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COLLECTIONS 


HISTORICAL  &  ARCMOLOGICAL 


RELATING   TO 


MONTGOMERYSHIRE 

AND    ITS   BOEDERS. 

ISSUED  BY  THE  POWYS-LAND  CLUB  FOR  THE  USE  OF  ITS  MEMBERS. 


VOL.   XXVII. 


LONDON : 

PRINTED   FOR   THE   CLUB   BY 

CHARLES  J.  CLARK,  4,  LINCOLN'S   INN  FIELDS,  W.C. 
1893. 


yti 


v-21 


MONTGOMERYSHIRE    COLLECTIONS. 


CONTENTS    OF    VOL.    XXVII. 

For  the  Original  Proposal  for  the  Formation   of  Club,  and  the  Rules 
and  Amended  Rules,  see  vol.  xvii,  pp.  viii  to  xiv. 

List  of  Members        .                 .                  .                  .  vi 

Report  of  Twenty-Sixth  Annual  Meeting  and  General  Report  xi 

Report  of  the  Science  and  Art  Committee                 .                  .  xxi 

Obituary  of  Members  of  the  Powys-land  Club           .                  .  xxvii 

List  of  Literary  Societies  with  which  the  Powys-land  Club 

exchanges  publications       .                 .                 .                  .  xxviii 


Powys-land  History  and  Genealogy  Compared.      By  H.   F.  J. 

Vaughan,  B.A.,  S.C.L.Oxon.  .  .  .          1 

Llanwddyn.     (Continued from  vol.  vii,  p.  116)           .  .       27 

Liverpool  Corporation  Waterworks :  Laying  of  the  First  Stone  27 
Lake  Vyrnwy  :  the  History  of  a  Valley  and  of  a  Submerged 

Village.     By  Hugh  K.  Jones,  M.A.    .                 .                 .  30 

Montgomeryshire  Nonconformity  :    Extracts  from  Gaol  Files, 
with   Notes.      By  Richard  Williams,  F.R.Hist.S.      (Con-- 
tinned  from  vol.  xxvi,  p.  78)  .  .  .55 

History  of  the  Parish  of  Kerry.     By  the  late  E.  Rowley  Morris, 

F.S.A.     (Continued  from  vol.  xxvi,  p.  29$)        .  .77 

Kerry  School — Its  Foundation  .  .  .77       .". 

Welsh  Circulating  Schools          .  .  .  .78 

Dolfor  Tithes  .  .  .  .  .79 

Possessions  of  the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Cwrnhir  .  .     81 

Family  of  "  Fox  of  Gwernygoe"  (Pedigree)  .  .     92 

Great  Cwmmerl  .  .  .  .  .Ill 

Gwernygoe  Chapel      .  .  .  .  .112 

Parish  of  Llanfihangel.  Kerry    .  .  .  .114 

Rainfall  in  Dolfor,  Montgomeryshire,  in  1892  .  »     134 

Sheriffs  of  Montgomery  shire       .  .  .  .135 


IV 


Catalogue  of  the  Sheriffs  of  Montgomeryshire  from  1627  to 
1686,  authenticated  by  Public  Records  (continued  from 
vol.  ii,  p.  208),  with  Notices  of  their  Families  and  Armorial 
Bearings.  By  Rev.  William  V.  Lloyd.  (Continued  from 
vol.  ix,  p.  128)  . 

1639.  Sir  Edward  Price,  Bart. 

1640.  Edward  Maurice 

1641.  Roger  Kynaston 

1642.  Thomas  Nicholls 

1643.  John  Blayney  . 

1644.  Sir  Arthur  Blayney,  Knight-Banneret 

1647.  Rowland  Hunt 

1648.  Matthew  Morgan 

1649.  Evan  Lloyd     . 

1650.  Lloyd  Piers  of  Maesmawr 

1651.  Richard  Price  of  Gunley 

1652.  Edward  Corbett  of  Leightou 
1653. "Richard  Owen 

1654.  Hugh  Price  of  Gwernygoe  .  186 

1655.  Thomas  Lloyd  .  .  189 

1656.  John  Kynaston  .  190 

1657.  Richard  Herbert  .  .191 

1658.  George  Devereux  of  Vaynor  .  192 

Obituary  Notices         .  .  .  .  .215 

Morris  Charles  Jones,  Esq. ,  F.  S.  A. ,  J.  P.                   .  .215 

His     Contributions    to    Montgomeryshire    Collections.  By 

D.  It.  T.               .                .                .                .  .  218 

The  Rev.  Griffith  Edwards,  M.A.     By  E.  0.  .  220 

Powysiana  .  .  .  .  .  .     227 

LXXVI.  Meifod  Wills.     D.  R.  T.  .  .  227 

LXXVII.  Pedigree  of  Derwas  of  Penrhyn.     W.  V.  LI.        .  230 

LXXVIII.  Blundens  of  Bishop's  Castle.     W.  V.  LI.  .  231 

Kerry  and  Moughtrey  Wills  at  Hereford  Probate  Office.     By 

the  late  E.  Rowley  Morris,  F.S.A.       .  .  .233 

An  Ancient  Jury.     By  the  late  E.  Rowley  Morris,  F.S.A.          .     267 
The  Holy  Wells  of  North  Wales.     By  the  Rev.  Elias  Owen       .     269 

Miscellanea  Historica,  or  the  Public  Officers  of  Montgomery- 
shire. Extracted  from  the  Sheriffs'  Files  by  the  late 
E.  Rowley  Morris,  F.S.A.  (Continued  from  vol.  vii, 
p.  236)  .  .  .  .  .289 


Catalogue  of  the  Sheriffs  of  Montgomeryshire  from  1627  to 
1686,  authenticated  by  Public  Records  (continued  from 
vol.  ii,  p.  208),  with  Notices  of  their  Families  and  Armorial 
Bearings.  By  Rev.  William  V.  Lloyd.  (Continued  from 
p.  214)  .  .  .  .  .331 

1659-60.  Sir  Matthew  Pryue,  Bart.           .  .  .331 

1661.  Roger  Mostyn  of  Dol  y  Corsllwyn  .  .   333 

1662.  David  Powell                   .                 .  .  .337 

1663.  Watkin  Kyffin  of  Glascoed             .  .  .338 

1664.  Rowland  Nicholls            .                 .  .  .341 

1665.  Sir  John  Wittewrong,  Bart.            .  .  .342 

1666.  Edward  Kynaston           .                 .  .  .347 

1667.  Arthur  Weaver                .                 .  .  .349 

1668.  Evan  Lloyd     .                 .                 .  .  .352 

1669.  Robert  Owen  .                 .                 .  .  .353 

1670.  Sir  Charles  Lloyd,  Bart.                  .  .  .354 

1671.  Thomas  Ireland  ....   363 

1672.  Thomas  Lloyd                 .-.;               .  .  .365 
1873.  George  Devereux             ....   365 

1674.  Richard  Mytton  .  .  .  .366 

1675.  Evan  Glynn    .  .369 

1676.  George  Llewelyn  ....  373 

Newcastle  Papers.      Transcribed  by  Miss  Agnes  Rowley  Morris, 

with  Notes  by  the  Rev.  W.  V.  Lloyd,  R.N.         .  .     377 

Some    Early    Incumbents    of    Montgomeryshire    and    Border 

Parishes.     By  the  Rev.  W.  V.  Lloyd,  R.N.         .  .     390 

Obituary  Notice. — Edward  Rowley  Morris,  F.S.A.     .  .     398 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Great  Cwmmerl  Farmhouse         .  .  .  .111 

Church  Door,  Gweriiygoe,  Kerry  .  .  .113 

Portrait  of  the  late  Mr.  Morris  C.  Jones  of  Gungrog  .  .215 

Portrait  of  the  late  Rev.  Griffith  Edwards,  Rector  of  Llangadfan     220 
Shields  of  Arms  .  .  .  147-214,331-376 

Portrait  of  the  late  Mr.  E.  Rowley  Morris,  F.S.A.      .  .     398 


LIST   OF   THE  MEMBERS 

OF  THE 

POWYS-LAND      CLUB. 

September  30,  1893. 


Those  marked  *  have  contributed  papers  to  the  "Montgomeryshire  Collections". 
Those  marked  t  are  Donors  of  Objects  to  the  Powys-land  Museum  and  Library. 
Those  marked  £  have  exhibited  articles  of  interest  at  the  Annual  Meeting. 

Addie,  William  Forrester,  Esq.,  Powis  Castle  Park,  Welshpool 
tAdnitt,  W.  H.,  Es.q.,  Lystonville,  Shrewsbury 

Babington,  Charles  C.,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  5,  Brookside,  Cambridge 
*tBarrett,  Thomas  Brettell,  Esq.,  Welshpool 
*  Bates,  J.  Cadwalader,  Esq.,  Heddou,  Wylam,  Northumberland 
JBeck,  Peter  Arthur,  Esq.,  The  Derwen.  Welshpool 
tBlack,  Adam  William,  Esq.,  44,  Hyde  Park  Square,  London 
Bolding,    George  Frederick,   Esq.,    204,    Hagley  Road,  Edgbaston, 

Birmingham 

Bowen,  Alfred  E.,  Esq.,  Town  Hall,  Pontypool 
*Bridgeman,  Hon.  and  Rev.  Canon,  M.A.,  The  Hall,  Wigan 
Bridgeman,  Hon.  and  Rev.  J.  R.  0.,  M.A.,  Rectory,  \Veston-under- 

Lyziard,  Shifnal 

Broughton,  J.  Nightingale,  Esq.,  Sidney  Avenue,  Newcastle,  Stafford- 
shire 
^Buckley,  Sir  Edmund,  Bart.,  Plas  Dinas,  Dinas  Mawddwy 

Carpenter,  J.  Edward,  Esq.,  Attorn ey-at- La w,  710,  Walnut  Street, 

Philadelphia,  U.S.A. 

*fClark,  George  Thomas,  Esq.,  Talygarn,  Llantrissant,  South  Wales 
Colt,  E.  W.,  Esq.,  H.M.  Inspector  of  Schools,  Hagley  Road,  Rugeley, 

Staff. 
fCurling,  Mrs.,  Brookland  Hall,  Welshpool 

Davies,  Edward,  Esq.,  Plas  Dinam,  Llandinam 

Davies,  Evan,  Esq.,  41,  Pelham  Road,  Gravesend,  Kent 

Davies,  Rev.  John  Evans,  M.A.,  Llangelynin  Rectory,  Llwyngwril, 

Merioneth 
Davies,  John  D.,  Esq.,  Llanidloes 

t^Davies,  John  Pryce,  Esq.,  Bronfelin,  Caersws 
Davis,  Rev.  D.  Grimaldi,  M.A.,  Vicarage,  Welshpool 

fDugdale,  John  Marshall,  Esq.,  Llwyn,  Llanfyllin 


Vll 

fEvans,  Major  David  Williams,  Bryntirion,  Kingsland,  Shrewsbury, 

and  Glascoed,  Llansantffraid 
J  Evans,    Rev.    Edward,    M.A.,    Rectory,    Llanfihangel-yn-Nghwnfa, 

Llanfyllin,  Oswestry 

tEvans,  Edward,  Esq.,  Bronwylfa,  Wrexham 
t+Evans,    Edward    Bickerton,    Esq.,    Whit  bourne    Hill,    Worcester 

(deceased) 
tjEvans,  Sir  John,  K.C.B.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  F.S.A.,  Nash  Mills,  Hetnel 

Hempstead 
fEvans,  Mrs.  John  Hilditch,  Bryn  Issa,  Pershore,  Worcestershire 

tJFardo,  George,  Esq.,  Postmaster,  Cardiff' 

Ffoulkes,  Rev.  Piers  John  Benedict,  M.A.,The  Grange,  Jarrow-on-Tyne 
Ffoulkes,  Wynne,  His  Honour  Judge,  Old  Northgate  House,  Chester 

*t;j;Field,  Rev.  Augustus,  M.A.,  Vicarage,  Lydbury  North,  Shropshire 

Harlech,  The  Lord,  Brogynton,  Oswestry  (Vice- President) 
t Harrison,  George  Devereux,  Esq.,  Fronllvvyd,  Welshpool 
*tHarrison,  Lieut.-Col.  Robert  John,  Caerhowel,  Montgomery 

Hawkesbury,  Lord,  Cocl^glode,  Ollerton,  Newark 

Hawksworth,  Herbert,  Esq.,  M.R.C.S.,  Park  Lane,  Welshpool 

Herbert,  Edward  F.  A.  F.,  Esq.,  Upper  Helmsley  Hall,  Yorkshire,  and 

Glanhafren,  Newtown,  Montgomeryshire 
*JHeyward,  Col.  John  Heyward,  Crosswood,  Guilsh'eld 
*  ft  Hill,  Rev.  J.  E.,  M.A.,  Vicarage,  Montford,  Salop 

Howell,  Charles  E.,  Esq.,  Rhiewport,  Berriew,  Montgomeryshire 

Howell,  J.  M.,  Esq.,  Craig-y-don,  Aberdovey 

Hughes,  H.  R.,  Esq.,  Kinmel,  St.  Asaph 

Inner  Temple  Library,  London  (J.  Pickering,  Esq.,  Librarian) 

Jehu,  Richard,  Esq.,  21,  Cloudesley  Street,  Islington,  London 
t  Jones,  Charles,  Esq.,  Salop  Road,  Welshpool 

Jones,  John   Morgan   Edwards,  Esq.,  Loubcroy,  Wimbledon   Hill, 
Surrey 

Jones,  Rev.  J.  C.,  Llanfyllin 

Jones,  Mrs.  Morris  Charles,  Gungrog,  Welshpool 
*tJJones,  Morris  Paterson,  Esq.,  20,  Abercromby  Square,  Liverpool 
fJones,  Richard  Edward,  Esq.,  Cefn  Bryntalch,  Abermule,  Mont. 

Jones,  Miss  S.  H.,  3,  Edwardes  Square,  London 

Jones,  Rev.  T.  Charles,  Mill  Place,  Welshpool 
t  Jones,  T.  Parry,  Esq.,  Park  House,  Newtown 

*tJones,  T.  Simpson,  Esq.,  M.AM  Lincoln's  Inn,  and  Gungrog,  Welsh- 
pool  (Honorary  Secretary) 

*|Leighton,  Stanley,  Esq.,  M.P.,  Sweeney  Hall,  Oswestry 

tLewis,  Rev.  John,  M.A.,  Vicarage,  Ford,  Salop 
Lewis,  Hugh,  Esq.,  M.A.Cantab.,  Mount  Severn,  Llaudiloes 
Lewis,  Rev.  T.  Wolseley,  M.A.,  Bronwylfa,  Llandudno 


Vlll 

Liverpool  Free  Public  Library  (Peter  Cowell,  Esq.,  Chief  Librarian) 
Lloyd,    Henry,    Esq.,  Pitsford  Hall,  Northampton,  and    Dolobran, 

Meifod 

Lloyd,  Henry  C.,  Esq. 

Lloyd,   Howard  Williams,   Esq.,  43,  Tulpehockeii  Street,   German- 
town,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  U.S.A. 
Lloyd,  Richard,  Esq.,  Mount  Severn,  Newtown 
fLloyd,  Sampson    S.,    Esq.,  Dolobran,  Meifod,   and  Gosden   House, 

Bramley,  near  Guild  ford 
*tJLloyd,  Kev.  W.  Valentine,  M.A.,   F.R.G.S.,   Haselbech   Rectory, 

Northampton 
tLovell,    Mrs.  Pugh-,  Llanerchydol,  Welshpool 

tMatthews,  Rev.  Prebendary,  M.A.,  Rectory,  Liandisilio,  R.S.O. 

Morgan,  David,  Esq.,  High  Street,  Welshpool 

Morgan,  Edward,  Esq.,  Machynlleth 

Morgan,  George,  Esq.,  Fron,  Newtown,  Mont. 

Morris,  Thomas,  Esq.,  Bodlondeb,  Llanidloes 

Morris,  T.  Rowley,  Esq.,  Bronhaul,  Welshpool 

Murray-Browne,  T.  Lloyd,  Esq.,  Local  Government  Inspector,  31, 

Clarendon  Square,  Leamington 
{Myttou,  Captain  Devereux  Herbert,  Garth,  Welshpool 

Mytton,  Miss,  Severn  Street,  Welshpool 

Northumberland,  His  Grace  the  Duke  of,   Alnwick  Castle,  North- 
umberland 

fOwen,  Arthur  Charles    Humphreys,   Esq.,    Glansevern,    Garthmyl, 
Mont. 

Owen,  Charles  Whitley,  Esq.,  Fronfraith,  Aberrnule,  Montgomeryshire 
tOwen,  Edward  H.,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  Tycoch,  Caernarvon 
*fOwen,  D.  C.  Lloyd,  Esq.,  F.R.C.S.,  51,  Newhall  Street,  and  Cler- 

inont,  Wood  bourne  Road,  Edgbaston,  Birmingham 
fOwen,  David  Pryce,  Esq.,  Broad  Street,  Welshpool 
"fO wen,  Rev.  Elias,  M.A.,  Llanyblodvvell  Rectory,  Oswestry 
fOwen,  Rev.  R.  Trevor,  M.A.,  F.S.A.,  Vicarage,  Llangedwyn 

Owen,  Rev.  Thomas,  Christ  Church  Vicarage,  Wellington,  Salop 

Powis,  The  Earl  of,  Powis  Castle,  Welshpool  (President} 
tJParker,  Rev.  F.  W.,  M.A.,  Bicknor,  Suffolk  Square,  Cheltenham 

Phillimore,  Egerton  G.  B.,  Esq.,  55,  Gt.  Ormond  Street,  London,  W.C. 

Pierce,  Mrs.,  Sherbourne  House,  Leamington 

Powel,  Thomas,  Esq.    University  College,  Cardiff 

Powell,  Evan,  Esq.,  Broomcliffe,  Llanidloes,  and  Powellton,  W.  Va 
U.S.A. 

Powell,  Matthew,  Esq.,  Welshpool  (Honorary  Treasurer) 
tj Powell,  Samuel,  Esq.,  Ivy  House,  Welshpool 
tPritchard,  W.  E.  Gilbertson,  Esq.,  Ceuiarth,  Machynlleth 


IX 

Price,  Mrs.,  Harrington  Hall,  Great  Ness  House,  Baschurch,  Salop 
Pryce,  Capt.  Athelstane  R.,  Cyffronydd,  Welshpool 
*fPryce,   Edward  S.    Mostyn,  Esq.,  Gunley,   Chirbury,  and  King's 

Wood,  Bournemouth 

tJPryce,  Elijah,  Esq.,  Trederwen  House,  Llansantffraid,  Oswestry 
t Pryce,  Thomas,  Esq.,  Pentreheylin,  Llatiymynech,  Oswestry 
*Pryce,   Thomas  Edward,   Esq.,  Architect,   10,   Gray's  Inn  Square, 

London 

Pryce-Jones,  Sir  Pryce,  Dolerw,  Newtown 
Pugh,  William,  Esq.,  Bod  Dyffryn,  Kenley,  Surrey 
*Pugh,  William  Buckley,  Esq.,  Dolfor  Hall,  Kerry,  and  Patrington, 

Hull 
Pughe,  Rev.  G.  R.  Gould,  Mellor  Vicarage,  Blackburn 

fRendel,  Stuart,  Esq.,  M.P.,  1,  Carlton  House  Gardens,  S.W. 
Roberts,  David,  Esq.,  53,  Willow  Street,  Oswestry 
Roberts,  Rev.  Robert  Jones,  M.A.,  Pool  Quay  Vicarage,  Welshpool 
Ruck.  Mrs.,  Pantlludw,  Machynlleth 

Salt,  George  Moultrie,  Esq.,  Quarry  Place,  Salop 

Salusbury,  R,ev.  George  Augustus,  M.A.,  Westbury  Rectory,  Salop 

(deceased) 
*Saudford,  Rev.  George,  M.A.,  Eccleshall  Vicarage,  Sheffield 

Sotheran,  Henry,  Esq.,  140,  Strand,  London 

fSquires,  Mrs.  Bonavie,  Marrington,  Branksome  Park,  Bournemouth 
Squires,    Horace    Lyues,    Esq.,     7,    Exchange    Station    Building, 

Liverpool. 

fStorey,  Sir  Thomas,  Westfield,  Lancaster 

Sturkey,  Rev.  T.  Owen,  M.A.,  The  Rectory,  Kirkandrew-on-Edeu, 
Carlisle 

Talbot,  J.  Arthur,  Esq.,  Ooesawdy,  Newtown,  Montgomery 
fTemple,  Rev.  R.,  M.A.,  Elmhurst  Rectory,  Guildford 
*Thomas,  Ven.  Archdeacon,  M.A.,  F.S.A.,  Rectory,  Llandrinio 
Tracy,   The  Hon.  Frederick   Hanbury,  M.P.,    116,    Queen's    Gate, 

London 

Trinity  College  Library  (Rev.    R.   Sinker,   M.A.,   Librarian),  Cam- 
bridge 
Twentyman,  Llewelyn  Howel,  Esq.,  Castlecroft,  Wolverhampton 

Verney,  Lieut. -Col.  G.  H.,  Clochfaen,  Llanidloes 

Wynn,    Sir   Watkin    Williams,    Bart.,    Wynnstay,    Ruabon    (Vice- 
President) 

Williams,  Edward,  Esq.,  Broome  Hall,  Oswestry 
tJWilliams,  Rev.  John,  M.A.,  Vicarage,  Llanrhaiadr,  Denbigh 

Williams,  Miss,  Gwyndy,  Llanfyllin 

Williams,  Miss  Mary  C.  L.,  The  Brow,  Ruabon 
*  Williams,  Rev.  Canon  Robert,  M.A.,  Rectory,  Llanfyllin  (deceased) 


*t{  Williams,  Richard,  Esq.,  Celynug,  Newtown 

*Williams,  Stephen  W.»  Esq.,  Penralley,  Rhayader 

fWilling,  Edward  S.,  Esq.,  oil,  South  Broad  Street,   Philadelphia, 

U.S.A. 
tj Winder,  Major  Corbett,  Vaynor  Park,  Berriew,  Montgomeryshire 

Woods,    Sir   Albert   W.,   Garter  King  of  Arms,   College  of  Arms, 
London,  E.G. 

Wooding,  Benjamin,  Esq.,  Beula  Garth,  K.S.O.,  Breconshire 

Wright,  Phillip,  Esq.,  Mellington  Hall,  Churchstoke,  Montgomery 
*t JWyun,  Charles  Watkin  Williams,  Esq.,  Coed-y-Maen,  Welshpool 

Wynne,  W.  11.  M.,  Esq.,  Peniarth,  Towyn 


THE   POWYS-LAND    CLUB. 


ANNUAL  MEETING. 

THE  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Powys-land  Club  was  held  in  the 
Museum  at  Welshpool  on  Monday,  October  9th,  the  President, 
the  EAKL  OF  Powis,  in  the  chair.  There  were  also  present, 
the  Venerable  Archdeacon  Thomas,  F.S.A. ;  Mr.  Stanley 
Leighton,  M.P.,  F.S.A.;  Mr.  C.  W.  Williams-  Wynn  ;  Captain 
D.  H.  Mytton  ;  Mr.  Abraham  Howell  of  Rhiewport;  Lieut.- 
Colonel  Harrison;  Mr.  R.  E.  Jones  of  Cefn  Bryntalch  ;  Dr.  T. 
B.  Barrett;  the  Rev.  Elias  Owen,  F.S.A.,  Vicar  of  Llanyblod- 
wel ;  Mr.  Elijah  Pryce  of  Trederwen ;  Mr.  Thomas  Pryce  of 
Pentreheylin  ;  the  Rev.  D.  Grimaldi  Davis,  Vicar  of  Welshpool ; 
Mr,  Mostyn  Pryce  of  Guriley ;  Mr.  T.  Simpson  Jones  of 
Gungrog;  Mr.  D.  P.  Owen;  Mr.  R.  Owen;  Miss  Pryce;  Miss 
D.  Pryce ;  Mrs.  Vaughan  ;  Mrs.  M.  Powell ;  Mrs.  Curling ; 
Miss  Davison,  etc. 

Letters  of  apology  for  unavoidable  absence  were  received 
from  the  Rev.  W.  Valentine  Lloyd,  Editor  and  Secretary ; 
Mr.  J.  Marshall-Dugdale  ;  Mr.  G.  F.  Bolding ;  Miss  Williams, 
The  Brow,  Ruabon  ;  and  Mr.  E.  H.  Owen,  F.S.A. 

The  PRESIDENT,  in  opening  the  proceedings,  said :  1  am 
very  glad  we  have  such  a  good  attendance  here  to-day,  and 
I  am  especially  pleased  to  welcome  Mr.  Stanley  Leighton, 
who  has  come  from  Oswestry  to  support  us  ;  and  we  are  the 
more  indebted  to  him  when  we  know  how  very  short  a  holiday 
he  has  before  he  will  be  obliged  to  resume  his  arduous  duties 
at  Westminster.  There  are  one  or  two  points  in  connection 
with  this  Club  which  I  wish  to  recall  to  your  minds.  It  is  with 
very  great  regret  that  I  have  to  refer  to  the  death  of  our  late 
Secretary,  the  founder  of  this  Club,  who  for  so  many  years 
took  a  leading  part  in  the  management  of  its  affairs  and  its 
records  ;  I  am  sure  we  all  feel  what  a  loss  his  death  is  to  the 
county.  I  do  not  wish  to  say  more  just  now  about  him,  in  the 
presence  of  his  son,  but  I  am  sure  that  the  full  sympathy  of 
the  Club  is  with  the  family  in  the  distress  which  has  fallen 
upon  them  during  the  last  year.  I  am  glad,  however,  to 
report  that  the  Editor  of  the  Transactions,  Mr.  Valentine 


Xll 


Lloyd,  who  had  sent  in  his  resignation,  has  kindly  undertaken 
to  continue  to  act  in  that  capacity,  and  he  has  been  promised 
relief  and  assistance,  which,  1  feel  no  doubt,  will  be  easily 
obtained.  1  do  not  wish  to  detain  you  long,  as  we  have  a 
concert  following  this  meeting ;  but  I  may,  perhaps,  be  allowed 
to  add  that  there  are  one  or  two  papers  which  I  have  come 
across  in  Powis  Castle,  which  I  think  may  prove  of  some 
interest  to  you,  and  which  I  think  I  must  take  some  amount  of 
credit  to  myself  for  having  preserved,  inasmuch  as  I  found 
them  as  near  the  waste-paper  basket  as  it  was  possible  for 
them  to  go.  One  of  them  relates  to  the  demolition  of  Mont- 
gomery Castle.  I  have  often  heard  and  read  different  accounts 
of  how  the  Castle  came  to  be  demolished.  I  do  not  think  these 
papers  have  ever  been  printed,  but  they  set  the  question  about 
the  demolition  of  the  Castle  at  rest ;  though  I  daresay  Arch- 
deacon Thomas  is  fully  cognizant  of  the  actual  facts.  The 
Castle  was  demolished  by  order  of  the  Parliament,  who  asked 
the  then  owner,  Eichard  Lord  Herbert  of  Cherbury,  to  destroy 
it  at  his  own  immediate  cost,  they  undertaking  to  refund  him 
the  expenses  and  loss  incurred  in  its  destruction.  As  regards 
the  refunding  of  the  money,  as  far  as  I  can  make  out  from  this 
document,  it  appears  that  it  cost  the  owner  something  like 
four  thousand  pounds  to  destroy  the  Castle.  At  that  time  he 
happened  to  be  in  the  unfortunate  position  of  being  in  debt  to  the 
Parliament.  The  debt  was  not  a  very  large  one — I  cannot  give 
you  the  exact  figures,  but  I  believe  it  amounted  to  something 
like  £150  or  £200,  and  the  generosity  of  Parliament  was  such 
that  they  undertook  to  wipe  off  this  debt  he  had  incurred  to 
them  by  cancelling  their  own  debt  of  £4,000  to  him.  Parlia- 
ments, you  will  see,  were  generous  even  in  those  days.  I 
have  papers  relating  to  various  other  matters,  and  one  of 
them,  I  think,  will  be  found  of  interest  to  this  Club  and  county. 
It  is  a  grant  of  protection  to  Kichard  Lord  Herbert  of 
Cherbury,  and  his  family,  at  Llyssin,  in  this  county,  and  is 
signed  by  General  Fairfax.  I  think  this  a  record  which  will  be 
found  of  considerable  interest  to  the  Club.  I  shall  be  very 
happy  to  allow  these  papers  to  be  looked  over  with  a  view  to 
publication,  in  case  any  of  them  should  be  considered  worthy 
of  it.  There  is  one  other  matter  which  I  should  like  to  con- 
sult you  upon.  I  was  walking  by  the  ruins  of  Strata  Mar- 
cella  the  other  day,  and  I  noticed  that  the  horses  in  the 
field  were  damaging  the  stones  there  by  kicking  them  down. 
May  I  suggest  whether  it  is  not  worth  while  to  take  some 
further  steps  for  the  protection  of  these  ruins  ?  I  noticed, 
particularly,  one  or  two  bases  of  columns  which  had  been  kicked 


xm 

over.  I  am  sure  there  will  be  very  little  difficulty  in  making 
arrangements  with  the  tenant  for  the  more  effective  pro- 
tection of  the  ruins,  should  it  be  thought  advisable  to  do  so. 
I  have  not  mentioned  the  matter  to  him,  but  I  shall  be  most 
happy  to  do  so  if  you  think  it  worth  while.  I  do  not  know 
that  there  is  anything  more  of  importance  that  I  wish  to,say  to 
you,  but  I  will  only  congratulate  you  upon  the  past  history  of 
this  Club,  and  express  the  hope  that  it  will  continue  in  the 
future  to  do  equally  valuable  work.  I  do  not  suppose  there 
can  be  so  many  matters  of  interest  in  the  county  to  be  investi- 
gated as  there  were  before  the  Montgomeryshire  Collections  were 
started ;  but,  as  in  the  case  of  the  papers  to  which  I  have 
referred,  some  subjects  of  interest  are  sure,  every  now  and 
then,  to  crop  up.  I  have  now  only  to  thank  you  for  having 
listened  to  me  so  patiently,  and  to  call  upon  the  Venerable 
Archdeacon  Thomas  to  read  the  Annual  Eeport. 

Archdeacon  THOMAS  then  read  the  following  Report : — 

REPORT  OF  THE  COUNCIL  TO  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF  THE 
POWYS-LAND  CLUB. 

The  earnest  hope  expressed  by  the  members  of  the  Club  at  its 
Annual  Meeting  last  year,  that  the  impaired  health  of  its  Editor  and 
principal  Hon.  Secretary  might  soon  be  restored,  and  enable  him  to  fulfil 
his  strong  desire  that  "the  publications  should  proceed  with  renewed 
vigour",  has  not  been  fulfilled,  and  we  have  to-day  to  record  our  deep 
sense  of  the  almost  irreparable  loss  the  Club  has  sustained  in  the 
removal  from  among  us  of  Mr.  Morris  Charles  Jones,  to  whom  the 
Club  owed  not  only  its  inception,  but  its  remarkable  success  and 
usefulness  through  the  long  period  of  a  quarter  of  a  century.  How 
largely  the  Montgomeryshire  Collections  have  been  indebted  to  his 
action  and  thoughtful  mind  is  attested  by  the  long  list  of  articles 
contributed  by  him  to  the  twenty-six  volumes,  enumerated  on  page 
218  of  the  May  issue.  The  School  of  Art  and  the  Public  Library, 
which  may  be  said  to  have  grown  out  of  the  Club,  bear  witness  to  his 
practical  and  philanthropic  spirit,  as  the  Transactions  do  to  his 
learning  ;  while  this  Museum,  in  which  the  Club,  the  Collections,  the 
School  of  Art,  and  the  Library  all  find  a  centre  and  a  home,  will 
stand  as  a  permanent  memorial  of  his  services  as  one  of  the  most 
useful  and  loyal  of  the  sons  of  Powys-land.  And  here,  at  all  events,  we 
can  justly  apply  the  well-known  tribute,  Si  monumentum  quceris  circum- 
apice.  Indeed,  he  has  emphasised  his  interest,  if  possible,  by  a  legacy 
of  £100  to  the  Museum. 

Nor  is  this  by  any  means  our  only  loss.  The  death  of  Mr.  Edward 
Rowley  Morris  has  deprived  us  of  another  devoted  antiquary,  whose 
many  and  valued  contributions  have  long  enriched  our  volumes,  and 
of  whose  "  History  of  the  Parish  of  Kerry"  a  further  instalment 


XIV 


The  Powys-land  Club  in  account  with  Matthew 


To  Cash  paid  as  follows  :—  £  s.  d. 

„  C.  J.  Clark  for  Printing  Report  for  1892  6  18  6 

„  Ditto                ditto         Part  I,  Vol.  XXVII  -  01  9  9 

„  Ditto                 ditto         Part  II,  Vol.  XXVII  47  12  3 

„  Messrs.  Morris  (Portraits)  11  50 

„  Postages  of  Parts,  Circulars,  collecting  Subscriptions 

and  acknowledging  same,  Reporter,  etc.  15  17  0 

Balance  carried  down  -  -     148  10  2 


£291   13     2 


Powell,  Esq.,  Hon.  Treasurer,  for  the  year  1892-3. 


By  Balance  in  hand       -  -  £148   17      1 

„  Subscriptions  and  Arrears  141    10     7 

„  Cash  for  Books  sold  1     5     f> 


.£291    13     2 


1893.     By  Balance  in  hand  brought  down  £14810     2 


XVI 


appeared  in  the  last  Part  that  has  been  issued  of  the  Collections. 
Indeed,  it  was  to  him  the  Club  mainly  looked  for  the  supply  of 
material  for  its  Record  Department,  which  was  taken  up  so  warmly 
two  years  ago  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  R.  E.  Jones,  and  of  whose 
abundant  store  the  Report  last  year  gave  substantial  evidence. 

And  yet  again  we  have  to  add  the  name  of  the  Rev.  Griffith 
Edwards,  Rector  of  Llangadvan,  to  whose  careful  pen  we  owe  the 
"  History  of  the  Parishes  of  Garthbeibio,  Llangadvan,  and  Llanerfyl." 

And  yet  one  more.  We  have  to  record  the  loss  of  another 
distinguished  scholar  and  ardent  Welshman,  Mr.  Howell  W.  Lloyd, 
whose  contributions — sometimes  directly,  but  more  often  indirectly, 
as  the  coadjutor  of  the  late  Mr.  J.  Y.  W.  Lloyd — have  enriched 
our  pages. 

Other  members  who  disappear  from  our  list  this  year  are  the  late 
Sir  Love  Jones-Parry,  Bart.,  of  Madryn,  and  the  Rev.  George  Sandford, 
to  whom  the  Club  is  deeply  indebted  for  many  contributions. 

The  year  has,  indeed,  been  one  of  unusual  trial  to  the  stability  of 
the  Powys-land  Club,  not  only  from  these  heavy  losses,  but  also  from 
the  difficulty  of  worthily  supplying  their  vacant  places.  The  Rev.  W. 
Valentine  Lloyd,  the  co-Secretary  and  learned  coadjutor  of  Mr.  Morris 
C.  Jones  for  the  last  ten  years,  whose  knowledge  of  Powys-land 
family  history  is  unsurpassed,  and  whose  "  Sheriffs  of  Montgomery- 
shire" and  other  genealogical  articles  have  thrown  much  light  on  the 
history  of  the  county,  had  written  to  express,  with  great  regret,  his 
inability  from  ill-health  to  sustain  the  responsibilities  of  Editor  and 
Secretary,  a  regret  which  none  felt  more  keenly  than  your  Council ; 
and  they  joined  unanimously  in  appealing  to  him  to  reconsider  his 
resignation,  while  they  undertook  to  relieve  him  of  as  large  a  portion 
as  possible  of  the  actual  labours  of  the  post.  With  this  view  they 
recommend  the  appointment  of:  (1)  An  Editorial  Committee,  to 
consist  of  Archdeacon  Thomas  ;  the  Rev.  Elias  Owen,  M.A.,  F.S.A.  ; 
Mr.  R.  E.  Jones  ;  Mr.  Richard  Williams,  F.R.H.S.  (2)  A  Secretary, 
to  attend  to  the  many  details  which  attach  to  such  an  office ;  and  they 
ask  Mr.  Simpson  Jones  to  undertake  it.  (3)  An  Assistant  Secretary 
for  the  collection  of  the  annual  subscriptions.  In  this  way,  they 
believe  that  not  only  will  the  present  difficulty  be  overcome,  but  that 
the  original  purpose  of  completing  the  Parochial  Histories  may  be 
carried  out,  and  that  the  new  Record  Department  will  form  an 
important  and  valuable  feature  in  the  Collections  of  the  future,  so  that 
whenever  it  may  be  thought  advisable  to  close  the  publication  there 
will  be  left,  for  the  men  and  women  of  Powys-land,  monumentum  cere 
perennius, 

The  number  of  members,  at  the  present  time,  is  one  hundred  and 
forty-three;  and  it  will  be  seen  from  the  Statement  of  Accounts 
(pp.  xiv,  xv)  that  the  Club  is  in  a  fairly  good  financial  condition. 

Looking  back  on  the  long  series  of  volumes  of  the  Montgomeryshire 
Collections,  and  the  annually  increasing  difficulty  of  finding  ready 
access  to  the  large  amount  of  information  they  contain,  it  appears  to 


XV11 

the  Council  to  be  highly  desirable  that  an  Index  should  be  prepared, 
in  order  to  make  its  treasures  more  available,  and  at  the  same  time  it 
would  largely  enhance  the  value  of  the  publication. 

Into  the  vacancy  on  the  Council  caused  by  the  death  of  Mr.  E. 
Rowley  Morris,  it  is  proposed  that  Devereux  Herbert  Mytton,  Esq., 
be  elected. 

In  moving  the  adoption  of  the  Report,  the  ARCHDEACON  said  :  I 
need  hardly  add  anything  to  what  has  been  said  by  Lord  Powis  with 
regard  to  the  great  loss  we  have  sustained  in  the  death  of  our  Lite 
Secretary  and  Chief  Editor.  Never  before  have  we  realised  so  fully 
as  on  the  present  occasion  the  debt  we  owe  to  him  for  the  labour  and 
unceasing  care  and  interest  he  bestowed  on  the  Club  year  after  year. 
We  had  not  quite  fully  recognised,  until  the  last  few  weeks,  when  we 
were  placed  in  a  great  difficulty,  the  value  of  his  manifold  services.  I 
am  sure  the  words  of  the  Report,  and  the  expressions  of  the  President, 
are  words  and  expressions  that  every  one  of  us  most  heartily  joins  in. 
Neither  need  I  add  one  word  with  regard  to  Mr.  Edward  Rowley 
Morris,  in  whom  Montgomeryshire  has  lost  an  antiquary  who  was 
most  devoted  to  his  work,  and  to  whom,  I  think,  we  should  have 
looked  more  than  to  anybody  else  to  fill  the  gap  caused  by  the  death 
of  Mr.  Morris  C.  Jones.  I  should  like  to  add  an  expression  of  our 
deep  obligation  to  Mr.  Sandford,  who,  though  he  does  not  live  within 
the  borders  of  Powys-land,  has,  from  the  earliest  days  of  the  Club, 
shown  the  greatest  interest  in  our  work,  and  we  owe  to  him  many 
very  interesting  and  valuable  articles.  It  is  his  great  age  of  77  which 
has  induced  him  to  withdraw,  in  the  hope  of  rest ;  and  in  that  rest 
and  retirement  he  will  have,  I  am  sure,  our  most  cordial  sympathy, 
not  to  add  our  somewhat  selfish  hope  that  he  will  still  be  able  to 
contribute  to  the  pages  of  the  Journal.  Mr.  Valentine  Lloyd, 
co-Secretary  and  Editor  with  Mr.  Morris  Jones,  wrote  a  few  weeks  ago 
to  us  that  it  was  impossible  for  him,  in  his  present  state  of  health,  to 
continue  the  responsibilities  of  his  position,  and  it  was  only  this 
morning  that  we  received  from  him  the  final  reply  to  our  appeal,  in 
which  he  consents  to  continue  to  act  as  Editor  on  the  condition  that 
he  be  relieved  of  the  secretarial  duties.  I  think  the  Club  will  most 
readily  accede  to  that  condition,  in  the  confidence  that  Mr.  Lloyd  will 
be  able  to  devote  more  time  than  heretofore  to  the  Transactions.  No 
one,  who  has  read  his  account  of  the  Sheriffs  of  Montgomeryshire, 
and  other  articles  bearing  on  family  history,  can  be  other  than  most 
grateful  to  him  for  continuing  in  this  office — the  more  so  because,  in 
the  very  last  volume,  he  had  resumed  his  most  admirable  account  of 
the  Sheriffs  of  this  county.  In  order  to  relieve  him,  an  Editorial 
Committee  is  proposed  by  the  Council.  In  the  list  of  gentlemen 
nominated  upon  it  are  the  names  of  Mr.  Elias  Owen,  F.S.A.,  whom  I 
am  glad  to  see  amongst  us  now  as  a  resident  in  our  midst ;  Mr.  R. 
E.  Jones,  than  whom  no  one,  I  think,  is  more  competent  to  take  up  the 
work  of  the  Record  Division ;  and  Mr.  Richard  Williams,  F.R.H.S., 
who  has  already  shown  his  ability  in  many  papers  in  our  publications. 

b 


XV111 


\Vo  are  glad,  too,  that  Mr.  Simpson  Jones  has  consented  to  act  as 
Secretary,  and  thus  continue  the  connection  which  has  so  long  existed 
between  Gungrogand  the  Powys-land  Club.  The  number  of  members 
— one  hundred  and  forty-three — is  satisfactory.  If  I  remember  rightly, 
-when  the  Club  was  first  started,  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  was 
supposed  to  be  the  highest  possible  maximum.  Since  then  it  has 
grown  very  largely,  and  we  may  congratulate  ourselves  that,  after  a 
life  of  some  twenty-six  years,  we  have  obtained  so  good  a  position. 
The  Report  refers  to  the  Parochial  Histories,  and  the  hope  is 
expressed  that  they  may  be  carried  out  to  their  completion.  There 
are  a  number  of  parishes,  some  of  them  very  important  ones,  which 
have  not  yet  had  their  story  told  in  the  Collections,  and  we  do 
earnestly  hope  that  that  gap  will  be  supplied.  I  am  glad  to  announce 
that  this  morning  we  have  had  a  promise  from  one  of  our  members 
to  undertake  the  history  of  the  parish  of  Llandysilio.  I  refer  to 
Mr.  Pryce  of  Pentreheylin.  Mr.  Pryce  has  also  suggested  another 
idea,  which  I  hope  the  Club  will,  at  some  future  time,  if  not 
immediately,  be  able  to  take  into  consideration,  namely,  the  copying 
out  of  the  parochial  registers  of  the  county.  Mr.  Pryce  has  shown 
the  reality. of  his  goodwill  and  interest  in  our  work  by  undertaking  to 
copy  out  rny  own  parish  register,  for  which  I  am  very  grateful  to  him. 
I  hope  the  time  will  come  when  the  registers  of  every  parish  in  the 
county  will  be  similarly  treated.  It  will  require  to  be  done  in  some 
common  and  uniform  method,  so  that  the  record  of  every  parish  may 
be  in  the  same  form  and  in  books  of  the  same  size.  It  is  obviously  a 
matter  of  considerable  labour  for  anyone  who  wants  to  discover  some- 
thing he  knows  to  exist  in  the  Collections,  to  search  through  some  six 
or  seven-and-twenty  volumes.  It  is  true  that,  at  the  end  of  the 
fourteenth  volume,  there  is  a  handy  index,  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  I 
hope  we  may  be  able  to  have  a  more  complete  index  still,  and  that 
for  the  whole  series.  I  need  not  add  anything  more,  as  I  am  sure 
1  shall  carry  the  members  of  the  Club  with  me  in  my  proposal  that 
we  adopt  this  Report. 

The  Rev.  D.  GRIMALDI  DAVIS  said  :  I  rise  with  great  pleasure  to 
second  the  adoption  of  the  Report,  which  has  been  so  well  and  ably 
proposed  by  my  friend,  Archdeacon  Thomas.  After  the  remarks  he 
has  made,  very  little  remains  for  me  to  say  with  regard  to  it.  I  cor- 
dially endorse  what  he  has  said  with  regard  to  the  great  loss  we  have 
sustained  during  the  past  year  in  the  death  of  our  indefatigable  Secre- 
tary, Mr.  Morris  Charles  Jones.  Since  my  advent  into  this  parish  I 
have  had  ample  opportunities  of  judging  of  and  observing  the  zeal 
and  self-sacrifice  which  he  showed  on  every  occasion  for  the  good  of 
this  town,  and  also  for  the  good  of  the  county  of  Montgomery.  I  am 
sure  it  will  be  a  long  time  before. the  loss  we  have  sustained  will  be 
made  up.  I  consider  him  to  have  been  one  of  the  foremost  sons  of 
Montgomeryshire.  Mr.  Morris  Charles  Jones  was  a  man  who  devoted 
all  his  life  to  his  native  county,  but  more  especially  the  later  years  of 
it.  T  am  sure  that  as  long  as  this  building  continues  to  exist, 


XIX 

together  with  its  Museum  and  Library,  there  will  remain  no  apter 
memorial  of  him.  Personally,  I  feel  his  loss  most  keenly.  I  feel 
that  I  have  lost  one  of  the  best  friends  1  ever  had  in  the  parish — one 
who  was  foremost  in  every  good  work,  and  who  was  one  of  my  firmest 
supporters.  This  Club,  which  mainly  by  his  efforts  has  been  esta- 
blished and  raised  to  its  present  position  of  prosperity,  is,  I  think, 
very  creditable  to  the  count}7.  It  has  done  an  invaluable  work  in 
keeping  fresh  and  preserving  its  history.  I  feel  very  hopeful  that, 
with  the  help  of  the  gentlemen  who  have  been  nominated  to  continue 
the  work  of  our  deceased  friend,  the  Club  will  go  on  prospering,  and 
I  have,  therefore,  very  great  pleasure  in  seconding  the  adoption  of 
the  Annual  Report. 

The  PRESIDENT  then  put  the  motion  to  the  meeting,  and  it  was 
carried  unanimously. 

Mr.  R.  E.  JONES  read  the  Report  of  the  Eecord  Department,  which 
was  as  follows  : — - 

"  The  Committee  regret  that  little  progress  had  been  made  in  the 
past  year  in  the  work  of  continuing  the  catalogue  of  documents 
relating  to  Montgomeryshire  deposited  in  the  Record  Office,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  illness  and  death  of  Mr.  Rowley  Morris,  to  whom  the 
execution  of  the  work  had  been  entrusted.  A  further  portion  of  the 
Index  to  the  Inquisitions  post  mortem  was,  however,  received  from 
him  shortly  before  his  decease,  and  this  portion  of  the  catalogue 
was  now  complete.  This  was  the  last  work  in  which  Mr.  Rowley 
Morris  was  engaged.  The  Committee  desired  to  express  their 
deep  sense  of  the  value  of  the  help  which  he  gave  them  so  willingly, 
and  the  feeling  of  profound  regret  with  which  they  regarded  his  loss. 
The  sum  of  £30  13s.  had  been  expended  up  to  the  present  time,  and 
there  remained  a  balance  in  the  hands  of  the  Treasurer.  Uncollected 
subscriptions  amounted  to  £9.  The  further  continuance  of  the  work 
in  which  the  Committee  were  engaged  is  greatly  to  be  desired,  and 
will  receive  their  early  attention,  but  it  must  necessarily  depend  on  a 
renewal  of  the  subscriptions  to  the  special  fund,  for  which  they 
earnestly  ask." 

In  moving  its  adoption,  Mr.  R.  E.  JONES  begged  to  repeat  the 
request  in  the  R,eport,  that  all  those  who  have  given  subscriptions  in 
the  past  will  be  good  enough  to  renew  them  in  the  future.  He  feared 
that  the  cost  of  carrying  out  all  this  work  will  now  be  very  greatly 
increased.  The  work  done  by  Mr.  E.  Rowley  Morris  would,  he 
thought,  be  done  by  no  other  man  on  anything  like  the  same  terms. 
But  if  the  members  of  the  Club  will  only  furnish  us  with  the  money, 
we  hope,  sooner  or  later,  to  be  able  to  do  what  we  have  undertaken  ; 
and  although  the  Records  may  not  be  interesting  reading  to  every- 
body, they  will  be  of  the  utmost  value  to  the  antiquaries  of  this 
county. 

Captain  MYTTON,  in  seconding  the  adoption  of  this  Report  of  the 
Record  Department,  said:  1  sincerely  join  with  the  other  members  of 
the  Club  in  their  great  regret  at  the  death  of  Mr.  Rowley  Morris, 


who  devoted  so  much  of  his  time  and  talents  to  the  completion  of  its 
records.  Through  his  death  \ve  are  placed  in  a  very  unfortunate 
position,  but  we  may  hope  that  some  younger  persons  will  rise  up  to 
complete  the  work  he  so  ably  commenced. 

The  Report  was  then  adopted. 

The  PRESIDENT  next  said  :  It  falls  to  my  lot,  as  your  President,  to 
move  a  vote  of  condolence  with  Mrs.  Morris  Charles  Jones  and  her 
family,  at  Gungrog.  I  mentioned  the  subject  in  my  opening  address, 
and  it  has  also  been  referred  to  by  Archdeacon  Thomas,  and  I  can 
assure  the  family  of  our  late  Secretary  how  sensible  we  are  of  the  loss 
we  have  sustained.  We  are  also  obliged  to  couple  with  that  the  fact 
that,  in  the  death  of  Mr.  Morris  Jones,  the  county  and  town  have  lost 
a  man  who  was  always  ready  to  help,  and  to  stimulate  others  to  help, 
in  any  good  work  connected  with  either  the  town  or  the  county.  On 
these  grounds,  and  also  because  Mr.  Morris  Jones  had  been  for  many 
years  our  friend  and  neighbour,  I  ask  you  to  adopt  the  vote  of 
sympathy  and  condolence  which  I  now  propose.  I  do  not  think  it  is 
necessary  for  me  to  say  anything  more,  for  I  feel  that  sympathy  of 
this  kind  is  best  expressed  in  few  words. 

Dr.  BARRETT  :  I  have  much  satisfaction  in  seconding  the  resolution. 
I  agree  with  his  Lordship  that  the  occasion  is  one  for  sympathy  and 
condolence,  and  not  for  many  words.  The  deeds  of  our  late  Secretary 
are  known  to  us  and  his  works  are  around  us. 

The  motion  was  unanimously  agreed  to. 

The  Rev.  ELIAS  OWEN  :  I  have  to  propose  a  vote  of  sympathy  and 
condolence  with  Mrs  Rowley  Morris  and  her  family.  Unfortunately, 
this  year  we  have  to  lament  the  death  of  some  who  have  been  with 
us  for  a  large  number  of  years.  Of  course,  humanly  speaking,  life 
does  not  last  long ;  but  still  we  must  deeply  regret  those  who  have 
gone  before.  1  have  had  the  pleasure  of  a  long  acquaintance  with 
Mr.  Rowley  Morris,  extending  over  more  than  a  score  of  years,  and 
during  the  \\hole  of  thi  t  time  I  have  noticed  how  much  he  has  done 
for  the  county  and  how  hard  he  worked  for  it ;  but  that  is  only  the 
public  side  of  his  character,  and  when  we  come  to  the  loss  sustained 
by  his  wife  and  family  it  is  a  very  different  matter.  They,  of  course, 
must  feel  that  loss  very  much  more  keenly  than  we  can  feel  it. 
Possibly  a  successor  may  be  found  to  carry  on  the  work  in  connection 
with  our  Club,  but  a  husband  and  father  once  lost,  is  lost  for  ever.  I 
am  sure,  therefore,  that  they  have  our  heartfelt  sympathy  in  their 
bereavement.  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  that  Mr.  Rowley  Morris  has 
left  a  clever  family  behind  him,  particularly  one  of  his  daughters, 
whom  I  knowr  to  be  remarkably  clever.  I  have  seen  some  of  her 
contributions  to  tiye-Gones,  and  this  lady  might  possibly  be  induced 
to  carry  on,  to  some  extent,  the  labours  of  her  father  in  behalf  of  this 
Society.  Mr.  Rowley  Morris,  no  doubt,  accumulated  a  great  deal  of 
material  in  his  literary  work,  in  which  she  assisted  him,  and  it  is 
not  at  all  probable  that  the  papers  he  has  left  behind  have  been 
exhausted. 


XXI 

Mr.  ELIJAH  PRICE  seconded  the  motion,  which  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  SIMPSON  JONES  said  he  had  only  had  a  Statement  of  Accounts 
from  the  Treasurer  that  morning,  and  had  not  had  time  to  go  into 
them.  It  was  not  a  complete,  but  merely  an  approximate  statement, 
from  which  it  appeared  that  the  subscriptions  due  amounted  to 
£177  12s.  Qd.,  and,  of  that  sum,  only  .£68  had  been  received  ;  the 
arrears  amounted  to  about  £109.  There  was  a  sum  in  the  bank,  at 
the  present  time,  of  £110,  so  that,  when  the  arrears  were  collected, 
the  Club  would  have  something  like  £200  to  its  credit.  That  was 
the  state  of  finances,  so  far  as  they  were  able  to  ascertain  it,  at  the 
present  moment. 

Mr.  SIMPSON  JONES  then  read  the  Report  of  the  Welshpool  Science 
and  Art  Committee. 

REPORT. 

Welshpool  Art  Class. 
Results  of  the  Examinations,  1893. 

3tf.  Model  Drawing  (Elementary  Stage) : — 2nd  Class :  T.  B.  Jehu 
and  Mary  E.  Humphreys. 

2b.  Freehand  Drawing  (Elementary  Stage)  : — 2nd  Class  :  F.  E. 
Anderson,  W.  R.  Wilkinson,  Mary  E.  Humphreys. 

56.  Drawing  in  Light  and  Shade  (Elementary  Stage)  : — 2nd  Class  : 
Wm.  Payne. 

3b.  Freehand  Drawing  (Advanced  Stage): — 2nd  Class:  Wm.  Payne. 

Science. 

Practical  Plane  and  Solid  Geometry,  Section  I : — Pass :  Walter 
Bishop  and  Wilfred  Grice. 

Subject  XXIV.  Principles  of  Agriculture  :— Pass:  T.  W.  Williams 
and  Wilfred  Grice. 

1st  Class  Advanced  Stage :  Wm.  Payne  and  Joseph  Moore. 

2nd  Class       ,,  „          James  Baker. 

Mr.  THOMAS  PRYCE  proposed  the  adoption  of  the  Committee's 
Report. 

Mr.  MOSTYN  PRYCE,  in  seconding  the  motion,  said  :  May  I  be 
allowed  to  express  my  sincere  concurrence  in  the  general  expressions 
of  regret  which  we  have  already  heard  with  regard  to  the  very  serious 
loss  the  Society  has  sustained  in  the  death  of  its  indefatigable  Honorary 
Secretary,  Mr.  Morris  Charles  Jones'?  It  is  mainly  owing  to  his  energy 
and  untiring  research  that  the  half-yearly  publications  of  this  Society 
have  been  vigorously  carried  on,  and  that  many  historical  and  anti- 
quarian records  connected  with  this  county  have  been  saved  from 
oblivion.  I  think  the  prosperity  and  the  usefulness  of  this  Society 
must  depend  upon  the  able  management  and  efficiency  of  its  publica- 
tions; and  although  we  have  lost  Mr.  Morris  Jones,  we  have, fortunately, 
still  a  hard-working  and  able  Editor  in  Mr.  W.  Valentine  Lloyd.  It  is 
very  fortunate  for  us  that  he  has  been  able  to  continue  in  his  post, 


XX11 

for  there  is  no  one  better  acquainted  than  he  is  with  the  bygone 
annals  of  the  county.  There  is  one  other  cause  of  congratulation  I 
will  mention,  and  that  is  the  fact  that  Lord  Powis  is  present  with  us  in 
the  Chair.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  very  large  tract  of  the  territory 
which  formed  the  Princedom  of  Powys  some  seven  hundred  years  ago, 
and  therefore,  as  the  modern  representative  of  the  Princes  of  Powys,  it 
is  singularly  appropriate  that  he  should  be  the  President  of  this  Club, 
and  we  are  under  a  great  obligation  to  him  for  the  interest  he  takes 
in  it. 

The  adoption  of  the  Report  was  then  agreed  to. 

The  CHAIRMAN  :  I  have  now  to  ask  Mr.  Stanley  Leighton  to  propose 
the  next  resolution. 

Mr.  STANLEY  LEIGHTON  said  :  My  Lord,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  the 
Club,  as  we  all  know  too  well,  is  now  suffering  from  the  loss  of  its  first 
Secretary,  and  will,  in  consequence,  probably  have  to  take  hereafter  a 
new  departure.  Having  been  governed  and  guided  almost  entirely  in 
the  past  by  the  ability  and  efforts  of  the  late  Mr.  Morris  Jones,  now 
that  it  has  lost  his  guiding  hand,  naturally  there  are  a  great  number 
of  details  which  require  to  be  looked  into.  1  beg  leave  to  propose 
that  a  sub-Committee  be  appointed  to  examine  into  these  details. 
Archdeacon  Thomas  has  given  me  a  list  of  no  less  than  twelve  par- 
ticular matters  which  should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  sub-Com- 
mittee. First  of  all,  we  want  the  Committee  to  consider  the  storage 
of  books,  which  have  now  become  too  burdensome  for  the  shelves  at 
Gungrog.  In  the  next  place  there  is  the  payment  of  bills,  and  the 
disposal  of  our  surplus  volumes.  Next,  it  is  desirable  that  the  rela- 
tions between  this  Club  and  the  Free  Library  should  be  considered 
and  defined.  There  is  also  the  question  of  dealing  with  the  old  sets 
of  Montgomeryshire  Collections,  and  next,  a  suggested  grant  of  £5  to 
the  Art  Classes.  I  find  that  another  subject  in  the  list  is  Rodney's 
Pillar.  I  confess  I  do  not  know  what  that  means.  Can  it  be  that  it 
is  proposed  to  bring  it  down  here  1  Another  question  for  the  Com- 
mittee to  consider  will  be  the  Strata  Marcella  excavations.  Our 
noble  Chairman  has  suggested  that  we  should  protect  the  remains  of 
Strata  Marcella,  and,  if  necessary,  put  up  some  fences  for  that  purpose. 
He  has  also  laid  before  us  very  interesting  papers  from  Powis  Castle, 
the  publication  of  which  will  be  another  subject  for  the  consideration 
of  the  sub-Committee.  Lastly,  there  is  the  question  of  the  re-arrange- 
ment of  the  Museum.  We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  Museum  is 
not  well  arranged,  but  it  often  happens  that  little  re-arrangements 
can  be  carried  out  which  may  make  our  Museum  more  convenient  and 
useful  for  those  who  visit  it.  With  regard  to  the  publication  of  the 
parochial  registers,  I  think  that  is  a  very  important  matter.  It  is  one 
which  comes  well  within  the  domain  of  a  Society  like  this,  and  I  hope 
it  will  be  carried  through.  I  think  these  registers  should  not  only  be 
published  in  our  Transactions,  but  that  we  ought  also  to  have  a 
separate  series  of  parish  registers,  so  that  they  may  be  easily  con- 
sulted ;  and  I  hope  \ve  may  be  able  to  present  copies  of  their  registers 


XXlll 

to  the  parochial  clergy,  so  that  the  clergyman  of  every  parish  may 
have  the  advantage  of  having  a  printed  copy  of  his  own  parish  register 
in  his  possession.  While  on  this  subject,  I  would  point  out  that,  in 
addition  to  the  registers,  almost  all  our  parishes  have  a  number  of 
parish  books  which  are  full  of  interest  \  and  although  I  do  not  think 
the  contents  of  these  books  could  be  published  in  the  same  series  as 
the  registers,  I  hope  that  our  local  antiquaries  will  not  forget  that 
there  is  a  storehouse  of  antiquarian  interest  in  these  parish  books,  in 
addition  to  the  registers,  from  which  it  would  be  well  to  make  a 
selection  for  publication.  I  would  also  urge  that,  as  far  as  possible, 
our  publications  should  be  pictorially  illustrated.  We  have  not  only 
parish  registers,  but  monuments,  in  our  churches,  and  the  more  illus- 
trations you  can  put  into  your  archeeological  publications,  the  more 
interesting  they  will  become.  I  beg  now  to  propose  the  appointment 
of  a  sub-Committee,  consisting  of  Archdeacon  Thomas,  Mr.  R.  E. 
Jones,  Dr.  Barrett,  Colonel  Harrison,  and  the  Treasurer  and  the 
Secretary. 

Mr.  D.  P.  OWEN  said  he  should  like  to  ask  a  question  with  regard 
to  the  relations  between  this  Club  and  the  Free  Library,  and  the 
Corporation  of  Welshpool.  He  thought  those  relations  should  be 
settled  according  to  some  definite  principle.  He  did  not  know 
whether  it  was  proposed  that  that  Society  should  hand  over  to  the 
Corporation  the  absolute  use  of  those  premises.  He  understood  that 
they,  as  a  Club,  were  fully  protected  in  the  deed,  with  reference 
to  the  Free  Library,  and  he  also  understood  that  the  Reference 
Library  was  to  be  reserved  to  themselves.  This  was,  of  course,  a 
serious  matter,  and  they  ought  to  know  definitely  how  far  they  were 
at  the  mercy  of  an  elective  body  like  the  Corporation  of  Welshpool. 

The  CHAIRMAN  :  Archdeacon  Thomas  has  already  stated  that  this 
will  be  one  of  the  first  questions  which  the  sub-Committee  it  is 
proposed  to  appoint  will  inquire  into. 

Mr.  D.  P.  OWEN  said  there  was  an  old  saying  about  the  stable-door 
being  locked  after  the  steed  was  stolen.  He  thought  their  Corporation 
were  not  very  particular — not,  of  course,  in  reference  to  their  own 
personal  interests  in  it,  but  when  the  interests  of  the  public  were 
concerned. 

The  Rev.  ELIAS  OWEN,  in  seconding  the  resolution,  said  he  did  not 
think  it  was  necessary  to  say  much  about  it.  He  thought  they  could 
all  trust  in  the  Committee  which  had  been  nominated  to  deal  with 
the  matters  which  would  be  entrusted  to  them. 

The  CHAIRMAN  then  put  the  resolution  to  the  meeting,  and  it  was 
carried  unanimously. 

Archdeacon  THOMAS  :  As  Mr.  G.  D.  Harrison,  who  was  to  have 
brought  forward  the  subject  of  the  condition  of  Rodney's  Pillar,  was 
not  able  to  remain,  he  has  asked  me  to  do  so.  When  Mr.  Stanley 
Leighton  asked  whether  it  was  proposed  to  bring  Rodney's  Pillar  down 
here  from  the  Breidden,  it  struck  me  as  a  very  applicable  remark  for 
my  purpose  ;  because,  although  we  do  not  propose  to  bring  the  Pillar 


XXIV 

down  here,  I  am  afraid  that,  if  something  is  not  done  to  it,  it  will  soon 
come  down  of  its  own  accord.  It  is  certainly  in  a  very  dangerous 
condition.  I  do  not  know  in  the  least  why  Rodney's  Pillar  should 
have  been  put  where  it  is,  or  why  the  gentry  of  Montgomeryshire 
should  have  taken  in  hand  a  memorial  to  Lord  Rodney.  I  believe  it 
is  the  only  public  memorial  existing  of  that  very  eminent  and  dis- 
tinguished Admiral. 

Mr.  STANLEY  LEIGHTON  :   There  is  one  in  Jamaica. 

Archdeacon  THOMAS  :  I  was  thinking  of  this  country.  There  is, 
indeed,  a  place  close  by  it  called  "  Belle  Isle",  and  it  strikes  me 
as  just  possible  that  as  "  Belle  Isle"  was  the  name  of  one  of  the 
islands  which  Admiral  Rodney  got  possession  of,  it  might  have  been 
the  reason  why  the  good  people  of  Montgomeryshire  erected  this 
monument  there  in  the  year  1784.  It  was  repaired  about  the  year 
1847.  There  is  a  lightning-conductor  on  the  top  and  at  the  bottom, 
but  none  in  the  middle,  and  many  of  the  supporting  stones  have 
fallen.  I  have  here  a  report  by  Mr.  Aaron  Watkin,  builder,  of 
Welshpool,  on  the  condition  of  the  Pillar.  He  says  :  "I  have  made  an 
inspection  of  Rodney's  Pillar,  and  I  find  it  in  a  very  bad  state  and  in 
a  dangerous  position.  At  the  top,  above  the  cap,  half  of  it  has  come 
from  under  the  ball.  I  cannot  understand  what  keeps  it  up  there, 
but  if  there  comes  a  very  strong  wind  it  will  be  bound  to  come  down. 
Then  there  is  a  very  bad  place  in  the  main  shaft,  about  half-way  up, 
and  some  of  the  stones  have  come  away.  It  wants  underbuilding  and 
grouting  with  cement.  The  whole  of  the  Pillar  needs  pointing  and 
grouting  with  cement  as  the  pointing  proceeds  up,  as  the  weather  has 
taken  great  hold  of  it.  The  wet  should  be  kept  out  of  it,  and  if 
something  is  not  done  soon  a  great  portion  will  be  down."  I 
have  also  here  a  letter  from  Mr.  John  Dovaston  of  West  Felton.  He 
says  that  a  year  or  two  ago  he  was  on  the  Briedden  with  his  son,  who 
was  an  electrician,  and  that  his  son  pointed  out  to  him  the  danger 
which  the  Pillar  was  in  from  the  lightning-conductor  being  dis- 
connected at  the  top  of  the  base.  Mr.  Dovaston  is  ready  to  subscribe 
£3  towards  the  repair  of  the  Pillar,  and  says  he  has  no  doubt  that 
ample  subscriptions  could  be  secured  for  that  purpose.  If  Mr. 
Harrison  were  here  he  would  be  able  to  tell  us  what  the  cost  of  it 
would  be.  It  would  be  a  great  misfortune  if  the  Pillar  were  really  to 
come  down,  and  it  would,  I  think,  be  well  for  the  Club  to  ask  the 
sub-Committee  to  take  this  matter  also  in  hand.  Having  mentioned 
it,  I  hope  some  further  expressions  of  opinion  on  the  subject  will 
be  elicited,  and  that  we  shall  be  able  to  save  Rodney's  Pillar  for 
future  Montgomeryshire. 

Mr.  D.  P.  OWEN  said  that,  as  far  as  local  tradition  went,  he  had 
always  understood  that  the  reason  of  the  Pillar  being  placed  on  the 
Breidden  was,  that  Admiral  Rodney  was  born  at  Criggion,  in  that 
neighbourhood.  There  was  a  public-house  there  called  "Admiral 
Kodney".  The  Pillar  formed  a  permanent  memorial  of  that  com- 
mander for  the  two  counties  of  Montgomery  and  Salop,  each,  as 


XXV 

he  understood,  claiming  to  be  his  native  county,  as  the  exact  place 
where  he  was  born  seemed  to  be  uncertain. 

Mr.  STANLEY  LEIGHTON  said  he  had  never  before  heard  it  suggested 
that  the  Pillar  was  placed  on  the  Breidden  because  Admiral  Rodney 
was  born  in  that  neighbourhood.  It  was  well  known  that  he  belonged 
to  a  Somersetshire  family,  and  he  was,  he  believed,  born  in  that 
county,  and  not  in  a  public-house  at  the  foot  of  the  Breidden. 

Captain  MYTTON  inquired  whether  there  would  be  any  objection  to 
spend  a  certain  amount  of  the  Club's  funds  on  the  repair  of  the 
Pillar.  He  presumed  the  consent  of  the  owner  would  have  to  be 
obtained. 

Archdeacon  THOMAS  said  it  was  entirely  with  the  knowledge  and 
concurrence  of  the  owner  of  the  Breidden,  Mr.  Valentine  Vickers, 
that  this  matter  was  brought  forward.  He  thought  they  should 
empower  the  sub-Committee  to  ascertain  what  the  cost  of  repairing 
the  Pillar  would  be.  Mr.  D,  P.  Owen  said  the  cost  of  repairing  the 
lightning-conductor  would  be  very  small,  and  it  would  be  a  prelimi- 
nary safeguard. 

The  PRESIDENT  :  It  has  been  suggested  that,  as  it  is  a  public 
monument,  the  County  Council  should  take  the  matter  up.  I  think 
the  best  plan  would  be  to  leave  the  sub-Committee  to  consider  the 
matter  and  report  at  the  earliest  opportunity. 

Mr.  D.  P.  OWEN  said  that,  if  he  were  a  member  of  the  Council,  he 
should  propose  that  the  sum  of  £10  be  immediately  expended  upon 
the  repair  of  the  lightning-conductor. 

Mr.  STANLEY  LEIGHTON  said  it  was  proposed  to  refer  the  matter  to 
the  sub-Committee. 

Mr.  D.  P.  OWEN  thought  it  was  a  matter  of  urgency  that  what  was 
necessary  should  be  done  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  winter. 

Mr.  R.  E.  JONES  :  We  have,  I  think,  no  power  to  vote  the  money 
required  for  this  specific  purpose,  and  I  would  suggest  that  it  might 
be  obtained  by  an  appeal  for  small  subscriptions,  which  I  feel  sure 
would  be  successful. 

Mr.  D.  P.  OWEN  :  Have  you  any  idea  what  the  cost  would  be  1 

The  PRESIDENT  :  I  think,  until  we  know  what  the  cost  would  be,  it 
would  be  unwise  to  vote  any  sum  of  money,  however  small,  for  this 
purpose,  and  that  we  should,  therefore,  leave  it,  as  proposed,  for  the 
sub-Committee  to  consider. 

Mr.  D.  P.  OWEN  suggested  that  if  any  subscriptions  were  sent  in, 
the  sub-Committee  should  apply  them  at  once  to  the  object  in  view. 

The  Rev.  GRIMALDI  DAVIS  said  that,  in  order  to  bring  this  matter  to 
an  issue,  he  should  like  to  propose  that  it  be  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
sub-Committee. 

Archdeacon  THOMAS  seconded  the  motion,  which  was  agreed  to,  as 
was  also  the  resolution  proposed  by  Mr.  Stanley  Leight on. 

Colonel  HARRISON  :  I  have  great  pleasure  in  proposing  that  the 
best  thanks  of  the  meeting  be  given  to  our  noble  President  for  his 
conduct  in  the  Chair.  It  is  a  very  great  satisfaction  to  see  him 


XXVI 

amongst  us,  and  to  find  that  in  the  midst  of  his  numerous  duties  he 
takes  such  a  lively  interest  in  the  Powys-land  Club,  as  in  everything 
else  which  concerns  this  county.  It  is  gratifying  to  us  to  see  that  he 
not  only  presides  over  our  meetings,  but  at  other  times  shows  his 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Club,  and  in  matters  which  relate  to  it, 
and  keeps  not  only  a  sharp  eye  on  the  stones  of  Strata  Marcella,  but 
also  on.  his  own  waste-paper  basket.  We  have  had  to  mourn  the  loss 
of  several  active  members  of  the  Club,  and  find  considerable  difficulty 
in  filling  their  places.  I  think  w'e  may  congratulate  ourselves  that 
our  noble  President  has  shown  during  the  past  twelve  months  his 
great  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Club  by  providing  us  with  one 
who,  I  hope,  though  at  a  very  remote  date,  may  succeed  him  as  our 
President 

Dr.  BARRETT  seconded  the  vote  of  thanks,  which  was  carried 
unanimously. 

The  PRESIDENT,  in  responding,  said  :  I  am  very  much  obliged  to 
you  for  your  vote. of  thanks  to  rne  for  having  had  the  pleasure  of 
presiding  here  this  evening.  I  must  say  I  am  rather  surprised  at 
one  remark  made  by  Colonel  Harrison.  I  have  never  before  heard  of 
a  baby  being  looked  upon  from  an  antiquarian  point  of  view.  It 
reminds  one  of  the  baby  in  the  Bab  Ballads  who  was  born  an 
elderly  baby,  but  I  hope  that  he  will  not  prove,  like  him,  a  sly  old 
fox. 

The  meeting  then  ended. 


XXV11 


OBITUARY    OF   MEMBERS    OF   THE    POWYS-LAND    CLUB 
SINCE  OCTOBER  1892. 


1893. 
Jan.     27.     Morris  Charles  Jones,  F.S.A.,  Gungrog  Hall,  Welshpool. 

May  Edward  Bickertou  Evans,  Whitbourne  Hall,  Worcester- 

shire. 

July  Edward  Rowley  Morris,  Warren  House,  Carleton  Road, 

Tnfnell  Park,  London. 

Nov.  Abraham  Howell,  Rhiewport,  Berriew,  Montgomeryshire. 


XXV111 

The  POWYS-LAND  CLUB  exchanges  publications  with  the  fol- 
lowing Literary  Societies,  viz. : — 

The  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  Royal  Institution,  Edinburgh. 

The  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne  (Hon.  Secretary, 
R.  Blair,  Esq.,  South  Shields). 

The  Royal  Archaeological  Institute  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
Oxford  Mansions,  Oxford  Street. 

The  Berwickshire  Naturalist  Club  (James  Hardy,  Esq.,  Old  Cambus, 
Cocksburnspath,  Hon.  Sec.). 

The  Bristol  and  Gloucester  Archaeological  Society  (The  Museum, 
Gloucester). 

The  British  Archaeological  Association,  82,  Sackville  Street,  Piccadilly* 

The  Cambrian  Archaeological  Association  (care  of  J.  Romilly  Allen, 
Esq.,  20,  Bloomsbury  Square,  London,  W.C.). 

The  Cambridge  Antiquarian  Society. 

The  Chester  Archaeological  and  Historical  Society,  Grosvenor  Museum, 
Chester. 

The  Royal  Institution  of  Cornwall  (The  Hon.  Secretaries,  Truro). 

The  Honourable  Society  of  Cymmrodorion,  London  (Secretary,  E. 
Vincent  Evans,  Esq.,  27,  Lonsdale  Chambers,  Chancery  Lane,  W.C.). 

The  Essex  Archaeological  Society  (G.  F.  Beaumont,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  The 
Lawn,  Coggeshall,  Essex,  Secretary). 

Glasgow  Archaeological  Society  (care  of  James  Maclehose  and  Co., 
St.  Vincent  Street,  Glasgow). 

The  Glasgow  Philosophical  Society,  Glasgow. 

The  Kent  Archaeological  Society  (Geo.  Payne,  E?q.,  F.S.A.,  The 
Precinct,  Rochester). 

The  Leicestershire  Architectural  and  Archaeological  Society  (care  of 
Messrs.  Clarke  and  Hodgson,  5,  Gallow  Gate,  Leicester). 

The  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of  Liverpool  (Royal  Institu- 
tion, Liverpool). 

The  London  and  Middlesex  Archaeological  Society  (G.  H.  Birch,  Esq.,- 
Hon.  Sec.,  9,  Buckingham  Street,  Strand,  London). 

The  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  No.  920,  Spruce  Street,  Phila- 
delphia, U.S.A. 

The  Shropshire  Archaeological  and  Natural  History  Society  (The 
Museum,  Salop). 

The  Smithsonian  Institution,  Washington,  U.S.A. 

The  Somersetshire  Archaeological  and  Natural  History  Society  (The 
Castle,  Taunton). 

The  Suffolk  Institute  of  Archaeology  and  Natural  History  (Rev.  C. 
Haslewood,  F.S.A.,  St,  Matthew's  Rectory,  Ipswich). 

The  Surrey  Archaeological  Society,  8,  Danes  Inn,  Strand,  London. 

The  Sussex  Archaeological  Society  (C.  J.  Phillips,  Esq.),  The  Castle, 
Lewes. 

The  Yorkshire  Archaeological  and  Topographical  Ssciety  (G.  H.  Tom- 
linson,  Esq.,  Hudderstield). 

The  Wiltshire  Archaeological  Society  (The  Museum,  Devizes). 

The  Worcester  Diocesan  Architectural  and  Archaeological  Society 
Noake,  Esq.,  London  Road,  Worcester,  Secretary). 


POWYS-LAND    HISTORY   AND    GENEALOGY 
COMPARED. 

BY  H.  F.  J.  VAUGHAN,  B.A.,  S.C.L.OxoN. 


THE  student  of  Welsh  history,  especially  that  of  the 
earlier  ages,  must  be  struck  with  the  constant  dis- 
crepancies which  appear  between  facts,  as  we  have 
them  related  or  as  they  are  known  to  have  occurred, 
by  a  comparison  of  the  histories  of  the  several  nations 
concerned,  and  the  accounts  given  in  the  genealogies 
which  have  come  down  to  us  from  more  or  less  ancient 
sources.  We  naturally  expect,  and  can  make  allow- 
ances for,  the  Welsh  historians  blazoning  the  illustrious 
exploits  of  their  nation  in  the  brightest  tinctures,  and 
passing  over  with  curt  notice,  or  failing  to  notice,  the 
reverses  they  suffered.  This  is  part  of  human  nature ; 
and  we  have  instances  of  the  same  feelings  actuating 
the  Roman  historians  and  those  of  other  countries  at 
a  later  period ;  indeed,  the  history  of  the  French  wars, 
as  written  by  their  own  countrymen  and  by  English 
authors,  differs  widely.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  we 
should  expect  that  some  mention  would  appear  in 
history,  of  men  who,  according  to  the  genealogists, 
performed  great  feats  of  valour  and  acquired  large 
territories,  unless,  indeed,  those  deeds  and  conquests 
first  appeared  in  the  fertile  brain  of  some  bard  singing 
for  guerdon  and  heated  with  wine,  in  the  halls  of 
a  chieftain  who  and  whose  friends  loved  their  ears 
tickled  by  such  high-sounding  matter. 

Bards  and  genealogists  are  but  men,  of  whom  we 
may  say,  some  are  inaccurate,  some  have  strong  imagina- 
tions, some  allow  their  love  of  adulation  to  exceed 
moderation.  Hence,  it  is  not  too  much  to  require 

VOL.  XXVII.  B 


2  POWYS-LAND    HISTORY 

some  historical   confirmation   of  the  accounts    of  the 
bards,  or  to  make  them  conform  to  more  sober  history. 

Not  to  begin  too  early,  let  us  take  about  the  year 
930,  and  let  us  give  a  generous  latitude  to  those  most 
irreconcilable  things,  dates ;  for  many  of  us  know  by 
sad  experience,  either  in  the  courts  of  law  or  on  the 
magistrate's  bench,  the  difficulty  of  fixing  a  date  and 
making  all  concerned  concur  in  it.  About  the  year 
930,  then,  Athelstan,  really  the  founder  of  the  king- 
dom of  England,  was  upon  the  throne.  The  Welsh 
Chronicle  tells  us  (and  by  the  Welsh  Chronicle  we 
mean  the  Gwentian  Chronicle)  that  in  933  Elystan, 
King  of  the  Saxons,  subjugated  all  the  lords  and  kings 
of  Wales.  English  history  agrees  with  this ;  for  it 
says,  the  Britons  of  West  Wales  he  forced  beyond  the 
Tarnar,  and  those  of  Wales  proper  he  compelled  to 
keep  on  the  right  side  of  the  Wye  ;  the  Welsh  princes, 
moreover,  engaging  to  pay  a  yearly  tribute  of  20  Ib. 
of  gold,  300  Ib.  of  silver,  and  25,000  head  of  cattle. 
Thus  both  histories  accord ;  and  the  Welsh  Chronicle 
goes  on  to  say,  and  so  they  continued  until  the  death 
of  Elystan,  in  the  year  940 ;  and  then  the  Welsh 
gained  their  freedom  through  the  bravery  and  wisdom 
of  Idwal  the  Bald  and  his  brother  Elisse,  Cadell  ab 
Arthvael  ab  Hoel  of  Glamorgan,  and  Idwal  ab  Rhodri 
Mawr ;  and  on  that  account  they  were  killed  by  the 
Saxons  by  treachery  and  ambush. 

Let  us  clearly  take  in  the  position  of  affairs.  The 
Saxon  kingdom  is  carried  up  to  the  Tamar  and  the 
Wye,  our  princes  are  made  tributaries ;  and  so  matters 
continued  until  Athelstan's  death,  when  they  were 
amended  by  the  Princes  Idwal  and  Elisse,  Cadell,  Lord 
of  Glamorgan,  and  Prince  Idwal  ab  Khodri  Mawr. 
History  knows  no  other  great  actor  in  these  matters. 

But  what  say  the  genealogists  ?  They  tell  us  (Lewys 
Dwnn,  vol.  ii,  p.  313,  Add.  MS.  9865)  that  Elystan  of 
Ruddy  fame,  born  in  Hereford  Castle  933,  and  godson 
of  Athelstan,  was  King  of  Gloucester,  Hereford,  and 
the  country  between  the  Wye  and  Severn.  He  lived 


AND    GENEALOGY    COMPARED.  3 

as  late  as  1010,  but  was  slain  in  a  civil  broil  at  Ceih 
Digoll  in  Powys ;  and  married  Gwladys,  daughter  and 
sole  heir  of  Rhyn  (ab  Khyn)  ab  Cynan  Feiniad,  Lord  of 
Trefgaron,  and  son  of  Gwaithvoed,  Lord  of  Cardigan. 
He  bore  as  arms,  Gules,  a  lion  rampant  regardant  or, 
and  quartered  those  of  his  wife,  viz.,  Argent,  three  boars' 
heads  couped  sable.  These  are  exactly  the  arms,  be 
it  noticed,  attributed  to  Gwaithvoed  and  Ednowain 
Bendew,  except  that  the  field  of  the  one  is  red,  which 
constantly  in  old  blazons  turns  black  by  atmospheric 
action ;  and  the  other  has  a  chevron  between  the 
boars'  heads.  Let  us  also  remark  en  passant  that 
Cadifor,  the  first  cousin  of  Elystan's  consort  (and  prob- 
ably somewhat  older  than  herself,  being  son  of  an 
elder  son)  was  one  of  those  who  assisted  lestyn  ab 
Gurgant  in  1088. 

Who,  then,  was  this  great  hero  whom  history  ignores, 
but  in  whom  genealogy  glories  ?  Who  possessed  him- 
self of  Hereford,  Gloucester,  and  the  country  between 
the  Wye  and  Severn  ?  Who,  indeed,  but  the  Saxon 
Athelstan  himself?  Of  course,  anachronisms  as  to 
arms  and  dates  are  mere  trifles. 

In  the  year  943  we  are  told  that  the  Saxons  came  to 
Ystrad  Llyr  and  devastated  the  country,  and  the  same 
year  the  Saxons  devastated  also  Strathclyde,  and  killed 
all  the  Britons  they  could  find  belonging  to  it.  The 
Chronicle,  under  the  year  890,  stated  that  the  men  of 
Strathclyde,  who  would  not  unite  with  the  Saxons, 
were  obliged  to  leave  their  country  and  go  to  Gwynedd, 
where  King  Anarawd  had  given  them  Maelor,  the 
Vale  of  Clwyd,  Rhuvoniog,  and  Tegeingl,  upon  their 
dispossessing  the  Saxons,  which  they  proceeded  to  do. 

In  the  year  958  we  read  that  Owain  ab  Hoel  went 
to  Euas  and  Ergin,  taking  those  districts  by  violence 
from  Morgan,  King  of  Glamorgan ;  and  Edgar,  the 
English  king  (so  they  were  still  under  English  rule), 
having  convoked  an  assembly  to  ascertain  their  judg- 
ment, confirmed  these  districts  to  Morgan  for  ever. 

Let  us  turn  again  to  the  genealogists,  who  tell  us 

B2 


4  POWYS-LAND  ^HISTORY 

that  Ynyr  ab  Cadvarch  was  Lord  of  Chirk,  Whitting- 
ton,  Oswestry,  and  both  Maelors  in  Powys-land,  and 
in   870   built  the   castle   of  Whittington,  which   con- 
tinued to  be  the  chief  residence  of  his  descendants  for 
many  generations.      He   married   Rhiengar,    daughter 
and  heiress  of  Lluddoccaf,  Lord  of  Hereford,  Gloucester, 
Erging,  and  Ewyas,  and  had  issue  Tudor  Trevor  (so 
called  because  he  was  born  at  Trevor),  Lord  of  Here- 
ford, Gloucester,  Erging,  Ewyas,  Chirk,  Whittington, 
Oswestry,  and  both  Maelors.     This  remarkable  man,  of 
whom  history  says  nothing,  married  Angharad,  daugh- 
ter of  Hoel  dda,  in   907,  and  died  in  948.     His  eldest 
son  Goronwy,  who  ob.  v.  p.,  married  Tangwystl,  daugh- 
ter of  Dyvnwal  ab  Alan  ab  Alser  ab  Tudwall  Gloff  ab 
Rhodri    Mawr.       That   is,   let  us  remark,   the   father 
marries  a  lady  two  descents  from  Rhodri  Mawr,  and 
his  son  a  lady  five  descents  from  that  monarch.     The 
issue  of  this  notable  match  was  a  sole  daughter,  Rhiengar, 
heiress  of  Hereford,   Gloucester,  Erging,  and  Ewyas, 
which  we  understood  always  belonged  to  the  Lords  of 
Glamorgan.     This  important  heiress  married  Cuhelyn, 
Lord   of  Buallt,   Radnor,    Kerry,  Maelienydd,   Elvael, 
and  Cydewain.     It  is  very  surprising  that  history  has 
so  little  to  say  of  so  important  a  nobleman  ;  but  we 
have  more  astonishing  facts  still,  for  by  Cuhelyn  she 
was  mother  of  our  before-mentioned  hero,  Elystan  of 
Ruddy  fame,  who  was  born  in  the  castle  of  Hereford 
in  927 !     That  is,  these   remarkable   people   produced 
three  generations  in  twenty-seven  years  ! 

Lest,  however,  we  bury  some  atoms  of  historic  truth 
beneath  these  ruins  of  genealogical  vanity,  we  must 
consider  possibilities,  bearing  in  mind  that  our  history 
is  very  cursory ;  and  we  cannot  expect,  therefore,  that 
every  lord  who  held  lands,  and  who  may  even  have 
distinguished  himself,  finds  a  record  in  its  pages.  And, 
firstly,  it  should  be  proved  that  the  district  in  Denbigh- 
land  called  Trevor  bore  that  appellation  at  a  sufficiently 
early  period  to  have  conferred  it  upon  a  person  named 
Tudor,  who  is  said  to  have  been  born  at  Pengwern, 


AND    GENEALOGY    COMPARED.  5 

and  that  the  name  ia  not  rather  derived  from  its  being 
in  subsequent  times  the  lordship  of  a  chieftain  named 
Awr,  who  is  sufficiently  historical.  Then,  again,  did 
Trevor  include  Pengwern,  which  is  on  the  other  side  of 
the  river  Dee  ? 

It  is  possible  that  the  word  Trevor,  as  applied  to 
Tudor,  represents  Cantref  Mawr  in  South  Wales  ;  and, 
if  we  glance  at  the  line  of  the  Princes  of  South  Wales, 
we  find  a  real  Tudor,  son  of  Einion  ab  Owain  ab  Hoel 
dda.  This  Tudor,  who  was  uncle  to  Tudor  Mawr, 
Prince  of  South  Wales,  is  mentioned  in  history  as 
having  been  slain  at  Liang wm  in  993,  and  there  is 
a  place  of  that  name  in  Denbighshire  not  so  very 
distant  from  Trevor.  This  Tudor,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  was  assisting  his  half-uncle  Meredydd  to  wrest 
Gwynedd  from  King  Idwal  ab  Meurig,  and  this  Mere- 
dydd was  son  of  Angharad,  daughter  and  heiress  of 
Llewelyn  ab  Mervyn  of  Powys,  to  which  country  the 
land  around  Trevor  belonged.  Tudor  would  also  be 
second  cousin  of  the  half-blood  to  Angharad,  the  cele- 
brated heiress  of  South  Wales  and  Powys,  who  is 
stated  in  early  MSS.  to  have  had  three  husbands — 
"  Meredud  M  Bledynt  Kynwyn  M  Gwedylstan  (query, 
is  this  the  Elystan  of  the  genealogists?)  M  Kynvin.  Y 
Kynvin  hwnw  a  gruffud  vab  Llewelyn  a  Thrahayarn 
M  Cradawc  tri  broder  oedynt  meibon  y  hagharat  merch 
Maredud  mab  Ewein  M  Howel-da"  (Jesus  Coll.  MS.  20). 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  our  t  first  introduction  to  this 
family  in  history  is  in  the  year  1073,  when  Rhys  Sais 
died  ;  and  in  1079  the  sons  of  Rhys  Sais  treacherously 
killed  Gwrgeneu  ab  Seissyllt  (ab  Ithael  ab  Gwrystan 
ab  G  wait  hvoed),  King  of  Powys.  The  portion  in  brackets 
belongs  to  the  genealogist  rather  than  to  history. 
This  Rhys,  called  Sais,  from  holding  his  lands  under 
the  Saxons,  is  said  by  the  genealogists  to  be  son  of 
Edny ved  ab  Llywarch  ab  Lluddoccaf  ab  Tudor  Trevor, 
which  presents  no  great  difficulty.  We  see,  then,  that 
very  possibly  this  Tudor  called  Trevor  was  a  South 
Wales  man,  who  was  induced — not  to  say  compelled — 


6  POWYS-LAND    HISTORY 

to  remove  to  the  English  side  of  Powys,  and  whose 
descendants  held  at  least  some  of  their  lands  under 
the  Saxons.  He  may  very  probably  have  been  con- 
nected by  marriage  with  tiie  lines  of  Ynyr  of  Gwent 
and  of  Ithael  of  Glamorgan,  to  whom  the  sleeves  of 
Gwent — i.e.,  Erging,  Ewyas,  and  Ystrad  Yw — belonged. 
The  Cantref  Mawr  belonged  to  the  Kings  of  South 
Wales  ;  and,  if  this  was  his  personal  holding,  it  sug- 
gests his  being  of  that  family,  to  which  their  pedigree, 
dates,  and  other  circumstances  lend  corroboration.  Un- 
doubtedly, the  descendants  of  Tudor  Trevor,  at  the 
present  day  and  for  many  generations,  have  collec- 
tivelv  formed  one  of  the  most  wealthy  and  august 
body  of  men  in  Wales  ;  and  this,  perhaps,  may  partly 
account  for  their  pedigree  having  met  with  such  brilliant 
illuminations  at  the  hands  of  the  bards  and  genealogists 
that  the  original  stem  has  been  obscured  by  fictitious 
details.  Even  taking  the  line  of  descent  attributed  by 
the  genealogists  to  Tudor  Trevor,  and  comparing  it  with 
the  line  of  Nest,  the  heiress  of  Powys,  who  brought 
that  kingdom  to  her  husband  Gwriad,  of  the  royal 
family,  it  is  evident  that  it  is  unworthy  of  credit. 

All  who  are  well  versed  in  the  works  of  our  heralds 
will  allow  that  some  of  them  at  least  seem  to  have 
been  very  unlearned  men,  quite  capable  of  confusing 
two  persons  of  the  same  name,  and  frequently  retain- 
ing the  epithet  of  some  renowned  warrior  and  applying 
it  when  the  name  recurs.  This  may  account  for  the 
Caradoc  Vreichvras  and  many  other  confusions. 

In  962  Gwynedd  was  devastated  by  Edgar,  who 
received  Morgan,  Prince  of  Glamorgan,  and  Owain  ab 
Hoel  dda  of  South  Wales  into  his  friendship,  and 
afterwards  reduced  lago  ab  Idwal,  who  then  held 
Gwynedd,  to  subjection  ;  and  we  are  then  told  that 
the  annual  payment  of  three  hundred  wolves'  heads 
was  imposed,  permission  being  given  to  kill  them  any- 
where throughout  the  island  of  Britain,  which  caused 
the  extinction  of  that  ferocious  animal  in  about  forty- 
five  years,  a  statement  which  has  been  much  con- 


AND    GENEALOGY    COMPARED.  / 

trover  ted  ;  but  we  may  safely  believe  that  King  Edgar 
did  find  means  to  bring  our  countrymen  to  submission, 
since  both  histories  so  far  agree.  This  is  the  era  when 
the  episode  of  Edgar's  being  rowed  upon  the  Dee  is 
said  to  have  taken  place  ;  and  Gwaithvoed  of  Powys  is 
said  to  have  observed  that  he  could  not  row  if  he 
would,  and  he  would  not  if  he  could,  and,  when 
further  threatened,  replied,  "  Ovner  na  ovno  angau", 
which  transactions  give  matter  for  the  genealogists. 
We  are  told  that  Edgar  had  placed  a  colony  of  Danes 
in  Mona,  who,  together  with  the  Irish  who  resided 
there,  were  driven  out  by  lago  ab  Idwal  because  they 
had  slain  his  brother  Rhodri,  and  he  further  com- 
pletely drove  the  Irish  out  of  Arvon,  Lleyn,  and 
Ardudwy. 

In  967,  Einion  ab  Owain  entered  Gower,  on  pre- 
tence of  driving  out  these  same  pests,  but  was  opposed 
by  Owain  ab  Morgan  of  Glamorgan,  who,  with  the  aid 
of  Edgar,  got  back  this  portion  of  his  territory. 

In  968,  Howel  ab  leuaf,  of  Gwynedd,  called  in  the 
aid  of  the  Saxons  against  his  uncle  lago,  and  in  com- 
pensation gave  them  lands  in  Moria,  which  could  never 
afterwards  be  recovered,  and  thence  it  received  the 
name  of  Anglesey.  Edgar,  then,  again  gave  permission 
to  the  Danes  under  Godfrid  to  reside  in  Mona,  and 
went  against  the  men  of  lago,  and  killed  them  cruelly 
in  all  Wales.  So  it  is  evident  that  the  Saxons  had  the 
upper  hand  along  the  coast  of  North  Wales,  and  also 
that  the  ruler  of  Gwynedd  was  not  on  entirely  bad 
terms  with  them,  for  he  made  use  of  their  assistance  in 
980  against  Einion  ab  Owain,  while  Godfrid,  son  of 
Harold,  ravaged  Dyved.  Einion  ab  Owain  was  slain 
in  982,  and  succeeded  by  his  brother  Meredydd. 

In  986  the  massacre  of  the  Danes  by  the  Saxons  is 
noticed,  and  that  year  the  black  Danes  spoiled  Gower, 
following  up  their  depredations  next  year  by  ravaging 
Ceredigion  and  Glamorgan.  In  990,  Meredydd  went  to 
Maes  hyvaid  and  all  the  territories  of  the  Saxon  lords, 
between  Wye  and  Severn,  and  Edwin  ap  Einion  (the 


8  POWYS-LAND    HISTORY 

brother  of  Tudor),  accompanied  by  a  great  host  of 
Saxons  and  Danes,  vanquished  him.  That  year  this 
Edwin,  accompanied  by  Aclelf,  a  Saxon  prince,  with  a 
great  army,  ravaged  all  the  lands  of  Meredydd.  From 
which  it  would  appear  that  this  Einion  lived  in  amity 
with  the  Saxons,  and  resented  the  succession  of  Mere- 
dydd to  his  father's  government.  Truly,  our  beloved 
country  was  at  this  time  in  a  miserable  plight.  North 
Wales  was  half  Saxon,  without  head  or  owner,  court  or 
government.  South  Wales  was  in  the  hands  of  Mere- 
dydd, who  was  opposed  by  the  sons  of  his  elder  brother, 
to  whose  place  he  had  succeeded,  and  these  sons 
were  apparently  half  Saxons  living  with  the  Saxon 
lords  in  the  territories  beyond  the  Wye,  which  had 
been  taken  by  Athelstan,  and  also  in  Maes  yfed  (Rad- 
norshire), the  elder  of  them  bearing  a  Saxon  name. 

Let  us  turn  from  this  heartrending  juncture  to  that 
presented  to  us  by  the  genealogists.  If  Tudor  Trevor 
was  born  in  921,  he  would  now  be  an  old  man,  or  rather, 
taking  their  dates,  he  would  be  sleeping  his  last  sleep, 
in  which  case  our  information  as  to  the  interest  he  took 
in  these  events  would  be,  to  say  the  least,  problem- 
atical and  speculative.  His  son  Goronwy  must  also 
have  been  dead,  and  consequently  Rhiengar  the  heiress, 
Lady  of  Hereford,  Gloucester,  Erging,  and  Ewyas,  must 
have  carried  these  lands  to  her  husband,  Cuhelyn,  and 
so  they  had  descended  to  her  son,  Elystan  Glodrydd, 
born,  we  are  told,  in  Hereford  Castle,  in  927.  It  at 
once  strikes  one  that,  if  he  were  born  in  927,  he  wraited 
rather  a  long  time  for  his  godfather,  who  arrived  in 
these  parts  in  933.  In  990  he  would  be  63  years  old, 
and  was  then  King  of  Gloucester,  Hereford,  the  counties 
between  the  Wye  and  Severn,  and  Maes  yfed.  Now, 
these  are  the  very  parts  against  which  Meredydd 
marched,  and  which  were  defended  by  Edwyn  ab 
Einion,  his  brother  Tudor  probably  being  with  him, 
and  a  great  host  of  Saxons  and  Danes.  He  was  also 
assisted  by  a  Saxon  prince  with  a  great  army. 

It  is  surely   not  too  much  to  expect  that  history 


AND  GENEALOGY  COMPARED.  9 

would  at  least  have  mentioned  the  name  of  so  puissant 
a  potentate,  especially  since  it  gives  the  name  of  the 
Welsh  Edwyn  ab  Einion,  whom  it  apparently  considers 
the  supreme  in  command.  Is  this  then  an  invention  of 
the  bards  to  cover  over  the  unpalatable  truth  that 
Edwyn  and  Tudor  submitted  to  the  Saxons,  and  held 
their  border  lands  under  them  ?  How  could  such  a 
fact  have  been  sung  at  the  feasts  in  the  halls  of 
Pengwern  and,  shall  we  say,  Whittington  ?  Bards  are 
human,  and,  doubtless,  if  they  knew  such  to  be  the 
facts  of  the  case,  deemed  it  unpolite  to  say  so. 

In  993  King  Idwal  ab  Meurig  ab  Idwal  Voel  was 
placed  upon  the  throne  of  Gwynedd,  of  which  he  was 
the  rightful  heir,  but  had  been  under  the  protection  of 
Ithel,  Prince  of  Glamorgan,  and  in  sanctuary  at  Nant 
Garvan,  which  had  often  been  violated  by  Einion  ab 
Owain  and  his  half-brother  Meredydd  ab  Owain,  with 
intent  to  kill  him.  Edwyn  and  Meredydd  had  made 
peace  in  991,  and  so  the  latter  was  now  at  liberty 
to  endeavour  to  deprive  King  Idwal  of  his  kingdom. 
He  inarched  to  Llangwm,  where  he  was  defeated  by  the 
King,  and  in  the  action  Tudor  ab  Einion  ab  Owain  was 
slain. 

The  year  994  is  remarkable  for  three  deaths  :  firstly, 
that  of  King  Idwal  ab  Meurig,  who  was  slain  while 
contending  with  the  Danes  at  Penmynydd  in  Mona ; 
secondly,  that  of  Meredydd  ab  Owain,  the  restless  and 
evil  ruler  of  South  Wales  ;  thirdly,  that  of  Ithel,  Prince 
of  Glamorgan,  who  was  succeeded  by  Gwrgan,  his 
son,  a  wise  and  peaceable  prince.  Two  marriages  also 
took  place,  one  between  lestyn  ab  Gwrrgan  (to  whom 
his  father  gave  the  comot  of  Trev  Essyllt)  and  Denis, 
daughter  of  Bleddyn  ab  Cynvyn,  Prince  of  Powys  ;  and 
the  other  between  Llewelyn  ab  Seissyllt,  Lord  of  Maes 
Essyllt,  and  Angharad,  daughter,  and  finally  heiress,  of 
Meredydd  ab  Owain.  This  Llewelyn  being  then  a  boy 
not  more  than  fourteen  years  old. 

There  is  a  decided  mistake  here  in  our  chronicler,  for 
it  is  simply  impossible  that  Angharad  of  Powys  should 


10  POWYS-LAND    HISTORY 

have  married  her  first  husband  in  the  same  year  as  that 
in  which  her  grandchild  by  her  second  husband  was 
married,  and  the  insertion  here  of  the  marriage  of  lestyn 
ab  Gwrgan  and  Denis,  of  the  Powys  family,  is  a  Gwen- 
tian  anachronism.  According  to  the  passage  previously 
quoted, and  other  authorities,  Angharad  married  Llewelyn 
ap  Seissyllt,  Caradoc,  who  is  called  ab  Gwyn  ab  Collwyn 
(but  by  the  Gwentian  authority,  ab  lestyn  ab  Gwrgan, 
which  seems  erroneous),  and  Convyn  ab  Gwedylstan, 
or,  as  others  say,  Cynvyn  Hirdref,  who  is  quite  a 
different  person. 

Turning  again  to  the  genealogists,  we  find  Seissyllt 
called  Lord  of  Maes  Essyllt,  and  also  Lord  of  Buallt. 
Harleian  MS.  2288  calls  Seissyllt  Lord  of  Buallt,  son 
of  Llewelyn;  others  have  made  him  son  of  Cadwgan  ab 
Elystan  Glodrudd.  Is  it  possible  that  we  have  here  an 
invention  of  the  genealogists  to  cover  a  disagreeable 
fact?  We  have  previously  shown  that  Elystan  Glod- 
rudd has  been  presented  with  the  achievements,  pos- 
sibly also  with  the  epithet,  of  Athelstan  the  Saxon. 
The  arms  attributed  to  him  are  virtually  those  of 
Gwaithvoed,  Lord  of  Cibwyr,  in  South  Wales.  Now 
we  are  told  in  Harleian  MS.  1977  that  this  Gwaith- 
voed had  a  natural  son,  Elystan.  Is  this  the  godson 
of  Athelstan,  and  the  Elystan  Glodrydd  of  the  genea- 
logists ? 

Caradoc,  who  is  said  be  another  husband  of  the 
heiress  of  Powys  and  South  Wales,  could  not  be  the 
descendant  of  lestyn  ab  Gwrgan  if  the  first  wife  of  that 
person,  Denis,  is  correctly  described  as  a  daughter  of 
Bleddyn  ab  Cynvyn,  for  the  reasons  given  above.  We 
must  therefore  take  the  other  pedigree  attributed  to 
him,  viz.,  that  he  was  the  son  of  Gwyn-ab  Collwyn. 
The  genealogists  give  his  pedigree  thus  :  Gwyn  ab 
Collwyn  ab  Ednowain  ab  Bleddyn  ab  Bledrws,  etc., 
which  seems  a  pure  fabrication.  There  was,  indeed,  a 
Caradoc  ab  Gwyn  ab  Collwyn  called  King  of  Gwynedd, 
who,  according  to  our  Chronicle,  took  part  in  the  battle  ot 
Rhuddlan  in  796,  others  say  800,  where  he  was  slain, 


AND    GENEALOGY    COMPARED.  11 

and  cannot,  therefore,  possibly  be  the  father  of  Tra- 
haiarn,  who  was  slain  by  King  Gruffudd  ab  Cynan  in 
1079-80.  Here  the  genealogists  have  palpably  taken 
an  identity  of  names  as  constituting  an  identity  of 
persons.  But  there  was  a  Collwyn  ab  Gwyn,  who 
seems  to  be  the  real  person  with  whom  we  are  dealing. 
This  Gwyn  was  Lord  of  Dyved,  and  had  issue  :  Ang- 
harad,  wife  of  Gwrgan,  Prince  of  Glamorgan ;  Gwen- 
llian,  wife  of  Tewdwr  Mawr ;  and  Collwyn,  Lord  of 
Dyved.  This  last  Collwyn  had  issue  Cadivor,  Einion, 
who  incited  Gruffudd  ab  Meredydd  to  attack  Rhys  ab 
Tudor,  and  Gwyn,  the  father  of  Rbiwallon  and  Caradoc. 
This  is  satisfactory  enough,  and  answers  the  require- 
ments of  dates. 

In  the  year  996  the  Danes  ravage  Dyved,  and  in 
1000  Aeddyn  ab  Blegwryd  conquers  the  territory  of 
Meredydd,  for  at  this  time  Llewelyn  ab  Seissyllt,  who 
had  married  his  heiress,  was  still  young,  being  only 
twenty  years  of  age,  and  Gwynedd  having  been  de- 
prived of  its  ruler,  King  Idwal,  and  having  also 
descended  to  his  son,  King  lago,  then  still  a  boy,  was 
consequently  at  the  mercy  of  this  froward  usurper. 
Our  historians  fail  to  identify  this  Aeddan  satisfactorily. 
The  Gweiitians  deduce  his  descent  from  the  line  of 
Glamorgan,  calling  Blegwryd  the  son  of  Owain  ab 
Hoel  of  that  line,  and  brother  to  Morgan,  but  others 
refer  him  to  the  line  of  Hoel-dda.  Whatever  be  his 
ancestry,  he  became  the  ruler,  by  usurpation,  of  all 
Wales. 

In  1015,  Llewelyn  ab  Seissyllt,  being  now  of  a  more 
advanced  age,  determines  to  possess  himself  of  the 
territories  of  his  wife,  and  attacked  the  usurping 
Aeddan,  who  fell  with  his  four  nephews  ;  and  shortly 
afterwards,  having  killed  Arthvael  ab  Blegwryd, 
Llewelyn  thus  became  the  ruler  of  Wales,  and  en- 
deared himself  to  his  subjects  by  his  love  of  peace 
and  justice.  This  line  of  princes,  though  usurpers, 
became  the  most  popular  and  beloved  of  any  in 
Wales,  and  were  preferred  to  the  rightful  sovereigns. 


12  POWYS-LAND    HISTORY 

Llewelyn,  the  ruler  of  Wales,  was  not  a  stranger  to 
its  people.  In  right  of  his  wife,  he  had  a  just  claim  to 
South  Wales  and  Powys,  and  a  connection  with  North 
Wales  through  his  mother  Prawst,  the  heiress  (as  she  is 
called)  of  Elissed,  younger  son  of  Anarawd,  King  of 
Wales,  eldest  son  of  King  Rhodri  Mawr.  In  the  life  of 
King  Gruffudd  ab  Cynan  we  read  :  "  Cynan  was  the  son 
of  lago  ab  Idwal  ab  Elissed  ab  Meurig  ab  Anarawd  ab 
Rhodri  Mawr",  so  this  name  of  Elissed,  probably  taken 
from  the  old  kings  of  Powys  whom  they  represented, 
was  continued  among  the  kings  of  Wales.  Still,  there 
was  the  youthful  lago,  who  as  heir  male  barred  the 
right  of  Llewelyn  to  the  throne  of  Wales  and 
Gwynedd. 

Anlaif,  or  Eiilaf,  came  to  Wales  in  1021,  and  ravaged 
Dyved,  where  Llewelyn's  brother  Hoel  was  slain  while 
opposing  him,  and,  somewhat  later,  Hoel  and  Meredydd, 
sons  of  Edwyn  ab  E  in  ion,  accompanied  by  an  army  of 
Irish,  attacked  Carmarthen  apparently  in  conjunction 
with  Eulaf,  who  was  put  to  flight  by  Llewelyn  and  his 
brother  Cynan.  During  this  struggle  Llewelyn  him- 
self was  slain.  It  should  be  remembered  that  Llewelyn's 
brother  Robert  married  twice,  and  by  his  first  wife, 
Evilian,  daughter  of  Gwrgenen,  left  a  daughter  Arddyn, 
ravished  by  lestyn  ab  Gwrgan.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  his  other  brother,  Hoel,  mentioned  above,  may 
have  left  issue,  and  it  is  stated  of  his  brother  Cynan 
that  he  was  slain  at  Ystradywain  shortly  after  1031, 
with  all  his  sons.  King  lago,  upon  Llewelyn's  death, 
taking  advantage  of  the  minority  of  his  son  Gruffudd, 
now  returned  to  Gwynedd,  and  so  recovered  somewhat 
of  his  rightful  kingdom. 

Let  us  for  a  moment  take  a  survey  of  our  country  at 
this  period.  In  Harleian  MS.  1971  we  are  told  that 
Englefield,  i.e.,  Tegeingl,  had  been  conquered  by  the 
Saxons,  and  was  by  them  kept  under  Edwyn,  who  after 
held  it  in  the  time  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  who  was 
godfather  to  Edwyn  ;  Hugh  Lupus  thereafter  held  it, 
Doomsday  Book,  A.  A.  312,  when  a  great  part  of  Flint- 


AND    GENEALOGY    COMPARED.  13 

shire  and  Denbighshire  were  in  Atcross  Hundred,  and 
held  by  the  English.  This  portion  then  no  longer 
formed  part  of  the  territories  of  Gwynedd.  The  de- 
scendants of  Einion,  eldest  son  of  Hoei  dda,  had  joined 
the  Saxons,  and  held  their  lands  on  the  borders  under 
them,  and  they  also  took  the  opportunity  of  Llewelyn's 
death  to  endeavour  to  regain  their  lost  territory  of 
South  Wales  from  Ehydderch  ab  lestyn,  who  had 
seized  upon  it. 

In  1031  the  Saxons  invaded  South  Wales,  and  about 
the  same  time  Robert  ab  Seissyllt  urged  his  nephew, 
Gruffudd,  to  attack  lestyn  ab  Gwrgan,  in  revenge  for 
the  insult  offered  to  his  daughter.  Gruffudd  firstly 
marches  against  Howel  ab  Edwyn,  who  fled  for  pro- 
tection to  King  lago,  who  was  unfortunately  slain,  and 
his  consort  Avandred  was  left  a  widow  at  an  early  age 
to  bring  up  her  children.  Thus  it  happened  that  the 
younger  children  of  lago  were  sometimes,  as  was  cus- 
tomary, called  after  their  mother. 

Meredydd,  the  brother  of  Howel  ab  Edwyn,  was  slain 
in  1033,  but  his  brother  continued  the  struggle  for 
some  years  longer,  though  with  little  success,  until  he 
was  slain  at  the  battle  of  Abertywi  by  Gruffudd  ab 
Llewelyn  in  1043. 

King  Cynan,  son  of  lago,  had  been  brought  up  in 
Ireland,  whence  with  a  great  army  he  came  back  to 
Gwynedd  in  1042,  and  took  Gruffudd  ab  Llewelyn 
prisoner.  But  his  own  subjects,  loving  the  usurper 
more  than  their  rightful  lord,  rose  up  against  him, 
rescued  Gruffudd,  and  drove  Cynan  and  his  Irish 
auxiliaries  back  to  the  sea. 

The  struggle  with  the  Saxons  and  their  Welsh  allies 
upon  the  borders  still  continued,  and  in  the  year  1050, 
Gruffudd  ab  Llewelyn,  with  a  large  army  of  Welsh 
and  Irish,  made  an  inroad  upon  the  Saxons,  and  fought 
a  hard  but  successful  battle  at  Hereford,  where,  ac- 
cording to  the  genealogists,  the  descendants  of  the 
mighty  Tudor  Trevor  ought  to  have  been  reigning  and 
flourishing,  and  in  whose  neighbourhood  it  is  really 


14  POWYS-LAND    HISTORY 

probable  that  the  descendants  of  Tudor  ab  Einion  held 
their  lands  under  the  Saxons. 

The  principal  leader  of  the  Saxons  against  the  Welsh 
was  Harold,  son  of  Earl  Godwin,  a  turbulent  race. 
Sweyn,  the  son  of  Godwin,  had  ravaged  South  Wales  in 
1046,  and  carried  off  the  Abbess  of  Leominster,  whom 
he  desired  to  marry,  but  being  forbidden,  fled  to  Bruges, 
and  when  he  subsequently  returned  and  endeavoured 
to  gain  restitution  of  his  lands,  was  withstood  by  his 
brother  Harold. 

Earl  Godwin  ruled  the  whole  of  the  south  and  west 
of  England,  Sweyn  possessed  the  country  between  the 
Thames  and  Avon,  Harold  had  the  eastern  counties  up 
to  the  Wash.  The  rest  of  the  country  was  possessed 
by  Siward,  Earl  of  Northumbria,  and  Leofric,  Earl  of 
Mercia. 

In  the  year  1051,  Sweyn  being  outlawed,  retired 
with  Godwin  to  Bruges,  and  Harold  went  with  his 
brother  Leofwine  to  Ireland,  but  next  year  all  were 
reconciled. 

In  1053,  April  15th,  Godwin  died,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son  Harold,  whose  earldom,  thus  vacant, 
was  conferred  upon  Alfgar,  son  of  Leofric  of  Mercia. 
In  1055,  at  the  death  of  Siward,  Northumbria  is  given 
to  Harold's  brother  Tostig,  and  in  Mid-Lent  of  the 
same  year,  Alfgar,  though  innocent,  was  outlawed. 

On  October  24th,  1056,  Alfgar,  in  conjunction  with 
Gruffudd  ab  Llewelyn,  who  married  his  daughter  Editha 
the  Fair,  defeated  Ralph,  son  of  Goda,  King  Edward's 
sister,  who  was  Earl  of  Hereford,  and  committed  that 
city  to  the  flames.  Harold  marches  against  them, 
Alfgar  is  restored,  and  his  fleet  awaits  its  pay  at 
Chester.  Leofric,  Earl  of  Mercia,  dies  30th  September 
1057,  and  is  succeeded  by  his  son  Alfgar,  who  in  1058 
is  again  outlawed,  but  reinstated  "  with  violence"  by 
Gruffudd  ab  Llewelyn. 

The  history  of  Wales  is  at  this  period  so  closely 
connected  with  that  of  the  bordering  country  of  Eng- 
land, that  the  two  reflect  light  upon  each  other.  King 


AND  GENEALOGY  COMPARED.  15 

Cynan  had  strengthened  himself  by  an  alliance  with 
Raonell,  or  Racvell,  daughter  of  Auloedd,  King  of 
Dublin  and  the  fifth  part  of  Ireland,  a  monarch  of 
Danish  descent.  On  the  other  hand,  his  opponent 
GrufFudd  had  espoused  Editha,  daughter  of  Alfgar, 
Earl  of  Mercia,  and  sister  of  Morcar  and  Edwin,  the 
possessors,  be  it  remembered,  of  Tegeingl  and  the 
northern  coast  of  Wales.  In  his  own  land  Alfgar  had 
a  powerful  rival  in  Harold,  son  of  Godwin,  and  we  find 
the  latter  attacking  and  distressing  the  Welsh,  while 
the  former  was  joined  to  them  by  ties  of  blood,  and 
constantly  acted  in  conjunction  with  his  son-in-law, 
GrufFudd,  the  beloved  ruler  of  Gwynedd.  It  is  there- 
fore quite  in  accordance  with  history  that  many  of  the 
Welsh,  who  had  lost  their  lands  in  the  constant  harry- 
ings  of  South  Wales  and  the  borders,  should  take 
advantage  of  the  kindly  disposition  of  Earl  Alfgar  and 
his  sons,  Morcar  and  Edwin,  towards  them,  and  accept 
lands  under  them  on  the  borders  of  North  Wales  and 
Powys.  One  of  those  was  Rhys  Sals,  as  he  was  thence 
called,  who  is  said  to  have  died  in  1073. 

In  1060,  Harold  and  his  brother  Tostig,  acting  on  the 
invitation  of  lestyn  ab  Gwrgan,  who  was  a  friend  and 
ally  of  the  Saxons,  entered  and  ravaged  South  Wales. 
GrufFudd,  who  had  united  Gwynedd,  Powys,  and  South 
Wales,  advanced  to  meet  them,  but  Harold,  with  true 
Saxon  perfidy,  hired  some  of  GrufFudd's  nearest  friends 
to  murder  him,  who,  "watching  their  opportunity, 
executed  their  wicked  design  in  1061,  arid  brought  his 
head  to  Harold."  So  Wales  was  again  without  a  ruler, 
since  GrufFudd  only  left  a  daughter,  Nest,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Trahaiarn  ab  Caradoc  ab  Gwyn  ab  Collwyn. 

We  must  now  retrace  our  steps  to  refer  to  an  inci- 
dent which  had  previously  taken  place.  Upon  the 
death  of  Llewelyn  ab  Seissyllt,  Angharad,  the  heiress 
of  South  Wales  and  Powys,  became  a  widow,  and  in 
1023  united  herself  in  marriage  to  Cynvyn,  who  by  our 
chronicler  is  called  son  of  Gwerystan,  Lord  of  Cibwyr, 
who  is  the  Gwedylstan  mentioned  in  the  older  history 


16  POWYS-LAND    HISTORY 

quoted  above.  But  others  say  that  her  husband  was 
Cynvyn  Hirdref,  quite  a  different  person. 

Our  genealogists,  as  is  too  frequently  the  case,  give 
contradictory  accounts  of  Cynvyn  Hirdref.  Some  say 
that  he  was  the  son  of  Gruff udd  ab  Llywarch  of 
Dreflyn,  and  had  by  his  first  wife  a  daughter  and 
heiress,  Gwrieled,  wife  of  Gwrgeneu  ab  CoJlwyn.  His 
second  wife  was  Haer,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Cuhelyn 
ab  y  Blaidd  Rhudd,  who  married  secondly  Bleddyn  ab 
Cynvyn  of  Powys.  The  Golden  Grove  Book  tells  us 
that  Gwrgeneu  ab  Moreiddig  ab  Rhys  ab  Meurig  ab 
Gweristan  ab  Llywarch  ab  Rhyall  ab  Aradyr,  married 
Gwerfil,  or  Gwenerys,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Cynvyn 
Hirdref  (descended  from  Cunedda  Wledig),  her  mother 
being  Haer,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Cylhyn  ab  Blaydh 
Rhydh  of  Gest,  and  by  this  match  was  father  of 
Rhyrid  Vlaydh  of  Penlhyn. 

Our  chronicler  follows  the  general  opinion  of  the 
historians,  and  says  that  Angharad  married  Cynvyn  ab 
Gwerystan  ab  Gwaithvoed,  Lord  of  Cibwyr  in  Gwent, 
to  whom  he  gives  a  very  elaborate  pedigree,  which  is 
introduced  in  so  unusual  and  forced  a  manner  as  to 
bear  all  the  marks  of  a  later  interpolation,  and  if  this 
descent  be  drawn  out  and  compared  with  others,  it  is  far 
from  satisfactory.  We  have  seen  above  that  the  older 
form  of  Gwerystan  is  Gwedylstan,  and  there  is  another 
pedigree  attributed  to  Gwaithvoed  of  Cardigan,  which 
seems  more  reasonable.  In  both  cases,  however,  his 
wife  is  called  Morvydd,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Ynyr, 
King  of  Gwent,  and  his  mother  Angharad,  heiress  of 
Ceredigion.  If  under  the  name  of  Gwedylstan  we  have 
the  name  Elystan,  i.e.,  Athelstari,  and  if  his  mother  or 
grandmother  was  heiress  of  the  line  of  Rhyn,  Lord  ot 
Ceredigion,  who  was  a  younger  son  of  Hoel  dda,  some 
light  seems  to  be  thrown  upon  the  statement  of  the 
genealogists,  that  Elystari  Glodrydd  married  the  heiress 
of  Rhyn,  whom  they  make  descended  from  Gwaith- 
voed. 

In    1062,  we   read,  after  the  murder  of   Gruffudd, 


AND    GENEALOGY    COMPARED,  17 

Harold  and  Edward,  King  of  the  Saxons — that  is, 
Harold  by  King  Edward's  orders — appointed  Bleddyn 
and  Rhiwallon,  sons  of  Cynvyn,  joint  Princes  of  Gwyn- 
edd  and  Powys,  and  Meredydd  ab  Ovvain  ab  Edwyn 
Prince  of  South  Wales,  they  having  sworn  fealty  to 
the  King.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  these  princes 
were  simply  the  creatures  of  the  Saxon  king  acting  on 
the  advice  of  Harold,  who  was  the  opponent  of  Alfgar 
and  hia  family  ;  and  we  have  a  curious  observation  in 
the  Chronicle  that  these  brothers — viz.,  Bleddyn  and 
Rhiwallon — "  took  the  sovereignty  of  the  land  of  Powys 
from  the  lineage  of  Brochwel  Ysgithrawc,  which  was 
contrary  to  right".  This  observation  is  capable  of  two 
interpretations.  If  their  mother  was  Angharad,  heir- 
ess of  South  Wales  and  Powys,  they  had  at  least  some 
show  of  right  through  her ;  but  even  in  that  case 
their  right  was  inferior  to  that  of  elder  descendants 
from  the  same  stock,  which  may  have  come  in  the 
male  line  from  Llewelyn  ab  Seissyllt,  for  we  have  no 
authority  for  stating  that  such  was  extinct ;  or  it  may 
refer  to  the  right  which  Trahaiarn  ab  Caradoc  derived 
from  his  wife,  the  heiress  of  Gruffudd  ab  Llewelyn  ; 
but  it  most  probably  refers  to  the  fact  that  there  were 
two  sons  of  Gruffudd  ab  Llewelyn  still  living,  namely, 
Meredydd  and  Ithel. 

King  Cynan,  the  rightful  sovereign  of  Wales,  was 
now  in  retreat  in  Ireland,  being  quite  unable  to  form 
a  party  against  the  more  popular  line  of  Gruffudd  ab 
Llewelyn. 

There  was  a  near  connection  between  Bleddyn  and 
Rhiwallon  and  Gruffudd  ab  Llewelyn,  since  their  sister 
Ewrydda  married  Edwin,  and  Gruffudd  married  Edwin's 
sister.  The  genealogists,  misliking  the  historical  fact 
that  Edwin,  son  of  the  Earl  of  Mercia,  was  Lord  of 
Tegeingl  and  a  large  part  of  North  Wales  and  Cheshire, 
have  endeavoured  to  hide  it  by  supplying  him  with 
a  pedigree  and  making  him  a  Welshman.  They  have 
thus  made  him  son  of  Grono  ab  Owain  ab  Hoel  dda, 
reckless  of  the  fact  that  there  is  no  historical  authority 

VOL.  xxvir.  c 


18  POWYS-LAND    HISTORY 

for  any  such  son  of  Owain  as  Grono,  who  seems  to 
have  been  created  for  the  purpose.  After  the  death  of 
Alfgar,  his  son  Edwin  became  lord  of  part  of  Cheshire 
and  the  portions  of  North  Wales  and  Powys  held 
under  the  Earls  of  Mercia.  Edwin  the  Saxon,  and  he 
alone,  is  the  only  known  Lord  of  Tegeingl  from  this 
time  until  the  Norman  Conquest.  He  was,  as  the 
passage  above  quoted  says,  godson  of  Edward  the 
Confessor ;  and  the  heralds  seem  herein  to  have  acted 
more  honestly  than  the  genealogists,  for  they  have 
given  him  a  coat-of-arms  similar  to  that  of  his  god- 
father :  Arg.,  a  cross  flory  engrailed  sable,  between  four 
choughs  ppr.  ;  Edward  the  Saxon  bearing  azure,  a  cross 
flory  between  five  martlets  or.  Llewelyn  ab  Seissyllt 
had  married  Editha,  the  fair  sister  of  Edwin,  and  Edwin 
married  Ewrydda,  sister  of  Bleddyn  and  Rhiwallon  : 
thus  there  was  a  chance  of  peace  throughout  North 
Wales  and  Powys.  The  chronicler  remarks  this  state 
of  peace  and  goodwill  between  the  two  nations  of  the 
Britons  and  Saxons  somewhat  later,  when  he  says 
"the  Saxons  inhabited  Powys  in  equal  numbers  with 
the  Welsh,  under  their  protection". 

In  the  year  1065,  the  people  of  Northurnbna  arose 
against  the  tyranny  of  Tostig's  government,  and  chose 
Morcar,  son  of  Alfgar,  for  their  earl.  Jn  vain  King 
Edward  tried  to  quell  the  tumult,  for  in  the  October 
of  that  year  they  outlawed  Tostig,  killed  his  house- 
carles,  and  seized  his  treasures.  Morcar,  who  headed 
the  malcontents,  was  joined  by  his  brother  Edwin 
with  many  Britons,  and  marched  to  Northampton. 
Here  the  King  sent  Harold  to  hear  their  grievances, 
which,  being  reported  to  him,  with  their  absolute 
refusal  to  receive  Tostig  any  more,  he  granted  their 
request,  and  confirmed  Morcar  a  title  to  the  earldom. 
Upon  this  they  peaceably  returned  back  to  the  north, 
and  the  Welsh,  "  with  several  prisoners  and  other 
booties  got  in  this  expedition",  returned  to  Wales. 

In  this  state  of  affairs,  if  we  may  rely  upon  the 
assertion  of  the  genealogists  that  the  descendants  of 


AND    GENEALOGY    COMPARED.  19 

Tudor  (cognomine  Trevor)  allied  themselves  with  the 
house  of  Cynvyn,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  accounting 
for  their  being  in  so  flourishing  a  state  and  such  large 
owners  of  land,  under  the  Saxon  Edwin,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Chirk.  Such  was  certainly  the  fact.  They 
had  accepted  the  inevitable,  like  wise  people,  and  made 
the  best  of  the  situation  ;  and  so  we  have  reason 
instead  of  romance. 

After  the  departure  of  Morcar  to  his  Northumbrian 
earldom,  Edwin  seems  to  have  been  sole  lord  of  these 
territories. 

Edward  of  England  died  on  the  5th  of  January  1066. 
Harold  was  crowned  at  Westminster  next  day.  William 
of  Normandy  makes  a  formal  claim  to  the  throne  of 
England.  Tostig,  the  brother  of  Harold  and  brother- 
in-law  of  William,  ravages  Lincolnshire,  where,  how- 
ever, he  is  defeated  by  the  old  opponents  of  his  family, 
the  Earls  Morcar  and  Edwin,  who  are  in  their  turn 
defeated  by  Harold  Hadrada  .and  Tostig  near  York  on 
the  20th  of  September.  On  the  14th  of  October  the 
battle  of  Hastings  took  place.  William  marched  to 
Berkhampstead,  and  there  received  the  submission  of 
the  Earls  Morcar  and  Edwin,  the  latter  of  whom 
seems  never  to  have  returned  to  his  Welshmen.  In 
the  Lent  of  1067  they  were  taken  with  William  to 
Normandy.  In  1071,  according  to  the  Saxon  chroniclers, 
Edwin  was  slain,  and  Morcar  joined  his  brother  Here- 
ward  in  the  Isle  of  Ely.  We  need  follow  their  history 
no  further. 

The  Saxon  lords  having  been  thus  carried  away  from 
Wales  by  the  exigencies  of  their  own  nation,  a  favour- 
able opportunity  was  afforded  to  King  Gruffudd  ab 
Cynan  to  try  and  recover  his  rightful  kingdom. 

In  1068,  'Meredydd  and  Ithel,  sons  of  Gruffudd  ab 
Llewelyn,  led  an  army  against  the  English  nominees, 
Bieddyn  and  Rhiwallon,  to  regain  the  kingdom  of 
Gwynedd.  The  latter  were  assisted  by  large  hosts  of 
Saxons,  and  gained  the  day,  Ithel  and  Rhiwallon  being- 
slain  in  the  fray.  Bieddyn  then  pursued  Meredydd  to 

c  2 


20  POWYS-LAND    HISTORY 

the  mountains,  where  he  perished  of  cold  and  hunger. 
So  Bleddyn  ruled  alone  in  Gwynedd  and  Powys,  and 
Meredydd  ab  Owain  had  South  Wales.  In  10(59, 
however,  the  Normans  entered  South  Wales,  and  Mer- 
edydd was  slain  at  Llanvedwy. 

Bleddyn  ab  Cynvyn  was  slain  by  Rhys  ab  Owain  ab 
Edwyn  in  1072,  and  succeeded  by  Trahaiarn  ab  Caradoc, 
whom  the  chronicler  calls  his  nephew. 

In  the  Llyfr,  leuan  Brechva  Cynvyn  is  constantly 
called  Cynan,  whence  a  mistake  would  easily  arise 
between  the  descendants  of  Cynvyn  of  Powys  and 
King  Cynan  of  Gwynedd. 

From  the  Lifeof  Gruffuddab  Cynan  we  learn  that  he 
was  brought  up  from  boyhood  by  his  mother  in  Ireland, 
who  instilled  into  him  a  knowledge  of  his  rights,  and  a 
detestation  of  him  who  had  usurped  his  kingdom.  His 
first  attempt  to  recover  Wales  in  1074  was  unsuccessful, 
but,  undismayed,  he  returned  in  1079-80,  and  landed  at 
Abermeney  in  Gwynedd. 

At  this  time  Trahaiarn  ab  Caradoc  and  Cynwric  ab 
Rhivvallon,  Prince  of  Powys,  had  divided  the  kingdom 
between  them.  King  GrufFudd  sent  messengers  to 
announce  his  design  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  island  of 
Mona  and  Arvon,  and  also  to  Asser,  Meirion,  and 
Gwrgeneu,  the  sons  of  Merwyd,  in  Lleyn,  who  at  once 
joined  his  cause.  These  sons  of  Merwyd  had  sought  an 
asylum  from  the  oppression  of  the  Powisians  in  Celyn- 
nog,  and  now  marched  forth  accompanied  by  some 
troops,  which  Robert  of  Rhuddlan  had  sent  to  their 
assistance  from  Tegeingl,  to  attack  their  oppressor  Cyn- 
wric ab  Rhiwallon  of  Powys.  Taking  him  by  surprise, 
they  slew  him  and  a  great  part  of  his  forces.  Returning 
overjoyed  with  their  success,  they  persuaded  King 
Griffith  to  take  into  his  possession  Mona,  Arvon,  Lleyn, 
and  his  other  provinces  up  to  the  boundaries  of  Eng- 
land. 

Let  us  here  turn  again  to  the  genealogists,  and  we 
find  that,  in  spite  of  this  plain  historical  statement,  and 
apparently  in  order  to  increase  the  importance  of  the 


AND    GENEALOGY    COMPARED.  21 

family  of  Tudor,  called  Trevor,  they  state  that  Rhi- 
wallon  of  Powys,  at  his  death,  left  only  two  coheirs, 
one  of  whom  was  married  to  Ednyved  ab  Llywarch  ab 
Llyddoccaf,  Lord  of  Chirk,  Whittington,  Oswestry,  and 
Maelor  Saesrieg,  and  the  other  married  Prince  .Rhys  ab 
Tudor  Mawr  of  South  Wales.  Having  thus,  in  direct 
opposition  to  history,  disposed  of  Rhtwallon  of  Powys, 
they  are  forced — shall  we  say  to  invent  ? — a  Dingad  ab 
Tudor  Trevor  to  make  a  father  to  a  new  Cynwric  ab 
Rhiwallon,  who,  as  a  dens  ex  machind,  suddenly  be- 
comes Prince  of  Powys.  Neither  history,  nor  the  house 
of  Tudor,  require  any  such  extraneous  embellishments. 

Having  repulsed  Trahaiarn,  King  Gruffudd  turns  his 
arms  against  Eobert  of  Rhuddlan  and  his  Normans, 
who  had  lately  led  their  forces  from  England  into 
Gwynedd,  and  drove  them  with  considerable  loss  into 
their  fortifications. 

Unhappily,  the  sons  of  Merwyd  and  men  of  Lleyn 
revolted  against  King  Gruffudd  ;  upon  which  Trahaiarn 
begged  the  men  of  Powys  to  assist  him  to  avenge  the 
death  of  his  relative,  Cynwric  ab  Rhiwallon.  Gwrgeneu 
ab  Seissyllt  ab  Ithel  ab  Gweristan  and  the  Prince  of 
Powys  join  their  forces  with  his  against  King  Gruf- 
fudd. The  sons  of  Merwyd,  with  the  men  of  Lleyn  and 
Evionydd,  act  as  leaders,  to  whom  were  joined  Tudor 
and  Collwyn,  two  brothers  from  Mona,  who  had  re- 
ceived rewards  from  the  hands  of  the  King.  The 
contest  was  sharp  and  bloody,  when  Gwyn,  a  nobleman 
of  Mona,  seeing  Tudor  aiming  a  blow  from  behind  at 
King  Gruffudd,  rushing  up  to  him,  bore  him  from  the 
field.  This  is  called  the  battle  of  Bron  yn  erw,  or  Erw 
yr  allt,  and  thus  the  King  was  obliged  to  return  to 
Ireland. 

From  this  treachery  many  evils  arose  in  Gwynedd, 
for  shortly  afterwards  Hugh,  Earl  of  Chester,  Robert  of 
Rhuddlan,  Varin  of  Salop,  and  Walter,  Earl  of  Here- 
ford, together  with  Gwrgeneu  ab  Seissyllt  and  the  men 
of  Powys,  ravaged  the  country  to  the  mountains  of 
Lleyn. 


22  POVVYS-LAND    HISTORY 

Upon  the  return  of  King  Gruffudd  from  Ireland, 
Rhys  ab  Tudor,  the  Prince  of  South  Wales,  besought 
his  help  against  his  enemies,  who  consisted  of  Caradoc 
of  Gwent,  Iscoed,  and  Llwchcoed,  with  the  inhabitants 
of  Morganwg,  many  Normans,  Meilyr  ab  Rhiwallon 
with  the  Powysians,  and  King  Trahaiarn  with  the  men 
of  Arvvystli.  A  compact  was  made  between  them,  and 
they  marched  to  the  mountains  of  Carno,  where  a 
furious  battle  took  place.  There  fell  Trahaiarn,  trans- 
fixed, with  his  intestines  strewn  about,  and  Gwlharis, 
the  Irishman,  treated  his  body  like  hog's  flesh. 

The  years  1079-80  were  eventful  ones  in  the  annals 
of  Wales,  and  saw  great  changes.  King  Gruffudd  ab 
Cynan  ab  Avandred  had  regained  his  throne  of  Wales 
and  kingdom  of  Gwynedd.  He  had  successfully  re- 
pulsed the  Normans,  and  placed  his  brother  Owain  ab 
Cynan  ab  Avandred  as  prince  and  ruler  of  Tegeingl, 
who  thus  became,  as  Vaughan,  the  celebrated  antiquary, 
and  others,  call  him,  Chief  of  the  Peers  of  Gwynedd. 
The  genealogists  have  made  him,  by  a  misreading  of  the 
contracted  form  Cynan  ab  'Vandred,  son  of  Cynan 
Veiniad.  who  was  a  son  of  Gwaithcoed  :  such  a  confusion 
is  not  uncommon  among  them.  Rhys  ab  Tudor  had 
regained  his  rightful  kingdom  of  South  Wales,  while 
in  Powys  it  would  appear  that  a  certain  Gwrgeneu  ab 
Seissyllt  ab  libel  ab  Gvverystan  Gwaithcoed  had  taken 
the  opportunity  to  seize  upon  the  chief  power,  which, 
however,  profited  him  little,  and  speedily  proved  fatal, 
since  he  was,  as  our  historians  say,  this  year  treach- 
erously slain  by  the  sons  of  the  powerful  nobleman, 
Rhys  Sais,the  illustrious  Chief  of  the  Marches,  probably 
assisted  by  or  under  the  instigation  of  his  relatives,  the 
family  of  Cynwric  ab  Rhiwallon  of  Powys. 

Upon  the  Norman  Conquest  a  considerable  number 
of  Saxons  had  taken  refuge  in  North  Wales,  and  these 
naturally  looked  upon  their  countryman,  Owain,  son  of 
their  illustrious  Earl  Edwin,  as  a  leader,  but  he  was  for 
a  time  subordinate  to  Owain  (called  Bendew  by  the 
genealogists),  the  brother  of  King  GrufFudd. 


AND    GENEALOGY    COMPARED.  23 

Wales  soon  felt  the  force  of  Norman  arms,  for  an  in- 
road was  made  upon  South  Wales,  and  Glamorgan 
was  partitioned  among  Norman  lords  about  1088-90. 
Roger  de  Montgomery,  Earl  of  Shrewsbury,  attacked 
the  central  portion,  and  we  find  in  Doomsday  Book, 
"  quidam  Valensis  Tudor" — that  is,  Tudor  ab  Rhys 
Sais — holding  Finisterre  (Overtoil)  under  Roger,  Earl 
of  Shrewsbury,  and  Madoc  ab  Bleddyn,  Lord  of  the 
Manor  of  Brogyntyn.  At  the  same  time  Hugh,  Earl  of 
Chester,  ravaged  Tegeingl  and  Rhiwoniog,  up  to  the 
river  Con  way. 

Unhappily,  by  the  treachery  of  Meirion  Goch,  King 
Gruffudd  was  betrayed  at  Rug  into  the  hands  of  Hugh, 
Earl  of  Chester,  and  Hugh,  son  of  Roger  de  Mont- 
gomery, Earl  of  Shrewsbury,  with  whom  he  remained  a 
prisoner  for  twelve  years  in  the  Castle  of  Chester,  until 
liberated  by  the  faithful  and  heroic  Cynwric  Hir. 

One  of  King  Gruffudd's  most  faithful  allies  was  that 
renowned  Briton,  as  Camden  styles  him,  Cadwgan  ab 
Bleddyn,  of  the  Royal  House  of  Powys,  and  Lord  of 
Nannau.  In  1094  they  ravaged  Hereford,  Shrewsbury, 
and  Worcester  together. 

In  1096,  William  Rufus  invaded  Wales,  though  with 
little  success,  and  in  the  same  year  the  men  of  Mona, 
apparently  at  the  instigation  of  Owain  ab  Edwin  of 
Tegeingl,  revolted  from  King  Gruffudd  and  joined 
Hugh,  Earl  of  Chester,  on  which  account  King  Gruf- 
fud  and  Cadwgan  ab  Bleddyn  were  obliged  to  retire  to 
Ireland.  Then  the  Normans  and  Saxons  came  to  Mona, 
and  made  Owain,  son  of  Edwin,  a  fictitious  prince  there, 
to  reconcile  the  Welsh.  This  explains  the  curious  fact, 
which  is  left  in  obscurity  by  the  genealogists,  that  there 
were,  nearly  at  the  same  time,  two  chiefs  of  Tegeingl, 
Owain  Bendew,  Prince  of  Tegeingl,  by  appointment  of 
King  Gruffudd  in  1079,  when  he  recovered  his  terri- 
tories ;  and  Owain,  who  is  often  called  by  his  father's 
title  of  King  of  Tegeingl,  made  prince  by  the  united 
efforts  of  his  countrymen,  the  Saxons  and  their  Norman 
auxiliaries,  "  for  that  Owain  was  the  principal  traitor, 


24  POWYS-LAND    HISTORY 

who,  like  Einion  ab  Collwyn,  in  Glamorgan,  originally 
brought  the  Normans  into  Mona."  The  princedom 
of  Owain  Bendevv  over  Tegeingl  ceased  probably  in 
1088-90,  when  it  was  ravaged  by  the  Earl  of  Chester, 
and  his  descendants  were  thenceforth  obliged  to  hold 
their  lands  per  Baroniam  of  that  earldom,  as  is  cor- 
rectly shown  in  an  old  pedigree  of  his  descendants, 
where  he  is  called  Prince  of  Englefield,  but  his  de- 
scendants only  Barons.  The  independence  of  this 
portion  of  the  country  seems  never  to  have  been 
recovered,  for  we  are  told  at  a  later  date,  1111,  that 
King  Gruffudd  confirmed  to  Earl  Hugh  his  men  and 
lands  in  Tegeingl  Rhuvoniogand  Monu,  so  that  nothing 
could  be  done  against  him  ever  after. 

In  1098,  Magnus,  son  of  Harold,  King  of  Denmark, 
came  with  the  intention  of  regaining  the  kingdom  of 
England,  and  attacked  Mona,  where  he  was  opposed  by 
the  Earls  of  Chester  and  Shrewsbury,  but  they  were 
defeated,  and  the  latter  was  killed  by  an  arrow  which 
struck  him  in  the  eye.  Owain,  son  of  Edwin,  seems  to 
have  been  fortunate  in  gaining  the  goodwill  of  all 
parties,  for  we  read  that  he  was  then  made  Prince  of 
Mona  and  Gwynedd.  At  the  close  of  the  year,  how- 
ever, King  Gruffudd  and  his  ally  Cadwgan  returned 
from  Ireland,  and  made  peace  with  the  Normans,  the 
King  regaining  Mona  and  Cadwgan,  his  son-in-law 
Ceredigion  and  a  portion  of  Powys. 

King  Gruffudd,  hoping  to  attach  to  himself  so  power- 
ful an  ally,  took  as  his  consort  Angharad,  the  daughter  of 
Owain,  son  of  Edwin,  Prince  of  Tegeingl.  But  the 
treacherous  nature  of  his  father-in-law  was  not  to  be  so 
easily  propitiated,  for,  when  the  Normans  again  attacked 
the  King,  amongst  the  foremost  of  their  leaders  was 
this  miserable  Edwin  the  traitor  and  his  brother  Uchtred. 

In  1103,  Owain  ab  Edwin,  "who  had  been  author  of 
no  small  mischief  and  disturbance  to  the  Welsh,  in 
moving  the  English  against  his  natural  prince  and  son- 
in-law  Gruffudd  ab  Cynan,  departed  this  life,  dying  of 
consumption  after  a  tedious  and  miserable  sickness,  of 


AND    GENEALOGY    COMPARED.  25 

which  he  was  so  much  the  less  pitied  by  how  much  he 
had  proved  an  enemy  and  traitor  to  his  native  country." 
And  now,  in  conclusion,  let  us  review  the  whole. 
We  have  seen  how  our  beloved  country  was  distracted, 
not  only  by  the  inroads  of  the  Saxons,  but  far  more  by 
internal  treachery  and  dissension  ;  how  some  of  its 
chiefs  were,  after  a  struggle  of  centuries,  compelled  to 
hold  their  lands  under  Saxon  lords,  who,  however, 
seem  to  have  been  unable  entirely  to  dispossess  them  ; 
how  the  bards,  who  sang  in  the  houses  of  the  noble 
and  wealthy,  disguised  these  unwelcome  facts  by  the 
attribution  of  high-sounding  titles  which  have  no  place 
in  history,  but  are  rather  repugnant  to  it  ;  how  they 
also  claimed  for  their  patrons  pedigrees  teeming  with 
anachronisms  and  impossibilities  ;  how  they  confused 
names  and  persons;  how  they  were  willing  to  clothe 
the  too-powerful  Saxon  with  a  British  garb,  and  mingled 
in  a  confused  heap  persons  of  distinct  families.  We 
have  seen  from  history  how  the  great  Tribe  of  the 
Marches  was  gradually  forced  northward  until  it  found 
a  place  where  it  could  hold  its  lordships  and  manors  in 
peace  under  a  Saxon  earl  connected  with  their  own 
people,  and  how  it  here  became  wealthy  and  prosper- 
ous. We  have  seen  the  advent  of  the  Norman  and 
downfall  of  the  Saxon,  the  persistent  bravery  of  the 
noble  King  Gruffudd  and  his  faithful  ally  Cadwgan  of 
Nannau,  the  equally  persistent  treachery  of  men  like  the 
lords  of  Glamorgan  and  the  traitor  of  Tegeingl ;  how 
the  latter,  strong  in  the  sympathies  of  his  vanquished 
people,  was  ever  ready  to  betray  or  sell  the  Welsh  for 
his  own  advantage.  We  have  seen  the  Prince  of 
Tegeingl,  the  near  relative  of  King  Gruffudd  and  Chief 
of  the  nobles  of  Gwynedd,  forced  by  the  victorious 
Normans  to  hold  his  lands  under  them  as  dependent 
on  the  earldom  of  Chester.  With  so  glorious  a  picture 
of  perseverance  under  overwhelming  difficulties,  forti- 
tude under  every  change  of  fortune,  valour  equal  to 
any  which  history  has  chronicled,  we  may  lay  aside  the 
subterfuges  and  vanities  of  heralds  and  genealogists,  and 


26  POWYS-LAND    HISTORY,    ETC. 

j 

glory  in  the  noble  name  of  Britons,  which  our  former  L 
adversaries  are  now  only  too  proud  to  assume.  Let  us 
be  thankful  that  time  has  healed  our  unhappy  discords, 
and  that  as  one  people,  in  whose  veins  the  blood  of 
Britons,  Romans,  Saxons,  Irish,  and  Normans  com- 
mingle in  a  generous  stream,  we  still  hold  the  first 
place  among  the  civilised  nations  of  the  world. 


27 
LLANWDDYN. 

(Continued  from  Vol.  vii,  p.  116.) 


propose  a  series  of  articles  upon  the  great  lake 
formed  in  Montgomeryshire  by  the  Liverpool  Corpora- 
tion, which  has  become  one  of  the  most  attractive 
spots  in  North  Wales,  and  a  magnificent  specimen  of 
Cyclopean  masonry  not  to  be  excelled  anywhere. 

We  will  begin  with  the  inaugural  address  delivered 
by  Lord  Powis  on  laying  the  foundation  stone  of  the 
gigantic  embankment. 

The  Liverpool  Daily  Post  of  Friday,  July  15th,  1881, 
gives  the  following  report  of  the  proceedings  : 

LIVERPOOL  CORPORATION  WATERWORKS. 

LAYING  OF  THE  FIRST  STONE. 
Llanwddyn,  Thursday,  July  I&Ji,  1881. 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  embankment  across  the  Valley 
of  the  Vyrnwy,  or,  in  the  vernacular,  the  Valley  of  the  Banw, 
was  laid  yesterday  by  LORD  Powis  in  the  presence  of  a  large 
assembly  of  the  general  public  and  those  interested  in  the 
event.  The  Mayor  of  Liverpool  issued  invitations  to  a  large 
number  of  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  most  of  whom  accepted. 

High  up  on  the  side  of  a  steep  declivity,  almost  directly  over 
the  doomed  village  of  Llanwddyn  (which  is  to  be  transplanted 
or  submerged  by  the  great  waterworks),  the  side  of  a  rock  was 
excavated,  and  the  foundation-stone  of  the  embankment — a 
ponderous  slab  of  Welsh  granite — was  swung  from  a  derrick 
over  its  resting-place  until  it  was  lowered  into  position  and  set 
in  its  place  by  Lord  Powis. 

The  inscription  on  the  stone  was  as  follows : 

CORPORATION  OF  LIVERPOOL. 

VYRNWY  WATERWORKS. 
The  first  stone  was  laid  on  the  14th  July  1881, 

by  the  Right  Honourable 
Edward  James,  third  Earl  of  Powis  j 


28  LLANWDDYN. 

William  Bower  For  wood,  Mayor  ; 

Anthony  Bower,  Chairman  of  the  Water  Committee ; 

Thomas  Rigby,  Deputy  Chairman. 

The  Act  of  Parliament  authorising  the  construction  of  the  Vyrnwy 
Waterworks  received  the  Royal  assent  on  the  6th  August  1880. 

The  late  John  Hays  Wilson,  Chairman  of  the  Water  Committee. 
Thomas  Hawksley,  ) 

George  Frederick  Deacon  ) 

Joseph  Rayner,  Town  Clerk. 

At  two  o'clock,  when  the  members  of  the  Corporation  and 
their  guests  had  arrived,  the  ceremony  of  laying  the  stone  was 
immediately  proceeded  with,  and,  a  few  minutes  afterwards, 
Lord  Powis,  arnid  the  thundering  reverberations  of  cannon  and 
the  enthusiastic  cheers  of  the  multitude,  declared  the  first  stone 
of  the  embankment  of  one  of  the  greatest  engineering  works  in 
the  world  to  be  "  well  and  truly  laid".  The  Mayor  (Mr.  W.  B. 
Forwood),  wearing  his  chain  of  office,  advanced  to  the  platform 
along  with  Lord  Powis,  and  was  followed  immediately  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Hawksley  (the  senior  engineer  of  the  works),  Mr. 
Deacon,  Mr.  Rayner  (the  Town  Clerk),  and  most  of  the  members 
of  the  Corporation.  Upon  ascending  the  platform,  the  MAYOR 
said  : 

My  Lord,  it  is  my  privilege  to  invite  you,  on  behalf  of  the 
Corporation  of  Liverpool,  to  lay  this  the  first  stone  of  the  great 
masonry  embankment  of  the  Vyrnwy  Waterworks.  This 
noble  embankment,  spanning  this  rocky  defile,  will  ingather 
the  waters  of  the  river  Vyrnwy,  "  whose  runnels  murmur  o'er 
the  shining  stones,"  and  transform  this  valley,  which  looks  so 
beautiful  in  its  wild  and  weird  solitude,  into  a  lake  which,  for 
extent  and  grandeur  of  its  surrounding  scenery,  will  be  un- 
equalled in  Wales,  and  whose  plenteous  waters  will  carry  the 
blessings  of  health  and  comfort  to  the  teeming  population  of 
South-West  Lancashire.  Thus  this  desolate  valley — lying 
hidden  away  in  these  mountain  recesses  from  the  "  madding 
crowd",  or  even  the  hum  of  civilization — brought  to  minister  to 
the  wants  of  a  great  population,  will  speak  in  tones  of  telling 
eloquence  of  the  oneness  of  creation  and  the  power  of  science  to 
link  together  its  component  parts  and  unite  them  for  the 
advantage  of  mankind.  I  now,  my  Lord,  present  you  with 
this  trowel  and  mallet  with  which  to  lay  this  stone.  It  will 
be  a  memorial  to  all  time  that  the  municipality  of  Liverpool,  in 
undertaking  this  great  work,  appreciates  not  only  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  day,  but  had  the  foresight  to  provide  for  those  of 
the  distant  future.  May  the  waters  which  shall  flow  from 


LLANWDDYN.  29 

Lake  Vyrnwy,  under  God's  blessing,  convey  in  their  crystal 
purity  and  great  abundance  the  germs  of  health  and  prosperity 
to  a  people. 

Mr.  Hawksley  then  presented  a  trowel,  and  George  F. 
Deacon  a  mallet.  The  trowel  bore  the  following  inscrip- 
tion : 

"  Corporation  of  Liverpool,  Vyrnwy  Waterworks. 

"  This  trowel  was  presented  by  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Citizens 
of  Liverpool  to  the  Right  Hon.  Edward  Herbert,  third  Earl  of  Powis, 
on  the  occasion  of  his  laying  the  first  stone  of  the  Yyriiwy  Water- 
works on  the  14th  July  1881." 

The  Mayor,  in  handing  to  Lord  Powis  the  mallet  and  trowel, 
said  that  in  undertaking  this  great  work  his  Lordship  had 
appreciated  the  importance  of  providing  for  the  future  neces- 
sities of  a  great  population,  and  of  bringing  the  blessings  of 
health  and  prosperity  to  Liverpool. 

LORD  Powis  then  laid  the  stone,  and  when  he  turned  to  the 
mass  of  the  people  assembled,  and  said,  "  I  declare  this  stone 
to  be  well  and  truly  laid,"  the  response  was  a  mighty  roar  of 
cheers,  and  the  repeated  booming  and  re-echoing  of  cannons 
along  the  valley. 

LORD  Powis,  who  was  received  with  immense  cheering,  then, 
said  : 

Mayor  of  Liverpool,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  I  congratulate 
you  on  the  auspicious  day  which  you  have  for  this  great  under- 
taking, which  will  worthily  commemorate  the  new  title  by 
which  Liverpool  is  now  distinguished  since  the  ancient  borough 
was  converted  into  a  city.  This  undertaking,  like  the  crea- 
tion of  the  new  See  which  has  taken  place,  will  tend  much 
to  the  moral  welfare  as  well  as  to  the  material  comfort  of  the 
people,  for  no  material  comfort  can  be  looked  for  unless  the 
conditions  of  everyday  life  and  the  physical  well-being  are 
present  among  the  great  masses  of  the  population.  The  census 
now  in  progress  shows  how  much  the  tendency  of  modern  life 
is  to  draw  the  population  towards  the  great  centres.  It  is  not 
only  London,  or  Liverpool,  or  Glasgow,  but  all  the  towns  of 
considerable  size  are  attracting  the  inhabitants  of  the  country. 
This  tends,  no  doubt,  to  the  comfort  of  many,  but  it  must  be 
remembered  also  that  this  great  aggregation  of  the  population 
requires  special  arrangements  for  its  comforts,  for  providing  it 
with  the  materials  of  life,  for  overcoming  the  difficulties  which 
the  poor  find  in  getting  habitations  within  easy  reach  of  their 
work.  Modern  science  fortunately  enables  you  to  come  to 
distant  parts  of  the  Principality  and  to  convey  water  from  these 
grounds  to  the  city,  to  minister  to  the  health  and  comfort  of  the 


30  LLANWDDYN. 

people.  I  trust  that  no  accident  will  mar  the  progress  of  this 
great  undertaking,  and  that  those  who  may  be  spared  to  see 
the  completion  will  witness  the  water  turned  into  this  great 
reservoir  on  an  equally  auspicious  day  as  we  have  enjoyed  to- 
day. Mr.  Mayor,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  I  wish  you  and  the 
Corporation  of  Liverpool  success  in  this  great  undertaking. 

At  the  luncheon  which  afterwards  took  place  the  Mayor 
proposed  the  usual  loyal  toasts. 

His  WORSHIP  then  proposed  "  The  Health  of  the  Earl  of 
Powis".  He  said  :  In  proposing  this,  the  toast  of  the  day,  I 
desire  to  convey  to  his  Lordship  the  thanks  of  the  Corporation 
of  Liverpool  for  his  presence  here  and  for  the  able  and  graceful 
manner  in  which  he  has  laid  the  first  stone  of  our  great  new 
waterworks.  It  is  peculiarly  fitting  and  appropriate  that  this 
ceremony  should  have  been  performed  by  the  lord  of  these 
ancient  manors — the  lands  of  Powis.  Lord  Powis,  whom  we 
are  proud  to  recognise  as  a  scion  of  the  noble  house  of  Clive, 
has  always  taken  a  most  warm  and  most  active  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  the  Principality  ;  therefore,  not  the  least  pleasing 
feature  to  his  Lordship  in  to-day's  proceedings  will  be  the  con- 
sideration that  we  are  about  to  give  Wales  her  largest  and 
most  beautiful  lake,  exceeding  Bala  in  size  and  wildness  of  its 
scenery;  and  the  masonry  embankment  to  be  thrown  across 
this  valley  will  be  one  of  its  greatest  attractions. 

Tradition  tells  us  that  Owddyn  the  giant  dwelt  in  this  valley, 
and  near  his  cave  there  lie  hidden  untold  treasures  of  precious 
metals.  Fortunes  have  been  lost  to  discover  these  treasures ; 
but  it  has  remained  for  the  Corporation  of  Liverpool  to  discover 
the  talisman,  for  in  the  bounteous  stores  of  water  we  shall 
gather  here  we  have  found  "  treasures  beyond  price".  These 
works,  when  finished,  will  be  the  largest  works  of  the  kind  in 
Europe,  and  will  be  capable  of  supplying  a  population  of 
2,300,000.  Indeed,  we  have  to  go  back  to  ancient  Rome  to 
find  works  of  equal  magnitude.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that 
two  thousand  years  ago  the  value  of  water  was  more  highly 
appreciated  than  it  is  by  our  modern  civilization.  The  noblest 
monuments  of  annuity  are  the  ruins  of  her  aqueducts. 
Rome  was  supplied  by  seven  magnificent  aqueducts,  and 
consumed,  with  her  fountains,  baths,  and  fishponds,  so  beauti- 
fully described  by  Pliny,  water  to  the  amount  of  three  hundred 
gallons  per  day  per  head  of  her  population,  whereas  to-day  a 
consumption  of  thirty  gallons  is  regarded  as  somewhat  waste- 
ful. I  desire,  in  giving  this  toast,  to  gratefully  acknowledge, 
on  behalf  of  the  Water  Committee,  the  very  considerate  and 
liberal  manner  in  which  Lord  Powis  has  met  them  in  all 


LLANWDDYN.  31 

tiations,    which  has  very   much  facilitated   their  labours  and 
largely  contributed  to  the  success  of  this  great  undertaking. 

The  EARL  OF  Powis,  in  responding,  said :  I  thank  you  for  the 
honour  you  have  done  me  in  drinking  my  health,  and  again 
beg  to  congratulate  the  Mayor  on  the  happy  auspices  under 
which  we  have  met  this  day  to  lay  the  first  stone  of  so  great  an 
undertaking.  Knowing  the  regard  which  is  felt  in  England 
for  the  ties  and  associations  of  home  and  property,  it  is  a  great 
tribute  at  once  to  the  wisdom  and  the  necessity  of  the  under- 
taking that  Parliament  should  have  so  readily  granted  permis- 
sion to  the  city  of  Liverpool  to  come  to  such  a  distance  to 
acquire  so  large  a  property  in  land,  and  to  remove  a  village  to 
a  new  site.  The  Mayor  has  adverted  to  the  importance  of  the 
water-supply  ever  since  the  days  of  the  Romans,  and  I  think,  if 
we  look  at  the  case  of  Home  and  of  Liverpool,  that  we  cannot 
have  a  more  striking  instance  in  the  progress  of  science.  In 
Rome  engineering  was  in  its  infancy.  Robert  Stephenson  used 
to  say  that  "  Do  what  you  will  you  could  not  cheat  gravity", 
but  I  think  that  Mr.  Hawksley  and  his  professional  brethren 
knew  how  to  elude  it.  The  Roman  carried  his  massive  aque- 
ducts along  the  sides  of  mountains  and  across  plains  to  supply 
Rome  with  water,  for  which  the  modern  city  of  Rome  is  in- 
debted for  some  of  its  greatest  attractions.  Nowadays,  the  city 
of  Liverpool  does  good  by  stealth,  and  conveys  its  water  to 
Liverpool  underground  in  an  invisible  way.  I  trust  when  the 
nymph  of  Vyrnwy  reappears  in  Liverpool  a  fountain  may  arise 
to  ornament  that  city  rivalling  even  Italian  sculptures.  May 
we  not  take  it  that  the  Roman  poets  have  predicted  in  some  of 
their  romances  the  progress  of  science,  and  that  the  history  of 
the  nymph  Arethusa  was  a  typical  prophesying  by  the  inspired 
poet  of  the  progress  of  science,  and  of  such  works  as  we  are  to- 
day inaugurating  ?  You  will  recollect  that  the  nymph  Arethusa 
disappeared  from  the  middle  of  the  Peloponnesus,  and,  passing 
under  a  portion  of  the  Mediterranean,  bubbled  up  in  the  sacred 
island  of  Ostygia.1  This  theme  exercised  the  imagination  of 
the  poet  Shelley.  It  gave  to  the  navy,  in  the  days  when  ships 
were  not  gigantic  tea-kettles,  one  of  the  most  dashing  of  its 
frigates,  and  inspired  Dibdin  with  one  of  the  most  successful 
of  his  nautical  ballads.  You  will  recollect  the  first  lines  of 
Shelley's  "  Ode  to  the  Nymph  Arethusa",  which,  I  think,  will 
still  typify  what  will  soon  be  the  triumphant  progress  of  the 
nymph  of  the  Vyrnwy  to  Liverpool  : — 


An  island  in  the  Bay  of  Syracuse. 


32  LLANWDDYN. 

"  Arethusa  arose  from  her  couch  of  snow 
On  the  Acroceraunian  mountains, 

From  cloud  and  from  crag 

With  many  a  jag, 
Shepherding  her  bright  fountains." 

I  venture  to  say  that,  when  these  works  have  been  brought 
to  a  successful  conclusion,  the  Corporation  of  Liverpool  will 
enlist  as  the  heralds  of  their  triumph  the  genius  of  the  bards  of 
Wales,  and  that  they  will  give  at  the  first  Eisteddfod  a  prize 
for  the  best  ode  which  will  sing  of  the  rival  claims  of  Arethusa 
and  the  nymph  of  the  Vyrnvvy.  Truth,  however,  compels  me 
to  acknowledge  that  the  nymph  Arethusa  did  not  undertake 
her  subterranean  journey  from  any  interest  in  the  water-supply 
either  of  Syracuse  or  Palermo,  but  to  escape  the  unwelcome 
attentions  of  one  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  pet  Grecian  divinities. 

I  will  not  divert  your  minds  from  such  poetical  topics  by 
entering  into  the  more  prosaic  surroundings  of  the  great  works 
that  must  be  undertaken  between  this  and  Liverpool.  I  hope 
they  will  be  brought  to  a  successful  conclusion,  and  that  Liver- 
pool, which,  as  the  Mayor  said,  is  almost  a  metropolis  to  us  in 
North  Wales,  and  in  which  the  ancient  Welsh  language  still 
maintains  its  ground,  may  continue  to  be  not  only  a  prosperous 
haven  where  many  of  our  countrymen  may  find  profitable  em- 
ployment, but  a  successful  point  of  departure  for  those  whose 
ambition  leads  them  to  seek  in  the  New  World  a  wider  scope 
for  their  energies. 

The  following  leading  article  appeared  also  in  The 
Liverpool  Daily  Post  of  the  same  date  : — 

Everything  smiled  yesterday  upon  the  opening  ceremony  of 
the  great  Vyrnwy  undertaking.  The  weather  could  not  have 
been  grander  if  Mr.  Hawksley  and  Mr.  Deacon  had  devised  it 
along  with  the  other  plans. 

The  accommodation  for  the  guests  was  excellent,  the  travel- 
ling was  punctual,  and  if  the  long  drive  of  two  hours  and  a  half 
into  the  wilds  from  Llanfyllin  was  somewhat  hot  and  dusty,  it 
passed  pleasantly  in  good  company,  and  served  to  give  just  a 
taste  of  the  labour  which  has  been  gone  through  for  the  public 
good  by  those  concerned  in  the  development  of  the  great  water 
scheme.  This,  perhaps,  was  the  fact  with  which  the  pilgrims  to 
the  Vyrnwy  were  yesterday  most  impressed.  It  is  customary 
to  think  of  our  city  councillors  as  chiefly  intent  upon  that 
aspect  of  their  position  which  is  expressed  by  the  term  "muni- 
cipal honours",  and  there  are  undoubtedly  many  of  them  who 


LLANWDDYN.  33 

are  willing  to  enjoy  the  honours  and  to  perform  as  few  as 
possible  of  the  duties.  But  there  are  names  on  the  memorial 
stone  placed  yesterday  which  illustrate  a  devotion  to  public 
interest  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  surpass  ;  and  if  we  con- 
sider the  vastness  of  the  enterprise  (which,  as  Mr.  Hawksley 
showed  yesterday,  quite  baffles  the  statistical  imagination),  the 
inaccessibility  of  the  region  in  which  it  had  to  be  conceived 
and  where  it  must  be  prosecuted,  and  the  troublesome  negotia- 
tions which  everything  of  the  kind  involves,  we  shall  freely 
concede  that  a  Liverpool  Water  Committee  chairman  expends 
upon  his  functions  an  amount  of  labour  and  energy  which,  if 
devoted  to  national  purposes,  would  entitle  him  to  the  highest 
honours  accorded  to  patriotism.  Publicly  and  privately  the 
air  was  vocal  yesterday  with  praises,  none  the  less  glowing  for 
being  pitched  in  a  sorrowful  key,  of  Mr.  J.  H.  Wilson,  of  whose 
long  continued  and  so  far  successful  endeavours  the  celebration 
of  yesterday  was  to -have  been  so  agreeable  a  recognition. 
His  untoward  and  untimely  death  had  turned  into  In  memo riam 
strains  what  had  been  expected  to  bo  paeans  of  compliment. 
But  his  lieutenant,  who  has  succeeded  Mr.  Wilson,  is  not  less 
worthy  of  laudation.  Mr.  Bower's  exertions  have  been  inces- 
sant and  herculean,  involving  journeys  to  London  often  two  or 
three  times  a  week,  and  an  endless  miscellany  of  anxious  work 
such  as  there  are  few  men,  and  especially  few  men  involved  in 
heavy  business  responsibilities  of  their  own,  who  could  or  would 
undertake  for  the  benefit  of  the  community.  Practical  men, 
well  cognizant  of  the  meaning  of  such  a  tribute,  will  know  that 
we  are  speaking  plain  facts  when  we  say  that  no  one  could 
have  been  got  for  ten  thousand  pounds  to  do  what  Mr.  Bower 
has  done  in  bringing  the  Vyrnwy  scheme  to  its  present  state 
of  forwardness. 

The  preparations  and  the  grand  simplicity  of  the  scheme 
were  well  brought  out,  and  most  serviceably  brought  out,  by 
the  spectacle  which  yesterday  attended  the  laying  of  the  first 
stone  of  the  embankment.  It  took  place  on  a  lofty  platform, 
probably  a  hundred  feet  or  so  above  the  rude  road  which 
overlooks  the  Vyrnwy,  and  a  hundred  and  thirty  feet  or  so 
above  the  level  of  the  river,  soon  to  be  the  bed  of  Wales' 
greatest  lake.  Lofty  as  the  platform  was,  it  was  overlooked 
from  a  yet  higher  eminence,  for  the  event  had  completely 
aroused  from  customary  lethargy  a  vast  area  of  the  quietest  of 
Welsh  counties,  and  from  far  and  near  rustics  of  all  ranks  had 
crowded  to  witness  the  event  of  the  day.  Glancing  distantly 
along  the  opening  valley,  where  the  panoramic  vista  of  sweetly- 
outlined  and  softly-tinted  hills  naturally  drew  the  gaze  of  all 

VOL.  XXVII.  D 


34  LLANWDDYN. 

beholders,  it  was  easy  for  the  imagination  to  realize  something 
of  the  scene  as  it  will  be  when  the  simple  and  insignificant 
rivulet,  which  winds  between  these  mountain-bases,  will  be 
stopped  in  its  exit  from  the  valley  by  the  new  embankment, 
and  shall  have  swollen  and  swollen  until  the  gushing  stream 
shall  have  become  a  smooth  and  sheeny  lake  of  vast  dimen- 
sions and  lovely  environments.  Elsewhere  the  water-supply 
arrangements  of  great  cities  have  been  accused  of  deforming 
the  fair  face  of  a  secluded  nature.  Liverpool,  at  any  rate,  is 
free  from  that  reproach.  To  the  Yyrnwy  Valley  she  brings 
not  only  distinction  and  fame,  but  added  and  sublimated 
beauty.  The  Mayor,  in  his  two  excellent  speeches,  seemed 
momentarily  inconsistent  when  he  spoke  of  the  valley  as 
desolate  and  again  as  beautiful.  Desolate  it  certainly  is  not 
in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  for  beautiful  it  is ;  and 
what  is  desolate  can  scarcely  be  called  beautiful.  The  Mayor 
probably  meant  solitary — removed  afar  from  the  admiration 
and  interest  of  men.  Thousands — nay,  millions — hear  of  it 
for  the  first  time.  Many  will  learn  only  through  the  Liver- 
pool water-operations  how  great  are  the  valley's  charms.  But 
these  are,  in  truth,  almost  superlatively  great ;  and  the  "  almost" 
may  probably  be  discarded  when  the  easily-imagined  prospect 
of  yesterday  becomes  reality,  when  the  surface  of  a  spacious 
lake  is  substituted  for  the  present  irregular  ground  of  the 
picture,  and  reflects  the  glories  of  the  sky  and  the  beauties  of 
the  adjacent  scenery  in  a  vast  mirror  of  water  gathered  from 
every  peak  and  breast  of  the  watershed,  and  stored  between 
the  graceful  undulations  of  the  hills.  Such  was  the  scene, 
compounded  of  actual  reality  and  immediate  probability,  upon 
which  yesterday  such  splendours,  as  sunshine  seldom  pours 
upon  an  English  landscape,  were  lavished.  When  the  stone 
had  been  "well  and  truly  laid",  guns  were  fired  from  the  bed 
of  the  lake  that  is  to  be,  and  rockets  wasted  their  brightness 
in  the  blazing  heights  of  the  effulgent  firmament.  Yet  they 
did  not  quite  waste  their  brightness,  for  it  was  a  new  sensa- 
tion to  see  this  pyrotechny  quaintly  expending  itself  aloft  in 
the  midday  sunlight,  and  decorating  the  transparent  sky  with 
delicate  films,  like  the  tracery  of  white  watered  silk.  This 
crowned  the  spectacle,  of  which  the  significance  was  put  into 
practical  words  by  Lord  Powis  and  the  Mayor. 

A  more  festal  assembly  was  held  in  the  pretty  cocoa-hall, 
which  a  few  gentlemen  have  enterprisingly  rented  from  the 
Corporation,  in  order  to  give  the  workmen  the  advantage  of 
wholesome  refreshments  under  comfortable  conditions.  And 
here  the  eloquence  became  more  ambitious  and  imaginative. 


LLANWDDYN.  35 

The  Mayor  expressed,  in  graceful  and  thoughtful  terms,  the 
significance  of  water-supply,  doing  justice  to  all  concerned  in 
the  procuring  of  it,  and  to  the  great  ends  dependent  upon  its 
being  procured.  And  the  Earl  of  Powis,  inspired  by  the 
occasion,  instead  of  being  content  with  the  jog-trot  hem  and 
haw  with  which  members  of  the  territorial  hierarchy  are 
usually  satisfied,  remembered  that  he  was  a  classic  and  of 
classic  lineage,  and  connected  by  office  and  by  honours  with 
a  great  University,  and  delivered  a  speech  of  which  it  may 
safely  be  said  that,  in  literary  elegance  and  charm,  it  could 
scarcely  have  been  excelled  by  Canning  or  Wellesley,  in  the 
days  ere  oratory  was  divorced  from,  or  only  linked  by  a  few- 
remaining  faint,  fragile,  personal  associations  to,  its  purest 
fount — the  classic  spirit  of  antiquity.  The  whole  speech  was 
a  model  of  its  kind,  lightly  turned  but  thoughtfully  delivered; 
conceived  in  perfect  taste,  and  applying  the  myths  of  ancient 
fancy,  as  they  should  be  applied,  to  the  idealising  of  modern 
realities.  None  that  heard  it  will  ever  forget  how  beautifully 
the  story  of  the  nymph  of  Elis,  the  attendant  of  Diana,  was 
wrought  into  a  symbolism  of  the  subterranean  passage  of 
the  waters  of  the  Yyrnwy  into  the  midst  of  Liverpool.  Most 
sincerely  do  we  hope  that  the  climax  of  this  pretty  vision  may 
be  especially  recollected,  and  that  some  day  we  may  behold  in 
our  city  a  sculptured  fountain  worthy,  as  Lord  Powis  says,  of 
the  noblest  ancient  art,  and  typifying  in  a  beautiful  manner, 
plain  to  all  intelligence,  the  emergence,  in  the  midst  of  our 
arid,  struggling,  physically-unwholesome  life,  of  the  limpid 
stream  which,  in  its  native  mountains,  might  well  suggest  (o 
native  poesy,  conceptions  as  delightful  as  those  which  the 
sweet  things  of  nature  prompted  in  congenial  imaginations  in 
early  classic  days.  It  was  a  most  fortunate  circumstance  that 
the  lord  of  the  lands  of  Powys  should  thus1  be  capable  of 
casting  a  halo  of  classical  romance  over  an  event  which  must 
live  so  prominently  in  our  history.  The  statistics  which 
Mr.  Hawksley  preferred  to  those  which  were  inscribed  on  the 
large  invitation-card  give  an  astonishing  impression  of  the 
magnitude  of  the  Vyrnwy  scheme ;  and  especially  is  this  felt 
when  we  consider  the  enormous  future  provision  for  an,  as  yet, 
inconceivable  population,  which  the  great  lake  will  by  anticipa- 
tion make.  But,  for  our  part,  we  shall  scarcely  realise  ths 
fulness  of  the  supply  until  we  see  around  us  in  Liverpool,  not 
only  in  constant  house-supply,  but  in  fountains  and  abundant 
street  and  sewer  cleansing,  and  in  all  sorts  of  ways  which  will 
appeal  to  the  imagination  and  susceptibilities  of  the  people — 
evidences  of  the  intelligent  and  graceful  association  of  the 

D  2 


36  LLANWDDYN. 

comforts  of  civilised  reality  with  the  pleasures  of  feeling  and 
imagination.  Lord  Powis's  speech  will  effectually  preserve  in 
our  annals  a  memento,  if  nothing  more,  of  the  feelings  with 
which  a  mind  of  rare  grace  and  felicity  contemplated  the 
commencement  of  the  great  Vyrnwy  Waterworks,  and  which 
were  aroused  in  many  other  minds  by  his  appropriate  elo- 
quence. 


LAKE   VYRNWY: 

THE  HISTORY  OF  A  VALLEY  AND  OF  A  SUBMERGED 
VILLAGE. 

BY  HUGH  R,  JONES,  M.A.,  M.D.CANTAB.,  B.SC.LOND.  ; 
Late  Surgeon,  Liverpool  Corporation  Waterworks,  Lake  Vyrnwy. 


Comparatively  few  opportunities  are  obtained  of 
observing  the  effect  of  a  complete  change  in  the 
physical  features  of  a  district  upon  the  people  living 
in  that  district  and  its  immediate  neighbourhood.  In 
this  connection,  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  the 
term  physical  features  is  included  not  only  the  con- 
formation of  the  district  (i.e ,  the  height  above  sea- 
level,  the  elevation  of  hills  above  the  plain,  the  angle 
of  declivity  of  the  hills,  the  amount  of  hill  and  plain, 
the  course  and  characters  of  the  valley  and  ravines  in 
the  hills,  the  geological  formations,  the  watershed  and 
watercourses),  but  also  the  exposure  to  winds  and  the 
character  of  the  winds,  the  amount  and  duration  of 
sunlight,  the  amount  and  frequency  of  rain,  the  com- 
position of  the  soil  (its  mineralogical  characters  and 
the  presence  in  it  of  vegetable  and  animal  substances, 
its  covering  by  trees,  brushwood,  etc.,  the  amount  of 
air  and  moisture  in  it),  and  the  height,  and  variation 
in  height,  of  the  subsoil  water.1 

Changes  can  be  artificially  induced  in  a  few  only  of 
these  factors  which  together  make  up  the  physical 
features  of  a  district.  The  more  frequent  changes 

1  Parkes,  Hygiene,  p.  23. 


LLANWDDYN.  37 

consist  in  an  alteration  in  the  level  of  the  subsoil  water, 
or  in  an  alteration  in  the  character  of  the  covering  of 
the  soil,  which  may,  however,  induce  changes  to  some 
extent  in  certain  of  the  other  factors,  e.g.,  the  amount 
and  frequency  of  rain. 

The  extensive  drainage  operations  of  the  modern 
engineer,  resulting  in  the  conversion  of  a  damp,  low- 
lying,  uncultivated  tract  of  country  into  a  fertile  plain, 
have  been  followed  by  a  marked  influence  on  the  health 
of  the  district.  This  is  shown  by  the  great  improve- 
ment in  the  health  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Fen 
Country,  and  the  almost  complete  disappearance  from 
that  district  of  malarious  disease,  previously  so  very 
frequent.  Similar  improvement  in  health  has  followed 
the  sewering  of  many  towns.  In  these  instances  the 
level  of  the  subsoil  water  has  been  depressed  :  but  this 
level  is  occasionally  raised,  e.g.,  by  building  an  obstruc- 
tion in  the  course  of  a  river ;  but  usually  only  a  small 
area  is  thus  affected. 

The  conformation  of  a  district  is  rarely  changed,  but 
the  formation  of  a  large  artificial  inland  lake  by  the 
Corporation  of  Liverpool,  over  the  site  of  the  small 
hamlet  of  Llanwddyn,  Montgomeryshire,  has  completely 
changed  the  conformation  of  the  upper  valley  of  the 
River  Vyrnwy.  A  unique  opportunity  is  thus  afforded 
of  testing  the  results  upon  health  due  to  this  form  of 
physical  change.  The  subject  is  of  sufficient  interest 
to  place  upon  record,  and  to  discuss  certain  observations 
concerning  the  health  of  the  valley  previous  and  subse- 
quent to  the  formation  of  the  lake.  But,  first  of  all, 
it  is  necessary  to  describe  the  Vyrnwy  Valley  and  the 
recent  changes  in  its  physical  features. 

THE  VYRNWY  VALLEY. 

The  old-time  village  of  Llanwddyn  was  little  known 
until  the  construction  of  the  new  Liverpool  Waterworks 
was  begun,  twelve  years  ago.  Owing  to  its  secluded 
position,  hidden  away  among  the  hills  of  Montgomery- 


38  LLANWDDYX. 

shire,  out  of  the  beaten  tract  of  ordinary  tourists,  rarely 
visited  except  by  an  occasional  sportsman,  the  inhabi- 
tants passed  an  uneventful  existence,  broken  only  by  a 
periodical  visit  to  the  nearest  market  town,  the  ancient 
borough  of  Llanfyllin. 

It  will  be  seen,  on  reference  to  a  map,  that  Lake 
Vyrnwy  is  situated  near  the  north-west  frontier  of  the 
county  of  Montgomeryshire. 

The  Berwyn  range  of  mountains,  "  mountains  black 
with  heath",  about  two  thousand  feet  above  sea-level, 
separates  for  some  distance  the  counties  of  Montgomery 
and  Merioneth.  To  the  west  of  this  range  lies  Bala 
Lake,  the  source  of  the  River  Dee.  To  the  east  lies 
Vyrnwy  Lake,  the  source  of  the  River  Vyrnwy,  an 
important  tributary  of  the  River  Einion,  and  so  of  the 
River  Severn.  The  Berwyn  range  is  thus  the  water- 
parting  between  the  Dee  and  the  Severn,  and  the 
consequence  of  the  Liverpool  water-scheme  is,  that 
water  which  would  naturally  be  discharged  into  the 
Bristol  Channel,  has,  by  gravitation  alone,  been  con- 
veyed to  the  estuary  of  the  Mersey.  The  scenery  in 
this  district  is  wild  and  romantic,  and  the  pedestrian- 
tourist  journeying  to  Lake  Vyrnwy  from  Dinas 
Mawddwy,  through  Bwlch-y-groes,  has  the  good 
fortune  to  be  in  the  midst  of  scenery  unrivalled  in  its 
ruggedness  and  in  its  desolateness  by  any  in  Wales; 

Pennant,  in  the  account  of  his  Tour  through  Wales, 
thus  describes  Bwlch-y-groes  :  "  It  is  seven  or  eight 
miles  long,  and  so  contracted  as  scarcely  to  admit  a 
meadow  at  the  bottom.  Its  boundaries  are  vast  hills, 
generally  very  verdant,  and  fine  sheep-walks ;  but  one 
on  the  left  exhibits  a  horrible  front,  being  so  steep  as 
to  balance  between  precipice  and  slope  :  it  is  red  and 
naked,  too  steep  to  admit  of  vegetation,  and  a  slide  from 
its  summit  would  be  as  fatal  as  a  fall  from  the  perpen- 
dicular rock.  In  one  place,  on  the  right,  the  mountains 
open  and  furnish  a  gap  and  give  sight  to  another  strange 
and  picturesque  view,  the  rugged  and  wild  summit  of 
Arran  Fowddwy,  which  soars  above  with  tremendous 


LLANWDDYN.  39 

majesty.  There  is  a  beauty  in  this  vale  which  is  not 
frequent  in  others  of  these  mountainous  countries ;  the 
inclosures  are  all  divided  by  excellent  quickset  hedges, 
and  run  far  up  the  sides  of  the  hills,  in  places  so  steep 
that  the  common  traveller  would  scarcely  find  footing. 
Numbers  of  little  groves  are  interspersed,  and  the  hills 
above  them  show  a  fine  turf  to  the  top,  where  the  bog 
and  heath  commence  which  give  shelter  to  the  multi- 
tudes of  red  grouse,  and  a  few  black.  But  their  conse- 
quences to  these  parts  are  infinitely  greater  in  being 
the  beds  of  fuel  to  all  the  inhabitants.  The  turberies 
are  placed  very  remote  from  their  dwellings,  and  the 
turf  or  p?afc  is  gotten  with  great  difficulty.  The  roads 
from  the  brows  of  the  mountains  in  general  are  too 
steep  even  for  a  horse  :  the  men  therefore  carry  up  on 
their  backs  a  light  sledge,  fill  it  with  a  very  consider- 
able load,  and  drag  it  by  means  of  a  rope  placed  over 
their  breast  to  the  brink  of  the  slope,  then  go  before 
and  draw  it  down,  still  preceding  and  guiding  its 
motions,  which  at  times  have  been  so  violent  as  to 
overturn  and  draw  along  with  it  the  master  to  the 
hazard  of  his  life,  and  not  without  considerable  bodily 
hurt." 

The  margin  of  Lake  Vyrnwy  is  equidistant  from 
Bala,  Dinas  Mawddwy,  and  Llanfyllin,  but  the  route 
from  Dinas  Mawddwy  is  open  only  to  the  pedestrian. 
A  drive  of  ten  miles  through  uninteresting  scenery,  the 
road  passing  of  a  necessity  through  much  undulating 
country,  is  a  fitting  conclusion  to  the  slow  and  tedious 
railway  journey  from  Oswestry  to  Llanfyllin,  but  this 
route  has  the  advantage  of  bringing  the  tourist  to  the 
south  end  of  the  lake,  where  all  the  engineering  works 
are  situated.  The  first  glimpse  of  lake  and  embank- 
ment is  obtained  from  the  summit  of  Boncyn  Kelyn, 
whence  also  the  well-wooded  lower  valley  of  the 
Vyrnwy,  and  of  the  Conwy,  and  the  general  character 
of  the  upper  valley  of  the  Vyrnwy  may  be  noticed. 
The  upper  valley  is  over  five  miles  long,  and  varies  in 
width  from  half  to  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  but  at  the 


40  LLANWDDYN. 

lower  end  it  becomes  very  narrow.  High  bills,  2,050  ft. 
above  sea-level,  rise  abruptly  on  either  side  and  at  the 
upper  end,  so  that  it  is  almost  enclosed  by  them.  The 
projection  of  Allt-yr-erydd  divides  the  upper  end  of 
the  valley  into  two  arms,  the  valley  on  the  north 
leading  to  Bala,  that  on  the  east  leading  to  Dinas 
Mawddwy.  The  line  of  the  hills  is  broken  also  by  the 
Eunant  and  Hirddydd  valleys  on  the  south  side,  and 
by  the  valleys  of  the  Cedig  and  Afon  y  dolau  gwynion 
on  the  north.  The  hills  are  typical  moelydd,  with 
rounded  tops,  and  are  rugged  and  barren,  particularly 
on  the  southern  side.  Little  land  is  cultivated,  but 
patches  of  dense  vegetation  are  seen  at  the  foot  of  the 
hills  surrounding  little  streams  which  trickle  in  silver 
streaks  over  the  rocks.  These  streamlets  become 
swollen  into  torrents  in  time  of  flood,  and  rush  down 
the  hillsides  in  fine  cascades.  One  of  these,  Ceunant 
Pistyll,  deserves  the  name  of  a  waterfall,  and  there  is 
at  the  upper  end  of  the  valley,  along  the  course  of  the 
Iddew,  another  waterfall,  Rhyd-y-meinciau,  where  the 
water  rushes  down  over  almost  perpendicular  rock, 
bare,  barren,  and  rugged. 

THE  RIVER  VYRNWY. 

The  bed  of  the  valley  was  very  flat,  and  consisted  of 
alluvium  and  marsh.  The  upper  part  was  converted 
into  a  kind  of  network  of  water-courses  by  the 
numerous  mountain  streams  which  coalesced  to  form, 
near  the  site  of  the  old  village,  the  first  beginning  of 
the  River  Vyrnwy.  Vyrnwy  is  a  compound  word. 
The  termination  wy,  supposed  to  be  a  corruption  of  an 
obsolete  Welsh  word,  meaning  water,  occurs  frequently 
in  the  names  of  Welsh  rivers,  as  in  the  Conwy,  Elwy. 
It  is  also  seen  in  an  English  form  in  the  name  of  the 
River  Wye. 

More  doubt  exists  as  to  the  derivation  of  the  first 
part  of  the  name.  It  has  been  suggested  that  it  is 
derived  from  Efyrnwy,  the  "goat  river",  for  the  name 


LLANWDDYN.  41 

occurs  as  Evernoe,  but  it  is  most  probably  a  corruption 
of  Maranwy,  the  "  salmon  river".  The  Latin  name  is 
Marnovia,  and  Myrngui  or  Myrnwy  are  found  as  its 
earliest  forms.  Pennant  states  that  the  river  merits 
the  title  of  "  Piscosus  amnis"  as  much  as  any  he  knew. 
"  The  number  of  fish  which  inhabit  it  (he  writes)  ani- 
mate the  water  and  add  greatly  to  its  beauty"  ;  and  he 
gives  a  long  list  of  fish  which  frequent  the  river. 

GEOLOGY. 

The  geological  formation  of  the  Vyrnwy  Valley 
belongs  to  the  upper  and  lower  Silurian  systems — the 
former  more  on  its  southern,  the  latter  more  on  its 
northern  side.  These  formations  are  separated  by 
marginal  beds  of  Wenlock  shale  and  pale  shale.  Evi- 
dences of  glacial  action  are  seen  in  the  rounded  hilltops, 
in  the  stride  impressed  upon  the  rocks,  and  in  the 
existence  of  moraines — accumulations  of  debris  deposited 
by  a  glacier  along  its  course  or  at  its  extremity.  If  we, 
therefore,  imagine  a  glacier  descending  from  the  highest 
parts  of  the  Berwyn  range,  first  grinding  the  hilltops 
to  their  present  rounded  forms,  and  ploughing  and 
excavating,  with  almost  irresistible  force,  the  Vyrnwy 
Valley  to  a  considerable  depth,  more  especially  at  the 
junction  of  the  upper  and  lower  Silurian  systems,  if  we 
imagine  that  the  progress  of  the  glacier  was  checked, 
but  not  completely  arrested,  by  a  reef  of  more  solid 
rocks  at  the  lower  end  of  the  valley,  and  that,  before 
this  more  resistant  reef  was  completely  worn  away,  the 
pendulum  of  temperature  began  to  swing  back  from  its 
extreme  limit  of  intense  cold,  and  that  the  glacier  dis- 
appeared as  the  climate  became  more  genial,  then  we 
can  see  how  the  valley  was  occupied  by  a  lake,  the 
water  being  held  back  by  the  natural  rock  barrier. 
The  debris  deposited  by  the  mountain  currents  during 
countless  ages,  especially  during  the  melting  of  the 
snow,  when  every  gully  in  the  hills  was  filled  with  a 
foaming  torrent,  and  every  stream  rushed  headlong 


42  LLANWDDYN. 

into  the  lake,  when  the  beds  of  the  rivers  were  filled 
to  the  brim,  and  the  water  rose  high  on  either  side, 
the  debris  gradually  accumulated,  and  in  process  of 
time  the  lake  became  silted  up,  and  the  Vyrnwy 
Valley  assumed  the  form  it  has  borne  during  the 
memory  of  man.1 

LLANWDDYN. 

The  village  of  Llanwddyn  was  situated  midway  in 
the  valley  on  the  northern  side.  It  was  built  on  delta 
formation  on  the  estuary  of  the  Cedig,  and  consisted  of 
thirty-seven  houses  in  two  streets,  crossing  at  right 
angles,  one  of  which  was  the  highroad  to  Bala,  and 
was  carried  over  the  Cedig  by  a  bridge.  The  high- 
road ran  along  the  bottom  of  the  valley,  giving  off  an 
occasional  branch  to  farmhouses  studded  here  and 
there  along  the  hillsides.  The  population  was  668  in 
1831,  443  in  1871.  The  name  Llanwddyn  is  derived 
from  Llan,  an  old  Welsh  prefix  often  seen  in  the 
names  of  Welsh  villages,  and  which  meant  originally 
an  enclosed  spot  devoted  to  some  particular  use,  as  the 
churchyard,  and  by  an  extension  of  meaning  it  came  to 
include  the  dwellings  clustering  round  the  church  ;  and 
from  Wddyn  or  Gwthiri,  who  was  possibly  a  giant 
living  in  the  district,  but  more  probably  a  Christian 
recluse  of  the  sixth  century.  His  cell,  so  says  tradition, 
was  a  recess  in  the  rock  near  Ceunant  Waterfall. 
Gwely  Wddyn — a  smooth  mound  caused  by  shelving 
rock  at  the  side  of  the  waterfall  still  exists — and 
Llwybr  Wddyn  also,  a  path  along  which  he  used  to 
walk  to  visit  St.  Monacella,  the  daughter  of  an  Irish 
chief,  who  fled  from  her  father  and  devoted  her  life 
to  religion  rather  than  marry  the  suitor  he  had  chosen. 
Gwylmabsant  is  the  24th  of  June.2 

1  A  list  of  fossils  which  have  been  found  at  Llanwddyn  is  included 
in  Professor  Ramsay's  Report  on  the  Geology  oj  North  Wales. 

2  "History  of  the  Parish  of  Llanwddyn",  by  the  Rev.  T.  H.  Evans, 
the  Vicar,  Mont.  Coll.,  vols,  vi,  vii,  and  various  references  in  earlier 
and  later  volumes. 


LLANWDDYN.  43 

The  old  inhabitants  were  very  superstitious,  and 
believed  fondly  and  firmly  in  ghosts  and  in  buried 
treasures.  Will-o'-the-wisp  was  often  seen,  and  doubt- 
less suggested  supernatural  appearances  to  the  dis- 
ordered imaginations  of  an  excitable  people.  Their 
chief  amusements  were  games  at  ball,  football,  cock- 
fighting,  and  throwing  the  weight.  They  were  especi- 
ally fond  of  music  and  dancing. 

EARLY  HISTORY. 

The  principal  events  in  the  history  of  the  valley 
may  be  briefly  enumerated.  The  remains  of  a  supposed 
Roman  level  exist  on  the  lands  of  HeolyfFridd.  The 
name  of  Moel-y-Gadfa,  in  the  Eunant  Valley,  com- 
memorates the  site  of  a  traditional  battle.  The  red- 
haired  banditti  of  Mawddwy,  a  band  of  outlaws  and 
felons,  who  joined  together  after  the  conclusion  of  the 
Wars  of  the  Roses,  and  who  became  notorious  by  their 
violence  and  brutality,  had  their  retreat  not  far  away, 
and  occasionally  visited  the  valley  on  marauding 
expeditions.  The  farmhouse  of  Abermarchnant  was 
fortified  against  the  night  attacks  of  such  robbers  by 
crossed  scythes  in  the  chimney  stacks.  The  valley  was 
originally  a  portion  of  the  free  baronage  of  Powys.  By 
the  gift  of  the  Fitzalans,  Earls  of  Arundel,  it  became  ;!<• 
part  of  the  commandery  of  Halston,  in  Shropshire, 
which  belonged  to  the  Knights  Hospitallers  of  St.  John 
of  Jerusalem,  and  derived  its  principal  revenues  from 
Llanwddyn,  Carno,  and  Dolgynwal.  In  1559,  after 
the  dispersion  of  the  order,  a  grant  of  the  manor, 
rectory,  and  church  of  Llanwddyn  was  made  to 
Thomas  Bowyer  and  George  Lee.  In  1603,  Richard 
Herbert  farmed  the  temporalities,  the  tithes,  Easter 
aues,  -and  oblations,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century  they  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Herbert,  M.P.  for  Ludlow,  and  finally  to  the 
Earls  of  Powis,  the  present  Lords  of  the  Manor. 

On   the   boundary   between    Montgomeryshire   and 


44  LLANWDDYN. 

Merionethshire  is  Bwlchypawl — equally  in  the  parishes 
of  Llanwddyn  and  Llanuwchlyn ;  equally  in  Powys 
Wynfa  and  Gwynedd. 

When  Rhodri,  King  of  all  Wales,  divided  his  kingdom 
between  his  three  sons,  Cadell,  Mervyn,  and  Anarawd, 
he  ordered  and  settled  upon  seats  of  arbitration  for  the 
final  settlement  of  disputes  whenever  contentions  should 
occur.  "  And  if  contention  arise  between  the  provinces 
of  Dinevor  and  Aberfraw,  in  Mona,  the  seat  of  arbitra- 
tion shall  be  at  Bwlchypawl,  on  Doveyside,  the  King 
of  Powys  being  juridical  and  judicial  president.1 

«/  O   v  *J  ±. 

In  1637  Llanwddyn  was  rated  to  pay  £12  ship 
money,  the  clergyman  had  to  pay  3s.  During  the 
civil  war,  a  farm  at  the  entrance  of  the  valley  was 
fortified,  and  in  memory  of  this  circumstance  is  yet 
called  Garris  Farm. 

Few  of  the  buildings  were  interesting  either  for 
their  antiquity  or  architecture.  The  church  was 
probably  the  oldest,  and  was  dedicated  to  St.  John 
the  Baptist,  and  was  believed  to  have  been  built  by 
the  Knights  of  St.  John  and  to  have  replaced  an  older 
one  built  by  St.  Wddyn.  In  the  account  of  the  official 
progress  of  the  Duke  of  Beaufort  through  Wales,  in  1684, 
from  the  original  MSS.  of  Thomas  Dineley,  it  is  related 
that  "  seven  miles  from  Bala,  and  within  four  miles  of 
Mr.  Vaughan  of  Lluider  (Llwydiarth),  we  passed  by 
Llanwddyn  Church,  leaving  the  churchyard  on  the 
right-hand,  at  which  place  they  expressed  their  loyal  tie 
and  good  affeccon  toward  his  grace  by  jangling  of  their 
little  bell,  of  which  they  spared  not,  the  strangeness  of 
the  noyse  whereof  caused  me  to  enter  therein,  where, 
observable,  I  found  the  rope  to  be  Funis  triformis, 
consisting  of  iron  chain  upward,  gad  or  twisted  withs 
next,  and  rope  in  fine/7  Sir  S.  R.  Glynne,  Bart.,  thus 
describes  the  church  in  1869:  "It  is  of  the  usual 
oblong  shape,  without  aisle  or  distinction  of  chancel. 
The  roof  has  open  timber,  constructed  as  at  Manafon. 
There  are  no  windows  on  the  north.  The  east  window 

1  Mo  MSS.,  p.  405. 


LLANWDDYN.  45 

is  Perpendicular,  of  three  lights,  with  transom.  The 
remarkable  feature  here  is  the  existence  of  a  large 
amount  of  ancient  mural  painting,  so  much  faded  as  to 
make  it  difficult  to  trace  the  subject.  There  are  two 
courses  of  painting,  an  upper  and  a  lower.  One  portion 
of  the  lower  course  seems  to  represent  Our  Lord  and 
the  Twelve  Apostles.  The  west  gallery  has  some 
good  Perpendicular  wood  carving  with  vine  leaves  and 
grapes.  ^The  font  is  ancient,  with  octagonal  bowl. 
There  is  the  usual  small  arched  bell-cot  over  the  west 
end." 

Tracings  of  the  frescoes  were  made  by  Mr.  Hancock 
of  London,  and  deposited  in  the  museum  at  Welshpool, 
but  since  then  almost  every  trace  of  the  painting  has 
disappeared,  and  only  a  few  faint  markings  were 
visible  when  the  church  was  demolished.  The  old  oak 
has  been  used  for  the  choir  seats  in  the  new  Church  of 
St.  Wddyn. 

Other  evidences  of  the  connection  of  the  Knights  of 
St.  John  with  Llanwddyn  are  found  in  the  remains  of 
a  hospitium  on  St.  John's  Hill,  which  gives  name  to 
the  township  of  Ysbytty :  and  in  the  ruins  at  Lle'r- 
hen-Eglwys,  far  up  the  Cedig  river,  which  are  believed 
to  belong  to  a  cell  of  one  of  the  chaplains  of  the 
order. 

Llwydiarth  Hall  is  another  old  historic  spot. 
"  From  Bodfach"  (writes  Pennant)  <c  I  made  an  excur- 
sion to  Llwydiarth,  a  large  old  house  in  the  parish  of 
Llanwddyn,  seated  in  a  naked  hilly  country."  It  was 
formerly  the  property  of  the  great  family  of  the 
Vaughans,  descended  from  Aleth  H6n,  King  of  Dyved 
or  Pembrokeshire.  The  estate  was  conveyed  to  Sir 
Watkin  Williams  Wynn,  third  baronet,  through  his 
first  wife,  daughter  and  heiress  of  the  last  owner. 

Eunant  Hall,  once  the  seat  of  the  Wynns,  who  were 
very  distinguished  in  Welsh  history,  was  situated 
on  the  Hirddydd.  The  site  is  now  marked  by  a  small 
island. 

1  Arch.  Camb.,  vol.  ii,  5th  Series,  p.  46. 


46  LLANWDDYN. 

The  area  of  the  parish  of  Llanwddyn  is  19,500  acres, 
of  which,  in  1881,  only  about  1,000  acres  were  culti- 
vated, 4,500  acres  were  meadow  and  pasture  land. 
Upon  the  scantiness  of  the  population,  and  the  freedom 
of  the  hills  from  cultivation,  and  the  absence  of  mines, 
depends  in  no  small  degree  the  purity  of  the  water. 
It  has  a  slightly  yellowish  colour,  more  especially  in 
time  of  flood,  owing  to  dissolved  peat. 

The  water  is  almost  perfectly  soft,  and  is  absolutely 
free  from  animal  contamination. 

THE  LIVERPOOL  WATER-SUPPLY. 

The  necessity  of  providing  a  water-supply  for  Liver- 
pool had  long  been  recognised,  and  many  schemes 
had  been  proposed  and  rejected  before  the  Cor- 
poration determined  to  impound  and  convey  to  the 
city  the  upper  water  of  the  River  Vyrnwy.  The  his- 
tory of  the  Liverpool  water-supply  for  the  past  half 
century  is  the  history  of  repeated  efforts  to  secure 
a  sufficient  supply  of  pure  wholesome  water.  Water- 
works were  first  established  in  Liverpool  in  1799.  In 
1847  the  Corporation  were  enabled  by  Parliament  to 
acquire,  at  a  cost  of  £579,000,  the  property  of  the  old 
Water  Companies  which  supplied  the  town  at  that 
time.  Although  the  Corporation  had  even  then  works 
in  Green  Lane,  the  supply  was  only  sufficient  for  muni- 
cipal purposes.  Powers  were  included  in  the  Act  to 
impound  water  at  Rivington,  and  Liverpool  was  first 
supplied  from  the  new  reservoirs  on  January  3rd,  1857. 
But  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  supply  was  in- 
sufficient for  the  rapidly  growing  town,  and  in  1866, 
after  the  prolonged  drought  of  the  previous  three 
years,  an  attempt  was  made  to  add  to  the  supply 
derived  from  Rivington,  and  from  wells  in  the  new  red 
sandstone.  The  advantages  of  obtaining  the  additional 
supply  from  Bala  Lake  were  strongly  advocated  by 
Mr.  Duncan,  the  Borough  Water  Engineer.  Nothing 
was  done,  however,  except  to  increase  the  storage  at 


LLANWDDYN.  47 

Rivington,  and  to  obtain  more  water  from  the  wells. 
From  1865  to  1875  the  supply  of  the  town  was  inter- 
mittent, but,  owing  to  the  adoption  in  1873  of  new 
and  efficient  means  of  detecting  water-waste,  it  was 
found  possible  in  1875  to  revert  to  a  constant  service, 
which  was  maintained  until  December  1887.  The 
Corporation  in  1876  had  decided  to  seek  once  more 
a  new  source  of  supply,  and,  after  much  discussion,  it 
was  decided  to  obtain  water  from  the  upper  valley  of 
the  River  Vyrnwy. 

Powers  were  obtained  to  impound  the  water  near 
the  small  hamlet  of  Llanwddyn.  In  1887  the  aver- 
age weekly  consumption  of  water  in  Liverpool  was 
127,846,156  gallons,  of  which  84  millions  were  obtained 
from  Rivington  and  43  millions  from  the  wells.  The 
works  already  constructed  at  Vyrnwy  will  provide  an 
additional  daily  quantity  of  13  million  gallons,  equiva- 
lent to  an  increase  of  72  per  cent.,  and  eventually, 
when  further  works  are  completed,  two  instalments  of 
13  million  gallons  each  will  be  obtained,  making  finally 
a  total  daily  supply  from  the  Vyrnwy  works  alone  of 
40  million  gallons. 

• 

THE  VYRNWY  WORKMEN. 

The  natural  suitability  for  a  reservoir  of  the  wide, 
flat,  deep  valley,  with  a  narrow  entrance,  is  apparent 
to  the  most  superficial  observer,  and  upon  the  rock 
bar  which  once  held  back  the  waters  of  the  ancient 
lake  a  noble  masonry  embankment  has  been  built, 
damming  back  the  water  so  as  to  form  a  lake  four- 
and-a-half  miles  long  and  half-a-mile  broad,  having  a 
capacity  of  13,125  million  gallons. 

The  construction  of  the  reservoir  was  begun  in  1880, 
and  consequently  a  large  number  of  workmen  and 
their  families  immigrated  to  the  valley.  To  provide 
accommodation  for  them,  two  series  of  semi-detached 
wooden  huts  were  erected,  each  hut  consisting  of  a 
large  living-room,  a  storeroom,  two  small  bedrooms, 


48  LLANWDDYN. 

and  a  sleeping-apartment  for  twelve  men.  Others  of 
the  workmen  were  taken  in  as  lodgers  at  the  houses 
for  miles  around.  Complaints  of  overcrowding  were 
occasionally  made  by  the  sanitary  authorities,  but  the 
evil  was  only  temporary.  Earth  closets  were  used 
throughout  the  valley,  and  near  the  centres  of  popula- 
tion were  emptied  daily ;  less  frequently  at  the  more 
remote  houses. 

The  residents  in  the  valley  may  be  classed  as  fol- 
lows : — (1)  farmers  ;  (2)  the  engineering  and  clerical 
staff;  (3)  skilled  workmen,  comparatively  few  in  num- 
ber, consisting  of  titters,  joiners,  etc. ;  (4)  quarrymen, 
mostly  Welshmen  from  neighbouring  districts,  and 
occupying,  for  the  most  part,  the  group  of  wooden 
huts  known  as  the  "  Quarry  Huts";  (5)  masons  ;  (6) 
navvies,  who  were  distinctly  superior  to  the  men 
usually  employed  on  public  works  to  do  the  same  kind 
of  work.  Apart  from  the  necessary  exposure  to  cold 
and  wet.  the  character  of  the  employment  was  healthy. 
A  few  men,  however,  employed  in  tending  stone-crush- 
ing machinery,  which  generated  much  fine  dust,  and 
others  engaged  in  the  dusty  occupation  of  measuring 
cement,  suffered  to  some  degree  from  persistent  bron- 
chitis. Although  the  blasting  was  very  extensive, 
only  on  one  occasion,  wrhen  a  new  explosive  was  being 
tested,  were  any  ill  effects  noticed. 

THE  VYRNWY  WORKS. 

The  principal  works  consisted  in  the  construction  of 
twelve  miles  of  road,  the  excavation  of  foundations  for 
the  dam  and  Vyrnwy  tower,  the  erection  of  the  darn, 
tower,  and  other  buildings,  the  construction  of  the 
Hirnant  tunnel,  (2^  miles  long — the  first  part  of  the 
aqueduct),  quarrying  and  dressing  the  necessary  stone, 
and  the  distribution  of  materials  by  steam  tramways. 
The  nearest  railway  station  is  at  Llanfyllin,  12  miles 
away  from  the  site  of  the  old  village,  and  all  machinery, 
coals,  cement,  etc,,  were  conveyed  to  the  works  by 


LLANWDDYN.  49 

road.  About  87,000  tons  of  all  classes  of  material, 
together  with  the  plant  used  in  the  construction  of  the 
works,  were  carted  at  a  cost  of  £55,000,  in  which  is 
included  nearly  £13,000  for  payments  to  the  local 
Highway  Boards  for  extraordinary  traffic  charges. 

The  embankment  is  built  of  stone,  obtained  from  the 
Caradoc  beds  of  the  lower  Silurian  formation,  quarried 
and  dressed  at  Vyrnwy.  About  263,000  cubic  yards 
of  stone,  weighing  more  than  500,000  tons,  were  used, 
and  the  stone  wa.s  made  into  a  solid  mass  with  con- 
crete, 27,000  tons  of  cement  being  required  for  this 
purpose.  At  the  N.E.  end  the  dam  is  tied  wholly 
into  solid  rock,  but  at  the  S.W.  end  only  into  the  com- 
pact water-tight  glacial  clay  of  the  hillside.  There 
are  two  turrets,  one  at  either  side,  through  which  run 
tunnels  (70  feet  long  and  15  feet  in  diameter)  for  the 
iron  pipes  for  the  discharge  of  statutory  compensation 
water  to  the  River  Severn.  The  roadway  over  the 
dam  is  borne  by  33  arches  through  which  the  water 
overflows. 

Length  of  embankment  from  rock  to  rock          ...  ...     1172lVet. 

Height  from  lowest  foundation  to  parapet  of  road        ...  161 

Height  from  river-bed  to  parapet  of  road           ...  ...  101 

Height  from  river-bed  to  overflow  sill     ..           ...  ...  84 

Greatest  thickness  at  base              ...          ...          ...  ...  120 

Width  of  roadway  between  parapets        ...          ...  ...          19  ft    10  in. 

Slope  of  waterface,  1  horizontal  in  7.27  vertical. 

Slope  of  downstream  face  above  level  of  ground,  1  horizontal  in  1.5  vertical. 

The  daily  discharge  from  the  lake  to  the  River 
Vyrnwy  of  ten  millions  of  gallons,  as  well  as  an 
additional  daily  discharge  of  forty  million  gallons  for 
four  days  during  each  of  the  eight  "  dry''  months  of 
the  year,  is  secured  by  Act  of  Parliament  as  compen- 
sation water  for  the  River  Severn.  The  daily  compen- 
sation water  is  directly  measured  by  being  passed 
through  the  gauge-house.  All  the  water  discharged 
from  the  lake,  whether  as  compensation  water  or 
overflow^,  is  received  in  the  still- water  basin,  and  is 
measured  as  it  flows  over  the  flood-gauge. 

The  Vyrnwy  Tower  (three-quarters  of  a  mile  from 
VOL.  xxvu.  E 


50  LLANWDDYN. 

the  darn,  where  it  is  removed  from  the  disturbing 
influence  of  any  affluent  stream)  is  the  entrance  to  the 
aqueduct.  It  has  been  designed  to  draw  the  water  a 
short  distance  from  the  surface  (where  the  oxidation- 
processes  are  most  intense,  and  where  there  is  least 
solid  matter  in  suspension)  whatever  the  level  of  the 
lake  may  be.  The  water  is  also  strained  in  the  tower, 
thus  preventing  fish  and  grosser  impurities  entering 
the  pipe-line.  The  first  part  of  the  aqueduct  consists 
of  a  culvert  in  the  bed  of  the  lake  which  opens  into 
the  Hirnant  Tunnel.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  include 
here  a  short  account  of  the  pipe-line.  The  Vyrnwy 
water-scheme  is  a  purely  gravitation  scheme.  The 
difference  in  level  between  high  water  at  Lake  Vyrnwy 
and  the  Prescot  reservoirs  is  550  feet.  The  construc- 
tion of  an  unbroken  pipe  sufficiently  strong  to  with- 
stand the  pressure  due  to  this  head  of  water  would 
have  been  difficult  and  very  expensive.  Subsidiary  or 
"  balancing"  reservoirs  have  therefore  been  constructed 
at  convenient  places  along  the  pipe-line,  where  the 
conformation  of  the  ground  permitted,  dividing  it  into 
sections,  by  means  of  which  the  pressure  at  any  point 
in  any  section  of  the  line  is  due  only  to  the  difference 
of  level  between  that  point  and  the  nearest  preceding 
reservoir.  Such  reservoirs  have  been  built  at  Pare 
Uchaf,  Oswestry  (where  also  filter-beds  and  store- 
reservoirs  have  been  constructed),  Malpas,  Cotebrook, 
and  Norton.  At  Norton,  the  absence  of  sufficiently 
elevated  ground  made  it  necessary  to  build  a  tower 
(in  the  Roman  Doric  style  of  architecture)  to  support 
the  reservoir  at  the  required  height.  The  total  length 
of  the  aqueduct  from  the  entrance  to  the  Hirnant 
Tunnel  to  the  Town  Hall,  Liverpool,  is  seventy-seven 
miles,  and  is  the  longest  ever  yet  constructed.  It  con- 
sists of  three  long  tunnels — Hirnant,  Cynynion,  and 
Llanfbrda — and  ^  iron  or  steel  pipes.  The  course  of 
the  pipes  takes  every  possible  advantage  of  the  natural 
contour  of  the  country,  so  that  hills  have  been  skirted, 
valleys  crossed,  mountains  tunnelled,  and  rivers  under- 
mined. 


LLANWDDYN.  51 

THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  LAKE. 

On  November  28,  1888,  the  valves  in  the  dam  were 
closed,  and  the  formation  of  Lake  Vyrnwy  began.  All 
accumulations  of  tilth  in  the  valley  had  been  removed, 
the  old  houses  dismantled,  fired,  and  finally  blown  up  by 
dynamite.  No  burials  had  taken  place  in  the  village 
churchyard  since  1880,  but  a  new  cemetery  was  opened 
below  the  dam,  to  which  all  the  remains  from  the 
village  churchyard  were  removed  in  1886,  and  from 
the  church  in  1888. 

The  lake  gradually  and  continuously  increased  in 
size  until  the  end  of  April  1889,  when  its  area  was 
approximately  1,000  acres.  From  that  time  until  the 
end  of  July  1889,  owing  to  the  loss  of  water  by  the 
discharge  of  statutory  compensation  water  to  the  River 
Vyrnwy,  and  by  evaporation,  and  on  account  of  the 
prevalence  of  dry  weather,  it  fell  about  2£  feet. 
Thenceforward  it  steadily  rose,  until  the  first  overflow 
occurred  on  November  22,  1889,  within  twelve  months 
of  the  first  formation  of  the  lake.  The  area  of  the 
full  lake  is  1,121  acres  ;  its  greatest  depth  is  84  feet  ; 
top  water  level  is  825  O. D. 

Early  in  June  1889,  coincident  with  the  access  of 
hot  weather,  a  considerable  quantity  of  sulphuretted 
hydrogen  gas  was  emitted  with  the  monthly  statutory 
compensation  water,  which  is  drawn  from  near  the 
bottom  of  the  lake,  and  discharged  through  tunnels  in 
the  darn  during  four  consecutive  days  each  month. 
Afterwards  the  gas  escaped  also  with  the  daily  com- 
pensation water,  which  is  drawn  from  a  slightly  higher 
part  of  the  lake.  At  the  same  time  a  copious  deposit 
of  oxide  and  basic  carbonate  of  iron  took  place  in  the 
river-bed,  extending  for  a  distance  of  several  miles. 
Pieces  of  bog  floated  to  the  surface  at  the  upper  end 
of  the  lake,  and  a  faint  odour  of  sulphuretted  hydro- 
gen was  occasionally  perceptible  over  the  surface  of 
the  water,  more  especially  in  cloudy  weather.  The 
masonry  of  the  dam  and  tower  became  slightly  dis- 


52  LLASWDDYN. 

coloured  similarly  to  the  river-bed.  White  streaks  on 
the  surface  of  the  lake  parallel  to  the  axis  of  the 
valley  are  frequently  observed. 

In  July  1889  the  weather  became  cold  and  wet,  and 
towards  the  beginning  of  August  all  perception  of 
sulphuretted  hydrogen  gas  was  lost,  and  no  further 
precipitation  of  iron  was  noticed. 

It  is  probable  that  the  sulphuretted  hydrogen  gas 
was  formed  by  the  decomposition  of  peat  and  other 
vegetable  matter,  and  this  was  most  intense  at  the 
bottom  of  the  lake.  The  sudden  reduction  of  pressure 
in  the  discharge  tunnels  accounts  for  the  intensity 
of  the  smell  below  the  dam.  Owing  to  the  great  heat 
of  June,  the  decomposition  of  vegetable  matter  was 
too  rapid  to  allow  further  oxidation- processes  by  which 
the  sulphuretted  hydrogen  would  have  been  destroyed. 
The  slight  odour  over  the  surface  of  the  lake  was  due 
to  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  which  escaped  change  in  its 
passage  upwards.  No  ill  effects  due  to  the  gas  were 
observed,  with  this  exception,  that  one  or  two  mem- 
bers of  the  indoor  engineering  staff  suffered  from  head- 
aches, which  were  relieved  by  a  meal  and  open-air 
exercise.  Fish  were  quite  unaffected.  Coincidently 
with  the  emission  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  the 
deposit  of  iron  was  noticed  in  the  river-bed.  A 
number  of  chalybeate  springs  exist  in  the  valley ; 
much  iron,  too,  would  be  dissolved  from  the  bogs ;  iron 
pyrites  is  also  probably  present  in  the  shale.  The 
water  in  the  lake  has  a  slight  but  distinct  acid  re- 
action, owing  to  peaty  acids  in  solution,  which  doubt- 
less prevents  the  deposition  of  iron  to  any  appreciable 
extent  on  the  margin  of  the  lake.  During  the  passage 
of  the  compensation  water  through  the  discharge 
tunnels,  considerable  aeration  and  oxidation  occurs, 
and  the  iron  was  therefore  deposited  in  the  river-bed. 

If  water  be  taken  from  the  lake  and  kept  in  a  closed 
bottle,  little  deposit  occurs  ;  but  eventually  the  water, 
originally  of  a  slight  yellowish  colour,  becomes  con- 
siderably darker.  Jf  exposed  to  air,  a  more  copious 


LLANWDDYN.  53 

flocculenfc  precipitate,  brownish  in  colour,  occurs,  and 
the  water  becomes  considerably  clearer.  If  artificially 
oxidised,  a  clear  colourless  water  is  obtained,  or  if 
artificially  reduced,  a  clear  water,  with  slight  yellow- 
ish coloration,  results.  The  first  step,  therefore,  in  the 
oxidation  of  the  water  is  shown  by  its  deeper  colour. 
The  result  of  experiment  agrees  with  the  observation 
of  the  water  of  the  lake.  During  the  hot  weather  the 
colour  was  first  intensified,  and  then  became  fainter, 
and  the  colour  varies  also  according  to  the  quality  and 
quantity  of  the  water  flowing  into  the  reservoir,  the 
flood  waters  containing  most  peat.  Probably,  there- 
fore, the  lake  will  take  considerable  time  to  lose  conir 
pletely  its  peaty  coloration,  but  once  the  great  propor- 
tion has  been  oxidised,  the  incoming  water  will  be 
rapidly  and  effectually  bleached,  and  then,  and  not  till 
then,  Liverpool  will  be  supplied  with  an  almost  abso- 
lutely perfect  water. 

During  the  summer  of  1890  there  was  a  slight 
odour  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  noticed  for  a  short 
time. 

Analysis  of  Water — in  parts  per  100,000. 

River  Vyrnwy.  Lake  Vyrnwy. 

Early  Analysis.  Jan.  1892. 

Solids       5.000  7.1 

Organic  carbon ...  0.346  0.217 

Organic  nitrogen  ...         ...  0.034  0.035 

Ammonia  0.003  0.000 

Total  nitrogen 0.037  0.035 

Hardness 1°  2.7° 

Chlorine 0.742  0.9 

Soda         0.319 

Potash      0.191 

Magnesia..          0.183 

Lime        0.366  }•  4.0 

Alumina 0.227 

Sulphuric  acid ...  0.655 

Silica        0.400  J 

The  analysis  of  lake  water  will  ultimately  yield  a 
result  even  more  satisfactory. 

LAKE  VYRNWY  AS  A  HOLIDAY-RESORT. 

It  is  impossible  for  anyone  with  an  appreciation  of 
natural  beauty  to  fail  to  be  delighted  with  the  land- 


54  LLAKWDDYN. 

scape,  to  the  grandeur  of  which  reference  has  already 
been  made.  The  wild  and  varied  scenery,  the  majes- 
tic mountains  in  the  distance,  the  steep  and  rugged 
hills  which,  since  the  formation  of  the  lake,  stand  out 
even  more  boldly  than  before,  the  more  gently  sloping 
valleys,  and  the  vast  expanse  of  water,  have  always  a 
charm,  ever  changing  as  the  day  wears  on.  The  lake, 
like  a  mirror,  reflects  every  mood  of  the  sun  as  it 
illuminates  the  peaks  and  tints  the  undulating  hill- 
sides, now  a  rich  deep  purple,  now  a  joyous  golden 
yellow,  or  as  it  frowns  and  envelopes  them  in  shadow. 
Even  the  engineering  works  add  to  the  beauty  of  the 
scene.  The  Vyrnwy  Tower,  built  in  deep  water  oppo- 
site a  projecting  headland,  the  numerous  bridges  by 
which  the  road  is  carried  over  the  affluent  streams, 
the  masonry  embankment  over  which  the  water  flows 
in  a  magnificent  cascade,  all  combine  to  add  variety 
and  picturesqueness  to  the  view.  The  climate  is  brac- 
ing :  the  height  above  sea-level  is  about  1,000  feet. 
There  is  excellent  fishing  and  shooting  ;  for  the  botan- 
ist there  is  a  rare  and  varied  flora ;  and  for  the 
pedestrian  the  neighbouring  valleys  and  hamlets  pro- 
vide a  never-ending  series  of  delightful  excursions — 
Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant  with  its  historic  church  and 
curious  waterfall,  Bddfach  and  Llwydiarth,  Mathraval 
and  Meiibd,  Llangynog  and  Pennant  Melangell,  with 
their  antiquarian  associations,  are  all  within  easy 
access.  To  those  who  need  a  quiet  holiday  from  the 
turmoil  of  busy  city-life,  and  find  health  and  renewed 
strength  in  the  restful  country,  a  visit  to  Lake  Vyrnwy 
offers  attractions  which  most  holiday-resorts  lack.  A 
trip  from  Liverpool  to  Lake  Vyrnwy,  by  way  of  Os- 
westry  and  Llanfyllin,  or  by  way  of  Bala,  will  give  the 
tourist  a  glimpse  of  the  romantic  scenery  of  mid- Wales 
which  is  comparatively  little  known,  and  he  will  be 
well  repaid  for  the  tedium  of  the  railway  journey  by 
finding  himself  among  the  hills  of  Montgomeryshire, 
safe  from  the  distracting  cares  of  his  everyday  life. 


55 


MONTGOMERYSHIRE    NONCONFORMITY 

EXTRACTS  FROM  GAOL  FILES,  WITH  NOTES. 
BY  R.  WILLIAMS,  F.R.Hisi.S. 

(Continued  from  Vol.  XX  VI,  p.  78.) 


1684,  August  18th.  Att  the  Great  Sessions  held  and  kept 
for  ye  County  of  Mountgornery,  at  ye  Towne  of  Poole,  in 
ye  s'd  County,  the  Eighteenth  day  of  August,  in  ye  yeare 
of  our  Lord  1684  Anoq.  R.  R's  Caroli  SVdi  xxxvi0.  Be- 
fore Sir  Edward  ,  Chief  Justice  of  Chester,  etc.,  and 

Warren,  Esq.,  Judge  Associate,  etc.  Edmund  Lloyd, 

Esq.,1  Sheriff. 

Wee,  the  Grand  Jury,  called  and  sworne  for  ye  body  of  ye 
s'd  County  the  20th  day  of  August  afores'd,  doe  p'sent  as 
followeth : 

Imprmis — As  Dissent'rs  not  comeing  to  church  according 
to  ye  Statutes  in  that  case  made  and  provided,  we  p'sent 
ye  persons  undernamed  (viz't)  : 


Euble  Edwards2  of  Hendrehen,  Gent., 
John  Edwards2  of  ye  same,  Gent., 
Thomas  Field2  of  Tirymynech, 
Mary  Fox2  of  ye  same,  Widdow, 
John  Prichard2  of  Garth, 
David  Jones3  of  Branjarth  et  ux., 
Robert  Rogers  of  Llansanfraide, 


all  in  the  Hundred 
of  Poole. 


1  Edmundus   Lloyd   de   Trefnant,   Ar.,    in    the   Peniarth   list   of 
Sheriffs   for  1684.     "Edm'dus    Lloyd    Ar.  Vic."  signs  the   Sheriffs' 
Rolls  for  1684. 

2  These  were  Popish  recusants,  and  had  been  previously  presented 
several  times. 

3  David  Jones  and  his  wife  were  Quakers,  and  had  been  previously 
presented. 


56  MONTGOMERYSHIRE   NONCONFORMITY  I 


Charles  Lloyd,  Esq.,1  et  ux., 
Thomas  Mancel1  et  ux., 
Evan  Davies1  et  uxor, 
Richard  Davies1  et  ux., 
Owen  Jones,1 
Watkin  David,1 


all  of  ye  parish  of  Myvott, 

in  the  Hundred  of 

Llanfylling. 


John  Simon  et  uxor, 

AVilliam  David,2 

Robert  ap  Evan3  of  Kefen  Coch  and  his  wife. 

Ralph  Oliver2  of  ye  p'ish  of  Llanvvrin,  and  his  wife. 

William  Ralph2  of  ye  same. 

John  Meredith1  of  ye  p'ish  of  Kernes. 

William  Jones 2  "\      c  T ,     ,  .  A  tl     c 

T  i      m-i  i    i.9  ol  Llanbrvnmaire.     All  or  ye 

John  Tibbot2  et  ux.,  >       -rj      i"    j     riV     i       n  u 

T  ,      ,xr      -,0  (       Hundred  of  Machynlleth. 
John  Wood2  et  ux.,  J 


John  Wood2  et  ux., 

Joane  ye  wife  and  Anne  ye  daughter 

of  Mathies  Wattsou,  of  ye  p'ish  of 

Llandyssil, 


all  in  ye  Hundred  of 
New  town. 


Lewis  Turner2  of  ye  p'ish  of  Aber- 

havesp, 

John  Christopher  and  his  wife,3  of  Mathraval. 
Thomas    Ruffe3   and    Mary    Goodbee,    of  ye    Hundred    of 

Deythur. 

***** 

Item — Wee  p'sent  as  dissent'rs  and  not  comeing  to  church 
by  ye  space  of  one  month  the  p'sons  undernamed,  viz't : 

John  Thomas  Powell4  and  Ann  his  wife,     ^ 

Edw.  Thomas  Morris,4  I  all  of  Llan- 

Thomas  Morris/  j    wthyn  p'ish, 

Margaret  Morris  Morgan,4 

and  Rowland  Owen4  of  Hirnant,  all  in  ye  Hundred  of  Llan- 
villing. 

Item — We  p'sent  Hugh  Lewis  and  Catherine  his  wife,  of  ye 
p'ish  of  Penstrowed  in  the  afores'd  County,  for  concealing 
of  Treason  (viz't),  That  the  s'd  Hugh  and  Katherine  did  say 
that  they  knew  who  did  clipp  and  diminish  ye  King's  Coyne, 
and  they  will  not  discover  them. 

Humfrey  Evans,   one  of  the   High   Constables    of  Dythur, 

1  These    were    Quakers,    and    had   often   before   been   presented. 
Charles  Lloyd  was  the  celebrated  Charles  Lloyd  of  Dolobran. 

2  These  were  Nonconformists,  and  had  been  previously  presented, 
some  of  them  many  times. 

3  Popish  recusants  previously  presented. 

4  Quakers  previously  presented. 


EXTRACTS    FROM    GAOL    FILES.  57 

presented   Reese   Davies  as  a  Reputed  Quaker,   and  vouched 
that  there  were  no  Recusants  in  his  allotment. 

Robert  Richard,  one  of  the  High  Constables  of  Dythur, 
presented  Thomas  Ruffe1  and  Mary  Goodbe1  as  Popish 
'*  acusers"  (meaning  "  Recusants"). 

The  presentment  of  Edward  Pugh  and  David  Pughe,  High 
Constables  of  the  Hundred  of  Machynlleth  : 

We  doe  p'sent  Ralph  Oliver2  and  his  wife,  of  ye  p'ish 
of  Llanowrin,  ffor  being  absent  not  comeing  to  church. 

Wee  p'sent  William  Ralph/  of  the  s'd  p'ish,  for  ye  like,  and 
John  Meredith  of  Kernes. 

William  Jones2  of  Llanbrynmair. 

John  Tybbots2  and  his  wife,  of  Llanbrynmair. 

Thomas  Davies,  High  Constable  of  the  Upper  Division 
of  the  Hundred  of  Llanfyllin,  presented 

Robert  ap  Evan2  and  his  wife  for  being  popish  Recusants, 
and  absenting  themselves  from  church  for  the  space  of  one 
month. 

Presentments  by  the  Borough  Inquest. 

The  Jurors  on  their  oathes  doe  p'sent  the  persons  firstly 
hereafter  named  Papists  : 

James  Palmer3  of  Buttington,  Esq. 

Rene  Aubin3  of  the  same,  Gent.,  and  Mary  his  wife. 

Christopher  Cluck3  (Clough)  of  the  same,  Gent.,  and  Sarah 

his  wife. 

Mary,  ye  wife  of  Rich.  Griffithes3  of  Trewerne. 
Mary,  the  wife  of  Tho.  Evans3  of  the  same. 
David  Roberts3  of  Hope,  Gen.,  and  Elizabeth  his  wife. 
Mary,3  the  wife  of  Row.  Robts,  Gent.,  of  the  same. 
Richard  Hill3  of  Poole,  Gent.,  and  Elizabeth  his  wife. 
John  Hattfield3  of  ye  same,  Gent.,  and  Gwen  his  wife. 
Gwen  Penrhin3  of  the  same,  Widdow. 
Alice,  ye  wife  of  George  Blackburn,  of  ye  same,  Gent. 
Jenkin  Morgan3  of  Trallangollen,  Gent.,  and  Mary  his  wife. 
David  Morgan3  of  the  same,  Gent. 
Gwen  Jones,3  Widdow,  of  the  same. 

Also  we  do  p'sent  Descenters  from  the  Church  of  England  : 

1  See  ante,  p.  56.  2  See  ibid. 

3  All  these  had  been  presented  several  times  before.  Christopher 
Clough  (n,  Papist)  lived  at  a  place  culled  "the  Milk-house",  adjoining 
Garbett'a  Hall,  Buttington,  and  held  various  lands  there  belonging  to 
T.iomas  Juckes,  Esq.,  of  Trelydan ;  see  Sheriff  of  Montgomerysldre, 
p.  465. 


58  MONTGOMERYSHIRE    NONCONFORMITY  : 

Kiclmrd  Davies1  of  Poole,  Gent. 

Tasy2  his  wife. 

And  Tasy2  the  younger,  his  daughter. 

William  Man2  of  Poole,  Gunsmith. 

Margaret  Lewis2  of  Poole,  Widdow. 

John  Lewis2  of  Poole,  Baker. 

Rebecca,2  the  wife  of  Thomas  Tornpson  of  Poole. 

IST  JAMES  II  (1685  6).     NAMES  OF  PETTY  JURY  SUMMONED. 

jNlorriceus  Powell  of  Gyngroge,  Gen. 
Joh'es  Phillips  de  Edertoii,  Gen. 

1  Jur.     Griffinus  Jones  de  Cumgorer,  Gen. 

2  Jur.    Joh'es  Crosse  of  Ederton,  Gen. 

Ed'rus  Evans  of  Heild,  Gen. 
Rob'tus  Rhees  of  Trefnaut,  Gen. 
Rogerus  Owens  of  M  ana  von,  Geu. 
Thomas  Davies  of  Garth,  Gen. 
Hugo  Cuerton. 

Thomas  Owens  de  Bettus,  Gen. 
Ludovicus  Jones  de  Llandynam,  Gen. 
Joh'es  Bright  de  Kylcochvan,  Gen. 
Owinus  Thomas  de  Hendidley,  Gen. 
Ed'rus  Rogers  de  Newtown,  Gen. 
Robert  Rees  de  Trefnant,  Gen. 
David  Price  de  Lanvaire,  Gen. 
Joh'es  Will'ms  de  Gelligasson,  Gen. 
Evan  Lloyd  de  Mathravall,  Gen. 
Ric'us  Morris  de    Maesmawre,  Gen. 

3  Jur.     Will'us  Lloyd  de  Llangyniew,  Gen. 

Hugo  Thomas  de  Keel,  Gen. 
Humfr'us  Lewis  de  Broniarth,  Gen. 

4  Jur.     Will'us  Cart w right  de  ffreeth  Penowern 

Joh'es  Davies  de  Llanwythelan,  Gen. 

5  Jur.     Jenkin  William  de  Llanidloes,  Gen. 

ffrancus  Thomas,  Sen.,  de  Trystewelling,  Geu. 
11  Jur.     Humfr'us  Edwards  de  Byrgwddyn,  Gen. 

1  Jur.     David  Lloyd  de  Llangwyniew,  Gen. 

2  Jur.      David  Williams  de  Leighton,  Gen. 

3  Jur      Cadwaldrus  Davies  de  Molindra. 

Ed'rus  John  Davies  de  Tregynon. 

4  Jur.     Joh'es  Powell  de  Deythinith,  Gen. 

5  Jur.     Rob'tus  Jones  de  Garthmill,  Gen. 
Cl.  p.      Thomas  Owens  de  Bettus,  Gen. 

1  The  Richard  Davies  named  above  was,  it  needs  scarcely  to  be  said, 
the  celebrated  Richard  Davies,  "the  Quaker",  whose  Autobiography  is 
so  well  known.  2  See  note  3,  p.  57. 


EXTRACTS    FKOM    GAOL    FILES.  59 

6  Jur.     Evanus  Griffith  de  M  ana  von,  Gen. 
Thomas  ap  Thomas  de  eadem,  Gen. 

8  Jur.     Thomas  Parry  Olliu'r  de  Yssjgareg,  Gen. 

9  Jur.     Oliu'us  David  de  eadem,  Gen. 

Ric'us  Jones  de  Kerry,  Gen. 
Joh'es  Samuell  de  Llanvaire. 
William  Edds  of  rlothie  Cochion. 
Joh'es  Dauies  de  Varch \vell. 
Ludovicus  Dauid  de  Llanydloes. 
Griffinus  Powell  de  Church&tock. 

1  Jur.     Will' us  Lloyd  de  Llangyniew,  Gen. 

Moriceus  Powell  de  Gyngroge,  Gen. 
Thomas  Owens  de  Bettus,  Gen. 

2  Jur.     Joh'es  Phillips  de  Ederton,  Gen. 

Griffinus  Jones  de  Cumgorer,  Gen. 

3  Jur.     Joh'es  C'rosse  de  Ederton.  Gen. 

Ed'rus  Evans  de  ffeild,  Gen. 

4  Jur.     Rob'tus  Rhees  de  Trefnaut,  Gen. 

5  Jur.     Rogerus  Owens  de  Manavon,  Gen. 

Thomas  Davies  de  Garth,  Gen. 
Hugo  Cuertun  de  Guildffeild,  Gen. 

6  Jur.     Ludovicus  Jones  de  Llandynam,  Gen. 

Joh'es  Bright  de  Kylcochwan,  Gen. 
Owenus  Thomas  de  Hendidley,  Gen. 

7  Jnr.     Ed'rus  Rogers  de  Newtowne,  Gen. 

Rob'tus  Rees  de  Trefnant,  Gen. 
David  Price  de  Llanvaire,  Gen. 

8  Jur.     Joh'es  Williams  de  Gelligasson,  Gen. 

9  Jur.     Evanus  Lloyd  de  Mathravall,  Gen. 

10  Jur.     Ric'us  Morris  de  Maesmawre,  Gen. 

Hugo  Thomas  de  Keel,  Gen. 
Humfr'us  Lewis  de  Broniarth,  Gen. 

11  Jur.     WiU'us  Cart wright  de  ffreeth  Penowen,  Gen. 

12  Jur.     Joh'es  Davies  de  Llaweythellan,  Gen. 

Jenkin  William  de  Llanydloes,  Gen. 

Griffinns  Jones  de  Cumgorer,  Gen. 
Joh'es  Crosse  de  Ederton,  Gen. 
"Will'us  Lloyd  de  Llangynew,  Gen. 
Will'us  Cartwright  de  ffreeth  Penowen. 
Jenkin  \Villiams  de  Llanydloes,  Gen. 
0  win  us  Watkin. 

Thomas  ap  Thomas  de  Manavon,  Gen. 
Joh'es  Midleton  de  Churstocke,  Gen. 
David  Davies  (no  place  given). 
Humfr'us  Edwards        do. 
Morgan  us  Evans  do. 

Caddr'us  Davies  do. 


60  MONTGOMERYSHIRE    NONCONFORMITY 

GRAND  JURORS  SUMMONED. 
Deytliur. 

1  Jur.     Arthur  Vaughan  of  Tredderwen,  Esqr. 

2  Jur.      Charles  Wyne  of  Chriggiu,  Esqr. 

Daniel  Whittingham  of  the  same,  Esqr. 

3  Jur.     Kichard  Griffithes  of  Tredderwen,  Gent. 

4  Jur.     Kichard  Lloyd  of  Penrhyn  vechati,  Gent. 

5  Jur.     Andrew  Penrhyn  of  Rhysnant,  Gent. 

Will'm  Roberts  of  Domgey,  Gent. 

PoolL 

6  Jur.     Edward  Jones  of  Trelydan,  Gent. 

7  Jur.     Thomas  Rogers  of  Burgedyn,  Gent. 

8  Jur.      Robert  Seale  of  Pool],  Gent. 

Griffith  Davies  of  Garth,  Gent. 
Thomas  Evans  of  Broniarth,  Gent. 
Thomas  Edwards  of  Llany-Crochwell,  Gent. 
Stephen  Thomas  of  the  same,  Gent. 

9  Jur.     James  G-vynne  of  Guilsfeild,  Gent. 

Llanvilling. 

10  Jur.    Nathauiell  Morris  of  Trevedred,  Gent. 

Jo'u  Vaughan  of  Mivod,  Gent. 

11  Jur.     Lewis  Jones  of  Cwmoll,  Gent. 

12  Jur.     Jo'n  Morris  of  Cynon,  Gent. 

13  Jur.     Ellis  ap  Ellis  of  Carneddwen,  Gent. 

Henry  David  of  Llanwthin,  Gen. 

Mathravall. 

Rice  Lloyd  of  Cowney,  Gent. 

David  Thomas  of  Moiley  Veliarth,  Gen. 

David  Lloyd  of  Pentre,  Gent. 

David  Evans  of  Craine,  Gent. 

Llanidloes. 

14  Jur.     Edward  Price  of  Stredvailogg,  Gent. 

Hugh  Owens  of  Dollyllys,  Gent. 
Edward  Lloyd  of  Dollygwenydd,  Gent. 
Jo'n  Morgan  of  Glynbrothem,  Gent. 
Jo'n  Owen  of  Rhydlydan,  Gen. 

Wtwtown. 

Humfrey  Jones  of  Garthmill,  Gent. 

Jo'n  Jones  of  Gwestyd,  Gent. 

Mathew  Mathewes  of  Dyffryn  Llanvair,  Gent. 

Evan  Evans  of  Keel,  Gent, 


EXTRACTS    FROM    GAOL    FILES.  61 

Montgomery. 

Will'm  Matliewes  of  Mellington,  Gent, 
"Richard  Griffithes  of  ye  same,  Gent. 
Edward  Millard  of  Hussington,  Gen. 
Solomon  Bo \ven  of  Hurdley,  Gent. 
Jo'u  Lewis  of  Gwernygoe,  Gent. 
Griffith  Evans  of  Kelliberissa,  Gent. 
Jo'u  Pugh  of  Killrwth,  Gen. 

Mathynleth. 

Thomas  Will'ms  of  [Pentremawr]  Tavolwerne,  Gent. 

Morris  Jones  of  ye  same,  Gent. 

Richard  Morgan  of  [Caelan]  Pennant,  Gent. 

Morris  Griffith  of  Gwernybwlch,  Gent. 

Evan  llees  Thomas  of  C'aersewthan,  Gent. 

Morgan  David  of  Uchcoed,  Gent. 

David  Jones  of  Uchy  Garregg,  Gent. 

Harry  Olliver  of  Issagarregg,  Gent. 

Humfrey  Thomas  of  Mathynleth,  Gent. 

Meredith  Rees  of  Glyngairegg,  Gent. 

Cattrse. 

Morris  Powell  of  Trail  wmgoll  en,  Gent. 
David  VViU'ins  of  Leigh  ton,  Gent. 
Thomas  Bythell  of  Hmlan,  Gent. 
Edward  Parry  of  Gaire,  Gent. 
Edward  Jones  of  fforden,  Gent. 
Edward  Dacchus  Stredalvedoll,  Gent. 

ROBEKT  LLOYD,  Esq.,1  Sheriff. 

At   ye    generall    Sessions   held  and   keept  in   Poole,  in   ye 
County  of  Mountgomery,  the  3th  day  of  Septem. 

The  presentment  of  John  Hughes  and   Evan  Lewis,  Chief 
Constables  of  the  Hundred  of  Machinlleth. 

Imprimis — We  doe  present  ye  Inhabitants  hereafter  named 
of 

Machinlleth  Towne.  Llanbrenmaire  Parish. 

John  Williams,2  Wee  p'sent  in  like  manner 

Humphrey  Thomas,8  William  Jones,3 

Thomas  Mori-is,2  John  Wood.3 

Henry  Thomas  Owen,2 

1  Robert   Lloyd  succeeded   his   brother,  John  Lloyd  of  Glanhafon, 
who  had  been  chosen  Sheriff,  but  died  before  his  year  was  expired. 

2  All  Quakers,  and  previously  presented. 

3  Nonconformists  (Independents),  and  presented  before;  see  ante, 
pp.  56  and  57. 


62  MONTGOMERYSHIRE    NONCONFORMITY  I 

Penegos  Parish. 
Owen  Morgan,1  They    are    all    absent    from 

church. 

for   apsenting    themselves    from    theire  p'ish   church   for  one 
month  laste  paste. 

Noe  more  at  present,  but  all  things  good  and  faire  to  ye 
bebt  of  our  knowledge. 

By  us,  EVAN  LEWIS  and 

JOHN  HUGHES, 
Chife  Constables  of  Machinlleth. 

31  st  August  1685. — William  Humphreys,  High  Constable  of 
the  Upper  Division  of  the  Hundred  of  Llanfyliin. 

Imprimis — I  present  Robert  ap  Evan  of  Cefeti  coch,2 
Ellis  David  of  Huruant, 
Rowland  Owen  of  ye  same,2 
absentees  from  church.     No  more  at  p'sent. 

3\st  August  1685. — David  Swancott  and  David  Davies,  High 
Constables  of  the  Hundred  of  Newtown. 

Imprimis — We  p'sent  one  James  Davies,  of  Llanmerewick 
p'ish,  for  open  Heym't.3 

3Ist  August  1685. — Presentment  of  Robert  Davies,  of  the 
higher  Division  of  the  Hundred  of  Mathraval,  Chife  Constabel. 

Imprimis — I  p'sent  David  Lloyd  of  Cowney  for  not  coming 
to  his  p'ish  church  to  heare  Diuine  seruices  the  space  of 
'two  monethes  last  past. 

3rd  Sept.  1685. — David  Evans,  High  Constable  of  the  Lower 
Division  of  the  Hundred  of  Mathravel. 

I  p'sent  John  Christopher4  and  his  wife  for  not  being  in 
church  this  Quarter  of  yeare  to  ye  best  of  my  knowledge,  who 
have  noe  more  to  p'sent. 

Who  am 

DAVID  EVAN. 

xx°  die  7bris  1686. — The  p'sentment  of  Oliver  Piers  and 
Thomas  Evans,  gen.,  Seriants  att  rnace  for  ye  Towne  and 
Borough  of  Poole. 


1  A  Quaker,  and  previously  presented. 

2  See  ante,  pp.  56  and  57. 

3  Hey  meat  =  catching  rabbits  ! 

4  A  Popish  recusant  presented  many  times  before. 


EXTRACTS    FROM    GAOL    FILES.  63 

Wee  p'sent  Richard  Davies1  and  Tacie  his  wife1  of  Poole, 
for  Reputed  quakers  and  dissenters  from  church  for  ye  space 
of  a  monethlast  past  and  upwards. 

Tacie  Davies,1  Spinster,  for  ye  like. 

Bridgett  Davieis  „ 

William  Man1 

Elenor  Sardon,  Spin'r1  ,, 

Rebecca  Tumpson1  „ 

Abigail  Gregory  „ 

Lidie  Gregory  ,, 

Elizabeth  Smith,  vid.  ,, 

The  Jury  doe  present  Henry  Wood  of  this  libertie  for 
keepinge  of  a  settinge  dog  contrary  to  the  Statute.2 

Wee  p'sent  Richard  Hill3  and  Eliz.  his  wife.3  of  Poole,  for 
Reputed  Papists,  etc.,  and  decenters  from  church  a  moneth 
last  past  and  upwards. 

John  Hatfield,3  for  ye  like. 
Gwen  Penrhin3          „ 
Katherin  Edwards,  Spin'r,  for  ye  like. 
Oliver  Bedowes,4  for  a  dissenter  from  church,  etc. 
Robert  Christo,  for  the  like. 

Nothing  else  presentable  to  the  best  of  our  knowledge. 
By  us,  OLIVER  PIERS. 

THOMAS  EVANS. 

John  Christopher5  and  his  wife  again  presented — Mathrafal 
Hundred. 

David  Charles,  Chief  Constable  of  the  lower  allotment 
within  the  Hundred  of  Lanfylling. 

"  I  doe  p'sent  William  David6  of  Penniarth. 

Evan  D'd  Griffith  and  his  wife,  both  of  Mivod. 
Susanna  Mansell,  widow,  of  ye  same." 

24th  Sept.  1686.— Francis  Owen,  High  Constable  of  the 
Upper  allotment  within  the  Hundred  of  Llanfyllin. 


1  All  these  had  been  presented  many  times  before.    See  ante,  p.  58. 

2  The  penalty  for  an  unqualified  person  keeping  a  setting-dog  was 
a  fine  of  not  less  than  five  shillings,  nor  more  than  twenty  shillings, 
or,  in  default  of  distress,  imprisonment  in  the  House  of  Correction 
for  not  less  than  ten   days,   nor  more  than  one   month,   and  to  be 
whipped  and  kept  to  hard  labour.     Good  old  times  ! 

3  See  ante,  p.  57.  4  See  ante,  vol.  xxvi,  p  78. 
5  See  ante,  pp.  56  and  62.  6  Ante,  p.  56. 


64  MONTGOMERYSHIRE    NONCONFORMITY: 

I  p'sent  dissenters  from  church  not  goinge  to  hear  Diuiue 
seruice  for  ye  space  of  one  moneth. 

Imprimis — I  p'seut  Robert  ap  Evan  ap  Owen1  and  his  wife, 
of  Llanrliaiader. 

John  Tho.  ap  Howell1  and  his  wife,  of  Llanwythyn. 
Edward  Thomas  Morris,1  of  ye  same. 
Thomas  Morris1  and  his  wife,  of  ye  same. 
Margaret  Thomas  Morgan,1  widow,  of  ye  same. 
Vanghan  Humphrey,  of  ye  same. 

The  High  Constable  of  the  Upper  Division  of  the  Hundred 
of  Llanidloes  presented 

John  Roberts,  of  ye  towne  of  Llanidloes,  for  absenting  him- 
self from  the  parish  church  of  Llanidloes. 

Cicle  (Cicely  ?)  Jenkin,  widow,  of  Llangurig. 
Elinor  Evans,  for  ye  like. 

The  P'sentment  of  the  High  Constable  of  the  Lower  Division 
of  the  Hundred  of  Montgomery. 

Imprimis — I  have  noe  Routs,  Riots,  blod  sheds,  or  affrayes 
done  or  committed  to  my  knowledge. 

Item — 1  have  none  yt  p'fane  ye  lords  Day  by  spoarts  or 
onlawful  pastimes  to  my  knowledge. 

Item — 1  have  none  y't  harbour  Rogues  or  Sturdie  beggars 
in  theire  Barnes  or  Houses  to  my  knowledge. 

Hem — Our  Bridges  and  Highways  are  in  good  repaire,  and 
there  is  nothing  I  know  of  else  to  p'sente. 

JO'N  COLLINS,  Highe  Constable. 

GRAND  JURORS  SUMMONED  FROM  MACHYNLLETH  HUNDRED. 

Morgan  David  of  Penegoes,  Gent. 

Morgan  Jones  of  [Esgair  Evan]  Llanbrynraaire,  Gent. 

Morris  Jones  of  Llanbrynmaire,  Gent. 

Morgan  Lewis  Morgan,  Darowen,  Gent. 

Rees  Meredith,  Darowen,  Gent. 

Moses  Lloyd,  Llanworyn,  Gent. 

David  ap  Hugh  David,  Llanworyn,  Gent. 

Richard  John  Evan,  Kernes,  Gent. 

8tk  March  1685-6.— At  Poole.  William  Humphreys,  High 
Constable  of  the  Upper  Division  of  the  Hundred  of  Llanfyllyn, 
presented  : 

Robert  ap  Evan2  of  Cefncoch. 

Rowland  Owen,2  Hi  man  t. 

Ellis  Davies2  of  the  same,  Dissenters  from  church. 

1  Ante,  pp.  56  and  57.  2  Ante,  pp.  56,  57,  62. 


EXTRACTS    FROM    GAQL    FILES.  65 

Edward  Jones,  High   Constable  of  the  Lower  Division  of 
the  Hundred  of  Llanfyllyn,  Presented  : 

Charles  Lloyd1  and  his  wife, 
Thomas  Mansell1  and  his  wife, 
Edward  David  ap  Griffith  and  his  wife, 
Owen  John  Robert, 
Watkin  Hugh — all  quakers. 
Thomas  Price.2 

Walter  Griffiths3  and  his  wife. 
Edward  Poole4  „ 

John  Hughes  and  Evan  Lewis,  Gent.,  High  Constables  of 
the  Hundred  of  Machynlleth. 

We  p'sent  John  Wood,5  of  ye  p'ish  of  Llanbrinmaire,  for  an 
absentee  ffrom  his  p'ish  church  for  one  month  last  past. 

We  p'sent  William  Irish  of  ye  same,  for  ye  like. 

John  Hancocke5  ,,  „ 

Humphrey  Thomas,6  of  ye  p'ishe  of  Machenlleth,  for  ye  like. 

Harry  Thomas  Owen6  „  „  „ 

John  William6  „  „  „ 

Thomas  Morris6  „  „  „ 

Thomas  Oliver,  for  ye  like. 

Presentment  of  Robert  Davies,  High  Constable  of  the  Hun- 
dred of  Mathraval. 

"  I  p'sent  David  Lloyd7  of  Cowney,  for  not  coming  to  the 
church  to  devine  service  upon  the  Lord's  day  as  one  of  the 
quakers,  etc.  Noe  more  to  my  knowledge  to  be  presented, 
etc. 

By  me,  DAVID  X  LLOYD  (sic) 

his  m'ke. 


1  Ante,  p.  56. 

2  "  Price,  the  Papist",  presented  several  times  before.     He  was 
one  of  the  Capital  Burgesses  constituted  and  named  in  the  charter  of 
Charles  II   (1673),  but  was  removed  from  office  for  not  taking  the 
oaths.     (Mont.  (7o/£.,xxiii,  p.  144.) 

3  A  leading  Independent  at  Llanfyllin;  see  Mont.  Coll.,  xxvi,  p.  55. 
He  was  a  descendant  of  the  Vaughans  of  Llwydiarth,  and  was  Bailiff 
of  Llanfyllin   during  the   Commonwealth.     He  also  was  one  of  the 
Capital  Burgesses  named  in  the  charter,  but  removed  for  not  taking 
the  oaths.     (Ibid.,  xxiii,  p.  144.) 

4  See  ibid. 

5  These  were  Independents,  and  had  been  presented  several  times 
before. 

6  All  Quakers  ;  see  ante,  p.  61.  7  See  ante,  p.  62. 
VOL.  XXVII.  F 


66 


MONTGOMERYSHIRE   NONCONFORMITY  I 


of  Poole,  for  reputed  Papists. 


The  Presentment  of  Oliver  Pierce  and  Thomas  Evans,  Gent., 
Serjeants  at  Mace  in  the  Burrough  of  Poole.  We  doe  present 

John  Hatfield,1 

Gwen  Penrhyn,  Widow,1 

Kichard   Hill  and  Eliza- 

his  wife,1 
Kobert  Christo,1 
Richard  Davies,2 
Tacy,  his  wife,2 
Tacy,  his  daughter,2 
Margaret  Lewis,  widow,2 
William  Man,2 
Abigail  Gregory, 
Lidia  Gregory,2 
Rebecca,   the   wife    of    Thomas 

Thompson,2 

Ann,  the  wife  of  William  Price,3 
Oliver  Bedoes,2 

The  Returne  and  Presentm't  of  Edward  Jones  and  Henry 
Parry,  Sergeants-at-Mace,  in  the  Town  and  Burrough  of 
Llanfyllyng.  They  present — 

\  Popish  recusants,  for  not 
I   comeing   to    their   parish 


of  Poole,  for  not  repairing 
to  their  Parish  church  as 
by  law  is  required. 


Thomas  Price,  Gent.,4 
Elin,  his  wife,4 
Dorothy  Glasbrooke,  and 
John  House,5 

They  present — 
Walter  Griffiths  and  his  wife,6 
Edward  Poole  and  his  wife,6 
Jon.  Chidlow  and  his  wife,7 
Hum.  Lloyd  and  his  wife,7 
Sam.  Quarrell  and  his  wife,  and 
David  Thomas,7 


j  church    to    heare    divine 
J  service. 


Dissenters,  for  not  come- 
ing to  their  Parish  Church 
to  heare  Divine  Serivce. 


EDWARD  JONES,  )  0  ,  ,T 

HENKY  PARRY,  j  Sergeants-at-Mace. 


Montgom' — Juratores    pro    d'no    Rege    sup*   sacrum    suum 


1  See  ante,  p.  63.  2  See  ante,  pp.  58,  63. 

3  Mont.  Coll.,  xxvi,  p.  78.  4  Ante,  p.  65. 

5  Mont.  Coll.,  xxvi,  p.  77.  6  Ante,  p.  65. 

7  Mont.  Coll.,  xxvi,  p.  77.  "John  Chidlow,  Gent.'"',  was  sworn 

a  Burgess  of  Llanfyllin,  29th  Oct.  1687.  (Ibid.,  vol.  xxiii,  p. 
149.) 


EXTRACTS    FKOM    GAOL   FILES.  67 

presentanfc  Quod  William  Jones1  de  Lkmbrinmayre,  Willelmi' 
Kalph1  et  uxor  eius  de  Llanworing,  Joh'es  Thomas  Powell2  efc 
Ann  uxor  eius  de  Llanwothin,  Thoma'  Morris2  et  uxor  eius  de 
ead',  Margaret  Thomas2  vid'  et  Vaughari  Humphrey2  de  Garth- 
bwlch,  Rob't  Griffith  de  Llansenfraid,  Jacob  Palin  [qy.  Palmer] 
et  uxor  eius  de  Buttington,  Rene  Obins3  et  uxor  eius  de  ead', 
Christopher  Clough3  et  uxor  eius  de  ead',  Ric'us  Lloyd  de  ead', 
David  Roberts3  et  uxor  eius  de  Hope,  Samuel  fewtrell  de 
ead',  maria3  uxor  de  Rowland  Roberto  de  Hope,  Alic3  uxor 
George  Blackborne  de  p'oc'  (parochia)  de  Pola,  David  Morgan3 
de  ead',  Jenkin  Morgan3  et  uxor  eius  de  ead'  [here  six  lines  are 
filled  with  crosses ;  the  indictment  having  been  drawn  up 
ready  without  the  names,  and  more  space  having  been  left  for 
them  than  was  found  necessary],  pro  quatuor  dies  Dominicos 
Angl'o  Sundayes  p'  et  p'cedent  septimiu'  diem  ffebruarii  Anno 
regni  D'ni  n'ri  Jacob!  s'c'di  Dei  gra'  Angl'  Scot'  ffranc'  et 
Hibern'  Regis  ffidei  defensor  etc.  s'c'do  non  acceser'  nee  eor' 
aliquis  accepit  Angl'e  did  not  repaire  sepa'libz  Ecclesiis  suis 
p'ochias  nee  ad  aliquam  aliam  Ecclesiam  capell*  aut  usual' 
locum  co'is  precac'onis  ad  audiend'  Divin'  servitium  modo 
stabilitat'p'  leges  et  stattit'  hujus  regne  Angl'  neoib'm  remanser' 
aut  aliquis  eor'  remansit  tempore  celebracic'ois  divine  servitij 
et  co'is  precac'onis  iisdem  sepa'libz  diebus  dominica'  celebrat' 
sed  p'  totum  temporis  pr'd'  absq.  aliquo  impidiniento  seip'os 
retraxer'  et  abstentaver  et  quilib't  eor'  seip'um  absentab'it  tune 
existen'  et  quilib't  existen'  etatis  sep'decem  annor'  et  ultra 
in  contempt'  manifest'  d'ci  D'ni  Regis  nunc  et  legum  suar* 
nee  non  contra  pacem  d'ci  D'ni  Regis  nunc  coron'  et  diguital' 
suas. 

JOH.  BEESTON. 
Endorsed — "  Billa  Vera." 

GRAND  JURORS  SUMMONED  FROM  MACHYNLLETH  HUNDRED. 

William  Pugh,  Mathafarn,  Esq.4 
Rowland  Owen,  Llynlloedd,  Esq. 
Richard  Owen,  Junr.,  Rhiwsaeson,  Gent.ft 
Randulph  Owen,  Gellydywyll,  Gent. 


1  Ante,  pp.  56,  57,  61.  a  Ante,  pp.  56,  64. 

3  Ante,  p.  58. 


5  Richard  Owen  of  Rhiwsaeson,  here  called  junior,  though  his 
father  of  the  same  name  had  died  in  1674,  was  the  second  son  of 
Richard  Owen,  a  devoted  Royalist,  and  one  of  the  gentlemen 
designated  for  the  honour  of  knighthood  of  the  Royal  Oak.  (Hist,  of 
Llanbrynmair,  p.  76.) 

F2 


68  MONTGOMERYSHIRE   NONCONFORMITY  : 

Richard  Rowland,  C \vmbychan,  Gent. 
Lewis  Morgan,  Fedw,  Gent. 
Gabriel  Pugh,  Kernes,  Gent. 
Rowland  Edwards,  Gwernybulch,  Gent. 
Theodore  Price,  Abergwidol,  Gent. 

Pola.  March  14th,  1686-7.— The  Returne  of  Oliver  Pierce 
and  Thomas  Evans,  Serjeants-att-mace  for  the  towne  aforesaid. 

Impr's — Wee  present  Richard  Hill1  and  Elizabeth  his  wife, 
and  Gwen  Penthrin,1  widow,  and  John  Hattfield,1  for  reputed 
papists. 

Likewise  wee  present  Richard  Davies2  and  Tacy  his  wife, 
and  Tacy2  his  daughter ;  Rebecka,2  the  wife  of  Thomas 
Tompson;  Abigail2  and  llydia2  Gregory,  spinsters,  and  Elinor 
Garden,  spinster,  for  reputed  Quakers. 

Wee  present  Oliver  Bedowes2  of  Poole  for  not  comeing  to 
heare  Divine-  Servis  and  Sermon. 

OLIVEE  PIEBCE. 
THOMAS  EVANS. 

GRAND  JURORS  SUMMONED  FROM  MACHYNLLETH  HUNDRED. 

Thomas  Owen  de  Machynlleth,  Gent. 

Thomas  Williams  de  Pentre  [Llanbrynmair],  Gent. 

Randulph  Owen  de  Gellydywyll,  do.,  Gent. 

Rowland  Pritchard  de  Keniarth,  Gent. 

David  Jones  de  Cleirie,  Gent. 

Meredith  Price  de  Glyncaerig,  Gent. 

John  Pugh  de  Henllan,  Gent. 

COUNTY  MAGISTRATES,  1686-7. 
Andrew  Newport,  Esq. 
Sir  John  Price,  Bart.3  [Newtown  Hall]. 
Sir  John  Witterong,  Knt. 

Lewis  Meyrick,  Attorney-General,  Principality  of  Wales. 
Edward  Jennings,  Attorney  for  co.  Montgomery. 
Edward  Vaughan,  Llwydiarth,  Esq.4 
William  Pugh,  Mathafarne,  Esq.5 


1  Ante,  pp   63  and  66.  2  Ibid. 

3  Sir  John   Pryce  was  the  third  Baronet,  and  died  about    1691 
without  male  issue,  whereupon  the  title  devolved  upon  his  brother, 
Vaughan  Pryce. 

4  Sheriff  in  1688. 

5  William  Pugh  was  the  son  of  John  Pugh  of  Mathafarn,  by  Anne, 
daughter    of    William    Mcrstyn    of   Rhyd.     He    married    Margaret, 
daughter  of  John  Lloyd  of  Ceiswyn.     He  died  in  October  1719.     His 


EXTRACTS    FROM    GAOL    FILES.  69 

Matthew  Morgan,  Aberhavesp,  Esq. 

Charles  Herbert,  Aston  (?),  Esq. 

Edward  Lloyd,  Berthlloyd,  Esq. 

Edward  Barrett,  Bausley,  Esq. 

Edmund  Lloyd,  Trefuaut,  Esq.1 

Edmund  Waring  [of  Owlbury],-  Esq.2 

William  Oakley,  Esq. 

Richard  Owen,  Esq. 

Robert  Price,  Esq. 

Vincent  Pierce  [Llwynbraiu,  Llanwnog],  Esq. 

Daniel  Whittingham,  Esq. 

Arthur  Devereux  [Nantcribba],  Esq. 

Edward  Price,  Glanmiheli,  Esq. 

Richard  Herbert  [Cwmydalfa],  Esq.3 

David  Maurice,  Peuybont,  Esq.4 

John  Matthews,  Esq. 

Arthur  Weaver,  Esq. 

Richard  Mostyn,  Esq. 

John  Kyffin  [Bodfach],  Esq. 

Richard  Stedman,  Esq. 

Evan  Glynne  [Glyn],  Esq.5 

John  Edwards  [Rorrington],  Esq.6 

Charles  Wyne,  Esq. 

Thomas  Mason,  Esq. 

GABRIEL  WYNNE,  ESQ./  Sheriff. 

September  Sessions,  1687. — No  Presentments. 


eldest  son,  John  Pugh,  sat  in  Parliament  for  the  borough  of  Mont- 
gomery from  1708  to    1727.     (Sheri/s  of  Montgomeryshire,  p.  310.) 

1  Sheriff  in  1684. 

2  His  son,  Walter  Waring  of  Owlbury,  was  Sheriff  in  1724,  and 
married  Abigail,  the  daughter  of  Matthew  Morgan  of  Aberhavesp 
(above-named),  who  eventually  inherited  the  Aberhavesp  Hall  estate. 
That  estate  remained  in  the  Waring  family  until  about  the  end  of 
last  century,  when  it  was  sold.     It  now  belongs  to  Edward  Bernard 
Proctor,  Esq. 

3  Ancestor  of    the  Herberts  of  Dolforgan  and  Glanhafren.     See 
pedigree  in  Mont.  Coll.,  xxiv,  p.  177. 

4  Sheriff  in  1686. 

5  Sheriff  in  1675. 

6  Son  of  John  Edwards  of  Rorrington  and  Mary  Price  of  Gunley. 
He  married  Thomasine  Lloyd  of  Maesmawr,  and  was  the  ancestor  of 
the  Jones's  of  Maesmawr.    (Sheriffs  of  Montgomeryshire,  p.  550  ;  Mont. 
Coll.,ix,p.  110.) 

7  Of  Dolarddyn,  Castlecaereinion,  descended  from  the  old  family  of 
Wynn  of  Garth. 


70 


MONTGOMERYSHIRE   NONCONFORMITY  : 


At  Llanfyllin,  2Mh  March  1688. 

GRAND  JURY. 


Pryce  Devereux 
Evan  Glynn 
John  Kyffin 
Robert  Lloyd 
Charles  Wynde 
Daniel  Wlnttingham 
Walter  Clopton 
Humfrey  Kyna&ton 
Eichard  Ingram 
Lumley  Williams 
Nathaniel  Maurice 
L'oger  Trevor 
Lumley  Williams,  Juur. 
Humphrey  Lloyd 
Edward  Owen 
Evan  Jones 
John  Griffithes 


Esq.         Vaynor] 
Glynn] 
Bodfach] 
Glauhavon] 
Criggion] 
Criggion] 
Rhysuant] 
Hryngvvynl 
GlynhafrenJ 
Kyffin] 
Trefedrid] 
G  nt.       Llanfechau] 

Ysturacolwyn] 
Goitre] 
Esq.        Penyrallt] 

Llanllothian] 
Gent.      Baehie] 
EDWARD  VAUGHAN,  Esq.,1  Sheriff. 


At  Pool,  24th  Sept.  1688.— No  Presentments. 

At  Montgomery,  5th  May  1690. — Presentment  of  John 
Davies,  one  of  the  High  Constables  of  the  Hundred  of 
Caurse — 

I  doe  p'sent  Jenkin  Morgan2  and  his  wife,  being  papists 
who  have  absented  themselves  from  Church  for  the  space 
of  three  months. 

1  doe  also  p'sent  Peter  Meredith  for  the  like. 

I  doe  likewise  p'sent  Edward  Wynne  and  his  wife  for  the 
like.  Noe  more  p'sentable  within  the  s'd  hundred  to  the  best 
of  my  knowledge. 

JOHN  (L.  S.)  DAVIES. 

1  Edward  Vaughan  of  Llwydiarth  represented  the  county  in 
several  Parliaments,  and  died  at  an  advanced  age  on  the  5th 
December  1718  (Mont.  Sheri/s,  pp.  221  et  seq.;  Mont.  Coll.,  xiv, 
pp.  376  et  seq.).  His  daughter  and  coheiress  Anne  married  Sir 
Watkin  Williams  Wynn,  Bart.,  on  20th  November  1715,  and  upon 
her  death  her  extensive  possessions  passed  to  her  husband  in  fee,  and 
are  enjoyed  by  his  descendant,  the  present  Baronet  of  Wynnstay. 
The  Beaufort  Progress  Through  Wales,  recently  published,  contains  an 
interesting  account  of  the  visit  of  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  Lord  Presi- 
dent of  Wales,  with  a  large  retinue,  to  "Lloydyarth"  in  1684,  and 
a  view  of  the  mansion  as  it  was  then  is  to  be  found  in  the  Mont. 
Sheri/s,  p.  223,  and  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xiv,  p.  378. 
2  Ante,  pp.  57  and  67, 


EXTRACTS    FROM    GAOL    FILtiS.  71 

Presentment  of  George  Mountford,  one  of  the  Chief  Con- 
stables of  the  Hundred  of  Caurse. 

Hee  p'sents  Christopher  Clough1  and  Sarah1  his  wife,1  David 
Eoberts  and  his  wife,1 

Eichard  [qy.  Rene  ?]  Obins  and  his  wife,1 
Richard  ap  Richard  and  his  wife, 
Mary,  ye  wife  of  Rowland  Roberts,1 
Anne,  ye  wife  of  Oliver  Lloyd, 

all  for  not  comeing  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  are  rendred 
papists,  and  hath  nothing  else  to  p'sent 

By  me,  GEORGE  MOUNTFORD. 

The  presentment  of  David  Jones,  one  of  the  Chiefe  Con- 
stables of  the  Hundred  of  Poole,  in  ye  said  County — 

I  present  Thomas  ffield  the  elder,2 

Thomas  ffield  the  younger, 
John  ffield, 
Mary  ffox,  widow,2 
John  Aprichard  and  his  wife,2 

all  for  not  comeing  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  are  rendred 
Papists,  and  have  nothinge  else  to  present  to  ye  best  of  my 
knowledge. 

By  me,  DAVID  JONES. 

The  presentment  of  John  Bowdler  and  John  Davies,  High 
Constables  of  ye  Hundred  of  Llanvilling  and  County  aforesaid. 
Wee  p'sent 

Phillip  Palmer  and  his  wife, 
Thomas  Price  and  his  wife,3  and 
Robert  Evans, 

being  Roman  catholiques  and  dissenters  from  ye  church  3 
months  last  past ;  also  wee  present  a  certayue  bridge  att  ye 
lower  end  of  Llanfylling  towne,  y't  leadeth  from  thence  to  the 

towne  of  Oswestry 

JOHN  BOWDLER. 
JOHN  DAVIES. 

Quinto  die  Mail  1690.  Burgess  de  Pola. — The  Rettorne  and 
p'sentments  of  Evan  Jones  and  Edward  Dauies,  Gen.,  Seriants 
att  mace  for  the  Towne  and  Borough  of  Poole,  in  the  County 
of  Mountgom'y  affors'd. 


1  Ante,  pp.  57  and  67. 

2  Ante,  p.  55. 


3  Ante,  pp.  65,  66. 


72  MONTGOMERYSHIRE    NONCONFORMITY  : 

Wee  p'sent  Richard  Hill1  and  Elizabeth  his  wife  for  not 
going  to  church  to  heare  Diuine  Seruice  and  Sermon  for  one 
inoneth  last  past  and  upwards,  they  beinge  Recusants  and 
Papists. 

Wee  p'sent  Robert  Christopher1  for  the  like,  being  a  papist. 

Wee  p'sent  John  Hattfield1  for  the  same,  beinge  a  papist. 

Wee  p'sent  Robert  Griffithes  for  ye  same,  beinge  a  Quaker. 

Wee  p'sent  William  Man1  for  ye  same,  beinge  a  quaker. 

Wee  p'sent  Rebecca  Thompson,  Vid,,1  for  ye  same,  beinge 
a  quaker. 

Wee  p'sent  Elenor  Sardin,  Spinster,1  for  ye  same,  beinge  a 
quaker. 

Nothing  else  p'sentable  to  ye  best  of  o'r  knowledges. 
By  us,  EVAN  I.  JONES. 

EDWARD  E.  D.  DAUIES. 

The  Returne  and  p'sentments  of  Daniell  Whatley  and 
William  Berwickc^,  gen.,  Seriants  at  Mace  for  the  towne  and 
Borough  of  Mountgomery,  in  the  sayd  County. 

Imprs — Wee  p'sent  John  Meredith2  and  Mary  his  wife, 
Robert  Evans2  and  Hannah  his  wife, 

beinge  quakers,  and  for  not  Corneinge  to  Churche  to  heare 
Devine  Seruice  and  sermon  this  three  months  and  upwards. 
Wee  have  nothinge  Else  p'sentable,  to  the  best  of  our  know- 
ledge. 

By  us,  DANIELL  WHATLEY. 

WILLIAM  BERWICK. 

Great  Sessions  at  Montgomery,  8th  Sept.  1690. 
NAMES  OF  THE  JURORS  SUMMONED. 

5.  Carol  Jones  de  Vronbraith.     Jur.  1. 

6.  Joh'es  Williams  de  Gelligasson.     Jur.  2. 

7.  Ric'us  Powell  de  Llivior.     Jur.  3. 

8.  Meredith  Price  de  Llanworing.     Jur.  4. 

9.  Reignald  Higgins  de  Cleterwood. 
10.  Rob'tus  Rees  de  Trefnant. 

David  Evans  de  Brynelan. 

Joh'es  Lowland  [qy.  Rowland  1]  de  Uchygarreg. 

Joh'es  Hugh  de  Kernes.     Jur.  6. 

Rowland  Vaughan  de  Mathynleth.     Jur.  12, 

Edr'us  Millward  de  Husington. 


1  Ante,  pp.  57,  63,  66. 

3  See  Mont  Coll.,  xxvi,  p.  75. 


EXTRACTS    FROM    GAOL    FILES.  73 

Morgan  Lees  de  Llangirricke. 
Ric'us  Owen  de  eadem. 

11.  Joh'es  Tumor  de  Newtown.     Jur.  7. 

12.  Theoder  Price  de  Penegoes.     Jur.  8. 
Joh'es  Pugh  de  Kilweth. 

Edr'us  Evans  de  Llanychrachwell. 
Will'us  Edwards  de  eadem. 
Joh'es  Jones  de  Coedlavoll. 
Henric  Harries  de  Trefnaney. 

1.  Ric'us  Eob'ts  de  Batheldre.     Jur.  9. 

2.  Joh'es  Ed'd  de  Graig.     Jur.  10. 

3.  Dauid  Lloyd  de  Llangyniw, 

4.  Griffith  Davies  de  Garth.     Jur.  11. 
Jur.  1.     Natbaniell  Maurice  Ar. 

Jur.  2.  Joh'es  Lloyd,  Gen. 

Jur.  3.  Evan  us  Jones,  Gen. 

Jur.  4.  Rees  Lloyd,  Gen. 

Jur.  5.  Thomas  Garbett,  Gen. 

Llanidloes  Hundred. 

Hugo  Jones  de  Trewithan,  Gen. 
Jur.  6.     Edr'us  Lloyd  de  Pwllglace,  Gen. 

Ludovic  Jones  de  Llandinam,  Gen. 
Jur.  7.     David  Owen  de  Glyngynwith,  Gen. 

Will'us  Powell  de  Uchlaur  Coed,  Gen. 
Jur.  8.     Thomas  Bennett  de  Blayn  y  Glynn,  Gen. 

Machynlleth  Hundred. 

Ran'us  Owen  de  Pennant,  Gen. 
Thomas  Owen  de  Machynlleth,  Gen. 
Joh'es  Pugh  de  Hennllan,  Gen. 
Rice'us  Meredith  de  Darowen,  Gen. 
Theodor  Price  de  ead.,  Gen. 
Ric'us  Rowland  de  ead.,  Gen, 

Deythur  Hundred, 

Henricus  Harries  de  Trefnaney,  Gen. 
Joh'es  Griffithes  de  Tretherwen  Vor,  Gen. 
Edr'us  Austen  de  Llandrinio,  Gen. 
Thomas  Pryce  de  ead.,  Gen. 
Ric'us  Asterley  de  Baulsley,  Gen. 

Mountyom'y  Hundred, 

Joh'es  Price  de  Hurdley,  Gen. 

Thomas  Dudlick  de  Garthylin,  Gen. 

Will'us  Baxter  de  Dollvawre,  Gen. 
Jur.  14.     Matheus  Morris  de  Penygelle,  Gen. 
Jur.  15.     Edr'us  Edwards  de  Trevor  y  feen,  Gen. 

Josephus  Lloyd  de  Gwenrhiew,  Gen. 


74  MONTGOMERYSHIRE    NONCONFORMITY  : 

David  Mathewes  de  Husington,  Gen. 
Rlc'us  Davies  de  Kelliberissa,  Gen. 

Poole  Hundred. 

Thomas  Jucks  de  Trelydar,  Gen. 
Samuel  Vaughari  de  Tir  y  myneth,  Gen. 
Steph'us  Thomas  de  Llanwchfrochwell,  Gen. 
Moric'us  Powell  de  Gyngrog  Vach,  Gen. 
Edr'us  Meredith  de  Broniarth,  Gen. 
Steph'us  Evans  de  Llanvethen,  Gen. 
Edr'us  Rogers  de  Burgeding,  Gen. 
Thomas  Griffiths  de  Garth,  Gen. 
Griffinus  Davies  de  ead',  Gen. 
Joh'es  Owen  de  Burgedin,  Gen. 

Caurse  Hundred. 

Joh'es  Phillipps  de  fforden,  Gen. 
David  Thomas  de  Hudan,  Gen. 
Humfr'us  Parry  de  Llannychydol,  Gen. 
Thomas  Morris  de  ead',  Gen. 
Joh'es  Jones  de  Sylvaen,  Gen. 
Jur.  11.     Thomas  Edwards  de  Killkewith,  Gen. 
Joh'es  Jones  de  Keele.     Jur. 
Joh'es  Lloyd  de  Glynbrochan.     Jur. 

Newtowne  Hundrd. 

Pryamus  Price  de  Berriew,  Gen. 
Ric'us  Thomas  de  Penrhyn,  Gen. 
Jur.  10.     Edr'us  Williams  de  Hendidley,  Gen. 

Thomas  Edwards  de  Ucheldre  Bettus,  Gen. 

Joh'es  Ellis  de  Pennynis,  Gen. 

Joh'es  Burgwyn  de  Manavongainog,  Gen. 

Llanvylling  Hundred. 

Joh'es  Griffithes  de  Bachie,  Gen. 

Will'us  Griffithes  de  Mayne,  Gen. 

Carolus  Cadwalader  de  Duffrin,  Gen. 

Joh'es  Pugh  de  Peniarth,  Gen. 

Evanus  Robert  ap  Rhydderth  de  Pennant,  G. 

Joh'es  Williams  de  Kefn  Koch,  Gen. 

Thomas  Jones  de  Teir  tre,  Gen. 

Humfr'us  Jones  de  Penniarth,  Gen. 

Matkravall  Hundred, 

Will'us  Lloyd  de  Llangyniew,  Gen. 
Uob'tus  ap  Oliver  de  Kenhinva,  Gen. 
Jur.  11.     Hugo  Bowen  de  eadem,  Gen. 

David  Lloyd  de  Llangyniew,  Gen. 


EXTRACTS    FROM    GAOL    FILES.  75 

David  Lloyd  de  Bhiwbiriarth,  Gen. 
Kice'us  Price  de  ead',  Gen. 
Llewelin  Cadd'r  de  Llangyniew,  Gen. 

MONTGOM'Y  BOROUGH  INQUEST. 

Jur.  1.     Ric'us  Whittingham,  Gen. 

2,  Edr'us  Houseman,  Gen. 

3.  Moric'us  Lloyd,  Gen. 
Ric'us  Gittins,  Gen. 
Hugo  Bird,  Gen. 
Erasmus  Jones,  Gen. 

5.  Edr'us  Berwick,  Gen. 
Ric'us  Berwick,  Senr.,  Gen. 

6.  Ric'us  Berwick,  Junr.,  Gen. 

7.  Arthur  Powell,  Gen. 

8.  ffranc'us  Greatbatch,  Gen. 
Matheus  Evans,  Gen. 
Ric'us  Adams,  Gen. 
Whittingham  Edwards,  Gen. 

9.  Edr'us  Bo  wen,  Gen. 

10.  Will'us  Llojd,  Gen. 
David  Davies,  Gen. 

11.  Edr'us  Lloyd,  Junr.,  Gen. 
George  Peers,  Gen. 
Rob'tus  Morgan,  Gen. 
Thomas  Edwards,  Gen. 
Thomas  flfrancis,  Junr,,  Gen. 
Joh'es  Lloyd,  Gen. 

Joh'es  Prichard,  Gen. 

12.  Humfr'us  Powell. 

13.  Edward  Morgan. 
LlanvyUing  ViW. 

Joh'es  ap  Hugh  de  Llanvechen,  Gen.1 
Humfr'us  Lloyd  de  LlanvyUing,  Gen.2 
Humfr'us  Pymley  de  ead',  Gen.3 
Joh'es  Rider  de  Myvott,  Gen,3 

The  p'sentment   of  Bondle  Edwards,  one  of  the  high  con- 
stables of  the  hundred  of  Mathravall — 

I    have  nothing  to  present  within  mij   said  allotment,  but 
all  faire  and  good  to  the  best  of  mij  knowledge. 

By  me,  RONDLE  EDWARDS, 

Chiefe  Constable. 


1  Elected  a  burgess  25th  October  1673.     (Mont.  Coll.,  xxiii,  p.  146.) 

2  Sworn  a  Burgess,  29th  October  1687.     (Ibid.,  p.  149.) 

3  "  Humphrey  Plimley  of  Bachie,  Currier",  and  John  Ryder  of 
Keele,  tanner,  burgesses  elected  25th  October  1673.     (Ibid.,  p.  146.) 


76  MONTGOMERYSHIRE   NONCONFORMITY. 

The   p'sentment  of  George   Mountford,   one  of  the   chiefe 
Constables  of  the  Hundred  of  Caurse,  within  the  saide  County. 
1  p'sent  Christopher  Clough1  and  his  wife, 
David  Roberts1  and  his  wife, 
Reinalt  Obins1  and  his  wife, 
Mary  Evans,  the  wife  of  Thomas  Evans, 

which  are  reputed  Papists ;  which  is  all  I  have  to  p'sent  to  the 
best  of  my  knowledge. 

September  ye  11,  1690, 

By  me,  GEORGE  MOUNTFORD, 

Chiefe  Constable. 

The  p'sentm't  of  Edward  Jones  and  Thomas  Jones,  Ser- 
geants at  mace  within  the  Burrough  of  Llanvylling,  in  the  said 
County,  of  the  8th  September  1690. 

Wee  p'sent  Phillip  Palmer,  Esq.,2  and  his  lady,  and  all  his 
men  and  mayd  Ser'ts,  being  papists  and  not  comeing  to  Church 
to  hear  Divine  Servis  for  three  months  last  past. 

Thomas  Pryce,  Esq.,2  and  his  Lady  and  Daughter  Dorothie, 
for  ye  like.  William  Moody,3  his  wife  ;  Edward  Lewis,  wife ; 
and  John  Howels,4  of  the  same,  and  have  nothing  else  to 
p'sent  to  our  knowledge. 

By  us,  EDWARD  JONES,  >   0 

THOMAS  JONES,  j  ^erg.ants. 

The  P'sentrnent  of  the  Burrough  Inquest  made  the  Eighth 
day  of  September  An'o  regni  Will'  et  Marise  Dei  gra'  regis 
et  regin',  etc.,  sVdo  1690. 

We  p'sent  John  Meredith5  and  Mary  his  wife, 
Rob.  Evans5  and  Hannah  his  wife, 
Richard  Lewis  and  his  wife, 

for  being  Dissenters  from  the  Church  of  England  for  ye  space 
of  3  months  last  past  as  quakers. 

[Signed  by  Jurors  named  supra,  p.  75.] 

EDWARD  LLOYD,  ESQ.,G  Sheriff. 


1  Ante,  pp.  57,  67,  and  71.  2  Ante,  p.  71. 

3  "  William  Moody  of  Llanvylling,  Ironmonger",  elected  a  burgess 
19th  October  1687.     (Mont.  Coll.,  xxiii,  p.  149.) 

4  The  same  probably  as  John  House,  ante,  p.  66.        5  Ante,  p.  72. 
6  Edward  Lloyd,  Esq.,  of  Berthlwyd,  see  Mont.  Coll.,  viii,  p.  192. 


77 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

BY  E.  ROWLEY-MORRIS. 


(Continued  from  Vol.  xxvi,  p.  298.) 


KERRY  SCHOOL — ITS  FOUNDATION. 

BY  one  of  those  accidents  which  occasionally  occur, 
the  Rev.  O.  A.  Nares,  B.D.,  Vicar  of  Kerry,  to  whom 
we  are  under  many  obligations,  thought  that  he  had 
sent  us,  with  the  letter  of  the  Rev.  Jo.  Catlyn,  Vicar  of 
Kerry,  which  is  printed  on  pp.  279-280,  vol.  xxvi,  the 
one  appended.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  two  were 
not  printed  together. 

"  Kerry,  May  the  14th,  1714. 

"  Worthy  S'r, — I  return  you  my  hearty  thanks  for  your  care  and 
kindness  in  procuring  ns  that  part  of  Mr.  Paine's  will  w'ch  relates  to 
his  legacy  :  he  who  regards  what  is  done  for  the  good  of  the  poor 
will,  1  doubt  not,  reward  that  your  labour  of  love.  The  present 
executor  is  willing  to  refer  the  matter  to  a  gentleman  who  will  be  in 
the  country  the  long  Vacation,  and  I  hope  he  will  have  the  point 
settled  to  satisfaction.  The  Design  for  making  a  Charity  school  has 
been  carried  on  (Grod  be  praised)  successfully,  notwithstanding  a 
lately  discovered  unaccountable  underhand  opposition,  but  we  are  so 
far  advanced  that  we  are  now  about  preparing  materials.  The  Lord 
Viscount  Lisburn,  as  he  passed  through  on  Holy  Thursday  last,  gave 
£5  towards  the  building,  and  promised  further  encouragement  when 
the  school  shall  be  erected.  The  Countenance  of  this  Noble  Person 
has  almost  abasht  the  enernys  to  the  Project,  and  I  do  now  nothing 
doubt  butyt  (with  God's  blessing)  it  will  take  effect.  We  intend  to 
build  with  Brick !  and  to  have  a  little  convenient  apartment  for  the 
Mr.  over  the  school ;  we  intend  a  sort  of  Gallery  or  long  chamber, 
where  the  poor  children,  who  come  from  far,  may  lodge  in  bad  weather, 
for  this  parish  is  nine  miles  long. 

"  Tho'  we  have  proceeded,  as  1  hope,  beyond  any  apparent  possibility 
of  failing  in  this  Design,  yet  'tis  humbly  my  thought,  yt  it  may  not 
be  convenient  to  mention  this  intended  Foundation  in  the  next  year's 
Print,  lest  it  should  stir  up  our  enemys  to  be  more  industrious  in 


78  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KEREtY. 

quashing  the  endeavours  of  the  wel  meaning  people  amongst  us.  Some 
open  hearted  Freeholders  subscribed  so  frankly  yt  two  haughty 
Gentleman  inhabitants  (who  would  not  subscribe  till  they  saw  what 
others  did)  were  at  a  sort  of  a  puzzle  I  believe  how  to  preserve  their 
reputation,  and  because  they  would  not  be  outdone  by  mean  men, 
chose  to  discountenance  the  thing  itself.  As  long  as  the  world  stands 
there  will  be  some  men  of  perverse  minds,  but  I  hope  we  shall  sur- 
mount all  difficulties.  The  next  time  I  write  I  may  be  able,  I  humbly 
suppose,  to  give  you  as  agreeable  an  account  of  that  Affair  as  you  can 
expect,  if  not  something  over,  for  some  able  men  (without  long 
Pedigrees)  are  admirably  hearty  in  the  matter.  I  gratefully  acknow- 
ledge the  favour  done  in  conveying  the  letter  to  Mr.  Hughs,  and  to 
the  utmost  of  my  power  shall  endeavour  to  behave  myself  as  becometh 
a  member  of  the  Society. 

"Your  most  humble  Serv't, 
Superscribed —  "  Jo.  CATLYN." 

"  This 
To  Mr.  Henry  Newman  at  the 

Revn'd  Mr.  Shutes  in 
Bartlets  Buildings,  Holborn,  London." 


WELSH   CIRCULATING   SCHOOLS   IN   KERRY   AND 
MOCHDRE. 

In  a  little  volume  at  Lambeth  Library,  London,  there 
is  an  account  of  "the  Circulating  Welsh  Charity 
Schools";  it  covers  a  period  from  Sept.  1738  to  Aug. 
1739.  Among  other  schools  mentioned  in  Montgomery- 
shire are 

Moughtrey  -     48  scholars. 

Kerry  -     18 

The  only  conclusion  that  can  be  drawn  from  the 
number  of  scholars  in  these  schools  in  each  of  these 
parishes  is  that  the  parish  of  Kerry  had  other  schools, 
or  a  school  that  also  provided  similar  accommodation, 
or  that  there  was  more  Welsh  spoken  in  Moughtrey.  It 
would  be  interesting  to  know  where  the  school  was 
held  in  Kerry  parish  ;  it  usually  was  continued  in  a 
parish  for  four,  five,  or  six  months,  and  was  confined 
to  persons,  including  adults  as  well  as  children,  "  who 
were  ignorant  of  the  English  tongue,  and  they  were  to 
be  taught,  in  their  native  British  language,  to  read 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  79 

God's  word,  and  were  to  be  instructed  daily  in  the 
Principles  and  Duties  of  Religion,  and  at  such  times 
in  the  year  which  the  Poor  could  best  spare  from 
their  labours  to  attend  them." 


DOLFOR  TITHES. 
Tribute  paid  by  Kerry  to  Moclidre  Parish. 

Some  reference  was  made  to  the  above  in  vol.  xxvi, 
pp.  269,  271  ;  since  that  volume  was  published,  Mr. 
J.  E.  Pouridley  of  Black  Hall,  Kerry,  has  sent  us  a 
certified  copy  of  an  agreement  which  appears  to  have 
been  made  between  the  officers  of  the  parishes  of 
Kerry  and  Mochdre,  on  the  15th  day  of  April  1734.1 
It  is  clear  from  the  expressions  used  in  the  agreement 
that  the  custom  of  paying  the  tribute  was  a  very 
ancient  one,  and  as  it  was  sent  for  registration  to  the 
Registrar  of  the  Archdeaconry  of  Brecon,  it  was  meant 
to  be  a  binding  arrangement. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  reason  why  this 
"  Tribute"  should  be  paid  by  lands  in  Dolfor  township 
to  Mochdre  was  not  mentioned,  as  it  would  either  have 
confirmed,  or  not,  the  stated  reason  we  inserted  in  a 
note  on  p.  271  of  vol.  xxvi. 

As  to  the  Modus  Decimandi,  etc.,  or  the  Tythes,  Rights,  Dues, 
Perquisites,  or  Tribute  that  is  Due  and  Payable  from  the 
Parish  of  Kerry,  in  the  County  of  Montgomery  and  Diocess  of 
St.  David's,  to  the  Parish  Church  of  Moughtrey,  in  the  County 
and  Diocess  of  St.  David's  aforesaid,  is  as  Followeth  (that  is  to 
say)  :— 

The  Third  Part  of  the  Tyth  Graine  of  the  Estate  or  Lands 
of  Joseph  Buckley,  and  the  Third  part  of  the  Tyth  Graine  of 
the  Estate  or  lands  of  Richard  Griffiths,  and  the  Third  Part  of 
ye  Tyth  Graine  of  the  Estate  or  Lands  of  William  Baxter,  late 
Deceased,  called  Kefn-y-Vastrey,  and  the  third  part  of  the 
Tyth  Graine  of  Four  pieces  of  Lands  of  Evan  Evans  of  the 
Bay  ley,  and  the  third  part  of  the  Tyth  Graine  of  three  pieces 

1  Easter  Monday. 


80  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

of  land  of  Richard  Evans,  and  the  third  Part  of  the  Tyth 
Graine  of  one  piece  of  Land  of  Evan  James.  All  which  lands 
are  subject  to  the  payment  of  the  said  Tribute  or  Tyth  Graine 
or  Herbage  for  the  same,  and  the  said  Lands  are  situate, 
lyeing,  and.  being  in  the  Township  of  Dolver,  in  the  said 

Earish  of  Kerry,  and  likewise  that  the  three  several  estates  or 
mds  of  Evan  Evans,  Thomas  Price,  and  Doctor  Laugharne ; 
the  one  Moiety  or  half  part  of  each  of  the  three  said  several 
Estates  or  Lands  are  situated,  lying,  and  being  in  the  several 
parishes  of  Moughtrey  and  Kerry,  so  that  the  one  half  part  of 
the  corn  and  cow  money,  and  the  one  half  of  the  Tyth  lambs, 
are  paid  from  the  said  three  houses  or  Lands  to  the  parish  of 
Moughtrey,  and  the  other  half  part  of  the  Cow  money,  and 
the  other  half  part  of  the  Tyth  lambs,  are  paid  from  the  said 
three  several  houses  or  lands  to  the  parish  of  Kerry  from  time 
out  of  mind,  But  the  whole  Tyth  wool  from  the  said  three 
several  hous'es  or  lands  are  due  and  payable  to  the  Parish  of 
Moughtrey,  Notwithstanding  that  some  part  of  their  sheep  are 
lodged  in  the  parish  of  Kery  aforesaid,  As  is  accustomed  age 
after  age  (or  time  out  of  mind). 

As  witness  our  hands,  15th  day  of  April  1734. 

DAVID  ROD.BT8,  ].  churchwardens. 
JACOB  LEWIS,      ) 
EVAN  EVANS. 
RICHARD  JONES. 
WATKIN  THOMAS. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 


POSSESSIONS  OF   THE   ABBOT   AND   CONVENT   OF 
CWMHIR  IN   KERRY. 

The  Abbey  of  Cwmhir  was  founded  in  the  year  1 143 
by  Cadwallon  ap  Madoc.1  His  grandson,  Meredith  ap 
Maelgwyn,2  gave  to  the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Cwmhir, 
Gwernygoe  and  Bahaillon,  also  lands  in  the  townships 
of  Caeliber  and  Gwenrhiw,  and  elsewhere  in  Kerry 
parish3;  he  also  gave  to  Cwmhir  "  common  of  pasture 
over  the  whole  of  Malienydd  and  Kerry".4 

Meredith  must  have  died  sometime  before  1278 
(6  Edw.  I),  for  in  that  year  the  King  granted  to 
Meredith's  nephews,  Madoc  and  Ho  well,  the  fourth  part 
of  all  the  lands  in  the  Lordship  of  Kerry  which  had 
been  Meredith's  when  living.5 

Meredith  ap  Maelgwyn  was  one  of  the  three  Barons 
of  North  Wales  who  did  homage  to  King  Henry  the 
Third  in  1245. 

A  writer  in  Arch.  Cambrensis,  1888,  p.  213,  said  : 
"  It  is  probable  that  in  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth 
century  the  monks  may  have  had  almost  the  sole  en- 
joyment of  the  pasturage  on  the  mountains  of  Arwystli, 
Cyfeiliog,  Maelienydd,  and  Kerry,  as  almost  the  only 
possessors  of  flocks  arid  capital." 

In  the  will7  of  Sir  John  Williams,  Kt.,  Lord  Williams 
of  Thame,  made  the  18th  of  March  1558-9,  proved  the 
9th  February  1559-60,  he  stated  that:  "1  bequeath 
unto  my  nephew  Francis  Williams  all  my  manor  of 
Comher  and  the  Seite  thereof,  and  houses  and  buildings 
thereunto  belonging,  with  the  demaines  belonging  to 
the  same,  and  all  my  lands  and  tenementes,  rentes, 

1  See  vol.  xxiii,  Mont.  Coll.,  p.  102,  for  his  pedigree. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  113-120,  for  some  references  to  him. 

3  Cart.,    16    Hen.    Ill,    memb.    6;    also    17    Edw.    II,    pars.    2, 
memb.  23. 

4  See  Arch.  Camb.,  5th  Series,  1888,  p.  204. 

5  See  vol.  xxiii,  Mont.  Coll.,  p.  118. 

6  Owen  ap  David  \\as  the  last  Abbot. 

7  Mellersh,  fo.  11. 

VOL.  XXVII.  ft 


82  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

reverc'ones,  and  seruices  in  Comher  aforesaid,  in  the 
county  of  Montgomery,1  with  th'appurtenances,  and  all 
my  manner,  landes,  tenementes,  rents,  reverc'ons,  etc., 
yn  Gwernogoff,  in  the  Countie  of  Mongomery  afore- 
said, with  a  ground  called  Gwernymynygh,  belonging 
to  Gwernegoff  aforesaid,  with  all  and  singular  the  appur- 
tenances, and  to  his  heirs  for  ever."  In  a  previous 
section  of  the  will  he  directed  that  his  "  Manor  of 
Cumhir,  and  lands  and  houses  pertaining  to  the  same, 
should  be  sold  to  pay  his  debts,  perform  his  will,  and 
any  other  Godlie  uses."  Also,  testator  devised  to  his 
servant;  William  Atkins,  some  land  which  testator  had 
had  granted  to  him  in  Cumbiga,  a  year  after  he  had 
had  the  grant,  not  only  of  Gwernogoff,  but  of  all  the 
other  possessions  of  the  late  Abbey  of  Cwmhir,  except 
Cumbiga. 

In  an  inquiry  that  took  place  at  Kerry  on  the  30th 
of  August  1573,  before  Robert  Broughton,  Esq.,  John 
Pryce,  and  Richard  ap  Cadwallader,  gentlemen,  Com- 
missioners appointed,  under  the  power  of  a  Special 
Commission,2  to  inquire  as  to  what  "  Concealed"  lands 
there  were  in  Kerry  and  neighbourhood,  the  lands 
belonging  then  formerly  to  the  Abbot  and  Convent  of 
Cwmhir,  one  of  the  deponents,  Thomas  ap  Ll'en  of 
Kerry,  aged  eighty  years,  said  that  "  the  Grange  called 
Gwernegoe  Grange,  in  the  said  County  of  Montgomery, 
is  inclosed  within  the  precincts  or  circuite  of  a  Ditclie, 
called  the  Grange  Ditche,  and  severed  from  the  resydue 
of  the  sayd  land,3  and  other  the  premyses,  tyrne  out  of 
memory  of  man,  as  the  deponent  hath  heard  by  credible 
report." 

We  have  made  inquiries,  but  there  is  no  trace  of  the 
"Ditch"  referred  to,  at  the  present  day.  As  the  area  of 
Gwernygoe  is,  roughly  speaking,  about  seven  hundred 
and  forty  acres,  the  ditch  must  have  been  several  miles 
in  length.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  vol.  xxiii, 

1  Error  for  Radnor. 

2  3078.     16  Elizabeth. 

3  The  "concealed"  lands. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  83 

p.  89,  of  these  Collections,  in  referring  to  the  Upper 
and  Lower  Short  Ditches,  we  suggested  that  these 
mighb  have  been  the  work  of  the  monks  of  Cwmhir  to 
"  Bound"  their  property.  The  fact  that  they  certainly 
did  put  up  a  ditch  around  the  demesne  lands  of 
Gwernygoe  seems  to  strengthen  that  conjecture.  We 
append  a  u  Particular"  of  the  grant  to  Sir  John 
Williams  of  the  possessions  of  the  then  late  Monastery 
of  Cwmhir  in  this  county,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the 
Grange  of  Gwernygoe. 

The  most  interesting  fact  connected  with  it  is  that  it 
discloses— for  the  first  time,  we  believe — that  the  Abbot 
arid  Convent  of  Cwrnhir  were  "  Foresters",  and  had 
been  so  for  at  least  seventy  years  then  past — how  much 
longer  no  person  now  can  say. 

At  the  period  of  the  Dissolution,  in  the  return  made 
in  the  26th  Hen.  VIII  to  the  First-Fruits  Office,  the 
possessions  in  Kerry  were  stated  to  have  been  "  the 
Grange  of  Gwernygoe,  in  the  Lordship  of  Kerry,  pay- 
ing yearly  to  the  Abbot  £8  85.  rent."  At  the  time, 
it  is  stated  it  was  in  mortgage  to  one  John  ap  R.  for  a 
term  of  ten  years.  This  John  ap  R.  seems  to  have  been 
the  local  agent  or  representative  of  the  Abbot,  for, 
among  the  payments  out  of  the  above  £8  85.  rent,  we 
find  that  he,  John  ap  R.  the  bailiff,  was  paid  yearly 
3s.  4:d. ;  also  he,  John  apR.,  was  paid  £1,  and  Richard 
Herbert  13s. ;  which  sums  appear  to  have  been  the 
total  outgoings  from  the  reserved  rent. 

PARTICULARS  OF  GRANTS. 
Augmentation  Office,  4th  May,  37  Hen.  VIII  (1545-6). 

Parcel  of  the  Possessions  of  the  late  Monastery  of  Cwmhir, 
Co.  of  Eadnor,  granted  to  Sir  John  Williams,  Et. 

The  Grange  of  Gwernogo,  with  the  app'tenances,  in  the 
forsayd1  Countie,  parcell  of  the  possessions  of  the  forsayd  late 
Monasterye  : — 

1  Radnorshire.  The  clerk  apparently  did  not  know  that  Gwernygoe 
was  located  in  the  then  new  County  of  Montgomery. 

G  2 


84  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

The  Forest  of  Coyd  Kyrye  ap  heren1  conteynetli  Ix  acres 
whereof  ys  waste  xx  acres,  x  acres  of  x  yeres  growth  sett  w'th 
shorte  shrubbed  oks  of  Ix  yeres  growt',  reserued  to  one 
ffermo'r  and  three  tenants  there  for  theyre  fyreboote,  hedg- 
boote,  and  housboote,  w'ch  they  haue  byn  accustomed  to  haue. 
In  the  same  (Forest),  ij  acres,  ijc?.,  of  one  yeres  growt' ;  ij 
acres,  iiijd.,  of  ij  yeres  growt' ;  ij  acres,  vjd.,  of  iij  yeres 
growt' ;  ij  acres,  viiid.,  of  iiij  yeres  growt' ;  ij  acres,  xd.,  of 
v  yeres  growt' ;  ij  acres,  xijd,  of  vj  yeres  growt' ;  ij  acres, 
xiiijrf.,  of  vij  yeres  growt' ;  ij  acres,  xvjc?.,  of  viii  yeres  growt'  ; 
ij  acres,  xviijc?.,  of  ix  yeres  growt' ;  ij  acres,  xxc£.,  of  x  yeres 
growt' ;  ij  acres,  ijs.,  of  xij  yeres  growt' ;  ij  acres,  ijs.  iiijd.,  of 
xiiij  yeres  growt';  ij  acres,  ijs.  viijd.,  of  xvj  yeres  growt'; 
ij  acres,  iijs.,  of  xviij  yeres  growt' ;  and  ij  acres,  iijs.  iiijd., 
residue  of  xx  yeres  growt' ;  and  xx  acres,  vjli.  xiiis.  iiijrf.,  of 
the  same,  thyn  sett'  w't'  oke  of  Ix  yeres  growt',  the  wood  of 
euery  acre  aforesayd  valued  as  apperithe,  w'ch  is  in  the  holle 
vi^.  xvs.  xd. 


The  spryngs  of  the  wood  or  grownde  of  x  acres  aforesayd 
not  valwyd  bycause  they  be  reserued,  and  of  xxxvij  acres  di'2 
aforesaid  not  valwyd  because  the  wood  growt'  by  p'cells  uppon 
the  mountayues,  and  hath  byn  usually  fallen  by  the  Ten'nts 
and  Inh'itants  there,  and  never  inclosed,  and  of  xij  acres  di' 
resydue  the  ffourth  p'te  of  the  sayd  50  acres  rated  yerely  at 
Id.  the  acre,  bycause  the  fourth  p'te  of  eu'y  comon  wood  may 
be  inclosed  by  vertue  of  the  statute  aforesayd,  w'ch  is  yerely 
on  the  holle  xijc?.  ob.,3  and  amounteth  after  xx  years  purchase 
to  xxs.  xd.  ;  in  the  whole,  viij/i.  xvjs.  viijd. 

Ex'r  p'  me,         DAUID  CLAYTON. 

We  have  previously  mentioned  that  an  inquiry  was 
held  to  ascertain  what  lands,  other  than  the  Grange  of 
Gwernygoe,  the  Abbot  of  Cwmhir  possessed  in  Kerry. 

As  this  inquiry  is  about  the  earliest  document  we 
have  met  with,  which  discloses  the  names  of  the  chief 
men  resident  in  Kerry,  we  append  a  summary  of  the 
evidence  taken. 

1  Notwithstanding  its  peculiar  appearance,  the  writer  thinks  Kyrye- 
ap-heren  is  intended  for  Kefnybenn. 

2  Di'  =  half.  3  Ob.  =  a  halfpenny. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  85 

CONCEALED  LANDS. 

Special  Commission,  No.  3078,  anno  16  Elizth. 
Parcel  of  the  Possessions  of  the  Dissolved  Abbey  of  Cwmhir. 

Depositions  taken  at  Kerry  before  Robert  Broughton,  Esq., 
John  Pryce,  and  Richard  ap  Cadwalladr,  gentlemen,  the  Com- 
missioners named  and  appointed  in  the  Commission  where- 
unto  the  depositions  are  annexed  the  30th  day  of  August,  in 
the  year  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  the  Sixteenth  (1573). 

Howell  ap  Owen  ap  Gruff  of  Bachelltree,  yeoman,  aged  52, 
examined,  and  said,  to  the  1st  Interrogatory,  that  one  Edmund 
ap  Res  ap  Morrice  and  deponent  held  and  enjoyed  a  mill  and 
certain  lands  situate  in  the  township  of  Kelliber  Issa  by 
a  lease,  the  demise  and  grant  of  the  abbot  and  convent  of  the 
dissolved  monastery  of  Cwmhier,  in  the  county  of  Radnor,  for 
years  then  to  come,  at  the  yearly  rent  reserved  in  the  same 
lease,  which  said  mill  and  lands  are  parcel  of  the  possessions 
of  the  said  Monastery,  whereof  one  Charles  ffoxe,  Esq.,  and  his 
assign  or  assigns,  do  receive  the  rent,  by  what  title  deponent 
did  not  know,  and  that  the  Queen  received  nothing,  so  far  as 
deponent  knew.  To  the  2nd  Interrogatory  he  said,  that  the 
mill  and  land  did  belong  to  the  said  Abbey  of  Cwmhier,  and 
that  the  Grange  of  Gwernygo,  situate  in  the  county  of  Mont- 
gomery, and  belonging  to  the  said  Abbey,  were  never  used  or 
occupied,  demised  or  let,  to  any  person  with  the  mill  and 
lands,  or  that  the  mill  and  lands  ever  were  parcel  of  the  said 
Grange  of  Gwernygo,  and  that  the  land  aforesaid  is  in  the 
occupation  of  the  said  Edmonde  ap  Res  ap  Morrice  and  the 
said  deponent,  and  the  rent  was  from  tyme  to  tyme  paid,  before 
the  Dissolution  of  the  said  Monastery,  to  the  Abbot's  Bailiff. 
To  the  viiith  Interrogatory  he  said  as  before  to  the  1st ;  he 
could  not  further  say. 

leu'n  ap  leu'n  ap  Madock  of  Kerry,  yeoman,  aged  64  years, 
examined,  and  to  the  1st  Interrogatory  said :  That  the  lands, 
tenements,  meadows,  woods,  and  pastures  in  Kelliber  issa,  all 
the  lands  and  tenements  in  the  township  of  Gwernego,  the 
Grange  there  excepted,  certen  lands  in  Machethllon,  certen 
lands,  woods,  meadows,  and  pastures  in  Gwen  rwy,  and  certen 
lands,  tenements,  rents,  and  tithes  in  the  township  of  Hop  ton, 
in  the  said  county,  were,  before  the  Dissolution  of  the  Monas- 
tery aforesaid,  and  yet  are,  parcells  of  the  lands  and  pos- 
sessions of  the  said  Monastery,  whereof  the  Queene's  Majesty 
receiveth  the  comodite  or  profit  to  th'entendern't1  of  the  said 

1  Entendeament  =  understanding. 


86  HISTORY  OF  THE  PAEISH  OF  KERRY. 

deponent,  for  one  Charles  Ffoxe,  Esq.,1  receiveth  the  rents 
and  profits  of  the  same  premisses  at  his  pleasure,  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  said  deponent.  To  the  2nd  Interrogatory 
deponent  said  that  there  was  a  Grange,  called  the  Grange  of 
Gwernygo,  in  the  said  County  of  Montgomery,  belonging  to 
the  said  Abbey  of  Cwmhir,  and  that  the  lands,  tenements, 
tithes,  meadows,  woods,  and  pastures,  set  and  being  in  Kelliber 
Issa,  Gwernego,  Machethlon,  Gwen  rwy,  and  Hopton  afore- 
said, were  never  used,  occupied,  reputed,  accepted,  demised, 
and  letten  to  ferm  in  one  and  the  same  lease,  as  the  Grange 
was  ever  known  to  the  deponent's  knowledge  to  be  severed 
from  the  said  premisses  before  recited  by  itself  in  meets  and 
bounds. 

Oliver  ap  Hoell  of  Kerry,  gent.,  aged  66,  deposed  that  he 
held  certen  lands,  meadows,  and  wood  in  Gwernego  by  force 
of  a  certain  lease  as  of  the  demise  and  grant  of  an  abbot  and 
convent  of  the  late  monastery  of  Cwmhir,  for  years  then 
enduring  at  the  yearly  rent  reserved  in  the  same,  which  lands, 
meadows,  and  woods  are  parcel  of  the  lands  and  possessions 
of  the  said  Monastery,  whereof  one  Charles  Ffoxe,  Esq.,  and 
his  assigns,  dothe  receive  the  same  rent,  by  what  title  depo- 
nent knoweth  not,  and  that  the  Queen  receiveth  no  profits  to 
his  knowledge. 

Thomas  ap  Ll'en  of  Kerry,  yeoman,  aged  80  years,  n.  Inter- 
rogatory.— To  this  he  said  the  same  as  leu'n  ap  leu'n  ap 
Madock,  and  added  that  the  Grange  called  the  Grange  of 
Gwernego,  in  the  said  county  of  Montgomery,  is  inclosed  within 
the  precincts  or  circuits  of  a  Ditche  called  the  Grange  Ditche,  and 
severed  from  the  residue  of  the  said  land,  and  other  the  premyses, 
tyme  out  of  memory  of  man,  as  the  said  deponent  had  heard  by 
credible  report. 

Hugh  ap  Ho'll  of  Hopton,  yeoman,  aged  80  years.  Sworn, 
said  that  to  Interrogatories  three,  four,  five,  six,  seven,  and 
eight,  he  said  the  same  as  the  last  deponent,  Thomas  ap  Ll'en 
had  said. 

John2  ap  leu'n  Lloyd  of  Kerry,  Gent.,  aged  50  years,  said 
the  same. 

Eees  ap  Thomas  of  Hopton,  yeoman,  aged  60  years.  To  the 
1st  Interrogatory  he  said  that  he  held  certain  lands  in  Hopton, 
parcel  of  the  lands  and  possessions  of  the  said  Monastery  of 
Cwmhir,  under  a  lease  made  by  the  Abbot  and  Convent  for 
years  then  enduring,  at  the  yearly  rent  reserved  in  the  same 


1  OfCainham. 

2  Of  Bahaillon  ;  see  Dwnn's  Reprint,  p.  50,  Mont.  Pedigrees. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  87 

lease  ;  and,  further,  he  said  the  same  as  Thomas  ap  Ll'en  said  to 
Interrogatories  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  and  8. 

John  ap  Mathewe  of  Kerry,  in  the  said  county,  Gent.,  aged 
44  years,  said  that  he  and  other  co-partners  held  other  lands 
in  the  Townshippes  of  Gwernego  and  Machethlon,  in  lease  at  a 
certain  yearly  rent  reserved ;  and  further  he  said  the  same  as 
deponent,  leu'n  ap  leu'n  ap  Madoc,  said. 

Richard  ap  John  of  Machethlon,  Gent.,  aged  30  years,  said 
that  he  and  his  co-partner,  William  ap  David,  held  certain  tithes 
in  the  township  of  Hopton,  in  lease,  as  of  the  demise  and  grant 
of  an  Abbot  and  Convent  of  the  dissolved  Monastery  of  Cum- 
heir  for  years  then  enduring,  at  a  certain  yearly  rental  reserved 
in  the  lease.  To  all  other  Interrogatories  he  deposed  as  John 
ap  Mathew  did. 

Eichard  ap  Dd.  of  Hopton,  yeoman,  aged  40  years,  deposed 
to  the  same  effect  as  Res  ap  Thomas  did. 

David  ap  Edmund  of  Hopton,  yeoman,  aged  30,  deposed  and 
said  that  xv  acres  of  arable  land  and  two  meadows  called  Gwer- 
glodd-y-ddyot  and  Gwerglodd  vechen  and  Kay  ar  Abbot,  lying 
and  being  in  Hopton  Ucha,  within  the  Domynion  of  Kerry,  with 
the  appurtenances,  which  were  letten  to  farm  by  an  Abbot  and 
Convent  of  the  said  dissolved  monastery  of  Cu'hier  to  one  David 
ap  Llo.  for  the  term  of  iiijxx  xix1  years  for  a  certain  yearlye  rent 
serued  (?  reserved)  in  the  same,  which  yeares  are  yet  enduring, 
whose  estate  the  said  deponent  hath  in  the  moytie  thereof,  and 
that  the  lands,  tithes,  etc.,  sett,  lying,  and  being  in  the  town- 
ships of  Hopton,  Machaethllon,  Kelliber  issa,  Gwynryw,  Cefn- 
beren,  and  Gwernego,  severed  from  the  Grange  thereof,  and 
certain  lands  in  Brumton,  in  the  county  of  Salop,  were,  before 
the  dissolution  of  the  saide  late  monastery,  and  yett  are,  parcell 
of  the  lands  and  possessions  of  the  said  monastery,  as  he  hath 
herde  ancient  men  say  and  believe.  The  Queene's  Majesty 
receiveth  no  profits  therefrom,  for  one  Charles  Ffoxe,  Esquire, 
receiveth  the  rents  and  profits  to  the  knowledge  of  the  said 
deponent;  further  he  could  not  depose.  To  the  n  Inter- 
rogatory he  said  that  there  is  a  Grange  called  the  Grange  of 
Gwernego,  belonging  to  the  said  Abbey  of  Cwmhier,  and  that 
the  lands,  tenements,  tithes,  rents,  meadows,  and  pastures,  sett, 
lying,  and  being  in  the  townshipps  of  Hopton,  Machethlon, 
Kelliber  Issa,  Gwenrwy,  Cefnyberen,  and  Gwernego  aforesaid, 
were  never  used,  occupied,  reputed,  accepted,  demysed,  and 
letten  to  farm  in  one  entire  lease  to  any  person  or  persons 


1  iiijxx  xix  =  99. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

with  the  said  Grange,  or  that  the  said  premises,  and  the  said 
lands  in  Brumton,  in  the  county  of  Salop,  were  never  soe  taken, 
occupied,  or  known  as  any  part,  parcell,  or  member  of  the  said 
Grange  to  deponent's  knowledge,  and  he  believed  it  to  be  true, 
and  that  the  premises  are  several  tenements  and  fiarmes,  and 
so  demysed  to  seu'all  ten'nts,  as  well  before  the  said  Grange 
was  demysed  by  the  Abbot  and  Co'vent  to  Morice  ap  John 
Lloyd,  as  also  sythence  by  the  Abbot  and  CoVent  there,  as  the 
said  deponent  hath  herd  by  reasonable  report  of  hys  Aunces- 
tors  and  others. 

Hugh  ap  Richard  of  Kerry,  Gent.,  aged  46  years,  said  he  is 
tennant  in  three  several  townships  of  the  said  premises,  that  is 
to  say,  Machethlon,  Hopton,  and  Gwernego,  by  force  of  several 
leases  made  and  granted  by  the  Abbot  and  Co'vent  of  the 
Monastery  of  Cu'hir  for  years  yet  to  run,  at  rents  in  the  said 
leases  reserved.  Charles  Ffoxe  received  the  rents. 

[Following,  this  deponent  are  other  depositions  which  are 
undecipherable  from  decay.] 

Pryce  Griffith  ap  David  of  Brum'ton,  yeoman,  aged  56  years, 
said  that  a  tenement  which  he  or  his  assigns  then  inhabited, 
situate  in  Brumpton,  and  extending  into  Montgomeryshire, 
containing,  by  estimation,  90  acres,  whereof  the  said  tenement 
and  about  32  acres  of  land  do  lie  in  the  county  of  Salop,  of 
which  deponent  and  his  assigns  of  the  same  are  in  possession, 
by  force  of  a  lease  or  demise  granted  thereof  by  one  Owyn  ap 
David,  late  Abbot  of  the  Monastery  of  the  Blessed  Mary  of 
Cu'hir,  bearing  date  the  second  day  of  June,  in  the  yeare  of 
our  Lorde  God  1475,  made  to  one  Howell  ap  leu'n  ap  Ll'en,  for 
the  term  of  99  years,  and  that  the  rent  thereof  was  paid  yearly 
to  the  said  Abbot's  Receiver  or  Bayliffes  there  for  the  time 
being,  to  the  Abbot's  use  accordingly,  and  that  the  ffermors  of 
the  Grange  called  Gwernego  did  never  enjoy  or  hold  the  said 
demised  premises,  or  any  part  or  parcel  thereof.  Charles  ffoxe 
yearly  took  the  rent. 

[The  Report  of  the  Commissioners  which  accompanied  the 
depositions,  and  which  was,  by  reason  of  damp  and  decay, 
very  illegible,  ran  as  follows  :] 

"  Right  Honorable, — our  duties  humblie  considered.  Whereas 
by  virtue  of  the  Quenes  Ma'ties  Co'mission,  herein  inclosed, 
unto  us  addressed,  we  have  to  the  effecte  thereof  taken  the 
deposic'ons  of  eu'ry  of  the  wytuesses  upon  their  othes  produced 
before  us  in  the  Quenes  Ma'ties  behalf  in  the  prouf  of  the 
articles  therein  annexed,  w'ch  we  sende  herewith  to  your  L., 
inclosed  accordinglie,  hauing  further  taken  the  vewe  and 
Su'vey  of  the  lands,  ten'ts,  rents,  tithes,  medowes,  woods, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  89 

pastures,  moors,  and  com'ens  menc'oned  in  the  sev'all  depo- 
sic'ons,  being  p'cells  of  the  late  lands  and  possessions  of  the 
dissolved  monastery  of  Cu'hier,  in  the  county  of  Radnor,  as 
followeth,  that  is  to  saie — 

"ALL  the  same  lands,  ten'ts,  rents,  tithes,  medowes,  woods, 
pastures,  mores,  and  comens,  w'th  th'app'ten'n's,  situate,  lieing, 
and  being  within  the  Townshipps  of  Hopton,  Machethlon, 
Kevyn-y-beryn,  and  Gwenryw,  in  the  county  of  Montgomery, 
p'cell  of  the  possessions  of  the  aforesaid  Monastery,  are  worth 
yearlie,  above  all  reprises iij/t. 

"  AND  all  those  lands,  tenements,  medowes,  woodes,  pastures, 
mores,  and  comens,  with  their  appurten'ces,  situate,  lieing, 
and  being  in  the  Township  of  Gwernego,  in  the  said  countie, 
in  the  seu'all  occupac'ons  of  Richard  ap  Meredd  ap  Moris,  John 
ffourde,  Oliver  ap  Houel,  John  ap  Lewys,  James  ap  John  ap 
Meyric,  and  others,  are  severed  from  the  Grange  of  Gwernego 
in  the  same  countie,  of  the  possessions  of  the  monastery  afore- 
said, are  worth  yearlie,  above  all  reprises  .  .  .  10s. 

"AND  also  all  the  same  lands,  tenets,  medowes,  woods,  and 
pastures,  w'th  their  app'tenences,  together  wyth  a  mill,  scituate, 
lying,  and  beinge  in  the  township  of  Kelliber  issa  and  Kelliber 
ucha,  in  the  said  county  of  Montgomery,  are  worth  yearlie, 
above  all  reprises  .  .  .  10s.  or  15s.  [uncertain  which]. 

"  AND  all  the  same  tenement,  with  the  appurtenances,  in  the 
tenure  or  occupation  and  possession  of  Gruff  ap  Dd.,  scituat, 
lieing,  and  beinge  as  well  within  the  parish  of  Churchstoke, 
in  the  county  of  Salopp,  as  also  within  the  parish  of  Kerry,  in 
the  county  of  Montgomery  aforesaid,  parcels  of  the  lands  and 
possessions  of  the  said  Monastery  of  Cu'hir 

is  worth  yearlie,  above  all  reprises  .         .          (?)*. 

"AND  further,  all  the  said  Grange  of  Gwernego,  in  the  said 
countye  of  Mountgomery,  in  the  occupac'on  of  one  James  ap 
Morris,  and  a  house  therewith  in  the  occupac'on  of  one  ... 
Howell,  parcel  of  the  possessions  of  the  said  monasterye,  which 
are  worth  yearlie,  above  all  reprises  ....  (?)* 

"AND  so  having  attempted  the  further  execuc'on  of  the 
Corny ssion  aforesaid,  we  were  fayn  to  surcease  therein,  for  the 
apparent  favor  of  one  David  Lloyd  of  Gwernegoff,  in  the  said 
county  of  Montgomery,  borne  towards  the  intruders  in  the 
premisses,  whereof  we  have  thought  good  to  advertise  your 
Lordship. 

"  Thus,  not  doubting  your  good  Lordship's  favourable  opinion 
and  desire  to  shewe  of  good  meaning  to  accept  a  good  part, 

1  These  sums  are  obliterated  by  damp  from  the  parchment. 


90  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

having  directly  proceeded  to  the  examinac'on  of  the  witnesses 
produced,  as  is  aforesaid  as  to  the  same  appertained,  and  so 
take  humblie  our  leave. 

"  Eemay'ing  yo'r  contynwal  Orators  as  knoweth  God,  who 
preserve  your  Lordship  in  honour  and  happy  daies  long  to 
endure.  Written  the  vijth  October  1574." 

[This  appears  to  us  a  rather  unsatisfactory  Report  of  the  three 
Commissioners,  who  probably  were  near  neighbours  and  in 
sympathy  with  the  "  intruders" ;  but  as  no  further  references 
among  the  documents  at  the  Record  Office  are  made  to  the 
matter  we  presume  it  was  not  revived.] 

It  will  have  been  seen  above  that,  in  1559,  Gwerny- 
goe,  etc.,  became  the  property  of  Francis  Williams  by 
devise  from  his  uncle,  Sir  John  Williams  of  Thame, 
and,  by  the  evidence  of  several  of  the  deponents  in  the 
suit  touching  the  "  Concealed"  Lands,  Charles  Fox, 
Esq.,  of  Brornfield  and  Caynham,  in  1573  was  receiving 
the  rents,  by  what  title  the  deponents  did  not  know, 
but  the  probability  is  that,  as  Sir  John  Williams  of 
Thame  having  in  his  lifetime  been  President  of  the 
Court  of  the  Marches,  the  Fox1  family  and  he  were 
intimately  acquainted,  and  by  this  intimacy  they,  the 
Fox  family,  also  became  acquainted  with  the  nephew  of 
Sir  John  Williams,  namely,  Francis  Williams,  and  from 
him  purchased  the  estate.  Francis  Williams  died 
apparently  unmarried;  at  any  rate,  he  died  without 
issue. 

In  a  letter  written  a  few  years  ago  by  a  gentleman  of 
the  name  of  Fox  to  the  Rev.  O.  A.  Nares,  B.D.,  Vicar 
of  Kerry,  and  which  Mr.  Nares  has  courteously  placed 
at  our  service,  the  writer  of  the  letter  said  :  "I  have 
made  inquiries  from  various  sources,  and  find  that 
Charles  Fox  of  Bromfield  purchased  Gwernygoe  in 
1575,  and  devised  it,  in  trust  with  other  propertj7,  to  his 
brother-in-law,  Richard  Leighton,  for  his  son  Edward, 
then  an  infant,  and  who  was  subsequently  Sheriff  of 
Montgomeryshire  in  1617.2 

1  Sir  Charles  Fox,  in  his  will,  mentions  that  he  was  an  officer  in 
the  Court  of  the  Marches. 

2  See  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  ix,  p.  20  et  seq. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  91 

"Sir  Edward  Fox  had  three  sons,  Somerset  Fox,1 
Thomas  Fox,  and  Henry  Fox,  all  born  at  Gwernygoe, 
between  1595  and  1606.  His  sons  Henry  and  Thomas 
were  married  from  Gwernygoe  between  1620  and  3 
(sic),  the  former  to  Anne,  daughter  of  John  Reynolds, 
and  the  latter  to  Jane,  daughter  of  Arthur  Pryce  of 
Yaenor.  Sir  Edward  Fox  died  at  Gwernygoe  about 
the  end  of  1627,  and  was,  I  have  always  understood, 
buried  at  Kerry,  as  were  also  his  sons  baptised." 

Taking  this  date  as  to  the  purchase  as  being  correct, 
it  would  appear  that  Charles  Fox  must  have  held  the 
estate  in  1573,  as  a  tenant,  or  leaseholder,  or  collector 
for  Francis  Williams.  There  is  not  much  importance 
to  be  attached  to  these  dates,  other  than  they  show 
that  the' Fox  family  became  the  owners  of  the  Gwerny- 
goe estate  and  other  lands,  then  formerly  belonging  to 
the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Cwmhir,  not  later  than  1575, 
and,  as  will  be  seen  presently,  it  remained  in  the  posses- 
sion of  that  family  for  nearly  a  century  from  that  date. 

As  we  shall  have  frequently  to  refer  to  members  of 
the  Fox  family  in  connection  with  this  section  of  the 
devolution  of  the  estate,  the  following  pedigree  will 
facilitate  references  by  readers  if  they  desire  to  make 
them. 

1  Neither  of  the  three  sons  mentioned  in  Kerry  Register  as  having 
been  baptised  there. 


92 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 


THE  FAMILY  OF  FOX  DEDUCE 


William  Fox  of  St.  John's  Priory,=f= 
Ludlow,  1500. 


Edmund 
Fox  of 
Ludford, 
Hereford- 
shire, 
son  and 
heir. 


Edward  Fox=f=Elizabeth,  dau.  of 


of  Greet, 

Salop, 
4th  son. 


FOX  OF  GWERNYGOE,  KERRY. 

ARMS. — Argent,  a  chevron  between 
three  foxes'  heads  erased  gules. 


1st.  4th. 

Sir    Stephen=j=Elizabeth,  daughter  = 


Sir  Edward 

Leighton  of 

Wattlesborough 

(2nd  wife). 


Katherine=fPriamus  Lloyd  of  Marring- 


(  Visitation 
of  Shrop- 
shire in 
162:3). 


ton,  only  son  of  Richard 
Lloyd,  Sheriff  in  1616. 


Riddleston. 


of  Sir  Austine  Pal- 
grave  ;  marriage 
settlement  with  Sir 
Edwd.  Fox  dated 
Feb.  27,  1613,  by 
which  he  settled 
Gwernygoe  upon 
her  for  life,  if  she 
survived  him. 


3rd. 

. . . ,  a  daughter  of  Sir  = 
John  Thynne,  Kt., 

5th  son  of  the 
Founder  of  Long- 
leat,  Charles,  was 
probably  the  pur- 
chaser of  Cainham. 
She  had  been  pre- 
viously married  to 
Sir  Walter  Lacy. 


b 

2nd. 

Elizabeth,  relict  of=p 
Ratcliff  Gerrard  of 

Halsall,  Lanca- 
shire, a  Colonel  in 
the  army  of  Charles 
I,  and  only  daugh- 
ter of  Sir  Charles 
Somerset,  Standard 
Bearer  to  the  band 
of  Gentle'men  Pen- 
sioners, fifth  son  of 
Henry,  Earl  of 
Worcester. 


I  1 

William=p 
Riddle- 
ston; 
died  in- 
testate. 


Francis.     Mary.          Somerset  Fox  of  Cainham,  living=f=Anne,  dau.  of 


at  Gwernygoe  in  1632-39 ;  Juror 
Montgomery,  1634.  Will  proved 
at  Oxford  1643  (Crane),  July. 
He  was  on  the  Grand  Jury  List 
at  Pool,  20th  May  1634,  but  not 
sworn. 


Walter  Long 
of  Wraxall, 
co.  Wilts. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 


93 


FROM  AN  ANCIENT  YORKSHIRE  FAMILY. 


=pjane,  daugh.  of  Richd.  Downe  ' 
of  Ludlow. 


2nd.         |  1st, 

Catherine,  dau.  of  Sir=f=  Charles  Fox  of  Cainham  and  Brom-^Elizabeth, daughter  of 


Edward  Leighton 
of  Wattlesborough. 


field  (2nd  son),  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  co.  Montgomery,  1560-61. 
He  purchased  Gwernygoe,  1575. 
Will  dated  12th  Nov.  1500;  proved 
1st  July  1591. 


Sir  Miles  Crosby, 
Knt. 


nd.       |                     Is 
j=Sir  Edward  Fox,- 
Kt.,  of  Cainhara 
and  Gwernygoe, 
married  four 
times.     Sheriff  of 
Montg.,  1617. 
Buried  at  Kerry, 
March  8,  1628-9. 
He  sold  Cainha  m, 
and  took  up  his 
residence  at      N 
Gwernygoe. 
Intestate,  1628-9, 
folio  8  1,1  7  March 
(Mont  Coll.,  xxii, 
p.  250). 

,t.                             |              | 
f=  Frances,      "Will'm    Henry  Fox=j 
daugh.  of       Fox,           de  la 
Rowland      4th  son.     Hurst, 
Barker  of                       5  fil.  A° 
Hagh-                            1623. 
mond, 
s.  p. 

^Margaret,     Ann.^ 
dau.  of 
Edward 
Gage  of 
Aston,  co. 
Sussex. 

=Matthew 
Herbert 
of 
Dolguog. 

/ 
rl  of  Powis. 

1                                                            1 
Edward   Fox,  =  Francisca,  dau.     Anna.      The  Ea 
'      son  and  heir;     of  Thos.  Ottley 
set.  23,              ofPicbford, 
A°  16^3.                co.  Salop. 

|  2nd. 
Edward  (Mont.   Coll.; 

vi,  p.  29:3,  note  2 ; 

p.  299,  note  2 ;  p.  307, 

note  1). 


-Frances.       Henry  Fox,=j=Ann,  dau.        Thomas=f=Jane,  dau 


Edward,  1631 ;  buried  20  Dec. 

(Guilsfield  Register}. 


buried  at 
Kerry.  6th 
Nov.  1628. 
He  married 
from  Kerry. 

of  John 
Reynolds. 

Foxe  of 
Gwern- 
ygoe. 

of  Arthur 
Pryce  of 
Vaenor. 

V 

' 

94 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 


•I 


1                1                                 1  1  1         1                  Mi             1 

Stephen=p     Somerset  Fox,  found=f=     Walter.     Charles  Fox,    Margaret,      Arthur 

Riddle- 

guilty  in  1654  of  con- 

bapt. at           bapt.  at          Fox, 

ston, 

spiring  with  his 

William.         Kerry,               Kerry,       bapt.  at 

died  in- 

cousin John  Gerrard 

4  Sept.  1629.     14th  Oct.       Kerry, 

testate. 

and  a  Mr.  Vowel  the 

Richard.     (Not  men-          1630.          20  April 

Protector's  death. 

tioned  in  the                             1636. 

He  died  at  Ludlow  in 

Visitation,      Elizabetha. 

1689.     His  will  (Ent., 

1623.) 

154),  1689.     He  was 

Anna. 

abroad  for  20  years, 

but  King  Charles  II 

. 

pensioned  him  on  his 

Restoration.          V                           Memos.  ex  Kerry  Register. 



Richard,  son  of  Reginald  Fox,  bapt.  Kerry, 

|                                                                    4th  Oct.  1630. 

William  Riddleston,  of  the  parish        Margaret  Fox,  buried  at  Kerry,  25th  April 
of  St.  Bride's,  London,  plaintiff              1620. 

in  a  suit  anno  3  Jac.  II  (1687). 

THE  Fox  FAMILY  AS  OWNERS  OF  THE  GWERNYGOE  ESTATE 

And  other  lands,  parcel  of  the  Possessions  of  the 

Abbot  and  Convent  O/*CWMHIR. 

As  stated  previously,  Charles  Fox,  Esq.,  of  Cainham, 
purchased  Gwernygoe  about,  or  a  little  earlier  than, 
1575  ;  he  was  a  person  who  was  connected  with  the 
very  best  families  of  the  neighbourhood,  as  may  be 
seen  on  reference  to  the  pedigree  supra  (for  a  detailed 
account  see  Blakeway's  Sheriffs  of  Shropshire,  p..  94, 
1583),  in  which  year  Mr.  Fox  served  the  office  of 
Sheriff  for  that  county.  His  daughter  Ann  married 
Matthew  Herbert  of  Dolguog,  ancestor  of  the  present 
Earl  of  Powis  and  many  other  distinguished  persons. 
He  had  not  long  been  in  possession  of  the  Gwernygoe 
estate,  as  well  as  all  the  other  lands  which  Sir  John 
Williams  of  Thame  had  by  grant  from  King  Hen.  VIII, 
and  which  were  parcel  of  the  possessions  of  the  Abbey 
of  Cwmhir  before  we  find  him  dealing  with  them  in 
this  manner.  At  the  assizes  held  at  Denbigh  on  the 
21st  of  June,  22nd  Elizabeth  (1580),  he,  and  his  son 
Edward  Fox,  suffered  a  fine,  which  is  preserved  among 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH    OF    KERRY.  95 

the  Montgomery  Fines  at  the  Kecord  Office  in  London  ; 
the  original  is  in  Latin  : 

"  Chaises  Fox,  Esq.,  and  Edward  Leighton,  Esq.,  and  Edward 
Ffoxe,  Gent.,  touching  the  manors  and  granges  of  Gwernygo 
and  Cumbiga,  and  certain  messuages,  mills,  etc.,  and  120s.  and 
\\d.  rents  appurtenant,  in  Gwernygo,  Cum biga,  Kerry,  New- 
town,  Trefegloys,  Llanidloes,  Coytree,  Vastrey,  Kayheylin, 
Kefn-y-Vastre,  and  in  the  parishes  of  Llanfihangel  in  Kerry, 
Newtown,  Trefeglwys,  and  Llanidloes." 

By  the  association  of  the  name  of  Edward  Leighton 
and  Edward  (afterwards  Sir  Edward)  Foxe,  it  would 
appear  that  the  fine  was  suffered  for  some  family 
purposes,  a  conjecture  which  a  perusal  of  his  will1 
confirms.  He  was  a  person  of  great  wealth  and 
extensive  estates  in  various  counties,  which  he  mainly 
devised  to  his  eldest  son  Edward,  afterwards  Sir 
Edward  Fox. 

Charles  Fox,  Esq.,  in  his  will,  "  gave  and  bequeathed 
all  his  plate,  howshoulde  stuffe,  goods  and  Chattels 
which  he  held  at  Gwernygoe  to  his  son  Edward", 
and  he  was  succeeded  there  by  his  son  Sir  Edward 
Fox,  Knight,  who  was  Sheriff  of  the  county  of  Mont- 
gomery for  the  year  1G17.2  Sir  Edward  was  married 
no  less  than  four  times ;  by  his  second  wife  he  had  a 
son,  Somerset  Fox,  and  other  children,  born,  baptised, 
and  some  of  them  buried,  at  Kerry.  The  residential 
association  of  the  Fox  family  with  Kerry  appears  from 
the  parish  registers  to  have  been  limited  to  the  years 
1628-1636,  possibly  a  little  earlier;  and  a  little  later, 
up  to  a  recent  period,  it  was  very  obscure,  but,  by 
the  accidental  association  of  the  surname  Vauglian 
with  some  Exchequer  proceedings  connected  with 
the  estate  of  Gwernygoe,  and  which  we  erroneously 
for  the  moment  thought  related  to  the  Yaughans  of 
Crosswood,  who  at  the  time  of  these  proceedings  were 

1  Register  Sainberbe,  at  Somerset  House,  fo.  60. 

2  See  "  Lloyd's  Sheriffs"  (Mont.  Coll.,  ix,  p.  20  et  seq.). 


9G  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

owners  of  Gwernygoe,  we  came  across  material  which 
has  enabled  us  to  put  together  a  fairly  connected 
narrative  of  the  Fox  connection  with  the  Gwernygoe 
estate,  from  Sir  Edward  Fox's  tenure  of  the  estate 
until  it  passed  to  the  Vaughan  family. 

If  the  reader  will  refer  to  the  Fox  pedigree  supra, 
he  will  see  that  Sir  Edward  Fox's  fourth  wife  was 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Sir  Austine  Palgrave  of  North- 
wood,  Burmingharn,  co.  of  Norfolk.  She  was  the  relict 
of  Sir  Stephen  Eiddleston,  Knt.,  and  on  her  marriage 
with  Sir  Edward  Fox  she  brought  with  her  i(  a  large 
estate".  As  will  be  seen,  she  had  children  by  Sir 
Stephen  Riddleston  (or  Riddlesden  :  it  is  spelt  both 
ways),  and  Sir  Edward  executed  a  settlement  on  his 
marriage  with  her.  It  was  dated  the  27th  of  February 
in  the  year  1613  ;  and  by  which  he,  if  she  survived 
him,  settled  upon  her  for  life,  among  others,  the 
Gwernygoe  estate. 

Sir  Edward  Fox,  later,  took  up  his  residence  at 
Gwernygoe,  and  dying  there,  was  buried  at  Kerry  on 
the  8th  of  March  1628-9.1 

Immediately  after  his  decease,  Somerset  Fox,  his 
eldest  son  by  his  second  wife  (Elizabeth,  relict  of 
Katcliff  Gerrard),  took  possession  of  the  Gwernygoe 
estate,  alleging,  as  it  subsequently  appeared,  that  the 
estate  was  in  settlement  before  his  father's  marriage 
wTith  Dame  Elizabeth — erroneously  alleging,  as  it  will 
appear  in  the  sequel. 

She,  in  1633,  on  the  26th  of  August  (9  Oh.  I),  set  a 
lease  or  demise  of  the  premises  to  one  Ralph  Sheppard 
for  a  term  of  seven  years,  commencing  from  Lady  Day 
then  last  past.  He  took  possession,  and  was  immediately 
ejected  by  the  defendants,  SomersetFox,  Edward  James, 
John  Dudiick,  and  Griffith  ap  Rees  (the  latter  three 
tenants),  Somerset  Fox  himself  occupying  G  wernygoe 
Grange. 

Dame  Elizabeth  Fox's  tenant,  in   Michaelmas  of  the 

1  Sir  Edward  Fox  died  intestate.     See  A  font.  Coll.,  vol.  xxii,  p.  250. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERIlV.  97 

same  year  (9  Ch.  I),  brought  an  action  of  ejectment 
against  Somerset  Fox,  Edward  James,  John  Dudlich, 
and  Griffith  ap  Rees  in  the  Office  of  Pleas  of  the 
Exchequer  Court,  to  which  defendants  pleaded  not 
guilty,  and  after  divers  proceedings  in  Easter  Term 
(10  Ch.  I),  Ralph  Sheppard  lawfully  recovered  against 
the  said  defendants,  Somerset  Fox  and  the  others, 
"  lawful  possession  and  Tenure  of  and  in  the  said 
manor  and  demesne  of  Gwernygoe",  and  thereupon 
judgment  was  entered  for  plaintiff,  Ralph  Sheppard,  as 
lessee  to  Dame  Elizabeth  Fox  ;  that  is  to  say,  in  or 
about  Easter,  1637.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  defend- 
ants, Somerset  Fox  and  the  others  above-mentioned, 
again  took  possession  of  the  premises,  and  expelled  the 
said  Ralph  Sheppard,  whereupon  he,  about  the  1st  of 
June  (14  Ch.  I)  1638,  commenced  proceedings  against 
the  former  defendants  again  to  eject  them  and  put 
himself  again  in  possession. 

Fox  kept  the  premises  from  Lady  Elizabeth,  and 
deprived  her  of  all  benefit,  "  although  she  brought 
with  her  in  her  marriage  a  large  estate,  and  notwith- 
standing that  Gwernygoe  and  the  other  places  in  her 
settlement  was  all  that  was  left  to  her  for  her  liveli- 
hood and  requirements  after  the  death  of  Sir  Edward 
Fox — she  was  likely  to  be  ruined  and  undone."  She 
also  alleged  that  Somerset  Fox,  by  some  means,  sub- 
sequent to  the  death  of  Sir  Edward  Fox,  had  got 
possession  of  her  deed  of  marriage  settlement,  the  deed 
of  feoffment  thereon,  and  all  the  evidences  and  writings 
concerning  the  said  premises,  and  that  by  means 
thereof  he,  Somerset  Fox,  had  created  divers  secret 
and  fraudulent  estates  to  his  heirs,  and  also  to  Michael 
Middletori  and  divers  other  persons  in  the  said  Bill 
named,  thus  defrauding  her  of  all  the  advantages  of 
her  marriage  settlement ;  and  she  charged  that  he  had 
devised  the  said  premises  to  the  persons  named, 
thereby  gaining  for  himself  large  sums  of  money  by 
way  of  fines ;  and  he  had  expressly  and  utterly  denied 
to  give  her  any  money. 

VOL.  xx vi  i."  H 


98  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

It  was  stated  incidentally  in  the  proceedings  that 
the  several  tenants,  on  the  execution  of  the  marriage 
settlement,  about  the  llth  of  August  in  the  22nd  year 
of  James  I  (probably  this  should  be  the  12th  year),  the 
Gwernygoe  tenants,  attorned. 

Lady  Elizabeth  obtained  a  decision  in  her  favour,  and 
it  was  decreed  that  the  estate  in  settlement  was  to  be 
to  her  or  her  assigns  according  to  the  deed  of  jointure, 
and  all  the  arrears  of  rents  to  be  paid  to  her,  that 
is,  from  the  death  of  Sir  Edward  Fox  in  1629; 
she  to  enjoy  the  premises  until  defendants  could  pro- 
duce some  good  title  of  entail.  This  decree  was 
enrolled  9th  July  1640;  before  she  had  the  benefit 
of  the  decree  she  made  her  will,  and  devised  to  her 
children,  the  Biddlestons,  all  her  interest  and  benefit 
under  it. 

We  have  incidentally  mentioned  that  the  tenants  of 
the  Gwernygoe  estate,  in  12th  Jas.  I,  had  attorned 
before  Lady  Elizabeth  obtained  the  decree ;  there 
appears  to  have  been  an  attempt  made  to  show  that 
the  tenants  of  the  Gwernygoe  estate  did  not  attorn. 

In  her  original  Bill,  Lady  Elizabeth,  against  Somerset 
Fox  of  Caynham,  Esq.,  father  of  Somerset  Fox,  in  a 
later  Bill  a  defendant,  mentioned  that  he,  Somerset 
Fox,  Michael  Middleton,  Thomas  Gregory,  Catherine 
Philly,  John  Philly,1  John  Asterley,  Edward  Langford, 
Roland  Oakley,  Howard  Gwilt,  and  other  defendants, 
tenants  on  the  estate,  which  it  was  alleged  the  late 
Sir  Edward  Fox,  late  husband  of  Dame  Elizabeth  Fox, 
was  theretofore  in  his  lifetime  lawfully  seised  of  an 
estate  of  inheritance,  and  in  all  the  lands,  tenements, 
and  hereditaments  called 

THE  DEMESNE,  OR  MANOR,  OR  LORDSHIP  OF  GWERNYGOE. 

Tenant. 

Comprising  :  1.  The  farm  called  Kuro  Earl . . .   Edward  Morris, 
2.         „         „        Bahaillon  ...  Phillip  Dudlick, 

1  See  vol.  xxvi,  p.  98,  his  legacy  to  the  parish  of  Kerry.     His  name 
is  erroneously  there  printed  as  John  Phillips. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  99 

Tenant. 
Comprising:  3.  A  messuage  and  lands       ...   Ellinor  Dudlick, 

widow, 
„  4.  A  farm        ...          ...          ...   Morgan  ap  Kice, 

„  5.  Tenement   ...          ...          ...  William  Tewe, 

„  6.         „  Katherine  Ffilly, 

„  7.  Melynywern  Farm  ...  John  Asterley, 

all  of  which  premises  are  and  ever  were  parcel  and  reputed  as 
parcell  or  parcells  of  the  manor  and  lordship  of  Gwernygoe,  and 
are  lying  in  the  parish  of  Kerry,  in  the  county  of  Montgomery. 
Also  „, 

8.  Pwll-Gough    y-Gwenin,    in 

Churchstoke  parish        ...  Richard Langford. 

9.  Pentre  Nant,  in  Churchstoke 

parish    ...         ...         ...  Reignold  Clarke. 

Gwernygoe  is  not  mentioned,  as  it  was  occupied  by 
Mr.  Fox.  The  above,  with  the  manor  of  Adferton  in 
the  co.  of  Hereford,  were  included  in  the  marriage 
settlement  (27th  Feb.,  11  Jac.  I,  1613). 

Lady  Elizabeth  Fox,  in  18  Ch.  I  (1639),  at  Michael- 
mas Term  (No.  26,  Exchequer  Depositions  taken  by 
commission),  just  before  she  obtained  her  decree, 
evidently  was  put  to  the  cost  of  proving  the  attorn- 
ment  of  the  tenants  on  the  estate  in  1613.  for 
interrogatories  were  administered  against  the  persons 
named  above,  and  others.  The  queries  were  : 

1.  Did  deponent  know  the  parties  ? 

2.  Did   he   know    Charles    Fox,    Mathew    Morris,   Reynold 
Clarke,  Edward  Lewis,  whose  names  were  endorsed  on  a  deed 
then  shown  to  each  of  them  ? 

3.  Were  the  several  and  respective  names  of  Charles  Fox, 
Mathew  Morris,  Reynold  Clarke,  Edward  Lewis,  John  Asterley, 
or  any,  how  many,  and  which  of  them  subscribed,  and  was  the 
writing  their  own  handwriting  ? 

4.  Who   were   present   at   the   attornment    mentioned  and 
endorsed  on  the  back  of  the  deed  shown  ?     Did  deponent  see 
the  defendants  and  how  many  of  them  present  who  did  attorn, 
tenants    to    Augustine    Palgrave,1    Margaret    Palgrave,2    and 

1  Father  of  Lady  Elizabeth. 

2  Sister  of  Lady  Elizabeth, 

H9 
ft 


100  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

Robert  Baxter,1  and  which  of  them  ?    Were  they  present  ?    Was 
the  attornment  made  at  Gwernygoe  ? 

5.  Did  deponent  know  Thomas  Bishop  or  Thomas  Turner, 
whose  names  are  subscribed  to  and  endorsed  on  the  deed  ? 

6.  Were  the  names  Thomas  Bishop  and  Thomas  Turner  the 
handwriting  of  them  ? 

7.  Did  deponent  ever  hear  any  of  the  tenants  say  they  had 
attorned,  which  and  how  many  ? 

8.  How   near  of  kin  or  alliance   are   you  to  Charles   Fox, 
Mathew    Morris,   Reignold    Clarke,    Edward    Lewis,    Thomas 
Bishop,  Thomas  Turner  ? 

The  depositions  were  taken  at  the  house  of  Syman  Sanders, 
in  the  town  and  county  of  Montgomery,  27  Sept.,  15  Ch.  I 
(1639),  before  Hugh  Derwas,  Evan  Bowen,  and  Evan  Phillips, 
gentlemen. 

The  first  witness  examined  (on  plaintiff's  behalf)  was 
David  Mathew  of  Kerry,  Gent.,  aged  57. 

To  the  1st  Inter,  he  answered  he  knew  all  the  defendants. 

To  the  2nd,  he  said  he  knew  Mathew  Morris,  Reginald  Clarke, 
and  Edward  Lewis,  and  that  they  were  reputed  to  be  of  good 
credit ;  but  Reginald  Clarke  and  deponent  were  parishioners, 
and  retainers  to  the  said  Sir  Edward  Foxe. 

To  the  3rd,  he  said,  so  far  as  he  remembered  he  did  not  see 
Mathew  Morris  and  the  others  write  their  names,  but  six  years 
before  then  he  had  seen  Reginald  Clarke  write  his,  and  there- 
fore he  did  not  know  that  the  name  of  Charles  Foxe  and  the 
others  was  in  his  or  their  handwriting. 

To  the  4th,  he  could  make  no  answer  but  in  the  negative  to 
any  of  the  questions. 

To  the  5th,  deponent  knew  Thomas  Bishop  (then  deceased), 
and  he  knew  Thomas  Turner  of  Newtown  ;  but  whether  he  was 
the  Thomas  Turner  as  mentioned  in  the  Interrogatory,  he  did 
not  know.  Thomas  Bishop  and  John  Bishop  of  Newtown  were 
held  in  good  repute,  and  known  to  be  honest  men  in  their 
country. 

To  the  6th,  he  did  not  know  the  handwriting  of  Thomas 
Bishop  or  Thomas  Turner. 

To  the  7th,  he  could  make  no  other  answer. 

To  the  8th,  he  said  he  had  married  Thomas  Bishop's  eldest 
sister ;  he  was  no  relation  or  ally  of  the  other  persons  named. 
Mathew  Morris  was  servant  in  livery  and  tenant  to  Sir  Edward 

1  The  third  trustee  of  the  marriage  settlement. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KEliRY.  101 

Fox;  Reginald  Clarke  was  also  servant  in  livery,  tenant,  and 
some  time  undersheriff  to  and  under  Sir  Edward  Fox  ;  Edward 
Lewis  was  servant  in  livery  and  tenant  to  Sir  Edward  Fox,  and 
kept  some  of  Sir  Edward  Fox's  courts,  as  deponent  had  heard  ; 
Thomas  Bishopp  was  servant  in  livery  and  clerk  to  the  said 
Sir  Edward  Fox,  and  was  very  great  with  him. 

Richard  Clerke  of  Churchstoke,  Gent.,  aged  37,  did  not 
know  Lady  Elizabeth  Fox,  but  knew  all  the  defendants,  and 
knew  Sir  Edward  Fox,  late  husband  of  complainant.  He  did  not 
know  Charles  Fox  ;  but  he  knew  that  Mathew  Morris  and 
the  others  were  persons  of  good  credit  and  repute  in  the 
country.  He  had  known  Reginald  Clarke  (who  was  his  father) 
write  his  name  in  several  ways;  he  believed  the  signature  on 
the  deed  then  shown  him  was  his  father's  writing.  Many  other 
witnesses  deposed  and  generally  confirmed  the  statements 
above.  Thomas  Fox  of  Kerry,  Gentleman,  aged  38  years, 
knew  all  the  parties;  they  were  all  of  good  credit  and  repute. 
The  last  gentleman  has  a  son  Arthur,  born  and  baptised  at 
Kerry,  20  April  1636  (see  pedigree,  supra). 

As  the  decree  was  in  Lady  Elizabeth's  favour,  it 
would  appear  that  the  attorn ment  was  satisfactorily 
proved. 

The  estate  was  valued  at  £700  a  year,  and  her 
ladyship  was  decreed  a  sum  of  £6,000  damages.  The 
decree  was  enrolled  9th  July  1640.  Somerset  Fox,  the 
elder,  died  shortly  after  the  decree  was  had,  as  also  did 
Lady  Elizabeth  Fox  "  before  the  attorney  who  acted 
for  her  could  pay  the  same  (£6,000)  into  her  credit". 

Before  she  had  the  benefit  of  the  decree  she  made 
her  last  will,  and  devised  to  her  children,  Willium, 
Francis,  and  Mary  Riddleston,  all  her  interest  and 
benefit  in  and  under  the  said  decree.  She  dying,  left 
William  and  Francis,  her  sons,  executors  and  residuary 
legatees ;  they  proved  the  will,  and  took  upon  them 
the  burden  of  the  execution  thereof,  and  paid  their 
mother's  debts  arid  legacies.  When  they  applied  to 
Somerset  Fox  for  the  amount  of  the  decree  with  costs, 
he  answered  that  either  he  or  his  father  had  paid  all 
the  said  moneys  to  one  Vaughan,  who  managed  the 
cause  for  the  said  Dame  Elizabeth  Fox,  and  who  had 


102  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

obtained  the  said  decree  in  trust  to  be  by  him  paid 
over  and  returnable  to  the  said  Dame  Elizabeth. 

In  1687,  or  nearly  half  a  century  later,  William 
Biddleston,1  of  the  parish  of  St.  Bride's,  London,  an 
infant  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  by  his  mother, 
his  next  friend  and  guardian,  preferred  a  claim  against 
the  representative  of  the  solicitor  (Vaughan)  who  had 
acted  for  and  received  the  money  on  behalf  of  Dame 
Elizabeth  Fox.  It  was  alleged  against  the  said 
Vaughan  that  as  he  could  not,  or  did  not,  pay  the 
money  to  Dame  Elizabeth  Fox,  that  he  had  purchased 
therewith  in  his  own  name,  or  some  others,  a  certain 
messuage  and  lands,  Tretherwen  and  elsewhere,  in  the 
county  of  Montgomery,  of  the  yearly  value  of  £300,  to 
hold  to  him  and  his  heirs  for  ever  in  trust,  to  the  use 
and  behoof  of  the  executors  of  the  said  Lady  Elizabeth 
Fox,  her  heirs  and  assigns  for  ever ;  but  whether  the 
trusts  were  mentioned  in  the  deeds  plaintiff  (Riddleston) 
could  not  then  discover,  but  it  was  certain  the  premises 
were  purchased  by  Vaughan  with  the  sum  of  £5,500, 
the  money  by  him  received  upon  the  decree  to  the  use 
aforesaid,  and  not  otherwise,  though  the  same  upon 
confederacy  between  the  said  Somerset  Fox  the  elder 
and  Somerset  Fox  the  younger,  and  the  said  Vaughan 
and  others  in  their  lifetime,  and  after  their  decease  by 
the  son  of  Vaughan  and  divers  others,  had  been  kept 
from  the  knowledge  of  plaintiff  or  his  guardian,  as  also 
had  the  will  and  testament  of  Lady  Elizabeth  Fox,  and 
the  said  Vaughan,  taking  advantage  of  the  same,  had 
held  and  enjoyed  the  said  messuage  and  lands,  and 
received  the  profits  thereof,  without  accounting  to  the 
said  Elizabeth  Fox  or  any  other  person  interested  until 
about  2  years  then  ago,  when  the  said  John  Vaughan 
died,  not  only  seized  thereof,  but  of  a  very  great  per- 
sonal estate  in  ready  money  both  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  jewels,  etc. 

Plaintiff  claimed  that  Vaughan  had  purchased  all 
his  lands,  etc.,  with  Lady  Elizabeth's  money,  and  for 

1  Sec  Fox  pedigree,  supra.  2  Date  not  entered. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  103 

her  use,  and  not  with  his  own  money  ;  and  plaintiff 
claimed  that  Arthur  Vaughan,  son  of  John  Vaughan, 
and  defendant  in  the  suit,  in  combination  aforesaid, 
taking  advantage  that  those  who  had  the  right  thereto 
living  above  a  hundred  miles  remote  from  the  land  so 
purchased,  and  by  reason  whereof,  and  of  the  said 
Somerset  Fox.1  residing  beyond  the  seas  for  at  least 
twenty  years  after  the  payment  of  the  said  money  to 
his,  the  defendant's,  said  late  father,  John  Vaughan,  and 
that  all  the  paper  writings  which  could  prove  the 
receipt  of  the  said  money  were  in  the  custody  of  the 
said  Somerset  Fox,  and  during  his  life  and  since  his 
death  were  in  the  hands  of  two  persons  named  Masters 
and  Jones,  and  by  reason  thereof  the  said  persons 
interested  were  kept  in  ignorance  ;  he,  the  said  Arthur 
Vaughan,  upon  further  prosecution  of  the  combinations 
(pretended  heir-at-law  to  his  said  father),  entered  upon 
the  premises,  and  held  them  up  to  the  time  of  these 
proceedings,  and  possessed  himself  of  all  the  estate, 
both  real  and  personal,  of  his  late  father,  and  had 
sufficient  assets  in  his  hands  then  unadministered  to 
satisfy  plaintiff's  demands  ;  and  the  said  confederates, 
taking  advantage  of  the  length  of  time  since  the  decree,2 
denied  and  refused  to  render  any  account,  well  knowing 
that  the  said  Somerset  Fox  was  protected  by  the  then 
late  King  Charles  the  Second,  and  that  no  action  could 
be  brought  against  them  (the  confederates).  Plain- 
tiff now  prayed  to  be  allowed  to  revive  the  said  pro- 
ceedings against  Vaughan,  Jones  and  another,  and  that 
the  other  confederates,  when  discovered,  might  be  made 
parties  to  the  suit ;  he  also  prayed  for  a  statement  of 
the  matter  generally  as  regards  Somerset  Fox's  estates 
and  rents,  also  Vaughan's. 

Defendant  Vaughan  answered  that   his  father  had 
died  twenty-eight  years  then  ago,  and  Dame  Fox  sixty 

1  Somerset  Fox  was  one  of  those  who  attempted  the  life  of  Crom- 
well,   and    was   prosecuted   for   the    same,    but  escaped   the    death- 
punishment.     See  more  about  him  infra. 

2  Forty-seven  years  previously. 


104  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

[this  was  an  error] ;  he  alleged  the  suit  was  vexatious, 
and  the  plaintiff  a  pauper  [he  had  sued  in  formd 
pauperis]. 

In  reply,  defendant  said  that  Tretherwen  had  come 
to  his  father  by  inheritance,  and  another  place  adjacent. 
The  value  of  Tretherwen  was  £24  a  year,  the  other 
tenement  £4  a  year. 

He  added  that  about  sixty  years  then  ago  John 
Vaughan  did  purchase  a  place  adjacent,  worth  £20 
a  year,  and  generally  he  denied  that  his  late  father  had 
accumulated  any  such  a  sum  as  was  alleged  by  the 
plaintiff  in  his  Bill. 

As  previously  mentioned,  Sir  Edward  Ffoxe  died 
intestate  in  1628-9  ;  on  March  8th  he  was  buried  at 
Kerry ;  but .  as  the  Gwernygoe  estate  was,  as  stated 
above,  settled  on  Lady  Fox  for  her  life,  it  would  appear 
that  Somerset  Fox,  Esq.,  was  not  the  legal  owner  of 
Gwernygoe  until  her  death,  although  he  had,  as  pre- 
viously mentioned,  got  into  possession  of  Gwernygoe 
through  the  connivance  of  the  persons  referred  to  above. 
He  died  shortly  after  the  decree  was  obtained  by  Lady 
Fox.  He  no  doubt  resided  at  Gwernygoe  in  1629  and 
later,  as  several  of  his  children  were  baptised  at  Kerry. 
He  appears  to  have  taken  the  side  of  Charles  the  First 
in  the  civil  wars,  and  was  with  that  monarch  at  Oxford, 
where  he  made  his  will,1  dated  May  1st,  1643.  It  was 
proved  there  on  20th  of  July  in  the  same  year  by  his 
widow,  Anne  Fox.  He  described  himself  as  Somerset 
Fox  the  elder,  of  Caynham,  in  the  co.  of  Salop,  Esq. 
He  devised  a  small  sum  (£4)  to  be  given  to  the  poor  of 
Caynham,  and  mentioned  that  he  had,  by  a  deed  dated 
about  January  1642,  and  by  a  fine  levied  by  him  and 
his  wife  Anne,  conveyed  and  assured  his  estates  to 
trustees  to  the  uses  in  the  said  deed  mentioned,  and 
for  the  payment  of  his  debts,  and  for  raising  portions 
for  his  children.  He  mentioned  u  divers  messuages  and 
lands  in  the  county  of  Montgomery",  but  did  not 

1  See  "  Original  Wills",  Oxford,  at  Somerset  House,  names  entered 
in  Register  "  Crane". 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  10.5 

specifically  name  Gwernygoe.  As  he  and  his  father  had 
been  purchasing  lands  in  the  county  other  than  the 
Gwernygoe  estate,  we  are  not  able  to  say  (having, 
after  considerable  research,  failed  to  find  the  deed 
referred  to)  whether  that  estate  was  included  in  the 
Deed  of  Settlement.  He  also  executed  a  second  deed, 
dated  10th  August  1642,  by  which  he  devised  property 
in  Ludlow  and  lands  in  the  county  of  Salop  to  the  same 
uses  ;  and  he  charged  his  sons  to  allow  of  and  confirm 
the  same,  and  not  to  impugn  or  contradict  the  same 
grant  of  his  estates.  He  constituted  his  wife  Anne 
sole  executrix. 

As  Somerset  Fox  the  younger  is  not  mentioned  as 
having  been  baptised  at  Kerry,  presumptively  he  was 
not  born  there,  but  at  Caynham.  He  was,  as  is  well 
known,  one  of  the  three  persons — namely,  himself,  his 
cousin  John  Gerrard,  and  Peter  Vowell — tried  in  1654 
for  conspiring  the  Protector's  death.  The  original  notes 
of  the  trial,  in  the  autograph  of  John  Lisle,  one  of  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Great  Seal,  are  preserved  at  the 
Record  Office  in  London.1  The  three  were  found 

fjilty  and  sentenced  to  death—-"  by  hanging  only." 
ox  was  pardoned,  the  other  two  were  executed.  He 
immediately,  as  it  would  appear,  left  the  country,  and 
did  not  return  until  after  the  Restoration.  "  By  a 
petition  he  presented  after  the  Restoration2  it  would 
appear  that  he  and  his  father  had  sold  some  of  their 
lands  in  Hereford  and  "  Byhaithland",  in  the  county 
of  Montgomery,  "to  supply  the  wants  of  the  late 
King" ;  and  as  the  latter  had  fallen  to  the  Crown  for 
want  of  heirs  of  one  Ralph  Goodwin,3  to  whom  his  father 
and  he  had  sold  it,  he  petitioned  for  the  reversion  of  it. 
He  appears  to  have  had  a  pension  of  £300  granted 
to  him  by  Charles  the  Second,  for  in  1666  he  petitioned 
for  the  payment  of  two-and-a-half  years'  arrears.  He 
mentioned  that  his  pension  was  granted  for  losses  he 
sustained  in  the  cause  of  the  late  King,  and  that,  with 

1  See  State  Papers,  Domestic,  vol.  Ixxii,  June  1654. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  Iv,  p.  346.  3  See  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xviii,  p.  281. 


106  HISTORY  OF  THL:  PARISH  OF  KELIRY. 

other  pensions,  his  had  been  stopped ;  he  prayed  for  a 
transfer  of  his  pension  "  to  his  intended  wife,  he  being 
in  treaty  for  a  marriage  that  might  repair  his  fortunes, 
but  the  chief  obstacle  thereto  (the  marriage)  was  the 
stop  of  his  pension."  The  prayer  was  granted—"  not- 
withstanding the  order  to  stay  pensions."1 

He  lived  many  years  after  this.  His  will,  made  30th 
June,  and  proved  26th  November  1689,2  makes  no 
reference  to  a  wife  or  children  ;  he  described  himself 
as  of  "  Caynham". 

He  seems  to  have  died  possessed  of  a  small  estate  in  Shrop- 
shire only  (he  makes  no  reference  to  Montgomeryshire  property). 
He  held  a  share  of  the  Glee  Hill,  which  he  left  in  four  shares ; 
one  share  to  his  sister,  Elizabeth  Morgan,  widow,  relict  of 
William  Morgan,  Esq.,  deceased,  for  her  life;  after,  to  her  son, 
Thomas  Morgan,  gentleman,  and  to  his  heirs  and  assigns  for 
ever.  As  to  another  share,  he  devised  that  to  his  sister,  Ann 
Masters,  widow  ;  then  to  her  son,  Herbert  Masters,  his  heirs  and 
assigns  for  ever. 

Another  share  he  devised  to  his  sister  Dorothy,  wife  of  John 
Kennett,  Gent.,  for  life ;  after,  to  his  nephew,  John  Haughton  of 
Ludlow,  Gent.,  for  a  term  of  ninety  and  nine  years,  if  he  so  long 
lived ;  from  and  after  the  determination  of  that  term,  to  the  use 
of  testator's  trustees  and  their  heirs,  during  the  life  of  the  said 
John  Haughton,  to  support  the  contingent  remainders;  after  the 
death  of  the  said  John  Haughton,  to  his  first  son  lawfully  be- 
gotten ;  failing,  to  the  second,  third,  and  every  other  son;  failing, 
to  the  daughters  in  succession;  failing,  to  John  Smalman,  Gent., 
son  and  heir-apparent  of  Edward  Smalman  of  Ludlow,  Gent., 
for  life,  then  to  the  use  of  his  first,  second,  and  other  sons, 
etc.,  as  before ;  failing,  to  the  daughters ;  failing,  to  the  use  of 
the  heirs  of  the  body  of  Anne,  the  wife  of  Edward  Smalman, 
lawfully  begotten ;  failing,  to  Herbert  Masters  and  his  heirs 
for  ever.  The  remaining  share  he  devised  to  his  sister  Olive 
Kerry  for  her  life ;  after,  to  Robert  Kerry,  Gent.,  son  of  the 
said  Olive ;  after  his  death,  to  the  first  son  of  his  body  as  before ; 
failing,  to  Herbert  Masters  for  ever. 

To  his  trustees  he  devised  the  tithes  of  certain  parishes  in 

1  Entry  Book,  No.  17,  p.  179. 

2  Register  "But",  fo.  154,  Somerset  House,  London. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 


107 


Shropshire  and  Herefordshire  ;  in  trust  as  regarded  the  tithes 
in  Ludlovv,  Steventon,  and  Greet  to  the  use  of  the  said  Olive 
Kerry  for  life  ;  after,  to  Robert  Kerry  for  life  ;  after,  to  the 
first  son  of  the  body  of  the  said  Robert,  and  after  as  before  ; 
failing,  to  the  use  of  Dorothy/ daughter  of  John  Kennett  and 
Ann  his  wife,  and  then  wife  of  Richard  Hide,  Gent.,  her  heirs 
and  assigns  for  ever.  The  tithes  of  Ludlow  he  devised  to  his 
servant  John  Harwood,  for  life,  he  paying  40s.  to  the  rever- 
sioner  created  by  the  will.  After  the  decease  of  John  Harwood, 
testator  devised  these  tithes  to  his  nephew  John  Haughton 
for  life  ;  and  then,  as  before.  To  his  nephew  Herbert  Masters, 
£200;  to  his  niece  Ann  Masters,  £200.  To  his  niece  Dorothy, 
wife  of  Richard  Hyde,  testator  bequeathed  the  furniture  of  a 
chamber  called  the  "Red  Chamber"  in  the  house  where  he 
dwelt  in  Ludlow,  also  £100 ;  if  she  had  a  child  within  seven 
years  of  his  death,  a  second  £100  ;  to  his  sister  Olive  Kerry, 
£50  ;  to  his  nephew  John  Haughton,  £200;  to  Robert  Kerry, 
£200  ;  to  John  Stnalman,  £200 ;  to  the  two  sons  of  his  niece, 
Mrs.  Anne  Jones,  £200  each  ;  and  to  the  daughter  of  Ann 
Jones,  Elizabeth  Jones,  £300. 

To  John  Harwood  and  his  assigns  for  life,  his  messuage  or 
house  with  appurtenances  situate  in  Ludlow,  then  late  in  the 
possession  of  Ann  Harford,  widow ;  after,  to  John  Haughton 
and  his  heirs.  To  his  said  servant,  John  Harwood,  £100  in  full 
of  all  wages  and  demands ;  also  all  testator's  wearing  apparel. 
To  his  servant  Richard  James,  £81  ;  to  his  servant  James  Pern- 
bridge,  £30 ;  and  one  year's  wages  at  his  death  to  every 
servant,  over  and  above  wages  then  due,  except  to  John 
Harwood. 

To  Henry,  son  of  Isabel  Fox  of  Ludlow,  £20;  to  the 
minister  of  Cainham,  £5 ;  his  four  best  working  oxen  to  John 
Kennett,  also  five  cows,  also  his  two  working  horses,  and  all 
his  corn  and  grain,  threshed,  unthreshed,  and  growing. 

To  his  sister  Dorothy  Kennett,  £100 ;  to  his  sister  Ann 
Masters,  £50 ;  to  his  nephew  Richard  Morgan,  £50  ;  to  his 
nephew  Thomas  Morgan,  £100 ;  to  his  nieces  Ann  Jones, 
Ann  Masters,  and  Anne  Stnallman,  £50  each,  "  to  buy  them 
mourning". 

To  his  trustees,  20s.  each  to  buy  them  rings ;  all  his  imple- 
ments to  John  Kennett.  He  charged  the  tithes  which  he 
devised  to  his  sister  Olive  Kerry  with  40s.  a  year,  5s.  of  which 
was  to  be  paid  yearly  to  four  people  of  Leonard's  Hospital, 
in  or  near  Ludlow  ;  and  three  yearly  sums  of  6s.  8d.  to  the 
reader  in  the  chapel  called  St.  Leonard's  Chapel,  in  or  near 


108  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

Ludlow,  he  to  preach  three  sermons  yearly  in  the  chapel  called 
St.  Leonard's  Chapel,  in  or  near  Ludlow.  A  few  other  small 
legacies.  Herbert  Masters  and  Elizabeth  Jones,  spinster, 
executors. 

To  Sir  Thomas  Powell,  Sergeant-at-law,  and  William  Gower, 
Esq.,  of  Ludlow,  the  overseers  of  his  will,  50s.  each ;  residue  to 
his  executors. 

By  a  codicil  he  left  £200  each  to  Charles  Masters  and 
Elizabeth  Masters. 

Possibly  we  should  apologise  for  inserting  the  above 
summary  of  the  will  of  the  last  Somerset  Fox,  as  being 
somewhat  out  of  place  in  this  parochial  history  of 
Kerry  ;  but  as  we  think  he  might  be  considered  a 
Montgomeryshire  man,  the  above  may  assist  the  gentle- 
man who  has  so  ably  furnished  us  with  biographical 
sketches  of  Montgomeryshire  men,  when  he  compiles 
a  biography  of  the  last  Somerset  Fox,  who  certainly 
figured  prominently,  if  not  honourably,  in  the  stirring 
events  of  the  Interregnum  period,  and  who  was  in 
an  unaccountable  manner  pardoned  for  his  share  in 
the  plot  contrived  to  waylay  and  murder  the  Pro- 
tector, whilst  his  two  fellow-conspirators  suffered  the 
penalty. 

After  the  Fox  family,  the  owners  of  Gwernygoe 
estate  were  the  Vaughans  of  Crosswood.  Which  member 
of  the  Fox  family  sold,  or  which  member  of  the  Vaughan 
family  purchased  the  estate,  is  not  ascertained.  It  is 
most  likely  that  the  sale  took  place  in  virtue  of  the 
deed  referred  to  previously  mentioned  in  the  will  of 
Somerset  Fox,  who  died  in  1643,  as  may  be  seen  in 
some  proceedings  which  are  referred  to  infra.  The  first 
mention  of  the  Yaughans  as  owners  of  Gwernygoe  is 
made  in  the  proceedings  of  1677  (Lucy  v.  Newton),  by 
the  defendant,  Richard  Newton,  Gent.,  who  deposed 
"that  he  had  then  (1677)  been  tenant  of  Gwernygoe 
for  twenty-one  years  then  past  and  more  :  for  the  first 
four  under  William  Oakley,  Esq.  ;  then  for  six  or  seven 
under  Sir  Richard  Mason,  Knt.  ;  and  for  twelve  years 


HISTORY  OF. THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  109 

then  last  past  under  Sir  John  Vaughan,  Krit,  then 
late  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas,  during  his  life, 
and  subsequently  to  Lady  Vaughan,  his  relict,  and 
Edward,  son  and  heir  to  the  said  Sir  John  Vaughan." 
As  the  proceedings  were  taken  in  1677,  and  Newton 
had  been  tenant  under  the  Vaughans  for  twelve  years, 
it  would  appear  that  the  Vaughans  became  owners  in 
1665.  As  regards  being  tenant  under  Sir  Richard 
Mason1  and  William  Oakley  Esq.,  a  reference  to 
vol.  xviii,  Mont.  Coll.,  p.  260,  will  explain  how 
Mr.  Oakley,  and  probably  Sir  Richard,  became  con- 
nected with  Gwernygoe,  and  that  reference  would  also 
show  how  the  Fox  family  anticipated  the  rents,  namely, 
by  granting  long  leases  and  levying  heavy  fines.  The 
lease  which  Mr.  Oakley  held,  and  which  brought  him 
in  no  rent,  would  expire  by  effluxion  of  time  in  1672  ; 
consequently,  as  Sir  John  Vaughan  was  in  possession  in 
1665,  the  presumption  is  he  purchased,  or  obtained  for 
some  consideration,  the  remainder  of  Oakley's  interest, 
he  having  previously  purchased  the  reversion  from  the 
trustees  under  the  deed  of  Somerset  Fox,  Esq.,  who 
died  in  1643. 

In  vol.  xx vi  of  these  Collections,  p.  219,  appears  a 
copy  of  the  will  of  the  Parliamentarian  Colonel,  Hugh 
Price,  who  appears  to  have  resided  at  Gwernygoe  in 
1650,  when  his  will  was  made;  but  there  is  nothing  in 
the  will  that  indicates  that  he  farmed  the  land,  or  that 
he  died  there  in  1659 ;  though,  as  he  was  buried 
at  Montgomery,  it  is  probable  that  he  did  die  at 
Gwernygoe.  There  is  no  entry  of  his  death  in  Kerry 
Register. 

The  devolution  of  this  historic  property  from  this 
date  downwards  is  very  plain.  The  Lisburne  family 
held  it  for  many  years.  We  append  copy  of 

1  Sir  Richard  Mason,  Kt.,  was  of  Edenhope  and  Bishopscastle.  He 
married  Anna,  daughter  of  James  Long  of  Draycott  Cerne,  co.  Wilts. 
Sir  Richard  was  Controller  to  King  Charles  II's  Household.  See  Le 
Neves  Knights,  p.  5. 


110  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KEltRY. 

A  RENT  ROLL  of  the  Estate  of  the  RIGHT  HON'BLE 

LORD  VISCOUNT  LISBURNE,  in  the  county  of  Mont- 
gomery, Lady  Day  and  Michaelmas,  1705.1  Kerry 
Parish. 

£  s.  d. 

Morgan  Shipman2  for  Gwernygoe  pays  yearly  .     170  00  00 

Edward  Williams  for  Cwm  Etirl                    .         .     091  00  00 

Richard  Jones  for  a  tenement  in  Bachaithlan     .     036  05  00 

John  Harding  for  a  tenement  there  .         .         .     030  05  00 

Thomas  Jones  for  a  house  in  the  same       .         .     001  05  00 

John  Powell             „                 „                   .              022  00  00 

Elizabeth  Guilt        „                 „                   .              014  10  00 

Richard  Bowen3       „                 „                   .              058  00  00 

Edward  Jenkin         „                  „                    .              004  00  00 

Henry  Williams       „                  „                    .              040  00  00 

John  Lloyd               „                  „                    .              005  15  00 


£473     00     00 

From  this  family  it  passed  to  the  Smith  Lord  Car- 
rington  family,  who  retained  it  until  1868,  when  it  was 
put  up  to  auction  at  the  Bear  Hotel  in  Newtown,  "  by 
direction  of  the  Noble  Owner",  and  purchased  by 
Mr.  William  Horsfall. 

In  the  "  Particular"  the  estate  is  described  as  lying  in 
the  parishes  of  Kerry,  Churchstoke,  and  Llandyssil,  all 
in  the  county  of  Montgomery,  and  as  containing  nearly 
2,683  acres  of  arable  and  pasture  land,  woods,  planta- 
tions, and  sheep-walks,  divided  into  convenient  holdings, 
with  homesteads  and  cottages,  together  with  a  water 
corn-mill,  and  then  let  at  £2,352  per  annum.  This 
sum  included  the  rent  value  of  the  woods  and  planta- 
tions in  hand. 

The  title  commenced,  as  to  part  of  the  property, 
with  indentures  of  lease  arid  release  of  the  llth  and 
12th  April  1810  ;  as  to  other  part,  with  similar  inden- 

1  Ex  information,  late  Morris  Chas.  Jones,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 

2  He  subsequently  resided  at  Aberhafesp  Hall,  and  through  the 
marriage  of  one  of  his  daughters  with  a  Tilsley  of  Llwydcoed,  was  the 
lineal  ancestor  of  Wm.  Basil,  Lord  Bishop  of  St.  David's. 

3  See  Mont.  Co//.,  vol.  xix,  p.  185. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  Ill 

tures  of  the  2nd  and  3rd  of  September  1811,  and  as  to 
such  part,  if  any,  as  to  which  no  other  provision  is 
made,  with  the  will  of  Robert  Lord  Carrington,  who 
died  in  the  year  1808  (?). 

Mr.  William  Horsfall  of  Altrincham,  near  Man- 
chester, dying  a  few  years  after,  the  property  was  again 
put  up  to  auction  in  London,  with,  as  regards  the 
whole  of  the  property,  except  a  messuage  called  Little 
Bahaillon  Farm  in  the  parish  of  Kerry,  containing 
lOa.  3r.  38p.,  and  two  closes  of  land  containing  respec- 
tively la.  Ir.  28p.,  and  3r.  in  Old  Field  Bank,  the 
same  title  as  Mr.  Horsfall  accepted  ;  and  it  was  on 
9th  July  1874  purchased  by  the  late  David  Davies,  Esq., 
of  Llandinam,  for  his  son,  and  he  made  great  improve- 
ments upon  it.  It  is  now  the  property  of  his  only  son, 
Edward  Davies,  Esq.,  of  Llandinam,  late  High  Sheriff 
of  the  County  of  Montgomery,  who,  as  well  as  his  late 
lamented  father  did,  bears  the  character  of  being  a 
most  equitable,  generous,  and  sympathetic  landlord. 


GREAT   CWMMERL. 

One  of  the  Grange  farms  on  the  Gwernygoe  estate  is 
Great  Cwmmerl,  which  at  the  time  the  estate  was  pur- 
chased by  the  late  David  Davies,  Esq.,  boasted  of,  as 
we  think,  the  finest  and  most  ancient  specimen  of  a 
timber  house  in.  the  county.  One  of  Mr.  Davies's  first 
acts  was  to  change  the  position  of  the  homestead  of 
Great  Cwmmerl  farm,  and  he  pulled  the  old  timber 
fabric  down.  His  intentions  coming  to  our  knowledge, 
we  commissioned  Mr.  John  Owen,  the  photographic 
artist,  of  Newtown.  to  take  four  views  of  the  ancient 
fabric,  one  of  each  side  and  one  of  each  end. 

A  view  of  one  side  is  appended.  Competent  authori- 
ties fix  the  period  of  the  building  at  1450  to  1475. 
These  four  views  are  all  that  now  remain  to  remind  us 
of  the  old  monastic  grange  of  Cwmmerl. 


112  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 


GWERNYGOE   CHAPEL. 

One  of  the  Chantry  Certificates  relating  to  North 
Wales,1  drawn  out  and  verified  by  the  surveyor  on  the 
28th  of  January  1547-8,  runs  as  follows  : 

A  Stipendarye  cele-  (  \ 

brating     in     the   xls.  rysynge  upon  th'encrese  of      ,,7.ir 
Chapel  of   EaseJ      a  flocke  of  cattell  nowe  p'ysed  i    Wllliam  aP 
called       Chapell        to  be  sold  at  xli.  ijs.  iiijrf. 
Gwernogoe 

Another        Stipen-  (  \ 

darye      serving  MXVJ-*-  V11J"-  uPon  ™  Inure  and       Griffith  ap 

in    the    paryshel      ?earlie    ^Jne  of  a  8tocke  <)f  \        Owen 
church2  xx v//.  vj.s.  viij</.  in  redy  money       Ixvjs.  v'ujd. 

The  above  certificate  establishes,  if  such  a  thing  were 
necessary,  the  fact  that  formerly  there  stood  a  chapel  at 
Gwernygoe  for  divine  service.  It  is  not  unlikely,  as 
the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Cwmhir  appear  to  have 
been  owners  of  large  flocks  of  cattle  and  sheep,  that 
a  staff  of  brethren  was  kept  at  Gwernygoe  to  till  the 
soil,  and  that  from  Gwernygoe  the  corn  and  other 
cereals  were  transported  to  Cwmhir  for  the  sustenance 
of  those  who  lived  at  the  Abbey  there. 

There  are  no  remains  of  the 'chapel  visible  above  the 
surface  of  the  land  now.  In  a  letter  which  Mr. 
Edward  Morris,  the  present  occupier  of  the  Grange  Farm 
of  Gwernygoe,  wrote  us  last  year  as  to  its  exact  site,  he 
said  : 

"  In  reply  to  yours  of  yesterday  :  In  the  first  place  the  nettles 
and  the  docks  which  you  may  have  seen  on  the  field  called 
TJie  Chapel  Field  have  disappeared,  the  spot  you  may  have 
naturally  supposed  to  be  where  the  chapel  stood  ;  and,  as  far 
as  my  judgment  goes,  it  would  be  mere  speculation  on  my  part 
to  say  the  exact  spot  where  it  stood.  There  are  some  raised 

1  Chantry  Certificate,  N.  Wales,  No.  110. 

2  See  p.  101,  No  8,  vol.  xxvi.   We  purposely  refrained  from  referring 
to  the  emolument  there,  as  the  Gwernygoe  priest  was  entered  first  on 
the  Chantry  certificate. 


CHURCH  DOOR,  AND  OAK  MOULDING  IN  CELLAR,  GWERNYGOE, 
KERRY  (MONT.). 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  113 

banks  (ditches)  which  lead  me  to  suppose  where  the  building 
stood,  but  this  ground  has  been  under  timber,  so  that  we  can- 
not say  positively." 

Mr.  Morris  added,  if  we  went  into  the  neighbour- 
hood he  would  be  very  pleased  to  assist  in  testing, 
so  far  as  could  be  done  with  bars — an  offer,  though  we 
passed  the  spot,  we  refrained  then  from  accepting  on 
account  of  the  very  fickle  harvest  weather  that  pre- 
vailed. There  are  no  remains  in  the  buildings  or  the 
walls  of  Gwernygoe  House  that  can  be  said  to  be  parts 
of  the  chapel. 

We  have  been  told  that  the  font  is  or  was  in  the  yard 
of  a  neighbouring  farm.  It  is  said  that  the  cellar  door 
at  Gwernygoe  was  the  door  of  the  chapel,  and  it  and  a 
small  piece  of  carved  wood  or  moulding  in  the  cellar 
are  all  the  remains  of  the  chapel  extant,  so  far  as  is 
known.  We  append  illustrations  of  these  two  relics. 


In  a  codicil  to  the  will  of  Charles  Foxe,  Esq.,  made 
12th  of  November  1590,  testator  devised  : 

"  To  the  parish  church  of  Kerry,  in  the  county  of  Montgo- 
mery, five  market, to  be  employed  as  shall  be  thought  good  by 
the  inhabitants  of  the  same  parish  by  the  oversight  of  Mathewe 
Morris,1  my  servaunte.  And  forasmuch  as  iny  tenants  and 
other  the  inhabitants  of  the  lordship  of  Hopton  ucha  and 
Gwernoge,  and  by  other  towneshippes  adioyninge,  within  the 
parish  of  Kerry  aforesaid,  are  greatly  annoyed  and  cannot 
conveniently  repair  and  come  unto  their  said  parishe  church  to 
here  Devine  service  at  the  tymes  appointed,  especially  in  the 
winter  tyme,  by  reason  of  their  dwellinge  some  three  miles 
and  some  four  miles  distant  from  theire  parishe  church e,  to 
the  great  griefe  and  annoyance  of  the  Country  there,  I  will, 
devise,  and  bequeath  that  myne  Executors  shall,  within  the  space 
of  fyve  years  next  after  my  decease,  build  and  erect,  or  cause 
to  be  builded  and  erected  in  some  convenient  place  neare  rny 
mansion-house  at  Gwernygoe  aforesaid,  a  newe  chapell  of  such 

1  Charles  Foxe,  by  a  clause  in  his  will,  appointed  the  above  for 
his  life  as  his  collector  of  the  rents  of  his  lands  in  Montgomeryshire, 
and  of  some  of  his  lands  in  Shropshire,  at  a  salary  of  four  marks  a  year. 

VOL.  XXVII.  I 


114  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

largnes,  forme,  and  quantity  as  shall  be  thought  convenyent 
for  the  ease  and  benefit  of  the  Countrie  there.  And  I  will 
that  the  charges  of  the  same  newe  chapell  shall  be  borne  and 
paid  out  of  my  debts  and  morgage-money,  at  the  discretion  of 
my  Executors  and  Overseers,  or  the  more  part  of  them.  And 
further,  I  give  towardes  the  buildyng  of  the  said  Chapell  my 
kill  of  bricke,  late  made  and  nowe  remaininge  at  Gwernegoe 
aforesaid,  or  so  much  thereof  as  shall  be  necessary." 

The  pious  intention  of  the  testator  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  carried  out  at  the  time,  and  it  remained  for 
the  generous  contributors  of  this  century  to  remove 
what  was  in  the  time  of  Charles  Foxe,  Esq. — three 
centuries  ago — a  crying  evil,  by  supplying  the  want, 
very  near  to  the  place  he  desired. 


THE  PARISH  OF  LLANFIH ANGEL,  IN  KERRY. 

As  we  are  able  to  say  but  little  about  the  fabric  of 
the  ancient  chapel  at  Gwernygoe,1  we  may,  by  the 
introduction  of  some  evidence  taken  over  several  dis- 
putes in  regard  to  the  tithes  of  the  parish  of  Kerry, 
and  the  grange  of  Gwernygoe  in  connection  therewith, 
show  what  some  persons  thought  of  the  chapel  at 
Gwernygoe.  These  depositions  also  show  what  a 
number  of  mills  once  were  in  Kerry  parish,  and  what 
each  paid — as  was  on  the  one  hand  alleged,  and  on  the 
other  disputed — for  tithes. 

We  have  previously  had  occasion  to  refer  to  Robert 
Lucy,  Esq.,  in  connection  with  the  tithes  of  Kerry 
parish.  We  shall  now  find  him  endeavouring  to  prove 
that  the  Grange  Farm  of  Gwernygoe  ought,  like  other 
farms  in  the  parish,  to  pay  tithes  to  him  who  at  this 
time  was  lessee,  under  the  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  of  the 
rectory  of  Kerry. 

Robert  Lucy  commenced  proceedings  in  this  matter 
as  it  appears  in  1677.  The  defendant's  affidavit  in 

1  It  appears  from  the  will  of  Charles  Fox,  quoted  from  supra,  that, 
in  1590,  the  chapel  at  Gwernygoe  must  have  been  in  a  ruinous 
condition,  as  the  intention  of  testator  was  to  build  a  new  fabric. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  115 

reply  was  sworn  on  26th  of  April  in  that  year,  at 
Welshpool,  and  we  cannot  more  explicitly  state  the 
object  he  had  in  view  than  to  annex  the  petition  and 
answer,  which  ran  as  follows  : 

MONTGOMERY  EXCHEQUER  BILL,  No.  53.     CAR.  II. 

Petition  of  Robert  Lucy,  Esq.,  an  Accountant  of  His  Majesty, 
as  by  the  Records  of  this  Court  (Exchequer)  and  otherwise  did 
appear.  Petitioner  stated  that  he  had  been  for  eighteen  years 
then  last  past,  Farmer,  Lessee,  and  Proprietor  of  the  rectory 
and  parsonage  Irapropriate  of  Kerry,  in  the  county  of  Mont- 
gomery, and  of  all  tithes  in  corn,  grain,  hay,  and  lambs, 
and  of  all  other  tithes  to  the  rectory  belonging,  by  a  lease  and 
title  lawfully  made,  and  under  tho  Bishop  of  St.  David's  ;  and  he 
further  showed  that  Richard  Newton,  gentleman,  of  Gwern-y- 
goe,  being  a  township  within  the  said  rectory,  parish,  and 
titheable  places  of  Kerry,  now  is,  and  for  eighteen  years  then 
past  had  been,  tenant  of  Gwernygoe,  etc. 

Petitioner  valued  the  tithes  of  the  township  at  £60  a  year, 
and  lambs  3s.  each. 

Richard  Newton,  the  defendant,  sometimes  said  he  held  as 
tenant  to  Edward  Yaughan,  Esq.,  who  was  owner  thereof,  and 
pretended  that  some  part,  but  he  would  not  say  how  much  of 
it,  had  belonged  to  the  dissolved  Monastery  of  Cwmhir. 

If  the  lands  did  belong  to  an  abbey,  it  was  an  abbey  of  the 
lesser  sort,1  and  came  to  the  Crown  by  Statute  27  Henry  VIII. 
Sometimes  Newton  pretended  that  he  had  paid,  or  agreed  to 
pay,  Orator  for  his  tithes,  at  other  times  that  he  had  paid  a 
modus  of  4>d.  yearly  to  the  vicar  of  Kerry  for  the  time  being, 
whereas  the  4d.  was  only  for  the  tithe  of  a  water  corn-mill 
which  Newton  held  ;  and  Newton  knew  that  all  the  mills  in  the 
parish,  twenty  in  number,  each  paid  the  4d. 

The  following  is  the  answer  of  the  defendant,  Richard 
Newton  : 

He  said  that  he  hoped  to  prove  that  all  Gwernygoe,  except 
three  parcels  of  land, 

1  called  Merlins,  containing  14  acres 

1       „      David's  Close,  „  4      „ 

1       „      Maes  y  Gadfa,          „  6      „ 

were  at  the  Dissolution  part  of  the  demesne  lands  of  the  Abbey 

1  That  is,  under  £200  a  year, 

1  2 


116  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

of  Cwtnhir,  and  defendant  believed  that  the  said  Grange  of 
Gwernygoe,  and  the  lands  belonging,  or  at  least  the  greatest 
part  of  them,  are  and  is  within  the  parish  of  Llanfihangd  in 
Kerry,  and  he  had  heard  that  there  was  formerly  a  church  or 
chapel,  called  Llanfihangel,  in  Kerry,  though  then,  and  for  some 
time  before,  decayed  and  ruinous,  and  that  the  said  Grange  and 
premises  were  and  are  within  the  said  parish  of  Llanfihangel, 
and  that  it  was  and  is  a  distinct  parish  from  the  parish  and 
rectory  of  Kerry,  in  the  Bill  mentioned  to  belong  to  the  Lord 
Bishop  of  St.  David's  in  the  right  of  the  said  church  of  St. 
David's,  and  that  whatever  tithes  were  or  are  payable  out  of 
any  lands  formerly  belonging  to  the  said  Abbey  of  Cwmhir  do, 
and  did  belong  to,  and  were  payable  to,  or  towards,  or  in 
respect  of  the  said  church  or  chapel  called  Llanfihangel ;  and 
defendant  believes,  and  hopes  to  prove  that  from  time  to  time, 
and  for  all  times  whereof  the  memory  of  man  is  not  to  the 
contrary,  all  such  lands  within  the  said  rectory  of  Kerry  or 
Llanfihangel  aforesaid  respectively,  as  were  or  are  not  part  of 
any  Abbey  lands,  paid  and  do  pay  the  10th  for  tithes,  and  that 
all  such  lands  therein  as  were  and  belonged  to  and  were  parcel 
of  the  said  Abbey,  not  parcel  of  the  demesne  lands  thereof,  paid 
the  13th  for  tithes,  the  whole  in  thirteen  parts  to  be  divided  by 
the  parishes  or  said  churches  respectively,  or  otherwise ;  and 
that  the  said  Grange  of  Gwernygoe  and  such  parts  as  were 
demesne  lands  paid  no  tithe  at  all  other  than  4rf.  a  year  to  the 
vicar  of  the  said  parish,  as  was  subsequently  further  mentioned. 
Defendant  believed  that  the  10th  of  corn,  grain,  and  lambs 
within  the  said  rectory  of  Kerry  did  belong  thereto,  and  that 
all  other  tithes  and  the  4d.  belonged  to  the  vicar.  Defendant 
had  been  tenant  of  Gwernygoe  for  twenty-one  years  then  past, 
and  more ;  for  the  first  four  years  under  William  Oakley,  Esq., 
for  six  or  seven  under  Sir  Richard  Mason,  Kt.,  for  twelve  years 
then  past  under  Sir  John  Yaughan,  then  late  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Common  Pleas  during  his  life,  and  since  then  to  Lady 
Vaughan,  the  relict,  and  Edward,  the  son  and  heir,  of  the  said 
Sir  John  Vaughan  ;  and  defendant  had  during  his  tenancy  paid 
for  the  three  parcels  the  13th  part,  which  he  hoped  to  prove 
were  Abbey  lands,  but  not  demesne,  purchased  by  Somerset 
Ffoxe  or  some  of  his  ancestors,  or  by  some  one  of  the  former 
owners  of  the  Grange  of  Gwernygoe,  from  or  under  the  Crown, 
and  defendant  believed  that  the  former  owners  of  the  said 
parcels  from  the  time  of  the  Dissolution,  and  their  farmers  and 
tenants,  never  paid  any  more  or  other  tithes  than  a  13th,  and 
that  no  other  had  been  paid  from  time  out  of  mind.  There 
were  twelve  mills  in  Kerry  parish  and  the  parish  of  Llanfi- 


HISTORY  OF  THU  PARISH  OF    KERRY.  117 

hangel ;  that  one  mill  belonged  to  the  Grange  farm  of  Gwerny- 
goe. 

He  did  not  know,  or  believe,  or  had  he  ever  heard  that  there 
was  4:d.  or  any  other  sum  "  tythe"  duty  paid  for  the  said  mills, 
any  or  either  of  them,  but  he  had  heard  and  believed  the 
contrary,  and  that  the  said  mills  had  never  paid  any  tithe  to 
the  rector  or  impropriator  of  the  said  rectory  or  parish,  or  to 
the  vicar  of  the  vicarage. 

He  and  his  predecessors  had  paid  4d.  and  no  more  to  the 
vicar  for  and  out  of  the  said  Grange. 

Defendant  believed  that  complainant  was  lessee  of  the  rectory, 
and  that  the  tithes  of  corn,  grain,  and  lambs,  and  no  other  tithes, 
belong  to  him  ;  but  whether  he  had  been  so  for  all  the  time  in 
the  Bill  mentioned,  or  for  what  time,  defendant  did  not  know, 
but  he  had  heard  and  believed  the  contrary,  and  that  the  said 
plaintiff  had  often  within  the  time  in  the  Bill  mentioned,  viz., 
eighteen  years  then  past,  or  several  times,  surrendered  his 
former  lease  or  leases,  and  taken  a  new  lease  or  leases  from  the 
then  late  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  and  within  four  years  then  past 
had  taken  a  new  lease  or  term  of  the  said  rectory  and  premises, 
under  and  from  the  then  present  Lord  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  as 
he  had  heard,  and  if  so,  that  any  tithes,  or  modus,  or  composi- 
tion, he  believed  the  plaintiff  should  not  be  admitted  to  make 
any  claim  for  them,  but  only  from  the  commencement  of  his 
new  lease,  and  defendant  craved  judgment  of  the  Court 
thereon. 

Defendant  said  that  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief 
he  had  ploughed,  mowed,  and  reaped  for  six  years  then  past 
upon  the  Grange  of  Gwernygoe  and  lands  belonging : 

24  acres  of  wheat  and  rye,  the  tithe  of  which  was  £3     0     0 

14        „        oats                               „             „  0  14     0 

14        „        barley                             „             „  0  14     0 

4       „        pease                             „             „  080 

56        „        hay  he  had  mown,       „              „  300 

120  sheep  he  had  kept  for  six  years  then  past,  and 

reared  80  lambs,  the  tithe  of  which  was  worth  017     6 

120  fleeces  of  wool  yearly                 „             „  090 


Total     £926 

Taken  on  the  oath  of  defendant  at  the  Mansion  House  of 
David  Williams  at  Pool,  in  the  co.  of  Montgomerv,  the  27th 
day  of  April,  24  Ch.  II  (1677),  before 

EVAN  VAUGHAN,  |  n     ,, 
EVAN  JONES,       j  Gentlemen. 

JOHN  COLLINS,  Cl'ci. 


118  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KEKilY. 

Although  these  proceedings  were  commenced  in 
1677,  it  was  not  until  1682  that  the  case  was  ready 
for  taking  the  depositions  of  witnesses,  a  summary  of 
which  we  append. 

ROBERT  Lucy1  v.  RICHARD  NEWTON,  GENT. 
Interrogatories  on  the  part  of  Complainant : — 

1.  Did  deponent  know  the  parties,  and  did  he  know  William, 
Lord  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  in  his  lifetime? 

2.  Did  he  know  the  parish  of  Kerry,  and  how  long  had  he 
known    it?       Had    the   parish    been    most    commonly    called 
Kerry,  had  it  sometimes  been  called  Llanvyhangell  in  Kerry 
or  Michaell  Kerry,  or  how  had  it  been  called  ?     How  long 
had  deponent  known  it?     What  part  of  the  tithes  and  offer- 
ings belonged  to  the  rectory  or  parsonage  ?     Is  there  a  vicar- 
age endowed  there  ?      What  part  of  the  glebe  land,  tithes, 
find  offerings  belong  to  the  vicar  ?     Name  the  several  sorts 
of  tithes,  and   due  to  the  rector  and  vicar  respectively.     In 
what  lordship  does  the  parish  lie  ? 

3.  Is  the  Lord  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  and  have  his  pre- 
decessors  been,  seised  of  the  rectory  of  Kerry  ?     Have  the 
bi>hops,  their  servants,  agents,  and  tenants  (save  the  inter- 
ruption in  the  time  of  the  late  usurped  powers)  received  the 
tithes,  oblations,  obventions,  and   emoluments   belonging  to 
the    said    rectory,    except   what    was    detained    by    the    said 
Newton  ? 

4.  Did  deponent  know  that  Robert  Lucy  had  been  tenant  of 
the  rectory  under  the  then  bishop  and  under  his  predecessor 
the  late  bishop  ?     For  how  long  a  time  had  Robert  Lucy,  by 
himself,   agents,   servants,   and   tenants,   received   the  tithes, 
oblations,  etc.,  belonging  to  the  rectory,  or  the  rents  thereof, 
save  the  defendant's  tithes  ? 

5.  Had  deponent  seen  the  deeds  then  produced,  sealed,  and 
delivered  ?     Were  the  papers  produced  true  copies  ? 

6.  Did  deponent  know  a  township  or  hamlet  called  Gwernygoe 
within  the  parish,  rectory,  or  titheable  places  of  Kerry,  or  so 
reputed  to  be  ?     How  long  had  it  been  so  reputed  ? 

7.  Had  defendant  Newton  been  possessed  of  any  and  what 
messuages,  lands,  tenements,  and  mills  within  the  township  of 
Gwernygoe  ?     What  are  they  called  ?  what  their  yearly  value  ? 
How  long  had  defendant  possessed  them  ?     Was  he  possessed 

1  Exchequer  Depositions,  34  Ch.  II,  Montg.,  Michaelmas,  No.  13. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  119 

of  any  lands,  etc.,  in  Kerry  parish  outside  Gvvernygoe  town- 
ship ?     If  so,  what  was  the  yearly  value? 

8.  Were    there    more    lands    in    Gwernygoe    than    Newton 
held  ?     Who  held  them  ?     What  tithe  was  paid,  what  of  corn  . 
and  grain  had,  or  ought  to  have,  been   paid  ?      To  whom  ? 
What  tithes  of  lambs  had  been,  or  ought  to  have  been,  paid 
for  such  sheep  as  yearly  grazed  and  yeaned  upon  the   said 
lands  ? 

9.  To  what   church   or  chapel   did  the  inhabitants   of  the 
township  go  to  hear  divine  service  ?     Had  the  landholders  of 
the  township   seats  in  Kerry   Church  ?      Did    they  pay   any 
taxes  towards  Kerry  Church  and  towards  the  relief  of  the 
poor  ? 

10.  Had  the  inhabitants  and  landowners  of  Gwernygoe,  and 
which  of  them,  usually  received  the  Sacrament,  baptised  their 
children,  and   buried   their  dead  in   and    at    Kerry   Church  ? 
Ought  they  to  pay  an  Easter  offering  ?     How  much,  and  to 
whom  in  particular,  ought  they  to  pay  for  burying  their  dead 
and  for  christening  their  children  ? 

11.  How   many  mills  were  there  in   the  parish,  who  the 
owners,   and    who   the   tenants  ?     Had   the   respective   mills 
usually   paid    a   tenth    of  the    toll   for   tithes?       To  whom? 
Have  they  paid  something  yearly  ?     How  much,  and  what  in 
lieu  of  tolls.     What  ought  to  be  paid  yearly  in  lieu  of  such 
tolls  ?     How  much  for  the  mill  defendant  held  ?     Was  the 
same  paid  in  lieu  of  tithes,  or  for  Easter  offerings  ? 

12.  How  many  acres  of  land  did  defendant  hold  in  Gwernygoe 
for  the  then  past  eighteen  years  ?     How  many  acres  of  each 
sort  of  corn  ?     How  much  was  the  tenth  part  of  the  corn  of 
all  sorts  yearly  worth  ? 

13-14.  How  many  cattle  and  sheep  did  defendant  graze  in 
Kerry  parish  out  of  Gwernygoe  township  ?  How  many  acres 
of  meadow  did  he  mow  in  Gwernygoe  and  elsewhere  in  Kerry 
parish  during  the  then  past  eighteen  years  ? 

15.  How   many  tucking   mills  are  there  in  Kerry  parish, 
who  owned   them,  what  did  they  pay  in  lieu  of  tithe,  when, 
where,  and  to  whom  payable  ? 

16.  Had  there  been  any  tithe  for  corn  paid  from  any  of  the 
glebe  lands  ?     What,  and  to  whom  ?     How  long  then  since  ? 

DEPOSITIONS  taken  at  the  house  of  THOMAS  BISHOP  of  Kerry, 

Innkeeper,   Aug.    25th,    1682,   before    Thomas    Owen, 

Richard  Jones,  and  Evan  Jones,  Gentlemen. 

Thomas  Powell  of  Carmarthen,  aged  38,  gentleman,  knew 

the   parties,  and    did   know   William    Lucy,   D.D.,   then   late 


120  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KURIlY. 

Bishop  of  St.  David's;  he  added  that  the  lease  and  writings 
then  produced,  dated  5th  April,  16  Ch.  I,1  were  made  between 
Win.,  late  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  on  the  one  part,  and  Robert 
Lucy  of  the  town  of  Brecon,  Gent.,  of  the  other. 

William  Harris,  Eector  of  Gladesty,  aged  40,  said  he  knew 
the  parties,  and  knew  the  parish  of  Kerry.  It  was  sometimes 
called  Kerry,  and  sometimes  Llanfihangell  Kerry,  but  usually 
Kerry.  The  tithe  of  corn  and  lambs,  except  defendant's,  had 
been  paid  to  the  rector;  he  did  not  know,  nor  had  he  ever 
heard,  of  any  other  tithe  due  to  the  rector. 

The  glebe  lands,  tithe  of  wool,  cows,  pigs,  and  geese,  and 
all  the  small  tithes  and  Easter  offerings  were  payable  to  the 
vicar,  except  defendant's ;  deponent  did  not  know  whether  he 
paid  tithes  or  not.  The  Bishop  of  St.  David's  and  his  pre- 
decessors were  the  reputed  owners,  in  right  of  their  bishopric, 
of  the  parsonage  or  rectory  of  Kerry. 

Complainant,  under  the  then  present  and  late  Bishop  of 
St.  David's,  had  been  tenant  of  the  rectory  of  Kerry  for  eight 
years  then  past,  and  had  collected  the  tithes,  except  defend- 
ant's, without  let  or  hindrance.  Deponent  knew  the  town- 
ship or  hamlet  of  Gwernygoe  ;  it  lay  in  the  parish  of  Kerry. 
Defendant  held  a  large  grange  or  farm  there  called  Gwernygoe, 
vjilued  at  £160  a  year.  He  also  knew  there  were  several 
tenements  of  lands  that  were  held  by  several  tenants  in  the 
township  of  Gwernygoe  besides  the  farm  called  Gwernygoe 
held  by  defendant,  who  paid,  or  ought  to  have  paid,  about  the 
thirteenth  or  fifteenth  for  their  corn  and  lambs  to  the  rector. 
He  answered  in  the  affirmative  to  all  the  queries  in  the 
9th  Interrogatory,  To  the  10th  he  said  :  That  the  inhabitants 
and  landowners  within  Gwernygoe  township  usually  received 
the  Sacrament  in  Kerry  Church,  and  christened  and  baptised 
their  children  there,  and  bury  their  dead  within  the  church  or 
churchyard  :  the  defendant  had  divers  times  received  the 
Sacrament  there  at  the  hands  of  deponent. 

All  the  inhabitants  of  the  township  paid  usually  their  Easter 
dues  to  the  vicar,  the  defendant  and  his  family  excepted. 
Deponent  said  there  were  several  water-grist  mills  in  the 
parish,  but  as  to  the  number  he  was  not  certain.  He  said 
the  bulk  of  the  toll  of  the  mills  was  not  paid  in  kind,  but  that 
each  miller  at  Easter  paid  to  the  vicar  the  sum  of  4d.,  in  lieu, 
as  deponent  conceived,  of  the  lOd.  of  the  toll  from  the 
respective  mills  ;  he  had  demanded  it,  and  was  paid  by  the 
respective  millers.  He  was  in  1675  Curate  of  Kerry,  and 

1  1639. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KKRRY.  121 

then  demanded  the  Easter  offerings  from  defendant.  Defend- 
ant answered  there  were  no  Easter  offerings  or  tithes  due 
from  him,  or  from  any  other,  for  Gwernygoe  farm,  save  what 
was  due  for  the  mill  of  Gwernygoe ;  and  thereupon  defendant 
called  in  the  miller,  who,  by  defendant's  directions,  paid 
deponent  4d.  for  and  in  lieu,  as  deponent  conceived,  of  the 
tithe  of  the  toll  of  the  mill  due  at  Easter  then  before.  At  the 
payment,  he  asked  the  miller  what  the  4d.  was  for,  and  he 
said  for  the  mill ;  and  he,  deponent,  said  the  other  millers  did 
or  ought  to  pay,  over  and  above  the  sum  of  4^d.  in  lieu  of  the 
said  tithe  toll,  the  sum  of  2d.  to  the  vicar  for  themselves,  and 
2d.  for  every  communicable  inhabitant  of  their  respective 
families. 

Ambrose  Gethin  of  Kerry,  Gent.,  aged  80,  had  known  the 
parish  for  sixty  years.  He  never  heard  the  parish  called 
other  than  Kerry.  He  confirmed  previous  deponent  in  every 
respect  up  to  the  llth  Interrogatory.  Deponent  said  there 
were  twelve  or  thirteen  mills  in  the  parish.  The  millers  paid 
each  4d.  to  the  vicar.  Deponent  had  yearly  received  4:d.  from 
some  of  the  millers.  Allen  Sharret  also  had  received  from 
some  of  the  millers  £d.  Deponent  said  Howell  Gwilt  had 
been  tenant  of  Gwernygoe  farm  and  mill  above  forty  years 
then  ago,  and  deponent  and  Allen  Sharret  being,  about  that 
time  and  for  several  years  before  and  after,  farmers  of  the 
tithes  under  one  Mr.  Braine,  then  vicar.  Howell  Gwilt  yearly 
at  Easter  for  several  years  paid  deponent  upon  the  altar  in  the 
chancel  of  Kerry  Church  4d.,  which  Howell  Gwilt  said  was  to 
be  for  the  tithe  of  the  mill. 

Thomas  Mason  of  Kockley,  Esq.,  aged  60,  had  been  em- 
ployed by  Sir  Henry  Herbert  to  set  and  let  the  tithes  of 
Kerry. 

Evan  Humphreys,  over  60  years  of  age,  knew  the  parish  of 
Kerry  all  his  lifetime;  it  was  commonly  called  Kerry,  but 
long  then  since  it  was  called  by  some  men  Llanfihangel  in 
Kerry.  Mr.  Lucy  had,  under  the  bishop  and  his  predecessor, 
been  tenant  of  the  tithes  for  seventeen  years.  Deponent 
knew  Gwernygoe.  Defendant  had  been  tenant  for  eighteen 
years.  It  lay  in  Gwernygoe,  Kefn  y  berin,  and  Kalybor  Issa 
townships  ;  also  a  mill  called  Gwernygoe  mill ;  and  together 
worth  yearly  £160.  About  twelve  years  then  ago,  one  Richard 
Arthur  was  tenant  of  the  tithes  under  Mr.  Lucy.  Deponent, 
being  surety  for  Arthur,  collected  part  of  the  said  tithe.  He 
collected  tithe  from  Newton  out  of  the  parcels  of  land  in 
Kaeliber  issa  and  Gwernygoe.  One  was  called  Merllin ;  it 
was  in  Kaeliber  issa.  Newton  had  acted  as  churchwarden. 


122  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

Richard  Jones  of  Kerry,  Gent.,  aged  82,  knew  the  parish 
well;  sometimes  it  was  called  Llanfihangell  in  Kerry,  and  by 
others  Kerry.  Newton  and  others  paid  taxes  towards  the 
repair  of  Kerry  Church. 

David  Richard  of  Llandyssil,  miller,  aged  63,  had  once 
occupied  Gwenrhyw  mill  for  several  years,  and  paid  bd.  yearly 
for  Easter  dues  for  himself  and  wife  for  receiving  the  Sacra- 
ment ;  also  4d.  for  his  trade  of  a  miller. 

Katherine  Juckes,  widow,  aged  40,  said  for  two  years  then 
past,  she  being  possessed  of  a  Tucking  mill1  in  the  said  parish, 
paid  yearly  to  the  vicar  for  her  Easter  dues  2d.,  and  4d.  for 
the  tithe  of  her  trade. 

Peter  Amys  of  Kerry,  Gent,  aged  60,  had  kept  a  "  Tucking" 
mill  in  the  parish  for  thirty- three  years.  Before  he  married, 
he  paid  the  vicar  6d.}  namely  2d.  for  Easter  dues  and  4f?.  for  his 
trade.  After,  he  paid  9c?.  for  his  wife  and  self.  He  continued 
that  payment  till  the  Easter  then  last  past  (1682),  when  lid.  was 
demanded  for  Easter  dues,  5d.  for  self  and  wife,  2d.  for  daughter, 
4d.  for  trade.  He  paid  the  same  to  Mr.  John  Collins,  then 
Curate  of  Kerry. 

John  Jones  of  Kerry,  a  "  Tucker"  by  trade,  rented  a  "  Tuck- 
ing" mill,  as  his  father  before  him  had.  He  died  forty  years 
then  ago,  since  which  time  deponent  had  paid  4d.  yearly  for 
his  trade  as  a  "Tucker''. 

Ulisses  Price  of  Kerry,  yeoman,  aged  76,  said  he  had  known 
Kerry  all  his  life ;  he  was  born  and  bred  in  Kerry  ;  it  was 
sometimes  called  Llanfihangel  in  Kerry,  usually  Kerry.  He 
knew  the  township,  and  Gwernygoe  house  and  farm.  Depo- 
nent's father  had  been  Vicar2  of  Kerry.  Deponent's  mother 
told  him,  about  fifty-five  years  then  ago,  his  father  being  then 
dead,  that  Sir  Edward  Ffoxe,  Knt.,  who  had  owned  Gwernygoe 
Grange,  set  a  lease  to  deponent's  father  of  certain  lands  which 
Sir  Edward  owned,  and  called  Kae  Heylyn,  of  the  yearly  value 
of  £20,  for  his  life  and  for  the  lives  of  Samuel  Price  and  Edward 
Price,  two  of  deponent's  brothers,  in  satisfaction  for  certain 
tithes  due  to  him  from  Gwernygoe  as  Vicar  of  Kerry,  as 
deponent's  mother  had  told  him. 

Richard  Bright  of  Churchstoke,  Gent,  aged  80,  said  he  was 
born  in  Kerry  parish,  within  quarter  of  a  mile  of  Gwernygoe. 
About  forty-five  years  then  ago  he  saw  one  John  Meredith 
carrying  away  from  Gwernygoe  farm  two  or  three  "  sledgefulls" 
of  tithe-grain.  He  had  heard  that  the  said  John  had  carried 

1  A  disused  word,  but  means  a  "  fulling"  mill. 

2  See  vol.  xxvi,  p.  101,  "  1532,  Richard  ap  Rice,  vicar." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  123 

it.  before  and  after  then.  Deponent  shortly  after  "  did  goe  for 
London",  where  he  had  lived  up  to  twenty  years  past,  when  he 
came  back  to  Churchstoke. 

Eichard  David  of  Churchstoke,  aged  70,  said  about  forty 
years  then  past  he  knew  a  meadow  called  "Kitchin  Meadow", 
lying  near  Gwernygoe  house ;  it  contained  nine  acres,  eight  in 
Kerry  and  one  in  Churchstoke.  In  Howell  Gwilt's  time,  about 
thirty-five  years  then  ago,  he  remembered  the  acre  in  Church- 
stoke parish  being  sowed  with  barley,  and  deponent  gathered 
and  carried  away  the  tithe,  that  is,  the  thirteenth,  it  being 
reputed  Abbey  lands  ;  and  that  the  said  tithe  was  set  out  t/o 
the  use  of  the  Impropriator  of  Hopton. 

[There  were  several  other  deponents,  examined  on  behalf  of 
complainant,  when  several  interrogatories  were  administered 
to  deponents  for  defendant ;  the  general  bearing  of  them  was 
to  traverse  those  administered  on  the  part  of  complainant. 
The  chief  one  the  writer  appends.] 

Interrogatory  No.  3  :  What  tithes,  compositions,  or  modus 
in  lieu  of  tithes  is  or  has  been  paid  for  such  lands  within  the 
parish  of  Kerry  or  parish  of  Llanfihangel,  in  or  near  Kerry,  as 
were  or  are  not  part  of  the  abbey  or  monastery  lands,  and  not 
part  of  the  demesne  lands  belonging  to  such  abbey,  and  was 
or  were  such  lands  within  the  said  parish  or  parishes,  or  either 

of  them,  and  which  of  them  ?  . Did  deponent  know 

or  believe  that  there  was  formerly  standing  in  or  neere 
Gwernygoe  aforesaid  a  church  or  chapel  called  Llanfihangell,  or 
by  any  other  and  what  name  ?  Was  the  said  church  or  chapel, 
or  the  minister  or  priest  there,  maintained  and  kept  by  the 
tithes  paid  out  of  all  or  any,  and  what,  of  the  Grange  of  Gwerny- 
goe and  the  lands  thereunto  belonging,  or  were  the  same 
employed  towards  such  maintenance  ?  Hath  such  church  or 
chapel  been  built  and  standing  time  out  of  mind,  or  for  any 
other  and  what  time,  and  how  long  is  it  since  the  said  church 
o:~  chapel  fell  to  decay  and  ruin,  and  how  long  is  it  since  any 
minister  or  priest  did  officiate  there  ? 

Apparently  the  complainant  obtained  a  decision  in 
his  favour,  for  the  following  year  John  Vaughan,  Esq., 
the  owner  of  Gwernygoe,  tiled  a  Bill  in  the  Exchequer 
against  the  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  and  his  lessee,  Robert 
Lucy,  Esq.  We  append  a  summary  of  the  proceedings 
in  this  case,  which  were  interrupted  by  the  death  of 
plaintiff,  but  were  revived  by  the  annexed. 


124  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

EXCHEQUER  BILL,  No.  55,  MONTGOMERY.     CAR.  II. 
(A  Bill  of  Eevivor.) 

Petitioner,  John  Vaughan1  of  Trowscoed,  county  of  Cardigan, 
Esq.,  an  infant  under  twenty-one  years  of  age,  son  and  heir  of 
Edward  Vaughan,  late  of  Trouscoed,  Esq.,  by  Letitia  Vaughan, 
widow,  his  mother,  reciting  that  Edward  Vaughan,  petitioner's 
father,  with  one  Richard  Newton  of  Gwernygoe,  co.  of  Mont- 
gomery, in  Easter  Term,  1682,  exhibited  a  Bill  to  the  Court  of 
Exchequer  against  William,  late  Lord  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  and 
Robert  Lucy,  setting  forth  that  the  farm  or  grange  of  Gwerny- 
goe, in  the  parish  of  Llanfihangel,  in  or  near  Kerry,  and 
several  lands,  part  of  the  demesne  lands,  the  same  by  Letters 
Patent  and  Grants  from  the  Crown,  and  by  several  mesne 
conveyances  and  assurances  well  and  duly  executed,  and  upon 
good  and  valuable  considerntions  bond  fide  paid,  came  to  the 
said  John  Vaughan,  plaintiff's  grandfather,  and  he  enjoyed  the 
same  for  his  life,  and  then  it  came  to  orator's  father,  Edward 
Vaughan,  son  and  heir  of  the  said  Sir  John  Vaughan,  his  late 
father,  or  otherwise  ;  and  that  he  and  his  predecessors  had  paid 
no  tithe  for  the  demesne  lands  of  Gwernygoe,  and  a  thirteenth 
only  for  the  other  abbey  lands,  paying  a  modus  of  4d.  to  the 
vicar  in  lieu  of  tithe  for  the  demesne  lands.  She  further 
showed  that  the  said  parish  of  Llanfihangel  had  been  and  then 
was  a  parish  of  itself,  and  a  distinct  chapelry  or  parish  from 
the  said  parish  or  rectory  of  Kerry,  and  that  there  was  then 
formerly  a  church  or  chapel  standing  belonging  to  the  said 
parish  of  Llanfihangel,  though  the  same  had  for  divers  years 
then  past  been  suffered  to  decay  and  fall  to  ruin,  and  that  if 
any  tithes  were  due  they  ought  of  right  to  be  paid  to,  for,  or 
in  respect  of  the  said  church  or  chapel  of  Llanfihangel,  and 
towards  the  repairs  thereof,  or  otherwise  to  the  curate  or  vicar 
there,  and  not  to  the  Rector  or  the  Impropriator  of  the  rectory 
of  Kerry,  or  his  farmer,  or  lessee,  or  tenant,  and  that  plaintiff, 
by  the  custom  of  and  within  the  said  Grange  of  Gwernygoe 
time  out  of  mind,  had,  and  used,  and  ought  still  to  be  permitted 
quietly  to  enjoy  the  said  premisses  as  discharged,  or  under  the 
payment  of  such  modus  and  tithes  and  in  such  manner  as 
aforesaid  only,  and  that  there  had  been  time  out  of  mind  until 
fifty  years  then  ago  (16302)  a  church  or  chapel  called  Llanfi- 

1  Created  Earl  of  Lisburne,  under  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  29th 
June  1695;  died  1720. 

2  This  scarcely  agrees  with  the  extract  from  the  will  of  Charles 
Fox,  Esq.     See  p.  113,  supra. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  125 

hangel  aforesaid  standing  and  being,  and  that  the  Grange  of 
Gwernygoe  was  situate  in  the  said  parish  of  Llanfihangel,  and 
that  such  tithes  as  were  due  or  paid  were  paid  as  aforesaid, 
or  for  the  repair  or  in  respect  of  the  said  church  or  chapel  of 
Llanfihangel,  and  not  otherwise. 

Edward  Vaughan,  Esq  ,  filed  a  Bill1  in  the  Court  of 
Exchequer  against  William,  Lord  Bishop  of  St. 
David's,  and  Bobert  Lucy,  Esq.,  in  35  Ch.  II,  1683. 

The  following  interrogatories  were  administered  to 
the  deponents,  and  their  answers  taken  at  the  house 
of  Thomas  Bishop  in  Kerry,  gentleman,  on  the  llth  ot 
April  1683,  before  George  Bobinson,  William  Hughes, 
and  Richard  Jones,  gentlemen  : — 

1.  Did  the  deponent  know  Gwernygoe,  and  the  lands  and 
tenements  to  the  same  belonging  ? 

2.  Had  the  deponent  heard  that  the  Grange  of  Gwernygoe 
and    the   lands  had   belonged  to   the   monastery  of  Cwmhir? 
Were  there  any  parcels  of  land  belonging  to  Gwernygoe  that 
were  part  of  the  lands,  but  not  the  demesne  lands,  belonging  to 
the  Abbey  ?    If  so,  how  came  they  to  be  adjoined  to  the  Grange 
of  Gwernygoe  ?     What  tithes,  compositions,  or  modus  in  lieu 
of  tithes  is   or  were  paid  for  such  lands  in  the  parish  of  Kerry, 
or  parish  of  Llanfihatigel,  near  Kerry,  as  were  parts  of  the  abbey 
laud,  and  what  for  lands  that  were  not  of  the  demesne  ? 

3.  Were  any  tithes  other  than  a  modus  of  4:d.  (paid  to  the 
Vicar  of  Kerry)  ever  paid  for  any  part  of  Gwernygoe  ? 

4.  Did    deponent    believe    or    remember    that    there    had 
formerly  been  a  church  or  chapel    called  Llanfihangel,  or  by 
any  other  name,  standing  and  being  in  or  near  to  Gwernygoe  ? 
Was  the  minister  or  priest  of  the  said  church  or  chapel  main- 
tained and  kept  by  the  tithes  paid  out  of  all  or  any  part  of  the 
Grange  of  Gwernygoe   and   the   lands   thereunto    belonging  ? 
Had  the  church  or  chapel  been  built  and  standing  time  out  of 
mind,  and  how  long  was  it  since  any  minister  or  priest  had 
officiated  there  ? 

5.  and  other  queries.     Deponents  were   shown   some  papers, 
and  asked  could  they  identify  them  ;  and  also  how  many  mills 
were  in  the  parish ;  did  the  millers  pay  any  tithes,  modus,  rate, 
or  composition  for  tithes  to  the  vicar,  impropriator,  or  rector  of 

1  Exchequer    Depositions,    35    Charles   II,    Montgomery,    Easter, 

No.  7. 


126*  HISTORY  OF  THE  PAIUSH  OF  KEKKY. 

the  parish  of  Kerry  for  the  time  being ;  if  so,  how  much  ;  and 
was  it  so  paid  for  their  trade  of  miller,  and  not  otherwise ;  was 
any  tithe  paid  for  Gwernygoe  mill  ? 

There  were  no  less  than  twenty  deponents  examined 
on  behalf  of  Edward  Vaughan,  Esq.  ;  nine  of  them 
described  as  gentlemen,  two  yeomen,  two  women,  three 
millers,  one  weaver,  three  not  described.  As  their 
names  may  be  of  interest  to  some  readers,  the  writer 
appends  them  : 

Michael  Price  of  Caynham,  co.  Salop,  aged  72 ;  Richard 
ap  David  of  Hopton,  Gent.,  80;  Thomas  Gwilt,  Kalliber  issa, 
Gent.,  58 ;  Richard  Edwards,  Montgomery,  yeoman,  66  ; 
Lewis  Evans,  Church  stoke,  miller,  58  ;  Silvanus  Jones,  Kerry, 
weaver,  80  ;  John  Edwards,  Graig,  gentleman,  53;  Rees  Price, 
Mochdre,  Gent.  ;  49 ;  Edward  Poole,  Moughtrey,  gentleman, 
40 ;  Win.  Price,  Moughtrey,  yeoman,  50  ;  Edward  Edwards, 
Penygelly,  Kerry,  gentleman,  44;  Henry  Dudlich,  Gwernygoe, 
gentleman,  56 ;  Matthew  Lloyd  of  Kerry,  gentleman,  70 ; 
Morgan  Morris  of  Kelliber  Issa,  79 ;  Elizabeth  Gwilt,  Kerry, 
72 ;  Richard  David,  Kerry,  miller,  40 ;  John  Dudliche  of 
Kerry,  gentleman,  81  ;  Edward  Ellis,  miller,  40  ;  Joan  Davies, 
widow,  91 ;  John  Price,  Hopton  ucha,  74. 

As  will  have  been  noticed  from  the  interrogatories, 
complainant's  case  was  that,  as  demesne  lands  of  the 
monastery  of  Cwmhir,  the  Grange  of  Gwernygoe  was 
not  titheable,  and,  other  than  a  payment  of  \d.  as  a 
modus  to  the  vicar  of  Kerry,  nothing  had  ever  been 
paid  for  the  demesne  lands  ;  but  as  regarded  any  other 
land  attached  to  Gwernygoe,  which  was  not  demesne 
land,  they  had  paid  a  thirteenth.  As  a  supplementary 
plea  complainant  attempted  to  show  that  there  had 
formerly  been  a  church  or  chapel  called  Llauh'hangel 
standing  near  Gwernygoe,  and  that  the  priest  or 
minister  who  served  had  for  his  stipend,  or  to  maintain 
him,  the  tithes  of  Gwernygoe  township. 

As  regarded  the  mills  in  Kerry  parish,  the  conten- 
tion of  complainant  was  that  whatever  was  paid  was 
paid  as  for  the  trade  of  a  miller  and  not  for  tithe. 

As   it  would  be  tedious  to  the  reader  to  give  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  127 

verbatim  replies  of  the  several  deponents,  the  writer 
first  appends  the  interrogatories  administered  on  the 
part  of  the  defendants,  so  that  the  reader  may  see 
what  the  contention  was  between  the  parties  ;  and  to 
them  he  will  add  some  of  the  statements  made  by  the 
deponents,  which  may,  he  trusts,  be  deemed  of  sufficient 
interest  to  be  preserved  in  these  pages. 

1.  Did  deponent  know  the  defendants  or  either  of  them  ? 

2.  Did  they  know  the  parish  of  Kerry,  and  was  it  sometimes 
called    Kerry    and    sometimes    Llanfihangel     St.    Michael    in 
Kerry,  or  Kerry  Llanfihangel,  or  how  called  ?     What  part  of 
the  tithes  belonged  to  the  rectory  ?    what   to   the  vicarage  ? 
namely,  the  several  sorts  of  tithes  due  to  the  rector  and  vicar 
respectively. 

3.  Did   they  know  that  the    defendant,    Eobert   Lucy,  was 
tenant  of  the  rectory  of  Kerry  under  the  Bishop  of  St.  David's  ? 
How  long  had  he  been  tenant  under  the  then  bishop,  and  how 
long  under  his  predecessor?1     Had  deponent   seen   the  deeds 
then   produced   before  ?     Did  he  know  a  township  or  hamlet 
called  Gwernygoe  ?     Was  and  had  the  plaintiff  been  tenant  of 
any   messuages,  mills,  etc.,  in   the  same  ?     Were   there    more 
lands  in  the    township    of  Gwernygoe    than     those    held   by 
complainant  Vaughan  ?    what    were    they    called,    what    their 
yearly  value  ?     How  much  tithe  corn  had  been,  or  ought  to 
be,  paid  for  the  same,  and  what  was  the  accustomed  tithe  of 
lambs  and  sheep  ? 

To  what  parish  church  or  chapel  (of  ease)  did  the 
inhabitants  of  Gwernygoe  go  ?  Do  they  or  any  of  them  pay 
taxes  to  Kerry  church,  and  towards  the  relief  of  the  poor  ? 
Had  they  and  the  plaintiff  in  particular  any  forms  or  sitting 
places  in  Kerry  church  ?  Did  they  know  messuage  lands  or 
tenements,  being  part  of  Gwernygoe  township,  situated  in  the 
parish  of  Churchstoke  ?  What  tithes  had  been  paid  for  the 
same,  and  how,  when,  and  where  ? 

Have  the  inhabitants  of  Gwernygoe  and  the  holders  of  land 
there,  or  any  of  them,  usually  received  the  sacrament,  baptised 
their  children,  buried  their  dead  in  the  parish  church  of  Kerry2 

1  Robert  Lucy,  the  defendant,  was  son  of  the  preceding  bishop, 
W.  Lucy,  as  well  as  under  the  co-defendant.      Robert  Lucy  resided 
at  Brecon. 

2  Nothing  said  about  the  churchyard.     The  writer  noticed,  when 
copying  Kerry  wills  at  Hereford,  that  nearly  all  desired  to  be  buried 
in  the  church. 


128  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

by  the  vicar  or  curate  there  ?  Ought  they,  or  any  of  them,  to 
pay  any  Easter  offerings  ?  How  much,  and  to  whom  in  particular, 
and  have  or  ought  they  to  pay  anything  for  burying  and 
christening,  and  how  much  for  each  burial  and  christening  ? 
Have  the  inhabitants  of  Gwernygoe  township  borne  any  offices, 
in  particular  the  complainant  ?  If  so,  what  and  when  ? 

How  many  mills  were  there  in  Kerry  parish  ?  who  the 
owners  and  who  the  tenants  ?  Have  they  usually  paid  the 
tenth  in  toll  for  tithe  ?  How  much  ought  to  be  paid,  and  how 
much  for  complainant's  mill  ?  How  much  was  the  tithe  corn  of 
Gwernygoe  worth  yearly  ?  How  many  lands  and  sheep  did  com- 
plainant keep  ?  Had  he  any  cattle  or  horses  grazing  in  Kerry 
parish,  and  out  of  the  township  of  Gwernygoe,  during  the 
eighteen  years  of  his  tenancy  ?  Say  how  much  was  the  tithe 
of  the  herbage  of  such  cattle  yearly  worth  ?  how  many  acres  of 
meadows  did  he  mow,  and  what  was  the  tenth  part  worth  ? 
Were  there  more  lands  in  Gwernygoe  township  than  those 
Newton  held?  Who  held  them,  what  tithe  was  paid,  what 
of  corn  and  grain  were  or  should  be  paid,  and  to  whom  ?  What 
tithe  lambs  are  or  ought  to  be  paid  for  such  sheep  as  yearly 
graze  and  "  yeane"  upon  the  same  lands  ? 

The  first  deponent  for  the  complainant  was  Michael  Price  of 
Caynham,  whose  father  owned  a  considerable  tenement  and 
lands  near  Gwernygoe,  and  partly  adjoined  it,  where  he  lived 
and  died.  Deponent  was  born  and  reared  there.  He  had 
heard,  and  believed  it  to  be  true,  that  the  demesne  lands  of 
Gwernygoe  farm  or  grange  were  part  of,  and  belonged  to,  the 
dissolved  Abbey  of  Cwrnhir.  He  knew  a  parcel  of  land  called 
the  further  Merllins,  containing  about  twelve  acres,  which  was 
part  of  the  lands,  but  not  the  demesne  lands,  of  the  abbey ; 
the  said  parcel  had  been  purchased  by  Sir  Edward  Ffoxe,1 
a  former  owner  of  Gwernygoe,  from  a  person  of  the  name  of 
Morris.  Deponent  said  lands  in  Kerry  which  were  not  abbey 
lands  paid  a  tenth  for  the  tithes,  and  abbey  lands  not  part  of 
the  demesne  belonging  to  the  abbey,  a  thirteenth. 

Deponent  said  that  over  fifty  years  then  ago  he  became 
a  servant  to  Sornersett  Ffoxe,  Esq.,  son  of  Sir  Edward  Ffoxe 
above  by  Elizabeth  his  second  wife,  who  then  owned  Gwernygoe  ; 
he  lived  with  Mr.  Ffoxe  some  years  following  his  term.  During 
the  time  he  lived  at  Gwernygoe  there  was  no  manner  of  tithe 
paid  for  the  demesne  lands  of  Gwernygoe  other  than  the  sum 
of  4:d.,  which  he  remembered,  as  it  was  generally  talked  about 
in  the  family,  and  the  same  was  paid  by  Somersett  Ffoxe  to 

1  Sheriff  of  Montgomeryshire,  1617,  Sheriff*.,  pp.  438-447. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERKY.  129 

the  Vicar  of  Kerry  at  Easter.  Deponent  added  that  his 
father  and  mother,  who  "  were  very  ancient  people",  and  then 
(1683)  long  dead,  had  told  him  that  in  their  day  there  was 
never  any  tithe  in  kind  paid  out  for  the  demesne  lands  at 
Gwernygoe  other  than  the  4d.,  nor  had  they  in  their  lifetime, 
as  they  told  him,  ever  heard  of  any  tithe  other  than  the  sum 
of  4d  paid  for  the  demesne  lands  of  Gwernygoe;  but  he 
remembered  the  piece  called  the  "  Merllins"  manured  and  sowed 
with  grain,  and  at  harvest  the  thirteenth  part  of  the  corn  was 
cast  out  and  paid  in  kind  out  of  and  for  that  parcel.  He 
knew  a  field  called  Maes-y-Gadfa ;  it  had  not  been  ploughed 
in  his  time. 

Richard  ap  David  -of  Hopton,  gentleman,  aged  80  years, 
who  had  lived  adjacent  to  Gwernygoe  all  his  life,  confirmed 
preceding  deponent. 

Thomas  Gwilt,  aged  58,  the  son  of  a  former  tenant  of 
Gwernygoe,  who  had  occupied  Gwernygoe  for  fifteen  years, 
said  that  during  his  father's  time  there  was  no  tithe  in  kind 
paid  for  the  abbey  lands;  but  for  three  parcels,  one  called 
' '  the  Merlins",1  another  "  Maes-y-gadva" ,  and  a  third  "  Close 
Waikin" ,  a  thirteenth  was  paid,  a  modus  of  4<d.  only  for  the 
demesne  lands. 

His  mother,  one  of  the  deponents,  aged  72,  widow  of  Howel 
Gwilt,  said  that  every  year  at  Easter  her  husband  used,  when 
he  and  she  took  the  Sacrament,  to  pay  to  the  vicar,  in  her 
sight,  4d.,  but  whether  it  was  for  tithe,  or  for  what,  she  did 
not  remember. 

Lewis  Evans  of  Churchstoke  had  lived  at  Gwernygoe,  as 
servant,  with  both  Howel  Gwilt  and  Richard  Newton,  for 
twenty-seven  years  in  the  whole.  There  was  no  tithe  paid  in 


1  The  writer  communicated  with  Mr.  Edward  Morris,  the  present 
tenant  of  Gwernygoe,  inquiring  if  there  were  fields  of  similar  names 
on  the  farm  now  (1891).  He  kindly  favoured  the  writer  with  a  reply, 
stating  that  there  was  a  field  on  the  farm  called  the  Merthllyns, 
eighteen  acres  in  size ;  but  Mr.  Morris  suggests  that  a  fence  was 
probably  taken  up,  thus  enlarging  "The  Merllins" ;  that  the  field 
adjoins  Cumberllan  and  Perthybu  farms.  There  is  also  a  field  still 
called  Close  Waikin,  which  adjoins  Bahaillon  farm,  and  is  on  the  right- 
hand  side  of  the  turnpike  road  leading  from  the  Sarn  to  Gwernygoe  ; 
but  that  there  was  no  field  of  the  name  of  Maes-y-Gadfa,  which  is 
regrettable,  as  this  field  might  have,  as  the  name  implies — "  The  Field 
of  Battle" — gone  some  way  towards  explaining  the  incident  which 
occurred  in  Henry  Ill's  day,  referred  to  in  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxiii, 
p.  360. 

VOL.  XXVII.  K 


130  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY. 

his  time,  but  Howe!  Gwilt  told  deponent  that  he  paid  to  the 
Vicar  of  Kerry  4:d. 

JohnDudlick  of  Kerry,  Gent.,  aged  81  years,  knew  Gwernygoe  ; 
he  was  bred  a  near  neighbour  thereto.  He  had  often,  when 
a  young  man,  been  reaping  at  Gwernygoe,  and  had  known  of 
the  servants  on  Easter  Sunday  paying  the  vicar  the  4-d. 
referred  to  above. 

Henry  Dudlicke1  of  Gwernegoe,  Gent.,  aged  56,  deposed  that 
he  knew  Gwernygoe  and  the  lands  belonging  to  it,  and  that 
he  had  an  estate  in  lands  adjoining  it,  where  he  was  born  and 
bred,  and  had  lived  there  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life.  He 
knew  that  the  three  fields  not  part  of  the  demesne  lands  paid 
a  thirteenth  tithe.  His  father,  "  who  was  very  ancient  when 
he  died",  had  been  employed  by  Sir  Edward  Ffoxe  in  his  life- 
time, and  afterwards  by  his  son  Somersett  Ffoxe,  when  they 
were  owners  of  it,  to  gather  and  receive  certain  of  their  rents 
in  the  neighbourhood.  He  had  often  heard  his  father  say 
that  the  demesne  lands  of  Gwernygoe  were  free  from  tithe 
except  4d. 

Tithes  for  Gwernygoe  Mill. 

Deponent's  father  used  Gwernygoe  mill,  and  was  there  for 
thirteen  years  as  miller  together  under  Howel  Gwilt.  Depo- 
nent lived  with  his  father  there  thirteen  years,  and  occupied  it 
himself  fourteen  years  afterwards  under  Richard  Newton.  In 
all  that  time  there  were  no  tithes  paid  for  the  mill. 

One  Kichard  Morris  and  Samuel  Lloyd  were,  as  he  con- 
ceived, ffermors  of  the  tithes  of  Kerry  parish  for  some  years, 
and  for  two  of  the  said  years,  when  he  and  his  wife  went  to 
receive  the  Sacrament  at  the  parish  church  of  Kerry,  they,  or 
one  of  them,  demanded  money  of  deponent  for  his  "  Easter 
Dutyes"  in  that  behalf,  and  thereupon,  for  quietness'  sake,  and 
not  otherwise,  he  did  pay  them  yearly  for  two  years  4(i,  "  not 
for  the  mill,  but  for  the  Sacrament." 

Silvanus  Jones  of  Kerry,  weaver,  aged  80,  said  that  fifty 
years  then  ago,  when  Somersett  Ffoxe  owned  Gwernygoe,  and 
after  he  had  gone  to  reside  elsewhere,  his  steward,  Edward 

1  Henry  Dudlicke  was  baptized  at  Kerry,  17th  March  1626-7. 
His  father's  name  appears  to  have  been  John ;  but,  as  he  was  dead 
when  the  deposition  was  taken,  it  could  not  have  been  the  John 
above.  John,  Henry's  father,  seems  to  have  had  a  son  John — born 
1629 — and  two  daughters,  Elena,  1631.  and  "Katherine,  daughter  of 
John  Dudlicke  of  Gweruygoe,  baptized  10th  Feb.  1634-5".  With 
this  entry  the  name  of  Dudlick  ends  in  Kerry  Register. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  131 

James,  one  Easter  Day  in  the  morning,  gave  deponent  4<cL, 
and  wished  him  to  carry  it  that  day  to  Kerry  parish  church, 
and  pay  it  to  Mr.  Brayne,  the  vicar,  in  "  satisfaction  of  all  the 
tithes  out  of  and  for  the  demesne  lands  of  Gvvernygoe  for  that 
year,  which  deponent  did,  and  Mr.  Brayne  took  the  same. 

Givernyyoe  Chapel :  its  Name. 

Deponent  had  heard,  and  believed  it  to  be  true,  that  there 
had  formerly  been  a  church  or  chapel  standing  near  Gwernygoe, 
and  he  had  heard  his  father-in-law,  one  John  Acton,  who  was 
an  old  man,  and  then  long  since  dead,  say  that  he  knew  that 
church  or  chapel,  when  it  stood,  was  called  Llanfihangel,  and 
that  he,  John  Acton,  went  to  the  church  or  chapel  to  school 
in  the  time  of  his  youth. 

Tithes  on  Mills. 

Rees  Price  of  Moughtrey,  gentleman,  aged  49,  deposed  that 
for  about  four  years  then  past  he  had  been  owner  of  a  water 
corn-mill  in  Kerry  parish,  "  which  had  descended  and  come  to 
him  by  inheritance  from  his  late  father".  It  was  an  ancient 
mill.  There  had  not  been  any  modus,  rate,  or  composition  for 
tithes  paid  on  his  mill  for  the  time  he  had  held  it,  nor  had  any 
been  demanded,  nor,  as  far  as  he  knew,  had  any  been  paid  by 
his  father  or  any  other  of  his  ancestors,  or  that  there  was 
anything  ever  demanded. 

Edward  Poole  of  Moughtrey,  gentleman,  aged  40,  who  also 
owned  a  mill  in  Kerry,  deposed  to  the  same  effect. 

William  Price  of  Moughtrey,  yeoman,  aged  50,  rented  a  mill 
in  Kerry  parish  from  one  Eichard  Griffiths.  Deponent  had 
never  paid  any  composition  or  tithe,  nor  was  any  demanded, 
save  once,  "  by  one  Eichard  Morris,  who  had  some  hand  in 
gathering  the  tithes  of  Kerry  parish,  who  from  deponent 
demanded  a  pig,  but,  as  deponent  had  no  pigs,  he  could  not 
give  him  one  had  he  been  disposed ;  that  was  all  the  demands 
ever  made  upon  him/' 

Another  miller  deposed  that  he  had  rented  a  mill  for  twelve 
years  in  Kerry  parish;  he  had  never  paid  or  yet  been  asked 
for  any  tithe  for  his  mill  save  4d.,  which  he  and  other  millers 
in  the  parish  sometimes  paid  "  in  respect  of  and  on  account  of 
the  said  trades,  and  not  otherwise".  Deponent  had  not  known 
it  to  be  paid  but  very  seldom  in  his  lifetime ;  but  the  very 
year  preceding  (1682)  Mr.  Collins,  the  then  minister  or  curate, 
came  and  demanded  4<d.  as  tithe  for  his  mill,  which  deponent 
refused  to  pay.  Deponent  told  Mr.  Collins  he  had  never  paid 

K  2 


132  HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KEKRY. 

tithes  for  his  mill,  but  had  sometimes  paid  4td.  on  account  of 
his  trade.  He  then  offered  4d.  for  his  trade,  and  Mr.  Collins 
took  it. 

Edward  Edwards  of  Pengelly,  Gent.,  aged  forty-four,  owned 
a  mill  in  Kerry  known  as  Richard  Edwards'  mill;  it  had 
belonged  to  his  father  and  grandfather.  Neither  they  nor  he  had 
ever  paid  any  tithe,  nor  had  any  been  demanded  from  deponent 
for  the  twenty  years  he  held  it,  saving  that  one  Richard  Morris 
had  demanded  4d.  from  him  for  using  the  trade  of  miller,  which 
deponent  refused  to  pay,  as  "  he  was  not  a  professed  miller", 
it  was  only  when  he  was  destitute  of  a  miller  that  he  attended 
to  the  mill. 

Mathew  Lloyd  of  Kerry,  Gent.,  aged  seventy,  owned  a  mill 
in  the  parish ;  deposed  to  the  same  effect  as  previous  deponents. 
He  was  followed  by  Richard  David,  a  miller  by  trade,  aged 
forty  years,  who  had  lived  in  Kerry  parish  for  nine  years,  for 
seven  of  which  he  had  occupied  a  mill  called  Melyn  Oefn  Per- 
feth1;  for  the  last  two  he  had  occupied  Nelyn  Gilfach  y  Rliew; 
he  paid  no  tithe  or  rate,  but  he  paid  4d.  for  the  trade  of  a 
miller,  and  sometimes  a  sucking  pig.  Another  miller,  Edward 
Ellis,  aged  forty,  had  been  a  miller  in  Kerry  parish  fourteen 
years,  the  first  four  he  occupied  a  mill  [Melyn]  Cilydan,  the 
next  seven,  Melyn  Maenlloyde,  the  next  year  Melyn  Lloynmaure; 
the  last  year  he  held  the  mill  of  Mr.  Porter,  and  the  then  year, 
Mr.  Herbert's  mill,  all  in  Kerry  parish,  and  he  had  never  paid 
a  rate,  composition,  or  tithe  to  the  Yicar,  Impropriator,  or 
Rector.  Robert  Morris  called  on  him,  and  he  paid  4tZ.  for  his 
trade  of  miller ;  deponent  added  there  were  about  fourteen 
water  corn-mills  in  Kerry  parish,  namely,  the  five  deponent  had 
occupied,  and  Mr.  Edward  Poole's  mill,  John  Edwards'  mill, 
Edward  Price's  mill,  occupied  by  Rees  Price,  Mathew  Lloyd's 
mill,  called  Melynfach,  the  mill  then  lately  occupied  by  Edward 
Edwards,  the  miller,  Gwenrhiew's  and  Gwernegoe  mills.  De- 
ponent added  that  the  year  then  last  past  he  paid  Mr.  Collins, 
the  minister  (or  curate),  6d.  Mr.  Collins  demanded  9d. — 4d. 
for  his  trade  of  miller,  arid  5d.  for  Easter  dues  for  self  and 
wife. 

Joane  Davies,  widow,  ninety-one  years  of  age ;  she  lived  at 
Gwernygoe  with  Sir  Edward  Ffoxe,  sixty  years  then  ago,  for 
seven  years,  and  looked  to  and  attended  upon  two  of  his  grand- 
children. No  tithe  paid  the  time  she  lived  at  Gwernygoe  except, 
every  Easter  day,  4d.,  paid  to  the  vicar  by  one  of  the  servants. 


Parcel  of  the  possessions  of  the  Monastery  of  Strata  Florida. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PARISH  OF  KERRY.  133 

What  the  result  was  we  have  not  ascertained;  but  as 
there  is  no  tithe  paid  for  Gwernygoe,  and  even  the 
modus  of  4=d.  has  never  been  paid  to  the  present  vicar, 
or  to  any  preceding  vicar,  by  either  the  present  tenant, 
Mr.  Edward  Morris,  or  his  father,  who  preceded  him  in 
the  occupation  of  the  Grange  farm  of  Gwernygoe,  we 
venture  to  think  that  Robert  Lucy,  Esq.,  did  not 
succeed  in  his  claim. 

In  ending  this  long  dissertation  upon  Gwernygoe 
Chapel,  and  incidentally  upon  the  tithes  of  Gwernygoe 
township,  or  the  would-be  claim  for  the  right  of  levying 
tithes  on  land,  etc.,  within  the  township  of  Gwernygoe, 
and  mills  in  Kerry  parish,  the  writer  may  remark 
that  it  is  doubtful  whether  there  ever  was  an  inde- 
pendent parish  established  within  Kerry  parish, 
although  the  people  of  the  district  around  Gwernygoe 
two  hundred  years  ago  seem  to  have  believed  there 
was,  and  that  it  was  popularly  know  as  Llanfihangel. 
It  would  probably  not  be  unfavourably  received  if  the 
ancient  name  were  in  some  way  attached  to  the  modern 
parish  of  Sam,  which  includes,  with  other  land,  the  town- 
ship of  Gwernygoe,  the  so-called  ancient  parish  of 
Llanfihangel.  •• 


134 


RAINFALL  AT  DOLFOR,  MONTGOMERYSHIRE, 

IN   1892. 


Month. 

Total  Depth. 

Greatest  Fall  in  24 
Hours. 

No.  of  Days 
on  which  .01 
or  more  fell. 

Inches. 

Depth. 

Date. 

January    . 

2.51 

0.42 

7 

21 

February 

1.91 

0.41 

19 

13 

March 

1.41 

0.41 

8 

9 

April 

1.26 

0.30 

20 

11 

May 

2.23 

0.51 

31 

16 

June 

2.29 

0.85 

28 

14 

July 

2.09 

0.91 

16 

12 

August     . 

2.92 

0.52 

29 

16 

September 

3.04 

0.75 

20 

19 

October    . 

3.42 

0.65 

14              23 

November 

2.73 

0.64 

4              17 

December 

1.82 

0.44 

1              13 

Total    . 

27.63 

1891 

43.47 

W.   B.    PlTGH. 


135 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

(Continued  from  Vol.  ii,  p.  208.) 


CATALOGUE   OF  THE  SHERIFFS, 

AUTHENTICATED  BY  REFERENCE  TO,  AND  ILLUSTRATED  BY 
EXTRACTS  PROM,  THE  PUBLIC  RECORDS. 

(Also  compared  with  t/ie  List  of  Sheriffs  at  Peniarth,  Merioneth- 
shire, and  the  "  Gwyliedydd"  List.) 

BY  REV.  WILLIAM   V.  LLOYD,  M.A.,  R.N. 

(Chaplain  to  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh). 


THE  lists  of  sheriffs  hitherto  extant  were  found,  on  comparison  with 
records,  to  be  inaccurate.  Some  gentlemen  are  therein  designated 
sheriffs  of  the  county  who  did  not  serve  that  office ;  whilst  others 
had  wrong  years  of  office  assigned  to  them. 

The  compilation  of  an  accurate  list,  to  precede  the  biographical 
and  genealogical  notices  of  individual  sheriffs,  became  a  matter  of 
necessity  ;  and  has  involved  considerable  research  in  the  various 
departments  of  the  Public  Records,  of  which  the  following  is  the 
result. 

The  historical  and  regnal  years,  before  the  name  of  each  sheriff, 
are  those  in  which  his  year  of  office  terminated. 


Charles  I. 
(First  regnal  year,  27  March  1625,  to  26  March  1626.) 

1627 — 3  Charles  I.  RICHARD  PUGH.  Peniarth  and 
Gwyliedydd  Lists,  the  same. 

"  Compus  Rich'i  Pugh  ar.  vicecoinitis  ib'in  pro  tempus  pred." 
(No.  875,  Land  Rev.  Ministers'  Accounts,  Record  Office,  2-3 
Ch.  I.) 

Summons  "ad  Magn.  Session,  tent,  apud  Polam  23  April 
3  Ch.  I."  Endorsed,  "  Ric'us  Pugh  ar.  vie."  (Gaol  File,  3  Ch.  I.) 


136  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

1628—4  Charles  I.  EVAN  GLYNN  of  Glynn.  P. 
and  G.  Lists,  the  same. 

<(  Compus  Evani  Glynne  ar.  riuper  vicecorn.  ib  m  pro  tempus 
pred/'  (No.  876,  Land  Rev.  Min.  Accts.,  3-4  Ch.  1.) 

1629 — 5  Charles  I.  EDWARD  LLOYD  of  Berthllwyd. 
Peniarth  and  G.  Lists. 

"  Compus  Edr'i  Lloyd  ar.  vicecom.  ib'm  pro  tempus  pred." 
(Roll  877,  Land  Rev.  Min.  Accts.,  4-5  Ch.  I.) 

1630 — 6  Ch.  I.  JOHN  BLAYNEY  of  Tregynon. 
G.  List,  the  same. 

"  Compus  Johannis  Blayney  ar.  vie.  com.  ib'm  pro  tempus 
pred."  (No.  878,  Land  Rev.  Min.  Accts.,  5-6  Ch.  I.) 

"No'i'a  Justic.  pacis  D'ni  Regis  Com.  Mountgom'y  Joh'es 
Blayney  ar." 

"  Magn.  Inquis.  ad  Magn.  Sessio.  tent,  apud  Polam  29  Oct. 
8  Ch.  I.  Joh'is  Blayney  de  Tregynon  ar.,"  1st  Juror.  (Gaol 
File,  8  Ch.  I.) 

"Joh'is  Blayney  ar.  capitalis  senescallus  Perceo  Herbert 
milit.  et  Baronet  D'nii  sui  de  Kerry,  Kedewen,  Halceter  et 
Mountgom'y."  (Ibid.) 

1631—7  Ch.  1.  WILLIAM  WASHBOURNE.  G.  List, 
the  same. 

"  Compus  Willi'm  Washbourne  ar.  vie.  com.  ib'm  pro  tempus 
pred."  (No.  880,  Land.  Rev.  Min.  Accts.,  6-7  Ch.  I.) 

1632 — 8  Ch.  I.  JAMES  PHILLIPS  of  Kylynog. 
G.  List,  Jacob  Phillips,  Esquire. 

"  Compus  Jacobi  Phillips  ar.  vicecom.  ib'm  pro  tempus 
pred."  (No.  881,  Land  Rev.  Min.  Accts.,  7-8  Cb.  1.) 

On  the  list,  but  not  selected  for  the  Grand  Jury,  2  Ch.  I : 
"James  Philipps  de  Kylynog  ar."     (Gaol  File,  2  Ch.  I.) 
"  Jacobus  Philippes  ar.  Escaetor."     (Gaol  File,  20  Jam.  I.) 

1633 — 9  Ch.  I.  SIR  JOHN  HAYWARD,  Knight.  G. 
List,  John  Hayivard,  miles. 

A  file  of  warrants,  addressed  by  Sir  John  Bridgeman, 
Knight,  Justice  of  Chester,  dated  from  Pool,  3  Nov.,  8  Ch.  I, 
to  the  sheriff  of  Montgomeryshire,  endorsed  : 

"  Joh'es  Hayward  Miles  Vic."     (Gaol  File,  8-9  Ch.  I.) 

"Thomas  Rogers  gen.  Capitalis  Senescallus  Johi  Hey  ward 
Milit.  d'rn'ii  sui  de  Stretm'cell."  (Gaol  File,  3  Ch.  I.) 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  137 

1634 — 10  Ch.  I.  SIR  PHILIP  EYTON,  Knight.  G. 
List,  Phil.  Eyton,  miles. 

"Calendar,  prison,  in  custod.  Philippi  Eyton  milit.  vie.  com. 
com.  pred.  coram  Johann  Bridgman  Milit.  serviens  ad  legem 
Justic.  die.  com.  pred.  etMarmaduco  Lloyd  Mil.  alter  Justic.  die. 
com.  ad  Magn a  Sessio.  tent,  apud  Polam  quinto  die  Maij  An. 
regni  diet.  Dom.  n'ri  reg.  Caroli  nunc  AngL  etc.  decimo."  (Gaol 
File,  co.  Montgomery,  10  Ch.  I.) 

1635 — 11  Ch.  I.  THOMAS  IRELAND  ("  de  Abretton," 
Albrighton,  P.  List). 

<(  Calendar.  Prison,  in  salva  custod.  Thomas  Ireland  ar. 
vicecom.  com.  pred.  (Montgomery).  Ad  Mgn.  Sessio.  tent, 
apud  Polam  20  Aprilis  an.  Caroli  undecimo."  (Gaol  File, 
11  Ch.  I.) 

1636 — 12  Ch.  I.  MEREDITH  MORGAN  ("de  Aber- 
havesp,"  P.  List). 

Summons  ad  Magn.  Sess.  tent,  apud  Polam  2  May,  1 1  Ch.  I, 
endorsed,  "  Meredith  Morgan  ar.  vie." 

1637 — 13  Ch.  I.  LLOYD  PIERS  ("  de  Trowscoed," 
P.  List). 

A  writ  of  covenant,  endorsed,  "  Lloyd  Piers  ar.  vie."  1 8  April 
and  14  October,  13  Ch.  I. 

1638—14  Ch.  I.  JOHN  NEWTON.  P.  and  G.  List, 
the  same. 

"Magna  Sess.  tent,  apud  Polam  7  May,  14  Ch.  I.  Joh'es 
Newton  ar.  vie." 

Writs  of  covenant,  dated  29  September,  14  Ch.  I,  endorsed, 
"  Joh'es  Newton  ar.  vie." 

1639  —15  Ch.  I.  RICHARD  PRICE  ("  de  Gogerthan," 
P.  List). 

Summons  ad  Mag.  Sess.  tent,  apud  Polam  13  May,  14  Ch.  I., 
endorsed,  "  Ric'us  Price  ar.  vie/' 

Writs  of  covenant  of  27  April  and  12  October,  15  Ch.  I 
endorsed,  "  Ric'us  Price  ar.  vie." 

1640—16  Ch.  I.  EDWARD  MAURICE  ("  de  Pen  y 
bont,"  P.  List). 

Writ  of  covenant,  dated  8  November,  15  Ch.  I,  endorsed, 
"Edr'us  Morris  ar.  vie." 


138  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

1641—17  Ch.  I.  ROGER  KYNASTON  ("de  Hordley," 
P.  List). 

Writs  of  covenant,  dated  8  May,  25  September,  17  Ch.  I, 
endorsed,  "  Rog'us  Kinaston  ar.  vie/' 

1642—18  Ch.  I.  THOMAS  NICHOLLS  ("de  Boycoitt," 
P.  List). 

A.  writ  of  covenant,  dated  23  April,  18  Ch.  I,  endorsed, 
"  Tho.  Niccolls  ar.  vie." 

1643—19  Ch.  I.  JOHN  BLAYNEY,  P.  and  G.  Lists, 
the  same. 

Writs  of  covenant,  dated  22  September,  24  November, 
4  March,  18  Ch.  I,  endorsed,  "  Joh'es  Blayney  ar.  vie." 

1644—20  Ch.  I.  SIR  ARTHUR  BLAYNEY,  Knight 
(Banneret).  P.  and  G.  Lists. 

Writs  of  covenant,  dated  25  May  and  6  September,  19  Ch.  I, 
endorsed,  ''  Arthur  Blayney  mil.  vie." 


1647 — 23  Ch.  I.  ROWLAND  HUNT  de  Borra  tori 
Ar.  (Boreatton).  Authority,  the  Peniarth  and  G. 
Lists. 

1648 — 23-24  Ch.  I.  MATTHKW  MORGAN  ("de  Aber- 
havesp,"  P.  List). 

"  Magna  Sess.  tent,  apud  Polam  13  March,  23  Ch.  I,  and 
16  October,  24  Ch.  I,  endorsed,  "  Mathew  Morgan  ar.  vie." 
(Gaol  File.) 

Writs  of  covenant,  dated  26  Feb.,  23  Ch.  I,  and  16  October, 
24  Ch.  I,  endorsed,  "Math.  Morgan  ar.  vie." 

1649 — 1  Ch.  II  (Commonwealth).  EVAN  LLOYD. 
P.  and  G.  Lists. 

"  Apud  Polam  in  com.  p'dict.  (Montgomery)  13  Sep.  1649. 
An  examination,  cora.  "  Evan  Lloyd  ar.  vie."  (Gaol  File, 
Record  Office.) 

A  King's  writ,  "  Carolus  Dei  gratia  Ang.  Sco.  ffrancei  et 
Hib'nie  rex  fidei  Defens."  etc.,  dated  11  August  1649,  endorsed, 
"  Evanus  Lloyd  ar.  vie."  And  another,  dated  26  January, 
24  Ch.  I,  1649,  four  days  before  the  King's  execution,  endorsed, 
"  Evanus  Lloyd  ar.  vie," 


SHERIFFS   OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  139 

1650 — 2  Ch.  II  (Commonwealth).  LLOYD  PIERCE 
"de  Trowscoed",  (P.  List  and  G.  List). 

Summons  ad  Magna  Sessio.  tent,  apud  Polam  8  April  an. 
d'ni  1650,"  endorsed,  "  Lloyd  Pierse  ar.  vie."  (Gaol  or  Sheriffs' 
File,  Record  Office.) 

A  Commonwealth  writ,  "  Custodis  libertatis  Anglie  auctori- 
tate  Parliament!  vie.  Mountgomery  Sal't'm,"  dated  17  August 
1650,  endorsed,  "  Lloyd  Pierce  ar.  vie." 

1651—3  Ch.  //(Commonwealth).  RICHARD  PRYCE 
("de  Gwnley",  P.  and  G.  Lists). 

A  writ,  "  Custodis  libertatis  Anglie,  etc.,"  dated  5  November 
and  6  December  1650,  endorsed,  "  Ric'us  lDrice  ar.  vie." 

1652 — 4  Ch.  II.  (Commonwealth).  EDWARD  COR- 
BETT  (de  Leighton,  P.  List),  omitted  in  G.  List. 

Writs,  dated  8  and  13  March  1651,  endorsed,  "Edw'd 
Corbett,  sheriff."  Owing  probably  to  illness — he  died  30  May 
1653— his  brother, 

THOMAS  CORBETT,  completed  his  year  of  office. 

Writs,  issued  from  Denbigh  by  "  Jones  and  Mathewes", 
and  dated  5  June  and  28  August  1652,  are  endorsed,  "  Thomas 
Corbett  ar.  vie." 

1653 — 5  Ch.  //(Commonwealth).  RICHARD  OWEN. 
P.  and  G.  Lists. 

"  Kalendar  of  the  Great  Sessions  of  September  in  the  yeare 
of  our  Lord  1653,  of  all  prisoners  remaining  in  the  gaole  of  the 
said  county  (Montgomery),  under  the  custody  of  Richard  Owen, 
Esqr.,  sheriff  of  the  county  aforesaid."  (Gaol  File,  Record 
Office.) 

1654 — 6  Ch.  II  (Commonwealth).  HUGH  PRICE. 
P.  and  G.  Lists. 

"  Oliver,  Lord  and  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Eng- 
land, etc.,  to  the  sheriffe  of  Mountgomery,  greeting.  Summons 
to  the  greate  Sessions  to  be  held  at  Mountgomery  30  day  of 
October  in  the  yeare  of  our  Lord  MDCLJITJ,"  endorsed,  "Hugh 
Price,  Esqr.,  sheriff." 

1655—7  Ch.  II  (Commonwealth).  THOMAS  LLOYD. 
P.  and  G.  Lists,  of  Maesmawr. 

"  Mr.  Madocke. — The  writt  of  sommons  for  the  Great  Session^ 


140  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

of  the  county  was  delivered  to  my  hands  p.  bearer  last  night, 
who  came.  Your  affectionate  friend,  Tho.  Lloyd,  Maise  Man  re, 
15  Mar.  —54."  (Gaol  File.) 

Writs,  dated  27  December  1654,  10  July  and  1  September 
1655,"  endorsed,  "  Thos.  Lloyd,  Esquire,  sheriffe." 

1656 — 8  Ch.  II  (Commonwealth).  JOHN  KYNASTON. 
P.  List. 

Writs,  dated  20  April  and  11  October  1656,  and  endorsed, 
"  J.  Kynaston,  Esqr.,  sheriffe." 

1657—9  Ch.  II  (Commonwealth).  RICHARD  HER- 
BERT. P.  and  G.  Lists. 

Writs,  dated  20  January  and  29  August,  1657,  endorsed, 
"  Eic.  Herbert,  Eaqr.,  sheriff." 

1658 — 10  Ch.  II  (Commonwealth).  GEORGE  DE- 
VEREUX  ("  de  Vaynor,"  P.  List).  G.  List. 

Writs  of  covenant,  dated  23  April  and  18  September  1658, 
endorsed,  "George  Devereux,  Esqr.,  sheriffe." 

1659  and  1660—11  and  12  Ch.  II  (Restored  29  May 
1660).  SIR  MATTHEW  PRICE,  Baronet,  "  de  Nova 
Villa"  (Newtown).  P.  List. 

A  writ  issued  by  the  keepers  of  the  Liberties  of  England  by 
authority  of  Parliament,  10  October  1659,  endorsed,  "  Matt. 
Pryce  Barr'tt  vie."  P>y  the  following  he  continued  to  serve  the 
office  for  a  few  months  after  the  Restoration.  Writ  of  covenant, 
dated  22  September,  12  Ch.  II,  1660,  endorsed,  "  Matt.  Price, 
Bar't,  sheriff."  (Record  Office.) 

1661—13  Ch.  II.  EOGER  MOSTYN  ("de  Dol  y 
Corsllwyn,"  P.  List). 

Writs  of  covenant,  dated  11  December  and  29  January, 
12  Ch.  II,  1660-1,  the  19  August,  13  Ch.  II,  1661,  all  endorsed, 
"  Rogerus  Mostyn  ar.  vie." 

1662—14  Ch.  II.  DAVID  POWELL  ("de  Maesmawr," 
P.  List). 

"Magn.  Sessio.  tenend.  apud  Polam  dielune  videl't  16  Octob. 
14  Ch.  II,"  signed,  "  David  Powell  ar.  vie."  (Gaol  File.) 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  141 

1663 — 15  Cli.  If.  WATKYN  KYFFIN  ("  de  Glascoed," 
P.  List). 

"  Kalendar.  Prisonar.  in  custos  Watkinus  Kyffin  ar.  vie. 
deliberat.  coram  Justic.  Cestr.  ad  Magnam  Session,  tent,  apud 
Llanvillinge  in  com.  pred.  vii  die  Octobris  Anno  regni  Regis 
Caroli  xv<>,"  signed,  "Watkinus  Kyffin  ar.  vie."  (Gaol  File.) 

1664 — 16  Ch.  II.  ROWLAND  NICHOLLS  ("de  Boy- 
cott," P.  List). 

Summons  "  ad  Magn.  Session,  tenend.  apud  Polatn  19  Sept. 
xvi  Ch.  II",  signed,  "  Rowland  Niccolls  ar.  vie." 

Writs  of  covenant,  dated  20  February  and  14  September, 
16  Ch.  II,  endorsed,  "  Rowland  Niccolls  ar.  vie." 

1665 — 17  Ch.II.  SIR  JOHN  WITTEWRONGE,  Knight 
and  Baronet.  P.  List. 

Writs  of  covenant,  dated  5  March  and  10  August,  17  Ch.  II, 
endorsed,  "  J.  Wittewronge  Milit.  et  Barr.  vie." 

1666 — 18  Ch.  II.  EDWARD  KYNASTON.  P.  and 
G.  Lists. 

Writs  of  covenant,  dated  24  February,  11  August,  and 
8  December,  18  Ch.  II,  endorsed,  "  Edr'us  Kinaston  ar.  vie." 

1667 — 19  Ch.  II.     ARTHUR  WEAVER.     P.  and  G. 

Lists. 

Writs  of  covenant,  dated  25  March,  20  April,  and  17  August, 
19  Ch.  II,  endorsed,  "  Arthurus  Weaver  ar.  vie/' 

1668 — 20  Ch.  II.     EVAN  LLOYD.     P.  and  G.  Lists. 

Presentments  of  the  Grand  Jury  made  at  the  Great  Sessions 
held  at  Pool,  12  October  1668,  signed  by  "Evan  Lloyd,  Esq., 
sheriff."  (Gaol  File,  Record  Office.) 

1669 — 21  Ch.  II.    KOBERT  OWEN.    P.  and  G.  Lists. 

Great  Sessions  held  at  the  town  of  Poole,  6  September, 
21  Ch.  II,  Grand  Jury  list  signed,  "  Robert  Owen,  Esq.,  sheriff.", 
(Gaol  File.) 

1670 — 22  Ch.  II.  SIR  CHARLES  LLOYD,  Baronet 
("  de  Garth,"  P.  List).  G.  List. 

The  Great  Sessions  held  at  the  town  of  Montgomery,  the 
26  September  1670,  signed,  "  Sheriff,  Charles  Lloyd,  Barr't." 


142  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

Writs  of  covenant,  dated  2  February,  11  March,  and  2  Sep- 
tember, 22  Ch.  II,  endorsed,  "  Carolus  Lloyde  Barr't  vie." 

1671 — 23  Ch.  II.  THOMAS  IRELAND.  P.  and  G. 
Lists. 

Great  Sessions  held  at  Montgomery,  25  September  1671. 
"No'i'a  Jurator.  ad  Inquirend.",  signed,  "  Thomas  Irelande  ar. 
sheriff." 

1672—24  Ch.  II.  THOMAS  LLOYD.  P.  and  G. 
Lists. 

Writs  of  covenant,  dated  30  March,  17  August,  24  Ch.  II, 
endorsed,  "Thomas  Lloyd  ar.  vie." 

1673 — 25  Ch.  II.     GEORGE  DEVEREUX.     P.  and  G. 

Lists. 

Sessions  at  Pool,  15  September  1673.  "  No'i'a  Jurator.  ad 
Inquirend.,  etc.",  signed,  "  Geo.  Devereux  ar.  vie."  (Gaol 
File.) 

1674—26  Ch.  II.  RICHARD  MYTTON  ("de  Street  y 
Vyrnwy,"  P.  List). 

Great  Sessions  held  at  Llanfyllin,  16  October  1674,  signed, 
"  Sheriff,  Richard  Mytton  ar."  (Gaol  File.) 

1675—27  Ch.  II.  EVAN  GLYN  ("de  Glyn,"  P.  List). 
G.  List. 

"  Att  ye  Greate  Sessions  held  att  Poole  in  ye  s'd  county 
(Montgomery),  ye  fifth  day  of  Ap'll,  Anno  R.  R's  Carol,  secundi 
nunc  Anglie  et  xxvii  Annoque  D'ni  1675.'  "  Evan  Glynne, 
Esq.,  sheriff." 

1676—28  Ch.  II.  GEORGE  LLEWELYN  ("de  Salop," 
P.  List).  G.  List. 

Great  Sessions  held  at  Montgomery,  31  March  1676.  "  No'i'a 
Jur.  ad  inquirendum,  etc.",  signed,  "  George  Llewelin  ar.  vie." 
(Gaol  File.) 

1677—29  Ch.  II.  DAVID  MAURICE  ("de  Pen  y 
Bont,"  P.  List).  G.  List. 

Presentments  of  the  Grand  Jury  at  the  Great  Sessions, 
24  Sept.  1677,"  signed,  "  David  Maurice,  sheriff." 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  143 

1678—30  Ch.  II.  JOHN  KYFFIN  ("de  Bodfach," 
P.  List).  G.  List. 

"The  p'sentm't  of  the  Grand  Jury  of  the  s'd  county  at  the 
Assizes  held  at  Llanvilling,  the  1  April  1678/'  signed, .  "  John 
Kyffin,  Esq.,  sheriff."  (Gaol  File.) 

1679—31  Ch.  II.  JOHN  WILLIAMS  ("de  Ystum- 
collwyn,"  P.  List).  G.  List. 

Presentments  at  the  Assizes  held  at  Pool  26  April  1679, 
signed,  "John  Williams,  Esq.,  sheriff." 

1680 — 32  Ch.  II.  RICHARD  INGRAM  ("de  Glyn- 
haf  ren,"  P.  List).  G.  List. 

Deed  of  covenant,  dated  18  August,  32  Ch.  II,  endorsed, 
"  Eic'us  Ingram  ar.  vie." 

1681—33  Ch.  II.  JOHN  THOMAS  ("de  Llanllothion 
ucha,"  P.  List).  G.  List. 

Presentments  at  the  "  Great  Sessions  held  at  Poole  ij  April 
1681,"  signed,  "  John  Thomas,  Esq.,  sheriff."  (Gaol  File.) 

1682—34  Ch.  II.  EDWARD  LLOYD  ("de  Llandrinio," 
P.  List.  "  Edward  Lloyd  of  Mathraval,  Esq.,"  G.  List). 

"  At  the  Great  Sessions  held  at  the  towne  of  Poole,  24  Aprill 
1682."  Presentments  signed,  "  Edward  Lloyd,  Esq.,  sheriff." 
(Gaol  File.) 

1683—35  Ch.  II.  WALTER  CLOPTON  ("de  Rhys- 
nant,"  P.  List).  G.  List. 

Presentments  "  at  the  Great  Sessions  held  at  Llanvilling, 
26  March  1683,"  signed,  "Walter  Clopton,  Esq.,  sheriff/' 
(Gaol  File.) 

1684—36  Ch.  II.  EDMUND  LLOYD  ("de  Trefnant," 
P.  List). 

"  Att  the  Great  Sessions  held  for  ye  county  of  Mountgomery 
at  ye  towne  of  Poole,"  the  presentments  signed,  "  Edm'dus 
Lloyd  ar.  vie."  (Gaol  File.) 

1685—37  Ch.  II  to  6th  of  February. 


144  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


James  II. 

1685 — 1  James  II.  JOHN  LLOYD  ("  de  Llanhavon 
ar.  qui  obiit  tempore  otHcii  sui,  et  Rob'tus  Lloyd,  frater 
ejus  elect,  fuit  Vic.  Com.  pr'd.  pro  resid.  anni,"  P.  List), 
and 

ROBERT  LLOYD. 

At  the  Great  Sessions  for  the  county  of  Montgomery,  held 
at  Pool  the  31  August,  Anno  1  James  11,1685.  "  No'i'a  Jur.  inter 
D'm'i  Regem  et  Prison,  ad  Barram,"  subscribed,  "Rob't  Lloyd 
ar.  vie."  (Gaol  File.) 

1686 — 2  James  II.  DAVID  MAURICE  ("de  Pen  y 
Bont",  P.  List).  G.  List,  the  same. 

At  the  Assizes  held  at  Poole,  24  September  1686,  the  names 
of  Grand  Jurors,  subscribed,  "  David  Maurice  ar.  vie."  (Gaol 
File.) 


(To  be  continued.) 


THE 


of 


WITH    THEIR    ARMORIAL    BEARINGS, 

AND 

NOTICES,    GENEALOGICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL, 
OF  THEIR   FAMILIES. 

BY  THE  REV.  WILLIAM    V.    LLOYD. 


(Continued  from  Vol.  ix,  p.  128.) 


VOL,  XXVil. 


147 


THE   SHERIFFS   OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


1639.— (Sin)  RICHARD  PRICE*  (1st  Baronet). 
Deputy,  Arthur  Weaver.2 

Arms. 


Or,  a  lion  rampant  reguardant  sa.}  armed  and  langued  gu. 

RICHARD  PRICE,  or  PRYSE,  as  his  descendants  spell  it, 
was  of  Gogerddan  and  Aberbechan,  son  of  Sir  John 
Price,  Knt.,  sheriff  in  1622,  and  grandson  of  Sir  Richard 
Price,  Knt.,  sheriff  in  1591  and  1603.  His  mother 
was  Mary,  daughter  of  Sir  Henry  Bromley  of  Shra- 
wardine  Castle,  Shropshire. 

His  marriage  with  Hester,  a  daughter  of  Sir  Hugh 

1  "Ric'us   Price   de  Gogerthan,    ar."   (Peniarth   list).      Writs   of 
covenant    addressed    to    the    Sheriff    of    Montgomeryshire,    dated 
respectively  27  April  and  12  Oct.,  15  Ch.  I,  are  endorsed,  "  Eic'us 
Pryce  ar.  vie." 

2  "Arthurus  Weaver,  gen."  (Peniarth  list).     The  dates  before  the 
names  of  the  respective  sheriffs  are  those  of  the  years  in  which  their 
period  of  office  terminated. 

L  2 


148  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

Myddleton,1  Bart.,  and  first  cousin  of  Sir  Thomas 
Myddleton  of  Chirk  Castle, the  distinguished  Parliament 
General,  might  have  disposed  him  to  take  up  a  promi- 
nent position  in  the  political  events  of  the  day,  but 
he  seems  to  have  remained  passive,  or  inspired  by  feel- 
ings of  loyalty  to  the  Crown.  He  was  created  a  baronet 
on  the  10th  August  1641,  by  King  Charles  I,  and  pro- 
bably had  neither  occasion  nor  desire  to  identify  him- 
self with  the  party  of  rebellion.  Beyond  the  official 
position  of  sheriff,  and  the  ownership  of  Aberbechan,  he 
seems  to  have  had  little  connection  with  county  affairs. 
His  second  marriage  with  Mary,  the  daughter  and 
heiress  of  Lord  Ruthven,  and  the  relict  of  Sir  Anthony 
Vandyke,  Knt.,  the  celebrated  painter,  has  a  tinge  of 
romance  about  it.  Her  father,  Lord  Ruthven,  was  a 
brother  of  John  Ruthven,  Earl  of  Gowrie,  who,  in  1600, 
conspired  to  dethrone  James  VI  of  Scotland.  They 
were  of  illustrious  birth,  being  fourth  in  descent  from 
King  Henry  VII.  Burnet,  in  TJie  History  of  His  Own 
Times,2  speaking  of  Gowrie's  conspiracy,  says  : — 

"One  thing,  which  none  of  the  historians  have  taken  any 
notice  of,  and  might  have  induced  the  Earl  of  Gowrie  to  have 
wished  to  put  King  James  out  of  the  way  ;  for  upon  the  King's 
death  he  stood  next  to  the  succession  to  the  Crown  of  England  : 
for  King  Henry  the  Seventh's  daughter,  that  was  married  to 
King  James  IV,  did,  after  his  death,  marry  Douglass,  Earl  pt 
Angus;  but  they  could  not  agree,  so  a  precontract  was  proved 
against  him,  upon  which,  by  a  sentence  from  Rome,  the  mar- 
riage was  voided,  with  a  clause  in  favour  of  the  issue,  since 
born  under  a  marriage  cle  facto  and  bona  fide.  Lady  Margaret 
Douglas  was  the  child  so  provided  for.  I  did  peruse  the 
original  bull  confirming  the  divorce.  After  that,  the  Queen 
Dowager  married  one  Francis  Steward,  and  had  by  him  a  son, 
called  Lord  Methuen.  By  King  James  V  in  the  patent  he  is 
called  frater  nosier  uterinus.  He  had  an  only  daughter,  who 
was  mother  or  grandmother  to  the  Earl  of  Gowrie,  so  that  by 
this  he  might  be  glad  to  put  the  King  out  of  the  way,  that  so 
he  might  stand  next  to  the  succession  to  the  Crown  of  England. 

1  "  Hugh  Middleton  of  Ruthyn",  created  a  baronet  22  August  1 622. 

2  Pp.  18,  19. 


SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  149 

He  had  a  brother,  then  a  child,  who,  when  he  grew  up,  and 
found  he  could  not  carry  the  name  of  E-uthven,  which,  by  an 
Act  of  Parliament,  made  after  this  conspiracy,  none  might  carry, 
he  went  and  lived  beyond  sea ;  and  it  was  given  out  that  he 
had  found  the  philosopher's  stone.  He  had  two  sons,  who 
died  without  issue,  and  one  daughter,  married  to  Sir  Anthony 
Vandyke,  the  famous  picture-drawer." 

Elizabeth,  sister  of  Sir  Richard  Price,  married 
Charles  Stepney,  fourth  son  of  Sir  John  Stepney,  1st 
Bart.,  of  Pendergast,  Pembrokeshire.  She  was  the 
relict  of ...  Vaughan  of  Llanelthy,  Carmarthenshire. 
Another  sister,  Mary,  married  James  Jones  of  Llan- 
badarn. 

Sir  Richard  Price,  by  his  wife  Hester  Myddleton, 
left  issue  three  sons  :  1.  Sir  Eichard,  second  baronet, 
who,  dying  without  issue,  was  succeeded  by  his  brother 
Sir  Thomas,  who  dying  without  issue  in  1682,  the 
baronetcy  devolved  upon  his  nephew,  Sir  Carbery  Price, 
the  issue  of  the  third  son  of  our  sheriff.  The  baronetcy 
expired  on  the  death,  without  issue,  in  1695,  of  Sir 
Carbery.  The  estates,  however,  passed  to  his  kinsman, 
Thomas  Price  of  Gogerddan,  M.P.  for  Cardiganshire, 
in  1743.  The  latter  married  Maria  Charlotte,  co-heir 
of  Rowland  Pugh  of  Mathavarn,  arid  had  an  only  son, 
John  Pugh  Pryse,  who  died  without  issue. 

"Ric'us  Price,  ar.",  appears  on  the  roll  of  county 
magistrates,  2  Charles  II  (Commonwealth),  1650. 
Possibly  he  may  have  been  of  the  Gunley  family  ;  but 
the  following  entry  in  the  Sheriffs'  File  of  1649  seems 
to  identify  him  with  the  eldest  son  of  the  sheriff,  and 
eventually  second  baronet : 

"Apud  Alerlechan,  30  October  1649.  An  examination 
cora.  Ric'o  Price  ar.  uno  Justic.  ad  pacem/'  etc. 

Richard  Price  of  Gogerddan  and  Aberbechan,  like 
his  namesake  and  contemporary,  Richard  Price  of  Gun- 
ley,  Commonwealth  sheriff  in  1652,  must  have  been, 
from  the  following  notice  of  him,  a  pronounced  Crom- 
wellian  : 


150 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


"  1660,  July  18,  Whitehall.  Order  in  Council  on  a  letter 
from  Sir  Matthew  Price  (of  Newtown,  Bart),  High  Sheriff  of 
Montgomeryshire,  complaining  that  Richard  Price  of  Aber- 
bechan,  Sir  Richard  Saltenstall,  and  Vavasor  Powell,  a  most 
factious  and  dangerous  minister,  countenanced  unlawful  assem- 
blies and  seditious  persons;  that  they  be  taken  into  safe  custody, 
and  all  informations,  etc.,  against  them  committed  to  the 
Board."1 


1640. — EDWARD  MAURICE.2 
Deputy,  Richard  Wynne.3 

Arms. 


Per  fess  sa.  and  an,  a  lion  rampant,  counterchanged. 

THE  MAURICES  of  Lloran  Ucha  and  Penybont  (Llanerch 
Emrys)  derive  their  descent  from  leuan  Gethyn,  or  the 
Terrible,  of  Gartheryr  and  Glascoed,  sixth  in  descent 
from  Einion  Efell  of  Llwyn-y-Maen.  The  first  wife  of 
Evan  Gethyn  was  Margaret,  daughter  of  Llewelyn  ap 

1  Domestic  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  A.D.  1660-1,  p.  123.     (Record 
Office.) 

2  "  Edr'us  Maurice  de  Penybont,  ar."  (Peniarth  list).     A  writ  of 
covenant,  dated  8  November,  15  Charles  I,  addressed  to  the  Sheriff 
of  Montgomeryshire,  is  endorsed,  "  Edr'us  Morris  ar.  vie*" 

8  "  Rie' us  Wynne,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  151 

Griffith1  of  Abertanat,  descended  from  Meredith,  Prince 
of  Powys,  and  the  mother  of  Griffith  ap  Evan  Gethyn, 
the  ancestor  of  the  Maurices.  His  second  wife  was 
Arddyn,  daughter  of  leuan  ap  Madoc  ap  Gwennys, 
lord  of  Guilsfield,  Broniarth,  and  Deuddwr,  by  whom 
he  had  leuan  Vaughan  of  Abertanat,2  ancestor  of  the 
Tanats  of  that  place,  and  Maurice  Kyffin,  ancestor  of 
the  Kyffiris  of  Glascoed,  Cae  Coch,  Bodfach,3  etc. 

GRIFFITH  ap  leuan  Gethyn  married  Margaret, 
daughter  of  Rees  ap  Griffith  ap  Madoc  of  Rhiwedog, 
by  whom  he  had 

HOWELL,  who  by  his  wife  Eva,  daughter  of  Madoc 
ap  Meilir  of  Eyton  Hall,  descended  from  Tudor  Trevor, 
had 

REES  of  Lloran  Ucha,  who  by  Gwenelia,  daughter  of 
Eunydd  ap  Madoc  Ddu  of  Brithdir,  parish  of  Llan- 
gollen,  had 

EVAN,  who  by  Mali,  daughter  of  Deio  Bwl  ap 
Jenkin  Bwl  ap  Madoc  Bwl  Gra,  had 

MEREDITH,  who  by  Alice,  daughter  of  Thomas  ap 
Griffith  Lloyd  of  Glanhafon,  in  the  parish  of  Llan- 
rhaiadr-yn-Mochnant,  had 

MAURICE  of  Lloran  Ucha,  who  by  his  wife  Sina, 
daughter  of  Thomas  ap  Madoc  ap  Reignallt  of  Glan- 
tanat  Ucha,  had  (their  priority  of  birth  being  un- 
certain) issue — 

i.  David  Maurice  of  Penybont  or  Glan  Cynllaeth, 
Denbighshire,  of  whom  presently. 

ii.  Edward  Maurice  of  Plas  yn  Lloran,  in  the  parish 
of  Llansilin,  Denbighshire,  who  by  Blanche,  daughter 
of  Corbet  of  Lee,  had  a  sole  daughter  and  heiress 
Eleanor,  who  married  her  first  cousin,  Daniel  Maurice, 
son  of  Hugh. 

in.  Hugh  Maurice,  who  by  a  sister  of  Francis 
Lockier  of  Marsh  had  the  before-mentioned  Daniel 
Maurice,  who  married  his  cousin  Eleanor.  Their  son, 

1  The  Cedwyn  MS.  has  "  Llewelyn  ap  Robpert". 

2  Dwnn's  Vis.  of  Wales,  vol.  i,  p.  290, 
8  /&.,  p.  307, 


152  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

Edward  Maurice  of  Lloran,  married  Dorothy,  daughter 
of  Edward  Thelwall  of  Plas-y-ward ;  but,  leaving  no 
issue,  the  Lloran  estate  reverted  to  the  descendant  of 
David  Maurice  of  Penybont,  son  of  Maurice  of  Lloran 
above. 

DAVID  AP  MAURICE,  or  David  Maurice,  of  Penybont, 
Denbighshire,  married  Catherine,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Mule  of  Coedmarchan,  Ruthin,  by  whom  he  had  our 
sheriff — 

EDWARD  MAURICE  of  Penybont.  His  sister  Thoma- 
sine  married  Lloyd  Piers  of  Maesmawr,  in  the  parish 
of  Guilsfield,  sheriff  in  1636.  By  his  wife  Alice, 
daughter  of  Andrew  Meredith  of  Glantanat  Issa,  he 
had  David  Maurice  of  Penybont,  Edward  Maurice  of 
Pentre  Kynrick,  and  a  daughter  Catherine,  married  to 
her  first  cousin,  Edward,  son  of  Lloyd  Piers.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  eldest  son — 

DAVID  MAURICE  of  Penybont,  whose  grandson, 
Edward  Maurice  of  Penybont,  having  married  Lady 
Charlotte  Herbert,  youngest  daughter  of  William, 
Duke  and  Marquis  of  Powis,  died  without  issue.  By 
will,  dated  16th  June  1732,  he  devised  his  property  to 
his  sisters  Frances  and  Eleanor  for  life,  and  after  their 
death  to  his  kinsman,  Pryse  Maurice  of  Ruthin,  whose 
granddaughter  Eleanor  married  Thomas  Powell  of 
Nanteos. 

When  King  James  IT,  in  1687,  was  desirous  of  re- 
establishing the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  and  with  this 
view  to  repeal  the  Penal  Laws  and  Test  Act,  he 
instructed  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Montgomeryshire  to 
ascertain  whether  the  magistrates  of  the  county  were 
disposed  to  support  his  efforts.  When  convened,  "  David 
Maurice  of  Penybont,  Esq.",  although  appointed  sheriff 
by  James  in  1685,  is  marked  as  "  absent".  He  survived 
his  son,  also  named  David,  who  was  accidentally  drowned 
in  the  river  Tanat.  His  administration  as  a  magis- 
trate of  the  existing  laws  was  construed  as  persecution 
by  those  who  felt  inclined  to  disobey  them.  Richard 
Davies,  the  Quaker,  complains  bitterly  of  his  persecution, 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  153 

and  was  so  blinded  by  his  animosity  to  the  father 
as  to  make  the  blunder  of  drowning  him  instead  of 
his  son.  The  monument  of  the  father  in  Llansilin 
Church  gives  the  date  of  his  death  the  1st  November 
1719;  but  the  Quaker,  in  his  righteous  indignation, 
says  that  he  "miserably  perished"  in  1674.1  Exist- 
ing records  show  that  he  was  again  sheriff  in  1677  and 
1685. 

The  pool  in  which  his  son  was  drowned  till  lately 
was  called  "  Llyn  Dafydd  Morris",  out  of  which  accident 
tradition  has  evolved  a  divine  judgment.  The  story 
runs  that  David  Maurice  of  Penybont  caused  the 
"  Carreg  y  big",  or  "  Stone  of  Contention",  which,  it 
seems,  was  also  a  boundary  stone,  to  be  removed  from 
the  centre  of  the  village  of  Llanrhaiadr.  It  seems  to 
have  been  a  long-established  custom  that  he  who  con- 
ceived himself  the  champion  prize-fighter  in  the  village 
would  leap  up  on  this  stone  and  proclaim  himself 
"  Captain  Carreg  y  big".  Such  an  evident  source  of 
disorder  led  the  vicar  of  the  parish  to  urge  David 
Maurice  of  Penybont,  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  "  to 
remove  this  stone,  which  he  did  with  a  team  of  oxen, 
and  placed  it  in  his  farmyard,  when,  lo  and  behold !  the 
cattle,  horses,  sheep,  and  pigs,  like  maddened  creatures, 
danced  arid  pranced  about  the  stone,  and  ended  their 
joust  with  horning,  biting,  and  eventually  killing  each 
other  at  the  shrine  of  the  Stone  of  Contention."  This 
was  too  much  for  the  sedate  magistrate  and  the  dignity 
of  a  high  sheriff,  so  he  incontinently  committed  the 
stone  to  the  river  Tanat.  In  just  retribution — so, 
alas !  says  tradition — for  this  unrighteous  act,  he 
(not  his  son)  was  found  drowned  on  the  very  spot 
where  he  had  submerged  the  fatal  "  Stone  of  Con- 
tention". 

His  resuscitation,  pace  Richard  Davies,  is  evinced 
by  the  following  letters  patent  again  appointing  him 
sheriff  in  1685.  The  document  is  endorsed  "  Litere 

1  See  Montgomeryshire  Collections,  vol.  iv,  p.  128. 


154 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


Patentes  pro  David  Maurice  armiger  vicecomite  Com. 
Montgomery  in  Wallie"  : 

"  Jacobus  s'c'dus  del  gra.  Angl.  Scoc.  ffranc.  &  hib'nie 
Eex  fidei  defensor  etc. 

"  Omnibus  ad  quos  presentes  Pre  n're  Patentes  perveneunt 
Sal't'tn.  Sciatis  q'd  comissimus  Delecto  David  Maurice  Arrni- 
gero  Comitatum  nostrum  Montgomery  in  Wallie  cum  perti- 
nentiis  custodiendum  quamdiu  nobis  placuerit.  Ita  quod 
firmiter  debitus  nobis  reddat  annuatim  ac  de  debitis  nostris 
&  omnibus  aliis  ad  officium  vicecomitis  comitatus  predicts 
spectantibus  nobis  respondeat  ad  Scaccarium  nostrum. 

"  In  cuius  rei  testimonium  has  literas  nostras  fieri  fecimus 
patentes.  Teste  me  ipse  apud  Westmonasterium  vicesimo 
septimo  die  Novembris  anno  regni  nostri  primo  (i.e.,  1685). 

"  TREVOR  PERKYNS." 


1641. KOGER  KYNASTON.1 

Deputy,  Edward  Davies.2 

Arms. 


Ar.,  a  lion  rampant  sa.,  armed  and  langued  gu. 

1  "  Rogerus  Kynaston  de  Hordley,  ar."  (Peniarth  list).     Writs  of 
covenant,  dated  respectively  8  May  and  25  September,  17  Ch.  I,  and 
addressed  to  the  Sheriff  of  Montgomeryshire,  are  endorsed — "  Kog'us 
Kinaston,  ar.  vie."     (Record  Office.) 

2  "  Edr'us  Davies,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  155 

THIS  sheriff  was  of  Hordley,  Salop,  being  sheriff  for 
that  county  the  same  year,  and  the  son  and  heir  of 
Edward  Kynaston1  of  that  place,  by  his  wife  Mary, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Owen  of  Condover,  and  the  sister 
of  Sir  Roger  Owen,  Knight.  The  Plas  y  Dinas  estate, 
with  other  outlying  lands,  constituted  his  qualification 
for  the  shrievalty  of  Montgomeryshire.2  His  marriage 
settlement  with  his  wife,  Rebecca  Wild  or  Weld, 
bearing  date  2  November  1636,  has  already  been 
noticed.  This  lady  was  the  daughter  of  John  Weld, 
afterwards  Sir  John  Weld,  Knight,  Town  Clerk  of 
London,  who  purchased  the  estate  of  Willey  from  Sir 
Thomas  Lacon  some  time  between  1612  and  1623. 
Both  her  father  and  brother,  "  Sir  John  Weld  the 
younger",  were  taken  prisoners  on  the  capture  of 
Shrewsbury  by  the  Parliament  party. 

Roger  Kynaston  himself  was  also  a  considerable 
sufferer  for  his  loyalty  to  the  King,  being  obliged 
to  compound  for  his  estate  in  the  sum  of  £921.  By 
his  wife  Rebecca  Weld  he  was  the  father  of  Edward 
Kynaston  of  Hordley,  sheriff  of  Shropshire  in  1682, 
who  augmented  his  estates  by  marrying  Anne,  daugh- 
ter and  heiress  of  Thomas  Barker  of  Haughmond  Abbey 
and  Abrightlee. 

1  Sheriff  in  1623. 

2  See  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  vi,  p.  308. 


156 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


1642. — THOMAS  NicnoLLS.1 
Deputy,  Morris  Price. 


Arms. 


Sa.}  a  pheon  ar.,  the  point  downwards. 

THOMAS  NICHOLLS  of  Boycott,  in  the  parish  of  Pontes- 
bury,  Shropshire,  was  the  son  of  John  Nicholls,  who 
was  the  first  of  his  family  who  settled  in  Shrewsbury, 
having  been  admitted  a  burgess  of  that  town  in  1590, 
and  having  served  the  office  of  alderman  and  bailiff  in 
1608.  The  latter  was  probably  the  son  of  Richard 
Nicholls  of  Boycott,  who  had  a  son  Rowland,  baptised 
at  Pontesbury  23rd  September  1578.  Three  years 
after  his  admission  as  burgess,  John  Nicholls  married 
Anne  Heylyn,  daughter,  as  it  seems,  of  the  munificent 
Rowland  Heylyn,  Alderman  of  London,  promoter  of 
the  Welsh  translation  of  the  Bible,  and  of  many  other 
benevolent  undertakings  in  his  day.  Their  son  Thomas 
was  born  on  the  llth  January  1596,  and  became 
bailiff  of  Shrewsbury  in  1636. 

1  "Thomas  Nickolls  de  Boycott,  ar.  Dep.  Morricus  Price,  gen," 
(Peniarth  list).  A  writ  of  covenant  addressed  to  the  Sheriff  of  Mont- 
gomeryshire, dated  23rd  April,  18  Ch.  I,  endorsed,  "Thomas  Niccolls, 


ar.  vie. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


157 


"  Thomas  Nicholls,  Esq.",  was  one  of  the  twenty-four 
aldermen  appointed  in  the  charter  granted,  in  1688,  to 
Shrewsbury  by  King  Charles  I,  and  sheriff  of  Shrop- 
shire in  1641  ;  but  these  distinctions  were  unable  to 
secure  a  faithful  adherence  to  the  royal  cause. 

The  political  proclivities  of  Thomas  Nicholls  may  be 
gathered  from  the  contents  of  King  Charles's  proclama- 
tion, dated  from  Bridgnorth  the  14th  October  1642, 
<c  For  the  better  peace  and  quiet  of  our  county  of 
Salop."  After  acknowledging  the  loyal  services  of 
most  of  his  Shropshire  subjects,  he  accuses  "some 
persons  of  quality"  of  uttering  or  dispersing  scandalous 
and  seditious  speeches  of  purpose  to  alienate  the  affec- 
tions of  his  subjects,  and  to  slander  his  person  and 
government.  He  then  mentions  by  name  "Thomas 
Nicholls,  Esquire",  as  having  been  very  active  against 
him,  and  commands  him  to  be  apprehended,  as  a  person 
charged  by  him  with  "high  treason".  On  the  16th  of 
November  he  was  displaced  for  "  non-residence"  as  an 
alderman  of  the  town  of  Shrewsbury.1 

This  active  opposition  to  the  interests  of  the  King, 
as  we  may  gather  from  the  following,  rendered  him 
particularly  obnoxious  to  the  royalist  party. 

A  pamphlet,  entitled  "A  Continuation  of  the  late 
Proceedings  of  His  Majestie's  Army  at  Shrewsbury, 
etc.",  written  while  King  Charles  was  at  Shrewsbury, 
and  intended  to  exasperate  the  citizens  against  him, 
says  :  "I  conceive  it  a  great  pity  his  Majesty  should 
be  brought  into  any  streights.  God  reward  them  that 
have  been  the  occasion  of  it.  They  have  plundered 
Master  Nichols'  House,  who  is  sheriffe  of  Montgomery, 
and  burned  his  writings,  spoiled  his  house,  sold  his 
furnace,  and  the  iron  of  his  carts.  It  is  much  doubted 
these  passages,  and  other  the  like,  will  withdraw  the 
affections  of  his  Majestie's  subjects  from  him."  The 
letter  is  dated  the  8th  of  October  1642,  but  was 
probably  composed  in  London.2 

1  Blakeway's  Hist,  of  Shrewsbury,  vol.  i,  pp.  430-1. 

2  Blakeway's  Sheri/s  of  Shropshire,  p.  120,  n.  d. 


158  SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

There  was  a  family  of  Nicholls  settled  at  Garth, 
either  Moel  y  Garth  or  Little  Garth,  in  the  parish  of 
Guilsfield,  where  the  house  of  "  Master  Nicholls",  the 
sheriff,  might  have  been  ;  but  his  principal  residence  was 
at  Boycott,  in  the  parish  of  Pontesbury.  The  Garth 
was  at  this  time  the  seat  of  the  ancient  family  of 
Wynnes,  now  Myttons. 

The  present  sheriff  may  have  become  associated  with 
Montgomeryshire  through  his  mother's  family,  the 
Heylyns  of  Pentre  Heylyn. 

THOMAS  NICHOLLS  married, 6th  December  1626,  Mary, 
daughter  of  John  Kynaston  of  Morton,  and  sister  of 
Judith,  wife  of  Sir  Orlando  Bridgeman,  Knight  and 
Baronet,  Lord  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal,  by  whom  he 
had  issue — 

ROWLAND  NICHOLLS.  He  died  at  Kinlet,  leaving 
a  son,  Orlando  Nicholls,  who  married,  in  1687,  at  Cleo- 
bury  Mortimer,  Mary  Herbert.  Mary,  daughter  of 
Kowland,  married  the  Rev.  Thomas  Bird,  Vicar  of 
Kinlet. 

Margaret,  a  daughter  of  the  sheriff,  married  John 
Heynes  of  Netley,  and  another,  Mary,  became  the  wife 
of  John  Congreve  of  Stretton,  in  the  county  of  Stafford, 
uncle  of  the  celebrated  dramatic  writer,  and  ancestor  of 
Major-General  Sir  William  Congreve,  Bart.,  inventor 
of  the  rocket  system  which  bears  his  name. 

Rowland  Nicholls  of  Boycott,  the  son,  also  served  the 
office  of  sheriff,  16  Charles  II,  1664,  and  for  Shrop- 
shire in  1675.  Besides  his  son  Orlando,  "Robert  Nicholls 
of  Garth,  gent/,  sworn  an  hereditary  burgess  of  Pool 
in  1678,  may  have  been  another  son. 

William  Nicholls  of  Garth  served  the  office  of  bailiff 
of  Welshpool  in  1705.  Between  the  years  1705-8 
"  Robert  Nicholls,  sonne  and  heir  of  William  Nicholls 
of  Garth,  gent.",  was  sworn  an  hereditary  burgess.  In 
1806,  "  Devereux  Jones  Nicholls  of  Poole  (Welshpool), 
Esquire",  was  sworn  a  burgess. 

The  following  members,  probably,  of  the  sheriff's 
family  occur  under  the  dates — - 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOAJERYSHIRE. 


159 


1673.  On  a  Pool  Hundred  jury,  "  Robertus  Nicolls  de  Garth, 
gen." 

1675.  Pool  Hundred  juror,  "  Stephanus  Niccolls  de  Gyngrog- 
vawr,  gen." 

1683.  On  a  Welshpool  jury,  "  Joseph  Nickles  of  Gurigrog- 
vawr,  gen." 

1686.  2nd    James    II,  on  a  county  grand   jury,  "William 
Nicholls  of  Garth,  Esq." 

1687.  Welshpool   Inquest,  "  Stephen  Nicholls  of  Gungrog- 
vawre,  gent." 


1643. — JOHN 

Deputy,  Rees  Morgan.2 


Arms. 


Sable,  three  nag's  heads  erased,  argent. 

JOHN  BLAYNEY  of  Gregynog  served  the  office  of  sheriff 
in  1630.  He  was  the  last  heir  male  of  his  immediate 
line.  His  daughter  and  heiress,  Joyce  Blayney,  married, 
and  conveyed  the  Gregynog  estates  to  her  Welsh 
uncle,  Sir  Arthur  Blayney,  Knight,  the  sheriff  for  the 
succeeding  year. 

1  Writs  of  covenant  addressed  to  the  Sheriff  of  Montgomeryshire, 
and  dated  respectively  17th  July,  23rd  September,  18  Ch.  I ;  4th 
May,  24th  Nov.,  18th  Ch.  I,  are  endorsed,  "  Joh'es  Blayney,  ar.  vie." 

9  "  Riceus  Morgans,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


160 


SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


1644. — SIR  ARTHUR  BLAYNEY,  *  Knight-Banneret. 
Deputy,  Adam  Blayney.2 


Armt. 


Sable,  three  nag's  heads  erased,  argent. 

SIR  ARTHUR  BLAYNEY  of  Shien  Castle,  in  the  county 
of  Monaghan,  Ireland,  was  the  second  son  of  Edward, 
first  Baron  Blayney  of  Blayney  Castle,  in  the  same 
county.  Like  his  father,  he  was  a  brave,  loyal,  and 
successful  soldier,  and  was  made  a  knight  banneret  on 
the  field  for  his  prowess  at  the  battle  of  Beaumaris. 
But  the  times  had  changed.  Rebellion  and  disloyalty 
to  the  reigning  sovereign  were  rampant,  and  it  was 
Sir  Arthur's  misfortune  to  be  the  sheriff  of  his  native 
county  in  the  very  year  that  Montgomery  and  Powys 
Castles  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Parliamentarians. 
He  assisted  Sir  William  Owen  of  Brogyntyn,  the 
Governor,  in  the  defence  of  Harlech  Castle,  and  was 
one  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  King  Charles  I 
to  sign  the  articles  of  surrender,  on  13th  March  1647, 
under  which  that  fortress,  the  last  stronghold  which 
held  out  for  the  royal  cause  in  England  and  Wales, 

1  Writs  of  covenant  of  the  respective  dates  6th  September,  25th 
May,  19  Charles  I,  are  endorsed  by  "Arthur  Blayney,  mil.  vie.",  as 
Sheriff  of  Montgomeryshire. 

2  "  Adamus  Blayney,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  161 

was    given   up    on   the    16th    to    the    Parliamentary 
forces.1 

The  following  monumental  inscriptions  are  in  the 
parish  church  of  Tregynon  : — 

''Also  Sir  Arthur  Blayuey,  Kt.  Banneret,  2nd  son  of  Edward 
L'd  Blayney  of  Castle  Blayney,  in  ye  kingdom  of  Ireland,  who 
served  ye  Eoyal  Martyr  K.  C.  ye  first  in  ye  post  of  Col'l  of 
Horse.  An'o  1659. 

' '  Also  Dame  Joyus  Blayney,  sole  daughter  and  heiress  of 
John  Blayney,  and  widow  of  S'r  Arthur  Blayuey.  An'o  1661."2 

The  issue  of  Sir  Arthur  and  his  Welsh  niece,  Jocosa 
or  Joyce,  were  four  sons.  Henry,  the  third  son, 
continued  the  male  line  of  the  Gregynog  family,  the 
estates  of  which  were  alienated  by  his  grandson,  Arthur 
Blayney  of  Gregynog,  who  died  in  1795,  aged  eighty- 
one,  and  without  issue. 

Henry,  the  elder  brother  of  Sir  Arthur,  became  the 
second  Baron  Blayney  of  Castle  Blayney.  His  title 
and  estates  eventually  descended  to  Cadwalader-Davis, 
the  twelfth  Baron  Blayney,  who,  on  the  18th  January 
1874,  died  without  issue.  A  barony  created  so  far 
back  as  1621,  in  a  family  with  known  collateral  issue, 
ought  not  to  be  declared  extinct  until  time  and 
research  afford  the  opportunity  of  proving  otherwise. 
For  example,  a  claimant  might  possibly  be  found  among 
the  descendants  from  the  issue  by  the  two  marriages 
of  Arthur,  the  fourth  son  of  Sir  Arthur,  our  sheriff, 
who,  by  his  first  marriage  with  Margaret  Forbes,  had 
three  sons  and  two  daughters,  and,  by  a  second  marriage 
with  a  Miss  Smotherall,  no  less  than  six  children. 
Certain  inquiries  have  been  made  since  the  death  of 
the  last  Baron,  but  nothing  of  a  sufficiently  reliable 
nature  has  hitherto  transpired  to  substantiate  the  claim 

1  See  "  House  of  Gregynog",  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xviii,  p.  235. 

2  tfx  inf.,  E.  Rowley-Morris,  Esq.,  who  has  exhaustively  treated  of 
"  The  Blayney  Family"  in  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxi,  p.  302,  and  vol.  xxii, 
p.   71.     Interesting  particulars  of  the  sheriff  are  also  given   in  the 
"  Montgomeryshire  Worthies"  of  R.  Williams,  Esq. 

VOL.  XXVII.  M 


162  SHERIFFS   OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

of  some  one  of  the  many  bearing  the  surname  of 
Blayney,  in  Montgomeryshire,  America,  and  elsewhere, 
to  the  ancient  barony. 

Its  extinction  cannot  but  be  a  matter  of  regret  to 
anyone  who  takes  an  interest  in  the  family  history  of 
the  county.  Far  back  in  the  regions  of  time,  at 
a  period  where  the  lines  dividing  the  historical  from 
the  mythical  are  with  difficulty  discerned — that  is,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century — we  find  promi- 
nently recorded  the  acts  of  the  renowned  ancestor  of 
the  family,  Brochwel  Ysgithrog,  Prince  of  Powys.  It 
was  under  his  protection  that  the  hierarchy  of  the 
British  Church  assembled  in  conference  to  give  an 
answer  to  Augustin,  the  emissary  from  Rome.  Augus- 
tin's  visit  to  Britain  synchronises  with  the  birth  of 
Papal  Rome  as  distinguished  from  the  Primitive  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Rome ;  or  when  Boniface  III  took  the 
title  of  "  Pope"  or  "  Bishop  of  Bishops",  an  assumption 
emphatically  declared  by  his  predecessor  Gregory  to  be 
the  mark  foretold  by  Scripture  of  Antichrist,  and 
resisted  by  the  British  as  well  as  by  the  Eastern 
Church. 

Rome,  the  capital  of  the  world,  with  the  protection 
afforded  by  its  Emperors  to  the  Church,  had  often  been 
a  convenient  centre  for  the  assembly  of  Ecclesiastical 
Councils.  The  dignity  and  influence  of  the  Bishop  of 
that  see  made  him  a  fit  president  of  such  councils,  and 
suitable  arbitrator  in  disputed  causes  ecclesiastical. 
On  such  terms  the  British  as  well  as  other  Churches 
had  been  content  to  live  in  council  and  accord  with  its 
Bishop,  as  a  "  primus  inter  pares  non  surnmus  supra 
inferiores";  but,  from  the  moment  he  ceased  to  be 
Episcopal  and  became  Papal  in  his  pretensions,  none 
more  vigorously  resisted  his  claims  to  universal  supre- 
macy than  the  Church,  Prince,  and  people  of  Powys- 
land. 

Under  the  protection  of  Prince  Brochwel  a  confer- 
ence was  held  at  Auscliffe  on  the  Severn.  By  the 
appointment  of  the  Archbishop  of  St.  David's,  its  mem- 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  163 

bers  were  Dunawd,  Abbot  of  Bangor,  the  brother-in- 
law  of  Brochwel ;  the  Bishops  of  Hereford,  Worcester, 
Bangor,  St.  Asaph,  Llandaff,  Llanbadarn,  and  Margam. 
They  summarily  and  unequivocally  settled  the  contro- 
versy with  Angus  tin  in  the  following  protestation  : 

"  We  know  of  no  obedience  that  he  whom  you  call  the  Pope, 
or  Bishop  of  Bishops,  can  claim  or  demand;  the  Bishop  of 
Caerleon  (St.  David's)  is  alone,  under  God,  our  ruler  to  guide 
us  aright  in  the  way  of  salvation." 

And  Bede,  the  Roman  Catholic  monk,  corroborates 
their  protest  in  even  stronger  language  : 

"  The  British  bishops  told  Angus  tin  they  would  not  do  one 
of  these  things,  nor  even  acknowledge  him  for  their  Arch- 
bishop."1 

When  Augustin  received  the  reply  of  the  Bishops,  he 
addressed  to  them  words  of  which  the  significance 
remains  to  this  day  :  "  If  you  will  not  have  peace  from 
your  brethren,  you  shall  have  war  from  your  enemies ; 
if  you  will  not  preach  life  to  the  Saxons,  you  shall 
receive  death  at  their  hands."  ^Ethelfrith,  King  of 
Northumbria,  under  the  influence  of  such  teaching 
forthwith  poured  50,000  men  into  the  Yale  Royal  of 
Chester,  the  territory  of  Brochwel.  Twelve  hundred 
British  priests  of  the  University  of  Bangor,  having 
come  out  to  aid  by  their  countenance  or  prayers  the 
unequal  contest,  ^Ethelfrith  directed  his  forces  against 
them,  as  they  stood  clothed  in  their  white  vestments, 
totally  unarmed,  and  massacred  them  to  a  man.  Ad- 
vancing to  the  university  itself,  he  put  to  death  every 
priest  and  student,  and  destroyed  by  fire  its  halls, 
colleges, churches, and  libraries,  thereby  fulfilling,  accord- 
ing to  the  words  of  the  Venerable  Bede,  the  predic- 
tion, as  he  calls  it,  of  the  blessed  Augustin. 

Prince  Brochwel,  however,  escaped  from  the  slaughter 
with  a  small  band  of  fifty  men.2  Though  defeated  (in 

1  Bede,  Ecc.  Hist.,  ii,  p.  l\'2.  2  Ib.,  p.  2. 

M  2 


164  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

603-6071)  by  the  Northumbrian  catechumen  of  Angus- 
tin,  he  was  enabled  to  rally  his  followers  and  hold  the 
passage  of  the  Dee  against  the  Saxons  until  the  arrival 
of  succour,  and  in  turn,  with  equal  slaughter,  put 
them  to  flight.  The  ashes  of  the  noble  monastery  of 
Bangor  were  still  smoking — its  libraries,  the  collection 
of  ages,  having  been  wholly  consumed,  and  nothing 
could  be  seen  but  the  ruined  walls,  gates,  and  smould- 
ering rubbish  of  the  great  university — when  the  allied 
Princes  and  their  avenging  British  forces  returned  to 
gaze  on  the  hallowed  spot. 

Sir  Arthur  Blayney  and  his  renowned  ancestor  wrere 
both  in  the  thick  of  the  religious  and  political  strife  of 
their  day.  The  common  badge  or  arms2  of  their  clan, 
borne  in  many  a  hard-fought  and  at  times  unequal 
contest,  was  never  dishonoured.  Prince  Brochwel  lived 
to  triumph  over  St.  Augustin's  lambs,  the  Saxon 
enemies  of  his  country ;  but  Sir  Arthur,  though  en- 
gaged in  a  less  fortunate  cause,  had  the  distinction  of 
being  the  King's  last  appointed  sheriff,  and  one  of  the 
last  of  his  devoted  soldiery  to  lay  down  their  arms. 
Adversity  may  have  moderated,  but  never  checked,  the 
ardour  of  his  loyalty.  Every  party  in  the  nation 
gradually  became  disgusted  with  Cromwell's  dominion. 

"  The  feeling  had  been  fomenting  during  the  whole  of  the 
year  1654,  and  broke  out  into  action  at  the  beginning  of  1655. 
Two  zealous  friends  of  monarchy,  Sir  Thomas  Harris,  Bart.,  of 
Boreatton,  and  Ralph  Kynaston,  Esq.,  of  Llansaintfraid,  Mont- 
gomeryshire, undertook  to  capture  Shrewsbury.  It  was  also 
arranged  that,  on  the  same  night  of  the  contemplated  attack, 
Sir  Arthur  Blayney,  at  the  head  of  the  Montgomeryshire 
forces,  was  to  attack  Chirk  Castle ;  but  the  vigilance  of  the 
Protector  Cromwell  frustrated  the  Royalist  design."3 

1  A.D.  603  according  to  JErce  Canibro-Britannicce  ;  A.D.  607  accord- 
ing to  the  Saxon  Chronicle. 

2  Three   nag's  heads   erased    arg. ;    or   three   torn   heads   of  the 
Saxon   white  horse,  symbolising  strife  with,   and  victory  over,  the 
Saxons. 

3  Owen  and  Blakeway's  History  of  Shrewsbury,  vol.  i,  p.  472. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


165 


1647. — ROWLAND  HuNT.1 
Deputy,  Evan  Vaughan. 


Arms. 


Party  per  pale  ar.  and  so,.,  a  saltire  counterchanged. 

THE  progenitor  of  this  sheriff  was  Thomas  Hunt  of 
Gouldston,  in  the  parish  of  Cheswardine,  Salop.  We 
find  his  son  Richard  Hunt  established  in  Shrewsbury 
as  a  person  of  consideration,  having  entered  the  school 
there  in  1569,  arid  filled  the  office  of  bailiff  in  1613, 
1622,  and  1631.  In  June  1638,  King  Charles  I  con- 
ferred a  new  charter  on  the  town.  Fourth  on  the  list 
of  aldermen,  whose  numbers  had  been  increased  to 
twenty-four  by  the  preceding  charter,  was  "  Richard 
Hunt,  gent/'  The  latter  married  a  sister  of  Rowland 
Heylyn  of  Pentreheylyn,  and  Alderman  of  London. 
Their  son,  Thomas  Hunt,  was  a  very  prominent  per- 
sonage of  the  town.  He  was  of  very  pronounced  re- 
publican principles,  and,  in  the  contest  for  supreme 
power  in  the  State  between  King  and  Parliament, 

1  "Rowland  Hunt  de  Borraton,  ar.     Dep.,  Evan  Vaughan,  gen." 
(Peniarth  list). 


166  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

threw    the    whole    energy   of    his  character   into    the 
popular  cause. 

As  early  as  the  year  1642  his  disloyalty  to  the  throne 
was  affirmed  by  the  King's  proclamation  of  14th  Octo- 
ber, in  which  he  mentions  by  name  "  Thomas  Hunt, 
Esq.",  and  accuses  him  of  %c  using  his  influence"  to 
alienate  the  affections  of  his  subjects,  "and  of  taking 
upon  himself  to  be  Captain  of  Militia  ;  as  having  been 
very  active  against  him,  and  having  absented  himself 
from  attendance  upon  him  since  his  coming  to  these 
parts"  (Shropshire).  In  obedience  to  this  proclamation 
of  the  King,  he  was,  by  order  of  the  Corporation  of 
Shrewsbury,  "  displaced  for  non-residence"  as  an  alder- 
man of  the  town.  However,  on  2  June  1645,  after  the 
fall  of  Shrewsbury  and  its  occupation  by  the  Parlia- 
ment forces,  the  Corporation  deemed  it  prudent  to 
restore  Thomas  Nicholls,  our  sheriff  in  1642,  Hump. 
Macworth,  Thomas  Hunte,  Esquires,  and  Thomas 
Knight,  gent.,  to  the  office  of  alderman. 

The  modest  role  of  a  "Captain  of  Militia"  was  not 
one  to  satisfy  the  military  aspirations  of  this  repub- 
lican genius.  Soon  after  we  notice  him  as  Commander 
of  the  Garrison  of  Wem,  after  its  capture  by  his  re- 
nowned brother-in-arms,  Colonel  Mytton  of  Halston. 
It  was  "  Colonel  Hunt"  who,  "  with  a  brigade  from 
Shrewsbury,  on  the  13th  of  this  month  (June  1645), 
went  from  Shrewsbury  towards  Cause  Castle,  a  strong- 
hold of  the  enemies',  from  whence  they  annoyed  Shrews- 
bury ;  on  the  25th  of  this  month  the  Castle  was  de- 
livered, "  which  was  good  store  of  men,  horses,  and 
ammunition."1 

Such  military  success  soon  brought  civil  distinction. 
He  was  in  this  year,  1645,  appointed  by  the  House  of 
Commons  member  of  Parliament  for  Shrewsbury,  and 
sheriff  for  Shropshire  in  1656. 

Governor  Humphrey  Mackworth  died  in  December 
1654.  Colonel  Thomas  Hunt,  still  M.P.,  succeeded 

1  Scottwk  Dwe,  June  1645, 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  167 

him  as  Governor  of  the  Castle  and  town,  to  whom  the 
merits  of  the  following  military  enterprise  must  be 
accorded,  as  it  occurred  on  the  8th  of  the  following 
March. 

Every  party  in  the  country  was  becoming  disgusted 
with  the  tyranny  and  hypocrisy  of  Cromwell's  dominion. 
The  Republicans,  the  Presbyterians,  and  Independents 
were  at  cross-purposes,  and  equally  averse  to  a  domi- 
nation which,  all  but  in  name,  was  a  despotic  monarchy. 
A  royalist  conspiracy  for  the  restoration  of  King  Charles 
IT  gave  the  new  governor  ample  scope  for  that  repub- 
lican zeal  and  energy  which  he  has  been  seen  to  possess. 
The  combined  plan  of  action  consisted  of  the  surprise 
and  simultaneous  attack  of  isolated  fortresses.  That  of 
Shrewsbury  was  entrusted  to  two  zealous  friends  of 
monarchy,  Sir  Thomas  Harris  of  Boreatton,  Baronet, 
and  Ralph  Kynaston,  Esq.,  of  Llansaintfraid  in  Mont- 
gomeryshire. Sir  Arthur  Blayney,  Knight-Banneret,  of 
Gregynog,  our  sheriff  in  1644,  at  the  head  of  the  Mont- 
gomeryshire forces,  was  to  surprise  Chirk  Castle.  But 
the  vigilance  of  Cromwell  frustrated  the  royalist  de- 
signs. Intelligence  reached  the  governor  of  Shrews- 
bury on  the  morning  of  the  8th  March.  He  had  been 
put  on  his  guard  four  days  before  by  a  messenger  from 
the  Protector.  "  He  immediately  called  in  all  his  men 
into  the  Castle  ;  planted  the  guns  as  advantageously 
as  he  could  ;  set  a  file  of  soldiers  at  every  gate  of  the 
town ;  seized  twenty  of  the  best  horses  he  could  find 
in  any  stable,  and  mounted  that  number  of  his  friends, 
with  orders  to  secure  all  persons  in  Sir  Thomas  Harris' 
house  at  Boreatton,  in  whose  park  the  rendezvous  of 
royalists  was  to  take  place.  Surprised  and  overpowered, 
the  latter  '  surrendered  upon  quarter'."  This  capable 
and  energetic  soldier  of  the  Commonwealth  was  also 
a  man  of  earnest  religious  convictions.  Baxter,  who 
preached  one  of  his  assize  sermons  at  Shrewsbury, 
assures  us  that  he  was  "  a  plain-hearted,  honest,  godly 
man,  entirely  beloved  and  trusted  by  the  soldiers  for 
his  honesty" ;  and  Matthew  Henry  confirms  this  hand* 


168  SHERIFFS   OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

some  encomium,  styling  him  "  an  Israelite  indeed,  in 
whom  there  was  no  guile".  He  died  at  Shrewsbury  in 
1669,  and  some  few  years  before  his  death — i.e.,  u  subse- 
quent to  the  restoration  of  King  Charles  II" — he  is 
said  to  have  purchased  Boreatton,  the  seat  of  his 
royalist  rival. 

In  March  1648,  "Thomas  Hunt,  ar.",  and  "Row- 
landus  Hunt,  ar.",  appear  on  the  roll  of  county  magis- 
trates for  Montgomeryshire. 

As  there  were  two  Rowlands  of  the  Hunt  family 
contemporaries,  one  the  younger  brother  of  "  the 
Colonel",  the  other  his  eldest  son  and  heir,  it  is  difficult 
to  say  which  it  was  who  served  the  office  of  sheriff  for 
this  year. 

The  former,  described  as  "Rowland  Hunt,  gent., 
learned  in  the  lawes"  (i.e.,  a  barrister),  was  appointed, 
17  Nov.  1645,  Clerk  of  the  Peace  for  Shrewsbury, 
after  its  capture  by  the  Parliament  forces,  and,  in 
March  1650,  as  "Rowland  Hunt,  Esq.",  resigned  or 
vacated  that  office.  His  possible  discharge  of  the 
office  of  sheriff  in  1647,  in  the  interval,  might  be  the 
occasion  of  his  subsequent  affix  of  Esq. 

The  "  de  Borraton"  of  the  Peniarth  list  of  sheriffs  is 
not  conclusive  that  it  was  the  son,  as  that  estate  did 
not  come  to  the  Hunt  family  until  after  the  Restora- 
tion (29  May  1660). 

It  may,  however,  be  inferred  that,  as  the  father 
would  be  more  likely  to  take  an  interest  in  the  advance- 
ment of  his  son  and  heir  than  in  that  of  his  younger 
brother,  the  Rowland  Hunt  prospectively  "  de  Borra- 
ton" was  that  son,  and  our  sheriff  for  1647. 

Rowland  Hunt  was  the  first  sheriff  appointed  by  the 
government  of  the  Interregnum  ;  and  the  degree  of 
anarchy  and  confusion  inseparable  from  such  a  change 
is  significantly  indicated  by  the  "  Nullus  Vic."  of  the 
Peniarth  list  for  the  three  preceding  years.  Whether 
he  inherited  property  in  Montgomeryshire,  as  well  as 
the  name  of  his  great-grandfather,  the  eminent  Row- 
land Heylyn,  as  a  qualification  for  office,  is  uncertain. 


SHERIFFS   OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


169 


The  probability  is  that  he  owed  his  selection  rather  to 
the  anti-monarchical  energies  of  his  father.  We  find 
"  Rowland  Hunt  of  Boreatton,  Esq.",  mentioned  as  a 
member  of  one  of  those  families  of  distinction  in  the 
parish  of  Baschurch,  who  held  fast  their  profession,  and 
gladly  entertained  the  Puritan  ministers  ejected  after 
the  Restoration.  He  is  also  described  as  "  that  learned 
and  religious  gentleman  who  married  the  Lady  Frances, 
daughter  to  the  Right  Honourable  the  Lord  Paget,  an 
excellent  person,  a  great  ornament  and  blessing  to  the 
family/'  It  seems  that  it  was  owing  to  the  advice  of 
our  sheriff  that  the  eminent  Nonconformist,  Matthew 
Henry,  went  to  Gray's  Inn  to  study  law.  His  son, 
Thomas  Hunt  of  Boreatton,  and  sheriff  of  Shropshire 
in  1718,  accompanied  Matthew  Henry  to  Gray's  Inn. 


1648. — MATTHEW  MORGAN. 
Deputy,  Howell  Jones. 


Arms. 


Argent,  a  lion  passant  sa.,  between  three  fleurs-de-lys  gu. 


MANY    particulars    respecting  this    sheriff  are   given 
under  the  year  of  office,  1636,  of  his  father,  Meredith 


170  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

Morgan  of  Aberhavesp,1  of  whom  he  was  the  eldest  son 
by  his  wife  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Matthew  Price  of 
Park  Pen  Price. 

The  sheriff,  in  due  course,  succeeded  to  the  family 
estate  of  Aberhavesp,  and  married,  as  his  first  wife, 
Frances,  eldest  daughter  of  Robert  Waring  of  Wils- 
ford,  Notts,  by  whom  he  had  three  sons  and  six 
daughters.  This  lady  died  on  the  14th  January  1659. 
Their  surviving  children  were  :— 

I.  "  Meredith  Morgan  of  Aberhavesp,  gentleman,  the 
last  male  heir  of  this  line",  who  made  his  will2  2 1st  May 
1701,  proved  llth  June  1701,  by  which  he  devised 
half  of  the  revenue  of  his  personal  estate  to  his  beloved 
wife  Bridgett  Morgan,  and  the  other  half  to  his  sisters 
Frances  and  Anne.  He  predeceased  his  father.  "Mrs. 
Bridget  Morgan,  his  disconsolate  relict",  erected  a 
monument3  to  his  memory  in  Aberhavesp  Church. 
Anne  Morgan,  spinster,  sister  of  Meredith,  in  her  will, 
1714,  styles  Bridget  "  sister-in-law",  and  "now  wife  of 
Charles  Walcot,  Esqr." 

I.  Elizabeth,  baptized  at  Aberhavesp  on  the  29th 
of  June  1648. 

n.  Frances  Morgan,  baptized  at  Aberhavesp  on  the 
2nd  of  September  1651.  Joint  executor  with  her 
sister  Anne  to  her  father's  will,4  llth  September  1705  ; 
proved  10th  May  1706.  She  made  her  will5  17th 
April  1710,  which  was  proved  1st  March  1710-11. 
She  died  unmarried. 

ill.  Anne  Morgan,  "spinster",  made  her  will  28th 
May  1714,  proved  19th  October  1717. 

Our  sheriff  married,  as  his  second  wife,  Mary, 
daughter  of  William  Barkley,  merchant  and  Alderman 
of  London,  by  whom  he  had  a  son,  who  seems  to  have 
died  young,  and  a  daughter  Abigail. 

1  See  Sherifs  of  Montgomeryshire,  p.  517. 

2  Printed  in  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxvi,  p.  21 1. 

3  See  Sherifs,  p.  519. 

4  Printed  in  Mont.  Coll,  vol.  xxvi,  p.  203, 
6  /&.,  ps  204. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  17J 

Abigail  Morgan  married,  at  St.  Mary's  Church, 
Shrewsbury,  on  the  29th  May  1694,  Mr.  Walter 
Waring,  by  whom  she  seems  to  have  had  no  issue  living 
when,  as  a  "  widow",  she  made  her  will1  on  the  14th 
of  October  1749,  proved  December  1753,  where,  as 
the  heiress  of  the  Aberhavesp  family,  she  bequeaths 
her  real  and  personal  estate  to  be  divided,  subject  to 
many  legacies,  between  "  her  cousins,  Henry  Shere  of 
Lombard  Street,  London,  goldsmith,  and  Elizabeth 
Proctor,  wife  of  Mr.  Robert  Proctor  of  Botolph  Lane, 
London,  merchant." 

This  venerable  lady,  the  last  of  her  ancient  family, 
was,  as  4<  Abigail  Waring,  last  surviving  daughter  of 
Matthew  Morgan,  aged  88",  buried  at  Aberhavesp,  in 
the  vault  of  her  ancestors,  on  the  27th  of  December 
1753. 

The  inscription  on  the  monument  to  our  sheriff  in 
Aberhavesp  Church,  raised  "out  of  a  pious  esteem  and 
for  a  lasting  memorial  of  her  dear  father  by  Mrs.  Anne 
Morgan,  his  last  surviving  daughter  and  heir  by  his 
first  wife",  informs  us  that  "he  died  on  the  20th  March 
1705,2aged  82". 

1  Printed  in  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxvi,  p.  207. 

2  I.e.,  1705-6. 


172 


SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE, 


1649.— EVAN  LLOYD. 
Deputy,  Maurice  Lloyd.1 


Arms. 


Argent,  a  lion  passant  sa.,  between  three  fleurs-de-lys  gu. 

DAVID  LLOYD  AP  MEREDITH  was  the  common  ancestor 
of  this  and  the  preceding  sheriff,  Matthew  Morgan. 
The  above  David  Lloyd  had,  probably  with  others, 
two  sons,  viz.,  Evan,  ancestor  of  the  Morgans,  and 
Howel  ap  David  Lloyd.  Fifth  in  descent  from  the 
latter  was  David  Lloyd  ap  Evan,  who  by  his  wife 
Elen,  daughter  of  David  ap  Henry  of  Oerffrwd,  an 
estate  midway  between  the  churches  of  Carno  and 
Llanwnog,  wras  the  father  of  seven  children,  of  which 
the  eldest  was  our  sheriff,  Evan  Lloyd  of  Llanwnog.2 
He  was  of  the  Parliamentary  party,  and  held  a  cap- 
tain's commission  in  its  army.  On  the  delivery  of 
Montgomery  Castle  by  Edward,  Lord  Herbert  of  Chir- 
bury,  to  Sir  Thomas  Middleton,  the  latter  seems  to 

1  "  Moriceus   Lloyd,  gen.,  frater  ejus"  (Peniarth  list).     He   was 
next  brother  to  the  sheriff. 

2  LewisDwnn's  Visitation  of  Montgomeryshire,  Mont.  Coll.  Reprints, 
pp.  93-4. 


SHERIFFS   OF"    MONTaoMhKYSHIRE. 


173 


have  placed  "  Captain  Evan  Lloyd"  in  command  of  the 
Castle.  This  probability  is  gathered  from  the  deposi- 
tion, March  1646,  of  "Thomas  Lloyd,  gent.",  who 
stated  before  Edward  Vaughan  and  Matthew  Morgan, 
Esq'rs,  that  he  met  a  little  boy  coming  towards  Mont- 
gomery Castle,  going,  as  he  said,  with  a  letter  to 
Capt.  Evan  Lloyd. 

Throughout  the  Commonwealth  period  he  was  in 
the  active  discharge  of  the  duties  of  a  county  magis- 
trate ;  we  find  him  frequently  associated  on  com- 
missions with  Colonel  Hugh  Price,  the  Governor  of 
Redcastle  (Powys  Castle),  and  "  Capt.  Richard  Price" 
of  Gunley. 


1650.— LLOYD  PIERS  or  MAESMAWR, 

Deputy,  Edmund  Lloyd.1 


Arms. 


Sable,  three  nag's  heads  erased  ary. 

LLOYD   PIERS   of  Maesmawr   and   Trawscoed,   in  the 
parish  of  Guilsfield,  served  the  office  in  1637,  under 

1  "  Edmund  Lloyd,  gener."  (Peniarth  list).     He  was  of  Sylvaen, 
and  the  sheriff's  cousin.     See  also  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  vii,  pp.  191-2. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

which  year  are  particulars.  His  will1  is  dated  the 
14th  April  1664,  and  was  proved  on  the  2nd  of 
February  1667.  At  the  date  of  his  will  he  describes 
himself  "aged  three-score  yeares  and  nyne,  being  in 
perfect  health  and  memorie,  praised  be  God". 

After  sundry  bequests  to  his  grandchild,  Deyley 
Phillipps,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Andrew  Phillipps 
of  Kelynog  by  Deile  or  Deyley,  the  sheriffs  eldest 
daughter,  he  bestows  the  following  faint  praise  and 
moderate  provision  on  his  eldest  son  Edward,  "  who 
hath  crusht  his  fortunes  by  his  improvident  marriage  ; 
I  wish  he  may  keepe  the  landes  (Maesmawr)  settled 
upon  him  upon  his  mother's  marriage,  being  a  compe- 
tent estate,  if  well  used,  to  maintain  him,  his  wife,  and 
children,  though  his  weaknes  makes  me  feare  it  wilbe 
expended  or  eaten  up  p.  when  I  am  gone,  by  his  proud 
and  beggarly  allyance,2  unto  whom,  since  he  hath  soe 
often  vexed  me,  I  cannot  prevaile  with  myself  to  leave 
him  more  than  xijc/." 

His  sons  Edward  and  Thomas  adopted  the  surname 
of  their  grandmother  Elizabeth,  only  daughter  and 
heiress  of  Griffith  Lloyd  of  Maesmawr  and  Trawscoed, 
sheriff  in  1581.  Thomas  Lloyd,  the  younger  son,  had 
Trawscoed,  whose  son,  Pierce  Lloyd,  and  daughters 
Hannah  and  Mary,  are  mentioned  in  the  sheriffs  will, 
in  which  their  father  is  named  residuary  legatee  and 
sole  executor. 

Lloyd  Piers  had  the  penetration  to  adhere  to  the 
temporary  winning  side  in  contemporary  politics,  and 
to  avoid  that  grinding  to  powder  and  poverty  between 
the  upper  and  nether  millstone  of  Royal  and  Parlia- 
mentary necessities.  His  sagacity  was  rewarded  with 
place  and  power  under  the  Government  of  the  Common- 
wealth while  it  lasted.  He  receives  frequent  mention 
as  a  Commissioner  of  Sequestration  for  North  Wales. 

1  Printed  in  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxiii,  p.  37. 

2  He  married  Catherine,  daughter  of  Edward  Maurice  of  Penybont, 
Royalist  sheriff  in  1640. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


175 


Amongst  the  Royalist  Composition  Papers1  we  have 
the  following :  "  Certificate  from  Lloyd  Pierce,  Vic. 
Com.,  and  Hugh  Price,  Commissioners  of  Sequestra- 
tion, referring  to  an  order  for  the  payment  of  £4 
a  week  to  Lord  Powis,  received  by  them  soon  after  he 
was  taken  prisoner,"  on  the  capture,  2nd  October  1644, 
of  Powis  Castle  by  Sir  Thomas  Middleton. 


1651. — RICHARD  PRYCE  OF  GUNLEV. 
Deputy,  Edward  Pryce. 


Arms. 


Argent,  a  lion  passant  sa.,  between  three  fleurs-de-lys  gu. 

RICHARD  PRYCE  of  Gwnlle,  or  Gunley,  in  the  township 
of  Ackley  and  parish  of  Forden,  was  the  scion  of  an 
ancient  family  which  had  held  the  Gunley  with  other 
estates,  situated  on  the  borders  of  Shropshire  and 
Montgomeryshire,  from  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth 
century. 

These  Pryces  are  the  only  Montgomeryshire  family 

1  See  the  interesting  extracts  therefrom  by  Mr.  E.  Rowley-Morris 
in  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xviii,  p.  71  et  seq. 


176  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

who,  in  the  direct  male  line,  are  known  to  have  held 
their  paternal  estate  of  Gunley  from  the  ahove  period 
to  the  present  day.  Interesting  particulars  of  their 
well-accredited  descent  from  Einion  ap  Seisyllt,  Lord 
of  Mathavarn,  in  the  early  part  of  the  twelfth  century, 
have  been  already  given.1 

In  brief,  we  find  that  this  "  Eignion  ap  Seysyllt",  as 
he  is  styled  in  an  inquisition  taken  6th  Henry  VI,  A.D. 
1428,  at  Bala,  in  the  county  of  Merioneth,  before 
Humphrey,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  the  King's  Justiciary 
of  North  Wales,  was  a  person  of  some  historical  interest. 
A  "  dissension  or  discord"  with  the  reigning  Princes  of 
Merioneth,  Llewelyn  Vawr,  and  Llewelyn  Vychan,  the 
above  record  tells  us,  led  him  to  seek  the  protection  of 
Owen  Cyfeiliog,  Cynvynian  Prince  of  Powys,  and,  with 
this  change  of  allegiance,  to  the  loss  of  his  Merioneth- 
shire estates. 

A  unique  document  at  Gunley,  in  fact,  the  only 
original  genealogical  instrument  of  its  kind  known  to 
be  possessed  by  any  Montgomeryshire  family,  is  a 
vellum  pedigree  in  the  autograph  of  Lewys  Dwnn, 
Deputy  Herald  for  Wales,  with  his  attesting  signature, 
and  dated  1609.  From  this  we  gather  that  Einion  not 
only  obtained  security  from  oppression,  but  a  wife  in 
the  person  of  Nesta,  daughter  of  Madock,  Lord  of 
Nannau,  ap  Cadwgan  ap  Bleddyn,  Prince  of  Powys. 
By  the  Princess  Nesta  Einion  had  a  son — • 

GRONWY  AP  EINION.  The  vellum  pedigree  of  Dwnn 
states  that  he  married  "  Meddevys",  the  daughter  of 
his  adopted  sovereign,  and  the  sister  of  the  renowned 
Gwenwynwyn.  Such  an  alliance  is  rendered  ex- 
ceedingly probable,  his  mother  being  a  Princess  of  the 
Royal  House  of  Powys,  and  from  the  fact  that  Gronwy 
appears  as  a  leading  witness  to  charters  granted  by  the 
Powysian  Princes  in  1185,  1199,  and  1201  to  the 
monks  of  Strata  Marcella  Abbey. 

Gronwy,   by  the  Princess  Meddevys,  had    at  least 

1  See  Montgomeryshire  Collections,  vol.  xviii,  p.  101. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  177 

three  sons  whose  seniority  cannot  be  determined.  Their 
descendants  occupied  considerable  prominence  in  the 
annals  of  our  county  history.  Tudivr  was  the  ancestor 
of  the  Pngbs  of  Mathavarn  and  their  cognates  .of  Dol-y- 
Corslwyn  and  Aberffrydlan.  Gwen  was  the  ancestor  of 
the  Morgans  of  Aberhavesp,  and  others. 

IORWERTH,  or  Edward,  was  the  ancestor  of  our  sheriffs 
line.  It  is  quite  possible  that  lorwerth,  although  here 
mentioned  last,  might  have  been  the  eldest ;  Matha- 
varn may,  according  to  Welsh  precedent,  have  gone  to 
the  youngest  son  Tudwr.  It  was  his  descendant  in 
the  third  degree— 

HUGH  ap  Gwatkin  ap  leuan  ap  lorwerth,  who' 
settled  at  Gunley  by  marrying  its  heiress,  Margaret, 
daughter  of  David  Lloyd  ap  Griffith  ap  Ririd  of  Llwyn 
Birid  and  Gunley,  and  of  the  Tribe  of  Brochwel  Ysgith- 
rog,  a  Prince  of  Powys  at  the  close  of  the  6th  century. 
By  this  alliance  the  Pryces  quarter  the  arms  of  that 
Prince's  descendants,  viz.,  sable,  three  nag's  heads 
erased  argent.  Of  the  issue  of  Hugh  and  Margaret 
Lloyd—  ' 

MORYS,  or  Maurice  ap  Hugh,  seems  to  have  succeeded 
to  the  patrimony  at  Gunley. 

We  now  come  upon  evidence  derived  from  local 
records,  confirming  the  vellum  roll  of  1609.  In  the  5th 
year  of  Henry  VII,  A.D.  1489,  a  trial  is  recorded  by 
Lewys  Dwnn,  the  parties  to  which  were  Margaret, 
daughter  and  heiress  of  John  Myddleton  of  Marrington, 
Ghirbury,  the  then  representative  of  Hugh  de  Boulers, 
or  Bowdler,  lord  of  that  manor  in  1374  ;  the  other 
claimant  to  Marrington  being  Griffith  Bowdler,  collate- 
rally descended  from  the  de  Boulers,  lords  of  Mont- 
gomery at  the  beginning  of  the  13th  century.  Margaret 
Myddleton  maintained  her  claim,  and  conveyed  the 
manor  of  Marrington,  with  other  Chirbury  property,  in 
marriage  to  David  Lloyd  Vaughan  of  Nantcribba,  eldest 
son  of  David  Lloyd  of  Leighton,  and  the  grandson  of  Sir 
Griffith  Vaughan,  Knight-Banneret  of  Agincourt,  of 
Garth,  Guilsfield. 

VOL.  xxvii.  N- 


178  SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

Lewys  Dwnn,1  under  the  pedigree  of  the  Lloyds  of 
"  Nant  Criba"  and  "  Havodwen"  (Marrington),  gives 
"the  Names  of  the  19  Witnesses  yt  was  against 
Griffith  (Bowdler)  ap  Howell  ap  David  of  the  Rustock 
(Bacheldre,  Churchstoke),  and  with  Margaret  Midle- 
ton,  heires  to  John  Midleton  ap  Pierce  (Peter)  Midle- 
ton". The  eleventh  on  this  list  was  t(  Maurice  ap 
Hugh  of  Gwnle".  This  gentleman  must  have  lived  to 
a  good  old  age,  as  it  is  recorded,  on  a  Chirbury  Lay 
Subsidy  Roll  at  the  Record  Office,  that,  in  the  35th  of 
Henry  VIII,  1543,  "  Morys  ap  heu  Genlye"2  paid 
subsidy.  In  1564,  it  was  probably  his  younger  brother 
"  Rees  ap  Hugh"  who  witnessed  the  "  Tythe  Customes" 
of  Chirbury,  at  the  mature  age  of  "  four-score  yeares", 
with  the  leading  gentlemen  of  the  parish. 

By  Annes,  daughter  of  John  Clebri  of  Clebri,  probably 
a  Welsh  synonym  for  Cleobury,  Morys  ap  Hugh  had 
a  son  and  successor — 

RHYS  ap  Morys.  His  wife  Ales,  or  Elizabeth,  was 
the  daughter  of  John  Myddleton  of  Myddleton,  in  the 
parish  of  Chirbury,  the  paternal  home  of  the  Myddle- 
ton s  of  Gwynanwg,  the  Myddleton-Biddulphs  of  Chirk 
Castle,  and  that  branch  of  the  family  now  represented 
by  the  Corn wallis- Wests  of  Ruthyn  Castle.  Rhys  ap 
Morys  and  Ales  Myddleton  had  Richard,  Rees,  and 
Edmund.  The  last,  as  "  Edmund  ap  Rice",  with  his 
brother  "  Rice  ap  Rice  de  Gonley",  were  involved  in 
a  suit  at  the  Montgomeryshire  Assizes,  32-37  Henry 
VIII,  respecting  "  Villate  of  Gonley,  in  the  lordship  ol 
King's  Tiertreff,  or  Tiertretf-issa".  The  will  of  Edmund 
ap  Rees  ap  Morris  of  Gunley  was  proved  in  1590.  The 
son  and  successor  in  line  to  the  Gunley  estate  was — 

RICHARD  ap  Rhys,  who  occurs  to  our  notice  at  the 
County  Assizes  held  at  Pool,  13  Elizabeth  1571,  as 
"Ric'us  ap  Res  ap  Morys  de  Gonley,  gen.",  with  his 
son  "  Ed'us  ap  Richard  ap  Res  de  Ackley,  gen."  Their 

1  See  Lewys  Dwnn's  Montgomeryshire  Pedigrees,  pp.  16-18,  reprinted 
by  the  Powys-land  Club  in  1888. 

2  Mont  Coll.,  vol,  xxii,  p.  170, 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  179 

mother,  according  to  the  vellum  pedigree  of  1609,  was 
Ales,  daughter  of  "  Robert  Tybt"  of  Pontesbmy.1  Their 
son,  who  succeeded,  was — 

"  RICHARD  PRYS  of  Gunley."  His  wife  was  Jane, 
daughter  and  heiress  of  Richard  ap  Owen  ap  John  of 
Tregynon,  collaterally  descended  from  the  Blayneys  ot 
Gregynog,  on  whose  account  the  family  again  quarter 
the  three  nag's  heads  erased.  Their  son  and  successor 
was — 

"  EDWART  PRYS  o  Gunley,  gent.",2  who,  in  the  year 
1609,  entered,  as  the  representative  of  his  house,  the 
family  pedigree  at  Lewys  Dwnn's  Visitation,  and  was 
the  means  of  transmitting  to  his  living  representative, 
E.  S.  Mostyn  Pryce,  Esquire,  the  vellum  roll,  in  the 
autograph  of  the  Herald. 

On  the  "20th  September,  15  Charles  I,  1639,  the 
King's  Majesty's  writ  of  Commission  was  issued  from 
His  Highness's  counsell  of  the  Marches",  among  others, 
to  "  Edward  Price  of  Gunley,  gent.",  to  examine 
witnesses  respecting  the  Mears  of  the  manor  of  Plas- 
y-Dinas.  He  married  Bridget,  daughter  of  John  ap 
Richard  of  Hockleton,  in  the  parish  of  Chirbury, 
whose  father,  "  Richard  ap  John",  was  one  of  the 
gentlemen  who  witnessed  the  "  Tythe  Customes"  ot 
that  parish  in  1564.  As  her  brother,  "John  ap 
Richard,  junior",  is  said  to  have  been  "one  of  Crom- 
well's captains",  perhaps  the  political  proclivities  of 
the  mother  may  have  influenced  her  sons  to  promi- 
nently oppose  the  King,  under  whose  government  their 
father  had  been  a  trusted  and  loyal  subject.  Before 
the  crisis  of  the  King's  misfortunes  the  father  died,  as 
we  gather  from  the  following  entry  in  the  Chirbury 
Register,  "  Edwardus  Pryce  de  Gunley,  sepult.  4  Aprilis 
1643",  leaving  issue — 

RICHARD  PRYCE  of  Gunley,  our  sheriff.    His  mother, 

1  Possibly  an  abbreviated  form  of  Tibtoft,  or  Tiptoft,  a  family  of 
ancient  standing   in   Pontesbury — cadets   of  the    Lords   Tiptoft    of 
Powys. 

2  Thus  styled  in  the  vellum  (1609)  pedigree. 

ff  2 


180  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

Bridget  Pryce,  outlived  her  husband  many  years,  as 
we  find  "  Mrs.  Pryce,  vid.",  rated  for  property  at 
Stockton,  Chirbnry,  in  1666  ;  outliving  the  restoration 
of  King  Charles  II. 

"  Captain  Richard  Pryce" — -for  thus  he  is  desig- 
nated in  records  of  the  period — like  his  uncle,  "  one  of 
Cromwell's  captains",  was  an  active  but  still  more 
distinguished  officer  in  the  service  of  the  Common- 
wealth. The  motives  which  prompted  his  political  acts 
were  those  which  probably  influenced  Devereux  of 
Vaynor,  More  of  Linley,  Mytton  of  Halston,  Myddle- 
ton  of  Chirk  Castle,  and  others  locally  associated  in  the 
great  Civil  War  struggle ;  and  it  is  no  matter  of  sur- 
prise to  find  his  ability,  zeal,  and  unswerving  loyalty 
to  the  cause  of  his  adoption  rewarded  by  the  distinc- 
tion of  office  under  the  Government  of  the  day.  There 
were  gentlemen  of  property  and  of  equal  social  position 
arrayed  on  opposite  sides,  whose  religious  and  political 
opinions  were  none  the  less  pronounced  for  being 
formed  and  intensified  in  the  rough  school  of  civil  war. 

He  demolished  Montgomery  Castle  by  warrant  dated 
16th  June  1649,  the  result  of  which  to  Captain  Richard 
Pryce  is  recorded  in  the  Calendar  of  State  Papers 
under  the  years  1649-50.  At  Ruthyn  he  sat  as 
a  fellow-commissioner  with  those  active  Parliament- 
arians, Mr.  Thomas  Mytton  of  Halston,  Mr.  William 
Myddleton,  Mr.  Simon  Thelwall,  and  two  others,  to 
assess  the  amount  of  an  indemnity  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Montgomery  for  their  losses  in  the  Civil  War. 
After  the  Restoration,  he  received  distinguished  Royal- 
ist attention  from  Sir  Francis  Newport,  who  ordered 
his  apprehension  a,s  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Parliament- 
ary party. 

In  1640  he  married,  firstly,  Mary,  daughter  of  John 
Trotman,  Esq.,  of  Peers  Court,  Stinchcombe,  Glouces- 
tershire. The  portrait  of  Mrs.  Rosamond  Pryce,  his 
second  wife,  is  at  Gunley.  By  deed,  dated  28th  July, 
18  Charles  II,  1666,  he  assigned  the  tithes  of  Forden, 
which  he  held  under  a  long  lease  from  the  Grocers1 


SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


181 


Company,  to  "Henry  Purcell,  Esq.,  of  Nantcribba", 
for  £59  per  annum.  His  will  was  proved  at  St.  Asaph 
in  1675.  His  portrait  is  at  Gunley.  He  left  no  issue, 
and  was  succeeded  at  Gunley  by  his  brother  and 
deputy  sheriff,  Edward  Pryce  of  Pont-y-Porchill.  In 
the  line  of  the  latter  other  sheriffs  of  the  county 
appear,  under  whose  years  of  office  further  reference  to 
the  family  can  be  more  appositely  introduced.  Suffice 
it  for  the  present  to  say  that,  from  Hugh  ap  Watkin, 
who,  it  has  been  seen,  first  established  himself  at  Gun- 
ley  by  marrying  its  heiress,  Margaret  Lloyd,  may  be 
counted  thirteen  generations  to  the  present  esteemed 
representative  and  county  magistrate,  Mr.  E.  S.  Mostyn 
Pryce. 


1652. — EDWARD  CORBETT  OF  LEIGHTON. 

Deputy,  Richard  Corbett.1 

Arms. 


Or,  two  ravens  proper  within  a  bordure  engrailed  yu.,  bezantee. 

EDWARD  CORBETT  was  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  Edward 
Corbett,  the  first  Baronet,  a  creation  of  the  20th  June 

1  "Ric'us  Corbett  Gen.  films  ejus"  (Peniarth  list). 


182  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

1642,  by  his  wife  Margaret,  younger  daughter  and 
co-heiress  of  Edward  Waties  of  Bur  way,  one  of  the 
King's  Justices  in  the  Marches  of  Wales,  afterwards  of 
Leighton,  a  property  which  he  purchased  from  the 
Lloyds  of  Leighton,  descended  from  Humphrey  Lloyd 
of  Leighton,  the  first  sheriff  of  the  county  in  1540-1. 
From  a  full  and  interesting  account  of  the  Longnor 
and  Leighton  family  of  Corbett,  recently  printed  in  the 
Montgomeryshire  Collections,1  it  reads  as  if  our  sherift 
had  been  Comptroller  and  Treasurer  of  the  Household 
in  the  reigns  of  Charles  II,  James  II,  and  Queen  Anne, 
and  also  Lord  Lieutenant  and  Gustos  Rotulorum,  and 
further,  that  he  died  vita  patris,  in  1649.  The  above 
appointments  were  more  probably  held  by  his  brother- 
in-law,  Sir  Francis  Newport;  but  the  sheriff  could  not 
have  died  in  the  above  year,  as  we  find  him  serving  the 
office  in  1652.  The  account  given  of  him  in  Betham's 
Baronetage2  is,  that  he  died  in  the  lifetime  of  his 
father,  Sir  Edward,  but  that  his  death  took  place  on 
the  30th  May  1653.  His  brother  Thomas  acted  as 
sherift'  for  the  close  of  his  year  of  office.  A  writ  of 
covenant,  addressed  to  the  sheriff',  5th  June  1652,  is 
signed  "  Thomas  Corbett  ar.  vie." 

His  son  Kichard,  by  his  wife  Anne,  daughter  of  Sir 
Richard  Newport,  Knight,  serving  his  father  as  deputy 
sheriff  this  year,  succeeded  his  grandfather  as  second 
Baronet.  He  was  an  intimate  acquaintance  of  Lord 
Russell,  and  survived  him  only  a  few  months,  being  in 
a  bad  state  of  health  when  that  distinguished  patriot 
suffered.  On  the  morning  of  the  execution,  we  learn 
from  Burnet's  Journal,  that  his  lordship  asked  the 
Dean  (Tillotson)  how  Sir  Richard  Corbett  (who  he 
heard  was  sick)  was.3 

Sir  Richard  married  Victoria,  daughter  and  co-heiress 
of  Sir  William  Uvedale  of  Wickham,  Hampshire, 

1  Vol.  xxvi,  p.  239. 

2  Appendix  to  vol.  v,  p.  7,  ed.  1805. 

3  Life  of  Lord  Russell,  vol.  ii,  p.  276,  quoted  in  Blakeway's  Sheri/s 
vf  Shropshire,  p.  126,  note  1. 


SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


183 


Knight,  lineally  descended  from  Uvedale,  a  Baron  of 
Parliament  in  the  6th,  8th,  9th,  etc.,  of  King  Edward 
III,  by  whom  he  had — 

I.  Lucy,  who  died  young. 

II.  Diana,  wife  of  Thomas  Rock  of  Salop, 
in.  Anne,  who  died  in  1706. 

iv.  Victoria,  who  married  Sir  Charles  Lloyd  of  Moel- 
y -garth,  Guilsfield,  third  Baronet.  She  died  26th 
November  1705.  He  died  in  1743,  his  will1  being 
proved  on  the  24th  December  of  that  year. 

v.  Edward,  who  died  young  in  1674. 

vi.  Sir  Uvedale,  third  Baronet. 


1653. — EICHARD  OWEN. 
Deputy,  John  Powell.2 


Arms. 


Quarterly,  1st  and  4th,  a  lion  rampant  reguardant  or;  2nd  and  3rd, 
three  boar's  heads  couped,  langued  gu.t  tusked  or. 

OWEN,  or  even  Richard  Owen,  cannot  be  deemed  suffi- 
cient to  mark  unmistakably  a  personality  in  Wales  : 
so  that  some  uncertainty  is  involved  in  particularising 
or  domiciling  the  sheriff  of  this  year  ;  but  a  diligent 

1  Printed  in  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxiii,  p.  39. 

2  "  Joh'es  Powell  Gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


184  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

investigation  of  Montgomeryshire  magistrate  and  jury 
lists  makes  it  almost  certain  that  he  was  of  Rhiewsae- 
son,  in  the  Hundred  of  Machynlleth. 

From  the  14th  Charles  I,  1638,  to  the  14th  Charles 
II,  1662,  but  tXvo  Owens  occur  occupying  the  position, 
or  offering  the  qualification  for  the  office  of  sheriff,  and 
these  were  Richard  Owen  of  Rhiewsaeson  and  Thomas 
Owen  of  Llunllo,  both  in  the  Hundred  of  Machynlleth. 

To  be  particular,  they  occur  as  follows  :— 

14  Charles  I.  1638,  as  a  juror  in  the  Hundred,  Thomas  Owen 
of  Llonlloy th,  gen. 

1648.  Richard  Owen,  ar.,  and  Thomas  Owen,  ar.,  occur  as 
county  magistrates. 

1650.  Rictus  Owen,  ar.,  and  Thomas  Owen,  ar.,  occur  as 
county  magistrates ;  and  as  jurors  in  the  Hundred  of  Machyn- 
lleth we  find  "  Ric'us  Owens  de  Rhiewsaeson,  ar.".,  and 
"  Thomas  Owens  de  Llynlloth,  ar." 

1653.  "  Richard  Owen,  Esqr."  (?  the  sheriff),  on  the  list  of 
magistrates. 

1654-5.  The  name  of  Richard  Owen  is  wanting  on  the  list  of 
Commonwealth  magistrates. 

1661-2.  "  Ric'us  Owens,  ar.",  reappears  as  a  magistrate,  and 
as  "  Ric'us  Owens  de  Rhiwsaeson,  ar.",  foreman  of  the  grand 
jury.  The  following  occur  in  this  year  as  Machynlleth  Hundred 
jurors  :  "  Ric'us  Owens  de  Rhiwsaeson,  ar. ;  Thomas  Owens 
de  Machynlleth  (?  Llunllo),  gen. ;  Rowlandus  Owens  de  eadem, 
gen." 

1662.  On  the  Llanidloes  Hundred  jury  we  find  "  Ric'us  Evans 
de  Garth,  gen." 

It  has  been  inferred,1  apparently  on  the  authority 
of  the  late  Rev.  Walter  Davies,  that  a  son-in-law  of 
this  gentleman,  "  Richard  Owen  of  Garth",  was  the 
sheriff  for  1653.  This  is  highly  improbable,  as  his 
supposed  father-in-law  was  in  possession  of  the  Garth 
estate,  as  we  see,  for  many  years  after  1653,  and 
probably  continued  in  possession  to  the  close  of  a  pro- 
longed life  in  1702,  when  his  will  was  proved.  More- 
over, Richard  Evans  of  Garth  mentions  in  his  will,  in 
1695,  the  existence  of  Evan, his  "son  and  heir  apparent", 

1  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  viii,  p.  207. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  185 

who  must  have  enjoyed,  before  his  sister  Catherine's 
husband,  Richard  Owen,  the  paternal  estate  of  Garth. 

Richard  Owen  of  Garth, in  the  Hundred  of  Llanidloes, 
meets  with  no  mention  as  a  magistrate,  official,  or  juror 
in  county  records  between  1638  and  1683. 

The  entry  in  the  Llanidloes  Register,1  "Richard  Owen 
of  Garth,  gent.,  s  was  buried  27th  September  1729", 
probably  records  the  burial  of  the  son-in-law  of  Richard 
Evans  of  Garth — who  died  in  1701-2 — and  renders  it 
still  more  improbable  that  Richard  Owen  of  Garth  could 
have  been  sheriff  in  1653,  seventy -six  years  before  his 
burial. 

We  therefore  adopt  the  conclusion,  in  the  absence  of 
evidence  to  the  contrary,  that  the  sheriff  of  this  year 
was  of  Rhiwsaeson.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Athel- 
stan  Owen  of  that  place,  deputy  sheriff  to  his  father 
Morris  Owen,  sheriff  in  1612.  His  mother  was  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  Matthew  Herbert  of  Dolguog. 

Earlier  sheriffs  of  the  Rhiwsaeson  family  were  Richard 
ap  Morris  ap  Owen  in  1579,  and  Morris  Owen  in  1612.2 

An  interesting  account  of  our  sheriffs  descendants 
appears  in  the  History  of  the  Parish  of  Llanbryn- 
mair.3 

1  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  viii,  p.  209. 

2  See  Sheriffs  of  Montgomeryshire,  pp.  192  and  319. 

3  By  Mr.  Richard  Williams,  F.R.H.S.,  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxii,  p.  35. 


•    •    • 
- 


186 


SHERIFFS   OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


1654. — HUGH  PRICE1  OF  GWERNYGOE. 
Deputy,  Lewis  Price.2 


Arms. 


Sable,  three  nag's  heads  erased  ar. 

HUGH  PRICE  was  a  local  celebrity  of  the  Civil  War  era, 
and  shone  forth  as  a  colonel  in  the  army,  and  a  person- 
age high  in  the  civil  administration  of  the  Common- 
wealth. He  first  occurs  to  our  notice  as  bailiff  of  the 
Hundred  of  Llanidloes,  in  the  9th  of  Charles  I,  1633, 
with  doubtless  a  family  or  property  interest  in  the 
parish  of  Llanwnog,  derived  from  the  Sheinton  family, 
long  settled  at  Pertheirin  in  that  parish.  A  life  associa- 
tion in  public  offices  and  private  interests  makes  it 
highly  probable  that  he  was  either  a  brother  or  near 
relation  of  Lewis  Price  of  Pertheirin,  who  married,  on 
the  8th  of  October  1647,  Mary  Sheinton,  the  heiress  of 
Pertheirin. 

Lewys  Dwnn,  under  Carno,  the  parish  adjoining 
Llanwnog,  giving  the  genealogy  of  Austyn  ap  Rees 
(Price),  and  his  descent  from  Evan  Blayney  of  Gregynog, 
of  the  Tribe  of  Brochwel,  states  that  he  married,  as  his 
second  wife,  Ales,  the  daughter  of  Hugh  Sheinton  ot 

1  See  note  1  to  Miscellanea  Ifistorica,  vol.  vii,  p.  197,  as  to  the 
probable  descent  and  relationship  of  the  sheriff  and  his  deputy. 

2  "Ludovicus  Price,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


SHERIFFS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.        187 

Pertheirin,  and  that  their  children  in  order  of  birth 
were :  Hugh,  Evan,  Richard,  David,  Lewis,  Charles, 
John,  Rees,  and  Elizabeth.1 

This  Austyn  ap  Rees,  in  his  deposition,  taken  in  1608, 
then  declared  his  age  to  be  GO.2 

"  Hugh  Sheinton  of  Llanwonocke,  gen.",  his  father- 
in-law,  served  on  a  jury  in  the  30  Elizabeth  1587. 
Richard,  son  of  Hugh,  served  on  county  juries  in  1618 
and  1626.  The  eldest  son  of  Richard  was  Hugh 
Sheinton,  either  the  father  or  brother  of  Mary  Shein- 
ton, the  wife  of  Lewis  Price,  afterwards  of  Pertheirin, 
who  thus,  if  identical  with  the  fifth  son  of  Austyn  ap 
Rees  (Price),  married  his  cousin,  as  we  have  seen,  in 
1647. 

Of  the  numerous  records,  showing  the  close  connec- 
tion of  Colonel  Hugh  Price  with  Lewis  Price,  none 
positively  declare  brotherhood,  so  that  we  are  left  to 
conjecture,  based  on  strong  probability,  of  such  relation- 
ship. Red  or  Powis  Castle  being  lost  to  the  Royalists, 
Hugh  Price  became  its  governor  for  the  Commonwealth. 
The  Sheriffs'  Files  of  1649  record  an  examination  of 
persons  "  Apud  Redcastle  on  the  29  Nov.  cora. 
Hugoni  Price  uno  Justic.  Reipublic.  ad  pacem  in  com. 
pred."  (Montgomery). 

Hugh  Price  and  Lewis  Price  both  occur  as  county 
magistrates,  and  as  acting  together  in  other  official 
capacities  from  1649  to  1658.  An  indenture  tripartite, 
dated  the  27th  January  1656,  quotes  a  purchase  of 
lands  in  Berriew,  Dyserth,  Kerry,  Manafon  llan,  by 
Hugh  Price  of  Gwernygoe,  Esq.,  from  Walter  Wareing 
of  Ouldbury,  co.  Salop,  Esq.,  Jane  his  wife,  and 
Edmond  their  son,  to  which  "  Lewis  Price  of  Pertheirin, 
Esq.",  is  a  party.3  We  again  find  them  associated  this 
year  as  sheriff  and  deputy  sheriff. 

"  Hugh    Price     of    Gwernygoe,    Kerry,    Esq.    and 

1  Mont.  Coll.,  Reprint  of  Dwnn's  Pedigrees,  pp.  19,  93. 

2  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxii,  p.  215. 

3  Ex  inf.,  the  late  Lewis  Price,  Esq.,  of  Harrington  Hall,  Chir- 
bury. 


188  SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMEKYSHIKE. 

Ooloriell",  made  his  will1  on  the  20th  of  November  1650, 
and  which  was  proved  on  the  5th  of  December  1659, 
in  which  he  appoints  "  Lewis  Price  of  Llanwnog 
(Pertheirin),T  Esq.",  as  one  of  the  overseers. 

That  the  association  of  the  latter  with  the  family 
affairs  of  the  sheriff  did  not  cease  with  his  death,  we 
gather  from  an  indenture2  dated  2nd  September  1658, 
made  between  Edmund  Wareing  of  Oldbury,  Esq.,  son 
and  heir  of  Walter  Wareing,  deceased,  of  the  first  part ; 
Samuel  Price  of  Red  Castle  (Powis  Castle),  co.  Mont- 
gomeryshire, son  and  heir  of  Hugh  Price,  late  of 
Gwernygoe,  Esq.,  deceased,  of  the  second  part ;  and 
Lewis  Price  of  Pertheirin,  Esq.,  of  the  third  part. 

The  sheriff  left  a  family  of  two  sons  and  three 
daughters,  but,  owing  doubtless  to  the  prominent  part 
the  father  took  against  Royalty,  and  the  probable  con- 
fiscation of  their  estates  at  the  Restoration,  little  is 
known  about  them.  Samuel,  probably  the  eldest  son 
of."  Colonel"  Hugh  Price,  had  but  a  short  residence  at 
Powis  Castle.  He  eventually  removed  to  Frogmore 
and  Windsor. 

1  Printed  in  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxvi,  p.  219. 

2  /&.,  vol.  xi,  p.  272. 


SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


189 


1655. — THOMAS  LLOYD. 
Deputy,  Edward  Vaughan. 

Arms. 


Sable,  three  nag's  heads  erased  ar. 

THOMAS  LLOYD  of  Trawscoed,  in  the  parish  of  Guils- 
field,  was  the  second  son  of  Lloyd  Piers  of  Maesmawr 
and  Trawscoed,  sheriff  in  1637  and  1650.  His  grand- 
father, Edward  Piers,  having  married  Elizabeth  Lloyd, 
heiress  of  Griffith  Lloyd  of  Maesmawr,  sheriff  in  1581, 
he  and  his  brother  Edward  of  Maesmawr  adopted  the 
surname  of  Lloyd,  taking  with  it  the  arms  of  the  Lloyd 
family.  During  his  father's  lifetime  he  seems,  from 
the  following,  to  have  lived  with  him  at  Maesmawr  :— 

"At  Maes  Maure,  22  Sep.  1654,  before  Thomas  Lloyde, 
Esq'r,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  of  the  said  county." 
"  The  examination  of  Rees  Jones  of  Llandegln,  in  Denbigh- 
shire, taken  at  Maes  mawr  21  Oct.  1654,  before  Tho's  Lloyde, 
Esq.,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace,  etc."1 

He  married,  in  1649,  Hannah,  daughter  of  Robert 
Betton  of  Salop.  They  are  both  referred  to  in  a  bill  of 
sheriff's  expenses  presented  at  the  Montgomeryshire 
Assizes  in  1650  : 

"  Mr.  Thomas  Lloyd  &  his  wief  and  there  company  diett  for 
3  meales,  15s." 


Mont.  Coll,,  vol.  xix,  "Miscellanea",  p.  33. 


190 


SHERIFFS   OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


1656. — JOHN  KYN ASTON. 
Deputy,  Thomas  Vaughan. 


Arms. 


Argent,  a  lion  rampant  sa.,  armed  and  langued  gu.,  quartered  with 
ermine,  a  chevron  gu. 

THIS  sheriff  is  probably  identical  with  John  Kynaston, 
son  of  Roger  Kynaston  of  Plas  Kynaston,  in  the  parish 
of  Rhiwabon.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  arid 
heiress  of  Oliver  Lloyd  of  Bryngwyn,  in  the  parish  ol 
Llanfechain,  by  whom  he  had  Humphrey  Kynaston. 
A  mural  monument  in  the  Llanfechain  Church  records 
the  deaths  of  "  Humphrey  Kynaston  of  Bryngwyn, 
Esq.",  in  1695  ;  of  Martha  his  wife,  daughter  of  Robert 
Owen  of  Woodhouse,  Esq.,  in  1710;  their  daughter 
Mary,  wife  of  William  Mostyn  of  Bryngwyn,  Esq.,  in 
1725  ;  and  of  the  said  William  Mostyn,  in  1729.1 

The  William  Mostyn  above,  who  married  Mary, 
daughter  and  heiress  of  Humphrey  Kynaston  of  Bryn- 
gwyn, was  the  grandson  of  William  Mostyn,  Arch- 
deacon of  Bangor  and  Rector  of  Chryselton,  third  son 
of  Sir  Roger  Mostyn,  Knight,  and  elder  brother  01 
Colonel  Roger  Mostyn  of  Dolycorsllwyn,  sheriff  in 
1661. 

1  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  v,  p.  232. 


SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


191 


1657. — RICHARD  HERBERT. 
Deputy,  Meredith  Lloyd.1 


Arms. 


Party  per  pale  az.  and  gu,,  three  lions  rampant  ar. 

THIS  sheriff  was  probably ;  of  Parke,  and  the  son  of 
Richard  Herbert  of  that  place,  by  Elizabeth,  daughter 
and  co-heiress  of  Humphrey  ap  John  ap  Owen  of 
Dyffryn,  in  the  parish  of  Meivod.  He  settled  on  his 
mother's  inheritance  in  Meivod,  and  married  a  daughter 
of  William  Williams  of  Cochwillan. 

Vi  l  "  Meredicus  Lloyd  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


,[H|!) 


192 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


1658. — GEORGE  DEVEREUX  OF  VAYNOR. 
Deputy,  Thomas  Blayney.1 


Arms. 


Argent,  a  fesse  gu.\  in  chief  three  torteaux. 

"  D'EvREUx"  is  inscribed  upon  the  battle-roll  of  Senlac, 
or  of  Battle  Abbey,  purporting  to  give  some  of  the 
leading  names  of  the  invading  host  which  accompanied 
William  the  Conqueror  to  England.  Apart  from  the 
general  interest  we  take  in  the  name  D'Evreux,  and 
its  constant  association  with  many  stirring  events  in 
English  history,  it  has  a  particular  local  interest  to  the 
lover  of  Montgomeryshire  family  memorials.  Under  the 
synonyms  de  Ebrois,  D'Ebraicis,  d'Ebroycis,  D'Everous, 
D'Evreux,  and  Devereux  our  records  designate  the 
many  distinguished  members  of  a  line  of  ancestors 
who,  valiant  in  fight,  distinguished  in  letters,  favoured 
as  courtiers,  and  ennobled  by  sovereigns,  have  shed 
a  lustre  on  the  present  accepted  name  of  Devereux. 

Evreux  in  Normandy  was,  according  to  Dugdale, 
the  home  or  early  patrimony  of  the  race,and  "D'Evreux", 
of  the  victorious  Norman  host  of  Senlac  or  Hastings 


1  "  Thomas  Blayney  Gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  193 

Field,  the  probable  progenitor  of  the  Anglo-Norman 
colony.  The  Peerages  and  other  works  treating  of  the 
Viscounts  of  England  have  failed  to  utilise  many  exist- 
ing records  which  serve  to  identify  D'Evreux,  the 
soldier  of  Senlac  Field,  with  the  generally-accepted  pro- 
genitor of  the  Anglo-Norman  family,  "  William  de 
Ebroic",  elsewhere  "  William  D'Evereux".  Collecting 
authentic  historical  materials  to  hand,  and  presenting 
them  to  the  reader  in  chronological  order,  it  will  be 
seen  that  they  afford  a  valuable  test  of  the  above 
presumption.  In  1066,  the  year  of  the  memorable 
defeat  of  King  Harold,  D'Evreux,  the  conqueror's  com- 
panion-in-arms, would  be  in  the  prime  of  life. 

In  1085,  Walter  de  Lacy,  who  died  in  that  year, 
the  year  before  the  Domesday  Survey,  is  recorded,  at 
some  period  prior  to  the  above  date,  to  have  given 
certain  lands  in  Hide,  Herefordshire,  in  marriage  with 
a  certain  lady  named  Helewise,  who  was  probably  that 
great  baron's  kinswoman. 

In  1086,  William  de  Ebroicis  granted  to  the  Abbey 
of  St.  Peter's,  Gloucester,  the  tithes  of  Hatherop  and 
Leech  in  Gloucestershire,  and  lands  in  Herefordshire, 
which  he  confirmed  to  the  same  abbey  some  time 
before  1103. 

A  deed  without  date  gives  "  Baldwyn  de  Boulers" 
and  "Will,  de  Ebroic"  as  witnesses  to  the  grant,  by 
Will,  de  Hussemain,  of  a  tenement  in  the  manor  of 
Castle  Frome,  Herefordshire,  to  Walter  de  Longchamps. 
The  era  of  Baldwyn  de  Boulers,  the  leading  witness,  is 
known.  In  the  year  1102,  King  Henry  I  gave  him 
the  Honour  of  Montgomery  in  marriage  with  Sybil  de 
Falaise,  his  niece.  In  1121,  as  "  Baldwin  de  Boilers", 
he  affixed  his  signature  and  attestation  to  the  charter 
of  Henry  I  to  Shrewsbury  Abbey. 

Between  1113  and  1130,  Helewise  above,  then  de- 
scribing herself  as  the  widow  of  William  d'Evereux, 
bestowed  on  the  monks  of  St.  Peter's  Abbey  at  Gloucester 
the  Hide  in  Herefordshire,  which  Walter  de  Lacy, 
before  1085,  had  given  her  on  her  marriage  with 

VOL.  xxvii.  o 


194  SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

William  d'Evereux  ;  and  we  have  seen  the  latter, 
before  1103,  granting  tithes  to  the  same  abbey.  King 
Henry  II  afterwards  confirmed  this  grant  of  Helewise. 

It  may  therefore  be  fairlyassumed  that  the"d'Evreux" 
on  the  roll  of  Battle  Abbey,  then  at  the  early  age  of 
a  vigorous  manhood,  was  identical  with  the  husband, 
William  d'Evereux.  of  Helewise,  stated  to  have  been 
his  widow  some  forty-seven  years  after  the  battle. 
And  as  Mr.  Eyton,  in  his  Antiquities  of  Shropshire,1 
conscientiously  remarks,  "till  someone  more  probable 
be  suggested,  we  may  assume  this  William  to  have 
been  ancestor,  or  akin  to  the  ancestor,  of  the  Devereuxes 
of  Herefordshire". 

In  11 65  .there  were  two  branches  of  this  family,  each 
holding  under  Hugh  de  Lacy,  and  each  holding  by 
"  old  feoffment"\  that  is,  they  or  their  ancestors  had 
been  enfeoffed  earlier  than  1135.  In  1165  Roger  de 
Ebroicis,  who,  1  think,  was  the  ancestor  of  the  line 
afterwards  ennobled,  held  four  fees  of  Hugh  de  Lacy, 
whilst  Walter  de  Ebroicis  held  three  fees.  In  suc- 
cession to  Roger  came  Stephen  Devereux,  but  whether 
as  Roger's  son  I  cannot  say.  The  mother  of  Stephen 
was  a  sister  of  Stephen  de  Longchamps,  children  of 
the  Walter  de  Longchamps  whose  deed  of  feoffment  ot 
Castle  Frome,  Herefordshire,  is  witnessed  by  William 
d'Ebrois  and  Baldwyn  de  Boulers,  Lord  of  Mont- 
gomery from  1102  to  1121. 

William  Devereux,  eldest  son  and  heir  of  Stephen, 
was  apparently  of  age  in  1240,  his  father  having  died 
shortly  before  17th  March  1228,  leaving  his  heirs  in 
minority.  The  subsequent  family  succession  from  this 
William  is  given  in  Dugdale's  Baronage*  and  the  Peer- 
ages. 

It  would  be  trespassing  on  the  patience,  and  ques- 
tioning the  historical  knowledge  of  our  readers,  to 
particularise  in  succession  the  many  honours  and 
rewards  that  have,  from  generation  to  generation, 
fallen  to  the  lot  of  so  distinguished  a  family.  The 
i  Vol.  v,  p.  21,  2  VoL  ii,  p.  175, 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  195 

pages  of  English  history  have  already  afforded  an 
ample  description  of  its  various  members,  as  leaders  in 
the  wars  of  succession,  as  accompanying  the  sovereigns 
of  their  day  in  council  and  in  camp,  as  summoned  to 
Parliament  as  barons  of  the  realm,  as  leading  their 
military  contingents  as  Lords  Marcher  from  the  borders 
of  Herefordshire  and  Gloucestershire,  in  Welsh  or 
French  wars,  long  before  the  family  became  ennobled 
in  the  person  of  Sir  Walter  Devereux,  1st  Viscount 
Hereford,  on  the  2nd  February  1549-50. 

This  Sir  Walter,  a  descendant  in  the  thirteenth 
degree  from  D'Evreux,1  supposed  to  be  identical  with 
the  companion-in-arms  of  the  Conqueror,  was  the  son 
of  Sir  John  Devereux,  Lord  Ferrers  of  Chartley,  by 
Cecelie,  daughter  and  eventual  heiress  of  Henry  Bour- 
chier,  Earl  of  Essex.  In  the  2  Henry  VIII,  1510,  he 
was  Governor  of  Warwick  Castle,  and  for  distinguished 
military  services  was,  in  the  15th  year  of  that  King's 
reign,  created  a  Knight  of  the  Garter,  and,  two  years 
after,  was  constituted  Chief  Justice  of  South  Wales  ; 
in  the  36  Hen.  VIII  he  was  with  the  King  at  the 
taking  of  Boulogne. 

In  the  fourth  year  of  King  Edward  VI  it  is  recorded 
that,  in  consideration  of  the  laudable  and  acceptable 
services  he  had  performed,  as  also  in  regard  of  his 
prudence,  loyalty,  and  valour,  he  was  advanced  to  the 
dignity  of  Viscount  Hereford.2 

By  his  first  wife  he  had  a  son,  Sir  Richard  Devereux, 
the  father  of  Sir  Walter,  2nd  Viscount,  created  by 
Queen  Elizabeth,  in  the  fourth  year  of  her  reign,  Earl  of 
Essex,  a  revival  in  his  person  of  the  ancient  earldom  of 
the  Bourchiers,  his  great-grandmother's  family.  His 
son  Robert,3  2nd  Earl,  was  the  great  favourite  of  Eliza- 

1  The  Heralds,  and  the  Book  of  Lacock  Abbey,  Wilts,  in  Cotton. 
Coll.,  Brit.  Museum,  give  "  Walter  de  Eurus  Comes  cle  Rosmer, 
Mautelec",  etc.,  as  ancestor.  2  Pat,  4  Edw.  VI,  p.  8. 

3  Richard  Lloyd  of  Harrington,  Chirbury,  was  secretary  to  Robert 
Devereux,  second  Earl  of  Essex,  and  sheriff  of  the  county  in  1616. 
(History  of  Shrewsbury  School,  p.  186.) 

o  2 


196  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

beth,  but  was  nevertheless  beheaded  at  the  close  of  her 
reign  in  1600.  His  son  Robert,  3rd  Earl  of  Essex,  was 
the  Parliament  General  with  whom,  he  dying  without 
surviving  male  issue,  the  earldom  of  Essex  became 
extinct. 

By  his  second  wife  Margaret,  daughter  of  Robert 
Garnish  of  Kenton,  Suffolk,  Walter,  1st  Viscount 
Hereford,  had  an  only  son,  Edward  of  Castle  Brom- 
wich,  Warwickshire,  created  a  baronet  in  1612,  who 
by  his  wife  Catherine,  daughter  of  Edward  Arden  of 
Park  Hall,  Warwick,  had 

I.  Walter,  who  succeeded  as  5th  Viscount,  and  five 
other  sons,  who  all  died  issueless  but  Sir  George  of 
Sheldon  Hall,  Warwickshire. 

Sir  George  Devereux  became  connected  with  our 
neighbourhood  by  marriage  with  a  lady  in  the  parish 
of  Chirbury,  Blanche,  second  daughter  of  John  Ridge 
of  the  Ridge.  She  was  the  descendant  of  our  Norman 
sovereigns.  Her  ancestor,  Baldwyn  de  Boulers,  about 
1102,  obtained  the  Honour  or  Lordship  of  Montgomery 
in  marriage  with  Sibel  de  Falaise,  niece  of  King 
Henry  I,  and  probably  the  daughter  of  his  eldest 
brother,  Robert  Curthose,  Duke  of  Normandy,  by  Sibil, 
daughter  of  Geoffrey,  Count  of  Conversana  in  Italy. 
The  Heralds'  Visitation  for  Salop  in  1584  assigns  the 
following  curious  reason  for  their  adopted  surname, 
stating  that  an  ancestor,  living  at  the  close  of  the  14th 
century,  was  "  Walter  Bowdler  (de  Boulers),  who 
called  himself  Ridge,  because  that  his  dwelling  was  in 
the  house  on  ye  Ridge",  in  the  parish  of  Chirbury,  the 
Priory  of  which  was  founded  by  an  ancestor,  Robert  de 
Boulers,  in  the  reign  of  King  John. 

The  Viscounty  of  Hereford  went  in  succession  to  the 
issue  of  Walter,  5th  Viscount,  the  elder  brother  of  Sir 
George  Devereux  of  Sheldon,  but,  through  failure  of 
male  issue  of  his  line,  eventually  reverted  to  the  great- 
grandson  of  Sir  George,  to  Price  Devereux,  who  took 
his  seat  in  the  House  of  Lords  as  9th  Viscount,  on  the 
19th  February  1700.  He  was  of  Vaynor,  the  pictur- 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  197 

esque  seat  acquired  by  his  grandfather,  our  sheriff, 
George  Devereux  of  Sheldon  Hall,  on  his  marriage 
with  its  heiress,  Bridget,1  daughter  of  Arthur  Price  of 
Vaynor ;  but,  through  the  reckless  extravagance  of  his 
son  Price,  the  10th  Viscount,  it  was  alienated  from  the 
family,  and  the  county  has  now  no  landed  proprietor 
left  to  associate  it  with  the  historic  name  of  Devereux. 
A  passing  stranger,  well  read  in  English  history, 
visiting  the  parish  churches  of  Forden  or  Berriew,  and 
having  heard  that  the  premier  Viscounts  of  England, 
for  generations,  had  been  born,  baptized,  and  buried 
within  either  of  their  precincts,  would  naturally  ask  to 
be  shown  the  monuments,  the  vaults,  or  last  resting- 
place  of  the  historic  family  of  Devereux,  fondly 
imagining  that  the  good  people  of  Forden  or  Berriew 
would  cherish,  or  take  some  reasonable  pride  in,  such  a 
local  connection ;  but  alas !  no  such  memorials  have 
been  allowed  to  remain.  Some  minds  seem  thus  to 
resent  the  pre-existence  of  their  fellow-beings.  Icono- 
clastic hands  have  been  busy  both  in  Forden  and 
Berriew.  The  modern  Vandal,  the  church  restorer! 
has  ruthlessly  ejected  every  vestige  of  Devereux  pre- 
existence,  both  in  the  churchyard  arid  churches  of  these 
parishes.  Nantcribba  in  Forden,  Vaynor  in  Berriew, 
the  residences  of  the  family  within  a  comparatively 
recent  period,  have  scarcely  a  trace  of  anything  left  to 
commemorate  their  former  owners. 

What  the  wars  of  the  rival  Roses  and  the  rebel 
desecrators  of  the  Cromwelliari  regime  have  done  to 
destroy  national  mementoes,  the  rodents  of  church 
restoration,  like  rats  revelling  on  vellum  charters,  the 
eliminators  of  personal  facts  arid  data,  have  successfully 
accomplished  for  the  family  history  of  to-day.  The 
pious,  the  fond  memorials  of  the  past,  tombs,  monu- 
ments, brasses,  recording,  if  not  impartially,  the 
virtues,  at  all  events  the  existence  of  bygone  genera- 

1  In  the  entrance  hall  at  Vaynor  are  portraits  of  Arthur  Price, 
aged  37  in  1636,  and  of  his  daughter  Bridget  Devereux,  in  1633, 
aged  16. 


198  SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

tions,  have  their  interest  not  only  to  their  descendants, 
but  also  to  the  antiquary  and  genealogist. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  either  the  propriety  or 
expediency  of  their  destruction  ;  their  preservation 
surely  ought  to  be  the  true  religious  instinct ;  to 
rebuild  "  the  place  of  my  fathers'  sepulchres"  was  the 
plea  of  Nehemiah,  which  received  the  divine  approval. 
Silently  and  harmlessly  appealing  to  the  innovator 
to  be  let  alone,  when  some  alien  incumbent  becomes 
possessed  with  an  ill-considered  spirit  of  restoration, 
these  land-marks  of  time,  these  affectionate  tributes  to 
relations  and  valued  friends,  have  been  too  frequently 
relegated  to  out-houses,  lofts,  lumber-rooms  ;  the  more 
fortunate  to  local  museums,  the  less  so  as  builders' 
perquisites. 

Some  false  estimate  of  religious  propriety,  some 
sesthetic  idea,  or  some  absorbing  sense  of  ecclesiological 
fitness,  may  have  been  the  influences  at  work,  but  in 
too  many  cases  such  memorials  have  been  ejected  from 
the  mere  love  of  bare  walls,  to  indulge  the  pseudo- 
antique  whim  for  encaustic  tiling,  or  to  record  by 
inscription  on  brazen  lectern,  stained  glass  window, 
candelabra,  and  many  even  questionable  items  of 
serni-histrionic  furniture,  the  prominence  of  the  squire 
of  to-day  or  the  munificence  of  some  modern  plutocrat. 

After  this  digression  our  interest  must  be  allowed 
to  centre  on  our  sheriff,  George  Devereux  of  Sheldon 
and  Vaynor,  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  George  by  his  wife 
Blanche  Ridge.1  The  recent  civil  war  had  divided  the 

1  The  other  children  of  Sir  George  were— 2.  Walter  of  Coleshill ; 
3.  Arden,  ob.  s.  p. ;  4.  Robert,  who  married  and  had  issue  Elizabeth, 
born  in  1676,  and  Robert,  born  in  1679;  5.  Samuel,  who  by  Mary 
Jordan  had  George,  William,  Mary,  married  to  ...  Lloyd  in  Virginia, 
and  Anne,  married  to  ...  Hill,  a  "stocking-seller  in  the  Exchange". 
(Arthur  Devereux  of  Nantcribba,  third  son  of  George  of  Vaynor,  in 
1 709,  leaves  £50  "  to  the  eldest  daughter  of  Capt.  Hill".) 

Sir  George's  daughters  were — 1.  Elizabeth,  married  to  ...  Bulleyne  ; 
2.  Dorothy,  married  to  ...  Whadcocke  ;  3.  Knightley,  who  was  buried 
at  Sheldon  in  1628. 

In  September  1642  Sir  George  Devereux  was  brought  up  before  the 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  199 

family.  Both  Sir  George  Devereux  and  his  son, 
George  of  Vaynor,  in  its  earlier  stage,  belonged  to  the 
country  party,  or  the  King's  side.  The  elder  brother, 
Sir  Walter,  arid  his  sons,  were  for  the  Parliament, 
probably  influenced  by  their  kinsman,  the  third  Earl 
of  Essex,  from  the  outset.  With  the  fall  of  Mont- 
gomery Castle  the  loyalty  of  the  local  gentry  became 
evidently  cooler ;  and  we  find  that  on  the  26th 
September  1644  all  the  gentry,  save  of  Cyfeiliog, 
took  the  oaths  to  the  Parliament  at  Newtown. 
Although  a  Deputy-Lieutenant1  of  the  county  at 
the  time,  George  Devereux  was  an  object  of  mistrust. 
Isolated  instances  of  prosecution  show  him,  in  spite 
of  his  oath,  to  have  been  a  very  lukewarm  republican. 
On  the  llth  November  1646  he  was  arraigned  before 
the  Parliamentary  Committee  at  Redcastle  or  Powis 
Castle,  and  evidence  taken  against  him.  With  the 
altered  circumstances  of  the  times  he  must  have  been 
induced  to  temporise,  for  next  year,  on  the  6th  April 
1647,  he,  as  a  likely  result,  was  elected  as  M.P.  for 
the  boroughs,  vice  Herbert,  gone  to  the  King  at 
Oxford.  He,  nevertheless,  was  brought  up  before 
the  Committee  of  the  House,  and  suspended  on  the 
evidence  of  his  neighbours ;  his  estates  temporarily 
confiscated,  he  having,  as  witnesses  said,  taken  Lord 
Capel's  oath.  In  May  1648  a  numerously  signed 
declaration  of  adherence  to  the  Parliament  by  the  chief 
inhabitants  of  the  county  was  headed  by  Matthew 

Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  by  the  Sheriff  of  Warwickshire, 
for  going  to  meet  H.M.  King  Charles  I  at  Coventry,  and  sending  him 
two  horses.  He  was  imprisoned  in  the  King's  Bench,  but  bailed  out 
1st  July  1643.  When,  10th  May  1660,  Sir  William  Dugdale  pro- 
claimed King  Charles  II  at  Coleshill,  there  were  present  Sir  Clement 
Fisher,  Knt.,  Sir  George  Devereux,  Knt.,  etc.  (Life  of  Sir  W.  Dug- 
dale.) 

Sir  George's  will  is  dated  3rd  March  1664.  Sir  Clement  Fisher, 
Bart.,  and  W.  Dilke,  Esq.,  overseers ;  George  Devereux  and  Samuel 
Devereux,  executors. 

1  Appointed  20th  February  1644.  In  1647  he  and  Price  of  Rhiw- 
las  were  up  before  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons. 


200  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

Morgan,  the  high  sheriff ;  and,  among  other  subscribers 
we  find  "  George  Devereux".  This  nominal  adherence 
was  probably  a  mere  matter  of  expediency  not  unknown 
to  political  life.  His  name  for  several  years  after 
being  absent  from  the  roll  of  magistrates,  shows  that 
he  could  have  taken  no  prominent  part  in  the  affairs 
of  the  Commonwealth.  It  was  only  on  the  eve  of 
the  Restoration  that  we  find  him  occupying  the 
important  post  of  sheriff. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  he  acquired  Vaynor  by 
marriage  with  its  heiress  Bridget,  daughter  of  Arthur 
Price  of  Vaynor.1  Her  mother  was  Mary,  daughter  of 
Owen  Vaughan  of  Llwydiarth,  and  sister  of  Sir  Robert 
Vaughan.  The  date  of  their  marriage  has  not  been 
ascertained,  but  from  the  following  it  must  have  been 
before  the  year  1654. 

The  Sheriffs'  File,  recording  proceedings  at  the  Assize 
held  at  Montgomery  31st  October  1654,  mentions, 
without  particulars,  a  suit  between  "  Richard  Pendle, 
pi.,  and  George  Devereux,  Esq.,  deft.",  with  the  follow- 
ing deposition  of  George  Devereux  : 

"  The  defendant  maketh  oath  that  he  had  three  trunkes  full 
of  evidences  come  into  his  hands  sithince  the  death  of  Mary 
Price,  widdowe,  his  mother-in-law,  late  deceased,  and  that  the 
deponent  hath  not  yet  hadd  lyberty  and  tyme  to  search  and 

p'use  all  the  said  evidences  and  writinges  throughout • 

"  GEO.  DEVEREUX. 
"SAM.  ROWE. 
"  Sworne  the  31  Oct.  1654" 

By  his  wife  Bridget  Price  he  had  a  family  of,  at 
least,  five  sons  and  three  daughters,  who  severally 
receive  mention  and  bequests  in  their  father's  will. 
The  latter,  at  Somerset  House,  is  dated  the  3rd  of 
August  1682,  and  was  proved  the  28th  of  January 
1683. 

1  Son  of  Edward,  son  of  Arthur  Price  of  Vaynor,  sheriff  in  1578, 
by  his  wife,  the  Lady  Bridget,  daughter  of  John  Bourchier,  fourth 
Earl  of  Bath,  descended  through  heirs  female  from  Edward  III. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  201 

I.  Price,  the  eldest  son,  was  killed  in  1666,  in  the 
Dutch  wars,1  and  Vaynor,  the  Montgomeryshire  family 
seat,*  apparently  in  settlement,  went  to  his  son  Price, 
eventually  the  ninth  Viscount  Hereford. 

n.  Vaughan,  the  second  son  of  the  sheriff,  by  whose 
line  the  viscourity  was  continued  in  the  person  of  his 
grandson  Edward,  the  eleventh  Viscount.  His  father 
left  him  Upper  Munlyn,  in  the  parish  of  Forden,  a 
property  said  to  have  been  purchased  from  "  Catherine 
Purcell,  spinster",  one  of  the  coheiresses  of  John  Purcell 
of  Nantcribba.  This  was  entailed  upon  his  sons 
George,  Arthur,  and  Edward,  ob.  s.  p.  ;  a  messuage  in 
the  co.  of  Warwick,  the  Shawley  in  Yard  ley,  co.  Wor- 
cester, lands  in  the  parish  of  Berriew,  and  other 
reversionary  interests.  His  daughters  Bridget  and 
Mary  are  mentioned  as  legatees,  provision  being  made 
for  "  their  education  arid  breeding". 

Arthur  Devereux  (second  son)  succeeded  to  his 
uncle  Arthur's  seat,  Nantcribba.  He  married,  first. 
Bridget,  daughter  of  Evan  Glynne  of  Glynne,  sheriff 
in  1675,  by  whom  he  had — 

1.  Arthur    Devereux    of    Nantcribba,     baptised  at 
Forden,  28th  May  1708.     He  was  sheriff  in  1730,  and, 
having  married  Mary  Browne,  who  died  in  1 734,  died 
s.  p.     His  will2  is  dated  16th  November  1736,  and  was 
proved  by  his  half-brother  Edward,  eventually  eleventh 
Viscount,  sole  executor,  13th  May  1740. 

2.  Vaughan  Devereux,   baptized    at   Forden,    25th 
September  1704,  and  died  in  1712. 

3.  Mary     Devereux,3    baptised     at     Forden,     2nd 
November  1705,  heiress  of  Munlyn.     She  married  at 
Forden,   3rd   May   1726,   John  Meredith  of  the  Hem, 
Forden,  deputy-sheriff  to  Gabriel  Wynne  of  Dolardden 
in    1745.      Her    brother   Arthur,    in    his    will,  makes 


1  Ex.  inf.,  Robert,  16th  Viscount  Hereford. 

2  Printed  in  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxvi,  p.  185. 


3  In  the  "  Williams  of  Dolanog"  pedigree,  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxiv, 
p.  332,  she  is  inaccurately  styled  "  daughter  of  Hon.  Robert 
Devereux". 


202  SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

bequests  to  their  daughters  Bridget,1  Mary,  Ann,  and 
Elizabeth.  Their  only  brother,  "  John  Meredith2  of 
Hern",  having  served  the  office  of  deputy-sheriff  in 
1752,  1765,  and  1767,  died  without  issue  in  1776-7. 

Arthur  Devereux,  second  son  of  Vaughan,  married, 
secondly,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Richard  Glynne  of 
Maesmawr,  sheriff  in  1689,  by  whom  he  had  issue 
Edward,  baptised  at  Forden  in  1710.  He  eventually 
succeeded  as  eleventh  Viscount,  and  married  Catherine, 
daughter  of  Richard  Mytton  of  Garth,  in  the  parish  of 
Guilsfield,  by  whom  he  had  issue  Edward,  twelfth 
Viscount,  and  George,  thirteenth  Viscount.  The  latter 
married  his  third  cousin,  Marianne,  only  child  and 
heiress  of  George  Devereux  of  Tregoyd  in  the  county 
of  Brecon,  grandson  of  Essex,  fourth  son  of  our  sheriff. 
They  were  the  immediate  ancestors  of  the  present 
Viscount  Hereford. 

in.  Arthur  Devereux  of  Nantcribba,  third  son  of 
our  sheriff,  had  by  the  will  of  the  latter  the  manor  of 
Overgorther,  said  to  have  been  lately  (prior  to  1682) 
purchased  of  "  Katherine  Purcell,  spinster" ;  the  Gaer, 
Forden,  excepting  the  mill,  and  all  other  messuages  in 
Forden  purchased  of  Catherine  Purcell ;  a  messuage 
in  Yardley,  co.  Worcester ;  several  farms,  comprising 
the  "  Throgmorton  lands",  in  Sheldon,  co.  Warwick  ; 
also  other  lands  in  Sheldon  purchased  by  Sir  George 
Devereux,  testator's  father. 

Anne,  his  wife,  was  probably  the  daughter  of  Henry 
Purcell  of  Nantcribba,  and  her  sister  seems  to  have 
married  Joshua  Ireland  of  the  Albrighton  family.  The 
Purcell  relationships  throw  some  light  on  and 
strengthen  this  assumption.  John  Purcell  of  Nant- 
cribba, M.P.  for  the  county  at  the  Restoration,  left  by 

1  Margaret  Lloyd  (nee  Meredith),  widow  of  the  Rev.  Peter  Lloyd, 
B.A.,  Vicar  of  Forden,  in   her   will,    1742    (Mont.  Coll.,  vol.   xxvi, 
p.  186),  makes  a  small  bequest  "  to  Bridget,  daughter  of  my  nephew, 
John  Meredith". 

2  See  the  inscription  on  his  monument  that  was  in  Forden  (Old) 
Church.     (Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxvi,  p.  189,  note  2.) 


SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  203 

his  wife  Eleanor,  daughter  of  Sir  Robert  Vaughan  of 
Llwydiarth,  two  daughters,  Mary  and  Catherine 
Purcell.  John  Purcell  published  his  will  19th  March 
1663,  whereby  he  left  to  his  brother,1  Henry  Purcell, 
his  real  estates,  subject  to  the  payment  of  his  debts 
and  two  daughters'  portions,  to  him  and  his  heirs  male, 
and  in  default  to  Mary  and  Catherine,  his  coheiresses. 

"  Henry  Purcell  of  Nantcribba,  Esq.",  appears  as 
party  to  a  deed  respecting  Forden  tithes  in  1666,  and 
was  buried  at  Forden  in  January  1666-7.  He  must 
have  died  without  male  issue,  according  to  the  limita- 
tion of  his  brother's  will ;  and  as  we  find,  on  the  24th 
August  1672,  Mary  and  Catherine,  John's  coheiresses, 
parties  to  a  deed  of  partition  of  their  father's  real 
estate,  subject  to  the  payment  of  his  debts.  It  is 
therein  mentioned  that  Mary  was  about  to  marry 
Edward  Vaughan  (of  Glanllyn  and  Llwydiarth). 
Catherine,  a  spinster,  about  1682  became  the  first  wife 
of  Sir  Godfrey  Copley2  of  Sprotborough,  second  baronet, 
and  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society. 

The  manor  of  Overgorther,  with  certain  estates  in 
Forden  and  adjoining  parishes,  were  purchases  from 
Catherine  Purcell.  By  the  terms  of  the  deed  of  1672, 
the  above,  with  Nantcribba,  which  fell  to  Catherine, 
were  to  be  sold.  Still  Anne,  wife  of  Arthur  Devereux, 
as  a  Purcell,  might  have  had  some  charge  upon  Nant- 
cribba, and  this  is  rendered  probable  from  the  wording 
of  the  following,  referred  to  in  our  sheriff's  will  (3rd 
August  1682).  He  mentions  a  deed,  dated  the  20th 
July  (34  Charles  II)  1682,  between  Arthur  Devereux 
his  son  and  Anne  his  wife,  of  the  first  part,  Edmond 
Lloyd,  Esq.,  and  George  Robinson,  Gent.,  of  the 
second  part,  and  testator  of  the  third  part,  whereby 
Arthur,  for  a  consideration,  did  settle,  etc.,  all  that 
capital  mess'ge  called  Nantcribba  to  these  uses,  viz.  : 
to  himself,  wife,  and  survivor,  and  to  heirs  of  his  wife's 

1  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxvi,  p.  317. 

2  Burke's    Extinct   and  Dormant   Baronetcies,  under   "  Copley   of 
Sprotborough". 


204  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

body  begotten  by  him,  then  to  his  heirs  begotten,  then 
to  the  use  of  persons  mentioned  in  testator's  will. 

By  Anne,  who  died  in  1702,  Arthur  Devereux  had 
a  son  George,  baptised  at  Forden,  29th  August  1681, 
who  died  in  infancy.  He1  died  in  1 709,  and  by  his 
will,  dated  15th  August  in  the  latter  year,  he  leaves 
Nantcribba  to  his  nephew  Arthur,  son  of  Vaughan; 
his  manors  in  Warwick,  Worcester,  and  Stafford,  and 
Acock's  Farm  near  Sheldon,  to  Price,  Lord  Viscount 
Hereford.  His  bequests,  some  of  which  are  of  genea- 
logical interest  were  : — To  his  *f  niece  Bridget  Pryce",  a 
messuage  in  Kerry  ;  £50  apiece  to  the  eight  children 
of  his  "niece  Mary  Kerry,  late  wife  of  G.  Cooke";  to 
Thomas  Kerry2  and  Mary,  £25  apiece;  £100  apiece 
to  the  three  eldest  daughters  of  Mary,  late  Cooke ; 
£50  to  the  eldest  daughter  of  Captain  Hill ;  £50  to 
the  eldest  daughter  of  his  niece  Ben  bow ;  £100  to 
Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of  his  late  brother  Edward  ; 
his  father's  picture  in  gold  to  his  niece  Bridget,  Mrs. 
Myttori  of  Pontyscowrid  ;  his  books  and  jewels  to  Lord 
Hereford,  but  his  divinity  books  to  Edward  Glynn, 
his  nephew,  with  a  great  silver  tankard  and  two 
candlesticks  ;  £20  to  the  eldest  daughter3  of  the  Rev. 
Peter  Lloyd,  the  incumbent  of  Forden ;  £50  to  his  niece 
Margaret,  daughter  of  his  late  brother  Edward  ;  £50 
to  his  brother-in-law  Joshua  Ireland  ;  and  £100  to  the 
parish  of  Forden  to  purchase  land,  the  interest  or  rents 
to  be  applied  for  the  purpose  of  putting  "  two  poor 
boys"  apprentices  every  year,  on  the  joint  selection  or 
approbation  of  the  owner  of  Nantcribba  and  the  Rev. 
Peter  Lloyd  and  successors,  incumbents  of  Forden. 
This  money  was  not  invested  in  land,  but  loaned  to  an 
agent  of  the  estate,  and  never  repaid. 

iv.  Essex  Devereux  was  the  fourth  son  of  the  sheriff, 
who  left  him  Lower  Munlyn,  with  all  furniture  there, 

1  "  1709   Arturus  Devereux  Armiger  sepultus  fuit  tricesimo  die 
August."     (Forden  Register.) 

2  Probably  of  the  Bynweston  family. 

3  Mary  Price,  a  widow  in  1 742. 


SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  205 

the  Gaer  mill,  and  mills  in  Llivior  and  Llandinor  ;  a 
messuage  in  Vaynor  Issa,  which  he  had  purchased  of 
"  Robert  Lloyd,  late  of  Poole,  Gent."  ;  "  the  Angel"  in 
Coleshill ;  messuages  and  lands  in  Garthmill,  Truste- 
welyn,  Llivior,  with  the  tithes  of  Gaer. 

By  the  sheriff's  will,  Samuel,  son  of  Essex,  had  a 
reversionary  interest  in  lands  in  the  parish  of  Berriew. 
Price,  probably  the  eldest  son  of  Essex,  succeeded  to 
his  father's  lands.  His  marriage  with  Anne,  daughter 
and  heiress  of  James  Donne  of  Tregoyd,  in  the  county 
of  Brecon,  gave  him  the  latter  property.  Owing  to 
protracted  litigation  he  had  to  dispose  of  his  Mont- 
gomeryshire estates,  which  he  sold  partly  to  Lord 
Hereford  and  partly  to  Arthur  Devereux  of  Nant- 
cribba.  His  eldest  son,  James  Essex  Devereux,  seems 
to  have  died  without  issue,  as  his  second  son 
George  succeeded,  and  was  the  father  of  Marianne, 
eventual  heiress  of  Tregoyd.  Marrying  her  third  cousin, 
George,  13th  Viscount  Hereford,  they  became  the 
immediate  ancestors  of  the  16th  and  present  Premier 
Viscount  of  England. 

v.  Edward  Devereux,  fifth  son  of  the  sheriff,  who 
left  him  messuages  in  Penbryn,  Manavon,  and  all 
other  privileges  in  "  Manavon  and  Llanwithelan"  for 
life  ;  then  to  his  son  George  for  ever ;  a  wood  called 
Bron  Dole  Sisilde  ;  also  lands  in  "  Porcnell,  co.  War- 
wick". George  was  domiciled  at  Cefngwernfa.  Arthur 
Devereux  of  Nantcribba,  in  his  will1  (1736),  failing 
heirs  to  Edward  Devereux  (llth  Viscount),  "my 
brother  of  the  half  blood",  leaves  his  estates  to  "  Geo. 
Devereux  the  elder,  late  of  Cefngwernfa,  in  the  county 
of  Montgomery,  Esq.,  and  George  Devereux  the 
younger,  eldest  sone  of  the  said  Geo.  Devereux  ye 
elder."  George  Devereux  "the  younger"  was  the 
grandfather  of  Mary  Devereux,  the  heiress  of  Cefn- 
gwernfa and  the  Gaer.  This  lady,  in  1779,  married, 
as  her  first  husband,  Robert  John  Harrison  of  Calne, 
Wiltshire,  an  officer  in  the  52nd  Regiment,  and  in 
1  See  Mont,  Coll.,  vol.  xxvi,  p.  186. 


206  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

1788,  then  of  "  The  Gaer",  sheriff  of  Montgomeryshire, 
whose  great-grandchildren   are    Colonel  Robert    John 
Harrison   of    Caerhowel,    and    Mr.    George    Devereux 
Harrison  of  Fronllwyd,  Welshpool. 
Of  the  sheriffs  daughters — 

1.  Bridget  married  Richard  Mytton  of  Pontyscowrid, 
sheriff  in  1674. 

2.  Mary  married  Evan  Glynne  of  Glynne,  sheriff  in 
1675. 

3.  Catherine,  to  whom  her  father  left  £500,  married 
Richard  Baldwyn. 

In  1673  George  Devereux  again  served  the  office  of 
sheriff,  and  at  the  close  of  his  life  was  actively  engaged 
as  a  magistrate  of  the  county.  Many  eventful  changes 
in  the  political  and  religious  aspect  of  his  times,  the 
alternate  government  of  Kings,  Parliaments,  Presby- 
terians, and  Independents,  must  have  taught  the  lesson 
of  concession  to.  prejudices,  and  softened  the  asperities 
engendered  by  a  prolonged  arid  useless  party  strife. 
He  had  not  lived  a  life  of  such  adverse  surroundings 
in  vain.  His  moderation  as  a  Royalist,  his  sympathy 
and  enlightened  influence  as  a  liberal  Churchman,  are 
shadowed  forth  in  one  of  the  last  recorded  incidents  of 
his  varied  career.  The  worthy  but  cruelly  persecuted 
Quaker,  Richard  Davies  of  Welshpool,  in  his  interesting 
autobiography,  under  the  year  1677,  makes  a  reference 
to  the  exceptionally  liberal  sympathies  of  u  Justice 
Devereux",  whom  he  describes  as  administering  the 
following  "  wigging"  to  his  son-in-law,  Evan  Glynne 
of  Glynne,  for  his  unreasonable  persecution  of  the 
long-suffering  gentle  "Friends".  One  of  them, 
James  Halliday,  had  been  made  a  prisoner  at  Llanid- 
loes,  on  his  way  to  Ireland.  Davies  tells  us  that  he 
interceded  with  "Justice  Devereux,  at  a  village 
(Berriew  ?)  three  miles  from  Welshpool"  ;  the  latter, 
hearing  that  it  was  his  son-in-law,  "  Evan  Glyn,  J.P.", 
who  had  committed  Halliday  to  prison,  and  that  "  he 
had  been  committed  twice  for  the  same  supposed  trans- 
gression", gave  him  "  hard  language",  and  Halliday  was 


SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  207 

discharged.  Ellis  and  some  others  who  had  been 
committed  with  Halliday  were  arraigned  at  the  Quarter 
Sessions,  but,  no  prosecutor  appearing,  they  were  dis- 
charged, and  "Justice  Glyn",  who  met  them  afterwards 
on  their  way  to  Radnorshire,  "seemed  not  to  be  sorry 
for  it,  for  he  was  not  a  persecutor  at  bottom,  but  was 
put  on  by  a  peevish,  proud,  informing  priest,  and  I 
know  not  that  he  ever  did  the  like  again." 


Will  of  GEORGE  DEVEREUX,  Esq.,  of  Yavnor;  made  3  August 
1682 ;  proved  20  January  1683-4. 

To  his  second  son,  Yaughan  Devereux,  on  condition  that  he 
did  not  make  any  claim  to  any  of  testator's  lands,  nor  hinder 
or  molest  testator's  grandchild,  Price  Devereux,  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  his  estate,  nor  any  of  testator's  other  sons  in  the 
enjoyment  of  their  estates  :  then  testator  devised  to  Yaughan 
Devereux  Upper  Mundlyn,  in  the  parish  of  Forden,  then  lately 
purchased  by  testator  from  Katherine  Purcell,  spinster,  for  his 
life.  After,  testator  devised  the  same  to  his  grandchild, 
George  Devereux,  eldest  son  of  the  said  Yaughan  Devereux, 
and  to  the  heirs  male  of  the  body  of  the  said  George  Devereux, 
testator's  grandchild ;  in  default,  to  Arthur,  second  son  of 
Yaughan  Devereux,  and  the  heirs  male  of  his  body ;  in  default, 
to  his  grandson,  Edward  Devereux,  third  son  of  Yaughan 
Devereux,  and  to  the  heirs  male  of  his  body ;  in  default,  to  all 
and  every  other  son  and  sons  of  the  body  of  testator's  son, 
Yaughan  Devereux,  lawfully  begotten  or  to  be  begotten,  suc- 
cessively in  seniority  of  age,  and  to  the  heirs  male  of  their 
respective  bodies  lawfully  issuing,  sons  to  be  preferred  ;  in 
default,  to  Essex  Devereux,  testator's  son,  and  his  assigns,  for 
his  life ;  after,  to  the  heirs  male  of  his  body ;  failing-,  to 
testator's  son,  Edward  Devereux;  after  his  decease,  to  testator's 
grandchild,  George  Devereux,  son  of  testator's  said  son, 
Edward ;  in  default,  to  all  and  every  other  son  lawfully  issuing 
successively,  the  eldest  first ;  in  default,  to  Samuel  Devereux, 
testator's  grandchild,  son  of  the  said  Essex  Devereux,  and 
to  the  heirs  male  of  the  body  of  the  said  Samuel  lawfully 
issuing  ;  in  default  of  such  issue,  to  all  and  every  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  the  said  Yaughan  Devereux,  testator's  son,  lawfully 
begotten  ;  failing,  issue  of  the  daughter,  then  to  all  and  every 
the  daughters  of  the  said  Essex  Devereux,  testator's  son ;  in 
default  of  such  issue,  then  to  the  daughters  of  his  son,  Edward 


208  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

Devereux ;  and,  as  before,  in  default,  to  testator's  grandchild, 
Walter  Devereux,  and  to  his  heirs  male  of  the  body  lawfully 
issuing ;  in  default,  to  testator's  right  heirs  for  ever.  " 

To  his  son,  Arthur  Devereux,  testator  devised  his  manor  or 
lordship  of  Over  Gorthir,  with  the  rents,  royalities,  and 
appurtenances  thereunto  belonging,  then  lately  purchased  by 
testator  from  the  said  Catherine  Purcell;  also  to  him,  all 
testator's  messuages,  tenements,  etc.,  in  the  township  of  Gaer, 
in  the  parish  of  Forden  (the  Gaer  mills  excepted)  ;  he  also 
devised  to  him,  the  son,  other  messuages  in  Forden  and 
Weston,  to  hold  the  same  for  his  life;  after,  to  his,  Arthur's, 
sons,  as  before;  then  to  testator's  grandchild,  George  Devereux, 
son  of  testator's  son  Edward,  and  to  heirs  male  of  his  body 
lawfully  issuing ;  in  default,  to  the  other  sons  of  Edward  in 
succession,  the  elder  to  be  preferred  ;  failing,  to  his  grandson, 
George  Devereux,  eldest  son  of  testator's  said  son,  Vaughan 
Devereux,  and  to  the  heirs  male  of  his  body  lawfully  issuing ; 
in  default,  to  his  grandchild,  Arthur  Devereux,  second  son  of 
the  said  Vaughan  Devereux,  and  to  the  heirs  male  of  his  body 
lawfully  issuing ;  in  default,  to  his  grandson,  Edward  Devereux, 
third  son  of  the  said  Vaughan  Devereux ;  and,  as  before, 
in  default,  to  all  and  every  other  of  the  sons  of  the  said 
Vaughan  Devereux  lawfully  begotten,  successively  in  seniority 
of  age ;  and,  as  before,  in  default,  to  the  sons  of  testator's  son, 
Essex  Devereux,  lawfully  to  be  begotten,  in  seniority  of  age 
and  priority  of  birth  ;  to  his  grandchild,  Samuel  Devereux,  son 
of  his  son  Essex,  and  to  the  heirs  of  the  said  Samuel  ;  and,  as 
before,  in  default  of  sons,  to  the  daughters  of  Arthur  Devereux, 
testator's  son;  in  default,  to  the  daughters  of  testator's  son 
Edward  ;  in  default,  to  the  daughters  in  succession  of  his  son, 
Vaughan  Devereux ;  in  default,  to  the  daughters  of  his  son 
Essex ;  in  default,  to  his  grandchild,  Walter  Devereux,  and  to 
his  heirs  male. 

To  his  son,  Essex  Devereux,  testator  devised  two  messuages 
in  Mundlyn  township,  one  called  Lower  Mundlyn,  late  in  the 
occupation  of  Griffith  Robinson,  and  the  other  in  the  occupa- 
tion of  Nicholas  Purcell,  and  by  testator  then  lately  purchased 
from  Catherine  Purcell,  and  also  his  water  corn-mills,  called  the 
Gaer  Mills,  by  him  also  purchased  from  Catherine  Purcell ; 
also  all  his  messuage  and  tenement  in  Llivior  and  Llandinor, 
and  a  water  corn-mill  there,  late  in  the  occupation  of  Pierce 
Ambrose,  both  which  were  then  formerly  the  inheritance  of 
the  said  Pierce  Ambrose;  and  also  two  other  messuages  arid 
tenements,  with  another  corn-mill  and  fulling-mill,  all  in  the 
township  of  Llivior  and  Llandinor;  also  other  tenements  in 


SHERIFFS   OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  209 

Llivior  and  Garthmill,  which  testator  had  purchased ;  also 
another  messuage  in  Vaynor ;  also  other  lands  in  Garthmill ; 
also  two  tenements  in  Trwstewelyn  ;  also  the  tithes  of  Gaer 
township,  which  testator  had  purchased  from  Evan  Glynn, 
Esq.  Some  of  these  he  devised  to  his  son  Essex  Devereux, 
with  remainder  as  before  ;  others  to  his  grandchild  George, 
son  of  his  son  Vaughan  Devereux ;  others  he  devised  to  his 
grandchild,  son  of  his  son  Edward  Devereux ;  others  he 
devised  to  his  grandchild  Samuel,  son  of  his  son  Essex 
Devereux,  and  £10  a  year  for  life — issuing  out  of  lands  in 
Hussington.  Subject  to  the  annuity,  testator  devised  the 
Hussington  lands  to  his  son  Arthur  Devereux,  and,  as  before, 
with  various  contingent  remainders. 

Mentions  Nantcribba,  and  a  deed  tripartite,  dated  20  July, 
34  Ch.  II,  made  between  Arthur  Devereux  (testator's  son)  and 
Anne  his  wife,  of  the  first  part,  Edmond  Lloyd,  Esq.,  and 
George  Robinson,  gent.,  of  the  second  part,  and  testator, 
George  Devereux,  of  the  third  part,  for  considerations  therein 
expressed,  did  settle  and  convey  and  assure  all  that  capital 
messuage  and  mansion  house  called  Nantcribba,  situate  in 
Wrobton,  in  the  co.  of  Montgomery,  with  all  the  demesne  land, 
hereditaments,  and  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging,  to  the 
several  uses  and  limitations  and  purposes  in  the  said  recited 
Indenture  mentioned  and  hereafter  expressed,  (that  is  to  say)  to 
the  use  of  the  said  Arthur  D.  and  his  wife  Ann,  for  their 
lives,  and  the  life  of  the  longer  of  them;  and  after,  to  the  use 
of  the  heirs  of  the  body  of  the  said  Arthur  upon  the  body 
of  the  said  Anne  his  wife  begotten  or  to  be  begotten ;  in 
default,  to  the  use  of  such  person  as  testator  at  any  time 
during  his  life,  or  by  his  last  will,  in  writing  shall  limit  and 
appoint.  And  he  did  appoint  that,  in  case  of  want  of  issue  of 
Arthur  and  his  wife  Ann,  the  mansion,  etc.,  should  go  to  the 
use  of  his  son,  Edward  Devereux,  and  his  assigns  for  life ; 
after,  to  the  use  of  testator's  grandchild,  George  Devereux,  son 
of  the  said  Edward,  testator's  son,  and  to  the  heirs  male  of 
his  body  lawfully  issuing ;  failing,  then  to  the  use  of  all  and 
every  other  son  of  his  son  Edward  Devereux ;  failing,  to 
testator's  grandchild,  George  D.,  eldest  son  of  testator's  son 
Vaughan  Devereux,  and  the  heirs  male  of  his  body;  failing,  to 
the  use  of  his  grandchild  Arthur,  second  son  of  his  son 
Vaughan ;  then  to  Edward,  the  third  son  ;  in  default,  to  the 
use  of  all  and  every  other  son  of  the  said  Vaughan  lawfully 
begotten ;  in  default,  to  the  use  of  all  and  every  son  and  sous 
of  the  body  of  testator's  son  Essex  Devereux,  lawfully  to  be 
begotten,  and  his  heirs ;  in  default  of  such  issue,  then  to 

VOL.  XXVI I.  P 


210  SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

testator's  grandchild,  Samuel  Devereux,  son  of  the  said  Essex 
Devereux,  and  to  the  heirs  male  of  his  body  ;  in  default,  to  the 
daughters  of  the  said  Edward  Devereux,  testator's  son,  law- 
fully issuing ;  failing,  to  Yaughan  Devereux' s  daughters ; 
failing,  to  the  daughters  of  testator's  son  Essex  Devereux; 
failing,  to  testator's  right  heirs  for  ever. 

To  his  son  Arthur  testator  devised  a  messuage,  etc.,  in  the 
parish  of  Yardley,  co.  Worcester,  and  all  the  lands  belonging 
thereto,  which  testator  had  formerly  purchased  from  his 
brother,  Robert  Devereux,  to  the  said  son  Arthur  and  his 
heirs  for  ever. 

Testator  devised  to  his  son  Essex  a  messuage  called  the 
Angell,  in  Coulcill,  co.  Worcester,  to  him  and  his  heirs  for 
ever. 

Testator  possessed  lands  in  Llanwnog,  which  he  devised 
after  the  same  plan  ;  also  other  lands  in  the  co.  of  Warwick. 
Mentions  lands  in  Warwick  purchased  by  his  late  father,  Sir 
George  Devereux,  Knight,  and  directed  his  son,  Arthur 
Devereux,  to  sell  the  same.  £350  of  the  proceeds  he  be- 
queathed to  his  son  Arthur;  the  residue  of  the  sum  (which 
was  to  be  £1,000)  he  bequeathed  to  his  grandchildren,  Bridgetfc 
and  Mary  Devereux,  daughters  of  his  son  Vaughan  Devereux, 
and  to  his  grandchild  Bridgett,  eldest  daughter  of  his  son 
Edward  Devereux,  to  be  equally  divided  between  the  three. 
If  testator's  grandchild,  Price  Devereux,  paid  to  testator's  son, 
Arthur  Devereux,  the  sum  of  £1,000,  then  he  should  have  the 
land  mentioned  to  be  sold. 

To  daughter  Catherine,  wife  of  Richard  Baldwyn,  Esq., 
£500  in  ready  money.  To  Evan  Glynn,  his  son-in-law,  and 
his  wife,  testator's  daughter  Mary,  Is.  each;  and  to  his  son-in- 
law,  Richard  Mytton,  and  testator's  daughter  Bridgett,  liis 
wife,  the  like  sum. 

All  his  goods  at  Vaynor,  also  at  Sheldon,  in  the  co.  of 
Warwick,  to  be  valued,  and,  upon  condition  that  his  grandson, 
Price  Devereux,  should  pay  for  them  unto  testator's  sons, 
Vaughan,  Arthur,  Essex,  and  Edward  Devereux,  the  value  : 
then  he  devised  that  in  equal  shares  to  his  four  sons.  If  he 
declined,  then  the  goods  to  go  to  the  four  sons.  All  the  house- 
goods,  etc.,  in  Lower  Mundlyn,  he  bequeathed  to  his  son 
Essex  Devereux  ;  other  legacies  of  goods  to  his  sons  Vaughan 
and  Essex ;  all  the  rest  of  his  goods  and  chattels  to  his  son 
Arthur,  to  pay  testator's  debts,  legacies,  etc.  Arthur,  sole 
executor. 

Witnesses. — John  Gwynne,  Priamus  Price,  John  Vaughau, 
Rees  Price,  and  Geo.  Robinson. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  211 

Will  of  ARTHUR  DEVERBJUX,  Esq.,  of  Nantcribba;  made 
15th  August  1709;  proved  14th  October  1709. 

Testator  devised  all  his  manors,  messuages,  lands,  etc.,  to 
his  nephew,  Arthur  Devereux  of  Mundlin,  Gent.,  son  of  my 
brother  Vaughan  Devereux,  Gent.,  deceased,  for  the  term  of 
99  years,  if  the  said  Arthur  should  so  long  live;  after,  to  the 
sons  of  the  body  of  the  said  Arthur  Devereux. 

In  default  of  issue,  then  to  Edward  Devereux,  brother  of  the 
said  Arthur,  and  to  his  heirs  male ;  failing  them,  to  Pryce 
Devereux  of  Lower  Mundlyn,  Gent.,  son  of  testator's  late 
brother  Essex  Devereux,  Gent.,  deceased,  and  to  the  sons  of 
the  said  Pryce  Devereux  in  tail  male;  failing,  to  testator's 
right  heirs  for  ever. 

All  his  lands  in  the  county  of  Salop  testator  devised  to  his 
nephew  Edward  Devereux,  and  to  his  heirs  and  assigns  for 
ever. 

All  his  lands  in  Warwick,  Worcester,  and  Stafford  he 
devised  to  the  Right  Hon.  Pryce  Devereux,  Lord  Viscount 
Hereford,  and  his  heirs  and  assigns  for  ever,  except  one  farm 
in  the  parish  of  Sheldon,  which  he  devised  to  the  said  Lord 
Viscount  Hereford  for  the  remainder  of  a  term  of  2,000 
years. 

His  messuages  and  lands  lying  in  Hem,  in  the  parish  of 
Forden,  then  in  the  occupation  of  one  Richard  Lloyd,  and  all 
his  messuages,  tenements,  and  lands,  with  appurtenances,  lying 
in  Trelystan,  in  the  tenure  of  one  Frances  Lloyd,  widow,  or 
her  under-tenants,  and  which  she  is  to  hold  for  life.  Testator 
devised  to  Mary  Collins  and  Frances  Collins,  and  their  assigns, 
for  their  two  lives  and  the  life  of  the  longer  of  them,  both 
tenements,  that  in  Trelystan  to  become  theirs  after  the  death 
of  Mrs.  Lloyd ;  after,  the  said  two  messuages  to  go  to  his 
nephew  Arthur  Devereux,  and  to  his  sons  in  tail  male.  In 
default  of  heirs  male  lawfully  begotten,  then  testator  devised 
the  two  last-mentioned  messuages,  etc.,  to  his  nephew  Edward 
Devereux  and  his  heirs  for  ever.  His  four  messuages  in 
Kerry  he  devised  to  his  nephew  Arthur  Devereux  and  his 
heirs  during  the  life  of  his  niece  Bridgett  Pryce,  then  wife 
of  William  Pryce  of  Neyadd,  in  the  said  county  of  Mont- 
gomery, Gent.,  upon  special  trust  and  confidence  that  he, 
the  said  Arthur  Devereux,  and  his  heirs,  shall  and  will, 
after  testator's  death,  receive  and  pay  all  the  rents  and 
issues  into  the  proper  hands  of  testator's  niece  Bridgett 
Pryce,  or  to  such  other  person  or  persons  as  she,  the  said 
Bridgett,  shall  appoint;  after  her  death,  the  said  four  tene- 

P  2 


212  SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

merits  to  go  to  his  said  nephew  Edward  Devereux,  and  to  his 
heirs  for  ever.  The  said  Edward  Devereux  borrowed  from 
testator  £50  on  some  property  in  Llanwnog;  testator  forgave 
him  that  debt,  and  directed  that  the  deeds  should  be  handed 
to  him.  Testator  held  an  assignment  by  his  nephew  Samuel 
Devereux  of  an  annuity  of  £20  a  year  secured  on  lands  in 
Hussington ;  he  devised  this  £20  a  year  to  his  nephew.  The 
residue  in  the  county  of  Montgomery  over  which  he  had  power 
to  dispose  of  he  left  to  his  nephew  Arthur  Devereux,  and  to 
his  heirs  for  ever. 

Testator  held  an  assignment  of  a  £500  mortgage  on  the 
estate  of  a  Mr  George  Cooke  of  Walton,  then  deceased ;  he 
bequeathed  £400  of  that  sum  to  the  eight  children  of  his 
niece  Mary,  then  wife  of  Thomas  Kerry,  Gent.,  and  formerly 
the  wife  of  the  said  George  Cooke.  To  Thomas  Kerry  and 
Mary  his  wife,  £25,  to  buy  mourning.  To  the  three  eldest 
daughters  of  his  niece  Mrs.  Mary  Kerry,  by  her  late  husband, 
Mr.  Geo.  Cooke,  testator  bequeathed  £100  each;  to  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Captain  Hill,  £50 ;  to  the  eldest  daughter  of  his 
niece  Bennbow,  £50.  To  his  niece  Elizabeth  Devereux,  daughter 
of  his  brother  Edward,  who  is  apprentice  at  Shrewsbury,  £100. 
To  niece  Katherine  Mitton,  a  necklace  of  pearl,  and  a  gold 
watch  and  a  gold  chain.  "  My  father's  picture  in  gold  unto 
my  sister,  the  wife  of  Richard  Mitton,  Esq."  The  rest  of  his 
jewels — diamonds,  pearls,  and  rubies — to  Lord  Viscount  Here- 
ford ;  also  to  him  all  his,  testator's,  books,  except  his  divinity 
books.  To  his  nephew  Edward  Glynn,  Gent.,  "  his  great  silver 
tankard".  To  the  eldest  daughter  of  Peter  Lloyd,  clerk, 
curate  of  Forden,  £20.  To  niece  Margaret,  daughter  of 
brother  Edward,  and  wife  of  Charles  Lloyd,  £50.  To  brother- 
in-law  Joshua  Ireland,  Esq.,  £50.  £100  for  the  use  of  the  poor 
or'  Forden,  the  interest  thereof  to  go  to  apprentice  two  poor 
Forden  boys  every  year. 

Testator  had  borrowed  years  then  ago  £14  of  a  Mrs.  Mary 
Groves  of  Greenwich,  within  six  miles  of  London ;  he  had  not 
paid  it  back,  and  he  ordered  his  executors  to  pay  her  £20. 
Nephew  Arthur  Devereux,  sole  executor. 

Witnesses. — Peter  Lloyd,  Cler.,  Andrew  Acherley,  Thomas 
Edwards,  Evan  Jones. 

Will  of  ARTHUR  DEVEREUX  of  Nantcribba  Hall,  Esq. ;  made 
19th  December  1711 ;  proved  20th  May  1712. 

Refers  to  settlement  on  his  marriage  with  his  late  wife 
Bridget,  by  which  he  had  charged  his  estates  in  Munlyn  and 


SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  213 

Berriew  with  £500  ;  pursuant  to  that,  he  devised  £500  to  his 
daughter  Mary  Devereux,  to  be  paid  to  her  when  she  attained 
the  age  of  15  years ;  she  dying,  the  £500  to  go  to  his  two  sons 
Vaughan  and  Edward  Devereux.  To  son  Vaughan  he  devised 
the  Fully  lying  in  Montgomery  parish ;  to  Vaughan  D.  also 
£100.  To  son  Arthur,  four  acres  of  land  "  in  the  great  meadow 
called  Nantcribba  meadow,  lying  in  the  parish  of  Forden"; 
Arthur  to  pay  his  brother  Vaughan  £50  ;  in  default,  Vaughan 
to  have  the  four  acres  of  land.  Testator  mentioned  that  his 
uncle  Arthur  Devereux,  Esq.,  had  by  his  will  devised  £100  for 
the  placing  out  of  two  poor  boys  yearly,  within  the  said  parish 
of  Forden,  apprentices.  Testator  had  a  mortgage  of  £100  on 
the  lands  of  one  Edward  Reignolds,  in  Forden ;  he  devised 
that  sum,  and  any  further  sum  that  might  be  due  to  him,  unto 
such  persons  and  to  such  uses  as  was  appointed  by  his  uncle's 
will.  Testator  directed  that  all  unpaid  legacies  left  by  his 
uncle  in  his  will  were  to  be  paid.  He,  testator,  bequeathed  to 
his  loving  kinsman  Thomas  Evans  £20.  His  brother  Edward 
Devereux  owed  testator  £100  by  bond ;  he  bequeathed  to  his 
brother  Edward  that  sum. 

To  his,  testator's,  dear  wife  Elizabeth  Devereux,  and  his 
dear  brother  Edward  Devereux,  he  devised  all  the  tithes  grow- 
ing due  in  the  township  of  Gaer,  in  Forden  parish,  and  the 
water  corn-mills  called  the  Gaer  Mills ;  also  a  messuage  or 
tenement  in  Gaer  township  and  Munlin  township,  then  lately 
purchased  by  testator  from  his  cousin  Price  Devereux,  Esq., 
on  trust  for  his  wife  Elizabeth  and  his  brother  Edward,  to 
raise  £600  to  discharge  legacies  in  the  will  bequeathed. 

All  his  personal  estate  other  than  herein  mentioned  to  be 
first  spent  and  applied  in  discharge  of  the  same  ;  if  sufficient, 
then  the  lands  and  £600  mentioned  he  devised  to  his  son 
Arthur  Devereux  and  his  heirs  for  ever.  Testator  mentioned 
that  his  father-in-law,  Richard  Glynn,  Esq.,  was  to  have  paid 
him  £300  as  a  marriage  portion  with  testator's  then  wife,  and 
Mr.  Glynn's  daughter ;  if  Mr.  Glynn  paid  the  £300,  then  the 
latter  bequeathed  the  sum  of  £500  to  his  wife  in  lieu  of  dower, 
making  £800  in  the  whole.  This  sum  was  to  be  laid  out  in 
lands,  in  the  names  of  testator's  wife  and  his  son  Edward,  she 
to  receive  the  profits  for  her  life  jointly  with  his  son  Edward  ; 
after,  the  whole  to  go  to  him  and  to  the  heirs  of  his  body 
lawfully  to  be  begotten  ;  in  default,  to  testator's  right  heirs 
for  ever.  If  the  wife  should  happen  to  be  with  child  at  the 
time  of  testator's  decease,  then  he  willed  that  his  wife  and 
child  or  children  should  have  the  use  jointly  for  her  life,  and, 
after  her  death,  to  the  use  of  such  children  in  tail  jointly ; 
remainder  to  his  right  heirs  for  ever. 


214  SHERIFFS   OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

To  his  servant  Lydia  Williams,  one  cow  out  of  his  stock,  if 
she  were  in  his  service  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

To  his  brother  Edward,  his  "  old  silver  flagon";  to  his,  testa- 
tor's, daughter,  his  silver  bowl ;  to  his  wife,  his  "  biggest  silver 
tankard";  residue  of  plate  to  his  son  Arthur  Devereux :  "to 
remain  as  heirlooms  in  my  house  at  Nantcribba." 

Wife  Elizabeth  and  brother  Edward,  executors. 

All  his  personal  estate  to  go  to  pay  such  legacies  as  he  was 
by  his  uncle's  will  obliged  to  pay. 

The  guardianship  of  his  children  during  their  minority  he 
committed  to  his  said  executors. 

His  brother-in-law,  Evan  Glynn,  bought  a  horse  of  testator 
for  £10,  to  be  paid  for  on  the  marriage  or  at  the  death  of  the 
said  Evan  ;  testator  bequeathed  the  £10  to  him.  To  his  loving 
friend,  John  Griffiths  of  Glanhafren,  Esq.,  he  bequeathed  his 
best  black  horse,  hoping  he  would  assist  his  executors  in  the 
execution  of  this  will.  To  sister-in-law,  Margaret  Glynn,  his 
best  cow. 

Witnesses. — George  Cooke,  Prudence  Price,  William  Whit- 
tington. 


Will  of  ESSEX  DEVEREUX,  Esq.,  of  Mundlyn;  made  17  July 
1685  ;  proved  12  Feb.  1685-6. 

To  his  nephew,  Price  Devereux  of  Vaynor,  testator  devised 
lands  lying  in  Llivior,  then  lately  devised  to  testator  by  his 
father,  George  Devereux,  Esq. 

To  Anne,  his  dear  and  loving  wife,  testator  left  all  his  goods, 
cattells,  and  chattells,  and  all  other  his  personal  estate;  and  he 
nominated  her  sole  executor. 

Witnesses. — John  Wynne,  Thomas  Jones,  the  X  of  David 
Oliver,  the  X  of  Richard  Jones,  G.  Robinson. 

Will  of  SAMUEL  DEVEREUX  of  Welshpool ;  made  19  April  1708; 
proved  8  Nov.  1751. 

Testator,  at  the  time  he  made  his  will,  belonged  to  Her 
Majesty's  ship  Resolution.  He  devised  everything  he  might 
be  possessed  of  at  the  time  of  his  death  to  John  Edwards 
of  Deptford,  in  the  county  of  Kent,  gentleman,  to  hold  unto 
him,  the  said  John  Edwards,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  for  ever. 
He  constituted  the  said  John  Edwards  sole  executor. 

Witnesses. — Mary  Sauerry,  Daniel  West,  Thomas  Lee,  Writing 
Master  at  Deptford. 


MORRIS  CHARLES  JONES,  ESQ.,  F.S.A.,  J.P, 


215 


OBITUARY   NOTICES. 


MORRIS  CHARLES  JONES,  F.S.A. 

To  the  members  of  the  Powys-land  Club  the  death  of 
Mr.  Morris  Charles  Jone^  is  a  blow  heavier  than  any 
that  has  befallen  it  since  the  day  of  its  foundation. 
For  in  him  we  have  lost  its  energetic  founder,  its 
indefatigable  secretary,  and  the  courteous  and  enthu- 
siastic editor  of  its  Transactions  through  the  twenty- 
six  years  of  its  existence.  Loyally,  therefore,  but 
sadly,  we  record  this  brief  memorial  in  his  honour. 

Born  in  Welshpool  in  1819,  he  received  his  educa- 
tion at  Bruce  Castle  School,  Tottenham,  and  in  1835 
he  was  articled  to  Mr.  Joseph  Jones,  Solicitor,  in  his 
native  town.  After  being  admitted  a  solicitor,  he 
went  to  Liverpool,  and  joined  the  firm  of  Messrs. 
R.  and  H.  Christian.  In  1858  he  founded  the  firm  of 
Jones,  Paterson,  and  Co.,  from  which  he  retired  in 
1880  ;  but  it  is  still  continued  by  his  son,  Mr.  Morris 
Paterson  Jones,  besides  whom  he  leaves  surviving 
him  his  widow  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Robert  Paterson, 
Esq.,  of  Nunfield,  Dumfriesshire ;  a  younger  son.  Thomas 
Simpson  Jones,  M.A.,  Trin.  Coll.,  Cambridge,  Bar- 
rister-at-law  ;  and  one  married  and  three  unmarried 
daughters. 

Mr.  Morris  Jones's  professional  duties  brought  under 
his  notice  many  deeds  and  other  documents  of  his- 
torical interest,  for  which,  as  is  evident  from  his 
enthusiastic  devotion  in  later  and  more  leisurely  years 
to  their  study,  he  must  have  had  a  strong  natural 
liking  ;  while  his  legal  training  gave  him  a  special 
aptitude  for  sifting  their  evidence  and  for  marshalling 
their  facts  with  precision  and  effect.  Elected  a  Fellow 


216  OBITUARY   NOTICES. 

of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland  in  1864,  and 
of  England  in  1870,  his  first  literary  contribution  in 
the  field  of  Archaeology  was  an  able  and  elaborate 
article,  printed  in  the  Archceologia  Cambrensis  for 

1866  (3rd    Series,  vol.  xii,   p.    400-417),    on    "Valle 
Crucis  Abbey  :    its  Origin  and  Foundation  Charters". 
In    this   article    he   proved  that   Valle    Crucis  was  a 
daughter-foundation  of  the  Abbey  of  Strata  Marcella 
near  Welshpool,  towards  the  history  of  which  house, 
he    tells    us,    he    had  already  collected  "  considerable 
materials".     Indeed,    amid    the    busy  demands  of  an 
active  and  successful  professional  life,  he  appears  to 
have  found  his  relaxation  in  studies  of  this  kind  ;  and 
they   were    concentrated    on    the    elucidation    of   the 
history   of  his  native    county.     On  the   1st  of  March 

1867  he  circulated  a  tentative  "  Proposal  for  a  Society 
or  Club,  to  be  called  '  The  Powys-land  Club',  for  the 
Collecting  and  Printing,  for  the  use  of  its  Members, 
of   the  Historical,  Ecclesiastical,    Genealogical,    Topo- 
graphical, and  Literary  Remains  of  Montgomeryshire"  ; 
formed   on   "  the  idea   broached  with    respect  to  the 
several  Counties  of  Wales,  in  the  first  number  of  the 
Archceologia  Cambrensis,  in  the  article  '  Orj  the  Study 
and   Preservation   of  National  Antiquities7/'     On  the 
1st  of  October,  the  same  year,  he  was  able  to  announce 
that  "  the  proposal  had  met   with  general  approval", 
and  "  that  the  Club  had  been  constituted".     The  list  of 
original  members  comprised  the  names  of  seventy-two 
ladies    and    gentlemen,  with  the    Earl    of    Powis    as 
President,    three    Vice-Presidents    and    a    Council    of 
Twelve,  an  Hon.  Treasurer,  and  two  Hon.  Secretaries, 
of  whom  only  three  now  survive.     The  following  year 
witnessed  the  publication  of  its  first  volume  of  Mont- 
gomeryshire Collections,  and  on  the   10th   of  October 
the  first  Annual  Meeting  was  held  in  the  Town  Hall, 
Welshpool.     From   that   period,  down    to    his  death, 
Mr.  Morris  Jones  continued  to  watch  over  its  interests 
and  to  promote  its  success  with   unabated  devotion. 
Each  Part  of  the  annual   volume  has  been  issued  to 


OBITUARY    NOTICES.  217 

the  members  with  unbroken  regularity,  and  its  twenty- 
six  volumes  contain  a  series  of  Parochial  Histories, 
and  a  mass  of  information  on  the  history  of  the  county, 
which  will  be  invaluable  to  the  future  historian  of 
Montgomeryshire. 

How  much  of  the  success  is  due  to  the  enthusiasm, 
the  untiring  energy,  the  business  capacity,  and  the 
courtesy  of  Mr.  Morris  Jones  himself,1  is  well  known  to 
all  those  who  have  had  to  do  in  any  way  with  its 
Proceedings,  and  best  of  all  to  those  whose  co-opera- 
tion he  so  happily  enlisted.2  It  was  a  sense  of  this 
obligation  that  prompted  the  presentation  to  him  in 
1876  of  the  fine  life-size  bronze,  representing  the  heroic 
Caractacus,  which  now  adorns  the  Museum,  and  of  a 
facsimile  of  the  Milton  shield,  which  occupies  a  place 
of  honour  in  his  house  at  Gungrog. 

In  connection  with  the  Club,  Mr.  Morris  Jones  was 
also  the  means  of  founding  the  Powys-land  Museum  and 
Library  in  1873,  and,  later  still,  the  School  of  Science 
and  Art ;  these,  in  the  year  of  the  Queen's  Jubilee, 
1887,  were  transferred  to  the  town  of  Welshpool  by  a 
deed  of  gift,  and  in  order  to  their  adequate  support, 
the  town  adopted  the  Public  Libraries'  Act. 

When  Mr.  Jones  retired  from  his  practice  in  1880 
he  made  his  home  at  Gungrog,  near  the  town  of  his 
birth  and  affection.  And  it  became  year  after  year  a 
place  of  pleasant  hospitality  and  reunion  to  Mont- 
gomeryshire archaeologists.  The  leisure,  however, 
which  he  acquired  from  his  profession  was  devoted  not 
only  to  the  fuller  benefit  of  the  institutions  he  had 
founded,  and  the  greater  advantage  of  the  Montgomery- 
shire Collections,  but  also  to  the  active  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  a  county  magistrate,  and  the  ready  further- 

1  The  appended  list  of  his  contributions  to  the  Collections  shows 
how  largely  they  are  indebted  to  his  active  pen. 

2  Especially  Mr.  T.  0.  Morgan  of  Aberystwith,  his  first  co-secretary; 
Mr.  Richard  Williams  of  Newtown,  F.R.Hist.S.  ;   and   to  the  Rev. 
W.  Valentine  Lloyd,  F.R.G.S.,  R.N.,  the  present  learned  Secretary 
and  Editor. 


218  OBITUARY    NOTICES. 

ance  of  every  movement  for  the  good  of  Welshpool. 
Two  occasions  especially  proved  this  predilection  :  his 
earnest  advocacy  of  the  claims  of  the  town  to  be  the 
site  of  the  University  College  of  North  Wales,  and  his 
active  promotion  of  the  "  Church  House"  as  an  appro- 
priate memorial  of  one  who  had  been  in  life  the 
scholarly  and  generous  President  of  the  Powys-land 
Club,  and  the  loyal  son  and  munificent  promoter  of  the 
Church's  work  in  the  parish,  the  diocese,  and  the  whole 
country.  Mr.  Jones  died  on  Friday,  January  27th,  at 
the  age  of  73,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Mary's  Churchyard 
on  the  following  Friday,  amid  general  manifestations 
of  the  high  appreciation  in  which  he  was  held  as  one  of 
the  chief  benefactors  of  the  town  of  Welshpool,  and  as 
one  whose  literary  services  for  Powys-land  have  secured 
him  a  name  cere  perennius. 

D.  E.  T. 

List  of  Articles  contributed  by  Mr.  Morris  C.  Jones  to  the 
"Montgomeryshire  Collections". 

VOL.         PAGE 

i,  257—423.     The  Feudal  Barons  of  Powys. 

'  ,  go -i  oo*  >  The  Territorial  Divisions  of  Montgomeryshire. 

}j   301 — 310.     Some  Account  of  Llanllugan  Nunnery, 
iii,    29 —  50.     The  Devolution  of  the  Manors  of  Montgomeryshire, 
i.  The  Manor  of  Arwystli. 
ii.  The  Manor  of  Cyfeiliog. 

iv,      1 —  33.  >  The  Abbey  of  Ystrad  Marchell  (Strata   Marcella), 

„   293—324.  J       or  Pola. 

Vj  109 — 148.  Ditto.  ditto. 

:  353^392!  [  Herbertiana. 
vi,    29—  34.     Shield  of  Arms  in  the  East  Window  of  Buttington 

Church. 

„    197 — 206.     Herbertiana. 
}j    207 — 214.     On   the   two  recumbent    Figures  in  Montgomery 

Church. 

„  215.     Circular  Flint-knife. 

„  217.     Mould  for  casting  Tokens  found  at  Mathraval. 

„    313—318.     Cridia  Abbey. 
„   347 — 390,     Abbey  Strata  Marcella— continued. 


OBITUARY    NOTICES. 


219 


VOL.         PAGE 

vi,  407. 

vii,  125—159. 

267—352. 


vni, 


1—  46. 

63—  68. 

87—110. 

305. 


x>     45—  48. 

„  397—406. 
xi,  165—168. 
„  265—272. 
xii,  85—  86. 

„    267—296. 

„   309—356. 

xiii,  163. 

169. 

177_184. 


185. 

„     191—287. 
„    359—361. 

xiv,    13—  18. 

„     161—220. 

269. 

271—278. 


xv, 


331. 
191. 


„    249—346. 

xvi,    93—116. 

259. 

„  293—298. 
xvii,  333—356. 


Processional  Cross  found  in  Guilsfield  Churchyard. 
Herbertiana. 

Welshpool :  Materials  for  the  History  of  the  Parish 
and  Borough. 

i.  Topographical  (Appendix), 
ii.  Population. 

in.  Archgelogical,  British,  Roman, and  Mediaeval 
and  Modern  periods. 

Herbertiana. 

A  Decade  Ring  found  near  Strata  Marcella  Abbey. 

The  Devolution  of  the  Manors  of  Montgomeryshire. 

Reliquiae  Monastics  :  Lylleshall  House,  Welsh- 
pool. 

Reliquiae  Monastics) :  Cilceirenydd,orKilkeriennith 
Manor  or  Lordship. 

Abbey  of  Ystrad  Marchell. 

Antiquities  found  near  Park  House,  Newtown. 

Sheinton  and  Price  of  Pertheirin. 

Monumental  Stones  in  Llanfihangel  and  Llanged- 
win  Churches. 

Enclosure  of  Common  Lands  in  Montgomeryshire. 

Welshpool — continued. 

Montgomeryshire  Magistracy,  1687. 

Simon's  Castle. 

Ancient  Clubs  in  Montgomeryshire  : 

i.  The  Montgomeryshire  Attorneys'  Club, 
ii.  Union  Club  and  List  of  Members, 
in.  A  Jacobite  Club. 

Connection  of  the  Family  of  Suttori,  Barons  Dudley 
and  "  Powes",  with  the  Barony  of  Powys. 

Welshpool — continued. 

Notes  on  the  Origin  of  several  Welsh  Coats  of 
Arms. 

Pedigree  of  Sir  W.  Humfreys,  Bart. 

Welshpool — continued. 

Bronze  Spear-head  found  in  Llandinam  Parish. 

Some  Stone  Implements  in  the  Powys-land 
Museum. 

Scholastic  Ferule  found  in  Melverley  Church. 

The  Enclosure  of  Common  Lands  in  Montgomery- 
shire. 

Welshpool — continued. 

Montgomery  Castle. 

Seal  of  the  Commissary  of  the  Deanery  of  Arustley. 

Two  Stone  Vessels  of  uncertain  period, 

Welshpool — continued. 


220  OBITUARY    NOTICES. 

VOL.         PAGE 

xviii,  315 — 323.  Heraldic  Jurisdiction  in  Wales, 

xix,    81 —  96.  Herbertiana — continued. 

„     192—242.  Welsh  pool— continued. 

xxi,  113.  Search  after  the  History  of  a  Spoon,  and  the  result 

thereof. 

„    249—267.  Herbertiana — continued. 

„     339—345.  Welshpool— continued. 

xxiii,  379 — 390.  Notes  upon  some  Archaic  Domestic  Appliances  in 

the  Powys-land  Museum, 

xxiv,      1 —  10.  The  Seal  of  the  Montgomeryshire  County  Council. 

„     321 — 354.  Welshpool— continued. 

xxv,  149 — 196.  Excavations  on  the  Site  of  Strata  Marcella  Abbey, 

xxvi,  229—254.  Corbett-Winder  of  Vaynor  Park,  Pedigree. 


THK  REV.  GRIFFITH  EIJWAHDS,  M.A. 

The  Rev.  Griffith  Edwards,  M.A.,  late  Rector  of 
Llangadfan,  Montgomeryshire,  died  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing, January  29th,  1893.  This  gentleman  was  born 
1st  September  1812,  in  Llanberis  parish,  Carnarvon- 
shire, at  the  foot  of  Snowdon.  His  father  was  a  well- 
known  Welsh  poet,  who,  under  the  fictitious  name,  Eos 
Padarn,  published  in  1829  the  fruits  of  his  labours,  so 
that  the  gift  of  composition  descended  from  father  to 
son,  for  the  Rector  of  Llangadfan  was  also  a  poet.  Mr. 
William  Edwards,  the  father,  took  the  bardic  name 
Gwilym  Padarn,  from  the  fact  that  he  lived  in  a  village, 
or  hamlet,  called  Pentre  Castell,  from  its  proximity  to 
Castell  Padarn,  or  Padarn's  Castle,  and  the  son,  in  after 
years,  was  better  known  by  his  name  Gutyn  Padarn 
than  by  his  patronymic  Edwards.  This  is  common  in 
Wales,  the  works  of  a  man  taking  precedence  to  family, 
and  office,  according  to  Eisteddfodic  usage. 

At  the  time  that  the  Rev.  Griffith  Edwards  was 
born,  Snowdon  was  not  visited,  as  it  is  in  our  days,  by 
tourists,  and  there  were  then  no  fashionable  inns  to  give 
accommodation  to  sight-seekers,  and  Welsh,  being  the  ex- 
clusive language  of  the  people,  it  is  needless  to  say,  that 


THE  REV.  GRIFFITH  EDWARDS,  M.A 


OBITUARY    NOTICES.  221 

in  Llanberis  the  means  of  education,  early  in  this  cen- 
tury, were  scant,  and  of  an  inferior  and  very  elementary 
kind.  Mr.  Edwards  commenced  his  career  as  a  quarry- 
man  in  the  Dinorwig  slate  quarries,  thus  following  the 
occupation  of  his  father ;  but  when  a  young  man  he 
received  classical  instruction  from  the  well-known 
scholar,  the  Rev.  P.  B.  Williams,  Rector  of  Llanrug,  and 
such  good  use  did  he  make  of  his  exceptionable  ad- 
vantages that  he  graduated  in  1843,  in  Trinity  College, 
Dublin,  and  proceeded  to  his  M.A.  in  1846.  He  had, 
however,  distinguished  himself  as  a  Welsh  scholar 
several  years  before  he  took  his  degree.  As  early  as 
1831,  when  he  was  only  nineteen  years  old,  he  was  a 
contributor  to  the  Gwyliedydd ;  he  wrote  on  such 
subjects  as,  "  Art  in  Primitive  Times" ;  and,  from  that 
year  on,  he  was  a  constant  writer  to  that  cleverly  con- 
ducted periodical,  in  whose  pages  the  best  talent  in 
Wales  is  to  be  found.  In  1832,  Mr.  Edwards  was  a 
successful  competitor  at  the  Beaumaris  Eisteddfod, 
when  he  received  the  silver  medal  awarded  for  the  best 
elegy  to  the  memory  of  the  Rev.  John  Jenkins,  M.A., 
Rector  of  Kerry,  Montgomeryshire,  from  the  hands  of 
our  most  gracious  Queen,  who,  as  Princess  Victoria, 
visited  the  Eisteddfod  in  company  with  the  Duchess  of 
Kent.  In  1836  he  was  again  successful  at  Cardiff 
National  Eisteddfod,  the  subject  being  The  Princess 
Victoria.  In  1840  he  took  the  first  prize  for  an  elegy 
on  Sir  Watkin  Williams  Wynn,  at  the  Liverpool 
Eisteddfod;  and  previously,  in  1836,  at  the  Eisteddfod 
held  in  Bala,  he  carried  off  the  silver  medal  for  an  elegy 
on  Lady  Harriet  Wynn.  At  Rhuddlari  Eisteddfod, 
held  in  1849,  he  was  also  successful.  This  appears  to 
have  been  the  last  Eisteddfod  in  which  he  competed  for 
a  prize.  His  successes  were  unusual.  In  those  days 
there  were  excellent  Welsh  poets  competing  for  the 
mastery,  and  to  be  the  first,  among  such  intellects,  was 
praise  indeed. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  that  Mr.  Edwards  was 
only  twenty  years  old  when  he  became  the  proud  pos- 


222  OBITUARY   NOTICES. 

sessor  of  a  prize  at  a  National  Eisteddfod.  Thus,  early 
in  life,  did  he  win  an  honourable  position  among  the 
prominent  literary  men  of  Wales  ;  his  early  compositions 
were  all  written  in  Welsh,  but,  in  after  years,  he  wrote 
several  excellent  parochial  histories,  which  have  been 
published  in  our  pages,  in  English. 

Having  taken  so  many  prizes  in  National  Eistedd- 
fodau,  it  was  only  to  be  expected  that  he  should  be 
called  upon  to  adjudicate  on  the  poetry  sent  in  to  the 
various  Eisteddfodau,  and  consequently  we  find  that 
his  services  were  formerly  greatly  sought  after  in  the 
capacity  of  adjudicator.     He  discharged  his  trust  with 
marked  ability,   impartiality,  and  with  general  satis- 
faction.      It  was  his    custom   to   read   most  carefully, 
taking  notes  the  while,  the  compositions  entrusted  to 
his  critical  mind,  and    never  would   he    swerve  from 
the  conclusions  that  he  had  arrived  at  in  the  calm  of  his 
study,  even  should  his  fellow -adjudicators  differ  from 
him  in  their  estimate  of  the  respective  pieces  sent  in  for 
Eisteddfodic  distinctions.     He  proved  by  his  elaborate 
and  thoughtfully  written  criticism  that  much  could  be 
said  on  behalf  of  the  views  which  be  maintained.     It 
was  this  high  sense  of  honour,  and  his  learning,  that 
enhanced  the  value  of  the  prizes  which  he  awarded  to 
the  aspirants  for  a  place  in  the  temple  of  Welsh  letters. 
He  had  himself  carried  off  so  many  prizes  at  the  Eis- 
teddfod, that  he  knew  from  experience  how  very  neces- 
sary it  was  to  discard  all  considerations  of  a  personal 
kind,  when  adjudicating  on  essays  and  poetry  entrusted 
to  his  care,  and  he  never  betrayed  the  confidence  placed 
in   his  judgment  and  integrity,  by  rewarding  the  un- 
deserving.    His  judicious  remarks  also  were  valuable 
alike  to  the  successful  and  unsuccessful  for  Eisteddfod 
prizes.     He  was  adjudicator  for  the  last  time  at  the 
National  Eisteddfod  held  in  Carnarvon. 

Mr.  Edwards  was  the  editor  ol  a  weekly  paper  pub- 
lished in  Mold,  called  Y  Protestant— -"  The  Protestant." 
This  paper  was  published  in  1839.  He  was  an  occa- 
sional contributor  to  the  old  (jtvyliedydd,  the  Gwlad- 


OBITUARY    NOTICES.  223 

i  the  Haul,  the  Tratl/wdydd,  and  latterly  to  the 
A  mddiffynydd  yr  Eglwys. 

His  first  published  book  appeared  in  1846.  It  con- 
sists of  Welsh  and  English  compositions.  The  follow- 
ing quotation  will  be  read  with  interest,  as  it  shows 
how  fond  he  was  of  his  native  mountains,  and  how 
greatly  impressed  he  was  by  the  scenery  which  it  was 
his  lot  always  to  contemplate.  We  quote  from  his 
Gwaith  Prydyddawl,  or  Poetic  Works,  published  at 
Llangollen,  when  he  was  curate  of  that  town  : — 

"  It  is  generally  admitted  that  the  aspect  of  a  country  often 
forms  a  sort  of  index  to  the  character  of  a  people.  We  are 
not,  therefore,  to  be  surprised  if  the  sublime  and  majestic 
scenery  of  Wales,  especially  the  northern  part  of  it,  should  in 
no  small  degree  assist  to  excite  poetical  ideas  and  form  sub- 
lime conceptions  in  the  minds  of  those  who  are  conversant 
with  them.  For,  in  a  country  filled  with  so  many  sublime 
objects,  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  must  become  gifted  as  by 
inspiration,  and  are  by  nature  filled  with  poetical  ideas.  And 
nature  herself  teaches  the  soul  to  mount  on  the  wings  of 
immortality,  and  aspire  after  things  higher  than  those  of 
earth,  by  the  assistance  of  those  objects  that  surround  her; 
and  the  mind  is  formed  and  trained,  from  the  beginning  as  it 
were,  to  converse  with  sublimity  and  terror." 

The  preceding  quotation  beautifully  describes  the 
effect  produced  upon  a  trained  and  observant  mind  by 
the  rugged  and  varied  aspects  of  the  Carnarvonshire 
hills.  Most  people  are  affected  by  their  environments, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  mountainous  countries  ever 
retain,  wherever  they  are,  a  longing  affection  for  their 
native  country.  This  was  eminently  the  case  with 
Mr.  Edwards,  and  the  Llanberis  Lakes,  and  Snowdon 
with  her  silver  streams,  were,  with  him,  successful 
rivals  to  classic  mountains  and  waters. 

We  will  now  discard  the  bard  Gutyn  Padarn,  and 
confine  our  remarks  to  Mr.  Edwards  in  his  official 
capacity  as  a  minister  in  the  Church.  The  rev. 
gentleman  was  ordained  to  the  curacy  of  Llangollen, 
which  cure  he  held  to  1849,  when  he  became  the 


224  OBITUARY   NOTICES. 

incumbent  of  Minera,  a  new  parochial  district,  formed 
out  of  the  large  and  unworkable  parish  of  Wrexham. 
During  his  incumbency  the  vicarage  of  Minera  was 
built,  and  also  the  boys'  and  girls'  schools  and  school- 
houses,  the  latter  being  remarkably  striking  and  suit- 
able buildings.  Mr.  Edwards  took  great  interest  in 
the  schools,  which  he  visited  almost  daily.  He  spent 
most  of  his  time  in  his  study.  In  those  days  the 
present  system  of  methodical  house-to-house  visiting 
was  not  the  custom  of  clergymen,  and  Mr.  Edwards  in 
his  stay-at-home  tendencies  was  only  like  his  clerical 
compeers.  But  he  was,  nevertheless,  in  his  younger  days 
an  active  clergyman,  and  he  did  much  good.  That  he 
paid  great  attention  to  the  composition  of  his  sermons 
is  proved  by  his  thirty  sermons  in  Welsh,  which  were 
published  in  1854.  These  sermons  show  that  he  was 
a  sound  theologian,  a  deep  thinker,  and  an  excellent 
writer  of  idiomatic  Welsh.  When  first  issued  they  were 
deservedly  admired  ;  even  to  the  last  year  of  his  life 
he  carefully  prepared  for  the  pulpit.  He  was  not  by 
nature  designed  to  be  a  great  preacher.  He  had  not 
that  fluent  tongue,  and  penetrating,  well-modulated 
voice,  so  necessary  to  rivet,  and  maintain  the  attention 
of  a  mixed  congregation  ;  but  he  never  said  a  foolish 
thing  in  the  pulpit,  and  his  utterances  were  always 
worthy  of  attention,  and,  indeed,  to  be  appreciated  they 
demanded  attention.  In  1863  he  was  appointed  to 
the  secluded  and  mountainous  parish  of  Llangadfan,  in 
Montgomeryshire.  One  of  his  first  works  in  his  new 
home  was  the  restoration  of  the  parish  church.  It  was 
here  that  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  ministerial 
life.  This  parish  is  in  the  recesses  of  the  mountains, 
and  consists  for  the  most  part  of  wild,  uncultivated 
lands,  with  here  and  there,  in  the  more  sheltered  parts, 
small  white-washed  homesteads,  surrounded  by  fields 
reclaimed  from  the  wild  mountain  commons.  The 
inhabitants  are  a  robust,  active  race  of  Welshmen, 
influenced  more  by  extempore  preaching  than  by 
carefully  prepared  addresses,  and  as  their  rector  read 


OBITUARY   NOTICES.  225 

his  thoughtful  sermons,  in  a  deliberate  and  somewhat 
low  tone,  his  pulpit  influence  was  not  as  great  as  it 
otherwise  would  have  been. 

The  literary  labours  of  Mr.  Edwards  whilst  in  the 
parish  of  Llangadfan  were  considerable,  and  consisted 
chiefly  of  contributions  to  various  periodicals ;  but 
he  edited  the  works  and  wrote  an  interesting  life 
of  his  friend,  the  Rev.  J.  Blackwell,  B.A.,  which 
formed  an  interesting  volume.  He  also  translated  an 
excellent  booklet,  called  Easy  Lessons  for  Sunday 
Schools.  But  it  is,  perhaps,  as  a  writer  of  parish 
histories  that  Mr.  Edwards  will  be  remembered  by 
the  English-speaking  Welshmen  in  Montgomeryshire. 
His  admirable  histories  of  the  parish  of  Llangadfan, 
and  of  the  neighbouring  parishes  of  Garthbeibio  and 
Llanerfyl,  have  been  published  in  the  pages  of  The 
Mon tgomerysliire  Collections. 

It  remains  to  be  added  that  a  few  years  ago  he  was 
elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society.  For 
some  years  past  his  health  was  indifferent,  and  he  was 
consequently  obliged  to  procure  the  assistance  of  a 
curate ;  but  he  was  so  conscientious,  and  thought  so 
highly  of  his  office,  that  almost  to  the  end  of  his 
ministry  he  took  his  full  share  in  the  work  of  the 
sanctuary. 

Last  year  Mr.  Edwards,  in  consequence  of  failing 
health  and  the  infirmities  of  age,  resigned  his  cure,  and 
at  the  fall  of  the  year  he  came  to  reside  at  Welsh- 
pool,  so  that  he  might  be  near  his  relative,  Mr.  Davies, 
manager  of  the  North  and  South  Wales  Bank.  He 
brought  with  him  his  domestics  from  Llangadfan,  and 
when  the  writer  called  to  see  all  that  was  mortal  of 
his  friend,  these  faithful  women,  with  tears  in  their 
eyes,  informed  him  that  they  had  done  all  they  could 
to  nurse  their  master  through  his  illness.  The  rev. 
gentleman  was  taken  to  Llangadfan  to  be  buried,  and 
there  he  rests  among  his  parishioners  from  all  his 
labours. 

It  may  be  added,  that  Mr.  Edwards  died  a  bachelor. 

VOL.  xxvn.  Q 


226  OBITUARY   NOTICES. 

Throughout  his  life  he  had  been  a  frugal,  careful-living 
man,  and  having  no  family  to  exhaust  his  resources, 
he  was  able  to  bequeath  to  his  relatives  a  sum  of 
money  worthy  of  their  acceptance.  When  he  left 
Llangollen  he  was  presented  with  a  case  of  silver,  and 
on  his  leaving  Minera  he  had  a  gold  watch  given  him. 
He  left  Llangadfan  shattered  in  health,  and  tottering 
on  the  brink  of  the  grave,  and  there  was  no  necessity 
for  any  special  monetary  recognition  of  his  services  on 
the  part  of  his  parishioners.  They  knew  he  had  suffi- 
cient means  to  enable  him  to  live  comfortably  during 
the  few  remaining  years  of  his  life,  and  therefore  they 
said  their  last  sad  good-bye  to  him,  and  wished  him 
well,  which  was  all  that  their  aged  rector  desired. 

E.  O. 


227 


POWYSIANA, 


(Continued  from  Vol.  xxvi,  p.  168.) 


LXXVL— MEIFOD:  Wills  of  Kev.  Handle  Davies,  Vicar 
of  Meifod,  and  of  John  Meredith,  Skinner. 

Extracts  from  the  Will  of  HANDLE  DAVIES/  late 
Vicar  of  Myvod. 

To  the  poor  of  the  Parish  whom  I  dayly  relieved  at  my 
door,  the  worth  of  5s.  of  white  bread. 

To  my  son  William,  Vicar  of  Llanbrynmair,  all  my  MSS. 
nnd  books  and  papers  in  his  custody. 


1  See  "History  of  the  Parish  of  Meifod",  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  ix, 
p.  330.  Davies  the  Quaker,  in  his  Autobiography,  remarks :  "  Our 
Friend  Charles  Lloyd  (of  Dolobran)  was  sued  for  tythe  at  the  Great 
Assizes  for  Montgomery  by  the  Earl  of  Castlemain,  Impropriator 
(c.  1680),  and  Randal  Davies,  Vicar  of  Myvod,  the  parish  where 
our  Friend  Charles  Lloyd  lived  in." 

The  Rev.  Randolph  Davies,  M  A.,  suffered  for  his  loyalty  to  the 
King  at  the  hands  of  the  Commonwealth  by  his  ejection  from  tho 
vicarage  of  Meifod,  but  was  restored  (Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  x,  p.  174)  on 
the  return  of  Charles  II  in  1661.  He  had  also  been  Rector  of 
Aberhavesp,  Llanymynech,  and  Llanfechain.  With  the  view  of 
stemming  the  tide  of  Nonconformity  which  had  risen  in  his  parish, 
and,  by  his  will,  seems  to  have  invaded  his  own  household,  he  wrote 
a  somewhat  voluminous  controversial  tract  of  some  237  pages,  12mo., 
entitled,  A  Tryall  of  the  Spirits,  or  a  Discovery  of  False  Prophets, 
and  a  Caveat  to  Beware  of  Them. 

His  son-in-law  and  successor,  the  Rev.  Rjchard  Derwas,  was  of  the 
Tribe  of  Brochwel  Yscithrog,  and  the  elder  son  of  Griffith  Derwas  of 
"  New  Chapell"  by  his  wife  "  Katherine,  daughter  of  David  Tanat  of 
Tredderwen,  gent.",  which  Griffith  Derwas  was  seventh  in  descent 
from  Sir  Griffith  Vaughan,  Knight-Banneret,  of  Garth,  Guilsfield 
(Add.  MS.  9865,  British  Museum  Library,  under  Llandrinio  parish). 
The  following  entries  appear  in  the  Meifod  parish  registers : — 

"  Anno  D'ni  1048,     Matrimonium  legitimum  contractum  fuit  inter 


228  POWYSIANA. 

To  granddaughter  Alice  a  pied  heiffer.  The  other  heiffer  to 
my  daughter  Prudence  Davies,  on  condition  she  shall  forsake 
the  Quakers'  meetings  and  resort  constantly  to  some  Parish 
Church  for  divine  service  and  the  participation  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

Da.  Margaret. 

Grandchildren  Alice,  John,  Elizabeth,  Martha. 

To  Prudence  also  £30,  on  same  condition  (as  above). 

To  my  Executor,  to  defend  himself  against  John  Jones  of 
Gelynog,  if  he  shall  trouble  him. 

Cousin  Richard  Davies  of  Peniarth,  Gent.  Mortgaged  to 
him  Cyfie,  Bache,  Gwerglodd  y  Dalar,  Ole  Feciian — my  lands 
in  Peniarth. 

My  armes,  that  is,  my  pike,  sword,  head-piece,  and  breast- 
plate to  be  sold  to  my  son-in-law  Richard  Derwas,  present 
Vicar  of  My  vod,  towards  the  paying  of  my  debtes. 

Daughter  Mary,  Is. 

If  my  daughter  Prudence  shall  be  so  imprudent  as  to  marry 
Joseph  Davies  the  smith,  that  lives  in  tha  village  of  Myvod, 
then  I  revoke  all  former  legacies  to  her  and  she  shall  have 
only  one  shilling  paid  to  her  by  my  executor. 

Executor. — My  son  William  Davies,  Vicar  of  Llanbrynmair. 

Witnesses. — Evan  Davies,  Cadwaladr  Wynn,  and  Richard 
Wynne. 

Proved,  22nd  May  1696. 

Administration  granted  Marg-aretee  Davies  al's  Nelson  nxor' 
Roberti  Nelson  et  Gulielmo  Davies. 


CALENDAR  OF  WILLS.     COURT  OP  HUSTINGS,  LONDON. 

Will,1  relating  to  Meifod  ;  enrolled  Monday  next  after  the 
Feast  of  SS.  Perpetua  and  Felicitas,  7th  March  1633-4. 
John  Meredith,  Skinner. 

To  the  Master,  Wardens,  and  Commonalty  of  the  art  or 
mistery  of  Skinners  of  the  City  of  London  and  their  suc- 
cessors, the  reversion  of  a  messuage  called  "The  Ramme", 


Randolphum  Davies,  vicarium  hujus  parochiae,  et  Mariam,  filiam 
Johannis  Williams,  Clerici,  decimo  die  Junii,  Anno  D'ni  1648." 

"Dom.  Ranulphus  Davies  Cler.  de  Peniarth.  Sepultus  25°  Feb. 
1695." 

There  are  also  the  baptismal  entries  of  thirteen  of  their  children. 

1  Communicated  by  the  Hon.  Mrs,  Bulkeley  Owen. 


POWYSIANA.  229 

in  or  near  West  Smithfield,  in  the  Parish  of  S.  Sepulchre 
without  Newgate,1  after  the  decease  of  Elizabeth  his  wife, 
in  trust,  to  pay  to  three  poor  aged  freemen  of  the  Company  of 
Skynners,  and  to  two  poor  aged  widows  of  freemen  of  the 
same,  more  especially  those  poor  freemen  who  shall  have  been 
"  uphoulsters",  the  weekly  sum  of  15s.,  to  wit,  3s.  apiece ;  to 
the  renter  warden  10s.  yearly, on  taking  his  account;  to  the  Clerk 
of  the  Company  6s.  yearly  ;  and  to  the  two  Beadles  3s.  yearly. 
The  residue  of  the  issues  and  profits  to  be  disposed  of  at  the 
discretion  of  the  said  master,  wardens,  and  assistants  without 
any  farther  limitation.  A  similar  reversion  of  a  close  or 
pasture-ground,  commonly  called  "  Clarke's  Close",  in  the  Parish 
of  S.  James  at  Clarkenwell,  he  leaves  to  trustees,  citizens,  and 
Skinners  upon  trust  to  pay  yearly  to  the  renter  warden  £20, 
who  sljall  thereout  pay  £10  yearly,  to  wit,  £5  apiece  to  two 
unbeneficed  preachers  until  they  shall  be  better  provided  for  ; 
£4  10s.  yearly  to  the  poor  of  the  Parish  of  S.  Sepulchre  for 
coals ;  £20  to  the  poor  of  the  Parish  of  S.  Bartholomew  the 
less,  near  West  Smithfield  ;  8s.  yearly  for  coal  for  the  poor 
prisoners  in  the  four  several  prisons  of  London,  viz.,  to  the 
prisoners  of  the  "  Hole",  "  twopenny  ward"  in  the  Poultry, 
and  Wood  Street  "  Comptors"2  respectively,  and  those  in 
Ludgate  and  Newgate.  The  residue  of  the  issues  and  profits 
of  the  aforesaid  close  to  be  delivered  to  the  renter  warden  of 
the  Company,  to  be  disposed  of  as  the  master,  wardens,  and 
assistants  may  think  fit.3  To  his  wife  he  gives  a  moiety  of 
his  goods  and  chattels,  according  to  the  ancient  and  laudable 
customs  of  the  City  of  London.  Out  of  the  residue  he  leaves 
£50  to  Christopher  alias  Cadwallader  Meredith,  his  brother,  if 
his  said  brother  be  alive  at  the  end  of  six  months  after  his 
decease  ;  otherwise  the  money  is  to  be  bestowed  on  the  new 
building  of  the  north  "  lie"  of  the  parish  Church  of  Myvod,4 
where  he  was  born.  Bequests  also  to  the  children  of  his  late 
brother  Robert  and  others,  and  to  the  Hospitals  of  S.  Bar- 
tholomew and  Bridewell. 

Dated  16th  April,  6  Charles  I  (A.D.  1630).     Roll  310  (39). 

D.  R  T. 

1  In  1866  this  property  was  sold  to  the  City  for  £10,000,  and  in- 
vested in  freehold  premises,  8  and  9,  Well  Court,  Queen  Street,  London. 

2  "  Compters"  was  a  name  given  to  the  prisons  belonging  to  the 
sheriffs. 

3  These  bequests  continue  to  be  strictly  paid. 

4  In  a  former  volume  of  the  Montgomeryshire  Collections  will  be 
found  the  allotment  of  the  seats  in  this  new  "  He". 


230 


POWYSIANA. 


LXXVII. — PEDIGREE  OF  DERWAS  OF  PENRHYN. 
(Add.  MS.  No.  9865.) 


LLANDRINIO     PARISH. 

Sir  Grifith  Vych,  Kt.  Baneret,  ap  Griffith  ap  Ieuan=pMai-ffaret,  fil.  Griffith  Jen- 
ap  Madock  ap  Wenwys  ap  Griffith  ap  Bely.       I        kin,  Lord  Brochdyn. 


Reinalt  of  Garth .=j= Ales,  vh.  Griffith  ap  levan  Vych.  of  Abertanat,  Esq. 


Joys,  vh.  Owen  ap  Evan=f=  Griffith.  =fMargaret,   vh.  Llewelin  ap  Evan 

David  ap  Wm. 


Elaine  of  Tregynon.       | 


ap 


O wen. =j= Anne,  vh.  Hugh  Say  of  Pool,  Esq.,  by  Elen,  vh.  Gwilim  ap  Griffith 

Derwas  of  Kernes. 


Anne,  vh.  Richard  Sanflbrd  of=j=John  Derwas.=j=Elen,  vh.  Edwin  Lloyd,  2nd 
theYloof...  wife. 


Richard=j 
Derwas. 

=Margaret,  vh.  Jeffre     Hugh  Derwas  of=j=Mary,  vh.  Jeffre  ap  Lle- 
Penrhyn,  Esq.                 Penrhyr.               welin  ap  Griffith  ap 
Adda. 

John= 
Der- 
was. 

pGwen,  vh.  Thomas  ap     Richard  Derwas.  = 
Rinalt  of  Llandrinio. 

i=Margaret,  fil.  Tho.  ap 
William  of  Waynow- 
ddyn. 

in  Der-  =  Elizabeth,  vh. 
ras  of            William 
nrhyn.         Tanat  of 
Trewylan  issa. 

1 
William  =, 
Derwas. 

=  Maly,   fil.        Griffith  = 
Humffr.         Derwas 
Lloyd  of        of  New 
Coed          Chapell. 
Deuddwr. 

=Katherine 
vh.  David 
Tanat  of 
Tredder- 
win,  Gent 

Jol 
\v 
Pe 

Hugh  Derwas= 
of  Penrhos. 

^Margaret,  vh.  Oliver      Rev. 
Lloyd  of  Goitre.          was, 

Richard   Der-  =  ..  YRondal,1 
Vicar,  Myfod,           Vicar, 
1700.                       Myfod. 

Elizabeth,*  fil., 

1700.              Mary,  fil. 

If 

1  The  Rev.  Randal  Davies,  M.A.,  Vicar  of  Meifod.     See  his  will, 
ante. 

2  She  was  elder  daughter,  and  co-heir  of  Penrhos,  which  she  con- 


POWYSIANA.  231 


|a 
Ovven.=p...  Joys,  vh.  David  Lloyd  Jeffre. 


David  Derwas  of  Penrhyn  Vychan.=f=Blaince,  vh.  Edw.  Tho.  of  Hendre  Hen. 


John  Derwas.=pKathrin,  fil.  John  Kinaston  of  Llwynyuiapsis. 

I 

David  Derwas  of  Llwyn  y  Mapsis  =j=Dorothy,  vh.  John    Edwards   of  Ness 
1700.  |  Lestrange,  Esq. 

W.  V.  LL. 


LXXVIII. — BLUNDENS  OF  BISHOP'S  CASTLE. 

"H.  W.  L.",  in  Bygjnes  of  June  1882,  making 
inquiry  respecting  the  family  of  "  BLunden  of  Shrop- 
shire", gives  the  following  inscription  from  a  mural 
tablet  to  the  memory  of  Andrew  Blunden  of  that 
family.  The  monument  is  in  the  parish  church  of 
Shiplake,  near  Henley,  Oxfordshire  : 

"  Hie  tumulatur  Andreas  Bluuden  Armiger  qui  ex  avito  genere 
ortus  natus  fuit  apud  Bishop's  Castel  in  comitatu  Salop  Medii  Tem- 
pli  Socius  Jurisprudentia  pollebat  ann.  agens  sexagesimu  quarta  e 
vita  migravit  apud  Shiplak  in  Comitatu  Oxon  die  16to  (sic)  Decem- 
bris  A'no  Dom.  1607.  In  spe  resurrectioriis  et  future  glorias  hie 
obdormis.  Beate  mortal  qui  in  Domino  moriautur." 

This  Andrew  Blunden,  although  buried  at  Shiplake, 
was  of  Burghfield,  Reading,  .Berkshire.  Shiplake,  near 
Henley-on-Thames,  was  a  seat  of  the  Plowden  family. 
Andrew's  father,  Richard  Blunden  of  Bishop's  Castle, 
married  Joane,  daughter  of  Humphrey  Plowden  of 
Plowden,  and  sister  of  the  celebrated  Edmund  Plow- 
den, serjeant-at-law,  who  was  seated  at  Shiplake. 
Margaret  Plowden,  another  sister  of  the  latter,  married 
Richard  Sandford  of  the  Isle  of  Up  Rossall,  and  their 
daughter  Anne  married  John  Derwas  of  Penrhyn.1 

veyed  in  marriage  to  Richard  Lyster  of  Moyne's  Court,  Monmouth- 
shire. Their  daughter  and  heiress,  Elizabeth  Lyster,  married  Lewis 
Owen,  Rector  of  Barking — he  died  there  in  1746 — youngest  son  of 
Sir  Robert  Owen  of  Porkington  and  Clenneny.  They  had  issue  :  John 
Owen  of  Penrhos,  who  died  unmarried,  18th  December  1823,  aged  22  \ 
and  Margaret  Owen,  who  died  unmarried  in  1816. 
1  See  Derwas  pedigree,  ante. 


232  POWYSIANA. 

It  seems  that  Mr.  Serjeant  Plowden  was  indebted 
to  Sir  Francis  Englefield  for  his  advancement  in  life, 
and  had  been  entrusted  with  the  administration  of  this 
statesman's  Shropshire  estates,  of  which  the  Isle  of  Up 
Rossall,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Chad,  Shrewsbury,  was 
one.  Edmund  Plowden  was  of  special  service  to  Sir 
Francis  after  his  voluntary  exile  on  the  death  of  Queen 
Mary.  Moreover,  having  obtained  the  wardship  of 
young  Englefield,  a  nephew  of  Sir  Francis,  he  neither 
married  him  to  one  of  his  own  daughters,  nor  sold  him 
to  anyone  else,  as  the  vexatious  tyranny  of  the  feudal 
system  then  enabled  him  to  do.  This  was  tantamount 
to  the  gift  of  £2,000,  a  considerable  sum  in  those  days, 
to  young  Englefield.  Plowden  had  placed  his  brother- 
in-law,  Richard  Sandford,  as  a  tenant  at  Rossall,  and, 
as  some  return  for  his  loyal  service  to  the  uncle  and 
consideration  for  the  nephew,  sought  from  young 
Englefield,  when  he  came  of  age,  a  lease  of  the  place 
for  his  nephew,  Humphrey  Sandford,  son  of  Richard. 

An  account  of  this  transaction,  and  of  those  present 
at  the  interview,  is  given  by  this  Andrew  Blunden,1 
who  was  a  nephew  of  Serjeant  Plowden,  and  then  on 
a  visit  at  Shiplake. 

The  Rev.  W.  M.  Rowland  has  kindly  communi- 
cated the  following  from  the  Bishop's  Castle  parish 
register — Marriages,  1564  : 

"  Andreas  Blonden  contraxit  matrimonium  cum  Maria  filia  Ludo- 
vici  Jones,2  armigeri  xiii°  february." 

He  says  :— 

"  I  perceive  that  A.  Blunden  and  his  wife  Mary  had  several 
children."3 

The  arms  of  the  Blundens  were  :  Quarterly,  1  and 
4,  argent,  a  lion  passant  guardant  sable  (?  azure) ;  2, 
vert,  a  gryphon  segreant  or ;  3,  argent,  three  cocks 
gules,  combed  and  legged  or. 

1  Blakeway's  Sheri/s  of  Shropshire,  p.  223. 

2  He  was  Constable  of  Bishop's  Castle.    His  will — printed  in  Mont. 
Coll.,  vo\.  xxvi,  p.  190— was  proved  17th  October  1569. 

3  Their  three  sons  and  three  daughters  are  entered  at  the  Salop 
Visitation,  1623. 

W,  V.  LL. 


233 


KERRY  AND   MOUGHTREY  -WILLS   AT 
HEREFORD   PROBATE   OFFICE. 


WHKN  Mr.  H.  L.  Squires  and  the  writer  paid  a  visit  to 
the  Probate  Court  at  Hereford  in  the  year  1885,  we 
examined  a  large  number  of  wills1  that  are  not  regis- 
tered ;  in  other  words,  original  wills,  wills  that  have 
not  been  transcribed  into  volumes  to  which  the  public 
have  access  on  obtaining  the  usual  "literary  search" 
order.  The  writer  was  struck  with  the  fact  that  there 
were  no  Kerry  wills  among  the  non-registered  wills 
which  passed  through  his  hands.  At  the  time  it  did  not 
occur  to  him  that  Kerry  parish  was  not  in  Hereford 
diocese  ;  subsequently,  on  writing  to  Carmarthen,  the 
writer  was  informed  that  there  were  no  Kerry  wills  in 
that  Probate  Office,  that  they  were  at  Hereford;  and  on 
inquiring  from.  Mr.  Wm.  Earle  at  Hereford  Probate 
Office  (one  of  the  most  obliging  officials  the  writer  has 
ever  met),  he  found  that  the  wills  "  relating  to  parishes 
in  the  Archdeaconry  of  Brecknock  were  preserved  at 
Hereford,  and  as  Kerry  is  one  of  the  parishes  in  the 
Archdeaconry,  the  wills  made  by  persons  who  lived  in 
that  parish  should  be  among  the  wills  relating  to  that 
Archdeaconry" ;  and  he  added,  "  there  were  Kerry 
wills  in  the  Hereford  Probate  Office."  At  a  subsequent 
period,  the  writer's  daughter,2  being  on  a  visit  with 
some  relatives  in  Hereford,  at  the  writer's  request  made 
an  examination  of  the  accessible  Kerry  wills,  by  means 
of  the  Calendars,  and  furnished  him  with  a  voluminous 
series  of  names  of  testators.  That  list  is  the  basis  of  the 
one  subjoined. 

The  writer  had  an  opportunity,  in  the  summer  of  1891, 

1  See  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xix,  p.  1. 

2  "  Nellie",  now  Mrs.  Herbert  Cuthbert-Keeson. 

VOL.  xxvu.  u 


234  KERRY  AND  MOUGHTREY  WILLS 

of  paying  a  visit  to  Hereford  Probate  Office,  and  he 
availed  himself  of  it  to  check  the  work  previously  done 
by  his  relative,  as  well  as  to  supplement  that  work 
from  sources  which  had  escaped  her  attention,  or  which 
she  was  not  able  to  decipher,  and  he  avails  himself  of 
this  opportunity  of  placing  the  results  at  the  service  of 
the  members  of  the  Powys-land  Club. 

There  are  a  great  number  of  parishes  in  the  Arch- 
deaconry of  Brecon,  but  only  two  Montgomeryshire 
parishes,  namely,  Kerry  and  Moughtrey}~  In  going  over 
the  Calendars  and  Registers  the  writer  regretted  that 
he  had  not  the  time  at  his  disposal  which  would  have 
enabled  him  to  have  taken  out  the  names  of  testators 
from  the  adjacent  Radnorshire  parishes,  notably 
Bugaildu,  Llanbadarnfynydd,  and  Llananno. 

For  the  information  of  others  who  may  desire  to 
examine  the  wills  relating  to  parishes  in  the  Arch- 
deaconry of  Brecknock  at  Hereford,  the  following  notes 
made  by  the  writer  may  be  useful. 

The  documents  available  for  the  use  of  a  searcher 
maybe  conveniently  described  as  (1)  CALENDARS,  which 
contain  the  names  of  testators'  places  of  residence  and 
dates  of  probate.  These  Calendars  fill  six  volumes, 
arranged  in  order  of  probate,  and  commence  in  1660, 
continuing  without  any  break  to  1858,  when  Kerry  and 
Moughtrey  wills  ceased  to  be  proved  in  that  office. 
(2)  The  registered  wills  preserved  in  the  office  fill 
twenty-five  volumes. 

Vols.  1  and  2  contain  wills  proved  between  1570  and  1589 
3  „  „  1703     ,    1711 


4  „                          „  1711 

5  „                         „  1721 

6  „                         „  1730 

7  not  received  from  Carmarthen. 

8  contains  wills  proved  between  .     1744 

9  „  .     1749 
10             „                     „  .     1755 


1721 
1729 
1736 

1748 
1755 
1761 
1768 


1  The  earliest  form   of  the  orthography  of    the  place-name  in  the 
Registry. 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE. 


235 


1802 

1807 

1807 

1811 

1811 

1819 

1819 

1825 

1825 

1829 

1829 

1833 

1833 

1836 

1836 

1841 

1841 

1847 

1847 

1858 

Vol.  12  contains  wills  proved  between  .  1768  and  1777 
„  13  ,  „  .  1777  „  1785 

„  U  „  .  178G  „  1796 

„  1.1  ,  .1796  „  1801 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

The  first  volume,  as  will  have  been  noticed,  contains 
(office  copies  of)  wills  from  1570  to  1578.  There  is  a 
break  here ;  the  first  will  in  the  second  volume  is  dated 
1583,  the  last,  1589.  There  are  no  original  ivills  in  the 
office  earlier  than  1612,  from  which  date  they  continue 
in  an  unbroken  series  to  1858.  From  1589  to  1611 
there  are  neither  original  wills  nor  office  copies  at  the 
Registry,  so  these  twenty-two  years  are  an  absolute 
blank  in  the  Archdeaconry  of  Brecknock.  From  1589  to 
1703,  a  period  of  114  years,  the  wills  are  not  regis- 
tered, but  the  original  wills  are  in  the  Registry,  and 
can  be  seen,  and  notes  or  copies  taken  from  them,  on 
payment  of  one  shilling  for  every  bundle1  examined. 
There  are  several  bundles  in  each  year,  hence  to  examine 
the  whole  series  entails  a  heavy  tax.  When  the  writer 
and  Mr.  Squires  visited  the  Registry  in  1885,  the  then 
Government  gave  us  access  gratuitously  to  all  non- 
registered  wills  in  the  office  ;  on  the  present  occasion 
the  Treasury  declined  to  extend  to  the  writer  the  same 
privilege,  alleging  that  it  interfered  with  the  ordinary 
work  of  the  office  :  a  position  scarcely  defensible,  when 
it  is  stated  that  an  attendant  can  supply  a  searcher 
with  material  enough  to  keep  him  going  for  three  or 
four  days  in  five  minutes  !  But  the  courtesy  and  willing- 
ness to  meet  a  searcher's  wishes  on  the  part  of  the 
officials  make  amends  for  the  red-tapeism  of  the 
Treasury  officials. 

1  These  bundles  of  Wills  are  arranged  in  alphabetical  sequence. 

K  2 


236 


KERRY  AND  MoUGHTREY  WILLS 


The  writer  examined  the  Calendars  from  1660  down 
to  1838,  and  took  out  the  names  of  persons  resident  in 
Kerry  and  Mochdre  whose  wills  or  administrations  are 
preserved  at  Hereford,  and  he  appends  the  result. 

E.  II.  MORRIS. 


ARCHDEACONRY  OF  BRECON. 

Vol.  L— Index  of  Names,  1660-1681. 


Baxter,  Aaron 

.     Will, 

June      4,  16721 

David,  John,  Mochdre 

»» 

March     2,  1664 

David,  Howell,  Gwenrhiw,  Kerry     . 

.     Adm., 

March  29,  1665 

Dudlick,  John,  Esq. 

» 

Dec.        9,  1662 

David,  Thomas,  Mochdre 

>» 

Aug.     18,  1663 

David,  Howell,  Kerry 

5) 

March    3,  1670 

Davies,  Richard,     ,, 

Oct.        5,  1674 

Ffoulke,  John,       „ 

J* 

May        3,  1675 

Griffith,  David,  Mochdre 

.     Will, 

Feb.       8,  1675 

Howell,  Edward  ap,  Kerry   . 

*> 

Sept.     10,  1668 

Heighward,  Rowland,  Mochdre 

Adm., 

June     20,  16/1 

James,  John,  Kerry 

.     Will, 

Sept.    16,  1662 

Jones,  Catherine,  of  Llanrlinam2 

.     Adm., 

Jan.        9,  1664 

Jones,  Maurice,  Kerry 

» 

Aug.     31,  1665 

Jones,  Ann,             „ 

,, 

Sep.      23,  1665 

Jones,  Evan,           „ 

.     Will, 

May     18,  1667 

Jones,  Matthew  ap,  Mochdre 

u 

Oct.      20,  1668 

Jones,  Watkiss,  Kerry 

.     Adm., 

June       4,  1672 

Jones.  John,          „ 

.     Will, 

July     17,  1672 

Jenkins,  Evan,      „ 

u 

Nov.     19,  1674 

James,  Lewis,  Mochdref 

.     Adm., 

March  30,  1675 

Jones,  Evan,  Kerry  . 

» 

June       8,  1675 

Latham,  Thomas,  Kerry 

„ 

March  31,  1665 

Lewis,  David            „ 

.     Will, 

March  13,  1663 

Lewis,  Evan  ap  David,  Kerry 

» 

June      4,  1672 

Lloyd,  Charles,                  ,, 

.     Adm., 

Sept.    24,  1661 

Lloyd,  John,                       ,, 

» 

June    20,  1666 

Matthew,  David,                ,, 

.     Will, 

Nov.     11,  1660 

Middleton,  Michael,          „ 

3) 

Aug.      5,  1662 

Morris,  Francis,                  „ 

•                   5» 

May       6,  1664 

Morris,  Hugh,                     „ 

J) 

Feb.        2,  1664 

Morris,  John,                       ,, 

.     Adm., 

May        3,  1670 

1  Date  of  probate. 

-  Living  probably  with  a  son  or  daughter  in  Kerry  parish. 


AT  HEREFORD  PROS  AT  R  OFFICE.  237 

Morris,  Mathew,  Kerry         .  .  .     Will,  April 26, 1671  or  2 

My n ton  David,        ,  .  .  .          ,,       June      5,  1671 


Morris,  Richard, 
Morris,  Mary, 
Meredith,  Danes, 
Newton,  George, 
Owens,  David. 


Oct.  28,1673 
June  22,  1675 
Oct.  5,  1676 
Aug.  23,  1670 
March  19,  1660 


Owens,  Owen,  Mochdref  .             .  .  Will,  Oct.      20,1668 

Price,  Morris,  Kerry  .              .  .  Adrn.,  Aug.       9,  1673 

Robert,  Richard,  Mochdref  .              .  .  „  March  17,  1662 

Rytherch,  Jam.  (?)      „  .  .  July       2,1667 

Robert,  Margaret,       „  .  .  March  26,  1668 

Rice,  John,  Kerry  „  July       5,  1677 

Shipman,  Bridget,  Kerry  .             .  „  June    10,1677 

Shipman,  Joanna,       „  .  „  April      9,  1663 

Thomas,  Evan,           „  .  .  Sept.      7,  1663 

At  the  end  of  this  volume  there  are  entries  relating 
to  marriage  licences  granted  ;  also  particulars  of  Licences 
of  Excommunication  and  Absolution,  names  of  persons, 
places  of  residence,  also  dates  are  given.  There  are 
none  relating  to  Kerry  or  Mochdref.  Also  at  this  end 
the  following  other  entries,  all  Kerry,  unless  otherwise 
expressed. 

£     s.     d. 

1678,  Oct.  30.     Sequestration   of    the  goods   of   George 

Gravenor. 
1684,  Aug.  7.     Adm.   of    goods  of  Minton,    granted   to 

Elizabeth  Minton   .  .  .  '    .   136     2    O1 

„     Sept.  16.      Adm.  of  goods  of  John  Jones,  granted 

to  Francis  Jones     .  .  .  90     0     0 

,,     Sept.  9.     Nuncupative  will  of  David  Griffith,  proved 

by  Margt.  Griffith  .  .  .  .     27     9     0 

„     Dec.  30.     Adm.  of  goods  of  John  David,  granted  to 

Grif.  David  . 

1679,  June  26.     Adm.  of  goods  of  David  ap  Harry,  granted 

to  Alice  his  wife      .  .  .  17     1     0 

„     Oct.  28.     Citation  to  Elizabeth  Gravenor. 

1680,  May  12.     Adm.  of  goods  of  Gaynor  Davies,  granted 

to  Maria  Davies  .  .  .  65  0  0 

,,  Oct.  7.  Adm.  of  goods  of  David  Lewis  to  

Griffiths.  .  .  .  .500 

„  Sept.  30.  Adm.  of  goods  of  William  Bishop  to 

Mary  Bishop  .  .  .  .     78     0     0 

1  Value  sworn  at. 


238  KERRY  AND  MOUGHTREY  WILLS 

£    s.    d. 

1680,  Oct.  30.     Adm.  of  goods  of  David  John  to  Anne 

John       .  .  .  .  .     82     0     0 

1680-1,  Jan.  14.     Will    of    Charles    Panton,    proved    by 

Mary  Panton  .  .  .  ".   200     0     0 

1681,  May  14.     Adm.  of  Edri  Gw'ns  (?)to  John  Gw'ns  (?)     19     0     0 

1682,  May  23.     Adm.  of  Mary  Belton,  grant  to  Robert ) 

Shanet  .  .  .  13  13     2 

„     June  24  „  „  „  ) 

,,     Aug.  24.     Will  of  Win.  ap  John,  proved  by  Catherin 

John       .  .  .  .  .     37  13     0 

„     Aug.  24.         „         Alice  Ann  John,  proved  by  Hugh 

Evans     .  .  .  .  .     27     1     0 

,,     Aug.  24.         „        Margaret  Dishop         .  .1700 

,,     Aug.  24.          „        John   Rowley,1   proved    by  Ann 

Rowley  .  .  .  .  .     58  18     4 

.,     Aug.  25.     Adm.  of  David  Lewis,  granted  to  David 

Lewis     ..  .  .  .  .468 

„     Aug.  26.     Adm.  of  Evan  Rogers,  granted  to  Edw. 

Evans     .  .  .  .  .     18     6     0 

„     Aug.  26.     Will  of  Mathew  Evans,  proved  by  Alice 

(?)  .  .  .  .     14  13     0 

1682-3,  Jan.  2.     Adm.  of  Evan  David,  granted  to  Elizth. 

David     .  .  .  .  .     33     1     2 

„     Jan.  23.     Will  of  David   Rogers,  proved  by  Maria 

Rogers    .  .  .  .  .     48     7     8 

„     Jan.  23.     Will  of  David  Lloyd  of  Dolfor,  proved  by 

Dd.  Powell  .  .  .  .     25  10     0 

„     Feb.  12.     Thomas  Walter,  proved  by  Alice  Walter          nil 
1678,  Jan.  21.     Adm.  of  George   Gravenor,  (?)  Mochdre     55     6     3 
„     March  5.     Will  of  Pernella  Jones,  proved  by  John 

Rowley  .  .  .  .  .600 


Vol.  IL— Index  of  Names?  1685-1732. 

£     s.     d. 

1686,  July  31.     Matthew  Edward.3    Exors.,  Evan  Hughes 

and  Isabella  Davies  .  .  .  112  10     0 

1687,  Oct.  8.     David  Evans   of  Mochdre.       Extrix.,  his 

relict,  Margaret      .  .  .  .     25     2     0 

1687-8,  March  9.  John  Jenkin.    Extrix.,  daughterPriscilla     39     6     0 


1  A  lineal  ancestor  of  the  writer's. 

2  The  names  are  not  entered  in  alphabetical  sequence,  but  in  that 
of  probate. 

3  Wills  only.     Testators    were    of  Kerry  parish  unless   otherwise 
expressed. 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.         239 

£     s.  d. 

1688,  May  26.     Jane  Mintyn.     Extrix.,  Susanna  Minton  31     1  8 

1688-9,  March  9.     Mathew  Lloyd.    Exor.,  Edward  Lewis  29     2  6 

1692,  July  5.     William  Rowffe,  Mochdre          .                 .  52     9  0 

„     Oct.  20.     Maria  David.     Exor.,  Thomas  Bey non     .  22  16  10 

1696,  April  20.     Evan  David.       „       son  Maurice  David  13     9  0 

1700,  Aug.  16.     John  Powell.       Extrix.,  relict,  Margaret  42     4  6 

1701,  June  17.     Richard  Davies.      „         relict,  Margaret  45  14  0 
1704,  May  2.     Edwd.  Rees  of  Garthilin.      Exors.,  John 

and  Mary  Oliver         .  .  .  .     58     3     0 

1706,  May  18.     Thomas  Ward,  Mochdre.     Extrix.,  relict, 

Sara  Ward  .  .  .  .     15     1     0 

1708,  May  31.     William  Davies.      Extrix.,  relict,  Marion 

Davies    .  .  .  .  .  101  11     6 

1709,  April  18.     Mary  Owen.     Exor.,  John  Jones,  gentle- 

man .  .  .  .  .  67  3  0 

„  April  19.  Mathew  Jones.  Exor.,  son  John  Jones  403  15  0 

1709,  May  5.  Edward  Kitchen.  Extrix.,  Mary  Kitchen  81  13  0 
„  May  23.  John  Dudlick.  „  by  his  mother 

Margaret  .  .  .  .  35  5  0 
„  May  23.  Evan  Lloyd.  Exors.,  Richard  and  Bridget 

Lloyd     .                 .                 .                 .                 .  94  0  0 

1709,  May  25.    Edward  Bishop.    Extrix.,  Maria,  his  relict  88  8  0 
„     July  12.     John  Evans,  Mochdre.       Exors.,    relict, 

Eleanor,  and  son  John  .  .  51     8     6 

,,     Dec.  14.     Morgan   Vaughan,    gentleman,  Mochdre. 

Exor.,  son  Evan  Vaughan        .  .  .     37  12  10 

1710,  June  19.     Edward  Crumpton.    Exor.,  John  Crump- 

ton  .  .  .  .  27  10  0 

„  June  19.  George  Gravenor,  Mochdre.  Extrix., 

Maria,  widow  .  .  .  50  0  0 

,,  Oct.  20.  John  Turner,  Mochdre.  Extrix.,  relict, 

Elizabeth  .  .  .  .     17     7     0 

1711,  June  4.     Edward  Evans,'  gentleman.        Exor.,  son 

Evan  Evans  .  .  .  .   102   10     8 

,,     June  22.     Ellis  Oliver,  yeoman,  Mochdre.    Extrix., 

relict,  Alice  .  .  .  7  17     0 

1713,  May  4.     John   Owens,  Garthilin.        Extrix.,  relict, 

Katherine  .  .  .  .   101     5     2 

„     June  30.     Elizabeth  Evans.       Jane,  one  of  the  exe- 
cutors    .  .  .  .  .     72  17   10 
1715,  Sep.  20.     Robert  Jones,  Mochdre.       William  Pugh, 
one  of  his  executors 

1718,  Sep.  20.     Edward  Williams.    Extrix..  Jane  Williams     82  11   10 

1719,  Aug.  21.     Margaret  Dudlick.  Exor.,  Samuel  Mercer     28     3     0 

1720,  April  5.     Thomas    Williams.       Extrix.,   Margaret 

Williams  .  .  .  .     95   15     0 

„     May  19.     Hanne  Jones.     Exor.,  William  Pugh 


240  KERRY  AND  MOUGHTREY  WILLS 

£  s.  d. 
1723,  April  26.     Richard  Ruffe,  Mochdre.    Exor.,  William 

Ruffe      .                 .                 .                 .                 .  19  10  0 

1725,  AprilS.     Mathew  Morris.      Extrix.,  Ann  Morris.  .  436 

1729,  May  3.     Charles  Powell.     Exor.,  John  Powell         .  32  1  8 
,,     May  14.     Richard  Morris.     Extrix.,  Jane,  relict     .  13  9  6 

1730,  May  25.     John  Oliver               .                  .  '                .  142  10  0 
„     July  4.     Matthew  Davies.     Extrix.,  relict,  Jane      .  56  18  6 
„     Sept.  22.     Robert  Jones,  Mochdre.     Extrix.,  relict, 

Margaret                 .                 .                 .                  .  36  16  0 

1730-1,  Jan.  11.     Joan  Davies.     Extrix.,  Anne  Davies      .  22     0  0 

„     March  2.     Richard  Owens.     Extrix.,  relict,  Mary     .  59  15  6 

1731,  May  8.     John  Richards.    Exor.,  John  Richards,  one 

of  the  exors.  .  .  .  .  239     3     0 

At  the  end  of  this  volume  there  are,  among  others,  the 
following  ADMINISTRATIONS,  which  commence  May  6, 
1685. 

1686,  April  30.  Elizabeth  Hughes,  widow.  Admon.  to 
Anne,  wife  of  John  Hanley,  and  next  of  kin,  nisi 
caveat,  etc.  .... 

1685-6,  March  19.  John  Humphreys.  Adm.,  Elizabeth, 

relict  .  .  .  .  .  48  0  0 

1686,  July  19.  Edward  Smout.  Adm.,  Mary,  relict  . 
„  Dec.  1.  Ulisses  Price.  Adm.,  Mathew  Lloyd, 

nephew  and  next  of  kin  .  .  9  14  0 

1688,  April  26.     Ferdinand    Laurence.        Adm.,    relict, 

Margaret  .... 

1689,  Nov.  15.     Thomas  Price.     Adm.,  Robert,  only  son     1017     6 

1692,  May  5.     Ann  Owens.      Adm.,  John  Owen,  next  of 

kin  .  .  .  3     3    .0 

1693,  April  27.     Evan  Jenkins,  MocJidre.      Adm.,  Hugh 

Jenkins,  son  .... 

1695,  April  22.     Evan  Hughes.     Adm.,  Catherine,  relict     60     1     4 
„  ,,         Thomas  Roberts.        „      Maurice  Roberts, 

father     .  ..880 

„     June  12.     Samuel  Thomas.  Adm.,  Margaret,  relict       872 

1695-6,  Jan.  31.     Morgan  Evan.  „      Elizabeth,  relict     4716     6 

1696,  Aug.  1.     Walter  Aston.  „      Elizabeth,  relict 

1700,  June  12.  Ann  Morris.      Adm.,  Sara  Powell,  niece     17  15     0 
„      June  14.  Thomas  Oliver.    „    Elizabeth,  relict      .     22  16     0 
„         „     18.  John  Powell.     Adm.,  Margaret,  relict    .161     6  10 

1701,  Aug.  17.  Jonathan  James.     Adm.,  Ann,  relict      .19010     0 
„     Nov.  22.  Elizabeth  Dudlick.    Adm.,  William  Dud- 

lick,  husband  .... 

1701-2,  Feb.  10.     Edward    Kitchen.        Adms.,    Thomas 

Humphreys  and  Edward,  son.  .  19  13     6 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.  241 

«£     s.    d. 

1701-2,  March  12.     John  Allen.     A  dm.,  Margery,  relict  .   130     0     0 
1704,  May  2.     Richard  Evans.      „       Mary,  relict  .     39     1   10 

„     Nov.  29.     David  Jones.         „    Olive,  relict  .     41    11      0 

1707,  Apl.  23.     Margaret  Jones   „      Joseph    and    Peter 

Evans,  during  minority  of  her  daughter  Margaret        118     0 
1710,  March  30.     David  Williams.       Adm.,  his  principal 

creditors,  Thomas  Wetton  and  Evan  Kinsey  .      1914     6 

1709-10,  March  19.     Mathew  Evans.       Adm.,  Elizabeth, 

relict  .  .  .  .  .     42  16     0 

„     Dec.  9.  William  Jones,  Mochdre.  Adm.,  Sina(?),  relict     47   12     6 
„         „  20.     William  Laurence.    Adm.,  Anne,  relict     .   147  10     0 
1711-12,  Feb.  12.   Richard  Thicken.       „      John  Phillips, 

principal  creditor    .  .  .  .933 

1714,  Sept.  30.     David  Powell.     Adm.,  Jane,  relict         .     48  11     0 

,,  „  Francis  Lewis.       „       Katharine,  relict 

1717,  Oct.  1.     David  Owen,  Mochdre.    Adm.,  John  Owen, 

brother  .  .  .  .  .     14     1     0 

1719,  July  4.     Richard  Jones.      Adm.,   Evan  and  John 

Jones      .  .  .  .  64     5     8 

„     Oct.  21.     Richard  Lewis.     Adm.,  Priscilla  Lewis    .     10     5     0 

1721,  Aug.  11.     Griffith    Evans.       „          Thomas    Jones 

and  Jane  his  wife    .... 

1722,  July  17.     Evan  Nanney.     Adm.,  Elinor  Nanney    .     50     0     0 

1723,  May  18.     Evan    Grwyn,    Mochdre.         Adm.,    Jane, 

relict       .  .  .  .  .     96     0     0 

1724,  Sept.  5.     Marie   Morris,  Mochdre.     Adm.,  Richard 

Morris     .  .  .  .  .     26     0     0 

1726,  Dec.  31.     Lewis   Jones,    Mochdre.       Adm.,    John 

Lewis     .  .  .  .  17  16     6 

1727,  Sept.  21.     William  Cleaton.    Adm.,  Dorothy,  relict       600 
„     Dec.  20.     Eleanor  Rogers.  ,,     Richard  Rogers 

„     Oct.  3.     Maria  Davies.     Adm.,  Sara  Jones  .     17  18     0 

March  16,  1732,  last  entry  in  this  volume. 


Vol.  III.— Index  of  Names,  1732-1782. 

WILLS  AND  ADMINISTRATIONS. 
1 740,  Jan.  23.     Thomas  Allen.1 

[Copy  of  his  will    proved   in   London]   memo,  in   Hereford  Index 
Boole. 


1  Wills,  unless  otherwise  described.  This  Calendar,  it  will  be 
noticed,  is  arranged  alphabetically,  which  explains  the  irregularity  of 
the  dates. 


242  KERRY  AND  MOUGHTREY  WILLS 

£     s.     d. 

1744,  July  8.     John  Baxter.     Wife  Mary,  executrix         .         

„         ,,  Thomas  Brown 

1764,  May  8.     Margaret  By  water     .  .  .770 

1744,  May  18.     William  Crompton.      Edward  Crompton, 

executor  ....         

1738,  Feb.  19.     John   Davies.      Admon.,    Anne    Davies, 

administratrix          ....          

1740,  Aug.  13.     William  Davies.    Mary  Davies,  executrix  151   10     0 

1741,  July  13.     John  Davies.     Lewis  Evans,  executor     .     62     0     0 
„     Oct.  27.     Mary  Davies.     Wm.  Lloyd,  executor       .  186  10     0 

1739   Dec.  22.     Elizabeth   Edwards.       Dorothy  Bishop, 

wife  of  Richard  Oliver,  executrix  .  .         

1741,  June  15.     John    Evans.       Mary,  wife   of  Richard 

Owens,  executrix     . 

„     Sept.  10.     Evan  Evans.       Griffith  Evans,  executor  101   14     0 
„     Sept.  19.     Thomas    Evans,    Admon.         Inventory  1503  2  1J 
Josiah  Evans,    Edward    Evans — Tutors,  etc.,    to 
Jane  Evans,  John  Evans,  Elizabeth  Maria  Evans. 

1741,  May  24.     Matthew   Evans.      Robert  Godwin,  exe- 
cutor     .  .  .  .  .     86  17     0 

1751,  Aug.  24.     Matthew  Edwards.     Dorothy    Edwards, 
executrix  .... 

1754,  Oct.  19.     Dorothy  Edwards.      Admon.,  Elizabeth, 

wife  of  Edward  Williams        .  .  .         

1767,  June  17.     Edward  Evans.      Ann  Evans,  executrix     40     0     0 

1744,  June  19.     Austin     Gethin.         Admon.,     Thomas 
Gethin    .  ... 

1733,  March  4.       James   Humphreys.        Admon.,    Eliza- 
beth Humphreys    .  .  .  .  186  12     0 

1781,  June  24.     John  Howells,  Mochdre.     Jane  Ho  wells, 

executrix  .  .  .  .     29  15     0 

1733,  Nov.  25.     John  Jones.     Admon.,  Margaret  Jones  .     16     7     6 

1738,  Jan.  10.     Richard  Jenkins.      Mary  Thomas,  execu- 
trix         .  .  .  .  .     64  10     0 

1750,  Sept.  5.     Evan  Jones.     Admon.  .  .  256     9     0 
1747,  Oct.  16.     Eobt.  Jones.     Elizabeth  Jones,  executrix 

1769.        „         John  Jones,  Mochdre.      Admon.,  Martha 

Jones      .  .  .  .  .     44     5     6 

1751,  July  9.     Richard  Jones,  Mochdre.      Edward  Jones, 

exor.       .  .  .  .  .     19     2     6 

(?)  Meredith  Jones,  Mochdre.      Mary  Jones, 

executrix  .  .     79     5     0 

177£,  March  26.     John  Jones.      Admon.,  Richard  Jones     18  10     0 
1761,  Oct.  19.     Edward     Jenkins,     Mochdre.        Martha 

Jenkins,  executrix  .  .  .  .1200 

1772,  Nov.  20.     Matthew  Jones.      Catherine  Jones,  exe- 
cutrix .  .  166     5     0 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.         243 

<£    s.    d. 

1775,  June  19.     Jane  Jones,  Mochdre.      Thomas  Mantle, 

executor  .... 

1786,  May  3.     David  Lloyd.     Ad mon.,  Mary  Lloyd         .13215     0 
1757,  May  24.     Richard  Lloyd,  Esq.     Admon.,  Margaret 

Lloyd      ..... 
1750,  May  18.     John  Lloyd,  Mochdre.    John  Lloyd,  exor.     55     7     6 
1753,  June  16.     John  Lloyd,         „         Evan  Pugh,  exor.     59     2     0 
1764,  Dec.  8.     Thomas  Lewis       „    Ed wd.  Roberts,  exor.     71     0     0 
(?)         John  Lewis.        Elizabeth   and  David   Lewis, 

exors.      .  .  .  .  .     99  16     3 

1733,  July  4.     Benum  Mestyn.    Sarah  Mestyn,  executrix 

1738,  May  2.     John  Meddins,  Mochdre.     Catherine  Med- 

dins,  executrix         .  .  .  .     63     7     6 

1744,  Aug.  25.     Thomas  Morris.     Admon.,  Susan  Morris  113  10     6 
1769,  May  5.     Thomas    Meredith,    MougTitry.       Margt. 

Meredith,  executrix  .  .  .     65  12     0 

1771,  Jan.  18.  Lewis  Morgan.  Evan  Davies,  exor.  .  60  1  0 
1749,  Aug.  13.  David  Owens.  Elizabeth  Owens,  execu- 
trix .  .  .  .  .  69  11  0 
1744,  May  20.  John  Powell.  Admon.,  Elanor  Powell  63  15  6 
1740,  Jan.  10.  Charles  Powell.  Mary  Powell,  executrix  98  7  6 
1746,  Sept.  5.  Rees  Price,  Mochdre.  Elizabeth  Price, 

executrix  .  .  .  .     60     5     0 

1766,  Oct.  23.     Edward    Price,    Llandulas   in    Mochdre. 

Elizabeth  Price,  executrix        .  .  .   162  15     0 

1776,  Aug.  23.     David  Pugh.    Elizabeth  Pugh,  executrix 

1739,  May  28.     Thomas  Reynolds.      [Proved  in  the  Pre- 

rogative Office]       .... 
1744,  June  10.     Winifred  Reynolds.     Thomas  Reynolds, 

exor.       .  .  .  .  .     97  10     0 

1757,  Oct.  1.     Thomas  Roberts.    Bridget  Roberts,  execu- 

trix        .  .  .  .  .       9  17     3 

1740,  May  7.     Watkin    Thomas.         Admon.,    Mochdre. 

Richd.  Thomas,  adm.  .  .  .     17     1     0 

1758,  Aug.  25.     Joshua    Thomas.        Admon.,  Elizabeth 

Thomas  .  .  .  .  .     54     0     0 

1744,  Sept.  23.  Charles  Thomas.  David  Shenton  and 
Jane  Thomas,  exors. 

1775,  April  24.  Wm.  Tibbot.  Wm.  Tibbot  and  Lewis 

Humphreys,  exors.  .  .  \  554  12  6 

1778-9,  Jan.  9.  Humphrey  Turner.  Humphrey  Turner, 
exor.  ..... 

1735,  May  4.  Edward  Williams.  Jane  Williams,  execu- 
trix 17  5  0 


244  KERRY  AND  MOUGHTREY  WILLS 

Vol.  IV.— Index  of  Names,  1732-1783.1 

£     s.    d. 

1733,  July  4.     Beman  Mostyn.     Sarah,  relict,  executrix  . 
1734-5,  Jan.   21.     Humphrey   Turner,  Mochdre.     Sinah 

Turner,  widow,  executrix          .  .  .     44     0     0 

„     March  4.     James  Humphreys.     Dd.  Rogers,  exor.       4  13     6 

1736,  May  4.     Edward  Williams.     Jane,  relict,  executrix     17     5     0 

1738,  May  2.     John  Meddins.     Catherine,   relict,   execu- 

trix ....                 .  63  7  6 
„     July  10.  Richard  Jenkin.     Mary  Thomas,  execu- 
trix .                  .                 .                 .                 .  64  10  0 
„     Jan.  30.  Richard  Ruffe.2     Susan  Ruffe,  executrix  .  81  2  3 

1739,  Dec.  22.  James  Price.     David  Pugh,  executor       .  3  15  0 
,,       „      26.  Elizabeth  Edwards,  proved  by  Dorothy 

Bishop,  wife  of  Richard  Oliver 
1732-40,  Jan.  23.     John  Jones.     Matthew  Jones,  exor.    .   154   12     0 

1740,  May  28.     Thomas  Reynolds.      [Proved  in  the  Pre- 

rogative Office]        .... 

„     Aug.  13.     William  Davies.     Mary  Davies,  sole  ex- 
ecutrix   .....   151   10     0 
1740-1,    Jan.    10.      Charles  Powell.      Mary  Powell,  sole 

executrix  .  .  .  .     98     7     6 

„     Jan.  15.     Thomas  Allen.     [This  will  was  proved  in 
the  Prerogative  Court,  June  28,  1734] 

1741,  May  15.     John  Evans.     By  Mary  Evans,  wife  of 

Richd.  Owen,  the  sole  executrix 

„     July  13.  John  Davies.     Lewis  Evans,  sole  exor.    .  62     0  0 

„     Aug.  10.  Evan  Evans.     Griffith  Evans,  exor.         .101     4  0 

„     Oct.  27.  Mary  Davies.     Wm.  Lloyd,  exor.              .  186  10  0 

1743,  Aug.  13.  James  Williams.     John  Lloyd,  exor.      .  15  10  0 

1744,  May  24.  Matthew  Evans.     Robert  Goodwin,  exor.  86   17  0 
,,     June  11.  Winifred  Reynolds.     Thomas.  Reynolds, 

exor.        .  .  .  .  .     97  10     0 

1745,  July  2.     John  Baxter.     Mary  Baxter,  executrix      . 
„     July  8.     Thomas  Broom.     Thomas  Broom,  exor. 

„     Sept.  23.     Charles  Thomas.      David  Shenton  and 
Jane  Thomas,  relict,  exors. 

1746,  Sept.  3.     Rees  Price,  Mochdrtf.     Elizabeth,  relict, 

sole  executrix  .  .  .  .  60  5  0 
„  Nov.  6.  James  Tron.  Sarah  and  Richard  Tron, 

exors.      .                  .                 .                  .                 .  70  10  0 

1740,  Aug.  18.  David  Owen.  Elizabeth  Owen,  sole 

executrix  .  .  .  .  69  11  0 

1750,  May  18.  John  Lloyd.  John  Lloyd,  exor.  .  55  7  0 

1  The  names  in  this  volume  are  not  in  alphabetical  sequence. 

2  He  was  of  Kerry  parish.  . 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.         245 

£     s.    d. 
1751.  July  9.     Richard  Jones,  Mochdref.     Edward  Jones, 

exor.        .  .  .  .  .     17     0     0 

,,     Aug.  24.     Susanna  Jones.     Her  will 

1753.  May  28.     John  Lloyd.     Evan  Pugh,  exor.  .     59     5     0 

1754,  Nov.   19.     Dorothy  Edwards.      Elizabeth,   wife  of 
Ed\v.  Williams,  sole  executrix 

1756,  July  13.     Edward  G wilt.     Margaret,  relict  .110     9     0 

1757,  Oct,  1.     Thomas  Roberts.     Bridgett  Roberts,  sole 

executrix  .  .  .  9   17     3 

„     Nov.  8.    Rowland  Thomas.    Rebecca  Thomas,  execu- 
trix         .  .  .  .  .     59     5     0 

1761,    Oct.    19.       Edward   Jenkin,    Mochdre.       Matthew 

Jenkin,  exor.  .  .  .  12     0     0 

1764,  July  3.     Margaret  Gravenor,  Mochdre     . 

„     Dec.  8.     Thomas  Lewis.     Edw.  Roberts,  exor.         .     71     0     0 
1766,  June  3.     Edward  Stephens.     John  Stephens,  exor.   179  12     0 
„     Aug.  13.     John  Lewis.     Elizabeth  and  Dd.  Lewis, 

exors.       .  .  .  .  .     99  10     0 

1769,  May  5.     Thomas  Meredith,  Mochdre.     Margaret, 

relict,  executrix       .  .  .  65  12     0 

1772,  Nov.  28.     Mathew  Jones.     Catherine  Jones,  execu- 
trix         .  .  .  .  .  166     5     0 

1775,  June  19.     Jane  Jones,   Mochdre.      Thos.    Mantle, 

exor.        .  .  .  .  45     2     0 

1776,  July  3.     John  Edwards  and  Chas.  Botteril,  exors.  . 

1777,  Aug.  22.     Humphrey  Turner.     H.  Turner,  one  of 

the  executors  .  .  .  .     99  10     0 

1780,  May  9.     John  Ruffe,  Mochdre  .  .     29  14     0 

1781,  Sept.  28.     Lewis  Humphreys,  Moclidre.    Son  Lewis, 

exor.        .  .  .  .  .  127  15     0 

1782,  June  24.     John  Howells,  Mochdre.     Jane  Howells, 

executrix  .  .     27  15     0 


Vol.  IV.— Index  of  Names,  1732-1785. 
ADMINISTRATIONS. 

1732,  Nov.  25.     John  Jones,  to  daughter  Mary  Jones      .     16  7  6 

1733,  May  8.     Edward  Evans         „           Margaret  Evans     51  19  6 
1736,  May  3.     David  Lloyd,  to  widow  Mary  Lloyd           .   132  15  0 
1738,  Feb.  19.  John  Davies,  to  widow  Ann.Davies 

1740,  May  7.     Watkin  Thomas,  to  brother  Richd.  Thomas     1710 

1744,  Oct.  24.     Austin  Gethin,  to  son  Thomas 

„     Oct.  25.     Thomas  Morris,  to  widow  Susan 

1745,  May  20.     John  Powell,  to  widow  Eleanor  .     6315     6 
1750,  Sept.  5.     Esau  Jones,  Doleforgan  in  Kerry,  to  Mary, 

relict  .  256     9     0 


246         KERRY  AND  MOUGHTREY  WILLS 

£  s.  d. 

1759,  April  7.     Eichard  Lloyd,  Esq.,  to  widow  Margaret  . 

1762,  April  23.     John  Humphreys,  to  widow  Elizabeth    .   186  12  0 

1771,  March  1.     John  Jones,  to  widow  Margaret                    44  5  6 
1774,  Sept.  19.     Thomas  Evans.     (?) 

1776,  March  27.     John  Jones,  to  son  Richard  .                 .     18  10  0 

1785,  Jan.  25.     John  Kitchen,  to  son  Robert  .                  .     99  0  0 


Vol.  V.— Index  of  Names,  1787-1821.1 

1787,  April  29.     Thomas  Broome.     John  Pugh,  exor.       .  60  0  0 
1789,  June    11.     Thomas    Bottrell.     Elizabeth    Bottrell, 

executrix                  ....  600  0  0 

1804,  June  16.     Edward  Cleatou.     Jane  Tron,  executrix  100  0  0 

1800,  Nov.  3.     William  Davies,  Mochdre,  to  Ann  Davies  95  15  0 
(?)    Feb.  12.     Evan  Davies.2     Abraham  Davies,  Moch- 
dre, exor.                  .                 .                 .                  .  273  15  0 

1814,  March  10.     Edward  Davies.     John  Lewis,  exor.     .     82     2     5 

1815,  April    15.     William    Davies,    Mochdre,    to    Sarah 

Davies     .....  200  0  0 
1817,   Sept.   22.     Evan  Davies,  Mochdre.     Jane  Davies, 

executrix  .  .  .  .   200  0  0 

1822,  April  18.     John  Davies,  to  Susan  Davies  .100  0  0 

1796,  Jan.  21.     Ann  Evans,  to  David  Evans    .  .   100  0  0 

„  „         Wm.  Evans,  to  David  Evans   .  .   100  0  0 

1801,  Nov.  27.     John  Evans,  to  John  Evans    .          under     20  0  0 

1809,  July  14.     John  Elton,  to  Margaret  Elton,  admon.  .     61     0     0 
„     Oct.  3.     James  Evans,  to  Richard  Evans,  admon.    .   128  13     0 

1808,  March  18.     Anne  Edwards,  to  John  Pugh,  admou. .       500 

1810,  Aug.   15.     Richard  Griffith,  Mochdre,  to  son  Ed- 
ward, admon.  .  .  .  .     82  17     0 

1822,  April   27.     Edward   Goodwin,  to  Sarah  Goodwin, 
admon.    ..... 

1801,  March  20.     Richard      Humphreys,     Mochdre,    to 

Elizth.  Humphreys,  admon.    .  .  .   196     1     6 

1785,  July  22.     Sarah  Jennings,  to  Edward  Jennings       .     25   17     4 
1801,  June  12.     Edward  Jones.     John  Lloyd,  exor.          .     20     0     0 
1817,  June  24.     Isaac  Jones,  to  Hannah,    wife  of  John 
Arthur,  admon.       .... 
1803,  July  29.     Catherine    Jones,     Trefeen,    to    Thomas 

Jones       .....  300     0     0 

1811,  July  27.     Richard  Jones,  Mochdre,  to  Richard  Jones  393  15     6 

1823,  Oct.  18.     John  Jones,  to  John  Jones        .  .   100     0     0 

1  This  Calendar  is  in  alphabetical  sequence. 

2  My  note  is  rather  confused  here  ;  the  will  may  have  been  Abra- 
ham, not  Evan,  Davies's. 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.  247 

£  s.  d. 

1785,  Jan.  25.     John  Kitchen,  to  Robert  Kitchen,  admon.     99  0  0 

1795,  Nov.  19.     John  Lloyd,  to  Mary  Lloyd,  admon.         .     95  7  0 
1801,  March  6.     Richard  Lewis,  to  Catherine  Lewis  and 

John  Pugh               .                 .                 .                 .  291  2  0 
1818,  Oct.  31.     Richard  Lewis,  Mochdre,  to  Sarah  Lewis, 

admon.  .... 

1801,  June  2.     David  Morris,  to  Mary  Morris  .                 .   130  9  0 
1814,  Sept.  3.     Mary  Meredith,  to  Sarah  Meredith,  admon. 

1809,  Dec.  1.     Jenkin  Morris,  to  Mary  Stubbs  (?)              .     85  0  0 
1788,  Nov.  7.     Thomas  Owen,  Moughtrey,  to   Susannah 

Owen      .                  .                  .                 .                  .     86  13  0 

1798,  April  26.     John  Owen,  to  David  Owen  .                  .   102  2  0 

1801,  Oct.  7.     David  Owen,  to  Jane  Owen       .                  .     98  12  0 

1802,  Aug.  6.     Richard  Owen,  to  Sarah  Owen  .                 .  300  0  0 
1793,  Dec.  3.     John  Price,  Goitre  [?  if  Kerry]                    .     20  0  0 

1806,  May  3.     John  Pryce,  Mochdre,  to  Elizabeth  Pryce, 

admon.                     ....  559  4  0 

1808,  Aug.  13.     John  Pugh,  to  Sara  Pugh        .                  .     88  7  6 

1805,  Nov.  26.     Richard  Lewis,  to  Thomas  Richards        .113  0  0 

1808,  Oct.  8.     Richard  Ruffe,  Moclidre,  to  Richard  Ruffe  100  0  0 

1788,  March  5.     Isaac  Swain,  to  Thomas  Swain                 .299  3  6 

1792,  Oct.  16.     John  Stephens,  to  Edward  Stephens        .     48  10  6 

1807,  Aug.  19.     William  Sheen,  to  Ann  Sheen                   .   188  7  6 

1812,  July  11.     Edward  Shenton,  to  John  Williams  and 

Wm.  Pugh               ....  757  15  0 

1817,  Sept.  18.     Mary  Stubbs,  to  John  Stubbs.                 .   100  0  0 

1785,  Oct.  19.     Sarnl.  Smith,  to  son  Samuel,  admon.         .     62  10  0 

1813,  June  11.     Humphrey  Turner,  to  his  exors.              .332  5  0 
1816,  May  1.     Eichard  Williams,  to  his  exor.                     .     20  0  0 


Vol.  VL— Index  of  Names,  1823-1858. 

1834,  Oct.  16.     William  Bo  wen,  to  William  Owen.1 

1837,  Oct.  20.     John  Brown,  Mochdre,  to  David  Morris. 

1839,  Oct.  25.     Eobert  Brown,  to  Robert  Brown. 

1848,  Oct.  20.     John  Colley,  to  Dorothy,  Richard,  and  James  Colley. 

1829,  March  4.     Sarah  Davies,  Mochdre,  to  Richard  Davies,  admon. 
1823,  April  18.     John  Davies,  to  Susan  Davies. 

1825,  Oct.  8.     Wm.  Davies,  to  Mary  Davies. 

1830,  Oct..  21.     Thomas  Davies,  to  Jane  Davies. 

1847,  May  21.  Thomas  Edmunds,  to  James  Powell  Hughes. 

1844,  Nov.  1.  Evan  Davies,  to  Abraham  Davies. 

1847,  Oct.  15.  Edward  Evans,  Mochdre,  to  Win.  Evans. 

1844,  Oct.  3.  David  Davies,  Mochdre,  to  Sarah  Davies. 

1  Value  of  inventory  not  mentioned  in  this  Calendar. 


248  KERRY  AND  MOUGHTEEY  WILLS 

1831,  July  18.     Richard  Hamer,  to  David  Hamer. 
1837,  April  20.     James  Hamer,  to  John  Thomas. 
1823,  Oct.  18.     John  Jones,  to  John  Jones. 
1825,  April  22.     Edward  Jones,  Mochdre,  to  Mary  Jones. 

„     Oct.  26.     Edward  Jones,  to  David  Jones. 
1855,  April  27.     James  Jenkins,  to  Jane  Jenkins,  admon. 
1834,  April  11.     Edward  Jennings,  to  Thomas  Jennings. 
1833,  Nov.  11.     William  Lewis,  to  Elizabeth  Lewis,  admon. 

,,  ,,  Margaret  Lewis,  to  Elizabeth  Lewis,  admon. 

„  „  Margaret  Lewis,  to  Richard  Hamer,  admon. 

1837,  Aug.  26.     John  Lewis,  to  Susannah  Lewis,  admon. 

„     Feb.  28.     Stephen  Morris,  to  Edward  Morris. 
1827,  March  10.     Richard  Owen,  to  Edward  Jones. 
1830,  April  29.     Ann  Owen,  to  Charles  Jones. 
1837,  Aug.  9.     Richard  Owen,  to  John  Owens. 
1827,  May  10.     John  Pryce,  to  Mary  Higgins. 
1830,  April  29.     John  Pryce,  to  Richard  Pryce. 

„  „          .   William  Pugh,  to  John  Pugh. 

1849,  Jan.  25.     Mary  Pugh,  to  John  Williams. 
1848         (?)         John  Stephens,  Mockdre,  to  Rachel  Stephens. 

Memo.— 1693,    Oct.    8.       Will  of  Michael  Gethin  of  Kerry, 
deposited  in  Registry  but  not  proved. 

1663.     Meredith  Bo  wen. 
1641.     Thomas  Lloyd. 


ARCHDEACONRY  OF  BRECKNOCK. 

Vol.  I.— Registered  Wills,  1570-1578. 

The  following  are  copies  of  all  the  wills  proved  from 
Kerry  and  Mochdre,  between  the  above  dates  :— 

1580.  Testament  of  EDWARD  AP  HOELL,  parochia  de  Kerry, 
nuper,  defuncto. 

In  the  name  of  God,  Amen  !  the  xxtieth  daye  of  Marche  in 
the  xxijth  yeare  of  the  raigne  of  our  Sou'raigne  Elizabeth  by 
the  grace  of  God  of  Ingland,  ffraunce,  and  Ireland,  Queene, 
Defender  of  the  ffaythe,  etc.,  and  in  the  yeere  of  our  Lord 
God  1580. 

I,  Edward  ap  hoell,  of  the  p'yshe  of  Kerrye,  in  the  countie  of 
Mongornerye,  in  p'fecte  mynde  and  Remern'braunce,  Laude  and 
prayse  be  unto  Al  Mightye  God,  Do  make  my  Testament  and 
last  Will  in  man'r  and  for'me  folowinge.  ffirst  I  do  bequeth 
my  soule  unto  Al  mightye  God  my  Maker  and  Redeem'r ;  my 
bodye  to  be  buryed  in  the  p'ishe  churche  of  Kerry e. 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.         249 

Item,  it  ys  my  Wyll  that  all  my  moveable  goods  and  immove- 
able,  To  be  equally  into  three  p'ts  [divided]  Betweene  my  wyf 
M'garet  Walker  and  my  ij'o  daughters  by  even  porc'ons,  to  the 
discretion  of  my  overseers. 

Item,  I  have  debts  oute — ffyrst  upon  Richard  Lloid  of  the 
soome  of  vli.  sterlinge. 

Item,  I  have  ij'o  kyne,  price — and  have  one  w'th  John  ap 
Kadwalladr,  and  th'other  w'th  Lewis  ap  Moris,  being  both  in 
the  p'ish  of  -  -  (?) 

Item,    I  have   with   John    ap  R's,  of  the  p'ishe   of  Berwe 

[illegible ]  of  the  mylke   and    cauf,    one   cowe    colored 

browne.1 

Item,  I  haue  a  cheste  w'th  John  beill'. 

Item,  I  have  one    coborde  wyth  Hughe  ap  Edwarde  my  sone. 

Item,  I  do  o'rdayne,  constitute,  and  make  to  be  my  true 
Executrix,  Margarett  Waulker  my  wedid  wief,  to  fulfill  these 
my  testament  and  last  will  as  abouesaid. 

Item,,  I  doe  o'rdayne,  co'stitute,  and  make  to  be  my  overseers 
John  Hossle  and  Will' in  Pyner,  gentl.  These  beinge  witness  : 
John  ap  Gwylym,  John  ap  Willin,  Morris  John,  clerke,  wyth 
dyverse  others. 

Inventaru?  bonor'  D'ci  defu^cti. 

Imprimis. — viii  kyne  pryce  \jli.  vis.  vine/. 

Item. —         xviii  sheepp  ,,  xxxvjs. 

„  fyve  goates  „  viijs.  iiijrf. 

„  in  graynes  on  the  fielde  to  the  value  of          xls. 

„  in  all  man'  of  household  stuff  and  bed- 

dinge,  with  all  other  Trankerye  to  the 
value  of  xls. 

,,  in  debts  oweinge  to  the  Testator  the 

soome  of  vi^'.  upon  Richard  Lloid 
Weston,  in  the  p'yshe  of  Chirchstoke 

Sum'  Totalis     xviij^'.  iijs.  iiijd 


Will  of  LEWYS  AP  EDWARD  of  Mochdre  ;  made  Sept.  17, 1569. 

I  bequeth  my  Soule  to  Allmightye  God  and  to  ye  blessed 
Ladye  Saynt  Marye,  and  all  the  holy  cornpanye  of  heven,2  and 
my  bodye  to  be  buried  w'thin  the  p'yshe  church  of  Mochtre. 

1  The  obliterated  words,  by  the  context,  appear  to  refer  to  some 
cattle  tacked  out,  and  the  person  who  kept  them  was  to  have  the  milk 
and  one  calf. 

2  Evidently  the  old  form  had  not  died  out  in  Kerry  district  at  this 
period. 

VOL.  XXVII.  JS 


250        KERRY  AND  MOUGHTRE  Y  WILLS 

Testator  devised  to  his  daughter  Jaeu  two  oxen  and  two 
bullocks,  four  kyne,  two  heiffers,  xx  sheepe.  To  his  daughter- 
in-lawe,  two  oxen,  iiij  kyne,  xxtye  sheepe.  To  Elen,  v'ch  leun, 
my  wedid  wyfe,  two  oxen,  three  kyne,  xxtye  sheepe. 

To  son  Owen,  two  oxen  and  a  mare. 

I  leve  in  debts  upon  Thomas,  my  eldest  son,  fyve  pounds,  to 
be  payed  to  the  sayed  Jeni  o'r  Lluis,  the  lands  that  be  called 
Tir-y-bol'a,  in  plege  of  the  sayed  five  pounds.  I  bequeth  to 
Hughe  and  John,  my  younger  sons,  two  oxen,  and  a  mare  and 
coulte  of  ij  yeare  old,  betweene  them  bothe  ;  further,  I  gaue 
Owen  my  sone  this  fyve  yere  past  y-ty-in-ycu  (Y-ty-yn-y-cwm  ?) 
and  all  the  reste  of  my  goodes  and  howseholde  stuffe,  and 
equally  to  be  geven  as  my  wyfe  and  Executors  see  beast  to  the 
behoffe  of  the  chyldren. 

I  doe  make  and  ordayne  Owen  ap  Leuis  and  leu'n  ap  Lewis, 
my  two  sons,  my  very  true  Executo'rs,  To  answere  and  paye 
all  my  chardges  and  deabtes  and  fullfill  all  my  will. 

Witness  hereof,  Owen  ap  leu'n,  Jon  ap  K's,  Jon  ap  G'r,  Owen 
ap  LI',  leu'n  ap  Lluis. 

Inventar*  Bonor*  de  def. 

Imp'mis.  —  xij  oxen  price  xiiijfo'. 

Item.—         ij  steers  iij  yeres  old         price  xxvjs.  viijcL 


„  xij  kyne  „ 

,,  ij  yerelinge  hiffers  „  xiijs.  ivd. 

„  xl  sheeppe  „  vj7i. 

„  iij  mares  „  xl«. 

„  in  household  stuffe  „  xxs. 

„  more  money  one1  lands  „  xviijs.  iiijt/. 

in  debts  due  to  the  testator  xxjs.  iiijd 


Will  of  WILI/M  AP  HO'ELL  AP  Dio  of  Moughteref. 

Testator  directed  that  his  body  should  be  buried  in  Moughtre 
Church. 

He  devised  to  his  ghostly  father,  Sir  Thomas  Lloyd,  5s. ; 
towards  the  repairs  of  Moughtre  Church,  xijd. ;  and  to  the 
mother  church  of  St.  David's,  viijd 

To  Richard  ap  G'll'm  (query  W'll'm)  my  son,  and  his  heirs  for 
ever,  all  my  lands  and  tenements  in  the  said  parish.  To  his  wife 
testator  devised  4  kyne,  2  oxen,  and  20  sheep. 

To  his  daughter  Margaret,  six  "  styres"  of  3  years  old,  and  a 

1  "On." 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.         251 

yearling  fill}',  also  4  cowes,  3  heifers,  a  2  years  old  bull,  and 
40  sheep.  All  the  above  he  had  given  in  his  lifetime,  and  had 
marked  with  a  mark  differing  from  his  own. 

To  leuan  ap  Thomas,  his  daughter's  son,  a  yearling  filly. 

Testator's  will  and  meaning  was  that  his  son  Richard  should 
set  4  kyne,  2  two  year  old  bullocks,  and  20  lambs  to  the  best 
advantage  to  some  honest  man  till  his  daughter  Blanch  attained 
21  years  of  age. 

Testator  mentioned  that  Mr.  Mathew  ap  Morris  owed  him 
30s. ;  David  Lloyd  ap  Thomas  also  owed  him  20s. 

Son  Richard,  sole  executor;  to  him  the  residue;  and 
testator  charged  "  him  to  see  to  the  execution  of  all  things  as 
may  tend  to  the  salvation  of  my  soule". 

Witnesses. — Thomas  Lloyd,  curate  of  Moughtre,  Edward  ap 
R's,  Robert  ap  leuan  ap  Robert,  Willi'm  ap  Thomas. 


Will  of  THOMAS  AMES  of  Kerry  ;  January  9,  1572. 

In  the  name  of  God,  Amen  !  Testator  directed  that  his  body 
should  be  buried  in  the  church  of  Kerry.  To  his  brother 
Richard  testator  bequeathed  one  heifer  two  years  old,  and  two 
sheep ;  to  Gole,  vercti  Meredith,  one  sheep  ;  to  Richard  Dod, 
one  sheep  ;  to  Thomas  Caystery,  one  sheep  ;  to  his  son  Nicholas 
Ames,  two  sheep ;  to  his  daughter  Jane  Caystery,  two  sheep  ; 
to  Nicholas  Ames,  the  son  of  William  the  younger,  the  residue 
of  all  his  goods  and  chattels. 

Debts  due  to  testator  by  William  Perks,  £3  6s.  Sd. ;  Rich'd 
Crompton,  12s. ;  Rich'd  ap  David  ap  Taylor,  Ss. ;  James  Wrop- 
ton,  23s.  ;  Dd.  ap  Rees  Cadogan,  one  heifer,  price  17s. 

To  his  son  Thomas  Ames  testator  bequeathed  the  lease  of 
the  house  he  dwelt  in  called  Ty  leuan  Morris  Taylor ;  to  his 
servant  Margaret  Owen,  Is.  Thomas  Ames  the  younger, 
testator's  son,  executor. 

Witnesses. — Ellis  Johnes,  Nicolas  DM,  and  John  Roaf,  and 
others. 

An  inventory  appended. 


Will  of  HUGHE  AP  DAVID  AP  GITTON,  of  the  parish  of 
Llanfihangel  in  Kerry;  Feb.  10,  1573. 

Testator  desired  to  be  buried  in  the  church  of  Llanfihangel 
in  Kerry ;  towards  the  reparation  of  the  same  he  left  3s.  4d. 
The  residue  he  bequeathed  to  Mallt,  verch  D'd,  his  wife,  and 

s  2 


252         KERRY  AND  MOUGHTREY  WILLS 

William  ap  Hughe,  his  son  and  heir,  whom  he  constituted  his 
sole  executor. 

Edward  ap  D'd  Heere,  overseer. 

Witnesses. — Rynald  ap  Morris,  John  ap  Meredith,  Maythewe 
Taylor,  and  his  ghostlie  father,  and  divers  others. 

An  inventory  appended. 


Will  of  JOHN  AP  DAVID  LLOYD  of  Kerry  ;  made  March  22, 
1573-4;  proved  April  28,  1574. 

Testator  directed  that  his  body  should  be  buried  in  Kerry 
Church.  He  devised  to  his  cousin,  James  ap  Richard,  the 
second  son  of  testator's  uncle,  Richard  ap  John  ap  Meredydd, 
a  house  and  tenement  commonly  called  Y-ty-in-y-Drevawr, 
with  all  lands,  rights,  easements,  etc.,  thereunto  belonging,  the 
same  lying  in  the  township  of  Drevor,  except  a  mortgage 
which  he  had  on  the  lands  of  Gryffith  ap  Meredd  and  leu'n  ap 
Meredd,  and  which  testator  devised  to  Thomas  ap  Thomas,  his 
uncle's  son.  He  devised  Wd.  towards  the  reparation  of  Kerry 
Church. 

To  his  cousin  John  ap  Meredydd,  one  half  the  lordship  called 
Brithdir,1  set,  lying,  and  being  in  the  parish  of  Llanrhaiadr, 
he  to  have  this  after  the  death  of  his  (testator's)  mother 
Gwenlyn. 

Testator  bequeathed  to  his  mother  a  "yelue''  (yellow) 
gelding,  four  cows,  and  20d.  yearly  during  her  life,  in  con- 
sideration that  testator's  mother  should  seal  and  deliver  to 
James,  testator's  executor,  all  her  right  and  interest  and  title 
within  the  township  of  Drevor  and  Kylrowdd. 

To  Margaret,  verch  Richard,  testator  bequeathed  four  year- 
ling heifers. 

To  Richard  ap  John  ap  Meredith  testator  devised  all  his 
lands  in  the  township  of  Kilroydd,  so  that  the  said  Richard  do 
pay  unto  Ph'e  (Phillip)  ap  M'dedd  the  sum  of  £5. 

To  David  lloid  ap  John  he  bequeathed  a  bay  mare  and  her 
fillie  ;  to  his  servant  Robert  ap  Gr.,  a  yearling  bullock  ;  to  John 
ap  Thomas,  a  brown  heifer ;  to  his  maid  Catherine,  two  ewes. 

The  remainder  of  his  goods,  movable  and  immovable, 
testator  devised  to  his  cousin  James  ap  Richard,  the  second 
son  of  Richard  ap  John  ap  Meredd,  he  also  to  be  sole  executor, 

1  "  The  manor  of  Brithdir  comprises  the  township  of  Brithdir  in  the 
parish  of  Llanrhaiadr,  and  the  township  of  Corner  in  the  parish  of 
Pennant,  and  formerly  belonged  to  the  Humphreys'  of  Llwyn." 
(Mont.  Coll.,  Tol.  ii,  p.  119.) 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.  253 

his  uncle  Richard  ap  John  ap  Meredd,  overseer  and  tutor  of 

the  said  James,  testator's  executor,  until  James  attained  lawful 
age  and  discretion. 

Inventory. 

Imprimis.  —  iiij  oxen  ...                  vlii^'. 

Item.  —            x  kyne,  wyld  and  tame  ...                    xij/^. 

„               xvj  sheep  ..                   xxxs. 

„               a  geldinge  .  .                       xls. 

„                2  mares  and  2  fillies  ...                      xls. 

„                 x  acres  of  rye  ...                    vi/i. 

„               xx  bushels    ,,  ...                   xxxs. 

,,                xi       ,,         of  otes  ...                     xxs. 

„               ix  acres            „  ...                  xxxs. 

,,                In  household  stuff  ...            vis.  viijrf. 

„                In  mortgage  on  land  ...  vijfo*.  xiijs.  iiijfi?. 


NOTE.  —  The  above  is  the  will  of  a  member  of  the  family  of  Pryce  of 
Glanmeheli,  who,  hitherto,  has  been  unknown.  A  reference  to  the 
Rev.  W.  V.  Lloyd's  biographical  sketch,  prefixed  to  the  Sheriff 
(Edward  Pryce  of  Glanmeheli)  for  the  year  1614,  will  show  the 
relationship  ;  as  both  that  account  and  the  will  mention  the  names  of 
several  members,  and  indicate  their  relationship. 


"Will  of  JOHN  Bisnopp1  of  Kerry;  made  April  30,  1574. 

Testator  desired  that  his  body  should  be  buried  in  Kerry 
Church.  To  his  servant,  Reged  Bishop,  he  bequeathed  one 
heifer,  two  years  old ;  to  Margaret,  vercfi  Richard,  one  heifer, 
two  years  old,  and  two  li  theuv"  lambs. 

Residue  to  be  divided  into  two  parts,  one  half  to  his  wife,  the 
other  to  his  three  children  in  equal  shares  ;  his  wife,  so  long  as 
she  remained  unmarried  and  continued  a  widow,  to  have  the 
ordering  of  the  goods  of  testator's  children,  and  she  to  have  the 
profit  arising  until  each  of  the  children  attained  twenty  years 
of  age. 

Testatator  constituted  his  wife  Margaret  and  son  John  ex- 
ecutors, Randall  Bishop  and  Edward  Giles,  overseers. 

The  following  persons  owed  testator  the  sums  stated  below  : 

Edward  ap  Meredd,  a  mortgage  upon  his  meadow,  xxs. 
David  ap  John  ap  Ho'll,  on  land  called  Bryn  y  Vroyder,  xls. 

„  „  upon  another  parcel  of  his,  xls. 

„  „  also  upon  him,  xxvjs.  viiid. 


1  See  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxiii,  p.  44,  his  son  John's  will. 


254  KERRY  AND  MOUGHTREY  WILLS 

This  last  due  for  rent  of  the  said  lands  for  years  then  ex- 
pired, and  xxd  for  the  then  next  year's  rent,  payable  at  May- 
Day  1578. 

Also  upon  3  acres  of  land  belonging  to  Richard1  ap  John  ap 
Meredith,  in  testator's  occupation,  xxs. 

Due  also  for  money  lent  to  David  ap  John  ap  Ho'll,  6s.  8d. 

Due  also  by  Morys  ap  Meredd  of  Kerry,  £3  6s.  8c?.,  the  same 
being  the  price  of  two  bullocks,  colored  black,  and  payable  on 
days  appointed. 

Due  also  by  William  Crompton  for  two  wethers,  8s. 

Debts  owing  by  Testator. 

To  Thomas  Shepherd  of  Tuckford,  xlvis.  viijd. 
„  Richard  ap  John  ap  M'edd2  of  Kerry,  xxxd 
,,  Edward  Giles,  viijs. 
,,  Thomas  Bushopp,  iiijs. 
,,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Randell  Bushop, 


Witnesses.  —  Kichard   ap   John    ap  M'edd,  Foulk   Crompton, 
levanni  ap  James,  with  others. 
An  inventory  appended. 


Will  of  WILLIAM  WILCOKS  of  Kerry  ;  made  May  14,  1574. 

Testator  directed  that  his  body  should  be  buried  in  Christian 
burial  in  the  parish  of  Kerry. 

To  his  son,  Thomas  ap  William,  he  bequeathed  five  kine,  one 
heifer  ij  years  old.  '  '  To  Margaret,  verch  Thomas,  my  weded 
wyfe,  six  heifers,  2  bullocks,  2  calves,  and  all  my  sheep."  He 
directed  that  all  his  debts  should  be  paid,  and  stated  that  he 
owed  his  brother,  Edward  Wilkocks,  £5  12s.  ;  he  also  owed 
David  ap  Edward  xiid,  and  Thomas  Murten  of  Brontynuc, 


There  were  debts  due  to  testator  from  Emunt  ap  Hughe, 
£8  10s.  sterling;  John  Howard.  £5  5s.  8d.  sterling;  John  ap 
Griffith,  6s.  8d.,  and  2  bushels  of  rye  ;  leu'n  ap  M'edd,  2  bushels 
of  oatts  ;  ditto,  1  bushel  of  rye  ;  Thomas  ap  M'edd,  2  bushels 
of  otes. 

Residue  to  be  divided  between  Thomas  ap  William,  son, 
and  testator's  wife  Margaret,  verch  Thomas  —  they  executors. 
Thomas  Wilkocks,  brother,  and  John  ap  Gr.,  overseers. 

Witnesses.  —  Griffith  ap  Lie:  Vyghan,  Davyd  ap  Lie'  Vyghan, 


1  Of  Glanmeheli.  2  Ibid, 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.  255 

Morys  ap  Ho'll,  John  ap   Griffith,   Edmond  Wilcock,  Morys 
Johns,  with  diverse  others. 
[No  inventory.] 


Will  of  THOMAS  DANYLLEY  of  Kerry;  made  July  24,  1578. 

He  directed  that  his  "  Karkas"  should  be  buried  in  the 
churchyard  at  Newtown. 

To  his  son  William  he  bequeathed  three  heifers,  one  then 
with  Alyce  Edwards  in  Lydome,  and  th'other  two  about  testa- 
tor's house.  Residue  to  his  wife  Joane,  his  son  George,  and  his 
daughter  Anne,  in  equal  shares. 

Witnesses. — Thomas  Barker,  Hugh  Rowlens  of  Hiton  (?), 
Wrn.  Snead,  and  others. 

Debts  due  to  testator:  from  Humphrey  Tudg  of  Kerry, 
£3  10s.  8d. ;  George  Crowther,  £3  13s.  4d.,  "  and  all  the  plow- 
ing of  my  land  that  belongeth  to  my  house";  John  Wilks, 
£1  16s.  8d.;  Water  Hilster,  8s. 

Testator  owed  £3  to  Thomas  Barker  of  Rotlinghop  ;  to  Joan 
Astley,  16s.  6d. ;  to  John  Rawlence  of  Newtown,  £1  6s.  8d. 

Inventory. 

Imprimis. — vi  kyne1  pris  ixfo'. 

Item. —         xxxtie  sheepe  „  ,    iijfo".  xvs. 

„               xxxtie  lambes  ,,  Is. 

„               ij  bullocks  ,,  xls. 

„               iij  heiffers  „  iij/i. 

„               ij  yearling  bullocks  ,,  xxs. 

.,               ij  caples2  ,,  xxvjs.  viiid. 

„               the  cropp  of  the  ground  „  xxs. 

„  in  household  stuff. 

Prysed  by  Thomas  Baker  and  Thomas  Bivan. 


GRIFFITH  AP  JOHN  AP  MORYS  of  Kerry. 
An  Inventory  only — no  date;  probably  1578 — of  his  goods. 

Imprimis. — six  oxen  pric  vi^'. 

Item. —          four  kyne  ,,  iujli. 

„               four  heyffers  ,,  liijs.  uijd. 

„               lx  sheep  „  viili. 

„                two  mares  ,,  xxvjs.  viiid. 

„               four  heads  of  suyne3  ,,  iiijs. 

1  Kyne  means  in  all  cases  milking  cows.         2  Wild  mountain  ponies. 
3  It  is  very  rarely  that  we  see  pigs  mentioned ;  they  appear  to  be 
of  little  value. 


256  KERRY  AND  MOTJGHTREY  WILLS 

Item. —        in  corne  in  the  barne                  pric  xxvis.  vine/. 

„                 „                 „    field                      „  xx.?. 
,,               in  household  stuff,  with  other 

implements                               „  xls. 


Will  of  EICHAED  PRICE,   Clerk,   Vicar  of  Kerry ;    made 
June  23,  1577;  proved  January  20,  1577-8. 

He  directed  that  his  body  should  be  buried  in  the  chancel 
of  ISTewtown  Church.  Testator  devised  to  Roger  ap  Griffith 
and  Katerin  his  wife,  testator's  "base  daughter  ,  and  to  their 
heirs  for  ever,  two  tenements  in  the  parish  of  Moughtre,  with 
all  meadows,  etc.,  thereunto  belonging,  the  same  then  being  in 
the  tenure  of  James  Orne  (or  Owen)]  the  rest  of  his  lands  lying 
in  Moughtre  he  devised  to  David  ap  John  and  Elizabeth  his  wife, 
testator's  base  daughter)  and  to  their  heirs  for  ever. 

To  John  Pryce,  Esq.,  testator's  nephew,  he  devised  a  water 
corn  mill,1  one  hilling  mill  in  the  parish  of  Newtown,  and  three 
houses,  or  burgages,  in  the  Newtown,  then  in  the  tenure  of 
John  Morys,  Rees  ap  David,  and  Rees  ap  Griffith ;  further, 
testator  devised  to  the  said  Roger,  Katerin,  David,  and  Eliza- 
beth, and  their  heirs  for  ever,  the  rest  of  his  houses  and  bur- 
gages  in  Newtown  ;  also  he  gave  to  the  said  Roger  and  Katerin, 
and  their  heirs,  two  messuages  and  the  lands  thereunto  belong- 
ing :  the  one  then  in  the  tenure  of  Owen  ap  Griffith,  in  the 
parish  of  Newtoune,  and  the  other  in  the  parish  of  Kerry,  in 
the  tenure  of  Nicolas  Dod.  Testator  also  gave  to  William 
Pryce,  son  to  James  Pryce,  begotten  upon  the  body  of  one  Ann 
Spencer,  and  to  his  heirs  for  ever,  two  tenements  or  messuages 
in  the  parish  of  Llandinam,  with  the  lands  thereunto  belonging  ; 
also  to  the  said  William  Price,  and  to  one  Roger  Pryce,  son  to 
Jarnes  Pryce,  begotten  upon  the  body  of  Elizabeth,  verch 
David,  and  to  their  heirs  for  ever,  "all  my  lands  and  tenements 
in  the  parish  of  Aberhafesp." 

To  Roger  ap  Griffith  and  Katherine  his  wife  testator 
bequeathed  the  sum  of  £20,  to  be  paid  of  his  goods  and  chat- 
tells;  also  his  grey  gelding  and  four  wild  mares.  To  David  ap 
John  Wyn  and  Elizabeth  his  wife,  £20,  to  be  paid  as  aforesaid. 
Four  oxen,  and  four  wild  mares,  and  the  rest  of  his  goods, 
movable  and  immovable,  testator  bequeathed  to  the  said  Roger 
and  William  Price. 

He  also  bequeathed  the  sum  of  20s.  towards  the  reparation 
of  Kerry  church ;  20s.,,  Llandinam  church ;  20s.,  Llandrinio 

1  See  "  Historica  Mis,",  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  ii,  p,  368, 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.  257 

church ;  and  65.  towards  the  repairs  of  the  way  betwixt  the 
parish  church  of  Kerry  and  Newtown. 

William  Roger,  executor.  Mr.  William  Leighton  and  John 
Pryce,  Esq.,  to  be  tutors  and  guardians  to  the  said  William 
and  Roger  Pryce,  and  overseers  of  this  will. 

Witnesses. — Arthur  Pryce,  Esq.,  Richard  Pryce,  Richard  (?) 
ap  John  ap  M'edyth,  Edward  ap  Rees  Wyne,  Mathewe  ap 
Mores,  Roger  ap  Gr.,  David  ap  John  ap  David,  Moris  Johns, 
clerk,  Robt.  ap  Gr.,  John  ap  David,  Thomas  ap  le'n,  David  ap 
Morgan. 

NOTE. — Testator  was  vicar  of  Kerry  as  early  as  1532  (see  Mont. 
Coll.,  vol.  ii,  p.  368),  and  brother  of  Mathew  Goch  of  Newtown  Hall, 
great-grandfather  of  Sir  John  Pryce,  Bart.  He  appears  to  have  had 
considerable  property,  as  also  several  illegitimate  children.  The 
writer  thinks  James  Price,  to  whose  illegitimate  sons  by  different 
mothers  testator  devised  lands  in  Llandinam  and  Aberhafesp,  was 
testator's  own  illegitimate  son.  Were  the  Pryces  of  Vachwen,  Aber- 
hafesp, descendants  of  Roger  1  and  who  now  represents  William 
Pryce,  to  whom  testator  devised  his  Llandinam  property  1  Lewis 
Dwnn,  in  the  year  1568,  composed  a  poem  of  ninety-two  lines  in  praise 
of  testator ;  it  is  in  a  Peniarth  MS.,  fo.  295. 


Will  of  G'LLTM  AP  IEU'N  LI/IN  of  Kerry;  made  Dec.  16,  1577; 
proved  May  30,  1578. 

He  directed  that  his  body  should  be  buried  in  Kerry  Church. 
To  the  cathedral  church  of  St.  David's  he  bequeathed  kd.,  and 
to  the  poor-man's  box,  8d. 

To  his  son  David  ap  G'llin  testator  bequeathed  a  mortgage 
which  he  had  on  certain  lands  called  "  Bryn-y-Velyn",  the 
amount  of  which  was  sixteen  pounds ;  the  acreage  of  the  land 
was  twelve.  To  his  son  leu'n  testator  devised  all  the  lands 
testator  held  in  the  townships  of  Gwernawyed  and  Manlloyd  in 
mortgage  for  ten  pounds;  his  son  leu'n  to  pay  testator's 
younger  son  John,  £3.  To  his  eldest  son  David  testator  devised 
all  his  lands  not  previously  bequeathed. 

Testator  left  ten  pounds  upon  the  lands  of  Morris  ap  leu'n 
Ll'in  as  a  mortgage. 

Witnesses. — Morys  John,  clerk,  John  ap  W'm,  leu'n  ap 
g'llim,  and  diverse  others. 


258       KERRY  A:ND  MOUGHTREY  WILLS 

Will  of  GRIFFINI  AP  IE' UN  of  Kerry ;  made  January  7,  1577-8 ; 
proved  May  30,  1578. 

Testator  directed  that  his  body  should  be  buried  in  Kerry 
Church.  To  St.  David's  Cathedral  he  bequeathed  4d,  and  to 
the  poor-man's  box  of  Kerry,  Qd. 

To  his  son  James  ap  Griffith  he  devised  all  his  (testator's) 
purchased  and  mortgaged  lands  in  the  township  of  Tregraig 
and  Dolfor  ;  in  default  of  issue,  to  his  son  James,  then  to  his 
son  Lewis ;  in  default,  to  testator's  son  Eichard  ap  Griffith.  To 
his  son  John  testator  bequeathed  two  mares  and  one  colt ;  to 
his  son  Lewis,  two  mares,  one  filly,  and  a  yearling  colt ;  to  son 
Richard,  two  mares ;  to  daughter  Margaret,  two  bullocks,  four 
kyne,  and  twelve  sheep  ;  to  Ellen,  verch  Griffith,  testator's 
daughter,  three  heifers  two  years  old;  to  his  son  James  four 
heads  of  capulls.1 

Executor. — James  ap  Griffith;  he  to  dispose  of  the  residue 
according  to  his  discretion,  to  fulfil  this  will,  and  pay  testator's 
debts,  etc. 

Overseers. — Mathew  ap  D'd  ap  Madock,  Owen  ap  D'd  ap 
Madock,  Owen  ap  leu'n,  Thomas  ap  Luis. 

Witnesses. — Owen  ap  Kees,  Griffithe  ap  R.,  John  ap  Griffith, 
Richard  ap  Griffith,  John  ap  W'ms,  and  diverse  others. 

[An  inventory  appended.] 


Vol.  II.— Registered  Wills,  1583-1588. 

Will  of  OWEN  AP  MADOC  of  Moughtrey ;  made  March  5, 
1583  •  proved  -    -  (?). 

Testator  desired  to  be  buried  in  Moughtrey  Church,  towards 
the  repairs  of  which  church  he  bequeathed  the  sum  of  3s.  4d., 
and  to  his  nephew,  who  was  curate  thereof,  he  left  6s.  8d.  Testa- 
tor bequeathed  the  sum  of  £6,  being  a  mortgage  upon  a  tene- 
ment in  Penstrowed,  to  his  son  leuan  ;  the  said  tenement  was 
the  property  of  leuen  ap  Davyd  ap  R's  Goch ;  also  26s.  Sd,  a 
mortgage  on  lands  belonginge  to  Rees  David  Goch,  lying  in  the 
parish  of  Llanllwchaiarn. 

To  his  son  Thomas  testator  devised  £6,  a  mortgage  upon 
lands  then  belonging  to  Griffith  ap  Morys  ap  Henry,  situate  in 
the  parish  of  Llandinam ;  also  to  the  said  Thomas  a  sum  of  £7, 
being  a  mortgage  upon  lands  of  Lluis  ap  leu'n  ap  Moris  and 
Hywell  ap  Lluis,  commonly  called  Pwll-y-Roes  Llowrddy  ar 

1  Capulls  =  wild  ponies. 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.         259 

Hay:  devisee  to  occupy  said  lands  until  redeemed.    To  the  same 
Thomas  he  bequeathed  a  two-year-old  horse  "  colored  black". 

To  his  youngest  sou  Griffith  testator  bequeathed  £12,  a 
mortgage  upon  the  lands  of  David  ap  leu'n  Gwyne,  the  said 
lands  to  be  occupied  and  enjoyed  by  testator's  eldest  son 
Meredith  until  the  first  time  of  redemption.  If  not  redeemed 
at  the  appointed  time,  then  testator  strongly1  recommended 
Meredith,  his  eldest  son  himself,  to  pay  the  said  sum  of  £12 

son  Kobert  left  to  the  custody  of  his  brother  Meredith 

until    the   time    of  redemption    expired ;    Meredith  to    invest 
Robert's  to  the  best  advantage  for  Robert. 

Testator  bequeathed  to  the  said  Robert  4  mares,  with  the 
increase  thereof;  to  his  eldest  daughter  Katherine  he  be- 
queathed six  oxen,  of  which  two  were  in  the  custody  of  one 
David  ap  Jenkin  in  Maesmawr,  in  the  parish  of  Llandinam,  and 
£3  that  were  in  the  hands  of  Morys  D'd  ap  leu'n  of  Llan- 
dinam, towards  the  buying  of  other  two  oxen,  and  ij  must  be 
delivered  out  of  the  house,2  and  seven  kyen,  of  which  two  are  in 
the  house  (?)  of  David  ap  Jenkyn  aforesaid,  and  two  in  the 
keeping  of  Catherine,  verch  David,  widow,  of  the  parish  of 
Llanllowchayarn,  and  three  are  of  the  house  ',  also  to  her  30 
sheep  out  of  the  house  with  the  increase. 

To  his  daughter  Jaen,  four  oxen ;  two  were  in  the  custody 
of  Thomas  ap  Jenkin  of  Llandinam,  the  other  two  out  of  the 
house;  and  six  kyen,  four  in  the* keeping  of  Gwenllian,  vercJi 
Ferris,  in  the  parish  of  Moughtre,  the  other  two  in  the  custody 
of  Ho'ell  ap  Lluis  of  the  said  parish;  and  thirty  sheep,  twenty  of 
which  were  in  the  keeping  of  David  ap  Evan  ap  Phillip  of 
Moughtrie,  and  the  rest  out  of  the  house. 

To  his  daughter  Elizabeth,  four  4-years-old  bullocks  out  of 
the  house,  and  four  2-year-old  heifers,  of  which  two  were  in  the 
custody  of  leu'n  ap  Eees  of  Llandinam,  the  other  two  out  of 
the  house. 

To  his  daughter  Gwenllian  a  similar  bequest,  all  out  of  the 
house;  also,  to  be  equally  divided  between  Elizabeth  and 
Gwenllian,  £4  16s.  8d.,  a  mortgage  on  the  lands  of  David  ap 
leu'n  ap  Thomas  Lluis  ap  levanni  ap  Morris,  and  John  ap 
Howell  Lluis,  the  said  lands  to  be  occupied  and  enjoyed  by 
testator's  wife  Lowry,  towards  keeping  his  aforesaid  daughters 
until  the  time  of  redemption,  and  when  redeemed,  the  said  sum 
to  be  equally  divided,  as  it  is  expressed. 

1  This  word  is  almost  illegible  :  it  may  be  "  straightly".  I  adopt  the 
former  as  seeming  more  applicable  to  the  circumstances. 

2  "  Out  of  the  house"  means  out  of  testator's  own  stock. 


260  KERRY  AND  MOTJGHTREY  WILLS 

To  his  wife  Lowry,  four  oxen  and  six  kyen,  and  thirty  sheep 
out  of  the  house. 

To  Meredith,  his  eldest  son,  all  his  freehold  lands,  and  he 
sole  executor.  To  the  said  Meredith,  20s.  lying  in  the  hands  of 
Thomas  ap  Lluis,  and  20s.  on  the  land  of  Morgan  leu'n  Morgan. 

Witnesses. — Rees  ap  lenij  Gwyn,  Mathewe  ap  David  ap 
Madocke  Howells,  John  Dackyn,  Thomas  Morga5,  Thomas  ap 
Llewis  ap  Edward,  David  ap  leu'n  ap  Thomas,  leu'n  ap  Thomas. 
D'd  Gwyn. 

Postscript. — Uxor  Thomas  Barke,  40s.  Item,  uxor  •  leu'n  ap 
John,  4s.  4<d.  Item,  uxor  Jeni  ap  Lewis  Gwynne,  5s.1 


Will  of  JOHN  GETHINE,  of  the  parish  of  Llanh'hangell  in  Kerry  ; 
made  August  5,  1585. 

Testator  desired  that  his  body  should  be  buried  "in  the 
Christian  burial  of  Kerry  aforesaid,  my  parish  church". 

Testator  devised  one  half  of  his  mansion-house  in  the  Goitre, 
and  one  half  his  lands,  belonging  to  the  same,  to  his  wife  for 
life,  if  she  remained  unmarried  ;  if  she  married,  then  her  devise 
to  pass  to  testator's  son  William.  To  his  wife  Katherine  he 
also  bequeathed  three  kine  and  one  mare ;  to  each  of  his 
youngest  sons,  sums  of  money,,  namely,  Richard  the  elder, 

Richard  the  younger,  and  Edward  ;    to  his  son  Moris  Gethin, 
r?q 

3C/O. 

James  ap  John  ap  Morris  owed  testator  £9  ;  this  he 
bequeathed  for  the  maintenance  of  his  wife  and  children,  and 
other  sums  to  clothe  his  younger  children;  40s.  in  the  hands 
of  Mores  ap  Meredd  he  left  to  his  sister.  "  I  am  bound  to 
fynishe  a  peece  of  work  of  Mr.  Baylis  Carnlan  of  Lodowe,-for 
fynishing  whereof  he  is  to  paye  me  7s.  6d.  I  owe  one  John 
Hamori  of  Skottes  Woode  2s.  2d.  I  owe  to  one  Roger  Smithe 
3s.  Qd.n 


An  Inventory  of  the  goods  of  PHILLIP  JONES  of  Kerry,  deceased  ; 

will  missing. 

Imprimis. — iij  bullocks  price  ii'ijli. 

,,              a  mare  „  iijs.  ivd. 

„              ij  kyne  „  xls. 

„              iij  sheep  „  vjs.  viiiJ. 

„             beaddying  ,,  vjs.  vikZ. 
„             the  corn  in  the  house  and                  , 

the  field  „  vli. 

1  Testator  does  not  say  whether  these  are  debts  or  bequests. 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.  261 

Widow  Gwenllian  had  the  Commission  issued  23rd  November 
1586. 


Will  of  DAVJD  LLOYD  AP  IENIJ  AP  MORGAN  of  Mochdre ;   made 
February  14,  1586;  proved  March  14,  1586-7. 

Testator  desired  that  his  body  should  be  buried  in  Moughtre 
Church,  towards  the  reparation  of  which  he  bequeathed  6s.  8d., 
and  a  like  sum  towards  the  reparation  of  "  the  decayed  house 
of  St.  David's". 

To  his  daughter  Anne  he  bequeathed  4  oxen,  4  kine,  20 
sheep,  and  20  "nobles"  of  money,  "with  her  chamber  as 
pleaseth  her  mother." 

To  his  daughter  Margaret,  a  similar  bequest. 

To  his  wife  Katherine,  2  oxen,  2  kine,  and  her  part  of  the 
young  beasts  that  testator  had,  which  he  devised  in  equal 
shares  between  his  wife  and  his  two  daughters. 

To  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  David  ap  David  his  son,  a  yearling 
sheep  ;  to  his  nephew  David  ap  Hughe,  a  yearling  colt ;  to  his 
godson  Thomas  ap  leu'n,  3s.  4d. ;  to  his  son  leu'n  David  Lloyd, 
all  his  lands  and  tenements,  as  well  as  mortgages,  in  the  lordship 
of  Kerry  or  elsewhere,  excepting  the  land  he  had  then  already 
assured  to  his  son  David,  and  the  portions  given  to  his  wife 
for  her  life.  To  his  son  lenij  he  bequeathed  all  his  cobles,1 
wild  as  well  as  tame,  and  he  to  be  sole  executor. 

Testator  owed  the  following  sum  :  to  David  ap  David  Lloyd, 
23s.  4d. 

The  following  sum  was  due  to  testator,  namely,  6s.  8d.,  by 
Katherine,  the  late  wife  of  Kichard  Williams. 

Witnesses.— Hughe  ap  lenij,  David  Mathewe,  Clerke,  with 
others.  [An  inventory  appended.] 


Will  of  RICHARD  WILLIAMS  AP  HO'ELL  AP  DYO  of  Moughtrey  ; 
made  December  2,  1586;  proved  March  4,  1586-7. 

Testator  desired  that  his  body  should  be  buried  either  in  the 
church  or  churchyard  of  Moughtrey.  To  St.  David's  he 
bequeathed  iiij^.  Towards  the  reparation  of  Moughtrey 
Church  he  left  2s.  To  Bleens,  vz.  William  ap  Ho'ell,  his  sister, 
he  bequeathed  two  yearling  heifers  ;  all  his  other  goods  and 
chattells,  movable  as  well  as  immovable,  he  bequeathed  to  be 
equally  divided  between  his  wife  Catherine,  verch  Edward,  and 

1  Wild  poiiies. 


262  KERRY  AND  MOUGHTREY  WILLS 

his  natural1  son  Ho'ell  ap  Richard,  excepting  the  parts  or 
portions  then  already  bequeathed  ;  also  to  his  son,  all  testator's 
land  and  tenements  in  the  parish  of  Moughtrey  or  elsewhere, 
excepting  the  parts  the  law  gave  to  his  wife  Katherine,  vercJi 
Edward,  for  life  ;  further,  testator  devised  all  his  lauds  to  her 
for  her  life  if  she  remained  a  widow,  and  if  she  maintained 
testator's  son  Howell  in  school  with  his  books,  all  the  while 
that  she  kept  herself  a  widow.  Son,  executor.  John  Price, 
Esq.,  overseer. 

Debts  owing  by  testator  :  to  John  Price,  Esq.,  40s. ;  to  Owen 
ap  Thomas,  16s.  Sd.  •  to  Richard  Rycars,  11s. 

Debts  owing  to  testator  :  by  Edward  Lloyd  ap  Thomas  Bedo 
of  St.  Harmon,  £4 ;  by  William  ap  Howell  ap  Rees  Wynne, 
£2  10s. ;  by  David  Lloyd  ap  Thomas,  £7  10s. 

Witnesses. — Ho' ell  ap  Lewis,  David  ap  Mor'is,  als.  Taylor, 
Thomas  Chartino,  leu'n  ap  Lewis,  D'd  ap  Rich'd,  David  Mathew, 
Clerk,  and  others. 


Will  of  THOMAS  AP  LEWIS  AP  ED'D  of  Moughtrey  ;  made 
December  15,  1586 ;  proved  February  25,  1586-7. 

He  desired  to  be  buried  in  Moughtrey  Church. 

To  St.  David's  he  bequeathed  the  sum  of  4tZ.,  and  to  the 
church  of  Moughtrey,  10s. 

Testator  bequeathed  to  his  wife  Gvven,  verch  Howel,  4  oxen, 
6  kyne,  and  30  sheep,  a  mare  and  colt,  and  a  young  horse 
3  years  old,  towards  the  maintenance  of  his  children  and  pay- 
ment of  certain  debts.  To  his  daughter  Katherine,  £18,  being 
a  mortgage  on  the  lands  of  Robert  ap  Ho'ell ;  to  his  daughter 
Margaret,  2  bullocks,  2  heifers,  and  10  sheep;  to  his  son 
David,  the  wild  mare  and  her  colts  that  be  upon  the  mountains; 
also  to  him,  all  testator's  lands  in  the  parish  of  Moughtrey, 
excepting  the  part  due  to  his  wife  for  her  life.  Son  David 
sole  executor. 

Thomas  Johnes,  Gent.,  and  Owen  ap  Lewis,  yeoman,  overseers. 

A  list  of  debts  due  to  and  by  testator  appended,  also  an 
inventory. 

Will  of  MORGAN  «AP  EDWARD  of  Moughtrey2;  made  January  1, 
1586.       [Probate  not  attached.] 

Testator  expressed  a  wish  that  he  should  be  buried  in  Kerry 
Church,  towards  the  reparation  of  which  he  bequeathed  2s. 

1  That  is,  his  '•  legitimate"  son. 

2  I  think  this  should  be  "  Kerry"  ;  see  another  will  of  his  infra. 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.         263 

All  his  houses  and  lands  in  the  township  of  TWrllan,  in  Kerry 
parish,  he  devised  to  his  son  John  ap  Morgan  and  the  heirs  of 
his  body  lawfully  begotten,  for  ever. 

"  I  appoint,  and  my  will  is,  that  Lewes  my  son,  his  heirs  or 
assigns,  or  any  of  them,  do  pay,  or  cause  to  be  paid,  to  John 
my  son,  £10  within  nine  years  after  my  decease;  to  son  John 
1  our  panne' ;  to  Mauld  rny  daughter,  6  kine  and  4  oxen,  and 
her  chamber  reasonably." 

All  the  rest  to  his  son  Lewis,  excepting  growing  corn,  which 
testator  bequeathed  between  his  two  sons,  towards  their  main- 
tenance and  the  rest  of  testator's  household.  Son  Lewis,  sole 
executor. 

leuan  ap  John  ap  Edward  and  David  ap  John  ap  Ho'ell, 
overseers. 

Witnesses. — Griffith  ap  Thomas,  John  ap  William  ap  Mores, 
Owen  ap  Mores,  leu'n  ap  David — per  me,  Edward  Powell.1 

[An  inventory  appended.] 


Will  of  JOHN  AP  DAVID  of  Kerry;  made  1587;  proved      (?) 

Christian  burial ;  "2s.  towards  reparations  of  Kerry  Church. 

Testator  devised  all  his  freehold  in  the  township  of  Bryn- 
llywarch  to  his  son  Richard  and  his  heirs ;  testator's  wife 
Jane,  verch  Ho'ell,  to  have  the  occupation  of  one  half  of  the 
said  freehold  for  her  life.  A  sum  of  £20,  which  testator  had 
as  a  mortgage  on  the  lands  of  Morris  ap  John  ap  leu'n  ap 
Richard,  he  directed  should  be  apportioned  as  follows  :  to  his 
son  Arthur  ap  John,  £5  ;  to  his  daughter  Anne,  £4  ;  daughter 
Margeret,  £2  ;  daughter  Maud,  £1  ;  daughter  Jonet,  £1  ;  and 
to  his  wife  Jane,  verch  Ho'ell,  £G  ;  residue  (£1)  towards  his 
funeral  expenses. 

Also  to  his  wife,  £4,  on  a  mortgage  on  lands  of  Richard  ap 
John  of  Kilrowth  ;  also  to  his  wife  Jane,  one  acre  of  land 
called  Y  Koghe,  and  another  parcel  of  land  lying  between  the 
lands  of  John  ap  R's  David  ap  John  on  the  one  side,  and  lands 
of  Morris  ap  John  on  the  other. 

To  Katherine,  verch  David,  £5 ;  to  his  wife  Jane,  4  kyne, 
2  steers,  one  horse,  and  all  his  household  stuff;  to  his  son 
Arthur,  a  red  colt. 

Executors. — Richard  ap  John  and  wife  Jane,  verch  Ho'ell. 
If  she,  Jane,  married,  she  to  have  nothing  except  what  was  to 
her  by  law. 

Witnesses. — Austin  David,  Thomas  ap  John  ap  David,  John 
Price,  Clerk. 

1  Probably  the  writer  of  the  will. 


264  KERRY  AND  MOUGHTKEY  WILLS 

Will  of  MORGAN  AP  EDWARD  of  Kerry ;    made  January  1 

1586. 

This  is   a    second   engrossment  of  the  will  of  Morgan  ap 
Edward,  supra,  pp.  262-3,  but  was  not  completed. 


Will  of  MORRISE  AP  JOHN  AP  EEES  of  Kerry ;  made 
January  2,  1588. 

Testator  directed  that  his  body  should  be  buried  in  Kerry 
Church.  He  devised  the  mansion  house  wherein  he  dwelt,  and 
all  other  messuages  and  lands  situate  and  being  in  Keven-y- 
beren,  Kelliber  Ucha,  Goetre,  and  one  other  tenement  and  mill 
in  Gwenrewe,  and  another  house  in  Tre'rllan,  then  in  his  own 
occupation,  and  in  the  occupation  of  Franc  Jenckes  and  leu'n 
ap  James,  to  his  son  Stephen  and  his  heirs  for  ever.  To  his 
son  James  testator  devised  a  house,  then  in  the  occupation  of 
Humphrey  Tudge,  with  all  lands,  etc.,  thereto  belonging,  situate 
and  beinge  in  Gwenriw.  Testator's  will  was  that  John  ap 
leu'n  Lloid  and  Richard  ap  John  Wynne  should  receive  the 
rents  of  the  last  recited  tenement  for  seven  years  then  to  come, 
to  satisfy  Lewis  ap  Hugh  of  the  sum  of  £45  which  testator 
owed  to  him. 

Testator's  will  was  that  his  wife  Jane  should  have  the 
mansion  which  he  then  occupied,  and  all  lands  belonging 
thereto,  and  his  mill,  in  as  large  a  manner  as  he  held  them,  so 
long  as  she  remained  unmarried,  towards  the  education,  main- 
tenance, and  rearing  of  his  children.  To  his  son  Arthur  and 
his  heirs  testator  devised  a  messuage  then  in  the  tenure  of  John 
Jewckes,  lying  and  beinge  in  Penygelly  aforesaid,  in  the. gift 
and  grant  of  Robert  ap  John  ap  R's  and  Morrice  ap  Robert, 
and  all  other  testator's  rights  and  demands,  which  he  had  or 
could  demand  of  the  said  Robert  and  Morrice  ap  Robert,  so  as 
he  paid  to  the  rest  of  his  sons,  Hughe,  Richard,  John,  Edward, 
and  Rees,  the  some  of  £40  when  he  shall  be  twenty-one  years 
[of  age]. 

Testator's  will  was  that  if  the  said  Arthur  and  James,  or 
either  of  them,  died  without  issue  lawfully  begotten,  that  the 
lands  to  him  or  them  dieing  so  bequeathed  should  revert  and 
remain,  descend  and  fall,  to  be  equally  divided  between  Hugh, 
John,  Richard,  Edward,  and  Rees,  testator's  sons,  and  to  their 
heirs ;  and  testator's  will  further  was,  that  if  any  of  them  died 
in  like  manner  without  lawful  heirs,  that  his  or  their  part  or 
parts  should  descend  and  come  and  be  equally  divided  amongst 
the  rest. 


AT  HEREFORD  PROBATE  OFFICE.         265 

To  his  son  Hugh,  and  to  the  heirs  of  Hugh,  testator  devised 
the  lands  he  held  of  Griffith  ap  leu'an  in  Kefen-y-berew,  with 
all  testator's  right  and  title  thereunto. 

To  his  daughters  Margaret  and  Katherine  he  divided  all 
the  lands  and  tenements  which  he  held  of  the  gift  and  grant  of 
Harry  ap  D'd,  the  same  lying  in  Gwenriwe. 

All  the  rest  of  his  lands,  rents,  reversions,  and  services 
testator  devised  to  his  son  Stephen  and  to  his  heirs  for  ever. 

Testator  bequeathed  beds  to  each  daughter ;  the  residue  of 
all  his  chattells,  movable  as  well  as  immovable,  he  left  to  his 
wife.  Son  Stephen,  executor. 

John  ap  leu'n  Lloyd  and  Richard  ap  John  Wynne,  overseers. 
Son  Stephen  to  pay  Randoll  Luther,  Gentleman,  £50. 

Debts  owing  to  testator  :  DM  ap  John  Cadd'er,  27s.  Sd. ;  upon 
Charles  ap  David  (als.  Powell),  20s. 

Witnesses. — Rees  ap  Morys,  Lewis  ap  D'd  Lloid,  John  ap 
John  ap  leu'n  Lloid,  Richard  ap  Ho'ell,  Robert  ap  leu'n  ap 
Rees,  Morrice  ap  Robert  Lewis  ap  M'edd,  M'edd  ap  levan  ap 
Gwillim,  Owen  ap  S'r,  D'd  Evan  ap  James,  and  John  Rees. 


Will  of  EDWARD  AP  DAVID  BEDO  of  the  Graig,  Kerry. 

Testator  desired  to  be  buried  in  Kerry  Church.  He  be- 
queathed 4d  towards  the  reparation  of  St.  David's,  and  towards 
the  reparation  of  Kerry  Church,  Is. 

To  his  eldest  daughter  Margaret,  verch  Edward,  f{  one  cow, 
'  colored  black',  with  a  white  tail  and  a  '  whilt'  in  the  forehead, 
one  blacke  ij  yeare  old  heyfer  and  yerling  calfis."  To  the  said 
Margaret  and  her  sister  Ellen,  testator's  second  daughter,  he 
devised  two  parcells  of  land,  arable,  wood,  and  pasture,  one 
knowne  by  the  name  of  "Errowe  Dynllydan",  containing  by 
estimation  six  acres,  which  testator  had  purchased  from  David 
Lloyd  ap  M'edd,  and  the  other  called  the  "  Llettie"-wyne,  and 
it  contained  by  estimation  four  acres,  which  testator  had 
redeemed  from  one  Rees  ap  Owen,  deceased;  both  parcels  lay 
in  the  township  of  Graig  in  Kerry  parish,  then  or  late  in  the 
occupation  of  testator  or  his  assigns;  to  the  said  Margaret 
and  Ellen,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  for  ever.  Provided  always 
that  if  one  John  ap  Edward,  testator's  son  and  heir,  should  pay 
the  said  Margaret  and  Ellen  £5  each,  within  two  years  after 
the  day  of  testator's  burial,  that  then  the  said  John  and  his 
heirs  should  for  ever  hold  the  said  parcels. 

To  Margaret,  his  youngest  daughter,  he  devised  a  parcel  of 

VOL.  XXVII.  T 


266  KERRY  AND  MOUGHTREY  WILLS. 

land,  "  arable  and  hey'',  containing  six  acres,  called  or  knowne 
by  the  name  of  Gwayne  rnerch  John,  then  in  the  occupation  of 
Owen  levan,  which  parcel  testator  had  likewise  redeemed  from 
the  said  Rees  ap  Owen,  she  to  hold  the  said  land  to  her  and 
her  heirs,  unless  the  said  John  ap  Edward,  or  his  heirs,  paid 
her  £4  within  six  years  next  after  the  day  of  testator's  burial. 

To  his  youngest  son,  David  ap  Edward,  £10,  to  be  paid  to 
him  by  his  brother  John  ap  Edward. 

To  his  wife  Jane  the  moiety  of  the  messuage  called  "  Bryn- 
bedwyn",  and  of  all  the  lands  thereto  belonging,  to  her  for  life; 
after,  to  John  ap  Edward,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  for  ever ;  and 
testator  devised  the  other  moiety  to  his  son  John,  together 
with  all  testator's  implements  of  husbandry.  To  Jane  his  wife 
testator  devised  all  his  goods  and  chattels  not  bequeathed ; 
also,  to  Jane  and  his  son  John,  all  grain  and  hay,  both  in  the 
barn  and  the  field,  towards  the  keep  of  his  children  and  his 
funeral  expenses. 

[No  probate  attached  to  this  will,  or  inventory.] 


AN  INDEX  TO  THE  WILLS 

Copied  from  Vols.  I  and  II,  Registered  Wills  AT  HEREFORD — 
Brecknock  Archdeaconry. 


Date. 

Name. 

Place.      *di9J* 

JKegister. 

1580. 

Edward  ap  Hoell  

...  Kerry 

28 

1569. 

Lewis  ap  Edward  ... 

...  Mochdre 

46 

Will  ap  Hoell  ap  Dio 

...  Moughdreff... 

212 

1572. 

9  Jan. 

...  Thomas  Ames 

...  Kerry 

316 

1573. 

10  Feb. 

...  Hughe  D'dap  Gitto 

/  Llanfihangel1  \ 
1        Kerry        / 

217 

>» 

22  Mar. 

...  John  ap  David  Lloyd 

...  Kerry 

275 

1574. 

28  July 

...  John  Bishop 

...  Kerry 

276 

5) 

14  May 

...  William  Wilcocks... 

...  Kerry 

291 

1578. 

28  July 

...  Thomas  Danylley  

...  Kerry 

322 

GryfBth  ap  John  ap  Mory 

s         ...  Kerry 

331 

1577. 

23  June 

[An  inventory  only  ;  will 
...  Richard  Pryce,  Vicar  of  .. 

missing.  ] 
...  Kerry 

422 

»i 

26  Dec. 

...  Gllim  ap  leu'n  ll'in 

...  Kerry 

442 

1577-8. 

7  Jan. 

...  Griffini  ap  leuan  ... 

...  Kerry 

443 

1  Llanfihangel-Kerry.  The  parish  church  was  usually  described 
the  church  of  St.  Michael  in  Kerry.  It  will  be  seen,  infra,  that  there 
was  a  serious  legal  contention  as  to  whether  this  or  Gwernygo  Church 
was  the  parish  church. 


AN    ANCIENT   JURY. 


267 


Vol.  II. 

Date.  Name. 

1583.       5  Mar.  ...  Owen  ap  David  ap  Madoc 

1585.  1  Aug.  ...  John  Gethin,  parish  of    ... 

1596.     23  Nov.  .    Phillip  Jones  (an  inventory  only) 

1586.  13  Feb.  .    David  Lloyd  ap  Jenij  ap  Morgan 
,,           2  Dec.  .    Rich  ap  Willia  ap  Hoell  ap  Dyo 
,,         15  Dec.  .    Thomas  ap  Lewis  ap  Edward 

1586-7.    1  Jan.  .    Morgan  ap  Edward          

1587.  4  May  .    John  ap  David      

1586.       1  Jan.  .    Morgan  ap  Edward  (same  as  411) 

1588.  28  Jan.  .    Morris  ap  John  ap  Rees 

[No  date  ]  Edward  ap  D'd  Bedo  of  Graig    ... 


Place. 


Folio  of 
Register. 
Moughtrey  ...  143 

222 


Kerry 

Mochdre 

Mochdre 

Mochdre 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry 

Kerry 


288 
...  362 
...  366 
...  368 
...  411 
...  420 
...  489 
...  668 
..  699 


AN    ANCIENT   JURY. 


AMONG  the  Pedes  Finium  of  the  third  year  of  James 
the  First  (1606)  relating  to  Montgomeryshire,  I  found 
the  annexed  list.  It  is  the  only  instance  that  I  have 
met  with  among  the  "  Fines". 

It  was  summoned  to  decide  some  matter  connected 
with  land,  between  John  Davies",  plaintiff,  and  Griffith 
ap  John  ap  Mores,  deft.  Perhaps  the  most  interesting 
feature  connected  with  it  is  that  it  locates  the  persons 
named  in  1606,  arid  may  be  of  service  for  genealogical 
purposes. 

Thomas  Gruff  of  Penycastle,  gent. 
David  Jones  of  Llanidloes          „ 
Howell  ap  Richard  of  Hurdley   „ 
M'edd  Lloyd  of  Brynelen 
David  ap  Howell  goz  of  Brythdere,  gent. 
David  Jones  of  Llanwothyn  „ 

John  ap  Owen  of  Collfryn  ,, 

Hugh  ap  leu'n  of  Penstro\\  ed  „ 

Jenkin  Moris  of  Llandinam  ,, 

John  Gruff  of  Balsley,  yeoman. 

T  2 


268  AN   ANCIENT   JURY. 

Mort.    Me'dd  ap  Howell  ap  Rees  of  Machynlleth,  gent. 

Roger  David  ap  leu'n  of  Llandyssil,  gent.     Jur. 

Richard  Evans  of  Maesmawr,  gent. 
Mort.    John  ap  Gruff  of  Halcetor          „ 

Lewis  ap  R's  Owen  of  Tylwch      „ 

Richard  ap  John  ap  Reignold  ap  Trefnanney,  gent. 

David  ap  John  ap  Res  of  Rhandregynwen,  yeoman. 

Jevannus  Evan  of  Glynhafren,  gent.     Jur. 

Galfrid  ap  Cadd'r  of  Rhayadr       „ 

David  ap  Richard  of  Brannyarth,  gent. 

Humfrey  Lloyd  of  Hera  „ 

Richard  Roberts  of  Tuthinpreede     „ 

Gilbert  Jaspar  of  Buttington  ,, 

William  ap  John  Wyn  of  Myvod      „ 

Res  ap  Jenkyn  of  Trevegloes  „ 

Reignold  ap  Lewis  of  Djsserth         „         Jur. 

John  ap  Mathew  of  Llangyny w         „ 

William  ap  Owen  ap  M'edd  of  Dolvor,  gent.     Jur. 

George  Whittyngham  of  Kylkewydd  [erased]. 

John  ap  Mores  ap  Jo'n  D'd  of  Pennant,  gent. 

William  ap  Howell  of  Dyffryn  Llanvair 

Francis  Ph'e  (Phillipe)  of  Forden 

John  Bushop  of  Kerry 

Reignold  ap  Edward  of  Trelydan 


Richard  ap  Jon  ap  Richard  of  Bery  w 
Griffith  ap  Howell  ap  Owen  of  Darowen 
Lewis  ap  R's  ap  Owen  gwyn  of  Llwydiarth 
John  Gruff  of  Tretherwen  meibion  gwnwas 
John  Powell  of  Mellington,  gent. 
Thomas  Morgan  of  Hirnant     „ 


Jur. 


gent.     Jur. 


Here  follows  a  vacant  space,  and  then  are  entered 

Evan  David  Lloyd  of  Moughtrey,  gent. 
Maurice  Jones  of  Llandinam  „ 

Roger  Edwards  of  Kylkewydd          „ 
M'edd  ap  Rees  of  Darowen  „ 

Stephen  Morris  of  Kevenyberen       ,, 
David  ap  Hugh  of  Trewern  ,, 

E.  B.  M. 


269 


THE   HOLY   WELLS   OF    NORTH   WALES. 

BY  THE  REV.  ELIAS   OWEN. 


LEGENDARY  wells  are  abundant  in  Wales,  and  venera- 
tion for  them  dates  from  ancient  times,  even  from  pre- 
Christian,  and  prehistoric  ages.  Indeed,  evidence  is  not 
wanting  to  prove  that  water- worship,  or  something 
very  much  like  water-worship,  was  once  universal. 

It  is  difficult  to  trace  to  its  source  any  phase  of 
pagan  faith ;  but  perhaps  the  best  way  of  proceeding 
in  such  matters  would  be  to  ascertain  whether,  in  any 
part  of  the  world  at  this  present  time,  there  are  people 
in  a  low  state  of  civilisation,  who  reverence,  or  worship, 
water,  or  look  upon  it  as  a  sacred  thing. 

We  have  not  far  to  go  before  evidence  is  forthcom- 
ing from  West  Africa  and  Central  America — as,  for 
instance,  in  the  fetichism  prevalent  in  the  former  place, 
and  in  the  animism  of  the  Indians  of  Guiana — that 
every  object  in  the  world  is  a  being,  that  animate  and 
inanimate  objects  differ  only  in  the  accident  of  bodily 
form,  that  they  have  all  alike  a  body,  and  a  spirit. 
This  idea  is,  therefore,  the  first  and  most  important 
step  towards  water-worship.  But  further,  in  hot,  and 
even  in  temperate  climates,  it  was  seen  that  water  was 
essential  to  animal  and  vegetable  life,  and  hence  the 
necessity  for  propitiating  such  a  potent  and  beneficent 
power  ;  and  further,  it  was  also  observed  that  water 
occasionally  was  inimical  to  man,  and  destroyed  his 
property  ;  therefore,  on  the  plea  of  self-preservation, 
this  spirit,  whether  in  the  form  of  a  lake,  a  stream,  a 
fountain,  a  waterfall,  or  a  well,  was  looked  upon  as  a 
god,  to  whom  worship  was  tendered,  and  offerings 
made,  to  obtain  his  favours,  or  to  avert  his  wrath. 


270  THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES. 

Thus  water- worship  in  ancient  pagan  times  prevailed. 
The  Egyptians,  Persians,  Greeks,  Romans,  etc.,  had 
their  deities  of  fountain  and  stream.  The  early  in- 
habitants of  Gaul,  Switzerland,  and  Central  Europe, 
worshipped  lakes,  regarding  them  as  sacred  beings. 
The  beautiful  bracelets,  which  have  been  discovered  in 
the  Swiss  lakes,  have  been  supposed  to  have  been 
votive  offerings  to  the  water-god. 

Classical  writers,  such  as  Tacitus,  Pliny,  Virgil,  Ovid, 
and  Horace,  bear  testimony  to  the  prevailing  belief  in 
the  sacredness  of  water.  Horace  makes  a  solemn  pro- 
mise that  he  would  make  a  present  of  a  very  fine  kid, 
some  sweet  wine,  and  flowers,  to  a  noble  fountain  in  his 
own  Sabine  villa.  The  Romans  indeed  had  a  religious 
feast  called  Fontinalia,  celebrated  on  the  1 3th  of  Octo- 
ber, in  honour  of  the  nymphs  of  wells  and  fountains. 
The  ceremony  consisted  in  throwing  nosegays  into  the 
fountains,  or  putting  crowns  of  flowers  upon  the  wells. 
Traces  of  a  like  feast  are  still  found  in  parts  of  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  Ireland,  and  Wales. 

But  sanctity  was  ascribed  not  only  to  wells  and 
fountains,  but  also  to  rivers.  Thus  the  Ganges,  the 
Nile,  and  the  Dee  are,  or  were,  looked  upon  as  sacred. 
Even  to  this  day  the  map  of  Finland  contains  such 
names  as  Pyhajarvi,  sacred  lake;  Pyhajoki,  sacred  river; 
and  some  Finlanders  still  offer  goats  and  calves  to  these 
sacred  waters  (v.  Preface  to  Kalevala,  by  J.  M.  Crawford). 

Sufficient  has  been  said  to  show  that  at  one  time 
water-worship,  or  something  very  much  like  water- 
worship,  was  all  but  universal. 

I  will  now  limit  my  remarks  to  our  own  country. 

Gildas,  who  is  said  to  have  lived  in  the  sixth  century, 
speaking  of  his  countrymen,  the  Welsh,  tells  us  that  at 
one  time  they  paid  divine  honour  to  water.  His  words 
are:  "Nor  will  I  call  out  upon  the  mountains, foun- 
tains, or  hills,  or  upon  the  rivers,  which  are  now  sub- 
servient to  the  use  of  men,  but  once  were  an  abomina- 
tion and  obstruction  to  them,  and  to  which  the  blind 
people  paid  divine  honour, " 


THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES.       271 

The  preceding  species  of  idolatry  was  interdicted  at 
the  Council  of  Tours,  A.D.  567,  and  in  the  canons  made 
in  the  reign  of  King  Edgar,  A.D.  960,  the  same  thing  is 
forbidden  in  the  following  words  :— 

"That  every  priest  industriously  advance  Christianity, 
and  extinguish  heathenism,  and  forbid  the  worship  of 
fountains." 

Also  in  the  Canons  of  Anselm,  made  in  the  year  A.D. 
1102,  the  following  words  occur  : — 

"  Let  no  one  attribute  reverence  or  sanctity  to  a 
dead  body  or  a  fountain  ....  without  the  Bishop's 
knowledge/' 

These  quotations  prove  that  there  was  antagonism 
between  the  animism  of  the  Celts  and  the  Christian 
religion,  and  that  both  faiths  existed  side  by  side  for 
hundreds  of  years,  and,  perhaps,  in  the  end,  a  kind  of 
compromise  was  arrived  at,  by  using  the  water  of 
sacred  wells,  and  rivers,  of  the  Celts,  for  Holy  Baptism  ; 
in  this  way  the  people's  veneration  for  their  holy  wells 
would  not  be  destroyed,  but  would  be  diverted. 


WATER  FOR  BAPTISM  PROCURED  FROM  HOLY  WELLS. 

It  is  certain  that  it  was  once  a  custom  in  Wales  to 
procure  the  water  for  the  font,  and  even  for  washing 
the  church,  from  the  spring  dedicated  to  the  patron 
saint,  rather  than  from  any  other  well  which  might  be  in 
closer  proximity  to  the  church,  and  it  was  thought  that 
if  ordinary  water  were  used  for  baptisms,  something  awful 
would  happen.  Thus,  I  was  told  by  the  parish  clerk  of 
Abererch,  Carnarvonshire,  that  when  common  water  was 
first  substituted  for  that  already  procured  from  St.  Cawr- 
daf's  Well,  at  a  certain  baptism,  not  many  years  ago,  those 
members  of  the  congregation  who  were  aware  of  the  fact 
watched  the  process  of  events  with  considerable  dread 
and  misgivings  ;  but,  when  the  rite  had  been  performed 


272  THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES. 

without  disaster,  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  any 
water  would  do  quite  as  well  for  baptism  as  that 
in  St.  Cawrdaf  s  Well ;  and  from  that  time  the  parish 
clerk  saved  himself  the  trouble  of  a  long  walk  to  the 
well  of  their  patron  saint  previously  to  a  christening  by 
filling  the  font  with  water  from  a  spring  near  at  hand. 
This,  most  likely,  is  the  history  of  a  like  innovation  in 
many  parishes. 

Living  water,  or  water  not  cut  off  from  its  source, 
seems  to  have  been  in  Wales,  and  other  parts,  preferred 
for  baptisms  to  any  other  kind  of  water.  Thus  there 
is  a  ruinated  chapel  about  two  miles  from  St.  Asaph, 
called  St.  Mary's  Chapel,  at  the  west  end  of  which 
is  a  holy  well  called  Ffynon  Fair,  the  waters  of  which 
are  conducted  into  the  south  transept,  where  there  is 
a  long  bath  or  font,  probably  once  used  for  baptism. 
When  Llanelian  Church  was  being  restored,  a  well  of 
spring  water  was  discovered  beneath  the  floor,  and  much 
difficulty  was  experienced  in  diverting  the  stream. 
King  Edwin  of  Northumbria  was  baptised  in  a  spring 
of  water,  around  which  a  wooden  chapel  was  erected. 
York  Cathedral  was  afterwards  built  over  this  chapel, 
and  the  well  still  exists  in  the  crypt  of  that  cathedral. 

In  St.  Madron's  Chapel,  Cornwall,  is  an  arrangement 
similar  to  that  at  St.  Mary's  Oratory,  St.  Asaph.  The 
water  is  supplied  from  St.  Madron's  Well,  which  is 
about  200  yards  distant,  and  enters  through  the  south- 
west corner,  where  there  is  an  excavation  which  appears 
to  have  been  used  as  a  font.  The  holy  water  stoup  in 
the  porch  of  Llanidan  old  church,  Anglesey,  is  always 
filled  with  spring  water,  and  when  emptied,  it  soon  fills 
itself  again . 

In  several  churchyards,  even  in  our  days,  holy  wells 
still  exist ;  thus,  in  Llangelynin  old  church,  on  the 
summit  of  the  hill  between  Penmaenmawr  and  the  river 
Conway,  in  the  corner  of  the  churchyard  is  St.  Celynin's 
Well.  The  walls  are  roofless  ;  brambles,  nettles,  and 
moss  cover  the  stone  seats,  frogs  have  taken  possession 
of  the  reservoir,  stones  have  fallen  into  the  well :  but 


THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES.  273 

at  one  time  this  well  was  of  more  than  local  fame. 
Mothers  resorted  hither  with  their  weak  and  sickly 
children,  as  a  last  resource  to  gain  for  them  strength 
and  health.  The  children  were  generally  immersed  in 
the  water  early  in  the  morning,  and  were  afterwards 
wrapped  in  blankets,  and  carried  to  a  farm  a  little  to 
the  south  of  the  church,  called  Cae  lot,  where  there 
was  always  a  spare  bed  for  the  sufferers,  and  a  hearty 
welcome  for  the  anxious  mothers.  The  water  from  this 
well  was  always  used  for  baptisms,  and  probably  before 
there  was  a  font  in  the  church  the  well  itself  was  used 
as  a  baptistery.  There  is  also  a  neglected  well  in 
Cerrigceinwen  churchyard,  Anglesey,  and  this  too  was 
credited  with  healing  qualities. 

The  history  of  these  wells  points  to  the  supposition 
that  they  were,  before  the  introduction  of  fonts,  used 
for  baptisms,  and  probably  the  buildings  surrounding 
the  springs  were  baptisteries,  and  that  at  the  same  time 
that  they  were  used  for  baptism  they  were  frequented 
by  devotees  in  search  of  health,  omens,  or  prognostica- 
tions of  coming  events.  Thus  the  old  faith,  with  its 
superstitions,  lived  concurrently  with  the  Christian 
religion. 

As  corroborative  evidence  of  what  has  now  been  ad- 
vanced, it  may  be  stated  that  "not  a  single  font  has 
been  proved,  on  any  evidence  whatsoever,  to  be  of  a 
date  anterior  to  the  Conquest" ;  and  certainly  there  are 
in  North  Wales  no  fonts  of  Celtic  origin  or  design. 
Welsh  fonts  have,  if  aged,  all  the  characteristics  of 
Norman  architecture,  and  that  usually  of  a  somewhat 
late  period.  The  inference  to  be  drawn  from  the 
absence  of  Celtic  fonts  is,  that  in  the  ancient  Welsh 
church  baptisms  took  place  in  living  water,  and  not  in 
fonts. 

Further,  venerated  wells  in  Wales  are  mostly  open  to 
the  heavens — open  to  the  sun's  eye  and  the  light  of  day 
—and  generally  they  have  no  high  walls  around  them. 
The  canopies  or  roofs  of  St.  Winifred's  Well,  and  St. 
Mary's  Well,  St.  Asaph,  date  from  about  the  end  of 


274  THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES. 

the  fifteenth  century.  Other  wells,  such  as  Llangybi's 
Well,  and  St.  Beuno's,  in  Carnarvonshire,  are  surrounded 
with  walls,  but  the  copings  of  these  walls  prove  that 
they  were  never  roofed  over.  In  fact,  the  walls  them- 
selves of  the  holy  wells,  where  sufficient  data  remain 
to  indicate  their  age,  are  not  older  than  the  fourteenth 
century.  I  am  aware  that  the  holy  well  by  Penmon 
Priory  is  at  present  roofed  over  with  slates,  but  this  is 
modern  ;  the  small  court  outside  this  well  is  surrounded 
with  a  low  wall,  and  the  entrance  to  this  court  was 
formerly  secured  from  the  inside  by  a  block  of  wood 
that  entered  into  the  wall  on  both  sides  of  the  door, 
and  which  was  driven  into  the  socket  on  either  side  of 
the  door  when  it  was  opened.  This  contrivance  to  bar 
egress  is  'common  to  Norman  castles,  churches,  and 
other  buildings,  and  from  that  period  probably  the  wall 
that  surrounds  the  well  at  Penmon  dates. 

Again,  judging  from  the  large  number  of  holy  wells 
that  have  reached  our  days  in  North  Wales,  either  with 
or  without  surrounding  walls,  but  without  roofs,  or  with 
roofs  of  comparatively  modern  times,  we  can  hardly 
avoid  the  conclusion  that  all  holy  or  sacred  wells  and 
waters  in  Celtic  days  were  open  to  the  sky.  This 
would  be  in  accordance  with  the  practice  of  the  people 
who  held  their  Gorsedd  in  a  conspicuous  place,  "  in  the 
face  of  the  sun  and  in  the  eye  of  light,"  it  being  un- 
lawful to  hold  such  meetings  under  cover  of  darkness ; 
and  may  it  not  be  reasonable  to  expect,  that  people  who 
held  such  views  as  to  the  time  for  transacting  public 
functions  would  likewise  have  their  baptisteries,  like 
their  Gorsedd,  open  to  the  light  of  day  ? 

With  reference  to  the  wells  that  are  surrounded  by 
high  walls,  I  have  noticed  that  they  have,  internally, 
recesses  or  niches.  The  small  well  at  Llangybi  has  a 
recess  in  one  of  its  walls — the  one  facing  the  entrance  ; 
and  St.  Beuno's  Well  has  two  niches  in  its  north  side 
wall ;  there  are  three  in  Penmon,  one  in  the  wall  facing 
the  door,  and  the  other  two  in  the  east  wall.  It  is  not 
improbable  that  these  niches  were  at  one  time  occupied 


THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES.  275 

by  effigies  of  the  patron  saints  of  the  well,  or  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  but  in  some  cases  they  might  have 
been  intended  as  receptacles  for  offerings.  These  walls, 
however,  are  not  older  than  the  fourteenth  century. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  wells  in  churches  and 
churchyards.  I  will  now  mention  others  close  to 
churches,  which  are  called  after  the  saint's  name  to 
whom  the  church  is  dedicated,  thus  associating  the 
sacred  edifice  with  the  sacred  well. 

Rowlands,  in  his  Mona  Antiqua,  second  edition, 
p.  159,  mentions  the  fact  that  many  churches  in 
Anglesey  are  built  in  obscure  corners  and  solitary 
places,  and  he  proceeds  as  follows :  "  And  truly,  I 
think,  there  are  few  of  our  churches,  but  discover 
something  of  singularity  in  their  situations  .... 
having  commonly  wells  of  clear  water  nigh  them." 

There  are  few,  if  any,  really  ancient  church  founda- 
tions without  wells  in  Anglesey,  and  other  parts  of 
North  Wales.  St.  Cybi  and  St.  Seiriol  have  more  than 
one  well  called  after  their  names.  These  wells  lie  between 
the  abodes  of  those  saints,  and  form  a  series  of  pilgrims' 
resting-places  between  Holyhead  and  Puffin  Island,  or 
Caergybi  and  Ynys  Seiriol.  Elaeth,  Ffraid,  Elian, 
Ceinwen,  Dwynen,  etc.,  have  their  wells  in  Anglesey, 
all,  at  one  time,  greatly  thought  of. 

Llechid,  Cawrdaf,  Cadfarch,  Deiniol,  Beuno,  Celynin, 
Aelhaiarn,  Peris,  Cybi,  Aelrhyw,  Khediw,  etc.,  have 
wells  in  Carnarvonshire  dedicated  to  them.  But  it  is 
tedious  thus  to  enumerate  names ;  it  is,  however, 
worthy  of  record  that  we  know  more  of  these  wells 
than  of  the  saints  whose  names  they  retain.  Can  it  be 
that  these  fountains  pre-dated,  as  well  as  they  have  post- 
dated, their  patrons  in  sanctity  ?  It  is  certain  that  the 
ceremonies  performed  at  wells,  even  in  the  days  of  our 
grandfathers,  and  the  knowledge  supposed  to  be  obtained 
through  them,  were  alien  to,  if  not  directly  antagonistic 
to,  Christian  teaching,  and  therefore  we  cannot  avoid 
drawing  the  conclusion  that  the  superstitions  associated 
with  these  wells  had  their  beginning  in  pre-Christian 


276  THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES. 

and  pre-historic  times,  and  that  they  descended  to  us, 
through  the  intervening  ages,  not  greatly  affected  by 
their  environments. 

All  wells  were  not  alike  in  virtue.  To  some  were 
attributed  healing  powers  ;  to  others,  cursing  powers  ; 
others  again  were  thought  to  be  prophetic,  and  some 
were  used  as  wishing  wells.  They  were  frequented  by 
the  sick  in  body,  and  the  sick  in  mind.  One  kind  of 
ailment  was  cured  in  one  place,  and  another  at  another 
place.  There  was  no  necessity  for  the  afflicted  to 
despair,  because  it  was  thought  that  a  pilgrimage  to 
this,  or  that,  holy  well  would  ultimately  produce  a  cure. 
And  undoubtedly  these  wells  possessed  in  many  cases 
medicinal  properties,  and  hence  their  virtue. 

ANIMAL    SACRIFICES    AT    WELLS. 

We  perceive,  in  the  ceremonies  performed  at  certain 
wells,  the  remnants  of  a  faith  dating  from  olden  times. 
Animal  sacrifices  took  place  at  St.  George's  Well,  St. 
Cynvran's  Well,  St.  Tegla's  Well,  and  at  St.  Diar's 
Well. 

Pennant  informs  us  respecting  the  first :  "  St.  George 
had  in  this  parish  (Cegidog,  or,  as,  it  is  now  called  St. 
Sior,  near  Abergele)  his  holy  well,  at  which  the  British 
Mars  had  his  offering  of  horses  ;  for  the  rich  were  wont 
to  offer  one,  to  secure  his  blessing  on  all  the  rest."  The 
horses  were  sprinkled  with  the  water  of  the  well,  and 
this  blessing  bestowed  upon  them  : — 

"  Rhad  Daw  a  Sant  Sior  arnat." 
(The  blessing  of  God  and  St.  George  be  on  thee.) 

The  well  mentioned  above  is  still  in  existence.  It  is 
situated  a  hundred  or  so  yards  on  the  right-hand  side  of 
the  drive  to  Kinmel  from  the  village  of  St.  George. 
The  spring  is  still  alive,  but  a  few  stones  only  mark  the 
greatness  of  its  departed  glory. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  St.  George  should  have  a 
rival,  nor  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  that  rival  should 
be  almost  his  neighbour.  Thus  at  Llysfaen,  a  parish 


THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES.       277 

only  a  few  miles  from  the  parish  of  St.  George,  is  a  well 
called  Ffynon  Gynfran,  or  St.  Cynfran's  Well,  at  which 
offerings  used  to  be  made  to  the  saint  to  procure  his 
blessing  on  cattle.  The  owners  of  the  kine  used  this 
ejaculation,  when  sprinkling  their  diseased  cattle  :— 

"  Rhad  Duw  a  Chynvran  Lwyd  ar  y  da." 
(The  grace  of  God  and  of  the  blessed  Cynvran  be  on  the  cattle.) 

St.  Cyrivran's  Well  is  in  a  field  to  the  north  of  the 
parish  church,  and  in  our  days  it  is  used  by  the  villagers 
for  domestic  purposes.  It  is  circular  in  form,  and  re- 
tains features  indicative  of  previous  attention  no  longer 
bestowed  upon  it. 

It  was  customary  for  the  patients  who  sought  health 
at  St.  Tecla's  Well  to  offer  to  the  saint  a  cock,  if  a  man ; 
and  a  hen,  if  of  the  fair  sex.  At  St.  Diar's,  or  St. 
Deifar's  Well,  Bodfari,  near  Denbigh,  living  animals 
were  offered,  a  cockerell,  for  a  boy  ;  and  a  pullet,  for  a 
girl.  St.  Tecla's  Well  is  near  the  village  of  Llandegla, 
a  place  about  midway  between  Ruthin  and  Wrexham, 
and  it  need  hardly  be  said,  though  once  far-famed,  it  is 
now  entirely  uncared  for.  St.  Deifar's  Well  has  been 
drained,  and  no  longer  exists. 

Lately  my  friend,  Mr.  Willoughby  Gardener,  pre- 
sented me  with  an  account  of  his  visit  to  A  Russian 
Museum  at  Moscow,  which  I  read  with  great  interest, 
for  it  teems  with  curious  knowledge,  and  it  is  admirably 
written,  and  very  suggestive  ;  and  in  this  account  there 
are  reproductions  of  the  pictures  on  the  walls  of  the 
museum  illustrative  of  various  periods  in  the  history  of 
the  Eussians,  and  one  of  these  depicts  a  scene  belonging 
to  the  tenth  century.  In  it  a  cock  is  being  offered  to 
the  water-god.  My  mind  at  once  travelled  to  the 
offering  of  fowls  at  Llandegla  and  Bodfari,  and  also  to  a 
legend  connected  with  Llanfor  Church  near  Bala — that 
the  devil  was  driven  out  of  the  church  in  the  form  of  a 
cock  and  laid  in  the  river  Dee.  Csesar,  Bk.  v,  c.  xii, 
tells  us  that  the  Celtic  nation  did  not  regard  it  lawful  to 
eat  the  hare  and  the  cock.  It  is  singular  how  people 


278  THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES. 

separated   by  distance  are   brought   together  by  their 
common  superstitions  !    But  to  proceed. 

DIVINATION    BY    FISH. 

Fish  figure  to  a  great  extent  in  the  doings  at  holy 
wells  in  Wales.  Thus  the  well  of  St.  Peris,  near  Snow- 
don,  was  celebrated  for  a  fish  which  it  contained,  that 
delivered  unspoken  oracles.  Pennant  writes  :  "  Here 
is  to  be  seen  the  well  of  the  saint,  enclosed  with  a  wall. 
The  sybil  of  the  place  attends,  and  divines  your  fortune 
by  the  appearance  or  non-appearance  of  a  little  fish, 
which  lurks  in  some  of  its  holes/' 

Ffynon  Elaeth  in  Amlwch  Port  contained  an  eel, 
from  the  motions  and  actions  of  which,  the  curator 
drew  his  auguries ;  and  sometimes  the  fish  remained 
out  of  sight  for  days,  and  consequently,  the  fortune- 
seeker  was  detained  there,  to  his  expense  and  annoy- 
ance, until  the  eel  thought  fit  to  make  its  appearance. 

St.  Dwynen  had  numerous  votaries,  and  lovers  fre- 
quented her  shrine  with  rich  offerings  to  secure  their 
object.  Their  future  destiny  was  predicted  by  the 
leaping  of  a  fish,  and  the  appearance  of  the  water. 

Several  years  ago,  I  visited  Valle  Crucis  Abbey,  near 
Llangollen,  and  there  I  was  told  I  might  ascertain  my 
future  history,  if  an  eel  that  was  in  the  well  would 
condescend  to  make  his  appearance.  I  went  there,  and 
immediately  the  eel  came  out  of  his  chamber,  and  moved 
gracefully  through  the  water ;  but  as  I  was  not  an 
adept  in  the  art  of  reading  his  language,  I  failed  to 
obtain  a  glimpse  of  my  future  life. 

DIVINATION    BY    THE    MOVKMENT    OF    THE    WATER. 

The  motion  of  the  water  in  sacred  springs  indicated 
success,  or  failure,  in  an  undertaking.  On  the  way  to 
Llanelhaiarn  from  Clynnog  Fawr,  on  the  left-hand  side, 
is  St.  Aelhaiarn's  Well.  It  is  a  square  bath  with  a  low 
wall,  and  a  flagged  path  surrounds  it.  I  was,  on 
the  occasion  of  my  visit  to  this  well,  in  the  company 


THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES.       279 

of  a  dear  old  friend,  and  learned  Welsh  antiquary, 
Archdeacon  Evans,  and  he  suggested  that  I  should 
consult  the  saint's  well  as  to  my  future.  I  asked 
him  how  that  was  to  be  done,  and  he  informed  me, 
that  if  the  water  bubbled  up  whilst  I  walked  round 
the  well  it  was  a  good  omen.  I  did  so,  and  immediately 
the  water  seemed  to  laugh  and  smile,  being  covered 
with  bubbles.  "  Ah,  Mr.  Archdeacon, "said  I,  "  it  is  the 
vibration  caused  by  the  stones  I  walk  along,  and  it  will 
welcome  everyone  in  the  same  manner."  "There  you 
are  wrong,"  said  my  venerable  friend ;  "  wait  until  I 
walk  round."  I  got  off,  and  he  went  on,  and  there  was 
not  a  ripple  on  the  placid  surface  of  the  water.  The 
venerable  Archdeacon's  fortune  had  already  been 
awarded,  but  mine  had  not,  so  said  the  well.  This 
spring  must  have  been  intermittent,  and  hence  its 
bubbles  at  certain  times.  Locally,  it  is  called  the 
"  Laughing  Well". 

In  Newborough  parish,  Anglesey,  there  is  a  small 
well  called  Crochan  Llanddwynen,  or  Dwynen's  Caul- 
dron ;  it  is  frequented  by  love-sick  lads  and  lasses,  and 
they  believe,  if  the  waters  boil,  or  bubble,  while  they 
perform  their  ceremonies,  it  is  a  sign  that  their  love  is 
reciprocated.  This,  too,  is  a  wishing  well. 

WISHING    WELLS. 

There  is  a  celebrated  well  in  Penmon  Park,  which  is 
also  a  wishing  well,  and  it  is  frequented  even  in  these 
delightful  days  of  light  and  learning.  When  I  was 
there,  I  was  disturbed  by  two  or  three  young  ladies, 
who  had  come  there  to  wish,  and  I  hope  they  were 
successful,  for  they  waited  about  the  place  very  patiently, 
until  I  had  completed  my  sketches. 

I  shall  have  something  to  say  by-and-bye  of  that 
baneful  cursing  well.  Ffynon  Elian,  or  St.  Elian's  Weil, 
which  is  also  a  wishing  well. 

There  were  wells  which  demanded  an  amount  of 
activity  and  endurance  from  their  votaries,  that  few 


280       THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES. 

possess,  ere  they  dispensed  their  favours.  If  these 
proofs  of  bodily  strength,  and  mental  determination, 
were  forthcoming,  then  the  silent  petition  of  the 
devotees  was  granted. 

St.  Mary's  Well,  or  Ffynon  Fair,  in  Aberdaron 
parish,  Carnarvonshire,  down  by  the  sea,  and  only  to 
be  approached  at  low  water,  is  one  of  these  wells.  It 
is  believed  that  whosoever  fills  his  mouth  with  the 
water  of  this  well,  retaining  it  until  he  climbs  up  the 
rocky,  steep,  and  dangerous  ascent  to  the  level  ground 
above,  he  will  achieve  his  object,  whatever  it  may  be 
he  wishes  for. 

There  is  a  well  near  Holyhead  called  Llochwyd's 
Well,  of  which  the  same  thing  is  said.  It  is  by  the 
sea,  and  is  only  reached  by  descending  a  very  steep 
declivity.  It  is  believed,  that  whosoever  fills  his  mouth 
with  water  from  the  well,  and  his  hands  with  sand  from 
the  shore,  and  ascends,  without  dropping  a  sand  or 
letting  the  water  out  of  his  mouth,  to  the  top,  and  then 
places  his  burden  on  the  altar  of  Llochwyd,  he,  or  she, 
will  get  married  within  a  month.  The  feat  is  all 
but  impossible,  for  no  one  can  climb  up  without  using 
his  hands ;  but  years  ago  many  adventurous  youths 
attempted  the  task,  to  the  great  amusement  of  the 
spectators. 


LOVERS'  WELLS. 


Young  men  and  maidens  on  certain  days  in  the  year, 
Trinity  Sunday  being  one,  were  formerly  in  the  habit 
of  congregating  at  wells  to  drink  the  waters  mingled 
with  sugar.  One  of  these  is  situated  near  the  summit 
of  a  mountain  called  Golfa,  near  Welshpool.  The 
approach  to  this  well  is  along  a  pathway  through  the 
Golfa  Wood ;  it  is  a  lovely  lovers'  walk,  but  the  beauty 
of  the  scene  when  at  Trinity  Well  is  sublime.  Below 
stretches,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see,  a  fertile  expanse 
of  pasture  ground,  dotted  over  with  lazy  cattle ; 
through  the  vale,  the  silvery  Severn  meanders ;  well- 
wooded  hills,  nude  mountains,  and  rugged  rocks  guard 


THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES.       28 1 

the  western  approach.  The  scene  is  enough  to  excite 
love. 

Another  well  of  this  kind  is  in  Caerwys  parish,  near 
a  hall,  called  Maesmynan.  The  way  to  it  is  through  a 
glen  clothed  with  luxuriant  vegetation  and  overhanging 
trees.  The  well  is  known  by  the  name  of  St.  Michael's 
Well.  Here  also  young  people  assembled,  mixed  the 
water  with  sugar,  and  drank  together  the  sweetened 
water,  and,  with  the  limpid  liquid,  draughts  of  intoxi- 
cating love. 

Since  I  am  speaking  of  the  benefit  derived  from 
drinking  sacred  water,  I  must  mention  St.  Keynan,  or 
Ceneu's  Well,  in  Llarigwny,  South  Wales.  This  well 
granted  the  wish  of  the  first  who  drank  it.  It  was  the 
endeavour  of  every  married  couple  to  first  drink  the 
water,  for  whosoever  did  so  became  the  master  for  all 
time  of  his,  or  her,  wedded  partner.  The  race,  there- 
fore, from  the  church  to  the  well,  became  a  serious 
contest,  and  unless  the  bride  were  assisted  and  the 
bridegroom  impeded,  the  odds  were  that  the  husband 
would  win.  However,  once  on  a  time,  the  wit  of  a 
young  wife  overcame  the  husband's  swiftness  of  foot,  for 
no  sooner  had  he  started  towards  the  well,  than  she  took 
out  of  her  pocket  a  bottle  filled  with  water  from  St. 
Ceneu's  Well,  and  drank  it  off  in  the  presence  of  her 
friends.  The  shout  of  the  party  arrested  the  attention 
of  the  fugitive  husband,  who,  returning,  ascertained 
that  he  had  been  outwitted.  He  lamented  his  failure 
in  these  words  :— 

"  After  the  wedding  I  hurried  away, 

And  left  my  wife  in  the  porch, 
But  i'  faith,  she  had  been  wiser  than  I, 
For  she  took  a  bottle  to  church." 

The  waters  of  another  well,  St.  Elian's,  once  did  a 
young  wife  much  good.  One  day,  in  her  husband's 
absence,  she  went  to  see  what  the  saint  could  do  for 
her.  She  stated  her  case  to  the  priest  of  the  well,  and 
told  him  that  her  husband  quarrelled  with  her  day 
after  day,  and  many  times  in  the  day.  The  wise  cus- 

VOL.  xxvii.  u 


282  THE  HOLY  WELLS  otf  NORTH  WALES. 

todian  immediately  informed  her  that  incompatibility 
of  temper  came  nicely  within  the  influence  of  the  well. 
He  procured  a  bottle,  and  filled  it  water  from  the 
sacred  fount,  and  instructed  her,  whenever  her  husband 
was  angry  and  used  strong  language,  to  go  quietly  to 
the  bottle  and  take  therefrom  a  mouthful  of  the  holy 
water,  and  retain  it  in  her  mouth  as  long  as  the  storm 
of  words  lasted;  "but  he  cautioned  her  to  be  very 
careful  not  to  swallow  the  draught,  for  that  would  be 
very  dangerous  to  her :  however,  she  was  told,  as  soon 
as  the  angry  husband  had  ceased  his  abuse,  to  go  out- 
side the  house,  and  eject  the  water.  This  the  woman 
promised  to  do.  On  starting  away,  her  eyes  fell  on 
the  small  bottle  in  her  hand,  and  bearing  in  mind  the 
constant  outbursts  of  passion  on  the  part  of  her  hus- 
band, she  saw  that  the  bottle's  contents  would  hardly 
last  a  day.  "Ah,  sir,"  said  she  to  the  well-keeper, 
"  this  will  soon  be  finished,  and  what  shall  I  do  then  ?" 
"You  can  replenish  the  water  daily,  or  oftener,  if 
necessary,  at  any  spring,"  said  he,  "  and  a  portion  of 
the  sacred  water  will  thus  ever  remain  in  the  bottle." 

So  the  woman  departed,  and  the  charm  worked 
marvellously.  In  a  very  short  time  her  cantankerous 
husband  was  completely  cured.  The  happy  young  wife, 
filled  with  gratitude,  determined  to  pay  another  visit 
to  the  well-keeper,  who,  when  he  saw  her,  was  surprised 
at  her  second  visit,  and  inquired  what  further  she 
needed.  "  Oh,  nothing,"  was  her  reply  ;  "  but  I  have 
come  to  tell  you  that  my  husband  is  now  the  best  of 
men,  and  I,  the  happiest  of  wives." 

One  other  tale  of  the  efficacy  of  holy  water,  and 
I  will  pass  on.  A  few  years  ago,  I  visited  my  brother, 
who  is  vicar  of  Llangoed,  Anglesey,  and  he  took  me  to 
one  of  his  churches,  called  Llanfihangel.  The  farm 
next  the  church  was  occupied  by  a  gentleman  farmer, 
who  owned  his  own  ground,  and  he  kindly  accompanied 
us  in  our  rambles.  In  answer  to  a  question  about  holy 
wells,  he  told  us  that  forty  years  back,  he  went  to  St. 
Seiriol's  Well  at  the  dead  of  night — the  hour  when  evil 


THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NOltTH  WALES.  283 

spirits  walk  the  earth — for  water  therefrom  to  cure  a 
sick  friend,  who  to  all  appearance  was  dying.  In  much 
dread,  and  fear,  he  accomplished  his  undertaking,  and 
gave  a  draught  to  the  sick  man,  who  at  once  revived, 
and  in  a  very  short  time  he  was  completely  cured,  and 
was  then,  when  the  farmer  was  speaking  to  us,  a  hale 
and  strong  old  man.  The  farmer  came  with  us  to 

O 

point  out  the  site  of  the  well,  and,  as  expected,  I  found 
it  a  neglected  spring,  covered  with  weeds,  and  filled 
with  stones  and  dirt.  I  will  only  add,  that  most  holy 
wells  were  drunk  of,  for  the  virtues  they  possessed,  and 
not  for  the  purpose  of  quenching  the  thirst. 


OFFERINGS   MADE  TO  WELLS. 

It  was  customary  for  patients,  who  were  cured  at 
holy  wells,  to  leave  behind  them  crutches,  clouts, 
walking-sticks,  etc.,  as  proofs  of  their  complete  re- 
covery, and  as  an  offering  to  the  saint.  Thus,  to  this 
day,  the  walls  of  St.  Winifred's  Well,  Holywell,  Flint- 
shire, are  covered  over  with  these  things ;  formerly 
many  wells  had  like  tokens  hung  around  them.  I  may 
instance  St.  Peter's  Well,  at  Llanbedr,  a  parish  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river  Conway.  Here  the  crutches, 
and  so  on,  were  hung  upon  a  yew  tree  above  the  well. 
Such  likewise  was  the  case  at  Ffynon  Dyfnog,  or  St. 
Dyfnog's  Well,  in  the  parish  of  Llanrhaiadr,  in 
Dyffryn  Clwyd.  St.  Cadfan's  Well,  Towyn,  had  on  its 
walls,  when  I  visited  it  last  year,  1892,  a  single  crutch, 
the  rest — and  there  were  once  many  of  them — had  been 
removed.  Under  a  stone  at  Ffynon  Awen,  the  Muses' 
Well,  in  the  upper  part  of  Llanrhaiadr  D.C.,  near  Den- 
bigh, the  patients,  who  came  there,  buried  the  wool  they 
used  in  washing  their  wounds  under  a  stone,  close  to, 
or  in  the  well. 

In  Ireland  at  present,  and  in  South  Wales  up  to 
modern  days,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  the  like 
custom  prevails. 

U2 


284  THE  HOLY  WELLS  otf  NORTH  WALES. 


EBBING   AND   FLOWING    WELLS. 

We  have  in  North  Wales  an  ebbing  and  flowing 
well.  It  is  in  the  parish  of  Rhydymwyn,  about  six 
miles  from  Mold.  It  goes  by  the  name  Ffynon  Leinw. 
The  phenomenon  takes  place,  it  is  said,  with  the  tides, 
and  it  is  thought  that  there  is  a  subterranean  connec- 
tion between  the  waters  of  this  well  and  those  of  the 
ocean.  A  visit  to  the  place  showed  me  that  this  well 
at  one  time  had  been  frequented  for  bathing  purposes, 
and  it  resembled  in  structure  other  holy  wells  which  I 
had  seen.  Wells  of  this  description  are  said  to  be  in 
Ireland.  Giraldus  Cambrensis  states  that  "  there  is  a 
spring  of  fresh  water  in  Connaught,  at  the  top  of  a 
high  mountain,  and  far  from  the  coast,  which  ebbs 
twice  a  day  and  flows  over  as  often,  like  the  tides 
in  the  sea."  There  is  a  well  of  this  description  in 
Yorkshire,  and  another  in  South  Wales. 

DISAPPEARANCE   OF   A    WELL. 

It  is  said,  that  the  once  celebrated  well  at  Llandrillo, 
near  Corwen,  St.  Trillo's  Well,  disappeared,  because 
a  dead  cat,  or  dog,  was  wantonly  thrown  into  it. 
Whatever  the  cause  may  have  been,  this  spring,  which 
was  accounted  sacred,  and  had  an  altar  by  it,  sank  into 
the  ground  a  few  years  ago,  and  it  rises  now  about 
half-a-mile  from  its  former  site  in  the  village,  and 
emerges  not  far  from  the  railway  station. 

TRADITIONS   AS  TO  THE  ORIGIN   OF  WELLS. 

I  will  now  give  the  traditions  connected  with  the 
origin  of  a  few  wells  in  North  Wales. 

There  is  a  pretty  legend  regarding  the  beginning 
of  that  most  baneful  of  all  wells,  St.  Elian's  Cursing 
Well. 

It  is  said  that  a  hermit  passed  this  place,  and  he  was 
a  saint;  who  received  everything  he  requested  from 


THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES.       285 

God  in  prayer.  It  happened  that  he  was  taken  ill 
on  his  journey.  He  sat  down  by  the  side  of  the  road 
in  great  pain,  and  prayed  for  a  drink  of  water,  and  his 
request  was  granted.  A  well  of  clear  water  sprang  up 
by  his  side  ;  he  drank  thereof,  and  was  restored  to  per- 
fect health.  Then  he  offered  up  another  petition,  that 
whosoever  in  faith  made  any  request  at  this  well,  it 
might  be  granted  him. 

Such  is  the  legend.  Well  would  it  have  been,  if  the 
spirit  of  the  hermit,  probably  St.  Elian  himself,  had 
been  possessed  by  the  vindictive  persons  who,  in  after 
years,  frequented  this  well  to  curse  their  neighbours. 

The  origin  of  another  well  is  placed  to  the  credit  of 
St.  David.  Among  the  three  mighty  labours  of  the 
Isle  of  Britain  was  reckoned  the  lifting  of  Maen  Cetti. 
The  following  notice  of  this  stone  occurs  in  the  lolo 
MS.,  p.  473:  — 

"  Maen  Cetti,  on  Cevn-y-bryn,  in  Gower,  was,  says 
ancient  tradition,  adored  by  the  pagans  ;  but  Saint 
David  split  it  with  a  sword,  in  proof  that  it  was  not 
sacred ;  and  he  commanded  a  well  to  spring  from  under 
it,  which  flowed  accordingly.  After  this  event,  those 
who  previously  were  infidels  became  converted  to  the 
Christian  faith." 

Reference  is  made  to  this  cromlech  by  a  writer  in 
Camden's  Britannia,  Gibson's  edition,  thus  : — "  Under 
it  is  a  well  which,  as  the  neighbours  tell  me,  has  a  flux 
and  reflux  with  the  sea." 

By  far  the  most  important  well  in  North  Wales 
is  St.  Winifred's  Well,  Holywell,  Flintshire,  and  this, 
too,  is  said  to  have  had  a  miraculous  beginning.  Tra- 
dition accounts  for  the  origin  of  this  wonderful  well  as 
f  n  to 

lollows  : — 

"  In  the  seventh  century  lived  a  virgin  of  extra- 
ordinary sanctity  and  beauty,  who  made  a  vow  of 
chastity,  and  dedicated  herself  to  the  service  of  God, 
and  was  put  under  the  care  of  her  uncle  Beuno,  who 
had  erected  a  church  here,  and  performed  the  services 
of  God.  A  neighbouring  heathen  prince  named  Cradoc 


286        THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES. 

was  struck  with  her  uncommon  beauty,  and,  at  all 
events,  was  determined  to  gratify  his  desires.  He 
made  known  his  passion  for  her,  who,  affected  with 
horror,  attempted  her  escape.  The  disappointed  wretch 
instantly  pursued  her,,  drew  out  his  sword,  and  cut  off 
her  head.  But  his  punishment  was  instantaneous  ;  he 
fell  down  dead,  and,  the  earth  opening,  swallowed  his 
impious  corpse.  The  severed  head  rolled  down  the 
hill  and  stopped  near  the  church.  St.  Beuno  took 
it  up,  carried  it  to  the  corpse,  and,  offering  his  devo- 
tions, joined  it  to  the  body,  which  instantly  united, 
and  a  spring  of  uncommon  size  burst  forth  from  the 
very  place  where  the  head  had  rested.  And  this  was 
the  origin  of  St.  Winifred's  Well,  so  called  after  the 
saintly  virgin  Winifred." 

This  well  is  frequented  in  our  days,  and  many 
wonderful  cures  occur  here.  Pennant  says  : — "  After 
the  death  of  that  saint,  the  waters  were  almost  as  sana- 
tive as  those  of  the  Pool  of  Bethesda.  All  infirmities 
incident  to  the  human  body  met  with  relief.  The 
votive  crutches,  the  barrows,  and  other  proofs  of  cures, 
to  this  moment  remain  as  evidences  pendent  over  the 
well." 

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

I  may  say  that  both  the  "  Wishing  Stone"  and  the 
small  spring  are  still  in  existence,  and  both  are  now 
used. 

There  is  a  well  in  Carnarvonshire  which  is  said  to 
have  had  an  origin  much  like  that  of  St.  Winifred's 
Well.  The  tradition  is  given  in  the  Cambrian  Journal 
for  1860,  pp.  263-4.  The  well  is  called  locally  Digwy, 
but  in  the  Cambrian  Journal  it  is  named  Digwg's  Well. 


THE  HOLY  WELLS  OF  NORTH  WALES.  287 

WELLS    CALLED    AFTER   ANIMALS. 

There  are  wells  in  Wales  associated  with  animals,  as 
Ffynon  Milgi  (the  Greyhound's  Well),  in  the  parish  of 
Llanelidan,  near  Ruthin ;  and  Ffynon  y  Fuwch  Freeh 
(the  Freckled  Cow's  Well)  between  Clawdd  Newydd,  and 
Llanfihangel  Glyn  Myfyr,  near  a  farm  called  Cefn  Ban- 
nog,  about  a  mile  from  Pontpytrual. 

In  connection  with  this  latter  well  there  is  a  tradition 
which  is  to  be  found  connected  with  the  Dun  Cow  in 
other  parts.  The  tradition,  which  has  been  transmitted 
from  generation  to  generation,  is  as  follows  : — 

The  freckled  cow  inhabited  those  parts  of  the  Hir- 
aethog  mountains,  and  her  presence  was  a  blessing,  for, 
whenever  anyone  was  in  want  of  milk,  they  went  to 
this  cow,  taking  with  them  a  vessel,  into  which  they 
milked,  and  it  made  no  difference  however  big  this 
vessel  was,  for  they  always  filled  it  with  rich  milk. 
What  was  strange  about  this  wonderful  cow  was  the  fact 
that  she  could  not  be  milked  dry.  This  continued  for  a 
long  time,  and  glad  indeed  the  people  were  to  avail  them- 
selves of  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  new  milk  without 
having  to  pay  for  it.  At  last  a  wicked  hag,  filled  with 
envy  at  the  people's  prosperity,  determined  to  milk  the 
cow  dry,  and  for  this  purpose  she  took  a  riddle  with  her, 
and  milked  the  cow  into  the  riddle,  until  at  last  she 
could  get  no  more  milk  from  her.  The  cow,  imme- 
diately after  this  treatment,  left  the  country,  and  was 
never  more  seen.  People  say  that  she  went  with  her 
family  straight  to  Llyn  Dau  Ychain  (the  Lake  of  the 
Two  Oxen)  and  disappeared  in  its  waters,  but  tradition 
is  not  certain  as  to  the  place  she  went  to. 

TALES    OF    WELLS. 

I  will  next  relate  a  few  tales  connected  with  St. 
Elian's  Well.  I  have  collected  a  large  number,  and  it 
is  difficult  to  know  which  to  select.  This  well,  as  I  have 
said,  was  a  cursing  well,  and  its  fame  as  such  extended 
far  and  near.  If  the  initials  of  a  person  were  put  on  a 


288  THE   HOLY   WELLS    OF   NORTH    WALES. 

stone,  and  placed  in  the  waters,  the  curse  at  once  began 
to  operate. 

A  pig  cursed. — Robert  Hughes,  an  old  man,  a  native 
of  Roewen,  near  Conway,  told  me,  thirty  years  ago, 
that  a  neighbour  who  had  had  his  wheat  and  barley 
stolen,  determined  to  go  to  St.  Elian's  Well  to  curse 
with  madness  the  thief.  He  dioT  so,  and  on  returning 
home,  found  his  sow  mad,  and  it  was,  on  investigation, 
plainly  seen  that  she  was  the  thief. 

A  woman  cursed. — A  woman  at  Dolanog,  Mont- 
gomeryshire, was  placed  in  this  well,  and  she  was  doomed 
to  take  to  her  bed,  and  remain  there  until  the  woman  who 
cursed  her  should  die.  She  actually  was  bed-ridderi  for 
years,  and  when  her  enemy  died,  she  got  up  and  was 
well.  This  was  told  me  on  the  spot.  When  I  first 
visited  that  mountainous  village  the  woman  was  in 
bed,  and  had  been  there  for  a  long  time  ;  I  afterwards 
found  her  up  and  well,  for  by  this  time  the  contract 
had  been  carried  out. 

A  man  cursed. — The  Rev.  R.  O.  Williams,  vicar  of 
Holywell,  told  me  that  a  young  woman  who  had  been 
deceived  by  a  well-to-do  farmer  at  Nantglyn,  near 
Denbigh,  borrowed  five  shillings  from  his  mother,  to 
put  her  false  lover  into  the  well.  The  girl  walked  to 
Llanelian,  and  there  cursed  the  man,  who  in  due  course 
of  a  few  years,  died  miserably  poor. 

A  dog  placed  in  the  well. — A  lady  told  me  that  she 
was  once  driving  past  the  well,  and  a  young  lady  got 
out  of  the  carriage  to  see  it.  She  came  up  with  the 
news,  that  she  had  placed  the  dog  that  had  accompanied 
them  in  the  well.  The  poor  dog  was  run  over  before 
they  reached  the  hall. 

1  could  multiply  tale  upon  tale,  but  sufficient  is 
enough. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  rapid  sketch  of  the  Holy 
Wells  of  North  Wales,  that  the  subject  is  replete  with 
interest,  and,  when  studied,  will  yield  a  fruitful  harvest 
of  byegone  superstitions. 


289 


MISCELLANEA   HISTOEICA, 

OR 

THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMEEYSHTRE. 

EXTRACTED  FROM  THE  SHERIFFS'  FILES   BY   THE   LATE 

E.   ROWLEY- MORRIS,  ESQ.,  F.S.A. 

(Continued  from  Vol.  VI I,  p.  236.) 


AT  the  great  Sessions  held  at  the  towne  of  Mountgomery  for 
the  County  of  Mountgoraery  the  second  day  of  September, 
anno  RR.  Caroli  S'c'di  nunc  Anglise,  etc.,  tricessimo  s'c'do. 
Annoq'  D'ni  1680. 

The  Presentment  of  the  Grand  Inquest  for  the  sayd  County. 

Imp'is,  we  doe  p'sent  the  Highway  w'thin  the  towneship  of 
Tre  yr  llan,  and  w'thin  the  parish  of  llanwothyn  and  s'd  county 
leading  from  Dynas  mowthy  to  llanvilling,  being  two  market 
Towns,  to  be  out  of  repaire  and  ought  to  be  repaired  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Tre  yr  llan  aforesayd. 

Item,  we  doe  p'sent  Pont  y  garneddwen,  over  the  river 
Rhiwargor,  w'thin  the  sayd  County,  and  Pont  Rhiwargor,  w'thin 
the  s'd  Township,  and  over  the  sayd  River,  to  be  ruinous  and 
decayd,  and  ought  to  be  erected  and  repaired  by  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  hundred  of  llanvilling  w'thin  the  s'd  county. 

Item,  we  doe  p'sent  Pont  Connon,  over  the  River  of  Connon, 
within  the  parish  of  llanwothyn  and  Township  of  Marchnant 
ucha  and  County  of  Mountgomery,  to  be  ruinous  and  out  of 
Repaire,  and  ought  to  be  repaired  by  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
s'd  Hundred  of  llanvilling  w'thin  the  s'd  County. 

Item,  we  p'sent  Pont  llanwothyn,  over  the  River  of  llan,  w'thin 
the  s'd  parish  of  llanwothyn  and  County  afores'd,  to  be  ruin- 
ous and  out  of  Repaire,  and  cught  to  be  repaired  and  built  by 
the  Inhabitants  of  the  s'd  Hundred  of  llanvilling  afores'd. 

Item,  we  doe  p'sent  ye  Bridge  of  Caresoose,  over  ye  river  of 
Siurne  (Severn),  w'thin  ye  p'ish  of  llanwnog  and  llandinam,  in 
ye  Towneship  of  Caresoose  afores'd,  to  be  insufficient  and  out  of 
repaire,  and  ought  to  be  repaired  by  ye  p'ishes  of  llanwnog 
and  llandinam  within  ye  s'd  county. 


290  MISCELLANEA   HISTORIC  A. 

Item,  we  doe  p'sent  ye  bridge  leadinge  towards  ye  river 
Sivirne,  by  ye  mill  of  Penstrowed,  to  be  out  of  repaire,  and 
ought  to  be  repaired  by  ye  inhabitants  of  Penstrowed. 

Item,  wee  present  the  bridge  and  way  leading  from  the 
Hayme  Common  to  the  towne  of  Llandrinio  to  be  insufficient, 
and  ought  to  bee  repayred  by  the  Parish  of  Llandrinio. 

Item,  we  p'sent  Edward  Browne,  late  deft,  Bailiff  of  the 
towne  of  Mountgoruery,  for  comitting  a  person  to  the  Sergeant 
for  a  misdemeanour,  and  detaining  him  in  prison  ffor  a  whole 
night,  thereby  assuming  ye  authority  off  a  Justice  of  Peace, 
which  wee  conceive  the  Bayliffs  of  Mountgomery  are  nott.1 

Edward  Yaughan  (Llwydiarth). 
Wm.  Pughe  (Mathafarn). 
Edward  Lloyd. 
Evan  Glyune  (Glynne). 

1680. 

Eees  Wynne  (Cynon). 
John  Lloyd  (Llanhafan). 
Price  Clunne  (Glandulas). 
Edward  Devereux  (Berriew,  Cefngwernfa  ?). 
Wm.  Price  (Vachwen). 
Edward  Owen  (Penyrallt). 
Tho.  Gwynn. 
Jon.  Lewis  (Hopton). 
Richard  Griffithes  (Mellington). 
John  Price  (Hurdley). 
Rice  Price. 

Jonathan  Howells,  High  Constable  of  the  Lower  Division  of 
the  Hundred  of  Montgomery,  made  the  following  Present- 
ment, dated  2nd  Sep.  1680  :— 

Imprimis,  I  present  Katherine,  the  Wife  of  William  Davies 
of  Churchstoke,  for  a  Common  Scold  and  disturber  of  her 
Neighbours. 

There  is  not  anything  else  to  P'sent,  according  to  the  best 
of  my  knowledge,  within  my  Division. 

Nom'  JUT'  inter  D'um  Reg  em  et  Prisonar'  ad  barram. 
Kewtown  Hundred — 

Mathew  Morgan  of  Aberhafesp,  Esq.     (1) 
Charles  Jones  of  Bronywood,  gen. 
Edward  Blayney  of  Yachire,  gen.     (2) 

1  In  margin,  "  quasetin  p'  Cur." 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.       291 

William  Syre  of  Aberhaley,  gen. 
Cad'der  Davies  of  Penrhyn,  gen. 
Howell  Powell  of  Berriew,  gen. 
Richard  Buckley  of  Rhandir,  gen. 
David  Austyn  of  Llanythellan,  gen. 
Griffith  David  of  ye  same,  gen. 

Llanvillin  Hundred — 
ex  Sydney  Bynner  of  Bodyddon,  gen. 
John  W'ms  of  Tirtre,  gen. 

MacJiy n leth  Hundred — 

Theodore  Price  of  Uchcoed,  gen.     (3) 
Richard  Rowland  of  Noddfa,  gen.     (4) 
Rees  Meredith  of  Darowen,  gen.     (5) 
Rondle  Owen  of  Pennant,  gen.     (11) 
Evan  Evans  of  Coomyranney,  gen. 

Montgomery  Hundred — 

Richard  Herbert  of  Coomydelfa,  gen. 
Solomon  Bowen  of  Hurdley,  gen.     (12) 
Ambrose  Gething  de  Clothie,  gen. 
Michael  Gething  of  the  same,  gen.     (6) 
Jonathan  Howells  of  Melliugton,  gen. 
EdYus  Evans  of  Garthgellin.  gen. 
Samuel  Lloyd  of  Kelliber  ucha,  gen. 

Caurse  Hundred — 

Thomas  Lloyd  of  Kilkewydd,  gen. 
William  Lloyd  of  Forden,  gen. 
Owen  Watkin  of  Hudan,  gen. 
John  Powell  of  Bacheldre,  gen. 

Mathraval  Hundred — 

John  Thomas  of  Llanfair,  gen. 
John  Edwards  of  Melinygreeg,  gen. 
David  Lloyd  of  Llanginiew,  gen. 
David  Evans  of  Brynellen,  gen. 
Samuel  Holmes  of  Llangyniew,  gen. 

Llanidloes  Hundred — 

David  Powell  of  Maesmaur,  Esq. 
John  Wilson  of  ffynant,  gen. 
Richard  Bennett  of  Glynbrochan,  gen. 
Morgan  Evan  James  of  Cefen-y-vody,  gen. 


292  '  MISCELLANEA   HISTORIC  A. 

Nom'  e/?/y  int'  D'm  Reg  em  et  Prisonar  ad  Barrnm. 

1.  David  Powell,  Esq. 

Rees  Thomas  ap  Evan  of  Llanywared,  gen. 
David  Owen  of  Kevenyvody,  gen. 

2.  Richard  Bennett  of  Glynbrochan,  gen. 
Morris  Morgan  of  the  same,  gen. 

Evan  David  ap  Evan  Bedoe  of  Glynhafren,  gen. 

Yincent  Peers  of  Llwynybraine,  Esq. 

David  Davies  of  Llandinam,  gen. 

Lewis  Price  of  Surnant,  gen. 

John  Evans  of  Escob  and  Castle,  gen. 

Evan  Evans  of  Ooomyrannell,  gen. 

Morgan  Humfreys  of  Glyntrefnant,  gen. 

Jenkin  William  of  the  same,  gen. 

William  Syre  of  Aberhalle,  gen. 

Wm.  Price  of  Dolevorin,  gen. 

John  Bright  of  Kilcochran,  gen. 

3.  Humfrey  Morris  of  Llanythion,  gen. 
Richard  Buckley  of  Randir,  gen. 

4.  Mathew  Mathewes  of  Dyffryn  llanvaire,  gen. 
James  Baxter  of  Hendidley,  gen. 

ex  Wm.  Price  of  Vachwen,  gen. 
Robert  Jones  of  Garthmill,  gen. 
Thomas  Bowen  of  Alt  Issa  and  Alt  Issa  (sic)  gen. 
Oliver  Thomas  of  Penrhyn,  gen. 
John  Cad'der  of  the  same,  gen. 
Edward  Blayney  of  Vaynor  ucha,  gen. 

Inquisitio  Magna. 
Llanfyllin  Hundred — 

Edwardus  Yaughan  de  Llwydiarth,  ar.     Jur.  1. 
Riceus  Wynn  de  Kynon,  ar.  Jur.  2. 

John  Lloyd  de  Llanhafen,  ar.  Jur.  3: 

Riceus  Price  de  Nantfyllon.  Jur.  4. 

Carolus  Bowdler  de  Tritre,  gen. 
Riceus  Jones  de  Maine,  gen. 

Thomas  Morris  Yaughan  de  Garth  Glynn  Yaur,  gen. 
David  Thomas  de  ead.,  gen. 
Sidney  Bynner  de  Llanvilling,  gen. 

Llanidloes  Hundred — 

Euanus  Glynne  de  Glynne,  ar.  Jur.  5. 

David  Powell  de  Maesmaur,  ar. 

Price  Clunne  de  Glanderlase,  gen.  Jur.  6. 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.       293 

Edwardus  Owen  de  Penyrallt,  gen.  Jur.  7. 

Evanus  Evans  de  Cwmyrannell,  gen. 
Joh'nes  Owen  de  Rhydlyddan,  gen. 
Joh'nes  Powell  de  Llandynam,  gen. 
Morgan  us  Evan  James  de  Kevenvoddy,  gen. 
Joh'es  Wilson  de  ffynant,  gen. 

Mathravall  Hundred — 

Edward'  Lloyd  de  Mathravall,  ar.  Jur.  8. 

Kees  Lloyd  de  Cowny,  gen. 

Joh'es  Davies  de  Khewhiriarth,  gen. 

Joh'es  Owen  de  Moeleyveliarth,  gen. 

Edward'  Thomas  de  Kevenlisse,  gen. 

Newtown  Hundred — 

EdYus  Devereux  de  Berriew,  gen.  Jur.     9. 

Will'us  Price  de  Vachwen,  gen.  Jur.  10. 

Joh'es  Price  de  Dolevenyn  (Dolforwyn),  gen. 

Charles  Jones,  jun.,  de  Bronywood,  gen. 

Will'us  Price  de  Aberbechan,  gen. 

Priamus  Price  de  Berriew,  gen. 

Thomas  Gwynn  de  Lloydcoed,  gen.  Jur.  11. 

Macliynlletli  Hundred — 

Will'us  Pugh  de  Mathafarne,  ar.  Jur.  12. 

Randolphus  Owen  de  Llanbrinmair,  gen. 
E/ic'us  Morgan  de  ead.,  gen. 
Will'us  Jones  de  ead.,  gen. 
Griffinus  Meredith  de  Kernes,  gen. 
Morganus  Lewis  Morgan  de  Darowen,  gen. 
Lodovicus  Morgan  de  ead.,  gen. 
Morganus  David  de  Penegoes,  gen. 
Ed'r'us  Prichard  David  de  Machynlleth. 
Humfrus  Thomas  de  ead.,  gen. 

Deitkir  Hundred — 

Petrus  Edwards  de  Penrhyn  vchan,  gen. 
Ric'us  Griffithes  de  Tretherwen^  gen. 
Rob'tus  Davies  de  ead.,  gen. 

Poole  Hundred — 

David  Morris  de  Pole,  gen. 
Ed'r'us  Edwards  de  Burgedinge,  gen. 
Carolus  Jones  de  Broniarth,  gen. 
Joh'es  Pugh  de  Llanvechan,  gen. 
Meredicus  Evans  de  ead.,  gen. 


294  MISCELLANEA    HISTORICA. 

Cause  Hundred — 

Thomas  Bethell  de  Hydan,  gen. 
Joh'es  Phillips  de  Ederton,  gen. 
Ric'ns  ap  Richard  de  Crigiou,  gen. 
Joh'es  Owen  de  Rhandire,  gen. 

Montgomery  Hundred — 

Richardus  Griffithes  de  Mellington,  gen.     Jur.  13. 
Ed'r'us  Milward  de  Hissington,  gen. 
Joh'es  Price  de  Hondley  (Hurdley),  gen.     Jur.  14. 
Joh'es  Lewis  de  Hopton,  gen.  Jur.  15. 

MISCELLANEA  HISTORICA  (33  CHARLES  II). — April  11,  1681. 
Kalendar  of  the  Great  Session. 

To   George  Jeffreys,  Kt.,  Lord  Chiefe  Justice  of  the  sev'all 
countys  of  Chester,  Flint,  Denbigh,  and  Mountgomery. 

We  whose  names  are  subscribed  doe  hereby  humblie  certifie 
to  y'r  Lordshipp  that  the  highway  w'thin  the  townshippe  of 
Tre-y-r-llan  and  w'thin  the  parish  of  Llanwothin,  in  the  s'd  county 
of  Mountgomery,  leadinge  from  Dynas  Mowthy  to  Llanvillinge, 
beinge  two  Markett  Townes,  is  in  good  and  sufficient  repaire. 

In  testimony  of  the  truth  whereof  we  doe  hereby  subscribe 
our  names,  the  day  and  yeare  hereunder  written. 

Edmund  Lloyd. 

The  xith  of  April  1681.  John  Lloyd. 

These  are  to  certify  whome  it  may  consarne  that  the  Ditch 
by  Rhid-y-wayr,  in  the  p'ish  of  Mountgomery,  in  the  county  of 
Mountgomery,  is  clensed  and  scoured  by  David  Jones  of  Rhyd- 
y-waire  aforesayd.  Tho's  Mason. 

Thomas  ffraunces,  Bayliffe. 

The  Presentment  of  Richard  Jones,  Chiefe  Constable  of  the 
Upper  Division  of  the  hundred  of  Mountgomery,  he  hath 
nothing  to  present,  butt  all  things  good  and  faier  to  the  best 
of  his  knowledge  within  his  division. 

By  me,  Richard  Jones,  Chiefe  Constable. 

April  ye  llth,  1681. 

The  returne  of  Mathew  Mathewes,  gent.,  one  of  the  High 
Constables  of  Hundred  of  Newtowne,  hath  nothing  to  p'sent 
w'thin  his  Division  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge. 

By  me,  Mathew  Mathewes. 

The  Presentment  of  Jonathan  Howells,  Chiefe  Constable  of 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.       295 

the  Lower  Division  of  the  Hundred   of  Mountgomery,  dated 
llth  April  (33  Ch.  II),  1681. 

I  p'sent  Katherine,  the  wife  of  William  Davies  of  Church- 
stoke,  for  raiseing  unlawful  outcries.  I  have  nothing  else 
within  niy  Division  according  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  to 
present.  Jonathan  Howells,  Chiefe  Constable. 

llth  April  1681. 

The  Rettorn  of  Richard  Rees  and  David  Williams,  High 
Constables  of  ye  Hundred  of  Llanydlos. 

Wee  p'sent  the  Insufficiency  of  a  Certayne  Bridge  called 
Carsoose  Bridge,  leadinge  from  Caresoose  to  Llandynam,  w'ch 
ought  to  be  Repayred  by  ye  Inhabitants  of  ye  parishes  of 
Llanwunnog,  Llandynham,  Penstrowed,  Treveigloes,  and 
Carnoe. 

[In  this,  and  most  of  the  others,  there  are  presentments  of 
Recusants,  etc.,  but  they  have  been  dealt  with  by  Mr.  Richard 
Williams  in  his  paper  on  Nonconformity,  etc.] 

Richard  Rees. 
David  Williams. 


Ad  Sess'one  magna    tent,   apud  Polam  pro    Com.   Mountyom'y 

undecimo  die  AprilL  Anno  Reyni  Regis  Carolo  S'cdi  nunc 

Angl.,  etc.,  Tricessimo  Tertio  Aniwq.  D'ni  1681. 

The  P'sentment  of  ye  Grand  Inquest  Sworne  for  ye  body  of 
ye  s'd  County  ye  day  and  yeare  aboue  written  are  as 
folio weth  : 

Impr's,  wee  p'sent  a  c'tain  bridge  called  Caersoos  bridge, 
lying  on  ye  River  Seaverne  upon  a  High  way  Leading  fro' 
Caresoos  to  the  towne  of  Llanidloes,  to  be  out  of  repaire,  and 
ought  to  be  repayred  by  the  sev'all  Inhabitants  of  ye  p'ishes 
of  Llanwnog,  Llandinam,  Penstrowed,  Trevegloes,  and  Carno. 

Alsoe,  wee  p'sent  Rees  Evans  of  Dwyriow  in  ye  s'd  County 
for  hunting  and  coursing  att  unlawfull  tymes  of  ye  yeare,  and 
a  breaker  of  his  neighbour's  hedges. 

Alsoe,  wee  p'sent  a  c'teine  bridge  called  Pont  Cynon  lyeing 
ou'  (over)  ye  River  Cynon  ;  alsoe  a  c'taine  bridge  called  Pont 
Kedig  ou'  ye  river  Kedig,  and  alsoe  a  c'teine  bridge  called 
Pont  Garnedd  Wen,  lying  ou'  ye  River  (?)  to  be  out  of 
repaire,  and  ought  to  be  repaired  by  ye  sev'all  Inhabitants 
of  ye  hundred  of  Llanvylling. 

Wm.  Pughe.  1681. 

Evan  Glynne.  Arthur  Vaughan. 


296  MISCELLANEA   H1STORICA. 

Eees  Wynn.  Tho.  Moris. 

Humffery  Parry.  Wm.  Syer. 

Gr.  Evans.  John  Edds. 

Owen  Mynton.  D'd  Pri chard. 

Morgan  Owen.  Math.  Mathew. 

John  Meredyth.  Rees  Meredyth. 

Juriers  of  ye  Borough  Inquest. 

Humfrey  Jones,  gent.  Thomas  Poole,       gent. 

Thomas  Lloyd,         ,,  Thomas  Griffiths,  „ 

Evan  Gwynne,         „  Eowland  Davies,  „ 

John  Owens,  „  Richard  Williams,      „ 

Thomas  Vaughan,   „  Koger  Evans,  „ 

Richard  Davids,       „  Morgan  Evans. 

Wee  the  Jurors  afores'd,  upon  our  oathes,  doe  p'sent  the 
persons  undernamed  for  Popish  Recusants — 23  persons  named 
— for  Dissenters  from  the  Church,  10  persons. 

Wee  the  Jurors  aforesaid,  upon  cur  oathes,  doe  p'sent  the 
p'sons  undermentioned  for  killing  of  calves  under  the  age  of 
five  weeks,  and  alsoe  for  blowinge  of  meate. 

Silvan  us  Davies.  William  Pugh. 

Edward  Davies.  David  Lewis. 

John  Tudder.  John  Hughes. 

Robert  James  als.  Jones.      Gabriel  Price. 

Thomas  Lewis.  Thomas  Jones. 

Wee  the  Jurors  aforesayd,  upon  our  oathes,  doe  p'sent  the 
p'sons  undernamed  for  soking  and  washing  of  Hydes  and  skins 
in  the  brook e  called  Lledin. 

Edmund  Lloyd,  glover. 

Edward  Oliver,  „ 

Thomas  Hughes,  „ 

Gilbert  Hughes,  „ 

,  Charles  Roberts,  jun.,       „ 

Morgan  Evans,  „ 

Rowland  Davies,  „ 

Richard  Jeffreys,  „ 

Charles  Rocke,  tanner. 

Rondle  Parry,  „ 

Humfrey  Griffiths,  „ 

Alsoe,  wee  p'sent  the  inhabitants  of  Trallumgollen  for  not 
repairing  the  High  wayes  leading  from  the  house  of  Thomas 
Edwards  to  the  brooke  or  pearle  of  water  called  and  knowen 
by  the  name  of  Cydrgen ;  alsoe,  the  Highway  leadinge  from 
the  Towne  of  Poole  to  the  Yellin  ddu're.  The  same  ought  to 


THK  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOM EKYSHIRE.       297 

be  repaired  by  the  inhabitants  of  Trallumgollen  afores'd. 
Likewise,  wee  p'sent  the  s'd  Townshipp  for  not  repairing  the 
High  way  leadinge  from  the  Towne  of  Poole  to  Trefnant.  £5. 

Alsoe,  wee  p'sent  the  inhabitants  of  Trallumgollen  and  Welsh 
Towne  for  not  repairinge  the  lane  leadinge  from  the  Towne  of 
Poole  to  the  Gro,  w'ch  those  two  Towneships  ought  to  repaire. 
£5.' 

Alsoe,  wee  p'sent  the  Towneship  of  Tythin  Freed  and 
Dyssarth  for  not  repairing  theire  Highways  in  their  Town- 
shippes.  £5. 

Alsoe,  wee  p'sent  the  inhabitants  of  Gungrog  Vechan  for  not 
repairinge  the  King's  Highway  in  their  s'd  Towneshipp.  £5. 

Alsoe,  wee  p'sent  the  inhabitants  of  Gungrog  Vaure  for  not 
repairing  the  King's  High  way  in  their  s'd  Towneship.  £5. 

Alsoe,  wee  p'sent  Godfree  Massie  for  intruding  and  usinge  of 
the  Trade  or  Syence  of  a  Barbar  Chururion  in  the  Town  of 
Poole. 

Alsoe,  wee  p'sent  the  p'sons  undernamed  for  intruding  and 
usinge  the  Trade  or  Syence  of  a  taylor  in  the  Towne  of  Poole. 

Robert  Williams. 
Edward  ap  David. 
Phillip  Roderick. 

To   the  right  Honourable  Sir  George  Jeffrey,  Kt.,  his  Ma'ie's 
Serjeant  Learned  in  ye  Law,  and  Chiefe  Justice  of  Chester. 

The  Grand  Inquest  for  this  County  of  Mountgomery  haveing 
taken  into  consideration  ye  incomodity  yt  arises  fro'  ye  mean 
reward  yt  is  assigned  to  such  persons  as  appeare  upon  Juries 
between  party  and  party.  And  being  truely  sensible  yt  that 
is  a  meanes  to  obstructe  ye  appearance  of  p'sons  of  sense  and 
integrity  upon  such  essential  services  for  remedy  thereof  here- 
after. Wee  humbly  recom'end  to  yo'r  Lordshipp  yt  it  may  be 
advanced  to  eight  pence,  and  yo'r  Lordship's  ordering  it,  soe 
wee  humbly  conceive,  will  be  an  effectual  remedy  in  this 
case. 

Wm.  Pughe.  Tho.  Maurice. 

Evan  Glynne.  Rees  Meredith. 

1681.  David  Richard. 

Rees  Wynne.  Nathaniel  Matthews. 

Arthur  Vaughan.       Morgan  Owen. 

Gr.  Evans.  Owen  Minion  (?). 

Humffrey  Parry.        John  Meredith. 

Owen  Mynton.  Jo.  Edds. 

VOL.  XXVI 1,  X 


298  MISCELLANEA    HISTORICA. 


Jnr  inter  D'mi  Rrcjem  ct  Prisonar  ad  Barram. 

Carolus  Jones,  gen.  Joh'es  Phillips,  gen. 

Gilbert  Jones,  gen.  Henric'  Pugh,  gen. 

Thomas  Rogers,  gen.  Cadd'rus  David,  gen. 

Owin  Watkin,  gen.  Thomas  Evans,  gen. 

Ed'r'us  Powell,  gen.  Joh'es  Watkin,  gen. 
Franciscus  Reignolds,  gen. 


John  Thomas,  Esq., 


ar.  ve. 


No  ia  Jur'  inter  D'num  Reg  em  et  Prison  ad  Parram. 

Owin  Watkin  de  Hudan,  gen. 
Will'us  Jones  de  Nantforth. 
Reignald  Powell  de  Mountgomery. 
Ric'us  Bennet  de  Glynbrochan. 
Thomas  Evans  de  Llanwithelan. 
Rob'tus  Meirick  de  Churchstock. 
Griffin  Jones  de  Coome  Gorror. 
Cad'rus  Davies  de  Penrhyn. 
Ed'rus  Powell  de  Ucheldre  Bettus. 
fFrancis  Reignolds  de  Rhandir. 
Joh'es  Davies  de  Teirtre. 
Humfr'us  Edwards  de  Burgeding. 

Jur9  inter  D'um  Reyem  et  Prison'  ad  Barram. 

Carolus  Jones.  Thomas  Evans. 

Thomas  Rogers.  Riceus  Humfreys. 

Gilbert  Jones,  jun.  Cad'rus  Davies. 

Francis  Reignolds.  Joh'es  Watkin. 

Henric'  Pugh.  Owin  Watkin. 

Joh'es  Phillips.  Ed'rus  Powell. 

Joh'es  Thomas,  ar.  vie. 

Inquisitio  Magna. 

Willi'mus  Pugh,  ar.  WilFus  Syre,  gen. 

Evan  Glynn,  ar.  David  Richards,  gen. 

Riceus  Wynne,  ar.  Morgan  Owen,  gen. 

Arthur  Vaughan,  ar.  Joh'es  Edwards,  gen. 

Griffinus  Evans,  gen.  Thomas  Morris,  gen. 

Joh'es  Meredith,  gen.  Owin  Mynton,  gen. 

Riceus  Meredith,  gen.  Nathaniel  Mathewes. 

Joh'es  Thomas,  ar.  vie, 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.        299 

Inquis'  Sep'al'  Bincf  Com'  P'd\ 

Humfr^ua  Jones,  gen.  Thomas  Poole,  gen. 

Thomas  Lloyd,  gen.  Ric'us  Williams,  gen. 

Evan  Gwynne,  gen.  Thomas  Griffithes,  gen. 

Joh'es  Owen,  gen.  Roger  Griffithes,  gen. 

Ric'us  Davies,  gen.  Morgan  Evans,  gen. 

Roger  Evans,  gen.  Rowland  Davies,  gen. 
Thomas  Vaughan,  gen. 

Joh'es  Thomas,  ar.  vie. 

The  returne  of  Andrewe  Evans  and  William  Price,  Serjeants- 
at-Muce  for  the  Town  and  Borough  of  Poole. 

The  names  of  sever  all  persons  Summoned  to  serve  upon  the 
Borough-inquest  for  the  Towne  and  Liberty  aforesaid. 

Jur.  1.     Humphrey  Jones  of  Poole,  gen. 
Jur.  2.     Thomas  Lloyd  of  Poole,  gen. 

Humphrey  Pary  of  Llanyhidoll,  gen. 
Jur.  3.     John  Owen  of  Poole,  gen. 

George  Juckes  of  Poole,  gen. 
Jur.  4.     Evan  Gwynne  of  Poole,  gen. 

Humphrey  Griffithes  of  Pool,  gen. 
Jur.  5.     Richard  Davies  of  Pool,  gen. 
Jur.  6.     Roger  Evans  of  Poole,  gen. 

Thomas  Ellis  of  Poole,  gen. 

Thomas  Morris  of  Llanrhydoll,  gen. 

David  Humphrey  of  the  same,  gen. 

Morris  Powell  of  Gyngrog  Vechan,  gen. 
Jur.  7.  Thomas  Vaughan  of  Gyngrog  Vaur,  gen. 
Jur.  8.  Tho.  Poole  of  the  same,  gen. 

ex     Nathaniel  Matthews  of  Cletterwood,  gen. 

Richard  Griffithes  of  Gayr,  gen. 

Thomas  Bowdler  of  Middletown,  gen. 
Jur.  9.     Richard  Williams  of  Trecomwrag,  gen. 

George  Cooke  of  Weston,  gen. 

William  Calcott  of  the  same,  gen. 

Stephen  Thomas  of  Llanyrothwell,  gen. 
Jur.  10.     Thomas  Griffithes  of  Garth,  gen. 
Jur.  11.     Roger  Griffithes  of  the  same,  gen. 

Edward  Lloyd  of  Guilsfield,  Junior,  gen. 

John  Thomas  of  Treffnant  Vechan,  gen. 

John  Reynolds  of  Trellangollen,  gen. 

Richard  Edwards  of  Kilkewith,  gen. 

Thomas  Davies  of  Trellangollen,  gen. 

x  2 


300  MISCELLANEA    HISTORICA. 

Jur.  12.     Morgan  Evans  of  Trellangollen,  gen. 
Jur.    1.     Robt.  Evans  of  Pool. 
Jur.  13.     Row.  Davies. 

Andrew  Evans. 

William  Price. 

No'i'a  Jur'  ad  Inquirend'  p*  D'no  Eegi  pro  Corporis  Com'  p'd' 

Machynlleth  Hundred — 

Jur.  1.     Willi'mus  Pughe  de  Mathavarne,  ar. 

ex     Edm's  Lloyd,  ar. 
Jur.  3.     Evan  Glynne,  ar. 
Jur.  2.     Riceus  Wynn,  ar. 
Jur.  4.     Arthur  Vaughan,  ar. 

David  ap  Hugh  David  de  Blaenglesserth,  gen. 

Moses  (or  Mores)  Lloyd  de  Llarivechan,  gen. 

Joh'es  Owen  de  Henllan,  gen. 

Humfr'us  Evan  de  Vwch  y  garreg,  gen. 

Griffin  Thomas  de  Ychcoed,  gen. 

Rowland  Thomas  Parry  de  eadem,  gen. 
Jur.  6.     Riceus  Meredith  de  Noddfa,  gen. 

Willi'mus  Thomas  de  Tavolwerne,  gen. 

Riceus  Morris  de  Brynyrychell,  gen. 

Griffin'  Meredith  de  eadem,  gen. 

Montgomery  Hundred — 

Ed'r'us  Poole  de  Maughtrey,  gen. 
Jur.  7.     Griffin  Evans  de  Kelliber,  geii. 

Joseph  Lloyd  de  Gwernrhiw,  gen. 
Jur.  8.     Owin  Minton  de  Pen-y-Gelly,  gen. 

Newiown  Hundred — 

Jur.  9.     Willi'mus  Syre  de  Aberhaley,  gen. 

Willi'mus  Price  de  Aberbechan,  gen. 
Carolus  Jodrell  de  Llanwithelan,  gen. 
Jacobus  Broomhall  de  Aberhafesp,  gen. 

Poole  Hundred — 

Thomas  Evans  de  Broniarth,  gen. 
Andreas  Jones  de  Lledrod,  gen. 
Oliver  Lloyd  de  Llansanfraid,  gen. 
Jur.  10.     David  Richard  de  Guilsfield. 

Caurse  Hundred — 

Jur.  11.     Nathaniell  Matthewes  de  Cletterwood,  gen. 

Thomas  Boudler,  Junior,  de  Middletoune,  gen. 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.        301 

Rich'us  ap  Richard  de  Cruggion,  gen. 
Owin  Watkin  de  Huddan,  gen. 

Deijthur  Hundred — 

Rob'tus  Vaughan  de  Colfyn,  gen. 

Joh'es  Griffithes  de  Tretherwen  Vor,  gen. 

Llanvilling  Hundred — 

Josephus  Ellis  de  Vachwen,  gen. 
Thomas  Cad'der  de  Rhiscog,  gen. 
Morris  Cad'der  de  Pennyarth,  gen. 
David  Vaughan  de  Dolwar,  gen. 
Caddrus  David  de  Cadwynfaen.  gen. 
Lewis  Williams  de  Penniarth,  gen. 

Matlirafal  Hundred — 

Jur.  12.     John  Meredith  de  Llanvaire,  gen. 

Rob'tus  ap  Oliver  de  Kenhinva,  gen. 
Evan  Lloyd  de  Mathravall. 
Will'mus  Edwards  de  Llangyniew,  gen. 
Riceus  Evans  de  Penrith,  gen. 
David  Evans  de  Garthbeibio,  gen. 
ex     David  Hugh  de  Llanllothian,  gen. 

No'ia  Ministror'  D'ni  Regis    Com'  p'd.     Noia,  Justiciar    Pacts 

Com  p'd. 

[Omitting  the  official  list,  the  following  are  the  magistrates 
named.] 

Sir  Job  Charleton. 

Andreas  Newport,  ar. 

Sir  Ric'us  Corbett,  Bart.  (Leighton).1 

Sir  John  Whitterong,  Bart.  (Talerthig). 

Lewis  Meinck,  Esq. 

Thomas  Walcot,  Esq.  (Walcot). 

Ed^rus  Vaughan  de  Lloydiarth,  Esq. 

Ed'rus  Vaughan  de  Gwernygoe,  Esq. 

William  Pugh,  Esq.  (Mathavarn). 

Matthew  Morgan,  Esq.  (Aberhavesp). 

Charles  Herbert,  Esq. 

Ed'rus  Lloyd  de  Berthlloyd,  Esq. 

Ed'rus  Lloyd  de  Mathravel,  Esq. 

Ed'rus  Barrett,  Esq.  (Bansley). 

Edmund  Lloyd,  Esq.  (Trefnaut). 


The  domiciles  within  brackets  are  supplied  by  the  editor. 


302  MISCELLANEA    HISTORIC  A. 

Edmund  Waring,  Esq.  (Owlbury). 
William  Oakley.  Esq.  (Oakley). 
Kichard  Owen,  Esq.  (Rhiwsaeson). 
John  Newton,  Esq.  (Heigh tley). 
John  Williams,  Esq.  (Ystymcolwyn). 
Robert  Leighton,  Esq.  (Wattlesborough); 
Matthew  Price,  Esq.  (Newtown). 
Daniel  Whittingham,  Esq.  (Hem). 
Arthur  Devereux,  Esq.  (Nantcribba). 
Henry  Blayney,  Esq.  (Gregynog). 
Edward  Price,  Esq.  (Gunley). 
Richard  Herbert,  Esq. 
David  Maurice,  Esq.  (Penybont). 
John  Matthews,  Esq.  (Trefnanny). 
Arthur  Weaver,  Esq.  (Bettws). 
Richard  Mostyn,  Esq.  (Doe-y-Corsllwyn). 
John  Kyffin,  Esq.  (Bodfach). 
Joh'es  (?)  Stedman,  Esq. 
Joh'es  Lloyd,  Esq.  (Llanhaven). 
Riceus  Wynne,  Esq.  (Eunant). 
Evan  Glynn,  Esq.  (Glynn). 
Richard  Mytton,  Esq.  (Pont-ys-Cowridd). 
John  Edwards,  Esq.  (Rorrington). 
Vincent  (?)  Pierce,  Esq.  (Llwynybraine). 
Charles  Wind,  Esq.  (Criggion). 
Arthur  Weaver,  Esq.  (Morville). 
Thomas  Mason,  Esq.  (Rockley). 

Coroners. 
John  Griffithes.  Tho.  Gwynne. 

Bailiffs  of  Boroughs. 
Edmunds,  The  Borough  of  Pool. 

The  Borough  of  Llanfyllin. 
The  Borough  of  Montgomery 
The  Borough  of  Llanidloes. 

Chief  Constables  of  Hundreds. 
Mathew  Mathews,  gen.,  Newtown. 
Rees  Williams,  gen.,  „ 

David  Williams,  gen.,  Llanidloes. 
Ric'us  Rees,  gen.,  „ 

Ric'us  Rowlands,  gen.,  Machynlleth. 
Hugo  Richard,  gen.,  „ 

Griffin  Jones,  gen.,  Llanvilling. 
Willimus  Griffith,  gen.,     „ 
Evan  Griffith,  gen.,  Mathravall. 
Rob'tus  Davies,  gen.,       „ 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.       303 


John  Price,  gen.,  Caurse. 
Jacobus  Dell,  gen.,    ,, 
Ric'us  Jones,  gen.,  Mountgomery. 
Jonathan  Howells,  gen.,     „ 
Joh'es  Meredith,  gen.,  Pool. 
Ric'us  Humfrey,  gen.,     „ 
Griffin  Derwas,  gen.,  Deythur. 
Ed'rus  Garlan,  gen.,          „ 

Bailiffs  of  Hundreds. 

EdVus  Owen,  gen.,  Hundred  de  Nova  Villa. 

Joh'es  Davies,  gen.,  ,,  Llanidloes. 

Joh'es  Davies,  gen.,  „  Machynlleth. 

Ludovic  Edwards,  gen.,  „  'Llanfyllyu. 

Evan'  Roberts,  gen.,  „  Mathrafal. 

Joh'es  Corbet,  gen.,  „  Caurse. 

Riceus  Berwick,  gen.,  ,,  Mountgomery. 

Joh'es  Humfreys,  gen.,  „  Pola. 

Ric'us  Williams,  gen.,  ,,  Deythur. 

Mount gom'y. 

Calendar'  D'  Magna  Sessione  August  Anno  1681  Tricessimo 
t'cio  Caroli  S'c'di  nunc  Regis,  etc. 

John  Thomas,  Esq.,  Sheriff. 
Mr.  Griffithes, 

I    am    content    that    the    p'sons    undernamed    be 
admitted    to    appeare    to   the    presentments    that    are    found 

them. 
Edmond  Lloyd, 

Gl 


against 


Thomas  Hughes, 
Gilbert  Hughes, 
Charles  Roberts, 
Adam  Evans, 
Rowland  Davies, 
Charles  Rocke, 
Randle  Parry, 
Humfrey  Griffithes, 
Silvanus  Davies, 
Edward  Davies, 
John  Tydda, 
Thomas  Lewis, 
William  Pugh, 
David  Lewis, 
John  Hughes,  and 
Thomas  Jones, 


Glovers,    p'sented    for    washing 
skins  in  the  river  Leding,  etc. 


tanners,  for  the  like  offence. 


Butchers,  presented  for  blowing 
their  meate,  etc. 


Thomas   Powys. 


304  MISCELLANEA    BLSTOLUOA. 


John  Price   of  Gflanhaveren,   Gentleman,  charged  with 
Clipping  Coin. 

Depositions  of  Witnesses  taken  before  me,  William  Pughe, 
Esq.,  one  of  his  Majesties  Justices  of  the  peace  for  the  said 
County  of  Montgomery,  the  Eleventh  day  of  July,  in  the 
three-and-thirtieth  year  of  our  Sov'aigne  Lord  King  Charles 
the  second  over  England,  etc.,  and  in  the  yeare  of  our  Lord  God 
1681,  for  touching  and  concerneing  seu'all  High  Crimes  and 
Misdemeanors,  etc. 

Henry  Wynne  of  Machynlleth,  in  the  said  County,  Skinner, 
deposeth  as  follows  : 

That  about  seven  years  last  past  he,  the  said  Henry  Wynne, 
being  made  acquainted  with  John  Price  of  Glanhaveren,  in  the 
said  county,  gentleman,  by  the  meanes  of  Griffith  Price  of 
Machynlleth,  in  the  said  County,  Smyth,  did  sell  unto  the  said 
John  Price  a  parcell  of  "  Clippings"  of  Silver  coyne ;  And 
further  deposeth  that  att  one  other  time  (viz.),  att  a  faire  at 
Machenlleth,  the  15th  day  of  November,  about  the  year  1675, 
he  said  the  said  John  Pryce,  at  the  dwelling-house  of  one 
Humphrey  ap  Hugh  ap  Humphrey  Tyler,  drew  out  a  pair  of 
scales  wherewith  he  was  wont  to  weigh  silver  clippings,  and 
required  one  Griffith  Richard  of  Llanbrynmair,  yeoman,  then 
present,  to  draw  forth  what  clippings  he  had,  which  he 
scrupled  to  doe,  because  this  deponent  (as  he  conceived)  was 
in  the  place;  but  the  said  Jo'n  Pryce  tould  him  he  had  noe 
Reason  to  feare  the  Deponent,  whereupon  the  said  Griffith 
Richard  tooke  out  of  his  pocket  a  parcell  of  the  Clipping  of 
Silver  money,  the  Quantity  the  Examinant  cannot  instance, 
and  threw  them,  in  the  presence  of  this  deponent,  on  a  certaine 
table  in  the  Roome  they  were  in;  but,  before  they  had  weighed 
them,  the  deponent  left  the  roome.  Hee  moreover  adds  that 
there  were  p'sent  in  the  place,  besides  Humphrey  ap  Hum- 
phrey aforesaid,  Rowland  Thomas  of  Pennall,  in  the  county  of 
Merioneth,  Glover,  and  Hugh  Rowland  of  the  same,  Glover, 
which  both  last-menc'oned  p'sons  tould  this  deponent  that 
they  had  Clippings  att  that  time  to  sell  to  the  said  Jo'n  Pryce, 
and  a  little  time  afore  he  saw  the  sayd  Jo'n  Pryce  buy  of 
Rowland  Thomas  aforesaid  one  parcell  of  clippings  at  a  faire 
in  Newtowne,  in  a  private  Roome  of  the  house  of  one  widow 
Wynne.  This  deponent  further  added  that  about  seven  years 
agoe,  he,  this  examinarit,  being  in  company  with  Griffith  Pryce 
aforementioned,  repaired  to  the  house  of  John  Price  afore- 
said, where,  in  the  absence  of  the  said  Jo'n  Price,  they  joyntly 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.       305 

sold  unto  his  wife  foure  ounces,  or  thereabout,  of  silver  clip- 
pings. 

This  Examinant  further  sayth,  in  or  ab't  seven  years  agoe, 
this  deponent,  happening  to  come  to  the  forge  of  Griffith 
Price  afores'd,  he  saw  the  said  Griffith  Price  in  the  clipping  of 
a  sum  of  money  which  seemed  to  this  deponent  to  be  about 
five  pounds ;  and,  asking  the  said  Griffith  where  he  had  so 
much  money,  he  replied  that  one  Jo'n  Koger  supplied  him 
with  money  for  eighteen  pence  and  two  shillings  p'  pound  ;  and 
within  some  little  time  after  this  deponent  saw  the  said  Griffith 
Pryce  and  Jo'n  Roger  in  the  said  Griffith  Price's  forge  rubb 
a  parcell  of  money  by  them  ready  clipped  in  a  certaine  piece  of 
wood,  to  take  out  the  freshnesse  of  the  edges. 

Hee  further  sayth  that  att  or  upon  the  15th  day  of  Novem- 
ber 1675,  one  Jo'n  Price  of  Abermule,  in  the  s'd  county  of 
Mountgom'y,  comeing,  together  with  his  Cozen,  Jo'n  Price  of 
Glanhafren,  to  lodge  at  the  house  of  Griffith  Price  of  Machen- 
lleth  towne,  where  this  deponent  then  likewise  lived  as  a  tabler  : 
he,  this  examinant,  was  made  acquainted  with  the  said  Jo'n 
Price  of  Abermule  by  the  means  of  Jo'n  Price  of  Glanhavren 
aforesaid  and  Griffith  Price,  and,  after  some  familiar  discourse 
between  them,  he,  the  s'd  Jo'n  Price,  ask'd  this  Examinant 
whether  he  had  any  Clippings  to  sell,  to  which  hee  said  Noe ; 
whereupon  the  said  Jo'n.  in.  some  passion,  told  this  depon't 
that  he  had  come  purposely  to  the  towne  (it  being  the  fair 
time)  with  a  designe  to  meet  some  persons  that  had  promised 
to  sell  him  seu'all  Quantities  of  Clippings,  but  his  Cozen,  Jo'n 
Price,  happening  to  bee  too  nimble  for  him,  he  was  utterly 
disappointed  :  hee,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  complayned  of  one 
Rowland  Thomas  of  Merionethshire,  Glover,  aforespecified,  and 
threatened  him  highly,  for  (as  he  told  this  deponent)  he  had  to 
pay  him  a  sume  of  money  aforehand  for  a  p'cel  of  clippings 
which  hee  had  p'tnised  him  att  the  said  faire.  But  as  hee,  the 
said  Jo'n  Price,  tould  this  exarninant,  hee  had  sold  them  (in  an 
unkind  surrepti'ous  manner)  to  his,  the  said  Jo'n's,  cousin  and 
namesake,  and  soe  deceived  him. 

Sig'm.         H.     Henry  Wynne. 

Griffith  Price  of  Machenlleth  sayth,  being  likewise  sworne 
and  examined,  deposeth  that  hee  saw  the  wife  of  Jo'n  Price  of 
Glanhaveren  severall  and  oftentimes  present  and  in  the  roome 
where  hee  was  selling  of  Clippings  to  her  husband;  and 
further  deposeth  that  about  foure  yeares  agoe  he  and  Henry 
Wynne,  the  former  deponent,  repairing  to  the  house  of  the 
said  Jo'n  Price  in  his  absence,  his  said  wife  bought  of  the 


306  MISCELLANEA    HISTOKICA. 

said  Griffith  and  Henry  about  the  quantitie  of  four  ounces  of 
silver  clippings,  to  the  best  of  this   deponent's  remembrance. 

Sig'm.          C.  H.     Griffith  Price. 
These  depoVons  were   taken   before   me 
the  day  and  yeare  first  above  written  : 
in    witness    whereof   I    have    hereunto 
subscribed  my  name. — W.  Pughe. 

[The  case  was  thrown  out  at  the  following  Great  Sessions.] 

The  Present m't  of  the  Grand  Jurors  of  the  body  of  the 
County  of  Mountgom'y  att  the  Great  Sessions  held  at  Llan- 
villing  the  nine-and-twentieth  day  of  Aug.  An'o  Dom'i,  1681 : — 

Wee  p'sent  the  High  way  leading  from  Bont  verr  to  Velindre 
Bridge,  within  the  p'ish  of  Llanidloes,  to  bee  insufficient  and 
impassable,  and  yt  the  Inhabitants  of  Glynhau'en,  Keven, 
Pennarth,  and  Stredynod  ought  to  re  pay  re  the  same.  £10. 

Item,  wee  p'sent  a  certaine  Bridge  ouer  the  Riner  Seavern, 
comonly  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  Pont  Ferr,  in  the 
parish  of  Llanydloes  in  the  said  County,  to  be  insufficient  and 
out  of  repayre,  and  that  the  Towne  of  Llanydlos  and  the  said 
p'ish  ought  to  repayre  the  said  Bridge.  £5,  Pontverr. 

Item,  wee  p'sent  a  certen  Bridge  ouer  the  Riuer  Virnew, 
comonly  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  Pont  a  scourid,  in. 
the  Hundred  of  Pool,  in  the  said  County,  to  be  insufficient 
and  out  of  repayre,  and  that  the  Towne  and  Hundred  of 
Poole  ought  to  repayre  the  sayd  Bridge.  £5. 

Item,  wee  p'sent  halfe  the  Bridge  over  the  River  Tannatt, 
commonly  called  Pone  Llanerch  Humris,  in  the  said  Hundred 
of  Poole,  in  the  said  County,  to  be  insufficient  and  out  of 
repayre,  and  that  the  sayd  towne  of  Pool  and  ye  said  Hundred 
ought  to  repayre  the  same.  £5  each. 

Item,  wee  p'sent  a  certein  bridge  ouer  the  Riuer  Siuerne, 
comonly  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  Pout  Kilcewith,  in 
the  Hundred  of  Cause,  to  be  insufficient  and  out  of  repayre, 
and  yt  the  said  Hundred  of  Cause  ought  to  repayre  the  same.  £5. 

Item,  wee  p'sent  a  certein  Bridge  called  by  the  name  of 
Dyfy  Bridge,  ouer  the  Riuer  Dyfy,  in  the  Hundred  of  Mochun- 
lleth  and  County  aforesaid,  to  be  insufficient,  "  w'ch  is  to  be 
repayred  by  ye  Hundred  Cause."  £5. 

[The  line  within  "  "  is  in  different  coloured  ink,  and  probably 
ought  to  have  been  written  under  the  preceding  sentence.] 

Item,  wee  p'sent  the  High  way  leading  from  Llandrinio 
Boat?  (first  letter  missing)  unto  Llandrinio  church,  in  the 
Hundred  of  Dythir,  in  the  said  County  of  Mountgomery,  to 
be  insufficient,  "to  be  repayred  by  ye  parish  of  Llandrinio/'' 

Item,  wee  p'sent  the  High  way  leading  from  the  Bulch-y- 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.        307 

Clawdd  to  Llanymynech  ford,  in  the  said  Hundred  of  Dythir 
and  said  County  of  Mouritgomery,  to  be  insufficient :  "  to  be 
repayred  by  Haughton,  Domegay,  and  Llandissilio."  40s.  each. 
To  Justify  e  these  presentments,  we  hereunto  subscribe  our 
names  : 

Edward  Lloyd.         Richard  Griffithes. 

Gabriell  Wynne.      Bice  Pryce. 

Ri.  Ingram.  Eice  Price. 

Lewis' Price.  Wm.  Griffiths. 

Roger  Trefor.  John  James. 

Jo.  Wilson.  Griffith  Powell. 

David  Evans.  David  Dauies. 

Gilbert  Jones. 

Richard  Ridge  of  Middietowne,  in  the  county  of  Montgom'y, 
maketh  Oath 

That  he  hath,  for  the  space  of  six-and-twenty  yeares  last 
past,  Inhabited  within  ye  Towneshipp  of  Middletowne  afore- 
said and  p'ish  of  Aberbury,  becoming  very  poore  and  Indi- 
gent, and  destitute  of  any  habitation,  and  still  soe  continuing, 
did,  about  fifteene  yeares  ago,  petition  His  Majesty's  Justices 
of  ye  Peace  for  this  County  of  Montgomery  for  reliefe,  and 
obteined  an  Order  from  the  Quarter  {Sessions  held  within  this 
County  to  haue  leaue  to  erect  a  Cottage  on  Middletowne 
Comons  to  Inhabite  in,  but  first  was  to  haue  the  License  of 
the  Lord  for  soe  doing,  w'ch  ye  s'd  Richard  Ridge  obteined 
under  ye  Hand  and  Seale  of  Henry  Purcell,  Esq.,  then  Lord  of 
the  Manor  of  that  place,  and  in  pursuance  of  the  said  Order 
and  License,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Freeholders,  did  erect 
a  Cottage  on  the  said  Common,  and  this  Deponent,  with  his 
family,  evermore  lived  therein  without  Interrupc'on ;  but  that 
one  George  Willcox  and  others,  att  the  Great  Sessions  held  at 
Mountgomery  in  September  in  the  32th  yeare  of  this  King, 
most  wrongfully  Indicted  this  Deponent  for  erecting  and  con- 
tinuing the  said  Cottage,  though  hee  still  continues  poore,  and 
his  wife  being  very  sick  and  weake,  and  this  deponent  not 
worth  forty  shillings  in  all  the  world,  cannot  but  in  forma 
paup'is  make  any  defence  in  the  said  matter. 

[The  bottom  of  this  document  is  torn ;  but  the  petitioner 
appears  to  have  been  allowed  to  defend  his  case.] 

The  Presentment  of  the  Burrough  Inquest  at  the  great 
Sessions,  held  at  Poole  the  eleaventh  day  of  Aprill,  in  the 
three-and- thirtieth  yeare  of  the  Raigne  of  our  sovereign  Lord 
Charles  the  second,  by  the  grace  of  God  king  of  England,  etc. 

Alsoe  we  p'sent  the  Inhabitants  of  Gungrog  vechan  for  not 
repaireing  the  Kings  highway  in  these  said  Towneshipps. 


308  MISCELLANEA    HISTORICA. 

Coroner's  Inquisitions. 

1.  Taken  at  the  house  of  John  Owen  of   Caersws,  yeoman, 
the  third  of  July,  in  the  33rd   year  of  the  reign  of  Charles  II, 
before  Thomas  Gwynne,  Esq. 

On  view  of  the  body  of  Gwen  Jones,  then  formerly  of  the 
parish  of  Mochdre,  on  the  oaths  of — 

Thomas  Price,  David  Jones, 

Hugh  Jenkins,  Evan  Jenkin  Edri, 

Ricei  Ward,  David  Jacob  Morris, 

Thomas  Meredith,  Lewis  Jones, 

John  Rees,  Mathew  Thomas,  and 

Athelustan  Morris,  Evan  Owen. 
John  James, 

She  carne  to  her  death  accidentally,  being  drowned  in  a  certain 
torrent  called  "  Mochdre  Brooke". 

2.  Taken  before  the  same  Coroner,  at  the  house  of  Francis 
Herbert  in    Llanidloes,  on  the  22nd  of  August,  33  Ch.  II,  on 
view  of  the  body  of  Lewis  David  Jenkin,  then  late  of  Llanid- 
loes, on  the  oaths  of — 

Thomas  Bennet,  Thomas  David, 

Will.  Hunt,  John  Woosnam, 

Ricei  Thomas,  Thomas  Powell, 

Edri  Hatfield,  John  David, 

David  Jenkin,  Evan  James  Lloyd,  and 

Evan  Lloyd,  George  Baynes,  Gentlemen. 

Hnmfrey  Morris, 

Cause  of  death,  "  Visitation  of  God." 

3.  Taken  before  the  same  Coroner,  at  the  house  of  Richard 
Jones,  in  the  parish  of  Llanwoorin,  on  the  26th  day  of  August, 
33  Ch.  II,  on  view  of  the  body  of  Thomas  Oliver,  then  late  of 
Llanwothyn,  on  the  oaths  of — 

Lewis  Evans,  Thomas  Rowland, 

Thomas  Jukes,  Hurnfrey  John, 

Evan  Richard,  Thomas  Cellon, 

Rich.  Morgan,  Lewis  Evans, 

Hugh  Humfrey,  Henry  Mills, 

Edri  Jones,  Richard  David, 

Lewis  Morgan,  Thomas  Griffiths,  and 

David  Rudd'er,  Humfrey  Hugh, 

who  said  that  deceased  was  accidentally  drowned  in  the  river 
Dovey  on  the  26th  of  June  preceding. 

4    Taken  before  the  same  Coroner,  at  the  house  of  Mary 
Bembo,  in  Trefeglwys,  on  the  7th  of  June,  33  Ch.  II,  on  view 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.        309 

of  the  body  of  Elizabeth  Jenkins  of  the  parish  of  Llanidloes, 

on  the  oaths  of — 

Christofer  Hall,  Owen  Mathew, 

Lewis  Parton,  Rich.  Evans, 

Edward  Savage,  Evan  Brinton, 

Jenkin  Lewis,  Wra.  Worthington, 

Morris  Richard,  .Ralph  Goodwyn, 

Rich.  Ingram,  Rich.  Jarman, 

Edwd.  Lewis,  John  David,  and 

Edwd.  Cleaton,  Thomas  Smith,  Gentlemen, 

who   said   that  Elizabeth  Jenkins   died  by   the  Visitation    of 
God. 

Noi'a  JUT'  ad  inquirend'  pro  D'no  Rege  pro  Corpore  Gorti  P'd'. 

Mathr avail  Hundred — 

Edward  Lloyd  de  Mathraval,  ar.         Jur.     1. 
David  Lloyd  de  Henllan,  gen. 
ex  Joh'es  Evans  de  Pentirch,  gen. 
Will'us  Jones  de  Nantserth,  gen. 
David  Lloyd  de  Kenhinva,  gen. 
Humfrus  ap  Oliver  de  eadem,  gen. 
Griffin  Jones  de  Coomgoror,  gen. 
David  William  de  Binnglas,  gen. 

Llanvilling  Hundred — 

Riceus  Wynne  de  Eynant,  ar. 
Evan  Yaughan  de  Castell  Moch,  gen. 
Riceus  Price  de  Nantfallon,  gen.         Jur.    4. 
Thomas  Cad'der  de  Rhiwarth,  gen.     Jur.  15. 

Poole  Hundred — 

Thomas  Evans  de  Broniarth,  gen. 
ex  Andreas  Jones  de  Lledrod,  gen. 

Joh'es  Meredith  de  Llanvechan,  gen. 

Morris  David  de  Broniarth,  gen. 
ex  Walter  Griffiths  de  Brongain,  gen. 


Cciurse  Hundred — 

Gabriel  Wynn  de  Dolarthyn,  ar.         Jur.    2. 
Owin  Watkin  de  Hudan,  gen. 
Joh'es  James  de  Sylvaen,  gen.  Jur.    5. 

ex  Ric'us  ap  Richard  de  Cruggion,  gen. 


310  MISCELLANEA    HISTORICA. 

> 
Mountgomery  Hundred — 

Evan  Griffith  de  Husington,  gen. 
Josephus  Lloyd  de  Gwenrhiw,  gen. 
Evan  Jones  de  Weeg  and  Dolwar,  gen. 
John  Dudlick  de  Tre'r  llan,  gen. 
Ric'us  Griffiths  de  Mellington.  Jur.  6. 

Newtown  Hundred — 

Carolus  Jones,  junior,  de  Broniwood,  gen. 
ex  Humfrus  Morris  de  Llanithon,  gen. 

Riceus  Jones  de  Gwestydd,  gen. 

Jacobus  Broomhall  de  Aberhafesp,  gen. 

David  Austen  de  Llanwithelan,  gen. 
ex  Carolus  Jodrell  de  eadem,  gen. 

David  Davies  de  Aberhaley,  gen.        Jur.    7. 
ex  Ric'us  Judge  (Tudge  ?)  de  Tregynon,  gen. 

Llanidloes  Hundred — 

Ric'us  Jngram  de  Glynhaveren,  ar.     Jur.    3. 
Joh'es  Wilson  de  ffinnant,  gen.  Jur.    8. 

Lewis  Price  de  Surnant,  gen.  Jur.    9. 

Hugo  Jones  de  Treweithan,  gen. 
David  Owen  de  Glynhavern,  gen. 
David  Morgan  Evan  de  eadem,  gen. 

Machynlleth  Hundred — 

Will'us  Thomas  de  Llanbrinmaire,  gen. 
Will'us  Jones  de  eadem,  gen. 
Ed'rus  Pugh  de  Penegoes,  gen. 
Griffin  Thomas  de  eadem,  gen. 
Rowland  Thomas  Parry  de  eadem,  gen. 
Rowland  Edwards  de  Kemmes,  gen. 
Ric'us  Morris  de  eadem,  gen. 
Griffin  Meredith  de  eadem,  gen. 
Mores  Lloyd  de  Llanworin,  gen. 
Riceus  Meredith  de  Darowen,  gen. 
Humfrus  Evan  de  Machynlleth,  gen. 

Deyilinr  Hundred — 

Rob'tus  Vaughan  de  Colfryn,  gen. 
ex  Joh'es  Griffiths  de  Tretherwen  Vor,  gen. 

Lewis  Jones  de  eadem,  gen. 
ex  Thomas  Tannat  de  eadem,  gen. 

Joh'es  Thomas,  ar.  vie, 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIKE.        311 

Evanus  Glynne  de  Glyn,  ar. 

Ric'us  Stedman  de  Drevor,  ar. 

Phillipus  Eyton  de  Crygion,  gen. 

Ric'us  Owen.  Jun.,  de  Rhywsaeson,  gen. 

Roger  Trevor  de  Llanvechan,  gen.     Jur.  10. 

Ric'us  Price  de  Llanvechan,  gen.        Jur.  1 1 . 

John  Lloyd  of  Brinellen,  gen. 

David  Lloyd  of  Llangynew,  gen. 

Seage  Price  of  Peniarth,  gen. 

Arthur  Thomas  of  Trwstelvellyin,  gen. 

John  Price  of  Gwestid,  gen. 

William  Griffiths  of  Peniarth,  gen. 

Evan  David  of  Glynhavern,  gen. 
Jur.  12.     Gilbert  Jones. 
Jur.  13.     Griffith  Powell. 
Jur.  14.     David  Evans, 
ex     Jo.  Wms. 

Jon 

No'ia  Jur'  ad  inquirend  p'  D'no  Pege  pro  Sep'al'  Burg' 
Com.  Pr'd'. 

Jur.     1.     Henry  Bynner  de  Bodyddon,  gen. 
Jur.    2.     Griffin  Bynner  de  Llanfyllyn. 
Jur.    3.     Ed'rus  Jones  de  eadem. 
Jur.    4.     David  Evans  de  Llanerchbrochwel. 

Griffin  Lewis  de  eadem  (Llanfyllyn). 
Jur.    5.     Theophilus  Jones  de  eadern. 

Joh'es  Williams  de  Brinbwa. 
Jur.    6.     Joh'es  Davies  de  Bodyddon. 
Jur.    7.     Lewis  Roberts  de  eadem. 
Jur.     8.     Joh'es  Griffiths  de  Rhyscog. 
Jur.     9.     Carolus  Jervis  de  Llanvilling. 
Jur.  10.     Joh'es  Griffith  de  eadem. 
Jur.  11.     Gabriel  Price  de  eadem. 
Jur.  12.     Dudley  Wynne  de  eadem. 
Jur.  13.     Griffin  Buckley  de  Garthgell. 
Jur.  14.     Thomas  Stone  de  Llanvilling. 

Henry  Parry  de  eadem. 
Jur.  15.     Evan  Jones  de  Talwin. 

Oliver  Cad'der  de  Teirtre. 
Jur.  16.     Humfrus  Plymley  de  Llanvilling. 
Jur.  17.     Ric'us  TilsW  de  eadem. 

WuTus  Woodall  de  eadem. 

Owen  Owen  de  eadern. 

Joh'es  Thomas,  ar,  vie. 


312  MISCELLANEA    HISTOKICA. 


No'ia  <7ur'  ad  inquirend'  inter  D'um  Regem  et  Prisonar  ad 

Barra\ 

ex     Ed'rus  Vaughan  de  Lloydiarth,  .Q.T. 
ex     Will'us  Pugh  de  Mathaverne,  ar. 
ex     Evan  Glyn  de  Glyn,  ar. 
ex     Ric'us  Stedman  de  Drevor,  ar. 
ex     Matheus  Morgan  de  Aberhafesp,  ar. 
ex     Ric'us  Mytton  de  Pontyscowrid,  ar. 
ex     Edmond  Lloyd  de  Trefnant,  ar. 
ex     Pierceus  Lloyd  de  Trouscoed,  gen. 
ex     Samuel  Lloyd  de  Nantmeichiad,  gen. 
ex     Evan  Vaughan  de  Castellmoch,  gen. 
Jur.     John  Griffithes  de  Bachie,  gen. 
John  Vaughan  de  Myvot,  gen. 
John  Williams  de  Ystymcolwyn,  ar. 
.  John  Kyffin  de  Bodfach,  ar. 
Eiceus  Wynne  de  Eunant,  ar. 
Ric'us  Davies  de  Alt  Vaur,  gen. 
Joh'es  Kynaston  de  Bringwen,  ar. 
ex     Galfridus  Atkinson  de  Llansanfraid,  gen. 
ex     Owen  Watkin  de  Hudan,  gen. 
Jur.     Riceus  Humfreys  de  Keele,  gen. 
Jur.     Cadrus  Davies  de  Penrhyn,  gen. 
Jur.     Jenkin  Morris  de         ,  gen. 

ex     Joh'es  Jervis  de  Pola,  gen. 
Jur.     Lewis  Jones,  Llansanfraid,  gen. 
Griffin  Jones  de  Coomgoror,  gen. 
Norris  Bowen  de  Trefegloes,  gen. 
Rob'tus  Davies  de  Pentirch,  gen. 
Jur.     Will'us  Thomas  de  Llanbrynmair,  gen. 
Jur.     Humfrus  Owen  de  Llanwrin,  gen. 
Jur.     Joh'es  Edwards  de  Graig,  gen. 

Rob'tus  Evans  de  Llanidloes,  gen. 
Riceus  Thomas  de  Penrhyn,  gen. 
Jur.     Joh'es  Davies  de  eadem,  gen. 
Jur.     John  Cad'der  de  Velindre,  gen. 
Jur.     Ric'us  Bennett  de  Glynbrochan,  gen. 
Jur.     Ludovicus  Davies  de  Lianidloes,  gen. 

Ed'rus  Milward  de  Husington,  gen. 
ex     W alter  Clopton  de  Rysuant,  ar. 
Andreas  Parry  de  Maine,  gen. 
Jur.     John  Morris  de  Cynnon. 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.       313 

Inquisitio  Magna. 

Edrus  Lloyd,  ar.  David  Evans,  gen. 

Gabriel  Wynne,  ar.  Riceus    Price    de   Llanfechen, 

Ricus  Ingram,  ar.A  gen. 

Roger  Trevor,  gen.  Will'us  Griffiths,  gen. 

John  Wilson,  gen.  Joh'es  James,  gen. 

Lewis  Price,  gen.  Griffin  Powell,  gen. 

Gilbert  Jones,  gen.  David  Davies,  gen. 

Riceus  Price,  gen. 

Joh'es  Thomas,  ar.  vie. 

Inquisitio  p'  sep'al  Burg'  Com  Pd*. 
Henrie  Bynner,  gen.  Carolus  Jervis,  gen. 

Griffin  Bynner,  gen.  Joh'es  Griffith  de  Rhissog. 

EdVus  Jones,  gen.  Dudley  Wynne,  gen. 

Gabriel  Price,  gen.  Griffin  Buckley,  gen. 

Griffin  Llewis,  gen.  Thomas  Stone,  gen. 

Theophilus  Jones,  gen.  Evan  Jones,  gen. 

Joh'es  Davies,  gen.  Humfrus  Plymley,  gen. 

Lewis  Roberts,  gen.  Ric'us  Tilsley,  gen. 

Joh'es  Griffith,  gen. 

Joh'es  Thomas,  ar.  vie. 

No'i'a  Ministror  D'ni  Eegis  Com'  P'd'. 
No'i'a  Justic  Pads  Com  P'd'. 

We  omit  the  officials,  before — 
George    Jeffreys,    Miles,    un'     Ed'r'us   Vaughan    de    Llwyd- 

Serviens  d'ci  D'ni  Regis  ad         iarth,  gen. 

legern  et  Justic'  Cestr'.  Ed'r'us  Vaughan  de  Gvvernygo, 

Georgius   Johnson,   ar.,   alter         gen. 

Justic'  Cestr'.  Will'us  Pugh  de  Mathavarne, 

Andreas  Newport,  ar.  ar. 

Ric'us  Corbett,  Barr.  Matheus  Morgan,  ar. 

Joh'es    Whitterong,   miles    (?     Carolus  Herbert,  ar. 

Bar't.)1  Ed'r'us  Lloyd  de  Berth  lloyd. 

Thomas  Walcot,  serviens   ad     Ed'r'us  Lloyd  de  Mathrafal,  ar. 

legem.  Ed'r'us  Barret,  ar. 

Lodovic   Meirick,  ar.,  attorn*     Sydneus  Godolphin,  ar. 

d'ci  D'ni  Regis  gen'al'  Prin-     Edmundus  Lloyd,  ar. 

cipal'  et  Marcheas  Wallie.        Edmundus  Wareing,  ar. 
Thori.as    Powell,    ar.,    attorn'     Will'us  Oakley,  ar. 

d'ci  D'ni  Regis  Com'  p'd'.        Riceus  Owen,  ar. 

1  He  \vas  created  a  Baronet  in  1662. 

VOL.  xxvu.  Y 


314 


MISCELLANEA   HISTORICA. 


Joh'es  Newton,  ar. 
Joh'es  Williams,  ar. 
Rob'tus  Leighton,  ar. 
David  Whittinghain,  ar. 
Arthur  Devereux,  ar. 
Ric'us  Herbert,  ar. 
David  Maurice,  ar. 
John  Mathewes,  ar. 
Arthur  Weaver,  ar. 
Ric'us  Mostyn,  ar. 
Joh'es  Kyffin,  ar. 


Ric'us  Stedman,  ar. 
Joh'es  Lloyd,  ar. 
Riceus  Wynne,  ar. 
Evan  Glyn,  ar. 
Ric'us  Mytton,  ar. 
Joh'es  Edwards,  ar. 
Vincent  Pierce,  ar. 
EdYus  Price,  ar. 
Carolus  Winde,  ar. 
Arthur  Weaver,  ar. 
Thomas  Mason,  ar. 


Coroners. 


Joh'es  Griffithes, 
Thomas  Gwynne, 
Owen  Williams, 
Rob'tus  Price, 
Carolus  Lloyd, 
Ric'us  Edmunds, 
Matheus  Morgan, 
Thomas  ffrauncis, 


-  ar.,  Ball'  Vill'et  lib' tat'  de  Llaufylling. 

-ar.,  „  „          Pola. 

-ar.,  „  „    Mountgomery. 

Mayor. 

£10.     Ffrancis    Herbert,    gen.,    Maior    Ville    et    Lib'tat'    de 

Llanidloes. 


gen 


gen 


gen, 


Chief  Constables. 

Joh'es  Griffith  et         )  gen.,  Capital' 

Rob'tus  Lloyd,  j 

Thomas  Bowen, 

David  Powell, 

Joh'es  Evans, 

David  Adam, 

John  Atkinson, 
£5.   Rob'tus  Vaughan, 

Ed'rus  Milward, 

Ed'rus  Shenton, 

David  Evans, 

Riceus  Evans, 

Andreas  Atcherley, 

Radulphus  Jervis, 

Evan  Hugh, 
£5.   Joh'es  David  Evan, 

Rob'tus  Atkinson,       | 

Thomas  Price,  J 


gen, 

|  gen, 

gen, 


Constable  de  Hund'  de 
Llanvilling. 

„  Newtown. 

„  Llanidloes. 

Pool. 

„  Montgomery. 

,,  Mathravall. 

„  Caurse. 

„  Machynlleth. 

„  Deythur. 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.       315 


Bailiffs  of  Hundreds. 

Ludovic  Edwards,  gen.,  Ball'  Hundr'  de  Llanvilling. 

Ed'rus  Owen,  gen.,  „  „  Newtowne. 

£2,   Joh'es  Davies,  gen.,  „  „  Llanidloes. 

Joh'es  Humphreys,  gen.,  „  „  Pool. 

£2.   Kic'us  Berwick,  gen.,  „  „  Mountgomery. 

£2.    Evan  Eobert,  gen.,  „  „  Mathravall. 

£2.   Joh'es  Corbet,  gen.,  „  „  Caurse. 

£2.   Joh'es  Davies,  gen.,  „  „  Machynlleth. 

£2.   Ric'us  Williams,  gen.,  „  „  Deythur. 

MountgonCy. 

Calendar'  a'  Magna  Sessione  April'  Anno  Tricessimo  quarto 
Caroli  S'c'di  nunc  Regis,  etc.,  1682,  34  Oh.  2  (No.  19). 

Apud  Magna  Sessione  tent'  apud  Polam  in  Com'  p'd' 
vicessimo  quarto  die  Aprilis  Anno  regni  Regis  Caroli  S'c'di 
nunc  Anglie,  etc.,  Tricessimo  quarto. 

The  P'sentment  of  the  Grand  Jury  then  and  there  im- 
pannelled  and  sworne  to  enquire  for  our  Sou'raigne  Lord 
the  King  for  the  body  of  the  said  County,  doe  p'sent  as 
follows  : — 

Imprimis,  wee  doe  p'sent  a  certaine  bridge  called  Pont 
Connon,  over  the  river  Connon,  lying  and  being  in  the  towne- 
ship  of  Marclmant  Ucha,  w'thin  the  parish  of  Llanwothin  and 
county  afores'd,  to  be  ruinous,  and  ought  to  be  repay  red  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Hundred  of  Llanvilling.  £10. 

Item,  wee  p'sent  a  certaine  Bridge  over  the  river  Kedig,  in 
the  p'ish  of  Llanwrthin,  and  ought  to  be  repay  red  by  ve  s'd 
Hundred.  £10. 

Item,  wee  p'sent  a  certaine  Bridge  called  Pont-y-Garnethwen, 
over  the  river  Rhuargor,  to  be  out  of  repayre,  and  ought  to  be 
repayred  by  the  said  Hundred  of  Llanvilling.  £10. 

Item,  wee  p'sent  a  certaine  bridge  called  Pont  Llanrhaiadr 
out  of  repayre,  and  one  half  ought  to  be  repayred  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Hundred  of  Llanvilling.  £10. 

Item,  wee  p'sent  Evan  Richard,  in  the  township  of  Rysnant, 
for  cutting  the  Com'ons  in  the  s'd  Towneship  and  carrying  it 
away  for  his  use. 

Item,  wee  p'sent  a  certeine  Bridge  called  Llangerig  Bridge 
to  be  insufficient,  and  ought  to  be  repayred  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  s'd  p'ish  of  Llangerig.  £10. 

Item,  wee  p'sent  a  bridge  and  highway  leding  from  Castell 

Y2 


316  MISCELLANEA    HISTORICA. 

to  Llangyeu,  and  ought  to  be  repayred  by  ye  inhabitants  of 
Hydan  issa.     £10. 

[Several  presentments  in  this  relating  to  absences  from 
church,  but  they  have  already  appeared  in  Mr.  Rich.  Williams's 
paper.] 

Thos.  Lloyd.  Joh.  Thomas. 

Win.  Pughe.  Geo.  Wynne. 

John  Lloyd.  Theoph.  Porter. 

Rees  Wynne.  Tho.  Gwynn. 

John  Kyffin.  Gilbert  Jones. 

Walter  Clayton  (?  Clopton).     Tho.  Maurice. 

Richard  Mathew.  Norris  Bowen. 

Richard  Glynne. 

Llanidloes  Hundred. 

Wee  whose  names  are  hereunto  subscribed,  being  Chieffe 
Constables  of  the  s'd  Hundred  w'thin  the  s'd  County,  do  p'sent 
as  followeth : — 

Wee  doe  p'sent  a  certayne  Bridge  com'only  called  and 
knowne  by  ye  name  of  Caersoose  bridge,  over  ye  River 
Seavern,  leading  from  ye  p'ish  of  Llanwnoog  to  ye  p'ish  of 
Llandynani,  within  ye  s'd  Hundred,  to  be  insufficient  and  out 
of  repayre,  and  yt  the  p'ishes  here  inserted  are  and  ought  to 
repayre  the  Insufficiency  of  ye  s'd  bridge,  viz. :  Llandyna', 
Penstrowed,  Llanwoonog,  Trefeglwys,  and  Carnoe.  £5  each. 

Whereas  James  Moore,  petty  Constable  of  the  Townshipp  of 
Eskirieth,  in  ye  p'ish  of  Trefeglwys  in  the  s'd  Hundred,  was  by 
me,  Jo'n  Evans,  one  of  the  Chief  Constables,  apprehended  and 
attached  by  virtue  of  a  warr't  onto  me  directed  for  not  doeing 
his  office  or  dutie  as  a  Collector.  The  said  James  Moore  made 
an  escape  by  reason  thereof.  I,  the  said  Jo'n  Evans,  doe  p'sent 
the  s'd  James  Moore  for  ye  same. 

Having  noe  more  to  p'sent,  wee  doe  hereunto  subscribe  ye 
day  and  year  above  written. 

John  Evans,       )  /-<    /-^       ,   •>  i 
nil,        >i        f  TVJ  v  A  j          r  C.  Constables. 
The  m  ke  of  D  d  X  Adams,  j 

Ait  the  Great  Sessions  held  at  Poole,  Aprill  the  24th,  1682. 

The  p'sentment  of  John  David  and  Evan  Hughe,  Chieffe 
Constables  of  the  Hundred  of  Machynlleth,  in  the  said  County. 

Imp'mis,  wee  p'sent  Dyvie  Bridge  to  be  in  decay  and  out  of 
repayre,  which  bridge  ought  to  be  repaired  by  ye  inhabitants 
ofCyvillog.  £10. 


THK  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.        317 


Item,  wee  p'sent  Twimin  Bridge  to  be  out  of  repayre  like- 
wise, and  yt  Kernes  and  Darowen  is  to  repaire  the  same, 
havinge  noe  more  to  p'sent  to  o'r  knowledge,  but  all  well  and 

By  John  David  and  )  Q   .        Constables. 
Evan  Hugh,         j 

At  the  Greate  Sessions  held  at  the  Towne  of  Poole  for  the 
County  of  Montgomery,  before  the  Eight  Honorable  S'r 
George  Jeffreys,  Knight,  Chiefe  Justice  of  Chester,  Mount- 
gomery,  Denbigh,  and  Flint,  the  four  and  twentieth  day  of 
Aprill,  1682. 

The  names  of  the  Juriors  to  enquire  for  our  Souveraigne  Lord 

the  King  for  the  severall  Burroughs  within  the 

said  County. 


1.  Gabriell  Lloyd,  gent. 

2.  Samuel  Wollaston,  gent. 

3.  Griffith  Griffiths,  gent. 

4.  Moris  Powell,  gent. 

5.  Thomas  Guest,  gent. 

6.  Robert  Davis,  gent. 

7.  Joseph  Pugh,  gent. 

[A  great  many  persons  presented  as  being  Papists,  etc.] 


Wm.  Beddoes,  gent. 
Arthur  Evans,  gent. 
Edward  Lloyd,  sen.,  gent. 
Gilbert  Price. 
Thomas  Vaughan,  gent. 
Thomas  Tomson. 


Wee  the  Juriors,  upon  our  oathes,  doe  present  that  the  high 
Street  of  the  Towne  of  Poole  is  very  much  out  of  repaire,  and 
ought  to  be  repaired  by  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  Towne. 
£xx. 

Wee  alsoe  Present  the  highwaye  leading  from  the  towne  of 
Poole  to  a  place  called  E/hudolare,  and  thence  to  Strettan  (?), 
and  that  the  same  ought  to  be  repaired  by  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  severall  towneshippes  of  Trallongollen,  Welsh  Towne,  and 
Trefnant  Yechan.  £5  apeece. 

Wee  also  present  the  highway  leading  from  the  towne  of 
Poole  to  Montgomery,  from  Gollin  Bridge  to  Same  Brincaled, 
to  be  out  of  repaire,  and  ought  to  be  repared  by  the  Inhabi- 
tants of  the  townshipp  of  Trallongollen,  within  the  said 
Towneshippe,  as  alsoe  Tyddun  Predd,  within  their  towneshipp. 
£5. 

Allsoe  wee  present  the  highway  leading  from  the  towne  of 
Poole  to  Helygy  Brooke,  and  leading  to  Newtowne,  to  be  out 
of  repayre,  and  that  the  same  ought  to  be  repaired  by  the 
Inhabitants  of  Trallonglen,  within  their  townshipp,  likewise 
Stredalveden  within  their  townshippe.  £5. 

Wee  allsoe  present  the  highway  leading  from  the  towne  01 


318  MISCELLANEA    HISTORICA. 

Poole  to  Llanvillin  to  be  out  of  repayer,  and  the  same  ought  to 
be  repaired  by  the  inhabitants  of  Welsh  towne  and  Trefnant 
Vechan  within  their  townshipps,  as  alsoe  the  Inhabitants  of 
Garth  in  their  townshipp.  Penalty  illegible. 

Allsoe  wee  present  the  high  way  leading  from  the  towne  of 
Poole  to  the  New  Kay  to  be  much  out  of  repayre,  and  ought  to 
be  repayred  by  the  Inhabitants  of  Gungrog  Vower  within  their 
Townshipp.  £5. 

Wee  the  Juryers,  upon  ouroathes,  doe  present  Willram  Clarke 
upon  the  information  of  Griffith  Griffiths,  one  of  the  Jury,  for 
making  a  mixon  in  Sealing  Lane,  to  the  greate  Anusance  of  his 
Majesty's  subiects.  Penalty  ? 

Wee  the  Juriers  aforesaid,  upon  theire  oathes,  doe  p'sent  that 
the  Greate  Bridg  over  Siveren,  called  Buttington's  Bridg,  lead- 
ing from  the  Towne  of  Poole  towardes  [of]  Shreusbury,  is  out 
of  Repayre,  and  that  the  same  hath  bine  usually  built  and  re- 
payred by  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Hundred  of  Cause.  £xx. 

And  also,  that  the  3  Lake  Bridgis  betwine  (the)  s'd  greate 
Bridg  and  Butington  Church  are  [to  be]  repayred,  and  that 
those  three  last  men'ioned  bridges  have  been  repayred  by  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  s'd  Hundred  of  Cause.  £xx. 

And  alsoe  doe  p'sent  that  Mathew  Jones  before  (?)  did  sett 
and  maynteayn  sarteayne  posts  and  rayles  further  unto  the 
high  streete  than  other  of  the  nighbours,  to  the  straiylitning  up 
of1  the  passage,  etc.,  upon  the  s'd  streete. 

Alsoe,  upon  the  Information  of  Edward  Lloyd,  one  of  the 
Jeurors, 

Wee  doe  present  Roger  Griffithis  of  Tre  leadan  [for]  Inter- 
rupting some  of  the  family  of  the  s'd  Edward  in  a  seate 

or  kneeling-place  in  the  Church  of ?  within  the  Borough 

of  Poole,  upon  severall  Lord's  [dayes]  within  12  monthes  last 
past. 

We  the  Juriors,  upon  our  oathes,  upon  the  Information  of 
Morris  Powell,  one  of  the  Jury,  doe  p'sent  Humphrey  Lloyd  of 
Guilsfield  for  useing  the  trade  of  a  Butcher,  not  seruing  seven 
yeares  Apprenticeshipp. 

As  alsoe,  upon  the  same  information,  Siluanns  Daui#,  Butcher, 
for  the  same. 

Wee  the  Juriors,  upon  the  information  of  Sarnuell  Wollaston, 
Doe  present  the  owner  of  the  house  wherein  Jane  Dudlick, 
widdow,  of  Poole,  now  Hues  in,  for  not  repaireing  a  Chimny  in 
the  said  house,  by  which  the  Towne  stands  in  continuall  dain- 
ger  of  fier  by  reason  of  the  decay  of  that  Chimney. 

1  The  words  in  italic  are  conjectural  ;  thoy  are  very  illegible. 


THE  PUBLTC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.       319 

Wee  alsoe  present  Gwen  Penthrin,  widdow,  for  a  decayed 
chimney  in  her  house,  to  the  like  dainger. 

Upon  the  information  of  Samuell  Wollaston,  Wee  the  Juriors, 
upon  our  oathes,  doe  present  Roger  Euans,  Ironmonger,  for 
following  that  and  other  trades  within  the  Towne  of  Poole,  not 
seruing  seuen  yeres  Apprentishipp  to  any  trade. 

Wee  likewise  present  Hester,  the  wife  of  William  Lloyd  of 
Poole,  for  seuerall  outcries,  to  the  grete  disturbance  of  her 
neighbours. 

Alsoe  wee  present  Thomas  Euans  of  Groserer,  in  the  parish 
of  Llanver,  for  a  willfull  escape  out  of  the  custody  of  Andrew 
Euans,  one  of  the  Sergants-at-Mace  for  the  Towne  and  Bur- 
rough  of  Poole  the  sixt  day  of  March  last,  hee  being  then 
in  custody  for  seuerall  actions  of  debt. 

We  have  [no  ?]  presentment  from  Llanydlos  or  Llanvilling. 

Ga.  Lloyd.  Joseph  Pugh. 
Samuel  Wollaston.        Edward  Lloyd. 

Griff.  Griffiths.  Will. 

Moris  Powell.  Thos.  Vaughan. 

Thomas  Guest.  Gilbert  Price. 

Robt.  Davies.  Tho.  Tomson. 
Arthur  Evans. 


Coroner's  Inquisitions. 

1.  Taken   before    Thomas    Gwynn,   Gentleman,   one  of   the 
Coroners    of  the    County,  at    the   house    of  Gwen    David    in 
Mochdre,  on  the  21st  day  of  April,  in  the  34th  year  of  the  reign 
of  Ch.  II  (1682),  on  the  view  of  the  body  of  Edward  Rees, 
yeornan,  on  the  oaths  of  David  Lewis,  Edward  Evans,  Thomas 
Price,    Mathew    Edwards,    Morris    Roberts,    Edward    Lewis, 
Edward  Bnshop,  William  Jones,  Thomas  Evans,  Charles  Mor- 
ris, Rees  Robert,  Mathew  Euan,  and  Humphrey  Tumor,  Gentle- 
men, who  found  that  he  lost  his  life,  and  was  drowned  in  a 
certain  stream  called  Avon-y-Cornnant,  in   the  parish  of  Kerry, 
in  the  Co.  of  Montgomery,  on  the  25  day  of  Deer,  then  last 
past. 

2.  Taken  before  John  Griffiths,  Esq.,  one  of  the  Coroners  of 
the  County  at  Ty-yn  y  Domen,  on  the  31st  day  of  March,  in 
34  Ch.  II,  on  view  of  the  body  of  one  John  Owen,  then  lately 
of  Moylyvelyarth,  in  Com'  p'd't,  yeoman,  on  the  oaths  of  David 
Evans,  Gentlemnn,  David  Evans,  John  Mandring,  Rees  Owen, 
Watkin  Davies,  Morris  Jones,  John  Edwards,  Owen  Roberts, 
Edwd?  Morgan,  Evan  Jones,  Oliver  Thomas,  John  Owen,  who 


320  MISCELLANEA    HISTORICA. 

said  that  on  the  14  of  Feby.,  34  Ch.  II,  the  deceased  died  at 
Moelyvelyarth  by  the  Visitation  of  God. 

3.  Inquisition  taken  at  Llandrinio,  the  19th  of  April,  34  Ch.  II 
(1682),  before  John  Griffiths,  Gent.,  one  of  the  Coroners  of  the 
County,  on  view  of  the   bodies  of  William  Vaughan,  Henry 
Vaughan,  Marie  Vaughan,  Blanch  Vaughan,  Susan  Edwards, 
and  Katherine  Edwards,  then  lately  of  Llandrinio,  in  the  said 
County,  before  the  good  and  lawful  men  of  the  county,  namely, 
Robert  Evans,  Thomas  Pryce,  William  Symons,  David  Bowen, 
John    Oliver,    William    Sexton,   John    Griffith,    Rici    Broome, 
Edward  Baylye,  Cornelius  Edwards,  Robert  Jeffreys,  Thomas 
Morris,  Jeremiah   Thomas,  Joseph   Morgan,  Lewis  Rowland, 
and  Thomas  Hughes,    who  said,   upon    their  oaths,  that  the 
aforesaid  William  Vaughan  and  the  others  were  on  the  25th 
day   of  January,  in  the  33rd  year  of   Charles  II    (1681),   at 
Llandrinio,  drowned  in  a  large  river  there  called  the  Severn 
(Sabrina). 

4.  Inquisition  taken    at  fforden,  in    the    County  of  Mont- 
gomery, the  10th  of  Feb.,  34  Ch.  II  (1682),  before  John  Griffiths, 
Gent.,  one  of  the  Coroners  of  the  said  County,  on  view  of  the 
body  of  Sylvanus  fiewtrell  of  Kylkewidd,  yeoman,  before  the 
following  Jurors  :  John    Phillipps,   Arthur  Blayney,    William 
Davies,  Thomas  Chelmeck,  John  Watkins,  Benjamin  Corfield, 
Wm.  Roberts,  Thomas  Humphreys,  Edward  Pryce,   Thomas 
Gittins,   Abraham  Jones,  John   Rogers,   William  Cartwright, 
and  John  Edwards,  the  Jurors  on  their  oath  said  that  Sylvanus 
ffewtrell,  on  the  12  of  January,  33  Ch.  II,  at  Kylkewydd,  died 
by  the  Visitation  of  God. 

5.  Inquisition  taken  at  Dolware,   in  the  County  of  Mont- 
gomery, 10  January,  in  the  33rd  year  of  Ch.  II,  before  John 
Griffith,  Gent.,  one  of  the  Coroners  of  the  said  County,  on  view 
of  the  body  of  Evan  Smyth,  then  lately  of  Kyffin  in  the  said 
County,  before  following  Jurors,  namely:  Robert  Davies,  Robert 
Thomas,    Evan    David,    Thomas    Evan,    Watkin   Evan,    Evan 
Owen  Thomas,  Oliver  Lloyd,  Humphrey  Evan,  William  John, 
David  Evan,  Humphrey  David,  Ellis  Jones,  Robt.  Evan,  David 
Erasmus,  and  John   Watkin,  who  on  their  oaths  said  that  the 
aforesaid  Evan  Smyth,  on  the  16th  day  of  Deer.,  in  the  33rd 
year  of  Ch.  II  (1681),  as  aforesaid,  was  killed  by  the  accidental 
falling  upon  his  body  of  a  certain  piece  of  timber  at  Kyffin. 

6.  Inquisition  taken  at  Dolware,  the  10th  of  January,  33  Ch. 
II  (1681),  before  John   Griffiths,  one  of  the  Coroners  of  the 
County,  on   sight  of  the  body   of  Lewis   David,  then    lately 
of  Dolware,  aforesaid,  before  the  same  jury  as  the  preceding, 
who    said    that   Lewis  David   aforesaid,   on  the   20th  day  of 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.       321 

December,  in  the  33rd  year  of  Ch.  II  (1681),  fell  into  a  cer- 
tain mill  pool  at  Dolware,  and  was  drowned. 


The  Confession  of  Thomas  Meakin,  taken  upon  oath  the  3rd 
day  of  7ber  1681  (the  1  is  uncertain)  before  Edward  Waring 
and  Thomas  Mason,  Esquires  : 

About  fiue  years  since,  att  B.  Castle,  in  the  County  of 
Sallop,  I  saw  Nathaniell  farmer  Clipp  two  or  three  shillings. 

The  marke  X  of  Tho.  Mekin. 

John  Weaver  (of  Bishops  Castle  Com'  p'dict) :  About  three 
years  I  bourowed  some  moneys  w'ch  had  binn  newly  Clipt,  to 
my  apprehensio(n).  The  marke  X  of  Tho.  Mekin. 

Coming  home  in  the  Evening,  about  fiue  yeares  since,  I 
enquired  who  was  in  the  house,  and  thereupon  found  Nathaniell 
Powell  and  John  Peate  exchanging  narrow  moneys  for  Broade. 

The  marke  X  of  Thomas  Mekin. 

Being  onst  (?  once)  att  B.  Castle,  about  foure  yeares  agoe,  I 
saw  Nathaniell  Powell  pay  about  40ft.  in  Clipt  money. 

Tho.  Mason.  The  marke  X  of  Tho.  Mekin. 

On  separate,  slip — 
Dicti  die  7bris  1681. 

Thomas  Meakin         .         ,         .     400ft. 
Jonathan  Howell       .         .         .     200ft. 

7ber  12th,  1681. 

Evan  Harris  de  Castellright,  in  Com.  Mountgom'y,$mt£/i  200ft. 
John  Harris  de  Mellington  „  „        yeoman  100ft. 

Joh'es  Holloway  de  Bacheltrey      „  „  „        100ft. 

The  Information  of  John  Welborne  of  Castle  Wright,  of  the 
County  of  Mountgomery,  taken  before  Sir  George  Jeffreys, 
Knt.,  Chief  Justice  of  this  Circuit,  etc. 

Who  sayth  that  one  David,  a  Tinker,  came  to  this  Inform- 
ant about  2  yeares  since  at  Mountgomery,  and  offered  him 
(this  Informant)  groats  for  3d.,  and  3d.  for  2d.f  and  12d.  for  9d. 
This  Informant  saith  that  one  Richard  Harris,  a  prisoner  in 
Custody,  offered  to  give  this  Informant  12d  in  the  pound  for 
broad  money  about  5  yeares  ago,  and  further  sayth  that  one 
John  George  of  Brompton,  about  4  yeares  was  with  him  at 
a  Smith's  shop  in  this  County,  and  being  there  at  Cards  lost 
about  25s.  of  Clipt  money,  who  haueing  lost  his  money,  laid 
downe  a  paper  of  Clippings ;  and  further  sayth  that  Evan 
Harris,  the  son  of  the  aforesaid  Richard,  having  offered  this 


322  MISCELLANKA    H1STORICA. 

Informant  a  2d.  that  he  owned  he  made,  and  if  hee  had  occasion 
hee  could  furnish  him  with  more,  and  more  sayth  not. 

Jurat  7bris  1680,  John  Wilborne. 

Goran?  me, 

Geo.  Jefferys. 

The  information  of  Elizabeth  Bridges,  the  wife  of  Lewis 
Bridges  of  Cherstock,  in  the  County  of  Montgomery,  taken 
before  S'r  George  Jeffreys,  Chief  Justice  for  this  Circuit, 
etc.  : — 

Who  sayth  upon  her  oath  that  shee  sawe  George  Atkins  of 
this  Town  (Montgomery),  about  4  yeares  since,  buy  of  Sam  the 
Svvinard,  of  the  Tutcking,1  about  fortye  shillings  of  broad 
money,  and  gave  him  after  the  rate  of  2  shillings  in  the  pound 
for  Exchange,  within  this  Town  of  Montgomery,  and  that  by 
com'on  Report  shee  hath  heard  that  hee  and  his  son  doe  still 
buy  after  that  rate,  with  a  designe  to  Clipp  it,  and  that  his  son 
came  to  this  Informant  to  buy  broad  money  for  yt  purpose,  and 

more  sayth  not.  an  ,    v     ......     ,     ,   „  ., 

The  mark  X  of  Elizabeth  Bridges. 

Jur*  coram  roe  4  7bris  1680. 
Geo.  Jeffreys. 

Examinac'ons  taken  before  Richard  Herbert,  Esq.,  and 
Thomas  Mason,  Esq..  at  Lymor  Lodge,  the  28th,  of  June 
1680  :— 

Rowland  Wooten,  examined,  sayth  upon  oath  that  about 
Ladyday  last  past,  John  Holloway  and  the  said  Richard  Wooten, 
being  at  Lewis  Bridges'  house,  in  the  parish  of  Churchstoke, 
Butcher,  Elizabeth  Bridges,  the  wife  of  the  s'd  Lewis  Bridges, 
did  there  voluntarily  declare  that  she  of  her  knowledge  did 
know  and  see  John  Harrys  clip  Money,  and  doth  alsoe  further 
say  that  the  said  Elizabeth  Bridges  did  know  the  vault  where 
the  said  John  Harrys  did  melt  downe  the  Clippings. 

Row.  Wotton. 

Jonathan  Howell,  sworne  and  examined,  s'th  upon  oath  that 
Richard  ffraucis  of  Marington  did  declare  unto  him  that  he  was 
in  the  Company  of  John  Harrys  goeing  to  some  fayre  in  Wales, 
where  the  s'd  John  Harrys  bought  Catell,  but  when  he  went 
to  pay  for  them,  withdrew  from  the  sight  of  Richard  Francis, 
where  it  seems  he  parted  with  much  bad  money,  which  caused 
a  great  clamor  amongst  the  sellers,  that  they  were  redy  to  fall 
fowle  upon  the  s'd  John  Harrys,  who  haveing  no  way  to  pacify 
them,  was  forced  to  pay  them  in  better  money;  and  that  when 

1  Qy.  Dndston. 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.        323 

the  sM  Richard  francis  did  further  tell  the  sM  Jonathan  Howell 
that  Thomas  Jones,  his  neighbour  and  tenant,  told  him  that  he 
knew  that  John  Harrys'  did  clip  moneys  as  com'on  as  he 
druncke  ale ;  and  alsoe  the  s'd  Jonathan  Howell  doth  further 
averre  that  he  heard  Csesar  Roberts  declare  a  little  before  he 
dy'd  (died)  that  he  might  thanke  John  Harrys  for  yt  ende. 
The  s'd  Jonathan  further  sayth  that  about  two  years  agoe, 
at  a  muster  in  Tregynon,  coming  homeward  with  his  landlord, 
George  .Devereux,  Esq.,  the  s'd  Mr.  Devereux  in  Dyscourse 
told  the  s'd  Jonathan  Howell  that  John  Harris  did  borrow  of 
him  twenty  pounds  upon  promise  that  he  should  have  five 
pounds  for  the  lone  of  it  for  a  month  or  such  a  tyme,  which 
occasioned  Mr.  Devereux  to  wonder  how  he  might  imploye 
that  money  to  produce  soe  quick  and  great  a  profit ;  but  he 
concluded  that  Richard  Harrys  and  John  Harrys  were  guilty 

^dipping-  R.  Herbert. 

Tho.  Mason. 

Elizabeth  Bridges,  sworn  the  28th  of  June  1680,  and  s'th  yt 
she  was,  though  long  since,  neere  about  ....  agoe,  in  the 
house  of  Richard  Harry es,  where  she  saw  clippings  of  money, 
half-crownes  and  shillings,  as  she  thought  to  the  quantity  of 
five  pounds,  and  put  upon  the  fire  in  a  little  vessel  made  like  a 
top  (?)  by  Richard  Harrys  to  melt  it  downe,  and  the  occasion 
that  brought  her  thither  was  by  the  invitac'on  of  Richard 
Clearke,  who  desir'd  her  with  Richard  Harrys  to  get  for  them 
as  much  large  moneys  as  she  could,  and  promised  her  a  half- 
p'ny  in  sixpence  and  a  pen'y  in  a  shilling,  and  ackording  to  yt 
proporc'on,  and  2s.  p.  cent,  profit,  and  alsoe  desired  to  preserve 
as  many  bones  as  could  be  had,  her  husband  being  a  Butcher ; 
and  s'th  further  that  she  was  well  informed  that  bones  pounded 
to  powder  they  made  use  of,  to  make  towards  the  melting  of 
sylver ;  she  alsoe  s'th  (that  Richard  Francis1)  and  John  William 
told  her  that  they  have  5s.  6d.  for  an  ounce  from  the  Goldsmyth 
[in  margin,  Jenks  and  Hill  are  Goldsmyths  that  buy  the 
clippings  and  make  the  half-crowns],  and  alsoe  after  the 
Goldsmyth  makes  them,  sells  them  back  to  them  for  ten 
shillings  a  doz. ;  she  s'th  further  that  Wilborn  and  Rich,  francis 
told  her  that  Jenkes  and  Hill,  Goldsmythes,  of  Shrewsbury, 
did  frequent  the  house  of  John  Weaver,  who  is  suspected  to 
trade  with  them  ;  and  further  s'th  about  3  yeare  since,  at  the 
house  where  John  Wilborn  did  live,  w'ch  is  now  pul'd  downe, 
that  Howell  Gwilt  and  John  Wilborn's  wife  came  to  Elizabeth 

1  Pen  struck  through  these  words, 


324  MISCELLANEA    HISTOBICA. 

Bridges  and  told  her  that  they  could  bring  her  to  a  place 
where  it  might  be  discoured  that  her  former  oathes  .... 
might  be  justified,  and  soe  brought  her  to  that  house,  where 
she  saw  under  Robert  Wilborne's  Arme  a  great  bag  wherein 
were  great  store  of  Clippings,  and  also  some  large  lumps  of 
sylver  melted,  John  Wilborn  telling  her  yt  this  bag  was  to  be 
carried  to  Salop  by  Parker's  wife  to  Jenks  the  Goldsmvth ; 
and  the  said  deponent  saith  that  Gilbert  Bushop  of  Marrington, 
and  Richard  Pugh  of  Bishop's  Castle,  made  sheeres  wherewyth 
they  did  clypp,  and  Richard  Harris  did  ....  she  s'th  that  for 
discouuering  her  knowledge  in  the  businesse  of  Cliping  she 
hath  bin  threaten'd  by  great  persons,  vid.,  by  Tho.  Moris  of 
Hurst,  Shropshire,  and  alsoe  promised  by  him,  in  case  she 
did  conceale  her  knowledge,  he  would  mayntayne  her  and 
her  family ;  and  that  William  Matthews  of  Gwernddee  doth 
threaten  her,  as  she  is  informed  by  Jonathan  Howells  and 
Humphrey  Jones. 

Elizabeth  Bridges  X. 

Nathaniel  Powell,  sworn  and  examined,  s'th  that  John 
Wilborne  told  him,  about  half  a  year  ago,  that  Evan  Harrys, 
the  sonne  of  Richard  Harrys,  could  make  grautes  (groates) 
and  twopences,  and  make  them  in  the  iron  (?) ;  and  that  he 
further  told  him  yt  Peate  and  him  did  gain  six  pounds  out  of 
eighteen  pounds  by  cliping,  w'ch  relac'on  was  about  three 
years  ago,  and  that  Nathaniel  Powell  did  object — supose  they 
were  prosecuted  ?  He  replyed,  whoever  venters  to  prosecute 
them  they  will  find  meanes  to  hang  him. 

The  passeing  of  the  made  groates  and  two  pences  he  declar'd 
was  by  his  father  and  mother  in  lawe,  who  sell  tobaco. 

The  marke  of  X  Nathaniell  Powell. 

William  Rich,  Griffiths'  man,  did  declare  that  Bromley  the 
Taylor  would  prove  that  he  made  the  pocket. 

28th  July  1680. 

Thomas  Harris  of  Castle  Wright  deposeth  :  that  in  some 
discourse  yt  happened  between  the  s'd  Thomas  Harrys  and 
John  Norton,  about  3  yeares  scince,  John  Norton  did  declare 
to  him  that  his  sonn  in  law  Evan  Harris,  and  Richard  Clarke, 
who  is  since  executed  for  treason,  had  made  a  harth  in  that  part 
of  the  dwellinge  house  of  him,  the  said  John,  in  which  the  said 
Evan  Harris  did  then  inhabite  and  dwell,  to  follow  there 
wicked  trade,  which  this  examinant  believeth,  so  as  to  melt 
Clippins ;  further  declaringe  that  he  did  feare  it  might  be  very 
preiudiciall  unto  him  in  regard  such  thinges  should  be  donne 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFCCERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.       325 

under  his  ruffe,  and  that  it  may  bringe  him  in  danger  of  his 
owne  life,  beinge  very  adged,  or  to  that  effecte. 

The  tnarke  of  Thomas  X  Harris. 

Nicholas  Purcell,  of  the  parish  of  ffordeu,  in  the  County  of 
Montgomery,  upon  oath  sayth,  that  about  eight  yares  since, 
beinge  in  Welshpool,  in  the  sayd  County  of  Mountgomery,  upon 
the  25th  day  of  May  in  that  yeare,  and  the  ffaire  day  there,  and 
beinge  in  the  house  of  one  Edward  Dauies,  he  was  desired  by 
Thomas  Crosse  to  tell  some  money  which  he,  the  sayd  Cross, 
was  to  receive  of  one  John  Harris  for  a  bull  which  the  sayd 
Crosse  had  that  day  sould  to  John  Harris ;  and  this  examinant 
saith  that,  at  the  request  of  the  s'd  Cross,  he  did  repaire  to  the 
place  where  the  afforesaid  John  Harris  did  offer  three  pounds 
of  money,  or  thereabouts,  for  the  said  Bull ;  but  this  sayd 
examinant  did  dislike  of  the  sayd  money,  by  reason  it  was  very 
much  clippt. 

The  marke  of  X  Nicholas  Purcell. 

Edward  Millward  of  Husington,  in  the  County  of  Mount- 
gomery, beinge  examined  upon  oath,  saith  that  the  assize 
weeke  at  Welshpoole,  in  the  County  of  Montgomery,  at  the 
same  assizes  which  Cesar  Roberts  tooke  his  trial  before  his 
conviction  and  afterwards  suffered,  he,  this  examinant,  beinge 
in  discourse  with  the  said  Caesar  Roberts,  and  beinge  earnest 
with  him  to  confesse  of  those  that  he  did  know  Guilty  of 
Clippinge  the  Kinge's  come,  he,  the  said  Cessar,  did  say  that 
he  did  firmly  believe  that  he  did  know  who  were  guilty,  and 
that  he  did  nominate  Richard  Harris  and  Samuel  Jones,  one 
that  deales  in  the  market  for  swine.  And  further  saith  not. 

Edw.  Millward. 

Robert  Bemon  of  Hopton,  in  the  County  of  Mountgomery, 
Corvisor,  being  examined,  sayth  that  about  15  };rears  since,  he 
being  then  constable  of  the  Townshipp  of  Castlewright,  one 
John  Berton  cam  to  him,  this  exam't,  with  some  Clippinges  in 
a  paper,  which  informed  this  examinant  was  found  in  a  stone 
well  within  a  Barne,  wherein  John  Harris  a  little  before  that 
time  had  lived,  and  newly  removed  thence  to  a  house  in 
Brompton,  in  the  County  of  Salop,  and  also  with  a  stone  with 
several  Riggalls  therein,  which  is  conceived  was  made  use  of 
for  the  smoothing  of  Silver  clippt,  which  clippings  was  de- 
livered to  John  Newton,  Esq.,  and  the  stone  is  furthcomminge. 
And  further  he  sayth  not.  Per  me, 

Robert  Beoman. 


326  MISCELLANEA    HISTORICA. 

Examination  of  Mary  Jennings,  taken  before  Charles  Lloyd, 
Esq.,  one  of  the  Kinge's  Majesty's  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  ye 
Towne  and  Borrough  of  Poole,  ye  17th  day  of  August  1681 : — 

1.  Imprimis,  shee   sweares   that    the  lump   of  metle  which 
Edward  Morris  ap  Pritchard  swore  to  be  silver,  which  Lewis 
Evans  of  Llanrhayad  caried  in  his  pockett,  was  sodder  or  block 
tynue,  with  which  he  was  use  to  sodder  guns  or  flagons.     Ye 
Glasier  of  Llanvilling  can  alsoe  attest. 

2.  Shee  alsoe  swears  yt  the  very  same  lump  of  Sodder  was 
the  same  which  Catherine  Morris  swore  to  be  silver,  which  ye 
s'd  Lewis  Evans  had  in  his  pockett,  and   drew  itt  out  in  a 
Jesting  way,  and  s'd,  heare  is  silver. 

3.  And  shee  further  sweares  that  the  three  Lumps  of  Silver 
which  he  changed  for  ye    Silver  Cup,  that  the  said  Edward 
Morris  ap  Pritchard  nor  Catherine  Morris  ever  saw,  for  it  was 
2  years  before  they  came  to  Llanrhayad,  or  were  acquainted 
with  either  of  them. 

4.  Moreover,   shee  sweares  that  ye   mony  and   ye  Clippins 
which  were  in  ye  trunk  were  Mr.  Edward   Morris  his ;  and  the 
saide  Mr.  Edward  Morris  sould  ye  clippins  to  John  Gordon,  a 
Scotchman,  and  ye  trunk  was  not  ye  goodes  of  Lewis  Evans, 
but  a  trunk  which  was  left  there  to  be  mended  for  Mr.  Lloyd 
of  Castell  Moch. 

5.  Shee  sweares  that   shee   saw   Michiell  Davies  "  clip"  one 
shilling,  and  yt  the  s'd  Michiel  did  useually  pay  to  her  such 
Clipt  mony  for  Drink  without  Rubing,  and  she  veryly  believetli 
yt  John  Evans  was  Confederate  with  Michiel  Davies,  for  shee 
saw  ye   s'd  John  Evans  have  a  pare  of  sheares  about  a  foot 
Long,  and  a  pike  in  ye  one  end,  and  about  four  inches  Long 
broad,  which  sheares  shee  saw  ye  s'd  John  Evans  put  in  his 
breeches. 

6.  Shee  further  sweares  yt  shee  saw  Edward  Philip  inquire 
for   John    Gordon,  to   sell   him    some    Clippings,   for  he    was 
fearfull  that  John  Gordon  was  not  in  towne,  yt  he  got  rid  of 
them  ;  and  yt  John  Powell  heard  ye  s'd  Edward  Phillip  inquire 
for  John  Gordon;  and  Evan  Griffiths  is  another  witness. 

Taken  before  me,  Mary  Jennings. 

Charles  Lloyd. 

The  examination  off  John  Evans,  Smyth,  taken  before  me 
ye  29th  off  April  1681  :— 

Who,  being  sworne,  sayeth  yt  three  years  agoe,  or  there- 
abouts, one  Michel  Davies  and  John  Evance,  Taylor,  came  to 
his  brother's  house,  Lewis  Evance  (he  beinge  then  working 
journey  work  with  his  brother),  late  in  the  evening,  and  fell  a 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.        327 

Drinking  with  ye  saide  Lewis  Evance  till  it  was  about  bedtime, 
and  about  yt  time  Lewis  Evance  com'anded  this  Deponent  to 
goe  and  light  a  fire  in  ye  fforge,  which  he  accordingly  did,  and 
Lewis  his  brother  tooke  a  piece  off  Iron  and  worked  it  into  a 
thin  broad  plate,  In  ye  presence  and  by  ye  derection  off  Michel 
Davies  and  John  Evance,  taylor,  and  havinge  made  it  into  ye 
shape  off  a  boate,  John  Evance,  Taylor,  tooke  a  parcell  off 
Clippings  out  off  his  pockett,  which  he  kept  in  a  glove,  and 
putt  ye  Clippings  in  ye  said  Iron  plate,  worked  as  afbresaide, 
and  melted  ye  Clippings  and  poured  ye  silver  upon  ye  hearth 
stone;  and  further  sayeth  yt  he  saw  Michel  Davies  doe  the  like 
to  what  John  Evance,  Taylor,  did,  In  every  particular.  And 
ffurther  sayeth  nott. 

Sworne  before  me  ye         The  marke  X  off  John  Evance. 
day  and  yeare  afore- 
said.— Edward  Vaughan. 

Examinac'ons  taken  before  Richard  Herbert,  at  Cumydalva, 
the  13th  of  August  1681. 

Edward  ffarrner  of  Castle  wright,  Butcher,  sworne  and 
examined,  s'th  : 

That  about  Midsummer  last  was  two  yeares,  Nathaniell  Powell 
of  Castle  wright  sent  for  ye  s'd  Edward  ffarmer  to  his  house, 
where  as  soon  as  he  came  he  desired  him  to  come  up  into  an 
uper  Chamber,  where  the  s'd  Nathaniell  Powell  tooke  downe 
of  a  shelfe  a  payre  of  Sheares  and  tooke  about  twenty  or  thirty 
shillings  out  of  a  purse  and  clipt  that  money  with  his  sheeres 
before  his  face  ;  Rowland  Wootten,  of  the  township  of  Melling- 
ton,  being  in  the  room,  who  alsoe  tooke  the  sheeres  from  the 
s'd  Nathaniel,  and  there  clipt  foure  or  five  pieces,  and  declared 
he  could  clipp  as  well  as  Nathaniell. 

The  designe  of  the  s'd  Nathaniell  Powell,  it  seems,  was  to 
instruct  and  teach  his  art  to  Edward  ffarmer,  who  told  him  if 
he  would  undertake  to  follow  that  trade  he  would  give  him  a 
groat  a  pound,  for  he  lay  more  convenient  to  him  then  Rowland 
Wootton,  who  usually  did  clip  for  him. 

The  mark  of  F.  Edward  ffarmer. 

The  s'd  Edward  farmer  sweareth  further  that  at  the  last 
Assizes  in  Salop,  at  one  Bayton's  house,  in  the  high  streete, 
the  s'd  Edward  ffarmer  did  heere  Thomas  Jones  of  Melington 
say  that  he  was  to  have  twenty  shillings  for  swearing  against 
Jonathan  Howells  and  John  Wilborne,  and  the  s'd  Thomas  did 
endeavour  to  suborne  the  s'd  examinant  to  sweare  as  he  did 
against  them  both,  to  which  the  examinant  replyed  that  he 
knew  nothing  by  Jonathan  Powell,  and  could  not  comply  with 


328  MISCELLANEA    HISTOBICA. 

them  against  his  conscience.  The  s'd  Thomas  Jones  did  there 
Complain  that  he  was  for  his  swearing  to  have  twenty  shillings 
from  Nathaniell  Howell,  to  be  payd  by  Rowland  Wooten — ten 
shillings  in  Salop,  and  the  other  ten  shillings  at  his  returne — 
which  they  did  not  performe  with  him. 

Edward  F.  farmer,  mk. 

The  Examination  of  Edward  Farmer  of  Castle-wright,  in  the 
County  of  Mountgomery,  Butcher,  aged  about  30  yeares, 
Butcher,  taken  before  us  at  Shrewsbury  this  27th  day  of  July 
1681. 

This  Depon't  saith  that  he  saw  John  Peate  and  Susan  his 
wife  clipp  all  manner  of  money,  viz.,  shillings,  sixpences,  and 
half-crowus,  w'thin  the  space  of  two  years  last  past ;  and  this 
deponent  further  saith,  that,  beinge  employed  by  the  sayd  John 
Peate  (for  these  3  or  4  years  last  past,  ever  since  the  sayd 
John  Peate  left  Castlewright,  in  the  County  of  Mountgomery) 
to  buy  clippings  for  him,  he,  this  Deponent,  did  by  tokens 
given  him  by  the  sayd  John  Peate,  goe  to  Edward  Gammen 
(who  lives  near  Llyssyn)  to  Newtowne  fayre,  to  Jane  Arthur's 
howse,  where  at  two  severall  times  he  received  clippings  from 
the  said  Edward  Gammen,  paying  him  4s.  an  ounce  for  the 
same,  and  this  was  about  two  yeares  since,  and  severall  times 
since  he  has  received  clipings  from  him,  the  sayd  Gammen, 
particularly  at  the  last  quarter  sessions  at  Mountgomery,  w'ch 
he  payd  him  seventeen  shillings  for. 

This  Depon't  further  saith  that  the  sayd  Edward  Gammen 
brought  one  Rowland  Thomas  of  Machynlleth,  glover,  to  him 
at  the  sayd  Jane  Arthur's  howse,  from  whom  he  received  about 
two  yeares  since  eleven  ounces  and  a  half  of  Clippings.  And 
this  Depo't  further  sayth  that  one  Edward  Harris  of  Castle- 
wright came  to  him  to  offer  him  clippings,  but  they  could  not 
agree  upon  the  price ;  and  this  depon't  further  sayth  that  he 
saw  Richard  Harris,  brother  of  the  said  Edward  Harris,  clipp, 
in  his  father's  barne,  sixpences,  shillings,  and  half-crowns, 
within  these  two  years  last  past;  and  this  Depon't  further  saith 
that  John  ap  Edward  of  Hussington  came  to  him,  this 
Depon't,  to  buy  clippings,  and  offered  him  4s.  2d.  an  ounce  for 
clippings,  w'ch  he  tould  this  Depon't  was  for  the  use  of  Mr. 
John  Pryce  of  Glanhafren,  about  a  yeare  and  a  halfe  since  ;  and 
this  Depon't  further  sayth  that  Thomas  Jones  of  Mellington 
confessed  to  this  deponent  that  this  day,  yesterday,  and  the 
day  before  that  he  was  to  have  20s.  from  Nathaniell  Howell, 
to  be  payd  him  by  Rowland  Wootton,  and  that  the  sayd 
Thomas  Jones,  in  this  depon't's  presence,  did  demand  the 
sayd  20s.  of  the  sayd  Rowland  Wootton,  and  did  heare  the  s'd 


THE  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.       329 

Eowland  Wootton  promise  to  pay  him  the  sayd  20s.  for 
swearing-  falsely  ag'st  Jonathan  Howells  of  Mellington  and 
John  Wilborne  of  Castlewright,  in  the  County  of  Mount- 
gomery,  for  clipping.  And  further  this  deponent  saith  not. 

Th.  Vernon.  The  X  of  Edward  Farmer. 

Ed.  Kinaston. 

17th  Aug.  1681. 

Exa'c'on  taken  the  day  and  yeare  above  s'd,  before  me, 
Richard  Edmunds,  Esq.,  one  of  his  Ma'ties  Justices  of  the 
peace  of  ye  sM  Towne  and  burrough,  is  as  followeth  : — 

Richard  Davies  of  Morton,  in  the  County  of  Salop,  Sowgelder, 
saith  and  Deposeth  that  hee  had  and  rec'd  the  14th  day  of 
August  instant,  1681,  one  1're  (letter)  by  the  hand  of  Roger 
Owens  of  the  Towne  of  Poole,  to  which  1're  was  subscribed  the 
name  of  ffrancis  Bowdler,  signifieing  that  the  s'd  Richard 
should  come  to  Poole  to  meete  the  s'd  ffrancis,  and  that  there 
was  some  Coults  to  be  cut  or  Gueld,  and  that  the  s'd  Richard 
should  get  thirty  or  forty  shillings  thereby,  the  which  this 
Exam't  comeing  to  ye  s'd  Towne  of  Poole,  the  16th  day  of 
August  afores'd,  according  to  the  s'd  1're,  and  this  examinant 
goeinge  alonge  the  streete  of  the  s'd  Towne  of  Poole,  neare 
unto  the  Dwellinge  house  of  Charles  Lloyd,  Esq.,  one  of  the 
Bayliffes  of  the  sM  Towne,  Edward  Lloyd,  Gent.,  a  prisoner  for 
debt  in  the  Geole  of  the  County  of  Mountgomery,  Nathaniell 
Howells,  and  David  Jones,  a  Tinker,  both  prisoners  in  the  s'd 
Geole  for  suspected  treason,  did  call  unto  this  exam't,  and 
when  he  went  unto  them,  being  neare  ye  s'd  Mr.  Bayliffes 
house,  they,  ye  sayd  prisoners,  Layd  hands  and  did  hall  and 
lugg  this  exam't  into  an  upper  roome  into  ye  house  of  ye  s'd 
Mr.  Bayliffe  Lloyd,  in  despite  of  this  Exam't,  and  when  ye  s'd 
Richard  came  to  ye  s'd  Roome,  ye  s'd  David  Jones,  tinker,  did 
speake  and  utter  to  the  s'd  Richard  these  words  (viz.)  :  That 
if  the  s'd  Richard  would  sweare  against  one  Wilbourne  of 
Churchstoke,  and  another  man  of  Churchstoke  aforesayd,  who 
this  Exam'ant  krioweth  not,  to  save  the  lives  of  the.  s'd 
Nathaniel  and  David,  prisoners  as  aforesaid,  that  he,  the  s'd 
Richard,  should  have  moneys  enough,  and  they  would  give  it 
him,  or  to  that  effect ;  but  this  Exam't  would  nor  could  sweare 
nothinge  ag'st  them,  nor  accept  any  reward  from  ye  s'd 
Nathaniel  and  David  ;  and  thereupon  the  s'd  Nathaniell  and 
David  seemed  to  be  very  angry  with  this  Exam't  because 
he  would  not  doe  as  they  desired ;  and  further  saith  that  ye 
said  Nathaniell  and  David  shortly  afterwards  further  declared 
that  if  this  examinant  would  bringe  a  maide  to  sweare  against 
the  s'd  Wilbourne  that  they  would  give  him,  this  Exam't,  40s. 
VOL.  XXVII.  Z 


330  MISCELLANEA   HISTORICA. 

the  which  this  exam't  alsoe  refused,  but  by  the  Transactions 
afores'd  this  Exam't  verily  Beleiues  that  the  s'd  L're  was 
written  by  or  with  the  procurement  of  some  of  the  s'd  prisoners 
to  entice  this  exarn't  as  aforesayd  to  come  to  Poole  for  the 
purpose  afores'd,  as  they  intended. 

The  marke  X  of  Eichard  Davies. 

Exarninac'ons  taken  before  Richard  Herbert,  Esq.: — 

Aug.  4th,  1681. 

John  Wilborne,  sworn,  saith  that  Christmas  six  yeares  agoe 
the  s'd  John  Wilborne  came  to  the  house  of  Richard  ffarmer  of 
Castle  Wright  to  borrow  31.  of  Edward  ffarmer,  the  sonne  of 
the  s'd  Richard,  where  the  said  Wilborne  was  told  that  Edward 
ffarmer  was  in  the  Barne,  where,  as  soone  as  he  knocked  and 
cald  upon  him,  Edward  ffarmer  opened  the  doore  with  sheeres 
in  his  hand  that  it  seemes  he  made  then  use  of  to  Clip  moneys, 
and  was  not  daunted  at  all  with  his  coming  in,  but  fell  to  his 
worke  agen,  where  in  the  presence  of  the  s'd  John  he  Clipt  a 
half  crowne  and  seuerall  shillings  besides. 

John  Wilbourne. 

The  s'd  Examinant,  John  Wilbourne,  s'th  further  yt  about 
six  yeares  since  he  was  at  Richard  Harrys  house,  of  Cherbury 
parish,  where  one  John  ap  Edward,  late  of  Hussington,  came 
in  with  a  paper  of  siluer  clippings  to  the  quantity,  as  he 
guessed,  of  foure  ownces,  and  there  was  exposing  them  for  sale  to 
the  s'd  Richard  Harrys,  who  offered  him  six  shillings  of  new 
money,  which  would  not  be  accepted.  At  last  they  agreed  for 
six  shillings  six  pence  an  ounce,  and  imediately  the  s'd  John 
ab  Edward  was  payd  in  new  moneys  of  Richard  Harrys  Coyne- 
ing. 

John  Wilbourne. 


331 


THE   SHERIFFS   OF  MONTGOMEEYSHIRE. 


(Continued  from  p.  214.) 


1659-60. — SIR  MATTHEW  PRYCE,  Baronet. 
Deputy,  Edward  Whittingham.1 


Arms. 


Quarterly,  1st  and  4th,  gules,  a  lion  rampant  reguardant  or  ;  2nd  and 
3rd,  three  boar's  heads  couped  sable,  langued  gu.t  tusked  or. 

SIR  MATTHEW  PBYCE  of  Newtown  was  the  second  son 
of  Sir  JohnPryce  of  Newtown,  Knight,  created  a  baronet 
by  King  Charles  I,  15th  August  1628,  by  Catherine, 
daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Price  of  Gogerddan,  and  widow 
of  James  Stedman  of  Strata  Florida. 

The  ancestry  of  the  Newton  family  has  been  noticed 
under  earlier  sheriffs  of  that  house,  viz.,  Matthew  Price 
in  1548,  John  Price  in  1566,  Arthur  Price  in  1578,  and 
Edward  Price  in  1615,  who  was  the  grandfather  of  Sir 
Matthew  above. 

Sir  John,  unmindful  of  the  honours  conferred  upon 

1  "Ed'r'us  Whittingham,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 

z2 


332  SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

him  by  his  sovereign,  was  not  content  with  inaction, 
but  threw  the  weight  of  his  influence  and  energy  into 
the  Parliamentary  scale. 

Archbishop  Williams  wrote  to  the  Marquis  of  Ormond, 
telling  him  that  Sir  Thomas  Myddleton  was  "  quietly 
possessed  of  Montgomeryshire  by  the  help  of  Sir  John 
Price". 

How  far  Sir  Matthew  Pryce  followed  the  political 
courses  of  his  father  is  uncertain.  His  name  being 
absent  from  the  lists  of  public  officers  during  the  Parlia- 
mentary interregnum,  and  his  undertaking  the  office  of 
sheriff  after  the  death  of  Cromwell,  and  its  discharge 
four  months  after  the  Restoration  of  Charles  II,  would 
incline  to  the  belief  that  his  loyalty  was  of  a  less  doubt- 
ful hue. 

Owing  to  the  death  of  his  elder  brother,  Colonel 
Edward  Pryce,  at  Gogerddan,  on  the  29th  November 
1645,  and  during  the  lifetime  of  Sir  John,  the  first 
baronet,  Sir  Matthew  succeeded,  as  second  baronet,  to 
the  Newtown  estates. 

From  an  old  MS.  volume  once  in  the  possession  of 
the  Pryces  of  Park1  are  extracted  the  following  entries 
relating  to  the  Newtown  Hall  branch: 

"  Sir  John  Pryce  of  Newton,  Com.  Montgomery,  Baronet, 
departed  this  transitory  world,  June  18,  1657.^ 

"  Lieut.-Colonel  Edward  Pryce,  son  and  heir  to  Sir  John 
Pryce  of  Newtown,  Baronet,  departed  this  transitory  world  the 
29th  Nov.  1645,  at  Gogerddan,  in  the  County  of  Cardigan." 

"  SIR  MATTHEW  PRYCE  of  Newton,  Com.  Montgomery,  Baronet, 
departed  ye  world,  June  1674." 

"Dame  Jane  Pryce,  vidua  Mathie  Pryce  de  Nova  Villa, 
Baronet,  mort  8  March  1688." 

The  following  entry  doubtless  refers  to  a  step- 
brother of  the  sheriff: 

"  John  Steadman  of  Strata  Florida,  County  of  Cardigan,  Esq., 
was  interred  4  March  1644." 


1  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  ix,  pp.  41-42. 


SHERIFFS   OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


333 


1661. — ROGER  MOSTYN  OF  DOL  Y  CORSLLWYN. 
Deputy,  Edmund  Lloyd.1 


Arms. 


Per  bend  sinister  ermine  and  erminois,  a  lion  rampant  or. 

THIS  sheriff  was  the  fourth  in  descent  from  that  Thomas 
ap  Richard  ap  Howell  of  Moston  or  Mostyn,  Flintshire, 
whom  Dr.  Rowland  Lee,  Bishop  of  Lichfield,  and  Lord 
President  of  Wales,  so  forcibly  and  reasonably  induced 
to  adopt  as  a  surname  that  of  his  paternal  estate  of 
Mostyn. 

WILLIAM  MOSTYN,  the  eldest  son  of  Thomas  ap 
Richard,  was,  in  the  9th  of  Elizabeth,  with  some  of  the 
leading  gentry  of  North  Wales,  appointed  on  a  Com- 
mission to  hold  the  great  session  of  poets,  musicians, 
and  bards,  at  Caerwis,  at  which  it  was  asserted  that 
the  ancestors  of  William  Mostyn  had  the  right  to  bestow 
the  silver  harp  on  such  occasions  on  the  persons  judged 
the  most  worthy,  which  harp  is  still  (1802)  at  Mostyn. 
By  Margaret,  daughter  of  Robert  Powell  of  Park,  he 
had,  with  other  issue,  his  successor  : 

SIR  THOMAS  MOSTYN,  Knight,  who  early  in  the  reign 

1  "  Edmundus  Lloyd,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


334  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

of  James  I  was  of  His  Majesty's  Council  of  the  Marches 
of  Wales.  By  Ursula,  daughter  and  heiress  of  William 
Goodman,  he  had  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  His 

O 

successor  to  the  estates  of  Mostyn  was  his  second 
son— 

SIR  ROGER  MOSTYN,  Knight,  who  married  Mary,  the 
eldest  daughter  of  the  famous  Sir  John  Wynne  of 
Gwyder,  Baronet,  by  his  wife  Sidney,  daughter  of  Sir 
William  Gerrard,  Lord  Chancellor  of  Ireland,  and  Dean 
of  St.  Patrick's  in  15 70.  They  had  eight  sons  and  two 
daughters.  The  eighth  son,  Roger,  was  our  sheriff. 

I.  Their  eldest  son  was  Sir  Thomas  Mostyn  of  Cilcen, 
Flintshire,  who  dying  during  his  father's  lifetime,  left 
by  his  wife  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Chief  Justice  Sir  John 
Whitlock,  two  sons,  Roger  and  Thomas.  Thomas,  the 
second  son,  is  supposed  to  have  succeeded  to  Cilcen, 
and  was  the  ancestor  of  Roger  Mostyn  of  Cilcen  Hall, 
whose  daughter  and  heiress,  Charlotte  Mostyn,  married 
the  Rev.  Samuel  cTElbceuf  Edwards  of  Pentre  Hall. 
Their  only  daughter,  Eliza  Constantia  Edwards,  married 
Richard  Pryce,  grandfather  of  the  present  E.  S.  Mostyn 
Pryce  of  Gunley. 

Roger,  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  Thomas  of  Cilcen,  must 
be  distinguished  from  his  uncle  of  the  same  name,  our 
sheriff.  Being  about  the  same  age,  they  both  took  up 
arms  early  in  defence  of  the  rights  of  their  sovereign, 
King  Charles  I. 

Sir  Roger,  the  nephew — for  he  was  created  the  first 
baronet  of  his  family  at  the  Restoration1 — having  his 
Majesty's  Commission,  raised  1,500  men  for  his  service, 
and  after  he  had  taken  Hawarden  Castle,  he  entered  with 
his  regiment  into  the  city  of  Chester,  then  besieged  by 
the  Parliamentarians.  He  also  repaired  the  castle  of 
Flint  at  his  own  expense,  of  which  he  was  appointed 
Governor,  and,  though  reduced  to  the  last  extremity, 
held  it  for  the  King,  and  refused  to  capitulate  until  he 
had  the  King's  special  order.  He  spent  £60,000  in  the 

1  August  5,  1660.     (Betham's  Baronetage,  vol.  ii,  p.  144.) 


SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  335 

service  of  the  Crown.  His  house  at  Mostyn  was 
plundered,  arid  he  was  forced,  after  an  imprisonment  in 
Coriway  Castle  for  several  years,  to  live  in  one  of  his 
farm-houses. 

The  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Portland1  give,  in  a  letter 
from  Sir  William  Brereton  to  William  Lenthall,  the 
Speaker,  "  Articles  for  the  Surrender  of  Flint  Castle": — 

tf  1646,  August  20fch.  The  castle  to  be  surrendered  on  the 
24th,  the  Governor,  officers,  and  gentlemen  to  be  allowed  to  go 
to  their  houses,  and  to  have  six  months  to  make  their  peace 
with  the  Parliament ;  the  common  soldiers  to  march  out  with 
the  honours  of  war  and  to  go  to  their  own  houses  without 
molestation.  Colonel  Mytton  to  use  his  best  endeavours  with 
the  Parliament  on  behalf  of  Colonel  Mostyn,  the  Governor,  and 
Mr.  John  Mostyn." 

ii.  John,  second  son  of  Sir  Roger  Mostyn,  Knight, 
was  M.P.  for  Anglesey  21  James  I,  and  in  other  Parlia- 
ments for  the  Borough  of  Flint.  He  died  without 
issue. 

in.  William  Mostyn.  Pennant,  in  his  History  of 
Whiteford  and  Holy  well,  gives  a  plate  of  the  monument 
of  the  wife  of  this  William,  who  was  Dean  of  Bangor, 
with  the  following  inscription  :— 

"  Neere  to  this  lieth  the  body  of  Elizabeth  Mostyn,  one  of  the 
coheiresses  of  Richard  Aldersey,  of  the  city  of  Chester,  gent., 
wife  of  William  Mostyn,  Arch.  Bang,  and  Rector  of  Chryselton. 
By  whom  he  had  issue  three  sonnes  and  two  daughters.  She 
departed  this  life  the  10th  April,  Ann.  D'ni  1647." 

Two  of  the  sons  were  heads  of  families,  viz.,  Mostyns 
of  Bryngwyn,  Montgomeryshire,  and  Mostyns  of  Se- 
groit,  Denbighshire.  The  third  son,  "Richard,  was  a 
wholesale  linendraper  in  London. 

iv.  Richard ;  died  young  of  wounds  at  Eochelle  in 
1627. 

v.  Robert ;  married  Margaret,  daughter  and  heiress 
of  Henry  Conway  of  Nant,  Flintshire. 

vi.  vii.  Edward  and  Pierce  ;  died  young. 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Commission. 


336  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

vin.  ROGER  MOSTYN,  our  sheriff,  who  married  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  and  heiress  of  Hugh  (?)  Pugh  of  Dol  y 
Corsllwyn,  in  the  parish  of  Cemmes,  and  from  whom 
Roger  Mostyn,  living  in  1802,  was  descended.1 

Like  his  nephew,  the  first  baronet  of  Mostyn,  he 
was  in  the  King's  service,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of 
colonel,  and  had  the  further  distinction  of  being  the 
first-appointed  sheriff  of  the  county  after  the  Restora- 
tion. We  first  find  him  acting  in  a  magisterial  capacity 
on  the  8th  December,  14  Charles  II,  1662.  As 
"Roger  Mostyn  de  Kemmes,  Esq.",  he  appears  on  a 
Machynlleth  Hundred  jury  in  1676.  It  was,  however, 
during  his  year  of  office  that  he  is  brought  prominently 
to  our  notice  in  the  Autobiography  of  Richard  Davies 
the  Quaker  who  tells  us : 

"  Soon  after  we  came  to  Welshpool,  those  professors  who 
had  been  and  were  in  great  power,  began  to  be  faint-hearted, 
because  of  the  report  of  bringing  in  King  Charles  the  Second  ; 
which  in  a  little  time  was  accomplished,  and  those  that  were 
in  great  pomp  were  brought  to  prison  themselves.  And  I  was 
had  before  the  first  justices  that  were  made  in  these  parts  by 
the  authority  of  King  Charles  the  Second,  in  the  year  1660. 

When  I  was   come  into  the  room,  it  being  in  the  night, 

the  high  sheriff,  Colonel  Mostyn,  and  the  justices  stood  as 
people  in  amaze,  to  see  me  come  with  my  hat  on  my  head 

amongst  them Then  the  high  sheriff,  a  very  fair  man,  told 

me  1  was  a  strange  man,  and  of  a  strange  persuasion,  to  come 
with  my  hat  upon  my  head  among  them,  and  would  not  take 
the  oath,  nor  give  bail.  You  know,  said  he,  that  Paul  said  to 
Festus,  Noble  Festus.  I  told  him  that  Paul  had  tried  Festus, 
but  I  had  not  yet  tried  him,  and  it  might  be  that  I  might 
speak  of  him,  Noble  sheriff.'' 


1  Betham's  Baronetage,  vol.  ii,  p.  147,  ed.  1802.  "  Ric'us  Pugh 
de  doleycorslwyne,  ar.",  was  foreman  of  the  grand  jury,  10  Charles  I, 
1634,  and  had  filled  the  office  of  sheriff  in  1627. 


SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


337 


1662. — DAVID  PowELL.1 

Deputy,  Meredith  Lloyd. 


A  rms. 


Sable,  three  nag's  heads  erased,  2  and  1,  argent. 

DAVID  POWELL,  probably  descended  from  Brochwel, 
Prince  of  Powys,  was  of  Maesmawr,  in  the  parish  of 
Llandinarn,  an  old  property  of  the  Blayney  family.  On 
the  authority  of  Handle  Holme,2  a  local  genealogist  and 
contemporary  herald  painter,  his  grandfather  was — 

DAVID  POWELL,  who  by  Margaret,  daughter  of 
John  Goch  of  Llandinam,  had 

i.  THOMAS  POWELL,  who  married  Jonet,  daughter 
of  Jan  kin  ap  Morris  ap  Jan  kin  of  Maesmawr. 

TI.  Margaret,  wife  of  Thomas  Price  of  Bochtref,  son 
of  Edward  Price,  and 

in.  Jonet,  wife  of  Ffrancis  Thomas  ap  Rees  Goch 
hafren. 

Thomas  Powell,  by  his  wife  Janet,  was  the  father  ot 
the  sheriff, 

DAVID  POWELL,  and  of  Thomas  Powell.  According 
to  Randle  Holme,  David  Powell  married  "  Mary  (?), 
daughter  of  Meredith  Morgan  of  Aberhavesp",  the 
sheriff  in  1636,  evidently  an  error  for  Elizabeth,  which 

1  "David  Powell  de  Maesmawr,  ar."  Deputy,  "  Meredicus  Lloyd, 
gen."  (Peniarth  list).  2  Harl.  MS.  1936. 


338 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


is  shown  by  the  following  entry  in  the  old  MS.  book1  of 
the  Pryces  of  the  Park  : 

"  Elizabeth,  wife  of  David  Powell  of  Maesmawr,  in  the  co.  of 
Montgomery,  gent.,  departed,  etc.,  Feb.  4,  1659." 

As  "  David  Powell  de  Maesmaure,  ar.",  he  appears  on 
a  Llanidloes  Hundred  jury  in  1680.  He  probably  died 
without  issue. 

The  Index  of  North  Wales  Enrolments2  gives  the 
following  notice  of  his  estate  : 

"  Easter  Term,  36  Ch.  II,  Montgomery.  Pleas  and  decree 
concerning  premises  and  lands  of  David  Powell  of  Llandinam 
in  Carneth,  Gwernerer  (?),  Caersous,  Freeth  Eskkir  y  maen." 


1663. — WATKIN  KYFFIN  OF  GLASCOED.S 

Deputy,  Evan  Vaughan. 


Arms. 


Per  fess  sa.  and  ar.,  a  lion  rampant,  counterchanged. 

WATKIN   KYFFIN  of  Glascoed,  in  the  parish  of  Llan- 

1  See  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  ix,  p.  415. 

2  Fo.  193,  vol.  xi,  North  Wales  Enrolments  at  the  Land  Revenue 
Rolls,  Spring  Gardens,  London. 

3  "  Watkinus  K.yffin  de  .Glascoed,  ar."    Deputy,  "Evanus  Vaughan, 
gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  339 

silin ;  Thomas  Tanat  of  Abertanat,  sheriff  in  15701 ; 
the  Maurices  of  Lloran  Uchaf,  and  Edward  Maurice 
of  Penybont,  sheriff  in  1640,  had  a  common  ancestor 
in  the  person  of  IUUAN  GETHIN  of  Gartheryn,  Glas- 
coed,  and  jure  uxoris  of  Abertanat.  The  heiress  of 
the  latter  place  was  Margaret,  his  first  wife,  daughter 
of  Llewelyn  ap  Griffith  of  Abertanat.  leuan  Gethyn 
married,  secondly,  Arddun,2  daughter  of  leuan  ap 
Madoc  ap  Gwenwys  of  Garth,  Guilsfield,  the  aunt  of 
Sir  Gryfith  Vaughan,  Knight  Banneret  of  Agincourt, 
and  the  maternal  ancestress  of  the  Kyffins  of  Bodfach, 
Glascoed,  and  Cae  Coch. 

Their  grandson,  Howel  of  Oswestry,  second  son  of 
Maurice  Gethin  of  Garth,  Esq.,  ap  leuan  Gethin, 
acquired  Glascoed  in  marriage  with  Margaret,  his 
distant  cousin,  and  daughter  and  coheiress  of  Howel 
ap  Teuan  ap  lorwerth  ap  leuan  Gethin. 

RICHARD  KYFFIN  of  Glascoed,  ap  Meredith  ap 
Howell  of  Oswestry,  by  his  first  wife  Goleubryd, 
daughter  of  Griffith  ap  Meredith  Vaughan,  descended 
through  Philip  Dorddu  from  Eiystan  Glodrydd,  was 
the  father  of  John  Kyffin  his  successor.  Richard 
Kyffin  married,  secondly,  Elizabeth,  sister  of  Sir  Adam 
Mytton,  Knight,  of  Salop,  by  whom  he  had  a  son, 
Richard. 

JOHN  KYFFIN  of  Glascoed,  the  eldest  son  of  Richard, 
by  his  first  wife,  married  Dowse,  daughter  of  John 
Lloyd,  son  of  Richard  Lloyd  of  Llwyn  y  Maen  and 
Llanforda,  had  issue— 

I.  Richard  Kyffin  of  Glascoed,  who  sold  the  estate 
to  his  nephew,  Watkin  Kyffin,  our  sheriff.  He  is 
doubtless  identical  with  the  Richard  Kyffin  of  "Hon- 
dyralt  (?)  in  com.  Salop",3  who  married  Mawdlyn, 
daughter  of  Richard  Eyton  of  "Masgwalot",  Flintshire  ; 
and  whose  son,  "  Rich'us  Kyffyn  fil.  et  hseres  setat 

1  See  Sheriffs  of  Montgomeryshire,  p.  163. 

2  Lewis  Dwnn's  Visitation  of  Montgomety  shire.    Reprint  by  Powys- 
land  Club,  p.  99. 

3  Salop  Visitation  O/1623  (Harl.  Society's  reprint,  p.  291). 


340  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

30  annorum  a°  1 623",  entered  the  family  pedigree  that 
year.. 

ii.  Griffith  Kyffin  of  Cae  Coch,  who  by  Lowry, 
daughter  of  Owen  Vaughan  of  Llwydiarth,  was  the 
father  of  our  sheriff — 

WATKIN  KYFFIN  of  Glascoed.  He  had  served  the 
office  for  Denbighshire  the  previous  year,  1662.  He 
married  Dorothy,  daughter  of  Owen  Holland  of  Berw, 
in  the  county  of  Anglesey,  by  whom  he  had  issue  one 
son,  Griffith,  who  died  without  issue  in  1661,  and  six 
daughters. 

i.  "  Margaret,  heiress  of  Glascoed,  who  married  Sir 
William  Williams,  Knight,  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  Solicitor-General  to  James  II.  This 
gentleman  is  said  to  have  won  the  youthful  hand 
and  heart  of  the  heiress  by  his  eloquence  and  legal 
ability  displayed  in  a  lawsuit  which  he  gained  for  her 
father  at  Shrewsbury ;  when  Mr.  Kyffin  was  so  pleased 
with  his  conduct  that  he  consented  to  his  daughter's 
marriage  ;  but  thinking  it  right  to  inquire  what  settle- 
ment the  young  barrister  could  make  on  the  issue  of 
such  marriage,  Mr.  Williams  said  he  would  settle  his 
bar-gown."1 

Mr.  Yorke  of  Erthig  gives  a  somewhat  different 
version  of  the  interview,  and  says  that  "  Williams,  on 
one  of  his  Welsh  circuits,  danced  with  this  lady,  and 
got  her  leave  to  propose  himself  to  her  father.  '  And 
what  have  you?'  said  the  old  gentleman  pretty  roughly 
to  him.  '  I  have,  sir',  says  Williams,  '  a  tongue  and 
a  gown!  He  obtained  the  lady,  and  founded  the 
flourishing  families  of  Wynnstay,  Penbedw,  and  Bodle- 
wyddan. 

ii.  Mary. 

in.  Anne,  the  third  daughter  of  Watkin  Kyffin, 
married  Thomas  Edwards  of  Kilhendre. 

iv.  Seina  married  Roger  Matthews  of  Blodwell,  now 
represented  by  the  Earl  of  Bradford. 

1  Archceologia  Cambrensis,  No.  17,  4th  Series,  pp.  29,  30. 

2  Yorke's  Royal  Tribes,  p.  112,  note  a. 


SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  341 

v.   Dorothy. 

vi.   Catherine,  who  married  John  Lloyd  of  Llanhafon, 
sheriff  in  1685. 


1664.  —  KOWLAND    NiCHOLLS. 
Deputy,  William  Morgan. 


Arms. 


a.j  a  pheon  ar.9  the  point  downwards. 


ROWLAND  NICHOLLS  of  Boycott  was  the  son  of  Thomas 
Nicholls  of  Boycott,  in  the  parish  of  Pontesbury,  Salop. 

Rowland  was  sheriff  of  Shropshire  in  1675.  Under 
his  father's  year  of  office,  1642,  as  sheriff  of  Mont- 
gomeryshire, are  particulars  of  his  supposed  descendants. 

Catherine  or  Mary,  daughter  of  this  sheriff,  married 
her  namesake,  and  it  is  presumed  her  kinsman,  Thomas 
Nicholls  of  High  gate,  and  their  coheiress  of  the  same 
name  became  the  wife  of  Colonel  John  Congreve  of 
Stretton,  cousin-german  of  the  poet,  and  great-grand- 
father of  Major-General  Sir  William  Congreve,  Bart. 

1  "  Rowland  Nickolls  de  Boycott,  ar."  "  Will'us  Morgan,  gener. 
Dep  "  (Peuiarth  list). 


342 


SHERIFFS    Otf   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


1665. — SIR  JOHN  WITTEWRONG,  Baronet, 
Deputy,  Rees  Morgan.1 


Arms. 


Bendy  of  six  argent  and  gules,  on  a  chief  azure,  a  fess  or  bar 
indented  or. 


THIS  sheriff  was  of  Flemish  descent.2  His  grandfather, 
Jacques  Wittewronge.  was  born  in  the  city  of  Ghent  in 
1531,  of  an  honourable  stock,  but  was  forced  to  quit  his 
country  in  consequence  of  the  persecutions  to  which,  as 
a  Protestant,  he  was  exposed;  and  in  1564  sought  an 
asylum  in  England  with  his  wife  and  two  young  child- 
ren. After  following  the  pursuit  of  a  notary  in  London, 
he  died  in  comfortable  circumstances  in  1594.  Of  his 
eight  children  all  died  without  male  issue,  but  his  son- 
Jacob  Witte wrong,  born  at  Ghent,  15th  January 
1558,  who  was  sent  to  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  and 
studied  there  under  the  particular  care  of  Dr.  Humph- 
reys, president  of  the  college.  He  subsequently  settled 
in  London,  and,  as  a  brewer,  realised  considerable 
wealth. 

1  "  Riceus  Morgan,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 

2  See  Burke's  JZxtinct  and  Dormant  Baronetcies,  under  "  Witte- 
wrong  of  Stantonbury". 


SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  343 

Sir  John  Wittewrong,  our  sheriff,  knighted  by 
Charles  I  in  1640,  purchased  the  manor  of  Stantonbury, 
Bucks,  and  was  created  a  baronet  the  2nd  March  1662. 
He  was  the  only  son  of  Jacob  Wittewrong  by  his 
second  wife  Anna,  youngest  daughter  and  coheiress  of 
Monsieur  Garrard  Vanaker  of  Antwerp,  merchant.  In 
1619  Jacob  Wittewrong  returned  into  the  country  to 
a  house  he  had  purchased  at  Westham,  Essex.  His 
burial-place  is  mentioned  by  Strype,  in  his  addition  to 
Stow's  Surveys. 

"  On  the  pavement  under  a  fair  marble  stone,  is  buried 
James  (Jacobus)  Wittewrongle,  the  son  of  James  Wittewrongle, 
a  Fleming,  a  singular  friend  to  the  ministers  of  the  city,  a 
Mgecenas  of  studious  youth,  a  favourer  of  piety  and  learning/' 

His  widow,  Anna  Vanaker,  became  the  wife  of  Sir 
Thomas  Myddleton,  the  fourth  son  of  Richard  Myddle- 
ton,  the  Governor  of  Denbigh  Castle  in  the  reigns 
of  Edward  VI,  Mary,  and  Elizabeth.  Sir  Thomas 
Myddleton,  a  celebrated  London  merchant,  traded 
chiefly  with  Antwerp,  made  a  large  fortune,  and  pur- 
chased, in  1595,  Chirk  Castle  from  Lord  St.  John  of 
Bletsoe.  He  was  Lord  Mayor  of  London  in  1613,  and, 
according  to  Yorke  of  Erthig,1  "having  married  his 
young  wife  in  his  old  age,  gave  occasion  to  the  song, 
"  Room  for  cuckolds,  here  conies  rny  Lord  Mayor." 
The  Lord  Mayor,  by  a  previous  wife,  was  the  father  of 
Sir  Thomas  Myddleton  of  Chirk  Castle,  the  celebrated 
Commonwealth  general. 

It  was  owing  to  the  munificence  of  "Lady  (Anna) 
Middleton  of  Rotharnsted,  co.  Hartford,  widow",  as  she 
is  styled  in  her  will  in  1645,  that  the  parish  of  Forderi 
was  enabled  to  have  church  services.  The  rectorial 
tithes,  as  early  as  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  had  been  given 
by  that  sovereign  to  her  "  sergeant-at-arms",  Ludovick 
Lloyd  of  Marrington,  and  had  by  this  time  found  them- 
selves in  the  possession  of  Sir  Thomas  Myddleton  of 
Chirk  Castle,  this  lady's  stepson,  from  whom  she  had 

1  Royal  Tribes,  p.  107. 


344  SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

purchased  them.  Referring  in  the  codicil  to  her  will  to 
her  devise  of  the  rectory  and  tithes  of  Forden  to  the 
Society  of  Grocers,  London,  she  mentions  that  as  Forden 
parish  had  "  no  Rectory  or  Vicarage  endowed,  nor  any 
maintenance  for  a  Minister  to  officiate  and  discharge 
the  said  cure",  she  gave  full  power  to  her  sole  executor, 
viz.,  "her  son.  Sir  John  Wittewrong",  to  make  a  pro- 
vision for  the  minister  out  of  the  profits  and  tithes  of 
the  said  Rectory  of  Forden  before  any  such  conveyance 
be  made  to  the  Society  of  Grocers  in  London. 

The  manor  of  Talerddig,  part  of  the  ancient  inherit- 
ance of  Edward  Purcell  of  Nantcribba,  sheriff  in  1625, 
which  had  been  conveyed  in  trust  for  herself  and  heirs 
to  her  son,  Sir  John  Wittewrong,  but  still  occupied  by 
Edward  Purcell  at  a  rental  of  £424  a  year,  she  devises 
to  Sir  John  for  life,  and  after  to  John,  the  latter's  son, 
and  the  heirs  of  his  body. 

It  was  doubtless  the  manor  of  Talerddig  which  gave 
Sir  John  Wittewrong  his  qualification  as  sheriff  of 
Montgomeryshire ;  for  Stantonbury  in  Buckinghamshire, 
a  manor  purchased  from  Sir  John  Temple,  and  where  he 
erected  a  handsome  mansion,  was  his  seat  when  created 
a  baronet  in  1662.  He  had  been  chosen,  doubtless 
through  the  influence  of  his  father-in-law.  Sir  Thomas 
Myddleton,  sheriff  of  Herts  by  the  Parliament  in  1658. 

Sir  John  Wittewrong  married  thrice.  1st.  Mary, 
second  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Myddleton  of  Chirk 
Castle,  son  of  the  Lord  Mayor  of  1613,  by  whom  he  had 
an  only  son,  John,  the  second  baronet. 

2nd.  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Timothy  Myddleton  of 
Stansted  Mountfitchet,  Essex,  by  whom  he  had  Jacob 
and  William,  who  died  without  issue ;  James,  of 
Rothamsted,  Herts,  barrister-at-law  and  Recorder  of 
St.Albans;  and  three  daughters,  one  of  whom,  Catherine,1 
was  the  second  wife  of  Edward  Lloyd  of  Berthlloyd, 
grandson  of  Sir  Edward  Lloyd,  Knight. 

3rd.  Catherine  Thompson,  sister  of  John  Lord  Havers- 
ham. 

1  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  vi,  p.  192,  note  2. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  345 

As  all  local  connection  seems  to  have  ceased  with  the 
first  baronet,  our  sheriff,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
Burke's  Extinct  and  Dormant  Baronetcies  for  the 
subsequent  family  succession,  which  ended  with  Sir 
John  Witte wrong,  sixth  baronet,  who  dying  unmarried, 
13th  January  1771,  the  baronetcy  became  extinct. 

The  following  are  important  extracts1  from  the  will, 
of  considerable  local  interest,  of 

Lady  Anna  Middleton  of  Rothamsted,  co.  Hartford, 
widow.  Made  20th  May  1645  ;  proved  5th  February 
1646-7:— 

She  mentions  that  she  purchased  from  Sir  Thos.  Middletou, 
Knight,  the  rectory  and  tithes  of  Forden,  in  the  county  of 
Montgomery,  and  a  fee-farm  rent,  worth  together  £105  a  year. 
She  devised  the  same  to  her  executor,  to  the  end  that  he  may 
within  two  years  after  her  decease  well  and  sufficiently  convey  the 
same  to  the  Company  and  Society  of  Grocers  in  London,  in  fee, 
or  to  some  members  of  that  Company  in  such  sort  as  Counsel 
should  advise.  The  rents  and  profits  whereof  she  appointed, 
limited,  and  declared  should  be  received  by  such  wardens  and 
assistants  of  the  said  Company  for  the  time  being,  for  ever, 
and  by  them  distributed  and  disposed  of  as  follows  : — £40 
a  year  shall  be  given  and  distributed  yearly  by  the  said  wardens 
and  assistants,  or  some  of  them,  at  or  before  every  feast-day 
of  the  Nativity  of  our  Lord  and  Redeemer,  for  releasing  of 
poor  persons  out  of  the  prisons  in  or  about  London ;  no 
prisoner  to  have  more  than  40s.,  except  in  some  special  cases, 
when  they  were  to  have  60s. 

£10  a  year  to  Christ's  Hospital,  for  the  relief  of  the  poor 
children  of  the  same  hospital. 

£5  a  year  to  the  churchwardens  of  the  parish  of  Westham, 
co.  of  Essex,  for  the  poor. 

£20  a  year  for  ever  to  ten  poor  ministers'  widows,  i.e.,  to 
each  40s. 

£10  a  year  to  ten  poor  men  and  women  that  are  aged  and 
impotent. 

40s.  to  the  Grocers  for  their  care  and  pains  in  disposing  of 

pensions  and  legacies The  wardens,  in  distributing  the 

above  and  other  bequests,  to  have  special  regard  for  such 

1  Kindly  made  by  the  late  E.  Rowley  Morris,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  a  member 
of  the  Council  of  the  Powys-land  Club. 

VOL.  XXVII.  A  A 


346  SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

persons  as  testatrix's  son,  Sir  John  Wittewronge,  shall  recom- 
mend to  them. 

She  mentioned  also  that  she  had  a  mortgage  on  certain 
lands  in  the  county  of  Montgomery,  being  then  lately  the 
lands  of  Eowland  Pugh  of  Mathafarn,  Esq.,  deceased.  She 
declared  that  when  the  mortgage  money  should  corne  in,  or  so 
much  of  it  as  would  discharge  the  legacies  hereafter  mentioned, 
that  her  executor,  within  one  year  after  he  should  have  received 
the  money,  pay  out  as  follows  : — To  her  cousin  Jane  Penen- 
tiro  (?),  then  wife  of  Humphrey  Jones  of  London,  silkman,  the 
sum  of  £500,  to  be  laid  out  in  lands,  she  to  have  income,  and 
the  lands  to  descend  to  her  heirs  ;  in  default,  to  testatrix's  son 
above  mentioned.  Also  to  her  cousin  Jane  Jones  an  annuity 
of  £30  until  the  land  was  purchased. 

To  the  congregation  of  the  Dutch  Church  in  London,  £250 ; 
£150  of  it  to  be  for  ever  a  stock  to  maintain  the  ministers. 
£100  to  be  a  stock  for  maintaining  the  poor  of  the  said  con- 
gregation ;  £10  to  the  poor  of  Harpenden,  co.  Herts;  £10  to 
the  poor  of  Stanstead  Mountfichett,  co.  Essex.  To  John  Jones 
(formerly  her  servant),  £100.  Other  sums  to  each  of  her 
servants. 

She  gave  and  bequeathed  to  John  Wittewronge,  eldest  son 
of  her  son,  Sir  John  Wittewronge,  the  manor  of  Talerthig,  to 
him  and  his  heirs ;  Sir  John  to  enjoy  the  same  for  life.  At 
the  time  the  manor  was  in  the  occupation  and  possession  of 
Edward  Purcell,  Esq.  ;  in  case  he  (Purcell)  should  not  redeem 
the  same  within  the  time  limited  by  the  writings,  or  within 
two  years  after  the  said  time  limited,  in  case  he  redeemed; 
then  the  money  to  be  invested  for  the  use  of  her  grandson  ; 
if  he  died  without  issue,  reversion  to  his  father  and  his  heirs. 

She  directed  her  son  not  to  take  more  than  seven  per  cent, 
interest  from  Mr.  Purcell,  or  from  any  of  her  other  debtors. 
To  her  grandson  she  left  various  articles  of  plate,  also  "  the 
great  Stringe  of  Pearls,  one  hundred  and  ffifftie  in  number", 
and  other  treasured  things  ;  the  residue  of  all  to  her  son,  whom 
she  constituted  sole  executor. 

By  codicil  she  varied  the  manner  of  payment  to  the  almsmen 
of  the  Grocers'  Company,  etc.  She  then  mentioned  that  her 
late  "  dear  Husband,  Sir  Thomas  Middleton,  Knight,  had,  by 
his  will,  given  £40  to  be  divided  equally  between  the  parishes 

of  Denbigh  and  Henthlyn,  co.  Denbigh "  If  Edward 

Purcell1  wished  to  purchase  Talerthig,  which  was  his  ancient 


1  Edward  Parcel],  above  mentioned,  was  the  eldest  son  of  Thomas 
Purcell  of  Dinthill  Grange,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Chad,  Shrewsbury, 


SHERIFFS   OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


34 


inheritance,  he  was  to  content  her  executor  what  he  owed 
thereon  before  Dec.  1648.  Then  follow  various  legacies  to 
cousins,  friends,  and  domestics. 


1666. — EDWAKD  KYKASTON. 

Deputy,  John  Wynn.1 


Arms. 


Arjent,  a  lion  rampant  sa.,  armed  and  langued  gu. 

EDWARD  KYN  ASTON  was  probably  the  son  and  heir  of 
Roger  Kynastori  of  Hordley,  our  sheriff  in  1640-1,  lord 
of  the  manor  of  Din  as  or  Plas  y  Dinas.  His  marriage 
with  Amy,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Thomas  Barker  of 
Haghmond  Abbey  and  Abrightlee,  added  considerably 
to  his  landed  estate.  He  served  the  office  of  sheriff  of 
Shropshire  in  1682,  and  represented  that  county  in 

and  served  the  office  of  sheriff  of  Montgomeryshire  in  1625.  He  was 
afterwards  of  Nantcribba,  in  the  parish  of  Forden.  The  manor  of 
Talerthig  in  question  was  one  of  the  possessions  of  the  Abbots  of 
Strata  Marcella,  and  on  the  Dissolution  of  the  Monasteries  was  granted 
by  Henry  VIII  to  Sir  Arthur  D'Arcy,  Knight.  He  conveyed  it  to 
...  Cooper,  and  the  latter  to  Nicholas  Purcell,  the  great-grandfather 
of  Edward  above,  and  sheriff  of  Montgomeryshire  in  1553. 
1  ik  Joh'es  Wynn,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 

A  A  2 


348  SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

three  Parliaments.     Dying  in  1693.  he  left  a  son  and 
successor,  John  Kynaston  of  Hordley. 

His  property  interests  in  Montgomeryshire  are  indi- 
cated by  the  following  extracts  : — 

"20  Dec.  1665.  Roger  Kynaston  of  Hordley,  Esq.,  and 
Edward  Kynaston  of  Abret  Lee,  his  son  and  heir,  to  Peter 
Jones,  gentleman,  a  lease  of  the  '  Sunne  Inn'  in  Pool."1 

"27  July,  26  Charles  II,  1674.  M.2  (Mary)  K.  (Kynaston), 
widow,  and  Edward  Kynaston  of  Abbott  Lee  (Abrightlee), 
son  and  heir-apparent  of  the  said  Roger  Kynaston,  lease  of 
poss'on  to  a  settlement  of  the  said  Edward  Kynaston,  on  his 
marriage  with  Miss  Barker,  viz.,  of  the  lordships  of  Hordley 
and  Plas  y  Dinas,  etc."3 

"18  May  1682.  Edward  Kynaston  of  Albright  Lee  to 
Humphrey  Jones  of  Pool,  a  lease  of  land  in  Pool  and  Gungrog 
Vechan."4 

"17  Jan.  1683.  Eoger  Kynaston  of  Hordley,  Esq.,  and 
Edward  Kynaston  of  Abrie  Lee,  Esq.,  his  son  and  heir,  to 
Humphrey  Jones  of  Pool,  gent.,  the  counterpart  of  a  lease  of 
messuages,  etc.,  in  the  parishes  of  Pool  and  Guilsfield  for  99 
years,  if  Edward  Jones,  son  and  heir  of  the  said  Humphrey 
Jones,  and  Matthew  Jones  and  Mary  Jones,  daughter  of  the 
said  Humphrey  Jones,  should  so  long  live.  Rent,  £20.  Heriot, 
a  beast."6 

A  terrier  of  the  parish  of  Llansantffraid  of  the  year 
1685  contains  the  following  : — 

"  Item,  in  the  township  of  Meliniog  Vawr,  Edward  Kynaston 
of  Hordley,  Esq.,  lord  of  the  manor  of  Plas  y  Dinas,  hath  two 
partes  of  three  of  all  the  tythes  in  kind  issuing  out  of 
tenements  in  the  occupation  of  Thomas  Kynaston,  Arthur 
Kynaston,  and  William  Phillips,  Robert  Kynaston,  gent., 
Griffith  Roberts,  John  Lloyd,  and  others."6 


1  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  vii,  p.  233. 

2  Daughter  of  Thomas  Owen  of  Cundover,  Salop,  and  sister  of  Sir 
Roger  Owen. 

8  Schedule  of  Kynaston  Papers.  4  Ibid.  5  Ibid. 

6  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  iv,  p.  115. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


349 


1667. — ARTHUR  WEAVER. 
Deputy,  Thomas  Blayiiey.1 


Arms. 


HIGHGATE,  in  the  parish  of  Bettws,  was  the  domicile  of 
this  sheriff's  family,  of  which  a  very  full  and  intere'st- 
ing  account  has  already  been  given.2  He  appears  to 
have  followed  the  profession  of  an  attorney  in  the 
county  of  Montgomery.  There  was  a  succession  of 
four  generations  of  Arthurs  in  the  Weaver  family,  but 
circumstances  point  to  the  first  of  the  line  as  the 
sheriff  for  this  year.  The  earliest  mention  of  him  met 
with  is  on  the  3rd  May  1638,  at  which  date  he  obtained 
a  grant  to  administer  the  goods  of  Charles  Arthur  of 
Bettws  as  a  creditor. 

The  pedigree  of  the  family,  given  in  the  Harleian 
MS.  1241,  goes  no  higher  than  the  sheriff.  It  men- 
tions his  mother  Mary,  without  giving  the  Christian 
name  of  his  father.  His  Royalist  proclivities  found 
him  a  delinquent  under  the  rule  of  the  Parliament  in 
1645.  His  composition-papers  show  that  he  was  the 

1  "  Thomas  Blayney,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 

2  By  Mr.  E.  Rowley  Morris,  in  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxii,  pp.  80-92. 


350  SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

possessor  of  considerable  landed  estates  in  the  parish 
of  Bettws,  and  give  the  names  of  the  different  town- 
ships in  which  they  were  situated. 

Morville,  subsequently  the  seat  of  the  family  in 
Shropshire,  was  acquired  by  the  marriage  of  the  sheriff 
with  his  wife  Jane,  daughter  and  eventual  heiress  of 
John  Smith,  whose  family  had  possessed  that  property 
for  several  generations,  and  who  was  probably  the 
representative  of  the  family  who  entered  the  Smith 
pedigree  at  the  Salop  Visitation  of  1623,  according  to 
which  the  mother  of  Jane  Smith,  the  heiress,  was 
a  daughter  of  Thomas  Vernon  of  Hartington.1 

He  was  a  considerable  sufferer  for  his  loyalty,  having, 
in  1645,  compounded  for  his  estates  in  Shropshire  as 
well  as  Montgomeryshire.  Efis  Shropshire  property, 
the  better  part  of  which  came  to  him  by  his  wife,  was 
in  Bridgnorth  and  its  neighbourhood.  In  the  list  of 
his  properties  the  Morville  estate  is  not  mentioned. 
George  Smith  of  Morville,  his  wife's  brother,  was  prob- 
ably then  living  arid  in  possession. 

In  his  petition  to  the  Commissioners  of  Sequestra- 
tion he  mentions  that  "  the  enemy  had  burnt  and 
pulled  down  his  houses  in  Bridgnorth,  damaging  his 
estate  to  the  extent  of  £3,000".  The  "  enemy",  under 
Colonel  Billingsley  of  Astley  Abbotts,  the  celebrated 
Eoyalist  Governor  of  Bridgnorth,  had  doubtless  been 
compelled,  for  purposes  of  defence,  to  demolish  our 
sheriff's  houses.  Colonel  Billingsley,  at  the  cost  of  his 
life,  gallantly  held  Bridgnorth  for  the  King. 

From  his  giving  himself  up  and  submitting  to  a  fine 
of  £240,  one- tenth  of  his  income,  we  may  safely  infer 
that  he  was  not  an  unwilling  accessory  to  such  destruc- 
tion in  the  interests  of  the  King.  It  was,  moreover, 
proved  that  "he  had  deserted  his  dwellings,  and  had 
lived  in  the  enemy's  (Royalist)  quarters". 

There  is  documentary  evidence  to  show  that  he  was 
in  possession  of  Morville  anterior  to  1652.  After  the 

1  Harleian  Society's  reprint  of  the  Salop  Visitation  of  1623,  p.  440 
Probably  an  error  of  transcription  for  Haslington,  (  heshire. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  351 

Restoration,  14  Charles  II,  1662,  "  Arthurus  Weaver, 
ar.",  emerges  from  the  obscurity  incident  to  the  fortune 
of  war  as  a  county  magistrate.  His  will,  which  was 
executed  on  the  21st  of  September  1687,  shows  a  con- 
siderable accession  to  those  estates  for  which  he  had 
compounded  in  1645. 

Particulars  of  his  testamentary  dispositions  have 
already  appeared  in  Montgomeryshire  Collections.1 
There  is  one  calling  for  remark  and  explanation,  to  his 
daughter,  Mary  Acton.  Parish  registers,  it  seems,  are 
not  always  to  be  relied  upon.  In  the  Morville  Register 
the  following  entry,  we  are  told,2  occurs  : 

"  1665,  William,  son  of  Edward  Aldenham,  married  Mary 
Weaver,  daughter  of  Arthur  Weaver,  December  the  29th." 

Mary  Weaver's  husband  was  not  an  Aldenham,  but 
William  Acton,  third  son  of  Sir  Edward  Acton  of  Alden- 
ham, Shropshire,  created  a  baronet  17th  January  1643. 

"  By  Mary,  daughter  of  Arthur  Weaver  of  Morvild 
in  Shropshire",  William  Acton  "  had  a  daughter  Jane, 
wife  of  Walter  Moseley  of  Mere,  Staffordshire,  Esq."3 
Confirmatory  of  the  above,  the  sheriff  leaves  legacies 
to  his  "granddaughter  Jane  Moseley"  and  to  his  "great- 
granddaughter  Sarah  Moseley". 

In  a  codicil  to  this  will  he  directed  his  executor  to 
"  provide  several  copies  of  the  Whole  Duty  of  Man, 
and  all  the  works  of  the  author  thereof,  and  to  cause 
the  same  to  be  well  bound  together,  and  to  deliver  the 
same  within  six  weeks  after  his  decease  to  the  church- 
wardens of  the  several  parishes  of  Llanidloes,  Machyn- 
lleth,  Newtown,  Montgomery,  Welshpool,  Llanfyllin, 
and  Bettws,  in  the  county  of  Montgomery,  and  to  St. 
Chad's  in  Shrewsbury,  St.  Leonard's  in  Bridgnorth, 
and  Morville  in  the  county  of  Salop,  to  be  kept  with 
the  church  books  in  some  convenient  place  for  the 
parishioners  to  read  any  of  the  same  before  and  after 
Divine  Service  on  Sundays  and  other  holy  days." 

1  Vol.  xxii,  pp.  80-92.  2  Ibid.,  p.  83. 

3  Betham's  Baronetage,  vol.  ii,  p.  14,  under  "Acton  of  Aldenham, 
Shropshire." 


352 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


In  Llanfyllin  Church,  we  are  told,1  that  a  folio  edi- 
tion, 1687,  of  the  Whole  Duty  of  Man  rests  upon  a 
shelf  placed  for  the  purpose,  to  which  it  is  secured 
by  chain  and  lock,  and  bears  the  following  inscrip- 
tion : — 

"  This  piouse  and  worthy  piece  was  bestowed  by  Arthur 
Weaver  the  elder,  of  Morvel,  in  the  County  of  Salop,  Esq., 
upon  the  churchwardens,  of  the  gift  of  Llanvilling,  in  the 
County  of  Montgomery,  and  their  successors,  to  be  by  them 
placed  upon  a  desk  or  some  convenient  place  in  the  Church, 
that  such  as  will  may  read  it,"  etc. 

Then  follow  certain  provisions  for  its  security,  which, 
by  the  dutiful  care  of  its  successive  churchwardens, 
have  effectually  preserved  the  gift  to  Llanfyllin  alone, 
out  of  the  ten  parishes  upon  which  it  was  bestowed  in 
1687. 


1668.— EVAN  LLOYD.2 

Deputy,  Maurice  Lloyd. 


Arms. 


Argent,  a  lion  passant  sa.,  between  three  fleurs-de-lys  gu. 

EVAN  LLOYD  of  Llanwnog  served  the  office  in  1649. 

1  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  iii,  p.  72. 

2"Evamis  Lloyd,  ar."      Deputy,   "Morieeus  Lloyd,   gen.,  frater 
ejus"  (Peniarth  list). 


SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


353 


1669. — ROBERT  OWEN. 

Deputy,  Edmund  Lloyd. 


Arms. 


Argent,  a  lion  rampant  and  canton  sable. 

THE  domicile  of  this  sheriff  is  not  given  in  the  Sheriffs' 
Files,  but  there  is  little  doubt  that  Woodhouse,  Shrop- 
shire, was  his  family  seat.  Robert  Owen  of  Wood- 
house  was  our  sheriff  in  1619,  and  under  his  year 
of  office  details  of  his  life  arid  family  succession  are  given. 
The  present  sheriff  is  there  stated,  on  the  authority  of 
the  Rev.  J.  B.  Blakeway,  the  learned  author  of  the 
Sheriffs  of  Shropshire,  to  have  been  his  grandson  ;  but 
this  is  open  to  doubt.  According  to  the  Shropshire 
Visitation  of  1623  we  have  the  Herald's  account  of  the 
three  alliances,  with  their  issues,  of  Robert  Owen  of 
1619.  He  first  married  Susanna,  the  daughter  of 
Launcelot  Bathurst,  Alderman  of  the  city  of  London, 
by  whom  he  had  a  son,  Edward  Owen,  twenty-one 
years  of  age  in  1623,  and  two  other  sons.  He  married, 
secondly,  Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of  Richard  Hunt  of 
London,  by  whom  he  had  a  daughter,  Elizabeth. 
Thirdly,  he  married  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Thomas 
Leighton  of  Wattlesborough.  His  eldest  son  by  this 
marriage  was  Leighton  Ow7en  of  Braginton,  in  the 
parish  of  Alberbury,  an  ancient  possession  of  the 


354 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


Leigh  tons.  This  Leighton  Owen  was  an  enthusiastic 
adherent  of  the  Parliament,  a  captain  in  their  army, 
and  a  commissioner  in  1650  under  the  Act  for,  what 
was  called,  propagating  the  gospel  in  Wales.  His  next 
brother  was  Robert,  who  with  chronological  con- 
sistency was  more  likely  to  have  been  the  sheriff 
for  this  year,  that  is,  the  son,  not  the  grandson,  of 
Robert  Owen  of  Woodhouse,  our  sheriff  in  1619. 

The  sole  surviving  grandchild  of  the  sheriff  was 
Sarah  Owen,  who,  on  the  14th  of  August  1764,  entailed 
the  Woodhouse  estates  successively  on  John  Lloyd  of 
Trowscoed,  Guilsfield ;  William,  eldest  son  of  William 
Mostyn  of  Bryngwyn  ;  Robert,  third  son  of  William 
Mostyn  ;  and  Price  Owen,  M.D.,  of  Shrewsbury.  John 
Lloyd,  who  assumed  the  name  of  Owen,  died  the  23rd 
of  June  1772,  aged  forty-eight,  without  issue;  when 
the  Woodhouse  estates  devolved  on  William  Mostyn, 
who  took  the  name  of  Owen. 


1670.— SIR  CHAKLES  LLOYD/  Baronet. 
Deputy,  Robert  Powell. 


Arms. 


Sable,  three  nag's  heads  erased,  ar. 
GARTH,  in  the  parish   of  Guilsfield,  was  the  paternal 

1  "  Carolus  Lloyd  de  Garth,  Barr't."     Deputy,  "  Robertus  Powell, 
gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  355 

home  of  Sir  Charles  Lloyd's  family.  There  are  several 
Garths  in  the  parish.  "  The  Garth",  the  ancient  home 
of  the  race,  was  carried  away  by  the  heir  female, 
Dorothy  Wynne,  when  she  married  Richard  Mytton  of 
Pont  ys  Cowridd,  Meivod,  the  ancestor  of  the  present 
possessors. 

Garth,  or  Little  Garth,  it  was  which  probably  gave 
a  local  qualification  to  Thomas  Nicholls  and  his  son 
Rowland,  sheriffs  in  1642  and  1664. 

Moel  y  Garth  was  the  distinctive  name  of  the  in- 
heritance of  Sir  Charles  Lloyd. 

Beli,  or  "  Beley  of  ye  Garth",1  living  in  1214,  is  the 
earliest  ancestor  of  the  family  recorded  as  in  possession 
of  the  old  home. 

Sixth  in  descent  from  Beli,  as  the  possessor  of  The 
Garth,  was  Sir  Griffith  Vaughan,  Knight  Banneret  of 
Agincourt.  Reginald  (Wynne),  his  third  and  youngest 
son,  following  the  Welsh  custom,  inherited  Garth, 
which  passed  through  many  succeeding  generations  of 
possessors  to  Dorothy  Wynne,  before  referred  to. 

The  direct  ancestor  of  our  sheriff  was  Sir  Griffith 
Vaughan's  eldest  son,  David  Lloyd,  who  held  the 
manor  and  lands  of  Leighton,  near  Welshpool,  as  early 
as  1469,  under  his  kinsman,  Sir  William  Brereton  of 
Brereton,  Cheshire.  The  manor  of  Leighton  came  to 
this  Sir  William  through  the  marriage  of  his  father, 
William  Brereton,  with  Alice,  daughter  and  eventual 
heiress  of  John  Corbet  of  Leighton.  This  William 
Brereton  died  in  the  service  of  Henry  V  at  Harfleur, 
predeceasing  his  father  Sir  William.  The  latter  also 
served  in  the  French  wars  of  the  same  King,  and, 
three  years  after  the  death  of  his  son,  witnesses  a  deed 
of  Sir  John  Bromley's  at  the  Castle  of  Dompfront. 
Sir  William's  Inquisitio  post  mortem  is  dated  the  4th 
Henry  VI,  1425-6.2 

Alice  Corbet,  the  heiress  of  the  conjoint  manors  of 

1  Herald 's  Visitation  (Salop),  1023,  under  "  Gough  of  the  Marsh". 
(Mont.  Coll.,  xxv,  p.  294.) 

2  Omerod's  History  of  Cheshire,  vol.  ii,  p.  174. 


356  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

Leighton  and  Binweston,  by  Inquisitio  post  mortem  of 
the  10th  of  Henry  IV,  1409,1  was  found  to  be  sister 
and  heir  of  her  deceased  brother,  Richard  Corbet  of 
Leighton.  The  Salop  Heraldic  Visitations2  make  them 
fourth  in  descent  from  John  Corbet  of  Leighton,  "  the 
last  rightful  Baron  of  Caus,  reduced  to  a  position  of 
comparative  beggary  by  the  legal  artifices  of  his  own 
kindred  on  the  one  hand,  and  by  barefaced  injustice  on 
the  other."3 

Sir  William  Brereton,  Knight,  of  Brereton  and  Leigh- 
ton,  the  son  of  William  Brereton  and  Alice  Corbet, 
entered  upon  his  father's  lands  the  13th  Henry  VI, 
1439.  His  son  William,  mentioned  in  Leighton  deeds, 
died  without  issue,  and  the  line  of  Brereton  was  con- 
tinued by  his  nephew,  the  son  of  Sir  Andrew  Brereton. 
Leighton  deeds  supply  information  showing  loans  of 
money  to  Sir  William  Brereton  by  David  Lloyd,  "  his 
kinsman",  the  conditions  being  that  the  manor  and 
estates  of  Leighton  were  to  be  held  by  the  latter  as 
security. 

The  "  9th  of  Edward  IV,  1469  (is  the  date  of  a)  mortgage 
from  Sir  William  Brereton  of  the  manor  of  Leighton,  co. 
Montgomery,  for  £40,  to  David  Lloyd  ap  (Sir)  Griffith  and 
Lucye  his  wife."4 

"31  July,  10th  Edward  IV,  1470.  Sir  William  Brereton, 
Knt.,  Lord  of  Leighton,  grants  lands  there  to  his  kinsman 
David  Lloyd  ap  (Sir)  Griffith  Vechan,  to  be  held  of  him  as 
lord  at  6d.  a  year." 

After  the  lapse  of  five  generations  of  possession  the 
same  records  show,  after  a  succession  of  mortgages  of 
the  Leighton  estates  by  the  Lloyds,  its  final  alienation 
from  that  family. 

1  Omerod's  History  of  Cheshire,  vol.  ii,  p.  174. 

2  Harl.  MS.  1241   fo.  7. 

3  Ey ton's  Antiquities  of  Shropshire,  vol.  vii,  p.  38,  and  note  12. 

4  See  Extracts  from  Deeds  at  Longrior,  made  by  Archdeacon  Cor- 
bett,  relating  to  the  manor  and  estates  of  Leighton,  etc.    (Mont.  Coll., 
vol.  xxvi,  pp.  299  et  seq.) 


SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  357 

"21  James  I,  20  August  1623.  Charles  Lloyd  of  Leighton, 
Brochwell1  his  son,  and  Honor,2  wife  of  Brochweil,  for  £2,500, 
sell  to  Edward  Waties  of  Burway,  Esq.,  Leighton  House,  in 
which  Brochwell  then  dwelt,  with  various  lands  in  Leighton, 
Kilkewydd,  Hope,  and  Forden." 

"21  James  I,  7  December  1623.  Sir  Thomas  Myddleton, 
Knt.,  and  Alderman  of  London,  by  directions  of  Brochwell 
Lloyd,  Esq.,  for  £840  sells  to  Edward  Waties,  Esq.,  Leighton 
Hail  and  lands  thereunto  described."3 

A  curious  feature  of  the  devolution  of  the  Leighton 
property  is,  that  after  leaving  the  family  of  the  last 
Corbet,  Baron  of  Cans  Castle,  having  been  subse- 
quently held  by  the  Breretons  for  three  and  by  the 
Lloyds  for  five  generations,  it  again  reverted  to  a 
collateral  branch  of  the  ancient  Domesday  owners,  by 
the  marriage  of  Margaret,  daughter  and  heiress  of 
Judge  Waties,  with  Sir  Edward  Corbett  of  Longrior. 

The  will  of  David  Lloyd  of  Leighton  is  dated  4th 
Henry  VII,  1489.-  He  died  in  1 49 7,4  leaving  Nant- 
cribba,  in  the  parish  of  Forden,  an  estate  which  he 
acquired  in  marriage  with  his  first  wife,  Lucy,  heiress 
of  Meredith  ap  Cadwalader  of  that  place,  to  his  eldest 
son,  David  Lloyd  Vaughan,  the  head  of  the  Marring- 
ton,  Marton,  Stockton,  or  Chirbury  branches  of  the 
Lloyd  family,  properties  acquired  with  his  wife  Mar- 
garet, the  heiress  of  John  Myddletori  of  Marrington. 

DAVID  LLOYD  of  Leighton  married  a  second  wife, 
Elen,  daughter  of  Jenkin  Kynaston  of  Stokes,  near 
Ellesmere,  whose  son  Humphrey  Lloyd  succeeded  to 
Leighton,  and  was  the  first  appointed  sheriff  of  Mont- 
gomeryshire in  1540-1. 

HUMPHREY  LLOYD  of  Leighton  married  Gwenllian, 
daughter  of  Thomas  ap  Rees  David  Lloyd  of  Newtown 
Hall,  and  sister  of  Matthew  (Goch)  Price,  sheriff  in 
1548.  His  will  is  dated  1st  June,  5  Philip  and  Mary, 
1558.  His  fourth  son  by  Gwenllian  Price  was 

1  Major  in  the  army,  and  gentleman  of  the   Privy  Chamber  of 
Charles  I. 

2  Daughter  of  Sir  Stephen  Proctor,  Knight,  of  Fountain's  Abbey. 
8  Mont.  Coll,  vol.  xxvi,  p.  310.  4  Ibid.,  p.  299. 


358  SHERIFFS   OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

DAVID  LLOYD  of  Moel-y-Garth  and  Shrewsbury, 
where  he  became  a  member  of  the  Drapers'  Company. 
His  local  connection  is  shown  as  follows  :  "  Jur.  Magna 
Inquis.  ad  Magna  Sessio.  tent,  apud  Polam  25  Mar.  30 
Eliz.  1588.  David  Lloyd  ap  Humphrey,  gen." 

In  the  31  Eliz.,  1588,  in  conjunction  with  his  brother 
"  Oliver  Lloyd,  ar."  (of  Leighton),  he,  as  "  David  Lloyd, 
Drap'r  gen'os",  was  Queen's  forester  for  Llanllwchaiarn 
and  Dolvorwyn.  From  the  41st  Eliz.  to  the  3rd  of 
James  I,  1605,  he  was  Crown  Forester,  and  a  county 
magistrate. 

He  married  Elizabeth,1  the  eldest  daughter  of  Owen 
ap  John  ap  Howell  Vaughan  of  Llwydiarth,  by  his 
wife  Margaret,  co-heir  of  Owen  ap  Griffith  ap  Meredith 
Vaughan  of  Llynwent,  Radnorshire.  The  Shrewsbury 
chronicler  of  the  period,  quoted  by  the  historians  of 
Shrewsbury,2  makes  interesting  mention  of  "Master 
David  Lloyd"  and  his  father-in-law,  :(  Master  Owen 
Vaughan",  in  the  following  passage  :— 

"  Though  the  wise  rule  of  Elizabeth  and  her  ministers, 
strengthened  by  a  reign  of  thirty  years,  had  succeeded  in 
enforcing  a  more  regular  obedience  to  the  laws  than  the  king- 
dom had  ever  known  before,  yet  incidents  occasionally  inter- 
vened to  prove  that  the  Government  still  walked  on  ashes 
beneath  which  their  wonted  fires  still  lived." 

One  of  these,  which  befell  on  the  7th  of  January 
1588-9,  is  recorded  by  our  chronicler.3  It  was  the 
day  of  the  Sessions — 

"  and  there  had  like  to  have  been  great  hurt  done  through  the 
blowing  of  a  trumpet  by  Master  Francis  Newport's  trumpeter 
over  against  Master  David  Lloyd's  house,  in  which  was  one 
Master  Owen  Vaughan  and  his  men,  a  stout  gentill,  between 
whom  and  Master  Newport  was  an  old  grudge ;  the  which 
trumpeter,  being  found  fault  withall,  drew  out  his  sword  to 


1  Burke's  JZxtinct  and  Dormant  Baronetcies,  under  "  Sir  Charles 
Lloyd  of  Garth". 

2  Owen  and  Blakeway's  History  of  Shrewsbury,  vol.  i,  pp.  390,  391. 

3  The  orthography  has  in  this  instance  been  modernised  for  the 
ease  of  the  reader. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  359 

strike  at  the  party  that  so  found  fault,  and  thereupon  the 
other's  fellows  drewe,  and  the  bailiffs  being  in  the  hall,  and 
coining  amongst  them  to  keep  peace,  were  not  regarded. 
Upon  the  same  the  common  bell  was  rung;  then  the  towns- 
men assisted  the  bailiffs ;  and  then  they  (i.e.,  the  combatants) 
were  forced  to  put  up  their  weapons,  with  half-a-dozen  broken 
pates.  All  this  broil,  Mr.  Owen  Yaughan  and  his  men  kept 
the  house,  and  by  counsel  stirred  not;  where,  if  he  and  his 
men  had  come  forth,  there  had  been  a  bloody  day.  But,  God 
be  thanked,  it  was  for  that  time  pacified." 

Shakespeare,  we  see,  needed  not  to  have  travelled  as 
far  as  Verona  for  a  scene  parallel  to  the  Montagues 
and  Capulets.  Mr.  Newport's  sister,  Magdalen,  had 
married  Richard  Herbert  of  Montgomery,  the  father  of 
Edward,  first  Lord  Herbert  of  Chirbury.  A  feud  of 
long  standing  had  existed  between  the  Yaughans  of 
Llwydiarth  and  the  Herberts,  fruitful  in  broils  and 
civil  suits.  At  the  recent  Spring  Assizes,  2 1st  March 
1587-8,  the  chronicler  relates  — 

"  Unto  the  which  cam  such  aboundans  of  people,  that  the 
lycke  hath  not  been  seene ;  by  the  reason  of  the  apparance 
owt  of  Wales,  Sir  Edw.  Harbert,  Knighfc,  beinge  playntyfe, 
and  John  Owen  Vaughan,  esquier,  and  Howell  Vaughau  (his 
brother)  defendants,  who  had  matters  then  and  there  to  be 
tried." 

This  was  sufficient  to  stimulate  the  irascible  spirit 
of  the  Welsh  partisanship  of  the  day,  which  might 
have  led  to  serious  results  had  not  prudent  counsels 
prevailed  to  keep  Master  Owen  Vaughan  and  his 
retinue  out  of  sight,  and  within  the  shelter  of  his  son- 
in-law  Master  David  Lloyd's  house. 

David  Lloyd  of  Moel  y  Garth  and  Shrewsbury,  by 
his  wife  Elizabeth  Vaughan  of  Llwydiarth,  had,  prob- 
ably with  other  issue,  his  son  and  successor — 

SIR  CHARLES  LLOYD  of  Moel  y  Garth,  created  a 
baronet  late  in  life,  10th  May  1661,  our  sheriff. 

"Carolus  Lloyd  de  Garth,  ar.",  on  the  roll  of  county 
magistrates  13th  March,  23  Charles  I,  1648,  is  his  first 
appearance  in  a  local  office.  From  his  having  served 
in  the  Parliaments  1654-5,  1656-8,  and  165S-9-1660, 


360  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

as  a  Montgomery  shire  representative,  he  must  have 
differed  widely  in  political  opinion  from  his  Leighton 
relatives,  Major  Brochwel  Lloyd,  Gentleman  of  the 
Privy  Chamber  to  Charles  I,  and  his  gallant  son, 
Colonel  Sir  Charles  Lloyd,  Knight,  Governor  of  Devizes 
Castle  for  the  King. 

We  find  amongst  some  Royalist  Composition  Papers, 
dated  1653,  29th  March,  relating  to  the  disposed  of 
the  forfeited  estates  of  the  barony  of  Powys,  a  direc- 
tion from  the  Parliamentary  Trustees  to  permit  Charles 
Lloyd,  Esq.  to  quietly  enjoy  a  plot  of  land  lying  within 
Sir  Percy  Herbert's  barony  of  Powys,  for  which  he  had 
paid  on  the  24th  of  November  preceding.  The  future 
baronet  was  evidently  at  this  date  using  undue  influ- 
ence, with  his  temporary  Parliamentary  friends,  to 
further  his  interests  at  the  expense  of  the  suffering  and 
devoted  loyalist,  Sir  Percy  Herbert. 

Later  on,  a  bill  in  the  Equity  side  of  the  Court  of 
Exchequer,  filed  between  1660-70,  by  William  Herbert, 
Lord  Powis  (afterwards  Marquis  and  Duke  of  Powis), 
against  the  officials  and  others,  burgesses  of  the  borough 
of  Welshpool,  affirms  that  they  had  taken  an  undue 
advantage  of  the  "  depredations  and  insolvencies"  of 
the  Civil  War  period ;  and  some  of  them,  being  persons 
of  distinction,  who  had  adhered  to  the  usurpers  against 
the  late  King — as,  namely,  Charles  Lloyd,  since  created 
Sir  Charles  Lloyd,  Baronet — did  dig  soil  on  his  common 
of  Gwern-y-goe,  and  make  bricks  therewith.1  Sir  Charles 
was  the  leading  defendant  in  this  action  with  Lord 
Powis. 

Tempori  servire,  or  to  suit  one's  self  to  circum- 
stances, was  the  prevailing  spirit  of  the  age,  so  we  are 
not  surprised  at  the  revelation  in  the  following  enrol- 
ment at  the  Record  Office  : — 

"  An  acknowledgment  from  the  King  Charles  II  of  £1,095 
received  from  Sir  Charles  Lloyd,  Bart. ;  whereas  our  beloved 
subject  Charles  Lloyd  of  Garth,  in  the  Countie  of  Mont- 

1  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xiii,  p.  278. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  361 

gomery,  Esquier,  for  and  in  respect  of  the  Dignitie  of  Baronet 
to  be  "conferred  upon  him,  did  voluntarily  offer  unto  us  ayde 
for  the  maintenance  of  thirtie  ffortmen  in  our  Army  within 
our  Realme  of  England  for  three  whole  yeares,  and  whereas 
the  money  to  that  end  and  in  such  cases  usually  payd  amount- 
eth  to  the  sum  of  one  thousand  ninetie  and  ffive  pounds  of 
Lawful  money  of  England  which  hath  beene  payd  unto  the 
Keeper  of  our  Exchequer,  and  whereas  we  are  resolved  to 
confferr  upon  him  the  said  Dignitie  of  a  Barronett,  etc." 

Sir  Charles  Lloyd  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
John  Bowater  of  Whitley,  in  the  county  of  Warwick, 
by  whom  he  had — 

i.  Charles,  who  succeeded  as  second  Baronet,  and 
married  Catherine,  daughter  of  John  Huxley  of  Wire- 
hall,  county  of  Middlesex,  by  whom  he  had  four 
daughters,  Catherine,  Sarah,  Anne,  Elizabeth,  and  an 
only  son,  Charles,  who  succeeded  as  third  Baronet. 

n.  Edward.  The  following  is  from  the  matricula- 
tions at  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge  : — 

"  1662.  Edward  Lloyd  of  Bucklersbury,  London,  son  of  Sir 
Charles  Lloyd,  Knt.  and  Bart.  Bred  at  Lusam  (Lewisham), 
Kent;  admitted  pensioner — tutor  and  surety,  Mr.  Woolsley — 
28  June,  Mt.  16."1 

He  was  doubtless  previously  a  Shrewsbury  school- 
boy, as  we  find,  in  1678,  "  Edward  Lloyd,  Esq.,  son  of 
Sir  Charles  Lloyd",  a  donor  to  the  Library  there. 
He  was  of  Meifod  Hall  and  Middle  Dyffryn,  in  that 
parish.  From  the  Lloyds  the  latter  property  passed 
to  the  Goddrells  ;  from  them  by  sale  to  the  Rockes  of 
Trefnanney-  and  from  the  last  resident  Rocke  by  sale 
to  the  late  Right  Hon.  Charles  Williams  Wynn,  M.P.2 

Edward  Lloyd  married  Alice,  eldest  daughter  of 
William  Penrhyn  of  Rhysnant.  She  died  in  1670 
without  issue. 

in.  John  Lloyd.  At  Low  Ley  ton  Church,  Essex,  in 
the  aisle  of  the  chancel,  next  to  the  tomb  of  Charles 
Goring,  Earl  of  Norwich,  the  celebrated  Royalist  cavalry 

1  Mayor's  Admissions  to  St.  John's  Coll.,  Camb.,  p.  157. 

2  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  ix,  p.  332. 

VOL.   XX VII.  B  B 


362        SHERIFFS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

general,  on  a  black  stone,  at  the  head  an  escutcheon 
(Arms  :  Three  nag's  heads  erased,  2  and  1,  a  crescent 
for  difference),  was,  in  1720,  the  following  inscription 
in  capitals.  In  1858  the  slab  lay  north  and  south 
against  the  wall  at  the  west  end  of  the  church  : — 

"  Here  lyeth  interred  the  body  of  John  Lloyd, 
second1  son  to  S'r  Charles  Lloyd,  Baronett,  by 
Elizabeth  his  Lady,  who  dyed  ye  27th  yeare  of 
his  age,  to  ye  ineffable  griefe  of  all  that  knew 
him,  he  being  his  age's  prodigie  for  virtue, 
excelling  most  of  his  Qualitie  and  sex  in  all 
worth,  but  never  out  vied  by  any  in  Justice, 
temperance,  and  urbanity.  He  depar'ed  this  life 
ye  8th  of  Sept.  1667." 

iv.  Elizabeth. 

v.  Susanna.  The  Register  of  St.  Chad's  Church, 
Shrewsbury,  gives  the  following  : — 

"  Mrs.  Susanna,  daughter  of  Sir  Charles  Lloyd.  BurM 
3  Nov.  1673." 

vi.  Hester.  The  table  of  benefactions  at  St.  Chad's 
records  that  "Mrs.  Hester  Lloyd,  daughter  of  Sir 
Charles  Lloyd,  gave  the  interest  of  £100  yearly  to  put 
out  two  boys  apprentices". 

The  St.  Chad's  Register  records  the  burials  of  the 
sheriff  and  his  wife  in  the  following  terms  : — 

"Jan.  12th,  1677-8.     Sir  Charles  Lloyd,  Bart.     Bur'd." 
"  Sep.  4th,  1690.     Dame  Elizabeth  Lloyd,  bur  d." 

Sir  Charles  was  M.P.  for  the  county  of  Montgomery 
with  Sir  John  Price  of  New  town  in  the  Parliament  of 
1654-5;  with  Colonel  Hugh  Price  of  Gwernygoe  in 
the  Parliament  of  1656-8  ;  and  for  the  boroughs,  with 
Edward  Vaughan  of  Llwydiarth  for  the  county,  in  that 
of  1658-60.2 

1  Burke,  in  his  Dormant  and  JZxtinct  Baronetcies,  makes  him  third 
son.  2  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  ii,  p.  313. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


363 


1671.  —THOMAS  IRELAND. 

Deputy,  Koberfc  Lloyd.1 


Arms. 


Gules,  six  fleurs-de-lys,  3,  2,  and  1,  or. 

THE  Ireland  family,  conjointly  with  the  Pnrcells,  were 
possessors  of  Vaynor,  in  the  parish  of  Berriew.  The 
ancient  proprietors  were  of  the  Tribe  of  Brochwel, 
Prince  of  Powys.  In  the  35th  of  Henry  VIII  "  Howel 
ap  leuan  Lloyd  de  Berewe"  is  recorded  in  the  Salop 
Heraldic  Visitation  as  the  then  possessor  of  Vaynor. 
His  son  and  heir,  Edward  ap  Howel,  by  his  wife 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Corbet  of  Legh,  in  the 
parish  of  Worthen,  had  a  son  and  heir,  "  Richardus  ap 
Edward  de  le  Vaynor",  who  by  his  wife  Ales,  daughter 
of  Sir  James  Owen  of  Pentre  Evan,  Knight,  had  two 
daughters,  coheiresses  of  Vaynor.  One,  Elizabeth, 
married  John  Powell,  second  son  of  Richard  Powell  of 
Edenhope,  Mainstone,  Salop,  sheriff  of  Montgomery- 
shire in  1554;  the  other,  Anne,  married  Thomas 
Purcell,  second  son  of  Nicholas  Purcell,  sheriff  in  1553. 
Mary,  only  daughter  and  heiress  of  Thomas  Purcell, 
in  marriage  carried  one  of  the  Vaynors  (?  Issa  or  Ucha) 

1  "  Rob'tus  Lloyd,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 

B  B  2 


364  SHEKIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

to  George  Ireland  of  Albrighton,  father  of  Thomas 
Ireland,  our  sheriff  in  1635,  under  which  year  will  be 
found  details  of  the  earlier  history  of  the  Ireland 
family.1  The  Powell  interest  in  Vaynor  seems  eventu- 
ally to  have  passed  to  the  Purcell  family,  for  we  find 
that,  prior  to  August  1682,  George  Devereux,  then  in 
his  will  describing  himself  of  Vaynor,  and  who  had 
been  sheriff  in  1658,  relates  that  his  Montgomeryshire 
land  purchases  of  Munlyn,  Nantcribba,  etc.,  had  been 
made  from  "  Catherine  Purcell,  spinster". 

Robert  Ireland,  son  and  heir  of  Thomas,  oar  sheriff 
of  1635,  according  to  the  Visitation,  aged  eleven  in 
1623,  was  sheriff  of  Shropshire  in  1673,  and  then 
styled  of  Albrighton.  It  is  presumed  that  he  was 
either  the  father  or  the  elder  brother  of  our  sheriff  for 
this  year. 

Adbrighton,  or  Albrighton,.  near  Shrewsbury,  con- 
tinued in  the  possession  of  the  Ireland  family  for  the 
next  three  generations.  A  grant  of  the  manor  had 
been  made  by  King  Henry  VIII  "  for  the  sum  of  two 
hundred  and  ninety-two  pounds  six  shillings  and  nine- 
pence  to  Thomas  Ireland,  gerit."  It  belonged  "  to  the 
late  Monastery  of  Shrewsbury,  in  the  said  county  of 
Salop,  now  dissolved".  "  Witness  myself  at  Ampthyll, 
the  thirty-first  day  of  October,  in  the  thirty-sixth  year 
of  our  reign,"  1543.  The  Albrighton  Register  informs 
us  that  in  1796  Mary  Ireland  was  buried,  March  20, 
cet.  18.  She  was  the  natural  daughter,  by  Mary  Sadler, 
of  the  last  Thomas  Purcell  Ireland  who  lived  there, 
to  whom  he  bequeathed  his  whole  estate.  On  the 
death  of  Mary  Ireland,  in  1796,  without  issue,  Albrigh- 
ton escheated  to  the  Crown,  and  was  granted  to  the 
next  heir  male,  John  Ireland,  son  of  John  and  nephew 
of  Thomas  Purcell  Ireland.  He  sold  the  estate  shortly 
afterwards. 

1  See  Sheriffs  of  Montgomeryshire,  vol.  i,  p.  510  et  seq. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


365 


1672. — THOMAS  LLOYD. 
Deputy,  William  Pierce.1 


Arms. 


Sable,  three  nag's  heads  erased,  2  and  1,  argent. 

THOMAS  LLOYD  was  of  Maesmawr,   in    the   parish   of 
Guilsfield,  and  served  the  office  in  1655. 


1673. — GEORGE  DEVEREUX. 
Deputy,  George  Kobinson.2 


Arms. 


Argent,  a  fesse  gu.,  in  chief  three  torteaux. 

UNDER  the  year  1658,  when  George  Devereux  of  Vay- 
1  "  Will'us  Pierce,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


2    tt 


Georgins  Robinson,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


366 


SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


nor  served  the  office,  will  be  found  details  of  his  family 
history. 


1674. — EICHABD   MYTTON, 

Deputy,  Edmund  Lloyd.1 


Arms. 


Per  pale  azure  and  gules,  an  eagle  displayed  with  two  heads  or, 
within  a  bordure  engrailed  of  the  last. 

THE  earlier  history  of  this  sheriff's  family,  which  is 
that  of  the  My  ttons  of  Halston,  has  been  already  given 
in  vol.  xxiv  of  the  Montgomeryshire  Collections.  We 
shall  there  find  that  Edward,  Thomas,  and  John  Mytton 
were  the  only  sons,  with  issue,  of  Richard  Mytton  of 
Shrewsbury,  six  times  Bailiff  of  Salop,  Lord  of  Maw- 
ddwy,  Chief  Steward  of  the  Manor  of  Church  Stretton, 
and  for  the  Lord  Lumley  in  1562.  The  mother  of  his 
sons  above  mentioned — for  he  married  three  times — was 
Anne,  his  first  wife,  and  the  daughter  of  Sir  Edward 
Grey  of  Enville. 

EDWARD  MYTTON  of  Habberley,  Shropshire,  the 
second  but  eldest  surviving  of  their  sons,  acquired 
Halston  in  exchange  with  Alan  Hoord,  who  had  pur- 
chased it  from  the  Crown.  He  married  Anne,  daughter 

1  "Edmundus  Lloyd,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  367 

of  Sir  Edward  Greville  of  Milcote,  Knight,  and  through 
his  eldest  son  Edward  became  the  ancestor  of  the 
Halston  line.  The  following  extracts  from  his  will,  now 
in  the  Prerogative  Court  of  Canterbury,  give  interest- 
ing family  details. 

(3  Sheffield.)  Edward  Mutton  of  Halstone.  Date,  3  March 
1567.  To  be  buried  in  St.  Mary's  Church,  Shrewsbury,  "  next 
to  ray  mother"  (Agnes,  daughter  of  Sir  Edward  Grey  de  Enville, 
in  the  county  of  Stafford). 

To  Edward  Mytton,  eldest  son,  the  lease  of  Crowe  Meole, 
paying  to  his  two  brothers,  "  Richard  Mytton"  (he  married 
Anne,  daughter  of  ...  Pate  of  Ketleby,  in  Leicestershire)  and 
"  Lodowicke  Mutton"  (he  married  Ursula  Pate,  sister  of  Anne), 
out  of  the  same,  yearly, £6  13s.  4e£.  each.  His  farm  of  Sandforde 
to  Anne  (Greville)  his  wife,  she  paying  yearly  to  testator's 
father,  "  Richard  Mytton",  £6  Ss.  4d. 

Also  to  Anne,  his  manor  and  lordship  of  u  Mouthewaye",  to 
be  used  at  her  discretion  during  the  nonage  of  Edward,  eldest 
son.  Residue  to  Anne,  wife,  whom  he  constituted  sole  execu- 
trix. 

Overseers. — "  Richard  Mitton,"  testator's  father,  and  Lodo- 
wicke Grevell,  his  (testator's)  brother-iri-law,  Esquires. 

Witnesses. — Phillip  Huckle,  Richard  Jcyner,  Public  Notary, 
and  Thomas  Bowkle. 

Proved  in  London,  the  last  day  of  February  15G8-9,  by  Anne, 
his  relict. 

THOMAS  MYTTON  is  mentioned  in  the  Visitation  of 
Salop  as  the  third  son1  of  Richard  Mytton  and  Agnes 
Grey.  He  was  M.P.  for  Shrewsbury  in  1554,  and,  by 
his  wife  Margaret,  daughter  of  Sir  Edward  Greville, 
and  sister  of  his  brother  Edward's  wife  Anne,  had  a 
family  of  seven  children. 

Before  proceeding  to  notice  John  Mytton,  the  ninth 
son,  but  third  with  issue  of  Richard  and  Agnes,  it  may 
be  mentioned  that  six  of  his  elder  brothers  died  without 
issue  ;  that  his  sister  Ursula  married  John  Lewis  Owen 
of  Dolgelly ;  his  sister  Elizabeth  married  Nicholas 
Grosvenor  of  Showlde;  and  his  sister  Cecily  was  the  wife 

1  Vincent's  Collections,  College  of  Arms,  pp.  640-41-42,  where  is 
given  a  shield  of  eight  quartering^  with  the  eagle  displayed  in  the 
first  quarter. 


368  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

of  Richard  Acton,  son  of  Thomas  Acton,  of  Acton-on- 
the-Hill,  Salop. 

JOHN  MYTTON,  the  youngest  brother  of  Edward 
Mytton  of  Halston,  was  the  first  of  the  family  known  to 
have  settled  in  Montgomeryshire.  His  home  in  the 
picturesque  vale  of  Meifod  was  Pontyscowrid,  a  half- 
timbered  residence,  now  in  good  preservation,  but  used 
as  a  farm-house.  He  must  have  been  in  the  prime  of 
life  as  a  local  resident  as  early  as  the  27th  Elizabeth, 
1585,  for  at  the  Assizes  held  at  Pool  by  Sir  George 
Bromley,  Knight,  Chief  Justice  of  Chester,  the  Sheriffs' 
Roll  of  the  above  year  records  that  Roger  Kynaston  and 
John  Mytton,  gentlemen,  filled  conjointly  the  office  of 
Bailiffs  of  Llanfyllin.  The  date  1593,  carved  in  oak, 
with  the  initials  of  himself  and  second  wife,  are  still  to 
be  seen  over'  the  chimney-piece  in  a  large  oak-panelled 
room  at  Pontyscowrid.  He  died  intestate,  and  was 
buried  at  Meifod,  5th  December  1605.  His  first  wife 
was  Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas  Cole  of  London,  pro- 
bably a  cadet  of  the  family  of  Cole  of  Cole  Hall,  Shrews- 
bury, by  whom  he  had  no  male  issue.  His  second  wife 
was  Anne,  daughter  of  John  Barnes  of  Salop,  and  the 
mother  of  his  son  and  successor  at  Pontyscowrid— 

RICHARD  MYTTON.  The  date  of  his  birth  is  uncer- 
tain, bub,  according  to  the  Herald's  Salop  Visitation,  he 
married  a  daughter  of  ...  Garnons  of  Hereford,  by 
whom  he  had,  with  other  issue  : 

JAMES  MYTTON  of  Pontyscowrid.  He  was  baptized 
at  Meifod,  the  18th  January  1600.  At  the  Assizes 
held  at  Pool,  the  2nd  Charles  II  (Commonwealth),  8th 
April  1650,  by  Humphrey  Markworth,  deputy  to  John 
Bradshaw,  Chief  Justice  of  Chester,  "  Jacobus  Mytton, 
ar.",  appears  on  the  Sheriffs'  Roll  of  county  magistrates. 
He  married  Eleanor,  daughter  of  Edward  Jones  of 
Sandford,  Shropshire,  and  sister  of  Sir  Thomas  Jones, 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas,  by  whom  he  had, 
with  two  daughters,  Elizabeth  and  Dorothy,  a  son 
Richard,  our  sheriff  of  this  year — 

RICHARD   MYTTON  of  Pontyscowrid,    or   "  Street-y- 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  369 

Verniew",  as  he  is  described  in  the  Peniarth  list  of 
Sheriffs,  was  baptized  at  St.  Julian's  Church,  Shrews- 
bury, and  married  Bridget,  daughter  of  George 
Devereux  of  Vaynor,  sheriff  in  1658.  Their  eldest 
surviving  son, 

RICHARD  MYTTON  of  Pontyscowrid,  served  the  office 
of  sheriff  in  1730,  and  will  receive  further  notice  under 
his  year  of  office. 


1675. — EVAN  GLYNN. 

Deputy,  Griffith  Robinson.1 


Arms. 


Quarterly,  1st  and  4th,  azure,  a  chevron  argent,  between  three  cocks 
of  the  same,  crested  and  wattled  or  (Glynn) ;  2nd  and  3rd,  gules, 
a  lion  rampant  argent  (Marchweithan). 

THE  sheriff  for  this  year  was  a  member  of  the  ancient 
family  of  Glynri  of  Glyn  Clywedog,  locally  known  as 
"  The  Glyn",  and  from  which,  after  a  line  of  ancestry  of 
Christian  names  connected  by  the  invariable  "ap"  or 
"ab",  they  doubtless  chose  their  surname.  It  has  for 
several  years  past  been  assigned  the  condition  of  a  farm- 
house. It  is  pleasantly  situated  about  two  miles  to  the 

1  "  Griffinus  Robinson,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


370  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

north- west  of  Llanidloes,  on  an  eminence  overlooking 
the  river  Cly  wedog. 

Illustrations  of  the  exterior  and  interior  of  the  old 
mansion,  with  interesting  particulars,  are  given  in  an 
account  of  the  "Half-timbered  Houses  of  Montgomery- 
shire",1 from  which  it  may  be  gathered  that  for  Eliza- 
bethan times,  or  for  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
as  its  style  denotes,  it  must  have  been  the  home  of  a 
fa.mily  with  more  than  ordinary  pretensions  to  comfort, 
if  not  luxury. 

These  Glynns,  now  extinct  in  the  male  line,  claimed 
descent  from  Aleth,  Prince  of  Dyfed,  or  Dimetia,  a 
region  comprising  our  more  modern  Cardiganshire, 
Pembrokeshire,  and  Carmarthenshire.  Without  inten- 
tional disrespect  to  credible  genealogists,  and  as  the 
early  line  of  descent  has  been  exhaustively  treated  of 
in  our  Collections?  we  can  commence  our  notice  of  the 
family  of  this  sheriff  with 

IEUAN,  apparently  ninth  in  descent  from  the  Prince 
of  Dyfed.  He  is  the  first  of  the  line  whom  our  genealo- 
gists style  of  "  Glyn  Cly  wedog",  and  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  he  was  that  member  of  the  family  who 
first  made  "  The  Glyn"  his  residence.  He  is  said  to 
have  married  Janet,  daughter  of  leuan,  son  of  Phillip 
Goch  of  Vaynor,  in  the  parish  of  Berriew,  the  repre- 
sentative of  an  ancient  line  long  there  established,  and 
accredited  with  a  descent,  through  Meilir  Grug  of 
Tregynon,  from  Brochwel,  Prince  of  Powys. 

Assuming  the  fact  of  this  marriage,  the  HeralcCs 
Visitation  of  Salop  enables  us  to  assign  an  approximate 
date  to  leuan's  settlement  at  "  The  Glyn".  We  are  told 
that  "  Howell  ap  leuan  Lloyd  de  Berewe",  ap  David  ap 
Phillip  Goch  of  Vaynor,  was  living  there  "  A'o  35  H. 
S",3  that  is,  in  1543  ;  so  we  may  date  leuan  Glynn's 
settlement  at  Glyn  Clywedog  about  the  close  of  the 

1  By  Mr.  T.  E.  Pryce,  in  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxii,  p.  257  et  seq. 

2  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  viii,  p.  198. 

3  Salop  Visitation,  A°  1623,  under  "Ireland  of  Adbrighton",  near 
Shrewsbury. 


SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  371 

reign  of  Henry  VII,  or  at  the  period  of  his  marriage 
with  Janet,  of  the  house  of  Vaynor.  "That  he  lived  to 
a  good  old  age  may  be  inferred  from  the  Herald,  Lewys 
Dwnn,  styling  him  "  Evan  Glyn  Hen".  The  succession 
at  The  Glyn  was  maintained  through  his  son  Meredydd, 
the  father  of  Jenkyn  Glyn,  to  the  son  of  the  latter, 
Maurice  ap  Jenkyn,  who  by  his  wife  Jane,  daughter  of 
Evan  Meredydd  ap  Evan  Lloyd  of  Carno,  was  the 
father  of 

EVAN  GLYNN  of  Glyn  Clywedog.  He  was  of  the  Com- 
mission of  the  Peace  in  the  16th  James  I,  1618,  and 
served  the  office  of  Chief  Steward  of  Arwystle  Iscoed 
to  his  kinsman,  Edward  Lloyd  of  Berthloyd,  in  1627, 
who  had  leased  that  manor  from  Sir  William  Owen. 
In  the  following  year,  1628,  he  was  appointed  sheriff  of 
the  county.  He  was  thrice  married  :  1st,  to  Catherine,1 
said  to  have  been  a  daughter  of  Edward  Fox  of  Lud- 
ford,  first  cousin  of  Sir  Edward  Fox  of  Gwernygoe, 
sheriff  in  1617;  2nd,  to  Jane,  daughter  of  Jenkyn  Lloyd 
of  Berthloyd  ;  and  3rd,  to  Susan,  either  sister  or 
daughter  of  David  Powell  of  Weston,  and  the  widow  of 
Adam  Price  of  Glanmeheli,  in  the  parish  of  Kerry, 
deputy  sheriff  to  his  father,  Edward  Price,  in  1614. 
Mr.  Glynn,  by  his  first  wife,  who  was  buried  at  Llanid- 
loes  in  1615,  had  a  son  and  successor  — 

EDWARD  GLYNN  of  Glyn  Clywedog,  the  earliest 
mention  of  whom  in  our  records  is  as  a  member  of  the 
grand  jury  in  the  13th  Charles  II,  1661.  He  married 
Mary,  daughter  and  heiress  of  "  Captain"  Evan  Lloyd 
of  Plas  Duon,  in  Carno,  sheriff  in  1649,  1668,  and  in 
the  former  year  Governor  of  Montgomery  Castle  for  the 
Commonwealth.  The  property  acquired  in  marriage 
with  this  lady  is  still  in  possession  of  the  Glyrm-Myttori 
family.  They  were  the  parents  of 

EVAN  GLYNN  of  Glyn,  the  sheriff  for  this  year.     He 

married  Mary,  daughter  of  George  Devereux  of  Vaynor, 

the  sheriff  in  1658.      He  and  his  father-in-law  were 

active  county  magistrates,  and  to  their  confusion,  it  ap- 

1  The  Salop  Visitation  of  1623  does  not  give  this  daughter. 


372  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

pears,  frequently  sat  in  judgment  on  such  troublesome 
and  unruly  subjects  as  Richard  Davies  the  Quaker  arid 
his  "Friends".  Of  the  two,  "Mr.  Justice  Devereux", 
as  related  in  the  Biography  of  Davies,  seems  to 
have  been  the  more  indulgent  and  tolerant  of  the 
Quaker  independence  of  the  day.  On  one  occasion,  it 
is  related,  when  "  Mr.  Justice  Glyrm"  had  deemed  it 
necessary  to  imprison  and  fine  some  of  the  more  demon- 
strative "  Friends"  for  breaches  of  the  existing  laws,  his 
father-in-law  "  gave  him  hard  language  for  so  doing". 
Such  differences  of  opinion  on  this,  if  not  on  other 
matters,  throw  some  light  on  and  serve  to  explain  the 
manifest  ill-feeling  displayed  by  "  Justice  Devereux's" 
limited  provision  in  his  will :  "To  Evan  Glynn,  my  son-in- 
law,  and  his  wife,  my  daughter  Mary,  Is.  each."1 

Evan  Glynn,  by  his  wife  Mary  Devereux,  had  a  son, 
Edward,  who  succeeded  him  at  "  The  Glyn",  and  a 
daughter,  Bridget.  She,  as  his  first  wife,  married  her 
first  cousin,  Arthur  Devereux  of  Nantcribba,  son  of 
Vaughan  Devereux  of  Munlyn,  second  son  of  George 
Devereux  of  Yaynor.  They  had  two  sons  and  a 
daughter — 

i.  Arthur  Devereux,  who  eventually  succeeded  to 
Nantcribba,  served  the  office  of  sheriff  in  1730,  and 
died  without  issue  in  1740. 

n.  Vaughan  Devereux  ;  died  in  1712,  aged  eight. 

in.  Mary  Devereux,  who  married  John  Meredith  of 
the  Hem,  Forden,  deputy  sheriff  in  1745.  Their  child- 
ren had  bequests  by  the  will  (1740)  of  their  uncle 
Arthur. 

According  to  the  Llanidloes  Register,  we  find  that 
"  Evan  Glyn  of  Glyn,  Armiger,  was  buried  April  27th, 
1703." 

His  son  Edward  succeeded  him  at  "  The  Glyn",  and 
having  been  sheriff  in  1736,  he  and  his  descendants 
will,  under  his  year  of  office,  receive  fuller  notice. 

1  See  his  will,  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxvii,  p.  210. 


SHKRIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 


373 


1676. — GKORGE   LLEWELYN. 

Deputy,  William  Pierce.1 


Or,  three  chevronels  gules. 

THE  Peniarth  list  of  Sheriffs  assigns  "Georgius  Llewelyn 
de  Salop,  Ar.",  to  the  office  in  1676,  and  the  Sheriffs' 
Assize  Rolls  are  attested  by  him  for  the  same  year. 
The  property  in  the  county  which  gave  him  his  qualifi- 
cation for  the  office  has  not  been  'traced,  owing  probably 
to  non-residence.  This  may  be  inferred  from  the 
absence  of  his  name  on  local  lists  of  public  officers. 
His  family  was  of  some  standing  in  the  parish  of 
St.  Chad,  Shrewsbury.  As  early  as  1626  we  find  his 
father,  Richard  Llewelyn,  serving  as  Mayor,  also  as 
filling  that  office  in  1637  ;  in  fact,  it  is  recorded,  on  a 
monument  or  gravestone  of  the  family  at  old  St.  Chad's 
Church,  that  "Richard  Llewelin  was  buried  in  1653 
at  the  age  of  78,  was  thrice  chife  magistrate  of  this 
Towne".  In  the  lists  of  appointments  to  office  in 
Shrewsbury,  accompanying  the  charter  of  King 
Charles  I  to  the  borough,  we  find  that  of  "  Richard 
Llewelin,  gent.",  as  one  of  the  twenty-four  Aldermen, 
and  that  of  his  son  Thomas  as  one  of  the  forty-eight 
"  Assistants". 

1  "  Will'us  Pierce,  gen."  (Peniarth  list). 


374  SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

His  son  George,  our  sheriff,  was  a  prosperous  and 
influential  member  of  the  Corporation,  and  of  the 
Drapers'  Company  of  Shrewsbury.  On  the  8th  July, 
16  Charles  II,  1664,  the  King  granted  a  new  charter 
to  the  Corporation,  wherein  "  George  Llewellin"  was 
confirmed  as  one  of  the  "Common  Council".  In  1681 
he  served  the  office  of  Mayor,  and  dying  the  next 
year,  was  then  described  as  "  Alderman".  From  the 
monumental  inscriptions1  above  referred  to,  we  gather 
that  his  son  Richard  (who  appears  to  have  left  a  son 
Richard)  was  buried  in  1729,  aged  70.  The  Eev. 
George  Llewelyn,  vicar  of  Condover,  Shropshire,  was 
not  improbably  another  son  of  the  sheriff. 

Dr.  Burney,  in  his  History  of  Music,2  gives  an 
amusing  account  of  George  Llewelyn,  the  musical 
vicar  of  Condover,  who  had  been  Page  of  the  Back- 
stairs to  Charles  II,  and  was  afterwards  patronised  by 
King  William,  who  sent  him  to  Oxford,  where  he 
imbibed  the  politics  of  the  place  at  that  time,  and  con- 
tracted an  intimacy  with  Mr.  Owen  of  Condover,  Corbet, 
Kynaston,  and  other  Shropshire  Jacobites.  He  retained, 
however,  the  Dutch  taste  in  gardening  of  his  royal 
patron,  and  had  a  figure  of  King  David,  cut  in  yew,  for 
which  he  was  said  to  have  refused  £1,000. 

The  writer  is  much  indebted  to  his  kind  friend  Miss 
Corrie  of  Dysserth,  Welshpool,  for  access  to  an  old  MS. 
account,  in  her  possession,  of  the  family  of  Jaundrell  of 
Church  Pulverbatch,  Salop,  written  about  the  year 
1778  by  her  grandfather,  Mr.  Philip  Jaundrell,  who 
with  much  additional  interest  supplements  Dr.  Burney's 
account  of  the  musical  vicar.  Mr.  Jaundrell  proceeds  : 


"  Our  next  rector  (of  Church  Pulverbatch)  was  George 
Llewellyn,  in  the  year  1705.  He  was  rector  of  Pulverbatch 
and  vicar  of  Condover.  He  was  godson  to  James  ye  2nd, 
when  Duke  of  Yorke.  He  was  a  page  of  the  back  stairs  when 
James  ye  3rd,  commonly  call'd  The  Pretender,  was  born,  and 


1  Owen  and  Blake  way,  History  of  Shrewsbury,  vol.  ii,  p.  241. 

2  Vol.  iii,  p.  495. 


SHERIFFS    OF   MONTGOMERYSHIRE.  375 

sayd  that  there  never  was  so  many  Nobles  at  the  Birth  of 
any  of  our  Princes  as  was  at  his.  All  this  I  had  from  his 
mouth,  which  I  believe  to  be  True.  He  was  a  very  good 
Phisition  for  all  Disorders  in  this  Parrish.  All  went  to  him 
for  Advice  ;  if  Poor,  he  gave  them  Medicines  to  Heal  their  sick- 
ness, and  if  Rich,  he  prescribed  for  them.  He  made  all  sorts 
of  wine,  which  he  gave  to  the  Poor.  He  had  all  sorts  of  Instru- 
ments of  Music,  which  he  could  play  on  as  being  a  Master. 
He  had  a  garden  with  Yew  and  variegated  Holleys  cut  on  all 
manner  of  formes,  I  suppose  not  the  like  in  this  Kingdom, 
with  all  manner  of  Herbs  and  Plants  for  the  Servis  of  Men. 
He  gave  me  flowers  of  all  sorts,  and  some  of  the  Yew  trees 
before  this  house  was  out  of  his  garden  in  the  year  1715. 
When  George  the  1st  came  to  the  Crown,  he  would  not  take 
the  oath  then  offered  to  the  clergye.  He  kept  out  of  the  way 
at  the  Red  Castle  (Powis  Castle)  and  other  places.  There  was 
on  the  Lord's  Day  a  Troop  of  Horse  sent  to  Condover,  and 
surrounded  the  Church  in  order  to  take  him,  but  having  some 
Information  of  their  design,  they  were  disappointed,  for  my 
Grandfather  Bayley  served  that  day.  He  afterwards  was 
persuaded  to  take  the  oathes,  but  at  Justice's  Meetings  he'd 
make  no  more  of  a  Justice  than  I'd  make  of  a  Jack  ass,  but 
call  them  George's  Justices,  and  said  They  Stunk  on  ye  face  of 
ye  earth. 

"He  gott  Coole  (coal)  in  the  Glebe  Land  till  the  Death  of 
Mr.  Willm.  Owen.  At  his  death  there  was  sixty-nine  pound  a 
year  fell  to  the  Church  of  Condover,  which  was  paid  by  the 
Berringtons  of  Moats  Hall,  which  caused  a  dispute  between 
the  Rector  and  Mrs.  Barmeston,  as  shee  had  a  mind  to  have  it 
from  the  Church.  Upon  this  the  Coal  was  stopt  getting ;  at 
length  it  was  Referr'd  to  Corbet  Kynaston,  Esq.,  and  Addarn 
Ottley,  Esq.,  this  present  Mr.  Ottley's  father,  and  they  gave  it 
to  the  Church.  Mr.  Llewellyn  was  111  at  the  time.  Whether 
he  lived  to  receave  any  part  of  it  I  know  not ;  this  sixty-nine 
pounds  p'r  year  was  given  to  Prebend  Barmeston ;  he  has  it  at 
this  time. 

"  Mr.  Llewellyn  was  God  father  to  my  first  child,  a  daughter, 
now  Anne  Weeks.  He  had  a  sister,  her  name  was  Cross,  a 
fine  old  Lady,  as  wite  as  snow ;  and  a  neece,  her  daughter,  a 
widdow  ;  her  name  was  Hannington.  They  was  both  with  him 
some  time  before  he  died.1  He  was  not  careful  about  leaving 
much  moneys  behind  him  for  his  funeral,  for  he  has  often  said, 
if  they  woo'd  not  Bury  him  that  he'd  stink.  All  though  there 

1  He  died  in  1739. 


376  SHERIFFS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 

was  to  spare,  but  it  shoo'd  how  Little  he  esteemd  moneys. 
He  had  a  great  many  valuable  Pictures.  He  left  me  his 
Picture,  a  much  better  than  the  Old  Lady  sent  me,  which  is  in 
the  Parlor.  He  often  told  me  that  1  should  have  anything  I 
desired.  I  said  that  if  heM  Please  to  leave  me  his  Picture  was 
as  much  as  I  desired.  He  was  upwards  of  Eighty  when  he 
died,  when  his  own  hare  was  as  Wite  as  Sno. 

"  Our  next  Hector  was  John  Eyton,  A.M. ;  he  was  Rector  of 
Pulverbatch  and  Vicker  of  Condover ;  he  was  a  near  relation  of 
the  Owens.  Before  what  the  Lady  tooke  Condover  of  him  I 
never  could  lern  and  gave  it  to  Mr.  Barmeston.  Mr.  Eyton 
was  at  Condover  some  time  and  Borded  at  Mr.  Kelvert's  the 
steward's.  He  was  inducted  into  the  Church  and  Rectory 
of  the  Parrish  of  Church  Pulverbatch,  with  all  the  Profits,  etc., 
by  Mr.  Evan  Evans,  Minister  of  Longdon  and  Curate  of  Pulver- 
batch, October  ye  18th,  1739." 

Our  sheriff,  as  George  Llewelyn,  "Alderman",  was 
buried  at  old  St.  Chad's  Church,  Shrewsbury,  in  1682. 


377 


NEWCASTLE    PAPERS. 


CORRESPONDENCE  between  Henry  Arthur  Herbert,  first 
Earl  of  Powis,  and  Thomas  Pelham  Holies,  created 
2nd  of  August,  2  George  I,  1715,  Marquis  of  Clare 
and  Duke  of  Newcastle.  The  latter  died  in  1768. 
It  commences  in  January  1745,  and  closes  in  Decem- 
ber 1752. 

(Add.  MSS.  32,704,  folio  337.) 

George  Street,  near  Hanover  Square, 
June  4th,  1745. 

MY  LORD, — I  mention'd  to  your  Grace  lately  an  Applica- 
tion made  to  me  by  the  Duke  of  Powis;  and  as  it  slipt  out  of 
your  Memory  before  your  Grace  left  London,  I  beg  leave  to 
remind  you,  and  to  explain  it  again. 

About  two  years  ago  your  Grace  applied  to  the  French 
Ministry,  in  behalf  of  Lady  Mary  Herbert2  (the  Duke  of 
Powis's  Daughter),  for  an  Arret  de  Surceance,  to  enable  her  to 
return  from  Spain  to  Paris,  and  settle  her  Affairs.  This  was 
granted  soon  after,  and  Mr.  Bussy,  who  about  that  time  was  in 
England,  and  was  charg'd  with  the  Business  of  that  Court 
here,  had  the  Management  of  it.  Now,  what  the  Duke  of 
Powis  desires  is  "  that  your  Grace  will  be  so  good  as  to  write 


1  Transcribed  by  Agnes,  daughter  of  the  late  E.  Rowley  Morris, 
Esq.,  F.S.A.,  from  Add.  MSS.  32,704,  fo.  337  et  seq.,  in  the  British 
Museum  Library.     The  notes  are  by  the  Editor. 

2  She  was  the  eldest  daughter  of  William,  fourth  Lord   Powis  of 
Powis  Castle,  second  Duke,  Marquis  and  Earl  of  Powis,  who  is  alluded 
to  above  as  "  the  old  gentleman",  and  who  died  this  year.     She  mar- 
ried Count  Joseph  Gage,  the  younger  brother  of  Thomas,  first  Lord 
Gage,  who  acquired  an  immense  fortune  by  the  Mississippi  scheme ; 
but  lost  all  when  that  bubble  burst.     Lady  Mary  was  engaged  in  the 
same  adventure;  aimed  at  being  royal  consort  of  James  III,  "the 
Pretender";   failed  in  her  plans  ;   and  retired  to  Spain  in  search  of 
the  gold  in  the  mines  of  Asturias.     (Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  v,  p.  387.) 

VOL.  XXVll.  C  C 


378  NEWCASTLE    PAPERS. 

and  send  to  me  a  Letter  of  Compliment  for  Mr.  Bussy,  express- 
ing your  Satisfaction  and  Thanks  for  what  has  been  done." 

This,  I  am  sensible,  is  an  odd  Kequest.  But  as  it  will 
please  the  old  Gentleman,  who  undoubtedly  means  to  let  Mr. 
Bussy  and  others  know  from  them  how  kindly  your  Grace 
honours  him  with  your  Friendship  and  Protection,  and  has  the 
Welfare  of  his  Family  at  heart,  your  Grace  was  very  good  to 
comply  with  it,  and  give  me  an  Opportunity  of  obliging  him. 
As  the  Duke  talks  of  going  into  the  Country,  I  should  be  very 
thankfull  if  at  your  Leisure  the  Letter  cou'd  be  transmitted  to 
me,  who  am  always,  with  Sincerity  and  Eegard,  entirely, 

My  Lord, 
Your  Grace's  most  faithfull  humble  Servant, 

HERBERT.1 


(Add.  MSS.  32,704,  folio  445.) 

Monday  Afternoon,  July  1st,  1745. 

MY  DEAR  LORD, — By  Letters  which  I  have  this  moment 
received,  I  understand  that  Mr.  Whittle,  Eector  of  Mont- 
gomery, was  so  dangerously  ill,  that  by  this  time  he  is  dead 
probably.  As  it  is  in  the  Gift  of  the  Crown,  I  beg  your 
Grace's  Interposition  in  favour  of  Mr.  Edward  Whittle,  whom 
I  will  be  answerable  for  in  every  respect.  Your  Grace  will 
remember  that  Montgomery  is  one  of  my  Boroughs,  and  thafc 
fixing  a  Friend  there  is  of  consequence  to  me.  I  shall  go  out 
of  Town  to-morrow  to  Tunbridge,  and  propose  to  wait  on 
your  Grace  in  the  Morning,  and  therefore  beg  you  will  see  me, 
as  soon  as  you  can  conveniently,  when  I  call  on  your  Grace. 
I  am,  with  great  truth  and  Esteem, 

My  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 

HERBERT. 

Your  Grace  shall  have  further  Notice  when  I  hear  that  the 
Man  is  actually  dead.  If  this  meets  with  your  Grace  at  home, 


1  Henry  Arthur  Herbert,  son  of  Francis  Herbert  of  Dolguog, 
Montgomeryshire,  and  of  Oakley  Park,  Salop,  was  created,  21st 
December  1743,  Lord  Herbert  of  Chirbury.  William  Herbert,  third 
Duke  of  Powis,  dying  in  1748,  and  leaying  him  his  whole  estate, 
King  George  II  further  advanced  him  to  the  dignity  of  Baron  Powis, 
Viscount  Ludlow,  and  Earl  of  Powis,  by  letters  patent  bearing  date 
27th  May  1748. 


NEWCASTLE    PAPEK8.  379 

and   I   am   favour'd   with   your  Answer  to-night,  I  shall  not 
trouble  your  Grace  with  iny  Company  in  the  Morning. 


(Add.  MSS.  32,704,  folio  447.) 

Monday  Night. 

MY  DEAR  LORD, — When  I  wrote  to  your  Grace  this  After- 
noon, I  apprehended  the  Living  of  Montgomery  in  Wales  to 
be  in  the  Gift  of  the  Crown,  and  not  of  the  Chancellor ;  but, 
upon  seeing  his  Lordship  since,  he  tells  me  it  is  in  his  Dis- 
posal. In  that  case  I  am  very  easy  about  the  Event.  Should 
it  afterwards  prove  otherwise,  I  must  depend  on  your  Grace's 
Friendship  in  my  Absence,  for  I  go  to  Tunbridge  to-morrow 
morning,  and  find  that  your  Grace  is  not  expected  in  Town 
soon  enough  for  me  to  wait  on  your  Grace  in  the  Morning. 
I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  the  greatest  sincerity, 

My  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 

HERBERT. 


(Add.  MSS.  32,705,  folio  39.) 

George  St.,  Aug.  13th,  1745. 

MY  LORD, — By  the  enclos'd  your  Grace  will  find  that,  as 
Mr.  Morris's  business  now  stands,  the  next  Step  to  be  taken, 
in  order  to  get  it  dispatch'd,  is  to  obtain  the  favour  of  your 
Grace's  letter  to  Mr.  Pelham,  which,  as  you  were  pleased  so 
frankly  to  give  me  leave,  I  trouble  your  Grace  with  an  appli- 
cation for. 

I  shall  be  thankfull  for  your  goodness,  and  have  the  honour 
to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect, 

My  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 
HERBERT. 

I  have  so  violent  an  inflamation  in  my  Eyes,  that  I  am  forc'd 
to  employ  an  other  hand  to  write  for  me. 


(Add.  MSS.  32,707,  folio  15.) 

Bath,  April  5th,  1746. 

MY  LORD, — As  there  are  Accounts  here  of  the  Death  of  the 
Bishop   of  Hereford,   and   great  Part  of  the  Diocese  lies  in 

c  c  2 


380  NEWCASTLE    PAPERS. 

Shropshire,  your  Grace  may  well  imagine  I  am  not  a  little 
interested  in  the  Choice  of  a  Successor.  I  take,  therefore,  the 
opportunity  of  reminding  you  of  your  Relation,  Dean  Cresset,1 
assuring  your  Grace  that  his  Promotion  to  that  See  will  give 
great  Pleasure  to  the  Friends  of  the  Government,  and  to  none 
more  particularly  than  to  me,  who  have  formerly  recom- 
mended him  to  your  Favour ;  and  am,  with  great  truth  and 
respect, 

My  dear  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 

HERBERT. 


(Add.  MSS.  32,707,  folio  55.) 

MY  DEAR  LORD, — The  Living  of  Kington  in  Herefordshire 
was  vacant  at  the  time  the  Bishop  of  Hereford  died.  Under 
that  circumstance  (and  as  it  is  rated  above  20lb  pound  in  the 
King's  Books),  the  Presentation  is  to  the  Crown.  It 

has  me  ;  and  therefore  I  beg  your  Grace  will  take  my 

Recommendation.  At  present  I  am  not  determined  on  the  Man, 
but  a  good  Man  you  may  depend  upon  from  me,  which,  when 
I  have  the  Honour  of  your  Grace's  Answer,  I  will  soon  name. 
I  am  always,  very  truly, 

My  dear  Lord, 
Your  Grace's  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 

HERBERT. 
Bath,  April  14th,  1746. 

(Add.  MSS.  32,710,  folio  412.) 

April  6th,  1747.    George  Street. 

MY  LORD, — Excuse  me  for  troubling  your  Grace  with  the 
enclos'd  Petition,  and  desiring  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  give 


1  The  Rev.  Edward  Cresset  was  the  son  of  Edward  Cresset  of  Upton 
Cresset  and  Counde,  Salop,  sheriff  of  Salop  in  1702.  He  married 
Frances,  daughter  of  Thomas  Pelham  of  Colthsfield,  in  Sussex,  and 
by  the  interest  of  his  wife's  relation,  Thomas  Pelham  Holies,  Duke  of 
Newcastle,  rose  to  be  Dean  of  Hereford  and  Bishop  of  Llandaff.  His 
only  daughter  Elizabeth,  dying  in  1792,  was  succeeded  in  her  estates 
by  her  kinsman,  Henry  Pelham  of  Crowhurst,  in  Sussex,  who  there- 
upon prefixed  the  name  of  Cressett  to  his  paternal  one,  and  was  father 
of  John  Cressett  Pelham,  in  1820,  lord  of  the  manor  of  Counde  and 
Upton  Cressett. 


NEWCASTLE    PAPERS.  381 

me  a  Letter  of  Recommendation  of  Will.  Davies  to  Mr.  Tre- 
lawny,  to  be  appointed  an  Ensign  in  the  Regiment  he  has  in 
Jamaica;  and  as  a  Means  of  enabling  the  former  to  go  over 
thither,  and  subsisting  till  he  shall  be  provided  for,  your  Grace 
will  likewise  recommend  him  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  to  be 
made  Steward  of  one  of  the  large  Ships  of  War  that  are  soon 
to  sail,  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Warren,  to  the  West 
Indies. 

Your  Grace,  I  arn  persuaded,  will  pardon  me  for  pressing 
this  affair  with  some  Earnestness,  on  account  of  the  Regard 
I  have  for  his  Family ;  when  I  tell  you  that  by  their  Loyalty 
and  attachment  to  the  present  Government  (in  which  I  can 
assure  your  Grace  they  distinguished  themselves  during  the 
late  Rebellion),  by  the  zeal  they  have  always  shown  on  other 
occasions  for  his  Majesty's  Service  in  supporting  the  Friends 
of  the  Administration,  and  by  their  Credit  and  Behaviour  in 
private  Life,  as  well  as  by  their  public  Conduct,  I  think  myself 
very  well  warranted  to  set  their  Merits  in  the  light  they  now 
stand  before  your  Grace,  that  they  may  have  their  due  Weight 
towards  engaging  your  attention  to  my  present  application. 

I  have  the  Honour  to  be,  with  great  Esteem  and  Respect, 

My  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 

HERBERT. 

I  am  inform'd  that  the  Elizabeth  will  sail  in  a  few  days  for 
Jamaica.  If  it  be  so,  and  Will.  Davies  could  have  in  that 
Ship  the  same  Station  I  have  before  mentioned,  and  might 
carry  with  him  your  Grace's  Recommendation  to  the  Governor 
for  the  Commission,  it  will  give  the  same  Satisfaction  as  if  he 
was  to  go  with  the  Squadron  under  Admiral  Warren.1 


(Add.  MSS.  32,714,  folio  442.) 

MY  DEAR  LORD, — Don't  imagine  I  am  under  any  apprehen- 
sion that  by  what  your  Grace  mention'd  Yesterday  you  were 
throwing  difficulties  on  the  Affair  we  were  talking  of.  But 
yet,  in  order  to  set  it  as  clear  from  Objection  as  I  can,  let  me, 
upon  Reflection,  remind  your  Grace  that  Earl  Fitz-William,  in 
a  very  short  time  after  he  was  made  an  English  Baron,  was 

1  Vice-Admiral  Sir  Peter  Warren,  K.C.B.,  and  M.P.  for  West- 
minster. He  died  in  1752,  and  his  monument,  executed  by  Rou- 
billac,  is  in  Westminster  Abbey. 


382  NEWCASTLE    PAPERS. 

made  an  Earl  •  and  it  was  not  done  upon  Occasion  of  any 
particular  Event  or  Purpose,  but  to  comply  with  his  Request. 
And  as  to  your  own  Case,  as  your  Grace  was  first  made  Earl  of 
Clare,  the  Dukedom  was  then  the  Object  you  had  in  view  to 
obtain  afterwards.  Mine  is  only  the  Marquisate  of  Powis. 
As  the  late  Marquis  of  Powis,1  by  giving  me  his  Estate,  has 
done  so  much  for  a  Protestant  Family,  I  shouM  be  very  sorry 
to  find  that  his  Majesty,  with  the  Interposition  of  my  Friends, 
shou'd  not  be  prevail'd  upon  to  honour  me  with  his  Approba- 
tion of  it  by  granting  me  his  Titles.  I  am  very  truly  and  very 
sincerely,  and  relying  on  your  Grace's  favour, 

My  dear  Lord, 
Your  Grace's  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 

HERBERT. 
Thursday  Morn. 

Let  me  add  further,  that  my  Disappointment  in  the  point 
above  mentioned  would  make  a  very  unfavourable  Impression 
upon  the  Minds  of  those  in  the  Country  that  are  the  Friends, 
and  have  expressed  very  greatly  their  Joy  and  Satisfaction 
with  my  good  Fortune ;  to  which  they  hope  for  the  addition  of 
the  Title. 

(Add.  MSS.  32,714,  folio  542.) 

MY  DEAR  LORD, — I  take  this  opportunity  of  congratulating 
your  Grace  on  the  good  News  you  have  received  that  the 
Preliminaries  for  a  general  Peace2  are  sign'd.  This  is  an 
Event  of  so  much  consequence  to  Great  Britain  in  particular, 
that  fche  Ministry  are  not  only  highly  to  be  commended  for  it, 
but  by  their  Friends  will  with  great  zeal  be  supported  hi  it. 
If  your  Grace  will  be  at  leisure  on  Friday  Morning,  I  will  be 
glad  to  wait  on  you ;  and  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  great 
Esteem  and  Truth, 

My  Lord, 
Your  Grace's  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 

TTT   T       j  HERBERT. 

W  ednesday. 

1  William  Herbert,  third  Marquis  and  Duke  of  Powis,  died  8th 
March  1748,  which  gives  the  approximate  date  of  the  above  letter. 
Failing  to  obtain  the  Marquisate,  Henry  Lord  Herbert  of  Chirbury 
had  to  content  himself  with  the  Earldom  of  Powis,  to  which  he  was 
raised  in  the  following  May. 

2  Of  Aix  la  Chapelle  (1748)  :  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession.     By 
this  peace  the  "  Pragmatic  Sanction"  was  guaranteed. 


NEWCASTLE    PAPERS.  383 

(Add.  MSS.  32,715,  folio  174.) 

MY  DEAR  LORD, — Upon  Enquiry  into  the  Grounds  of  several 
Complaints  of  a  very  important  Nature  against  the  Governor 
of  North  Carolina,  I  understand  that  the  Duke  of  Bedford  has 
deteruiin'd  to  get  Mr.  George  Whitmore1  (whom  your  Grace 
was  so  good  to  recommend  to  him  at  my  request)  appointed 
Governor  of  that  Province  as  soon  as  possible ;  and  therefore 
I  trouble  you  with  this  letter  to  beg,  as  the  first  Step  that  is 
to  be  taken  is  to  obtain  the  Notification,  that  this  may  be  done 
when  your  Grace  arrives  at  Hanover,  and  sent  here  as  soon  as 
it  shall  suit  your  convenience;  and  I  believe  the  sooner  it 
comes  the  more  agreeable  it  will  be  to  the  Inhabitants  of  that 
Place,  as  well  as  to  my  Countryman,  Mr.  Whitmore.  I  heartily 
wish  your  Grace  a  good  Voyage,  and  everything  you  wish 
yourself;  and  am,  with  great  truth  and  respect, 

My  Lord, 
Your  Grace's  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 

Powis.2 
June  7th,  1748. 


(Add.  MSS.  32,715,  folio  200.) 

MY  DEAR  LORD, — Upon  a  former  occasion  1  found  that  your 
Grace  had  Coll.  Hopson' s  Service  so  much  at  heart,  I  cannot 
forbear  acquainting  you  with  the  Death  of  General  Fuller,  to 
whose  Regiment  Hopson  is  Lieut.-Collonel,  and  in  whose  Place 
I  hope  he  will,  with  your  Grace's  assistance,  be  appointed,  for 
that  Regiment  is  now  on  Duty  at  Lewisburgh,  and  is  (with 
three  others)  under  the  Command  of  Hopson,  who  is  Governor 
of  that  Fortress,  and  as  good  an  Officer  as  any  of  his  Rank  in 
the  whole  Army,  and  as  worthy  a  Man  as  the  World  can  boast 
of.  Under  these  circumstances,  will  it  not  be  a  great  Hard- 
ship if  any  other  Officer  whatever  shou'd  have  the  Preference  ? 
And  the  case  of  the  late  General  Cornwallis,  when  he  got 
Coll.  Hayes's  Regiment  in  the  West  Indies,  is  a  Case  in  Point 
in  favour  of  Hopson.  Mr.  Pelham  will  write  to  your  Grace  by 
this  post,  and  wishes  strongly  for  him.  If  your  Grace  will  use 
your  Endeavours  to  support  his  Pretensions,  you  will  do 


1  Probably  of  the  Apley  family. 

2  The  Lord  Herbert  of  Chirbury  had  been  advanced  to  the  Earldom 
of  Powis  the  previous  May. 


384  NEWCASTLE   PAPERS. 

a  very  kind  and  right  thing  to  a  Person  of  great  Merit,  and 
a  Favour  that  will  be  thankfully  acknowledg'd  by 

My  dear  Lord, 
Your  Grace's  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 

June  14th,  1748.  PowIS' 

Should  Hopson  meet  with  any  difficulty  in  this  affair,  it  will 
be  the  more  unfortunate,  as  he  must  soon,  upon  the  conclusion 
of  the  Peace,  lose  the  Government  of  Lewisburgh.1 


(Add.  MSS.  32,717,  folio  369.) 

MY  LOED, — In  obedience  to  your  Grace's  Commands,  I  have 
seen  Mr.  Pelham,  and  found  him  in  the  Disposition  I  wish'd 
with  regard  to  Dean  Cresset.  As  the  affair  of  his  preferment 
has  been  very  long  depending,  and  now  stands  on  such  a  foot- 
ing that  if,  upon  the  present  vacancy  at  Landaff,  he  has  not 
success  he  will  have  no  room  to  expect  it  hereafter,  I  must 
rest  the  Point  upon  your  Grace's  persisting  to  give  us  your 
Assistance,  and  hope  I  shall  not  ask  it  in  vain,  who  am, 

My  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 

POWIS. 


(Add.  MSS.  32,717,  folio  379.) 

MY  LOED, — Your  Grace  was  pleas'd  on  Monday  last  to  ask 
very  particularly  my  opinion  of  Dean  Cresset.  I  gave  it 
clearly,  that  "He  will  act  rightly  in  all  respects."  As  the 
affair  of  his  Promotion  is  now  far  advanc'd,  I  think  it  ex- 
tremely proper  that  your  Grace  shou'd  be  thoroughly  satisfy'd, 
and  therefore  beg  your  Grace  will  discourse  Matters  over  with 
him,  which  you  will  have  frequent  opportunities  of  doing 
while  I  am  out  of  Town.  Your  Grace  will  then  be  fully 
enabled  to  form  a  Judgement  of  him  yourself.  Give  me 
leave,  for  my  own  Justification  at  all  events,  to  press  this 
Point  very  strongly.  But,  in  the  meantime,  believe  me,  that 
I  don't  appear  to  your  Grace  as  a  Patron,  or  advocate  for  any 
Man  that  I  don't  apprehend  to  be  fix'd  in  his  Principals  and 

1  Louisburg,  capital  of  the  island  of  Cape  Breton,  North  America, 
recently  captured  from  the  French. 


NEWCASTLE    PAPERS.  385 

Attachments.  I  was  thinking  over  this  affair  as  I  travell'd 
this  day.  I  cou'd  not  forbear  giving  your  Grace  the  trouble  of 
this  Letter,  which  I  hope  at  my  return  I  shall  find  that  your 
Grace  has  pursued  the  Contents  of,  and  done  it  to  your 
Satisfaction.  I  have  the  Honour  to  be,  with  great  truth  and 
respect, 

My  Lord, 
Your  Grace's  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 

POWTS. 
Chipping  Norton,  Decemb.  2nd,  1748. 


(Add.  MSS.  32,717,  folio  572.) 

Lord  Herbert  desires  that  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  and 
Mr.  Pelham  will  think  of  Dean  Cresset  for  Bishoprick  of 
Landaff. 


(Add.  MSS.  32,718,  folio  261.) 

MY  DEAE  LORD, — My  Intention  is  to  go  out  of  Town  to- 
morrow, but,  as  I  shall  only  go  to  Tunbridge,  I  think  proper, 
lest  it  shou'd  be  imagin'd  that  I  am  going  into  the  Country 
for  the  Summer,  to  acquaint  your  Grace  that  I  shall  return  on 
Wednesday  Night,  and  wait  your  Commands,  finding  that 
your  Grace  will  set  out  for  Cambridge  on  Friday,  and  recol- 
lecting that  you  were  pleased  to  tell  me  that  your  Endeavours 
shall  be  us'd  to  finish  my  affair  before  your  Grace  begins  that 
Journey. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  great  respect,  and  with 
confidence  in  your  friendship, 

My  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  most  faith  full  humble  Servant, 

Powis. 

Sunday,  June  25th,  1749. 


(Add.  MSS.  32;727,  folio  341.) 

MY  LOED, — About  fifteen  months  ago  I  had  the  Honour  to 
deliver  to  your  Grace  a  Memorandum  relating  to  John  Wynter, 
whose  Family  I  have  a  great  Regard  for.  The  Intent  of  it  was 
to  get  him  appointed  a  Scholar  at  the  Charter  House.  Your 
Grace  was  pleas'd  to  say  it  shou'd  be  done,  whenever  it  shall 
be  his  Majesty's  turn  to  nominate,  and  directed  me  to  leave 


386  NEWCASTLE    PAPERS. 

the  Paper  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Jones  at  Newcastle-House.  I 
obey'd  your  Grace's  Commands,  and,  understanding  it  is  now  his 
Majesty's  turn  to  name  a  Scholar,  take  the  liberty  of  reminding 
you  of  it.  It  may  seem  but  a  trivial  Matter  to  make  the  Subject 
of  a  letter  at  this  distance ;  but  be  so  good  as  to  pardon  me  for 
making  it  so.  It  is  a  Point  of  consequence  to  the  Young  Man's 
Family.  Let  me  beg,  therefore,  that  your  Grace  will  take  it 
into  Consideration,  and  give  proper  Instructions  concerning  it, 
as  the  Time  for  the  Nomination  now  draws  near. 

Your  Grace  has  always  my  best  wishes ;  and  will  readily 
believe  me  when  I  assure  you  how  much  I  have  the  Honour 
to  be, 

My  dear  Lord, 
Your  Grace's  most  faithfull  humble  Servant, 

June  3rd,  1752,  London.  PowIS< 


(Add.  MSS.  32,730,  folio  122.) 

MY  LORD, — In  so  friendly  a  manner  your  Grace  laid  your 
Commands  upon  me  a  few  days  before  you  left  England, 
"  That  I  shou'd  apply  to  your  Grace  in  Case  of  any  Event  in 
which  you  cou'd  serve  me,"  I  do  it  now  with  more  pleasure, 
and  with  more  assurance  of  your  Grace's  kind  Attention.  My 
business  is  to  acquaint  you  with  the  Death  of  Sr.  Thomas 
Reade,  and  with  my  earnest  desire  that  my  Brother1  may 
succeed  him  in  the  Post  of  Clerk  of  the  Board  of  Green  Cloth. 
This  letter  had  come  sooner  had  I  not  in  the  Country  been 
confin'd  to  my  Bed  by  a  Feaver.  At  present,  not  being  so  far 
advanced  in  my  recovery  as  to  write  myself,  I  am  forc'd  'to 
employ  (for  want  of  other  assistance)  Lady  Powis2  to  be  my 
Secretary.  As  for  my  Brother,  he  is  perfectly  well,  and 
capable  of  discharging  the  Duty  of  the  Employment  above 
mentioned,  or  any  other.  I  begin  with  this  Assertion,  because 
Reports  without  any  just  foundation  have  prevail'd  to  the 

1  On  the  16th  October  1749,  the  King  conferred  on  Lord  Powis 
the  dignity  of  a  barony  of  Great  Britain,  under  the  title  of  Baron 
Herbert  of  Chirburyand  Ludlow,  to  him  and  his  heirs,  with  remainder 
to  his  brother,  "Richard  Herbert,  Esquire",  etc. 

2  Lord  Powis  married,  30th  March  1751,  Barbara,  sole  daughter 
and  heir  of  Lord  Edward  Herbert,  only  brother  of  William,  third  and 
last  Duke  and  Marquis  of  Powis,  by  his  wife  Lady  Henrietta,  only 
daughter  of  James  Earl  of  Waldegrave. 


NEWCASTLE    PAPERS.  387 

contrary.  To  the  effect  of  those  reports  I  sent  for  him  to 
Town  last  Year.  He  was  at  Kensington  when  the  Court  was 
there,  and  was  seen  by  his  Majesty.  It  is  true  he  has  of  late 
liv'd  in  some  Retirement;  his  case,  after  his  unhappy  dispute 
with  Lord  B.  and  the  advice  of  Those  who  attended  his  Cure, 
requiring  him  to  do  so.  Since  his  Recovery,  it  has  not  been 
his  Choice  alone  that  induc'd  him  to  persist  in  it,  but  some 
Concern  he  felt  for  his  disapointment  of  some  provision  thro' 
my  Interposition,  having  now  waited  for  it  ten  Years  compleat, 
upon  Encouragement  so  long  given  to  me  to  be  persuaded 
that  some  wou'd  be  made  for  him.  Yet  his  disapointment  he 
attributes  to  me  only,  imagining  rather  that  I  am  Indolent 
than  others  unwilling  to  do  him  some  Favour.  While  the 
Spirit  of  Opposition  was  carried  on  in  Parliament  against  the 
Measures  of  the  Administration,  I  easyly  acquiessed,  when 
Vacancys  happen'd,  to  the  promotion  of  several  persons,  upon 
this  single  Consideration  (viz.),  That  my  Friends  in  the  Minis- 
try* by  securing  them,  might  establish  their  own  Power,  in 
full  confidence  that  my  Brother  wou'd  afterwards  (as  conveni- 
ence should  offer)  be  thought  of  in  his  turn. 

At  this  juncture,  therefore,  observing  Those  who  have  had 
my  Hart  and  Good  Wishes  to  have  established  their  Power 
and  to  be  at  their  Ease  (in  regard  to  any  Opposition  in 
Parliament),  I  flatter  myself  that  as  they  don't  want  to  make 
new  Friends,  They  will  judge  this  to  be  a  proper  Season  to 
regard  their  old  Friends.  Under  this  Circumstance,  permit 
me  at  the  same  time  only  to  remind  you  of  the  ill  success 
that  attended  a  certain  Point  which  your  Grace,  on  my  behalf, 
was  pleas'd  to  charge  yourself  with  the  conduct  of,  and  the 
uneasyness  I  felt  from  its  miscarriage.  As  that  ill  success 
most  certainly  arose  from  a  Step  which  your  Grace  took  (give 
me  leave  to  say)  inadvertently,  let  me  hope  and  desire  that 
this  very  reflection  will  give  an  Edge  to  your  Grace's  zeal  and 
to  your  friendship  upon  this  Occasion  in  support  of  this 
Application  for  the  Service  of  my  Brother. 

I  have  the  Honour  to  be,  with  great  Respect  and  truth, 

My  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  most  faithfull  humble  Servant, 

Powis. 

Darsham,  near  Saxmundham,  in  Suffolk, 
October  17th,  1752. 


388  NEWCASTLE    PAPERS. 


(Add.  MSS.  32,730,  folio  409.) 

MY  DEAR  LORD, — It  was  no  small  Pleasure  to  me,  when 
I  consulted  your  Grace  lately  on  the  subject  of  my  Intention 
of  waiting  on  his  Majesty,  to  find  it  had  clearly  the  Honour  of 
your  Grace's  Approbation ;  and  it  was  likewise  a  pleasure 
(that  my  setting  out  immediately  with  my  Family  to  this  Place, 
for  the  Recovery  of  rny  Health,  prevented  me  from  mention- 
ing sooner)  to  discover,  when  I  had  the  Audience  of  his 
Majesty  last  week,  and  had  explain'd  the  occasion  of  it,  that 
the  Ends  I  proposed  by  it  were  fully  answered,  his  Majesty 
having  been  so  gracious  as  to  give  me  full  liberty  to  make  an 
Application,  as  Events  may  offer  to  induce  me  to  do  so  ;  and 
whenever  I  shall  do  it,  as  I  am  so  happy  as  to  have  had  assurances 
of  your  Grace's  Support,  I  am  in  no  Pain  for  my  success.  It  must 
now  be  some  time  before  I  can  return  to  London.  At  the 
distance  I  am  from  them  (as  things  unforeseen  may  happen 
during  that  interval,  and  I  may  be  under  some  disadvantage 
by  not  knowing  them  soon  enough),  let  me  rely  upon  your 
Grace's  Goodness  and  Friendship  entirely  for  keeping  me  in 
your  thoughts.  To  them  I  would  rather  attribute  the  obtain- 
ing of  whatever  I  may  ask  for  than  to  any  other  circum- 
stances that  might  have  weight  enough  to  be  worth  mention- 
ing for  my  Service.  You  see  my  Confidence.  I  will  rest  the 
Point  there,  as  your  Grace  has  long  had  experience  of  the 
Devotion  and  Attachment  with  which  I  have  had  the  Honour 
to  be, 

My  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  most  faithfull  humble  Servant, 

Powis. 

Bath,  Decemb.  18th,  1752. 


(Add.  MSS.  32,730,  folio  430.) 

MY  LORD, — I  had  the  Honour  to  write  to  your  Grace  last 
night  by  the  Post,  acquainting  you  that  my  business  at 
St.  James's  t'other  day  ended  very  well,  and  \vas  properly 
explain'd,  agreeable  to  your  Grace's  Opinion  as  well  as  mine. 
When  I  wrote  I  did  not  apprehend  an  Event  of  Consequence 
to  be  so  near  at  hand  to  induce  me  to  give  your  Grace  this 
trouble  to-day ;  but  certain  accounts  there  are  here  now  that 
S'r  William  Yonge  is  dead  or  dying.  He  has  some  time  been 
Vice-Treasurer  of  Ireland.  Let  me  beg  your  Grace's  Assist- 


NEWCASTLE   PAPERS.  389 

ance  to  obtain  that  Employment  for  me.1  Give  me  leave  to 
say,  I  will  rely  upon  it,  not  doubting  from  your  Grace's 
Goodness  and  Friendship  only,  but  from  your  knowledge  of 
Affairs  on  my  Part,  Circumstances  will  occur  that  may  serve  to 
engage  your  Grace's  Attention  and  Support  at  such  a  Junc- 
ture as  is  now  before  us.  Your  Grace  well  knows  how 
sincerely  I  am, 

My  dear  Lord, 
Your  Grace's  most  faithfull  humble  Servant, 

Bath,  Decemb.  20th,  1752.  P°WIS' 

Mr.  Pelham  has  likewise  a  letter  from  me  on  this  subject. 


(Add.  MSS.  32,730,  folio  432.) 

Newcastle  House,  Dec.  21st,  1752. 

MY  DEAR  LORD, — I  have  the  Honor  of  your  Lordship's  two 
Letters,  and  am  very  glad  that  your  Audience  ended  so  much 
to  your  Satisfaction.  The  Report  of  Sir  William  Yong's  Death 
was  without  any  Foundation.  I  shall  be  always  glad  to  show 
my  Regard  and  Affection  for  your  Lordship,  and  to  serve  you 
in  anything  in  my  Power  where  I  have  not  previous  Engage- 
ment. I  am,  with  the  greatest  Truth  and  Respect, 

My  dear  Lord, 

Your  Lordship's  roost  obedient  humble  Servant, 
LordPowis.  HOLLES  NEWCASTLE. 


1  At  a  later  period,  22nd  May  1761,  King  George  Til  appointed 
his  lordship  Comptroller  of  the  Household.  Soon  after,  he  was  sworn 
of  the  Privy  Council.  He  was  subsequently  invested  with  the 
Treasurership  of  the  Household,  a  post  which  he  resigned  in  1765. 


390 


SOME   EARLY 

INCUMBENTS    OF    MONTGOMERYSHIRE 
AND   BORDER   PARISHES. 


A.D.  Berriew. 

1527.  OWEN  POULE/  vicar  of  Aberowe  (Berriew),  mentioned 
in  the  will  of  John  Yaughan,  clerk. 

Bishop's  Castle. 

1546.  "  JOHN  .BRIDGE,  clerk."     JOHN  LLOYD,  "Pyrson." 

1556.  "HuGH  THOMAS,  nay  ghostlie  father,"  mentioned  in  the 

will  of  Robert  Corse'r  of  Bishop's  Castle. 
"  Hugh  ap   Thomas,  my  ghostlie  father,"  in  the  will  of 

Gwenhwyfar  Griffiths. 
1560.  "HuGH  ALDWIN,  vicar  of  B'p'scastle,"  mentioned  in  the 

will  of  David  ap  leu'n  ap  Moris  of  Bishop's  Castle. 

Butting  ton. 

1555.  "Per  me  D'D  JONES  curat  ib'rn."  His  attestation  to  the 
will  of  John  ap  levan  Goch  of  Buttington. 

1562.  "IEUANNI  PIERS,  vie.  de  Pola  et  Buttington,"  men- 
tioned in  the  will  of  Morys  ap  Ll'n  ap  Guttyn  of 
Buttington. 

1569.  "  JOHN  BUECHAN,  clerk,  curat.  Buttington,"  so  designated 
in  his  will.  Witnesses  :  Thomas  Juckes  (Sheriff  of 
Montgomeryshire  in  1580)  and  Nicholas  Oliver. 

1589.  "JoHN  LEWIS,  clerke/'  mentioned  in  the  will  of  John 
Evans  of  Buttington. 

Castle  Caerewion. 

1570-1.  "THOMAS  LEWIS,  clerk,  parson  of  Castell/' so  designated 
in  his  will. 


1  Dr.  Owen  Pool.  "  Marg't,  da.  to  S'r  Owen  Poole,  parson  of 
Beryou,"  married  a  grand-uncle  of  Lewys  Dvvnn,  the  Herald.  See  his 
pedigree  in.  the  Introduction  to  the  fteprint  of  his  Montgomeryshire 
Visitation. 


SOME  EARLY  INCUMBENTS  OP  MONTGOMERYSHIRE.       391 


Chirbury. 

1219  to  1227.  RICHARD,  co-rector  of.      (Ey  ton's  Antiquities  of 

Shropshire,  vol.  xi,  p.  67.) 
1280  to   JOHN,  vicar  of  Chirbury. 

1295.       In  which  year  he  is  said  to  have  paid  a  fine  of  £20.    (Ib.) 
1308  to  1349.  RICHARD  DE  CHIRBURY,  priest,  was  presented  to 

the  vicarage  on  March  6.     He  died  in  1349,  probably 

of  the  pestilence.     (Ib.) 
1349.  SIR  GERVASE  DE  CHIRSTOK    (Churchstoke),    priest,    was 

instituted   by  the  Prior  of  Chirbury  on  21st  of  July. 

(Ib.,  p.  68.) 
1379.  SIR  PHILIP  OKEY,  instituted  18th  December.     He  occurs 

as  vicar  in  1386.     (Ib.) 
1534.  JOHN  MIDDLETON,  according  to  the  Valor  of  Henry  VIII, 

was  then  vicar. 
1543.  "  JOHN  MIDLETON,   vicar    of    Chirbury/'    witnesses   the 

will  of  John  Walter  Robarte  of  Wylmington. 
1548.  "JoHN    MYDLETON,  vicar,"  witnesses   the  will   of  John 

Thomas  of  Chirbury. 
1551.  "JoHN  MIDLETON,   vicar    of   Chirbury,"   witnesses     the 

will  of  John  ap  David  of  Chirbury. 
1559.  "JoHN  MYDDLETON,   vicar/'  witnesses  the  will  of  Hugh 

Braye  of  Wilmyngton. 
1562.  "  THOMAS  TOMPSONNS,  vicar,  ib'd'm,"  witnesses  the  will  of 

John  Aldwell,  senior,  of  Tymberth,  Chirbury. 
1 577.  "  THOMAS  TOMPSON,  clerk,"  witnesses  the  will  of  John  ap 

Meredd.  of  Dudston,  Chirbury. 
1582.  "THOMAS  TOMPSON,  clerk/'  witnesses  the  will  of  Richard 

Beynion  of  Chirbury. 
1590.  "  THOMAS  TOMPSON/  .clerk/'  witnesses  the  will  of  "John 

ap  leuan  Braye  of  Chirbury". 

1597.  "  RICHARD  BETCHPELD,  clerk,"  witnesses  the  will  of  Oliver 

Vechan  of  Chirbury. 

1598.  "RICHARD    BETCHPELD,  clerke,"  witnesses    the    will   of 

Richard  Speake  of  Chirbury. 
1605.  "LAWRENCE   JONES"    witnesses    the    will    of   "Richard 

Betchfielde  of  Cherburie,  clerke". 
1607.  "  LAWRENCE  JONES,  clerk,"  witnesses    the  will   of  Hugh 

Aldwell  of  Wynsbury,  Chirbury.     And   of  Thomas 

Purcell  of  Lettiegynfarche,  Forden. 


1  See  under  "Montgomery  Parish",  an.  1616,  1631,  in  which  latter 
year  he  was  buried  there. 


392       SOME  EARLY  INCUMBENTS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE 

1608.  "Per  me  LAUEENTIN  JONES,  Vicare."     His  attestation  to 

ancient  copy  of  tithe    customs    of    the    parish    of 
Chirbury. 

1609.  "LAWRENCE  JONES,  clerke,"  witnesses  the  will  of  William 

Carver  of  Marrington,  Chirbury. 

1617.  "  ROB'T    MIDLETON,   clerke,"  appears  as  overseer  to  the 

will  of  John  Gethin  of  Chirbury. 

"  JOHANNES  DA  VIES,  Vicarius  de  Chirbury,  et  Eliz.  Pen 
nupt.  18  Dec'r."  (Montgomery  Registers).  "  John 
Davies,"  the  same  year,  witnesses  the  will  of  his 
father-in-law,  "Richard  Penne  of  Stockton,  Chir- 
bury." 

1630.  "  EDWARD    LEWIS,  clerk,"  witnesses  the   will  of  Roger 
Price  of  Gunley,  Forden. 

1642.  "EDWARD  LEWIS,  vicar  of  Chirbury,"  witnesses  the  will 
of  William  Price  of  Chirbury. 

Church  stoke. 

1542.  "DAVID    AP    MADOCKE,  curat.  of  Churchstoke."     Will  of 

Lowry  verch  leuan,  wife  of  Owen  ap  David. 

1543,  1550,  1551.  SIR  JOHN  AP  MADOC,    clerk,  instituted    7th 

December,  30  Henry  VIII.    (Mont.  CW/.,vol.ii,p.  367.) 
1559.  "  GEI.    AP    OWEN,  clerk,  3s.  4d   to  pray   for   my   soul." 

Will  of  Owen  ap  Meyruk  of  Churchstoke. 
1566.  "  GRIFF.  AP  OWEN,  clerke,"  witnesses  the  will  of  Edmund 

D'd  Lloyd  of  Churchstoke. 
1571-2.  "GRIFF.  AP   OWEN,   clerk/'     Will    of    John   Wylks  of 

Churchstoke.     He  occurs  also  in    1582,  1589,  1591, 

1593.     The  date  of  his  own  will  is  1595. 
1598.  "  JOHN  MASON,  clerk,"  witnesses  the  will  of  Watkin  ap 

Edmund  of  Churchstoke  ;  and  as  "John  Mason"   to 

that    of   Lewes  ap   Howell    ap    Morris    of   Weston 

Madocke. 
"  Mr.  Mason,  Minister  of  Churchstoke,"  has  a  bequest 

in    the    will    of    Hugh    ap   Edmund   of  Bacheltrey, 

Churchstoke. 
1600.  "JOHN  MASON,    clerke/'   and  "Edward  Henry,  clerke/7 

witness    the    will    of   Maurice    ap    Evan  Gough  of 

Churchstoke. 
1603.  "HUMPHREY    PIERCE,  clerk,"  mentioned    in    the  will  of 

Edmund  ap  Howell  of  Churchstoke. 
1605.  "JoHN  GRIFFITH,  clerk,"  witnesses  the  will  of  Catherine 

Powell  of  Weston,  Churchstoke. 
1608.    -JOHN    MASON,    clerk,"   witnesses    the   will  of  William 

Turner  of  Churchstoke. 


AND    BORDER   PARISHES.  393 

1623.  "EDMUND  TIGGESTON, clerke/'  mentioned  in  the  will  of 
Elizabeth  Lloyd  of  Churchstoke. 

Chen. 

1548.  "  SIR  RICHARD  AP  GRIFFITH,  clerk/'  made  his  will  in  this 
year. 

Forden. 

1548.  "SiR  DAVID  GOWAN."     Date  of  his  will. 

1568.  "JoHN  VYGHAN,  clerk/'  witnesses  the  will  of  Humphrey 

S  hen  ton  of  Forden. 
1587.  "  ROBERT    JONES,   clerk,"   witnesses   the  will   of  Oliver 

David  Lloyd  of  Forden. 
1596.  "MORGAN  THOMAS,  clearke,"  witnesses  the  will  of  "  Eliza 

Tompson,  vid.",  of  Forden. 
1626.  "DAVID  BRAY,  curate/'  mentioned  in  the  will  of  John  ap 

Oliver  of  Forden. 

Guilsfield. 

1571.  "  JOHN  CORBET,  clerke,"  overseer  to  the  will  of  Edmund 

Lloyd  of  Maesmawr,  Guilsfield. 
1586.  "  S'R    JOHN,   curate   of  Gilsfield,"  witnesses  the   will  of 

Roger  Phillips  of  Stratmarcell,  Guilsfield. 

Llandrinio. 

1591.  "Teste  WILLIM  JEFFREY,  Cl'ico/' to  will   of  Thomas  ap 

Morris  of  Llandrinio. 
1594.  "JoHN    HOWLES,     clerke,    my    loving    brother-in-law," 

occurs  as  overseer  to  the  will  of  Lawrence  Austin  of 

Llandrinio. 

Llanjihangel. 

1599.  "  GRUFF.  JENKINS,   clerke,"  witnesses    the  will   of  John 

Owen  Vaughan  of  Llwdiarth. 

1600.  "Jo.  BLAYNEY,  clerke/'  witnesses   the   will  of   Edward 

David  Lloyd  of  Llanfiangel  in  Kerry. 

Llandyssil. 

1527.  "RICHARD  MAELGWN/  person  of  Llan-Dissull."  His 
will  at  Somerset  House  is  dated  1527,  and  was 
proved  in  1528. 

1  In  1514  he  was  chaplain  of  Montgomery  Castle. 
VOL.  XXVII.  D  D 


394      SOME  EARLY  INCUMBENTS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE 

Llanfyllin. 

1562.  "  GRIFFITH  LLOYDE,  elk.,  of  Llanvilling  Church,  wereof  I 
am  p'son."     This  is  the  date  of  his  will. 

Llanllwchaiarn. 

1547.  "SiR    OWEN    AP    JOHN,   vicar    of    Llanlochairne,"    38th 

Henry  VI LL 
"  S'R  JOHN  REYNOLDS,"  mentioned  in   the  will  of  leu'n 

Goch  Benlloid. 
1577.  "  S'R  LEWES  BENNETT,  my  ghostley  father,"  mentioned  in 

the  will  of  David  ap   Moris  ap  Owen  of  Llanllwch- 

airn. 

Llanmerewig. 
1608.  "  GREGORIE  JONES,  clerk,"  witnesses  the  will  of  Edward 

Glace  of  Llanmerewig. 

Llamvnog. 
1590-1.  "  FFRANCIS  LLOIDE,  cler.,"  witnesses  the  will  of  David 

ap  Henry  of  Llanwnog. 
1601.  "  FFRANCIS  LLOID,  vicar  of  the  parish,"  has  a  bequest  by 

the   will    of  Jane,   daughter  of  David   ap  Owen  of 

Llanwnog. 

Lydham. 
1207  to  1243.  ADAM,  parson  of  Lydham,  was  presented  between 

these  years   by   Wenthlian,   widow    of    Baldwin   de 

Boilers.     Adam  was   living  in  the  summer  of  1255, 

but  died  before  September  29th,  1256. 
1256.  SIMION  DE  BURNHAM,  presented  by  a  patent  of  Henry. Ill 

to  the  vacant  benefice. 
1265.  ROBERT    DE    FANGEFOS,   presented   by    patent   of    10th 

November. 
1284.  HUGH  DE  MONTGOMERY,  deacon,  presented  4th  April  by 

his  brother,  Sir  Adam  de  Montgomery. 
1310.  ROGER  DE  LA  MORE,  acolyte,  presented  7th  October  by 

Thomas  de  Montgomery. 
1349.  ROBERT  DE  LODYNGTON,  priest,  presented  25th    October 

by  the  patron,    "  Sir   John    de    Cherleton,   Lord  of 

Powys." 
1379.  HENRY  UPTON,  or  HOPTON,  on  19th  April,  exchanges  the 

Rectory  with 
SIR    WALTER    BUFFARD,    late    of    Credenhulle,    who    is 

presented  to  Lydham  by    the    King,   as    custos    of 

John  de  Cherleton's  heir. 


AND    BORDER   PARISHES.  395 

1389.  GRIFFIN,  son  of  Griffin  de  Forton  (Forden),  who,  on  the 

8th  July,  was  presented  by  John  de  Cherleton,  Lord 

of  Powys. 
1391.  SIR  JOHN    BROMELOWE,    late    rector    of    Machynllaith 

having  exchanged  preferments  with  Griffin  above.1 
1618.  "  JOHN  HOWELL,  clerke,"  mentioned  in  the  will  of  John 

Lloyd  of  Aston,  Lydham. 

Mainstone. 

1557.  "JoHN  THOMAS,  clerke,  my  goostlie  father,"  thus  desig- 
nated as  a  witness  to  the  will  of  Eichard  ap  Howell 
(Powell)  of  Ednop,  Mainstone,  sheriff  of  Mont- 
gomeryshire in  1554. 

1566.  "JoHN  AP  THOMAS,  clarke,  curate  of  Maynston,"  men- 
tioned in  the  will  of  this  date,  of  Richard  D'd  ap 
Meyricke  of  Churchstoke. 

1574.  "  JOHN  AP  THOMAS,  clerke,  curate  of  Maynstone,"  witnesses 
the  will  of  "  Katheryne  Howell  v.  Moryce,  vid.",  of 
Mainstone. 

Meifod. 

1291.  MADOC  AP  LLEWELYN,  Portionist. 

1310.  MADOC  AP  MEREDITH. 

1537.  DR.  MAGNUS,  rector. 

ROBERT  STANNEY,  vicar. 

1540.  DAVID  EDWARDS. 

1546.  LEWIS  AP  MORRIS. 

1571.  "LoDOVicus  MORIS,  vicar  of  Myvod/'  witnesses  the  will, 
of  this  date,  of  Edmund  Lloyd  of  Maesmawr,  Guils- 
field,  father  of  Griffith  Lloyd,  sheriff  of  Montgomery- 
shire in  1581. 

1579.  DAVID  POWELL,  the  first  editor  in  English  of  Caradoc's 
History  of  Wales.2 

1597.  THOMAS  JONES,  vicar. 

1609.  "  THOMAS  JOHNES,  vicar  of  Meifod,"  mentioned  in  the 
will  of  Elizabeth  Lloyd  of  Leighton.3 

Montgomery. 

1227.  WILLIAM  DE  BOTTLERS,  in  July,  probably  presented  by 
the  Prior  of  Chirbury  Priory.  An  Assize-Roll  of 

1  Ey ton's  Antiquities  of  Shropshire,  vol.  xi,  p.  283.  Jonet,  sister 
of  Griffin,  married  Madoc  Lloyd  of  Churchstoke.  (Lewys  Dwnn, 
Reprint,  p.  41.) 

2  Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  x,  p.  173. 

3  See  subsequent  succession  of  vicars.     (Ibid.,  pp.  173-74.) 


396       SOME  EARLY  INCUMBENTS  OF  MONTGOMERYSHIRE 

October  this  year  says  that  the  church  was  then  of 

King    Henry    Ill's    advowson.      On    January    21st, 

1243,  King*  Henry  III,   by   patent,  addressed  to  the 

Archdeacon  of  Salop,  presented 
1243.  WILLIAM  LE  BRUN. 
1251.  REYMUND  DE  BOVILL,  presented  by  a  patent  addressed  to 

Peter,  Bishop  of  Hereford. 
1279.  JOHN  DE  KAFAM  was  presented  by  patent  of  January 

the  9th. 
1294.  JOHN  DE  CADOMO  occurs    as   canon  of  Wolverhampton 

and  Penkridge,  and  as  parson   of  Montgomery,   in 

October  of  this  year. 
1299.  STEPHEN  DE  CESTREHUNTE  was  presented  by  patent  of 

21st  October. 
1315.  THOMAS  DE  CADOMO. 
1334.  HUGH  MIDDLETON,  by  patent  of  9th  June. 

1337.  WILLIAM  DE  BERUGHBY,  parson  of  Montgomery,  has  by 

patent,  26th  June,  the  royal  licence  to  exchange 
preferments  with  Roger  Pinchbeck.  But  on  28th 
of  September  Borroughby  has  another  licence  to 
exchange  with 

1338.  WALTER   DE  BREKENDON,  incumbent  of  Kiltesby  (Line. 

Dioc.),  who  on  the  6th  July  has  the  King's  licence  to 

exchange  preferments  with 
1340.  ROBERT   DE  WINESBURY,  rector  of  Parva  Bernyngham, 

Diocese  of  Norwich,  by  patent  of  the  14th  of  February 

exchanges  with  Walter  de  Brekendon.1 
1514.  RICHARD    MAELGWN,  chaplain    of  Montgomery    Castle. 

(Mont.  Coll.,  vol.  xxii,  p.  13.) 

1519.  HUGH  POLE  was  rector.     (See    Domestic    Calendar  .  of 

State  Papers,  sub  an.) 

1520.  "THOMAS  EVANS,  elk."     (Ib.) 

1545.  "MATTHEW  AP  DAVID,  my  ghostly  father,"  so  designated 
in  the  will  of  David  ap  leuan  of  Montgomery. 

1561.  "GRUFF.  JONES,  clerke,"  witnesses  the  will  of  Moris  ap 
Gruff,  of  Montgomery. 

1566.  "  WILLIAM  ELKES,  clerk/'  witnesses  the  will  of  John  ap 
Griffith,  alias  Goch,  of  Montgomery. 

1587.  "  HUGH  MORYS,  clerk  and  parson  of  the  parrish,"  wit- 
nesses the  will  of  "  Thomas  ap  Ho'll"  of  Montgomery. 
He  occurs  in  1589,  1591,  1598. 

1600.  "HuGO  MORRIS,  cler'us  nup'  Rector  hujus  Ecclesiae" 
28  Oct.  (buried).  (Montgomery  Register). 

1  Eyton's  Antiquities  of  Shropshire,  vol.  xi,  p.  149, 


AND    BORDER    PARISHES.  397 

1611.  "JOHANNES  MASON,  clericus  Rector  hujus  parochias  Mont- 
gomery sepultus  fuit  14  Feb."    (Register.) 
1616.  "THOMAS  THOMPSON,  rector  Eccl'iae  de  Mountgomerie." 
1631.  "  THOMAS    THOMPSON,  sacr.  Theolog.  Bachelor  et  Eector 
hujus  EccTe  Mountgomery  sepultus  fuit  20  Augusti." 
(Register.) 

More. 

Early  incumbents  on  the  line  of  succession  from 
1220  to  1417,  are  given  in  Ey ton's  Antiquities  of 
Shropshire,  vol.  xi,  pp.  291-2. 

1565.  "D'o  MORE,  p'son  of  the  More,"  occurs. 

1566.  "  PETER  BRESE  (?  ap  Res),  p'son  of  More." 

Oswestry. 

1534.  "  OWEN  DAVID,  curate  of  Oswestre,"  witnesses  the  will  of 

John  Draper  of  Oswestry. 
1597.  "  SIR    JOHN    KYFFIN"    witnesses  the    will   of  Lewis  ap 

John  ap  Howell  of  Oswestry. 

Trefeglwys. 

1606.  "JOHN  WOOD,  clerk,"  witnesses  the  will  of  Richard 
Brown  the  elder,  of  Trefeglwys. 

Tregynon. 

1591.  "THOMAS  CORBETT,  clerk,"  witnesses  the  will  of  William 

Lye  of  Tregynon. 
1600.  "  DAVID  BLAYNEY,  clericus,"  witnesses  the  will  of  Thomas 

Astley  of  Tregynon. 

Trelystan  or  WooUtanmynde. 

1588.  "ROBERT  JONES,  curate  of  Woolstandmyn,"  had  a 
bequest  by  the  will  of  "  Roger  ap  John  Lloyd  of 
Leighton,  gent." 

Welshpool. 

1546.  "  SIR  JOHN  PERS,  my  ghostly  father,"  "  S'R  DAVID 
ELLICE,"  "  SIR  WALTER  RAFFE,"  and  "  S'R  DAVID  ap 
John  Pers,"  had  bequests  by  the  will  of  "  Howell  ap 
leu'n  ap  John  Gwynne  of  the  Towne  of  Poole, 
gentleman." 

1560.  "JoHN  PEERS,  vicar  of  Poole,"  mentioned  in  the  will  of 
"  John  ap  John  ap  Hugh,  Burgess  of  Poole." 


398  OBITUARY   NOTICE. 

1569.  "  SIR  JOHN  PIERCE,  vicar  of  Poole,"  had  a  bequest  by  the 

will   of  "David  ap   Hugh  ap  Evan   ap    William  of 
Hope." 

1570.  "  SIR  JOHN  PIERS,  clerk,  my  ghostlie  father,"  had  5s.  by 

the  will  of  David  Evans  of  Pool. 
1590.  "  HUGH  DA  VIES,  clerk,  vicar  of  Poole,"  had  a  bequest  by 

the  will  of  "John  ap  Owen  ap  leuan  ap  Howell." 
1600.  "HuGH  DA  VIES,  clerk,  vicar  of  Pool,"  so  described  in  his 

will  of  this  date. 

Westbury. 

1526.  "  SIR  EDWARD  BALL,  chauntyre  prest   of   our  Ladye  of 

Westbury,"  a  witness  to  the  will  of  Lewis  ap  Howell 

of  Westbury. 

"  D'us  LODOVICUS  AP  HOWELL,  rector  of  Westbury." 
1598.  "  ME.  JOHN  ISTON,  first  person  of  Westbury,"  to  preach 

the  funeral  sermon  as  desired  by  the  will  of  Richard 

Speke  of  Westbury. 

W.  V.  LL. 


OBITUARY   NOTICE. 


EDWARD   ROWLEY    MORRIS,  F.S.A. 

BORN  at  New  Hall,  in  the  parish  of  Kerry,  on  the  22nd 
of  April  1828,  Edward  Rowley  Morris  received  his 
early  education  at  the  Collegiate  Institution,  Liverpool, 
and  settling  down  to  business  in  his  native  county, 
first  at  Gungrog  Cottage,  Welshpool,  and  then  at  the 
Homestay,  Newtown,  he  took  a  prominent  part  in 
several  useful  movements,  and  was  Chairman  of  the 
Newtown  Local  Board.  But  his  chief  delight  and 
interest  were  centred  in  antiquarian  pursuits,  especially 
on  such  records  as  helped  to  illustrate  the  history  of 
Powysland.  In  the  Powysland  Club  he  took  the 
strongest  interest.  He  was  one  of  its  original  members, 
and  a  frequent  contributor,  to  the  end  of  his  life,  to  the 
Montgomeryshire  Collections.  In  the  second  volume 


Morris  &•  Co., 


2,  Strand,  London,  W.C. 


E.  ROWLEY  MORRIS,  F.S.A. 


OBITUARY   NOTICE.  399 

there  appeared  from  his  pen  a  "List  of  Members  of 
Parliament  for  the  County  and  Contributory  Boroughs", 
with  annotations,  and  in  the  third,  the  first  instalment 
of  the  "  History  of  Kerry",  his  native  parish.  After 
this  there  was  a  long  break,  only  interrupted  by  an 
account  of  "  The  Grange  of  Gelynog",  Newtown,  in 
vol.  ix. 

But,  meanwhile,  Mr.  Rowley  Morris  had  removed,  in 
1881,  to  London,  where  proximity  to  the  Record  Office 
and  the  British  Museum,  the  Lambeth  Library,  and  the 
General  Probate  Registry,  gave  him  ample  opportuni- 
ties for  prosecuting  his  favourite  occupation,  and  from 
the  time  he  renewed  his  contributions  in  vol.  xvii  to  the 
very  last  Part  issued,  proofs  of  his  indefatigable  labour, 
and  of  his  minute  acquaintance  with  Montgomeryshire 
history,  are  everywhere  forthcoming.  Among  these  we 
especially  draw  attention  to  the  "  Royalist  Composition 
Papers",  in  vol.  xviii  ;  notes  on  "  Early  Montgomery- 
shire Wills"  (in  conjunction  with  Mr.  E.  B.  Squires), 
vols.  xix,  xxi,  xxii,  and  xxiii  ;  and  "  The  History  of 
Kerry",  vols.  xxiii,  xxiv,  xxv,  xxvi,  and  xxvii,  and  yet 
more  particularly  to  an  article  entitled  "  Montgomery- 
shire Records",  in  vol.  xxiv,  in  which  he  gives  an 
instalment  from  the  Exchequer  Pleas  of  the  vast 
amount  of  local  information  to  which  they  supply  an 
index.  In  connection  with  this,  and  partly  resulting 
from  it,  has  been  the  formation  of  a  Record  Department 
of  the  Powysland  Club,  with  a  view  to  the  publication 
of  explanatory  indices  to  the  many  similar  sources  of 
information  with  which  Mr.  Morris  was  singularly  well 
acquainted,  and  which  he  had  generously  undertaken 
to  edit  for  the  Club.  Another  matter  which  he  had 
kindly  offered  to  take  in  hand  (this  time  in  conjunction 
with  Mr.  Edward  Owen,  of  the  India  Office)  was  the 
preparation  of  the  "  Records  of  the  Borough  of  Mont- 
gomery" for  publication. 

Of  his  contributions  to  Bye-Gones,  that  useful  aid  to 
antiquaries — which  is  published  by  the  Oswestry  Adver- 
tiser— we  will  quote  from  an  appreciative  notice  in  that 


400  OBITUARY   NOTICE. 

paper  : — "  Mr.  Kowley  Morris  was  associated  with  it 
from  its  earliest  years,  and  never  ceased  to  take  the 
deepest  interest  in  its  success.  Indeed,  after  the  death 
of  the  founder,  Mr.  Askew  Roberts,  the  assistance 
which  the  present  editor  received  from  him  was  so  great, 
that  no  words  of  his  could  sufficiently  express  his  sense 
of  the  loss  he  had  sustained.  Scarcely  a  week  passed 
without  one  or  more  contributions  from  his  friendly 
hand,  and  in  the  Bye-Gones  column  of  the  paper,  that 
very  week,  his  familiar  signature  of  *  Pearmain'  would 
be  recognised  by  antiquarian  readers/' 

In  the  midst  of  so  many  and  such  varied  engage- 
ments of  an  active  literary  career  Mr.  Rowley  Morris's 
health  finally  gave  way,  and  he  closed  a  valuable  and 
useful  life  on  Monday,  the  24th  of  July  1893,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-five,  just  after  the  Society  of  Antiquaries 
had  shown  their  high  sense  of  his  knowledge  and 
research  by  electing  him  one  of  their  Fellows. 

Mr.  Rowley  Morris  married,  in  1857,  Mary,  the  third 
daughter  of  Mr.  Richard  Jones  of  the  Bank,  Pool  Quay. 
His  sister  is  the  wife  of  Sir  Pryce  Pryce-Jones,  M.P. 
for  the  Montgomery  Boroughs  ;  and  he  has  left  behind 
him  a  widow,  two  sons,  and  three  daughters,  on  one  of 
whom,  Miss  Agnes  Rowley  Morris,  the  amanuensis  and 
right  hand  of  her  father  in  his  antiquarian  researches, 
no  small  portion  of  his  spirit  has  rested. 


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