canons on 
the other, the stipends (described in the Taxatio as 
"portions*') of the curates of the dependent chapels of 
Bodedeyrn, Bodwrog, and Llandrygarn^ having been 
previously deducted. 

1 See note 1, p. 184. 



OF MEDLEVAL NORTH WALES. 183 

In whose hands the patronage of the provostship 
(" prsepositura"), so constituted, rested, is not evident ; 
perhaps in those of the Prince of Gwjmedd,* whence 
it may have fallen to the King of England. But 
the patronage of the canonries was equally shared 
between Lly warch and Hwfa ; so that, assuming there 
to have been twelve canonries from the beginning, each 
of the foundera had the disposal of six. The patronage 
of these canonries would then be subsequently distri- 
buted among the kins or tribes springing severally 
from Llywarch and Hwfa, according to the custom of 
gavelkind, whereby all the property of the deceased 
was equally shared among his sons, — a custom which 
in Wales ruled all things.^ 

What, then, have we actually ascertained ? This, 
namely, that all the canonries in Caergybi Church were 
connected by patronage, and perhaps in other ways, 
with certain "gwelyau' within tne parish, these "gwely- 
au^' being occupied by an equal number of "cenedloedd", 
or groups of kinsfolk, who were all derived from the 
two lords of land who in the twelfth century rebuilt 
the church, or founded the college belonging to it. 
That these canons were in a real, though limited, sense 
tirihal priests we may even venture to say. 

^ Among the possessions in Caernarvonshire, belonging of old to 
the church of Caergybi, was a weir called " Cored Faelgwn" (Alael- 
gwrCs Weir), wherefrom we conclude that Maelgwn, King of Gwyn- 
edd, was one of the earlier benefactors of Caergybi. Maelgwn's 
successors may, from this fact, have acquired rights of patronage 
within the church. 

* The operation of the custom of gavelkind extended even to the 
pew which a man occupied in the parish church ; thus in an ancient 
but undated list of holders of seats in Mold Church, in the possession 
of Mr. Davies-Cooke of Gwysannau, occur such entries as the fol- 
lowing : ** David ap Joq Blethin and Griffith ap Jon Blethin have 
likewise used one seat join tlie, after the tenure of there said landes, 
houlden after gavelkinde. Blethn ap Gwin and Res ap Gwin so 
hould there landes after the custome of gavelkinde, and so there 
seat in the said church jointlye. Res ap Hoell ap Madoc and Lewis 
ap Hoell ap Madoc do likewise hould there landes after the like 
tenure, and so there seat jointlye in the said church." (^Arch, Camb,, 
1878, p. 143.) 



184 PORTIONARY CHURCHES 

The church of Caergybi, or Holyhead, is the only 
decisive example that can be quoted of the arrangement 
whereby the " portions", or some of them,^ belongmg 
to a church, were connected with the several kins of 
free tribesmen within the district served by the same ; 
but it is exceedingly likely that this arrangement will 
hereafter be found to have existed in connection with 
other portionary churches.^ Giraldus Cambrensis says,' 
in fact, without any qualification, that the Welsh 
churches of his time had almost as many parsons and 
comportioners (" persons© et participes'') as there were 
kins of chief men, that is, tribes of " uchelw^r' '{cened- 
loedd uchelwyr) in the parish (" capitalium virorum in 

^ Three of the '^ portions" belonging in medi»yal times to Caer- 
gybi Church were the stipends respectively of the priests of the three 
chapels (see p. 182) which were formerly dependent npon that 
church. These "portions" were, so far as can be ascertained, in no 
way connected with any sort of tribal arrangements, and will, in 
fact, hereafter be adduced, with other evidence, to sustain the con- 
clusion that the greater number of the " portions" belonging to the 
churches of ancient North Wales were also themselves non-tribal 
in their origin, however some of them may have subsequently come 
to be involved in the tribal organisations of the districts served by 
those churches. 

' A rather curious foot may, for example, here be recorded. The 
vicar of Pentrefoelas receives out of the tithes of his parish no more 
than a fixed sum of £5 a year. Now, not to go into all the details, 
this sum is known to have originally represented a third part of the 
tithes and obventions of the progeny of March weithian and Qwyn, 
occupying in the commote of Hiraethog a definite tract of land 
(doubtless a "gwely" or group of" gwelyau") which is now included 
in the parish of Pentrefoelas. The tithes of this tract of land be- 
longed to one of the canons of St. Asaph, and a third part of them 
was surrendered to the brethren of St. John of Jerusalem on the 
condition of their ministering within the church of Dolgynwal (now 
Yspytty Ifan) the divine offices and sacraments to the men of the 
said progeny dwelling in Hiraethog. Now without reading into it 
a meaning which it does not fairly bear, this arrangement strikes 
me as being, in some measure, a concession to the principle that 
when a group of " gwelyau" was in the possession of a single tribe, a 
special provision in respect of the ministration of the divine offices 
to that tribe was desirable. 

8 In his Topography of Wales (book ii, ch. 6), written about the 
end of the twelfth century. 



OF MEDIAEVAL NOKTH WALES. 185 

parochiH genera"). Giraldus goes on to say that these 
comportioners "obtain the churches not by appomtment 
but by succession, sons following fathers, possessing 
thus and defiling, by hereditary right, the sanctuary 
of God, And if perchance the prelate should presume 
to appoint or institute any other person, the kin (* gen- 
us') would, I doubt not, revenge the injury either 
upon the institutor or upon him that was instituted." 
Giraldus thus completely confirms the theory as to the 
tribal character of the priests of some of the ancient 
portionary churches, or of some of the priests of those 
churches, which has above> on other grounds, been 
announced ; and it seems rather remarkable that the 
real significance of the passage which has just been 
quoted has never before been pointed out. 

Giraldus tells us also, in the passage quoted, that 
the parochial ** portions", or such of them as were tribal, 
were subject to the law of heredity, " sons following 
fathers, possessing thus and defiling, by hereditary 
right {hereditate)y the sanctuary of God"; and herein 
he suggests to us an explanation of the multiplication of 
those portions. For the ancient Welsh were unacquainted 
with any law of heredity which deprived one son for 
the advantage of another. All the sons that were 
equally qualified had an equal share in the inheritance. 
If, therefore, a comportioner died leaving three sons 
that were priests,^ there is nothing to show that these 
three sons might not succeed him in his office, the 
" portion" that he enjoyed becoming divided into three 
portions, the value of each being now reduced to a third 
of the whole of the original " portion". But whether 
the " portions" were ever actually multiplied in this 
way, the records are too scanty to enable us to say. 

To sum up. We may regard it as proved that there 
was, in some cases, a connection between certain of the 
'* portions" into which the parochial revenues were 

^ It mnsfc not be forgolten that the celibacy of priests was an 
obh'gation very imperfectly recoguised in ancient Wales. 



186 PORTION ARY CHURCHES 

divided, and the kins or tribes of " uchelw^r" resident 
within the parish ; but it is not clear whether this con- 
nection was of such a kind as to warrant us in saying 
that a kin was sometimes permitted to appropriate the 
tithes and offerings due from it to the maintenance of 
a priest (or priests), who should perform within the 
parish church the religious services required by its, 
members, and act there as its tribal priest. We know, 
however, one case in which the several " portions" were 
in the patronage of the kins to which they corre- 
sponded ; and we gather from Giraldus that the com- 
portioners were generally members of the kins to which 
the patronage belonged. It seems possible^ moreover, 
that the " portions'' tended to multiply as the priests 
multiplied that were descended from the original com- 
portioners. 

We have been able to show how, in the case of Caer- 
gybi, the connection between the collegiate " portions'* 
and the kins resident within the parish came about ; 
and we can easily understand how in other cases, when 
a proprietor, owning nearly all the land in a parish, and 
paying nearly all the tithes there, rebuilt and endowed 
the church, the patronage of the " portions" already 
belonging to it should be distributed, according to the 
law of gavelkind, among, his sons, and might thus be- 
come tribal. We can also understand how, when, say 
three kins within a definite district jointly built and 
endowed a church, the revenues of the district or parish 
thus formed might, /ror/i the beginning ^he divided into 
three parts, the portions of an equal number of priests 
in the patronage of the three resident kins. But we 
know that the portions belonging to the cathedral 
churches of St. Asaph and Bangor, which form a group 
by themselves, were non-tribal in their origin. We 
know also that the " portions" belonging to the colle- 
giate church of Clynnog Fawr were non-tribal in their 
origin. We know that even the ** portions" belonging 
to the church of Caergybi itself, in thejirst stage of its 
history, were non-tribal ; and we have good reason for 



OF MEDIAEVAL NORTH WALES. 187 

believing that the "portions" belonging to a group 
which comprises nearly all the other great historic por- 
tionary churches of North Wales, and of which Llan- 
rhaiadr yn Mochnant may be taken as the type, were 
non-tribal in origin. 

It is necessary, therefore, that we should now explain 
how the " portions" belonging to the three classes of 
non-tribal portionary churches just indicated appear to 
have arisen. We shall then be able to learn what room 
there was in the ecclesiastical arrangements of North 
Wales for tribal churches, and to form an idea as to 
whether it was possible for some of the portions of the 
non-tribal churches to become in later times tribally 
connected. 

I may as well say at once, that to all the ancient 
non-tribal portionary churches, the explanation given 
in Archdeacon Thomas' Histoiy of the Diocese of St. 
Asaph on the whole applies. They were all mother 
churches; churches, that is, to which many of the 
neighbouring churches owed their first foundation, or 
upon which they were still, as chapels, dependent. If 
we wished to give them a name which should express 
this feature of them, and which should at the same 
time suggest the part they played in the early ecclesi- 
astical history of North Wales, we might call them 
" missionary churches". This is, indeed, a very good 
name to give to the whole group, and one by which we 
shall often henceforth designate them. 

The first group of non-tribal portionary churches in- 
cludes the two cathedrals of St. Asaph and Bangor. 
Inasmuch as the cathedral church of Llanelwy (known 
to the English as St. Asaph) is, in some respects, typi- 
cal of all these non-tribal portionary churches, and since 
our knowledge of its history is much more exact than 
our knowledge of the history of the rest, it may be 
fitting to give first of all a brief account of the deve- 
lopment of the capitular body belonging to it. 

The religious brotherhood out of which the Chapter 
of St. Asaph has since developed, was founded by a 



188 PORTIONARY CHURCHES 

North British saint known to the Welsh as Cyndeyrn, to 
the Scots as Mungo, and to the English as Kentigern.* 
Cyndeyrn was succeeded, as Abbot of the community, 
by one of his disciples, Asa, whom the English call 
Asaph. The members of this community, who because 
they lived according to a recognised canon or rule 
came to be called " Canonici" or ** Canons", dwelt in 
separate huts or cells within the *'llan" or enclosure 
which contained their, church. Not merely did they 
maintain the services of this church, but they formed 
what Archdeacon Thomas has aptly called "a missionary 
colony". Certain of them, being priests, were used to 

Eay regular visits to various spots in the neighbour- 
ood for the purpose of evangelising the people. At 
these spots chapels would in time be erected. When 
such chapels were built by the lords of commotes, or by 
the heads or representatives of tribes, who at the same 
time made provision for their proper'maintenance, they 
would, we may suspect, be treated as parish churches, 
the patronage of which would belong to those who 
endowed or erected them. I believe, in fact, that most 
of what I may call *' the tribal churches" were origin- 
ally chapels that arose in this way. Districts or parishes 
{irapoLKuuy neighbourhoods) would be assigned to such 
churches, which would then enjoy all the tithes accru- 
ing within the same. Chapelries that were very remote 
from the mother church might also be erected into 
independent parishes, even when no special provision 
for the continuance of the services thereof had been 
made by those upon the spot ; a permanent charge 
upon the revenues of such parishes, as well as the 
patronage of their livings, being, however, reserved to 
the mother church. 

But generally, when the cost of erecting a " mission- 

^ It may be well to say that Kentigern, the name by which Cyn- 
deyrn is known to the English, is derived from " Kentigernus", 
which is but a Latinisation of his Welsh name ; and that ** Mungo*', 
the name by which he is known in Scotland, is itself also a Welsh 
appellative, — " Mwyngu", mild and beloved. 



OP MEDIiEVAL NORTH WALES. 189 

chapeF, and the charge of maintaining its services, had, 
before the regular and yearly payment of tithes be- 
came general, been borne by the religious community 
connected with the mother church, such a chapel was 
treated merely as a chapel of ease, and the inhabitants 
of the townships served by it as parishioners of the 
mother church. 

It is not certain whether, in the case of Llanelwy, 
each of the chapelries was served at Jirst by all the 
canons of the college, each taking his turn in supply-^ 
ing them, or by a single member of that college. In 
either case the canons in charge lived at Llanelwy, and 
not within their chapelries. When, subsequently, resi- 
dent vicars, called at first **capellani", or ** chaplains", 
were appointed to the several chapels, a portion (by 
custom a third) of the tithes due there were surren- 
dered to them ; but the remaining two-thirds, or rec- 
torial portion of the tithes were still paid to the church 
of Llanelwy, and formed, with the issues of the lands 
in the possession of the college,^ the fund out of which 
the canons were maintained, and the general charges of 
the church and establishment defrayed. 

When the abbot, however, had developed into a 
bishop exercising jurisdiction throughout the whole 
kingdom of Powys, and the brethren had become a 
cathedral chapter, the demands upon the collegiate 
revenues, due to these changed conditions, appear to 
have led to an arrangement whereby half the canons 

^ The greater part of these lands belonged probably to the com- 
mnnity from the earliest times ; from the times, that is, of Cyndeyrn 
and Asa. These earliest possessions consisted, /or the most port, of 
three distinct gronps of townships and " maenols*', which formed 
afterwards the three manors of Llanelwy, Llangemyw, and Gallt 
Melyd. Within these and their appnrtenances the abbot (bishop) 
raled like a temporal lord, holding his courts and levying his rents, 
dues, and services, and having, like the lord of a commote, his three 
chief officers (" ballivi") — his forester, his raglot, and his "segenfab", 
if this last be the true name for the officer who corresponded to the 
secnlar *' cais", " pencais", or receiver. For an acconnt of these 
officers, see my History of Avcient Tenures of Land in the Marches of 
North Wales, pp. 10M07. 



190 PORTIONARY CHURCHES 

(those afterwards called "cursal") were relieved from 
the obligation of residence at Llanelwy, and allowed to 
accept benefices (the new vicarages, for example,) else- 
where, receiving at the same time a diminished share 
of the collegiate funds. A larger income was thus ob- 
tained for the remaining members of the college, for 
the precentor, the sacristan, the chancellor, the trea- 
surer, and two others {four others if we include the 
dean and archdeacon), and their continued residence 
for the present assured. 

This larger income was secured to the six (or eight) 
canons by assigning to them as stipends the rectorial 
tithes of one or more of the dependent chapels, or of a 
portion of them. Such stipends were called, in the 
ecclesiastical Latin of the time, "prebendae". The 
canons resident, therefore, so provided for, came to be 
called " prebendaries", and were the predecessors of 
those members of the Chapter of St. Asaph that were 
afterwards specifically known by that name. 

This is the state of things we find established when, 
in 1291, the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas was made. The 
church of Llanelwy may, therefore, be regarded as pos- 
sessing at that time eighteen "portions";^ some repre- 
senting the tithes of certain specific chapelries or town- 
ships, and others consisting of shares in the remaining 
revenues of the Chapter. But these '* portions" were 
in no way connected with tribal arrangements such as 
we know to have existed in connection with the church 
of Holyhead^ and with other churches.^ 

Clynnog Fawr, founded by St. Beuno, is a type of 

^ The " portions** of the dean and archdeaoon, and of the fonr 
vicars choral, are here reckoned, but not those of the bishop, and 
the vicar of Gwyddelwern. 

2 It is curious, nevertheless, that the " portion" of the prebendary 
of Llanefydd included a sum payable out of a group of ** gwelyau*' 
situate within the parish of Pentrefoelas, which were wholly in the 
possession of members of the tribe of Marchweithian and Gwjn. 
(See note 2, p. 184.) 

^ An account of other an^angements connected with the cathedral 
church of St. Asaph will be given in a later note (see note, p. 199). 



OP MEDIAEVAL NORTH WALES. 191 

the second class of non-tribal portionary churches. 
Originally, like Llanelwy and the two Bangors, the seat 
of a religious brotherhood, and enjoying, like Llanelwy, 
the issues of the township or group of townships in 
which it stood, as well as those of townships far re- 
moved from it, Clynnog was desolated by war not 
many years after its foundation, and was thereafter re- 
duc^ to the condition of an ordinary collegiate church. 
By this title we find it described in the time of King 
Edward (? IV), and again, and finally, at the time of 
the Dissolution ; at both which times a " prsepositus" 
(that is, a provost or rector) presided over it. The Tax- 
alio of Pope Nicholas mentions five " portions" in con- 
nection with it, namely, — **The portion of Master Anian 
Goch in the church of Clynnog Fawr, 9^ marks ;^ the 
portion of William Fychan and obventions, 7 marks ; 
the portion of Matthew, the chaplain, in the same, 7^ 
marks ; the portion of John, the chaplain, in the same, 
7 marks ; the portion of David, the chaplain, in the 
same, 7 marks." Now, since the last three of these five 
are the " portions'' of chaplains ("capellani"), we might 
surmise that Clynnog Fawr had three chapelries depend- 
ent upon it, and on looking into the supplement to the 
Valo7' Ecclesiasticus of Henry VIII we find that there 
were, in fact, three such dependent chapelries : — the 
joint chapelry of Llanwnda and Llanfaglan, the joint 
chapelry of Llangein wen and Llangaffo- in A nglesey, and 
the chapelry of Llangelynin in Merionethshire. There 
were, therefore, in 1291 only two comportioners directly 
connected with the collegiate church itself, of whom 
one was the provost f for it is impossible to suppose 



* A mark is worth two thirds of a pound, or 13*. 4d. 

2 LlangafiTo was really dependent upon Llangeinwen, as Llangein- 
wen was dependent apon Clynnog. 

5 We read, at the time of the Dissolution, not merely of the pro- 
vost of Clynnog, and of the vicar of the same, but also of a priest 
there, serving the chantry of St. Giles. It is possible some of the 
"portions^of other churches may have been the stipends of chantry- 
priests. 



192 PORTIONABY CHURCHES 

that the three comportioners that were chaplains could, 
if they really served their cures^ often be present at 
Clynnog to take part in the services of the church 
there. Llanwnda, the nearest of the chapels, was about 
ten miles distant; Llangelynin, beyond Barmouth, 
could hardly be less than fifty miles distant ; while 
Llangeinwen, far away in the Isle of Anglesey, was 
only approachable by sea. If the three comportioners 
were really resident at Clynnog, they must have been 
called "chaplains" because the tithes of the three chapel- 
ries were appropriated as '* prebends" to their support, 
the chapelries being actually served by curates in 
charge. I am not sure, indeed, that the six prebend- 
aries of Llanelwy are not themselves called ''chaplains" 
in a document of the year 1380. It is clear that the 
collegiate body of Clynnog Fawr may be taken as a 
type of what St. Asaph and Bangor would have been if 
they had not developed into cathedral chapters. But 
in the fact that it was endowed with the temporal 
rents of many townships, and the revenues of remote 
chapelries, it presents a complexity of conditions which 
at once separates it from the mass of the non-tribal, 
portionary churches. To find the simplest type of these 
churches we must study the churches of the third 
class. 

Before, however, we pass to the churches of the 
third class it may be well to spend a little while in ex- 
amining the history of the church of Caergybi, or Holy- 
head, in the time when it was as yet non-tribal; prior, 
that is, to its formal and final collegiation. And it will 
be the more fitting for us to do this since, in the first 
place, we have already said a great deal of the later 
collegiate condition of Caergybi Church ; and since, 
secondly, that church, while it must be placed among 
the non-tribal churches of the second class, presents 
features which connect it with the churches of the thii^d 
class, which we have next to study. 

St. Cybi founded at Holyhead a religious brother- 
Hood resembling that which St. Cyndeyrn founded at 



OF MEDIEVAL NORTH WALES. 193 

Llanelwy, St. Dunawd at Bangor-is-y-Coed, St. Deiniol 
at Bangor Fawr, and St. Beuno at Clynnog. This 
establishment was the seat of an active reh'gious life, 
and the centre from which a great part of the western 
side of Anglesey appears to have been evangelised. 
We see to this day, among the churches of the neigh- 
bourhood, relics of the connection with Caergybi Church 
which this state of things involved ; but we will con- 
fine our attention to the evidence supplied by authori- 
tative ancient documents as to this connection. 

Belonging to the church of Caergybi are mentioned, 
in 1291, not merely the " praepositura", or provostship, 
worth 39 marks a year, and, by implication, the por- 
tions of the twelve canons,^ also worth 39 marks, but, 
in addition, the following other portions : -"portion ojf 
Gervase, the chaplain, in the same church, 1 1 marks ; 
portion of Clement, the chaplain, in the same, 6^ marks; 
portion of Philip ap Bleddyn in the same, 6^ marks." 
Gervase and (element are here distinctly described as 
"chaplains" (that is, as priests in charge of chapels), 
and Philip ap Bleddyn was also probably a chaplain. 
Now we know that the ancient parish of Caergybi 
actually included, and still included in the reign of 
Edward VI, the chapelries of Bodedeyrn, Bodwrog, and 
Llandrygarn (see p. 182), now the heads of distinct 
parishes. Though these chapels are somewhat distant 
from Caergybi, tney are not so distant as to forbid the 
notion of their having been at first served by members 
of the community there seated : indeed, it is almost 
certain that they were so served. 

Nor were these, we imagine, the only churches in the 

^ In the Tazatio of Pope Nicholas the portions, of these twelve 
canons are not at all mentioned ; bat in a nearly contemporaiy list, 
hased upon this Taxatio, giving the value of all the benefices of the 
diocese of Bangor, the net revenues of Caergybi are returned as 
78 marks, the provostship being 39 marks ; so that it appears as 
thoagh the rectorial revenues of the church of Caergybi and of its 
chapels were equally divided between the provost on the one hand, 
and the body of canons on the other. We know also that each 
canonry was of the same value. 

5th 8BR., VOL. III. 13 



194 PORTTONARY CHURCHES 

neighbourhood which owed their origin to the laboura 
of the brethren at Caergybi, and which were built upon 
the sites of preaching-stations that were at first wholly 
supplied by them. But in the case of the preaching- 
stations last named, some local lord (the lord of a com- 
mote or ** maenol", the proprietor of a township, or the 
father of a tribe) having built and endowed a church, 
was allowed to nominate a resident priest, to whose 
care a district surrounding the church was then, as a 
distinct parish, assigned ; and to whom were, at the 
same time, surrendered the tithes accruing within the 
parish so formed. It was in connection with churches 
of this kind, and especially with churches of which the 
founders were also the stock-fathers of "llwythau", or 
groups of kins, that the peculiar tribal arrangements 
already described were liable to arise. 

When, however, chapels were erected at Bodedeym, 
Bodwrog, and Llandi-ygarn, this was done, we must 
suppose, at the sole or main charge of the community 
at Caergybi. When, therefore, resident priests or chap- 
lains were put in charge of these chapels, and a certain 
part of the revenues of their chapelries resigned to 
them, the greater part of those revenues continued to 
be paid to the mother church, and formed the fund out 
of which the brethren (comportioners), resident there, 
were maintained. 

The non-tribal churches of the first and second classes 
resembled each other in these two respects, that the 
communities belonging to them are known to have 
been monastic in origin, and that these communities 
enjoyed very extensive landed possessions ; so that the 
heads of them, bishops, abbots, or provosts, were not 
merely high spiritual functionaries, but also great tem- 
poral lords. 

The third class of non-tribal portionary churches com- 
prises nearly all the other great historical churches of 
North Wales, Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, Meifod, Cor- 
wen, Dinerth (now Llandrillo-yn-Rhos), Aberdaron, 
Llandinam, Towj^n, and many others. In the case of 



OF MEDIEVAL NORTH WALES. 195 

most of the churches of this class we fiad the same phe- 
nomenon to which we have called attention in the case 
of the churches of the first and second classes, — the de- 
pendence, namely, as chapels, upon the chief or mother- 
church of some of the other churches of the neighbour- 
hood.^ These chapels were, indeed, in charge of chap- 
lains,* but the mass of the tithes of the districts served 
by these chapels was paid to the mother church, and 
the inhabitants of those districts regarded as parish- 
ioners thereof The stipends of the chaplains were 
reckoned as "portions" connected with the parish. 
But when the ** portions" of the chaplains have been 
deducted, we find, in most cases, several parochial " por- 
tions" still remaining. These are the " portions'' of 
priests (residents or sinecurists) connected with the 
parish church itself Take, for example, the account of 
the church of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, given in the 
Taxatio of Pope Nicholas. This account is comprised in 
the following entries : — 

•* Church of Llanrhaiadr with its chapels, namely, 
Llangedwyn, Llanarmon (Mynydd Mawr), and Bettws 
Cadwaladr (Llangadwaladr): Portion of Grufiydd Foel, 
£5 ; portion of Gwrgeneu, £5 ; portion of Tudor ap 
Gwrgeneu, £3 ; portion of Llywelyn, 6^. 8J.; portion of 
Einion, the priest, 105.; portion of Ewyn (Owen or 
Gwyn ?), the priest, 65. ScZ.; portion of John, the priest, 
£1; portion of 'Emeystr, 135. 4 J." 

Now in this account the names of the ancient chapels 
within the parish of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant (all in 
the neighbourhood of Llanrhaiadr, and all now the 
heads of distinct parishes) are specifically given. They 

* Those portionary churches that had not in 1291 chapels depend- 
ent upon them were nevertheless, I believe, essentially mother- 
churches ; and some of them may have actually previously had such 
chapels, which, however, by this time had become independent, and 
the heads of separate parishes. 

^ In some cases each chapel had its chaplain ; in others, one chap- 
lain had charge of two chapels or even of more ; but 1 think the 
chaplains had besides an actual place in the mother-church, and 
took part, on certain occasions, in its services. 

13« 



196 ro RTIONARY CHURCHES 

are, we note, three in number. If, then, we assume 
that three of the portions above enumerated (those 
probably of the three " priests") were the stipends of 
chaplains, or priests in charge of these chapels, there 
will be five parochial portions remaining.^ Now whom 
did the holders of these portions represent ? In en- 
deavouring to answer this question we can hardly, I 
think, fail, if we take into account the case of other 
churches showing the same characteristics, to come to 
the conclusion that the comportioners of all the great 
missionary churches of North Wales of the third class, 
were, speaking broadly, the successors of members of 
ancient religious brotherhoods to the same churches 
originally belonging. These brotherhoods had many 
features in common with those that we know were 
seated at Llanelwy, at the two Bangors, at Clvnnog, 
and at Caergybi. But, in the first place, their landed 
possessions were comparatively small, mere glebe-lands; 
and, secondly, they cannot be proved to have had a 
monastic origin. The brethren composing them were 
not monks, but members of an informal, unchartered 
college or society. We cannot better describe them 
than by calling them " secular canons", a name (''cano- 
nici seculares") actually given to the comportioners 
(** porcionarii") of Aberdaron in a document of the thir- 
teenth century. 

These brotherhoods, colleges, or societies of priests 
afforded the means not only of maintaining daily ser- 
vice in the churches to which they belonged, but also 
of supplying the offices of religion at various spots scat- 
tered over a vast district surrounding them.* These 

* Three of these portions were not taxed, and mnsf, therefore, 
have been the portions of residents ; and the two other portions may 
also have belonged to residents, since, being above £4 in value, thfj 
would have been taxed in any case. It is worth noting that Tudor, 
one of the comportioners, is son of Gwrgeneu, another of the com- 
porfioners. 

2 All the churches of each of the three classes of non-tribal 
churches were thus alike in these respects, that every one of them 
was served by a religious community of some kind, and was at the 



OF MEDIAEVAL NORTH WALES. 197 

districts were much wider than the areas included in 
the present parishes of those churches, and in the 
chapelries formerly dependent upon them. I sometimes 
imagine them to be commensurate with the areas of 
the older deaneries ; those, for example, of 1291. But 
in the dues and services rendered to some of these por- 
tionary churches from other churches, independent in 
every respect save this one, we seem to have relics of 
a wider supremacy still, and of areas of influence tran- 
scending the areas of those older, but not oldest, dean- 
eries.* From this point of view the appropriateness of 
the title " missionary churches", above applied to the 
group of churches under consideration, becomes appa- 
rent. 

The comportioners connected with the mother- church 
had probably at fii-st the parochial revenues equally 
divided among them ; but after a while each compor- 
tioner appears to have had assigned to him instead the 
tithes of certain townships or group of townships within 
the parish, the issues of which were approximately 
equal. All these townships included, when they were 
first set out, much waste land. This waste land must 

same time a missionary or motber-charcb. Ifc is just possible that 
some of the ch arches of the third class were themselves originalltj 
monastic. 

^ Archdeacon Thomas has called attention to various relics of the 
ancient sapremacj which belonged to some of the churches of this 
class : " Thus, in the grant made by Bishop Hugh, in 1239, of tithes 
in Llanfair Caer Einion, to the nuns of Llanllugan, a reservation 
was made of those which were due to himself as rector of Meifod; 
and in an agreement made in 1265 between Adam ap Meuric, rec- 
tor of Meifod, and the rector of Llan fib angel (Alberbury), a consi- 
derable portion at least of the latter parish, as well as of Guilsfield, 
are shown to have been subject to the same mother-church Os- 
westry, according to Eyton, was the mother-church of the whole 
district extending from the Severn to the Ceiriog. Diuerth (Llan- 
drillo yn Rhos) long preserved a proof of its earlier jurisdiction, 
inasmuch as its rector and vicar received a portion of the tithes of 
the surrounding parishes of Llanelian, Llansantfifraid, Llanrhos,and 
Llysfaen ; in each of which it was the custom, until about the end 
of last century, for the vicar to preach two or four sermons annu- 
ally, instead of which a money acknowledgment has since been sub- 
stituted." {HisL of the Diocese of 8t, Asaph, pp. 7 and 8.) 



198 PORTION ARY CHURCHES 

have been brought into cultivation very unequally in 
the case of different townships. The value of the tithes 
attached to the several portions came thus, in time, to 
vary a great deal. And here we have indicated one of 
the many causes which led to the wide difference in 
value between the different portions of which we have 
evidence. 

The assignment, however, to each comportioner of 
the tithes of a separate township or group of townships 
led probably to another and most important result. 
Some of these townships must have been wholly in the 
possession of distinct kins of "uchelwyr", so that the 
comportioners who received the tithes of those town- 
ships must have been wholly supported by the kins 
occupying them. Now when we remember how power- 
ful these kins were, it strikes us as by no means un- 
likely that a kin or tribe was sometimes entitled to 
nominate the occupier of the portion which was com- 
posed of its own tithes. We cannot prove (the records 
are too scanty) that this ever happened ; but if it did 
.sometimes happen, we can see one way in which the 
slip of tribalism became grafted on the stock of the 
great non-tribal churches. 

It must, I think, have been in the way just indicated, 
and in the other ways indicated before, that the state 
of things came about in North Wales which Giraldus 
Cambrensis described when he said that in the Welsh 
churches of his time there were almost as many pai-sons 
and comportioners as there were kins within the parish, 
that in the seats of these comportioners sons followed 
fathers, and that any attempt made to interfere with 
this mode of succession would certainly be resented by 
those kins that considered themselves thereby wronged. 

We have now to deal with a very interesting divi- 
sion of our subject, the sinecunsm of the portionary 
churches. 

The sinecurism that gradually developed itself in 
connection with the cathedral church of St. Asaph dif- 



OF MKDIiEVAL NOKTH WALES. 199 

fered, by reason of the special circumstances and neces- 
sities of the latter, both as to its form and the condi- 
tions under which it arose, from the sinecurism of the 
mass of the portionary churches of North Wales. We 
shall, therefore, deal here exclusively with the sine- 
curism of what I have called " the portionary churches 
of the third class", and with the sinecurism of the 
tribal daughter-churches, for to the sinecurism of both 
these groups of churches the same remarks apply ; and 
we shall banish to a footnote^ such brief account of the 
sinecurism of St. Asaph as it may seem desirable to 
give. 

^ It has already been shown (see pp. 189, 190) at how early a date 
sinecurism became established in connection with half the canonries 
(those afterwards called " cursal") of St. Asaph. The circumstances 
under which the prebendal canonries also became afterwards, in 
effect, sinecures have now to be noticed. Already, in 1291, while 
the prebendaries were still resident, we read not merely of the " four 
vicars choral** who have remained down to our own times, but also 
of six other vicars called " minor vicars'*. Since the number of these 
vicars corresponds to the number of the prebendaries, we judge that 
they were the representatives of these last, so far at least as the 
daily celebration of the Mass of the Virgin, and of the Mass for the 
dead and for benefactors was concerned. Ten years later also (in 
1296) an ordinance was passed in chapter, that the dean and the 
prebendaries of Faenol and Llannefydd should find each a priest, a 
good singer, to be present at the time of divine service in the cathe- 
dral church ; that the archdeacon should in like manner provide a 
layman who was able to sing well, and play upon the organ ; that 
the prebendary of Meliden shoald find two singing boys, and the 
two prebendaries of Llanfair one singing boy each ; and finally, that 
the prebendary of Meifod should pay ten shillings yearly to the 
augmentation of the salary of the water-carrier, who shoula be pre- 
sent with the other ministers at the daily service. These arrange- 
ments seem to show that the daily participation of the prebendaries 
in the services of the Cathedral had, even before the end of the thir- 
teenth century, already ceased to be obligatory, or that they were 
released, at any rate, from a portion of the duties connected with 
those services. When, in the year 1402, Owain Glyndwr destroyed 
the Cathedral, he burnt at the same time the houses of the [pre- 
bendal ?] canons. These houses do not appear to have been ever 
rebuilt ; nor were the prebendaries ever after so much as resident, 
their duties being henceforth confined (until the scheme of 1843) to 
attendance at the meetings of the chapter, and latterly to the 
preaching of from three to five sermons yearly within the Cathedral, 
and a smaller number within the parish church of St. Asaph. 



200 PORTIONARY CHURCHES 

If the value of the " portions" belonging to a church 
(we need not now trouble oui-selves as to whether those 
** portions" were tribally connected or not) was large 
enough to enable all the com port ioners to reside, these 
latter would constitute an informal collegiate body out 
of which a fully organised collegiate body might by 
charter or by decree be afterwards created, — a result 
which actually happened in the case of Caergybi, and 
perhaps in the case of another church. 

If, on the other hand, the " portions" into which the 
revenues of a parish were distributed, became by re- 
peated division, or by the changed habits of the time, 
too small to permanently maintain the priests con- 
nected with them, these latter might agree among 
themselves, and with the bishop, to surrender each a 
definite proportion of his income to a vicar who should 
represent them all, they themselves at the same time 
becoming released from the obligjition of residence/ 

It cannot be proved that the peculiar form of sine- 
curism characterising the churches of the portionary 
sinecures had its origin in arrangements such as those 
now suggested. But that it had such an origin is at 
least a fair inference from the facts known. The 
bishops, it is probable, would favour rather than dis- 
courage arrangements of this kind. Nor is it ditBcult 
to appreciate the considerations which would induce 
them to do so. In the first place it appears to have 
been conceded that the vicarages in this way formed 
Bhould be in the bishops' patronage. In other respects 
also the arrangements .in question tended to increase 
the bishops' power and authority. The comportioners 
were used to think of their offices as personal property 
Tihat could be bequeathed to their sons, — a view in 
which they were supported, as Giraldus Cambrensis 
tells us (see p. 185), by those to whom they ministered. 
It is probable also that the obligations to the general 

^ Many of the comportioners in those parishes in the case of 
which a vicar is mentioned, are distinctly described in The Taxaliu 
i>f Pope l^ichohu as elsewhere beneficed (** alibi bencficiuti'*). 



OP MEDIAEVAL NORTH WALES. 201 

body of the parishioners, of such of the comportioners 
as were ^wo^i- tribal priests, were very imperfectly recog- 
nised by then). The desirability, therefore, of securing, 
instead of this mob of resident comportioners, a single 
priest in each parish, who, as vicar, was responsible to 
the bishop, and whose relation was the same to all his 
parishioners, is obvious. But the necessary reform thus 
indicated was not achieved without cost. The old com- 
portioners, retaining still about two thirds of their 
former incomes, became sinecurists. The cost of the 
reform was thus the formal recognition of a system of 
ecclesiastical sinecurLsm in North Wales. We shall 
presently learn what steps were subsequently taken for 
the abatement of this nuisance. 

The phenomenon of sinecurism, as manifested in the 
"churches of the portionary sinecures", must not be 
confounded with the arrangement which to ecclesiastical 
historians is well known under the name of ** appropria- 
tion". The two phenomena are connected, but distinct. 
The practice of sinecurism, and the custom of holding a 
vicar who enjoyed only a small proportion of the tithes 
of his parish, responsible for all the work of the same, 
being established, the bishops of North Wales claimed 
the right of ** appropriating" the greater part (two- 
thirds, generally) of the revenues of the richer parishes 
for the furtherance of such objects as seemed to them 
laudable, or of similarly appropriating any sinecure 
"portions" that fell to their disposal.^ Very many 
" appropriations" of this kind, for the endowment of 

^ Some of these portions, in consequence of the uncertainty as to 
their patronage (by reason, for example, of the break-up of the kins 
with which certain of them had been connected), were continually 
falling into the bishops' hands ; and the policy of the bishops, from 
the thirteenth century at any rate, seems to have been, in the case 
of the smaller parishes, to endow a resident priest with all the paro- 
chial revenues, thus making him ** rector"; and in the case of the 
larger parishes, to approJ)riate the greater part of the revenues, 
leaving the vicarial part of the tithes only to a resident priest or 
vicar in the parish church, and to the perpetual curates of the de- 
pendent chapels. 



202 PORTIONARY CHURCHES 

religious houses, and of cathedral dignities, were in the 
diocese of St. Asaph raade. At the beginning of the 
thirteenth century the rectorial tithes of Wrexham, 
Ruabon, Llangollen, Chirk, Llandysilio, and Llansant- 
ffraid Glynceiriog were in this way conferred by the 
bishop upon the Cistercian priory of Valle Crucis. 

It is evident from what has been said, and from 
other evidence which will hereafter be adduced, that 
the lawfulness of vicariousness — of doing work by 
deputy — in all but the highest ecclesiastical offices, was 
generally recognised in mediaeval Wales. This practice, 
evil as it was, was so closely connected with the habits 
of the people and with the vested interests of patrons 
and holders of sinecures, that in no other way than by 
a revolution could its extirpation be accomplished. 
But the recent complete subjection of Wales to the 
English power, and the weakening of all forms of 
authority that did not rest upon the authority of the 
English king, afforded conditions very favourable for 
an attempt to correct this evil. It was Archbishop 
Peckham of Canterbury who, as Metropolitan, at last 
took this matter in hand. The Archbishop having, in 
1283, made an official visitation of the Welsh dioceses, 
addressed to Bishop Anian of Saint Asaph,^ on the 
fourth of the kalends of July (i.e., the 28th of June), a 
letter wherein he dealt with the questions of sinecurism 
and portionary churches, pointed out some of the evils 
connected with them, and urgently demanded the cor- 
rection of them. The passages in which these points 
are handled are so instructive that they may very 
suitably be quoted in full : — " Moreover, the woi-ship 
of God, the ecclesiastical offices, the teaching of gram- 
mar to the young, and the instruction of laymen in 
faith and morals, we believe throughout the greater 
part of your diocese to be in great measure wanting. 
For the revenues of the churches are divided into por- 
tions so small, that neither are the portionaries them- 

^ A similar letter was addressed to the Bishop of Bangor. 



OF MEDIAEVAL NORTH WALES. 203 

selves able to reside, nor can the vicars support the 
burden of their parishes. True it is, according to the 
saying of the Saviour, that every kingdom that is 
divided against itself shall become desolate. Wherever, 
therefore, churches are defrauded, by divisions of this 
kind, of their due services, and the cure of souls perishes, 
or suffers manifest injury, we ordain that those divisions, 
so contrary to the gospel and to right, however they 
may have been ordained from ancient times, shall be, 
as those who possess them resign or die, in the same 

churches for ever abolished ; and, wherever 

rectors do not continuously and personally reside, the 
vicars shall be provided with a suitable portion, 
whereby they may be able to sustain the parochial 
burdens as well as the grace of hospitality, and to 
celebrate the worship of God with a due complement 
of ministers (" condigna ministrorum assistentia"). And 
whosoever shall presume to hinder you in this matter, 
let him know that he thereby subjects himself to the 
terrible curse of God (*' formiJandae maledictioni 
divinse"). 

That which Archbishop Peckham effected was thus 
the confiscation of whatever heritable property private 
persons might be taken to have in the *' portions" 
which belonged in his time to the churches of Wales. 
These " portions" were, as they fell vacant, to be united, 
so that either the rectors might be enabled to reside 
within their parishes, or the vicars be endowed with 
such stipends as might permit them to bear the charges 
that pertained to their functions. The primate plainly 
desired to give to the bishop the opportunity of re- 
arranging the revenues of the several parishes of his 
diocese, the king's consent being supposed, and, gener- 
ally, of dealing with them as seemed to him fit. But 
for this very reason the custom of ** appropriation" (see p. 
201) — ^that form of sinecurism in which the bishops were 
themselves interested — was still allowed ; nor were the 
portions belonging to the cathedrals of Saint Asaph 
and Bangor, and to the other dejinitely constituted 
collegiate churches, in any way touched. 



204 PORTIONARY CHURCHES 

These confiscations, or resumptions, of Archbishop 
Peckham, effected by the sheer power of the English 
king, together with the earlier voluntary arrangements 
before described (see p. 200), necessarily resulted in an 
enormous increase of the bishops' patronage. And 
herein do we find an explanation of the fact, that nearly 
all the ancient benefices of the diocese of Saint Asaph 
are in the bishop s gift.^ 

My acquaintance with the ecclesiastical history of 
South Wales is not sufficiently minute to warrant me 
in saying whether or not a state of things like that just 
described existed also formerly in the dioceses of Llan- 
daff and St. David's. But there are certainly no ti-aces 
of such a state of things in any of the adjoining dioceses 
of England. .There were, indeed, in England plenty of 
collegiate churches of the type to which the cathedrals 
of Saint Asaph and Bangor ultimately conformed. 
And collegiate churches like Ruthin, founded as such 
by the liberality of a single person, were much more 
common there than here. We find also elsewhere 
plenty of examples of ** appropriation" of livings, the 
provision for a vicar being reserved, as well as examples 
of charges by way of pension or endowment — often 
called *' portions" — upon the revenues of certain 
parishes. But these are not cases really analogous to 
those with which I have essayed in this paper to deal. 
There are, however, I believe, examples that appear at 
first sight to approach much more closely to our type. 
There are, for instance, two English churches that were 
served by three rectors, and a third church that was 

^ The only parishes in Wales belonging, fifty years ago, to the 
diocese of St. Asaph, that were not in the patronage of the bishop, 
Were those of Holywell, Hawarden, and Cegidog, or St. George; 
but 1 have given reasons, in my History of Ancient Tenures in the 
Marches of North Wales, for believing that the church of St. George 
was originally the " Boardland Chapel" of the lord of the commote 
of Rhos Isdulas. Properly speaking, therefore, Holywell and 
Hawarden were the only parochial benefices which were not in the 
bishop's gift. The parishes of Hanmer and Bangor-is-y-Coed, though 
in Wales, were, until the year 1849, in the diocese of Chester, 



OF MEDIEVAL NORTH WALES. 205 

served by two. But I have had no opportunity for 
studying the details of such arrangements. And 
churches so served were at any rate rare, and may pro- 
bably be regarded as a special sort of collegiate church. 
And they differed from those churches of North Wales 
of which we have in this paper treated, in that the 
rectors of these last were sometimes the representa- 
tives or nominees of tribes or family groups, or the 
occupiers of benefices that appear to have been affected 
in one way or another by the custom of gavelkind ; or 
they were sinecurists, and their places supplied by a 
single priest — the vicar. 

I should like to say, in conclusion, that the observa- 
tions recorded in the foregoing paper are not to be 
taken as a complete account of the phenomena to which 
they relate, but only as a contribution to a subject 
which deserves and requires further investigation. 

Alfred Neobard Palmer. 

Wrexham. 



SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 

Since the foregoing paper was written I have become 
aware that Mr. Skene, in the second volume of his 
Celtic Scotland^ has discussed at some length the 
sinecurism and tribal connections of the ancient Celtic 
churches of Ireland and Scotland. Of the special form 
of connection which Mr. Skene describes as existing in 
Ireland between the great monasteries there and the 
tribal institutions of the country, I have in Wales found 
hitherto no trace. Of the connection, on the other hand, 
which I have described in my paper as existing in 
North Wales between the portions of the church and 
the kins of the parish, Mr. Skene seems to have come 
across no evidence either in Scotland or Ireland. So 
far, therefore, as the influence of tribalism upon ecclesi- 
astical organisation is concerned, Mr. Skene and I have 
been dealing with two distinct groups of facts. But 



206 PORTIONARY CHURCHES 

when Mr. Skene cornea to speak of the sinecurism of 
the ancient Irish and Scotch churches, even though he 
deals only with the sinecurism of the higher monastic 
offices, he records observations which are by no means 
without relation to the sinecurism of the ancient Welsh 
churches. It seems well, therefore, that I should give 
here an account of the explanation offered by him of 
the phenomenon in question, and inquire how far the 
explanation is applicable to the forms of sinecurism 
which arose in Wales. Mr. Skene refers the sinecurism 
which he has described exclusively to lay usurpation, 
and shows that the great monastic offices — the abbacies, 
for example — ** became hereditary in the persons of 
laymen in two ways, either by the usurpation of the 
benefice by the lay chieftains from whose family it had 
been supplied, or in the family of the abbot by whose 
direct descendants the office was filled, and who ceased 
after a time to take orders." In proof of the first 
of these two forms of usurpations having taken 
place in Wales, as well as in Ireland and Scotland, 
Mr. Skene cites the passage from The Itinerary of 
Giraldus Cambrensis (Book ti, chap. 4), in which that 
author describes his visit with Archbishop Baldwin to 
the church of Llanbadarn Fawr. " It is to be noted", 
says Giraldus, " that this church, like many others in 
Ireland and Wales, has a lay abbot. For a custom 
has grown up, and an evil custom it is, of powerful 
men within a parish, who are merely designated by 
the clergy as * oeconomi' [house stewards], or rather as 
patrons and defenders of the churches, usurping to 
themselves, in process of time and as their greediness 
grows, all right, and impudently appropriating all the 
lands [of those churches J, leaving only the altars, with 
their tithes and obventions, to the clergy, the priests 
(' clerici') themselves being their own sons and ac- 
quaintances. Such defenders, or rather destroyers of 
the churches, have then caused themselves to be called 
abbots, and a title and realty to be assigned to them 
which are not their due. Destitute, after such fashion, 



OF MEDT^.VAL NORTH WALES. 207 

we found this church ; a certain old man, full of evil 
days, Ethenoweyn, son of Wythfoit [Ednywain ap 
Gwaethfoed], acting as abbot, and his sons serving the 
altar there." 

It appears, from what Giraldus says, that many of 
the great monastic churches of Wales, having extensive 
landed possessions, were accustomed, for the preserva- 
tion of the latter, to seek the protection of powerful 
laymen of the district, who thus became their patrons ; 
and that these patrons, or their descendants, pften 
appropriated to their own use the lands which they 
had undertaken to guard, covering sometimes their 
usurpation by getting themselves appointed stewards 
or even abbots of the monasteries. But this could only 
have happened in the case of what I have called " the 
non-tribal churches of the second class", and while 
those churches were still monasteries and amply 
endowed with land ; and could not have happened in 
the case of the great mass of the portionary churches 
— the churches of the third class — unless these latter 
were also themselves originally monastic and in pos- 
session of large landed estates. And even when this 
kind of usurpation took place, it extended only to the 
lands, and not to the ** portions" into which the tithes 
and. obventions were divided. So far, therefore, the 
conclusions expressed in the foregoing paper are not 
affected. But if the suspicion be well-grounded, which 
I have sometimes entertained — that the cliurches of 
the third class, or many of them, were themselves 
monasteries when they were first founded, we can now 
understand how they may have lost their lands, and 
this is why the particular form of lay usurpation just 
described has been here brought forward. 

Mr. Skene, however, describes another form of lay 
usurpation — a usurpation which issued in a variety of 
sinecurism that has a much closer interest for us. 
When in Scotland and Ireland, he says, ** the stringency 
of the monastic rule was broken in upon, under the 
influence of the secular clergy, marriage was gradually 



208 PORTION ARY CHCJRCHES 

permitted, the tendency towards the secular state being 
great in proportion to the enforced strictness of the pre- 
vious system. The natural consequence was that a direct 
descent from the ecclesiastical persons themselves came 
in place of the older system of succession, and the 
Church offices became hereditary in their family/' " It 
must be borne in mind", continues Mr. Skene, "that pre- 
vious to 11 39, though celibacy was enforced upon monks 
by their monastic rule, and upon the clergy generally as 
a matter of discipline, marriage, when it did take place, 
was not unlawful. It was not until the second great 
Council of Lateran, held in that year, declared all such 
marriages ipso facto null and void, that they became 
so ; and the effect of this, where the benefice had be- 
come hereditary in a particular family, was, instead of 
restoring the former clerical character of its possessors, 
to stereotype their condition of laymen, and convert 
them into a lay family." Thus the abbots and superiors 
no longer took orders, but " became virtually laymen, 
providing a Jit person to perform the ecclesiastical fano- 
tions, but retaining the name, and all the secular privi- 
leges and emoluments of theabbac}'." Mr. Skene only 
offers this explanation as applicable to the case of 
the sinecure abbacies and other high offices in the 
ancient tribal monasteries of Ireland and Scotland ; but 
it is impossible to avoid inquiring whether it may not 
be in some way applicable to the case of the sinecure 
** portions" of the non-tribal churches of Wales that 
belonged to the third class. According to this supposi- 
tion, the comportioners of the churches, married and 
holding their oflSces by hereditary right, would be, by 
the sudden enforcement of the law of priestly celibacy, 
converted into laymen, and incapacitated for perform- 
ing the divine offices. But the comportioners, thus 
incapacitated, would merely thereupon surrender the 
actual performance of the priestly offices to a vicar, 
whose share of the parochial revenue would be deter- 
mined by the general custom applicable to such cases, 
and would themselves retain, as lay rectors^ the greater 



OP MEDIJCVAL NORTH WALES. 209 

part of those revenues. Or the single hereditary priest 
of a parish would become converted into a lay rector 
under the same conditions and with the same result. 
I do not believe, however, that this is the true explana- 
tion of the origin of the greater part, at any rate, 
of the portionary sinecures of mediaeval North Wales, 
because it is certain that a very large number (in my 
opinion, the majority) of the sinecure comportioners 
were not laymen, but priests, that were elsewhere 
beneficed (see note, p. 176). But it is an explana- 
tion that is not impossibly applicable to some cases of 
Welsh sinecurism, and requires therefore to be here 
mentioned. 

There are two or three other obscure points which 
receive some light from Mr. Skene's book, but which 
I do not here speak of, because in the foregoing paper 
I have barely touched them with my finger-tips. But 
whenever a competent scholar shall be induced to 
take in hand the task, so urgently needed to be done, 
of making a systematic and critical examination of the 
early ecclesiastical history of Wales, he will find in 
Mr. Skene's book a guide that wUl save him from many 
pitfalls, and a lamp that will lighten not a few dark 
places. A. N. P. 



5th S8B.. VOL. III. 14 



210 



CELTIC REMAINS IN VENDOME. 

{Continued from p, 188.) 

The hill of Tr6o forms a sort of promontory, projecting 
from the line of table-land bordering the valley of the 
Loir on the north. Its southern slope rises abruptly 
from the river, upwards of 100 metres. The ancient 
town on the summit of the hiU was surrounded by a deep 
ditch and thick walls, excepting on the south, where 
rocks, washed by the Loir, made it inaccessible. The 
fortifications are of very remote antiquity, with evident 
traces of Romano-Gallic workmanship, tnough repaired 
and changed at divers epochs in the middle ages. 
Near the western gate, evidently Romano-Gallic, are 
the ruins of a little Church of Saint Michel. Out- 
side the north gate rises a conical tomhelle of an 
oblong shape, like almost all the monuments of this 
kind. It is 84 metres in circumference, and 9 metres 
in height. Another and much larger tomhelle rises 
on the very crest of the southern flank of the hUl, 
within the enceinte^ and near its eastern extremity. 
It is not less than 175 m. in circumference, and 14 m. 
in height, above the level of the Place de TEglise; 
its original height must have been lowered by at 
least 4 m., for the cone has evidently been trun- 
cated, and its platform is at present 70 m. in circuit. 
This place, which was formerly the theatre of the 
bloody rites of Druidism, served for public executions 
as late as the sixteenth century. The two tomhelles 
are exactly in a line from north to south, and tending 
from east to west in the greatest diameter of their 
elliptical bases. ^ From the summit of the grande 

1 In spots where there were two tomhelleSy they were generally 
of unequal size, and placed on the line of the meridian ; the largest 
towards the south, and the smallest to the north. Such was their 



CELTIC REMAINS IN VENd6mE. 211 

tomhelle the view extends ten or twelve leagues, com- 
prising the elevated ground of Song^, crowned by a 
lloman camp, the rocks of Ponc^, and the tomhelle of 
La Chartre. 

Tr6o was anciently much larger ; its population is 
now concentrated in the upper town, in some houses 
at the bottom of the hill, and especially in tiers of caves 
in the face of the rock. In fact, the interior of this 
hill is pierced in all directions by a labyrinth of gal- 
leries excavated in the rock, which, ascending, descend- 
ing, intercommunicating, and intersecting, may contain 
in their entire a length of many Tdlomhtres. The popu- 
lar belief extends them even to Bess^, more than a 
myriam^tre (upwards of six miles) distant, — an evident 
exaggeration ; but it is possible that there may have 
been a secret opening, at some distance, into the fields, 
as a means of escape in urgent peril.^ The average 
width of these galleries is 2 m.; height, 1 m. 30 c; ceil- 
ings flat, and cut without art. From distance to dis- 
tance we meet with large halls, or places where several 
galleries meet, of a circular form : height from 2 m. to 
2 m. 70 c. These halls were the places of retreat to 

disposition at Amboise : " Daas motas, tinam ab aqnilone, alteram 
k meridie erexit." {Lib, de Gompositione Castri Ambaziac.) ** La situ- 
ation des Champs de la Motte et la Basse Motte semble indiquer 
qn'il en etait la m^me h. Vendome." 

* We have here the facsimile, on a larger scale, of the crypt-towns 
of the East, snch as those in the Crimea, so fally described by Mr. 
Danby Seymonr in his Travels in the Crimea ; and by Pallas, Petra, 
with its SepulchreSf etc. If our crypUtowns be CeltiCy which is 
scarcely to be donbted after what CaBsar reports, they wonld seem 
to be worthy of a close examination by a philo-Druid, for they are 
the most important yet discovered, as regards extent. But what 
have become of the cemeteries of many generations of such a popu- 
lation P All the known dolmens and standing stones in Great Bri- 
tain, Ireland, and Armorica, would not cover them. Speaking of 
** the Valley of Jehoshaphat", in the Crimea, Mr. Seymour says that 
the most ancient sepulchres (for it is still the burial-place of the 
Kairite Jews) resemble " long stone coffins*\ (R. P.) There are some 
French engravings of this carneillon. The dolmens and standing 
stones could only have been for the chiefs. Bat what of the smaller 
tombstones at Cai*nac ? 

14« 



212 CELTIC REMAINS IN VEND6mE. 

which converged all the underground ways. Each 
has its proper name, known to the inhabitants of the 
country. One of these galleries ascends by a gentle slope, 
perfectly traceable up to the grande tombdle, under 
which it terminates very near the ground, for the roots 
of the trees planted on the height penetrate into it ; 
another leads to the centre of the hill, where there is 
an inexhaustible spring. Thus, here, as at Vend6me 
(supra y p. 137), the inhabitants were insured a secret 
supply of water at the bottom of the underground 
asylum ; this is now obstructed by several fallings-in 
of the earth, and water is procured from above. The 
echoes in these excavations are very remarkable, and 
whole phrases are repeated. 

All these galleries^ have their exits in the southern 
slope, where they terminate in inhabited caves. These 
tiers of caves lodge the greatest part of the inhabitants 
of Tr6o ; they communicate with each other by stair- 
cases cut in the rock, or by narrow and tortuous paths. 
These underground excavations could not have been 
stone-quarries, for such a quantity of materials could 
not have been used in the neighbourhood ; neither can 
such vast works be attributed to the middle ages, when 
Tr6o was of secondary importance; nor to the Romans, 
who had no such construction. We must, then, refer 
them to the remote age when Tr6o was the chief place 
oi?i Pagxis, defending by its strong position the frontier 
of the Cenomani. During the Prussian invasion, in 
1815, the inhabitants of Tr6o hid within their under- 
ground galleries their wives and their movable wealth, 

1 In low and level conn tries, withont stono, these galleries are 
worked in the soil. The subterranean works of La Celette, in the 
Departement du Cher, are cut in a bed of marl, and are without 
any traces of masonry ; only partially cleared out, so that their ex- 
tent is not known. It appears that an ancient cemetery covers the 
" souterrain", as there are traces of ancient sepulchres dug in the 
marl at a depth of 40 or 50 c. The entrance and two air-sha(ta 
opened into it. La Celette is about 15 ft. below the surface. The 
subteiTanean works in Kent are mvA:h deeper, according to The 
West Kent Almanae^ the only authority come-at-able since Camden. 



CELTIC REMAINS IN VENd6mE. 213 

and the foreign soldiers who occupied the village did 
not dare to penetrate them. 

Baraillon, in his Recherches sur les Monunwnts Cel- 
tiques (pp. 308, 309), describes a locality so like Troo 
as to explain and confirm the above observations. 
This also is an isolated hill in the Limousin, command- 
ing a vast extent of country, defended anciently by a 
triple enceinte, and covered with Gallic and lioman 
remains. The interior of this mountain is hollowed 
and mined in every direction, and on striking the 
ground a cavernous sound is emitted, everywhere 
indicating excavations underground. This place, an- 
ciently a considerable town^ is now a poor hamlet, 
bearing the name of TouU, signifying, in the patois of 
the country, a hole, a deep cavity. It is in Limousin. 
The ancient charters of the middle ages designate 
Tr6o by the name of ** Trauga" or " Trugus", which in 
Low Latinity have the same signification. The pre- 
sent name is simply our word trou, in allusion to the 
caves. 

After Tr6o, the most important Celtic locality is the 
hill of Lavardin, which seems to have been the site of 
a rich college of Druids. 

On the road from Montoir to Lavardin, on the right 
bank of the Loir, is the valley of St. Eloi, or the 
Recuisages, whose rivulet falls in cascades, and whose 
banks are bordered by rocks, which throughout, as 
far as Lavardin, are more or less excavated, and pre- 
sent grots strikingly like those of Le Breuil, near 
Thord. This range, very declivitous, covered with 
brambles and " buskets", is of very difficult access ; 
thus these curious grots are scarcely known to the 
inhabitants of the country, and to this they owe their 
remaining almost intact. They all open on the same 
line, at about two-thirds of the total height of the hill. 

The first we met with has been partly destroyed by 
a quarry. In the upper part is a sinuous passage 
which leads to an inner recess or dungeon, 5 m. long 
by 1 m. 70 c, wide ; in the floor is an oblong hole, 1 m. 



214 CELTIC REMAINS IN VENd6mE. 

85 c. long, by 75 c. broad, and 20 c. deep. We have 
already expressed, in the description of the rocks of 
Le Breuil, our conjectures on the purpose of these 
holes {supray p. 131), which we find in every cave of 
the same description. Grooves cut in the rock indicate 
that this dungeon was closed ; it communicates with a 
little hall lighted by a rather large arched opening. In 
the lower story, a sort of pit or oubliette ^ and a little 
polygonal dungeon, about 2 m. in circumference. The 
door is very low, and the inner vaulting scarcely 1 m. 
60 c. high. 

The next cave, which we shall call rErmitage, is 
complete. After ascending some broken steps we en- 
ter by a broad arch into a large hall, about 5 m. square, 
height, 3 m. Near the archway is a fireplace like that 
at Le Breuil, with an outlet for the smoke, and on the 
other side of the hearth an arched window. At the 
bottom of the hall, on the right, is a sort of passage, 
2 m. long, and lighted by some irregular openings. On 
the left opens an archway, 2 m. 30 c. wide, where a 
groove and some deep jagging in the rock indicate the 
place of a door with iron hinges. It is the entrance to 
a dungeon, 4 m. 50 c. broad by 3 m. deep, where we see 
a stone altar. This dungeon communicates by a 
narrower opening with a small room, almost circular, 
and 7 m. in circumference. A stone bench runs round 
it, and through a^* fen^tre qui s'arrondit gracieuseraent 
en centre" there is a fine view of the valley of the Loir. 
This cave combines all the characteristics of a Dniidical 
sanctuary, inhabited, at a later period, by a Christian 
hermit. 

The third, and smaller cave, is composed of a hall 
lighted by an outer archway, and having at the bottom 
a dungeon or recess, once hermetically closed, as ap- 
pears from the groove cut in the rock at its entrance ; 
the dungeon, with its groove, is an indispensable acces- 
sory which is not wanting in any one of these caves. 
In the hall we find a circular hole, 1 m. 30 c. deep, and 
70 c. in diameter ; a channel, hollowed in the soil, 



CELTIC REMA.INS IN VENd6mE. 21 5 

admitted a stone cover 1 m. in breaxith. We have 
already expressed the opinion that these holes, in the 
form of a bucket, were destined to receive the blood of 
the victims. Let us add that in the walls of all these 
caves have been placed niches^ which retain the notches 
cvi to support shelves^ as in a clothes-press. In short, we 
perceive a great number of holes, which appear to have 
been hollowed out in order to fix ironwork ; they are, 
especially, very numerous in the inner dungeons or 
recesses. 

This group is separated by about 200 paces from 
another which occupies the centre of the range of 
hills, and which presents to the explorer, by their 
grandeur and mysterious combinations, a new subject 
of admiration and surprise. First, a majestic arch 
shows itself half concealed by bushes and briars. It 
leads into a large hall, 9 m. long, 6 m. deep, and 3 m. 
high. On the right is a prison-chamber, 5 m. by 4 m., 
where is a hole in the jloor similar to that in the third 
cave. On the left opens a wide passage, 4 m. wide 
and 6 m. long, lighted by three archways, giving it the 
aspect of an elegant portico. This passage rises gradu- 
ally with a curve to the mouth of a sort of soupirail, 
through which the body of a man might pass, and 
which winding obliquely into the interior of the rock, 
attains the upper story, where it communicates with a 
little grot by which we may come out on the top of the 
hill. 

After this cave, which exceeds in size and pic- 
turesque beauty all the others, we find a series of 
caves resembling square cellules. The last alone is 
somewhat larger, a hall 6 m. square, deeply sunk in 
the rock ; it receives light and air only by means of two 
passages, 4 m. in length. At the bottom is a reduit 
in which we recognise the remains of a staircase which 
must have led to the upper story. But what is most 
curious in it is two soupiraux, pierced horizontally 
in the thickness of the rock which separates the two 
passages. These holes, extending 2 m. to 3 m., are 



216 CELTIC REMAINS IN VENd6mE. 

elliptical, 50 c. high and 30 c. wide. It must have been 
very diflScult to perforate so regularly these long holes 
through a very hard rock. Was their object to venti- 
late the interior of the cave ? Or ought we not rather 
to regard them as gigantic speaking-trumpets, by which 
the arch-Druid, of whom this hall would seem to have 
been the residence, communicated his oracles to the 
exterior ? 

Midway below these caves is a tiny spring, known 
as the fountain of Audude. Though not under the 
protection of any saint, a belief is still entertained in 
the virtue of its waters for the cure of certain diseases. 
Nothing, therefore, is wanting here to complete the e^i- 
semble of a Druidical sanctuary : on one side, the grand 
cave serving as temple, with its rude porch, its secret 
recesses, its bloody hole ; on the other the Druidical 
cells and the arch-Druid's cave, whose mysterious 
arrangements were calculated to inspire terror and re- 
spect. In the centre the sacred spring, whose bene- 
ficent virtues still retain faithful believers, whilst the 
temple and its gloomy rites have been for twenty cen- 
turies abandoned and execrated. 

There is still a long distance to be traversed ere 
arriving at the last cave, the only one known and com- 
monly visited, because it is more easy of access than 
the others, and because it borders on the village of 
Lavarelois, or at least that part of it which is composed 
of dwellings hollowed in the hill. It is called the 
" Grotte des Vierges", of the origin of which name 
there are different versions in the traditions of the 
country. Some pretend that it served as an asylum 
for the maids of honour of the queen of Charles VII 
during the siege of Mans. At this conjecture the 
author himself smiles. 

This name of Grotte des Vierges, like those of the 
Grotte des F^es ou des Sybils, is frequently applied to 
ancient GraUic localities which appear to have served as 
residences for the priestesses of the Druidical religion. 
Not less venerated than the Druids themselves, these 



CELTIC REMAINS IN VENd6mE. 217 

priestesses or fees formed, like them, a sort of monastic 
communities, called by the Romans "Colleges", and 
bound themselves by vows of chastity, which could not 
be broken but under certain circumstances regulated 
by the religious law. Clad in a black robe and with 
dishevelled hair, they joined in the lugubrious ceremo- 
nies of human sacrifices, and themselves performed the 
barbarous rites. 

This " Grotte des Vierges" has unquestionably been 
the abode of a college of Druidesses. It consists of two 
stories. The upper story is reached by a staircase of 
fourteen steps, round, vaulted, and cut in the rock. 
The steps are 1 m. 20 c. wide, and 20 c. high. The stair 
leads to a first hall, 6 m. by 4 m., lighted by a circular 
arched window, near which is a hearth, and in the 
floor is a hole similar to those whose dimensions we 
have given before. Thence we ascend again two steps, 
and enter by an archway, 60 c. wide, into a large hall, 
not less than 10 m. long by 6 m. deep. This hall is 
lighted by two openings, one merely a narrow soupiraily 
the other 1 m. 50 c. wide. As usual, a fireplace is 
set between the two openings. At the bottom of the 
hall is a gloomy chamber, 5 m. by 3 m., in which an 
altar has been erected ; deep grooves at the entrance 
of this chamber and of the hall establish the existence 
of ancient fastenings. This dark chamber is separated 
from the rest of the cave by an excavation 2 m. wide, 
in which has been cut a staircase of fourteen steps, 
terminating in the lower story. This chasm was 
crossed by a wooden bridge, whose planks rested on 
two scotches hollowed in the rock, and still visible. In 
short, at the end of the great hall, opposite the entrance, 
opens a winding passage of 7 m. in length by 3 m. in 
width, where the Ught penetrates freely through two 
arches in form of a portico. The lower story appears 
to have been used solely as a habitation ; it is com- 
posed of a vast hall, 7 m. by 8 m., which receives light 
by a single opening, and of a smaller room en retour. 
It is to be observed that this story was only reached 



218 CELTIC REMAINS IN VEND6mE. 

by the staircase communicating with the upper hall. 
There was, then, a system of isolation and cloister-life 
perfectly in accordance with the idea which may be 
formed of an asylum inhabited by holy virgins. 

If we reflect on the mysterious singularities of these 
sombre dwelling-places, we cannot but be struck by 
the similarity of their interior arrangements both 
at Lavardin and at Le Breuil. We everywhere find 
the Great Hall and its fireplace between two outer 
openings, the circular hole, the dark prison-chamber 
with traces of groovings and hinges to support massive 
doors, and the well- lighted passage seeming to lead to 
some secret outlet. The rigorous laws of a hieratic 
destination can alone explain the uniformity of size and 
measures, and the constant recurrence of this plan, 
which could at no time be appropriated to the ordi- 
nary usages of life. A single cave of this kind might 
leave doubts, but in contemplating this ensenwle, 
hitherto unknown, of monuments perfectly preserved, 
it seems impossible to avoid the conviction, at which 
we have ourselves arrived, that we here see traces of 
the Druids, their bloody sacrifices, and their gloomy 
rites. These are evidently the dwellings of the fanatic 
priests and inspired women depicted by Tacitus and 
Pliny, and of wnom the fairy tales have preserved, in 
the simplicity of popular impressions, vague and fright- 
ful reminiscences. 

Let us observe also that the dimensions of the grand 
dolmens are in general 5 m. by 3 m., and that this is 
also the measure of the interior retreats or prison- 
chambers of the Druidical caves. These caves were, 
then, the primitive temples of the Druid religion. 
In the plains an attempt was made to reproduce, at 
least their image,- by constructing, with enormous 
stones, dolmens and cromlechs, which were but the 
representation of the great sanctuaries of the hills. 

Many of the caves are in the way of being worked 
out as quarries. 

At about three kilometres beyond Lavardin, in 



CELTIC REMAINS IN VEND6mE. 219 

ascending the right bank of the Loir, is the singular 
village oi Les Roches. A wall of rock rises perpendicu- 
larly on the bank of the river, and closes the fine plain 
of ilontoir by a defile a few paces wide. There, as at 
Tr6o, Chartres, etc., almost the entire population has 
hollowed out dwellings in the sides of the rock, 
which is honeycombed throughout, high and low. Fre- 
quently the roof of these human burrows falls in ; 
but no one is alarmed. Should a mass of rock slip, on 
the slope of the hill, as soon as it appears to be settled 
on its base, it is hollowed out and occupied as a house. 
In the middle ages the space between the hill and 
the river was closed at each end by a ditch and a wall 
flanked with towers. These ramparts exist still at the 
east, but at the west the remains are scanty. An 
ancient bridge, straitened by the massive walls of an 
old fortified gateway, carries across the river the road 
from Vend6me to Montoir. Outside the fortifications, 
towards the east, is a very picturesque clump of rocks 
and ruins, called Les ChS^teaux de Saint-Grervais. Here, 
according to all appearances, existed the grottoes of 
the Druids, apart from the dwellings of the people. 

Between Les Roches and Le Breuil, in the plain 
watered by the brook Lunay, have been found stone 
coffins in form of troughs, and bronze ornaments of 
antique workmanship. 

La Chartre is a little town on the Loir, between 
that river and a lofty hill. On the top of this Jiill 
are two tomhelles of unequal size, corresponding with 
those of Troo, and to which we cannot assign an origin 
less ancient ; although some perceive in them fortifica- 
tions of the middle ages, of which they possess neither 
the form nor the aspect. La Chartre seems to have 
been a principal oppidum. The river, as at Vend6me, 
runs between numerous islets, united by very ancient 
bridges. 

The author speaks of Celtic medals found at Poncd, 
and of which he possesses one in silver. It is of very 
small size, and very barbarous execution. On the 



220 CELTIC REMAINS IN VENDOME. 

obverse is a human head, and on the reverse a horse 
with the bill of a bird. It possesses all the character- 
istics of Armorican coinage. Others of the same type, 
but a little better execution, have been dug up not far 
from here, at the Chateau of La Flotte. M. Cottereau, 
at Venddme, possesses some gold coins, found in the 
neighbourhood of Ternay , bearing on the right the head 
of Apollo, and on the reverse a chariot drawn by a 
horse with a human head, trampling a man under his 
feet, — a type which belongs especially to Armorica, 



Extracts frovi a Supplementary Notice. 

The Dolmen of Le Breiiil is very remarkable on account of its 
position in a soit of peninsula on the left bank of the Loir, in 
the midst of marshy meadows. The enormous stones which 
compose it must have been brought from a great distance, and 
with infinite trouble, over a spongy soil. It is a horizanial dol- 
men of large dimensions. The table-stone was 5 m. long, 3 m, 
broad, and 70 a thick. It rested on five supporters. It is in 
part broken, and the fragments are scattered around. On the 
most considerable appears the basin destined to receive the blood. 
Generally, in the fractured dolmens, this part seems to have 
been broken the first. This dolmen appears to have been sur- 
rounded by a cromlech, or circle of upright stones, some of which 
are still standing. 

The Dolmen of Langot is on the right bank of, and not far 
from, the Loire, near the road from St. Hilaire-la-Gravelle. It is 
inclined, and small, but in perfect preservation. The platform, 
on four supports, is 3 m. long by 2 m. broad ; inclination very 
great ; and the groove forms a sort of cascade from the upper 
end down to the basin. This monionent is perfectly visible from 
the road to Tours. 

In the account of the Druidical caves, p. 39 of theHisioire ("Les 
ChS.teaux de St. Gervais"), it is said that on a more attentive 
investigation of the caves inhabited by the peasants, arrange- 
ments were discoverable perfectly resembling those of the caves 
at Lavardin and Le BreuiL On the crest of the hill is a tomr- 
belle which corresponds to those at Troo and Lavardin. There is 
also a tombelle at Lavardin, forgotten in describing the curious 
rocks there. It rises on the crest of the hill nearly over the 
Grotte des Vierges, and on the outer bank of tlie ditch of the 



CELTIC REMAINS IN VENd6mE. 221 

Ch&teaux. One of the caves of St. Gervais has been converted 
into a chapel of the middle ages. Its primitive arrangement was 
like that of the cave called by the writer " La Caverne du Grand 
Pretre", at Lavardin ; but a falling-in has destroyed the interior. 
Sometimes it is called " Le Boisdan", (" Boscus Damnatus"), re- 
minding us of the infernal worship there. 

Not far from these, in the commune of Thor^, opposite the 
"Grots" of Breuil, in* a place called "Les Chateaux'*, where are 
some old ruins of unknown origin, said to be haunted by fairies, 
some diggings made in the rock, in order to clear the entrance 
into a cave, brought to light three pits {puits) in the form of 
reversed cones or funnels. Their sides, cut in the rock, are per- 
fectly smooth. Their diameter is 2 m. at the base, and 1 m. at 
the upper opening. On clearing them out, bones and ashes 
were discovered. The author noticed a pit of this kind in the 
caves of St. Gervais ; and the circular holes found in those of 
Lavardin and Le Breuil would, perhaps, offer the same form in 
their interior were they cleared out These oubliettes may have 
been destined to confine the victims devoted to human sacri- 
fices, or to receive their remains. A considerable number of 
similar pits has been recently discovered in the rocks of the 
Department of La Dordogne. At the bottom were bones, and 
in the sides stone rings to attach the captives.^ 

The Loire bathes the foot of the rising ground on which was 
erected the fortress of Vindocinum (VendSme) ; but at this spot 
it is divided into numerous branches, forming an archipelago of 
small islands, low and marshy. On the most elevated of these 
islets, and the largest, in the centre of the marsh, were constructed 
the houses of wood and earth which formed the Gallic hamlet, 
wherein dwelt the clients and the serfs, whilst the nobles and 
warriors inhabited the citadel. It is now occupied by the quar- 
ter extending from the Church of St Martin to that of St Pierre 

^ In the caves of the EZanr&n a particular chamber was appropri- 
ated to the storing away of com and food generally. Thoy appear 
to have contained ^^chambera for religious meetings**. There are 
strikiDg analogies between these caves in the East, and those in the 
West. The question as to Draidical temples and places of religious 
worship is most important. It is scarcely presamable that the Celts 
were thus shut up without provision for religious worship. What 
are the grounds for believing that some of these chambers and 
caves were appropriated to that purpose ? We shonld not forget, 
in all these inquiries, that the Celts of central Gaul appear to have 
been much more advanced in civilisation than their Armorican and 
Belgian confreres at the time of the Roman invasion. (See Bulletin 
de la Societe Geographique de la France j January 1856.) 



222 CELTIC REMAINS IN VENd6mE. 

la Motte, and is the only part of the town above water in the 
highest inundations. 

Placed between the two great capitals of the Camutes and 
the Turones, Vendfime must then have been of some importance 
as a place of passage. The different arms of the river were 
crossed from islet to islet by fords or bridges, called " Les Fonts 
Chartrains" (" Pontes Camotenses"). Nothing is more common 
in . our central provinces, on ancient Boman or Gkdlic roads, 
than to meet with long and narrow causeways, intersected by a 
series of little bridges, over marshes or rivers, at places where 
islands intersecting their course rendered the passage more easy. 

The origin of these constructions is generally unknown, and 
if we follow, traditionally, the traces of their existence, we shall 
arrive at the Celtic era. These bridges were kept up at the cost 
of the cities, who received tolls there, — an important branch of 
the public revenues. Caesar (De Bello Gallico, lib. i) attributes 
the credit which Dumnorix enjoyed in the city of Autun to the 
riches which he had acquired by obtaining a general concession 
to farm all the tolls. The city of the Camutes maintained simi- 
lar bridges at all the extremities of its territories on the great 
roads of communication. A " Pont Chartrain" is found at Ven- 
dome ; another beyond Orltens, on the road to Sens. At Blois 
is a causeway, extending more than a kilometre in length, across 
the marsh formed by the river Cosson, on the left bank of the 
Loire. On the side of Dreux, on the road to Paris, the village 
of Pontchartrain indicates by its name the existence of a simi- 
lar way, always near the limits of the city territory. 

Besides these national means of communication there existed 
secondary ones, maintained by each locality, for commercial in- 
tercourse. The bridges were placed under the special pro- 
tection of the god presiding over commerce. These were called 
by the Romans " Pontes Mercurii"; and after the introduction 
of Christianity adopted generally the name of " Bridges of St 
Michael" ("Ponts St. Michel"), for the resemblance of their 
effigies caused the name of the Archangel to be substituted for 
that of the winged messenger of Jupiter.^ At Blois a long 
causeway, in ruins, known by the name of " Pont St Michel", 
traverses the marsh on the left bank of the Loire, parallel with 
the Ponts Chartrains. Paris had also its Pont St. Michel, beside 
the principal communication (the great and the little bridge), 
between the two banks of the Seine. At Vendome the line of 

^ One of the most remarkable remnants of these ancient conse- 
crations to Mercury subsists in the name of the village of " Mont 
St. Michel, Mont Mercnre", in the Department of La Vendee. (La 
Saussaye, OHgines da Blois.) 



CELTIC REMAINS IN VENd6mE. 223 

the Fonts St. Michel commenced, like those of the Fonts Char- 
trains, at the issue of the gorge of the Faubourg St. Lubin, tend- 
ing towards the north-west ; passing over an artificial mound 
of earth constructed in order to raise the ground whereon was 
subsequently erected the Church of St. Fierre la Motte, which 
derived its name from it. 

Speaking of the commune of Naveil (from the Latin navis, 
because the Loire was here crossed by means of a ferry, where 
there is now a bridge leading to the church), it is said that dur- 
ing the Gallic era a numerous population must have inhabited 
the rocks of Montrieux. Opposite these rocks, in the plain 
where is now the Church of Naveil, were found some Gallic 
sepulchres of stone, in the form of troughs, with coins and 
ornaments in bronze.^ 



Extract from Yellow Note-Book, p. 23/' Anjou et ses Monument^*, 
by MM, Godard Faultier and P. Hawke. Angers, 1839. 

The tomhelles in Anjou vary from 15 to 24 m. in height 
There are two at Dou^, two at Viliers, two in the neighbourhood 
of Montreuil-Bellay. It is remarkable that they are near small 
towns. In the arrondissement of Beaupreau, Monfaucon for- 
merly possessed three, forming a triangle ; two are destroyed. 

There is a well authenticated historical proof that two tom- 
helles at least, in Anjou, were set up as " heaps of witness" to 
mark territorial boundaries, but not prior to the Eoman con- 
quest. 

1 " In the prolongation of this range towards the east, at the 
" Tertre de Huchepie", the construction of some earthworks laid 
open a Gallic sepulchral cave filled in by a slip. In it were found 
some bones, a sabre with a very wide blade, some Celtic stone axes, 
and in a niche hollowed out in the rock, a lamp of coarse pottery, but 
of an elegant and not common form. 



224 



ROMAN COINS FOUND IN MONMOUTH- 
SHIRE. 

I. CAERLEON AND CAERWENT. 

The coins of the Romans which have been found in the 
neighbourhood of Caerleon and Caerwent extend over 
almost the whole period of their occupation of this 
island, and tend to prove that the Second Legion was 
not withdrawn from this district till the final departure 
of the conquerors took place. It is a remarkable fact 
that no coins of the Emperor Diocletian occur in this 
locality, and the only one which bears his name is de- 
scribed by Mr. Lee as '' evidently a forgery of Carau- 
sius, for it not only bears the titles avggg, acknow- 
ledging him as joint Emperor, but it is evidently of his 
peculiar fabric." On the other hand, considerable num- 
bers of the coins of Carausius have been discovered ; 
and the same fact holds good in the neighbouring dis- 
trict of the Forest of Dean, where large numbers of 
Roman coins have been found. Probably the usurper 
had his headquarters at Caerleon, and knew that the 
Second Legion was to be relied upon for his protection, 
though it is somewhat difficult to account for the ab- 
sence of any of the coins of Diocletian, which must 
have been in circulation before Carausius commenced 
his rebellion ; and it would appear probable that he 
actually recalled the money issued from the Roman 
mint, lest its influence should weaken his self-assumed 
authority. 

The following list is compiled almost entirely from 
Mr. Lee s catalogue in Isca Silurum ; for though large 
numbers of coins have been found in this district dur- 
ing past years, no other record of them has been kept, 
and they are now dispersed far and near. A few 
years ago the land within the walls of Caerwent was a 



BOMAN COINS FOUND IN MONMOUTHSHIRE. 



225 



very storehouse of such relics, and few cottages were 
without some specimens which had been unearthed by 
their owners. Most of these were third brass coins of 
the later Emperors, particularly those of the Constan- 
tino series; and amongst those in my possession are 
some good specimens of most of the Emperors from 
Constantius to Arcadius. Mr. Till of Ty Mawr Farm, 
Caerwent, has a large number of silver and brass coins 
which have been found on hLs own and neighbouring 
farms, and amongst them there are coins of most of the 
Emperors in the following list, and some good speci- 
mens of Carausius and AUectus, one of the former being 
a new type. 

M. Bagnall-Oakeley. 



Roman Coins found at Caerwent, and described in ^^Isca Silurum": 



Brass 









saver. I. 


iL ni. 


Tot 


Hadrianns 


. 






1 


Antoninus Pius . 


. 






1 


Sept. Severus 


. 






1 


M. Aarelins Antoninus 


(Caracalla). 


This is a 






large silver coin 


, , 






1 


M. Aurelius Antoninus (Elagabalus) 






1 


Julia Massa 


. 






1 


Julia Mammeea. Plated 








1 


Alex. Severus 








2 


Oordianus 








3 


Philippus Sen. 








4 


Philippus Jun. . 








1 


Marcia Otacillia 








2 


Trajanus Decius 








1 


Herennia Etrucilla 








3 


Trebonius Gallus 








1 


Volusianus 








1 


JSmillianus 










1 


Valerianus Sen. 






! '. 3 




3 


Valerianus Jun. 






. 2 




2 


Gallienus 






. 2 


3 


5 


Salonina 






. 3 




3 


Postumus 








1 


1 


Tetricus Sen. 








1 


1 


Claudius Got. 








2 


2 


Carausius 








4 


4 


Allectns . 








3 


3 



5th 8EB.. VOL. Ilf . 



15 



226 



ROMAN COINS 



Constantinns 
CrispDS . 
Constans 

Constantinns Jnn. 
Mngnentius 
Julian us 
Helena . 
Valentinianus Sen. 



Gold. SUver. I. 



BrMB 
II, 



III. Toi. 
1 1 



Three are plated coins 



Two are plated 



Coins found at Caerleon. 
Claudius 
Nero 

Vespasianufl. 

Titus .... 
Domitianus 
Nerva. Plated 
Trajan us 
Hadrianus. The 1st brass is probably 

medallion . 
Antoninus Pius . 
Faustina Sen. 
M. Aurelius 
Faustina Jun. 
Lucius Verus 

Lucilla .... 
Commodus 
Sept. Severus. 
Julia 

M. Aurelius (Caracalla). 
Macrinus 
Julia Soeemias 
Alex. Severus. 
Gordianus 
Philippus Sen. 
Philipptis Jun. 
Gallienus 

Salonina. One base metal 
Postumus. Base metal 
Victorinus 
Tetricus Sen. 
Tetricus Jun. . 
Claudius Got. 
Quentillus. Base metal 
Probus . 
Dioclesianus. Evidently a forgery of 

Carausius 
Maximianus 
Carausius. One fine silver, one plated 



One base silver 



One silver of large size 



Base metal 



9 
1 

1 
1 
4 

2 
5 

1 
1 
1 



2 

10 
3 
8 
1 
1 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 



2 
4 

6 
2 

8 
2 

2 
2 

1 



2 
1 



2 

3 



2 

10 



1 
3 
4 



1 
3 
2 
8 
3 
8 



1 

1 
9 18 
3 
4 
3 
15 



11 
18 
1 
4 
6 
2 
2 
4 
11 
4 
8 
1 
1 
5 
3 
2 
1 
1 
3 
4 
2 
8 
3 
8 
1 
1 



1 1 

2 2 

15 17 



FOUND IN MONMOUTHSHIRE. 



227 



Allectns 






Brasg 
Gold. Silver. I. II. in. Tot. 

5 5 


G. Maxiraianus. Both plated 


2 3 5 


Licinins 


4 4 


Constantius 






1 1 


Constantinas 






33 33 


Crispns 
Helena . 






1 1 
1 1 


Fansta . 






1 1 


Constantinus Jan. 






4 4 


Gonstaos 






11 11 


Constantias 






9 9 


Magnentiua 
Decentius 






5 9 14 
2 13 


Valentinianas Sen. 






1 1 


Valens . 






6 6 


Gratianns 






1 1 2 


Arcadins 






1 1 


Constantinapolis 
Urbs Roma 






7 7 
13 13 



A larger number of Roman coins were found in a 
quarry called " Wentwood Mill", in 1860; but, unfor- 
tunately, the pot which contained them was filled with 
water, and the coins were in a very bad condition. 
They are all of the metal called billon, and were coined 
to represent silver denarii, though some of them are of 
the lowest standard, and might almost be mistaken for 
third brass. The whole hoard contained about 1,300 
or 1,400 coins, and of these 53 have been described by 
Mr. Lee. They are of the following reigns : — Gallie- 
nus, Claudius Gothicus, Postumus, Victorinus, the 
Tetrici, Tacitus, and Carausius. Of this usurper there 
are 4 coins. 



15" 



228 



ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS, 

PATENT ROLLS, CHARLES H. 
[Continued from p, 144.) 

Carpendar, William, elk., M.A., rector of Llaagellor, co. Carmar- 
then. Westm., 27 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, No. 189.) 
Carpenter, Henry, elk., Canon or Prebendary of Windsor, vice 

George Hall, S.T.P., promoted to be Bishop of Chester. 

Westm., 14 May. (14 Chas. II, p. 19, No. 28 ; p. 26, 

No. 3.) 
„ William, elk., rector of Stainton-super-Wye, Hereford 

dioc., vice Roger Braiton, deceased. Westm., 7 Jan. (12 

Chas. II, p. 1, No. 19.) 
Carter, John, S.T.B., Archdeacon of Chester. Westm , 19 Oct. (12 

Chas. II, p. 2, No. 94 ; p. 4, No. 43.) 
Chamberlaine, Edward, elk., rector of Machenlith, alias Maghnntley, 

CO. Montgomery. Westm., 12 Oct. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, 

No. 111.) 
Clarke, James, elk., B.A., rector of Fittes, co. Salop. Westm., 10 

May. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 234) 
Cleaveland, William, rector of Oldbury, co. Salop, Hereford dioc., 

vice Jeffcott, resigned. Westm., 10 Aug. (13 

Chas. II, p. 47, No. 167.) 
Clntterbuck (Clutterbucke), elk., rector of Llandrillo in Idermon, 

CO. Merioneth, vice John Taylor ceded. Westm., 11 

Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, No. 122.) 
Coke, William, elk., M.A., presentation to the first part or portion 

of the prebend or rectory of Bromyard, co. and dioc. of 

Hereford, vice John Cooke, elk., M.A., resigned. Westm., 

15 March. (16 Chas. II, p. 19, No. f ) 
Collins, John, elk., rector of Killyman Llwyd, co. Carmarthen. 

Westm., 11 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 292.) 
Comynes (Comyns), Christopher, elk., M.A., vicar of Presse, Lichfield 

and Coventry dioc, vice James Fleetwood, S.T.P., re- 
signed. Wes'tm., 24 Oct. (12 Chas. IT, p. 1, No. 97.) 
Couant, John, S.T.P., rector of Exeter College, Oxford ; rector of 

Abergelly, co. Denbigh. Westm., 4 Ang. (12 Chas. II, 

p. 3, No. 107.) 
Cooke, Thomas, elk.. Archdeacon of Salop. Westm., 7 Aug. (12 

Chas. II, p. 3, No. 103 ; p. 19, No. 62.) 
Cragg (Cragge), John, elk., M.A., rector of Wolves Newton, co. 

Monmouth. Westm., 29 Nov. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 49.) 
Creed (Creede), William, elk., S.T.B., Prebendary or Canon of Llan- 

nemch, with the corrody of Llangadoek, in the collegiate 



ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMEKTS. 229 

chnrch of Brecon, Sfc. David's dice. Westm., 20 July. 

(12 Charles If, p. 19, Nos. 131a, 132.) 
Crcsself, James, elk., M.A., reetor of Llandrillo, co. Denbigh, St. 

Asaph dioc., vice Timothy Baldwyn, LL.D., ceded. 

Westm., 18 June. (12 Chaa. II, p. 1, No. 443.) 
D.iviep, Athanasius, elk., rector of St. Lythan, co. Glamorgan. 

Westm., 4 Sept. (12 Charles II, p. 1, No. 201.) 
„ Edward, elk., Prebendary or Canon of Warthacoume iu 

Llandaff Cathedral, vice Dr. Chafine deceased. Westm., 

24 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, Nos. 174, 175.) 

„ Francis, S.T.B., Archdeacon of Llandaffe, co. Glamorgan. 

Westm., 6 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 104; p. 19, 

No. 53.) 
„ John, elk., rector of Newborough, Bangor dioc. Westm., 

17 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 386.) 
„ Randolph, elk., vicar of Myvod, co. Montgomery. Westm., 

25 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 222.) 

Davis, John, elk., vicar of Llandeway Rutherow, co. Monmoutli, 

Llandaff dioc. Westm., 20 Feb. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, 

No. 86.) 
Deare, Thomas, B.A., rector of St. Juliett's, co. Glamorgan. Westm., 

6 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. l,.No. 303.) 
Delahay, John, elk., vicar of Cloddock, co. Hereford, St. David's 

dioc., vice Morgan Delahay, his father, deceased. Westm., 

9 Dlc. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 116.) 
Dolben, John, M.A., Canon or Prebendary of Oxford, vice Robert 

Paine, S.T.P., deceased. Westm., 9 July. (12 Chas. II, 

p. 3, No. 135; p. 19, No. 164) 
„ John, S.T.P., rector of Newington-cum-Britwell, Canterbury 

dioc., vice Gilbert Sheldon, S.T.P., promoted to be Bihhop 

of Londou. Westm., 5 Nov. (12 Charles II, p. 1, No. 

79.) 
„ John, S.T.P., one of the chaplains in ordinary to the King, 

Dean of Westminster, void by the promotion of the last 

Dean to the bishopric of Worcester. Westm., 2 Dec. 

(14 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 30; p. 19, No. 14) 
Draycott, John, elk., M.A., rector of Llandeuiolin, Bangor dioc. 

Westm., 22 June. (17 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 62.) 
Du Moulin, Peter, S.T.P., rector of Llanrhayader in Kenmeath, co. 

Denbigh, Bangor dioc, vice Peter du Moulin, deceased. 

Westm., 28 June. (12 Charles II, p. 3, No. 173.) 
„ - Prebendary or Canon of Canterbury, vice Puter du 

Moulin, S.T.P., deceased. Westm., 29 June. (12 Chas. II, 

p. 3, No. 158; p. 19, No. 179.) 
Eaton, Owen, elk., rector of Corwen, co. Merioneth. Westm., 20 

June. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 440.) 
Edward, Samuel, M. A., rector of Poole Chroham, co. Pembroke, vice 

... Smart, deceased. Westm., 25 Aug. (12 Chas. II, 

p. 1, No. 251.) 



230 ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS, 

Edwards, Samuel, oik., Canon or Prebendary of Llangan, co. Pem- 
broke, in St. David's Cathedral, vice Henry GriflSth de- 
ceased. 12 and [17] Sept. (12Cha8.II,p.4,Nos.l25,126.) 

Elles (Ellis), John, elk., rector of Wolvesnewton, alias Villa Novi 
Lnpi, CO. Monrooatb, Llandaff dioc Oxford, 20 Oct 
(17 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 40.) 
„ John, elk., M.A«, Precentor of St David's Cathedral, 

vice William Thomas, S.T.P., promoted to be Bishop of 
St David's. Westm., 14 March. (30 Chas. II, p. 1, 
No. 26.) 
„ Thomas, elk., S.T.P., rector of Dolgelly, oo. Merioneth, 

Bangor dioc. Oxford, 16 Jan. (17 Chaa II, p. 3, No. 25.) 

Evance, Cornelias, dk., presentation to the second portion or lefl 
part of the rectory of Westbnrv, co. Salop, Lichfield and 
Coventry dioc, vice Thomas Mall deceased* Westm., 
11 May. (17 Chaa II, p. 3, No. 69.) 

Evans, John, rector of Llanmerewigg, co. Montgomery. Westm., 
24 Ang. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 266.) 
„ Michael, S.T.P., Prebendary or Canon of Llangynllo, in the 

collegiate church of Brecon, St David's dioc., vice 

Stall deceased. Westm., 6 and 12 Sept. (12 Chas. II, 
p. 4, Nos. 103, 104.) 
„ Walter, elk., Prebendary or Canon of Llandissillio, in the 
collegiate church of Brecon [co. Carmarthen],^ St. David's 
dioc. Westm., 4 Oct. (12 Charles II, p. 4, No. 49.) 

Eyton, David, elk., rector of Bottvarry, oo. Flint. Westm., 16 Aug. 
(12 Chas. II. p. 1, No. 279.) 
„ Owen, elk., vicar of Corwen, co. Merioneth. Westm., 30 Aug. 
(12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 215.) 

Feild, Playfer, elk., vicar of Caerwent, co. Monmouth. Westm., 
17 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 273.) 

Feilding, John, elk.. Canon Residentiary of Sali8bury,w<j«Wm. Lloyd, 
S.T.P., promoted to be Bishop of St. Asaph. Westm., 
6 Oct (32 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 9.) 

Fenton, Ralph, rector of Ludlow, co. Salop, Hereford dioc. Westm., 
4 Nov. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 131.) 

Fowkes, John, elk., rector of Llangadvan, co. Montgomery. Westm., 
17 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 888.) 

Fowlkes, John, elk., rector of Llanymowthwy, co. Merioneth. 
Westm., 6 Aug. (12 Charles II, p. 1, No. 302.) 

Freeman, Thomas, elk., rector of Hubberston and Johnston, with 
the vicarage of Staynton, co. Pembroke, vice ... BaJeham 
ceded. Westm., 25 Sept (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 136.) 

Gamage, Edward, elk., M.A., Archdeacon of Llandaff, vice Francis 
Davies, S.T.P., promoted to be Bishop of Llandaff. 
Westm., 3 Dec. (19 Chas. II, p. 6, No. 23.) 
„ Nathaniel, elk., vicar of Newcastle, co. Glamorgan. Westm., 
20 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 369.) 

I Sic. 



PATENT ROLLS, CHARLES II. 231 

Gittins, Thomas, elk., vicar of LapingtoD, co. Salop. Westra., 5 

Sept. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 157.) 
Glemham, Henry, S,T.P., Dean of Bristol, vice Mathew Nicholas, 

S.T.P., promoted to be Dean of St. Paul's, London. 

Westm., 19 July. (12 Chas. U, p. 3, No. 15 ; p. 19, 

No. 118.) 
Godwin (Godwyn), Thomas, elk.. Prebendary or Canon of Prato 

Majore in Hereford Cathedral. Westm., 10 Oct. (12 

Chas. II, p. 4, Nos. 44, 45.) 
Good, Thomas, Prebendary or Canon of Bishops in Hereford 

Cathedral. Westm., 17 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 19, 

Nos. 108, 109.) 
„ Thomas, S.T.P., rector of Culmington, co. Salop. Westm., 

23 Nov. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 62.) 
Griffith, Owen, oik., M.A., rector of Vaynor, co. Brecon. Westm., 

23 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 336.) 
„ Owen, elk., rector of Llandevailog, oo. Brecon, St. David's 

dioc. Westm., 9 Sept (14 Chas. II, p. 19, No. 173). 
*' Silvanns, clk^ vicar of Llanbyster, co. Eladnor, St. David's 

dioc. Westm., 24 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 224.) 
Gwynn, Lewis, elk., rector of Manavon, oo. Montgomery. Westm., 

3 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 422.) 
Harries, Richard, elk., vicar of Egglis Er, co. Pembroke, St. David's 

dioc; vice Philip Bowen, elk., ceded. Westm., 17 Jan. 

(13Chas. ll,p. 47, No. 90.) 
Hay ward, Roger, elk., vicar of St. Chadd in the town of Shrews- 
bury, Lichfield and Coventry dioc. Westm., 12 Nov. 

(14Chas. II, p. 19, No. 104.) 
Heylyn (Heylin), Richard, elk.. Canon or Prebendary in Oxford 

Cathedral; vice Robert Sanderson, S.T.P., promoted. 

Westm., 25 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 19, No. 95; p. 2, 

No. 142, under date 16 Nov.) 
Hicks, George, S.T.P., Dean of Worcester ; vice William Thomas, 

Bishop of St. David's, promoted to be Bishop of Wor- 
cester. Westm., 6 Oct. (35 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 4.) 
H'gg*'? Daniel, elk., rector of Portynon, co. Glamorgan. Westm., 

17 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 269.) 
Hilliard,- Thomas, elk., rector of Newton Notage, co. Glamorgan. 

Westm., 6 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 195.) 
Hodges, Thomas, S.T.P., Prebendary or Canon of Huntington in 

Hereford Cathedral ; vice Herbert Crofts, S.T.P., pro- 
moted to be Bishop of Hereford. Westm., 10 Feb. 

(13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 47.) 
Holland, Thomas, elk.. Prebendary or Canon of Pionia Parvia in 

Hereford Cathedral. Westm., 5 Sept. (12 Chas. II, 

p. 4, Nos. 143, 144.) 
Hooper, William, elk., deacon of Cleobury Mortimer, co. Salop ; vice 

Thomas Uayles, deceased. Westm., 14 Oct. (14 Chas. II, 

p. 19, No. 18.) 



232 ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS, 

Hoskins, Joho, elk., vicar of Ellesmere, co. Salop. Westm., 23 Nov. 

(12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 60.) 
Houghton, William, elk., M.A., reetor of listen, eo. Glamorgan. 

Westm., 23 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 366.) 
Hadson, George, elk., B.A., viear of Baschnreh, co. Salop, Lichfield 

and Coventry dioc. Westm., 6 Nov. (14 Chas. II, 

p. 19, No. 108.) 
Haghes, John, elk., reetor of Darowen, co. Montgomery. Westm., 

24 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 353.) 
„ William, elk., vicar of Demerehion, co. Flint, St. Asaph 

dioc. Westm., 8 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 180 ) 
Humphreys, Humfrey, elk., S.T.P., Canon of Bangor; Dean of 

Bangor, with the canonry and pi*ebend and parish 

churches annexed to same; vice William Lloyd, S.T.P., 

promoted to be Bishop of St. Asaph. Westm., 14 Oct. 

(32 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 7.) 
James, David, elk., M.A., rector of Kelrhedyn, co. Pembroke, St. 

David's dioc. Westm., 4 July. (13 Chas. 11, p. 47, 

No. 188.) 
Jefferyes, Howell, elk., rector of Bedwes, with the church of Rudry 

annexed, cos. Monmouth and Glamorgan. Westm., 

16 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 393.) 
Johnson, Martin, elk , M.A., vicar of Dylwyn, co. Heref. Westm., 

20 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 361.) 
Jones, David, elk., reetor of Maesmynys, co. Brecon. Westm., 

6 Aug. 12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 311.) 
„ David, elk., M.A., rector of Lamereing, co. Montgomery. 

Westm., 7 Aug. (12 Chas. H, p. 1, No. 274.) 
„ David, elk., M.A., vicar of Bettus Abergeley, co. Denbigh ^ 

vice Richard Price, deceased. Westm., 28 Aug. (12 

Chas. II, p. 1, No. 220.) 
„ Edward, elk.. Prebendary or Canon of Morton-cum-Whad- 

den, in Hereford Cathedral. Westm., 27 Aug. (12 

Chas. II, p. 4, Nos. 182, 183.) 
„ Gregory, elk., M.A., rector of Penderyn, co. Brecon. Westm., 

29 June. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 424.) 
„ James, rector of Kelly bebyU, co. Glamorgan. Westm., 

4 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 421.) 

„ John, Prebendary or Canon of Llanall-waith, alias Llanelle- 
wey, pertaining to the collegiate church of Brecon, St. 
David*s dioc. ; vice [Isaac] Singleton, deceased. Westm., 

5 Oct. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, Nos. 51, 52.) 

„ Rees, elk., rector of Llanvawr, co. Merioneth. Westm., 
2 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 323.) 

„ Roger, rector of Mountgomery, co. Montgomery ; vice Dr. 
Coote, elk., deceased. Westm., 11 June. (12 Chas. II, 
p. 1, No. 448.) 

„ Roger, elk., Prebendary or Canon of Trallenge, in the col- 
legiate church of Brecon, St. David's dioc: vice 



PATENT ROLLS, CHARLES II. 233 

Brookes, deceased. Westm., 18 Sept (12 Chas. II, 
p. 4, Nos. 95, 96.) 
Jones, Samuel, B.A., rector of Llandegla, co. Denbigh. Westm., 
30 Jnlj. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 299.) 
„ Thomas, elk., rector of Kevenllyce, co. Radnor. Westm., 

24 July. (12 Chaa II, p. 1, No. 357.) 
„ Thomas, elk., M. A., rector of Llandurnog, alias Llandurnack, 
CO. Denbigh, Bangor dioc, and province of Canterbury. 
Oxford, 11 Nov. (17 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 37.) 
„ William, elk., M.A., Archdeacon of Caermarthen. Westm., 
13 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 172 ; p. 19, No. 181.) 
Kiffin, David, elk., vicar of Sciviog, co. Flint. Westm., 21 Sept. 

(12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 135.) 
King, Godfrey, LL.B., Archdeacon of Suffolk; vice Lawrence 
Womock, S.T.P., promoted to be Bishop of St David's. 
Westm., 12 Dec. (35 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 5.) 
Langford, William, elk., rector of Kenchester, co. and dioc. of Here- 
ford. Westm., 22 Feb. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 84.) 
Lewies, Stephen, elk.. Prebendary or Canon of St. Herman in the 

collegiate church of Brecon, St. David's dioc. ; vice 

Richard, deceased. Westm., 13 Sept. (12 Chas. II, 
p. 4, Nos. 23, 24.) 
Lewis, Edward, elk.. Prebendary or Canon of Maghtred in the col- 
legiate church of Brecon, St. David's, dioc. ; vice Dr. 
Vaughan, deceased. WestuL, 7 Sept. (12 Chas. II, 
p. 4, Nos. 123, 124.) 
„ Philip, elk., vicar of Presteygne, cos. Radnor and Hereford ; 
vice John Scull, elk., deceased. Westm., 24 July. (12 
Chas. II, p. 2, No. 100.) 
„ Philip, M. A., rector of Presteigne, cos. Hereford and Radnor, 
Hereford dioc. Westm., 27 Feb. (14 Chas. II, p. 26, 
No. 26.) ' 

Llewellyn, John, elk., vicar of Stainton with the rectory of Johnston ; 
CO. Pembroke, St. David's dioc. Westm., 31 Jan. (14 
Chas. II, p. 19, No. 51.) 
Lloyd (Loyde, Loyd), Charles, elk., rector of Blethvaugh, co. Radnor. 
Westm., 13 August. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 284.) 
„ David, elk., B.A., rector of Llanllouchayara, co. Cardigan. 

Westm., 16 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 389.) 
„ David (of Ruthin in North Wales), LL.D., Dean of St. Asaph, 
CO. Flint ; vice Andrew Morris, deceased. Westm., 30 
July. (12 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 110 ; p. 19, No. 16.) 
„ David, elk., M.A., vicar of Llanvaddrick, Bangor dioc. 

Westm., 30 Sept. (16 Chas. II, p. 19, No. ^.) 
„ Evan, elk., rector of Gladestry, co. Radnor, St. David's dioc. 

Westm., 15 July. (16 Chas. II, p. 19, No. ^\) 
„ Humfrey, elk.. Canon or Prebendary of Ample ford in York 
Cathedral. Westm., 30 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 
131 ; p. 19, No. 79.) 

(To he continued.) 



234 



Comsipontience. 

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ARCHJEOLOOU CAIIBRBNSIS. 



Sir, — Since ic is my desire always to be as accurate as possible, 
even small errors leading sometimes to great rosnlts, the following 
particulars relating to the Leeswood Bible wiU, I hope, correct mis- 
apprehensions which might otherwise arise. 

Mr. Pbillimore assures me that he has ceased to collect rare books, 
but that the above named work was, he believes, sold by Mr. Eaton 
to some one in the north of £ngland, who sent it to be sold at 
Messrs. Puttick and Simpson's auction, where it was bonght by 
Mr. Toon, a bookseller, for Mr. Phillimore, he agreeing to give in 
exchange a Spanish Bible which he had previously purchased from 
Mr. Toon. 

After carefnl examination of the original, he has given me the 
following translation of the manuscript note on the twelfth verse of 
the fifty-third chapter of the prophet Isaiah : — 

^* Nen efe a wel Had Pa rai a estyn en dyddiau ; a 
Or, He shall see seed who (plural) shall extend their days, and 

bwriad grasol Jehofah a Iwydda yn ei law. 

(the) gracious purpose of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand. 

lafur ei enaid y gwel ffrwyth ac a foddlonir. 
Of the labour of his soul he shall see fruit and shall be satisfied. 

Rhoddaf lawer ido yn rhan ar cedym a 

1 will give many to him as a portion, and the strong (ones) shall 

rana Efe yn ysbail. 

he divide as a spoil. Louth. J E." 

Mr. Lloyd Fletcher, of Nerqnis,also kindly informs me that there 
was no connection between the families of Griffiths of Bhual and 
Griffiths of Ty Newydd. The latter place is situated opposite to 
the celebrated iron gates at Leeswood, but belongs to the Pentre 
Hobyn, and not to the Leeswood estata It is, therefore, probable 
that the memorial inscriptions were simply placed in the Bible 
when in the possession of Mr. Joseph Eaton, a local antiquary, and 
have no reference to its ownership. 

Yours truly, H. P. J. Vaughan. 

30, Edwardes Square, Kensington, W. 
25 June 1886. 



235 



ittiscellaneous Notices. 



Find op Coins. — ^A number of coins, said to be one hundred and 
twenty-five, has been dug up on a farm adjoining that named Mon- 
achty Gwyn, in Caernarvonshire, belonging to Mrs. Jones Parry of 
Aberdanant, and at a spot not far from Bwlch Derwen. Previously 
to this a curiously hard and black wooden pail, somewhat similar in 
shape to the large tin milk-pails seen on railways, having golden 
hoops, and a handle at the top, was dug out of the turbary. Both 
of these finds were made within a mile of Monachty Gwyn. The 
coins would seem to have disappeared ; but the man who dug up 
the pail has since become suddenly rich enough to purchase two 
cows, which would seem to furnish grounds for conjecture that 
coins may have been discovered by him also, together with the pail. 

H. W, L. 

A Monumental (?) Stone. — On a small farm near Aberdunant, 
named Y Fach Goch, is to be seen a curious stone having a monu- 
mental appearance. The oldest inhabitant of the hamlet of Prent^g, 
Sian Griffith, who attained her ninety-fifth year in Jane 1886, tells 
a tale thereanent to the effect that it was talked of as having much 
gold beneath it when she was a girl. It was said that whoever 
should dig down to get it would raise such a storm of thunder and 
lightning as the world has never known, and that they would wish 
they were dead. H. W. L. 

Ancient Graves under Moel Gbst. — The same old woman by 
whom has been preserved the above tradition of the treasure buried 
beneath the stone, tells also that her grandfather often spoke of 
•' the numbers and numbers of graves" that there were on the hill 
below Moel y Gest, between Morva Lodge and Tirlnontir (sic) Bwlch. 

H. W. L. 

Find op Carved Wood. — A tenant of Mrs. Jones Parry of Aber- 
dunant, living at Voel Vodel Farm, near Forth Nigel, lately pre- 
sented her with two pieces of curiously carved wood, both of which 
she stated had been picked up on the shore, near Bardsey Island. 
One has the shape of a shield, bearing a chevron charged with five 
ermine spots between four bulls' heads, three and one. The whole 
is of dark wood. 

The other piece of wood is a panel, thinner and more battered 
than the former, and was originally painted white. Upon it is 
carved a mail dexter arm issuing from a wreath, with closed hand 
holding a branch of broom, from which depends a chain of half the 



236 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

length of the arm, with a padlock engraved with a leopard's head 
at the end of the chain. The mail is of plate-armour, with vam- 
brace at the elbow, above and below which is a doable plate fastened 
by four round rivets. 

For all this information the Society is indebted to Mrs. Jones 
Parry of Aberdunant. H. W. L. 



Bishop Morgan's Welsh Translation op the Bible. — Fuller, in 
his Church History (vol. iii, p. 459), gives the following piece of 
information, which we believe will be new to many of our readers, 
as it has been to ourselves : — 

A.D. 1640. — " Towards the close of the Convocation Dr. GriflSth, 
a clerk for some Welsh diocess (whose moderate carriage all the 
while was commendable), made a motion that there might be a new 
edition of the Welsh Church Bible, some sixty years since first 
translated into Welsh by the worthy endeavours of Bishop Morgan, 
but not without many mistakes and omissions of the printer. Ue 
insisted on two most remarkable, — a whole verse left out (Exodus 
xii) concerning the angel's passing over the houses besprinkled 
with blood, which mangleth the sense of the whole chapter ; another 
(Habakkuk ii, 5), where that passage, *He is a proud man', is 
wholly omitted. The matter was committed to the care of the 
Welsh Bishops, who, I fear, surprised with the troublesome times, 
effected nothing therein." 

It is curious that Bishop Parry, who revised the Bishops' trans- 
lation, and takes, as he deserves, no small credit for his work, did 
not notice these omissions in his edition of 1620 ; for they are still 
omitted in the first portable edition, published at the expense of 
Sir Thomas Myddelton and Mr. Rowland Heylyn, in 1630, from 
which we quote the verses in question in order to show, by compa- 
rison with the Authorised Version, what exactly they were :— 

Bishop Morgan. Authorised Version. 

Exod. xii, 13. — ** A'r gwaedd fydd "A'r gwaed fydd i chwi yn ar- 
i chwi yn arwydd ar y tai He bydd- wydd ar y tai Ue byddoch chwi : a 
och chwi : ac ni bydd pla dinystriol phan wehcyfy gicaed, yna yr dfhei- 
arnoch pan darawyf dir yr Aipht." bio i chir'i; ac ni bydd pla dinystriol 

arnoch chwi, pan darawyf dir yr 

Aipht." 

Habac. ii, 5. — " A hefyd gan ei f od " A hefyd gan ei f od yn troseddu 

yn troseddu trwy win ac heb aros trwy win, gwr hatch yw efe ac heb 

gartref, yr hwn a helaetha ei foddwl arcs gartref, yr hwn a helaetha ei 

fel uffem"... feddwl fel uffem." 

We are not able to say how soon the omissions were supplied ; 
but as attention was now drawn to them, we may conclude that it 
was done at once. The next edition wo are able to lay our hands 
upon is dated 1678, and is correct; but there had been two others 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 237 

issned in the interval, viz. in 1654 and 1671, and we shall be glad 
to know whether they also have the omissions supplied. 

D. R. T. 



We desire to draw the attention of onr members to the following 
important undertaking, and we trust they may be induced to give 
it substantial support. We can speak for the suitability and excel- 
lence of the collotypes, and the Editor's name is a guarantee for the 
literary character of the series ; but at present we regret to say that 
the number of subscribers is very small. 

Old Welsh Texts, edited and revised by John Rhys, M.A., Profes- 
sor of Celtic in the University of Oxford, and illustrated with Fac- 
similes. — The early literatures of England, France, Germany, and 
Scandinavia, have been the subject of profound study and research 
in recent years, and the most important texts in each have been 
rendered accessible to students in accurate and trustworthy edi- 
tions ; but the early literature of Wales has hitherto been less for- 
tunate : indeed, there is not a single text of the more important 
Welsh MSS. of which we possess a critical edition for the use of 
students on a level with the requirements of modern scholarship. It 
is now proposed to make a vigorous effort towards removing this 
reproach by issuing a series of early Welsh texts which will approx- 
imate to the original as closely as the resources of modem typo- 
graphy will allow, and will be adequately illustrated with facsimiles. 
The volumes will be printed in octavo, in the best style of the 
Clarendon Press, so as to compare favourably with the publications 
of the Early English and Early French Text Societies. Although 
the number of Celtic scholars in Europe is steadily increasing, and 
the importance of the Celtic languages for the study of comparative 
philology is year by year obtaining wider recognition, the pro- 
moters of the undertaking appeal not only to professed scholars, 
but also to the wider circle of Welshmen, and of all who care for 
the honour of the Cymric name, for their co-operation and support 
in the work of preserving from destruction, and handing down to 
posterity, the hterary monuments of the national past. 

It is intended that the series shall embrace The Black Booh of 
Carmarthen^ The Book of Aneurin^ the Book of Taliessin, The Bed 
Book of UergeU, The Mahinogiorty and The Triads. The 6rst volume 
of the series will be a collotype facsimile of The Black Book of Car- 
martlien. Demy 8vo, cloth gilt, 30«. ; royal 8vo, cloth gilt, 528. 6d. 
By the courtesy of W. R. M. Wynne, of Peniarth, Esq., the Editor 
is in a position to offer a facsimile of this unique MS., the oldest in 
the language. It is, therefore, hoped that the response to this 
appeal will be such as to justify him in incurring the expense of col- 
lotype, the only process by which it is found possible to produce a 
facsimile satisfactory in every respect. Unless three hundred sub- 
scribers will come forward, or some liberal well-wisher offer hia 
assistance, the palaeographical features of this invaluable MS., not- 
withstanding every precaution, and the exemplary care taken of it 



238 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

by the owner, must continue to mn the risks which have overtaken 
so many of the treasures of ancient Welsh literature. All who are 
willing to help in this undertaking would greatly oblige by forward- 
ing their names at an early date, as the work can only be done in 
the summer months. 

A collotype specimen page will be sent by Mr. J. O. Evans, 7, 
Clarendon Villas, Oxford, on receipt of six penny stamps. 



Plas Mawr, Conwt. — This Elizabethan mansion was buDt in 
A.D. 1576-80, by Robert Wynne, son of John Wynne of Gwydyr, and 
uncle of Sir John Wynne, the historian, and subsequently became 
the property of the Mostyn family. As the house, which has now 
become the home of the Royal Cambrian Academy of Arts, is one of 
the moat unique and well preserved specimens of Elizabethan archi- 
tecture in the country, and is historically connected with many of 
the oldest families in North Wales, it deserves to be more generally 
known, and to be preserved in an enduring record. With this view 
a monograph has been prepared by Arthur Baker and Herbert 
Baker, the Architects of the Academy, of 14, Warwick Gkirdens, 
Kensington, London, consisting of a descriptive and historical 
account, and illustrated by twenty-two plates, including views, 
plans, and details of every feature of interest, carefully and accu- 
rately delineated by the authors from their sketches and measure- 
ments, and reproduced in facsimile by photo-lithography. 

Having seen some of the specimen illustrations, we have much 
pleasure in recommending Mr. Baker's proposed work. The size 
will be about 15 ins. by 11 ins., and the price, we believe, £1. 



"Llyfr Gwerneioron" (Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 14,935).— Under 
the above title is given a *' miscellaneous collection by Lewis Mor- 
ris." The Llyfr Owemeigron itself does not form a part of the con- 
tents, only, as will be seen in folios 135-145, " an account of the 
authors and poems in the transcript made by W. Morris out of it, 
the names of men and places mentioned, and some observations by 
L. Morris on some words in the poeras." Gwemeigron is an old 
mansion in the parish of St. Asaph, and in the seventeenth century 
was the residence of the Conways, a branch of the fiewiily of the 
Conways of Bodrhyddan. 

The principal contents of the MS. are as follow : — List of Welsh 
words omitted by Dr. Davios and Mr. Llwyd, f. 2 ; index of the 
contents of the volume called Priffeirdd Gymreig (Add. 14,867), f. 
8 ; index of the contents of the volume called Y Delyn Ledr (Add. 
14,873), f. 10b ; vocabularies of Welsh terms, arranged under heads, 
with English explanations, f. 11 ; British measures, g^mes, ancient 
oflBcers of state, eponyms, etc., f. 16 ; letter from tfohn Morgan to 
Moses Williams respecting a collection of Welsh proverbs, 13 May 
1714, f. 20; catalogue of the British names of plants, out of John- 
son's Herbal, 1663, f. 21 ; Welsh poem by Morgan Herbert, with his 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 239 

epitaph, in Welsh^ Latin^ and English, and pedigree, f. 22 ; ancient 
Welsh paraphrase of the beginning of Genesis, f. 25 ; extracts from 
a Welsh MS. of William Jones, entitled " Casgliad didrefn", ff. 29, 
34b, 42 ; proportion of the letters of the alphabet in English names, 
f. 30 ; history of the poetical contest between Edmund Prys, Arch- 
deacon of Merionethshire, and William Cynwal, poet, f. 33 ; Welsh 
poems by Anenrin, f. 35 ; list of aathorities used in compih'ng a 
book of pedigrees at Llanerch, 1761, f. 37; list of Welsh popular 
melodies, with the first lines of each, contained in a MS. at Maes y 
Forth, f. 38 ; accounts of, and extracts from, Welsh MSS. in the 
Mostyn and Llanerch Libraries and elsewhere, containing the ** Brut 
y Brenhinoedd", ff. 39, 43b, 46b, 50b ; " A true character of the de- 
portment of the principal gentiy for these 18 years last past, within 
the connties of Caermarthen, Pembroke, and Cardigan", by Colonel 
John Jones, f. 48 ; contents of Lord Powis' cabinet of fossils, etc., 
collected by L. Morris, f. 54 ; draughts of the* great double micro- 
scope, f. 53b ; vocabulary of words wherein the Welsh and Irish 
agree, and which the Armoric Dictionary hath not, f. 57 ; the Armo- 
ric-English Vocabulary in Llwyd's Arch, Brit, compared with the 
Welsh and Irish^ f. 73 ; the rivers of Wales, from Sforden*s maps, 
f. 106 ; copies of several ancient Latin grants of lands in Wales, 
f. 116 ; Welsh poems by Gwalchmai ab Meilyr, Kyndelw, Gwyn- 
vardd Brycheiniawg, Llywarch Prydydd y Moch, and Einiawn 
Waan, chiefly in the handwriting of Will Morris, ff. 121, 127b ; the 
ancient cities of Britain, out of Nennius, The Triads, etc., ff. 127, 
200b, 211 ; Welsh poems by Meilyr Brydyt, with an English trans- 
lation by L. Morris, f. 130; the "Hoiane neu Borchellane" of 
Merddin, with various readings and illustration s# f. 131 ; an account 
of the authors and poems in the transcript made by W. Morris out 
of the Llyfr Owemeigron, f. 135 ; names of men and places and 
people in the poems in the forementioned catalogue, f. 139 ; observ- 
ations by L. Morris on some words in the above poems, f. 1 43 ; 
radicals in the Celtic, f. 145 ; names of the months in Welsh, Cornish, 
Armoric, and Irish, f. 147 ; Mr. Jas. Morgan's etymons of Welsh 
words, f. 148 ; the names of the British kings in Tyssilio's history, 
compared with Ponticus Virunnius and the three editions of Gal- 
frid's translation, ff. 150, 160 ; an hypothetical history of Britain's 
first discovery, plantation, colonies, etc., f. 157b; portion of "A 
Dialogue between an English and a Cambro-Briton in Relation to 
the History and Antiquities of Great Britain", f. 164 ; notes on 
Galfridus compared with the Welsh copies, f. 166 ; vocabulary, in 
Welsh, of things that necessarily received names after the confusion 
of Babel, f. 169 ; queries upon the Welsh language by R. Morris, f. 
173 ; " englyns" and short poems by Richard Phylips, Gruffudd 
Llwydd ap Davydd ap Eignion, Llywarch Hen, f. 174; letter 

f'ving an account of the burning of a Hindoo widow at Mnxadabad, 
175; ancient Welsh genealogies from various MSS., f. 177; list 
of English historians who agree with or differ from Geoffrey of 
Monmouth, or remain neuter, f. 199 ; remarks on the name of Bri- 



240 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

tain, and names of reproach among the Britons, by L. Morris, f. 
203 ; inquiries to be made in every parish in relation to the natural 
history, antiquities, etc., ff. 204, 209; copy of an Inspeximus from 
Edward I to Roger Mortimer, containing the boundaries of the lord- 
ship of Genen'r Glyn, dat. 28 Jan. ao. 11 [1283], Lat ; a catalogue 
of the hdds, trivs^ and caers in Anglesey, f. 219 ; a panegyric on 
Dr. De Linden, 213 ; Mr. Jones of Llanegryn's etymons, in answer 
to Mr. Pegge's queries, 1759, f. 225. Folio. [14,935.] 



%rt\iuak$'a €nmktm\s. 



FIFTH SERIES.— VOL. Ill, NO. XIL 



OCTOBER 1886. 



TINTERN ABBEY. 



The Abbey of Tiutem is generally allowed to be the 
most picturesque of all our monastic ruins. It is also 
the one in which we can best study the architecture 
and general arrangement of a mediaeval Religious 
House. The materials for a history of the community 
that occupied it are few ; but the more important of 
those questions which arise as to the practice of the 
monastic orders in relation to their buildings may be 
pretty fully satisfied by a careful examination of these 
remains. I will, therefore, address myself principally 
to such questions, and to the position of this Abbey in 
the history of mediaeval architecture. 

Tintern was a house of Cistercian monks ; so called 
because they were first established at Ctteaux, in Bur- 
gundy, in 1098, as a reformed branch of the Order of 
St. Benedict. They chose solitary places, and prac- 
tised an exceedingly rigorous discipline, became greatly 
celebrated for holiness of life, and spread rapidly over 
Christendom ; this being one of their earlier settle- 
ments, and the third of those established by them in 
this country. It was founded in 1131 by Walter de 
Clare, who then held this district. It was further en- 
dowed by his successors, and was their usual burying- 
place. Although nothing remains of the original build- 
ings, we cannot doubt that they were similar to those 

5th skr., vol. III. 16 



242 TINTERN ABBEY. 

which everywhere characterised the Cistercian Order ; 
and the peculiarities in arrangement which we should 
expect to find in one of their monasteries are clearly 
visible in the buildings that now exist. The site was 
between the river Wye and the old road or trackway 
that then existed along the valley. This road may still 
be traced outside the old enclosing wall of the Abbey 
precinct, which is stated to have measured 34 acres, 
within which enclosure would be, besides the Abbey 
church and the attached buildings, the chief farm- 
buildings, storehouses, mills, workshops, guest-house, 
infirmary, and almonry ; everything that was required 
in such an establishment being kept under the eye of 
the Abbot. It should be noted that the cloister and 
the buildings in which the monks lived were placed on 
the north side of the church, although that would be 
the cold side. They were so placed, as in many other 
instances, to be away from the road, for quietude, and 
near the river for facility of drainage. Where these 
objects could be gained by placing those buildings on 
the south side of the church, that arrangement was 
always preferred. 

Entering the church by the western doorway (which 
we have not failed to notice as one of the most beauti- 
ful examples of such an entrance that exists), w^e ob- 
tain the best general view of the whole building. It 
consists of a nave and chancel, both having aisles; and 
a transept, which has an aisle on its eastern side only. 
Although the vaulting has entirely disappeared, toge- 
ther with the piers and arches on the north side of the 
nave, the work that remains sufficiently shows the 
whole design as it was originally built. The "nova 
ecclesia" was provided by Roger Bigod, whose family 
had succeeded, by marriage, to the possessions of this 
branch of the family of De Clare. Tne date of its com- 
mencement was 1269, the first service was held within 
it in 1287, and Mass was first celebrated in the choir 
on October 5th, 1288. We have these particulars from 
the Chronicle of William of Worcester, who, while visit- 



TINTERN ABBKY. 243 

ing the Monastery, noted its principal dimensions, and 
the leading facts in its history. 

The church would thus be finished towards the end 
of the thirteenth century. It was the last part of the 
work done in the complete rebuilding of the Abbey, as 
we shall see when we come to the cloister-buildings, 
which clearly show the transition from the severe forms 
of early thirteenth century architecture to the lighter 
and more ornate features of the latter part of that cen- 
tury, . The window-tracery in the church, which is 
some of the most beautiful in this country, is a rather 
early example of the geometrical tracery which came 
into full use soon after Tintern was begun, but which 
was first exhibited in the choir and transept of West- 
minster Abbey, — a work that was completed in 1169, 
the year of the commencement of this church. 

In proceeding to examine the church we observe 
that the early Cistercian arrangement is here carried 
out on a greatly extended scale. All the earlier churches 
of the Order had very short chancels, two bays only in 
length, and without chancel-aisles. Each arm of the 
transept had two chapels projecting towards the east, 
80 that there was a principal altar and four smaller 
altars in the part of the church which was used by the 
monks. I have shown this arrangement in the conjec- 
tural plan, which, for reasons to be given, I have drawn 
on the ground-plan of the existing building. But this 
new church has a very fine chancel of four bays in 
length, furnished with aisles ; so that there were two 
minor altars at the end of the chancel (the piscina 
of the southern one still existing in an altered condi- 
tion), besides the principal altar. There were also the 
usual pair of small chapels on the eastern side of each 
arm of the transept; but instead of being low, project- 
ing buildings, they stood in the lofty aisle, and were 
divided oif by tall screens ; the stone screen being a 
feature that we shall see greatly employed for marking 
out the various parts of this church. Thus the chancel 
(using the word to distinguish the eastern arm of the 

16» 



244 TINTEllN ABBEY. 

church) was divided from each of its aisles by a tall 
screen, marking off what we may call the presbytery 
from the two side-aisles used as chapels. Whether 
there were any doorways in these screens, or not, we 
Ciinnot discover, but it is probable that there were. 

The stalls of the monks would extend westward as 
far iis the first of the ordinaiy piers in the nave, the 
stone screens extending down the nave as well as the 
chancel. Openings, marked D and E on the plan, were 
left for a thoroughfare across the chancel to the south 
aisle. 

At c was a massive stone screen crossing the nave, 
and having a doorway in the middle, with a stair- 
case. In Potters plan (published in 1847) the remains 
of this are shown, and I saw them in 1854. A still 
more massive screen may be traced at Jervaulx Abbey, 
where there are some indications of this mode of 
dividing the church by stone screens. Clear remains of 
screens also exist between the nave- piers at Fountains 
and Build was, and between the eastern chapels at Dore. 
They furnish very important indications of the way in 
which the different classes who worshipped in a church 
of the Cistercian Order were accommodated. Thus the 
monks, who were bound to attend the whole of the 
services required by the rule of the church, would 
descend from their dormitory to the night services by 
the staircase in the north transept, marked a, and pro- 
ceed by the opening, D, to the choir ; and for the day 
services they would enter the church by the doorway, 
B, direct from the cloister. For the service of the Mass 
they would have ready access to the altars in the north 
transept and the adjacent aisle of the chancel, besides 
the principal altars, without being observed from any 
other part of the church. The lay brethren, who w^ere 
illiterate men under monastic vows, but devoted to the 
out-door work of the establishment, occupied the build- 
ings nearest to the north-western angle of the nave, 
and they would enter for their morning and evening 
service by the curiously splayed passage, marked I, 



TINTERN ABBEY. 245 

formed in that angle. The novices (if any were re- 
ceived) would enter by the same door ; and both these 
classes are known to have had their regular places in 
the western part of the nave, to which they would pass 
under the arch, H, from which the screen was omitted. 
It will be observed that the south aisle is entirely shut 
off from the nave, the opening, G, having been fitted 
with a door. The opening, e, which was the only 
entrance from the choir to the south transept, would 
be easily controlled ; so that practically the whole of 
the southern side of the church might be used, when 
necessary, by persons not belonging to the establish- 
ment without any interference with the monks or lay 
brothers. 

Among those who would want to attend the ser- 
vices in the church would be the guests, who might be 
persons of distinction entertained by the Abbot, or 
travellers using the Abbey as the only place where they 
could be lodged for a night, or those who, as pilgrims, 
had made a special journey with the object of worship- 
ping here. Any house built for their entertainment 
would be near the west end of the church, and the 
door marked J would most conveniently admit them to 
the south aisle. The door, K, in the south transept, 
might admit these or other persons lees under the con- 
trol of the monks. Tintern was always one of the 
poorest of monasteries, and would know little of the 
demands made on the hospitality or on the religious 
services of the richer abbeys, many of which had to 
provide a separate church, near to the abbey church, 
for the special use of pilgrims and tenants or neigh- 
bours. The great western door would be used only for 
the entrance of persons of distinction, or for occasions 
of ceremony, according to a practice which still prevails 
with such entrances. 

A close examination of the buildings will render it 
clear that when the present church was undertaken, 
the other buildings had, as has been said, only recently- 
been completed. Of necessity, the original church 



246 TINTERN ABBEY. ' 

would still be standing, or the raonks could not carry 
on their services during the nineteen years that elapsed 
from the foundation of the new church till they cele- 
brated their first Mass in the new choir. Its place 
would certainly be where indicated on the plan, and its 
size would be about as shown ; for I have taken the 
existing church of Buildwas, which is of the usual 
dimensions of the early Cistercian churches, as a model. 
Now the new church, however uniform it may look, is 
clearly the result of different stages extending over 
many years, during which there was a marked progress 
in architectural taste. The first stage includes the 
chance], except its north-western angle ; the south tran- 
sept ; and a short length of the south side of the nave. 
The foundation was, however, put in for the remainder 
of the south side, for the west front, and probably also 
for the piers on the north side. Then the western part 
of the nave was completed, together with the north 
aisle and part of the north transept. Lastly, the north 
transept was completed, by degrees, on its northern 
and eastern sides. 

The object of this procedure must, in my opinion, 
have been to admit of the old church being retained as 
long as possible, and only removed bit by bit, as ac- 
commodation had been provided in the new building. 
The evidence on which these conjectures are founded 
will presently appear. Meanwhile we will note that 
the nave is exceedingly short in relation to the rest of 
the building. Instead of the six bays which it contains, 
such churches have usually eight, ten, or twelve bays. 
The chief reason was probably want of means, or that 
it was felt to be large enough for so small a Monastery; 
but its site was fixed at the east end by the position of 
the adjoining buildings, and it could not have been 
extended westward without running into the rising 
ground, which makes it necessary to descend (contrary 
to the usual custom) on entering at the west doorway. 

There are several clear indications of the progress of 
the work by the stages I have mentioned. I give them 
in detail because of their archaeological interest. 



TINTERN ABBEY. 247 

1. When the church was begun it was still the 
fashion to raake use of detached shafts in all the piers 
and internal angles. This practice is most conspicuous 
at Salisbury. Other well known examples are the 
choir and transepts of Westminster, and the eastern 
part of Durham. Owing to the weakness caused by 
that mode of construction many failures took place. Of 
this the crippled condition of Salisbury is a proof. Per- 
haps also the architects of that day grew tired of the 
fashion. Now in the south-eastern part of Tintern, in- 
cluding nearly all the chancel, the south transept, and 
part of the south side of the nave, detached shafts were 
used. They were used profusely in the great south 
window. Round each of the great piers of the chancel 
four such shafts were put. Some one has said they 
were of marble, and the use of Purbeck would be pro- 
bable ; but nothing remains to show this. They were 
forcibly torn away, and therefore may have been of 
value. But all the piers of the nave are constructed 
with solid mouldings instead of detached shafts ; and 
about half way down the nave there is an abrupt 
change in the construction of the window-jambs, mark- 
ing tne commencement of the second stage in the work. 
The chief evidence to prove that the foundation of the 
west end is of the earlier date consists in the prepara- 
tion made for detached shafts on the bases inside the 
great doorway. The shafts were never actually sup- 
plied, but an elaborate stop was put to the arch in 
order to get over the difficulty caused by the absence 
of a capital. 

2. In the earlier work of the chancel, south transept, 
and the adjoining portion of the nave, the window- 
tracery is of a beautiful, early geometrical pattern, the 
cusps being formed in the characteristic manner ; but 
the two windows nearest the west end of the south 
aisle, and the whole of those in the north aisle, are later 
and poorer in design. Also in the great west window, 
and still more in the great window of the north tran- 
3ept, there are indications of greater progress in the 



248 TINTERN ABBEY. 

design of the tracery; and in the latter there are cusps 
which are characteristic of the fourteenth and following 
centuries. Then, in the earlier work, the glazing was 
fixed outside the tracery, against a rebate, while in the 
later work the glazing was let into grooves in the centre 
of the mullions and tracery-bars. 

3. The most interesting part of the church is the 
north transept-aisle, for it was clearly built at a later 
time than the adjacent work in the chancel and tran- 
sept, though in imitation of its general ejBTect ; while in 
matters not likely to be noticed, the architect followed 
the newer fashions of his day. Thus the two great 
piers have the four small detached shafts to match the 
old work ; but in copying them he might naturally 
think that they ran through the stone bands that were 
put midway in their height. He therefore sunk holes 
through his bands, and ran his shafts through them. 
We can now see that in the older work the shafts were 
only let into the bands to a very slight extent. But the 
small mouldings on the stone screens in the newer 
work are of an independent design ; and while the win- 
dows marked x, Y, and z, resemble in general effect the 
windows of the older work, the mouldings round the 
inside of the jambs are of distinctly fourteenth century 
character. 

4. The church was designed without the use of flying 
buttresses ; but the builder of the north transept-aisle 
must have thought the vaulting would require that 
form of support. By careful inspection we may see the 
remains of two flying buttresses ; but it is worth noting 
that in the ruins of the church, these, with their vaults, 
have fared no better than the work that was done 
without them. 

The new church included a sacristy (marked 1), 
entered only from the north transept, and handsomely 
vaulted. In building it, a window that had existed on 
the south side of the chapter-house was blocked up. 
The communication between it and the adjacent room 
is modern. 



TINTERN ABBEY. 249 

This room, 2, had a perfectly plain barrel-vault, 
showing that its internal appearance was of no import- 
ance ; but it has one of the most handsome doorways 
in the Abbey. Inside this doorway we see where the 
new work joins on to the older work in the chapter- 
house. There is always a narrow space of some kind 
between an abbey church and the chapter-house. Many 
guesses have been made as to its use. It is often a 
mere passage, or else manifestly a sacristy. Sometimes 
it was handsomely vaulted, and left open to the clois- 
ter, thus differing entirely from this case. Therefore, 
while we may conjecture that in some cases the trea- 
sury, parlour, cloister library, or mortuary, may have 
been so placed, it is certain that no one purpose could 
have been served by such different rooms ; and there is 
not the least evidence in favour of any of the uses that 
have been suggested. 

The chapter-house is entered by three arched open- 
ings, in the jambs of which detached shafts were very 
freely used. It is of the usual Cistercian form and 
dimensions. Originally it had, besides the east win- 
dows, a window on each side, near the east end ; but 
that on the south side was blocked up when the pre- 
sent church and sacristy were built. It was very hand- 
somely floored with tiles, which have only lately been 
discovered. They comprise many beautiful patterns of 
thirteenth century design ; and the flooring was un- 
covered, and further investigated, specially in view of 
the visit of this Association. 

The place next beyond the chapter-house, No. 4, had, 
like it, a handsome archway fitted with a door. It is 
very narrow, and I think there was a doorway at the 
opposite end, making it serve as a passage to the 
ground in which stood the infirmary. 

The next place (5), now used as a passage, may or may 
not have been so used originally. It now leads to the 
same ground. One of these places may have been used 
as the parlour, where the monks, otherwise bound to 
silence, might go when business required one to speak 



250 TINTERN ABBKY. 

to another. But there is no sufficient evidence to prove 
this. Those who think the parlour must have been 
here may say that the apartment sometimes so called, 
and sometimes called the auditorium, cannot very well 
have been in any other place. 

The infirmary, of which some remains probably exist 
in the rough part of the orchard, eastward of the clois- 
ter, was a detached building to which the monks retired 
when they were too old or too feeble to go through the 
severe discipline of the Monastery. They had their 
own chapel, and were allowed such comforts as were 
suitable to their condition. 

The lobby, No. 6, led to what is commonly called 
" the day room of the monks". I believe that one of 
the recesses at the further end of the room had been a 
fireplace. In the earlier monasteries no fireplace was 
provided in this room. Sometimes the arches at the 
further end were open to the weather. In some cases 
fireplaces were added afterwards. Such rooms are 
always covered with rather low vaulting, so that they 
have been supposed to be cellarage ; but they were 
very suitable for such indoor work as may have been 
performed by the monks in the intervals between their 
studies or devotions. A door on the eastern side led 
out to the latrines ; and the stream of water which was 
always brought through this part of a monastery, ran 
in a capacious sewer beneath them. 

The staircase marked 7 led to the dormitory, which 
extended over the day-room, and probably as far as 
the chapter-house, which would have the library and 
scriptorium above it, extending as far as the north 
transept ; the great window in which was very ingeni- 
ously made blank as to its lower part, so as to admit 
of this high building coming against it. 

At the top of the dormitory-staircase was a separate 
room, with a small cell opening from it. This was pro- 
bably the lodging of the Prior. In the fifteenth cen- 
tury an additional story was placed over this room, 
and the stairs continued by another flight. 



TINTERN ABBEY. 251 

The room 8 is handsomely vaulted, and was plastered; 
as, indeed, was the church and all the more important 
parts of the Monastery. By a very ingenious arrange- 
ment a fireplace was provided in the centre of the 
room, and had arches round it, which supported the 
chimney. This is called the kitchen by Mr. Edmund 
Sharpe ; but it appears to have been the calefactoiy, 
where the monks might warm themselves. 

The refectory is of handsome design, exhibiting in 
the remains of its windows an instance of the profuse 
use of the detached shafts, which contribute to the 
proof of the earlier date of the monastic buildings. The 
windows had their upper openings pierced out of solid 
stonework, producing what is called " plate-tracery", a 
mode that had almost disappeared when the nova eccle- 
sia was built. 

The archway, 12, often mistaken for the pulpit, was 
only the opening that led to the pulpit-stairs. The 
young monk who read at meals was placed well above 
the heads of the monks, who sat on forms placed 
against the walls, with narrow tables before them. 

Outside the entrance to the refectory were the stone 
troughs (10) in which the monks washed their hands ; 
and deeply recessed arches, now nearly destroyed, gave 
a fine effect to this lavatory. An opening through the 
wall of the refectory would enable the monk who served 
to wash without going out into the cloister. 

The small room, 9, entered from the refectory, would 
be suitable for the storage of articles used at meals. 
The arched opening communicating with the kitchen is 
the hatch (11) through which the portions for each monk 
were passed ; and close to it is a panel sunk in the 
wall, to contain a movable flap that was let down to hold 
the dishes. 

The kitchen comes next ; but very little of interest 
remains in it except the indication of a handsome door- 
way, to match the others in the cloister. 

The range of building where the conversi, or lay 
brothers, were lodged, extending along the west side of 



252 TINTERN ABBEY. 

the cloister-gartb, consisted of a long apartment adjoin- 
ing the kitchen, and very similar to the monks' day- 
room. It was entered by a curiously skewed passage (13) 
like that which exists at the north-west comer of the 
church. South of this is a smaller room, and then 
there is what seems to have been a separate house. We 
may reasonably conjecture that the Abbot was lodged 
in this house, although it seems small for such a pur- 
pose ; but the Abbot of Tin tern was of very little 
account. A staircase from the upper story of the lay 
brothers' building passed behind this house, and led 
down, under a pent-roof, towards the doorway in the 
north-west corner of the nave. Wie may note that this 
is the place where one who had to exercise control over 
the Monastery and its surroundings could best be 
placed. 

The arcades that once surrounded the cloister-garth 
have been destroyed, not one example remaining in 
any English Cistercian house ; but many fragmente of 
them exist amongst the ruins, particularly of a new por- 
tion that was begun late in the fifteenth century, and 
which extended from the entrance to the nave, marked 
B, as far as the chapter-house. This was, no doubt, the 
work alluded to in the will of William Herbert, Earl of 
Pembroke, who was beheaded by the Lancastrians in 
1649, leaving one hundred tons of stone "to make the 
cloyster at Tynterne". 

In this description of the Abbey I have dealt with 
the architectural features only. There are slight re- 
mains of sculptured figures, and the patterns of floor- 
tiles are numerous. Sculpture was forbidden in the 
early days of the Cistercians ; but when Tintern was 
built, the rule had been relaxed. The architectui-al 
carvings, such as the foliage in the capitals and bosses, 
is extremely beautiful, chiefly of thirteenth century 
design, but showing a change to the natural foliage of 
the fourteenth century in many of the bosses of the 
higher roofs. 

Thomas Blashill, F.R.I.B.A. 



253 



RHIWAEDOG, YNYS MAEN GWYN, DOLAU 
GWYN, AND NANNAU. 

A MARRIAGE COVENANT OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 

At a distance of about three miles from Towyn, and 
two from Ynys Maengwyu, on a knoll on the right bank 
of the pretty little stream, marked in the Ordnance 
Map as Afon Melindre, which runs from the waterfall 
of Dolgoch down a portion of the valley leadirg to the 
slate-quarries of Aber Gwynolwyn, and the Tal y Llyn 
Lake, noted for its picturesque beauty, its secluded 
little grey church, and its trout-fishing, the pedestrian's 
attention is attracted by an old three-gabled house of 
somewhat forlorn and even desolate appearance, stand- 
ing by what may pass as an apology for a garden, with 
here and there a few scattered and stunted trees. A 
short, neglected road leads to the house from the lane 
that winds up the valley, with fields in the background, 
separated by low, antique stone walls. 

The place, though still inhabited, and having the 
surroundings and appurtenances of a farm, yet bears on 
the face of it a sombre and somewhat melancholy look 
of neglect, bespeaking on the whole an appearance of 
having seen better days ; made only the more conspi- 
cuous by the shining on it, as if in contrast to its pre- 
sent condition, of a bright and cheerful sun. With all 
this its aspect is that of a house that bears its sorrows 
with dignity ; and thus it draws to itself the respect 
and sympathy of the traveller, who soon begins to sus- 
pect its real character to be that of an ancient mansion 
of some departed family of the Welsh gentry ; and if 
he be a lover of old times and old histories, and the 
relics that are left of them, he will desire to make fur- 
ther investigation, with the view to ascertain whether 
his first impressions will not be borne out by a peep 



254 RHIWAEDOG, YNYS MAEN GWYN, 

into the interior. There he will find the decorations, 
like the architectural design outside, Jacobaean; the 
walls and ceilings of the rooms frescoed with armorial 
bearings; and the sleeping arrangements in the highest 
story, under a roof supported by enormous tie-beams, 
not a little resembling those described in the poem of 
lolo Goch on Glendower's mansion at Sycharth, for the 
repose of bards when his guests. 

The name of this venerable mansion is Dolau Gwyn, 
a term that may be Englished as "the bright meadows". 
From the subjoined document we learn that it was 
built shortly before 1620, when it is described as '* The 
New House"; and we know from other sources that it 
was long the abode of a junior branch of the family of 
Ynys Maengwyn, and by that connection, as well as by 
intermarriage with other illustrious houses, held high 
consideration in the county. 

Lewis Gwyn, the principal subject of the subjoined 
document, was a cadet of the ancient stock of Ynys 
Maengwyn, descended from the renowned Osbom Fitz- 
gerald, or Osbwrn Wyddel (" Osborn the Irishman", as 
the Welsh called him), albeit a son of an Earl of Decies 
and Desmond,^ and a scion of the noble stock of the 
Geraldines, descended from Gerald Fitz- Walter de 
Windsor, Constable of Pembroke Castle, living in 1108, 
whose son Maurice, by his wife Nesta, daughter of 
Rhys ab Tudor, Prince of South Wales, laid the founda- 
tion of the greatness of his house in Ireland by his 
prowess in the expedition of Richard Strongbow for 
the conquest of that country, from South Wales, under 
Henry 11. In his own country Osborn had met with 
a mishap ; that is to say, he had slain, in a personal 
encounter, another Irish Earl,^ and finding for once 
" discretion to be the better part of valour", had sought 
refuge in Wales until the storm raised by this escapade 
should have blown over. 

^ Jobn Fitz-Thomas, grantee of Decies and Desmond in 1229, 
according to Sir William Botham. 

« '* Of Clovargin". Tat Croesion MS, 



DOLAU GWYN, AND NANNAU. 255 

According to a traditional account his first Nommn 
ancestor was the son or grandson of an Italian named 
Other, a descendant of the Gherardini, ancient lords of 
Tuscany, whom a similar piece of ill luck had driven 
from his native land into England in the time of St. 
Edward the Confessor, and who enjoyed large posses- 
sions in five of the southern counties. 

In the Tai Croesion MS. his coming into Wales is 
fixed in the year 1200 ; but it can scarcely have been 
80 early, if it be true, as there also stated, that he 
married Agatha, daughter of the King of Castile, and 
niece of Edward I, who made him Steward of North 
Wales. The date is fixed by Robert Vaughan, the 
antiquary of Hengwrt, as 1237; but later by the late 
W. W. E. Wynne, Esq., of Peniarth, who published in 
this Journal a curious account of the family, from a 
MS. at Mostyn,^ with which is incorporated a shorter 
one, in the Peniarth Library, from the pen of the anti- 
quary himself. Here we are told the story, which has 
historical probability in its favour, that Osborn brought 
with him one hundred men, well mounted on grey 
horses, and that he offered his services to Prince Llew- 
elyn the Great,^ who accepted them, and gave him in 
marriage his ward, the heiress of Cors y Gedol, by 
whom he had two sons, Einion and Cynwric ; of whom 
the former had four sons, Grono Llwyd, Heilin, Cynw- 
ric, and Llewelyn Goch. 

Grono and Heilin had lands which still bear their 
names, "Cae Grono Llwyd", and "Cors Heilyn", and 
are now part of the demesne of Cors y Gedol. To 
Cynwric, Osborn gave Cors y Gedol, besides his share 
of his father's inheritance. His son and successor, 
Llewelyn ap Cynwric, enjoyed both. By his marriage 

^ Arch, Camb., 1875, p. 1. See also Williams' Eminent Welshmen, 
$. V. 

* In R. Vaughan's Pedigrees, p. 1137 ; but in a later hand is a 
statement, in Welsh, that he came over with Grnffydd ab Ednyved 
Vychan, when the latter had been forgiven by Llewelyn for the in- 
dignity oflPered by him to his Princess Joan, the daughter of John 
King of England. 



256 RHIWAKDOG, YNYS MAEN GWYN, 

with Nest, daughter and heiress of Gruflfydd ab Adda 
of Dol Goch and Ynys Maen Gwyn (sixth in descent, in 
the direct male line, from Gwaethvoed, lord of Cardigan), 
who was Rhaglot of Estimaner in 3 and 7 Edward III, 
and whose tomb is still to be seen in Towyn Church, ' 
he added Ynys y Maengwyn and other large posses- 
sions to his own inheritance ; and among them, doubt- 
less, that of Dolau Gwyn. 

From this time forward the family appears in history 
as one of the first consequence in North Wales. Gruf- 
fydd, the son of Llewelyn, is described as " a firm ad- 
herent of the House of Lancaster, and one of the de- 
fenders of Harlech Castle under his valiant cousin, 
David ab leuan ab Einion of Cryniarth in Edemion." 
His wife was Eva, daughter of Madog ab Elisau of 
Cryniarth, son of lorwerth, lord of Llangar, third son 
of Owain Brogyntyn. Her brother,* Llewelyn ab Madoc 
ab Elisau (of whom she was also a coheiress), was Bishop 
of St. Asaph from 1357 to 1375.^ Their son Einion 
married Tanglwst, a daughter of the noble house of 
Gogerddan* (another branch from Gwaethvoed), from 
whose time is to be dated the first great division of 
this vast territorial dominion. 

Einion had three sons, Gruffydd, leuan, and lor- 
werth, and two daughters, one of whom, Mali, became 
the wife of Howel Selyf of Nannau, the ill fated hero 
of *' the Blasted Oak", and ancestor of all the Nanneys. 
" The oflfepring and posterity of these brethren*', says 
the antiquary, " did so multiply that from that time 
they were called " Tylwyth Einion ' (the Einion family). 

Gruffydd, the eldest son, had Cors y Gedol ; lor- 
werth, the third, had Ynys Ma^n Gwyn ; and 

leuan ab Einion, living in 1427, had three sons* and 
two daughters by his wife Angharad, daughter and 
heiress of Davydd ab y Gwion Llwyd of Hendwr, or 

^ See Hist Powys Fadog, vol. v, p. 111. 

* Her father was Rhydderch ab leaan Lloyd, Esq., of Park Rhydd- 
erch, in Glyn Aeron. Lewis Dvmtiy i, pp. 15, 44. 
' Six sons are assigned to him by Guto V Glyn. 



DOLAU GWYN, AND NANNAU. 257 

David of Hendwr. He inherited and resided at Cryn- 
iarth (now a modem farmhouse, visited by the Associa- 
tion at the Bala Meeting in 1884), and was ancestor of 
the Le wyses of Peng wern , in Ffestiniog ; of the Vaughans 
of Vron Heulog, in Llanvair Talhaiarn; of the Wynns of 
Llwyn,in Llanrhaiadr inCeinmeirch; and of the Wynnes 
of Peniarth. A poem addressed to him by Guto'r Glyn 
is extant, translations of which by the Rev. Walter 
Davies {Gwallter Mechain) and the Rev. John Jones 
(Tegid) are preserved at Peniarth; and on this account, 
as also for its historical value, we will take this occa- 
sion of presenting it here, together with a translation, 
which, although not precisely identical in form with 
those of the above illustrious writers, will be under- 
stood to have followed them in substance throughout, 
except where specified in the notes. From frequent 
transcription, the text is often so obscure that even 
they sometimes have differed in the rendering ; and 
** who shall decide when doctors disagree V* 

CYWYDD I lEUAN AP EINION AP GRUFFYDD O'R CRYNIARTH. 

" Y gwr da o gywirdeb, 
A folwn ni o flaen neb, 
Un o'r Saint yr Ynjs hon, 
Enw Hwn lenan ap Einion. 
O ferch Rydderch rieddawg, 
T c^d J rhyw a'n ceidw rhawg. 
O flodau'r dean, a'i dawn, 
Ac o Wynedd, ac Einiawn. 
O ry w Indeg, a'r Hendwr, 
Oedd nwch nen gyfuwch &'i gwr. 
Benno Lwyd, o Ben y Lan, 
By wyd i bskwb y w lenan. 
Oen tangnefedd a heddwcb, 
A Hew traws i eilliaw trwch. 
Os oen Daw a Sand leaan, 
Dan o'r leirll nid aent a'i ran. 
Nid k*r gwr a da'r gwirion, 
Nis gild yr Angharad hon. 
Bu ladrad beb lywodraetb, 
Bu drais, — dros y byd yr aetb, 
lenan oedd darian dir, 
Ag lenan a fa gywir. 
lenan a fibes yn y ffydd, 
6th seb.» tol. III. 17 



258 RHIWAEDOG, YinTS MAEN GWYN, 

A'i In dof drwy alw Dafydd, 

Y modd y flToes llu Moesen 

O'r ffrwd rhag gwp^ Pharo hen 

Pan bxofes Moeses y m6r, 

Treiai ymaith mal trimor ; 

Ag yno lla'r paganiaid 

Aeth iV llif,— ni ddaetho'r llaid. 

TJn ffyrf ft gwerin Pharo, 

T gyrr ffeils y gywir i ffo, 

Ll^rad gorwlfiS ag erlyn 

Yw llif Noe a'r llefain ynn : 

Gyrr a gafias yn rasol 

Blaen trai, a'i blant ar ei ol ; 

Aeth leuan i'r Ikn a'i lu, 

Aeth eraill i'w merthym. 

Moroedd, o bechod marwol, 

A foddai rai ar ei ol. 

Yn Nasreth, Uwyth hen Israel, 

Ei blant ef yw'r blanet hael. 

Meistr Rydderch, yn annerch N#r, 

Yw meistr yr hoU rymnster ; 

Ar ol yr ysgol yr ftf, 

O lin hwn, i'w alw'n hynaf. 

Dafydd a phair onwydd Ffraingc, 

Dewi'r Barwniaid ifaingc ; 

Pleidiwr a holwr yw hwn, 

Pleidiwr gwiw, paladr Glwn ; 

Rhys ymlaen ynys Nannau, 

Grnffydd, oes i gorph y ddan. 

Adar ym ^t, o dai'r medd, 

Llwch gwin holl achau Qwynedd ; 

A dan frawd ienaf ar ol, 

O lin enwog olynol 

Y Saint yw Thomas a Sion, 

A geidw Gwynedd, goed gwynion, 

Chwe-mab uchel a cbryfwyr,^ 

Ag wyth rhwng merched a gwfr. 

Wythnyn teg aeth yn nn ty, 

A Noe h^n nn o hynny ; 

Wyth y sydd gyweithas iawn, 

Wyth enaid tylwyth Einiawn. 

Angylion Duw yng glan dwr, 

A thrin-deirw llwyth yr Hendwr. 

Lln'r Cryniarth, ym Mnarth medd, 

Llanwant bob lie o Wynedd. 

Llwyn imp fal y berllan yntj 



> I have ventnred to restore this line from conjecture, from *^ucho 
a ymvyyr^\ which is clearly corrupt. 



DOLAU GWYN, AND NANNAU. 259 

LHn o b^n Edwin ydynt ; 

Ofer yw ffyrfder a ffawd, 

Heb ryw lenan a'i briawd, 

A dyro, Dduw, oed i'r ddau, 

A'u plant, a'n heppil hwynfcau, 

I gadw hynny o giwdawd, 

IV tuedd fry, hyd Dydd Frawd." 

Translation. 

The Gentleman of truth and honour. 
Whom we praise above any one, 
One of the Saints of this Island, 
His name is leuan, son of Einion. 
Prom the daughter of the noble Rhydderch 
Was gained the race that will henceforth preserve us ; 
Prom the flower and the genius of the South, 
And from Gwynedd, even from Einion ; 
Of the race of the Indeg^ of Hendwr, 
As high or higher than her spouse. 
A Blessed Ben no, at the top of the bank,* 
Is leuan, the life of us all ; 
A lamb for peace and repose, 
Yet a lion in fury to fell the froward, 
Albeit a lamb of God and of St. John,^ 
Not two of the Earls could carry off his share. 
He is not the man to despoil the simple, 
Nor would his Angharad allow it. 
There has been plundering, and no government ; 
Wrongdoing, — it has overspread the world. 
Then leuan was the shield of his country, 
And upright and true has been leuan. 
In the faith^ did leuan flee. 
With his disciplined force, by calling in David, 
As fled the host of Moses 
From the flood before Pharaoh's men of old. 
When Moses essayed the sea 
It ebbed away with threefold speed. 
And then the host of the heathen 

* According to Welsh mythology, a lovely lady of King Arthur's 
court. See Eminent Welshmen, s. v. 

* Cryniarth, on the height above Hendwr, on the bank of the 
Dee, where an entrenchment is still visible to mark the site. Many 
vitrified stones, taken from a vallum recently destroyed, are placed 
in a wall behind it. 

' St. John would be leuan's name-Saint, and therefore his patron. 

* This expression is obscure. The bard would seem to have re- 
garded the civil as, in a sense, a religions war ; perhaps from the 
saintly virtues of King Henry YI, whose cause he espoused. 

17* 



260 RHIWAEDOG, YNYS MAEN GWYN, 

Entered the flood, but escaped not the mire. 

Even so, as with Pharaoh's followers, 

Do the false drive the faithfal away. 

The raid and pnrsnit o'er the border 

To ns are Noah's flood and its cry. 

By gnuie was lenan the man to gain 

The ebb's edge, and his children behind him. 

To the shore came lenan and his host. 

To their martyrdom went the others ; 

But seas, for their deadly sin. 

Drowned some of those behind him, 

As Nazareth of the ancient Tribe of Israel, 

Of his children is he the benign planet.^ 

Master Richard, who calls npon the Lord, 

Is the master of all power.^ 

Up the ladder will I go 

To call him the eldest of his line. 

David makes ready spear^staves for France ; 

The Saint David of all yonng barons. 

A pleader and advocate he. 

The noble pleader of the stem of Qiwn. 

Rhys, in the f oregronnd of Nannan ; 

Ghrnflfydd, long life to the twain ! 

" Birds of the Bright Lake" are they to me.* 

Of all the tribes of Gwynedd, from the Mansion of the Mead, 

And the two yonngest brothers after them, 

Of their fftmons line in snccession. 

Are the Saints, Thomas and John, 

That shall preserve Gwynedd, a forest of blessed ones. 

^ Both G wallter Mechain and Tegid were, pnzzled by this conplet, 
which, as it stands, has neither sense nor metre. For " Yn Nasreth, 
llwyth h6n", the former proposed to read "A th'rawsai llwyth yr", 
bnt apparently without anthority. Connecting the line with the 
foregoing, G. M. translated it, "And they (the seas) smote the host 
of Israel. His sons are the generons planet". And Tegid, " They 
stmck at the tribe of Israel ; His sons acted under the influence of 
a benign planet". My version would require "Mai N." or " Oedd 
N." But the bard, perhaps, wrote " Moesen": "As Moses was, of 
the tribe of Israel, so leuan is, of his children, the benign planet." 

^ This couplet is omitted by G. M. and Tegid, and the omission 
has led them into error in supposing that the bard has named but 
iive sons, whereas the eldest and sixth was Richard, and apparently 
a priest. 

^ These birds belong to the mythological region of Welsh romance, 
and are said to have punctually, and to the letter, done the bidding 
of their master, Drudwas, for whose tragical end, in consequence, 
see Eminent WeUhmen, s. v. They are mentioned in the Dream of 
BJiondbwy^ and by L. Glyn Cothi in his Elegy on Gwervyl Hael, 
D. V, iv, p. 379, 6rst ed. ; also in a triplet ascribed to Llywarch Hen. 



DOLAU GWYN, AKD NANNAU. 261 

Six tall sons, six strong men. 

And eight between sons and daaghters. 

Eight persons came in one house, 

And one, the old Noah, from the same : 

Eight who are a jost society, 

Eight sonls are the Einion family. 

Angels of Qod on the water's brink, 

And balls of battle of the Tribe of Hendwr. 

The host of Cryniarth, in Meiarth flowing with mead. 

Shall fill every spot in Qwynedd. 

A grove engrafted are they, like the orchard ; 

They are the line of the old Edwin. 

Vain are substance and fortune 

Without the race of leuan and his spouse. 

And give Thou, O God, long life to the pair. 

And to their children and their offspring too, 

So as to preserve this selfsame clan 

For the land above until the day of doom. 

There is at Peniarth an interesting letter, dated from 
Manavon, July 5th, 1836, addressed to the late Mr. 
Wynne by the Rev. Walter Da vies, in which he says 
that ** the troubles alluded to by the bard were about 
the commencement of the civil wars between the rival 
houses of York and Lancaster ; that leuan was a Lan- 
castrian, and found it necessary to abscond for a time, 
when his son Davydd took care of his affairs. At that 
time Ithel ab lorwerth ab Einion, brother's son to leuan 
ab Einion, was constituted Sheriff of Merionethshire, 
through the interest of the York party, then rampant. 
Davydd ab leuan ab Einion (afterwards Governor of 
Harlech Castle), a spirit ripe for any enterprise, not 
relishing this favouritism, as he considered it, met his 
cousin, the Sheriff, at Llandrillo Fair, and sent him to 
the shades by one thrust of his glaivemore. In conse- 
quence of this breach of the peace, the annual fair at 
Llandrillo was put down by authority ; and so Trillo 
remained without a fair for one hundred and eighty 
years, when its cliarter was renewed on the application 
of Morys Wynne of Crogen, Esq. It is probable that, 
after this homicide, Davydd absconded, and bore arms 
in France under John Duke of Bedford ; and after his 
return, sticking to the same party, he accepted the 
constableship of Harlech Castle." 



262 RHIWAEDOG, YNYS MAEK GWYN, 

It is to this disgraceful act that allusion is made in 
the famous stoir of the four cousins, who meeting one 
day together, vied with each other in recounting the 
deeds of valour, as they conceived, which by their good 
swords they had wrought. The first was Gruffydd 
Vychan ab Gruffydd ab Einion of Cors y Gedol ; the 
second, Davydd ab Jenkyn ab Davydd ab Y Crach of 
Nant Conwy, whose son married the heiress of Wem 
Vawr, in Lleyn ; the third, Davydd ab leuan, whose 
exploit has now been told ; and the fourth, Rheinallt 
ab Gruffydd ab Bleddyn of the Tower, whose feud with 
the burgesses of Chester is celebrated by Lewis Glyn 
Cothi. Said the second, " Lo, here the dagger with 
which I slew the Red Judge on the bench at Denbigh.'' 
The third said, " See here the sword with which I slew 
the Sheriff of Meirionydd at Llandrillo." Said the 
fourth, ** Behold the sword with which I killed the 
Mayor of Chester when he came with his men to burn 
my house." Then it was demanded of Gruffydd what 
achievement he had to boast of, and this was his me- 
morable reply, " Here is my sword, with which, if I had 
drawn it in dishonour, I might have equalled the best 
of you ; and that will I do yet on the spot and at 
the time that shall call for it.'' 

Davydd ab leuan ab Einion had a younger brother, 
GriflSth, who married Sabel or Sibyl (the Welsh form 
of Isabel), daughter of leuan ab Adda of Pengwern, in 
Nantheudwy, ancestor of the Mostyn family. In the 
copy of the above poem by Robert Vaughan, the Hen- 
gwrt antiquary, a marginal annotation in Welsh partly 
explains, from this circumstance, the obscure Une, ** To 
their martyrdom went the others", on the hypothesis 
that " the others'' were leuan Vychan and his brothers, 
sons of leuan ab Adda, and grandsons of leuan ab 
Einion ; and that their conduct was the occasion for 
the composition by Gutto'r Glyn of his poem entitled 
Cywydd Cymod (Ode of Reconciliation), and addressed 
to leuan Vychan.^ It may be so ; but certain it is 

' A passage of arms, in the shape of two Qatii'ical poems on the 



DOLAU GWYN, AND NANNAU. 263 

that no warrant for it is afforded by the internal evi- 
dence of the poem, which merely refers vaguely to some 
wrong done by the bard himself to leuan Vychan, 
which he confesses absolutely to be true, and for which 
he entreats his forgiveness, enhancing his chances of 
success by delicate flattery of leuan's accomplishments 
both as a bard and as a soldier. 

Nor can it be readily conceded that the interpretation 
of this and other parts of the poem here translated is 
so entirely figurative as Mr. Walter Davies {pace taiUi 
viri) has by the very exuberance, possibly, of his genius 
been led to imagine. Surely the comparisons with 
Noah^s flood and the passage of the Red Sea must, it 
may be thought, have had a more substantial founda- 
tion in fact than was to be furnished merely by the 
general course of events. Some such circumstance as, 
for instance, a narrow escape from an enemy during the 
passage of a military force over the Traeth Mawr or 
Cors Vochno, or a morass in the mountains, or the estu- 
ary of a river, in the transit of which the one party 
may have been met or waylaid by the other, would 
rather appear to be referred to in the metaphorical lan- 
guage affected by the Welsh bards of that age, who, 
with all their pretence to prophecy, were unable to 
foresee how vastly their failure to delineate circum- 
stances as they were, must detract from the value of 
their poetry in the view of posterity. It is, however, 
to be borne in mind that as poets they were not bound 
to be historians, and that in writing for their contem- 
poraries they were content if their allusions were in- 
telligible to the objects of their praise or of their satire, 
and dreamt not of posthumous fame. 

We must now revert to the branch of the family in 
which we are more immediately interested, that, namely, 
of lorwerth, the third son of Einion, who, by the same 
disposition of the vast territory of his ancestors, which 
made Cors y Gedol the inheritance of his eldest brother 

subject of a coracle, one by lenan Yychan, the other by Maredjdd 
ap Rhys, is extant in the Hengwrt Library at Peniarth. 



264 RHIWAEDOG, YNYS MAKN GWYN, 

Gruffjdd, and Cryniarth that of his second broiiier, 
leuan, made him also the " unlimited owner, in fee 
simple", of Ynys Maengwyn, which then comprised also 
the lands of Dolau Gwyn. We say the lands, because 
we do not know, although it would seem not impro- 
bable, that a house previously existed on the site of 
the present one. 

From him the Gwyns of Ynys y Maen Gwyn were 
descended. His name does not appear among the de- 
fenders of Harlech Castle, probably because he did not 
survive to the time of the siege. The few notices of 
him are that he was " farmer" or lessee of the Crown 
revenues in the vill of Towyn, and held the office of 
Rhaglot of the comot of Estimaner in 1415 ; also that 
of Woodward of that comot, in 1425, for two years 
only, after which we hear no more of him* His wife 
was Gwenllian, daughter of-Cynwric ab Robert of 
Northop, descended from Ednowain Bendew, and relict 
of James Ey ton, lord of Ey ton (in the manor of Abyn- 
bury, CO. Flint), tenth in descent from Elidyr, second 
son of Rhys Sais, descended from Tudor Trevor. (See 
Hist. Potoys Fadog, ii, p. 158.) By him she was the 
mother of John Evton H6n, who was Steward of the 
Lordship of Bromneld in 1477, and married to Gwen- 
llian, daughter and coheiress of Einion ab Ithel of 
Rhiwaedog, Esquire of the Body to John of Gaimt, in 
1395, and High Sheriff of Merionethshire for life. The 
connection is well accounted for by the fact that he 
was the half-brother of Gwenllian's son by her second 
husband, Jenkyn ab lorwerth of Ynys y Maengwyn. 
He also was farmer, by lease under the Crown, of the 
Mills of Keving (Cefn ?) and Caethle, and the Ferry of 
Aberdovey, which doubtless at that time supplied the 
readiest means of transit between Merionethshire and 
Cardiganshire, and must have been to him a consider- 
able source of income. 

Jenkyn appears as the third in command of Harlech 
Castle on its surrender to the Yorkists in 1468, which 
event he is said to have survived for at least twenty- 



DOLAU GWYN, AND NANNAU. 265 

six years. His marriage gives the first intimation of a 
connection between his family and that of Nannau, his 
wife being Elin, or Elliw, a daughter of GruflFydd Der- 
was of Cemaes, second son of Meurig Llwyd of Nannau. 

Of his son, Howel ab Jenkyn, we know only that he 
died of the plague in 1494, and that he married Mary, 
daughter of Sir Roger Kynaston of Hordley, Sheriff of 
Salop in 1462, who succeeded Davydd ab leuan ab 
Einion as Constable of Harlech Castle. Sir Roger is said 
to have slain Lord Audley (whose arms he assumed) at 
the battle of Bloreheath, and the Earl of Warwick at 
that of Bamet, having been present also at Danesmore, 
after which, it would appear from Gutto'r Glyn's poem 
in his honour, he was knighted by Edward iV. 

Howel ab Jenkyn left an elder son, Humphrey, whose 
wife was Anne or Agnes, daughter of Sir Richard Her- 
bert of Montgomery, and who died in 1545. According 
to the curious illuminated pedigree of John Lloyd of 
Rhiwaedog, bearing the date of 1614, by John Cain of 
Oswestry (now the property of R. J. Lloyd Price, Esq., 
of Rhiwlas), Howel had another son, named Hugh; 
but whether by the same mother as Humphrey does not 
appear, as the interlinear space containing the notice 
of her has by some one been cut clean out of the pedi- 
gree. This Hugh is there stated to have had a son 
named Thomas ab Hugh, Esq., who by his wife, 
** Tangloyd, daughter of Thomas ab Davia, gent., de- 
sended (sic) from Ednowen ab Bradwen'^ had a daugh- 
ter, Jane, married to John Lloyd of Ceiswyn, Esq., 
who could have been no other than Sir John Lloyd, 
stated in the History of Powys Fadog (ii, p. 391) to 
have been raised to the dignity of Serjeant-at-Law in 
December 1623, and knighted on the 10th January 
following. Unfortunately the marriage of Sir John 
Lloyd does not appear in the History. The pedigree 
states that he married "Jane, daughter to Thomas ab 
Hugh, Esq.," whose daughter Margaret was the wife of 
John Lloyd of Rhiwaedog. But under the notice are 
written in very small letters, and in a later hand, the 



266 RHIWAEDOG, YNYS MAEN GWYN, 

words "a lie"; a statement which is confirmed by 
Robert Vaughan, the antiquary (Hengwrt MS. 96), in 
his pedigree of the family, which gives the name of a 
different person from his wife as the mother of Thomas 
ab Hugh, and other illegitimate issue. 

The pedigree is on fine vellum, about 9 ft. by 2. Com- 
mencing fromRhodri Mawr as the principal line, it gives, 
in colours, the coat of every line of descent derived from 
each maternal ancestor in succession, ranged along the 
top of the parchment, with some few, where necessary, 
in the middle. Having disappeared for some years, 
after long lying neglected in a box of loose papers, by 
a happy accident it has lately been discovered in Lon- 
don, in separate sheets ; and has now been handsomely 
mounted on rollers, and placed in a strong tin case for 
its future security. 

Humphrey ab Howel had two daughters, — Jane, 
married to Gruffydd Nannau of Nannau, and Elizabeth 
to Morgan ab Thomas of Crogen ; and two sons. From 
the eldest, John Wyn, the Gwyns of Ynys Maengwyn 
took their surname. The second was Lewis Gwyn, 
who inherited Dolau Gwyn from his father, and whose 
first marriage with Jane, daughter of Hugh Nannau, 
and relict of Elisau, son of William Lloyd of Rhiwaedog, 
gave the occasion for the following document. By her 
he had a daughter and heiress, Jane (or Ann), wife of 
Grufiydd Nannau, second son of Gruffydd Nannau of 
Nannau, who carried the estate of Dolau Gwyn to her 
husband and his descendants, in whose possession it 
remained until sold by the last Sir Robert Vaughan. It 
afterwards passed, by purchase, to its present owner, 
John Silvester, Esq. 

Elisau Lloyd of Rhiwaedog, the eldest son of Wil- 
liam Lloyd by his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Owain 
Vaughan of Llwydiarth, Esq., died childless, and was 
succeeded at Rhiwaedog by his next brother, John 
Lloyd of Rhiwaedog, who married, in 1614, Margaret, 
daughter of John Lloyd, Esq., of Ceiswyn, in the town- 
ship of Aber Lleveni, and parish of Mallwyd, who 



DOLAU GWYN, AND NANNAU. 267 

was made Serjeant-at-Law in December 1623, and 
knighted on the 10th of January following. Sir John 
is named by the antiquary, Robert Vaughan, as the 
person deputed by some gentlemen of South Wales to 
examine the papers containing their arguments to the 
effect that Cadell, and not Anarawd, was the eldest 
son of Rhodri Mawr, and therefore King of all Wales, 
and paramount over his brethren ; his answer whereto 
is the chief subject of his celebrated work entitled 
British Antiquities Revived. 

John Lloyd also died without issue in 1646, and the 
estates were inherited by Rowland, the third brother, 
whose eldest son, John, having died without issue, they 
passed to the second son, Lewys Lloyd of Rhiwaedog, 
who built the present house, as appears from his ini- 
tial, with that of his second wife, Sidney Thelwall of 
Plas y Ward, on an oblong stone let into the wall over 
the front door. 

The object of the following deed is to secure to Lewys 
and Jane the payment by John Lloyd of an annuity of 
£85 in lieu of her previous jointure (curiously spelt 
" ioynctuer") ; and after the decease of Lewis to secure 
to Jane " the newe house of the said Lewis Gwyn in 
the p nsh of Towyn, called y Dole Gwyn/' It is note- 
worthy that the names of some of the signatories to 
the deed are not to be found in the pedigrees of the 
respective families. 

"Articles of Agreement indented concluded and signed upon 
at the Towne of Bala the sixth day of Aprill 1620 between 
Lewis Gwynne Esqr and John Gw'nne Esqr of thonpty (the 
one party) And John Lloyd of Rhiwaedog Esqr of thother 
party touching all suts controu'sies and demandes what- 
soeu' between the said parties. 

*' Flirst it is concluded and agreed That the said Lewis Gwynn 
and Jane his wief shall at the request costs and chardges of the 
said John IJoyd esqr convey yeald up syrender and release 
imto the said John Lloyd all her estate right tytle loinctuer 
and dower which the said Lewis and Jane in the right of the 
said Jane have or ought to have in and to all the messuages 
landes and tenem'ts whereof ElKsa ap William Lloyd late hus- 
band of the said Jane died seised or was seised by svu'e meanes 



268 RHIWAEDOG, YNYS MARN GWYN, 

in lawe as by the Counsaill of the said John Uoyd shalbe de- 
vised dischardged of all leases suits and incombrances whatsoev' 
had made or don by them or either of them. 

"Secondly it is agreed and concluded That the said John 
Doyd shall upon the request costes and chardges of the said 
Lewis Gwynne and Jane his wief or either of them by such 
meanes in lawe (as by the Counsaill of the said Lewis Gwynn 
or Jane or either of them shalbe devised) graunte one anuyty or 
anual rent of fourscore and fyve poundes of Lawful! money of 
England unto the said Lewis Gwynn & Jane his wief during 
the lief of the said Jane And after the decease of the said 
Lewis Gwynn to the said Jane for and during her lief in lewe 
and steed of the ioynctuer of the said Jan[e] payable yearly at 
the newe howse of the said Lewis Gwynn in the parish of Towyn 
called y Dole Gwyn at the sev[er]ail ffeasts of St. Philipp and 
Jacobb the Appostles and St. Michaell tharchangell by eaven 
and equall porcions with a dawse for the payment of fyve 
poundes of lawful mony of England nomine poenae for any de- 
faulte that shalbe made of any of the said yearly paym'ts within 
fower and twenty daies next after any of the said ffeasts. And 
if the said rent or anuity the said fyve poundes nomine poenae 
shalbe Behind or vnpaied by the space of forty daies then next 
after That then from thensforth the said Lewis Gwynn and 
Jane during the lief of the said Jane And after the decesse of 
the said Lewis Gwynn the said Jane during her lief shall and 
may enter into have hold occupy and enjoy the severall messu- 
ages landes and tenements called Ceven Em'ch Gweme yr 
Ewig, Trowsnant, Tuthin ddol ddyddgi, Aber y dd[w]yTavon, 
y ddol Wen, Tythin Nant yr helme, Tuthin ddolveirch, Tythin 
y Llayduy, Tythin yr allt Eygog, Tythin William Dauid ap 
Gwylim, Havod y fenn, Tuthin y Uwyn, Havod Vawer, Tuthin 
Doley, Kletur, Tv John Dauid Goch, Mayes y banadl, Glan 
haves, Tire mab Eignon Sais, y tir miriog, y drill poeth, and 
Tire y march gwin and all other the Landes and Tenem'ts fermly 
assuered nominated or lymited by the said Elissa ap William 
Lloyd to the said Jane and to her vse for and in the name of 
her ioynctuer And the said John Lloyd and his heires at the 
reasonable request costs & chardges in the Lawe of the said 
Lewis Gwynn and Jane his wief or either of them after such 
second defaulte of payment shall and will confirme convey and 
assuer unto the said Jane for and during her lief all the said 
ioynctuer landes and tenem'ts by such meanes on lawe as by 
her Counsaill shalbe Devised or required cleerly Dischardged 
from all incombraunces Don or occasioned by the said John 
Lloyd (saving and excepting all such) Leases w'ch shalbe then 



DOLAU GWYN, AND NANNAU, 



269 



in being Whervpon the greatest rent shalbe reserved that hath at 
any time thenbefore ben payed or reserved for or vpon the same. 

"And it is lastly agreed and concluded that cJl suits and ac- 
com'ns [nowe ?] depending between the said parties shall sercesse 
and be by them no further prosecuted. In wittnesse wherof 
the said p'ties have herevnto interchangeably putt their hands 
and seles the day and yeare first above written. 

" Lewis gwyn. 
" Jane nanney. 

" Sealed and delivered on the presence of 



R Llorgys lloid (?) 
Eow^: lloyd 
Edmond Lloyd 
A. morress 
Willm Lloyd." 



" William Nannau 
hugh nanney 
John Lloyd 
John Gwyn 
V. Lloyd 
R Lewys 

Endorsed, " This indenture (?) betweene Lewys Gwyn & Jane 
his wife & John Lloyd of Ehiwaedog^', etc. 

The following table may serve to elucidate the some- 
what intricate relations between the families of Dolau 
Gwyn and Nannau at the time of these marriages : — 



Grafh^dd Nannaa, lord of Naimaa,= 

ab Howel ab Davydd ab Meurig 

Vycban ab Howel Sele, descended 

from Cadwgan ab Bleddyn ab Cyn- 

vyn, Prince of Powys 



Hugh Nannan of Nannau, Esq. 



Jane, d. of Hnoipbrev 
ab Howel ab lenan ab 
Einion of Tnys Maen- 
gwyn, descended from 
Osbwm Wyddel 



pAnnest, d. of Bbvs Vanghan of Cora y 
Qedol, Esq. 



Jane, second of » 1st, Elisan Lloyd 1 . Oraffydd Kannan of Nan-^EUen, d. of 
five daagbters of Rbiwaedog, nan, Esq., n. 1568, M.P. 

of Hugh Nan- ab William, Esq., for Meirionydd, 1698 

nan, Esq. o. «. p. 2. Bichard Kannaa, parson 

=p2ndly, Lewis Gwyn of Llangelynin 

(>£ DolauGwyn, 8. Edward Kannan, ances- 
tor of the Nanneys of 



Esq. 



(His first 
wife) 



Maes y Pandy, oo. Mer. 
BsElizabeth, d. of Lewis 
Gwyn of Dolau Gwyn, 
Esq. 
4. Bobert, a merchant in 

London,G=Joyce, d. of 
Pyrs 



John ab 
Cadwaladr 
of Bhiwlas 

inPen- 
llyn, Esq. 



I I 2nd son | eldest son 

1. Jane Gwyn, h. — Grofl^dd Hugh Nannan of Nan- = Ann, d. of Gmflydd 
of Dolau Gwyn Nannau naa, Esq., n. 22 Oct. V Vanghan of Cors 

2. Ann, prima ux,ot ] 588 ; Sheriff, 1627; Gedol, Esq. 
Lewis Lloyd of Bhiwaedog, Esq., ». p, ob, 1647 -8 

H. W. L. 



270 



NOTES ON THE OLDER CHURCHES IN THE 
FOUR WELSH DIOCESES. 

BT THE LiLTB 

SiE STEPHEN RICHARD GLYNNE, Baet. 
(Continued /rem p, 69.) 



RURAL DEANERY OF BRECON. 



BATTLE (ST. CYNOO). 

25 April 1866. 

A VERY small church, without aisle or division of 
chancel, and having a small bellcot at the west end. 
The east window is Perpendicular, of three lights, and 
on the north of the chancel is a coarse Perpendicular 
window of two lights ; all the other windows are 
modern. The roof is coved and ribbed, the north door- 
way plain and pointed, and near it is a large square 
bowl for a stoup. The interior is pewed; the walls 
whitewashed externally.* 

The churchyard is confined on the south ; and the 
public way is on the north. The churchyard has a 
beautifiil view, including the Beacons. 

LLANDDEW (ST. DAVID). 

Jaly l8t, 1865. 

A small, cruciform church without aisles, and with 
central tower. The state of the church is truly deplor- 
able. The nave only is used for service, and partitioned 
ofi* by a boarded division under the west tower-arch. 
The south transept is walled out, and was formerly 
used as a school, wnich has now been given up for want 
of funds. The north transept is dilapidated, and with- 
out pavement. The chancel, though dirty and neg- 
lected, is capable of being improved, and not so much 

^ This church has lately been well restored by Lady Cleasby. 



NOTES ON THE OLDER CHURCHES, ETC. 271 

out of repair as the rest. The chancel is really good 
Early English, with the features unaltered, and well 
preserved. The rest of the church may be also of Early 
English origin, but the character has been much ob- 
literated. The tower is low, rude, and clumsy, having 
square belfry-windows and a pointed roof of tiles. It 
stands upon four very plain semicircular arches which 
opened to the nave, chancel, and transepts. The win- 
dows of the nave are modern insertions, and there are 
none on the north side. The south porch is large and 
plain. The nave is pewed, and looks cold and damp. 
Against the partition at the east of the nave is a 
shabby chest, used as the altar. There is a lancet win- 
dow, without glass, on the east side of the north tran- 
sept, which is in a truly wretched condition, and con- 
tains the steps to the steeple. The chancel is an 
unusually good Early English specimen for Wales. It 
has on each side tliree lancet windows ; that nearest 
the west, on the south side, has the sill cut partly 
away, forming a kind of seat. At the east end is a 
triplet with hood-mouldings ; the centre light is the 
highest. The south door of the chancel has a trefoil 
h^d, with a hood of very good work. The roof of the 
chancel is vaulted in stone. The nave has a modern 
ceiling. There are hagioscopes from both transepts 
into the chancel. There is a small square recess in the 
east wall, and on the south a rude, pointed piscina. 
Both on the north and south are stone brackets oppo- 
site to each other. The font is now in the chancel, and 
apparently never used. It has a large circular bowl on 
a quadrangular stem, with angles chamfered, and no 
base. The outer walls are whitewashed.^ 

LLANFIHANGEL NANT BRAN (ST. MICHAEL). 

This church, in a remote and picturesque valley, but 
on rising ground, presents about as lamentable an 

^ The tower, transepfPi and chancel have heen restored ; the nave 
awaits restoration. 



272 NOTES ON THE OLDER CHURCHES 

appearance as can be conceived. It is a rude building, 
was always devoid of architectural grace, and is in a 
state of neglect and dilapidation whicn will soon render 
it untenable. The plan is a nave and chancel without 
architectural distinction, and a western tower. The 
walls are whitewashed externally. The windows are 
generally mauled or modem ; but that at the east end 
is a square-headed Perpendicular one of two lights, 
cinquefoiled ; and one at the south-east has two tre- 
foliated lights. There is a rude porch on the south, 
with plain, pointed doorways. The tower is low, 
massive, and very rouffh, without buttress or string- 
course, except one at tne base. At the south-east is 
a square turret with slit lights. The tower has a low, 
pointed roof of tiles ; the few openings are plain slits, 
except the belfiy-windows on the north and east, which 
are square-headed, and of two lights. The tower is 
open from the ground to the roof, without floors, has 
one bell, and opens to the nave by a plain, pointed 
door. Within, the church has a most wretched appear- 
ance. The roof is fiill of holes, and open to the tiles, 
but has arched timbers with foliation above. There is 
a strange, rude gallery at the west end, enclosed like 
a room. The floor is oi Jy partially paved ; the benches, 
however, are all open. There is a priest's door on the 
south of the chancel. The altar is in a small, confined 
enclosure of rails, curiously entered by a high, arched 
doorway. There is a square opening in the south wall, 
near the altar. Near the priest's door is a stoup. A 
kind of rail parts off" the chancel. The font has a small 
octagonal bowl on a stem.^ 

The view from the churchyard, over the vale and 
woody hills, is delightftd. 

MERTHYR CYNOG (ST. CYNOG). 

April 25tb, 1866. 

This church, within a spacious churchyard, has been 
lately nicely restored, and partially rebuilt. It has the 

^ This church has been restored. 



IN THE FOUR WELSH DIOCESES. 273 

common arrangement, a nave and chancel undivided, a 
western tower and south porch. The tower, low, plain, 
and strongly built, is of an essentially Welsh make ; 
almost of a military character. It has no buttress, nor 
stringcourse, nor doorway. All the openings are mere 
narrow slits. The battlement is rude, and under it is 
a corbel-table. The roof is pointed, and covered with 
tiles. It opens to the nave by a pointed doorway. The 
windows of the chancel, on the north, are single 
trefoil-headed lancets; on the south, one single and 
one double lancet ; at the east end a triplet ; in the 
nave, double lancets with trefoil -heads. Some of the 
windows are new, but done quite in the spirit of the 
ecclesiology of the district. The rood-screen remains 
between the nave and chancel; it has plain, arched 
compartments, and the vine-cornice has been restored. 
There is a rude, arched piscina south of the altar. Near 
the south door is a large stone stoup. The sacrarium 
is large, and laid with new tiles ; the chancel stalled ; 
the new seats of the nave are open, and very neat. All 
the new arrangements are praiseworthy. The font has 
a circular bowl on cylindrical stem. 
In the churchyard are fine yew-trees. 

DEVYNOCH (ST. DEVYNOO). 

29 Jane 1855. 

This church is above par, both in size and general 
condition, as compared with those of South Wales at 
large ; and the adjacent large village has an unusual 
air of neatness, with several excellent, newly built 
houses. The church is in a spacious cemetery. The 
plan is a long nave and chancel, with a north aisle 
beginning at some distance from the west, but extend- 
ing quite to the east end ; a south porch, and a large 
west tower. There is no dilapidation here ; and the 
windows, except on the north side, have escaped muti- 
lation ; but there is little beauty of architecture. The 
windows are all Perpendicular ; the two at the east 
end of the chancel and aisle are of four lights, and not 

5th 8BR., VOL. III. 1 8 



274 NOTES ON THE OLDER CHURCHES 

bad. On the south is one of three lights, trefoiled, but 
without tracery, and rudely executed. The aisle is 
divided from the body by an arcade of three wide, 
pointed arches on octagonal piers with capitals. The 
arches are chamfered. The roofs of the nave and aisle 
are coved and paneled. The western part of the nave 
is partitioned off by a gallery, and not used for service. 
The tower is a good specimen of the fortress-like sort, 
and very strong and massive, with a battlement and 
two stringcourses, but without buttress or west door. 
There is a lofty, square turret at the south-east, aJso 
embattled, and rising above the parapet. The belfry- 
windows are on each side, double, and plain. On the 
west side are two single windows. Here there is no 
corbel-table. 

The churchyard is beautifiil, and foil of flowered 
graves. 

PENDERIN (ST. CYNOG). 

June 19th, 1856. 

This church is situated high, in a very large burying 
ground. It has only a chancel and nave, with west 
tower, and south porch, and has been much modernised. 
The windows are most miserable, except that at the 
east end, which is doubtfol ; of two lights, with a 
lozenge above. In the porch is an octagonal stoup with 
sculpture. The tower is rude, and rather small, with 
battlement and corbel-table; but no buttress nor door, 
and only square-headed openings for the belfry. It is 
open within, quite to the roof. The font is octagonal, 
upon a stem of like form. The interior is gloomy and 
damp, with modern pews, but there is no ^lery. 

YSTRAD FELLTE (ST. MARY). 

June 28th, 1855. 

The plan is a chancel and nave without aisles, and a 
western tower. There is the usual deficiency of good 
architecture, and, together with rudeness, a large 
amount of neglect and dilapidation. 



IN THE FOUR WELSH DIOCESES. 275 

The situation is most pleasing, near the river Mellte, 
with its woody bank, in a scene of rural quietness, and 
the churchyard contains fine yew-trees, and graves 
planted with flowers. 

The tower, which has escaped the whitewashing 
which covers the body, is characteristic, and not dis- 
pleasing, of the severe Welsh style, with a battlement 
and small corbel-table under it, but with neither but- 
tress nor stringcourse. The belfry-window on each 
side is a plain rectangle ; the other openings merely 
slits. There is the usual swelling basement, as is seen 
almost throughout Wales. The chancel-arch is a very 
rude, pointed one. On the south side of the chancel is 
a square-headed, two-light window of Perpendicular 
character ; and to the north, a single lancet of doubt- 
ful age. The east window may be Decorated, but rude, 
of two lights, with a diamond above them. The other 
windows have been modernised, and, as not unfre- 
quently occurs in Wales, are secured by outside shut- 
ters. The interior is gloomy, and pewed up to the east 
end. The roofe have been partially new slated. The 
font has an octagonal bowl. The south porch has been 
removed. On the north side are very few graves.^ 



CATHEDINE (ST. MICHAEL). 

Jane 80th, 1855. 

This church, in a beautiful situation, near Llangorse 
Pool, has but a mean appearance. It consists of a 
chancel and nave, with a kind of tower at the west 
end, not rising higher than the nave ; and a chapel 
curiously added, at right angles, on the north side, close 
to the west end of the nave. The steeple, perhaps, 
was intended to be higher, as it has a saddle-roof, and 
scarcely equals in height that of the nave, giving a 
curious appearance to the whole. On the south are 
three single windows of doubtful character; on the 

^ This church has been restored, bat not in a style to be com- 
mended. 

18* 



276 NOTES ON THE OLDER CHURCHES 

north is but one window ; and that at the east end is 
poor Perpendicular, of two lights. Some of the win- 
dows have stepped cills. The church is humble enough, 
and whitewashed ; but the site is very beautiful. 

In the churchyard are some fine yew-trees. The out- 
line of Cathedine Church is very eccentric and curious.^ 



LLANOORSE (ST. MICHAEL). 

June 30th, 1855. 

This is a rather large church for South Wales, and 
has a chancel and nave, with south aisle to both, and 
a western tower. The aisle is of nearly the same width 
and height as the body. The arcade of the nave has 
three very wide, pointed arches, with tolerable mould- 
ings, on octagonal pillars with sides slightly concave, 
and moulded capitals. The chaucel-arch is pointed and 
rude. Between the chancel and aisle is one arch like 
those of the nave. The chancel extends a little beyond 
the aisle. On the south of the nave are square-headed 
Perpendicular windows of two lights ; on the north 
are some double windows with trefoil heads, but vary- 
ing. On the north of the chancel are no windows. 
There is one good Perpendicular pointed window in 
the south aisle, of three lights. The east window of the 
south aisle is also of this kind. The east window of 
the chancel is an old one, perhaps debased. There is 
a sort of rose in the upper part, beneath the label, 
which is graduated, — a debased form. The font has an 
octagonal bowl on cylindrical stem, attached to one of 
the piers of the nave. The tower has a fair appearance, 
and is not whitewashed, as the walls of the body are. 
It is Perpendicular, with good battlement, divided by 
two stringcourses, the base projecting in Welsh fashion. 
The belfry -windows are good Perpendicular, of two 
lights, with tracery ; the other openings are slits. It 
has a, peal of six bells.^ 

^ The chancel and north transept have been restored 
^ This church has been well restored. 



IN THE FOUR WELSH DIOCESES. 277 

LLANHAMLECH (ST. PETER). 

Jane 80, 1855. 

This church, which has only a chancel and nave, 
seems to have been rebuilt, except the tower and north 
porch, or at least to have been entirely modernised, the 
windows being all of the poorest modern Gothic. The 
tower at the west end is a fair one, of Perpendicular 
character ; but, as usual, without stringcourse or but- 
tress, embattled, with projecting spouts at the corners. 
The belfry-window, on each side, is square-headed, of 
two lights ; in the other stories the apertures are mere 
slits. The font has a plain octagonal bowl. The porch 
is on the north side ; and on the same side of the 
church, being the chief approach to it, the graves are 
more numerous than on the south. ^ 

LLANVILLO, CO. BRECON (ST. MILLBURG). 

22 AQ.&r. 1861. 

This church has a nave and chancel only, with a re- 
markably low and coarse western tower, and a south 
porch. The exterior is very rude ; the roof tiled. The 
tower looks as if it was never finished; it has a pointed, 
tiled roof, and is entirely devoid of architectural charac- 
ter ; it has only one slit-like opening, and no original 
door. There is the trace of a Norman doorway on the 
north, now closed. The arch is semicircular, and 
between the tympanum and the doorcase is a horizon- 
tal course of hollowed square ornament. There is the 
trace of a lancet window on the north, and a new win- 
dow has been introduced ; but there is not one on the 
north of the chancel, and the east window is a wretched 
modern one. On the south is a square-headed, two- 
light, labeled. Perpendicular window. There is the 
projection on the north for the rood-stairs. The roof 
is coved and ribbed. Between the nave and chancel 
is a rude semicircular arch ; and a pretty fair rood-loft 
and screen, having paneling below the loft, and paneled 

^ This church is about to be restored. 



278 NOTES ON THE OLDER CHURCHES 

front, on the west ; also some tolerable screen-tracery, 
and cornice of vine-leaves and grapes. The font has a 
circular bowl on a stem, and square base. 



CRICKHOWELL. 

1836. 

A large and rather handsome church in the shape of 
a cross, and in very excellent condition ; still a good 
many ugly, modern Gothic windows have been inserted, 
however good the intentions. The nave has side-aisles. 
The chancel is large, though without aisles. The tran- 
septs have long windows, of two lights, which seem to 
be Decorated. The tower rises from the centre of the 
cross, and appears to be of transition character, from 
Early English to Decorated. There is no battlement, 
but a corbel-table imder the parapet. The belfry- 
windows are single lancets, trefoiled. There is a tall, 
shingled spire, an uncommon feature in Wales. The 
nave is divided from the aisles on each side by three 
pointed arches, the eastern of which is very wide, 
springing from octagonal columns. The west window 
has lost its tracery. In the wall between the south 
aisle and the transept is a narrow, pointed arch, cinque- 
foiled, and an elegant, canopied niche with ogee-arch, 
crockets, pinnacles, and feathering. The tower is sup- 
ported on four large pointed arches. The ceiling is 
modern. Adjoining the north transept is a small ves- 
try, which has trefoil lancet-windows with transoms. 
The chancel has on each side trefoil lancet-windows. 
The east window, of three lights, with mullions simply 
crossing, may be early Decorated. On each side of the 
chancel are two arches in the wall, for sepulchral 
monuments, all well and deeply moulded. One on the 
north side has a niche within it, and also the effigy of 
a priest; but it is partially hidden by the more m<xlern 
monument of Sir John Herbert. On the south side 
one of the recesses contains the ejffigy of a cross-legged 
knight with shield. There are a modern Gothic altar- 



IN THE FOUR WELSH DIOCESES. 379 

piece, neat and uniform pews, and an organ erected in 
1836. The font is early, — a circular bowl on shaft of 
similar form. 

LLANBEDR YSTRADWY (ST. PETER). 

May I9th, 1864. 

This church has two equal bodies, as Llangenen 
Church, with south porch, and also a tower at the 
west end of the northern aisle or nave. The nave is 
of four bays, the chancel of two, and the arches are 
pointed, on octagonal pillars with capitals. The chancel- 
arch is pointed. The roof is flat in pitch, and paneled. 
On the north the windows are bad, and modern. The 
two east windows are square-headed, and labeled, of 
three lights. On the south is one square-headed win- 
dow of four lights, of a character frequently seen in 
this neighbourhood ; and one south of the chancel is of 
three. The whole seems to be Perpendicular. The 
exterior is whitewashed, all but the tower. There is a 
priest's door on the south. The porch has an outer 
doorway of Tudor character, and labeled. One window 
south of the nave, of two lights, is set high in the wall. 
The tower has an embattled parapet rising high at the 
north-east angle ; belfry- windows of two lights, with 
one stringcourse ; some slit-like openings; and neither 
buttress, nor west window, nor door. 



LLANGATTOCK. 

This church has a west tower, nave, chancel, north 
aisle, and south porch. The tower is massive but low, 
with a battlement and octagonal turret at the north- 
east. The west window is Perpendicular, the battle- 
ment whitewashed, and the rest of dark stone. The 
whole of the body is whitewashed. The porch has one 
small trefoil opening. The windows are mostly Per- 
pendicular, of three lights, the tracery resembling that 
which is commonly seen in the Devonshire churches. 
The interior is dark, and the aisle divided from the 



280 NOTES ON THE OLDER CHURCHES 

body by five low, plain, pointed arches upon octagonal 
piers. The church is furnished with an organ. One 
window is square-headed. 

LLANGENEN, CO. BBECON (sT. CBNEN). 

May 19. 1864., 

This church is in remarkably good condition, having 
lately undergone a judicious restoration, with due 
attention to preserving the original character. It con- 
sists of two equal bodies, the original chancel occupy- 
ing the east end of the northern ; a south porch ; and 
a gabled bellcot for two bells, in open arches, over the 
west end of the northern aisle. All the windows are 
Perpendicular; most of them square-headed, except 
that at the east of the south aisle ; varying, of two, 
three, and four lights ; and one a single light, cinque- 
foiled. The nave has an arcade of three pointed arches; 
the chancel, one of two, with octagon pillars having capi- 
tals. Between the nave and chancel is a pointed arch, 
in the wall on each side of which is a hagioscope into 
the chancel. The southern aisle or body is undivided 
by an arch. The altar is now at the east end of the 
south aisle ; this aisle has a cradle-roof; the north 
chancel has a flat-ribbed roof; the seats are open ; there 
is a stone reredos ; and the floor is laid with polished 
tiles. There is a priest's door on the south of the 
chancel. The porch is, according to the custom of the 
country, very large, and has stone seats. The font has 
a cylindrical bowl on a stem. 

The churchyard is very beautiful, and borders on a 
rapid river, and there is a new lych-gate. 

LLANTHETTY (ST. DELTA). 

May 20th, 1864. 

A small, single-bodied church of the Welsh type, 
with no distinction of chancel, has a large south porch, 
and over the west end a gabled and roofed bellcot for 
two bells ; the external walls are wholly whitewashed. 



IN THE FOUR WELSH DIOCESES. 281 

The whole seems to be Perpendicular. The east window 
is Pointed, but rather small, of three lights ; the other 
windows are square-headed, of two lights ; but some- 
what debajsed on the north, which seem to be insertions 
of a later period ; those on the south are of better 
character. The roof is coved and ribbed according to 
the fashion of the west of England. There is neither 
west window nor door. On the south of the chancel 
is a priest's door with Tudor arch and label. The inte- 
rior IS pewed. The porch has stone seats. The outer 
doorway has plain mouldings ; the inner doorway has 
Tudor arch and continuous mouldings. 

The cemetery is large, and quite lonely, close to the 
Usk, and amidst the most lovely scenery of wood and 
hill and dale. In it was a fine growth of wild hya- 
cinths.* 

* This chnrch has been restored. 



(To be continued.) 



282 



ON A 

MUTILATED WOODEN IMAGE OF THE 
CRUCIFIX 

FOUND IK THE CHURCH OF KEMBYS INFERIOR, MONMOUTHSHIRE ; AND ON 

OTHER WOODEN IMAGES, OR PORTIONS OF SUCH, STILL 

EXISTING IN THIS COUNTRY. 

The introduction of images into Christian churches was 
undoubtedly very ancient ; perhaps as early as, if not 
anterior to, the sixth century, — a practice which met 
with varied success, being more than once prohibited 
by iconoclastic zeal, with destruction consequent there- 
on ; nor was it finally established in the Western Church 
till the middle of the ninth century. 

Of early existing remains of Christian art, in relation 
to imagery, are perhaps some representations on carved 
diptychs, or ivory tablets, in low relief. One of these, 
published by the Arundel Society, represents the Blessed 
Virgin enthroned, with the infant Christ on her lap, 
with an angel on each side. This is executed in a 
graceful simplicity. The original plaque of ivory is 
stated to be in the Kunsthammer, Berlin, and is stated 
to be probably of the sixth century. The tablet is 
1 1 inches in height, and 5 inches in widtL I am not 
going, however, to enter into the history of image- 
worsnip, but rather to say a few words on its disuse in 
this country ; but the above icon, if so it may be desig- 
nated, is the earliest T have met with. 

Robert Wynchelsee, Archbishop of Canterbury a.d. 
1294-1313, in one of his Provincial Constitutions, that 
De Ecclesiis edificandis, commencing '* Ut parochiani", 
amongst articles required for a church mentions " ima- 
gines in ecclesia, imaginem principalem in cancello.'* 
In his gloss on the former of which, Lyndwood observes, 
** Imagines sanctorum que non sunt contemnende, sed 
reverende'*; and of the latter, " Imaginem principalem 



WOODEN IMAGE OF THE OKUCIFIX. 283 

scilicet illiiis sancti ad cujus honorem ecclesia conse- 
crata est." 

Before I conclude I shall endeavour to adduce one or 
more instances in which, as I consider, such images 
have been preserved. 

In the Provincial Council of Cashell, in Ireland (*' Con- 
cilium Provinciale Cashelense"), held a.d. 1453, it was 
enjoined that in every church there should be at least 
three images, namely, of the Blessed Virgin St. Mary, 
of the crucifix, and of the patron of the place in honour 
of whom the church was dedicated. ** Quod in singulis 
ecclesiis ad minus habeantur tres imagines, sanctae 
beatse Marias virginis, sanctse crucis, et patroni loci in 
cujus honorem ecclesia dedicatur." 

By the royal injunctions, a.d. 1538 (<emp.Hen. VIIT), 
** such feigned images as were known to be abused of 
pilgrimages, or offerings of any kind made thereunto, 
were, for the avoiding of idolatry, to be forthwith 
taken down without delay." Under these, many images 
which had been resorted to from a belief in their supe- 
rior sanctity and miraculous power were destroyed. 

It would appear that all the images in the churches 
of the monasteries, or at least of some of them, were 
sold on their dissolution. The ornaments in the church 
and vestry of that of Pipe well, in Northamptonshire, a 
Cistercian monastery, were sold to Sir William Parre, 
Knight, on the 6th of November, 30th Henry VIII, for 
£16 3s. These, amongst numerous other articles, com- 
prised " one table of carved timber with great images, 
one image of our Lady of Pity, one image of King 
Henry (VI). In St. Nicholas Chapel, one image of 
St. Nicholas ; at the Trinity altar, one image of the 
Trinity ; at St. Catherine's alta^r, certain ould images ; 
at St. Peters altar, one little image of Our Lady ; in 
the body of the church a rood." 

Amongst articles in the church of the Monastery of 
Merevale, Warwickshire, sold at the dissolution, we find 
enumerated six old altars with images. These pro- 
duced 2s. 



284 WOODEN IMAGE OF THE CRDCIFIX. 

In 1547, the first year of the reign of Edward VI, it 
was by the royal injunctions ordered that **all images 
which had been or were abused with pilgrimage, or 
offerings of anything made thereunto, were, for the 
avoiding of the detestable offence of idolatry, by eccle- 
siastical authority, but not by that of private persons, 
to be taken down and destroyed; and as to such 
images which had not been abused, and which as yet 
were suffered to remain, the parishioners were to be 
admonished by the clergy that they served for no other 
purpose but to be a remembrance whereby men might 
be admonished of the holy lives and conversation of 
them that the said images did represent ; which images, 
if they did abuse for any other intent, they committed 
idolatry in the same, to the great danger of their souls.'' 

In 1548 an Act was passed, intituled "An Act for 
abolishing and putting away divers Books and Images." 
By this it was enacted that ** Images of stone, timber, 
alabaster, or earth, graven, carved, or painted, which 
theretofore had been taken out of any church or chapel, 
or yet stood in any church or chapel, were to be defaced 
and destroyed." But even before this Act^ and in 1547, 
the images in many churches were pulled down. This 
is noted in a passage in the Chronicles of the Grey Friars 
of London : *' Item the v day after, in September, be- 
ganne the kynges yysytacion at Powlles, and alle 
imagys puUyd down ; and the ix day of the same 
monyth the said vysytacion was at Sent Bryddes, and 
after that in dyvers other paryche churches ; and so 
alle imagys puUyd downe thorough all Ynglonde att 

that tyme Item the xvii day of the same money the 

(November 1547), at nyghte, waa puUyd downe the 
Rode (rood) in Powlles, with Mary and John, with all 
the images in the churche. Item also at that same 
tyme was puUyd downe thorrow alle the kynges domy- 
nion, in every chinrche, alle Roddes (roods), with alle 
images ; and every preacher prechyd in their sermons 
agayne alle images." 

Early in the reign of Queen Mary, the rood, or image 



WOODEN IMAGE OF THE CRUCIFIX. 285 

of the crucifix, was ordered to be restored to the seve- 
ral churches. In Bishop Bonner's "Articles of Visita- 
tion'', A.I). 1554, amongst ** Articles concerning the 
Things of the Church, and Ornaments of the Church", 
Article IX is as follows: *' Item whether there be a 
crucifix, a rood loft, as in times past hath been accus- 
tomed." And in the articles set forth by Cardinal Pole, 
in 1657, to be inquired of in his diocese of Canterbury, 
occurs the following : ** Whether they have a rood in 
their church of a decent stature, with Mary and John, 
and an Image of the Patron of the same Church." 
Queen Mary died in November 1558, and was succeeded 
on the throne by her half-sister, Queen Elizabeth. 

Among the articles to be inquired about in the visit- 
ation in the fii*st year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 
A.D. 1559, the second is, "Item, whether in their 
churches and chapels all images, shrines, all tables, 
candlesticks, trindals, and rolls of wax, pictures, paint- 
ings, and all other monuments of feigned and false 
miracles, pilgrimages, idolatry, and superstition, be 
removed, abolished, and destroyed." And, again, the 
forty-fifth article : *' Item, whether you know any that 
keep in their houses any undefaced images, tables, pic- 
tures, paintings, or other monuments of feigned and 
false miracles, pilgrimages, idolatry, and superstition, 
and do adore them ; and especially such as have been 
set up in churches, chapels, and oratories." 

In allusion to the destruction of images, Machyn, in 
his Diary (1559), writes as follows: "The tyme afor 
Bathellmuwlyd and after was all the rodes (roods) and 

Mares (and) John about London and the 

XXV day of August at saint Botulph's with-owt Bys- 

shyope gatt the rood Mare and John and bokes, 

and ther was a felow within the chyrche mad a sermon 
at the bornyng of the chyrche goodes. The xvj of 
September (1559) was (the) rod (rood) and Mare and 
John and Sant Magnus bornyd at the corner of Fy- 
street, and other things." 

Mr. Peacock, in his interesting work, English Church 



286 WOODEN IMAGE OF THE CRUCIFIX. 

Furniture, Ornaments, and DecorationSy cw exhibited in 
a List of the Goods destroyed in certain Lincolnshire 
Churches in 1566, states that " in the return then made 
from various parishes, we find in thai from Asbye- 
juxta-Sleford, * Imprimis of Images of the Rood mary 
and Ihon with all other Images, burnt So iij** EHzabe- 
the.' Auber : — * Imprimis the Rood Meary and John 
broken and defaced in the fyrst yeare of queue Eliza- 
bethe Reavnge.' Gretford : — * A rood with marie and 
Johne and the Image of saincte Martine the Patrone, 
w'ch were destroyed in the said ffirst yere of the 
queues maiestie that now is/ " 

Other returns are of a similar description, and the 
images appear to have been generally burnt. These 
returns were, some of them, if not all, presented at the 
commandment of John Aylmer, Archdeacon of Lincoln. 

When the images in our churches were directed to 
be destroyed, early in the reign of Edward VI, there 
appears to have been a reluctance in some cases to 
comply with the mandate in its entirety. Some images 
of stone or alabaster, and sculptured tables, as they 
were called, of the latter material, of Scriptural or 
legendary subjects, and executed in bas-relief, were in- 
jured as little as possible, and buried in the church or 
churchyard, with the sculptured part downwards, appa- 
rently for preservation, and in hopes of a resuscitation. 
Such, indeed, have from time to time, especially of late 
years, been discovered, and preserved as mediaeval 
relics of a past age. 

But with regard to the mandates issued early in the 
reign of Elizabeth, it would seem that a diflFerent feel- 
ing existed, and in many instances the voluntary action 
of the parishioners preceded the forthcoming mandate. 

Notwithstanding these two periods of genei-al de- 
struction, in a few instances images of wood (some in a 
more or less state of dilapidation) have been left us. 
These, of late years, have in antiquarian circles excited 
considerable attention. It is, however, with one excep- 
tion, that I have here confined myself to a brief de- 




Th* Phototgp9 Co., 303, Strand, London. 



CRUCIFIX FROM KEMEY'S INFERIOR CHUROH 



WOODEN IMAGE OF THE CRUCIFIX. 287 

scription of such images or imagery of wood, and the 
remains of such, as have come under my notice. 

At a meeting at Carlisle of the Royal Archaeological 
Institute of Great Britaiti and Ireland, held in the 
month of August 1882, was exhibited, from Cartmel 
Fell, a mutilated wooden image, apparently forming ori- 
ginally the central figure of the rood, St. Mary and St. 
John, placed on or in front of the rood-screen or rood- 
loft. The head, trunk, and legs are existing ; the arms 
and feet are gone ; the only drapery consists of a loin- 
cloth. The arms appear to have been extended straight 
out from the shoulders, and not obliquely upwards. It 
may be difficult to fix an approximate date to this 
image; but I think it not earlier than the fifteenth cen- 
tury, perhaps towards the close. The dimensions are 
stated to be 2 feet 6 inches high in its present state. 

A mutilated image of the crucifix supposed to have 
formerly stood on the rood-loft in the Church of Kemeys 
Inferior, Monmouthshire, is said to have been found 
some thirty years ago, with a quantity of bones and 
rubbish, in the blocked-up staircase leading to the 
rood-loft of that church. Of this image the head and 
trunk, with the arms and one foot, remain; the legs 
are gone. The drapery of the loin-cloth appears arranged 
in a late fashion. The arms are connected with the 
shoulders by mortices and tenons. They are extended 
obliquely upwards, and not in a straight line, as in more 
ancient examples. By some who have examined this 
relic an opinion has been formed that the arms are not 
the original ones, but were supplied in the reign of 
Queen Mary. This image, which, as far as I can ascer- 
tain, would have measured about 3 feet in height, was 
exhibited first at the Annual Meeting of the Cambrian 
Archeeological Association held at Newport, Monmouth- 
shire, in August 1885 ; and subsequently at a meeting 
of the Society of Antiquaries held tne 25th of February 
1886. It is now deposited in the Museum at Caerleon. 

In Llandderfel Church, Merionethshire, North Wales, 
is still existing a rudely carved wooden horse or animal. 



288 WOODEN IMAGE OF THE CRUCIFIX. 

an appendage to the once famous image of the patron 
saint of the church, Dervel Gadarn ; an image to which 
offerings were made, and which was taken up to Lon- 
don in 1538, and consumed by fire at Smithfield. 

In the little church of Bettws Gwerfyl Goch, near 
Corwen, is, rudely carved on a wooden panel, in low 
relief, the image of the crucifix, having on the sides the 
images of St. Mary and St John. This I imagine to 
have been originally affixed to or in front of the rood- 
loft or screen, though some are of opinion that it has 
always occupied its present position ; but I think so 
small a church would hardly nave two roods with the 
accompanying images. The carved panel, 4 ft. 3^ ins. 
wide, by 2 ft. 3 ins. in height, is divided into five com- 
partments, each about 8 ins. wide. The central com- 
partment contains a rude representation of the cruci- 
fix, the figure of which is very indistinct. On the 
sides of the head of the cross are the words, ^*Ecce 
Homcf\ In the compartment on the side next to the 
crucifix is the rudely carved image of St. Mary, repre- 
sented in a veiled headdress, a nimbus about the head, 
and the hands folded on the breast. By the side of 
this, in the outward compartment, are carved the em- 
blems of the Passion, — the pincers, thorns, and nails. 
On the other side of the crucifix is the image of St. 
John holding his right hand to his head ; ana in the 
compartment adjoining are carved the hammer, the 
reed with hyssop, and the spear. The whole is a speci- 
men of very rude, carved work of perhaps the early 
part or middle of the sixteenth century, though there 
is nothing in detail to indicate a particular date.^ 

Dingley, in ^n Account of the Progress of His Grace 
Henry the first Duke of Beaufort through Wales, 1684, 
mentions having seen in "Llanrwysf* Church thewooden 
image of the crucifix belonging to the rood-loft there, 
which had been removed, and though kept concealed 

^ It is much to be wished that the wooden accessory in Llandder- 
fel Church, and this rood, could be engraved in the Archceologia 
Camhrensis, 



WOODEN IMAGE OF THE CRUCIFIX. 289 

in the church was not generally known. The following 
are his words : " Over the tiinber arch of the chancell, 
near the rood-loft, lieth hid the ancient figure of the 
crucifixion as big as the life. This, I suppose, is shewn 
to none but the curious, and rarely to them." 

In 1768, in taking down the old church tower of 
Mold, Flintshire, a curious image was discovered. The 
vicar, a Mr. Lewis, thought it was "a relic of the Catho- 
lic superstition of the former inhabitants'', and gave 
orders for its destruction. 

In Abergavenny Church, Monmouthshire, is a huge 
wooden image, apparently that of Jesse, in a reclining 
position. This appears as if part of a design such as 
we sometimes meet with in painted glass windows of 
the fourteenth century. 

In Battlefield Church, Salop, is a wooden image of 
Our Lady of Pity. This is 3 feet 9 inches in height, 
carved out of a block of oak hollowed behind. The 
Blessed Virgin is represented in a sitting attitude, sup- 
porting on her knees and in her arms the dead boay 
of Our Saviour, nude, with the exception of a loin 
doth. She is attired in a gown with ample skirts, and 
mantle, and her head is covered with a veil or cover- 
chief falling down behind. The execution of this image 
is good, but such as clearly indicates it to have been 
executed in the fifteenth century. That a far greater 
degree of veneration was paid to the images of Our 
Lady of Pity than to other images, appeal's from a 
goodly primer, published a.d. 1535, where, in "An Ad- 
monition to theBeader", the practice meets with repro- 
bation. 

In a room adjoining St Mary's Hall, Coventry, is a 
wooden image of St. George on horseback, with a sword 
in his hand, combating the dragon ; the armour in 
which he is represented as clad being that in use in the 
reign of Henry VI, or in the midme of the fifteenth 
century. From the flat surface on one side, this image 
appears to have been affixed against the wall ; and it 
is known to have been placed over the altar in the 

5th ser., vol. III. 19 



290 WOODEN IMAGE OF THE CBUCIFIX. 

Chapel of St George, adjoining Gosford Gate, Coven- 
try. The carving of this composition, which is not very 
spirited, is 3 feet in height, and 1 foot 10 inches in 
width. I presume it tx) have been the ** imago princi- 
palis" of the Chapel. 

There is another well-known wooden image in Coven- 
try, which must, I think, have been removed from one 
of the churches in that city, and was probably " a 
George". It is that of an armed man. The lower arms 
alone are gone. From the details of the armour and 
the broad-toed soUerets, it appears not to be of earlier 
date than that of the reign of Henry VII. For up- 
wards of a century it has done duty as the representa- 
tive of a certain " knight of the thimble", a noted 
charcicter in a senseless legend connected with Coventry. 

I have in my possession a smaU wooden image of a 
bishop, or it may be of a mitred abbot or prior, en- 
shrined, as it were, within tabernacle- work ; the whole 
carved out of a solid block of oak, 3 feet 3 inches in 
height. This is of the early half of the fourteenth 
century, and was formerly in the church of Dunchurch, 
Warwickshire, gradually rebuilt by the monks of Pipe- 
well, Northamptonshire, during the fourteenth century. 
It was thrust out of that church at the commencement 
of the present century, when the finely carved oak sit- 
tings were displaced and swept away for the incoming 
of wretched deal boxes as pews. On this image are 
represented the alb, stole, dalmatic, and chasuble, with 
the mitre on the head, the amice about the neck, and 
the maniple over the left arm. The right hand is up- 
held in the act of benediction, whilst in the left is held 
the pastoral staff or bourdon. How or where placed 
in the church, or whom it represents, I know not. 

On the floor of the tower of Collumpton Church, 
Devon, there is, or recently was, carved in wood, a 
representation of rockwork, with skulls, forming a Cal- 
vary, being the base of the rood, with the socket or 
mortice-hole in which the crucifix was fixed. 

In a communication to the Society of Antiquaries, 



WOODEN IMAGE OP THE CRUCIFIX. 291 

made on the 1st of April 1886, Mr. J. T. Micklethwaite, 
F.S.A., notices, amongst others, a large image of Our 
Lady in Cawston Church, Norfolk ; and at Etchingham 
Church, Sussex, an image of oak, apparently that of 
Our Lady. He also notices another image of the cruci- 
fix, taken from a church in Lincolnshire, the name of 
which is not mentioned, which he was in hopes of being 
able shortly to exhibit to that Society. 

In a chapel of one of the transepts of Lincoln Cathe- 
dral is the stone image of St. Giles, which is somewhat 
more than the average full size, being upwards of 6 ft. 
in height. This is said to have been brought from the 
ruins of the Hospital of St. Giles, which stood north- 
east of the Cathedral, but without the Close. Some 
years ago it was lying in the cloisters, but has since 
been removed to a more worthy place in the Cathedral, 
and set upright. This image represents the Saint 
vested as an ecclesiastic of sacerdotal rank ; in the alb 
with its girdle, and the stole crossed in front of the 
breast, with the extremities hanging down on each 
side. About the neck appears the amice with a rich 
apparel or parure ; and over all a cope is worn, fastened 
in front of the breast by a morse. The arms are gone 
from the elbows downwards ; otherwise the image is 
fairly perfect. At the feet reposes a mutilated animal, 
apparently a hind, from the hip to the shoulder of 
which, and right across the flank, is an arrow. Such 
is the symbol of the Saint, originating from the legend 
of St. Giles, who is said to have lived in the latter part 
of the seventh century. I take this to have been the 
" imago principalis", placed in the chapel of the Hos- 

f>ital, and as such subject at the time to veneration, 
t does not appear to me to have been executed earlier 
than the fifteenth century. 

Matthew Holbechb Bloxam. 



19 



292 



GLAMORGANSHIRE DOCUMENTS. 

The following documents relative to the county of 
Glamorgan have been selected for publication, with the 
permission of Mr. I. R. Francis, from a volume depo- 
sited by him in the Temporary Museum at Swansea on 
the occasion of the recent visit of this Society. They 
form part of a valuable collection made by his father, 
Colonel G. Grant Francis, F.S.A., which is well worthy 
of imitation. Elach document is laid most carefully on 
a page of the book, and is accompanied with a printed 
extension of the text of the original. Facilities are 
thus afforded for ready reading, and for copies by an 
ordinary hand. 

William of St Donat's, Abbot of the Monastery of St Mary of 
Neath, refers to the gift of Sir Edward Stradling to the 
Monastery of an acre of land, and the advowson of the 
Church of St. Donat's, and provides for the celebratiop in 
the Monastery of a yearly obit on the anniversary of his 
death. 20 Oct 1341, 15 Edward IIL (Francis MSB.) 

" Omnibus Christi fidelibus presens scriptum visuris vel audi- 
turis Frater Willelmus de Sancto Donate Abbas monasterii 
beate Marie de Netk et ejusdem loci Couventus salutem in 
Domino. Cum dominus Edwardus de Stradelyngh* miles domi- 
nus de Sancto Donate Anglicano nuper nos per cartam suam 
feoffavit de una acra terre in dicta villa de Sancto Donate simul 
cum advocacione ecclesie ejusdem ville prout in carta predicta 
domini Edwardi nobis inde confecta plenius continetur. Nos 
volentes super hoc vicem pro vice reddere salutarem concedi- 

^ Sir Edward Stradling, Knt, of St. Donat's, was son and heir 
to Sir Peter Stradling, and married Elena or Eleanor, daughter of 
Sir Gilbert Stradling. He was sncceeded by his son Edward, who 
represented the conuty of Somerset in Parliament, 17 Edward III; 
and by his marriage with Gwenllian, daughter of Sir Roger Berke- 
rone, acquired the lordship of East Orchard in the county of Glamor- 
^n. (Wootton's Engliih Baro7iets, 1727, and Burke's Exiwct 
Baro7ietcie8.) 



GLAMORGANSHIRE DOCUMENTS. 293 

mus eidem domino Edwardo pro nobis et successoribus nostria 
quod ipse et £lena consors ejns et omnes liberi eorum de cetero 
fiant participes omnium bonorum spiritualium que fient in mo- 
nasterio nostro eidem domino Edwardo quod anniversarium 
ipsius post decessum suum fiet in monasterio nostro de Neth de 
anno in annum die obitus sui vel proximo die sequente quo 
commodius fieri poterit sine ordinis nostri offensione adeo solemp- 
niter et devote sicut anniversarium alicujus Abbatis domus 
predicte per nos fieri solebat secundum Ordinis constitucionem 
Ad quod quidem anniversarium de anno in annum ut premitti- 
tur fideliter faciendum obligamus nos et successores nostros ter- 
ras et tenementa bona et catalla nostra districtione et cohercione 
cujuscunque judicis ecclesiastici seu secularis inperpetuum. Et 
si contingat nos vel successores nostros de predicto anniversario 
de anno in annum faciendo cessare quod absit volumus et con- 
cedimus pro nobis et successoribus nostris teneri et obligari 
heredibus dicti domini Edwardi in centum solidis argenti nomine 
puri debiti et in aliis centum solidis domino Gladmorgan qui 
pro tempore fuit Solvendis eisdem heredibus et domino infra 
mensem apud Sanctum Donatum postquam cessaverimus a cele- 
bracione anniversarii supradicti et de hoc rite convicti fuerimus 
coram aliquo de judicibus memoratis quem iidem heredes vel 
aliquis eorum dixerit seu dixerint eligendo cujus jurisdictioni 
coercioni districtioni submittimus nos in hac parte hac obligaci- 
one penali semper rata manente. In cujus rei testimonium 
sigillum nostrum una cum sigillo Conventus nostri predicti pre- 
senti scripto sunt appensa. Hiis testibus domino Gilberto de 
Turbervill Henrico de Umframvill Eogero de Berkerole Johanne 
de Avene Johanne de Langeton militibus Johanne le Norreys 
Matho le Soer Johanne de Anne Johanne clerico de Lanyltwyt 
Johanne le Ware Johanne de la Broke Johanne Clement Hen- 
rico Ffaukons et aliis. Datum apud monasterium nostrum pre- 
dictum vicesimo die mensis Octobris anno domini millesimo tre- 
centesimo quadragesimo primo et anno r^ni S^s Edwardi 
tercii post conquestum quinto decimo. 

" Dorso. Copia de oracionibus faciendis per Abbatem de 
Neth.'^ 

Copy, under the seal of the Chancery, of the inquisitions taken 
in Gower in 1^97, after the deaths of John de la Bere of 
Webbely Castle ; of Ehys ap Griffith, Knt, of Penrees and 
Porteynon ; and of John Clement of Pennard. (Francis 
MSS., p. 21.) 

" luquisitiones capte apud Swonesey coram Johanne Seint 
John militi Senescallo terre de Gower die Lune proximo post 



294 GLAM0RQAN8H1RE DOCUMENTS. 

festum Sancti Davidis anno regni Regis Ricardi secundi post con- 
questum vicesimo per sacramentum Ricardi Vernon militis 
Thome Denys militis Morgani Penrees Ricardi Maunsell Johan- 
nis Cady Johannis Aas Roberti Thomas de Landymor Davidis 
Gogh Roberti de la Mare Willelmi Aas Thome Jorum (?) et 
Johannis Gryffyth qui dicunt super sacramentum suum quod 
quidam Johamies de la Bere chivaler qui de domino tenuit cas- 
trum de Wehbely cum pertinentiis per servicium militare obiit 
inde seisitus in dominico suo ut de feodo. £t dicunt quod obiit 
die dominica proximo post festum Sancti Mathei apostoli anno 
regni Regis Ricardi predicti terciodecimo Et dicunt quod pre- 
dictum castrum cum pertinentiis valet in omnibus exitibus juxta 
verum valorem ejusdem per annum decem marcas. Et d&cunt 
quod Johannes de la Bere est filius et heres predicti Johannis 
de la Bere chivaler propinquior et fuit etatis xv. annorum ad 
festum Sancti Michaelis ultimo preteritum non maritatus. 

" Et dicunt quod Thomas Comes Warrewyk exitus et proficua 
dicti Castri cum pertinentiis provenientia a die obitus dicti 
Johannis de la Bere militis usque diem capcionis hujus Inqui- 
sitionis occupavit et percepit quo titulo ignorant. Item dicunt 
quod Rees ap Gruffad Chivaler tenuit in dominico suo et de 
feodo die quo obiit videlicet circa xvii annos elapsos de domino 
per servicium militare maneria de Penrees et Porteagnon et Ag* 
non que valent per annum in omnibus exitibus juxta verum 
valorem eorundem xxx libras. Et dicunt quod predictus Comes 
exitus et proficua inde proveniencia a die mortis predicti Rees 
usque diem capcionis hujus Inquisitionis tenuit quo titulo 
ignorant. Et dicunt quod Thomas ap Rees est filius et heres 
ejusdem Rees propinquior et fuit aetatis xix annorum die Mer- 
curii proximo post festiun Penticostis ultimo preterito non mari- 
tatus. 

** Item dicunt quod Johannes Clement tenuit in dominico suo 
ut de feodo die quo obiit de domino per servicium militare sex 
acras terre cum pertinentiis in Pennarth que valent per annum 
in omnibus exitibus per annum iiii& Et dicunt quod Johannes 
Clement est filius et heres predicti Johannis Clement propinquior 
et etatis ix annorum. In cujus rei testimonium predicti jurato- 
res presenti sigilla sua [apposuerunt]. 

" Data die loco et anno supradictis. 

"Data apud Sweyneseye per copiam sub sigillo Cancellarii 
nostri Gouheiie xxiv™*' de Julii anno regni Regis Ricardi secundi 
post conquestum vicesimo secundo. 

"[Inquisitio capta 5^ Mart 1397.]'* 



GLAMORGANSHIRE DOCUMENTS. 295 

Grant by Alice Charles, relict of William de Lamare, to Edward 
Stradlyng, of a moiety of a burgage tenement in Swansea. 
20 March, 3 Henry IV, 1402. (Francis MSS., p. 23.) 

** Sciant presentes et futuri quod ego Alicia Charles relicta 
Willielmi de Lameare dedi concessi et hac presenti carta mea 
confirmavi Edtaardo de Stradlyng^ medietatem unius bui-gagii 
jacentis in villa de Sweynesey inter tenementum Walteri David 
ex parte una et tenementum Willelmi Skynner e parte altera 
cujus finis extendit se super aquam de Tawy et altera finis super 
altam stratam et unam acram terre et dimidiam jacentem in les 
Kedynge de Sweynesey inter terram Willielmi Taillor ex parte 
una et terram Johannis Horton ex altera parte. Habendum et 
tenendum predicto Edwardo heredibus et assignatis suis imper- 
petuum faciendo capitali domino feodi illius redditus et servicia 
inde debita et de jure consueta. Et ego vero predicta Alicia et 
heredes mei predictam medietatem burgagii et unam acram terre 
et dimidiam cum pertinenciis predicto Edwardo heredibus et 
assignatis suis contra omnes gentes warantizabimus et in perpe- 
tuum defendemus. In cujus rei testimonium huic presenti carte 
mee sigillum meum apposui. Hiis testibus Willielmo de Strad- 
lyng militi tunc Senescallo Gouherie Ricardo Hott tunc prepo- 
sito ville de Sweynesey Johanne Horton Thoma ap Eees Johanne 
Bount et multis aliis. 

"Data apud Sweynesey vicesimo die mensis Martii anno 
regni Regis Henrici quarti post conquestum tercio.*' 



Laurence de Berkrolles, Knt., appoints John Stradlyng his 
attorney, to deliver seisin to John Machon and others of 
lands granted by him. 1 Oct. 13 Henry IV, 1411. (Fran- 
cis MSS., p. 25.) 

" Noverint universi per preeentes me Laurencium Berkrolles 
militem domiDum de Caytyff ordmdLaae constituisse fecisse et in 
looo meo jKWuisse dilectum in Christo Johannem Stradlyng 
meum verum et fidelem attornatum ad deliberandum plenam et 
pacificam seisinam Johanni Machen Johanni ap Willym Vechan 
capellanis et Johanni Thomas de Coytytt* de omnibus terris et 
tenementis pratis boscis pasturis et vastis cum pertinentiis voca- 
tis Lawrenceyslond que quondam magister Lawrencius de Tur- 
berville ienuit infra dominium de Coy tyfif prout in quadam carta 
inde eis confecta plenius continetur rata habiturum et grata 

* The second Sir Edward Stradling, before referred to, who is 
stated to have died 9 Henry IV. 



296 OLXMOBGANSHIR£ DOCUMENTS. 

quicquid idem Johanoes Stradlyng nomine meo fecit in piemis- 
8is. In cujus rei testimonium presentibus sigillum meum appo- 
suL 

** Datum apud Coytyflf primo die Octobris anno regni Regis 
Henrici quarti post conquestum tertiodecimo." 



Grant by Lawrence BerkerouU, Knt, lord of the manor of Coy- 
tiff, to John Machon and others of lands in that manor. 
1 October, 13 Henry II, 1411. (Francis MSS., p. 26.) 

" Sciant presentes et futuri quod ego Laurencius de BerkerouU 
miles dominus de Coytiff dedi concessi et hac presenti carta 
mea confirmavi Johanni Machon Johanni ap Wyllym Vaghan 
capellanis et Johanni Thome de Coytiff onmia terras et tene- 
menta prata boscas pasturas et vasta cum onmibus suis perti- 
neuciis vocatis Laurenceydond que magister Lavrendvs de Tur- 
berville quondam persona ecclesie de Coychourch tenuit infra 
dominium de Coytiff. Habendum et tenendum omnia predicta 
terras et tenementa prata boscos et vasta cum omnibus suis per- 
tinenciis predictis Johanni Machon et Johanni ap Wylljrm 
Vaghan capellanis et Johanni Thomas heredibus et assignatis 
suis imperpetuum de capitali domino feodi illius per redditus et 
servicia inde prius debita et de jure consueta Et ego vero pre- 
dictus Laurencius BerkerouU miles dominus de Coytiff et here- 
des mei omnia predicta terras et tenementa prata boscos pastu- 
ras et vastas cum omnibus suis pertinenciis predicto Johanni 
Machon Johanni ap Wyllym Vaghan capellanis et Johanni 
Thomas heredibus suis et assignatis contra omnes gentes waran- 
tizabimus. In cujus rei testimonium huic presenti carte mee 
sigillum meum apposui. Hiis testibus Gilberto Denys milite 
Johanne le Eyr juniore Johanne Bonevill et aliis. 

" Data apud Coytiff primo die Octobris anno regni Regis Hen- 
rici quarti post conquestum terciodecimo.** 



Grant by John Stradlyng, Knt., to leuan ap David ap Gwyllym 
of lands in Coyty at a yearly rent, and subject to a heriot 
on death. 30 May, 5 Henry VI, 1427. (Francis MSS., 
p. 32.) 

" Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos presens scriptum inden- 
tatum pervenerit Johannes^ Stradlyng miles salutem in domino 
sempiternam. Noveritis me dedisse concessisse et hoc presenti 
scripto meo indentato confirmasse Jevan ap David ap Gwyllym 

^ No mention of this John is made by Wootton or Burke. 



OLAMOBOAHSHIRB DOCUMENTS. 297 

duas acras et dimidiam terre cum pertinenciis in Coitifi vocate 
Potteris Lond in parte orientali alte vie vocate Uptoun Wey. 
Habendum et tenendum predictas duas acras et dimidiam terre 
cum pertinenciis prefato Jevan heredibus et assignatis suis im- 
perpetuum de capitalibus dominis feodi illius per redditus et 
servicia inde debita et consueta et reddendo michi heredibus et 
assignatis meis viginti unum denarios ad festum Sancti Michae- 
lis annuatim et quinque solidos nomine herietti post decessum 
dicti Jevan her^um vel assignatorum suorum vel tale heriet- 
tum cum acciderit super tres acras terre quas ego Johannes 
habui de dicto Jevan in novo clauso meo per quandbun finem in 
Curia de Coitiff levatam. £t omnia talia consuetudines et ser- 
vicia debita super dictas tres acras terre cum acciderint Et si 
contingat dicti viginti unum denarii vel quinque solidi nomine 
herietti vel heriettum consuetudines et servicia prenominata 
aretro sint insoluti vel non facta ad tempus et terminos usuales 
ex tunc bene liceat michi predicto Johanni heredibus et assig- 
natis meis pro eisdem distringere in predictis duabus acris terre 
cam pertinenciis et districtiones retinere quousque de eisdem 
michi heredibus vel assignatis meis plenarie satisfactum fuerit 
Proviso tamen quod ego predictus Johannes pro me heredibus 
et assignatis meis volo et concede per preseiitcs quod si predic- 
tus Jevan heredes sen eorum assignati solvant et faciant reddi- 
tus heriettum consuetudines et servicia domino de Coitiff debi- 
tos sen debendos de tribus acris terre pro me Johanne heredibus 
et assignatis meis quas habui ex concessione dicti Jevan per 
quandam finem inter nos levatam quod tunc predictus red- 
ditus viginti unum denariorum quinque solidorum nomine heri- 
ette vel herietum consuetudines et servicia prenominata super 
dictas duas acras et dimidiam terre onerata omnino medio tem- 
pore cessent alioquin stent in suo robore et effectu et sic tociens 
quociens Et ego vero predictus Johannes et heredes mei pre- 
dictas duas acras et dimidiam terre cum pertinenciis prefato 

Jevan [ap David ap Gwyllym] suis contra omnes gentes 

warantizabimus imperpetuum. In cujus rei testimonium pre- 
senti scripto indentato partes predicte sigilla sua altematim 
apposuenint. Hiis testibus Gilberto Turberville Johanne Eyre 
David Mathewe et aliis. 

"" Datum ultimo die Maii anno r^ni K^s Henrici Sexti post 
conquestum quinto.** 

Lease of the manor of Coitiffe, or West Place, for thirty years 

from John Stradling of Merthyrmawr, Esq., to Edmund 

Stradling. 12 June, 20 Edward IV, 1480. (Francis MSS., 

p. 39.) 

" Hec indentura facta duodecimo die Junii anno regni Regis, 



298 GLAMOBGANSHIRE DOCUMENTS. 

Edwardi quarti post conquestum vicesimo inter JoJiannem Strode 
lyng de Merthirmawre armigerum et JBdmundum Stradlyng 
filium Edmundi Stradlyng annigeri testatur quod predictus Ed- 
mundus tradidit et ad firmam dimisit prefato Johanni Stradling 
manerium suum de CoUiffe aliter dictum West Place cum omni- 
bus terns et tenementis infra manerium predictum que vel quod 
nuper fuit Johannis Stradljmg militis infra dominium de Coi- 
tiffe Habendum et tenendum predictum manerium cum suis 
pertinentiis prefato Johanni Stradling et assignatis suis ad ter- 
ininum triginta annorum Beddendo inde per annum prefato 
Edmundo heredibus et assignatis suis quadraginta solidos bone 
et legalis monete Anglie ad festum Sancti Michaelis Archangel! 
tantum, Et si contingat predictos tunc bene licebit pre- 
fato Edmundo in manerium predictum intrare et distringere 
distringcionesque sic captas licite asportare effugare et penes 
se retinere quousque de redditu predicto et ejus arreragiis 
si que fuerint sibi plenarie fuerit persolutus et satisfactus. Et 
predictus Johannes Stradling et assignati sui manerium predic- 
tum cum omnibus edificiis ibidem et ad tempus dimissionis pre- 
dicte stantibus ac situatis gardinis fossis vivariis aquariis stag- 
nis et cum ceteris suis pertinenciis bene et sufficienter repara- 
bunt sustentabunt et manutenebunt sumptibus suis propriis et 
expensis durante termino supradicto. Et ulterius predictus 
Johannes Stradling et assignati sui omnes convenciones ac omnia 
et singula infrascripta in partibus suis in forma predicta bene 
et fideliter tenebunt et perimplebunt sub pena forisfacture ter- 
mini predicti hiis indenturis in aliquo seu aliquibus non obstan- 
tibus. Proviso semper quod prefatus Johannes Stradling et 
assignati sui durante termino predicto teneat vel teneant per se 
vel suflScientem deputatum suum seu per sufficientes deputatos 
curiam predicti Edmundi vel ejus heredum apud Calwynstauj 
secundum usum et consuetudinem ibidem usitatum singuUs 
temporibus debitis et consuetis. In cujus rei testimonium partes 
predicti hiis indentaris sigiUa sua altematim apposuerunt dicto 
die et anno supradicto." 

Grant by Sir Edward Stradljmg, Knt., to Cardinal Beaufort and 
others, of the manor of I^nfey, in the lordship of Ogmore. 
1 April, 7 Henry VI, 1429. (Francis MSS., p. 31.) 

"Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos presentes litere inden- 
tate pervenerint jEdi^arrfiw Straddyng^ miles salutem in domino. 

^ Sir Edward Stradling accompanied his father. Sir William, to 
the Holy Sepulchre, and was made, with him, Knight of that Order 
in tlio beginning of the reign of Henry VI. He married Jane, 
daughter of Cardinal Beaufort. 



OLAMOBGANSHIRE DOCUMENTS. 299 

Noveritis me dedisse concessisse et per presentes confirmasse 
Henrico Beauford dei gratia Cardinali Anglic que Wyntoniend 
Episcopo Morgana ap Jankgn Kemmys et Thome Lyddyn mane- 
rium meum de Lanfey cum pertinentiia infra dominium de Og- 
more quatuor carucatas terre viginti quinque acras et dimidiam 
prati centum acras terre arabilis tres acras bosci viginti quatuor 
acras pasture sexaginta acras vasti et sexaginta solidos annui 
redditus. Habendum et tenendum omnia predicta manerium 
cum pertinentiis quatuor carucatas terre viginti quinque apras 
et dimidiam prati centum acras terre arabilis tres acras bosci 
viginti quatuor acras pasture sexaginta acras vasti et sexaginta 
solidos annui redditus prefatis Cardinali Morgano et Thome 
heredibus et assignatis suis imperpetuum de capitalibus dominis 
feodorum illorum per redditus et servicia inde debita et con- 
sueta. Et ego vero predictus Edwardus et beredes mei omnia 
predicta manerium cum pertinentiis quatuor carucatas terre 
viginti quinque acras et dimidiam prati centum acras terre ara- 
bilis tres acras bosci viginti quatuor acras ^ture sexaginta 
acras vasti et sexaginta solidos annui redditus ut predictum est 
prefatis Cardinali Morgano et Thome heredibus et assignatis 
suis contra omnes gentes warantizabimus acquietabimus et im- 
perpetuum defendemus per presentes. In cujus rei testimonium 
huic presenti carte mee indentate sigillum meum apposuL Hiis 
testibus Johanne Seynt John milite Thoma Malyfant seniore Jo- 
hanne le Eire WillielmoFlemyng Thoma Xerber armigeris et aliis. 
" Data prime die Aprilis anno regni Eegis Henrici Sexti post 
conquestum Anglie septimo/' 

Proclamation of King Charles by the Portreeve of Swansea. 
(Francis MSS., p. 64.) 

** Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to call out of this 
mortal life our late loving Sovereign King James of most happy 
memory, unto whose royal Sceptre and Diadem of Gt Britain 
and Ireland, with all the rest of his Dominions, the most high 
and mighty Prince Charles, his dear son, is the sole, true, and 
undoubted Heir and Lawful Successor, We, his most faithful 
and loving subjects, the Portreeve, Aldermen, and inhabitants 
of this Tovm and Hundred of Swansea now present, do with joy- 
ful Hearts and Unanimity, according to our Duties in this be- 
half, declare and proclaim our now loving Sovereign King 
Charles to be, by the Grace of God, King of Gt. Britain, France, 
and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, whose happy reign may 
God long preserve. — Ood save King Charles. 

" This was proclaimed in the Market Place Anno Domini 1625. 

" Walter Thomas, Esq., Steward, 
" Henry Flemming, Portreeve.*^ 



300 GLAM0RGAN8HIRB DOCUMEKTS. 

(Francis MSS.) 

" To the most Honorable Henry Marquesse of Worcester,^ Lord 
President of Wales and the Marches thereof, and Lord 
Lieutenant of the same, one of his Majesty's most honor- 
able Privy Councill, and Knight of the most noble order 
of the Garter. 

'*The humble peticon of severall of the Alderjnen and most of 
the Burgesses of the Towne of Swanzey in the County 
of Glamorgan, 

" Humbly Sheweth 
" That the said Town of Swanzey is a Towne Corporate, And 
has its commencement by severall Grants and Charters, And in 
particular by a Grant made to the said Towne (above 370 Years 
since) by William de Brews (then Lord of Gower), betweene 
whom and the said Towne there had beene some misunder- 
standing concerning their privileges. And then the said Williani 
de Brews (whose Kight is devolved to your Lordship by the said 
Grant) confirmed the ancient Lawes and Customes of the said 
Towne of Swanzey, observed and granted to them in the time 
of his progenitor, and obliged himself, his Heirs and Assigns for 
ever, That nothing contrary thereunto should bee imposed on 
the Burgesses of the said Towne of Swanzey. And that under 
the penalty of 500W. to the Lord o' King, and 500 marks to the 
Burgesses of the said Towne, to be paid as often as the privi- 
leges of the said Burgesses, or any part thereof, should be vio- 
lated or infringed upon by his Loniship or Steward. That it 
was enacted by a Statute made in the 34 and 35 of H. 8, That 
the Major, BaiUflFs, and other head officers of Corporate Towns 
in Wales might hold pleas and doe every other thing according 
to their Lawfull Grant and laudable Customs of such Towns. 
And that Aldermen of the said Towne of Swanzey, time out of 
mind, were elected by the major vote of the Burgesses at their 
Comon Halls appointed for that purpose, and that Forraigners 
were ever excluded from being Aldermen or Burgesses. And 
such as were not Burgesses sons, or had not served as appren- 
tices (although living and inhabiting in the said Towne), paid 
moneys for their freedome, which has in time got the Towne 
some hundreds of pounds towai'ds the maintaining of the poor 
and other public uses. That the Burgesses of the said Towne 

^ Henry Somerset, summoned to Parliament as Lord Herbert of 
Chepstow, 1 James, 1603; created Marquess of Worcester, 2 Nov. 
1642 ; died in 1646. 



GLAMORGANSHIRE DOCUMENTS. 301 

doe subscribe to an Immunity from appearing at every Court 

Baron^ 

And now men of broken and profligate fortune in the said 
Towne, and other your Lordship's Courts, are sworne of Juryes. 
And if they doe not find as they are directed by your Lordship 
Stewards, they are overawed and threatened to be fined, which 
(as your petitioners are advised) is contrary to law. 

" That youre lordships present stewards, without and against 
the consent of the greatest number of the Burgesses of the said 
Towne, doe elect Aldermen and Burgesses who do neither inha- 
bit in the said Towne nor pay Scott and Lott, and without pay- 
ing any ffine for their freedomes, the said Burgesses being not 
8ufrej*ed (by your Lordship's present stewards) to speak for their 
privUeges, but advised and threatened with unseemly words 
and carriages towards them, which is contrary to their Grant 
and ancient Customs. 

" That your Petitioners, during the time of the Law Suits 
betweene your Lord'p and the Lady Marchionesse Dowager of 
Worcester, did espouse your Lordships interest, and therefore 
doe pretend to your Lordships favour and protection. That 
your petitioners are unwilling to appeal to any other judicature 
for redresse but to yoiur honour. 

" May it please y"^ Lordship to take these premises into your 
wise and worthy consideration, and to Give Order for the Eecty- 
fying of the Irregular Proceedings of the Election of Aldermen 
and Burgesses for the said Towne, and to redresse your Peti- 
tioners said grievances, and your Petitioners shall pray, &c. 

"And remain Your Lordshipps Humble Servants in the behalf 
of our selves and all the Eest of our Fellow Burgesses. 

" Eobt. Jones Thomas Hopkins 

John Howell James Eoberts 

Hopkin Johnes Will. Morgan 

Edwd. Williams Math. Davies 

Morgan Harrison John Jones 

Antony Jones." 

^ Two lines taken up in the binding. 



302 




SWANSEA CASTLE.^ 

{Read at the Swansea Meeting, 1886.) 

There is something about this old pile unusually re- 
raarkable. The Castle of Swansea is one of our proudest 
monuments, and in days past had a very remarkable 
history ; one peculiarly interesting, for local history 
links itself with national history. 

The first building of a castle at this place, of which 
we have any historic record, was subsequent to the Nor- 

^ Mr. Capper ezproFsed his great indebtedness to the researches 
of the late Colonel Grant Francis for the main points. 



SWANSEA CASTLE. 303 

man conquest, and is attributed to Henry Beaumont of 
Newbu^h in Normandy, and Earl of Warwick in Eng- 
land. He held large possessions in Gower, and also 
built the first Castle of Oystermouth. A castle was 
undoubtedly built on this site about that period, as 
there is historic evidence that its outworks were 
destroyed, but not the Castle now about to be de- 
scribed. 

The Castle as it now stands was built by a Swansea 
man of uncommon energy and ability, Henry de Gower, 
who took his name from the district. The rich, open 
parapet could formerly be seen from the Railway cross- 
ing at the east end of the Strand, forming a pretty 
picture looked at through the brickwork of the arch of ■ 
the Swansea and Neath Railway as it crosses that 
street ; but the erection of a large warehouse in the 
Strand has completely blocked it out. There was a 
north entrance into the area surrounding the Castle, 
called ** Harold 8 Gate", protected by two towers situ- 
ated at the junction of Castle Bailey Street and High 
Street. A postern on the eastern side formed a sally- 
port, leading, by a covered way beneath Worcester 
House, to the present Wellesme Lane, and so down to 
the Strand, at the end of a fosse or dry ditch which 
Colonel Francis had seen in existence, though then 
filled up, at the corner of the Bane Caer at the top of 
Goat Street. This was at the exit of Bailey Street 
into Castle Square, over which was formerly a bridge 
leading to the gate, and flanked by round towers, one 
of which still exists, frowning above the butcher's shop 
M'here stands the block placed there by His Grace the 
Duke of Beaufort for the convenience of the towns- 
people. The postern clearly led to the steps in the 
town-float, which were closed a short time ago, and by 
those living on the quays were called the " Castle 
Steps." 

On making the town-sewer, a few years since, very 
strong concrete foundations had to be cut through. 



304 SWANSEA CASTLE. 

The area included by the lines described is about fif- 
teen acres, or about half that used at Caerphilly, and 
perhaps ten times as much as the surface covered by 
Oyst^rmouth Castle. 

Henry de Gower, the builder of this Castle, was born 
m the latter part of the thirteenth century, somewhere 
about 1290, and was brought up as an ecclesiastic. He 
became Chancellor of the University of Oxford, and 
was appointed Bishop of St. David's in 1328. 

During the period of the three Edwards castles seem 
to have sprung up like poppies all over this land. When 
Edward 1 conquered Wales, the hosts of Normans who 
fought under him, and were determined to keep what 
' they had overcome, built great castles for their own 
protection, and erected in this wise centres of security 
for themselves and their retainers. Edward III was 
no less a castle-builder than his two predecessors had 
been, and he had the renowned William of Wykeham 
for his master of works. William of Wykeham and 
Henry of Gower were somewhat alike in the course 
they adopted in life. They were both learned ecclesi- 
astics, both men of great taste, and both have left 
beautiful specimens of their architectural skill to pos- 
terity. The chief works of Gower were the Palaces of 
St. David's and Lamphey, and the Castle of Swansea, 
each of which shows his genius and love of art in the 
beautiful arcading which is a chief feature of all his 
work. 

Colonel Francis has shown approximately how De 
Gower, though a Bishop, became possessed of Swansea 
Castle. The owner in the time of Edward II was a 
son-in-law of Lord William de Breose, the last of the 
great barons of that name, who had large possessions 
at Brember in Sussex, and also in Gower, of which 
latter lordship the Castle of Swansea was the caput 
haronicB. This De Breose was a terrible character : 
there was no act too dreadful, and no wickedness too 
great for him to commit in his numerous quarrels. He 
had a daughter and heiress named Alina or Alinoni, 



SWANSEA CASTLE. 305 

who married John de Mowbray, one of the chief nobles 
of the tirae of Edward II. When De Mowbray quar- 
relled with his King, the family lost all their estates, 
after the battle of Borough Bridge, in the year 1322. 
They had taken up the cause of the Lancastrian party, 
and when that faction was overturned, his head was 
cut off at York, and his family were reduced to abject 
poverty. Alina and her child were almost starved, 
whilst her vast possessions were confiscated to the 
King. 

After the fashion of that d:iy, immediately it was 
known that De Mowbray had been despatched, some 
favourite of Edward's came forward, and made applica- 
tion for the lands ; and Swansea Castle then came, Mr. 
Grant-Francis believed, into the hands of Henry de 
Gower, though it cannot be stated authoritatively. 
Great forethought in the selection of the donee had 
always to be exercised, so as to secure the Castle to the 
King's side, and as to how the donee might behave 
towards the donor. De Gower, being a Bishop, could 
have no issue male or descendant, and would therefore 
be a safe person to whom to entrust the property. Be 
that, however, as it may, the Castle changed hands. 
Mr. Grant- Francis searched in vain in the Record Office 
for any direct evidence of such a grant to De Gower, but 
it is unquestionable that he reconstructed the Castle. 
Whence he got the money is not easily answered. The 
seal of Henry de Gower, Mr. Grant- Francis found in 
the Office of the Duchy of Lancaster, in London, whilst 
searching for materials for the history of Swansea. It 
is graceful in design, and exquisite in execution. 

One of the peculiarities of De Gower in the building 
of his great works, was his quatrefoil or four-leaved 
floral ornament; his ogee-moulding was distinctive also; 
and within the building of the great hall (now used as 
a drill-room by the 1st Glamorgan Artillery Volunteers) 
there are arches which can be clearly identified as of 
his tirae. There must have been strong foes, hard 
fights, and violent deaths, from time to time in this 

5th 8BB., YOL. III. 20 



306 SWANSEA CASTLE. 

Castle. Fifteen skeletons were excavated within the 
old precincts when the new Post Ofl&ce was built. 

Swansea was once a walled town ; and Mr. Grant- 
Francis obtained evidence of grants made by two of the 
Edwards authorising the Corporation to raise money for 
the purpose of building and repairing the walls. Sutton 
stone was used for the quoins, mouldings, and orna- 
mentation of the work. The same stone was also used 
at Neath Abbey, where the mouldings are still as sharp 
and true as when they left the hands of the masons 
ages ago. No doubt the Normans had succeeded in 
discovering the secret of getting and using the very 
best stone of the district, — stone that retains the mark 
of the chisel five hundred years. It was at one time 
proposed to build the Houses of Parliament with this 
stone ; but Sir Henry de la Beche, who was sent down 
to examine the quarries as to quantity, reported that 
there was not sufficient stone remaining for the erec- 
tion of so extensive a structure. This was a very un- 
fortunate fact, as the Yorkshire stone of which the pre- 
sent Houses have been built is already perishing, and 
has frequently to be renewed. 

Amongst the remarkable things that have been re- 
corded about the history of Swansea, perhaps the most 
remarkable of all was the flight of Edward II, King of 
England, from the hostile faction in the state, headed 
by his wife Isabella, who was called the "She Wolf of 
France." Edward came into this part of the country ; 
and there is evidence to show that when he started on 
his flight he was accompanied by many of the officers 
of his household, who brought with them the Great 
Seal of England, and twelve bags full of the documents 
of the kingdom, together with a large quantity of silver 
plate and costly equipments. In coming to Swansea 
ne intended to proceed to Lundy Island ; and these 
valuables were of course deposited in the local strong- 
hold, Swansea Gastle, whilst the King waited for fair 
weather to set sail. Favourable winds, however, did 
not blow ; and after waiting some days, the King con- 



SWANSEA CASTLE. 307 

tinued his flight through Neath Abbey to Ledbury. 
The sacks of national records and valuables were left in 
Swansea Castle, from which it appeared they were 
afterwards purloined by the people of the district, who 
ought certainly to have known and behaved better. 
Some years ago the late Dr. Nichol came across some 
of the parchments, five centuries old, which some poor 
patients asked him to accept as a token of their appre- 
ciation of his services, as they had no money to pay his 
fee. The small oaken box containing the parchments 
they looked upon as somewhat of a curiosity. It con- 
tained the original contract between Edward, as Prince 
of Wales (afterwards Edward II), and Isabella, Princess 
of France. This box and original record are preserved 
in the Town Museum. It will be remembered that 
Edward was afterwards taken, and murdered at Berke- 
ley. 

At the last Meeting Mr. Hartshome gave some inte- 
resting facts of this flight, and he stated that he had 
ascertained from records that the King left Tintem 
about the middle of October 1326, passing through 
Chepstow on his way to Caerphilly. On the 4th of 
November he was at Margam, and on the 5th to the 
7th at Neath, and was probably at Swansea between 
the 7th and the 15th. He was taken at Llantrisant 
on the 20th, resigned the Great Seal at Monmouth to 
Sir William Blount, and on the 28th he was at Led- 
bury. There is a pass from that Monarch to the Abbot 
of Neath in the South Wales Museum. 

R. Capper, F.R.G.S. 



20" 



308 



ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS. 

PATENT ROLLS, CHARLES H 

(Continued from p. 233.^ 

Llotd, Jenkin, elk., M.A., rector of Langojdmore, oo. Cardigan. 
Westm., 25 June. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 433.) 

„ Jenkin, elk., reetor of De la Vernach, St David's dioc. 
Westm., 10 Aug. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 166.) 

„ John, elk., M.A., rector of Llan8annam,co. Denbigh. Westm., 
22 June. (12 Chas. U, p. 1, No. 433.) 

„ John, elk., one of the chaplains in ordinary to the King, Canon 
or Prebendary of Windsor, vice Hugh Cressej, who 
seceded from the Church of England. 7 July. (12 
Chas. II> p. 3, No. 143; p. 19, No. 168.) 

„ John, elk., Prebendary of Llanvair Talhayam, first portion, 
in the Cathedral of St. Asaph, vice [John] Saladine, de- 
ceased. Westm., 6 Aug. (12 Chas. U, p. 19, Nos. 49, 
50.) 

„ Roger, elk., M. A., rector of Tenby, co. Pembroke, St David's 
dioc. Westm., 23 March. (34 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 25.) 

„ Thomas, elk.. Canon or Prebendary of Bachryd and Llan- 
deder Castle Payne, in the collegiate church of Brecon, 
St. David's dioc., vice — Awbry, deceased. Westm., 
1 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, Nos. 156, 157.) 

„ Thomas, elk., B.A., rector of Llangynyw, co. Montgomery. 
Westm., 11 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 172.) 
Maddocks, Thomas, elk., M.A., Prebendary or Canon of Cayre in the 
collegiate church of Llandaff, vice Hugh [Lloyd], Bishop 
of Llandaff. Westm., 3 Dec. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, No. 12.) 
Maddockes, Thomas, elk., M.A., rector of St. Andrew's, co. Glamor- 
gan, Llandaflf dioc. Westm., 5 June. (13 Chas. II, p. 
47, No. 217.) 
Mathewes (Mathews), Manasses, elk., rector of Portynon, co. Glamor- 
gan, St. David's dioc. Westm., 1 Nov. (14 Chas. II, 
p. 19, No. 110.) 
„ Maurice, elk., rector of Erebestock, co. Denbigh. Westm., 

24 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 359.) 
„ Maurice, elk.. Canon or Prebendary of Master Mago in 
Llandaflf Cathedral, vice Evan Piice, deceased. Westm., 
4 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, Nos. 149, 150.) 
„ Samuel, elk., vicar of Almeley, co. Hereford. Westm., 
1 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 307 ) 



ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS. 309 

Meredith, Richard, elk., vicar of Trellocke, co. Monmouth. Westm., 

21 June. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 438.) 
„ Richard, elk., Archdeacon of Dorset, vice Richard Fitz- 

herbert, deceased. Westm., 26 Jaly. (12 Chas. II, p. 

3, No. 1 ; p. 19, No. 99.) 
„ Thomas, M.A., rector of Llanddiniolen, co. Camarvon, 

Bangor dioc. Westm., 13 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 

285.) 
Meuricke, Francis, elk., rector of Egglwissaile, co. Anglesey, Bangor 

dioc. Westm., 18 June. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 192.) 
Milward, Thomas, elk., vicar of Nessestrange, co. Salop, Lichfield 

and Coventry dioc. Westm., 7 Nov. (16 Chas. II, p. 19, 

No. ^.) 
Morgan, Hugh, elk., rector of Bet tons Bledrouce, co. Cardigan. 

Westm., 11 Aug. (12 Chas. U, p. 1, No. 291.) 
„ Robert, S.T.P., rector of Llandinam, Bangor dioc, vice 

Thomas Bayly, S.T.P., deceased. Westm., 8 Sept. (12 

Chas. II, p. 1, No. 61.) 
„ Robert, elk.. Prebendary or Canon of Llanddarog in the 

collegiate church of Brecon, vice Hugh Penry, deceased. 

Westm., 29 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, Nos. 60, 61.) 
„ Thomas, elk.. Prebendary or Canon of Thomas Baschurch 

in Llandaflf Cathedral. Westm., 22 Aug. (12 Chas. IT, 

p. 4, Nos. 168, 169.) 
„ Thomas, elk., rector of Llangorse, co. Brecon, St. David's 

dioc. Westm., 9 Dec. (14 Chas. II, p. 19, No. 76.) 
Morgans, John, elk., vicar of Cardigan and Verwick, co. Cardigan, 

St. David's dioc. Westm., 22 Dec. (14 Chas. II, p. 19, 

No. 71.) 
Morrice, Richard, elk., rector of Llanglydwen, co. Carmarthen. 

Westm., 11 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 173.) 
Morris, David, elk., rector of St George, alias Kegidog, co. Denbigh, 

St. Asaph dioc, vice William Salisbury, elk., resigned. 

Westm., 10 Nov. (14 Chas. II, p. 19, No. 99.) 
„ James, elk., vicar of Llanrhisteed, co. Cardigan, vice David 

Lloyd, ceded. Westm., 27 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, 

No. 248.) 
Mossom (Mosson), Robert, elk., M.A., rector of Llan Ennis, alias 

Llan-ynnis, co. Denbigh, Bangor dioc. Westm., 16 July. 

(12 Chas. II, p. 3, No., 114.) 
Nay lor, George, elk.. Canon or Prebendary of Brampton in Lincoln 

Cathedral, vice Morgan Wynn, S.T.P., deceased. Westm., 

30 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 112 ; p. 19, No. 77.) 
Newborough, Richard, elk.. Prebendary or Canon of Withington 

Parva in Hereford Cathedral. Westm., 5 Sept, (12 

Chas. II, p. 4, Nos. 141, 142.) 
Newton, John, M.A., vicar of Rosse, with the chapel pertaining to 

the same, co. and dioc. of Hereford, vice — Price de- 
ceased. Westm., 25 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 3.) 



310 ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS, 

OUway, Hamfrej, elk., rector of Llanmst, co. Denbigh, St. Asaph 

dice. Westm., 8 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 1. No. 169.) 
Otway, Thomas, elk., M.A., Prebendary or Canon of LI indrindod, 

CO. Radnor, pertaining to the collegiate church of Brecon, 

St. David's dioc. Westm., 30 Sept. (14 Chaa. II, p. 19, 

Nos. 19, 20.) 
Owen, E^an, S.T.P., rector of Llandissel, co Cardigan. Westm., 

20 Jnlv. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 383.) 
„ Qeorge, cIk., rector of Llanbeder Wellfrey, co. Pembroke. 

Westm., 10 Jan. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 108.) 
„ George, elk., rector of Narbarih, co. Pembroke, St David's 

dioc, vice Evan Owen, S.T.P., resigned. Westm., 21 

Jan. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 24.) 
„ John, elk.. Canon or Prebendary of Llandngwy, co. Cardijyan, 

pertaining to the collegiate church of Brecon. Westm., 

11 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, Nos. 110, 111.) 
„ John, M. A., yicar of Roch, co. Pembroke. Westm., 27 Nov. 

(12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 45.) 
„ John, elk., rector of Llandewy Wilfrey, co. Pembroke, St. 

David's dioc. Westm., 12 May. (14 Chas. II, p. 19, 

No. 212.) 
„ Robert, elk., M.A., rector of Llangelynin, co. Merioneth, Ban- 
gor dioc Westm., 1 Aug. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 1 71.) 
„ Thomas, elk.. Canon or Prebendary of Marthary or Marthem 

in St. David's Cathedral, vice Jeremy Taylor, S.T.P., 

resigned. Westm., 12 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 79 ; 

p. 4, No. 127.) 
„ Thomas, elk., M.A., rector of Llanvisnath, oo. Pembroke, 

St. David's dioc. Westm., 29 June. ^14 Chaa. II, p. 19, 

No. 195.) 
„ Warberton, elk., rector of Rackton, co. Sussex, Chichester 

dioc. Westm., 27 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 243.) 
„ Wilb'am, elk., M.A., Treasurer of St. David's Cathedral, co. 

Pembroke. Westm., 9 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 99 ; 

p. 19, No. 10.) 
„ William, elk., presentation to the second portion of the rec- 
tory of Pontesbury, alias Pontsbury, co. Salop, vice Peter 

Studley, deceased. Westm., 1 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, 

No. 209.) 
„ William, elk., Canon or Prebendary of Llanartbney in the 

collegiate chureb of Brecon, St. David's dioc, vice 

Stephens, deceased. Westm., 8 Sept. (12 Cba». II, 

p. 4, Nos. 93, 94.) 
„ William, S.T.P., rector of Rboscrowther, co. Pembroke, vice 

— Phillipps, deceased. Westm., 19 Sept. (12 Chas. II, 

p. 1, No. 140.) 
„ William, elk.. Canon or Prebendary of Worcester, vice Giles 

Thornborougb, deceased. Westm., 7 Feb. (14 Chas. II, 

p. 2, No. 22 ; p. 19, No. 11.) 



PATENT ROLLS, CHARLES II. 311 

Owens, Nicholas, elk., vicar of Arberporth, co. Cardigan, St. David's 

dioc. Westm., 19 June. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 199.) 

Parry, George, elk., M.A., rector of Llangadock, co. Glamorgan, vice 

William Edwards, elk., deceased. Westm., 14 Sept. 

(12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 163.) 

„ George, elk., rector of Cheriton, co. Glamorgan, vice Henry 

Price, ceded. Westm., 13 Nov. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 

77.) 

„ Henry, elk., vicar of Bettns, co. Montgomery. Westm., 17 

July. (12 Charles II, p. 1, No. 890.) 
„ John, elk., M.A., rector of iktstyn, otherwise Qaeen Hope, co. 
Flint, vice Dr. Pnleston, deceased. Westm., 11 June. 
(12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 454) 
„ John, elk., S.T.P., rector of Ewhnrst, co. Surrey, Winchester 
dioc, vice Dr. William Fuller, resigned. Westm., 10 
June. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 219.) 
Penry, Meredith, elk., rector of Llanhamlach, co. Brecon. Westm., 

28 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 877.) 
Phillipps, John, elk., rector of Disserth, co. Radnor. Westm., 23 
July. (12 Chaa II, p. 1, No. 365.) 
„ Eichard, elk., rector of Hyop, co. Radnor. Westm., 15 

Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 157.) 
„ William, elk., rector of Kellibebyll, co. Glamorgan, Llan- 
daff dioc. Westm., 9 Dec. (13 Chas* II, p. 47, No. 117.) 
Piers, Griffith, elk., rector of Nannerch, co. Flint. Westm., 7 July. 

(12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 411.) 
Pooler, Thomas, M.A., rector of Pencombe, co. Hereford. Westm., 

24 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 354.) 
Portrey, Richard, elk., rector of Rosehilly, co. Glamorgan, St. David's 

dioc. Westm., 18 June. (16 Chas. II, p. 19, No. ^.) 
Powell, John, elk., B.A., vicar of Llansanfraid in Commoddwydwyr, 
CO. Radnor. Westm., 28 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 
260.) 
„ Riche, elk., vicar of Bochwrd and Llanbeder Paynes Castle, 
CO. Radnor, St. David's dioc. Westm., 5 Nov. (12 
Chas. II, p. 1, No. 65.) 
„ Robert, elk., vicar of Nantmell, co. Radnor. Westm., 16 

July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 895.) 
„ Robert, elk.. Prebendary or Canon of Bole in York Cathe- 
dral, vice [Henry] Smith, S.T.P., deceased. Westm., 
20 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, Nos. 195, 196.) 
„ Thomas, elk., vicar of Lanygon, with the chapel of Yffine, 
annexed to Brecon. Westm., 17 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 
1, No. 887.) 
„ Thomas, elk.. Canon or Prebendary of Gathbrengi in the 
archdeaconry of Brecon, and within the collegiate church 
of Brecon. Westm., 6 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 19, Nos. 
37, 38.) 
„ Thomas, elk.. Prebendary or Canon of Llandaff, vice Dr. 



312 ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS, 

Hugfaee, deceased. Wesfcm. 25 Aug. (12 Charles II, 

p. 4, Nos. 172, 173.) 
Price, Charles, vicar of Cardigan and Verwicke, co. Cardigan, St 

David's dioo. Westm., 28 June. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, 

No. 194.) 
„ Henry, elk., rector of Llanedj, co Carmarthen, vice Greorge 

Parry, elk., ceded. Westm., 13 Nov. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, 

No. 76.) 
„ Hugh, elk., rector of Llanedy, co. Carmarthen, St. David's 

dioc., vice Henry Price, deceased. Weetm., 8 May. (13 

Chas. II, p. 47, No. 239.) 
„ John, elk., vicar of Cayo, co. Carmarthen, St. David's dioc. 

Westm., 27 May. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 226.) 
„ Rice, elk., rector of Aberhavis, co. Montgomery. Westm., 

17 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 392.) 
„ Thomas, S.T.P., rector of Llanyfidd, cos. Flint and Denbigh, 

St. David's dioc., vice William Arskin, S.T.P., deceased. 

Westm., 25 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 153.) 
Prooand, Edward, elk., M.A., rector of Bridell, co. Pembroke, St. 

David's dioc, vice Louis Gwyn, elk., deceased. Westm., 

14 March. (13 Chas. 11, p. 47, No. 70.) 
Read, James, elk., M.A., rector of By ford, co. Hereford. Westm., 

12 June. (l2Chas. II, p. 1, No. 449.) 
Rhodes, Joseph, elk., rector of Old Radnor, co. Radnor. Westm., 

21 July. (12 Charles IT, p. 3. No. 8.) 
Roberts, David, elk., rector of Penegoes, co. Montgomery. Westm., 

20 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 379.) 
„ Edward, elk., vicar of Llansanfraid iu Mechin, ca Mont- 
gomery, St. Asaph dioc, vice John Hughes, deceased. 

Westm., 18 Sept. (12 Charles 11, p. 1, No. 149.) 
Bobinson, John, elk., M.A., rector of Llanverres iu Yale, co. Den- 
bigh, St. Asaph dioc. Westm., 4 Oct. (12 Chas. II, 

p. l,No. 123.) 
Rogers, Phillipp, elk., rector of Llanwithelan, co. Mont<»omery, St. 

Asaph dioc. Westm., 6 Aug. (12 Chas. 11, p. 1, No. 317.) 
Rowlands, Humfrey, elk., rector of Llanuryu, co. Montgomery. 

Westm., 21 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 34) 
Rush worth, Isaac, elk., rector of Gladestry, co. Radnor. Westm., 

29 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. I, ^o. 126.) 
Sackett, John, Prebendary or Canon of St. Herman in the collegiate 

church of Brecon, St. David's dioc, vice — Prichard, 

deceased. Westm., 23 Nov. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, No. 22.) 
Salisbury, William, rector of St. George, alias Kegadog, St. Asaph 

dioc. Westm., 31 July. (13 Chas. 11, p. 47, No. 159.) 
Salwey, John, M.A., rector of Richard's Castle, Hereford dioc. 

Westm., 19 Oct. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 145.) 
Shawe, Silvester, vicar of Ey, co. and dioc. of Hereford. Westm., 

9 Feb. (17 Charles II,J p. 3, No. 19.) 



Query 18th year. 



PATENT ROLLS, CHARLES IT. 313 

Smith (Smjtli), Henry, M.A., vicar of Holm Lacy, co. and dioc. of 

Hereford, vice Mathew Turner, S.T. P., deceased. Westm., 

25 Nov. (12 Cbas. II, p. 19, No. 87.) 
„ John, rector of St. Thomas, Haverfordwest, St David's dioc, 

vice John Parry, deceased. Westm., 28 Dec. (13 Chas. II, 

p. 47, No. 112.) 
South, Robert, S.T.P., rector of Llandissell, St. David's dioc, vice 

John Williams, resigned. Westm., 22 Jane. '(17 Chas. II, 

p. 3, No. 61.) 
Spademan, John, M.A., rector of the moiety of the rectory of Llan- 

dynam, co. Montgomery, Bangor dioc, vice Henry Comp- 

ton, S.T.P., promoted to be Bishop of Oxford. Westm., 

18 Dec (26 Chas. II, p. 9, No. 3.) 
Stanley, Robert, vicar of Kynnerley, St. Asaph dioc, vice John 

Smallman, deceased. Westm., 25 Nov. (14 Clias. II, 

p. 19, No. 90.) 
Stock, Charles, elk., rector of Aston Ingham, co. Hereford. Westm., 

24 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 364.) 
Stratford, Nicholas, S.T.P., Warden of Christ's College, Manches- 
ter ; Dean of St. Asaph ; vice Humphrey Lloyd, promoted 

to be Bishop of Bangor. Westm., 30 IJec (25 Chas. II, 

p. l,No 9.) 
Swayne, Richard, elk., M. A., vicar of Cleirowe, co. Radnor. Westm., 

9 July. (12 Chas. I, p. 1, No. 406.) 
Swift, Thomas, Canon or Prebendary of Warham, Hereford. Westm., 

27 Sept. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, Nos. 64, 65.) 
Swinglehurst, Richard, Prebendary or CJanon of the Prebend called 

the Chancellor's Prebend, Llandaff, vice Francis Davis, 

cede J. Westm., 24 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, Nos. 170, 

171.) 
Taylor, John, S.T.P., vicar of Dorston, co. and dioc of Hereford. 

Westm., 15 March. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 69.) 
Thomas, Oliver, elk., M.A., vicar of Neveme, co. Pembroke, St. 

David's dioc Westm., 4 Oct. (13 Chas. II, p. 47, No. 

144.) 
„ William, elk., M.A., rector of St. Florence, co. Pembroke. 

Westm., 20 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 384) 
„ William, elk , Precentor of St. David's Cathedral. Westm., 

4 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 108 ; p. 19, No. 54.) 
„ William, elk.. Dean of Worcester Cathedral, vice Thomas 

Warmestry, deceased. Oxford, 22 Nov. (17 Chas. II, 

p. 3, No. 84.) 
Tyler, John, elk., rector of Kentchurch, co. Hereford. Westm., 

6 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 313.) 
Tyrer, Thomas, elk., M.A., rector of Mauncells Hope, co. Hereford, 

vice Richard Richard, deceased. Westm., 26 Nov. (12 

Chas. II, p. 1, No. 55.) 
„ Thomas, elk., M.A., vicar of Sellacke, otherwise Cellacke, 

otherwise Baylham, with the chapel of King's Caple 



314 ECCLESIASTICAL APPOINTMENTS. 

I£artin80owe,oibefrwi8e MarBtons and Pencojd thereanto 

belonging, co. Hereford Westm., 18 Jane. (12 Cba& U, 

p. 1, No. 445.) 
Vanglian, Edward, elk., M.A., Archdeacon of Cardigan. Westm^ 

27 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 4, Noe. 176, 177.) 
„ Henrj, elk., Prebendarj or Canon of Llandila in ihe col- 
legiate chnrch of Brecon, St David's dioc. Weaim^ 

26 Nov. (12 Chas. H, p. 4, Nob. 16, 17.) 
„ Louis Owju, elk., rector of Cndbexton, co. Pembroke. 

Westm., 30 Aug. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, Na 238.) 
Waldron, Edward, dk., rector of Gladestrj, oo. Radnor, dioc. St. 

David's, vice Isaac Bush worth, elk., resigned. Westm., 

26 Aug. (14 Chas. II, p. 19, No. 187.) 
Watkins, William, elk., vicar of Llanvyhangel Crewcomey, aiicu 

Kilkemell, co. Monmouth, dioc. Llandaff. WestuL, 10 

April. (17 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 73.) 
Watts, William, elk., Prebend or Canon of Bassnm in Hereford 

Cathedral. Westm., 10 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 19, Nos. 

151, 152.) 
Weston, Thomas, elk., M.A, rector of Langwm Dnnmell, co. Den- 
bigh. Westm., 27 June. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 427.) 
Whittell, William, elk., M.A., vicar of Leominster, ca and dioc. of 

Hereford. Westm., 9 Dea (14 Chas. H, p. 19, No. 

75.) 
Whittle, William, M.A., vicar of Ajlmestree, co. Hereford, vice — 

Michaell, ceded. Westm., 30 Oct. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, 

No. 90.) 
Wicherley, Daniel, S.T.P., Canon or Prebend of Hinton in Hereford 

Cathedral, vice [Thomas] Clint, deceased. Westm., 18 

Sept (12 Chas. II, p. 4, Nos. 91, 92.) 
Wilcox, John, elk., rector of Mainstone, co. Salop. Westm., 28 Aug. 

(12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 246.) 
Williams, John, elk., vicar of Devynocke, co. Brecon. Westm., 

3 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 420.) 
„ John, elk.. Prebend or Canon of Llanyfudd, dioc. of SL 

Asaph, vice William Arskin, S.T.P., deceased. Westm., 

17 Nov. (12 Chas. II, p. 2, No. 24 ; p. 4, No. 27.) 
„ John, elk., vicar of Llyswometh, co. Glamorgan, dioc of 

Llandaff. Westm., 24 June. (14 Chas. II, p. 19, No. 

197.) 
„ Morgan, elk., rector of Letherston, co. Pembroke, dioc. of 

St. David's. Westm., 15 March. (14 Chas. II, p. 19, 

No. 232.) 
„ Morice, elk., rector of Freystropp, dioc. of St. David's. 

Westm., 22 June. (17 Chas. II, p. 3, No. 59.) 
Winne, Humfrey, M.A., rector of Cemmes,co. Montgomery. Westm., 

30 July. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 296.) 
Wogan, Ethereld, elk., vicar of Penallie, co. Pembroke, dioc. of St. 

David's. Westm., 4 Oct. (12 Chas. II, p. 1, No. 121.) 



HISCELLAKEOrS NOTICES. 315 

Wollej or WoUe, Edward, S.T.P., rector of Denergb, alias Llandrillo. 

in-Rhoes, dioc of St Asaph. Westm., 3 Aug. (12 

Chas. II, p. 2, No. 106.) 
Wynne, Robert, dk., rector of Kirrigjdridion, oo. Denbigh. Weetm., 

11 Aug. (12 Chas. U, p. 1, No. 287.) 



fftscrllaneotts Itotices. 

Williams of Dttfbik-Cltdach, Neath. — ^Tbis copy of the conoas 
genealogical inscription engrayed on a brass plate in the DyflTryn 
pew, in the chancel of Cadoxton Chnrch, was made by Mrs. J. T. 
D. Llewelyn, of Penllergare, in 1863, and deserves to be recorded 
in oar pages : — 

'* Waiting for the second coming of onr Blesssed Savionr lieth 
Llewelin Williams of Dyffrin in this parish, gent., who so departed 
this life y* 14th day of December 1625, and his body is enterred, 
with seyeral of his ancestors, in this chnrch. He was by paternall 
descent, in issne male, son, in the 10th degree, of Rees, the son of 
Jestin ap Qwrgan, y* last prince and lord of Glamorgan of British 
blood ; and by his maternal descent, in issne male, he was son in 
y* like degree to Prince Conan, the son of lago. King of North 
Wales, by Rannlph, the daughter of Alfred, King of Dablin. His 
wife was Gwladis, the daughter of Evan ap William ap Sir Howell 
goch, by his wife, Mault Cadogan, by whom he had seven sons and 
fower daughters, from whom are descended a numerous issue, now 
living in this parish and county, and in Monmouthshire and Car- 
marthenshire. All his sons (except the eldest) tooke his Christen 
for their sirnames, according to the old British and Welsh method. 

" Here alsoe lyeth the body of William Williams, eldest son of the 
said Llewelin and Gwladis, who departed this life the 14th day of 
August 1643. His wife was Bridgett, daughter to Lewis Evans of 
Montgomery, Esq.* 

" And alsoe the body of Charles Williams, eldest son of the said 
William and Bridgett, who dyed the 20th day of March 1639. His 
wife was Jnan, daughter to Sir Edward Aubrey, Kt., by Dame Jane, 
his wife, daughter and heir to William Havard of Tredomen, Esq. 

*' And alsoe the body of Philip Williams, 2nd son of the said 
William, who dyed the 24th day of April 1658. He was first mar- 
ried to' Margarett, the daughter of David Powell of London, gent., 
by Anne, the daughter of Lyson Evans of Neath, Esq., by Marga- 
rett, his wife, sister to Sir William Herbert of Swansey, who dyed 
the 31st of January 1668, and lyeth buried here. The 2nd wife of 

* Attorney to the Council of the Marches. He was of Llwydlo. 



316 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

tlie said Philip was Rose, daughter to Morgan Cradock of Cheriton, 
Esq., by Anne, his wife, the- daughter of William Prichard of Car- 
went, Esq., by his wife, Jane, the danghter of Sir Thomas Stradling 
of St. Dooatts, Kt., by his wife, Dame Katherine, the daughter of 
Sir Thomas Gamadge, Kt., Lord of Coyty, by Dame Margaret^ his 
wife, daujrhter to Sir John St. John, Kt., by whom he had issue, 
Philip "Williams, now living, A^ 1707, at whose charge this inscrip- 
tion is now Revived. 

** And here alsoe lyeth the body of the said Rose, wife of the said 
Philip,^ who departed this life the 24th dny of March 1680. She 
was, by her said mother, descended from John of Graunt, Duke of 
Lancaster, King of Castillo and Leon, and son to Edward 3rd, King 
of England. The said Morgan Cradock, father of the said Rose, was 
descended in issue male from the valiant Cradock well known in 
antiquity by the name of Cradock the Puissant and Strong ; and 
by female extraction from the family of Sir Rhys ap Thomas, 
Knight of the Garter, and the Mausells, then of Scurlidge Penrys' 
and Ozudge Castle, now Margam. 

*' Another Descendant of the said Cradock the Strong was Sir 
Matthew Cradock, who lies interred in the Cradock's ile in y* church 
of Swanzey. This Sir Mathew was grandfather to Sir George Her- 
bert, the first sherriffe of Glamorgan, and to Blacke Will, the first 
Earle of Pembrocke of y* family now in being. The estate of y* said 
Sir Mathew is now enjoyed by Fulke Grevill, Lord Brooke, and by 
the family of the Herberts, descended to them by a daughter of 
y* said Sir Mathew. 

" The above mentioned Jestiu ap Gwrgan was Prince and lord of 
Glamorgan, and Morganwg, and Gwent land, in y* time of William 
Rufus, King of England, and was wrongfully and treacherously (by 
Sir Robert fitz Hamon and y* twelve Norman Knights whom Prince 
Jestin had retained in his service to fight against his enemies, 
and who came into England with William the Conqueronr) dispos- 
sessed of his ancient paternall inheritance, y' Castle of Cardiffe, 
where he then kept his conrt, and of twelve other castles in this 
connty, with all y* lands thereunto belonging, besides the Castle 
and Lordship of Sangleenith, orCaerphili, which Eynon apColtroyn 
(who after that base action was called Eynon FrSidwr, or Eineon 
y* Treacherous, for combining with y* said strangers to betray the 
Prince that had generously relieved him in his distress) tooke to 
his own share, and by the assistance of y* said Normans possessed 
himselfe thereof. 

** Prince Jestin was lineally descended in issue male, by his ances- 
tors, Morgan H^n Mwyn fawr, who married the daughter of Rodrig 
the great King of all Wales, and by Ithel, King of Gwent and Mor- 
ganwg, from Brennus (who, as some say, conquered Rome) or Br&n 
fendigaid, ancestor to Coelus or Coel Godebog, King of Brittaine, 
father to Helena or Elen Lueddog, mother to Constaniine the Great, 

* There ia a remarkable hatchment to her in the chancel. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 317 

y* first Christiau Emperour. His wife or Princess, y* mother of his 
said son Rhys, was danghter of Ethelstan or Elistan g16dradd, 
Prince of Ferlex, and Lord of y* lands between y* rivers Wy and 
Seveme, descended from Casuor Wledig, y' son of Lndh or Lnd, 
y* son of Beli mawr or Belinus, the great King of Britaine ; and his 
mother was Ancreta or Angharad, daughter of Ednowen, Prince of 
Tegengh 

" The said son of Hamon and his twelve Norman followers, here- 
after named, tooke to themselves, as aforesaid, y* castles and man- 
nonrs following. Himselfe, as chiefe of them, tooke y* Castle of 
Cardiff; Richard de Grana, Villa Neath ; William de Londres, Og- 
more ; Paganns de TnrberviJle, Coyty ; Robert de St. Qnintin, Llan- 
blithian; Richard de Syward, Talyvan ; Gilbert de Humphreville, 
Penmarle ; Reginald de Sully, the Castle of Sully ; Roger de Berk- 
rolles, East Orchard ; Peter le Boor, Peterston-npon-Ely ; John le 
Fleming, that of St. George ; Oliver St. John, Fonm6n ; and Wil- 
liam le Esterling, that of St. Donates. 

" The above mentioned Sir Howell g6ch was ancestor, in y* male 
line, to Sir Robert Thomas, late of Llanmiangel in this county, 
Baronet, and son, in the 8th degree, to Cradock, eldest son of y* said 
Prince Jestin by his second venter, y* said Princess ; y* said Sir 
Howell was alsoe ancestor to Judge Jenkins of Hensol, by his 
mother, sister to the above mentioned Gwladis. 

" Here also lyeth y* body of y* above mentioned Phih'p Williams, 
Esq., who departed this life the 6th Day of November 1717. 

** Here also lyeth y* body of Mary y' wife of y* said Philip Wil- 
liams, Esq., who dyed y* first day of Angust 1726, aged 66. 

" Here also lyeth y* body of Jane, eldest daughter of Edward Tnr- 
berville of Ewenny, Esq. (by Frances, his wife, eldest daugliter and 
one of y* coheirs of Col. Carne of Ewenny aforesaid), and wife to 
Llewelin Williams of Dyffrin, Esq., who died September y* 9th, 1726, 
aged 23. 

*'Here also lyeth y* body of Mary, daughter of y* said Llewelin 
Williams, Esq., and Elizabeth, his 2nd wife, sole daughter and heir 
of John Horton of Broughton Gifford, in y* connty of Wilts, Esq., 
who dyed January 8th, 1729, aged 4 months." 



DiKHORE Pbeceptoey Chapel. — As it appears (ante, p. 156) that 
Llanmadoc and other churches in West Gower were granted to the 
Preceptory of Dinmore, in Herefordshire, the following account of 
the Preceptory may find a fitting place here : — 

" This ancient and interesting little chapel, attached to Dinmore 
House, has recently been restored by the owner, the Rev. H. Hemiug 
S. John, assisted by his friends, under the supervision of Mr. J. P. 
S. Aubyn, the well-known architect, and was re-opened for divine 
worship on the 30th of September last. 

" Shortly before the dissolution of religious houses, Henry VIII 
commissioned his library -keeper to make a tour through England, 



318 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

and to report to him on various matters connected with the cathe- 
drals, abbeys, and priories then established in the kingdom. The 
liin^arium of the laborious Leland was the result^ — a work of the 
greatest interest and valae, as presenting a picture full of detail of 
the England through which a traveller rode in the sixteenth cen- 
tury. * The Hill of Dinemore', says this accurate observer (and his 
description is as applicable now as it was then), * is very steepe, 
high, well wooded, and a specula to see all the countrye aboat. There 
standeth a little by west of the very toppe of Dinemore Hill, on the 
left hand as I roade, a commandry, with a fayre place that belonged 
to the Knights of bt. John of Hierusalem in London.* 

"Dinmore House, which is now the residence of the Kev. H. 
Heming St. John, is situated midway between Hereford and Leo- 
minster, and occupies the site of the Commandry or Preceptory 
mentioned by Leland. The Preceptory of the Knights Hospitallers 
was founded in the reign of Henry II, by grant from the crown, out 
of the royal forest of Marden, and still forms, ecclesiastically, an 
extra parochial district. Establishments of this character, as is well 
known, were scattered over a great part of Europe in the days when 
the Order of St. John of Jerusalem flourished. They were partly 
monastic, partly military : their functions in time of peace, here in 
England, were to entertain strangers, to observe the rules and cere- 
monies of the Order, to farm the lands attached to each cell, and to 
remit the surplus revenue to the Grand Prior of England. 

" Of the Preceptory at Dinmore, the only part that now remains 
inttict is the chapel which stands in the garden of Dinmore House. 
It is clear that originally the chapel and the domestic buildings 
were connected ; but the house is now entirely detached, and with 
the exception, perhaps, of some part of the foundations, does not 
date back beyond the Elizabethan period. The chapel is a small 
building, of which the older portion belongs to the Norman, and the 
later to the Decorated period of architecture. A peculiar feature of 
the edifice is the absence of any window on the north side, which is 
no doubt to be accounted for by the fact that it was on this side 
joined to the domestic offices of the ancient Preceptory. In the 
course of the restoration a hagioscope has been discovered high up 
in the eastern end of the north wall, which it may be reasonably 
supposed was made to enable sick or infirm persons to join in the 
services of the altar from the infirmary or some other upper chamber 
in the house. A tombstone, the eight-pointed cross on which shows 
that it once marked the grave of a brother of the Order, forms the 
top of the hagioscope, which is therefore evidently of a later date 
than the Norman part of the building. Fragments of many similar 
gravestones are built into the walls. The interior of the roof, which 
previously to the restoration was covered with plaster, was found to 
be of oak, a great part of which was in good preservation ; and it is 
undoubtedly the original roof of the Decorated period, though its 
external elevation has been altered. 

*'Mr. St. John is also engaged in painting the glass for the east 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 319 

window, in which the fignre of Thomas Docura, who was Preceptor 
of Dinmore in the beginning of the sixteenth centary, and became 
Grand Prior of England, is to appear. His arms and motto, ' Sans 
Roro', were found both at Dinmore and at Clerkenwell, which was 
the headquarters of the Oi-der in England ; and the arms are still 
visible on St. John's Gute, Clerkenwell, of which he was the builder. 
The old doable patriarchal cross of the Knights Hospitallers still 
stands on the eastern gable of the chapel ; and in leyelling the 
floor for the purposes of the present restoration, a skeleton was dis- 
covered lying almost immediately in front of the altar, which it is 
believed, from the manner of interment, must be that of a member 
of the Order. 

" Before closing this short account of the Preceptory of Dinmore, 
it may be of ioterest to tmce its history since the dissolution of the 
Order of Hospitallers in England, in the reign of Henry VIII. 
Having been held by grants from the crown for terms of years, and 
on lives, by two or three families (amongst whom the name of Rus- 
sell is found), the property was granted, in the reign of Elizabeth, 
to the family of Woolryche, who built the present mansion, and 
lived there till the year 1739, when the Preceptory and estate were 
bought by Mr. Richard Homing of Sibdon Castle, Salop, and passed 
by marriage to the family of the present owner. The chapel itself 
shared the fate of so many other similar buildings, and was allowed 
both to fall into decay, and to be used for secular purposes, from 
which condition it was rescued, and restored to its original sacred 
destination, by the uncle of the present owners." — Hereford Times, 
9th Oct. 1886. 



The Blood-Prodigt op Cheese. — In the Archoeologia Camhrends 
for 1885, under the description of St Woollos' Church, at p. 282, 
is given an account of a supposed miracle in the fact of cheeses 
appearing " bloody within". The bloody appearance of the cheeses 
inside the church of St. Gwynllyw had, it appears, the good effect 
of causing Earl Harold to restore a large amount of stolen property. 
The bloody appearance sometimes seen in cheese, generally when it 
is kept in a damp place, is caused by the growth of a microscopic 
fungus of a crimson colour, named Torula sporendonewa. The colour 
is like arterial blood ; therefore in old times it was thought, as it 
looked like blood, it might be blood. The same style of reasoning 
is not uncommon in the present day. An enlarged drawing of the 
Torida, made by the writer, may be seen in the Department of 
Botany, British Museum, South Kensington, London. The more 
familiar " blood-prodigy" of bread, and tbe sacramental wafer, is 
also caused by a second crimson fungus named Micrococcus prodigi- 

0SU8. WORTHINGTON G. SmITH. 



Lord Richard Grosvenor, M.P., and Mr. John Roberts, M.P., 
have presented the Corporation of Flint with a copy of the cele- 



320 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

brated painting of King Richard II, now in Westminster Abbey, 
the earliest known contemporary painting of an Engh'sh sovereign. 
The portrait of the King was copied by Mr. Leonard Haghes of 
Holywell, Flintshire, special permission having previously been ob- 
tained from the Dean and Chapter of the Abbey. The picture has 
an especial historic interest for Flint, inasmuch as the unfortunate 
King was confined in Flint Castle after being taken prisoner by 
Bolingbroke. Mr. Taylor, the Town Clerk of Flint, and author of 
the excellent history of the town, has also received permission to 
erect in the council chamber coats of arms, in stained glass, of the 
six monarchs who conferred charters upon the ancient borough. 



DuRiNO some excavations in the old church at Newtown, Mont- 
gomeryshire, with a view to its restoration, a portion of au early 
encaustic floor was found at a depth of about 3 feet below the later 
surface. The tiles are of the end of the thirteenth century. 



Bishop Morgan's Welsh Translation of the Bible (p. 236). — 
Finding that the omissions spoken of by Fuller, as pointed out by 
Dr. Griflfith, were in the edition of 1630, 1 af^sumed that they must 
have been copied from Bishop Morgan^s edition of 1588, and so I 
put them in the first column as Bishop Morgan's. A more recent 
opportunity of comparing that edition with Parry's has shown that 
the omissions were Bishop Parry's, and not Bishop Morgan's at all. 
The earliest edition, 1588, has Exodus, xii, 13, as in the present 
authorised ; but that of 1620 has the omission. And it is just tbe 
same in Habaccuc, ii, 5, save that Bishop Morgan's is much more 
plain and simple than any of the others : e. ^., "A Hefyd gan fod 
y gwr balch yn troseddu (ar) win, am hynny ni pheru, yr hwn a 
helaetha", etc. ; that is, "And because the proud man tran^gresseth 
in wine, therefore he shall not abide ; who enlargeth", etc. I am 
glad to be able to do this act of justice to Bishop Morgan's admir- 
able work, even though the subsequent omissions may have been 
but printer*s errors. D. R. T. 



Cambrian atc^aeological ^i&mti&tioxL 



THE FORTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING 

WA8 HILD AT 

SWANSEA 

ON 

MONDAY, AUGUST 23rd, 1886, 

AND FOUR FOLLOWINO DAYS. 



PSBfllBEVT. 
JOHN TALBOT DILLWTN LLEWELYN, Esq. M.A., F.L.S. 



VICI-PSESIBEHTS. 



His W0B6HIPFITL THB Matob of 

SWAKBBA (W. J. RVBS, ESQ.) 

Ths Bt. Bay. thb Lord Bishop of 

St. DaviD's 
The Bt. Hon. thb Eabl of Jbbsbt 
Thb Bt. Hon. thb Eabl of Dun- 

BATBN 

Thb Bt. Hon. Lobd Dtnbyob 
Thb Bt. Hon. Lobd Abbbdabb 
Thb Lobd Libutbnant (C. B. M. 
Talbot, Esq., M.F.) 

TfaB ViCAB OF SWANSBA (CaNON 

Sxith) 

LOCAL COXXITTEE. 

His Wobshipful thb Matob of Swansba (W. J. Bbbs, Esq.), Chairman. 

BoBBBT Cappbb, Esq., F.BwG.S., Viee-Ohairman, 



Sib H. H. Vivian, Babt., M.P. 

L. L. Dillwtn, Esg., M.P. 

P. A. Ybo, Esg., M.P. 

J. C. FowLBB, Esq. 

T. Tbbyillian Jbnkin, Esg. 

His Honoub Jxtdob Bbtnmob Jonbs 

Sib J. Jonbs Jbnkins 

A. J. Williams, Esg., M.P. 

Chas. Bath, Esg., F.S.A. 

HowBL GwTN, Esg. 

H. N. MiBBS, Esg. 

M. 6. Williams, Esg. 



Bey. E. Bolney, M.A., Sketty 
W. L. Coz, Esq., Swansea 
Dr. D. Arthur Davies, Swansea 
Dr. Ebenezer Davies, Swansea 
Bey. J. D. Davies, M.A., Llanmadoo 
J. Bichardson Frfmois, Esq., Swansea 
S. C. Gamwell, Esq., ditto 
Bey. Canon Qauntlett, M.A., ditto 
Bichard Gwynne, Esq., Kilvej, ditto 
C. H. Glasoodine, Esq., Barrister-at- 

Law, ditto 
J. G. Gordon, Esq., Landore 
5th bbb., yoL. III. 



Alfred Hall, Esq., Mumbles 

Joseph Hall, Esq., Swansea 

James Harris, Esq., Cardiff 

E. Sidney Harland, Esq., Swansea 

S. Home, Esq., ditto 

Christopher James, Esq., ditto 

D. C. Jones, Esq., ditto 

Everard W. Jones, Esq., ditto 

T. Sydenham-Jones, Efsq., Barrister* 

at-Law, ditto 
W. H. Jenkins, Esq., Sketty 
Dr. H. A. Latimer, Swansea 

21 



322 



CAMBRIAN ARCHiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 



A. C. Jonas, Esq., Swansea 

D. P. Jones, Esq., ditto 

J. B. Leaver, Esq., C.E., ditto 

David Lewis. Esq., Barrister-at*Law, 

8, King's Bench Walk, Temple 
John Lewis, Esq., Eilvey, Swansea 
H. Maliphant, Esq., Swansea 
Bev. J. £. Manning, M.A., ditto 
T. P. Martin, Esq., ditto 
Albert Mason, Esq., ditto 
A. Merry, Esq., ditto 
A. B. Molison, Esq., ditto 
Niool Morgan, Esq., ditto 
William Morgan, Esq., Ph.D., ditto 
George Nancarrow, Esq., ditto 
Dr. J. Paddon, ditto 
J. C. Vye Parminter, Esq., ditto 
C. H. Perkins, Esq., ditto 
Horbert Bake, Esq., ditto 



W. :F. Bichards, Esq., 61 jngoDen 
Ed. Boberts, Esq., Somerset flaoe, 

Swansea 
John Boberts, Esq., C.E., Swansea 
Philip Bogers, Esq., ditto 
John Squire, Esq., ditto 
A. P. Steeds, Esq.. ditto 
T. Talford Strick, Esq., Swansea 
T. S. Sntton, Esq , Neatii 
W. Terrill, Esq., ditto 
Abel Thomas, Esq., Barrister at-Law. 

ditto 
Dr. Jabez Thomas, ditto 
D. B. Tarbenrille, Esq., Pontaidawe 
Bev. Canon Walters, D.D., Llansam- 

let 
J. B. WUaon, Esq., A.R.LB.A., Swan- 

sea 
J. C. Woods, Esq., ditto 



Loeal Baerttary. 
Walter Lewis, Esq., C.E., Swansea. 



REPORT OF MEETING. 



MONDAT, AUGUST 23. 

The preliminary meeting of the Committee baving been held for 
the discussion of the Report and other business, the Annual Meet- 
ing was opened in tbe rooms of the Bojal Institution of South 
Wales, the Eight Hon. Lord Tredegar, tbe outgoing President, iu 
the chair. 

His Worship the Mayor (Mr. W. J. Rees) said it afforded him 
much pleasure to welcome to Swansea the members and friends of 
the Cambrian ArcbsBological Association. Since the last meeting 
here, in 1861, many members who were then present, and con- 
tributed so much to its success, were, alas, no longer with them. 
But fortunately, in this, as in all other matters, though they 
might deplore their loss, they had equally to rejoice at the 
presence of so many willing recruits as he now saw before 
him. They should also feel thankful that there were still spared 
to them a number of old members to guide and direct their 
younger brethren in those paths of investigation in which they had 
so distingpiished themselves in times past. It bad often struck 
him as not only a strange fact, but also a very encouraging one, that 
in this the most energetic time the world had ever seen, when men 
of all climes and countries were rushing into every available comer 



SWANSEA MEETING. — REPOKT. 323: 

of the hi^bitable globe to develop trade and commerce, it should* 
also witness the keenest desire on the part of all civilised com- 
munities to become more acquainted with the doings, the habits, 
and the peculiarities of bygone ages. They might quote Byron's 
words — 

*' Out upon him who for ever will leave 
But enough of the past for the future to grieve : 
Remnants of things that have passed away, 
Fragments of stone reared by creatures of clay." 

No society had done more for their country than the one he had 
the honour to welcome that evening to their ancient borough. The 
Cambrian Archadological Association had, indeed, done good service 
in rolling back the thick veil which had obscured many a fact, both 
in history and archseology, and had caused light to shine on what 
otherwise would have seemed dark pages in the past. If these 
societies did nothing more than this, they could justly claim their 
warmest gratitude. But, when he looked around him, and saw the 
same development in trade that he had spoken of followed by archsBO- 
logical discoveries in Greece by the Prussian Government, and our 
own investigation in the Holy Land, he felt that this and all 
kindred associations had some reason to be thankful that, though 
they lived in an utilitarian age, they did not altogether ignore the 
benefits resulting from the researches of antiquaries. In spite of 
the seeming eagemes3 in business, and the great desire to heap up 
riches, they often looked with envy on their more fortunate 
brethren who choose the calmer and more intellectual paths of life. 

Lord Tredegar, on behalf of the Cambrian Archeaological Asso- 
ciation, begged leave to tender their warmest thanks to the Mayor 
of Swansea for the reception he had given them, and for the able 
remarks with which his Worship had opened his speech. Before 
coming here, he had looked very carefully over the records of the 
Association for some years past, and had found that it was not the 
usual custom for the ex- president to attend on occasions such as this, 
and, therefore, he did not exactly know what he had to do; but he 
hoped the Association would forgive him for inflicting his presence 
upon them. He was sure that they would find that the district 
they were about to visit was an ample page, rich with the spoils 
of time, and abounding in objects of interest. He believed 
he had nothing further to do than to vacate the chair, and 
welcome into it a gentleman who bore a name all Welshmen loved. 
He was sure that one more fit than Mr, Llewelyn could not be 
found to occupy that position and conduct the Association through 
the great objects of interest that awaited them dtiring the week. 

When Mr. Llewelyn had taken the chair. Archdeacon Thomas rose 
to propose a cordial vote of thanks to their late president, Lord 
Tredegar. Referring to the meeting held last year at Newport, he 
spoke of the singular beauty of the county of Monmouth, and its 
richness in places of interest of many kinds and periods — Roman 
stations, British earthworks, Norman castles, mediaaval religious 

21 » 



324 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

houses like beantifal Tintem, and chnrches of sncli interest as St. 
Woolios, Newport, Usk and Chepstow. He farther allnded to the 
welcome and the assistance extended to them by the Caerleon and 
Monmonthshire Antiquarian Association. Altogether, that Meeting 
had proved more than nsnallj successfol and instmctiye, and much 
of its enjoyment, he thought, was due to the warm interest taken 
by Lord Tredegar in their work, and the pleasant genial manner in 
which he discharged the duties of President. 

Mr. Laws, General Secretary for South Wales, in seconding the 
proposal, said that all who had been at Newport had felt exceed- 
mgly indebted to his Lordship, and he had laid upon each of them 
a personal sense of obligation. 

Lord Tredegar, in an amusing acknowledgment, thanked the 
Association for their kind expressions, and was gratified to think 
that he had helped to make their Annual Meeting pleasant and 
successful. 

Mr. Llewelyn then delivered his presidential address : — 

'* I thank the members of the Cambrian Archaeological Associa- 
tion for the high honour they have done me, in appointing me to 
the honourable position of President. In following the Bight Hon. 
Lord Tredegar, who was your President last year, I can only ven- 
ture to hope the present meeting may be as agreeable and instruc- 
tive to the members of the Association as that at Newport last year, 
under his Lordship's presidency, undoubtedly was. Chester was 
originally selected for our 1886 meeting, but, owing to the visit of 
the Royal ArchsBological Institute to that city, a change bad to be 
made, and the meeting was eventually fixed for Swansea. A large 
and industrious local Committee has been formed, with Mr. Walter 
Lewis, C.E., for its active Secretary, and I trust that, if favoured 
by fair weather, we may be able to carry out satisfactorily to your 
minds the programme, with copies of which you will have already 
been supplied. 

" The antiquities of Swansea have already received your attention 
at a previous meeting in the year 1861 ; but, for two reasons, 
another meeting on an already reconnoitred locality may be held 
with advantage. In the first place, a new generation will have 
sprung up afber an interval of twenty-five years, to whom this 
meeting will come fresh and fall of interest; and, secondly, the 
information acquired by those who were here in 1861 will not only 
bear refreshing, but very possibly be the germ from which more 
matured opinions and views will have been developed ; and, if such 
find expression in the debates and transactions of your Asso- 
ciation, it will be to the advantage and benefit of the history 
which it is our special point and object to clear up and emphasise 
for those who come after us. Truly, it is for this that the Cambrian 
Archaaological Association exists. 

"The remains of past generations rapidly become obliterated by 
the ravages of time, weather, and careless and destructive man. 



SWANSEA MEETING. — BEPORT. 325 

We cannot well avoid the former, but it should be our constant 
-watch and care to prevent the latter ; and, in snch a canse, every 
member of onr Association can act as though he were a member of 
a vigilance society — prevent any vandalism which he may observe 
— secore that any excavation, disinterment of remains, such as 
opening a tnmnlns, barrow, or cairn, or laying bare a Roman tesse- 
lated pavement, shall not be carelessly done or left to inexperienced 
workmen, bnt, if carried ont at all, be well superintended, and an 
accurate reh'able report prepared for the next meeting of our Associa* 
tion. Remains do exist in onr district, and it would be a lamentable 
loss if their destruction should be wanton or careless, and the histories 
on which they might shed invaluable light be left in the Cimmerian 
gloom, which we, as an institution, exist to brighten. 

" The district around Swansea abounds with material for reflection 
on the past and of interest to the archaeologist, whether it be in the 
Cymric, Roman, Norman, or Mediasval periods. Remains exist in 
pro-historic cairns and encampments giving a dim evidence of the 
rude quarrels and resistance to the intrusion of unwelcome in- 
vaders of the old land of their fathers, or in the cromlechs and 
Druidic remains which testify to the earliest forms of their primi- 
tive worship. When we come down to the Roman period, 
the evidences point to the probabilities that their roads and 
stations, which are still to be traced, both by their names and 
by their actaal remains, were not destined to bring about that 
civilisation and colonial success which attended their engineering 
efforts in richer and more accessible parts of Great Britain— 
probably both on account of distance, of the poverty of the district, 
and of the resistance of the rude Welsh tribes, we find a scarcity of 
those remnants of the luxury which attended the Roman settlers in 
other places. Villas, with their tesselated pavements, baths, and 
other evidences of luxurious ease and rest, are scarce here, while 
the names of Castell and Caer, one of Roman, the other of Cymric 
origin, are as sug^ifestive in their opposition as the positions of the 
camps of these rival nations. Names and legends may, if taken 
alone, be of little real value, but they are suggestive to many. I 
will record a legend of my own place given me by my father, as 
received by him from the old people of the neighbourhood. Pen- 
llergare (Pen-lle'r-gaer) is the head of the camp. Tradegar (Troed- 
y-gaer) is the foot of the camp (situate about three-quarters of a 
mile to the north). This would indicate that these camps were 
facing northwards. The names are Welsh. One mile and a half 
to the south is Cadley, or the Battle-field. A well near here is 
called Fynon Circonan, or Colcona, and the legend is that the 
Western tribes defeated at Cadley, after the death of their leader, 
who died from his wounds while drinking at the well which still 
bears his name, fled in confusion towards the nearest fords of the 
river Llwchwr, which now separates Glamorganshire from Car- 
marthenshire, and were routed a second time on the plains of 
Cam Goch, or the Red Carn, which took its name from the blood- 



326 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

shed wliich occurred there. Another locality in the immediate 
yieinity is Llwyn Cadwgan, and, as we know that Gadwgan was 
King of Guhir or Gower, Cntgneli or Kidwelly, and Cantref 
Bichao, about a.d. 1066, it may be that he was implicated in the 
battle of Cadley^ and, if so, a date would be obtained for the 
suggestive names above-mentioned. 

"Many years ago, I was present at and superintended the opening 
of the principal cam on Cam Goch^ it consisted of a mound of 
earth sixty or seventy feet across, and four or five feet deep, so far 
as I now can remember. This had once been covered by a heap of 
stones, which had been removed for making roads. On open- 
ing the earthen mound, a ring of stones was found, the centre 
of which was not concentric with the centre of the cam itself. 

"A number of cists were found, consisting of flat stones, charcoal, 
and cremated bones. Two flint instruments were found, one a 
rude knife, and one an equally rude spear-head. Nine sepulchral 
urns or vases of rude pottery were found, ornamented by the 
impression on the undried clay of twisted thongs or rushes. One 
of these sepulchral urns then found I now present to the Museum 
here, while others were deposited, with their history, in the British 
Museum, in London. 




"One deduction which I remember as the outcome of the dis- 
cussion upon the above question, and which was, I think, based 
upon the negative evidence suggested by the absence of any Roman 
remains of bronze or iron, was that the antiquities were not Roman, 
but possibly pre-Roman. This is not necessarily any part at all in 
the legend I have narrated ; Cadwgan Conan and Cam Goch may 
not have been connected, nor does it follow that either is connected. 



SWANSEA MEETING. — REPORT. 327 

with Penllergare. I merely give the story as exactly as possible as 
I received it from my father, and I dare say there are gentlemen 
here who will take a pleasure in shredding it into a score of frag- 
ments. 

"I cannot conclude without a reference to the valuable addition to 
the records of the county of Glamorgan, in the publication by Mr. 
George T. Clark, of Talygarn, of his valuable history, The Land of 
Morgan^ and I must express a hope he may live long to give us 
a continuation of it down to more recent times." 



A hearty vote of thanks to the President for his Address was 
moved by Mr. R. W. Banks, seconded by Major Lawson-Lowe, 
F.S.A., and carried with acclamation. 

The Rpev. R. Trevor Owen, General Secretary, then read the 
following Annual Report : — 

ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1886. 

** For the fifth time, during its existence of forty-one years, the 
Association meets in this populous and flourishing county of 
Glamorgan — a county which has been from the first the foremost 
in its support, and the largest in its roll of members ; and this is 
its second visit to this important centre of modem industries and 
of early antiquities. The interval of a quarter of a century since 
the former meeting has given birth, indeed, to a considerable infu- 
sion of new members; but it is gratifying to see among the Vice-. 
Presidents of this gathering no fewer than eight members of the 
previous Committee of 1861. Most of us, however, meet here now 
for the first time, with the results of that meeting, and the subse- 
quent researches to which it gave rise, to stimulate and guide us. 
And, if we miss from our present list the honoured names of 
Traheame, Hey Knight, Stephens, Grant Francis, Mogs^dge, and 
others, we rejoice in the survival of the venerable Lord-Lieutenant 
of the county, of Lord Aberdare, Mr. Howell Gwyn, Sir H. Hussey 
Vivian, Bart., M.P., twice President, who shows his continued 
intei*est in our work by a paper to be read on Friday ; and, especially 
does the Association desire to refer to one to whom this county is 
so deeply indebted for the elucidation of its medisaval history — 
manorial, military and genealogical — one whom the country at 
large honours as its chief authority on mediasval military architec- 
ture ; and one to whose learned and willing pen the pages of the 
ArchcBologia Camhrensis owe many a valued article — Mr. George 
Thomas Clark, another of its Vice- Presidents. 

** The number and- interest of the papers to be read during the 
excursions are a feature which promises to add greatly to the 
pleasure and profit of our meetings, as was so markedly the case 
last year at Newport; and we venture to hope that we may enroll 
their authors as permanent members, and active contributot*s to 



328 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGTCAL ASSOCIATION, 

the Joamal, of the Association. Some of them have alreadj 
proved their ability. Margam charters to the number of sixty-five 
have been transcribed and annotated by Mr. Clark; but Neath 
calls for a fuller history than onr pages contain. ' West Gower' 
has already found its 'vates sacer' in the Rev. J. D. Davies, 
Rector of Llanmadoc. 

*' Looking back over the past history of the Association, and 
bearing in mind how often the Committee has had to appeal to its 
members for a freer supply of literary matter and a more punctual 
payment of subscriptions, it is no slight satisfaction to be able to 
say, after a career of over forty years, that the annual quota of 
archaeological lore is still forthcoming, though it may not be always 
punctual in its issue ; that the list of members is not below ijie 
average ; and that the funds are even more flourishing than they 
have been before at any period of its existence. Our younger 
members, therefore, may take courage ; and we urge them to take a 
yet more active share in promoting the interests of a living and 
flourishing Society. 

" During the past year, some of our members have been called upon 
to take a prominent part in duties of no mean order. Professor 
Rhys has delivered a course of Hibbert Lectures* on the Religion of 
the Celts ; Mr. Romilly Allen has discharged the duties of Rhind 
Lecturer, in connection with the Society of Ahtiquaries of Scotland, 
on * Early Christian Symbolism in Gh:*eat Britain and Ireland' ; Mr. 
Egerton Phillimore has taken in hand the editorship of the Cymm'- 
rodor ; the Rev. Elias Owen has completed his interesting account 
of The Old Stone Crosses of the Vale of Glwyd ; Mr. Edward Laws, 
one of the General Secretaries, is far advanced with the History of 
Little England beyond Wales, a work which enters fully into the 
pre-historic and ethnological, as well as the more general history 
of Southern Pembrokeshire. Chevalier Lloyd, Major Lawson- 
Lowe, Mr. A. N. Palmer, are all busily engaged in literary work. 

'* It is well the Association can show so good a record, for it has 
lost many members since the last meeting; e.g. — 

" The Right Hon. Lord Penrhyn, Lord-Lieutenant of Caer- 
narvonshire, a Patron. 

Ven. Henry Powell Ffoulkes, Archdeacon of Montgomery, 
a Vice-President. 

Mr. R. Kyrke Penson, F.S.A,, Local Sec. for Shropshire. 

Dr. O. Richards, Local Sec. for Merionethshire. 

Mr. Ignatius Williams, The Grove, Flintshire. 

Mr. Edward Jones, Chetwynd End, Shropshire. 

Mr. John Jones, Belau House, Oswestry. 

Rev. Henry LI. Browne, Monks' Sherborne. 

" All these have been removed by death, and some few others 
have withdrawn. The following names, however, of new members 
are to be submitted for confirmation at this Annual Meeting, viz. : 



SWANSEA MEETING. — REPORT. 329 



"North Wales. 

"Sir Watkin William s-Wynn, Bart, Wynnstay, Denbighshire. 

William Henry Gladstone, Esq., M.A., Hawarden Castle, 
Flintshire. 

Rev. E. T. Davies, BA., Aberdovey Vicarage, Merioneth- 
shire. 

Rev. T. J. Hnghes, M.A , Llanbedr Rectory, Denbighshire. 

Miss Lncy Griffith, Glyn, Dolgelley, Merionethshire. 

William Taylor, Esq., Arthog, Merionethshire, and West- 
bonme, Bolton, Lancashire. 

"South Wales and Monmouthshibb. 

" F. Thomas Mansell, Esq., St. Hilary, Cowbridge. 
S. C. Gamwell, Esq., Swansea. 
Rev. Charles Griffith, M.A., Blaenavon, Pontypool 
Everard Whiting Jones, Esq., Swansea. 
Major Lawson-Lowe, F.S.A., Shirenewton Hall, Chepstow. 
Major Pnrchas, R.E., Tenby. 

" Ambbica. 
" Henry Blackwell, Esq., 201, East Twelfth Street, New York. 

" It is proposed to add to onr list of Vice-Presidents — 

" The Rev. Daniel Silvan Evans, B.D., an eminent Welsh 
scholar and lexicographer, and some time Editor of the 
Archasologia Cambrensis, 
John Rhys, M.A., Professor of Celtic in the University of 
Oxford, a distinguished aothority ou Welsh and kindred 
philology. 

" To the Committee it is proposed to re-elect — 

" Mr. J. Romilly Allen. 
Mr. J. R. Cobb. 

" It is also proposed that the following be appointed Local 
Secretaries for their respective counties : 

" Glamorganshire. — Thomas Powel, Esq., M.A. 
Merionethshire. — Rev. J. E. Davies, M.A. 
Shropshire. — Rev. C. H, Drinkwater, M.A. 

" and that Edward Parkyns, Esq., Secretary of the Royal Institu- 
tion, Truro, be appointed Corresponding Secretary for Cornwall ; 
and Charles Hettier, Esq., F.S.A., Caen, to be Honorary Member 
of the Association and Corresponding Secretary for France. 

" Much attention has been drawn of late to the importance of 
preserving the ancient court rolls and other deeds appertaining to 



330 CAMBRIAN ARCU^OLOGIGAL ASSOCIATION. 

the Domerons manors in the connhy, as throwing a vast amount of 
light upon the habits and civilisation, the legal and social condition 
of the inhabitants, the g^wth and development of local institutions, 
the devolution of properties and the descent of families. In giving 
our cordial support to the movement, we can appeal to tlie work 
done bv our own Society in this very neighbourhood, in publishing 
the valuable Survey of Oower, and to the use made of simila^ 
materials by Mr. G. T. Clark in his valuable contribution to county 
history in The Land of Morgan.** 

The adoption of the Report was moved by Mr. Lloyd-Philipps, 
seconded by Mr. Hartland, and carried. 

At the conclusion of the meeting, the members of the Association 
were invited by the Mayor to partake of refreshments which he 
had hospitably provided, and an opportunity was at the same 
time given for inspecting the contents of the Museum. 



TUESDAY, AUGUST 24th. 

Some by train, but most after a long and dusty journey by road, 
a large party of members of the Association met at midday at 
Margam Abbey, the seat of Mr. C. R. Mansell Talbot, M.P., in 
whose absence they were received by Mr. W. Llewelyn of Court 
Colman, who also acted as guide on the occasion. 

A small portion only of the Abbey buildings survive, and those 
almost entirely ecclesiastical, and most of them in ruins ; but what 
does exist is of considerable beauty and great interest. The Abbey 
was founded in 1147 by Robert Earl of Gloucester ; and his suc- 
cessors, as lords of Glamorgan, exercised the right of *' baculum 
pastorale", that is, of appointing or confirming the election of the 
Abbot. The foundation was of the Cistercian order, and Giraldns 
Cambrensis, who visited it at the end of the century, records that 
** under the direction of Conan, a learned and prudent abbot, it was 
more celebrated for its charitable deeds than uny other of that 
order in Wales." At the Dissolution it was sold to Sir Rice 
Mansel of Oxwich Castle, and continued in the male line of the 
family till the death of Bussy Mansel, the fonrth and last Lord 
Mansel, without issae ; when it passed, through the marriage of his 
sister with John Ivory Talbot of Lacock Abbey, to the Talbot 
family, which is now represented by the present owner, Mr. C. 
Rice Mansel Talbot, M.P. for the county, and father of the House 
of Commons. The most interesting feature of the existing remains is 
the chapter house, which is twelve-sided externally, and circular 
within — the earliest, if not the only instance in England of such an 
arrangement in a Cistercian house. A central pillar, with banded 
shafts and a richly carved capital, from which radiated graceful 
ribs, supported the vaulted roof, until it fell in 1799. The accom- 



SWANSEA MEETING. — KEPORT. 



331 



panying engraving, by Mr. Worthington Smith, presented to the 
Association by Mr. Barnwell, gives a faithful illustration of it. 
Around the walls, both within and without, are preserved many 
inscribed stones of nnnsual interest, on account of their inscrip- 
tions and of their sculpture. Most of them belonged to the Abbey, 
but some have been transferred hither for security, and nearly all 
have been engraved in Professor Westwood's valuable work, the 




Lapidarium WalUce. We observed, however, in a careful examii.a- 
tion of the inscription on the Guorgorec stone, a recumbent i at 
the end of the name, making it read **Enniaun .p' anima Guor- 
goreci fecit."^ It is approached on the west from a double 
cloister, which is entered by a beautiful doorway ; near it is a 

> In the Life of St. Cadoc occurs a statement that seems to refer to this 
individual, and records a curious form of taking possession of land. 
" The Abbot of St. Cadoc, with his clergy, brought the cross of St. Cadoc 
and his earth, and going round the aforesaid land of Conguoret, claimed 
it, and be/ore proper xcitnesses scattei-ed the earth of the aforesaid saint 
thereon, in token of perpetual possession^ One of the witnesses was a Gua- 
gorit. 



332 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOOICAL ASSOCIATION. 

carious sundial of stone dated 1662. Passing aroand bj a fine 
gateway, said to hare been designed by Inigo Jones for a summet^ 
honse, we approached the west front of the parish chnrch, which 
had formerly been the nave of the Abbey church. This front is of 
late Norman character, and was apparently intended for a tower, 
if we may judge from the corbels in the walling ; but the plan was 
altered and two campaniles substituted, and a groov^e in the ashlar 
work points to the gabled roof of a porch now removed. The door- 
way is Norman, and deeply recessed. Internally, the church comprises 
a nave with two aisles ; the two eastern bays form the chancel, and the 
spaces north and so nth 'are used as burial-places of the Mansell 
family. The piers are rectangular, and plain capped by a Norman 
abacus, and the arches semicircalar. Sir B. 0. Hoare*8 illustration 
to the Itinerary of Giraldus Cambrensis, shows a Norman triforium, 

?ierced with small round-headed openings; but the wall is now plain, 
'he Mansel tombs are interesting specimens of their date, and there 
is in the north aisle a beautifully executed ef&gj of Theodore, the 
only son and heir of Mr. C. R. M. Talbot. While the nave has been 
preserved as the parish church, the rest of the original church has 
fallen into ruin ; but the remains show it to have been cruciform ; 
the eastern portion to have been of rather later date than the nave: 
in the south transept had been apparently two altars ; and the windows 
are of Decorated character. The east end was square, and does not 
appear to have had a lady chapel. The cloister was south of the 
nave aisle, the wall of which served both for it and the church ; 
south-east of the cloister is the vaulted base of a building, probably 
the abbot*s house ; and the refectory is believed to have occupied 
the site of the present orangery. Here luncheon was served, and, 
after thanks had been voted to Mr. Talbot for providing the party 
with wines on the occasion, and also for permission to inspect the 
ruins and the house, a move was made to the chapter honse, where 
Mr. Gamwell read a paper on the " History of the Abbey," which 
will appear in the next number of the Journal. Afterwards, the 
modern house, with its rich and handsome equipments, was in- 
spected, as also were the fine paintings; two, of the old house, 
excited special interest. 

Proceeding thence by road to Neath, a detour was made to 
inspect the efiiigy of " Adam de Kermerdin", an early Abbot of 
Neath. It lies in the grounds of Court Henry, at the foot of an 
erect stone, which bears an incised cross on each side. The effigy 
is much worn by exposure to the weather, and is broken into 
three pieces. He is represented as robed in a chasnble, and bears 
in his left hand a model of a church, in signification of his hav- 
ing been the rebnilder of the Abbey church. Both the erect stone 
and the effigy are protected by an iron chain enclosure; but the 
effigy, which has been broken into three parts, is much decayed 
through exposure to the weather. 

The Abbey, described by Lelaud as in his days "the fairest abbey 
in Wales", was founded in 1111 by Richard de Granville — a younger 



SWANSEA MEETING. — REPORT. 333 

brother of Robert Fitz Ham on, and one of the twelve knights who 
accompanied him in the conqnest of Glamorgan — and it was finished 
in 1129. The architect was Lalys, the same who planned Margam 
Abbey. De Granville retired after the fonndation to Bideford, 
where his descendants resided for about seven hundred years, till 
their line closed with George Granville, the poet, created Lord 
Lansdowne in 1711, who lefb daughters only. 




Abbot Adam de Kermerdin, in Court Henry GroundB. 

At the Dissolution, the Abbey was granted to Sir Richard Williams, 
ancestor of Oliver Cromwell; and horn his family it passed to the 
Hoby family, the last representative of which, Philip Hoby, died 
in 1678, and was buried in the Herbert Chapel in St. Mary's, 
Swansea. It is now the property of Lord Dynevor. The ruins 
are extensive, but much injured by time and weather, and still more 
by the careless hand of man ; one part was converted into a family 
residence, and another portion was at one time used for smelting 
purposes ! 

Mr. T. S. Sutton read a useful paper on the plan and arrange- 
ments of the conventual buildings, which will appear in due time 
in the Journal. The finest portion of the remains was the pure 
Early English cruciform church, of which the nave and aisles, tran- 
septs and side-chapels, high altar and lady chapel, with central 
tower and grand west window, may well have claimed for it old 
Leland's commendation. The flooring of the high altar had been 
brought to light for the occasion, and some fine heraldic tiles exposed. 
Excavations had also been made in the sacristy between the south 
transept and the site of the chapter house. 

Warm thanks were accorded to Mr. Sutton for his services; to 
Lord Dynevor, for permission to inspect the ruins ; and to Mr. and 
Mrs. Howell Gwyn, for their kindly provision for the bodily wants 
of their visitors. 

Evening Meeting. 

The President, having taken the chair, called upon Archdeacon 
Thomas to give a resume of the day's proceedings, after which Mr. 
David Lewis gave a very interesting account of the Charters of 
Neath Abbey, based upon the collections of the late Mr. Grant- 
Francis, F.S.A. Commencing with the foundation charter of Richard 



334 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

de Granville, a.d. 1129, be passed od to those of John in 1207 and 
1208, showing the grants that had been made in the intervening 
years. From the first charter, it appeared that there have been 
two castles at Neath, and that the Abbey has been built npon the 
site of one of them. 

Following Mr. Lewis's remarks on the Abbey, Mr. Banks referred 
to the paper which Mr. Sutton had read in the atternoon,and in which 
he was understood to say that nothing was known of the history of 
the Abbey after its dissolution. Mr. Banks suggested that it would be 
quite possible to obtain information as to its after-history by ascer- 
taining, at the Record Office, to whom it was granted, and tracing 
its subsequent descent. It appeared to him and others who 
examined the ruins that, although parts of the original monastery 
remained — for instance, the fine room on the Imsement with a 
vaulted stone roof, erroneously called the Crypt — the greater part 
of the building which we now see had been converted into a 
domestic residence with old materials from the Abbey, at the end 
of the sixteenth or the beginning of the seventeenth century. He 
regretted that no member present was an architect, to give them 
more exact information. The large square windows of Tutton 
stone inserted in the building reminded him of Sir John Perrott's 
additions to Garew Castle, and the alterations made in Heidelberg 
Castle for the reception of the Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia. He 
urged Mr. Lewis to carry on his enquiries into the history of the 
Abbey, and hoped he would entrust the result to the Journal of the 
Cambrian ArchsBological Association. 

Prebendary Walters, having asked whether there had been any 
monasteries in England before the Norman Conquest, was reminded 
of the evidence of Saxon charters. The difference also between the 
earlier British foundations and those of the post- Conquest period 
were pointed out ; and the President closed the sitting by relating 
some legends of the ill fate of the possessors of abbey property, and 
especially one relating to Philip Hoby, the last occupant of Neath 
Abbey. 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25th. 

At 9.30 this morning, a large party, about one hundred in 
number, including several members of the Swansea Scientific Society, 
set out for North Gower. Passing through Sketty and over Fair- 
wood Moor, a halt was made at Pen y crick Tumulus, when the 
Rev. J. D. Davies, the historian of West Gower, read a paper to 
show, on the authority of the Liber Landavenais, that " at or near 
this spot there once existed an ancient British Church called ' Llan 
Pencrug' (the Church of the Chief Grave^). This church had been 
the subject of a great dispute between Gudoceus, Bishop of Llan- 
daff, and Bivan, Abbot of Llantwit, which ended in the church 

^ Should be "the church near the head of the mound'\ — Edd, 



SWANSEA MEETING. — REPORT, 335 

beiDg granted to the bishop and the altar of Llandaff for ever." 
The episcopate of Ondocens was in the sixth centnry, and, as '* Llan 
Pen Crng" was stated to be in Gower, there conld be little doubt 
as to its identity : close by is Crickton (the Town of the Graves^). 
The form of the tnmnlas was round, and its period the bronze age ; 
but it had been dug into and nearly obliterated. Passing on towards 
Llanrhidian, the extensive and strongly marked earthwork of " Cile 
Ifor" formed a prominent object crowning a hill on the right. 
There appears to be no history attached to it ; but it must have 
been a position of great importance as commanding the estuary of 
the Llwchwr. 

At Llanrhidian, an interesting thirteenth centnry tombstone was 
shown in a garden, where it had been discovered last year, 1885, on 
the removal of some debris^ forming a step near some ruined walls. 
Only the head had been carved ; now much obliterated, and along 
the flat surface ran a Norman-French inscription, in Lombardic 
letters. 

On the village green are two curious upright stones; one of them 
a maen hir, which, after lying long on the ground, had been set up 
by the Vicar about forty years ago ; about the other there was con- 
siderable discussion as to whether it too had been a maen hir or the 
shaft of a ruined wheel-crosa It has been used within memory as 
the village pillory, the offenders being secured by a chain, which 
was fixed to two iron staples still remaining. 

The church, which comprises nave and chancel, has an em- 
battled tower at the west end, stepped in the Irish fashion. The 
embrasures of the battlements are of great depth, and the turret 
prcnects boldly; on the east and west fis^ces are two distinct couplets 
of laucets, the other openings being two mere slits ; the south win- * 
dow of the chancel is a double ogee. Internally may be noted the 
prolongation of the window-cill to form a sedile, and a piscina 
inserted in the jamb : the priest's door has been filled in, but 
another opened up. There are two chalices : one inscribed " Llan- 
ynewir Chappell 1677"; the other is 1700. A curiously carved 
stone in the churchyard caused much discussion as to its real use, 
whether it had been a tombstone, part of a cross, or the tvmpauum 
of a doorway. A careful drawing of it was made by Mr. W. G, 
Smith, and we intend to refer to it again. 

Weobley Castle is a very interesting specimen of the fortified 
residence built at the close of the thirteenth or during the first half 
of the fourteenth century. Placed on the edge of a very steep 
ascent from the marshy ground which forms the shore of the Burry 
inlet, and covered with water at each high tide, its position was well 
calculated to guard against any assaults by naval marauders, while 
its isolated position in a thinly populated district, much of which is 
still high moorland, made it less liable to attack to the landward. 
What its defences on this side were, can now only be matter for con- 

* Bather, " the town near the cnig or mound^.^EDD. 



336 CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

jectnre, for tbey are wholly obliterated, and their site is occnpied by 
a fiEtrmyard and buildings, erected with the rained materials. The 
northern front of the castle, facing the Barry inlet, and command- 
ing an extensive view over it and the opposite shore from Longhor 
(Llwchwr) to Pembrey, with portions to the east and west, still 
remains in a fair state of preservation ; bat the interior of the walls 
has been converted into a farmhoase, and has undergone such modi- 
fications as to make its original state nnrecognisabla The building 
was lofty and extensive, and its ground-plan irregular. The prin- 
cipal entrance was on the west by two arched doorways through a 
small intermediate square lobby, unprovided with the usual modes 
of defence, within or without. On either side of the entrance are 
two small square towers, projecting from the wall ; the narrow one 
to the left is almost in its original state, and the other much ruined; 
in neither is there any loophole for the defence of the entrance. 
Above the outer doorway, is a small lancet window with an ogee 
trefoil head, and there is a small transitional lancet window on the 
same level in the ruined tower to the right. The walls which 
remain are surmounted by a plain and deep parapet resting on a 
corbel table, serving as a cover for the rampart which ran along it 
within, and served uie purpose of defence and of a look-out. Snter* 
ing the building, a fine window in the narrow tower to the left 
looks into the inner court. It is still open and in good preserva- 
tion, and consists of two long lancet lights with slight cusps, tran- 
soms at half its length, and a plain lozenge-shaped opening in the 
head above the central mullion, the exact counterpart of the long 
windows in the hall of Stokesay Castle, Shropshire. The absence 
of loopholes, and the few window openings in the outer walb of the 
' castle, are deserving of notice. In the return wall northward of the 
western front, halfway up the wall, are the remains, now filled in, 
of a large double ogee-headed window, terminating at the top with 
a square stone, and transoms at half its length. A similar window, 
blocked up, may be seen a little below the corbel table on the east 
side of the square block, which projects northward, and is termi- 
nated by a fine circular watch-tower about fifty feet high, rising 
well above the level of the parapet ; in the upper part of the watch- 
tower is a small ogee-headed window. A fine polygonal tower 
terminates the northern front of the building to the east. The 
upper part of this tower and the east front ai-e covered with ivy, 
and hidden from view ; but at the base of the tower is a flat arched 
doorway, probably the postern, from which there is an ascent by a 
steep and narrow staircase. 

The name of Weobley at once recalls that of Weobley in Here- 
fordshire, which occurs as " Wibelai'* in the Domesday Survey 
among the possessions of Roger de Lacy ; we will not speculate as 
to the derivation of the name, but rather suggest for consideration 
whether the owner of the castle in Gower may not have adopted the 
name of Weobley from his connection with Herefordshire and the 
owners of the castle there. Referring to " Notes on Weobley** 




E 

M 

O 

K 

i 






SWANSEA MEETING. — REPORT. 337 

(Arch, Camhr,, Srd series, voL 15, p. 43), we find that Theobald de 
Verdon, lord of the manor and castle of Weoblej in Herefordshire, 
died in 1314, leaving three daughters his coheiresses, of whom 
Margery had Weobley as her share. By her third husband. Sir 
John Crophnll, she had a son, Thomas Crophnll, who married Sibilla, 
daughter of Sir John de la Bere, the lord of the Gower castle, and died 
in his father's lifetime, leaving an only daughter, Agnes, who, on the. 
death of Sir Thomas Crophnll in 1383, inherited the Herefordshire 
Weobley, and shortly afterwards married Sir John Devereux. The 
Delabere family were owners of property in the adjoining neighbour- 
hood and other parts of Herefordshire for two or three centuries. 

After the ruins had been carefully examined, the Rev. J. D. 
Davies read a paper upon the history of the castle and some of its 
owners, which will appear in the Journal. At the close, a cordial 
vote of thanks was given, on the motion of the President, to Mr. 
Davies, for this and his other services to the Association. 

The party then proceeded to inspect the maenhir on Mansel field 
Farm, known as " Samson's Jack'*; the material of which is old red 
sandstone conglomerate, or pudding-stone. 

On the return journey, a section of the party ascended the hill of 
Cefn Bryn, to inspect the cromlech known as Arthur's Stone. The 
huge capstone, of the old red sandstone conglomerate of the district, 
is now 13 feet in length by 6 feet 6 inches broad, and 7 feet in 
thickness, and it weighs about 25 tons ; but a large piece, broken 
off through the action of rain and frost, must have added another 
ten tons to the weight. The stone was originally sustained by 
eight uprights, but is now held up by four. One legend relates that 
King Arthur, when at Llanelli, was annoyed by a pebble in his shoe, 
and threw it out to Cefn Bryn; and another states that St. David, 
the patron saint, struck off with his sword the broken portion. 
Under the name of " Maen Ketti ', whence the name of the neigh- 
bouring ** Sketty", it is alluded to in the Triads as one of " the 
three mighty achievements of the Isle of Britain". From it came the 
proverbial expression for any huge weight, " mal Uwyth maen keti". 
The cromlech has formed the centre of a series of avenues and cairns, 
described by Sir Gardner Wilkinson in the first volume of the fourth 
series of the Journal, and illustrated by five engravings. The illus- 
tration here given was drawn by Mr. W. G. Smith, and has been pre- 
sented by Mr. Barnwell. 

From Arthur's stone the party extended their excursion through 
the village of Penrice, with its large village green and newly rebuilt 
church, to Penrice Castle. This fine ruin stands on high ground, and 
is very imposing and extensive. It was " one of the keys of Gower, 
and, with Swansea and Llwchwr castles, covered the frontier of the 
promontory towards the Welsh districts". Mr. G. T. Clark writes 
further that the ruins of the present, which, though old, was probably 
not the original castle, attest the continued power and wealth of the 
family (of Penrice) into the reign of the second and third Edwards, 
when they terminated in an heiress, Isabel Penrice, who married, in 

6th SEB., VOL. III. 22 



338 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

1867, Sir Hugh Mansel, and bad a son, Richard Mansel of Oxwicb, 
ancestor of the Mansels of Margam.^ The modern house, which 
stands below the castle, is the favoarite winter residence of Mr. 
C. B. Mansel-Talbot, M.P. This was the €nest mih'tarj rain in 
Gower, and great regrets were expressed that it had not been in- 
cluded in one of the programmes, and that the lateness of the boar 
did not admit of a more carefal examination. Swansea was not 
reached before ten o'clock. 

Evening Meeting. 

The President, having taken the chair, gave an accoant of the places 
of interest visited daring tlie day ; and afterwards referred to an 
anonjmons letter sent to him by some one, who said be bad been 
refused admittance on Monday eveni"g because he was not a 
member. The President thought it would be well to popularise the 
Association, and to have one of the meetings open to the publia' 

The Rev. J. D. Davies, in the absence of Archdeacon Thomas, 
then gave a resume of the day's proceedings, and enlarged on many 
points of interest in the excursion. 

Mr. Banks, in the discussion which ensued, differed from Mr. 
Davies in his suggestion that the sculptured stone disinterred at 
Llanrhidian, in front of the church porch, and now lying in the 
churchyard, had been the lid of a coffin. From its shape and the 
design sculptured, he thought it was more probably a sepulchral 
monument. 

Mr. Laws thought that it bad formed part, perhaps the base, of 
a cross. 

A paper by Mr. J. Coke Fowler, upon " Some Inscribed Stones 
at GnoU", near Neath, his former residence, was read in his 
absence by Mr. David Lewis. It was compiled chiefly out of 
Professor Westwood's account in the Archceohgia CambrensiSj third 
series, vol. xi, p. 59, and in Lapui avium Waliue. We supply from 
the former the engravings to illustrate Mr. Fowler's paper; although, 
in thi'ir present location, the inscribed stone, or so much of it as is 
visible, is cemented in beneath the figured one. 

" The figured stone is destitute of inscription. It is of irregular 
form, about thirty inches in height, and twenty in width. Ita 
surface is nearly occupied by a rudely designed human figure. The 
head is round, and uncovered ; the arms raised, with the hands 
open and the fingers spread out ; and a short apron or kilt reaches 
from the waist to the middle of the legs. Above the head is a 
series of short straight spokes or bars, some longer than the rest, 
and bent at right angles, forming a kind of canopy over the figure, 

^ The Genealogies of Glamorgan ^ p. 499. 

^ There must have been some misapprehension here, as only one of the 
evenings is limited to members, and that is necessary for the business of 
the Association. The others are o|ien to the public on a small charge for 
a ticket. Perhaps it was this the anonymous writer objected to. — £j>d. 



SWANSEA MEETIXO. — REPORT. 



33^ 



which is in relief, the surface of the stone having been cat away. 
The kilt is formed of a series of longitadinal strips, radiating from 
a waistband, and giving the appearance of a short and very thickly 
qailted petticoat, as in several Irish figures on the shrine of St. 
Manchan. 

'* It is said that such representations of ancient Britons on the 
sculptured stones of Wales are extremely rare. 

** This stone was found upon Cefn Hirfynydd, ne»ir Sarn Helen, 
and not far from Oapel Colbren. A road is supposed to liave been 




made by Helena, daughter of Eudaf (or Octavins), Duke of Cornwall, 
and wife of the Emperor Maximus. 'J'ho Sarn Helen has also been 
ascribed to Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantino, who 
was first proclaimed in Britain. She was a Welshwoman ; but it 
seems that Sarn Helen is a common name for roads in the Princi- 
pality, and may, perhaps, be a corruption of Sarn y Lleng, the 
**Path of the Legion", as Watling Street (the great Roman road in 
England) may come from Gwaith y Lleng, the** Work of the Legion". 
** The attitude of this and the figures on the stones at Llan- 



340 



CAMBRIAN ARCHJEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 



defaelog, at Llanf rynaoh, and Llanham- 
lech in Breoonshire, agrees with that 
repeatedly found in the Boman cata- 
combs. It is generallj interpreted as - 
representing the act of prayer or wor- 
ship ; and the dress is specially Celtic, 
as may be seen in many early scalp- 
tnres in other parts of the kingdom, as 
well as in early Irish metal- work." 

A drawing of the stone, made by 
Lient. Evan Thomas, B.N., was shown 
in illnstration of the paper. 

THE INSCRIBED STONE. 

" In the Lapidarium WaJlicp^ by I. 
O. Westwood, M. A., Oxford, printed at 
the University Press for this Society, 
it is stated, p. 6, that the earliest notice 
of this stone is by Edward Llwyd in 
Gibson's Camden^ p. 620. It is there 
stated that in the parish of Cadoxton 
and the hamlet of Llangadoc, about six 
miles from Neath, are two circular in- 
trenchments, and a stone pillar thus 
inscribed : 

**MAECI CABITINI FILII BERICII. * 

"The stone is about a yard long 
and eight inches broad. The letters 
are rudely-formed Roman capitals of 
unequal height It appears from a let- 
ter from the Bev. T. Williams (printed 
in the ArchcRologia CambrensiSj Series 
III, vol. xi), that about the year 1806 
the late Lady Mack worth, the then 
owner of Gnoll, collected all the curious 
stones in the neighbourhood, for the 
purpose of embellishing a grotto at 
Gnoll. The stone was partly broken 
before removal, and the extremity of 
the: inscription received some injury. 
It now reads thus : 

" MACARITIN « FILl'^BERI. 

"The letter i is horizontal, as is 
often the case in the Welsh inscribed 
names. As to the final part of the last 
word there is some doubt* as the stone 




SWANSEA MEETING. — REPORT. 341 

has been injured since Camden read it '* Bericii", thoagh his fac- 
simile looks more like Bericoi. 

" In the folio edition of Camden, which I have afc The Hill, the 
inscription is given as it existed before the fracture.** 

Canon Walters mentioned a fragment of a stone found in the re- 
building of Ystradgynlais Church with an inscription, Hicjacet, 

Major Lawson-Lowe also spoke of a stone with interlaced pattern 
found in taking down the north-west angle of the nave of a church 
near Chepstow. 

Mr. R. Gwynne gave an account of various archaeological objects 
in the neighbourhood; and, after a bi-ief discussion, the meeting 
was closed. 



THURSDAY, AUGUST 26th. 

The first object this morning was Swansea Castle, over which Mr. C. 
Bath, F.S.A., acted as guide, and pointed out its principal features; 
and conducted the party through the portions that still survive, 
though much altered by the many changes that have been made in 
them. The distinguishing feature of the Castle, which was built 
by Henry de Gower, Bishop of St. David's, in the fourteenth cen- 
tury, is the handsome arcaded parapet of the tower, which stands 
out well above the town bnildings, and is the counterpart, with 
some difference, of the similar work at Lamphey and St. David's. 
In the great hall, now used as an armoury, an excellent paper on 
its history was read by Mr. Capper, F.R.G.S.,for which he received 
the thanks of the Association. It will be found on pp. 302-7 supra. 
Prom the Castle a move was made to St. David's Hospital, founded 
by Bishop Henry de Gower in 1332, with the aid of other bene- 
factors, for six chaplains and the support of blind decrepit priests 
and other poor (religious) men in his diocese of St. David's. At 
the dissolution, it was granted to Sir George Herbert ; then meta- 
morphosed into a Tudor residence — subsequently plastered over 
and lost sight of until it was discovered by Mr. George Grant 
Francis. It has lately been purchased by our President. An 
interesting paper on the surviving remains was read by Mr. 
J. Buckley Wilson, A.R.I.B.A., who illusti*ated his account by a 
ground-plan and drawings, and a restoration view of the old 
chapel, the open timber-work of the roof of which still remains. 
These we hope to give with the paper in a future number. 

Prom this to the parish church of St. Mary's was but a short 
distance; and here Mr. Gamwell gave an account of the edifice 
and its historical associations. Rebuilt by Bishop Gower, its 
character and proportions were much altered for the worse, owing 
to an accident in 1739, when the roof of the middle aisle fell in 
just before divine service on May 20th. In the reconstruction, the 
pillars of the nave had to be rebuilt, and the church was made 
twelve feet narrower than before. The ground-plan comprises a 



342 CAMBRIA.X ARCHiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

nave with aisles, and a long chanoel with the Cradock and Morris 
chapels on the north side, a north poroh, and a tower ou the 8ontb« 
This last has on its sammit a cnrioas arrangement for lighting 
beaoon fires. In the chancel, and forming a reredos, is a fine 
painting ascribed to Sassoferrato (died 1598), representing the 
Madonna and Child, presented to the chnrch by the late Mr. Thomas 
Bowdler of the Bhjddingpi. On the north wall, fixed into the 
mnrble top of an altar- tomb, which once stood in the middle of the 
chancel, is a fine brass representing Sir Hugh Johnys, Knight of 
the Holy Sepalchre, and Dame Mawde, his wife, with nine of their 
children. The inscription, in old English character, i-eads thos: 
'* Pray for the sowle of Sir Hagh Johnys, knight, and dame Mawde, 
his wife, which Sir Hagh was made knight at the holy sepulchre of 
oar lord Jhu Crist in the city of Jerasalem the xiiij day of Aognst 
the yefe of onr lord Gode m cccoxli. And the said Sir Hugh had 
cotynayed in the werris ther long tyme by fore by the space of fire 
yer*s that is to sey ageynst the Tnrkis and SarsyoM in the p'tis of 
troy g^ecie & tnrky under lohn y^ tyme Emprowrie of Constan- 
tynenople, and afler that was knight marchall of ffrance under John 
duke of Som*set by the space of ffvve yere. and in likewise aftyr 
that was knight marchall of Ingland under the good John duke of 
Norfolke which John gyare unto hym the mano of landymo to hym 
and to hys heyr for ev'more uppon whose senilis Jhu hav mercy.'* 
The Dame Mawde was first cousin to Sir Matthew Cradock, whose 
altar-tomb, with effigies of himself and his wife, and richly canopied 
carvings, is seen in the Cradock Chapel with this inscription : 

HERB LIBTH SIR MATHIE CRADOK KNIOHT SOMETIME DEPUTE UNTO THE 
RIGHT HONORABLE CHARLES ERLE OF WORCET IN THE OOUKTIB OF 
OLAMORQAN & MORGAN CHAUNCELOR OF THE SAME STEWARD OP OOWER 
AND KILYEI, AND MI LADI KATERIN HIS WIFFE. This MI LADI KATKRIN 

was Lady Katherine Gordon, the widow of Perkin Warbeck, who 
married for her second husband Sir Matthew, and after his decease 
married, for the third time, Sir John Strang^ ways, of Fy field, 
Berkshire, where, and not here, in spite of her efllgy, she lies 
interred. Sir Matthew and his wife lived at the Place Honse, the 
site of which is now occupied by the south side of Temple Street 
In the same chapel, now called the Herbert Chapel, is another 
monument which shows who was an occupant of the domestic resi- 
dence on the site of Neath Abbey : 

" Here lyeth the body of Philip Hoby of the Abby of Neath in 
this County Esquire fourth son to Peregrine Hoby of Bysham in 
the County of Berks Esq. by Katherine daughter to Sir Wm. 
Dodington of Brejmore in the County of Sonthampton Knt. by 
Mary the daughter and sole heir of Sir John Herbert Knt. and 
Secretary of State to Queen Elizabeth, who departed this life on 
the 15 day of June 1678 and on the Ist day of July following was 
brought to be interred with one of his ancestors Sir Mathew 
Cradock and Father to Sir Greorge Herbert Knt. and Father of the 
said Sir John and eldest brother to William fir^t Earl of Pem- 
broke of the family of the hows of Pembroke now in being.'* 



SWANSEA MEETING. — REPORT. 343 

The arclies by which this chapel opened into the church have 
been built up, and the place, notwithstanding its monuments, is 
very neglected and uncared for. 

The ef^gy of a priest, which once occupied the recess in the 
north wall of the chancel until it was removed about seventy years 
ago outside the church, has again been brought under cover, and 
now lies, secure at least from the weather, in a small vestry-room 
at the west end. We shall recur to this on another occasion. 

In the afternoon, a very large party drove, on the invitation of 
the President, to Penllergare, a name indicative of a Roman 
encampment. Here, whilst many stayed to enjoy the singular 
beauties of the place— the fine gardens and the wonders of the 
Moth House — others followed the President to Cam Otoch Common. 
On this common he had discovered many years ago the sepulchral 
urn^ which he presented on Monday evening to the Swansea 
Maseum; and, not far off, and closely adjoining the Roman road 
from Neath (Nidnm) to Llwchwr (Leucarum), he pointed out two 
small square camps. The larger one — 31 yards by 30 yards — with 
a fosse of eight yards from the outer edge to the crest of the agger, 
had two entrances opposite each other, north and south; the other, 
a little smaller, had four, one on each side. Mr. Banks mentioned 
a similar entrenchment,^ about 110 feet square, with four entrances, 
fosse and agger not more than six feet in width, in the line of the 
Roman road from Castell Collen to Llechryd and Builth, on the 
summit of the rising ground between Llandrendod and Howey, 
close to the Central Wales Railway, and commanding a view of 
the line of road either way. 

On the return to Penllergare, the whole party were most hos- 
pitably entertained by the President, to whom and Mrs. Llewelyn 
the cordial thanks of the Association were accorded, on the motion 
of Archdeacon Thomas, seconded by Mr. Lloyd-Philipps as one 
of the oldest members, both for their genial hospitality and for the 
unceasing interest they had taken in the whole of the meetings. 

Evening Meeting. 

At this, which was a meeting of Members only, the Treasurer 
reported that he had £209 : 13 : 3 in hand on the Society's account ; 
that several subscriptions for last year were unpaid, and that the 
greater part of the subscriptions for the present year remained to 
be collected. He mentioned that Mr. Stephen W. Williams con- 
templated an early visit to Strata Florida, with a view to make 
accurate drawings of the few architectural remains, and a grunnd- 
plan of the buildings, and suggested that the Society might afford 
material aid if it granted him £5 for labourers' work in excavations 
to trace the hnes of the walls. After a discussion, it was resolved 
to allow Mr. Williams £5 out of the funds of the Society for the 
purpose. Denbigh was decided upon as the place of meeting for 
ISoV. 

' Archxoloffia Camhrensis^ vol. for 1856. 

2 Ibid., 4th Scries, vol. iv, p. 2b7. 



344 CAMBRIAN ABCH^EOLOGICAL ASS0CIAT109. 



FRIDAY, AUGUST 27m 

To-dftj the Excnreion was into Soatb Gower, in order to see the 
rarest prehistoric monument in the peninsula — the famous cham- 
bered cairn of Park Le Breos. There the members were met bj 
Sir H. Hnssej Vivian, Bart^ M.P., who had travelled from London 
to receive his visitors. The cairn is not foand, as is nsnallj the 
case, on the high ground, but is situated in the bottom of a secladed 
and weU-sheltered dingle. Here Sir Hussej Vivian read a paper, 
which he had contributed to the Archcsologia Cambrerms in 1871, 
supplemented by more recent observations down to date. As we 
purpose reprinting the whole paper in a future number, it will suf- 
fice to state here that '' this valuable prehistoric tomb was dis- 
covered in 1869, and opened under the eyes of Sir John Lubbock 
and Sir Hussej Vivian. It consists of a central avenue, the 
entrance to which is funnel-shaped, and very neatly constructed of 
dry masonry, 16 ft. long ; at the mouth 12 fl. wide, contracting to 
3 ft. 6 ins. ; at this point it joins the central aisle, from which 
branch off the chambered cells, two on either side. This aisle is 
built of large stone slabs, and is 17 ft. long, with a uniform width 
of 3 ft. The chambers are 6 fit. by 2 ft., and the interstices 
between the slabs are carefully packed with small stones. When 
the cairn was opened, it contained the remains of at least twenty 
human beings, two of them having been aged persons, two children, 
two females ; while the remainder were persons in the prime of life. 
The bones were too fragmentary to decide what was the shape of 
the crania. With the human remains were deer and swine*s teeth, 
and fragments of sun-dried pottery. The chambers contained two 
and three bodies, the remainder were arranged in the central aisle. 

A short discussion ensued between Sir Hussey and Mr. Laws as 
to whether the cells had been covered with slabs or not ; the latter 
contending that they must have been so covered, the former as 
urgently maintaining the negative: the opinion of the Members was 
in favour of the covering slabs. 

The " Cat Hole** cave, about 200 yards to the north of the 
cairn, was next visited ; but it was not possible to go far into it, 
owing to the foul air. 

On the rocky point at the head of Brock Bottom, Sir Hussey 
pointed out a distinctly marked vallum running across the point, 
and separating it from the level ground to the west. Within thi^ 
vallum was a small space of ground with sevei'al circular depressions, 
which, he thought, must have formed the site of beehive huts : the 
position is well-sheltered and defensible, and may well have served 
as the camping-grouud of an early tribe. A ground-plan would be 
very helpful towards understanding the arrangement. 

Afterwards, a generous hospitality was shown to the Members at 
Park Le Breos; and, in thanking Sir Hussey for this and for his 
paper on the cairn, occasion was taken to allude to the great care 
shown in the preservation of the remains. 



SWANSEA MEETING. — REPORT. 345 

From this point the party separated into two divisions ; the one 
branching off to see the famous Bone Caves, where a paper by Mr. 
C. H. Perkins was read in his absence by the Rev. J. E. Manning, 
and on to Pennard Castle, a quadrangular fortress of the Edwardian 
type, of which '* nothing now remains of any consequence save a 
bold rude gate with rude flanking towers". The other party drove 
to Bishopston Church, an interesting edifice of the twelfth century. 
It consists of chancel, nave, and western tower with battlements. 
In the south wall of the chancel are two loop windows and a 
blocked up priest's door ; near the windows is a piscina projecting 
from the wall. In the north wall of the nave is the doorway to 
the rood-loft, and a small window by which it was lighted. The 
font is square, on a circular stem and square base, reminding one of 
the Pembrokeshire type. The chalice is Elizabethan, and is inscribed 
" Pocnllum Eclesie de Byshops Towne'^ 

The next and last point of the flxcursion was the Castle of 
Oystermouth, an imposing ruin which disputed with Penrice the 
honour of being the chief stronghold in Gower. The principal 
feature is the square keep, in the upper story of which is the 
chapel, with five large Decorated windows ; the north side is the 
most stately, and is pierced with many windows. The grand 
entrance at the south-east is defended by towers and portcullis. A 
paper read by Mr. Martin on the spot, and illustrated by a ground- 
plan, made it much more feasible to make out the somewhat intri- 
cate arrangements. A hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr. 
Martin, on the motion of the President. This paper will appear in 
the JournaL 

EvENiNQ Meeting. 

At this the concluding session of the Annual Meeting, the Presi- 
dent in the chair, after the usual brief resume of the two days* 
excursions had been given, the following votes of thanks were 
passed unanimously : 

1. To the President and Council of the Royal Institution of 
South Wales for the use of their rooms ; proposed by the Earl of 
Cawdor, and seconded by Archdeacon Thomas. 

2. To the Entertainers, and especially to his Worship the Mayor 
of Swansea ; on the motion of Mr. R. H. Wood, seconded by Mr. 
Hartland. 

3. To the Local Committee, particularly to their Yice-Chairman, 
Mr. Capper, and their Secretary, Mr. Walter Lewis ; proposed by 
Mr. Laws, seconded by Major Lawson*Lowe. 

4. To the Readers of Papers, especially to the Rev. J. D. Davies 
and Mr. G^mwell ; on the motion of Mr. Banks, seconded by Mr. 
Lloyd-Philipps. 

Ihe votes having been respectively acknowledged, the rest of the 
evening was devoted to a conversazione and music ; and so closed 
a very pleasant and successful week, thanks in no slight degree to 
the genial presence and unflagging interest of the President. 

5th 8EB., VOL. III. 23 



346 CAMBRIAN ARCBLEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 



CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 



SWANSEA MEETING, AUGUST 23-27, 1886. 
Receipts. 



SCBSCRFBBRS TO LOCAL FJrND, 

J. T. D. Llewelyn, Esq., President 

The Right Hon. the Karl of DunraTen 

The Right Hon. Lord Tredegar 

The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of St. David's 

The Right Hon. Lord Aberdare 

Ilowel Gwjn, Esq. 

Charles Bath, Esq. 

F. A. Yeo, Esq., M.P. . 

J. Richardson Francis, Esq. 

The Rev. Canon Smith . 

The Right Hon. The Earl of Jersey 

His Honour Judge Brynmor Jones 

M. B. Williams, Esq. 

J. 0. Fowler, Esq. 

Joseph Hall, Esq. 

Rev. Canon Walters, D.D. 

Robert Capper, Esq. 

David Lewis, Esq. 

A. C. Jonas, Esq. 

His Worship the Mayor of Swansea (W. J. Rees, Esq. 

J. Trevilian Jenkin, Esq. 

Dr. Paddon 

J. Buckley Wilson, Esq. 

Dr. Jabez Thomas 

Everard W. Jones, Esq. 

T. S. Sutton, Esq. 

Edward Roberts, Esq. 

Dr. D. Arthur Davies 

A. Merry, Esq. . 

W. R. Collins, Esq. 

Nicol Morgan, Esq. 

John Roberts, Esq. 

J. E. Moore, Esq. 

Dr. I. Padley 

Dr. H. A. Latimer 

Sir H. H. Vivian, Bart., M.P. 

Rev. E. L. Barnwell 

J. G Gordon, Esq. 

Sir J. Jones Jenkins 

Sums of 10».:— T. R. R. Davison, Esq.; Rev. J. D. Davies, 
M.A.; II. N. Miers, Esq.; A. P. Steeds, Esq.; Philip 
Rogers, Esq.; A. Merry, Esq. (2); F. Glyn Price, 



£ 8. d. 










2 2 
2 2 
2 
2 





1 
1 
1 



1 



1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

I 

1 



1 

1 

1 





SWANSEA MEETING. — REPORT. 



347 



£ $, d. 



Esq.; Thomas Hall, Esq.; H. D. B. Dillwyn, Esq.; 
Miss Aubrey; Rev. T. W. Prickett (2); Rev. J. E. 
Manning, M.A.; A. E. Jacobs, Esq.; E. Starhuck 
Williams, Esq.; D. C. Jones, Esq.; Yen. Archdeacon 
Griffiths; F. B. Eden, Esq.; T. P. Martio, Esq.; Rad- 
cliffe Morgan, Esq. (2); lltid B. Nichol, Esq.; A. 
Oruickshank, Esq.; Thomas Evans, Esq ; G. S. Jacobs, 
Esq.; J. Squire, Esq.; Richard Gwjnne, Esq.; Miss 
Madge; Dr. Ebenezer Davies ; A. R. Molison, Esq.; 
Christopher James, Esq ; S. Home, Esq.; William 
Morgan, Esq. . . . . . .17 

The Proprietors of The Cambrian . . 7 « 

R. Maliphant, Esq. . . . . .050 

Twenty-six tickets at 2«. 6(1. . . .350 

£83 18 6 



Expenditure. 

Mr. H. Maliphant for printing .... 

Mr. D. C. Jones for sundry drapery 

Proprietors of Cambrian for printing 

Advertisements : — Camftriari, £3:13:8; Western Mail, 
£1:4:0; South Wales Daily News, £1:4:6; Cam- 
bria Daily Leader, £2:9:0 

Messrs. Croker and Ball for gas-fittings 

Mr. W. H. Crowther, expenses to Aberavon 

Clean intr, etc., at Royal Institution 

Cloak-room attendance .... 

Messrs. J. Glasbrook and Sons for timber . . 

Messrs. Thomas and Paton for lighting 

Clerk's assistance .... 

Rev. D. H. Davies, carriage of exhibits 

Carpentry at Royal Institution . 

Postages, telegrams, carriage of parcels, train and cab 
expenses, and sundries 

Brakes, etc., for members of the press 

Mr. Idris Lewis, honorarium 

Miss Jones, Walnut Tree Hotel, Aberavon, extra ex 
penses in connection with luncheon 

Mr. Bevan, King Arthur Hotel, Reynolstone . 

British and Foreign Confectionery Co., extra expenses 
in connection with conversazione at Royal Institu 
tion on August 27 . 

Cheque book ..... 

The Council of Royal Institution for gas 



10 19 4 
4 
1 U 6 



Balance to be forwarded to Cambrian Arch. Assoc. 



8 11 
12 
« 
16 
5 

15 

1 9 
3 

12 

1 6 6 

6 12 3 
3 14 6 
1 1 

1 
1 10 



2 10 

1 

1 1 

£61 17 11 
32 7 

£83 18 6 



Examined and found correct, 

J. Squire, 14 Oct. 1886. 

Chas. Price, Local Hon. Treasurer, 15 Oct. 1886. 

Walter Lewis, Local Hon. Sec, 15 Oct. 18>iG. 



348 



LOCAL MUSEUM. 



CATALOGUE OF THE TEMPORARY MUSEUM, 
SWANSEA MEETING, 1886. 

Thi Temporary Museum wa$ placed in Roome heUmginff to the Rej/ei JntHhtU 

of South WaUe, 



Friumyal. 

Cakes of bees-wax from kitchen-midden, Llanmadoe Barrows 

Rey. J. D. Davies, M.A. 

BOMAK. 

Mill-Btone found in 1 878 on the old Roman road near Pontardnlais 

F. W. Johns, Esq. 
Three Roman needles found at Goginan 
Carious bronze vase found near Goginan 

Rev. D. H. Davies, Cenarth. 
A sepulchral um of rude potter j with the impression of twisted 
thongs or rushes, from Cam Goch 

J. T. D. Llewelyn, Esq., M.A., F.L.S. 

MEDIiBTAL AND MISCELLANEOUS. 

Shell-money, New Guinea 

Cross of oak from chancel of St. David's Cathedral 

Holy- water receptacle of china Miss A. L. Powell. 

African musical instrument. The sounding-box contains a loose 

stone, and the notes may be altered by moving the bridge 

A. Cruickshank, Esq. 
Halbert found at Newcastle- Emlyn 
Ancient sword 
Curious panel with head carved in relief 

Rev. D. H. Da vies, Cenarth. 
Skull found in dredging North Dock, 1886 R. Capper, Esq. 

Guinea-gold locket from Central Africa embossed with Christian 

symbols, and dating prior to 1400 a.d. Mrs. Capper. 

Gk*eek, Roman, and English Coins 

Rev. D. H. Davies, Cenarth, C. Bath, Esq., Rev. J. D. Davies, 
T. P. Martin, Esq., and Mrs. Morgan, Oystermouth. 
Stone hatchet, New Caledonia A. C. Jonas, Esq. 

Specimens of old china — Dresden, Worcester, Durham, and Swansea 

— were exhibited by Miss Powell, Mrs. Morgan, J. R. Francis, 

Esq., and F. W. Johns, Esq. 



SWANSEA MEETING.--REPORT. 349 



Books and Manuscripts, etc 

Gkbriel Poweirs Survey of Gower, 1764 

Charters granted to Swansea 

Copper Smelting, working copy 

Final copy of Copper Smelting 

Pedigrees, Charters, Surveys, etc., relating to Qower and Glamorgan, 

by William Bennett 
Original deeds connected with Glamorgan, Swansea, etc., with 

Memorandum by G. G. F. 
Curious extracts relating to pedigrees of Welsh families, deeds, 

evidence taken at Swansea, etc. 
Extracts relating to Swansea from Vestry-books, etc. 
Charticrs relating to towns in Wales 
Acts of Parliament relating to Swansea, complete set, 1762-1804, 

maps, etc. 
Collection of Acts relating to Glamorganshire, 1778-1854, maps, etc. 
Broadsides relating to Swansea and Glamorgan, 1772-1820 
Five volumes of correspondence relating chiefly to the antiquities, 

history, and progress of South Wales, 1834-1838 
Materials for the history of Neath and Swansea. G. G. F. 

Lent by J. E. Francis, Esq. 
Three Manuscript Sermons, time Charles II 

Lent by J. Coke Fowler, Esq. 
Black.letter Bible, 2 vols., 1634 

Black-letter Common Prayer-book, 1669 Lent by Mrs. Morgan 
Book of Common Prayer and Bible, 1639 

Lent by T. P. Martin, Esq. 
Powell's History of Wales, 1684. 
Early Welsh Book of Common Prayer, 1664 

Lent by Charles Bath, Esq. 
Indian Manuscript in Telugu language. Lent by J. Gnppy, Esq. 
Bible, 1658 
Common Prayer, 1699 

Metrical Version of Psalms, 1641 Lent by Mrs. Paddon 

Copies of old deeds and manuscripts, with index 
Twelve old deeds Lent by Mrs. Bishop 

Bible in Hebrew, 1661 
England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, 1627 

Lent by A. C. Jonas, Esq. 
Various plans of Swansea, including four views of the harbour 
Swansea, sketch, 1729 
Swansea, engraving, 1748 

Llangavelach Copper- works, drawing by Buck, 1730 
Views of Swansea Castle, 1741 

Drawing, rebuilding St. Mary's Church, Swansea, 1740 
Engraving, first Duke of Beaufort, seventeenth century 
Facsimiles of Beaufort FrogreM, pp. 285-296 



350 CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 

Photo, and engraving of the tomb of Henry de Gower of Swansea 

at St. David's 
Drawings of silver and copper tokens issued in or for Swansea 
Original certificate, Quartering of Soldiers at Swanzey, 1649 
Sketch of tomb of Sir Mathie Cradok 
Illustrations of the Cradock tomb 
Photo., Ann of Swansea 
Engraving, Swansea OasUe, 1740 
Residence of Bishop Gore, Swansea 

Lent by J. R. Francis, Esq. 
Swansea in 1617 Jaliez Thomas, Esq., M.D. 

Laughame Castle, Carmarthenshire, 1740. Buck 
St. Donates Castle, Glamorganshire, 1740. Buck 
Caerphilly Castle, Glamorganshire, 1740. Buck 
Llanblythian Castle, Glamorganshire, 1741. Buck 
Morlashe, Glamorganshire, 1741. Buck 
Church and Palace, Llandaff, Glamorganshire, 1741. Buck 
Caerdiffe, Glamorganshire, 1741. Buck 
Neath, Glamorganshire, 1741. Buck 
Neath Abbey, Glamorganshire, 1741. Buck 
Pennarth Castle, Glamorganshire, 1741. Buck 
Penrice Castle, Glamorganshire, 1741. Buck 
Oystermouth Castle, Glamorganshire, 1741. Buck 
Swansea Castle, Glamorganshire, 1741. Buck 
Webley Castle, Glamorganshire, 1741. Buck 

Lent by C. Bath, Esq. 
The large and valuable collection of the Royal Institution of 
South Wales was also open to the inspection of Members. 



351 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS. 

VOL. HI. FIFTH SERIES. 



Abekcar, inscribed stone, 93 
Abergavenny Church, wooden 

image in, 289 
Accounts, statement of, 1885, 80 

Swansea meeting, 34(5 

Ambroth Church, 67 
Annual meeting, report of, 321 
Ardudwy, Deanery of, 109 
Arthur's Stone, in Gower, 337 



Banfi^r,Humphrey Lloyd, S.T.P., 

Bishop of, 139 
Robert Price, S.T.P., 

Bishop of, 139 
— Humphrey Humphreys, 

S.T.P., Dean of, 331 
EflBgy in the Cathedral 

of, 52 
Basin gwerk Abbey, 114 
Battlefield Church, Salop, wooden 

image in, 289 
Battle Church, Brecon, 270 
Beddgelert Priory, 119 
Begelly Church, 68 
Bere, John de la, of Webbely 

Castle, 293 
Berkeroull, Lawrence, Knt.,grant 

by, 296 
Bettws Gwerfyl Goch Charch, 

wooden image in, 288 
Bishopston Church, 345 
Brecon, deanery of, 270 



Brithwyr, y, 70 

Bwlch Derwen, find of coins 

near, 235 
Bwlch y Forwyn, Pillar-stone, 71 
Bloody Prodigy of Cheese, 282, 

319 

Caenog, 117 

Caerphilly Castle, 161 

Cairn in Park Le Breos, 344 

Carew Castle, 27 

Cam Goch Common, 343 

Castle Martin Church, 62 

Deanery of, 55 

Cathedine Church, 275 
Cheriton in Gower, 155 
Chepstow Castle, 73 
Clement, John, of Pennard, 293 
Clynog Collegiate Church, 190 
Coins, find of, near Bwlch Der- 
wen, 235 

— at Caerwent, 225 

at Caerleon, 226 

at Wentwood Mill, 227 

Conwy, Plas Mawr, 238 
Cosheston Church, 55 
Crickhowell Church, 278 
Cryniarth, Merionethshire, 257 
Cymmer Abbey, ill 



David ap Meuric Vychan 
Nannau, 120 



352 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS. 



Davies, Walter (Qwaltep Me- 
chain), letter from, 261 

Defynoch Church, 278 

Dinmore Preoeptorj Chapel, 317 

Dolau Gwyn, 253 

Dolben, John, Archbishop of 
York, 140, 229 



Edeimion, Deanery of, 109 
Effigy in Bangor Cathedral, 52 
Estimaner, Deanery of, 110 



Ferrers, Lord, 145 



Glendalough, inscribed stone, 46 
Onoll, inscribed stones at, 338 
Gomerydd, Y, 158 
Gnmfreston Chnrch, 59 
Gwenwynwyn's grant toYstrad 

MarcheU Abbey, 118 
Gydros, 117 



Hodgeston Chnrch, 60 
Holyhead Collegiate Church, 177 



lenan ap Einion, Cywydd i, 257 
Images, wooden, in churches, 282 
Inscribed stones at GnoU, 838 
Inscribed stone, the Gurmarc, 48 

the Glendalough, 46 

the Abercar, 93 



Kemeys Inferior Church, wooden 

iroage in, 282 
Knights Hospitallers, 119 



Lamphey Church, 56 
Llanbadarn Fawr, Lay Abbot of, 

206 
Llanbedr Ystradwy Church, 279 
Llandaff, Hugh Lloyd, S.T.P., 

Bishop of, 141 



Llandaff, Francis Davies, S.T.P., 

Bishop of, 141 
—William Lloyd, S.T.P., 

Bishop of, 141 

William Beaw, S.T.P., 



Ch., 



Bishop of, 141 

Llanddew Church, 270 

Llanfihangel-Abercorwyn 
122 

Llanfihangel Nant Bran Church, 
271 

Llangattock Church, 279 

Llangenen Church, Brecon, 280 

Llangorse Church, 276 

Llanhamlech Church, 277 

Llanraadoc Church, 155 

Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant Colle- 
giate Church, 195 

Llanrhidian Church, 835 

Llanthetty Church, 280 

Llanvillo Church, 277 

Llangennydd Church, 157 

Llyfr Gwemeigron, 288 



Madoc Hethgam, 117 
Margam Abbey, 330 
Merioneth, official seal of Arch- 
deacon of, 110 
Merthyr Cynojg Church, 272 
Monmouth Bridge Gatehouse, 16 

Castle, 17 

Prioiy, 20 

St. Mary's Chnrch, 22 

St. Thomas* Church, 16, 



41 

Morgan's, Bishop, Welsh trans- 
lation of the Bible, 286, 820 



Nannau, Merionethshire, 258 
Narberth, Deanery of, 67 
Neath Abbey, 292, 338 
Newport, St. Woollos* Church, 3 
Newtown Old Church, Mont- 
gomery shire, 320 



Oystermouth Castle, 345 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS. 



353 



Penderin Church, 274 
Penllyn, Deanery of, 109 
Pen-y-crick Tumulus, 334 
Penrice Castle, 337 
Penson, Bich£u*d Kyrke, F.S.A., 

150 
Perrot, Sir John, 29 
Pillar-stone at Bwloh y Forwyn, 

71 



Raths, Pembrokeshire!, 97 

Report for 1886, 327 

Bhiwaedog, 253 

Rhosili, 157 

Rhys ap Griffith, Knt., of Pen- 

rioe, 293 
Rhys ap Thomas, Sir, 27 
Roman pavement at Portskewett, 



St. Asaph, Stratford Nicholas, 

Dean of, 313 
William Lloyd, S.T.P., 

Bishop of, 141, 230, 232 

Isaac Barrow, S.T.P., 



Bishop of, 141 

Henry Glenham, S.T.P., 



Bishop o^ 141 
St. David's, William Thomas, 

S.T.P., Bishop of, 142 
William Lucy, S.T.P., 

Bishop of, 142 
St. Florence Church, 57 
Stackpole Elidyr Church, ^6 



Stradling, Sir Edward, grant by, 
to Neath Abbey, 292 

' — Edward, grant to, 295 

Sudbrook Camp, 81 

Church, 87 

Manor, 89 

Swansea Castle, 302, 341 

St. David's Hospital, 341 

St. Mary's Church, 341 



Talybont, deanery of^ 109 
Tintem Abbey, 241 
Tred/egar House, 100 



Usk Cburch, 90 



Valle Crucis Abbey, 119 



Warren Church, 64 
Welsh texts, old, 237 
Wentworth Mill, find of coins 

at, 227 
Weobley Castle, 335 
Williams of Dyffrin Clydach, 

Neath, 315 
Wynne of Leeswood, pedigree 

of, 78 



Ystrad Fellte Church, 274 
Ystrad Marchell Abbey, 116 



5th ser. vol. III. 



•24 



:jr)4 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Speed's Map of Mon month 

Grkte-Honse, Monmoath Bridge 

Walls of Room in Monmoath Castle 

St. Mary's Church, Monmoath 

** Geoffrey's Window", Monmoath Priory 

Town Seal of Monmoath 

Seal of the Chancery of Monmoutb 

Plan of Carew Castle 

The Gurmarc Stone, St. David's 

Beyerse of Garmarc Stone 

Inscribed Stone at Glendaloagh, Ireland 

Effigy in Bangor Cathedral 

Cosneston Chnrch 

Sedilia, Hodgeston Church 

Castle Martin Chnrch 

Warren Chnrch 

Usk Church, Monmoathshire — Soath-East View 
Ditto ditto North-East View 

Ditto ditto Elevation of North Arcade and 

Details 
Ditto ditto Plan and Details 

The Abercar Stone . 

Carved Powder-flask of Stag's Horn fonnd near Hay 

Seal of Archdeacon of Merioneth 

Llanfihangel Abercowyn Church and Plan 

Ditto ditto Doorways in Tower 

Ditto ditto Tombstones in Chnrch 

yard 

Bell in Llanmadoc Chnrch 

Boundary Cross in Llanmadoc Churchyard 

Ancient Altar Slab at Cheriton 

Caerphilly Castle — Plan 

Ditto General View 

Hall of Caerphilly Castle 

Plan of Tintern Abbey 

Crucifix from Kemeys Inferior Church 

Keep of Swansea Castle 

Sepulchral Urn 

Chapter House, Margam Abbey 

Effigy of Abbot Adam de Kermerdin 

Arthur's Stone, Cefn Bryn 

Sculptured Stone found near Capel Colbren 

Inscribed Stone at Cadoxton . 



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110 
123 
124 

126 
156 
156 
157 
167 
167 
170 
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287 
302 
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